Applications of laser-created dense e<Superscript>+</Superscript>e<Superscript>−</Superscript> pairs

We review the recent developments of laser pair creation in the laboratory and their potential applications to astrophysics and other frontiers. Many astrophysical phenomena involving e⁺e⁻ plasmas may be systematically investigated in the laboratory setting. We also discuss potential applications of dense positronium gas.     

Determination of the combination of cosmological parameters Ω<Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">m</Emphasis></Subscript><Superscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">α</Emphasis></Superscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">σ</Emphasis><Subscript>8</Subscript>

We have obtained new constraints on the cosmological parameters Ω _m and σ ₈ from the peculiar velocities of flat edge-on spiral galaxies from the RFGC catalog. Based on these results presented graphically, we have found the quantitative condition (Ω _m /0.3)^0.37 σ ₈ = 0.92 ± 0.05. The estimates of Ω _m and σ ₈, along with their combinations Ω _m ^α σ ₈ for various α, are compared with the estimates by other authors.     

Composition of Cosmic Rays with <Emphasis Type="Italic">E</Emphasis><Superscript>0</Superscript> ⩾ 10<Superscript>17</Superscript> eV Based on Data from the Ground Scintillation Detectors of the Yakutsk EAS Array

The lateral distribution of cascade particles in extensive air showers from cosmic rays with energy E⁰ ? 10¹⁷ eV has been studied at the Yakutsk array by the ground scintillation detectors over the period of continuous observations 1977–2017. The experimental data are compared with those computed with various models for the development of extensive air showers from the CORSIKA software package. The best agreement between the theory and experiment is observed for the QGSjet-01-d model. In the energy range (1?20)× 10¹⁷ eV there is a change in the cosmic-raymass composition from 〈lnA〉 ≈ 2.5 to the proton one.     

Search for the radial magnetic-field gradient in the CP star <Emphasis Type="Italic">α</Emphasis><Superscript>2</Superscript> CVn

The possibility of investigating the vertical structure of the magnetic field in chemically peculiar main-sequence stars is discussed. The nonuniform distribution of chemical elements over the surface complicates the problem substantially. The most efficient measurements are shown to be those of the longitudinal field components based on spectral lines with wavelengths longer and shorter than 3646 Å (shortward and longward of the Balmer jump), which form at different optical depths in the atmosphere. Various methodological problems are addressed that must be overcome in order to accomplish the task. The brightest magnetic star α ² CVn is observed with the echelle spectrometer equipped with an Uppsala CCD chip. New observations corroborate our previous result: the longitudinal component of the magnetic field B _e of the α ² CVn star increases with depth by about 30% over the atmosphere thickness scale.     

Deep 7.6 cm RATAN-600 sky surveys at the declination of SS 433 during the 1980–1999 period. Catalog of radio sources in the right-ascension interval 2<Superscript>h</Superscript> ≤ RA &lt; 7<Superscript>h</Superscript>

We present a catalog of radio sources extending the RCR (RATAN Cold Refined) catalog to the right-ascension interval 2^h ≤ RA < 7^h. The list of objects was obtained in the process of a reprocessing of the observations of the “Cold” experiment conducted in 1980–1981 on RATAN-600 radio telescope at the declination of SS433, and the reduction of the 1987–1999 surveys of the same experiment.We report the right ascensions and integrated flux densities for 237 sources found at 7.6 cm (3.94 GHz) and their spectral exponents at 3.94 and 0.5 GHz. Twenty-nine sources of the list, which are mostly weaker than 30 mJy at 3.94 GHz, have available data only at two frequencies—1.4 and 3.94 Hz.We approximated the spectra of the sources using all catalogs available in the CATS and VizieR databases that meet the survey strip, and, in some cases, using the flux densities estimates from VLSSr,GLEAM, TGSS, and GB6 survey maps.We constructed the histograms of the spectral indices of the sources and verified the reliability of the identifications of sources found in the scans by comparing the coordinates and integrated flux densities with the corresponding parameters listed in the NVSS catalog. In the right ascension interval considered we found no objects at the 10–15 mJy level lacking in decimeter-wave catalogs.     

A runaway binary star escaping from the Θ<Superscript>1</Superscript> ori system

A runaway binary star escaping in runaway from the multiple system Θ¹ Ori C is studied. The radial velocities of both components are measured and radial velocity curves are constructed and solved for them. The physical parameters and chemical compositions of the stars are determined.     

A preliminary radial-velocity curve for the star <Emphasis Type="Italic">θ</Emphasis><Superscript>1</Superscript> Ori D

We measured the radial velocity of the star θ¹ Ori D from IUE spectra and used published observations. Based on these data, we determined the period of its radial-velocity variations, P=20.2675±0.0010 days, constructed the phase radial-velocity curve, and solved it by least squares. The spectroscopic orbital elements were found to be the following: the epoch of periastron passage E_p=JD 2430826.6±0.1, the system's center-of-mass velocity /Gg=32.4±1.0 km s^?1, K=14.3±1.5 km s^?1, Ω=3.3±0.1 rad, e=0.68±0.09, a₁ sin i = 3 × 10¹⁰ km, and f₁ = 0.0025M_⊙. Twice the period, P=40.528±0.002 days, is also consistent with the observations.     

Study of the anisotropy of cosmic rays with <Emphasis Type="Italic">E</Emphasis><Subscript>0</Subscript>≥5×10<Superscript>16</Superscript> eV using Yakutsk EAS array data

We present the results of a harmonic analysis of and search for clusters in the arrival directions of cosmic rays with energies E₀≥5×10¹⁶ eV and zenith angles ?≤53° detected at the Yakutsk extensive air shower (EAS) array from 1974 to 2002. We show that the phase of the first harmonic periodically varies greatly and takes on nonrandom values at a confidence level ≥4σ. These phases point to the Supergalactic plane (the Local supercluster of galaxies).     

The Maunder Minimum and the Sun as the Possible Source of Particles Creating Increased Abundance of the <Superscript>14</Superscript>C Carbon Isotope

The Maunder Minimum was the time during the second part of the 17th century, nominally from 1645 to 1717 AD, when unusually low numbers of sunspots were observed. On the basis of numerous recorded observations of auroras in the early 18th century, the end of the Minimum could be regarded as around 1700, but details of sunspot observations by Jan Heweliusz (Heweliusz, Machina Coelestis, 1679), John Flamsteed and Philippe de La Hire in 1684 allow us to interpret the Maunder Minimum as the period without a significant cessation of activity. This Minimum was also recognized in ¹⁴C data from trees which grew during the second part of 17th century. The variation in the production rate of radioactive carbon isotope ¹⁴C is due to modulation of the cosmic ray flux producing it by the changing level of solar activity and solar magnetic flux. Stronger magnetic fields in the solar wind make it more difficult for cosmic rays to reach the Earth, causing a drop in the production rate of ¹⁴C. However, more detailed analyses of ¹⁴C data indicate that the highest isotope abundances do not occur at the time of sunspot minima, as would be expected on the basis of modulation of the cosmic ray flux by the solar magnetic field, but two years after the sunspot number maximum. This time difference (or phase delay) can be accounted for if in fact there are both solar and non-solar cosmic ray contributions. Solar flares could also contribute high-energy particles and produce ¹⁴C and are generally not most frequent at the time of the highest sunspot numbers in the cycle.     

Investigation of the lines H<Subscript>α</Subscript> and H<Subscript>β</Subscript> in the spectrum of the star HD 206267

The results of investigations of the H_α and H_β lines in the spectrum of the star HD 206267 are presented. Observations were carried out in 2011–2014 at the Cassegrain focus of the 2-m telescope of the Tusi Shamakhy Astrophysical Observatory of the National Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan using an echelle spectrometer. The following features have been revealed for the first time: the moving discrete absorption components in the core of the H_α line from the red side to the violet, the stable emission in the violet wing of the H_α line, the antiphase variation of the radial velocities and equivalent widths of the H_α line, and the independence of the changes of the equivalent widths of the H_β line from the phase of the orbital period. No spectral features according to which this star could be considered as a source of X-ray radiation have been found.     

Families <Emphasis Type="Italic">c</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">i</Emphasis> of periodic solutions of the restricted problem for μ = 5 × 10<Superscript>−5</Superscript>

We consider the circular planar restricted three-body problem with the mass parameter μ = 5 × 10^?5. Two families of periodic solutions are calculated: family c, starting from the collinear fixed point L ₁, and the initial part of familyi, which begins by direct circular orbits of an infinitely small radius around the body of bigger mass. The calculated families are very close to the generating ones, which we described earlier. In particular, the existence of the predicted zigzag structure of characteristics of family iis verified. New properties of the planar and vertical traces are discovered.     

Studying the influence of turbulent mixing on thermonuclear burning regimes during X-ray bursts of neutron stars using the <Emphasis Type="Italic">K</Emphasis><Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">ε</Emphasis></Subscript> model

We study the influence of turbulent mixing on the development of thermonuclear flashes in the surface layers of neutron stars. A simple K _ε model that includes various physical processes is used to describe the turbulent processes. In contrast to the widespread mixing-length theory, the K _ε model does not require using additional dimensional parameters, traces the development of turbulence in dynamics, describes the various turbulence development scenarios (gravitational and shear instabilities, convection, semiconvection, etc.) in a unified way, and can be used in multidimensional numerical simulations. Empirical constants of the model are chosen on the basis of experimental data and direct numerical simulations of typical processes. We have used the Era and Tigr-3T software packages to numerically simulate thermonuclear flashes in the accretion-renewable atmospheres of neutron stars. Turbulence is shown to accelerate significantly the transport of released energy to the stellar surface. Mixing equalizes the concentrations of matter components throughout the burning layer and increases the amount of matter involved in the thermonuclear burning during a flash.     

Clustering of galaxies on scales of ≤10<Emphasis Type="Italic">h</Emphasis><Superscript>−1</Superscript> based on the coma,bridge, and A1367 clusters

A correlation analysis is made of the spatial distribution of galaxies in the Coma, Bridge, and A1367 clusters, which form the Coma supercluster. The scale of the clustering of galaxies and the variation in their density distribution with the main parameters of the galaxies– luminosity, morphological type, and observed H I deficiency in the 21 cm line– are evaluated. The mass-to-luminosity ratios are computed for the spiral galaxies in the Coma, Bridge, and A1367 clusters. It is suggested that a larger fraction of hypothetical dark matter may be concentrated in the spiral galaxies which predominantly populate the subclusters previously identified by us within these clusters than in the spiral galaxies observed in the peripheral regions of the clusters.     

Erratum to: The Maunder Minimum and the Sun as the Possible Source of Particles Creating Increased Abundance of the <Superscript>14</Superscript>C Carbon Isotope

Solar flares take place in regions of strong magnetic fields and are generally accepted to be the result of a resistive instability leading to magnetic reconnection. When new flux emerges into a pre-existing active region it can act as a flare and coronal mass ejection trigger. In this study we observed active region 10955 after the emergence of small-scale additional flux at the magnetic inversion line. We found that flaring began when additional positive flux levels exceeded 1.38×10²⁰ Mx (maxwell), approximately 7 h after the initial flux emergence. We focussed on the pre-flare activity of one B-class flare that occurred on the following day. The earliest indication of activity was a rise in the non-thermal velocity one hour before the flare. 40 min before flaring began, brightenings and pre-flare flows were observed along two loop systems in the corona, involving the new flux and the pre-existing active region loops. We discuss the possibility that reconnection between the new flux and pre-existing loops before the flare drives the flows by either generating slow mode magnetoacoustic waves or a pressure gradient between the newly reconnected loops. The subsequent B-class flare originated from fast reconnection of the same loop systems as the pre-flare flows.     

Critical Comment on the Article by R. Rek “The Maunder Minimum and the Sun as the Possible Source of Particles Creating Increased Abundance of the <Superscript>14</Superscript>C Carbon Isotope”

Several strong but erroneous statements were made by R. Rek in an article published in this volume of Solar Physics. Here we show that these misleading statements are caused by neglecting the known effects of the carbon cycle and misinterpretation of the data. In particular we show that the claim of the Maunder minimum being “the period without a significant cessation of activity” contradicts the bulk of observational evidence and is caused by the misinterpretation of proxy data.     

Radial pulsations of helium stars with masses from 1 to 10 <Emphasis Type="Italic">M</Emphasis><Subscript>⊙</Subscript>

We present the results of our hydrodynamic calculations of radial pulsations in helium stars with masses 1 M_⊙ ≤ M ≤ 10 M_⊙, luminosity-to-mass ratios 1 × 10³L_⊙/M_⊙ ≤ L/M ≤ 2 × 10⁴L_⊙/M_⊙, and effective temperatures 2 × 10⁴ K ≤ T_eff ≤ 10⁵ K for mass fractions of helium Y=0.98 and heavy elements Z=0.02. We show that the lower boundary of the pulsation-instability region corresponds to L/M ～ 10³L_⊙/M_⊙ and that the instability region for L/M ? 5 × 10³L_⊙/M_⊙ is bounded by effective temperatures T_eff ? 3 × 10⁴ K. As the luminosity rises, the instability boundary moves into the left part of the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram and radial pulsations can arise in stars with effective temperatures T_eff ? 10⁵ K at L/M ? 7 × 10³L_⊙/M_⊙. The velocity amplitude for the outer boundary of the hydrodynamic model increases with L/M and lies within the range 200 ? ΔU ? 700 km s^?1 for the models under consideration. The periodic shock waves that accompany radial pulsations cause a significant change of the gas-density distribution in the stellar atmosphere, which is described by a dynamic scale height comparable to the stellar radius. The dynamic instability boundary that corresponds to the separation of the outer stellar atmospheric layers at a superparabolic velocity is roughly determined by a luminosity-to-mass ratio L/M ～ 3 × 10⁴L_⊙/M_⊙.     

Radial Evolution of Well-Observed Slow CMEs in the Distance Range 2 – 30 <Emphasis Type="Italic">R</Emphasis><Subscript>⊙</Subscript>

We performed a detailed analysis of 27 slow coronal mass ejections (CMEs) whose heights were measured in at least 30 coronagraphic images and were characterized by a high quality index (≥4). Our primary aim was to study the radial evolution of these CMEs and their properties in the range 2 – 30 solar radii. The instantaneous speeds of CMEs were calculated by using successive height – time data pairs. The obtained speed – distance profiles [v(R)] are fitted by a power law v = a(R−b) ^c . The power-law indices are found to be in the ranges a=30 – 386, b=1.95 – 3.92, and c=0.03 – 0.79. The power-law exponent c is found to be larger for slower and narrower CMEs. With the exception of two events that had approximately constant velocity, all events were accelerating. The majority of accelerating events shows a v(R) profile very similar to the solar-wind profile deduced by Sheeley et al. (Astrophys. J. 484, 472, 1997). This indicates that the dynamics of most slow CMEs are dominated by the solar wind drag.     

Spectral Characteristics of the He <Emphasis Type="SmallCaps">i</Emphasis> D<Subscript>3</Subscript> Line in a Quiescent Prominence Observed by THEMIS

We analyze the observations of a quiescent prominence acquired by the Téléscope Heliographique pour l’Étude du Magnetisme et des Instabilités Solaires (THEMIS) in the He?i 5876 Å (He?i D₃) multiplet aiming to measure the spectral characteristics of the He?i D₃ profiles and to find for them an adequate fitting model. The component characteristics of the He?i D₃ Stokes I profiles are measured by the fitting system by approximating them with a double Gaussian. This model yields an He?i D₃ component peak intensity ratio of \(5.5\pm0.4\), which differs from the value of 8 expected in the optically thin limit. Most of the measured Doppler velocities lie in the interval ±?5 km?s^?1, with a standard deviation of ±?1.7 km?s^?1 around the peak value of 0.4 km?s^?1. The wide distribution of the full-width at half maximum has two maxima at 0.25 Å and 0.30 Å for the He?i D₃ blue component and two maxima at 0.22 Å and 0.31 Å for the red component. The width ratio of the components is \(1.04\pm0.18\). We show that the double-Gaussian model systematically underestimates the blue wing intensities. To solve this problem, we invoke a two-temperature multi-Gaussian model, consisting of two double-Gaussians, which provides a better representation of He?i D₃ that is free of the wing intensity deficit. This model suggests temperatures of 11.5 kK and 91 kK, respectively, for the cool and the hot component of the target prominence. The cool and hot components of a typical He?i D₃ profile have component peak intensity ratios of 6.6 and 8, implying a prominence geometrical width of 17 Mm and an optical thickness of 0.3 for the cool component, while the optical thickness of the hot component is negligible. These prominence parameters seem to be realistic, suggesting the physical adequacy of the multi-Gaussian model with important implications for interpreting He?i D₃ spectropolarimetry by current inversion codes.     

Precipitable water vapor (PWV) estimations from the site of the Eastern Anatolia Observatory<Superscript>∗</Superscript> (DAG), a new astronomical observatory in Turkey

We present preliminary statistics on the precipitable water vapor (PWV) content over the Karakaya Hills in Erzurum city, where the largest optical and near-infrared astronomical telescope in Turkey will be operated. Since the observatory will observe in the near-infrared (NIR), it is intended to perform PWV measurements of the atmosphere above the site by using signal delays in Global Positioning System (GPS) communication. The analysis of the GPS data recorded on the summit for almost one year shows that the atmosphere over the site of the observatory, which has an altitude of 3170 m, has favorable conditions for NIR observations. From GPS measurements, we report that the site had an average PWV of 3.2 mm and a median PWV of 2.7 mm between October 6, 2016, and June 15, 2017. We also present the time dependency of the PWV content and the correlations between the amount of PWV and the other meteorological records gathered from radiosonde flights and ground-based measurements.     

Spacecraft trajectories to the L<Subscript>3</Subscript> point of the Sun–Earth three-body problem

Of the three collinear libration points of the Sun–Earth Circular Restricted Three-Body Problem (CR3BP), L₃ is that located opposite to the Earth with respect to the Sun and approximately at the same heliocentric distance. Whereas several space missions have been launched to the other two collinear equilibrium points, i.e., L₁ and L₂, taking advantage of their dynamical and geometrical characteristics, the region around L₃ is so far unexploited. This is essentially due to the severe communication limitations caused by the distant and permanent opposition to the Earth, and by the gravitational perturbations mainly induced by Jupiter and the close passages of Venus, whose effects are more important than those due to the Earth. However, the adoption of a suitable periodic orbit around L₃ to ensure the necessary communication links with the Earth, or the connection with one or more relay satellites located at L₄ or L₅, and the simultaneous design of an appropriate station keeping-strategy, would make it possible to perform valuable fundamental physics and astrophysics investigations from this location. Such an opportunity leads to the need of studying the ways to transfer a spacecraft (s/c) from the Earth’s vicinity to L₃. In this contribution, we investigate several trajectory design methods to accomplish such a transfer, i.e., various types of two-burn impulsive trajectories in a Sun-s/c two-body model, a patched conics strategy exploiting the gravity assist of the nearby planets, an approach based on traveling on invariant manifolds of periodic orbits in the Sun–Earth CR3BP, and finally a low-thrust transfer. We examine advantages and drawbacks, and we estimate the propellant budget and time of flight requirements of each.