Wave Beams in a Plasma in a Transverse Magnetic Field

The propagation of axisymmetric magnetohydrodynamic waves near the equatorial plane of the crust of a neutron star that is in a transverse magnetic field is considered. These waves are excited by a spatially limited excitation in the form of a transverse magnetic field applied to the inner boundary of the neutron star's crust. The magnetic fields and electric currents excited at the stellar surface by this wave beam are determined.     

Chaos in a quasar model with a disk and a massive nucleus

We present a quasar model with a rotating disk and a massive nucleus. We use this model in order to characterize the motion in the model (regular or chaotic) and to connect the extent of the chaotic regions to the physical parameters of the model. Numerical experiments suggest that, there are connections between the extent of the chaotic areas and the parameters of the system. Furthermore, it is shown that the form of numerically found relationships can be expressed analytically. Comparison to previous work is also made. (© 2005 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Modulation of circumstellar extinction in a young binary system with a low-mass companion in a noncoplanar orbit

We consider a model of cyclic brightness variations in a young star with a low-mass (q = M ₂/M ₁ ≤ 0.1) companion that accretes matter from the remnants of a protostellar cloud (circumbinary disk). We assume that the orbit of the companion is circular and that its plane does not coincide with the disk plane. We have computed grids of hydrodynamic models for such a binary by the SPH method based on which we have investigated the circumstellar extinction variations produced by the streams of matter and density waves excited in the circumbinary disk by the orbital motion of the companion. We show that, depending on the inclination and orientation of the binary’s line of nodes relative to the observer, the brightness of the primary component can undergo various (in shape and depth) oscillations with a period equal to the orbital one. In contrast to the models with coplanar circular orbits, the accretion rate onto the components of a binary with a noncoplanar orbit depends on the orbital phase. The results of our computations can be used to study the cyclic activity of UX Ori stars and young eclipsing binaries with anomalously long eclipses.     

Turbulence in fast-mode shocks as a triggering mechanism in a solar flare

If a solar flare originates from the dissipation of magnetic energy, available in abundance in a larger region, this dissipation must take place very rapidly. A local topological change in the magnetic field structure may be sufficient to start the dissipation process. Such a change in topology might be obtained by fast reconnection in a smaller region, such as e.g. in the Sweet-Parker model, as a result of current-driven microinstabilities.Among the candidates satisfying the requirements to obtain large enough currents, such as magnetically neutral or current sheets and MHD shocks, the latter are shown to be most probable. In a fast MHD shock the (thermal) results of turbulence do in fact destroy the conditions for turbulence. However, in this work we show numerically that the nonlinear steepening mechanism of such a shock is able to restore the driving current for a large range of parameters and over a long time. This is still true if the most difficult threshold for turbulence, being that for Langmuir turbulence, is to be achieved. The critical parameter, not only for the occurrence of turbulence but also for the restoration of the driving current, is the shock thickness.     

Dynamics of a particle in a gravitational field of a homogeneous annulus disk

We formulate the problem of an infinitesimal particle moving in the space under the influence of the gravitational force induced by a homogeneous annulus disk fixed on a plane. We compute using different coordinates and in terms of an elliptic integral the potential associated to this problem. Also we study the symmetries of the associated potential. After that, we look at the dynamics in some particular cases, namely: in the line perpendicular to the plane that contains the annulus disk and passes through the center of the ring and on the plane that contains the massive annulus.      

Formation of a plasmasphere in a rotating magnetic field

Stationary flows of planetary plasmaspheres are analysed within the framework of magnetohydrodynamics. The necessary conditions for existence of a laminar axisymmetric plasma flow around the planet are formulated. A general solution of the problem is obtained for a plasma with the magnetic viscosity greatly exceeding the hydrodynamic one. It has been ascertained that the flow features are strongly dependent on the azimuthal component of the magnetic field. Detailed calculations are performed for a magnetic field similar to a dipole. A strong difference between rather slow-rotating plasmaspheres with plasmapauses and rather fast-rotating continuous plasmaspheres has been revealed. Results of the calculations are useful to explain some properties of the Jovian plasmasphere.     

Propagation of a Maxwellian Electron Cloud in a Plasma

We consider the dynamics of an electron cloud with an initially Maxwellian electron distribution and a temperature significantly exceeding that of the surrounding plasma. It is demonstrated that only the fastest electrons propagate into the plasma as a beam-plasma structure, whereas the main part of the cloud of electrons is locked by the Langmuir turbulence generated by the electrons remaining.     

Motion of a Rigid Body in a Tidal Field

We investigate the motion, near the equilibrium configurations, of an initially spinless rigid body subject to an external tidal field. Two cases are considered: when the center of mass of the body is at rest at the equilibrium point of the field generated by a generic mass distribution, and when it is placed on a circular orbit subject to a spherically symmetric potential. A complete analysis of the equilibrium configurations is carried out for both cases. First, we derive the conditions for the stable equilibria, and then we analyze the frequencies of oscillations around the equilibrium positions. In view of these results, we consider the problem of alignment of galaxies in clusters. After estimating the period of the oscillations induced on the galaxies by the tidal field of the cluster, we discuss the possible effect of resonances between stellar orbits inside the galaxy and the oscillations of the galaxy as a whole; this may be a mechanism responsible for producing an intracluster stellar population. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Cosmology in a brane-universe

This contribution presents the cosmological models with extra dimensions that have been recently elaborated, which assume that ordinary matter is confined on a surface, called brane, embedded in a higher dimensional spacetime. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The motion of a satellite in a ring potential

This investigation presents the orbital elements of a satellite moving in a circular ring potential. The ring is considered to be of infinitesimal thickness and of unit radius. The components of the perturbing accelerations due to the ring potential have been substituded into the Gauss form of Lagrange's planetary equations to yield the first-order approximations. The elements of the orbit have been expressed by means of Hansen coefficients. The results include the effects produced by the 2nd, 4th, 6th, and 8th spherical harmonics. Due to their importance we present separately the secular terms from the periodic ones. The general expressions for the orbital elements can be easily extended to include the effects produced by any other higher harmonic.List of Symbols semi-major axis - C _jK ⁿ (u, ) cosine functions ofu and - e eccentricity of the orbit - f sin² - inclination of the orbit - M mean anomaly - n mean motion - p semi-latus rectum of the orbit - R, S, andW components of the perturbing acceleration - r magnitude of position vector - S _jK ⁿ (u, ) sine functions ofu and - T time of periapse passage - u argument of latitude - U gravitational potential - V perturbing potential - G(M _r +m) (gravitational constant times the sum of the masses of ring and satellite) - _{n, k} coefficients ofR component of disturbing acceleration (functions off) - _{n, k} coefficients ofS andW components of disturbing acceleration (functions off) - mean anomaly at timet=0 - X ₀ ^{n, m} zero-order Hansen coefficients - argument of periapse - longitude of the ascending node     

Linear perturbations in a universe with a cosmological constant

There is now evidence that the cosmological constant Λ has a non-zero positive value. Alternative scenarios to a pure cosmological constant model are provided by quintessence, an effective negative pressure fluid permeating the Universe. Recent results indicate that the energy density ρ and the pressure p of this fluid are constrained by − ρ ≤ p ≲−0.6 ρ . As p =− ρ is equivalent to the pure cosmological constant model, it is appropriate to analyse this particular, but important, case further.
We study the linear theory of perturbations in a Friedmann–Robertson–Walker universe with a cosmological constant. We obtain the equations for the evolution of the perturbations in the fully relativistic case, for which we analyse the single-fluid and two-fluid cases. We obtain solutions to these equations in appropriate limits. We also study the Newtonian approximation. We find that for a positive cosmological constant universe (i) the perturbations will grow more slowly in the relativistic regime for a two-fluid composed of dark matter and radiation, and (ii) in the Newtonian regime the perturbations stop growing.     

Further results from a model for a thin field-aligned electron beam in a plasma

A spread in parallel beam velocity is found to have little effect on the previous results from the model by Dungey and Strangeway (1976). However, examination of the eigenfunctions for the same model indicates that perpendicular temperature may be the key to beam stability.     

On a Possibly Fundamental Principle in Chemistry as Viewed in a Cosmogonic Context

Subject to the condition that atoms be conserved – i.e. without nuclear transmutations – we conjecture that it is impossible to synthesise organic materials in appreciable quantity from inorganic materials without the intervention of biological systems. The restriction is not a consequence of a mystic quality in the laws of physics and chemistry but of the practical disposition of materials on the Earth and in the cosmos generally. It is a corollary that biology is the means by which an approximation to thermodynamic equilibrium is maintained in materials at temperatures ∼ 300 K. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Regular precessions of a gyrostatic satellite in a circular orbit

In the present paper, the regular precessions about the mass center are studied, for a Volterra-type gyrostatic satellite in a circular orbit under a Newtonian force field. All the possible regular precessions are determined.     

Estimating the significance of a signal in a multi-dimensional search

In experiments that are aimed at detecting astrophysical sources such as neutrino telescopes, one usually performs a search over a continuous parameter space (e.g. the angular coordinates of the sky, and possibly time), looking for the most significant deviation from the background hypothesis. Such a procedure inherently involves a “look elsewhere effect”, namely, the possibility for a signal-like fluctuation to appear anywhere within the search range. Correctly estimating the p-value of a given observation thus requires repeated simulations of the entire search, a procedure that may be prohibitively expansive in terms of CPU resources. Recent results from the theory of random fields provide powerful tools which may be used to alleviate this difficulty, in a wide range of applications. We review those results and discuss their implementation, with a detailed example applied for neutrino point source analysis in the IceCube experiment.     

Gravitational lensing by a rotating massive object in a plasma

The possibility that the cosmological constant is decaying as the observable universe grows is explored, and we define a cosmological parameter, depending of the vacuum energy and the universe radius, which should be presently ca. 122 orders of magnitude smaller than at the Planck epoch. From it, a new version of the Friedmann equation for a flat universe is obtained, which allows the estimation of the Hubble parameter at any epoch and the reconstruction of the expansion history. The main result is a quasi-linear expansion dynamics in concurrence with a number of previous works. This behavior is compatible with the main features of observational cosmology and avoids the horizon, flatness, cosmological constant, coincidence and age problems without the need of neither inflation nor initial fine-tuning.     

Two-dimensional equilibrium of a neutral sheet in a gravitational field

We solve the two-dimensional MHD-equations to find the equilibrium structure of a neutral sheet having its axis parallel to the gravitational field in an atmosphere. The evolution of an initially plane sheet which is a self-consistent, non-equilibrium solution of the MHD-equations, is followed until static equilibrium of forces is obtained. The effect of field line anchoring in a cool dense layer at the bottom of the sheet is taken into account.Presently at The Auroral Observatory, Boks 953, 9001 Tromsø, Norway.     

Translatory-rotatory motion of a gyrostat in a newtonian force field

The paper deals with a system made of two gyrostats attracting one another according to Newton's law. The Hamiltonian is expressed in the modified canonical variables of Delaunay and Serret-Andoyer. After straightforward eliminations and changes of variables, the problem is integrated in a particular case to the first order of perturbation by means of an infinitesimal contact transformation.