Thorough analysis of input physics in CESAM and CLÉS codes

This contribution is not about the quality of the agreement between stellar models computed by CESAM and CLÉS codes, but more interesting, on what ESTA-Task 1 run has taught us about these codes and about the input physics they use. We also quantify the effects of different implementations of the same physics on the seismic properties of the stellar models, that in fact is the main aim of ESTA experiments.     

Étude cinématique de la galaxie barrée NGC 5383

We present some observational results derived from plates taken with the nebular spectrograph at the 1.93-m telescope of the Observatoire de Haute Provence. The dispersion is 35 Å mm^?1 and the resolution is 85″ per mm. Radial velocities were measured at different points in the nucleus and in the bar. The nucleus is composed of two elements, of 5″ and 12″ diameter, inside a ring of radius 2 kpc. Radial velocities around the ring show a well-defined sinusoid with a maximum displaced about 15° from that predicted from the geometry of the outer parts of the galaxy. We can explain this displacement by a contraction velocity of 43 km s^?1. In the bar the kinematics is quite complex. The slit position (roughly aligned with the bar) was slightly different for each of the four plates taken. For those which bisect the nucleus the velocity field is symmetric, with a sharp discontinuity of 50 km s^?1 between the nucleus and the bar. The maximum velocity is not reached in our field of observation. Solid body rotation cannot be accepted. Spectra along the edge of the nucleus provides evidence for transverse motions in the bar of 100 km s^?1 at 4 kpc from the center. The rotation curve is drawn; in the hypothesis of a radial motion in the bar we have calculated the distribution of mass according to the method of Burbidge and Prendergast inside a 14 kpc radius; the mass is 10¹⁰ M _⊙. The iso-intensity tracings clearly show the presence of the two nuclear components, the absence of [Nii] emission on the north-west side of the bar and the absence of Hα in the south-west side. The ratio Hα/[Nii] between 2 and 5 at several spots indicates that Hii regions are highly excited in the nucleus and at the extreme end of the bar. The region of the bar where the ratio is less than 1 suggests high excitation by collision of energetic particle perhaps coming from the nucleus.     

Nonlinear Viscous Damping of Surface AlfvÉn Waves in Polar Coronal Holes

We quantitatively re-examine the nonlinear viscous damping of surface Alfvén waves in polar coronal holes, using recently reported observational data on electron density and temperature and the magnetic field spreading near the edges. It is found that in the nonlinear regime the viscous damping of surface Alfvén waves becomes a viable mechanism of solar coronal plasma heating when strong spreading of magnetic field is taken into account. Our estimations confirm that coronal heating is more pronounced in the nonlinear case than in the linear one in presence of magnetic field spreading.     

Dissipative MHD solutions for resonant AlfvÉn waves in 1-dimensional magnetic flux tubes

The present paper extends the analysis by Sakurai, Goossens, and Hollweg (1991) on resonant Alfvén waves in nonuniform magnetic flux tubes. It proves that the fundamental conservation law for resonant Alfvén waves found in ideal MHD by Sakurai, Goossens, and Hollweg remains valid in dissipative MHD. This guarantees that the jump conditions of Sakurai, Goossens, and Hollweg, that connect the ideal MHD solutions for _r , andP across the dissipative layer, are correct. In addition, the present paper replaces the complicated dissipative MHD solutions obtained by Sakurai, Goossens, and Hollweg for _r , andP in terms of double integrals of Hankel functions of complex argument of order with compact analytical solutions that allow a straightforward mathematical and physical interpretation. Finally, it presents an analytical dissipative MHD solution for the component of the Lagrangian displacement in the magnetic surfaces perpendicular to the magnetic field lines which enables us to determine the dominant dynamics of resonant Alfvén waves in dissipative MHD.     

TWO-FLUID MODEL FOR HEATING OF THE SOLAR CORONA AND ACCELERATION OF THE SOLAR WIND BY HIGH-FREQUENCY ALFVÉN WAVES

A model of the solar corona and wind is developed which includes for the first time the heating and acceleration effects of high-frequency Alfvén waves in the frequency range between 1 Hz and 1 kHz. The waves are assumed to be generated by the small-scale magnetic activity in the chromospheric network. The wave dissipation near the gyro-frequency, which decreases with increasing solar distance, leads to strong coronal heating. The resulting heating function is different from other artificial heating functions used in previous model calculations. The associated thermal pressure-gradient force and wave pressure-gradient force together can accelerate the wind to high velocities, such as those observed by Helios and Ulysses. Classical Coulomb heat conduction is also considered and turns out to play a role in shaping the temperature profiles of the heated protons. The time-dependent two-fluid (electrons and protons) model equations and the time-dependent wave-spectrum equation are numerically integrated versus solar distance out to about 0.3 AU. The solutions finally converge and settle on time-stationary profiles which are discussed in detail. The model computations can be made to fit the observed density profiles of a polar coronal hole and polar plume with the sonic point occurring at 2.4 R and 3.2 R , respectively. The solar wind speeds obtained at 63 R are 740 km s^-1 and 540 km s^-1; the mass flux is 2.1 and 2.2 × 10⁸ cm^-2 s^-1 (normalized to 1 AU), respectively. The proton temperature increases from a value of 4 × 10⁵ K at the lower boundary to 2 × 10⁶ K in the corona near 2 R .     

Minima de L'intégrale D'action du Problème Newtoniende 4 Corps de Masses Égales Dans R3: Orbites 'Hip-Hop'

We consider the problem of 4 bodies of equal masses in R ³ for the Newtonian r⁻¹ potential. We address the question of the absolute minima of the action integral among (anti)symmetric loops of class H ¹ whose period is fixed. It is the simplest case for which the results of [4] (corrected in [5]) do not apply: the minima cannot be the relative equilibria whose configuration is an absolute minimum of the potential among the configurations having a given moment of inertia with respect to their center of mass. This is because the regular tetrahedron cannot have a relative equilibrium motion in R ³ (see [2]). We show that the absolute minima of the action are not homographic motions. We also show that if we force the configuration to admit a certain type of symmetry of order 4, the absolute minimum is a collisionless orbit whose configuration ‘hesitates’ between the central configuration of the square and the one of the tetrahedron. We call these orbits ‘hip-hop’. A similar result holds in case of a symmetry of order 3 where the central configuration of the equilateral triangle with a body at the center of mass replaces the square. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.