Coupled-channel calculation for cross section of fusion and barrier distribution of ${}^{16,17,18}\mbox{O} + {}^{16}\mbox{O}$ reactions

In this work, the effect of multi-phonon excitation on heavy-ion fusion reactions has been studied and fusion barrier distributions of energy intervals near and below the Coulomb barrier have been studied for ^16,17,18O + ¹⁶O reactions. The structure and deformation of nuclear projectiles have been studied. Given the adaptation of computations to experimental data, our calculations predict the behavior of reactions in intervals of energy in which experimental measurements are not available. In addition the S-factor for these reactions has been calculated. The results showed that the structure and deformation of a nuclear projectile are important factors. The S-factor, obtained in the coupled-channel calculations for the \({}^{16}\mbox{O} + {}^{16}\mbox{O}\), \({}^{17}\mbox{O} +{}^{16}\mbox{O}\) and \({}^{18}\mbox{O} +{}^{16}\mbox{O}\) reactions, showed good agreement with the experimental data and had a maximum value at an energy near 5, 4.5 and 4 MeV, respectively.     

Turbulence and Heating in the Flank and Wake Regions of a Coronal Mass Ejection

As a coronal mass ejection (CME) passes, the flank and wake regions are typically strongly disturbed. Various instruments, including the Large Angle and Spectroscopic Coronagraph (LASCO), the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA), and the Coronal Multi-channel Polarimeter (CoMP), observed a CME close to the east limb on 26 October 2013. A hot (\({\approx}\,10~\mbox{MK}\)) rising blob was detected on the east limb, with an initial ejection flow speed of \({\approx}\, 330~\mbox{km}\,\mbox{s}^{-1}\). The magnetic structures on both sides and in the wake of the CME were strongly distorted, showing initiation of turbulent motions with Doppler-shift oscillations enhanced from \({\approx}\, \pm 3~\mbox{km}\,\mbox{s}^{-1}\) to \({\approx}\, \pm 15~\mbox{km}\,\mbox{s}^{-1}\) and effective thermal velocities from \({\approx}\,30~\mbox{km}\,\mbox{s}^{-1}\) to \({\approx}\,60~\mbox{km}\,\mbox{s}^{-1}\), according to the CoMP observations at the Fe?xiii line. The CoMP Doppler-shift maps suggest that the turbulence behaved differently at various heights; it showed clear wave-like torsional oscillations at lower altitudes, which are interpreted as the antiphase oscillation of an alternating red/blue Doppler shift across the strands at the flank. The turbulence seems to appear differently in the channels of different temperatures. Its turnover time was \({\approx}\,1000\) seconds for the Fe 171 Å channel, while it was \({\approx}\,500\) seconds for the Fe 193 Å channel. Mainly horizontal swaying rotations were observed in the Fe 171 Å channel, while more vertical vortices were seen in the Fe 193 Å channel. The differential-emission-measure profiles in the flank and wake regions have two components that evolve differently: the cool component decreased over time, evidently indicating a drop-out of cool materials due to ejection, while the hot component increased dramatically, probably because of the heating process, which is suspected to be a result of magnetic reconnection and turbulence dissipation. These results suggest a new turbulence-heating scenario of the solar corona and solar wind.     

LOFAR Observations of Fine Spectral Structure Dynamics in Type IIIb Radio Bursts

Solar radio emission features a large number of fine structures demonstrating great variability in frequency and time. We present spatially resolved spectral radio observations of type IIIb bursts in the 30?–?80 MHz range made by the Low Frequency Array (LOFAR). The bursts show well-defined fine frequency structuring called “stria” bursts. The spatial characteristics of the stria sources are determined by the propagation effects of radio waves; their movement and expansion speeds are in the range of \((0.1\,\mbox{--}\,0.6)c\). Analysis of the dynamic spectra reveals that both the spectral bandwidth and the frequency drift rate of the striae increase with an increase of their central frequency. The striae bandwidths are in the range of \({\approx}\,(20\,\mbox{--}\,100)\) kHz and the striae drift rates vary from zero to \({\approx}\,0.3~\mbox{MHz}\,\mbox{s}^{-1}\). The observed spectral characteristics of the stria bursts are consistent with the model involving modulation of the type III burst emission mechanism by small-amplitude fluctuations of the plasma density along the electron beam path. We estimate that the relative amplitude of the density fluctuations is of \(\Delta n/n\sim10^{-3}\), their characteristic length scale is less than 1000 km, and the characteristic propagation speed is in the range of \(400\,\mbox{--}\,800~\mbox{km}\,\mbox{s}^{-1}\). These parameters indicate that the observed fine spectral structures could be produced by propagating magnetohydrodynamic waves.     

Quantum scattering of KCl with He/para-$\mbox{H}_{2}$: potential energy surface and rate coefficients at low temperature

We present new two- and four-dimensional potential energy surfaces for the KCl(\(\mbox{X}^{1} \varSigma ^{+}\))-He and KCl(\(\mbox{X}^{1} \varSigma ^{+}\))-para-H₂ systems calculated with the internuclear distances of KCl and H₂ frozen at their experimental minimum energy. The CCSD(T) level of theory with aug-cc-pVQZ/AQZP basis sets is used. The potential surfaces present well depths of about \(78~\mbox{cm}^{-1}\) and \(235~\mbox{cm}^{-1}\) below the dissociation limit of the above interacting systems respectively. With these potential surfaces, cross sections are obtained in the close coupling scheme and rate coefficients inferred by averaging the cross sections over a Maxwell-Boltzmann velocity distribution for temperature below 50 K. A propensity towards \(\Delta J = 1\) transitions is observed.     

The “FIP Effect” and the Origins of Solar Energetic Particles and of the Solar Wind

We find that the element abundances in solar energetic particles (SEPs) and in the slow solar wind (SSW), relative to those in the photosphere, show different patterns as a function of the first ionization potential (FIP) of the elements. Generally, the SEP and SSW abundances reflect abundance samples of the solar corona, where low-FIP elements, ionized in the chromosphere, are more efficiently conveyed upward to the corona than high-FIP elements that are initially neutral atoms. Abundances of the elements, especially C, P, and S, show a crossover from low to high FIP at \({\approx}\,10~\mbox{eV}\) in the SEPs but \({\approx}\,14~\mbox{eV}\) for the solar wind. Naively, this seems to suggest cooler plasma from sunspots beneath active regions. More likely, if the ponderomotive force of Alfvén waves preferentially conveys low-FIP ions into the corona, the source plasma that eventually will be shock-accelerated as SEPs originates in magnetic structures where Alfvén waves resonate with the loop length on closed magnetic field lines. This concentrates FIP fractionation near the top of the chromosphere. Meanwhile, the source of the SSW may lie near the base of diverging open-field lines surrounding, but outside of, active regions, where such resonance does not exist, allowing fractionation throughout the chromosphere. We also find that energetic particles accelerated from the solar wind itself by shock waves at corotating interaction regions, generally beyond 1 AU, confirm the FIP pattern of the solar wind.     

Spectropolarimetric Observations of Solar Noise Storms at Low Frequencies

A new high-resolution radio spectropolarimeter instrument operating in the frequency range of 15?–?85 MHz has recently been commissioned at the Radio Astronomy Field Station of the Indian Institute of Astrophysics at Gauribidanur, 100 km north of Bangalore, India. We describe the design and construction of this instrument. We present observations of a solar radio noise storm associated with Active Region (AR) 12567 in the frequency range of \({\approx}\,15\,\mbox{--}\,85~\mbox{MHz}\) during 18 and 19 July 2016, observed using this instrument in the meridian-transit mode. This is the first report that we are aware of in which both the burst and continuum properties are derived simultaneously. Spectral indices and degree of polarization of both the continuum radiation and bursts are estimated. It is found that

1. i)
   Type I storm bursts have a spectral index of \({\approx}\,{+}3.5\),
    
2. ii)
   the spectral index of the background continuum is \({\approx}\,{+}2.9\),
    
3. iii)
   the transition frequency between Type I and Type III storms occurs at \({\approx}\,55~\mbox{MHz}\),
    
4. iv)
   Type III bursts have an average spectral index of \({\approx}\,{-}2.7\),
    
5. v)
   the spectral index of the Type III continuum is \({\approx}\,{-}1.6\), and
    
6. vi)
   the degree of circular polarization of all Type I (Type III) bursts is \({\approx}\,90\%\) (\(30\%\)).
    

The results obtained here indicate that the continuum emission is due to bursts occurring in rapid succession. We find that the derived parameters for Type I bursts are consistent with suprathermal electron acceleration theory and those of Type III favor fundamental plasma emission.

     

Heights of Coronal Mass Ejections and Shocks Inferred from Metric and DH Type II Radio Bursts

A set of 27 continuous events that showed extension of metric Type-II radio bursts (m-Type IIs) into the deca–hectometric (DH) domain is considered. The coronal mass ejections (CMEs) associated with this type of continuous event supply more energy to produce space-weather effects than the CMEs that produce Type-II bursts in any one region. Since the heights of shock formation at the start of m-Type IIs were not available from observations, they were estimated using kinematic modeling in previous studies. In the present study, the heights of shock formation during metric and DH Type-II bursts are determined using two methods: i) the CME leading-edge method and ii) a method employing known electron-density models and start/end frequencies. In the first method, assuming that the shocks are generated by the associated CMEs at the leading edge, the height of the CME leading edge (LE) is calculated at the onset and end of m-Type IIs using the kinematic equation with constant acceleration or constant speed. The LE heights of CMEs that are assumed to be the heights of shock formation/end of nearly 79% of m-Type IIs are found to be within the acceptable range of \(1\,\mbox{--}\,3~\mbox{R}_{\odot}\). For other events, the heights are beyond this range, for which the shocks might either have been generated at the CME flanks/flare-blast waves, or the initial CME height might have been different. The CME/shock height at the onset and end of 17 DH Type IIs are found to be in the range of \(2\,\mbox{--}\,6~\mbox{R}_{\odot}\) and within \(30~\mbox{R}_{\odot}\), respectively. In addition, the CME LE heights from observations at the onset and end of metric/DH Type IIs are compared with the heights corresponding to the observed frequency that is determined using the known electron-density models, and they are in agreement with the model results. The heights are also estimated using the space speed available for 15 halo CMEs, and it is found that the difference is smaller at the m-Type II start/end (0.02 to \(0.66~\mbox{R}_{\odot}\)) and slightly greater at the DH Type II end (0.19 to \(1.94~\mbox{R}_{\odot}\)). Finally, the possibility of CME–streamer interactions at the start of DH Type IIs is checked, and it is found that many of the events with streamers have lower start frequencies. In addition, these results are discussed in comparison with the values reported in the literature. This study will be useful to find the source region of metric and DH Type IIs and to understand the CME-shock propagation.     

The Origin of Sequential Chromospheric Brightenings

Sequential chromospheric brightenings (SCBs) are often observed in the immediate vicinity of erupting flares and are associated with coronal mass ejections. Since their initial discovery in 2005, there have been several subsequent investigations of SCBs. These studies have used differing detection and analysis techniques, making it difficult to compare results between studies. This work employs the automated detection algorithm of Kirk et al. (Solar Phys. 283, 97, 2013) to extract the physical characteristics of SCBs in 11 flares of varying size and intensity. We demonstrate that the magnetic substructure within the SCB appears to have a significantly smaller area than the corresponding \(\mbox{H}\upalpha\) emission. We conclude that SCBs originate in the lower corona around \(0.1~R_{\odot}\) above the photosphere, propagate away from the flare center at speeds of \(35\,\mbox{--}\,85~\mbox{km}\,\mbox{s}^{-1}\), and have peak photosphere magnetic intensities of \(148\pm2.9~\mbox{G}\). In light of these measurements, we infer SCBs to be distinctive chromospheric signatures of erupting coronal mass ejections.     

Interferometric Observations of the Quiet Sun at 20 and 25 MHz in May 2014

We present the results of solar observations at 20 and 25 MHz with the Ukrainian T-shaped Radio telescope of the second modification (UTR-2) in the interferometric session from 27 May to 2 June 2014. In this case, the different baselines 225, 450, and 675 m between the sections of the east–west and north–south arms of UTR-2 were used. On 29 May 2014, strong sporadic radio emission consisting of Type III, Type II, and Type IV bursts was observed. On other days, there was no solar radio activity in the decameter range. We discuss the observation results of the quiet Sun. Fluxes and sizes of the Sun in east–west and north–south directions were measured. The average fluxes were 1050?–?1100 Jy and 1480?–?1570 Jy at 20 and 25 MHz, respectively. The angular sizes of the quiet Sun in equatorial and polar directions were \(55'\) and \(49'\) at 20 MHz and \(50'\) and \(42'\) at 25 MHz. The brightness temperatures of the radio emission were \({T_{\mathrm{b}}} = 5.1 \times{10^{5}}~\mbox{K}\) and \({T_{\mathrm{b}}} = 5.7 \times{10^{5}}~\mbox{K}\) at 20 and 25 MHz, respectively.     

Investigation on M-class Flare-Associated Coronal Mass Ejections with and Without DH Type II Radio Bursts

We perform a statistical analysis on 157 M-class soft X-ray flares observed during 1997?–?2014 with and without deca-hectometric (DH) type II radio bursts aiming at the reasons for the non-occurrence of DH type II bursts in certain events. All the selected events are associated with halo Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) detected by the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) / Large Angle Spectrometric and COronograph (LASCO). Out of 157 events, 96 (61%; “Group I”) events are associated with a DH type II burst observed by the Radio and Plasma Wave (WAVES) experiment onboard the Wind spacecraft and 61 (39%; “Group II”) events occur without a DH type II burst. The mean CME speed of Group I is \(1022~\mbox{km}/\mbox{s}\) and that of Group II is \(647~\mbox{km}/\mbox{s}\). It is also found that the properties of the selected M-class flares such as flare intensity, rise time, duration and decay time are greater for the DH associated flares than the non-DH flares. Group I has a slightly larger number (56%) of western events than eastern events (44%), whereas Group II has a larger number of eastern events (62%) than western events (38%). We also compare this analysis with the previous study by Lawrance, Shanmugaraju, and Vr?nak (Solar Phys. 290, 3365L, 2015) concerning X-class flares and confirm that high-intensity flares (X-class and M-class) have the same trend in the CME and flare properties. Additionally we consider aspects like acceleration and the possibility of CME-streamer interaction. The average deceleration of CMEs with DH type II bursts is weaker (\(a = - 4.39\mbox{ m}/\mbox{s}^{2}\)) than that of CMEs without a type II burst (\(a = -12.21\mbox{ m}/\mbox{s}^{2}\)). We analyze the CME-streamer interactions for Group I events using the model proposed by Mancuso and Raymond (Astron. Astrophys. 413, 363, 2004) and find that the interaction regions are the most probable source regions for DH type II radio bursts.     

A New Solar Imaging System for Observing High-Speed Eruptions: <Emphasis Type="Italic">Solar Dynamics Doppler Imager</Emphasis> (SDDI)

A new solar imaging system was installed at Hida Observatory to observe the dynamics of flares and filament eruptions. The system (Solar Dynamics Doppler Imager; SDDI) takes full-disk solar images with a field of view of \(2520~\mbox{arcsec} \times 2520~\mbox{arcsec}\) at multiple wavelengths around the \(\mathrm{H}\alpha\) line at 6562 Å. Regular operation was started in May 2016, in which images at 73 wavelength positions spanning from \(\mathrm{H}\alpha -9~\mathring{\mathrm{A}}\) to \(\mathrm{H}\alpha +9~\mathring{\mathrm{A}}\) are obtained every 15 seconds. The large dynamic range of the line-of-sight velocity measurements (\({\pm}\,400~\mbox{km}\,\mbox{s}^{-1}\)) allows us to determine the real motions of erupting filaments in 3D space. It is expected that SDDI provides unprecedented datasets to study the relation between the kinematics of filament eruptions and coronal mass ejections (CME), and to contribute to the real-time prediction of the occurrence of CMEs that cause a significant impact on the space environment of the Earth.     

Propagation of Coronal Mass Ejections Observed During the Rising Phase of Solar Cycle 24

In this study, we investigate the interplanetary consequences and travel time details of 58 coronal mass ejections (CMEs) in the Sun–Earth distance. The CMEs considered are halo and partial halo events of width \({>}\,120\)°. These CMEs occurred during 2009?–?2013, in the ascending phase of the Solar Cycle 24. Moreover, they are Earth-directed events that originated close to the centre of the solar disk (within about \(\pm30\)° from the Sun’s centre) and propagated approximately along the Sun–Earth line. For each CME, the onset time and the initial speed have been estimated from the white-light images observed by the LASCO coronagraphs onboard the SOHO space mission. These CMEs cover an initial speed range of \({\sim}\,260\,\mbox{--}\,2700~\mbox{km}\,\mbox{s}^{-1}\). For these CMEs, the associated interplanetary shocks (IP shocks) and interplanetary CMEs (ICMEs) at the near-Earth environment have been identified from in-situ solar wind measurements available at the OMNI data base. Most of these events have been associated with moderate to intense IP shocks. However, these events have caused only weak to moderate geomagnetic storms in the Earth’s magnetosphere. The relationship of the travel time with the initial speed of the CME has been compared with the observations made in the previous Cycle 23, during 1996?–?2004. In the present study, for a given initial speed of the CME, the travel time and the speed at 1 AU suggest that the CME was most likely not much affected by the drag caused by the slow-speed dominated heliosphere. Additionally, the weak geomagnetic storms and moderate IP shocks associated with the current set of Earth-directed CMEs indicate magnetically weak CME events of Cycle 24. The magnetic energy that is available to propagate CME and cause geomagnetic storm could be significantly low.     

Two-Step Filament Eruption During 14 – 15 March 2015

We present here an interesting two-step filament eruption during 14?–?15 March 2015. The filament was located in NOAA AR 12297 and associated with a halo Coronal Mass Ejection (CME). We use observations from the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) and Heliospheric Magnetic Imager (HMI) instruments onboard the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), and from the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) Large Angle and Spectrometric Coronagraph (LASCO). We also use \(\mbox{H}\upalpha\) data from the Global Oscillation Network Group (GONG) telescope and the Kanzelhoehe Solar Observatory. The filament shows a first step eruption on 14 March 2015 and it stops its rise at a projected altitude \({\approx}\,125~\mbox{Mm}\) on the solar disk. It remains at this height for \({\approx}\,12~\mbox{hrs}\). Finally it erupts on 15 March 2015 and produces a halo CME. We also find jet activity in the active region during both days, which could help the filament de-stabilization and eruption. The decay index is calculated to understand this two-step eruption. The eruption could be due to the presence of successive instability–stability–instability zones as the filament is rising.     

IRIS Observations of Spicules and Structures Near the Solar Limb

We have analyzed Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) spectral and slit-jaw observations of a quiet region near the South Pole. In this article we present an overview of the observations, the corrections, and the absolute calibration of the intensity. We focus on the average profiles of strong (Mg?ii h and k, C?ii and Si?iv), as well as of weak spectral lines in the near ultraviolet (NUV) and the far ultraviolet (FUV), including the Mg?ii triplet, thus probing the solar atmosphere from the low chromosphere to the transition region. We give the radial variation of bulk spectral parameters as well as line ratios and turbulent velocities. We present measurements of the formation height in lines and in the NUV continuum from which we find a linear relationship between the position of the limb and the intensity scale height. We also find that low forming lines, such as the Mg?ii triplet, show no temporal variations above the limb associated with spicules, suggesting that such lines are formed in a homogeneous atmospheric layer and, possibly, that spicules are formed above the height of \(2''\). We discuss the spatio-temporal structure of the atmosphere near the limb from images of intensity as a function of position and time. In these images, we identify p-mode oscillations in the cores of lines formed at low heights above the photosphere, slow-moving bright features in O?i and fast-moving bright features in C?ii. Finally, we compare the Mg?ii k and h line profiles, together with intensity values of the Balmer lines from the literature, with computations from the PROM57Mg non-LTE model, developed at the Institut d’ Astrophysique Spatiale, and estimated values of the physical parameters. We obtain electron temperatures in the range of \({\sim}\, 8000~\mbox{K}\) at small heights to \({\sim}\, 20\,000~\mbox{K}\) at large heights, electron densities from \(1.1\times 10^{11}\) to \(4\times 10^{10}~\mbox{cm}^{-3}\) and a turbulent velocity of \({\sim}\, 24~\mbox{km}\,\mbox{s}^{-1}\).     

The Most Intense Electron-Scale Current Sheets in the Solar Wind

Previous analysis of magnetohydrodynamic-scale currents in high-speed solar wind near 1 AU suggests that the most intense current-carrying structures occur at electron scales and are characterized by average current densities on the order of \(1~\mbox{pA}/\mbox{cm}^{2}\). Here, this prediction is verified by examining the effects of the measurement bandwidth and/or measurement resolution on the analysis of synthetic solar wind signals. Assuming Taylor’s hypothesis holds for the energetically dominant fluctuations at kinetic scales, the results show that when \(\nu_{c}\gg \nu_{b}\), where \(\nu_{c}\) is the measurement bandwidth and \(\nu_{b} \approx 1/3~\mbox{Hz}\) is the break frequency, the average scale of the most intense fluctuations in the current density proxy is approximately \(1/\nu_{c}\), and the average peak current density is a weakly increasing function that scales approximately like \(\nu_{c}^{0.1}\).     

GONG p-Mode Parameters Through Two Solar Cycles

We investigate the parameters of global solar p-mode oscillations, namely damping width \(\Gamma\), amplitude \(A\), mean squared velocity \(\langle v^{2}\rangle\), energy \(E\), and energy supply rate \(\mathrm{d}E/\mathrm{d}t\), derived from two solar cycles’ worth (1996?–?2018) of Global Oscillation Network Group (GONG) time series for harmonic degrees \(l=0\,\mbox{--}\,150\). We correct for the effect of fill factor, apparent solar radius, and spurious jumps in the mode amplitudes. We find that the amplitude of the activity-related changes of \(\Gamma\) and \(A\) depends on both frequency and harmonic degree of the modes, with the largest variations of \(\Gamma\) for modes with \(2400~\upmu\mbox{Hz}\le\nu\le3300~\upmu\mbox{Hz}\) and \(31\le l \le60\) with a minimum-to-maximum variation of \(26.6\pm0.3\%\) and of \(A\) for modes with \(2400~\upmu\mbox{Hz}\le\nu\le 3300~\upmu\mbox{Hz}\) and \(61\le l \le100\) with a minimum-to-maximum variation of \(27.4\pm0.4\%\). The level of correlation between the solar radio flux \(F_{10.7}\) and mode parameters also depends on mode frequency and harmonic degree. As a function of mode frequency, the mode amplitudes are found to follow an asymmetric Voigt profile with \(\nu_{\text{max}}=3073.59\pm0.18~\upmu\mbox{Hz}\). From the mode parameters, we calculate physical mode quantities and average them over specific mode frequency ranges. In this way, we find that the mean squared velocities \(\langle v^{2}\rangle\) and energies \(E\) of p modes are anticorrelated with the level of activity, varying by \(14.7\pm0.3\%\) and \(18.4\pm0.3\%\), respectively, and that the mode energy supply rates show no significant correlation with activity. With this study we expand previously published results on the temporal variation of solar p-mode parameters. Our results will be helpful to future studies of the excitation and damping of p modes, i.e., the interplay between convection, magnetic field, and resonant acoustic oscillations.     

Corotating Shock Waves and the Solar-wind Source of Energetic Ion bundances: Power Laws in $$/Q$Q$

We find that element abundances in energetic ions accelerated by shock waves formed at corotating interaction regions (CIRs) mirror the abundances of the solar wind modified by a decreasing power-law dependence on the mass-to-charge ratio \(A\)/\(Q\) of the ions. This behavior is similar in character to the well-known power-law dependence on \(A\)/\(Q\) of abundances in large gradual solar energetic particles (SEP). The CIR ions reflect the pattern of \(A\)/\(Q\), with \(Q\) values of the source plasma temperature or freezing-in temperature of 1.0?–?1.2 MK typical of the fast solar wind in this case. Thus the relative ion abundances in CIRs are of the form \((A\mbox{/}Q)^{a}\), where \(a\) is nearly always negative and evidently decreases with distance from the shocks, which usually begin beyond 1 AU. For one unusual historic CIR event where \(a \approx 0\), the reverse shock wave of the CIR seems to occur at 1 AU, and these abundances of the energetic ions become a direct proxy for the abundances of the fast solar wind.     

Fundamental Emission of Type III Bursts Produced in Non-Maxwellian Coronal Plasmas with Kappa-Distributed Background Particles

Detailed simulations based on quasi-linear theory are presented for fundamental ( $f_{\rm p}$ ) emission of type III bursts produced in non-Maxwellian, suprathermal, background coronal plasma by injection of energetic electrons during flares with a power-law or Maxwellian velocity distribution, where $f_{\rm p}$ is the electron plasma frequency. The background plasma is assumed to have a kappa (κ) distribution, as inferred from solar wind data and proposed by theories for the corona and solar wind. The predicted type III beam speeds, Langmuir wave levels, and the drift rate and flux of $f_{\rm p}$ emission are strongly sensitive to the presence of suprathermal background electrons in the corona. The simulations show the following results. i) Fast beams with speeds $v_{\rm b}>0.5c$ are produced for coronal background electrons with small κ (κ?5) by injected electrons with power-law spectra. ii) Moderately fast beams with $v_{\rm b} \approx0.3\,\mbox{--}\,0.5c$ are generated in coronal plasma with κ?8 by injections of power-law or Maxwellian electrons. iii) Slow beams with $v_{\rm b}<0.3c$ are produced for coronal background electrons with large κ (κ>8), including the asymptotic limit κ→∞ where the electrons are Maxwellian, for both power-law and Maxwellian injections. The observation of fast type III beams (with $v_{\rm b}>0.5c$ ) thus suggests that these beams are produced in coronal regions where the background electron distribution has small κ by injected electrons with power-law spectra, at least when such beams are observed. The simulations, from the viewpoint of type III bursts, thus support: i) the presence, at least sometimes, of suprathermal background electrons in the corona and the associated mechanisms for coronal heating and solar wind acceleration; ii) power-law spectra for injected energetic electrons, consistent with observations of such electrons in situ and of X-ray emission.     

Optical spectral decomposition of NGC 4051

Considering the host galaxy contribution, a spectral decomposition method is used to reanalyzed the archive data of optical spectra for a narrow line Seyfert 1 galaxy, NGC 4051. The light curves of the continuum f _λ (5100 Å), and Hβ, He ii, Fe ii emission lines are given. We find strong flux correlations between line emissions of Hβ, He ii, Fe ii and the continuum f _λ (5100 Å). These low-ionization lines (Hβ, Fe ii, He ii) have “inverse” intrinsic Baldwin effects. Using the methods of the cross-correlation function and the Monte Carlo simulation, we find the time delays, with respect to the continuum, are $3.45^{+12.0}_{-0.5}~\mbox{days}$ with the probability of 34 % for the intermediate component of Hβ, $6.45^{+13.0}_{-1.0}~\mbox{days}$ with the probability of 65 % for the intermediate component of He ii. From these intermediate components of Hβ and He ii, the calculated central black hole masses are $0.86^{+4.35}_{-0.33}\times 10^{6}$ and $0.82^{+3.12}_{-0.45}\times 10^{6}~M_{\odot }$ . We also find that the time delays for Fe ii are $9.7^{+3.0}_{-5.0}~\mbox{days}$ with the probability of 36 %, $8.45^{+1.0}_{-2.0}~\mbox{days}$ with the probability of 18 % for the total epochs and “subset 1” data, respectively. It seems that the Fe ii emission region is outside of the Hβ emission region.