Infrared extinction of heavy ion irradiated and amorphous olivine,with applications to interstellar dust

A smooth surface layer of highly disordered olivine, (Mg, Fe)₂SiO₄, has been produced by exposure of polished, natural olivine to a dose of 5×10¹⁶ cm^–2 of 1.5 MeV neon ions from a Van de Graaff accelerator. The dielectric functions of the disordered silicate in the wavelength range from 8 to 30 m have been determined from analysis of specular reflectance data, and extinction for Rayleigh particles of such disordered olivine has been calculated. Extinction measurements for amorphous olivine smoke collected on a substrate are also presented. The small particle extinctions of both kinds of structurally disordered olivine are shown to agree well with the main features of the absorption and emission spectra from interstellar grains in the 10 and 20 m region.     

Hard X-ray Microflares down to 3 keV

The excellent sensitivity, spectral and spatial resolution, and energy coverage down to 3 keV provided by the Reuven Ramaty High-Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager mission (RHESSI) allows for the first time the detailed study of the locations and the spectra of solar microflares down to 3 keV. During a one-hour quiet interval (GOES soft X-ray level around B6) on 2 May, 1:40–2:40 UT, at least 7 microflares occurred with the largest peaking at A6 GOES level. The microflares are found to come from 4 different active regions including one behind the west limb. At 7′′ resolution, some events show elongated sources, while others are unresolved point sources. In the impulsive phase of the microflares, the spectra can generally be fitted better with a thermal model plus power law above ∼ 6–7 keV than with a thermal only. The decay phase sometimes can be fitted with a thermal only, but in some events, power-law emission is detected late in the event indicating particle acceleration after the thermal peak of the event. The behind-the-limb microflare shows thermal emissions only, suggesting that the non-thermal power law emission originates lower, in footpoints that are occulted. The power-law fits extend to below 7 keV with exponents between −5 and −8, and imply a total non-thermal electron energy content between 10²⁶–10²⁷ erg. Except for the fact that the power-law indices are steeper than what is generally found in regular flares, the investigated microflares show characteristics similar to large flares. Since the total energy in non-thermal electrons is very sensitive to the value of the power law and the energy cutoff, these observations will give us better estimates of the total energy input into the corona. (Note that color versions of figures are on the accompanying CD-ROM.) Supplementary material to this paper is available in electronic form at http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/A:1022404512780     

Experimental impact cratering: A summary of the major results of the MEMIN research unit

This paper reviews major findings of the Multidisciplinary Experimental and Modeling Impact Crater Research Network (MEMIN). MEMIN is a consortium, funded from 2009 till 2017 by the German Research Foundation, and is aimed at investigating impact cratering processes by experimental and modeling approaches. The vision of this network has been to comprehensively quantify impact processes by conducting a strictly controlled experimental campaign at the laboratory scale, together with a multidisciplinary analytical approach. Central to MEMIN has been the use of powerful two-stage light-gas accelerators capable of producing impact craters in the decimeter size range in solid rocks that allowed detailed spatial analyses of petrophysical, structural, and geochemical changes in target rocks and ejecta. In addition, explosive setups, membrane-driven diamond anvil cells, as well as laser irradiation and split Hopkinson pressure bar technologies have been used to study the response of minerals and rocks to shock and dynamic loading as well as high-temperature conditions. We used Seeberger sandstone, Taunus quartzite, Carrara marble, and Weibern tuff as major target rock types. In concert with the experiments we conducted mesoscale numerical simulations of shock wave propagation in heterogeneous rocks resolving the complex response of grains and pores to compressive, shear, and tensile loading and macroscale modeling of crater formation and fracturing. Major results comprise (1) projectile–target interaction, (2) various aspects of shock metamorphism with special focus on low shock pressures and effects of target porosity and water saturation, (3) crater morphologies and cratering efficiencies in various nonporous and porous lithologies, (4) in situ target damage, (5) ejecta dynamics, and (6) geophysical survey of experimental craters.     

Solar Flux Emergence Simulations

We simulate the rise through the upper convection zone and emergence through the solar surface of initially uniform, untwisted, horizontal magnetic flux, with the same entropy as the nonmagnetic plasma, that is advected into a domain 48 Mm wide by 20 Mm deep. The magnetic field is advected upward by the diverging upflows and pulled down in the downdrafts, which produces a hierarchy of loop-like structures of increasingly smaller scale as the surface is approached. There are significant differences between the behavior of fields of 10 kG and 20 or 40 kG strength at 20 Mm depth. The 10 kG fields have little effect on the convective flows and show small magnetic-buoyancy effects, reaching the surface in the typical fluid rise time from 20 Mm depth of 32 hours. 20 and 40 kG fields significantly modify the convective flows, leading to long, thin cells of ascending fluid aligned with the magnetic field and their magnetic buoyancy makes them rise to the surface faster than the fluid rise time. The 20 kG field produces a large-scale magnetic loop that as it emerges through the surface leads to the formation of a bipolar, pore-like structure.     

Analysis of energetic electron drop-outs in the upper atmosphere of Titan during flybys in the dayside magnetosphere of Saturn

We discuss the high energy electron absorption signatures at Titan during the Cassini dayside magnetospheric encounters. We use the electron measurements of the Low Energy Measurement System of the Magnetospheric Imaging Instrument. We also examine the mass loading boundary based on the ion data of the Ion Mass Spectrometer sensor of the Cassini Plasma Spectrometer. The dynamic motion of the Kronian magnetopause and the periodic charged particle flux and magnetic field variations – associated with the magnetodisk of Saturn – of the subcorotating magnetospheric plasma creates a unique and complex environment at Titan. Most of the analysed flybys (like T25–T33 and T35–T51) cluster at similar Saturn Local Time positions. However the instantaneous direction of the incoming magnetospheric particles may change significantly from flyby to flyby due to the very different magnetospheric field conditions which are found upstream of Titan within the sets of encounters.The energetic magnetospheric electrons gyrate along the magnetic field lines of Saturn, and at the same time bounce between the mirror points of the magnetosphere. This motion is combined with the drift of the magnetic field lines. When these flux tubes interact with the upper atmosphere of Titan, their content is depleted over approximately an electron bounce period. These depletion signatures are observed as sudden drop-outs of the electron fluxes. We examined the altitude distribution of these drop-outs and concluded that these mostly detected in the exo-ionosphere of Titan and sometimes within the ionosphere.However there is a relatively significant scatter in the orbit to orbit data, which can be attributed to the which can be attributed to the variability of the plasma environment and as a consequence, the induced magnetosphere of Titan. A weak trend between the incoming electron fluxes and the measured drop-out altitudes has also been observed.     

N-body integrators with individual time steps from Hierarchical splitting

We review the implementation of individual particle time-stepping for N-body dynamics. We present a class of integrators derived from second order Hamiltonian splitting. In contrast to the usual implementation of individual time-stepping, these integrators are momentum conserving and show excellent energy conservation in conjunction with a symmetrized time step criterion. We use an explicit but approximate formula for the time symmetrization that is compatible with the use of individual time steps. No iterative scheme is necessary. We implement these ideas in the HUAYNO¹ code and present tests of the integrators and show that the presented integration schemes shows good energy conservation, with little or no systematic drift, while conserving momentum and angular momentum to machine precision for long term integrations.     

Turbulent viscosity and Λ-effect from numerical turbulence models

Homogeneous anisotropic turbulence simulations are used to determine off-diagonal components of the Reynolds stress tensor and its parameterization in terms of turbulent viscosity and Λ-effect. The turbulence is forced in an anisotropic fashion by enhancing the strength of the forcing in the vertical direction. The Coriolis force is included with a rotation axis inclined relative to the vertical direction. The system studied here is significantly simpler than that of turbulent stratified convection which has often been used to study Reynolds stresses. Certain puzzling features of the results for convection, such as sign changes or highly concentrated latitude distributions, are not present in the simpler system considered here. (© 2007 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Collisional theory of non-identical particles in a gravitational field

The statistical theory of partially elastic collisions and gravitational encounters is generalized for non-identical particles having different masses, internal densities, radii, elastic parameters or other properties. In those cases which are numerically studied, the differences in elasticity do not produce significant effects: essentially the same distribution of orbits is found if the mean value of the restitution coefficients is used for all the particles. Differences in the internal density lead to the equipartition of energy in the random motion, although this approximation is rather rough and affords for the lightest particles an overestimated energy. Mass differences which correspond to a dispersion of radii produce a complicated behaviour. The equipartition of the energy is occasionally possible, but if the mass differences are large, the velocity dispersion can be inversely proportional to the radius. Other distributions also occur.     

Emulating the OPAL equation of state

The equation of state for the structure of the Sun and stars has to be precise to allow comparisons with observations, i.e., helioseismic inversions of thermodynamic quantities. Among the two of the most popular formalisms are (1) the OPAL equation of state developed at Livermore and (2) the Mihalas-Hummer-Däppen (MHD) equation of state. While OPAL has a solid theoretical foundation, and matches the observational data better, the MHD formalism is more intuitive, easy to realize, and has the possibility of adjustable parameters. Furthermore, it an open-source product in contrast to the proprietary OPAL. Recently a version of MHD has been obtained by including the so-called “Plank-Larkin partition function” and by adding scattering-state terms. The resulting formalism matches OPAL rather well. Here, we report on the next logical step, the implementation of this MHD upgrade into the simple and popular CEFF equation of state. Such an implementation will make it a flexible and convenient tool, allowing an approximative on-line implementation of OPAL in solar and stellar models.