Use of the FITS World Coordinate System by STEREO/SECCHI

The World Coordinate System (WCS) is a standard for embedding coordinate information in a Flexible Image Transport System (FITS) header. Its first extensive use within solar physics is by the Sun Earth Connections Coronal and Heliospheric Investigation (SECCHI) telescope suite onboard the Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO). The WCS formalism assists in SECCHI data analysis in several ways: First of all, the spherical effects associated with the extremely wide fields-of-view of the Heliospheric Imager (HI) telescopes can be handled in a completely unambiguous and standard fashion. Of particular importance is that WCS positional keywords allow spacecraft-ephemeris information to be embedded within the FITS header without depending on mission-specific keywords. Ephemeris data is critical to the three-dimensional analysis that the STEREO mission is designed for. We also show how the WCS software in SolarSoft\textsf{SolarSoft} can be used to relate STEREO data to other missions such as the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO). The ability of WCS to support a parallel celestial right ascension (R.A.)/declination (Dec) coordinate system and the use of WCS for COR1 synoptic maps are also discussed. The advantages that STEREO derived from WCS can equally be applied to other solar missions, in particular Solar Orbiter, and should be adopted by all future missions.     

A Quantitative Model of Energy Release and Heating by Time-dependent,Localized Reconnection in a Flare with Thermal Loop-top X-ray Source

We present a quantitative model of the magnetic energy stored and then released through magnetic reconnection for a flare on 26 February 2004. This flare, well observed by RHESSI and TRACE, shows evidence of non-thermal electrons for only a brief, early phase. Throughout the main period of energy release there is a super-hot (T?30 MK) plasma emitting thermal bremsstrahlung atop the flare loops. Our model describes the heating and compression of such a source by localized, transient magnetic reconnection. It is a three-dimensional generalization of the Petschek model, whereby Alfvén-speed retraction following reconnection drives supersonic inflows parallel to the field lines, which form shocks: heating, compressing, and confining a loop-top plasma plug. The confining inflows provide longer life than a freely expanding or conductively cooling plasma of similar size and temperature. Superposition of successive transient episodes of localized reconnection across a current sheet produces an apparently persistent, localized source of high-temperature emission. The temperature of the source decreases smoothly on a time scale consistent with observations, far longer than the cooling time of a single plug. Built from a disordered collection of small plugs, the source need not have the coherent jet-like structure predicted by steady-state reconnection models. This new model predicts temperatures and emission measure consistent with the observations of 26 February 2004. Furthermore, the total energy released by the flare is found to be roughly consistent with that predicted by the model. Only a small fraction of the energy released appears in the super-hot source at any one time, but roughly a quarter of the flare energy is thermalized by the reconnection shocks over the course of the flare. All energy is presumed to ultimately appear in the lower-temperature (T?20 MK) post-flare loops. The number, size, and early appearance of these loops in TRACE’s 171 Å band are consistent with the type of transient reconnection assumed in the model.     

How Can a Negative Magnetic Helicity Active Region Generate a Positive Helicity Magnetic Cloud?

The geoeffective magnetic cloud (MC) of 20 November 2003 was associated with the 18 November 2003 solar active events in previous studies. In some of these, it was estimated that the magnetic helicity carried by the MC had a positive sign, as did its solar source, active region (AR) NOAA 10501. In this article we show that the large-scale magnetic field of AR 10501 has a negative helicity sign. Since coronal mass ejections (CMEs) are one of the means by which the Sun ejects magnetic helicity excess into interplanetary space, the signs of magnetic helicity in the AR and MC must agree. Therefore, this finding contradicts what is expected from magnetic helicity conservation. However, using, for the first time, correct helicity density maps to determine the spatial distribution of magnetic helicity injections, we show the existence of a localized flux of positive helicity in the southern part of AR 10501. We conclude that positive helicity was ejected from this portion of the AR leading to the observed positive helicity MC.     

Astrophysical boosters

Constraints are derived on the acceleration of charges in shocks to highly relativistic energies. When applied to the extended extragalactic radio sources and to the cosmic rays, they cast doubt on the mechanism of ‘in-situ acceleration’, both for energy, entropy and statistical mechanics reasons.     

Late stages of the evolution of close binaries

Close binaries can evolve through various ways of interaction into compact objects (white dwarfs, neutron stars, black holes). Massive binary systems (mass of the primaryM ₁ larger than 14 to 15M ₀) are expected to leave, after the first stage of mass transfer a compact component orbiting a massive star. These systems evolve during subsequent stages into massive X-ray binaries. Systems with initial large periode evolve into Be X-ray binaries.Low mass X-ray sources are probably descendants of lower mass stars, and various channels for their production are indicated. The evolution of massive close binaries is examined in detail and different X-ray stages are discussed. It is argued that a first X-ray stage is followed by a reverse extensive mass transfer, leading to systems like SS 433, Cir X1. During further evolution these systems would become Wolf-Rayet runaways. Due to spiral in these system would then further evolve into ultra short X-ray binaries like Cyg X-3.Finally the explosion of the secondary will in most cases disrupt the system. In an exceptional case the system remains bound, leading to binary pulsars like PSR 1913+16. In such systems the orbit will shrink due to gravitational radiation and finally the two neutron stars will coalesce. It is argued that the millisecond pulsar PSR 1937+214 could be formed in this way.A complete scheme starting from two massive ZAMS stars, ending with a millisecond pulsar is presented.Paper presented at the Lembang-Bamberg IAU Colloquium No. 80 on Double Stars: Physical Properties and Generic Relations, held at Bandung, Indonesia 3–7 June, 1983.     

A geometrical depolarization of pulsar radiation

It is assumed that pulsar radiation originates in a polar cap region and that the emission mechanism is curvature radiation. It is further assumed the radiation reaching an observer at any one time may represent contributions from several particle bunches moving relativistically along different magnetic field lines and radiating mutually incoherently. These assumptions are used to explanation of the minimum of linear polarization appearing near the profile centre of some pulsars.The National Radio Astronomy Observatory is operated by the Associated Universities Inc., under contract with the National Science Foundation.     

The effect of particle size and porosity on spectral contrast in the mid-infrared

Contrary to previous work, we find that the decreasing intensity of fundamental molecular vibration bands with decreasing particle size is due primarily to increasing porosity of the finer particle size ranges, rather than to particle size per se. This implies that laser reflectance measurements from orbiting spacecraft should avoid loss of spectral contrast for fine particulate surfaces, because such measurements near zero phase angle will benefit from the opposition effect.     

Structure and dynamics of the Bok globule B335

CO maps of the Bok globule B335 are presented and used to derive its density profile, mass distribution, and rotational velocity structure. It is found that the cloud is in nearly hydrostatic equilibrium with a density profile that varies roughly as r^?1 in the core and r^?3 in the envelope. The observed rotation is unimportant in the force balance at the present stage of evolution.