One-dimensional electric field structure of an outer gap accelerator – III. Location of the gap and the gamma-ray spectrum

We investigate a stationary particle acceleration zone in the outer magnetosphere of an obliquely rotating neutron star. The charge depletion as a result of global current causes a large electric field along the magnetic field lines. Migratory electrons and/or positrons are accelerated by this field to radiate curvature gamma-rays, some of which collide with the X-rays to materialize as pairs in the gap. As a result of this pair-production cascade, the replenished charges partially screen the electric field, which is self-consistently solved together with the distribution of particles and gamma-rays. If no current is injected at either of the boundaries of the accelerator, the gap is located around the so-called null surface, where the local Goldreich–Julian charge density vanishes. However, we find that the gap position shifts outwards (or inwards) when particles are injected at the inner (or outer) boundary. We apply the theory to the seven pulsars whose X-ray fields are known from observations. We show that the gap should be located near to or outside of the null surface for the Vela pulsar and PSR B1951+32, so that their expected GeV spectrum may be consistent with observations. We then demonstrate that the intrinsically large TeV flux from the outer gap of PSR B0540–69 is absorbed by the magnetospheric infrared photons, causing it to be undetectable. We also point out that the electrodynamic structure and the resultant GeV emission properties of millisecond pulsars are similar to young pulsars.     

Deformation Style of Slickenlines on Mélange Foliations and Change in Deformation Mechanisms Along Subduction Interface: Example from the Cretaceous Shimanto Belt, Shikoku, Japan

Accretionary complexes record the histories of changes in physical properties of sediments from unlithified sediments to lithified rocks through the deformation processes along subduction interface. The trench sediment suffered various deformation of particulate flow, pressure solution deformation and cataclastic faultings from ductile to brittle regime during accretion in subduction zone. Tectonic mélange is a characteristic rock in on-land accretionary complexes. The dominant deformation mechanism of tectonic mélange formation is pressure solution on the basis of microscopic observation. However, brittle slickenlines are also commonly observed on mélange foliations at the outcrop scale. Although the slickenlines as a brittle failure is common on the surface of the pressure solution foliation, the relationship of their kinetic are still uncertain. Detailed observations of slickenlines suggest that they are formed by reactivation of the mélange foliations, which indicates that the slickenlines are developed after formation of block in matrix texture characterized in mélange. In addition, mélange foliations are cut by faults related to underplating of oceanic materials. Therefore, formation of slickenlines occur before underplating in a relatively deep portion along subduction interface. On the basis of P-T conditions reported from other parts of the Cretaceous Shimanto Belt, the mélange formation and underplating is inferred to have occurred around the seismic front or within the seismogenic zone. The change in deformation mechanisms from pressure solution to brittle failure may be the first change in physical properties from plastic to brittle around seismic front.     

Temporal changes in the phytoplankton community of the southern basin of Lake Baikal over the last 24,000 years recorded by photosynthetic pigments in a sediment core

Photosynthetic pigments and other indicators of phytoplankton were analyzed in a dated undisturbed sediment core obtained from the southern basin of Lake Baikal to reveal temporal changes in the phytoplankton community in the lake through the last glacial/post-glacial transition. The sedimentation age of the core spans the last 24 ¹⁴C ka. Chlorophyll a, its derivatives, carotenoids and total organic carbon (TOC) started to increase after 15 ¹⁴C ka, and the onset of biogenic silica occurred at 10 ¹⁴C ka. This indicated that the post-glacial growth of diatoms was preceded by that of other phytoplankton groups. In the record of the pigments and TOC, a temporary decrease was observed in the period 11.5–10.5 ¹⁴C ka, corresponding to the Younger Dryas cold period. The similarity found between the depth profiles of pyropheophytin a and steryl chlorin esters formed through predation of phytoplankton by zooplankton and that of TOC suggested the important contribution of fecal pellets to sedimentary organic matter in the lake.     

A self-consistent model of the magnetosphere with centrifugal wind,II

In order to construct an axisymmetric model of magnetospheres with centrifugal wind, especially of the type II magnetosphere in Paper I (Shibata and Kaburaki, 1984), we present a numerical iterative scheme, in which a tenuous plasma with conspicuous trans-field motion are treated self-consistently with the electromagnetic field. Since the characteristic equations of the flow are solved, we are free from numerical diffusion terms obscuring the cause of the trans-field motion. The obtained properties of type II magnetosphere are as follows. (1) Plasma particles in fact flow out across the closed magnetic field lines. (2) The centrifugal force is exerted powerfully on the positive particles to form a disk-like structure, and the strong electric force makes the negative particles drift to the disk. (3) There appears the electric field parallel to the magnetic field,E , which is shown to be necessary for the steady wind to exist. Within the range of the model-parameters selected in this study we find two reasons for the appearance ofE : (1) plasma density decreases owing to the centrifugal acceleration, and it becomes insufficient to shieldE ; (2) the plasma with large inertia moves so as to reduce the charge separation, which would be necessary to shieldE .The notation and definitions are the same as in Paper I.     

A magnetodynamic mechanism for the heating of emerging magnetic flux tubes and loop flares

A new magnetodynamic model for loop flares is proposed to explain the following observational facts obtained from space during the last solar activity maximum: (i) Blueshifted lines of Ca xix and Fe xxv appear in some cases a minute or so before the initiation of impulsive bursts and relax into the unshifted lines with large width by the time of the onset of impulsive bursts, (ii) the hot source is formed by that time at the top of a loop-like structure, and confined there for a considerable time, and (iii) -ray line enhancement occurs at about the same time as hard X-ray spikes.In our model, the supply of energy to the loop top comes from below the chromosphere immediately before the flare (30 s-1 min before the hard X-ray impulsive bursts) in the form of the relaxing fronts of magnetic twist of opposite sign. These packets are thought to be built up in the process of loop emergence, stored at the footpoints of the loop below the photosphere, and released when the part of the feet floats up further. These released packets of magnetic twist drive the mass in the high chromosphere and transition zone into helical flows with pinch heating, and when these collide at the top of the loop, a very hot region appears there with a violent unwinding of the twists, resulting in the rapid dynamical annihilation of the magnetic energy, . Electrons and ions, raised to medium energies in the pinch at the incidence of the packets to the loop, are accelerated further by the Fermi-I mechanism between the approaching fronts of magnetic twist, and when B is weakened by unwinding they are released towards the chromosphere, and cause simultaneous -ray and hard X-ray bursts.     

Features of ocean microwave emission changed by wind at 6 GHz

Ocean microwave emissions changed by the ocean wind at 6 GHz were investigated by combining data of the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer (AMSR) and SeaWinds, both aboard the Advanced Earth Observation Satellite-II (ADEOS-II). This study was undertaken to improve the accuracy of the sea surface temperature (SST) retrieved from the AMSR 6 GHz data. Two quantities, 6V*(H*), were defined by the brightness temperature of the AMSR at 6 GHz with two polarizations (V-pol and H-pol), adjusted for atmospheric effects and with a calm ocean surface emission removed. These quantities represent a microwave emission change due to the ocean wind at 6 GHz. 6V* does not change in a region where 6H* is less than around 4 K (referred to as z0). Both 6V* and 6H* increase above z0. The 6V* to 6H* ratio, sp, varies with the relative wind directions. Furthermore, the sp values vary with the SST, between the northern and southern hemisphere, and seasonally. By specifying appropriate values for z0 and sp, the SST error between AMSR and buoy measurement became flat against 6H*, which is related to the ocean wind. Two extreme cases were observed: the Arabian Sea in summer and the Northwestern Atlantic Ocean in winter. The air-sea temperature difference in the former case was largely positive, while it was largely negative in the latter. The 6V* and 6H* relations differed from global conditions in both cases, which resulted in incorrect SSTs in both areas when global coefficients were applied.     

Why are spicules absent over plages and long under coronal holes?

One-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations are performed in order to examine the influence of initial atmospheric structures on the dynamics of spicules. This is an extended version of our previous spicule theory: spicules are produced by the shock wave (MHD slow mode shock) which originates from a bright point appearance (sudden pressure increase) at the network in the photosphere or in the low chromosphere. Simulation results well reproduce the observational facts that spicules are absent over plages and long under coronal holes. The physical reason is that the growth of a shock wave during its propagation through the chromosphere is small in plage regions and large in coronal hole regions, since the growth of a shock is determined by the density ratio ( _{h 0}/ _c ) between the bright point and the corona. An empirical formula H _max ( _{h 0}/ _c )^0.46 is obtained, where H _max is the maximum height of spicules above the transition region. The cross-section of the vertical magnetic flux tube is assumed to be constant in the numerical simulations.     

Peridotites from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge at 43° N and their petrogenetic relation to abyssal tholeiites

Whole-rock, major and trace element analyses and microprobe mineral analyses were conducted on serpentinized peridotites recovered from the walls of a MAR (Mid-Atlantic Ridge) 43° N fracture zone. These peridotites are extensively serpentinized; serpentine usually makes up 30–100 vol. percent of the bulk rocks. The relict minerals observed consist mainly of olivine and orthopyroxene with subordinate amounts of clinopyroxene and brown spinel. The range in olivine composition is very limited (Fo_91–92). Orthopyroxene forms large, anhedral crystals with clinopyroxene exsolution lamellae and shows undulose extinction with bent cleavages and lamellae. Broad beam microprobe analyses indicate that the composition range of orthopyroxene is also limited (En_89.1–87.6Fs_8.2-8.0Wo_2.7–4.4; Al₂O₃=1.82–2.64 wt%; Cr₂O₃=0.63–0.88 wt%). Clinopyroxene tends to fringe large orthopyroxene crystals or fills the interstices between them. The Mg/Fe ratios of clinopyroxene are practically constant; however, the Ca/(Ca + Mg + Fe) ratios range from 0.48 to 0.45. The Cr/(Cr+Al) and Mg/(Mg+ Fe²⁺) ratios of brown spinel range from 0.57 to 0.36 and 0.69 to 0.56, respectively. The geothermometers utilizing coexisting spinel lherzolite mineral assemblages suggest that the MAR 43° N peridotites attained equilibrium at temperatures from 1100° to 1250° C.Peridotites recovered from the ocean floor are generally considered to have been subjected to partial melting processes and are regarded as residues left after primary magma was removed. Major element chemistry of the MAR 43° N peridotites are compared with those of the ocean-floor ultramafic tectonites reported previously and used together with those published data to demonstrate that the major element abundances of the oceanfloor peridotites define an average trend which is compatible with removal of primary magma from these peridotites at moderate pressures (10–15 kb). Then, the most primitive abyssal tholeiite glasses could be produced by ca. 10% olivine fractionation of such primary magma. Extensive fractionation of olivine and/or orthopyroxene from picritic liquids which are in equilibrium with the lherzolitic or harzburgitic mantle sources at higher pressures (>20 kb) could not yield the majority of the most primitive abyssal tholeiite glasses.     

Abyssal tholeiites from the Oceanographer Fracture Zone

Unusual effects have been discovered in the major element phase relations of basalts from the Oceanographer Fracture Zone (OFZ) which suggest that magma mixing of primitive basalt with the differentiation residue of a previous batch of primitive magma has occurred. These effects include a reversal in mineral crystallization sequence which cannot happen during normal differentiation processes or be explained by any plausible change in physical conditions. This unusual effect is encountered as a result of curvature in composition space of the liquid-line-of-descent equilibria involving olivine, plagioclase, and high-calcium clinopyroxene. Mixing of magmas at different stages of their evolution produces mixtures that do not lie on the curved liquid-line-of-descent. Observation of such anomalous compositions in the OFZ suite supplements accumulating petrographic and trace-element geochemistry evidence that magma mixing is an important petrogenetic process. Mixing of fractionated residual liquids can produce mixtures which are either superheated or supercooled depending on the sense of ‘thermal curvature’ of the liquid-line-of-descent. Both senses are encountered in the tholeiitic system, and this effect may exert a qualitative control on the crystallization texture of the mixture. A comparison of approximately 2,000 abyssal tholeiite compositions to the experimental liquid-line-of-descent reveals that erupted differentiates which would be expected from advanced fractionation are scarce. Just this sort of phenomenon (the ‘perched’ steady state) was proposed by O'Hara (1977) as an earmark of the operation of a continuously fractionating magma chamber into which fresh magma is periodically remixed.