STEREO Observations of Energetic Ions in Corotating Interaction Regions During the May 2007 Solar Events

Solar Physics - Elemental composition and energy spectra of ～?0.1?–?1.0 MeV/n heavy ions were analyzed in two corotating interaction region (CIR) events...     

Scientific objectives and selection of targets for the SMART-1 Infrared Spectrometer (SIR)

The European SMART-1 mission to the Moon, primarily a testbed for innovative technologies, was launched in September 2003 and will reach the Moon in 2005. On board are several scientific instruments, including the point-spectrometer SMART-1 Infrared Spectrometer (SIR). Taking into account the capabilities of the SMART-1 mission and the SIR instrument in particular, as well as the open questions in lunar science, a selection of targets for SIR observations has been compiled. SIR can address at least five topics: (1) Surface/regolith processes; (2) Lunar volcanism; (3) Lunar crust structure; (4) Search for spectral signatures of ices at the lunar poles; and (5) Ground truth and study of geometric effects on the spectral shape. For each topic we will discuss specific observation modes, necessary to achieve our scientific goals. The majority of SIR targets will be observed in the nadir-tracking mode. More than 100 targets, which require off-nadir pointing and off-nadir tracking, are planned. It is expected that results of SIR observations will significantly increase our understanding of the Moon. Since the exact arrival date and the orbital parameters of the SMART-1 spacecraft are not known yet, a more detailed planning of the scientific observations will follow in the near future.     

Ozone variability

The data base for the ozone total amount and the vertical distribution is considered. On examination it becomes evident that the analysis of the global data set of relatively short duration must be combined with that of single stations with long series. It is found that the strong positive trend during the sixties could be attributable to the effect of changes in the general circulation and the associated influence on ozone transport. However, the NO_x injection into the stratosphere by the bomb tests in the late fifties and the early sixties cannot be ruled out as a cause either. The ozone content at different levels in the stratosphere is influenced by circulation patterns on different scales and thus gives different types of information. A solar cycle influence on the ozone content in the upper stratosphere seems—if the contribution of volcanic disturbance is also taken into consideration—compatible with the observational series at Arosa. However, due to the noisy character of the ozone concentration course at that level it is not possible to derive any reliable long-term trend.     

MHD flow of an elasto-viscous fluid past a porous flat plate

An analytical study is performed to examine the laminar flow of an electrically-conducting elasto-viscous fluid (Walters's liquidB) past an infinite porous flat plate to a step function change in suction velocity in the presence of a transverse magnetic field. The influence of the various parameters, entering in the problem, on the velocity field and shearing stress is extensively discussed.     

Material screening and selection for XENON100

Results of the extensive radioactivity screening campaign to identify materials for the construction of XENON100 are reported. This dark matter search experiment is operated underground at Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso (LNGS), Italy. Several ultra sensitive High Purity Germanium detectors (HPGe) have been used for gamma ray spectrometry. Mass spectrometry has been applied for a few low mass plastic samples. Detailed tables with the radioactive contaminations of all screened samples are presented, together with the implications for XENON100.     

New open-source approaches to the modeling of stellar collapse and the formation of black holes

We present new approaches to the simulation of stellar collapse, the formation of black holes, and explosive core-collapse supernova nucleosynthesis that build upon open-source codes and microphysics. We discuss the new spherically-symmetric general-relativistic (GR) collapse code GR1D that is endowed with an approximate 1.5D treatment of rotation, comes with multiple nuclear equations of state, and handles neutrinos with a multi-species leakage scheme. Results from a first set of spinning black hole formation simulations are presented. We go on to discuss the derivative code GR1D+N which is tuned for calculations of explosive nucleosynthesis and includes a NSE/non-NSE equation of state treatment, and a nuclear reaction network. We present sample results showing GR1D+N??s performance in reproducing previous results with thermal-bomb-driven explosions. Finally, we introduce the 3?+?1 GR Zelmani core collapse simulation package and present first results obtained in its application to the 3D modeling of failing core-collapse supernovae.     

First lunar wake passage of ARTEMIS: Discrimination of wake effects and solar wind fluctuations by 3D hybrid simulations

The spacecraft P1 of the new ARTEMIS (Acceleration, Reconnection, Turbulence, and Electrodynamics of the Moon's Interaction with the Sun) mission passed the lunar wake for the first time on February 13, 2010. We present magnetic field and plasma data of this event and results of 3D hybrid simulations. As the solar wind magnetic field was highly dynamic during the passage, a simulation with stationary solar wind input cannot distinguish whether distortions were caused by these solar wind variations or by the lunar wake; therefore, a dynamic real-time simulation of the flyby has been performed. The input values of this simulation are taken from NASA OMNI data and adapted to the P1 data, resulting in a good agreement between simulation and measurements. Combined with the stationary simulation showing non-transient lunar wake structures, a separation of solar wind and wake effects is achieved. An anisotropy in the magnitude of the plasma bulk flow velocity caused by a non-vanishing magnetic field component parallel to the solar wind flow and perturbations created by counterstreaming ions in the lunar wake are observed in data and simulations. The simulations help to interpret the data granting us the opportunity to examine the entire lunar plasma environment and, thus, extending the possibilities of measurements alone: A comparison of a simulation cross section to theoretical predictions of MHD wave propagation shows that all three basic MHD modes are present in the lunar wake and that their expansion governs the lunar wake refilling process.     

GAUGE: the GrAnd Unification and Gravity Explorer

The GAUGE (GrAnd Unification and Gravity Explorer) mission proposes to use a drag-free spacecraft platform onto which a number of experiments are attached. They are designed to address a number of key issues at the interface between gravity and unification with the other forces of nature. The equivalence principle is to be probed with both a high-precision test using classical macroscopic test bodies, and, to lower precision, using microscopic test bodies via cold-atom interferometry. These two equivalence principle tests will explore string-dilaton theories and the effect of space–time fluctuations respectively. The macroscopic test bodies will also be used for intermediate-range inverse-square law and an axion-like spin-coupling search. The microscopic test bodies offer the prospect of extending the range of tests to also include short-range inverse-square law and spin-coupling measurements as well as looking for evidence of quantum decoherence due to space–time fluctuations at the Planck scale.     

Orbital evolution and orbital phase resolved spectroscopy of the HMXB pulsar 4U 1538-52 with RXTE-PCA and BeppoSAX

We report here results from detailed timing and spectral studies of the high mass X-ray binary pulsar 4U 1538-52 over several binary periods using observations made with the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) and BeppoSAX satellites. Pulse timing analysis with the 2003 RXTE data over two binary orbits confirms an eccentric orbit of the system. Combining the orbitial parameters determined from this observation with the earlier measurements we did not find any evidence of orbital decay in this X-ray binary. We have carried out orbital phase resolved spectroscopy to measure changes in the spectral parameters with orbital phase, particularly the absorption column density and the iron line flux. The RXTE-PCA spectra in the 3–20 keV energy range were fitted ∼6.4 keV, whereas the BeppoSAX spectra needed only a power law and Gaussian emission line at ∼6.4 keV in the restricted energy range of 0.3–10.0 keV. An absorption along the line of sight was included for both the RXTE and BeppoSAX data. The variation of the free spectral parameters over the binary orbit was investigated and we found that the variation of the column density of absorbing material in the line of sight with orbital phase is in reasonable agreement with a simple model of a spherically symmetric stellar wind from the companion star.