Dynamics of the boundary of the penetration of solar energetic particles to Earth’s magnetosphere according to <Emphasis Type="Italic">CORONAS-F</Emphasis> data

The dynamics of the boundary of the penetration of solar energetic particles (electrons and protons) to Earth’s magnetosphere during solar flares and related geomagnetic disturbances in November 2001 and October–November 2003 is analyzed using CORONAS-F data. The relationship between the penetration boundary, the geomagnetic activity indices, and the local magnetic time is investigated. The correlation coefficient between the invariant latitude of the penetration boundary and the K _p and D _st indices for electrons with energies ranging from 0.3 to 0.6 MeV in the dayside sector is demonstrated to be higher than that in the nightside sector. The correlation coefficient for protons with energies from 1 to 5 MeV is higher in the nightside sector as compared to the dayside sector. For protons with energies from 50 to 90 MeV, the correlation is high at all MLT.     

Ultraviolet, hard X-ray, and gamma-ray emission of solar flares recorded by VUSS-L and SONG instruments in 2001–2003

The results of simultaneous measurements of variations of UV radiation (in a band near the hydrogen L_α line, 121.6 nm) and hard X-ray and gamma-ray radiation (50 keV-200 MeV) performed by the VUSS-L and SONG instruments, respectively, onboard the CORONAS-F spacecraft are presented for periods of solar flares. Variations in the L_α ultraviolet radiation during the impulsive phase of a flare are shown to be synchronous with those of hard X-ray radiation. Temporal variations of UV and X-ray fluxes correspond to the progressive heating of higher and higher regions of the solar atmosphere and the energy transfer from the lower layers of the solar atmosphere to the coronal areas of flare regions. The energy of electrons in beams arising during the impulsive phase of flares can be as high as 500 keV. The velocity of the energy propagation from the regions of its release to the upper layers of the solar atmosphere can reach several tens of kilometers per second.     

On the ground level enhancement beginning

Based on our analysis of the data fromthe global network of neutronmonitors for several events, we have found the times of the first increases in count rate at individual stations that precede the main solar cosmic-ray enhancement. The onset time of proton acceleration at the Sun has been determined from the appearance of a broad gamma-ray line with its maximum near 70 MeV that is generated during the decay of neutral pions, which, in turn, are produced when protons with energies above 300 MeV interact with the solar atmosphere. The time of the first recording of energetic protons at the Earth is delayed relative to the time at which these protons appeared at the Sun by 60–300 s, i.e., by a value comparable to the difference between the direct photon and particle propagation times. At least two conclusions follow from the existence of such “precursors”. First, the protons begin to escape from the solar atmosphere into interplanetary space immediately after their acceleration. Second, some of the protons traverse a path shorter than the nominal length of interplanetary magnetic field lines.     

Dynamics and energetics of the thermal and nonthermal components in the solar flare of January 20, 2005, based on data from hard electromagnetic radiation detectors onboard the CORONAS-F satellite

Based on data from the SONG and SPR-N multichannel hard electromagnetic radiation detectors onboard the CORONAS-F space observatory and the X-ray monitors onboard GOES satellites, we have distinguished the thermal and nonthermal components in the X-ray spectrum of an extreme solar flare on January 20, 2005. In the impulsive flare phase determined from the time of the most efficient electron and proton acceleration, we have obtained parameters of the spectra for both components and their variations in the time interval 06:43–06:54 UT. The spectral index in the energy range 0.2–2 MeV for a single-power-law spectrum of accelerated electrons is shown to have been close to 3.4 for most of the time interval under consideration. We have determined the time dependence of the lower energy cutoff in the energy spectrum of nonthermal photons E _γ0(t) at which the spectral flux densities of the thermal and nonthermal components become equal. The power deposited by accelerated electrons into the flare volume has been estimated using the thick-target model under two assumptions about the boundary energy E ₀ of the electron spectrum: (i) E ₀ is determined by E _γ0(t) and (ii) E ₀ is determined by the characteristic heated plasma energy (≈5kT (t)). The reality of the first assumption is proven by the fact that plasma cooling sets in at a time when the radiative losses begin to prevail over the power deposited by electrons only in this case. Comparison of the total energy deposited by electrons with a boundary energy E _γ0(t) with the thermal energy of the emitting plasma in the time interval under consideration has shown that the total energy deposited by accelerated electrons at the beginning of the impulsive flare phase before 06:47 UT exceeds the thermal plasma energy by a factor of 1.5–2; subsequently, these energies become approximately equal and are ～(4–5) × 10³⁰ erg under the assumption that the filling factor is 0.5–0.6.     

Magnetic helicity generation in the frame of Kazantsev model

Using a magnetic dynamo model, suggested by Kazantsev (J. Exp. Theor. Phys. 1968, vol. 26, p. 1031), we study the small-scale helicity generation in a turbulent electrically conducting fluid. We obtain the asymptotic dependencies of dynamo growth rate and magnetic correlation functions on magnetic Reynolds numbers. Special attention is devoted to the comparison of a longitudinal correlation function and a function of magnetic helicity for various conditions of asymmetric turbulent flows. We compare the analytical solutions on small scales with numerical results, calculated by an iterative algorithm on non-uniform grids. We show that the exponential growth of current helicity is simultaneous with the magnetic energy for Reynolds numbers larger than some critical value and estimate this value for various types of asymmetry.     

The wind speed shear in the case of stable stratification and the scales of the similarity theory

The wind speed shear in the case of stable stratification in the linear part of the profile spreading high above the surface layer of constant flows is studied using the data of long-term sodar measurements in the atmospheric boundary layer. The wind speed shear in this part remains almost invariable during several hours at the significant change in parameters of the Monin-Obukhov theory. The length of this linear part can be associated with the layer of the critical Richardson number. In the case of the pronounced temperature inversion (with the positive gradient of more than 1°C per 100 m), the wind speed profile is close to the linear function in the most part of the nocturnal mixing layer. Proposed is a scale characterizing the height of the surface layer of constant flows.     

Stereoscopic observations of solar flares made onboard the 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft and CORONAS-F satellite

The results of observations of solar hard radiation recorded by two spacecraft—2001 Mars Odyssey and CORONAS-F—which were located in the vicinity of Mars and Earth, respectively, are discussed. The HEND instrument, developed at the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, recorded photons with energies ranging from 80 keV to 2 MeV, and the SPR and SONG instruments, developed at the Skobeltsyn Research Institute of Nuclear Physics of the Moscow State University, detected radiation in the energy interval from 15 keV to 100 MeV. The rising of the sunspot group 10486 in late October 2003, which had been observed from Martian orbit before it was seen from the Earth’s surface, is analyzed in detail. In this case, observations made from directions that differ by 24° showed a close-to-24 h advance for the detection of hard radiation of flares. Stereoscopic observations of M-class flares near the limb show that the overwhelming part of radiation with energies above 80 keV arises at heights that do not exceed 7–10 thousand km. Also reported are the results of observations of the powerful flare on August 25, 2001, by the two devices, which complement each other substantially. The processes resulting in the formation of high-energy radiation of solar flares are discussed.     

Modeling an Urban Heat Island during Extreme Frost in Moscow in January 2017

Izvestiya, Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics - Using the example of an analysis of an extreme lowering of temperature in Moscow in January 2017, the horizontal and vertical extent of the urban heat...     

Humidity of the tropical lower stratosphere: Observations and analysis

The results of measurements of water-vapor vertical profiles in the upper troposphere and stratosphere on board a meteorological balloon with a FLASH-B optical fluorescent hygrometer (Russia) are presented. These data were obtained during two international field campaigns in West Africa (August 2006) and Central America (August 2007). Eleven high-resolution water-vapor vertical profiles measured in the course of these works make it possible to characterize the processes controlling humidity in the tropical tropopause region. Layers with increased humidity are detected in the lower stratosphere over West Africa to the level of the potential temperature 450 K. An analysis of satellite maps of the brightness temperature, balloon ozone measurements, and aerosol scattering, as well as trajectory modeling, display the relation between the observed layers with increased humidity and the phenomena of convective overshooting of the tropopause, as a result of which cold and ozone-depleted air penetrates into the lower stratosphere together with ice particles, which, rapidly sublimating, locally increase the water-vapor concentration. A comparison of the humidity data obtained in West Africa in 2006 and in Central America in 2007 reveals substantial distinctions in values and vertical structures of water vapor, both in the tropopause region and in the middle stratosphere.     

高压脉冲放电技术成桩法

主要介绍了高压脉冲放电技术的发展现状、成桩机理、成桩特点以及成桩的新工艺。该成桩方法具有高的承载能力和经济效益,具有其它桩所不具有的优点。还对其成桩技术的应用前景进行了展望。