Synchrotron cooling and annihilation of ane +-e − plasma: The radiation mechanism for the 5 March, 1979 transient

Positron-electron pair radiation is examined as a mechanism that could be responsible for the impulsive phase emission of the 5 March, 1979 transient. Synchrotron cooling and subsequent annihilation of the pairs can account for the energy spectrum, the very high brightness, and the 0.4 MeV feature observed from this transient, whose source is likely to be a neutron star in the supernova remnant N49 in the Large Magellanic Cloud. In this model, the observed radiation is produced in the skin layer of a hot, radiation-dominated pair atmosphere, probably confined to the vicinity of the neutron star by a strong magnetic field. The width of this layer is only about 0.1 mm. In this layer, 10¹² generations of pairs are formed (by photon-photon collisions), cooled and annihilated during the 0.15 s duration of the impulsive phase. The very large burst energy implied by the distance of the LMC, and its very rapid release, are unsolved problems. We mention, nonetheless, the possibility of neutron star vibrations, which could transport the energy coherently to the surface, heat the atmosphere mechanically to a hot, pair-producing temperature, and have a characteristic damping time roughly equal to the duration of the impulsive phase.Paper presented at the Symposium on Cosmic Gamma-Ray Bursts held at Toulouse, France, 26–29 November, 1979.     

A Monte Carlo investigation of Jovian perturbations on short-period comet orbits

We present statistical distributions of Jovian perturbations on short-period comet orbits resulting from accurate numerical integrations. Our sample of 60, 000 cometary orbits with low inclinations and random orientations is characterized by perihelia between 0 and 7 AU and aphelia between 4 and 13 AU. The perturbations considered are those experienced because of Jupiter's gravitation per orbital revolution by the comets. Regularization and accurate step-length control in the numerical integration gives statistical results appreciably different from those computed by Rickman and Vaghi (1978). Their use of a crude method of integration led to erroneous results for close encounters. Strong asymmetries of the $\text{δ(}\text{1}\text{a}\text{)}$ distributions, in particular for the extreme tails, are observed for perihelion- or aphelion-tangent orbits. These orbits are also shown to experience the strongest energy perturbations on the average. Some results concerning the perturbations of Tisserand parameters are indicated. The perturbation distributions for the angular elements are described and discussed. The role of the minimum distance from Jupiter as an indicator of perturbations is investigated.     

OSO-8 observations of CaII H and K,MgII h and k,Lα and Lβ above a sunspot

Observations with the French (L.P.S.P.) experiment on board OSO-8 of a sunspot and nearby plage region are described. The behaviour of the emission cores of the Ca II H and K and Mg II h and k resonance lines is very similar and the correspondence in intensity between the four lines persists in all observed features. In contrast, the Lyman lines show little correlation with the other lines. Their emission regions appear broader in the spectroheliograms than the underlying sunspot structure and must not necessarily possess a counterpart in lower layers. From the central intensity of L above the umbra an electron density of 4.3 × 10¹⁰ cm^-3 n _e ^* 2.3 × 10¹¹ cm^-3 at 20 000 K is estimated.Mitteilungen aus dem Kiepenheuer-Institut Nr. 186.Stockholm Observatorium, S-13300 Saltsjöbaden, Sweden.Laboratoire de Physique Stellaire et Planétaire, CNRS, P.O. Box 10, F-91370 Verrières-le-Buisson, France.     

The eruption of active region filaments and its relation to the triggering of a solar flare

The formation and eruption of active region filaments is supposed to be caused by the increase of a concentrated current embedded in the active region background magnetic field of an active region according to the theory of Van Tend and Kuperus (1978).The onset of a filament eruption is due to either changes in the background magnetic field or the increase of the filament current intensity. Both processes can be caused by the emergence of new magnetic flux as well as by the motion of the photospheric footpoints of the magnetic field lines. It is shown that if the background field evolves from a potential field to a nearly force-free field the vertical equilibrium of the current filament is not affected, but large forces are generated along the filament axis. This is identified as the cause of filament activation and the increase in filament turbulence during the flare build-up phase. Depending on the evolution of the background field and the current filament, two different scenarios for flare build-up and filament eruption are distinguished.This work was done while one of the authors (M.K.) was participating in the CECAM workshop on Physics of Solar Flares held at Orsay, France, in June 1979.     

The development of X-ray flare onsets near active region filaments

Skylab X-ray images of the early phases of six active region transient brightenings were compared with simultaneous H images to study the spatial relationships between filaments and the X-ray brightenings. When the X-ray loops were roughly perpendicular to the axes of the H filaments, the filaments did not disappear. X-ray loops which appeared nearly parallel to the filaments were generally associated with the disappearances of those filaments. It is suggested that the perpendicular loops correspond to the class I X-ray flares of Pallavicini et al. (1977) while the parallel loops are the early phases of their class II flares characterized in the decay phases by arcades of large loops with low energy densities. Both kinds of X-ray flares can be associated with impulsive phases.     

Radius of convergence of Lie series for some elliptic elements

For equatorial orbits about an oblate body, we show that the Lie series for the elliptic elementse,f,l and diverge when the oblateness exceeds a critical multiple of the transformed eccentricity constant. The use of similar truncated series expansions for such elliptic elements by Brouwer accounts for the first-order errors at low eccentricity in his derived coordinates for an artificial satellite.     

A survey of coronal holes and their solar wind associations throughout sunspot cycle 20

To gain insight into the relationships between solar activity, the occurrence and variability of coronal holes, and the association of such holes with solar wind features such as high-velocity streams, a study of the period 1963–1974 was made. This period corresponds approximately with sunspot cycle 20. The primary data used for this work consisted of X-ray and XUV solar images obtained from rockets. The investigation revealed that:

1. The polar coronal holes prominent at solar minimum, decreased in area as solar activity increased and were small or absent at maximum phase. This evolution exhibited the same phase difference between the two hemispheres that was observed in other indicators of activity.
2. During maximum, coronal holes occurred poleward of the sunspot belts and in the equatorial region between them. The observed equatorial holes were small and persisted for one or two solar rotations only; some high latitude holes had lifetimes exceeding two solar rotations.
3. During 1963–74 whenever XUV or X-ray images were available, nearly all recurrent solar wind streams of speed ?500 km s^?1 were found associated with coronal holes at less than 40° latitude; however some coronal holes appeared to have no associated wind streams at the Earth.

     

Studies of solar flares using optical,X-ray and radio data

I have studied a number of flares for which good X-ray and optical data were available. An average lag of 5.5 s between hard X-ray (HXR) start and H start, and HXR peak and Ha peak was found for 41 flares for which determination was possible. Allowing for time constants the time lag is zero. The peak H lasts until 5–6 keV soft X-ray (SXR) peak. The level of H intensity is determined by the SXR flux.Multiple spikes in HXR appear to correspond to different occurrences in the flare development. Flares with HXR always have a fast H rise. Several flares were observed in the 3835 band; such emission appears when the 5.1–6.6 keV flux exceeds 5 × 10⁴ ph cm^-2 s^-1 at the Earth. Smaller flares produce no 3835 emission; we conclude that coronal back conduction cannot produce the bright chromospheric network of that wavelength.The nearly simultaneous growth of H emission at distant points means an agent travelling faster than 5 × 10³ km s^-1 is responsible, presumably electrons.In all cases near the limb an elevated Ha source is seen with the same time duration as HXR flux; it is concluded that this H source is almost always an elevated cloud which is excited by the fast electrons. A rough calculation is given. Another calculation of H emission from compressed coronal material shows it to be inadequate.In several cases homologous flares occur within hours with the same X-ray properties.Radio models fit, more or less, with field strengths on the order of 100G. A number of flares are discussed in detail.