Boundary layer ion composition at Jupiter during the inbound pass of the Ulysses flyby

During the inbound segment of the Ulysses flyby of Jupiter, there were multiple incursions into the dawnside low-latitude boundary layer, as identified by Bame et al. (Science257, 1539–1542, 1992) using plasma electron data. In the present study, ion composition and spectral measurements provide independent collaborative evidence for the existence of distinct boundary layer regions. Measurements are taken in the energy-per-charge range of 0.6–60 keV/e and involve mass as well as mass-per-charge identification by the Ulysses/SWICS experiment. Ion species of Jovian magnetospheric origin (including O⁺, O²⁺, S²⁺, S³⁺) and sheath origin (including He²⁺ and high charge state CNO) have been directly identified for the first time in the Jovian magnetospheric boundary layer. Protons of probably mixed origin and He⁺ of possibly sheath (ultimately interstellar pickup) origin were also observed in the boundary layer. Sheath-like ions are observed throughout the boundary layer; however, the Jovian ions are depleted or absent for portions of two boundary layer cases studied. Ions of solar wind origin are observed within the outer magnetosphere. and ions of magnetospheric origin are found within the sheath, indicating that transport across the magnetopause boundary can work both ways, at least under some conditions. Although their source cannot be uniquely identified, the proton energy spectrum in the boundary layer suggests a sheath origin for the lower energy protons.     

Diffusion of elements in the interstellar medium in early-type galaxies

The role of diffusion in the redistribution of elements in the hot interstellar medium of earlytype galaxies is considered. It is well known that gravitational sedimentation can affect significantly the abundances of helium and heavy elements in the hot intergalactic gas of massive galaxy clusters. The universal temperature profile in cool-core clusters and the theoretical mass–temperature relation suggest that the maximum effect of sedimentation must take place in the most massive virialized objects in the Universe. However, observational data from the Chandra and XMM-Newton observatories demonstrate more complex scaling relations between the masses of early-type galaxies and other parameters, such as the mass fraction and temperature of the interstellar gas. An important fact is that the radial temperature profile can have both falling and rising patterns. We have calculated the diffusion based on the observed gas density and temperature distributions for 13 early-type galaxies that have different envelope types and cover a wide range of X-ray luminosities. To estimate the maximum effect of sedimentation and thermal diffusion, we have solved the full set of Burgers equations for a non-magnetized interstellar plasma. The results obtained demonstrate a considerable increase of the He/H ratio within one effective radius for all galaxies of our sample. For galaxies with a falling or constant temperature profile the average increase of the helium abundance is 60% in one billion years of diffusion. The revealed effect can introduce a significant bias into the metal abundance estimate based on X-ray spectroscopy and can affect the evolution of stars that could be formed from a gas with a high helium abundance.     

Chemical variations and genetic relationships between the Hess and Foy offset dikes at the Sudbury impact structure

Offset dikes are found concentrically around—and extending radially outward from—the Sudbury Igneous Complex (SIC), which represents an ~3 km thick differentiated impact melt sheet. The dikes are typically composed of an inclusion‐rich, so‐called quartz diorite (IQD) in the center of the dike, and an inclusion‐poor quartz diorite (QD) along the margins of the dike. New exposures of the intersection between the concentric Hess and radial Foy offset dikes provide an excellent opportunity to understand the relationship between the radial and concentric offset dikes and their internal phases. The goal was to constrain the timing of the dike emplacements relative to the impact and formation of the SIC. Results herein suggest that (1) the timing between the emplacement of the QD and IQD melts was geologically short, (2) the Hess and Foy dikes coexisted as melts at the same time and the intersection between them represents a mixture of the two, (3) the Foy dike has a slightly more evolved chemical composition than the Hess dike, and (4) the IQD melt from the Foy dike underwent some degree of chemical fractionation after its initial emplacement.     

Transfer of Energy, Potential, and Current by Alfvén Waves in Solar Flares

Alfvén waves play three related roles in the impulsive phase of a solar flare: they transport energy from a generator region to an acceleration region; they map the cross-field potential (associated with the driven energy release) from the generator region onto the acceleration region; and within the acceleration region they damp by setting up a parallel electric field that accelerates electrons and transfers the wave energy to them. The Alfvén waves may also be regarded as setting up new closed-current loops, with field-aligned currents that close across field lines at boundaries. A model is developed for large-amplitude Alfvén waves that shows how Alfvén waves play these roles in solar flares. A picket-fence structure for the current flow is incorporated into the model to account for the “number problem” and the energy of the accelerated electrons.     

Challenges in detecting olivine on the surface of 4 Vesta

Identifying and mapping olivine on asteroid 4 Vesta are important components to understanding differentiation on that body, which is one of the objectives of the Dawn mission. Harzburgitic diogenites are the main olivine‐bearing lithology in the howardite‐eucrite‐diogenite (HED) meteorites, a group of samples thought to originate from Vesta. Here, we examine all the Antarctic harzburgites and estimate that, on scales resolvable by Dawn, olivine abundances in putative harzburgite exposures on the surface of Vesta are likely at best in the 10–30% range, but probably lower due to impact mixing. We examine the visible/near‐infrared spectra of two harzburgitic diogenites representative of the 10–30% olivine range and demonstrate that they are spectrally indistinguishable from orthopyroxenitic diogenites, the dominant diogenitic lithology in the HED group. This suggests that the visible/near‐infrared spectrometer onboard Dawn (VIR) will be unable to resolve harzburgites from orthopyroxenites on the surface of Vesta, which may explain the current lack of identification of harzburgitic diogenite on Vesta.     

Impulsively generated MHD waves and their detectability in solar coronal loops

Impulsively generated magnetohydrodynamic waves in solar coronal loops, with arbitrary plasma , are studied numerically by a flux-corrected transport algorithm. Numerical results show that the total reflection which occurs in the region of low Alfvén speed leads to trapped fast kink magnetosonic waves. These waves propagate along the slab and exhibit periodic, quasi-periodic, and decay phases. As a consequence of the difference in wave propagation speeds, the time signatures of the slow magnetosonic waves are delayed in time in comparison to the time signatures of the fast magnetosonic and Alfvén waves. An interaction between the waves can generate a longer lasting and complex quasi-periodic phase of the fast wave. We discuss also the observational detectability of such MHD waves in optical, radio, and soft X-ray wavelenghts.     

Modelling the X-ray cluster dipole and cluster contribution to the soft X-ray background

We investigate the sampling and dipole convergence properties of flux-limited samples of mock X-ray clusters in relation to their underlying 'parent' cluster distribution. To this purpose, we resort to numerical simulations of the cluster distribution and extract samples resembling the main observational features of X-ray selected cluster samples. The flux-limited samples, being quite sparse, underestimate the amplitude of the 'parent' cluster dipole by ≈ 15 per cent on average for Local Group-like observers. However, the general shapes of their dipole amplitude profiles are in relatively good agreement. We also calculate the expected contribution of clusters, selected according to the relevant criteria, to the soft (i.e. 0.1–2.4 keV) extragalactic X-ray background (XRB), using the ESO Key Project X-ray luminosity function, assuming a flat universe with vanishing cosmological constant. We obtain a value of about 10 per cent of the observed XRB flux.     

The Deutsch field gamma-ray pulsar – II. Application of the model

A new model for gamma-ray pulsars presented by Higgins & Henriksen is applied to the cases of the seven known gamma-ray pulsars. Those pulsars that are not presently observed in gamma-rays, but are candidates for observation by the next generation of gamma-ray telescopes, are discussed. The case of millisecond pulsars is discussed, and it is shown that these objects should radiate at detectable levels, in opposition to the predictions of other gamma-ray pulsar models.     

The D-CIXS X-ray mapping spectrometer on SMART-1

The D-CIXS Compact X-ray Spectrometer will provide high quality spectroscopic mapping of the Moon, the primary science target of the ESA SMART-1 mission. D-CIXS consists of a high throughput spectrometer, which will perform spatially localised X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy. It will also carry a solar monitor, to provide the direct calibration needed to produce a global map of absolute lunar elemental abundances, the first time this has been done. Thus it will achieve ground breaking science within a resource envelope far smaller than previously thought possible for this type of instrument, by exploiting two new technologies, swept charge devices and micro-structure collimators. The new technology does not require cold running, with its associated overheads to the spacecraft. At the same time it will demonstrate a radically novel approach to building a type of instrument essential for the BepiColombo mission and potential future planetary science targets.     

Ion Irradiation of Asphaltite: Optical Effects and Implications for Trans-Neptunian Objects and Centaurs

Trans-Neptunian Objects (TNOs) and Centaurs show remarkable colour variationsin the visual and near-infrared spectral regions. Surface alteration processes such asspace weathering (e.g., bombardment with ions) and impact resurfacingmay play an important role in the colour diversity of such bodies. Ion irradiation ofhydrocarbon ices and their mixtures with water ice transforms neutral (grey) surfacecolours of ices to red and further to grey. Along with the ices, TNOs and Centaursprobably contain complex carbonaceous compounds, in particular, complexhydrocarbons. Unlike ices, such refractory organic materials have originally lowvisual albedos and red colours in the visible and near-infrared ranges. Here wepresent the first results of ion irradiation experiments on asphaltite. Asphaltite isa natural complex hydrocarbon material. The reflectance spectra of asphaltite inthe 0.4–0.8 μm range have been recorded before irradiation and after eachirradiation step. We demonstrate that irradiation of this red dark material with30 keV H⁺ and 15 keV N⁺ ions gradually transforms its colour from redto grey as a result of carbonization. A moderate increase in the visual albedo hasbeen observed. These results may imply that the surfaces of primitive red objectsoptically dominated by complex refractory organics may show a similar spaceweathering trend. Our laboratory results were compared with published coloursof TNOs and Centaurs. A broad variety of spectral colours observed for TNOs andCentaurs may be reproduced by various spectra of irradiated organics correspondingto different ion fluences. However, such objects probably also contain ices and silicatecomponents which show different space weathering trends. This fact, together with alack of information about albedos, may explain difficulties to reveal correlations between surface colours within TNO and Centaur populations and their other properties, such as absolute magnitudes and orbital parameters.