Low-frequency electric field fluctuations excited by ring current protons

Energetic protons haying ring type distributions are shown to generate low-frequency electrostatic waves, propagating nearly transverse to the geomagnetic field lines, in the ring current region by exciting Mode 1 arid Mode 2 nonresonant instabilities and a resonant instability. Mode 1 nonresonant instability has frequencies around ~4 Hz with transverse wavelengths of ~(8–80) km, and it is likely to occur in the region L = (7–8). Mode 2 nonresonant instability can generate frequencies ~(850–1450) Hz with transverse wavelengths ~(2–20) km. The typical frequencies and transverse wavelengths associated with the resonant instability are (950–1250) Hz and (30–65) km. Both the Mode 2 nonresonant instability and the resonant instability can occur in the ring current region with L = (4–6). The low-frequency modes driven by energetic protons could attain maximum saturation electric field amplitude varying from 0.8 mV/m to 70 mV/m. It is suggested that the turbulence produced by the low-frequency modes may cause pitch angle scattering of ring current protons in the region outside the plasmapause resulting in the ring current decay.     

Generating interface waves using a freely falling, instrumentedsource

In recent years, interface waves such as the Scholte wave have become important tools in the study of the geoacoustic properties of near-bottom seafloor sediments. Traditionally, these waves have been generated by explosive or pneumatic sources deployed at or near the seafloor and monitored by ocean-bottom seismographs or geophone arrays. While these sources generate the requisite interface waves, they also produce higher frequency compressional waves in the water and sediment that tend to contaminate the surface wave and make inversion of the data difficult in the near field. In this paper, a new source consisting of a freely falling projectile instrumented with an accelerometer is described. When the projectile impacts the bottom, the exact time history of the vertical force applied to the sediment is known and therefore may be convolved with the transfer function of a sediment geoacoustic model to produce accurate synthetic seismograms. Moreover, the vertical force applied to the seafloor is very efficient in generating surface wave motion while producing very little compressional wave energy so that the near-field signals are much more easily analyzed. An example of the use of the new source is presented including inversion of the received signals to obtain shear-wave velocity and attenuation as a function of depth in the near bottom sediments at a shallow-water site     

Infrared observations of serendipitous hard Chandra X-ray sources

We present observations of a sample of optically faint, hard X-ray sources of the kind likely to be responsible for much of the hard X-ray background. We confirm that such sources are easily detected in the near-infrared, and find that they have a featureless continuum suggesting that the active nucleus is heavily obscured. The infrared colours of the majority of the targets observed are consistent with absorbed elliptical host galaxies at z =1–2. It is likely that we are observing some of the brighter members of the important new class of X-ray type II quasars.     

Three-dimensional coronal structures using clark lake observations

We have undertaken a study of coronal features observed at meter-decameter wavelengths using the Clark Lake radioheliograph. Among the coronal structures we have studied are the radio manifestations of coronal streamers on the solar disk and above the solar limb. We have analyzed the radio data quantitatively, using ray-tracing models for comparison with the maps. Our study provides information about the streamers' three-dimensional shapes, scales, and density profiles, for comparison with related observations using white-light coronagraphs.     

Spine–sheath polarization structures in four active galactic nuclei jets

We present the results of multifrequency (15 + 8 + 5 GHz) polarization Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) observations of the three BL Lacertae objects 0745+241, 1418+546 and 1652+398 together with 5-GHz VLBI Space Observatory Programme (VSOP) observations of 1418+546 and 1.6- and 5-GHz VSOP observations of the blazar 1055+018. The jets of all these sources have polarization structure transverse to the jet axis, with the polarization E vectors aligned with the jet along the jet spine and 'sheaths' of orthogonal E vectors at one or both edges of the jet. The presence of polarization aligned with the jet near the 'spine' may indicate that the jets are associated with helical B fields that propogate outward with the jet flow; the presence of orthogonal polarization near the edges of the jet may likewise be a consequence of a helical jet B field, or may be owing to an interaction with the ambient medium on parsec scales. We have tentatively detected interknot polarization in 1055+018 with E aligned with the local jet direction, consistent with the possibility that the jet of this source is associated with a helical B field.     

A 20‐ka climate record from Central Himalayan loess deposits

The southwest monsoon that dominated Central Himalaya has preserved loessic silt deposits preserved in patches that are proximal to periglacial areas. The occurrence of such silts suggests contemporary prevalence of cold and dry northwesterly winds. Field stratigraphy, geochemistry, mineral magnetism, infrared stimulated luminescence (IRSL) and radiocarbon dating has enabled reconstruction of an event chronology during the past 20 ka. Three events of loess accretion could be identified. The first two events of loess deposition occurred betweem 20 and 9 ka and were separated by a phase of moderate weathering. Pedogenesis at the end of this event gave rise to a well‐developed soil that was bracketed around 9 to > 4 ka. This was followed by the third phase of loess accretion that occurred around 4 to > 1 ka. Episodes of loess deposition and soil formation are interpreted in terms of changes in the strength of the Indian southwest monsoon. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.