Empirical model of the TEC response to the geomagnetic activity over the North American region

The paper presents an empirical model of the total electron content (TEC) response to the geomagnetic activity described by the K_p-index. The model is built on the basis of TEC measurements covering the region of North America (50°W–150°W, 10°N–60°N) for the period of time between October 2004 and December 2009. By using a 2D (latitude-time) cross-correlation analysis it is found that the ionospheric response to the geomagnetic activity over the considered geographic region and at low solar activity revealed both positive and negative phases of response. The both phases of the ionospheric response have different duration and time delay with respect to the geomagnetic storm. It was found that these two parameters of the ionospheric response depend on the season and geographical latitude. The presence of two phases, positive and negative, of the ionospheric response imposed the implementation of two different time delay constants in order to properly describe the two different delayed reactions. The seasonal dependence of the TEC response to geomagnetic storms is characterized by predominantly positive response in winter with a short (usually ∼5–6 h) time delay as well as mainly negative response in summer with a long (larger than 15 h) time delay. While the TEC response in March and October is more close to the winter one the response in April and September is similar to the summer one.     

Vertical TEC in the equatorial anomaly region from satellite altimetry data

The high-precision demands imposed by the ocean altimetry community of the late 1980 resulted in the TOPEX/Poseidon mission. This mission was the first to carry as its main instrument a dual-frequency sea-altimeter on board a satellite. This instrument together with other state-of-the-art technologies involved in the mission, led to sea-height determinations with precision better than 2 cm. As a by-product, the TOPEX/Poseidon mission provided vertical TEC determinations that since they became available, have demonstrated to be a powerful tool for ionospheric studies.     

长针电连接器去金搪锡工艺技术

针对长针电连接器手工搪锡效率低、质量差的问题,分析了当前几种搪锡方法的优缺点,提出研制搪锡保护装置使用锡锅搪锡的工艺方法,详述了保护装置研制的关键技术及具体实施方法。结果表明,本工艺方法操作过程简单、难度低,工艺稳定性好,极少出现返工返修情况,搪锡质量和效率均大幅提高,保护装置可以重复使用,降低了搪锡成本。     

GPS scintillation and TEC depletion near the northern crest of equatorial anomaly over South China

This study presents a statistical analysis of GPS L-band scintillation with data observed from July 2008 to March 2012 at the northern crest of equatorial anomaly stations in Guangzhou and Shenzhen of South China. The variations of the scintillation with local time, season, solar activity and duration of scintillation patches were investigated. The relationship between the scintillation and TEC depletion was also reported. Our results revealed that GPS scintillation occurred from 19:30 LT (pre-midnight) to 03:00 LT (post-midnight). During quiet solar activity years, the scintillation was only observed in pre-midnight hours of equinox months and patches durations were mostly less than 60 min. During high solar activity years, more scintillation occurred in the pre-midnight hours of equinox and winter months; and GPS scintillation started to occur in the post-midnight hours of summer and winter. The duration of scintillation patches extended to 180 min in high solar activity years. Solar activity had a larger effect to strong scintillations (S₄ > 0.6) than to weak scintillations (0.6 ? S₄ > 0.2). Strong scintillations were accompanied by TEC depletion especially in equinox months. We also discussed the relationship between TEC depletion and plasma bubble.     

Propagation of plasma bubbles observed in Brazil from GPS and airglow data

Equatorial spread-F is a common occurrence in the equatorial ionosphere that is associated with large variations in plasma density that often cause scintillation and interference in communication signals. These events are known to result from Rayleigh–Taylor instability, but the day-to-day variability of their occurrence is not well understood. The triggering mechanism of plasma depletions is still a matter of debate, but may be linked to gravity waves that under favorable conditions propagate to the middle atmosphere. Understanding the triggering of ESF was the focus of the SpreadFEx campaign near Brasilia, Brazil in 2005. The campaign provided co-located airglow and GPS observations to study the onset of plasma depletions and their evolution as they traversed the region. Comparisons between the 630.0 nm airglow data and GPS data demonstrate the ability of the compact dual frequency GPS array to detect the plasma bubbles and retrieve reliable propagation characteristics of the depletions. In this case study, a plasma depletion was detected and moved over the array at velocities of 85–110 m/s, slowing as it moved towards the east. Correlation of consecutive airglow images gives consistent estimates of the eastward drift over the same time period. Mapping the airglow data to the GPS line-of-sight geometry allows direct comparison and reveals a resolvable westward tilt of the plasma depletion that may be due to vertical shear. The uniqueness of this study is the ability to resolve locally the characteristics of the plasma depletion without relying on assumptions about the mapping of the depletion along magnetic field lines to large latitudinal distances. It presents new information for understanding ESF development and the development of depletions strong enough to produce scintillation.     

On the importance of total electron content enhancements during the extreme solar minimum

Observations of ionospheric vertical total electron content (vTEC) from European ground-based Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) receivers during the period January 2008–January 2010 are used to investigate, for the first time, vTEC sensitivity to weak geomagnetic disturbances under extreme solar minimum conditions. This study shows a significant number of events for the period in question, all of which exhibited some form of exceptionally large values of vTEC during small-magnitude geomagnetic disturbances. To illustrate our point on the importance of vTEC enhancements during the extreme solar minimum and its relevance for the current GNSS and future Galileo applications, we present in this paper the results associated with two significant events that both occurred in equinoctial months. The 10–12 October 2009 event of anomalous TEC enhancement at two distant mid-latitude locations HERS (0.3 E; 50.9 N) and NICO (33.4 E, 35.1 N) is discussed in the context of strong vTEC variations during the well established ionospheric storm on 11 October 2008. We conclude with a short summary of the new findings and their consequences on ionospheric monitoring and modelling for operational communication and navigation systems.     

Equatorial total electron content (TEC) at low and high solar activity

Total electron content (TEC) derived from ionosonde data recorded at the station of Korhogo (Lat = 9.33°N, Long = 5.43°W, Dip = 0.67°S) are compared to the International Reference Ionosphere (IRI) model predicted TEC for high (1999) and low (1994) solar activity conditions. The results show that the model represents the diurnal variation of the TEC as well as a solar activity and seasonal dependence. This variation is closer to that of the ionosonde-inferred TEC at high solar activity. However, at low solar activity the IRI overestimates the ionosonde-inferred TEC. The relative deviation ΔTEC is more prominent in the equinoctial seasons during nighttime hours where it is as high as 70%. At daytime hours, the relative deviation is estimated to 0–30%.     

Wolf-Rayet stars in starbursts

Let us suppose that it is possible observationally to determine the number ratio of WR to O stars in a starburst galaxy (cf. e. g. Vacca &; Conti 1992) and that one can also have some information on the way the different WR subtypes are distributed (number ratios as WN/WR, WNL/WR etc ...), the question is, what can we deduce from these values on the burst of star formation which gave birth to these WR stars? Is it possible for instance to constrain the age of the burst (i.e. the time elapsed since the beginning of the burst of star formation), its intensity (i.e. the ratio of the star formation rate during the burst to that before the burst) or the metallicity of the cloud from which the stars formed? We present here models of starbursts based on the most recent models for single stars computed by the Geneva group and show that the study of the WR population in a starburst provides very useful insights on the age of the burst and on the metallicity of the star forming zone.     

镍基单晶合金CMSX-2持久拉伸断裂时相密度及γ′相含量分布测算

测算了CMSX-2合金持久拉伸断裂时枝晶典型区域的两相密度及γ′相含量.结果表明,枝晶区域两相密度按枝晶干-枝晶臂-枝晶间的顺序依次递减,γ′相含量依次递增;随持久试验温度的升高(伴外应力下降),枝晶区域中γ和γ′相密度连续下降;与中温-高应力持久试验相比,高温-低应力持久试验所得γ′相含量分布的梯度较大.γ′相总量在枝晶区域的分配量表明,枝晶干中γ′相实际含量最低者的持久寿命最短,反之持久寿命最长.     

The variability of eta Car: A tool for the LBV phenomenon

We discuss the historical light curve of the most peculiar superluminous star Car, and the spectroscopic variations during the last 100 y. After the nova-like spectral evolution following the 1889 light maximum, the star underwent many shell episodes which were characterized by a large fading of the higher ionization emission lines. We describe the most recent 1992 event when the Hei and [Nii] emission lines nearly faded out, and a broad P Cygni absorption appeared in the Hi and Hei lines. A recurrence time of about 5 years is suggested from the times of the spectroscopic episodes and the IR light curve. The results are discussed in the light of possible models.