Comparison of Polar and Equatorial Coronal Holes Observed by UVCS/SOHO: Geometry and Physical Properties

We analyzed UVCS/SOHO data and compared the H I Lyα (121.6 nm) and O VI (103.2 nm, 103.7 nm) emission in the polar and equatorial coronal holes. We found that the emission lines have similar characteristics in these two types of coronal holes. Both types show evidence for superradially diverging boundaries. The latitudinal distribution of the O VI line ratio may indicate that the equatorial coronal hole has O⁺⁵ outflow velocities lower than in the polar coronal holes. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Estimation of Galactic Cosmic Ray exposure inside and outside the Earth’s magnetosphere during the recent solar minimum between solar cycles 23 and 24

The evidently low solar activity observed between solar cycles 23 and 24 during the years 2008–2010 led to a substantial increase in the Galactic Cosmic Ray (GCR) intensity in comparison with preceding solar minima. As the GCRs consist of highly-ionizing charged particles having the potential to cause biological damage, they are a subject of concern for manned missions to space. With the enhanced particle fluxes observed between 2008 and 2010, it is reasonable to assume that the radiation exposure from GCR must have also increased to unusually high levels. In this paper, the GCR exposure outside and inside the Earth’s magnetosphere is numerically calculated for time periods starting from 1970 to the end of 2011 in order to investigate the increase in dose levels during the years 2008–2010 in comparison with the last three solar minima. The dose rates were calculated in a water sphere, used as a surrogate for the human body, either unshielded or surrounded by aluminium shielding of 0.3, 10 or 40 g/cm².     

Mercury’s Atmosphere: A Surface-Bounded Exosphere

The existence of a surface-bounded exosphere about Mercury was discovered through the Mariner 10 airglow and occultation experiments. Most of what is currently known or understood about this very tenuous atmosphere, however, comes from ground-based telescopic observations. It is likely that only a subset of the exospheric constituents have been identified, but their variable abundance with location, time, and space weather events demonstrate that Mercury’s exosphere is part of a complex system involving the planet’s surface, magnetosphere, and the surrounding space environment (the solar wind and interplanetary magnetic field). This paper reviews the current hypotheses and supporting observations concerning the processes that form and support the exosphere. The outstanding questions and issues regarding Mercury’s exosphere stem from our current lack of knowledge concerning the surface composition, the magnetic field behavior within the local space environment, and the character of the local space environment.     

计算物理中的数学实验方法

论述了计算物理与数学实验的关系,以及数学实验对计算物理的重要性,并通过实例说明,利用数学实验方法可以简化计算,突出物理概念,使问题得到更好的解决。     

Progress on Solar Physics Research in China

The progress on Chinese Space Solar Telescope (SST) in 2002-2004 is introduced. The documentations on plans and outlines based on the standards of Chinese aerospace industry for SST mission has been fulfilled. The key technical problems of SST satellite platform and payloads are tackled during pre-study stage of the mission. The laboratory assembly and calibration of the main optical telescope of 1.2 m spherical mirror and 1 m plain mirror have been carried out with the accuracy of λ/40 and λ/30, respectively. The prototype at 17.1 nm for extreme ultraviolet telescope is under development and manufacture with a diameter of 13 cm. Its primary and secondary mirrors have a manufacturing error of 5 nm with a roughness degree of less than 0.5 nm and a multiplayer reflection factor of better than 20%. The on-board scientific data processing unit has been developed. Prototypes for other payloads such as H. and white light telescope, wide band spectroscopy in high energy and solar and interplanetary radio spectrometer have been developed accordingly.     

Progress on Microgravity Sciences in China

The main progress of the research activities on microgravity fluid physics, combustion, biotechnology research and fundamental Physics in China are briefly summarized in the present paper. The major space missions and experimental results obtained on board the Chinese recoverable/nonrecoverable satellites and the Chinese manned spaceship named "Shen Zhou" are presented summarily. The recent main activities of the ground-based studies in China are introduced in brief.     

微重力效应的物理解释及其应用

讨论了微重力效应及其分子物理学解释，万有引力的单极性决定了它的累积性和宏观性，重力对自由分子的影响是微科其微的，然而在流钵，特别是在液体内部的具体条件下，重力对流体内部分子集团产生明显影响，以宏观的静压强形式表现出来。而当重力变小，变微，流体内部的静压强也就趋于消失，由静压强产生的二级现象，如异相沉降或浮泛。同相的浮泛对流，液体自约束成球形，也就消失，这些就是微重力的一，二级物理效应，本文认为，Bossinesq近似对于流体而言实质上是线性热力学假设或近平衡态假设，可以用初始平衡态的物性参量表征临界点时的无量纳数，提出一种重力消失诱发非平衡态向平衡态蜕变的猜想，从文中导出的瑞利数Rα的表达式可以看出，重力加速度的消失，可以使瑞利数的值从远离平衡态的湍流蜕变到稳定流动的瑞利－贝纳对流胞，甚至是没有宏观流动的平衡态，最后，将本文给出的理论解释模型应用到空间材料加工所需微重力水平的估算、窨材料加工工艺的微重力利用准则和空间装置中气体自然对流传热状态模拟的低真空和微重力的互换性方面。     

An empirical model to predict the 1-AU arrival of interplanetary shocks

We extend the empirical coronal mass ejection (CME) arrival model of Gopalswamy et al. [Gopalswamy, N. et al. Predicting the 1-AU arrival times of coronal mass ejections, J. Geophys. Res. 106, 29207, 2001] to predict the 1-AU arrival of interplanetary (IP) shocks. A set of 29 IP shocks and the associated magnetic clouds observed by the Wind spacecraft are used for this study. The primary input to this empirical shock arrival model is the initial speed of white-light CMEs obtained using coronagraphs. We use the gas dynamic piston–shock relationship to derive the ESA model which provides a simple means of obtaining the 1-AU speed and arrival times of interplanetary shocks using CME speeds.     

New index of long-term variations of galactic cosmic ray intensity

We find that the soft rigidity spectrum of the Galactic Cosmic Ray (GCR) intensity variations for the maximum epoch and the hard rigidity spectrum for the minimum epoch calculated based on the neutron monitors experimental data (1960–2002) are related with the various dependence of the diffusion coefficient on the GCR particle’s rigidity for different epoch of solar activity. This dependence is stronger in the maximum epoch than in the minimum epoch of solar activity, and is provided by the essential temporal rearrangements of the structure of the Interplanetary Magnetic Field (IMF) turbulence from the maxima to minima epoch of solar activity. We also show that the rigidity spectrum of GCR intensity variations is harder for the effective rigidities ∼(10–15) GV (by neutron monitors data), than for the effective rigidities ∼(25–30) GV (by neutron monitors and muon telescopes data). A general scenario of GCR modulation versus solar activity is settled on the essential temporal rearrangements of the structure of the IMF turbulence. Therefore, the temporal changes of the power law rigidity spectrum exponent can be considered as a vital (new) index to explain the 11-year variations of the GCR intensity. We assume that ∼(70–80)% of the changes of the amplitudes of the 11-year variations of GCR intensity is related with the changes of the IMF turbulence versus solar activity.