A three-dimensional plasma and energetic particle investigation for the wind spacecraft

This instrument is designed to make measurements of the full three-dimensional distribution of suprathermal electrons and ions from solar wind plasma to low energy cosmic rays, with high sensitivity, wide dynamic range, good energy and angular resolution, and high time resolution. The primary scientific goals are to explore the suprathermal particle population between the solar wind and low energy cosmic rays, to study particle accleration and transport and wave-particle interactions, and to monitor particle input to and output from the Earth's magnetosphere.Three arrays, each consisting of a pair of double-ended semi-conductor telescopes each with two or three closely sandwiched passivated ion implanted silicon detectors, measure electrons and ions above 20 keV. One side of each telescope is covered with a thin foil which absorbs ions below 400 keV, while on the other side the incoming <400 keV electrons are swept away by a magnet so electrons and ions are cleanly separated. Higher energy electrons (up to 1 MeV) and ions (up to 11 MeV) are identified by the two double-ended telescopes which have a third detector. The telescopes provide energy resolution of E/E0.3 and angular resolution of 22.5°×36°, and full 4 steradian coverage in one spin (3 s).Top-hat symmetrical spherical section electrostatic analyzers with microchannel plate detectors are used to measure ions and electrons from 3 eV to 30 keV. All these analyzers have either 180° or 360° fields of view in a plane, E/E0.2, and angular resolution varying from 5.6° (near the ecliptic) to 22.5°. Full 4 steradian coverage can be obtained in one-half or one spin. A large and a small geometric factor analyzer measure ions over the wide flux range from quiet-time suprathermal levels to intense solar wind fluxes. Similarly two analyzers are used to cover the wide range of electron fluxes. Moments of the electron and ion distributions are computed on board.In addition, a Fast Particle Correlator combines electron data from the high sensitivity electron analyzer with plasma wave data from the WAVE experiment (Bougeretet al., in this volume) to study wave-particle interactions on fast time scales. The large geometric factor electron analyzer has electrostatic deflectors to steer the field of view and follow the magnetic field to enhance the correlation measurements.     

Determination of the characteristics of the gamma-ray telescope Gamma-1

The Gamma-1 telescope has been developed through a collaboration of scientists in the USSR and France in order to conduct -ray astronomical observations within the energy range from 50 to 5000 MeV. The major characteristics of the telescope were established by Monte-Carlo simulations and calibrations made with the aid of electron and tagged -ray beams produced by an accelerator, and these have been found to be as follows: the effective area for photons coming along the instrument's axis varies from about 50 cm² at E = 50 MeV to approximately 230 cm² at E 300 MeV; the angular resolution (half opening of the cone embracing 68% events) is equal to 2.7° at E = 100 MeV, and 1.8° at E = 300 MeV; the energy resolution (FWHM) varies from 70% to 35% as the energy of the detected photons increases from 100 to 550 MeV; the telescope's field-of-view at the half-sensitivity level is 300–450 square degrees depending upon the spectrum of the detected radiation, and the event selection logic. Proceeding from the thus obtained characteristics it is demonstrated that a point source producing a photon flux J (E 100 MeV) = 3 × 10^-7 cm^-2 s^-1, can be detected with a 5 significance by observing it during 10⁶ s at the level of the Cygnus background, and a source having intensity J (E 100 MeV) = 10^-6 cm^-2 s^-1 can be detected to within a mean square positional accuracy of about 15.     

Voyager energetic particle observations at interplanetary shocks and upstream of planetary bow shocks: 1977–1990

The Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft include instrumentation that makes comprehensive ion (E 28 keV) and electron (E 22 keV) measurements in several energy channels with good temporal, energy, and compositional resolution. Data collected over the past decade (1977–1988), including observations upstream and downstream of four planetary bow shocks (Earth, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus) and numerous interplanetary shocks to 30 AU, are reviewed and analyzed in the context of the Fermi and shock drift acceleration (SDA) models. Principal findings upstream of planetary bow shocks include the simultaneous presence of ions and electrons, detection of tracer ions characteristic of the parent magnetosphere (O, S, O⁺), power-law energy spectra extending to 5 MeV, and large (up to 100:1) anisotropies. Results from interplanetary shocks include observation of acceleration to the highest energies ever seen in a shock ( 22 MeV for protons, 220 MeV for oxygen), the saturation in energy gain to 300 keV at quasi-parallel shocks, the observation of shock-accelerated relativistic electrons, and separation of high-energy (upstream) from low-energy (downstream) populations to within 1 particle gyroradius in a near-perpendicular shock. The overall results suggest that ions and electrons observed upstream of planetary bow shocks have their source inside the parent magnetosphere, with first order Fermi acceleration playing a secondary role at best. Further, that quasi-perpendicular interplanetary shocks accelerate ions and electrons most efficiently to high energies through the shock-drift process. These findings suggest that great care must be exercised in the application of concepts developed for heliosphere shocks to cosmic ray acceleration through shocks at supernova remnants.     

Observed Densities in the Universe

Baryons observed in Ly absorbers contribute to the density parameter 0 by bar 0.06 in close agreement with the value of 0.06 from primordial nucleosynthesis (H0=55 km s-1 Mpc-1, = 0 assumed throughout). A number of methods are known to measure 0 from density fluctuations; bound structures tend to yield lower values (m 0.2-0.4), field galaxies over large scales higher, but still undercritical values (m 0.6 ± 0.2). The best compromise value is 0 0.5, but the present methods are blind to diffusely distributed, exotic matter which still could make 0 = 1. A satisfactory solution of 0 (and ) will only come from a fundamental cosmological test (e.g. the Hubble diagram of [evolution-corrected] supernovae type Ia) in combination with the CMB fluctuation spectrum.     

Relative ionizations in the nearest interstellar gas

We compare CLOUDY predictions for the equilibrium ionization in the interstellar cloud surrounding the solar system with pick-up ion data. The incident radiation field includes contributions from hot stars, the emission from the conductive cloud boundary and the diffuse FUV back-ground. To within the observational uncertainties, CLOUDY predictions for the ratios n(He)/n(O), n(N)/n(O), n(Ne)/n(O), and n(He)/n(Ne) are consistent with pick-up ion data, provided that O and N are filtered by 50% in the heliopause region and the outer heliosphere as predicted by others. Thus, the steady-state ionization model and assumed radiation field appear approximately valid. However, the youth and low intervening column density towards the Vela pulsar leave open the possibility that the parent supernova explosion 10,500 years ago, and 200 pc distant, may also have affected LISM ionization, although the mechanism is uncertain. Support for this last possibility is provided by the apparent signature of the Vela explosion in the terrestrial geological record.Abbreviations ISM Interstellar Medium - FUV Far Ultraviolet - EUV Extreme Ultraviolet - SNR SN remnant - SXRB SXR Background - LISM Local Interstellar Matter     

The importance of anisotropic interstellar turbulence and molecular-cloud magnetic mirrors for galactic cosmic-ray propagation

Recent studies suggest that when magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence is excited by stirring a plasma at large scales, the cascade of energy from large to small scales is anisotropic, in the sense that small-scale fluctuations satisfy the inequality k k , where k and k are, respectively, the components of a fluctuations wave vector and to the background magnetic field. Such anisotropic fluctuations are very inefficient at scattering cosmic rays. Results based on the quasilinear approximation for scattering of cosmic rays by anisotropic MHD turbulence are presented and explained. The important role played by molecular-cloud magnetic mirrors in confining and isotropizing cosmic rays when scattering is weak is also discussed.     

Fine scale temporal structures in solar hard X-ray bursts observed by PHEBUS

We report here on preliminary results of a systematic study of fast temporal fluctuations in impulsive and extended solar X-ray bursts observed by PHEBUS at energies around 100 keV. Subsecond timescales are quite common in the impulsive events and are not observed in extended ones.     

High energy X-ray spectrum of her X-1

Summary On May 8, 1980, we conducted a 90 minute observation on hard X-ray emission (15-200 keV) from Her X-1, using a large area ( 1500 cm²), low background balloon borne X-ray telescope. The energy resolution of the telescope was 17% FWHM at 60 keV. Her X-1 was at binary phase 0.0725 and 2.7 ± 0.5 days after turn on in the 35 day cycle.Average pulsation light curves were obtained by sorting data into 25 equal bins, according to pulse arrival time, modulo the 1.24 sec pulsation period. The width of the main pulse is energy dependent and in the 45–75 keV region about 30% smaller than in the range from 15 to 30 keV.The data have been analyzed by taking the Her X-1 pulse minus background spectrum, where the pulse count rate is defined in a pulse phase interval around the pulse maximum of the 1.24 sec period. The background spectrum was intermittently obtained by a chopping collimator system.A spectral feature is present in emission at an energy of 49.5 (+ 1.5, -3) keV and a FWHM of 18 (+ 6, -3) keV and in absorption at an energy of 29.5 (+ 1.7, -1.5) keV and a FWHM of 17.0 (+ 2.6, -2.8) keV. The intensity of this line feature in emission is (1.8 ± 0.4) photons/cm sec. The line excess in emission over the continuum (with kT = 6.75 (+ 0.2, -0.4) keV) is 7.     

The effect of rotation on the hydrodynamics of stellar collapse

Summary Using values of d, _min, and _max that Van Riper (1978) has found most promising for a hydrodynamic envelope ejection, we have shown that even a small amount of rotation in the initial core can stop its collapse before nuclear densities are reached. We expected _i > 0.02 to produce significant deviations from a spherically symmetric collapse, but have found that _i as much as ten times smaller than this will not allow the core to reach densities as high as in the spherical collapse. In no case, however, does the core flatten very much, nor does the value of become very large. Low final 's preclude the formation of an axisymmetric torus. They also indicate that deformation of an iron core into a triaxial configuration or fragmentation of the core during its collapse is an extremely unlikely event. (Note: Classically, must exceed 0.27 before a dynamic instability to non-axisymmetric perturbations is encountered.)The small degree of flattening of the core also suggests that the reduced moment of inertia I of the core will always be relatively small in magnitude and hence that the third time derivative of I, which is proportional to the energy emitted in gravity wave radiation, will not be very significant. Numerically calculated estimates of I- during some of these model evolutions supports this suspicion. If the _min and used here are found to be realistic values after the detailed physics of the core collapse is well understood, it is clear that gravitational radiation from a core collapse will be difficult to measure.Finally, we should point out that it is the relatively large values of Y_min (near 4/3) combined with values of d near unity that (a) prevented the core from flattening significantly in these models and (b) prevented the core from reaching high configurations. If realistic values of either one (or both) of these parameters are found to be much smaller in more complete models of the core collapse, then the core will have to become flatter (and denser) before pressure gradients will support it along the rotation axis. All of the conclusions drawn here would be modified accordingly under those circumstances. It should also be noted that in general relativistic models, the critical for spherical collapse is somewhat larger than 4/3 (Van Riper, 1979). Therefore, we predict that when fully general relativistic core collapses are performed including rotation, a given choice of _min and _i will produce a slightly flatter and slightly denser core than the corresponding model that has been presented here.     

Optical identification of X-ray sources in the Einstein observatory medium and deep surveys

Methods are discussed for establishing the optical identification of X ray sources in the medium and deep X-ray surveys of the Einstein Observatory. Of the 63 X-ray sources with a statistical significance of 5 in the medium survey (Maccacaro et al. 1981), optical identification work is summarized for 51, of which identifications have been made with 30 active galactic nuclei. The optical properties of some of these X-ray selected objects are briefly discussed.The Einstein deep survey of Pavo (Griffiths et al. 1981) is used to illustrate the problems and methods used for securing optical identifications for X-ray sources in the deep survey fields. Identifications have been made with 4 QSOs at the bright end of the optical candidate distribution (together with 3 G stars) and it is shown that a further 7 fainter objects are also likely to be QSOs.     

The Medium Energy Instrument on Exosat

The Medium Energy Instrument on EXOSAT, although conceived as the main instrument for occultations, has been made sufficiently versatile to provide a significant advance over previous large area proportional counters when used for individual source studies of timing and spectra. The energy range is 1.2 to 50 keV, with E/E of 0.2 at 6 keV, sufficient to detect iron lines. The effective area of 1800 cm² and narrow field of view (3/4° × 3/4°) make it suitable for the detailed study of sources down to the 0.3 mCrab confusion limit. The unique facility provided by EXOSAT, allowing uninterrupted observations of X-ray sources for periods of up to 80 hours, backed up by a high capacity data link and on-board processing, enables timing studies to be performed over the range from milliseconds to days. Sophisticated background discrimination techniques giving a rejection efficiency of99% will control the background count rate to a suitably low value in the environment of the 200,000 km orbit.     

NGC 4151 and MCG 8-11-11: Two X-ray seyfert galaxies with strong soft γ-ray emission

During a balloon flight of the MISO telescope on the 30th September 1979, the Seyfert galaxies NGC 4151 and MGC 8-11-11 were studied in the hard X-ray range (E_X > 20 keV) and low-energy -ray range up to 19 MeV. An emission at the 4.5 level above 20 keV (4 above 260 keV) was detected in the direction of NGC 4151. -ray emission at the 3.9 level above 90 keV was also observed from the direction of MCG 8-11-11. The emission photon spectrum shows a high-energy cutoff at about 3 MeV. A large amount of the observed low-energy -ray diffuse background could be produced by a few percent of the X-ray emitting Seyfert galaxies having a -ray luminosity comparable to that observed from the regions of NGC 4151 or MCG 8-11-11.     

Latitudinal and radial variation of shock associated ≥30 keV ion spectra and anisotropies at Voyagers 1 and 2

The spectra and anisotropies of ions 30 keV have been measured by the Low Energy Charged Particle experiment on Voyagers 1 and 2 in the vicinity of interplanetary shocks between radial distances of 1–55 AU and heliographic latitudes 11° S-32° N. The spectra and anisotropies associated with a recent corotating (CIR) event at low latitude observed at Voyager 2 (36.6 AU, –9°) are similar to those of another event at high latitude observed at Voyager 1 (49.8 AU, 33.5°). An earlier CIR event observed at Voyager 2 (14 AU) associated with the previous solar cycle produced spectra and anisotropies remarkably similar to the more recent events. The anisotropies are used to calculate the solar wind velocity downstream of shocks where possible using the Compton-Getting effect, allowing the determination of previously unknown velocities at the locations of Voyager 1. For the large shock event observed at Voyagers 1 (38 AU, 30°) and 2 (29 AU, 3°) in mid-1989, the postshock spectra and anisotropies are well described by convected power law distributions. The Voyager 1 and 2 postshock spectra 4 days after the shock passage are nearly identical. The preshock anisotropies at low energy are similar, despite differences in the magnetic field orientation and the low energy spectrum. We find that the 30 keV ion anisotropies are generally well described by convective distributions downstream but not in the upstream region for shocks and many other shock events at Voyagers 1 and 2.     

Non-BBN Constraints on the Key Cosmological Parameters

Since the baryon-to-photon ratio 10 is in some doubt at present, we ignore the constraints on 10 from big bang nucleosynthesis (BBN) and fit the three key cosmological parameters (h, M, 10) to four other observational constraints: Hubble parameter (ho), age of the universe (to), cluster gas (baryon) fraction (fo fGh3/2), and effective shape parameter (o). We consider open and flat CDM models and flat CDM models, testing goodness of fit and drawing confidence regions by the 2 method. CDM models with M = 1 (SCDM models) are accepted only because we allow a large error on ho, permitting h < 0.5. Open CDM models are accepted only for _M 0.4. CDM models give similar results. In all of these models, large 10 ( 6) is favored strongly over small 10 ( 2), supporting reports of low deuterium abundances on some QSO lines of sight, and suggesting that observational determinations of primordial 4He may be contaminated by systematic errors. Only if we drop the crucial o constraint are much lower values of M and 10 permitted.     

Temperature Fluctuations,H II Region Abundances,and Primordial Helium

There is evidence for temperature fluctuations in Planetary Nebulae and in some Galactic H II regions. If such fluctuations occur in the low metallicity, extragalactic H II regions used to probe the primordial helium abundance, the derived 4He mass fraction, YP, could be systematically different from the true primordial value. Although this effect could be large, there are no data which allow us to estimate the size of the temperature fluctuations for the extragalactic H II regions. Therefore, we have explored this effect via Monte Carlo simulations of the data in which the abundances derived from a fiducial data set are modified by T chosen from a distribution with 0 T Tmax where Tmax is varied from 500 K to 4000 K.     

LISM structure — Fragmented superbubble shell?

Small scale structure in local interstellar matter (LISM) is considered. Overall morphology of the local cloud complex is inferred from Ca II absorption lines and observations of H I in white dwarf stars. Clouds with column densities ranging from 2–100 × 10¹⁷ cm^–2 are found within 20 pc of the Sun. Cold (50 K) dense (10⁵ cm^–3) small (5–10 au) clouds could be embedded and currently undetected in the upwind gas. The Sun appears to be embedded in a filament of gas with thickness 0.7 pc, and cross-wise column density 2 × 10¹⁷ cm^–2. The local magnetic field direction is parallel to the filament, suggesting that the physical process causing the filamentation is MHD related. Enhanced abundances of refractory elements and LISM kinematics indicate outflowing gas from the Scorpius-Centaurus Association. The local flow vector and Sco data are consistent with a 4,000,000 year old superbubble shell at –22 km s^–1, which is a shock front passing through preshock gas at –12 km s^–1, and yielding cooled postshock gas at –26 km s^–1in the upwind direction. A preshock magnetic field strength of 1.6 G, and postshock field strength of 5.2 G embedded in the superbubble shell, are consistent with the data.Abbreviations LISM Local ISM - SIC Surrounding Interstellar Cloud - LIC Local Interstellar Cloud     

Near Earth Current Meander (Necm) Model of Substorms

We propose that the appropriate instability to trigger a substorm is a tailward meander (in the equatorial plane) of the strong current filament that develops during the growth phase. From this single assumption follows the entire sequence of events for a substorm. The main particle acceleration mechanism in the plasma sheet is curvature drift with a dawn-dusk electric field, leading to the production of auroral arcs. Eventually the curvature becomes so high that the ions cannot negotiate the sharp turn at the field-reversal region, locally, at a certain time. The particle motion becomes chaotic, causing a local outward meander of the cross-tail current. An induction electric field is produced by Lenz's law, E ^ind=–A/t. An outward meander with B _z>0 will cause E×B flow everywhere out from the disturbance; this reaction is a macroscopic instability which we designate the electromotive instability. The response of the plasma is through charge separation and a scalar potential, E ^es=–. Both types of electric fields have components parallel to B in a realistic magnetic field. For MHD theory to hold the net E must be small; this usually seems to happen (because MHD often does hold), but not always. Part of the response is the formation of field-aligned currents producing the well-known substorm current diversion. This is a direct result of a strong E ^ind (the cause) needed to overcome the mirror force of the current carriers; this enables charge separation to produce an opposing electrostatic field E ^es (the effect). Satellite data confirm the reality of a strong E in the plasma sheet by counter-streaming of electrons and ions, and by the inverse ion time dispersion, up to several 100 keV. The electron precipitation is associated with the westward traveling surge (WTS) and the ion with omega () bands, respectively. However, with zero curl, E ^es cannot modify the emf =Edl=–d^M/dt of the inductive electric field E ^ind (a property of vector fields); the charge separation that produces a reduction of E must enhance the transverse component E . The new plasma flow becomes a switch for access to the free energy of the stressed magnetotail. On the tailward side the dusk-dawn electric field with EJ<0 will cause tailward motion of the plasma and a plasmoid may be created; it will move in the direction of least magnetic pressure, tailward. On the earthward side the enhanced dawn-dusk induction electric field with EJ>0 will cause injection into the inner plasma sheet, repeatedly observed at moderate energies of 1–50 keV. This same electric field near the emerging X-line will accelerate particles non-adiabatically to moderate energies. With high magnetic moments in a weak magnetic field, electrons (ions) can benefit from gradient and curvature drift to attain high energies (by the ratio of the magnetic field magnitude) in seconds (minutes).     

Pulsars as gamma ray sources: Nebular shocks and magnetospheric gaps

I summarize the results of recent research on the structure and particle acceleration properties of relativistic shock waves in which the magnetic field is transverse to the flow direction in the upstream medium, and whose composition is primarily electrons and positrons with an admixture of heavy ions. Shocks which contain heavy ions that are a minority constituent by number but which carry most of the energy density in the upstream medium put 20% of the flow energy into a nonthermal population of pairs downstream, whose distribution in energy space is N(E) E ^-2, where N(E)dE is the number of particles with energy between E and E+dE. Synchrotron maser activity in the shock front, stimulated by the quasi-coherent gyration of the whole particle population as the plasma flowing into the shock reflects from the magnetic field in the shock front, provides the mechanism of thermalization and non-thermal particle acceleration. The maximum energy achievable by the pairs is _± m _± c ² = m _i c ² ₁/Z _i, where ₁ is the Lorentz factor of the upstream flow and Z _i is the atomic number of the ions. The shock's spatial structure contains a series of overshoots in the magnetic field, regions where the gyrating heavy ions compress the magnetic field to levels in excess of the eventual downstream value. These overshoots provide a new interpretation of the structure of the inner regions of the Crab Nebula, in particular of the wisps, surface brightness enhancements near the pulsar. The wisps appear brighter because the small Larmor radius pairs are compressed and radiate more efficiently in the regions of more intense magnetic field. This interpretation suggests that the structure of the shock terminating the pulsar's wind in the Crab Nebula is spatially resolved, and allows one to measure ₁ 4 × 10⁶, the upstream magnetic field B ₁ to be 3 × 10^-5 Gauss, as well as to show that the total ion flow is 3 × 10³⁴ elementary charges/sec, in good agreement with the total current flow predicted by the early Goldreich and Julian (1969) model. The total pair outflow is shown to be about 5 × 10³⁷ pairs per second, in good agreement with the particle flux required to explain the nebular X—ray source.The energetics of particle acceleration within the magnetospheres of rotation powered pulsars and the consequences for pulsed gamma ray emission are also briefly discussed. The gamma ray luminosity above 100 MeV is shown to scale in proportion to _R ^1/2 , as is in accord with some of the simplest ideas about polar cap models. Models based on acceleration in the outer magnetosphere are also briefly discussed.     

Ariel-6 medium energy spectral observations of active galaxies

X-ray spectra of the BL Lac type object Mkn 421 and several Seyfert type 1 galaxies; IIIZw2, MCG8-11-11 and NGC 4151, have been obtained using the Leicester University instrument on board the Ariel-6 satellite. The Mkn 421 spectrum is best represented by two powerlaw components, the soft component having 3.4 whilst the hard flux has 1.0. In MCG8-11-11 there is clear evidence for spectral variability between our observation in late 1979 and that of HEAO-1/A2 in 1977. The Ariel-6 spectrum of MCG8-11-11 can be fitted by a powerlaw of index 2.1 together with an iron line at 6.2 keV with an equivalent width of 1.6 keV. The first X-ray spectrum of IIIZw2 is also presented, fitting with a powerlaw we find an index of 1.7. With the exception of NGC 4151 there is no evidence for a significant column of cool material along the line of sight.     

Three-dimensional energetic ion observations and the tangential magnetopause electric field

Three-dimensional distributions for 24.0–44.5 keV protons (ions) are presented from the ISEE-1 medium energy particles instrument during a magnetopause traversal at 01:10 UT on 20 November 1977. Local time of the traversal was 1030. Ion fluxes were observed coming generally from the subsolar region, but over a wide range of latitudes. Enhanced fluxes were observed at the magnetopause crossing with strong components from the subsolar region and from the +Z _SE direction. These observations are compared with the simultaneous electric field observations presented by Mozer et al. (1978). Ion streaming in a direction consistent with the Y-component of the drift velocity was observed whereas streaming along the X and Z-components is not seen. Based on energy arguments we conclude that in this case, 24 keV ions are not the major energy carrier of the locally measured · dissipation.