Soviet-Indian research of cosmic radiation by high altitude balloons

The report presents some results on the cosmic radiation intensity research carried out with the high-altitude balloons for the period of 1977–1979. The intensity of gamma-radiation with the energy above 40 MeV was measured in two balloon flights at an altitude of 4–7 g/cm² of residual atmosphere in the vicinity of the geomagnetic equator. A temporal analysis of the intensity to discover fluctuations with periods in the range of 4–60 min was made. Quasi-periodic fluctuations of gamma-radiation intensity with 5 min periods, amplitude ～20% and duration of several hours were discovered. Possible mechanisms of such fluctuation appearance are discussed.The report gives the results of measuring downward, upward and horizontal electron fluxes in the vicinity of the equator. The obtained data and the data provided by satellites are compared. The report discusses the prospects of further joint Soviet-Indian research of cosmic gamma-radiation.     

Shock waves in water foams

Propagation of shock waves in tubes filled with water foams is studied using pressure gauges. Low amplitude shock waves consist of a precursor which propagates at a velocity slightly less than the acoustic velocity in the gas, and of a main compression wave which propagates slower than the precursor. Stronger shock waves have a single front. Maximum pressure rise in the incident and reflected shock waves cannot be calculated using one-dimensional conservation equations at the shock front. It is suggested that the flow of the liquid in foam cells has to be taken into account in order to predict the behavior of shock waves in foams. The nature of the gas which fills the cells is shown to have a strong effect on the quenching of blast waves in foams.     

A retarding potential analyzer for rocket experiments

A Retarding Potential Analyzer (RPA) is designed using a micro-channel plate in front of the collector as a flow amplifier, which makes it possible to detect ion species with very low concentration (<0,5 cm.^?3). A technique is described for using the micro-channel plate at abnormally high pressure (>0.01 N/m²). This allows the precise determination of the mass composition of the low ionosphere. An adaptive retarding potential consisting of 2048 steps is used to increase the sensitivity. This retarding potential is applied in the range where dI/dU ≠ 0. The sensor is hermetically sealed and opens on command.     

Pseudotransfer Function to Characterize a Hard Limiter

Results are reported on the attempt to define a pseudotransfer funtion of a circuit composed of a 2-pulse canceler and hard limiter.     

Effect of Envelope Limiting in Adaptive Array Control Loops

The properties of an adaptive array antenna, including transient response rate and control loop noise, depend on the intensity of the external noise field. This dependence can be reduced by envelope hard limiting in the control loops, without degrading the performance of the adaptive array.     

A Minimax Filter for Systems with Large Plant Uncertainties Using Measurements Corrupted by Colored Noise

A minimax filter is derived to estimate the state of a system, using observations corrupted by colored noise, when large uncertainties in the plant dynamics and process noise are present.     

Multiple Target Effects on Monopulse Signal Processing

Analysis of a typical amplitude-comparison monopulse angle-tracking radar shows that gain variation and bias in the radar error signal can occur under certain conditions involving multiple targets. The general behavior depends on the Doppler separation of the targets relative to system bandwidths; for a specific situation, the gain variation and bias are functions of the relative strengths of the targs. The analysis is shown to be consistent with experimental observations.     

Population dynamics of an algal-bacterial cenosis in closed ecological system.

The paper deals with microalgae-bacteria interrelationships in the "autotroph-heterotroph" aquatic biotic cycle. Explanations of why and how algal-bacterial ecosystems are formed still remain controversial. The paper presents results of experimental and theoretical investigations of the functioning of the algal-bacterial cenosis (the microalga Chlorella vulgaris and concomitant microflora). The Chlorella microbial community is dominated by representatives of the genus Pseudomonas. Experiments with non-sterile batch cultures of Chlorella on Tamiya medium showed that the biomass of microorganisms increases simultaneously with the increase in microalgal biomass. The microflora of Chlorella can grow on organic substances released by photosynthesizing Chlorella. Microorganisms can also use dying Chlorella cells, i.e. form a "producer-reducer" biocycle. To get a better insight into the cenosis-forming role of microalgae, a mathematical model of the "autotroph-heterotroph" aquatic biotic cycle has been constructed, taking into account the utilization of Chlorella photosynthates and dead cells by microorganisms and the contribution of the components to the nitrogen cycle. A theoretical study showed that the biomass of concomitant bacteria grown on glucose and detritus is larger than the biomass of bacteria utilizing only microalgal photosynthates, which agrees well with the experimental data.     

Secular evolution of rotary motion of a charged satellite in a decaying orbit

An electrostatically charged Earth satellite whose orbit is decaying due to the Earths oblateness is considered. Secular perturbations of the orbit are taken into account: they are caused by the second zonal harmonic of the geopotential. These perturbations represent deviations of the longitude of the ascending node and perigee argument, the orbit form being invariable and the orbit inclination to the equatorial plane being constant. The attitude rotary motion of the satellite under the action of perturbing moments of the gravitational and Lorentz forces is studied. The magnetic field of the Earth is taken in a quadrupole approximation. The evolution of the satellites rotary motion is investigated on the basis of new differential equations in s-parameters specially constructed for this purpose. Using the method of averaging, basic regularities of the secular evolution of rotary motion of a screened satellite are revealed. It is found that the rotary motion of a charged satellite essentially depends on the quadrupole component of the geomagnetic potential.__________Translated from Kosmicheskie Issledovaniya, Vol. 43, No. 2, 2005, pp. 111–125.Original Russian Text Copyright © 2005 by Tikhonov.