Models of P/Borrelly: Activity and dust mantle formation

Comet 19P/Borrelly was observed by Deep Space One spacecraft on September 22, 2001 (Soderblom et al., 2002).The DS1 images show a very dark and elongate nucleus with a complex topography; the IR spectra show a strong red-ward slope consistent with a very hot and dry surface (345K to 300K). During DS1 encounter the comet coma was dominated by a prominent jet but most of the comet was inactive, confirming the Earth-based observations that <10% of the surface is actively sublimating. We have developed a thermal evolution model of comet PBorrelly, using a numerical code that is able to solve the heat conduction and gas diffusion equations at the same time across an idealized spherical nucleus ( De Sanctis et al., 1999, 2000; Capria et al., 2000; Coradini et al., 1997a,b). The comet nucleus is composed by water, volatiles ices and dust in different proportions. The refractory component is made by grains that are embedded in the icy matrix. The code is able to account for the dust release, contributing to the dust flux, and the formation of dust mantles on the comet surface. The model was applied to a cometary nucleus with the estimated physical and dynamical characteristics of P/Borrelly in order to infer the status and activity level of a body on such an orbit during the DS1 observation. The comet gas flux, differentiation and thermal behavior were simulated and reproduced. The model results are in good agreement with the DS1 flyby results and the ground based observations, in terms of activity, dust coverage and temperatures of the surface.     

WIND/3DP and Nancay radioheliographobservations of solar energetic electron events

Initial results of a combined study of electron events using the 3DP experiment on the WIND spacecraftand the Nançay Radioheliograph (NRH) are presented. A total of 57 electron events whose solar release time could be inferred from WIND/3DP observations occurred during NRH observing times. In 40 of them a distinct signature was detected in maps at decimetric and metric wavelengths (dm-m-λ) taken by the NRH. These events are equally distributed among two categories: (1) Electron release together with dm-m-λ bursts of a few minutes duration: these events are also accompanied by decametric-hectometric type III bursts seen by WAVES/WIND. They correspond to the well-known impulsive electron events. (2) Electron release during long duration (several tens of minutes) dm-m-λ emission: the electrons are most often released more than ten minutes after the start of the radio event. In the majority of cases the dm-m-λ radio source changes position, size, and/or intensity near the time of electron release.     

Measurements of bidirectional reflectance of ordinary chondrite for muses-C in-situ detection

MUSES-C, a Japanese sample return mission, is targeting a small near Earth asteroid, 1998SF36, which is considered an S-type asteroid and is similar in spectroscopy to LL class ordinary chondrite meteorite ([Binzel et al., 2001]). Although this mission will bring us detailed photometric data, that is, disk-resolved bidirectional reflectance data of the asteroid, there were few bidirectional reflectance data of ordinary chondrite meteorites. For the purpose of comparison with the data obtained by the in-situ observation, we have performed measurements of bidirectional reflectance of ordinary chondrite samples.

Here we summarize the result of our laboratory measurements of the bidirectional reflectance and compare them with the scattering property of 1998SF36. Although the geometric albedo of 1998SF36 is higher than the typical value of S-type asteroids, however, the laboratory data of ordinary chondrite are similar to or brighter than the model disk-resolved reflectance of 1998SF36 derived from disk-integrated ground-based data. We found in our laboratory data that there is a positive correlation between the surface roughness and the strength of the opposition effect. A stronger opposition effect in the reflectance of 1998SF36 than the laboratory data may therefore indicate that the surface of the asteroid has rougher structure than our laboratory samples.     

Particle Acceleration Mechanisms

In this paper we review the possible mechanisms for production of non-thermal electrons which are responsible for the observed non-thermal radiation in clusters of galaxies. Our primary focus is on non-thermal Bremsstrahlung and inverse Compton scattering, that produce hard X-ray emission. We first give a brief review of acceleration mechanisms and point out that in most astrophysical situations, and in particular for the intracluster medium, shocks, turbulence and plasma waves play a crucial role. We also outline how the effects of the turbulence can be accounted for. Using a generic model for turbulence and acceleration, we then consider two scenarios for production of non-thermal radiation. The first is motivated by the possibility that hard X-ray emission is due to non-thermal Bremsstrahlung by nonrelativistic particles and attempts to produce non-thermal tails by accelerating the electrons from the background plasma with an initial Maxwellian distribution. For acceleration rates smaller than the Coulomb energy loss rate, the effect of energising the plasma is to primarily heat the plasma with little sign of a distinct non-thermal tail. Such tails are discernible only for acceleration rates comparable or larger than the Coulomb loss rate. However, these tails are accompanied by significant heating and they are present for a short time of <10⁶ years, which is also the time that the tail will be thermalised. A longer period of acceleration at such rates will result in a runaway situation with most particles being accelerated to very high energies. These more exact treatments confirm the difficulty with this model, first pointed out by Petrosian (Astrophys. J. 557:560, 2001). Such non-thermal tails, even if possible, can only explain the hard X-ray but not the radio emission which needs GeV or higher energy electrons. For these and for production of hard X-rays by the inverse Compton model, we need the second scenario where there is injection and subsequent acceleration of relativistic electrons. It is shown that a steady state situation, for example arising from secondary electrons produced from cosmic ray proton scattering by background protons, will most likely lead to flatter than required electron spectra or it requires a short escape time of the electrons from the cluster. An episodic injection of relativistic electrons, presumably from galaxies or AGN, and/or episodic generation of turbulence and shocks by mergers can result in an electron spectrum consistent with observations but for only a short period of less than one billion years.     

Sharp boundaries of solar wind plasma structures and their relationship to solar wind turbulence

Sharp (<10 min) and large (>20%) solar wind ion flux changes are common phenomena in turbulent solar wind plasma. These changes are the boundaries of small- and middle-scale solar wind plasma structures which can have a significant influence on Earth’s magnetosphere. These solar wind ion flux changes are typically accompanied by only a small change in the bulk solar wind velocity, hence, the flux changes are driven mainly by plasma density variations. We show that these events occur more frequently in high-density solar wind. A characteristic of solar wind turbulence, intermittency, is determined for time periods with and without these flux changes. The probability distribution functions (PDF) of solar wind ion flux variations for different time scales are calculated for each of these periods and compared. For large time scales, the PDFs are Gaussian for both data sets. For small time scales, the PDFs from both data set are more flat than Gaussian, but the degree of flatness is much larger for the data near the sharp flux change boundaries.     

Simulation Techniques for Cosmological Simulations

Modern cosmological observations allow us to study in great detail the evolution and history of the large scale structure hierarchy. The fundamental problem of accurate constraints on the cosmological parameters, within a given cosmological model, requires precise modelling of the observed structure. In this paper we briefly review the current most effective techniques of large scale structure simulations, emphasising both their advantages and shortcomings. Starting with basics of the direct N-body simulations appropriate to modelling cold dark matter evolution, we then discuss the direct-sum technique GRAPE, particle-mesh (PM) and hybrid methods, combining the PM and the tree algorithms. Simulations of baryonic matter in the Universe often use hydrodynamic codes based on both particle methods that discretise mass, and grid-based methods. We briefly describe Eulerian grid methods, and also some variants of Lagrangian smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) methods.     

Intrinsic time scale for reconnection on the dayside magnetopause

Recently much attention has been focused on the transient behavior of the magnetopause in response to pressure pulses and southward fluctuations of the interplanetary magnetic field. We examine the motion of the magnetopause behind the foreshock and conclude that this motion is affected by foreshock pressure variations but not by fluctuations in the direction of the magnetic field. Neither magnetopause erosion nor flux transfer event occurrence is controlled by the foreshock. On the contrary, flux transfer events occur at times of steady IMF and thier quasi-periodic behavior is controlled by the magnetopause or the magnetosphere and is not driven by the external boundary conditions. Since flux transfer events are clearly due to reconnection, this observation implies that the IMF must be southward some time perhaps as long as 7 minutes before flux transfer begins.     

Response of Hainan GPS ionospheric scintillations to the different strong magnetic storm conditions

Using the GPS ionospheric scintillation data at Hainan station (19.5°N, 109.1°E) in the eastern Asia equatorial regions and relevant ionospheric and geomagnetic data from July 2003 to June 2005, we investigate the response of L-band ionospheric scintillation activity over this region to different strong magnetic storm conditions (Dst < −100 nT) during the descending phase of the solar cycle. These strong storms and corresponding scintillations mainly took place in winter and summer seasons. When the main phase developed rapidly and reached the maximum near 20–21 LT (LT = UT + 8) after sunset, scintillations might occur in the following recovery phase. When the main phase maximum occurred shortly after midnight near 01–02 LT, following the strong scintillations in the pre-midnight main phase, scintillations might also occur in the post-midnight recovery phase. When the main phase maximum took place after 03 LT to the early morning hours no any scintillation could be observed in the latter of the night. Moreover, when the main phase maximum occurred during the daytime hours, scintillations could also hardly be observed in the following nighttime recovery phase, which might last until the end of recovery phase. Occasionally, scintillations also took place in the initial phase of the storm. During those scintillations associated with the nighttime magnetic storms, the height of F layer base (h’F) was evidently increased. However, the increase of F layer base height does not always cause the occurrence of scintillations, which indicates the complex interaction of various disturbance processes in ionosphere and thermosphere systems during the storms.