Interplanetary Coronal Mass Ejections Observed in the Heliosphere: 2. Model and Data Comparison

With the recent advancements in interplanetary coronal mass ejection (ICME) imaging it is necessary to understand how heliospheric images may be interpreted, particularly at large elongation angles. Of crucial importance is how the current methods used for coronal mass ejection measurement in coronagraph images must be changed to account for the large elongations involved in the heliosphere. We present results comparing a new model of interplanetary disturbances with heliospheric image data, from the Solar Mass Ejection Imager. A database containing a range of ICMEs simulated with varying parameters describing its topology, orientation, location and speed was produced and compared with two ICMEs observed in February and December 2004. We identify the simulated ICME that best matches the data, and use the parameters required to identify their three-dimensional leading-edge structure, orientation and kinematics. By constant comparison with the data we are able to keep track of small changes to the ICME topology and kinematic properties, thus for the first time are able to monitor how the dynamic interaction between the ICME and the interplanetary medium affects ICME evolution. This is the second part of a series of three papers, where the theory behind the model is presented in an accompanying paper and the physical implications are discussed in the third part. The first part considers the effects of Thomson scattering across the entire span of the disturbance and includes its apparent geometry at large elongations. We find that the model converges reliably to a solution for both events, although we identify four separate structures during the December period. Comparing the 3-D trajectory and source location with known associated features identified with other spacecraft, we find a remarkable agreement between the model and data. We conclude with a brief discussion of the physical implications of the model.     

Status of the GAMMA-400 project

The preliminary design of the new space gamma-ray telescope GAMMA-400 for the energy range 100 MeV–3 TeV is presented. The angular resolution of the instrument, 1–2° at E_γ ∼ 100 MeV and ∼0.01° at E_γ > 100 GeV, its energy resolution ∼1% at E_γ > 100 GeV, and the proton rejection factor ∼10⁶ are optimized to address a broad range of science topics, such as search for signatures of dark matter, studies of Galactic and extragalactic gamma-ray sources, Galactic and extragalactic diffuse emission, gamma-ray bursts, as well as high-precision measurements of spectra of cosmic-ray electrons, positrons, and nuclei.     

Numerical Simulation of Detachment Dynamics of a Payload from the Parent Aircraft

This paper presents the numerical simulation of detachment dynamics of a payload from its parent aircraft. The simulation allowed obtaining the free motion parameters of the payload taking into account its mass and momentum characteristics, aerodynamic forces and moments as well as gravity.     

Possible role of electrostatic potential in formation of sharp boundaries of small-scale and middle-scale solar wind structures

Sharp boundaries of small-scale and middle-scale structures of the solar wind are an essential part of a turbulized solar wind. Such boundaries are observed near the Earth’s orbit as sharp and large-amplitude changes of parameters (in particular, ion density) of the solar wind. In this paper, the observed phenomena are briefly described, and an account of their basic properties and specific features is given. Using the kinetic approach, a possible theoretical mechanism is suggested in order to explain some peculiarities in the formation of these structures.     

AE9, AP9 and SPM: New Models for Specifying the Trapped Energetic Particle and Space Plasma Environment

The radiation belts and plasma in the Earth’s magnetosphere pose hazards to satellite systems which restrict design and orbit options with a resultant impact on mission performance and cost. For decades the standard space environment specification used for spacecraft design has been provided by the NASA AE8 and AP8 trapped radiation belt models. There are well-known limitations on their performance, however, and the need for a new trapped radiation and plasma model has been recognized by the engineering community for some time. To address this challenge a new set of models, denoted AE9/AP9/SPM, for energetic electrons, energetic protons and space plasma has been developed. The new models offer significant improvements including more detailed spatial resolution and the quantification of uncertainty due to both space weather and instrument errors. Fundamental to the model design, construction and operation are a number of new data sets and a novel statistical approach which captures first order temporal and spatial correlations allowing for the Monte-Carlo estimation of flux thresholds for user-specified percentile levels (e.g., 50th and 95th) over the course of the mission. An overview of the model architecture, data reduction methods, statistics algorithms, user application and initial validation is presented in this paper.     

Physical–chemical properties of plasma membrane and function of erythrocytes of cosmonauts after long-term space flight

We studied microfluidity and selective ion permeability of plasma membranes and O₂-binding properties of erythrocytes of cosmonauts during early rehabilitation after a long-term space flight (LTSF). Microfluidity of plasma membranes in surface regions was found to undergo a reversible decrease during 13–15 days following LTSF, which was accompanied by a reversible increase in relative cholesterol content. Cosmonauts’ erythrocytes revealed an increased activity of Na/H-exchanger and K_Ca-channel as well as a decrease in number of discocytes and increase in number of echinocytes, stomatocytes and knizocytes. Total hemoglobin content as well as oxyhemoglobin content were lowered after the LTSF, while the affinity of hemoglobin to O₂ was advanced. It is suggested that the changes in Hb properties, microfluidity and selective permeability of plasma membranes following the elevated cholesterol content in the membranes can decrease tissue supply with O₂.     

仿生物态模拟型硬件理论与关键技术研究

阐述了模拟型仿生硬件的概念、基本思想与技术瓶颈，分析了基于FPTA(Field programmable transistor array)的模拟型仿生硬件的结构与电子细胞电路工作原理。给出了模拟型仿生硬件的电路编码方案、个体电路测试评估方法和进化实现过程。提出了基于单染色体自适应变异进化机制的模拟型仿生硬件进化算法。以信号放大器、半波整流器、异或门数字电路作为典型应用实例，来验证模拟型仿生硬件的进化特性，并讨论了进化算法的参数选取、染色体适应度评估问题。仿真结果表明：所提出硬件进化算法的进化速度快、成功率高，所设计的FPTA细胞阵列可以实现模拟信号放大、信号处理和数字电路逻辑功能。     

Inconsistency of magnetic field and plasma velocity variations in the distant plasma sheet: Violation of the “frozen-in” criterion?

Measurements of the magnetic field and low energy plasma by the GEOTAIL spacecraft have been used to study the relationship between variations of the plasma velocity and of the magnetic field in the distant (100–200 R_E) and middle (40–80 R_E) tail. The analysis was carried out separately for the tail lobes and the plasma sheet. It is shown that the absolute values of the magnetic field and plasma velocity, as well as their corresponding components (V_X and B_X, V_Y and B_Y, V_Z and B_Z), are linearly connected in the tail lobes. In the plasma sheet, however, the plasma velocity and the magnetic field do not seem to be related to one another. The distant plasma sheet seems to be in a regime of turbulence. The diffusion coefficients estimated from our data set of the velocity parameters in the plasma sheet are in good agreement with the theoretical predictions of Antonova and Ovchinnikov (1996, 1999).