The importance of charged aerosols in the polar mesosphere in connection with Noctilucent Clouds and Polar Mesosphere Summer Echoes

A number of campaigns have been conducted in order to study Polar Mesosphere Summer Echos (PMSE) and Noctilucent Clouds (NLC) in the period 1991–1994. Several sounding rockets have been launched through these layers with measurements being performed on upleg as well as downleg. These include measurements of positive ions and electrons in both ram and wake positions, as well as measurements of charged aerosols in ram on upleg. In this paper we will review these measurements and make a preliminary classification of the data based upon the presence of PMSE and/or NLC. One of the mechanisms responsible for PMSE is the presence of neutral air turbulence in combination with a high Schmidt number. We will briefly discuss this type of echo using in situ rocket data. Differences and similarities of PMSE and NLC as observed both in the Arctic and the Antarctic will be discussed. Observations show that especially PMSE are much more frequent in the Arctic. This may be due to a difference in the water vapour content or the temperature at mesopause heights. Lack of data in the Antarctic makes it difficult to decide which of these two factors are the most important. More measurements, especially co-ordinated in situ and ground-based lidar and radar measurements, are needed to discuss the Arctic and Antarctic similarities and differences in further detail.     

Modelling of genetically engineered microorganisms introduction in closed artificial microcosms.

The possibility of introducing genetically engineered microorganisms (GEM) into simple biotic cycles of laboratory water microcosms was investigated. The survival of the recombinant strain Escherichia coli Z905 (Apr, Lux+) in microcosms depends on the type of model ecosystems. During the absence of algae blooming in the model ecosystem, the part of plasmid-containing cells E. coli decreased fast, and the structure of the plasmid was also modified. In conditions of algae blooming (Ankistrodesmus sp.) an almost total maintenance of plasmid-containing cells was observed in E. coli population. A mathematics model of GEM's behavior in water ecosystems with different level of complexity has been formulated. Mechanisms causing the difference in luminescent exhibition of different species are discussed, and attempts are made to forecast the GEM's behavior in water ecosystems.     

Analysis of an adaptive CFAR detector in non-Gaussian interference

Coherent signal detection in non-Gaussian interference is presently of interest in adaptive array applications. Conventional array detection algorithms inherently model the interference with a multivariate Gaussian random vector. However, non-Gaussian interference models are also under investigation for applications where the Gaussian assumption may not be appropriate. We analyze the performance of an adaptive array receiver for signal detection in interference modeled with a non-Gaussian distribution referred to as a spherically invariant random vector (SIRV). We first motivate this interference model with results from radar clutter measurements collected in the Mountain Top Program. Then we develop analytical expressions for the probability of false alarm and the probability of detection for the adaptive array receiver. Our analysis shows that the receiver has constant false alarm rate (CFAR) performance with respect to all the interference parameters. Some illustrative examples are included that compare the detection performance of this CFAR receiver with a receiver that has prior knowledge of the interference parameters     

Large-scale Coronal Heating, Clustering of Coronal Bright Points, and Concentration of Magnetic Flux

By combining quiet-region Fe XII coronal images from SOHO/EIT with magnetograms from NSO/Kitt Peak and from SOHO/MDI, we show that the population of network coronal bright points and the magnetic flux content of the network are both markedly greater under the bright half of the large-scale quiet corona than under the dim half. These results (1) support the view that the heating of the entire corona in quiet regions and coronal holes is driven by fine-scale magnetic activity (microflares, explosive events, spicules) seated low in the magnetic network, and (2) suggest that this large-scale modulation of the magnetic flux and coronal heating is a signature of giant convection cells. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Antideuterons as an indirect dark matter signature: Si(Li) detector development and a GAPS balloon mission

The General AntiParticle Spectrometer (GAPS) is a novel approach for indirect dark matter searches that exploits cosmic antideuterons. GAPS complements existing and planned direct dark matter searches as well as other indirect techniques, probing a different and unique region of parameter space in a variety of proposed dark matter models. The GAPS method involves capturing antiparticles into a target material with the subsequent formation of an excited exotic atom. The exotic atom decays with the emission of atomic X-rays and pions from the nuclear annihilation, which uniquely identifies the captured antiparticle. This technique has been verified through the accelerator testing at KEK in 2004 and 2005. The prototype flight is scheduled from Hokkaido, Japan in 2011, preparatory for a long duration balloon flight from the Antarctic in 2014.     

Simulation of the flow around a stationary circular cylinder taking into account laminar-turbulent transition

We consider a problem of a stationary incompressible viscous fluid flow around a flat circular cylinder. In the vicinity of the critical Reynolds number Re _cr a stepwise drop of the cylinder drag takes place, which is called the drag crisis.     

Energy Release and Particle Acceleration in Flares: Summary and Future Prospects

RHESSI measurements relevant to the fundamental processes of energy release and particle acceleration in flares are summarized. RHESSI??s precise measurements of hard X-ray continuum spectra enable model-independent deconvolution to obtain the parent electron spectrum. Taking into account the effects of albedo, these show that the low energy cut-off to the electron power-law spectrum is typically ?tens of keV, confirming that the accelerated electrons contain a large fraction of the energy released in flares. RHESSI has detected a high coronal hard X-ray source that is filled with accelerated electrons whose energy density is comparable to the magnetic-field energy density. This suggests an efficient conversion of energy, previously stored in the magnetic field, into the bulk acceleration of electrons. A new, collisionless (Hall) magnetic reconnection process has been identified through theory and simulations, and directly observed in space and in the laboratory; it should occur in the solar corona as well, with a reconnection rate fast enough for the energy release in flares. The reconnection process could result in the formation of multiple elongated magnetic islands, that then collapse to bulk-accelerate the electrons, rapidly enough to produce the observed hard X-ray emissions. RHESSI??s pioneering ??-ray line imaging of energetic ions, revealing footpoints straddling a flare loop arcade, has provided strong evidence that ion acceleration is also related to magnetic reconnection. Flare particle acceleration is shown to have a close relationship to impulsive Solar Energetic Particle (SEP) events observed in the interplanetary medium, and also to both fast coronal mass ejections and gradual SEP events. New instrumentation to provide the high sensitivity and wide dynamic range hard X-ray and ??-ray measurements, plus energetic neutral atom (ENA) imaging of SEPs above ??2 R_??, will enable the next great leap forward in understanding particle acceleration and energy release is large solar eruptions??solar flares and associated fast coronal mass ejections (CMEs).