Magnetic energy storage and conversion in the solar atmosphere

A review of the theoretical problems associated with preflare magnetic energy storage and conversion is presented. The review consists of three parts; preflare magnetic energy storage, magnetic energy conversion mechanisms, and preflare triggers. In Section 2, the relationship between magnetic energy storage and the electrodynamic coupling of the solar atmosphere is developed. By accounting for the electrodynamic coupling of the solar atmosphere, we are able to examine the fundamental problems associated with the concept of in situ versus remote magnetic-energy storage. Furthermore, this approach permits us to distinguish between the roles of local and global parameters in the storage process.Section 3 is focused on the conversion mechanisms that can explain, in principle, the rapid energy release of a flare. In addition, we discuss how electrodynamic coupling eventually dictates which mechanism(s) is responsible for releasing the stored magnetic energy, and how the global coupling dictates the final evolution of the relevant mechanism. Section 4 examines preflare triggers and Section 5, we examine the most promising directions for future research into the problem of magnetic-energy storage and conversion of the Sun.     

Leaky Coaxial Cable Resource Protection Sensor Performance Analysis

The performance of an RF intrusion detection system which uses a leaky coaxial cable sensor is analyzed. A simple cable sensor field model is assumed which gives good agreement between the computed response and observation. Expressions that describe the performance of several deployment configurations and receiver types are developed. The probability of detection and the zone of containment are computed and their uniformity is examined as a function of cable propagation constants.     

Stability of Gyro in a Vehicle Spinning with Uncertain Angular Velocity

The analysis of a single-axis rate gyroscope mounted in a vehicle which is spinning with uncertain angular velocity about the spin axis of the gyro is presented. The nonlinearity in the equation of motion of the gimbal is retained. Using circle criterion, it is shown that the gimbal motion is globally asymptotically stable if Nyquist plot of the linear transfer function of the gyro lies in the interior of a certain disk. A simple analytical relation for the selection of gyro parameters for stability is derived.     

Large-Signal Transient Responses of a Switching Regulator

Analytical and experimental considerations of the large-signal transient responses of the buck-type switching regulator are described. The dynamic behavior under the large-signal condition is different from the small-signal operation because of the saturation characteristics of the pulsewidth modulator feedback controller. The effect of this nonlinearity is analyzed by dividing its operation into three modes. As a result the peak values of the inrush current and output voltage are obtained analytically both for the start-up and for the step change of the load condition.     

Calculating Detection Probabilities for Systems Employing Noncoherent Integration

Cumulative probability distributions that occur in radar and sonar detection problems are calculated directly from the characteristic function by using a Fourier series. The error in the result is controlled by two parameters which can be adjusted to suit the application. The technique is applied to the problem of determining the detection performance of consecutive discrete Fourier transforms (DFTs) for a narrowband Gaussian signal with a rectangular spectrum. Since the characteristic function is used directly in its product form this technique does not suffer from the numerical problems associated with the partial fraction approach. The technique can handle many different problems in a single computational structure making it a valuable tool in system performance studies.     

X-ray diagnostics of globular clusters

The presence of compact X-ray sources in globular clusters allows diagnostic studies of both the X-ray sources themselves and the globular clusters to be carried out. A review of much of this work, primarily based on Einstein X-ray observations and supporting studies of globular clusters at radio through UV wavelengths, is presented. The compact X-ray sources in globular clusters are found to be compact binaries containing neutron stars and - in a separate lower luminosity component of an apparently bimodal luminosity function - possibly white dwarfs. Implications for the formation and evolution of compact binary X-ray sources in globular clusters and in the galactic bulge are discussed. In particular, new evidence is presented that the galactic bulge sources may be compact binaries in the remnants of disrupted globular clusters.     

The Effect of Pulse Shape and Duty Cycle on Laser Binary Communication Systems

The result of an investigation of the effects of pulse shape and duty cycle on the probability of error are presented for a pulse-gated binary modulation (PGBM) laser communication system when the background irradiance has the important Lorentzian spectral shape.     

Two-frequency radio occultation measurements with Venera-9 and Venera-10 orbiters

The experiment with two-frequency radio occultation measurements of the Venusian nightside ionosphere using the Venera-9 and 10 orbiters is described. The experiment is the first of a kind in which the radio link to one of the spacecraft is used to probe the ionosphere, while the other is measuring the variations in the integral electron number density along the path of radio ray propagation. The experiment has been designed to achieve the maximum possible accuracies in determining the parameters of the probed ionosphere using the bistatic two-frequency radio occultation method.     

The morphology of the Martian surface

Most of the southern hemisphere of Mars is densely cratered and stands 1–3 km above the topographic datum. The northern hemisphere is more sparsely cratered and elevations are generally below the datum. A broad rise, the Tharsis bulge, centered at 14° S, 101° W, is 8000 km across and 10 km above the datum at its summit. The densely cratered terrain has two main components; very ancient crust, nearly saturated with large craters, and younger intercrater plains. In many areas the older unit is fractured and extensively dissected by small channels. The younger intercrater plains are distinctly layered in places and less dissected, less fractured, and less cratered. Both units probably date from very early in the planet's history. Cratered plains cover much of the northern hemisphere and are highly variegated. Those around the large volcanoes are covered with numerous volcanic flows whereas in other areas the plains are featureless except for craters and lunar mare-like ridges. Between 40° N and 60° N the plains are complex with various kinds of striped and patterned ground, low escarpments, and isolated irregularly shaped mesas. Their peculiar morphology has been attributed, in part, to the repeated deposition and removal of volatile-rich debris layers. Along the boundary between the northern plains and the densely cratered terrain to the south, the plains and cratered terrain complexly inter-finger. The old terrain forms the high ground and appears to have undergone mass wasting on a large scale. In several areas, particularly south of Chryse Planitia, the old, cratered surface has collapsed to form chaotic terrain. Large channels, tens of kilometers wide and hundreds of kilometers long, with numerous characteristics suggestive of catastrophic flooding, commonly emerge from the chaotic areas. Much of the area between 50° W and 180° W and 50° N and 50° S is cut by fractures radial to the center of the Tharsis bulge. The equatorial canyon system, Valles Marineris, is radial to the bulge and appears to have formed largely by faulting along the radial fractures, although it has also been extensively modified by various mass wasting and fluvial processes. Most but not all volcanoes are in the Tharsis and Elysium regions. The largest resemble terrestrial shield volcanoes except for scale; the edifices, flow features and calderas are all far larger than their terrestrial counterparts. Most impact craters on Mars are surrounded by layers of ejecta, each with a distil ridge. This unique morphology coupled with other surface characteristics suggests large amounts of ground ice. Layered deposits at both poles appear to be relatively young, volatile-rich, aeolian deposits. The north pole is also surrounded by a continuous belt of dunes several tens of kilometers across. In most other places, aeolian modification of the surface at a scale of several tens of meters appears slight despite annual global dust storms.