Crustal S-Wave Velocity from Apparent Incidence Angles: A Case Study in Preparation for InSight

Retrieval of crustal structure and thickness of Mars is among the main goals of InSight. Here we investigate which constraints on the crust at the landing site can be provided by apparent P-wave incidence angles derived from P-receiver functions. We consider receiver functions for six different Mars models, calculated from synthetic seismograms generated via Instaseis from the Green’s function databases of the Marsquake Service, in detail. To allow for a larger range of crustal thicknesses and structures, we additionally analyze data from five broad-band stations across Central Europe. We find that the likely usable epicentral distance range for P-wave receiver functions on Mars lies between \(35^{\circ}\) and the core shadow, and can be extended to more than \(150^{\circ}\) by also using the PP-phase. Comparison to models for the spatial distribution of Martian seismicity indicates that sufficient seismicity should occur within the P-wave distance range around InSight within the nominal mission duration to allow for the application of our method. Apparent P-wave incidence angles are derived from the amplitudes of vertical and radial receiver functions at the P-wave onset within a range of period bands, up to 120 s. The apparent incidence angles are directly related to apparent S-wave velocities, which are inverted for the subsurface S-wave velocity structure via a grid search. The veracity of the forward calculated receiver functions and apparent S-wave velocities is ensured by benchmarking various algorithms against the Instaseis synthetics. Results indicate that apparent S-wave velocity curves provide valuable constraints on crustal thickness and structure, even without any additional constraints, and considering the location uncertainty and limited data quantity of InSight. S-wave velocities in the upper half of the crust are constrained best, but if reliable measurements at long periods are available, the curves also provide constraints down to the uppermost mantle. Besides, it is demonstrated that the apparent velocity curves can differentiate between crustal velocity models that are indistinguishable by other methods.     

Evolution of the Sunspot Number and Solar Wind $$ Time Series

The past two decades have witnessed significant changes in our knowledge of long-term solar and solar wind activity. The sunspot number time series (1700-present) developed by Rudolf Wolf during the second half of the 19th century was revised and extended by the group sunspot number series (1610–1995) of Hoyt and Schatten during the 1990s. The group sunspot number is significantly lower than the Wolf series before ～1885. An effort from 2011–2015 to understand and remove differences between these two series via a series of workshops had the unintended consequence of prompting several alternative constructions of the sunspot number. Thus it has been necessary to expand and extend the sunspot number reconciliation process. On the solar wind side, after a decade of controversy, an ISSI International Team used geomagnetic and sunspot data to obtain a high-confidence time series of the solar wind magnetic field strength (\(B\)) from 1750-present that can be compared with two independent long-term (> ～600 year) series of annual \(B\)-values based on cosmogenic nuclides. In this paper, we trace the twists and turns leading to our current understanding of long-term solar and solar wind activity.     

Recent Advancements and Motivations of Simulated Pluto Experiments

This review of Pluto laboratory research presents some of the recent advancements and motivations in our understanding enabled by experimental simulations, the need for experiments to facilitate models, and predictions for future laboratory work. The spacecraft New Horizons at Pluto has given a large amount of scientific data already rising to preliminary results, spanning from the geology to the atmosphere. Different ice mixtures have now been detected, with the main components being nitrogen, methane, and carbon monoxide. Varying geology and atmospheric hazes, however, gives us several questions that need to be addressed to further our understanding. Our review summarizes the complexity of Pluto, the motivations and importance of laboratory simulations critical to understanding the low temperature and pressure environments of icy bodies such as Pluto, and the variability of instrumentation, challenges for research, and how simulations and modeling are complimentary.     

Emerging Parameter Space Map of Magnetic Reconnection in Collisional and Kinetic Regimes

In large-scale systems of interest to solar physics, there is growing evidence that magnetic reconnection involves the formation of extended current sheets which are unstable to plasmoids (secondary magnetic islands). Recent results suggest that plasmoids may play a critical role in the evolution of reconnection, and have raised fundamental questions regarding the applicability of resistive MHD to various regimes. In collisional plasmas, where the thickness of all resistive layers remain larger than the ion gyroradius, simulations results indicate that plasmoids permit reconnection to proceed much faster than the slow Sweet-Parker scaling. However, it appears these rates are still a factor of ～10× slower than observed in kinetic regimes, where the diffusion region current sheet falls below the ion gyroradius and additional physics beyond MHD becomes crucially important. Over a broad range of interesting parameters, the formation of plasmoids may naturally induce a transition into these kinetic regimes. New insights into this scenario have emerged in recent years based on a combination of linear theory, fluid simulations and fully kinetic simulations which retain a Fokker-Planck collision operator to allow a rigorous treatment of Coulomb collisions as the reconnection electric field exceeds the runaway limit. Here, we present some new results from this approach for guide field reconnection. Based upon these results, a parameter space map is constructed that summarizes the present understanding of how reconnection proceeds in various regimes.     

Single Degenerate Models for Type Ia Supernovae: Progenitor’s Evolution and Nucleosynthesis Yields

We review how the single degenerate models for Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) works. In the binary star system of a white dwarf (WD) and its non-degenerate companion star, the WD accretes either hydrogen-rich matter or helium and undergoes hydrogen and helium shell-burning. We summarize how the stability and non-linear behavior of such shell-burning depend on the accretion rate and the WD mass and how the WD blows strong wind. We identify the following evolutionary routes for the accreting WD to trigger a thermonuclear explosion. Typically, the accretion rate is quite high in the early stage and gradually decreases as a result of mass transfer. With decreasing rate, the WD evolves as follows: (1) At a rapid accretion phase, the WD increase its mass by stable H burning and blows a strong wind to keep its moderate radius. The wind is strong enough to strip a part of the companion star’s envelope to control the accretion rate and forms circumstellar matter (CSM). If the WD explodes within CSM, it is observed as an “SN Ia-CSM”. (X-rays emitted by the WD are absorbed by CSM.) (2) If the WD continues to accrete at a lower rate, the wind stops and an SN Ia is triggered under steady-stable H shell-burning, which is observed as a super-soft X-ray source: “SN Ia-SSXS”. (3) If the accretion continues at a still lower rate, H shell-burning becomes unstable and many flashes recur. The WD undergoes recurrent nova (RN) whose mass ejection is smaller than the accreted matter. Then the WD evolves to an “SN Ia-RN”. (4) If the companion is a He star (or a He WD), the accretion of He can trigger He and C double detonations at the sub-Chandrasekhar mass or the WD grows to the Chandrasekhar mass while producing a He-wind: “SN Ia-He CSM”. (5) If the accreting WD rotates quite rapidly, the WD mass can exceed the Chandrasekhar mass of the spherical WD, which delays the trigger of an SN Ia. After angular momentum is lost from the WD, the (super-Chandra) WD contracts to become a delayed SN Ia. The companion star has become a He WD and CSM has disappeared: “SN Ia-He WD”. We update nucleosynthesis yields of the carbon deflagration model W7, delayed detonation model WDD2, and the sub-Chandrasekhar mass model to provide some constraints on the yields (such as Mn) from the comparison with the observations. We note the important metallicity effects on ⁵⁸Ni and ⁵⁵Mn.     

A Hitch-hiker’s Guide to Stochastic Differential Equations

In this review, an overview of the recent history of stochastic differential equations (SDEs) in application to particle transport problems in space physics and astrophysics is given. The aim is to present a helpful working guide to the literature and at the same time introduce key principles of the SDE approach via “toy models”. Using these examples, we hope to provide an easy way for newcomers to the field to use such methods in their own research. Aspects covered are the solar modulation of cosmic rays, diffusive shock acceleration, galactic cosmic ray propagation and solar energetic particle transport. We believe that the SDE method, due to its simplicity and computational efficiency on modern computer architectures, will be of significant relevance in energetic particle studies in the years to come.     

Neutrinos from Supernovae

Neutrinos are fundamental particles in the collapse of massive stars. Because of their weakly interacting nature, neutrinos can travel undisturbed through the stellar core and be direct probes of the still uncertain and fascinating supernova mechanism. Intriguing recent developments on the role of neutrinos during the stellar collapse are reviewed, as well as our current understanding of the flavor conversions in the stellar envelope. The detection perspectives of the next burst and of the diffuse supernova background will be also outlined. High-energy neutrinos in the GeV-PeV range can follow the MeV neutrino emission. Various scenarios concerning the production of high-energy neutrinos are discussed.     

Research on High-Precision Measurement Systems of Modern Aircraft

High-precision measurement systems of modern aircraft are studied in this paper. A measurement system with correction in the structure of inertial navigation system is introduced for highprecision aircraft. In the correction algorithms, a linear error model of the navigation system is usually used. With the aim of increasing the accuracy of the navigation system, we propose a nonlinear correction algorithm based on the state dependent coefficient representation of the nonlinear model.