Chromospheric line emission in seismically active flares

Some flares are known to drive seismic transients into the solar interior. The effects of these seismic transients are seen in helioseismic observations of the Sun’s surface thousands of km from their sources in the hour succeeding the impulsive phase of the flare. Energetic particles impinging from the corona into the chromosphere are known to drive strong, downward-propagating shocks in active region chromospheres during the impulsive phases of flares. H observations have served as an important diagnostic of these shocks, showing intense emission with characteristic transient redshifts. In most flares no detectable transients penetrate beneath the active region photosphere. In those that do, there is a strong correlation between compact white-light emission and the signature of seismic emission. This study introduces the first known H observations of acoustically active flares, centered in the core of the line. The morphology of line-core emission H in the impulsive phase of the flare is similar to that of co-spatial line-core emission in NaD₁, encompassing the site of seismic emission but more extended. The latter shows a compact red shift in the region of seismic emission, but a similar feature is known to appear in a conjugate magnetic footpoint from which no seismic emission emanates. Radiative MHD modelling based on the profiles of chromospheric line emission during the impulsive phases of flares can contribute significantly to our understanding of the mechanics of flare acoustic emission penetrating into the solar interior and the conditions under which it occurs.     

On the nature of coronal loops above the quiet sun network

The structure and dynamics of a box in a stellar corona can be modeled employing a 3D MHD model for different levels of magnetic activity. Depending on the magnetic flux through the surface the nature of the resulting coronal structures can be quite different. We investigate a model of an active region for two sunspots surrounded by magnetic field patches comparable in magnetic flux to the sunspots. The model results in emission from the model corona being concentrated in loop structures. In Gudiksen and Nordlund (2005) the loops seen in EUV and X-ray emission outline the magnetic field, following the general paradigm. However, in our model, where the magnetic field is far from a force-free state, the loops seen in X-ray emission do not follow the magnetic field lines. This result is of interest especially for loops as found in areas where the magnetic field emerging from active regions interacts with the surrounding network.     

A morphological study of GPS-TEC data at Agra and their comparison with the IRI model

The temporal and seasonal variations of Total Electron Content (TEC) are studied at Agra (Geographic Lat. 27.17°N, Long. 78.89°E, Dip: 41.4°), India, which is in the equatorial anomaly region, for a period of 12 months from 01 January to 31 December, 2007 using a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver. The mean TEC values show a minimum at 0500 h LT (LT = UT + 5.5 h) and a peak value at about 1400 h LT. The lowest TEC values are observed in winter whereas largest values are observed in equinox and summer. Anomalous variations are found during the period of magnetic disturbances. These results are compared with the TEC derived from IRI-2007 using three different options of topside electron density, NeQuick, IRI01-corr, and IRI-2001. A good agreement is found between the TEC obtained at Agra and those derived from IRI models.     

Global structure,seasonal and interannual variability of the eastward propagating tides seen in the SABER/TIMED temperatures (2002–2007)

The present paper is focused on the global spatial (altitude and latitude) structure, seasonal and interannual variability of the most stable in amplitude and phase eastward propagating diurnal and semidiurnal tides with zonal wavenumbers 2 and 3 derived from the SABER/TIMED temperatures for full 6 years (January 2002–December 2007). The tidal results are obtained by an analysis method where the tides (migrating and nonmigrating) and the planetary waves (zonally travelling, zonally symmetric and stationary) are simultaneously extracted from the satellite data. It has been found that the structures of the eastward propagating diurnal tides with zonal wavenumbers 3 and 2 change from antisymmetric with respect to the equator below ∼85 km height, to more symmetric above ∼95 km. The seasonal behavior of the DE3 is dominated by annual variation with maximum in August–September reaching average (2002–2007) amplitude of ∼15 K, while that of the DE2 by semiannual variation with solstice maxima and with average amplitude of ∼8 K. These tides revealed some interannual variability with a period of quasi-2 years. The seasonal behavior of the eastward propagating semidiurnal tide with zonal wavenumber 2 in the southern hemisphere (SH) is dominated by annual variation with maximum in the austral summer (November–January) while that in the northern hemisphere (NH) by semiannual variation with equinoctial maxima. The SE2 maximizes near 115 km height and at latitude of ∼30° reaching an average amplitude of ∼6 K. The seasonal behavior of the eastward propagating semidiurnal tide with zonal wavenumber 3 in both hemispheres indicates a main maximum during June solstice and a secondary one during December solstice. The tide maximizes near 110–115 km height and at a latitude of ∼30° reaching an average amplitude of ∼4.8 K in the SH and ∼4 K in the NH. The tidal structures of the two eastward propagating semidiurnal tides are predominantly antisymmetric about the equator.     

Star visibility and tracking from the Space Station

Purpose of the present study is to provide algorithms for and examples of how to simulate star visibility and tracking by a Telescope attached to the main truss of the International Space Station (ISS).     

Sporadic emission of ultra high energy gamma rays from crab pulsar

In a further study of sporadic emission from pulsars we find evidence for short lived intense emission from the Crab pulsar.     

The pleurodele, an animal model for space biology studies.

Pleurodeles waltl, an Urodele amphibian is proposed as a model for space biology studies. Our laboratory is developing three types of experiments in space using this animal: 1) in vivo fertilization and development ("FERTILE" project); 2) influence of microgravity and space radiation on the organization and preservation of specialized structures in the neurons and muscle cells (in vitro; "CELIMENE" PROJECT); 3) influence of microgravity on tissue regeneration (muscle, bone, epidermis and spinal cord).     

Stochastics of HZE-induced microlesions.

Fundamental biological experiments with bacteria, yeast, and mammalian cells irradiated with ions heavier than helium indicate that maximal probability of single-hit inactivation does not occur when the ion has LET below about 100-200 keV/micrometer. Theoretical treatments of cell inactivation data and the radiation chemistry in particle tracks are consistent with this finding. If a "microlesion" is defined as a linear array, within a tissue, of cells inactivated with maximum probability, surrounded by non-lethally damaged cells, then, by this definition, there must be an LET below which "microlesion" damage cannot be expected. In a retrospective survey of experimental literature in which single-particle effects in tissues were sought, it was found that little or no evidence has been reported supporting single-particle effects in tissues when LET was below 200 keV/micrometer, while some experimenters who irradiated tissues with particles having LET greater than 200 keV/micrometer reported effects that could be attributed to single-particle tracks.