The effect of the longitudinal propagating waves on the electron acceleration in the reconnecting current sheet

Based upon the most efficient electron acceleration near the midplane of 3D non-neutral driven reconnecting current sheet (RCS) and the electrostatic wave excitation by the drift Maxwellian distribution of electrons in Vlasov simulation, we assume that the electrostatic waves mainly propagate opposite to the reconnecting electric field and investigated how these waves affect the electron acceleration. The main results are: (1) when the electron’s velocity equals to the phase speed of the waves, they will be trapped and have the different accelerating characteristics from the untrapped electrons through solving the momentum equations of electrons analytically; (2) the test particle simulations further prove that the number of the energetic electrons decreases with the increasing intensity of unstable waves, and the distribution of the energetic electrons takes on the double power-law.     

A 10 kW DC-DC converter using IGBTs with active snubbers

This full bridge DC-DC converter employs zero voltage switching (ZVS) on one leg and zero current switching (ZCS) on the other. This technique produces exceptionally low insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) switching losses through the use of an active snubber that recycles energy back to the source. Experimental results are presented for a 10-kW, 20-kHz converter     

A 2-D comparison of ionospheric convection derived from SuperDARN and DMSP measurements

Ion drift vectors measured by the DMSP satellites are compared with plasma convection vectors obtained by the SuperDARN HF radars through the standard Map Potential algorithm of Ruohoniemi and Baker [Ruohoniemi, M., Baker, K.B. Large-scale imaging of high-latitude convection with super dual auroral radar network HF radar observations. J. Geophys. Res. 103, 20797–20811, 1998]. Despite significant data spread, the agreement can be qualified as reasonable for a data set comprising of 149 satellite passes over the Northern Hemisphere at high latitudes. The slope of the best-fit line relating SuperDARN and DMSP velocity magnitudes is of the order of 0.3 with a tendency for the SuperDARN velocities to be smaller. The agreement between the azimuths of the ion drift and convection is better with the slope of the best-fit line being close to 1. It is shown that consistency between the radar and satellite measurements is much better if the SuperDARN line-of-sight velocities are compared with the DMSP cross-track ion drifts for events showing slow spatial and temporal variations of the convection. If areas of strong convection changes are included into comparison, the degree of agreement deteriorates drastically. This result implies that differences in the spatial and temporal resolutions of DMSP and SuperDARN measurements are crucial factors contributing to the observed discrepancies. In addition, some differences are introduced when the SuperDARN line-of-sight velocities are filtered and reprocessed into vectors with the application of a background convection model.     

Coupling between the outer magnetosphere and the high-latitude ionosphere

The coupling between the ionosphere and the outer magnetosphere depends on the topology of the geomagnetic field. Some aspects of the closed and open magnetospheric models are briefly discussed.The assumption that the geomagnetic field lines are equipotentials is critisized both on observational and on theoretical grounds. Measurements of H Doppler profiles, of precipitating particles above the ionosphere, and of charged particle densities in the magnetosphere indicate the existence of electric fields, E_\\, parallel with the magnetic field.Two different models of E_\\ are considered. Both models violate the condition of frozen-in magnetic fields. In one of them there are occasional transient electric field impulses along the field lines which cause precipitation splashes. The other model invokes electrostatic fields which vanish occasionally due to instabilities. This gives rise to precipitation splashes of about equal numbers of ions and electrons.The latter model seems to be favoured by known satellite data concerning the pitch angle distributions of electrons above the ionosphere.It is suggested that electric fields in space should be measured by satellites and rockets. Expected values of the fields in different regions of space are given.     

Glycine identification in natural jarosites using laser desorption Fourier transform mass spectrometry: implications for the search for life on Mars

The jarosite group minerals have received increasing attention since the discovery of jarosite on the martian surface by the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity. Given that jarosite can incorporate foreign ions within its structure, we have investigated the use of jarosite as an indicator of aqueous and biological processes on Earth and Mars. The use of laser desorption Fourier transform mass spectrometry has revealed the presence of organic matter in several jarosite samples from various locations worldwide. One of the ions from the natural jarosites has been attributed to glycine because it was systematically observed in combinations of glycine with synthetic ammonium and potassium jarosites, Na(2)SO(4) and K(2)SO(4). The ability to observe these organic signatures in jarosite samples with an in situ instrumental technique, such as the one employed in this study, furthers the goals of planetary geologists to determine whether signs of life (e.g., the presence of biomolecules or biomolecule precursors) can be detected in the rock record of terrestrial and extraterrestrial samples.