Risk-taking during wayfinding is modulated by external stressors and personality traits

ABSTRACT

Two experiments examined cue reliance and risk-taking during desktop virtual wayfinding, and how they might be modulated by personality traits and external stressors. Participants navigated a series of virtual buildings and we manipulated the strength of probabilistic cues available to guide turn decisions. Navigators frequently discounted probabilistic cues and instead took risks, particularly when costs were low and potential benefits were high. Risk-taking was predicted by higher sense of direction and lower need for structure. Introducing a time stressor lowered risk-taking, with a higher relative reliance on probability-based information. This was most pronounced in females and those with a high need for structure. Results provide novel evidence that spatial cue reliance is modulated by individual differences and contextual constraints.     

Quaternion regularization in celestial mechanics and astrodynamics and trajectory motion control. I

Regularization problems in celestial mechanics and astrodynamics are considered. The fundamental regular quaternion models of celestial mechanics and astrodynamics are presented. It is shown that the efficiency of analytical investigation and numerical solution of boundary problems of optimal trajectory motion control of spacecraft may be increased using quaternion astrodynamics models. The regularization problem of celestial mechanics and astrodynamics that implies eliminating the feature, which arises in the equations of the two-body problem in case of impact of the second body with the central body, is considered in the first section of the paper. The quaternion method for regularizing the equations of the perturbed spatial two-body problem suggested by the author is presented; the method is compared with Kustaanheimo-Stiefel (KS) regularization. Demonstrative geometric and kinematic interpretations of regularizing transformations are provided. Regular quaternion equations for the two-body problem, which generalize the regular Kustaanheimo-Stiefel equations, as well as regular equations in quaternion osculating elements and quaternion regular equations for perturbed central motion of a material point, are considered. The papers on quaternion regularization in celestial mechanics and astrodynamics are briefly analyzed.     

On the arc length of observations of a small solar system body sufficient to classify it as hazardous

This paper analyzes the accuracy of orbit determination calculated by observations of short arcs. In this case, we imposed the condition that the arc length and/or the distribution of arc observations should provide a confident classification of the orbit of a small celestial body allowing one to distinguish a potentially hazardous body, also including a threat of collision.     

Space experiments aboard the Lomonosov MSU satellite

At present, the Institute of Nuclear Physics of Moscow State University, in cooperation with other organizations, is preparing space experiments onboard the Lomonosov satellite. The main goal of this mission is to study extreme astrophysical phenomena such as cosmic gamma-ray bursts and ultra-high-energy cosmic rays. These phenomena are associated with the processes occurring in the early universe in very distant astrophysical objects, therefore, they can provide information on the first stages of the evolution of the universe. This paper considers the main characteristics of the scientific equipment aboard the Lomonosov satellite.     

Frequency fluctuations of coherent signals from spacecraft observed during dual-frequency radio sounding of the circumsolar plasma in 2004–2008

We have performed spectral processing of the data of experiments on radio sounding of circumsolar plasma by coherent S- and X-band signals from the spacecraft Ulysses, Mars Express, Rosetta, and Venus Express carried out from 1991 to 2009. The experiments were realized in the mode of coherent response, when a signal stabilized by the hydrogen standard is transmitted from the ground station to a spacecraft, received by the onboard systems, and retransmitted to the Earth with conserved coherence. Thus, the signal sounding the coronal plasma passes twice through the medium: on the propagation path ground station — spacecraft and on the same path in the opposite direction. The spectra of frequency fluctuations in both the bands are obtained and, using them, the radial dependences of fluctuation intensities are found, which can be approximated by a power law. It is shown that the ratio of intensities of frequency fluctuations in the S- and X-bands is comparable with the theoretical value and characterizes the degree of correlation of irregularities of the electron density along the propagation path ground station — spacecraft and back. Analysis of the correlation of frequency fluctuations on the two paths allows one to get a lower estimate of the outer scale of the circumsolar plasma turbulence. For heliocentric distances R = 10 solar radii (R _S ) the outer scale is larger than 0.25R _S .     

Symmetric periodic solutions of the Hill’s problem. I

The planar circular Hill’s problem is considered, as well as its limiting integrable variant called the Hénon problem, for which the original Hill’s problem is a singular perturbation. Among solutions to the Hénon problem there are a countable number of generating solutions-arcs that are uniquely determined by the condition of successive passage through the origin of coordinates—singular point of equations of motion of the Hill’s problem. Using the generating solutions-arcs as “letters” of a certain “alphabet”, one can compose, according to some rules, the “words”: generating solutions of families of periodic orbits of the Hill’s problem. The sequence of letters in a word determines the order of orbit transfer from one invariant manifold to another, while the set of all properly specified words determine the system’s symbolic dynamics.     

Pilots for space tourism

This article sheds light on the key player needed for any space tourism adventure: the pilot who flies the spacecraft. The paper addresses the potential benefits of including a pilot at the controls when designing a space tourism spacecraft. It examines the basic qualifications and advanced skills required of space tourism pilots and discusses key training requirements for selected pilots and space pilots' pay and benefits. In addition, the research concludes that, just as the pioneers of passenger transport in aviation entertained and captured the interest of their passengers, the space pilot should have the skills of a tour guide.     

Reconnection Diffusion in Turbulent Fluids and Its Implications for Star Formation

Astrophysical fluids are turbulent a fact which changes the dynamics of many key processes, including magnetic reconnection. Fast reconnection of magnetic field in turbulent fluids allows the field to change its topology and connections. As a result, the traditional concept of magnetic fields being frozen into the plasma is no longer applicable. Plasma associated with a given magnetic field line at one instant is distributed along a different set of magnetic field lines at the next instant. This diffusion of plasmas and magnetic field is enabled by reconnection and therefore is termed “reconnection diffusion”. The astrophysical implications of this concept include heat transfer in plasmas, advection of heavy elements in interstellar medium, magnetic field generation etc. However, the most dramatic implications of the concept are related to the star formation process. The reason is that magnetic fields are dynamically important for most of the stages of star formation. The existing theory of star formation has been developed ignoring the possibility of reconnection diffusion. Instead, it appeals to the decoupling of mass and magnetic field arising from neutrals drifting in respect to ions entrained on magnetic field lines, i.e. through the process that is termed “ambipolar diffusion”. The predictions of ambipolar diffusion and reconnection diffusion are very different. For instance, if the ionization of media is high, ambipolar diffusion predicts that the coupling of mass and magnetic field is nearly perfect. At the same time, reconnection diffusion is independent of the ionization but depends on the scale of the turbulent eddies and on the turbulent velocities. In the paper we explain the physics of reconnection diffusion both from macroscopic and microscopic points of view, i.e. appealing to the reconnection of flux tubes and to the diffusion of magnetic field lines. We make use of the Lazarian and Vishniac (Astrophys. J. 517:700, 1999) theory of magnetic reconnection and show that this theory is applicable to the partially ionized gas. We quantify the reconnection diffusion rate both for weak and strong MHD turbulence and address the problem of reconnection diffusion acting together with ambipolar diffusion. In addition, we provide a criterion for correctly representing the magnetic diffusivity in simulations of star formation. We discuss the intimate relation between the processes of reconnection diffusion, field wandering and turbulent mixing of a magnetized media and show that the role of the plasma effects is limited to “breaking up lines” on small scales and does not affect the rate of reconnection diffusion. We address the existing observational results and demonstrate how reconnection diffusion can explain the puzzles presented by observations, in particular, the observed higher magnetization of cloud cores in comparison with the magnetization of envelopes. We also outline a possible set of observational tests of the reconnection diffusion concept and discuss how the application of the new concept changes our understanding of star formation and its numerical modeling. Finally, we outline the differences of the process of reconnection diffusion and the process of accumulation of matter along magnetic field lines that is frequently invoked to explain the results of numerical simulations.     

Mercury’s Weather-Beaten Surface: Understanding Mercury in the Context of Lunar and Asteroidal Space Weathering Studies

Mercury’s regolith, derived from the crustal bedrock, has been altered by a set of space weathering processes. Before we can interpret crustal composition, it is necessary to understand the nature of these surface alterations. The processes that space weather the surface are the same as those that form Mercury’s exosphere (micrometeoroid flux and solar wind interactions) and are moderated by the local space environment and the presence of a global magnetic field. To comprehend how space weathering acts on Mercury’s regolith, an understanding is needed of how contributing processes act as an interactive system. As no direct information (e.g., from returned samples) is available about how the system of space weathering affects Mercury’s regolith, we use as a basis for comparison the current understanding of these same processes on lunar and asteroidal regoliths as well as laboratory simulations. These comparisons suggest that Mercury’s regolith is overturned more frequently (though the characteristic surface time for a grain is unknown even relative to the lunar case), more than an order of magnitude more melt and vapor per unit time and unit area is produced by impact processes than on the Moon (creating a higher glass content via grain coatings and agglutinates), the degree of surface irradiation is comparable to or greater than that on the Moon, and photon irradiation is up to an order of magnitude greater (creating amorphous grain rims, chemically reducing the upper layers of grains to produce nanometer-scale particles of metallic iron, and depleting surface grains in volatile elements and alkali metals). The processes that chemically reduce the surface and produce nanometer-scale particles on Mercury are suggested to be more effective than similar processes on the Moon. Estimated abundances of nanometer-scale particles can account for Mercury’s dark surface relative to that of the Moon without requiring macroscopic grains of opaque minerals. The presence of nanometer-scale particles may also account for Mercury’s relatively featureless visible–near-infrared reflectance spectra. Characteristics of material returned from asteroid 25143 Itokawa demonstrate that this nanometer-scale material need not be pure iron, raising the possibility that the nanometer-scale material on Mercury may have a composition different from iron metal [such as (Fe,Mg)S]. The expected depletion of volatiles and particularly alkali metals from solar-wind interaction processes are inconsistent with the detection of sodium, potassium, and sulfur within the regolith. One plausible explanation invokes a larger fine fraction (grain size <45 μm) and more radiation-damaged grains than in the lunar surface material to create a regolith that is a more efficient reservoir for these volatiles. By this view the volatile elements detected are present not only within the grain structures, but also as adsorbates within the regolith and deposits on the surfaces of the regolith grains. The comparisons with findings from the Moon and asteroids provide a basis for predicting how compositional modifications induced by space weathering have affected Mercury’s surface composition.