Heliopause stability revisited: dispersion analysis and numerical simulations

The heliopause, a surface separating the tenuous hot heliosheath flow and the dense, strongly magnetized interstellar flow, is subject to instabilities of the Rayleigh–Taylor and Kelvin–Helmholtz types. The dynamic evolution of this discontinuity is of considerable importance for understanding the neutral atom and cosmic-ray filtration at the interface. Here, we investigate the stability of the upwind heliopause in the presence of charge exchange collisions using both an analytic (dispersion relation) approach and a numerical model that includes the interstellar magnetic field. The linear analysis yields a cubic dispersion relation that admits imaginary solutions for the full range of wavenumbers, implying that the stagnation point on the heliopause is unconditionally Rayleigh–Taylor unstable to small perturbations propagating parallel to the discontinuity surface. We confirm this result by following the nonlinear development of the instability with a time-dependent simulation using a four fluid MHD-neutral numerical code. For the typical solar wind and LISM conditions, we obtain cyclical evolution of the upwind heliopause with a period of the order of 100 years. We also identify two areas of space physics where the instability may have important implications.     

A new light synthesis optimization program. Test on simulated Algol data

Simulation of light curve effects in Algol systems that are near contact or that may evolve into contact requires a different model than the tri-axial ellipsoid used in many current studies. A new light synthesis optimization program, based on the Roche model, satisfies the model requirements and determines system parameters with excellent accuracy, given a sufficiently large set of observations.A widely used criterion for stopping iterative solutions is inadequate. A working criterion is proposed as a replacement.     

Who is who in Algol-land ?- Part I -

We computed the evolution through case A mass transfer for 8 systems with mass of the primary equal to 3 and 5 M₀, mass ratios 0.7 and 0.9, and different periods. To this we added similar results from Packet (1988) for M_i = 9 M₀, q_i = 0.6, P_i = 1.62 d.During the mass transfer two competing mechanisms in the gainer decide on the evolution of the system: the rejuvenation of this star as the increasing convective core mixes fresh hydrogen into the inner regions, and the acceleration of nuclear burning, responding to the increasing mass.In all the cases the net result is a faster decrease of the central hydrogen content compared to the mass losing star. The secondary fills its own critical Roche lobe and reversed mass transfer starts.From our results and those of Nakamura and Nakamura (1984), we find that reversed mass transfer occurs after core hydrogen burning of the secondary (case A₁B₂) approximately for periods larger than 1 d (M_1i = 3 M₀) to 2 d (M_1i = 13.4 M₀). For smaller periods this happens before the gainer ends its core hydrogen burning (case A₁A₂).     

Early martian environments: the Antarctic and other terrestrial analogs.

The comparability of the early environments of Mars and Earth, and the biological evolution which occurred on early earth, motivates serious consideration of the possibility of an early martian biota. Environments which could have contained this early martian life and which may presently contain evidence of this former life include aquatic, ice, soil, and rock habitats. Several analogs of these potential early martian environments, which can provide useful information in searching for extinct life on Mars, are currently available for study on Earth. These terrestrial analogs include the perennially ice-covered lakes and sandstone rocks in the Polar Deserts of Antarctica, surface of snowfields and glaciers, desert soils, geothermal springs, and deep subsurface environments.     

Disaster monitoring and mitigation using aerospace technologies and integrated telecommunication networks

How space technologies and new integrated telecommunication networks can mitigate the impact of natural and man-made disasters. The objective is to design new, potentially attractive telecommunication architectures to better manage a disaster scenario. The strengths and the weaknesses of the proposed space-based telecommunication architectures for the emergency and recovery will be outlined also, to individuate the needs for an optimal provision of information and accessibility of space-related services in case of disaster.     

Evaluation of experiments involving the study of plant orientation and growth under different gravitational conditions.

The manifestation of gravitropic reaction in plants has been considered from the phylogenetic point of view. A chart has been suggested according to which it is supposed that the first indications of the ability to identify the direction of the gravitational vector were inherent in the most ancient eukaryotes, which gave rise to green, brown, yellow-green, golden and diatomaceous algae as well as fungi. The experiments on the role of gravity in plant ontogenesis are being continued. The sum total of the data obtained in a number of experiments in space shows that under these conditions a structurally modified but normally functioning gravireceptive apparatus is formed. The data confirming the modification, under changed gravity, of the processes of integral and cellullar growth of the axial organs of seedlings as well as of the anatomo-morphological structure and developmental rates of plants during their prolonged growth in space are presented. It is assumed that this fact testifies to the presence of systems interacting with gravity during plant ontogenesis. At the same time the necessity for further experiments in order to differentiate an immediate biological effect of gravity from the ones conditioned by it indirectly due to the changes in the behavior of liquids and gases is pointed out. The methodological aspects of biological experiments in space as the main source of reliable information on the biological role of gravity are discussed.     

Planetary protection issues for sample return missions.

Sample return missions from a comet nucleus and the Mars surface are currently under study in the US, USSR, and by ESA. Guidance on Planetary Protection (PP) issues is needed by mission scientists and engineers for incorporation into various elements of mission design studies. Although COSPAR has promulgated international policy on PP for various classes of solar system exploration missions, the applicability of this policy to sample return missions, in particular, remains vague. In this paper, we propose a set of implementing procedures to maintain the scientific integrity of these samples. We also propose that these same procedures will automatically assure that COSPAR-derived PP guidelines are achieved. The recommendations discussed here are the first step toward development of official COSPAR implementation requirements for sample return missions.     

Neutral clouds in a pervasive X-ray gas between the sun and northern HVCs

We present evidence that the soft X-ray distribution observed with the ROSAT PSPC instrument is not adequately explained by the standard Local Hot Bubble model (/1/). We discuss the X-ray absorbing cloud LVC 88 + 36 − 2 embedded in the hot plasma of the Local Hot Bubble, the X-ray shadow of the Draco nebula and other clouds inside and outside the galactic disk, and the X-ray emission associated with halo type objects like the HVC's M I and M II. They populate the distance range from about 60 pc to more than a few kpc and imply the presence of X-ray emitting plasma between the sun and and the outer galactic halo. These observations are consistent with a pervasive X-ray emitting plasma in which neutral clouds are embedded. However, the volume filling factor of this plasma is not known. A model which adequately describes the observed features has been developed and published by Hirth et al. (/28/).

For the first time in the literature we present results of a correlation analysis of X-ray shadows and H I or IR images of a molecular cloud. This is a new technique for the determination of the total column density of hydrogen nuclei for molecular clouds.