Implications of X-ray Observations for Electron Acceleration and Propagation in Solar Flares

High-energy X-rays and ??-rays from solar flares were discovered just over fifty years ago. Since that time, the standard for the interpretation of spatially integrated flare X-ray spectra at energies above several tens of keV has been the collisional thick-target model. After the launch of the Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI) in early 2002, X-ray spectra and images have been of sufficient quality to allow a greater focus on the energetic electrons responsible for the X-ray emission, including their origin and their interactions with the flare plasma and magnetic field. The result has been new insights into the flaring process, as well as more quantitative models for both electron acceleration and propagation, and for the flare environment with which the electrons interact. In this article we review our current understanding of electron acceleration, energy loss, and propagation in flares. Implications of these new results for the collisional thick-target model, for general flare models, and for future flare studies are discussed.     

Characterization and Calibration of the CheMin Mineralogical Instrument on Mars Science Laboratory

A principal goal of the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) rover Curiosity is to identify and characterize past habitable environments on Mars. Determination of the mineralogical and chemical composition of Martian rocks and soils constrains their formation and alteration pathways, providing information on climate and habitability through time. The CheMin X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray fluorescence (XRF) instrument on MSL will return accurate mineralogical identifications and quantitative phase abundances for scooped soil samples and drilled rock powders collected at Gale Crater during Curiosity’s 1-Mars-year nominal mission. The instrument has a Co X-ray source and a cooled charge-coupled device (CCD) detector arranged in transmission geometry with the sample. CheMin’s angular range of 5^° to 50^° 2θ with <0.35^° 2θ resolution is sufficient to identify and quantify virtually all minerals. CheMin’s XRF requirement was descoped for technical and budgetary reasons. However, X-ray energy discrimination is still required to separate Co?Kα from Co?Kβ and Fe?Kα photons. The X-ray energy-dispersive histograms (EDH) returned along with XRD for instrument evaluation should be useful in identifying elements Z>13 that are contained in the sample. The CheMin XRD is equipped with internal chemical and mineralogical standards and 27 reusable sample cells with either Mylar^? or Kapton^? windows to accommodate acidic-to-basic environmental conditions. The CheMin flight model (FM) instrument will be calibrated utilizing analyses of common samples against a demonstration-model (DM) instrument and CheMin-like laboratory instruments. The samples include phyllosilicate and sulfate minerals that are expected at Gale crater on the basis of remote sensing observations.     

Application of the graph-analytical method of tree risk assessment to study survivability of small trust liquid rocket engines

The present paper discusses a need to develop a methodology of predicting the reliability of small thrust liquid rocket engines with a flow section made of composite materials under actual operating conditions for their successful practical use in the propulsion systems.     

Potential Effects of Surface Temperature Variations and Disturbances and Thermal Convection on the Mars InSight HP<Superscript>3</Superscript> Heat-Flow Determination

The HP³ instrument on the InSight lander mission will measure subsurface temperatures and thermal conductivities from which heat flow in the upper few meters of the regolith at the landing site will be calculated. The parameter to be determined is steady-state conductive heat flow, but temperatures may have transient perturbations resulting from surface temperature changes and there could be a component of thermal convection associated with heat transport by vertical flow of atmospheric gases over the depth interval of measurement. The experiment is designed so that it should penetrate to a depth below which surface temperature perturbations are smaller than the required measurement precision by the time the measurements are made. However, if the measurements are delayed after landing, and/or the probe does not penetrate to the desired depth, corrections may be necessary for the transient perturbations. Thermal convection is calculated to be negligible, but these calculations are based on unknown physical properties of the Mars regolith. The effects of thermal convection should be apparent at shallow depths where transient thermal perturbations would be observed to deviate from conductive theory. These calculations were required during proposal review and their probability of predicting a successful measurement a prerequisite for mission approval. However, their uncertainties lies in unmeasured physical parameters of the Mars regolith.     

Space–Time Structure of Energetic Electron Precipitations according to the Data of Balloon Observations and Polar Satellite Measurements on February 1–6, 2015

Cosmic Research - The results of an analysis of the space–time characteristics and dynamics of precipitations of magnetospheric electrons with energies in the range from 0.1 to 0.7 MeV are...     

The mass loss of spacecraft polyimide films under the action of atomic oxygen and vacuum ultraviolet radiation

The threshold values of the annual fluence of atomic oxygen (F _AO ≈ 10²⁰ cm^?2), as well as the ratios of the energy-flux density of vacuum ultraviolet radiation of the solar spectrum to the flux density of atomic oxygen (Φ _ν /Φ _AO ≈ 8 × 10^?15 mJ) were determined, which are characterized the influence of the synergistic effect on the mass loss of Kapton-H, PM-A, and PM-1E polyimide films, which are spacecraft materials.     

Cluster observations showing the indication of the formation of a modified-two-stream instability in the geomagnetic tail

This study presents several observations of the Cluster spacecraft on September 24, 2003 around 15:10 UT, which show necessary prerequisites and consequences for the formation of the so-called modified-two-stream instability (MTSI). Theoretical studies suggest that the plasma is MTSI unstable if (1) a relative drift of electrons and ions is present, which exceeds the Alfvèn speed, and (2) this relative drift or current is in the cross-field direction. As consequences of the formation of a MTSI one expects to observe (1) a field-aligned electron beam, (2) heating of the plasma, and (3) an enhancement in the B-wave spectrum at frequencies in the range of the lower-hybrid-frequency (LHF). In this study we use prime parameter data of the CIS and PEACE instruments onboard the Cluster spacecraft to verify the drift velocities of ions and electrons, FGM data to calculate the expected LHF and Alfvèn velocity, and the direction of the current. The B-wave spectrum is recorded by the STAFF instrument of Cluster. Finally, a field aligned beam of electrons is observed by 3D measurements of the IES instrument of the RAPID unit. Observations are verified using a theoretical model showing the build-up of a MTSI under the given circumstances.