DYNAMO: a Mars upper atmosphere package for investigating solar wind interaction and escape processes, and mapping Martian fields

DYNAMO is a small multi-instrument payload aimed at characterizing current atmospheric escape, which is still poorly constrained, and improving gravity and magnetic field representations, in order to better understand the magnetic, geologic and thermal history of Mars. The internal structure and evolution of Mars is thought to have influenced climate evolution. The collapse of the primitive magnetosphere early in Mars history could have enhanced atmospheric escape and favored transition to the present arid climate. These objectives are achieved by using a low periapsis orbit. DYNAMO has been proposed in response to the AO released in February 2002 for instruments to be flown as a complementary payload onboard the CNES Orbiter to Mars (MO-07), foreseen to be launched in 2007 in the framework of the French PREMIER Mars exploration program. MO-07 orbital phase 2b (with an elliptical orbit of periapsis 170 km), and in a lesser extent 2a, offers an unprecedented opportunity to investigate by in situ probing the chemical and dynamical properties of the deep ionosphere, thermosphere, and the interaction between the atmosphere and the solar wind, and therefore the present atmospheric escape rate. Ultraviolet remote sensing is an essential complement to characterize high, tenuous, layers of the atmosphere. One Martian year of operation, with about 5,000 low passes, should allow DYNAMO to map in great detail the residual magnetic field, together with the gravity field. Additional data on the internal structure will be obtained by mapping the electric conductivity, sinergistically with the NETLANDER magnetic data. Three options have been recommended by the International Science and Technical Review Board (ISTRB), who met on July 1st and 2nd, 2002. One of them is centered on DYNAMO. The final choice, which should be made before the end of 2002, will depend on available funding resources at CNES.     

磁暴期间中低纬电离层暴形态和物理机制分析

本文利用东亚地区１２个低纬电离层台站的测高仪观测数据，对１９７８年８月２７日发生的一次曲型磁暴期间电离层峰值高度和密度的变化进行了分析。采用滑动平均区分开电离层中不同时间尺度的扰动，分析了影响中低纬度电离层暴的几种扰动形态特征，并对其物理机制进行了讨论。结果表明：伴随磁暴急始的磁层压缩，电离层中表现出峰值密度增加和峰值高度下降；磁暴主相期间热层大气暴环流及其所引起的中性大气成分变化控制着电离层的大     

各向异性等离子体中磁场重联的混合模拟研究

应用二维三分量混合模拟方法数值研究了各向异性等离子体中的磁场重联过程．计算结果表明，当等离子体垂直于磁场方向的压强大于平行方向的压强时(P⊥／P∥＝1．5)，等离子体不稳定性的增长率会大大增强，重联速度也会加快；当等离子体垂直方向的压强小于平行方向的压强时(P⊥／P∥＝0．6)，会出现火蛇管不稳定性，将抑制撕裂模不稳定性和磁场重联过程．     

A new vortex sheet model for simulating aircraft wake vortex evolution

A new vortex sheet model was proposed for simulating aircraft wake vortex evolution.Rather than beginning with a pair of counter-rotating cylindrical vortices as in the traditional models,a lift-drag method is used to initialize a vortex sheet so that the roll-up phase is taken into account.The results of this model report a better approximation to a real situation when compared to the measurement data.The roll-up induced structures are proved to influence the far-field decay.On one hand,they lead to an early decay in the diffusion phase.On the other hand,the growth of linear instability such as elliptical instability is suppressed,resulting in a slower decay in the rapid decay phase.This work provides a simple and practicable model for simulating wake vortex evolu tion,which combines the roll-up process and the far-field phase in simulation.It is also proved that the roll-up phase should not be ignored when simulating the far-field evolution of an aircraft wake vortex pair,which indicates the necessity of this new model.     

Tetrahedral satellite formation: Geomagnetic measurements exchange and interpolation

This note presents a study of a four-satellite tetrahedral formation to collect, process, and exchange multipoint measurements of geomagnetic field in a near-polar orbit. The study is conducted as a series of numerical experiments based on simulated spacecraft orbits and corresponding geomagnetic field models output. The four satellites are assumed to move in near-circular orbits specifically chosen to maintain the tetrahedron quality. The satellites exchange their simulated magnetometers readings and the collected multipoint measurements are processed on board of any of them thus creating an instantaneous interpolated map of the geomagnetic field in the interior of the tetrahedron. Interpolation is carried out with the use of Kriging algorithms, known in geostatistics for capturing spatial correlation of the data and taking into account statistical properties of the interpolated variables. We propose a concept of a servicing formation, and analyze interpolation accuracy for different formation sizes. It is then discussed how the processed multipoint measurements can be provided as a service to other nearby satellites. Finally, we show that using the existing COTS magnetometers it is possible to obtain real-time interpolation data, which are more precise at a given point and time than a conventional onboard magnetic field model, thus ensuring better attitude determination routines performance in the serviced spacecraft.     

Blue light-dependent phosphorylations of cryptochromes are affected by magnetic fields in Arabidopsis

The blue light receptor cryptochrome that could form radical pairs after exposure to blue light was suggested to be a magnetoreceptor based on the proposition that radical pairs were involved in the magnetoreception. But the effects of magnetic fields on the function of cryptochrome are poorly understood. Phosphorylation of cryptochrome in Arabidopsis was closely associated with the function of this photoreceptor. Here, we grew Arabidopsis seedlings in a 500 μT magnetic field and a near-null magnetic field and found that the 500 μT magnetic field enhanced the blue light-dependent phosphorylations of CRY1 and CRY2, and the near-null magnetic field weakened the blue light-dependent phosphorylation of CRY2 but not CRY1. Dephosphorylations of CRY1 and CRY2 in the darkness were slowed down in the 500 μT magnetic field, whereas dephosphorylations of CRY1 and CRY2 were accelerated in the near-null magnetic field. These results suggest that magnetic field with strength higher or weaker than the local geomagnetic field affects the activated states of cryptochromes, which thus modifies the functions of cryptochromes.     

Global characteristics of ionospheric electric fields and disturbances during the first hours of magnetic storms

The ionospheric plasma density can be significantly disturbed during magnetic storms. In the conventional scenario of ionospheric storms, the negative storm phases with plasma density decreases are caused by neutral composition changes, and the positive storm phases with plasma density increases are often related to atmospheric gravity waves. However, recent studies show that the global redistribution of the ionospheric plasma is dominated primarily by electric fields during the first hours of magnetic storms. In this paper, we present the measurements of ionospheric disturbances by the DMSP satellites and GPS network during the magnetic storm on 6 April 2000. The DMSP measurements include the F region ion velocity and density at the altitude of ∼840 km, and the GPS receiver network provides total electron content (TEC) measurements. The storm-time ionospheric disturbances show the following characteristics. The plasma density is deeply depleted in a latitudinal range of ∼20° over the equatorial region in the evening sector, and the depletions represent plasma bubbles. The ionospheric plasma density at middle latitudes (20°–40° magnetic latitudes) is significantly increased. The dayside TEC is increased simultaneously over a large latitudinal range. An enhanced TEC band forms in the afternoon sector, goes through the cusp region, and enters the polar cap. All the observed ionospheric disturbances occur within 1–5 h from the storm sudden commencement. The observations suggest that penetration electric fields play a major role in the rapid generation of equatorial plasma bubbles and the simultaneous increases of the dayside TEC within the first 2 h during the storm main phase. The ionospheric disturbances at later times may be caused by the combination of penetration electric fields and neutral wind dynamo process.     

Stochastic particle acceleration by the forced interaction of relativistic current sheets

We address the problem of interacting relativistic current sheets in self-consistent kinetic plasma simulations within the framework of the Particle-In-Cell model. The interaction is enforced in head-on collisions of up to 10 current sheets at relativistic bulk speeds. The simulations are motivated by the general problem of Poynting flux dissipation in ‘striped wind’ configurations presumably governing the relativistic outflows pervasive in pulsar winds and gamma-ray bursts. We identify the generation of non-thermal particles and formation of a stable power-law shape in the particle energy distributions f(γ) dγ ∝ γ^−s dγ. In 1D, a spectral index s ∼ 2 is observed and attributed to a stochastic Fermi-type acceleration mechanism. In 2D, the generic index of s ∼ 3–4 is retained as in previous simulations of individual current sheets. Whereas in 2D the high energy cut-off is constrained by the limited dissipation of magnetic energy, in 1D the process converts the bulk motion of current sheets towards directed particle momentum of an exclusive class of non-thermal particles.     

基于有限元法的电磁铁磁场的计算机定量分析

随着工程领域中对电磁铁磁场分析的计算精度要求的不断提高,要求有新的数值分析方法以适应这一需求,有限元法即是符合这一需求的分析方法。主要阐述了应用有限元法分析数字阀电磁铁问题的基本思想,并运用该方法对产品前期设计进行了精密的计算和性能预测,节省了大量的设计费用,经济可比性较高。     

一种翼身融合飞行器的失速特性研究

翼身融合（BWB）布局飞行器作为下一代商用飞机的主要构型之一，越来越受到重视。对于翼身融合飞行器的研究主要针对其巡航状态的特性，而对其失速特性的研究较少。对一种翼身融合客机构型进行风洞试验研究，采用测力试验方法对其无增升装置的构型，以及具有翼梢小翼、前缘缝翼和机身上部双吊舱的组合部件构型下的纵向特性进行研究，特别是对其失速特性的分析，并通过二维粒子图像测试技术以及油流试验对其失速过程的流动机理进行研究。结果表明，无增升装置的基本构型下，翼身融合飞行器可以保持低速飞行，而各组合构型都具有提高最大升力系数的作用。对失速过程的分析表明，随着迎角的增大，飞机表面流场分离区域从翼梢开始逐渐向翼根以及机身发展，当外翼段完全处于分离区域时，飞机并不会马上失速，因为中心体同样具有提供升力的作用，且中心体的流动分离较外翼的流动分离更晚，所以当外翼在失速迎角出现升力损失时可以通过中心体的升力进行补偿，维持其低速飞行状态，真正的失速发生在中心体出现流动分离之后。