Solar Gamma-Ray Spectroscopy

Interactions of ions accelerated in solar flares produce gamma-ray lines and continuum and neutrons. These emissions contain a rich set of observables that provides information about both the accelerated ions and the environment where the ions are transported and interact. Ion interactions with the various nuclei present in the ambient medium produce gamma-ray lines at unique energies. How abundance information is extracted from the measurements is discussed and results from analyses of a number of solar flares are presented. The analyses indicate that the composition of the ambient gas where the ions interact (typically at chromospheric densities) is different from that of the photosphere and more like the composition of the corona, exhibiting low-FIP elemental enhancements that may vary from flare to flare. Evidence for increased Ne/O and the photospheric ³He abundance is also discussed.     

The Local Bubble and Interstellar Material Near the Sun

The properties of interstellar matter at the Sun are regulated by our location with respect to a void in the local matter distribution, known as the Local Bubble. The Local Bubble (LB) is bounded by associations of massive stars and fossil supernovae that have disrupted dense interstellar matter (ISM), driving low density intermediate velocity ISM into the void. The Sun appears to be located in one of these flows of low density material. This nearby interstellar matter, dubbed the Local Fluff, has a bulk velocity of ∼19 km s⁻¹ in the local standard of rest. The flow is coming from the direction of the gas and dust ring formed where the Loop I supernova remnant merges into the LB. Optical polarization data suggest that the local interstellar magnetic field lines are draped over the heliosphere. A longstanding discrepancy between the high thermal pressure of plasma filling the LB and low thermal pressures in the embedded Local Fluff cloudlets is partially mitigated when the ram pressure component parallel to the cloudlet flow direction is included.     

Observations of loops and prominences

We review recent observations by the Yohkoh-SXT in collaboration with other spacecraft and ground-based observatories of coronal loops and prominences. These new results point to problems that SoHO will be able to address. With a unique combination of rapid-cadence digital imaging (32 s full-disk and 2 s partial-frame images), high spatial resolution (2.5 arcsec pixels), high sensitivity (EM 10⁴² cm^–3), a low-scatter mirror, and large dynamic range, SXT can observe a vast range of targets on the Sun. Over the first 21 months of Yohkoh operations, SXT has taken over one million images of the corona and so is building up an invaluable long-term database on the large-scale corona and loop geometry. The most striking thing about the SXT images is the range of loop sizes and shapes. The active regions are a bright tangle of magnetic field lines, surrounded by a network of large-scale quiet-Sun loops stretching over distances in excess of 10⁵ km. The cross-section of most loops seems to be constant. Loops displaying significant increase in the ratio of the footpoint to loop-top diameter () are the exception, not the rule, implying the presence of widespread currents in the corona.All magnetic structures show changes. Time scales range from seconds to months. The question of how these structures are formed, become filled with hot plasma, and are maintained is still open. While we see the propagation of brightenings along the length of active-region loops and in X-ray jets with velocities of several hundred km/s, much higher velocities are seen in the quiet Sun. In XBP flares, for example, velocities of over 1000 km/s are common. Active-region loops seem to be in constant motion, moving slowly outward, carrying plasma with them. During flares, loops often produce localized brightenings at the base and later at the apex of the loop. Quiescent filaments and prominences have been observed regularly. Their coronal manifestation seems to be an extended arcade of loops overlying the filament. Reliable alignment of the ground-based data with the X-ray images make it possible to make a detailed intercomparison of the hot and cold plasma structures over extended periods. Hence we are able to follow the long-term evolution of these structures and see how they become destabilized and erupt.     

Stellar flares

Radio and X-ray observations of stellar flares provide the most direct probes of energy relaase particle acceleration, and energy transport on stars other than the Sun. In this review, the observational basis for our understanding of the flare phenomenon on other stars is briefly described and outstanding interpretive and theoretical issues are discussed. I shall confine my attention to objects which are solar-like, to the extent that they possess deep convective envelopes and display activity which is presumed to be magnetic in origin. These include pre-main sequence objects, classical flare stars, and close binaries. Future directions are briefly discussed.     

Langmuir Turbulence and Solar Radio Bursts

Langmuir waves and turbulence resulting from an electron beam-plasma instability play a fundamental role in the generation of solar radio bursts. We report recent theoretical advances in nonlinear dynamics of Langmuir waves. First, starting from the generalized Zakharov equations, we study the parametric excitation of solar radio bursts at the fundamental plasma frequency driven by a pair of oppositely propagating Langmuir waves with different wave amplitudes. Next, we briefly discuss the emergence of chaos in the Zakharov equations. We point out that chaos can lead to turbulence in the source regions of solar radio emissions. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

共轴式直升机旋翼气动干扰对航向操纵的影响

利用共轴式旋翼风洞实验结果，结合轻型共轴式直升机M16飞行中的现象，分析了上下旋翼气动干扰对共轴式直升机过渡飞行中航向操纵的影响。介绍了直升机由悬停转入垂直上升、平飞中加减速和转入爬升与下滑等过程中，由于上下旋翼干扰发生了变化，使直升机航向发生偏转后飞机的反应情况，以及在这种情况下应进行的相应操纵。所得结果对研究共轴式直升机的操稳特性有重要意义。     

空天飞机的边界层转捩

本文概述了边界层转捩对空天飞机性能的影响。在介绍确定边界层转捩起始点的线性稳定性理论和简单关联公式之后，又从噪声影响、头部钝头影响和钝锥飞行试验结果等几方面，讨论了线性稳定性理论的应用。接着介绍了采用转捩函数来确定转捩区的方法。从飞行试验、理论计算和风洞试验等三方面，探讨了进一步研究高超声速边界层转捩的途径。重点介绍了ＮＡＳＡＬａｎｇｌｅｙ研究中心的超声速、高超声速静风洞技术的发展。最后，对今后空天飞机边界层转捩的研究工作提出了建议。     

超声爬波无损检测方法的研究

本文介绍了超声无损检测中一种具有较好应用前景的波型──超声爬波。试验研究了爬波检测时缺陷定位、定性评定的方法，并给出了主要结论。     

高超声速小钝锥尾流转捩规律与光电特性

显式有限差分方法用于求解小钝锥高超声速化学非平衡尾流的轴对称边界层方程。该方法既适用于层流也适用于湍流。应用 Goldburg 转捩准则确定转捩初始位置。详细地计算了小钝锥尺寸、飞行速度、高度对尾流转捩和光电特性的影响。从计算中得到转捩和光电特性变化的一些有用规律。对湍流亚密部分的雷达散射截面进行了规律性分析。计算结果具有实用参考价值。