“Oblique” Bernstein modes in solar preflare plasma: Generation of second harmonics

Process of second harmonics generation due to development of corresponding instability has been investigated for pure electron weakly oblique Bernstein mode. This mode was supposed to be modified by taking into account the influence of pair Coulomb collisions and weak large-scale electric field in flare loop. Investigated area was located near the loop foot-point in the “lower–middle” chromosphere of active region. It has been shown, that for the Fontenla–Avrett–Loeser model of solar atmosphere the investigated process of second harmonics generation starts at the extremely low threshold values of subdreicer electric field, well before the beginning of “preheating” phase of flare process.     

Space and velocity distributions of neutron stars in the Milky Way

We study the long term dynamics of isolated neutron stars (NSs) for different initial conditions. From the resulting phase-space distributions, we estimate the fraction of NSs bound to the Milky Way. We also estimate the surface and spatial density of NSs in the solar neighborhood and the mean velocity of NSs in the Galactic disk. Estimates of the sky density of NSs towards specific lines of sight, i.e. the Galactic center and the Magellanic Clouds, are also given.     

Three-dimensional global simulation of multiple ICMEs’ interaction and propagation from the Sun to the heliosphere following the 25–28 October 2003 solar events

This study performs simulations of interplanetary coronal mass ejection (ICME) propagation in a realistic three-dimensional (3D) solar wind structure from the Sun to the Earth by using the newly developed hybrid code, HAFv.2+3DMHD. This model combines two simulation codes, Hakamada–Akasofu–Fry code version 2 (HAFv.2) and a fully 3D, time-dependent MHD simulation code. The solar wind structure is simulated out to 0.08 AU (18 Rs) from source surface maps using the HAFv.2 code. The outputs at 0.08 AU are then used to provide inputs for the lower boundary, at that location, of the 3D MHD code to calculate solar wind and its evolution to 1 AU and beyond. A dynamic disturbance, mimicking a particular flare’s energy output, is delivered to this non-uniform structure to model the evolution and interplanetary propagation of ICMEs (including their shocks). We then show the interaction between two ICMEs and the dynamic process during the overtaking of one shock by the other. The results show that both CMEs and heliosphere current sheet/plasma sheet were deformed by interacting with each other.     

一种应用于空间碎片演化模型的碰撞概率算法

针对碰撞概率算法Cube模型参数影响空间碎片演化模型的仿真结果问题进行了深入分析与研究，并将原Cube算法进行改进，由此提出I-Cube模型。经过多次蒙特卡洛仿真结果验证，I-Cube模型对演化过程中空间碎片碰撞概率的计算更为准确合理，空间碎片长期演化模型的结果不再依赖于自身碰撞概率算法的相关参数，提高了空间碎片长期演化模型的稳定性与可信度。     

民法精神的复兴与中国的现代化

市场经济就是法制经济。中国对市场经济的历史选择，意味着中国法律体系的构建必须以源于罗马法的民法为主导。本文从法理和中西法律传统的比较中，阐释了培养民法的意识，强化民法的基本理念，树立人文主义的民法精神对中国迈向物质和精神现代化具有深远的意义。     

Active detumbling technology for noncooperative space target with energy dissipation

Space debris is generally a kind of tumbling noncooperative space target which poses a serious threat to human space activities. In active debris removal (ADR) missions, capturing a space target directly may cause damage to space manipulator and chaser satellite, so it is a feasible strategy to reduce the angular velocity of space target to an acceptable range in the pre-capture phase. In this paper, an active detumbling technology for a free-floating tumbling space target with energy dissipation is studied, and an effective detumbling method utilizing intermittent contact impact between the space target and despin mechanism is proposed. First, the dynamic model of the space target is set up by the Jourdain’s velocity variation principle. Then, a contact model between the space target and despin mechanism is established based on the Hertz contact theory and the method of computer graphics. Finally, the detumbling method is validated by numerical simulations. Simulation results show that our method can reduce the angular velocity of the space target effectively without causing large nutation.     

Nonthermal Radiation Mechanisms

In this paper we review the possible radiation mechanisms for the observed non-thermal emission in clusters of galaxies, with a primary focus on the radio and hard X-ray emission. We show that the difficulty with the non-thermal, non-relativistic Bremsstrahlung model for the hard X-ray emission, first pointed out by Petrosian (Astrophys. J. 557, 560, 2001) using a cold target approximation, is somewhat alleviated when one treats the problem more exactly by including the fact that the background plasma particle energies are on average a factor of 10 below the energy of the non-thermal particles. This increases the lifetime of the non-thermal particles, and as a result decreases the extreme energy requirement, but at most by a factor of three. We then review the synchrotron and so-called inverse Compton emission by relativistic electrons, which when compared with observations can constrain the value of the magnetic field and energy of relativistic electrons. This model requires a low value of the magnetic field which is far from the equipartition value. We briefly review the possibilities of gamma-ray emission and prospects for GLAST observations. We also present a toy model of the non-thermal electron spectra that are produced by the acceleration mechanisms discussed in an accompanying paper Petrosian and Bykov (Space Sci. Rev., 2008, this issue, Chap. 11).     

Mixing in Stars and the Evolution of the 3He Abundance

We first recall the observational and theoretical facts that constitute the so-called 3He problem. We then review the chemical anomalies that could be related to the destruction of 3He in red giants stars. We show how a simple consistent mechanism can lead to the destruction of 3He in low mass stars and simultaneously account for the low 12C/13C ratios and low lithium abundances observed in giant stars of different populations. This process should both naturally account for the recent measurements of 3He/H in galactic HII regions and allow for high values of 3He observed in some planetary nebulae. We propose a simple statistical estimation of the fraction of stars that may be affected by this process.     

Shortcomings of the Standard Solar Model

The SSM, invented in early nineteen sixties, remains a useful construction. There are now much larger number of its predictions that may be compared with observations than when it was first introduced. Seismic sounding based on oscillations frequencies provides the best test of the physical input for modelling stellar evolution. The results of the test must be viewed as a support for the standard theory of stellar evolution. However, significant differences in the sound-speed, photospheric He abundance, and other parameters between the Sun and the current models remain. Shortcomings in the EOS and in treatment of convection have been revealed. The differences in the sound-speed in the radiative interior may be explained by small opacity errors but other explanations are possible. Results of seismic sounding support the idea that the element mixing in the outer part of the radiative interior occurred during a significant fraction of the Sun's life. Such mixing is considered as a possible explanation of the deficit of lithium. The shortcomings of SSM cannot explain the deficits of measured neutrino fluxes. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.