Nonthermal effects on the cylindrical dusty ion shocks in nonthermal viscous space plasma

The propagating cylindrical shock dust ion wave (CDISW) in dusty four component plasma with three viscous component (ion and two polarity charged grains) has been introduced. The three dimensional (3D) Cylindrical Burgers (CB) equation is derived. The propagating cylindrical shock characteristics are established to becomes a very significantly improved by the supports of electron nonthermality, ion and negative (positive) kinematics viscosity coefficients. Furthermore, the shock strength depends on cylindrical directions. The obtained results may be profitable in understanding both the laboratory and space applications of plasmas.     

ROMAP: Rosetta Magnetometer and Plasma Monitor

The scientific objectives, design and capabilities of the Rosetta Lander’s ROMAP instrument are presented. ROMAP’s main scientific goals are longterm magnetic field and plasma measurements of the surface of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in order to study cometary activity as a function of heliocentric distance, and measurements during the Lander’s descent to investigate the structure of the comet’s remanent magnetisation. The ROMAP fluxgate magnetometer, electrostatic analyser and Faraday cup measure the magnetic field from 0 to 32 Hz, ions of up to 8000 keV and electrons of up to 4200 keV. Additional two types of pressure sensors – Penning and Minipirani – cover a pressure range from 10⁻⁸ to 10¹ mbar. ROMAP’s sensors and electronics are highly integrated, as required by a combined field/plasma instrument with less than 1 W power consumption and 1 kg mass.     

GRB host galaxies: An unbiased sample

We describe the current status and recent results from our Swift/VLT legacy survey, a VLT Large Programme aimed at characterizing the host galaxies of a homogeneously selected sub-sample of Swift   GRBs. The immediate goals are to determine the host luminosity function, study the effects of reddening, determine the fraction of Lyα$\mathrm{Ly}\mathrm{\alpha }$ emitters in the hosts, and obtain redshifts for targets without a reported one. The main effort so far has been the definition of a very carefully selected sample, obeying strict and well-defined criteria: 68 targets in total. Among the preliminary results is a large optical detection rate, the lack of extremely red objects (only one possible case in the sample) and an update of the Swift   GRB redshift distribution with 〈z〉∼2.0$〈z〉\sim 2.0$.     

Numerical simulations of the regional characteristics of dust transport on Mars

Using a Martian general circulation model (GCM), regions favorable for expansion of dust storms on Mars are identified. Dust transport simulations for the northern fall provide global maps of dust expansibility. These global maps show that dust injected from certain areas in the northern mid-latitudes tends to spread widely within a few days. The high expansibility of dust in such areas results from thermal tides, baroclinic waves, and quasi-stationary disturbances. Dust injected into the vast regions around Tharsis and the Sirenum–Aonia regions also tends to spread extensively. However, dust expansion around these two regions largely depends on the local time of dust injection. On the other hand, dust injected at high latitudes in either hemisphere does not spread extensively. Such global maps indicating regions favorable for dust storm expansion are a clue to understanding the expansion processes and climatology of great dust storms on Mars.     

空间尘埃的充电过程及与等离子体参数的关系

考虑了地球附近的彗星、行星环、行星际介质等空间尘埃等离子体环境中尘埃颗粒的充电问题．应用典型的空间尘埃等离子体参数，计算了不同种类的尘埃颗粒，以及不同等离子体成分下等离子体中尘粒的平衡电势，得到了尘埃颗粒的平衡电势与尘埃等离子体成分、温度，及其他等离子体参数之间的相互关系．     

The KACST muon detector and its application to cosmic-ray variations studies

A single channel cosmic ray muon detector was constructed and installed in Riyadh, central Saudi Arabia, for studying the variations in the cosmic ray (CR) muon flux. The detector has been in operation since July 2002. The recorded data correspond to muons that primarily have energies between 10 and 20 GeV. The detector will be used to continuously measure the intensity of the muon components of the cosmic rays, exploring its variations and possible correlations with environment parameters. The technical aspects of this detector will be presented. Some results obtained by the detector so far will be given. These include the modulation of the CR flux on different time scales (diurnal, 27-day, and long-term variations). Additionally, the effect of a severe dust storm on the muon count rate was investigated.     

Thin film surface treatments for lowering dust adhesion on Mars Rover calibration targets

The current generation of calibration targets on Mars Rover serve as a color and radiometric reference for the panoramic camera. They consist of a transparent silicon-based polymer tinted with either color or grey-scale pigments and cast with a microscopically rough Lambertian surface for a diffuse reflectance pattern. This material has successfully withstood the harsh conditions existent on Mars. However, the inherent roughness of the Lambertian surface (relative to the particle size of the Martian airborne dust) and the tackiness of the polymer in the calibration targets has led to a serious dust accumulation problem. In this work, non-invasive thin film technology was successfully implemented in the design of future generation calibration targets leading to significant reduction of dust adhesion and capture. The new design consists of a μm-thick interfacial layer capped with a nm-thick optically transparent layer of pure metal. The combination of these two additional layers is effective in burying the relatively rough Lambertian surface while maintaining diffuse properties of the samples which is central to the correct operation as calibration targets. A set of these targets are scheduled for flight on the Mars Phoenix mission.     

火星表面风沙物理过程及沙尘暴的起动风速

通过建立风吹动地表沙粒运动的模型并根据大气湍流边界层风速廓线规律,计算了火星上沙尘暴的起动风速和沙尘暴发生时空中悬浮沙尘粒径的大小,并对沙粒从地面跳起进入气流的方式进行了验证.发现当大气为中性层结时,火星沙尘暴的起动需要离地面2m高处的风速达到28.7m·s^-1.在起动临界风速下,地表沙粒需要滚动一个粒径的距离才能跳起,沙尘暴发生后,火星大气中悬浮沙尘的粒径小于30μm.     

交变电场清除介电颗粒的作用

电帘除尘被认为是最有可能在深空探测中应用的除尘方法之一. 利用电动力学基本理论分析了平行电极清除颗粒的条件, 引入克服范德瓦尔斯力对颗粒运动影响的临界悬浮电压判据, 并获得了该除尘临界电压与交流电频率之间的关系. 理论计算和实验结果表明, 在频率较低和较高的情况下, 临界电压取决于不同的物理机制.