Extrasolar solar-sail trajectories and dark matter

Hyper-thin, high-speed solar-photon sail space probes exploring the Sun?s Oort comet cloud could also be used to set an upper bound to the concentration of WIMPS (weakly interacting massive particles), one of the suggested (but unconfirmed) forms of dark matter within the vicinity of the solar system. Newton?s Shell Theorem would be applied to determine variations in apparent solar mass as the probe moves further out from the Sun. Application of this technique to the trajectories of Pioneer 10/11 reveals that the upper limit to WIMP concentration within ~60 AU of the Sun is ~0.2 Earth masses, as revealed in studies of the Pioneer Anomaly. If the published accuracy of the Pioneer acceleration measurements can be increased by an order of magnitude, probe trajectory measurements out to ~10,000 AU may confirm or falsify the hypothesis that WIMP mass within the solar vicinity is ~3X star mass. It is shown that a space-manufactured ~40-nm thick beryllium hollow-body solar sail deployed from a ~0.07 AU perihelion is a candidate spacecraft for such a mission. Possible science-team organization strategy for a ~100-year mission to ~10,000 AU is discussed.     

Study of the 28 October 2003 and 20 January 2005 solar flares by means of 2.223 MeV gamma-emission line

By the data on intensity-time profiles of the neutron capture line of 2.223 MeV we have studied some characteristics of two solar flares, 28 October 2003 and 20 January 2005 (INTEGRAL and CORONAS-F observations, respectively). The SINP code was applied making allowance for the main processes of neutron interactions and deceleration in the solar plasma, character of neutron source, losses of neutrons and density model of the solar atmosphere. Comparison of the computed time profiles of 2.223 MeV line with observed ones for the flare of 28 October 2003 confirms the results obtained earlier for three other flares. Namely, the effect of density enhancement (EDE) in the sub-flare region, as well as the variations (hardening) of accelerated particle spectrum in the course of the event have been confirmed. The usual modeling procedure by the SINP code, however, seems to be inapplicable to the event of 20 January 2005. Possible causes of density enhancements during some flares and peculiarities of the 20 January 2005 flare are discussed.     

The brief history of experimental research of cosmic ray variations in Yakutia

Some unknown historical facts of cosmic ray studies in the north-east of the former Soviet Union related to the Yakutsk scientific group are reported for the benefit of the international scientific community. It focuses on the founders of Yu.G. Shafer Institute of Cosmophysical Research and Aeronomy of Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences. A chronology of measurements of cosmic ray intensity variations since 1949 in Yakutia (Sakha Republic; NE Siberia) is given. In particular, for the first time the data of the first solar cosmic ray event registered at Yakutsk (GLE04), with a small ionization chamber S-2 (volume: 20 L) are presented. Moreover, the data of the large ionization chamber ASK-1 (volume: 950 L) for the 1953–2003 period useful for specialists in the field of cosmic ray variations are also shown.     

Relation between different theories for cosmic ray cross field diffusion

In the past few year several theories have been presented for describing cosmic ray scattering across the mean magnetic field. It is the purpose of the present article to discuss the relation between these different theories in order to improve our understanding of cosmic ray perpendicular scattering and to explore the parameter regimes for which these different theories are valid.     

Segmentation of extreme ultraviolet solar images via multichannel fuzzy clustering

The study of the variability of the solar corona and the monitoring of its traditional regions (Coronal Holes, Quiet Sun and Active Regions) are of great importance in astrophysics as well as in view of the Space Weather and Space Climate applications. Here we propose a multichannel unsupervised spatially constrained fuzzy clustering algorithm that automatically segments EUV solar images into Coronal Holes, Quiet Sun and Active Regions. Fuzzy logic allows to manage the various noises present in the images and the imprecision in the definition of the above regions. The process is fast and automatic. It is applied to SoHO–EIT images taken from February 1997 till May 2005, i.e. along almost a full solar cycle. Results in terms of areas and intensity estimations are consistent with previous knowledge. The method reveal the rotational and other mid-term periodicities in the extracted time series across solar cycle 23. Further, such an approach paves the way to bridging observations between spatially resolved data from imaging telescopes and time series from radiometers. Time series resulting form the segmentation of EUV coronal images can indeed provide an essential component in the process of reconstructing the solar spectrum.     

Solar Isotopic Composition as Determined Using Solar Energetic Particles

Solar energetic particles (SEPs) provide a sample of the Sun from which solar composition may be determined. Using high-resolution measurements from the Solar Isotope Spectrometer (SIS) onboard NASA’s Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) spacecraft, we have studied the isotopic composition of SEPs at energies ≥20 MeV/nucleon in large SEP events. We present SEP isotope measurements of C, O, Ne, Mg, Si, S, Ar, Ca, Fe, and Ni made in 49 large events from late 1997 to the present. The isotopic composition is highly variable from one SEP event to another due to variations in seed particle composition or due to mass fractionation that occurs during the acceleration and/or transport of these particles. We show that various isotopic and elemental enhancements are correlated with each other, discuss the empirical corrections used to account for the compositional variability, and obtain estimated solar isotopic abundances. We compare the solar values and their uncertainties inferred from SEPs with solar wind and other solar system abundances and find generally good agreement.     

Early history of cosmic rays and solar wind – Some personal remembrances

The early history of solar wind was replete with prejudices and strong opposition to Parker’s formulation. It was only after conclusive evidence from satellite data was obtained that the idea of solar wind was accepted. Some personal experiences of mine during my stay at the University of Chicago in 1953–1954, including the encounter of Dr. Simpson with Dr. Biermann and the inconclusive discussion between them about a possible perpetual solar outflow of particles are presented and further developments when Parker came to Chicago in 1956 and formulated his idea of solar wind, as narrated to me later by Dr. Simpson, are described.     

Human and robotic repair of a solar array wing during ISS assembly mission 10A

With the installation of a new module and the relocation of three other modules, including multiple hand-offs from the station arm (SSRMS) to the shuttle arm (SRMS), International Space Station (ISS) assembly mission 10A/STS-120 was anticipated to be one of the most complicated ISS assembly missions ever attempted. The assembly operations became even more complex when a solar array wing (SAW) on the relocated Port-6 (P6) truss segment ripped while being extended. Repairing the torn SAW became the single most important objective for the remainder of STS-120, with future ISS assembly missions threatened by reduced power generation capacity if the SAW could not be repaired. Precise coordination between the space shuttle and ISS robotics teams led to an operational concept that combined the capabilities of the SRMS and SSRMS robotic systems in ways far beyond their original design capacities. Benefits of consistent standards for ISS robotic interfaces have been previously identified, but the advantages of having two such versatile and compatible robotic systems have never been quite so spectacular. This paper describes the role of robotics in the emergency SAW repair and highlights how versatility within space robotics systems can allow operations far beyond the intended design scenarios.     

Interplanetary medium – A dusty plasma

The average mass of dust per volume in space equals that of the solar wind so that the interplanetary medium should provide an obvious region to study dust plasma interactions. While dust collective behavior is typically not observed in the interplanetary medium, the dust component rather consists of isolated grains screened by and interacting with the plasma. Space measurements have revealed several phenomena possibly resulting from dust plasma interactions, but most of the dust plasma interactions are at present not quantified. Examples are the production of neutrals and pick-up ions from the dust, dust impact generated field variations at spacecraft and magnetic field variations possibly caused by solar wind interacting with dust trails. Since dust particles carry a surface charge, they are exposed to the Lorentz force in the interplanetary magnetic field and for grains of sub-micrometer sizes acceleration can be substantial.     

Relative fluxes of shock and prompt peaks in SEP event time profiles

Peak fluxes are an important property of gradual solar energetic particle (SEP) event time profiles from both astro/heliophysical and applications perspectives. However, the peak flux in an event may occur at the event onset, or at the time of the interplanetary shock arrival (the ESP or energetic storm particles). This makes an important difference in the interpretation of the peak flux, and in any attempts to characterize or model it. This paper describes a study of SEP data sets from ACE, IMP-8 and GOES toward determining the relative properties of these peak fluxes for protons with energies near 1, 10, and 50 MeV. The results suggest that for gradual events with both peaks, the ESP peak often dominates at 1 MeV energies and is dominant about half the time at 10 MeV. Moreover, the prompt peak fluxes can be used to estimate the shock peak (ESP event) up to days ahead, especially in the lower energy range.