Spatio-temporal structure of the wave packets generated by the solar terminator

Using long-term (1998--2009) total electron content (TEC) measurements from the GPS global network including dense network of GPS sites in USA and Japan, we have obtained the first data regarding the spatio-temporal structure and the statistics of medium-scale traveling wave packets (MS TWPs) excited by the solar terminator (ST). Total amount of the detected TWPs exceeds 565,000. There is no correlation between TWPs occurrence and geomagnetic and solar activity. We found that the diurnal, seasonal and spectral MS TWPs characteristics are specified by the solar terminator (ST) dynamics. MS TWPs are the chains of narrow-band TEC oscillations with single packet’s duration of about 1–2 h and oscillation periods of 10–20 min. The total duration of chain is about 4–6 h. The MS TWPs spatial structure is characterized by a high degree of anisotropy and coherence at the distance of more than 10 wavelengths. Occurrence rate of daytime MS TWPs is high in winter and during equinoxes. Occurrence rate of nighttime MS TWPs has its peak in summer. These features are consistent with previous MS travelling ionosphere disturbance (TID) statistics obtained from 630-nm airglow imaging observations in Japan. In winter, MS TWPs in the northern hemisphere are observed 3–4 h after the morning ST passage. In summer, MS TWPs are detected 1.5–2 h before the evening ST appearance at the point of observations, but at the moment of the evening ST passage in the magneto-conjugate point. The obtained results are the first experimental evidence for the hypothesis of the ST-generated ion sound waves.     

Aeroelastic stability analysis of heated flexible panel subjected to an oblique shock

The critical conditions for aeroelastic stability and the stability boundaries of a flexible two-dimensional heated panel subjected to an impinging oblique shock are considered using theoretical analysis and numerical computations, respectively. The von-Karman large deflection theory of isotropic flat plates is used to account for the geometrical nonlinearity of the heated panel, and local first-order piston theory is employed in the region before and after shock waves to estimate the aerodynamic pressure. The coupled partial differential governing equations, according to the Hamilton principle, are established with thermal effect based on quasi-steady thermal stress theory. The Galerkin discrete method is employed to truncate the partial differential equations into a set of ordinary differential equations, which are then solved by the fourth-order Runge-Kutta numerical integration method. Lyapunov indirect method is applied to evaluate the stability of the heated panel. The results show that a new aeroelastic instability (distinct from regular panel flutter) arises from the complex interaction of the incident and reflected wave system with the panel flexural modes and thermal loads. What’s more, stability of the panel is reduced in the presence of the oblique shock. In other words, the heated panel becomes aeroelastically unstable at relatively small flight aerodynamic pressure.     

Evolution of the temporal and the spectral properties in 2010 and 2011 outbursts of H 1743-322

The Galactic black hole candidate H 1743-322 exhibited two X-ray outbursts in rapid succession: one in August 2010 and the other in April 2011. We analyze archival data of this object from the PCA instrument on board RXTE (2–25 keV energy band) to study the evolution of its temporal and spectral characteristics during both the outbursts, and hence to understand the behavioral change of the accretion flow dynamics associated with the evolution of the various X-ray features. We study the evolution of QPO frequencies during the rising and the declining phases of both the outbursts. We successfully fit the variation of QPO frequency using the Propagating Oscillatory Shock (POS) model in each of the outbursts and obtain the accretion flow parameters such as the instantaneous shock locations, the shock velocity and the shock strength. Based on the degree of importance of the thermal (disk black body) and the non-thermal (power-law) components of the spectral fit and properties of the QPO (if present), the entire profiles of the 2010 and 2011 outbursts are subdivided into four different spectral states: hard, hard-intermediate, soft-intermediate and soft. We attempt to explain the nature of the outburst profile (i.e., hardness-intensity diagram) with two different types of mass accretion flow.     

倾斜分层非均匀介质中磁偶极子场的数值分析

研究倾斜分层非均匀介质条件下磁偶极子源在介质空间的电磁响应,给出了场表达式和数值递推算法,提出了在大倾角条件下利用电阻率曲线划分界面和进行前向预测的方法,数值模拟和应用实践证明该方法是有效的,结论具有一定的应用价值.      

固体火箭发动机多层结构壳体的导波频散特性分析

应用全局矩阵法,推导了多层结构壳体的导波频散方程,并分别针对固体火箭发动机四种不同层数的壳体导波频散曲线进行了求解,发现当结构层数和第一层厚度增加时,各模式曲线的间隔缩小．曲线数目增加,并有向零频方向靠拢的趋势。同时研究了粘接质量变化对频散特征的影响,随着胶层质量相对变差,频散曲线总体向左漂移。     

Multi-beam sounding ionograms in the polar cap region: Absorption induced by proton precipitations

The simulation of the multi-beam ionograms in the polar cap region, assessing absorption effect is performed. It is reasonable to distinguish among four different mechanisms responsible for absorption: regular absorption due to solar UV illumination, absorption associated with energetic particles precipitation, absorption connected with X-rays flare and additional absorption in Auroral oval area. In this paper the absorption attributed to proton precipitations is envisaged. The computational model of the high-latitude ionosphere with irregularities oriented to application for the high frequency wave propagation problem was elaborated (Zaalov et al., 2005). A number of the quasi-vertical ionograms in the polar cap region were simulated on the basis of this model. A well-known algorithm (Sauer and Wilkinson, 2008) is applied for the absorption effects calculation. The simulated high-latitude ionograms with the absorption effect and the measured ionograms exhibit quite a good resemblance. This paper illustrates the importance of the understanding and taking into account the absorption effect in the presence of the various structural features in the polar ionosphere (in particular, patches of enhanced electron density) in interpreting ionosonde data.     

Estimated errors in a global gravity wave climatology from GPS radio occultation temperature profiles

In a previous paper by Schmidt et al. (2008), from CHAllenging Minisatellite Payload (CHAMP) Global Positioning System (GPS) radio occultation data, a comparison was made between a Gaussian filter applied to the “complete” temperature profile and to its “separate” tropospheric and stratospheric height intervals, for gravity wave analyses. It was found that the separate filtering method considerably reduces a wave activity artificial enhancement near the tropopause, presumably due to the isolation process of the wave component. We now propose a simple approach to estimate the uncertainty in the calculation of the mean specific wave potential energy content, due exclusively to the filtering process of vertical temperature profiles, independently of the experimental origin of the data. The approach is developed through a statistical simulation, built up from the superposition of synthetic wave perturbations. These are adjusted by a recent gravity wave (GW) climatology and temperature profiles from reanalyses. A systematic overestimation of the mean specific wave potential energy content is detected and its variability with latitude, altitude, season and averaging height interval is highlighted.     

Direct numerical simulation of impinging shock wave and turbulent boundary layer interaction over a wavy-wall

The interaction of an impinging oblique shock wave with an angle of 30° and a supersonic turbulent boundary layer at Ma_∞=2.9 and Re_θ = 2400 over a wavy-wall is investigated through direct numerical simulation and compared with the interaction on a flat-plate under the same flow conditions. A sinusoidal wave with amplitude to wavelength ratio of 0.26 moves in the streamwise direction and is uniformly distributed across the spanwise direction. The influences of the wavy-wall on the interaction, including the characterization of the flow field, the skin-friction, pressure and the budget of turbulence kinetic energy, are systematically studied. The region of separation grows slightly and decomposes into four bubbles. Local peaks of skin-friction are observed at the rear part of the interaction region. The low-frequency shock motion can be seen in the wall pressure spectra. Analyses of the turbulence kinetic energy budget indicate that both diffusion and transport significantly increase near the crests, balanced by an amplified dissipation in the near-wall region. Proper orthogonal decomposition analyses show that the most energetic structures are associated with the separated shock and the shear layer over the bubbles. Only the bubbles in the first two troughs are dominated by a low-frequency enlargement or shrinkage.     

Interpretation of the SOHO/UVCS observations of two CME-driven shocks

We report on the analysis of two fast CME-driven shocks observed with the UltraViolet Coronagraph Spectrometer (UVCS) on board the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO). The first event, detected on 2002 March 22 at 4.1 R_⊙ with the UVCS slit placed in correspondence with the flank of the expanding CME surface, represents the highest UV detection of a shock obtained so far with the UVCS instrument in the corona. The second one, detected on 2002 July 23 at 1.6 R_⊙ with the UVCS slit placed in correspondence with the front of the expanding CME surface, shows an anomalous deficiency of ion heating with respect to what observed in previous CME/shocks observed by UVCS, possibly reflecting the effect of different coronal plasma conditions over the solar cycle. From the two different sets of observations we derived an estimate for the shock compression ratio X, which turns out to be X = 2.4 ± 0.2 and X = 2.2 ± 0.1, respectively, for the first and second event. Comparison between the two events provides complementary perspectives on the dynamical evolution of CME-driven shocks.     

Connection between winter mesopause region temperatures and diurnal LF reflection height variations measured at Collm

Scale height, H, estimates are calculated from the decrease/increase of ionospheric virtual reflection heights of low-frequency (LF) radio waves at oblique incidence in suitably defined morning intervals around sunrise during winter months. The day-to-day variations of H qualitatively agree with daily mean temperature variations around 90 km from meteor radar measurements. Since mesospheric long-period temperature variations are generally accepted to be the signature of atmospheric planetary waves, this shows that LF reflection height measurements can be used for monitoring the dynamics of the upper middle atmosphere. The long-term variations of monthly mean H estimates have also been analysed. There is no significant trend, which is in agreement with other measurements of mesopause region temperature trends.