119292779
Magnetohydrodynamic simulation of the interaction between interplanetary strong shock and magnetic cloud and its consequent geoeffectiveness
[1] Numerical studies have been performed to interpret the observed “shock overtaking magnetic cloud (MC)” event by a 2.5 dimensional magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) model in the heliospheric meridional plane. Results of an individual MC simulation show that the MC travels with a constant bulk flow speed. The MC is injected with a very strong inherent magnetic field over that in the ambient flow and expands rapidly in size initially. Consequently, the diameter of the MC increases in an asymptotic speed while its angular width contracts gradually. Meanwhile, simulations of MC-shock interaction are also presented, in which both a typical MC and a strong fast shock emerge from the inner boundary and propagate along the heliospheric equator, separated by an appropriate interval. The results show that the shock first catches up with the preceding MC, then penetrates through the MC, and finally merges with the MC-driven shock into a stronger compound shock. The morphologies of shock front in interplanetary space and MC body behave as a central concave and a smooth arc, respectively. The compression and rotation of the magnetic field serve as an efficient mechanism to cause a large geomagnetic storm. The MC is highly compressed by the overtaking shock. Contrarily, the transport time of the incidental shock influenced by the MC depends on the interval between their commencements. Maximum geoeffectiveness results from when the shock enters the core of preceding MC, which is also substantiated to some extent by a corresponding simplified analytic model. Quantified by the Dst index, the specific result is that the geoeffectiveness of an individual MC is largely enhanced with 80% increment in maximum by an incidental shock.
55694014
Statistical study of coronal mass ejection source locations: Understanding CMEs viewed in coronagraphs
[1] How to properly understand coronal mass ejections (CMEs) viewed in white light coronagraphs is crucial to many relative researches in solar and space physics. The issue is now particularly addressed in this paper through studying the source locations of all the 1078 Large Angle and Spectrometric Coronagraph (LASCO) CMEs listed in Coordinated Data Analysis Workshop (CDAW) CME catalog during 1997–1998 and their correlation with CMEs' apparent parameters. By manually checking LASCO and Extreme Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (EIT) movies of these CMEs, we find that, except 231 CMEs whose source locations cannot be identified due to poor data, there are 288 CMEs with location identified on the frontside solar disk, 234 CMEs appearing above solar limb, and 325 CMEs without evident eruptive signatures in the field of view of EIT. On the basis of the statistical results of CMEs' source locations, there are four physical issues: (1) the missing rate of CMEs by SOHO LASCO and EIT, (2) the mass of CMEs, (3) the causes of halo CMEs, and (4) the deflections of CMEs in the corona, are exhaustively analyzed. It is found that (1) about 32% frontside CMEs cannot be recognized by SOHO, (2) the brightness of a CME at any heliocentric distance is roughly positively correlated with its speed, and the CME mass derived from the brightness is probably overestimated, (3) both projection effect and violent eruption are the major causes of halo CMEs, and especially for limb halo CMEs the latter is the primary one, and (4) most CMEs deflected toward equator near the solar minimum; these deflections can be classified into three types: the asymmetrical expansion, the nonradial ejection, and the deflected propagation.
119228154
Full halo coronal mass ejections: Do we need to correct the projection effect in terms of velocity?
[1] The projection effect is one of the biggest obstacles in learning the real properties of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) and forecasting their geoeffectiveness. To evaluate the projection effect, 86 full halo CMEs (FHCMEs) listed in the Coordinated Data Analysis Workshop CME catalog from 1 March 2007 to 31 May 2012 are investigated. By applying the Graduated Cylindrical Shell model, we obtain the deprojected values of the propagation velocity, direction, and angular width of these FHCMEs and compare them with the projected values measured in the plane-of-sky. Although these CMEs look full halo in the view angle of SOHO, it is found that their propagation directions and angular widths could vary in a large range, implying projection effect is a major reason causing a CME being halo, but not the only one. Furthermore, the comparison of the deprojected and projected velocities reveals that most FHCMEs originating within 45° of the Sun-Earth line with a projected speed slower than 900 km s−1 suffer from large projection effect, while the FHCMEs originating far from the vicinity of solar disk center or moving faster than 900 km s−1have small projection effect. Thus, for the latter class of FHCMEs, it is not necessary to correct the measured velocities.
17103243
An analytical model probing the internal state of coronal mass ejections based on observations of their expansions and propagations
[1] In this paper, a generic self-similar flux rope model is proposed to probe the internal state of CMEs in order to understand the thermodynamic process and expansion of CMEs in interplanetary space. Using this model, three physical parameters and their variations with heliocentric distance can be inferred based on coronagraph observations of CMEs' propagation and expansion. One is the polytropic index Γ of the CME plasma, and the other two are the average Lorentz force and the thermal pressure force inside CMEs. By applying the model to the 8 October 2007 CME observed by STEREO/SECCHI, we find that (1) the polytropic index of the CME plasma increased from initially 1.24 to more than 1.35 quickly and then slowly decreased to about 1.34; it suggests that there be continuously heat injected/converted into the CME plasma and the value of Γ tends to be , a critical value inferred from the model for a force-free flux rope; (2) the Lorentz force directed inward while the thermal pressure force outward, and both of them decreased rapidly as the CME moved out; the direction of the two forces reveals that the thermal pressure force is the internal driver of the CME expansion, whereas the Lorentz force prevented the CME from expanding. Some limitations of the model and approximations are discussed meanwhile.
67817261
Critical Height for the Destabilization of Solar Prominences: Statistical Results from STEREO Observations
At which height is a prominence inclined to be unstable, or where is the most probable critical height for the prominence destabilization? This question was statistically studied based on 362 solar limb prominences well recognized by Solar Limb Prominence Catcher and Tracker from 2007 April to the end of 2009. We found that there are about 71% disrupted prominences (DPs), among which about 42% of them did not erupt successfully and about 89% of them experienced a sudden destabilization process. After a comprehensive analysis of the DPs, we
115149137
CONTRACTING AND ERUPTING COMPONENTS OF SIGMOIDAL ACTIVE REGIONS
It has recently been noted that solar eruptions can be associated with the contraction of coronal loops that are not involved in magnetic reconnection processes. In this paper, we investigate five coronal eruptions originating from four sigmoidal active regions, using high-cadence, high-resolution narrowband EUV images obtained by the Solar Dynamic Observatory (SDO). The magnitudes of the flares associated with the eruptions range from GOES class B to class X. Owing to the high-sensitivity and broad temperature coverage of the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) on board SDO, we are able to identify both the contracting and erupting components of the eruptions: the former is observed in cold AIA channels as the contracting coronal loops overlying the elbows of the sigmoid, and the latter is preferentially observed in warm/hot AIA channels as an expanding bubble originating from the center of the sigmoid. The initiation of eruption always precedes the contraction, and in the energetically mild events (B- and C-flares), it also precedes the increase in GOES soft X-ray fluxes. In the more energetic events, the eruption is simultaneous with the impulsive phase of the nonthermal hard X-ray emission. These observations confirm that loop contraction is an integrated process in eruptions with partially opened arcades. The consequence of contraction is a new equilibrium with reduced magnetic energy, as the contracting loops never regain their original positions. The contracting process is a direct consequence of flare energy release, as evidenced by the strong correlation of the maximal contracting speed, and strong anti-correlation of the time delay of contraction relative to expansion, with the peak soft X-ray flux. This is also implied by the relationship between contraction and expansion, i.e., their timing and speed.
118456467
VARIATIONS OF SOLAR ELECTRON AND PROTON FLUX IN MAGNETIC CLOUD BOUNDARY LAYERS AND COMPARISONS WITH THOSE ACROSS THE SHOCKS AND IN THE RECONNECTION EXHAUSTS
The magnetic cloud boundary layer (BL) is a dynamic region formed by the interaction of the magnetic cloud (MC) and the ambient solar wind. In the present study, we comparatively investigate the proton and electron mean flux variations in the BL, in the interplanetary reconnection exhaust (RE), and across the MC-driven shock by using the Wind data from 1995 to 2006. In general, the proton flux has higher increments at lower energy bands compared with the ambient solar wind. Inside the BL, the core electron flux increases quasi-isotropically and the increments decrease monotonously with energy from similar to 30% (at 18 eV) to similar to 10% (at 70 eV); the suprathermal electron flux usually increases in either parallel or antiparallel direction; the correlation coefficient of electron flux variations in parallel and antiparallel directions changes sharply from similar to 0.8 below 70 eV to similar to 0 above 70 eV. Similar results are also found for RE. However, different phenomena are found across the shock where the electron flux variations first increase and then decrease with a peak increment (>200%) near 100 eV. The correlation coefficient of electron flux variations in parallel and antiparallel directions is always around 0.8. The similar behavior of flux variations in BL and RE suggests that reconnection may commonly occur in BL. Our work also implies that the strong energy dependence and direction selectivity of electron flux variations, which were previously thought to have not enough relevance to magnetic reconnection, could be considered as an important signature of solar wind reconnection in the statistical point of view.
1289258
Energetic electrons associated with magnetic reconnection in the magnetic cloud boundary layer.
Here is reported in situ observation of energetic electrons (∼100-500 keV) associated with magnetic reconnection in the solar wind by the ACE and Wind spacecraft. The properties of this magnetic cloud driving reconnection and the associated energetic electron acceleration problem are discussed. Further analyses indicate that the electric field acceleration and Fermi-type mechanism are two fundamental elements in the electron acceleration processes and the trapping effect of the specific magnetic field configuration maintains the acceleration status that increases the totally gained energy.
85552284
STUDY ON THE PLANAR UNDULATOR SCHEME WITH FOCUSING PROPERTIES FOR PKU-FEL *
An IR range SASE FEL test facility will be built at Peking University. The project is designed to get the SASE FEL at 7 micron driven by a superconducting accelerator. A hybrid planar Nd-Fe-B undulator is employed and the optimization of the external focus system for the undulator is studied. In the PKU-FEL facility, the electron energy is about 30-40 MeV. The combined function undulator with FODO lattice imposes quite stringent tolerances on the strength of the quads. To solve this problem, the weak natural focusing of the undulator in the vertical plane together with horizontally focusing quads, is proposed to supply the focusing in the facility. The combined function undulator of FOFO lattice and FF lattice in the horizontal plane are studied. Compared with the FODO lattice, the FOFO and FF lattice make the saturation a bit longer and the requirements of the field accuracy for the focusing system are much reduced.
119230928
Stability of the classical type of relative equilibria of a rigid body in the J2 problem
The motion of a point mass in the J2 problem is generalized to that of a rigid body in a J2 gravity field. The linear and nonlinear stability of the classical type of relative equilibria of the rigid body, which have been obtained in our previous paper, are studied in the framework of geometric mechanics with the second-order gravitational potential. Non-canonical Hamiltonian structure of the problem, i.e., Poisson tensor, Casimir functions and equations of motion, are obtained through a Poisson reduction process by means of the symmetry of the problem. The linear system matrix at the relative equilibria is given through the multiplication of the Poisson tensor and Hessian matrix of the variational Lagrangian. Based on the characteristic equation of the linear system matrix, the conditions of linear stability of the relative equilibria are obtained. The conditions of nonlinear stability of the relative equilibria are derived with the energy-Casimir method through the projected Hessian matrix of the variational Lagrangian. With the stability conditions obtained, both the linear and nonlinear stability of the relative equilibria are investigated in details in a wide range of the parameters of the gravity field and the rigid body. We find that both the zonal harmonic J2 and the characteristic dimension of the rigid body have significant effects on the linear and nonlinear stability. Similar to the classical attitude stability in a central gravity field, the linear stability region is also consisted of two regions that are analogues of the Lagrange region and the DeBra-Delp region respectively. The nonlinear stability region is the subset of the linear stability region in the first quadrant that is the analogue of the Lagrange region. Our results are very useful for the studies on the motion of natural satellites in our solar system.
124457067
Search for Invisible Decays of eta and eta-prime in the Processes J/psi ---> phi eta and phi eta-prime
Using a data sample of 58x10{sup 6} J/{psi} decays collected with the Beijing Spectrometer II detector at the Beijing Electron Positron Collider, searches for invisible decays of {eta} and {eta}{sup '} in J/{psi} to {phi}{eta} and {phi}{eta}{sup '} are performed. The {phi} signals, which are reconstructed in K{sup +}K{sup -} final states, are used to tag the {eta} and {eta}{sup '} decays. No signals are found for the invisible decays of either {eta} or {eta}{sup '}, and upper limits at the 90% confidence level are determined to be 1.65x10{sup -3} for the ratio (B({eta}{yields}invisible)/B({eta}{yields}{gamma}{gamma})) and 6.69x10{sup -2} for (B({eta}{sup '}{yields}invisible)/B({eta}{sup '}{yields}{gamma}{gamma})). These are the first searches for {eta} and {eta}{sup '} decays into invisible final states.