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At least 55 records · Page 3

Modulation theory

Cosmic ray modulation theory is reviewed with regard to microscopic effects, gradients, and drift. It is noted that the three-dimensional structure of the heliosphere has been shown to be very important for the understanding of modulation, even for effects observed in the solar equatorial plane. In addition, recent revisions in the understanding of the magnetic field structure have led to a dramatic change in the understanding of modulation.

Jokipii, J. R.↗

Soft X-rays from the sunlit earth's atmosphere

Observations of soft X-ray emission from the sunlit earth atmosphere are presented and compared with the predictions of an earth albedo X-ray theory. The exact theory accounts for the flux of Thomson scattered solar X rays and fluorescently excited K X rays that arise following the absorption of incident X rays as a function of observing geometry. Observations were made at widely separated geometries with the two low-energy detectors of the A-2 experiment on the HEAO-1 satellite. Fitting of the model to the observed spectra results in values for the solar coronal temperature and emission measure that are in good agreement with expected values for the nonflaring sun, indicating that X-ray observations of the sunlit atmosphere may be a useful monitor of solar activity for satellites unable to view the sun directly. The total measured fluorescent line flux is also in agreement with calculations, although the N/O line ratio is not. X-ray fluorescence measurements from the sunlit atmosphere will thus be useful in monitoring atmospheric composition only to the extent that the total line counting rates depend upon the composition.

Mckenzie, D. L.↗

Gamma ray bursts: Current status of observations and theory

Gamma ray bursts display a wide range of temporal and spectral characteristics, but typically last several seconds and emit most of their energy in a low energy, gamma ray region. The burst sources appear to be isotropically distributed on the sky. Several lines of evidence suggest magnetic neutron stars as sources for bursts. A variety of energy sources and emission mechanisms are proposed.

Meegan, Charles A.↗

Solar gamma rays

The theory of gamma ray production in solar flares is treated in detail. Both lines and continuum are produced. Results show that the strongest line predicted at 2.225 MeV with a width of less than 100 eV and detected at 2.24 + or - 2.02 MeV, is due to neutron capture by protons in the photosphere. Its intensity is dependent on the photospheric He-3 abundance. The neutrons are produced in nuclear reactions of flare accelerated particles which also produce positrons and prompt nuclear deexcitation lines. The strongest prompt lines are at 4.43 MeV from c-12 and at approximately 6.2 from 0-16 and N-15. The gamma ray continuum, produced by electron bremsstrahlung, allows the determination of the spectrum and number of accelerated electrons in the MeV region. From the comparison of the line and continuum intensities a proton-to-electron ratio of about 10 to 100 at the same energy for the 1972, August 4 flare. For the same flare the protons above 2.5 MeV which are responsible for the gamma ray emission produce a few percent of the heat generated by the electrons which make the hard X rays above 20 keV.

Ramaty, R.↗

Gaussian beams for surface waves in laterally slowly-varying media

Asymptotic ray theory is applied to surface waves in a medium where the lateral variations of structure are very smooth. The elastodynamic equations of motion in ray-centered coordinates are derived, and a laterally slowly-varying approximation for elastodynamic equations is obtained. Parabolic equations for Love and Rayleigh waves are studied and solved, and the properties of Gaussian beams of seismic surface waves are examined.

Yomogida, K.↗

A General Computer Program for Ionospheric Ray-Tracing

The study of the ionosphere using the Faraday rotation effect has been undertaken recently by means of rocket, satellite, and moon echo experiments. Different approximations have been used by different authors, resulting in methods with different degrees of complexity, and it is possible to say that the more accurate a method is, the more difficult its application becomes. However, the use of modern high-speed digital computers offers the possibility of using more complex methods in the solution of this problem, The program described in this report was written for the ILLIAC, the digital computer of the University of Illinois. Only the general features common to most digital computers will be mentioned. This program was prepared having in mind the analysis of the Faraday rotation effect, as recorded from artificial satellites. It is intended to be as general as possible in the conditions imposed on the assumed propagating medium: specifically there are no restrictions on the models of the electron density distribution and the earth's magnetic fields. long as the ray theory Ls valid. The program will trace separately the ordinary and the extraordinary mode, and it will find the virtual phase path length of a ray of each mode between the transmitter (satellite) and a receiver (station). The difference between respective phase path-lengths is related to the Faraday rotation through a constant which depends on the frequency.

Gonzales, Victor H.↗

Geometric effects of global lateral heterogeneity on long-period surface wave propagation

The present investigation has the objective to document examples of anomalous long-period surface wave amplitude behavior and to provide a preliminary appraisal of the effects of global lateral heterogeneity on surface wave propagation from a ray theory perspective. Attention is given to remarkable long-period surface wave anomalies described in literature, an equidistance azimuthal plot centered on the Iranian source region, Rayleigh wave and Love wave spectra for the 256-s period arrivals for the Tabas earthquake, constrained moment tensor and fault model inversion solutions ofr Iranian earthquakes, aspects of surface wave ray tracing, and a table of Rayleigh wave amplitude anomalies for Iranian earthquakes. Surface wave ray-tracing calculations for models of global phase velocity variations proposed by Nakanishi and Anderson (1984) are found to show that large-amplitude anomalies will be observed for Love and Rayleigh waves with periods of 100-250 s.

Lay, T.↗

On the theory of Gamma Ray Amplification through Stimulated Annihilation Radiation (GRASAR)

The theory of photon emission, absorption, and scattering in a relativistic plasma of positrons, electrons, and photon was studied. Expressions for the emissivities and absorption coefficients of pair annihilation, pair production, and Compton scattering are given and evaluated numerically. The conditions for negative absorption were investigated. In a system of photons and e(+) - e(-) pairs, an emission line at at approximately 0.43 MeV can be produced by grasar action provided that the pair chemical potential exceeds approximately 1 MeV. At a temperature of approximately 10 to the 9th power. This requires a pair density approximately 10 to the 30th power cm to the (-3) power a value much larger than the thermodynamic equilbrium pair density at this temperature. This emission line could account without a gravitational redshift for the observed lines at this energy from gamma ray bursts.

Ramaty, R.↗

The Prediction and Analysis of Jet Flows and Scattered Turbulent Mixing Noise About Flight Vehicle Airframes

Jet flows interacting with nearby surfaces exhibit a complex behavior in which acoustic and aerodynamic characteristics are altered. The physical understanding and prediction of these characteristics are essential to designing future low noise aircraft. A new approach is created for predicting scattered jet mixing noise that utilizes an acoustic analogy and steady Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes solutions. A tailored Green's function accounts for the propagation of mixing noise about the air-frame and is calculated numerically using a newly developed ray tracing method. The steady aerodynamic statistics, associated unsteady sound source, and acoustic intensity are examined as jet conditions are varied about a large at plate. A non-dimensional number is proposed to estimate the effect of the aerodynamic noise source relative to jet operating condition and airframe position. The steady Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes solutions, acoustic analogy, tailored Green's function, non- dimensional number, and predicted noise are validated with a wide variety of measurements. The combination of the developed theory, ray tracing method, and careful implementation in a stand-alone computer program result in an approach that is more first principles oriented than alternatives, computationally efficient, and captures the relevant physics of fluid-structure interaction.

Miller, Steven A.↗

The Prediction and Analysis of Jet Flows and Scattered Turbulent Mixing Noise about Flight Vehicle Airframes

Jet flows interacting with nearby surfaces exhibit a complex behavior in which acoustic and aerodynamic characteristics are altered. The physical understanding and prediction of these characteristics are essential to designing future low noise aircraft. A new approach is created for predicting scattered jet mixing noise that utilizes an acoustic analogy and steady Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes solutions. A tailored Green's function accounts for the propagation of mixing noise about the airframe and is calculated numerically using a newly developed ray tracing method. The steady aerodynamic statistics, associated unsteady sound source, and acoustic intensity are examined as jet conditions are varied about a large flat plate. A non-dimensional number is proposed to estimate the effect of the aerodynamic noise source relative to jet operating condition and airframe position.The steady Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes solutions, acoustic analogy, tailored Green's function, non-dimensional number, and predicted noise are validated with a wide variety of measurements. The combination of the developed theory, ray tracing method, and careful implementation in a stand-alone computer program result in an approach that is more first principles oriented than alternatives, computationally efficient, and captures the relevant physics of fluid-structure interaction.

Miller, Steven A. E.↗

Effects of fibril magnetic fields on solar p-modes. II - Calculation of mode frequency shifts

The effect of magnetic flux tubes in the solar convection zone on p-mode oscillations is investigated analytically using WKB ray theory, extending the results of Bogdan and Zweibel (1985) to the case of propagation not perpendicular to the tubes. Results for the frequency shift in polytropic slabs with vertical or horizontal flux tubes are presented in graphs and discussed.

Zweibel, E. G.↗

A numerical model for gravity wave dissipation in the thermosphere

Two simplified models have been developed for the internal gravity wave dissipation due to viscosity, thermal conduction, and ion-drag in a multilayered, isothermal thermosphere. Both models use the WKB approximation, ray theory, and the time-averaged equations of gravity wave energy conservation. One model uses all the equations appropriate to a dissipative atmosphere, while the other uses the dispersion equation and polarization relations applicable to a nondissipative atmosphere, neglecting the viscous and thermal conduction contributions to the energy flux. Results from these models are compared to each other and to the results obtained by Klostermeyer (1973), using a full-wave model.

Hickey, M. P.↗

Scattering of sound by atmospheric turbulence predictions in a refractive shadow zone

According to ray theory, regions exist in an upward refracting atmosphere where no sound should be present. Experiments show, however, that appreciable sound levels penetrate these so-called shadow zones. Two mechanisms contribute to sound in the shadow zone: diffraction and turbulent scattering of sound. Diffractive effects can be pronounced at lower frequencies but are small at high frequencies. In the short wavelength limit, then, scattering due to turbulence should be the predominant mechanism involved in producing the sound levels measured in shadow zones. No existing analytical method includes turbulence effects in the prediction of sound pressure levels in upward refractive shadow zones. In order to obtain quantitative average sound pressure level predictions, a numerical simulation of the effect of atmospheric turbulence on sound propagation is performed. The simulation is based on scattering from randomly distributed scattering centers ('turbules'). Sound pressure levels are computed for many realizations of a turbulent atmosphere. Predictions from the numerical simulation are compared with existing theories and experimental data.

Mcbride, Walton E.↗

Beryllium in the Galactic halo - Surface abundances from standard, diffusive, and rotational stellar evolution, and implications

The recently observed upper limits to the beryllium abundances in population II stars are much lower than population I detections. This difference reflects an intrinsic difference in the initial abundances and is not caused by different degrees of depletion driven by stellar evolution processes from similar initial abundances. Evolutionary sequences of models from the early premain sequence to beyond the turnoff that correspond to halo dwarfs with Fe/H abundances of -1.3, -2.3, and -3.3 are constructed, and standard, diffusive, and rotational mechanisms are used to estimate a maximal possible beryllium depletion. Halo star models in the T(eff) range 6000 to 5000 K might be rotationally depleted by a factor of 1.5-2, and the total depletion should be no more than (conservatively) a factor of 3. Implications for cosmology, cosmic-ray theory, and Galactic chemical evolution are discussed.

Deliyannis, Constantine P.↗

The source of solar high-frequency acoustic modes - Theoretical expectations

The source exciting the solar p-modes is likely to be acoustic noise generated in the top part of the sun's convection zone. If so, then simple arguments suggest that most of the emitted energy may come from rare localized events that are well separated from one another in space and time. This note describes the acoustic emission that would be expected from such events, based on a ray-theory analysis. Most of the acoustic energy is found to emerge very close to the source, so that observations to identify emission events will require high spatial resolution.

Brown, Timothy M.↗

Particle injection and the structure of energetic-particle-modified shocks

A macroscopic 'self-consistent' nonlinear two-fluid model is developed for energetic-particle-modeled shocks. The model incorporates particle exchange between a thermal gas and an energetic population via a 'thermal leakage' mechanism. In the model, injection is regarded as a process whereby particles in the cooler thermal core of a total particle distribution are energized sufficiently to cross a 'momentum boundary' into the wings of the distribution. Particles in the wings are identified as 'energetic particles' or 'cosmic rays' and are assumed to propagate according to the diffusive transport equation of cosmic ray theory. Thermal particles are energized either as a result of adiabatic compression in a decelerating flow or directly via anomalous heating within a subshock. It is shown that the nature and model of particle injection directly affects the nature and dynamics of the shock, and hence the efficiency of particle acceleration, and that the shock itself regulates particle injection dynamically.

Zank, G. P.↗

Heavy ion track-structure calculations for radial dose in arbitrary materials

The delta-ray theory of track structure is compared with experimental data for the radial dose from heavy ion irradiation. The effects of electron transmission and the angular dependence of secondary electron ejection are included in the calculations. Several empirical formulas for electron range and energy are compared in a wide variety of materials in order to extend the application of the track-structure theory. The model of Rudd for the secondary electron-spectrum in proton collisions, which is based on a modified classical kinematics binary encounter model at high energies and a molecular promotion model at low energies, is employed. For heavier projectiles, the secondary electron spectrum is found by scaling the effective charge. Radial dose calculations for carbon, water, silicon, and gold are discussed. The theoretical data agreed well with the experimental data.

Cucinotta, Francis A.↗

An experimental study of light scattering by large, irregular particles

The intensity and polarization of light scattered by a variety of types of artificial partices large compared to the wavelength were measured as a function of phase angle. Shape, surface roughness, absorption coefficient, and internal scattering coefficient were varied systematically and their effects studied. Scattering by clear, smooth-surfaced spheres is in quantitative agreement with the predictions of the geometrical optics (ray theory) approximation to physical optics (Mie theory). The phase functions of almost all of the particles measured have both forward and backward scattering lobes. A two-parameter, double Henyey-Greenstein function generally provides reasonably good descriptions of the data, while keeping the number of free parameters to the minimum necessary. On a double Henyey- Greenstein parameter plot all of the particles fall into an L-shaped area of restricted size in which the location is characteristic of the particle type. Formalisms based on the equivalent slab model are also given for estimating the scattering efficiency of a large, irregular particle. For most dielectric particles the transmitted, forward scattered light is partially negatively polarized. It is this component that is respopnsible for the well-known maximum in the polarization curves of planetary regoliths at phase angles around 100 deg. For phase angles between about 30 deg and 70 deg the internally scattered light is found to be randomly polarized in the particles studied here, so that the only contribution to the second component of the Stokes vector is by Fresnel reflection from the particle surface. If this empirical result is general, measurement of the second Stokes vector of the light scattered from a regolith at these angles may provide a method of remotely measuring the mean refractive index.

Mcguire, Audrey F.↗