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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 271 records · Page 15
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1988

M dwarfs from the Einstein extended medium sensitivity survey

A complete sample of X-ray selected M dwarfs are presented which were serendipitously detected in the extended Einstein Observatory Medium Sensitivity Survey (MSS). The MSS detected only early M dwarfs (type MO through M5), 84 percent of which were emission stars (i.e., type Me V). It was calculated that the X-ray luminosity function for early M dwarfs with a log Lx greater than 27.6 and, by comparison to optical luminosity functions, find that about 25 percent of all early M dwarfs emit X-rays at a level greater than log Lx = 27.6. This result is compared to luminosity function estimates from optically selected samples and discussed in light of the sample's kinematic and mean age. Also presented is H alpha and Ca II K line fluxes for each member of the sample and it is shown that the surface H alpha and Ca II K luminosities do indeed correlate with Lx. The significance of this effect to theories of chromospheric and coronal heating is explained.

Fleming, Thomas A.↗
NASA NTRS1989

The effect of ballooning modes on thermal transport and magnetic field diffusion in the solar corona

Presently favored mechanisms of coronal heating (current sheet dissipation and Alfven wave resonant heating) deposit heat in thin layers. Classical thermal conduction cannot explain how heat is transported across the magnetic field. If heating occurs in thin layers, large pressure gradients can be created which can give rise to ballooning modes. These instabilities are caused by the pressure gradient and the curvature of the magnetic field, and are stabilized by magnetic tension. The modes are broad band in wavelength and should produce turbulence. A mixing length expression for the turbulent heat transport shows that it is more than adequate to rapidly convect heat into much broader layers. Furthermore, the turbulent resistivity implies that heating occurs over most of the width of these broadened layers. The broadening also implies that much shorter time scales are required for heating. The beta values in the corona suggest that 1-10 turbulent layers are formed in typical loop or arch structures.

Strauss, H. R.↗
NASA NTRS1988

SOHO: An observatory to study the solar interior and the solar atmosphere

The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) is described. The two main objectives of SOHO are to improve understanding of solar coronal phenomena and to study solar structure and interior dynamics from its core to the photosphere. The primary goals of the coronal and solar wind studies are to understand the coronal heating mechanism and its expansion into the solar wind. These goals will be achieved both by remote sensing of the solar atmosphere with high resolution spectrometers and telescopes and by in situ measurement of the composition and energy of the resulting solar wind and the energetic particles that propagate through it. The structure and interior dynamics are to be studied by helioseismological methods and the measurement of solar irradiance variations. The SOHO spacecraft will be three-axis stabilized and located in a halo orbit around the L1 Lagrangian point (approximately 1 percent of the distance from the Earth to the Sun). It is currently scheduled for launch in July 1995.

Domingo, V.↗
NASA NTRS1988

SUMER: Solar Ultraviolet Measurements of Emitted Radiation

The SUMER (solar ultraviolet measurements of emitted radiation) experiment is described. It will study flows, turbulent motions, waves, temperatures and densities of the plasma in the upper atmosphere of the Sun. Structures and events associated with solar magnetic activity will be observed on various spatial and temporal scales. This will contribute to the understanding of coronal heating processes and the solar wind expansion. The instrument will take images of the Sun in EUV (extreme ultra violet) light with high resolution in space, wavelength and time. The spatial resolution and spectral resolving power of the instrument are described. Spectral shifts can be determined with subpixel accuracy. The wavelength range extends from 500 to 1600 angstroms. The integration time can be as short as one second. Line profiles, shifts and broadenings are studied. Ratios of temperature and density sensitive EUV emission lines are established.

Wilhelm, K.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Solar and stellar flares - Questions and problems

Topics which can be discussed quantitatively for both solar and stellar flares are reviewed. Physical conditions in stellar flares are briefly discussed and radio flares are considered, emphasizing the role of maser process in such flares. The penetration of particle beams and photons is examined, addressing the question whether an electron beam can penetrate to the chromosphere of a flare star. The existence of momentum balance in stellar flares is investigated, and solar-stellar differences regarding subsurface source of flare power are described. The significance for the interstellar medium of the flare star mass loss rate is addressed, and differences in mass loss mechanism between the sun and flare stars are discussed. Reconnection modeling of flare energy release is studied, and the geometrical structure of the flare site in a stellar atmosphere is described. The connection between coronal heating and flares is considered, and the origins of flare magnetic fields are discussed.

Mullan, D. J.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Solar and stellar magnetic fields and atmospheric structures - Theory

Theoretical understanding of the role of magnetic fields in the formation of solar atmospheric structure is reviewed. The origin of the solar magnetic field, the dynamical behavior of the azimuthal field in the convective zone, the fibril state of the field in the photosphere, the formation of sunspots and prominences, and the spontaneous formation of current sheets in the bipolar field above the solar surface are addressed. The relation of the latter to coronal heating and flare formation is considered.

Parker, E. N.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Resonant decay of global MHD modes at 'thick' interfaces

A global surface mode can exist on a 'surface' which is not a true discontinuity, but without sufficient dissipation it is not a normal mode and it decays in time via resonance absorption. The decay rate can be calculated analytically when the 'surface' is thin. The goal of this paper is to numerically estimate the decay rate when the surface is not thin. A cold plasma in a uniform magnetic field is considered in which density varies linearly across the 'surface'. In this linearized calculation, the global surface mode is driven in steady state by an antenna located in one of the uniform regions external to the surface. The frequency is a free parameter, and resonance curves are computed numerically without approximations. The widths of the resonance curves are used to estimate the free decay times of undriven surface modes, via the uncertainty principle. When applied to the active solar corona, the decay rates are large enough to account for the coronal heating, but it should be kept in mind that the role of nonlinearity in resonance absorption is still undetermined.

Hollweg, Joseph V.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Linear tearing modes of a forced current-sheet equilibrium

Linear tearing modes are studied in a nearly singular forced current-sheet equilibrium, such as could result from global magnetic forces in the solar corona. Growth rates for the tearing modes, determined by solving the linearized reduced MHD (Strauss) equations numerically, were found to scale as (gamma)tau(d) = about S exp 4/5 k(y) exp 4/5, where S is the Lundquist number, k(y) is the wavenumber, and tau(d) is the classical resistive diffusion time. This scaling is in agreement with predictions from analytical theory. Because of the faster S scaling of these modes compared to the tearing modes of a diffuse current-sheet equilibrium, the modes have much higher growth rates (by a factor of about 10,000) for coronal values of S (about 10 to the 12th). For coronal parameters, the growth times of these new modes are estimated to be on the order of several hours to days, as compared to growth times of months to years for the tearing modes in a diffuse current-shear equilibrium. The growth times are comparable to reconnection times scales required in models of coronal heating by magnetic field dissipation.

Liewer, Paulett C.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Magnetohydrodynamic modeling of the solar corona

The ideal and resistive magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) model is used to examine the dynamics and structure of the solar corona. When the coronal magnetic field is deformed by photospheric flow it can evolve to states that become unstable to ideal MHD modes. The nonlinear evolution of these instabilities can lead to the generation of current sheets, field line reconnection, and energy release. The disruption of an arcade field and the kinking of coronal loops is described. The braiding of the large-scale coronal field by convective photospheric motions develops fine-scale structure in the magnetic field and leads to the development of intense current filaments. The resistive dissipation of these currents can provide an efficient coronal heating mechanism.

Mikic, Zoran↗
NASA NTRS1991

Corona: Coordinated research on non-thermal processes in astrophysics

Several problems in astrophysics are examined where departures from purely thermal behavior are expected to produce effects which are detectable by a variety of NASA satellites. The problems identified as worthy of study include coronal heating in stars, deposition of non-thermal particle energy in stars from external sources, and turbulence in atmospheres and winds of stars. The progress in solving these problems is summarized.

Mullan, Dermott J.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Quasilinear saturation of forced current sheet tearing modes

Numerical studies of tearing modes in a nearly singular forced current sheet equilibrium (Liewer and Payne, 1990) show that the modes saturate quasilinearly when the width of the magnetic island formed by the reconnection is on the order of several times the linear mode width which scales as approximately (kS) exp -2/5, where S is the Lundquist number and k is the wavenumber. The modes saturate quasilinearly by flattening the current profile, converting magnetic energy into plasma energy. The longer wavelength modes, which saturate at higher levels, release the most energy. These modes may, nonlinearly, play a role in coronal heating when sharp current sheets form as a result of global magnetic stresses.

Liewer, Paulett C.↗
NASA NTRS1991

The quasi-stationary and transient states of the solar wind

While the last 30 years' probing of the transient and quasi-stationary states of the solar wind by interplanetary spacecraft have yielded a clear differentiation of the physical properties of the two types of wind, the processes involved in their acceleration remains unclear; neither is the coronal heating mechanism implicated in the solar wind's existence entirely clear. Attention is presently given to recent evidence for a connection between heating and acceleration mechanisms. The transient wind undergoes greater expansion between the sun and 1 AU than the quasi-stationary wind. The quasi-stationary wind is driven by energy and momentum that arise from solar convection and are carried throughout a region that extends from the base of the corona to beyond the critical point at which the flow becomes supersonic.

Neugebauer, M.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Convection in stars and heating of coronae

The properties of convection in the sun and other cool stars are summarized. Recent studies of convection which have involved the use of supercomputers to model the flow of compressible gas in three dimensions are discussed. It is shown how the results of these computations may eventualy provide an understanding of how nonthermal processes heat coronal gas to temperatures of millions of degrees.

Mullan, D. J.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Coronal dynamics of a quiescent active region

Post-SMM repair Flat Crystal Spectrometer (FCS) observations of coronal X-ray line broadening in a nonflaring active region are discussed. The resulting map of FCS line profiles across the central X-ray bright portion of a large active region shows a clear variation in line width for the Mg XI resonance line at 9.17 A, but no evidnece of line shifts. Line ratios yield T(e) of about 3 x 10 to the 6th K within 10 percent for most of the map. The brightest, broadest profiles are consistent with emission from the tops of loops overlying the magnetic neutral line. For the spatially averaged Mg XI resonance line profile, the 'excess velocity' v(ex) corresponding to the excess width above the thermal value equals the thermal velocity for Mg ions, 45 km/s; for some individual bright pixels v(ex) is 60 km/s or more. The observed coronal line broadening is interpreted as a signature of the mechanisms responsible for coronal heating in active regions.

Saba, Julia L. R.↗
NASA NTRS1991

SOHO - A high resolution solar physics mission

The present study discusses SOHO (Solar and Heliospheric Observatory), a satellite with a pointing stability of 1 arcsec that will be launched in 1995 to the L1 Lagrangian point between the sun and the earth. In situ measurements, at approximately 1 AU, are to trace the results of solar wind expansion. The SOHO mission aims are discussed: to obtain long and uninterrupted series of solar oscillation measurements either in flux or in velocity in order to sound the solar interior using high resolution in the frequency domain; to probe the upper atmosphere with high-resolution UV/EUV imager/spectrometers and UV/visible coronagraphs and photometers in order to bring new constraints on the coronal heating; and to measure in situ the solar wind flow in front of the earth and thus establish the link between the sun and the near-earth environment. The satellite and instrumentation are reviewed in relation to the specific capabilities that they offer.

Lemaire, P.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Avalanches and the distribution of solar flares

The solar coronal magnetic field is proposed to be in a self-organized critical state, thus explaining the observed power-law dependence of solar-flare-occurrence rate on flare size which extends over more than five orders of magnitude in peak flux. The physical picture that arises is that solar flares are avalanches of many small reconnection events, analogous to avalanches of sand in the models published by Bak and colleagues in 1987 and 1988. Flares of all sizes are manifestations of the same physical processes, where the size of a given flare is determined by the number of elementary reconnection events. The relation between small-scale processes and the statistics of global-flare properties which follows from the self-organized magnetic-field configuration provides a way to learn about the physics of the unobservable small-scale reconnection processes. A simple lattice-reconnection model is presented which is consistent with the observed flare statistics. The implications for coronal heating are discussed and some observational tests of this picture are given.

Lu, Edward T.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Research in solar plasma theory

The main thrust and significance of our research results are presented. The topics covered include: (1) coronal structure and dynamics; (2) coronal heating; (3) filament formation; and (4) flare energy release.

Vanhoven, Gerard↗
NASA NTRS1991

Flares on the sun and other stars

Research on solar and stellar flares is reviewed. The characteristics of flares in various spectral regions are described, and the physics of flares is discussed, including the two-ribbon flare model, coronal mass ejections, flare dynamics, white light flare production, and electron beams and proton beams in hard X-ray flares. The analysis of the flare energy budget, magnetic field measurements, multispectral stellar observations, plasma emissivity, conditions in flare loops, cooling curves, and proton beam signatures is addressed. Microflaring and coronal heating are examined.

Haisch, Bernhard↗