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At least 91 records · Page 5

Slow X-ray bursts and flares with filament disruption

The data from OGO-5 and OSO-7 X-ray experiments have been compared with optical data from six chromospheric flares with filament disruption associated with slow thermal X-ray bursts. Filament activation accompanied by a slight X-ray enhancement precedes the first evidence of H-alpha flare by a few minutes. Rapid increase of the soft X-ray flux accompanies the phase of fastest expansion of the filament. Plateau or slow decay phases in the X-ray flux are associated with slowing and termination of filament expansion. The soft X-ray flux increases as F approaches (A + Bh)h, where h is the height of the disrupted prominence at any given time and A and B are constants. We suggest that the soft X-ray emission originates from a growing shell of roughly constant thickness of high-temperature plasma due to the compression of the coronal gas by the expanding prominence.

Roy, J.-R.

A hydrodynamic study of a slow nova outburst

The paper reports use of a Lagrangian implicit hydrodynamics computer code incorporating a full nuclear-reaction network to follow a thermonuclear runaway in the hydrogen-rich envelope of a 1.25 solar-mass white dwarf. In this evolutionary sequence the envelope was assumed to be of normal (solar) composition and the resulting outburst closely resembles that of the slow nova HR Del. In contrast, previous CNO-enhanced models resemble fast nova outbursts. The slow-nova model ejects material by radiation pressure when the high luminosity of the rekindled hydrogen shell source exceeds the local Eddington luminosity of the outer layers. This is in contrast to the fast nova outburst where ejection is caused by the decay of the beta(+)-unstable nuclei. Nevertheless, radiation pressure probably plays a major role in ejecting material from the fast nova remnants. Therefore, the sequence from slow to fast novae can be interpreted as a sequence of white dwarfs with increasing amounts of enhanced CNO nuclei in their hydrogen envelopes, although other parameters such as the white-dwarf mass and accretion rate probably contribute to the observed variation between novae.

Sparks, W. M.

Effect of inaction on function of fast and slow muscle spindles

There is no data on the comparative effect of tenotomy on the function of the muscle spindles of fast and slow muscles. This study covers this question. The experiments were conducted on cats. The musuculus extensor digitorum longus (m. EDL) was selected as the fast muscle, and the musculus soleus (m. Sol.) as the slow. In a comparison of the spontaneous activity of primary and secondary endings of the fast and slow muscle spindles (i.e., the activity with complete relaxation of the muscles) normally no difference between them was successfully found. The authors recorded the integrative, and not the individual activity, and secondly, under conditions of such recording technique, those slight changes that are observed in the fast muscle receptors could remain unnoticed.

Arutyunyan, R. S.

Very slow classical Cepheids - Theoretical models with periods longer than 50 days

Systematics of the light curves of classical Cepheids with the longest known periods have been investigated with the help of full-amplitude models of pulsating stellar envelopes. For periods exceeding about 60 days, flat-topped light curves of the S Vul type are found to replace the smooth, asymmetric light curves characteristic of the slightly faster Cepheids. Predicted light and velocity amplitudes (although not the predicted radius amplitudes) agree well with observations. Variables with fluctuating light minima are observed to lie well off the mean period-luminosity relation, as are a few other (more stable?) variables with similarly long periods. The explanation for the long periods is probably low effective temperature rather than a low stellar mass. Because of the abnormal slowness of the classical Cepheids with periods longer than about 100 days, it is recommended that these variables not be used to calibrate the mean period-luminosity relation. Analogies between the slow classical Cepheids and the slow Population II Cepheids are drawn.

Carson, T. R.

Differential effect of denervation on free radical scavenging enzymes in slow and fast muscle of rat

To determine the effect of denervation on the free radical scavenging systems in relation to the mitochondrial oxidative metabolism in the slow twitch soleus and fast twitch extensor digitorum longus (EDL) muscles, the sciatic nerve of the rat was crushed in the mid-thigh region and the muscle tissue levels of 5 enzymes were studied 2 and 5 weeks following crush. Radioimmunoassays were utilized for the selective measurement of cuprozinc (cytosolic) and mangano (mitochondrial) superoxide dismutases. These data represent the first systematic report of free radical scavening systems in slow and fast muscles in response to denervation. Selective modification of cuprozinc and manganosuperoxide dismutases and differential regulation of GSH-peroxidase was demonstrated in slow and fast muscle.

Asayama, K.

Slow-mode shocks - A semipermanent feature of the distant geomagnetic tail

A survey is made of the relative frequency of encounters with slow-mode shocks observed by ISEE 3 in the distant geomagnetic tail. The association of these shocks with the phase of substorm activity as evidenced by enhanced currents in the auroral ionosphere and enhanced energetic-particle populations at geostationary orbit is also documented. During the 25 days between January 18 and February 11, 1983, 26 unambiguous examples of slow shocks were observed. Although a very strong association with the level of geomagnetic activity is found, shocks were observed during all phases of substorm activity including one during quiet conditions. Slow-mode shocks must therefore be a semipermanent feature of the bounding surfaces which separate lobe and plasma sheet particle populations in the distant geomagnetic tail.

Feldman, W. C.

A parametric study of slow shock Rankine-Hugoniot solutions and critical Mach numbers

The relationship between Rankine-Hugoniot solutions and critical Mach numbers is studied. The range of upstream parameters for which the resistivity or thermal conduction provide all the dissipation required by the slow shock Rankine-Hugoniot relations are evaluated. The calculation of the critical Mach number by analyzing the flux of shock catching ions is examined. It is observed that the properties of slow shocks depend on shock normal angle, and the ratio of the sound and Alfven speeds upstream. The Rankine-Hugoniot solutions are applicable to the analysis of spacecraft observations of slow shocks.

Edmiston, J. P.

On a difficulty with accelerating particles at slow-mode shocks

The available information on slow-mode shocks is briefly reviewed in order to determine whether these shocks are capable of accelerating particles to high energies, thus providing a possible mechanism for energetic particle production at reconnection sites. It is noted that in contrast to fast shocks, the evolutionary conditions at a steady slow shock require the upstream plasma to flow into the shock with a normal component slower than the intermediate speed. Consequently, the right-polarized waves will escape from a slow shock, and backstreaming particles scattered by these waves will not be convected back to the shock. There will be no effective compression, and further acceleration will not occur.

Isenberg, P. A.

General purpose algorithms for characterization of slow and fast phase nystagmus

In the overall aim for a better understanding of the vestibular and optokinetic systems and their roles in space motion sickness, the eye movement responses to various dynamic stimuli are measured. The vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) and the optokinetic response, as the eye movement responses are known, consist of slow phase and fast phase nystagmus. The specific objective is to develop software programs necessary to characterize the vestibulo-ocular and optokinetic responses by distinguishing between the two phases of nystagmus. The overall program is to handle large volumes of highly variable data with minimum operator interaction. The programs include digital filters, differentiation, identification of fast phases, and reconstruction of the slow phase with a least squares fit such that sinusoidal or psuedorandom data may be processed with accurate results. The resultant waveform, slow phase velocity eye movements, serves as input data to the spectral analysis programs previously developed for NASA to analyze nystagmus responses to pseudorandom angular velocity inputs.

Lessard, Charles S.

Solar wind flow upstream of the coronal slow shock

Slow shocks have been predicted to exist embedded in large coronal holes at low altitude. Two or more curved slow shocks may link together to form a composite discontinuity surface around the sun which may be called the coronal slow shock (CSS). Here a solar-wind model is studied under the assumption that a standing CSS exists and cororates with the sun at a constant angular velocity. A steady, axisymmetrical one-fluid model is introduced to study the expansion of solar wind in the open-field region upstream of the CSS. The model requires that the conditions downstream of the CSS near the equatorial plane can produce a solar wind agreeable with the observations made near the earth's orbit. The paper presents an illustrative calculation in which the polar caps within 60 deg of the polar angle are assumed to be the source region of the solar wind.

Whang, Y. C.

A search for lower hybrid drift turbulence in slow shocks

The slow shocks which have been observed in the distant geomagnetic tail by ISEE 3 do not exhibit the large-amplitude magnetic field rotations which are theoretically expected. A possible explanation is that the rotation trailing wave train is resistively damped by strong lower hybrid drift turbulence excited in the shock front. Magnetic wave spectra for three slow shocks are constructed from ISEE 3 dc magnetometer and search coil experiments. The observed magnetic amplitudes near the lower hybrid frequency are below the level at which anomalous resistance would damp the slow shock magnetic rotations.

Coroniti, F. V.

Slow to fast alterations in skeletal muscle fibers caused by clenbuterol, a beta(2)-receptor agonist

The effects of a beta(2)-receptor agonist, clenbuterol, and a beta(2) antagonist, butoxamine, on the skeletal muscle fibers of rats were investigated. It was found that chronic treatment of rats with clenbuterol caused hypertrophy of histochemically identified fast-twitch, but not slow-twitch, fibers within the soleus, while in the extensor digitorum longus the mean areas of both fiber types were increased; in both muscles, the ratio of the number of fast-twitch to slow-twitch fibers was increased. In contrast, a treatment with butoxamine caused a reduction of the fast-twitch fiber size in both muscles, and the ratio of the fast-twitch to slow-twitch fibers was decreased.

Zeman, Richard J.

Waves in low-beta plasmas - Slow shocks

Results from wave theory and numerical simulation of the nonlinear MHD equations are used to study the response of a conducting fluid containing an embedded magnetic field with beta less than 1 to the sudden injection of material along the field lines. It is shown that the injection produces slow shocks with configurations which are concave toward the ejecta driver. Fast-mode waves which have not steepened into the shock precede the slow shock and alter the ambient medium. When beta equals 0.1, the fast mode becomes a transverse wave for parallel propagation, while the slow wave approaches a longitudinal, or sound, wave.

Steinolfson, R. S.

Teleseismic detection of a slow precursor to the great 1989 Macquarie Ridge earthquake

Low-frequency spectra for the 1989 Macquarie Ridge earthquake (magnitude 8.2) show an amplitude increase and a phase-delay decrease below 6 millihertz that require a short-term slow precursor. This earthquake can be modeled as a compound event in which a fast-rupturing, ordinary earthquake was initiated by an episode of slow, smooth deformation that began more than 100 seconds before the main shock. The moment released in the slow precursor was large, about 3 x 10 exp 20 newton-meters, equivalent to an event of magnitude 7.6. The data are consistent with the precursor being generated in a region of the oceanic upper mantle below the main rupture.

Ihmle, Pierre F.

Hidden slow pulsars in binaries

The recent discovery of the binary containing the slow pulsar PSR 1718-19 orbiting around a low-mass companion star adds new light on the characteristics of binary pulsars. The properties of the radio eclipses of PSR 1718-19 are the most striking observational characteristics of this system. The surface of the companion star produces a mass outflow which leaves only a small 'window' in orbital phase for the detection of PSR 1718-19 around 400 MHz. At this observing frequency, PSR 1718-19 is clearly observable only for about 1 hr out of the total 6.2 hr orbital period. The aim of this Letter is twofold: (1) to model the hydrodynamical behavior of the eclipsing material from the companion star of PSR 1718-19 and (2) to argue that a population of binary slow pulsars might have escaped detection in pulsar surveys carried out at 400 MHz. The possible existence of a population of partially or totally hidden slow pulsars in binaries will have a strong impact on current theories of binary evolution of neutron stars.

Tavani, Marco

Two-dimensional structure of slow shocks

The two-dimensional (2-D) structure of switch-off slow magnetosonic shocks is investigated using an electromagnetic hybrid (fluid electrons, kinetic ions) code. It is shown that the basic physical processes occurring at 1-D slow shocks are also operative in 2-D. Specifically, the interaction between the upstream ions and those streaming away from the shock results in the excitation of Alfven/ions-cyclotron (AIC) waves. Depending on the plasma parameters, these waves may either stay in the upstream or convect back into the shock resulting in a non-steady shock behavior which prevents the formation of a trailing wave train. Despite this similarity, some slow shocks which are steady in 1-D are found to be non-steady in 2-D. Fourier analysis of the waves downstream of non-steady shocks identifies them as AIC, demonstrating that the waves remain on the same branch as they convect from upstream into the downstream region.

Omidi, N.

Novel high-gain, improved-bandwidth, finned-ladder V-band Traveling-Wave Tube slow-wave circuit design

The V-band frequency range of 59-64 GHz is a region of the millimeter-wave spectrum that has been designated for inter-satellite communications. As a first effort to develop a high-efficiency V-band Traveling-Wave Tube (TWT), variations on a ring-plane slow-wave circuit were computationally investigated to develop an alternative to the more conventional ferruled coupled-cavity circuit. The ring-plane circuit was chosen because of its high interaction impedance, large beam aperture, and excellent thermal dissipation properties. Despite these advantages, however, low bandwidth and high voltage requirements have, until now, prevented its acceptance outside the laboratory. In this paper, the three-dimensional electrodynamic simulation code MAFIA (solution of MAxwell's Equation by the Finite-Integration-Algorithm) is used to investigate methods of increasing the bandwidth and lowering the operating voltage of the ring-plane circuit. Calculations of frequency-phase dispersion, beam on-axis interaction impedance, attenuation and small-signal gain per wavelength were performed for various geometric variations and loading distributions of the ring-plane TWT slow-wave circuit. Based on the results of the variations, a circuit termed the finned-ladder TWT slow-wave circuit was designed and is compared here to the scaled prototype ring-plane and a conventional ferruled coupled-cavity TWT circuit over the V-band frequency range. The simulation results indicate that this circuit has a much higher gain, significantly wider bandwidth, and a much lower voltage requirement than the scaled ring-plane prototype circuit, while retaining its excellent thermal dissipation properties. The finned-ladder circuit has a much larger small-signal gain per wavelength than the ferruled coupled-cavity circuit, but with a moderate sacrifice in bandwidth.

Kory, Carol L.

Slow Crack Growth Analysis of Advanced Structural Ceramics Under Combined Loading Conditions: Damage Assessment in Life Prediction Testing

Slow crack growth analysis was performed with three different loading histories including constant stress-rate/constant stress-rate testing (Case I loading), constant stress/constant stress-rate testing (Case II loading), and cyclic stress/constant stress-rate testing (Case III loading). Strength degradation due to slow crack growth arid/or damage accumulation was determined numerically as a Function of percentage of interruption time between the two loading sequences for a given loading history. The numerical solutions were examined with the experimental data determined at elevated temperatures using four different advanced ceramic materials, two silicon nitrides, one silicon carbide and one alumina for the Case I loading history, and alumina for the Case II loading history. The numerical solutions were in reasonable agreement with the experimental data, indicating that notwithstanding some degree of creep deformation presented for some test materials slow crack growth was a governing mechanism associated with failure for all the test material&

Choi, Sung R.