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At least 991 records · Page 55

Properties of a large-scale interplanetary loop structure as deduced from low-energy proton anisotropy and magnetic field measurements

Correlated particle and magnetic field measurements by the ISEE 3 spacecraft are presented for the loop structure behind the interplanetary traveling shock event of Nov. 12, 1978. Following the passage of the turbulent shock region, strong bidirectional streaming of low-energy protons is observed for approximately 6 hours, corresponding to a loop thickness of about 0.07 AU. This region is also characterized by a low relative variance of the magnetic field, a depressed proton intensity, and a reduction in the magnetic power spectral density. Using quasi-linear theory applied to a slab model, a value of 3 AU is derived for the mean free path during the passage of the closed loop. It is inferred from this observation that the proton regime associated with the loop structure is experiencing scatter-free transport and that either the length of the loop is approximately 3 AU between the sun and the earth or else the protons are being reflected at both ends of a smaller loop.

Tranquille, C.↗

Definitive Mineralogical Analysis of Martian Rocks and Soil Using the CheMin XRD/XRF Instrument and the USDC Sampler

The search for evidence of extant or extinct life on Mars will initially be a search for evidence of present or past conditions supportive of life (e.g., evidence of water), not for life itself. Definitive evidence of past or present water activity lies in the discovery of: * Hydrated minerals: The "rock type" hosting the hydrated minerals could be igneous, metamorphic, or sedimentary, with only a minor hydrated mineral phase. Therefore, the identification of minor phases is important. * Clastic sediments: Clastic sediments are commonly identified by the fact that they contain minerals of disparate origin that could only have come together as a mechanical mixture. Therefore, the identification of all minerals present in a mixture to ascertain mineralogical source regions is important. * Hydrothermal precipitates and chemical sediments: Some chemical precipitates are uniquely identified only by their structure. For example, Opal A, Opal CT, tridymite, crystobalite, high and low Quartz all have the same composition (SiO2) but different crystal structures indicative of different environments - from hydrothermal hydrothermal formation to low temperature precipitation. Other silica types such as stishovite can provide evidence of shock metamorphism. Therefore, identification of crystal structures and structural polymorphs is important. The elucidation of the nature of the Mars soil will require the identification of mineral components that can unravel its history and the history of the Mars atmosphere.

D F Blake↗

Persistence of shocks to large distances in the solar wind

Present hydrodynamic models of solar wind streams predict that interactions will cause interplanetary shocks to decay and large-scale structures to coalesce and smooth out, with a decay length of 10-15 AU for moderate or small-amplitude shocks. The Pioneer 10 plasma data, extending 1-30 AU, are examined in the light of such predictions. It is found that coalescence of streams into a single stream per solar rotation does occur, in general, but that considerable structure remains by 30 AU. The leading edge of a stream often exhibits a velocity jump of greater than 20 km/s; many of these may be shocks. There is a characteristic velocity-density-temperature signature of these distant streams which differs from the close-in double-shock signature. A unique transient was seen in July 1982, at 28 AU, with a velocity jump of about 235 km/s.

Kayser, S. E.↗

Switch-on shocks

It is argued that parallel propagating Alfven waves steepen to second order in the wave amplitude, rather than first order, as is the case for oblique MHD waves. An analytical solution for the structure of weak switch-on shocks is derived. The Rankine-Hugoniot relations for finite amplitude switch-on shocks are obtained in a compact form. The differential equation for resistive switch-on shocks is solved, and the resistive critical Mach number is obtained. The differential equation for resistive switch-on shocks with finite ion inertia is identical to the one obtained in the pure resistive case. It is argued that efficient electron heat conduction can significantly extend the range of upstream parameters for which switch-on shocks are expected.

Kennel, C. F.↗

The terrestrial cratering record. I - Current status of observations

The location, size and principle characteristics of the currently known proven and probable terrestrial impact craters are compiled. A crater is classified as proven if the structure is associated with meteoritic fragments, and probable if shock metamorphic effects are observed in the target rocks. Proven impact structures have been found to be Pleistocene to Recent in age, while probable impact structures range from Precambrian to Pleistocene. Diameter and age relationships are used to show that a 20 km impact structure will be recognizable as a crater for up to 600 million years, and smaller structures will have shorter lifetimes. Depth-diameter relationships for terrestrial craters show them to be intrinsically shallower than their lunar counterparts, and a transition in crater morphology from simple, or bowl-shaped with an uplifted rim, to complex, with an uplifted center and a depressed rim, is observed with increasing diameter. Shock metamorphic studies have lead to the identification of the type of bolide at a number of probable impact craters, supporting meteoritic origins.

Grieve, R. A. F.↗

A Strong Merger Shock in Abell 665

Deep (103 ks) Chandra observations of Abell 665 have revealed rich structures in this merging galaxy cluster, including a strong shock and two cold fronts. The newly discovered shock has a Mach number of M =3.0 +/- 0.6, propagating in front of a cold disrupted cloud. This makes Abell 665 the second cluster, after the Bullet cluster, where a strong merger shock of M is approximately 3 has been detected. The shock velocity from jump conditions is consistent with (2.7 +/- 0.7) × 10(exp 3) km s(exp −1). The new data also reveal a prominent southern cold front with potentially heated gas ahead of it. Abell 665 also hosts a giant radio halo. There is a hint of diffuse radio emission extending to the shock at the north, which needs to be examined with better radio data. This new strong shock provides a great opportunity to study the reacceleration model with the X-ray and radio data combined.

galaxies: clusters: general- galaxies: clisters; i↗

The Dynamics of Shock Dispersion and Interactions in Supersonic Freestreams with Counterflowing Jets

An active flow control concept using counterflowing jets to significantly modify the external flowfields and strongly weaken or disperse the shock-waves of supersonic and hypersonic vehicles to reduce the aerothermal loads and wave drag was investigated. Experiments were conducted in a trisonic blow-down wind-tunnel, complemented by pre-test computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis of a 2.6% scale model of Apollo capsule, with and without counterflowing jets, in Mach 3.48 and 4.0 freestreams, to assess the potential aerothermal and aerodynamic benefits of this concept. The model was instrumented with heat flux gauges, thermocouples and pressure taps, and employed five counterflowing jet nozzles (three sonic and other two supersonic with design Mach numbers of 2.44 and 2.94) and nozzle exit diameters ranging from 0.25 to 0.5 inch. Schlieren data show that at low jet flow rates of 0.05 and 0.1lb(sub m)/sec, the interactions result in a long penetration mode (LPM) jet, while the short penetration mode (SPM) jet is observed at flow rates greater than 0.1 lb(sub m)/sec., consistent with the pre-test CFD predictions. For the LPM, the jet appears to be nearly fully-expanded, resulting in a very unsteady and oscillatory flow structure in which the bow shock becomes highly dispersed such that it is no longer discernable. Higher speed camera Schlieren data reveal the shock to be dispersed into striations of compression waves, which suddenly coalesce to a weaker bow shock with a larger standoff distance as the flow rate reached a critical value. The pronounced shock dispersion could significantly impact the aerodynamic performance (L/D) and heat flux reduction of spacecraft in atmospheric entry and re-entry, and could also attenuate the entropy layer in hypersonic blunt body flows. For heat transfer, the results show significant reduction in heat flux, even giving negative heat flux for some of the SPM interactions, indicating that the flow wetting the model is cooling, instead of heating the model, which could significantly impact the requirements and design of thermal protection system. These findings strongly suggest that the application of counterflowing jets as active flow control could have strong impact on supersonic and hypersonic vehicle design and performance.

Daso, Endwell O.↗

Global Effects of Transmitted Shock Wave Propagation Through the Earth's Inner Magnetosphere: First Results from 3-D Hybrid Kinetic Modeling

We use a new hybrid kinetic model to simulate the response of ring current, outer radiation belt, and plasmaspheric particle populations to impulsive interplanetary shocks. Since particle distributions attending the interplanetary shock waves and in the ring current and radiation belts are non-Maxwellian, waveparticle interactions play a crucial role in energy transport within the inner magnetosphere. Finite gyroradius effects become important in mass loading the shock waves with the background plasma in the presence of higher energy ring current and radiation belt ions and electrons. Initial results show that shocks cause strong deformations in the global structure of the ring current, radiation belt, and plasmasphere. The ion velocity distribution functions at the shock front, in the ring current, and in the radiation belt help us determine energy transport through the Earth's inner magnetosphere.

Lipatov, A. S.↗

Direct observation of diamond formation in a shock-compressed high explosive

Understanding the formation timescale and structure of carbonaceous reaction products is critical for modeling the high-pressure equation-of-state of organic materials. We use the National Ignition Facility to shock-compress polycrystalline TATB (C 6 H 6 N 6 O 6 ) samples to ~70–130 GPa and ~4000–5500 K, employing in situ nanosecond X-ray diffraction to probe reaction products and velocimetry to measure transmitted compression wave profiles. Our diffraction data is consistent with the formation of diamond over timescales less than ~60 ns. This represents carbon condensation from a molecular explosive on timescales three times faster than previously reported and the earliest observation of diamond produced from reacting TATB. Reactive flow simulations with explicit chemistry reproduce the observed temporal structure within wave profiles to inform the distribution of P-T states. These findings provide direct evidence of ultrafast diamond formation in a reactive system at extreme conditions and provide new constraints for models of shock and detonation chemistry.

Clarke, Samantha M. [Lawrence Livermore National L↗

Quasiconical free interaction between a swept shock and a turbulent boundary layer

Previous observations that fin-generated interactions are quasi-conical in nature were further confirmed by surface pressure measurements spanning Mach 2.5-3.5, which encompassed unseparated through strongly separated interactions. For strongly separated interactions in which the shock wave is bifurcated into a lambda-foot structure, the conical free interaction hypothesis was validated through an appropriate scaling of the far-field surface pressure distribution. The behavior of the lambda-foot structure, such as the decrease of the slope of the separation shock with interaction strength, was explained by invoking the conical free interaction hypothesis. Through the conical free interaction hypothesis, it was further shown that the triple-shock intersection behaves in a complicated manner with changes in interaction strength.

Lu, Frank K.↗

On reported occurrences of shock-deformed clasts in the volcanic ejecta from Toba caldera, Sumatra

Reports of shock-deformed phenocrysts from the Toba ignimbrite deposits, Sumatra, have prompted considerable debate over whether shock-deformation products are clear evidence of a meteorite impact origin for the K/T boundary deposits as well as terresrial 'cryptoexplosion' structures. Evidence presented in favor of volcanically induced shock at Toba includes kinked biotites and rare occurrences of single set of lamellae in quartz grains but rests most heavily upon occurrences of mosaic extinction patterns in plagioclase phenocrysts. The present analysis of several of the same Toba samples reveals that these mosaic patterns ae related to distinct compositional zoning and cannot be attributed to deformation of the crystal lattice that shock would produce. Additionally, in more than 200 quartz grains examined, no occurrences of microdeformation features or mosaic textures similar to those associated with known impact structures and the K/T boundary are detected. It is concluded that evidence of shock deformation in the Toba deposits has not been demonstrated.

Sharpton, V. L.↗

An experimental study of massive blowing from a nosetip during Jovian entry

The fluid dynamic structure and stability of the boundary layer and shock layer ahead of a highly blowing heat shield in an environment simulating entry into the Jovian atmosphere were investigated. The experimental studies were conducted in the Calspan 96 in shock tunnel with a freestream of a H2/He mixture at Mach numbers above 10. Measurements of heat transfer and pressure were made on the porous model surface, and high-speed schlieren photography was used to examine the structure and stability of the shock layer. Results are presented which show how the heat transfer and shock layer stability vary for gases of different molecular weights for a range of Reynolds numbers and mass-addition rates.

Holden, M. S.↗

The variation of protons, alpha particles, and the magnetic field across the bow shock of Comet Halley

Data from the Ion Mass Spectrometer and the magnetometer on the Giotto spacecraft are used to examine the structure of the inbound crossing of the Comet Halley bow shock on March 13, 1986. It is found that the velocity decrease, the field strength increase, and the heating of picked up cometary protons occurred over a broad region corresponding to several heavy-ion gyroradii. The solar-wind protons and alphas, on the other hand, were compressed and heated at a narrow structure on the leading edge of the broad shock region.

Neugebauer, M.↗

The Effect of the Ambient Solar Wind Medium on a CME-driven Shock and the Associated Gradual Solar Energetic Particle Event

We present simulation results of a gradual solar energetic particle (SEP) event detected on 2021 October 9 by multiple spacecraft, including BepiColombo (Bepi) and near-Earth spacecraft such as the Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE). A peculiarity of this event is that the presence of a high-speed stream (HSS) affected the low-energy ion component (≲5 MeV) of the gradual SEP event at both Bepi and ACE, despite the HSS having only a modest solar wind speed increase. Using the EUHFORIA (European Heliospheric FORecasting Information Asset) magnetohydrodynamic model, we replicate the solar wind during the event and the coronal mass ejection (CME) that generated it. We then combine these results with the energetic particle transport model PARADISE (PArticle Radiation Asset Directed at Interplanetary Space Exploration). We find that the structure of the CME-driven shock was affected by the nonuniform solar wind, especially near the HSS, resulting in a shock wave front with strong variations in its properties such as its compression ratio and obliquity. By scaling the emission of energetic particles from the shock to the solar wind compression at the shock, an excellent match between the PARADISE simulation and in situ measurements of ≲5 MeV ions is obtained. Our modeling shows that the intricate intensity variations observed at both ACE and Bepi were influenced by the nonuniform emission of energetic particles from the deformed shock wave and demonstrates the influence of even modest background solar wind structures on the development of SEP events.

Solar energetic particles↗

Shock wave/turbulent boundary-layer interactions with and without surface cooling

An experimental investigation was conducted to delineate the structure of the flowfield and temperature distributions in a shock wave/turbulent boundary-layer interaction with and without surface cooling. The Mach number upstream was about 3.5, and the wave angle was 23 deg. The wall to stagnation temperature ratio was 0.44 with cooling and 1.1 with heating. A detailed map of the interaction flowfields deduced from numerous boundary-layer traversing stations revealed the influence of wall cooling on the flowfield, wave structure, and size of the flow separation region. With surface cooling, the size of the separation region was much smaller, and the separation and reflected shock waves merged together near the edge of the velocity boundary layer, extending into the freestream as one wave.

Back, L. H.↗