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At least 1,441 records · Page 80

ALMA observations of the debris disk of solar analog τ Ceti

We present 1.3 mm observations of the Sun-like star τ Ceti with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array that probe angular scales of ∼1{sup ′′} (4 au). This first interferometric image of the τ Ceti system, which hosts both a debris disk and a possible multiplanet system, shows emission from a nearly face-on belt of cold dust with a position angle of 90{sup ∘} surrounding an unresolved central source at the stellar position. To characterize this emission structure, we fit parametric models to the millimeter visibilities. The resulting best-fit model yields an inner belt edge of 6.2{sub −4.6}{sup +9.8} au, consistent with inferences from lower resolution, far-infrared Herschel observations. While the limited data at sufficiently short baselines preclude us from placing stronger constraints on the belt properties and its relation to the proposed five planet system, the observations do provide a strong lower limit on the fractional width of the belt, ΔR/R>0.75 with 99% confidence. This fractional width is more similar to broad disks such as HD 107146 than narrow belts such as the Kuiper Belt and Fomalhaut. The unresolved central source has a higher flux density than the predicted flux of the stellar photosphere at 1.3 mm. Given previous measurements of an excess by a factor of ∼2 at 8.7 mm, this emission is likely due to a hot stellar chromosphere.

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MATERIAL SUPPLY AND MAGNETIC CONFIGURATION OF AN ACTIVE REGION FILAMENT

It is important to study the fine structures of solar filaments with high-resolution observations, since it can help us understand the magnetic and thermal structures of the filaments and their dynamics. In this paper, we study a newly formed filament located inside the active region NOAA 11762, which was observed by the 1.6 m New Solar Telescope at Big Bear Solar Observatory from 16:40:19 UT to 17:07:58 UT on 2013 June 5. As revealed by the H α filtergrams, cool material is seen to be injected into the filament spine with a speed of 5–10 km s{sup -1}. At the source of the injection, brightenings are identified in the chromosphere, which are accompanied by magnetic cancellation in the photosphere, implying the importance of magnetic reconnection in replenishing the filament with plasmas from the lower atmosphere. Counter-streamings are detected near one endpoint of the filament, with the plane-of-the-sky speed being 7–9 km s{sup -1} in the H α red-wing filtergrams and 9–25 km s{sup -1} in the blue-wing filtergrams. The observations are indicative that this active region filament is supported by a sheared arcade without magnetic dips, and the counter-streamings are due to unidirectional flows with alternative directions, rather than due to the longitudinal oscillations of filament threads as in many other filaments.

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HARD X-RAY ASYMMETRY LIMITS IN SOLAR FLARE CONJUGATE FOOTPOINTS

The transport of energetic electrons in a solar flare is modeled using a time-dependent one-dimensional Fokker–Planck code that incorporates asymmetric magnetic convergence. We derive the temporal and spectral evolution of the resulting hard X-ray (HXR) emission in the conjugate chromospheric footpoints, assuming thick target photon production, and characterize the time evolution of the numerically simulated footpoint asymmetry and its relationship to the photospheric magnetic configuration. The thick target HXR asymmetry in the conjugate footpoints is found to increase with magnetic field ratio as expected. However, we find that the footpoint HXR asymmetry saturates for conjugate footpoint magnetic field ratios ≥4. This result is borne out in a direct comparison with observations of 44 double-footpoint flares. The presence of such a limit has not been reported before, and may serve as both a theoretical and observational benchmark for testing a range of particle transport and flare morphology constraints, particularly as a means to differentiate between isotropic and anisotropic particle injection.

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HEATING MECHANISMS IN THE LOW SOLAR ATMOSPHERE THROUGH MAGNETIC RECONNECTION IN CURRENT SHEETS

We simulate several magnetic reconnection processes in the low solar chromosphere/photosphere; the radiation cooling, heat conduction and ambipolar diffusion are all included. Our numerical results indicate that both the high temperature (≳8 × 10{sup 4} K) and low temperature (∼10{sup 4} K) magnetic reconnection events can happen in the low solar atmosphere (100–600 km above the solar surface). The plasma β controlled by plasma density and magnetic fields is one important factor to decide how much the plasma can be heated up. The low temperature event is formed in a high β magnetic reconnection process, Joule heating is the main mechanism to heat plasma and the maximum temperature increase is only several thousand Kelvin. The high temperature explosions can be generated in a low β magnetic reconnection process, slow and fast-mode shocks attached at the edges of the well developed plasmoids are the main physical mechanisms to heat the plasma from several thousand Kelvin to over 8 × 10{sup 4} K. Gravity in the low chromosphere can strongly hinder the plasmoid instability and the formation of slow-mode shocks in a vertical current sheet. Only small secondary islands are formed; these islands, however, are not as well developed as those in the horizontal current sheets. This work can be applied to understand the heating mechanism in the low solar atmosphere and could possibly be extended to explain the formation of common low temperature Ellerman bombs (∼10{sup 4} K) and the high temperature Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) bombs (≳8 × 10{sup 4}) in the future.

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UNDERCOVER EUV SOLAR JETS OBSERVED BY THE INTERFACE REGION IMAGING SPECTROGRAPH

It is well-known that extreme ultraviolet (EUV) emission emitted at the solar surface is absorbed by overlying cool plasma. Especially in active regions, dark lanes in EUV images suggest that much of the surface activity is obscured. Simultaneous observations from the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph, consisting of UV spectra and slit-jaw images (SJI), give vital information with sub-arcsecond spatial resolution on the dynamics of jets not seen in EUV images. We studied a series of small jets from recently formed bipole pairs beside the trailing spot of active region 11991, which occurred on 2014 March 5 from 15:02:21 UT to 17:04:07 UT. Collimated outflows with bright roots were present in SJI 1400 Å (transition region) and 2796 Å (upper chromosphere) that were mostly not seen in Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) 304 Å (transition region) and AIA 171 Å (lower corona) images. The Si iv spectra show a strong blue wing enhancement, but no red wing, in the line profiles of the ejecta for all recurrent jets, indicating outward flows without twists. We see two types of Mg ii line profiles produced by the jets spires: reversed and non-reversed. Mg ii lines remain optically thick, but turn optically thin in the highly Doppler shifted wings. The energy flux contained in each recurrent jet is estimated using a velocity differential emission measure technique that measures the emitting power of the plasma as a function of the line-of-sight velocity. We found that all the recurrent jets release similar energy (10{sup 8} erg cm{sup −2} s{sup −1}) toward the corona and the downward component is less than 3%.

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THERMODYNAMIC SPECTRUM OF SOLAR FLARES BASED ON SDO/EVE OBSERVATIONS: TECHNIQUES AND FIRST RESULTS

The Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO)/EUV Variability Experiment (EVE) provides rich information on the thermodynamic processes of solar activities, particularly on solar flares. Here, we develop a method to construct thermodynamic spectrum (TDS) charts based on the EVE spectral lines. This tool could potentially be useful for extreme ultraviolet (EUV) astronomy to learn about the eruptive activities on distant astronomical objects. Through several cases, we illustrate what we can learn from the TDS charts. Furthermore, we apply the TDS method to 74 flares equal to or greater than the M5.0 class, and reach the following statistical results. First, EUV peaks are always behind the soft X-ray (SXR) peaks and stronger flares tend to have faster cooling rates. There is a power-law correlation between the peak delay times and the cooling rates, suggesting a coherent cooling process of flares from SXR to EUV emissions. Second, there are two distinct temperature drift patterns, called Type I and Type II. For Type I flares, the enhanced emission drifts from high to low temperature like a quadrilateral, whereas for Type II flares the drift pattern looks like a triangle. Statistical analysis suggests that Type II flares are more impulsive than Type I flares. Third, for late-phase flares, the peak intensity ratio of the late phase to the main phase is roughly correlated with the flare class, and the flares with a strong late phase are all confined. We believe that the re-deposition of the energy carried by a flux rope, which unsuccessfully erupts out, into thermal emissions is responsible for the strong late phase found in a confined flare. Furthermore, we show the signatures of the flare thermodynamic process in the chromosphere and transition region in the TDS charts. These results provide new clues to advance our understanding of the thermodynamic processes of solar flares and associated solar eruptions, e.g., coronal mass ejections.

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FK COMAE BERENICES, KING OF SPIN: THE COCOA-PUFS PROJECT

COCOA-PUFS is an energy-diverse, time-domain study of the ultra-fast spinning, heavily spotted, yellow giant FK Comae Berenices (FK Com: HD117555; G4 III). This single star is thought to be a recent binary merger, and is exceptionally active by measure of its intense ultraviolet (UV) and X-ray emissions, and proclivity to flare. COCOA-PUFS was carried out with the Hubble Space Telescope in the UV (1200–3000 Å), using mainly its high-performance Cosmic Origins Spectrograph, but also high precision Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph; Chandra X-ray Observatory in the soft X-rays (0.5–10 keV), utilizing its High-Energy Transmission Grating Spectrometer; together with supporting photometry and spectropolarimetry in the visible from the ground. This is an introductory report on the project. FK Com displayed variability on a wide range of timescales over all wavelengths during the week-long main campaign, including a large X-ray flare; “super-rotational broadening” of the far-ultraviolet “hot lines” (e.g., Si iv 1393 Å; 8 × 10{sup 4} K) together with chromospheric Mg ii 2800 Å and C ii 1335 Å (1–3 × 10{sup 4} K); large Doppler swings suggestive of bright regions alternately on advancing and retreating limbs of the star; and substantial redshifts of the epoch-average emission profiles. These behaviors paint a picture of a highly extended, dynamic, hot (∼10 MK) coronal magnetosphere around the star, threaded by cooler structures perhaps analogous to solar prominences and replenished continually by surface activity and flares. Suppression of angular momentum loss by the confining magnetosphere could temporarily postpone the inevitable stellar spindown, thereby lengthening this highly volatile stage of coronal evolution.

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A High-resolution Multi-wavelength Simultaneous Imaging System with Solar Adaptive Optics

A high-resolution multi-wavelength simultaneous imaging system from visible to near-infrared bands with a solar adaptive optics system, in which seven imaging channels, including the G band (430.5 nm), the Na i line (589 nm), the H α line (656.3 nm), the TiO band (705.7 nm), the Ca ii IR line (854.2 nm), the He i line (1083 nm), and the Fe i line (1565.3 nm), are chosen, is developed to image the solar atmosphere from the photosphere layer to the chromosphere layer. To our knowledge, this is the solar high-resolution imaging system with the widest spectral coverage. This system was demonstrated at the 1 m New Vaccum Solar Telescope and the on-sky high-resolution observational results were acquired. In this paper, we will illustrate the design and performance of the imaging system. The calibration and the data reduction of the system are also presented.

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Kink Waves in Non-isothermal Stratified Solar Waveguides: Effect of the External Magnetic Field

We study the effect of an external magnetic field on the properties of kink waves, propagating along a thin non-isothermal stratified and diverging magnetic flux tube. A wave equation, governing the propagation of kink waves under the adopted model is derived. It is shown that the vertical gradient of temperature introduces a spatially local cut-off frequency ω {sub c}. The vertical distribution of the cut-off frequency is calculated for the reference VAL-C model of the solar atmosphere and for different values of a ratio of external to internal magnetic fields. The results show that the cut-off frequency is negative below the temperature minimum due to the negative temperature gradient. In the chromosphere the cut-off frequency at a given height is smaller for a stronger external magnetic field. For the appropriate range of a ratio B{sub e} / B{sub i} ≈ 0–0.8, the cutoff lies in the range ω{sub c} ≈ 0.003–0.010 s{sup −1} (periods 600 < P{sub c} < 2000 s). The estimate of the cut-off frequency in the transition region is provided as well. In the propagating wave regime, the effective wave energy flux in the non-isothermal diverging flux tubes is the same as in the straight and homogeneous cylindrical waveguides. The obtained wave equation in the limit β = 0 is used to study the kink oscillations of non-isothermal coronal loops. It is found that the gradient of temperature along the coronal loops reduces the frequency ratio of the first overtone to the fundamental mode, i.e., ω{sub 2}/ ω{sub 1} < 2. This reduction grows for a larger ratio of temperature at the loop top to the temperature at the footpoints. Moreover, the effect of reduction is most pronounced for the steeper temperature profiles.

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ASSESSING MAGNETIC TORQUES AND ENERGY FLUXES IN CLOSE-IN STAR–PLANET SYSTEMS

Planets in close-in orbit interact with the magnetized wind of their hosting star. This magnetic interaction was proposed to be a source for enhanced emissions in the chromosphere of the star, and to participate in setting the migration timescale of the close-in planet. The efficiency of the magnetic interaction is known to depend on the magnetic properties of the host star and of the planet, and on the magnetic topology of the interaction. We use a global, three-dimensional numerical model of close-in star–planet systems, based on the magnetohydrodynamics approximation, to compute a grid of simulations for varying properties of the orbiting planet. We propose a simple parametrization of the magnetic torque that applies to the planet, and of the energy flux generated by the interaction. The dependency upon the planet properties and the wind properties is clearly identified in the derived scaling laws, which can be used in secular evolution codes to take into account the effect of magnetic interactions in planet migration. They can also be used to estimate a potential magnetic source of enhanced emissions in observed close-in star–planet systems, in order to constrain observationally possible exoplanetary magnetic fields.

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A RECONNECTION-DRIVEN MODEL OF THE HARD X-RAY LOOP-TOP SOURCE FROM FLARE 2004 FEBRUARY 26

A compact X-class flare on 2004 February 26 showed a concentrated source of hard X-rays at the tops of the flare’s loops. This was analyzed in previous work and interpreted as plasma heated and compressed by slow magnetosonic shocks (SMSs) generated during post-reconnection retraction of the flux. That work used analytic expressions from a thin flux tube (TFT) model, which neglected many potentially important factors such as thermal conduction and chromospheric evaporation. Here we use a numerical solution of the TFT equations to produce a more comprehensive and accurate model of the same flare, including those effects previously omitted. These simulations corroborate the prior hypothesis that slow-mode shocks persist well after the retraction has ended, thus producing a compact, loop-top source instead of an elongated jet, as steady reconnection models predict. Thermal conduction leads to densities higher than analytic estimates had predicted, and evaporation enhances the density still higher, but at lower temperatures. X-ray light curves and spectra are synthesized by convolving the results from a single TFT simulation with the rate at which flux is reconnected, as measured through motion of flare ribbons, for example. These agree well with light curves observed by RHESSI and GOES and spectra from RHESSI . An image created from a superposition of TFT model runs resembles one produced from RHESSI observations. This suggests that the HXR loop-top source, at least the one observed in this flare, could be the result of SMSs produced in fast reconnection models like Petschek’s.

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PRE-ERUPTION OSCILLATIONS IN THIN AND LONG FEATURES IN A QUIESCENT FILAMENT

We investigate the eruption of a quiescent filament located close to an active region. Large-scale activation was observed in only half of the filament in the form of pre-eruption oscillations. Consequently only this half erupted nearly 30 hr after the oscillations commenced. Time-slice diagrams of 171 Å images from the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly were used to study the oscillations. These were observed in several thin and long features connecting the filament spine to the chromosphere below. This study traces the origin of such features and proposes their possible interpretation. Small-scale magnetic flux cancellation accompanied by a brightening was observed at the footpoint of the features shortly before their appearance, in images recorded by the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager. A slow rise of the filament was detected in addition to the oscillations, indicating a gradual loss of equilibrium. Our analysis indicates that a change in magnetic field connectivity between two neighbouring active regions and the quiescent filament resulted in a weakening of the overlying arcade of the filament, leading to its eruption. It is also suggested that the oscillating features are filament barbs, and the oscillations are a manifestation during the pre-eruption phase of the filaments.

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HIGH RESOLUTION He i 10830 Å NARROW-BAND IMAGING OF AN M-CLASS FLARE. I. ANALYSIS OF SUNSPOT DYNAMICS DURING FLARING

In this paper, we report our first-step results of high resolution He i 10830 Å narrow-band imaging (bandpass: 0.5 Å) of an M1.8 class two-ribbon flare on 2012 July 5. The flare was observed with the 1.6 m aperture New Solar Telescope at Big Bear Solar Observatory. For this unique data set, sunspot dynamics during flaring were analyzed for the first time. By directly imaging the upper chromosphere, running penumbral waves are clearly seen as an outward extension of umbral flashes; both take the form of absorption in the 10830 Å narrow-band images. From a space–time image made of a slit cutting across a flare ribbon and the sunspot, we find that the dark lanes for umbral flashes and penumbral waves are obviously broadened after the flare. The most prominent feature is the sudden appearance of an oscillating absorption strip inside the ribbon when it sweeps into the sunspot’s penumbral and umbral regions. During each oscillation, outwardly propagating umbral flashes and subsequent penumbral waves rush out into the inwardly sweeping ribbon, followed by a return of the absorption strip with similar speed. We tentatively explain the phenomena as the result of a sudden increase in the density of ortho-helium atoms in the area of the sunspot being excited by the flare’s extreme ultraviolet illumination. This explanation is based on the observation that 10830 Å absorption around the sunspot area gets enhanced during the flare. Nevertheless, questions are still open and we need further well-devised observations to investigate the behavior of sunspot dynamics during flares.

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FORMATION AND ERUPTION OF A FLUX ROPE FROM THE SIGMOID ACTIVE REGION NOAA 11719 AND ASSOCIATED M6.5 FLARE: A MULTI-WAVELENGTH STUDY

We investigate the formation, activation, and eruption of a flux rope (FR) from the sigmoid active region NOAA 11719 by analyzing E(UV), X-ray, and radio measurements. During the pre-eruption period of ∼7 hr, the AIA 94 Å images reveal the emergence of a coronal sigmoid through the interaction between two J-shaped bundles of loops, which proceeds with multiple episodes of coronal loop brightenings and significant variations in the magnetic flux through the photosphere. These observations imply that repetitive magnetic reconnections likely play a key role in the formation of the sigmoidal FR in the corona and also contribute toward sustaining the temperature of the FR higher than that of the ambient coronal structures. Notably, the formation of the sigmoid is associated with the fast morphological evolution of an S-shaped filament channel in the chromosphere. The sigmoid activates toward eruption with the ascent of a large FR in the corona, which is preceded by the decrease in photospheric magnetic flux through the core flaring region, suggesting tether-cutting reconnection as a possible triggering mechanism. The FR eruption results in a two-ribbon M6.5 flare with a prolonged rise phase of ∼21 minutes. The flare exhibits significant deviation from the standard flare model in the early rise phase, during which a pair of J-shaped flare ribbons form and apparently exhibit converging motions parallel to the polarity inversion line, which is further confirmed by the motions of hard X-ray footpoint sources. In the later stages, the flare follows the standard flare model and the source region undergoes a complete sigmoid-to-arcade transformation.

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FIVE YEARS OF SYNTHESIS OF SOLAR SPECTRAL IRRADIANCE FROM SDID/SISA AND SDO /AIA IMAGES

In this paper we describe the synthetic solar spectral irradiance (SSI) calculated from 2010 to 2015 using data from the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) instrument, on board the Solar Dynamics Observatory spacecraft. We used the algorithms for solar disk image decomposition (SDID) and the spectral irradiance synthesis algorithm (SISA) that we had developed over several years. The SDID algorithm decomposes the images of the solar disk into areas occupied by nine types of chromospheric and 5 types of coronal physical structures. With this decomposition and a set of pre-computed angle-dependent spectra for each of the features, the SISA algorithm is used to calculate the SSI. We discuss the application of the basic SDID/SISA algorithm to a subset of the AIA images and the observed variation occurring in the 2010–2015 period of the relative areas of the solar disk covered by the various solar surface features. Our results consist of the SSI and total solar irradiance variations over the 2010–2015 period. The SSI results include soft X-ray, ultraviolet, visible, infrared, and far-infrared observations and can be used for studies of the solar radiative forcing of the Earth’s atmosphere. These SSI estimates were used to drive a thermosphere–ionosphere physical simulation model. Predictions of neutral mass density at low Earth orbit altitudes in the thermosphere and peak plasma densities at mid-latitudes are in reasonable agreement with the observations. The correlation between the simulation results and the observations was consistently better when fluxes computed by SDID/SISA procedures were used.

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ON THE FORMATION OF A STABLE PENUMBRA IN A REGION OF FLUX EMERGENCE IN THE SUN

We studied the formation of the first penumbral sector around a pore in the following polarity of the NOAA Active Region (AR) 11490. We used a high spatial, spectral, and temporal resolution data set acquired by the Interferometric BIdimensional Spectrometer operating at the NSO/Dunn Solar Telescope, as well as data taken by the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager on board the Solar Dynamics Observatory satellite. On the side toward the leading polarity, elongated granules in the photosphere and an arch filament system (AFS) in the chromosphere are present, while the magnetic field shows a sea-serpent configuration, indicating a region of magnetic flux emergence. We found that the formation of a stable penumbra in the following polarity of the AR begins in the area facing the opposite polarity located below the AFS in the flux emergence region, different from what was found by Schlichenmaier and colleagues. Moreover, during the formation of the first penumbral sector, the area characterized by magnetic flux density larger than 900 G and the area of the umbra increase.

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LAMOST observations of flaring m dwarfs in the Kepler field

A sample of the Large Sky Area Multi-Object Fibre Spectroscopic Telescope spectra of early-type M0–M3 dwarfs is compared with Kepler observations. It is found that M dwarfs with strong chromospheric emission in H{sub α} have large flare activity in general. The rotational periods derived from the Kepler measurements have close correlations with the sizes of the flares, the power-law distribution index, and the equivalent widths of the H{sub α} emission. A clear trend exists for higher magnetic activities being detected in faster-rotating M dwarfs (rotation periods < 20 days).

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CORONAL JETS SIMULATED WITH THE GLOBAL ALFVÉN WAVE SOLAR MODEL

This paper describes a numerical modeling study of coronal jets to understand their effects on the global corona and their contribution to the solar wind. We implement jets into a well-established three-dimensional, two-temperature magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) solar corona model employing Alfvén-wave dissipation to produce a realistic solar-wind background. The jets are produced by positioning a compact magnetic dipole under the solar surface and rotating the boundary plasma around the dipole's magnetic axis. The moving plasma drags the magnetic field lines along with it, ultimately leading to a reconnection-driven jet similar to that described by Pariat et al. We compare line-of-sight synthetic images to multiple jet observations at EUV and X-ray bands, and find very close matches in terms of physical structure, dynamics, and emission. Key contributors to this agreement are the greatly enhanced plasma density and temperature in our jets compared to previous models. These enhancements arise from the comprehensive thermodynamic model that we use and, also, our inclusion of a dense chromosphere at the base of our jet-generating regions. We further find that the large-scale corona is affected significantly by the outwardly propagating torsional Alfvén waves generated by our polar jet, across 40° in latitude and out to 24 R {sub ⊙}. We estimate that polar jets contribute only a few percent to the steady-state solar-wind energy outflow.

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