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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 1,729 records · Page 96
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DOE OSTI2014

Gamma-ray emission in dissipative pulsar magnetospheres: from theory to Fermi observations

We compute the patterns of γ-ray emission due to curvature radiation in dissipative pulsar magnetospheres. Our ultimate goal is to construct macrophysical models that are able to reproduce the observed γ-ray light curve phenomenology recently published in the Second Fermi Pulsar Catalog. We apply specific forms of Ohm's law on the open field lines using a broad range for the macroscopic conductivity values that result in solutions ranging, from near-vacuum to near-force-free. Using these solutions, we generate model γ-ray light curves by calculating realistic trajectories and Lorentz factors of radiating particles under the influence of both the accelerating electric fields and curvature radiation reaction. We further constrain our models using the observed dependence of the phase lags between the radio and γ-ray emission on the γ-ray peak separation. We perform a statistical comparison of our model radio-lag versus peak-separation diagram and the one obtained for the Fermi standard pulsars. We find that for models of uniform conductivity over the entire open magnetic field line region, agreement with observations favors higher values of this parameter. We find, however, significant improvement in fitting the data with models that employ a hybrid form of conductivity, specifically, infinite conductivity interior to the light cylinder and high but finite conductivity on the outside. In these models the γ-ray emission is produced in regions near the equatorial current sheet but modulated by the local physical properties. These models have radio lags near the observed values and statistically best reproduce the observed light curve phenomenology. Additionally, they also produce GeV photon cut-off energies.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

SIGN SINGULARITY AND FLARES IN SOLAR ACTIVE REGION NOAA 11158

Solar Active Region NOAA 11158 has hosted a number of strong flares, including one X2.2 event. The complexity of current density and current helicity are studied through cancellation analysis of their sign-singular measure, which features power-law scaling. Spectral analysis is also performed, revealing the presence of two separate scaling ranges with different spectral index. The time evolution of parameters is discussed. Sudden changes of the cancellation exponents at the time of large flares and the presence of correlation with Extreme-Ultra-Violet and X-ray flux suggest that eruption of large flares can be linked to the small-scale properties of the current structures.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

A BABCOCK–LEIGHTON SOLAR DYNAMO MODEL WITH MULTI-CELLULAR MERIDIONAL CIRCULATION IN ADVECTION- AND DIFFUSION-DOMINATED REGIMES

Babcock–Leighton type-solar dynamo models with single-celled meridional circulation are successful in reproducing many solar cycle features. Recent observations and theoretical models of meridional circulation do not indicate a single-celled flow pattern. We examine the role of complex multi-cellular circulation patterns in a Babcock–Leighton solar dynamo in advection- and diffusion-dominated regimes. We show from simulations that the presence of a weak, second, high-latitude reverse cell speeds up the cycle and slightly enhances the poleward branch in the butterfly diagram, whereas the presence of a second cell in depth reverses the tilt of the butterfly wing to an antisolar type. A butterfly diagram constructed from the middle of convection zone yields a solar-like pattern, but this may be difficult to realize in the Sun because of magnetic buoyancy effects. Each of the above cases behaves similarly in higher and lower magnetic diffusivity regimes. However, our dynamo with a meridional circulation containing four cells in latitude behaves distinctly differently in the two regimes, producing solar-like butterfly diagrams with fast cycles in the higher diffusivity regime, and complex branches in butterfly diagrams in the lower diffusivity regime. We also find that dynamo solutions for a four-celled pattern, two in radius and two in latitude, prefer to quickly relax to quadrupolar parity if the bottom flow speed is strong enough, of similar order of magnitude as the surface flow speed.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

THE TELEGRAPH APPROXIMATION FOR FOCUSED COSMIC-RAY TRANSPORT IN THE PRESENCE OF BOUNDARIES

Diffusive cosmic-ray transport in nonuniform large-scale magnetic fields in the presence of boundaries is considered. Reflecting and absorbing boundary conditions are derived for a modified telegraph equation with a convective term. Analytical and numerical solutions of illustrative boundary problems are presented. The applicability and accuracy of the telegraph approximation for focused cosmic-ray transport in the presence of boundaries are discussed, and potential applications to modeling cosmic-ray transport are noted.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

Anisotropic formation of magnetized cores in turbulent clouds

In giant molecular clouds (GMCs), shocks driven by converging turbulent flows create high-density, strongly magnetized regions that are locally sheetlike. In previous work, we showed that within these layers, dense filaments and embedded self-gravitating cores form by gathering material along the magnetic field lines. Here, we extend the parameter space of our three-dimensional, turbulent MHD core formation simulations. We confirm the anisotropic core formation model we previously proposed and quantify the dependence of median core properties on the pre-shock inflow velocity and upstream magnetic field strength. Our results suggest that bound core properties are set by the total dynamic pressure (dominated by large-scale turbulence) and thermal sound speed c{sub s} in GMCs, independent of magnetic field strength. For models with a Mach number between 5 and 20, the median core masses and radii are comparable to the critical Bonnor–Ebert mass and radius defined using the dynamic pressure for P{sub ext}. Our results correspond to M{sub core}=1.2c{sub s}{sup 4}(G{sup 3}ρ{sub 0}v{sub 0}{sup 2}){sup −1/2} and R{sub core}=0.34c{sub s}{sup 2}(Gρ{sub 0}v{sub 0}{sup 2}){sup −1/2} for ρ{sub 0} and v{sub 0}, the large-scale mean density and velocity. For our parameter range, the median M{sub core}∼0.1−1M{sub ⊙}, but a very high pressure cloud could have lower characteristic core mass. We find cores and filaments form simultaneously, and filament column densities are a factor of ∼2 greater than the surrounding cloud when cores first collapse. We also show that cores identified in our simulations have physical properties comparable to those observed in the Perseus cloud. Superthermal cores in our models are generally also magnetically supercritical, suggesting that the same may be true in observed clouds.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

Proper motion and timing of two unusual pulsars: Calvera and 1E 1207.4—5209

Using pairs of images from the Chandra High Resolution Camera we examine the proper motion of the central compact object (CCO) 1E 1207.4−5209 in the supernova remnant (SNR) PKS 1209−51/52, and the unusual pulsar Calvera that is possibly a CCO descendant. For 1E 1207.4−5209, an insignificant proper motion of μ=15±7 mas yr{sup −1} is measured, corresponding to a corrected tangential velocity of v{sub ⊥,c}<180 km s{sup −1} at the distance of 2 kpc. This proves that the previously noted large offset of the pulsar from the apparent geometric center of the SNR is not due to high proper motion; evidently the symmetry of the remnant does not indicate its center of expansion. Calvera has a marginally significant proper motion of μ=69±26 mas yr{sup −1}, corresponding to v{sub ⊥,c}=86±33 km s{sup −1} for a hypothetical distance of 0.3 kpc. Notably, its vector is away from the Galactic plane, although its high Galactic latitude of b=+37{sup ∘} may be more a consequence of its proximity than its velocity. We also provide updated timing solutions for each pulsar. Spanning 14.5 years, the ephemeris of 1E 1207.4−5209 has a small and steady frequency derivative that, because of the negligible proper motion, requires no kinematic correction. The derived surface dipole magnetic field strength of 1E 1207.4−5209 thus remains B{sub s}=9.8×10{sup 10} G. Calvera has B{sub s}=4.4×10{sup 11} G, intermediate between those of ordinary young pulsars and CCOs, suggesting that it may be on a trajectory of field growth that could account for the absence of descendants in the neighborhood of CCOs in the P− P-dot diagram.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

QUASI-STATIC MODEL OF MAGNETICALLY COLLIMATED JETS AND RADIO LOBES. II. JET STRUCTURE AND STABILITY

This is the second in a series of companion papers showing that when an efficient dynamo can be maintained by accretion disks around supermassive black holes in active galactic nuclei, it can lead to the formation of a powerful, magnetically driven, and mediated helix that could explain both the observed radio jet/lobe structures and ultimately the enormous power inferred from the observed ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays. In the first paper, we showed self-consistently that minimizing viscous dissipation in the disk naturally leads to jets of maximum power with boundary conditions known to yield jets as a low-density, magnetically collimated tower, consistent with observational constraints of wire-like currents at distances far from the black hole. In this paper we show that these magnetic towers remain collimated as they grow in length at nonrelativistic velocities. Differences with relativistic jet models are explained by three-dimensional magnetic structures derived from a detailed examination of stability properties of the tower model, including a broad diffuse pinch with current profiles predicted by a detailed jet solution outside the collimated central column treated as an electric circuit. We justify our model in part by the derived jet dimensions in reasonable agreement with observations. Using these jet properties, we also discuss the implications for relativistic particle acceleration in nonrelativistically moving jets. The appendices justify the low jet densities yielding our results and speculate how to reconcile our nonrelativistic treatment with general relativistic MHD simulations.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

JET LUMINOSITY OF GAMMA-RAY BURSTS: THE BLANDFORD–ZNAJEK MECHANISM VERSUS THE NEUTRINO ANNIHILATION PROCESS

A neutrino-dominated accretion flow (NDAF) around a rotating stellar-mass black hole (BH) is one of the plausible candidates for the central engine of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). Two mechanisms, i.e., the Blandford–Znajek (BZ) mechanism and the neutrino annihilation process, are generally considered to power GRBs. Using the analytic solutions from Xue et al. and ignoring the effects of the magnetic field configuration, we estimate the BZ and neutrino annihilation luminosities as functions of the disk masses and BH spin parameters to contrast the observational jet luminosities of GRBs. Our results show that although the neutrino annihilation processes could account for most GRBs, the BZ mechanism is more effective, especially for long-duration GRBs. Actually, if the energy of the afterglows and flares of GRBs is included, then the distinction between these two mechanisms is more significant. Furthermore, massive disk mass and high BH spin are beneficial for powering the high luminosities of GRBs. Finally, we discuss possible physical mechanisms that could enhance the disk mass or neutrino emission rate of NDAFs and the relevant difference between these two mechanisms.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

HOMOLOGOUS FLUX ROPES OBSERVED BY THE SOLAR DYNAMICS OBSERVATORY ATMOSPHERIC IMAGING ASSEMBLY

We present the first Solar Dynamics Observatory observations of four homologous flux ropes in the active region (AR) 11745 on 2013 May 20-22. The four flux ropes are all above the neutral line of the AR, with endpoints anchoring at the same region, and have a generally similar morphology. The first three flux ropes rose with a velocity of less than 30 km s{sup –1} after their appearance, and subsequently their intensities at 131 Å decreased and the flux ropes became obscure. The fourth flux rope erupted last, with a speed of about 130 km s{sup –1} and formed a coronal mass ejection (CME). The associated filament showed an obvious anti-clockwise twist motion at the initial stage, and the twist was estimated at 4π. This indicates that kink instability possibly triggers the early rise of the fourth flux rope. The activated filament material was spatially within the flux rope and showed consistent evolution in the early stages. Our findings provide new clues for understanding the characteristics of flux ropes. Firstly, multiple flux ropes are successively formed at the same location during an AR evolution process. Secondly, a slow-rise flux rope does not necessarily result in a CME, and a fast-eruption flux rope does result in a CME.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

NEW VACUUM SOLAR TELESCOPE OBSERVATIONS OF A FLUX ROPE TRACKED BY A FILAMENT ACTIVATION

One main goal of the New Vacuum Solar Telescope (NVST) which is located at the Fuxian Solar Observatory is to image the Sun at high resolution. Based on the high spatial and temporal resolution NVST Hα data and combined with the simultaneous observations from the Solar Dynamics Observatory for the first time, we investigate a flux rope tracked by filament activation. The filament material is initially located at one end of the flux rope and fills in a section of the rope; the filament is then activated by magnetic field cancellation. The activated filament rises and flows along helical threads, tracking the twisted flux rope structure. The length of the flux rope is about 75 Mm, the average width of its individual threads is 1.11 Mm, and the estimated twist is 1π. The flux rope appears as a dark structure in Hα images, a partial dark and partial bright structure in 304 Å, and as a bright structure in 171 Å and 131 Å images. During this process, the overlying coronal loops are quite steady since the filament is confined within the flux rope and does not erupt successfully. It seems that, for the event in this study, the filament is located and confined within the flux rope threads, instead of being suspended in the dips of twisted magnetic flux.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

ON MAGNETIC ACTIVITY BAND OVERLAP, INTERACTION, AND THE FORMATION OF COMPLEX SOLAR ACTIVE REGIONS

Recent work has revealed a phenomenological picture of the how the ∼11 yr sunspot cycle of the Sun arises. The production and destruction of sunspots is a consequence of the latitudinal-temporal overlap and interaction of the toroidal magnetic flux systems that belong to the 22 yr magnetic activity cycle and are rooted deep in the Sun's convective interior. We present a conceptually simple extension of this work, presenting a hypothesis on how complex active regions can form as a direct consequence of the intra- and extra-hemispheric interaction taking place in the solar interior. Furthermore, during specific portions of the sunspot cycle, we anticipate that those complex active regions may be particularly susceptible to profoundly catastrophic breakdown, producing flares and coronal mass ejections of the most severe magnitude.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

RECONNECTION OUTFLOW GENERATED TURBULENCE IN THE SOLAR WIND

Petschek-type time-dependent reconnection (TDR) and quasi-stationary reconnection (QSR) models are considered to understand reconnection outflow structures and the generation of local turbulence in the solar wind. Comparing TDR/QSR model predictions of the outflow structures with actual measurements shows that both models can explain the data equally well. It is demonstrated that the outflows can often generate more or less spatially extended turbulent boundary layers. The structure of a unique extended reconnection outflow is investigated in detail. The analysis of spectral scalings and spectral break locations shows that reconnection can change the local field and plasma conditions which may support different local turbulent dissipation mechanisms at their characteristic wavenumbers.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

ON THE ROLE OF FAST MAGNETIC RECONNECTION IN ACCRETING BLACK HOLE SOURCES

We attempt to explain the observed radio and gamma-ray emission produced in the surroundings of black holes by employing a magnetically dominated accretion flow model and fast magnetic reconnection triggered by turbulence. In earlier work, a standard disk model was used and we refine the model by focusing on the sub-Eddington regime to address the fundamental plane of black hole activity. The results do not change substantially with regard to previous work, ensuring that the details of accretion physics are not relevant in the magnetic reconnection process occurring in the corona. Rather, our work puts fast magnetic reconnection events as a powerful mechanism operating in the core region near the jet base of black hole sources on more solid ground. For microquasars and low-luminosity active galactic nuclei, the observed correlation between radio emission and the mass of the sources can be explained by this process. The corresponding gamma-ray emission also seems to be produced in the same core region. On the other hand, emission from blazars and gamma-ray bursts cannot be correlated to core emission based on fast reconnection.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2016

THE RELATION BETWEEN SOLAR ERUPTION TOPOLOGIES AND OBSERVED FLARE FEATURES. II. DYNAMICAL EVOLUTION

A long-established goal of solar physics is to build understanding of solar eruptions and develop flare and coronal mass ejection (CME) forecasting models. In this paper, we continue our investigation of nonlinear forces free field (NLFFF) models by comparing topological properties of the solutions to the evolution of the flare ribbons. In particular, we show that data-constrained NLFFF models of three erupting sigmoid regions (SOL2010-04-08, SOL2010-08-07, and SOL2012-05-12) built to reproduce the active region magnetic field in the pre-flare state can be rendered unstable and the subsequent sequence of unstable solutions produces quasi-separatrix layers that match the flare ribbon evolution as observed by SDO/AIA. We begin with a best-fit equilibrium model for the pre-flare active region. We then add axial flux to the flux rope in the model to move it across the stability boundary. At this point, the magnetofrictional code no longer converges to an equilibrium solution. The flux rope rises as the solutions are iterated. We interpret the sequence of magnetofrictional steps as an evolution of the active region as the flare/CME begins. The magnetic field solutions at different steps are compared with the flare ribbons. The results are fully consistent with the three-dimensional extension of the standard flare/CME model. Our ability to capture essential topological features of flaring active regions with a non-dynamic magnetofrictional code strongly suggests that the pre-flare, large-scale topological structures are preserved as the flux rope becomes unstable and lifts off.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2016

TURBULENT AMPLIFICATION AND STRUCTURE OF THE INTRACLUSTER MAGNETIC FIELD

We compare DNS calculations of homogeneous isotropic turbulence with the statistical properties of intracluster turbulence from the Matryoshka Run and find remarkable similarities between their inertial ranges. This allowed us to use the time-dependent statistical properties of intracluster turbulence to evaluate dynamo action in the intracluster medium, based on earlier results from a numerically resolved nonlinear magneto-hydrodynamic turbulent dynamo. We argue that this approach is necessary (a) to properly normalize dynamo action to the available intracluster turbulent energy and (b) to overcome the limitations of low Re affecting current numerical models of the intracluster medium. We find that while the properties of intracluster magnetic field are largely insensitive to the value and origin of the seed field, the resulting values for the Alfvén speed and the outer scale of the magnetic field are consistent with current observational estimates, basically confirming the idea that the magnetic field in today’s galaxy clusters is a record of its past turbulent activity.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2016

EVOLUTION OF MAGNETIC HELICITY AND ENERGY SPECTRA OF SOLAR ACTIVE REGIONS

We adopt an isotropic representation of the Fourier-transformed two-point correlation tensor of the magnetic field to estimate the magnetic energy and helicity spectra as well as current helicity spectra of two individual active regions (NOAA 11158 and NOAA 11515) and the change of the spectral indices during their development as well as during the solar cycle. The departure of the spectral indices of magnetic energy and current helicity from 5/3 are analyzed, and it is found that it is lower than the spectral index of the magnetic energy spectrum. Furthermore, the fractional magnetic helicity tends to increase when the scale of the energy-carrying magnetic structures increases. The magnetic helicity of NOAA 11515 violates the expected hemispheric sign rule, which is interpreted as an effect of enhanced field strengths at scales larger than 30–60 Mm with opposite signs of helicity. This is consistent with the general cycle dependence, which shows that around the solar maximum the magnetic energy and helicity spectra are steeper, emphasizing the large-scale field.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2016

THE INCLINATION ANGLE AND EVOLUTION OF THE BRAKING INDEX OF PULSARS WITH PLASMA-FILLED MAGNETOSPHERE: APPLICATION TO THE HIGH BRAKING INDEX OF PSR J1640–4631

The recently discovered rotationally powered pulsar PSR J1640–4631 is the first to have a braking index measured, with high enough precision, that is greater than 3. An inclined magnetic rotator in vacuum or plasma would be subject not only to spin-down but also to an alignment torque. The vacuum model can address the braking index only for an almost orthogonal rotator, which is incompatible with the single-peaked pulse profile. The magnetic dipole model with the corotating plasma predicts braking indices between 3 and 3.25. We find that the braking index of 3.15 is consistent with two different inclination angles, 18.°5 ± 3° and 56° ± 4°. The smaller angle is preferred given that the pulse profile has a single peak and the radio output of the source is weak. We infer the change in the inclination angle to be at the rate −0.°23 per century, three times smaller in absolute value than the rate recently observed for the Crab pulsar.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2016

CRAB FLARES DUE TO TURBULENT DISSIPATION OF THE PULSAR STRIPED WIND

We interpret γ-ray flares from the Crab Nebula as the signature of turbulence in the pulsar’s electromagnetic outflow. Turbulence is triggered upstream by dynamical instability of the wind’s oscillating magnetic field and accelerates non-thermal particles. On impacting the wind-termination shock, these particles emit a distinct synchrotron component F{sub ν,flare}, which is constantly modulated by intermittency of the upstream plasma flow. Flares are observed when the high-energy cutoff of F{sub ν,flare} emerges above the fast-declining nebular emission around 0.1–1 GeV. Simulations carried out in the force-free electrodynamics approximation predict the striped wind to become fully turbulent well ahead of the wind-termination shock, provided its terminal Lorentz factor is ≲10{sup 4}.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗