Interplanetary propagation of relativistic solar protons     

M. Lumme  M. Nieminen  J. J. Torsti  E. Vainikka  J. Peltonen  E. Valtonen  H. Arvela 《Solar physics》1986,107(1):183-194

Particle fluxes and pitch angle distributions of relativistic solar protons at Earth's orbit have been determined by Monte Carlo calculations. The analysis covers two hours after the release of the particles from the Sun and total of 8 × 10⁶ particle trajectories were simulated. The pitch angle scattering was assumed to be isotropic and the scattering mean free path was varied from 0.1 to 4 AU.The intensity-time profiles after a delta-like injection from the Sun show that the interplanetary propagation is clearly non-diffusive at scattering mean-free paths above 0.5 AU. All pitch angle distributions have a steady minimum at 90 °, and they become similar about 20 min after the arrival of first particles.As an application, the solar injection profile and the interplanetary scattering mean-free path of particles that gave rise to the GLE on 7 May, 1978 were determined. In contrast to the values of 3–5 AU published by other authors, the average scattering mean-free path was found to be about 1 AU.  相似文献   

Anisotropic gravitational radiation in the problems of three and four black holes     

H. Pietilä  P. Heinämäki  S. Mikkola  M. J. Valtonen 《Celestial Mechanics and Dynamical Astronomy》1995,62(4):377-394

The momentum flux in merging binary black holes is rediscussed using the actual orbit integrations. The terminal velocity acquired by the centre of mass of the system is found to be greater than the estimate of Fitchett (1983) by a factor of 1.45. The actual value in km s^–1 is still uncertain but may be as high as 2000 km s^–1. The centre of mass velocity kick at a black hole merger is incorporated in the orbit integration of few black hole systems. Assuming that the symmetric break-up mode of such systems corresponds to the classical double radio sources, we determine that the centre of mass velocity kick can be about 1000 km s^–1 at most.  相似文献   

Measuring black hole spin in OJ287     

M. J. Valtonen  S. Mikkola  H. J. Lehto  T. Hyvönen  K. Nilsson  D. Merritt  A. Gopakumar  H. Rampadarath  R. Hudec  M. Basta  R. Saunders 《Celestial Mechanics and Dynamical Astronomy》2010,106(3):235-243

We model the binary black hole system OJ287 as a spinning primary and a non-spinning secondary. It is assumed that the primary has an accretion disk which is impacted by the secondary at specific times. These times are identified as major outbursts in the light curve of OJ287. This identification allows an exact solution of the orbit, with very tight error limits. Nine outbursts from both the historical photographic records as well as from recent photometric measurements have been used as fixed points of the solution: 1913, 1947, 1957, 1973, 1983, 1984, 1995, 2005 and 2007 outbursts. This allows the determination of eight parameters of the orbit. Most interesting of these are the primary mass of ${1.84\cdot 10^{10}M_\odot}$ , the secondary mass ${1.40\cdot 10^{8} M_\odot}$ , major axis precession rate 39°.1 per period, and the eccentricity of the orbit 0.70. The dimensionless spin parameter is 0.28 ± 0.01 (1 sigma). The last parameter will be more tightly constrained in 2015 when the next outburst is due. The outburst should begin on 15 December 2015 if the spin value is in the middle of this range, on 3 January 2016 if the spin is 0.25, and on 26 November 2015 if the spin is 0.31. We have also tested the possibility that the quadrupole term in the post-Newtonian equations of motion does not exactly follow Einstein’s theory: a parameter q is introduced as one of the 8 parameters. Its value is within 30% (1 sigma) of the Einstein’s value q = 1. This supports the no-hair theorem of black holes within the achievable precision. We have also measured the loss of orbital energy due to gravitational waves. The loss rate is found to agree with Einstein’s value with the accuracy of 2% (1 sigma). There is a possibility of improving the accuracy of both quantities using the exact timing of the outburst on 21 July 2019. Because of closeness of OJ287 to the Sun (8–12°), the observations would be best carried out by a telescope in space.  相似文献   

Interstellar heliospheric probe/heliospheric boundary explorer mission—a mission to the outermost boundaries of the solar system     

Robert F. Wimmer-Schweingruber  Ralph McNutt  Nathan A. Schwadron  Priscilla C. Frisch  Mike Gruntman  Peter Wurz  Eino Valtonen 《Experimental Astronomy》2009,24(1-3):9-46

The Sun, driving a supersonic solar wind, cuts out of the local interstellar medium a giant plasma bubble, the heliosphere. ESA, jointly with NASA, has had an important role in the development of our current understanding of the Suns immediate neighborhood. Ulysses is the only spacecraft exploring the third, out-of-ecliptic dimension, while SOHO has allowed us to better understand the influence of the Sun and to image the glow of interstellar matter in the heliosphere. Voyager 1 has recently encountered the innermost boundary of this plasma bubble, the termination shock, and is returning exciting yet puzzling data of this remote region. The next logical step is to leave the heliosphere and to thereby map out in unprecedented detail the structure of the outer heliosphere and its boundaries, the termination shock, the heliosheath, the heliopause, and, after leaving the heliosphere, to discover the true nature of the hydrogen wall, the bow shock, and the local interstellar medium beyond. This will greatly advance our understanding of the heliosphere that is the best-known example for astrospheres as found around other stars. Thus, IHP/HEX will allow us to discover, explore, and understand fundamental astrophysical processes in the largest accessible plasma laboratory, the heliosphere.  相似文献   

Local dark energy: HST evidence from the vicinity of the M81/M82 galaxy group     

A. D. Chernin  I. D. Karachentsev  O. G. Kashibadze  D. I. Makarov  P. Teerikorpi  M. J. Valtonen  V. P. Dolgachev  L. M. Domozhilova 《Astrophysics》2007,50(4):405-415

The Hubble Space Telescope observations of the nearby galaxy group M81/M82 and its vicinity indicate that the dynamics of the expansion outflow around the group is dominated by the antigravity of the dark energy background. The local density of dark energy in the area is estimated to be near the global dark energy density or perhaps exactly equal to it. This conclusion agrees well with our previous results for the Local Group vicinity and the vicinity of the Cen A/M83 group. Published in Astrofizika, Vol. 50, No. 4, pp. 493–505 (November 2007).  相似文献   

Propagation of Solar Energetic Particles During Multiple Coronal Mass Ejection Events     

Silja Pohjolainen  Firas Al-Hamadani  Eino Valtonen 《Solar physics》2016,291(2):487-511

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Formation of Radio Type II Bursts During a Multiple Coronal Mass Ejection Event     

Firas Al-Hamadani  Silja Pohjolainen  Eino Valtonen 《Solar physics》2017,292(12):183

We study the solar event on 27 September 2001 that consisted of three consecutive coronal mass ejections (CMEs) originating from the same active region, which were associated with several periods of radio type II burst emission at decameter–hectometer (DH) wavelengths. Our analysis shows that the first radio burst originated from a low-density environment, formed in the wake of the first, slow CME. The frequency-drift of the burst suggests a low-speed burst driver, or that the shock was not propagating along the large density gradient. There is also evidence of band-splitting within this emission lane. The origin of the first shock remains unclear, as several alternative scenarios exist. The second shock showed separate periods of enhanced radio emission. This shock could have originated from a CME bow shock, caused by the fast and accelerating second or third CME. However, a shock at CME flanks is also possible, as the density depletion caused by the three CMEs would have affected the emission frequencies and hence the radio source heights could have been lower than usual. The last type II burst period showed enhanced emission in a wider bandwidth, which was most probably due to the CME–CME interaction. Only one shock that could reliably be associated with the investigated CMEs was observed to arrive near Earth.  相似文献   

Investigation of the Geoeffectiveness of Disk-Centre Full-Halo Coronal Mass Ejections     

Dheyaa Ameri  Eino Valtonen 《Solar physics》2017,292(6):79

We studied the occurrence and characteristics of geomagnetic storms associated with disk-centre full-halo coronal mass ejections (DC-FH-CMEs). Such coronal mass ejections (CMEs) can be considered as the most plausible cause of geomagnetic storms. We selected front-side full-halo coronal mass ejections detected by the Large Angle and Spectrometric Coronagraph onboard the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO/LASCO) from the beginning of 1996 till the end of 2015 with source locations between solar longitudes E10 and W10 and latitudes N20 and S20. The number of selected CMEs was 66 of which 33 (50%) were deduced to be the cause of 30 geomagnetic storms with \(\mathrm{Dst} \leq- 50~\mbox{nT}\). Of the 30 geomagnetic storms, 26 were associated with single disk-centre full-halo CMEs, while four storms were associated, in addition to at least one disk-centre full-halo CME, also with other halo or wide CMEs from the same active region. Thirteen of the 66 CMEs (20%) were associated with 13 storms with \(-100~\mbox{nT} < \mbox{Dst} \leq- 50~\mbox{nT}\), and 20 (30%) were associated with 17 storms with \(\mbox{Dst}\leq- 100~\mbox{nT}\). We investigated the distributions and average values of parameters describing the DC-FH-CMEs and their interplanetary counterparts encountering Earth. These parameters included the CME sky-plane speed and direction parameter, associated solar soft X-ray flux, interplanetary magnetic field strength, \(B_{t}\), southward component of the interplanetary magnetic field, \(B_{s}\), solar wind speed, \(V_{sw}\), and the \(y\)-component of the solar wind electric field, \(E_{y}\). We found only a weak correlation between the Dst of the geomagnetic storms associated with DC-FH-CMEs and the CME sky-plane speed and the CME direction parameter, while the correlation was strong between the Dst and all the solar wind parameters (\(B_{t}\), \(B_{s}\), \(V_{sw}\), \(E_{y}\)) measured at 1 AU. We investigated the dependences of the properties of DC-FH-CMEs and the associated geomagnetic storms on different phases of solar cycles and the differences between Solar Cycles 23 and 24. In the rise phase of Solar Cycle 23 (SC23), five out of eight DC-FH-CMEs were geoeffective (\(\mbox{Dst} \leq- 50~\mbox{nT}\)). In the corresponding phase of SC24, only four DC-FH-CMEs were observed, three of which were nongeoeffective (\(\mbox{Dst} > - 50~\mbox{nT}\)). The largest number of DC-FH-CMEs occurred at the maximum phases of the cycles (21 and 17, respectively). Most of the storms with \(\mbox{Dst}\leq- 100~\mbox{nT}\) occurred at or close to the maximum phases of the cycles. When comparing the storms during epochs of corresponding lengths in Solar Cycles 23 and 24, we found that during the first 85 months of Cycle 23 the geoeffectiveness rate of the disk-centre full-halo CMEs was 58% with an average minimum value of the Dst index of \(- 146~\mbox{nT}\). During the corresponding epoch of Cycle 24, only 35% of the disk-centre full-halo CMEs were geoeffective with an average value of Dst of \(- 97~\mbox{nT}\).  相似文献   

Catalogue of ${>}\,55$ MeV Wide-longitude Solar Proton Events Observed by SOHO,ACE, and the STEREOs at ≈1${\approx}\,1$ AU During 2009 – 2016     

Miikka Paassilta  Athanasios Papaioannou  Nina Dresing  Rami Vainio  Eino Valtonen  Bernd Heber 《Solar physics》2018,293(4):70

Based on energetic particle observations made at \({\approx}\,1\) AU, we present a catalogue of 46 wide-longitude (\({>}\,45^{\circ}\)) solar energetic particle (SEP) events detected at multiple locations during 2009?–?2016. The particle kinetic energies of interest were chosen as \({>}\,55\) MeV for protons and 0.18?–?0.31 MeV for electrons. We make use of proton data from the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory/Energetic and Relativistic Nuclei and Electron Experiment (SOHO/ERNE) and the Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory/High Energy Telescopes (STEREO/HET), together with electron data from the Advanced Composition Explorer/Electron, Proton, and Alpha Monitor (ACE/EPAM) and the STEREO/Solar Electron and Proton Telescopes (SEPT). We consider soft X-ray data from the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES) and coronal mass ejection (CME) observations made with the SOHO/Large Angle and Spectrometric Coronagraph (LASCO) and STEREO/Coronagraphs 1 and 2 (COR1, COR2) to establish the probable associations between SEP events and the related solar phenomena. Event onset times and peak intensities are determined; velocity dispersion analysis (VDA) and time-shifting analysis (TSA) are performed for protons; TSA is performed for electrons. In our event sample, there is a tendency for the highest peak intensities to occur when the observer is magnetically connected to solar regions west of the flare. Our estimates for the mean event width, derived as the standard deviation of a Gaussian curve modelling the SEP intensities (protons \({\approx}\,44^{\circ}\), electrons \({\approx}\,50^{\circ}\)), largely agree with previous results for lower-energy SEPs. SEP release times with respect to event flares, as well as the event rise times, show no simple dependence on the observer’s connection angle, suggesting that the source region extent and dominant particle acceleration and transport mechanisms are important in defining these characteristics of an event. There is no marked difference between the speed distributions of the CMEs related to wide events and the CMEs related to all near-Earth SEP events of similar energy range from the same time period.  相似文献   

Natural transfer of viable microbes in space.   总被引：8，自引：0，他引：8  

C Mileikowsky  F A Cucinotta  J W Wilson  B Gladman  G Horneck  L Lindegren  J Melosh  H Rickman  M Valtonen  J Q Zheng 《Icarus》2000,145(2):391-427

The possibility and probability of natural transfer of viable microbes from Mars to Earth and Earth to Mars traveling in meteoroids during the first 0.5 Ga and the following 4 Ga are investigated, including: --radiation protection against the galactic cosmic ray nuclei and the solar rays, dose rates as a function of the meteorite's radial column mass (radius x density), combined with dose rates generated by natural radioactivity within the meteorite; and survival curves for some bacterial species using NASA's HZETRN transport code --other factors affecting microbe survival: vacuum; central meteorite temperatures at launch, orbiting, and arrival; pressure and acceleration at launch; spontaneous DNA decay; metal ion migration --mean sizes and numbers of unshocked meteorites ejected and percentage falling on Earth, using current semiempirical results --viable flight times for the microbe species Bacillus subtilis and Deinococcus radiodurans R1 --the approximate fraction of microbes (with properties like the two species studied) viably arriving on Earth out of those ejected from Mars during the period 4 Ga BP to the present time, and during the 700 Ma from 4.5 to 3.8 Ga. Similarly, from Earth to Mars. The conclusion is that if microbes existed or exist on Mars, viable transfer to Earth is not only possible but also highly probable, due to microbes' impressive resistance to the dangers of space transfer and to the dense traffic of billions of martian meteorites which have fallen on Earth since the dawn of our planetary system. Earth-to-Mars transfer is also possible but at a much lower frequency.  相似文献