The vertical structure of the F ring of Saturn from ring-plane crossings     

Britt R. Scharringhausen  Philip D. Nicholson 《Icarus》2013

We present a photometric model of the rings of Saturn which includes the main rings and an F ring, inclined to the main rings, with a Gaussian vertical profile of optical depth. This model reproduces the asymmetry in brightness between the east and west ansae of the rings of Saturn that was observed by the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) within a few hours after the Earth ring-plane crossing (RPX) of 10 August 1995. The model shows that during this observation the inclined F ring unevenly blocked the east and west ansae of the main rings. The brightness asymmetry produced by the model is highly sensitive to the vertical thickness and radial optical depth of the F ring. The F-ring model that best matches the observations has a vertical full width at half maximum of 13 ± 7 km and an equivalent depth of 10 ± 4 km. The model also reproduces the shape of the HST profiles of ring brightness vs. distance from Saturn, both before and after the time of ring-plane crossing. Smaller asymmetries observed before the RPX, when the Earth was on the dark side of the rings, cannot be explained by blocking of the main rings by the F ring or vice versa and are probably instead due to the intrinsic longitudinal variation exhibited by the F ring.  相似文献   

Maximally-efficient-generation approach in the dynamo theory     

Alexander Ruzmaikin  Anvar Shukurov  Dmitry Sokoloff  Sergey Starchenko 《地球物理与天体物理流体动力学》2013,107(1-3):125-139

Abstract

We propose a method of derivation of global asymptotic solutions of the hydromagnetic dynamo problem at large magnetic Reynolds number. The procedure reduces to matching the local asymptotic forms for the magnetic field generated near individual extrema of generation strength. The basis of the proposed method, named here the Maximally-Efficient-Generation Approach (MEGA), is the assertion that properties of global asymptotic solutions of the kinematic dynamo are determined by the distribution of the generation strength near its leading extrema and by the number and distribution of the extrema.

The general method is illustrated by the global asymptotic solution of the α²-dynamo problem in a slab. The nature of oscillatory solutions revealed earlier in numerical simulations and the reasons for the dominance of even magnetic modes in slab geometry are clarified.

Applicability of the asymptotic solutions at moderate values of the asymptotic parameter is also discussed. We confirm this applicability using comparisons with complementary asymptotic expansions and numerical simulations. In particular, this justifies application of the MEGA solutions to estimation of the generation threshold.  相似文献   

Buoyancy-driven perturbations in a rapidly rotating,electrically conducting fluid: part II – dynamo action     

Arnaud Chulliat  Hisayoshi Shimizu  David E. Loper 《地球物理与天体物理流体动力学》2013,107(6):471-487

The helicity, electromotive force and α-effect produced in a homogeneous, rapidly rotating, electrically conducting fluid by an isolated source of buoyancy at small Elsasser number are calculated, visualized and analyzed. Due to physical symmetries of the system, the integrals of helicity and electromotive force over all space are zero. However, each has a significant non-zero value when integrated over the cross section of the Taylor column. The local α-effect is found to be significantly anisotropic; it is strongest when the applied magnetic field is toroidal and the resulting EMF is parallel to the applied field.  相似文献   

Saturn’s F ring grains: Aggregates made of crystalline water ice     

Sanaz Vahidinia  Jeffrey N. Cuzzi  Matt Hedman  Bruce Draine  Roger N. Clark  Ted Roush  Gianrico Filacchione  Philip D. Nicholson  Robert H. Brown  Bonnie Buratti  Christophe Sotin 《Icarus》2011,215(2):682-694

We present models of the near-infrared (1-5 μm) spectra of Saturn’s F ring obtained by Cassini’s Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIMS) at ultra-high phase angles (177.4-178.5°). Modeling this spectrum constrains the size distribution, composition, and structure of F ring particles in the 0.1-100 μm size range. These spectra are very different from those obtained at lower phase angles; they lack the familiar 1.5 and 2 μm absorption bands, and the expected 3 μm water ice primary absorption appears as an unusually narrow dip at 2.87 μm. We have modeled these data using multiple approaches. First, we use a simple Mie scattering model to constrain the size distribution and composition of the particles. The Mie model allows us to understand the overall shapes of the spectra in terms of dominance by diffraction at these ultra-high phase angles, and also to demonstrate that the 2.87 μm dip is associated with the Christiansen frequency of water ice (where the real refractive index passes unity). Second, we use a combination of Mie scattering with Effective Medium Theory to probe the effect of porous (but structureless) particles on the overall shape of the spectrum and depth of the 2.87 μm band. Such simple models are not able to capture the shape of this absorption feature well. Finally, we model each particle as an aggregate of discrete monomers, using the Discrete Dipole Approximation (DDA) model, and find a better fit for the depth of the 2.87 μm feature. The DDA models imply a slightly different overall size distribution. We present a simple heuristic model which explains the differences between the Mie and DDA model results. We conclude that the F ring contains aggregate particles with a size distribution that is distinctly narrower than a typical power law, and that the particles are predominantly crystalline water ice.  相似文献   

α径迹测量在非洲特殊环境下的应用及效果     

郑明良 《铀矿地质》2012,(1):52-57

在非洲纳米比亚开展了α径迹测量。针对非洲地区与国内迥然不同的特殊地质和恶劣气候环境,采取了各种应对措施,保证了测量的高灵敏度和准确性;经与钻探资料对比,径迹密度与放射性异常对应很好,测量效果显著。使α径迹测量这一物探找铀矿方法在非洲特殊环境的条件下得到全新的阐释。  相似文献   

Modeling the uranian rings at 2.2 μm: Comparison with Keck AO data from July 2004     

David E. Dunn  Imke de Pater 《Icarus》2010,208(2):927-937

We present a Monte Carlo model of the uranian rings, and compare this model to images of the system obtained with the Keck adaptive optics system in July 2004, at a wavelength of 2.2 μm (from de Pater et al. (de Pater, I., Gibbard, S.G., Hammel, H.B. [2006a]. Icarus 180, 186-200)). We confirm the presence of the ζ ring, but show that this ring must extend inwards much further than previously thought, although with an optical depth much lower than that in the main ζ ring component. We further confirm dust rings between rings α-4 and β-α, as well as near the λ ring. In addition, we show that a broad sheet of faint material (τ₀ ∼ 10⁻³) must be present through most of the ring region, from the α ring through the λ ring.  相似文献   

The shape and dynamics of a heliotropic dusty ringlet in the Cassini Division     

M.M. Hedman  J.A. Burt  J.A. Burns  M.S. Tiscareno 《Icarus》2010,210(1):284-297

The so-called “Charming Ringlet” (R/2006 S3) is a low-optical-depth, dusty ringlet located in the Laplace gap in the Cassini Division, roughly 119,940 km from Saturn center. This ringlet is particularly interesting because its radial position varies systematically with longitude relative to the Sun in such a way that the ringlet’s geometric center appears to be displaced away from Saturn’s center in a direction roughly toward the Sun. In other words, the ringlet is always found at greater distances from the planet’s center at longitudes near the sub-solar longitude than it is at longitudes near Saturn’s shadow. This “heliotropic” behavior indicates that the dynamics of the particles in this ring are being influenced by solar radiation pressure. In order to investigate this phenomenon, which has been predicted theoretically but not observed this clearly, we analyze multiple image sequences of this ringlet obtained by the Cassini spacecraft in order to constrain its shape and orientation. These data can be fit reasonably well with a model in which both the eccentricity and the inclination of the ringlet have “forced” components (that maintain a fixed orientation relative to the Sun) as well as “free” components (that drift around the planet at steady rates determined by Saturn’s oblateness). The best-fit value for the eccentricity forced by the Sun is 0.000142 ± 0.000004, assuming this component of the eccentricity has its pericenter perfectly anti-aligned with the Sun. These data also place an upper limit on a forced inclination of 0.0007°. Assuming the forced inclination is zero and the forced eccentricity vector is aligned with the anti-solar direction, the best-fit values for the free components of the eccentricity and inclination are 0.000066 ± 0.000003 and 0.0014 ± 0.0001°, respectively. While the magnitude of the forced eccentricity is roughly consistent with theoretical expectations for radiation pressure acting on 10-to-100-μm-wide icy grains, the existence of significant free eccentricities and inclinations poses a significant challenge for models of low-optical-depth dusty rings.  相似文献   

引发四川盆地东部暴雨的西南低涡结构特征研究   总被引：1，自引：0，他引：1  

江玉华  杜钦  赵大军  何跃  李江 《高原气象》2012,31(6):1562-1573

利用1951-2008年四川盆地(27°-32°N,105°-110°E)54个地面气象观测站网监测的日雨量资料,分析了四川盆地东部暴雨发生的气候特征。结果表明,四川盆地东部暴雨(或伴有雷雨大风、冰雹大风等)多发生在6-9月,川东北和渝东北是单站暴雨的高发区,重庆西部是大范围暴雨的多发区;引发四川盆地东部(宜宾、南充和重庆西部)暴雨的主要天气系统是西南低涡。对2007-2010年6次西南低涡暴雨过程进行了合成分析,分析表明,西南低涡热力结构特征具有200hPa存在明显增暖现象,对流层中低层则由暖转冷;西南低涡初期大气对流性不稳定明显;西南低涡动力结构特征具有200hPa西风急流在36°N附近,500hPa低槽东移,槽前正涡度加强,从对流层底垂直伸展到300hPa以上,正涡度中心随高度向西倾斜,850～500hPa平均正涡度大值区与低涡中心对应,对流层中低层北风大值区与南风大值区在低涡中心附近形成强水平风切变,同时低涡中心附近的垂直风切变也较明显。促使西南低涡发展的水汽主要来自南海,低空急流由南向北输送水汽,将对流层低层到大气边界层内的水汽输送到低涡中心附近。西南低涡发生、发展过程中在红外卫星云图上具有MCC等中-α尺度特征,发展强盛的西南低涡在多普勒天气雷达回波上有"列车效应"和中气旋特征。  相似文献   

Did Saturn's rings form during the Late Heavy Bombardment?     

Sébastien Charnoz  Alessandro Morbidelli  Julien Salmon 《Icarus》2009,199(2):413-711

The origin of Saturn's massive ring system is still unknown. Two popular scenarios—the tidal splitting of passing comets and the collisional destruction of a satellite—rely on a high cometary flux in the past. In the present paper we attempt to quantify the cometary flux during the Late Heavy Bombardment (LHB) to assess the likelihood of both scenarios. Our analysis relies on the so-called “Nice model” of the origin of the LHB [Tsiganis, K., Gomes, R., Morbidelli, A., Levison, H.F., 2005. Nature 435, 459-461; Morbidelli, A., Levison, H.H., Tsiganis, K., Gomes, R., 2005. Nature 435, 462-465; Gomes, R., Levison, H.F., Tsiganis, K., Morbidelli, A., 2005. Nature 435, 466-469] and on the size distribution of the primordial trans-neptunian planetesimals constrained in [Charnoz, S., Morbidelli, A., 2007. Icarus 188, 468-480]. We find that the cometary flux on Saturn during the LHB was so high that both scenarios for the formation of Saturn rings are viable in principle. However, a more detailed study shows that the comet tidal disruption scenario implies that all four giant planets should have comparable ring systems whereas the destroyed satellite scenario would work only for Saturn, and perhaps Jupiter. This is because in Saturn's system, the synchronous orbit is interior to the Roche Limit, which is a necessary condition for maintaining a satellite in the Roche Zone up to the time of the LHB. We also discuss the apparent elimination of silicates from the ring parent body implied by the purity of the ice in Saturn's rings. The LHB has also strong implications for the survival of the saturnian satellites: all satellites smaller than Mimas would have been destroyed during the LHB, whereas Enceladus would have had from 40% to 70% chance of survival depending on the disruption model. In conclusion, these results suggest that the LHB is the “sweet moment” for the formation of a massive ring system around Saturn.  相似文献   

A procedure to analyze nonlinear density waves in Saturn's rings using several occultation profiles     

Nicole J. Rappaport  Pierre-Yves Longaretti  Richard G. French  Colleen A. McGhee 《Icarus》2009,199(1):154-173

Cassini radio science experiments have provided multiple occultation optical depth profiles of Saturn's rings that can be used in combination to analyze density waves. This paper establishes an accurate procedure of inversion of the wave profiles to reconstruct the wave kinematic parameters as a function of semi-major axis, in the nonlinear regime. This procedure is established using simulated data in the presence of realistic noise perturbations, to control the reconstruction error. It is then applied to the Mimas 5:3 density wave. There are two important concepts at the basis of this procedure. The first one is that it uses the nonlinear representation of density waves, and the second one is that it relies on a combination of optical depth profiles instead of just one profile. A related method to analyze density waves was devised by Longaretti and Borderies [Longaretti, P.-Y., Borderies, N., 1986. Icarus 67, 211-223] to study the nonlinear density wave associated with the Mimas 5:3 resonance, but the single photopolarimetric profile provided limited constraints. Other studies of density waves analyzing Cassini data [Colwell, J.E., Esposito, L.W., 2007. Bull. Am. Astron. Soc. 39, 461; Tiscareno, M.S., Burns, J.A., Nicholson, P.D., Hedman, M.M., Porco, C.C., 2007. Icarus 189, 14-34] are based on the linear theory and find inconsistent results from profile to profile. Multiple cuts of the rings are helpful in a fundamental way to ensure the accuracy of the procedure by forcing consistency among the various optical depth profiles. By way of illustration we have applied our procedure to the Mimas 5:3 density wave. We were able to recover precisely the kinematic parameters from the radio experiment occultation data in most of the propagation region; a preliminary analysis of the pressure-corrected dispersion allowed us to determine new but still uncertain values for the opacity (K?0.02 cm²/g) and velocity dispersion of (c₀?0.6 cm/s) in the wave region. Our procedure constitutes the first step in our planned analysis of the density waves of Saturn's rings. It is very accurate and efficient in the far-wave region. However, improvements are required within the first wavelength. The ways in which this method can be used to establish diagnostics of ring physics are outlined.  相似文献