Direct observations or deduced analysis indicate clearly that formation of intense fluxes of relativistic electrons is an important ingredient in the evolution of numerous active magnetized plasma systems. Examples of relativistic electron energization include the recovery phase of a planetary magnetic storm, post solar flare coronal activity and the afterglow of gamma ray bursts. It is suggested that there exists a universal mechanism, which may explain electron energization at the vastly different magnetized plasma environments. The favorite configuration consists of an inhomogeneous magnetic field anchored at a given magnetic structure and excitation of whistler waves due to external injection of low-energy non-isotropic electrons. The energization proceeds as a bootstrap process due to interaction with the propagating whistler waves along the inhomogeneous magnetic field. 相似文献
We report multi-epoch Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) H i observations of the z = 0.3127 damped absorber towards the quasar PKS 1127−145, which reveal variability in both the absorption profile and the flux of the background source, over a time-scale of a few days. The observed variations cannot be explained by simple interstellar scintillation (ISS) models where there are only one or two scintillating components and all of the ISS occurs in the Galaxy. More complicated models, where either there are more scintillating components or some of the ISS occurs in the interstellar medium of the z =0.3127 absorber, may be acceptable. However, the variability can probably be best explained in models incorporating motion (on sub-VLBI scales) of a component of the background continuum source, with or without some ISS. All models producing the variable 21-cm absorption profile require small-scale variations in the 21-cm optical depth of the absorber. The length-scale for the opacity variations is ∼0.1 pc in pure superluminal motion models, and ∼10 pc in pure ISS models. Models involving subluminal motion, combined with scintillation of the moving component, require opacity variations on far smaller scales of ∼ 10–100 au . 相似文献
We describe the second telescope of the Wise Observatory, a 0.46-m Centurion 18 (C18) installed in 2005, which enhances significantly
the observing possibilities. The telescope operates from a small dome and is equipped with a large-format CCD camera. In the
last two years this telescope was intensively used in a variety of monitoring projects.
The operation of the C18 is now automatic, requiring only start-up at the beginning of a night and close-down at dawn. The
observations are mostly performed remotely from the Tel Aviv campus or even from the observer’s home. The entire facility
was erected for a component cost of about 70k$ and a labor investment of a total of one man-year.
We describe three types of projects undertaken with this new facility: the measurement of asteroid light variability with
the purpose of determining physical parameters and binarity, the following-up of transiting extrasolar planets, and the study
of AGN variability. The successful implementation of the C18 demonstrates the viability of small telescopes in an age of huge
light-collectors, provided the operation of such facilities is very efficient. 相似文献
Pacific Island countries are among the list of countries that face the highest disaster risk globally—in per capita terms. In recent years, governments in the region have been confronted by a rise in damages from extreme catastrophic events, many increasingly linked to climate change. These events pose significant challenges to Pacific governments in terms of maintaining fiscal stability and the operation of their limited and under-diversified economies and shallow financial sectors. Governments in the region generally play a leading role in domestic economies and are responsible for leading disaster prevention, mitigation, and recovery efforts. Accordingly, measures to improve financial sustainability and the public sector’s ability to provide public services in the aftermath of major disasters must be prioritized. This paper examines the literature on fiscal resilience to disasters, the estimated impacts of major events in the Pacific, and analyses the applicability of available financial instruments to facilitate both ex ante and ex post disaster fiscal risk management in the region. The paper also discusses policies that can improve resilience against fiscal risks.
The Islands of Réunion and Mayotte are French territories in the Indian Ocean and are prone to numerous and recurrent hazards
as well as to increasing vulnerabilities. This paper examines disaster risk reduction on non-sovereign islands through the
case studies of Réunion and Mayotte. The approach used is embedded in standard geographical approaches to risk analysis, focusing
on place-based vulnerability, in order to understand disaster risk and disaster risk reduction on both islands. In addition
to establishing baseline information and visiting both islands for further data, 21 semi-structured individual interviews
were completed to understand the people’s perceptions of the hazards and of their vulnerabilities. Disaster risk reduction
strategies, and attitudes from governing bodies implementing the strategies, tend to assume similar vulnerability contexts
as mainland France, despite obvious differences on the islands. Many policies are implemented in a top–down manner by those
from mainland France who have little interest in, and who do not fully take into consideration, local realities. This paper
contributes new case studies to the literature, especially in comparing two non-Anglophone non-sovereign islands, and reinforces
recommendations factoring in local contexts when addressing ‘vulnerability of a place’ to disasters. 相似文献
We investigate the evolution of non-linear density perturbations by taking into account the effects of deviations from spherical symmetry of a system. Starting from the standard spherical top hat model in which these effects are ignored, we introduce a physically motivated closure condition which specifies the dependence of the additional terms on the density contrast, δ . The modified equation can be used to model the behaviour of an overdense region over a sufficiently large range of δ . The key new idea is a Taylor series expansion in (1/ δ ) to model the non-linear epoch. We show that the modified equations quite generically lead to the formation of stable structures in which the gravitational collapse is halted at around the virial radius. The analysis also allows us to connect up the behaviour of individual overdense regions with the non-linear scaling relations satisfied by the two-point correlation function. 相似文献
A long-term drought has led to the mass mortality of shrubs in the semi-arid Israeli Negev.The most impacted shrub species is the Noaea mucronata (Forssk.) Asch.and Schweinf.In a four-year study,we found that herbaceous vegetation growth was greater in the dead shrub patches than in the surrounding inter-patch biocrusted spaces,suggesting that the dead shrub patches encompass improved micro-habitats.However,unexpectedly,the soil moisture in the dead shrub patches was consistently lower than that of the inter-patch biocrusted spaces.At the same time,soil quality in the dead shrub patches was higher than that in the inter-patch spaces.Therefore,it seems that the overall better soil conditions in the dead patches overcome the scarcity of soil-water,supporting increased herbaceous produc-tivity.For explaining the discrepancy between herbaceous vegetation and soil-water,we formulated a conceptual framework,which highlights the key factors that regulate soil-water dynamics in this dryland ecosystem.We demonstrate that herbaceous vegetation is facilitated in the dead shrub patches by a legacy effect that takes place long after the shrubs have died.The dead shrub patches encompass a unique form of ecosystem engineering.The study high-lights the complex and unpredicted impacts of prolonged droughts on dryland ecosystems. 相似文献