Downward pumping of magnetic flux as the cause of filamentary structures in sunspot penumbrae

The structure of a sunspot is determined by the local interaction between magnetic fields and convection near the Sun's surface. The dark central umbra is surrounded by a filamentary penumbra, whose complicated fine structure has only recently been revealed by high-resolution observations. The penumbral magnetic field has an intricate and unexpected interlocking-comb structure and some field lines, with associated outflows of gas, dive back down below the solar surface at the outer edge of the spot. These field lines might be expected to float quickly back to the surface because of magnetic buoyancy, but they remain submerged. Here we show that the field lines are kept submerged outside the spot by turbulent, compressible convection, which is dominated by strong, coherent, descending plumes. Moreover, this downward pumping of magnetic flux explains the origin of the interlocking-comb structure of the penumbral magnetic field, and the behaviour of other magnetic features near the sunspot.     

A magnetically collimated jet from an evolved star

Planetary nebulae often have asymmetric shapes, even though their progenitor stars were symmetric; this structure could be the result of collimated jets from the evolved stars before they enter the planetary nebula phase. Theoretical models have shown that magnetic fields could be the dominant source of jet-collimation in evolved stars, just as these fields are thought to collimate outflows in other astrophysical sources, such as active galactic nuclei and proto-stars. But hitherto there have been no direct observations of both the magnetic field direction and strength in any collimated jet. Here we report measurements of the polarization of water vapour masers that trace the precessing jet emanating from the asymptotic giant branch star W43A (at a distance of 2.6 kpc from the Sun), which is undergoing rapid evolution into a planetary nebula. The masers occur in two clusters at opposing tips of the jets, approximately 1,000 au from the star. We conclude from the data that the magnetic field is indeed collimating the jet.     

A submllimeter observation and study of star-forming regions

Using the 3-m radio telescope of KOSMA, we mapped 12CO (J = 3-2) lines for three molecular clouds, B35, S146 and TMC-2A. High-velocity molecular outflows are found in all these regions. The physical and dynamical parameters of the outflows are derived, and their shapes and driving sources are analyzed. Contour maps of center velocities show that the large scale systematic gradients exist in the three clouds. These observed motions are best explained by rotation after excluding the cause of outflows. Furthermore, in the core region of TMC-2A there is a velocity gradient in opposite direction from that of the large scale. It may be caused by magnetic braking. Finally, angular velocities of the clouds are calculated, and the effects of rotation against gravity and lowering the star-formation rate are also analyzed.     

A submillimeter observation and study of star-forming regions

Using the 3-m radio telescope of KOSMA, we mapped ¹²CO (J = 3-2) lines for three molecular clouds, B35, S146 and TMC-2A. High-velocity molecular outflows are found in all these regions. The physical and dynamical parameters of the outflows are derived, and their shapes and driving sources are analyzed. Contour maps of center velocities show that the large scale systematic gradients exist in the three clouds. These observed motions are best explained by rotation after excluding the cause of outflows. Furthermore, in the core region of TMC-2A there is a velocity gradient in opposite direction from that of the large scale. It may be caused by magnetic braking. Finally, angular velocities of the clouds are calculated, and the effects of rotation against gravity and lowering the star-formation rate are also analyzed.     

典型竖井内火羽流与自然对流的比较

为深入了解火灾过程的特点,采用大涡模拟方法对火羽流与自然对流引起的典型竖井中的流动进行了数值模拟研究。网格滤波截断的亚格子湍能远小于流场总能量,验证了大涡模拟方法的有效性。竖井内火羽流和自然对流的计算结果与文献给出的实验值总体上符合较好。在此基础上讨论了3种不同开口形式竖井内火灾及加热情况下的内部流场,发现两者在表观上具有一定相似性,但火灾状态下流场湍流更强,卷起的涡团更多,流场温度更高。此外,开口形式亦对竖井内流型产生很大影响。     

Detectable radio flares following gravitational waves from mergers of binary neutron stars

Mergers of neutron-star/neutron-star binaries are strong sources of gravitational waves. They can also launch subrelativistic and mildly relativistic outflows and are often assumed to be the sources of short γ-ray bursts. An electromagnetic signature that persisted for weeks to months after the event would strengthen any future claim of a detection of gravitational waves. Here we present results of calculations showing that the interaction of mildly relativistic outflows with the surrounding medium produces radio flares with peak emission at 1.4 gigahertz that persist at detectable (submillijansky) levels for weeks, out to a redshift of 0.1. Slower subrelativistic outflows produce flares detectable for years at 150 megahertz, as well as at 1.4 gigahertz, from slightly shorter distances. The radio transient RT 19870422 (ref. 11) has the properties predicted by our model, and its most probable origin is the merger of a compact neutron-star/neutron-star binary. The lack of radio detections usually associated with short γ-ray bursts does not constrain the radio transients that we discuss here (from mildly relativistic and subrelativistic outflows) because short γ-ray burst redshifts are typically >0.1 and the appropriate timescales (longer than weeks) have not been sampled.     

A substantial amount of hidden magnetic energy in the quiet Sun

Deciphering and understanding the small-scale magnetic activity of the quiet solar photosphere should help to solve many of the key problems of solar and stellar physics, such as the magnetic coupling to the outer atmosphere and the coronal heating. At present, we can see only approximately 1 per cent of the complex magnetism of the quiet Sun, which highlights the need to develop a reliable way to investigate the remaining 99 per cent. Here we report three-dimensional radiative transfer modelling of scattering polarization in atomic and molecular lines that indicates the presence of hidden, mixed-polarity fields on subresolution scales. Combining this modelling with recent observational data, we find a ubiquitous tangled magnetic field with an average strength of approximately 130 G, which is much stronger in the intergranular regions of solar surface convection than in the granular regions. So the average magnetic energy density in the quiet solar photosphere is at least two orders of magnitude greater than that derived from simplistic one-dimensional investigations, and sufficient to balance radiative energy losses from the solar chromosphere.     

Three-dimensional magnetic field topology in a region of solar coronal heating

Flares and X-ray jets on the Sun arise in active regions where magnetic flux emerges from the solar interior amd interacts with the ambient magnetic field. The interactions are believed to occur in electric current sheets separating regions of opposite magnetic polarity. The current sheets located in the corona or upper chromosphere have long been thought to act as an important source of coronal heating, requiring their location in the corona or upper chromosphere. The dynamics and energetics of these sheets are governed by a complex magnetic field structure that, until now, has been difficult to measure. Here we report the determination of the full magnetic vector in an interaction region near the base of the solar corona. The observations reveal two magnetic features that characterize young active regions on the Sun: a set of rising magnetic loops and a tangential discontinuity of the magnetic field direction, the latter being the observational signature of an electric current sheet. This provides strong support for coronal heating models based on the dissipation of magnetic energy at current sheets.     

封闭空间内小尺度等温竖板自然对流的三维效应

研究了封闭空间内小尺度等温竖板自然对流的三维效应、表明三维效应随着平板尺度的减小而增强，从而使换热增强．对于相同尺度的平板，采用不同的放置方式其换热状况也不相同．尺度较大时，竖放(高度方向长)比横放时换热强，但随着尺度的减小，两种放置方式的换热越来越接近．     

Magnetic tornadoes as energy channels into the solar corona

Heating the outer layers of the magnetically quiet solar atmosphere to more than one million kelvin and accelerating the solar wind requires an energy flux of approximately 100 to 300?watts per square metre, but how this energy is transferred and dissipated there is a puzzle and several alternative solutions have been proposed. Braiding and twisting of magnetic field structures, which is caused by the convective flows at the solar surface, was suggested as an efficient mechanism for atmospheric heating. Convectively driven vortex flows that harbour magnetic fields are observed to be abundant in the photosphere (the visible surface of the Sun). Recently, corresponding swirling motions have been discovered in the chromosphere, the atmospheric layer sandwiched between the photosphere and the corona. Here we report the imprints of these chromospheric swirls in the transition region and low corona, and identify them as observational signatures of rapidly rotating magnetic structures. These ubiquitous structures, which resemble super-tornadoes under solar conditions, reach from the convection zone into the upper solar atmosphere and provide an alternative mechanism for channelling energy from the lower into the upper solar atmosphere.     

A circumstellar disk associated with a massive protostellar object

The formation process for stars with masses several times that of the Sun is still unclear. The two main theories are mergers of several low-mass young stellar objects, which requires a high stellar density, or mass accretion from circumstellar disks in the same way as low-mass stars are formed, accompanied by outflows during the process of gravitational infall. Although a number of disks have been discovered around low- and intermediate-mass young stellar objects, the presence of disks around massive young stellar objects is still uncertain and the mass of the disk system detected around one such object, M17, is disputed. Here we report near-infrared imaging polarimetry that reveals an outflow/disk system around the Becklin-Neugebauer protostellar object, which has a mass of at least seven solar masses (M(o)). This strongly supports the theory that stars with masses of at least 7M(o) form in the same way as lower mass stars.     

小波神经网络在海底石油管道漏磁缺陷检测中的应用

海底管道漏磁检测信号处理的主要任务是根据霍尔传感器检测到的缺陷的漏磁信号识别缺陷的形态参数,噪声消除和缺陷识别是其中的关键问题。利用噪声信号和测试信号在各个尺度上波谱的不同特征,基于小波变换来消除管道漏磁检测中的噪声信号,并根据正交小波多尺度多分辨率特点,把信号分解成各相互独立的频带,构建一个小波神经网络系统,通过输入漏磁信号的特征量识别缺陷的参数。漏磁检测数据处理实验表明该小波变换能较好地去除检测信号中的主要噪声,所建立的缺陷识别小波神经网络系统具有收敛速度快、逼近精度高等特点。     

The excitation of solar-like oscillations in a δSct star by efficient envelope convection

Delta Scuti (δSct) stars are opacity-driven pulsators with masses of 1.5-2.5 M⊙, their pulsations resulting from the varying ionization of helium. In less massive stars such as the Sun, convection transports mass and energy through the outer 30 per cent of the star and excites a rich spectrum of resonant acoustic modes. Based on the solar example, with no firm theoretical basis, models predict that the convective envelope in δSct stars extends only about 1 per cent of the radius, but with sufficient energy to excite solar-like oscillations. This was not observed before the Kepler mission, so the presence of a convective envelope in the models has been questioned. Here we report the detection of solar-like oscillations in the δSct star HD187547, implying that surface convection operates efficiently in stars about twice as massive as the Sun, as the ad hoc models predicted.     

微重力环境下横向旋转磁场对热表面张力流的影响

微重力环境下外加磁场可以有效地控制浮区法晶体生长中的热表面张力流,从而提高半导体晶体生长的质量。在比较相同强度（7 mT）的横向静态磁场与横向旋转磁场对热表面张力流影响的基础上,研究了外加横向旋转磁场（旋转频率50 Hz）对三维半浮区熔体热表面张力流的控制。结果表明：横向旋转磁场对熔体产生周向搅拌作用和轴向抑制作用,其有助于三维热表面张力流转变为二维轴对称流动。浮区法晶体生长中,横向旋转磁场是一种比较理想的熔体对流控制方法。     

旋转和磁场耦合作用对振荡Marangoni-热毛细对流的影响

双向温度梯度下环形浅液池内的硅熔体中会形成Marangoni-热毛细对流,当其中一个温度梯度超过临界值时,流动会变成三维振荡流动,同时,自由表面上的辐射换热还会使流动变得更加复杂。为了寻找有效削弱三维振荡流动的方法,通过三维数值模拟分别研究了只有液池旋转、只有轴向磁场和两者耦合时环形浅液池内的Marangoni-热毛细对流。结果表明,液池旋转和轴向磁场都可以对Marangoni-热毛细对流产生一定的削弱作用,而两者的耦合会相互促进。考虑到磁场的负面效果,在尽量小的磁场强度下获得了维持轴对称稳态流动的最佳参数组合。     

Fe-C二元合金凝固过程强制对流作用下柱状晶生长行为的数值模拟

文章在前期建立的微观元胞自动机模型的基础上,耦合动量传输模型、质量传输模型和热量传输模型,建立了考虑流体流动的宏微观多尺度二维枝晶生长数学模型CA-FVM。并采用CA-FVM模型研究了强制对流作用下Fe-0.82C二元合金凝固过程枝晶生长规律。数值模拟表明:强制对流明显地改变了枝晶生长规律,靠近强制对流入口处枝晶生长受抑制作用较明显,枝晶生长较慢,远离强制对流入口处枝晶受抑制作用较弱,枝晶生长较快。同时,随着强制对流强度的增加,枝晶生长受熔体流动的影响更加明显,加剧了枝晶的非对称生长。     

A resolved outflow of matter from a brown dwarf

The birth of stars involves not only accretion but also, counter-intuitively, the expulsion of matter in the form of highly supersonic outflows. Although this phenomenon has been seen in young stars, a fundamental question is whether it also occurs among newborn brown dwarfs: these are the so-called 'failed stars', with masses between stars and planets, that never manage to reach temperatures high enough for normal hydrogen fusion to occur. Recently, evidence for accretion in young brown dwarfs has mounted, and their spectra show lines that are suggestive of outflows. Here we report spectro-astrometric data that spatially resolve an outflow from a brown dwarf. The outflow's characteristics appear similar to, but on a smaller scale than, outflows from normal young stars. This result suggests that the outflow mechanism is universal, and perhaps relevant even to the formation of planets.     

Rossby waves on the Sun as revealed by solar 'hills'

It is a long-standing puzzle that the Sun's photosphere--its visible surface--rotates differentially, with the equatorial regions rotating faster than the poles. It has been suggested that waves analogous to terrestrial Rossby waves, and known as r-mode oscillations, could explain the Sun's differential rotation: Rossby waves are seen in the oceans as large-scale (hundreds of kilometres) variations of sea-surface height (5-cm-high waves), which propagate slowly either east or west (they could take tens of years to cross the Pacific Ocean). Calculations show that the solar r-mode oscillations have properties that should be strongly constrained by differential rotation. Here we report the detection of 100-m-high 'hills' in the photosphere, spaced uniformly over the Sun's surface with a spacing of (8.7 +/- 0.6) x 10(4) km. If convection under the photosphere is organized by the r-modes, the observed corrugated photosphere is a probable surface manifestation of these solar oscillations.     

非对称勾形磁场的三维优化设计与实现

根据坩埚内熔体对流的类型和分布区域,分析控制对流对勾形(cusp)磁场磁感应强度和磁场位形分布的要求,提出了磁场优化设计目标。采用有限元三维(3D)建模法对cusp磁场进行了建模,利用所建立的模型对比了对称结构和非对称结构对磁场位形分布的影响,分析了在非对称cusp磁场线圈横向层数一定的情况下磁场纵向层数、屏蔽体厚度、上下线圈间距对磁感应强度、磁场位形、磁场功率的影响,优化了磁场结构;根据优化的结构参数制造了磁场并进行了实验测试,结果表明非对称cusp磁场的位形分布与设计结果一致,从而验证了3D优化建模方法的有效性。     

地震发生与日月运行之关联

 基于第23、24太阳活动周发生的全球M≥7.8级以上大震数据、汶川余震和智利余震数据,发现：地震的发生与日月位置存在着关联性;地震的发生与太阳风磁场到达地球的优势聚集方向存在着关联性。说明地震的发生与日月运行有关联。所用地震事件有两类：一类为余震——2008-05-12 M8.0汶川地震M≥5.0强余震与2010-02-27 M8.8智利地震M≥5.5强余震;另一类为1997—2010年全球M≥7.8大地震。虽然参与分析的地震事件数不算很多,但从两类各自不同的代表性以及所使用地震震级与地域的跨度,仍可望其结论具有普适性。文中提供了众多地震发生与日月运行关联的证据,其随机发生概率多为10^-4—10^-6,小概率为不发生事件,但竟然发生了,表明它们之间必定有其非随机的统一成因机制控制。这是本文作者对地震发生的宇宙环境——“天外来客”特别给予重视的立论所在。