Zero outward flow velocity for plasma in a heliosheath transition layer

Voyager 1 has been in the reservoir of energetic ions and electrons that constitutes the heliosheath since it crossed the solar wind termination shock on 16 December 2004 at a distance from the Sun of 94 astronomical units (1?AU = 1.5?×?10(8)?km). It is now ～22?AU past the termination shock crossing. The bulk velocity of the plasma in the radial-transverse plane has been determined using measurements of the anisotropy of the convected energetic ion distribution. Here we report that the radial component of the velocity has been decreasing almost linearly over the past three years, from ～70?km?s(-1) to ～0?km?s(-1), where it has remained for the past eight months. It now seems that Voyager 1 has entered a finite transition layer of zero-radial-velocity plasma flow, indicating that the spacecraft may be close to the heliopause, the border between the heliosheath and the interstellar plasma. The existence of a flow transition layer in the heliosheath contradicts current predictions--generally assumed by conceptual models--of a sharp discontinuity at the heliopause.     

The unusual minimum of sunspot cycle 23 caused by meridional plasma flow variations

Direct observations over the past four centuries show that the number of sunspots observed on the Sun's surface varies periodically, going through successive maxima and minima. Following sunspot cycle 23, the Sun went into a prolonged minimum characterized by a very weak polar magnetic field and an unusually large number of days without sunspots. Sunspots are strongly magnetized regions generated by a dynamo mechanism that recreates the solar polar field mediated through plasma flows. Here we report results from kinematic dynamo simulations which demonstrate that a fast meridional flow in the first half of a cycle, followed by a slower flow in the second half, reproduces both characteristics of the minimum of sunspot cycle 23. Our model predicts that, in general, very deep minima are associated with weak polar fields. Sunspots govern the solar radiative energy and radio flux, and, in conjunction with the polar field, modulate the solar wind, the heliospheric open flux and, consequently, the cosmic ray flux at Earth.     

Cool heliosheath plasma and deceleration of the upstream solar wind at the termination shock

The solar wind blows outward from the Sun and forms a bubble of solar material in the interstellar medium. The termination shock occurs where the solar wind changes from being supersonic (with respect to the surrounding interstellar medium) to being subsonic. The shock was crossed by Voyager 1 at a heliocentric radius of 94 au (1 au is the Earth-Sun distance) in December 2004 (refs 1-3). The Voyager 2 plasma experiment observed a decrease in solar wind speed commencing on about 9 June 2007, which culminated in several crossings of the termination shock between 30 August and 1 September 2007 (refs 4-7). Since then, Voyager 2 has remained in the heliosheath, the region of shocked solar wind. Here we report observations of plasma at and near the termination shock and in the heliosheath. The heliosphere is asymmetric, pushed inward in the Voyager 2 direction relative to the Voyager 1 direction. The termination shock is a weak, quasi-perpendicular shock that heats the thermal plasma very little. An unexpected finding is that the flow is still supersonic with respect to the thermal ions downstream of the termination shock. Most of the solar wind energy is transferred to the pickup ions or other energetic particles both upstream of and at the termination shock.     

Slowdown of the meridional overturning circulation in the upper Pacific Ocean

Decadal temperature fluctuations in the Pacific Ocean have a significant effect on marine ecosystems and the climate of North America. The physical mechanisms responsible for these fluctuations are poorly understood. Some theories ascribe a central role to the wind-driven meridional overturning circulation between the tropical and subtropical oceans. Here we show, from observations over the past 50 years, that this overturning circulation has been slowing down since the 1970s, causing a decrease in upwelling of about 25% in an equatorial strip between 9 degrees N and 9 degrees S. This reduction in equatorial upwelling of relatively cool water, from 47 x 10(6) to 35 x 10(6) m3 s(-1), is associated with a rise in equatorial sea surface temperatures of about 0.8 degrees C. Another effect of the slowing circulation is a reduction in the outgassing of CO2 from the equatorial Pacific Ocean-at present the largest oceanic source of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere.     

基于度信息的图像过渡区提取与分割

提出一种基于度信息的图像过渡区提取与分割算法．将一幅图像映射为带权无向图,权函数定义为节点之间的相似度,由于目标内部与背景内部的像素同质性好,相似度大,因此度值较大,而边缘像素的度值就小,由此提取过渡区并进行图像分割．实验结果表明,本方法能够稳定地提取过渡区,且处理速度明显优于原有的过渡区提取方法。     

基于过渡区提取的多阈值图像分割

对基于过渡区提取的多阈值图像分割算法进行了研究．首先使用局部熵方法提取过渡区,然后构造对称非最大抑制滤波器检测过渡区直方图的多个峰值,最后使用考虑差异度与位面数的代价函数决定最优类别个数及多分割阈值．实验研究表明,算法得到的阈值准确、稳定,较好地解决了基于过渡区提取的图像分割方法中的多阈值分割问题,同时也为多阈值图像分割提供了一种新的思路．     

油葵根—茎过渡区子叶节区的研究

油葵根-茎过渡区发生位置较低.在下胚轴基部就已完成根-茎初生维管组织的转变过程.转变过程中初生木质部的原生与后生部分分离.分离后的原生木质部逐渐消失在基本组织中,不参与新维管组织的形成.初生韧皮部的分离不对称,4束中只有同侧两束分离.在下胚轴下部由根内间隔排列的四原型木质部和韧皮部转变形成6束外韧维管束.下胚轴中上部在6束外韧维管束之间发育形成8束新的外韧维管束.先后形成的两组维管组织在子叶节区发生分离形成内外两环.外环进入子叶,内环进入上胚轴.根据幼苗形态和解剖结构的变化特点,提出了油葵根-茎过渡区、子叶节区的具体区域界限,指出了油葵形成壮苗的形态解剖学依据.     

旋流对等离子体反应器内传热与流动的影响

为满足大气压气体放电热等离子体先进材料加工的要求,研究了当等离子体发生器出口处存在旋流流动时,旋流效应对有反向载气注入条件下等离子体反应器内传热与流动特性的影响.在所研究的参数范围内的计算结果表明:旋流对等离子体的轴向运动有抑制作用,且有助于强化等高子体射流与反向载气的混合,从而影响反应器内的传热与流动特性以及发生器出口与反向载气喷营出口之间所形成的滞止平面的位置;而且随着旋流数的增加,旋流对等离子体轴向运动的抑制作用也会增强.     

某冰水堆积体层流-紊流过渡状态渗流特性试验研究

澜沧江上游两岸河谷地带广泛分布一套规模巨大、形成于第四纪更新世中晚期的冰水堆积体,这类冰水堆积体往往具有较特别的渗流特性。通过对澜沧江某冰水堆积体的结构特征调查和颗粒组成试验分析,从沉积相的角度,认为该冰水堆积体可分为两层:表层厚约40 m的混合巨粒土,和底部厚约17 m的粗颗粒土。通过对这两层冰水堆积体的渗流特点试验研究,结果表明地下水在表层混合巨粒土中的渗流方式主要表现为层流-紊流过渡阶段的特点,渗流速度与水力梯度成幂函数关系;而在底部粗颗粒土中的运移方式主要表现为层流特点。根据混合巨粒土的渗流特点,文中提出了两种计算其渗透系数的方法,即根据渗透速度和水力梯度关系曲线估算渗透系数,或采用文中提出的公式计算渗透系数。     

Sound velocities of majorite garnet and the composition of the mantle transition region

The composition of the mantle transition region, characterized by anomalous seismic-wave velocity and density changes at depths of approximately 400 to 700 km, has remained controversial. Some have proposed that the mantle transition region has an olivine-rich 'pyrolite' composition, whereas others have inferred that it is characterized by pyroxene- and garnet-rich compositions ('piclogite'), because the sound velocities in pyrolite estimated from laboratory data are substantially higher than those seismologically observed. Although the velocities of the olivine polymorphs at these pressures (wadsleyite and ringwoodite) have been well documented, those of majorite (another significant high-pressure phase in the mantle transition region) with realistic mantle compositions have never been measured. Here we use combined in situ X-ray and ultrasonic measurements under the pressure and temperature conditions of the mantle transition region to show that majorite in a pyrolite composition has sound velocities substantially lower than those of earlier estimates, owing to strong nonlinear decreases at high temperature, particularly for shear-wave velocity. We found that pyrolite yields seismic velocities more consistent with typical seismological models than those of piclogite in the upper to middle parts of the region, except for the potentially larger velocity jumps in pyrolite relative to those observed at a depth of 410 km. In contrast, both of these compositions lead to significantly low shear-wave velocities in the lower part of the region, suggesting possible subadiabatic temperatures or the existence of a layer of harzburgite-rich material supplied by the subducted slabs stagnant at these depths.     

Assessing the meridional atmosphere and ocean energy transport in a varying climate

Assessing the meridional atmosphere and ocean energy transport is one of the most classical problems in climate research.The meridional energy transport plays a critical role in maintaining the equilibrium of the earth system.Although the principle to calculate the meridional energy transport is simple,many fundamental questions remain unsolved.For example,what are the intrinsic mechanisms to maintain the hemispherically antisymmetric structure in the total energy transport? How on earth does the meridional energy transport partition between the atmosphere and ocean and,is there really a so-called "Bjerknes compensation" relationship between them? This relationship would provide us deep insight into the coupling mechanisms between the ocean and atmosphere in global scale.In this review we try to come out some important problems that are deserved in-depth investigations in current climate studies.     

微重力下气液两相流流型转换的通用关系式

为了预测微重力下气液两相流流型及其转变条件,综述了已有的微重力下气液两相流流型的研究工作,分析、比较了各种研究方法的特点和结果,对已公开发表的１７组微重力下流型的实验结果、共计８００多个实验点,以新的量纲为１的坐标进行重新整理,绘出了流型图。从两相流体内部相互作用力的角度,阐述了微重力下流型变迁的机理,分析了管径、流体粘度、表面张力等对流型转变的影响。以所有这些实验点为基础,拟合出了微重力下气液两相流流型转变的通用关系式。     

Slowing of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation at 25 degrees N

The Atlantic meridional overturning circulation carries warm upper waters into far-northern latitudes and returns cold deep waters southward across the Equator. Its heat transport makes a substantial contribution to the moderate climate of maritime and continental Europe, and any slowdown in the overturning circulation would have profound implications for climate change. A transatlantic section along latitude 25 degrees N has been used as a baseline for estimating the overturning circulation and associated heat transport. Here we analyse a new 25 degrees N transatlantic section and compare it with four previous sections taken over the past five decades. The comparison suggests that the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation has slowed by about 30 per cent between 1957 and 2004. Whereas the northward transport in the Gulf Stream across 25 degrees N has remained nearly constant, the slowing is evident both in a 50 per cent larger southward-moving mid-ocean recirculation of thermocline waters, and also in a 50 per cent decrease in the southward transport of lower North Atlantic Deep Water between 3,000 and 5,000 m in depth. In 2004, more of the northward Gulf Stream flow was recirculating back southward in the thermocline within the subtropical gyre, and less was returning southward at depth.     

开放型大尺度磁场对黑洞吸积盘过渡区能量的提取

在黑洞磁层理论的基础上,利用改进的等效电路方法推导出黑洞吸积盘过渡区的喷流功率的表达式(简称TL功率),并进一步比较TL与BZ、DL功率的相对重要性,结果表明:对于低自转黑洞,TL功率比BZ、DL功率明显占优势.此外,利用该文提出的模型获得的TL功率能很好地拟合两个3CRFRI射电星系的强喷流功率.     

Study of flow induced by winding-shaped plasma actuators

How to improve the performance of the plasma actuators is a problem that is of great interest to many scientific researchers in the field of electrohydrodynamics.Professor WANG LianZe and his group from the School of Aerospace,Tsinghua University,set out to investigate     

Relationship between real meridional volume transport and Sverdrup transport in the North Subtropical Pacific

The meridional volume transport (MVT) associated with the wind-driven gyre is an important index for ocean general circulations because it is closely related to the poleward oceanic heat transport. In particular, the mass transport by the subtropical gyre…     

颗粒物质剪切流动的类固-液转化特性及相变图的建立

颗粒物质类固-液相态间的转化现象广泛存在于工程地质、自然环境和工业生产等诸多领域,其力学特性在相态转化过程中会发生很大的变化,是目前颗粒物质力学研究的热点和难点.通过对颗粒物质类固-液转化过程中基本力学行为的研究,可建立表征颗粒物质类固-液转化的相变图,揭示类固-液转化的内在机理.颗粒物质的类固-液转化过程可大体分为两种,即阻塞与流动状态的转化,以及在流动过程中类固态与类液态力学行为的转化.本文以周期边界条件下的多分散颗粒系统为研究对象,采用离散单元方法数值模拟了单剪流动过程;分析了在不同体积分数和剪切速率下颗粒系统的平均应力、配位数、净接触时间数、有效摩擦系数、惯性指数和广义Savage数等宏观参数的分布规律;讨论了类固-液转化的内在机理,建立了一个以孔隙率、无量纲剪切应力和无量纲剪切速率为基本变量的相变图.该相变图不仅能够表征出颗粒物质由阻塞向流动状态的转变,同时也能够描述颗粒物质在剪切流动中发生类固-液转化的演化规律.     

喷管内高速流动天然气相变特性数值研究

在超声速旋流天然气分离器中,气流经过拉伐尔喷管绝热膨胀形成带液滴的超声速低温混合气流,喷管内的相变是实现天然气分离的关键.根据相变理论、气体动力学理论并考虑了实际气体的影响,建立了描述有相变的喷管中天然气高速流动的数学模型.研究了喷管内有相变的天然气的流动特性;计算了不同入口条件下的相变起始点位置和水蒸汽的凝析率;分析了当喷管入口温度一定时,相变起始点、水蒸汽凝析率与入口压力的关系.计算结果表明,随着入口压力的升高,相变起始点位置逐渐前移,水蒸汽凝析率逐渐增大,建立了一种预测超声速旋流分离器正常工作压力范围的方法.     

A novel fast algorithm of mono transition region determination with gray image

There is a transition region between objects and background in any gray image. Many valuable applications of image segmentation and edge detection based on transition region determination have been developed in recent years. But,the complexity of calculation for determining transition region is too high. It results in the very limitation of applications based on transition region. A new novel fast method for transition region determination is presented in this paper, which will reduce the complexity of calculation dramatically. Many experiments have showed that this algorithm is effective and correct and will lay a good foundation for applications based on transition region.     

论转型期城乡一体化发展--以无锡市锡山区为例

针对经济、社会、空间发展转型期城乡一体化进程面临的现实问题,予以解释,并对未来发展做出初步的判断.以锡山区为例,从城市化发展过程的基本特征和存在问题、城市化扩展动力和调整动力、农业经济的作用和农业产业化发展潜力、城镇和村庄合理规模等维度进行分析.提出城乡一体化的发展策略包括全力推进"三集中"建设、逐步改造"城中村"、推进乡村空间重构、加强异地城市化人口安置、加强农业的提升与转型、促进农村新型社区建设.