-
Exascale Hybrid Numerical-AI Ensembles for Operational Flood-Season Forecasting in East Asia: 15-km Decadal Hindcasts and 1-km High-Resolution Capability
Authors:
Mengxuan Chen,
Yunpu Xu,
Qiuyan Sun,
Han Zhang,
Jiayi Lai,
Zheng Zhou,
Juepeng Zheng,
Hongsong Meng,
Nan Wei,
Jinxiao Zhang,
Xiongchuan Tan,
Haodong Bian,
Yinan Cai,
Ge Yang,
Fang Wang,
Yunyun Liu,
Conghui He,
Runmin Dong,
Lanning Wang,
Yutong Lu,
Yongjiu Dai,
Haohuan Fu
Abstract:
Seasonal forecasting of summer rainfall in East Asia remains a grand challenge, as predictability at 3 to 6 month lead times is constrained by the spring predictability barrier, weak large-scale signals, and localized nonlinear convective extremes. We address this challenge with CAPES, which integrates a kilometer-resolution coupled regional model with atmosphere, land, and ocean components and a…
▽ More
Seasonal forecasting of summer rainfall in East Asia remains a grand challenge, as predictability at 3 to 6 month lead times is constrained by the spring predictability barrier, weak large-scale signals, and localized nonlinear convective extremes. We address this challenge with CAPES, which integrates a kilometer-resolution coupled regional model with atmosphere, land, and ocean components and a data-driven AI seasonal forecasting system. At 15 km resolution, the fused workflow combines 174 numerical members from varying start times, physics schemes, and parameter perturbations with 1,600 AI members generated from initial and physical perturbations. Using the full LineShine system, CAPES completes ten annual 1,774-member hindcasts for 2016 to 2025 within 14.6 hours, improving the mean prediction score from ECMWF's 71.8 to 75.9 and delivering a major gain in operational forecasting capability. The 1-km configuration further enables fine-scale typhoon simulation and establishes the feasibility of kilometer-scale fused ensemble forecasting on a one-week timescale.
△ Less
Submitted 29 June, 2026; v1 submitted 24 May, 2026;
originally announced May 2026.
-
Active Turbulence in Shear Thinning Fluid
Authors:
Hongyi Bian,
Chunhe Li,
Zixiang Lin,
Jin Zhu,
Weijie Chen,
Gaojin Li,
Yongxiang Huang,
Zijie Qu
Abstract:
The study of active matter system has critical importance in revealing the physical essence of biological collective behavior. Dense bacterial suspension - a typical biological active matter, exhibits a wide range of phenomenons, among which bacterial turbulence has received extensive interest in recent years. This seemingly chaotic motion is widely studied in Newtonian fluid. However, studies bas…
▽ More
The study of active matter system has critical importance in revealing the physical essence of biological collective behavior. Dense bacterial suspension - a typical biological active matter, exhibits a wide range of phenomenons, among which bacterial turbulence has received extensive interest in recent years. This seemingly chaotic motion is widely studied in Newtonian fluid. However, studies based on complex fluids have predominantly focused on viscoelastic effects, leaving the role of shear-thinning viscosity largely unexplored despite its prevalence in natural bacterial environments like mucus and gastric fluids. Here, we experimentally employed Ficoll and Methocel polymers to study the impacts of various viscosities by Newtonian fluid and shear-thinning effects by Non-Newtonian fluids on bacterial turbulence. We analyzed various physical properties, including energy, enstrophy, etc., and observed that the shear-thinning effect is significantly suppressed in high-concentration bacterial suspensions. While the ordered arrangement of polymer chains under shear flow leads to the microscopic anisotropic viscosity, the suppression is largely attributed to the disruption of polymer chains caused by strong inter bacterial interactions in dense suspensions. To validate this hypothesis, we conducted experiments at a lower bacterial concentration and verified the findings using theoretical calculations based on the modified Resistive Force Theory.
△ Less
Submitted 1 November, 2025; v1 submitted 5 March, 2025;
originally announced March 2025.
-
Hydrodynamic interaction leads to the accumulation of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii near a solid-liquid interface
Authors:
Chunhe Li,
Hongyi Bian,
Yateng Qiao,
Jin Zhu,
Zijie Qu
Abstract:
The physical mechanism of microbial motion near solid-liquid interfaces is crucial for understanding various biological phenomena and developing ecological applications. However, limited works have been conducted on the swimming behavior of C. reinhardtii, a typical "puller" type cell, near solid surfaces, particularly with varying and conflicting experimental observations. Here, we investigate th…
▽ More
The physical mechanism of microbial motion near solid-liquid interfaces is crucial for understanding various biological phenomena and developing ecological applications. However, limited works have been conducted on the swimming behavior of C. reinhardtii, a typical "puller" type cell, near solid surfaces, particularly with varying and conflicting experimental observations. Here, we investigate the swimming behavior of C.reinhardtii using a three-dimensional real-time tracking microscopy system both near a solid-liquid interface and in the fluid bulk region. We explore the relationships between the cell density, swimming speed and orientation with respect to the distance from the solid-liquid interface, confirming the phenomenon of C. reinhardtii accumulation near the solid-liquid interface. Based on the traditional definitions of "pusher" and "puller" cells, we propose a simplified model consisting of two pairs of mutually perpendicular force dipoles for C. reinhardtii. This model is employed to analyze the complex hydrodynamic interactions between C. reinhardtii and the solid surface, providing a potential theoretical explanation for the observed accumulation phenomenon at the solid-liquid interface.
△ Less
Submitted 29 October, 2024;
originally announced November 2024.
-
Propulsion Contribution from Individual Filament in Flagellar Bundle
Authors:
Jin Zhu,
Yateng Qiao,
Lingchun Yan,
Yan Zeng,
Yibo Wu,
Hongyi Bian,
Yidi Huang,
Yuxin Ye,
Yingyue Huang,
Russell Hii Ching Wei,
Yinuo Teng,
Yunlong Guo,
Gaojin Li,
Zijie Qu
Abstract:
Flagellated microorganisms overcome the low-Reynolds-number time reversibility by rotating helical flagella. For peritrichous bacteria, such as Escherichia coli, the randomly distributed flagellar filaments align along the same direction to form a bundle, facilitating complex locomotive strategies. To understand the process of flagella bundling, especially the propulsion force, we develop a multi-…
▽ More
Flagellated microorganisms overcome the low-Reynolds-number time reversibility by rotating helical flagella. For peritrichous bacteria, such as Escherichia coli, the randomly distributed flagellar filaments align along the same direction to form a bundle, facilitating complex locomotive strategies. To understand the process of flagella bundling, especially the propulsion force, we develop a multi-functional macroscopic experimental system and employ advanced numerical simulations for verification. Flagella arrangements and phase differences between helices are investigated, revealing the variation in propulsion contribution from the individual helix. Numerically, we build a time-dependent model to match the bundling process and study the influence of hydrodynamic interactions. Surprisingly, it is found that the total propulsion generated by a bundle of two filaments is constant at various phase differences between the helices. However, the difference between the propulsion from each helix is significantly affected by the phase difference, and only one of the helices is responsible for the total propulsion at a phase difference equals to pi. Through our experimental and computational results, we provide a new model considering the propulsion contribution of each filament to better understand microbial locomotion mechanisms, especially on the wobbling behavior of the cell. Our work also sheds light on the design and control of artificial microswimmers.
△ Less
Submitted 23 July, 2024;
originally announced July 2024.
-
One-step synthesis of mesoporous Cobalt sulfides (CoSx) on the metal substrate as an efficient bifunctional electrode for overall water splitting
Authors:
Haidong Bian,
Tongyuan Chen,
Zhixuan Chen,
Zebiao Li,
Peng Du,
Binbin Zhou,
Xierong Zeng,
Jiaoning Tang,
Chen Liu
Abstract:
Electrocatalysts based on transition metal sulfides are drawing accelerating concerns in renewable energy research because of their intrinsically excellent activities towards both hydrogen evolution reaction and oxygen evolution reaction. To date, considerable efforts are made to improve the performance of these catalysts, but ignoring the improper synthesis strategy would incur additional cost to…
▽ More
Electrocatalysts based on transition metal sulfides are drawing accelerating concerns in renewable energy research because of their intrinsically excellent activities towards both hydrogen evolution reaction and oxygen evolution reaction. To date, considerable efforts are made to improve the performance of these catalysts, but ignoring the improper synthesis strategy would incur additional cost to the catalyst. Herein, a convenient, one-step anodization method is developed for fast construction of cobalt sulfides. Without any high-temperature or long-time treatment, mesoporous CoSx is self-grown on the metal substrate in minutes. As a result, as-anodic CoSx requires overpotentials of 102 mV for HER and 284 mV for OER to achieve a current density of 10 mA m-2 in alkaline solution. Moreover, the tandem bifunctional as-anodic CoSx exhibits a required cell voltage of 1.64 V for overall water splitting in alkaline solution, exceeding most of the documented Co-based electrocatalysts.
△ Less
Submitted 27 February, 2021;
originally announced March 2021.
-
Solar Flare Energy Partitioning and Transport -- the Impulsive Phase (a Heliophysics 2050 White Paper)
Authors:
Graham S. Kerr,
Meriem Alaoui,
Joel C. Allred,
Nicholas H. Bian,
Brian R. Dennis,
A. Gordon Emslie,
Lyndsay Fletcher,
Silvina Guidoni,
Laura A. Hayes,
Gordon D. Holman,
Hugh S. Hudson,
Judith T. Karpen,
Adam F. Kowalski,
Ryan O. Milligan,
Vanessa Polito,
Jiong Qiu,
Daniel F. Ryan
Abstract:
Solar flares are a fundamental component of solar eruptive events (SEEs; along with solar energetic particles, SEPs, and coronal mass ejections, CMEs). Flares are the first component of the SEE to impact our atmosphere, which can set the stage for the arrival of the associated SEPs and CME. Magnetic reconnection drives SEEs by restructuring the solar coronal magnetic field, liberating a tremendous…
▽ More
Solar flares are a fundamental component of solar eruptive events (SEEs; along with solar energetic particles, SEPs, and coronal mass ejections, CMEs). Flares are the first component of the SEE to impact our atmosphere, which can set the stage for the arrival of the associated SEPs and CME. Magnetic reconnection drives SEEs by restructuring the solar coronal magnetic field, liberating a tremendous amount of energy which is partitioned into various physical manifestations: particle acceleration, mass and magnetic-field eruption, atmospheric heating, and the subsequent emission of radiation as solar flares. To explain and ultimately predict these geoeffective events, the heliophysics community requires a comprehensive understanding of the processes that transform and distribute stored magnetic energy into other forms, including the broadband radiative enhancement that characterises flares. This white paper, submitted to the Heliophysics 2050 Workshop, discusses the flare impulsive phase part of SEEs, setting out the questions that need addressing via a combination of theoretical, modelling, and observational research. In short, by 2050 we must determine the mechanisms of particle acceleration and propagation, and must push beyond the paradigm of energy transport via nonthermal electron beams, to also account for accelerated protons & ions and downward directed Alfven waves.
△ Less
Submitted 17 September, 2020;
originally announced September 2020.
-
Forming a highly active, homogeneously alloyed AuPt co-catalyst decoration on O2 nanotubes directly during anodic growth
Authors:
Haidong Bian,
Nhat Truong Nguyen,
JeongEun Yoo,
Seyedsina Hejazi,
Shiva Mohajernia,
Julian Mueller,
Erdmann Spiecker,
Hiroaki Tsuchiya,
Ondrej Tomanec,
Beatriz E. Sanabria-Arenas,
Radek Zboril,
Yang Yang Li,
Patrik Schmuki
Abstract:
Au and Pt do not form homogeneous bulk alloys as they are thermodynamically not miscible. However, we show that anodic TiO$_2$ nanotubes (NTs) can in-situ be uniformly decorated with homogeneous AuPt alloy nanoparticles (NPs) during their anodic growth. For this, a metallic Ti substrate containing low amounts of dissolved Au (0.1 at%) and Pt (0.1 at%) is used for anodizing. The matrix metal (Ti) i…
▽ More
Au and Pt do not form homogeneous bulk alloys as they are thermodynamically not miscible. However, we show that anodic TiO$_2$ nanotubes (NTs) can in-situ be uniformly decorated with homogeneous AuPt alloy nanoparticles (NPs) during their anodic growth. For this, a metallic Ti substrate containing low amounts of dissolved Au (0.1 at%) and Pt (0.1 at%) is used for anodizing. The matrix metal (Ti) is converted to oxide while at the oxide/metal interface direct noble metal particle formation and alloying of Au and Pt takes place; continuously these particles are then picked up by the growing nanotube wall. In our experiments the AuPt alloy NPs have an average size of 4.2 nm and, at the end of the anodic process, are regularly dispersed over the TiO$_2$ nanotubes. These alloyed AuPt particles act as excellent co-catalyst in photocatalytic H2 generation - with a H2 production of 12.04 μL h-1 under solar light. This represents a strongly enhanced activity as compared with TiO$_2$ NTs decorated with monometallic particles of Au (7 μL h-1) or Pt (9.96 μL h-1).
△ Less
Submitted 14 April, 2020;
originally announced April 2020.
-
Imaging Spectroscopy of Solar Radio Burst Fine Structures
Authors:
E. P. Kontar,
S. Yu,
A. A. Kuznetsov,
A. G. Emslie,
B. Alcock,
N. L. S. Jeffrey,
V. N. Melnik,
N. H. Bian,
P. Subramanian
Abstract:
Solar radio observations provide a unique diagnostic of the outer solar atmosphere. However, the inhomogeneous turbulent corona strongly affects the propagation of the emitted radio waves, so decoupling the intrinsic properties of the emitting source from the effects of radio-wave propagation has long been a major challenge in solar physics. Here we report quantitative spatial and frequency charac…
▽ More
Solar radio observations provide a unique diagnostic of the outer solar atmosphere. However, the inhomogeneous turbulent corona strongly affects the propagation of the emitted radio waves, so decoupling the intrinsic properties of the emitting source from the effects of radio-wave propagation has long been a major challenge in solar physics. Here we report quantitative spatial and frequency characterization of solar radio burst fine structures observed with the LOw Frequency Array (LOFAR), an instrument with high time resolution that also permits imaging at scales much shorter than those corresponding to radio-wave propagation in the corona. The observations demonstrate that radio-wave propagation effects, and not the properties of the intrinsic emission source, dominate the observed spatial characteristics of radio burst images. These results permit more accurate estimates of source brightness temperatures, and open opportunities for quantitative study of the mechanisms that create the turbulent coronal medium through which the emitted radiation propagates.
△ Less
Submitted 21 February, 2018; v1 submitted 22 August, 2017;
originally announced August 2017.
-
Turbulent kinetic energy in the energy balance of a solar flare
Authors:
E. P. Kontar,
J. E. Perez,
L. K. Harra,
A. A. Kuznetsov,
A. G. Emslie,
N. L. S. Jeffrey,
N. H. Bian,
B. R. Dennis
Abstract:
The energy released in solar flares derives from a reconfiguration of magnetic fields to a lower energy state, and is manifested in several forms, including bulk kinetic energy of the coronal mass ejection, acceleration of electrons and ions, and enhanced thermal energy that is ultimately radiated away across the electromagnetic spectrum from optical to X-rays. Using an unprecedented set of coordi…
▽ More
The energy released in solar flares derives from a reconfiguration of magnetic fields to a lower energy state, and is manifested in several forms, including bulk kinetic energy of the coronal mass ejection, acceleration of electrons and ions, and enhanced thermal energy that is ultimately radiated away across the electromagnetic spectrum from optical to X-rays. Using an unprecedented set of coordinated observations, from a suite of instruments, we here report on a hitherto largely overlooked energy component -- the kinetic energy associated with small-scale turbulent mass motions. We show that the spatial location of, and timing of the peak in, turbulent kinetic energy together provide persuasive evidence that turbulent energy may play a key role in the transfer of energy in solar flares. Although the kinetic energy of turbulent motions accounts, at any given time, for only $\sim (0.5-1)$\% of the energy released, its relatively rapid ($\sim$$1-10$~s) energization and dissipation causes the associated throughput of energy (i.e., power) to rival that of major components of the released energy in solar flares, and thus presumably in other astrophysical acceleration sites.
△ Less
Submitted 7 March, 2017;
originally announced March 2017.
-
The role of diffusion in the transport of energetic electrons during solar flares
Authors:
Nicolas H. Bian,
A. Gordon Emslie,
Eduard P. Kontar
Abstract:
The transport of the energy contained in suprathermal electrons in solar flares plays a key role in our understanding of many aspects of flare physics, from the spatial distributions of hard X-ray emission and energy deposition in the ambient atmosphere to global energetics. Historically the transport of these particles has been largely treated through a deterministic approach, in which first-orde…
▽ More
The transport of the energy contained in suprathermal electrons in solar flares plays a key role in our understanding of many aspects of flare physics, from the spatial distributions of hard X-ray emission and energy deposition in the ambient atmosphere to global energetics. Historically the transport of these particles has been largely treated through a deterministic approach, in which first-order secular energy loss to electrons in the ambient target is treated as the dominant effect, with second-order diffusive terms (in both energy and angle) being generally either treated as a small correction or even neglected. We here critically analyze this approach, and we show that spatial diffusion through pitch-angle scattering necessarily plays a very significant role in the transport of electrons. We further show that a satisfactory treatment of the diffusion process requires consideration of non-local effects, so that the electron flux depends not just on the local gradient of the electron distribution function but on the value of this gradient within an extended region encompassing a significant fraction of a mean free path. Our analysis applies generally to pitch-angle scattering by a variety of mechanisms, from Coulomb collisions to turbulent scattering. We further show that the spatial transport of electrons along the magnetic field of a flaring loop can be modeled rather effectively as a Continuous Time Random Walk with velocity-dependent probability distribution functions of jump sizes and occurrences, both of which can be expressed in terms of the scattering mean free path.
△ Less
Submitted 30 December, 2016;
originally announced December 2016.
-
Suppression of parallel transport in turbulent magnetized plasmas and its impact on non-thermal and thermal aspects of solar flares
Authors:
Nicolas H. Bian,
Eduard P. Kontar,
A. Gordon Emslie
Abstract:
The transport of the energy contained in electrons, both thermal and suprathermal, in solar flares plays a key role in our understanding of many aspects of the flare phenomenon, from the spatial distribution of hard X-ray emission to global energetics. Motivated by recent {\em RHESSI} observations that point to the existence of a mechanism that confines electrons to the coronal parts of flare loop…
▽ More
The transport of the energy contained in electrons, both thermal and suprathermal, in solar flares plays a key role in our understanding of many aspects of the flare phenomenon, from the spatial distribution of hard X-ray emission to global energetics. Motivated by recent {\em RHESSI} observations that point to the existence of a mechanism that confines electrons to the coronal parts of flare loops more effectively than Coulomb collisions, we here consider the impact of pitch-angle scattering off turbulent magnetic fluctuations on the parallel transport of electrons in flaring coronal loops. It is shown that the presence of such a scattering mechanism in addition to Coulomb collisional scattering can significantly reduce the parallel thermal and electrical conductivities relative to their collisional values. We provide illustrative expressions for the resulting thermoelectric coefficients that relate the thermal flux and electrical current density to the temperature gradient and the applied electric field. We then evaluate the effect of these modified transport coefficients on the flare coronal temperature that can be attained, on the post-impulsive-phase cooling of heated coronal plasma, and on the importance of the beam-neutralizing return current on both ambient heating and the energy loss rate of accelerated electrons. We also discuss the possible ways in which anomalous transport processes have an impact on the required overall energy associated with accelerated electrons in solar flares.
△ Less
Submitted 29 March, 2016;
originally announced March 2016.
-
Resonance broadening due to particle scattering and mode-coupling in the quasi-linear relaxation of electron beams
Authors:
Nicolas H. Bian,
Eduard P. Kontar,
Heather Ratcliffe
Abstract:
Of particular interest for radio and hard X-ray diagnostics of accelerated electrons during solar flares is the understanding of the basic non-linear mechanisms regulating the relaxation of electron beams propagating in turbulent plasmas. In this work, it is shown that in addition to scattering of beam electrons, scattering of the beam-generated Langmuir waves via for instance mode-coupling, can a…
▽ More
Of particular interest for radio and hard X-ray diagnostics of accelerated electrons during solar flares is the understanding of the basic non-linear mechanisms regulating the relaxation of electron beams propagating in turbulent plasmas. In this work, it is shown that in addition to scattering of beam electrons, scattering of the beam-generated Langmuir waves via for instance mode-coupling, can also result in broadening of the wave-particle resonance. We obtain a resonance-broadened version of weak-turbulence theory with mode-coupling to ion-sound modes. Resonance broadening is presented here as a unified framework which can quantitatively account for the reduction and possible suppression of the beam instability due to background scattering of the beam electrons themselves or due to scattering of the beam-generated Langmuir waves in fluctuating plasmas. Resonance broadening being essentially equivalent to smoothing of the electron phase-space distribution, it is used to construct an intuitive physical picture for the stability of inverted populations of fast electrons that are commonly observed \emph{in-situ} to propagate in the solar-wind.
△ Less
Submitted 5 March, 2015;
originally announced March 2015.
-
The Formation of Kappa-Distribution Accelerated Electron Populations in Solar Flares
Authors:
Nicolas H. Bian,
A. Gordon Emslie,
Duncan J. Stackhouse,
Eduard P. Kontar
Abstract:
Driven by recent RHESSI observations of confined loop-top hard X-ray sources in solar flares, we consider stochastic acceleration of electrons in the presence of Coulomb collisions. If electron escape from the acceleration region can be neglected, the electron distribution function is determined by a balance between diffusive acceleration and collisions. Such a scenario admits a stationary solutio…
▽ More
Driven by recent RHESSI observations of confined loop-top hard X-ray sources in solar flares, we consider stochastic acceleration of electrons in the presence of Coulomb collisions. If electron escape from the acceleration region can be neglected, the electron distribution function is determined by a balance between diffusive acceleration and collisions. Such a scenario admits a stationary solution for the electron distribution function that takes the form of a kappa distribution. We show that the evolution toward this kappa distribution involves a "wave front" propagating forwards in velocity space, so that electrons of higher energy are accelerated later; the acceleration time scales with energy according to $τ_{\rm acc} \sim E^{3/2}$. At sufficiently high energies escape from the finite-length acceleration region will eventually dominate. For such energies, the electron velocity distribution function is obtained by solving a time-dependent Fokker-Planck equation in the "leaky-box" approximation. Solutions are obtained in the limit of a small escape rate from an acceleration region that can effectively be considered a thick target.
△ Less
Submitted 7 October, 2014; v1 submitted 3 October, 2014;
originally announced October 2014.
-
On the variation of solar flare coronal x-ray source sizes with energy
Authors:
Natasha L. S. Jeffrey,
Eduard P. Kontar,
Nicolas H. Bian,
A. Gordon Emslie
Abstract:
Observations with {\em RHESSI} have enabled the detailed study of the structure of dense hard X-ray coronal sources in solar flares. The variation of source extent with electron energy has been discussed in the context of streaming of non-thermal particles in a one-dimensional cold-target model, and the results used to constrain both the physical extent of, and density within, the electron acceler…
▽ More
Observations with {\em RHESSI} have enabled the detailed study of the structure of dense hard X-ray coronal sources in solar flares. The variation of source extent with electron energy has been discussed in the context of streaming of non-thermal particles in a one-dimensional cold-target model, and the results used to constrain both the physical extent of, and density within, the electron acceleration region. Here we extend this investigation to a more physically realistic model of electron transport that takes into account the finite temperature of the ambient plasma, the initial pitch-angle distribution of the accelerated electrons, and the effects of collisional pitch-angle scattering. The finite temperature results in the thermal diffusion of electrons, that leads to the observationally-inferred value of the acceleration region volume being an overestimate of its true value. The different directions of the electron trajectories, a consequence of both the non-zero injection pitch-angle and scattering within the target, cause the projected propagation distance parallel to the guiding magnetic field to be reduced, so that a one-dimensional interpretation can overestimate the actual density by a factor of up to $\sim 6$. The implications of these results for the determination of acceleration region properties (specific acceleration rate, filling factor, etc.) are discussed.
△ Less
Submitted 7 April, 2014;
originally announced April 2014.
-
Self-organized Voids Revisited: Experimental Verification of the Formation Mechanism*
Authors:
Juan Song,
Junyi Ye,
Mengdi Qian,
Fangfang Luo,
Xian Li,
Huadong Bian,
Ye Dai,
Guo-hong Ma,
Qingxi Chen,
Yan Jiang,
Quanzhong Zhao,
Jianrong Qiu
Abstract:
In this paper, several experiments were conducted to further clarify the formation mechanism of self organized void array induced by a single laser beam, including energy-related experiments, refractive-index-contrast-related experiments, depth-related experiments and effective-numerical-aperture experiment. These experiments indicate that the interface spherical aberration is indeed responsible f…
▽ More
In this paper, several experiments were conducted to further clarify the formation mechanism of self organized void array induced by a single laser beam, including energy-related experiments, refractive-index-contrast-related experiments, depth-related experiments and effective-numerical-aperture experiment. These experiments indicate that the interface spherical aberration is indeed responsible for the formation of void arrays.
△ Less
Submitted 17 January, 2014;
originally announced January 2014.
-
Turbulent pitch-angle scattering and diffusive transport of hard-X-ray producing electrons in flaring coronal loops
Authors:
E. P. Kontar,
N. H. Bian,
A. G. Emslie,
N. Vilmer
Abstract:
Recent observations from {\em RHESSI} have revealed that the number of non-thermal electrons in the coronal part of a flaring loop can exceed the number of electrons required to explain the hard X-ray-emitting footpoints of the same flaring loop. Such sources cannot, therefore, be interpreted on the basis of the standard collisional transport model, in which electrons stream along the loop while l…
▽ More
Recent observations from {\em RHESSI} have revealed that the number of non-thermal electrons in the coronal part of a flaring loop can exceed the number of electrons required to explain the hard X-ray-emitting footpoints of the same flaring loop. Such sources cannot, therefore, be interpreted on the basis of the standard collisional transport model, in which electrons stream along the loop while losing their energy through collisions with the ambient plasma; additional physical processes, to either trap or scatter the energetic electrons, are required. Motivated by this and other observations that suggest that high energy electrons are confined to the coronal region of the source, we consider turbulent pitch angle scattering of fast electrons off low frequency magnetic fluctuations as a confinement mechanism, modeled as a spatial diffusion parallel to the mean magnetic field. In general, turbulent scattering leads to a reduction of the collisional stopping distance of non-thermal electrons along the loop and hence to an enhancement of the coronal HXR source relative to the footpoints. The variation of source size $L$ with electron energy $E$ becomes weaker than the quadratic behavior pertinent to collisional transport, with the slope of $L(E)$ depending directly on the mean free path $λ$ again pitch angle scattering. Comparing the predictions of the model with observations, we find that $λ\sim$$(10^8-10^9)$ cm for $\sim30$ keV, less than the length of a typical flaring loop and smaller than, or comparable to, the size of the electron acceleration region.
△ Less
Submitted 25 December, 2013; v1 submitted 1 December, 2013;
originally announced December 2013.
-
Density fluctuations and the acceleration of electrons by beam-generated Langmuir waves in the solar corona
Authors:
Heather Ratcliffe,
Nicolas H. Bian,
Eduard P. Kontar
Abstract:
Non-thermal electron populations are observed throughout the heliosphere. The relaxation of an electron beam is known to produce Langmuir waves which, in turn, may substantially modify the electron distribution function. As the Langmuir waves are refracted by background density gradients and as the solar and heliospheric plasma density is naturally perturbed with various levels of inhomogeneity, t…
▽ More
Non-thermal electron populations are observed throughout the heliosphere. The relaxation of an electron beam is known to produce Langmuir waves which, in turn, may substantially modify the electron distribution function. As the Langmuir waves are refracted by background density gradients and as the solar and heliospheric plasma density is naturally perturbed with various levels of inhomogeneity, the interaction of Langmuir waves with non-thermal electrons in inhomogeneous plasmas is an important topic. We investigate the role played by ambient density fluctuations on the beam-plasma relaxation, focusing on the effect of acceleration of beam electrons. The scattering of Langmuir waves off turbulent density fluctuations is modeled as a wavenumber diffusion process which is implemented in numerical simulations of the one-dimensional quasilinear kinetic equations describing the beam relaxation. The results show that a substantial number of beam electrons are accelerated when the diffusive time scale in wavenumber space τ_D is of the order of the quasilinear time scale τ_ql, while when τ_D << τ_ql, the beam relaxation is suppressed. Plasma inhomogeneities are therefore an important means of energy redistribution for waves and hence electrons, and so must be taken into account when interpreting, for example, hard X-ray or Type III emission from flare-accelerated electrons.
△ Less
Submitted 12 November, 2012;
originally announced November 2012.
-
Wave-particle interactions in non-uniform plasma and the interpretation of Hard X-ray spectra in solar flares
Authors:
E. P. Kontar,
H. Ratcliffe,
N. H. Bian
Abstract:
Context. High energy electrons accelerated during solar flare are abundant in the solar corona and in the interplanetary space. Commonly, the number and the energy of non-thermal electrons at the Sun is estimated using hard X-ray (HXR) spectral observations (e.g. RHESSI) and a single-particle collisional approximation. Aims. To investigate the role of the spectrally evolving Langmuir turbulence on…
▽ More
Context. High energy electrons accelerated during solar flare are abundant in the solar corona and in the interplanetary space. Commonly, the number and the energy of non-thermal electrons at the Sun is estimated using hard X-ray (HXR) spectral observations (e.g. RHESSI) and a single-particle collisional approximation. Aims. To investigate the role of the spectrally evolving Langmuir turbulence on the population of energetic electrons in the solar corona. Methods. We numerically simulate the relaxation of a power-law non-thermal electron population in a collisional inhomogeneous plasma including wave-particle, and wave-wave interactions. Results. The numerical simulations show that the long-time evolution of electron population above 20 keV deviates substantially from the collisional approximation when wave-particle interactions in non-uniform plasma are taken into account. The evolution of Langmuir wave spectrum towards smaller wavenumbers, due to large-scale density fluctuations and wave-wave interactions, leads to an effective acceleration of electrons. Furthermore, the time-integrated spectrum of non-thermal electrons, which is normally observed with HXR above 20 keV, is noticeably increased due to acceleration of non-thermal electrons by Langmuir waves. Conclusions. The results show that the observed HXR spectrum, when interpreted in terms of collisional relaxation, can lead to an overestimated number and energy of energetic electrons accelerated in the corona.
△ Less
Submitted 19 December, 2011;
originally announced December 2011.
-
Acceleration, magnetic fluctuations and cross-field transport of energetic electrons in a solar flare loop
Authors:
E. P. Kontar,
I. G. Hannah,
N. H. Bian
Abstract:
Plasma turbulence is thought to be associated with various physical processes involved in solar flares, including magnetic reconnection, particle acceleration and transport. Using Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager ({\it RHESSI}) observations and the X-ray visibility analysis, we determine the spatial and spectral distributions of energetic electrons for a flare (GOES M3.7 class, April…
▽ More
Plasma turbulence is thought to be associated with various physical processes involved in solar flares, including magnetic reconnection, particle acceleration and transport. Using Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager ({\it RHESSI}) observations and the X-ray visibility analysis, we determine the spatial and spectral distributions of energetic electrons for a flare (GOES M3.7 class, April 14, 2002 23$:$55 UT), which was previously found to be consistent with a reconnection scenario. It is demonstrated that because of the high density plasma in the loop, electrons have to be continuously accelerated about the loop apex of length $\sim 2\times 10^9$cm and width $\sim 7\times 10^8$cm. Energy dependent transport of tens of keV electrons is observed to occur both along and across the guiding magnetic field of the loop. We show that the cross-field transport is consistent with the presence of magnetic turbulence in the loop, where electrons are accelerated, and estimate the magnitude of the field line diffusion coefficient for different phases of the flare. The energy density of magnetic fluctuations is calculated for given magnetic field correlation lengths and is larger than the energy density of the non-thermal electrons. The level of magnetic fluctuations peaks when the largest number of electrons is accelerated and is below detectability or absent at the decay phase. These hard X-ray observations provide the first observational evidence that magnetic turbulence governs the evolution of energetic electrons in a dense flaring loop and is suggestive of their turbulent acceleration.
△ Less
Submitted 17 February, 2011;
originally announced February 2011.
-
Spectroscopic Evidence for the Specific Na+ and K+ Interactions with the Hydrogen-bonded Water Molecules at the Electrolyte Aqueous Solution Surfaces
Authors:
Ran-ran Feng,
Hong-tao Bian,
Yuan Guo,
Hong-fei Wang*
Abstract:
Sum frequency generation vibrational spectra of the water molecules at the NaF and KF aqueous solution surfaces showed significantly different spectral features and different concentration dependence. This result is the first direct observation of the cation effects of the simple alkali cations, which have been believed to be depleted from the aqueous surface, on the hydrogen bonding structure o…
▽ More
Sum frequency generation vibrational spectra of the water molecules at the NaF and KF aqueous solution surfaces showed significantly different spectral features and different concentration dependence. This result is the first direct observation of the cation effects of the simple alkali cations, which have been believed to be depleted from the aqueous surface, on the hydrogen bonding structure of the water molecules at the electrolyte solution surfaces. These observations may provide important clue to understand the fundamental phenomenon of ions at the air/water interface.
△ Less
Submitted 14 December, 2008;
originally announced December 2008.
-
Specific Na+ and K+ Cation Effects on the Interfacial Water Molecules at the Air/Aqueous Salt Solution Interfaces Probed with Non-resonant Second Harmonic Generation (SHG)
Authors:
Hong-tao Bian,
Ran-ran Feng,
Yuan Guo,
Hong-fei Wang
Abstract:
Here we report the polarization dependent non-resonant second harmonic generation (SHG) measurement of the interfacial water molecules at the aqueous solution of the following salts: NaF, NaCl, NaBr, KF, KCl, and KBr. Through quantitative polarization analysis of the SHG data,the orientational parameter D value and the relative surface density of the interfacial water molecules at these aqueous…
▽ More
Here we report the polarization dependent non-resonant second harmonic generation (SHG) measurement of the interfacial water molecules at the aqueous solution of the following salts: NaF, NaCl, NaBr, KF, KCl, and KBr. Through quantitative polarization analysis of the SHG data,the orientational parameter D value and the relative surface density of the interfacial water molecules at these aqueous solution surfaces were determined. From these results we found that addition of each of the six salts caused increase of the thickness of the interfacial water layer at the surfaces to a certain extent. Noticeably, both the cations and the anions contributed to the changes, and the abilities to increase the thickness of the interfacial water layer were in the following order: KBr > NaBr > KCl > NaCl ~ NaF > KF. Since these changes can not be factorized into individual anion and cation contributions, there are possible ion pairing or association effects, especially for the NaF case. We also found that the orientational parameter D values of the interfacial water molecules changed to opposite directions for the aqueous solutions of the three sodium salts versus the aqueous solutions of the three potassium salts. These findings clearly indicated unexpected specific Na+ and K+ cation effects at the aqueous solution surface. These effects were not anticipated from the recent molecular dynamics (MD) simulation results, which concluded that the Na+ and K+ cations can be treated as small non-polarizable hard ions and they are repelled from the aqueous interfaces. These results suggest that the electrolyte aqueous solution surfaces are more complex than the currently prevalent theoretical and experimental understandings.
△ Less
Submitted 14 December, 2008;
originally announced December 2008.
-
A New Type of Two-photon Forward Radiation in Pure Liquids
Authors:
Hong-tao Bian,
Yi Rao,
Yan-yan Xu,
An-an Liu,
Yuan Guo,
Hong-fei Wang
Abstract:
Unexpected spectral features are observed in the two photon spectrum of the pure water in the forward direction when an 80 femtosecond laser pulse is focused at 10^10Wcm-2 or less. Such intensity is much lower than the breakdown or stimulated threshold of the liquid water. The two broad features are about 2700cm-1 and 5000cm-1 red shifted from the hyper-Rayleigh wavelength, respectively, and the…
▽ More
Unexpected spectral features are observed in the two photon spectrum of the pure water in the forward direction when an 80 femtosecond laser pulse is focused at 10^10Wcm-2 or less. Such intensity is much lower than the breakdown or stimulated threshold of the liquid water. The two broad features are about 2700cm-1 and 5000cm-1 red shifted from the hyper-Rayleigh wavelength, respectively, and they are quadratic with the laser intensity. They do not match the known Raman or hyper-Raman frequencies of water, and they are both centered at a narrow angle in the forward direction. Several other liquids also exhibited similar but molecular specific spectral features.
△ Less
Submitted 16 June, 2007;
originally announced June 2007.