arXiv subjects

J. C. Brown

Publications and source records attributed to J. C. Brown.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2010

Parallel electric field generation by Alfven wave turbulence

{This work aims to investigate the spectral structure of the parallel electric field generated by strong anisotropic and balanced Alfvenic turbulence in relation with the problem of electron acceleration from the thermal population in solar flare plasma conditions.} {We consider anisotropic Alfvenic fluctuations in the presence of a strong background magnetic field. Exploiting this anisotropy, a set of reduced equations governing non-linear, two-fluid plasma dynamics is derived. The low-$β$ limit of this model is used to follow the turbulent cascade of the energy resulting from the non-linear interaction between kinetic Alfven waves, from the large magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) scales with $k_{\perp}ρ_{s}\ll 1$ down to the small "kinetic" scales with $k_{\perp}ρ_{s} \gg 1$, $ρ_{s}$ being the ion sound gyroradius.} {Scaling relations are obtained for the magnitude of the turbulent electromagnetic fluctuations, as a function of $k_{\perp}$ and $k_{\parallel}$, showing that the electric field develops a component parallel to the magnetic field at large MHD scales.} {The spectrum we derive for the parallel electric field fluctuations can be effectively used to model stochastic resonant acceleration and heating of electrons by Alfven waves in solar flare plasma conditions}

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arXiv2010

Thermalisation and hard X-ray bremsstrahlung efficiency of self-interacting solar flare fast electrons

Most theoretical descriptions of the production of solar flare bremsstrahlung radiation assume the collision of dilute accelerated particles with a cold, dense target plasma, neglecting interactions of the fast particles with each other. This is inadequate for situations where collisions with this background plasma are not completely dominant, as may be the case in, for example, low-density coronal sources. We aim to formulate a model of a self-interacting, entirely fast electron population in the absence of a dense background plasma, to investigate its implications for observed bremsstrahlung spectra and the flare energy budget. We derive approximate expressions for the time-dependent distribution function of the fast electrons using a Fokker-Planck approach. We use these expressions to generate synthetic bremsstrahlung X-ray spectra as would be seen from a corresponding coronal source. We find that our model qualitatively reproduces the observed behaviour of some flares. As the flare progresses, the model's initial power-law spectrum is joined by a lower energy, thermal component. The power-law component diminishes, and the growing thermal component proceeds to dominate the total emission over timescales consistent with flare observations. The power-law exhibits progressive spectral hardening, as is seen in some flare coronal sources. We also find that our model requires a factor of 7 - 10 fewer accelerated electrons than the cold, thick target model to generate an equivalent hard X-ray flux. This model forms the basis of a treatment of self-interactions among flare fast electrons, a process which affords a more efficient means to produce bremsstrahlung photons and so may reduce the efficiency requirements placed on the particle acceleration mechanism. It also provides a useful description of the thermalisation of fast electrons in coronal sources.

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arXiv2010

Revised Results for Non-thermal Recombination Flare Hard X-Ray Emission

Brown and Mallik (BM) recently showed that, for hot sources, recombination of non-thermal electrons (NTR) onto highly ionised heavy ions is not negligible compared to non-thermal bremsstrahlung (NTB) as a source of flare hard X-rays (HXRs) and so should be included in modelling non-thermal HXR flare emission. In view of major discrepancies between BM results for the THERMAL continua and those of the Chianti code and of RHESSI solar data, we critically re-examine and correct the BM analysis and modify the conclusions concerning the importance of NTR. Although the analytic Kramers expression used by BM is correct for the purely hydrogenic recombination cross section, the heuristic expressions used by BM to extend the Kramers expression beyond the `bare nucleus' case to which it applies had serious errors. BM results have therefore been recalculated using corrected expressions, which have been validated against the results of detailed calculations. At T ~ 10-30 MK the dominant ions are Fe 22+, 23+, 24+ for which BM erroneously overestimated NTR emission by around an order of magnitude. Contrary to the BM claim, NTR in hot flare plasmas does NOT dominate over NTB, although in some cases it can be comparable and so still very important in inversions of photon spectra to derive electron spectra, especially as NTR includes sharp edge features. The BM claim of dominance of NTR over NTB in deka-keV emission is incorrect due to a serious error in their analysis. However, the NTR contribution can still be large enough to demand inclusion in spectral fitting, the spectral edges having potentially serious effects on inversion of HXR spectra to infer fast electron spectra.

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arXiv2009

Local re-acceleration and a modified thick target model of solar flare electrons

The collisional thick target model (CTTM) of solar hard X-ray (HXR) bursts has become an almost 'Standard Model' of flare impulsive phase energy transport and radiation. However, it faces various problems in the light of recent data, particularly the high electron beam density and anisotropy it involves.} {We consider how photon yield per electron can be increased, and hence fast electron beam intensity requirements reduced, by local re-acceleration of fast electrons throughout the HXR source itself, after injection.} {We show parametrically that, if net re-acceleration rates due to e.g. waves or local current sheet electric (${\cal E}$) fields are a significant fraction of collisional loss rates, electron lifetimes, and hence the net radiative HXR output per electron can be substantially increased over the CTTM values. In this local re-acceleration thick target model (LRTTM) fast electron number requirements and anisotropy are thus reduced. One specific possible scenario involving such re-acceleration is discussed, viz, a current sheet cascade (CSC) in a randomly stressed magnetic loop.} {Combined MHD and test particle simulations show that local ${\cal E}$ fields in CSCs can efficiently accelerate electrons in the corona and and re-accelerate them after injection into the chromosphere. In this HXR source scenario, rapid synchronisation and variability of impulsive footpoint emissions can still occur since primary electron acceleration is in the high Alfvén speed corona with fast re-acceleration in chromospheric CSCs. It is also consistent with the energy-dependent time-of-flight delays in HXR features.

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arXiv2009

Polarization Variability Arising from Clumps in the Winds of Wolf-Rayet Stars

The polarimetric and photometric variability of Wolf-Rayet (WR) stars as caused by clumps in the winds, is revisited. In the model which is improved from Li et al. 2000, the radial expansion of the thickness is accounted for, but we retain the dependence on the beta velocity law, stellar occultation effects. We again search for parameters that can yield results consistent with observations in regards to the mean polarization, the ratio of polarimetric to photometric variability, and the volume filling factor. Clump generation and spatial distribution are randomized by the Monte Carlo method so as to produce clumps which are, in the mean, distributed uniformly in space and have time intervals with a Gaussian distribution. The generated clumps move radially outward with a velocity law determined by a beta index, and the angular size of the clumps is assumed to keep fixed. By fitting the observational results and the volume filling factor, the clump velocity law index beta and clump ejection rate are inferred, and are found to be well constrained. In addition, the subpeak features on broad emission lines seem to support the clump ejection rate. Meanwhile, the fraction of the total mass loss rate that is contained in the clumps is obtained by fitting the observed polarization. We conclude that this picture for the clump properties produces a valuable diagnostic of WR wind structure.

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arXiv2008

The outer scale of turbulence in the magneto-ionized Galactic interstellar medium

We analyze Faraday rotation and depolarization of extragalactic radio point sources in the direction of the inner Galactic plane to determine the outer scale and amplitude of the rotation measure power spectrum. Structure functions of rotation measure show lower amplitudes than expected when extrapolating electron density fluctuations to large scales assuming a Kolmogorov spectral index. This implies an outer scale of those fluctuations on the order of a parsec, much smaller than commonly assumed. Analysis of partial depolarization of point sources independently indicates a small outer scale of a Kolmogorov power spectrum. In the Galaxy's spiral arms, no rotation measure fluctuations on scales above a few parsecs are measured. In the interarm regions fluctuations on larger scales than in spiral arms are present, and show power law behavior with a shallow spectrum. These results suggest that in the spiral arms stellar sources such as stellar winds or protostellar outflows dominate the energy injection for the turbulent energy cascade on parsec scales, while in the interarm regions supernova and super bubble explosions are the main sources of energy on scales on the order of 100 parsecs.

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arXiv2008

Fast Spectral Fitting of Hard X-Ray Bremsstrahlung from Truncated Power-Law Electron Spectra

Hard X-Ray bremsstrahlung continuum spectra, such as from solar flares, are commonly described in terms of power-law fits, either to the photon spectra themselves or to the electron spectra responsible for them. In applications various approximate relations between electron and photon spectral indices are often used for energies both above and below electron low-energy cutoffs. We examine the form of the exact relationships in various situations, and for various cross-sections, showing that empirical relations sometimes used can be highly misleading and consider how to improve fitting procedures. We obtain expressions for photon spectra from single, double and truncated power-law electron spectra for a variety of cross-sections and for the thin and thick target models and simple analytic expressions for the Bethe-Heitler cases. We show that above a low-energy cutoff the Kramers and Bethe-Heitler results match reasonably well with results for exact cross-sections up to energies around 100 keV; that below the low-energy cutoff, Kramers and other constant spectral index forms commonly used are very poor approximations to accurate results; but that our analytical forms are a very good match. Analytical forms of the Bethe-Heitler photon spectra from general power-law electron spectra are an excellent match to exact results for both thin and thick targets and they enable much faster spectral fitting than evaluation of the full spectral integrations.

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arXiv2007

XMM-Newton X-ray study of early type stars in the Carina OB1 association

X-ray properties of the stellar population in the Carina OB1 association are examined with special emphasis on early-type stars. Their spectral characteristics provide some clues to understanding the nature of X-ray formation mechanisms in the winds of single and binary early-type stars. A timing and spectral analysis of five observations with XMM-Newton is performed using various statistical tests and thermal spectral models. 235 point sources have been detected within the field of view. Several of these sources are probably pre-main sequence stars with characteristic short-term variability. Seven sources are possible background AGNs. Spectral analysis of twenty three sources of type OB and WR 25 was performed. We derived spectral parameters of the sources and their fluxes in three energy bands. Estimating the interstellar absorption for every source and the distance to the nebula, we derived X-ray luminosities of these stars and compared them to their bolometric luminosities. We discuss possible reasons for the fact that, on average, the observed X-ray properties of binary and single early type stars are not very different, and give several possible explanations.

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arXiv2007

X-ray Emission from Magnetically Torqued Disks of Oe/Be Stars

We focus attention on the Oe/Be stars to test the concept that the disks of these stars form by magnetic channeling of wind material toward the equator. Calculations are made of the X-rays expected from the Magnetically Torqued Disk (MTD) model for Be stars discussed by Cassinelli et al. (2002), by Maheswaran (2003), and by Brown et al. (2004). The dominant parameters in the model are the $β$ value of the velocity law, the rotation rate of the star, $S_o$, and the ratio of the magnetic field energy density to the disk gravitational energy density, $γ$. The model predictions are compared with the $ROSAT$ observations obtained for an O9.5 star $ζ$ Oph from \Berghofer et al. (1996) and for 7 Be stars from Cohen et al. (1997). Extra considerations are also given here to the well studied Oe star $ζ$ Oph for which we have $Chandra$ observations of the X-ray line profiles of the triad of He-like lines from the ion Mg XI.

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arXiv2007

Rotation Measures of Extragalactic Sources Behind the Southern Galactic Plane: New Insights into the Large-Scale Magnetic Field of the Inner Milky Way

We present new Faraday rotation measures (RMs) for 148 extragalactic radio sources behind the southern Galactic plane (253o < l < 356o, |b| < 1.5o), and use these data in combination with published data to probe the large-scale structure of the Milky Way's magnetic field. We show that the magnitudes of these RMs oscillate with longitude in a manner that correlates with the locations of the Galactic spiral arms. The observed pattern in RMs requries the presence of at least one large-scale magnetic reversal in the fourth Galactic quadrant, located between the Sagittarius- Carina and Scutum-Crux spiral arms. To quantitatively compare our measurements to other recent studies, we consider all available extragalactic and pulsar RMs in the region we have surveyed, and jointly fit these data to simple models in which the large-scale field follows the spiral arms. In the best-fitting model, the magnetic field in the fourth Galactic quadrant is directed clockwise in the Sagittarius-Carina spiral arm (as viewed from the North Galactic pole), but is oriented counter- clockwise in the Scutum-Crux arm. This contrasts with recent analyses of pulsar RMs alone, in which the fourth-quadrant field was presumed to be directed counter-clockwise in the Sagittarius- Carina arm. Also in contrast to recent pulsar RM studies, our joint modeling of pulsar and extragalactic RMs demonstrates that large numbers of large-scale magnetic field reversals are not required to account for observations.

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arXiv2007

Hard X-ray Spectra and Positions of Solar Flares observed by RHESSI: photospheric albedo, directivity and electron spectra

We investigate the signature of the photospheric albedo contribution in solar flare hard X-ray spectra, the effect of low energy cutoffs in electron spectra, and the directivity of hard X-ray emission. Using Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI) flare data we perform a statistical analysis of spatially integrated spectra and positions of solar flares. We demonstrate clear centre-to-limb variation of photon spectral indices in the 15-20 keV energy range and a weaker dependency in the 20-50 keV range which is consistent with photospheric albedo as the cause. The results also suggest that low-energy cutoffs sometimes inferred in mean electron spectra are an artefact of albedo. We also derive the anisotropy (ratio of downward/observer directed photons) of hard X-ray emission in the 15-20 keV range for various heliocentric angles.

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arXiv2006

RHESSI Results -- Time For a Rethink?

Hard X-rays and gamma-rays are the most direct signatures of energetic electrons and ions in the sun's atmosphere which is optically thin at these energies and their radiation involves no coherent processes. Being collisional they are complementary to gyro-radiation in probing atmospheric density as opposed to magnetic field and the electrons are primarily 10--100 keV in energy, complementing the (>100 keV) electrons likely responsible for microwave bursts. The pioneering results of the Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI) are raising the first new major questions concerning solar energetic particles in many years. Some highlights of these results are discussed -- primarily around RHESSI topics on which the authors have had direct research involvement -- particularly when they are raising the need for re-thinking of entrenched ideas. Results and issues are broadly divided into discoveries in the spatial, temporal and spectral domains, with the main emphasis on flare hard X-rays/fast electrons but touching also on gamma-rays/ions, non-flare emissions, and the relationship to radio bursts.

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arXiv2005

Enhanced small-scale Faraday rotation in the Galactic spiral arms

We present an analysis of the rotation measures (RMs) of polarized extragalactic point sources in the Southern Galactic Plane Survey. This work demonstrates that the statistics of fluctuations in RM differ for the spiral arms and the interarm regions. Structure functions of RM are flat in the spiral arms, while they increase in the interarms. This indicates that there are no correlated RM fluctuations in the magneto-ionized interstellar medium in the spiral arms on scales larger than ~ 0.5 deg, corresponding to ~ 17 pc in the nearest spiral arm probed. The non-zero slopes in interarm regions imply a much larger scale of RM fluctuations. We conclude that fluctuations in the magneto-ionic medium in the Milky Way spiral arms are not dominated by the mainly supernova-driven turbulent cascade in the global ISM but are probably due to a different source, most likely H II regions.

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arXiv2004

Generalized Regularization Techniques With Constraints For The Analysis Of Solar Bremsstrahlung X-Ray Spectra

Hard X-ray spectra in solar flares provide knowledge of the electron spectrum that results from acceleration and propagation in the solar atmosphere. However, the inference of the electron spectra from solar X-ray spectra is an ill-posed inverse problem. Here we develop and apply an enhanced regularization algorithm for this process making use of physical constraints on the form of the electron spectrum. The algorithm incorporates various features not heretofore employed in the solar flare context: Generalized Singular Value Decomposition (GSVD) to deal with different orders of constraints; rectangular form of the cross-section matrix to extend the solution energy range; regularization with various forms of the smoothing operator; and "preconditioning" of the problem. We show by simulations that this technique yields electron spectra with considerably more information and higher quality than previous algorithms.

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arXiv2004

Determination Of Electron Flux Spectra In A Solar Flare With An Augmented Regularization Method: Application To Rhessi Data

Kontar et al. (2004) have shown how to recover mean source electron spectra in solar flares through a physical constraint regularization analysis of the bremsstrahlung photon spectra that they produce. They emphasize the use of non-square inversion techniques, and preconditioning combined with physical properties of the spectra to achieve the most meaningful solution to the problem. Higher-order regularization techniques may be used to generate ${overline F}(E)$ forms with certain desirable properties (e.g., higher order derivatives). They further note that such analyses may be used to infer properties of the electron energy spectra at energies well above the maximum photon energy observed. In this paper we apply these techniques to data from a solar flare observed by RHESSI on 26 February, 2002. Results using different orders of regularization are presented and compared for various time intervals. Clear evidence is presented for a change in the value of the high-energy cutoff in the mean source electron spectrum with time. We also show how the construction of the injected (accelerated) electron spectrum $F_0(E_0)$ (assuming that Coulomb collisions in a cold target dominate the electron energetics) is facilitated by the use of higher-order regularization methods.

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arXiv2004

The Effect of Rotational Gravity Darkening on Magnetically Torqued Be Star Disks

In the magnetically torqued disk (MTD) model for hot star disks, as proposed and formulated by \citet{cassi02}, stellar wind mass loss was taken to be uniform over the stellar surface. Here account is taken of the fact that as stellar spin rate S_o (=\sqrt {Ω_o^2 R^3/GM}) is increased, and the stellar equator is gravity darkened, the equatorial mass flux and terminal speed are reduced, compared to the poles, for a given total \mdot. As a result, the distribution of equatorial disk density, determined by the impact of north and southbound flows, is shifted further out from the star. This results, for high S_o (\gtrsim 0.5), in a fall in the disk mass and emission measure, and hence in the observed emission line EW, scattering polarization, and IR emission. Consequently, contrary to expectations, critical rotation S_o \to 1 is not the optimum for creation of hot star disks which, in terms of EM for example, is found to occur in a broad peak around S_o\approx 0.5-0.6 depending slightly on the wind velocity law. The relationship of this analytic quasi-steady parametric MTD model to other work on magnetically guided winds is discussed. In particular the failures of the MTD model for Be-star disks alleged by \citet{owo03} are shown to revolve largely around open observational tests, rather in the basic MTD physics, and around their use of insufficiently strong fields.

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arXiv2004

Kinematic model inversions of hot star recurrent DAC data - tests against dynamical CIR models

The Discrete Absorption Components (DACs) commonly observed in the ultraviolet lines of hot stars have previously been modelled by dynamical simulations of Corotating Interaction Regions (CIRs) in their line-driven stellar winds. Here we apply the kinematic DAC inversion method of Brown et al. to the hydrodynamical CIR models and test the reliability of the results obtained. We conclude that the inversion method is able to recover valuable information on the velocity structure of the mean wind and to trace movement of velocity plateaux in the hydrodynamical data, though the recovered density profile of the stream is correct only very near to the stellar surface.

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arXiv2003

On multicomponent effects in stellar winds of stars at extremely low metallicity

We calculate multicomponent line-driven wind models of stars at extremely low metallicity suitable for massive first generation stars. For most of the models we find that the multicomponent wind nature is not important for either wind dynamics or for wind temperature stratification. However, for stars with the lowest metallicities we find that multicomponent effects influence the wind structure. These effects range from pure heating to possible fallback of the nonabsorbing wind component. We present a simple formula for the calculation of metallicity for which the multicomponent effects become important. We show that the importance of the multicomponent nature of winds of low metallicity stars is characterised not only by the low density of driving ions, but also by lower mass-loss rate.

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