Effect of Anode Magnetic Shield on Magnetic Field and Ion Beam in Cylindrical Hall Thruster

Numerical simulation of the effect of the anode magnetic shielding on the magnetic field and ion beam in a cylindrical Hall thruster is presented. The results show that after the anode is shielded by the magnetic shield, the magnetic field lines near the anode surface are obviously convex curved, the ratio of the magnetic mirror is enhanced, the width of the positive magnetic field gradient becomes larger than that without the anode magnetic shielding, the radial magnetic field component is enhanced, and the discharge plasma turbulence is reduced as a result of keeping the original saddle field profile and the important role the other two saddle field profiles play in restricting electrons. The results of the particle in cell （PIC） numerical simulation show that both the ion number and the energy of the ion beam increase after the anode is shielded by the magnetic shield. In other words, the specific impulse of the cylindrical Hall thruster is enhanced.

Some issues in diagnostics of solar chromospheric magnetic fields with the Mg b_2 line

Up to now, exact measurements of chromospheric magnetic fields have not been as successful as those done in the photosphere. We are currently engaging in diagnostics of chromospheric magnetic fields with the Mg b2 line by employing the Multi-Channel Solar Telescope at Huairou Solar Observing Station. Therefore, how to improve accuracy in the measurement is the main issue of our present study. To this end, we first study linear calibration coefficients for longitudinal and transverse components of chromospheric fields, which vary with wavelength, in the case of a weak field assumption. Then the polarization crosstalk introduced by instruments is analyzed in detail with two numerical simulation methods. Comparisons of the po- larization signals between cases with and without correction are presented. The result indicates that polarization accuracy is greatly improved after crosstalk correction.

Vector Magnetic Field Measurement of NOAA AR 10197

A set of two-dimensional Stokes spectral data of NOAA AR 10197 obtained by the Solar Stokes Spectral Telescope （S^3T） at the Yunnan Observatory are quafitatively analyzed. The three components of the vector magnetic field, the strength H, inclination 7 and azimuth X, are derived. Based on the three components, we contour the distributions of the longitudinal magnetic field and transverse magnetic field. The active region （AR） has two different magnetic polarities apparent in the longitudinal magnetic map due to projection effect. There is a basic agreement on the longitudinal magnetic fields between the S^3T and SOHO/MDI magnetograms, with a correlation coefficient PBl = 0.911. The transverse magnetic field of the AR has a radial distribution from a center located in the southwest of the AR. It is also found that the transverse magnetic fields obtained by Huairou Solar Observing Station （HRSOS） have a similar radial distribution. The distributions of transverse magnetic field obtained by S^3T and HRSOS have correlation coefficients, PAzimu = 0.86 and PBt =0.883, in regard to the azimuthal angle and intensity.

Diagnostics of Ellerman bombs with high-resolution spectral data

Ellerman bombs （EBs） are tiny brightenings often observed near sunspots. The most impressive characteristic of EB spectra is the two emission bumps in both wings of the Hα and Ca II 8542 A lines. High-resolution spectral data of three small EBs were obtained on 2013 June 6 with the largest solar telescope, the 1.6 m New Solar Telescope at the Big Bear Solar Observatory. The characteristics of these EBs are analyzed. The sizes of the EBs are in the range of 0.3＂ - 0.8＂ and their durations are only 3-5 min. Our semi-empirical atmospheric models indicate that the heating occurs around the temperature minimum region with a temperature increase of 2700- 3000 K, which is surprisingly higher than previously thought. The radiative and kinetic energies are estimated to be as high as 5 × 1025 - 3.0 × 10^26 erg despite the small size of these EBs. Observations of the magnetic field show that the EBs just appeared in a parasitic region with mixed polarities and were accompanied by mass motions. Nonlinear force-free field extrapolation reveals that the three EBs are connected with a series of magnetic field lines associated with bald patches, which strongly implies that these EBs should be produced by magnetic reconnection in the solar lower atmosphere. According to the lightcurves and the estimated magnetic reconnection rate, we propose that there is a three phase process in EBs： pre-heating, flaring and cooling phases.