Hybrid-Vlasov simulation of soft X-ray emissions at the Earth’s dayside magnetospheric boundaries

Solar wind charge exchange produces emissions in the soft X-ray energy range which can enable the study of near-Earth space regions such as the magnetopause,the magnetosheath and the polar cusps by remote sensing techniques.The Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer(SMILE)and Lunar Environment heliospheric X-ray Imager(LEXI)missions aim to obtain soft Xray images of near-Earth space thanks to their Soft X-ray Imager(SXI)instruments.While earlier modeling works have already simulated soft X-ray images as might be obtained by SMILE SXI during its mission,the numerical models used so far are all based on the magnetohydrodynamics description of the space plasma.To investigate the possible signatures of ion-kinetic-scale processes in soft Xray images,we use for the first time a global hybrid-Vlasov simulation of the geospace from the Vlasiator model.The simulation is driven by fast and tenuous solar wind conditions and purely southward interplanetary magnetic field.We first produce global X-ray images of the dayside near-Earth space by placing a virtual imaging satellite at two different locations,providing meridional and equatorial views.We then analyze regional features present in the images and show that they correspond to signatures in soft X-ray emissions of mirrormode wave structures in the magnetosheath and flux transfer events(FTEs)at the magnetopause.Our results suggest that,although the time scales associated with the motion of those transient phenomena will likely be significantly smaller than the integration time of the SMILE and LEXI imagers,mirror-mode structures and FTEs can cumulatively produce detectable signatures in the soft X-ray images.For instance,a local increase by 30%in the proton density at the dayside magnetopause resulting from the transit of multiple FTEs leads to a 12%enhancement in the line-of-sight-and time-integrated soft X-ray emissivity originating from this region.Likewise,a proton density increase by 14%in the magnetosheath associated with mirror-mode structures can result in an enhancement in the soft X-ray signal by 4%.These are likely conservative estimates,given that the solar wind conditions used in the Vlasiator run can be expected to generate weaker soft X-ray emissions than the more common denser solar wind.These results will contribute to the preparatory work for the SMILE and LEXI missions by providing the community with quantitative estimates of the effects of small-scale,transient phenomena occurring on the dayside.

Global hybrid simulations of soft X-ray emissions in the Earth’s magnetosheath

Earth’s magnetopause is a thin boundary separating the shocked solar wind plasma from the magnetospheric plasmas,and it is also the boundary of the solar wind energy transport to the magnetosphere.Soft X-ray imaging allows investigation of the large-scale magnetopause by providing a two-dimensional(2-D)global view from a satellite.By performing 3-D global hybrid-particle-in-cell(hybrid-PIC)simulations,we obtain soft X-ray images of Earth’s magnetopause under different solar wind conditions,such as different plasma densities and directions of the southward interplanetary magnetic field.In all cases,magnetic reconnection occurs at low latitude magnetopause.The soft X-ray images observed by a hypothetical satellite are shown,with all of the following identified:the boundary of the magnetopause,the cusps,and the magnetosheath.Local X-ray emissivity in the magnetosheath is characterized by large amplitude fluctuations(up to 160%);however,the maximum line-of-sight-integrated X-ray intensity matches the tangent directions of the magnetopause well,indicating that these fluctuations have limited impact on identifying the magnetopause boundary in the X-ray images.Moreover,the magnetopause boundary can be identified using multiple viewing geometries.We also find that solar wind conditions have little effect on the magnetopause identification.The Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer(SMILE)mission will provide X-ray images of the magnetopause for the first time,and our global hybrid-PIC simulation results can help better understand the 2-D X-ray images of the magnetopause from a 3-D perspective,with particle kinetic effects considered.

Two methods for separating the magnetospheric solar wind charge exchange soft X-ray emission from the diffuse X-ray background

Solar wind charge exchange(SWCX)is the process of solar wind high-valence ions exchanging charges with neutral components and generating soft X-rays.Recently,detecting the SWCX emission from the magnetosphere is proposed as a new technique to study the magnetosphere using panoramic soft X-ray imaging.To better prepare for the data analysis of upcoming magnetospheric soft X-ray imaging missions,this paper compares the magnetospheric SWCX emission obtained by two methods in an XMM-Newton observation,during which the solar wind changed dramatically.The two methods differ in the data used to fit the diffuse X-ray background(DXB)parameters in spectral analysis.The method adding data from the ROSAT All-Sky Survey(RASS)is called the RASS method.The method using the quiet observation data is called the Quiet method,where quiet observations usually refer to observations made by the same satellite with the same target but under weaker solar wind conditions.Results show that the spectral compositions of magnetospheric SWCX emission obtained by the two methods are very similar,and the changes in intensity over time are highly consistent,although the intensity obtained by the RASS method is about 2.68±0.56 keV cm^(-2)s^(-1)sr^(-1)higher than that obtained by the Quiet method.Since the DXB intensity obtained by the RASS method is about 2.84±0.74 keV cm^(-2)s^(-1)sr^(-1)lower than that obtained by the Quiet method,and the linear correlation coefficient between the difference of SWCX and DXB obtained by the two methods in diffe rent energy band is close to-1,the diffe rences in magnetospheric SWCX can be fully attributed to the diffe rences in the fitted DXB.The difference between the two methods is most significant when the energy is less than 0.7 keV,which is also the main energy band of SWCX emission.In addition,the difference between the two methods is not related to the SWCX intensity and,to some extent,to solar wind conditions,because SWCX intensity typically va ries with the solar wind.In summary,both methods are robust and reliable,and should be considered based on the best available options.

Solar wind ion charge state distributions and compound cross sections for solar wind charge exchange X-ray emission

Solar Wind Charge eXchange X-ray(SWCX) emission in the heliosphere and Ea rth’s exosphere is a hard to avoid signal in soft Xray obse rvations of astrophysical targets.On the other hand,the X-ray imaging possibilities offered by the SWCX process has led to an increasing number of future dedicated space missions for investigating the solar wind-terrestrial inte ractions and magnetospheric interfaces.In both cases,accurate modelling of the SWCX emission is key to correctly interpret its signal,and remove it from obse rvations,when needed.In this paper,we compile solar wind abundance measurements from ACE for different solar wind types,and atomic data from literature,including charge exchange cross-sections and emission probabilities,used fo r calculating the compound cross-section a for the SWCX X-ray emission.We calculate a values for charge-exchange with H and He,relevant to soft X-ray energy bands(0.1-2.0 keV)for various solar wind types and solar cycle conditions.

Design and calibration of an elliptical crystal spectrometer for the diagnosis of proton-induced x-ray emission(PIXE)

Laser-driven proton-induced x-ray emission(laser-PIXE) is a nuclear analysis method based on the compact laser ion accelerator. Due to the transient process of ion acceleration, the laser-PIXE signals are usually spurted within nanoseconds and accompanied by strong electromagnetic pulses(EMP), so traditional multi-channel detectors are no longer applicable.In this work, we designed a reflective elliptical crystal spectrometer for the diagnosis of laser-PIXE. The device can detect the energy range of 1 keV–11 ke V with a high resolution. A calibration experiment was completed on the electrostatic accelerator of Peking University using samples of Al, Ti, Cu, and ceramic artifacts. The detection efficiency of the elliptical crystal spectrometer was obtained in the order of 10-9.

Analysis of X-Ray Emission from OB Stars. IV. About X-Ray Emission from Inhomogeneous Winds of OB Stars

We study the origin of X-ray emission from OB stars due to collisions of stellar winds and/or inhomogeneities in the winds. The low-resolution X-ray spectra of a big sample of OB stars were fitted by both the stationary APEC/MEKAL models and by this model with an additional PSHOCK component describing the nonstationary X-ray emission. These spectra were also described by two-temperature PSHOCK models. More than ~50% of considered spectra can be described by the above-mentioned model combinations including the PSHOCK model and the quality of the fits appears to be better for O stars. The plasma temperature of the PSHOCK component is about 1–5 keV with the ionization timescale τ_(u)~ 10^(8)–10^(13)s cm^(-3). The temperature of the PSHOCK component increases with the momentum and kinetic energy of the stellar wind by a power law with an index ~0.12–0.14.Such dependencies were not revealed through modeling by the stationary APEC/MEKAL models only. At the same time the X-ray luminosity of OB stars depends on momentum and kinetic energy of their winds similarly either for stationary or for nonstationary models. We conclude that many O stars and some B stars can be sources of the nonstationary X-rays formed in their inhomogeneous stellar wind.

X-ray emission from 424-MeV/u C ions impacting on selected target

The K-shell x-rays of Ti, V, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, and Zn induced by 424-MeV/u C^（6＋） ion impact are measured. It is found that the K x-ray shifts to the high energy side and the intensity ratio of Kβ/Kα is larger than the atomic data, owing to the L-shell multiple-ionization. The x-ray production cross sections are deduced from the experimental counts and compared with the binary encounter approximation（BEA）, plane wave approximation（PWBA） and energy-loss Coulomb-repulsion perturbed-stationary-state relativistic（ECPSSR） theoretical predictions. The BEA model with considering the multipleionization fluorescence yield is in better consistence with the experimental results. In addition, the cross section as a function of target atomic K-shell binding energy is presented.

Thermal Diffusion of Si Atoms at the Interface of Mo/Si Bilayers Studied with a Soft X-ray Emission Microscope

Thermal diffusion of Si atoms at the interface in Mo/Si multilayers was observed with an imaging type soft X ray emission microscope developed by us. It was possible to observe the diffusion with 0.2nm depth resolution in the direction normal to the interface by comparing the emission intensity for exactly the same position. The diffusion coefficient of Si atoms in Mo at 600℃ was roughly estimated to be 6.0×10 17 cm 2/s.

X-ray emission for Ar^(11+)ions impacting on various targets in the collisions near the Bohr velocity

X-ray emission from the collisions of 3 MeV Ar^(11+)ions with V,Fe,Co,Ni,Cu,and Zn is investigated.Both the x-rays of the target atom and projectile are observed simultaneously.The x-ray yield is extracted from the original count.The inner-shell ionization cross section is estimated by the binary encounter approximation model and compared with the experimental result.The remarkable result is that the Ar K-shell x-ray yield is diminished with the target atomic number increasing,which is completely opposite to the theoretical calculation.That is interpreted by the competitive consumption of the energy loss for the ionization of inner-shell electrons between the projectile and target atom.

Solar Impulsive Hard X-Ray Emission and Two-Stage Electron Acceleration

Heating and acceleration of electrons in solar impulsive hard X-ray （HXR） flares are studied according to the two-stage acceleration model developed by Zhang for solar ^3Herich events. It is shown that electrostatic H-cyclotron waves can be excited at a parallel phase velocity less than about the electron thermal velocity and thus can significantly heat the electrons （up to 40 MK） through landau resonance. The preheated electrons with velocities above a threshold are further accelerated to high energies in the flare-acceleration process. The flareproduced electron spectrum is obtained and shown to be thermal at low energies and power law at high energies. In the non-thermal energy range, the spectrum can be double power law if the spectral power index is energy dependent or related. The electron energy spectrum obtained by this study agrees quantitatively with the result derived from the Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager （RHESSI） HXR observations in the flare of 2002 July 23. The total flux and energy flux of electrons accelerated in the solar flare also agree with the measurements.

Kr L X-ray and Au M X-ray emission for 1.5 MeV–3.9 MeV Kr^(13+) ions impacting on an Au target

Kr L X-ray and Au M X-ray emission for Kr13＋ ions with energies of 1.5 MeV and 3.9 MeV impacting on an Au target are investigated at heavy ion research facility in Lanzhou （HIRFL）. The L-shell X-ray yield per ion of Kr is measured as a function of incident energy. In addition, Kr L X-ray production cross section is extracted from the yield and compared with the result obtained from the classical binary-encounter approximation （BEA） model. Furthermore, the intensity ratio of the Au M/33 to Ma1 X-ray is investigated as a function of incident energy.

Photon Temperatures of Hard X-Ray Emission of LHCD Plasmas in HT-7 Tokamak

A detailed study of photon temperatures （Tph） of hard X-ray emission in lower hybrid current drive （LHCD） plasmas is presented. The photon temperature increases with the increase in plasma current and decreases with the increase in plasma density. In lower hybrid power and phase scanning experiments; there is no appreciable change in the photon temperature. The numerical results based on ray-tracing calculation and Fokker-Planck solver gives reasonable explanation for the experimental observation. Both experimental and numerical results reveal that the photon temperature depends mainly on global effects of the fast electron population, synergy between the fast electron and the loop voltage and the Coulomb slowing down.

Analysis of the X-ray emission of OB stars:O stars

We investigate the global properties of X-ray emission from O stars, analyzing the X-ray spec- tra of 32 O stars from archival data of the XMM-Newton space observatory. We examine two hypotheses about of the origin of X-ray emission from O stars. The first is a paradigm proposed by Pollock, that was revealed from an analysis of the （ Ori X-ray observation. The second is the magnetically confined wind-shock （MCWS） model. For checking Pollock＇s hypothesis, we determine the distribution of the ratio of half width at half maximum （HWHM） to the wind terminal velocity for lines in spectra of all examined stars. In addition, we check three probable consequences from the MCWS model. We analyze if a correlation exists between the spectral hardness and such stellar parameters as the wind terminal velocity, stellar magnetic field and mass loss rate. The result showed that Pollock＇s hypothesis is not correct. We also established that not all consequences of the MCWS model considered by us are con- firmed. In addition, our spectral analysis method indicated that O stars probably have clumped stellar winds with spherical clumps.

Nd L-shell x-ray emission induced by light ions

The L-shell x-ray of Nd has been obtained for 300-600 keV He2+ions impacting,and compared with that produced by H+and H2+ions.The threshold of projectile kinetic energy for L-shell ionization of Nd is crudely verified in the energy region of about 300-400 keV.It is found that the energy of the distinct L-subshell x-rays has a blue shift.The relative intensity ratios of Lβ_(1,3,4)and Lβ_(2,15)to Lα_(1,2)x-ray are enlarged compared to the atomic data,and they decrease with the increase of the incident energy,and increase with increasing the effective nuclear charge of the incident ions.That is interpreted by the multiple ionization of outer-shells induced by light ions.

Analysis of the X-ray emission of OB stars II: B stars

This paper is the second part of an investigation into the mechanism for the origin of X-rays in early-type stars. Archival X-ray observations of 25 B stars, obtained by the XMM-Newton satellite, are analysed. We check two hypotheses on the origin of X-ray emission: the Magnetically Confined Wind Shock Model(MCWS) and Pollock’s paradigm. For all studied stars, the mean ratio of the half widths at half maximum to the terminal velocities appears to be R ≈ 0.15-0.20 in contradiction to Pollock’s hypothesis that R ≈ 0.5. We checked three possible consequences of the MCWS model: correlations between the hardness of the X-ray spectra for B stars and terminal wind velocities, mass loss rates and magnetic fields.It was shown that such correlations are marginal or even absent both for magnetic and non-magnetic B stars.

Analysis of the X-ray emission from OB stars Ⅲ: low-resolution spectra of OB stars

This paper is the third in our series of papers devoted to the investigation of X-ray emission from OB stars.In our two previous papers,we study the high-resolution X-ray spectra of 32 O stars and 25 B stars to investigate the correlations between the properties of X-ray emission and stellar parameters.We checked if the X-ray hardness and post-shock plasma temperature grow with increasing stellar magnetic field,mass loss rate and terminal wind velocity.Our previous analysis of high-resolution spectra showed that the correlations are weak or even absent.In the present paper,we analyzed low-resolution X-ray spectra,using model-independent X-ray hardness values for checking the above mentioned dependencies.We establish that X-ray luminosities LX weakly depend on the stellar magnetic field.At the same time,Lx ∝ M0.5 and LX ∝ Ekin0.5,where M is the mass loss rate and Ekin is the kinetic energy of the wind.The X-ray luminosities decrease with growing magnetic confinement parameter η.We also argue that there is an additional(probably non-thermal) component contributed to the stellar X-ray emission.

A Particle Induced X-Ray Emission (PIXE) Analysis of Heavy Metals in Soil and Plantain (<i>Musa paradisiaca</i>) Leaves at an Artisanal Gold Mining Settlement in Southwestern Nigeria

The study examined the contamination levels of the soil and plantain leaves in three communities in Atakunmosa west local government area of Osun State in southwest Nigeria, where gold mining activities have recently become intensive. Plantain is a major food crop, whose leaves are used to wrap food items for household consumption. The objectives were to examine the heavy metal concentrations in the soil and plantain leaves around the gold mine site and compare them with standard recommended safe limits for the environment. Soil and plantain leaves were sampled at different locations around the sites and at a control site from a neighboring local government area with no history of gold mining activities between March 2015 and February 2016. Both soil and leave samples were processed and analyzed for selected heavy metals (Cd, As, Cu, Zn, Cr, Mn and Fe) using the Particle Induced X-ray Emission (PIXE) in the laboratory. The study showed higher concentrations than the World Health Organization’s recommended safe limits of the heavy metals in the soils and plantain leaves. Dry season concentrations of the variables were also higher than the wet season and the heavy metal concentrations at the control station were significantly (p < 0.05) lower than those of the mining environment. The study concluded that the ecosystems in the artisanal gold mining region are vulnerable to bioaccumulation of heavy metals and the leaves from the sites are sources of heavy metal contamination if consumed or used to wrap food items.

Study of temporal and spectral characteristics of the X-ray emission from solar flares

Temporal and spectral characteristics of X-ray emission from 60 flares of intensity ≥C class observed by the Solar X-ray Spectrometer （SOXS） during 2003-2011 are presented. We analyze the X-ray emission observed in four and three energy bands by the Si and Cadmium-Zinc-Telluride （CZT） detectors, respectively. The number of peaks in the intensity profile of the flares varies between 1 and 3. We find moderate correlation （R ~=0.2） between the rise time and the peak flux of the first peak of the flare irrespective of energy band, which is indicative of its energy-independent nature. Moreover, the magnetic field complexity of the flaring region is found to be highly anti-correlated （R = 0.61） with the rise time of the flares while positively correlated （R = 0.28） with the peak flux of the flare. The time delay between the peak of the X-ray emission in a given energy band and that in 25-30keV decreases with increasing energy, suggesting conduction cooling is dominant in the lower energies. Analysis of 340 spectra from 14 flares reveals that the peak of differential emission measure （DEM） evolution is delayed by 60-360 s relative to that of the temperature, and this time delay is inversely proportional to the peak flux of the flare. We conclude that temporal and intensity characteristics of flares are dependent on energy as well as the magnetic field configuration of the active region.

4-21 M X-ray Emission of Hollow Xeq+ Atoms above Metallic Surfaces

A highly charged ion (HCI) has a large potential energy, which is equal to the binding energies of all the elec-trons removed to create the ion. When such a slow HCI approaches and then enters into a solid surface, an \abovethe surface" and a \below the surface" hollow atom will be formed, respectively, by capturing electrons from thesurface into its empty levels. Not only new aspects of atom physics has been introduced by hollow atoms, but alsoHCI applications in material science has promising prospects, such as surface analysis, the synthesis of materialswith new properties, and the formation of nanostructure that have been an active area of research in recent years[1??6].

Solar flares with similar soft but different hard X-ray emissions： case and statistical studies

From the Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager （RHESS1） catalog we select events which have approximately the same GOES class （high C - low M or 500-1200 counts s-1 within the RHESSI 6-12 keV energy band）, but with different maximal energies of detected hard X-rays. The selected events are subdivided into two groups： （1） flares with X-ray emissions observed by RHESSI up to only 50 keV and （2） flares with hard X-ray emission observed also above 50 keV. The main task is to understand observational peculiarities of these two flare groups. We use RHESSIX-ray data to obtain spectral and spa- tial information in order to find differences between selected groups. Spectra and images are analyzed in detail for six events （case study）. For a larger number of samples （85 and 28 flares in the low-energy and high-energy groups respectively） we only make some generalizations. In spectral analysis we use the thick- target model for hard X-ray emission and one temperature assumption for thermal soft X-ray emission. RHESSI X-ray images are used for determination of flare region sizes. Although thermal and spatial prop- erties of these two groups of flares are not easily distinguishable, power law indices of hard X-rays show significant differences. Events from the high-energy group generally have a harder spectrum. Therefore, the efficiency of chromospheric evaporation is not sensitive to the hardness of nonthermal electron spectra but rather depends on the total energy flux of nonthermal electrons.