The latest evaluation of atomic weight determinations and other cognate data has warranted 16 changes for the standard atomic weights of the elements,
(E), from those published previously in the 2001 ...Table of Atomic Weights. The revised standard atomic weights are as follows:
(Al) = 26.981 5386(8),
(Bi) = 208.980 40(1),
(Cs) = 132.905 4519(2),
(Co) = 58.933 195(5),
(Au) = 196.966 569(4),
(La) = 138.905 47(7),
(Mn) = 54.938 045(5),
(Nd) = 144.242(3),
(P) = 30.973 762(2),
(Pt) = 195.084(9),
(Sm) = 150.36(2),
(Sc) = 44.955 912(6),
(Na) = 22.989 769 28(2),
(Ta) = 180.947 88(2),
(Tb) = 158.925 35(2),
(Th) = 232.038 06(2). A recommendation is made that δ
C values of all carbon-bearing materials be measured and expressed relative to Vienna Pee Dee Belemnite (VPDB) on a scale normalized by assigning consensus values of -46.6 ‰ to L-SVEC lithium carbonate and +1.95 ‰ to NBS 19 calcium carbonate.
A precision mass investigation of the neutron-rich titanium isotopes ^{51-55}Ti was performed at TRIUMF's Ion Trap for Atomic and Nuclear science (TITAN). The range of the measurements covers the ...N=32 shell closure, and the overall uncertainties of the ^{52-55}Ti mass values were significantly reduced. Our results conclusively establish the existence of the weak shell effect at N=32, narrowing down the abrupt onset of this shell closure. Our data were compared with state-of-the-art ab initio shell model calculations which, despite very successfully describing where the N=32 shell gap is strong, overpredict its strength and extent in titanium and heavier isotones. These measurements also represent the first scientific results of TITAN using the newly commissioned multiple-reflection time-of-flight mass spectrometer, substantiated by independent measurements from TITAN's Penning trap mass spectrometer.
Analyzing data from the Ion Composition Analyzer on board the Rosetta spacecraft, we studied a flow pattern of accelerated cometary ions (40–80 eV) inside and outside the diamagnetic cavity of comet ...67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko (67P). We found that the accelerated ions are intermittently observed and are ten times more frequently observed outside the cavity than inside, and they mainly flow tailward with an aberration (~20–40°). We suggest that they are accelerated by the tailward polarization electric field upstream of the comet. Because their occurrence frequency becomes lowest near perihelion where the water production rate is highest at 67P, ion-neutral collisions and/or charge exchange may play a role in controlling the occurrence frequency. The aberration pattern is different inside and outside the cavity in the cometocentric solar equatorial (CSEQ) frame but it is consistent in the comet-Sun electric (CSE) frame; the latter is rotated from the CSEQ frame about the comet-Sun line so that the Z-axis is aligned with the local motional electric field. Because the flow pattern of the accelerated ions inside the cavity in the CSE frame is the same as outside, we suggest that the flow pattern inside is determined by the flow outside, depending on the local plasma and magnetic field. Near the CSE polar plane the aberration is in the opposite direction of the motional electric field, while it is in the anti-cometward direction near the CSE equator plane. The aberration in the anti-electric-field direction near the CSE polar plane suggests that the accelerated ions are mass-loaded by local cold cometary ions, just like the mass-loading of the solar wind by cold cometary ions. The cause of the anti-cometward aberration near the CSE equator plane is still unknown, but this may indicate that the tailward-flowing cometary ions are deflected across the upstream boundaries or by an outward-pointing ambipolar electric field.
Velocity distribution functions (VDFs) are a key to understanding the interplay between particles and waves in a plasma. Any deviation from an isotropic Maxwellian distribution may be unstable and ...result in wave generation. Using data from the ion mass spectrometer IMA (Ion Mass Analyzer) and the magnetometer (MAG) onboard Venus Express, we study proton distributions in the plasma environment of Venus. We focus on the temperature anisotropy, that is, the ratio between the proton temperature perpendicular (T⊥) and parallel (T‖) to the background magnetic field. We calculate average values of T⊥ and T‖ for different spatial areas around Venus. In addition we present spatial maps of the average of the two temperatures and of their average ratio. Our results show that the proton distributions in the solar wind are quite isotropic, while at the bow shock stronger perpendicular than parallel heating makes the downstream VDFs slightly anisotropic (T⊥/T‖ > 1) and possibly unstable to generation of proton cyclotron waves or mirror mode waves. Both wave modes have previously been observed in Venus's magnetosheath. The perpendicular heating is strongest in the near‐subsolar magnetosheath (T⊥/T‖≈3/2), which is also where mirror mode waves are most frequently observed. We believe that the mirror mode waves observed here are indeed generated by the anisotropy. In the magnetotail we observe planetary protons with largely isotropic VDFs, originating from Venus's ionosphere.
Key Points
We present maps of the perpendicular and parallel proton temperatures and their ratio in the plasma environment around Venus
The largest perpendicular temperature anisotropy with a median temperature ratio of about 3/2 is found in the near‐subsolar magnetosheath
The region with the largest observed temperature anisotropy coincides with observations of proton cyclotron and mirror mode waves
Context
. The solar wind impinging on the lunar surface results in the emission of energetic neutral atoms. This particle population is one of the sources of the lunar exosphere.
Aims
. We present a ...semi-empirical model to describe the energy spectra of the neutral emitted atoms.
Methods
. We used data from the Advanced Small Analyzer for Neutrals (ASAN) on board the Yutu-2 rover of the Chang’E-4 mission to calculate high-resolution average energy spectra of the energetic neutral hydrogen flux from the surface. We then constructed a semi-empirical model to describe these spectra.
Results
. Excellent agreement between the model and the observed energetic neutral hydrogen data was achieved. The model is also suitable for describing heavier neutral species emitted from the surface.
Conclusions
. A semi-analytical model describing the energy spectrum of energetic neutral atoms emitted from the lunar surface has been developed and validated by data obtained from the lunar surface.
Spacecraft charging is a well‐known effect that occurs when a spacecraft is located in a charged environment such as plasma. In this process, the surface of the spacecraft acquires an electrostatic ...potential through the accumulation and emission of positive and negative charges. In addition to causing severe electrostatic discharges, it also significantly affects low‐energy particle measurements performed by instruments onboard the spacecraft as it causes a change in energy and a distortion of the Field Of View (FOV) of the instrument by modifying the trajectory of measured particles. Spacecraft charging is therefore an important aspect to consider for Jovian plasma Dynamics and Composition analyzer (JDC), an instrument which aims to perform cold plasma measurements around the Galilean moons onboard JUpiter ICy moons Explorer (JUICE). In this study we use SPIS to perform simulations to study the FOV distortion of JDC for positive ions caused by spacecraft charging in two environments of the JUICE mission: the ionosphere of Ganymede and the Jovian magnetosphere. We show that the resulting distortion of the instrument FOV is highly space dependent and varies in shape and intensity from a pixel to another. However, we show that in both environments the complexity of the interactions between measured positive ions and the spacecraft can be decomposed and described as a superposition of a finite number of elementary interactions (i.e., modes). We show that each mode is caused by a specific element of the spacecraft and leads to a characteristic distortion of the instrument FOV. This study constitutes a first step toward necessary spacecraft potential corrections of the measurements performed by JDC.
Key Points
The spacecraft potential affects charged particle measurements by distorting the instrument field of view
Interactions between JUpiter ICy moons Explorer spacecraft and Jovian plasma Dynamics and Composition analyzer positive ion measurements are simulated
The spacecraft potential causes complex and highly geometry dependent distortions, especially for particles with low energy
Context. The first 1000 km of the ion tail of comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko were explored by the European Rosetta spacecraft, 2.7 au away from the Sun. Aims. We characterised the dynamics of both ...the solar wind and the cometary ions on the night-side of the comet’s atmosphere. Methods. We analysed in situ ion and magnetic field measurements and compared the data to a semi-analytical model. Results. The cometary ions are observed flowing close to radially away from the nucleus during the entire excursion. The solar wind is deflected by its interaction with the new-born cometary ions. Two concentric regions appear, an inner region dominated by the expanding cometary ions and an outer region dominated by the solar wind particles. Conclusions. The single night-side excursion operated by Rosetta revealed that the near radial flow of the cometary ions can be explained by the combined action of three different electric field components, resulting from the ion motion, the electron pressure gradients, and the magnetic field draping. The observed solar wind deflection is governed mostly by the motional electric field −uion × B.
Context. The Rosetta spacecraft is escorting comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko from a heliocentric distance of >3.6 AU, where the comet activity was low, until perihelion at 1.24 AU. Initially, the ...solar wind permeates the thin comet atmosphere formed from sublimation. Aims. Using the Rosetta Plasma Consortium Ion Composition Analyzer (RPC-ICA), we study the gradual evolution of the comet ion environment, from the first detectable traces of water ions to the stage where cometary water ions accelerated to about 1 keV energy are abundant. We compare ion fluxes of solar wind and cometary origin. Methods. RPC-ICA is an ion mass spectrometer measuring ions of solar wind and cometary origins in the 10 eV-40 keV energy range. Results. We show how the flux of accelerated water ions with energies above 120 eV increases between 3.6 and 2.0 AU. The 24 h average increases by 4 orders of magnitude, mainly because high-flux periods become more common. The water ion energy spectra also become broader with time. This may indicate a larger and more uniform source region. At 2.0 AU the accelerated water ion flux is frequently of the same order as the solar wind proton flux. Water ions of 120 eV-few keV energy may thus constitute a significant part of the ions sputtering the nucleus surface. The ion density and mass in the comet vicinity is dominated by ions of cometary origin. The solar wind is deflected and the energy spectra broadened compared to an undisturbed solar wind. Conclusions. The flux of accelerated water ions moving from the upstream direction back toward the nucleus is a strongly nonlinear function of the heliocentric distance.
Aims. Cometary ions are constantly produced in the coma, and once produced they are accelerated and eventually escape the coma. We describe and interpret the dynamics of the cometary ion flow, of an ...intermediate active comet, very close to the nucleus and in the terminator plane. Methods. We analysed in situ ion and magnetic field measurements, and characterise the velocity distribution functions (mostly using plasma moments). We propose a statistical approach over a period of one month. Results. On average, two populations were observed, separated in phase space. The motion of the first is governed by its interaction with the solar wind farther upstream, while the second one is accelerated in the inner coma and displays characteristics compatible with an ambipolar electric field. Both populations display a consistent anti-sunward velocity component. Conclusions. Cometary ions born in different regions of the coma are seen close to the nucleus of comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko with distinct motions governed in one case by the solar wind electric field and in the other case by the position relative to the nucleus. A consistent anti-sunward component is observed for all cometary ions. An asymmetry is found in the average cometary ion density in a solar wind electric field reference frame, with higher density in the negative (south) electric field hemisphere. There is no corresponding signature in the average magnetic field strength.
Visual emotional stimuli evoke enhanced activation in early visual cortex areas which may help organisms to quickly detect biologically salient cues and initiate appropriate approach or avoidance ...behavior. Functional neuroimaging evidence for the modulation of other sensory modalities by emotion is scarce. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to test whether sensory facilitation by emotional cues can also be found in the auditory domain. We recorded auditory brain activation with functional near-infrared-spectroscopy (fNIRS), a non-invasive and silent neuroimaging technique, while participants were listening to standardized pleasant, unpleasant, and neutral sounds selected from the International Affective Digitized Sound System (IADS). Pleasant and unpleasant sounds led to increased auditory cortex activation as compared to neutral sounds. This is the first study to suggest that the enhanced activation of sensory areas in response to complex emotional stimuli is apparently not restricted to the visual domain but is also evident in the auditory domain.
►The first fNIRS study to show that emotional sounds enhance auditory cortex activation. ►An ecologically valid, non-invasive and silent neuroimaging technique was used (fNIRS). ►Pleasant and unpleasant auditory cues similarly enhance activity of auditory sensory areas. ►Emotional modulation of sensory areas may be an adaptive mechanism.