Anisotropic Wind Research Articles

SOHO SWAN Lyα Models Supporting LRO LAMP: 2008–2023

The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Lyman-Alpha Mapping Project (LAMP) has been mapping the Moon since its launch in 2009. Faint ultraviolet illumination of the lunar dark side includes light from stars and from hydrogen Lyα emissions, mostly attributed to sunlight scattered by hydrogen atoms near the Sun with a smaller contribution from the whole Galaxy. Models of the lunar illumination by time-dependent Lyα photons have allowed the LAMP team to map polar shadowed craters suspected of harboring water ice and other volatiles. This paper describes the model that provides daily all-sky Lyα maps tuned by comparisons with all-sky Lyα maps from the SOlar and Heliospheric Observatory Solar Wind ANisotropy Experiment stationed at the Sun–Earth L1 point.

Minimalist model of the W50/SS433 extended X-ray jet: Anisotropic wind with recollimation shocks

W50 is a radio nebula around the hyperaccreting Galactic microquasar SS433. We focus on one peculiar feature of W50, that is, on a pair of so-called extended X-ray jets (EXJs). These jets have a size of ∼20 pc and a sharp inner boundary, and their spectra are well represented by a featureless X-ray continuum. We argue that EXJs could be an outcome of a powerful anisotropic wind produced by a supercritical accretion disk. In the simplest version of this model, the wind itself consists of two components. The first component is a nearly isotropic outflow that subtends most of the solid angle as seen from the compact source and creates the quasi-spherical part of the W50 nebula. The second component is a more collimated wind that is aligned with the rotation axis of the binary system (polar wind). The isotropic outflow passes through the termination shock, and its increased thermal pressure creates a sequence of recollimation shocks in the polar wind, giving it the appearance of an extended X-ray structure. In this model, the EXJ continuum spectrum is due to synchrotron emission of electrons that are accelerated at the shocks that arise in the polar wind. At variance with many other studies, the EXJ structures in this model are not directly related to the highly collimated and precessing 0.26 c baryonic jets. Instead, the EXJ and the ears of W50 are produced by the part of the wind whose Eddington-level kinetic luminosity is confined to a half-opening angle of 5–10 degrees. This is not necessarily a recollimated version of the 0.26 c jets.

Simulating low-frequency wind fluctuations

Abstract. Large-scale flow structures are vital in influencing the dynamic response of floating wind turbines and wake meandering behind large offshore wind turbines. It is imperative that we develop an inflow wind turbulence model capable of replicating the large-scale and low-frequency wind fluctuations occurring in the marine atmosphere since the current turbulence models do not account well for this phenomenon. Here, we present a method to simulate low-frequency wind fluctuations. This method employs the two-dimensional (2D) spectral tensor for low-frequency, anisotropic wind fluctuations presented by Syed and Mann (2024) to generate stochastic wind fields. The simulation method generates large-scale 2D spatial wind fields for the longitudinal u and lateral v wind components, which can be converted into a frequency domain using Taylor's frozen turbulence hypothesis. The low-frequency wind turbulence is assumed to be independent of the high-frequency turbulence; thus, a broad spectral representation can be obtained just by superposing the two turbulent wind fields. The method is tested by comparing the simulated and theoretical spectra and co-coherences of the combined low- and high-frequency fluctuations. Furthermore, the low-frequency wind fluctuations can also be subjected to anisotropy. The resulting wind fields from this method can be used to analyze the impact of low-frequency wind fluctuations on wind turbine loads and dynamic response and to study the wake meandering behind large offshore wind farms.

The statistical characteristics of the atmospheric anisotropic inhomogeneities and their effect on the intensity fluctuations of infrasound field

The influence of anisotropic wind velocity and temperature inhomogeneities on the attenuation of infrasound field intensity with increasing distance from a point source and on its altitude distribution is studied. The field is calculated as a function of receiver height and horizontal distance from the source using method of the pseudo-differential parabolic equation for the atmosphere with model realizations of anisotropic effective sound speed fluctuations. These realizations are obtained from the nonlinear shaping model for the gravity wave perturbations which produces the fluctuations with both the vertical and horizontal spectra consistent with the observed spectra. When propagating in the stratospheric and thermospheric wave guides the multiple scattering of infrasound field from the anisotropic fluctuations results in certain vertical wave number spectra and probability density functions of infrasound intensity fluctuations in the stratospheric (altitudes 30–40 km) and mesospheric layers (50–70 km). The statistical characteristics of the intensity fluctuations as a function of distance from the source (up to 2200 km) were studied. The same characteristics were obtained for the infrasound field scattered from the inhomogeneities whose vertical profile was retrieved from the infrasound signals from surface explosions detected in the shadow zone.

The Optically Thick Rotating Magnetic Wind from a Massive White Dwarf Merger Product. II. Axisymmetric Magnetohydrodynamic Simulations

We numerically construct a series of axisymmetric rotating magnetic wind solutions, aiming at exploring the observation properties of massive white dwarf (WD) merger remnants with a strong magnetic field, a fast spin, and an intense mass loss, as inferred for WD J005311. We investigate the magnetospheric structure and the resultant spin-down torque exerted to the merger remnant with respect to the surface magnetic flux Φ*, spin angular frequency Ω* and the mass-loss rate Ṁ . We confirm that the wind properties for σ≡Φ*2Ω*2/Ṁvesc3≳1 significantly deviate from those of the spherical Parker wind, where v esc is the escape velocity at stellar surface. For such a rotating magnetic wind sequence, we find (i) a quasiperiodic mass eruption triggered by magnetic reconnection along with the equatorial plane and (ii) a scaling relation for the spin-down torque T≈(1/2)×ṀΩ*R*2σ1/4 . We apply our results to discuss the spin-down evolution and wind anisotropy of massive WD merger remnants, the latter of which could be probed by a successive observation of WD J005311 using Chandra.

Modeling Cassini UVIS Interplanetary Hydrogen Lyα Observations from 1999 to 2017

The Cassini Orbiter Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrograph (UVIS) obtained interplanetary hydrogen Lyα observations from 1999 to 2017, with mid-2004 to 2017 observations obtained from Saturn orbit. During its Saturn orbital phase, the spacecraft moved from mostly downwind and sidewind in the heliosphere to upwind. We analyze the full set of observations with our existing hot hydrogen density model with a solar illumination model most recently used to study Solar and Heliospheric Observatory Solar Wind Anisotropy Experiment data and selected Cassini UVIS observations from 2003 to 2004. We find general agreement between data and model, but with evidence for a decline in UVIS Lyα sensitivity, with a significant decline in 2002 June during a starburn event and an overall roughly linear decline in sensitivity. While earlier work by Pryor et al. fit the UVIS Lyα data from 2003 to 2004 with a hydrogen density in the outer heliosphere (but after filtration at outer heliospheric boundaries) of 0.085 cm−3 using the UVIS laboratory sensitivity calibration, including the sensitivity decline found here leads to a revised hydrogen density estimate of n H = 0.14 ± 0.03 cm−3. This density estimate is consistent with a recent neutral hydrogen density estimate near the termination shock of 0.127 ± 0.015 cm−3 based on models of observations of pick-up hydrogen ions from the New Horizons spacecraft.

A Model for Low-Frequency, Anisotropic Wind Fluctuations and Coherences in the Marine Atmosphere

To assess dynamic loads, large offshore wind turbines need detailed and reliable statistical information on the inflow turbulence. We present a model that includes low frequencies down to ∼1\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$\\sim 1$$\\end{document} hr-1\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$^{-1}$$\\end{document} using the observed S(f)∝f-5/3\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$S(f) \\propto f^{-5/3}$$\\end{document} in that range. The presented model contains a parameter representing the anisotropy of the two-dimensional, incompressible turbulence, and it assumes the low-frequency fluctuations to be homogeneous in the vertical direction. Combined with a three-dimensional model for the smaller scales, the model can predict correlations between different points. We have validated the model against two offshore wind data sets: a nacelle-mounted, forward-looking Doppler lidar with four beams at the Hywind Scotland offshore wind farm and sonic anemometer measurements at the FINO1 research platform in the North Sea. One-point auto spectra and two-point cross spectra were calculated after splitting the data into different atmospheric stability classes. The relative strength of the 2D low-frequency fluctuations to the 3D fluctuations was higher under stable conditions. The combined 2D+3D model was able to fit the measured spectra with good accuracy and could then predict the two-point cross spectra, co-coherences, and phase angles between wind fluctuations at different lateral and vertical separations. Good agreement was found between the measured and predicted values, albeit with exceptions. The model can generate stochastic wind fields for investigating wake meandering in wind farms or dynamic loads on floating wind turbines.

Exploring the Circumstellar Environment of Tycho’s Supernova Remnant. I. The Hydrodynamic Evolution of the Shock

Among Type Ia supernova remnants (SNRs), Tycho’s SNR has been considered as a typical object from the viewpoints of its spectroscopic, morphological, and environmental properties. A recent reanalysis of Chandra data showed that its forward shock is experiencing a substantial deceleration since around 2007, which suggests recent shock interactions with a dense medium as a consequence of a cavity-wall environment inside a molecular cloud. Such a nonuniform environment can be linked back to the nature and activities of its progenitor. In this study, we perform hydrodynamic simulations to characterize Tycho’s cavity-wall environment using the latest multiepoch proper motion measurements of the forward shock. A range of parameters for the environment is explored in the hydrodynamic models to fit with the observational data for each azimuthal region. Our results show that a wind-like cavity with ρ(r) ∝ r −2 reconciles with the latest data better than a uniform medium with a constant density. In addition, our best-fit model favors an anisotropic wind with an azimuthally varying wind parameter. The overall result indicates a mass-loss rate which is unusually high for the conventional single-degenerate explosion scenario.

A model of anisotropic winds from rotating stars for evolutionary calculations

Context. The surface properties of rotating stars can vary from pole to equator, resulting in anisotropic stellar winds which are not included in the currently available evolutionary models. Aims. We developed a formalism to describe the mass and angular momentum loss of rotating stars which takes into account both the varying surface properties and distortion due to rotation. Methods. Adopting the mass-loss recipe for non-rotating stars, we assigned to each point on the surface of a rotating star an equivalent non-rotating star, for which the surface mass flux is given by the recipe. The global mass-loss and angular momentum loss rates are then given by integrating over the deformed stellar surface as appropriate. Evolutionary models were computed and our prescription is compared to the currently used simple mass-loss enhancement recipes for rotating stars. Results. We find that mass-loss rates are largely insensitive to rotation for models not affected by the bi-stability jump. For those affected by the bi-stability jump, the increase in mass-loss rates with respect to time is smoothed. As our prescription considers the variation of physical conditions over the stellar surface, the region affected by the bi-stability jump is able to grow gradually instead of the whole star suddenly being affected. Conclusions. We have provided an easy to implement and flexible, yet physically meaningful prescription for calculating mass and angular momentum loss rates of rotating stars in a one-dimensional stellar evolution code which compares favourably to more physically comprehensive models

Water production rates from SOHO/SWAN observations of comets C/2020 S3 (Erasmus), C/2021 A1 (Leonard) and C/2021 O3 (PanSTARRS)

In 2021 and 2022 the hydrogen comae of three long period comets, C/2020 S3 (Erasmus), C/2021 A1 (Leonard) and C/2021 O3 (PanSTARRS) were observed with the Solar Wind ANisotropies (SWAN) all-sky hydrogen Lyman-alpha camera on the SOlar and Heliosphere Observer (SOHO) satellite. SWAN obtains nearly daily full-sky images of the hydrogen Lyman-α distribution of the interstellar hydrogen as it passes through the solar system yielding information about the solar wind and solar ultraviolet fluxes that eats away at it by ionization and charge exchange. The hydrogen comae of comets, when of sufficient brightness, are also observed. Water production rates have been calculated over time for each of these comets. Of particular interest are comet C/2021 O3 (PanSTARRS) which apparently disintegrated a few days before its perihelion at 0.28 au and C/2021 A1 (Leonard) which also disintegrated beginning about 20 days after its perihelion peak. The behavior of comet C/2020 S3 (Erasmus) was more typical without dramatic fading, but still was asymmetric about perihelion, with a more rapid turn on before perihelion and more extended activity well after perihelion.

A model of anisotropic winds from rotating stars

A model of anisotropic winds from rotating stars

Heliospheric Compression Due to Recent Nearby Supernova Explosions

The widespread detection of 60Fe in geological and lunar archives provides compelling evidence for recent nearby supernova explosions within ∼100 pc at 3 and 7 Myr ago. The blasts from these explosions had a profound effect on the heliosphere. We perform new calculations to study the compression of the heliosphere due to a supernova blast. Assuming a steady but non-isotropic solar wind, we explore a range of properties appropriate for supernova distances inspired by recent 60Fe data, and for a 20 pc supernova proposed to account for mass extinctions at the end-Devonian period. We examine the locations of the termination shock decelerating the solar wind and the heliopause that marks the boundary between the solar wind and supernova material. Pressure balance scaling holds, consistent with studies of other astrospheres. Solar wind anisotropy does not have an appreciable effect on shock geometry. We find that supernova explosions at 50 pc (95 pc) lead to heliopause locations at 16 au (23 au) when the forward shock arrives. Thus, the outer solar system was directly exposed to the blast, but the inner planets—including Earth—were not. This finding reaffirms that the delivery of supernova material to Earth is not from the blast plasma itself, but likely is from supernova dust grains. After the arrival of the forward shock, the weakening supernova blast will lead to a gradual rebound of the heliosphere, taking ∼few 100 kyr to expand beyond 100 au. Prospects for future work are discussed.

Infrasound propagation through the atmosphere with mesoscale wind velocity and temperature fluctuations

Some results on modeling and observation of infrasound propagation in the atmosphere in a presence of mesoscale and anisotropic wind velocity and temperature fluctuations are presented. The theoretical model of infrasound scattering from anisotropic wind velocity and temperature inhomogeneities of the atmosphere is developed. With this model, the appearance of the stratospheric, mesospheric, and thermospheric arrivals of the infrasound signals in the acoustic shadow zones is explained. The analytic relation between the wave field of the scattered infrasound signal and the vertical profile of the effective sound speed fluctuations is obtained. Using this relation, the vertical profiles of the fluctuations within the upper stratosphere (25–55 km) and the lower thermosphere (105–140 km) were retrieved from the waveforms and travel times of the signals recorded in the acoustic shadow zones. The theoretical frequency spectrum of the infrasound wavefield reflected from the fine-scale layered structure of the atmosphere is obtained and compared with the spectra of the observed stratospheric arrivals.

Influence of Anisotropic Wind Waves on the Efficiency of Spatial Processing of Acoustic Signals in Shallow Water

Influence of Anisotropic Wind Waves on the Efficiency of Spatial Processing of Acoustic Signals in Shallow Water

Radio modelling of the brightest and most luminous non-thermal colliding-wind binary Apep

ABSTRACT Apep is the brightest and most luminous non-thermal colliding-wind binary by over an order of magnitude. It has been suggested from infrared observations that one of the Wolf–Rayet stars in Apep is launching an anisotropic wind. Here we present radio observations of Apep from 0.2 to 20 GHz taken over 33 yr. The spectrum reveals an extremely steep turnover in the flux density at low frequencies, where the flux density decreases by two orders of magnitude over only 325 MHz of bandwidth. This exponential decline is best described by free–free absorption, with a turnover frequency at 0.54 ± 0.01 GHz. Above the turnover, the spectrum is well described by a power-law and a high-frequency cut-off likely caused by inverse-Compton cooling. The light curve of Apep shows significant variation over the observing period, with Apep brightening by over 50 mJy in a span of 25 yr at 1.4 GHz. Models that assume spherical winds do not replicate all of the structure evident in the radio light curve. We derived a model that allows one of the winds in the system to be anisotropic. This anisotropic model recovers most of the structure of the light curve and is a significantly better statistical fit to the data than the spherical wind model. We suggest such a result is independent support that one of the Wolf–Rayet stars in Apep is launching an anisotropic wind. If the anisotropic wind model is correct, we predict a ∼25 per cent decrease of the 1.4 GHz flux density of Apep over the next 5 yr.

WawHelioGlow: A Model of the Heliospheric Backscatter Glow. II. The Helioglow Buildup and the Potential Significance of the Anisotropy in the Solar EUV Output

Abstract The helioglow is the fluorescence of interstellar atoms inside the heliosphere, where they are excited by the solar EUV. Because the mean free path between collisions for interstellar gas is comparable to the size of the heliosphere, the distribution function of this gas inside the heliosphere strongly varies in space and with time and is non-Maxwellian. Coupling between realistically modeled solar factors and the distribution function of interstellar neutral gas is accounted for in a helioglow model that we have developed. WawHelioGlow is presented in the accompanying Paper I. Here, we present the evolution of the gas density, solar illumination, helioglow source function, and other relevant parameters building up the helioglow signal for selected lines of sight observed at 1 au. We compare these elements for various phases of the solar cycle, and we present the sensitivity of the results to the heliolatitudinal anisotropy of the solar EUV output. We assume a realistic latitudinal anisotropy of the solar wind flux using results from the analysis of interplanetary scintillations. We compare the simulated helioglow with selected maps observed by the SOHO/SWAN instrument. We demonstrate that WawHelioGlow is able to reproduce fundamental features of the sky distribution of the helioglow. For some phases of the solar cycle, the model with solar EUV output anisotropy better reproduces the observations, while for other phases, no EUV anisotropy is needed. In all simulated cases, the solar wind anisotropy following insight from interplanetary scintillation measurements is present.

Water production rates from SOHO/SWAN observations of six comets: 2017–2020

The Solar Wind ANisotropies (SWAN) all-sky hydrogen Lyman-alpha camera on the SOlar and Heliosphere Observer (SOHO) satellite makes daily images of the entire sky to monitor the three-dimensional distribution of solar wind and solar radiation via its imprint on the stream of interstellar hydrogen that flows through the solar system. In the process it also records the distribution of the hydrogen comae of comets. We report here the analyses of six comets originally from the Oort Cloud observed during the 2017–2020 period by SWAN: C/2015 V2 (Johnson), C/2019 Y1 (ATLAS), C/2017 T2 (PanSTARRS), C/2020 F8 (SWAN), C/2019 Y4 (ATLAS), and C/2019 U6 (Lemmon). Of these the nuclei of C/2019 Y4 (ATLAS) and C/2020 F8 (SWAN) both broke up on their inbound orbit before perihelion. The water production rates over the detectable portion of each comet's orbit are determined and discussed in light of the comet's dynamical sub-class of Oort Cloud comets.

Blowin’ in the wind: Wind directionality affects wetland invertebrate metacommunities in Patagonia

AbstractAimTo assess the relative importance of wind intensity and direction in explaining wetland invertebrate metacommunity organization.LocationSeventy‐eight wetland ponds in Patagonia (Argentina) covering a study area of 3.5 × 105 km2.Time periodPonds were sampled once between 2006 and 2014.Major taxa studiedOne hundred and fifty‐eight taxa of wetland aquatic invertebrates.MethodsWe generated two beta diversity matrices (based on flying and non‐flying invertebrates) and six predictor matrices, including three environmental distance matrices, a topographic distance between ponds, and two wind pairwise matrices differing in wind speed. Using Moran spectral randomization of Mantel (MSR‐Mantel) tests (which account for spatial autocorrelation), we assessed the relationship between the response and the predictor matrices. We used a network‐constrained version of the nestedness metric based on overlap and decreasing fill (NODF), to assess if wind anisotropy (i.e., direction‐dependent) affected community nestedness among ponds.ResultsFlying dispersers’ dissimilarity was significantly explained by environmental variables, whereas non‐flying invertebrates’ dissimilarity was not significantly explained by any of the distances tested. When wind direction was ignored, wind speed had a negligible effect on both types of communities, whereas when it was considered a consistent nested pattern emerged, with the eastern ponds (downwind) communities being subsets of those from the western ponds (upwind).Main conclusionsWe found that the invertebrate communities were mainly assembled by a combination of environmental factors and wind directionality, although this depended on the dispersal ability of the organisms.

3D distribution models of Ca, Cr, and Fe in a magnetic CP star atmosphere with anisotropic wind

ABSTRACT We present time-dependent atomic diffusion calculations for Ca, Cr, and Fe in a stellar magnetic atmosphere including an anisotropic wind. For three different models of mass-loss rates (or wind), we obtain a 3D description of the entire atmosphere. In two of these models, the mass-loss rate varies according to the magnetic field inclination, the assumed field geometry being non-axisymmetric. When the dipolar component of the magnetic field dominates, we find that ring-like abundance structures will be prominent. Spot-like distributions can also exist according to the field geometry. Abundance distributions turn out to be highly sensitive to the mass-loss model. The results are discussed and compared to an observational model of a real chemically peculiar star (θ Aurigae) that features parameters close to those of the model we have adopted for our calculations.

Water Production Rate of C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE) from SOHO/SWAN over Its Active Apparition

Abstract C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE) was discovered in images from the Near Earth Object program of the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer (NEOWISE) taken on 2020 March 27 and has become the Great Comet of 2020. The Solar Wind ANisotropies (SWAN) camera on the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) spacecraft, located in a halo orbit around the Earth–Sun L1 Lagrange point, makes daily full-sky images of hydrogen Lyα. Water production rates were determined from the SWAN hydrogen Lyα brightness and spatial distribution of the comet measured over a 4 month period of time on either side of the comet’s perihelion on 2020 July 3. The water production rate in s−1 was moderately asymmetric around perihelion and varied with the heliocentric distance, r, in au as (6.9 ± 0.5) × 1028 r −2.5±0.2 and (10.1 ± 0.5) × 1028 r −3.5±0.1 before and after perihelion, respectively. This is consistent with the comet having been through the planetary region of the solar system on one or more previous apparitions. Water production rates as large as 5.27 × 1030 s−1 were determined shortly after perihelion, once the comet was outside the solar avoidance area of SWAN, when the comet was 0.324 au from the Sun.