Bright Blobs Research Articles

Blind spot monitoring at night-time using rear-view camera

The blind spot monitoring (BSM) is one of the key functions of advanced driver assistance system (ADAS). In this paper, we propose vision-based blind spot detection and tracking algorithm which is applicable at night-time. The feature of highly bright blobs due to the headlights of behind vehicle is employed for the detection of vehicles in blind spot area, because the appearance-based approach that can be used at daytime is not any more appropriate. We calculate the motion vectors of detected blobs to find an approaching vehicle and make headlight grouping to estimate its position by use of the projection map. We can successfully generate an alarm signal by detection and tracking the overtaking vehicle in blind spot area at night-time.

Investigation of the inner structures around HD 169142 with VLT/SPHERE

We present observations of the Herbig Ae star HD169142 with VLT/SPHERE instruments InfraRed Dual-band Imager and Spectrograph (IRDIS) ($K1K2$ and $H2H3$ bands) and the Integral Field Spectrograph (IFS) ($Y$, $J$ and $H$ bands). We detect several bright blobs at $\sim$180 mas separation from the star, and a faint arc-like structure in the IFS data. Our reference differential imaging (RDI) data analysis also finds a bright ring at the same separation. We show, using a simulation based on polarized light data, that these blobs are actually part of the ring at 180 mas. These results demonstrate that the earlier detections of blobs in the $H$ and $K_S$ bands at these separations in Biller et al. as potential planet/substellar companions are actually tracing a bright ring with a Keplerian motion. Moreover, we detect in the images an additional bright structure at $\sim$93 mas separation and position angle of 355$^{\circ}$, at a location very close to previous detections. It appears point-like in the $YJ$ and $K$ bands but is more extended in the $H$ band. We also marginally detect an inner ring in the RDI data at $\sim$100 mas. Follow-up observations are necessary to confirm the detection and the nature of this source and structure.

Robust MRI abnormality detection using background noise removal with polyfit surface evolution

Image segmentation plays a vital role in MRI abnormality detection. This paper presents a robust MRI segmentation method to outline potential abnormality blobs. Thresholding and boundary tracing strategies are employed to remove background noises, and hence, the ROIs in the whole process are set. Subsequently, a polyfit surface evolution is proposed to approximately estimate bias field, which makes segmentation robust to image noises. Simultaneously, customized initial level set functions are devised so as to detect subtle bright and dark blobs which are highly potential abnormality regions. The proposed method improves bias field estimation and level set method to acquire fine segmentation with low computational complexities. Analysis of experimental results and comparisons with existing algorithms demonstrates that the proposed method can segment weak-edged, low-resolution MR brain images, and its performance prevails in accuracy and effectiveness.

Coronal rain in magnetic bipolar weak fields

We intend to investigate the underlying physics for the coronal rain phenomenon in a representative bipolar magnetic field, including the formation and the dynamics of coronal rain blobs. With the MPI-AMRVAC code, we performed three dimensional radiative magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulation with strong heating localized on footpoints of magnetic loops after a relaxation to quiet solar atmosphere. Progressive cooling and in-situ condensation starts at the loop top due to radiative thermal instability. The first large-scale condensation on the loop top suffers Rayleigh-Taylor instability and becomes fragmented into smaller blobs. The blobs fall vertically dragging magnetic loops until they reach low beta regions and start to fall along the loops from loop top to loop footpoints. A statistic study of the coronal rain blobs finds that small blobs with masses of less than 10^10 g dominate the population. When blobs fall to lower regions along the magnetic loops, they are stretched and develop a non-uniform velocity pattern with an anti-parallel shearing pattern seen to develop along the central axis of the blobs. Synthetic images of simulated coronal rain with Solar Dynamics Observatory Atmospheric Imaging Assembly well resemble real observations presenting dark falling clumps in hot channels and bright rain blobs in a cool channel. We also find density inhomogeneities during a coronal rain "shower", which reflects the observed multi-stranded nature of coronal rain.

Blowout Surge due to Interaction between a Solar Filament and Coronal Loops

Abstract We present an observation of the interaction between a filament and the outer spine-like loops that produces a blowout surge within one footpoint of large-scale coronal loops on 2015 February 6. Based the observation of the AIA 304 and 94 Å, the activated filament is initially embedded below a dome of a fan-spine configuration. Due to the ascending motion, the erupting filament reconnects with the outer spine-like field. We note that the material in the filament blows out along the outer spine-like field to form the surge with a wider spire, and a two-ribbon flare appears at the site of the filament eruption. In this process, small bright blobs appear at the interaction region and stream up along the outer spine-like field and down along the eastern fan-like field. As a result, a leg of the filament becomes radial and the material in it erupts, while another leg forms the new closed loops. Our results confirm that the successive reconnection occurring between the erupting filament and the coronal loops may lead to a strong thermal/magnetic pressure imbalance, resulting in a blowout surge.

Blob Formation and Ejection in Coronal Jets due to the Plasmoid and Kelvin–Helmholtz Instabilities

Abstract We perform 2D resistive magnetohydrodynamic simulations of coronal jets driven by flux emergence along the lower boundary. The reconnection layers are susceptible to the formation of blobs that are ejected in the jet. Our simulation with low plasma β (Case I) shows that magnetic islands form easily and propagate upward in the jet. These islands are multithermal and thus are predicted to show up in hot channels (335 Å and 211 Å) and the cool channel (304 Å) in observations by the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) on the Solar Dynamics Observatory. The islands have maximum temperatures of 8 MK, lifetimes of 120 s, diameters of 6 Mm, and velocities of 200 km s−1. These parameters are similar to the properties of blobs observed in extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) jets by AIA. The Kelvin–Helmholtz instability develops in our simulation with moderately high plasma β (Case II) and leads to the formation of bright vortex-like blobs above the multiple high magnetosonic Mach number regions that appear along the jet. These vortex-like blobs can also be identified in the AIA channels. However, they eventually move downward and disappear after the high magnetosonic Mach number regions disappear. In the lower plasma β case, the lifetime for the jet is shorter, the jet and magnetic islands are formed with higher velocities and temperatures, the current-sheet fragments are more chaotic, and more magnetic islands are generated. Our results show that the plasmoid instability and Kelvin–Helmholtz instability along the jet are both possible causes of the formation of blobs observed at EUV wavelengths.

Subsurface Polaron Concentration As a Factor in the Chemistry of Reduced TiO2 (110) Surfaces

Surface reactivity of rutile TiO2 (110) surfaces has long been ascribed to bridging oxygen vacancies (VO), but recently, excess electrons introduced by donor defects are being considered as the main players. However, the spatial distribution of them is not yet clear due to difficulties in interpreting filled state images of scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). In this study, several different images available in the literature are consistently interpreted using density functional theory (DFT). The key factors are polarons in the second layer below Ti5c row (Ti5c-2nd polarons) and a temperature dependence of their concentration. Bright blobs in the experimental images are interpreted as Ti5c-2nd polarons. At 78 K, their concentration reaches 33.3% ML, where 1 ML is defined as the density of (1 × 1) unit cells, regardless of VO coverage. In contrast, at 5 K, it is twice the VO coverage. This discrepancy is understood by the ionization of donor defects other than VO, most probably subsurface Ti interstitials, and subsequent diffusion of polarons to Ti5c-2nd sites at high temperature. This mechanism explains seemingly contradicting reports on oxygen chemisorption on this surface, which suggests that the so-called oxygen-vacancy model needs to be modified at temperature above at least 78 K.

Quasi-oscillatory dynamics observed in ascending phase of the flare on March 6, 2012

Context. The dynamics of the flaring loops in active region (AR) 11429 are studied. The observed dynamics consist of several evolution stages of the flaring loop system during both the ascending and descending phases of the registered M-class flare. The dynamical properties can also be classified by different types of magnetic reconnection, related plasma ejection and aperiodic flows, quasi-periodic oscillatory motions, and rapid temperature and density changes, among others. The focus of the present paper is on a specific time interval during the ascending (pre-flare) phase. Aims. The goal is to understand the quasi-periodic behavior in both space and time of the magnetic loop structures during the considered time interval. Methods.We have studied the characteristic location, motion, and periodicity properties of the flaring loops by examining space-time diagrams and intensity variation analysis along the coronal magnetic loops using AIA intensity and HMI magnetogram images (from the Solar Dynamics Observatory(SDO)). Results. We detected bright plasma blobs along the coronal loop during the ascending phase of the solar flare, the intensity variations of which clearly show quasi-periodic behavior. We also determined the periods of these oscillations. Conclusions. Two different interpretations are presented for the observed dynamics. Firstly, the oscillations are interpreted as the manifestation of non-fundamental harmonics of longitudinal standing acoustic oscillations driven by the thermodynamically nonequilibrium background (with time variable density and temperature). The second possible interpretation we provide is that the observed bright blobs could be a signature of a strongly twisted coronal loop that is kink unstable.

THE BLOB CONNECTION: SEARCHING FOR LOW CORONAL SIGNATURES OF SOLAR POST-CME BLOBS

ABSTRACT Bright linear structures, thought to be indicators of a current sheet (CS), are often seen in Large Angle and Spectrometric Coronagraph (LASCO) on the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) white-light data in the wake of coronal mass ejections (CMEs). In a subset of these post-CME structures, relatively bright blobs are seen moving outward along the rays. These blobs have been interpreted as consequences of the plasmoid instability in the CS, and can help us to understand the dynamics of the reconnection. We examine several instances, taken largely from the SOHO/LASCO CME-rays Catalog, where these blobs are clearly visible in white-light data. Using radially filtered, difference, wavelet enhanced, and multiscale Gaussian normalized images to visually inspect Solar Dynamics Observatory/Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) data in multiple wavelengths, we look for signatures of material that correspond both temporally and spatially to the later appearance of the blobs in LASCO/C2. Constraints from measurements of the blobs allow us to predict the expected count rates in DN pixel−1 s−1 for each AIA channel. The resulting values would make the blobs bright enough to be detectable at 1.2 R ⊙. However, we do not see conclusive evidence for corresponding blobs in the AIA data in any of the events. We do the same calculation for the “cartwheel CME,” an event in which blobs were seen in X-rays, and find that our estimated count rates are close to those observed. We suggest several possibilities for the absence of the EUV blobs including the formation of the blob higher than the AIA field of view, blob coalescence, and overestimation of blob densities.

Three-Dimensional Simulations of Tearing and Intermittency in Coronal Jets.

Observations of coronal jets increasingly suggest that local fragmentation and intermittency play an important role in the dynamics of these events. In this work we investigate this fragmentation in high-resolution simulations of jets in the closed-field corona. We study two realizations of the embedded-bipole model, whereby impulsive helical outflows are driven by reconnection between twisted and untwisted field across the domed fan plane of a magnetic null. We find that the reconnection region fragments following the onset of a tearing-like instability, producing multiple magnetic null points and flux-rope structures within the current layer. The flux ropes formed within the weak-field region in the center of the current layer are associated with "blobs" of density enhancement that become filamentary threads as the flux ropes are ejected from the layer, whereupon new flux ropes form behind them. This repeated formation and ejection of flux ropes provides a natural explanation for the intermittent outflows, bright blobs of emission, and filamentary structure observed in some jets. Additional observational signatures of this process are discussed. Essentially all jet models invoke reconnection between regions of locally closed and locally open field as the jet-generation mechanism. Therefore, we suggest that this repeated tearing process should occur at the separatrix surface between the two flux systems in all jets. A schematic picture of tearing-mediated jet reconnection in three dimensions is outlined.

XMM–Newtonstudies of the supernova remnant G350.0−2.0

We report the results of XMM-Newton observations of the Galactic mixed-morphology supernova remnant G350.0$-$2.0. Diffuse thermal X-ray emission fills the north-western part of the remnant surrounded by radio shell-like structures. We did not detect any X-ray counterpart of the latter structures, but found several bright blobs within the diffuse emission. The X-ray spectrum of the most part of the remnant can be described by a collisionally-ionized plasma model VAPEC with solar abundances and a temperature of $\approx 0.8$ keV. The solar abundances of plasma indicate that the X-ray emission comes from the shocked interstellar material. The overabundance of Fe was found in some of the bright blobs. We also analysed the brightest point-like X-ray source 1RXS J172653.4$-$382157 projected on the extended emission. Its spectrum is well described by the two-temperature optically thin thermal plasma model MEKAL typical for cataclysmic variable stars. The cataclysmic variable source nature is supported by the presence of a faint ($g\approx21$) optical source with non-stellar spectral energy distribution at the X-ray position of 1RXS J172653.4$-$382157. It was detected with the XMM-Newton optical/UV monitor in the $U$ filter and was also found in the archival H$\alpha$ and optical/near-infrared broadband sky survey images. On the other hand, the X-ray spectrum is also described by the power law plus thermal component model typical for a rotation powered pulsar. Therefore, the pulsar interpretation of the source cannot be excluded. For this source, we derived the upper limit for the pulsed fraction of 27 per cent.

Observations of Multiple Blobs in Homologous Solar Coronal Jets in Closed Loop

Coronal bright points (CBPs) and jets are ubiquitous small-scale brightenings that are often associated with each other. In this paper, we report our multiwavelength observations of two groups of homologous jets. The first group was observed by the EUVI aboard the behind STEREO spacecraft in 171 {\AA} and 304 {\AA} on 2014 September 10, from a location where data from the SDO could not observe. The jets (J1$-$J6) recurred for six times with intervals of 5$-$15 minutes. They originated from the same primary CBP (BP1) and propagated in the northeast direction along large-scale, closed coronal loops. Two of the jets (J3 and J6) produced sympathetic CBPs (BP2 and BP3) after reaching the remote footpoints of the loops. The time delays between the peak times of BP1 and BP2 (BP3) are 240$\pm$75 s (300$\pm75$ s). The jets were not coherent. Instead, they were composed of bright and compact blobs. The sizes and apparent velocities of the blobs are 4.5$-$9 Mm and 140$-$380 km/s, respectively. The arrival times of the multiple blobs in the jets at the far-end of the loops indicate that the sympathetic CBPs are caused by jet flows rather than thermal conduction fronts. The second group was observed by the AIA aboard SDO in various wavelengths on 2010 August 3. Similar to the first group, the jets originated from a short-lived bright point (BP) at the boundary of AR 11092 and propagated along a small-scale, closed loop before flowing into the active region. Several tiny blobs with sizes of $\sim$1.7 Mm and apparent velocity of ~238 km/s were identified in the jets. We carried out the DEM inversions to investigate the temperatures of the blobs, finding that the blobs were multithermal with average temperature of 1.8$-$3.1 MK.

The complex environment of the bright carbon star TX Piscium as probed by spectro-astrometry

Context: Stars on the asymptotic giant branch (AGB) show broad evidence of inhomogeneous atmospheres and circumstellar envelopes. These have been studied by a variety of methods on various angular scales. In this paper we explore the envelope of the well-studied carbon star TX Psc by the technique of spectro-astrometry. Aims: We explore the potential of this method for detecting asymmetries around AGB stars. Methods:We obtained CRIRES observations of several CO $\Delta$v=1 lines near 4.6 $\mu$m and HCN lines near 3 $\mu$m in 2010 and 2013. These were then searched for spectro-astrometric signatures. For the interpretation of the results, we used simple simulated observations. Results: Several lines show significant photocentre shifts with a clear dependence on position angle. In all cases, tilde-shaped signatures are found where the positive and negative shifts (at PA 0deg) are associated with blue and weaker red components of the lines. The shifts can be modelled with a bright blob 70 mas to 210 mas south of the star with a flux of several percent of the photospheric flux. We estimate a lower limit of the blob temperature of 1000 K. The blob may be related to a mass ejection as found for AGB stars or red supergiants. We also consider the scenario of a companion object. Conclusions: Although there is clear spectro-astrometric evidence of a rather prominent structure near TX Psc, it does not seem to relate to the other evidence of asymmetries, so no definite explanation can be given. Our data thus underline the very complex structure of the environment of this star, but further observations that sample the angular scales out to a few hundred milli-arcseconds are needed to get a clearer picture.

Blobs in recurring extreme-ultraviolet jets

In this paper, we report our discovery of blobs in the recurrent and homologous jets that occurred at the western edge of NOAA active region 11259 on 2011 July 22. The jets were observed in the seven extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) filters of the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) instrument aboard the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO). Using the base-difference images of the six filters (94, 131, 171, 211, 193, and 335 {\AA}), we carried out the differential emission measure (DEM) analyses to explore the thermodynamic evolutions of the jets. The jets were accompanied by cool surges observed in the H$\alpha$ line center of the ground-based telescope in the Big Bear Solar Observatory. The jets that had lifetimes of 20$-$30 min recurred at the same place for three times with interval of 40$-$45 min. Interestingly, each of the jets intermittently experienced several upward eruptions at the speed of 120$-$450 km s$^{-1}$. After reaching the maximum heights, they returned back to the solar surface, showing near-parabolic trajectories. The falling phases were more evident in the low-$T$ filters than in the high-$T$ filters, indicating that the jets experienced cooling after the onset of eruptions. We identified bright and compact blobs in the jets during their rising phases. The simultaneous presences of blobs in all the EUV filters were consistent with the broad ranges of the DEM profiles of the blobs ($5.5\le \log T\le7.5$), indicating their multi-thermal nature. The median temperatures of the blobs were $\sim$2.3 MK. The blobs that were $\sim$3 Mm in diameter had lifetimes of 24$-$60 s. To our knowledge, this is the first report of blobs in coronal jets. We propose that these blobs are plasmoids created by the magnetic reconnection as a result of tearing-mode instability and ejected out along the jets.

LOW IONIZATION STATE PLASMA IN CORONAL MASS EJECTIONS

The Ultraviolet Coronagraph Spectrometer on board the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) often observes low ionization state coronal mass ejection (CME) plasma at ultraviolet wavelengths. The CME plasmas are often detected in O VI (3x10^5K), C III (8x10^4K), LyA, and LyB, with the low ionization plasma confined to bright filaments or blobs that appear in small segments of the UVCS slit. On the other hand, in situ observations by the Solar Wind Ion Composition Spectrometer (SWICS) on board Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) have shown mostly high ionization state plasmas in the magnetic clouds in interplanetary coronal mass ejections (ICME) events, while low ionization states are rarely seen. In this analysis, we investigate whether the low ionization state CME plasmas observed by UVCS occupy small enough fractions of the CME to be consistent with the small fraction of ACE ICMEs that show low ionization plasma, or whether the CME plasma must be further ionized after passing the UVCS slit. To do this, we determine the covering factors of low ionization state plasma for 10 CME events. We find that the low ionization state plasmas in CMEs observed by UVCS show average covering factors below 10%. This indicates that the lack of low ionization state ICME plasmas observed by the ACE results from a small probability that the spacecraft passes through a region of low ionization plasma. We also find that the low ionization state plasma covering factors in faster CMEs are smaller than in slower CMEs.

IMAGING OBSERVATIONS OF QUASI-PERIODIC PULSATIONS IN SOLAR FLARE LOOPS WITHSDO/AIA

Quasi-periodic pulsations (QPPs) of flaring emission with periods from a few seconds to tens of minutes have been widely detected from radio bands to gamma-ray emissions. However, in the past the spatial information of pulsations could not be utilized well due to the instrument limits. We report here imaging observations of the QPPs in three loop sections during a C1.7 flare with periods of P = 24 s-3 minutes by means of the extreme-ultraviolet 171 angstrom channel of the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) instrument on board the Solar Dynamics Observatory. We confirm that the QPPs with the shortest period of 24 s were not of an artifact produced by the Nyquist frequency of the AIA 12 s cadence. The QPPs in the three loop sections were interconnected and closely associated with the flare. The detected perturbations propagated along the loops at speeds of 65-200 km s(-1), close to those of acoustic waves in them. The loops were made up of many bright blobs arranged in alternating bright and dark changes in intensity (spatial periodical distribution) with the wavelengths 2.4-5 Mm (as if they were magnetohydrodynamic waves). Furthermore, in the time-distance diagrams, the detected perturbation wavelengths of the QPPs are estimated to be similar to 10 Mm, which evidently do not fit the above ones of the spatial periodic distributions and produce a difference of a factor of 2-4 with them. It is suggested that the short QPPs with periods P 60 s were the higher (e. g., > 2nd) harmonics of slow magnetoacoustic waves.

SMALL-SCALE, DYNAMIC BRIGHT BLOBS IN SOLAR FILAMENTS AND ACTIVE REGIONS

High cadence high spatial resolution observations in H-alpha with the Swedish 1-m Solar Telescope on La Palma have revealed the existence of small-scale highly dynamic bright blobs. A fast wavelength tuning spectro-polarimeter provides spectral information of these structures. The blobs slide along thin magnetic threads at speeds in the range from 45 km/s to 111 km/s. The blobs have a slight elongated shape and their lengths increase by a factor of 3 from close to 1/2 arcsec when they first appear till they disappear 1-2 min later. The brightest blobs show the highest speed. The widths of the H-alpha line emission of the blobs correspond to non-thermal velocities in the plasma less than 10 km/s which imply that they are not the result of shock driven heating. The dynamic character of the bright blobs is similar to what can be expected from an MHD fast mode pulse.

OBSERVING FLUX ROPE FORMATION DURING THE IMPULSIVE PHASE OF A SOLAR ERUPTION

Magnetic flux rope is believed to be an important structural component of coronal mass ejections (CMEs). While there exist much observational evidence of the flux rope after the eruption, e.g., as seen in remote-sensing coronagraph images or in-situ solar wind data, the direct observation of flux ropes during CME impulsive phase has been rare. In this Letter, we present an unambiguous observation of a flux rope still in the formation phase in the low corona. The CME of interest occurred above the east limb on 2010 November 03 with footpoints partially blocked. The flux rope was seen as a bright blob of hot plasma in AIA 131 \AA\ passband (peak temperature ~11 MK) rising from the core of the source active region, rapidly moving outward and stretching upward the surrounding background magnetic field. The stretched magnetic field seemed to curve-in behind the core, similar to the classical magnetic reconnection scenario in eruptive flares. On the other hand, the flux rope appeared as a dark cavity in AIA 211 \AA\ passpand (2.0 MK) and 171 \AA\ passband (0.6 MK); in these relatively cool temperature bands, a bright rim clearly enclosed the dark cavity. The bright rim likely represents the pile-up of the surrounding coronal plasma compressed by the expanding flux rope. The composite structure seen in AIA multiple temperature bands is very similar to that in the corresponding coronagraph images, which consists of a bright leading edge and a dark cavity, commonly believed to be a flux rope.

The Ovuscule

We propose an active contour (a.k.a. snake) that takes the shape of an ellipse. Its evolution is driven by surface terms made of two contributions: the integral of the data over an inner ellipse, counterbalanced by the integral of the data over an outer elliptical shell. We iteratively adapt the active contour to maximize the contrast between the two domains, which results in a snake that seeks elliptical bright blobs. We provide analytic expressions for the gradient of the snake with respect to its defining parameters, which allows for the use of efficient optimizers. An important contribution here is the parameterization of the ellipse which we define in such a way that all parameters have equal importance; this creates a favorable landscape for the proceedings of the optimizer. We validate our construct with synthetic data and illustrate its use on real data as well.

Atomic Force Microscopy Studies Provide Direct Evidence for Dimerization of the HIV Restriction Factor APOBEC3G

APOBEC3G (A3G) is an antiviral protein that binds RNA and single-stranded DNA (ssDNA). The oligomerization state of A3G is likely to be influenced by these nucleic acid interactions. We applied the power of nanoimaging atomic force microscopy technology to characterize the role of ssDNA in A3G oligomerization. We used recombinant human A3G prepared from HEK-293 cells and specially designed DNA substrates that enable free A3G to be distinguished unambiguously from DNA-bound protein complexes. This DNA substrate can be likened to a molecular ruler because it consists of a 235-bp double-stranded DNA visual tag spliced to a 69-nucleotide ssDNA substrate. This hybrid substrate enabled us to use volume measurements to determine A3G stoichiometry in both free and ssDNA-bound states. We observed that free A3G is primarily monomeric, whereas ssDNA-complexed A3G is mostly dimeric. A3G stoichiometry increased slightly with the addition of Mg2+, but dimers still predominated when Mg2+ was depleted. A His-248/His-250 Zn2+-mediated intermolecular bridge was observed in a catalytic domain crystal structure (Protein Data Bank code 3IR2); however, atomic force microscopy analyses showed that the stoichiometry of the A3G-ssDNA complexes changed insignificantly when these residues were mutated to Ala. We conclude that A3G exchanges between oligomeric forms in solution with monomers predominating and that this equilibrium shifts toward dimerization upon binding ssDNA.