A Possibility for Studying Gravitational Properties of the Neutrino

We consider the effect that the gravitational field of a neutrino pulse radiated in the collapse of presupernova nuclei has on the observable optical radiation spectra of atoms at the supernova surface. We show that at the modern level of development of experimental methods, neutrino monitoring supplemented by optical monitoring of supernova candidates provides a unique possibility to check whether the Einstein equivalence principle is satisfied for neutrinos of each of the three types (electron, muon, and tau-lepton) and their antiparticles, to estimate the change of the gravitational potential at the surface of the star at the instant of the neutrino radiation pulse, and to obtain upper limits on the mass values of these neutrinos in a new way.     

GRIF-1 experiment on board the SPEKTR/MIR orbital complex: Study of solar X-ray,gamma-ray,and neutron flares and correlation of magnetosphere-charged particle fluxes with solar activity

The SPEKTR module of the MIR orbital station was launched in May 1995. The multipurpose experiment was based on the GRIF-1 research complex consisting of an oriented X-ray spectrometer, a spectrometer of gamma-quanta and neutrons, a spectrometer of electrons and protons with a large geometrical factor, and a spectrometer of electrons, protons, and nuclei with a small geometrical factor. The solar geophysical aspects of the experiment included the measurements of spectral and temporal parameters of solar hard electromagnetic (0.01–50 MeV) and neutron (>20 MзB) radiation, the study of spectral, temporal, and spatial characteristics of energetic electrons (0.04–1.5 MeV), protons, and nuclei (1–200 MeV/nucleon) in the circumterrestrial space, as well as the correlations of these parameters with solar activity phenomena.     

Nonlinear Electrodynamic Delay of Electromagnetic Signals in a Coulomb Field

We study the motion of electromagnetic signals in the Coulomb electric field of a compact gravitating center under the laws of the parameterized nonlinear electrodynamics of the vacuum. We evaluate the deflection angles of the rays along which the electromagnetic waves of two normal modes propagate in this field. We determine the nonlinear electrodynamic delay of the electromagnetic signal of one normal mode relative to the electromagnetic signal of another normal mode during their propagation from the same source to an observer.     

Detection of global phenomena of technogenic ultraviolet and infrared nightglows onboard the Vernov satellite

The generation of transients in the Earth’s upper atmosphere under the action of electron fluxes and high- and low-frequency electromagnetic waves has been studied onboard the small Vernov spacecraft (solar synchronous orbit, 98° inclination, height 640–830 km). The studies were carried out with ultraviolet (UV, 240–380 nm), red–infrared (IR, 610–800 nm), gamma-ray (0.01–3 MeV), and electron (0.2–15 MeV) detectors as well as with high-frequency (0.05–15 MHz) and low-frequency (0.1 Hz–40 kHz) radio receivers. Artificial optical signals distributed along the meridian in an extended region of latitudes in the Earth’s Northern and Southern Hemispheres modulated by a low frequency were recorded during the nadir observations at nighttime. Examples of the oscillograms of such signals in the UV and IR spectral ranges and their global distribution are presented. The emission generation altitude and the atmospheric components that can be the sources of this emission are discussed. Particular attention is given to the technogenic causes of this glow in the ionosphere under the action of powerful low- and high-frequency radio stations on the ionosphere.     

Nonlinear Electromagnetic Delay of Electromagnetic Signals Propagating in the Magnetic Meridian Plane of Pulsars and Magnetars

We analyze the propagation of electromagnetic waves in the magnetic meridian planes of neutron stars with a strong magnetic field in the framework of the parameterized post-Maxwellian electrodynamics of the vacuum. The origin of these electromagnetic waves is the curvature emission of X-rays and gamma rays from high-energy electrons in the vicinity of the magnetic poles of neutron stars. We show that in the case of a slowly varying intensity of X-ray and gamma-ray emission, the delay of the slow normal mode of electromagnetic waves relative to the fast mode results in a shift of the time dependence of the intensity of the detected radiation with one polarization relative to that of the radiation with the orthogonal polarization. In the case of single X-ray or gamma-ray pulses, the delay effect results in the polarization of the detected pulse varying during the pulse length, the leading edge of all pulses being polarized normally to the magnetic equator plane of the neutron star. We note that the modern level of the experimental technique, in principle, allows observing the manifestations of the delay effect for signals of different polarizations.     

The GRIF-2 solar-geophysical experiment on board ALPHA

The main purpose of the GRIF-2 solar-geophysical experiment on board the ALPHA space vehicle is the comprehensive study of the temporal and spectral characteristics of the high-energy neutral radiations (gamma-quanta, neutrons, etc.) generated in solar flares. Another important part of the experiment is the study of the dynamics of energetic charged particles (electrons, protons, etc.) in the circumterrestrial space and its correlation with solar phenomena. The complex of instruments includes a high-sensitivity oriented spectrometer of gamma-quanta and neutrons, an oriented spectrometer of X-rays and electrons with a large geometrical factor, and a spectrometer of electrons and protons with a small geometrical factor. The spectrometer of gamma-quanta and neutrons measures particle fluxes and spectra in the gamma-quantum energy range 0.1– 10 MeV and the spectrometer of neutrons is used for energies over 10 MeV. The spectrometer of X-rays and electrons is intended for both the continuous control of magnetospheric electron precipitations and monitoring the X-ray solar activity in the range 10–100 keV. The spectrometer of charged particles with a small geometrical factor is intended for measurement of high-intensity charged particle fluxes in the trapped radiation zones in the Earth magnetosphere.     

The properties of gamma-radiation and high-energy neutron fluxes in "MIR" station orbit

The study of radiation background components in the near-Earth space is very important for different branches of space research, in particular for space dosimetry and for the planning of gamma-astronomy experiments. Detailed information on the neutral components (gamma-quanta, neutrons) of background radiation was obtained during the Grif-1 experiment onboard Mir orbital station (OS). The measurements of fluxes of 0.05-50 MeV gamma-quanta and >30 MeV neutrons with a large area instrument (approximately 250 cm2 for gamma-quanta, approximately 30 cm2 for neutrons) as well as corresponding charged particle measurements (0.4-1.5 MeV electrons, 1-200 MeV protons) were made during this experiment. The background components induced by the station's own radiation as well as the albedo gamma-rays from the Earth's atmosphere were revealed as the result of data analysis for about 600 h of observation. A mathematical model describing the latitude and energy dependences of atmospheric albedo gamma-rays as well as of those of gamma-quanta produced in the material of the station due to cosmic ray interactions was developed. An analytical approximation of the spectrum of induced gamma-rays from radioactive isotopes stored in the station and instrument's materials is presented. The dynamics of gamma-quantum background fluxes during the geomagnetic disturbances of January 10-11, 1997 are discussed. An analytical representation of the latitude dependence of the integral flux of neutrons with >30 MeV is given.