Effect of upward ion on field-aligned currents in the near-earth magnetotail

A 3-dimensional resistive MHD simulation was carried out to study the effect of the upward ions on the field-aligned currents (FACs) in the near-earth magnetotail. The simulation results show that the up-flow ions originating from the nightside auroral oval would drift into the center plasma sheet along the magnetic field lines in the plasma sheet boundary, and have an important effect on the field-aligned currents. The main conclusions include that: 1) the upward-ions mainly affect the field-aligned currents in the near-earth magnetotail (inside 15 Re); 2) the generated FACs in the near-earth region have two types, i.e., Region 1 FAC in the high-latitude and Region 2 FAC in the low-latitude; 3) FACs increase with the enhancement of the upward ion flux; 4) with the same flux of the upward ions, FACs enhance with the increase of the velocity of the up-flow ions; 5) the intensification of FACs is also closely related with the latitude of the upward ions, and the ions from the closed field line region generate larger FACs; 6) the generation of FACs is closely related with B _y created by the upward ions. Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. CNSF-40474058 and CNSF-40536030)     

Probability of Field-Aligned Currents Observed by the Satellite Cluster in the Magnetotail

Field-aligned current （FAC） density distribution at the plasma sheet boundary layers is statistically studied. The FAC is calculated by the so-called curlometer technique with the data from FGM onboard the four Cluster spacecraft in 2001. By calculation we obtain a large number of FAC samples. In the samples, most of calculated FAC densities were very small and around zero caused by some errors or noise. In order to get the real FAC density distribution in the magnetotail, we use a three-Gaussian distribution to fit the errors, then subtract the estimated error contribution from the full distribution and obtain the FAC density distribution. The result shows that the FAC occurrence versus its density has a distribution consisting of a Gauss/an distribution with an additional decreasing exponential distribution. The most probable value of the FAC density is 3.45 pT/km.     

Modeling of field-aligned currents produced by asymmetric ring current during strong magnetic storms

The modeling of field-aligned currents (FACs) produced by an asymmetric ring current is presented. Our first results of the modeling of FACs in the magnetosphere, which were based on the theory advanced in [1–5], were obtained in [6]. It was shown that FACs develop as spiral structures. Extending this work, we came to the conclusion that FACs, appearing in the magnetosphere and ionosphere as a result of ion or electron injections, generally develop as clockwise (ion injections) or anticlockwise (electron injections) spirals that are independent of the number and energy spectra or space distributions of injected particles. A sharp maximum of FACs or an FAC jet in such spirals can be present at middle latitudes. The value of currents in a midlatitudinal FAC jet during strong magnetic storms and substorms could be of the same order as experimentally observed in the polar region. The model presented describes the dependence of ion FACs as well as FAC jets in the magnetosphere and ionosphere, on the parameters of injected particles. Space Research Center, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland. Published in Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Radiofizika, Vol. 41, No. 5, pp. 551–566, May, 1998.     

Contribution from the Earth's Bow Shock to Region 1 Current under Low Alfvén Mach Numbers

Using global MHD simulations of the solar wind-magnetosphere-ionosphere system, we investigate the dependence of the contribution from the Earth's bow shock (I_1bs) to ionospheric region 1 field aligned current (FAC) (I₁). It is found that I_1bs increases with increasing southward interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) strength B_s, if the Alfvén Mach number M_A of the solar wind exceeds 2, a similar result as obtained by previous authors. However, if M_A becomes close to or falls below 2, I_1bs will decrease with B_s in both magnitude and percentage (i.e., I_1bs}/I₁) because of the resultant reduction of the bow shock strength. Both the surface current density J_bs at the nose of the bow shock and the total bow shock current I_bs share nearly the same relationship with M_A, and vary non-monotonically with M_A or B_s. The maximum point is found to be located at M_A = 2.7. Three conclusions are then made as follows: (1) The surface current density at the nose, which is much easier to be evaluated, may be used to largely describe the behaviour of the bow shock instead of the total bow shock current. (2) The peak of the total bow shock current is reached at about M_A = 2.7 when only B_s is adjusted. (3) The non-monotonic variation of the bow shock current with M_A causes a similar variation of its contribution to region 1 FAC. The turning point for such contribution is found to be nearly M_A= 2. The implication of these conclusions to the saturation of the ionospheric transpolar potential is briefly discussed     

Theoretical Strength of Face-Centred-Cubic Single Crystal Copper Based on a Continuum Model

The constitutive relation of single crystal copper based on atomistic potential is implemented to capture the nonlinear inter-atomic interactions. Uniaxial loading tests of single crystal copper with inter-atomic potential finite-element model are carried out to determine the corresponding ideal strength using the modified Born stability criteria. Dependence of the ideal strength on the crystallographic orientation is studied, and tension- compression asymmetry in ideal strength is also investigated. The results suggest that asymmetry for yielding strength of nano-materials may result from anisotropic character of crystal instability. Moreover, the results also reveal that the critical resolved shear stress in the direction of slip is not an accurate criterion for the ideal strength since it could not capture the dependence on the loading conditions and hydrostatic stress components for the ideal strength.     

Dynamic Processes of Cross-Tail Current in the Near-Earth Magnetotail

Current dynamic processes in realistic magnetotail geometry simulations under various driven conditions and Hall effects. are studied by Hall magnetohydrodynamic （MHD） Associated with the external driving force, a thin current sheet with a broad extent is built up in the near-Earth magnetotail. The time evolution for the formation of the current sheet comprises two phases： slow growth and a fast impulsive phase before the near-Earth disruption of the current sheet resulting from the fast magnetic reconnection. The simulation results indicate that as the external driving force increases, the site and the tailward speed of the near-Earth current disruption region are closer to the Earth and faster, respectively. Whether the near-Earth disruption of the current sheet takes place or not is mainly controlled by Hall effects. It is found that there is no sudden disruption of the current sheet in the near-Earth region if the ion inertial length is below di= 0.04.     

Hard Sphere Diffusion Behaviour of Polymer Translocating through Interacting Pores

The translocation of polymer chain through a small pore from a high concentration side (cis side) to a low concentration side (trans side) is simulated by using Monte Carlo technique. The effect of the polymer--pore interaction on the translocation is studied. We find a special interaction at which the decay of the number of polymer chain, N, at the cis side obeys Fick's law, i.e. N decreases exponentially with time. The behaviour is analogous to the diffusion of hard sphere.     

Effects of Helium and Oxygen Common Implantation in Silicon Wafer

Defect engineering for SiO2 precipitation is investigated using He-ion implantation as the first stage of separation by implanted oxygen （SIMOX）. Cavities axe created in Si by implantation with helium ions. After thermal annealing at different temperatures, the sample is implanted with 120 keV 8.0 ×1016 cm 2 0 ions. The Q ion energy is chosen such that the peak of the concentration distribution is centred at the cavity band. For comparison, another sample is implanted with O ions alone. Cross-sectionM transmission electron microscopy （XTEM）, Fourier transform infrared absorbance spectrometry （FTIR） and atomic force microscopy （AFM） measurements are used to investigate the samples. The results show that a narrow nano-cavity layer is found to be excellent nucleation sites that effectively assisted SiO2 formation and released crystal lattice strain associated with silicon oxidation.     

A Closed-Form Model for Position-Dependent Potential across the Channel in DG-MOSFETs

A closed-form model for electrostatic potential distribution in the direction normal to the channel for double-gate （DG） MOSFETs is presented. The effects of doping （NA for nMOS） and minority carriers both are taken into account for the first time, in solving Poisson＇s equation analytically. Excellent agreement between model-predicted results and numerical device simulation is achieved for a wide range of body thickness, light or high channeldoping, under various bias conditions. This complete closed form for position-dependent potential distribution has wide applications for MOS compact modelling and device design.     

Dependence of Photovoltaic Property of ZnO/Si Heterojunction Solar Cell on Thickness of ZnO Films

N-ZnO/p-Si heterojunctions are prepared by sputtering deposition of intrinsic ZnO films on p-Si substrates. Thicknesses of ZnO films are altered by varying the deposition time from I h to 3h. The electrical properties of these structures are analysed from capacitance-voltage （C V） and current-voltage （I-V） characteristics performed in a dark room. The results demonstrated that all the samples show strong rectifying behaviour. Photovoltaie property for the samples with different thicknesses of ZnO films are investigated by measuring open circuit voltage and short circuit current. It is found that photovoltages are kept to be almost constant of 320 m V along with the thickness while photoeurrents changing a lot. The variation mechanism of the photovoltade effect as a function of thickness of ZnO films is investigated.     

Evidence of Scaling in Chinese Income Distribution

With income data from Chinese household income projects in 1998-2002, we study the functional form of Chinese income distribution. The fitting results suggest a log-normal distribution plus a power-law tail. This distributional form has changed a lot from its appearance in the early stage of China＇s reform and turns out to be consistent with that of some complete market economies. The uncertainty and diversity of income growth rate aroused by marketing reform are the main causes of current Chinese income distribution.     

Influence of Substrate on the Transportation Properties of Co/Alq3 Granular Films on a Si Wafer

A series of Co0.48 （Alq3）0.52 granular films were deposited on silicon substrates using the co-evaporating technique. A crossover of magnetoresistance （MR） from negative to positive was observed in the samples, due to conducting channel switching. The transport properties of samples are greatly influenced by hydrofluoric acid pretreatment, as a result, positive MR decreases drastically and the temperature dependence of resistance changes a lot near room temperature. The result indicates that the native oxide layer plays an important role in the transport mechanism. Moreover, different resistivities of Si substrates influence the current distribution of conducting channels, leading to different transport behaviors accordingly.     

Experimental Research of Spontaneous Evolution from Ultracold Rydberg Atoms to Plasma

The spontaneous evolution from ultracold Rydberg atoms to plasma is investigated in a caesium MOT by using the method of field ionization. The plasma transferred from atoms in different Rydberg states （n = 22-32） are obtained experimentally. Dependence of the threshold time of evolving to plasma and the threshold number of initial Rydberg atoms on the principal quantum number of initial Rydberg states is studied. The experimental results are in agreement with hot-cold Rydberg-Rydberg atom collision ionization theory.     

Correlations between Strong Range Spread-F and GPS L-Band Scintillations Observed in Hainan in 2004

Data from the DPS-4 digisonde and the GPS L-band ionospheric scintillation monitor are employed to study the correlations between strong range spread-F （SSF） and GPS L-band scintillations observed in the ionosphere over Hainan Island, China （19.5°N, 109.1°E geogr., dip lat. 9°N） in 2004. The SSF in the ionogram is different from the general range spread-F because it extends in frequency well beyond FoF2 and makes FoF2 difficult to be determined. The observations show that the SSF phenomenon is frequently accompanied by the occurrence of GPS L-band scintillations. The SSF and GPS L-band scintillations occur frequently in the equinoctial months （March, April, September, and October）, but rarely in the winter （January, February, November, and December） and summer （May-August）; especially, occurrence variations of the SSF and GPS L-band scintillations nearly have a same trend. The SSF and scintillations may be associated with the occurrence of topside plasma bubbles and could be explained by the eneralized Rayleigh-Taylor instability.     

Mechanism of Current Oscillations in Gallium ArsenidePhotoconductive Semiconductor Switches

Semi-insulating photoconductive semiconductor switch with an electrode gap of 4 mm, triggered by a laser pulse with energy of 0.5md, and applied bias of 2.5kV, the periodicity current oscillation with a cycle of 12ns is obtained. It is indicated that the current oscillation is one mode of transferred electron effect, namely quenched domain mode. This mode of trans-electron oscillator is obtained when the instantaneous bias electric field drops below the sustaining field （the minimum electric field required to support the domain） before the domain reaches the anode, which leads to the domain disappears somewhere in the bulk of the switch and away from the ohmic contacts. We mainly analyse the time-dependent characteristic of the mode, the theoretical analysis results are in excellent agreement with the experiment.     

Effect of Coma Aberration on Orbital Angular Momentum Spectrum of Vortex Beams

Spiral spectra of vortex beams with coma aberration are studied. It is shown that the orbital angular momentum （OAM） states of vortex beams with coma aberration are different from those aberration-free vortex beams. Spiral spectra of beams with coma aberration are spreading. It is found that in the presence of coma aberration, the vortex beams contain not only the original OAM component but also other components. A larger coma aberration coefficient and/or a larger beam waist will lead to a wider spreading of the spiral spectrum. The results may have potential applications in information encoding and transmittance.     

Experimental Study on Liquid Free Surface in Buoyant-Thermocapillary Convection

We investigate the surface deformations of buoyant-thermocapillary convection in a rectangular cavity due to gravity and temperature gradient between the two sidewalls. The cavity is 52mm×42 mm in horizontal cross section, the thickness of liquid layer h is changed from 2.5 mm to 6.5 mm. Surface deformations of h = 3.5 mm and 6.0mm are discussed and compared. Temperature difference is increased gradually, and the flow in the liquid layer will change from stable convection to unstable convection. Two kinds of optical diagnostic system with image processor are developed for study of the kinetics of buoyant-thermocapillary convection, they give out the information of liquid free surface. The quantitative results are calculated by Fourier transform and correlation analysis, respectively. With the increasing temperature gradient, surface deformations calculated are more declining. It is interesting phenomenon that the inclining directions of the convections in thin and thick liquid layers are different. For a thin layer, the convection is mainly controlled by thermocapillary effect. However, for a thick layer, the convection is mainly controlled by buoyancy effect. The surface deformation theoretically analysed is consistent with our experimental results. The present experiment proves that surface deformation is related to temperature gradient and thickness of the liquid layer. In other words, surface deformation lies on capillary convection and buoyancy convection.     

Generation of Electric Field and Net Charge in Hall Reconnection

Generation of Hall electric field and net charge associated initial conditions of plasma density and magnetic field. with magnetic reconnection is studied under different With inclusion of the Hall effects, decoupling of the electron and ion motions leads to the formation of a narrow layer with strong electric field and large net charge density along the separatrix. The asymmetry of the plasma density or magnetic field or both across the current sheet will largely increase the magnitude of the electric field and net charge. The results indicate that the asymmetry of the magnetic field is more effective in producing larger electric field and charge density. The electric field and net charge are always much larger in the low density or/and high magnetic field side than those in the high density or/and low magnetic field side. Both the electric field and net charge density are linearly dependent on the ratios of the plasma density or the square of the magnetic field across the current sheet. For the case with both initial asymmetries of the magnetic field and density, rather large Hall electric field and charge density are generated.     

Storm-Time Strong Field-Aligned Ion Upflow in Region of the SED Plume

We report the observations from the GPS TEC and DMSP F-13 satellites showing that very strong upward field-aligned （FA） ion velocity and flux in the outer region of the storm-enhanced density （SED） occurred in the event of the geomagnetic storm on 29-31 May 2003. By a method of coordinate transformation, upward FA ion velocities in excess of 25Orals are obtained from the observations of the DMSP F-13 satellite. Further, an FA ion flux is estimated to be about 4.5 x 1013 ions/m2 s in the dusk sector. The estimated FA ion velocity and flux provide a powerful direct proof to support the scenario that there is a strong coupling of particles between the ionosphere and plasmasphere in the region of the SED plume. In the process, FA ion flux transports from the ionosphere to the plasmasphere in the region of the SED plume. Therefore, the plume of SED in the ionosphere provides an important source to the enhanced density of O^＋ in the storm-time plasmasphere.     

Temperature-Controllable Preparation of ZnS Nanosaws on Si Substrate

A large number of ZnS nanosaws are synthesized on Si substrates in the presence of Au catalyst by thermally evaporating ZnS powder. Morphologies and structures of thus-grown ZnS nanosaws are characterized by a field emission scanning electron microscopy （FE-SEM） and a transmission electron microscopy （TEM）. The results show that temperature of the Si substrates used for collection of the products is a critical experimental parameter for the formation of ZnS nanostruetures with different morphologies. The growth mechanism of the ZnS nanosaws is discussed on the basis of the experimental findings.