NMR at very low fields

Although nuclear magnetic resonance in low fields around or below the Earth's magnetic field is almost as old as nuclear magnetic resonance itself, the recent years have experienced a revival of this technique that is opposed to the common trend towards higher and higher fields. The background of this development is the expectation that the low-field domain may open a new window for the study of molecular structure and dynamics. Here, we will give an overview on the specific features in the low-field domain, both from the technical and from the physical point of view. In addition, we present a short passage on the option of magnetic resonance imaging in fields of the micro-Tesla range.     

Influence of the solar-wind magnetic field on the magnetosheath turbulence behind the bow shock

The experiment Sura–-WIND (1996–1997) on radio-raying of geodisturbed solar-wind region is interpreted in terms of modern knowledge of an interaction between the magnetized solar wind and the Earth's magnetosphere. Characteristics of the scattered signal at 9 MHz, determined by a plasma turbulence level with scales about 100 km, are statistically related to in situ measurements of solar wind parameters such as plasma density and the orientation and magnitude of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) onboard WIND spacecraft. The dependence of the scintillation index of the detected scattered signal, characterising the average turbulence level of the Earth's magnetosheath behind the bow shock, on the IMF orientation and magnitude is revealed. To verify the relation obtained, modern nonlinear correlation techniques based on the theory of artificial neural networks (ANN) are applied. The results obtained using a three-layer ANN with error backpropagation confirm an essential IMF influence on the plasma turbulence in the magnetosheath.     

Small-angle scattering and diffraction

The direct measurement of magnetic fields by magnetometers, originally made of the Earth's magnetic field, has been now extended to solar planets by numerous satellite missions. Magnetic effects have been observed in the solar neighborhood and even near some comets, such as the Giotto mission to comet Halley. However, observations of magnetic fields in cosmic objects require remote sensing methods.     

On mechanical motion damping of a magnetically trapped diamagnetic particle

We discuss eddy-current-induced limitations of the attenuation of mechanical motion of a diamagnetic particle trapped by an inhomogeneous magnetic field in the Earth's gravitational potential. We show that the mechanical frequency of the particle oscillation is independent on the particle properties and is proportional to the free fall acceleration constant, similarly to the classical mechanical pendulum. The frequency can be used to measure the gravity field. The eddy-current induced attenuation constant does not depend on the mass of the particle and reduces with the particle volume. The quality factor of the mechanical motion can be as high as 10⁹ and is comparable with the attenuation due to interaction of the particle with incompletely evacuated air. A possibility of usage of the particle as a quantum mechanical system is discussed.     

Radio emission of a pulsed cosmic source of X-rays with 1-keV energy

The generation of electromagnetic signals due to the interaction of a cosmic X-ray with the Earth's atmosphere is considered. The amplitude and frequency of the radio signal are calculated, and the possibility of its detection at the Earth's surface is shown.     

Particle size analysis

Remote sensing is the popular name for the measurement of physical quantities at a distance, usually by quantitative spectroscopic methods. Its application to the study of the Earth's atmosphere and surface from satellites is a rapidly growing field, with many applications, and new or improved techniques are constantly being developed. In this article we look at some of the basic principles and technical challenges involved, and at the benefits which are accruing in a number of research areas in earth science, with particular emphasis on the use of remote sensing to understand global change.     

Theoretical analysis of electron acoustic shock waves in magnetized superthermal plasma with electron beam

We have analysed the small-amplitude non-linear electron acoustic shock waves by taking into account the effects of electron beam in magnetized plasma. Satellite observations in different regions of the Earth's magnetosphere have shown that the electrostatic solitary waves are generally associated with electron or/and ion beams. The nonlinear Korteweg-de-Vries Burgers (KdVB) equation has been derived by considering the basic fluid equations and dissipation effects. The nonlinear coefficient of KdVB equation comes out to be negative. Only dip-shaped potential structures are reported here. For the parameters discussed in this paper, we did not find positive polarity shocks. This could be due to the restrictions on the plasma parameters since we are using the fixed densities of the cold, hot, and beam electrons as observed by the Viking satellite in the auroral region. In this paper, the importance of the cold electron to hot electron temperature in conjunction with the beam speed is pointed out. Increase in beam density, kinematic viscosity, and magnetic field results in increase in the amplitude while the increase in hot electron concentration and superthermality leads to decrease in potential. The numerical analysis is presented for the parameters corresponding to the observation of burst b event by Viking satellite in the dayside auroral zone of the earth's magnetosphere.     

Nonlinear Resonant Interaction of Two Longitudinal Waves and a Transverse Wave in a Hot Magnetized Plasma

By Whitham's method of averaged Lagrangian and using Low's form of Lagrangian, coupled mode equations and coupling coefficients are derived for resonant nonlinear interaction of two longitudinal and one transverse wave in a magnetized plasma, in which the later wave propagates along the external uniform magnetic field. The limiting form of these coupling coefficients are obtained when the external magnetic field vanishes.     

Evaluation of nuclear quadrupole interactions as a source of magnetic anisotropy in the radical pair model of the avian magnetic compass

One of the principal proposed biophysical mechanisms put forward to explain the avian magnetic compass sense centres around magnetically sensitive chemistry. Based on a large number of in vitro studies of the effects of applied magnetic fields on the yields and rates of chemical reactions it has been suggested that the anisotropic magnetic interactions in spin-correlated radical pairs could be the source of the directional information that allows migratory birds to use the Earth's magnetic field as a navigational aid. Here numerical quantum mechanical simulations are employed to explore the possibility that the hitherto neglected nuclear quadrupole interaction may provide directional information in a radical pair magnetoreceptor. It is concluded that although nuclear quadrupole interactions could fulfil this function, they are unlikely to influence significantly the reaction yield anisotropy in the flavin-tryptophan radical pair that has been proposed as the in vivo magnetoreceptor.     

Magnetoelastic modelling of composites containing randomly dispersed ferromagnetic particles

Coupled magnetoelastic behaviour is investigated for two-phase composites containing randomly dispersed ferromagnetic particles under both magnetic and mechanical loading. The pair-wise particle interactions for magnetic field and elastic field are first defined by the solution for two particles embedded in the infinite domain, which is explicitly solved by the Green's function technique. By integrating the interactions from all other particles in the representative volume element, the homogenized magnetic and elastic fields are then obtained. Effective magnetostriction due to the magnetic interaction force is further derived. Without consideration of magnetic loading, this micromechanical model provides an effective elasticity with the pair-wise particle interactions. By dropping the interaction term, this model is reduced into Mori–Tanaka's model. Finally, magnetoelasticity is numerically solved by considering the magnetomechanical coupling effect. It is predicted that the effective Young's modulus and shear modulus decrease along with the increase of magnetic loading for random composites.     

Geomagnetism and the dynamo: where do we stand?

We review recent developments both in the observation of the Earth's magnetic field (from the short, human life timescale, to the long, geological timescale) and in the modelling of its origin (using the numerical or the experimental approach). We attempt a confrontation of these results, coming from very different fields, and show how, when combined, they can yield a better understanding of the Earth's core dynamics. We assume prior knowledge of dynamo theory, but not of geophysics. To cite this article: E. Dormy, J.-L. Le Mouël, C. R. Physique 9 (2008).     

等离子体加载螺旋线行波管特性研究

利用线性场理论和螺旋线的导电面模型，推导了在强引导磁场下，等离子体加载螺旋线慢波结构的色散关系.数值计算了在不同的等离子体填充密度与填充半径条件下，螺旋线的色散特性、耦合阻抗和行波管的小信号增益.研究发现，在螺旋线中填充了等离子体以后，形成了一种新的混合模式，螺旋线的色散特性与耦合阻抗都发生了很大的变化，行波管的增益得到显著提高. 关键词： 螺旋线行波管 等离子体 混合模式     

Self-Diffusion Imaging by Spin Echo in Earth's Magnetic Field

The NMR of the Earth's magnetic field is used for diffusion-weighted imaging of phantoms. Due to a weak Larmor field, care needs to be taken regarding the use of the usual high field assumption in calculating the effect of the applied inhomogeneous magnetic field. The usual definition of the magnetic field gradient must be replaced by a generalized formula valid when the strength of a nonuniform magnetic field and a Larmor field are comparable (J. Stepišnik,Z. Phys. Chem.190, 51–62 (1995)). It turns out that the expression for spin echo attenuation is identical to the well-known Torrey formula only when the applied nonuniform field has a proper symmetry. This kind of problem may occur in a strong Larmor field as well as when the slow diffusion rate of particles needs an extremely strong gradient to be applied. The measurements of the geomagnetic field NMR demonstrate the usefulness of the method for diffusion and flow-weighted imaging.     

Dynamics of ion-acoustic rogue waves in electron-positron-ion magneto-plasmas

A more general and realistic four-component magnetized plasma medium consisting of opposite polarity ions and nonthermal distributed positrons and electrons is considered to investigate the stable/unstable frequency regimes of modulated ion-acoustic waves (IAWs) in the D-F regions of Earth's ionosphere. A (3 + 1) -dimensional nonlinear Schrödinger equation, which leads to the modulation instability (MI) of IAWs, is derived. The parametric regimes for the existence of the MI, first- and second-order rogue waves, and also their basic features (viz., amplitude, width, and speed) are found to be significantly modified by the effect of physical plasma parameters and external magnetic field. It is found that the nonlinearity of the different types of electronegative plasma system depends on the positive to negative ion mass ratio. It is also shown that the presence of nonthermal distributed electrons and positrons modifies the nature of the MI of the modulated IAWs. The implication of our results for the laboratory plasma [e.g., (Ar⁺, F⁻ ) electronegative plasma] and space plasma [e.g., (H⁺, H⁻ ), () electronegative plasma in D-F regions of Earth's ionosphere] are briefly discussed.     

Response of auroral regions to directional changes of the interplanetary magnetic field: Case study

Summary On October 6, 1979, the low-altitude polar-orbiting satellites DMSP-F2 and-F4 crossed the auroral electron precipitation region in the opposite hemispheres at nearly the same universal time (UT) and in the same magnetic local-time (MLT) sector near midnight. Three pairs of such nearly simultaneous conjugate crossings took place during a period of enhanced magnetic activity and strongly turning northward or southward of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF). These conjugate observations allowed the study, with time resolution better than six minutes, of the variation, in response to directional changes of the interplanetary magnetic field, of the latitudinal position and width of the auroral regions; these are believed to map the central plasma sheet (CPS) and boundary plasma sheet (BPS). During the equatorward expansion of the whole auroral electron precipitation region, its latitudinal width is observed to decrease markedly when the IMF turns from a northern to a southern direction. In particular, a different response of the equatorward boundary of the auroral oval with respect to the poleward boundary results from the observations, showing that the speed of the equatorward expansion of the equatorward boundary, measured at a temporal resolution of less than 6 minutes, is lower than the speed of the poleward boundary. The BPS/CPS boundary moves coherently with the southward turning of the IMF, with intermediate speed. It follows that the latitudinal width of the poleward part of the auroral region, assumed to map the boundary plasma sheet, decreases more dramatically than the width of the equatorward part of the region mapping the central plasma sheet. These findings could be explained in terms of changes of the total open magnetic flux. Actually, the equatorward shift of the poleward boundary of the auroral oval and the subsequent dramatic thining of the BPS region seem to be the consequence of a larger number of geomagnetic flux line interconnected with the IMF during a southward IMF condition.     

Vortex interaction in Josephson-junction ladders

We calculate the vortex interaction in Josephson-junction ladders with an external transverse magnetic field. Using the dual transformation we transform the phase model of the Josephson-junction ladders into the vortex-gas system. In the vortex-gas system vortices interact with exponentially decaying interaction potential. The ground state of the vortex-gas is investigated analytically showing the devil's staircase structure of vortex density as a function of frustration. We also study the anisotropy effect on the system.     

On the use of archeology in geomagnetism,and vice-versa: Recent developments in archeomagnetism

Archeomagnetism allows one to track the temporal evolution in direction and intensity of the Earth's magnetic field over the past few millennia, mainly from archeological material baked during their manufacturing or use. Its applications are of interest to both geomagnetism, which investigates the behavior and origin of the geomagnetic field, and archeology, which relies on curves of the magnetic field direction and/or intensity secular variation for dating purposes. Recent archeomagnetic results also suggest a connection between the geomagnetic field and climatic changes during the Holocene. In this article, we also discuss the acquisition of new archeointensity data obtained from potsherds found in the Etruscan site of La Castellina (Italy) and in Vanves (France), respectively dated to the VIIth century BC and to the IXth century AD. To cite this article: Y. Gallet et al., C. R. Physique 10 (2009).     

Fast field-cycling magnetic resonance imaging

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and fast field-cycling (FFC) NMR are both well-developed methods. The combination of these techniques, namely fast field-cycling magnetic resonance imaging (FFC-MRI) is much less well-known. Nevertheless, FFC-MRI has a number of significant applications and advantages over conventional techniques, and is being pursued in a number of laboratories. This article reviews the progress in FFC-MRI over the last two decades, particularly in the areas of Earth's field and pre-polarised MRI, as well as free radical imaging using field-cycling Overhauser MRI. Different approaches to magnet design for FFC-MRI are also described. The paper then goes on to discuss recent techniques and applications of FFC-MRI, including protein measurement via quadrupolar cross-relaxation, contrast agent studies, localised relaxometry and FFC-MRI with magnetisation-transfer contrast.     

Field-aligned currents and convection patterns in the southernpolar cap during stable northward, southward, and azimuthal IMF

Equivalent ionospheric current patterns are derived from ground-based geomagnetic observations for events on 11-12 November 1979 (B_z≫0), 24 November 1981 (B_z≪0), 10-11 January 1980 (B_y ≫0) and 25-26 November 1979 (B_y ≪0), when the corresponding IMF (interplanetary magnetic field) conditions remained stable. The `radar scanning' technique was used to scan the southern polar cap with a chain of unmanned magnetometer stations placed from the cap border to the corrected geomagnetic pole approximately along geomagnetic meridian 110°. During a stable southward IMF a result was obtained, a reversal of antisunward convection flow is identified, and an NBZ-like FAC (field-aligned current) system is restored in the central part of the southern polar cap. It is concluded that there may be an additional NBZ-like system poleward of -85°, which is independent of the IMF and is generated by the quasiviscous interaction between solar-wind plasma and high-latitude lobes of the magnetospheric tail