# Modeling the response of a standard accretion disc to stochastic viscous fluctuations [HEAP]

The observed variability of X-ray binaries over a wide range of time-scales can be understood in the framework of a stochastic propagation model, where viscous fluctuations at different radii induce accretion rate variability that propagate inwards to the X-ray producing region. The scenario successfully explains the power spectra, the linear rms-flux relation as well as the time-lag between different energy photons. The predictions of this model have been obtained using approximate analytical solutions or empirically motivated models which take into account the effect of these propagating variability on the radiative process of complex accretion flows. Here, we study the variation of the accretion rate due to such viscous fluctuations using a hydro-dynamical code for the standard geometrically thin, gas pressure dominated $\alpha$-disc with a zero torque boundary condition. Our results confirm earlier findings that the time-lag between a perturbation and the resultant inner accretion rate variation depends on the frequency (or time-period) of the perturbation. Here we have quantified that the time-lag $t_{lag} \propto f^{-0.54}$, for time-periods less than the viscous time-scale of the perturbation radius and is nearly constant otherwise. This, coupled with radiative process would produce the observed frequency dependent time-lag between different energy bands. We also confirm that if there are random Gaussian fluctuations of the $\alpha$-parameter at different radii, the resultant inner accretion rate has a power spectrum which is a power-law.

N. Ahmad, R. Misra, N. Iqbal, et. al.
Fri, 18 Aug 17
8/47

# The Abundance of Helium in the Source Plasma of Solar Energetic Particles [SSA]

Studies of patterns of abundance enhancements of elements, relative to solar-coronal abundances, in large solar energetic-particle (SEP) events, and of their power-law dependence on the mass-to-charge ratio A/Q of the ions, have been used to determine the effective source-plasma temperature T that defines the Q-values of the ions. We find that a single assumed value for the coronal reference He/O ratio in all SEP events is often inconsistent with the transport-induced power-law trend of the other elements. In fact, the coronal He/O actually varies rather widely from one SEP event to another. In the large Fe-rich SEP events with T = 3 MK, where shock waves, driven out by coronal mass ejections (CMEs), have reaccelerated residual ions from impulsive suprathermal events that occur earlier in solar active regions, He/O = 90, a ratio similar to that in the slow solar wind, which may also originate from active regions. Ions in the large SEP events with T < 2 MK may be accelerated outside active regions, and have values of 40 < He/O < 60. Mechanisms that determine coronal abundances, including variations of He/O, are likely to occur near the base of the corona (at ~ 1.1 RS) and thus to affect both SEPs (at ~2 – 3 RS) and the solar wind. Other than He, reference coronal abundances for heavier elements show little temperature dependence or systematic difference between SEP events; He, the element with the highest first ionization potential, is unique. The CME-driven shock waves probe the same regions of space, at ~2 RS near active regions, which are also likely sources of the slow solar wind, providing complementary information on conditions in those regions.

D. Reames
Fri, 18 Aug 17
9/47

Comments: 28 pages, 13 figures, accepted by Solar Physics

# PyCosmo: An Integrated Cosmological Boltzmann Solver [CEA]

As wide-field surveys yield ever more precise measurements, cosmology has entered a phase of high precision requiring highly accurate and fast theoretical predictions. At the heart of most cosmological model predictions is a numerical solution of the Einstein-Boltzmann equations governing the evolution of linear perturbations in the Universe. We present PyCosmo, a new Python-based framework to solve this set of equations using a special pur- pose solver based on symbolic manipulations, automatic generation of C++ code and sparsity optimisation. The code uses a consistency relation of the field equations to adapt the time step and does not rely on physical approximations for speed-up. After reviewing the system of first-order linear homogeneous differential equations to be solved, we describe the numerical scheme implemented in PyCosmo. We then compare the predictions and performance of the code for the computation of the transfer functions of cosmological perturbations and compare it to existing cosmological Boltzmann codes. We find that we achieve comparable execution times for comparable accuracies. While PyCosmo does not yet have all the features of other codes, our approach is complementary to existing cosmological Boltzmann solvers and can be used as an independent test of their numerical solutions. The symbolic representation of the Einstein-Boltzmann equation system in PyCosmo provides a convenient interface for implementing extended cosmological models. We also discuss how the PyCosmo framework can also be used as a general framework to compute cosmological quantities as well as observables for both interactive and high-performance batch jobs applications. Information about the PyCosmo package and future code releases are available at this http URL

A. Refregier, L. Gamper, A. Amara, et. al.
Fri, 18 Aug 17
10/47

Comments: 9 pages, 3 figures, 1 table. Submitted to Astronomy and Computing. See this http URL

|

# A theoretical model of the variation of the meridional circulation with the solar cycle [SSA]

Observations of the meridional circulation of the Sun, which plays a key role in the operation of the solar dynamo, indicate that its speed varies with the solar cycle, becoming faster during the solar minima and slower during the solar maxima. To explain this variation of the meridional circulation with the solar cycle, we construct a theoretical model by coupling the equation of the meridional circulation (the $\phi$ component of the vorticity equation within the solar convection zone) with the equations of the flux transport dynamo model. We consider the back reaction due to the Lorentz force of the dynamo-generated magnetic fields and study the perturbations produced in the meridional circulation due to it. This enables us to model the variations of the meridional circulation without developing a full theory of the meridional circulation itself. We obtain results which reproduce the observational data of solar cycle variations of the meridional circulation reasonably well. We get the best results on assuming the turbulent viscosity acting on the velocity field to be comparable to the magnetic diffusivity (i.e. on assuming the magnetic Prandtl number to be close to unity). We have to assume an appropriate bottom boundary condition to ensure that the Lorentz force cannot drive a flow in the subadiabatic layers below the bottom of the tachocline. Our results are sensitive to this bottom boundary condition. We also suggest a hypothesis how the observed inward flow towards the active regions may be produced.

G. Hazra and A. Choudhuri
Fri, 18 Aug 17
11/47

Comments: 15 pages, 11 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS

# MAGIC Contributions to the 35th International Cosmic Ray Conference (ICRC2017) [HEAP]

MAGIC (Major Atmospheric Gamma Imaging Cherenkov) is a system of two 17 m diameter, F/1.03 Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes (IACT). They are dedicated to the observation of gamma rays from galactic and extragalactic sources in the very high energy range (VHE, 30 GeV to 100 TeV).
This submission contains links to the proceedings for the 35th International Cosmic Ray Conference (ICRC2017), held in Bexco, Busan, Korea from the 12th to the 17th of July, 2017. Links will appear in the following weeks as long as the proceedings are uploaded in the arXiv.

MAGIC. Collaboration, M. Ahnen, S. Ansoldi, et. al.
Fri, 18 Aug 17
12/47

Comments: HTML page with links (to be filled and updated in the following weeks)

# Discovery of a Detached, Eclipsing 40 min Period Double White Dwarf Binary and a Friend: Implications for He+CO White Dwarf Mergers [SSA]

We report the discovery of two detached double white dwarf (WD) binaries, SDSS J082239.546+304857.19 and SDSS J104336.275+055149.90, with orbital periods of 40 and 46 min, respectively. The 40 min system is eclipsing; it is composed of a 0.30 Msun and a 0.52 Msun WD. The 46 min system is a likely LISA verification binary. The short 20 Myr and ~34 Myr gravitational wave merger times of the two binaries imply that many more such systems have formed and merged over the age of the Milky Way. We update the estimated Milky Way He+CO WD binary merger rate and affirm our previously published result: He+CO WD binaries merge at a rate at least 40 times greater than the formation rate of stable mass-transfer AM~CVn binaries, and so the majority must have unstable mass-transfer. The implication is that spin-orbit coupling in He+CO WD mergers is weak, or perhaps nova-like outbursts drive He+CO WDs into merger as proposed by Shen.

W. Brown, M. Kilic, A. Kosakowski, et. al.
Fri, 18 Aug 17
13/47

Comments: 11 pages, accepted to ApJ

# Adaptive optics and lightcurve data of asteroids: twenty shape models and information content analysis [EPA]

We present shape models and volume estimates of twenty asteroids based on relative photometry and adaptive optics images. We discuss error estimation and the effects of myopic deconvolution on shape solutions. For further analysis of the information capacities of data sources, we also present and discuss ambiguity and uniqueness results for the reconstruction of nonconvex shapes from photometry.

M. Viikinkoski, J. Hanus, M. Kaasalainen, et. al.
Fri, 18 Aug 17
14/47