1. |
- Coustenis, A., et al.
(author)
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TandEM : Titan and Enceladus mission
- 2009
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In: Experimental astronomy. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0922-6435 .- 1572-9508. ; 23:3, s. 893-946
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- TandEM was proposed as an L-class (large) mission in response to ESA's Cosmic Vision 2015-2025 Call, and accepted for further studies, with the goal of exploring Titan and Enceladus. The mission concept is to perform in situ investigations of two worlds tied together by location and properties, whose remarkable natures have been partly revealed by the ongoing Cassini-Huygens mission. These bodies still hold mysteries requiring a complete exploration using a variety of vehicles and instruments. TandEM is an ambitious mission because its targets are two of the most exciting and challenging bodies in the Solar System. It is designed to build on but exceed the scientific and technological accomplishments of the Cassini-Huygens mission, exploring Titan and Enceladus in ways that are not currently possible (full close-up and in situ coverage over long periods of time). In the current mission architecture, TandEM proposes to deliver two medium-sized spacecraft to the Saturnian system. One spacecraft would be an orbiter with a large host of instruments which would perform several Enceladus flybys and deliver penetrators to its surface before going into a dedicated orbit around Titan alone, while the other spacecraft would carry the Titan in situ investigation components, i.e. a hot-air balloon (MontgolfiSre) and possibly several landing probes to be delivered through the atmosphere.
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2. |
- Jakosky, B. M., et al.
(author)
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MAVEN observations of the response of Mars to an interplanetary coronal mass ejection
- 2015
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In: Science. - : American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). - 0036-8075 .- 1095-9203. ; 350:6261
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Coupling between the lower and upper atmosphere, combined with loss of gas from the upper atmosphere to space, likely contributed to the thin, cold, dry atmosphere of modern Mars. To help understand ongoing ion loss to space, the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) spacecraft made comprehensive measurements of the Mars upper atmosphere, ionosphere, and interactions with the Sun and solar wind during an interplanetary coronal mass ejection impact in March 2015. Responses include changes in the bow shock and magnetosheath, formation of widespread diffuse aurora, and enhancement of pick-up ions. Observations and models both show an enhancement in escape rate of ions to space during the event. Ion loss during solar events early in Mars history may have been a major contributor to the long-term evolution of the Mars atmosphere.
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3. |
- Jones, G. H., et al.
(author)
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The dust halo of Saturn's largest icy moon, Rhea
- 2008
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In: Science. - : American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). - 0036-8075 .- 1095-9203. ; 319:5868, s. 1380-1384
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Saturn's moon Rhea had been considered massive enough to retain a thin, externally generated atmosphere capable of locally affecting Saturn's magnetosphere. The Cassini spacecraft's in situ observations reveal that energetic electrons are depleted in the moon's vicinity. The absence of a substantial exosphere implies that Rhea's magnetospheric interaction region, rather than being exclusively induced by sputtered gas and its products, likely contains solid material that can absorb magnetospheric particles. Combined observations from several instruments suggest that this material is in the form of grains and boulders up to several decimetres in size and orbits Rhea as an equatorial debris disk. Within this disk may reside denser, discrete rings or arcs of material.
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4. |
- Ma, Y. J., et al.
(author)
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Time-dependent global MHD simulations of Cassini T32 flyby : From magnetosphere to magnetosheath
- 2009
-
In: Journal of Geophysical Research. - 0148-0227 .- 2156-2202. ; 114:3, s. A03204-
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- When the Cassini spacecraft flew by Titan on 13 June 2007, at 13.6 Saturn local time, Titan was directly observed to be outside Saturn's magnetopause. Cassini observations showed dramatic changes of magnetic field orientation as well as other plasma flow parameters during the inbound and outbound segments. In this paper, we study Titan's ionospheric responses to such a sudden change in the upstream plasma conditions using a sophisticated multispecies global MHD model. Simulation results of three different cases (steady state, simple current sheet crossing, and magnetopause crossing) are presented and compared against Cassini Magnetometer, Langmuir Probe, and Cassini Plasma Spectrometer observations. The simulation results provide clear evidence for the existence of a fossil field that was induced in the ionosphere. The main interaction features, as observed by the Cassini spacecraft, are well reproduced by the time-dependent simulation cases. Simulation also reveals how the fossil field was trapped during the interaction and shows the coexistence of two pileup regions with opposite magnetic orientation, as well as the formation of a pair of new Alfven wings and tail disconnection during the magnetopause crossing process.
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5. |
- Crary, John F., et al.
(author)
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Primary age-related tauopathy (PART) : a common pathology associated with human aging
- 2014
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In: Acta Neuropathologica. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0001-6322 .- 1432-0533. ; 128:6, s. 755-766
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We recommend a new term, "primary age-related tauopathy" (PART), to describe a pathology that is commonly observed in the brains of aged individuals. Many autopsy studies have reported brains with neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) that are indistinguishable from those of Alzheimer's disease (AD), in the absence of amyloid (A beta) plaques. For these "NFT+/A beta-aEuroe brains, for which formal criteria for AD neuropathologic changes are not met, the NFTs are mostly restricted to structures in the medial temporal lobe, basal forebrain, brainstem, and olfactory areas (bulb and cortex). Symptoms in persons with PART usually range from normal to amnestic cognitive changes, with only a minority exhibiting profound impairment. Because cognitive impairment is often mild, existing clinicopathologic designations, such as "tangle-only dementia" and "tangle-predominant senile dementia", are imprecise and not appropriate for most subjects. PART is almost universally detectable at autopsy among elderly individuals, yet this pathological process cannot be specifically identified pre-mortem at the present time. Improved biomarkers and tau imaging may enable diagnosis of PART in clinical settings in the future. Indeed, recent studies have identified a common biomarker profile consisting of temporal lobe atrophy and tauopathy without evidence of A beta accumulation. For both researchers and clinicians, a revised nomenclature will raise awareness of this extremely common pathologic change while providing a conceptual foundation for future studies. Prior reports that have elucidated features of the pathologic entity we refer to as PART are discussed, and working neuropathological diagnostic criteria are proposed.
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6. |
- Garnier, Philippe, et al.
(author)
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The influence of the secondary electrons induced by energetic electrons impacting the Cassini Langmuir probe at Saturn
- 2013
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In: Journal of geophysical research Space Physics. - 2169-9402. ; 118:11, s. 7054-7073
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The Cassini Langmuir Probe (LP) onboard the Radio and Plasma Wave Science experiment has provided much information about the Saturnian cold plasma environment since the Saturn Orbit Insertion in 2004. A recent analysis revealed that the LP is also sensitive to the energetic electrons (250–450 eV) for negative potentials. These electrons impact the surface of the probe and generate a current of secondary electrons, inducing an energetic contribution to the DC level of the current-voltage (I-V) curve measured by the LP. In this paper, we further investigated this influence of the energetic electrons and (1) showed how the secondary electrons impact not only the DC level but also the slope of the (I-V) curve with unexpected positive values of the slope, (2) explained how the slope of the (I-V) curve can be used to identify where the influence of the energetic electrons is strong, (3) showed that this influence may be interpreted in terms of the critical and anticritical temperatures concept detailed by Lai and Tautz (2008), thus providing the first observational evidence for the existence of the anticritical temperature, (4) derived estimations of the maximum secondary yield value for the LP surface without using laboratory measurements, and (5) showed how to model the energetic contributions to the DC level and slope of the (I-V) curve via several methods (empirically and theoretically). This work will allow, for the whole Cassini mission, to clean the measurements influenced by such electrons. Furthermore, the understanding of this influence may be used for other missions using Langmuir probes, such as the future missions Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer at Jupiter, BepiColombo at Mercury, Rosetta at the comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko, and even the probes onboard spacecrafts in the Earth magnetosphere.
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7. |
- Hill, T. W., et al.
(author)
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Charged nanograins in the Enceladus plume
- 2012
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In: Journal of Geophysical Research. - 0148-0227 .- 2156-2202. ; 117, s. A05209-
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- There have been three Cassini encounters with the south-pole eruptive plume of Enceladus for which the Cassini Plasma Spectrometer (CAPS) had viewing in the spacecraft ram direction. In each case, CAPS detected a cold dense population of heavy charged particles having mass-to-charge (m/q) ratios up to the maximum detectable by CAPS (similar to 10(4) amu/e). These particles are interpreted as singly charged nanometer-sized water-ice grains. Although they are detected with both negative and positive net charges, the former greatly outnumber the latter, at least in the m/q range accessible to CAPS. On the most distant available encounter (E3, March 2008) we derive a net (negative) charge density of up to similar to 2600 e/cm(3) for nanograins, far exceeding the ambient plasma number density, but less than the net (positive) charge density inferred from the RPWS Langmuir probe data during the same plume encounter. Comparison of the CAPS data from the three available encounters is consistent with the idea that the nanograins leave the surface vents largely uncharged, but become increasingly negatively charged by plasma electron impact as they move farther from the satellite. These nanograins provide a potentially potent source of magnetospheric plasma and E-ring material.
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8. |
- Kovacs, Gabor G., et al.
(author)
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Aging-related tau astrogliopathy (ARTAG) : harmonized evaluation strategy
- 2016
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In: Acta Neuropathologica. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0001-6322 .- 1432-0533. ; 131:1, s. 87-102
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Pathological accumulation of abnormally phosphorylated tau protein in astrocytes is a frequent, but poorly characterized feature of the aging brain. Its etiology is uncertain, but its presence is sufficiently ubiquitous to merit further characterization and classification, which may stimulate clinicopathological studies and research into its pathobiology. This paper aims to harmonize evaluation and nomenclature of aging-related tau astrogliopathy (ARTAG), a term that refers to a morphological spectrum of astroglial pathology detected by tau immunohistochemistry, especially with phosphorylation-dependent and 4R isoform-specific antibodies. ARTAG occurs mainly, but not exclusively, in individuals over 60 years of age. Tau-immunoreactive astrocytes in ARTAG include thorn-shaped astrocytes at the glia limitans and in white matter, as well as solitary or clustered astrocytes with perinuclear cytoplasmic tau immunoreactivity that extends into the astroglial processes as fine fibrillar or granular immunopositivity, typically in gray matter. Various forms of ARTAG may coexist in the same brain and might reflect different pathogenic processes. Based on morphology and anatomical distribution, ARTAG can be distinguished from primary tauopathies, but may be concurrent with primary tauopathies or other disorders. We recommend four steps for evaluation of ARTAG: (1) identification of five types based on the location of either morphologies of tau astrogliopathy: subpial, subependymal, perivascular, white matter, gray matter; (2) documentation of the regional involvement: medial temporal lobe, lobar (frontal, parietal, occipital, lateral temporal), subcortical, brainstem; (3) documentation of the severity of tau astrogliopathy; and (4) description of subregional involvement. Some types of ARTAG may underlie neurological symptoms; however, the clinical significance of ARTAG is currently uncertain and awaits further studies. The goal of this proposal is to raise awareness of astroglial tau pathology in the aged brain, facilitating communication among neuropathologists and researchers, and informing interpretation of clinical biomarkers and imaging studies that focus on tau-related indicators.
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9. |
- Ma, Y. J., et al.
(författare)
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The importance of thermal electron heating in Titan's ionosphere : Comparison with Cassini T34 flyby
- 2011
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Ingår i: Journal of Geophysical Research. - 0148-0227 .- 2156-2202. ; 116, s. A10213-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We use a new magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) model to study the effects of thermal-electron heating in Titan's ionosphere. This model improves the previously used multispecies MHD model by solving both the electron and ion pressure equations instead of a single plasma pressure equation. This improvement enables a more accurate evaluation of ion and electron temperatures inside Titan's ionosphere. The model is first applied to an idealized case, and the results are compared in detail with those of the single-pressure MHD model to illustrate the effects of the improvement. Simulation results show that the dayside ionosphere thermal pressure is larger than the upstream pressure during normal conditions, when Titan is located in the dusk region; thus Saturn's magnetic field is shielded by the highly conducting ionosphere, similar to the interaction of Venus during solar maximum conditions. This model is also applied to a special flyby of Titan, the T34 flyby, which occurred near the dusk region. It is shown that better agreement with the magnetometer data can be achieved using the two-fluid MHD model with the inclusion of the effects of thermal electron heating. The model results clearly demonstrate the importance of thermal-electron heating in Titan's ionosphere.
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10. |
- Andersson, L., et al.
(författare)
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Dust observations at orbital altitudes surrounding Mars
- 2015
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Ingår i: Science. - : American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). - 0036-8075 .- 1095-9203. ; 350:6261
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Dust is common close to the martian surface, but no known process can lift appreciable concentrations of particles to altitudes above similar to 150 kilometers. We present observations of dust at altitudes ranging from 150 to above 1000 kilometers by the Langmuir Probe and Wave instrument on the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution spacecraft. Based on its distribution, we interpret this dust to be interplanetary in origin. A comparison with laboratory measurements indicates that the dust grain size ranges from 1 to 12 micrometers, assuming a typical grain velocity of similar to 18 kilometers per second. These direct observations of dust entering the martian atmosphere improve our understanding of the sources, sinks, and transport of interplanetary dust throughout the inner solar system and the associated impacts on Mars's atmosphere.
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