[en] The solar wind has rich wave activity and various magnetic structures. Here we report on a new type of magnetic structure in the solar wind using the unprecedented high temporal resolution data from the Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission. We find that a train of magnetic peaks with a size less than 1 ion inertial length exists upstream of the terrestrial bow shock. The electron number density and the perpendicular electron temperature have a slight decrease inside the magnetic peaks, leading to a decrease of the electron thermal pressure in the structure. These structures are pressure-balanced, and they are approximately stationary in the ambient electron flow. These electron-scale magnetic peaks are identified as magnetic bottle–like, and their cross sections are roughly circular. The electron velocity has a bipolar feature relative to the ambient flow in the cross section, indicating the existence of an electron vortex. The current density is mainly contributed by electrons. The peaks occur in a marginally mirror-stable environment; thus they are not locally generated by mirror instabilities. We suggest that the origin of the electron vortex might help to shed light on the formation of electron-scale magnetic peaks in the solar wind.

[en] Electron-scale magnetic holes (ESMHs) can dissipate energy and transport electrons in astrophysical plasmas. They are often observed in the solar wind at 1 au, but whether they are locally generated remains unclear. Here we investigate the ESMHs in the solar wind at 1 au based on observations of the Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) and Acceleration, Reconnection, Turbulence and Electrodynamics of the Moon’s Interaction with the Sun (ARTEMIS) P1 spacecraft. There are 47 and 18 ESMH events observed by MMS1 and ARTEMIS P1, respectively, where an isolated ESMH or a train of ESMHs is regarded as an ESMH event. Our findings are as follows: (1) the occurrence rate of the ESMH events observed by MMS1 is much larger than that by ARTEMIS P1, which is located in the upstream solar wind; and (2) the proportion of the train of ESMHs in the ESMH events observed by each spacecraft is much higher in the ion foreshock than that in the undisturbed solar wind. These observations suggest that the terrestrial foreshock is an important source region of the ESMHs at 1 au, while some ESMHs come from the upstream undisturbed solar wind. The generation of these ESMHs can be explained by the electron vortex magnetic hole. Finding out the origin of the electron vortex may help to shed light on the whole chain of their generation and evolution in the foreshock.

[en] High spin states in 136,137La and 148Ce nuclei have been investigated. The new level schemes for these nuclei have been established. In 136La, observed band crossing as well as the signature splitting and inversion in πh11/2(multiply-in-circle sign)νh11/2 band has been discussed. Other two bands were proposed as oblate deformation with γ ∼ -60 deg. In 137La, several new bands have been established. The band crossing and oblate deformation have been discussed. In 148Ce, the double octupole deformation bands with s = +1 and s = -1 have been proposed

[en] The coronal heating region is able to generate mirror mode structures by ion mirror instabilities. Linear magnetic holes are believed to be the remnants of mirror mode structures, thus they are believed to be messengers from the coronal heating region. They can be convected to ∼9 au with the solar wind flow, indicating that a stabilizing mechanism is necessary to make the magnetic holes survive for such a long time. Here, we investigate a magnetic hole with a size of ∼6.7 ρ _i in the solar wind based on observations by the Magnetospheric Multiscale mission. The unprecedented high-resolution data enable us to reveal the existence of the ion vortex inside the structure for the first time. Such an ion vortex forms a ring-like current, which is consistent with the magnetic field depression. The self-consistent structure of the magnetic hole contributed by the ion vortex can help to further shed light on the mechanism of the long-term survival of magnetic holes in the astrophysical plasma.

[en] Electron-scale magnetic holes filled with high-energy electrons can provide a seed population of electrons in the magnetosphere and might play an important role in the interaction between the magnetosphere and solar wind. Theoretical studies have investigated their generation mechanisms based on the 1D or 2D geometry of the structure. However, the generation mechanism is still unclear. Here we report on the 3D geometry of the electron-scale magnetic hole in the solar wind based on the Magnetospheric Multiscale mission. We find that the cross section of the magnetic hole with a size of ∼0.2–0.6 ρ _i (ion gyroradius) is either circular or 2D sheet-like. Electron vortices exist in both kinds of cross sections. The ellipse is a possible candidate for the geometry of the magnetic hole in the plane including its axis. Surprisingly, such an elliptical geometry suggests that the axial lengths of all our selected magnetic holes are ∼1–2 ρ _i. This 3D geometry might shed some light on the generation mechanism and role of the electron-scale magnetic hole in the astrophysical plasma.

[en] We have used our analysis of γ-γ-γ data (5.7 x 10¹¹ triples and higher folds) taken with Gammasphere from prompt γ rays emitted in the spontaneous fission of ²⁵²Cf to study the collective bands in ^104,106,108Mo. The one-phonon and two-phonon γ-vibrational bands and known two-quasiparticle bands in neutron-rich ^104,106Mo were extended to higher spins. The one-and two-phonon γ-vibrational bands have remarkably close energies for transitions from the same spin states and identical moments of inertia. Several new bands are observed and are proposed as quasiparticle bands in ^104,106Mo, along with the first β-type vibrational band in ¹⁰⁶Mo. The quasiparticle bands have essentially constant moments of inertia near the rigid-body value that indicate blocking of the pairing interaction. Candidates for chiral doublet bands in ¹⁰⁶Mo are strong. These are the first reported chiral vibrational bands in an even-even nucleus