Characteristics of the variability of a geomagnetic field for studying the impact of the magnetic storms and substorms on electrical energy systems

There are numerous models of geomagnetically induced currents in which the role of the main sources is allotted to the variations in the intensity of the auroral electrojet inducing the currents flowing along the latitude. Based on this it is believed that magnetic disturbances mainly threaten technological systems that are elongated in the longitudinal (W–E) direction. In this work, we make an attempt to employ new characteristics to describe the variability of the geomagnetic field during the geomagnetic storm of March 17, 2013. These characteristics, calculated from the data of the IMAGE magnetometer network stations, are compared to the records of the induced currents in the power lines on the Kola Peninsula and in Karelia. The vector technique revealed a considerably lower variability of the horizontal component of the geomagnetic field compared to its derivative. Quantitative estimates of the variability supported the fact that the variations of the field occur on a commensurate scale both in magnitude and direction. These results cannot be accounted for by the simple model of the extended ionospheric current and demonstrate the importance of allowing for small-scale current structures (with the spatial scales of a few hundred km) in the calculations of the geomagnetically induced currents. Our analysis shows that the geomagnetically induced currents are not only hazardous for the technological objects oriented in the longitudinal (W–E) direction but also for those elongated meridionally.     

A model of the cosmic infrared background produced by distant galaxies

The extragalactic background radiation produced by distant galaxies emitting in the far infrared limits the sensitivity of telescopes operating in this range due to confusion. We have constructed a model of the infrared background based on numerical simulations of the large-scale structure of the Universe and the evolution of dark matter halos. The predictions of this model agree well with the existing data on source counts. We have constructed maps of a sky field with an area of 1 deg² directly from our simulated observations and measured the confusion limit. At wavelengths 100–300 μm the confusion limit for a 10-m telescope has been shown to be at least an order of magnitude lower than that for a 3.5-m one. A spectral analysis of the simulated infrared background maps clearly reveals the large-scale structure of the Universe. The two-dimensional power spectrum of these maps has turned out to be close to that measured by space observatories in the infrared. However, the fluctuations in the number of intensity peaks observed in the simulated field show no clear correlation with superclusters of galaxies; the large-scale structure has virtually no effect on the confusion limit.     

Galaxies and Clusters of Galaxies in Observations and Numerical Models

Astronomy Reports - An analysis of the properties of 1157 galaxies, groups and clusters of galaxies confirms the dependence of the virial velocity on the halo mass $${{v}_{{{\text{vir}}}}} =...