We propose that magnetic reconnection at the heliopause only occurs where the interstellar magnetic field points nearly anti-parallel to the heliospheric field. By using large-scale magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations of the heliosphere to provide the initial conditions for kinetic simulations of heliopause (HP) reconnection we show that the energetic pickup ions downstream from the solar wind termination shock induce large diamagnetic drifts in the reconnecting plasma and stabilize non-anti-parallel reconnection. With this constraint the MHD simulations can show where HP reconnection most likely occurs. We also suggest that reconnection triggers the 2-3 kHz radio bursts that emanate from near the HP. Requiring the burst locations to coincide with the loci of anti-parallel reconnection allows us to determine, for the first time, the vector direction of the local interstellar magnetic field. We find it to be oriented towards the southern solar magnetic pole.

Magnetic fields play an important (sometimes dominant) role in the evolution of gas clouds in the Galaxy, but the strength and orientation of the field in the interstellar medium near the heliosphere has been poorly constrained. Previous estimates of the field strength range from 1.8-2.5 microG and the field was thought to be parallel to the Galactic plane or inclined by 38-60 degrees (ref. 2) or 60-90 degrees (ref. 3) to this plane. These estimates relied either on indirect observational inferences or modelling in which the interstellar neutral hydrogen was not taken into account. Here we report measurements of the deflection of the solar wind plasma flows in the heliosheath to determine the magnetic field strength and orientation in the interstellar medium. We find that the field strength in the local interstellar medium is 3.7-5.5 microG. The field is tilted approximately 20-30 degrees from the interstellar medium flow direction (resulting from the peculiar motion of the Sun in the Galaxy) and is at an angle of about 30 degrees from the Galactic plane. We conclude that the interstellar medium field is turbulent or has a distortion in the solar vicinity.

Steady-state visual evoked potentials (SSVEPs) are used in cognitive and clinical studies of brain function because of excellent signal-to-noise ratios and relative immunity to artifacts. SSVEPs also provide a means to characterize preferred frequencies of neocortical dynamic processes. In this study, SSVEPs were recorded with 110 electrodes while subjects viewed random dot patterns flickered between 3 and 30 Hz. Peaks in SSVEP power were observed at delta (3 Hz), lower alpha (7 and 8 Hz), and upper alpha band (12 and 13 Hz) frequencies; the spatial distribution of SSVEP power is also strongly dependent on the input frequency suggesting cortical resonances. We characterized the cortical sources that generate SSVEPs at different input frequencies by applying surface Laplacians and spatial spectral analysis. Laplacian SSVEPs recorded are sensitive to small changes (1-2 Hz) in the input frequency at occipital and parietal electrodes indicating distinct local sources. At 10 Hz, local source activity occurs in multiple cortical regions; Laplacian SSVEPs are also observed in lateral frontal electrodes. Laplacian SSVEPs are negligible at many frontal electrodes that elicit strong potential SSVEPs at delta, lower alpha, and upper alpha bands. One-dimensional (anteriorposterior) spatial spectra indicate that distinct large-scale source distributions contribute SSVEP power in these frequency bands. In the upper alpha band, spatial spectra indicate the presence of long-wavelength (> 15 cm) traveling waves propagating from occipital to prefrontal electrodes. In the delta and lower alpha band, spatial spectra indicate that long-wavelength source distributions over posterior and anterior regions form standing-wave patterns. These results suggest that the SSVEP is generated by both (relatively stationary) localized sources and distributed sources that exhibit characteristics of wave phenomena.

We examine the distribution of injected energy in three-dimensional, adaptive-grid simulations of the heating of cooling flows. We show that less than 10 percent of the injected energy goes into bubbles. Consequently, the energy input from the nucleus is underestimated by a factor of order 6 when it is taken to be given by PVgamma/(gamma-1), where P and V are the pressure and volume of the bubble, and gamma the ratio of principal specific heats.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS; 5 page

A nonlocal model of electron heat flow in laser-heated plasmas taking into account the super-Gaussian deformation of the electron velocity distribution function by the laser heating was developed. Based on comparisons to Fokker-Planck simulations of hot spot heating, it performs better than previous models. The growth rate of thermal filamentation is considerably changed by this thermal conductivity modification. First results from a formula describing the isotropic component, f(0)(x,v), of the electron velocity distribution function as a spatial convolution over local Maxwellians are also presented.