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Today's English Springer Spaniel
Jerry Thoms - September 23, 2010
Stocked Full Of Desire, This Versatile Breed Is Born To Hunt
By Jerry Thoms
Kirby, a four-year-old English springer spaniel owned by Jen Tuttle of Mitchell, South Dakota, has retrieved every species of waterfowl in the Central Flyway.
I was teaching English classes at South Dakota State University and started a conversation one day with Bubba's owner, who was a student from Minnesota in one of my Junior Composition classes.
"Yes," I confessed when the young man asked if I liked to hunt pheasants. And "yes," I said again when he offered to meet me that afternoon in a 280-acre tract of public owned cattails and prairie grass 20 miles west of town.
"Stand back," my new hunting partner warned as he got ready to release Bubba, his two-year-old male springer, from the back seat of his car where the dog had been bouncing every second of the ride from town to this hunting spot.
It was good advice because Bubba came barreling out of the back seat like he had been shot from a cannon. He ripped across the road ditch, leaped over a barbed wire fence, and disappeared into the sea of big bluestem and Indian grass.
"We had better get going if we want to shoot some roosters," his owner suggested as we climbed through the fence and took off after Bubba at a fast walk, then a quick trot, and soon a full run as pheasants suddenly started to spring into the air ahead of us 100 or more yards away.
A couple of long and hard hours later we headed back to the vehicle with Bubba still eager to run, but now tethered to a rope so we could load him up and head for home. The hunt, which had been fast and furious, was productive when we could keep up with Bubba. He found and flushed more than two dozen pheasants, only two of which were roosters that flew up close enough for on-the-edge-of-range shots.
On later hunting trips, in addition to finding live pheasants, Bubba also tracked wounded ringnecks and found shot-dead roosters that he usually retrieved in our direction before dropping them to head off after more fresh pheasants.
One early November afternoon Bubba ran toward a small slough at the far end of a big hay field and flushed a pair of mallards from a patch of open water. When the drake fell at the report of a 12-gauge, Bubba raced into the water, swam across the pond, and disappeared into a thick clump of tall cattails. He soon emerged and swam back with the duck clamped in his jaws.
"Once so far and just now," was Bubba's owner's answer to my question: "How often has your springer retrieved waterfowl out of deep water and heavy cover?" During the rest of the hunting season, Bubba fetched more ducks and even a couple of Canada geese that we jump shot off ponds and small lakes. In several instances, he even broke thin ice to get to the birds.
Bubba created the impression of being a naturally versatile bird-getting machine that would find and flush and retrieve upland gamebirds and fetch up any waterfowl he could see fall from the sky. Bought with no paper pedigree and no real background information on his breeding, he was a gun dog with lots of desire, a good nose, and a natural tendency to retrieve. His cooperation, willingness to hunt to the gun, and trainability were hard to evaluate because no one had ever developed these potential traits.
Though I never got to see if Bubba further progressed into a more civilized gun dog, in the following three decades, I have hunted over many English springer spaniels that still show Bubba's enthusiasm, natural hunting abilities, and wide ranging versatility. One of those more recent hunts was with Jen Tuttle, a 26-year-old springer owner, breeder, guide and hunter from Mitchell, South Dakota.
While we were getting ready to go hunting for pheasants and ducks, I told Tuttle my story about hunting with Bubba 35 years ago. She seemed interested, but not worried. "My line of springers probably has Bubba's intensity for finding birds, but my dogs probably are much better trained and under more control than what you saw with Bubba," Tuttle predicted. And she was right.
Kirby, Tuttle's four-year-old male, handled the way springers are described in training books or demonstrated on television shows. He methodically but quickly quartered across a 200-acre field of knee-high pasture grass, stopped and turned on voice and whistle commands, charged hard for spectacular pheasant flushes, and stayed steady to wing, shot, and fall when necessary.
He made one snappy retrieve to hand of a dead rooster, then tracked one broken-wing bird for 300 yards, which he fetched up and brought in without any hesitation. Likewise, on ducks, Kirby hit the water like a Labrador, racing after a wounded greenwing teal that fell in wet slough grass and swimming across a farm pond to pick up a drake wood duck. "All in a day's work," Tuttle said.
Obviously, there are differences between the Bubba-type springer of three decades ago and many of the springers found today. "One big difference I see with today's springer spaniels is that there is more versatility in methods for training this breed," notes Paul McGagh, who is the full-time owner and operator of Glencoe Farm and Kennels south of Bismarck, North Dakota.
McGagh trains up to two dozen springers each year. "Where 35 or so years ago, there were only a few books on training these dogs and just a couple of training programs used for springers, today there are dozens of good instructional manuals and plenty of magazine articles on the subject of training any gun dogs in general and springers in particular," he says.
Likewise, McGagh feels there are more amateur and professional trainers who have developed more versatility in the methods for teaching springers more about hunting and retrieving all kinds of gamebirds in many types of habitat and all kinds of conditions. "Part of this comes from the upsurge of participation in spaniel field trials and AKC hunt tests," he says. "In addition, there is a great increase in hunters who run springers in Hunting Retriever Club events and hunting contests such as those sponsored by the National Association of Tournament Hunters or the Bird Dog Challenge Association."
Selecting An English Springer Spaniel
"A common prejudice is that springers used in field trials are firecrackers, which suggests that these competition dogs will run fast with a lot of flash, finding hand-planted birds in tournament fields, but they will tend to burn out quickly on a real-life hunt," says Tom Ness. As a spaniel breeder, trainer, field trailer, and hunter, Ness has 30 years of experience with this breed at his Oahe Kennels in Menoken, North Dakota.
"I'll admit that some breede
rs have purposely developed a line of springers with light builds, long legs, and lots of speed--all features designed to make their dogs into judge-impressing field trial performers," Ness says. "With all this emphasis on a fast pace, however, these dogs often end up lacking in stamina and wild bird hunting sense.
"In the trial field, they may sometimes go like crazy for 10 minutes looking for hand-placed birds in a small area, then they're pooped out for the day and go rest in the dog crate. Though these lines of springers may excel in field trials, they don't necessarily do well as gun dogs on real life hunts on upland game birds or waterfowl."
Not all field trial dogs are like this, however. "There are lines of hunting springers with the standard more stocky springer body conformation and the springer desire to methodically hunt at a slower pace," Ness continues. "These hunting dogs can be used on wild pheasants, prairie grouse, or woods grouse one day, then put into a field trial the next day with good results. So, because not all so-called field trial dogs are the same, anyone looking at a pup or adult dog with a field trial background should be aware of this difference."
Some breeders have gone back to Great Britain and Europe to find the original English springer brood stock as a way to counteract the high-strung, high speed American- bred field trial springer. These dogs, the breeders say, are still developed with mild, easy-going temperaments, a high degree of natural ability in hunting and retrieving all kinds of game birds, and a willingness to accept training with a minimum of pressure. These original lines of springers, according to those who have and breed them, are best suited for the average upland gamebird and waterfowl hunter looking for a gun dog with an innate docile disposition, lots of natural hunting instincts, and all the genetic qualities for which this breed was first developed.
Other breeders have blended several lines of dogs to produce a versatile product that will do well in field trials, hunt tests, or on hunting trips. "Because our springers are mainly tested in the field in actual real-life hunting for upland game birds and waterfowl, we include any lines of springers that will improve bird finding and retrieving abilities," says Morgan Haglin from Pine Shadows Kennel in Brainerd, Minnesota. "This includes springers from field trial backgrounds if we feel a need to increase speed and intensity and springers imported from overseas if we want to bring in calmer temperaments and greater cooperation.
"What we see any springer do in the field or on the water is what matters the most in putting together our long-term breeding program," Haglin states. "Pedigrees on paper matter, but observed performance counts the most when we plan out our litters and develop our line of gun dogs. To improve performance by any means possible means we have to be versatile in our breeding program."
Training A Springer
Though most lines of English springer spaniels bred for hunting come with all the right instincts for finding upland gamebirds and retrieving waterfowl, an early and disciplined training program is essential to producing a functional final product.
"We have lots of springers brought here for training as hunting dogs," says Tom Dokken from Oak Ridge Kennel in Northfield, Minnesota. "One thing I've learned about this breed in general is that they tend to be headstrong and stubborn if their owners don't establish themselves as the dominant alpha figure in the relationship.
"Always remember, if you give a springer an inch one time, they will take a mile every time thereafter," Dokken warns. "But once your dominance is established and your training program becomes clear and consistent, most springers will turn into dependable gun dogs with a degree of success often greater than many other breeds.
"Because springers tend to be early bloomers and fast learners, most individuals should be started in a formal training program at an early age," Dokken adds. "At seven weeks, a springer pup can be started on basic obedience with commands such as 'come,' 'hup' or 'sit,' 'heel,' 'no,' and 'kennel.' Don't expect immediate perfection at this age, but do expect steady progress. At the same time, introduce pups to simple retrieving exercises and get them familiar with live birds as part of this early training approach," Dokken suggests.
"In order to create springers that will hunt wild gamebirds, put them on pen-raised birds as soon as possible," advises Hal Chaney from Linden Kennels in Mount Pleasant, Iowa. "Feral pigeons, bobwhite quail, chukars and pheasants can be hand-placed or free-flown into a field where springers can find them for work on search, flush, steadiness, and retrieve.
"Live pen-raised ducks released in water are good for developing a search for wounded waterfowl and as a realistic way to develop a dependable retrieve. But the best training for springers comes from regular exposure to wild birds on a real hunt," Chaney believes.
"Our training program is designed to produce versatile springers, that is, dogs that will hunt all upland birds and any waterfowl," says Jim Keller, owner-operator of Wildwind Kennels in Knox, Maine. "Our training methods are pretty much the same for hunting dogs and performance dogs. In other words, the pheasant, quail, and ruffed grouse dogs go through the same basic training exercises as our field trial dogs.
"The main objective, in both cases, is to develop hard-charging springers that stay close to the gun. And, yes, most all our dogs will do double duty performance as field trials and wild bird hunters because of our training philosophy. Every season all our field trial winners go with us to hunt pheasants for three weeks in Montana," Keller adds as further proof of his dogs' versatility.
E-Collars For Springers?
Some English springer spaniel trainers claim that e-collars are not necessary on these dogs because this breed is genetically programmed to hunt close to the gun and to be cooperative, responding best to conventional hands-on rather than remote training methods. Other trainers argue that springers, as with any other gun dog breed, can learn lessons in basic obedience and in field or water work with e-collars as a supplement to standard training techniques.
"Many springer trainers don't use e-collars not because they don't need to, but because they don't know how to," is the opinion of Tony Roettger, a springer spaniel breeder and trainer from Roettger's Ridge Kennel in North Branch, Minnesota. "I'll admit that many springers can be trained without an e-collar. But I'll also say that these dogs can be trained quicker and better by those who know how to use an e-collar in their training program."
The English Springer Spaniel Field Trial Association Website
The ESSFTA.com website may have "Field Trial" in its title, but the information there gives a broad view of the breeding and training of springers along with a list of competitive events such as field trials, hunt tests, obedience trials and related activities for springer spaniel owners across the country.
See the Spaniel M
anual part of the website in particular for information on picking a puppy or trained adult dog as well as names, addresses, and phone numbers for regional English springer spaniel clubs. Also included is a list of books on the history and training of English springer spaniels by several well-known authors as well as magazines relevant to springer owners.
"Would you want to see Bubba back here today?" one springer spaniel owner asked after hearing the story of hunting with that half-wild, but certainly productive gun dog some 35 years ago. "Yes" was my answer--but with some qualifications. One would be to know something about Bubba's pedigree to determine how to shape his inborn talents with modern training methods.
"Bubba could be a better gun dog today because we now know more about how to shape springers into hunters, no matter what their genetic history," says Paul McGagh. "And though this might be so about almost any breed of gun dog, it is particularly true about English springer spaniels."
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A Chessie Man
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Q: Unable to connect to database with .NET Core 3.1 File System Publish to IIS Question: How do I properly setup the database connection when using the File System method to publish an ASP .NET Core 3.1 Web-Api to IIS running on Windows 10? I believe I have added all of the correct Windows features for IIS because it runs and I am running VS 2019 Community in Admin mode.
This is my first time deploying a .NET Core 3.1 Web-API to IIS via the Publish method. I am able to successfully publish the web application to IIS. But it appears that something is wrong with the database configuration because when I try submit a login POST via Postman, I am getting an error message from the API error handling middleware that the credentials are invalid, which effectively means that the Web-API cannot connect to the database. As a test, when I try running in debug with IIS Express and change the connection string, I get the same error. Note: the IIS server logs do not contain any relevant output to confirm this, but I am pretty sure this is the problem.
In searching online, I am struggling to find a simple and direct walk through on how to publish a Web-API with a database connection. I suspect the problem is in the Connected Services section of the publish profile. I had to battle through some build errors that related to missing packages, and this item:
https://obscureproblemsandgotchas.com/development/c/dotnet-core-ef-migration-not-working/
Once I applied this change, the database data context strings could be read from the Publish Settings section of the publish profile, which reads the connection strings from the appsettings.json file. Though, I had to modify that string to remove an escape '' from the actual json value so that the test connection would succeed.
Any help is greatly appreciated.

A: You could set the connection string at the time of deploy from the visual studio as shown below :

Make sure you installed the .NET Core Hosting Bundle and .NET Core Runtime.
after doing all these things set the application pool identity to the administrator:

*

*Open iis manager, select your application pool.

*Click on advance setting from the action pane.

*

*Under Process Model, click on the "Identity" value and select "Custom account".

*

*enter your domain user name and password which user has to access to the database and click ok to apply the changes.

*after applying changes select the application pool and click on the "Recycle".

*restart your site.
Please refer below link for more detail:
https://forums.iis.net/post/2159167.aspx

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Fresh off a victory sealing a date for a shot at the IBF 122-pound title, undefeated TJ Doheny hopes to return to America for his greatest opportunity yet.
He's a bullet train with seemingly no sign of stopping: Undefeated featherweight Oscar Valdez fights for the vacant WBO featherweight title tonight.
On Saturday, undefeated featherweight gets the opportunity of a lifetime – his very first – a shot at the vacant WBO title in Las Vegas on HBO Pay-Per-View.
It doesn't happen often but sometimes a main event gets some solid support bouts. Tim Bradley-Manny Pacquiao III is evidence of this. Bill Tibbs reports.
On April 9, WBO welterweight titlist Tim Bradley will face Manny Pacquiao for a third and (maybe?) final time. But can Bob Arum make this bout palatable?


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Q: Reading audio spectrum from Video tag in html5 I know there is a way to read the audio spectrum with Web Aduio API, allowing you
to create a spectrum visualizer for playing tracks.
Is there a way to do the same with Web Video API? I want to show the audio
spectrum of a playing html5 youtube video.
Thanks

A: Web Audio API works just fine with a <video> element as input. The code looks roughly like this.
var context = new AudioContext();
var source = context.createMediaElementSource(document.getElementById('video'));
var analyser = context.createAnalyser();

sourceNode.connect(analyserNode);
analyserNode.connect(context.destination);

// etc.

However, this will not work with a YouTube video for two reasons:
1) YouTube's <video> element is inside an iframe, and Javascript will not give you access to the DOM inside an iframe on a different domain from the parent page.
2) The video file referenced by an element will be served from a different domain, and the Web Audio API can only access video/audio files that either come from the same domain or are served with CORS headers. Even if you had access to the URL of YouTube's video file, it will not be served with CORS headers.
You're going to have to host the video on your own server.


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The Writing on My Forehead
Nafisa Haji (Author)
FORMAT
Paperback$15.99(English)

A free-spirited and rebellious Muslim-American of Indo-Pakistani descent, willful, intelligent Saira Qader rejected the constricting notions of family, duty, obligation, and fate, choosing instead to become a journalist, making the world her home. But when tragedy strikes, throwing Saira's life into turmoil, the woman who circled the globe to uncover the details of other lives must confront the truths of her own. In need of understanding, she looks to the stories of those who came before--her grandparents, a beloved aunt, her mother and father. As Saira discovers the hope, pain, joy, and passion that defined their lives, she begins to face what she never wanted to admit: that choice is not always our own, and that faith is not merely an intellectual preference.
William Morrow & Company
5.3 X 8.0 X 1.2 inches | 0.7 pounds
Nafisa Haji's first novel, The Writing on My Forehead, was a finalist for the Northern California Independent Booksellers Association Book of the Year Award. An American of Indo-Pakistani descent, she was born and raised in Los Angeles and now lives in northern California with her husband and son.
"(A) deeply moving and beautifully written novel about different generations of an Indo-Pakistani family takes the reader on an emotional journey into how family and traditions define us and our choices in life. It's a fast read, but its deeper meaning resonates long after the last page."--Associated Press
"THE WRITING ON MY FOREHEAD by Nafisa Haji explores how a family's history--one spanning continents, love affairs, and political revolutions--can both haunt and heal."--Parade (Parade Pick)
"(An) impressive debut. Haji achieves an effortless commingling of family and social history in this intricate story that connects a young woman and her family over continents and through generations."--Publishers Weekly
"A masterful first novel."--Booklist
""An elegantly written look at family dynamics and how cultural traditions shape lives. Poses questions and doesn't give all the answers, allowing the reader to draw his or her own conclusions and continue the dialogue long after finishing the book."--Deseret News
"Just as Saira's mother tenderly traced the words of protective prayers on her daughters' foreheads each night, so too does this book leave a stamp on us. As we open ourselves to this culture, it becomes inscribed within us, as if its rich history was written onto our foreheads."--Chattanooga Times Free Press
"Grab a cup of chai (tea), and curl up in a big chair to read; time will fly and you'll want to refill your cup before you even think about putting this book down. (The story) will stay with you for a long while."--Wichita Falls, TX, Times Record News
"THE WRITING ON MY FOREHEAD is not only a family history but also a social history with an ambitious arc. Haji deftly illustrates how the Qaders' lives intersect with defining world events. (Haji is a) talented new writer of sense and a distinct sensibility."--San Francisco Chronicle
"A brainy, beautiful braid of stories about three generations of a Muslim family. This book, if widely read, will go a long way toward deconstructing stereotypes about American Muslims, and that, on top of its value as a work of fiction, makes it a treasure."--Minneapolis Star Tribune
"This impressive debut follows the life of Saira Qader, a Muslim American of Indo-Pakistani descent who rejects the cultural traditions of family and duty to become a world-roving journalist."--Sacramento Bee
"A moving meditation on the meaning of family, tradition, and the ties that bind. Lyrical and touching. A story of mother and daughters, and of a young Muslim woman at crossroads, shaped by the forces of her past, her religion, her roots, her culture, and her own determined will."--Khaled Hosseini, The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns
"The struggles of second-generation immigrants are well presented, calling to mind novels like Monica Ali's Brick Lane. In addition, the climax is powerful and satisfying, as Saira belatedly comes to recognize the inescapable tug of family. Recommended for all libraries."--Library Journal
2022 Fiction: Centering Queer, Trans & BIPOC Writers
by Lucky Cloud Books View all (53)


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'Orange Is the New Black' Actress Beth Dover Reflects on Playing 'Villain' Linda in Netflix Series
Halle Berry Reveals How She Broke Three Ribs During 'John Wick 3' Filming
By Michael Hein - April 28, 2019 03:20 pm EDT
Halle Berry revealed that the action in John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum is very real this week, explaining how she broke three ribs while filming.
Berry joined John Wick director Chad Stahelski in New York this week to do some press on the upcoming third installment. While speaking to Extra, the actress revealed that she did a lot of stunts in her new role, and they did not always go as planned.
"I broke three ribs when I was rehearsing for John Wick... It's like a badge of honor for me, we don't know how it happened," she said. "I worked for a little while with broken ribs until I could no longer do it." The injury was so bad that Berry even worried she would be replaced in the film due to her recovery time, but Stahelski waited for her to better.
"He waited for me to heal, when I came back I felt better," she said.
Berry said that she underwent "hours and hours of stunt training" for the movie, adding: "it's gun training, it's dog training, then it's just strength training on top of that with my trainer, and it's watching my diet." She said that she got into even better shape than usual for her role as one of the fantasy assassins in the conclusion to this beloved trilogy.
Berry continued, explaining that that the bar was set pretty high for the movie, especially as she was working with co-star Keanu Reeves.
"It was pretty amazing. It was a little terrifying at first because he's so damn good, and I wanted to be on the same level as him. I didn't want to disappoint him," she said.
However, as much pressure as Berry put on herself, Stahelski told reporters that she was a breeze to direct. He said that she was "so easy" to cast in this role, adding: "You don't even know how easy, I didn't even have a choice... it was great."
Stahelski was particularly grateful that Berry took the role before even seeing the script. He described the whole experience as "pretty surreal. I am a pretty lucky guy."
Berry went on to say that her time on John Wick has been a huge help in preparing for her next film, in which she will play an MMA fighter. She said that she might not have even considered such a role before this experience.
"It was through surviving John Wick training I knew I was capable," she said. She added that she hoped the fighting wouldn't leave her with a more permanent injury than her broken ribs, joking: "I just hope I don't lose my teeth."
John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum hits theaters on Friday, May 17.
Social Media Demands Gordon Ramsay Be Cast as Angry Chef in 'Little Mermaid'
Rip Torn Fans Mourn 'Dodgeball' Star's Death
Rip Torn, 'Dodgeball' and 'Larry Sanders Show' Star, Reportedly Dead at 88
Sarah Jessica Parker Claims Male Co-Star Acted 'Inappropriately'
Cameron Boyce Cause of Death Under 'Further Investigation' Upon Completion of Autopsy
Kristin Chenoweth Reacts to 'Descendants' Co-Star Cameron Boyce's Death
Netflix Recruits Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson, Ryan Reynolds and Gal Godot for Their Biggest Movie Yet
G-Eazy Fans Immediately Voice Thoughts on Him Wanting to Play Elvis in New Movie


Despite the increasing number of Americans who are over 65 years of age, little research exists about the satisfaction of nurses who care for this population. This qualitative descriptive study investigated the factors that influence the satisfaction of such nurses, and yielded five main themes. Registered Nurses (RNs) reported providing high-quality care, developing relationships, and making a difference to be rewarding components of geriatric nursing. The nurses also discussed challenges, which included caring for elders with dementia and being unable to deliver the high-quality care they felt patients deserve. Several of these finding were consistent with existing studies that addressed nurse satisfaction in general. The results of the present study implied that recognizing nurses for their work and providing RNs with training related to caring for older adults may be effective ways to improve satisfaction. Recommendations for further research include conducting similar investigations that are both larger and inclusive of nurses who choose to work exclusively with geriatric patients. Research regarding effective ways to implement dementia-related education programs in the workplace is also suggested.
Vlachos, Sarah L., "Nursing satisfaction in caring for elders" (2012). Honors Theses and Capstones. 20.


Hayle Estuary RSPB Reserve: 29 Redshank, 1 Greenshank, 50+ Herring Gull, 144 Lesser Black-backed Gull, 115 Great Black-backed Gull, 82 Black-headed Gull, 1 Spoonbill, 22 Carrion Crow, 2 Bar-tailed Godwit, 20+ Curlew, 3 Golden Plover, 21 Oystercatcher, 3 Cormorant, 1 male Wigeon and 2 Rock Pipit. (P Freestone) also 1 ad Yellow-legged Gull.
Pendeen: 3 Great Skua past.
Marazion: 1 juv Glaucous Gull. (I Webster) Also 1 ad & 1 1w. Little Gull and 100+ Common Gull. (C.Barnard).
Sancreed: 1 1w Ring-billed Gull still at Trannack Farm.
Madron: 1w Yellow-legged Gull in fields north of village.


text:
Tech Megatrend Market Report | March
Cloud Computing powering online gaming growth with record 2.7bn active gamers globally[1]
In 2020 50m more Americans played games (11m typical year)[2]
Grandview Research predicts cloud-based gaming CAGR of 48.2%
Blockchain's size is expected to grow from $3bn in 2020 to $39.7bn by 2025, a CAGR of 67.3%[3]
Blockchain remains ITEK's top performer followed by Social Media and Digital Entertainment.
Biden's Stimulus plan is set to boost spending on Future Cars and Genomics[4],[5]
Huge cyberattack on US Government, leading to big public spending on cybersecurity ($200bn in 2024)[6]
Tech Megatrend ETF (ITEK) Returns
12 Month*
Past performance is no guarantee of future performance. Source: Bloomberg, Solactive, HANetf *12 Month figures based on 29.02.20 - 28.02.21. as fund performance.
HAN-GINS Technology ETF (ITEK) impressed with a 6.4% gain in February as it benefited from fast adoption rates across the Digital Revolution. ITEK's equal weighting across eight key subthemes ensures it captures much of these gains. ITEK returned 85.0% over the past one-year period.
For February, Blockchain was the standout subtheme, gaining 55.9%, followed by Social Media 13.7% and Digital Entertainment 4.8%.
Due to recent monthly gains, Future Cars (15.2%), Digital Entertainment (14.1%), Genomics (13.5%), Robotics-AI (12.3) and Social Media (11.9%) remain our largest subtheme weightings ahead of the next index rebalance in March.
Future Cars continue to benefit from the Biden Administration's new green energy approach - with price subsidies likely to be offered, boosting demand for EV vehicles. Cloud is boosting online gaming and social media.[7]
Impressive February gains for a large number of Social Media players (Twitter, Baidu, Pinterest), Digital Entertainment (Evolution Gaming, Bilibili) and Future Cars (Aptiv, Ford, NXP Semiconductors) also boosted performance. Robotics standout was Microchip Tech up 12.4% for the month; while Fortinet up 16.7% was our Cybersecurity standout. With Asian companies now representing almost 30% of ITEK, US influence is below 60% and ITEK is increasingly global.
Past performance is no guarantee of future performance. Source of all data: Solactive. Data as of 28.02.2021
Megatrend Sub-theme
% Average Weight
Performance of category
HAN-GINS Tech Megatrend Equal Weight UCITS ETF
Performance As of 28.02.21
HAN-GINS Tech Megatrend UCITS ETF
Solactive Innovative Technologies Index (NTR)
Performance before inception is based on back tested data. Back testing is the process of evaluating an investment strategy by applying it to historical data to simulate what the performance of such strategy would have been. Back tested data does not represent actual performance and should not be interpreted as an indication of actual or future performance. Past performance for the index is in USD. Past performance is not an indicator for future results and should not be the sole factor of consideration when selecting a product. Investors should read the prospectus of the Issuer ("Prospectus") before investing and should refer to the section of the Prospectus entitled 'Risk Factors' for further details of risks associated with an investment in this product. Source: Bloomberg / HANetf. Data as of 28/2/2021
The Biden Administration's embrace of Green Energy and Cybersecurity is helping to positively rerate ITEK's holdings across Future Cars, Cloud Security and pure Cybersecurity firms.
Cloud spending is far outpacing traditional non-Cloud IT spending.[8]
Asia continues to be the fastest growing area for Cloud adoption rates and Digital Entertainment.[9]
Some of the biggest changes in the cloud space include a more decentralised Cloud known as Hybrid or multi-Cloud, which is being powered by the likes of IBM, and the increase healthcare spending on Cloud, which remains amongst the fastest growing areas.
While Tesla saw a recent selloff, we continue to be positive on the holding as it dominates EV sales in the US. Its Chinese factories are scaling up to new production heights too. Tesla's self-driving car will likely challenge ride-sharing apps Uber & Lyft in just a few years. Battery and AI technology provides it with a wide moat currently.
Big Cloud players such as Amazon and Microsoft are spending big in the online gaming market with Microsoft just purchasing Bethesda Games for over $7.5bn.[10] Gaming is approaching four-times the size of the Hollywood movie industry - and is growing far faster![11]
Movie/video streaming has seen Netflix hit 200 million total subscribers – with Disney+ expected to exceed 120 million subscribers shortly.[12]
Remote work is boosting demand for Cybersecurity services as Amazon's Cloud unit AWS now represents almost 60% of all Amazon's total profits. The Cloud subscription model ensures its profit margins are amongst the highest in IT.[13]
Constituent News
Our technology ETF's global mix of 115 holdings is representative of the Digital Revolution. Our US exposure is currently 59.0%, with Asia 27.8% and Europe at 12.6%. Most of our Top 10 and largest holdings are between 1.2% - 1.8%, prior to rebalance and equal weighting. Due to Blockchain's significant rerating, our Riot Blockchain holding gained 157.5% so far in 2021 and represents an 8.9% weighting. Unlike the Nasdaq 100 and other technology benchmarks which are very overweight a few Big Tech firms, ITEK. Our FAANG exposure is under 7% currently versus the Nasdaq 100 at approximately 40%.
Our top performing contributors are listed below for February – by subtheme and holdings. While Blockchain clearly outperformed (Northern data up 29.3% and Riot above 100%), Social Media, Future Cars, Genomics and Digital Entertainment had the largest number of top contributors. Social Media players showed impressive gains with Twitter (up 52.5%), Baidu (20.6%), Pinterest (17.6%), Weibo (21.0%) and Alphabet (10.7%).
Other star performers in February included Digital Entertainment firms Evolution Gaming (up 27.90%), Bilibili the Chinese gaming firm (10.61%) and Sea Ltd (8.8%). Future Cars were led by Aptiv PLC (up 12.2%), NXP Semiconductors (13.8%) and Ford (11.1%).
As the demand for digital ledgers and currencies grow during COVID, we expect a number of Blockchain firms to join ITEK's holdings at our next rebalance.
Top Contributors – February 2021
Index Category
Contribution to Return (%)
RIOT BLOCKCHAIN INC
BAIDU INC - SPON ADR
PINTEREST INC- CLASS A
NORTHERN DATA AG
BILIBILI INC-ADR
WEIBO CORP-SPON ADR
ARGENX SE
APTIV PLC
NXP SEMICONDUCTORS NV
FORD MOTOR CO
CORTEVA INC
FORTINET INC
SEA LTD-ADR
As new remote work patterns gain traction over the medium term, Cloud Computing spending continues to dominate – exceeding all non-Cloud spending on IT. AI and 5G are facilitating the expansion of Edge computing which will boost Cloud spending. The majority of corporate IT budgets are now devoted to Cloud spending.
Hybrid/Multi-cloud usage is set to spike further, allowing more services across public, private and edge environments. This will enable Healthcare, Digital Entertainment, Social Media and AI-Robotics to scale up even faster.
Cybersecurity is likely to be a big beneficiary of the WFH trends given the largest ever cyberattack recently on the US Government (Solar Winds). The Biden Administration is planning for big cybersecurity spending outlays, likely to exceed $10bn this year.[14]
The size of Blockchain is expected to grow from $3bn in 2020 to $39.7bn by 2025 - a CAGR of 67.3%.[15]
Blockchain is the underlying technology powering Cryptocurrencies, but has many other uses. If Cryptocurrencies were a car, then Blockchain is its motor. Key areas Blockchain is already playing a role: Digital IDs, Rewards/Loyalty programs, Copyright protection, Digital voting, Real estate transfers, Medical records, Wills.
According to Gartner Research blockchain technology is expected to create more than $176 billion dollars' worth of business value by 2025 and $3.1 trillion by 2030 (below).
For illustrative purposes only. Past performance is no guarantee of future performance. Source: https://media.consensys.net/gartner-blockchain-will-deliver-3-1-trillion-dollars-in-value-by-2030-d32b79c4c560
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The Solactive Index is managed according to a published, rules-based methodology. It is designed to measure the performance of an investable universe of publicly-traded companies that are involved in innovative and disruptive technological trends across a broad range of industries mentioned. To be included, companies must derive a majority of revenue from one of these themes.
Please remember that the value of your investment may go down as well as up and past performance is no indication of future performance.
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[1] https://newzoo.com/insights/articles/newzoo-games-market-numbers-revenues-and-audience-2020-2023/)
[2] https://estnn.com/america-is-home-to-214-million-gamers/
[3] https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/blockchain-technology-market-90100890.html
[4] https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/ev-tax-credit-tesla-renewal-expansion-biden-administration/
[5] https://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-biden-stimulus-plan-moved-forward-today-here-are-the-biggest-parts-of-it-11614032251)
[6] https://www.wsj.com/articles/can-businesses-keep-up-with-new-cyber-threats-11601996485
[7] https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/cloud-gaming-market
[8] https://www2.deloitte.com/xe/en/insights/industry/technology/technology-media-and-telecom-predictions/2021/cloud-migration-trends-and-forecast.html
[9] https://datacenternews.asia/story/southeast-asia-to-be-fastest-growing-data-center-region-report
[10] https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-09-21/microsoft-to-buy-bethesda-studios-for-7-5-billion-to-boost-xbox
[11] https://www.myboosting.gg/blog/esports-news/the-video-games-industry-is-bigger-than-hollywood)
[12] https://variety.com/2021/digital/news/netflix-q4-2020-earnings-200-million-subscribers-1234887784/
[13] https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/02/aws-earnings-q4-2020.html
[14] https://www.bankinfosecurity.com/bidens-10-billion-cybersecurity-proposal-enough-a-15787
[15] https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/blockchain-technology-market-90100890.html
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text:
\section{Introduction} \label{sec:intro}

In-situ spacecraft measurements show that the solar wind is permeated by nearly incompressible ($\delta |{\bf B}|/{|\delta \bf B}|\ll 1$), large amplitude ($|\delta {\bf B}|/{\bf B}_0\sim 1$) fluctuations \citep{coleman1967} in the velocity and magnetic field which are correlated mainly in the sense of  Alfvén waves propagating away from the sun \citep{belcher1971, Damicis}, and that are characterized by a nearly constant magnetic field magnitude, a condition corresponding to spherical polarization \citep{BRUNO2001,Matteini2015}. Alfv\'enic fluctuations in the solar wind  thus display a high degree of coherence that manifests itself not just by the velocity-magnetic field correlation that characterizes Alfv\'en waves, but also via an intrinsic degree of phase coherence among the oscillating fields that is necessary in order to maintain a locally constant-$B$ constraint. Such Alfv\'enic fluctuations also display typically turbulent features including a well developed energy spectrum and the ubiquitous presence of intermittent structures, that in turn provide suitable places where energy dissipation and particle energization can occur \citep{Marsch_2006,Osman_2010,Tessein_2013,Perrone_2016}.

Rotational discontinuities  are typically found  at the steepened edges of arc-polarized Alfv\'en waves, a particular case of constant-B fluctuations in a 1D  geometry~\citep{Barnes&Hollweg1974,TsurutaniEA2005,erofeev2019characteristics}. It is believed that rotational discontinuities are necessarily generated by wave steepening and the occurrence of abrupt changes in the wave phase \citep{Cohen&Kulsrud2001,MedvedevEA97,malara_1991,Vasquez2001,TsurutaniEA2018,Valentini_2019}. However, how are compressible effects quenched and the nearly constant-$B$ condition maintained during the dynamical phase wave steepening still remains elusive, especially when the plasma beta is smaller than unity and strong couplings with compressible modes are expected~(e.g., \cite{malara_1991,jayanti_1993, roberts_1995,malara_Phys_fluids_1996}). On the other hand, Alfv\'enic fluctuations are sustained by a non-thermal plasma that displays temperature anisotropies and preferential perpendicular heating, and a stable, field-aligned proton beam streaming ahead of the proton core population at the local Alfv\'en speed \citep{marsch1982,matteini2013,Sorriso-ValvoEA2019,Verniero_2020}.

It is the goal of this letter to investigate  the connection between Alfv\'en wave steepening, plasma compressibility, and the development of non-thermal features in a low-beta plasma. It has been shown via hybrid simulations that a large amplitude monochromatic Alfv\'en wave is subject to parametric instabilities \citep{araneda2008proton,MatteiniEA2010,nariyuki2009,gonz_lez_2020}. The decay of the wave leads non-linearly to enhanced proton heating and to a field-aligned beam driven by the field-aligned electric field generated during the wave decay.  Here, we consider the more realistic situation of a broad-band Alfv\'enic fluctuation and adopt a hybrid framework complemented by test-particle simulations to investigate the connection between Alfv\'en wave dynamics and proton energization. In this case, due to the presence of multiple wavelengths and dispersion, the initial fluctuation undergoes phase steepening resulting in the rapid collapse of the wave \citep{spangler1989,ButiEA2001}. We show that phase steepening  and wave collapse is accompanied by the formation of rotational discontinuities embedded in compressional structures at steepened fronts. Proton heating and acceleration occur locally at the steepened fronts, and ultimately contribute to the dissipation of compressible fluctuations.
\section{Model and Simulation setup}
\label{sec:theory}

In this work we adopt a hybrid model of the plasma that describes electrons as a massless and isothermal fluid and protons as particles via the (non-relativistic, quasi-neutral) Vlasov-Maxwell's equations:

\begin{subequations}
    \begin{equation*}
        \frac{ \partial f_i } {\partial t} + \textbf{v} \cdot \frac{\partial f_i}{\partial \textbf{r}} + \frac{e}{m_i}\left( \textbf{E} +  \frac{\textbf{v}_i}{c} \times \textbf{B} \right) \cdot \frac{\partial f_i}{\partial \textbf{v}} = 0
        \label{eq:New1}
    \end{equation*}
    \begin{equation*}
        \frac{\partial \textbf{B}}{\partial t} =  - c \  \nabla \times \textbf{E}, \ \ \ \ \ \textbf{J} = \frac{c}{4 \pi} \nabla \times \textbf{B}
        \label{eq:Max1}
    \end{equation*}
    \begin{equation*}
    \textbf{E} + \frac{\textbf{u}_i}{c} \times \textbf{B} =   - \frac{k_B T_e \nabla n }{ e n}  + \frac{ \textbf{J} \times \textbf{B}}{ e n}  + \eta \nabla \times \textbf{B},
    \label{ohm}
\end{equation*}
    \label{Eq1}
\end{subequations}

with $c$ the speed of light, $e$ the electron charge, $k_B$ the Boltzmann constant and $T_e$  the electron temperature. The proton number density $n$ and the proton bulk velocity $\textbf{u}_i$ are computed from the moments of the distribution function ($n = \int{f(\textbf{r},\textbf{v},t) d\textbf{v} }$ and $n \textbf{u}_i = \int{ \textbf{v} f(\textbf{r},\textbf{v},t) d\textbf{v}}$ respectively). Since the model assumes quasi-neutrality, the electric field is obtained through the generalized Ohm's law where contributions from inductive, Hall, electron pressure and resistive terms are retained while electron-inertia and higher-order terms are not considered.

We performed 2.5D simulations by means  of the hybrid-PIC code CAMELIA (e.g., \citet{Franci_2018}). Periodic boundary conditions are imposed in all directions of the computational box. Lengths are normalized to the proton inertial length $d_i =  c/\omega_{p}$ with $\omega_p = (4\pi ne^2/m_i)^{1/2}$ the proton plasma frequency. Time is normalized to the inverse of the proton gyrofrequency $\Omega_{ci}^{-1} = (eB_0/m_i c)^{-1}$ and velocities  to the Alfv\'en speed $v_A = B_0/(4 \pi n m_i)^{1/2}$.  The plasma beta for both ions and electrons is defined as $\beta_{p,e}=8 \pi n k_B T_{p,e}/B_0^2$. We have included explicit resistivity to improve energy conservation by avoiding energy accumulation at the grid scales. The associated dissipation length scale is chosen to be greater than the grid size but smaller than proton scales.
We start from an initially uniform and isotropic plasma. We initialize the system with an exact nonlinear solution of the MHD system corresponding to a large scale, non-monochromatic and constant-B Alfv\'enic fluctuation propagating along the mean magnetic field ${\bf B}_0$, taken along the \textit{x-axis}. The magnetic field of the wave is  given by  $\delta b_z = \delta b_0 \cos{(\phi(k_0,x))}$ and $\delta b_y = - \delta b_0 \sin{(\phi(k_0,x))}$, with $|\delta {\bf b}|=\delta b_0$ the amplitude of the  wave normalized to the mean magnetic field magnitude $B_0$. The phase $\phi(k_0,x) = k_0 x + \epsilon \sum_{m=n_i, m \neq n_0}^{n_f}  \frac{k_0}{k_m} \cos{(k_m x + \phi_m)}$, where $\phi_m$ is a random phase between $ [0,2 \pi)$. The main wave vector is $k_0 = 2\pi n_0/L$ and the initial wave satisfies the Walen relation in the dispersion-less limit $\delta {\bf u} = -(\omega_0/k_0) \delta {\bf b}$.  The wave frequency $\omega_0$ is determined from the normalized dispersion relation $k_0^2=\omega_0^2/(1-\omega_0)$ for left-handed circularly polarized waves in parallel propagation. This initial condition corresponds to a broad-band Alfv\'enic fluctuation comprised of modes ranging from $k_i=2 \pi n_i/L$ to $k_f=2 \pi n_f/L$. The  parameter $\epsilon$ controls the deviation from the monochromatic case which is recovered for $\epsilon=0$ \citep{malara_Phys_fluids_1996}.

We present results for a squared box simulation of side  $L=128 d_i$ with 1024 particles per cell and  $1024^2$ grid points, corresponding to a grid size $\Delta  = d_i/8$.  We set the time step to move the particles as $\Delta t=0.01 \Omega_{ci}^{-1}$ and used $30$ substeps for the fields. The main wave vector is $k_0d_i=0.2$ and we set $\epsilon=0.5$. This yields an initial spectrum  with spectral index $-2$ in the interval $k d_i=[0.05,0.5]$. The plasma beta is $\beta_{p,e}=0.5$ and the  wave amplitude $\delta b_0=0.5$. Finally, the explicit resistivity is $\eta=0.0002$. Throughout the text we will use a field-aligned coordinate system and will refer to parallel and perpendicular in terms of the direction of the total magnetic field $\hat{\textbf{b}} = \textbf{B}/\Vert \textbf{B} \Vert$. The temperatures are defined in terms of the decomposition of the pressure tensor according to the direction of the total magnetic field as: $p_\parallel = \textbf{p} \colon \hat{\textbf{b}}\hat{\textbf{b}}$ and  $p_\perp = \textbf{p} \colon (\mathbb{\textbf{I}} - \hat{\textbf{b}}\hat{\textbf{b}})/2$ and the pressure tensor $\textbf{p} = \int(u-v_p)_i(u-v_p)_j f({\bf r,v},t) d{\bf v}$ is obtained from the particle velocity distribution.

\section{Results} \label{sec:results}

Fig.~\ref{Fig1} summarizes the time evolution of the system and the top panel shows the root mean square (rms) of the magnetic and velocity field fluctuations, and also the average parallel and perpendicular proton temperatures. The initial Alfv\'enic fluctuation collapses after a few proton gyroperiods by releasing its energy to the plasma in the forms of thermal and kinetic energy, the latter via the formation of a field-aligned beam, as we discuss below, until a steady-state is achieved at around $250 \ \Omega_{ci}^{-1}$.
\begin{figure}
\includegraphics[width=0.5\textwidth]{Fig1_letter.eps}
\caption{(\textbf{Top}). Temporal evolution of the rms magnetic and velocity fluctuations and  mean proton temperature decomposition. (\textbf{Bottom}). Time evolution of the ratio $\sigma_F/\sigma_c$ and the standard deviation of the density and the field-aligned electric field.}
\label{Fig1}
\end{figure}

The disruption of the wave and the resulting proton energization and beam formation are due to the phase-steepening of the initial wave. Because of dispersive effects, we observe a rapid phase steepening of the wave due to the larger scales catching up with the smaller ones, ultimately leading to a modulation of the magnitude of $|{\bf B}|$ and hence to localized steepened wave fronts, a process analogous to the collapse of localized Alfv\'enic wave packets due to modulational instability~\citep{ButiEA2001, spangler}. Departures from the initial constant-B state drives compressible fluctuations and a field-aligned electric field at the steepened edges of the Alfv\'enic fluctuation.

The compressive fluctuations are displayed in the bottom panel of Fig.~\ref{Fig1}, where the standard deviation ($\delta (X) = \ < \left(  X  - \left<  X \right> \right)^2 >^{1/2}$) of proton density and the field-aligned electric field are plotted.  The ratio of the standard deviation of the magnetic field magnitude ($\sigma_F = \delta(|{\bf B}|)$) to the magnetic field fluctuations ($\sigma_c = [ \delta^2(b_x) + \delta^2(b_y) + \delta^2(b_z)]^{1/2}$) is also shown. All These quantities display a maximum during the initial stage of wave collapse/disruption and then minimize at saturation, pointing to the fact that nonlinear wave-particle interactions at the steepened edges reduce plasma compressibility.

\begin{figure}
\includegraphics[width=0.45\textwidth]{Fig2_letter.eps}
\caption{Contour plot in the $(x-t)$ plane of the magnitude of the magnetic field (\textbf{Top}) and of the parallel electric field  (\textbf{Bottom}) at $y_p=64 d_i$. The yellow lines mark the location of the two points used to reproduce Fig~\ref{Fig4}. As a reference, we show in white dashed lines the characteristic propagating at the Alfvén velocity.}
\label{Fig2}
\end{figure}

In Fig.\ref{Fig2} we show a contour plot (spatio-temporal diagram \textit{x-t} plane ) of the magnitude of the magnetic field and the mean field-aligned electric field at the plane $y_p=64 \ d_i$, showing the characteristics of the discontinuities generated at the wave edges as the result of phase-steepening. These structures propagate at nearly the Alfv\'en speed and essentially along the mean magnetic field. One can observe that the shape of these structures changes as they propagate, and that they largely fade away at saturation (at around $t=300 \  \Omega_{ci}^{-1}$).  The main contribution to the field-aligned  electric field at those locations comes from the Hall term ($\textbf{J} \times \textbf{B} = \textbf{B} \cdot \nabla \textbf{B} - \nabla(\textbf{B}^2/2)$), in particular from the field-aligned component of the second term on the right hand side \citep{MatteiniEA2010,gonz_lez_2020}. The interaction of protons with these propagating discontinuities and the parallel electric field therein provides a suitable mechanism for the acceleration and heating of protons.

The proton velocity distribution function (VDF) in the $(v_\parallel-v_\bot)$ plane is shown in Fig~\ref{Fig3}. The VDF is displayed early in the evolution when the strongest heating  is taking place. As can be seen, the largest contribution to the  parallel temperature comes from the field aligned proton beam at the Alfvén speed. The proton beam is generated early in the evolution after the formation of magnetic pressure fluctuations and remains stable throughout the final steady-state. A qualitative similar behavior was found in \cite{nariyuki_2014} by means of a reduced one dimensional MHD-Vlasov model in a radially expanding geometry. In their simulations a beam also forms at steepened wave fronts generated by MHD nonlinearities, rather than by dispersive effects.

\begin{figure}
\includegraphics[width=0.45\textwidth]{Fig3_letter.eps}
\caption{Contours of the proton velocity distribution function in the $(v_\parallel-v_\bot)$ plane at different times.}
\label{Fig3}
\end{figure}

To illustrate the dynamical phase-steepening process and its implications on the particles VDF, we computed single-point measurements of some field quantities and the reduced parallel and perpendicular VDF at two different fixed points in the simulation domain. The two probes are located at  $r_1 = (32 \ d_i,64 \ d_i)$ and $r_2 = (64 \ d_i,64 \ d_i)$, respectively, and correspond to the yellow lines marked in Fig~\ref{Fig2}. The time series at both probes is presented in Fig~\ref{Fig4}, where we show the transverse magnetic field fluctuations, the magnitude of the magnetic field, the particle density, and the field-aligned electric field as a function of time.
\begin{figure}
\includegraphics[width=0.45\textwidth]{Fig4_letter.eps}
\caption{Single point measurements at position $r_1$ (\textbf{Left}) and $r_2$ (\textbf{Right}). The top panels show the time series of $b_y$, $b_z$, the parallel electric field $e_\parallel$, the magnitude of B and the particle density $\rho$. The middle and bottom panels show the time series of the reduced proton VDF in the perpendicular and parallel directions, respectively. }
\label{Fig4}
\end{figure}
The vertical dashed lines in the top panels of Fig~\ref{Fig4} show the location of a single structure that crosses the two points. We estimated that the structure propagates at a speed  $V=0.82 \ v_A$, although the characteristics in Fig.~\ref{Fig2} show that the speed is not constant and some of the steepened fronts break down.

The resulting signatures on the proton VDF due to rotational discontinuities on the particle VDF are different for the parallel and perpendicular components. Plume-like structures can be identified in the perpendicular component with enhancement of particles with large $v_\bot$ at the location at the steepened fronts. On the other hand, the velocity-space structures in the parallel component show the presence of beams in front of the discontinuities. As the faster particles in the beam are farther from the steepened fronts, they arrive at the probe earlier, hence the tilted structure that can be seen in the time series of the parallel VDF. Besides, phase-space holes and slower parallel particle velocity right in the location of the steepened fronts are evidenced.

To understand the energization process produced by the interaction of protons with the rotational discontinuities, we computed the trajectory of test-particles using high-cadence electric and magnetic field data generated by the simulation. The initial test-particle ensemble is randomly distributed through the simulation box with initial Maxwellian distribution function for perpendicular velocities while particles are initialized with zero velocity along the mean field. Periodic boundary conditions are imposed in \textit{x-y} directions and we considered protons with the same physical parameters as in the hybrid simulation.

\begin{figure}
\includegraphics[width=0.45\textwidth]{Fig5_letter.eps}
\caption{Particle information along the path of two representative test-particles. (\textbf{Top}). The electric ($e_x$)and magnetic field components ($b_y$ and $b_z$). (\textbf{Middle}). The parallel  particle velocity $v_\parallel$ and the normalized particle magnetic moment $\mu/\mu_0$. (\textbf{Bottom}). It is  shown the ratio between the particle gyro-radii to the radius of curvature of the magnetic field $\rho_{i}/R$.}
\label{Fig5}
\end{figure}

Fig.~\ref{Fig5} shows the tracking of two representative particles that undergo the acceleration process resulting from the interaction with discontinuities. The top panel shows the field interpolated along the particle trajectory. The middle panel shows the magnetic moment $\mu = m_i v_\bot^2/2B_0$, normalized to the  magnetic moment evaluated with the initial proton thermal velocity (black line) and the parallel velocity (red line). Proton interaction with rotational discontinuities results in the violation of the first adiabatic invariant. The non-adiabatic particle behaviour is observed once the particle crosses a discontinuity, followed by the acceleration of the particle along the magnetic field due to the field-aligned electric field inside the structure. The bottom panel of Fig.~\ref{Fig5} presents the ratio between the particle gyroradius $\rho_{i}=v_{th}/\Omega_{ci}$ and the radius of curvature of the magnetic field at particle location $R = 1/\kappa$ , with the curvature defined as  $\kappa =  \Vert \hat{\textbf{b}} \cdot \nabla \hat{\textbf{b}}\Vert$. The breaking of adiabatic particle motion at discontinuities occurs when a particle experiences a sharply curved magnetic field rotation at the discontinuities, which allows the stochastic behaviour of protons in those regions. This is consistent with the signatures on the perpendicular  VDF (middle panel of Fig.~\ref{Fig4}), showing an enhancement of particles with larger velocities each time a magnetic structure is crossed. In conclusion, the proton heating and acceleration process resulting from the phase-steepening of large-amplitude Alfvénic fluctuations is complex. The natural development of parallel propagating structures that travel at around the Alfvén speed  involve a  bipolar electric field that accelerates particles into a mean field-aligned beam, while scattering by the magnetic field structure contribute at the same time to an enhancement of perpendicular heating. Particle that are being accelerated into the beam may resonate with the propagating structure leading to the damping of compressive fluctuations and allowing the final non-linear steady-state.

\section{Conclusions} \label{sec:conclusion}

In this letter we made use of hybrid simulations, complemented by test particle simulations, to investigate proton energization at the phase-steepened edges of an initial large-amplitude, constant-B  Alfvénic fluctuation in a low beta plasma.   We find that dispersion leads to the initial phase steepening of the wave resulting in its rapid collapse, as predicted for weakly dispersive Alfv\'enic wave packets. This process is accompanied by the formation of rotational discontinuities embedded in compressional structures characterized by an enhancement of magnetic pressure at the steepened fronts that propagate at a speed slightly less than the Alfv\'en speed. Proton perpendicular heating via pitch angle scattering and parallel acceleration take place in those localized regions, due to the  interaction of protons with the parallel electric field (mainly induced by the gradients of $|{\bf B}|$) therein. Within the fully self-consistent hybrid simulations, it is those demagnetized protons, accelerated up to about the Alfv\'en speed,  to ultimately mediate the damping of the parallel electric field and reduce compressible fluctuations via nonlinear wave-particle resonance.

Our results provide a possible explanation for the ubiquitous presence of a stable, field aligned proton beam, commonly observed in the Alfv\'enic wind, and enhanced proton heating. We also argue that the existence of the proton beam itself is intimately related to the quenching of compressible fluctuations and to the nearly constant-B field that characterizes the Alfv\'enic wind. Our simulation display a final degree of compressibility of fluctuations comparable to solar wind observations \citep{villante1982}, although some steepened fronts survive or tend to reform. However, further investigations on the role of electrons physics, not included within the hybrid model, is needed, since electrons may contribute significantly to the damping of compressible fluctuations via  resonant interactions \citep{hollweg_1971}.

\acknowledgements{We would like to thank A. Artemyev for useful discussions. This research was supported by NASA grant \#80NSS\-C18K1211 and the HERMES NASA DRIVE Science Center Grant n. 80NSSC20K0604. We acknowledge the Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC) at The University of Texas at Austin for providing HPC resources that have contributed to the research results reported within this paper. URL: http://www.tacc.utexas.edu.}

\section{Introduction} \label{sec:intro}

In-situ spacecraft measurements show that the solar wind is permeated by nearly incompressible ($\delta |{\bf B}|/{|\delta \bf B}|\ll 1$), large amplitude ($|\delta {\bf B}|/{\bf B}_0\sim 1$) fluctuations \citep{coleman1967} in the velocity and magnetic field which are correlated mainly in the sense of  Alfvén waves propagating away from the sun \citep{belcher1971, Damicis}, and that are characterized by a nearly constant magnetic field magnitude, a condition corresponding to spherical polarization \citep{BRUNO2001,Matteini2015}. Alfv\'enic fluctuations in the solar wind  thus display a high degree of coherence that manifests itself not just by the velocity-magnetic field correlation that characterizes Alfv\'en waves, but also via an intrinsic degree of phase coherence among the oscillating fields that is necessary in order to maintain a locally constant-$B$ constraint. Such Alfv\'enic fluctuations also display typically turbulent features including a well developed energy spectrum and the ubiquitous presence of intermittent structures, that in turn provide suitable places where energy dissipation and particle energization can occur \citep{Marsch_2006,Osman_2010,Tessein_2013,Perrone_2016}.

Rotational discontinuities  are typically found  at the steepened edges of arc-polarized Alfv\'en waves, a particular case of constant-B fluctuations in a 1D  geometry~\citep{Barnes&Hollweg1974,TsurutaniEA2005,erofeev2019characteristics}. It is believed that rotational discontinuities are necessarily generated by wave steepening and the occurrence of abrupt changes in the wave phase \citep{Cohen&Kulsrud2001,MedvedevEA97,malara_1991,Vasquez2001,TsurutaniEA2018,Valentini_2019}. However, how are compressible effects quenched and the nearly constant-$B$ condition maintained during the dynamical phase wave steepening still remains elusive, especially when the plasma beta is smaller than unity and strong couplings with compressible modes are expected~(e.g., \cite{malara_1991,jayanti_1993, roberts_1995,malara_Phys_fluids_1996}). On the other hand, Alfv\'enic fluctuations are sustained by a non-thermal plasma that displays temperature anisotropies and preferential perpendicular heating, and a stable, field-aligned proton beam streaming ahead of the proton core population at the local Alfv\'en speed \citep{marsch1982,matteini2013,Sorriso-ValvoEA2019,Verniero_2020}.

It is the goal of this letter to investigate  the connection between Alfv\'en wave steepening, plasma compressibility, and the development of non-thermal features in a low-beta plasma. It has been shown via hybrid simulations that a large amplitude monochromatic Alfv\'en wave is subject to parametric instabilities \citep{araneda2008proton,MatteiniEA2010,nariyuki2009,gonz_lez_2020}. The decay of the wave leads non-linearly to enhanced proton heating and to a field-aligned beam driven by the field-aligned electric field generated during the wave decay.  Here, we consider the more realistic situation of a broad-band Alfv\'enic fluctuation and adopt a hybrid framework complemented by test-particle simulations to investigate the connection between Alfv\'en wave dynamics and proton energization. In this case, due to the presence of multiple wavelengths and dispersion, the initial fluctuation undergoes phase steepening resulting in the rapid collapse of the wave \citep{spangler1989,ButiEA2001}. We show that phase steepening  and wave collapse is accompanied by the formation of rotational discontinuities embedded in compressional structures at steepened fronts. Proton heating and acceleration occur locally at the steepened fronts, and ultimately contribute to the dissipation of compressible fluctuations.
\section{Model and Simulation setup}
\label{sec:theory}

In this work we adopt a hybrid model of the plasma that describes electrons as a massless and isothermal fluid and protons as particles via the (non-relativistic, quasi-neutral) Vlasov-Maxwell's equations:

\begin{subequations}
    \begin{equation*}
        \frac{ \partial f_i } {\partial t} + \textbf{v} \cdot \frac{\partial f_i}{\partial \textbf{r}} + \frac{e}{m_i}\left( \textbf{E} +  \frac{\textbf{v}_i}{c} \times \textbf{B} \right) \cdot \frac{\partial f_i}{\partial \textbf{v}} = 0
        \label{eq:New1}
    \end{equation*}
    \begin{equation*}
        \frac{\partial \textbf{B}}{\partial t} =  - c \  \nabla \times \textbf{E}, \ \ \ \ \ \textbf{J} = \frac{c}{4 \pi} \nabla \times \textbf{B}
        \label{eq:Max1}
    \end{equation*}
    \begin{equation*}
    \textbf{E} + \frac{\textbf{u}_i}{c} \times \textbf{B} =   - \frac{k_B T_e \nabla n }{ e n}  + \frac{ \textbf{J} \times \textbf{B}}{ e n}  + \eta \nabla \times \textbf{B},
    \label{ohm}
\end{equation*}
    \label{Eq1}
\end{subequations}

with $c$ the speed of light, $e$ the electron charge, $k_B$ the Boltzmann constant and $T_e$  the electron temperature. The proton number density $n$ and the proton bulk velocity $\textbf{u}_i$ are computed from the moments of the distribution function ($n = \int{f(\textbf{r},\textbf{v},t) d\textbf{v} }$ and $n \textbf{u}_i = \int{ \textbf{v} f(\textbf{r},\textbf{v},t) d\textbf{v}}$ respectively). Since the model assumes quasi-neutrality, the electric field is obtained through the generalized Ohm's law where contributions from inductive, Hall, electron pressure and resistive terms are retained while electron-inertia and higher-order terms are not considered.

We performed 2.5D simulations by means  of the hybrid-PIC code CAMELIA (e.g., \citet{Franci_2018}). Periodic boundary conditions are imposed in all directions of the computational box. Lengths are normalized to the proton inertial length $d_i =  c/\omega_{p}$ with $\omega_p = (4\pi ne^2/m_i)^{1/2}$ the proton plasma frequency. Time is normalized to the inverse of the proton gyrofrequency $\Omega_{ci}^{-1} = (eB_0/m_i c)^{-1}$ and velocities  to the Alfv\'en speed $v_A = B_0/(4 \pi n m_i)^{1/2}$.  The plasma beta for both ions and electrons is defined as $\beta_{p,e}=8 \pi n k_B T_{p,e}/B_0^2$. We have included explicit resistivity to improve energy conservation by avoiding energy accumulation at the grid scales. The associated dissipation length scale is chosen to be greater than the grid size but smaller than proton scales.
We start from an initially uniform and isotropic plasma. We initialize the system with an exact nonlinear solution of the MHD system corresponding to a large scale, non-monochromatic and constant-B Alfv\'enic fluctuation propagating along the mean magnetic field ${\bf B}_0$, taken along the \textit{x-axis}. The magnetic field of the wave is  given by  $\delta b_z = \delta b_0 \cos{(\phi(k_0,x))}$ and $\delta b_y = - \delta b_0 \sin{(\phi(k_0,x))}$, with $|\delta {\bf b}|=\delta b_0$ the amplitude of the  wave normalized to the mean magnetic field magnitude $B_0$. The phase $\phi(k_0,x) = k_0 x + \epsilon \sum_{m=n_i, m \neq n_0}^{n_f}  \frac{k_0}{k_m} \cos{(k_m x + \phi_m)}$, where $\phi_m$ is a random phase between $ [0,2 \pi)$. The main wave vector is $k_0 = 2\pi n_0/L$ and the initial wave satisfies the Walen relation in the dispersion-less limit $\delta {\bf u} = -(\omega_0/k_0) \delta {\bf b}$.  The wave frequency $\omega_0$ is determined from the normalized dispersion relation $k_0^2=\omega_0^2/(1-\omega_0)$ for left-handed circularly polarized waves in parallel propagation. This initial condition corresponds to a broad-band Alfv\'enic fluctuation comprised of modes ranging from $k_i=2 \pi n_i/L$ to $k_f=2 \pi n_f/L$. The  parameter $\epsilon$ controls the deviation from the monochromatic case which is recovered for $\epsilon=0$ \citep{malara_Phys_fluids_1996}.

We present results for a squared box simulation of side  $L=128 d_i$ with 1024 particles per cell and  $1024^2$ grid points, corresponding to a grid size $\Delta  = d_i/8$.  We set the time step to move the particles as $\Delta t=0.01 \Omega_{ci}^{-1}$ and used $30$ substeps for the fields. The main wave vector is $k_0d_i=0.2$ and we set $\epsilon=0.5$. This yields an initial spectrum  with spectral index $-2$ in the interval $k d_i=[0.05,0.5]$. The plasma beta is $\beta_{p,e}=0.5$ and the  wave amplitude $\delta b_0=0.5$. Finally, the explicit resistivity is $\eta=0.0002$. Throughout the text we will use a field-aligned coordinate system and will refer to parallel and perpendicular in terms of the direction of the total magnetic field $\hat{\textbf{b}} = \textbf{B}/\Vert \textbf{B} \Vert$. The temperatures are defined in terms of the decomposition of the pressure tensor according to the direction of the total magnetic field as: $p_\parallel = \textbf{p} \colon \hat{\textbf{b}}\hat{\textbf{b}}$ and  $p_\perp = \textbf{p} \colon (\mathbb{\textbf{I}} - \hat{\textbf{b}}\hat{\textbf{b}})/2$ and the pressure tensor $\textbf{p} = \int(u-v_p)_i(u-v_p)_j f({\bf r,v},t) d{\bf v}$ is obtained from the particle velocity distribution.

\section{Results} \label{sec:results}

Fig.~\ref{Fig1} summarizes the time evolution of the system and the top panel shows the root mean square (rms) of the magnetic and velocity field fluctuations, and also the average parallel and perpendicular proton temperatures. The initial Alfv\'enic fluctuation collapses after a few proton gyroperiods by releasing its energy to the plasma in the forms of thermal and kinetic energy, the latter via the formation of a field-aligned beam, as we discuss below, until a steady-state is achieved at around $250 \ \Omega_{ci}^{-1}$.
\begin{figure}
\includegraphics[width=0.5\textwidth]{Fig1_letter-eps-converted-to.pdf}
\caption{(\textbf{Top}). Temporal evolution of the rms magnetic and velocity fluctuations and  mean proton temperature decomposition. (\textbf{Bottom}). Time evolution of the ratio $\sigma_F/\sigma_c$ and the standard deviation of the density and the field-aligned electric field.}
\label{Fig1}
\end{figure}

The disruption of the wave and the resulting proton energization and beam formation are due to the phase-steepening of the initial wave. Because of dispersive effects, we observe a rapid phase steepening of the wave due to the larger scales catching up with the smaller ones, ultimately leading to a modulation of the magnitude of $|{\bf B}|$ and hence to localized steepened wave fronts, a process analogous to the collapse of localized Alfv\'enic wave packets due to modulational instability~\citep{ButiEA2001, spangler}. Departures from the initial constant-B state drives compressible fluctuations and a field-aligned electric field at the steepened edges of the Alfv\'enic fluctuation.

The compressive fluctuations are displayed in the bottom panel of Fig.~\ref{Fig1}, where the standard deviation ($\delta (X) = \ < \left(  X  - \left<  X \right> \right)^2 >^{1/2}$) of proton density and the field-aligned electric field are plotted.  The ratio of the standard deviation of the magnetic field magnitude ($\sigma_F = \delta(|{\bf B}|)$) to the magnetic field fluctuations ($\sigma_c = [ \delta^2(b_x) + \delta^2(b_y) + \delta^2(b_z)]^{1/2}$) is also shown. All These quantities display a maximum during the initial stage of wave collapse/disruption and then minimize at saturation, pointing to the fact that nonlinear wave-particle interactions at the steepened edges reduce plasma compressibility.

\begin{figure}
\includegraphics[width=0.45\textwidth]{Fig2_letter-eps-converted-to.pdf}
\caption{Contour plot in the $(x-t)$ plane of the magnitude of the magnetic field (\textbf{Top}) and of the parallel electric field  (\textbf{Bottom}) at $y_p=64 d_i$. The yellow lines mark the location of the two points used to reproduce Fig~\ref{Fig4}. As a reference, we show in white dashed lines the characteristic propagating at the Alfvén velocity.}
\label{Fig2}
\end{figure}

In Fig.\ref{Fig2} we show a contour plot (spatio-temporal diagram \textit{x-t} plane ) of the magnitude of the magnetic field and the mean field-aligned electric field at the plane $y_p=64 \ d_i$, showing the characteristics of the discontinuities generated at the wave edges as the result of phase-steepening. These structures propagate at nearly the Alfv\'en speed and essentially along the mean magnetic field. One can observe that the shape of these structures changes as they propagate, and that they largely fade away at saturation (at around $t=300 \  \Omega_{ci}^{-1}$).  The main contribution to the field-aligned  electric field at those locations comes from the Hall term ($\textbf{J} \times \textbf{B} = \textbf{B} \cdot \nabla \textbf{B} - \nabla(\textbf{B}^2/2)$), in particular from the field-aligned component of the second term on the right hand side \citep{MatteiniEA2010,gonz_lez_2020}. The interaction of protons with these propagating discontinuities and the parallel electric field therein provides a suitable mechanism for the acceleration and heating of protons.

The proton velocity distribution function (VDF) in the $(v_\parallel-v_\bot)$ plane is shown in Fig~\ref{Fig3}. The VDF is displayed early in the evolution when the strongest heating  is taking place. As can be seen, the largest contribution to the  parallel temperature comes from the field aligned proton beam at the Alfvén speed. The proton beam is generated early in the evolution after the formation of magnetic pressure fluctuations and remains stable throughout the final steady-state. A qualitative similar behavior was found in \cite{nariyuki_2014} by means of a reduced one dimensional MHD-Vlasov model in a radially expanding geometry. In their simulations a beam also forms at steepened wave fronts generated by MHD nonlinearities, rather than by dispersive effects.

\begin{figure}
\includegraphics[width=0.45\textwidth]{Fig3_letter-eps-converted-to.pdf}
\caption{Contours of the proton velocity distribution function in the $(v_\parallel-v_\bot)$ plane at different times.}
\label{Fig3}
\end{figure}

To illustrate the dynamical phase-steepening process and its implications on the particles VDF, we computed single-point measurements of some field quantities and the reduced parallel and perpendicular VDF at two different fixed points in the simulation domain. The two probes are located at  $r_1 = (32 \ d_i,64 \ d_i)$ and $r_2 = (64 \ d_i,64 \ d_i)$, respectively, and correspond to the yellow lines marked in Fig~\ref{Fig2}. The time series at both probes is presented in Fig~\ref{Fig4}, where we show the transverse magnetic field fluctuations, the magnitude of the magnetic field, the particle density, and the field-aligned electric field as a function of time.
\begin{figure}
\includegraphics[width=0.45\textwidth]{Fig4_letter-eps-converted-to.pdf}
\caption{Single point measurements at position $r_1$ (\textbf{Left}) and $r_2$ (\textbf{Right}). The top panels show the time series of $b_y$, $b_z$, the parallel electric field $e_\parallel$, the magnitude of B and the particle density $\rho$. The middle and bottom panels show the time series of the reduced proton VDF in the perpendicular and parallel directions, respectively. }
\label{Fig4}
\end{figure}
The vertical dashed lines in the top panels of Fig~\ref{Fig4} show the location of a single structure that crosses the two points. We estimated that the structure propagates at a speed  $V=0.82 \ v_A$, although the characteristics in Fig.~\ref{Fig2} show that the speed is not constant and some of the steepened fronts break down.

The resulting signatures on the proton VDF due to rotational discontinuities on the particle VDF are different for the parallel and perpendicular components. Plume-like structures can be identified in the perpendicular component with enhancement of particles with large $v_\bot$ at the location at the steepened fronts. On the other hand, the velocity-space structures in the parallel component show the presence of beams in front of the discontinuities. As the faster particles in the beam are farther from the steepened fronts, they arrive at the probe earlier, hence the tilted structure that can be seen in the time series of the parallel VDF. Besides, phase-space holes and slower parallel particle velocity right in the location of the steepened fronts are evidenced.

To understand the energization process produced by the interaction of protons with the rotational discontinuities, we computed the trajectory of test-particles using high-cadence electric and magnetic field data generated by the simulation. The initial test-particle ensemble is randomly distributed through the simulation box with initial Maxwellian distribution function for perpendicular velocities while particles are initialized with zero velocity along the mean field. Periodic boundary conditions are imposed in \textit{x-y} directions and we considered protons with the same physical parameters as in the hybrid simulation.

\begin{figure}
\includegraphics[width=0.45\textwidth]{Fig5_letter-eps-converted-to.pdf}
\caption{Particle information along the path of two representative test-particles. (\textbf{Top}). The electric ($e_x$)and magnetic field components ($b_y$ and $b_z$). (\textbf{Middle}). The parallel  particle velocity $v_\parallel$ and the normalized particle magnetic moment $\mu/\mu_0$. (\textbf{Bottom}). It is  shown the ratio between the particle gyro-radii to the radius of curvature of the magnetic field $\rho_{i}/R$.}
\label{Fig5}
\end{figure}

Fig.~\ref{Fig5} shows the tracking of two representative particles that undergo the acceleration process resulting from the interaction with discontinuities. The top panel shows the field interpolated along the particle trajectory. The middle panel shows the magnetic moment $\mu = m_i v_\bot^2/2B_0$, normalized to the  magnetic moment evaluated with the initial proton thermal velocity (black line) and the parallel velocity (red line). Proton interaction with rotational discontinuities results in the violation of the first adiabatic invariant. The non-adiabatic particle behaviour is observed once the particle crosses a discontinuity, followed by the acceleration of the particle along the magnetic field due to the field-aligned electric field inside the structure. The bottom panel of Fig.~\ref{Fig5} presents the ratio between the particle gyroradius $\rho_{i}=v_{th}/\Omega_{ci}$ and the radius of curvature of the magnetic field at particle location $R = 1/\kappa$ , with the curvature defined as  $\kappa =  \Vert \hat{\textbf{b}} \cdot \nabla \hat{\textbf{b}}\Vert$. The breaking of adiabatic particle motion at discontinuities occurs when a particle experiences a sharply curved magnetic field rotation at the discontinuities, which allows the stochastic behaviour of protons in those regions. This is consistent with the signatures on the perpendicular  VDF (middle panel of Fig.~\ref{Fig4}), showing an enhancement of particles with larger velocities each time a magnetic structure is crossed. In conclusion, the proton heating and acceleration process resulting from the phase-steepening of large-amplitude Alfvénic fluctuations is complex. The natural development of parallel propagating structures that travel at around the Alfvén speed  involve a  bipolar electric field that accelerates particles into a mean field-aligned beam, while scattering by the magnetic field structure contribute at the same time to an enhancement of perpendicular heating. Particle that are being accelerated into the beam may resonate with the propagating structure leading to the damping of compressive fluctuations and allowing the final non-linear steady-state.

\section{Conclusions} \label{sec:conclusion}

In this letter we made use of hybrid simulations, complemented by test particle simulations, to investigate proton energization at the phase-steepened edges of an initial large-amplitude, constant-B  Alfvénic fluctuation in a low beta plasma.   We find that dispersion leads to the initial phase steepening of the wave resulting in its rapid collapse, as predicted for weakly dispersive Alfv\'enic wave packets. This process is accompanied by the formation of rotational discontinuities embedded in compressional structures characterized by an enhancement of magnetic pressure at the steepened fronts that propagate at a speed slightly less than the Alfv\'en speed. Proton perpendicular heating via pitch angle scattering and parallel acceleration take place in those localized regions, due to the  interaction of protons with the parallel electric field (mainly induced by the gradients of $|{\bf B}|$) therein. Within the fully self-consistent hybrid simulations, it is those demagnetized protons, accelerated up to about the Alfv\'en speed,  to ultimately mediate the damping of the parallel electric field and reduce compressible fluctuations via nonlinear wave-particle resonance.

Our results provide a possible explanation for the ubiquitous presence of a stable, field aligned proton beam, commonly observed in the Alfv\'enic wind, and enhanced proton heating. We also argue that the existence of the proton beam itself is intimately related to the quenching of compressible fluctuations and to the nearly constant-B field that characterizes the Alfv\'enic wind. Our simulation display a final degree of compressibility of fluctuations comparable to solar wind observations \citep{villante1982}, although some steepened fronts survive or tend to reform. However, further investigations on the role of electrons physics, not included within the hybrid model, is needed, since electrons may contribute significantly to the damping of compressible fluctuations via  resonant interactions \citep{hollweg_1971}.

\acknowledgements{We would like to thank A. Artemyev for useful discussions. This research was supported by NASA grant \#80NSS\-C18K1211 and the HERMES NASA DRIVE Science Center Grant n. 80NSSC20K0604. We acknowledge the Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC) at The University of Texas at Austin for providing HPC resources that have contributed to the research results reported within this paper. URL: http://www.tacc.utexas.edu.}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaArXiv


text:
Battle of Famars
Part of the French Revolutionary War
Famars, Nord, France
Coalition victory
French Republic Habsburg Austria
François Lamarche Prince of Coburg
Joseph de Ferraris
3,000 killed or wounded,
300 captured,
17 cannons lost,
14 ammunition wagons,
3 standards lost ca 1,100 killed or wounded
Flanders Campaign
1st Aldenhoven
Neerwinden
Condé
Famars
Caesar's Camp
Lincelles
Le Quesnoy
Avesnes-le-Sec
Menin
1st Courtrai
Cysoing
Marchiennes
Le Cateau
Landrecies
Villers-en-Cauchies
2nd Courtrai
Grandreng
Lambusart
2nd Aldenhoven
War of the First Coalition
Marquain
Jemappes
2nd Mainz
San Pietro and Sant'Antioco
1st Saorgio
1st Arlon
Hondshoote
Peyrestortes
Truillas
1st Wissembourg
Fort-Louis
1st Kaiserslautern
1st Collioure
Froeschwiller
2nd Wissembourg
2nd Arlon
1st Landrecies
2nd Saorgio
2nd Collioure
3rd Arlon
2nd Kaiserslautern
San-Lorenzo
3rd Kaiserslautern
1st Dego
Handschuhsheim
3rd Mainz
Pfeddersheim
Montenotte
2nd Dego
Fombio
Borghetto
1st Kehl
fr (Peschiera:Combat de Peschiera|Battle of Peschiera|Peschiera)
fr (Friedberg:Combat de Friedberg (Hesse)|Battle of Friedberg (Hessen)|Friedberg)
1st Bassano
2nd Kehl
Hüningen
3rd Kehl
2nd Bassano
Valvasone
fr (Tyrol:Expédition du Tyrol|Expedition in Tyrol|Tyrol)
Tarvis
Diersheim
Veronese Easter
War in the Vendée
War of the Pyrenees
Rhine Campaign of 1796
The Battle of Famars was fought on 23 May 1793 during the Flanders Campaign of the War of the First Coalition. An Allied Austrian, Hanoverian, and British army under Prince Josias of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld defeated the French Army of the North led by François Joseph Drouot de Lamarche. The action occurred near the village of Famars in northern France, five km south of Valenciennes.
3 Aftermath
4 Assessment
6.1 Books
In May 1793, following a series of reverses the French Republican army in the Low Countries was in a desperate situation. Dispirited after the death of its former commander Augustin-Marie Picot de Dampierre, it was tired and disorganised. In addition it was further weakened by detachments taken from each battalion to serve in the war in the Vendée. Although new recruits were being allocated from the levy of 300,000, many of these deserted or were otherwise unfit for service. The new temporary commander Lamarche realised that all that could be done for the moment was to draw back to an entrenched camp at Famars and the fortress of Valenciennes.
The allies under Coburg moved to besiege Valenciennes, but first they desired to drive Lamarche from Famars to clear the way and prevent any intervention from the French. Coburg's forces had recently been augmented by the newly arrived Anglo-Hanoverian contingent commanded by the 26-year-old Frederick, Duke of York; it was decided they would spearhead the main attack. This is perhaps surprising, as for many of the British troops it would be their first taste of action against Republican France.
The camp at Famars lay on a ridge, three miles south of Valenciennes, and was bordered on the east by the river Rhonelle, the bridges and fords of which had been destroyed. An attack was drawn up by Austrian staff planner Karl Mack von Leiberich, and was to consist of direct assaults on the eastern side of the camp by two main columns, supported by holding attacks on both flanks from two smaller corps. On the other side of the Scheldt Clerfayt was to launch a consecutive attack against the entrenched camp at Mont Anzin.[1]
The Battle of Famars
The 1st Main Column of 16 battalions and 18 squadrons was led by the Duke of York and included the British Guards brigade under Gerard Lake, which had already seen action at Raismes on 8 May. Mack's instructions were for York to cross the Rhonelle by trestle bridges in the neighbourhood of Artres and then launch an attack on the camp by its right flank. In other words, no resistance was expected until the attack on the French camp.
Austrian Feldzeugmeister Joseph de Ferraris commanded the 2nd Main Column (12 battalions, 12 squadrons), which included Abercromby's Brigade of the British 14th Foot and 53rd Foot. It was to attack from the village of Saultain against entrenchments on the East bank of the Rhonelle. Feldmarschall-Leutnant Nikolaus Colloredo-Mels led the 1st Small Column against the Northeastern side of Valenciennes, while General-Major Rudolf Ritter von Otto directed the 2nd Small Column, threatening Le Quesnoy.[2][3]
Soon after 2:00 am York's column moved off from its assembly point two miles behind Artres, but thick fog slowed their progress and the Rhonelle was only reached at 7.00am. York was accompanied by both Mack and Coburg's Chief-of-Staff Hohenlohe, the latter appointed by Coburg to ensure the untested York didn't do anything too rash.[4] As the fog lifted a beautiful dawn revealed their intended crossing point bristling with enemy infantry and artillery, which immediately opened fire. Mack was wounded right at the beginning of the action, so the untried Duke of York was left to make up his own mind as to his next course of action. His decision was to turn and counter-march his column towards Maresches two miles away to the south-east, leaving some Austrian guns and the troops already engaged behind to focus the attention of the French. Fording the stream there unopposed, York's light cavalry ascended the low ridge to the south of the village to probe the French flank towards Querenaing.[5] Unfortunately there were several delays and congestion at Maresches so it was 3.00pm before he was clear of the village, giving the French ample time to turn and face the threat, and 5.00pm before he reached Querenaing by a somewhat roundabout route. However the British cavalry moved behind the unprotected backs of the southern French open redoubts, their left patrol reaching almost as far as the Abbey of Fontanelle to the rear of the French position. The Allied cavalry had some success when they entered the open redoubts via gorges and cut down the defenders. The French cavalry attempted to retake the redoubts but were beaten off.
Meanwhile, further north Ferraris's column had stormed the long entrenchment on the east bank ridge of the Famars position and driven the French back to the west of the Rhonelle. Earlier in the day several squadrons of French cavalry had been seen threatening his flank, whereby they were charged by the Hanoverian Life Guards and routed after a stiff fight.[6]
Finally York was ready to launch his attack, but at that point the cautious Hohenlohe stepped in and objected as the men were fatigued, York was obliged to postpone the assault until the next morning.[7][8]
Although the French held their ground to the north Lamarche realised he was in danger of being cut off. Leaving Ferrand to defend Valenciennes, during the night the Republicans withdrew towards Bouchain, Caesar's Camp and Paillencourt.[9] The next morning York attacked, but the French had gone. Colloredo's column from the north were the first to enter the camp.
Clerfayt had also been successful in his attack, although experiencing tougher resistance at Mont Anzin.
Of 27,000 men engaged, the French lost on all fields 3,000 killed and wounded. The Allies captured 300 soldiers, 17 artillery pieces, 14 ammunition wagons, and three colours. Allied casualties totalled 1,100, mostly Austrians, out of 53,000 troops available. Mack was amongst the wounded. Hanoverian losses were 22 killed and 61 wounded.[10][11]
Having neutralised Famars Camp, Coburg was now free to open the Siege of Valenciennes. Once again York was given the lead role in command of the siege, supported by Ferraris.
On 27 May, Lamarche was replaced in command by Adam Philippe, Comte de Custine.
During the battle, the 14th Regiment of Foot, The West Yorkshire Regiment, attacked the French to the music of Ça Ira. The regiment was later awarded the tune as a battle honour and regimental quick march.
The Austrian command blamed the Duke of York for the failure to catch Lamarche, but this is challenged by British historians like Alfred Burne. "A commander who... is plagued with a rigid mind will plunge straight ahead into a sea of difficulties merely because this course has been preordained for him. But flexibility is one of the valid principles of war, and one of the cardinal virtues of the general...The Duke of York is thus to be applauded rather than condemned for scrapping the first plan he was given and substituting another" [12]
↑ Officer of the Guards p.54
↑ Smith p.46
↑ Burne p.50
↑ Officer of the Guards I p.50
↑ Phipps I p.181
↑ Smith, p 46-47
Officer of the Guards, An (1796), An Accurate and Impartial Narrative of the War, by an Officer of the Guards, London <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>.
Smith, Digby. The Napoleonic Wars Data Book. London: Greenhill, 1998. ISBN 1-85367-276-9
Burne, Alfred (1949), The Noble Duke of York: The Military Life of Frederick Duke of York and Albany, London: Staples Press <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>.
Coutanceau, Michel Henri Marie (1903-08 5 Volumes), La Campagne de 1794 a l'Armée du Nord, Paris: Chapelot Check date values in: |year= (help)<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>.
Fortescue, Sir John (1918), British Campaigns in Flanders 1690-1794 (extracts from Volume 4 of A History of the British Army), London: Macmillan <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>.
Phipps, Ramsay Weston (1926), The Armies of the First French Republic and the Rise of the Marshals of Napoleon I, London: Oxford University Press <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>.
French Wikipedia: Liste des généraux de la Révolution et du Premier Empire
napoleon-series.org Dictionary of Austrian Generals 1792-1815 by Digby Smith, compiled by Leopold Kudrna
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