Engineering topics

Smets, R

Publications and source records attributed to Smets, R.

3 records

DOE OSTI2012

Electric and magnetic contributions to spatial diffusion in collisionless plasmas

We investigate the role played by the different self-consistent fluctuations for particle diffusion in a magnetized plasma. We focus especially on the contribution of the electric fluctuations and how it combines with the (already investigated) magnetic fluctuations and with the velocity fluctuations. For that issue, we compute with a hybrid code the value of the diffusion coefficient perpendicular to the mean magnetic field and its dependence on the particle velocity. This study is restricted to small to intermediate level of electromagnetic fluctuations and focuses on particle velocities on the order of few times the Alfven speed. We briefly discuss the consequences for cosmic ray modulation and for the penetration of thermal solar wind particles in the Earth magnetosphere.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

DOE OSTI2011

Energy budgets in collisionless magnetic reconnection: Ion heating and bulk acceleration

This paper investigates the energy transfer in the process of collisionless antiparallel magnetic reconnection. Using two-dimensional hybrid simulations, we measure the increase of the bulk and thermal kinetic energies and compare it to the loss of magnetic energy through a contour surrounding the ion decoupling region. It is shown, for both symmetric and asymmetric configurations, that the loss of magnetic energy is not equally partitioned between heating and acceleration. The heating is found to be dominant and the partition ratio depends on the asymptotic parameters, and future investigations will be needed to understand this dependence.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

DOE OSTI2011

Plasma diffusion in self-consistent fluctuations

The problem of particle diffusion in position space, as a consequence of electromagnetic fluctuations is addressed. Numerical results obtained with a self-consistent hybrid code are presented, and a method to calculate diffusion coefficient in the direction perpendicular to the mean magnetic field is proposed. The diffusion is estimated for two different types of fluctuations. The first type (resulting from an agyrotropic initial setting) is stationary, wide band white noise, and associated to Gaussian probability distribution function for the magnetic fluctuations. The second type (resulting from a Kelvin-Helmholtz instability) is non-stationary, with a power-law spectrum, and a non-Gaussian probability distribution function. The results of the study allow revisiting the question of loading particles of solar wind origin in the Earth magnetosphere.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗