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At least 199 records · Page 11

Team Update on North American Proton Facilities for Radiation Testing

In the wake of the closure of the Indiana University Cyclotron Facility (IUCF), this presentation provides an overview of the options for North American proton facilities. This includes those in use by the aerospace community as well as new additions from the cancer therapy regime. In addition, proton single event testing background is provided for understanding the criteria needed for these facilities for electronics testing.

Cancer therapy↗

Production of Astatine-211 for Translational Science in Radiotherapy (Research Performance Progress Report)

In this proposal we outline the methods to improve the isotope production of astatine-211 at the University of Pennsylvania Cyclotron Facility. Astatine-211 is an isotope that emits alpha- radiation and has high potential for treating otherwise untreatable cancers. The goal of this proposal is two fold, 1) Optimize current production of astatine-211 and maintain routine production and 2) develop new isotope production target systems and chemical isolation systems. By completing this proposal we will ensure that the University of Pennsylvania Cyclotron Facility continues to build it’s isotope program in an effort that unites under DOE isotope network supply initiatives with the overall goal of increasing the national supply of isotopes. The University of Pennsylvania is uniquely located in the northeast corridor of the United States of America and has access to dozens of institutions that could use astatine-211 in their research. With the support of the DOE we have the opportunity to provide additional momentum to this growing field of research and will be able to provide the foundation for economical development of astatine-211 research and application in medicine.

62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE↗

Global Simulation of Electromagnetic Ion Cyclotron Waves

It is very well known that the effects of electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) waves on ring current (RC) ion and radiation belt (RB) electron dynamics strongly depend on such particle/wave characteristics as the phase-space distribution function, frequency, wave-normal angle, wave energy, and the form of wave spectral energy density. The consequence is that accurate modeling of EMIC waves and RC particles requires robust inclusion of the interdependent dynamics of wave growth/damping, wave propagation, and particles. Such a self-consistent model is being progressively developed by Khazanov et al. This model is based on a system of coupled kinetic equations for the RC and EMIC wave power spectral density along with the ray tracing equations. We will discuss the recent progress in understanding EMIC waves formation mechanisms in the inner magnetosphere. This problem remains unsettled in spite of many years of experimental and theoretical studies. Modern satellite observations by CRRES, Polar and Cluster still do not reveal the whole picture experimentally since they do not stay long enough in the generation region to give a full account of all the spatio-temporal structure of EMIC waves. The complete self-consistent theory taking into account all factors significant for EMIC waves generation remains to be developed. Several mechanisms are discussed with respect to formation of EMIC waves, among them are nonlinear modification of the ionospheric reflection by precipitating energetic protons, modulation of ion-cyclotron instability by long-period (Pc3/4) pulsations, reflection of waves from layers of heavy-ion gyroresonances, and nonlinearities of wave generation process. We show that each of these mechanisms have their attractive features and explains certain part experimental data but any of them, if taken alone, meets some difficulties when compared to observations. We conclude that development of a refined nonlinear theory and further correlated analysis of modern satellite and ground-based data is needed to solve this very intriguing problem.

Khazanov, George V.↗

Global Simulation of Electromagnetic Ion Cyclotron Waves

It is well known that the effects of electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) waves on ring current (RC) ion and radiation belt (RB) electron dynamics strongly depend on such particle/wave characteristics as the phase-space distribution function, frequency, wave-normal angle, wave energy, and the form of wave spectral energy density. The consequence is that accurate modeling of EMIC waves and RC particles requires robust inclusion of the interdependent dynamics of wave growth/damping, wave propagation, and particles. Such a self-consistent model is being progressively developed by Khazanov et al. [2002 - 2007]. This model is based on a system of coupled kinetic equations for the RC and EMIC wave power spectral density along with the ray tracing equations. We will discuss the recent progress in understanding EMIC waves formation mechanisms in the inner magnetosphere. This problem remains unsettled in spite of many years of experimental and theoretical studies. Modern satellite observations by CRRES, Polar and Cluster still do not reveal the whole picture experimentally since they do not stay long enough in the generation region to give a full account of all the spatio-temporal structure of EMIC waves. The complete self-consistent theory taking into account all factors significant for EMIC waves generation remains to be developed. Several mechanisms are discussed with respect to formation of EMIC waves, among them are nonlinear modification of the ionospheric reflection by precipitating energetic protons, modulation of ion-cyclotron instability by long-period (Pc3/4) pulsations, reflection of waves from layers of heavy-ion gyroresonances, and nonlinearities of wave generation process. We show that each of these mechanisms have their attractive features and explains certain part experimental data but any of them, if taken alone, meets some difficulties when compared to observations. We conclude that development of a refined nonlinear theory and further correlated analysis of modern satellite and ground-based data is needed to solve this very intriguing problem.

Khazanov, G. V.↗

A theory of the terrestrial kilometric radiation

During magnetospheric substorms, electrons with energies of about 1 keV are injected from the plasma-sheet region into the auroral region. A fraction of these energetic electrons can precipitate into the upper atmosphere, and the rest are reflected because of the mirror effect of the convergent geomagnetic field. It is found that these reflected electrons can result in the amplification of electromagnetic waves via a relativistic normal cyclotron resonance. This process may explain the recently discovered terrestrial kilometric radiation.

Wu, C. S.↗

High-Altitude Emission from Pulsar Slot Gaps: The Crab Pulsar

We present results of a 3D model of optical to gamma-ray emission from the slot gap accelerator of a rotation-powered pulsar. Primary electrons accelerating to high-altitudes in the unscreened electric field of the slot gap reach radiation-reaction limited Lorentz factors of approx. 2 x 10(exp 7), while electron-positron pairs from lower-altitude cascades flow along field lines interior to the slot gap. The curvature, synchrotron and inverse Compton radiation of both primary electrons and pairs produce a broad spectrum of emission from infra-red to GeV energies. Both primaries and pairs undergo cyclotron resonant absorption of radio photons, allowing them to maintain significant pitch angles. Synchrotron radiation from pairs with a power-law energy spectrum from gamma = 10(exp 2) - 10(exp 5), dominate the spectrum up to approx. 10 MeV. Synchrotron and curvature radiation of primaries dominates from 10 MeV up to a few GeV. We examine the energy-dependent pulse profiles and phase-resolved spectra for parameters of the Crab pulsar as a function of magnetic inclination alpha and viewing angle zeta, comparing to broad-band data. In most cases, the pulse profiles are dominated by caustics on trailing field lines. We also explore the relation of the high-energy and the radio profiles, as well as the possibility of caustic formation in the radio cone emission. We find that the Crab pulsar profiles and spectrum can be reasonably well reproduced by a model with alpha = 45deg and zeta approx. 100deg or 80deg. This model predicts that the slot gap emission below 200 MeV will exhibit correlations in time and phase with the radio emission.

Harding, Alice K.↗

Multi-device analysis of energy loss duration and pellet penetration with implications for shattered pellet injection in ITER

A robust disruption mitigation system (DMS) requires accurate characterization of key disruption timescales, one of the most notable being the thermal quench (TQ). Recent modeling of shattered pellet injection (SPI) into ITER plasmas, using JOREK and INDEX, suggests long TQ durations (6–10 ms) and slow cold front propagation due to the large plasma size. If validated, these predictions would have an impact on the desired pellet parameters and mitigation strategies for the ITER DMS. To resolve these questions, a database of SPI experiments from several small-to-large sized devices (J-TEXT, KSTAR, AUG, DIII-D, and JET) has been compiled under the auspices of the International Tokamak Physics Activity MHD, disruptions, and control topical group. Analysis of the energy loss duration (proxy for the TQ duration) with machine size is presented for both mixed neon/deuterium (Ne/D) SPI and pure deuterium (D) SPI. Several metrics for the energy loss onset (e.g. soft x-ray signal drop, I p dip, and radiation flash) were considered as the conventional metric, electron cyclotron emission, is often cut-off during SPI. Several scalings with different onset metrics showed an increase in energy loss duration with machine size. The energy loss duration was additionally shown to be a function of the ratio between the number of SPI neon atoms injected and the stored energy. Analysis of the pellet shard position relative to the cold front found that in larger devices, pellets are typically found inboard of the q = 2 surface at the energy loss onset. Lastly, the delay between the pellet shards hitting the q = 2 surface and the energy loss onset was additionally found to increase with machine size. This suggests that the pellet shards in large devices will penetrate faster and further than the cooling front.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Reply to "Comment on 'A Self-Consistent Model of the Interacting Ring Current Ions and Electromagnetic Ion Cyclotron Waves, Initial Results: Waves and Precipitation Fluxes' and 'Self-Consistent Model of the Magnetospheric Ring Current and Propagating Electromagnetic Ion Cyclotron Waves: Waves in Multi-Ion Magnetosphere' by Khazanov et al. et al."

It is well-known that the effects of electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) waves on ring current (RC) ion and radiation belt (RB) electron dynamics strongly depend on such particle/wave characteristics as the phase-space distribution function, frequency, wavenormal angle, wave energy, and the form of wave spectral energy density. The consequence is that accurate modeling of EMIC waves and RC particles requires robust inclusion of the interdependent dynamics of wave growth/damping, wave propagation, and[ particles. Such a self-consistent model is being progressively developed by Khazanov et al. [2002, 2006, 2007]. This model is based on a system of coupled kinetic equations for the RC and EMIC wave power spectral density along with the ray tracing equations. Thome and Home [2007] (hereafter referred to as TH2007) call the Khazanov et al. [2002, 2006] results into question in their Comment. The points in contention can be summarized as follows. TH2007 claim that: (1) "the important damping of waves by thermal heavy ions is completely ignored", and Landau damping during resonant interaction with thermal electrons is not included in our model; (2) EMIC wave damping due to RC O + is not included in our simulation; (3) non-linear processes limiting EMIC wave amplitude are not included in our model; (4) growth of the background fluctuations to a physically significantamplitude"must occur during a single transit of the unstable region" with subsequent damping below bi-ion latitudes,and consequently"the bounce averaged wave kinetic equation employed in the code contains a physically erroneous 'assumption". Our reply will address each of these points as well as other criticisms mentioned in the Comment. TH2007 are focused on two of our papers that are separated by four years. Significant progress in the self-consistent treatment of the RC-EMIC wave system has been achieved during those years. The paper by Khazanov et al. [2006] presents the latest version of our model, and in this Reply we refer mostly to this paper.

Khazanov, G. V.↗

EMIC-Wave Driven Electron Precipitation Observed by CALET on the International Space Station

We present an analysis of the relativistic electron precipitation (REP) event measured by the CALorimetric Electron Telescope (CALET) experiment on board the International Space Station during a relatively weak geomagnetic storm on 31 December 2016. CALET observations were compared with the measurements of the Van Allen Probes in the near-equatorial plane to investigate the global radiation belt dynamics and the REP drivers. The magnetically conjugate observations from these two missions demonstrate that the significant MeV precipitation directly detected by CALET in low-Earth orbit during a period of radiation belt depletion following the passage of a high-speed stream, was associated with dusk-side electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) waves. In addition, the combined wave, REP and trapped electron data suggest that the reported radiation belt depletion can be likely ascribed to the concomitant loss effects of EMIC wave scattering driving the atmospheric precipitation, as well as outward radial diffusion associated with magnetopause shadowing.

Radiation belts↗

Source region of the smooth high-frequency nightside Uranus kilometric radiation - A ray-tracing study

This paper presents a plasma density model for the Uranus nightside at r less than 4.2 r(u), developed on the basis of radio wave observations of the Planetary Radio Astronomy instrument on board the Voyager 2 spacecraft and on cyclotron maser instability. The results provide an accurate description of the Uranus kilometric radiation (UKR) source region dependent on a minimum of assumptions, and indicate that the UKR source region is more extended in longitude than previosly determined.

Menietti, J. D.↗

The main source of radio emission from the magnetosphere of Uranus

Observations of kilometric radiation from Uranus made with the planetary radio astronomy experiment on the Voyager 2 spacecraft are presented and discussed. Similarities between the auroral kilometric radiation from earth and the observed Uranus emission are pointed out. A geometrical beaming model is developed in which a single distributed source is located above the darkside auroral region and emits in the extraordinary mode by the cyclotron maser process. The model can account for nearly all the Uranian kilometric radiation from the high-frequency limit near 850 kHz down to about 150 kHz and for much of it down to the lower limit of 20 kHz.

Gulkis, Samuel↗

Energetic Electron Precipitation Driven by Electromagnetic Ion Cyclotron Waves from ELFIN’s Low Altitude Perspective

We review comprehensive observations of electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) wave-driven energetic electron precipitation using data collected by the energetic electron detector on the Electron Losses and Fields InvestigatioN (ELFIN) mission, two polar-orbiting low-altitude spinning CubeSats, measuring 50-5000 keV electrons with good pitch-angle and energy resolution. EMIC wave-driven precipitation exhibits a distinct signature in energy-spectrograms of the precipitating-to-trapped flux ratio: peaks at >0.5 MeV which are abrupt (bursty) (lasting ~17 s, or ΔL ~ 0.56) with significant substructure (occasionally down to sub-second timescale). We attribute the bursty nature of the precipitation to the spatial extent and structuredness of the wave field at the equator. Multiple ELFIN passes over the same MLT sector allow us to study the spatial and temporal evolution of the EMIC wave - electron interaction region. Case studies employing conjugate ground-based or equatorial observations of the EMIC waves reveal that the energy of moderate and strong precipitation at ELFIN approximately agrees with theoretical expectations for cyclotron resonant interactions in a cold plasma. Using multiple years of ELFIN data uniformly distributed in local time, we assemble a statistical database of ~50 events of strong EMIC wave-driven precipitation. Most reside at L ~ 5 – 7 at dusk, while a smaller subset exists at L ~ 8 – 12 at post-midnight. The energies of the peak-precipitation ratio and of the half-peak precipitation ratio (our proxy for the minimum resonance energy) exhibit an L-shell dependence in good agreement with theoretical estimates based on prior statistical observations of EMIC wave power spectra. The precipitation ratio’s spectral shape for the most intense events has an exponential falloff away from the peak (i.e., on either side of ~ 1.45 MeV). It too agrees well with quasi-linear diffusion theory based on prior statistics of wave spectra. It should be noted though that this diffusive treatment likely includes effects from nonlinear resonant interactions (especially at high energies) and nonresonant effects from sharp wave packet edges (at low energies). Sub-MeV electron precipitation observed concurrently with strong EMIC wave-driven >1 MeV precipitation has a spectral shape that is consistent with efficient pitch-angle scattering down to ~ 200-300 keV by much less intense higher frequency EMIC waves at dusk (where such waves are most frequent). At ~100 keV, whistler-mode chorus may be implicated in concurrent precipitation. These results confirm the critical role of EMIC waves in driving relativistic electron losses. Nonlinear effects may abound and require further investigation.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Radiation studies of optical and electronic components used in astronomical satellite studies

The synchronous orbit of the IUE carries the satellite through Earth's outer electron belt. A 40 mCi Sr90 source was used to simulate these electrons. A 5 mCi source of Co60 was used to simulate bremmstrahlung. A 10 MeV electron Linac and a 1.7 MeV electron Van de Graaf wer used to investigate the energy dependence of radiation effects and to perform radiations at a high flux rate. A 100 MeV proton cyclotron was used to simulate cosmic rays. Results are presented for three instrument systems of the IUE and measurements for specific components are reported. The three instrument systems were the ultraviolet converter, the fine error sensor (FES), and the SEC vidicon camera tube. The components were optical glasses, electronic components, silicon photodiodes, and UV window materials.

Becher, J.↗

Electron-cyclotron maser emission - Relative growth and damping rates for different modes and harmonics

The temporal growth rate and the number of e-folding growths are calculated and compared for the following wave modes due to a loss-cone-driven cyclotron maser: fundamental x, o, and z modes and second harmonic x and o modes. The dominant mode of the maser should be the fastest growing mode for a saturated maser and should be the mode with the greatest number of e-folding growths for an unsaturated maser; this mode is the fundamental x mode) for a plasma frequency to cyclotron frequency ratio of less than about 0.3; it is the z mode (or perhaps the fundamental o mode) for ratios between 0.3 and 1.0, and the z mode (or perhaps the second harmonic x mode) for ratios between 1.0 and 1.3. Two main points are made: the dominance of the z mode over the range of ratios considered and the very weak effect of cyclotron damping. Electron-cyclotron maser emission is seen as responsible for auroral kilometric radiation, decametric radio emission from Jupiter and Saturn, solar microwave spike bursts, and microwave emission from some flare stars.

Melrose, D. B.↗

Electron-cyclotron maser emission from the sun and stars Variations with plasma temperature and density

Very bright and highly circularly polarized radio bursts from the sun, the planets, flare stars, and close binary stars are attributed to the electron-cyclotron maser instability. The mode and frequency of the dominant radiation from the maser instability is shown to be dependent on the plasma temperature and the ratio omega(p)/Omega(e) of the plasma frequency to the electron-frequency. For the emission from the sun omega(p)/Omega(e) is probably greater than 0.3 and for omega(p)/Omega(e) greater than 0.3 and less than the square root of 2, the emission can be either in the x-mode at the second harmonic or in the 0- and/or z-modes at the fundamental. For higher omega(p)/Omega(e), the emission moves to higher harmonics of Omega(e) with the emission being predominately in the z-mode when omega(p)/Omega(e) is greater than about the square root of 3.

Winglee, R. M.↗

Comptonization of thermal photons by relativistic electron beams

This paper presents a numerical calculation of gamma-ray emission produced by Compton scattering of relativistic electron beams on background thermal radiation, which includes spatial dependence of electron energy losses and cyclotron resonance scattering in a strong magnetic field. In the first version, the scattering is described by the fully relativistic Klein-Nishina cross section, but the magnetic field is neglected. In the second version, the scattering is described by the magnetic resonant cross section in the Thomson limit. It is found that when the magnetic field is not included, electron energy losses are important only at higher neutron star surface temperatures (T about 3,000,000 K). In the presence of a strong magnetic field, (10 to the 12th G), resonant scattering greatly increases electron energy losses, making scattering very efficient even at lower surface temperatures. Resulting photon and electron spectra for both cases ae discussed in relation to models for pulsar X-ray and gamma-ray emission.

Daugherty, Joseph K.↗

Low Earth orbital atomic oxygen environmental simulation facility for space materials evaluation

Simulation of low Earth orbit atomic oxygen for accelerated exposure in ground-based facilities is necessary for the durability evaluation of space power system component materials for Space Station Freedom (SSF) and future missions. A facility developed at the National Aeronautics and Space Administrations's (NASA) Lewis Research Center provides accelerated rates of exposure to a directed or scattered oxygen beam, vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) radiation, and offers in-situ optical characterization. The facility utilizes an electron-cyclotron resonance (ECR) plasma source to generate a low energy oxygen beam. Total hemispherical spectral reflectance of samples can be measured in situ over the wavelength range of 250 to 2500 nm. Deuterium lamps provide VUV radiation intensity levels in the 115 to 200 nm range of three to five equivalent suns. Retarding potential analyses show distributed ion energies below 30 electron volts (eV) for the operating conditions most suited for high flux, low energy testing. Peak ion energies are below the sputter threshold energy (approximately 30 eV) of the protective coatings on polymers that are evaluated in the facility, thus allowing long duration exposure without sputter erosion. Neutral species are expected to be at thermal energies of approximately .04 eV to .1 eV. The maximum effective flux level based on polyimide Kapton mass loss is 4.4 x 10 exp 6 atoms/((sq. cm)*s), thus providing a highly accelerated testing capability.

Stidham, Curtis R.↗