Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “slow”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 199 records · Page 11
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2012

Coupling between whistler waves and slow-mode solitary waves

The interplay between electron- and ion-scale phenomena is of general interest for both laboratory and space plasma physics. In this paper, we investigate the linear coupling between whistler waves and slow magnetosonic solitons through two-fluid numerical simulations. Whistler waves can be trapped in the presence of inhomogeneous external fields such as a density hump or hole where they can propagate for times much longer than their characteristic time scale, as shown by laboratory experiments and space measurements. Space measurements have detected whistler waves also in correspondence to magnetic holes, i.e., to density humps with magnetic field minima extending on ion-scales. This raises the interesting question of how ion-scale structures can couple to whistler waves. Slow magnetosonic solitons share some of the main features of a magnetic hole. Using the ducting properties of an inhomogeneous plasma as a guide, we present a numerical study of whistler waves that are trapped and transported inside propagating slow magnetosonic solitons.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2012

Excitation of a slow wave structure

The Green's function on a slow wave structure is constructed. The Green's function includes all radial modes, and for each radial mode, all space harmonics. We compare the analytic solution of the frequency response on the slow wave structure with that obtained from a particle-in-cell code. Favorable comparison is obtained when the first few lower order modes are resonantly excited. This gives some confidence in the prediction of converting a pulse train into radiation using a slow wave structure.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2013

Enhancing the efficiency of slow-wave electron cyclotron masers with the tapered refractive index

The nonlinear analysis of slow-wave electron cyclotron masers (ECM) based on anomalous Doppler effect in a slab waveguide is presented. A method of tapered refractive index (TRI) is proposed to enhance the efficiency of slow-wave ECM. The numerical calculations show that the TRI method can significantly enhance the efficiency of slow-wave ECM with the frequency ranging from the microwave to terahertz band. The effect of beam velocity spread on the efficiency has also been studied. Although the velocity spread suppresses the efficiency significantly, a great enhancement of efficiency can still be introduced by the TRI method.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2013

Analysis of the power capacity of overmoded slow wave structures

As the generated wavelength shortens, overmoded slow wave structures (SWSs) with large diameters are employed in O-type Cerenkov high power microwave (HPM) generators to achieve high power capacity. However, reported experimental results suggest that overmoded slow wave HPM generators working at millimeter wavelength output much lower power than those working at X-band do, despite the fact that the value of D/λ (here, D is the average diameter of SWSs and λ is the generated wavelength) of the former is much larger than that of the latter. In order to understand this, the characteristics of the power capacity of the TM{sub 0n} modes in overmoded SWSs are numerically investigated. Our analysis reveals the following facts. First, the power capacity of higher order TM{sub 0n} modes is apparently larger than that of TM{sub 01} mode. This is quite different from the conclusion got in the foregone report, in which the power capacity of overmoded SWSs is estimated by that of smooth cylindrical waveguides. Second, the rate at which the power capacity of TM{sub 01} mode in overmoded SWSs grows with diameter does not slow down as the TM{sub 01} field transforms from “volume wave” to “surface wave.” Third, once the diameter of overmoded SWSs and the beam voltage are fixed, the power capacity of TM{sub 01} wave drops as periodic length L shortens and the generated frequency rises, although the value of D/λ increases significantly. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate the capability of annular electron beam to interact efficiently with higher order TM{sub 0n} modes in overmoded SWSs if we want to improve the power capacity of overmoded O-type Cerenkov HPM generators working at high frequency.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2015

Existence domains of slow and fast ion-acoustic solitons in two-ion space plasmas

A study of large amplitude ion-acoustic solitons is conducted for a model composed of cool and hot ions and cool and hot electrons. Using the Sagdeev pseudo-potential formalism, the scope of earlier studies is extended to consider why upper Mach number limitations arise for slow and fast ion-acoustic solitons. Treating all plasma constituents as adiabatic fluids, slow ion-acoustic solitons are limited in the order of increasing cool ion concentrations by the number densities of the cool, and then the hot ions becoming complex valued, followed by positive and then negative potential double layer regions. Only positive potentials are found for fast ion-acoustic solitons which are limited only by the hot ion number density having to remain real valued. The effect of neglecting as opposed to including inertial effects of the hot electrons is found to induce only minor quantitative changes in the existence regions of slow and fast ion-acoustic solitons.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2016

Giant amplification in degenerate band edge slow-wave structures interacting with an electron beam

We propose a new amplification regime based on a synchronous operation of four degenerate electromagnetic (EM) modes in a slow-wave structure and the electron beam, referred to as super synchronization. These four EM modes arise in a Fabry-Pérot cavity when degenerate band edge (DBE) condition is satisfied. The modes interact constructively with the electron beam resulting in superior amplification. In particular, much larger gains are achieved for smaller beam currents compared to conventional structures based on synchronization with only a single EM mode. We demonstrate giant gain scaling with respect to the length of the slow-wave structure compared to conventional Pierce type single mode traveling wave tube amplifiers. We construct a coupled transmission line model for a loaded waveguide slow-wave structure exhibiting a DBE, and investigate the phenomenon of giant gain via super synchronization using the Pierce model generalized to multimode interaction.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2016

Controlling slow and fast light and dynamic pulse-splitting with tunable optical gain in a whispering-gallery-mode microcavity

We report controllable manipulation of slow and fast light in a whispering-gallery-mode microtoroid resonator fabricated from Erbium (Er{sup 3+}) doped silica. We observe continuous transition of the coupling between the fiber-taper waveguide and the microresonator from undercoupling to critical coupling and then to overcoupling regimes by increasing the pump power even though the spatial distance between the resonator and the waveguide was kept fixed. This, in turn, enables switching from fast to slow light and vice versa just by increasing the optical gain. An enhancement of delay of two-fold over the passive silica resonator (no optical gain) was observed in the slow light regime. Moreover, we show dynamic pulse splitting and its control in slow/fast light systems using optical gain.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2018

Particle-in-cell studies of fast-ion slowing-down rates in cool tenuous magnetized plasma

We report on 3D-3V particle-in-cell simulations of fast-ion energy-loss rates in a cold, weakly-magnetized, weakly-coupled plasma where the electron gyroradius, ρe, is comparable to or less than the Debye length, λ De , and the fast-ion velocity exceeds the electron thermal velocity, a regime in which the electron response may be impeded. These simulations use explicit algorithms, spatially resolve ρ e and λ De , and temporally resolve the electron cyclotron and plasma frequencies. For mono-energetic dilute fast ions with isotropic velocity distributions, these scaling studies of the slowing-down time, τ s , versus fast-ion charge are in agreement with unmagnetized slowing-down theory; with an applied magnetic field, no consistent anisotropy between τs in the cross-field and field-parallel directions could be resolved. Scaling the fast-ion charge is confirmed as a viable way to reduce the required computational time for each simulation. In conclusion, the implications of these slowing down processes are described for one magnetic-confinement fusion concept, the small, advanced-fuel, field-reversed configuration device.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2015

Theoretical analysis of multiple quantum-well, slow-light devices under applied external fields using a fully analytical model in fractional dimension

We report a theoretical study of optical properties of AlGaAs/GaAs multiple quantum-well (MQW), slow-light devices based on excitonic population oscillations under applied external magnetic and electric fields using an analytical model for complex dielectric constant of Wannier excitons in fractional dimension. The results are shown for quantum wells (QWs) of different width. The significant characteristics of the exciton in QWs such as exciton energy and exciton oscillator strength (EOS) can be varied by application of external magnetic and electric fields. It is found that a higher bandwidth and an appropriate slow-down factor (SDF) can be achieved by changing the QW width during the fabrication process and by applying magnetic and electric fields during device functioning, respectively. It is shown that a SDF of 10{sup 5} is obtained at best. (slowing of light)

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2016

Rate-weakening friction characterizes both slow sliding and catastrophic failure of landslides

Significance A predictive understanding of landslide behavior remains elusive, to the extent that once landslide motion is detected the factors that control whether motion will remain slow or accelerate to catastrophic failure remain uncertain. Here, we adapt standard fault mechanics treatments to present a single model that captures both slow and catastrophic landslide motion. We test model predictions using field, laboratory, and remote sensing observations. The failure mode depends on the material properties and the dimensions of the landslide slip surface relative to a critical size. If the slip surface exceeds this size and has rate-weakening frictional properties then catastrophic failure must occur. However, landslides composed of rate-weakening material are characterized by slow sliding when the critical size exceeds landslide dimensions.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2012

ON THE ORIGIN OF THE SLOW SPEED SOLAR WIND: HELIUM ABUNDANCE VARIATIONS

The first ionization potential (FIP) effect is the by now well-known enhancement in abundance over photospheric values of Fe and other elements with FIP below about 10 eV observed in the solar corona and slow speed solar wind. In our model, this fractionation is achieved by means of the ponderomotive force, arising as Alfven waves propagate through or reflect from steep density gradients in the solar chromosphere. This is also the region where low FIP elements are ionized, and high FIP elements are largely neutral leading to the fractionation as ions interact with the waves but neutrals do not. Helium, the element with the highest FIP and consequently the last to remain neutral as one moves upward, can be depleted in such models. Here, we investigate this depletion for varying loop lengths and magnetic field strengths. Variations in this depletion arise as the concentration of the ponderomotive force at the top of the chromosphere varies in response to Alfven wave frequency with respect to the resonant frequency of the overlying coronal loop, the magnetic field, and possibly also the loop length. We find that stronger depletions of He are obtained for weaker magnetic field, at frequencies close to or just above the loop resonance. These results may have relevance to observed variations of the slow wind solar He abundance with wind speed, with slower slow speed solar wind having a stronger depletion of He.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2012

DUAL TRIGGER OF TRANSVERSE OSCILLATIONS IN A PROMINENCE BY EUV FAST AND SLOW CORONAL WAVES: SDO/AIA AND STEREO/EUVI OBSERVATIONS

We analyze flare-associated transverse oscillations in a quiescent solar prominence on 2010 September 8-9. Both the flaring active region and the prominence were located near the west limb, with a favorable configuration and viewing angle. The full-disk extreme ultraviolet (EUV) images of the Sun obtained with high spatial and temporal resolution by the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly on board the Solar Dynamics Observatory show flare-associated lateral oscillations of the prominence sheet. The STEREO-A spacecraft, 81.{sup 0}5 ahead of the Sun-Earth line, provides an on-disk view of the flare-associated coronal disturbances. We derive the temporal profile of the lateral displacement of the prominence sheet by using the image cross-correlation technique. The displacement curve was de-trended and the residual oscillatory pattern was derived. We fit these oscillations with a damped cosine function with a variable period and find that the period is increasing. The initial oscillation period (P{sub 0}) is {approx}28.2 minutes and the damping time ({tau}{sub D}) {approx} 44 minutes. We confirm the presence of fast and slow EUV wave components. Using STEREO-A observations, we derive a propagation speed of {approx}250 km s{sup -1} for the slow EUV wave by applying the time-slice technique to the running difference images. We propose that the prominence oscillations are excited by the fast EUV wave while the increase in oscillation period of the prominence is an apparent effect, related to a phase change due to the slow EUV wave acting as a secondary trigger. We discuss implications of the dual trigger effect for coronal prominence seismology and scaling law studies of damping mechanisms.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Flux enhancement of slow-moving particles by Sun or Jupiter: Can they be detected on Earth?

Slow-moving particles capable of interacting solely with gravity might be detected on Earth as a result of the gravitational lensing induced focusing action of the Sun. The deflection experienced by these particles is inversely proportional to the square of their velocities, and as a result their focal lengths will be shorter. We investigate the velocity dispersion of these slow-moving particles, originating from distant point-like sources, for imposing upper and lower bounds on the velocities of such particles in order for them to be focused onto Earth. Stars, distant galaxies, and cluster of galaxies, etc., may all be considered as point-like sources. We find that fluxes of such slow-moving and non-interacting particles must have speeds between ∼0.01 and .14 times the speed of light, c. Particles with speeds less than ∼0.01c will undergo way too much deflection to be focused, although such individual particles could be detected. At the caustics, the magnification factor could be as high as ∼10{sup 6}. We impose lensing constraints on the mass of these particles in order for them to be detected with large flux enhancements that are greater than 10{sup –9} eV. An approximate mass density profile for Jupiter is used to constrain particle velocities for lensing by Jupiter. We show that Jupiter could potentially focus particles with speeds as low as ∼0.001c, which the Sun cannot.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

Forward modeling of standing slow modes in flaring coronal loops

Standing slow-mode waves in hot flaring loops are exclusively observed in spectrometers and are used to diagnose the magnetic field strength and temperature of the loop structure. Owing to the lack of spatial information, the longitudinal mode cannot be effectively identified. In this study, we simulate standing slow-mode waves in flaring loops and compare the synthesized line emission properties with Solar Ultraviolet Measurements of Emitted Radiation spectrographic and Solar Dynamics Observatory/Atmospheric Imaging Assembly imaging observations. We find that the emission intensity and line width oscillations are a quarter period out of phase with Doppler shift velocity in both time and spatial domain, which can be used to identify a standing slow-mode wave from spectroscopic observations. However, the longitudinal overtones could only be measured with the assistance of imagers. We find emission intensity asymmetry in the positive and negative modulations; this is because the contribution function pertaining to the atomic emission process responds differently to positive and negative temperature variations. One may detect half periodicity close to the loop apex, where emission intensity modulation is relatively small. The line-of-sight projection affects the observation of Doppler shift significantly. A more accurate estimate of the amplitude of velocity perturbation is obtained by de-projecting the Doppler shift by a factor of 1–2θ/π rather than the traditionally used cosθ. If a loop is heated to the hotter wing, the intensity modulation could be overwhelmed by background emission, while the Doppler shift velocity could still be detected to a certain extent.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

MODELING OF REFLECTIVE PROPAGATING SLOW-MODE WAVE IN A FLARING LOOP

Quasi-periodic propagating intensity disturbances have been observed in large coronal loops in extreme ultraviolet images over a decade, and are widely accepted to be slow magnetosonic waves. However, spectroscopic observations from Hinode/EIS revealed their association with persistent coronal upflows, making this interpretation debatable. We perform a 2.5D magnetohydrodynamic simulation to imitate the chromospheric evaporation and the following reflected patterns in a flare loop. Our model encompasses the corona, transition region, and chromosphere. We demonstrate that the quasi periodic propagating intensity variations captured by the synthesized Solar Dynamics Observatory/Atmospheric Imaging Assembly 131, 94 Å emission images match the previous observations well. With particle tracers in the simulation, we confirm that these quasi periodic propagating intensity variations consist of reflected slow mode waves and mass flows with an average speed of 310 km s{sup −1} in an 80 Mm length loop with an average temperature of 9 MK. With the synthesized Doppler shift velocity and intensity maps of the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory/Solar Ultraviolet Measurement of Emitted Radiation Fe xix line emission, we confirm that these reflected slow mode waves are propagating waves.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

SLOW PATCHY EXTREME-ULTRAVIOLET PROPAGATING FRONTS ASSOCIATED WITH FAST CORONAL MAGNETO-ACOUSTIC WAVES IN SOLAR ERUPTIONS

Using the high spatiotemporal resolution extreme ultraviolet (EUV) observations of the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly on board the Solar Dynamics Observatory, we conduct a statistical study of the observational properties of the coronal EUV propagating fronts. We find that it might be a universal phenomenon for two types of fronts to coexist in a large solar eruptive event. It is consistent with the hybrid model of EUV propagating fronts, which predicts that coronal EUV propagating fronts consist of both a fast magneto-acoustic wave and a nonwave component. We find that the morphologies, propagation behaviors, and kinematic features of the two EUV propagating fronts are completely different from each other. The fast magneto-acoustic wave fronts are almost isotropic. They travel continuously from the flaring region across multiple magnetic polarities to global distances. On the other hand, the slow nonwave fronts appear as anisotropic and sequential patches of EUV brightening. Each patch propagates locally in the magnetic domains where the magnetic field lines connect to the bottom boundary and stops at the magnetic domain boundaries. Within each magnetic domain, the velocities of the slow patchy nonwave component are an order of magnitude lower than that of the fast-wave component. However, the patches of the slow EUV propagating front can jump from one magnetic domain to a remote one. The velocities of such a transit between different magnetic domains are about one-third to one-half of those of the fast-wave component. The results show that the velocities of the nonwave component, both within one magnetic domain and between different magnetic domains, are highly nonuniform due to the inhomogeneity of the magnetic field in the lower atmosphere.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Simulation of the eigenmode spectrum below the Toroidicity-induced Alfvén Eigenmode gap generated by the coupling of Alfvén and slow-magnetosonic waves in tokamaks

The discrete Alfven Eigenmode spectrum below the TAE frequency is studied for hybrid and sawtooth scenarios in tokamaks whereby the full coupling between the Alfven and slow magnetosonic waves are taken into account. In this frequency regime the ususally applied slow-sound approximation is not valid and modes in this frequency regime were recently called Alfven-Slow Eigenmodes (ASE). For the hybrid scenarios (central q ≈ 2 up to ρ ≈ 0.6) a rich spectrum of eigenmodes was found that depend on the plasma pressure and magnetic shear. It was found that the number of modes below the TAE gap is the highest for weakly reversed q~profiles while the number of modes increases with pressure. For zero central shear q-profiles the number of modes is lower than in the reversed shear case while for the normal shear hybrid q-profiles the number of eigenmode first increased with increasing pressure followed by a decrease in the number of eigenmodes. For plasma scenarios with central q < 1 (sawtoothing plasmas) modes were found outside the q=1 surface that are consistent with observations in contrast to the conventional BAE which located at the q=1 surface. The frequency behaviour of the modes below the TAE gap was studied for a reversed shear q-profile in which q_min was varied and it was found that ASEs increase and/or decrease in frequency as function of q_min thereby emerging from and/or disappearing into the continuum.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2012

Inflationary signatures of single-field models beyond slow-roll

If the expansion of the early Universe was not close to de Sitter, the statistical imprints of the primordial density perturbation on the cosmic microwave background can be quite different from those derived in slow-roll inflation. In this paper we study the inflationary signatures of all single-field models which are free of ghost-like instabilities. We allow for a rapid change of the Hubble parameter and the speed of sound of scalar fluctuations, in a way that is compatible with a nearly scale-invariant spectrum of perturbations, as supported by current cosmological observations. Our results rely on the scale-invariant approximation, which is different from the standard slow-roll approximation. We obtain the propagator of scalar fluctuations and compute the bispectrum, keeping next-order corrections proportional to the deviation of the spectral index from unity. These theories offer an explicit example where the shape and scale-dependences of the bispectrum are highly non-trivial whenever slow-roll is not a good approximation.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗