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At least 235 records · Page 13

Enhancing isotope mixing in U-10Mo downblend castings with electromagnetic stirring

Uranium alloyed with 10 wt percent molybdenum (U-10Mo) is the proposed fuel for use in the United States’ high-performance research reactors. The U-10Mo fuel is fabricated by a two-step casting process that downblends highly enriched uranium with depleted uranium (DU) and/or natural uranium (NU) and subsequently alloys the resulting high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) with Mo. Currently, a two-step casting process is needed to meet the ingots’ U-235 enrichment homogeneity specifications. This work demonstrates the ability to provide more homogeneous U-235 distributions during downblend casting by using zirconia for crucibles rather than graphite. When graphite is used as a crucible, the electromagnetic field produced by the induction heater couples directly with the graphite. Zirconia is nonconducting in this study, and therefore does not couple with the field. The induction field couples directly with the metal, and causes electromagnetic stirring (EMS) in the molten metal pool. Eight downblend casting experiments were carried out in this work. Four were performed with zirconia crucibles and four with graphite crucibles. The U-235 enrichment was measured at nine discrete points in each casting using laser ablation multi-collector inductively coupled mass spectrometry (LA-MC-ICP-MS). The enrichment homogeneity was approximately eight times better in zirconia crucible castings than in graphite crucible castings as measured by the plate enrichment range and enrichment coefficient of variation. The results show a single casting step could be used to meet USHPRR enrichment specifications if electromagnetic stirring is present during casting. A related investigation was carried out to determine whether it is appropriate to measure enrichment on as-cast ingots or whether heat treated specimens should be used to accurately characterize enrichment. The results show that the as-cast microstructure plays a significant role in enrichment homogeneity. It is recommended that all enrichment measurements be done after the homogenization heat treatment typical of U-10Mo processing.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Electromagnetic fields from quantum sources in heavy-ion collisions

We compute the electromagnetic field created by an ultrarelativistic charged particle in vacuum at distances comparable to the particle Compton wavelength. The wave function of the particle is governed by the Klein-Gordon equation,for a scalar particle, or the Dirac equation, for a spin-half particle. The produced electromagnetic field is essentially different in magnitude and direction from the Coulomb field, induced by a classical point charge, due to the quantum diffusion effect. Therefore, a realistic computation of the electromagnetic field produced in heavy-ion collisions must be based upon the full quantum treatment of the valence quarks.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Finite width induced modification to the electromagnetic form factors of spin-1 particles

The inclusion of the unstable features of a spin-1 particle, without breaking the electromagnetic gauge invariance, can be properly accomplished by including higher order contributions as done in the so-called fermion loop scheme (for the W gauge boson), and the boson loop scheme (for vector mesons). This induces a non trivial modification to the electromagnetic vertex of the particle. Considering the modified electromagnetic vertex, we obtain general expressions for the corresponding multipoles as a function of the mass of the particles in the loop. For the W gauge boson no substantial deviations from the stable tree level case is observed. For the {rho} meson the mass of the particles in the loop makes a significant effect.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Detecting excess ionizing radiation by electromagnetic breakdown of air

A scheme is proposed for detecting a concealed source of ionizing radiation by observing the occurrence of breakdown in atmospheric air by an electromagnetic wave whose electric field surpasses the breakdown field in a limited volume. The volume is chosen to be smaller than the reciprocal of the naturally occurring concentration of free electrons. The pulse duration of the electromagnetic wave must exceed the avalanche breakdown time (10-200 ns) and could profitably be as long as the statistical lag time in ambient air (typically, microseconds). Candidate pulsed electromagnetic sources over a wavelength range, 3 mm>{lambda}>10.6 {mu}m, are evaluated. Suitable candidate sources are found to be a 670 GHz gyrotron oscillator with 200 kW, 10 {mu}s output pulses and a Transversely Excited Atmospheric-Pressure (TEA) CO{sub 2} laser with 30 MW, 100 ns output pulses. A system based on 670 GHz gyrotron would have superior sensitivity. A system based on the TEA CO{sub 2} laser could have a longer range >100 m.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Three-dimensional electromagnetic strong turbulence. II. Wave packet collapse and structure of wave packets during strong turbulence

Large-scale simulations of wave packet collapse are performed by numerically solving the three-dimensional (3D) electromagnetic Zakharov equations, focusing on individual wave packet collapses and on wave packets that form in continuously driven strong turbulence. The collapse threshold is shown to decrease as the electron thermal speed {nu}{sub e}/c increases and as the temperature ratio T{sub i}/T{sub e} of ions to electrons decreases. Energy lost during wave packet collapse and dissipation is shown to depend on {nu}{sub e}/c. The dynamics of density perturbations after collapse are studied in 3D electromagnetic strong turbulence for a range of T{sub i}/T{sub e}. The structures of the Langmuir, transverse, and total electric field components of wave packets during strong turbulence are investigated over a range of {nu}{sub e}/c. For {nu}{sub e}/c < or approx. 0.17, strong turbulence is approximately electrostatic and wave packets have very similar structure to purely electrostatic wave packets. For {nu}{sub e}/c > or approx. 0.17, transverse modes become trapped in density wells and contribute significantly to the structure of the total electric field. At all {nu}{sub e}/c, the Langmuir energy density contours of wave packets are predominantly oblate (pancake shaped). The transverse energy density contours of wave packets are predominantly prolate (sausage shaped), with the major axis being perpendicular to the major axes of the Langmuir component. This results in the wave packet becoming more nearly spherical as {nu}{sub e}/c increases, and in turn generates more spherical density wells during collapse. The results obtained are compared with previous 3D electrostatic results and 2D electromagnetic results.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Nonlinear propagation of coherent electromagnetic waves in a dense magnetized plasma

We present an investigation of the nonlinear propagation of high-frequency coherent electromagnetic waves in a uniform quantum magnetoplasma. Specifically, we consider nonlinear couplings of right-hand circularly polarized electromagnetic-electron-cyclotron (CPEM-EC) waves with dispersive shear Alfven (DSA) and dispersive compressional Alfven (DCA) perturbations in plasmas composed of degenerate electron fluids and non-degenerate ion fluids. Such interactions lead to amplitude modulation of the CPEM-EC wave packets, the dynamics of which is governed by a three-dimensional nonlinear Schroedinger equation (NLSE) with the frequency shift arising from the relativistic electron mass increase in the CPEM-EC fields and density perturbations associated with the DSA and DCA perturbations. Accounting for the electromagnetic and quantum forces, we derive the evolution equation for the DSA and DCA waves in the presence of the magnetic field-aligned ponderomotive force of the CPEM-EC waves. The NLSE and the driven DSA and DCA equations are then used to investigate the modulational instability. The relevance of our investigation to laser-plasma interaction experiments and the cores of white dwarf stars is pointed out.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Derivation of nonlinear Schroedinger equation for electrostatic and electromagnetic waves in fully relativistic two-fluid plasmas by the reductive perturbation method

The reductive perturbation method is used to derive a generic form of nonlinear Schroedinger equation (NLSE) that describes the nonlinear evolution of electrostatic (ES)/electromagnetic (EM) waves in fully relativistic two-fluid plasmas. The matrix eigenvector analysis shows that there are two mutually exclusive modes of waves, each mode involving only either one of two electric potentials, A and {phi}. The general result is applied to the electromagnetic mode in electron-ion plasmas with relativistically high electron temperature (T{sub e} Much-Greater-Than m{sub e}c{sup 2}). In the limit of high frequency (ck Much-Greater-Than {omega}{sub e}), the NLSE predicts bump type electromagnetic soliton structures having width scaling as {approx}kT{sub e}{sup 5/2}. It is shown that, in electron-positron pair plasmas with high temperature, dip type electromagnetic solitons can exist. The NLSE is also applied to electrostatic (Langmuir) wave and it is shown that dip type solitons can exist if k{lambda}{sub D} Much-Less-Than 1, where {lambda}{sub D} is the electron's Debye length. For the k{lambda}{sub D} Much-Greater-Than 1, however, the solution is of bump type soliton with width scaling as {approx}1/(k{sup 5}T{sub e}). It is also shown that dip type solitons can exist in cold plasmas having relativistically high streaming speed.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

A large volume uniform plasma generator for the experiments of electromagnetic wave propagation in plasma

A large volume uniform plasma generator is proposed for the experiments of electromagnetic (EM) wave propagation in plasma, to reproduce a 'black out' phenomenon with long duration in an environment of the ordinary laboratory. The plasma generator achieves a controllable approximate uniform plasma in volume of 260 mm Multiplication-Sign 260 mm Multiplication-Sign 180 mm without the magnetic confinement. The plasma is produced by the glow discharge, and the special discharge structure is built to bring a steady approximate uniform plasma environment in the electromagnetic wave propagation path without any other barriers. In addition, the electron density and luminosity distributions of plasma under different discharge conditions were diagnosed and experimentally investigated. Both the electron density and the plasma uniformity are directly proportional to the input power and in roughly reverse proportion to the gas pressure in the chamber. Furthermore, the experiments of electromagnetic wave propagation in plasma are conducted in this plasma generator. Blackout phenomena at GPS signal are observed under this system and the measured attenuation curve is of reasonable agreement with the theoretical one, which suggests the effectiveness of the proposed method.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Electromagnetic envelope solitary waves with transverse perturbation in a plasma

The system of fluid-Maxwell equations governing the two-dimensional dynamics of electromagnetic waves in a plasma is analyzed by means of multiple scale perturbation method. It is shown that the evolution of the amplitude of wave field is governed by a two-dimensional nonlinear Schroedinger equation. The stability of bright envelope solitons is studied using the variational method. It is found that the development of transverse periodic perturbations on bright solitons is faster for a plasma with near critical density. Dynamics of electromagnetic bright solitons is investigated in the long-wave approximation. Our model predicts the appearance of collapse of electromagnetic waves in plasmas and describes the collapse dynamics at initial stages.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Heating of ions by high frequency electromagnetic waves in magnetized plasmas

The heating of ions by high frequency electrostatic waves in magnetically confined plasmas has been a paradigm for studying nonlinear wave-particle interactions. The frequency of the waves is assumed to be much higher than the ion cyclotron frequency and the waves are taken to propagate across the magnetic field. In fusion type plasmas, electrostatic waves, like the lower hybrid wave, cannot access the core of the plasma. That is a domain for high harmonic fast waves or electron cyclotron waves—these are primarily electromagnetic waves. Previous studies on heating of ions by two or more electrostatic waves are extended to two electromagnetic waves that propagate directly across the confining magnetic field. While the ratio of the frequency of each wave to the ion cyclotron frequency is large, the frequency difference is assumed to be near the ion cyclotron frequency. The nonlinear wave-particle interaction is studied analytically using a two time-scale canonical perturbation theory. The theory elucidates the effects of various parameters on the gain in energy by the ions—parameters such as the amplitudes and polarizations of the waves, the ratio of the wave frequencies to the cyclotron frequency, the difference in the frequency of the two waves, and the wave numbers associated with the waves. For example, the ratio of the phase velocity of the envelope formed by the two waves to the phase velocity of the carrier wave is important for energization of ions. For a positive ratio, the energy range is much larger than for a negative ratio. So waves like the lower hybrid waves will impart very little energy to ions. The theoretical results are found to be in good agreement with numerical simulations of the exact dynamical equations. The analytical results are used to construct mapping equations, simplifying the derivation of the motion of ions, which are, subsequently, used to follow the evolution of an ion distribution function. The heating of ions can then be properly quantified in terms of the wave parameters and can be conveniently used to find ideal conditions needed to heat ions by high frequency electromagnetic waves.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

The derivation of scaling relationship between acoustic and electromagnetic scattering by spheres

The rigorous theory of the conversion between the scattering of uniform plane electromagnetic wave by a perfectly conducting sphere and the scattering of uniform plane acoustic wave by a rigid sphere is studied in this paper. The conversion formula between these two different scattering based on two calibration curves is derived, which describes the quantitative relationship between acoustic and electromagnetic wave scattering at arbitrary frequencies by spheres of arbitrary sizes. In addition, the scaling relationship of the sizes of those two spheres and the corresponding frequencies are discussed in detail, and an indirect method of measurement of electromagnetic scattering by the spheres is proposed.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Transition from thermal to turbulent equilibrium with a resulting electromagnetic spectrum

A recent paper [Ziebell et al., Phys. Plasmas 21, 010701 (2014)] discusses a new type of radiation emission process for plasmas in a state of quasi-equilibrium between the particles and enhanced Langmuir turbulence. Such a system may be an example of the so-called “turbulent quasi-equilibrium.” In the present paper, it is shown on the basis of electromagnetic weak turbulence theory that an initial thermal equilibrium state (i.e., only electrostatic fluctuations and Maxwellian particle distributions) transitions toward the turbulent quasi-equilibrium state with enhanced electromagnetic radiation spectrum, thus demonstrating that the turbulent quasi-equilibrium discussed in the above paper correctly describes the weakly turbulent plasma dynamically interacting with electromagnetic fluctuations, while maintaining a dynamical steady-state in the average sense.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Manipulating electromagnetic responses of metal wires at the deep subwavelength scale via both near- and far-field couplings

A hybrid coupling model containing both near- and far-field couplings is developed for radiating two-resonator structures. We demonstrate that the near- and far-field couplings make distinguished contributions to electromagnetic responses. Compared to the classical electromagnetically induced transparency configurations, the presence of far-field coupling provides more flexibility in tuning lineshapes. Planar metamaterials composed of metal wires are designed based on this model, and various electromagnetic responses are experimentally observed.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗

The cavity electromagnetic field within the polarizable continuum model of solvation

Cavity field effects can be defined as the consequences of the solvent polarization induced by the probing electromagnetic field upon spectroscopies of molecules in solution, and enter in the definitions of solute response properties. The polarizable continuum model of solvation (PCM) has been extended in the past years to address the cavity-field issue through the definition of an effective dipole moment that couples to the external electromagnetic field. We present here a rigorous derivation of such cavity-field treatment within the PCM starting from the general radiation-matter Hamiltonian within inhomogeneous dielectrics and recasting the interaction term to a dipolar form within the long wavelength approximation. To this aim we generalize the Göppert-Mayer and Power-Zienau-Woolley gauge transformations, usually applied in vacuo, to the case of a cavity vector potential. Our derivation also allows extending the cavity-field correction in the long-wavelength limit to the velocity gauge through the definition of an effective linear momentum operator. Furthermore, this work sets the basis for the general PCM treatment of the electromagnetic cavity field, capable to describe the radiation-matter interaction in dielectric media beyond the long-wavelength limit, providing also a tool to investigate spectroscopic properties of more complex systems such as molecules close to large nanoparticles.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Surface electromagnetic wave equations in a warm magnetized quantum plasma

Based on the single-fluid plasma model, a theoretical investigation of surface electromagnetic waves in a warm quantum magnetized inhomogeneous plasma is presented. The surface electromagnetic waves are assumed to propagate on the plane between a vacuum and a warm quantum magnetized plasma. The quantum magnetohydrodynamic model includes quantum diffraction effect (Bohm potential), and quantum statistical pressure is used to derive the new dispersion relation of surface electromagnetic waves. And the general dispersion relation is analyzed in some special cases of interest. It is shown that surface plasma oscillations can be propagated due to quantum effects, and the propagation velocity is enhanced. Furthermore, the external magnetic field has a significant effect on surface wave's dispersion equation. Our work should be of a useful tool for investigating the physical characteristic of surface waves and physical properties of the bounded quantum plasmas.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Terahertz electromagnetic wave generation and amplification by an electron beam in the elliptical plasma waveguides with dielectric rod

The propagation of electromagnetic waves in an elliptical plasma waveguide including strongly magnetized plasma column and a dielectric rod is investigated. The dispersion relation of guided hybrid electromagnetic waves is obtained. Excitation of the waves by a thin annular relativistic elliptical electron beam will be studied. The time growth rate of electromagnetic waves is obtained. The effects of relative permittivity constant of dielectric rod, radius of dielectric rod, accelerating voltage, and current density of the annular elliptical beam on the growth rate and the frequency spectra are numerically presented.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Porous material for protection from electromagnetic radiation

It is shown that the porous glass crystalline material obtained by a low temperature technology can be used not only for thermal insulation, but also for lining of rooms as protective screens decreasing harmful effect of electromagnetic radiation as well as to establish acoustic chambers and rooms with a low level of electromagnetic background. The material interacts with electromagnetic radiation by the most effective way in a high frequency field (above 100 GHz). At the frequency of 260 GHz the value of the transmission coefficient decreases approximately in a factor times in comparison with foam glass.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Plasma wave aided two photon decay of an electromagnetic wave in a plasma

The presence of a Langmuir wave in an unmagnetized plasma is shown to allow parametric decay of an electromagnetic wave into two electromagnetic waves, which is otherwise not allowed due to wave number mismatch. The decay occurs at plasma densities below one ninth the critical density and the decay waves propagate at finite angles to the pump laser. Above the threshold, the growth rate scales linearly with the amplitude of the Langmuir wave and the amplitude of the pump electromagnetic wave. The frequency ω of the lower frequency decay wave increases with the angle its propagation vector makes with that of the pump. The growth rate, however, decreases with ω.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗