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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.

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At least 307 records · Page 17
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1994

Basic theory for polarized, astrophysical maser radiation in a magnetic field

Fundamental alterations in the theory and resulting behavior of polarized, astrophysical maser radiation in the presence of a magnetic field have been asserted based on a calculation of instabilities in the radiative transfer. I reconsider the radiative transfer and find that the relevant instabilities do not occur. Calculational errors in the previous investigation are identified. In addition, such instabilities would have appeared -- but did not -- in the numerous numerical solutions to the same radiative transfer equations that have been presented in the literature. As a result, all modifications that have been presented in a recent series of papers (Elitzur 1991, 1993) to the theory for polarized maser radiation in the presence of a magnetic field are invalid. The basic theory is thus clarified.

Watson, William D.↗
NASA NTRS1993

N-bursty emission from Uranus: A cyclotron maser source?

Ray tracing studies of RX-mode emission from the north polar regions of Uranus indicate that the n-bursty radio emission may have a source along field lines with footprints near the northern magnetic pole (perhaps in the cusp), but not necessarily associated with regions of strong UV emission. This is in contrast with similar studies for the Uranus nightside smooth radio emission, which are believed to be due to the cyclotron maser instability. Source regions can be found for both hollow and filled emission cones and for frequencies well above the local gyrofreuquency implying that mechanisms other than the cyclotron maser mechanism may be operating.

Curran, D. B.↗
NASA NTRS2001

Probing AGN with Masers and X-Rays-SAX Proposals

We have made BeppoSAX observations of the Seyfert 2/1.9 galaxy ESO103-G35, which contains a nuclear maser source and is known to be heavily absorbed in the X-rays. Analysis of the X-ray spectra observed by SAX in October 1996 and 1997 yields an energy index = 0.74 +/- 0.07, typical of Seyfert galaxies and consistent with earlier observations of this source. The strong, soft X-ray absorption has a column density, N_H of (1.79 +/- 0.09)E23 cmE-02, again consistent with earlier results. The best fitting spectrum is that of a power law with a high energy cutoff at 29 +/- 10 keV, a cold (E=6.3 +/- 0.1 keV, rest frame), marginally resolved (sigma = 0.35 +/- 0.14 keV, FWHM approximately (31 +/- 12)E03 km/s) FeKalpha line with EW 290 +100 -80 eV (1996) and a mildly ionized Fe K-edge at 7.37 +0.15 -0.21 keV, tau 0.24 +0.06 -0.09. The Fe Kalpha line and cold absorption are consistent with origin in a accretion disk/torus through which our line-of-sight passes at a radial distance of approximately 0.01 pc. The Fe K-edge is mildly ionized suggesting the presence of ionized gas probably in the inner accretion disk, close to the central source or in a separate warm absorber. The data quality is too low to distinguish between these possibilities but the edge-on geometry implied by the water maser emission favors the former. Comparison with earlier observations of ESO103-G35 shows little/no change in spectral parameters while the flux changes by factors of a few on timescales of a few months. The 2-10 keV flux decreased by a factor of approximately 2.7 between Oct 1996 and Oct 1997 with no detectable change in the count rate greater than 20 keV (i.e. the PDS data). Spectral fits to the combined datasets indicate either a significant hardening of the spectrum (energy index approximately 0.5) or an approximate constant or delayed response reflection component. The high energy cutoff (29 +/- 10 keV) is lower than the typical approximately 300 keV values seen in Seyfert galaxies. A significant subset of similar sources would affect current models of the AGN contribution to the cosmic X-ray background (CXRB) which generally assume a high energy cutoff of approximately 300 keV.

Wilkes, Belinda J.↗
NASA NTRS2004

Probing Planck-Scale physics with a Ne-21/He-3 Zeeman maser

We completed a search for a sidereal annual variation in the frequency difference between co-located Xe-129 and He-3 Zeeman masers. This search sets a stringent limit of approximately 10(exp -27) GeV on boost-dependent Lorentz and CPT violation involving the neutron. A paper reporting this result has been accepted for publication in Physical Review Letters. We also completed detailed modeling and design of the next-generation dual-noble-gas Zeeman maser for an improved test of Lorentz and CPT violation, and begin construction of this device.

Walsworth, Ronald L.↗
DOE OSTI2017

Efficiency enhancement of slow-wave electron-cyclotron maser by a second-order shaping of the magnetic field in the low-gain limit

Based on the anomalous Doppler effect, we put forward a proposal to enhance the conversion efficiency of the slow-wave electron cyclotron masers (ECM) under the resonance condition. Compared with previous studies, we add a second-order shaping term in the guild magnetic field. Theoretical analyses and numerical calculations show that it can enhance the conversion efficiency in the low-gain limit. The case of the initial velocity spread of electrons satisfying the Gaussian distribution is also analysed numerically.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
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 OSTI2015

Three dimensional nonlinear analysis of a single-grating rectangular waveguide Cerenkov maser

A three dimensional (3-D) nonlinear model for illustrating the beam-wave interaction in a single-grating rectangular waveguide sheet-beam Cerenkov maser is presented. The dynamical equations and the equations of motion are solved self-consistently to predict the device performance. Space-charge effects and Ohmic losses are considered in the model. A 1.03 THz backward wave oscillator and a 0.65 THz traveling wave tube are discussed as two illustrative examples.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2015

Injection locking of an electronic maser in the hard excitation mode

The phenomenon of hard excitation is natural for many electronic oscillators. In particular, in a gyrotron, a maximal efficiency is often attained in the hard excitation regime. In this paper, we study the injection-locking phenomena using two models of an electronic maser in the hard excitation mode. First, bifurcation analysis is performed for the quasilinear model described by ordinary differential equations for the slow amplitude and phase. Two main scenarios of transition to the injection-locked mode are described, which are generalizations of the well-known phase-locking and suppression mechanisms. The results obtained for the quasilinear model are confirmed by numerical simulations of a gyrotron with fixed Gaussian structure of the RF field.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2016

The effect of electron beams on cyclotron maser emission excited by lower-energy cutoffs

Electron-cyclotron maser (ECM) is one of the most important emission mechanisms in astrophysics and can be excited efficiently by lower-energy cutoffs of power-law electrons. These non-thermal electrons probably propagate as a directed collimated beam along ambient magnetic fields. This paper investigates the ECM, in which the effect of electron beams is emphasized. Results show the dependence of emission properties of the ECM on the beam feature. The maximum growth rate of the extraordinary mode (X2) rapidly decreases as the beam momentum increases, while the growth rate of the ordinary mode (O1) changes slightly. In particular, the ordinary mode can overcome the extraordinary mode and becomes the fastest growth mode once the beam momentum is large enough. This research presents an extension of the conventional studies on ECM driven by lower-energy cutoffs and may be helpful to understand better the emission process of solar type I radio bursts, which are dominated by the ordinary mode emission.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2013

Electron cyclotron maser emission in coronal arches and solar radio type V bursts

Solar radio type V bursts were classified as a special spectral class based on their moderately long duration, wide bandwidth, and sense of polarization opposite of associated type III bursts. However, type V bursts are also closely related to the preceding type III bursts. They have an approximately equal source height and the same dispersion of position with frequency. Electron cyclotron maser (ECM) instability driven by beam electrons has been used to explain type III bursts in recent years. We propose ECM emission as the physical process of type V solar radio bursts. According to the observed properties of type V and III bursts, we propose that energetic electrons in excited type V continuum are trapped in coronal loops, which are adjacent to the open field lines traced by type III electrons. With the proposed magnetic field configuration and the ECM emission mechanism, the observed properties of type V bursts, such as long duration, wide bandwidth, and opposite sense of polarization can be reasonably explained by our model.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Weak maser emission of methyl formate toward Sagittarius B2(N) in the green bank telescope PRIMOS survey

A non-LTE radiative transfer treatment of cis-methyl formate (HCOOCH{sub 3}) rotational lines is presented for the first time using a set of theoretical collisional rate coefficients. These coefficients have been computed in the temperature range 5-30 K by combining coupled-channel scattering calculations with a high accuracy potential energy surface for HCOOCH{sub 3}-He. The results are compared to observations toward the Sagittarius B2(N) molecular cloud using the publicly available PRIMOS survey from the Green Bank Telescope. A total of 49 low-lying transitions of methyl formate, with upper levels below 25 K, are identified. These lines are found to probe a presumably cold (∼30 K), moderately dense (∼10{sup 4} cm{sup –3}), and extended region surrounding Sgr B2(N). The derived column density of ∼4 × 10{sup 14} cm{sup –2} is only a factor of ∼10 larger than the column density of the trans conformer in the same source. Provided that the two conformers have the same spatial distribution, this result suggests that strongly non-equilibrium processes must be involved in their synthesis. Finally, our calculations show that all detected emission lines with a frequency below 30 GHz are (collisionally pumped) weak masers amplifying the continuum of Sgr B2(N). This result demonstrates the importance and generality of non-LTE effects in the rotational spectra of complex organic molecules at centimeter wavelengths.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2019

The synchrotron maser emission from relativistic shocks in Fast Radio Bursts: 1D PIC simulations of cold pair plasmas

The emission process of Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs) remains unknown. We look into whether the synchrotron maser emission from relativistic shocks in a magnetar wind can explain the observed FRB properties. We perform particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations of perpendicular shocks in cold pair plasmas, checking our results for consistency among three PIC codes. We confirm that a linearly polarized X-mode wave is self-consistently generated by the shock and propagates back upstream as a precursor wave. We find that at magnetizations σ ≳ 1 (i.e. ratio of Poynting flux to particle energy flux of the pre-shock flow) the shock converts a fraction $f_\xi ^{\prime } \approx 7 \times 10^{-4}/\sigma ^2$ of the total incoming energy into the precursor wave, as measured in the shock frame. The wave spectrum is narrow-band (fractional width ≲1-3), with apparent but not dominant line-like features as many resonances concurrently contribute. The peak frequency in the pre-shock (observer) frame is $\omega ^{\prime \prime }_{\rm peak} \approx 3 \gamma _{\rm s | u} \omega _{\rm p}$, where γs|u is the shock Lorentz factor in the upstream frame and ωp the plasma frequency. At σ ≳ 1, where our estimated $\omega ^{\prime \prime }_{\rm peak}$ differs from previous works, the shock structure presents two solitons separated by a cavity, and the peak frequency corresponds to an eigenmode of the cavity. Our results provide physically grounded inputs for FRB emission models within the magnetar scenario.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2019

Bragg Deflectors of Wave Fluxes for High-Power Relativistic Masers

Quasi-optical Bragg structures that represent sections of planar waveguides with tilted (with respect to the beam propagation direction) corrugation are studied. It is shown that such structures may serve as efficient deflectors for high-power wave fluxes and, hence, can be used for separation of microwave radiation and electron beam in relativistic masers. The corrugation configuration is optimized to increase the efficiency of transformation of wave fluxes to the transverse direction and improve uniformity of the spatial distribution of scattered radiation. The simulated results are verified using cold electrodynamic tests.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2016

3-cm fine structure masers: A unique signature of supermassive black hole formation via direct collapse in the early universe

The direct collapse black hole (DCBH) scenario describes the isothermal collapse of a pristine gas cloud directly into a massive, M{sub BH} = 10{sup 4}–10{sup 6}M{sub ⊙} black hole. In this paper we show that large H i column densities of primordial gas at T∼10{sup 4} K with low molecular abundance—which represent key aspects of the DCBH scenario—provide optimal conditions for the pumping of the 2p-level of atomic hydrogen by trapped Lyα photons. This Lyα pumping mechanism gives rise to an inverted level population of the 2s{sub 1/2}−2p{sub 3/2} transition, and therefore also gives rise to stimulated fine structure emission at λ=3.04 cm (rest-frame). We show that simplified models of the DCBH scenario amplify the CMB by up to a factor of ∼10{sup 5}, above which the maser saturates. Hyperfine splitting of the 3 cm transition gives rise to a characteristic broad (FWHM ∼ tens of MHz in the observers frame) asymmetric line profile. This signal subtends an angular scale of ∼1–10 mas, which translates to a flux of ∼0.3–3 μJy, which is detectable with ultra-deep surveys being planned with SKA1-MID. While challenging, as the signal is visible for a fraction of the collapse time of the cloud, the matching required physical conditions imply that a detection of the redshifted 3-cm emission line could provide direct evidence for the DCBH scenario.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗