Models of collisionless shock fronts.
Collisionless shock front generation between two interacting plasmas attributed to nonlinear wave interaction
COLLISIONLESS PLASMA↗
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Electron beam injection experiments - Replication of flight observations in a laboratory beam plasma discharge
Recent electron beam injection experiments in the lower ionosphere have produced two perplexing results: (1) At altitudes from 140 km to 220 km, the beam associated 391.4 nm intensity is relatively independent of altitude despite the decreasing N2 abundance. (2) The radial extent of the perturbed region populated by beam associated energetic electrons significantly exceeds the nominal gyrodiameter for 90 deg injection. A series of laboratory measurements is described in which both of these flight results appear to have been closely reproduced. The laboratory results are reasonably consistent with the transition from a collision dominated to collisionless beam-plasma discharge configuration.
Bernstein, W.↗
Emission of radio noise by plasmas.
Radio noise generation due to plasma oscillations, using the collisionless boltzmann equation
PLASMA OSCILLATION↗
X-ray evidence for electron-ion equilibrium and ionization nonequilibrium in young supernova remnants
The A-2 spectroscopy experiment on HEAO 1 detected X-ray emission up to 25 keV from the supernova remnants Cas A and Tycho. The spectra must include continuum components with effective temperature equivalent or 10 to the 8th power K which could arise from optically thin plasmas in the collisionless shock fronts. This is the first indication of electron-ion temperature equilibrium in the expanding shell of young remnants. Measurements of the equivalent widths of the K alpha and K beta iron line blends in Cas A, show that their ratio is not compatible with the measured X-ray temperature in the collisional ionization equilibrium model. The search for hard X-ray pulsars in both remnants was unsuccessful.
Pravdo, S. H.↗
X-ray evidence for electron-ion equilibrium and ionization nonequilibrium in Young supernova remnants
X-ray emission up to 25 keV from the supernova remnants Cas A and Tycho has been detected with the A-2 spectroscopy experiment on HEAO 1. The spectra must include continuum components with effective temperature of about 10 to the 8th K which could arise from optically thin plasmas in the collisionless shock fronts. This is the first indication of electron-ion temperature equilibrium in the expanding shell of young remnants. The equivalent widths of the K-alpha and K-beta iron line blends in Cas A have also been measured and it is found that their ratio is not compatible with the measured X-ray temperature in the collisional ionization equilibrium model. Finally, an unsuccessful search has been conducted for hard X-ray pulsars in both remnants.
Pravdo, S. H.↗
Ion Mass/Velocity/Charge Spectrometer
Ion spectrometer distributes ions two-dimensionally and measures three characteristics of incident-ion beam: (1) mass/charge distribution, (2) ion velocity distribution, and (3) direction of incidence. Also useful for diagnosis in experimental plasma physics in collisionless regime. Ion spectrometer uses novel combination of standard electrostatic and magnetic deflection techniques to sort incident ions according to speed, diretion of incidence, and mass/ charge ratio.
Neugebauer, M. M.↗
Hybrid simulation codes with application to shocks and upstream waves
Hybrid codes in which part of the plasma is represented as particles and the rest as a fluid are discussed. In the past few years such codes with particle ions and massless, fluid electrons have been applied to space plasmas, especially to collisionless shocks. All of these simulation codes are one-dimensional and similar in structure, except for how the field equations are solved. The various approaches that are used (resistive Ohm's law, predictor-corrector, Hamiltonian) are described in detail and results from the various codes are compared with examples taken from collisionless shocks and low frequency wave phenomena upstream of shocks.
Winske, D.↗
Magnetic field waves at Uranus
The research efforts funded by the Uranus Data Analysis Program (UDAP) grant to the Bartol Research Institute (BRI) involved the study of magnetic field waves associated with the Uranian bow shock. Upstream wave studies are motivated as a study of the physics of collisionless shocks. Collisionless shocks in plasmas are capable of 'reflecting' a fraction of the incoming thermal particle distribution and directing the resulting energetic particle motion back into the upstream region. Once within the upstream region, the backward streaming energetic particles convey information of the approaching shock to the supersonic flow. This particle population is responsible for the generation of upstream magnetic and electrostatic fluctuations known as 'upstream waves', for slowing the incoming wind prior to the formation of the shock ramp, and for heating of the upstream plasma. The waves produced at Uranus not only differed in several regards from the observations at other planetary bow shocks, but also gave new information regarding the nature of the reflected particle populations which were largely unmeasurable by the particle instruments. Four distinct magnetic field wave types were observed upstream of the Uranian bow shock: low-frequency Alfven or fast magnetosonic waves excited by energetic protons originating at or behind the bow shock; whistler wave bursts driven by gyrating ion distributions within the shock ramp; and two whistler wave types simultaneously observed upstream of the flanks of the shock and argued to arise from resonance with energetic electrons. In addition, observations of energetic particle distributions by the LECP experiment, thermal particle populations observed by the PLS experiment, and electron plasma oscillations recorded by the PWS experiment proved instrumental to this study and are included to some degree in the papers and presentations supported by this grant.
Smith, Charles W.↗
Tether-Induced Airglow: Collisionless Effects
Martinez-Sanchez and Sanmartin [1997] showed that a bare conducting tether can be used as a source of an energetic electron beam. Interacting with the E region atmosphere, the beam should produce airglow thus making possible to deduce the neutral density on a continuous basis. Fujii et al. [2005] suggested that this idea be tested in a specially-designed sounding rocket experiment. We show that collisionless beam-plasma interactions (BPI) complement direct impact, leading to appreciable green-line (557.7 nm) emissions in the F region. In the E region, BPI develops near the entry in the valley, resulting in a narrow layer of strongly-elevated and airglow. Besides, neutralizing electric currents carried by ionospheric electrons in the valley can become unstable or even insufficient to compensate the beam current. Developing plasma waves inhibit neutralizing currents. In the extreme case, the beam might be locked in the valley (the 'virtual cathode'). In addition to optical observations, these effects can also be observed by radiophysical means.
Mishin, E. V.↗
Cosmic Ray Flux in the Presence of a Neutral Background
The study of cosmic rays (CRs) is a very mature subject developed around the concept of radiative particle flux phi as a mono-variant function of energy E, that is phi = phi(E). This is based on the notion of the cosmos as being filled with cosmic radiation in the form of a collisionless exosphere of plasma. Neutrals, however, are likewise ubiquitous in space and planetary trapped-radiation belts. It will be shown that in the presence of a neutral background of density rho, flux phi is actually bivariant in energy E and rho, creating a surface phi(E,rho). This is an intrinsic property of charged-particle flux, that flux is not merely a function of E but is dependent upon density rho when a background of neutrals is present. The effect is produced by multiple scattering of charged particles off neutral and ionized atoms along with ionization loss where charged and neutral populations interact. For the harder portion of CR spectra, flux is mono-variant but at nonrelativistic energies (below approx, 350 MeV) it becomes sensitive to the presence of neutral backgrounds. The dependence of phi(E,rho) upon background neutrals is helpful in discussing the anomalous CR (ACR) flux made up of ionized components of the heliospheric neutral atmosphere.
Wilson, Thomas L.↗
Mixing the Solar Wind Proton and Electron Scales: Effects of Electron Temperature Anisotropy on the Oblique Proton Firehose Instability
The double adiabatic expansion of the nearly collisionless solar wind plasma creates conditions for the firehose instability to develop and efficiently prevent the further increase of the plasma temperature in the direction parallel to the interplanetary magnetic field. The conditions imposed by the firehose instability have been extensively studied using idealized approaches that ignore the mutual effects of electrons and protons. Recently, more realistic approaches have been proposed that take into account the interplay between electrons and protons, unveiling new regimes of the parallel oscillatory modes. However, for oblique wave propagation the instability develops distinct branches that grow much faster and may therefore be more efficient than the parallel firehose instability in constraining the temperature anisotropy of the plasma particles. This paper reports for the first time on the effects of electron plasma properties on the oblique proton firehose (PFH) instability and provides a comprehensive vision of the entire unstable wave-vector spectrum, unifying the proton and the smaller electron scales. The plasma β and temperature anisotropy regimes considered here are specific for the solar wind and magnetospheric conditions, and enable the electrons and protons to interact via the excited electromagnetic fluctuations. For the selected parameters, simultaneous electron and PFH instabilities can be observed with a dispersion spectrum of the electron firehose (EFH) extending toward the proton scales. Growth rates of the PFH instability are markedly boosted by the anisotropic electrons, especially in the oblique direction where the EFH growth rates are orders of magnitude higher.
plasmas↗
Propagation of hydromagnetic waves through an anisotropic plasma.
Alfven, fast and slow magnetoacoustic and entropy hydromagnetic wave propagation in anisotropic collisionless magnetoplasma
MAGNETOACOUSTIC WAVE↗
Models of the plasmaspheric thermal plasma distribution
Current understanding of the thermal plasma in the atmosphere and its coupling to the ionosphere is reviewed. Existing models appear adequate to explain the gross behavior of the cold thermal plasma, but there remain some vexing problems. Notably, (1) why does the density in flux tubes appear to saturate at lower values than are predicted theoretically, (2) what causes the sunset peak in measured Te, and (3) why does the equatorial plasmapause signature differ in latitude from the ionosphere signatures. The more difficult problem of what happens during the early stages of refilling after a magnetic storm, when the high altitude plasma is likely to be supersonic and collisionless, has received much attention, but the results are not definite. A number of papers have dealt with the interaction of supersonic counterstreaming fluxes and there are now models that can handle the transition from supersonic to subsonic flows although the transition from a collisionless to a collision-dominated plasma remains difficult to deal with.
Richards, P. G.↗
Ion-acoustic solitary waves in a magnetized plasma with arbitrary electron equation of state
The oblique propagation of fully nonlinear, slow ion-acoustic solitary waves in a collisionless, low-beta, magnetized plasma is examined. The analysis includes the effects of a finite ion pressure, electron trapping, and multicomponent particle populations. The existence of both compressive and rarefactive modes propagating obliquely to the magnetic field in a plasma with two distinct Boltzmann electron populations and cold ions is demonstrated. It is shown that paired electrostatic shocks observed over the earth's auroral zone may be closely related to the rarefactive modes. As a measure of the collisionless dissipation encountered by the solitary waves, the linear response of the plasma to slow ion-acoustic waves is also examined.
Witt, E.↗
Observation of beam-generated VLF hiss in a large laboratory plasma
The paper describes a lab experiment on a beam-plasma instability under conditions for which the theory of VLF hiss is applicable. An energetic electron beam is injected into a cold, dense, almost collisionless magnetoplasma. Beam and plasma dimensions are so large that oblique whistler wave propagation and growth are readily observable. The observations of frequency and wave number spectra, growth rate, and instability level are consistent with theory and satellite observation in regions of electron precipitation.
Stenzel, R. L.↗
Linear and non-linear studies of Alfven waves in space. Stationary and dynamic processes in magnetospheric plasmas
The Final Technical Report on linear and non-linear studies of Alfven waves in space is presented. Areas of research included relaxation of magnetotail plasmas with field-aligned currents; the equilibrium dayside magnetosphere; macroscale particle simulation of kinetic Alfven wave physics; ballooning stability of plasmas with sheared equilibrium flows; theory of the drift-mirror instability; collisionless tearing instability in magnetotail plasmas; and nonadiabatic behavior of the magnetic moment of a charged particle in a dipole magnetic field and the development of stochastic webs.
Bhattacharjee, A.↗
Rapid Variability Generated at Relativistic Shocks Simulated by Particle-in- Cell Code
Plasma instabilities excited in collisionless shocks are responsible for particle acceleration. We have investigated the particle acceleration and shock structure associated with an unmagnetized relativistic electronpositron jet propagating into an unmagnetized electron-positron plasma. Cold jet electrons are thermalized and slowed while the ambient electrons are swept up to create a partially developed hydrodynamic-like shock structure. In the leading shock, electron density increases by a factor of about 3.5 in the simulation frame. Strong electromagnetic fields are generated in the trailing shock and provide an emission site. These magnetic fields contribute to the electrons transverse deflection behind the shock. We calculate the radiation from deflected electrons in the turbulent magnetic fields. Radiation from electrons near the trailing shock will be variable due to fluctuations of density and electromagnetic fields. The properties of this radiation may be important for rapid variability in relativistic jets such as AGN jets and blazars.
Nishikawal, Ken-Ichi↗
Efficiency of regular acceleration of particles by a shock wave at different injection regimes
A significant fraction of the inflowing plasma energy in the collisionless shock vicinity might be transferred to the particles accelerated by a regular acceleration mechanism. The accelerated particles back pressure modifies an ininite planar shock structure so that a profile of the plasma flow velocity in the shock frame has two characteristic length scales.
Berezhko, E. G.↗