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At least 37 records · Page 2
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1986

Low-frequency electromagnetic waves driven by gyrotropic gyrating ion beams

The origin of left- and right-hand-polarized low-frequency waves in space plasmas is analyzed. It has been shown that a gyrotropic gyrating ion beam, a ring in velocity space, can excite electromagnetic modes in the plasma near the beam gyrofrequency. It excites left-hand-polarized shear Alfven waves and their harmonics via the coupling of Alfven modes with the beam modes. It can also excite right-hand-polarized fast-mode magnetosonic waves and their harmonics as well. The excitation is possible for beam ions heavier than the plasma ions. The growth rate varies as one-third power of the beam density and decreases with the angle of wave propagation with respect to the ambient magnetic field. The nonlocality has a stabilizing effect on the instability. The predicted values of the wave frequencies compare reasonably well with those observed in satellite data.

Sharma, O. P.↗
NASA NTRS1984

A comparison of specularly reflected gyrating ion orbits with observed shock foot thicknesses

ISEE 1 and 2 flux gate magnetometer data has been used to measure the length or thickness of the 'foot' of 60 quasi-perpendicular supercritical bow shocks along the shock normal. These bow shock crossings are contrasted with 10 quasi-perpendicular subscritical shocks which do not exhibit the precursor foot. The extent of the foot structure is compared to the orbit of an ion having solar wind velocity and undergoing simple specular reflection about the shock normal. Good quantitative agreement between the measured value of the foot and the predicted value of about 0.7 ion gyroradii is evident. The foot thickness normalized to this predicted value is compared to the ratio of fast Mach number to critical fast Mach number. There is no dependence of the normalized foot thickness on Mach number other than at the transition point between subcritical and supercritical regimes. No dependence of the normalized foot thickness on upstream ion Beta is noted.

Livesey, W. A.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Ion reflection, gyration, and dissipation at supercritical shocks

Topics on collisionless plasmas are discussed and include: (1) Ion reflection is the dominant ion dissipation mechanism at nearly perpendicular, supercritical shocks. (2) An increasing fraction of the ions incident on a supercritical shock is reflected as the Mach number increases. The actual fraction reflected can be predicted using the Rankine Hugoniot conservation relations. (3) The effective temperature associated with the dispersion in velocity space associated with ion reflection accounts for a large fraction of the temperature rise observed across supercritical, quasi perpendicular shocks.

Gosling, J. T.↗
NASA NTRS1990

The collective gyration of a heavy ion cloud in a magnetized plasma

In both the ionospheric barium injection experiments CRIT 1 and CRIT 2, a long duration oscillation was seen with a frequency close to the gyro frequency of barium and a time duration of about one second. A model for the phenomena which was proposed for the CRIT 1 experiment is compared to the results from CRIT 2 which made a much more complete set of measurements. The model follows the motion of a low Beta ion cloud through a larger ambient plasma. The internal field of the model is close to antiparallel to the injection direction v sub i but slightly tilted towards the self polarization direction E sub p = -V sub i by B. As the ions move across the magnetic field, the space charge is continuously neutralized by magnetic field aligned electron currents from the ambient ionosphere, drawn by the divergence in the perpendicular electric field. These currents give a perturbation of the magnetic field related to the electric field perturbation by Delta E/Delta B approximately equal to V sub A. The model predictions agree quite well with the observed vector directions, field strengths, and decay times of the electric and magnetic fields in CRIT 2. The possibility to extend the model to the active region, where the ions are produces in this type of self-ionizing injection experiments, is discussed.

Brenning, N.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Transport of gyration-dominated space plasmas of thermal origin. I - Generalized transport equations

Grad's 20-moment set of transport equations has been examined in the limit of strong external magnetic fields. This simplified set of equations describes the transport of mass and parallel momentum as well as the transport of parallel and perpendicular energy and heat flow in the magnetic field direction. The effect of collisions was calculated assuming a modified relaxation model. Wave speeds and normal modes of the simplified set of equations were examined for an ion and electron gas. It was found that four of the ten normal modes are electron thermal-heat waves which approximately decouple from the six ion waves in the system. When low-frequency waves are considered (slow-wave approximation), this allows the electron energy and heat flow equations to be solved separately from the ion equations and in a time-independent fashion. When this was done, it was found that, under certain conditions, these equations predict an infinite electron perpendicular temperature, Te-perpendicular, in the collisionless regime. This occurs whenever Te-perpendicular is greater than the parallel temperature, at any point along collisionless and diverging magnetic field lines. When applied appropriately, the significantly simplified set of equations derived here are well suited for application to a large variety of problems in planetary ionospheres and magnetospheres.

Gombosi, Tamas I.↗
NASA NTRS1992

The collective gyration of a heavy ion cloud in a magnetized plasma

Results are reported from the ionospheric barium injection experiments CRIT I and CRIT II, during both of which a long-duration oscillation was observed with a frequency close to the gyrofrequency of barium and a time duration of about 1 sec. A model for the phenomenon which was proposed for CRIT I is compared to the results from CRIT II, which made a much more complete set of measurements. The model follows the motion of a low-beta ion cloud through a larger ambient plasma. As the ions move across the magnetic field, the space charge is continuously neutralized by magnetic-field aligned electron currents from the ambient ionosphere, drawn by the divergence in the perpendicular electric field. These currents yield a perturbation of the magnetic field related to the electric perturbation by Delta-E/Delta-B is approximately equal to V sub A. The possibility of extending the model to the active region, where the ions are produced in this type of self-ionizing injection experiments, is discussed.

Brenning, N.↗
NASA NTRS1976

Centroid and moments of an area using a digitizer

The centroid and moments of an area program provides the centroid, moments of inertia, product of inertia, radii of gyration, and area of any closed planar geometric figure. The figure must be available in graphic form and is digitized once with chart digitizer (graphic tablet). The digitizer origin may be set anywhere on the digitizer table. After digitizing, fifteen quantities are calculated and displayed: (1) area (2) moment of inertia of area with respect to digitizer x-axis, (3) moment of inertia of area with respect to digitizer y-axis, (4) product of inertia of area with respect to digitizer axes, (5) first moment of x for digitizer axes, (6) first moment of y for digitizer axes, (7) x coordinate of centroid, (8) y coordinate of centroid, (9) moment of area inertia of with respect to x axis through centroid, (10) moment of inertia of area with respect to y axis through centroid, (11) product inertia of area with respect to x and y axes through centroid, (12) polar moment of inertia of area around centroid, (13) radius of gyration about digitizer x axis, (14) radius of gyration about digitizer y-axis; and (15) variance in the x-direction.

Patch, R. W.↗
NASA NTRS1977

Optimum constrained image restoration filters

The research described centered on development of an optimum image restoration filter (IRF) minimizing the radius of gyration of the corrected or composite system point-spread function (P-SF) subject to contraints, and reducing 2-dimensional spatial smearing or blurring of an image. The constraints are imposed on the radius of gyration of the IRF P-SF, the total restored image noise power, and the shape of the composite system frequency spectrum. The image degradation corresponds to mapping many points from the original image into a single resolution element. The P-SF is obtained as solution to a set of simultaneous differential equations obeying nonlinear integral constraints. Truncation errors due to edge effects are controlled by constraining the radius of gyration of the IRF P-SF. An iterative technique suppresses sidelobes of the composite system P-SF.

Riemer, T. E.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Evidence for specularly reflected ions upstream from the quasi-parallel bow shock

Ion velocity distributions in the form of bunches of gyrating particles traveling along helical paths have been observed moving sunward immediately upstream from quasi-parallel parts of the earth's bow shock using Los Alamos/Garching instruments on ISEE-1 and -2. These distributions have characteristics which indicate that they are produced by the nearly specular reflection at the shock of a portion of the incident solar wind ions. In particular, the guiding center motion and the gyrospeeds of the gyrating ions are quantitatively consistent with simple geometrical considerations for specular reflection. These considerations reveal that specularly reflected ions can escape upstream when the angle between the upstream magnetic field and the local shock normal is less than 45 deg but not when the angle is greater than 45 deg. These upstream gyrating ions are an important signature of one of the processes by which solar wind streaming energy is dissipated into other forms of energy at the shock.

Gosling, J. T.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Internal dynamics of a plasma propelled across a magnetic field

When a plasma is pushed across a magnetic field by some nonelectromagnetic force, ions and electrons get turned in opposite directions by the magnetic field. An exact analysis of that process is presented here for the internal region of the plasma. The energy provided by the initial push is used, in part, to create the electric field and in part to create some gyrations inside the plasma. When the rest energy density of the plasma exceeds twice the magnetic energy density (or when the Alfven speed is less than c), there will be enough energy to spare for the plasma to continue across the magnetic field at half its initial momentum. Two cases are considered: an impulsive start and a gentle push such as provided by gravity. The amplitude of the resulting internal gyrations becomes small in the second case. The frequencies of the gyrations are those of extraordinary modes of very long spatial wavelength.

Buneman, Oscar↗
NASA NTRS2001

Numerical Simulations of the Slingatron

The slingatron mass accelerator is described for several track configurations (shapes), and numerical simulations of this accelerating mass traversing a given track configuration are presented. The sled is modeled as a point mass that interacts with the slingatron track using both a conventional and a new empirical velocity dependent friction law. The closed loop circular slingatron was found to produce high maximum sled velocities provided the gyration angular speed is always increasing. In contrast several spiral shaped slingatron tracks reveal that high maximum sled velocities are obtainable with the gyration speed held constant. In fact, a slingatron constructed out of semi-circles is shown capable of generating high velocity sleds in such a way that no initial sled injection is necessary. Choosing the proper initial gyration phase with an empirically determined friction model allows the mass sled to gain ever-increasing velocities when placed in a semi-circle slingatron. The sled bearing pressure and its total acceleration are examined and presented.

Cooper, Gene R.↗
NASA NTRS1971

A generalized method of active RC network synthesis.

A completely general active RC network synthesis technique using a grounded gyrator and a summing amplifier is described. The technique overcomes serious limitations of previous RC-gyrator realizations and offers advantages o ver other general active RC synthesis methods. The technique is well suited for construction using thin-film RC networks and integrated circuit operational amplifiers, and provides a configuration which is quite insensitive to element variations.

Leach, D. P.↗
NASA NTRS1961

Large-Angle Motion Tests, Including Spins, of A Free-Flying Radio-Controlled 0.13-Scale Model of A Twin Jet Swept Wing Fighter Airplane

An investigation has been conducted with a free-flying radio-controlled 0.15-scale model of a twin-jet swept-wing fighter airplane to determine the tendency of this design to enter spins and to evaluate the nature of the spin obtained from post-stall motions. The test results indicate that it may be difficult to obtain a developed spin on the airplane, particularly the flat-type spin. Two types of erect developed spins will be possible; one will be flat and fast rotating from which recovery may not be obtained and the other will be steeper and oscillatory from which recoveries will be satisfactory. Controls will be effective for satisfactory termination of the post-stall gyrations obtained. The recommended recovery technique from both post-stall gyrations and developed spins will be movement of the rudder to oppose the yawing rotation and simultaneous movement of the ailerons to with the rotation (stick right when turning to the right). When recovery is imminent, the stick should be moved longitudinally to neutral. It is recommended that the spin not be allowed to develop fully on this airplane. The developed-spin results obtained in the investigation were in good agreement with spin-tunnel results.

Sanger M Burk, Jr↗
NASA NTRS1974

Optimum constrained image restoration filters

The filter was developed in Hilbert space by minimizing the radius of gyration of the overall or composite system point-spread function subject to constraints on the radius of gyration of the restoration filter point-spread function, the total noise power in the restored image, and the shape of the composite system frequency spectrum. An iterative technique is introduced which alters the shape of the optimum composite system point-spread function, producing a suboptimal restoration filter which suppresses undesirable secondary oscillations. Finally this technique is applied to multispectral scanner data obtained from the Earth Resources Technology Satellite to provide resolution enhancement. An experimental approach to the problems involving estimation of the effective scanner aperture and matching the ERTS data to available restoration functions is presented.

Riemer, T. E.↗
NASA NTRS1975

Measurement of the inertial properties of the Helios F-1 spacecraft

A gravity pendulum method of measuring lateral moments of inertia of large structures with an error of less than 1% is outlined. The method is based on the fact that in a physical pendulum with a knife-edge support the distance from the axis of rotation to the system center of gravity determines the minimal period of oscillation and is equal to the system centroidal radius of gyration. The method is applied to results of a test procedure in which the Helios F-1 spacecraft was placed in a roll fixture with crossed flexure pivots as elastic constraints and system oscillation measurements were made with each of a set of added moment-of-inertia increments. Equations of motion are derived with allowance for the effect of the finite pivot radius and an error analysis is carried out to find the criterion for maximum accuracy in determining the square of the centroidal radius of gyration. The test procedure allows all measurements to be made with the specimen in upright position.

Gayman, W. H.↗
NASA NTRS1979

An equipotential model for auroral arcs - The theory of two-dimensional laminar electrostatic shocks

The two-dimensional current-driven shock theory of Swift (1976) is reformulated in a way that removes previous restrictions on the shock thickness in relation to an ion gyrodiameter and also makes it possible to include effects of finite gyrational energy of the ions. The theory is applied to a shock model consisting of cold streaming electrons of magnetospheric origin and streaming ions of ionospheric origin, and it is shown that shock widths will be slightly less than the gyrodiameter of an ion whose energy is equal to the maximum potential difference across the shock. It is also shown that ions in passing through the shock may gain gyrational energy on the order of 10% of the parallel and the E x B energy gain. The theory also requires that the electron beam flux be largest on field lines where the precipitating electron experiences the largest energy gain.

Swift, D. W.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Simulation of a perpendicular bow shock

Simulations of a high-Mach-number shock with parameters typical of the earth's bow shock are performed. The simulations rely on a hybrid code in which the ions are treated kinetically using standard particle-in-cell techniques and the electrons are treated as a massless, charge neutralizing fluid. One spatial dimension and all velocity and field components are included in the calculation. The simulations reproduce the observed ion reflection and overshoots in the magnetic field and density, features that are shown to be closely associated with ion gyration. It is noted that gyrating ions play a crucial role in building up and maintaining overshoots in the potential, density, and magnetic field.

Leroy, M. M.↗