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NASA NTRS1985

Formation of the prelunar accretion disk

Considerations related to the angular momentum of the earth-moon system have led Ward and Cameron (1978) to the suggestion of a collisional origin of the moon. The required projectile would be about the mass of Mars (i.e., about 0.1 earth masses). The possibility has been considered that both the proto-earth and the projectile would be remnants of the formation of giant gaseous protoplanets. Processes of lunar formation studied take into account the viscous dissipation of an accretion disk. The present paper is concerned with the formation of the prelunar accretion disk. The hydrodynamics of a compressible viscous gas are simulated with the aid of the particle-in-cell method. The obtained results imply that the projectile is in an elliptical earth-crossing orbit.

Cameron, A. G. W.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Studies on counterstreaming plasma expansion

Recent studies on counterstreaming plasma expansions are summarized. The basic phenomenon of plasma expansion is reviewed, and results from one-dimensional simulations of counterstreaming plasma expansion are discussed. Results from simulations based on an electrostatic particle-in-cell code, in which the dynamics of both the electrons and ions are exactly followed, are discussed. The formation of electrostatic shocks is addressed. Finally, results are presented on the ionospheric plasma expansion along the geomagnetic flux tubes by solving the hydrodynamic equations.

Singh, N.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Particle simulation of auroral double layers

Work on the simulation of auroral double layers (DLs) with realistic particle-in-cell models is presented. An early model simulated weak DLs formed in a self-consistent circuit but under conditions subject to the ion-acoustic instability. Recent work has focused on strong DLs formed when currentless jets are injected into a dipole magnetic field.

Smith, Bruce L.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Plasma simulation using the massively parallel processor

Two dimensional electrostatic simulation codes using the particle-in-cell model are developed on the Massively Parallel Processor (MPP). The conventional plasma simulation procedure that computes electric fields at particle positions by means of a gridded system is found inefficient on the MPP. The MPP simulation code is thus based on the gridless system in which particles are assigned to processing elements and electric fields are computed directly via Discrete Fourier Transform. Currently, the gridless model on the MPP in two dimensions is about nine times slower that the gridded system on the CRAY X-MP without considering I/O time. However, the gridless system on the MPP can be improved by incorporating a faster I/O between the staging memory and Array Unit and a more efficient procedure for taking floating point sums over processing elements. The initial results suggest that the parallel processors have the potential for performing large scale plasma simulations.

Lin, C. S.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Charging effects in the cometary environment of Halley

Electrostatic charging of the Giotto spacecraft in different impact induced charged particle environments was studied with 3D numerical particle-in-cell models. The simulation results are assessed according to first experimental results of Giotto and Vega instruments. Decreasing and even negative spacecraft potentials measured on Vega near closest approach to the comet suggest the influence of the cometary plasma, which is also confirmed by corresponding numerical simulations.

Thiemann, H.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Simulations of auroral plasma processes - Electric fields, waves and particles

Plasma processes driven by current sheets of finite thicknesses in an ambient magnetized plasma are studied using a 2 1/2 dimensional particle-in-cell code, and similarities are found between simulated plasma processes and those observed in the auroral plasma. Current sheets are shown to be bounded by large perpendicular electric fields occurring near their edges above the conducting boundary. Shaped potential structures form when the current sheets are narrow, and when the current sheets are wide, potential structures develop a significant parallel potential drop such that the electrons are accelerated upwards. Downward parallel electric fields of variable strength are noted in the downward current region, and double layer formation is seen in both narrow and wide current sheets. High frequency oscillations near the electron plasma frequency and its harmonic are seen, and low frequency waves are observed.

Singh, Nagendra↗
NASA NTRS1987

Simulation of the electron acoustic instability for a finite-size electron beam system

Simulations of the electron acoustic instability for a finite-size electron beam system are performed with a particle-in-cell code to investigate the heating phenomena associated with the instability and the width of the heating region. The results show that the beam radiates electrostatic electron acoustic waves whose decay time outside the beam agrees with the spatial decay length derived from the linear dispersion equation. The ambient cold electrons in a diffusion region surrounding the beam are heated to a higher temperature by absorbing the radiated electron acoustic waves, with the heating occurring mainly in the parallel direction. In the heat diffusion region, the temperature of the cold electrons decreases with distance from the beam with a temperature gradient length smaller than the decay length of the wave energy. The results are discussed with respect to the DE 1 plasma and wave observations in the polar cusp region.

Lin, C. S.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Electron heating by ion acoustic turbulence in simulated low Mach number shocks

Explicit and fully electromagnetic particle-in-cell simulations of perpendicular, collisionless, and nominally subcritical shocks are performed in one and two spatial dimensions using the code wave. Shock parameters are chosen to maximixe the growth rates of the current-driven ion acoustic instability in the shock. Electron heating by ion acoustic turbulence is observed at the shocks, at rates in agreement with second-order Vlasov theory predictions. However, the amount of resistive electron heating is small and ion reflection provides the major source of dissipation. Strictly resistive shocks do not exist for the parameters suitable for explicit particle codes running on today's supercomputers, because the plasma convects through these shocks so quickly that current-driven instabilities have little time to be amplified and to heat the electrons resistively. This effect is primarily a result of the relatively small values of omega(pe)/omega(ce) that can be analyzed.

Tokar, Robert L.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Evidence for cyclotron maser emission from the sun and stars

Recent observational and theoretical work on cyclotron maser instability is reviewed, with emphasis on the similarities between microwave spike bursts from the sun and bursts from stars and planets. Results on particle-in-cell simulations are discussed, and it is suggested that such studies may provide further information on the amount and efficiency of energy transfer by the maser radiation. Observational tests of the cyclotron maser theory are considered, in addition to the role of the cyclotron maser as an energy transport mechanism in solar flares.

Dulk, G. A.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Theory and simulation of electromagnetic beam modes and whistlers

Using particle-in-cell simulations and analytical methods, a study of the nonlinear evolution of electromagnetic instabilities driven by an anisotropic electron beam in an external magnetic field is performed. The unstable waves are either whistlerlike or beam-mode-like depending on the external field strength and beam velocity. The evolution of the particle distribution differs significantly in the two regimes. Even in the presence of a faster electrostatic instability, the electromagnetic waves grow to a significant amplitude. In certain cases, an energetic tail is formed, resulting in enhanced Cerenkov emission of electrostatic waves. The initial evolution of the particle distribution is explained in terms of the interaction of a given linearly unstable wave with the self-consistent perturbed distribution.

Newman, David L.↗
NASA NTRS1988

The kinetic approach in magnetospheric plasma transport modeling

The need for a kinetic approach in magnetospheric plasma transport problems is reviewed, as are the trends in its recent applications. The need for kinetic modeling is particularly obvious when confronted with the astonishing variety of magnetospheric particle measurements that display compelling energy and pitch angle-related spatial and/or temporal dispersion, and various types of highly non-Maxwellian features in the distribution functions. Global problems in which the kinetic approach has recently been applied include solar wind plasma injection and dispersion over the cusp, substorm particle injection near synchronous orbit, synergistic energization of ionospheric ions into ring current populations by waves and induced electric field-driven convection, and ionospheric outflow from restricted source regions into the magnetosphere. Kinetic modeling can include efforts ranging from test-particle techniques to particle-in-cell studies, and this range is considered here. There are some areas where fluid and kinetic approaches have been combined or patched together, and these will be briefly discussed.

Horwitz, J. L.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Heating and acceleration of coronal and chromospheric ions during solar flares

One-dimensional, electrostatic, particle-in-cell simulations are used to explore two mechanisms proposed to explain turbulent broadening of soft x ray emission lines of heavy ions observed during solar flares and the presence of blue-shifted components. Results from the simulations are in qualitative agreement with the observations.

Mckean, M. E.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Numerical investigation of a plasma beam entering transverse magnetic fields

Two-dimensional electrostatic and electromagnetic particle-in-cell codes are used to investigate plasma beam propagation across transverse magnetic fields. Both large- and small-ion-gyroradius beams are studied in the case of small beam momentum or energy (low drift kinetic beta). Large-ion-gyroradius beams with a large dielectric constant epsilon much greater than (M/m) to the 1/2 (where M/m is the ion-to-electron mass ratio) are found to propagate across the magnetic field via E x B drifts at nearly the initial injection velocity. Beam degradation and undulations are observed, in agreement with previous experimental and analytical results. When epsilon is of order (M/m) to the 1/2 the plasma beam propagates across field lines at only half its initial velocity and loses its coherent structure. When epsilon is much less than (M/m) to the 1/2 the beam particles decouple at the magnetic field boundary, scattering the electrons and deflecting the ions slightly.

Koga, J.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Ion drag for a negatively biased solar array in low earth orbit

Highly biased solar arrays in the space environment are found to have a number of significant interactions with the space environment. The enhanced drag suffered by highly biased solar arrays is studied with the particle-in-cell code. The results are compared to recent numerical work. The drag calculations contain the effect of having the conductor surrounded by dielectrics as well as the charging of the dielectric by electrons. The results are used to calculate the attitude change expected on the high-voltage solar array of the Japanese Space Flyer Unit.

Hastings, Daniel E.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Simulation of the collapse and dissipation of Langmuir wave packets

Particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations and Zakharov's partial differential equations (PDEs) are used to investigate the collapse of isolated Langmuir wave packets in two dimensions. Collapse thresholds are determined numerically, and the roles of enhanced Langmuir wave damping and nonlinearities not included in the standard Zakharov equations are discussed. The Langmuir wave and ion dynamics in PIC simulations are compared with the predictions of PDE simulations incorporating enhanced Langmuir damping. Electron heating and coherent acceleration in the PIC simulations are discussed and compared with predictions of the transit-time theory.

Newman, D. L.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Modeling solar flare conduction fronts. I - Homogeneous plasmas and ion-acoustic turbulence. II - Inhomogeneous plasmas and ambipolar electric fields

A one-dimensional, electrostatic, particle-in-cell simulation is used here to model the expansion of a heated electron population in a coronal loop during a solar flare and the characteristics of the associated X-ray emissions. The hot electrons expand outward from the localized region, creating an ambipolar electric field which accelerates a return current of cooler, ambient electrons. Ion-acoustic waves are generated by the return currents as proposed by Brown et al. (1979), but they play little or no role in containing energetic electrons and the conduction front proposed by Brown et al. does not form. The X-ray emission efficiency of the electrons is too low in the corona for them to be the source of hard X-ray bursts. The particle dynamics changes dramatically if the heated plasma is at low altitudes and expands upward into the more tenuous plasma at higher altitudes. Two important applications of this finding are the radio-frequency heating of the corona and the collisional heating of the chromosphere by precipitating energetic electrons. In both cases, the overlying plasma has a density that is too low to supply a balancing return current to the expanding hot electrons. As a result, an ambipolar electric field develops that tends to confine the energetic electrons behind a front that propagate outward at about the speed of sound.

Mckean, M. E.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Simulation studies of electron acceleration by ion ring distributions in solar flares

A 2.5-dimensional fully relativistic EM, particle-in-cell code (PIC) is used to investigate a potential electron acceleration mechanism in solar flares. The free energy is provided by ions which have a ring velocity distribution about the magnetic-field direction. Ion rings may be produced by perpendicular shocks, which could in turn be generated by the super-Alfvenic motion of magnetic flux tubes emerging from the photosphere or by coronal mass ejections. Such ion distributions are known to be unstable to the generation of lower hybrid waves, which have phase velocities in excess of the electron thermal speed parallel to the field and can, therefore, resonantly accelerate electrons in that direction. The simulations show the transfer of perpendicular ion energy to energetic electrons via lower hybrid wave turbulence. With plausible ion ring velocities, the process can account for the observationally inferred fluxes and energies of non-thermal electrons during the impulsive phase of flares.

Mcclements, K. G.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Comparison of 2-D and 3-D models of grid erosion in an ion thruster

Numerical results of particle-in-cell/Monte Carlo calculations of accelerator grid erosion in an ion thruster are presented. Specifically, it is shown that a three-dimensional model is required to account for the experimentally observed pitting of the accelerator grid between grid apertures. Some comparisons with earlier two-dimensional, axisymmetric model are made, and it is shown that, for identical operating conditions of the thruster, the wear-through time in the three-dimensional model is about two to three times higher than that obtained previously with the two-dimensional model, namely on the order of 10,000 hours for sample calculation.

Peng, Xiaohang↗