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At least 379 records · Page 21
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1972

Plasma waves in the dayside polar cusp. I - Magnetospheric observations.

General survey of the Ogo 5 plasma-wave measurements for the dayside polar-cusp encounters of Nov. 1, 1968, and detailed analysis of the observations at the low-altitude (r approximately 3 to 5 earth radii) cusp boundaries. The survey section contains an overall discussion of the ULF magnetic-field wave levels and the VLF electric-field amplitude ranges measured from perigee out to 9 earth radii on Nov. 1, 1968. These cusp-associated observations are compared with those made on Oct. 27 and Nov. 6, 1968, when Ogo 5 traversed the dayside magnetosphere without encountering the cusp. It is shown that at the November 1 low-altitude cusp boundaries intense wave levels were detected over a broad spectral region at the steep gradients in cusp plasma density and thermal energy. The results are interpreted in terms of drift instabilities for low-beta plasmas with hot ions, and associated wave-particle and wave-wave interactions are briefly discussed.

Scarf, F. L.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Laboratory observation of a very low frequency instability in an argon plasma

Very low frequency (50 to 500 Hz) self-excited electrostatic waves are detected in a cylindrical argon plasma column with a weak axial magnetic field (10 to 100 G). The waves propagate azimuthally with a phase velocity in the electron diamagnetic drift direction, but with a speed at least an order of magnitude less than the ion acoustic speed. A number of known plasma instabilities are considered as possible explanations, though most of them do not seem to account for the observed characteristics of the waves.

Reinleitner, L.↗
NASA NTRS1995

Characteristics of coronal shock waves and solar type 2 radio bursts

In the solar corona shock waves generated by flares and/or coronal mass ejections can be observed by radio astronomical methods in terms of solar type 2 radio bursts. In dynamic radio spectra they appear as emission stripes slowly drifting from high to low frequencies. A sample of 25 solar type 2 radio bursts observed in the range of 40 - 170 MHz with a time resolution of 0.1 s by the new radiospectrograph of the Astrophvsikalisches Institut Potsdam in Tremsdorf is statistically investigated concerning their spectral features, i.e, drift rate, instantaneous bandwidth, and fundamental harmonic ratio. In-situ plasma wave measurements at interplanetary shocks provide the assumption that type 2 radio radiation is emitted in the vicinity of the transition region of shock waves. Thus, the instantaneous bandwidth of a solar type 2 radio burst would reflect the density jump across the associated shock wave. Comparing the inspection of the Rankine-Hugoniot relations of shock waves under coronal circumstances with those obtained from the observational study, solar type 2 radio bursts should be regarded to be generated by weak supercritical, quasi-parallel, fast magnetosonic shock waves in the corona.

Mann, G.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Particle drift, diffusion, and acceleration at shocks

The gradient and curvature drifts implicit in change of the ambient magnetic field at a hydromagnetic shock wave are incorporated into the diffusive theory of shock acceleration of charged particles. The conventional jump condition at the shock is modified by a term incorporating the large drift along the shock plane. This term vanished identically for one-dimensional systems, but must be included in general for shocks which are finite in transverse extent or which have transverse structure. It is found that the effect of the drift is such that the transverse drift rate is proportional to the acceleration rate, and for perpendicular shocks is exactly equal to the rate of change of energy in the V x B electric field observed in the shock frame. This establishes a connection with the 'shock drift' models which neglect diffusion.

Jokipii, J. R.↗
NASA NTRS1991

On the precipitation of relativistic electrons from the outer belt

A model in which a partially filled drift loss cone plays a prominent role is presently used to investigate relativistic electron data obtained by the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program spacecraft in the outer belt region. The good agreement obtained between model predictions and observations indicates that electron drift in the drift loss cone, which is known to dominate electron precipitation phenomena at lower latitudes, is also important at outer beta latitudes. In conjunction with the degree of partial filling of the drift loss cone, this effect indicates that slow pitch angle diffusion dominates the morphology of outer belt electrons. It is concluded that half of the electron precipitation from the outer belt is due to wave-particle interactions, and the other half by auroral activity and electron drift in the drift loss cone.

Sheldon, W. R.↗
NASA NTRS2016

Preferential Heating of Oxygen 5+ Ions by Finite-Amplitude Oblique Alfven Waves

Minor ions in the fast solar wind are known to have higher temperatures and to flow faster than protons in the interplanetary space. In this study we combine previous research on parametric instability theory and 2.5D hybrid simulations to study the onset of preferential heating of Oxygen 5+ ions by large-scale finite-amplitude Alfven waves in the collisionless fast solar wind. We consider initially non-drifting isotropic multi-species plasma, consisting of isothermal massless fluid electrons, kinetic protons and kinetic Oxygen 5+ ions. The external energy source for the plasma heating and energization are oblique monochromatic Alfven-cyclotron waves. The waves have been created by rotating the direction of initial parallel pump, which is a solution of the multi-fluid plasma dispersion relation. We consider propagation angles theta less than or equal to 30 deg. The obliquely propagating Alfven pump waves lead to strong diffusion in the ion phase space, resulting in highly anisotropic heavy ion velocity distribution functions and proton beams. We discuss the application of the model to the problems of preferential heating of minor ions in the solar corona and the fast solar wind.

Maneva, Yana G.↗
NASA NTRS2006

High-Frequency Electrostatic Wave Generation and Transverse Ion Acceleration by Low Alfvenic Wave Components of BBELF Turbulence

Satellite observations in the auroral plasma have revealed that extremely low frequency (ELF) waves play a dominant role in the acceleration of electrons and ions in the auroral plasma. The electromagnetic components of the ELF (EMELF) waves are the electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) waves below the cyclotron frequency of the lightest ion species in a multi-ion plasma. Shear Alfv6n waves (SAWS) constitute the lowest frequency components of the ELF waves below the ion cyclotron frequency of the heaviest ion. The -2 mechanism for the transfer of energy from such EMELF waves to ions affecting transverse ion heating still remains a matter of debate. A very ubiquitous fe8ture of ELF waves now observed in several rocket and satellite experiments is that they occur in conjunction with high-frequency electrostatic waves. The frequency spectrum of the composite wave turbulence extends from the low frequency of the Alfvenic waves to the high frequency of proton plasma frequency and/or the lower hybrid frequency. The spectrum does not show any feature organized by the ion cyclotron frequencies and their harmonics. Such broadband waves consisting of both the EM and ES waves are now popularly referred as BBELF waves. We present results here from 2.5-D particle-in-cell simulations showing that the ES components are directly generated by cross- field plasma instabilities driven by the drifts of the ions and electrons in the EM component of the BBELF waves.

Singh, Nagendra↗
NASA NTRS1973

Ion cyclotron waves observed in the polar cusp.

During the penetration by Ogo 5 of the low-latitude disturbed polar cusp region on Nov. 1, 1968, while a major magnetic storm was in progress, a variety of plasma wave activity was observed. Observations of waves with amplitudes less than 2% of the background magnetic field intensity and having frequencies between approximately 0.67 and 0.87 times the local proton gyrofrequency are described. The polarization of these waves indicates that they are propagating at an appreciable angle to the local geomagnetic field line direction. The source of these waves has not been determined, but currents and gradient drifts are suggested as possible agents.

Fredricks, R. W.↗
NASA NTRS1982

ISEE-1 and -2 observations of laminar bow shocks - Velocity and thickness

The ISEE-1 and -2 spacecraft have provided the opportunity for studying the thickness and velocity of the bow shock on a regular basis. There are two models for the thickness of quasi-perpendicular laminar shocks. Galeev (1976) has calculated the thickness of the nearly perpendicular laminar bow shock by means of a weak ion sound turbulence (WIST) approach. Morse and Greenstadt (1976), on the other hand, assume that the shock thickness adjust itself to stay close to the drift velocity for marginal stability of current driven electrostatic waves. The present investigation is concerned with an evaluation of the competing theories, taking into account ISEE-1 and -2 observations of laminar bow shocks. It is found that the formula used by Morse and Greenstadt does not predict the observed thicknesses as well as the formula given by Galeev.

Russell, C. T.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Transport by weak electrostatic density drift fluctuations

Expressions are derived for transport by weak electrostatic microfluctuations driven unstable by a density gradient perpendicular to a uniform magnetic field in a Vlasov plasma. These expressions, which are evaluated for the universal and lower-hybrid density drift instabilities, provide improved physical interpretations for various wave-particle exchange frequencies previously reported. It is demonstrated that wave-particle effects generally reduce the free energy driving these instabilities, and that some forms of steady-state distribution functions are inappropriate for nonlinear theory.

Sanderson, J. J.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Laboratory evidence for ion-acoustic-type double layers

The formation of an ion-acoustic-type double layer was observed in the laboratory for the first time. The rarefactive part of a long-wavelength ion-acoustic wave grew in amplitude because of the presence of drifting electrons. The corresponding current limitation led to the formation of the double layer.

Chan, C.↗
NASA NTRS1986

A magnetospheric critical velocity experiment - Particle results

In March of 1983, a barium injection sounding rocket experiment (The Star of Lima) was conducted to investigate Alfven's critical ionization velocity (CIV) hypothesis in space. Included in the instrumented payload was a particle detection experiment consisting of five retarding potential analyzers. Despite conditions that appeared to be optimal for the critical velocity effect, the particle data, in agreement with optical observations, indicates that a fractional ionization of only approximately .0005 was observed, indicating that the conditions required for the effect to occur are still not well understood. However many of the required phenomena associated with the CIV effect were observed; in particular a superthermal electron population was formed at the expense of ion drift kinetic energy in the presence of intense electrostatic waves near the lower hybrid frequency. The amount of ionization produced is plausibly consistent with the observed electron flux, but could also be accounted for by residual solar UV at the injection point. It is shown based on the data set that one obvious explanation for the low ionization efficiency, namely that the ionizing superthermal electrons may rapidly escape along field lines, can be ruled out.

Torbert, R. B.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Particle-in-cell simulations of the critical ionization velocity effect in finite size clouds

The critical ionization velocity (CIV) mechanism in a finite size cloud is studied with a series of electrostatic particle-in-cell simulations. It is observed that an initial seed ionization, produced by non-CIV mechanisms, generates a cross-field ion beam which excites a modified beam-plasma instability (MBPI) with frequency in the range of the lower hybrid frequency. The excited waves accelerate electrons along the magnetic field up to the ion drift energy that exceeds the ionization energy of the neutral atoms. The heated electrons in turn enhance the ion beam by electron-neutral impact ionization, which establishes a positive feedback loop in maintaining the CIV process. It is also found that the efficiency of the CIV mechanism depends on the finite size of the gas cloud in the following ways: (1) Along the ambient magnetic field the finite size of the cloud, L (sub parallel), restricts the growth of the fastest growing mode, with a wavelength lambda (sub m parallel), of the MBPI. The parallel electron heating at wave saturation scales approximately as (L (sub parallel)/lambda (sub m parallel)) (exp 1/2); (2) Momentum coupling between the cloud and the ambient plasma via the Alfven waves occurs as a result of the finite size of the cloud in the direction perpendicular to both the ambient magnetic field and the neutral drift. This reduces exponentially with time the relative drift between the ambient plasma and the neutrals. The timescale is inversely proportional to the Alfven velocity. (3) The transvers e charge separation field across the cloud was found to result in the modulation of the beam velocity which reduces the parallel heating of electrons and increases the transverse acceleration of electrons. (4) Some energetic electrons are lost from the cloud along the magnetic field at a rate characterized by the acoustic velocity, instead of the electron thermal velocity. The loss of energetic electrons from the cloud seems to be larger in the direction of plasma drift relative to the neutrals, where the loss rate is characterized by the neutral drift velocity. It is also shown that a factor of 4 increase in the ambient plasma density, increases the CIV ionization yield by almost 2 orders of magnitude at the end of a typical run. It is concluded that a larger ambient plasma density can result in a larger CIV yield because of (1) larger seed ion production by non-CIV mechanisms, (2) smaller Alfven velocity and hence weak momentum coupling, and (3) smaller ratio of the ion beam density to the ambient ion density, and therefore a weaker modulation of the beam velocity. The simulation results are used to interpret various chemical release experiments in space.

Moghaddam-Taaheri, E.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Simulation of electrostatic turbulence due to sheared flows parallel and transverse to the magnetic field

A spatially two-dimensional electrostatic particle simulation code is used to examine the stability of a plasma equilibrium characterized by a localized transverse dc electric field and a magnetic-field-aligned electron drift for L much less than Lx, where Lx is the simulation length in the x direction and L is the scale length associated with the dc electric field. It is found that the dc electric field and the field-aligned current can together play a synergistic role to enable the excitation of electrostatic waves even when the threshold values of the field-aligned drift and the E x B drift are individually subcritical. The simulation results indicate that a broadband turbulence is associated with such an equilibrium.

Nishikawa, K.-I.↗
DOE OSTI2024

Evolving winter atmospheric teleconnection patterns and their potential triggers across western North America

Abstract We present a comprehensive analysis diagnosing the primary factors driving the observed changes in major atmospheric teleconnection patterns in the Northern Hemisphere winter, including the Pacific North American pattern (PNA), North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), and North American winter dipole (NAWD), with particular focus on their roles in shaping anomalous weather across North America. Our investigation reveals a consistent influence of the NAWD over seven decades, contrasting with fluctuating impacts from PNA and minor impacts from NAO. In particular, an emergent negative correlation between the NAWD and PNA, signaling a shifted phase of teleconnection patterns, is identified. Such a relationship change is traced to enhanced upper-level ridges across western North America, reflecting a reinforced winter stationary wave. Through attribution analysis, we identify greenhouse gas emissions as a probable driver for the northward drift of the Asia-Pacific jet core, which, aided by orographic lifting over the Alaskan Range, subsequently amplifies the winter stationary wave across western North America. This work emphasizes the pronounced effect of human-induced global warming on the structure and teleconnection of large-scale atmospheric circulation in the Northern Hemisphere winter, providing vital perspectives on the dynamics of current climate trends.

Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences↗
NASA NTRS1989

Oxygen acoustic solitary waves in a magnetized plasma

Ion-acoustic solitary waves in a magnetized plasma containing an arbitrary mixture of H(+) and O(+) ions are studied. A nonlinear wave equation has been derived from the Poisson-Vlasov equations, including a uniform magnetic field and dissipation due to reflected electrons. When dissipation is ignored, the equation has soliton solutions associated with both oxygen and hydrogen acoustic modes, which can be either rarefactive or compressive depending on the ion concentrations and the electron/ion temperature ratio and, more weakly, on the bulk drifts of the species. If electron reflection is included, the solitary wave can be intensified. Under somewhat restrictive conditions the oxygen solitary wave is rarefactive and propagates with a velocity comparable to that observed by the Viking satellite. The three-dimensional solitons obey a relation of scales parallel to the magnetic field and in the transverse direction. Computer simulations of one-dimensional versions of the nonlinear wave equation are presented.

Qian, S.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Anomalous plasma diffusion and the magnetopause boundary layer

An overview of the current state of anomalous diffusion research at the magnetopause and its role in the formation of the magnetopause boundary layer is presented. Plasma wave measurements in the boundary layer indicate that most of the relevant unstable wave modes contribute negligibly to the diffusion process at the magnetopause under magnetically undisturbed northward IMF conditions. The most promising instability is the lower hybrid drift instability, which may yield diffusion coefficients of the right order if the highest measured wave intensities are assumed. It is concluded that global stationary diffusion due to wave-particle interactions does not take place at the magnetopause. Microscopic wave-particle interaction and anomalous diffusion may contribute to locally break the MD frozen-in conditions and help in transporting large amounts of magnetosheath plasma across the magnetospheric boundary.

Treumann, Rudolf A.↗