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Results for “ELECTROMAGNETIC SCATTERING”

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 487 records · Page 27
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2015

Investigating the dynamics of laser induced sparks in atmospheric helium using Rayleigh and Thomson scattering

We have used optical Rayleigh and Thomson scattering to investigate the expansion dynamics of laser induced plasma in atmospheric helium and to map its electron parameters both in time and space. The plasma is created using 9 ns duration, 140 mJ pulses from a Nd:YAG laser operating at 1064 nm, focused with a 10 cm focal length lens, and probed with 7 ns, 80 mJ, and 532 nm Nd:YAG laser pulses. Between 0.4 μs and 22.5 μs after breakdown, the electron density decreases from 3.3 × 10{sup 17 }cm{sup −3} to 9 × 10{sup 13 }cm{sup −3}, while the temperature drops from 3.2 eV to 0.1 eV. Spatially resolved Thomson scattering data recorded up to 17.5 μs reveal that during this time the laser induced plasma expands at a rate given by R ∼ t{sup 0.4} consistent with a non-radiative spherical blast wave. This data also indicate the development of a toroidal structure in the lateral profile of both electron temperature and density. Rayleigh scattering data show that the gas density decreases in the center of the expanding plasma with a central scattering peak reemerging after about 12 μs. We have utilized a zero dimensional kinetic global model to identify the dominant particle species versus delay time and this indicates that metastable helium and the He{sub 2}{sup +} molecular ion play an important role.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2015

High-resolution in situ observations of electron precipitation-causing EMIC waves

Electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) waves are thought to be important drivers of energetic electron losses from the outer radiation belt through precipitation into the atmosphere. While the theoretical possibility of pitch angle scattering-driven losses from these waves has been recognized for more than four decades, there have been limited experimental precipitation observations to support this concept. We have combined satellite-based observations of the characteristics of EMIC waves, with satellite and ground-based observations of the EMIC-induced electron precipitation. In a detailed case study, supplemented by an additional four examples, we are able to constrain for the first time the location, size, and energy range of EMIC-induced electron precipitation inferred from coincident precipitation data and relate them to the EMIC wave frequency, wave power, and ion band of the wave as measured in situ by the Van Allen Probes. As a result, these observations will better constrain modeling into the importance of EMIC wave-particle interactions.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2017

Radiochemical study of the kinematics of multi-nucleon transfer reactions in 48 Ca + 248 Cm collisions 10% above the Coulomb barrier

In this paper, the kinematics of multi-nucleon transfer reactions in 48 Ca + 248 Cm collisions at 262 MeV (center of target) was investigated by using a stacked-foil technique and radiochemical separations of trans-curium elements. Trans-curium isotopes were identified by α-particle spectroscopy. For Fm isotopes, by comparing the centroids of the measured post-neutron emission isotope distributions with the most probable primary mass number predicted by Volkov's generalized Q g g systematics, the missing mass (number of evaporated neutrons) is estimated. The latter is compared with that deduced from the measured centroid of the laboratory angular distribution peaked closely to the grazing angle and the centroid of the range distribution, being used to determine the average total kinetic energy loss (TKEL) and the average excitation energy. The latter agrees within the uncertainties with the missing mass so that a consistent picture of the reaction mechanism emerges. For products closer to the target Z, e.g., Cf and Bk, the distributions of kinetic energies are much broader than for Fm, reflecting the fact that in the former, values of TKEL reach from quasi-elastic scattering all the way to deep inelastic scattering. Finally, the measured laboratory angular distribution and the average laboratory kinetic energy of the Fm isotopes, being the prototypes for multi-nucleon transfer products, are benchmark values for the design of electromagnetic separators to be constructed for the separation and detection of unknown neutron-rich transactinides produced in this nuclear reaction type.

38 RADIATION CHEMISTRY, RADIOCHEMISTRY, AND NUCLEA↗
DOE OSTI2019

Diffraction of radio frequency waves by spatially modulated interfaces in the plasma edge in tokamaks

We report the use of radio frequency (RF) waves in fusion plasmas for heating, for non-inductive current generation, for profile control and for diagnostics has been well established. The RF waves, excited by antenna structures placed near the wall of a fusion device, have to propagate through density fluctuations at the plasma edge. These fluctuations can modify the properties of the RF waves that propagate towards the core of the plasma. A full-wave electromagnetic computational code ScaRF based on the finite difference frequency domain (FDFD) method has been developed to study the effect of density turbulence on RF waves. The anisotropic plasma permittivity used in the scattering studies is that for a magnetized, cold plasma. The code is used to study the propagation of an RF plane wave through a modulated, spatially periodic density interface. Such an interface could arise in the edge region due to magnetohydrodynamic instability or drift waves. The frequency of the plane wave is taken to be in the range of the electron cyclotron frequency. The scattering analysis is applicable to ITER-like plasmas, as well as to plasmas in medium sized tokamaks such as TCV, ASDEX-U and DIII-D. The effect of different density contrasts across the interface and of different spatial modulations are discussed. While ScaRF is used to study a periodic density fluctuation, the code is general enough to include different varieties of density fluctuations in the edge region – such as blobs and filaments, and spatially random fluctuations.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2019

Diffraction of radio frequency waves by spatially modulated interfaces in the plasma edge in tokamaks

The use of radio frequency (RF) waves in fusion plasmas for heating, for non-inductive current generation, for profile control, and for diagnostics has been well established. The RF waves, excited by antenna structures placed near the wall of a fusion device, have to propagate through density fluctuations in the plasma edge. These fluctuations can modify the properties of the RF waves that propagate towards the core of the plasma. A full-wave electromagnetic computational code ScaRF based on the finite diifference frequency domain (FDFD) method has been developed to study the effect of density turbulence on RF waves. The anisotropic plasma permittivity used in the scattering studies is that for a magnetized, cold plasma. The code is used to study the propagation of an RF plane wave through a modulated, spatially periodic density interface. Such an interface could arise in the edge region due to magnetohydrodynamic instability or drift waves. The frequency of the plane wave is taken to be in the range of the electron cyclotron frequency. The scattering analysis is applicable to ITER-like plasmas, as well as to plasmas in medium sized tokamaks such as TCV, ASDEX-U, and DIII-D. The effect of diifferent density contrasts across the interface and of diifferent spatial modulations are discussed. While ScaRF is used to study a periodic density fluctuation, the code is general enough to include diifferent varieties of density fluctuations in the edge region -- such as blobs and filaments, and spatially random fluctuations.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2014

The MOLLER Experiment: An Ultra-Precise Measurement of the Weak Mixing Angle Using Møller Scattering

The physics case and an experimental overview of the MOLLER (Measurement Of a Lepton Lepton Electroweak Reaction) experiment at the 12 GeV upgraded Jefferson Lab are presented. A highlight of the Fundamental Symmetries subfield of the 2007 NSAC Long Range Plan was the SLAC E158 measurement of the parity-violating asymmetry $A_{PV}$ in polarized electron-electron (M{\o}ller) scattering. The proposed MOLLER experiment will improve on this result by a factor of five, yielding the most precise measurement of the weak mixing angle at low or high energy anticipated over the next decade. This new result would be sensitive to the interference of the electromagnetic amplitude with new neutral current amplitudes as weak as $\sim 10^{-3}\cdot G_F$ from as yet undiscovered dynamics beyond the Standard Model. The resulting discovery reach is unmatched by any proposed experiment measuring a flavor- and CP-conserving process over the next decade, and yields a unique window to new physics at MeV and multi-TeV scales, complementary to direct searches at high energy colliders such as the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). The experiment takes advantage of the unique opportunity provided by the upgraded electron beam energy, luminosity, and stability at Jefferson Laboratory and the extensive experience accumulated in the community after a round of recent successfully completed parity-violating electron scattering experiments

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2016

Wormholes versus black holes: quasinormal ringing at early and late times

Recently it has been argued that the phantom thin-shell wormholes matched with the Schwarzschild space-time near the Schwarzschild radius ring like Schwarzschild black holes at early times, but differently at late times [1]. Here we consider perturbations of the wormhole which was constructed without thin-shells: the Bronnikov-Ellis wormhole supported by the phantom matter and electromagnetic field. This wormhole solution is known to be stable under specific equation of state of the phantom matter. We show that if one does not use the above thin-shell matching, the wormhole, depending on the values of its parameters, either rings as the black hole at all times or rings differently also at all times . The wormhole's spectrum, investigated here, posses a number of distinctive features. In the final part we have considered general properties of scattering around arbitrary rotating traversable wormholes. We have found that symmetric and non-symmetric (with respect to the throat) wormholes are qualitatively different in this respect: first, superradiance is allowed only if for those non-symmetric wormholes for which the asymptotic values of the rotation parameters are different on both sides from the throat. Second, the symmetric wormholes cannot mimic effectively the ringing of a black hole at a few various dominant multipoles at the same time, so that the future observations of various events should easily tell the symmetric wormhole from a black hole.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Computational studies on scattering of radio frequency waves by density filaments in fusion plasmas

In modern magnetic fusion devices, such as tokamaks and stellarators, radio frequency (RF) waves are commonly used for plasma heating and current profile control, as well as for certain diagnostics. The frequencies of the RF waves range from ion cyclotron frequency to the electron cyclotron frequency. The RF waves are launched from structures, like waveguides and current straps, placed near the wall in a very low density, tenuous plasma region of a fusion device. The RF electromagnetic fields have to propagate through this scrape-off layer before coupling power to the core of the plasma. The scrape-off layer is characterized by turbulent plasmas fluctuations and by blobs and filaments. The variations in the edge density due to these fluctuations and filaments can affect the propagation characteristics of the RF waves—changes in density leading to regions with differing plasma permittivity. Analytical full-wave theories have shown that scattering by blobs and filaments can alter the RF power flow into the core of the plasma in a variety of ways, such as through reflection, refraction, diffraction, and shadowing [see, for example, Ram and Hizanidis, Phys. Plasmas 23, 022504 (2016), and references therein]. There are changes in the wave vectors and the distribution of power–scattering leading to coupling of the incident RF wave to other plasma waves, side-scattering, surface waves, and fragmentation of the Poynting flux in the direction towards the core. However, these theoretical models are somewhat idealized. In particular, it is assumed that there is step-function discontinuity in the density between the plasma inside the filament and the background plasma. In this paper, results from numerical simulations of RF scattering by filaments using a commercial full-wave code are described. The filaments are taken to be cylindrical with the axis of the cylinder aligned along the direction of the ambient magnetic field. The plasma inside and outside the filament is assumed to be cold. There are three primary objectives of these studies. The first objective is to validate the numerical simulations by comparing with the analytical results for the same plasma description—a step-function discontinuity in density. A detailed comparison of the Poynting flux shows that numerical simulations lead to the same results as those from the theoretical model. The second objective is to extend the simulations to take into account a smooth transition in density from the background plasma to the interior of the filament. The ensuing comparison shows that the deviations from the results of the theoretical model are quite small. The third objective is to consider the scattering process for situations well beyond a reasonable theoretical analysis. This includes scattering off multiple filaments with different densities and sizes. In conclusion, simulations for these complex arrangements of filaments show that, in spite of the obvious limitations, the essential physics of RF scattering is captured by the analytical theory for a single filament

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2018

Raman scattering of photons by hydrogenlike ions I: A semirelativistic and nondipole approach

Going beyond the usual nonrelativistic treatments of Raman scattering of light by a ground-state electron in hydrogenic ions, we propose in this work a semirelativistic and nondipole approach in the case of inelastic process under the ionization threshold. This scheme is based, on the one hand, on the discrete semirelativistic Coulomb Sturmian basis sets, and on the other hand, on the direct Foldy–Wouthuysen interaction Hamiltonian derived recently from the Dirac equation with electromagnetic potentials (Hinschberger and Hervieux 2012) and confirmed by us to seventh order in powers of 1∕m. It includes the paramagnetic, the diamagnetic, the magnetic field–spin and the electric field–spin interactions. Moreover, the photon fields are expanded in electric and magnetic multipoles and nondipole effects are fully taken into account. On utilizing these ingredients, we build in detail the multipole expansion of the semirelativistic Raman scattering cross section when the photon energy is under the ionization threshold. For each type of the allowed multipole components, namely EE, MM and EM in the standard notations, suitable closed forms of total scattering cross sections are calculated for numerical computations. Such analytical expressions enable the evaluation of the contribution of each of these interaction operators and field multipoles in the scattering process.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2017

A bulk superconducting MgB 2 cylinder for holding transversely polarized targets

An innovative solution is being pursued for the challenging magnetic problem of producing an internal transverse field around a polarized target, while shielding out an external longitudinal field from a detector. A hollow bulk superconductor can trap a transverse field that is present when cooled through its transition temperature, and also shield its interior from any subsequent field changes. Here, a feasibility study with a prototype bulk MgB 2 superconducting cylinder is described. Promising measurements taken of the interior field retention and exterior field exclusion, together with the corresponding long-term stability performance, are reported. In the context of an electron scattering experiment, such a solution minimizes beam deflection and the energy loss of reaction products, while also eliminating the heat load to the target cryostat from current leads that would be used with conventional electromagnets.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2017

Compton scattering from He 4 at 61 MeV

The Compton scattering cross section from 4 He has been measured with high statistical accuracy over a scattering angle range of 40° - 159° using a quasimonoenergetic 61-MeV photon beam at the High Intensity Gamma-Ray Source. The data are interpreted using a phenomenological model sensitive to the dipole isoscalar electromagnetic polarizabilities (α s and β s ) of the nucleon. These data can be fit with the model using values of α s and β s that are consistent with the currently accepted values. Finally, these data will serve as benchmarks of future calculations from effective field theories and lattice quantum chromodynamics.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Angle multiplexed metasurfaces

A metasurface is defined by an array of scattering elements having a U shape, where the geometrical dimensions determining the U shape are determined according to the different phase profiles that the metasurface is meant to generate in response to an incident electromagnetic wave. The metasurface, therefore, generates different phase shifts as a function of the incident electromagnetic wave.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Selection rules and dynamic magnetoelectric effect of the spin waves in multiferroic Bi Fe O 3

Here, we report the magnetic-field dependence of the THz absorption and nonreciprocal directional dichroism spectra of BiFeO 3 measured on the three principal crystal cuts for fields applied along the three principal directions of each cut. From the systematic study of the light polarization dependence, we deduced the optical selection rules of the spin-wave excitations. Our THz data, combined with small-angle neutron scattering results showed that (i) an in-plane magnetic field rotates the q vectors of the cycloids perpendicular to the magnetic field and (ii) the selection rules are mostly determined by the orientation of the q vector with respect to the electromagnetic fields. We observed a magnetic field history-dependent change in the strength and the frequency of the spin-wave modes, which we attributed to the change of the orientation and the length of the cycloidal q vector, respectively. Finally, we compared our experimental data with the results of linear spin-wave theory that reproduces the magnetic-field dependence of the spin-wave frequencies and most of the selection rules, from which we identified the spin-polarization coupling terms relevant for the optical magnetoelectric effect.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2021

Evidence of Sub-MeV EMIC-Driven Trapped Electron Flux Dropouts From GPS Observations

We report that for many years, it was believed that resonant interactions between electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) waves and radiation belt electrons were restricted to electron energies >1–2 MeV. In recent years, however, a growing body of experimental evidence has shown that EMIC waves can cause the scattering loss of electrons down to sub-MeV energies. Using measurements of trapped electron flux from the Global Positioning System satellite constellation, we investigate the ability of EMIC waves to cause significant depletions of radiation belt electron populations between 4 ≤ L* ≤ 5. For the first time, we present statistical evidence demonstrating global decreases in sub-MeV trapped electron flux in response to EMIC wave activity. Although we find that electron losses extend down to sub-MeV energies, we also show strong statistical support for the ability of EMIC waves to preferentially cause substantial depletions of ultra-relativistic electrons in the radiation belts.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Electromagnetic calorimeters based on scintillating lead tungstate crystals for experiments at Jefferson Lab

A new electromagnetic calorimeter consisting of 140 lead tungstate (PbWO 4 ) scintillating crystals was constructed for the PrimEx- η experiment at Jefferson lab. The calorimeter was integrated into the data acquisition and trigger systems of the GlueX detector and used in the experiment to reconstruct Compton scattering events. The experiment started collecting data in the spring of 2019 and acquired about 30% of the required statistics. The calorimeter is a prototype for two PbWO 4 -based detectors: the Neutral Particle Spectrometer (NPS) and the lead tungstate insert of the Forward CALorimeter (FCAL) of the GlueX detector. The article presents the design and performance of the Compton calorimeter and gives a brief overview of the FCAL and NPS projects.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2016

Diffusion of energetic electrons in turbulent plasmas of the solar wind

A method of calculation of the diffusion coefficients D(v) of particles in velocity space, based on the statistical analysis of the motion of a great number of test electrons, is proposed. In the case of Langmuir turbulence developing in plasmas with fluctuating density inhomogeneities such as the solar wind, simulations provide coefficients D(v) which mainly depend on the Langmuir wave spectra and agree well with the analytical predictions D{sub th}(v) of the quasilinear theory of weak turbulence. Nevertheless, some noticeable differences exist with this theory: in the range of phase velocity of the short waves where the main part of the wave energy is concentrated, D(v) is noticeably smaller than D{sub th}(v), due to the scattering, the reflection, and the focusing effects encountered by the Langmuir waves when they interact with the plasma density inhomogeneities. Moreover, the probability of large velocity jumps in the particles’ trajectories essentially exceeds the probability of a Gaussian distribution. These large jumps, which are connected with the waves’ transformation processes, modify the nature of the particle diffusion, which is no more classical. These higher order effects cause the discrepancies observed with the quasilinear theory, which does not take them into account in its perturbative approach. The solar wind plasmas, which present fluctuating density inhomogeneities of noticeable average levels, are a very good laboratory to study such diffusion processes, which can eventually influence significantly on the development of essential physical phenomena, as electromagnetic radio emissions by type III solar radio bursts, for example.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗