Channeled Particle Acceleration by Plasma Waves in Metals
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We review observations of nonlinear plasma waves detected by interplanetary spacecraft. For this paper we will focus primarily on the phase-steepened properties of such waves. Plasma waves at comet Giacobini-Zinner measured by the International Cometary Explorer (ICE), at comets Halley and Grigg-Skjellerup measured by Giotto, and interplanetary Alfven waves measured by Ulysses, will be discussed and intercompared.
An Eulerian, numerical simulation is used to model the launching of plasma waves in a non-neutral plasma that is confined in a Penning–Malmberg trap. The waves are launched by applying an oscillating potential to an electrically isolated sector at one end of the conducting cylinder that bounds the confinement region and are received by another electrically isolated sector at the other end of the cylinder. The launching of both Trivelpiece–Gould waves and electron acoustic waves is investigated. Adopting a stratagem, the simulation captures essential features of the finite length plasma, while retaining the numerical advantages of a simulation employing periodic spatial boundary conditions. As a benchmark test of the simulation, the results for launched Trivelpiece–Gould waves of small amplitude are successfully compared to a linearized analytic solution for these fluctuations.
Similarities between ion waves in plasmas and gravity waves in incompressible fluid /steady water flow with allowance for surface tension/
Analysis of conceptual difficulties associated with ion-acoustic plasma wave equation derivations
The dynamics of waves in weakly nonlinear dispersive media can be described by the nonlinear Schrödinger equation (NLSE). An important feature of the equation is that it can be derived in a number of different physical contexts; therefore, analogies between different fields, such as for example fiber optics, water waves, plasma waves and Bose–Einstein condensates, can be established. Here, we investigate the similarities between wave propagation in optical Kerr media and water waves. In particular, we discuss the modulation instability (MI) in both media. In analogy to the water wave problem, we derive for Kerr-media the Benjamin–Feir index, i.e. a nondimensional parameter related to the probability of formation of rogue waves in incoherent wave trains.
Wave dispersion relations in uniform magnetized plasma represented in single integral form, discussing model loss-cone and temperature anisotropy distributions
Waves have proven to be an immensely useful tool for manipulating magnetically confined fusion plasmas. Our sophisticated understanding of the physics of waves and their interactions with charged particles in such plasmas is aided by the fact that the waves often can be treated as perturbations of an essentially stationary background, simplifying their mathematical treatment. On the other hand, despite the rapid, ongoing advancement of the world's most sophisticated plasma compression experiments, such as NIF (LLNL) and Z (SNL), the phenomenology of wave-particle interactions in the sort of nonstationary plasma environments exemplified by these experiments has gone relatively unexplored. In plasmas undergoing compression, expansion, ionization, and recombination, embedded waves can have very unusual and possibly useful properties. The introduction of explicit time-dependence into some classic problems in plasma wave physics has revealed the nature in which nonstationary processes impact all stages of a wave's lifetime, including its undamped linear and nonlinear dynamics as well as its collisionless and collisional damping. A number of new insights are revealed, including the discovery of an induced, switch-like collisionless damping mechanism capable of producing prescribed bursts of heat, current, magnetic field energy, and/or voltage in time-evolving plasma; a novel method for optimizing plasma-based acceleration of particle beams; enhanced understanding of the effect of waves on plasma compressibility; and the first numerical confirmation of a new, transparent analytical theory of nonlinear wave dynamics. To describe numerically all these effects, novel particle-in-cell simulations were developed. The findings not only stand to expand on the basic physics of waves in plasmas, but they also point toward potentially beneficial applications in the laboratory.
The voyager 2 spacecraft begins its initial observations of Uranus November 4, 1985, and makes its final observation February 25, 1996. The data from the infrared interfermometer spectrometer, photopolarimeters, plasma wave, plasma detecter, and ultraviolet spectrometer will be processed to add a large block of infermation to the small amount already known. The trajectory of Voyager 2 is also discussed.
The encounter, on September 11, 1985, between the International Cometary Explorer (ICE) and the comet Giacobini-Zinner, is described in detail. The primary goal of this encounter was to study the interaction between the solar wind and the comet. At the time of the encounter, the spacecraft was approximately 50 times farther from the earth than it was designed to go, making it difficult to recover data. The seven instruments on board ICE which were operational in this mission were the plasma electron, magnetometer, plasma waves, radio waves, plasma composition, low-energy cosmic ray, and energetic proton instruments. The encounter is depicted schematically, showing the times different regions were crossed. The spacecraft velocity vector, measured relative to the comet, made a 93 deg angle with respect to the plasma tail axis. The spacecraft crossed the center of the comet ion tail at approximately 1102 U.T. A cold, dense plasma was found near the center of the tail; at the very center was a temperature reading of only 13,000 K and a density of 670 electrons/cu cm. Alfven's model of comet tail formation was confirmed and it was found that water group ions are the dominant comet component. Pulses were detected which were attributed to dust particles hitting the spacecraft.
Through particle-in-cell simulations, we show that plasma waves carrying trapped electrons can be amplified manyfold via compressing plasma perpendicularly to the wave vector. These simulations are the first ab initio demonstration of the conservation of nonlinear action for such waves, which contains a term independent of the field amplitude. In agreement with the theory, the maximum of amplification gain is determined by the total initial energy of the trapped-particle average motion but otherwise is insensitive to the particle distribution. Further compression destroys the wave; electrons are then untrapped at suprathermal energies and form a residual beam. As compression continues, the bump-on-tail instability is triggered each time one of the discrete modes comes in resonance with this beam. Hence, periodic bursts of the electrostatic energy are produced until a wide quasilinear plateau is formed.
Plasma generated vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) in diffusion plasma excited by a microwave surface wave has been studied by using dielectric-based VUV sensors. Evolution of plasma VUV in the diffusion plasma as a function of the distance from the power coupling surface is investigated. Experimental results have indicated that the energy and spatial distributions of plasma VUV are mainly controlled by the energy distribution functions of the plasma electrons, i.e., electron energy distribution functions (EEDFs). The study implies that by designing EEDF of plasma, one could be able to tailor plasma VUV in different applications such as in dielectric etching or photo resist smoothing.
Abstract Recent studies show that localized crustal magnetic fields on the lunar surface can reflect a significant portion of the incoming solar wind protons. These reflected ions can drive a wide range of plasma waves. It is difficult to determine the intrinsic properties of low-frequency waves with single-spacecraft observations, which can be heavily Doppler shifted. We describe a technique to combine trajectory analysis of reflected protons with the Doppler shift and resonance conditions to identify ultralow-frequency waves at the Moon. On 31 January 2014 plasma waves were detected by one of the Acceleration, Reconnection, Turbulence and Electrodynamics of the Moon's Interaction with the Sun (ARTEMIS) probes as it approached the lunar wake; these waves were not detected by the second ARTEMIS probe located upstream in the undisturbed solar wind. The observed waves had a frequency below the local ion cyclotron frequency and had right-hand circular polarization in the reference frame of the Moon. By solving the Doppler shift and the cyclotron resonance equations, we determined the conditions for reflected ions to excite the observed waves. Simulated trajectories of reflected ions correspond to ARTEMIS ion observations and support the hypothesis that reflected ions are the primary driver of the waves. By combining trajectory analysis with the resonance conditions, we identify scenarios where ions that satisfy the resonance conditions are present in the right location to generate the observed waves. Using this method, we can uniquely identify the observed waves as upstream propagating right-hand polarized waves, subject to the assumption that they are generated by cyclotron resonance with ions.
The development of one-dimensional parametric instabilities of intense long plasma waves is considered in terms of the so-called hybrid models, with electrons being treated as a fluid and ions being regarded as particles. The analysis is performed for both cases when the average plasma field energy is lower (Zakharov's hybrid model—ZHM) or greater (Silin's hybrid model—SHM) than the plasma thermal energy. The efficiency of energy transfer to ions and to ion perturbations under the development of the instability is considered for various values of electron-to-ion mass ratios. The energy of low-frequency oscillations (ion-sound waves) is found to be much lower than the final ion kinetic energy. We also discuss the influence of the changes in the damping rate of the high-frequency (HF) field on the instability development. The decrease of the absorption of the HF field inhibits the HF field burnout within plasma density cavities and gives rise to the broadening of the HF spectrum. At the same time, the ion velocity distribution tends to the normal distribution in both ZHM and SHM.
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Recent plasma wave observations made by the ISEE and GEOS satellites of the electrostatic cyclotron harmonic waves have been consistent with and organized very well within the theoretical framework of Bernstein waves excited in magnetospheric plasma. Attention is given to an examination of a number of effects that result simply from the convective properties of Bernstein waves in a magnetospheric plasma environment. The roles of wave trapping in plasma density depressions and partial trappings near the magnetic equator are discussed. Certain future wave observations are suggested that can improve the understanding of this magnetospheric wave phenomenon.
The Magnetized Dusty Plasma Experiment at Auburn University has been operational for over one year. In that time, a number of experiments have been performed at magnetic fields up to B = 2.5 T to explore the interaction between magnetized plasmas and charged, micron-sized dust particles. This paper reports on the initial results from studies of: (a) the formation of imposed, ordered structures, (b) the properties of dust wave waves in a rotating frame, and (c) the generation of plasma filaments.
Two Black Brant IX sounding rockets were launched into the dark, dayside cusp near magnetic noon on December 2 and 3, 1997, from Ny Alesund, Spitzbergen at 79degN reaching altitudes of approximately 450 km. Real-time ground-based and Wind (interplanetary magnetic field) IMF data were used to determine the launch conditions. The first launch, with Bz north conditions, crossed into and back out of an open field region with merging poleward of the projected trajectory. The second flight, into Bz south conditions, was timed to coincide with an enhancement in the merging rate from a increase in the negative Bz, while the (Defense Meteorological Satellite Program) DMSP F13 satellite was situated slightly to the north of the rocket trajectory. Each payload returned DC electric and magnetic fields, plasma waves, energetic particles, photometer data, and thermal plasma data. Data from both flights will be shown, with an emphasis on the DC electric field results. In particular, the data gathered on December 2, 1997 will be used to discuss ionospheric signatures of merging and the open/closed character of the the cusp/low latitude boundary layer. In contrast, the data gathered on December 3, 1997 shows evidence of pulsed electric field structures which will be examined in the context of cusp plasma entry processes. Both data sets returned a rich variety of plasma waves, as well as optical emissions and thermal plasma data.