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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 523 records · Page 29
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2013

Enhanced nonlinear interaction of powerful electromagnetic waves with ionospheric plasma near the second electron gyroharmonic

Plasma experiments in which a powerful electromagnetic pump wave is transmitted into the ionosphere from the ground give access to a rich range of phenomena, including gyroharmonic effects when the pump frequency is near an harmonic of the ionospheric electron gyrofrequency. For pump frequencies close to the second gyroharmonic, experiments show a strong enhancement, as observed in radar scatter from pump-induced geomagnetic field-aligned density striations and optical emissions. This is in contrast to the case at the third harmonic and higher at which most of the effects are instead suppressed. We show theoretically that electrostatic oscillations can be localized in density inhomogeneities associated with small scale striations. The localized field is a mixture of the electron Bernstein and upper hybrid modes when the pump frequency is near the second gyroharmonic. The coupling of the modes is enabled by a symmetry feature of the linear electron Bernstein and upper hybrid dispersion properties that occur only near the second gyroharmonic. Electron acceleration inside the density inhomogeneities by localized azimuthal electrostatic oscillations is more efficient near the second gyroharmonic than at higher frequencies, consistent with the observed enhancements.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2018

Computational study of Fermi kinetics transport applied to large-signal RF device simulations

Here, a detailed description and analysis of the Fermi kinetics transport (FKT) equations for simulating charge transport in semiconductor devices is presented. The fully coupled nonlinear discrete FKT equations are elaborated, as well as solution methods and work-flow for the simulation of RF electronic devices under large-signal conditions. The importance of full-wave electromagnetics is discussed in the context of high-speed device simulation, and the meshing requirements to integrate the full-wave solver with the transport equations are given in detail. The method includes full semiconductor band structure effects to capture the scattering details for the Boltzmann transport equation. The method is applied to high-speed gallium nitride devices. Finally, numerical convergence and stability examples provide insight into the mesh convergence behavior of the deterministic solver.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2021

Interference in nonlinear Compton scattering using a Schrödinger-equation approach

The interference between Compton scattering and nonlinear Compton scattering from a two-color field in the X-ray regime is theoretically examined for bound electrons. Here, the underlying phase shifts are analyzed using a perturbative approach in the incoming classical field. The perturbative approach is bench marked with a non-perturbative approach in the classical field. The interference for different combinations of linear polarization of the two fields is examined when the Compton and the nonlinear Compton scattered waves have the same wave vector and polarization. Only two cases exhibit interference. When there is interference, the calculations reveal an intrinsic phase difference between the Compton scattered wave function and the nonlinear Compton scattered wave function of either 0 or pi depending on the scattering angle.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Dark Population Transfer Mechanism for Sterile Neutrino Dark Matter

We present a mechanism for producing a cosmologically significant relic density of one or more sterile neutrinos. This scheme invokes two steps: First, a population of “heavy” sterile neutrinos is created by scattering-induced decoherence of active neutrinos. Second, this population is transferred, via sterile neutrino self-interaction-mediated scatterings and decays, to one or more lighter mass (∼10 keV to ∼1 GeV) sterile neutrinos that are far more weakly (or not at all) mixed with active species and could constitute dark matter. Dark matter produced this way can evade current electromagnetic and structure-based bounds, but may nevertheless be probed by future observations.

Dark matter↗
DOE OSTI2022

Effects of polarization-reversed EMIC waves on the ring current dynamics

Electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) waves are widely believed to play an important role in influencing the radiation belt and ring current dynamics. Most studies have investigated the effects or characteristics of EMIC waves by assuming their left-handed polarization. However, recent studies have found that the reversal of polarization, which occurs at higher latitudes along the wave propagation path, can change the wave-induced pitch angle diffusion coefficients. Whether such a polarization reversal can influence the global ring current dynamics remains unknown. In this study, we investigate the ring current dynamics and proton precipitation loss in association with polarization-reversed EMIC waves by using the ring current–atmosphere interactions model (RAM). The results indicate that the polarization reversal of H-band EMIC waves can truly decrease the scattering rates of protons of 10 to 50 keV or >100 keV in comparison with the scenario in which the EMIC waves are considered purely left-handed polarized. Additionally, the global ring current intensity and proton precipitation may be slightly affected by the polarization reversal, especially during prestorm time and the recovery phase, but the effects are not large during the main phase. This is probably because the H-band EMIC waves contribute to the proton scattering loss primarily at E < 10 keV, an energy range that is not strongly affected by the polarization reversal.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Dynamic Wavelength-Tunable Photodetector Using Subwavelength Graphene Field-Effect Transistors

The holy grail of photodetector technology is dynamic wavelength tunability. Because of its atomic thickness and unique properties, graphene opens up new paradigms to realize this concept, but so far this has been elusive experimentally. We employ detailed quantum transport modeling of photocurrent in graphene field-effect transistors (including realistic electromagnetic fields) to show that wavelength tunability is possible by dynamically changing the gate voltage. We also reveal the phenomena that govern the behavior of this type of device and show significant departure from the simple expectations based on vertical transitions. We find strong focusing of the electromagnetic fields at the contact edges over the same length scale as the band-bending. Both of these spatially-varying potentials lead to an enhancement of non-vertical optical transitions, which dominate even in the absence of phonon or impurity scattering. Furthermore, we show that the vanishing density of states near the Dirac point leads to contact blocking and a gate-dependent modulation of the photocurrent. Several of the effects discussed here should be applicable to a broad range of one- and two-dimensional materials and devices.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2016

Applications of laser wakefield accelerator-based light sources

Laser-wakefield accelerators (LWFAs) were proposed more than three decades ago, and while they promise to deliver compact, high energy particle accelerators, they will also provide the scientific community with novel light sources. In a LWFA, where an intense laser pulse focused onto a plasma forms an electromagnetic wave in its wake, electrons can be trapped and are now routinely accelerated to GeV energies. From terahertz radiation to gamma-rays, this article reviews light sources from relativistic electrons produced by LWFAs, and discusses their potential applications. Betatron motion, Compton scattering and undulators respectively produce x-rays or gamma-rays by oscillating relativistic electrons in the wakefield behind the laser pulse, a counter-propagating laser field, or a magnetic undulator. Other LWFA-based light sources include bremsstrahlung and terahertz radiation. Here, we first evaluate the performance of each of these light sources, and compare them with more conventional approaches, including radio frequency accelerators or other laser-driven sources. We have then identified applications, which we discuss in details, in a broad range of fields: medical and biological applications, military, defense and industrial applications, and condensed matter and high energy density science.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2015

Electron residual energy due to stochastic heating in field-ionized plasma

The electron residual energy originated from the stochastic heating in under-dense field-ionized plasma is investigated here. Initially, the optical response of plasma is modeled by using two counter-propagating electromagnetic waves. In this case, the solution of motion equation of a single electron indicates that by including the ionization, the electron with higher residual energy compared with that without ionization could be obtained. In agreement with chaotic nature of the motion, it is found that the electron residual energy will be significantly changed by applying a minor change in the initial conditions. Extensive kinetic 1D-3V particle-in-cell simulations have been performed in order to resolve full plasma reactions. In this way, two different regimes of plasma behavior are observed by varying the pulse length. The results indicate that the amplitude of scattered fields in a proper long pulse length is high enough to act as a second counter-propagating wave and trigger the stochastic electron motion. On the contrary, the analyses of intensity spectrum reveal the fact that the dominant scattering mechanism tends to Thomson rather than Raman scattering by increasing the pulse length. A covariant formalism is used to describe the plasma heating so that it enables us to measure electron temperature inside and outside of the pulse region.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2016

Free-standing gold elliptical nanoantenna with tunable wavelength in near-infrared region for enhanced Raman spectroscopy

The purpose of this work is to present a surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) amplifying antenna for the possible usage in the near-infrared region. Instead of the visible-light range amplifying antenna such as a bowtie, the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) simulation results indicate that elliptical antenna could provide large electromagnetic field enhancement at near-infrared wavelength by combining the free-standing enhancement property with large aspect ratios of the ellipse geometry. The simulation results consist with the enhancement factors characterized by SERS measurements at the excited wavelength of 785 nm for different aspect ratios and periodicities. In addition to the redshift of the resonance wavelength as the aspect ratio of ellipse increases, the free-standing structure modifies the resonance behavior and the dielectric environment of antenna by elevating the elliptical disk from the substrate. To interpret the simulation results, the analytical solution of resonance wavelength for ellipsoid dimmer is derived based on Lorentz–Mie theory, and comparisons are made between the analytical solution and simulation results. The quasi-static analytical solution provides a way to characterize the resonance behavior of two ellipsoid particles as a function of the gap distance, aspect ratio, and dielectric environment. In conclusion, the electrodynamic analysis for the periodic structure was performed in our FDTD simulations.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2015

Evolution of lower hybrid turbulence in the ionosphere

Three-dimensional evolution of the lower hybrid turbulence driven by a spatially localized ion ring beam perpendicular to the ambient magnetic field in space plasmas is analyzed. It is shown that the quasi-linear saturation model breaks down when the nonlinear rate of scattering by thermal electron is larger than linear damping rates, which can occur even for low wave amplitudes. The evolution is found to be essentially a three-dimensional phenomenon, which cannot be accurately explained by two-dimensional simulations. An important feature missed in previous studies of this phenomenon is the nonlinear conversion of electrostatic lower hybrid waves into electromagnetic whistler and magnetosonic waves and the consequent energy loss due to radiation from the source region. This can result in unique low-amplitude saturation with extended saturation time. It is shown that when the nonlinear effects are considered the net energy that can be permanently extracted from the ring beam is larger. The results are applied to anticipate the outcome of a planned experiment that will seed lower hybrid turbulence in the ionosphere and monitor its evolution.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2025

High precision measurements of the proton elastic electromagnetic form factors and their ratio at 𝑄 2 = 0.50, 2.64, 3.20, and 4.10 GeV 2

The advent of high-intensity, high-polarization electron beams led to significantly improved measurements of the ratio of the proton’s charge to electric form factors, 𝐺 𝐸⁢ 𝑝 ⁡/𝐺 𝑀⁢ 𝑝 . However, high-𝑄 2 measurements of this ratio yielded significant disagreement with extractions based on unpolarized scattering measurements, raising questions about the reliability of the measurements and consistency of the techniques. Jefferson Lab experiment E01-001 was designed to provide a high precision extraction of 𝐺 𝐸⁢ 𝑝 ⁡/𝐺 𝑀⁢ 𝑝 from unpolarized cross-section measurements using a modified version of the Rosenbluth separation technique to allow for a more precise comparison with polarization data. Rosenbluth separations involve precise measurements of the angular dependence of the elastic 𝑒−𝑝 cross section at fixed momentum transfer, 𝑄 2 . Conventional Rosenbluth separations detect the scattered electron, requiring the comparisons of measurements with very different detected electron energy and rate for electrons at different angles. Our ‘‘super-Rosenbluth’’ measurement detected the struck proton, rather than the scattered electron to extract the elastic 𝑒−𝑝 cross section. This yielded a fixed momentum for the detected particle and dramatically reduced variation of the cross section with angle, significantly reducing rate- and momentum-dependent corrections and uncertainties. We measure the cross section vs angle with high relative precision, allowing for extremely high precision extractions of 𝐺 𝐸⁢ 𝑝 ⁡/𝐺 𝑀⁢ 𝑝 at 𝑄 2 = 2.64, 3.20, and 4.10 GeV 2 . Our results are consistent with traditional Rosenbluth extractions, but with much smaller corrections and systematic uncertainties, comparable to the uncertainties from polarization measurements. Our data confirm the discrepancy between Rosenbluth and polarization extractions of the proton form factor ratio using an improved Rosenbluth extraction that yields smaller and less-correlated uncertainties than those typical of previous Rosenbluth extractions. Here, we compare our results to calculations of two-photon exchange effects and find that the observed discrepancy can be relatively well explained by such effects.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2019

Simultaneous Thermal Stability and Ultrahigh Sensitivity of Heterojunction SERS Substrates

This paper reports the design of Ag-Al 2 O 3 -Ag heterojunctions based on Ag nanorods (AgNRs) and their applications as thermally stable and ultrasensitive substrates of surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). Specifically, an ultrathin Al 2 O 3 capping layer of 10 nm on top of AgNRs serves to slow down the surface diffusion of Ag at high temperatures. Then, an additional Ag layer on top of the capping layer creates AgNRs-Al 2 O 3 -Ag heterojunctions, which lead to giant enhancement of electromagnetic fields within the Al 2 O 3 gap regions that could boost the SERS enhancement. As a result of this design, the SERS substrates are thermally stable up to 200 °C, which has been increased by more than 100 °C compared with bare AgNRs, and their sensitivity is about 400% that of pure AgNRs. This easy yet effective capping approach offers a pathway to fabricate ultrasensitive, thermally stable and easily prepared SERS sensors, and to extend SERS applications for high-temperature detections, such as monitoring in situ the molecule reorientation process upon annealing. Such simultaneous achievement of thermal stability and SERS sensitivity represents a great advance in the design of SERS sensors and will inspire the fabrication of novel hetero-nanostructures.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2020

All-multiplicity one-loop amplitudes in Born-Infeld electrodynamics from generalized unitarity

We initiate a study of non-supersymmetric Born-Infeld electrodynamics in 4d at the quantum level. Explicit all-multiplicity expressions are calculated for the purely rational one-loop amplitudes in the self-dual (+ + … +) and next-to-self-dual (- + … +) helicity sectors. Using a supersymmetric decomposition, d-dimensional unitarity cuts of the integrand factorize into tree-amplitudes in a 4d model of Born-Infeld photons coupled to a massive complex scalar. The two-scalar tree-amplitudes needed to construct the Born-Infeld integrand are computed using two complimentary approaches: (1) as a double-copy of Yang-Mills coupled to a massive adjoint scalar with a dimensionally reduced form of Chiral Perturbation Theory, and (2) by imposing consistency with low-energy theorems under a reduction from 4d to 3d and T-duality. The Born-Infeld integrand is integrated in d = 4 - 2ϵ dimensions at order Ο(ϵ 0 ) using the dimension-shifting formalism. We comment on the implications for electromagnetic duality in quantum Born-Infeld theory.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2018

Characterization of the Mercury pulsed power x-ray source spectrum using multichannel density aerogel Cherenkov detectors

The Aerogel Cherenkov Detector for Cygnus (ACD/C) is a time-dependent, x-ray spectral detector that uses SiO 2 aerogels spanning an index of refraction (n = 1.02–1.07) corresponding to a 1.1–2.3 MeV x-ray energy threshold. The ACD/C was developed for pulsed power x-ray sources like Cygnus located at the Nevada National Site and Mercury located at the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL). Aerogels sit between the measurement capabilities of gas (>2 MeV) and solids such as fused silica (>0.3 MeV). The detector uses an aluminum converter to Compton scatter incoming x-rays and create relativistic electrons, which produce Cherenkov light in an aerogel or a fused silica medium. The ACD/C was fielded at the NRL when Mercury was tuned to produce up to 4.8 MeV endpoint bremsstrahlung. Despite a high radiation and electromagnetic interference background, the ACD/C was able to achieve high signal over noise across five aerogel densities and fused silica, including a signal to noise for a 1.1 MeV aerogel threshold. Previous experiments at Cygnus observed a signal that was comparable to the noise (1×) at the same threshold. The ACD/C observed time-resolved rise and fall times for different energy thresholds of the photon spectrum. Finally, Monte Carlo simulations of the ACD/C’s aerogel response curves were folded with a simulation of Mercury’s photon energy spectrum and agree within the error to the observed result.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2024

Conservation law for electromagnetic fields in a space-time-varying medium and its implications

We discuss the propagation of electromagnetic waves in a space-time modulated medium, for which neither energy nor momentum remains conserved. We have found a new conservation law when modulation moves at a constant speed v in a traveling-wave fashion. We use this law to study how light is scattered inside such a medium. We consider both the subluminal (v < c) andsuperluminal (v > c) cases and find that they differ considerably in terms of what remains conserved. We show that the total number of photons is conserved in the subluminal case. In contrast, it is the difference between the forward and backward moving photons that remains conserved in the superluminal case. We also study the reciprocity issue for a space-time modulated medium and found that reciprocity holds in all situations. Here, we develop a quantum formulation of our scattering problem and show that the subluminal case is similar to the action of a beam splitter. In the superluminal case, photon pairs can be generated from vacuum in a fashion analogous to the two-mode frequency down-conversion process.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2013

HOT ELECTROMAGNETIC OUTFLOWS. II. JET BREAKOUT

We consider the interaction between radiation, matter, and a magnetic field in a compact, relativistic jet. The entrained matter accelerates outward as the jet breaks out of a star or other confining medium. In some circumstances, such as gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), the magnetization of the jet is greatly reduced by an advected radiation field while the jet is optically thick to scattering. Where magnetic flux surfaces diverge rapidly, a strong outward Lorentz force develops and radiation and matter begin to decouple. The increase in magnetization is coupled to a rapid growth in Lorentz factor. We take two approaches to this problem. The first examines the flow outside the fast magnetosonic critical surface, and calculates the flow speed and the angular distribution of the radiation field over a range of scattering depths. The second considers the flow structure on both sides of the critical surface in the optically thin regime, using a relaxation method. In both approaches, we find how the terminal Lorentz factor and radial profile of the outflow depend on the radiation intensity and optical depth at breakout. The effect of bulk Compton scattering on the radiation spectrum is calculated by a Monte Carlo method, while neglecting the effects of internal dissipation. The peak of the scattered spectrum sits near the seed peak if radiation pressure dominates the acceleration, but is pushed to a higher frequency if the Lorentz force dominates. The unscattered seed radiation can form a distinct, low-frequency component of the spectrum, especially if the magnetic Poynting flux dominates.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2020

On the local measurement of electric currents and magnetic fields using Thomson scattering in Weibel-unstable plasmas

Here, we demonstrate the capability of the Thomson Scattering (TS) diagnostic to measure locally the microscopic electron and ion currents in counter-streaming plasmas unstable to the Weibel or current-filamentation instability. Synthetic TS spectra are calculated with particle distribution functions obtained from particle-in-cell simulations and used to accurately reproduce the simulated currents. We show that this technique allows accurate local measurements of the magnetic field, thus opening the way for the complete experimental characterization of the growth rate, saturation, and nonlinear dynamics of electromagnetic instabilities in plasmas. We illustrate the application of this diagnostic to experimental TS data, which yields local measurements of the magnetic field in Weibel-unstable plasmas and indicates that the magnetic energy density reaches ~1% of the kinetic energy density of the flows, in agreement with previous numerical studies.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗