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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 541 records · Page 30
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2020

Asymmetries in ionization of atomic superposition states by ultrashort laser pulses

Abstract Progress in ultrafast science allows for probing quantum superposition states with ultrashort laser pulses in the new regime where several linear and nonlinear ionization pathways compete. Interferences of pathways can be observed in the photoelectron angular distribution and in the past they have been analyzed for atoms and molecules in a single quantum state via anisotropy and asymmetry parameters. Those conventional parameters, however, do not provide comprehensive tools for probing superposition states in the emerging research area of bright and ultrashort light sources, such as free-electron lasers and high-order harmonic generation. We propose a new set of generalized asymmetry parameters which are sensitive to interference effects in the photoionization and the interplay of competing pathways as the laser pulse duration is shortened and the laser intensity is increased. The relevance of the parameters is demonstrated using results of state-of-the-art numerical solutions of the time-dependent Schrödinger equation for ionization of helium atom and neon atom.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2025

High gas-pressure apparatus for nonlinear X-ray propagation and reshaping via stimulated X-ray Raman scattering

Abstract We describe an experimental setup for non-linear interaction and propagation of ultrashort and intense x-ray free-electron laser (XFEL) pulses in a dense gas. It allows one to provide high, but adjustable, target-gas pressures of up to 6 bar within a vacuum environment of 3∙10 − 3 mbar or better. The setup enables investigation of intense x-ray propagation in an optically thick medium with minimal absorption loss of the unfocused beam outside of the target. As an application, we demonstrate the amplification of spectrally-resolved stimulated x-ray Raman scattering (SXRS) in dense neon gas, where the most intense inner part of the beam is almost completely absorbed. As a result, in the inner part of the beam, the SXRS signal exceeds the residual XFEL pulse by a factor of around two. In principle, this reshaping effect allows for a spatial separation of the two spectral components, i.e., the driving pulse and the SXRS signal.

Magunia, Alexander↗
DOE OSTI2020

High-resolution X-ray spectroscopy of the stellar wind in Vela X-1 during a flare

In this work, we present a ~130 ks observation of the prototypical wind-accreting, high-mass X-ray binary Vela X-1 collected with XMM-Newton at orbital phases between 0.12 and 0.28. A strong flare took place during the observation that allows us to investigate the reaction of the clumpy stellar wind to the increased X-ray irradiation. To examine the wind’s reaction to the flare, we performed both time-averaged and time-resolved analyses of the RGS spectrum and examined potential spectral changes. We focused on the high-resolution XMM-Newton RGS spectra and divided the observation into pre-flare, flare, and post-flare phases. We modeled the time-averaged and time-resolved spectra with phenomenological components and with the self-consistent photoionization models calculated via CLOUDY and XSTAR in the pre-flare phase, where strong emission lines due to resonant transitions of highly ionized ions are seen. In the spectra, we find emission lines corresponding to K-shell transitions in highly charged ions of oxygen, neon, magnesium, and silicon as well as radiative recombination continua (RRC) of oxygen. Additionally, we observe potential absorption lines of magnesium at a lower ionization stage and features identified as iron L lines. The, CLOUDY and XSTAR photoionization models provide contradictory results, either pointing towards uncertainties in theory or possibly a more complex multi-phase plasma, or both. We are able to demonstrate the existence of a plethora of variable narrow features, including the firm detection of oxygen lines and RRC that RGS enables to observe in this source for the first time. We show that Vela X-1 is an ideal source for future high-resolution missions, such as XRISM and Athena.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Different to the core: The pre-supernova structures of massive single and binary-stripped stars

The majority of massive stars live in binary or multiple systems and will interact with a companion during their lifetimes, which helps to explain the observed diversity of core-collapse supernovae. Donor stars in binary systems can lose most of their hydrogen-rich envelopes through mass transfer. As a result, not only are the surface properties affected, but so is the core structure. However, most calculations of the core-collapse properties of massive stars rely on single-star models. We present a systematic study of the difference between the pre-supernova structures of single stars and stars of the same initial mass (11–21 M ⊙ ) that have been stripped due to stable post-main-sequence mass transfer at solar metallicity. We present the pre-supernova core composition with novel diagrams that give an intuitive representation of the isotope distribution. As shown in previous studies, at the edge of the carbon-oxygen core, the binary-stripped star models contain an extended gradient of carbon, oxygen, and neon. This layer remains until core collapse and is more extended in mass for higher initial stellar masses. It originates from the receding of the convective helium core during core helium burning in binary-stripped stars, which does not occur in single-star models. We find that this same evolutionary phase leads to systematic differences in the final density and nuclear energy generation profiles. Binary-stripped star models have systematically higher total masses of carbon at the moment of core collapse compared to single-star models, which likely results in systematically different supernova yields. In about half of our models, the silicon-burning and oxygen-rich layers merge after core silicon burning. We discuss the implications of our findings for the “explodability”, supernova observations, and nucleosynthesis of these stars. Our models are publicly available and can be readily used as input for detailed supernova simulations.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Wisconsin In Situ Penning (WISP) gauge: A versatile neutral pressure gauge to measure partial pressures in strong magnetic fields

A new type of in-vessel Penning gauge, the Wisconsin In Situ Penning (WISP) gauge, has been developed and successfully operated in the Wendelstein 7-X (W7-X) island divertor baffle and vacuum vessel. The capacity of the quantitative measurements of the neutral reservoir for light impurities, in particular, helium, is important for tokamaks as well as stellarator divertors in order to avoid fuel dilution and radiative energy loss. Penning gauges assisted by spectroscopy are a powerful tool to obtain the total neutral pressure as well as fractional neutral pressures of specific impurities. The WISP gauge is a miniaturized Penning gauge arrangement, which exploits the ambient magnetic field of magnetic confinement fusion experiments to establish the Penning discharge. Then, in situ spectroscopy is conducted to separate the fractional neutral pressures of hydrogen, helium, and possibly also other impurities. The WISP probe head was qualified using the magnetic field of the Magnetized Dusty Plasma Experiment at Auburn University between 0.25 T and 3.5 T [E. Thomas et al ., J. Plasma Phys. 81, 345810206 (2015)]. The in-depth quantitative evaluation for hydrogen and helium will be shown as well as an exploration of nitrogen, argon, and neon. A power law scaling between current I and pressure p, I = f (Gas,V) p n⁽Gas, B⁾ , was shown. The factor f is gas and anode potential dependent, while n is gas and magnetic field strength dependent. Pressure measurements from 0.1 mbar and down to 1 × 10 -5 mbar were achieved, demonstrating a reliable operating range for relevant pressure levels in the divertor and main vessel regions in current and future fusion devices, with a time resolution of up to 1 kHz. The lowest achievable pressure measurement increases with an increase in B and can be shifted with the anode potential V . At W7-X, the WISP probe head was mounted on an immersion tube setup that passes through the cryostat and places the probe head close to the plasma. Two probe heads were positioned in different divertor pump gaps, top and bottom, and one close to the plasma on the midplane in one module. The gauges were in situ calibrated together with the ASDEX pressure gauges [G. Haas and H.-S. Bosch, Vacuum 51, 39 (1998)]. Data were taken during the entire operation phase 1.2b, and measurements were coherent with other neutral gas pressure gauges. For the spectroscopic partial pressure measurements, channels of a spectroscopic detection system based on photo-multipliers, a so-called filterscope [R. J. Colchin et al ., Rev. Sci. Instrum. 74, 2068 (2003)], provided by the Oak Ridge National Lab were used.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2021

Methods to determine the radiated power in SPI-mitigated disruptions in JET

Here we present techniques for evaluating the radiated power in JET disruptions. Disrupting plasmas are shown to have non-axisymmetric radiation profiles, motivating the re-evaluation of the standard techniques for calculating the total radiated power at JET using bolometry. Four single-channel bolometers at different toroidal locations are exploited to quantify the radiation asymmetry. Toroidal radiation peaking factors integrated over the entire disruption of up to 1.5 have been observed when varying the quantity of neon in pellets used in disruptions mitigated by shattered pellet injection. Using synthetic bolometer diagnostics developed with the Cherab spectroscopy modeling framework, we can estimate the systematic error on total power calculations for relevant radiation profiles and improve estimates of the total radiated power. We show that the component of the systematic error on the total power due to the poloidal radiation profile can be reduced from 70% to 10% with suitable assumptions about the structure of the poloidal profile.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2022

Understanding how minority relativistic electron populations may dominate charge state balance and radiative cooling of a post-thermal quench tokamak plasma

Minority relativistic electron populations can occur in a range of complex plasmas. Of specific interest is when runaway electrons form among the presence of high-atomic-number ion species in a tokamak plasma discharge. It has been recently demonstrated that ion charge state distributions and radiation losses at low bulk electron temperatures can be dominated by relativistic electrons, even though their density is orders of magnitude lower. Furthermore, this was attributed to the relativistic enhancement of electron impact inelastic cross sections. In this work, we provide a closer inspection of the atomic physics underpinning this effect. We also demonstrate the consequences of runaway enhanced scattering on post-disruption tokamak fusion discharges with neon and argon impurities present. Effects on charge state distributions, radiation and spectral characteristics, and reduced-order modeling considerations are discussed.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2022

Temperature distribution in a laser-heated diamond anvil cell as described by finite element analysis

Finite element analysis (FEA) is a powerful tool for numerically solving partial differential equations over complex geometries and is thus useful for analyzing heat transport in laser-heated diamond anvil cell (LHDAC) experiments. Our models expand on previously published simulations by calculating the volume-averaged temperatures of both the sample and insulation/pressure media under steady-state heating to determine the thermal pressure of the hot sample. Our goal is to produce an accurate relationship between the measured surface temperature of the absorbing sample and the temperature of the transparent insulating media, which is used to determine thermal pressure but susceptible to steep temperature gradients. We find that in doing so, our FEA models of temperature within the pressure/insulation media can differ from simplified estimates of temperature gradients by more than a factor of 2. We also explore temperature-dependent and temperature-independent thermal conductivity models and find that the volume-averaged temperatures differ by up to a factor of 1.3, forcing the predicted thermal pressures determined to also differ by up to a factor of 1.5 at a temperature of 2000 K at 50 GPa for neon. Higher temperatures exacerbate this difference. We also find that unintentional asymmetric sample insertion and sample heating, which are common in LHDAC experiments, do not have a first-order effect on volume-averaged temperatures. The FEA models, available in both Python and FlexPDE, are versatile across different sample geometries, materials, and heat source laser shapes.

Farah, Frederick↗
DOE OSTI2022

Gas scintillation mitigation in gas Cherenkov detectors for inertial confinement fusion (invited)

Gas Cherenkov detectors provide a time resolved measurement of the fusion burn in inertial confinement fusion experiments. The fusion rate delivers critical benchmark figures, such as burn width and bang time. Recent detector improvements pushed temporal resolution to 10 ps to make burn width measurements on igniting targets possible. First high temporal resolution measurements using CO 2 gas fills had a background signal with a long decay length (tail), which was caused by gas scintillation. This gas scintillation limits the ability of the detector to resolve short burn width and high frequency features in the fusion rate measurements. A thorough investigation of the cause of the tail and mitigation options for gas scintillation is presented here. As a near-term resolution, neon gas is being used to extract fusion burn histories. Paths forward for the next generation of gas Cherenkov detectors are identified including the usage of oxygen as a Cherenkov medium.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2022

Applying Thomson scattering to diagnosing turbulent density and velocity fluctuations in a gas-puff z-pinch

The electron plasma wave feature (EPW) in the time-resolved Thomson scattering spectrum is used to obtain the local electron density in imploding high energy density gas-puff z-pinch plasmas. The optical setup was optimized to allow the relatively weak EPW feature obtained from 1 MA imploding neon gas-puff z-pinches to be seen above the continuum emission as well as the brighter ion acoustic wave (IAW) feature. Using a frequency-doubled Nd:YLF laser (E = 10 J, λ = 526.5 nm, Δt= 2.3 ns, spot size ~ 250 μm) and two visible light streak cameras, we determined the average electron density in the imploding plasma sheath 40 ns prior to stagnation to be n e = 2.5 × 10 18 /cm 3 . At pinch time, it reached n e = 1.7 × 10 19 /cm 3 . Here, the electron temperature during implosion measured via the IAW (approximately 50 eV) was four times lower than the implosion electron temperature measured via the EPW (approximately 200 eV), assuming that neither feature is affected by turbulent fluctuations in the plasma. In order for the electron temperatures inferred from the EPW and IAW spectral features to be self-consistent, we find that it is necessary to include velocity fluctuations in the analysis of the IAW feature peaks and corresponding density fluctuation in the peak widths of the EPW feature.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

The equations of state of statically compressed palladium and rhodium

Here, the pressure–volume equations of state of palladium and rhodium statically compressed in neon are presented. Vinet fits give parameters for palladium: V0=58.678(73) Å 3 , B 0 =189.3(30) GPa, B' 0 =5.473(63), and rhodium: V 0 =55.062(63) Å3, B 0 =241.3(65) GPa, B' 0 =5.34(24). Both metals are observed to react with hydrocarbons under pressure to form hydrides. Existing equations of state are discussed with regard to potential inadvertent hydrogen contamination as a source for discrepancies and anomalous fitted parameters.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2024

Experimental evidence of enhanced radial transport in small ELM regimes at DIII-D

Small/type-II edge-localized-modes (ELMs), carrying 1% of the plasma stored energy, are found to deposit only 45 ± 5% of the ELM power near the strike point, and the remaining 55 ± 5% to the far scrape-off-layer (SOL). Small ELMs spread their power over a larger area compared to type-I ELMs, where such a ratio is about 60% and 40% for near- and far-SOL regions, respectively. The larger spread is reflected in the heat flux width (λq) in the SOL for the intra-small ELMs profile of 6.0 mm, almost a factor 2 larger than that of type-I ELMs of 3.15 mm, for similar plasma conditions and magnetic configuration. At the ELM peak, the small ELMs λq is found to be up to 4 times larger than for the type-I ELMs, going from 2 to 7.9 mm, indicating enhanced radial transport in the neon-seeded small ELM scenario. Inter-ELM λqs have been also calculated at the secondary outer divertor in quasi-double-null (QDN) discharges. It is found that, on average, λq is 2.2 times larger in the high-separatrix-density small ELM regime, compared to a reference type-I ELM one. These findings are supported by small ELMs radial velocity profiles, measured at the outer midplane with a fast reciprocating probe, showing a decay length (λvr) in the SOL of 12.8 cm, which is 3.3 times larger than that for the type-I ELMs of 3.9 cm. This analysis shows that small ELMs, although attractive for future machines due to low peak heat flux and large λq, might be of concern for the larger flux to the outer wall.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2024

The impact of collisionality on the runaway electron avalanche during a tokamak disruption

The exponential growth (avalanching) of runaway electrons (REs) during a tokamak disruption continues to be a large uncertainty in RE modeling. The present work investigates the impact of tokamak geometry on the efficiency of the avalanche mechanism across a broad range of disruption scenarios. It is found that the parameter ν *,crit ⁠, describing the collisionality at the critical energy to run away, delineates how toroidal geometry impacts RE formation. In particular, utilizing a reduced but self-consistent description of plasma power balance, it is shown that for a high-density deuterium-dominated plasma, ν *,crit is robustly less than one, resulting in a substantial decrease in the efficiency of the RE avalanche compared to predictions from slab geometry. In contrast, for plasmas containing a substantial quantity of neon or argon, ν *,crit ≳1, no reduction of the avalanche is observed due to toroidal geometry. This sharp contrast in the impact of low- vs high-Z material results primarily from the relatively strong radiative cooling from high-Z impurities, enabling the plasma to be radiatively pinned at low temperatures and thus large electric fields, even for modest quantities of high-Z material.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2024

Anomalous transport of multi-species edge plasma with the generalized Hasegawa–Wakatani model and the FLR effects

Anomalous transport of multi-species plasma is considered with the generalized Hasegawa–Wakatani model [A. R. Knyazev and S. I. Krasheninnikov, Phys. Plasmas 31, 012502 (2024)] further extended to incorporate the Finite Larmor Radius (FLR) effects. By introducing the “associated” enstrophy, it is shown that with no FLR effects (where anomalous transport of all ion species is described as a transport of passive scalars in the turbulent fields of the electrostatic potential and electron density fluctuations) the fluctuating densities of ion species converge to the state where they are linearly proportional to electron density and vorticity fluctuations, which confirm previous numerical findings of [A. R. Knyazev and S. I. Krasheninnikov, Phys. Plasmas 31, 012502 (2024)]. However, in contrast to the “cold” ion approximation, with the FLR effects included, both the plasma turbulence and the dynamics of all ion species become interconnected. Therefore, for simplicity, the FLR effects in this work were considered only for a small “trace” impurity fraction. It is found that for light (neon) “trace” impurity, the FLR effects reduce both anomalous flux and density fluctuations. However, for heavy (tungsten) “trace” impurity, the FLR effects exhibit non-monotonic impact on anomalous transport.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2025

Molybdenum density profiles in Alcator C-Mod plasmas

Molybdenum (Z = 42) density spatial profiles have been obtained for Alcator C-Mod L-, I-, and H-mode plasmas from x-ray observations of the neon-like Mo 32+ 4D transition. Profile shapes range from flat to modestly peaked in the core. The observed peaking factors for molybdenum are in good agreement with those calculated by TGLF across all confinement regimes, and there is little dependence seen with core density gradient, sawtooth amplitude, or rotation velocity. Predictions for tungsten peaking in SPARC are presented.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2020

Planar multifrequency mid-IR microwave-pumped lasers

The characteristics of planar repetitively pulsed diffusion-cooled HF, DF, HF – DF, Xe, and HF – DF – Xe(Kr) lasers pumped by a microwave discharge (2.45 GHz) are studied depending on the pump pulse duration (10 – 40 μs) and repletion rate (50 – 400 Hz), as well as on the composition and pressure of the working gas mixture (30 – 200 Torr) at low (to 0.6 L s{sup −1}) gas flow rates. It is demonstrated for the first time that a HF – DF – Xe gas-discharge laser may simultaneously operate as a HF – DF chemical molecular laser and a recombination laser based on xenon atom transitions and generate broadband (octave) radiation in the range 2.0 – 4.2 μm with an average output power of 43 mW and an efficiency of 0.9 %. With substitution of xenon for krypton, lasing in a HF – DF – Kr laser is obtained at wavelengths of 2.52 – 4.15 μm. Lasing in a HF – DF laser was achieved simultaneously in two spectral regions (2.7 – 2.9 and 3.6 – 4.2 μm) with an output power of ∼50 mW. It is found that a decrease in the pump pulse duration with a simultaneous increase in the pulse repletion rate for retaining the average energy deposition leads to an increase in the average output power and efficiency of the laser. At low pulse repetition rates (50 – 100 Hz) and a low gas mixture flow rate, helium buffer gas can be effectively substituted for neon. Operation of the Xe laser was achieved in the spectral range 2.03 – 3.65 μm with an average output power of 580 Mw at a pump pulse duration of 20 μs, a pulse repetition rate to 10 kHz, and a maximum efficiency of 55 %. The obtained experimental results demonstrate the possibility of creating broadband HF – DF – Xe lasers emitting in the frequency range 2 – 4 μm with a desired ratio of intensities in different spectral ranges. (paper)

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2021

Issues in Formation of Cryogenic Pellets for Fusion Applications

Cryogenic pellets are used for injection into fusion plasmas to add fuel to build up density and replace the ions lost from fusion reactions and imperfect confinement in the plasma. These pellets are formed at cryogenic temperatures with pure hydrogenic isotopes or mixtures of the isotopes. Technology to make these pellets and inject them into plasmas has been under development for many years, and various methods using freezing or desublimation have been shown to produce high-quality solid pellets suitable for injection. The throughput needed and possible impurity content from the necessary recirculation of fusion exhaust gases are two of the key issues to overcome for fusion pellet fueling systems in long-pulse burning plasmas. Here, we describe the technical challenges associated with these issues and the capability of pellet formation extruders to overcome them.Cryogenic pellets of deuterium, neon, and argon are also used in fusion tokamak devices for disruption mitigation in the form of large pellets that can be injected on demand to quickly dissipate the plasma thermal energy through radiation and add significant density in order to prevent runaway electron formation. Here, the issue is not throughput as with the fueling pellets but rather is the time it takes to form pellets of the size needed and the ability to dislodge them immediately on demand when needed to mitigate a disruption. The method used to make these pellets by desublimation is described, and examples related to how pellet size and input gas parameters affect the formation time are provided.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗