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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 73 records · Page 4
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2015

High-resolution dichroic imaging of magnetic flux distributions in superconductors with scanning x-ray microscopy

The penetration of magnetic flux into high-temperature superconductors has been observed using a high-resolution technique based on x-ray magnetic circular dichroism. Superconductors coated with thin soft-magnetic layers are observed in a scanning x-ray microscope under the influence of external magnetic fields. Resulting electric currents in the superconductor create an inhomogeneous magnetic field distribution above the superconductor and lead to a local reorientation of the ferromagnetic layer. Measuring the local magnetization of the ferromagnet by x-ray absorption microscopy with circular-polarized radiation allows the analysis of the magnetic flux distribution in the superconductor with a spatial resolution on the nanoscale.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2015

IMAGING AND SPECTROSCOPIC DIAGNOSTICS ON THE FORMATION OF TWO MAGNETIC FLUX ROPES REVEALED BY SDO/AIA AND IRIS

Helical magnetic flux rope (MFR) is a fundamental structure of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) and has been discovered recently to exist as a sigmoidal channel structure prior to its eruption in the EUV high-temperature passbands of the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA). However, when and where the MFR is built up are still elusive. In this paper, we investigate two MFRs (MFR1 and MFR2) in detail, whose eruptions produced two energetic solar flares and CMEs on 2014 April 18 and 2014 September 10, respectively. The AIA EUV images reveal that for a long time prior to their eruption, both MFR1 and MFR2 are under formation, which is probably through magnetic reconnection between two groups of sheared arcades driven by the shearing and converging flows in the photosphere near the polarity inversion line. At the footpoints of the MFR1, the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph Si iv, C ii, and Mg ii lines exhibit weak to moderate redshifts and a non-thermal broadening in the pre-flare phase. However, a relatively large blueshift and an extremely strong non-thermal broadening are found at the formation site of the MFR2. These spectral features consolidate the proposition that the reconnection plays an important role in the formation of MFRs. For the MFR1, the reconnection outflow may propagate along its legs, penetrating into the transition region and the chromosphere at the footpoints. For the MFR2, the reconnection probably takes place in the lower atmosphere and results in the strong blueshift and non-thermal broadening for the Mg ii, C ii, and Si iv lines.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN A HOT-CHANNEL-LIKE SOLAR MAGNETIC FLUX ROPE AND ITS EMBEDDED PROMINENCE

A magnetic flux rope (MFR) is a coherent and helical magnetic field structure that has recently been found likely to appear as an elongated hot channel prior to a solar eruption. In this Letter, we investigate the relationship between the hot channel and the associated prominence through analysis of a limb event on 2011 September 12. In the early rise phase, the hot channel was initially cospatial with the prominence. It then quickly expanded, resulting in a separation of the top of the hot channel from that of the prominence. Meanwhile, they both experienced an instantaneous morphology transformation from a Λ shape to a reversed-Y shape and the top of these two structures showed an exponential increase in height. These features are a good indication of the occurrence of kink instability. Moreover, the onset of kink instability is found to coincide in time with the impulsive enhancement of flare emission underneath the hot channel, suggesting that ideal kink instability likely also plays an important role in triggering fast flare reconnection besides initiating the impulsive acceleration of the hot channel and distorting its morphology. We conclude that the hot channel is most likely the MFR system and the prominence only corresponds to the cool materials that are collected in the bottom of the helical field lines of the MFR against gravity.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

TWISTED MAGNETIC FLUX TUBES IN THE SOLAR WIND

Magnetic flux tubes in the solar wind can be twisted as they are transported from the solar surface, where the tubes are twisted due to photospheric motions. It is suggested that the twisted magnetic tubes can be detected as the variation of total (thermal+magnetic) pressure during their passage through the observing satellite. We show that the total pressure of several observed twisted tubes resembles the theoretically expected profile. The twist of the isolated magnetic tube may explain the observed abrupt changes of magnetic field direction at tube walls. We have also found some evidence that the flux tube walls can be associated with local heating of the plasma and elevated proton and electron temperatures. For the tubes aligned with the Parker spiral, the twist angle can be estimated from the change of magnetic field direction. Stability analysis of twisted tubes shows that the critical twist angle of the tube with a homogeneous twist is 70°, but the angle can further decrease due to the motion of the tube with respect to the solar wind stream. The tubes with a stronger twist are unstable to the kink instability, therefore they probably cannot reach 1 AU.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Magnetic Flux Rope Identification and Characterization from Observationally Driven Solar Coronal Models

Formed through magnetic field shearing and reconnection in the solar corona, magnetic flux ropes are structures of twisted magnetic field, threaded along an axis. Their evolution and potential eruption are of great importance for space weather. Here we describe a new methodology for the automated detection of flux ropes in simulated magnetic fields, utilizing field-line helicity. Our Flux Rope Detection and Organization (FRoDO) code, which measures the magnetic flux and helicity content of pre-erupting flux ropes over time, as well as detecting eruptions, is publicly available. As a first demonstration, the code is applied to the output from a time-dependent magnetofrictional model, spanning 1996 June 15–2014 February 10. Over this period, 1561 erupting and 2099 non-erupting magnetic flux ropes are detected, tracked, and characterized. For this particular model data, erupting flux ropes have a mean net helicity magnitude of 2.66×10{sup 43} Mx{sup 2}, while non-erupting flux ropes have a significantly lower mean of 4.04×10{sup 42} Mx{sup 2}, although there is overlap between the two distributions. Similarly, the mean unsigned magnetic flux for erupting flux ropes is 4.04×10{sup 21} Mx, significantly higher than the mean value of 7.05×10{sup 20} Mx for non-erupting ropes. These values for erupting flux ropes are within the broad range expected from observational and theoretical estimates, although the eruption rate in this particular model is lower than that of observed coronal mass ejections. In the future, the FRoDO code will prove to be a valuable tool for assessing the performance of different non-potential coronal simulations and comparing them with observations.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2018

Series Solution for Magnetic Flux Density of Circular Current Loop and a Relevant Application

The series solution to the magnetic flux density of a circular current loop is presented in the paper. The convergences of these series are assessed. Comparing the result with elliptic integral method, the validity and feasibility of series solution were verified. A computer program has been developed by the method to calculate the magnetic flux density of a multi-coil magnet and its uniformity successfully.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2019

Magnetic Flux Generated by Thermal Current in CEBAF 5-Cell Cavity System

The unloaded quality factor Q0 of many 5-cell CEBAF cavities were lowered by a factor of ~2 from their vertical qualification testing to their beam operation in CEBAF tunnel. Causes of this Q0 degradation were studied previously, including a more recent one addressing static fluxes arising from magnetic components near a 5-cell cavity. This paper reports on a preliminary study of the dynamic fluxes generated by a thermal current. Such a thermal current arises from the Seebeck effect and flows in closed loops formed by a niobium cavity and its surrounding tuner rods and liquid helium vessel that are made of stainless-steel. The behaviors of magnetic fluxes in response to various thermal profiles on a 5-cell CEBAF cavity with integrated tuner rods were studied in a JLAB VTA dewar. An outcome of this study is a proposed cool-down procedure for eliminating the thermal current generated magnetic fluxes around 5-cell cavities placed in CEBAF tunnels. This procedure may be useful to improve cavity Q0 in a cost-effective manner, which in turn saves cryogenic expenditures for sustaining CEBAF operation.

Geng, Rongli↗
DOE OSTI2016

Structure of a magnetic flux annihilation layer formed by the collision of supersonic, magnetized plasma flows

We present experiments characterizing the detailed structure of a current layer, generated by the collision of two counter-streaming, supersonic and magnetized aluminum plasma flows. The anti parallel magnetic fields advected by the flows are found to be mutually annihilated inside the layer, giving rise to a bifurcated current structure—two narrow current sheets running along the outside surfaces of the layer. Measurements with Thomson scattering show a fast outflow of plasma along the layer and a high ion temperature (T i ~¯ZT e , with average ionization ¯Z=7). Lastly, analysis of the spatially resolved plasma parameters indicates that the advection and subsequent annihilation of the in-flowing magnetic flux determines the structure of the layer, while the ion heating could be due to the development of kinetic, current-driven instabilities.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2014

Structures of interplanetary magnetic flux ropes and comparison with their solar sources

Whether a magnetic flux rope is pre-existing or formed in situ in the Sun's atmosphere, there is little doubt that magnetic reconnection is essential to release the flux rope during its ejection. During this process, the question remains: how does magnetic reconnection change the flux-rope structure? In this work, we continue with the original study of Qiu et al. by using a larger sample of flare-coronal mass ejection (CME)-interplanetary CME (ICME) events to compare properties of ICME/magnetic cloud (MC) flux ropes measured at 1 AU and properties of associated solar progenitors including flares, filaments, and CMEs. In particular, the magnetic field-line twist distribution within interplanetary magnetic flux ropes is systematically derived and examined. Our analysis shows that, similar to what was found before, for most of these events, the amount of twisted flux per AU in MCs is comparable with the total reconnection flux on the Sun, and the sign of the MC helicity is consistent with the sign of the helicity of the solar source region judged from the geometry of post-flare loops. Remarkably, we find that about half of the 18 magnetic flux ropes, most of them associated with erupting filaments, have a nearly uniform and relatively low twist distribution from the axis to the edge, and the majority of the other flux ropes exhibit very high twist near the axis, up to ≳ 5 turns per AU, which decreases toward the edge. The flux ropes are therefore not linearly force-free. We also conduct detailed case studies showing the contrast of two events with distinct twist distribution in MCs as well as different flare and dimming characteristics in solar source regions, and discuss how reconnection geometry reflected in flare morphology may be related to the structure of the flux rope formed on the Sun.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2016

A PROPOSED PARADIGM FOR SOLAR CYCLE DYNAMICS MEDIATED VIA TURBULENT PUMPING OF MAGNETIC FLUX IN BABCOCK–LEIGHTON-TYPE SOLAR DYNAMOS

At present, the Babcock–Leighton flux transport solar dynamo models appear to be the most promising models for explaining diverse observational aspects of the sunspot cycle. The success of these flux transport dynamo models is largely dependent upon a single-cell meridional circulation with a deep equatorward component at the base of the Sun’s convection zone. However, recent observations suggest that the meridional flow may in fact be very shallow (confined to the top 10% of the Sun) and more complex than previously thought. Taken together, these observations raise serious concerns on the validity of the flux transport paradigm. By accounting for the turbulent pumping of magnetic flux, as evidenced in magnetohydrodynamic simulations of solar convection, we demonstrate that flux transport dynamo models can generate solar-like magnetic cycles even if the meridional flow is shallow. Solar-like periodic reversals are recovered even when meridional circulation is altogether absent. However, in this case, the solar surface magnetic field dynamics does not extend all the way to the polar regions. Very importantly, our results demonstrate that the Parker–Yoshimura sign rule for dynamo wave propagation can be circumvented in Babcock–Leighton dynamo models by the latitudinal component of turbulent pumping, which can generate equatorward propagating sunspot belts in the absence of a deep, equatorward meridional flow. We also show that variations in turbulent pumping coefficients can modulate the solar cycle amplitude and periodicity. Our results suggest the viability of an alternate magnetic flux transport paradigm—mediated via turbulent pumping—for sustaining solar-stellar dynamo action.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

PROPAGATION AND DISPERSION OF SAUSAGE WAVE TRAINS IN MAGNETIC FLUX TUBES

A localized perturbation of a magnetic flux tube produces wave trains that disperse as they propagate along the tube, where the extent of dispersion depends on the physical properties of the magnetic structure, on the length of the initial excitation, and on its nature (e.g., transverse or axisymmetric). In Oliver et al. we considered a transverse initial perturbation, whereas the temporal evolution of an axisymmetric one is examined here. In both papers we use a method based on Fourier integrals to solve the initial value problem. We find that the propagating wave train undergoes stronger attenuation for longer axisymmetric (or shorter transverse) perturbations, while the internal to external density ratio has a smaller effect on the attenuation. Moreover, for parameter values typical of coronal loops axisymmetric (transverse) wave trains travel at a speed 0.75–1 (1.2) times the Alfvén speed of the magnetic tube. In both cases, the wave train passage at a fixed position of the magnetic tube gives rise to oscillations with periods of the order of seconds, with axisymmetric disturbances causing more oscillations than transverse ones. To test the detectability of propagating transverse or axisymmetric wave packets in magnetic tubes of the solar atmosphere (e.g., coronal loops, spicules, or prominence threads) a forward modeling of the perturbations must be carried out.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Multi-wavelength high-resolution observations of a small-scale emerging magnetic flux event and the chromospheric and coronal response

State-of-the-art solar instrumentation is now revealing magnetic activity of the Sun with unprecedented temporal and spatial resolutions. Observations with the 1.6 m aperture New Solar Telescope (NST) of the Big Bear Solar Observatory are making next steps in our understanding of the solar surface structure. Granular-scale magnetic flux emergence and the response of the solar atmosphere are among the key research topics of high-resolution solar physics. As part of a joint observing program with NASA's Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) mission on 2013 August 7, the NST observed active region NOAA 11,810 in the photospheric TiO 7057 Å band with a resolution of pixel size of 0.''034 and chromospheric He I 10830 Å and Hα 6563 Å wavelengths. Complementary data are provided by the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) and Hinode space-based telescopes. The region displayed a group of solar pores, in the vicinity of which we detect a small-scale buoyant horizontal magnetic flux tube causing granular alignments and interacting with the preexisting ambient field in the upper atmospheric layers. Following the expansion of distorted granules at the emergence site, we observed a sudden appearance of an extended surge in the He I 10830 Å data (bandpass of 0.05 Å). The IRIS transition region imaging caught ejection of a hot plasma jet associated with the He I surge. The SDO/HMI data used to study the evolution of the magnetic and Doppler velocity fields reveal emerging magnetic loop-like structures. Hinode/Ca II H and IRIS filtergrams detail the connectivities of the newly emerged magnetic field in the lower solar chromosphere. From these data, we find that the orientation of the emerging magnetic field lines from a twisted flux tube formed an angle of ∼45° with the overlying ambient field. Nevertheless, the interaction of emerging magnetic field lines with the pre-existing overlying field generates high-temperature emission regions and boosts the surge/jet production. The localized heating is detected before and after the first signs of the surge/jet ejection. We compare the results with previous observations and theoretical models and propose a scenario for the activation of plasma jet/surges and confined heating triggered by buoyant magnetic flux tubes rising up into a magnetized upper environment. Such process may play a significant role in the mass and energy flow from the interior to the corona.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Tracking the evolution of a coherent magnetic flux rope continuously from the inner to the outer corona

The magnetic flux rope (MFR) is believed to be the underlying magnetic structure of coronal mass ejections (CMEs). However, it remains unclear how an MFR evolves into and forms the multi-component structure of a CME. In this paper, we perform a comprehensive study of an extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) MFR eruption on 2013 May 22 by tracking its morphological evolution, studying its kinematics, and quantifying its thermal property. As EUV brightenings begin, the MFR starts to rise slowly and shows helical threads winding around an axis. Meanwhile, cool filamentary materials descend spirally down to the chromosphere. These features provide direct observational evidence of intrinsically helical structure of the MFR. Through detailed kinematical analysis, we find that the MFR evolution has two distinct phases: a slow rise phase and an impulsive acceleration phase. We attribute the first phase to the magnetic reconnection within the quasi-separatrix layers surrounding the MFR, and the much more energetic second phase to the fast magnetic reconnection underneath the MFR. We suggest that the transition between these two phases is caused by the torus instability. Moreover, we identify that the MFR evolves smoothly into the outer corona and appears as a coherent structure within the white-light CME volume. The MFR in the outer corona was enveloped by bright fronts that originated from plasma pile-up in front of the expanding MFR. The fronts are also associated with the preceding sheath region followed by the outmost MFR-driven shock.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

CONDITIONS FOR TRANSVERSE WAVES PROPAGATION ALONG THIN MAGNETIC FLUX TUBES ON THE SUN

The propagation of kink waves in the thin gravity stratified flux tubes with a generalized magnetic field distribution model is considered in cylindrical geometry. The new kink wave equations for both wave variables are obtained. It is shown that the inclusion of the radial component of an unperturbed tube magnetic field sufficiently transforms the conditions for the propagation of transverse waves. It is demonstrated that, for the models of isothermal and polytropic atmosphere in the tube and its environment, the propagation of kink waves along thin magnetic flux tubes is cutoff-free.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2016

Kinetic models of magnetic flux ropes observed in the Earth magnetosphere

Magnetic flux ropes (MFR) are universal magnetoplasma structures (similar to cylindrical screw pinches) formed in reconnecting current sheets. In particular, MFR with scales from about the ion inertial length to MHD range are widely observed in the Earth magnetosphere. Typical MFR have force-free configuration with the axial magnetic field peaking on the MFR axis, whereas bifurcated MFR with an off-axis peak of the axial magnetic field are observed as well. In the present paper, we develop kinetic models of force-free and bifurcated MFR and determine consistent ion and electron distribution functions. The magnetic field configuration of the force-free MFR represents well-known Gold-Hoyle MFR (uniformly twisted MFR). We show that bifurcated MFR are characterized by the presence of cold and hot current-carrying electrons. The developed models are capable to describe MFR observed in the Earth magnetotail as well as MFR recently observed by Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission at the Earth magnetopause.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2016

Enhanced magnetic flux density mapping using coherent steady state equilibrium signal in MREIT

Measuring the z-component of magnetic flux density B = (B{sub x}, B{sub y}, B{sub z}) induced by transversally injected current, magnetic resonance electrical impedance tomography (MREIT) aims to visualize electrical property (current density and/or conductivity distribution) in a three-dimensional imaging object. For practical implementations of MREIT technique, it is critical to reduce injection of current pulse within safety requirements. With the goal of minimizing the noise level in measured B{sub z} data, we propose a new method to enhance the measure B{sub z} data using steady-state coherent gradient multi-echo (SSC-GME) MR pulse sequence combining with injection current nonlinear encoding (ICNE) method in MREIT, where the ICNE technique injects current during a readout gradient to maximize the signal intensity of phase signal including B{sub z}. The total phase offset in SSC-GME includes additional magnetic flux density due to the injected current, which is different from the phase signal for the conventional spoiled MR pulse sequence. We decompose the magnetization precession phase from the total phase offset including B{sub z} and optimize B{sub z} data using the steady-state equilibrium signal. Results from a real phantom experiment including different kinds of anomalies demonstrated that the proposed method enhanced B{sub z} comparing to a conventional spoiled pulse sequence.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2016

MAGNETIC FLUX SUPPLEMENT TO CORONAL BRIGHT POINTS

Coronal bright points (BPs) are associated with magnetic bipolar features (MBFs) and magnetic cancellation. Here we investigate how BP-associated MBFs form and how the consequent magnetic cancellation occurs. We analyze longitudinal magnetograms from the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager to investigate the photospheric magnetic flux evolution of 70 BPs. From images taken in the 193 Å passband of the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) we dermine that the BPs’ lifetimes vary from 2.7 to 58.8 hr. The formation of the BP MBFs is found to involve three processes, namely, emergence, convergence, and local coalescence of the magnetic fluxes. The formation of an MBF can involve more than one of these processes. Out of the 70 cases, flux emergence is the main process of an MBF buildup of 52 BPs, mainly convergence is seen in 28, and 14 cases are associated with local coalescence. For MBFs formed by bipolar emergence, the time difference between the flux emergence and the BP appearance in the AIA 193 Å passband varies from 0.1 to 3.2 hr with an average of 1.3 hr. While magnetic cancellation is found in all 70 BPs, it can occur in three different ways: (I) between an MBF and small weak magnetic features (in 33 BPs); (II) within an MBF with the two polarities moving toward each other from a large distance (34 BPs); (III) within an MBF whose two main polarities emerge in the same place simultaneously (3 BPs). While an MBF builds up the skeleton of a BP, we find that the magnetic activities responsible for the BP heating may involve small weak fields.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Magnetic Flux Plays an Important Role during a Black Hole X-Ray Binary Outburst in Radiative Two-temperature General Relativistic Magnetohydrodynamic Simulations

Abstract Black hole (Bh) X-ray binaries cycle through different spectral states of accretion over the course of months to years. Although persistent changes in the Bh mass accretion rate are generally recognized as the most important component of state transitions, it is becoming increasingly evident that magnetic fields play a similarly important role. In this article, we present the first radiative two-temperature general relativistic magnetohydrodynamics simulations in which an accretion disk transitions from a quiescent state at an accretion rate of M ̇ ∼ 10 − 10 M ̇ Edd to a hard-intermediate state at an accretion rate of M ̇ ∼ 10 − 2 M ̇ Edd . This huge parameter space in mass accretion rate is bridged by artificially rescaling the gas density scale of the simulations. We present two jetted BH models with varying degrees of magnetic flux saturation. We demonstrate that in “standard and normal evolution” models, which are unsaturated with magnetic flux, the hot torus collapses into a thin and cold accretion disk when M ̇ ≳ 5 × 10 − 3 M ̇ Edd . On the other hand, in “magnetically arrested disk” models, which are fully saturated with vertical magnetic flux, the plasma remains mostly hot with substructures that condense into cold clumps of gas when M ̇ ≳ 1 × 10 − 2 M ̇ Edd . This suggests that the spectral signatures observed during state transitions are closely tied to the level of magnetic flux saturation.

Astronomy & Astrophysics↗