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At least 739 records · Page 41

DISSIPATION OF PARALLEL AND OBLIQUE ALFVÉN-CYCLOTRON WAVES—IMPLICATIONS FOR HEATING OF ALPHA PARTICLES IN THE SOLAR WIND

We perform 2.5D hybrid simulations with massless fluid electrons and kinetic particle-in-cell ions to study the temporal evolution of ion temperatures, temperature anisotropies, and velocity distribution functions in relation to the dissipation and turbulent evolution of a broadband spectrum of parallel and obliquely propagating Alfvén-cyclotron waves. The purpose of this paper is to study the relative role of parallel versus oblique Alfvén-cyclotron waves in the observed heating and acceleration of alpha particles in the fast solar wind. We consider collisionless homogeneous multi-species plasma, consisting of isothermal electrons, isotropic protons, and a minor component of drifting α particles in a finite-β fast stream near the Earth. The kinetic ions are modeled by initially isotropic Maxwellian velocity distribution functions, which develop nonthermal features and temperature anisotropies when a broadband spectrum of low-frequency nonresonant, ω ≤ 0.34 Ω{sub p}, Alfvén-cyclotron waves is imposed at the beginning of the simulations. The initial plasma parameter values, such as ion density, temperatures, and relative drift speeds, are supplied by fast solar wind observations made by the Wind spacecraft at 1 AU. The imposed broadband wave spectra are left-hand polarized and resemble Wind measurements of Alfvénic turbulence in the solar wind. The imposed magnetic field fluctuations for all cases are within the inertial range of the solar wind turbulence and have a Kraichnan-type spectral slope α = −3/2. We vary the propagation angle from θ = 0° to θ = 30° and θ = 60°, and find that the heating of alpha particles is most efficient for the highly oblique waves propagating at 60°, whereas the protons exhibit perpendicular cooling at all propagation angles.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Divertor characterization and access to dissipative divertor conditions in negative triangularity discharges in DIII-D

Reduced radial transport, short midplane-to-target parallel connection lengths, and a strong effect of cross-field drifts were responsible for the high densities required for detachment in strong negative triangularity (NT) configurations in DIII-D. Dissipative divertor conditions were achieved in NT discharges at different triangularity, injected power, plasma current, and toroidal field direction. Differences between negative and positive triangularity (PT) discharges are analyzed in this paper to understand the requirements for access to detached divertor conditions: power balance, geometry, radial transport and effect of cross-field particle drifts. Parametric dependencies of access to detachment on plasma current and power flowing into the scrape-off layer remained similar in negative and PT and impurity seeding was observed to reduce the density needed to detach by up to 30% at the expense of core impurity dilution. The impact of triangularity on core-edge integration was tested varying bottom triangularity at fixed top triangularity. The high density needed to detach was not intrinsic to the NT edge as shapes with positive lower triangularity and negative upper triangularity were able to detach at lower upstream densities while maintaining an ELM-free NT edge. Confinement degradation at deeper detachment levels was however observed in all NT shapes, often associated with radiation instabilities.

detachment↗

Electric charge build-up and dissipation at pulsed streamer corona by EFISH and probe measurements

The aim of this work is to study the dynamics of volumetric electric charge deposited by a single pin electrode streamer corona in atmospheric air at ambient conditions. Recent studies show that, at pulse-periodic operation, electric charge remains in surrounding air after the first discharge. This residual charge significantly impacts the electric field distribution and morphology of discharges at subsequent pulses. In this study, the residual electrical potential/field was measured during and after dissipation of a pulsed 80kV streamer corona of alternating polarity. This was accomplished using electrostatic probes and the EFISH method (Electric Field Induced Second Harmonic generation). The residual volumetric charge of a positive pulse polarity streamer corona occupies a zone up to 80mm from the electrode. The subsequent application of a negative polarity pulse leads to partial neutralization of the previous charge and the generation of a region with a high-amplitude electric field. Here, the propagation of following positive polarity pulses is limited by the residual positive volumetric charge. The EFISH method reveals the magnitude of the electric field at discharge propagation and electrostatic probes inform the polarity. Intensified imaging acquisition was used to evaluate the spatial distribution and dynamics of corona discharge during the alternating polarity waveform.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Constraints on dissipative unified dark matter

Modern cosmology suggests that the Universe contains two dark components — dark matter and dark energy — both unkown in laboratory physics and both lacking direct evidence. Alternatively, a unified dark sector, described by a single fluid, has been proposed. Dissipation is a common phenomenon in nature and it thus seems natural to consider models dominated by a viscous dark fluid. We focus on the study of bulk viscosity, as isotropy and homogeneity at large scales implies the suppression of shear viscosity, heat flow and diffusion. The generic ansatz ξ∝ρ{sup ν} for the coefficient of bulk viscosity (ρ denotes the mass/energy density), which for ν = −1/2 mimics the ΛCDM background evolution, offers excellent fits to supernova and H(z) data. We show that viscous dark fluids suffer from large contributions to the integrated Sachs-Wolfe effect (generalising a previous study by Li and Barrow) and a suppression of structure growth at small-scales (as seen from a generalized Meszaros equation). Based on recent observations, we conclude that viscous dark fluid models (with ξ∝ρ{sup ν} and neglecting baryons) are strongly challenged.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Tachyon warm-intermediate inflationary universe model in high dissipative regime

We consider tachyonic warm-inflationary models in the context of intermediate inflation. We derive the characteristics of this model in slow-roll approximation and develop our model in two cases, 1- For a constant dissipative parameter Γ. 2- Γ as a function of tachyon field φ. We also describe scalar and tensor perturbations for this scenario. The parameters appearing in our model are constrained by recent observational data. We find that the level of non-Gaussianity for this model is comparable with non-tachyonic model.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

High energy neutrinos from dissipative photospheric models of gamma ray bursts

We calculate the high energy neutrino spectrum from gamma-ray bursts where the emission arises in a dissipative jet photosphere determined by either baryonically or magnetically dominated dynamics, and compare these neutrino spectra to those obtained in conventional internal shock models. We also calculate the diffuse neutrino spectra based on these models, which appear compatible with the current IceCube 40+59 constraints. While a re-analysis based on the models discussed here and the data from the full array would be needed, it appears that only those models with the most extreme parameters are close to being constrained at present. A multi-year operation of the full IceCube and perhaps a next generation of large volume neutrino detectors may be required in order to distinguish between the various models discussed.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Dissipative effects on reheating after inflation

The inflaton must convert its energy into radiation after inflation, which, in a conventional scenario, is caused by the perturbative inflaton decay. This reheating process would be much more complicated in some cases: the decay products obtain masses from an oscillating inflaton and thermal environment, and hence the conventional reheating scenario can be modified. We study in detail processes of particle production from the inflaton, their subsequent thermalization and evolution of inflaton/plasma system by taking dissipation of the inflaton in a hot plasma into account. It is shown that the reheating temperature is significantly affected by these effects.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Instability of a dissipative restricted non-static axial collapse with shear viscosity in f(R) gravity

This paper investigates stability regions for a non-static restricted class of axially symmetric geometry filled with anisotropic, heat radiating and shearing viscous fluid that collapses non-adiabatically. In this context, dynamical equations as well as collapse equation are constructed through perturbation scheme with f(R) = R+εR{sup 2} model. We then develop dynamical instability regions at Newtonian and post-Newtonian eras. It is concluded that pressure anisotropy and heat dissipation increases the instability regions of the collapsing system while shearing viscosity as well as f(R) dark sourced terms decrease them during collapse. Finally, we calculate our results under constant curvature condition and GR limit, i.e., f(R)→R.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Dissipative dark matter and the Andromeda plane of satellites

We show that dissipative dark matter can potentially explain the large observed mass to light ratio of the dwarf satellite galaxies that have been observed in the recently identified planar structure around Andromeda, which are thought to result from tidal forces during a galaxy merger. Whereas dwarf galaxies created from ordinary disks would be dark matter poor, dark matter inside the galactic plane not only provides a source of dark matter, but one that is more readily bound due to the dark matter's lower velocity. This initial N-body study shows that with a thin disk of dark matter inside the baryonic disk, mass-to-light ratios as high as O(90) can be generated when tidal forces pull out patches of sizes similar to the scales of Toomre instabilities of the dark disk. A full simulation will be needed to confirm this result.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Dissipative axial inflation

We analyze in detail the background cosmological evolution of a scalar field coupled to a massless abelian gauge field through an axial term φ/ f {sub γ} F ∼ F , such as in the case of an axion. Gauge fields in this case are known to experience tachyonic growth and therefore can backreact on the background as an effective dissipation into radiation energy density ρ{sub R}, which can lead to inflation without the need of a flat potential. We analyze the system, for momenta k smaller than the cutoff f {sub γ}, including the backreaction numerically. We consider the evolution from a given static initial condition and explicitly show that, if f {sub γ} is smaller than the field excursion φ{sub 0} by about a factor of at least O (20), there is a friction effect which turns on before the field can fall down and which can then lead to a very long stage of inflation with a generic potential. In addition we find superimposed oscillations, which would get imprinted on any kind of perturbations, scalars and tensors. Such oscillations have a period of 4–5 efolds and an amplitude which is typically less than a few percent and decreases linearly with f {sub γ}. We also stress that the curvature perturbation on uniform density slices should be sensitive to slow-roll parameters related to ρ{sub R} rather than φ-dot {sup 2}/2 and we discuss the existence of friction terms acting on the perturbations, although we postpone a calculation of the power spectrum and of non-gaussianity to future work and we simply define and compute suitable slow roll parameters. Finally we stress that this scenario may be realized in the axion case, if the coupling 1/ f {sub γ} to U(1) (photons) is much larger than the coupling 1/ f {sub G} to non-abelian gauge fields (gluons), since the latter sets the range of the potential and therefore the maximal allowed φ{sub 0∼} f {sub G}.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Neutral leakage, power dissipation and pedestal fueling in open vs closed divertors

The effect of divertor closure on neutral leakage, power dissipation and pedestal fueling is explored using the SOLPS code for different densities including attached and detached divertor conditions for DIII-D open and closed divertors. Here, a metric for divertor closure in terms of the percentage of neutrals escaping the divertor is presented. At the detachment onset the population of neutrals escaping the divertor is 12% for the closed divertor and 35% for the open divertor. This results in a lower contribution of the convective term to the total heat flux and increased power losses in the closed divertor. The comparison between the two geometries reveals that for the same upstream density, the upstream temperature is 23% higher in the closed divertor. The physical mechanisms for detachment at lower upstream density in the closed divertor are also identified with the reduction of the convective term directly resulting in 40% decrease and the increased power losses contributing with a factor of 2. The baffling also lowers the neutral flux refueling the pedestal resulting in further reduction of the core density for achieving detachment. The results introduced here show that the divertor recycling is the primary fueling mechanism in DIII-D. It is shown that fueling occurring in the region between the X-point and the outer midplane is at least four times lower in the closed divertor due the baffling structure which enhances target neutral trapping and consequently reduced upstream leakage. Due to the openness of the inner leg to the common flux and HFS regions both open and closed divertor experience almost identical fueling at the HFS highlighting the need to also consider the inboard divertor for shape optimization.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Dissipation and particle energization in moderate to low beta turbulent plasma via PIC simulations

Here, we simulate decaying turbulence in electron-positron pair plasmas using a fully-kinetic particle-in-cell (PIC) code. We run two simulations with moderate-to-low plasma β (the ratio of thermal pressure to magnetic pressure). The energy decay rate is found to be similar in both cases. The perpendicular wave-number spectrum of magnetic energy shows a slope between ${k}_{\perp }^{-1.3}$ and ${k}_{\perp }^{-1.1}$, where the perpendicular (⊥) and parallel (∥) directions are defined with respect to the magnetic field. The particle kinetic energy distribution function shows the formation of a non-thermal feature in the case of lower plasma β, with a slope close to E-1. The correlation between thin turbulent current sheets and Ohmic heating by the dot product of electric field (E) and current density (J) is investigated. By heating the parallel E∥ centerdot J∥ term dominates the perpendicular E⊥ centerdot J⊥ term. Regions of strong E∥ centerdot J∥ are spatially well-correlated with regions of intense current sheets, which also appear correlated with regions of strong E∥ in the low β simulation, suggesting an important role of magnetic reconnection in the dissipation of low β plasma turbulence.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

DO OBLIQUE ALFVEN/ION-CYCLOTRON OR FAST-MODE/WHISTLER WAVES DOMINATE THE DISSIPATION OF SOLAR WIND TURBULENCE NEAR THE PROTON INERTIAL LENGTH?

To determine the wave modes prevailing in solar wind turbulence at kinetic scales, we study the magnetic polarization of small-scale fluctuations in the plane perpendicular to the data sampling direction (namely, the solar wind flow direction, V{sub SW}) and analyze its orientation with respect to the local background magnetic field B{sub 0,local}. As an example, we take only measurements made in an outward magnetic sector. When B{sub 0,local} is quasi-perpendicular to V{sub SW}, we find that the small-scale magnetic-field fluctuations, which have periods from about 1 to 3 s and are extracted from a wavelet decomposition of the original time series, show a polarization ellipse with right-handed orientation. This is consistent with a positive reduced magnetic helicity, as previously reported. Moreover, for the first time we find that the major axis of the ellipse is perpendicular to B{sub 0,local}, a property that is characteristic of an oblique Alfven wave rather than oblique whistler wave. For an oblique whistler wave, the major axis of the magnetic ellipse is expected to be aligned with B{sub 0,local}, thus indicating significant magnetic compressibility, and the polarization turns from right to left handedness as the wave propagation angle ({theta}{sub kB}) increases toward 90 Degree-Sign . Therefore, we conclude that the observation of a right-handed polarization ellipse with orientation perpendicular to B{sub 0,local} seems to indicate that oblique Alfven/ion-cyclotron waves rather than oblique fast-mode/whistler waves dominate in the 'dissipation' range near the break of solar wind turbulence spectra occurring around the proton inertial length.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

THE EXTREMELY HIGH PEAK ENERGY OF GRB 110721A IN THE CONTEXT OF A DISSIPATIVE PHOTOSPHERE SYNCHROTRON EMISSION MODEL

The Fermi observations of GRB 110721A have revealed an unusually high peak energy {approx}15 MeV in the first time bin of the prompt emission. We find that an interpretation is unlikely in terms of internal shock models, and confirm that a standard blackbody photospheric model also falls short. On the other hand, we show that dissipative photospheric synchrotron models ranging from extreme magnetically dominated to baryon dominated dynamics are able to accommodate such high peak values.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

SHORT DISSIPATION TIMES OF PROTO-PLANETARY DISKS: AN ARTIFACT OF SELECTION EFFECTS?

The frequency of disks around young stars, a key parameter for understanding planet formation, is most readily determined in young stellar clusters where many relatively coeval stars are located in close proximity. Observational studies seem to show that the disk frequency decreases rapidly with cluster age with <10% of cluster stars retaining their disks for longer than 2-6 Myr. Given that at least half of all stars in the field seem to harbor one or more planets, this would imply extremely fast disk dispersal and rapid planet growth. Here we question the validity of this constraint by demonstrating that the short disk dissipation times inferred to date might have been heavily underestimated by selection effects. Critically, for ages >3 Myr only stars that originally populated the densest areas of very populous clusters, which are prone to disk erosion, are actually considered. This tiny sample may not be representative of the majority of stars. In fact, the higher disk fractions in co-moving groups indicate that it is likely that over 30% of all field stars retain their disks well beyond 10 Myr, leaving ample time for planet growth. Equally, our solar system, with a likely formation time >10 Myr, need no longer be an exception but in fact typical of planetary systems.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Electron-scale current sheets and energy dissipation in 3D kinetic-scale plasma turbulence with low electron beta

ABSTRACT Three-dimensional kinetic-scale turbulence is studied numerically in the regime where electrons are strongly magnetized (the ratio of plasma species pressure to magnetic pressure is βe = 0.1 for electrons and βi = 1 for ions). Such a regime is relevant in the vicinity of the solar corona, the Earth’s magnetosheath, and other astrophysical systems. The simulations, performed using the fluid-kinetic spectral plasma solver (sps) code, demonstrate that the turbulent cascade in such regimes can reach scales smaller than the electron inertial scale, and results in the formation of electron-scale current sheets (ESCS). Statistical analysis of the geometrical properties of the detected ESCS is performed using an algorithm based on the medial axis transform. A typical half-thickness of the current sheets is found to be on the order of electron inertial length or below, while their half-length falls between the electron and ion inertial length. The pressure–strain interaction, used as a measure of energy dissipation, exhibits high intermittency, with the majority of the total energy exchange occurring in current structures occupying approximately 20 per cent of the total volume. Some of the current sheets corresponding to the largest pressure–strain interaction are found to be associated with Alfvénic electron jets and magnetic configurations typical of reconnection. These reconnection candidates represent about 1 per cent of all the current sheets identified.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Assessing the thermal dissipation sap flux density method for monitoring cold season water transport in seasonally snow-covered forests

Productivity of conifers in seasonally snow-covered forests is high before and during snowmelt when environmental conditions are optimal for photosynthesis. Climate change is altering the timing of spring in many locations, and changes in the date of transition from winter dormancy can have large impacts on annual productivity. Sap flow methods provide a promising approach to monitor tree activity during the cold season and the winter–spring and fall–winter transitions. Although sap flow techniques have been widely used, cold season results are generally not reported. Here we examine the feasibility of using the Granier thermal dissipation (TD) sap flux density method to monitor transpiration and dormancy of evergreen conifers during the cold season. We conducted a laboratory experiment which demonstrated that the TD method reliably detects xylem water transport (when it occurs) both at near freezing temperature and at low flow rate, and that the sensors can withstand repeated freeze–thaw events. However, the dependence between sensor output and water transport rate in these experiments differed from the established TD relation. In field experiments, sensors installed in two Abies forests lasted through two winters and a summer with low failure. The baseline (no-flow) sensor output varied considerably with temperature during the cold season, and a new baseline algorithm was developed to accommodate this variation. The Abies forests differed in elevation (2070 and 2620 m), and there was a clear difference in timing of initiation and cessation of transpiration between them. We conclude that the TD method can be reliably used to examine water transport during cold periods with associated low flow conditions

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

Higher symmetry breaking and nonreciprocity in a driven-dissipative Dicke model

Higher symmetries in interacting many-body systems often give rise to new phases and unexpected dynamical behavior. Here, we theoretically investigate a variant of the Dicke model with higher-order discrete symmetry, resulting from complex-valued coupling coefficients between quantum emitters and a bosonic mode. We propose a driven-dissipative realization of this model focusing on optomechanical response of a driven atom tweezer array comprised of 𝑛 subensembles and placed within an optical cavity, with the phase of the driving field advancing stepwise between subensembles. Examining stationary points and their dynamical stability, we identify a phase diagram for 𝑛≥3 with three distinctive features: a ℤ 𝑛 (ℤ 2⁢𝑛 ) symmetry-breaking superradiant phase for even (odd) 𝑛, a normal unbroken-symmetry phase that is dynamically unstable due to nonreciprocal forces between emitters, and a first-order phase transition separating these phases. This 𝑛-phase Dicke model may be equivalently realized in a variety of optomechanical or optomagnonic settings, where it can serve as a test bed for studying high-order symmetry breaking and nonreciprocal interactions in open systems.

Non-reciprocal propagation↗