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At least 739 records · Page 41

Torsional oscillations of the sun

The sun's differential rotation has a cyclic pattern of change that is tightly correlated with the sunspot, or magnetic activity, cycle. This pattern can be described as a torsional oscillation, in which the solar rotation is periodically sped up or slowed down in certain zones of latitude while elsewhere the rotation remains essentially steady. The zones of anomalous rotation move on the sun in wavelike fashion, keeping pace with and flanking the zones of magnetic activity. It is uncertain whether this torsional oscillation is a globally coherent ringing of the sun or whether it is a local pattern caused by and causing local changes in the magnetic fields. In either case, it may be an important link in the connection between the rotation and the cycle that is widely believed to exist but is not yet understood.

Snodgrass, H. B.↗

Multi-spacecraft observations of magnetopause surface waves - ISEE 1 and 2 determinations of amplitude, wavelength and period

The multispacecraft ISEE mission made it possible to study propagation of surface waves on the magnetopause. One case studied in detail was near local noon at a latitude of 24.4 deg. The inferred instantaneous magnetopause normal vectors oscillated about the model magnetopause normal vector in a manner expected for a wave propagating along the magnetopause from the subsolar region. By assuming a model monochromatic wave and a constant magnetopause thickness, the best-fit that yields the three wave parameters( amplitude, wavelength, and period) is determined.

Song, PU↗

Fundamental Processes of Atomization in Fluid-Fluid Flows

This report outlines the major results of the grant "Fundamental Processes of Atomization in Fluid-Fluid Flows." These include: 1) the demonstration that atomization in liquid/liquid shear flow is driven by a viscous shear instability that triggers the formation of a long thin sheet; 2) discovery of a new mode of interfacial instability for oscillatory two-layer systems whereby a mode that originates within the less viscous liquid phase causes interfacial deformation as the oscillation proceeds; 3) the demonstration that rivulet formation from gravity front occurs because the local front shape specified by gravity and surface tension changes from a nose to a wedge geometry, thus triggering a large increase in viscous resistance; and 4) extension of the studies on nonlinear wave evolution on falling films and in stratified flow, particularly the evolution towards large-amplitude solitary waves that tend to generate drops.

McCready, M. J.↗

Quantitative phase imaging around water vapor microbubbles under pulsed laser illumination

We measured water temperature around a self-oscillating water vapor-rich bubble using diffraction phase microscopy equipped with a pulsed laser. The water vapor-rich bubble, which causes a strong water flow around it, was generated by locally heating degassed water through the photothermal conversion properties of an FeSi2 thin film. The generation of the flow is related to the self-oscillation of the bubble at sub-MHz frequencies and the temperature distribution around it. Here, the refractive index of the surrounding water was measured using a pulsed laser with a 3.5-ns pulse duration, which guarantees a time resolution of less than 1/200 of the oscillation cycle of the bubble. The temperature distribution around the bubble was calculated from the measured refractive index.

Narihira, Kyoshiro [Kyoto University, Japan]↗

Vulnerability of a VOC-Based Inverter Due to Noise Injection and Its Mitigation

Even though virtual oscillator control (VOC)-based inverters do not communicate with each other, they need to make local measurements for control. The impact of tampering with these measured or sensed signals on the performance of a VOC-based inverter and synchronization of multiple such inverters is an important but open-ended issue. As such, this letter explores the impact of intentional side-channel noise intrusion (SNI) on the synchronization of VOC-based communication-free self-synchronizing inverters (CFSIs). Two different scenarios are investigated via experimental and analytical studies using a half-bridge neutral point clamped (NPC) single-phase CFSI. Furthermore, they address the impact of SNI on the ability of a CFSI to ensure a stable 60-Hz limit cycle and on the parallel operation of two such CFSIs to ensure synchronism to a common 60-Hz load frequency.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Medium-range order and compositional correlation in metallic glasses

The compositional atomic ordering in metallic glasses was studied by simulation focusing on the medium-range order (MRO). Many metallic alloy liquids and glasses show MRO characterized by the oscillations in the atomic pair-distribution function (PDF) beyond the first peak, which decay exponentially with distance. To study the effects of the local chemical order on MRO, we examine the compositionally resolved PDF and its MRO for models of various binary metallic alloy glasses. We show that compositional ordering is limited mostly to the nearest-neighbor atoms and the MRO is largely independent of the compositional order. For some elements that strongly repel each other in the alloy, a second MRO periodicity is observed owing to the distinct correlations among them. These results are discussed in light of the idea that the MRO oscillations in the PDF describe the correlations in the atomic density fluctuations, rather than the detailed local atomic structure.

Atomic structure↗

Recent developments in shock-capturing schemes

The development of the shock capturing methodology is reviewed, paying special attention to the increasing nonlinearity in its design and its relation to interpolation. It is well-known that higher-order approximations to a discontinuous function generate spurious oscillations near the discontinuity (Gibbs phenomenon). Unlike standard finite-difference methods which use a fixed stencil, modern shock capturing schemes use an adaptive stencil which is selected according to the local smoothness of the solution. Near discontinuities this technique automatically switches to one-sided approximations, thus avoiding the use of discontinuous data which brings about spurious oscillations.

Harten, Ami↗

Oscillatory Spreading and Inertia in Power Grids

The increase in variable renewable generators (VRGs) in power systems has altered the dynamics from a historical experience. VRGs introduce new sources of power oscillations, and the stabilizing response provided by synchronous generators (SGs, e.g., natural gas, coal, etc.), which help avoid some power fluctuations, will lessen as VRGs replace SGs. These changes have led to the need for new methods and metrics to quickly assess the likely oscillatory behavior for a particular network without performing computationally expensive simulations. This work studies the impact of a critical dynamical parameter - the inertia value - on the rest of a power system's oscillatory response to representative VRG perturbations. We use a known localization metric in a novel way to quantify the number of nodes responding to a perturbation and the magnitude of those responses. This metric allows us to relate the spread and severity of a system's power oscillations with inertia. We find that as inertia increases, the system response to node perturbations transitions from localized (only a few close nodes respond) to delocalized (many nodes across the network respond). We introduce a heuristic computed from the network Laplacian to relate this oscillatory transition to the network structure. We show that our heuristic accurately describes the spread of oscillations for a realistic power-system test case. Using a heuristic to determine the likely oscillatory behavior of a system given a set of parameters has wide applicability in power systems, and it could decrease the computational workload of planning and operation.

dynamical systems↗

Local principles of wave propagation in inhomogeneous media

Four local principles are proven for waves propagating in a layered medium with a variable wave speed. These principles are (1) that inhomogeneities increase the amplitude of waves generated by a source of fixed strength, (2) that inhomogeneities reduce spatial oscillation, or increase the wavelength, (3) that inhomogeneities decrease transmission, or increase reflection, and (4) that transmission increases monotonically with frequency. Definitions of inhomogeneity, local wave function, and local reflection and transmission coefficients are made as a basis for stating these principles.

Gingold, Harry↗

Limit Cycle Oscillating Detonation Wave Behavior Analysis Within a Rotating Detonation Engine

Limit cycle oscillation (LCO) detonation wave behaviors are presented and analyzed for test times exceeding 20 s in a water-cooled rotating detonation engine (RDE). LCO detonation waves exhibit cyclic acceleration and deceleration, resulting in oscillating wave spacing at unique process conditions. In previous RDE studies, similar behaviors have been studied as microsecond-scale instabilities leading to ascending or descending modal transitions. In the current work, however, LCO waves are considered a persistent wave mode, occupying unique portions of the operational envelope adjacent to those of their equally spaced counterparts. These occurrences of LCO waves are repeatable, enduring behaviors. A method to generate shifted contour surfaces specifically intended to extract and analyze wave spacing variation through time, termed limit cycle oscillation visualization (LCOV) surfaces, is presented. LCOV surfaces transform data into the reference frame of a primary traveling wave and are used to analyze quasi-steady, short-timescale, and transitional LCO modes. Results are leveraged to understand the relationship between fill height, wave strength, local wave acceleration, and subsequent LCO wave spacing for individual wave sets. In conclusion, quasi-steady LCO waves display wave spacing oscillations between equal spacing values associated with ±1 wave across runs exceeding 18 s.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗

MARS-Q modeling of kink-peeling instabilities in DIII-D QH-mode plasma

In quiescent H-mode (QH-mode) regime, edge harmonic oscillations (EHOs) are believed to provide necessary radial transport to prevent occurrence of large edge localized modes. A systematic modeling study is performed here on the low- n EHOs in a DIII-D QH-mode plasma (Chen et al 2016 Nucl. Fusion 56 076011), by utilizing the MARS-Q code (Liu et al 2013 Phys. Plasmas 20 042503). Both the n = 1 and n = 2 instabilities are found to be strongly localized near the plasma edge, exhibiting the edge-peeling characteristics. The DIII-D resistive wall is found to have minor effects on these instabilities. The plasma resistivity is found to strongly modify the mode growth rate. Assuming the Spitzer model for the plasma resistivity, the computed mode growth rate scales as S sup>-1/3 with S being the Lundquist number. Toroidal flow of the plasma slightly stabilizes these edge localized kink-peeling modes. Drift kinetic effects all have a destabilization effect on these modes. Non-perturbative magneto-hydrodynamic-kinetic hybrid computations find that the drift kinetic effects associated with thermal particle species push the peak location of the eigenmode radially inward but still in the pedestal region. The modeled plasma temperature and density fluctuations in the plasma edge region, as well as the poloidal magnetic field perturbations along both the low and high field sides of the plasma surface, are in good agreement with experimental measurements. Finally, the quasi-linear initial value simulations find a strong non-linear interplay between the kink-peeling instability and the toroidal flow near the plasma edge. The combined effect of the damping of the flow amplitude and change of the edge flow shear is found to be the stabilizing factor for the kink-peeling mode, leading to the mode saturation and thus EHOs.

Physics↗

Dwarf spheroidal galaxies and resonant orbital coupling

The structural properties of the dwarf spheroidal satellite galaxies of the Milky Way may be strongly affected by their time-dependent interactions with the 'tidal' field of the Milky Way. A low Q resonance of the tidal driving force with collective oscillation modes of the dwarf system can produce many of the observed properties of the Local Group dwarf spheroidal galaxies, including large velocity dispersions that would normally be interpreted as indicating large dynamical masses.

Kuhn, J. R.↗

Stochastic charging of dust grains in planetary rings: Diffusion rates and their effects on Lorentz resonances

Dust grains in planetary rings acquire stochastically fluctuating electric charges as they orbit through any corotating magnetospheric plasma. Here we investigate the nature of this stochastic charging and calculate its effect on the Lorentz resonance (LR). First we model grain charging as a Markov process, where the transition probabilities are identified as the ensemble-averaged charging fluxes due to plasma pickup and photoemission. We determine the distribution function P(t;N), giving the probability that a grain has N excess charges at time t. The autocorrelation function tau(sub q) for the strochastic charge process can be approximated by a Fokker-Planck treatment of the evolution equations for P(t; N). We calculate the mean square response to the stochastic fluctuations in the Lorentz force. We find that transport in phase space is very small compared to the resonant increase in amplitudes due to the mean charge, over the timescale that the oscillator is resonantly pumped up. Therefore the stochastic charge variations cannot break the resonant interaction; locally, the Lorentz resonance is a robust mechanism for the shaping of etheral dust ring systems. Slightly stronger bounds on plasma parameters are required when we consider the longer transit times between Lorentz resonances.

Schaffer, L.↗

The Prospective Search for Highly Ionized Technetium in Hot (pre-) White Dwarfs

The discovery of technetium (Tc) in the atmospheres of red giants by Merrill (1952, ApJ, 116, 21) constituted convincing proof that s-process nucleosynthesis is indeed occurring in evolved stars. In principle, Tc should still be present in the atmospheres of hot post-AGB stars and (pre-) white dwarfs although, due to radioactive decay, it should be present in decreasing quantities along post-AGB evolution. The recent discovery of a large number of trans-iron group elements in hot white dwarfs with atomic numbers in the range A = 30-56 (Zn to Ba) raises the prospect that Tc (A = 43) may also be detected. However, this is currently not feasible because no atomic data exist for ionization stages beyond Tc ii. As an initial step, we calculated atomic energy levels and oscillator strengths of Tc iv-vi and used these data to compute non-local thermodynamic equilibrium (NLTE) model atmospheres to estimate at which minimum abundance level Tc could be detected. We show that Tc lines can be found in ultraviolet spectra of hot white dwarfs provided Tc is as abundant as other detected trans-Fe elements. We find that radiative levitation can keep Tc in large, easily detectable quantities in the atmosphere. A direct identification of Tc lines is still not feasible because wavelength positions cannot be computed with necessary precision. Laboratory measurements are necessary to overcome this problem. Our results suggest that such efforts are beneficial to the astrophysical community.

prospective↗

High-order diamond differencing schemes for the Boltzmann Fokker-Planck equation in 3D Cartesian geometries

The Boltzmann Fokker-Planck, an approximate form of the linear Boltzmann equation is commonly used to treat efficiently the transport of charged particles in matter. This paper introduces the application of high-order diamond differencing schemes (HODD), specifically the DD1 and DD2 schemes which are 4- and 6-order accurate respectively, to handle the spatial discretization of that equation in 3D Cartesian geometries. The energy deposition solutions for the coupled transport of electrons and photons presented in this work shows that HODD, compared to classical DD scheme, provides correction to the oscillations and a reduced propensity to yield negative fluxes. They are useful tools to minimize local error, notably in regions with abrupt variations of the flux solution. They also can be used to reduced execution time by decreasing the needed number of voxels to obtain a fixed accuracy. On the tested benchmarks, the DD1 scheme is 87%- 92%-91% more accurate than the classical DD scheme for total, mean per-voxels and maximum deviation of energy deposition values respectively. For comparison, a calculation with 8 times more voxels, requiring roughly 2.5 times more time to execute, is 92%-90%-77% more accurate. (authors)

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Electron plasma oscillations associated with type III radio emissions and solar electrons

Results of an extensive search for electron plasma oscillations associated with type III radio noise bursts are presented which were obtained by analyzing 87 type III bursts detected in plasma-wave and charged-particle measurements carried out by IMP 6, 7, and 8. Only one case is found for which plasma oscillations were associated with electrons of solar origin; at least eight events are identified in which no plasma oscillations were detected even though electrons from solar flares were clearly evident. The type III emissions are compared with similar radiation coming from upstream of earth's bow shock at the harmonic of the local electron plasma frequency, and quantitative calculations of the rate of conversion from plasma oscillatory energy to electromagnetic radiation are performed. The results show that electron plasma oscillations are seldom observed in association with solar electron events and type III radio bursts at 1.0 AU and that neither the type III emissions nor the radiation from upstream of the bow shock can be adequately explained by a current model for the coupling of electron plasma oscillations to electromagnetic radiation. Several possible explanations are considered for this discrepancy between theory and observations.

Gurnett, D. A.↗

Vii. New Kr IV - VII Oscillator Strengths and an Improved Spectral Analysis of the Hot, Hydrogen-deficient Do-type White Dwarf RE 0503-289

For the spectral analysis of high-resolution and high signal-to-noise (SN) spectra of hot stars, state-of-the-art non-local thermodynamic equilibrium (NLTE) model atmospheres are mandatory. These are strongly dependent on the reliability of the atomic data that is used for their calculation. Aims. New Krivvii oscillator strengths for a large number of lines enable us to construct more detailed model atoms for our NLTEmodel-atmosphere calculations. This enables us to search for additional Kr lines in observed spectra and to improve Kr abundance determinations. Methods. We calculated Krivvii oscillator strengths to consider radiative and collisional bound-bound transitions in detail in our NLTE stellar-atmosphere models for the analysis of Kr lines that are exhibited in high-resolution and high SN ultraviolet (UV)observations of the hot white dwarf RE 0503.

Rauch, T.↗

Coherent electrical control of a single high-spin nucleus in silicon

Nuclear spins are highly coherent quantum objects. In large ensembles, their control and detection via magnetic resonance is widely exploited, for example, in chemistry, medicine, materials science and mining. Nuclear spins also featured in early proposals for solid-state quantum computers and demonstrations of quantum search and factoring algorithms. Scaling up such concepts requires controlling individual nuclei, which can be detected when coupled to an electron. However, the need to address the nuclei via oscillating magnetic fields complicates their integration in multi-spin nanoscale devices, because the field cannot be localized or screened. Control via electric fields would resolve this problem, but previous methods relied on transducing electric signals into magnetic fields via the electron–nuclear hyperfine interaction, which severely affects nuclear coherence. In this work, we demonstrate the coherent quantum control of a single 123 Sb (spin-7/2) nucleus using localized electric fields produced within a silicon nanoelectronic device. The method exploits an idea proposed in 1961 but not previously realized experimentally with a single nucleus. Our results are quantitatively supported by a microscopic theoretical model that reveals how the purely electrical modulation of the nuclear electric quadrupole interaction results in coherent nuclear spin transitions that are uniquely addressable owing to lattice strain. The spin dephasing time, 0.1 seconds, is orders of magnitude longer than those obtained by methods that require a coupled electron spin to achieve electrical driving. These results show that high-spin quadrupolar nuclei could be deployed as chaotic models, strain sensors and hybrid spin-mechanical quantum systems using all-electrical controls. Integrating electrically controllable nuclei with quantum dots could pave the way to scalable, nuclear- and electron-spin-based quantum computers in silicon that operate without the need for oscillating magnetic fields.

42 ENGINEERING↗