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At least 757 records · Page 42

A boundary integral approach to the scattering of nonplanar acoustic waves by rigid bodies

The acoustic scattering of an incident wave by a rigid body can be described by a singular Fredholm integral equation of the second kind. This equation is derived by solving the wave equation using generalized function theory, Green's function for the wave equation in unbounded space, and the acoustic boundary condition for a perfectly rigid body. This paper will discuss the derivation of the wave equation, its reformulation as a boundary integral equation, and the solution of the integral equation by the Galerkin method. The accuracy of the Galerkin method can be assessed by applying the technique outlined in the paper to reproduce the known pressure fields that are due to various point sources. From the analysis of these simpler cases, the accuracy of the Galerkin solution can be inferred for the scattered pressure field caused by the incidence of a dipole field on a rigid sphere. The solution by the Galerkin technique can then be applied to such problems as a dipole model of a propeller whose pressure field is incident on a rigid cylinder. This is the groundwork for modeling the scattering of rotating blade noise by airplane fuselages.

Gallman, Judith M.↗

Nonlinear propagation of ion-acoustic waves through the Burgers equation in weakly relativistic plasmas

The Burgers equation is obtained to study the characteristics of nonlinear propagation of ionacoustic shock, singular kink, and periodic waves in weakly relativistic plasmas containing relativistic thermal ions, nonextensive distributed electrons, Boltzmann distributed positrons, and kinematic viscosity of ions using the well-known reductive perturbation technique. This equation is solved by employing the (G'/G)-expansion method taking unperturbed positron-to-electron concentration ratio, electron-to-positron temperature ratio, strength of electrons nonextensivity, ion kinematic viscosity, and weakly relativistic streaming factor. The influences of plasma parameters on nonlinear propagation of ion-acoustic shock, periodic, and singular kink waves are displayed graphically and the relevant physical explanations are described. It is found that these parameters extensively modify the shock structures excitation. The obtained results may be useful in understanding the features of small but finite amplitude localized relativistic ion-acoustic shock waves in an unmagnetized plasma system for some astrophysical compact objects and space plasmas.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Nonlinear analysis of a relativistic beam-plasma cyclotron instability

A self-consistent set of nonlinear and relativistic wave-particle equations are derived for a magnetized beam-plasma system interacting with electromagnetic cyclotron waves. In particular, the high-frequency cyclotron mode interacting with a streaming and gyrating electron beam within a background plasma is considered in some detail. This interaction mode may possibly find application as a high-power source of coherent short-wavelength radiation for laboratory devices. The background plasma, although passive, plays a central role in this mechanism by modifying the dielectric properties in which the magnetized electron beam propagates. For a particular choice of the transverse beam velocity (i.e., the speed of light divided by the relativistic mass factor), the interaction frequency equals the nonrelativistic electron cyclotron frequency times the relativistic mass factor. For this choice of transverse beam velocity the detrimental effects of a longitudinal beam velocity spread is virtually removed. Power conversion efficiencies in excess of 18 percent are both analytically calculated and obtained through numerical simulations of the wave-particle equations. The quality of the electron beam, degree of energy and pitch angle spread, and its effect on the beam-plasma cyclotron instability is studied.

Sprangle, P.↗

A new (2+1) dimensional integrable evolution equation for an ion acoustic wave in a magnetized plasma

A new, completely integrable, two dimensional evolution equation is derived for an ion acoustic wave propagating in a magnetized, collisionless plasma. The equation is a multidimensional generalization of a modulated wavepacket with weak transverse propagation, which has resemblance to nonlinear Schrödinger (NLS) equation and has a connection to Kadomtsev-Petviashvili equation through a constraint relation. Higher soliton solutions of the equation are derived through Hirota bilinearization procedure, and an exact lump solution is calculated exhibiting 2D structure. Some mathematical properties demonstrating the completely integrable nature of this equation are described. Modulational instability using nonlinear frequency correction is derived, and the corresponding growth rate is calculated, which shows the directional asymmetry of the system. The discovery of this novel (2+1) dimensional integrable NLS type equation for a magnetized plasma should pave a new direction of research in the field.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

On Dirac equations for linear magnetoacoustic waves propagating in an isothermal atmosphere

A new analytical approach to study linear magnetoacoustic waves propagating in an isothermal, stratified, and uniformly magnetized atmosphere is presented. The approach is based on Dirac equations, and the theory of Sturm-Liouville operators is used to investigate spectral properties of the obtained Dirac Hamiltonians. Two cases are considered: (1) the background magnetic field is vertical, and the waves are separated into purely magnetic (transverse) and purely acoustic (longitudinal) modes; and (2) the field is tilted with respect to the vertical direction and the magnetic and acoustic modes become coupled giving magnetoacoustic waves. For the first case, the Dirac Hamiltonian possesses either a discrete spectrum, which corresponds to standing magnetic waves, or a continuous spectrum, which can be clearly identified with freely propagating acoustic waves. For the second case, the quantum mechanical perturbation calculus is used to study coupling and energy exchange between the magnetic and acoustic components of magnetoacoustic waves. It is shown that this coupling may efficiently prevent trapping of magnetoacoustic waves instellar atmospheres.

Alicki, R.↗

Time-dependent treatment of scattering. II - Novel integral equation approach to quantum wave packets

The novel wave-packet propagation scheme presented is based on the time-dependent form of the Lippman-Schwinger integral equation and does not require extensive matrix inversions, thereby facilitating application to systems in which some degrees of freedom express the potential in a basis expansion. The matrix to be inverted is a function of the kinetic energy operator, and is accordingly diagonal in a Bessel function basis set. Transition amplitudes for various orbital angular momentum quantum numbers are obtainable via either Fourier transform of the amplitude density from the time to the energy domain, or the direct analysis of the scattered wave packet.

Sharafeddin, Omar A.↗

Fully self-consistent solution of the Dyson equation using a plane-wave basis set

Self-consistent solutions of the Dyson equation are obtained using a plane-wave basis set for seven small molecules. Such self-consistent solutions can help to unify the different GW self-consistent schemes, reduce the scatter of results in current GW calculations, and shed light on the true effects of GW self-consistency. Unlike other works of self-consistent GW calculations, in the present work the Green's function is expressed as a matrix under the plane-wave basis set. The algorithmic details which enable such calculations are presented. Finally, the ability to solve the full Green's function using a plane-wave basis set may open the door for future beyond- GW many-body perturbation theory calculations.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Asymptotic analysis of numerical wave propagation in finite difference equations

An asymptotic technique is developed for analyzing the propagation and dissipation of wave-like solutions to finite difference equations. It is shown that for each fixed complex frequency there are usually several wave solutions with different wavenumbers and the slowly varying amplitude of each satisfies an asymptotic amplitude equation which includes the effects of smoothly varying coefficients in the finite difference equations. The local group velocity appears in this equation as the velocity of convection of the amplitude. Asymptotic boundary conditions coupling the amplitudes of the different wave solutions are also derived. A wavepacket theory is developed which predicts the motion, and interaction at boundaries, of wavepackets, wave-like disturbances of finite length. Comparison with numerical experiments demonstrates the success and limitations of the theory. Finally an asymptotic global stability analysis is developed.

Giles, M.↗

Survey of Coherent Approximately 1 Hz Waves in Mercury's Inner Magnetosphere from MESSENGER Observations

We summarize observations by the MESSENGER spacecraft of highly coherent waves at frequencies between 0.4 and 5 Hz in Mercury's inner magnetosphere. This survey covers the time period from 24 March to 25 September 2011, or 2.1 Mercury years. These waves typically exhibit banded harmonic structure that drifts in frequency as the spacecraft traverses the magnetic equator. The waves are seen at all magnetic local times, but their observed rate of occurrence is much less on the dayside, at least in part the result of MESSENGER's orbit. On the nightside, on average, wave power is maximum near the equator and decreases with increasing magnetic latitude, consistent with an equatorial source. When the spacecraft traverses the plasma sheet during its equatorial crossings, wave power is a factor of 2 larger than for equatorial crossings that do not cross the plasma sheet. The waves are highly transverse at large magnetic latitudes but are more compressional near the equator. However, at the equator the transverse component of these waves increases relative to the compressional component as the degree of polarization decreases. Also, there is a substantial minority of events that are transverse at all magnetic latitudes, including the equator. A few of these latter events could be interpreted as ion cyclotron waves. In general, the waves tend to be strongly linear and characterized by values of the ellipticity less than 0.3 and wave-normal angles peaked near 90 deg. Their maxima in wave power at the equator coupled with their narrow-band character suggests that these waves might be generated locally in loss cone plasma characterized by high values of the ratio beta of plasma pressure to magnetic pressure. Presumably both electromagnetic ion cyclotron waves and electromagnetic ion Bernstein waves can be generated by ion loss cone distributions. If proton beta decreases with increasing magnetic latitude along a field line, then electromagnetic ion Bernstein waves are predicted to transition from compressional to transverse, a pattern consistent with our observations. We hypothesize that these local instabilities can lead to enhanced ion precipitation and directly feed field-line resonances.

ultra-low-frequency↗

A Schamel equation for ion acoustic waves in superthermal plasmas

An investigation of the propagation of ion acoustic waves in nonthermal plasmas in the presence of trapped electrons has been undertaken. This has been motivated by space and laboratory plasma observations of plasmas containing energetic particles, resulting in long-tailed distributions, in combination with trapped particles, whereby some of the plasma particles are confined to a finite region of phase space. An unmagnetized collisionless electron-ion plasma is considered, featuring a non-Maxwellian-trapped electron distribution, which is modelled by a kappa distribution function combined with a Schamel distribution. The effect of particle trapping has been considered, resulting in an expression for the electron density. Reductive perturbation theory has been used to construct a KdV-like Schamel equation, and examine its behaviour. The relevant configurational parameters in our study include the superthermality index κ and the characteristic trapping parameter β. A pulse-shaped family of solutions is proposed, also depending on the weak soliton speed increment u{sub 0}. The main modification due to an increase in particle trapping is an increase in the amplitude of solitary waves, yet leaving their spatial width practically unaffected. With enhanced superthermality, there is a decrease in both amplitude and width of solitary waves, for any given values of the trapping parameter and of the incremental soliton speed. Only positive polarity excitations were observed in our parametric investigation.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Variational approach to studying solitary waves in the nonlinear Schrödinger equation with complex potentials

Here in this paper, we discuss the behavior of solitary wave solutions of the nonlinear Schrödinger equation (NLSE) as they interact with complex potentials, using a four-parameter variational approximation based on a dissipation functional formulation of the dynamics. We concentrate on spatially periodic potentials with the periods of the real and imaginary part being either the same or different. Our results for the time evolution of the collective coordinates of our variational ansatz are in good agreement with direct numerical simulation of the NLSE. We compare our method with a collective coordinate approach of Kominis and give examples where the two methods give qualitatively different answers. In our variational approach, we are able to give analytic results for the small oscillation frequency of the solitary wave oscillating parameters which agree with the numerical solution of the collective coordinate equations. We also verify that instabilities set in when the slope dp(t)/dv(t) becomes negative when plotted parametrically as a function of time, where p(t) is the momentum of the solitary wave and v(t) the velocity.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Taylor wave solution for a general equation of state

This document describes a solution procedure for calculating the Taylor wave behind an unsupported Chapman–Jouguet (CJ) detonation in planar, cylindrical, and spherical geometries given a general equation of state. The resulting semi-analytic solution can be utilized to examine new equation of state models for detonation products and during the verification of hydrodynamic codes. The governing partial differential equations are reduced to ordinary differential equations in both characteristic and self-similar forms. The first-order systems corresponding to each geometry are amenable to solution numerically using commonly available methods. A difficulty arises at the CJ point in radial coordinates where the similarity equations become singular. Two separate strategies are proposed to integrate the first-order system. The first one uses an asymptotic approximation near the CJ point that can be used to perturb the boundary conditions. The second one applies a change of variables which removes the singularity at the expense of an additional equation to be integrated. A test problem is provided for the Davis products equation of state to illustrate the qualitative features of the Taylor wave in each geometric configuration and compared with a Lagrangian hydrodynamics research code. A Python code listing gives an implementation using the SciPy library to assists users in generating the results.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Role of nonlinear refraction in the generation of terahertz field pulses by light fields

The generation of microwave (terahertz) pulses without any envelope in a four-level quasi-resonant medium is considered. Two intense quasi-monochromatic laser fields lead to a partial upper-level population. Microwave field pulses cause the transition between these levels. For appropriately chosen scales, the evolution of the fields is shown to be described by the pseudo-spin evolution equations in a microwave field with the inclusion of nonlinear refraction caused by an adiabatic upper-level population. The evolution of terahertz field pulses is described outside the scope of the slow-envelope approximation. When a number of standard approximations are taken into account, this system of equations is shown to be equivalent to an integrable version of the generalized reduced Maxwell-Bloch equations or to the generalized three-wave mixing equations. The soliton solution found by the inverse scattering transform method is used as an example to show that nonlinear refraction leads to a strong compression of the microwave (terahertz) field soliton.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Internal wave solitons

Attention is given to the Benjamin-Ono equation for waves within a stratified fluid, i.e., internal waves. Numerical computations indicate soliton-like behavior since solitary waves pass through each other upon collision. In addition, two and three Lorentzian solitons are noted to pass through one another. An initial Lorentzian having an amplitude larger than soliton amplitude is observed to decay into solitons. The velocities of these solitons may be predicted by conservation laws. Future work will be directed toward determining exact solutions.

Meiss, J. D.↗

Asymptotic method for determining the amplitude for three-particle breakup: Neutron-deuteron scattering

The process of neutron-deuteron scattering at energies above the deuteron-breakup threshold is described within the three-body formalism of Faddeev equations. Use is made of the method of solving Faddeev equations in configuration space on the basis of expanding wave-function components in the asymptotic region in bases of eigenfunctions of specially chosen operators. Asymptotically, wave-function components are represented in the form of an expansion in an orthonormalized basis of functions depending on the hyperangle. This basis makes it possible to orthogonalize the contributions of elastic-scattering and breakup channels. The proposed method permits determining scattering and breakup parameters from the asymptotic representation of the wave function without reconstructing it over the entire configuration space. The scattering and breakup amplitudes for states of total spin S = 1/2 and 3/2 were obtained for the s-wave Faddeev equation.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗

A Self-Consistent Model of the Interacting Ring Current Ions and Electromagnetic Ion Cyclotron Waves, Initial Results: Waves and Precipitating Fluxes

Initial results from a newly developed model of the interacting ring current ions and ion cyclotron waves are presented. The model is based on the system of two kinetic equations: one equation describes the ring current ion dynamics, and another equation describes wave evolution. The system gives a self-consistent description of the ring current ions and ion cyclotron waves in a quasilinear approach. These equations for the ion phase space distribution function and for the wave power spectral density were solved on aglobal magnetospheric scale undernonsteady state conditions during the 2-5 May 1998 storm. The structure and dynamics of the ring current proton precipitating flux regions and the ion cyclotron wave-active zones during extreme geomagnetic disturbances on 4 May 1998 are presented and discussed in detail.

Khazanov, G. V.↗