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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 793 records · Page 44
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2013

Evanescent wave decomposition in a novel resonator comprising unmagnetized and magnetized plasma layers

A 4 Multiplication-Sign 4 transfer matrix method has been applied to study the decomposition of any elliptically polarized wave in a magnetized resonator. When the incident elliptically polarized wave passes through the structure, it is orthogonally decomposed into two circular polarizations at two resonance frequencies. Without changing the structure of the resonator, the positions of the resonant frequencies of the right- and left-handed circularly polarized waves can be modulated by changing the external magnetized field. The results show that the proposed magnetized structure can be used to design a novel resonator, which can be applied in the decomposition of polarized electromagnetic waves.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2014

Contactless measurement of alternating current conductance in quantum Hall structures

We report a procedure to determine the frequency-dependent conductance of quantum Hall structures in a broad frequency domain. The procedure is based on the combination of two known probeless methods—acoustic spectroscopy and microwave spectroscopy. By using the acoustic spectroscopy, we study the low-frequency attenuation and phase shift of a surface acoustic wave in a piezoelectric crystal in the vicinity of the electron (hole) layer. The electronic contribution is resolved using its dependence on a transverse magnetic field. At high frequencies, we study the attenuation of an electromagnetic wave in a coplanar waveguide. To quantitatively calibrate these data, we use the fact that in the quantum-Hall-effect regime the conductance at the maxima of its magnetic field dependence is determined by extended states. Therefore, it should be frequency independent in a broad frequency domain. The procedure is verified by studies of a well-characterized p-SiGe/Ge/SiGe heterostructure.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
NASA NTRS1998

Traveling-Wave Tubes

The traveling-wave tube (TWT) is a vacuum device invented in the early 1940's used for amplification at microwave frequencies. Amplification is attained by surrendering kinetic energy from an electron beam to a radio frequency (RF) electromagnetic wave. The demand for vacuum devices has been decreased largely by the advent of solid-state devices. However, although solid state devices have replaced vacuum devices in many areas, there are still many applications such as radar, electronic countermeasures and satellite communications, that require operating characteristics such as high power (Watts to Megawatts), high frequency (below 1 GHz to over 100 GHz) and large bandwidth that only vacuum devices can provide. Vacuum devices are also deemed irreplaceable in the music industry where musicians treasure their tube-based amplifiers claiming that the solid-state and digital counterparts could never provide the same "warmth" (3). The term traveling-wave tube includes both fast-wave and slow-wave devices. This article will concentrate on slow-wave devices as the vast majority of TWTs in operation fall into this category.

Kory, Carol L.↗
DOE OSTI2017

Intrinsic left-handed electromagnetic properties in anisotropic superconductors

Left-handed materials usually are realized in artificial subwavelength structures. In this, we show that some anisotropic superconductors such as Bi 2 Sr 2 CaCu 2 O 8+δ , YBa 2 Cu x O y , and La 2-x Sr x CuO 4 , are intrinsic left-handed materials. The condition is that the plasma frequency in the c axis, ω c , and in the ab plane, ω ab , and the operating angular frequency, ω , satisfy ω c < ω < ω ab . In addition, ω should be smaller than the superconducting energy gap to sustain superconductivity. We study the reflection and transmission of electromagnetic waves and reveal negative refraction and the backward wave with the phase velocity opposite to the direction of energy flux propagation. We also discuss possible approaches for improvement, making these properties feasible for experimental validation. Being intrinsic left-hand materials, the anisotropic superconductors are promising for applications in functional electromagnetic devices in the terahertz frequency band.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2017

Energy stable discontinuous Galerkin methods for Maxwell's equations in nonlinear optical media

The propagation of electromagnetic waves in general media is modeled by the time-dependent Maxwell's partial differential equations (PDEs), coupled with constitutive laws that describe the response of the media. In this work, we focus on nonlinear optical media whose response is modeled by a system of first order nonlinear ordinary differential equations (ODEs), which include a single resonance linear Lorentz dispersion, and the nonlinearity comes from the instantaneous electronic Kerr response and the residual Raman molecular vibrational response. To design efficient, accurate, and stable computational methods, we apply high order discontinuous Galerkin discretizations in space to the hybrid PDE-ODE Maxwell system with several choices of numerical fluxes, and the resulting semi-discrete methods are shown to be energy stable. Under some restrictions on the strength of the nonlinearity, error estimates are also established. When we turn to fully discrete methods, the challenge to achieve provable stability lies in the temporal discretizations of the nonlinear terms. To overcome this, novel strategies are proposed to treat the nonlinearity in our model within the framework of the second-order leap-frog and implicit trapezoidal time integrators. The performance of the overall algorithms are demonstrated through numerical simulations of kink and antikink waves, and third-harmonic generation in soliton propagation.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
NASA NTRS2012

Magnetic and Electric Field Polarizations of Oblique Magnetospheric Chorus Waves

A theory was developed to explain the properties of the chorus magnetic and electric field components in the case of an arbitrary propagation angle. The new theory shows that a whistler wave has circularly polarized magnetic fields for oblique propagation. This theoretical result is verified by GEOTAIL observations. The wave electric field polarization plane is not orthogonal to the wave vector, and in general is highly elliptically polarized. A special case of the whistler wave called the Gendrin mode is also discussed. This will help to construct a detailed and realistic picture of wave interaction with magnetosphere electrons. It is the purpose of this innovation to study the magnetic and electric polarization properties of chorus at all frequencies, and at all angles of propagation. Even though general expressions for electromagnetic wave polarization in anisotropic plasma are derived in many textbooks, to the knowledge of the innovators, a detailed analysis for oblique whistler wave mode is lacking. Knowledge of the polarization properties is critical for theoretical calculations of resonant wave-particle interactions.

Verkhoglyadova, Olga↗
DOE OSTI2019

Theoretical and computational studies on the scattering of radio frequency waves by fluctuations

The practical and economic viability of tokamak fusion reactors depends, in a significant way, on the efficiency of radio frequency (RF) waves to deliver energy and momentum to the plasma in the core of the reactor. Among the various attributes of RF waves is their ability to heat magnetically confined plasmas, induce plasma currents in an effort to achieve steady state, and modify the current profile so as to control plasma instabilities like the neoclassical tearing modes. The RF electromagnetic waves, excited by antenna structures placed near the wall of a tokamak, have to propagate through the turbulent plasma in the scrape-off layer (SOL) along their path to the core plasma. While the propagation and damping of RF waves in the core is reasonably well understood, the same is not true for RF propagation through the SOL. In present day fusion devices, the radial width of the SOL is of the order of a few centimeters. In ITER and in future fusion reactors this width will be of the order of tens of centimeters. Any deleterious effects on RF waves due to plasma turbulence in the SOL has to be properly understood in order to optimize the delivery of RF energy and momentum into the core. This paper is on a multi-pronged approach that is being pursued to quantify the effect of SOL plasma on RF waves. The SOL is composed of coherent filamentary, or blob like, structures and incoherent fluctuations. For coherent structures a full-wave theoretical model has been developed. This model is used to benchmark computational codes that are subsequently used to study general distribution of filaments, thereby extending the range of the theoretical formulation. For incoherent fluctuations, a common approach towards quantifying the effects of turbulence is the Kirchhoff technique. This technique is based on physical optics and the wave fields at any point on a spatially varying surface are approximated to be the same as the fields on a tangent plane at that point. The results from the theoretical analysis are compared with full-wave numerical simulations for incoherent fluctuations. The final part of these studies is to construct the effective permittivity of a turbulent plasma that is a mix of coherent and incoherent fluctuations. Towards this end, the ``effective medium approximation'' is being used to construct the permittivity of the turbulent plasma that will be used in full-wave and physical optics studies of scattering. All these approaches are distinctly different from previous studies on the RF wave propagation through turbulent plasmas. The theory and computations discussed in this paper apply to RF waves in any frequency range and for arbitrary variations in density, and reveal new and important physical insights into the scattering of RF waves.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2015

Effective group index of refraction in non-thermal plasma photonic crystals

Plasma photonic crystals (PPCs) are periodic arrays that consist of alternate layers of micro-plasma and dielectric. These structures are used to control the propagation of electromagnetic waves. This paper presents a survey of research on the effect of non-thermal plasma with bi-Maxwellian distribution function on one dimensional PPC. A plasma with temperature anisotropy is not in thermodynamic equilibrium and can be described by the bi-Maxwellian distribution function. By using Kronig-Penny's model, the dispersion relation of electromagnetic modes in one dimensional non-thermal PPC (NPPC) is derived. The band structure, group velocity v{sub g}, and effective group index of refraction n{sub eff}(g) of such NPPC structure with TeO{sub 2} as the material of dielectric layers have been studied. The concept of negative group velocity and negative n{sub eff}(g), which indicates an anomalous behaviour of the PPCs, are also observed in the NPPC structures. Our numerical results provide confirmatory evidence that unlike PPCs there are finite group velocity and non-zero effective group indexes of refraction in photonic band gaps (PBGs) that lie in certain ranges of normalized frequency. In other words, inside the PBGs of NPPCs, n{sub eff}(g) becomes non-zero and photons travel with a finite group velocity. In this special case, this velocity varies alternately between 20c and negative values of the order 10{sup 3}c (c is the speed of light in vacuum)

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
NASA NTRS1974

Electromagnetic and scalar diffraction by a right-angled wedge with a uniform surface impedance

The diffraction of an electromagnetic wave by a perfectly-conducting right-angled wedge with one surface covered by a dielectric slab or absorber is considered. The effect of the coated surface is approximated by a uniform surface impedance. The solution of the normally incident electromagnetic problem is facilitated by introducing two scalar fields which satisfy a mixed boundary condition on one surface of the wedge and a Neumann of Dirichlet boundary condition on the other. A functional transformation is employed to simplify the boundary conditions so that eigenfunction expansions can be obtained for the resulting Green's functions. The eigenfunction expansions are transformed into the integral representations which then are evaluated asymptotically by the modified Pauli-Clemmow method of steepest descent. A far zone approximation is made to obtain the scattered field from which the diffraction coefficient is found for scalar plane, cylindrical or sperical wave incident on the edge. With the introduction of a ray-fixed coordinate system, the dyadic diffraction coefficient for plane or cylindrical EM waves normally indicent on the edge is reduced to the sum of two dyads which can be written alternatively as a 2 X 2 diagonal matrix.

Hwang, Y. M.↗
DOE OSTI2016

The general dielectric tensor for bi-kappa magnetized plasmas

In this paper, we derive the dielectric tensor for a plasma containing particles described by an anisotropic superthermal (bi-kappa) velocity distribution function. The tensor components are written in terms of the two-variables kappa plasma special functions, recently defined by Gaelzer and Ziebell [Phys. Plasmas 23, 022110 (2016)]. We also obtain various new mathematical properties for these functions, which are useful for the analytical treatment, numerical implementation, and evaluation of the functions and, consequently, of the dielectric tensor. The formalism developed here and in the previous paper provides a mathematical framework for the study of electromagnetic waves propagating at arbitrary angles and polarizations in a superthermal plasma.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
NASA NTRS1984

Method and apparatus for self-calibration and phasing of array antenna

A technique for self-calibrating and phasing a lens-feed array antenna, while normal operation is stopped, utilizes reflected energy of a continuous and coherent wave broadcast by a transmitter through a central feed while a phase controller advances the phase angles of reciprocal phase shifters in radiation electronics of the array elements at different rates to provide a distinct frequency modulation of electromagnetic wave energy returned by reflection in one mode and leakage in another mode from the radiation electronics of each array element. The composite return signal received by a synchronous receiver goes through a Fourier transform processing system and produces a response function for each antenna element. Compensation of the phase angles for the antenna elements required to conform the antenna response to a precomputed array pattern is derived from the reciprocal square root of the response functions for the antenna elements which, for a rectangular array of NXM elements, is a response function T(n,m). A third mode of calibration uses an external pilot tone from a separate antenna element. Respective responses are thus obtained from the three modes of calibration.

Wu, C.↗
DOE OSTI2015

Resonance of relativistic electrons with electromagnetic ion cyclotron waves

Relativistic electrons have been thought to more easily resonate with electromagnetic ion cyclotron EMIC waves if the total density is large. We show that, for a particular EMIC mode, this dependence is weak due to the dependence of the wave frequency and wave vector on the density. A significant increase in relativistic electron minimum resonant energy might occur for the H band EMIC mode only for small density, but no changes in parameters significantly decrease the minimum resonant energy from a nominal value. The minimum resonant energy depends most strongly on the thermal velocity associated with the field line motion of the hot ring current protons that drive the instability. High density due to a plasmasphere or plasmaspheric plume could possibly lead to lower minimum resonance energy by causing the He band EMIC mode to be dominant. We demonstrate these points using parameters from a ring current simulation.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS1975

Influence of gravitation on the propagation of electromagnetic radiation

The existence of a general helicity-rotation coupling is demonstrated for electromagnetic waves propagating in the field of a slowly rotating body and in the Goedel universe. This coupling leads to differential focusing of circularly polarized radiation by a gravitational field which is detectable for a rapidly rotating collapsed body. The electromagnetic perturbations and their frequency spectrum are given for the Goedel universe. The spectrum of frequencies is bounded from below by the characteristic rotation frequency of the Goedel universe. If the universe were rotating, the differential focusing effect would be extremely small due to the present upper limit on the anisotropy of the microwave background radiation.

Mashhoon, B.↗
NASA NTRS2018

Observational Evidence for Langmuir Wave Collapse in the Source Region of a Solar Type III Radio Burst

High-time-resolution in situ wave observations show that Langmuir waves associated with solar type III radio bursts often occur as coherent localized one-dimensional magnetic-field-aligned wave packets with short durations of a few milliseconds and peak intensities well above the strong turbulence thresholds. In this paper, we report observations of a wave packet obtained by the time domain sampler of the STEREO WAVES experiment, which is unique in the sense that it is the most intense wave packet ever detected in association with a solar type III radio burst, with a peak intensity Et ∼ 107 mVm(sup-1). We show that this wave packet provides evidence for (1) oscillating two-stream instability (OTSI), (2) a collapsing soliton formed as a result of OTSI, (3) the formation of a soliton-caviton pair, and (4) excitation of second and third harmonic electromagnetic waves. We also show that the peak intensity and spatial width satisfy the threshold condition for this wave packet to be the collapsing Langmuir wave packet formed as a result of nucleation processes even when δn(sub b) > δn(sub p), where δn(sub b) and δn(sub p) are the levels of background and ponderomotive-force-induced density fluctuations, respectively. Thus, these observations provide unambiguous evidence for the spatial collapse of Langmuir waves in the source region of a type III radio burst, and the observed spectral evidence for OTSI and the ponderomotive-force-induced density cavity strongly suggest that OTSI is mostly likely responsible for the collapse of the observed wave packet.

Radio↗
DOE OSTI2014

Highly efficient terahertz wave modulators by photo-excitation of organics/silicon bilayers

Using hybrid bilayer systems comprising a molecular organic semiconductor and silicon, we achieve optically controllable active terahertz (THz) modulators that exhibit extremely high modulation efficiencies. A modulation efficiency of 98% is achieved from thermally annealed C{sub 60}/silicon bilayers, due to the rapid photo-induced electron transfer from the excited states of the silicon onto the C{sub 60} layer. Furthermore, we demonstrate the broadband modulation of THz waves. The cut-off condition of the system that is determined by the formation of efficient charge separation by the photo-excitation is highly variable, changing the system from insulating to metallic. The phenomenon enables an extremely high modulation bandwidth and rates of electromagnetic waves of interest. The realization of near-perfect modulation efficiency in THz frequencies opens up the possibilities of utilizing active modulators for THz spectroscopy and communications.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2016

RELATIVISTIC CYCLOTRON INSTABILITY IN ANISOTROPIC PLASMAS

A sufficiently large temperature anisotropy can sometimes drive various types of electromagnetic plasma micro-instabilities, which can play an important role in the dynamics of relativistic pair plasmas in space, astrophysics, and laboratory environments. Here, we provide a detailed description of the cyclotron instability of parallel propagating electromagnetic waves in relativistic pair plasmas on the basis of a relativistic anisotropic distribution function. Using plasma kinetic theory and particle-in-cell simulations, we study the influence of the relativistic temperature and the temperature anisotropy on the collective and noncollective modes of these plasmas. Growth rates and dispersion curves from the linear theory show a good agreement with simulations results.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

Variational symplectic particle-in-cell simulation of nonlinear mode conversion from extraordinary waves to Bernstein waves

In this paper, the nonlinear mode conversion of extraordinary waves in nonuniform magnetized plasmas is studied using the variational symplectic particle-in-cell simulation. The accuracy of the nonlinear simulation is guaranteed by the long-term accuracy and conservativeness of the symplectic algorithm. The spectra of the electromagnetic wave, the evolution of the wave reflectivity, the energy deposition profile, and the parameter-dependent properties of radio-frequency waves during the nonlinear mode conversion are investigated. It is illustrated that nonlinear effects significantly modify the physics of the radio-frequency injection in magnetized plasmas. The evolutions of the radio-frequency wave reflectivity and the energy deposition are observed, as well as the self-interaction of the Bernstein waves and mode excitations. Even for waves with small magnitude, nonlinear effects can also become important after continuous wave injections, which are common in the realistic radio-frequency wave heating and current drive experiments.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗