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At least 847 records · Page 47
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1982

Results from the Magsat mission

The results of analyses of the data gathered by Magsat on the geomagnetic field, crustal magnetic anomalies, fields arising from external current systems, and in investigations of the earth's core, mantle, and core-mantle boundary are presented. A least squares potential function showed that the geomagnetic field was 30,000-50,000 nanoteslas at the Magsat altitude, while fields from external sources were 0-1000 nanoteslas and those from crustal sources 0-50 nanoteslas. Long-wavelength magnetic anomalies were correlated with tectonic features, sometimes reflecting undulations in the Curie isotherm at other times changes in the structure of the lower crust. Detailed anomaly maps from regional data analyses are provided, and possible future spacecraft missions for improving the resolution of contours and strengths of the anomalies are described.

Langel, R. A.↗
NASA NTRS1995

Circinus X-1 revisited: Fast-timing properties in relation to spectral state

We have studied the X-ray spectral and fast-timing variations of Cir X-1 by performing a homogenous analysis of all EXOSAT ME data on this source using X-ray hardness-intensity diagrams (HIDs), color-color diagrams (CDs), and power spectra. Cir X-1 exhibits a wide range of power spectral shapes and a large variety in X-ray spectral shapes. At different epochs the power spectra variously resemble those of an atoll source, a Z source, a black-hole candidate, or are unlike any of these. At some epochs one-dimensional connected-branch patterns are seen in HID and CD, and at other times more complex structures are found. We interpret the complex behavior of Cir X-1 in terms of a model where accretion rate, orbital phase and epoch are the main determinants of the source behavior, and where the unique properties of the source are due to two special circumstances: (1) the source is the only known atoll source (accreting neutron star with a very low magnetic field) that can reach the Eddington critical accretion rate, and (2) it has a unique, highly eccentric and probably precessing orbit. Property (1) makes Cir X-1 a very important source for our understanding of the similarities in the observable properties of neutron stars and black holes as it allows to separate out black hole signatures from properties that are merely due to the presence of accretion compact with a low magnetic field.

Oosterbroek, T.↗
DOE OSTI2021

New Modulation and Impact of Transformer Leakage Inductance on Current-Source Solid-State Transformer

This article presents a novel modulation scheme for device voltage stress mitigation and comprehensive analysis of the impact of transformer leakage inductance in a current-source solid-state transformer (SST). Different from dual active bridge (DAB) SST, the operation of the current-source SST is similar to that of a flyback converter. The device bridge on only one side of the transformer is active to store energy into or release energy from the magnetizing inductance which acts as a current-source dc link. Such flyback operation with reverse-blocking switches can lead to additional device voltage stress and incomplete zero-voltage switching (ZVS) on the current-source soft-switching solid-state transformer (S4T) under conventional modulation. A new modulation scheme is proposed to address this issue. Moreover, different from the DAB, the leakage inductance of the medium-frequency transformer (MFT) in the S4T is a parasitic element similar to that in a matrix SST and can cause additional device voltage stress. Though the resonant capacitors, originally added to achieve ZVS, can absorb and recycle the leakage energy in the S4T, these capacitors need to be increased with larger leakage inductances to limit the voltage stress. However, large resonant capacitors can result in more lost duty cycles and reduced efficiency. The impact of such leakage inductance on device voltage stress is analyzed comprehensively, which is critical to guide future research and design of the S4T. Experimental results from S4T prototypes for DC-DC, multiport AC-DC, and AC-AC conversion with 1:1 and 4:1 MFT comprehensively verify the proposed concepts. Lastly, a case study of a three-phase AC-AC S4T over a power range from 1 kVA to 100 kVA each module reveals that the MFT leakage inductance should be less than 1% of the magnetizing inductance for safe operation.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2025

Fabrication of a Nb-Ti Superconducting Closed-Loop Coil for the Next-Generation 45 GHz ECR Ion Source MARS-D

Electron Cyclotron Resonance Ion Sources (ECRISs) that utilize Nb-Ti superconducting coils for 28 GHz frequencies have been operating effectively for over twenty years. However, transitioning to higher frequencies demands stronger magnetic fields, and the conventional racetrack-and-solenoid ECRIS structures have reached their maximum capability with Nb-Ti. To address this, a Mixed Axial and Radial field System Demonstrator (MARS-D) is being developed at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL). This system features an innovative Closed-Loop Coil (CLC) design that optimizes the use of the conductor fields, enabling the application of Nb-Ti in the next-generation 45 GHz ECRISs. The fabrication of the hexagonal CLC is particularly challenging due to its complex winding path and shape, the stiffness of the Nb-Ti superconducting wire, and the small bending radius. Here, to address these challenges, a series of unique fixtures and tools, as well as a pre-over-bending method, were developed for winding the CLC. To validate the winding fixtures, tools, procedures, and materials used in the coil assembly, a 4-layer practice CLC was wound, epoxy-impregnated, and then cold-tested using liquid nitrogen. The full-size MARS-D CLC is in the process of winding. This paper presents the structure of the MARS-D CLC, the winding fixtures and tools, the winding procedures, the quality control, the impregnation, the test results, and the potential future improvements.

ECR ion sources↗
NASA NTRS1991

What are the gigahertz peaked-spectrum radio sources?

The astrophysical implications of recent radio and optical observations of the powerful compact gigahertz peaked-spectrum (GPS) radio sources are discussed. Some tentative conclusions are presented and a scenario based on the existing data is suggested. It is argued that the spectrum is due to synchrotron self-absorption, which is assumed as the basis for the present inferences from the radio spectral shape. The finding that some GPS sources have a very narrow spectral shape is consistent with the hypothesis that there is a narrow range of size scales which dominate the radio luminosity. The highly inverted LF radio spectrum is consistent with the hypothesis that the radio source is tightly confined. The conclusion that the radio polarization of these sources is systematically low is consistent either with a very tangled magnetic field or very large Faraday rotation measures. It is suggested that GPS radio sources are formed when the radio plasma is confined on the scale of the narrow-line region by an unusually dense and clumpy ISM. The existing optical spectroscopic results are also consistent with the existence of a dense and dusty nuclear ISM.

O'Dea, C. P.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Numerical simulations of a siphon mechanism for quiescent prominence formation

Quiescent prominences represent a significant challenge to our understanding of the flow of mass and energy in the outer layers of the solar atmosphere. A small number of quiescent prominences contain as much mass as the entire corona (Athay, 1976). The problem then is how to get that much material into the relatively small volume of a prominence and maintain it at a temperature of 10,000 K in close proximity to material at one million K. The thermal insulation to conduction provided by the magnetic field explains the disparate temperatures. The mass source problem is less well understood. One method for supplying mass to the prominence is to siphon it from the chromosphere. The siphon mechanism begins with a magnetic loop that evolves into a configuration with a gravitational well, such as that described by Kippenhahn and Schluter (1957). This could be formed, for example, by a twist in the magnetic field. A gravitational well could also be formed by a condensation induced sag in the field. This could further enhance the condensation process. Once this well has formed, or as it is forming, the material in the well area of the loop must cool and condense to the point where radiative losses exceed any heat input. Additional material must also flow into the well from the underlying chromosphere to supply the mass required to form the prominence. One example from a series of numerical simulations that were performed to study the formation of quiescent prominences is presented.

Poland, A. I.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Compact Ion Source for Mass Spectrometers

Cyclotron-resonance device uses miniature components and permanent magnet for small size, low weight, and low cost. Gas molecules are ionized by electrons from hot filament. Magnetic field, acting with electrostatic drift field, causes ions to move in circles with a superimposed drift perpendicular to both fields, toward the exit. Compact source can be used for studying ion-molecule reactions by ion cyclotron-resonance methods in conventional mass spectrometer with either magnetic sector or quadrupole sector.

Anicich, V. G.↗
DOE OSTI2023

Modeling of the cold electron plasma density for radiation belt physics

This review focusses strictly on existing plasma density models, including ionospheric source models, empirical density models, physics-based and machine-learning density models. This review is framed in the context of radiation belt physics and space weather codes. The review is limited to the most commonly used models or to models recently developed and promising. A great variety of conditions is considered such as the magnetic local time variation, geomagnetic conditions, ionospheric source regions, radial and latitudinal dependence, and collisional vs. collisionless conditions. These models can serve to complement satellite observations of the electron plasma density when data are lacking, are for most of them commonly used in radiation belt physics simulations and can improve our understanding of the plasmasphere dynamics.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
NASA NTRS2000

Sigmoid CME Source Regions at the Sun: Some Recent Results

Identifying Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) precursors in the solar corona would be an important step in space weather forecasting, as well as a vital key to understanding the physics of CMEs. Twisted magnetic field structures are suspected of being the source of at least some CMEs. These features can appear sigmoid (S or inverse-S) shaped in soft X-ray (SXR) images. We review recent observations of these structures and their relation to CMEs, using soft X-ray (SXR) data from the Soft X-ray Telescope (SXT) on the Yohkoh satellite, and EUV data from the EUV Imaging Telescope (EIT) on the SOHO satellite. These observations indicate that the pre-eruption sigmoid patterns are more prominent in SXRs than in EUV, and that sigmoid precursors are present in over 50% of CMEs. These findings are important for CME research, and may potentially be a major component to space weather forecasting. So far, however, the studies have been subject to restrictions that will have to be relaxed before sigmoid morphology can be used as a reliable predictive tool. Moreover, some CMEs do not display a SXR sigmoid structure prior to eruption, and some others show no prominent SXR signature of any kind before or during eruption.

Sterling, Alphonse C.↗
NASA NTRS2000

Sigmoid CME Source Regions at The Sun: Some Recent Results

Identifying coronal mass ejection (CME) precursors in the solar corona would be an important step in space weather forecasting, as well as a vital key to understanding the physics of CMEs. Twisted magnetic field structures are suspected of being the source of at least some CMEs. These features can appear sigmoid (S or inverse-S) shaped in soft X-ray, (SXR) images. We review recent observations of these structures and their relation to CMEs. using SXR data from the Soft X-ray Telescope (SXT) on the Yohkoh satellite, and EUV data from the EUV Imaging Telescope (EIT) on the SOHO satellite. These observations indicate that the pre-eruption sigmoid patterns are more prominent in SXRs than in EUV, and that sigmoid precursors are present in over 50% of CMEs. These findings are important for CME research, and may potentially be a major component to space weather forecasting. So far, however, the studies have been subject to restrictions that will have to be relaxed before sigmoid morphology can be used as a reliable predictive too[. Moreover, some CMEs do not display a SXR sigmoid structure prior to eruption, and some others show no prominent SXR signature of any kind before or during eruption.

Sterling, Alphonse C.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Atomic oxygen beam source for erosion simulation

A device for production of low-energy (5-10 eV) neutral atomic beams for surface modification studies, which recreates the flux of atomic oxygen in LEO, is described. The beam is produced by acceleration of plasma ions onto a negatively biased plate of high-Z metal; the ions are neutralized and reflected by the surface, retaining a large fraction of their incident kinetic energy, forming a beam of atoms. The device is based on a magnetically confined (3-4 kG) coaxial plasma source and the atom energy can be varied by adjusting the bias voltage. The source provides a neutral flux of roughly 5 x 10 to the 16th/sq cm/s at a distance of 10 cm and a fluence of roughly 10 to the 21st/sq cm in five hours. The source has been characterized with plasma diagnostics and by measuring the energy of an atomic argon beam using a mass spectrometer. Samples of carbon film, carbon-based paint, Kapton, Mylar, and Teflon exposed to atomic O beams show erosion quite similar to those observed in orbit on the Space Shuttle.

Cuthbertson, J. W.↗
NASA NTRS1972

Calculation of neutron-decay-proton trapping in the Jovian magnetosphere

Investigations on the possible proton fluxes resulting from cosmic ray albedo neutron decay (CRAND) are summarized. It is recalled that experimental data on the earth's belts are reasonably consistent with a CRAND source for most of the protons with energies 50 MeV in the heart of the inner belt. It is assumed that the CRAND and cosmic ray flux and spectrum for Jupiter are the same as for the Earth, with the significant difference that considerably higher energy particles are needed to reach the Jupiter atmosphere at the same magnetic latitude. The ratio of the CRAND source averaged over an L shell on Jupiter to that on Earth at L = 1.3 is derived from a geometrical calculation. The ratio of average loss rate on Jupiter to that for the Earth is also discussed. The flux around Jupiter is obtained by scaling according to the ratio of source to loss from the flux observed in the Earth's inner belt.

Thomas, J. R.↗
NASA NTRS2005

MTRAP: The Magnetic Transition Region Probe

The Magnetic Transition Region Probe is a space telescope designed to measure the magnetic field at several heights and temperatures in the solar atmosphere, providing observations spanning the chromospheric region where the field is expected to become force free. The primary goal is to provide an early warning system (hours to days) for solar energetic particle events that pose a serious hazard to astronauts in deep space and to understand the source regions of these particles. The required magnetic field data consist of simultaneous circular and linear polarization measurements in several spectral lines over the wavelength range from 150 to 855 nm. Because the observations are photon limited an optical telescope with a large (>18sq m) collecting area is required. To keep the heat dissipation problem manageable we have chosen to implement MTRAP with six separate Gregorian telescopes, each with approx. 3 sq m collecting area, that are brought to a common focus. The large field of view (5 x 5 arcmin(sup 2)) and angular resolution (0.025 arcsec pixels) require large detector arrays and, because of the requirements on signal to noise (10(exp 3)), pixels with large full well depths to reduce the readout time and improve the temporal resolution. The optical and engineering considerations that have gone into the development of a concept that meets MTRAP's requirements are described.

Davis, J. M.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Structure of magnetic fields on the quiet sun

To obtain quantitative temporal and spatial information on the network magnetic fields, auto- and cross-correlation techniques are applied to the Big Bear videomagnetogram data. The average size of the network magnetic elements derived from the auto-correlation curve is about 5700 km. The distance between the primary and secondary peak in the auto-correlation curve is about 17,000 km, which is half of the size of the supergranule as determined from the velocity map. The canceling features and the emergence of ephemeral regions are the major sources for the loss and replenishment of magnetic flux on the quiet sun.

Wang, Haimin↗
NASA NTRS1994

One-dimensional multispecies hydrodynamic models of the wakeside ionosphere of Titan

The passage of Voyager 1 through the wakeside region of Titan's ionosphere provided an interesting probe of this plasma environment. A one-dimensional multispecies hydrodynamic model was developed to study the wakeside ionosphere for radial distances ranging from 1.3 to 4.5 R(sub T) and included the ion species H2CN(+), C(sub n) H(sub m)(+), C2H5(+), CH5(+), H(+), H2(+), and H3(+). Plasma transport only along magnetic field lines was included. The only source of ion production was from electron impact ionization of Titan's atmosphere by radially streaming Saturnian magnetospheric electrons (i.e., the nightside wakeside ionosphere). We found that ion production rates due to hot (200 eV) magnetospheric electrons impacting Titan's neutral atmosphere along radial field lines were comparable to the dayside ion production rates due to solar EUV flux. The magnetic flux tube area was varied along with electron temperature, and the results were compared to the ion densities and velocities measured during the Voyager 1 encounter. We found outward ion flows of about (2 to 7 x 10(exp 6)/sq cm/s, resulting in a total ion loss from Titan into Saturn's magnetosphere of about (6 to 20) x 10(exp 24)/s.

Keller, C. N.↗
DOE OSTI2022

Investigating the effects of electron bounce-cyclotron resonance on plasma dynamics in capacitive discharges operated in the presence of a weak transverse magnetic field

Recently, Patil et al. [Phys. Rev. Res. 4, 013059 (2022)] have reported the existence of an enhanced operating regime when a low-pressure (5 mTorr) capacitively coupled discharge (CCP) is driven by a very high radio frequency (60 MHz) source in the presence of a weak external magnetic field applied parallel to its electrodes. Their particle-in-cell simulations show that a significantly higher bulk plasma density and ion flux can be achieved at the electrode when the electron cyclotron frequency equals half of the applied radio frequency for a given fixed voltage. In the present work, we take a detailed look at this phenomenon and further delineate the effect of this “electron bounce-cyclotron resonance (EBCR)” on the electron and ion dynamics of the system. We find that the ionization collision rate and stochastic heating are maximum under resonance condition. The electron energy distribution function also indicates that the population of tail-end electrons is highest for the case where EBCR is maximum. Formation of electric field transients in the bulk plasma region is also seen at lower values of applied magnetic field. Finally, we demonstrate that the EBCR-induced effect is a low-pressure phenomenon and weakens as the neutral gas pressure increases. The potential utility of this effect to advance the operational performance of CCP devices for industrial purposes is discussed in this report.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

Geophysical signatures of soil AFFF contamination from spectral induced polarization and low field nuclear magnetic resonance methods

Few field methods are available for characterizing source zones contaminated with aqueous film forming foam (AFFF). Non-invasive geophysical characterization of AFFF source zone contamination in situ could assist with the delineation and characterization of these sites, allowing for more informed sampling regimes aimed at quantifying subsurface poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination. In this study, we present initial results from the investigation of the sensitivity of two existing surface and borehole-deployable geophysical technologies, spectral induced polarization (SIP), and low field nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), to soils impacted with AFFF. To investigate the sensitivity of these methods to AFFF-impacted soil, bench-scale column experiments were conducted on samples consisting of natural and synthetic soils and groundwater. While our findings do not show strong evidence of NMR sensitivity to soil PFAS contamination, we do find evidence that SIP has sufficient sensitivity to detect PFAS sorption to soils. This finding is based on evidence that AFFF constituents associated with the pore surface produce a measurable polarization response in both freshly contaminated synthetic soils and in soils historically impacted with AFFF.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS1984

Continental and oceanic crustal magnetization modelling

Inversion of magnetic data from the MAGSAT satellite, to arrive at intensities of magnetization of the Earth's crust, was performed by two different methods. The first method uses a spherical harmonic model of the magnetic field. The coefficients believed to represent sources in the Earth's crust can then be inverted to arrive at vertical dipole moments per unit area at the Earth's surface. The spherical harmonic models contain coefficients of degrees of harmonics up to 23. The dipole moment per unit area for a surface element can then be determined by summing the contribution for each individual degree of harmonic. The magnetic moments were calculated for continental and oceanic areas separately as well as over certain latitudinal segments. Of primary concern was to determine whether there are any differences between continental and oceanic areas. The second analysis with magnetization intensities was made using narrower ranges of degrees of harmonics, assuming that higher degrees are present in the core field signal.

Harrison, C. G. A.↗