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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 847 records · Page 47
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2014

Atomistic simulation of sub-nanosecond non-equilibrium field cooling processes for magnetic data storage applications

Thermally assisted magnetic writing is an important technology utilizing temperature dependent magnetic properties to enable orientation of a magnetic data storage medium. Using an atomistic spin model, we study non-equilibrium field cooled magnetization processes on sub-nanosecond timescales required for device applications. We encapsulate the essential physics of the process in a thermoremanent magnetization curve and show that for fast timescales, heating to the Curie temperature is necessary where the magnetic relaxation time is shortest. Furthermore, we demonstrate the requirement for large magnetic fields to achieve a high thermoremanent magnetization necessary for fast recording or data rates.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2015

Excited state non-adiabatic dynamics of pyrrole: A time-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy and quantum dynamics study

The dynamics of pyrrole excited at wavelengths in the range 242-217 nm are studied using a combination of time-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy and wavepacket propagations performed using the multi-configurational time-dependent Hartree method. Excitation close to the origin of pyrrole’s electronic spectrum, at 242 and 236 nm, is found to result in an ultrafast decay of the system from the ionization window on a single timescale of less than 20 fs. This behaviour is explained fully by assuming the system to be excited to the A{sub 2}(πσ{sup ∗}) state, in accord with previous experimental and theoretical studies. Excitation at shorter wavelengths has previously been assumed to result predominantly in population of the bright A{sub 1}(ππ{sup ∗}) and B{sub 2}(ππ{sup ∗}) states. We here present time-resolved photoelectron spectra at a pump wavelength of 217 nm alongside detailed quantum dynamics calculations that, together with a recent reinterpretation of pyrrole’s electronic spectrum [S. P. Neville and G. A. Worth, J. Chem. Phys. 140, 034317 (2014)], suggest that population of the B{sub 1}(πσ{sup ∗}) state (hitherto assumed to be optically dark) may occur directly when pyrrole is excited at energies in the near UV part of its electronic spectrum. The B{sub 1}(πσ{sup ∗}) state is found to decay on a timescale of less than 20 fs by both N-H dissociation and internal conversion to the A{sub 2}(πσ{sup ∗}) state.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2015

Semianalytical study of the propagation of an ultrastrong femtosecond laser pulse in a plasma with ultrarelativistic electron jitter

The interaction of a multi-petawatt, pancake-shaped laser pulse with an unmagnetized plasma is studied analytically and numerically in a regime with ultrarelativistic electron jitter velocities, in which the plasma electrons are almost completely expelled from the pulse region. The study is applied to a laser wakefield acceleration scheme with specifications that may be available in the next generation of Ti:Sa lasers and with the use of recently developed pulse compression techniques. A set of novel nonlinear equations is derived using a three-timescale description, with an intermediate timescale associated with the nonlinear phase of the electromagnetic wave and with the spatial bending of its wave front. They describe, on an equal footing, both the strong and the moderate laser intensity regimes, pertinent to the core and to the edges of the pulse. These have fundamentally different dispersive properties since in the core the electrons are almost completely expelled by a very strong ponderomotive force, and the electromagnetic wave packet is imbedded in a vacuum channel, thus having (almost) linear properties. Conversely, at the pulse edges, the laser amplitude is smaller, and the wave is weakly nonlinear and dispersive. New nonlinear terms in the wave equation, introduced by the nonlinear phase, describe without the violation of imposed scaling laws a smooth transition to a nondispersive electromagnetic wave at very large intensities and a simultaneous saturation of the (initially cubic) nonlocal nonlinearity. The temporal evolution of the laser pulse is studied both analytically and by numerically solving the model equations in a two-dimensional geometry, with the spot diameter presently used in some laser acceleration experiments. The most stable initial pulse length is estimated to exceed ≳1.5–2 μm. Moderate stretching of the pulse in the direction of propagation is observed, followed by the development of a vacuum channel and of a very large electrostatic wake potential, as well as by the bending of the laser wave front.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2015

Poloidal asymmetries in edge transport barriers

Measurements of impurities in Alcator C-Mod indicate that in the pedestal region, significant poloidal asymmetries can exist in the impurity density, ion temperature, and main ion density. In light of the observation that ion temperature and electrostatic potential are not constant on a flux surface [Theiler et al. , Nucl. Fusion 54, 083017 (2014)], a technique based on total pressure conservation to align profiles measured at separate poloidal locations is presented and applied. Gyrokinetic neoclassical simulations with XGCa support the observed large poloidal variations in ion temperature and density, and that the total pressure is approximately constant on a flux surface. With the updated alignment technique, the observed in-out asymmetry in impurity density is reduced from previous publishing [Churchill et al. , Nucl. Fusion 53, 122002 (2013)], yet remains substantial (n z,H /n z,L ~6). Candidate asymmetry drivers are explored, showing that neither non-uniform impurity sources nor localized fluctuation-driven transport are able to explain satisfactorily the impurity density asymmetry. Since impurity density asymmetries are only present in plasmas with strong electron density gradients, and radial transport timescales become comparable to parallel transport timescales in the pedestal region, it is implied that global transport effects relating to the strong electron density gradients in the pedestal are the main driver for the pedestal in-out impurity density asymmetry.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2015

Investigation of peeling-ballooning stability prior to transient outbursts accompanying transitions out of H-mode in DIII-D

The H-mode transport barrier allows confinement of roughly twice as much energy as in an L-mode plasma. Termination of H-mode necessarily requires release of this energy, and the timescale of that release is of critical importance for the lifetimes of plasma facing components in next step tokamaks such as ITER. H-L transition sequences in modern tokamaks often begin with a transient outburst which appears to be superficially similar to and has sometimes been referred to as a type-I edge localized mode (ELM). Type-I ELMs have been shown to be consistent with ideal peeling ballooning instability and are characterized by significant (up to ∼50%) reduction of pedestal height on short (∼1 ms) timescales. Knowing whether or not this type of instability is present during H-L back transitions will be important of planning for plasma ramp-down in ITER. This paper presents tests of pre-transition experimental data against ideal peeling-ballooning stability calculations with the ELITE code and supports those results with secondary experiments that together show that the transient associated with the H-L transition is not triggered by the same physics as are type-I ELMs.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2015

Simulations of in situ x-ray diffraction from uniaxially compressed highly textured polycrystalline targets

A growing number of shock compression experiments, especially those involving laser compression, are taking advantage of in situ x-ray diffraction as a tool to interrogate structure and microstructure evolution. Although these experiments are becoming increasingly sophisticated, there has been little work on exploiting the textured nature of polycrystalline targets to gain information on sample response. Here, we describe how to generate simulated x-ray diffraction patterns from materials with an arbitrary texture function subject to a general deformation gradient. We will present simulations of Debye-Scherrer x-ray diffraction from highly textured polycrystalline targets that have been subjected to uniaxial compression, as may occur under planar shock conditions. In particular, we study samples with a fibre texture, and find that the azimuthal dependence of the diffraction patterns contains information that, in principle, affords discrimination between a number of similar shock-deformation mechanisms. For certain cases, we compare our method with results obtained by taking the Fourier transform of the atomic positions calculated by classical molecular dynamics simulations. Illustrative results are presented for the shock-induced α–ϵ phase transition in iron, the α–ω transition in titanium and deformation due to twinning in tantalum that is initially preferentially textured along [001] and [011]. The simulations are relevant to experiments that can now be performed using 4th generation light sources, where single-shot x-ray diffraction patterns from crystals compressed via laser-ablation can be obtained on timescales shorter than a phonon period.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2015

Nonlinear plasma experiments in geospace with gigawatts of RF power at HAARP

The ionosphere is the ionized uppermost layer of our atmosphere (from 70 – 500 km altitude) where free electron densities yield peak critical frequencies in the HF (3 – 30 MHz) range. The ionosphere thus provides a quiescent plasma target, stable on timescales of minutes, for a whole host of active plasma experiments. High power RF experiments on ionospheric plasma conducted in the U.S. have been reported since 1970. The largest HF transmitter built to date is the HAARP phased-array HF transmitter near Gakona, Alaska which can deliver up to 3.6 Gigawatts (ERP) of CW RF power in the range of 2.8 – 10 MHz to the ionosphere with microsecond pointing, power modulation, and frequency agility. With an ionospheric background thermal energy in the range of only 0.1 eV, this amount of power gives access to the highest regimes of the nonlinearity (RF intensity to thermal pressure) ratio. HAARP’s unique features have enabled the conduct of a number of unique nonlinear plasma experiments in the interaction region of overdense ionospheric plasma including generation of artificial aurorae, artificial ionization layers, VLF wave-particle interactions in the magnetosphere, parametric instabilities, stimulated electromagnetic emissions (SEE), strong Langmuir turbulence (SLT) and suprathermal electron acceleration. Diagnostics include the Modular UHF Ionospheric Radar (MUIR) sited at HAARP, the SuperDARN-Kodiak HF radar, spacecraft radio beacons, HF receivers to record stimulated electromagnetic emissions (SEE) and telescopes and cameras for optical emissions. We report on short timescale ponderomotive overshoot effects, artificial field-aligned irregularities (AFAI), the aspect angle dependence of the intensity of the HF-enhanced plasma line, and production of suprathermal electrons. One of the primary missions of HAARP, has been the generation of ELF (300 – 3000 Hz) and VLF (3 – 30 kHz) radio waves which are guided to global distances in the Earth-ionosphere waveguide. We review recent efforts to improve the efficiency of the generation ELF/VLF and develop alternative mechanisms that do not require a natural ionospheric current. Applications include the controlled study of ionospheric irregularities affecting spacecraft communication and navigation systems.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2015

Modification of transparent materials with ultrashort laser pulses: What is energetically and mechanically meaningful?

A comprehensive analysis of laser-induced modification of bulk glass by single ultrashort laser pulses is presented which is based on combination of optical Maxwell-based modeling with thermoelastoplastic simulations of post-irradiation behavior of matter. A controversial question on free electron density generated inside bulk glass by ultrashort laser pulses in modification regimes is addressed on energy balance grounds. Spatiotemporal dynamics of laser beam propagation in fused silica have been elucidated for the regimes used for direct laser writing in bulk glass. 3D thermoelastoplastic modeling of material relocation dynamics under laser-induced stresses has been performed up to the microsecond timescale when all motions in the material decay. The final modification structure is found to be imprinted into material matrix already at sub-nanosecond timescale. Modeling results agree well with available experimental data on laser light transmission through the sample and the final modification structure.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2016

Practicality of magnetic compression for plasma density control

Here, plasma densification through magnetic compression has been suggested for time-resolved control of the wave properties in plasma-based accelerators [P. F. Schmit and N. J. Fisch, Phys. Rev. Lett. 109, 255003 (2012)]. Using particle in cell simulations with real mass ratio, the practicality of large magnetic compression on timescales shorter than the ion gyro-period is investigated. For compression times shorter than the transit time of a compressional Alfven wave across the plasma slab, results show the formation of two counter-propagating shock waves, leading to a highly non-uniform plasma density profile. Furthermore, the plasma slab displays large hydromagnetic like oscillations after the driving field has reached steady state. Peak compression is obtained when the two shocks collide in the mid-plane. At this instant, very large plasma heating is observed, and the plasmaβ is estimated to be about 1. Although these results point out a densification mechanism quite different and more complex than initially envisioned, these features still might be advantageous in particle accelerators.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2016

Ultrafast and band-selective Auger recombination in InGaN quantum wells

In InGaN quantum well based light-emitting diodes, Auger recombination is believed to limit the quantum efficiency at high injection currents. Here in this paper, we report the direct observation of carrier loss from Auger recombination on a sub-picosecond timescale in a single InGaN quantum well using time-resolved photoemission. Selective excitations of different valence sub-bands reveal that the Auger rate constant decreases by two orders of magnitude as the effective hole mass decreases, confirming the critical role of momentum conservation.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2016

Sub-grid-scale description of turbulent magnetic reconnection in magnetohydrodynamics

Magnetic reconnection requires, at least locally, a non-ideal plasma response. In collisionless space and astrophysical plasmas, turbulence could transport energy from large to small scales where binary particle collisions are rare. We have investigated the influence of small scale magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) turbulence on the reconnection rate in the framework of a compressible MHD approach including sub-grid-scale (SGS) turbulence. For this sake, we considered Harris-type and force-free current sheets with finite guide magnetic fields directed out of the reconnection plane. The goal is to find out whether unresolved by conventional simulations MHD turbulence can enhance the reconnection process in high-Reynolds-number astrophysical plasmas. Together with the MHD equations, we solve evolution equations for the SGS energy and cross-helicity due to turbulence according to a Reynolds-averaged turbulence model. The SGS turbulence is self-generated and -sustained through the inhomogeneities of the mean fields. By this way, the feedback of the unresolved turbulence into the MHD reconnection process is taken into account. It is shown that the turbulence controls the regimes of reconnection by its characteristic timescale τ{sub t}. The dependence on resistivity was investigated for large-Reynolds-number plasmas for Harris-type as well as force-free current sheets with guide field. We found that magnetic reconnection depends on the relation between the molecular and apparent effective turbulent resistivity. We found that the turbulence timescale τ{sub t} decides whether fast reconnection takes place or whether the stored energy is just diffused away to small scale turbulence. If the amount of energy transferred from large to small scales is enhanced, fast reconnection can take place. Energy spectra allowed us to characterize the different regimes of reconnection. It was found that reconnection is even faster for larger Reynolds numbers controlled by the molecular resistivity η, as long as the initial level of turbulence is not too large. This implies that turbulence plays an important role to reach the limit of fast reconnection in large Reynolds number plasmas even for smaller amounts of turbulence.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2016

Gain and refractive index dynamics in p-doped InAs quantum dash semiconductor optical amplifiers

The ultrafast carrier dynamics in a p-doped dash-in-a-well structure at 1.5 μm is experimentally investigated. An analysis of the timescales related to carrier relaxation and escape processes as well as the “dynamical” linewidth enhancement factor is presented and compared with results obtained from similar un-doped materials. Intentional p-doping of the active region results in an enhancement of the intermediate timescale of the gain dynamics associated with phonon-assisted electron capture and a reduction of the α-factor due to increased differential gain.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2016

Direct and real time probe of photoinduced structure transition in colossal magnetoresistive material

Here, we report a direct and real time measurement of photoinduced structure phase transition in single crystal La 0.84 Sr 0.16 MnO 3 using femtosecond electron diffraction. The melting of orthorhombic lattice ordering under femtosecond optical excitation is found involving two distinct processes with different time scales, an initial fast melting of orthorhombic phase in about 4 ps and a subsequent slower transformation in 90 ps and longer timescales. Furthermore, the fast process is designated as the initial melting of orthorhombic phase induced by the Mn-O bond change that is most likely driven by the quenching of the dynamic Jahn-Teller distortion following the photo-excitation. We attribute the slow process to the growing of newly formed structure domain from the photo-excited sites to the neighboring non-excited orthorhombic sites.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2017

Lifetime and universal distribution of seed runaway electrons

The lifetime of pre-existing runaway electrons determines how likely the runaways will undergo avalanche multiplication. We estimate the lifetime of runaway electrons via kinetic analysis. We show that the rate of runaway decay depends on the combination of parameters α≡(Z+1)/$\sqrt{{\bar{τ}}_{rad}}$ (where $τ_{rad}$ is the synchrotron timescale normalized to the collisional timescale and Z is the ion charge) compared to the electric field. We identify two cases where the decay rate is slow enough to enable a quasi-steady shape of the runaway distribution function. This distribution and its lifetime represent the eigenfunction and the lowest eigenvalue of the kinetic equation. In one case, α$\ll$1: the field required to sustain the pre-existing runaways is barely larger than the Connor-Hastie critical value. In the same manner as by Aleynikov and Breizman [Phys. Rev. Lett. 114, 155001 (2015)], we solve the kinetic equation perturbatively but extend the work to demonstrate that the lifetime grows exponentially with the field at a rate that depends on α. Finally, in the second case, α$\gg$1: the sustainment field is much greater than the Connor-Hastie value, and the largeness of the field in this case enables us to universalize the kinetic equation via the re-scaling procedure.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2018

Anisotropy-driven collisional separation of impurities in magnetized compressing and expanding cylindrical plasmas

When a cylindrically-symmetric magnetized plasma compresses or expands, velocity-space anisotropy is naturally generated as a result of the different adiabatic conservation laws parallel and perpendicular to the magnetic field. When the compression timescale is comparable to the collision timescale, and both are much longer than the gyroperiod, this pressure anisotropy can become significant. We show that this naturallygenerated anisotropy can dramatically affect the transport of impurities in the compressing plasma, even in the absence of scalar temperature or density gradients, by modifying the azimuthal frictions that give rise to radial particle transport. Although the impurity transport direction depends only on the sign of the pressure anisotropy, the anisotropy itself depends on the pitch magnitude of the magnetic field and the sign of the radial velocity. Thus, pressure anisotropy effects can drive impurities either towards or away from the plasma core. These anisotropy-dependent terms represent a qualitatively new effect, influencing transport particularly in the sparse edge regions of dynamically-compressing screw pinch plasmas. Such plasmas are used for both X-ray generation and magneto-inertial fusion, applications which are sensitive to impurity concentrations.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2019

Monitoring the growth dynamics of colloidal gold-silver core-shell nanoparticles using in situ second harmonic generation and extinction spectroscopy

The growth dynamics of gold-silver core-shell (Au@Ag) nanoparticles are studied using in situ time-dependent second harmonic generation (SHG) and extinction spectroscopy to investigate the nanoparticle shell formation. The silver shell is grown by reduction of silver cations onto a 14 nm gold core using ascorbic acid in colloidal aqueous solution under varying reaction concentrations producing Au@Ag nanoparticles of final sizes ranging from 51 to 78 nm in diameter. The in situ extinction spectra show a rapid increase in intensity on the timescale of 5–6 s with blue shifting and narrowing of the plasmonic peak during the silver shell formation. The in situ SHG signals show an abrupt rise at early times of the reaction, followed by a time-dependent biexponential decrease, where the faster SHG lifetime corresponds to the timescale of the shell growth, and where the slower SHG lifetime is attributed to changes in the nanoparticle surface charge density. A large enhancement in the SHG signal at early stages of the reaction is caused by plasmonic hot spots due to the nanoparticle surface morphology, which becomes smoother as the reaction proceeds. The final extinction spectra are compared to finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) calculations, showing general agreement with experiment, where the plasmon peak red shifts and increases in spectral width as the silver shell thickness increases. These in situ SHG and extinction spectroscopy results, combined with FDTD calculations, help characterize the complicated processes involved in colloidal nanoparticle shell formation in real time for developing potential plasmon-enhanced nanomaterial applications.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗