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At least 865 records · Page 48

The Origin of Power-law Spectra in Relativistic Magnetic Reconnection

Abstract Magnetic reconnection is often invoked as a source of high-energy particles, and in relativistic astrophysical systems it is regarded as a prime candidate for powering fast and bright flares. We present a novel analytical model—supported and benchmarked with large-scale three-dimensional kinetic particle-in-cell simulations in electron–positron plasmas—that elucidates the physics governing the generation of power-law energy spectra in relativistic reconnection. Particles with Lorentz factorγ≳ 3σ(here,σis the magnetization) gain most of their energy in the inflow region, while meandering between the two sides of the reconnection layer. Their acceleration time is t acc ∼ γ η rec − 1 ω c − 1 ≃ 20 γ ω c − 1 , whereη rec ≃ 0.06 is the inflow speed in units of the speed of light andω c =eB 0 /mcis the gyrofrequency in the upstream magnetic field. They leave the region of active energization aftert esc , when they get captured by one of the outflowing flux ropes of reconnected plasma. We directly measuret esc in our simulations and find thatt esc ∼t acc forσ≳ few. This leads to a universal (i.e.,σ-independent) power-law spectrum dN free / d γ ∝ γ − 1 for the particles undergoing active acceleration, and dN / d γ ∝ γ − 2 for the overall particle population. Our results help to shed light on the ubiquitous presence of power-law particle and photon spectra in astrophysical nonthermal sources.

Astronomy & Astrophysics↗

Twin-pulse seeding enables pump-probe capabilities in the EUV to soft X-ray spectrum at synchrotron light sources

Having previously reported that separating the two stages of echo-enabled harmonic generation (EEHG) with one or more bending magnet (BM) sections allows the BMs to serve as the desired source of momentum compaction, here we demonstrate that this arrangement can greatly reduce the total energy modulation required by any 4th generation synchrotron light source, leading to higher repetition rates as well as stronger coherent radiation output power, with significant benefits. Since the EEHG beamline performance is mainly determined by the momentum compaction, beam emittances and beta functions of a storage ring lattice, allowing for different separations between the two stages is a straightforward way to increase the momentum compaction of chicane 1. This also enables pump-probe capabilities in a novel context, where twin-pulse seeding on the same electron bunch would allow two distinct radiation pulses with an adjustable delay in the range of 0.1 to 10 ps. In the twin-pulse seeding scheme, the same electron bunch could undergo modulation from two distinct laser pulses. Later stages would produce independent harmonics in subsequent straight sections. There are two variations of this twin-pulse seeding scheme, supporting different scientific applications. With a common modulation in stage 1, the first option allows simultaneously two independent radiation sources, with a full coverage of the EUV (2.5 to 50 nm) to soft X-ray (1.25 to 2.5 nm) spectrum; for the second option, the same stage 2 undulator could generate two coherent pulses both fitting within the FEL bandwidth, or at distinct harmonics. We present particle tracking simulation studies based on the APS-U lattice, including quantum excitation and radiation damping. These simulations indicate that there is no degradation of the modulated longitudinal phase space even when the two stages are separated by as many as 10 BM sections.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Location of the source of magnetospheric energetic particle bursts by multispacecraft observations

During a magnetic substorm on Oct. 16, 1973 a number of magnetospheric bursts of energetic particles were observed simultaneously by IMP-6 and IMP-7 in the magnetotail. Detailed anisotropy measurements of 210 and 290 keV protons provide for the first time an indication of the location of the source of the energetic magnetospheric particles as well as evidence for its movement with speeds from 30 to more than 80 km/sec, in association with the intensification of the westward auroral electrojet during a magnetic bay at the station closest to the local time of the spacecraft (also local midnight). The observations indicate that energetic particles are accelerated to greater than 1.85 MeV in a moving and localized region in the geomagnetotail.

Sarris, E. T.↗

High-Time-Resolution Study of Magnetic Holes in the Solar Wind

The objectives of this investigation are to determine the internal plasma structure of kinetic-scale and larger scale magnetic holes, and to determine their stability, their source mechanism(s), and their spatial extent. It is also of importance to determine the relationship between kinetic-scale holes and long-duration holes. As smaller and smaller magnetic depressions are investigated in order to make this a complete study, a robust criterion is necessary for distinguishing magnetic holes from random or unresolvable fluctuations in the interplanetary magnetic field. In order to resolve this ambiguity, we obtained from the MFI experiments magnetic field measurements from the WIND spacecraft at a time resolution of 46 to 184 ms over certain periods. We have also devised a measure of certainty for magnetic hole detections. The certainty factor, q, is defined as the difference between the mean magnetic field in the hole and the local magnetic field, in units of the local standard deviation of the field strength. For fullest generality, it is necessary to calculate this q over the range of available scales of interest, from 60 ms up to 300 s. This technique establishes a two dimensional matrix of relative probabilities that a hole of some duration (d) might exist in the data set at a given time (t). In identifying q-peaks in time and duration, we also come upon a natural method for distinguishing holes with internal structure from multiple holes in close proximity or holes nested inside of others. If two q-peaks are more than a half-width apart, they are simply said to be separate events.

Lazarus, Alan↗

Magnetic pair distribution function data using polarized neutrons and ad hoc corrections

Here, we report the first example of magnetic pair distribution function (mPDF) data obtained through the use of neutron polarization analysis. Using the antiferromagnetic semiconductor MnTe as a test case, we present high-quality mPDF data collected on the HYSPEC instrument at the Spallation Neutron Source using longitudinal polarization analysis to isolate the magnetic scattering cross section. Clean mPDF patterns are obtained for MnTe in both the magnetically ordered state and the correlated paramagnet state, where only short-range magnetic order is present. We also demonstrate significant improvement in the quality of high-resolution mPDF data through the application of ad hoc corrections that require only minimal human input, minimizing potential sources of error in the data processing procedure. We briefly discuss the current limitations and future outlook of mPDF analysis using polarized neutrons. Overall, this work provides a useful benchmark for mPDF analysis using polarized neutrons and provides an encouraging picture of the potential for routine collection of high-quality mPDF data.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Microwave emission from the coronae of late-type dwarf stars

VLA microwave observations of 14 late-type dwarf and subgiant stars and binary systems are examined. In this extensive set of observations, four sources at 6 cm (Chi-1 Ori, UV Cet, YY Gem, and Wolf 630AB) were detected and low upper limits for the remaining stars were found. The microwave luminosities of the nondetected F-K dwarfs are as small as 0.01 those of the dMe stars. The detected emission is slowly variable in all cases and is consistent with gyroresonant emission from thermal electrons spiraling in magnetic fields of about 300 gauss if the source sizes are as large as R/R(asterisk) = 3-4. This would correspond to magnetic fields that are probably in the range 0.001-0.0001 gauss at the photospheric level. An alternative mechanism is gyrosynchrotron emission from a relatively small number of electrons with effective temperature.

Linsky, J. L.↗

Emission From Rotation-Powered Pulsars and Magnetars

I will review the latest developments in understanding the high-energy emission of rotation-powered pulsars and magnetically-powered Anomalous X-ray Pulsars (AXPs) and Soft Gamma-Ray Repeaters (SGRs). These fields have been extremely active in the last few years, both observationally and theoretically, driven partly by new X-ray data from Chandra, XMM-Newton and RXTE. At the same time, the Parkes Multibeam Survey has discovered over 700 new radio pulsars, some of them young, coincident with EGRET sources and others having magnetar-strength magnetic fields. These new observations are raising important questions about neutron star birth and evolution, as well as the properties of their high-energy emission.

Harding, Alice K.↗

Heat Diffusion in High-Cp Nb3Sn Composite Superconducting Wires

A major focus of Nb3Sn accelerator magnets is on significantly reducing or eliminating their training. Demonstration of an approach to increase the Cp of Nb3Sn magnets using new materials and technologies is very important both for particle accelerators and light sources. It would improve thermal stability and lead to much shorter magnet training, with substantial savings in machines’ commissioning costs. Both Hypertech and Bruker-OST have attempted to introduce high-Cp elements in their wire design. This paper includes a description of these advanced wires, the finite element model of their heat diffusion properties as compared with the standard wires, and whenever available, a comparison between the minimum quench energy (MQE) calculated by the model and actual MQE measurements on wires.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

Dayside Magnetopause Transients Correlated with Changes of the Magnetosheath Magnetic Field Orientation

The paper analyses one long-term pass (26 August 2007) of the THEMIS spacecraft across the dayside low-latitude magnetopause. THEMIS B, serving partly as a magnetosheath monitor, observed several changes of the magnetic field that were accompanied by dynamic changes of the magnetopause location and/or the structure of magnetopause layers observed by THEMIS C, D, and E, whereas THEMIS A scanned the inner magnetosphere. We discuss the plasma and the magnetic field data with motivation to identify sources of observed quasiperiodic plasma transients. Such events at the magnetopause are usually attributed to pressure pulses coming from the solar wind, foreshock fluctuations, flux transfer events or surface waves. The presented transient events differ in nature (the magnetopause surface deformation, the low-latitude boundary layer thickening, the crossing of the reconnection site), but we found that all of them are associated with changes of the magnetosheath magnetic field orientation and with enhancements or depressions of the plasma density. Since these features are not observed in the data of upstream monitors, the study emphasizes the role of magnetosheath fluctuations in the solar wind-magnetosphere coupling.

Tkachenko, O.↗

Initial Pioneer Venus magnetometer observations

Initial Pioneer Venus magnetometer observations reveal a highly dynamic interaction between the solar wind and the ionosphere and a very weak and possibly absent intrinsic magnetic field. The bow shock position and the altitude of the ionopause vary markedly from day to day. The magnetic pressure in the magnetosheath just outside the ionopause is in near balance with the thermal ionospheric pressure inside. Although the ionospheric magnetic field strength is generally low, occasional enhancements are observed with field strengths exceeding that in the magnetosheath. These bundles of magnetic flux, or flux ropes, may be convected to the night side ionosphere in which large field strengths (compared to the dayside) are common. The magnetic field magnitude and direction in this region are quite variable, suggesting that the field is not due to an intrinsic planetary source, but rather due to induced ionospheric currents. The magnetic moment is probably much less than 10 to the 22nd Gauss-cu cm.

Russell, C. T.↗

A Possible Cyclotron Line Signature from Quiescent Gamma-Ray Burst Counterparts

If gamma-ray bursts are associated with isolated, magnetized neutron stars in the Galaxy, they may be accreting directly from the interstellar medium after the burst event. In addition to a soft thermal component (T(sub e) approx. 100 eV), we predict that the faint quiescent emission spectra from these sources will possess a unique nonthermal signature: for magnetic field strengths B approx. equal to(0.7-7) x 10(exp 12) G, approx. 0.5-5% of the total luminosity could be emitted in a narrow (E/Delta E approx. 2-4) cyclotron emission line which peaks between approx. 5-20 keV below the cyclotron resonance energy (E(sub B) = 11.6(B/10(exp 12) G) keV). Unlike the soft thermal emission, this hard cyclotron component will not be strongly absorbed by the intervening H I gas. For stars with B approx. 10(exp 12) G, this nonthermal feature should be detectable by the instruments onboard ASCA and on the next generation of X-ray satellites (e.g., ASTRO-E). We therefore propose that deep X-ray images be taken on gamma-ray burst sources with excellent positions (error boxes less than or approx. equal to l') such as is being planned for GRB920501 to look for this feature. A positive detection would strongly suggest that at least some of the gamma-ray bursters are associated with isolated, magnetized neutron stars in the Galaxy.

Wang, John C. L.↗

Spin-up and magnetic fields in DQ Her stars

A detailed comparison of the spin-up behavior of the recently discovered faint long-period X-ray sources, using the accretion torque theory of Ghosh and Lamb has been carried out. It is confirmed that these sources are degenerate dwarfs. It is found that they have magnetic fields B about 1 billion G, an order of magnitude smaller than those of AM Her stars. On this basis, it is predicted that they will show significant polarization in the infrared.

Lamb, D. Q.↗

Characterization of Self-Magnetic Pinch (SMP) radiographic diode performance on RITS-6 at Sandia National Laboratories: 1) Diode Dynamics, DC Heating to extend Radiation Pulse

Radiographic diodes focus an intense electron beam to a small spot size to minimize the source area of energetic photons for radiographic interrogation. The self-magnetic pinch (SMP) diode has been developed as such a source and operated as a load for the RITS-6 Inductive Voltage Adder (IVA) driver. While experiments support the generally accepted conclusion that a 1:1 aspect diode (cathode diameter equals anode-cathode gap) delivers optimum SMP performance, such experiments also show that reducing the cathode diameter, while reducing spot size, also results in reduced radiation dose, by as much as 50%, and degraded shot reproducibility. Analyzation of the effective electron impingement angle on the anode converter with time made possible by a newly developed dose-rate array diagnostic indicates that fast-developing oscillations of the angle are correlated with early termination of the radiation pulse on many of the smaller-diameter SMP shots. This behavior as a function of relative cathode size persists through experiments with output voltages and currents up to 11.5 MV and 225 kA, respectively, and with spot sizes below ~ few mm. Since simulations to date have not predicted such oscillatory behavior, considerable discussion of the angle-behavior of SMP shots is made to lend credence to the inference. There is clear anecdotal evidence that DC heating of the SMP diode region leads to stabilization of this oscillatory behavior. This is the first of two papers on the performance of the SMP diode on the RITS-6 accelerator.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Synchrotron emission from a cosmological jet as a model of gamma-ray bursts

The nonthermal rapidly varying spectra of gamma-ray bursts require relativistic beaming if the source is at a cosmological distance. Limits on the Lorentz factors and magnetic fields of extragalactic jet models of gamma-ray bursts are derived from the synchrotron source function, the position of the fundamental cyclotron resonance, the Thomson optical depth of radiating electrons, and the Thomson optical depth of electron-positron pairs created in photon-photon collisions of Compton upscattered radiation. The last of these constraints is the strongest, and it is satisfied by the observations if the jet's Lorentz factor is greater than 100. The limit from the position of the cyclotron fundamental requires a magnetic field strength below approximately 10 exp 10 G. Jet models producing observable cyclotron lines are allowed. The acceleration region in the burst must be separate from the emission region. The similarity of gamma-ray burst jet models to models of quasars and BL Lac objects suggest that if gamma-ray bursts are cosmological sources, they are a type of active galaxy.

Brainerd, J. J.↗

Magnetic Topology of Coronal Hole Linkages

In recent work, Antiochos and coworkers argued that the boundary between the open and closed field regions on the Sun can be extremely complex with narrow corridors of open ux connecting seemingly disconnected coronal holes from the main polar holes, and that these corridors may be the sources of the slow solar wind. We examine, in detail, the topology of such magnetic configurations using an analytical source surface model that allows for analysis of the eld with arbitrary resolution. Our analysis reveals three important new results: First, a coronal hole boundary can join stably to the separatrix boundary of a parasitic polarity region. Second, a single parasitic polarity region can produce multiple null points in the corona and, more important, separator lines connecting these points. Such topologies are extremely favorable for magnetic reconnection, because it can now occur over the entire length of the separators rather than being con ned to a small region around the nulls. Finally, the coronal holes are not connected by an open- eld corridor of finite width, but instead are linked by a singular line that coincides with the separatrix footprint of the parasitic polarity. We investigate how the topological features described above evolve in response to motion of the parasitic polarity region. The implications of our results for the sources of the slow solar wind and for coronal and heliospheric observations are discussed.

Titov, V. S.↗

Characterization of self-magnetic pinch (SMP) radiographic diode performance on RITS-6 at Sandia National Laboratories. I. Diode dynamics, DC heating to extend radiation pulse

Radiographic diodes focus on an intense electron beam to a small spot size to minimize the source area of energetic photons for radiographic interrogation. The self-magnetic pinch (SMP) diode has been developed as such a source and operated as a load for the six-cavity radiographic integrated test stand (RITS-6) inductive voltage adder driver. While experiments support the generally accepted conclusion that a 1:1 aspect diode (cathode diameter equals anode–cathode gap) delivers optimum SMP performance, such experiments also show that reducing the cathode diameter, while reducing spot size, also results in reduced radiation dose, by as much as 50%, and degraded shot reproducibility. Analysis of the effective electron impingement angle on the anode converter with time made possible by a newly developed dose-rate array diagnostic indicates that fast-developing oscillations of the angle are correlated with early termination of the radiation pulse on many of the smaller-diameter SMP shots. This behavior as a function of relative cathode size persists through experiments with output voltages and currents up to 11.5 MV and 225 kA, respectively, and with spot sizes below approximately few millimeters. Since simulations to date have not predicted such oscillatory behavior, considerable discussion of the angle behavior of SMP shots is made to lend credence to the inference. We report there is clear anecdotal evidence that DC heating of the SMP diode region leads to stabilization of this oscillatory behavior. This is the first of two papers on the performance of the SMP diode on the RITS-6 accelerator.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

The development of a magnetically enhanced hydrogen gas dissociation

Application of a dc magnetic field on an RF hydrogen gas dissociator led to the development of a more efficient source of atoms for hydrogen masers. The influence of the applied magnetic field on the plasma and some details of the resulting enhancement of the dissociation efficiency are discussed. Ways that this improved efficiency can result in the enhancement of the operation and field life of hydrogen masers, as well as aid the development of spaceborne masers, are considered.

Maleki, L.↗

Comparative M-H Characteristics of 1-5 and 2-17 Type Samarium-Cobalt Permanent Magnets to 300 C

Recent consideration of the use of permanent magnets in space power converters at heat rejection temperatures exceeding 250 C and in miniature high temperature actuators is supporting a search for permanent magnets resistant to demagnetizing forces at high temperature. The present paper investigates the short-term demagnetization resistance to applied bucking fields and at temperatures up to 300 C of SmCo5 type magnets, in the form of 1-cm cubes, from several commercial sources. Quasistatic, 2nd quadrant M-H data taken at selected temperatures are the source of derived plots which are then compared to similar data for previously tested Sm2Co17 type magnets. The 1-5 magnet remanence tends to be about 1.5 kG below that of the 2-17 magnets throughout the temperature range. However, the intrinsic coercivities and M-H curve 'knee-fields' seen in particular 1-5 magnets were considerably above those seen previously in the 2-17 magnets. This superior resistance to demagnetizing fields attainable in 1-5 magnets is also illustrated by safe operating area plots based on the knee-field, the magnetic induction swing and temperature. Comments are made on the possibility that a remanence versus knee-field tradeoff can make 1-5 material competitive with 2-17 in applications where a magnet has to withstand large bucking fields at high temperature.

Niedra, Janis M.↗