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At least 865 records · Page 48
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DOE OSTI2021

Phase noise limited frequency shift impulsive Raman spectroscopy

We introduce a method to enable optical amplification of a coherent Raman spectroscopy signal, which we call radio frequency (RF) Doppler Raman spectroscopy. In this article, we consider the perturbation of a probe pulse in a sample due to an excited Raman vibrational coherence as a generalized Doppler shift, which connects a time-varying optical path length (the product of the propagation length and refractive index, OPL = n ℓ) with an optical frequency shift. Amplification of a Raman signal outside of the focused interaction is enabled by converting the Doppler frequency shift experienced by a laser probe pulse into a periodic timing jitter. This transit time perturbation is detected through the phase of a RF electronic signal measured at a harmonic of the probe pulse train with a method adapted from precision metrology techniques used to measure laser pulse train timing jitter. Measurement of a timing jitter allows access to much lower noise floors than other coherent Raman techniques, and by exploiting the new capability to scale the signal of a coherent Raman spectroscopic signal, this method opens the potential to detect very weak Raman signals that are currently not observable due to limits of illumination intensity imposed by laser damage to the specimen and noise.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2021

Modulation-slippage trade-off in resonant four-wave upconversion

Following up on a proposal to use four-wave mixing in an underdense plasma at mildly relativistic laser intensities to produce vastly more energetic x-ray pulses [V. M. Malkin and N. J. Fisch, Phys. Rev. E, 101, 023211 (2020)], we perform the first numerical simulations in one dimension to illustrate amplification of a short high frequency seed through four-wave mixing. Here, we illustrate how parasitic processes including phase modulation and spatial pulse slippage limit the amplification efficiency. Although the regimes studied were not where the optimal efficiencies were expected, these regimes do expose the basic physical processes at play, while still yielding not insignificant spectral power upshift.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2021

Geometry and dynamics of passive scalar structures in compressible turbulent mixing

We present a structure-based numerical analysis of passive scalar mixing in decaying homogeneous isotropic turbulence (DHIT) and shock-turbulence interaction canonical configurations. The analysis focuses on the temporal evolution of ensembles of passive scalar structures, initialized as spheres of different sizes relative to the Taylor microscale. An algorithm is introduced to track the evolution of each individual structure and the interactions with other structures in the ensemble, relating changes in the surface geometry and the underlying physical processes (turbulent transport, scalar dissipation, and shock compression). The tracking algorithm is applied to datasets from shock-capturing direct numerical simulations of DHIT, with Taylor microscale Reynolds number Re λ =40 and turbulence Mach number M t =0.2 ⁠, and STI cases in which the turbulence is processed by a shock wave at Mach numbers M = 1.5 and 3.0. Temporal surface convolution increases for initially larger structures, resulting in a higher probability of locally hyperbolic geometries where breakup into smaller structures occurs. Shock-induced deformation of the structures amplifies breakup processes, enhancing mixing, particularly for larger structures. Mixing enhancement by the shock is manifested as an amplification of the surface-averaged scalar gradient, which increases for initially larger structures. The alignment between the scalar gradient and the most extensional strain-rate eigendirection on the scalar isosurfaces also increases across the shock. Larger magnitudes of the scalar gradient and its alignment with the most compressive strain-rate eigendirection correlate with flatter surface regions. Shock-induced structure compression increases the area coverage of flat regions, where the amplification of scalar gradient is localized.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2022

Progress in relativistic laser–plasma interaction with kilotesla-level applied magnetic fields

We report on progress in the understanding of the effects of kilotesla-level applied magnetic fields on relativistic laser–plasma interactions. Ongoing advances in magnetic-field–generation techniques enable new and highly desirable phenomena, including magnetic-field–amplification platforms with reversible sign, focusing ion acceleration, and bulk-relativistic plasma heating. Building on recent advancements in laser–plasma interactions with applied magnetic fields, we introduce simple models for evaluating the effects of applied magnetic fields in magnetic-field amplification, sheath-based ion acceleration, and direct laser acceleration. These models indicate the feasibility of observing beneficial magnetic-field effects under experimentally relevant conditions and offer a starting point for future experimental design.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2025

Femtosecond wavelength-tunable laser system using gain managed nonlinear amplifier

Optical parametric amplifiers require a seed energy at the spectral range of interest for amplification. In the case of pulsed laser systems, seed pulse characteristics such as spectral energy density and spectral uniformity influence laser system design and performance. In this letter, we present the design and modeling of a few micro-joules, wavelength-tunable, femtosecond parametric amplifier system. We employ a gain-managed nonlinear fiber amplifier output as the seed pulse. This seed pulse is relatively uniform across its bandwidth from 1010 to 1180 nm. Its spectral energy density averages 600 pJ/nm, 30 times higher than conventional counterparts. The overall amplification gain is 175, and the conversion efficiency is 17.5%. The inherent quasi-linear chirp of the seed pulse is utilized to alter the output wavelength. Our tunable femtosecond laser is an enabling technology for high-demand applications such as time-resolved spectroscopy, nonlinear and advanced material research, and biomedical imaging and microscopy modalities.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2026

Modeling of injected current stream-induced 3D perturbations in local helicity injection plasmas

Solenoid-free tokamak startup techniques are essential for spherical tokamaks and offer a pathway to cost reduction and design simplification in fusion energy systems. Local helicity injection (LHI) is one such approach, employing compact edge current sources to drive open field line current that initiates and sustains tokamak plasmas. The recently commissioned Pegasus-III Experiment provides a platform for advancing this and other solenoid-free startup methods. This study investigates the effect of LHI on magnetic topology in Pegasus-III plasmas. A helical filament model represents the injected current, and the linear plasma response to its three-dimensional field is calculated with M3D-C1. Poincaré mapping reveals substantial flux surface degradation in all modeled cases. The onset of overlapping magnetic structures and large-scale surface deformation begins near Ψ N ≈ 0.37, indicating a broad region of perturbed topology extending toward the edge. In rotating plasmas, both single-fluid and two-fluid models exhibit partial screening of the n = 1 perturbation, with two-fluid calculations showing stronger suppression near the edge. In contrast, the absence of rotation leads to strong resonant field amplification in the single-fluid case, while the two-fluid case with zero electron rotation mitigates this amplification and preserves edge screening. Magnetic probe measurements indicate that modeling the stream with spatial spreading—representing distributed current and/or oscillatory motion—better reproduces measured magnetic power profiles than a rigid filament model. The results underscore the role of rotation and two-fluid physics in screening stream perturbations and point to plasma flow measurements and refined stream models as key steps toward improving predictive fidelity.

Schaefer, Carolyn E. [Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison,↗
DOE OSTI2014

Microsecond gain-switched master oscillator power amplifier (1958 nm) with high pulse energy

An all-fibre master oscillator power amplifier (MOPA) emitting high-energy pulses at 1958 nm is presented. The seed laser is a microsecond gain-switched thulium-doped fibre laser (TDFL) pumped with a commercial 1550-nm pulsed fibre laser. The TDFL operates at a repetition rate f in the range of 10 to 100 kHz. The two-stage thulium-doped fibre amplifier is built to scale the energy of the pulses generated by the seed laser. The maximum output pulse energy higher than 0.5 mJ at 10 kHz is achieved which is comparable with the theoretical maximum extractable pulse energy. The slope efficiency of the second stage amplifier with respect to the pump power is 30.4% at f = 10 kHz. The wavelength of the output pulse laser is centred near 1958 nm at a spectral width of 0.25 nm after amplification. Neither nonlinear effects nor significant amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) is observed in the amplification experiments. (lasers)

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2017

Experimental capabilities of the GARPUN MTW Ti : sapphire – KrF laser facility for investigating the interaction of subpicosecond UV pulses with targets

This paper describes the first experiments carried out on the GARPUN MTW Ti : sapphire – KrF hybrid laser facility and aimed at gaining insight into the interaction of subpicosecond UV pulses with solid and structured low-density carbon nanotube targets at peak intensities of ∼10{sup 16} W cm{sup −2} in a focal spot ∼70 μm in size. Using X-ray absorbers, the plasma electron temperature has been measured to be ∼850 eV. In our experiments, we used an optimal configuration: direct double-pass ultrashort-pulse (USP) amplification in KrF amplifier stages, with multiple laser beam filamentation suppression in a xenon-filled cell. The highest energy on a target was 0.25 J at a USP contrast relative to amplified spontaneous emission of ∼3 × 10{sup 10} for intensities and ∼3 × 10{sup 5} for fluences. Owing to two-photon resonance in the UV spectral region, the use of xenon, with a negative nonlinear refractive index, allowed us to make the cross-sectional fluence distribution more uniform and reduce the beam divergence to 0.14 mrad (at the 10 % intensity level). Reducing the USP duration via negatively chirped pulse amplification and filamentation suppression and reducing the focal spot size on a target by using parabolic short-focus optics are expected to ensure an increase in the intensity incident on the target by one to two orders of magnitude. (interaction of laser radiation with matter. laser plasma)

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2019

All-fibre single-mode small-signal amplifier operating near 0.976 μm

We have developed and demonstrated a polarisation-maintaining single-mode ytterbium-doped fibre for light amplification at a wavelength near 0.976 μm in an all-fibre configuration. A distinctive feature of the proposed fibre design is low losses due to fusion splices with standard single-mode fibre having a core diameter of 10 μm, which has made it possible to produce an all-fibre small-signal amplifier with a gain threshold near 3 W and a differential pump-to-signal conversion efficiency of 9.8 % in the saturation regime. The proposed amplifier has been shown to be well-suited for small-signal amplification. In particular, at an input signal power near 1 mW and a gain of 20 dB, the ratio of the amplified signal to the integrated luminescence intensity near 0.976 μm exceeds 20 dB. A 40-dB gain has been demonstrated for an ultrasmall signal of ∼10-μW power. (paper)

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2014

Basic Bell-MHD turbulence

Nonresonant current instability was identified by Bell as an important mechanism for magnetic field amplification in supernova remnants. In this paper we focus on studying the nonlinear stage of this instability using the incompressible MHD formulation. We demonstrate that the evolution of magnetic turbulence driven by the Bell instability resembles turbulence driven on large scales. More importantly, we demonstrate that the energy-containing scale for magnetic fields is proportional to the square root of the magnetic energy density. Given the observational constraints of the possible field amplification, this new relation allows us to directly estimate the maximum energy of particles scattered by such fields, and this estimate is normally below the average particle energy. This implies that, without taking into account the feedback to cosmic rays (CRs), the typical scales of Bell fields, in either the linear or nonlinear regime, will be too small to affect high-energy particle acceleration. We mention several scenarios of back reaction to CRs that could be important.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

PARTICLE-IN-CELL SIMULATIONS OF CONTINUOUSLY DRIVEN MIRROR AND ION CYCLOTRON INSTABILITIES IN HIGH BETA ASTROPHYSICAL AND HELIOSPHERIC PLASMAS

We use particle-in-cell simulations to study the nonlinear evolution of ion velocity space instabilities in an idealized problem in which a background velocity shear continuously amplifies the magnetic field. We simulate the astrophysically relevant regime where the shear timescale is long compared to the ion cyclotron period, and the plasma beta is β ∼ 1-100. The background field amplification in our calculation is meant to mimic processes such as turbulent fluctuations or MHD-scale instabilities. The field amplification continuously drives a pressure anisotropy with p > p {sub ∥} and the plasma becomes unstable to the mirror and ion cyclotron instabilities. In all cases, the nonlinear state is dominated by the mirror instability, not the ion cyclotron instability, and the plasma pressure anisotropy saturates near the threshold for the linear mirror instability. The magnetic field fluctuations initially undergo exponential growth but saturate in a secular phase in which the fluctuations grow on the same timescale as the background magnetic field (with δB ∼ 0.3 (B) in the secular phase). At early times, the ion magnetic moment is well-conserved but once the fluctuation amplitudes exceed δB ∼ 0.1 (B), the magnetic moment is no longer conserved but instead changes on a timescale comparable to that of the mean magnetic field. We discuss the implications of our results for low-collisionality astrophysical plasmas, including the near-Earth solar wind and low-luminosity accretion disks around black holes.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

ELECTRON HEATING BY THE ION CYCLOTRON INSTABILITY IN COLLISIONLESS ACCRETION FLOWS. II. ELECTRON HEATING EFFICIENCY AS A FUNCTION OF FLOW CONDITIONS

In the innermost regions of low-luminosity accretion flows, including Sgr A* at the center of our Galaxy, the frequency of Coulomb collisions is so low that the plasma has two temperatures, with the ions substantially hotter than the electrons. This paradigm assumes that Coulomb collisions are the only channel for transferring the ion energy to the electrons. In this work, the second of a series, we assess the efficiency of electron heating by ion velocity-space instabilities in collisionless accretion flows. The instabilities are seeded by the pressure anisotropy induced by magnetic field amplification, coupled to the adiabatic invariance of the particle magnetic moments. Using two-dimensional particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations, we showed in Paper I that if the electron-to-ion temperature ratio is T {sub 0e}/T {sub 0i} ≲ 0.2, the ion cyclotron instability is the dominant mode for ion betas β{sub 0i} ∼ 5-30 (here, β{sub 0i} is the ratio of ion thermal pressure to magnetic pressure), as appropriate for the midplane of low-luminosity accretion flows. In this work, we employ analytical theory and one-dimensional PIC simulations (with the box aligned with the fastest-growing wave vector of the ion cyclotron mode) to fully characterize how the electron heating efficiency during the growth of the ion cyclotron instability depends on the electron-to-proton temperature ratio, the plasma beta, the Alfvén speed, the amplification rate of the mean field (in units of the ion Larmor frequency), and the proton-to-electron mass ratio. Our findings can be incorporated as a physically grounded subgrid model into global fluid simulations of low-luminosity accretion flows, thus helping to assess the validity of the two-temperature assumption.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

Ideal plasma response to vacuum magnetic fields with resonant magnetic perturbations in non-axisymmetric tokamaks

Ideal plasma shielding and amplification of resonant magnetic perturbations in non-axisymmetric tokamak is presented by field line tracing simulation with full ideal plasma response, compared to measurements of divertor lobe structures. Magnetic field line tracing simulations in NSTX with toroidal non-axisymmetry indicate the ideal plasma response can significantly shield/amplify and phase shift the vacuum resonant magnetic perturbations. Ideal plasma shielding for n = 3 mode is found to prevent magnetic islands from opening as consistently shown in the field line connection length profile and magnetic footprints on the divertor target. It is also found that the ideal plasma shielding modifies the degree of stochasticity but does not change the overall helical lobe structures of the vacuum field for n = 3. Furthermore, amplification of vacuum fields by the ideal plasma response is predicted for low toroidal mode n = 1, better reproducing measurements of strong striation of the field lines on the divertor plate in NSTX.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

Low-energy solar neutrino detection utilizing advanced germanium detectors

We explore the possibility to use advanced germanium (Ge) detectors as a low-energy solar neutrino observatory by means of neutrino-nucleus elastic scattering. A Ge detector utilizing internal charge amplification for the charge carriers created by the ionization of impurities is a novel technology with experimental sensitivity for detecting low-energy solar neutrinos. Ge internal charge amplification (GeICA) detectors will amplify the charge carriers induced by neutrino interacting with Ge atoms through the emission of phonons. It is those phonons that will create charge carriers through the ionization of impurities to achieve an extremely low energy threshold of ~0.01 eV. We demonstrate the phonon absorption, excitation, and ionization probability of impurities in a Ge detector with impurity levels of 3 × 10 10 cm -3 , 9 × 10 10 cm -3 , and 2 × 10 11 cm -3 . We present the sensitivity of such a Ge experiment for detecting solar neutrinos in the low-energy region. We show that, if GeICA technology becomes available, then a new opportunity arises to observe pp and 7 Be solar neutrinos. Such a novel detector with only 1 kg of high-purity Ge will give ~10 events per year for pp neutrinos and ~5 events per year for 7 Be neutrinos with a detection energy threshold of 0.01 eV.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Drift kinetic effects on plasma response to resonant magnetic perturbation for EU DEMO design

Abstract A systematic investigation of the plasma response to an externally applied resonant magnetic perturbation (RMP) field, for the purpose of controlling edge localized modes, is carried out for an EU DEMO reference plasma. Particular emphasis is placed on the role of kinetic effects associated with both thermal particles and fusion-born alphas. The single fluid, resistive model predicts a large peak amplification of the n = 1 ( n is the toroidal mode number) plasma response to the target equilibrium, which is found to be close to the Troyon no-wall limit. A more advanced response model, including kinetic resonances between the RMP perturbation and drift motions of thermal and energetic particles, on the other hand, finds a strong suppression of the n = 1 field amplification. A major role is played by the precessional drift resonance of fusion-born alphas. A strong parallel sound wave damping model is found to well reproduce the full kinetic response results for the DEMO plasma, in terms of both the resonant field response amplitude and the plasma displacement. Finally, both fluid and kinetic models produce similar responses for the n = 2 and 3 RMP fields for the considered DEMO plasma, whilst kinetic effects again become important for the n = 4 RMP due to proximity of the reference plasma to the no-wall limit for the n = 4 ideal kink instability.

Physics↗
DOE OSTI2013

Non-singular bounce transitions in the multiverse

According to classical GR, negative-energy (AdS) bubbles in the multiverse terminate in big crunch singularities. It has been conjectured, however, that the fundamental theory may resolve these singularities and replace them by non-singular bounces. Here we explore possible dynamics of such bounces using a simple modification of the Friedmann equation, which ensures that the scale factor bounces when the matter density reaches some critical value ρ{sub c}. This is combined with a simple scalar field 'landscape', where the energy barriers between different vacua are small compared to ρ{sub c}. We find that the bounce typically results in a transition to another vacuum, with a scalar field displacement Δφ ∼ 1 in Planck units. If the new vacuum is AdS, we have another bounce, and so on, until the field finally transits to a positive-energy (de Sitter) vacuum. We also consider perturbations about the homogeneous solution and discuss some of their amplification mechanisms (e.g., tachyonic instability and parametric resonance). For a generic potential, these mechanisms are much less efficient than in models of slow-roll inflation. But the amplification may still be strong enough to cause the bubble to fragment into a mosaic of different vacua.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

Generalized galilean genesis

The galilean genesis scenario is an alternative to inflation in which the universe starts expanding from Minkowski in the asymptotic past by violating the null energy condition stably. Several concrete models of galilean genesis have been constructed so far within the context of galileon-type scalar-field theories. We give a generic, unified description of the galilean genesis scenario in terms of the Horndeski theory, i.e., the most general scalar-tensor theory with second-order field equations. In doing so we generalize the previous models to have a new parameter (denoted by α) which results in controlling the evolution of the Hubble rate. The background dynamics is investigated to show that the generalized galilean genesis solution is an attractor, similarly to the original model. We also study the nature of primordial perturbations in the generalized galilean genesis scenario. In all the models described by our generalized genesis Lagrangian, amplification of tensor perturbations does not occur as opposed to what happens in quasi-de Sitter inflation. We show that the spectral index of curvature perturbations is determined solely from the parameter α and does not depend on the other details of the model. In contrast to the original model, a nearly scale-invariant spectrum of curvature perturbations is obtained for a specific choice of α.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2015

Cosmic bubble and domain wall instabilities II: fracturing of colliding walls

We study collisions between nearly planar domain walls including the effects of small initial nonplanar fluctuations. These perturbations represent the small fluctuations that must exist in a quantum treatment of the problem. In a previous paper, we demonstrated that at the linear level a subset of these fluctuations experience parametric amplification as a result of their coupling to the planar symmetric background. Here we study the full three-dimensional nonlinear dynamics using lattice simulations, including both the early time regime when the fluctuations are well described by linear perturbation theory as well as the subsequent stage of fully nonlinear evolution. We find that the nonplanar fluctuations have a dramatic effect on the overall evolution of the system. Specifically, once these fluctuations begin to interact nonlinearly the split into a planar symmetric part of the field and the nonplanar fluctuations loses its utility. At this point the colliding domain walls dissolve, with the endpoint of this being the creation of a population of oscillons in the collision region. The original (nearly) planar symmetry has been completely destroyed at this point and an accurate study of the system requires the full three-dimensional simulation.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗