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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 1,009 records · Page 56
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2017

Generation of disc-like plasma from laser-matter interaction in the presence of a strong external magnetic field

Dynamics of laser produced plasma in a strong magnetic field was studied here using a 1 MA pulsed power generator coupled to an intense, high-energy laser. A 2–2.5 MG magnetic field was generated on the surface of a rod load 0.8–1.2 mm in diameter. A sub-nanosecond laser pulse with intensity of 3 × 10 15 W cm -2 was focused on the rod load surface. Side-on laser diagnostics showed the generation of two collimated jets 1–3 mm long on the front and rear sides of the load. End-on laser diagnostics reveal that the laser produced plasma in the MG magnetic field takes the form of a thin disc as the plasma propagates along the magnetic field lines. The disc-like plasma expands radially across the magnetic field with a velocity of 250 km s -1 . An electron temperature of 400 eV was measured in the laser-produced plasma on the rod load.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
NASA NTRS1993

Simulations of a molecular plasma in collisional-radiative nonequilibrium

A code for the simulation of nonequilibrium plasmas is being developed, with the capability to couple the plasma fluid-dynamics for a single fluid with a collisional-radiative model, where electronic states are treated as separate species. The model allows for non-Boltzmann distribution of the electronic states. Deviations from the Boltzmann distributions are expected to occur in the rapidly ionizing regime behind a strong shock or in the recombining regime during a fast expansion. This additional step in modeling complexity is expected to yield more accurate predictions of the nonequilibrium state and the radiation spectrum and intensity. An attempt at extending the code to molecular plasma flows is presented. The numerical techniques used, the thermochemical model, and the results of some numerical tests are described.

Cambier, Jean-Luc↗
DOE OSTI2015

Molecular dynamics simulations of Si etching in Cl- and Br-based plasmas: Cl{sup +} and Br{sup +} ion incidence in the presence of Cl and Br neutrals

Classical molecular dynamics (MD) simulations have been performed for Cl{sup +} and Br{sup +} ions incident on Si(100) surfaces with Cl and Br neutrals, respectively, to gain a better understanding of the ion-enhanced surface reaction kinetics during Si etching in Cl- and Br-based plasmas. The ions were incident normally on surfaces with translational energies in the range E{sub i} = 20–500 eV, and low-energy neutrals of E{sub n} = 0.01 eV were also incident normally thereon with the neutral-to-ion flux ratio in the range Γ{sub n}{sup 0}/Γ{sub i}{sup 0} = 0–100, where an improved Stillinger--Weber potential form was employed for the interatomic potential concerned. The etch yields and thresholds presently simulated were in agreement with the experimental results previously reported for Si etching in Cl{sub 2} and Br{sub 2} plasmas as well as in Cl{sup +}, Cl{sub 2}{sup +}, and Br{sup +} beams, and the product stoichiometry simulated was consistent with that observed during Ar{sup +} beam incidence on Si in Cl{sub 2}. Moreover, the surface coverage of halogen atoms, halogenated layer thickness, surface stoichiometry, and depth profile of surface products simulated for Γ{sub n}{sup 0}/Γ{sub i}{sup 0} = 100 were in excellent agreement with the observations depending on E{sub i} reported for Si etching in Cl{sub 2} plasmas. The MD also indicated that the yield, coverage, and surface layer thickness are smaller in Si/Br than in Si/Cl system, while the percentage of higher halogenated species in product and surface stoichiometries is larger in Si/Br. The MD further indicated that in both systems, the translational energy distributions of products and halogen adsorbates desorbed from surfaces are approximated by two Maxwellians of temperature T{sub 1} ≈ 2500 K and T{sub 2} ≈ 7000–40 000 K. These energy distributions are discussed in terms of the desorption or evaporation from hot spots formed through chemically enhanced physical sputtering and physically enhanced chemical sputtering, which have so far been speculated to both occur in the ion-enhanced surface reaction kinetics of plasma etching.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
NASA NTRS1987

Electric fields and double layers in plasmas

Various mechanisms for driving double layers in plasmas are briefly described, including applied potential drops, currents, contact potentials, and plasma expansions. Some dynamical features of the double layers are discussed. These features, as seen in simulations, laboratory experiments, and theory, indicate that double layers and the currents through them undergo slow oscillations which are determined by the ion transit time across an effective length of the system in which double layers form. It is shown that a localized potential dip forms at the low potential end of a double layer, which interrupts the electron current through it according to the Langmuir criterion, whenever the ion flux into the double is disrupted. The generation of electric fields perpendicular to the ambient magnetic field by contact potentials is also discussed. Two different situations were considered; in one, a low-density hot plasma is sandwiched between high-density cold plasmas, while in the other a high-density current sheet permeates a low-density background plasma. Perpendicular electric fields develop near the contact surfaces. In the case of the current sheet, the creation of parallel electric fields and the formation of double layers are also discussed when the current sheet thickness is varied. Finally, the generation of electric fields and double layers in an expanding plasma is discussed.

Singh, Nagendra↗
DOE OSTI2018

A splitting Chebyshev collocation method for Schrödinger–Poisson system

We develop a splitting Chebyshev collocation (SCC) method for the time-dependent Schrödinger–Poisson (SP) system arising from theoretical analysis of quantum plasmas. By means of splitting technique in time, the time-dependant SP system is first reduced to uncoupled Schrödinger and Poisson equations at every time step. The space variables in Schrödinger and Poisson equations are next represented by high-order Chebyshev polynomials, and the resulting system are discretized by the spectral collocation method. Finally, matrix diagonalization technique is applied to solve the fully discretized system in one dimension, two dimensions and three dimensions, respectively. The newly proposed method not only achieves spectral accuracy in space but also reduces the computer-memory requirements and the computational time in comparison with conventional solver. Numerical results confirm the spectral accuracy and efficiency of this method, and indicate that the SCC method could be an efficient alternative method for simulating the dynamics of quantum plasmas.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2016

Scalings of intermittent structures in magnetohydrodynamic turbulence

Turbulence is ubiquitous in plasmas, leading to rich dynamics characterized by irregularity, irreversibility, energy fluctuations across many scales, and energy transfer across many scales. Another fundamental and generic feature of turbulence, although sometimes overlooked, is the inhomogeneous dissipation of energy in space and in time. This is a consequence of intermittency, the scale-dependent inhomogeneity of dynamics caused by fluctuations in the turbulent cascade. Intermittency causes turbulent plasmas to self-organize into coherent dissipative structures, which may govern heating, diffusion, particle acceleration, and radiation emissions. In this paper, we present recent progress on understanding intermittency in incompressible magnetohydrodynamic turbulence with a strong guide field. We focus on the statistical analysis of intermittent dissipative structures, which occupy a small fraction of the volume but arguably account for the majority of energy dissipation. We show that, in our numerical simulations, intermittent structures in the current density, vorticity, and Elsässer vorticities all have nearly identical statistical properties. We propose phenomenological explanations for the scalings based on general considerations of Elsässer vorticity structures. Finally, we examine the broader implications of intermittency for astrophysical systems.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
NASA NTRS1992

Techniques for the remote sensing of space plasma in the heliosphere via energetic neutral atoms - A review

A survey is conducted for state-of-the-art techniques for detecting energetic neutral atoms (ENAs) in the 100-300 keV range, in regions from the heliospheric boundary to the auroral zones where the solar wind plays a crucial role. While ENA spectrometry allows sampling of the mass and energy distributions of a distant plasma, ENA imaging gives a global view of the structures and dynamics of an extended plasma. The ENA instrument designs discussed share many components which exhibit excellent flight performance as elements in charged-particle analyzers for space missions.

Hsieh, K. C.↗
DOE OSTI2023

Observation of subcritical shocks in a collisional laboratory plasma: scale dependence near the resistive length

We present a study of subcritical shocks in a highly collisional laboratory plasma with a dynamically significant magnetic field. Shocks were produced by placing cylindrical obstacles into the supermagnetosonic ( $M_{{\rm MS}} \sim 1.9$ ) outflow from an inverse wire array z-pinch at the MAGPIE pulsed power facility ( $n_{e} \sim 8.5 \times 10^{17}\,{\rm cm}^{-3}$ , $v \sim 45\,{\rm km}\,{\rm s}^{-1}$ ). We demonstrate the existence of subcritical shocks in this regime and find that secondary stagnation shocks form in the downstream which we infer from interferometry and optical Thomson scattering measurements are hydrodynamic in nature. The subcritical shock width is found to be approximately equal to the resistive diffusion length and we demonstrate the absence of a jump in hydrodynamic parameters. Temperature measurements by collective optical Thomson scattering showed little temperature change across the subcritical shock ( ${<}10\,\%$ of the ion kinetic energy) which is consistent with a balance between adiabatic and Ohmic heating and radiative cooling. We demonstrate the absence of subcritical shocks when the obstacle diameter is less than the resistive diffusion length due to decoupling of the magnetic field from the plasma. These findings are supported by magnetohydrodynamic simulations using the Gorgon and AstroBEAR codes and discrepancies between the simulations and experiment are discussed.

Physics↗
DOE OSTI2015

3D magnetic field configuration of small-scale reconnection events in the solar plasma atmosphere

The outer solar atmosphere, i.e., the corona and the chromosphere, is replete with small energy-release events, which are accompanied by transient brightening and jet-like ejections. These events are considered to be magnetic reconnection events in the solar plasma, and their dynamics have been studied using recent advanced observations from the Hinode spacecraft and other observatories in space and on the ground. These events occur at different locations in the solar atmosphere and vary in their morphology and amount of the released energy. The magnetic field configurations of these reconnection events are inferred based on observations of magnetic fields at the photospheric level. Observations suggest that these magnetic configurations can be classified into two groups. In the first group, two anti-parallel magnetic fields reconnect to each other, yielding a 2D emerging flux configuration. In the second group, helical or twisted magnetic flux tubes are parallel or at a relative angle to each other. Reconnection can occur only between anti-parallel components of the magnetic flux tubes and may be referred to as component reconnection. The latter configuration type may be more important for the larger class of small-scale reconnection events. The two types of magnetic configurations can be compared to counter-helicity and co-helicity configurations, respectively, in laboratory plasma collision experiments.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2018

The two-fluid dynamics and energetics of the asymmetric magnetic reconnection in laboratory and space plasmas

Magnetic reconnection is a fundamental process in magnetized plasma where magnetic energy is converted to plasma energy. Despite huge differences in the physical size of the reconnection layer, remarkably similar characteristics are observed in both laboratory and magnetosphere plasmas. Here we present the comparative study of the dynamics and physical mechanisms governing the energy conversion in the laboratory and space plasma in the context of two-fluid physics, aided by numerical simulations. In strongly asymmetric reconnection layers with negligible guide field, the energy deposition to electrons is found to primarily occur in the electron diffusion region where electrons are demagnetized and diffuse. A large potential well is observed within the reconnection plane and ions are accelerated by the electric field toward the exhaust region. In conclusion, the present comparative study identifies the robust two-fluid mechanism operating in systems over six orders of magnitude in spatial scales and over a wide range of collisionality.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
NASA NTRS2018

The Two-Fluid Dynamics and Energetics of the Asymmetric Magnetic Reconnection in Laboratory and Space Plasmas

Magnetic reconnection is a fundamental process in magnetized plasma where magnetic energy is converted to plasma energy. Despite huge differences in the physical size of the reconnection layer, remarkably similar characteristics are observed in both laboratory and magnetosphere plasmas. Here we present the comparative study of the dynamics and physical mechanisms governing the energy conversion in the laboratory and space plasma in the context of two-fluid physics, aided by numerical simulations. In strongly asymmetric reconnection layers with negligible guide field, the energy deposition to electrons is found to primarily occur in the electron diffusion region where electrons are demagnetized and diffuse. A large potential well is observed within the reconnection plane and ions are accelerated by the electric field toward the exhaust region. The present comparative study identifies the robust two-fluid mechanism operating in systems over six orders of magnitude in spatial scales and over a wide range of collisionality.

Yamada, M.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Dynamics of the outer radiation belts in relation to polar substorms and hot plasma injections at geostationary altitude

Geostationary satellite and ground measurements of dynamic variations of the outer radiation belts and their relations with the development of auroral structures during magnetospheric substorms are analyzed. A comparison of measurements of the H or X geomagnetic field components made by seven auroral stations with ATS-6 low-energy and high-energy particle measurements during the multiple-onset substorm of Aug. 16, 1974 is presented which demonstrates that while the decrease in energetic particle fluxed ends only at the time of a strong substorm onset, rapid motions of the outer radiation belts may occur during the flux decrease. All-sky photographs of auroral phenomena taken at Fort Yukon and College, Alaska are then compared with ATS-1 energetic particle flux measurements in order to demonstrate the relation between flux decreases and increases and distinct substorm phases. Results support the hypothesis of a magnetospheric substorm precursor which appears to be an instability growing at the inner boundary of the plasma layer and approaching the earth, and underline the importance of current and magnetic field variations in charged particle dynamics.

Sauvaud, J. A.↗
DOE OSTI2018

First principles-based multiscale atomistic methods for input into first principles nonequilibrium transport across interfaces

This issue of PNAS features “nonequilibrium transport and mixing across interfaces,” with several papers describing the nonequilibrium coupling of transport at interfaces, including mesoscopic and macroscopic dynamics in fluids, plasma, and other materials over scales from microscale to celestial. Most such descriptions describe the materials in terms of the density and equations of state rather than specific atomic structures and chemical processes. It is at interfacial boundaries where such atomistic information is most relevant. However, there is not yet a practical way to couple these phenomena with the atomistic description of chemistry. The starting point for including such information is the quantum mechanics (QM). However, practical QM calculations are limited to a hundred atoms for dozens of picoseconds, far from the scales required to inform the continuum level with the proper atomistic description. To bridge this enormous gap, we need to develop practical methods to extend the scale of the atomistic simulation by several orders of magnitude while retaining the level of QM accuracy in describing the chemical process. Here, these developments would enable continuum modeling of turbulent transport at interfaces to incorporate the relevant chemistry. In this perspective, we will focus on recent progress in accomplishing these extensions in first principles-based atomistic simulations and the strategies being pursued to increase the accuracy of very large scales while dramatically decreasing the computational effort.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2021

Extracting dynamical frequencies from invariants of motion in finite-dimensional nonlinear integrable systems

Integrable dynamical systems play an important role in many areas of science, including accelerator and plasma physics. An integrable dynamical system with n degrees of freedom possesses n nontrivial integrals of motion, and can be solved, in principle, by covering the phase space with one or more charts in which the dynamics can be described using action-angle coordinates. To obtain the frequencies of motion, both the transformation to action-angle coordinates and its inverse must be known in explicit form. However, no general algorithm exists for constructing this transformation explicitly from a set of n known (and generally coupled) integrals of motion. In this study we describe how one can determine the dynamical frequencies of the motion as functions of these n integrals in the absence of explicitly known action-angle variables, and we provide several examples.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2021

A Case for Electron-Astrophysics

Abstract The smallest characteristic scales, at which electron dynamics determines the plasma behaviour, are the next frontier in space and astrophysical plasma research. The analysis of astrophysical processes at these scales lies at the heart of the research theme of electron-astrophysics. Electron scales are the ultimate bottleneck for dissipation of plasma turbulence, which is a fundamental process not understood in the electron-kinetic regime. In addition, plasma electrons often play an important role for the spatial transfer of thermal energy due to the high heat flux associated with their velocity distribution. The regulation of this electron heat flux is likewise not understood. By focussing on these and other fundamental electron processes, the research theme of electron-astrophysics links outstanding science questions of great importance to the fields of space physics, astrophysics, and laboratory plasma physics. In this White Paper, submitted to ESA in response to the Voyage 2050 call, we review a selection of these outstanding questions, discuss their importance, and present a roadmap for answering them through novel space-mission concepts.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗