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At least 1,063 records · Page 59
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1992

Electrostatic waves due to field-aligned electron beams in the low-latitude boundary layer

Mass-resolved ion, electron, and plasma wave data obtained from several low-latitude boundary layer (LLBL) crossings by the AMPTE CCE satellite are analyzed. The data clearly separate the LLBL from the adjacent magnetosheath and magnetosphere. Attention was focused on wave-particle interactions involving electrons. Electron beams were found to be present in the LLBL during the southward interplanetary magnetic field, along with a simultaneous enhancement of electrostatic waves with parallel polarization. Linear theory analysis shows that for plasma conditions in the LLBL, electron beams are unstable to electrostatic waves that propagate parallel to the local magnetic field, in agreement with observations. A numerical simulation study of the beam-plasma interaction in the LLBL shows that the instability saturates by thermalization of the beam but that a beamlike structure can still remain in the electron distribution for certain initial parameters. It is suggested that peaks in the electron velocity distribution function may be found in the LLBL away from the beam source region.

Peroomian, V.↗
NASA NTRS1970

Theoretical study of a plasma accelerator

Two-dimensional unsteady flow established in an electrodeless traveling wave plasma accelerator was theoretically analyzed to help explain, and possibly predict, phenomena appearing during experiments on problems of acceleration of an ionized fluid plasma.

Peyret, R.↗
DOE OSTI2015

Hydrodynamic and kinetic models for spin-1/2 electron-positron quantum plasmas: Annihilation interaction, helicity conservation, and wave dispersion in magnetized plasmas

We discuss the complete theory of spin-1/2 electron-positron quantum plasmas, when electrons and positrons move with velocities mach smaller than the speed of light. We derive a set of two fluid quantum hydrodynamic equations consisting of the continuity, Euler, spin (magnetic moment) evolution equations for each species. We explicitly include the Coulomb, spin-spin, Darwin and annihilation interactions. The annihilation interaction is the main topic of the paper. We consider the contribution of the annihilation interaction in the quantum hydrodynamic equations and in the spectrum of waves in magnetized electron-positron plasmas. We consider the propagation of waves parallel and perpendicular to an external magnetic field. We also consider the oblique propagation of longitudinal waves. We derive the set of quantum kinetic equations for electron-positron plasmas with the Darwin and annihilation interactions. We apply the kinetic theory to the linear wave behavior in absence of external fields. We calculate the contribution of the Darwin and annihilation interactions in the Landau damping of the Langmuir waves. We should mention that the annihilation interaction does not change number of particles in the system. It does not related to annihilation itself, but it exists as a result of interaction of an electron-positron pair via conversion of the pair into virtual photon. A pair of the non-linear Schrodinger equations for the electron-positron plasmas including the Darwin and annihilation interactions is derived. Existence of the conserving helicity in electron-positron quantum plasmas of spinning particles with the Darwin and annihilation interactions is demonstrated. We show that the annihilation interaction plays an important role in the quantum electron-positron plasmas giving the contribution of the same magnitude as the spin-spin interaction.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2015

Time dependent evolution of linear kinetic Alfvén waves in inhomogeneous plasma

The propagation of linear Kinetic Alfvén waves (KAWs) in inhomogeneous magnetized plasma has been studied while including inhomogeneities in transverse and parallel directions relative to the background magnetic field. The propagation of KAWs in inhomogeneous magnetized plasma is expected to play a key role in energy transfer and turbulence generation in space and laboratory plasmas. The inhomogeneity scale lengths in both directions may control the nature of fluctuations and localization of the waves. We present a theoretical study of the localization of KAWs, variations in magnetic field amplitude in time, and variation in the frequency spectra arising from inhomogeneities. The relevance of the model to space and laboratory observations is discussed.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
NASA NTRS1994

Whistler mode waves in the Jovian magnetosheath

During the Ulysses flyby of Jupiter in February 1992, the spacecraft traversed the Jovian magnetosheath for a few hours during the inbound pass and for aa few days during the outbound pass. Burstlike electomagnetic waves at frequencies of approximately 0.1-0.4 of the local electron cyclotron frequency have been observed by the Unified Radio and Plasma Wave (URAP) experiement. The waves were more often observed in the regions which were probably the outer or the middle magnetosheath, especially near the bow shock, and rarely seen in the magnetosphere/magnetosheath boundary layer. The propagation angles of the waves are estimated by comparing the measurements of the wave electric and magnetic fields in the spacecraft spin plane with the corresponding values calculated using the cold plasma dispersion relation under local field and plasma conditions. It is found that the waves propagate obliquely with wave angles between approximately 30 deg and 50 deg. These waves are likely to be the whistler mode waves which are excited by suprathermal electrons with a few hundred eV and a slight anisotropy (T(sub perp)/T(sub parallel) approximately 1.1-1.5). They are probably similar in nature to the lion roars observed in the Earth's magnetosheath. Signature of coupling between the mirror and the whistler mode have also been observed. The plasma conditions which favor the excitation of the whistler mode instability during the wave events exists as observed by the plasma experiement of Ulysses.

Lin, Naiguo↗
DOE OSTI2012

Dissipative electromagnetic solitary waves in collisional plasmas

The propagation of linearly polarized electromagnetic (EM) waves in a collisional plasma is studied using multiple scale perturbation technique in a weakly nonlinear regime. A complex linear dispersion relation and a complex group velocity are obtained for EM waves propagating in a plasma and their dependence on system parameters is investigated. It is shown that the amplitude of EM pulse is governed by an envelope equation similar to a cubic complex Ginzburg-Landau equation. A traveling bright solitary wave solution for envelope equation is found, its existence condition in parameter space is explored and variation of its profile with system parameters is manipulated. Monitoring temporal evolution of traveling solitary wave solution provides more insight into the nature of this solution and ensures that depending on the parameters of the system, solitary wave solution may behave like a stationary soliton or may exhibit the behavior of a breathing soliton.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2014

Wave merging mechanism: formation of low-frequency Alfven and magnetosonic waves in cosmic plasmas

We investigate the merging mechanism for the waves produced by a pulsating cosmic plasma source. A model with a separate background/source description is used in our calculations. The mechanism was shown to operate both for strong and weak source – background interactions. We revealed the effect of merging of individual Alfven waves into a narrow low-frequency wave, whose amplitude is maximal for a plasma expansion velocity equal to 0.5 – 1 of the Alfven Mach number. This wave is followed along the field by a narrow low-frequency magnetosonic wave, which contains the bulk of source energy. For low expansion velocities the wave contains background and source particles, but for high velocities it contains only the background particles. The wave lengths are much greater than their transverse dimension. (letters)

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2017

Numerical Simulation of Whistler Waves in Magnetized Plasma with Small-Scale Irregularities

Propagation of whistler-mode waves in magnetized plasma in the presence of small-scale field-aligned irregularities with enhanced or depressed plasma density is simulated numerically. The numerical experiments have demonstrated the effect of guided propagation of whistler-mode waves in plasma regions occupied by irregularities with transverse dimensions smaller than the whistler wavelength in uniform plasma. It is shown that not only individual irregularities but also the entire modified region, which serves as a specific guiding structure, exhibit waveguide properties.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2011

Nonplanar Shock Waves in Dusty Plasmas

Nonplanar (viz. cylindrical and spherical) electro-acoustic [dust-ion-acoustic (DIA) and dust-acoustic (DA)] shock waves have been investigated by employing the reductive perturbation method. The dust charge fluctuation (strong correlation among highly charged dust) is the source of dissipation, and is responsible for the formation of the DIA (DA) shock structures. The effects of cylindrical and spherical geometries on the time evolution of DIA and DA shock structures are examined and identified. The combined effects of vortex-like electron distribution and dust charge fluctuation (dust-correlation and effective dust-temperature) on the basic features of nonplanar DIA (DA) shock waves are pinpointed. The implications of our results in laboratory dusty plasma experiments are briefly discussed.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2012

Suppression of drift waves in a linear magnetized plasma column

In magnetically confined fusion plasmas, drift wave driven turbulence can lead to enhanced particle transport from the plasma. Because of this, a significant research emphasis has been placed on the suppression of drift waves in the plasma edge. However, the combination of the toroidal geometry and short plasma lifetimes can make it difficult to fully characterize the properties of these instabilities. Because linear magnetized plasma devices offer a combination of simpler geometry and steady state plasma generation, it is possible to perform detailed studies of many types of plasma instabilities-including drift waves. This paper reports on a recent experiment in which low frequency instabilities ({omega} {<=} {omega}{sub ci}) in the Auburn Linear EXperiment for Instability Studies plasma device were characterized as drift waves and through changes in the parallel current, it is shown that it is possible to suppress these instabilities.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2015

Formation of the oxygen torus in the inner magnetosphere: Van Allen Probes observations

Here we study the formation process of an oxygen torus during the 12–15 November 2012 magnetic storm, using the magnetic field and plasma wave data obtained by Van Allen Probes. We estimate the local plasma mass density (ρ L ) and the local electron number density (n eL ) from the resonant frequencies of standing Alfvén waves and the upper hybrid resonance band. The average ion mass (M) can be calculated by M ~ ρ L /n eL under the assumption of quasi-neutrality of plasma. During the storm recovery phase, both Probe A and Probe B observe the oxygen torus at L = 3.0–4.0 and L = 3.7–4.5, respectively, on the morning side. The oxygen torus has M = 4.5–8 amu and extends around the plasmapause that is identified at L~3.2–3.9. We find that during the initial phase, M is 4–7 amu throughout the plasma trough and remains at ~1 amu in the plasmasphere, implying that ionospheric O + ions are supplied into the inner magnetosphere already in the initial phase of the magnetic storm. Numerical calculation under a decrease of the convection electric field reveals that some of thermal O + ions distributed throughout the plasma trough are trapped within the expanded plasmasphere, whereas some of them drift around the plasmapause on the dawnside. This creates the oxygen torus spreading near the plasmapause, which is consistent with the Van Allen Probes observations. We conclude that the oxygen torus identified in this study favors the formation scenario of supplying O + in the inner magnetosphere during the initial phase and subsequent drift during the recovery phase.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS2014

Open Boundary Particle-in-Cell Simulation of Dipolarization Front Propagation

First results are presented from an ongoing open boundary 2-1/2D particle-in-cell simulation study of dipolarization front (DF) propagation in Earth's magnetotail. At this stage, this study is focused on the compression, or pileup, region preceding the DF current sheet. We find that the earthward acceleration of the plasma in this region is in general agreement with a recent DF force balance model. A gyrophase bunched reflected ion population at the leading edge of the pileup region is reflected by a normal electric field in the pileup region itself, rather than through an interaction with the current sheet. We discuss plasma wave activity at the leading edge of the pileup region that may be driven by gradients, or by reflected ions, or both; the mode has not been identified. The waves oscillate near but above the ion cyclotron frequency with wavelength several ion inertial lengths. We show that the waves oscillate primarily in the perpendicular magnetic field components, do not propagate along the background magnetic field, are right handed elliptically (close to circularly) polarized, exist in a region of high electron and ion beta, and are stationary in the plasma frame moving earthward. We discuss the possibility that the waves are present in plasma sheet data, but have not, thus far, been discovered.

dipolarization front↗
NASA NTRS1982

Processes in relativistic plasmas

The establishment and maintenance of a Boltzmann distribution in particle kinetic energies is investigated for a plasma with theta = KTe/mc-squared much greater than unity, where m is the electron mass. It is shown that thermalization of the electron gas by binary collisions is not sufficiently effective to maintain the equilibrium distribution when other processes that perturb the equilibrium are taken into account. Electron-positron pair production in electron-electron and electron-ion collisions, and perturbations of a Boltzmann distribution by nonthermal processes are evaluated. Thermalization by means of other mechanisms, such as interaction with plasma waves is discussed, and the opacity of a relativistic plasma is computed for Compton scattering, pair production in the fields of electrons and ions, inverse bremsstrahlung, and synchrotron self-absorption.

Gould, R. J.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Some contributions to knowledge of the magnetospheric plasma by ISEE-1 investigators

The ability to control the separation between ISEE-1 and 2 permitted study of the motion and structure of the bow shock and magnetopause, the boundary layers, and the plasma sheet. Evidence favoring the existence of reconnection and its relevance to the transfer of magnetic flux from the frontside to the rear of the magnetosphere, was obtained. The presence of reflected and accelerated particles is shown to lead to the development of a foreshock region between the bow shock and the interplanetary magnetic field line tangential to it. Precursors to interplanetary shocks are also observed. Inside the magnetosphere, ISEE contributed to knowledge of plasma waves, and, augmenting work with GEOS, to studies of plasma composition. In the near tail, the boundary layer of the plasma sheet disclosed interesting phenomena.

Ogilive, K. W.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Plasma-depleted holes, waves, and energized particles from high-altitude explosive plasma perturbation experiments

The results of high-explosive shaped charge experiments King Crab and Bubble Machines I and II, intended to perturb the ambient plasma and magnetic field, are discussed. The instrumentation was flown above an altitude of 460 km in March 1980 and 1981 and comprised a single-axis dipole electric field detector, a fixed bias cylindrical Langmuir probe, a three-axis attitude magnetometer, and curved plated energetic ion and electron electrostatic analyzer. Among the effects of the explosion which are detailed, emphasis is placed on the creation of an ion-depleted dark hole during the Bubble Machine II experiment; mechanisms explaining the phenomenon are outlined. The auroral intensity ion beams with energies of up to 6.8 keV, observed following the explosion in the field-aligned ion electrostatic analyzer, are suggested to represent an existing ion conic population pitch angle scattered by the released barium into the view of the detector.

Wescott, E. M.↗