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At least 109 records · Page 6
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DOE OSTI2015

Improvements of the magnetic field design for SPIDER and MITICA negative ion beam sources

The design of the magnetic field configuration in the SPIDER and MITICA negative ion beam sources has evolved considerably during the past four years. This evolution was driven by three factors: 1) the experimental results of the large RF-driven ion sources at IPP, which have provided valuable indications on the optimal magnetic configurations for reliable RF plasma source operation and for large negative ion current extraction, 2) the comprehensive beam optics and heat load simulations, which showed that the magnetic field configuration in the accelerator is crucial for keeping the heat load due to electrons on the accelerator grids within tolerable limits, without compromising the optics of the negative ion beam in the foreseen operating scenarios, 3) the progress of the detailed mechanical design of the accelerator, which stimulated the evaluation of different solutions for the correction of beamlet deflections of various origin and for beamlet aiming. On this basis, new requirements and solution concepts for the magnetic field configuration in the SPIDER and MITICA beam sources have been progressively introduced and updated until the design converged. The paper presents how these concepts have been integrated into a final design solution based on a horizontal “long-range” field (few mT) in combination with a “local” vertical field of some tens of mT on the acceleration grids.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2014

An MHD model for magnetar giant flares

Giant flares on soft gamma-ray repeaters that are thought to take place on magnetars release enormous energy in a short time interval. Their power can be explained by catastrophic instabilities occurring in the magnetic field configuration and the subsequent magnetic reconnection. By analogy with the coronal mass ejection events on the Sun, we develop a theoretical model via an analytic approach for magnetar giant flares. In this model, the rotation and/or displacement of the crust causes the field to twist and deform, leading to flux rope formation in the magnetosphere and energy accumulation in the related configuration. When the energy and helicity stored in the configuration reach a threshold, the system loses its equilibrium, the flux rope is ejected outward in a catastrophic way, and magnetic reconnection helps the catastrophe develop to a plausible eruption. By taking SGR 1806–20 as an example, we calculate the free magnetic energy released in such an eruptive process and find that it is more than 10{sup 47} erg, which is enough to power a giant flare. The released free magnetic energy is converted into radiative energy, kinetic energy, and gravitational energy of the flux rope. We calculated the light curves of the eruptive processes for the giant flares of SGR 1806–20, SGR 0526–66, and SGR 1900+14, and compared them with the observational data. The calculated light curves are in good agreement with the observed light curves of giant flares.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

3D WHOLE-PROMINENCE FINE STRUCTURE MODELING. II. PROMINENCE EVOLUTION

We use the new three-dimensional (3D) whole-prominence fine structure model to study the evolution of prominences and their fine structures in response to changes in the underlying photospheric magnetic flux distribution. The applied model combines a detailed 3D prominence magnetic field configuration with a realistic description of the prominence plasma distributed along multiple fine structures. In addition, we utilize an approximate Hα visualization technique to study the evolution of the visible cool prominence plasma both in emission (prominence) and absorption (filament). We show that the initial magnetic field configuration of the modeled prominence is significantly disturbed by the changing position of a single polarity of a magnetic bipole as the bipole is advected toward the main body of the filament. This leads to the creation of a barb, which becomes the dominant feature visible in the synthetic Hα images of both the prominence and filament views. The evolution of the bipole also creates conditions that lead to the disappearance and reappearance of large portions of the main body. We also show that an arch-like region containing a dark void (a bubble) can be naturally produced in the synthetic prominence Hα images. While not visible in terms of the magnetic field lines, it is due to a lack of Hα emission from low-pressure, low-density plasma located in shallow magnetic dips lying along the lines of sight intersecting the dark void. In addition, a quasi-vertical small-scale feature consisting of short and deep dips, piled one above the other, is produced.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

The B{sup −3/2} diffusion in magnetized plasma

Fluid equations with transport effects have been derived from summing up discrete particle effects in the configuration space. The diffusion coefficient takes a form different from, but equivalent to, the Kubo formula. By taking into account the decoherence along the field lines, the diffusive damping in the perpendicular direction, and the finite Larmor radius effect in the cyclotron resonance, it is shown that the diffusion of magnetized 3d plasma has a regime of B{sup −3/2} scaling which lies between the Bohm diffusion of B{sup −1} and the classical diffusion of B{sup −2}.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2012

THREE-DIMENSIONAL RELATIVISTIC MAGNETOHYDRODYNAMIC SIMULATIONS OF CURRENT-DRIVEN INSTABILITY. III. ROTATING RELATIVISTIC JETS

We have investigated the influence of jet rotation and differential motion on the linear and nonlinear development of the current-driven (CD) kink instability of force-free helical magnetic equilibria via three-dimensional relativistic magnetohydrodynamic simulations. In this study, we follow the temporal development within a periodic computational box. Displacement of the initial helical magnetic field leads to the growth of the CD kink instability. We find that, in accordance with the linear stability theory, the development of the instability depends on the lateral distribution of the poloidal magnetic field. If the poloidal field significantly decreases outward from the axis, then the initial small perturbations grow strongly, and if multiple wavelengths are excited, then nonlinear interaction eventually disrupts the initial cylindrical configuration. When the profile of the poloidal field is shallow, the instability develops slowly and eventually saturates. We briefly discuss implications of our findings for Poynting-dominated jets.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2011

Time-dependent approach to transport and scattering in atomic and mesoscopic physics

Transport and scattering phenomena in open quantum-systems with a continuous energy spectrum are conveniently solved using the time-dependent Schroedinger equation. In the time-dependent picture, the evolution of an initially localized wave-packet reveals the eigenstates and eigenvalues of the system under consideration. We discuss applications of the wave-packet method in atomic, molecular, and mesoscopic systems and point out specific advantages of the time-dependent approach. In connection with the familiar initial value formulation of classical mechanics, an intuitive interpretation of transport emerges. For interacting many-particle systems, we discuss the efficient calculation of the self-consistent classical transport in the presence of a magnetic field.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2014

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE MAGNETIC FIELD FROM AN SMA-CSO-COMBINED SAMPLE OF STAR-FORMING REGIONS

Submillimeter dust polarization measurements of a sample of 50 star-forming regions, observed with the Submillimeter Array (SMA) and the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory (CSO) covering parsec-scale clouds to milliparsec-scale cores, are analyzed in order to quantify the magnetic field importance. The magnetic field misalignment δ—the local angle between magnetic field and dust emission gradient—is found to be a prime observable, revealing distinct distributions for sources where the magnetic field is preferentially aligned with or perpendicular to the source minor axis. Source-averaged misalignment angles (|δ|) fall into systematically different ranges, reflecting the different source-magnetic field configurations. Possible bimodal (|δ|) distributions are found for the separate SMA and CSO samples. Combining both samples broadens the distribution with a wide maximum peak at small (|δ|) values. Assuming the 50 sources to be representative, the prevailing source-magnetic field configuration is one that statistically prefers small magnetic field misalignments |δ|. When interpreting |δ| together with a magnetohydrodynamics force equation, as developed in the framework of the polarization-intensity gradient method, a sample-based log-linear scaling fits the magnetic field tension-to-gravity force ratio (Σ {sub B}) versus (|δ|) with (Σ {sub B}) = 0.116 · exp (0.047 · (|δ|)) ± 0.20 (mean error), providing a way to estimate the relative importance of the magnetic field, only based on measurable field misalignments |δ|. The force ratio Σ {sub B} discriminates systems that are collapsible on average ((Σ {sub B}) < 1) from other molecular clouds where the magnetic field still provides enough resistance against gravitational collapse ((Σ {sub B}) > 1). The sample-wide trend shows a transition around (|δ|) ≈ 45°. Defining an effective gravitational force ∼1 – (Σ {sub B}), the average magnetic-field-reduced star formation efficiency is at least a factor of two smaller than the free-fall efficiency. For about one fourth of the sources the average efficiency drops to zero. The force ratio Σ {sub B} can further be linked to the normalized mass-to-flux ratio, yielding an estimate for the latter one without the need of field strength measurements. Across the sample, a transition from magnetically supercritical to subcritcal is observed with growing misalignment (|δ|)

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2016

Modified dust ion-acoustic surface waves in a semi-bounded magnetized plasma containing the rotating dust grains

The dispersion relation for modified dust ion-acoustic surface waves in the magnetized dusty plasma containing the rotating dust grains is derived, and the effects of magnetic field configuration on the resonant growth rate are investigated. We present the results that the resonant growth rates of the wave would increase with the ratio of ion plasma frequency to cyclotron frequency as well as with the increase of wave number for the case of perpendicular magnetic field configuration when the ion plasma frequency is greater than the dust rotation frequency. For the parallel magnetic field configuration, we find that the instability occurs only for some limited ranges of the wave number and the ratio of ion plasma frequency to cyclotron frequency. The resonant growth rate is found to decrease with the increase of the wave number. The influence of dust rotational frequency on the instability is also discussed.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2011

Mass Filtering Function of Magnetic Boundaries in Multi-Cusp Ion Source

In a multi-cusp ion source, magnetic boundaries, together with the difference between plasma potential and plasma chamber potential, functioned as a mass filter which filters out heavier ions in multi-component plasmas. This method was applied to mixed inert gas plasmas and hydrogen plasmas and found to be very effective for general purposes which require to decrease unwanted heavier ions. Using this method to the ion source of iG4, target boron current above 80 mA and proton current above 120 mA were obtained.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2012

Parallel heat transport in integrable and chaotic magnetic fields

The study of transport in magnetized plasmas is a problem of fundamental interest in controlled fusion, space plasmas, and astrophysics research. Three issues make this problem particularly challenging: (i) The extreme anisotropy between the parallel (i.e., along the magnetic field), {chi}{sub ||} , and the perpendicular, {chi}{sub Up-Tack }, conductivities ({chi}{sub ||} /{chi}{sub Up-Tack} may exceed 10{sup 10} in fusion plasmas); (ii) Nonlocal parallel transport in the limit of small collisionality; and (iii) Magnetic field lines chaos which in general complicates (and may preclude) the construction of magnetic field line coordinates. Motivated by these issues, we present a Lagrangian Green's function method to solve the local and non-local parallel transport equation applicable to integrable and chaotic magnetic fields in arbitrary geometry. The method avoids by construction the numerical pollution issues of grid-based algorithms. The potential of the approach is demonstrated with nontrivial applications to integrable (magnetic island), weakly chaotic (Devil's staircase), and fully chaotic magnetic field configurations. For the latter, numerical solutions of the parallel heat transport equation show that the effective radial transport, with local and non-local parallel closures, is non-diffusive, thus casting doubts on the applicability of quasilinear diffusion descriptions. General conditions for the existence of non-diffusive, multivalued flux-gradient relations in the temperature evolution are derived.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2014

ON THE CAUSE OF SOLAR-LIKE EQUATORWARD MIGRATION IN GLOBAL CONVECTIVE DYNAMO SIMULATIONS

We present results from four convectively driven stellar dynamo simulations in spherical wedge geometry. All of these simulations produce cyclic and migrating mean magnetic fields. Through detailed comparisons, we show that the migration direction can be explained by an αΩ dynamo wave following the Parker-Yoshimura rule. We conclude that the equatorward migration in this and previous work is due to a positive (negative) α effect in the northern (southern) hemisphere and a negative radial gradient of Ω outside the inner tangent cylinder of these models. This idea is supported by a strong correlation between negative radial shear and toroidal field strength in the region of equatorward propagation.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

RE-EXAMINING SUNSPOT TILT ANGLE TO INCLUDE ANTI-HALE STATISTICS

Sunspot groups and bipolar magnetic regions (BMRs) serve as an observational diagnostic of the solar cycle. We use Debrecen Photohelographic Data (DPD) from 1974-2014 that determined sunspot tilt angles from daily white light observations, and data provided by Li and Ulrich that determined sunspot magnetic tilt angle using Mount Wilson magnetograms from 1974-2012. The magnetograms allowed for BMR tilt angles that were anti-Hale in configuration, so tilt values ranged from 0 to 360° rather than the more common ±90°. We explore the visual representation of magnetic tilt angles on a traditional butterfly diagram by plotting the mean area-weighted latitude of umbral activity in each bipolar sunspot group, including tilt information. The large scatter of tilt angles over the course of a single cycle and hemisphere prevents Joy's law from being visually identified in the tilt-butterfly diagram without further binning. The average latitude of anti-Hale regions does not differ from the average latitude of all regions in both hemispheres. The distribution of anti-Hale sunspot tilt angles are broadly distributed between 0 and 360° with a weak preference for east-west alignment 180° from their expected Joy's law angle. The anti-Hale sunspots display a log-normal size distribution similar to that of all sunspots, indicating no preferred size for anti-Hale sunspots. We report that 8.4% ± 0.8% of all bipolar sunspot regions are misclassified as Hale in traditional catalogs. This percentage is slightly higher for groups within 5° of the equator due to the misalignment of the magnetic and heliographic equators.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

THE RADIATIVE TRANSFER OF SYNCHROTRON RADIATION THROUGH A COMPRESSED RANDOM MAGNETIC FIELD

This paper examines the radiative transfer of synchrotron radiation in the presence of a magnetic field configuration resulting from the compression of a highly disordered magnetic field. It is shown that, provided Faraday rotation and circular polarization can be neglected, the radiative transfer equations for synchrotron radiation separate for this configuration, and the intensities and polarization values for sources that are uniform on large scales can be found straightforwardly in the case where opacity is significant. Although the emission and absorption coefficients must, in general, be obtained numerically, the process is much simpler than a full numerical solution to the transfer equations. Some illustrative results are given and an interesting effect, whereby the polarization increases while the magnetic field distribution becomes less strongly confined to the plane of compression, is discussed. The results are of importance for the interpretation of polarization near the edges of lobes in radio galaxies and of bright features in the parsec-scale jets of active galactic nuclei, where such magnetic field configurations are believed to exist.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2010

On spontaneous formation of current sheets: Untwisted magnetic fields

This is a study of the spontaneous formation of electric current sheets in an incompressible viscous fluid with perfect electrical conductivity, governed by the magnetohydrodynamic Navier-Stokes equations. Numerical solutions to two initial value problems are presented for a three-dimensional, periodic, untwisted magnetic field evolving, with no change in magnetic topology under the frozen-in condition and at characteristic fluid Reynolds numbers of the order of 500, from a nonequilibrium initial state with the fluid at rest. The evolution converts magnetic free energy into kinetic energy to be all dissipated away by viscosity so that the field settles into a minimum-energy, static equilibrium. The solutions demonstrate that, as a consequence of the frozen-in condition, current sheets must form during the evolution despite the geometric simplicity of the prescribed initial fields. In addition to the current sheets associated with magnetic neutral points and field reversal layers, other sheets not associated with such magnetic features are also in evidence. These current sheets form on magnetic flux surfaces. This property is used to achieve a high degree of the frozen-in condition in the simulations, by describing the magnetic field entirely in terms of the advection of its flux surfaces and integrating the resulting governing equations with a customized version of a general-purpose high-resolution (viz., nonoscillatory) hydrodynamical simulation code EULAG [J. M. Prusa et al., Comput. Fluids 37, 1193 (2008)]. Incompressibility imposes the additional global constraint that the flux surfaces must evolve with no change in the spatial volumes they enclose. In this approach, current sheet formation is demonstrated graphically by the progressive pressing together of suitably selected flux surfaces until their separation has diminished below the minimal resolved distance on a fixed grid. The frozen-in condition then fails in the simulation as the field reconnects through an effecting numerical resistivity. The principal results are related to the Parker theory of current-sheet formation and dissipation in the solar corona.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2011

Investigation of the validity of quasilinear theory for electron Landau damping in a tokamak using a broad-band wave effect

The quasilinear diffusion coefficient assuming a constant magnetic field along the electron orbit is widely used to describe electron Landau damping of waves in a tokamak where the magnitude of the magnetic field varies on a flux surface. To understand the impact of violating the constant magnetic field assumption, we introduce the effect of a broad-bandwidth wave spectrum which has been used in the past to validate quasilinear theory for the fast decorrelation process between resonances. By the reevaluation of the diffusion coefficient through the level of the phase integral for the tokamak geometry with the broad-band wave effect included, we identify the three acceptable errors for the use of the quasilinear diffusion coefficient.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2011

Secondary Island Formation in Collisional and Collisionless Kinetic Simulations of Magnetic Reconnection

The evolution of magnetic reconnection in large-scale systems often gives rise to extended current layers that are unstable to the formation of secondary magnetic islands. The role of these islands in the reconnection process and the conditions under which they form remains a subject of debate. In this work, we benchmark two different kinetic particle-in-cell codes to address the formation of secondary islands for several types of global boundary conditions. The influence on reconnection is examined for a range of conditions and collisionality limits. Although secondary islands are observed in all cases, their influence on reconnection may be different depending on the regime. In the collisional limit, the secondary islands play a key role in breaking away from the slow Sweet-Parker scaling and pushing the evolution towards small scales where kinetic effects can dominate. In the collisionless limit, fast reconnection can proceed in small systems (30x ion inertial scale) without producing any secondary islands. However, in large-scale systems the diffusion region forms extended current layers that are unstable to the formation of secondary islands, giving rise to a time-dependent reconnection process. These instabilities provide one possible mechanism for controlling the average length of the diffusion region in large systems. New results from Fokker-Planck kinetic simulations are used to examine the role of secondary islands in electron-positron plasmas for both collisional and kinetic parameter regimes. Simple physics arguments suggest the transition should occur when the resistive layers approach the inertial scale. These expectations are confirmed by simulations, which demonstrate the average rate remains fast in large systems and is accompanied by the continuous formation of secondary islands.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2011

Formation of sheet plumes, current coils, and helical magnetic fields in a spherical magnetohydrodynamic dynamo

Aiming at understanding of magnetic field generation process in rapidly rotating stars and planets represented by the Earth, computer simulations of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) dynamo were performed in a rotating spherical shell geometry. Thermal convection and dynamo process with Ekman number of the order of 10{sup -7} were studied. New structures of convection motion, dynamo-generated electrical current, and magnetic field are found. The flow is organized as a set of thin, sheet-like plumes. The current is made of small-scale coil structure with magnetic flux tubes within each of the coil. These flux tubes are connected each other to form a large scale helical magnetic field structure.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2013

On the asymptotic balance between electric and magnetic energies for hydromagnetic relativistic flows

In the equations of classical magnetohydrodynamics, the displacement current is considered vanishingly small due to low plasma velocities. For velocities comparable to the speed of light, the full relativistic electromagnetic equations must be used. In the absence of gravitational forcings and with an isotropic Ohm's law, it is proved that for poloidal magnetic field and velocity and toroidal electric field, the electric and magnetic energies tend to be equivalent in average for large times. This represents a partial extension of Cowling's theorem for axisymmetric fields.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗