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At least 1,099 records · Page 61

EBW Physics of ECE in NSTX

Topics covered include: ray tracing and Fokker-Planck coupling; relativistic and electromagnetic effects in EBW damping (ray-tracing); O-X-EBW mode conversion efficiency limit due to finite beam divergence; general prospects for electron Bernstein wave heating and current drive in spherical tokamaks; sensitivity of EBW H&CD; collisional effects on EBW coupling; and EBW propagation in a high-temperature plasma.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

ARRIVAL TIME DIFFERENCES BETWEEN GRAVITATIONAL WAVES AND ELECTROMAGNETIC SIGNALS DUE TO GRAVITATIONAL LENSING

In this study we demonstrate that general relativity predicts arrival time differences between gravitational wave (GW) and electromagnetic (EM) signals caused by the wave effects in gravitational lensing. The GW signals can arrive earlier than the EM signals in some cases if the GW/EM signals have passed through a lens, even if both signals were emitted simultaneously by a source. GW wavelengths are much larger than EM wavelengths; therefore, the propagation of the GWs does not follow the laws of geometrical optics, including the Shapiro time delay, if the lens mass is less than approximately 10{sup 5} M {sub ⊙}( f /Hz){sup −1}, where f is the GW frequency. The arrival time difference can reach ∼0.1 s ( f /Hz){sup −1} if the signals have passed by a lens of mass ∼8000 M {sub ⊙}( f /Hz){sup −1} with the impact parameter smaller than the Einstein radius; therefore, it is more prominent for lower GW frequencies. For example, when a distant supermassive black hole binary (SMBHB) in a galactic center is lensed by an intervening galaxy, the time lag becomes of the order of 10 days. Future pulsar timing arrays including the Square Kilometre Array and X-ray detectors may detect several time lags by measuring the orbital phase differences between the GW/EM signals in the SMBHBs. Gravitational lensing imprints a characteristic modulation on a chirp waveform; therefore, we can deduce whether a measured arrival time lag arises from intrinsic source properties or gravitational lensing. Determination of arrival time differences would be extremely useful in multimessenger observations and tests of general relativity.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Three dimensional electromagnetic wavepackets in a plasma: Spatiotemporal modulational instability

The nonlinear interaction of an intense electromagnetic beam with relativistic collisionless unmagnetized plasma is investigated by invoking the reductive perturbation technique, resting on the model of three-dimensional nonlinear Schrödinger (NLS) equation with cubic nonlinearity which incorporates the effects of self-focusing, self-phase modulation, and diffraction on wave propagation. Relying on the derived NLS equation, the occurrence of spatiotemporal modulational instability is investigated in detail.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

A nonlinear analysis of the terahertz serpentine waveguide traveling-wave amplifier

A nonlinear model for the numerical simulation of terahertz serpentine waveguide traveling-wave tube (SW-TWT) is described. In this model, the electromagnetic wave transmission in the SW is represented as an infinite set of space harmonics to interact with an electron beam. Analytical expressions for axial electric fields in axisymmetric interaction gaps of SW-TWTs are derived and compared with the results from CST simulation. The continuous beam is treated as discrete macro-particles with different initial phases. The beam-tunnel field equations, space-charge field equations, and motion equations are combined to solve the beam-wave interaction. The influence of backward wave and relativistic effect is also considered in the series of equations. The nonlinear model is used to design a 340 GHz SW-TWT. Several favorable comparisons of model predictions with results from a 3-D Particle-in-cell simulation code CHIPIC are presented, in which the output power versus beam voltage and interaction periods are illustrated. The relative error of the predicted output power is less than 15% in the 3 dB bandwidth and the relative error of the saturated length is less than 8%.The results show that the 1-D nonlinear analysis model is appropriate to solve the terahertz SW-TWT operation characteristics.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

ELF noise bands associated with auroral electron precipitation.

Observation of a new type of ELF noise band that is closely associated with low-energy auroral electron precipitation. These observations have been made at relatively low altitudes (less than 3000 km) with the polar-orbiting satellite Injun 5. The noise bands typically have a center frequency of 100 to 300 Hz and often appear to consist of many nearly monochromatic bursts, typically of a few seconds' duration, superimposed to produce the observed noise band. These ELF noise bands are observed only in a relatively narrow range of latitudes (a few degrees) in the auroral zone and are almost always associated with intense fluxes of precipitating electrons with energies from a few hundred electron volts to several kiloelectron volts. On the dayside of the magnetosphere the region where the ELF noise bands and the associated low-energy electron precipitation are observed has been identified as the polar cusp. In considering the possible explanations of these ELF noise bands, it is noted that the spectral characteristics of this noise are very similar to a type of narrowband electromagnetic noise called 'lion's roar,' which has been observed at much higher altitudes in the magnetosheath with the satellite Ogo 5. It is suggested that the ELF noise bands observed at low altitudes with Injun 5 are caused by lion's roar emissions that have propagated down 'open' magnetic-field lines to low altitudes from the magnetosheath region.

Gurnett, D. A.↗

The whistler mode in a Vlasov plasma

In this study, properties of small-amplitude parallel and oblique whistler-mode waves are investigated for a wide range of plasma parameters by numerically solving the full electromagnetic Vlasov-dispersion equation. To investigate the cold-plasma and electrostatic approximations for the whistler mode, the results are compared with results obtained using these descriptions. For large wavelengths, the cold-plasma description is often accurate, while for short wavelengths and sufficiently oblique propagation, the electrostatic description is often accurate. The study demonstrates that in a Vlasov plasma the whistler mode near resonance has a group velocity more nearly parallel to the magnetic field than that predicted by cold-plasma theory.

Tokar, R. L.↗

An analysis of electromagnetic coupling and eigenfrequencies for microwave electrothermal thruster discharges

This paper discusses the basic approach to developing a comprehensive electromagnetic model for a microwave electrothermal discharge. The discharge and surrounding region are modeled as a section of waveguide loaded with a uniform, cold, lossy plasma. A characteristic equation has been derived describing all possible system modes. In particular the TM(01) mode is numerically solved. Propagation and attenuation constants for the TM(01) mode are found numerically for a given range of electron-neutral collision frequencies and plasma densities. Results are used to interpret a number of experimental observations in helium. Specifically, they are used to explain high coupling efficiencies and ease of cavity tuning at high pressures.

Frasch, L. L.↗

Localization of ultra-low frequency waves in multi-ion plasmas of the planetary magnetosphere

By adopting a 2D time-dependent wave code, we investigate how mode-converted waves at the Ion-Ion Hybrid (IIH) resonance and compressional waves propagate in 2D density structures with a wide range of field-aligned wavenumbers to background magnetic fields. The simulation results show that the mode-converted waves have continuous bands across the field line consistent with previous numerical studies. These waves also have harmonic structures in frequency domain and are localized in the field-aligned heavy ion density well. Lastly, our results thus emphasize the importance of a field-aligned heavy ion density structure for ultra-low frequency wave propagation, and suggest that IIH waves can be localized in different locations along the field line.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Prediction of the Wave Normal Angle of Proton‐Band EMIC Waves Near Geosynchronous Orbit

We investigate how the wave normal angle (WNA) and polarization of proton-band electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) waves change as they travel from their source to Earth. This paper marks a significant milestone as the first full-wave simulation of proton-band EMIC waves reflecting from the ionosphere. Our findings show that the WNA can change rapidly during propagation, primarily due to plasma inhomogeneities, such as variations in the Alfvén speed. The wave polarization is strongly related to the WNA, consistent with theory. Newly generated EMIC waves near the equator propagate with a WNA of 0° , then the WNA gradually shifts to 90° as they move toward Earth. In contrast, reflecting waves having 90° of WNA at Earth maintain a relatively larger WNA even near the magnetic equator. As a result, only the newly generated waves close to the source, where the magnetic latitude is less than approximately 20° , show left-handed polarization, while linear polarization remains dominant throughout the rest of the propagation.

EMIC wave↗

Calibration and performance of the ATLAS Tile Calorimeter during the LHC Run 2

The Tile Calorimeter (TileCal) is the hadronic sampling calorimeter of the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). TileCal uses iron absorbers and scintillators as active material and it covers the central region | η| < 1.7. Jointly with the other sub-detectors it is designed for measurements of hadrons, jets, tau-particles and missing transverse energy. It also assists in muon identification. TileCal is regularly monitored and calibrated by several different calibration systems: a Cs radioactive source, a laser light system to check the PMT response, and a charge injection system (CIS) to check the front-end electronics. These calibration systems, in conjunction with data collected during proton-proton collisions, Minimum Bias (MB) events, provide extensive monitoring of the instrument and a means for equalizing the calorimeter response at each stage of the signal propagation. The performance of the calorimeter has been established with cosmic ray muons and the large sample of the proton-proton collisions and compared to Monte Carlo (MC) simulations. The response of high momentum isolated muons is also used to study the energy response at the electromagnetic scale, isolated hadrons are used as a probe of the hadronic response. The calorimeter time resolution is studied with multijet events. A description of the different TileCal calibration systems and the results on the calorimeter performance during the LHC Run 2 are introduced. The findings on the pile-up noise and response uniformity studies are also reported on.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

nSQUID arrays as conveyers of quantum information

We have considered the quantum dynamics of an array of nSQUIDs—two-junction SQUIDs with negative mutual inductance between their two arms. Effective dual-rail structure of the array creates additional internal degree of freedom for the fluxons in the array, which can be used to encode and transport quantum information. Physically, this degree of freedom is represented by electromagnetic excitations localized on the fluxon. We have calculated the spatial profile and frequency spectrum of these excitations. Their dynamics can be reduced to two quantum states, so that each fluxon moving through the array carries with it a qubit of information. Coherence properties of such a propagating qubit in the nSQUID array are characterized by the dynamic suppression of the low-frequency decoherence due to the motion-induced spreading of the noise spectral density to a larger frequency interval.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Final Report DE-FE0031785 Mohsen Ahmadian, Ph.D. Demonstration of Proof of Concept of a Multiphysics Approach for Real-Time Remote Monitoring of Dynamic Changes in Pressure and Salinity in Hydraulically Fractured Networks

Hydraulic fracturing has evolved into a multistep process with varying flow rates, carrier fluids (e.g., gel or slickwater), proppant loadings, and proppant grain sizes. As a result, primary recovery from a hydraulically fractured tight-oil reservoir is often a tiny fraction of the original oil in place, ranging between 5 and 10%. As stated in the FOA1990, “part of this problem is due to the inability of current well completion processes to effectively stimulate the entire reservoir volume in contact with the wellbore. Innovative technologies are needed that can help improve the effectiveness of reservoir completion methods, maximize stimulated reservoir volumes, and optimize recovery over the entire producing life span of a well”. We first need to enhance the current fracture diagnostic techniques to improve a well-completion design. However, detecting and delineating a subsurface hydraulic fracture is extremely difficult because the induced fracture network is only fractionally propped, and these propped fractures are generally very thin. Microseismic and tiltmeter monitoring techniques can provide information on the fracture extent but provide little or no information on the movement and final distribution of proppant or production fluids. On the other hand, electromagnetic (EM) imaging has shown the capability to monitor proppant distribution throughout the fracture area, especially in the presence of Electrically Active Proppants (EAPs). A previous EM survey of hydraulic fracturing at the Devine Fracture Pilot Site (DFPS) and subsequent EM code developments demonstrated this survey as a robust technique to remotely interrogate the extent of the EAP-filled hydraulic fracture during its propagation. The objectives of the project were threefold: (1) to capitalize on the material properties of an EAP to demonstrate remote monitoring of relative changes in pressure, pressure, and flow that are commonly encountered during production from a hydraulically fractured reservoir; (2) to evaluate EM imaging tools, to achieve Objective 1 in near real-time; and (3) to develop a multi-physics joint inversion approach to precisely predict flow patterns and physiochemical changes within an EAP-filled fracture network. This research project was built upon our previous work at the Devine Test Site managed by the Bureau of Economic Geology (BEG) at The University of Texas at Austin (UT-Austin). It also leveraged a significant investment from the Advanced Energy Consortium (AEC) to address the DOE's interest in subsurface flow, containment, and characterization by multiple signals. This three-year and three-month project succeeded in demonstrating the feasibility of a real-time dynamic fluid flow mapping technique at Technology Readiness Level 5 (TRL5) by utilizing a commercially available surface-based Controlled-Source Electromagnetic (CSEM) method (Objectives 1, 2). We demonstrated that injections into an EAP-filled fracture could be successfully coupled with real-time electric field measurements on the surface, leading to remote monitoring of dynamic changes within the EAP-filled fracture. Furthermore, the observed electric field in our study is influenced by bottomhole pressure, flow rate, and salinity, which is demonstrated by comparing these parameters with the electrical field potentials. EM simulations solely based on assumptions of fracture conductivity changes during injection did not reproduce the whole measured electric field magnitudes. Preliminary estimates showed that including Streaming Potential (SP) in our geophysical model is likely needed to reduce the simulation misfit.

02 PETROLEUM↗

Parametric study of the damage ring pattern in fused silica induced by multiple longitudinal modes laser pulses

With the use of multiple longitudinal modes nanosecond laser pulses at 1064 nm, laser damage sites at the exit surface of fused silica clearly and systematically exhibit ring patterns. It has been shown in our previous works that the apparent chronology of rings was closely related to the temporal shape of the laser pulses. This particular correspondence had suggested an explanation of the ring morphology formation based on the displacement of an ionization front in the surrounding air. To provide a former basis for this hypothesis and deeper understanding of ring pattern formation, additional experiments have been performed. First, the impact of fluence has been investigated, revealing that a wide variety of damage sites are produced within a very narrow fluence range; this fact involves the chronology of appearance of a surface plasma during the laser pulse. The sizes of the damage sites are proportional to the fluence of their expansion occurring between the beginning of the plasma and the end of the laser pulse. Second, specific experiments have been carried out at different angles of incidence, resulting in egg-shaped patterns rather than circular ones. This behavior can be explained by our previous hypothesis of creation of a plasma in air, its expansion being tightly conditioned by the illumination angle. This series of experiments, in which the angle of incidence is varied up to 80°, permits us to link quantitatively the working hypothesis of ionization front propagation with theoretical hydrodynamics modeling.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Computational hydrodynamics and optical performance of inductively-coupled plasma adaptive lenses

This study addresses the optical performance of a plasma adaptive lens for aero-optical applications by using both axisymmetric and three-dimensional numerical simulations. Plasma adaptive lenses are based on the effects of free electrons on the phase velocity of incident light, which, in theory, can be used as a phase-conjugation mechanism. A closed cylindrical chamber filled with Argon plasma is used as a model lens into which a beam of light is launched. The plasma is sustained by applying a radio-frequency electric current through a coil that envelops the chamber. Four different operating conditions, ranging from low to high powers and induction frequencies, are employed in the simulations. The numerical simulations reveal complex hydrodynamic phenomena related to buoyant and electromagnetic laminar transport, which generate, respectively, large recirculating cells and wall-normal compression stresses in the form of local stagnation-point flows. In the axisymmetric simulations, the plasma motion is coupled with near-wall axial striations in the electron-density field, some of which propagate in the form of low-frequency traveling disturbances adjacent to vortical quadrupoles that are reminiscent of Taylor-Görtler flow structures in centrifugally unstable flows. Although the refractive-index fields obtained from axisymmetric simulations lead to smooth beam wavefronts, they are found to be unstable to azimuthal disturbances in three of the four three-dimensional cases considered. The azimuthal striations are optically detrimental, since they produce high-order angular aberrations that account for most of the beam wavefront error. A fourth case is computed at high input power and high induction frequency, which displays the best optical properties among all the three-dimensional simulations considered. In particular, the increase in induction frequency prevents local thermalization and leads to an axisymmetric distribution of electrons even after introduction of spatial disturbances. The results highlight the importance of accounting for spatial effects in the numerical computations when optical analyses of plasma lenses are pursued in this range of operating conditions.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Instability of surface electron cyclotron TM-modes influenced by non-monochromatic alternating electric field

The influence of non-monochromaticity of an external alternating electric field on excitation of TM eigenmodes at harmonics of the electron cyclotron frequency is considered here. These TM-modes propagate along the plasma interface in a metal waveguide. An external static constant magnetic field is oriented perpendicularly to the plasma interface. The problem is solved theoretically using the kinetic Vlasov-Boltzmann equation for description of plasma particles motion and the Maxwell equations for description of the electromagnetic mode fields. The external alternating electric field is supposed to be a superposition of two waves, whose amplitudes are different and their frequencies correlate as 2:1. An infinite set of equations for electric field harmonics of these modes is derived with the aid of nonlinear boundary conditions. This set is solved using the wave packet approach consisting of the main harmonic frequency and two nearest satellite temporal harmonics. Analytical studies of the obtained set of equations allow one to find two different regimes of parametric instability, namely, enhancement and suppression of the instability. Numerical analysis of the instability is carried out for the three first electron cyclotron harmonics.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Effects of energetic heavy ions on electromagnetic ion cyclotron wave generation in the plasmapause region

An expression for electromagnetic ion cyclotron convective growth rates is derived. The derivation of the dispersion relation and convective growth rates in the presence of a multicomponent energetic and cold plasma is presented. The effects that multiple heavy ions in the ring current and cold plasma produce in the growth and propagation characteristics of ion cyclotron waves are explored. Results of growth rate calculations using parameters consistent with conditions in the plasmapause region during the early recovery phase of geomagnetic storms are presented and compared with ground-based and satellite observations of waves in this region. The geophysical implications of the results are discussed.

Kozyra, J. U.↗

Generation of macroscopic magnetic-field-aligned electric fields by the convection surge ion acceleration mechanism

The 'convection surge' model for ion acceleration, designed by Mauk (1986) to explain the observed ion distributions and the field-aligned character of middle magnetospheric ion distributions during the expansion phase of a substorm, was extended to include the self-consistent generation of magnetic-field-aligned electric fields. Results from the modified model show that the convection surge mechanism leads to the generation of dynamical macroscopic magnetic field-aligned electric fields that begin their strongest developments very near the magnetic equator and then propagate to higher latitudes. Potential drops as high as 1 to 10 kV might be expected, depending on the mass species of the ions and on the electron temperatures. It is speculated that the convection surge mechanism could be a key player in the transient field-aligned electromagnetic processes observed to operate within the middle magnetosphere.

Mauk, B. H.↗

VLF signatures of lightning-induced heating and ionization of the nighttime D-region

48.5 kHz signals from a transmitter in Silver Creek, Nebraska, propagating to Huntsville (HU), Alabama over a approximately 1200 km Great Circle Path (GCP) exhibit characteristic amplitude changes which appear within 20 ms of cloud-to-ground (CG) flashes located within 50 km of the path. Data are consistent with the heating of ionospheric electrons by the electromagnetic (EM) pulse from lightning producing ionization changes in the D-region over the thunderstorm.

Inan, U. S.↗