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At least 127 records · Page 7
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1981

Shock-associated low-energy ion enhancements observed by Voyagers 1 and 2

Observations of shock-associated ion enhancements at energies of not less than 30 keV are presented from data gathered by Voyagers 1 and 2. Observations include examples of energetic storm particle events associated with flare-produced shocks and examples of corotating particle events (CPE) associated with forward and reverse shocks that bound corotating interaction regions in the outer heliosphere. Most of the CPE have recurrent double-peaked intensity enhancements showing little or no velocity dispersion at peak intensities, time durations of several days, and soft energy spectra extending up to 5 MeV/nucleon. The lowest energy ion enhancements are confined mainly downstream of the corotating interaction regions with the magnitude and duration of the upstream enhancements increasing with increasing ion energy. The observations are consistent with the dynamical and kinematical effects expected when low energy ions are accelerated at quasi-perpendicular shocks.

Decker, R. B.↗
NASA NTRS1993

An investigation of shock wave turbulent boundary layer interaction with bleed through slanted slots

Flow-field characteristics are simulated numerically in an oblique shock wave/turbulent boundary layer interactions with six different bleed slot configurations. The strong conservation-law form of the 2D compressible Navier-Stokes equations and the k-epsilon equations are solved throughout the interaction region and inside the bleed slot. The computed results are presented for a normal and 20-deg slanted bleed slots at three different locations, upstream, across and downstream of the impingement point of an oblique shock of sufficient strength to cause boundary layer separation without bleed. The detailed flow characteristics in the interaction zone and inside the bleed slot are compared for the different bleed slot configurations. The resulting surface pressure and shear stress distributions as well as the boundary layer characteristics downstream of the interaction region are also presented for the mix bleed configurations at different bleed mass flows up to choking.

Hamed, A.↗
NASA NTRS2011

Solar Cycle Variation of CMEs and CIRs

Coronal mass ejections (CMEs) and high-speed solar wind streams (HSS) are two solar phenomena that produce large-scale structures in the interplanetary (IP) medium. CMEs evolve into interplanetary CMEs (ICMEs) and the HSS result in corotating interaction regions (CIRs) when they interact with preceding slow solar wind. CMEs and CIRs originate from closed (active region and filament region) and open (corona) hole) magnetic field regions on the Sun, respectively. These two types of mass emissions from the Sun are responsible for the largest effects on the heliosphere, particularly on Earth's space environment. This paper discussed how these structures and their solar sources vary with the solar cycle and the consequent changes in the geospace impact.

Gopalswamy, N.↗
NASA NTRS1997

The Structure of the Solar Wind at Large Heliocentric Distances: CIRs and their Successors

Co-rotating interaction regions (CIRs) and their associated shock pairs are dominant structures in the solar wind between the heliocentric distances of 2 and 8 AU. At larger heliocentric distances, these structures undergo a qualitative change. Shocks decay to a point where they are often difficult to detect, and may have little influence on the dynamics of the solar wind. Interaction regions spread and merge, though they appear to retain their identity to surprisingly large distances from the Sun. Solar wind and IMF data from the Pioneer 10, Pioneer 11, and Voyager 2 spacecraft were used to conduct a comprehensive survey of CIRs and their successors between heliocentric distances of 1 and 55 AU over the last two solar cycles. The structure of the solar wind varied in a consistent fashion with heliocentric distance. Similar structures were observed at similar heliocentric distances by all three spacecraft during different portions of the solar cycle.

Gazis, P. R.↗
NASA NTRS1999

The Structure of the Solar Wind at Large Heliocentric Distances: CIRs and their Successors

Co-rotating interaction regions (CIRs) and their associated shock pairs are dominant structures in the solar wind between the heliocentric distances of 2 and 8 AU. At larger heliocentric distances, these structures undergo a qualitative change. Shocks decay to a point where they are often difficult to detect, and may have little influence on the dynamics of the solar wind. Interaction regions spread and merge, though they appear to retain their identity to surprisingly large distances from the Sun. Solar wind and IMF data from the Pioneer 10, Pioneer 11, and Voyager 2 spacecraft were used to conduct a comprehensive survey of CIRs and their successors between heliocentric distances of 1 and 55 AU over the last two solar cycles. The structure of the solar wind varied in a consistent fashion with heliocentric distance. Similar structures were observed at similar heliocentric distances by all three spacecraft during different portions of the solar cycle.

Gazis, P. R.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Relatively stable, large-amplitude Alfvenic waves seen at 2.5 and 5.0 AU

Pioneer 11 and 10 observations of the wave structure seen in a corotating interaction region at 2.5 AU on day 284 of 1973 and 8 days later at 5 AU reveal large-amplitude Alfvenic structures with many detailed correlations seen between their features at the two radial distances. Hodogram analysis suggests the dominance of near plane polarized, transverse Alfvenic mode fluctuations with periods between 2 min and one hour or more. Some wave evolution close to the Corotating Interaction Region (CIR) shock is noticed, but waves towards the center of the compression seem to propagate with little damping between the spacecraft observation positions.

Mavromichalaki, H.↗
NASA NTRS1972

Shock wave-turbulent boundary layer interactions in rectangular channels.

Interaction regions created by the impingement of full span, externally generated, shock waves on a nozzle wall boundary layer were investigated. Incident shock strength was varied to produce unseparated, incipient, and fully separated flow fields. Significant departures from two-dimensionality were observed over the entire range of shock strengths tested and were identified with sidewall and corner boundary layer effects. However, comparisons of present centerline results with published two-dimensional data, obtained under similar test conditions and geometrical constraints, showed excellent agreement (e.g., incipient separation pressure levels, wall pressure distributions, free-interaction, and scale of the interaction region). This raises some question concerning the degree of two-dimensionality achieved in these previous investigations.

Reda, D. C.↗
NASA NTRS1995

Suprathermal electron loss cone distributions in the solar wind: Ulysses observations

Solar wind suprathermal electron distributions in the solar wind generally carry a field-aligned antisunward heat flux. Within coronal mass ejections and upstream of strong shocks driven by corotating interaction regions (CIRs), counterstreaming electron beams are observed. We present observations by the Ulysses solar wind plasma experiment of a new class of suprathermal electron signatures. At low solar latitudes and heliocentric distances beyond 3.5 AU Ulysses encountered several intervals, ranging in duration from 1 hour to 22 hours, in which the suprathermal distributions included an antisunward field-aligned beam and a return population with a flux dropout typically spanning +/- 60 deg from the sunward field-aligned direction. All events occurred within CIRs, downstream of the forward and reverse shocks or waves bounding the interaction regions. We evaluate the hypothesis that the sunward-moving electrons result from reflection of the antisunward beams at magnetic field compressions downstream from the observations, with wide loss cones caused by the relatively weak compression ratio. This hypothesis requires that field magnitude within the CIRs actually increase with increasing field-aligned distance from the Sun. Details of the electron distributions and ramifications for CIR and shock geometry will be presented.

Phillips, J. L.↗
NASA NTRS2023

CME Propagation Through the Heliosphere: Status and Future of Observations and Model Development

The ISWAT (International Space Weather Action Teams) heliosphere clusters H1 and H2 have a focus on interplanetary space and its characteristics, especially on the large-scale co-rotating and transient structures impacting Earth. Solar wind stream interaction regions, generated by the interaction between high-speed solar wind originating in large-scale open coronal magnetic fields and slower solar wind from closed magnetic fields, are regions of compressed plasma and magnetic field followed by high-speed streams that recur at the ~27 day solar rotation period. Short-term reconfigurations of the lower coronal magnetic field generate flare emissions and provide the energy to accelerate enormous amounts of magnetised plasma and particles in the form of coronal mass ejections into interplanetary space. The dynamic interplay between these phenomena changes the configuration of interplanetary space on various temporal and spatial scales which in turn influences the propagation of individual structures. While considerable efforts have been made to model the solar wind, we outline the limitations arising from the rather large uncertainties in parameters inferred from observations that make reliable predictions of the structures impacting Earth difficult. Moreover, the increased complexity of interplanetary space as solar activity rises in cycle 25 is likely to pose a challenge to these models. Combining observational and modeling expertise will extend our knowledge of the relationship between these different phenomena and the underlying physical processes, leading to improved models and scientific understanding and more-reliable space-weather forecasting. The current paper summarizes the efforts and progress achieved in recent years, identifies open questions, and gives an outlook for the next 5–10 years. It acts as basis for updating the existing COSPAR roadmap by Schrijver et al. (2015), as well as providing a useful and practical guide for peer-users and the next generation of space weather scientists.

Space weather↗
NASA NTRS2010

The Spatially-resolved Interacting Winds of Eta Carinae: Implications on the Orbit Orientation

Medium-dispersion long slit spectra, recorded by HST/STIS (R=8000, Theta=0.l"), resolve the extended wind-wind interaction region of the massive binary, Eta Carinae. During the high state, extending for about five years of the 5.54-year binary period, lines of [N II], [Fe III], [S III], [Ar III] and [Ne III] extend outwards to 0.4" with a velocity range of -500 to +200 km/s. By comparison, lines of [Fe II] and [Ni II] extend to 0.7" with a velocity range of -500 to +500 km/s. During the high state, driven by the lesser wind of Eta Car B and photo-ionized by the FUV of Eta Car B, the high excitation lines originate in or near the outer ballistic portions of the wind-wind interaction region. The lower excitation lines ([Fe II] and [Ni II D originate from the boundary regions of the dominating wind of Eta Car A. As the binary system has an eccentricity exceeding 0.9, the two stars approach quite close across the periastron, estimated to be within 1 to 2 AU. As a result, Eta Car B moves into the primary wind structure, cutting off the FUV supporting the ionization of the high state lines. Forbidden emission lines of the doubly-ionized species disappear, He II 4686 drops along with the collapse of the X-ray flux. This behavior is understood through the 3-D models of A. Okazaki and of E. R. Parkin and Pittard. Discussion will address the orbit orientation relative to the geometry of the Homunculus, ejected by Eta Carinae in the 1840s.

Gull, Theodore R.↗
NASA NTRS2019

Quantifying the Contribution of Microbursts to Global Electron Loss in the Radiation Belts

We use the Solar, Anomalous, and Magnetospheric Particle Explorer to explore the relationship between microbursts and global flux decay of electrons from the outer Van Allen belt during the recovery phase of geomagnetic storms. We investigate the correlation between microbursts and global electron loss in each of the quasi‐trapped (drift loss cone), stably trapped, and untrapped electron (bounce loss cone) populations. For the quasi‐trapped electrons, we separately classify the storms as driven by coronal mass ejections or corotating interaction regions and explore their connection to microburst loss. We find that the decay lifetime of electron fluxes, that is, e‐folding times of macroscopic fluxes in the recovery phase is correlated with strong microburst activity. That is, when the microburst activity is high, global flux decay times are short, and vice versa, suggesting a cross‐scale coupling between microloss and macroloss phenomena. Furthermore, we find that the microburst to global loss coupling is predominant in the quasi‐trapped population of radiation belt electrons while having negligible influence on the untrapped and stably trapped populations. We find that microburst activity during storms driven by coronal mass ejections is coupled more strongly with global flux decay as compared with corotating interaction regions. In addition, we find that distance from the plasmapause is likely a better indicator of microburst location than L‐shell, with most microbursts occurring ~0.5–2.0 L from the model plasmapause location.

Greeley, A. D.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Elemental abundances in corotating events

Large, persistent solar-wind streams in 1973 and 1974 produced corotating interaction regions which accelerated particles to energies of a few MeV/nucleon. The proton to helium ratio (H/He) reported was remarkably constant at a value (22 + or - 5) equal to that in the solar wind (32 + or - 3), suggesting that particles were being accelerated directly out of the solar wind. Preliminary results from a similar study approximately 11 years (i.e., one solar cycle) later are reported. Corotating events were identified by surveying the solar wind data, energetic particle time-histories and anisotropies. This data was all obtained from the ISEE-3/ICE spacecraft. These events also show H/He ratios similar to that in the solar wind. In addition, other corotating events were examined at times when solar flare events could have injected particles into the corresponding corotating interaction regions. It was found that in these cases there is evidence for H/He ratios which are significantly different from that of the solar wind but which are consistent with the range of values found in solar flare events.

Vonrosenvinge, T. T.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Effects of the intense solar activity of March/June 1991 observed in the outer heliosphere

The properties of the large-scale global merged interaction region (GMIR) generated by the intense solar events of March and June 1991 are studied using the available solar wind, interplanetary magnetic field, and energetic particle data from the observing network of Pioneer 10 and Voyagers 1 and 2 in the outer heliosphere. At heliocentric distances extending to 55 AU the delayed effects of this enhanced solar activity are observed in the form of large inceases in the solar wind velocity and interplanetary magnetic field and significant decreases in the galactic cosmic ray intensity. For low-energy ions (5-MeV protons) there was a single long-lived event extending over a period of some 6 months. Near the strongest interplanetary disturbances the H and He spectra are best represented by similar exponentials in momentum/nucleon (i.e., particle velocity at these at these energies). Over the rest of the event the characteristic momentum for He, (P(sub 0))(sub He) is generally approximately 0.66 for hydrogen. These spectra and the consistently low H/He ratio (25.3) at 2 MeV/nucleon closely resemble that observed in corrotating interaction regions events. Despite the strong north/south asymmetry in the solar activity, the interplanetary disturbances produced the same net decrease in the galactic cosmic ray intensity of ions greater than 70 MeV at the three widely separated spacecraft when the effects of the long-term recovery are taken into account. A comparison of the relative intensity of MeV ions at these three spacecraft suggest that the most intense solar events occurred on the back side of the Sun in time periods adjacent to the March and June episodes of solar activity. It is argued that this GMIR as a system is responsible for the low-frequency radio emission observed by the Voyager Plasma Wave experiment some 1.46 years after the onset of the March 1991 activity.

Mcdonald, F. B.↗
NASA NTRS1975

Experimental investigation of supersonic flow past double-wedge configurations

Viscous-inviscid interactions characteristic of those which occur when the fuselage-generated shock wave interacts with the wing-generated shock wave of a shuttle orbiter were studied experimentally. Surface-pressure measurements and schlieren photographs were obtained to define the flowfield generated when a Mach 4.97 stream encounters a double-wedge configuration. The deflection angles for the two wedge surfaces were such that the shock interaction pattern was either a Type-V pattern or a Type-VI pattern, as defined by Edney. The correlation between the present data and the theoretical solution for the Type-VI solution is satisfactory. The correlation between the measured Type-V shock-interaction pattern and the theoretical solution is satisfactory up to the interaction region. Downstream of the interaction the Type-V data depend primarily on the shape of the leading-edge shock wave.

Bertin, J. J.↗
NASA NTRS1977

The radial variation of corotating energetic particle streams in the inner and outer solar system

The radial gradient of long-lived, corotating energetic particle streams was measured using observations of .9-2.2 MeV protons from Helios 1 and 2, IMP 7, Pioneer 10 and Pioneer 11. A positive gradient of approximately 350% per AU is found between .3 AU and 1 AU. Between 1 AU and some 3-5 AU, the gradient is variable with an average value of 100% per AU which is consistent with earlier statistical results. A comparison between measurements at 9 AU and approximately 4 AU shows a negative gradient which is variable from -40 to -100% per AU. Possible solar latitudinal effects on these gradient studies are also discussed. Using solar wind and magnetic field data from Helios 1 between 1 AU and .3 AU, the relation between corotating energetic particle events in the inner solar system and the interplanetary medium is examined. It is found that the energetic particles are contained inside the high speed solar wind stream in a region adjacent to the interaction region between low speed and high speed streams.

Vanhollebeke, M. A. I.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Magnetic field in the wake of Venus and the formation of ionospheric holes

Magnetic field structures are analyzed for both the ionospheric hole region and the magnetosheath/ionosphere interaction region of the nightside of Venus, in search of possible coupling between these two regimes. A magnetic coordinate system based on the directions of the solar wind and the interplanetary magnetic field is found to order the data reasonably well, allowing consistent superposition of observational data from individual passes of the Pioneer Venus orbiter. The results indicate that the magnetosheath plasma flow in the wake region plays an important role in forming the ionospheric holes through deformation of the nightside ionopause. The results are combined in a model of the three-dimensional magnetic field structure around the ionosphere of Venus.

Marubashi, K.↗
NASA NTRS2018

Numerically Simulating an Expanding Continuum Jet into a Surrounding Non-Continuum Region

A numerical technique that simulates the interaction between a continuum jet and a free-molecular, rarefied or transitional flow field is presented and applied. The technique is based on selecting a boundary between the expanding jet plume and interacting flow field defined by the Bird breakdown parameter, P. By properly choosing the boundary, the jet plume computed by computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is uncoupled from the interaction region that is simulated by direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC). The mechanics of uncoupling the continuum and non-continuum regions is discussed first. Also, a discussion of expanding continuum plume breakdown and the formulation of the Bird breakdown parameter is presented. To show the usefulness, examples of applying the CFD-DSMC technique are given. Many of the examples were taken from projects worked by the staff of the Aerothermodynamics Branch at the NASA Langley Research Center. These examples show a variety of applications of the technique and allow those examples not previously documented to be formally presented.

Jet interaction↗
NASA NTRS1991

Trace gas and aerosol transports into and out of the Amazon Basin

Overviews of the wet season Amazon Boundary Layer Experiment (ABLE IIB) are presented which give the context of the wet season experiment and some of the results. Copies of all reprints and manuscripts published or accepted for publication are attached. A complete list of all papers published in the reviewed literature, papers presented as well as published as part of conference preceedings, and articles published in the news media are listed in the appendices. Two scales of interaction of the rain forest were pursued in this work: (1) global interactions; and (2) local and regional interactions. Under the first scale, the role of the rain forest in the global system was the central thrust of the work. Under the second scale, the role of the rain forest on the basin and smaller scales was emphasized. The appendices also provide a summary of future work and a listing of degrees awarded during this report period.

Garstang, Michael↗