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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 1,351 records · Page 75
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2014

Branches of electrostatic turbulence inside solitary plasma structures in the auroral ionosphere

The excitation of electrostatic turbulence inside space-observed solitary structures is a central topic of this exposition. Three representative solitary structures observed in the topside auroral ionosphere as large-amplitude nonlinear signatures in the electric field and magnetic-field-aligned current on the transverse scales of ∼10{sup 2}–10{sup 3} m are evaluated by the theories of electrostatic wave generation in inhomogeneous background configurations. A quantitative analysis shows that the structures are, in general, effective in destabilizing the inhomogeneous energy-density-driven (IEDD) waves, as well as of the ion acoustic waves modified by a shear in the parallel drift of ions. It is demonstrated that the dominating branch of the electrostatic turbulence is determined by the interplay of various driving sources inside a particular solitary structure. The sources do not generally act in unison, so that their common effect may be inhibiting for excitation of electrostatic waves of a certain type. In the presence of large magnetic-field-aligned current, which is not correlated to the inhomogeneous electric field inside the structure, the ion-acoustic branch becomes dominating. In other cases, the IEDD instability is more central.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2015

Ionospheric modifications in high frequency heating experiments

Featured observations in high-frequency (HF) heating experiments conducted at Arecibo, EISCAT, and high frequency active auroral research program are discussed. These phenomena appearing in the F region of the ionosphere include high-frequency heater enhanced plasma lines, airglow enhancement, energetic electron flux, artificial ionization layers, artificial spread-F, ionization enhancement, artificial cusp, wideband absorption, short-scale (meters) density irregularities, and stimulated electromagnetic emissions, which were observed when the O-mode HF heater waves with frequencies below foF2 were applied. The implication and associated physical mechanism of each observation are discussed and explained. It is shown that these phenomena caused by the HF heating are all ascribed directly or indirectly to the excitation of parametric instabilities which instigate anomalous heating. Formulation and analysis of parametric instabilities are presented. The results show that oscillating two stream instability and parametric decay instability can be excited by the O-mode HF heater waves, transmitted from all three heating facilities, in the regions near the HF reflection height and near the upper hybrid resonance layer. The excited Langmuir waves, upper hybrid waves, ion acoustic waves, lower hybrid waves, and field-aligned density irregularities set off subsequent wave-wave and wave-electron interactions, giving rise to the observed phenomena.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2015

Rossby-Khantadze electromagnetic planetary waves driven by sheared zonal winds in the E-layer ionosphere

Nonlinear simulations of electromagnetic Rossby and Khantadze planetary waves in the presence of a shearless and sheared zonal flows in the weakly ionized ionospheric E-layer are carried out. The simulations show that the nonlinear action of the vortex structures keeps the solitary character in the presence of shearless zonal winds as well as the ideal solutions of solitary vortex in the absence of zonal winds. In the presence of sheared zonal winds, the zonal flows result in breaking into separate multiple smaller pieces. A passively convected scalar field is shown to clarify the transport associated with the vortices. The work shows that the zonal shear flows provide an energy source into the vortex structure according to the shear rate of the zonal winds.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2015

Plasma instabilities in the ionosphere at the crest of anomaly region

Comparison of the in situ density fluctuations measured by the DEMETER satellite with ground based GPS receiver measurements at the equatorial anomaly station Bhopal [geographic coordinates (23.2°N, 77.6°E); geomagnetic coordinates (14.29° N, 151.12°E)] for the low solar activity year, 2005, are presented in this paper. The Langmuir Probe experiment and Plasma Analyzer onboard DEMETER measure the electron and ion densities respectively. It is interesting to note that in situ density fluctuations observed on magnetic flux tubes that pass over Bhopal can be used as indicator of ionospheric scintillations at that site. Many cases of density fluctuations and associated scintillations have been observed during descending low solar activity period.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2015

Evolution of lower hybrid turbulence in the ionosphere

Three-dimensional evolution of the lower hybrid turbulence driven by a spatially localized ion ring beam perpendicular to the ambient magnetic field in space plasmas is analyzed. It is shown that the quasi-linear saturation model breaks down when the nonlinear rate of scattering by thermal electron is larger than linear damping rates, which can occur even for low wave amplitudes. The evolution is found to be essentially a three-dimensional phenomenon, which cannot be accurately explained by two-dimensional simulations. An important feature missed in previous studies of this phenomenon is the nonlinear conversion of electrostatic lower hybrid waves into electromagnetic whistler and magnetosonic waves and the consequent energy loss due to radiation from the source region. This can result in unique low-amplitude saturation with extended saturation time. It is shown that when the nonlinear effects are considered the net energy that can be permanently extracted from the ring beam is larger. The results are applied to anticipate the outcome of a planned experiment that will seed lower hybrid turbulence in the ionosphere and monitor its evolution.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2015

Modulational excitation of inhomogeneities in dusty ionospheric plasma

The mechanism for the formation of inhomogeneities of the electron and ion densities in dusty ionospheric plasma as a result of the modulational instability of a pump electromagnetic wave caused by the excitation of dust acoustic perturbations is considered. The inhomogeneities of the electron density produced by the monochromatic radiation of heating facilities at altitudes of 80 and 100 km are estimated numerically. The possibility of excitation of relatively large inhomogeneities of the electron and ion densities δn{sub e(i)}/n{sub e(i)} ≈ 0.05 at altitudes of 80–100 km as a result of modulational interaction is demonstrated. The applicability domains of the method presented in this work are determined.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2017

MPS and Ionospheric Propagation Codes

This presentation describes diffraction and refraction techniques employed at LLNL for multiple ionospheric propagation scenarios.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
NASA NTRS1961

Theory of Electrostatic Fields in the Ionosphere at Equatorial Latitudes

The properties of the elongated electrostatic fields that are required to provide the coupling mechanism in the dynamo-motor concept of the E and F regions of the ionosphere are examined theoretically for the conditions that prevail in equatorial latitudes. The analysis is developed for an electrostatic field of arbitrary horizontal scale in a horizontally stratified partly ionized gas subject to an imposed magnetic field having the form of a parabolic arch over the equator. The anisotropic character and continuous variation with height of the conductivity are retained throughout , and numerical solutions are determined for the attenuation of the electric field with distance along the field line. The results are similar qualitatively to those found previously upon analysis of the corresponding problem for middle latitudes, but the attenuation of the electrostatic field with height is considerably greater. It develops, in particular, that the coupling between E and F regions is very small for fields having horizontal wavelengths of a few kilometers. It follows that the dynamo-motor concept could not be used to account for the presence of irregularities of this scale. On the other hand, it is found that almost all the attenuation occurs at heights near that of the E region. If an electrostatic field having a horizontal wavelength of a few kilometers could be produced at heights of, say 200 km or greater, it follows that it would be very elongated and extend with little change in amplitude from hemisphere to hemisphere. The results also indicate that effective coupling could be achieved for fields having horizontal wavelengths of the order of tens of kilometers, but the assumptions introduced to simplify the analysis may impair the quantitative reliability of the results for fields of this scale.

Briggs, Benjamin R.↗