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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 1,495 records · Page 83
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2014

An interpretation of flare-induced and decayless coronal-loop oscillations as interference patterns

We present an alternative model of coronal-loop oscillations, which considers that the waves are trapped in a two-dimensional waveguide formed by the entire arcade of field lines. This differs from the standard one-dimensional model which treats the waves as the resonant oscillations of just the visible bundle of field lines. Within the framework of our two-dimensional model, the two types of oscillations that have been observationally identified, flare-induced waves and 'decayless' oscillations, can both be attributed to MHD fast waves. The two components of the signal differ only because of the duration and spatial extent of the source that creates them. The flare-induced waves are generated by strong localized sources of short duration, while the decayless background can be excited by a continuous, stochastic source. Further, the oscillatory signal arising from a localized, short-duration source can be interpreted as a pattern of interference fringes produced by waves that have traveled diverse routes of various pathlengths through the waveguide. The resulting amplitude of the fringes slowly decays in time with an inverse square root dependence. The details of the interference pattern depend on the shape of the arcade and the spatial variation of the Alfvén speed. The rapid decay of this wave component, which has previously been attributed to physical damping mechanisms that remove energy from resonant oscillations, occurs as a natural consequence of the interference process without the need for local dissipation.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2016

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↗
DOE OSTI2013

Graphene as a high impedance surface for ultra-wideband electromagnetic waves

The metals are regularly used as reflectors of electromagnetic fields emitted by antennas ranging from microwaves up to THz. To enhance the reflection and thus the gain of the antenna, metallic high impedance surfaces (HIS) are used. HIS is a planar array of continuous metallic periodic cell surfaces able to suppress surface waves, which cause multipath interference and backward radiation in a narrow bandwidth near the cell resonance. Also, the image currents are reduced, and therefore the antenna can be placed near the HIS. We demonstrate that graphene is acting as a HIS surface in a very large bandwidth, from microwave to THz, suppressing the radiation leakages better than a metal.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2019

Spectral near-field thermal emission extraction by optical waveguides

As far-field thermal emission is limited by blackbody radiation, the significant enhancement of thermal radiation in the near-field plays a vital role in a variety of applications such as infrared sensing, radiation cooling, and thermophotovoltaics. Yet the techniques of exporting the near-field signal to the far field are still not mature, typically relying on complex instrumentation capable of being applied only to the surfaces of model systems and structures. Here we develop an efficient method of extracting near-field thermal radiation to the far field by integrating a nanoscale thermal emitter with a high-index optical waveguide. By directly depositing the emitter onto the optical waveguide, it requires no vacuum gap and enables efficient coupling of near-field thermal radiation into propagating wave-guided modes. A single-mode planar waveguide incorporated with an indium-tin oxide (ITO) film as a thermal emitter is theoretically investigated to prove the feasibility of thermal extraction. The Wiener-chaos expansion method is applied to directly calculate the thermal radiation from the emitter-waveguide system. We experimentally demonstrate the fidelity of the optical-waveguide-assisted near-field thermal extraction by measuring the emission spectrum of an ITO-coated optical fiber and comparing with theoretical predictions. Our experimental demonstration in conjunction with the direct simulation paves the way for effectively extracting near-field thermal radiation with applications in chemical sensing, infrared imaging, and near-field thermal energy management.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2017

Narrowband noise study of sliding charge density waves in NbSe 3 nanoribbons

Transport properties (dc electrical resistivity, threshold electric field, and narrow-band noise) are reported for nanoribbon specimens of NbSe 3 with thicknesses as low as 18 nm. As the sample thickness decreases, the resistive anomalies characteristic of the charge density wave (CDW) state are suppressed and the threshold fields for nonlinear CDW conduction apparently diverge. Narrow-band noise measurements allow determination of the concentration of carriers condensed in the CDW state n c , reflective of the CDW order parameter Δ. Although the CDW transition temperatures are relatively independent of sample thickness, in the lower CDW state Δ decreases dramatically with decreasing sample thickness.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2015

An energy decomposition analysis for second-order Møller–Plesset perturbation theory based on absolutely localized molecular orbitals

An energy decomposition analysis (EDA) of intermolecular interactions is proposed for second-order Møller–Plesset perturbation theory (MP2) based on absolutely localized molecular orbitals (ALMOs), as an extension to a previous ALMO-based EDA for self-consistent field methods. It decomposes the canonical MP2 binding energy by dividing the double excitations that contribute to the MP2 wave function into classes based on how the excitations involve different molecules. The MP2 contribution to the binding energy is decomposed into four components: frozen interaction, polarization, charge transfer, and dispersion. Charge transfer is defined by excitations that change the number of electrons on a molecule, dispersion by intermolecular excitations that do not transfer charge, and polarization and frozen interactions by intra-molecular excitations. The final two are separated by evaluations of the frozen, isolated wave functions in the presence of the other molecules, with adjustments for orbital response. Unlike previous EDAs for electron correlation methods, this one includes components for the electrostatics, which is vital as adjustment to the electrostatic behavior of the system is in some cases the dominant effect of the treatment of electron correlation. The proposed EDA is then applied to a variety of different systems to demonstrate that all proposed components behave correctly. This includes systems with one molecule and an external electric perturbation to test the separation between polarization and frozen interactions and various bimolecular systems in the equilibrium range and beyond to test the rest of the EDA. We find that it performs well on these tests. We then apply the EDA to a halogen bonded system to investigate the nature of the halogen bond.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2022

Enhanced collisionless laser absorption in strongly magnetized plasmas

We report that strongly magnetizing a plasma adds a range of waves that do not exist in unmagnetized plasmas and enlarges the laser-plasma interaction (LPI) landscape. In this paper, we use particle-in-cell simulations to investigate strongly magnetized LPI in one dimension under conditions relevant for magneto-inertial fusion experiments, focusing on a regime where the electron-cyclotron frequency is greater than the plasma frequency and the magnetic field is at an oblique angle with respect to the wave vectors. We show that when electron-cyclotron-like hybrid wave frequency is about half the laser frequency, the laser light resonantly decays to magnetized plasma waves via primary and secondary instabilities with large growth rates. These distinct magnetic-field-controlled instabilities, which we collectively call two-magnon decays, are analogous to two-plasmon decays in unmagnetized plasmas. Since additional phase mixing mechanisms are introduced by the oblique magnetic field, collisionless damping of large-amplitude magnetized waves substantially broadens the electron distribution function, especially along the direction of the magnetic field. During this process, energy is transferred efficiently from the laser to plasma waves and then to electrons, leading to a large overall absorptivity when strong resonances are present. The enhanced laser energy absorption may explain hotter-than-expected temperatures observed in magnetized laser implosion experiments and may also be exploited to develop more efficient laser-driven x-ray sources.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2022

Non-premixed counterflow methane flames in DC/AC/NS electric fields

The response of counterflow diffusion flames to sub-breakdown DC and AC electric fields, as well as their superposition with ns pulse discharge waveforms, is studied in the plane-to-plane electrode geometry. Sub-breakdown DC and low-frequency AC electric fields cause the flame displacement toward the grounded electrode, in the direction of the applied field, indicating that the body force on the positive ions exceeds that on the electrons and negative ions. As the AC frequency increases, the flame response becomes less pronounced, due to the reduction of the electrohydrodynamic (EHD) body force impulse over the AC half-period. The electric field in the electrode gap is determined by ps Electric Field Induced Second Harmonic (E-FISH) generation, with absolute calibration using sub-breakdown ns pulses overlapped with the measured electric field waveform. The results show that the electric field distribution across the flame in the current saturation regime follows the Laplacian field. This indicates that the space charge density in the gap is too low to distort the applied DC or AC field, consistent with the kinetic modeling predictions. Combining a nanosecond pulse discharge with a sub-breakdown DC field generates a diffuse plasma across the entire gap. Time-resolved and spatially resolved measurements of the electric field in the discharge indicate the ionization wave propagation between the electrodes. The present results do not exhibit a detectable flame displacement enhancement by ns discharge pulses combined with a sub-breakdown field, observed previously. Kinetic modeling calculations show that the absence of this effect in the plane-to-plane geometry is due to the rapid plasma self-shielding. This indicates that alternative electrode geometries limiting the self-shielding would be more effective for the plasma / electric field enhanced flameholding and flame stabilization applications.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2016

Alfvén wave propagation through a moderate-amplitude transverse inhomogeneity in a magnetized plasma

Parallel propagation of a plane Alfvén wave in a moderate-amplitude Gaussian-shaped transverse inhomogeneity is studied numerically using a fluid model retaining low-frequency kinetic effects. It is shown that in such a situation, common in the solar wind where elongated pressure-balanced structures are frequently observed, phase mixing competes with wave focusing, in contrast with coronal loops or auroral regions where sharp gradients present at the edges of the inhomogeneities make phase mixing dominant. Some understanding about this competition is provided by a model based on an envelope formalism. Depending on the magnitude of the Alfvén wavelength and of the inhomogeneity transverse scale relative to the ion inertial length, various regimes can develop, ranging from the formation of localized gradients when phase mixing dominates to the development of an intense magnetic filament when focusing is stronger, with a different efficiency for the generation of magnetosonic and kinetic Alfvén waves. Electron parallel heating and parallel electric field generation are also briefly discussed.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2021

Shear reflectivity compensation in full-waveform inversion using least-squares reverse-time migration

SUMMARY The computational cost of elastic-waveform inversion is too high for inverting PP reflections, while using acoustic full-waveform inversion (FWI) is inaccurate because it does not depend on the shear modulus/velocity/impedance that affects elastic PP wavefield amplitudes. To solve this problem, we develop a waveform inversion method that uses acoustic least-squares reverse-time migration (LSRTM) to compensate the shear reflectivity for acoustic FWI. Our method is based on the quasi-elastic-wave equation developed by Chapman et al. (2014). The quasi-elastic-wave equation uses a linearized acoustic-wave equation with shear modulus μ as a virtual source to correct the acoustic PP wavefield amplitudes toward elastic ones. Our waveform inversion method inverts for elastic parameters by minimizing the L2 norm of the difference between recorded and predicted PP reflections modelled using the quasi-elastic-wave equation. Numerical tests on synthetic and field data show that our method can properly handle the amplitudes of elastic PP reflections and provides an accurate estimate of the P- and S-wave velocities/impedances and, in some cases, the density. The method does not need the computationally expensive numerical solution to the elastic-wave equation. It also gives a better estimate of elastic parameters than a pure LSRTM method for elastic PP reflections.

Feng, Zongcai↗
DOE OSTI2014

Spiral actin-polymerization waves can generate amoeboidal cell crawling

Amoeboidal cell crawling on solid substrates is characterized by protrusions that seemingly appear randomly along the cell periphery and drive the cell forward. For many cell types, it is known that the protrusions result from polymerization of the actin cytoskeleton. However, little is known about how the formation of protrusions is triggered and whether the appearance of subsequent protrusions is coordinated. Recently, the spontaneous formation of actin-polymerization waves was observed. These waves have been proposed to orchestrate the cytoskeletal dynamics during cell crawling. Here, we study the impact of cytoskeletal polymerization waves on cell migration using a phase-field approach. In addition to directionally moving cells, we find states reminiscent of amoeboidal cell crawling. In this framework, new protrusions are seen to emerge from a nucleation process, generating spiral actin waves in the cell interior. Nucleation of new spirals does not require noise, but occurs in a state that is apparently displaying spatio-temporal chaos.

actin-polymerization waves↗
DOE OSTI2017

Constraints on the production of primordial magnetic seeds in pre-big bang cosmology

We study the amplification of the electromagnetic fluctuations, and the production of 'seeds' for the cosmic magnetic fields, in a class of string cosmology models whose scalar and tensor perturbations reproduce current observations and satisfy known phenomenological constraints. We find that the condition of efficient seeds production can be satisfied and compatible with all constraints only in a restricted region of parameter space, but we show that such a region has significant intersections with the portions of parameter space where the produced background of relic gravitational waves is strong enough to be detectable by aLIGO/Virgo and/or by eLISA.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2018

Drift turbulence, particle transport, and anomalous dissipation at the reconnecting magnetopause

Here, using fully kinetic 3D simulations, the reconnection dynamics of asymmetric current sheets are examined at the Earth's magnetopause. The plasma parameters are selected to model MMS magnetopause diffusion region crossings with guide fields of 0.1, 0.4, and 1 of the reconnecting magnetosheath field. In each case, strong drift-wave fluctuations are observed in the lower-hybrid frequency range at the steep density gradient across the magnetospheric separatrix. These fluctuations give rise to cross-field electron particle transport. In addition, this turbulent mixing leads to significantly enhanced electron parallel heating in comparison to 2D simulations. We study three different methods of quantifying the anomalous dissipation produced by the drift fluctuations, based on spatial averaging, temporal averaging, and temporal averaging followed by integrating along magnetic field lines. A comparison of different methods reveals complications in identifying and measuring the anomalous dissipation. Nevertheless, the anomalous dissipation from short wavelength drift fluctuations appears weak for each case, and the reconnection rates observed in 3D are nearly the same as in 2D models. Finally, the 3D simulations feature a number of interesting new features that are consistent with recent MMS observations, including cold beams of magnetosheath electrons that penetrate into the hotter magnetospheric inflow, the related observation of decreasing temperature in regions of increasing total density, and an effective turbulent diffusion coefficient that agrees with predictions from quasi-linear theory.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2014

Astrophysical black holes in screened modified gravity

Chameleon, environmentally dependent dilaton, and symmetron gravity are three models of modified gravity in which the effects of the additional scalar degree of freedom are screened in dense environments. They have been extensively studied in laboratory, cosmological, and astrophysical contexts. In this paper, we present a preliminary investigation into whether additional constraints can be provided by studying these scalar fields around black holes. By looking at the properties of a static, spherically symmetric black hole, we find that the presence of a non-uniform matter distribution induces a non-constant scalar profile in chameleon and dilaton, but not necessarily symmetron gravity. An order of magnitude estimate shows that the effects of these profiles on in-falling test particles will be sub-leading compared to gravitational waves and hence observationally challenging to detect.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Observation of spectral composition and polarization of sub-terahertz emission from dense plasma during relativistic electron beam–plasma interaction

The paper presents results of measurements of sub-terahertz electromagnetic emission from magnetized plasma during injection of a powerful relativistic electron beam of microsecond duration in plasma with the density of 3 × 10{sup 14 }cm{sup −3}. It was found that the spectrum of the radiation concentrated in three distinct regions with high level of spectral power density. The first region is located near f{sub 1} = 100 GHz; the second one is in the vicinity of 190 GHz, and the third region is in the frequency interval f{sub 3} = 280–340 GHz. Polarization vectors of the emission in the first and third regions (f{sub 1} and f{sub 3}) are directed mainly perpendicular to the magnetic field in the plasma. At the same time, the polarization of the radiation in the vicinity of f{sub 2} = 190 GHz is parallel to the magnetic field. The most likely mechanism of electromagnetic wave generation in the frequency regions f{sub 1} and f{sub 2} is the linear conversion of the plasma oscillations into the electromagnetic waves on strong gradients of the plasma density. The third region is situated in the vicinity of second harmonic of electron plasma frequency, and we explain this emission by the coalescence of the upper-hybrid oscillations at high level turbulence in plasma.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2018

Third Quantization and Emergence of the Quasiclassical Wave Function of the Universe

Quantized solutions of the Wheeler–DeWitt (WDW) equation describing a closed Friedmann–Robertson–Walker universe with a Λ term and a set of massless scalar fields are studied. It is shown that when Λ≪1 units and the standard in-vacuum state is considered, the wave function of the universe Ψ behaves as a random quasiclassical field at rather large a, namely, 1≪a≪e{sup (2/(3Λ))} [1].

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Accurate barrier heights using diffusion Monte Carlo

Fixed node diffusion Monte Carlo (DMC) has been performed on a test set of forward and reverse barrier heights for 19 non-hydrogen-transfer reactions, and the nodal error has been assessed. The DMC results are robust to changes in the nodal surface, as assessed by using different mean-field techniques to generate single determinant wave functions. Using these single determinant nodal surfaces, DMC results in errors of 1.5(1) kcal/mol on barrier heights. Using the large data set of DMC energies, we attempted to find good descriptors of the fixed node error in this study. It does not correlate with a number of descriptors including change in density but does show some correlation with the gap between the highest occupied and lowest unoccupied orbital energies in the mean-field calculation.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗