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At least 1,549 records · Page 86

Modeling transient edge plasma transport with dynamic recycling

The work presents numerical simulation studies of the role that dynamic plasma recycling on the main wall and divertor target surfaces plays in transient edge plasma transport phenomena, such as edge localized modes (ELMs). The studies are performed by coupling the edge plasma transport code UEDGE [Rognlien et al., J. Nucl. Mater. 196–198, 347 (1992)] and the wall reaction–diffusion transport code FACE [Smirnov et al., Fusion Sci. Technol. 71, 75 (2017)]. The two-dimensional, time-dependent, two-way coupling of the codes, in a realistic tokamak geometry, is accomplished using the Integrated Plasma Simulator framework [Elwasif et al., in 18th Euromicro Conference on Parallel, Distributed and Network-Based Processing (PDP 2010), Pisa, Italy (IEEE, 2010), pp. 419–427] for all modeled material plasma boundaries. The simulations show that dynamic plasma recycling has substantially different characteristics on the main wall and on the divertor plates. It is demonstrated that during an ELM cycle the outer wall can dynamically absorb and release a number of particles comparable to that expelled by the ELM from the core plasma, by far exceeding the dynamic retention capacity of the divertor surfaces. The resulting evolution of the edge and divertor plasma conditions during an ELM cycle is analyzed.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Hiding in plain sight: The prevalence and impact of trions and Fermi polarons in transient absorption spectroscopy experiments of 2D semiconductors

Transient absorption (TA) spectroscopy is one of the most popular experimental methods to measure the excited state lifetimes and charge carrier recombination mechanisms in two dimensional (2D) semiconductors. This fundamental information is essential for designing and optimizing the next generation of ultrathin and lightweight 2D semiconductor-based optoelectronic devices. However, the interpretation of TA spectroscopy data varies across the community. The community lacks a unifying physical explanation for how and why experimental variables such as incident light intensity, sample-substrate interactions, and/or applied bias affect TA spectral data. This Perspective (1) compares the physical chemistry TA literature to nanomaterial physics literature from a historical perspective, (2) reviews multiple physical explanations that the TA community developed to explain spectral features and experimental trends, (3) provides a unifying explanation for how and why trions—and, more generally, Fermi polarons—contribute to TA spectra, and (4) quantifies the extent to which various physical interpretations and data analysis procedures yield different timescales and mechanisms for the same set of experimental results. We highlight the importance of considering trions/Fermi polarons in TA measurements and their implications for advancing our understanding of 2D material properties.

2D materials↗

Accelerating plasma and radiation surface science using transient grating spectroscopy

A facility for the investigation of in situ radiation-materials and plasma-materials interaction is demonstrated with tungsten, using transient grating spectroscopy as a probe of thermal diffusivity and surface acoustic wave speed. Helium plasma exposure at 645 °C to 1.18 × 10 18 cm −2 helium, until the growth of tungsten fuzz, showed an increase in surface acoustic wave speed at the near-surface from 2542 ± 1 m s −1 up to 2565 ± 1 m s −1 , followed by a greater drop to 2499 ± 7 m s −1 . No observable change in thermal diffusivity was present for plasma exposure alone. A separate 10.26 MeV self-ion-irradiation of tungsten to a dose of 7.92 dpa showed a reduction in both thermal diffusivity from 61.4 ± 1.4 mm 2 s −1 to 36.0 ± 0.7 mm 2 s −1 , following trends seen in existing studies, and surface acoustic wave speed from 2647.8 ± 0.6 m s −1 to 2640.0 ± 0.4 m s −1 . Facilities like these are poised to rapidly close critical knowledge gaps regarding the coupled effects of plasma and radiation damage for materials in fusion systems.

Accelerated plasmas↗

Decreasing the amplitude of macroscopic quantum fluctuations in the case of transient SRS

It is shown experimentally that, under the conditions of transient stimulated Raman scattering, pumping by two successive orthogonally polarised laser pulses makes it possible to reduce the amplitude of macroscopic quantum energy fluctuations of a Stokes pulse by a factor of 4 in comparison with single-shot pumping. An energy dispersion of 0.9 % for the first Stokes component is obtained in hydrogen at a relative energy dispersion of ytterbium laser pulses of 0.4 %. (nonlinear optical phenomena)

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Laser-induced transient magnons in Sr 3 Ir 2 O 7 throughout the Brillouin zone

Although ultrafast manipulation of magnetism holds great promise for new physical phenomena and applications, targeting specific states is held back by our limited understanding of how magnetic correlations evolve on ultrafast timescales. Using ultrafast resonant inelastic X-ray scattering we demonstrate that femtosecond laser pulses can excite transient magnons at large wavevectors in gapped antiferromagnets and that they persist for several picoseconds, which is opposite to what is observed in nearly gapless magnets. Overall, our work suggests that materials with isotropic magnetic interactions are preferred to achieve rapid manipulation of magnetism.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Dislocation theory of steady and transient creep of crystalline solids: Predictions for olivine

In applications critical to the geological, materials, and engineering sciences, deformation occurs at strain rates too small to be accessible experimentally. Instead, extrapolations of empirical relationships are used, leading to epistemic uncertainties in predictions. To address these problems, we construct a theory of the fundamental processes affecting dislocations: storage and recovery. We then validate our theory for olivine deformation. This model explains the empirical relationships among strain rate, applied stress, and dislocation density in disparate laboratory regimes. It predicts the previously unexplained dependence of dislocation density on applied stress in olivine. The predictions of our model for Earth conditions differ from extrapolated empirical relationships. For example, it predicts rapid, transient deformation in the upper mantle, consistent with recent measurements of postseismic creep.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

ASTEROID LIGHT CURVES FROM THE PALOMAR TRANSIENT FACTORY SURVEY: ROTATION PERIODS AND PHASE FUNCTIONS FROM SPARSE PHOTOMETRY

We fit 54,296 sparsely sampled asteroid light curves in the Palomar Transient Factory survey to a combined rotation plus phase-function model. Each light curve consists of 20 or more observations acquired in a single opposition. Using 805 asteroids in our sample that have reference periods in the literature, we find that the reliability of our fitted periods is a complicated function of the period, amplitude, apparent magnitude, and other light-curve attributes. Using the 805-asteroid ground-truth sample, we train an automated classifier to estimate (along with manual inspection) the validity of the remaining ∼53,000 fitted periods. By this method we find that 9033 of our light curves (of ∼8300 unique asteroids) have “reliable” periods. Subsequent consideration of asteroids with multiple light-curve fits indicates a 4% contamination in these “reliable” periods. For 3902 light curves with sufficient phase-angle coverage and either a reliable fit period or low amplitude, we examine the distribution of several phase-function parameters, none of which are bimodal though all correlate with the bond albedo and with visible-band colors. Comparing the theoretical maximal spin rate of a fluid body with our amplitude versus spin-rate distribution suggests that, if held together only by self-gravity, most asteroids are in general less dense than ∼2 g cm{sup −3}, while C types have a lower limit of between 1 and 2 g cm{sup −3}. These results are in agreement with previous density estimates. For 5–20 km diameters, S types rotate faster and have lower amplitudes than C types. If both populations share the same angular momentum, this may indicate the two types’ differing ability to deform under rotational stress. Lastly, we compare our absolute magnitudes (and apparent-magnitude residuals) to those of the Minor Planet Center’s nominal (G = 0.15, rotation-neglecting) model; our phase-function plus Fourier-series fitting reduces asteroid photometric rms scatter by a factor of ∼3.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

ENERGETIC PARTICLE ANISOTROPIES AT THE HELIOSPHERIC BOUNDARY. II. TRANSIENT FEATURES AND RIGIDITY DEPENDENCE

In the preceding paper, we showed that large second-order anisotropies of heliospheric ions measured by the Voyager 1 space probe during the August 2012 boundary crossing event could be explained by a magnetic shear across the heliopause preventing particles streaming along the magnetic field from escaping the inner heliosheath. According to Stone et al., the penetration distance of heliospheric ions into the outer heliosheath had a strong dependence on the particle’s Larmor radius. By comparing hydrogen, helium, and oxygen ions with the same energy per nucleon, these authors argued that this effect must be attributed to larger cyclotron radii of heavier species rather than differences in velocity. We propose that gradient drift in a nonuniform magnetic field was the cause of both the large second-order anisotropies and the spatial differentiation based on the ion’s rigidity. A latitudinal gradient of magnetic field strength of about 10% per AU between 2012.7 and 2012.9 could have provided drift motion sufficient to match both LECP and CRS Voyager 1 observations. We explain the transient intensity dropout observed prior to the heliocliff using flux tube structures embedded in the heliosheath and magnetically connected to interstellar space. Finally, this paper reports a new indirect measurement of the plasma radial velocity at the heliopause on the basis of the time difference between two cosmic-ray telescopes measuring the same intensity dropout.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

IMAGING AND SPECTROSCOPIC OBSERVATIONS OF A TRANSIENT CORONAL LOOP: EVIDENCE FOR THE NON-MAXWELLIAN κ-DISTRIBUTIONS

We report on the Solar Dynamics Observatory/Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) and Hinode/EUV Imaging Spectrograph (EIS) observations of a transient coronal loop. The loop brightens up in the same location after the disappearance of an arcade formed during a B8.9-class microflare 3 hr earlier. EIS captures this loop during its brightening phase, as observed in most of the AIA filters. We use the AIA data to study the evolution of the loop, as well as to perform the differential emission measure (DEM) diagnostics as a function of κ. The Fe xi–Fe xiii lines observed by EIS are used to perform the diagnostics of electron density and subsequently the diagnostics of κ. Using ratios involving the Fe xi 257.772 Å self-blend, we diagnose κ ≲ 2, i.e., an extremely non-Maxwellian distribution. Using the predicted Fe line intensities derived from the DEMs as a function of κ, we show that, with decreasing κ, all combinations of ratios of line intensities converge to the observed values, confirming the diagnosed κ ≲ 2. These results represent the first positive diagnostics of κ-distributions in the solar corona despite the limitations imposed by calibration uncertainties.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

X-RAY OUTBURSTS OF ESO 243-49 HLX-1: COMPARISON WITH GALACTIC LOW-MASS X-RAY BINARY TRANSIENTS

We studied the outburst properties of the hyper-luminous X-ray source ESO 243-49 HLX-1, using the full set of Swift monitoring observations. We quantified the increase in the waiting time, recurrence time, and e-folding rise timescale along the outburst sequence, and the corresponding decrease in outburst duration, total radiated energy, and e-folding decay timescale, which confirms previous findings. HLX-1 spends less and less time in outburst and more and more time in quiescence, but its peak luminosity remains approximately constant. We compared the HLX-1 outburst properties with those of bright Galactic low-mass X-ray binary transients (LMXBTs). Our spectral analysis strengthens the similarity between state transitions in HLX-1 and those in Galactic LMXBTs. We also found that HLX-1 follows the nearly linear correlations between the hard-to-soft state transition luminosity and the peak luminosity, and between the rate of change of X-ray luminosity during the rise phase and the peak luminosity, which indicates that the occurrence of the hard-to-soft state transition of HLX-1 is similar to those of Galactic LMXBTs during outbursts. We found that HLX-1 does not follow the correlations between total radiated energy and peak luminosity, and between total radiated energy and e-folding rise/decay timescales we had previously identified in Galactic LMXBTs. HLX-1 would follow those correlations if the distance were several hundreds of kiloparsecs. However, invoking a much closer distance for HLX-1 is not a viable solution to this problem, as it introduces other, more serious inconsistencies with the observations.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

THE TRANSIENT ACCRETING X-RAY PULSAR XTE J1946+274: STABILITY OF X-RAY PROPERTIES AT LOW FLUX AND UPDATED ORBITAL SOLUTION

We present a timing and spectral analysis of the X-ray pulsar XTE J1946+274 observed with Suzaku during an outburst decline in 2010 October and compare with previous results. XTE J1946+274 is a transient X-ray binary consisting of a Be-type star and a neutron star with a 15.75 s pulse period in a 172 days orbit with 2–3 outbursts per orbit during phases of activity. We improve the orbital solution using data from multiple instruments. The X-ray spectrum can be described by an absorbed Fermi–Dirac cut-off power-law model along with a narrow Fe Kα line at 6.4 keV and a weak Cyclotron Resonance Scattering Feature (CRSF) at ∼35 keV. The Suzaku data are consistent with the previously observed continuum flux versus iron line flux correlation expected from fluorescence emission along the line of sight. However, the observed iron line flux is slightly higher, indicating the possibility of a higher iron abundance or the presence of non-uniform material. We argue that the source most likely has only been observed in the subcritical (non-radiation dominated) state since its pulse profile is stable over all observed luminosities and the energy of the CRSF is approximately the same at the highest (∼5 × 10{sup 37} erg s{sup −1}) and lowest (∼5 × 10{sup 36} erg s{sup −1}) observed 3–60 keV luminosities.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Attosecond transient absorption of argon atoms in the vacuum ultraviolet region: line energy shifts versus coherent population transfer

Using attosecond transient absorption, the dipole response of an argon atom in the vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) region is studied when an external electromagnetic field is present. An isolated attosecond VUV pulse populates Rydberg states lying 15 eV above the argon ground state. A synchronized few-cycle near infrared (NIR) pulse modifies the oscillating dipoles of argon impulsively, leading to alterations in the VUV absorption spectra. As the NIR pulse is delayed with respect to the VUV pulse, multiple features in the absorption profile emerge simultaneously including line broadening, sideband structure, sub-cycle fast modulations, and 5-10 fs slow modulations. These features indicate the coexistence of two general processes of the light-matter interaction: the energy shift of individual atomic levels and coherent population transfer between atomic eigenstates, revealing coherent superpositions. Finally, an intuitive formula is derived to treat both effects in a unifying framework, allowing one to identify and quantify the two processes in a single absorption spectrogram.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Non-linear MHD modelling of transients in tokamaks: a review of recent advances with the JOREK code

Transient magneto-hydrodynamic (MHD) events like edge localized modes (ELMs) or disruptions are a concern for magnetic confinement fusion power plants. Research with the MHD code JOREK towards understanding control of such instabilities is reviewed here in a concise way to provide a complete overview, while we refer to the original publications for details. Experimental validation for unmitigated vertical displacement events progressed. The mechanism of vertical force mitigation by impurity injection was identified. Two-way eddy current coupling to CARIDDI was completed. Shattered pellet injection was simulated in JET, KSTAR, ASDEX Upgrade (AUG) and ITER. Benign runaway electron beam termination in JET and ITER was studied. Coupling of kinetic REs to the MHD is ongoing and a virtual RE synchrotron radiation diagnostic was developed. Regarding pedestal physics, regimes devoid of large ELMs in AUG were simulated and predictive JT60-SA simulations are ongoing. For ELM suppression by resonant magnetic perturbations (RMPs), AUG, ITER and EAST simulations were performed. A free boundary RMP model was validated against experiments. Evidence for penetrated magnetic islands at the pedestal top based on AUG experiments and simulations was found. Simulations of the naturally ELM-free quiescent H-mode in AUG and HL-3 show external kink mode formation prevents pedestal build-up towards an ELM within windows of the edge safety factor. With kinetic neutral particles, high field side high density formation in ITER was simulated and with kinetic impurities, tungsten transport in AUG RMP plasmas was studied. To capture turbulent transport, electro-static full-f particle in cell models for ion temperature gradient and trapped electron modes were established and benchmarked. Application to RMP plasmas shows enhanced turbulence in comparison to unperturbed states. Energetic particle interactions with MHD were studied. Flux pumping that prevents the safety factor on axis from dropping below unity was simulated. First non-linear stellarator applications include current relaxation in $l$ = 2 stellarators, while verification for advanced stellarators progresses.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Attosecond transient absorption of a bound wave packet coupled to a smooth continuum

Here, we investigate the possibility of using transient absorption of a coherent bound electron wave packet in hydrogen as an attosecond pulse characterization technique. In a recent work, we have shown that photoionization of such a coherent bound electron wave packet opens up for pulse characterization with unprecedented temporal accuracy—independent of the atomic structure—with maximal photoemission at all kinetic energies given a wave packet with zero relative phase. Here, we perform numerical propagation of the time-dependent Schrödinger equation and analytical calculations based on perturbation theory to show that the energy-resolved maximal absorption of photons from the attosecond pulse does not uniquely occur at a zero relative phase of the initial wave packet. Instead, maximal absorption occurs at different relative wave packet phases, distributed as a non-monotonous function with a smooth $-\pi /2$ shift across the central photon energy (given a Fourier-limited Gaussian pulse). Similar results are also found in helium. Our finding is surprising, because it implies that the energy-resolved photoelectrons are not mapped one-to-one with the energy-resolved absorbed photons of the attosecond pulse.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Anomaly detection in the Zwicky Transient Facility DR3

We present results from applying the SNAD anomaly detection pipeline to the third public data release of the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF DR3). The pipeline is composed of three stages: feature extraction, search of outliers with machine learning algorithms, and anomaly identification with followup by human experts. Our analysis concentrates in three ZTF fields, comprising more than 2.25 million objects. A set of four automatic learning algorithms was used to identify 277 outliers, which were subsequently scrutinized by an expert. From these, 188 (68 per cent) were found to be bogus light curves – including effects from the image subtraction pipeline as well as overlapping between a star and a known asteroid, 66 (24 per cent) were previously reported sources whereas 23 (8 per cent) correspond to non-catalogued objects, with the two latter cases of potential scientific interest (e.g. one spectroscopically confirmed RS Canum Venaticorum star, four supernovae candidates, one red dwarf flare). Moreover, using results from the expert analysis, we were able to identify a simple bi-dimensional relation that can be used to aid filtering potentially bogus light curves in future studies. We provide a complete list of objects with potential scientific application so they can be further scrutinised by the community. These results confirm the importance of combining automatic machine learning algorithms with domain knowledge in the construction of recommendation systems for astronomy. Our code is publicly available.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Transient absorption spectroscopy using high harmonic generation: a review of ultrafast X-ray dynamics in molecules and solids

Attosecond science paved the way to observing nuclear and electronic dynamics in real time and has begun to expand beyond its traditional grounds. Among several spectroscopic techniques, X-ray transient absorption spectroscopy has become key in understanding matter on ultrafast time scales. Here, we illustrate the capabilities of this unique tool through a number of iconic experiments. We outline how coherent broadband X-ray radiation, emitted in high-harmonic generation, can be used to follow dynamics in increasingly complex systems. Experiments performed in both molecules and solids are discussed at length, on time scales ranging from attoseconds to picoseconds, and in perturbative or strong-field excitation regimes. This article is part of the theme issue 'Measurement of ultrafast electronic and structural dynamics with X-rays'.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Multipolariton control in attosecond transient absorption of autoionizing states

Tunable attosecond transient absorption spectroscopy is an ideal tool for studying and manipulating autoionization dynamics in the continuum. We investigate near-resonant two-photon couplings between the bright 3s –1 4p and dark 3s –1 4f autoionizing states of argon that lead to Autler-Townes-like interactions, forming entangled light-matter states or polaritons. We observe that one-photon couplings with intermediate dark states play an important role in this interaction, leading to the formation of multiple polaritonic branches whose energies exhibit avoided crossings as a function of the dressing-laser frequency. Our experimental measurements and theoretical essential-state simulations show good agreement and reveal how the delay, frequency, and intensity of the dressing pulse govern the properties of autoionizing polariton multiplets. Furthermore, these results demonstrate new pathways for quantum control of autoionizing states with optical fields.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗

Core-excited states of SF 6 probed with soft-x-ray femtosecond transient absorption of vibrational wave packets

A vibrational wavepacket in SF 6 is created by impulsive stimulated Raman scattering with a few-cycle infrared pulse and mapped simultaneously onto five sulfur core-excited states using table-top soft x-ray transient absorption spectroscopy between 170 to 200 eV. The femtosecond vibrations induce real-time energy shifts of the x-ray absorption, whose amplitude depend strongly on the nature of the core-excited state. The pump laser intensity is used to control the number of vibrational states in the superposition, thereby accessing core-excited levels for various extensions of the S-F stretching motion. This enables the determination of the relative core-level potential energy gradients for the symmetric stretching mode, in good agreement with TDDFT calculations. This experiment demonstrates a new means of characterizing core-excited potential energy curves.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗