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At least 19 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2011

Resonant excitation of the magnetosphere by stochastic and unsteady hydromagnetic waves

The effect of the magnetospheric MHD cavity on the excitation of the magnetosphere by stochastic and unsteady hydromagnetic waves incident from the solar wind is investigated theoretically by using a one-dimensional nonuniform model of the medium. It is shown that most of the energy of stochastic waves is reflected from the magnetopause and that the only waves that penetrate into the magnetosphere are those with frequencies in narrow spectral ranges near the eigenfrequencies of the cavity. These waves lead to steadystate excitation of the eigenmodes of the cavity, the energy of which is determined by the spectral density of the energy flux of the incident waves at the corresponding eigenfrequencies. The energy of the eigenmodes penetrates through the opacity barrier in the vicinity of the Alfven resonance points (each corresponding to a particular mode), where the perturbation amplitude is sharply amplified, so the total energy localized close to the Alfven resonance point is much higher than the total energy of the corresponding eigenmode. In the vicinities, the perturbation energy is dissipated by the finite conductivity of the ionosphere, the dissipation power being equal to the energy flux of the incident waves that penetrates into the magnetosphere. The case of unsteady waves is analyzed by considering a wave pulse as an example. It is shown that most of the energy of the wave pulse is reflected from the magnetopause. The portion of the incident perturbation that penetrates into the magnetosphere leads to unsteady excitation of the eigenmodes of the magnetospheric cavity, which are then slowly damped because part of the energy of the cavity is emitted through the magnetopause back to the solar wind while the other part penetrates into the vicinities of the Alfven resonance points. In the vicinities, the perturbation is an Alfven wave standing between magnetically conjugate ionospheres and its energy is dissipated by the finite conductivity of the ionosphere at a rate slower than the damping rate of the eigenmodes of the cavity.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2024

On hydromagnetic wave interactions in collisionless, high- β plasmas

We describe the interaction of parallel-propagating Alfvén waves with ion-acoustic waves and other Alfvén waves, in magnetized, high- β collisionless plasmas. This is accomplished through a combination of analytical theory and numerical fluid simulations of the Chew–Goldberger–Low (CGL) magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) equations closed by Landau-fluid heat fluxes. An asymptotic ordering is employed to simplify the CGL-MHD equations and derive solutions for the deformation of an Alfvén wave that results from its interaction with the pressure anisotropy generated either by an ion-acoustic wave or another, larger-amplitude Alfvén wave. The difference in time scales of acoustic and Alfvénic fluctuations at high- β means that interactions that are local in wavenumber space yield little modification to either mode within the time it takes the acoustic wave to Landau damp away. Instead, order-unity changes in the amplitude of Alfvénic fluctuations can result after interacting with frequency-matched acoustic waves. Additionally, we show that the propagation speed of an Alfvén-wave packet in an otherwise homogeneous background is a function of its self-generated pressure anisotropy. This allows for the eventual interaction of separate co-propagating Alfvén-wave packets of differing amplitudes. The results of the CGL-MHD simulations agree well with these predictions, suggesting that theoretical models relying on the interaction of these modes should be reconsidered in certain astrophysical environments. Applications of these results to weak Alfvénic turbulence and to the interaction between the compressive and Alfvénic cascades in strong, collisionless turbulence are also discussed.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2013

Influence of the outer-magnetospheric magnetohydrodynamic waveguide on the reflection of hydromagnetic waves from a shear flow at the magnetopause

The coefficient of reflection of a fast magnetosonic wave incident on the magnetosphere from the solar wind is studied analytically in the framework of a plane-stratified model of the medium with allowance for the transverse inhomogeneity of the magnetosphere and a jump of the plasma parameters at the magnetopause. Three factors decisively affecting the properties of reflection are taken into account: the shear flow of the solar wind plasma relative to the magnetosphere; the presence of a magnetospheric magnetohydrodynamic waveguide caused by the transverse plasma inhomogeneity; and the presence of an Alfvén resonance deep in the magnetosphere, where the oscillation energy dissipates. If the solar wind velocity exceeds the wave phase velocity along the magnetopause, then the wave energy in the solar wind is negative and such a wave experiences overreflection. In the opposite case, the wave energy is positive and the wave is reflected only partially. The wave reflection has a pronounced resonant character: the reflection coefficient has deep narrow minima or high narrow maxima at the eigenfrequencies of the magnetospheric waveguide. For other frequencies, the reflection coefficient only slightly differs from unity. The wave energy influx into the magnetosphere is positive for waves with both positive and negative energies. For waves with a negative energy, this is a consequence of their overreflection, because the flux of negative energy carried away by the reflected wave exceeds the incident flux of negative energy.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2017

Kinetic Properties of the Neutral Solar Wind

Charge-exchange collisions between the solar wind protons and interstellar hydrogen produce a distinctive population of neutral hydrogen streaming radially at nearly the solar-wind speed. This tenuous population, known as the neutral solar wind (NSW) is thought to play a key role in the appearance of the Interplanetary Boundary EXplorer ribbon, a bright circular band in the sky that is the source of neutral hydrogen with energies near 1 keV. According to the leading model of the ribbon, the velocity distribution of NSW hydrogen is imparted on the pickup ions (PUIs) generated via charge exchange with the interstellar protons beyond the heliopause, and in this way controls the stability of the resulting ring distribution of PUIs against hydromagnetic wave generation. In this paper, we examine the velocity distributions of the NSW atoms in the heliosphere and the outer heliosheath regions by following the phase-space trajectories of the Boltzmann equation. It is demonstrated that these distributions are highly anisotropic, with the parallel (radial) temperature greatly exceeding the perpendicular temperature. Ions picked up near 90° from the anisotropic NSW would form a stable ring distribution capable of generating the ribbon flux. We also discuss a second population of neutrals born in charge transfer collisions with interstellar PUIs, the so-called neutralized pickup ion (NPI) component. Their high thermal velocities translate into large parallel velocity spread of the daughter ribbon PUIs, which would adversely affect plasma stability in local interstellar space.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2011

Slow EIT waves as gravity modes

The EIT waves [named after the extreme-ultraviolet imaging telescope (EIT) onboard the solar and heliospheric observatory (SOHO)] are in the literature usually described as fast magneto-acoustic (FMA) modes. However, observations show that a large percentage of these events propagate with very slow speeds that may be as low as 20 km/s. This is far below the FMA wave speed which cannot be below the sound speed, the latter being typically larger than 10{sup 2} km/s in the corona. In the present study, it is shown that, to account for such low propagation speed, a different wave model should be used, based on the theory of gravity waves, both internal (IG) and surface (SG) ones. The gravity modes are physically completely different from the FMA mode, as they are essentially dispersive and in addition the IG wave is a transverse mode. Both the IG and the SG mode separately can provide proper propagation velocities in the whole low speed range.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2012

Electron magneto-hydrodynamic waves bounded by magnetic bubble

The propagation of electron magneto-hydrodynamic (EMHD) waves is studied experimentally in a 3-dimensional region of low magnetic field surrounded by stronger magnetic field at its boundaries. We report observations where bounded left hand polarized Helicon like EMHD waves are excited, localized in the region of low magnetic field due to the boundary effects generated by growing strengths of the ambient magnetic field rather than a conducting or dielectric material boundary. An analytical model is developed to include the effects of radially nonuniform magnetic field in the wave propagation. The bounded solutions are compared with the experimentally obtained radial wave magnetic field profiles explaining the observed localized propagation of waves.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2013

Magnetohydrodynamic waves in two-dimensional prominences embedded in coronal arcades

Solar prominence models used so far in the analysis of MHD waves in two-dimensional structures are quite elementary. In this work, we calculate numerically magnetohydrostatic models in two-dimensional configurations under the presence of gravity. Our interest is in models that connect the magnetic field to the photosphere and include an overlying arcade. The method used here is based on a relaxation process and requires solving the time-dependent nonlinear ideal MHD equations. Once a prominence model is obtained, we investigate the properties of MHD waves superimposed on the structure. We concentrate on motions purely two-dimensional, neglecting propagation in the ignorable direction. We demonstrate how, by using different numerical tools, we can determine the period of oscillation of stable waves. We find that vertical oscillations, linked to fast MHD waves, are always stable and have periods in the 4-10 minute range. Longitudinal oscillations, related to slow magnetoacoustic-gravity waves, have longer periods in the range of 28-40 minutes. These longitudinal oscillations are strongly influenced by the gravity force and become unstable for short magnetic arcades.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2016

BUOYANCY-DRIVEN MAGNETOHYDRODYNAMIC WAVES

Turbulent motions close to the visible solar surface may generate low-frequency internal gravity waves (IGWs) that propagate through the lower solar atmosphere. Magnetic activity is ubiquitous throughout the solar atmosphere, so it is expected that the behavior of IGWs is to be affected. In this article we investigate the role of an equilibrium magnetic field on propagating and standing buoyancy oscillations in a gravitationally stratified medium. We assume that this background magnetic field is parallel to the direction of gravitational stratification. It is known that when the equilibrium magnetic field is weak and the background is isothermal, the frequencies of standing IGWs are sensitive to the presence of magnetism. Here, we generalize this result to the case of a slowly varying temperature. To do this, we make use of the Boussinesq approximation. A comparison between the hydrodynamic and magnetohydrodynamic cases allows us to deduce the effects due to a magnetic field. It is shown that the frequency of IGWs may depart significantly from the Brunt–Väisälä frequency, even for a weak magnetic field. The mathematical techniques applied here give a clearer picture of the wave mode identification, which has previously been misinterpreted. An observational test is urged to validate the theoretical findings.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2011

Resonant drive and nonlinear suppression of gradient-driven instabilities via interaction with shear Alfven waves

The nonlinear interaction of shear Alfven waves and gradient-driven instabilities on pressure gradients in the Large Plasma Device (LAPD) [Gekelman et al., Rev. Sci. Instrum. 62, 2875 (1991)] at UCLA is explored. Nonlinear response at the beat frequency between two shear Alfven waves is shown to resonantly drive unstable modes as well as otherwise damped modes. Resonantly driving the damped modes is shown to suppress the originally unstable mode, leaving only the beat-driven response with an overall reduction in fluctuation amplitude. A threshold is observed in the suppression behavior, requiring that the driven damped mode power be of order 10% of the power in the saturated unstable mode. The interaction is also observed to be dependent on the parallel wavenumber of the driven beat wave; efficient coupling and suppression is only observed for co-propagating beat waves with small parallel wavenumber, consistent with the parallel wavenumber of the gradient-driven modes.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2011

The many faces of shear Alfven waves

One of the fundamental waves in magnetized plasmas is the shear Alfven wave. This wave is responsible for rearranging current systems and, in fact all low frequency currents in magnetized plasmas are shear waves. It has become apparent that Alfven waves are important in a wide variety of physical environments. Shear waves of various forms have been a topic of experimental research for more than fifteen years in the large plasma device (LAPD) at UCLA. The waves were first studied in both the kinetic and inertial regimes when excited by fluctuating currents with transverse dimension on the order of the collisionless skin depth. Theory and experiment on wave propagation in these regimes is presented, and the morphology of the wave is illustrated to be dependent on the generation mechanism. Three-dimensional currents associated with the waves have been mapped. The ion motion, which closes the current across the magnetic field, has been studied using laser induced fluorescence. The wave propagation in inhomogeneous magnetic fields and density gradients is presented as well as effects of collisions and reflections from boundaries. Reflections may result in Alfvenic field line resonances and in the right conditions maser action. The waves occur spontaneously on temperature and density gradients as hybrids with drift waves. These have been seen to affect cross-field heat and plasma transport. Although the waves are easily launched with antennas, they may also be generated by secondary processes, such as Cherenkov radiation. This is the case when intense shear Alfven waves in a background magnetoplasma are produced by an exploding laser-produced plasma. Time varying magnetic flux ropes can be considered to be low frequency shear waves. Studies of the interaction of multiple ropes and the link between magnetic field line reconnection and rope dynamics are revealed. This manuscript gives us an overview of the major results from these experiments and provides a modern prospective for the earlier studies of shear Alfven waves.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2011

PROTON ACCELERATION AT OBLIQUE SHOCKS

Acceleration at the shock waves propagating oblique to the magnetic field is studied using a recently developed theoretical/numerical model. The model assumes that resonant hydromagnetic wave-particle interaction is the most important physical mechanism relevant to motion and acceleration of particles as well as to excitation and damping of waves. The treatment of plasma and waves is self-consistent and time dependent. The model uses conservation laws and resonance conditions to find where waves will be generated or damped, and hence particles will be pitch-angle-scattered. The total distribution is included in the model and neither introduction of separate population of seed particles nor some ad hoc escape rate of accelerated particles is needed. Results of the study show agreement with diffusive shock acceleration models in the prediction of power spectra for accelerated particles in the upstream region. However, they also reveal the presence of spectral break in the high-energy part of the spectra. The role of the second-order Fermi-like acceleration at the initial stage of the acceleration is discussed. The test case used in the paper is based on ISEE-3 data collected for the shock of 1978 November 12.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2011

CORONAL PLUMES IN THE FAST SOLAR WIND

The expansion of a coronal hole filled with a discrete number of higher density coronal plumes is simulated using a time-dependent two-dimensional code. A solar wind model including an exponential coronal heating function and a flux of Alfven waves propagating both inside and outside the structures is taken as a basic state. Different plasma plume profiles are obtained by using different scale heights for the heating rates. Remote sensing and solar wind in situ observations are used to constrain the parameter range of the study. Time dependence due to plume ignition and disappearance is also discussed. Velocity differences of the order of {approx}50 km s{sup -1}, such as those found in microstreams in the high-speed solar wind, may be easily explained by slightly different heat deposition profiles in different plumes. Statistical pressure balance in the fast wind data may be masked by the large variety of body and surface waves which the higher density filaments may carry, so the absence of pressure balance in the microstreams should not rule out their interpretation as the extension of coronal plumes into interplanetary space. Mixing of plume-interplume material via the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability seems to be possible within the parameter ranges of the models defined here, only at large distances from the Sun, beyond 0.2-0.3 AU. Plasma and composition measurements in the inner heliosphere, such as those which will become available with Solar Orbiter and Solar Probe Plus, should therefore definitely be able to identify plume remnants in the solar wind.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2011

PROPAGATING WAVES ALONG SPICULES

Alfvenic waves are thought to play an important role in coronal heating and acceleration of solar wind. Here we investigate the statistical properties of Alfvenic waves along spicules (jets that protrude into the corona) in a polar coronal hole using high-cadence observations of the Solar Optical Telescope on board Hinode. We developed a technique for the automated detection of spicules and high-frequency waves. We detected 89 spicules and found (1) a mix of upward propagating, downward propagating, as well as standing waves (occurrence rates of 59%, 21%, and 20%, respectively); (2) the phase speed gradually increases with height; (3) upward waves dominant at lower altitudes, standing waves at higher altitudes; (4) standing waves dominant in the early and late phases of each spicule, while upward waves were dominant in the middle phase; (5) in some spicules, we find waves propagating upward (from the bottom) and downward (from the top) to form a standing wave in the middle of the spicule; and (6) the medians of the amplitude, period, and velocity amplitude were 55 km, 45 s, and 7.4 km s{sup -1}, respectively. We speculate that upward propagating waves are produced near the solar surface (below the spicule) and downward propagating waves are caused by reflection of (initially) upward propagating waves off the transition region at the spicule top. The mix of upward and downward propagating waves implies that exploiting these waves to perform seismology of the spicular environment requires careful analysis and may be problematic.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2017

The Effect of a Twisted Magnetic Field on the Phase Mixing of the Kink Magnetohydrodynamic Waves in Coronal Loops

There is observational evidence for the existence of a twisted magnetic field in the solar corona. This inspires us to investigate the effect of a twisted magnetic field on the evolution of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) kink waves in coronal loops. With this aim, we solve the incompressible linearized MHD equations in a magnetically twisted nonuniform coronal flux tube in the limit of long wavelengths. Our results show that a twisted magnetic field can enhance or diminish the rate of phase mixing of the Alfvén continuum modes and the decay rate of the global kink oscillation depending on the twist model and the sign of the longitudinal ( k{sub z} ) and azimuthal ( m ) wavenumbers. Also, our results confirm that in the presence of a twisted magnetic field, when the sign of one of the two wavenumbers m and k {sub z} is changed, the symmetry with respect to the propagation direction is broken. Even a small amount of twist can have an important impact on the process of energy cascading to small scales.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2011

POSSIBLE EVIDENCE OF ALFVEN-CYCLOTRON WAVES IN THE ANGLE DISTRIBUTION OF MAGNETIC HELICITY OF SOLAR WIND TURBULENCE

The fluctuating magnetic helicity is considered an important parameter in diagnosing the characteristic modes of solar wind turbulence. Among them is the Alfven-cyclotron wave, which is probably responsible for the solar wind plasma heating, but has not yet been identified from the magnetic helicity of solar wind turbulence. Here, we present the possible signatures of Alfven-cyclotron waves in the distribution of magnetic helicity as a function of {theta}{sub VB}, which is the angle between the solar wind velocity and local mean magnetic field. We use magnetic field data from the STEREO spacecraft to calculate the {theta}{sub VB} distribution of the normalized reduced fluctuating magnetic helicity {sigma}{sub m}. We find a dominant negative {sigma}{sub m} for 1 s < p < 4 s (p is time period) and for {theta}{sub VB} < 30 deg. in the solar wind outward magnetic sector, and a dominant positive {sigma}{sub m} for 0.4 s < p < 4 s and for {theta}{sub VB}>150 deg. in the solar wind inward magnetic sector. These features of {sigma}{sub m} appearing around the Doppler-shifted ion-cyclotron frequencies may be consistent with the existence of Alfven-cyclotron waves among the outward propagating fluctuations. Moreover, right-handed polarized waves at larger propagation angles, which might be kinetic Alfven waves or whistler waves, have also been identified on the basis of the {sigma}{sub m} features in the angular range 40 deg. < {theta}{sub VB} < 140 deg. Our findings suggest that Alfven-cyclotron waves (together with other wave modes) play a prominent role in turbulence cascading and plasma heating of the solar wind.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2011

BENCHMARKING FAST-TO-ALFVEN MODE CONVERSION IN A COLD MAGNETOHYDRODYNAMIC PLASMA

Alfven waves may be generated via mode conversion from fast magnetoacoustic waves near their reflection level in the solar atmosphere, with implications both for coronal oscillations and for active region helioseismology. In active regions this reflection typically occurs high enough that the Alfven speed a greatly exceeds the sound speed c, well above the a = c level where the fast and slow modes interact. In order to focus on the fundamental characteristics of fast/Alfven conversion, stripped of unnecessary detail, it is therefore useful to freeze out the slow mode by adopting the gravitationally stratified cold magnetohydrodynamic model c {yields} 0. This provides a benchmark for fast-to-Alfven mode conversion in more complex atmospheres. Assuming a uniform inclined magnetic field and an exponential Alfven speed profile with density scale height h, the Alfven conversion coefficient depends on three variables only: the dimensionless transverse-to-the-stratification wavenumber {kappa} = kh, the magnetic field inclination from the stratification direction {theta}, and the polarization angle {phi} of the wavevector relative to the plane containing the stratification and magnetic field directions. We present an extensive exploration of mode conversion in this parameter space and conclude that near-total conversion to outward-propagating Alfven waves typically occurs for small {theta} and large {phi} (80{sup 0}-90{sup 0}), though it is absent entirely when {theta} is exactly zero (vertical field). For wavenumbers of helioseismic interest, the conversion region is broad enough to encompass the whole chromosphere.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2011

Nonlinear simulation of toroidal Alfven eigenmode with microturbulence-induced radial diffusion

It is shown analytically and numerically that microturbulence-induced diffusivity can affect nonlinear saturation of energetic particle driven modes in the similar way as collisional pitch angle scattering does. Introducing a simple diffusion operator to the code, our numerical results have shown that a single toroidal Alfven eigenmode (TAE) can saturate at a steady state with sufficiently high diffusion rate. The calculated saturation level scales with the radial diffusion rate by the same scaling of pitch angle scattering. A criterion is derived to judge the importance of microturbulence-induced radial diffusion effect comparing to the collisional pitch angle scattering effect. According to the criterion, we find that the microturbulence-induced diffusion has a stronger effect than the Coulomb collision on the TAE saturation in present tokamak devices and future burning plasmas [International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER)].

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2011

Three-dimensional effects on energetic particle confinement and stability

Energetic particle populations in magnetic confinement systems are sensitive to symmetry-breaking effects due to their low collisionality and long confined path lengths. Broken symmetry is present to some extent in all toroidal devices. As such effects preclude the existence of an ignorable coordinate, a fully three-dimensional analysis is necessary, beginning with the lowest order (equilibrium) magnetic fields. Three-dimensional techniques that have been extensively developed for stellarator configurations are readily adapted to other devices such as rippled tokamaks and helical states in reversed field pinches. This paper will describe the methods and present an overview of recent examples that use these techniques for the modeling of energetic particle confinement, Alfven mode structure and fast ion instabilities.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗