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Results for “THERMAL EQUILIBRIUM”

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 19 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1992

Geometrically thin, hot accretion disks - Topology of the thermal equilibrium curves

All the possible thermal equilibrium states of geometrically thin alpha-disks around stellar-mass black holes are presented. A (vertically) one-zone disk model is employed and it is assumed that a main energy source is viscous heating of protons and that cooling is due to bremsstrahlung and Compton scattering. There exist various branches of the thermal equilibrium solution, depending on whether disks are effectively optically thick or thin, radiation pressure-dominated or gas pressure-dominated, composed of one-temperature plasmas or of two-temperature plasmas, and with high concentration of e(+)e(-) pairs or without pairs. The thermal equilibrium curves at high temperatures (greater than or approximately equal to 10 exp 8 K) are substantially modified by the presence of e(+)e(-) pairs. The thermal stability of these branches are examined.

Kusunose, Masaaki↗
DOE OSTI2023

Thermal equilibrium of collisional non-neutral plasma in a magnetic dipole trap

This paper discusses thermal equilibrium states of single-species plasmas, such as pure electron plasmas and pure positron plasmas, that are confined in a dipole trap. Thermal equilibrium states for such plasmas are routinely realized in the homogeneous magnetic field of Penning–Malmberg traps. We generalize the theory of these states to include inhomogeneous magnetic dipole fields. The approach to thermal equilibrium takes place in two stages with well separated time scales. On the collision time scale, thermal equilibrium is established along each magnetic field line. On the much longer transport time scale, heat conduction and viscosity bring the plasmas on different flux contours into thermal equilibrium, we call this a state of global thermal equilibrium. We present numerical results for local and global thermal equilibria. These results agree with the analytic predictions for charge collections that are large compared with the Debye length. There is, in principle, no limit to the confinement time of a single-species plasma in a global thermal equilibrium state. Experiments with hot electron–ion plasmas performed in the LDX and RT1 devices give us confidence that, in contrast to a Penning–Malmberg trap, a magnetic dipole field can also confine cold quasi-neutral electron–positron pair plasmas on the time scale of the phenomena of interest. Such pair plasmas are assumed to form in the magnetosphere of neutron stars but have so far not been realized in a laboratory. The creation of an electron–positron pair plasma is the main goal of the APEX collaboration.

Steinbrunner, P. (ORCID:0000000317693686)↗
NASA NTRS1990

Structure and evolution of irradiated accretion disks. I - Static thermal equilibrium structure. II - Dynamical evolution of a thermally unstable torus

The thermal equilibrum structure and dynamical behavior of externally irradiated accretion disks are investigated. For radiative disks only the surface layer is heated, while for convective disks the heat penetrates deeply into the disk. For sufficiently strong radiation and given irradiation flux F(irr), the disk is completely stabilized against thermal instabilities of the sort invoked to explain dwarf novae. For moderately strong irradiation there is still an unstable branch in the thermal equilibrium curve. In typical soft X-ray transients, the disk is unstable against the dwarf-nova type instability. Fixed F(irr) on accretion disk annuli reduces the amplitude and the quiescent times and increases the outburst duration of the resultant light curves. Varying F(irr) in proportion to the mass accretion rate at the disks's inner edge results in light curves with a plateau in the decay from outbursts. In the case when irradiation is suddenly switched on, a temperature inversion results which leads to the formation of an accretion corona.

Tuchman, Y.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Ionization and thermal equilibrium models for O star winds based on time-independent radiation-driven wind theory

Ab initio ionization and thermal equilibrium models are calculated for the winds of O stars using the results of steady state radiation-driven wind theory to determine the input parameters. Self-consistent methods are used for the roles of H, He, and the most abundant heavy elements in both the statistical and the thermal equilibrium. The model grid was chosen to encompass all O spectral subtypes and the full range of luminosity classes. Results of earlier modeling of O star winds by Klein and Castor (1978) are reproduced and used to motivate improvements in the treatment of the hydrogen equilibrium. The wind temperature profile is revealed to be sensitive to gross changes in the heavy element abundances, but insensitive to other factors considered such as the mass-loss rate and velocity law. The reduced wind temperatures obtained in observing the luminosity dependence of the Si IV lambda 1397 wind absorption profile are shown to eliminate any prospect of explaining the observed O VI lambda 1036 line profiles in terms of time-independent radiation-driven wind theory.

Drew, J. E.↗
DOE OSTI2013

A numerical model of non-equilibrium thermal plasmas. II. Governing equations

Governing equations and the corresponding physical properties of the plasmas are both prerequisites for studying the fundamental processes in a non-equilibrium thermal plasma system numerically. In this paper, a kinetic derivation of the governing equations used for describing the complicated thermo-electro-magneto-hydrodynamic-chemical coupling effects in non-equilibrium thermal plasmas is presented. This derivation, which is achieved using the Chapman-Enskog method, is completely consistent with the theory of the transport properties reported in the previous paper by the same authors. It is shown, based on this self-consistent theory, that the definitions of the specific heat at constant pressure and the reactive thermal conductivity of two-temperature plasmas are not necessary. The governing equations can be reduced to their counterparts under local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) and local chemical equilibrium (LCE) conditions. The general method for the determination of the boundary conditions of the solved variables is also discussed briefly. The two papers establish a self-consistent physical-mathematical model that describes the complicated physical and chemical processes in a thermal plasma system for the cases both in LTE or LCE conditions and under non-equilibrium conditions.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2011

Thermophysical properties of nitrogen plasmas under thermal equilibrium and non-equilibrium conditions

Calculated thermophysical properties of nitrogen plasmas in and out of thermal equilibrium are presented. The cut-off of the partition functions due to the lowering of the ionization potential has been taken into account, together with the contributions from different core excited electronic states. The species composition and thermodynamic properties are determined numerically using the Newton-Raphson iterative method, taking into account the corrections due to Coulomb interactions. The transport properties including diffusion coefficient, viscosity, thermal conductivity, and electrical conductivity are calculated using the most recent collision interaction potentials by adopting Devoto's electron and heavy particle decoupling approach, expanded to the third-order approximation (second-order for viscosity) in the framework of Chapman-Enskog method. Results are presented in the pressure range of 0.1 atm-10 atm and in electron temperature range from 300 to 40 000 K, with the ratio of electron temperature to heavy-particle temperature varied from 1 to 20. Results are compared with those from previous works, and the influences of different definitions of the Debye length are discussed.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
NASA NTRS1986

Thermal equilibrium of a cryogenic magnetized pure electron plasma

The thermal equilibrium correlation properties of a magnetically confined pure electron plasma (McPEP) are related to those of a one-component plasma (OCP). The N-particle spatial distribution rho sub s and the Helmholtz free energy F are evaluated for the McPEP to O(lambda sub d-squared/a-squared), where lambda sub d is the thermal de Broglie wavelength and is an interparticle spacing. The electron gyromotion is allowed to be fully quantized while the guiding center motion is quasi-classical. The distribution rho sub s is shown to be identical to that of a classical OCP with a slightly modified potential. To O(lambda sub d-squared/a-squared) this modification does not affect that part of F that is caused by correlations, as long as certain requirements concerning the size of the plasma are met. This theory is motivated by a current series of experiments that involve the cooling of a magnetically confined pure electron plasma to the cryogenic temperature range.

Dubin, D. H. E.↗
NASA NTRS2002

Steady State Transportation Cooling in Porous Media Under Local, Non-Thermal Equilibrium Fluid Flow

An analytical solution to the steady-state fluid temperature for 1-D (one dimensional) transpiration cooling has been derived. Transpiration cooling has potential use in the aerospace industry for protection against high heating environments for re-entry vehicles. Literature for analytical treatments of transpiration cooling has been largely confined to the assumption of thermal equilibrium between the porous matrix and fluid. In the present analysis, the fundamental fluid and matrix equations are coupled through a volumetric heat transfer coefficient and investigated in non-thermal equilibrium. The effects of varying the thermal conductivity of the solid matrix and the heat transfer coefficient are investigated. The results are also compared to existing experimental data.

Rodriquez, Alvaro Che↗
DOE OSTI2017

Bose-Einstein Condensation of Long-Lifetime Polaritons in Thermal Equilibrium

The experimental realization of Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) with atoms and quasiparticles has triggered wide exploration of macroscopic quantum effects. Microcavity polaritons are of particular interest because quantum phenomena such as BEC and superfluidity can be observed at elevated temperatures. However, polariton lifetimes are typically too short to permit thermal equilibration. This has led to debate about whether polariton condensation is intrinsically a nonequilibrium effect. Here we report the first unambiguous observation of BEC of optically trapped polaritons in thermal equilibrium in a high-$Q$ microcavity, evidenced by equilibrium Bose-Einstein distributions over broad ranges of polariton densities and bath temperatures. With thermal equilibrium established, we verify that polariton condensation is a phase transition with a well-defined density-temperature phase diagram. We report the measured phase boundary agrees well with the predictions of basic quantum gas theory.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2011

Scattering-matrix approach to Casimir-Lifshitz force and heat transfer out of thermal equilibrium between arbitrary bodies

We study the radiative heat transfer and the Casimir-Lifshitz force occurring between two bodies in a system out of thermal equilibrium. We consider bodies of arbitrary shape and dielectric properties, held at two different temperatures and immersed in environmental radiation at a third different temperature. We derive explicit closed-form analytic expressions for the correlations of the electromagnetic field and for the heat transfer and Casimir-Lifshitz force in terms of the bodies' scattering matrices. We then consider some particular cases which we investigate in detail: the atom-surface and the slab-slab configurations.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2015

Thermal equilibrium properties of surface hopping with an implicit Langevin bath

The ability of fewest switches surface hopping (FSSH) approach, where the classical degrees of freedom are coupled to an implicit Langevin bath, to establish and maintain an appropriate thermal equilibrium was evaluated in the context of a three site model for electron transfer. The electron transfer model consisted of three coupled diabatic states that each depends harmonically on the collective bath coordinate. This results in three states with increasing energy in the adiabatic representation. The adiabatic populations and distributions of the collective solvent coordinate were monitored during the course of 250 ns FSSH-Langevin (FSSH-L) simulations performed at a broad range of temperatures and for three different nonadiabatic coupling strengths. The agreement between the FSSH-L simulations and numerically exact results for the adiabatic population ratios and solvent coordinate distributions was generally favorable. The FSSH-L method produces a correct Boltzmann distribution of the solvent coordinate on each of the adiabats, but the integrated populations are slightly incorrect because FSSH does not rigorously obey detailed balance. The overall agreement is better at high temperatures and for high nonadiabatic coupling, which agrees with a previously reported analytical and simulation analysis [J. R. Schmidt, P. V. Parandekar, and J. C. Tully, J. Chem. Phys. 129, 044104 (2008)] on a two-level system coupled to a classical bath.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2017

Effect of Local Thermal Equilibrium Misbalance on Long-wavelength Slow Magnetoacoustic Waves

Evolution of slow magnetoacoustic waves guided by a cylindrical magnetic flux tube that represents a coronal loop or plume, is modeled accounting for the effects of finite gas pressure, weak nonlinearity, dissipation by thermal conduction and viscosity, and the misbalance between the cooling by optically thin radiation and unspecified heating of the plasma. An evolutionary equation of the Burgers–Malthus type is derived. It is shown that the cooling/heating misbalance, determined by the derivatives of the combined radiative cooling and heating function, with respect to the density, temperature, and magnetic field at the thermal equilibrium affect the wave rather strongly. This effect may either cause additional damping, or counteract it, or lead to the gradual amplification of the wave. In the latter case, the coronal plasma acts as an active medium for the slow magnetoacoustic waves. The effect of the cooling/heating misbalance could be important for coronal slow waves, and could be responsible for certain discrepancies between theoretical results and observations, in particular, the increased or decreased damping lengths and times, detection of the waves at certain heights only, and excitation of compressive oscillations. The results obtained open up a possibility for the diagnostics of the coronal heating function by slow magnetoacoustic waves.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2012

Increasing N{sub eff} with particles in thermal equilibrium with neutrinos

Recent work on increasing the effective number of neutrino species (N{sub eff}) in the early universe has focussed on introducing extra relativistic species ('dark radiation'). We draw attention to another possibility: a new particle of mass ∼<10 MeV that remains in thermal equilibrium with neutrinos until it becomes non-relativistic increases the neutrino temperature relative to the photons. We demonstrate that this leads to a value of N{sub eff} that is greater than three and that N{sub eff} at CMB formation is larger than at BBN. We investigate the constraints on such particles from the primordial abundance of helium and deuterium created during BBN and from the CMB power spectrum measured by ACT and SPT and find that they are presently relatively unconstrained. We forecast the sensitivity of the Planck satellite to this scenario: in addition to dramatically improving constraints on the particle mass, in some regions of parameter space it can discriminate between the new particle being a real or complex scalar.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

Thermal equilibrium of non-neutral plasma in dipole magnetic field

Self-organization of a long-lived structure is one of the remarkable characteristics of macroscopic systems governed by long-range interactions. In a homogeneous magnetic field, a non-neutral plasma creates a “thermal equilibrium,” which is a Boltzmann distribution on a rigidly rotating frame. Here, we study how a non-neutral plasma self-organizes in inhomogeneous magnetic field; as a typical system, we consider a dipole magnetic field. In this generalized setting, the plasma exhibits its fundamental mechanism that determines the relaxed state. The scale hierarchy of adiabatic invariants is the determinant; the Boltzmann distribution under the topological constraint by the robust adiabatic invariants (hence, the homogeneous distribution with respect to the fragile invariant) is the relevant relaxed state, which turns out to be a rigidly rotating clump of particles (just same as in a homogeneous magnetic field), while the density is no longer homogeneous.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2013

A numerical model of non-equilibrium thermal plasmas. I. Transport properties

A self-consistent and complete numerical model for investigating the fundamental processes in a non-equilibrium thermal plasma system consists of the governing equations and the corresponding physical properties of the plasmas. In this paper, a new kinetic theory of the transport properties of two-temperature (2-T) plasmas, based on the solution of the Boltzmann equation using a modified Chapman-Enskog method, is presented. This work is motivated by the large discrepancies between the theories for the calculation of the transport properties of 2-T plasmas proposed by different authors in previous publications. In the present paper, the coupling between electrons and heavy species is taken into account, but reasonable simplifications are adopted, based on the physical fact that m{sub e}/m{sub h} Much-Less-Than 1, where m{sub e} and m{sub h} are, respectively, the masses of electrons and heavy species. A new set of formulas for the transport coefficients of 2-T plasmas is obtained. The new theory has important physical and practical advantages over previous approaches. In particular, the diffusion coefficients are complete and satisfy the mass conversation law due to the consideration of the coupling between electrons and heavy species. Moreover, this essential requirement is satisfied without increasing the complexity of the transport coefficient formulas. Expressions for the 2-T combined diffusion coefficients are obtained. The expressions for the transport coefficients can be reduced to the corresponding well-established expressions for plasmas in local thermodynamic equilibrium for the case in which the electron and heavy-species temperatures are equal.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
NASA NTRS1983

Complex time dependent wave packet technique for thermal equilibrium systems - Electronic spectra

A time dependent wave packet method is presented for the rapid calculation of the properties of systems in thermal equilibrium and is applied, as an illustration, to electronic spectra. The thawed Gaussian approximation to quantum wave packet dynamics combined with evaluation of the density matrix operator by imaginary time propagation is shown to give exact electronic spectra for harmonic potentials and excellent results for both a Morse potential and for the band contours of the three transitions of the visible electronic absorption spectrum of the iodine molecule. The method, in principle, can be extended to many atoms (e.g., condensed phases) and to other properties (e.g., infrared and Raman spectra and thermodynamic variables).

Reimers, J. R.↗