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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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17 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2026

Collisionless ion-electron energy exchange in magnetized shocks

Energy partition between ions and electrons in collisionless shocks has been a long-standing unsolved fundamental physical question. Here, we show that kinetic simulations of moderate Alfv´enic Mach number, magnetized, collisionless shocks reveal rapid, faster-than-Coulomb, energy exchange between ions and electrons when the plasma is sufficiently magnetized. Using kinetic and multi-fluid models with counter-streaming ions, we identify resonances between electron whistler and ion magnetohydrodynamic waves that account for this rapid energy exchange.

High-energy-density plasmas↗
DOE OSTI2025

Measuring the growth of Alfvén wave parametric decay instability using counter-propagating waves: Theory and simulations

The parametric decay instability (PDI) of Alfvén waves—where a pump Alfvén wave decays into a backward-propagating child Alfvén wave and a forward ion acoustic wave—is a fundamental nonlinear wave-wave interaction and holds significant implications for space and laboratory plasmas. However, to date there has been no direct experimental measurement of PDI. Here, we propose a novel and experimentally viable scheme to quantify the growth of Alfvén wave PDI on a linear device using a large pump Alfvén wave and a small counter-propagating seed Alfvén wave, with the seed-wave frequency tuned to match the backward Alfvén wave generated by standard PDI. Using hybrid simulations, we show that energy transfer from the pump to the seed reduces the latter's spatial damping. By comparing seed-wave amplitudes with and without the pump wave, this damping reduction can be used as a direct and reliable proxy for PDI growth. The method is validated in our simulations across a range of plasma and wave parameters and agrees well with theoretical predictions. Notably, the scheme exhibits no threshold for PDI excitation and is, in principle, readily implementable under current laboratory conditions. Finally, this scheme is a critical step toward solving the challenge of experimentally accessing Alfvén wave PDI and provides an elegant method that may be used to validate fundamental theories of parametric instabilities in controlled laboratory settings.

heliosphere↗
DOE OSTI2026

Quantitative analysis of zonal flow influence on turbulent plasmas driven by trapped electrons

The role of zonal flow (ZF) in the turbulence saturation of trapped electron modes (TEM) in magnetically confined plasmas is revisited. Here, in this study, we examine ZF excitation and saturation mechanisms in TEM turbulence using detailed free-energy transfer diagnostics from nonlinear gyrokinetic simulations. When the ion channel becomes subdominant, electrons shift to transferring energy to the zonal component, which results in zonal flows always playing a significant though subdominant role, in the case of the temperature gradient driven TEM. The velocity-space structure of energy transfer reveals that trapped electrons directly couple to ZF. Regarding the saturation physics, the zonal flow advection, drift-wave–drift-wave interactions, and stable modes at the pump waves are compared. When ZF saturation is weak, drift-wave–drift-wave interactions play a larger role in maintaining turbulence saturation. The findings elucidate the roles of nonzonal to zonal flow coupling, stable modes, and nonzonal wave-wave interactions, and provide a basis for improving reduced models of turbulent transport.

Song, Jiheon [Hanyang University, Seoul (Korea, Re↗
DOE OSTI2026

First Demonstration of Resonant Pitch-Angle Scattering of Relativistic Electrons by Externally Launched Helicon Waves

Helicon waves (a.k.a whistler waves) satisfying the normal wave-particle cyclotron resonance are observed to limit the growth and maximum energy of relativistic electrons (REs) in low-density Ohmic DIII-D tokamak plasmas. Following the application of helicon waves, pitch-angle scattering of high-energy REs causes an increase in both synchrotron and electron-cyclotron emissions. The hard x-ray emission, a proxy for the RE population, ceases to grow. Energy-resolved hard x-ray measurements also show a striking decrease in the number of high-energy REs (above the resonance at approximately 8MeV) to below the noise floor and an increase in low-energy (∼ 4 MeV) REs. This occurs despite the toroidal electric field remaining high enough to drive exponential RE growth in the absence of helicon waves. Furthermore, these results open new directions for limiting the maximum energy of RE populations in laboratory and fusion plasmas.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

Quantum three-wave instability

For the three-wave interaction, the lowest-order nonlinear interaction in plasma dynamics, we describe how the quantum system, which is time-independent, nonchaotic, finite-dimensional, and Hermitian, can give rise to a linear instability corresponding to that in the classical system. Furthermore, we show that the instability is realized in the quantum regime as a cascade of the wave function in the space of occupation number states, and the unstable quantum system has a richer spectrum and a much longer recurrence time than the stable quantum system. The conditions for instability of the quantum three-wave interaction are described.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2022

Minimum stabilizing energy release for mixing processes

Diffusive operations, which mix the populations of different elements of phase space, can irreversibly transform a given initial state into any of a spectrum of different states from which no further energy can be extracted through diffusive operations. We call these ground states. Here, the lower bound of accessible ground-state energies represents the maximal possible release of energy. This lower bound, sometimes called the diffusively accessible free energy, is of interest in theories of instabilities and wave-particle interactions. On the other hand, the upper bound of accessible ground-state energies has escaped identification as a problem of interest. Yet, as demonstrated here, in the case of a continuous system, it is precisely this upper bound that corresponds to the paradigmatic “quasilinear plateau” ground state of the bump-on-tail distribution. Although for general discrete systems the complexity of calculating the upper bound grows rapidly with the number of states, using techniques adapted from treatments of the lower bound, the upper bound can in fact be computed directly for the three-state discrete system.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2022

Improving the feasibility of economical proton-boron-11 fusion via alpha channeling with a hybrid fast and thermal proton scheme

The proton-boron-11 (p-B11) fusion reaction is much harder to harness for commercial power than the easiest fusion reaction, namely, the deuterium and tritium (DT) reaction. The p-B11 reaction requires much higher temperatures, and, even at those higher temperatures, the cross section is much smaller. However, as opposed to tritium, the reactants are both abundant and nonradioactive. It is also an aneutronic reaction, thus avoiding radioactivity-inducing neutrons. Economical fusion can only result, however, if the plasma is nearly ignited; in other words if the fusion power is at least nearly equal to the power lost due to radiation and thermal conduction. Because the required temperatures are so high, ignition is thought barely possible for p-B11, with fusion power exceeding the bremsstrahlung power by only around 3%. We show that there is a high upside to changing the natural flow of power in the reactor, putting more power into protons, and less into the electrons. This redirection can be done using waves, which tap the alpha particle power and redirect it into protons through alpha channeling. Using a simple power balance model, we show that such channeling could reduce the required energy confinement time for ignition by a factor of 2.6 when energy is channeled into thermal protons, and a factor of 6.9 when channeled into fast protons near the peak of the reactivity. Furthermore, alpha channeling could dramatically improve the feasibility of economical p-B11 fusion energy.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

Six-photon resonant scattering of collinear laser pulses in plasma

To achieve the highest possible laser intensities with the least laser energy, shorter-wavelengths lasers are advantaged if they can be focused to spots of a few laser wavelengths and durations of several laser periods. However, the top laser pulse energies available nowadays are megajoules at near-optical wavelengths and millijoules at shorter wavelengths. Thus, to produce the highest laser intensities, what is required is an efficient spectral transfer of the huge near-optical energies to shorter wavelengths. It is proposed here that the desired spectral transfer could occur via resonant photon interactions associated with nonlinearity of mildly relativistic motions of plasma electrons in intense laser fields, specifically via the six-photon resonant scattering of collinear laser pulses in plasma. As a result, the six-photon interaction can, in fact, be the dominant resonant photon interaction to achieve collinear frequency up-conversion.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

Anomalous cross-field transport in a Hall thruster inferred from direct measurement of instability growth rates

The contribution of the electron drift instability to anomalous electron transport is experimentally assessed in a Hall effect discharge. The transport is represented by an anomalous collision frequency, which is related through quasilinear theory to the energy and growth rate of the instability. The wave energy is measured directly with ion saturation probes, while estimates of the growth rate are employed based on both linearized theory and direct measurement. The latter measurement is performed with a bispectral analysis method. The wave-driven collision frequency is compared to measurements of the actual collision frequency inferred from a method based on laser- induced fluorescence. It is found that estimates for transport using linearized theory for the growth differ by over an order of magnitude from the actual anomalous collision frequency in the plasma. The wave-driven anomalous collision frequency with measured growth, however, is shown to agree with the electron collision frequency in magnitude and capture aspects of the trends in spatial variation. This result demonstrates experimentally that wave-driven effects ultimately can explain the observed cross-field transport in these devices. As a result, the implications of this finding are discussed in the context of the key lengthscales that drive the transport as well as the implications identifying reduced fidelity models that could be used to predict anomalous collision frequency.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2024

Accelerating particle-in-cell kinetic plasma simulations via reduced-order modeling of space-charge dynamics using dynamic mode decomposition

We present a data-driven reduced-order modeling of the space-charge dynamics for electromagnetic particle-in-cell (EMPIC) plasma simulations based on dynamic mode decomposition (DMD). The dynamics of the charged particles in kinetic plasma simulations such as EMPIC is manifested through the plasma current density defined along the edges of the spatial mesh. We showcase the efficacy of DMD in modeling the time evolution of current density through a low-dimensional feature space. Not only do such DMD based predictive reduced-order models help accelerate EMPIC simulations, they also have the potential to facilitate investigative analysis and control applications. Here, we demonstrate the proposed DMD-EMPIC scheme for reduced-order modeling of current density and speedup in EMPIC simulations involving electron beam under the influence of magnetic field, virtual cathode oscillations, and backward wave oscillator.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2022

Electron Modulational Instability in the Strong Turbulent Regime for an Electron Beam Propagating in a Background Plasma

We study collective processes for an electron beam propagating through a background plasma using simulations and analytical theory. A new regime where the instability of a Langmuir wave packet can grow locally much faster than ion frequency is clearly identified. The key feature of this new regime is an electron modulational instability that rapidly creates a local Langmuir wave packet, which in its turn produces local charge separation and strong ion density perturbations because of the action of the ponderomotive force, such that the beam-plasma wave interaction stops being resonant. Three evolution stages of the process and observed periodic burst features are discussed. In conclusion, different physical regimes in the plasma and beam parameter space are demonstrated for the first time.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2024

First Measurement of Drift-Alfvén Wave Polarization in Magnetically Confined Fusion Plasmas

Polarization of drift-Alfvén waves, defined as the ratio of electrostatic to electromagnetic fluctuations, has remained unmeasurable in fusion plasmas for decades, despite its pivotal role in understanding wave dynamics and their impact on plasmas. We report the first measurements of drift-Alfvén wave polarization in a hot, magnetically-confined plasma. Here, the breakthrough is enabled by a novel methodology developed from gyrokinetic theory, utilizing fluctuations of electron temperature and density. Analysis of data from the DIII-D tokamak reveals that the waves above the geodesic acoustic mode frequency exhibit dominant electromagnetic polarization, whereas lower frequency waves show a mix of electromagnetic and electrostatic polarization, indicating a strong coupling between shear Alfvén waves and drift-acoustic waves.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2026

Measurement of the Alfvén Wave Parametric Decay Instability Growth Rate

Alfvén waves, a fundamental mode of magnetized plasmas, are ubiquitous in space and laboratory plasmas. The nonlinear behavior of these modes is thought to play a key role in important problems in space plasma, such as the heating of the solar corona and solar wind turbulence. In particular, theoretical predictions show that these Alfvén waves may be unstable to various parametric instabilities, but space observations of these processes are limited. We demonstrate the first measurement of the Alfvén wave parametric decay instability (PDI) growth rate. Experiments are conducted on the Large Plasma Device at UCLA in which a high amplitude 𝛿⁢𝐵/𝐵 0 ∼ 0.7% pump Alfvén wave is launched from one end of the device and a smaller seed Alfvén wave is launched from the other side. When the frequency of the seed wave is chosen to match the backward wave expected from PDI, damping of the seed wave is reduced. We compare this reduction in damping to the theoretically expected PDI growth rate while accounting for acoustic mode damping. Results show agreement between measurements and theoretical predictions. As a result, this not only provides critical validation for PDI theories and simulations that could help interpret future space observations but also suggests a new way of studying similar nonlinear wave phenomena.

Alfvén waves↗
DOE OSTI2025

Quantum Information for Fusion Energy Sciences (Final Technical Report)

The simulation of plasma dynamics is a critical area of Fusion Energy Sciences (FES) due to it’s usefulness in predicting, controlling, and confining plasmas in the context of potential fusion reactors. The simulation of plasmas is a computationally difficult problem in both classical and quantum physics, motivating investigation into the potential of quantum computers to simulate these systems. This project took several concrete steps towards this goal by developing tools for improving the control, characterization, and calibration of quantum gates on a superconducting quantum computer, developing error suppression and mitigation tools to reduce errors on the quantum computer, and utilizing these advancements to simulate reduced models of plasma dynamics on the quantum computer. In order to efficiently simulate plasma physics, an optimal control method which synthesizes, directly at the pulse level, any quantum gate on qubit and qutrit systems was developed. Using four superconducting transmon quantum processors at Rigetti and LLNL, it was demonstrated that any arbitrary quantum gate on qubits and qutrits could be implemented with high fidelity, leading to a significantly reduced length of a gate sequence. A problem of interest in FES is the nonlinear optical process of laser pulse compression within a plasma. Since quantum physics is linear, simulating nonlinear operations is not naturally feasible on a quantum computer, however it is possible to simulated a quantized version of the nonlinear process. A quantization approach to convert nonlinear wave-wave interaction problems to Hamiltonian simulation problems was developed and demonstrated using two qubits on a Rigetti device. In this experiment, a number of error suppression and mitigation techniques were investigated to determine how best to utilize the finite quantum resources. This study provides an example of how plasma problems may be solved on near-term, noisy quantum computing platforms and identified a promising set of techniques. Building on the insights of these experiments, the investigation turned to linear electron-plasma wave physics. A connection was identified between a local one-dimensional lattice spin model and linear wave phenomena, allowing a plasma physics problem to be efficiently mapped to the quantum computer. In this framework, reflection and transmission of plasma waves at a sharp boundary was studied, as well as the propagation of waves through an inhomogeneous plasma medium. In addition to the suite of error suppression and mitigation techniques developed, this experiment introduced the use of a digital-analog gate scheme designed to efficiently simulate the plasma Hamiltonian. With hardware available at the conclusion of the project, simulation at the scale of 9 qubits and 15 timesteps (60 entangling layers) was achieved.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2025

Toroidal Alfven Wave Coupling (Nonlinear Wave-Wave Interactions) on DIII-D

Connect DIII-D physics with space plasma phenomena. In this case of using the toroidal Alfvén eigenmodes and frequency-chirping Reversed-Shear Alfvén eignmodes in DIII-D, we will document how the nonlinear interactions among dipolar Kinetic Alfvén Wave eigenmodes in space plasmas may determine saturation levels of these fluctuations. We seek evidence of nonlinear energy transfer and wave-wave coupling during 3-wave interactions mediated by a much lower-frequency mode. In FY2019, we found evidence of nonlinear “wave-wave” interactions in 175 relevant shots of archival DIII-D data. Toroidal mode number was identified and spectrograms were produced from each shot’s Mirnov coil data. Bispectral analysis was performed using a preliminary version of a new user friendly code derived from a 1995 M.S. thesis at WVU. These results formed a part of a May 2019 M.S. thesis at WVU.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2026

Close-Out Project Description for Koepke's Dept of Energy grant DE-SC0021405

Objectives: To establish, for lab & space conditions, EM-IEDDI’s (electromagnetic shear-driven instability's) dispersion relation, unstable range, instability threshold, and mode characteristics, we need LAPD’s Alfven-wave-favorable electromagnetic-style conditions, including higher "beta" (0.001 < beta ≤ 0.3) and low-collisionality. Also, we attempted to intentionally launch or spontaneously destabilize compressional and shear Alfven waves in the strong, localized, perpendicular-velocity-shear region at the interface between coaxial plasmas (one plasma cylinder inside an outer, otherwise hollow, tube, each having a different, controllable, value of plasma electrostatic potential, i.e., “space” potential (not to be confused with the temperature-dependent “floating” potential of an object immersed in the plasma). Nonlinear wave-wave interactions between same-family (EM-IEDD or Alfven) and cross-family (EM-IEDD-with-Alfven) fluctuations were targeted for documentation over a range of spectral overlap. Although laboratory experiments were conducted, the following theoretical work was left unfinished: Analytical non-modal prediction Computational non-modal prediction Check to see if Mikhailenko’s theory formulation leads to his published graphs

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗