Quantum effects on compressional Alfven waves in compensated semiconductors

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Amin, M. R.

2015-03-15

Amplitude modulation of a compressional Alfven wave in compensated electron-hole semiconductor plasmas is considered in the quantum magnetohydrodynamic regime in this paper. The important ingredients of this study are the inclusion of the particle degeneracy pressure, exchange-correlation potential, and the quantum diffraction effects via the Bohm potential in the momentum balance equations of the charge carriers. A modified nonlinear Schrödinger equation is derived for the evolution of the slowly varying amplitude of the compressional Alfven wave by employing the standard reductive perturbation technique. Typical values of the parameters for GaAs, GaSb, and GaN semiconductors are considered in analyzing the linearmore » and nonlinear dispersions of the compressional Alfven wave. Detailed analysis of the modulation instability in the long-wavelength regime is presented. For typical parameter ranges of the semiconductor plasmas and at the long-wavelength regime, it is found that the wave is modulationally unstable above a certain critical wavenumber. Effects of the exchange-correlation potential and the Bohm potential in the wave dynamics are also studied. It is found that the effect of the Bohm potential may be neglected in comparison with the effect of the exchange-correlation potential in the linear and nonlinear dispersions of the compressional Alfven wave.« less

Convective cell generation by kinetic Alfven wave turbulence in the auroral ionosphere

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhao, J. S.; Wu, D. J.; Yu, M. Y.

2012-06-15

Modulation of convective cells by kinetic Alfven wave (KAW) turbulence is investigated. The interaction is governed by a nonlinear dispersion relation for the convective cells. It is shown that KAW turbulence is disrupted by excitation of the large-scale convective motion through a resonant instability. Application of the results to the auroral ionosphere shows that cross-scale coupling of the KAW turbulence and convective cells plays an important role in the evolution of ionospheric plasma turbulence.

Interaction of Energetic Particles with Discontinuities Upstream of Strong Shocks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Malkov, Mikhail; Diamond, Patrick

2008-11-01

Acceleration of particles in strong astrophysical shocks is known to be accompanied and promoted by a number of instabilities which are driven by the particles themselves. One of them is an acoustic (also known as Drury's) instability driven by the pressure gradient of accelerated particles upstream. The generated sound waves naturally steepen into shocks thus forming a shocktrain. Similar magnetoacoustic or Alfven type structures may be driven by pick-up ions, for example. We consider the solutions of kinetic equation for accelerated particles within the shocktrain. The accelerated particles are assumed to be coupled to the flow by an intensive pitch-angle scattering on the self-generated Alfven waves. The implications for acceleration and confinement of cosmic rays in this shock environment will be discussed.

Kinetic Effects in Parametric Instabilities of Finite Amplitude Alfven Waves in a Drifting Multi-Species Plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maneva, Y. G.; Araneda, J. A.; Poedts, S.

2014-12-01

We consider parametric instabilities of finite-amplitude large-scale Alfven waves in a low-beta collisionless multi-species plasma, consisting of fluid electrons, kinetic protons and a drifting population of minor ions. Complementary to many theoretical studies, relying on fluid or multi-fluid approach, in this work we present the solutions of the parametric instability dispersion relation, including kinetic effects in the parallel direction, along the ambient magnetic field. This provides us with the opportunity to predict the importance of some wave-particle interactions like Landau damping of the daughter ion-acoustic waves for the given pump wave and plasma conditions. We apply the dispersion relation to plasma parameters, typical for low-beta collisionless solar wind close to the Sun. We compare the analytical solutions to the linear stage of hybrid numerical simulations and discuss the application of the model to the problems of preferential heating and differential acceleration of minor ions in the solar corona and the fast solar wind. The results of this study provide tools for prediction and interpretation of the magnetic field and particles data as expected from the future Solar Orbiter and Solar Probe Plus missions.

Preferential Heating of Oxygen 5+ Ions by Finite-Amplitude Oblique Alfven Waves

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Maneva, Yana G.; Vinas, Adolfo; Araneda, Jamie; Poedts, Stefaan

2016-01-01

Minor ions in the fast solar wind are known to have higher temperatures and to flow faster than protons in the interplanetary space. In this study we combine previous research on parametric instability theory and 2.5D hybrid simulations to study the onset of preferential heating of Oxygen 5+ ions by large-scale finite-amplitude Alfven waves in the collisionless fast solar wind. We consider initially non-drifting isotropic multi-species plasma, consisting of isothermal massless fluid electrons, kinetic protons and kinetic Oxygen 5+ ions. The external energy source for the plasma heating and energization are oblique monochromatic Alfven-cyclotron waves. The waves have been created by rotating the direction of initial parallel pump, which is a solution of the multi-fluid plasma dispersion relation. We consider propagation angles theta less than or equal to 30 deg. The obliquely propagating Alfven pump waves lead to strong diffusion in the ion phase space, resulting in highly anisotropic heavy ion velocity distribution functions and proton beams. We discuss the application of the model to the problems of preferential heating of minor ions in the solar corona and the fast solar wind.

Acoustic instability driven by cosmic-ray streaming

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Begelman, Mitchell C.; Zweibel, Ellen G.

1994-01-01

We study the linear stability of compressional waves in a medium through which cosmic rays stream at the Alfven speed due to strong coupling with Alfven waves. Acoustic waves can be driven unstable by the cosmic-ray drift, provided that the streaming speed is sufficiently large compared to the thermal sound speed. Two effects can cause instability: (1) the heating of the thermal gas due to the damping of Alfven waves driven unstable by cosmic-ray streaming; and (2) phase shifts in the cosmic-ray pressure perturbation caused by the combination of cosmic-ray streaming and diffusion. The instability does not depend on the magnitude of the background cosmic-ray pressure gradient, and occurs whether or not cosmic-ray diffusion is important relative to streaming. When the cosmic-ray pressure is small compared to the gas pressure, or cosmic-ray diffusion is strong, the instability manifests itself as a weak overstability of slow magnetosonic waves. Larger cosmic-ray pressure gives rise to new hybrid modes, which can be strongly unstable in the limits of both weak and strong cosmic-ray diffusion and in the presence of thermal conduction. Parts of our analysis parallel earlier work by McKenzie & Webb (which were brought to our attention after this paper was accepted for publication), but our treatment of diffusive effects, thermal conduction, and nonlinearities represent significant extensions. Although the linear growth rate of instability is independent of the background cosmic-ray pressure gradient, the onset of nonlinear eff ects does depend on absolute value of DEL (vector differential operator) P(sub c). At the onset of nonlinearity the fractional amplitude of cosmic-ray pressure perturbations is delta P(sub C)/P(sub C) approximately (kL) (exp -1) much less than 1, where k is the wavenumber and L is the pressure scale height of the unperturbed cosmic rays. We speculate that the instability may lead to a mode of cosmic-ray transport in which plateaus of uniform cosmic-ray pressure are separated by either laminar or turbulent jumps in which the thermal gas is subject to intense heating.

Acceleration of High Energy Cosmic Rays in the Nonlinear Shock Precursor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Derzhinsky, F.; Diamond, P. H.; Malkov, M. A.

2006-10-01

The problem of understanding acceleration of very energetic cosmic rays to energies above the 'knee' in the spectrum at 10^15-10^16eV remains one of the great challenges in modern physics. Recently, we have proposed a new approach to understanding high energy acceleration, based on exploiting scattering of cosmic rays by inhomogenities in the compressive nonlinear shock precursor, rather than by scattering across the main shock, as is conventionally assumed. We extend that theory by proposing a mechanism for the generation of mesoscale magnetic fields (krg<1, where rg is the cosmic ray gyroradius). The mechanism is the decay or modulational instability of resonantly generated Alfven waves scattering off ambient density perturbations in the precursors. Such perturbations can be produced by Drury instability. This mechanism leads to the generation of longer wavelength Alfven waves, thus enabling the confinement of higher energy particles. A simplified version of the theory, cast in the form of a Fokker-Planck equation for the Alfven population, will also be presented. This process also limits field generation on rg scales.

Phase space evolution in linear instabilities

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Pantellini, F.G.E.; Burgess, D.; Schwartz, S.J.

1994-12-01

A simple and powerful way to investigate the linear evolution of particle distribution functions in kinetic instabilities in a homogeneous collisionless plasma is presented. The method can be applied to any kind of instability, provided the characteristics (growth rate, frequency, wave vector, and polarization) of the mode are known and can also be used to estimate the amplitude of the waves at the end of the linear phase of growth. Two didactic examples are used to illustrate the versatility of the technique: the Alfven Ion Cyclotron (AIC) instability, which is electromagnetic, and the Electron Ion Cyclotron (EIC) instability, which ismore » electrostatic.« less

Upper-hybrid wave-driven Alfvenic turbulence in magnetized dusty plasmas

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Misra, A. P.; Banerjee, S.

The nonlinear dynamics of coupled electrostatic upper-hybrid (UH) and Alfven waves (AWs) is revisited in a magnetized electron-ion plasma with charged dust impurities. A pair of nonlinear equations that describe the interaction of UH wave envelopes (including the relativistic electron mass increase) and the density as well as the compressional magnetic field perturbations associated with the AWs are solved numerically to show that many coherent solitary patterns can be excited and saturated due to modulational instability of unstable UH waves. The evolution of these solitary patterns is also shown to appear in the states of spatiotemporal coherence, temporal as wellmore » as spatiotemporal chaos, due to collision and fusion among the patterns in stochastic motion. Furthermore, these spatiotemporal features are demonstrated by the analysis of wavelet power spectra. It is found that a redistribution of wave energy takes place to higher harmonic modes with small wavelengths, which, in turn, results in the onset of Alfvenic turbulence in dusty magnetoplasmas. Such a scenario can occur in the vicinity of Saturn's magnetosphere as many electrostatic solitary structures have been observed there by the Cassini spacecraft.« less

Jeans instability of rotating magnetized dusty plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sharma, S.; Sutar, D. L.; Kumar, V.; Pensia, R. K.

2018-05-01

It has been shown that rotation has to play a predominant important role in the formation of many astrophysical objects and the stability of molecular clouds. In this paper the theoretical investigation of the presence of rotation in the magnetized dusty plasma. The general dispersion relation is obtained normal mode analysis technique, and we found the Alfven mode is modified due to the presence of rotation and magnetic field. The graphical presentation shows that rotation and Alfven wave velocity have a stabilizing in the system.

Plasma Instabilities in Hall Thrusters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Litvak, Andrei A.; Fisch, Nathaniel J.

2000-10-01

We describe theoretically waves in the channel of a Hall thruster, propagating transversely to the accelerated ion flow. In slab geometry, a two-fluid hydrodynamic theory with collisional terms shows that azimuthal lower-hybrid and Alfven waves will be unstable due to electron collisions in the presence of ExB drift. In addition, plasma inhomogeneities can drive other instabilities that can be analyzed through a dispersion relation in the well-known form of the Rayleigh equation. An instability condition is derived for azimuthal electrostatic waves, synchronized with the electron drift flow. Propagation with nonzero wavenumber along the magnetic field is also studied. Thus, several different aspects of wave propagation during thruster operation are explored. These waves may be important to understand and possibly to control in view of the possible influence of thruster electromagnetic effects on communication signal propagation.

Theoretical studies of the physics of the solar atmosphere

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hollweg, Joseph V.

1992-01-01

Significant advances in our theoretical basis for understanding several physical processes related to dynamical phenomena on the sun were achieved. We have advanced a new model for spicules and fibrils. We have provided a simple physical view of resonance absorption of MHD surface waves; this allowed an approximate mathematical procedure for obtaining a wealth of new analytical results which we applied to coronal heating and p-mode absorption at magnetic regions. We provided the first comprehensive models for the heating and acceleration of the transition region, corona, and solar wind. We provided a new view of viscosity under coronal conditions. We provided new insights into Alfven wave propagation in the solar atmosphere. And recently we have begun work in a new direction: parametric instabilities of Alfven waves.

Effects of compressional magnetic perturbation on kinetic Alfven waves

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dong, Ge; Bhattacharjee, Amitava; Lin, Zhihong

2016-10-01

Kinetic Alfven waves play a very important role in the dynamics of fusion as well as space and astrophysical plasmas. The compressional magnetic perturbation δB|| can play important role in kinetic Alfven waves (KAW) and various instabilities at large plasma β. It could affect the nonlinear behavior of these modes significantly even at small β. In this study, we have implemented δB|| in gyrokinetic toroidal code (GTC). The perpendicular Ampere's law is solved as a force balance equation. Double gyroaveraging is incorporated in the code to treat the finite Larmor radius effects related to δB|| terms. KAW is studied in slab geometry as a benchmark case. A scan in β for the KAW dispersion relation shows that as β approaches 1 (>0.3), the effects of δB|| becomes important. Connections are made with other existing studies of KAWs in the fusion and space plasma literature. This new capability of including δB|| in GTC could be applied to nonlinear simulations of modes such as kinetic ballooning and tearing modes. This research is supported by DOE Contract No. DE-AC02-09CH11466.

Studies of a driven Alfvénic cavity and cylindrical Alfven eigenmodes in LAPD

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lybarger, Warren; Carter, Troy; Brugman, Brian; Pribyl, Pat

2004-11-01

An Alfven wave MASER has been observed in the Large Plasma Device (LAPD), where an instability drives a resonant Alfven wave in the cavity defined by the cathode and anode of the discharge source(J.E. Maggs and G.J. Morales, PRL, 91, 035004-1 (2003)). We will present a study of external driving of this cavity, motivated by a desire to find a source of large amplitude Alfvén waves for studies of nonlinear interactions. The cavity is driven by modulating the discharge current using a broadband, high power push-pull amplifier. The Alfvén waves launched by exciting the cavity are large amplitude (δ B/B ˜ 1%) and are eigenmodes of the cylindrical column. Experimental results will be presented on the structure of the eigenmodes in the plasma column, the Q-value of the cavity and its dependence on plasma parameters, and deviations in the structure of the eigenmodes from ideal MHD due to kinetic effects. Experimental results will be compared to theories of Alfvén eigenmodes in a cylindrical column. * Work supported by DOE grant # DE-FG03-02ER54688

Two Contemporary Problems in Magnetized Plasmas: The ion-ion hybrid resonator and MHD stability in a snowflake divertor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Farmer, William Anthony

The first part of the dissertation investigates the effects of multiple-ions on the propagation of shear Alfven waves. It is shown that the presence of a second ion-species allows for the formation of an ion-ion hybrid resonator in the presence of a magnetic well. A full-wave description is shown to explain the measured eigenfrequencies and spatial form of the resonator modes identified in experiments in the Large Plasma Device (LAPD) at UCLA. However, it is determined that neither electron collisions or radial convection of the mode due to coupling to either the compressional or ion-Bernstein wave can explain the observed dissipation. Ray tracing studies for shear Alfven waves are performed in various magnetic geometries of contemporary interest. In a tokamak, it is found that the hybrid resonator can exist in the cold-plasma regime, but that ion-temperature effects combined with curvature effects cause the wave reflection point to shift towards the cyclotron frequency of the heavier ion. A one-dimensional WKB model is applied to a tokamak geometry for conditions corresponding to a burning fusion plasma to characterize the resonator. Instability due to fusion-born alpha particles is assessed. An approximate form of the global eigenmode is considered. It is identified that magnetic field shear combined with large ion temperature can cause coupling to an ion-Bernstein wave, which can limit the instability. Finally, the radiation pattern of shear Alfven waves generated by a burst of charged particles in the presence of two-ion species is considered. The spectral content and spatial patterns of the radiated waves are determined. The second part of the dissertation considers the MHD stability of the plasma near a divertor in a tokamak. Two types of modes are considered: a ballooning mode and an axisymmetric, quasi-flute mode. Instability thresholds are derived for both modes and numerically evaluated for parameters relevant to recent experiments. This is done to determine whether these modes could be responsible for convection of the plasma in the vicinity of the poloidal null point. It is determined that MHD instability about a standard equilibrium is unlikely to explain the experimental results observed on the tokamak, TCV [Reimerdes et al., Plasma Phys. Contr. Fusion 55, 124027 (2013)]. From these results, it is concluded that the most likely explanation for the discrepancy is that the underlying equilibrium assumed in the calculation does not contain all the complexities present in the experiments.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sanchez-Arriaga, G.; Hada, T.; Nariyuki, Y.

The triple-degenerate derivative nonlinear Schroedinger (TDNLS) system modified with resistive wave damping and growth is truncated to study the coherent coupling of four waves, three Alfven and one acoustic, near resonance. In the conservative case, the truncation equations derive from a time independent Hamiltonian function with two degrees of freedom. Using a Poincare map analysis, two parameters regimes are explored. In the first regime we check how the modulational instability of the TDNLS system affects to the dynamics of the truncation model, while in the second one the exact triple degenerated case is discussed. In the dissipative case, the truncationmore » model gives rise to a six dimensional flow with five free parameters. Computing some bifurcation diagrams the dependence with the sound to Alfven velocity ratio as well as the Alfven modes involved in the truncation is analyzed. The system exhibits a wealth of dynamics including chaotic attractor, several kinds of bifurcations, and crises. The truncation model was compared to numerical integrations of the TDNLS system.« less

INSTABILITIES DRIVEN BY THE DRIFT AND TEMPERATURE ANISOTROPY OF ALPHA PARTICLES IN THE SOLAR WIND

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Verscharen, Daniel; Bourouaine, Sofiane; Chandran, Benjamin D. G., E-mail: daniel.verscharen@unh.edu, E-mail: s.bourouaine@unh.edu, E-mail: benjamin.chandran@unh.edu

2013-08-20

We investigate the conditions under which parallel-propagating Alfven/ion-cyclotron (A/IC) waves and fast-magnetosonic/whistler (FM/W) waves are driven unstable by the differential flow and temperature anisotropy of alpha particles in the solar wind. We focus on the limit in which w{sub Parallel-To {alpha}} {approx}> 0.25v{sub A}, where w{sub Parallel-To {alpha}} is the parallel alpha-particle thermal speed and v{sub A} is the Alfven speed. We derive analytic expressions for the instability thresholds of these waves, which show, e.g., how the minimum unstable alpha-particle beam speed depends upon w{sub Parallel-To {alpha}}/v{sub A}, the degree of alpha-particle temperature anisotropy, and the alpha-to-proton temperature ratio. Wemore » validate our analytical results using numerical solutions to the full hot-plasma dispersion relation. Consistent with previous work, we find that temperature anisotropy allows A/IC waves and FM/W waves to become unstable at significantly lower values of the alpha-particle beam speed U{sub {alpha}} than in the isotropic-temperature case. Likewise, differential flow lowers the minimum temperature anisotropy needed to excite A/IC or FM/W waves relative to the case in which U{sub {alpha}} = 0. We discuss the relevance of our results to alpha particles in the solar wind near 1 AU.« less

Evolution of Eigenmodes of the Mhd-Waveguide in the Outer Magnetosphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chuiko, Daniil

EVOLUTION OF EIGENMODES OF THE MHD-WAVEGUIDE IN THE OUTER MAGNETOSPHERE Mazur V.A., Chuiko D.A. Institute of Solar-Terrestrial Physics, Irkutsk, Russia. Geomagnetic field and plasma inhomogeneties in the outer equatorial part of the magnetosphere al-lows for existence of a channel with low Alfven speeds, which spans from the nose to the far flanks of the magnetosphere, in the morning as well as in the evening sectors. This channel plays a role of a waveguide for fast magnetosonic waves. When an eigenmode travels along the waveguide (i.e. in the azimuthal direction) it undergoes certain evolution. The parameters of the waveguide are changing along the way of wave’s propagation and the eigenmode “adapts” to these parameters. Conditions of the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability are changing due to the increment in the solar wind speed along the magnetopause. The conditions of the solar wind hydromagnetic waves penetration to the magnetosphere are changing due to the same increment. As such, the process of the penetration turns to overreflection regime, which abruptly increases the pump level of the magnetospheric waveguide. There is an Alfven resonance deep within the magnetosphere, which corresponds to the propagation of the fast mode along the waveguide. Oscillation energy dissipation takes place in the vicinity of the Alfven resonance. Alfven resonance is a standing Alfven wave along the magnetic field lines, so it reaches the ionosphere and the Earth surface, when the fast modes of the waveguide, localized in the low Alfven speed channel cannot be observed on Earth. The evolution of the waveguide oscillation propagating from the nose to the far tail is theoretically investigated in this work with consideration of all aforementioned effects. The spatial structure var-iation character, spectral composition and amplitude along the waveguide are found.

Exploring the Alfven-Wave Acceleration of Auroral Electrons in the Laboratory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schroeder, James William Ryan

Inertial Alfven waves occur in plasmas where the Alfven speed is greater than the electron thermal speed and the scale of wave field structure across the background magnetic field is comparable to the electron skin depth. Such waves have an electric field aligned with the background magnetic field that can accelerate electrons. It is likely that electrons are accelerated by inertial Alfven waves in the auroral magnetosphere and contribute to the generation of auroras. While rocket and satellite measurements show a high level of coincidence between inertial Alfven waves and auroral activity, definitive measurements of electrons being accelerated by inertial Alfven waves are lacking. Continued uncertainty stems from the difficulty of making a conclusive interpretation of measurements from spacecraft flying through a complex and transient process. A laboratory experiment can avoid some of the ambiguity contained in spacecraft measurements. Experiments have been performed in the Large Plasma Device (LAPD) at UCLA. Inertial Alfven waves were produced while simultaneously measuring the suprathermal tails of the electron distribution function. Measurements of the distribution function use resonant absorption of whistler mode waves. During a burst of inertial Alfven waves, the measured portion of the distribution function oscillates at the Alfven wave frequency. The phase space response of the electrons is well-described by a linear solution to the Boltzmann equation. Experiments have been repeated using electrostatic and inductive Alfven wave antennas. The oscillation of the distribution function is described by a purely Alfvenic model when the Alfven wave is produced by the inductive antenna. However, when the electrostatic antenna is used, measured oscillations of the distribution function are described by a model combining Alfvenic and non-Alfvenic effects. Indications of a nonlinear interaction between electrons and inertial Alfven waves are present in recent data.

Magnetic Helicity of Alfven Simple Waves

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Webb, Gary M.; Hu, Q.; Dasgupta, B.; Zank, G. P.; Roberts, D.

2010-01-01

The magnetic helicity of fully nonlinear, multi-dimensional Alfven simple waves are investigated, by using relative helicity formulae and also by using an approach involving poloidal and toroidal decomposition of the magnetic field and magnetic vector potential. Different methods to calculate the magnetic vector potential are used, including the homotopy and Biot-Savart formulas. Two basic Alfven modes are identified: (a) the plane 1D Alfven simple wave given in standard texts, in which the Alfven wave propagates along the z-axis, with wave phase varphi=k_0(z-lambda t), where k_0 is the wave number and lambda is the group velocity of the wave, and (b)\\ the generalized Barnes (1976) simple Alfven wave in which the wave normal {bf n} moves in a circle in the xy-plane perpendicular to the mean field, which is directed along the z-axis. The plane Alfven wave (a) is analogous to the slab Alfven mode and the generalized Barnes solution (b) is analogous to the 2D mode in Alfvenic, incompressible turbulence. The helicity characteristics of these two basic Alfven modes are distinct. The helicity characteristics of more general multi-dimensional simple Alfven waves are also investigated. Applications to nonlinear Aifvenic fluctuations and structures observed in the solar wind are discussed.

ULF Waves in the Ionospheric Alfven Resonator: Modeling of MICA Observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Streltsov, A. V.; Tulegenov, B.

2017-12-01

We present results from a numerical study of physical processes responsible for the generation of small-scale, intense electromagnetic structures in the ultra-low-frequency range frequently observed in the close vicinity of bright discrete auroral arcs. In particular, our research is focused on the role of the ionosphere in generating these structures. A significant body of observations demonstrate that small-scale electromagnetic waves with frequencies below 1 Hz are detected at high latitudes where the large-scale, downward magnetic field-aligned current (FAC) interact with the ionosphere. Some theoretical studies suggest that these waves can be generated by the ionospheric feedback instability (IFI) inside the ionospheric Alfven resonator (IAR). The IAR is the region in the low-altitude magnetosphere bounded by the strong gradient in the Alfven speed at high altitude and the conducting bottom of the ionosphere (ionospheric E-region) at low altitude. To study ULF waves in this region we use a numerical model developed from reduced two fluid MHD equations describing shear Alfven waves in the ionosphere and magnetosphere of the earth. The active ionospheric feedback on structure and amplitude of magnetic FACs that interact with the ionosphere is implemented through the ionospheric boundary conditions that link the parallel current density with the plasma density and the perpendicular electric field in the ionosphere. Our numerical results are compared with the in situ measurements performed by the Magnetosphere-Ionosphere Coupling in the Alfven Resonator (MICA) sounding rocket, launched on February 19, 2012 from Poker Flat Research Range in Alaska to measure fields and particles during a passage through a discreet auroral arc. Parameters of the simulations are chosen to match actual MICA parameters, allowing the comparison in the most precise and rigorous way. Waves generated in the numerical model have frequencies between 0.30 and 0.45 Hz, while MICA measured similar waves in the range from 0.18 to 0.50 Hz. These results prove that the IFI driven inside the IAR by a system of large-scale upward-downward currents is the main mechanism responsible for the generation of small-scale intense ULF waves in the vicinity of discrete auroral arcs.

Stimulated Parametric Decay of Large Amplitude Alfv'en waves in the Large Plasma Device (LaPD)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dorfman, S.; Carter, T.; Pribyl, P.; Tripathi, S. K. P.; van Compernolle, B.; Vincena, S.

2012-10-01

Alfv'en waves, the fundamental mode of magnetized plasmas, are ubiquitous in lab and space. While the linear behaviour of these waves has been extensively studied, non-linear effects are important in many real systems. In particular, a parametric decay process in which a large amplitude Alfv'en wave decays into an ion acoustic wave and backward propagating Alfv'en wave may be key to the spectrum of solar wind turbulence. The present laboratory experiments aim to stimulate this process by launching counter-propagating Alfv'en waves from antennas placed at either end of the Large Plasma Device (LaPD). The resulting beat response has many properties consistent with an ion acoustic wave including: 1) The beat amplitude peaks when the frequency difference between the two Alfv'en waves is near the value predicted by Alfv'en-ion acoustic wave coupling. 2) This peak beat frequency scales with antenna and plasma parameters as predicted by three wave matching. 3) The beat amplitude peaks at the same location as the magnetic field from the Alfv'en waves. 4) The beat wave is carried by the ions and propagates in the direction of the higher-frequency Alfv'en wave. Strong damping observed after the pump Alfv'en waves are turned off is under investigation.

Sawtooth Stabilization and Onset of Alfvenic Instabilities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nishimura, Y.; Cheng, C. Z.

2011-10-01

Tokamak sawtooth instabilities can be stabilized by high energy particles as a consequence of conservation of the third adiabatic invariant.On the other hand, termination of the stabilized period is reported due to the onset of Alfvenic instabilities (and thus the absence of the stabilizing mechanism). In this work, employing a kinetic-fluid model, the interaction of m=1 resistive kink mode and high energy particles is investigated. The onset of Alfvenic instabilities is examined as a function of the inversion radius location. D.J. Campbell et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 60, 2148 (1988); F. Porcelli, Plasma Phys. Controlled Fusion 33, 1601 (1991).

Artificial stimulation of auroral electron acceleration by intense field aligned currents

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Holmgren, G.; Bostrom, R.; Kelley, M. C.; Kintner, P. M.; Lundin, R.; Bering, E. A.; Sheldon, W. R.; Fahleson, U. V.

1979-01-01

A cesium-doped high explosion was detonated at 165 km altitude in the auroral ionosphere during quiet conditions. An Alfven wave pulse with a 200-mV/m electric field was observed, with the peak occurring 135 ms after the explosion at a distance of about 1 km. The count rate of fixed energy 2-keV electron detectors abruptly increased at 140 ms, peaked at 415 ms, and indicated a downward field-aligned beam of accelerated electrons. An anomalously high-field aligned beam of backscattered electrons was also detected. The acceleration is interpreted as due to production of an electrostatic shock or double layer between 300 and 800 km altitude. The structure was probably formed by an instability of the intense field-aligned currents in the Alfven wave launched by the charge-separation electric field due to the explosion.

Global Hybrid Simulation of Alfvenic Waves Associated with Magnetotail Reconnection and Fast Flows

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cheng, L.; Lin, Y.; Wang, X.; Perez, J. D.

2017-12-01

Alfvenic fluctuations have been observed near the magnetotail plasma sheet boundary layer associated with fast flows. In this presentation, we use the Auburn 3-D Global Hybrid code (ANGIE3D) to investigate the generation and propagation of Alfvenic waves in the magnetotail. Shear Alfven waves and kinetic Alfven waves (KAWs) are found to be generated in magnetic reconnection in the plasma sheet as well as in the dipole-like field region of the magnetosphere, carrying Poynting flux along magnetic field lines toward the ionosphere, and the wave structure is strongly altered by the flow braking in the tail. The 3-D structure of the wave electromagnetic field and the associated parallel currents in reconnection and the dipole-like field region is presented. The Alfvenic waves exhibit a turbulence spectrum. The roles of these Alfvenic waves in ion heating is discussed.

Riemann solvers and Alfven waves in black hole magnetospheres

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Punsly, Brian; Balsara, Dinshaw; Kim, Jinho; Garain, Sudip

2016-09-01

In the magnetosphere of a rotating black hole, an inner Alfven critical surface (IACS) must be crossed by inflowing plasma. Inside the IACS, Alfven waves are inward directed toward the black hole. The majority of the proper volume of the active region of spacetime (the ergosphere) is inside of the IACS. The charge and the totally transverse momentum flux (the momentum flux transverse to both the wave normal and the unperturbed magnetic field) are both determined exclusively by the Alfven polarization. Thus, it is important for numerical simulations of black hole magnetospheres to minimize the dissipation of Alfven waves. Elements of the dissipated wave emerge in adjacent cells regardless of the IACS, there is no mechanism to prevent Alfvenic information from crossing outward. Thus, numerical dissipation can affect how simulated magnetospheres attain the substantial Goldreich-Julian charge density associated with the rotating magnetic field. In order to help minimize dissipation of Alfven waves in relativistic numerical simulations we have formulated a one-dimensional Riemann solver, called HLLI, which incorporates the Alfven discontinuity and the contact discontinuity. We have also formulated a multidimensional Riemann solver, called MuSIC, that enables low dissipation propagation of Alfven waves in multiple dimensions. The importance of higher order schemes in lowering the numerical dissipation of Alfven waves is also catalogued.

Experimental Measurement of the Nonlinear Interaction between Counterpropagating Alfv'en Waves in the LaPD

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schroeder, J. W. R.; Drake, D. J.; Howes, G. G.; Skiff, F.; Kletzing, C. A.; Carter, T. A.; Dorfman, S.; Auerbach, D.

2012-10-01

Turbulence plays an important role in the transport of mass and energy in many space and astrophysical plasmas ranging from galaxy clusters to Earth's magnetosphere. One active topic of research is the application of idealized Alfv'enic turbulence models to plasma conditions relevant to space and astrophysical plasmas. Alfv'enic turbulence models based on incompressible magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) contain a nonlinear interaction that drives the cascade of energy to smaller scales. We describe experiments at the Large Plasma Device (LaPD) that focus on the interaction of an Alfv'en wave traveling parallel to the mean magnetic field with a counterpropagating Alfv'en wave. Theory predicts the nonlinear interaction of the two primary waves will produce a secondary daughter Alfv'en wave. In this study, we present the first experimental identification of the daughter wave generated by nonlinear interactions between the primary Alfv'en waves.

Studies of nonlinear interactions between counter-propagating Alfv'en waves in the LAPD

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Auerbach, D. W.; Perez, J. C.; Carter, T. A.; Boldyrev, S.

2007-11-01

From a weak turbulence point of view, nonlinear interactions between shear Alfv'en waves are fundamental to the energy cascade in low-frequency magnetic turbulence. We report here on an experimental study of counter-propagating Alfv'en wave interactions in the Large Plasma Device (LAPD) at UCLA. Colliding, orthogonally polarized kinetic Alfv'en waves are generated by two antennae, separated by 5m along the guide magnetic field. Magnetic field and langmuir probes record plasma behavior between the antennae. When each antenna is operated separately, linearly polarized Alfv'en waves propagate in opposite directions along the guide field. When two antennae simultaneously excite counter propagating waves, we observe multiple side bands in the frequency domain, whose amplitude scales quadratically with wave amplitude. In the spatial domain we observe non-linear superposition in the 2D structure of the waves and spectral broadening in the perpendicular wave-number spectrum. This indicates the presence of nonlinear interaction of the counter propagating Alfv'en waves, and opens the possiblity to investigate Alfv'enic plasma turbulence in controlled and reproducible laboratory experiments.

Microphysics of Waves and Instabilities in the Solar Wind and their Macro Manifestations in the Corona and Interplanetary Space

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Habbal, Shadia R.; Gurman, Joseph (Technical Monitor)

2003-01-01

Investigations of the physical processes responsible for the acceleration of the solar wind were pursued with the development of two new solar wind codes: a hybrid code and a 2-D MHD code. Hybrid simulations were performed to investigate the interaction between ions and parallel propagating low frequency ion cyclotron waves in a homogeneous plasma. In a low-beta plasma such as the solar wind plasma in the inner corona, the proton thermal speed is much smaller than the Alfven speed. Vlasov linear theory predicts that protons are not in resonance with low frequency ion cyclotron waves. However, non-linear effect makes it possible that these waves can strongly heat and accelerate protons. This study has important implications for study of the corona and the solar wind. Low frequency ion cyclotron waves or Alfven waves are commonly observed in the solar wind. Until now, it is believed that these waves are not able to heat the solar wind plasma unless some cascading processes transfer the energy of these waves to high frequency part. However, this study shows that these waves may directly heat and accelerate protons non-linearly. This process may play an important role in the coronal heating and the solar wind acceleration, at least in some parameter space.

On reflection of Alfven waves in the solar wind

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Krogulec, M.; Musielak, Z. E.; Suess, S. T.; Moore, R. L.; Nerney, S. F.

1993-01-01

We have revisited the problem of propagation of toroidal and linear Alfven waves formulated by Heinemann and Olbert (1980) to compare WKB and non-WKB waves and their effects on the solar wind. They considered two solar wind models and showed that reflection is important for Alfven waves with periods of the order of one day and longer, and that non-WKB Alfven waves are no more effective in accelerating the solar wind than WKB waves. There are several recently published papers which seem to indicate that Alfven waves with periods of the order of several minutes should be treated as non-WKB waves and that these non-WKB waves exert a stronger acceleration force than WKB waves. The purpose of this paper is to study the origin of these discrepancies by performing parametric studies of the behavior of the waves under a variety of different conditions. In addition, we want to investigate two problems that have not been addressed by Heinemann and Olbert, namely, calculate the efficiency of Alfven wave reflection by using the reflection coefficient and identify the region of strongest wave reflection in different wind models. To achieve these goals, we investigated the influence of temperature, electron density distribution, wind velocity and magnetic field strength on the waves. The obtained results clearly demonstrate that Alfven wave reflection is strongly model dependent and that the strongest reflection can be expected in models with the base temperatures higher than 10(exp 6) K and with the base densities lower than 7 x 10(exp 7) cm(exp -3). In these models as well as in the models with lower temperatures and higher densities, Alfven waves with periods as short as several minutes have negligible reflection so that they can be treated as WKB waves; however, for Alfven waves with periods of the order of one hour or longer reflection is significant, requiring a non-WKB treatment. We also show that non-WKB, linear Alfven waves are always less effective in accelerating the plasma than WKB Alfven waves. Finally, it is evident from our results that the region of strongest wave reflection is usually located at the base of the models, and hence that interpretation of wave reflection based solely on the reflection coefficient can be misleading.

Reflection of Alfven waves in the solar wind

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krogulec, M.; Musielak, Z. E.; Suess, S. T.; Nerney, S. F.; Moore, R. L.

1994-12-01

We have revisited the problem of propagation of toroidal and linear Alfven waves formulated by Heinemann and Olbert (1980) to compare Wentzel-Kramers-Brillouin (WKB) and non-WKB waves and their effects on the solar wind. They considered two solar wind models and showed that reflection is important for Alfven waves with periods of the order of one day and longer and that non-WKB Alfven waves are no more effective in accelerating the solar wind than in WKB waves. There are several recently published papers that seem to indicate that Alfven waves with periods of the order of several minutes should be treated as non-WKB waves and that these non-WKB waves exert a stronger acceleration force than WKB waves. The purposse of this paper is to study the origin of these discrepancies by performing parametric studies of the behavior of the waves under a variety of different conditions. In addition, we want to investigate two problems that have not been addressed by Heinimann and Olbert, namely, calculate the efficieny of Alfven wave reflection by using the reflection coefficient and identfy the region of strongest wave reflection in different wind models. To achieve these goals, we investigate the influence of temperature, electron desity distribution, wind velocity, and magnetic field strength on te waves. The obtained results clearly demonstrate that Alfven wave reflection is strongly model dependent and that the strongest reflection can be expected in models with the base temperatures higher than 106 K and with the base densities lower than 7 x 107/cu cm. In these models as well as in the models with lower temperatures and higher densities Alfven waves with periods as short as several minutes have negligible reflection so that they can be treated as WKB waves; however, for Alfven waves with periods of the order of one hour or longer reflection is significant, requiring a non-WKB treatment. We also show that non-WKB, linear Alfven waves are always less effective in accelerating the plasma than WKB Alfven waves. Finally, it is evident from our results that the region of strongest wave reflection is usually located at the base of the models and hence that interpretation of wave reflection based soley on the reflection coefficient can be misleading.

Reflection of Alfven waves in the solar wind

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Krogulec, M.; Musielak, Z. E.; Suess, S. T.; Nerney, S. F.; Moore, R. L.

1994-01-01

We have revisited the problem of propagation of toroidal and linear Alfven waves formulated by Heinemann and Olbert (1980) to compare Wentzel-Kramers-Brillouin (WKB) and non-WKB waves and their effects on the solar wind. They considered two solar wind models and showed that reflection is important for Alfven waves with periods of the order of one day and longer and that non-WKB Alfven waves are no more effective in accelerating the solar wind than in WKB waves. There are several recently published papers that seem to indicate that Alfven waves with periods of the order of several minutes should be treated as non-WKB waves and that these non-WKB waves exert a stronger acceleration force than WKB waves. The purposse of this paper is to study the origin of these discrepancies by performing parametric studies of the behavior of the waves under a variety of different conditions. In addition, we want to investigate two problems that have not been addressed by Heinimann and Olbert, namely, calculate the efficieny of Alfven wave reflection by using the reflection coefficient and identfy the region of strongest wave reflection in different wind models. To achieve these goals, we investigate the influence of temperature, electron desity distribution, wind velocity, and magnetic field strength on te waves. The obtained results clearly demonstrate that Alfven wave reflection is strongly model dependent and that the strongest reflection can be expected in models with the base temperatures higher than 10(exp 6) K and with the base densities lower than 7 x 10(exp 7)/cu cm. In these models as well as in the models with lower temperatures and higher densities Alfven waves with periods as short as several minutes have negligible reflection so that they can be treated as WKB waves; however, for Alfven waves with periods of the order of one hour or longer reflection is significant, requiring a non-WKB treatment. We also show that non-WKB, linear Alfven waves are always less effective in accelerating the plasma than WKB Alfven waves. Finally, it is evident from our results that the region of strongest wave reflection is usually located at the base of the models and hence that interpretation of wave reflection based soley on the reflection coefficient can be misleading.

On reflection of Alfven waves in the solar wind

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krogulec, M.; Musielak, Z. E.; Suess, S. T.; Moore, R. L.; Nerney, S. F.

We have revisited the problem of propagation of toroidal and linear Alfven waves formulated by Heinemann and Olbert (1980) to compare WKB and non-WKB waves and their effects on the solar wind. They considered two solar wind models and showed that reflection is important for Alfven waves with periods of the order of one day and longer, and that non-WKB Alfven waves are no more effective in accelerating the solar wind than WKB waves. There are several recently published papers which seem to indicate that Alfven waves with periods of the order of several minutes should be treated as non-WKB waves and that these non-WKB waves exert a stronger acceleration force than WKB waves. The purpose of this paper is to study the origin of these discrepancies by performing parametric studies of the behavior of the waves under a variety of different conditions. In addition, we want to investigate two problems that have not been addressed by Heinemann and Olbert, namely, calculate the efficiency of Alfven wave reflection by using the reflection coefficient and identify the region of strongest wave reflection in different wind models. To achieve these goals, we investigated the influence of temperature, electron density distribution, wind velocity and magnetic field strength on the waves. The obtained results clearly demonstrate that Alfven wave reflection is strongly model dependent and that the strongest reflection can be expected in models with the base temperatures higher than 106 K and with the base densities lower than 7 x 107 cm-3. In these models as well as in the models with lower temperatures and higher densities, Alfven waves with periods as short as several minutes have negligible reflection so that they can be treated as WKB waves; however, for Alfven waves with periods of the order of one hour or longer reflection is significant, requiring a non-WKB treatment. We also show that non-WKB, linear Alfven waves are always less effective in accelerating the plasma than WKB Alfven waves. Finally, it is evident from our results that the region of strongest wave reflection is usually located at the base of the models, and hence that interpretation of wave reflection based solely on the reflection coefficient can be misleading.

Bidirectional Energy Cascades and the Origin of Kinetic Alfvenic and Whistler Turbulence in the Solar Wind

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Che, H.; Goldstein, M. L.; Vinas, A. F.

2014-01-01

The observed steep kinetic scale turbulence spectrum in the solar wind raises the question of how that turbulence originates. Observations of keV energetic electrons during solar quiet time suggest them as a possible source of free energy to drive kinetic turbulence. Using particle-in-cell simulations, we explore how the free energy released by an electron two-stream instability drives Weibel-like electromagnetic waves that excite wave-wave interactions. Consequently, both kinetic Alfvénic and whistler turbulence are excited that evolve through inverse and forward magnetic energy cascades.

The Development of Drift Wave Turbulence in Magnetic Reconnection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McMurtrie, L.; Drake, J. F.; Swisdak, M. M.

2013-12-01

An important feature in collisionless magnetic reconnection is the development of sharp discontinuities along the separatrices bounding the Alfvenic outflow. The typical scale length of these features is ρs (the Larmor radius based on the sound speed) for guide field reconnection. Temperature gradients in the inflowing plasma (as might be found in the magnetopause) can lead to instabilities at these separatrices, specifically drift wave turbulence. We present standalone 2D and 3D PIC simulations of drift wave turbulence to investigate scaling properties and growth rates. Further investigations of the relative importance of drift wave turbulence in the development of reconnection will also be considered.

Winds from Luminous Late-Type Stars: II. Broadband Frequency Distribution of Alfven Waves

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Airapetian, V.; Carpenter, K. G.; Ofman, L.

2010-01-01

We present the numerical simulations of winds from evolved giant stars using a fully non-linear, time dependent 2.5-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) code. This study extends our previous fully non-linear MHD wind simulations to include a broadband frequency spectrum of Alfven waves that drive winds from red giant stars. We calculated four Alfven wind models that cover the whole range of Alfven wave frequency spectrum to characterize the role of freely propagated and reflected Alfven waves in the gravitationally stratified atmosphere of a late-type giant star. Our simulations demonstrate that, unlike linear Alfven wave-driven wind models, a stellar wind model based on plasma acceleration due to broadband non-linear Alfven waves, can consistently reproduce the wide range of observed radial velocity profiles of the winds, their terminal velocities and the observed mass loss rates. Comparison of the calculated mass loss rates with the empirically determined mass loss rate for alpha Tau suggests an anisotropic and time-dependent nature of stellar winds from evolved giants.

Alfven resonance mode conversion in the Phaedrus-T current drive experiments: Modelling and density fluctuations measurements

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Vukovic, M.; Harper, M.; Breun, R.

1995-12-31

Current drive experiments on the Phaedrus-T tokamak performed with a low field side two-strap fast wave antenna at frequencies below {omega}{sub cH} show loop volt drops of up to 30% with strap phasing (0, {pi}/2). RF induced density fluctuations in the plasma core have also been observed with a microwave reflectometer. It is believed that they are caused by kinetic Alfven waves generated by mode conversion of fast waves at the Alfven resonance. Correlation of the observed density fluctuations with the magnitude of the {Delta}V{sub loop} suggest that the {Delta}V{sub loop} is attributable to current drive/heating due to mode convertedmore » kinetic Alfven waves. The toroidal cold plasma wave code LION is used to model the Alfven resonance mode conversion surfaces in the experiments while the cylindrical hot plasma kinetic wave code ISMENE is used to model the behavior of kinetic Alfven waves at the Alfven resonance location. Initial results obtained from limited density, magnetic field, antenna phase, and impurity scans show good agreement between the RF induced density fluctuations and the predicted behavior of the kinetic Alfven waves. Detailed comparisons between the density fluctuations and the code predictions are presented.« less

Nonlinear Evolution of Observed Fast Streams in the Solar Wind - Micro-instabilities and Energy Exchange between Protons and Alpha Particles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maneva, Y. G.; Poedts, S.

2017-12-01

Non-thermal kinetic components such as deformed velocity distributions, temperature anisotropies and relative drifts between the multiple ion populations are frequently observed features in the collisionless fast solar wind streams near the Earth whose origin is still to be better understood. Some of the traditional models consider the formation of the temperature anisotropies through the effect of the solar wind expansion, while others assume in situ heating and particle acceleration by local fluctuations, such as plasma waves, or by spacial structures, such as advected or locally generated current sheets. In this study we consider the evolution of initial ion temperature anisotropies and relative drifts in the presence of plasma oscillations, such as ion-cyclotron and kinetic Alfven waves. We perform 2.5D hybrid simulations to study the evolution of observed fast solar wind plasma parcels, including the development of the plasma micro-instabilities, the field-particle correlations and the energy transfer between the multiple ion species. We consider two distinct cases of highly anisotropic and quickly drifting protons which excite ion-cyclotron waves and of moderately anisotropic slower protons, which co-exist with kinetic Alfven waves. The alpha particles for both cases are slightly anisotropic in the beginning and remain anisotropic throughout the simulation time. Both the imposed magnetic fluctuations and the initial differential streaming decrease in time for both cases, while the minor ions are getting heated. Finally we study the effects of the solar wind expansion and discuss its implications for the nonlinear evolution of the system.

Large Amplitude IMF Fluctuations in Corotating Interaction Regions: Ulysses at Midlatitudes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tsurutani, Bruce T.; Ho, Christian M.; Arballo, John K.; Goldstein, Bruce E.; Balogh, Andre

1995-01-01

Corotating Interaction Regions (CIRs), formed by high-speed corotating streams interacting with slow speed streams, have been examined from -20 deg to -36 deg heliolatitudes. The high-speed streams emanate from a polar coronal hole that Ulysses eventually becomes fully embedded in as it travels towards the south pole. We find that the trailing portion of the CIR, from the interface surface (IF) to the reverse shock (RS), contains both large amplitude transverse fluctuations and magnitude fluctuations. Similar fluctuations have been previously noted to exist within CIRs detected in the ecliptic plane, but their existence has not been explained. The normalized magnetic field component variances within this portion of the CIR and in the trailing high-speed stream are approximately the same, indicating that the fluctuations in the CIR are compressed Alfven waves. Mirror mode structures with lower intensities are also observed in the trailing portion of the CIR, presumably generated from a local instability driven by free energy associated with compression of the high-speed solar wind plasma. The mixture of these two modes (compressed Alfven waves and mirror modes) plus other modes generated by three wave processes (wave-shock interactions) lead to a lower Alfvenicity within the trailing portion of the CfR than in the high-speed stream proper. The results presented in this paper suggest a mechanism for generation of large amplitude B(sub z) fluctuations within CIRS. Such phenomena have been noted to be responsible for the generation of moderate geomagnetic storms during the declining phase of the solar cycle.

Nonlinear Propagation of Alfven Waves Driven by Observed Photospheric Motions: Application to the Coronal Heating and Spicule Formation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Matsumoto, Takuma; Shibata, Kazunari

We have performed MHD simulations of Alfven wave propagation along an open ux tube in the solar atmosphere. In our numerical model, Alfven waves are generated by the photospheric granular motion. As the wave generator, we used a derived temporal spectrum of the photo-spheric granular motion from G-band movies of Hinode/SOT. It is shown that the total energy ux at the corona becomes larger and the transition region height becomes higher in the case when we use the observed spectrum rather than white/pink noise spectrum as the wave gener-ator. This difference can be explained by the Alfven wave resonance between the photosphere and the transition region. After performing Fourier analysis on our numerical results, we have found that the region between the photosphere and the transition region becomes an Alfven wave resonant cavity. We have conrmed that there are at least three resonant frequencies, 1, 3 and 5 mHz, in our numerical model. Alfven wave resonance is one of the most effective mechanisms to explain the dynamics of the spicules and the sufficient energy ux to heat the corona.

Stellar winds driven by Alfven waves

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Belcher, J. W.; Olbert, S.

1973-01-01

Models of stellar winds were considered in which the dynamic expansion of a corona is driven by Alfven waves propagating outward along radial magnetic field lines. In the presence of Alfven waves, a coronal expansion can exist for a broad range of reference conditions which would, in the absence of waves, lead to static configurations. Wind models in which the acceleration mechanism is due to Alfven waves alone and exhibit lower mass fluxes and higher energies per particle are compared to wind models in which the acceleration is due to thermal processes. For example, winds driven by Alfven waves exhibit streaming velocities at infinity which may vary between the escape velocity at the coronal base and the geometrical mean of the escape velocity and the speed of light. Upper and lower limits were derived for the allowed energy fluxes and mass fluxes associated with these winds.

Heating and background plasma modification associated with large amplitude kinetic Alfv'en wave launch in LAPD

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carter, T. A.; Auerbach, D. W.; Brugman, B. T.

2007-11-01

Large amplitude kinetic Alfv'en waves (δB/B ˜1% > k/k) are generated in the Large Plasma Device (LAPD) at UCLA using loop antennas. Substantial electron heating is observed, localized to the wave current channels. The Poynting flux associated with the Alfv'en waves is substantial and the observed heating may be at least in part due to collisional and Landau damping of these waves. However, heating by antenna near inductive electric fields may also be responsible for the observations. A discussion of both possibilities will be presented, including measurements of near fields of the antenna. The heating structures the background plasma and results in the excitation of drift-Alfv'en waves. These drift waves then interact with the incident Alfv'en wave, causing sideband generation which results in a nearly broadband state at high wave power. This process may represent an alternate mechanism by which unidirectional kinetic Alfv'en waves can nonlinearly generate a turbulent spectrum. In addition to electron heating, evidence for background density modification and electron acceleration is observed and will be presented.

Energy dissipation of Alfven wave packets deformed by irregular magnetic fields in solar-coronal arches

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Similon, Philippe L.; Sudan, R. N.

1989-01-01

The importance of field line geometry for shear Alfven wave dissipation in coronal arches is demonstrated. An eikonal formulation makes it possible to account for the complicated magnetic geometry typical in coronal loops. An interpretation of Alfven wave resonance is given in terms of gradient steepening, and dissipation efficiencies are studied for two configurations: the well-known slab model with a straight magnetic field, and a new model with stochastic field lines. It is shown that a large fraction of the Alfven wave energy flux can be effectively dissipated in the corona.

Alfven wave transport effects in the time evolution of parallel cosmic-ray modified shocks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jones, T. W.

1993-01-01

Some of the issues associated with a more complete treatment of Alfven transport in cosmic ray shocks are explored qualitatively. The treatment is simplified in some important respects, but some new issues are examined and for the first time a nonlinear, time dependent study of plane cosmic ray mediated shocks with both the entropy producing effects of wave dissipation and effects due to the Alfven wave advection of the cosmic ray relative to the gas is included. Examination of the direct consequences of including the pressure and energy of the Alfven waves in the formalism began.

Magnetospheric filter effect for Pc 3 Alfven mode waves

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zhang, X.; Comfort, R. H.; Gallagher, D. L.; Green, J. L.; Musielak, Z. E.; Moore, T. E.

1995-01-01

We present a ray-tracing study of the propagation of Pc 3 Alfven mode waves originating at the dayside magnetopause. This study reveals interesting features of magnetospheric filter effect for these waves. Pc 3 Alfven mode waves cannot penetrate to low Earth altitudes unless the wave frequency is below approximately 30 mHz. Configurations of the dispersion curves and the refractive index show that the gyroresonance and pseudo-cutoff introduced by the heavy ion O(+) block the waves. When the O(+) concentration is removed from the plasma composition, the barriers caused by the O(+) no longer exist, and waves with much higher frequencies than 30 mHz can penetrate to low altitudes. The result that the 30 mHz or lower frequency Alfven waves can be guided to low altitudes agrees with ground-based power spectrum observation at high altitudes.

Magnetospheric filter effect for Pc 3 Alfven mode waves

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zhang, X.; Comfort, R. H.; Gallagher, D. L.; Green, J. L.; Musielak, Z. E.; Moore, T. E.

1994-01-01

We present a ray-tracing study of the propagation of Pc 3 Alfven mode waves originating at the dayside magnetopause. This study reveals interesting features of a magnetospheric filter effect for these waves. Pc 3 Alfven mode waves cannot penetrate to low Earth altitudes unless the wave frequency is below approximately 30 mHz. Configurations of the dispersion curves and the refractive index show that the gyroresonance and pseudo-cutoff introduced by the heavy ion O(+) block the waves. When the O(+) concentration is removed from the plasma composition, the barriers caused by the O(+) no longer exist, and waves with much higher frequencies than 30 mHz can penetrate to low altitudes. The result that the 30 mHz or lower frequency Alfven waves can be guided to low altitudes agrees with ground-based power spectrum observations at high latitudes.

Io's Interaction with the Jovian Magnetosphere: Models of Particle Acceleration and Scattering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Crary, Frank Judson

1998-09-01

I develop models of electron acceleration and ion scattering which result from Io's interaction with the jovian magnetosphere. According to my models, Io initially generates transient currents and an Alfvenic disturbance when it first encounters a jovian magnetic field line, and the interaction would eventually settle into a system of steady Birkeland currents as the field line is advected downstream past Io and into Io's wake. I derive a model of wave propagation and electron acceleration by the Alfvenic transient, due to electron inertial effects. My numerical calculations show that the power and particle energy of the resulting electron beam are consistent with observations of the Io-related auroral spot and of Jupiter's S-burst decametric emissions. In the case of the steady currents and Io's wake. I show that these currents would drive instabilities and argue that electrostatic double layers would form in the high latitudes of the Io/Io wake flux tubes. I examine the role of these double layers in producing energetic electrons and estimate the likely electron energies and power. This model agrees with observations of a long arc in the jovian aurora, extending away from the Io-related spot, the L-burst decametric radio emissions and electron beams observed by the Galileo spacecraft in Io's wake. Finally, I consider the Galileo observations of ion cyclotron waves near Io. I use the absence of waves near the S and O gyrofrequencies to place limits on the source rate of heavy ions near Io. For a sufficiently low source rate, the thermal core population prevents ion cyclotron instabilities and wave growth. I use these limits to constrain the neutral column density of Io's exosphere and amount of plasma produced within 2 to 10 body radii of Io.

A cosmic ray driven instability

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dorfi, E. A.; Drury, L. O.

1985-01-01

The interaction between energetic charged particles and thermal plasma which forms the basis of diffusive shock acceleration leads also to interesting dynamical phenomena. For a compressional mode propagating in a system with homogeneous energetic particle pressure it is well known that friction with the energetic particles leads to damping. The linear theory of this effect has been analyzed in detail by Ptuskin. Not so obvious is that a non-uniform energetic particle pressure can addition amplify compressional disturbances. If the pressure gradient is sufficiently steep this growth can dominate the frictional damping and lead to an instability. It is important to not that this effect results from the collective nature of the interaction between the energetic particles and the gas and is not connected with the Parker instability, nor with the resonant amplification of Alfven waves.

Cusp Dynamics-Particle Acceleration by Alfven Waves

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ergun, Robert E.; Parker, Scott A.

2005-01-01

Successful results were obtained from this research project. This investigation answered and/or made progresses on each of the four important questions that were proposed: (1) How do Alfven waves propagate on dayside open field lines? (2) How are precipitating electrons influenced by propagating Alfven waves? (3) How are various cusp electron distributions generated? (4) How are Alfven waves modified by electrons? During the first year of this investigation, the input parameters, such as density and temperature altitude profiles, of the gyrofluid code on the cusp field lines were constructed based on 3-point satellite observations. The initial gyrofluid result was presented at the GEM meeting by Dr. Samuel Jones.

Evidence of Ubiquitous Large-Amplitude Alfven waves in the Global Field-Aligned Current System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pakhotin, I.; Mann, I.; Lysak, R. L.; Knudsen, D. J.; Burchill, J. K.; Gjerloev, J. W.; Rae, J.; Forsyth, C.; Murphy, K. R.; Miles, D.; Ozeke, L.; Balasis, G.

2017-12-01

Large-amplitude non-stationarities have been observed during an analysis of a quiescent field-aligned current system crossing using the multi-satellite Swarm constellation. Using simultaneous electric and magnetic field measurements it has been determined that these non-stationarities, reaching tens to hundreds of nanoteslas, are Alfvenic in nature. Evidence suggests that these large-amplitude Alfven waves are a ubiquitous, fundamentally inherent feature of and exist in a continuum with larger-scale field-aligned currents, and both can be explained using the same physical paradigm of reflected Alfven waves.

Solar wind pickup of ionized Venus exosphere atoms

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Curtis, S. A.

1981-01-01

Previous calculations of electrostatic and electromagnetic growth rates for plasma instabilities have neglected the thermal spread of the distribution function of the planetary ions. We consider the effects of finite temperatures for exospheric ions borne in the solar wind. Specifically, growth rates are calculated for electromagnetic instabilities in the low-frequency case for Alfven waves and the intermediate frequency case for whistlers. Also, electrostatic growth rates are calculated for the intermediate frequency regime. From these growth rates, estimates are derived for the pickup times of the planetary ions. The electromagnetic instabilities are shown to produce the most rapid pickup. In the situation where the angle between the local Venus magnetic field and the plasma flow direction is small, the pickup times for both electromagnetic and electrostatic instabilities become very long. A possible consequence of this effect is to produce regions of enhanced planetary ion density in favorable Venus magnetic field-solar wind flow geometries.

Alfven wave refraction by interplanetary inhomogeneities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Daily, W. D.

1973-01-01

Pioneer 6 magnetic data reveals that the propagation direction of Alfven waves in the interplanetary medium is strongly oriented along the ambient field. Magnetic fluctuations of frequencies up to 1/30 sec in the spacecraft frame are shown to satisfy a necessary condition for Alfven wave normal. It appears from this analysis that geometrical hydromagnetics may satisfactorily describe deviation of the wave normal from the background field. The rotational discontinuity is likely also to propagate along the field lines.

On WKB expansions for Alfven waves in the solar wind

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hollweg, Joseph V.

1990-01-01

The WKB expansion for 'toroidal' Alfven waves in solar wind, which is described by equations of Heinemann and Olbert (1980), is examined. In this case, the multiple scales method (Nayfeh, 1981) is used to obtain a uniform expansion. It is shown that the WKB expansion used by Belcher (1971) and Hollweg (1973) for Alfven waves in the solar wind is nonuniformly convergent.

On WKB expansions for Alfven waves in the solar wind

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hollweg, Joseph V.

1990-09-01

The WKB expansion for 'toroidal' Alfven waves in solar wind, which is described by equations of Heinemann and Olbert (1980), is examined. In this case, the multiple scales method (Nayfeh, 1981) is used to obtain a uniform expansion. It is shown that the WKB expansion used by Belcher (1971) and Hollweg (1973) for Alfven waves in the solar wind is nonuniformly convergent.

THE ROLE OF TORSIONAL ALFVEN WAVES IN CORONAL HEATING

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Antolin, P.; Shibata, K., E-mail: antolin@astro.uio.n, E-mail: shibata@kwasan.kyoto-u.ac.j

In the context of coronal heating, among the zoo of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) waves that exist in the solar atmosphere, Alfven waves receive special attention. Indeed, these waves constitute an attractive heating agent due to their ability to carry over the many different layers of the solar atmosphere sufficient energy to heat and maintain a corona. However, due to their incompressible nature these waves need a mechanism such as mode conversion (leading to shock heating), phase mixing, resonant absorption, or turbulent cascade in order to heat the plasma. Furthermore, their incompressibility makes their detection in the solar atmosphere very difficult. Newmore » observations with polarimetric, spectroscopic, and imaging instruments such as those on board the Japanese satellite Hinode, or the Crisp spectropolarimeter of the Swedish Solar Telescope or the Coronal Multi-channel Polarimeter, are bringing strong evidence for the existence of energetic Alfven waves in the solar corona. In order to assess the role of Alfven waves in coronal heating, in this work we model a magnetic flux tube being subject to Alfven wave heating through the mode conversion mechanism. Using a 1.5 dimensional MHD code, we carry out a parameter survey varying the magnetic flux tube geometry (length and expansion), the photospheric magnetic field, the photospheric velocity amplitudes, and the nature of the waves (monochromatic or white-noise spectrum). The regimes under which Alfven wave heating produces hot and stable coronae are found to be rather narrow. Independently of the photospheric wave amplitude and magnetic field, a corona can be produced and maintained only for long (>80 Mm) and thick (area ratio between the photosphere and corona >500) loops. Above a critical value of the photospheric velocity amplitude (generally a few km s{sup -1}) the corona can no longer be maintained over extended periods of time and collapses due to the large momentum of the waves. These results establish several constraints on Alfven wave heating as a coronal heating mechanism, especially for active region loops.« less

Ion streaming instabilities with application to collisionless shock wave structure

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Golden, K. I.; Linson, L. M.; Mani, S. A.

1973-01-01

The electromagnetic dispersion relation for two counterstreaming ion beams of arbitrary relative strength flowing parallel to a dc magnetic field is derived. The beams flow through a stationary electron background and the dispersion relation in the fluid approximation is unaffected by the electron thermal pressure. The dispersion relation is solved with a zero net current condition applied and the regions of instability in the k-U space (U is the relative velocity between the two ion beams) are presented. The parameters are then chosen to be applicable for parallel shocks. It was found that unstable waves with zero group velocity in the shock frame can exist near the leading edge of the shock for upstream Alfven Mach numbers greater than 5.5. It is suggested that this mechanism could generate sufficient turbulence within the shock layer to scatter the incoming ions and create the required dissipation for intermediate strength shocks.

Propagation analysis of the helicity-drive Alfven wave in the HIST spherical torus plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hyobu, T.; Hanao, T.; Hirono, H.; Ito, K.; Matsumoto, K.; Nakayama, T.; Kikuchi, Y.; Fukumoto, N.; Nagata, M.

2012-10-01

Coaxial Helicity Injection is an efficient current-drive method used in spherical torus experiments. It is a key issue to investigate the dynamo mechanism required to maintain the plasmas. The behavior of a low frequency Alfven wave being possibly related to the dynamo current drive has been studied on HIST. The observed magnetic fluctuation with about 80 kHz propagates along the open flux column (OFC) region, spreading toward the core region. The parallel phase velocity is estimated at 321 km/s from the propagation velocity measured axially along the OFC. The parallel phase velocity agrees well to the Alfven velocity. The radial perpendicular propagation of the Alfven wave can be calculated by a theory based on cold or warm plasma approximation with the Hall term. The theoretical calculation indicates that there are two resonance points and is a cut-off point. These resonance and cut-off points agree well with the magnetic measurement. A part of fluctuation propagates slowly beyond the first resonance point. The wave polarization is left-handed near the resonance point and then converts to be nearly liner outside the resonance point. From these results, we speculate that the torsional Alfven wave evolves to the kinetic Alfven wave during the radial propagation.

Spatial nonlinear absorption of Alfven waves by dissipative plasma taking account bremsstrahlung

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Taiurskii, A. A.; Gavrikov, M. B.

2016-10-01

We study numerically the nonlinear absorption of a plane Alfven wave falling on the stationary boundary of dissipative plasma. This absorption is caused by such factors as the magnetic viscosity, hydrodynamic viscosity, and thermal conductivity of electrons and ions, bremsstrahlung and energy exchange between plasma components. The relevance of this investigation is due to some works, published in 2011, with regard to the heating mechanism of the solar corona and solar wind generation as a result of the absorption of plasma Alfven waves generated in the lower significantly colder layers of the Sun. Numerical analysis shows that the absorption of Alfven waves occurs at wavelengths of the order of skin depth, in which case the classical MHD equations are inapplicable. Therefore, our research is based on equations of two-fluid magnetohydrodynamics that take into account the inertia of the electrons. The implicit difference scheme proposed here for calculating plane-parallel flows of two-fluid plasma reveals a number of important patterns of absorption and thus allows us to study the dependence of the absorption on the Alfven wave frequency and the electron thermal conductivity and viscosity, as well as to evaluate the depth and the velocity of plasma heating during the penetration of Alfven waves interacting with dissipative plasma.

Observational Signatures of Parametric Instability at 1AU

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bowen, T. A.; Bale, S. D.; Badman, S.

2017-12-01

Observations and simulations of inertial compressive turbulence in the solar wind are characterized by density structures anti-correlated with magnetic fluctuations parallel to the mean field. This signature has been interpreted as observational evidence for non-propagating pressure balanced structures (PBS), kinetic ion acoustic waves, as well as the MHD slow mode. Recent work, specifically Verscharen et al. (2017), has highlighted the unexpected fluid like nature of the solar wind. Given the high damping rates of parallel propagating compressive fluctuations, their ubiquity in satellite observations is surprising and suggests the presence of a driving process. One possible candidate for the generation of compressive fluctuations in the solar wind is the parametric instability, in which large amplitude Alfvenic fluctuations decay into parallel propagating compressive waves. This work employs 10 years of WIND observations in order to test the parametric decay process as a source of compressive waves in the solar wind through comparing collisionless damping rates of compressive fluctuations with growth rates of the parametric instability. Preliminary results suggest that generation of compressive waves through parametric decay is overdamped at 1 AU. However, the higher parametric decay rates expected in the inner heliosphere likely allow for growth of the slow mode-the remnants of which could explain density fluctuations observed at 1AU.

Plasma and field observations of a compressional Pc 5 wave event

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baumjohann, W.; Sckopke, N.; LaBelle, J.; Klecker, B.; Lühr, H.; Glassmeier, K. H.

1987-11-01

The full complement of data obtained by all the instruments on board the AMPTE/IRM satellite during a Pc 5 wave event on October 24, 1984 is analyzed. Both energetic proton and electron fluxes were anticorrelated with the compressional magnetic field oscillations, indicating that the event belongs to the class of 'in-phase events'. The energetic proton data also exhibited a new feature: flux minima and maxima at low energies were observed somewhat later than those at higher energies. The magnetic and plasma pressure oscillations satisfy the pressure balance equation for the drift mirror mode much better than that for drift compressional Alfven waves. However, the classical criterion for the onset of the mirror instability is not satisfied.

Electrostatic Wave Generation and Transverse Ion Acceleration by Alfvenic Wave Components of BBELF Turbulence

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Singh, Nagendra; Khazanov, George; Mukhter, Ali

2007-01-01

We present results here from 2.5-D particle-in-cell simulations showing that the electrostatic (ES) components of broadband extremely low frequency (BBELF) waves could possibly be generated by cross-field plasma instabilities driven by the relative drifts between the heavy and light ion species in the electromagnetic (EM) Alfvenic component of the BBELF waves in a multi-ion plasma. The ES components consist of ion cyclotron as well as lower hybrid modes. We also demonstrate that the ES wave generation is directly involved in the transverse acceleration of ions (TAI) as commonly measured with the BBELF wave events. The heating is affected by ion cyclotron resonance in the cyclotron modes and Landau resonance in the lower hybrid waves. In the simulation we drive the plasma by the transverse electric field, E(sub y), of the EM waves; the frequency of E(sub y), omega(sub d), is varied from a frequency below the heavy ion cyclotron frequency, OMEGA(sub h), to below the light ion cyclotron frequency, OMEGA(sub i). We have also performed simulations for E(sub y) having a continuous spectrum given by a power law, namely, |Ey| approx. omega(sub d) (exp -alpha), where the exponent alpha = _, 1, and 2 in three different simulations. The driving electric field generates polarization and ExB drifts of the ions and electrons. When the interspecies relative drifts are sufficiently large, they drive electrostatic waves, which cause perpendicular heating of both light and heavy ions. The transverse ion heating found here is discussed in relation to observations from Cluster, FAST and Freja.

Electron acceleration by inertial Alfven waves

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Thompson, B.J.; Lysak, R.L.

1996-03-01

Alfven waves reflected by the ionosphere and by inhomogeneities in the Alfven speed can develop an oscillating parallel electric field when electron inertial effects are included. These waves, which have wavelengths of the order of an Earth radius, can develop a coherent structure spanning distances of several Earth radii along geomagnetic field lines. This system has characteristic frequencies in the range of 1 Hz and can exhibit electric fields capable of accelerating electrons in several senses: via Landua resonance, bounce or transit time resonance as discussed by Andre and Eliasson or through the effective potential drop which appears when themore » transit time of the electrons is much smaller than the wave period, so that the electric fields appear effectively static. A time-dependent model of wave propagation is developed which represents inertial Alfven wave propagation along auroral field lines. The disturbance is modeled as it travels earthward, experiences partial reflections in regions of rapid variation, and finally reflects off a conducting ionosphere to continue propagating antiearthward. The wave experiences partial trapping by the ionospheric and the Alfven speed peaks discussed earlier by Polyakov and Rapoport and Trakhtengerts and Feldstein and later by Lysak. Results of the wave simulation and an accompanying test particle simulation are presented, which indicate that inertial Alfven waves are a possible mechanism for generating electron conic distributions and field-aligned particle precipitation. The model incorporates conservation of energy by allowing electrons to affect the wave via Landau damping, which appears to enhance the effect of the interactions which heat electron populations. 22 refs., 14 figs.« less

Velocity space instabilities of alpha particles in tokamak reactors

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sigmar, D.J.

1979-01-01

In this lecture on high frequency instability due to isotropic hollow alpha velocity distributions it was first shown that such distributions can actually arise under thermonuclear conditions in a tokamak reactor, particularly for the case of imperfect alpha particle confinement. The toroidal geometry (i.e., the poloidal variation of the alpha gyrofrequency) then leads to linear instability of the compressional Alfven wave ..omega.. = C/sub A/k/sub perpendicular/ with k/sub parallel/ congruent to O, k/sub perpendicular/ rho/sub ..cap alpha../ greater than or equal to 1, v/sub ..cap alpha../ > C/sub A/, at the low harmonics ..omega.. congruent to n ..omega../sub c..cap alpha../.more » Thus the free energy of the inverted alpha distribution is accessible and produces anomalously rapid diffusion of F/sub ..cap alpha../(v/sub perpendicular/). (MOW)« less

Energy densities of Alfven waves between 0.7 and 1.6 AU. [in interplanetary medium

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Belcher, J. W.; Burchsted, R.

1974-01-01

Plasma and field data from Mariner 4 and 5 between 0.7 and 1.6 AU are used to study the radial dependence of the levels of microscale fluctuation associated with interplanetary Alfven waves. The observed decrease of these levels with increasing distance from the sun is consistent with little or no local generation or damping of the ambient Alfven waves over this range of radial distance.

Alfven waves in spiral interplanetary field

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Whang, Y. C.

1973-01-01

A theoretical study is presented of the Alfven waves in the spiral interplanetary magnetic field. The Alfven waves under consideration are arbitrary, large amplitude, non-monochromatic, microscale waves of any polarization. They superpose on a mesoscale background flow of thermally anisotropic plasma. Using WKB approximation, an analytical solution for the amplitude vectors is obtained as a function of the background flow properties: density, velocity, Alfven speed, thermal anisotropy, and the spiral angel. The necessary condition for the validity of the WKB solution is discussed. The intensity of fluctuations is calculated as a function of heliocentric distance. Relative intensity of fluctuations as compared with the magnitude of the background field has its maximum in the region near l au. Thus outside of this region, the solar wind is less turbulent.

Small amplitude Kinetic Alfven waves in a superthermal electron-positron-ion plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Adnan, Muhammad; Mahmood, Sahahzad; Qamar, Anisa; Tribeche, Mouloud

2016-11-01

We are investigating the propagating properties of coupled Kinetic Alfven-acoustic waves in a low beta plasma having superthermal electrons and positrons. Using the standard reductive perturbation method, a nonlinear Korteweg-de Vries (KdV) type equation is derived which describes the evolution of Kinetic Alfven waves. It is found that nonlinearity and Larmor radius effects can compromise and give rise to solitary structures. The parametric role of superthermality and positron content on the characteristics of solitary wave structures is also investigated. It is found that only sub-Alfvenic and compressive solitons are supported in the present model. The present study may find applications in a low β electron-positron-ion plasma having superthermal electrons and positrons.

Focused interplanetary transport of solar energetic particles through self-generated Alfven waves

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ng, C. K.; Reames, D. V.

1991-01-01

The coupled evolution of solar-flare protons and interplanetary Alfven waves based on the quasi-linear theory implies an order of magnitude amplification (damping) in the outward (inward) propagating left helical resonant Alfven waves at less than 0.4-AU helioradius, if the proton intensity at 1 AU exceeds 300 particles/(sq cm s sr MeV) at 1 MeV, and the initial wave intensities give mean free paths of more than 0.5 AU. The wave growth significantly retards solar-particle transport, and has implications on the nature of solar-wind turbulence.

Mechanisms for the Dissipation of Alfven Waves in Near-Earth Space Plasma

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Singh, Nagendra; Khazanov, George; Krivorutsky, E. N.; Davis, John M. (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

Alfven waves are a major mechanism for the transport of electromagnetic energy from the distant part of the magnetosphere to the near-Earth space. This is especially true for the auroral and polar regions of the Earth. However, the mechanisms for their dissipation have remained illusive. One of the mechanisms is the formation of double layers when the current associated with Alfven waves in the inertial regime interact with density cavities, which either are generated nonlinearly by the waves themselves or are a part of the ambient plasma turbulence. Depending on the strength of the cavities, weak and strong double layers could form. Such double layers are transient; their lifetimes depend on that of the cavities. Thus they impulsively accelerate ions and electrons. Another mechanism is the resonant absorption of broadband Alfven- wave noise by the ions at the ion cyclotron frequencies. But this resonant absorption may not be possible for the very low frequency waves, and it may be more suited for electromagnetic ion cyclotron waves. A third mechanism is the excitation of secondary waves by the drifts of electrons and ions in the Alfven wave fields. It is found that under suitable conditions, the relative drifts between different ion species and/or between electrons and ions are large enough to drive lower hybrid waves, which could cause transverse accelerations of ions and parallel accelerations of electrons. This mechanism is being further studied by means of kinetic simulations using 2.5- and 3-D particle-in-cell codes. The ongoing modeling efforts on space weather require quantitative estimates of energy inputs of various kinds, including the electromagnetic energy. Our studies described here contribute to the methods of determining the estimates of the input from ubiquitous Alfven waves.

The Nonlinear Coupling of Alfven and Lower Hybrid Waves in Space Plasma

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Khazanov, G. V.; Singh, N.; Krivorutsky, E.

2003-01-01

Space plasmas support a wide variety of waves, and wave-particle interactions as well as wave-wave interactions which are of crucial importance to magnetospheric and ionospheric plasma behavior. The excitation of lower hybrid waves (LHWs), in particular, is a widely discussed mechanism of interaction between plasma species in space and is one of the unresolved questions of magnetospheric multi-ion plasmas. It is demonstrated that large-amplitude Alfven waves may generate LHWs in the auroral zone and ring current region and in some cases (particularly in the inner magnetosphere) this serves as the Alfven wave saturation mechanism. We present several examples of observational data which illustrate that the proposed mechanism is a plausible candidate to explain certain classes of LHW generation events in the ionosphere and magnetosphere and demonstrate electron and ion energization involving these processes. Furthermore, we will present results from particle-in-cell simulations showing the generation of particle drifts in response to an Alfven wave, resulting in excitation of waves and ion heating in a multi- ion plasma.

A non-linear 4-wave resonant model for non-perturbative fast ion interactions with Alfv'enic modes in burning plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zonca, Fulvio; Chen, Liu

2007-11-01

We adopt the 4-wave modulation interaction model, introduced by Chen et al [1] for analyzing modulational instabilities of the radial envelope of Ion Temperature Gradient driven modes in toroidal geometry, extending it to the modulations on the fast particle distribution function due to nonlinear Alfv'enic mode dynamics, as proposed in Ref. [2]. In the case where the wave-particle interactions are non-perturbative and strongly influence the mode evolution, as in the case of Energetic Particle Modes (EPM) [3], radial distortions (redistributions) of the fast ion source dominate the mode nonlinear dynamics. In this work, we show that the resonant particle motion is secular with a time-scale inversely proportional to the mode amplitude [4] and that the time evolution of the EPM radial envelope can be cast into the form of a nonlinear Schr"odinger equation a la Ginzburg-Landau [5]. [1] L. Chen et al, Phys. Plasmas 7 3129 (2000) [2] F. Zonca et al, Theory of Fusion Plasmas (Bologna: SIF) 17 (2000) [3] L. Chen, Phys. Plasmas 1, 1519 (1994).[4] F. Zonca et al, Nucl. Fusion 45 477 (2005) [5] F. Zonca et al, Plasma Phys. Contr. Fusion 48 B15 (2006)

Exploring the Use of Alfven Waves in Magnetometer Calibration at Geosynchronous Orbit

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bentley, John; Sheppard, David; RIch, Frederick; Redmon, Robert; Loto'aniu, Paul; Chu, Donald

2016-01-01

An Alfven wave is a type magnetohydrodynamicwave that travels through a conducting fluid under the influence of a magnetic field. Researchers have successfully calculated offset vectors of magnetometers in interplanetary space by optimizing the offset to maximize certain Alfvenic properties of observed waves (Leinweber, Belcher). If suitable Alfven waves can be found in the magnetosphere at geosynchronous altitude then these techniques could be used to augment the overall calibration plan for magnetometers in this region such as on the GOES spacecraft, possibly increasing the time between regular maneuvers. Calibration maneuvers may be undesirable because they disrupt the activities of other instruments. Various algorithms to calculate an offset using Alfven waves were considered. A new variation of the Davis-Smith method was derived because it can be mathematically shown that the Davis-Smith method tolerates filtered data, which expands potential applications. The variant developed was designed to find only the offset in the plane normal to the main field because the overall direction of Earth's magnetic field rarely changes, and theory suggests the Alfvenic disturbances occur transverse to the main field. Other variations of the Davis-Smith method encounter problems with data containing waves that propagate in mostly the same direction. A searching algorithm was then designed to look for periods of time with potential Alfven waves in GOES 15 data based on parameters requiring that disturbances be normal to the main field and not change field magnitude. Final waves for calculation were hand-selected. These waves produced credible two-dimensional offset vectors when input to the Davis-Smith method. Multiple two-dimensional solutions in different planes can be combined to get a measurement of the complete offset. The resulting three dimensional offset did not show sufficient precision over several years to be used as a primary calibration method, but reflected changes in the offset fairly well, suggesting that the method could be helpful in monitoring trends of the offset vector when maneuvers cannot be used.

Experiments on Alfv'en waves in high beta plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gekelman, Walter; Pribyl, Patrick; Cooper, Chris; Vincena, Stephen

2008-11-01

The propagation of Alfv'en waves in high beta plasmas is of great interest in solar wind studies as well as in astrophysical plasmas. Alfv'en wave propagation in a high beta plasma is studied on the axis of a toroidal device at UCLA. The vacuum vessel is 30 meters in circumference, 2 meters wide and 3 meters tall. The plasma has a cross sectional area of 20 cm^2 and can be as long as 120 m which is hundreds of parallel Alfv'en wavelengths. The waves are launched using two orthogonal 5-turn , 5.7 cm diameter loops. The AC currents (10 kHz < f < 250 kHz) to the loops are as high as 2 kA p-p, producing fields of 1 kG on the axis of the antenna. The antenna coils are independently driven such that waves with arbitrary polarization can be launched. Movable three axis magnetic pickup loops detect the wave and are used to construct field maps in the machine. Wave propagation results as a function of plasma beta and input wave energy will be presented.

Ion gyroradius effects on particle trapping in kinetic Alfven waves along auroral field lines

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Damiano, P. A.; Johnson, J. R.; Chaston, C. C.

In this study, a 2-D self-consistent hybrid gyrofluid-kinetic electron model is used to investigate Alfven wave propagation along dipolar magnetic field lines for a range of ion to electron temperature ratios. The focus of the investigation is on understanding the role of these effects on electron trapping in kinetic Alfven waves sourced in the plasma sheet and the role of this trapping in contributing to the overall electron energization at the ionosphere. This work also builds on our previous effort by considering a similar system in the limit of fixed initial parallel current, rather than fixed initial perpendicular electric field.more » It is found that the effects of particle trapping are strongest in the cold ion limit and the kinetic Alfven wave is able to carry trapped electrons a large distance along the field line yielding a relatively large net energization of the trapped electron population as the phase speed of the wave is increased. However, as the ion temperature is increased, the ability of the kinetic Alfven wave to carry and energize trapped electrons is reduced by more significant wave energy dispersion perpendicular to the ambient magnetic field which reduces the amplitude of the wave. This reduction of wave amplitude in turn reduces both the parallel current and the extent of the high-energy tails evident in the energized electron populations at the ionospheric boundary (which may serve to explain the limited extent of the broadband electron energization seen in observations). Here, even in the cold ion limit, trapping effects in kinetic Alfven waves lead to only modest electron energization for the parameters considered (on the order of tens of eV) and the primary energization of electrons to keV levels coincides with the arrival of the wave at the ionospheric boundary.« less

Ion gyroradius effects on particle trapping in kinetic Alfven waves along auroral field lines

DOE PAGES

Damiano, P. A.; Johnson, J. R.; Chaston, C. C.

2016-11-10

In this study, a 2-D self-consistent hybrid gyrofluid-kinetic electron model is used to investigate Alfven wave propagation along dipolar magnetic field lines for a range of ion to electron temperature ratios. The focus of the investigation is on understanding the role of these effects on electron trapping in kinetic Alfven waves sourced in the plasma sheet and the role of this trapping in contributing to the overall electron energization at the ionosphere. This work also builds on our previous effort by considering a similar system in the limit of fixed initial parallel current, rather than fixed initial perpendicular electric field.more » It is found that the effects of particle trapping are strongest in the cold ion limit and the kinetic Alfven wave is able to carry trapped electrons a large distance along the field line yielding a relatively large net energization of the trapped electron population as the phase speed of the wave is increased. However, as the ion temperature is increased, the ability of the kinetic Alfven wave to carry and energize trapped electrons is reduced by more significant wave energy dispersion perpendicular to the ambient magnetic field which reduces the amplitude of the wave. This reduction of wave amplitude in turn reduces both the parallel current and the extent of the high-energy tails evident in the energized electron populations at the ionospheric boundary (which may serve to explain the limited extent of the broadband electron energization seen in observations). Here, even in the cold ion limit, trapping effects in kinetic Alfven waves lead to only modest electron energization for the parameters considered (on the order of tens of eV) and the primary energization of electrons to keV levels coincides with the arrival of the wave at the ionospheric boundary.« less

Momentum and energy deposition in late-type stellar atmospheres and winds

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hartmann, L.; Macgregor, K. B.

1980-01-01

The present study calculates the response of the outer atmospheres of cool low-gravity stars to the passage of the mechanical energy fluxes of solar magnitude in the form of acoustic waves and Alfven waves. It is shown that Alfven waves are efficient in generating outflow, and can account for the order of magnitude of observed mass loss in late-type luminous stars. However, unless these magnetic waves undergo some dissipation within several stellar radii of the surface, the predicted terminal velocities of the resulting stellar winds are far too high. Alfven wave dissipation should give rise to extended warm chromospheres in low-gravity late-type stars, a prediction which can be observationally tested.

Analysis and gyrokinetic simulation of MHD Alfven wave interactions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nielson, Kevin Derek

The study of low-frequency turbulence in magnetized plasmas is a difficult problem due to both the enormous range of scales involved and the variety of physics encompassed over this range. Much of the progress that has been made in turbulence theory is based upon a result from incompressible magnetohydrodynamics (MHD), in which energy is only transferred from large scales to small via the collision of Alfven waves propagating oppositely along the mean magnetic field. Improvements in laboratory devices and satellite measurements have demonstrated that, while theories based on this premise are useful over inertial ranges, describing turbulence at scales that approach particle gyroscales requires new theory. In this thesis, we examine the limits of incompressible MHD theory in describing collisions between pairs of Alfven waves. This interaction represents the fundamental unit of plasma turbulence. To study this interaction, we develop an analytic theory describing the nonlinear evolution of interacting Alfven waves and compare this theory to simulations performed using the gyrokinetic code AstroGK. Gyrokinetics captures a much richer set of physics than that described by incompressible MHD, and is well-suited to describing Alfvenic turbulence around the ion gyroscale. We demonstrate that AstroGK is well suited to the study of physical Alfven waves by reproducing laboratory Alfven dispersion data collected using the LAPD. Additionally, we have developed an initialization alogrithm for use with AstroGK that allows exact Alfven eigenmodes to be initialized with user specified amplitudes and phases. We demonstrate that our analytic theory based upon incompressible MHD gives excellent agreement with gyrokinetic simulations for weakly turbulent collisions in the limit that k⊥rho i << 1. In this limit, agreement is observed in the time evolution of nonlinear products, and in the strength of nonlinear interaction with respect to polarization and scale. We also examine the effect of wave amplitude upon the validity of our analytic solution, exploring the nature of strong turbulence. In the kinetic limit where k⊥ rhoi ≳ 1 where incompressible MHD is no longer a valid description, we illustrate how the nonlinear evolution departs from our analytic expression. The analytic theory we develop provides a framework from which more sophisticated of weak and strong inertial-range turbulence theories may be developed. Characterization of the limits of this theory may provide guidance in the development of kinetic Alfven wave turbulence.

Alfven waves associated with long cylindrical satellites

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Venkataraman, N. S.; Gustafson, W. A.

1973-01-01

The Alfven wave excited by a long cylindrical satellite moving with a constant velocity at an angle relative to a uniform magnetic field has been calculated. Assuming a plasma with infinite conductivity, the linearized momentum equation and Maxwell's equations are applied to a cylindrical satellite carrying a variable current. The induced magnetic field is determined, and it is shown that the Alfven disturbance zone is of limited extent, depending on the satellite shape. The wave drag coefficient is calculated and shown to be small compared to the induction drag coefficient at all altitudes considered.

Relatively stable, large-amplitude Alfvenic waves seen at 2.5 and 5.0 AU

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mavromichalaki, H.; Moussas, X.; Quenby, J. J.; Valdes-Galicia, J. F.; Smith, E. J.

1988-01-01

Pioneer 11 and 10 observations of the wave structure seen in a corotating interaction region at 2.5 AU on day 284 of 1973 and 8 days later at 5 AU reveal large-amplitude Alfvenic structures with many detailed correlations seen between their features at the two radial distances. Hodogram analysis suggests the dominance of near plane polarized, transverse Alfvenic mode fluctuations with periods between 2 min and one hour or more. Some wave evolution close to the Corotating Interaction Region (CIR) shock is noticed, but waves towards the center of the compression seem to propagate with little damping between the spacecraft observation positions.

Acceleration and heating of heavy ions in high speed solar wind streams

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gomberoff, L.; Gratton, F. T.; Gnavi, G.

1995-01-01

Left hand polarized Alfven waves generated in coronal holes propagate in the direction of high speed solar wind streams, accelerating and heating heavy ions. As the solar wind expands, the ratio between the frequency of the Alfven waves and the proton gyrofrequency increases, due to the decrease of the interplanetary magnetic field, and encounter first the local ion gyrofrequency of the species with the largest M(sub l) = m(sub l)/z(sub l)m(sub p) (m(sub l) is the mass of species l, m(sub p) is the proton mass and z(sub l) is the degree of ionization of species l). It is shown that the Alfven waves experience there strong absorption and cannot propagate any further until the ions are accelerated and heated. Once this occurs, the Alfven waves continue to propagate until they meet the gyrofrequency of the next species giving rise to a similar phenomenon. In order to show this contention, we use the linear dispersion relation of ion cyclotron waves in a multicomponent plasma consisting of oxygen ions, alpha particles and protons. We assume that at any distance from the sun, the Alfven waves follow the local dispersion relation of electromagnetic ion cyclotron waves. To illustrate the results, we solve the dispersion relation for oxygen ions and alpha particles drifting relative to the protons. The dispersion relation has three branches. The first branch starts at zero frequency and goes to the Doppler-shifted oxygen ion gyrofrequency. The second branch starts close to the oxygen gyrofrequency, and goes to the Doppler-shifted alpha particle gyrofrequency. The third branch starts close to the alpha particle gyrofrequency, and goes to the proton gyrofrequency. The Alfven waves propagate following the first branch of the dispersion relation. When they reach the Doppler-shifted oxygen ion gyrofrequency, the ions are accelerated and heated to some definite values. When these values are reached, the dispersion relation changes, and it is now the first branch of the dispersion relation, the one which goes to the Doppler-shifted alpha particle gyrofrequency. The Alfven waves continue to propagate along the first branch of the dispersion relation and proceed to accelerate and heat the alpha particles.

Observation of Alfven Waves in the Solar Corona (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tomczyk, S.

2013-12-01

I will review the extensive progress made in recent years on the observation of Alfven waves in the solar corona, with an emphasis on the measurements made with the Coronal Multi-channel Polarimeter. Application of the wave measurements to coronal seismology will be presented. Future prospects in the field will be discussed.

Neutron starquakes and the nature of gamma-ray bursts

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Madau, P.; Blaes, O.; Blandford, R. D.; Goldreich, P.

1989-01-01

The possibility that gamma-ray bursts originate from quakes deep in the solid crust of a neutron star is investigated. Seismic waves are radiated if shear stress is relieved by brittle fracture. However they cannot propagate directly to the surface but are temporarily trapped below a reflecting layer. The shaking of the stellar surface couples the seismic waves to Alfven waves which propagate out into the magnetosphere. The crust-magnetosphere transmission coefficient strongly increases with wave frequency and magnetic field strength. Alfven wave luminosities sufficient to power galactic gamma-ray bursts are possible if magnetic fields greater than 100 billion G cover at least part of the stellar surface. As the Alfven waves propagate out into the low density magnetosphere, they become increasingly charge starved, thereby accelerating particles to relativistic energies.

Observational evidence for Alfven waves in the solar atmosphere (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

De Pontieu, B.

2013-12-01

Alfven waves have long been suspected of playing an important role in both heating the corona and accelerating the solar wind. Recently, more and more observational evidence for the presence of such waves has been reported in both the corona and the lower solar atmosphere. I will review observations of the properties and presence of Alfven waves from CoMP, Hinode, AIA and ground-based telescopes in both coronal lines and the lower solar atmosphere. I will discuss our current understanding of the importance of these waves for the energy balance of the corona. I will also present initial results of the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) which was launched in June 2013 and obtains images and spectra in both the far and near ultraviolet.

The soliton transform and a possible application to nonlinear Alfven waves in space

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hada, T.; Hamilton, R. L.; Kennel, C. F.

1993-01-01

The inverse scattering transform (IST) based on the derivative nonlinear Schroedinger (DNLS) equation is applied to a complex time series of nonlinear Alfven wave data generated by numerical simulation. The IST describes the long-time evolution of quasi-parallel Alfven waves more efficiently than the Fourier transform, which is adapted to linear rather than nonlinear problems. When dissipation is added, so the conditions for the validity of the DNLS are not strictly satisfied, the IST continues to provide a compact description of the wavefield in terms of a small number of decaying envelope solitons.

Wave-Particle Energy Exchange Directly Observed in a Kinetic Alfven-Branch Wave

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gershman, Daniel J.; F-Vinas, Adolfo; Dorelli, John C.; Boardsen, Scott A. (Inventor); Avanov, Levon A.; Bellan, Paul M.; Schwartz, Steven J.; Lavraud, Benoit; Coffey, Victoria N.; Chandler, Michael O.;

Alfven Wave Reflection Model of Field-Aligned Currents at Mercury

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lyatsky, Wladislaw; Khazanov, George V.; Slavin, James

2010-01-01

An Alfven Wave Reflection (AWR) model is proposed that provides closure for strong field-aligned currents (FACs) driven by the magnetopause reconnection in the magnetospheres of planets having no significant ionospheric and surface electrical conductance. The model is based on properties of the Alfven waves, generated at high altitudes and reflected from the low-conductivity surface of the planet. When magnetospheric convection is very slow, the incident and reflected Alfven waves propagate along approximately the same path. In this case, the net field-aligned currents will be small. However, as the convection speed increases. the reflected wave is displaced relatively to the incident wave so that the incident and reflected waves no longer compensate each other. In this case, the net field-aligned current may be large despite the lack of significant ionospheric and surface conductivity. Our estimate shows that for typical solar wind conditions at Mercury, the magnitude of Region 1-type FACs in Mercury's magnetosphere may reach hundreds of kilo-Amperes. This AWR model of field-aligned currents may provide a solution to the long-standing problem of the closure of FACs in the Mercury's magnetosphere. c2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Suppression of Alfven Modes on the National Spherical Torus Experiment Upgrade with Outboard Beam Injection [Suppression of Alfven Modes on the NSTX-U with Outboard Beam Injection

DOE PAGES

Fredrickson, E. D.; Belova, E. V.; Battaglia, D. J.; ...

2017-06-29

In this paper we present data from experiments on the National Spherical Torus Experiment Upgrade, where it is shown for the first time that small amounts of high pitch-angle beam ions can strongly suppress the counterpropagating global Alfven eigenmodes (GAE). GAE have been implicated in the redistribution of fast ions and modification of the electron power balance in previous experiments on NSTX. The ability to predict the stability of Alfven modes, and developing methods to control them, is important for fusion reactors like the International Tokamak Experimental Reactor, which are heated by a large population of nonthermal, super-Alfvenic ions consistingmore » of fusion generated alpha's and beam ions injected for current profile control. We present a qualitative interpretation of these observations using an analytic model of the Doppler-shifted ion-cyclotron resonance drive responsible for GAE instability which has an important dependence on k(perpendicular to rho L). A quantitative analysis of this data with the HYM stability code predicts both the frequencies and instability of the GAE prior to, and suppression of the GAE after the injection of high pitch-angle beam ions.« less

Alfven-wave dissipation: A support mechanism for quiescent prominences

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jensen, Eberhart

1986-01-01

High resolution filtergrams or spectrograms of the main body of quiescent prominences often show a very vivid dynamical picture that cannot be reconciled with static models. Even if large differences exist between individual prominences in this respect, at least parts of the prominence are usually found to be in a 'choppy', turbulent state. Evidence for systematic flows are found in local regions in the prominence and also in the transition zone in the surroundings. These two regions are probably decoupled magnetically. Alfven waves are generally believed to be responsible for the heating in the upper chromosphere and corona (Hollweg 1986). Since evidence for the presence of Alfven-waves has also been found in the solar wind field, it is highly probable that such waves are generated in the convection zone of the sun and propagated outwards in the solar atmosphere wherever a proper magnetic field is present to carry the waves. The most basic magnetic formations in the solar atmosphere are simple loops. They occur all over the solar surface and cover a large range of magnetic field strengths. Loops with the strongest magnetic fields are found in active regions. It is to be expected that the Alfven-wave flux which is channelled into the loops from below, could show considerable variation both with heliocentric latitude, with time and locally between neighbouring loops. What happens when a magnetic loop is exposed to the appropriate Alfven-wave flux required to heat the upper solar atmosphere is examined.

A New Global Multi-fluid MHD Model of the Solar Corona

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van der Holst, B.; Chandran, B. D. G.; Alterman, B. L.; Kasper, J. C.; Toth, G.

2017-12-01

We present a multi-fluid generalization of the AWSoM model, a global magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) solar corona model with low-frequency Alfven wave turbulence (van der Holst et al., 2014). This new extended model includes electron and multi-ion temperatures and velocities (protons and alpha particles). The coronal heating and acceleration is addressed via outward propagating low-frequency Alfven waves that are partially reflected by Alfven speed gradients. The nonlinear interaction of these counter-propagating waves results in turbulent energy cascade. To apportion the wave dissipation to the electron and ion temperatures, we employ the results of the theories of linear wave damping and nonlinear stochastic heating as described by Chandran et al. (2011, 2013). This heat partitioning results in a more than mass proportional heating among ions.

Experiment to investigate current drive by fast Alfven waves in a small tokamak

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gahl, J.; Ishihara, O.; Wong, K.

1985-07-01

An experiment has been carried out to study current generation by Doppler shifted cyclotron resonance heating of minority ions with a unidirectional wave in the small tokamak at Texas Tech University. One of the objectives of the experiment is to understand in detail the wave-particle interactions through which fast (compressional) Alfven waves in the ion cyclotron range of frequencies drive currents in toroidal devices.

Dissipative MHD solutions for resonant Alfven waves in 1-dimensional magnetic flux tubes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Goossens, Marcel; Ruderman, Michail S.; Hollweg, Joseph V.

1995-01-01

The present paper extends the analysis by Sakurai, Goossens, and Hollweg (1991) on resonant Alfven waves in nonuniform magnetic flux tubes. It proves that the fundamental conservation law for resonant Alfven waves found in ideal MHD by Sakurai, Goossens, and Hollweg remains valid in dissipative MHD. This guarantees that the jump conditions of Sakurai, Goossens, and Hollweg, that connect the ideal MHD solutions for xi(sub r), and P' across the dissipative layer, are correct. In addition, the present paper replaces the complicated dissipative MHD solutions obtained by Sakurai, Goossens, and Hollweg for xi(sub r), and P' in terms of double integrals of Hankel functions of complex argument of order 1/3 with compact analytical solutions that allow a straight- forward mathematical and physical interpretation. Finally, it presents an analytical dissipative MHD solution for the component of the Lagrangian displacement in the magnetic surfaces perpen- dicular to the magnetic field lines xi(sub perpendicular) which enables us to determine the dominant dynamics of resonant Alfven waves in dissipative MHD.

Overview of Spontaneous Frequency Chirping in Confined Plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Berk, Herbert

2012-10-01

Spontaneous rapid frequency chirping is now a commonly observed phenomenon in plasmas with an energetic particle component. These particles typically induce so called weak instabilities, where they excite background waves that the plasma can support such as shear Alfven waves. The explanation for this phenomenon attributes the frequency chirping to the formation of phase space structures in the form of holes and clumps. Normally a saturated mode, in the presence of background dissipation, would be expected decay after saturation as the background plasma absorbs the energy of the excited wave. However the phase space structures take an alternate route, and move to a regions of phase space that are lower energy states of the energetic particle distribution. Through the wave-resonant particle interaction, this movement is locked to the frequency observed by the wave. This phenomenon implies that alternate mechanisms for plasma relaxation need to be considered for plasma states new marginal stability. It is also possible that these chirping mechanisms can be used to advantage to externally control states of plasma.

Kinetic Evidence of Magnetic Reconnection Due to Kelvin-Helmholtz Waves

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Li, W.; Andre, M.; Khotainstev, Yu. V.; Vaivads, A.; Graham, D. B.; Toledo-Redondo, S.; Norgren, C.; Henri, P.; Wang, C.; Tang, B. B.;

Self-Consistent and Time-Dependent Solar Wind Models

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ong, K. K.; Musielak, Z. E.; Rosner, R.; Suess, S. T.; Sulkanen, M. E.

1997-01-01

We describe the first results from a self-consistent study of Alfven waves for the time-dependent, single-fluid magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) solar wind equations, using a modified version of the ZEUS MHD code. The wind models we examine are radially symmetrical and magnetized; the initial outflow is described by the standard Parker wind solution. Our study focuses on the effects of Alfven waves on the outflow and is based on solving the full set of the ideal nonlinear MHD equations. In contrast to previous studies, no assumptions regarding wave linearity, wave damping, and wave-flow interaction are made; thus, the models naturally account for the back-reaction of the wind on the waves, as well as for the nonlinear interaction between different types of MHD waves. Our results clearly demonstrate when momentum deposition by Alfven waves in the solar wind can be sufficient to explain the origin of fast streams in solar coronal holes; we discuss the range of wave amplitudes required to obtained such fast stream solutions.

Dark and grey compressional dispersive Alfven solitons in plasmas

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Shukla, P. K.; Eliasson, B.; Stenflo, L.

2011-06-15

The amplitude modulation of compressional dispersive Alfven (CDA) waves in a low-{beta} plasma is considered. It is shown that the dynamics of modulated CDA waves is governed by a cubic nonlinear Schroedinger equation, which depicts the formation of a dark/grey envelope CDA soliton.

Viscous, resistive MHD stability computed by spectral techniques

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dahlburg, R. B.; Zang, T. A.; Montgomery, D.; Hussaini, M. Y.

1983-01-01

Expansions in Chebyshev polynomials are used to study the linear stability of one dimensional magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) quasi-equilibria, in the presence of finite resistivity and viscosity. The method is modeled on the one used by Orszag in accurate computation of solutions of the Orr-Sommerfeld equation. Two Reynolds like numbers involving Alfven speeds, length scales, kinematic viscosity, and magnetic diffusivity govern the stability boundaries, which are determined by the geometric mean of the two Reynolds like numbers. Marginal stability curves, growth rates versus Reynolds like numbers, and growth rates versus parallel wave numbers are exhibited. A numerical result which appears general is that instability was found to be associated with inflection points in the current profile, though no general analytical proof has emerged. It is possible that nonlinear subcritical three dimensional instabilities may exist, similar to those in Poiseuille and Couette flow.

LETTER: Investigation of the effect of Alfven resonance mode conversion on fast wave current drive in ITER

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alava, M. J.; Heikkinen, J. A.; Hellsten, T.

1995-07-01

In order to reduce or to avoid ion cyclotron damping, the use of frequencies below the ion cyclotron frequency of minority ion species or the second harmonic of majority ion species has been proposed for fast wave current drive based on direct electron absorption. For these scenarios, the Alfven or ion-ion hybrid resonance can appear on the high field side of a tokamak. The presence of these resonances causes parasitic absorption, competing with the electron Landau damping and transit time magnetic pumping responsible for the fast wave current drive. In the present study, neglecting effects from toroidicity, the mode conversion at the Alfven resonance is shown to be of the order of 5 to 10% in the current drive scenarios for the planned ITER experiment. If the single pass absorption in the centre can be made sufficiently high, the conversion at the Alfven resonance becomes negligible

Investigation of the effect of Alfven resonance absorption on fast wave current drive in ITER

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alava, M. J.; Heikkinen, J. A.; Hellsten, T.

The use of frequencies below the ion cyclotron frequency of minority ion species or second harmonic of majority species has been proposed for fast wave current drive in order to reduce or to avoid ion cyclotron damping. For these scenarios, the Alfven resonance can appear on the high field side of a tokamak. The presence of this resonance causes parasitic absorption competing with the electron Landau damping and transit time magnetic pumping responsible for the fast wave current drive. In the present study, the mode conversion at the Alfven resonance is shown to be of the order of 5 to 10 percent in the current drive scenarios for the planned International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) experiment. However, if the single pass absorption in the center can be made sufficiently high, the conversion at the Alfven resonance becomes negligible.

Medium-energy electrons and heavy ions in Jupiter's magnetosphere - Effects of lower hybrid wave-particle interactions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barbosa, D. D.

1986-01-01

A theory of medium-energy (about keV) electrons and heavy ions in Jupiter's magnetosphere is presented. Lower hybrid waves are generated by the combined effects of a ring instability of neutral wind pickup ions and the modified two-stream instability associated with transport of cool Iogenic plasma. The quasi-linear energy diffusion coefficient for lower hybrid wave-particle interactions is evaluated, and several solutions to the diffusion equation are given. Calculations based on measured wave properties show that the noise substantially modifies the particle distribution functions. The effects are to accelerate superthermal ions and electrons to keV energies and to thermalize the pickup ions on time scales comparable to the particle residence time. The S(2+)/S(+) ratio at medium energies is a measure of the relative contribution from Iogenic thermal plasma and neutral wind ions, and this important quantity should be determined from future measurements. The theory also predicts a preferential acceleration of heavy ions with an accleration time that scales inversely with the root of the ion mass. Electrons accelerated by the process contribute to further reionization of the neutral wind by electron impact, thus providing a possible confirmation of Alfven's critical velocity effect in the Jovian magnetosphere.

Generation of ULF waves by electric or magnetic dipoles. [propagation from earth surface to ionosphere

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Harker, K. J.

1975-01-01

The generation of ULF waves by ground-based magnetic and electric dipoles is studied with a simplified model consisting of three adjoining homogeneous regions representing the groud, the vacuum (free space) region, and the ionosphere. The system is assumed to be immersed in a homogeneous magnetic field with an arbitrary tilt angle. By the use of Fourier techniques and the method of stationary phase, analytic expressions are obtained for the field strength of the compressional Alfven waves in the ionosphere. Expressions are also obtained for the strength of the torsional Alfven wave in the ionosphere and the ULF magnetic field at ground level. Numerical results are obtained for the compressional Alfven-wave field strength in the ionosphere with a nonvertical geomagnetic field and for the ULF magnetic field at ground level for a vertical geomagnetic field.

Alfven wave cyclotron resonance heating

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

White, R.B.; Yosikawa, S.; Oberman, C.

1981-02-01

The resonance absorption of fast Alfven waves at the proton ctclotron resonance of a predominately deuterium plasma is investigated. An approximate dispersion relation is derived, valid in the vicinity of the resonance, which permits an exact calculation of transmission and reflection coefficients. For reasonable plasma parameters significant linear resonance absorption is found.

Modeling of Mutiscale Electromagnetic Magnetosphere-Ionosphere Interactions near Discrete Auroral Arcs Observed by the MICA Sounding Rocket

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Streltsov, A. V.; Lynch, K. A.; Fernandes, P. A.; Miceli, R.; Hampton, D. L.; Michell, R. G.; Samara, M.

2012-12-01

The MICA (Magnetosphere-Ionosphere Coupling in the Alfvén Resonator) sounding rocket was launched from Poker Flat on February 19, 2012. The rocket was aimed into the system of discrete auroral arcs and during its flight it detected small-scale electromagnetic disturbances with characteristic features of dispersive Alfvén waves. We report results from numerical modeling of these observations. Our simulations are based on a two-fluid MHD model describing multi-scale interactions between magnetic field-aligned currents carried by shear Alfven waves and the ionosphere. The results from our simulations suggest that the small-scale electromagnetic structures measured by MICA indeed can be interpreted as dispersive Alfvén waves generated by the active ionospheric response (ionopspheric feedback instability) inside the large-scale downward magnetic field-aligned current interacting with the ionosphere.

Linear and nonlinear properties of the ULF waves driven by ring-beam distribution functions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Killen, K.; Omidi, N.; Krauss-Varban, D.; Karimabadi, H.

1995-01-01

The problem of the exitation of obliquely propagating magnetosonic waves which can steepen up (also known as shocklets) is considered. Shocklets have been observed upstream of the Earth's bow shock and at comets Giacobini-Zinner and Grigg-Skjellerup. Linear theory as well as two-dimensional (2-D) hybrid (fluid electrons, particle ions) simulations are used to determine the properties of waves generated by ring-beam velocity distributions in great detail. The effects of both proton and oxygen ring-beams are considered. The study of instabilities excited by a proton ring-beam is relevant to the region upstream of the Earth's bow shock, whereas the oxygen ring-beam corresponds to cometary ions picked up by the solar wind. Linear theory has shown that for a ring-beam, four instabilities are found, one on the nonresonant mode, one on the Alfven mode, and two along the magnetosonic/whistler branch. The relative growth rate of these instabilities is a sensitive function of parameters. Although one of the magnetosonic instabilities has maximum growth along the magnetic field, the other has maximum growth in oblique directions. We have studied the competition of these instabilities in the nonlinear regime using 2-D simulations. As in the linear limit, the nonlinear results are a function of beam density and distribution function. By performing the simulations as both initial value and driven systems, we have found that the outcome of the simulations can vary, suggesting that the latter type simulations is needed to address the observations. A general conclusion of the simulation results is that field-aligned beams do not result in the formation of shocklets, whereas ring-beam distributions can.

A coherent nonlinear theory of auroral Langmuir-Alfven-whistler (LAW) events in the planetary magnetosphere.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lopes, S. R.; Chian, A. C.-L.

1996-01-01

A coherent nonlinear theory of three-wave coupling involving Langmuir, Alfven and whistler waves is formulated and applied to the observation of auroral LAW events in the planetary magnetosphere. The effects of pump depletion, dissipation and frequency mismatch in the nonlinear wave dynamics are analyzed. The relevance of this theory for understanding the fine structures of auroral whistler-mode emissions and amplitude modulations of auroral Langmuir waves is discussed.

Overstability and cooling in sunspots

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Roberts, B.

1976-01-01

The role played by overstable Alfven modes in magnetic structures such as sunspots is considered in detail for a column of magnetic field. It is demonstrated explicitly that overstable Alfven waves cool the interior of the magnetic column. It is suggested that these waves account for the cooling in sunspot umbrae, and therefore, in concurrence with Parker, we conclude that a sunspot is a region of enhanced heat transport. The calculations indicate that sunspots have small regions at normal photospheric brightness, and we tentatively suggest that these regions are umbral dots. We also suggest that cooling by overstable Alfven waves may explain the existence of the intense small magnetic flux tubes that constitute the general solar magnetic field.

Heating and Acceleration of Solar Wind Ions by Turbulent Wave Spectrum in Inhomogeneous Expanding Plasma

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ofman, Leon; Ozak, Nataly; Vinas, Adolfo F.

2016-01-01

Near the Sun (< 10Rs) the acceleration, heating, and propagation of the solar wind are likely affected by the background inhomogeneities of the magnetized plasma. The heating and the acceleration of the solar wind ions by turbulent wave spectrum in inhomogeneous plasma is studied using a 2.5D hybrid model. The hybrid model describes the kinetics of the ions, while the electrons are modeled as massless neutralizing fluid in an expanding box approach. Turbulent magnetic fluctuations dominated by power-law frequency spectra, which are evident from in-situ as well as remote sensing measurements, are used in our models. The effects of background density inhomogeneity across the magnetic field on the resonant ion heating are studied. The effect of super- Alfvenic ion drift on the ion heating is investigated. It is found that the turbulent wave spectrum of initially parallel propagating waves cascades to oblique modes, and leads to enhanced resonant ion heating due to the inhomogeneity. The acceleration of the solar wind ions is achieved by the parametric instability of large amplitude waves in the spectrum, and is also affected by the inhomogeneity. The results of the study provide the ion temperature anisotropy and drift velocity temporal evolution due to relaxation of the instability. The non-Maxwellian velocity distribution functions (VDFs) of the ions are modeled in the inhomogeneous solar wind plasma in the acceleration region close to the Sun.

Alfvén wave interactions in the solar wind

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Webb, G. M.; McKenzie, J. F.; Hu, Q.; le Roux, J. A.; Zank, G. P.

2012-11-01

Alfvén wave mixing (interaction) equations used in locally incompressible turbulence transport equations in the solar wind are analyzed from the perspective of linear wave theory. The connection between the wave mixing equations and non-WKB Alfven wave driven wind theories are delineated. We discuss the physical wave energy equation and the canonical wave energy equation for non-WKB Alfven waves and the WKB limit. Variational principles and conservation laws for the linear wave mixing equations for the Heinemann and Olbert non-WKB wind model are obtained. The connection with wave mixing equations used in locally incompressible turbulence transport in the solar wind are discussed.

Effect of double layers on magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lysak, Robert L.; Hudson, Mary K.

1987-01-01

The Earth's auroral zone contains dynamic processes occurring on scales from the length of an auroral zone field line which characterizes Alfven wave propagation to the scale of microscopic processes which occur over a few Debye lengths. These processes interact in a time-dependent fashion since the current carried by the Alfven waves can excite microscopic turbulence which can in turn provide dissipation of the Alfven wave energy. This review will first describe the dynamic aspects of auroral current structures with emphasis on consequences for models of microscopic turbulence. A number of models of microscopic turbulence will be introduced into a large-scale model of Alfven wave propagation to determine the effect of various models on the overall structure of auroral currents. In particular, the effects of a double layer electric field which scales with the plasma temperature and Debye length is compared with the effect of anomalous resistivity due to electrostatic ion cyclotron turbulence in which the electric field scales with the magnetic field strength. It is found that the double layer model is less diffusive than in the resistive model leading to the possibility of narrow, intense current structures.

Generation of field-aligned currents and Alfven waves by 3D magnetic reconnection

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ma, Z.W.; Lee, L.C.; Otto, A.

1995-07-01

The authors have carried out a three-dimensional compressible MHD simulation to study the generation of field-aligned currents (FAC`s) and Alfven waves by magnetic reconnection for locally antiparallel magnetic fields across the current sheet. Reconnection is triggered by a localized resistivity. The results indicate that both FAC`s and Alfven waves are generated by the three-dimensional reconnection process. Two pairs of FAC`s are generated on each side of current sheet. The polarities of the resulting FAC pair in the leading bulge region are opposite to those of a FAC pair in the trailing quasi-steady region. It is further found that a largemore » portion of the FAC`s ({approximately}40%) is located in the closed field line region. They examine the Walen relation between FAC and parallel vorticity and find that Alfven waves are generated and propagate away from the reconnection site. They discuss the relevance of the results to the observed Region 1 FAC`s at noon. 15 refs., 4 figs.« less

Reconnection-Driven Coronal-Hole Jets with Gravity and Solar Wind

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Karpen, J. T.; Devore, C. R.; Antiochos, S. K.; Pariat, E.

2017-01-01

Coronal-hole jets occur ubiquitously in the Sun's coronal holes, at EUV and X-ray bright points associated with intrusions of minority magnetic polarity. The embedded-bipole model for these jets posits that they are driven by explosive, fast reconnection between the stressed closed field of the embedded bipole and the open field of the surrounding coronal hole. Previous numerical studies in Cartesian geometry, assuming uniform ambient magnetic field and plasma while neglecting gravity and solar wind, demonstrated that the model is robust and can produce jet-like events in simple configurations. We have extended these investigations by including spherical geometry,gravity, and solar wind in a nonuniform, coronal hole-like ambient atmosphere. Our simulations confirm that the jet is initiated by the onset of a kink-like instability of the internal closed field, which induces a burst of reconnection between the closed and external open field, launching a helical jet. Our new results demonstrate that the jet propagation is sustained through the outer corona, in the form of a traveling nonlinear Alfven wave front trailed by slower-moving plasma density enhancements that are compressed and accelerated by the wave. This finding agrees well with observations of white-light coronal-hole jets, and can explain microstreams and torsional Alfven waves detected in situ in the solar wind. We also use our numerical results to deduce scaling relationships between properties of the coronal source region and the characteristics of the resulting jet, which can be tested against observations.

Langmuir Probe Analysis of Maser-Driven Alfven Waves Using New LaB6 Cathode in LaPD

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Clark, Mary; Dorfman, Seth; Zhu, Ziyan; Rossi, Giovanni; Carter, Troy

2015-11-01

Previous research in the Large Plasma Device shows that specific conditions on the magnetic field and cathode discharge voltage allow an Alfven wave to develop in the cathode-anode region. When the speed of bulk electrons (dependent on discharge voltage) entering the region exceeds the Alfven speed, the electrons can excite a wave. This phenomenon mimics one proposed to exist in the Earth's ionosphere. Previous experiments used a cathode coated with Barium Oxide, and this project uses a new cathode coated with Lanthanum Hexaboride (LaB6). The experiment seeks to characterize the behavior of plasmas generated with the LaB6 source, as well as understand properties of the driven wave when using the new cathode. Langmuir probes are used to find electron temperature, ion saturation current, and plasma density. These parameters determine characteristics of the wave. Preliminary analysis implies that density increases with LaB6 discharge voltage until 170 V, where it levels off. A linear increase in density is expected; the plateau implies cathode power does not ionize the plasma after 170 V. It is possible the power is carried out by the generated Alfven wave, or heats the plasma or cathode. This ``missing'' power is currently under investigation. Work funded by DOE and NSF.

Scattering of magnetic mirror trapped electrons by an Alfven wave

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Y.; Gekelman, W. N.; Pribyl, P.; Papadopoulos, K.; Karavaev, A. V.; Shao, X.; Sharma, A. S.

2010-12-01

Highly energetic particles from large solar flares or other events can be trapped in the Earth’s magnetic mirror field and pose a danger to intricate space satellites. Aiming for artificially de-trapping these particles, an experimental and theoretical study of the interactions of a shear Alfven wave with electrons trapped in a magnetic mirror was performed on the Large Plasma Device (LaPD) at UCLA, with critical parameter ratios matched in the lab plasma to those in space. The experiment was done in a quiescent afterglow plasma with ne≈5×1011cm-3, Te≈0.5eV, B0≈1000G, L=18m, and diameter=60cm. A magnetic mirror was established in LaPD (mirror ratio≈1.5, Lmirror≈3m). An electron population with large v⊥ (E⊥≈1keV) was introduced by microwave heating at upper-hybrid frequency with a 2.45GHz pulsed microwave source at up to 5kW. A shear Alfven wave with arbitrary polarization (fwave≈0.5fci , Bwave/B0≈0.5%) was launched by a Rotating Magnetic Field (RMF) antenna axially 2m away from the center of the mirror. It was observed that the Alfven wave effectively eliminated the trapped electrons. A diagnostic probe was developed for this experiment to measure electrons with large v⊥ in the background plasma. Plasma density and temperature perturbations from the Alfven wave were observed along with electron scattering. Computer simulations tracking single particle motion with wave field are ongoing. In these the Alfven wave’s effect on the electrons pitch angle distribution by a Monte-Carlo method is studied. Planned experiments include upgrading the microwave source for up to 100kW pulses to make electrons with higher transverse energy and longer mirror trapping time. This work is supported by The Office of Naval Research under a MURI award. Work was done at the Basic Plasma Science Facility which is supported by DOE and NSF.

Effect of high-latitude ionospheric convection on Sun-aligned polar caps

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sojka, J. J.; Zhu, L.; Crain, D. J.; Schunk, R. W.

1994-01-01

A coupled magnetospheric-ionospheric (M-I) magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) model has been used to simulate the formation of Sun-aligned polar cap arcs for a variety of interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) dependent polar cap convection fields. The formation process involves launching an Alfven shear wave from the magnetosphere to the ionosphere where the ionospheric conductance can react self-consistently to changes in the upward currents. We assume that the initial Alfven shear wave is the result of solar wind-magnetosphere interactions. The simulations show how the E region density is affected by the changes in the electron precipitation that are associated with the upward currents. These changes in conductance lead to both a modified Alfven wave reflection at the ionosphere and the generation of secondary Alfven waves in the ionosphere. The ensuing bouncing of the Alfven waves between the ionosphere and magnetosphere is followed until an asymptotic solution is obtained. At the magnetosphere the Alfven waves reflect at a fixed boundary. The coupled M-I Sun-aligned polar cap arc model of Zhu et al.(1993a) is used to carry out the simulations. This study focuses on the dependence of the polar cap arc formation on the background (global) convection pattern. Since the polar cap arcs occur for northward and strong B(sub y) IMF conditions, a variety of background convection patterns can exist when the arcs are present. The study shows that polar cap arcs can be formed for all these convection patterns; however, the arc features are dramatically different for the different patterns. For weak sunward convection a relatively confined single pair of current sheets is associated with the imposed Alfven shear wave structure. However, when the electric field exceeds a threshold, the arc structure intensifies, and the conductance increases as does the local Joule heating rate. These increases are faster than a linear dependence on the background electric field strength. Furthermore, above the threshold, the single current sheet pair splits into multiple current sheet pairs. For the fixed initial ionospheric and magnetospheric conditions used in this study, the separation distance between the current pairs was found to be almost independent of the background electric field strength. For either three-cell or distorted two-cell background convection patterns the arc formation favored the positive B(sub y) case in the northern hemisphere.

Nonlocal stability analysis of the MHD Kelvin-Helmholtz instability in a compressible plasma. [solar wind-magnetosphere interaction

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Miura, A.; Pritchett, P. L.

1982-01-01

A general stability analysis is given of the Kevin-Helmholtz instability, for the case of sheared MHD flow of finite thickness in a compressible plasma which allows for the arbitrary orientation of the magnetic field, velocity flow, and wave vector in the plane perpendicular to the velocity gradient. The stability problem is reduced to the solution of a single second-order differential equation including a gravitational term to represent the coupling between the Kelvin-Helmholtz mode and the interchange mode. Compressibility and a magnetic field component parallel to the flow are found to be stabilizing effects, with destabilization of only the fast magnetosonic mode in the transverse case, and the presence of both Alfven and slow magnetosonic components in the parallel case. Analysis results are used in a discussion of the stability of sheared plasma flow at the magnetopause boundary and in the solar wind.

Experimental and Numerical Study of Drift Alfv'en Waves in LAPD

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Friedman, Brett; Popovich, P.; Carter, T. A.; Auerbach, D.; Schaffner, D.

2009-11-01

We present a study of drift Alfv'en waves in linear geometry using experiments in the Large Plasma Device (LAPD) at UCLA and simulations from the Boundary Turbulence code (BOUT). BOUT solves the 3D time evolution of plasma parameters and turbulence using Braginskii fluid equations. First, we present a verification study of linear drift Alfven wave physics in BOUT, which has been modified to simulate the cylindrical geometry of LAPD. Second, we present measurements of density and magnetic field fluctuations in the LAPD plasma and the correlation of these fluctuations as a function of plasma parameters, including strength of the background field and discharge current. We also compare the measurements to nonlinear BOUT calculations using experimental LAPD profiles.

Symmetries of the TDNLS equations for weakly nonlinear dispersive MHD waves

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Webb, G. M.; Brio, M.; Zank, G. P.

1995-01-01

In this paper we consider the symmetries and conservation laws for the TDNLS equations derived by Hada (1993) and Brio, Hunter and Johnson, to describe the propagation of weakly nonlinear dispersive MHD waves in beta approximately 1 plasmas. The equations describe the interaction of the Alfven and magnetoacoustic modes near the triple umbilic, where the fast magnetosonic, slow magnetosonic and Alfven speeds coincide and a(g)(exp 2) = V(A)(exp 2) where a(g) is the gas sound speed and V(A) is the Alfven speed. We discuss Lagrangian and Hamiltonian formulations, and similarity solutions for the equations.

Parametric Interactions between Alfven waves in LaPD

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brugman, B.; Carter, T. A.; Cowley, S. C.; Pribyl, P.; Lybarger, W.

2004-11-01

The physics governing interactions between large amplitude Alfvén waves, which are relevant to plasmas in space as well as the laboratory, is at present not well understood. A major class of such interactions which are believed to occur in compressible plasmas is referred to as parametric decay. We will present the results of a series of experiments involving the interactions of large amplitude LHP Alfvén wave conducted on the Large Plasma Device (LaPD); where β ≪ 1, n ˜ 10^12 frac1cm^3 and B0 in (200,2500) G. These experiments show strong signs of one form of parametric decay, known as the Modulational Instability, which represents the interaction of two Alfvén waves and a low frequency density perturbation. This interaction is believed to occur in plasmas with β < 1 as well as β > 1, over a broad range of wavevector space, and for RHP as well as LHP Alfvén waves - distinguishing it from the Beat and Decay instabilities. Details of this interaction, in particular the structure of the incident waves as well as that of their byproducts, will be shown in physical as well as wavevector space. The generation of large amplitude waves using both an Alfvén wave MASER and high current loop antennas will also be illustrated. Lastly theoretical descriptions of parametric decay will be presented and compared to observations. Future work will also include comparisons of experimental results with applicable simulations, such as GS2. Work supported by DOE grant number DE-FG03-02ER54688

Excitation of dust kinetic Alfven waves by semi-relativistic ion beams

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rubab, N.; Jaffer, G.

2016-05-15

The growth rates for dust kinetic Alfvén wave (DKAW) based on semi-relativistic Maxwellian distribution function are investigated in a hot and magnetized plasma. The dispersion relation of DKAW is obtained on a dust acoustic velocity branch, and the kinetic instability due to cross-field semi-relativistic ion flow is examined by the effect of dust parameters. Analytical expressions are derived for various modes as a natural consequence of the form of the solution, and is shown through graphical representation that the presence of dust particles and the cross-field semi-relativistic ions sensibly modify the dispersion characteristics of low-frequency DKAW. The results are validmore » for a frequency regime well below the dust cyclotron frequency. We suggest that semi-relativistic particles are an important factor in the growth/damping of DKAWs. It is also found that relativistic effects appear with the dust lower hybrid frequency are more effective for dust kinetic Alfvén waves in the perpendicular component as compared to the parallel one. In particular, the relativistic effects associated with electrons suppress the instability while ions enhance the growth rates. The growth rates are significantly modified with dust parameters and streaming velocity of cross-field ions.« less

Experimental Study of RF Sheaths due to Shear Alfv'en Waves in the LAPD

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martin, Michael; van Compernolle, Bart; Carter, Troy; Gekelman, Walter; Pribyl, Patrick; D'Ippolito, Daniel A.; Myra, James R.

2012-10-01

Ion cyclotron resonance frequency (ICRF) heating is an important tool in current fusion experiments and will be an essential part of the heating power in ITER. A current limitation of ICRF heating is impurity generation through the formation of radiofrequency (RF) sheaths, both near-field (at the antenna) and far-field (e.g. in the divertor region). Far-field sheaths are thought to be generated through the direct launch of or mode conversion to shear Alfv'en waves. Shear Alfv'en waves have an electric field component parallel to the background magnetic field near the wall that drives an RF sheath.footnotetextD. A. D'Ippolito and J. R. Myra, Phys. Plasmas 19, 034504 (2012) In this study we directly launch the shear Alfv'en wave and measure the plasma potential oscillations and DC potential in the bulk plasma of the LAPD using emissive and Langmuir probes. Measured changes in the DC plasma potential can serve as an indirect measurement of the formation of an RF sheath because of rectification. These measurements will be useful in guiding future experiments to measure the plasma potential profile inside RF sheaths as part of an ongoing campaign.

A Study of Alfven Wave Propagation and Heating the Chromosphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tu, J.; Song, P.

2013-12-01

Alfven wave propagation, reflection and heating of the solar atmosphere are studied for a one-dimensional solar atmosphere by self-consistently solving plasma and neutral fluid equations and Maxwell's equations with incorporation of the Hall effect, strong electron-neutral, electron-ion, and ion-neutral collisions. The governing equations are very stiff because of the strong coupling between the charged and neutral fluids. We have developed a numerical model based on an implicit backward difference formula (BDF2) of second order accuracy both in time and space to overcome the stiffness. A non-reflecting boundary condition is applied to the top boundary of the simulation domain so that the wave reflection within the domain due to the density gradient can be unambiguously determined. It is shown that the Alfven waves are partially reflected throughout the chromosphere. The reflection is increasingly stronger at higher altitudes and the strongest reflection occurs at the transition region. The waves are damped in the lower chromosphere dominantly through Joule dissipation due to electron collisions with neutrals and ions. The heating resulting from the wave damping is strong enough to balance the radiation energy loss for the quiet chromosphere. The collisional dissipation of the Alfven waves in the weakly collisional corona is negligible. The heating rates are larger for weaker background magnetic fields. In addition, higher frequency waves are subject to heavier damping. There is an upper cutoff frequency, depending on the background magnetic field, above which the waves are completely damped. At the frequencies below which the waves are not strongly damped, the waves may be strongly reflected at the transition region. The reflected waves interacting with the upward propagating waves may produce power at their double frequencies, which leads to more damping. Due to the reflection and damping, the energy flux of the waves transmitted to the corona is one order of magnitude smaller than that of the driving source.

Alfven wave dispersion behavior in single- and multicomponent plasmas

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rahbarnia, K.; Grulke, O.; Klinger, T.

Dispersion relations of driven Alfven waves (AWs) are measured in single- and multicomponent plasmas consisting of mixtures of argon, helium, and oxygen in a magnetized linear cylindrical plasma device VINETA [C. Franck, O. Grulke, and T. Klinger, Phys. Plasmas 9, 3254 (2002)]. The decomposition of the measured three-dimensional magnetic field fluctuations and the corresponding parallel current pattern reveals that the wave field is a superposition of L- and R-wave components. The dispersion relation measurements agree well with calculations based on a multifluid Hall-magnetohydrodynamic model if the plasma resistivity is correctly taken into account.

Low-Frequency Waves in the Near-Earth Magnetotail before Substorm Expansion Onsets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miyashita, Y.; Saito, M. H.; Hiraki, Y.; Machida, S.

2013-12-01

Magnetic reconnection and dipolarization, which occur in the near-Earth magnetotail just before substorm expansion onsets, are important processes for the substorm triggering. To understand the triggering of these processes, we have investigated low-frequency waves that were observed in the near-Earth magnetotail before onsets, by performing statistical analysis based on Geotail observations and case studies based on multi-point THEMIS and Geotail observations. Here we focused our examination on ~10 min interval before onsets. We find that small-amplitude Alfven and slow-mode magnetosonic waves with a period of ~1 to 2 min continuously exist for more than 10 min before onsets. Such waves are seen not only in the initial dipolarization region but also midway between the magnetic reconnection and initial dipolarization regions. It seems that the amplitudes of the waves are larger in the off-equator plasma sheet and the plasma sheet boundary layer than at the magnetic equator and in the lobe. After onsets the waves considerably amplify in the plasma sheet. These results may imply that instabilities already begin to grow gradually in a wide region during the substorm growth phase, while their explosive growth begins in localized regions just before onsets.

Satellite and Ground Signatures of Kinetic and Inertial Scale ULF Alfven Waves Propagating in Warm Plasma in Earth's Magnetosphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rankin, R.; Sydorenko, D.

2015-12-01

Results from a 3D global numerical model of Alfven wave propagation in a warm multi-species plasma in Earth's magnetosphere are presented. The model uses spherical coordinates, accounts for a non-dipole magnetic field, vertical structure of the ionosphere, and an air gap below the ionosphere. A realistic density model is used. Below the exobase altitude (2000 km) the densities and the temperatures of electrons, ions, and neutrals are obtained from the IRI and MSIS models. Above the exobase, ballistic (originating from the ionosphere and returning to ionosphere) and trapped (bouncing between two reflection points above the ionosphere) electron populations are considered similar to [Pierrard and Stegen (2008), JGR, v.113, A10209]. Plasma parameters at the exobase provided by the IRI are the boundary conditions for the ballistic electrons while the [Carpenter and Anderson (1992), JGR, v.97, p.1097] model of equatorial electron density defines parameters of the trapped electron population. In the simulations that are presented, Alfven waves with frequencies from 1 Hz to 0.01 Hz and finite azimuthal wavenumbers are excited in the magnetosphere and compared with Van Allen Probes data and ground-based observations from the CARISMA array of ground magnetometers. When short perpendicular scale waves reflect form the ionosphere, compressional Alfven waves are observed to propagate across the geomagnetic field in the ionospheric waveguide [e.g., Lysak (1999), JGR, v.104, p.10017]. Signals produced by the waves on the ground are discussed. The wave model is also applied to interpret recent Van Allen Probes observations of kinetic scale ULF waves that are associated with radiation belt electron dynamics and energetic particle injections.

Particle acceleration and turbulence in cosmic Ray shocks: possible pathways beyond the Bohm limit

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Malkov, M. A.; Diamond, P. H.

2007-08-01

Diffusive shock acceleration is discussed in terms of its potential to accelerate cosmic rays (CR) to 1018 eV (beyond the ``knee,'' as observations suggest) and in terms of the related observational signatures (spectral features). One idea to reach this energy is to resonantly generate a turbulent magnetic field via accelerated particles much in excess of the background field. We identify difficulties with this scenario and suggest two separate mechanisms that can work in concert with one another leading to a significant acceleration enhancement. The first mechanism is based on a nonlinear modification of the flow ahead of the shock supported by particles already accelerated to some specific (knee) momentum. The particles gain energy by bouncing off converging magnetic irregularities frozen into the flow in the shock precursor and not so much by re-crossing the shock itself. The acceleration rate is determined by the gradient of the flow velocity and turns out to be formally independent of the particle mean free path. The velocity gradient is set by the knee-particles. The acceleration rate of particles above the knee does not decrease with energy, unlike in the linear acceleration regime. The knee (spectrum steepening) forms because particles above it are effectively confined to the shock only if they are within limited domains in the momentum space, while other particles fall into ``loss-islands'', similar to the ``loss-cone'' of magnetic traps. This also maintains the steep velocity gradient and high acceleration rate. The second mechanism is based on the generation of Alfven waves at the gyroradius scale at the background field level, with a subsequent transfer to longer scales via interaction with strong acoustic turbulence in the shock precursor. The acoustic turbulence in turn, may be generated by Drury instability or by parametric instability of the Alfven (A) waves.

Three dimensional magnetohydrodynamic simulation of linearly polarised Alfven wave dynamics in Arnold-Beltrami-Childress magnetic field

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tsiklauri, D.

Previous studies (e.g., Malara et al., Astrophys. J. 533, 523 (2000)) considered small-amplitude Alfven wave (AW) packets in Arnold-Beltrami-Childress (ABC) magnetic field using WKB approximation. They draw a distinction between 2D AW dissipation via phase mixing and 3D AW dissipation via exponentially divergent magnetic field lines. In the former case, AW dissipation time scales as S{sup 1∕3} and in the latter as log(S), where S is the Lundquist number. In this work, linearly polarised Alfven wave dynamics in ABC magnetic field via direct 3D magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) numerical simulation is studied for the first time. A Gaussian AW pulse with length-scalemore » much shorter than ABC domain length and a harmonic AW with wavelength equal to ABC domain length are studied for four different resistivities. While it is found that AWs dissipate quickly in the ABC field, contrary to an expectation, it is found the AW perturbation energy increases in time. In the case of the harmonic AW, the perturbation energy growth is transient in time, attaining peaks in both velocity and magnetic perturbation energies within timescales much smaller than the resistive time. In the case of the Gaussian AW pulse, the velocity perturbation energy growth is still transient in time, attaining a peak within few resistive times, while magnetic perturbation energy continues to grow. It is also shown that the total magnetic energy decreases in time and this is governed by the resistive evolution of the background ABC magnetic field rather than AW damping. On contrary, when the background magnetic field is uniform, the total magnetic energy decrease is prescribed by AW damping, because there is no resistive evolution of the background. By considering runs with different amplitudes and by analysing the perturbation spectra, possible dynamo action by AW perturbation-induced peristaltic flow and inverse cascade of magnetic energy have been excluded. Therefore, the perturbation energy growth is attributed to a new instability. The growth rate appears to be dependent on the value of the resistivity and the spatial scale of the AW disturbance. Thus, when going beyond WKB approximation, AW damping, described by full MHD equations, does not guarantee decrease of perturbation energy. This has implications for the MHD wave plasma heating in exponentially divergent magnetic fields.« less

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gorelenkov, Nikolai N

The area of energetic particle (EP) physics of fusion research has been actively and extensively researched in recent decades. The progress achieved in advancing and understanding EP physics has been substantial since the last comprehensive review on this topic by W.W. Heidbrink and G.J. Sadler [1]. That review coincided with the start of deuterium-tritium (DT) experiments on Tokamak Fusion Test reactor (TFTR) and full scale fusion alphas physics studies. Fusion research in recent years has been influenced by EP physics in many ways including the limitations imposed by the "sea" of Alfven eigenmodes (AE) in particular by the toroidicityinduced AEsmore » (TAE) modes and reversed shear Alfven (RSAE). In present paper we attempt a broad review of EP physics progress in tokamaks and spherical tori since the first DT experiments on TFTR and JET (Joint European Torus) including helical/stellarator devices. Introductory discussions on basic ingredients of EP physics, i.e. particle orbits in STs, fundamental diagnostic techniques of EPs and instabilities, wave particle resonances and others are given to help understanding the advanced topics of EP physics. At the end we cover important and interesting physics issues toward the burning plasma experiments such as ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor).« less

Magnetofluid Turbulence in the Solar Wind

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Goldstein, Melvyn L.

2008-01-01

The solar wind shows striking characteristics that suggest that it is a turbulent magnetofluid, but the picture is not altogether simple. From the earliest observations, a strong correlation between magnetic fluctuations and plasma velocity fluctuations was noted. The high corrections suggest that the fluctuations are Alfven waves. In addition, the power spectrum of the magnetic fluctuation showed evidence of an inertial range that resembled that seen in fully-developed fluid turbulence. Alfven waves, however, are exact solutions of the equations of incompressible magnetohydrodynamics. Thus, there was a puzzle: how can a magnetofluid consisting of Alfven waves be turbulent? The answer lay in the role of velocity shears in the solar wind that could drive turbulent evolution. Puzzles remain: for example, the power spectrum of the velocity fluctuations is less steep than the slope of the magnetic fluctuations, nor do we understand even now why the solar wind appears to be nearly incompressible with a -5/3 power-spectral index.

Mechanical energy transport. [during stellar turbulences

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stein, R. F.; Leibacher, J. W.

1980-01-01

The properties, generation, and dissipation mechanisms of acoustic, gravity and Alfven waves are described, whose restoring forces are pressure, buoyancy, and magnetic tension, respectively. For acoustic waves, generation by turbulent convective motions and by the Eddington Valve thermal overstability is discussed, considering the 'five-minute' oscillation; dissipation is possible either by radiation or shocks. Generation of gravity waves by penetrative convective motions and by shear arising from supergranule motions is reviewed, and dissipation due to wave breaking, interaction with the mean horizontal fluid flow, and very severe radiative damping is considered. Attention is given to Alfven wave generation by convective motions and thermal overstability, and to dissipation by mode coupling, wave decay, current dissipation, and particle collisions producing Joule or viscous heating.

Mitigation of Alfvenic activity by 3D magnetic perturbations on NSTX

DOE PAGES

Kramer, G. J.; Bortolon, A.; Ferraro, N. M.; ...

2016-07-05

Observations on the National Spherical Torus eXperiment (NSTX) indicate that externally applied non-axisymmetric magnetic perturbations (MP) can reduce the amplitude of Toroidal Alfven Eigenmodes (TAE) and Global Alfven Eigenmodes (GAE) in response to pulsed n=3 non-resonant fields. From full-orbit following Monte Carlo simulations with the 1- and 2-fluid resistive MHD plasma response to the magnetic perturbation included, it was found that in response to MP pulses the fast-ion losses increased and the fast-ion drive for the GAEs was reduced. The MP did not affect the fast-ion drive for the TAEs significantly but the Alfven continuum at the plasma edge wasmore » found to be altered due to the toroidal symmetry breaking which leads to coupling of different toroidal harmonics. The TAE gap was reduced at the edge creating enhanced continuum damping of the global TAEs, which is consistent with the observations. Furthermore, the results suggest that optimized non-axisymmetric MP might be exploited to control and mitigate Alfven instabilities by tailoring the fast-ion distribution function and/or continuum structure.« less

GRMHD/RMHD Simulations and Stability of Magnetized Spine-Sheath Relativistic Jets

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hardee, Philip; Mizuno, Yosuke; Nishikawa, Ken-Ichi

2007-01-01

A new general relativistic magnetohydrodynamics (GRMHD ) code "RAISHIN" used to simulate jet generation by rotating and non-rotating black holes with a geometrically thin Keplarian accretion disk finds that the jet develops a spine-sheath structure in the rotating black hole case. Spine-sheath structure and strong magnetic fields significantly modify the Kelvin-Helmholtz (KH) velocity shear driven instability. The RAISHIN code has been used in its relativistic magnetohydrodynamic (RMHD) configuration to study the effects of strong magnetic fields and weakly relativistic sheath motion, cl2, on the KH instability associated with a relativistic, Y = 2.5, jet spine-sheath interaction. In the simulations sound speeds up to ? c/3 and Alfven wave speeds up to ? 0.56 c are considered. Numerical simulation results are compared to theoretical predictions from a new normal mode analysis of the RMHD equations. Increased stability of a weakly magnetized system resulting from c/2 sheath speeds and stabilization of a strongly magnetized system resulting from d 2 sheath speeds is found.

Streaming sausage, kink and tearing instabilities in a current sheet with applications to the earth's magnetotail

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lee, L. C.; Wang, S.; Wei, C. Q.; Tsurutani, B. T.

1988-01-01

This paper investigates the growth rates and eigenmode structures of the streaming sausage, kink, and tearing instabilities in a current sheet with a super-Alfvenic flow. The growth rates and eigenmode structures are first considered in the ideal incompressible limit by using a four-layer model, as well as a more realistic case in which all plasma parameters and the magnetic field vary continuously along the direction perpendicular to the magnetic field and plasma flow. An initial-value method is applied to obtain the growth rate and eigenmode profiles of the fastest growing mode, which is either the sausage mode or kink mode. It is shown that, in the earth's magnetotail, where super-Alfvenic plasma flows are observed in the plasma sheet and the ratio between the plasma and magnetic pressures far away from the current layer is about 0.1-0.3 in the lobes, the streaming sausage and streaming tearing instabilities, but not kink modes, are likely to occur.

Detection of Ionospheric Alfven Resonator Signatures Onboard C/NOFS: Implications for IRI Modeling

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Simoes, F.; Klenzing, J.; Ivanov, S.; Pfaff, R.; Rowland, D.; Bilitza, D.

2011-01-01

The 2008-2009 long-lasting solar minimum activity has been the one of its kind since the dawn of space age, offering exceptional conditions for investigating space weather in the near-Earth environment. First ever detection of Ionospheric Alfven Resonator (IAR) signatures in orbit offers new means for investigating ionospheric electrodynamics, namely MHD (MagnetoHydroDynamics) wave propagation, aeronomy processes, ionospheric dynamics, and Sun-Earth connection mechanisms at a local scale. Local and global plasma density heterogeneities in the ionosphere and magnetosphere allow for formation of waveguides and resonators where magnetosonic and shear Alfven waves propagate. The ionospheric magnetosonic waveguide results from complete magnetosonic wave reflection about the ionospheric F-region peak, where the Alfven index of refraction presents a maximum. MHD waves can also be partially trapped in the vertical direction between the lower boundary of the ionosphere and the magnetosphere, a resonance mechanism known as IAR. In this work we present C/NOFS (Communications/Navigation Outage Forecasting System) Extremely Low Frequency (ELF) electric field measurements related to IAR signatures, discuss the resonance and wave propagation mechanisms in the ionosphere, and address the electromagnetic inverse problem from which electron/ion distributions can be derived. These peculiar IAR electric field measurements provide new, complementary methodologies for inferring ionospheric electron and ion density profiles, and also contribute for the investigation of ionosphere dynamics and space weather monitoring. Specifically, IAR spectral signatures measured by C/NOFS contribute for improving the International Reference Ionosphere (IRI) model, namely electron density and ion composition.

Stormtime and Interplanetary Magnetic Field Drivers of Wave and Particle Acceleration Processes in the Magnetosphere-Ionosphere Transition Region

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hatch, Spencer Mark

The magnetosphere-ionosphere (M-I) transition region is the several thousand-kilometer stretch between the cold, dense and variably resistive region of ionized atmospheric gases beginning tens of kilometers above the terrestrial surface, and the hot, tenuous, and conductive plasmas that interface with the solar wind at higher altitudes. The M-I transition region is therefore the site through which magnetospheric conditions, which are strongly susceptible to solar wind dynamics, are communicated to ionospheric plasmas, and vice versa. We systematically study the influence of geomagnetic storms on energy input, electron precipitation, and ion outflow in the M-I transition region, emphasizing the role of inertial Alfven waves both as a preferred mechanism for dynamic (instead of static) energy transfer and particle acceleration, and as a low-altitude manifestation of high-altitude interaction between the solar wind and the magnetosphere, as observed by the FAST satellite. Via superposed epoch analysis and high-latitude distributions derived as a function of storm phase, we show that storm main and recovery phase correspond to strong modulations of measures of Alfvenic activity in the vicinity of the cusp as well as premidnight. We demonstrate that storm main and recovery phases occur during 30% of the four-year period studied, but together account for more than 65% of global Alfvenic energy deposition and electron precipitation, and more than 70% of the coincident ion outflow. We compare observed interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) control of inertial Alfven wave activity with Lyon-Fedder-Mobarry global MHD simulations predicting that southward IMF conditions lead to generation of Alfvenic power in the magnetotail, and that duskward IMF conditions lead to enhanced prenoon Alfvenic power in the Northern Hemisphere. Observed and predicted prenoon Alfvenic power enhancements contrast with direct-entry precipitation, which is instead enhanced postnoon. This situation reverses under dawnward IMF. Despite clear observational and simulated signatures of dayside Alfvenic power, the generation mechanism remains unclear. Last, we present premidnight FAST observations of accelerated precipitation that is best described by a kappa distribution, signaling a nonthermal source population. We examine the implications for the commonly used Knight Relation.

Wave particle interactions in Jupiter's magnetosphere: Implications for auroral and magnetospheric particle distributions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saur, Joachim; Schreiner, Anne; Barry, Mauk; Clark, George; Kollman, Peter

2017-04-01

We investigate the occurrence and the role of wave particle interaction processes, i.e., Landau and cyclotron damping, in Jupiter's magnetosphere. Therefore we calculate kinetic length and temporal scales, which we cross-compare at various regions within Jupiter's magnetosphere. Based on these scales, we investigate the roles of possible wave particle mechanisms in each region, e.g., Jupiter's plasma sheet, the auroral acceleration region and the polar ionosphere. We thereby consider that the magnetospheric regions are coupled through convective transport, Alfven and other wave modes. We particularly focus on the role of kinetic Alfven waves in contributing to Jupiter's aurora. Our results will aid the interpretation of particle distribution functions measured by the JEDI instrument onboard the JUNO spacecraft.

MOA: Magnetic Field Oscillating Amplified Thruster and its Application for Nuclear Electric and Thermal Propulsion

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Frischauf, Norbert; Hettmer, Manfred; Grassauer, Andreas

More than 60 years after the later Nobel laureate Hannes Alfven had published a letter stating that oscillating magnetic fields can accelerate ionised matter via magneto-hydrodynamic interactions in a wave like fashion, the technical implementation of Alfven waves for propulsive purposes has been proposed, patented and examined for the first time by a group of inventors. The name of the concept, utilising Alfven waves to accelerate ionised matter for propulsive purposes, is MOA - Magnetic field Oscillating Amplified thruster. Alfven waves are generated by making use of two coils, one being permanently powered and serving also as magnetic nozzle, themore » other one being switched on and off in a cyclic way, deforming the field lines of the overall system. It is this deformation that generates Alfven waves, which are in the next step used to transport and compress the propulsive medium, in theory leading to a propulsion system with a much higher performance than any other electric propulsion system. Based on computer simulations, which were conducted to get a first estimate on the performance of the system, MOA is a highly flexible propulsion system, whose performance parameters might easily be adapted, by changing the mass flow and/or the power level. As such the system is capable to deliver a maximum specific impulse of 13116 s (12.87 mN) at a power level of 11.16 kW, using Xe as propellant, but can also be attuned to provide a thrust of 236.5 mN (2411 s) at 6.15 kW of power. While space propulsion is expected to be the prime application for MOA and is supported by numerous applications such as Solar and/or Nuclear Electric Propulsion or even as an 'afterburner system' for Nuclear Thermal Propulsion, other terrestrial applications can be thought of as well, making the system highly suited for a common space-terrestrial application research and utilisation strategy. (authors)« less

High beta effects and nonlinear evolution of the TAE instability

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Spong, D.A.

1992-12-31

The toroidal Alfven eigenmode has recently been observed experimentally on DIII-D and TFTR when neutral beams are injected near the Alfven velocity. This instability is also of concern for future high {beta} D-T devices where fusion by-product alpha populations will generally be super-Alfvenic. We have developed a gyrofluid model (with Landau closure) of the TAE mode which can include most of the relevant damping mechanisms (continuum damping, ion and electron damping, ion FLR and collisional trapped electron damping) as well as reproducing analytically predicted undamped growth rates relatively accurately. An important consideration in predicting future unstable TAE regimes is themore » effect of finite beta in the background plasma. Due to the Shafranov shift and distortion of the flux surfaces, the location of the stable TAE root and the continuum will shift with increasing {beta}. The net effect of this is to generally enhance continuum damping and stabilize the TAF instability. Also, as the pressure gradient drive from the background becomes increasingly important, coupling between TAE and background driven modes can alter the TAE mode. A further application of our gyrofluid model which will be discussed is the nonlinear evolution of the TAE instability. Gyrofluid models offer a convenient reduced description which is more amenable to computational nonlinear modeling than full kinetic particle models. Our results demonstrate the rise and crash phases of TAE activity similar to experimental observations. The saturation is caused by generation of m=0 n=0 components through nonlinear beatings of the n > 1 modes; these cause modifications to the original equilibrium profiles in such a direction as to decrease the instability drive. This is the gyrofluid analog of direct particle losses. The peak magnetic fluctuation level increases with increasing energetic species beta, resulting in non-resonant stochastization of magnetic field lines.« less

High beta effects and nonlinear evolution of the TAE instability

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Spong, D.A.

1992-01-01

The toroidal Alfven eigenmode has recently been observed experimentally on DIII-D and TFTR when neutral beams are injected near the Alfven velocity. This instability is also of concern for future high [beta] D-T devices where fusion by-product alpha populations will generally be super-Alfvenic. We have developed a gyrofluid model (with Landau closure) of the TAE mode which can include most of the relevant damping mechanisms (continuum damping, ion and electron damping, ion FLR and collisional trapped electron damping) as well as reproducing analytically predicted undamped growth rates relatively accurately. An important consideration in predicting future unstable TAE regimes is themore » effect of finite beta in the background plasma. Due to the Shafranov shift and distortion of the flux surfaces, the location of the stable TAE root and the continuum will shift with increasing [beta]. The net effect of this is to generally enhance continuum damping and stabilize the TAF instability. Also, as the pressure gradient drive from the background becomes increasingly important, coupling between TAE and background driven modes can alter the TAE mode. A further application of our gyrofluid model which will be discussed is the nonlinear evolution of the TAE instability. Gyrofluid models offer a convenient reduced description which is more amenable to computational nonlinear modeling than full kinetic particle models. Our results demonstrate the rise and crash phases of TAE activity similar to experimental observations. The saturation is caused by generation of m=0 n=0 components through nonlinear beatings of the n > 1 modes; these cause modifications to the original equilibrium profiles in such a direction as to decrease the instability drive. This is the gyrofluid analog of direct particle losses. The peak magnetic fluctuation level increases with increasing energetic species beta, resulting in non-resonant stochastization of magnetic field lines.« less

Simulation of the westward traveling surge and Pi 2 pulsations during substorms

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kan, J. R.; Sun, W.

1985-01-01

The westward traveling surge and the Pi2 pulsations are simulated as a consequence of an enhanced magnetospheric convection in a model of magnetosphere coupling. The coupling is characterized by the bouncing of Alfven waves launched by the enhanced convection. The reflection of Alfven waves from the ionosphere is treated in which the height-integrated conductivity is allowed to be highly nonuniform and fully anisotropic. The reflection of Alfven waves from the magnetosphere is characterized by the coefficient Rm, depending on whether the field lines are open or closed. The conductivity in the model is self-consistently enhanced with increasing upward field-aligned current density. The results of the simulation, including the convection pattern, the electrojets, the field-aligned current, the conductivity enhancement, the oscillation of the westward electrojet, and the average speed of the westward surge are in reasonable agreement with the features of the westward traveling surge and the Pi 2 pulsations observed during substorms.

Mode conversion between Alfven wave eigenmodes in axially inhomogeneous two-ion-species plasmas

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Roberts, D.R.; Hershkowitz, N.; Tataronis, J.A.

The uniform cylindrical plasma model of Litwin and Hershkowitz (Phys. Fluids {bold 30}, 1323 (1987)) is shown to predict mode conversion between the lowest radial order {ital m}=+1 fast magnetosonic surface and slow ion-cyclotron global eigenmodes of the Alfven wave at the light-ion species Alfven resonance of a cold two-ion plasma. A hydrogen ({ital h})--deuterium ({ital d}) plasma is examined in experiments. The fast mode is efficiently excited by a rotating field antenna array at {omega}{similar to}{Omega}{sub {ital h}} in the central cell of the Phaedrus-B tandem mirror (Phys. Rev. Lett. {bold 51}, 1955(1983)). Radially scanned magnetic probes observe themore » propagating eigenmode wave fields within a shallow central cell magnetic gradient in which the conversion zone is axially localized according to {ital n}{sub {ital d}}/{ital n}{sub {ital h}}. A low radial-order slow ion-cyclotron mode, observed in the vicinity of the conversion zone, gives evidence for the predicted mode conversion.« less

Radial energy transport by magnetospheric ULF waves: Effects of magnetic curvature and plasma pressure

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kouznetsov, Igor; Lotko, William

1995-01-01

The 'radial' transport of energy by internal ULF waves, stimulated by dayside magnetospheric boundary oscillations, is analyzed in the framework of one-fluid magnetohydrodynamics. (the term radial is used here to denote the direction orthogonal to geomagnetic flux surfaces.) The model for the inhomogeneous magnetospheric plasma and background magnetic field is axisymmetric and includes radial and parallel variations in the magnetic field, magnetic curvature, plasma density, and low but finite plasma pressure. The radial mode structure of the coupled fast and intermediate MHD waves is determined by numerical solution of the inhomogeneous wave equation; the parallel mode structure is characterized by a Wentzel-Kramer-Brillouin (WKB) approximation. Ionospheric dissipation is modeled by allowing the parallel wave number to be complex. For boudnary oscillations with frequencies in the range from 10 to 48 mHz, and using a dipole model for the background magnetic field, the combined effects of magnetic curvature and finite plasma pressure are shown to (1) enhance the amplitude of field line resonances by as much as a factor of 2 relative to values obtained in a cold plasma or box-model approximation for the dayside magnetosphere; (2) increase the energy flux delivered to a given resonance by a factor of 2-4; and (3) broaden the spectral width of the resonance by a factor of 2-3. The effects are attributed to the existence of an 'Alfven buoyancy oscillation,' which approaches the usual shear mode Alfven wave at resonance, but unlike the shear Alfven mode, it is dispersive at short perpendicular wavelengths. The form of dispersion is analogous to that of an internal atmospheric gravity wave, with the magnetic tension of the curved background field providing the restoring force and allowing radial propagation of the mode. For nominal dayside parameters, the propagation band of the Alfven buoyancy wave occurs between the location of its (field line) resonance and that of the fast mode cutoff that exists at larger radial distances.

Theoretical Studies of Alfven Waves and Energetic Particle Physics in Fusion Plasmas

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chen, Liu

This report summarizes major theoretical findings in the linear as well as nonlinear physics of Alfvén waves and energetic particles in magnetically confined fusion plasmas. On the linear physics, a variational formulation, based on the separation of singular and regular spatial scales, for drift-Alfvén instabilities excited by energetic particles is established. This variational formulation is then applied to derive the general fishbone-like dispersion relations corresponding to the various Alfvén eigenmodes and energetic-particle modes. It is further employed to explore in depth the low-frequency Alfvén eigenmodes and demonstrate the non-perturbative nature of the energetic particles. On the nonlinear physics, new novelmore » findings are obtained on both the nonlinear wave-wave interactions and nonlinear wave-energetic particle interactions. It is demonstrated that both the energetic particles and the fine radial mode structures could qualitatively affect the nonlinear evolution of Alfvén eigenmodes. Meanwhile, a theoretical approach based on the Dyson equation is developed to treat self-consistently the nonlinear interactions between Alfvén waves and energetic particles, and is then applied to explain simulation results of energetic-particle modes. Relevant list of journal publications on the above findings is also included.« less

The Nonlinear Coupling of Alfven and Lower Hybrid Waves in Space Plasma

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Khazanov, George V.

2004-01-01

Space plasmas support a wide variety of waves, and wave-particle interactions as well as wave-wave interactions which are of crucial importance to magnetospheric and ionospheric plasma behavior. The excitation of lower hybrid waves (LHWs) in particular is a widely discussed mechanism of interaction between plasma species in space and is one of the unresolved questions of magnetospheric multi-ion plasmas. It is demonstrated that large-amplitude Alfven waves may generate LHWs in the auroral zone and ring current region and in some cases (particularly in the inner magnetosphere) this serves as the Alfven wave saturation mechanism. We present several examples of observational data which illustrate that the proposed mechanism is a plausible candidate to explain certain classes of LHW generation events in the ionosphere and magnetosphere and demonstrate electron and ion energization involving these processes. We discuss the morphology dynamics and level of LHW activity generated by electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) waves during the May 2-7 1998 storm period on the global scale. The LHWs were calculated based on a newly developed self-consistent model (Khazanov et. al. 2002) that couples the system of two kinetic equations: one equation describes the ring current (RC) ion dynamic and another equation describes the evolution of EMIC waves. It is found that the LHWs are excited by helium ions due to their mass dependent drift in the electric field of EMIC waves. The level of LHW activity is calculated assuming that the induced scattering process is the main saturation mechanism for these waves. The calculated LHWs electric fields are consistent with the observational data.

Generation of BBFs and DFs, Formation of Substorm Auroras and Triggers of Substorm Onset

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Song, Y.; Lysak, R. L.

2014-12-01

Substorm onset is a dynamical response of the MI coupling system to external solar wind driving conditions and to internal dynamical processes. During the growth phase, the solar wind energy and momentum are transferred into the magnetosphere via MHD mesoscale Alfvenic interactions throughout the magnetopause current sheet. A decrease in momentum transfer from the solar wind into the magnetosphere starts a preconditioning stage, and produces a strong earthward body force acting on the whole magnetotail within a short time period. The strong earthward force will cause localized transients in the tail, such as multiple BBFs, DFs, plasma bubbles, and excited MHD waves. On auroral flux tubes, FACs carried by Alfven waves are generated by Alfvenic interactions between tail earthward flows associated with BBFs/DFs/Bubbles and the ionospheric drag. Nonlinear Alfvenic interaction between the incident and reflected Alfven wave packets in the auroral acceleration region can produce localized parallel electric fields and substorm auroral arcs. During the preconditioning stage prior to substorm onset, the generation of parallel electric fields and auroral arcs can redistribute perpendicular mechanical and magnetic stresses, "decoupling" the magnetosphere from the ionosphere drag. This will enhance the tail earthward flows and rapidly build up stronger parallel electric fields in the auroral acceleration region, leading to a sudden and violent tail energy release and substorm auroral poleward expansion. We suggest that in preconditioning stage, the decrease in the solar wind momentum transfer is a necessary condition of the substorm onset. Additionally, "decoupling" the magnetosphere from ionosphere drag can trigger substorm expansion onset.

Acceleration and heating of two-fluid solar wind by Alfven waves

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sandbaek, Ornulf; Leer, Egil

1994-01-01

Earlier model studies of solar wind driven by thermal pressure and Alfven waves have shown that wave amplitudes of 20-30 km/s at the coronal base are sufficient to accelerate the flow to the high speeds observed in quasi-steady streams emanating from large coronal holes. We focus on the energy balance in the proton gas and show that heat conduction from the region where the waves are dissipated may play an important role in determining the proton temperature at the orbit of Earth. In models with 'classical' heat conduction we find a correlation between high flow speed, high proton temperature, and low electron temperature at 1 AU. The effect of wave heating on the development of anisotropies in the solar wind proton gas pressure is also investigated in this study.

Kinetic Alfven wave with density variation and loss-cone distribution function of multi-ions in PSBL region

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tamrakar, Radha; Varma, P.; Tiwari, M. S.

2018-05-01

Kinetic Alfven wave (KAW) generation due to variation of loss-cone index J and density of multi-ions (H+, He+ and O+) in the plasma sheet boundary layer region (PSBL) is investigated. Kinetic approach is used to derive dispersion relation of wave using Vlasov equation. Variation of frequency with respect to wide range of k⊥ρi (where k⊥ is wave vector across the magnetic field, ρi is gyroradius of ions and i denotes H+, He+ and O+ ions) is analyzed. It is found that each ion gyroradius and number density shows different effect on wave generation with varying width of loss-cone. KAW is generated with multi-ions (H+, He+ and O+) over wide regime for J=1 and shows dissimilar effect for J=2. Frequency is reduced with increasing density of gyrating He+ and O+ ions. Wave frequency is obtained within the reported range which strongly supports generation of kinetic Alfven waves. A sudden drop of frequency is also observed for H+ and He+ ion which may be due to heavy penetration of these ions through the loss-cone. The parameters of PSBL region are used for numerical calculation. The application of these results are in understanding the effect of gyrating multi-ions in transfer of energy and Poynting flux losses from PSBL region towards ionosphere and also describing the generation of aurora.

ULF Generation by Modulated Ionospheric Heating

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chang, C.; Labenski, J.; Wallace, T.; Papadopoulos, K.

2013-12-01

Modulated ionospheric heating experiments designed to generate ULF waves using the HAARP heater have been conducted since 2007. Artificial ULF waves in the Pc1 frequency range were observed from space and by ground induction magnetometers located in the vicinity of the heater as well as at long distances. Two distinct generation mechanisms of artificial ULF waves were identified. The first was electroject modulation under geomagnetically disturbed conditions. The second was pressure modulation in the E and F regions of the ionosphere under quiet conditions. Ground detections of ULF waves near the heater included both Shear Alfven waves and Magnetosonic waves generated by electrojet and/or pressure modulations. Distant ULF detections involved Magnetosonic wave propagation in the Alfvenic duct with pressure modulation as the most likely source. Summary of our observations and theoretical interpretations will be presented at the meeting. We would like to acknowledge the support provided by the staff at the HAARP facility during our ULF experiments.

Alfven Eigenmode Control in DIII-D

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hu, W.; Olofsson, E.; Welander, A.; van Zeeland, M.; Collins, C.; Heidbrink, W.

2017-10-01

Alfven eigenmodes (AE) driven by fast ions from neutral beam and ion cyclotron heating are common in present day tokamak plasmas and are expected to be destabilized by alpha particles in future burning plasma experiments. Because these waves have been shown to cause loss and redistribution of fast ions which can impact plasma performance and potentially device integrity, developing control techniques for AEs is of paramount importance. In the DIII-D plasma control system, spectral analysis of real-time ECE data is used as a monitor of AE amplitude, frequency, and location. These values are then used for feedback control of the neutral beam power to control Alfven waves and reduce fast ion loss. This work describes tests of AE control experiments in the current ramp up phase, during which multiple Alfven eigenmodes are typically unstable and fast ion confinement is degraded significantly. Comparisons of neutron emission and confined fast ion profiles with and without active AE control will be made. Work supported by the U.S. Dept. of Energy under Award Number DE-FC02-04ER54698.

Shock Acceleration of Solar Energetic Protons: The First 10 Minutes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ng, Chee K.; Reames, Donald V.

2008-01-01

Proton acceleration at a parallel coronal shock is modeled with self-consistent Alfven wave excitation and shock transmission. 18 - 50 keV seed protons at 0.1% of plasma proton density are accelerated in 10 minutes to a power-law intensity spectrum rolling over at 300 MeV by a 2500km s-1 shock traveling outward from 3.5 solar radius, for typical coronal conditions and low ambient wave intensities. Interaction of high-energy protons of large pitch-angles with Alfven waves amplified by low-energy protons of small pitch angles is key to rapid acceleration. Shock acceleration is not significantly retarded by sunward streaming protons interacting with downstream waves. There is no significant second-order Fermi acceleration.

Numerical simulation of MHD turbulence in three dimensions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Goldstein, M. L.; Roberts, D. A.; Deane, A.

1997-01-01

The evolution of Alfvenic turbulence in 3D spherical geometry can now be studied. In simulations, a fast stream is sandwiched between two slower streams. The inflow is both supersonic and superAlfvenic. Alfven waves entering the box are convected into the medium and interact nonlinearly with the velocity shear and with any structures (i.e., flux tubes) that might be present. These initial simulations suggest that velocity shear, even in spherical geometry, is able to drive a turbulent cascade which results in approximately Kolmogoroff-like power spectra.

Detection of Ionospheric Alfven Resonator Signatures in the Equatorial Ionosphere

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Simoes, Fernando; Klenzing, Jeffrey; Ivanov, Stoyan; Pfaff, Robert; Freudenreich, Henry; Bilitza, Dieter; Rowland, Douglas; Bromund, Kenneth; Liebrecht, Maria Carmen; Martin, Steven;

The Dissipation Range of Interstellar Turbulence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Spangler, Steven R.; Buffo, J. J.

2013-06-01

Turbulence may play an important role in a number of interstellar processes. One of these is heating of the interstellar gas, as the turbulent energy is dissipated and changed into thermal energy of the gas, or at least other forms of energy. There have been very promising recent results on the mechanism for dissipation of turbulence in the Solar Wind (Howes et al, Phys. Plasm. 18, 102305, 2011). In the Solar Wind, the dissipation arises because small-scale irregularities develop properties of kinetic Alfven waves, and apparently damp like kinetic Alfven waves. A property of kinetic Alfven waves is that they become significantly compressive on size scales of order the ion Larmor radius. Much is known about the plasma properties of ionized components of interstellar medium such as HII regions and the Diffuse Ionized Gas (DIG) phase, including information on the turbulence in these media. The technique of radio wave scintillations can yield properties of HII region and DIG turbulence on scales of order the ion Larmor radius, which we refer to as the dissipation scale. In this paper, we collect results from a number of published radio scattering measurements of interstellar turbulence on the dissipation scale. These studies show evidence for a spectral break on the dissipation scale, but no evidence for enhanced compressibility of the fluctuations. The simplest explanation of our result is that turbulence in the ionized interstellar medium does not possess properties of kinetic Alfven waves. This could point to an important difference with Solar Wind turbulence. New observations, particularly with the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) could yield much better measurements of the power spectrum of interstellar turbulence in the dissipation range. This research was supported at the University of Iowa by grants AST09-07911 and ATM09-56901 from the National Science Foundation.

Hybrid Alfven resonant mode generation in the magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling system

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hiraki, Yasutaka; Watanabe, Tomo-Hiko

2012-10-15

Feedback unstable Alfven waves involving global field-line oscillations and the ionospheric Alfven resonator (IAR) were comprehensively studied to clarify their properties of frequency dispersion, growth rate, and eigenfunctions. It is discovered that a new mode called here the hybrid Alfven resonant (HAR) mode can be destabilized in the magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling system with a realistic Alfven velocity profile. The HAR mode found in a high frequency range over 0.3 Hz is caused by coupling of IAR modes with strong dispersion and magnetospheric cavity resonances. The harmonic relation of HAR eigenfrequencies is characterized by a constant frequency shift from those of IARmore » modes. The three modes are robustly found even if effects of two-fluid process and ionospheric collision are taken into account and thus are anticipated to be detected by magnetic field observations in a frequency range of 0.3-1 Hz in auroral and polar-cap regions.« less

Density variation effect on multi-ions with kinetic Alfven wave around cusp region—a kinetic approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tamrakar, Radha; Varma, P.; Tiwari, M. S.

2018-01-01

The kinetic Alfven waves in the presence of homogeneous magnetic field plasma with multi-ions effect are investigated. The dispersion relation and normalised damping rate are derived for low-β plasma using kinetic theory. The effect of density variation of H+, He+ and O+ ions is observed on frequency and damping rate of the wave. The variation of frequency (ω) and normalised damping rate (γ / Ω_{H^{ +}} ) of the wave are studied with respect to k_{ \\bot} ρj, where k_{ \\bot} is the perpendicular wave number, ρj is the ion gyroradius and j denotes H+, He+ and O+ ions. The variation with k_{ \\bot} ρj is considered over wide range. The parameters appropriate to cusp region are used for the explanation of results. It is found that with hydrogen and helium ions gyration, the frequency of wave is influenced by the density variation of H+ and He+ ions but remains insensitive to the change in density of O+ ions. For oxygen ion gyration, the frequency of wave varies over a short range only for O+ ion density variation. The wave shows damping at lower altitude due to variation in density of lighter H+ and He+ ions whereas at higher altitude only heavy O+ ions contribute in wave damping. The damping of wave may be due to landau damping or energy transfer from wave to particles. The present study signifies that the both lighter and heavier ions dominate differently to change the characteristics of kinetic Alfven wave and density variation is also an important parameter to understand wave phenomena in cusp region.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yukhimuk, V.; Roussel-Dupre, R.

In this paper the evolution of nonlinear scattering of whistler mode waves by kinetic Alfven waves (KAW) in time and two spatial dimensions is studied analytically. The authors suggest this nonlinear process as a mechanism of kinetic Alfven wave generation in space plasmas. This mechanism can explain the dependence of Alfven wave generation on whistler waves observed in magnetospheric and ionospheric plasmas. The observational data show a dependence for the generation of long periodic pulsations Pc5 on whistler wave excitation in the auroral and subauroral zone of the magnetosphere. This dependence was first observed by Ondoh T.I. For 79 casesmore » of VLF wave excitation registered by Ondoh at College Observatory (L=64.6 N), 52 of them were followed by Pc5 geomagnetic pulsation generation. Similar results were obtained at the Loparskaia Observatory (L=64 N) for auroral and subauroral zone of the magnetosphere. Thus, in 95% of the cases when VLF wave excitation occurred the generation of long periodic geomagnetic pulsations Pc5 were observed. The observations also show that geomagnetic pulsations Pc5 are excited simultaneously or insignificantly later than VLF waves. In fact these two phenomena are associated genetically: the excitation of VLF waves leads to the generation of geomagnetic pulsations Pc5. The observations show intensive generation of geomagnetic pulsations during thunderstorms. Using an electromagnetic noise monitoring system covering the ULF range (0.01-10 Hz) A.S. Fraser-Smith observed intensive ULF electromagnetic wave during a large thunderstorm near the San-Francisco Bay area on September 23, 1990. According to this data the most significant amplification in ULF wave activity was observed for waves with a frequency of 0.01 Hz and it is entirely possible that stronger enhancements would have been measured at lower frequencies.« less

Three dimensional magnetohydrodynamic simulation of linearly polarised Alfven wave dynamics in Arnold-Beltrami-Childress magnetic field

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tsiklauri, David

2015-04-01

Previous studies (e.g., Malara et al., Astrophys. J. 533, 523 (2000)) considered small-amplitude Alfven wave (AW) packets in Arnold-Beltrami-Childress (ABC) magnetic field using WKB approximation. They draw a distinction between 2D AW dissipation via phase mixing and 3D AW dissipation via exponentially divergent magnetic field lines. In the former case, AW dissipation time scales as S 1/3 and in the latter as log(S) , where S is the Lundquist number. In this work [1], linearly polarised Alfven wave dynamics in ABC magnetic field via direct 3D magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) numerical simulation is studied for the first time. A Gaussian AW pulse with length-scale much shorter than ABC domain length and a harmonic AW with wavelength equal to ABC domain length are studied for four different resistivities. While it is found that AWs dissipate quickly in the ABC field, contrary to an expectation, it is found the AW perturbation energy increases in time. In the case of the harmonic AW, the perturbation energy growth is transient in time, attaining peaks in both velocity and magnetic perturbation energies within timescales much smaller than the resistive time. In the case of the Gaussian AW pulse, the velocity perturbation energy growth is still transient in time, attaining a peak within few resistive times, while magnetic perturbation energy continues to grow. It is also shown that the total magnetic energy decreases in time and this is governed by the resistive evolution of the background ABC magnetic field rather than AW damping. On contrary, when the background magnetic field is uniform, the total magnetic energy decrease is prescribed by AW damping, because there is no resistive evolution of the background. By considering runs with different amplitudes and by analysing the perturbation spectra, possible dynamo action by AW perturbation-induced peristaltic flow and inverse cascade of magnetic energy have been excluded. Therefore, the perturbation energy growth is attributed to a new instability. The growth rate appears to be dependent on the value of the resistivity and the spatial scale of the AW disturbance. Thus, when going beyond WKB approximation, AW damping, described by full MHD equations, does not guarantee decrease of perturbation energy. This has implications for the MHD wave plasma heating in exponentially divergent magnetic fields. [1] D. Tsiklauri, Phys. Plasmas 21, 052902 (2014); http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4875920 This research is funded by the Leverhulme Trust Research Project Grant RPG-311

Electron Heating and the Farley-Buneman Instability in the Solar Chromosphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Buchert, Stephan

Convective motion in the solar chromosphere has generally more than enough energy to po-tentially explain observed heating, but the possible dissipation mechanisms disserve more con-sideration. When, driven by electric fields, neutrals and ions move at different fluid velocities, like it happens in the Earth's thermosphere, then ion-neutral collisions cause friction and Joule heating. Because of a relatively short neutral-ion collision time in the chromosphere, neutral motion is expected to follow the ions within less than a tenth of a second, canceling any elec-tric fields in the reference frame of the neutral gas. Thus only overshooting slip motion from Alfven waves with correspondigly high frequencies can cause frictional heating. In the Earth's lower thermosphere another mechanism, the Farley-Buneman instability, causes quite intense electron heating when the ExB velocity exceeds the ion-acoustic speed. Similar conditions can occur in the chromosphere as well, but again only due to overshooting motion. We have mod-eled electron heating from the Farley-Buneman instability in the chromosphere, assuming that the instability heats similar as in the Earth's ionosphere, but electrons are cooled by collisions with H atoms instead of atmospheric molecules. Then electron temperatures can become very high and the enhancements are eventually limited by radiative losses. Observed ubiquitous and persistent UV emission of the solar chromosphere could so be explained by the Farley-Buneman instability, if the emissions in reality are intermittent with time scales less than a second.

ELF wave production by an electron beam emitting rocket system and its suppression on auroral field lines - Evidence for Alfven and drift waves

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Winckler, J. R.; Erickson, K. N.; Abe, Y.; Steffen, J. E.; Malcolm, P. R.

1985-07-01

Orthogonal probes on a free-flying plasma diagnostics payload are used to study ELF electric disturbances in the auroral ionosphere that are due to the injection of powerful electron beams. Frequency spectrograms are presented for various pitch angles, pulsing characteristics, and other properties of the injected beams; the large scale DC ionospheric convection electric field is measured, together with auroral particle precipitation, visual auroral forms, and ionospheric parameters. In view of the experimental results obtained, it is postulated that the observed ELF waves are in the Alfven and drift modes, and are generated by the positive vehicle potential during beam injection.

The Potential for Ambient Plasma Wave Propulsion

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gilland, James H.; Williams, George J.

2016-01-01

A truly robust space exploration program will need to make use of in-situ resources as much as possible to make the endeavor affordable. Most space propulsion concepts are saddled with one fundamental burden; the propellant needed to produce momentum. The most advanced propulsion systems currently in use utilize electric and/or magnetic fields to accelerate ionized propellant. However, significant planetary exploration missions in the coming decades, such as the now canceled Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter, are restricted by propellant mass and propulsion system lifetimes, using even the most optimistic projections of performance. These electric propulsion vehicles are inherently limited in flexibility at their final destination, due to propulsion system wear, propellant requirements, and the relatively low acceleration of the vehicle. A few concepts are able to utilize the environment around them to produce thrust: Solar or magnetic sails and, with certain restrictions, electrodynamic tethers. These concepts focus primarily on using the solar wind or ambient magnetic fields to generate thrust. Technically immature, quasi-propellantless alternatives lack either the sensitivity or the power to provide significant maneuvering. An additional resource to be considered is the ambient plasma and magnetic fields in solar and planetary magnetospheres. These environments, such as those around the Sun or Jupiter, have been shown to host a variety of plasma waves. Plasma wave propulsion takes advantage of an observed astrophysical and terrestrial phenomenon: Alfven waves. These are waves that propagate in the plasma and magnetic fields around and between planets and stars. The generation of Alfven waves in ambient magnetic and plasma fields to generate thrust is proposed as a truly propellantless propulsion system which may enable an entirely new matrix of exploration missions. Alfven waves are well known, transverse electromagnetic waves that propagate in magnetized plasmas at frequencies below the ion cyclotron frequency. They have been observed in both laboratory and astrophysical settings. On Earth, they are being investigated as a possible means for plasma heating, current drive, and momentum addition in magnetic confinement fusion systems. In addition, Alfven waves have been proposed as a mechanism for acceleration of the solar wind away from the sun.

The Caltech experimental investigation of fast 3D non-equilbrium dynamics: an overview

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bellan, Paul; Shikama, Taiichi; Chai, Kilbyoung; Ha, Bao; Chaplin, Vernon; Kendall, Mark; Moser, Auna; Stenson, Eve; Tobin, Zachary; Zhai, Xiang

2012-10-01

The formation and dynamics of writhing, plasma-filled, twisted open magnetic flux tubes is being investigated using pulsed-power laboratory experiments. This work is relevant to solar corona loops, astrophysical jets, spheromak formation, and open field lines in tokamaks and RFP's. MHD forces have been observed to drive fast axial plasma flows into the flux tube from the boundary it intercepts. These flows fill the flux tube with plasma while simultaneously injecting linked frozen-in azimuthal flux; helicity injection is thus associated with mass injection. Recent results include observation of a secondary instability (Rayleigh-Taylor driven by the effective gravity of an exponentially growing kink mode), color-coded plasmas manifesting bidirectional axial flows in a geometry similar to a solar corona loop, and spectroscopic measurements of the internal vector magnetic field. Experiments underway include investigating how an external magnetic field straps down a solar loop, investigation of the details of the Rayleigh-Taylor instability, development of a fast EUV movie camera, increasing the jet velocity, excitation of Alfven waves, and investigating 3D magnetic reconnection.

Turbulence and Global Properties of the Solar Wind

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Goldstein, Melvyn L.

2010-01-01

The solar wind shows striking characteristics that suggest that it is a turbulent magnetofluid, but the picture is not altogether simple. From the earliest observations, a strong correlation between magnetic fluctuations and plasma velocity fluctuations was noted. The high corrections suggest that the fluctuations are Alfven waves. In addition, the power spectrum of the magnetic fluctuation showed evidence of an inertial range that resembled that seen in fully-developed fluid turbulence. Alfven waves, however, are exact solutions of the equations of incompressible magnetohydrodynamics. Thus, there was a puzzle: how can a magnetofluid consisting of Alfven waves be turbulent? The answer lay in the role of velocity shears in the solar wind that could drive turbulent evolution. Puzzles remain: for example, the power spectrum of the velocity fluctuations is less steep than the slope of the magnetic fluctuations. The plasma in the magnetic tail of Earth's magnetosphere also shows aspects of turbulence, as does the plasma in the dayside magnetosphere near the poles the dayside cusps. Recently, new analyses of high time resolution magnetic field data from Cluster have offered a glimpse of how turbulence is dissipated, thus heating the ambient plasma.

Simulations of Solar Wind Turbulence

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Goldstein, Melvyn L.; Usmanov, A. V.; Roberts, D. A.

2008-01-01

Recently we have restructured our approach to simulating magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence in the solar wind. Previously, we had defined a 'virtual' heliosphere that contained, for example, a tilted rotating current sheet, microstreams, quasi-two-dimensional fluctuations as well as Alfven waves. In this new version of the code, we use the global, time-stationary, WKB Alfven wave-driven solar wind model developed by Usmanov and described in Usmanov and Goldstein [2003] to define the initial state of the system. Consequently, current sheets, and fast and slow streams are computed self-consistently from an inner, photospheric, boundary. To this steady-state configuration, we add fluctuations close to, but above, the surface where the flow become super-Alfvenic. The time-dependent MHD equations are then solved using a semi-discrete third-order Central Weighted Essentially Non-Oscillatory (CWENO) numerical scheme. The computational domain now includes the entire sphere; the geometrical singularity at the poles is removed using the multiple grid approach described in Usmanov [1996]. Wave packets are introduced at the inner boundary such as to satisfy Faraday's Law [Yeh and Dryer, 1985] and their nonlinear evolution are followed in time.

Star of Lima - Overview and optical diagnostics of a barium Alfven critical velocity experiment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wescott, E. M.; Stenbaek-Nielsen, H. C.; Hallinan, T.; Foeppl, H.; Valenzuela, A.

1986-01-01

The Alfven critical velocity mechanism for ionization of a neutral gas streaming across the magnetic field has been demonstrated in laboratory experiments. In March 1983, two rocket-borne experiments with Ba and Sr tested the effect in the wall-less laboratory of space from Punto Lobos, Peru, near 430 km altitude. 'Star of Lima' used a conical Ba shaped charge aimed at an instrument payload about 2 km away. Because of rocket overperformance the detonation occurred in partial sunlight, so that less than 21.6 percent of the ionizing UV was present. Particle and field measurements indicate the production of hot electrons and waves in the energy and frequency range that are respectively predicted to produce a cascade of ionization by the Alfven mechanism. However, the ionization fluxes and wave energy density did not reach cascade levels, and optical observations indicate that only 2.5 to 5 x 10 to the 20th Ba ions were produced. A substantial portion and perhaps all of the ionization could have been produced by solar UV. The failure of the Alfven process in this experiment is not well understood.

Quasi-static evolution of coronal magnetic fields

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Longcope, D. W.; Sudan, R. N.

1992-01-01

A formalism is developed to describe the purely quasi-static part of the evolution of a coronal loop driven by its footpoints. This is accomplished under assumptions of a long, thin loop. The quasi-static equations reveal the possibility for sudden 'loss of equilibrium' at which time the system evolves dynamically rather than quasi-statically. Such quasi-static crises produce high-frequency Alfven waves and, in conjunction with Alfven wave dissipation models, form a viable coronal heating mechanism. Furthermore, an approximate solution to the quasi-static equations by perturbation method verifies the development of small-scale spatial current structure.

Formation of quasiparallel Alfven solitons

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hamilton, R. L.; Kennel, C. F.; Mjolhus, E.

1992-01-01

The formation of quasi-parallel Alfven solitons is investigated through the inverse scattering transformation (IST) for the derivative nonlinear Schroedinger (DNLS) equation. The DNLS has a rich complement of soliton solutions consisting of a two-parameter soliton family and a one-parameter bright/dark soliton family. In this paper, the physical roles and origins of these soliton families are inferred through an analytic study of the scattering data generated by the IST for a set of initial profiles. The DNLS equation has as limiting forms the nonlinear Schroedinger (NLS), Korteweg-de-Vries (KdV) and modified Korteweg-de-Vries (MKdV) equations. Each of these limits is briefly reviewed in the physical context of quasi-parallel Alfven waves. The existence of these limiting forms serves as a natural framework for discussing the formation of Alfven solitons.

Shear Alfven Wave Injection in the Magnetosphere by Ionospheric Modifications in the Absence of Electrojet Currents

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Papadopoulos, K.; Eliasson, B.; Shao, X.; Labenski, J.; Chang, C.

2011-12-01

A new concept of generating ionospheric currents in the ULF/ELF range with modulated HF heating using ground-based transmitters even in the absence of electrojet currents is presented. The new concept relies on using HF heating of the F-region to modulate the electron temperature and has been given the name Ionospheric Current Drive (ICD). In ICD, the pressure gradient associated with anomalous or collisional F-region electron heating drives a local diamagnetic current that acts as an antenna to inject mainly Magneto-Sonic (MS) waves in the ionospheric plasma. The electric field associated with the MS wave drives Hall currents when it reaches the E region of the ionosphere. The Hall currents act as a secondary antenna that inject waves in the Earth-Ionosphere Waveguide (EIW) below and shear Alfven waves or EMIC waves upwards towards the conjugate regions. The paper presents: (i) Theoretical results using a cold Hall MHD model to study ICD and the generation of ULF/ELF waves by the modulation of the electron pressure at the F2-region with an intense HF electromagnetic wave. The model solves equations governing the dynamics of the shear Alfven and magnetosonic modes, of the damped modes in the diffusive Pedersen layer, and of the weakly damped helicon wave mode in the Hall-dominated E-region. The model incorporates realistic profile of the ionospheric conductivities and magnetic field configuration. We use the model to simulate propagation and dynamics of the low-frequency waves and their injection into the magnetosphere from the HAARP and Arecibo ionospheric heaters. (ii) Proof of principle experiments using the HAARP ionospheric heater in conjunction with measurements by the DEMETER satellite This work is supported by ONR MURI grant and DARPA BRIOCHE Program

Microstructure of the IMF turbulences at 2.5 AU

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mavromichalaki, H.; Vassilaki, A.; Marmatsouri, L.; Moussas, X.; Quenby, J. J.; Smith, E. J.

1995-01-01

A detailed analysis of small period (15-900 sec) magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulences of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) has been made using Pioneer-11 high time resolution data (0.75 sec) inside a Corotating Interaction Region (CIR) at a heliocentric distance of 2.5 AU in 1973. The methods used are the hodogram analysis, the minimum variance matrix analysis and the cohenrence analysis. The minimum variance analysis gives evidence of linear polarized wave modes. Coherence analysis has shown that the field fluctuations are dominated by the magnetosonic fast modes with periods 15 sec to 15 min. However, it is also shown that some small amplitude Alfven waves are present in the trailing edge of this region with characteristic periods (15-200 sec). The observed wave modes are locally generated and possibly attributed to the scattering of Alfven waves energy into random magnetosonic waves.

Wave and ion evolution downstream of quasi-perpendicular bow shocks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mckean, M. E.; Omidi, N.; Krauss-Varban, D.

1995-01-01

Distribution functions of ions heated in quasi-perpendicular bow shocks have a large perpendicular temperature anisotropy that provides free energy for the growth of Alfven ion cyclotron (AIC) waves and mirror waves. Both types of waves have been observed in the Earth's magnetosheath downstream of quasi-perpendicular shocks. We use a two-dimensional hybrid simulations to give a self-consistent description of the evolution of the wave spectra downstream of quasi-perpendicular shocks. Both mirror and AIC waves are identified in the simulated magnetosheath. They are generated at or near the shock front and convected away from it by the sheath plasma. Near the shock, the waves have a broad spectrum, but downstream of the shock, shorter-wavelength modes are heavily damped and only longer-wavelength modes persist. The characteristics of these surviving modes can be predicted with reasonable accuracy by linear kinetic theory appropriate for downstream conditions. We also follow the evolution of the ion distribution function. The shocked ions that provide the free energy for wave growth have a two-component distribution function. The halo is initially gyrophase-bunched and extremely anisotropic. Within a relatively short distance downstream of the shock (of the order of 10 ion inertial lengths), wave-particle interactions remove these features from the halo and reduce the anisotropy of the distribution to near-threshold levels for the mirror and AIC instabilities. A similar evolution has been observed for ions at the Earth's bow shock.

Evolution of magnetic flux ropes associated with flux transfer events and interplanetary magnetic clouds

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wei, C. Q.; Lee, L. C.; Wang, S.; Akasofu, S.-I.

1991-01-01

Spacecraft observations suggest that flux transfer events and interplanetary magnetic clouds may be associated with magnetic flux ropes which are magnetic flux tubes containing helical magnetic field lines. In the magnetic flux ropes, the azimuthal magnetic field is superposed on the axial field. The time evolution of a localized magnetic flux rope is studied. A two-dimensional compressible MHD simulation code with a cylindrical symmetry is developed to study the wave modes associated with the evolution of flux ropes. It is found that in the initial phase both the fast magnetosonic wave and the Alfven wave are developed in the flux rope. After this initial phase, the Alfven wave becomes the dominant wave mode for the evolution of the magnetic flux rope and the radial expansion velocity of the flux rope is found to be negligible. Numerical results further show that even for a large initial azimuthal component of the magnetic field, the propagation velocity along the axial direction of the flux rope remains the Alfven velocity. It is also found that the localized magnetic flux rope tends to evolve into two separate magnetic ropes propagating in opposite directions. The simulation results are used to study the evolution of magnetic flux ropes associated with flux transfer events observed at the earth's dayside magnetopause and magnetic clouds in the interplanetary space.

Evolution of large amplitude Alfven waves in solar wind plasmas: Kinetic-fluid models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nariyuki, Y.

2014-12-01

Large amplitude Alfven waves are ubiquitously observed in solar wind plasmas. Mjolhus(JPP, 1976) and Mio et al(JPSJ, 1976) found that nonlinear evolution of the uni-directional, parallel propagating Alfven waves can be described by the derivative nonlinear Schrodinger equation (DNLS). Later, the multi-dimensional extension (Mjolhus and Wyller, JPP, 1988; Passot and Sulem, POP, 1993; Gazol et al, POP, 1999) and ion kinetic modification (Mjolhus and Wyller, JPP, 1988; Spangler, POP, 1989; Medvedev and Diamond, POP, 1996; Nariyuki et al, POP, 2013) of DNLS have been reported. Recently, Nariyuki derived multi-dimensional DNLS from an expanding box model of the Hall-MHD system (Nariyuki, submitted). The set of equations including the nonlinear evolution of compressional wave modes (TDNLS) was derived by Hada(GRL, 1993). DNLS can be derived from TDNLS by rescaling of the variables (Mjolhus, Phys. Scr., 2006). Nariyuki and Hada(JPSJ, 2007) derived a kinetically modified TDNLS by using a simple Landau closure (Hammet and Perkins, PRL, 1990; Medvedev and Diamond, POP, 1996). In the present study, we revisit the ion kinetic modification of multi-dimensional TDNLS through more rigorous derivations, which is consistent with the past kinetic modification of DNLS. Although the original TDNLS was derived in the multi-dimensional form, the evolution of waves with finite propagation angles in TDNLS has not been paid much attention. Applicability of the resultant models to solar wind turbulence is discussed.

Astrophysical ZeV acceleration in the relativistic jet from an accreting supermassive blackhole

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ebisuzaki, Toshikazu; Tajima, Toshiki

2014-04-01

An accreting supermassive blackhole, the central engine of active galactic nucleus (AGN), is capable of exciting extreme amplitude Alfven waves whose wavelength (wave packet) size is characterized by its clumpiness. The pondermotive force and wakefield are driven by these Alfven waves propagating in the AGN (blazar) jet, and accelerate protons/nuclei to extreme energies beyond Zetta-electron volt (ZeV=1021 eV). Such acceleration is prompt, localized, and does not suffer from the multiple scattering/bending enveloped in the Fermi acceleration that causes excessive synchrotron radiation loss beyond 1019 eV. The production rate of ZeV cosmic rays is found to be consistent with the observed gamma-ray luminosity function of blazars and their time variabilities.

Relationship Between Alfvenic Fluctuations and Heavy Ion Heating in the Cusp at 1 Re

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Coffey, Victoria; Chandler, Michael; Singh, Nagendra

2008-01-01

We look at the effect of heavy ion heating from their coupling with observed broadband (BB-ELF) emissions. These wave fluctuations are common to many regions of the ionosphere and magnetosphere and have been described as spatial turbulence of dispersive Alfven waves (DAW) with short perpendicular wavelengths. With Polar passing through the cusp at 1 Re in the Spring of 1996, we show the correlation of their wave power with mass-resolved O+ derived heating rates. This relationship lead to the study of the coupling of the thermal O+ ions and these bursty electric fields. We demonstrate the role of these measurements in the suggestion of DAW and stochastic ion heating and the observed density cavity characteristics.

The Tethered Balloon Current Generator - A space shuttle-tethered subsatellite for plasma studies and power generation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Williamson, P. R.; Banks, P. M.

1976-01-01

The objectives of the Tethered Balloon Current Generator experiment are to: (1) generate relatively large regions of thermalized, field-aligned currents, (2) produce controlled-amplitude Alfven waves, (3) study current-driven electrostatic plasma instabilities, and (4) generate substantial amounts of power or propulsion through the MHD interaction. A large balloon (a diameter of about 30 m) will be deployed with a conducting surface above the space shuttle at a distance of about 10 km. For a generally eastward directed orbit at an altitude near 400 km, the balloon, connected to the shuttle by a conducting wire, will be positive with respect to the shuttle, enabling it to collect electrons. At the same time, the shuttle will collect positive ions and, upon command, emit an electron beam to vary current flow in the system.

Alpha-driven magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) and MHD-induced alpha loss in the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chang, Z.; Nazikian, R.; Fu, G.Y.

1997-02-01

Alpha-driven toroidal Alfven eigenmodes (TAEs) are observed as predicted by theory in the post neutral beam phase in high central q (safety factor) deuterium-tritium (D-T) plasmas in the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor (TFTR). The mode location, poloidal structure and the importance of q profile for TAE instability are discussed. So far no alpha particle loss due to these modes was detected due to the small mode amplitude. However, alpha loss induced by kinetic ballooning modes (KBMs) was observed in high confinement D-T discharges. Particle orbit simulation demonstrates that the wave-particle resonant interaction can explain the observed correlation between the increasemore » in alpha loss and appearance of multiple high-n (n {ge} 6, n is the toroidal mode number) modes.« less

Nonlinear interaction of kinetic Alfven wave and whistler: Turbulent spectra and anisotropic scaling

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kumar Dwivedi, Navin; Sharma, R. P.

2013-04-15

In this work, we are presenting the excitation of oblique propagating whistler wave as a consequence of nonlinear interaction between whistler wave and kinetic Alfven wave (KAW) in intermediate beta plasmas. Numerical simulation has been done to study the transient evolution of magnetic field structures of KAW when the nonlinearity arises due to ponderomotive effects by taking the adiabatic response of the background density. Weak oblique propagating whistler signals in these nonlinear plasma density filaments (produced by KAW localization) get amplified. The spectral indices of the power spectrum at different times are calculated with given initial conditions of the simulations.more » Anisotropic scaling laws for KAW and whistlers are presented. The relevance of the present investigation to solar wind turbulence and its acceleration is also pointed out.« less

Generation of Alfvenic Double Layers, Formation of Auroral Arcs, and Their Impact on Energy and Momentum Transfer in M-I Coupling System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Song, Y.; Lysak, R. L.

2017-12-01

Parallel electrostatic electric fields provide a powerful mechanism to accelerate auroral particles to high energy in the auroral acceleration region (AAR), creating both quasi-static and Alfvenic discrete aurorae. The total field-aligned current can be written as J||total=J||+J||D, where the displacement current is denoted as J||D=(1/4π)(∂E||/∂t), which describes the E||-generation (Song and Lysak, 2006). The generation of the total field-aligned current is related to spatial gradients of the parallel vorticity caused by the axial torque acting on field-aligned flux tubes in M-I coupling system. It should be noticed that parallel electric fields are not produced by the field-aligned current. In fact, the E||-generation is caused by Alfvenic interaction in the M-I coupling system, and is favored by a low plasma density and the enhanced localized azimuthal magnetic flux. We suggest that the nonlinear interaction of incident and reflected Alfven wave packets in the AAR can create reactive stress concentration, and therefore can generate the parallel electrostatic electric fields together with a seed low density cavity. The generated electric fields will quickly deepen the seed low density cavity, which can effectively create even stronger electrostatic electric fields. The electrostatic electric fields nested in a low density cavity and surrounded by enhanced azimuthal magnetic flux constitute Alfvenic electromagnetic plasma structures, such as Alfvenic Double Layers (DLs). The Poynting flux carried by Alfven waves can continuously supply energy from the generator region to the auroral acceleration region, supporting and sustaining Alfvenic DLs with long-lasting electrostatic electric fields which accelerate auroral particles to high energy. The generation of parallel electric fields and the formation of auroral arcs can redistribute perpendicular mechanical and magnetic stresses in auroral flux tubes, decoupling the magnetosphere from ionosphere drag locally. This may enhance the magnetotail earthward shear flows and rapidly buildup stronger parallel electric fields in the auroral acceleration region, leading to a sudden and violent tail energy release, if there is accumulated free magnetic energy in the tail.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Boldyrev, Stanislav; Perez, Jean Carlos

The complete project had two major goals — investigate MHD turbulence generated by counterpropagating Alfven modes, and study such processes in the LAPD device. In order to study MHD turbulence in numerical simulations, two codes have been used: full MHD, and reduced MHD developed specialy for this project. Quantitative numerical results are obtained through high-resolution simulations of strong MHD turbulence, performed through the 2010 DOE INCITE allocation. We addressed the questions of the spectrum of turbulence, its universality, and the value of the so-called Kolmogorov constant (the normalization coefficient of the spectrum). In these simulations we measured with unprecedented accuracymore » the energy spectra of magnetic and velocity fluctuations. We also studied the so-called residual energy, that is, the difference between kinetic and magnetic energies in turbulent fluctuations. In our analytic work we explained generation of residual energy in weak MHD turbulence, in the process of random collisions of counterpropagating Alfven waves. We then generalized these results for the case of strong MHD turbulence. The developed model explained generation of residual energy is strong MHD turbulence, and verified the results in numerical simulations. We then analyzed the imbalanced case, where more Alfven waves propagate in one direction. We found that spectral properties of the residual energy are similar for both balanced and imbalanced cases. We then compared strong MHD turbulence observed in the solar wind with turbulence generated in numerical simulations. Nonlinear interaction of Alfv´en waves has been studied in the upgraded Large Plasma Device (LAPD). We have simulated the collision of the Alfven modes in the settings close to the experiment. We have created a train of wave packets with the apltitudes closed to those observed n the experiment, and allowed them to collide. We then saw the generation of the second harmonic, resembling that observed in the experiment.« less

A Small Postmidnight Substorm During IMF Bz+ and By+ Conditions -- Joint Optical, Radar, Magnetic and Satellite Observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liang, J.; Sofko, G.; Donovan, E.; Greenwald, R.

2002-12-01

Multi-instrument observations of a small postmidnight substorm event during a period of IMF dominated by Bz+ and By+ conditions on October 9, 2000, showed the substorm structure with high time resolution. Three optical intensifications and Pi2 bursts occurred. The last and strongest Pi2 burst was associated with an expansive phase (EP) onset, characterized by a 100 nT magnetic bay at Fort Churchill and an auroral breakup in which the 630 nm emissions moved poleward about 2.5 degrees. About 11 minutes after the first EP onset, a second stage of auroral brightening occurred. For each of the three initial optical intensifications, there was an eastward-moving discrete azimuthal structure. SuperDARN HF radar line-of-sight velocity measurements revealed eastward electric fields within each Pi2 wave train. The observations are interpreted as resulting from the drift-Alfven-ballooning (DAB) mode instability at near-geosynchronous orbit (NGO) locations. Within the NGO drift waves, regions of charge separation led to electric fields and field-aligned currents (FACs) of alternating direction. The ionospheric reflection of Alfven wave energy likely generated the Pi2 pulsations observed on the ground. The multi-instrument ground observations agree quite well with the substorm onset scenario based upon CRRES satellite observations by Erickson et al. [2000]. There was a single, relatively confined (~4 hour in MLT) counterclockwise convection cell during the growth phase and EP onset. A clearly defined vortex at its center defined the center of the downward FAC. This vortex, initially northward of the optical aurora, moved eastward and then suddenly southward just prior to the EP onset. At that time, the FAC structure was typical of the substorm current wedge (SCW). Reasons for the convection cell motion and SCW development are discussed. Erickson, G. M., N. C. Maynard, W. J. Burke, G. R. Wilson, and M. A. Heinemann, Electromagnetics of substorm onsets in the near-geosynchronous plasma sheet, J. Geophys. Res., 105, 25265, 2000.

Quantification of the Energy Dissipated by Alfven Waves in a Polar Coronal Hole

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hahn, M.; Savin, D. W.

2013-12-01

We present a measurement of the energy carried and dissipated by Alfven waves in a polar coronal hole. Alfven waves have been proposed as the energy source that heats the corona and drives the solar wind. Previous work has shown that line widths decrease with height in coronal holes, which is a signature of wave damping, but have been unable to quantify the energy lost by the waves. This is because line widths depend on both the non-thermal velocity vnt and the ion temperature Ti. We have implemented a means to separate the Ti and vnt contributions using the observation that, at low heights, the waves are undamped and the ion temperatures do not change with height. This enables us to determine the amount of energy carried by the waves at low heights, which is proportional to vnt. We find the initial energy flux density present was 6.7×0.7×10^5 erg cm^-2 s^-1, which is sufficient to heat the coronal hole and accelerate the solar wind during the 2007 - 2009 solar minimum. Additionally, we find that about 85% of this energy is dissipated below 1.5 R_sun, sufficiently low that thermal conduction can transport the energy throughout the coronal hole, heating it and driving the fast solar wind. The remaining energy is roughly consistent with what models show is needed to provide the extended heating above the sonic point for the fast solar wind. We have also studied Ti, which we found to be in the range of 1 - 2 MK, depending on the ion species.

Alfven Waves Underlying Ionospheric Destabilization: Ground-Based Observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hirsch, Michael

During geomagnetic storms, terawatts of power in the million mile-per-hour solar wind pierce the Earth's magnetosphere. Geomagnetic storms and substorms create transverse magnetic waves known as Alfven waves. In the auroral acceleration region, Alfven waves accelerate electrons up to one-tenth the speed of light via wave-particle interactions. These inertial Alfven wave (IAW) accelerated electrons are imbued with sub-100 meter structure perpendicular to geomagnetic field B. The IAW electric field parallel to B accelerates electrons up to about 10 keV along B. The IAW dispersion relation quantifies the precipitating electron striation observed with high-speed cameras as spatiotemporally dynamic fine structured aurora. A network of tightly synchronized tomographic auroral observatories using model based iterative reconstruction (MBIR) techniques were developed in this dissertation. The TRANSCAR electron penetration model creates a basis set of monoenergetic electron beam eigenprofiles of auroral volume emission rate for the given location and ionospheric conditions. Each eigenprofile consists of nearly 200 broadband line spectra modulated by atmospheric attenuation, bandstop filter and imager quantum efficiency. The L-BFGS-B minimization routine combined with sub-pixel registered electron multiplying CCD video stream at order 10 ms cadence yields estimates of electron differential number flux at the top of the ionosphere. Our automatic data curation algorithm reduces one terabyte/camera/day into accurate MBIR-processed estimates of IAW-driven electron precipitation microstructure. This computer vision structured auroral discrimination algorithm was developed using a multiscale dual-camera system observing a 175 km and 14 km swath of sky simultaneously. This collective behavior algorithm exploits the "swarm" behavior of aurora, detectable even as video SNR approaches zero. A modified version of the algorithm is applied to topside ionospheric radar at Mars and broadcast FM passive radar. The fusion of data from coherent radar backscatter and optical data at order 10 ms cadence confirms and further quantifies the relation of strong Langmuir turbulence and streaming plasma upflows in the ionosphere with the finest spatiotemporal auroral dynamics associated with IAW acceleration. The software programs developed in this dissertation solve the century-old problem of automatically discriminating finely structured aurora from other forms and pushes the observational wave-particle science frontiers forward.

Nonlinear Electromagnetic Waves and Spherical Arc-Polarized Waves in Space Plasmas

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tsurutani, B.; Ho, Christian M.; Arballo, John K.; Lakhina, Gurbax S.; Glassmeier, Karl-Heinz; Neubauer, Fritz M.

1997-01-01

We review observations of nonlinear plasma waves detected by interplanetary spacecraft. For this paper we will focus primarily on the phase-steepened properties of such waves. Plasma waves at comet Giacobini-Zinner measured by the International Cometary Explorer (ICE), at comets Halley and Grigg-Skjellerup measured by Giotto, and interplanetary Alfven waves measured by Ulysses, will be discussed and intercompared.

Saturation of the Electric Field Transmitted to the Magnetosphere

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lyatsky, Wladislaw; Khazanov, George V.; Slavin, James A.

2010-01-01

We reexamined the processes leading to saturation of the electric field, transmitted into the Earth's ionosphere from the solar wind, incorporating features of the coupled system previously ignored. We took into account that the electric field is transmitted into the ionosphere through a region of open field lines, and that the ionospheric conductivity in the polar cap and auroral zone may be different. Penetration of the electric field into the magnetosphere is linked with the generation of the Alfven wave, going out from the ionosphere into the solar wind and being coupled with the field-aligned currents at the boundary of the open field limes. The electric field of the outgoing Alfven wave reduces the original electric field and provides the saturation effect in the electric field and currents during strong geomagnetic disturbances, associated with increasing ionospheric conductivity. The electric field and field-aligned currents of this Alfven wave are dependent on the ionospheric and solar wind parameters and may significantly affect the electric field and field-aligned currents, generated in the polar ionosphere. Estimating the magnitude of the saturation effect in the electric field and field-aligned currents allows us to improve the correlation between solar wind parameters and resulting disturbances in the Earth's magnetosphere.

Propagation of large amplitude Alfven waves in the solar wind neutral sheet

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Malara, F.; Primavera, L.; Veltri, P.

1995-01-01

Analysis of solar wind fluctuation data show that the correlation between velocity and magnetic field fluctuations decreases when going farther away from the Sun. This decorrelation can be attributed either to the time evolution of the fluctuations, carried away by the solar wind, or to the interaction between the solar wind neutral sheet and Alfven waves. To check this second hypothesis we have numerically studied the propagation of Alfven waves in the solar wind neutral sheet. The initial conditions have been set up in order to guarantee B(exp 2) = const, so that the following numerical evolution is only due to the inhomogeneity in the background magnetic field. The analysis of the results shows that compressive structures are formed, mainly in the neutral sheet where they have been identified as pressure balanced structures, i.e., tangential discontinuities. Fast perturbations, which are also produced, have a tendency to leave the simulation domain, propagating also perpendicularly to the mean magnetic field. For this reason the level of fast perturbations is always smaller with respect to the previously cited plasma balanced structures, which are slow mode perturbations. A comparison between the numerical results and some particular observational issues is also presented.

A theory of the Io phase asymmetry of the Jovian decametric radiation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hashimoto, K.; Goldstein, M. L.

1982-01-01

An explanation of an asymmetry in the occurrence probability of the Io-dependent Jovian decametric radiation is proposed. Io generates stronger Alfven waves toward the south when it is in the northern part of the torus. This wave then generates decametric radiation in the northern ionosphere after it reflects in the southern ionosphere. The asymmetry then results from computing the propagation time of the alfven wave along this trajectory. The ray paths of the decameter radiation are calculated using a three dimensional ray tracing program in the Jovian ionosphere. Variations in the expected probability plots are computer for two models of the Jovian ionosphere and global magnetic field, as well as for several choices of the ratio of the radiated frequency to the X-mode cutoff frequency.

Propagation velocity of Alfven wave packets in a dissipative plasma

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Amagishi, Y.; Nakagawa, H.; Tanaka, M.

1994-09-01

We have experimentally studied the behavior of Alfven wave packets in a dissipative plasma due to ion--neutral-atom collisions. It is urged that the central frequency of the packet is observed to gradually decrease with traveling distance in the absorption range of frequencies because of a differential damping among the Fourier components, and that the measured average velocity of its peak amplitude is not accounted for by the conventional group velocity, but by the prediction derived by Tanaka, Fujiwara, and Ikegami [Phys. Rev. A 34, 4851 (1986)]. Furthermore, when the initial central frequency is close to the critical frequency in themore » anomalous dispersion, the wave packet apparently collapses when traveling along the magnetic field; however, we have found that it is decomposed into another two wave packets with the central frequencies being higher or lower than the critical frequency.« less

The Atmospheric Dynamics of alpha Tau (K5 III) - Clues to Understanding the Magnetic Dynamo in Late-Type Giant Stars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Carpenter, Kenneth G.; Airapetian, Vladimir

2008-01-01

Using HST/GHRS, HST/STIS and FUSE archival data for alpha Tau and the CHIANTI spectroscopic code, we have derived line shifts, volumetric emission measures, and plasma density estimates, and calculated filling factors for a number of UV lines forming between 10,000 K and 300,000 K in the outer atmosphere of this red giant star. The data suggest the presence of low-temperature extended regions and high-temperature compact regions, associated with magnetically open and closed structures in the stellar atmosphere, respectively. The signatures of UV lines from alpha Tau can be consistently understood via a model of upward-traveling Alfven waves in a gravitationally stratified atmosphere. These waves cause non-thermal broadening in UV lines due to unresolved wave motions and downward plasma motions in compact magnetic loops heated by resonant Alfven wave heating.

A New Look at Some Solar Wind Turbulence Puzzles

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Roberts, Aaron

2006-01-01

Some aspects of solar wind turbulence have defied explanation. While it seems likely that the evolution of Alfvenicity and power spectra are largely explained by the shearing of an initial population of solar-generated Alfvenic fluctuations, the evolution of the anisotropies of the turbulence does not fit into the model so far. A two-component model, consisting of slab waves and quasi-two-dimensional fluctuations, offers some ideas, but does not account for the turning of both wave-vector-space power anisotropies and minimum variance directions in the fluctuating vectors as the Parker spiral turns. We will show observations that indicate that the minimum variance evolution is likely not due to traditional turbulence mechanisms, and offer arguments that the idea of two-component turbulence is at best a local approximation that is of little help in explaining the evolution of the fluctuations. Finally, time-permitting, we will discuss some observations that suggest that the low Alfvenicity of many regions of the solar wind in the inner heliosphere is not due to turbulent evolution, but rather to the existence of convected structures, including mini-clouds and other twisted flux tubes, that were formed with low Alfvenicity. There is still a role for turbulence in the above picture, but it is highly modified from the traditional views.

Turbulent Heating and Fluctuation Characteristics in Alfvenic Turbulence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dorland, William

2005-10-01

Alfve'n waves are ubiquitous in natural and laboratory plasmas. In this talk, the main focus is on astrophysical plasmas that are turbulent, magnetized, hot and diffuse. The dynamically important characteristics of these plasmas are often well- described by magnetohydrodynamics [see e.g., Ref. 1]. However, much of what we actually observe is critically affected by how much of the turbulent energy is absorbed by (highly radiative) electrons [2], the amplitude of density fluctuations [3], and the spectral indices of turbulent, Alfve'nic cascades. These questions each have essentially kinetic aspects. In this talk, we present detailed simulations and analyses of of the cascade of shear Alfve'n waves, to and through scales comparable to the ion Larmor radius in the direction perpendicular to the magnetic field. We demonstrate analytically and numerically that the nonlinear gyrokinetic equations, originally developed for fusion applications, are perfectly suited to these astrophysical problems. We present extensive linear and nonlinear gyrokinetic simulation results from the GS2 code. We demonstrate accurate resolution of the damping of kinetic Alfve'n waves in plasmas with beta small, large and comparable to unity, for a wide range of electron-to-ion temperature ratios, in linear and nonlinear contexts. We have used the GS2 code to calculate the turbulent energy absorption, density fluctuation characteristics, and spectral indices for plasmas with parameters taken from hot accretion flows and from the interstellar plasma. These results will be compared with theoretical predictions [2] and to observations. Co-authors: S. C. Cowley (UCLA), G. W. Hammett (PPPL), E. Quataert and G. Howes (UC-Berkeley), and A. Scheckochihin (Cambridge) 1. S. Balbus and J. Hawley, Rev Mod Phys, Vol. 70, p. 1. 2. E. Quataert and A. Gruzinov, Ap J, Vol. 520, p. 248; E. Quataert, Ap J, Vol. 500, p. 978.3. Y. Lithwick and P. Goldreich, Ap J, Vol. 562, p. 279.4. P. Goldreich and Sridhar, Ap J, Vol. 438, p. 763; P. Goldreich and Sridhar, Ap J, Vol. 485, p. 680.

Stochastic Particle Acceleration in Impulsive Solar Flares

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Miller, James A.

2001-01-01

The acceleration of a huge number of electrons and ions to relativistic energies over timescales ranging from several seconds to several tens of seconds is the fundamental problem in high-energy solar physics. The cascading turbulence model we have developed has been shown previously (e.g., Miller 2000; Miller & Roberts 1995; Miner, LaRosa, & Moore 1996) to account for all the bulk features (such as acceleration timescales, fluxes, total number of energetic particles, and maximum energies) of electron and proton acceleration in impulsive solar flares. While the simulation of this acceleration process is involved, the essential idea of the model is quite simple, and consists of just a few parts: 1. During the primary flare energy release phase, we assume that low-amplitude MHD Alfven and fast mode waves are excited at long wavelengths, say comparable to the size of the event (although the results are actually insensitive to this initial wavelength). While an assumption, this appears reasonable in light of the likely highly turbulent nature of the flare. 2. These waves then cascade in a Kolmogorov-like fashion to smaller wavelengths (e.g., Verma et al. 1996), forming a power-law spectral density in wavenumber space through the inertial range. 3. When the mean wavenumber of the fast mode waves has increased sufficiently, the transit-time acceleration rate (Miller 1997) for superAlfvenic electrons can overcome Coulomb energy losses, and these electrons are accelerated out of the thermal distribution and to relativistic energies (Miller et al. 1996). As the Alfven waves cascade to higher wavenumbers, they can cyclotron resonate with progressively lower energy protons. Eventually, they will resonate with protons in the tail of the thermal distribution, which will then be accelerated to relativistic energies as well (Miller & Roberts 1995). Hence, both ions and electrons are stochastically accelerated, albeit by different mechanisms and different waves. 4. When the protons become superAlfvenic (above about 1 MeV/nucleon), they too can suffer transit-time acceleration by the fast mode waves and will receive an extra acceleration "kick." The basic overall objective of this 1 year effort was to construct a spatially-dependent version of this acceleration model and this has been realized.

On the equilibrium between proton kappa distribution and compressible kinetic Alfvenic fluctuations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yoon, P. H.

2017-12-01

Protons with a quasi inverse power law energetic population featuring the property f v-α, with α close to 5, are pervasively observed in the heliosphere. While many theoretical attempts have been made in order to describe such a feature, the so-called pump acceleration mechanism put forth by Fisk & Gloeckler is one of the most prominent theories. Their mechanism involves the low-frequency compressional fluctuations accelerating the protons. This presentation aims to reformulate the problem from the perspective of the steady state solution of the self-consistent plasma kinetic theory involving compressible kinetic Alfvenic fluctuations. By considering the steady state proton particle kinetic equation and quasi-linear wave kinetic for the kinetic Alfvenic turbulence we seek to obtain concomitant solutions for both proton velocity distribution function and the spectral intensity for kinetic Alfvenic fluctuation. It is found that the kappa distribution for the protons is a legitimate, if not unique, solution. The steady state spectrum of kinetic Alfvenic fluctuation is also obtained. The present investigation demonstrates that the kappa distribution for the protons featuring energetic tail population characterized by f v-2κ-2, where κ is the parameter for kappa distribution, may represent the background population of the protons in the heliosphere. However, it is speculated that in order to uniquely determine the value of κ, which must be close to 1.5 for asymptotic behavior of f v-5, one must have an additional constraint that involves the balance of nonlinear mode coupling terms in the wave kinetic equation.

Field-aligned structure of the storm time Pc 5 wave of November 14-15, 1979

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Takahashi, K.; Higbie, P. R.; Fennell, J. F.; Amata, E.

1988-02-01

Magnetic field data from the four satellites--SCATHA (P78-2), GOES 2, GOES 3, and GEOS 2--have been analyzed to examine the magnetic-field-aligned structure of a storm time Pc 5 wave which occurred on November 14-15, 1979. The wave had both transverse and compressional components. At a given instance, the compressional and the radial components oscillated in phase or 180 deg out of phase, and the compressional and the azimuthal components oscillated +90 deg or -90 deg out of phase. In addition, each component changed its amplitude with magnetic latitude: the compressional component had a minimum at the magnetic equator, whereas the transverse components had a maximum at the equator and minima several degrees off the equator. At 180 deg relative phase switching among the components occurred across the latitudes of amplitude minima. From these observations, the field-line displacement of the wave is confirmed to have an antisymmetric standing structure about the magnetic equator with a parallel wave length of a few earth radii. We aslo observed other intriguing properties of the wave, such as different parallel wavelengths of different field components and small-amplitude second harmonics near the nodes. A dielectric tensor appropriate for the ring current plasma is found to give an explanation for the relation between the polarization and the propagation of the wave. However, plasma data available from SCATHA do not support either the drift-mirror instability of Hasegawa or tht coupling between a drift mirror wave and a shear Alfven wave, as discussed by Walker et al.

Plasma sheet density dependence on Interplanetary Magnetic Field and Solar Wind properties: statistical study using 9+ year of THEMIS data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nykyri, K.; Chu, C.; Dimmock, A. P.

2017-12-01

Previous studies have shown that plasma sheet in tenuous and hot during southward IMF, whereas northward IMF conditions are associated with cold, dense plasma. The cold, dense plasma sheet (CDPS) has strong influence on magnetospheric dynamics. Closer to Earth, the CDPS could be formed via double high-latitude reconnection, while at increasing tailward distance reconnection, diffusion and kinetic Alfven waves in association with Kelvin-Helmholtz Instability are suggested as dominant source for cold-dense plasma sheet formation. In this paper we present statistical correlation study between Solar Wind, Magnetosheath and Plasma sheet properties using 9+ years of THEMIS data in aberrated GSM frame, and in a normalized coordinate system that takes into account the changes of the magnetopause and bow shock location with respect to changing solar wind conditions. We present statistical results of the plasma sheet density dependence on IMF orientation and other solar wind properties.

On Alfvenic Waves and Stochastic Ion Heating with 1Re Observations of Strong Field-aligned Currents, Electric Fields, and O+ ions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Coffey, Victoria; Chandler, Michael; Singh, Nagendra

2008-01-01

The role that the cleft/cusp has in ionosphere/magnetosphere coupling makes it a very dynamic region having similar fundamental processes to those within the auroral regions. With Polar passing through the cusp at 1 Re in the Spring of 1996, we observe a strong correlation between ion heating and broadband ELF (BBELF) emissions. This commonly observed relationship led to the study of the coupling of large field-aligned currents, burst electric fields, and the thermal O+ ions. We demonstrate the role of these measurements to Alfvenic waves and stochastic ion heating. Finally we will show the properties of the resulting density cavities.

Wave-driven winds from cool stars. I - Some effects of magnetic field geometry

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hartmann, L.; Macgregor, K. B.

1982-01-01

The wave-driven wind theory of Hartmann and MacGregor (1980) is extended to include effects due to non-radial divergence of the flow. Specifically, isothermal expansion within a flow tube whose cross-sectional area increases outward faster than the square of the radius near the stellar surface is considered. It is found that the qualitative conclusions of Hartmann and MacGregor concerning the physical properties of Alfven wave-driven winds are largely unaffected. In particular, mass fluxes of similar magnitude are obtained, and wave dissipation is still necessary to produce acceptably small terminal velocities. Increasingly divergent flow geometries generally lead to higher initial wind speeds and slightly lower terminal velocities. For some cases of extremely rapid flow tube divergence, steady supersonic wind solutions which extend to infinity with vanishing gas pressure cannot be obtained. In addition, departures from spherical symmetry can cause the relative Alfven wave amplitude delta-B/B to become approximately greater than 1 within several stellar radii of the base of the wind, suggesting that nonlinear processes may contribute to the wave dissipation required by the theory.

The coalescence instability in solar flares

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tajima, T.; Brunel, F.; Sakai, J.-I.; Vlahos, L.; Kundu, M. R.

1985-01-01

The nonlinear coalescence instability of current carrying solar loops can explain many of the characteristics of the solar flares such as their impulsive nature, heating and high energy particle acceleration, amplitude oscillations of electromagnetic and emission as well as the characteristics of two-dimensional microwave images obtained during a flare. The plasma compressibility leads to the explosive phase of loop coalescence and its overshoot results in amplitude oscillations in temperatures by adiabatic compression and decompression. It is noted that the presence of strong electric fields and super-Alfvenic flows during the course of the instability play an important role in the production of nonthermal particles. A qualitative explanation on the physical processes taking place during the nonlinear stages of the instability is given.

KINETIC ALFVEN WAVES EXCITED BY OBLIQUE MAGNETOHYDRODYNAMIC ALFVEN WAVES IN CORONAL HOLES

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhao, J. S.; Wu, D. J.; Lu, J. Y., E-mail: js_zhao@pmo.ac.cn, E-mail: djwu@pmo.ac.cn, E-mail: lujy@cma.gov.cn

Kinetic Alfven waves (KAWs) are small-scale dispersive AWs that can play an important role in particle heating and acceleration of space and solar plasmas. An excitation mechanism for KAWs created by the coupling between large-scale oblique AWs and small-scale KAWs is presented in this paper. Taking into account both the collisional and Landau damping dissipations, the results show that the net growth rate of the excited KAWs increases with their perpendicular wavenumber k{sub perpendicular} and reaches maximum at {lambda}{sub e} k{sub perpendicular} {approx} 0.3, where {lambda}{sub e} is the electron inertial length. However, for KAWs with shorter perpendicular wavelengths, themore » net growth rate decreases rapidly due to dissipative effects. The evaluation of the threshold amplitude of the AW implies that for KAWs with {lambda}{sub e} k{sub perpendicular} < 0.3, the relative threshold amplitude is well below 10%, which is easy to satisfy. In particular, when applying this mechanism to the case of a solar coronal hole containing a dense plume structure, our results show that KAWs with {lambda}{sub e} k{sub perpendicular} < 0.3 can be not only efficiently excited in the interplume region but also strongly dissipated in the dense plume due to the Landau damping.« less

Reconstruction of a Broadband Spectrum of Alfvenic Fluctuations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vinas, Adolfo F.; Fuentes, Pablo S. M.; Araneda, Jaime A.; Maneva, Yana G.

2014-01-01

Alfvenic fluctuations in the solar wind exhibit a high degree of velocities and magnetic field correlations consistent with Alfven waves propagating away and toward the Sun. Two remarkable properties of these fluctuations are the tendencies to have either positive or negative magnetic helicity (-1 less than or equal to sigma(sub m) less than or equal to +1) associated with either left- or right- topological handedness of the fluctuations and to have a constant magnetic field magnitude. This paper provides, for the first time, a theoretical framework for reconstructing both the magnetic and velocity field fluctuations with a divergence-free magnetic field, with any specified power spectral index and normalized magnetic- and cross-helicity spectrum field fluctuations for any plasma species. The spectrum is constructed in the Fourier domain by imposing two conditions-a divergence-free magnetic field and the preservation of the sense of magnetic helicity in both spaces-as well as using Parseval's theorem for the conservation of energy between configuration and Fourier spaces. Applications to the one-dimensional spatial Alfvenic propagation are presented. The theoretical construction is in agreement with typical time series and power spectra properties observed in the solar wind. The theoretical ideas presented in this spectral reconstruction provide a foundation for more realistic simulations of plasma waves, solar wind turbulence, and the propagation of energetic particles in such fluctuating fields.

Dynamical Generation of Quasi-Stationary Alfvenic Double Layers and Charge Holes and Unified Theory of Quasi-Static and Alfvenic Auroral Arc Formation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Song, Y.; Lysak, R. L.

2015-12-01

Parallel E-fields play a crucial role for the acceleration of charged particles, creating discrete aurorae. However, once the parallel electric fields are produced, they will disappear right away, unless the electric fields can be continuously generated and sustained for a fairly long time. Thus, the crucial question in auroral physics is how to generate such a powerful and self-sustained parallel electric fields which can effectively accelerate charge particles to high energy during a fairly long time. We propose that nonlinear interaction of incident and reflected Alfven wave packets in inhomogeneous auroral acceleration region can produce quasi-stationary non-propagating electromagnetic plasma structures, such as Alfvenic double layers (DLs) and Charge Holes. Such Alfvenic quasi-static structures often constitute powerful high energy particle accelerators. The Alfvenic DL consists of localized self-sustained powerful electrostatic electric fields nested in a low density cavity and surrounded by enhanced magnetic and mechanical stresses. The enhanced magnetic and velocity fields carrying the free energy serve as a local dynamo, which continuously create the electrostatic parallel electric field for a fairly long time. The generated parallel electric fields will deepen the seed low density cavity, which then further quickly boosts the stronger parallel electric fields creating both Alfvenic and quasi-static discrete aurorae. The parallel electrostatic electric field can also cause ion outflow, perpendicular ion acceleration and heating, and may excite Auroral Kilometric Radiation.

Understanding Solar Coronal Heating through Atomic and Plasma Physics Experiments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Savin, Daniel Wolf; Arthanayaka, Thusitha; Beiersdorfer, Peter; Brown, Gregory V.; Gekelman, Walter; Hahn, Michael; Vincena, Steve

2017-06-01

Recent solar observations suggest that the Sun's corona is heated by Alfven waves that dissipate at unexpectedly low heights in the corona. These observations raise a number of questions. Among them are the problems of accurately quantifying the energy flux of the waves and that of describing the physical mechanism that leads to the wave damping. We are performing laboratory experiments to address both of these issues.The energy flux depends on the electron density, which can be measured spectroscopically. However, spectroscopic density diagnostics have large uncertainties, because they depend sensitively on atomic collisional excitation, de-excitation, and radiative transition rates for multiple atomic levels. Essentially all of these data come from theory and have not been experimentally validated. We are conducting laboratory experiments using the electron beam ion trap (EBIT) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory that will provide accurate empirical calibrations for spectroscopic density diagnostics and which will also help to guide theoretical calculations.The observed rapid wave dissipation is likely due to inhomogeneities in the plasma that drive flows and currents at small length scales where energy can be more efficiently dissipated. This may take place through gradients in the Alfven speed along the magnetic field, which causes wave reflection and generates turbulence. Alternatively, gradients in the Alfven speed across the field can lead to dissipation through phase-mixing. Using the Large Plasma Device (LAPD) at the University of California Los Angeles, we are studying both of these dissipation mechanisms in the laboratory in order to understand their potential roles in coronal heating.

Particle acceleration by quasi-parallel shocks in the solar wind

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Galinsky, V. L.; Shevchenko, V. I.

2008-11-01

The theoretical study of proton acceleration at a quasi-parallel shock due to interaction with Alfven waves self-consistently excited in both upstream and downstream regions was conducted using a scale-separation model [1]. The model uses conservation laws and resonance conditions to find where waves will be generated or dumped and hence particles will be pitch--angle scattered as well as the change of the wave energy due to instability or damping. It includes in consideration the total distribution function (the bulk plasma and high energy tail), so no any assumptions (e.g. seed populations, or some ad-hoc escape rate of accelerated particles) are required. The dynamics of ion acceleration by the November 11-12, 1978 interplanetary traveling shock was investigated and compared with the observations [2] as well as with solution obtained using the so-called convection-diffusion equation for distribution function of accelerated particles [3]. [1] Galinsky, V.L., and V.I. Shevchenko, Astrophys. J., 669, L109, 2007. [2] Kennel, C.F., F.W. Coroniti, F.L. Scarf, W.A. Livesey, C.T. Russell, E.J. Smith, K.P. Wenzel, and M. Scholer, J. Geophys. Res. 91, 11,917, 1986. [3] Gordon B.E., M.A. Lee, E. Mobius, and K.J. Trattner, J. Geophys. Res., 104, 28,263, 1990.

Kinetic Alfven wave explanation of the Hall signals in magnetic reconnection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dai, L.; Wang, C.; Zhang, Y.; Duan, S.; Lavraud, B.; Burch, J. L.; Pollock, C.; Torbert, R. B.

2017-12-01

Magnetic reconnection is initiated in a small diffusion region but can drive global-scale dynamics in Earth's magnetosphere, solar flares, and astrophysical systems. Understanding the processes at work in the diffusion region remains a main challenge in space plasma physics. Recent in-situ observations from MMS and THEMIS reveal that the electric field normal to the reconnection current layer, often called the Hall electric field (En), is mainly balanced by the ion pressure gradient. Here we present theoretical explanations indicating that this observation fact is a manifestation of Kinetic Alfven Waves (KAW) physics. The ion pressure gradient represents the finite gyroradius effect of KAW, leading to ion intrusion across the magnetic field lines. Electrons stream along the magnetic field lines to track ions, resulting in field-aligned currents and the associated pattern of the out-of-plane Hall magnetic field (Bm). The ratio En/Bm is on the order of the Alfven speed, as predicted by the KAW theory. The KAW physics further provides new perspectives on how ion intrusion may trigger electric fields suitable for reconnection to occur.

Spectral Indices in Simulations of Imbalanced Magnetohydrodynamic Turbulence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ng, C. S.; Dennis, T. J.

2017-12-01

Three-dimensional (3D) simulations of imbalanced magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence based on reduced MHD equations have been performed. Alfven waves are launched from both ends of a long tube along the background uniform magnetic field so that turbulence develops due to collision between counter propagating Alfven waves in the interior region. Waves are launched randomly with specified correlation time Tc such that the length of the tube, L, is greater than (but of the same order of) VA Tc such that turbulence can fill most of the tube. While waves at both ends are launched with equal power, turbulence generated is imbalanced in general, with normalized cross-helicity gets close to -1 at one end and 1 at the other end. One fundamental unresolved problem in the theory of imbalanced turbulence is how turbulence spectral indices depend on the normalized cross-helicity. We will present turbulence spectral indices found in our latest simulations and discuss theoretical implications. This work is supported by a NASA grant NNX15AU61G.

The Role of Kinetic Alfven Waves in Plasma Transport in an Ion-scale Flux Rope

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tang, B.; Li, W.; Wang, C.; Dai, L.

2017-12-01

Magnetic flux ropes, if generated by multiply X-line reconnections, would be born as a crater type one, meaning the plasma density within is relatively high. They will then evolve into typical flux ropes as plasma are transported away along the magnetic field lines [Zhang et al., 2010]. In this study, we report an ion-scale flux rope observed by MMS on November 28, 2016, which is accompanied by strong kinetic Alfven waves (KAW). The related wave parallel electric field can effectively accelerate electrons inside the flux rope by Landau resonance, resulting into a significant decrease of the electron at 90° pitch angle. The change of electron pitch angle distribution would cause the rapid plasma transport along the magnetic field lines, and help the flux rope evolve into a strong magnetic core in a short time. This wave-particle interaction would be a candidate mechanism to explain the rareness of crater flux ropes in reality.

Role of Turbulent Damping in Cosmic Ray Galactic Winds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Holguin, Francisco; Ruszkowski, Mateusz; Lazarian, Alex; Yang, H. Y. Karen

2018-06-01

Large-scale galactic winds driven by stellar feedback are one phenomenon that influences the dynamical and chemical evolution of a galaxy, pushing and redistributing material throughout the interstellar medium (ISM) and galactic halo. A detailed understanding of the exact physical mechanisms responsible for these winds is lacking. Non-thermal feedback from galactic cosmic rays (CR), high-energy charged particles accelerated in supernovae and young stars, can impact the efficiency in accelerating the wind. In the self-confinement model, CR stream along magnetic field lines at the Alfven speed due to scattering off self-excited Aflv{é}n waves. However, magneto-hydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence stirred up by stellar feedback dissipates these confining waves, allowing CR to be super Aflvenic. Previous simulations relying on a simplified model of transport have shown that super-Alfv{é}nic streaming of CRs can launch a stronger wind. We perform three-dimensional MHD simulations of a section of a galactic disk, including CR streaming dependent on the local environment, using a realistic model of turbulent dissipation of Alfven waves presented in Lazarian (2016). In this implementation, the CR streaming speed can be super Alfv{é}nic depending on local conditions. We compare results for Alfv{é}nic and locally determined streaming, and find that gas/CR distributions and instantaneous mass loading factor of the wind are different depending on the level of turbulence.Lazarian, A. “Damping of Alfven waves by turbulence and its consequences: from cosmic-ray streaming to launching winds.” ApJ. Vol. 833, Num. 2. (2016).

Umbral oscillations as resonant modes of magneto-atmospheric waves. [in sunspots

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Scheuer, M. A.; Thomas, J. H.

1981-01-01

Umbral oscillations in sunspots are identified as a resonant response of the umbral atmosphere to forcing by oscillatory convection in the subphotosphere. The full, linearized equations for magnetoatmospheric waves are solved numerically for a detailed model of the umbral atmosphere, for both forced and free oscillations. Resonant 'fast' modes are found, the lowest mode having a period of 153 s, typical of umbral oscillations. A comparison is made with a similar analysis by Uchida and Sakurai (1975), who calculated resonant modes using an approximate ('quasi-Alfven') form of the wave equations. Whereas both analyses give an appropriate value for the period of oscillation, several new features of the motion follow from the full equations. The resonant modes are due to upward reflection in the subphotosphere (due to increasing sound speed) and downward reflection in the photosphere and low chromosphere (due to increasing Alfven speed); downward reflection at the chromosphere-corona transition is unimportant for these modes.

Effects of Density Fluctuations on Weakly Nonlinear Alfven Waves: An IST Perspective

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hamilton, R.; Hadley, N.

2012-12-01

The effects of random density fluctuations on oblique, 1D, weakly nonlinear Alfven waves is examined through a numerical study of an analytical model developed by Ruderman [M.S. Ruderman, Phys. Plasmas, 9 (7), pp. 2940-2945, (2002).]. Consistent with Ruderman's application to the one-parameter dark soliton, the effects on both one-parameter bright and dark solitons, the two-parameter soliton as well as pairs of one-parameter solitons were similar to that of Ohmic dissipation found by Hamilton et al. [R. Hamilton, D. Peterson, and S. Libby, J. Geophys. Res 114, A03104,doi:10.1029/2008JA013582 (2009).] It was found in all cases where bright or two-parameter solitons are present initially, that the effects of density fluctuations results in the eventual damping of such compressive wave forms and the formation of a train of dark solitons, or magnetic depressions.

A multidisciplinary study of planetary, solar and astrophysical radio emissions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gurnett, D. A.; Calvert, W.; Fielder, R.; Goertz, C.; Grabbe, C.; Kurth, W.; Mutel, R.; Sheerin, J.; Mellott, M.; Spangler, S.

1986-01-01

Combination of the related fields of planetary, solar, and astrophysical radio emissions was attempted in order to more fully understand the radio emission processes. Topics addressed include: remote sensing of astrophysical plasma turbulence; Alfven waves; astrophysical shock waves; surface waves; very long base interferometry results; very large array observations; solar magnetic flux; and magnetohydrodynamic waves as a tool for solar corona diagnostics.

Numerical simulation of inertial alfven waves to study localized structures and spectral index in auroral region

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jatav, Bheem Singh

2018-06-01

In the present paper, the numerical simulation of Inertial Alfven wave (IAW) in low-β plasma applicable to the auroral region at 1700 km was studied. It leads to the formation of localized structures when the nonlinearity arises due to ponderomotive effect and Joule heating. The effect of perturbation and magnitude of pump IAW, formed the localized structures of magnetic field, has been studied. The formed localized structures at different times and average spectral index scaling of power spectrum have been observed. Results obtained from simulation reveal that spectrum steepens with power law index ˜ -3.5 for shorter wavelength. These localized structures could be a source of particle acceleration and heating by pump IAW in low- β plasma.

Magnetic confinement, Alfven wave reflection, and the origins of X-ray and mass-loss 'dividing lines' for late-type giants and supergiants

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rosner, R.; An, C.-H.; Musielak, Z. E.; Moore, R. L.; Suess, S. T.

1991-01-01

A simple qualitative model for the origin of the coronal and mass-loss dividing lines separating late-type giants and supergiants with and without hot, X-ray-emitting corona, and with and without significant mass loss is discussed. The basic physical effects considered are the necessity of magnetic confinement for hot coronal material on the surface of such stars and the large reflection efficiency for Alfven waves in cool exponential atmospheres. The model assumes that the magnetic field geometry of these stars changes across the observed 'dividing lines' from being mostly closed on the high effective temperature side to being mostly open on the low effective temperature side.

Modeling and Theory of RF Antenna Systems on Proto-MPEX

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Piotrowicz, P. A.; Caneses, J. F.; Goulding, R. H.; Green, D.; Caughman, J. B. O.; Ruzic, D. N.; Proto-MPEX Team

2017-10-01

The RF wave coupling of the helicon and ICH antennas installed on the Prototype Material Plasma Exposure eXperiment (MPEX) has been explored theoretically and via a full wave model implemented in COMSOL Multiphysics. The high-density mode in Proto-MPEX has been shown to occur when exciting radial eigenmodes of the plasma column which coincides with entering a Trivelpiece Gould (TG) anti-resonant regime, therefore suppressing edge heating in favor of core power deposition. The fast wave launched by the helicon antenna has a large wavelength and travels at a steep group velocity angle with the background magnetic field; for this reason the fast wave launched by the helicon antenna efficiently couples power to the core plasma. However, the ICH heating scheme relies on a small wavelength slow wave to couple power to the core of the plasma column. Coupling slow wave power to the core of the plasma column is sensitive to the location of the Alfven resonance. The wave-vector and group velocity vector of the slow wave in this parameter regime undergoes a drastic change in behavior when approaching the Alfven resonance. Full wave simulation results and dispersion analysis will be presented with suggestions to guide experimental progress. This work was supported by the US. D.O.E. contract DE-AC05-00OR22725.

A powerful local shear instability in weakly magnetized disks. I - Linear analysis. II - Nonlinear evolution

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Balbus, Steven A.; Hawley, John F.

1991-01-01

A broad class of astronomical accretion disks is presently shown to be dynamically unstable to axisymmetric disturbances in the presence of a weak magnetic field, an insight with consequently broad applicability to gaseous, differentially-rotating systems. In the first part of this work, a linear analysis is presented of the instability, which is local and extremely powerful; the maximum growth rate, which is of the order of the angular rotation velocity, is independent of the strength of the magnetic field. Fluid motions associated with the instability directly generate both poloidal and toroidal field components. In the second part of this investigation, the scaling relation between the instability's wavenumber and the Alfven velocity is demonstrated, and the independence of the maximum growth rate from magnetic field strength is confirmed.

Electromagnetic Waves and Bursty Electron Acceleration: Implications from Freja

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Andersson, Laila; Ivchenko, N.; Wahlund, J.-E.; Clemmons, J.; Gustavsson, B.; Eliasson, L.

2000-01-01

Dispersive Alfven wave activity is identified in four dayside auroral oval events measured by the Freja satellite. The events are characterized by ion injection, bursty electron precipitation below about I keV, transverse ion heating and broadband extremely low frequency (ELF) emissions below the lower hybrid cutoff frequency (a few kHz). The broadband emissions are observed to become more electrostatic towards higher frequencies. Large-scale density depletions/cavities, as determined by the Langmuir probe measurements, and strong electrostatic emissions are often observed simultaneously. A correlation study has been carried out between the E- and B-field fluctuations below 64 Hz (the dc instrument's upper threshold) and the characteristics of the precipitating electrons. This study revealed that the energization of electrons is indeed related to the broadband ELF emissions and that the electrostatic component plays a predominant role during very active magnetospheric conditions. Furthermore, the effect of the ELF electromagnetic emissions on the larger scale field-aligned current systems has been investigated, and it is found that such an effect cannot be detected. Instead, the Alfvenic activity creates a local region of field-aligned currents. It is suggested that dispersive Alfven waves set up these local field-aligned current regions and in turn trigger more electrostatic emissions during certain conditions. In these regions ions are transversely heated, and large-scale density depletions/cavities may be created during especially active periods.

Nonequilibrium, large-amplitude MHD fluctuations in the solar wind

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Roberts, D. Aaron; Wiltberger, Michael J.

1995-01-01

Compressible MHD simulations in one dimension with three-dimensional vectors are used to investigate a number of processes relevant to problems in interplanetary physics. The simulations indicate that a large-amplitude nonequilibrium (e.g., linearly polarized) Alfvenic wave, which always starts with small relative fluctuations in the magnitude B of the magnetic field, typically evolves to flatten the magnetic profile in most regions. Under a wide variety of conditions B and the density rho become anticorrelated on average. If the mean magnetic field is allowed to decrease in time, the point where the transverse magnetic fluctuation amplitude delta B(sub T) is greater than the mean field B(sub 0) is not special, and large values of delta B(sub T)/B(sub 0) do not cause the compressive thermal energy to increase remarkably or the wave energy to dissipate at an unusually high rate. Nor does the 'backscatter' of the waves that occurs when the sound speed is less than the Alfven speed result, in itself, in substantial energy dissipation, but rather primarily in a phase change between the magnetic and velocity fields. For isolated wave packets the backscatter does not occur for any of the parameters examined; an initial radiation of acoustic waves away from the packet establishes a stable traveling structure. Thus these simulations, although greatly idealized compared to reality, suggest a picture in which the interplanetary fluctuations should have small deltaB and increasingly quasi-pressure balanced compressive fluctuations, as observed, and in which the dissipation and 'saturation' at delta B(sub T)/B(sub 0) approximately = 1 required by some theories of wave acceleration of the solar wind do not occur. The simulations also provide simple ways to understand the processes of nonlinear steepening and backscattering of Alfven waves and demonstrate the existence of previously unreported types of quasi-steady MHD states.

Particle-in-cell simulations of the critical ionization velocity effect in finite size clouds

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Moghaddam-Taaheri, E.; Lu, G.; Goertz, C. K.; Nishikawa, K. - I.

1994-01-01

The critical ionization velocity (CIV) mechanism in a finite size cloud is studied with a series of electrostatic particle-in-cell simulations. It is observed that an initial seed ionization, produced by non-CIV mechanisms, generates a cross-field ion beam which excites a modified beam-plasma instability (MBPI) with frequency in the range of the lower hybrid frequency. The excited waves accelerate electrons along the magnetic field up to the ion drift energy that exceeds the ionization energy of the neutral atoms. The heated electrons in turn enhance the ion beam by electron-neutral impact ionization, which establishes a positive feedback loop in maintaining the CIV process. It is also found that the efficiency of the CIV mechanism depends on the finite size of the gas cloud in the following ways: (1) Along the ambient magnetic field the finite size of the cloud, L (sub parallel), restricts the growth of the fastest growing mode, with a wavelength lambda (sub m parallel), of the MBPI. The parallel electron heating at wave saturation scales approximately as (L (sub parallel)/lambda (sub m parallel)) (exp 1/2); (2) Momentum coupling between the cloud and the ambient plasma via the Alfven waves occurs as a result of the finite size of the cloud in the direction perpendicular to both the ambient magnetic field and the neutral drift. This reduces exponentially with time the relative drift between the ambient plasma and the neutrals. The timescale is inversely proportional to the Alfven velocity. (3) The transvers e charge separation field across the cloud was found to result in the modulation of the beam velocity which reduces the parallel heating of electrons and increases the transverse acceleration of electrons. (4) Some energetic electrons are lost from the cloud along the magnetic field at a rate characterized by the acoustic velocity, instead of the electron thermal velocity. The loss of energetic electrons from the cloud seems to be larger in the direction of plasma drift relative to the neutrals, where the loss rate is characterized by the neutral drift velocity. It is also shown that a factor of 4 increase in the ambient plasma density, increases the CIV ionization yield by almost 2 orders of magnitude at the end of a typical run. It is concluded that a larger ambient plasma density can result in a larger CIV yield because of (1) larger seed ion production by non-CIV mechanisms, (2) smaller Alfven velocity and hence weak momentum coupling, and (3) smaller ratio of the ion beam density to the ambient ion density, and therefore a weaker modulation of the beam velocity. The simulation results are used to interpret various chemical release experiments in space.

Linear and nonlinear analysis of kinetic Alfven waves in quantum magneto-plasmas with arbitrary temperature degeneracy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sadiq, Nauman; Ahmad, Mushtaq; Farooq, M.; Jan, Qasim

2018-06-01

Linear and nonlinear kinetic Alfven waves (KAWs) are studied in collisionless, non-relativistic two fluid quantum magneto-plasmas by considering arbitrary temperature degeneracy. A general coupling parameter is applied to discuss the range of validity of the proposed model in nearly degenerate and nearly non-degenerate plasma limits. Linear analysis of KAWs shows an increase (decrease) in frequency with the increase in parameter ζ ( δ ) for the nearly non-degenerate (nearly degenerate) plasma limit. The energy integral equation in the form of Sagdeev potential is obtained by using the approach of the Lorentz transformation. The analysis reveals that the amplitude of the Sagdeev potential curves and soliton structures remains the same, but the potential depth and width of soliton structure change for both the limiting cases. It is further observed that only density hump structures are formed in the sub-alfvenic region for value Kz 2 > 1 . The effects of parameters ζ, δ on the nonlinear properties of KAWs are shown in graphical plots. New results for comparison with earlier work have also been highlighted. The significance of this work to astrophysical plasmas is also emphasized.

Low Frequency Turbulence as the Source of High Frequency Waves in Multi-Component Space Plasmas

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Khazanov, George V.; Krivorutsky, Emmanuel N.; Uritsky, Vadim M.

2011-01-01

Space plasmas support a wide variety of waves, and wave-particle interactions as well as wavewave interactions are of crucial importance to magnetospheric and ionospheric plasma behavior. High frequency wave turbulence generation by the low frequency (LF) turbulence is restricted by two interconnected requirements: the turbulence should be strong enough and/or the coherent wave trains should have the appropriate length. These requirements are strongly relaxed in the multi-component plasmas, due to the heavy ions large drift velocity in the field of LF wave. The excitation of lower hybrid waves (LHWs), in particular, is a widely discussed mechanism of interaction between plasma species in space and is one of the unresolved questions of magnetospheric multi-ion plasmas. It is demonstrated that large-amplitude Alfven waves, in particular those associated with LF turbulence, may generate LHW s in the auroral zone and ring current region and in some cases (particularly in the inner magnetosphere) this serves as the Alfven wave saturation mechanism. We also argue that the described scenario can playa vital role in various parts of the outer magnetosphere featuring strong LF turbulence accompanied by LHW activity. Using the data from THEMIS spacecraft, we validate the conditions for such cross-scale coupling in the near-Earth "flow-braking" magnetotail region during the passage of sharp injection/dipolarization fronts, as well as in the turbulent outflow region of the midtail reconnection site.

Astrophysical ZeV acceleration in the jets from an accreting blackhole

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tajima, Toshiki; Ebisuzaki, Toshikazu; Mizuta, Akira

2017-10-01

An accreting blackhole produces extreme amplitude Alfven waves whose wavelength (wave packet) size is characterized by its clumsiness. The ponderomotive force driven by the bow wake of these Alfven waves propagates along the AGN (blazar) jet, and accelerates protons/nuclei to extreme energies beyond Zetta-electron volt (ZeV = 1021 eV). Such acceleration is linear and does not suffer from the multiple scattering/bending involved in the Fermi acceleration that causes excessive synchrotron radiation loss beyond 1019 eV. This bow wake acceleration was confirmed one-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations. General relativistic Magneto-hydrodynamics simulations also show the intermittent eruptions of electro-magnetic waves from the innermost region of the accretion disk around a black hole. The production rate of ultra-high energy cosmic rays in M82 starburst galaxy is estimated from its gamma-ray luminosity and is found to be consistent with the observed flux of the northern hot spot by Telescope Array. We will discuss the possible acceleration in an intermediate mass black hole candidate M82 X-1 and the magnetic bending in the cosmological filaments in the local super cluster.

Dynamics of Exploding Plasma Within a Magnetized Plasma

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dimonte, G; Dipeso, G; Hewett, D

2002-02-01

This memo describes several possible laboratory experiments on the dynamics of an exploding plasma in a background magnetized plasma. These are interesting scientifically and the results are applicable to energetic explosions in the earth's ionosphere (DOE Campaign 7 at LLNL). These proposed experiments are difficult and can only be performed in the new LAPD device at UCLA. The purpose of these experiments would be to test numerical simulations, theory and reduced models for systems performance codes. The experiments are designed to investigate the affect of the background plasma on (1) the maximum diamagnetic bubble radius given by Eq. 9; andmore » (2) the Alfven wave radiation efficiency produced by the induced current J{sub A} (Eqs. 10-12) These experiments involve measuring the bubble radius using a fast gated optical imager as in Ref [1] and the Alfven wave profile and intensity as in Ref [2] for different values of the exploding plasma energy, background plasma density and temperature, and background magnetic field. These experiments extend the previously successful experiments [2] on Alfven wave coupling. We anticipate that the proposed experiments would require 1-2 weeks of time on the LAPD. We would perform PIC simulations in support of these experiments in order to validate the codes. Once validated, the PIC simulations would then be able to be extended to realistic ionospheric conditions with various size explosions and altitudes. In addition to the Alfven wave coupling, we are interested in the magnetic containment and transport of the exploding ''debris'' plasma to see if the shorting of the radial electric field in the magnetic bubble would allow the ions to propagate further. This has important implications in an ionospheric explosion because it defines the satellite damage region. In these experiments, we would field fast gated optical cameras to obtain images of the plasma expansion, which could then be correlated with magnetic probe measurements. In this regard, it would be most helpful to have a more powerful laser more than 10J in order to increase the extent of the magnetic bubble.« less

Turbulence and Waves as Sources for the Solar Wind

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cranmer, S. R.

2008-05-01

Gene Parker's insights from 50 years ago provided the key causal link between energy deposition in the solar corona and the acceleration of solar wind streams. However, the community is still far from agreement concerning the actual physical processes that give rise to this energy. It is still unknown whether the solar wind is fed by flux tubes that remain open (and are energized by footpoint-driven wavelike fluctuations) or if mass and energy is input more intermittently from closed loops into the open-field regions. No matter the relative importance of reconnections and loop-openings, though, we do know that waves and turbulent motions are present everywhere from the photosphere to the heliosphere, and it is important to determine how they affect the mean state of the plasma. In this presentation, I will give a summary of wave/turbulence models that seem to succeed in explaining the time-steady properties of the corona (and the fast and slow solar wind). The coronal heating and solar wind acceleration in these models comes from anisotropic turbulent cascade, which is driven by the partial reflection of low-frequency Alfven waves propagating along the open magnetic flux tubes. Specifically, a 2D model of coronal holes and streamers at solar minimum reproduces the latitudinal bifurcation of slow and fast streams seen by Ulysses. The radial gradient of the Alfven speed affects where the waves are reflected and damped, and thus whether energy is deposited below or above Parker's critical point. As predicted by earlier studies, a larger coronal expansion factor gives rise to a slower and denser wind, higher temperature at the coronal base, less intense Alfven waves at 1 AU, and correlative trends for commonly measured ratios of ion charge states and FIP-sensitive abundances that are in general agreement with observations. Finally, I will outline the types of future observations that would be most able to test and refine these ideas.

Turbulence and Global Properties of the Solar Wind

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Goldstein, Melvyn L.

2007-01-01

The solar wind shows striking characteristics that suggest that it is a turbulent magnetofluid, but the picture is not altogether simple. From the earliest observations, a strong correlation between magnetic fluctuations and plasma velocity fluctuations as noted. The high corrections suggest that the fluctuations are Alven waves. In addition, the power spectrum of the magnetic fluctuation showed evidence of an inertial range that resembled that seen in fully-developed fluid turbulence. Alfven waves, however, are exact solutions of the equations of an incompressible magnetohydrodynamics. Thus, there was a puzzle: how can a magnetofluid consisting of Alfven waves be turbulent? The answer lay in the role of velocity shears in the solar wind that could drive turbulent evolution. Puzzles remain: for example, the power spectrum of the velocity fluctuations is less steep than the slope of the magnetic fluctuations. The plasma in the magnetic tail of Earth's magnetosphere also shows aspects of turbulence, as does the plasma in the dayside magnetosphere near the poles--the so-called dayside cusps.

EFFECTS OF ALFVEN WAVES ON ELECTRON CYCLOTRON MASER EMISSION IN CORONAL LOOPS AND SOLAR TYPE I RADIO STORMS

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhao, G. Q.; Chen, L.; Wu, D. J.

Solar type I radio storms are long-lived radio emissions from the solar atmosphere. It is believed that these type I storms are produced by energetic electrons trapped within a closed magnetic structure and are characterized by a high ordinary (O) mode polarization. However, the microphysical nature of these emissions is still an open problem. Recently, Wu et al. found that Alfven waves (AWs) can significantly influence the basic physics of wave-particle interactions by modifying the resonant condition. Taking the effects of AWs into account, this work investigates electron cyclotron maser emission driven by power-law energetic electrons with a low-energy cutoffmore » distribution, which are trapped in coronal loops by closed solar magnetic fields. The results show that the emission is dominated by the O mode. It is proposed that this O mode emission may possibly be responsible for solar type I radio storms.« less

Cluster observations of Shear-mode surface waves diverging from Geomagnetic Tail reconnection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dai, L.; Wygant, J. R.; Dombeck, J. P.; Cattell, C. A.; Thaller, S. A.; Mouikis, C.; Balogh, A.; Reme, H.

2010-12-01

We present the first Cluster spacecraft study of the intense (δB/B~0.5, δE/VAB~0.5) equatorial plane surface waves diverging from magnetic reconnection in the geomagnetic tail at ~17 Re. Using phase lag analysis with multi-spacecraft measurements, we quantitatively determine the wavelength and phase velocity of the waves with spacecraft frame frequencies from 0.03 Hz to 1 Hz and wavelengths from much larger (4Re) than to comparable to the H+ gyroradius (~300km). The phase velocities track the strong variations in the equatorial plane projection of the reconnection outflow velocity perpendicular to the magnetic field. The propagation direction and wavelength of the observed surface waves resemble those of flapping waves of the magnetotail current sheet, suggesting a same origin shared by both of these waves. The observed waves appear ubiquitous in the outflows near magnetotail reconnection. Evidence is found that the observed waves are associated with velocity shear in reconnection outflows. Analysis shows that observed waves are associated with strong field-aligned Alfvenic Poynting flux directed away from the reconnection region toward Earth. These observations present a scenario in which the observed surface waves are driven and convected through a velocity-shear type instability by high-speed (~1000km) reconnection outflows tending to slow down due to power dissipation through Poynting flux. The mapped Poynting flux (100ergs/cm2s) and longitudinal scales (10-100 km) to 100km altitude suggest that the observed waves and their motions are an important boundary condition for night-side aurora. Figure: a) The BX-GSM in the geomagnetic tail current sheet. b) The phase difference wavelet spectrum between Bz_GSM from SC2 and SC3, used to determine the wave phase velocity, is correlated with the reconnection outflow velocity (represented by H+ VX-GSM) c) The spacecraft trajectory through magnetotail reconnection. d) The observed equatorial plane surface wave propagating outward from reconnection region.

Toroidal Alfven Waves in Advanced Tokamaks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Berk, Herbert L.

2003-10-01

In burning plasma experiments, alpha particles have speeds that readily resonate with shear Alfven waves. It is essential to understand this Alfven wave spectrum for toroidal plasma confinement. Most interest has focused on the Toroidal Alfven Eigenmode (TAE), and a method of analysis has been developed to understand the structure of this mode at a flux surface with a given magnetic shear. However, this model fails when the shear is too low or reversed. In this case a new method of analysis is required, which must incorporate novel fluid-like effects from the energetic particles [1] and also include effects that are second order in the inverse toroidal aspect ratio. With this new method [2] we can obtain spectral features that agree with experimental results. In particular, this theory gives an explanation for the so-called Cascade modes that have been observed in JT-60 [3], JET [4], and TFTR [5]. For these Cascade modes, slow upward frequency sweeping is observed, beginning from frequencies below the TAE range but then often blending into the TAE range of frequencies. The theoretical understanding of the Cascades modes has evolved to the point where these modes can be used as a diagnostic "signature" [6] to experimentally optimize the formation of thermal barriers in reversed-shear operation when the minimum q value is an integer. [1] H. L. Berk et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 87, 185 (2002). [2] B. N. Breizman et al., submitted to Phys. Plasmas (2003). [3] H. Kimura et al., Nucl. Fusion 38, 1303 (1998). [4] S. Sharapov et al., Phys. Lett. A 289, 127 (2001); S. Sharapov, Phys. Plasmas 9, 2027 (2002). [5] R. Nazikian, H. L. Berk, et al., Bull. Am. Phys. Soc. 47, 327 (2002). [6] E. Joffrin et al., Plasma Phys. Contr. Fusion 44, 1739 (2002); E. Joffrin et al., in Proc. 2002 IAEA Fusion Energy Conference, submitted to Nucl. Fusion.

Global MHD Simulation of the Coronal Mass Ejection on 2011 March 7: from Chromosphere to 1 AU

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jin, M.; Manchester, W.; van der Holst, B.; Oran, R.; Sokolov, I.; Toth, G.; Vourlidas, A.; Liu, Y.; Sun, X.; Gombosi, T. I.

2013-12-01

In this study, we present magnetohydrodynamics simulation results of a fast CME event that occurred on 2011 March 7 by using the newly developed Alfven Wave Solar Model (AWSoM) in Space Weather Modeling Framework (SWMF). The background solar wind is driven by Alfven-wave pressure and heated by Alfven-wave dissipation in which we have incorporated balanced turbulence at the top of the closed field lines. The magnetic field of the inner boundary is specified with a synoptic magnetogram from SDO/HMI. In order to produce the physically correct CME structures and CME-driven shocks, the electron and proton temperatures are separated so that the electron heat conduction is explicitly treated in conjunction with proton shock heating. Also, collisionless heat conduction is implemented for getting the correct electron temperature at 1 AU. We initiate the CME by using the Gibson-Low flux rope model and simulate the CME propagation to 1 AU. A comprehensive validation study is performed using remote as well as in-situ observations from SOHO, STEREOA/B, ACE, and WIND. Our result shows that the new model can reproduce most of the observed features and the arrival time of the CME is correctly estimated, which suggests the forecasting capability of the new model. We also examine the simulated CME-driven shock structures that are important for modeling the associated solar energetic event (SEP) with diffusive shock acceleration.

Relativistic nonlinear plasma waves in a magnetic field

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kennel, C. F.; Pellat, R.

1975-01-01

Five relativistic plane nonlinear waves were investigated: circularly polarized waves and electrostatic plasma oscillations propagating parallel to the magnetic field, relativistic Alfven waves, linearly polarized transverse waves propagating in zero magnetic field, and the relativistic analog of the extraordinary mode propagating at an arbitrary angle to the magnetic field. When the ions are driven relativistic, they behave like electrons, and the assumption of an 'electron-positron' plasma leads to equations which have the form of a one-dimensional potential well. The solutions indicate that a large-amplitude superluminous wave determines the average plasma properties.

Parametric Study of Preferential Ion Heating Due to Intermittent Magnetic Fields in the Solar Wind

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carbajal Gomez, L.; Chapman, S. C.; Dendy, R. O.; Watkins, N. W.

2014-12-01

In situ observations and remote measurements of the solar wind show strong preferential heating of ions along the ambient magnetic field. Understanding the mechanism for this heating process is an open problem. The observed broad-band spectrum of Alfven waves permeating the fast solar wind provide a candidate mechanism for this preferential heating through wave-particle interactions on ion kinetic scales. Previous analytical and numerical studies have considered a single pump wave [1, 2] or a turbulent, broad-band spectra of Alfven waves [3, 4, 5] to drive the ion heating. The latter studies investigated the effects on ion heating due to different initial 1/fγpower spectral exponents and number of modes and the signals were random phase. However, the observed solar wind fluctuations are intermittent so that the phases of the modes comprising the power spectrum are not random. Non-Gaussian fluctuations are seen both on scales identified with the inertial range of Alfvenic turbulence [6], and on longer scales typified by '1/f' spectra [7]. We present results of the first parametric numerical simulations on the effects of different levels of intermittency of the broad-band spectra of Alfven waves on the preferential heating of ions in the solar wind. We performed hybrid simulations for the local heating of the solar wind, which resolves the full kinetic physics of the ions and treats the electrons as a charge-neutralizing fluid. Our simulations evolve the full vector velocities and electromagnetic fields in one configuration space coordinate and in time.We compare the efficiency of different levels of intermittency of the initial turbulent fields and their effect on the efficiency of the wave-particle interactions which are a mechanism for driving preferential ion heating in the solar wind. [1] J. A. Araneda, E. Marsh, A. F. Viñas, J. Geophys. Res. 112, A04104 (2007). [2] J. A. Araneda, E. Marsh, A. F. Viñas, Phys. Rev. Lett. 100, 125003 (2008) [3] Y. G. Maneva, A. F. Viñas, L. Ofman, J. Geophys. Res. 118, 2842 (2013). [4] L. Ofman, J. Geophys. Res. 115, 1461 (2010). [5] L. Ofman, S. P. Gary, A. Viñas, J. Geophys. Res. 107, 1461 (2002). [6] R. Bruno, V. Carbone, Living Rev. Solar Phys. 10, 2 (2013). [7] R. M. Nicol, S. C. Chapman, R. O. Dendy, The Astrophysical Journal 703, 2138 (2009).

On Wave Processes in the Solar Atmosphere

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Musielak, Z. E.

1998-01-01

This grant was awarded by NASA/MSFC to The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) to investigate the physical processes responsible for heating and wind acceleration in the solar atmosphere, and to construct theoretical, self-consistent and time-dependent solar wind models based on the momentum deposition by finite amplitude and nonlinear Alfven waves. In summary, there are three main goals of the proposed research: (1) Calculate the wave energy spectra and wave energy fluxes carried by magnetic non- magnetic waves. (2) Find out which mechanism dominates in supplying the wave energy to different parts of the solar atmosphere. (3) Use the results obtained in (1) and (2) to construct theoretical, self-consistent and time- dependent models of the solar wind. We have completed the first goal by calculating the amount of non-radiative energy generated in the solar convection zone as acoustic waves and as magnetic tube waves. To calculate the amount of wave energy carried by acoustic waves, we have used the Lighthill-Stein theory for sound generation modified by Musielak, Rosner, Stein & Ulmschneider (1994). The acoustic wave energy fluxes for stars located in different regions of the Hertzsprung-Russell (H-R) diagram have also been computed. The wave energy fluxes carried by longitudinal and transverse waves along magnetic flux tubes have been calculated by using both analytical and numerical methods. Our analytical approach is based a theory developed by Musielak, Rosner & Ulmschnelder and Musielak, Rosner, Gall & Ulmschneider, which allows computing the wave energy fluxes for linear tube waves. A numerical approach has been developed by Huang, Musielak & Ulmschneider and Ulmschneider & Musielak to compute the energy fluxes for nonlinear tube waves. Both methods have been used to calculate the wave energy fluxes for stars located in different regions of the HR diagram (Musielak, Rosner & Ulmschneider 1998; Ulmschneider, Musielak & Fawzy 1998). Having obtained the wave energy fluxes for acoustic and magnetic tube waves, we have investigated the behavior of these waves in the solar and stellar atmospheres. The results of our extensive studies have been published in many papers and presented at numerous scientific meetings. In these studies we have investigated different aspects of propagation of acoustic and magnetic waves, the efficiency of energy transfer along magnetic structures in the solar atmosphere, and behavior of Alfven waves in stgeady and expanding solar and stellar atmospheres. Recently, we have used some of these results to construct first purely theoretical, two component and time-dependent models of solar and stellar chromospheres. Finally, to address the third goal, we have constructed first fully theoretical, self-consistent and time dependent wind models based on the momentum deposition by non-linear Alfven waves. The full set of single-fluid MHD equations with the background flow has been solved by using a modified version of the ZEUS MHD code. The constructed wind models are radially symmetric with the magnetic field decreasing radially and the initial outflow is described by the standard Parker wind solution. In contrast to previous studies, no assumptions regarding wave linearity, wave damping, and wave-flow interaction are made; the models thus naturally account for the backreaction of the wind on the waves as well as for the nonlinear interaction between different types of MHD waves. The models have been used to explain the origin of fast speed streams in solar coronal holes. The obtained results clearly demonstrate that the momentum deposition by Alfven waves in the solar wind can be sufficient to explain the origin of fast stream components of the solar wind. The range of wave amplitudes required to obtain the desired results seems to be in good agreement with recent observations.

Simple and Double Alfven Waves: Hamiltonian Aspects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Webb, G. M.; Zank, G. P.; Hu, Q.; le Roux, J. A.; Dasgupta, B.

2011-12-01

We discuss the nature of simple and double Alfvén waves. Simple waves depend on a single phase variable \\varphi, but double waves depend on two independent phase variables \\varphi1 and \\varphi2. The phase variables depend on the space and time coordinates x and t. Simple and double Alfvén waves have the same integrals, namely, the entropy, density, magnetic pressure, and group velocity (the sum of the Alfvén and fluid velocities) are constant throughout the flow. We present examples of both simple and double Alfvén waves, and discuss Hamiltonian formulations of the waves.

Analysis of Alfven eigenmode destabilization in DIII-D high poloidal β discharges using a Landau closure model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Varela, J.; Spong, D. A.; Garcia, L.; Huang, J.; Murakami, M.; Garofalo, A. M.; Qian, J. P.; Holcomb, C. T.; Hyatt, A. W.; Ferron, J. R.; Collins, C. S.; Ren, Q. L.; McClenaghan, J.; Guo, W.

2018-07-01

Alfvén eigenmodes are destabilized at the DIII-D pedestal during transient beta drops in high poloidal β discharges with internal transport barriers (ITBs), driven by n  =  1 external kink modes, leading to energetic particle losses. There are two different scenarios in the thermal β recovery phase: with bifurcation (two instability branches with different frequencies) or without bifurcation (single instability branch). We use the reduced MHD equations in a full 3D system, coupled with equations of density and parallel velocity moments for the energetic particles as well as the geodesic acoustic wave dynamics, to study the properties of the instabilities observed in the DIII-D high poloidal β discharges and identify the conditions to trigger the bifurcation. The simulations suggest that instabilities with lower frequency in the bifurcation case are ballooning modes driven at the plasma pedestal, while the instability branch with higher frequencies are low n (n  <  4) toroidal Alfvén eigenmodes nearby the pedestal. The reverse shear region between the middle and plasma periphery in the non-bifurcated case avoids the excitation of ballooning modes at the pedestal, although toroidal Alfvén eigenmodes and reverse shear Alfvén eigenmodes are unstable in the reverse shear region. The n  =  1 and n  =  2 Alfvén eigenmode activity can be suppressed or minimized if the neutral beam injector (NBI) intensity is lower than the experimental value (). In addition, if the beam energy or neutral beam injector voltage is lower than in the experiment (), the resonance between beam and thermal plasma is weaker. The and 6 AE activity can not be fully suppressed, although the growth rate and frequency is smaller for an optimized neutral beam injector operation regime. In conclusion, AE activity in high poloidal β discharges can be minimized for optimized NBI operation regimes.

Turbulent Heating and Wave Pressure in Solar Wind Acceleration Modeling: New Insights to Empirical Forecasting of the Solar Wind

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Woolsey, L. N.; Cranmer, S. R.

2013-12-01

The study of solar wind acceleration has made several important advances recently due to improvements in modeling techniques. Existing code and simulations test the competing theories for coronal heating, which include reconnection/loop-opening (RLO) models and wave/turbulence-driven (WTD) models. In order to compare and contrast the validity of these theories, we need flexible tools that predict the emergent solar wind properties from a wide range of coronal magnetic field structures such as coronal holes, pseudostreamers, and helmet streamers. ZEPHYR (Cranmer et al. 2007) is a one-dimensional magnetohydrodynamics code that includes Alfven wave generation and reflection and the resulting turbulent heating to accelerate solar wind in open flux tubes. We present the ZEPHYR output for a wide range of magnetic field geometries to show the effect of the magnetic field profiles on wind properties. We also investigate the competing acceleration mechanisms found in ZEPHYR to determine the relative importance of increased gas pressure from turbulent heating and the separate pressure source from the Alfven waves. To do so, we developed a code that will become publicly available for solar wind prediction. This code, TEMPEST, provides an outflow solution based on only one input: the magnetic field strength as a function of height above the photosphere. It uses correlations found in ZEPHYR between the magnetic field strength at the source surface and the temperature profile of the outflow solution to compute the wind speed profile based on the increased gas pressure from turbulent heating. With this initial solution, TEMPEST then adds in the Alfven wave pressure term to the modified Parker equation and iterates to find a stable solution for the wind speed. This code, therefore, can make predictions of the wind speeds that will be observed at 1 AU based on extrapolations from magnetogram data, providing a useful tool for empirical forecasting of the sol! ar wind.

Plasma physics abstracts, 1 January - 31 December 1971

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Montgomery, D. C.; Gurnett, D. A.

1971-01-01

Abstracts are presented on various aspects of plasma physics, including theoretical discussions and ionospheric plasmas. The topics considered cover Alfven waves, magnetized plasmas, plasma diffusion, Poynting flux measurements, electric fields, the magnetosphere, auroras, and plasma convection.

The dominant mode of standing Alfven waves at the synchronous orbit

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cummins, W. D.; Countee, C.; Lyons, D.; Wiley, W., III

1975-01-01

Low-frequency oscillations of the earth's magnetic field recorded by a magnetometer on board ATS 1 have been examined for the 6-month interval between January and June 1968. Using evidence from OGO 5 and ATS 5 as well as the data from ATS 1, it is argued that the dominant mode at ATS 1 must be the fundamental rather than the second harmonic of a standing Alfven wave. It is concluded that these transverse oscillations are more accurately associated with magnetically disturbed days than with quiet days. From 14 instances when oscillations of distinctly different periods occurred during the same time interval at ATS 1, it is also concluded that higher harmonics can exist. The period ratio in seven of the 14 cases corresponds to the simultaneous occurrence of the second harmonic with the fundamental, and four other cases could be identified as the simultaneous occurrence of the fourth harmonic with the fundamental.

SOLAR X-RAY JETS, TYPE-II SPICULES, GRANULE-SIZE EMERGING BIPOLES, AND THE GENESIS OF THE HELIOSPHERE

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Moore, Ronald L.; Sterling, Alphonse C.; Cirtain, Jonathan W.

2011-04-10

From Hinode observations of solar X-ray jets, Type-II spicules, and granule-size emerging bipolar magnetic fields in quiet regions and coronal holes, we advocate a scenario for powering coronal heating and the solar wind. In this scenario, Type-II spicules and Alfven waves are generated by the granule-size emerging bipoles (EBs) in the manner of the generation of X-ray jets by larger magnetic bipoles. From observations and this scenario, we estimate that Type-II spicules and their co-generated Alfven waves carry into the corona an area-average flux of mechanical energy of {approx}7 x 10{sup 5} erg cm{sup -2} s{sup -1}. This is enoughmore » to power the corona and solar wind in quiet regions and coronal holes, and therefore indicates that the granule-size EBs are the main engines that generate and sustain the entire heliosphere.« less

Kinetic treatment of nonlinear magnetized plasma motions - General geometry and parallel waves

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Khabibrakhmanov, I. KH.; Galinskii, V. L.; Verheest, F.

1992-01-01

The expansion of kinetic equations in the limit of a strong magnetic field is presented. This gives a natural description of the motions of magnetized plasmas, which are slow compared to the particle gyroperiods and gyroradii. Although the approach is 3D, this very general result is used only to focus on the parallel propagation of nonlinear Alfven waves. The derivative nonlinear Schroedinger-like equation is obtained. Two new terms occur compared to earlier treatments, a nonlinear term proportional to the heat flux along the magnetic field line and a higher-order dispersive term. It is shown that kinetic description avoids the singularities occurring in magnetohydrodynamic or multifluid approaches, which correspond to the degenerate case of sound speeds equal to the Alfven speed, and that parallel heat fluxes cannot be neglected, not even in the case of low parallel plasma beta. A truly stationary soliton solution is derived.

On the physics of waves in the solar atmosphere: Wave heating and wind acceleration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Musielak, Z. E.

1992-01-01

In the area of solar physics, new calculations of the acoustic wave energy fluxes generated in the solar convective zone was performed. The original theory developed was corrected by including a new frequency factor describing temporal variations of the turbulent energy spectrum. We have modified the original Stein code by including this new frequency factor, and tested the code extensively. Another possible source of the mechanical energy generated in the solar convective zone is the excitation of magnetic flux tube waves which can carry energy along the tubes far away from the region. The problem as to how efficiently those waves are generated in the Sun was recently solved. The propagation of nonlinear magnetic tube waves in the solar atmosphere was calculated, and mode coupling, shock formation, and heating of the local medium was studied. The wave trapping problems and evaluation of critical frequencies for wave reflection in the solar atmosphere was studied. It was shown that the role played by Alfven waves in the wind accelerations and the coronal hole heating is dominant. Presently, we are performing calculations of wave energy fluxes generated in late-type dwarf stars and studying physical processes responsible for the heating of stellar chromospheres and coronae. In the area of physics of waves, a new analytical approach for studying linear Alfven waves in smoothly nonuniform media was recently developed. This approach is presently being extended to study the propagation of linear and nonlinear magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) waves in stratified, nonisothermal and solar atmosphere. The Lighthill theory of sound generation to nonisothermal media (with a special temperature distribution) was extended. Energy cascade by nonlinear MHD waves and possible chaos driven by these waves are presently considered.

THE COUPLED EVOLUTION OF ELECTRONS AND IONS IN CORONAL MASS EJECTION-DRIVEN SHOCKS

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Manchester IV, W. B.; Van der Holst, B.; Toth, G.

2012-09-01

We present simulations of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) performed with a new two-temperature coronal model developed at the University of Michigan, which is able to address the coupled thermodynamics of the electron and proton populations in the context of a single fluid. This model employs heat conduction for electrons, constant adiabatic index ({gamma} = 5/3), and includes Alfven wave pressure to accelerate the solar wind. The Wang-Sheeley-Arge empirical model is used to determine the Alfven wave pressure necessary to produce the observed bimodal solar wind speed. The Alfven waves are dissipated as they propagate from the Sun and heat protonsmore » on open magnetic field lines to temperatures above 2 MK. The model is driven by empirical boundary conditions that includes GONG magnetogram data to calculate the coronal field, and STEREO/EUVI observations to specify the density and temperature at the coronal boundary by the Differential Emission Measure Tomography method. With this model, we simulate the propagation of fast CMEs and study the thermodynamics of CME-driven shocks. Since the thermal speed of the electrons greatly exceeds the speed of the CME, only protons are directly heated by the shock. Coulomb collisions low in the corona couple the protons and electrons allowing heat exchange between the two species. However, the coupling is so brief that the electrons never achieve more than 10% of the maximum temperature of the protons. We find that heat is able to conduct on open magnetic field lines and rapidly propagates ahead of the CME to form a shock precursor of hot electrons.« less

Resonant-cavity antenna for plasma heating

DOEpatents

Perkins, Jr., Francis W.; Chiu, Shiu-Chu; Parks, Paul; Rawls, John M.

1987-01-01

Disclosed is a resonant coil cavity wave launcher for energizing a plasma immersed in a magnetic field. Energization includes launching fast Alfven waves to excite ion cyclotron frequency resonances in the plasma. The cavity includes inductive and capacitive reactive members spaced no further than one-quarter wavelength from a first wall confinement chamber of the plasma. The cavity wave launcher is energized by connection to a waveguide or transmission line carrying forward power from a remote radio frequency energy source.

A mathematical model of the structure and evolution of small scale discrete auroral arcs

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Seyler, C. E.

1990-01-01

A three dimensional fluid model which includes the dispersive effect of electron inertia is used to study the nonlinear macroscopic plasma dynamics of small scale discrete auroral arcs within the auroral acceleration zone and ionosphere. The motion of the Alfven wave source relative to the magnetospheric and ionospheric plasma forms an oblique Alfven wave which is reflected from the topside ionosphere by the negative density gradient. The superposition of the incident and reflected wave can be described by a steady state analytical solution of the model equations with the appropriate boundary conditions. This two dimensional discrete auroral arc equilibrium provides a simple explanation of auroral acceleration associated with the parallel electric field. Three dimensional fully nonlinear numerical simulations indicate that the equilibrium arc configuration evolves three dimensionally through collisionless tearing and reconnection of the current layer. The interaction of the perturbed flow and the transverse magnetic field produces complex transverse structure that may be the origin of the folds and curls observed to be associated with small scale discrete arcs.

High-latitude distributions of plasma waves and spatial irregularities from DE 2 alternating current electric field observations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Heppner, J. P.; Liebrecht, M. C.; Maynard, N. C.; Pfaff, R. F.

1993-01-01

The high-latitude spatial distributions of average signal intensities in 12 frequency channels between 4 Hz and 512 kHz as measured by the ac electric field spectrometers on the DE-2 spacecraft are analyzed for 18 mo of measurements. In MLT-INL (magnetic local time-invariant latitude) there are three distinct distributions that can be identified with 4-512 Hz signals from spatial irregularities and Alfven waves, 256-Hz to 4.1-kHz signals from ELF hiss, and 4.1-64 kHz signals from VLF auroral hiss, respectively. Overlap between ELF hiss and spatial irregularity signals occurs in the 256-512 Hz band. VLF hiss signals extend downward in frequency into the 1.0-4.1 kHz band and upward into the frequency range 128-512 kHz. The distinctly different spatial distribution patterns for the three bands, 4-256 Hz, 512-1204 Hz, and 4.1-64 kHz, indicate a lack of any causal relationships between VLF hiss, ELF hiss, and lower-frequency signals from spatial irregularities and Alfven waves.

Drift-Alfven eigenmodes in inhomogeneous plasma

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Vranjes, J.; Poedts, S.

2006-03-15

A set of three nonlinear equations describing drift-Alfven waves in a nonuniform magnetized plasma is derived and discussed both in linear and nonlinear limits. In the case of a cylindric radially bounded plasma with a Gaussian density distribution in the radial direction the linearized equations are solved exactly yielding general solutions for modes with quantized frequencies and with radially dependent amplitudes. The full set of nonlinear equations is also solved yielding particular solutions in the form of rotating radially limited structures. The results should be applicable to the description of electromagnetic perturbations in solar magnetic structures and in astrophysical column-likemore » objects including cosmic tornados.« less

Suprathermal protons in the interplanetary solar wind

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Goodrich, C. C.; Lazarus, A. J.

1976-01-01

Using the Mariner 5 solar wind plasma and magnetic field data, we present observations of field-aligned suprathermal proton velocity distributions having pronounced high-energy shoulders. These observations, similar to the interpenetrating stream observations of Feldman et al. (1974), are clear evidence that such proton distributions are interplanetary rather than bow shock associated phenomena. Large Alfven speed is found to be a requirement for the occurrence of suprathermal proton distribution; further, we find the proportion of particles in the shoulder to be limited by the magnitude of the Alfven speed. It is suggested that this last result could indicate that the proton thermal anisotropy is limited at times by wave-particle interactions

Effect of Ion-Parallel Viscosity on the Propagation of Alfven Surface Waves

DTIC Science & Technology

2003-07-20

mode arises from 0.6 whose phase speed decreases with the in- 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 I crease in the value of the parameter V0. It is also Figure 2...after the value of 0.9. [3] R. Balescu , Transport Proccsses in Plasmas, Thus the modes of surface waves become damped North Holland, Amsterdam, 1 (1988

Mass Ejection from Old and Young Stars and the Sun

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jatenco-Pereira, V.; Opher, R.

1990-11-01

RESUMEN. Para poder explicar: 1) la enorme cantidad de perdida de masa y la baja velocidad asint5tica de las estrellas gigantes de o, y 2) los flujos de masa observados en protoestrellas, se sugiere un modelo para Ia perdida de masa, en donde se usa un flujo de ondas de Alfvencomo un mecanismo de aceleraci6n para los vientos de estrellas de tipo y vientos en protoestrellas. Se estudian los mecanismos de disipaci5n de las ondas de Alfven: los amortiguamientos no lineal, de superficie reso- nante y turbulento. En nuestro modelo se usa una divergente A(r) = A(R0) (r/r0)5 (donde A(r) es el area a una distancia radial r, y (A(r)/r2)max/(A(ro)/r02 - 10). Tambien se sugiere un modelo para una de hoyo coronal en el Sol. Se muestra que para satisfacer los datos observacionales en el Sol, tomando en cuenta la deposici6n del momento de las ondas de Alfven sobre el viento, se necesita: (a) una divergencia lenta en un hoyo coronal hasta una altura de 0.01 - 0.1 R seguido de (b) una divergencia rap ida de hasta una altura aproximada de 1 R . ABSTRACT: In order to explain (1) a large mass-loss rate and a small asymptotic flow speed of late-type giant stars and (2) the observed protostellar mass outflows, we suggest a model for mass loss, where we use a flux of Alfven waves as a mechanism of acceleration for late-type giant star winds and protostellar winds. We study the Alfven wave dissipation mechanisms: nonlinear damping, resonant surface damping, and turbulent damping. In our model we use a diverging geometry A(r) = A(r0) (r I r )S (where A(r) is the cross sectional area of the geometry at a radial distance r, and(A(r) I r2)max/(A(r0)/r02) = 10). We also suggest a model for a coronal hole geometry in the sun. We show that in order to satisfy the observational data of the sun, taking into account Alfven wave momentum deposition in the wind, we need: (a) a slow divergence in a coronal hole up t6 a height of 0.01 - 0.1 followed by (b) a rapid divergence up to a height of approximately 1 Re Key : '? #TICS - STARS-LATE TYPE - STARS- LOSS

Turbulence Evolution and Shock Acceleration of Solar Energetic Particles

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chee, Ng K.

2007-01-01

We model the effects of self-excitation/damping and shock transmission of Alfven waves on solar-energetic-particle (SEP) acceleration at a coronal-mass-ejection (CME) driven parallel shock. SEP-excited outward upstream waves speedily bootstrap acceleration. Shock transmission further raises the SEP-excited wave intensities at high wavenumbers but lowers them at low wavenumbers through wavenumber shift. Downstream, SEP excitation of inward waves and damping of outward waves tend to slow acceleration. Nevertheless, > 2000 km/s parallel shocks at approx. 3.5 solar radii can accelerate SEPs to 100 MeV in < 5 minutes.

Electron bulk speed lags the protons in the collisionless solar wind

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tong, Y.; Bale, S. D.; Salem, C. S.; Pulupa, M.

2017-12-01

We use a large, statistical set of in situ measurements of the solar wind electron distribution from the Wind/3DP instrument to show that the magnetic field-aligned core electron-proton drift speed tend to small values at high collisionality and asymptotes towards a large limiting value in the collisionless limit. This collisionless drift-limit, when normalized to the local Alfven speed is large and may drive instabilities.

On the radial evolution of reflection-driven turbulence in the inner solar wind in preparation for Parker Solar Probe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Perez, J. C.; Chandran, B. D. G.

2017-12-01

In this work we present recent results from high-resolution direct numerical simulations and a phenomenological model that describes the radial evolution of reflection-driven Alfven Wave turbulence in the solar atmosphere and the inner solar wind. The simulations are performed inside a narrow magnetic flux tube that models a coronal hole extending from the solar surface through the chromosphere and into the solar corona to approximately 21 solar radii. The simulations include prescribed empirical profiles that account for the inhomogeneities in density, background flow, and the background magnetic field present in coronal holes. Alfven waves are injected into the solar corona by imposing random, time-dependent velocity and magnetic field fluctuations at the photosphere. The phenomenological model incorporates three important features observed in the simulations: dynamic alignment, weak/strong nonlinear AW-AW interactions, and that the outward-propagating AWs launched by the Sun split into two populations with different characteristic frequencies. Model and simulations are in good agreement and show that when the key physical parameters are chosen within observational constraints, reflection-driven Alfven turbulence is a plausible mechanism for the heating and acceleration of the fast solar wind. By flying a virtual Parker Solar Probe (PSP) through the simulations, we will also establish comparisons between the model and simulations with the kind of single-point measurements that PSP will provide.

A Model for Solar Polar Jets

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pariat, E.; Antiochos, S. K.; DeVore, C. R.

2008-01-01

We propose a model for the jetting activity that is commonly observed in the Sun's corona, especially in the open-field regions of polar coronal holes. Magnetic reconnection is the process driving the jets and a relevant magnetic configuration is the well-known null point and fan separatrix topology. The primary challenge in explaining the observations is that reconnection must occur in a short-duration energetic burst rather than quasi-continuously as is implied by the observations of long-lived structures in coronal holes, such as polar plumes, for example. The key idea underlying our model for jets is that reconnection is forbidden for an axisymmetric null-point topology. Consequently, by imposing a twisting motion that maintains the axisymmetry, magnetic stress can be built up to large levels until an ideal instability breaks the symmetry and leads to an explosive release of energy via reconnection. Using 3D MHD simulations we demonstrate that this mechanism does produce jets with high speed and mass, driven by nonlinear Alfven waves. We discuss the implications of our results for observations of the solar corona.

The Consequences of Alfven Waves and Parallel Potential Drops in the Auroral Zone

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schriver, David

2003-01-01

The goal of this research is to examine the causes of field-aligned plasma acceleration in the auroral zone using satellite data and numerical simulations. A primary question to be addressed is what causes the field-aligned acceleration of electrons (leading to precipitation) and ions (leading to upwelling ions) in the auroral zone. Data from the Fast Auroral SnapshoT (FAST) and Polar satellites is used when the two satellites are in approximate magnetic conjunction and are in the auroral region. FAST is at relatively low altitudes and samples plasma in the midst of the auroral acceleration region while Polar is at much higher altitudes and can measure plasmas and waves propagating towards the Earth. Polar can determine the sources of energy streaming earthward from the magnetotail, either in the form of field-aligned currents, electromagnetic waves or kinetic particle energy, that ultimately leads to the acceleration of plasma in the auroral zone. After identifying and examining several events, numerical simulations are run that bridges the spatial region between the two satellites. The code is a one-dimensional, long system length particle in cell simulation that has been developed to model the auroral region. A main goal of this research project is to include Alfven waves in the simulation to examine how these waves can accelerate plasma in the auroral zone.

Ion Upwelling and Height-Resolved Electrodynamic Response of the Ionosphere to ULF Waves and Precipitation: Comparison Between Simulation and EISCAT Observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sydorenko, D.; Rankin, R.

2013-12-01

We have developed a comprehensive two-dimensional (meridional) model of coupling between the magnetosphere and ionosphere that covers an altitude range from ~100 km to few thousand km at high latitudes [Sydorenko and Rankin, 2013]. The model describes propagation of inertial scale Alfven waves, including ponderomotive forces, and has a parametric model of energetic electron precipitation; it includes vertical ion flows and chemical reactions between ions and neutrals. Model results are presented that reproduce EISCAT radar observations of electron and ion temperatures, height integrated conductivity, ion densities, and ion flows during a period of ULF activity described in [Lester, Davies, and Yeoman, 2000]. We performed simulations where the precipitation and the Alfven wave perturb the ionosphere simultaneously. By adjusting parameters of the wave and the precipitation we have achieved qualitative, and sometimes even reasonable quantitative agreement between the observations and the simulation. The model results are discussed in the context of new results anticipated from the Canadian small satellite mission ePOP "Enhanced Polar Outflow Probe", scheduled for launch on September 9, 2013. Sydorenko D. and R. Rankin, 'Simulation of O+ upflows created by electron precipitation and Alfvén waves in the ionosphere' submitted to Journal of Geophysical Research, 2013. Lester M., J. A. Davies, and T. K. Yeoman, 'The ionospheric response during an interval of PC5 ULF wave activity', Ann. Geophysicae, v.18, p.257-261 (2000).

Global simulation of edge pedestal micro-instabilities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wan, Weigang; Parker, Scott; Chen, Yang

2011-10-01

We study micro turbulence of the tokamak edge pedestal with global gyrokinetic particle simulations. The simulation code GEM is an electromagnetic δf code. Two sets of DIII-D experimental profiles, shot #131997 and shot #136051 are used. The dominant instabilities appear to be two kinds of modes both propagating in the electron diamagnetic direction, with comparable linear growth rates. The low n mode is at the Alfven frequency range and driven by density and ion temperature gradients. The high n mode is driven by electron temperature gradient and has a low real frequency. A β scan shows that the low n mode is electromagnetic. Frequency analysis shows that the high n mode is sometimes mixed with an ion instability. Experimental radial electric field is applied and its effects studied. We will also show some preliminary nonlinear results. We thank R. Groebner, P. Snyder and Y. Zheng for providing experimental profiles and helpful discussions.

The dominant mode of standing Alfven waves at synchronous orbit

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cummings, W. D.; Countee, C.; Lyons, D.; Wiley, W., III

1975-01-01

Low-frequency oscillations of the earth's magnetic field recorded by the UCLA magnetometer on board ATS-1, have been examined for the six-month interval, January-June, 1968. The initial interpretation, that these oscillations represent the second harmonic of a standing Alfven wave, has been re-examined, and it is concluded that this hypothesis must be withdrawn. Using evidence from OGO-5 and ATS-5, as well as the data from ATS-1, it is argued that the dominant mode at the synchronous orbit must be the fundamental rather than the second harmonic. From 14 instances when the oscillations of distinctly different periods occurred during the same time interval at ATS-1 it is concluded that higher harmonics can exist. The period ratio in 7 of the 14 cases corresponds to the simultaneous occurrence of the second harmonic with the fundamental, and 4 other cases could be identified as the simultaneous occurrence of the fourth harmonic with the fundamental.

Numerical and analytic models of spontaneous frequency sweeping for energetic particle-driven Alfven eigenmodes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Ge; Berk, H. L.

2011-10-01

The frequency chirping signal arising from spontaneous a toroidial Alfven eigenmode (TAE) excited by energetic particles is studied for both numerical and analytic models. The time-dependent numerical model is based on the 1D Vlasov equation. We use a sophisticated tracking method to lock onto the resonant structure to enable the chirping frequency to be nearly constant in the calculation frame. The accuracy of the adiabatic approximation is tested during the simulation which justifies the appropriateness of our analytic model. The analytic model uses the adiabatic approximation which allows us to solve the wave evolution equation in frequency space. Then, the resonant interactions between energetic particles and TAE yield predictions for the chirping rate, wave frequency and amplitudes vs. time. Here, an adiabatic invariant J is defined on the separatrix of a chirping mode to determine the region of confinement of the wave trapped distribution function. We examine the asymptotic behavior of the chirping signal for its long time evolution and find agreement in essential features with the results of the simulation. Work supported by Department of Energy contract DE-FC02-08ER54988.

Large-Scale Alfvenic Impulses on the Sun: How They Are Generated and What We Learn From Them

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thompson, Barbara

2004-01-01

NASA GSFC The Sun's atmosphere hosts a wide variety of magnetosonic disturbances. These wave modes are detected, almost exclusively, by examining images of the Sun's magnetic atmosphere and looking for propagating distortions. Although none of the Sun's plasma parameters are measured directly, we derive a great deal of information from these observations. In fact, by modeling these propagating disturbances, we may be able to derive the most accurate estimates plasma parameters. From observations absorption, refraction, reflection, and coupling of numerous wave modes, we advance our knowledge of the Sun's magnetic field, temperature, density, and current. The Sun's continuous oscillation, coronal mass ejections, flares, and other dynamic phenomena can produce wave disturbances which are observable from near-Earth space. Several of these disturbances have been traced from the inner corona out into the heliosphere. From the generation of these disturbances, we are able to learn about the phenomena which create them as well as the media through which they re-propagating. The presentation will include a discussion of the generation of Alfvenic disturbances on the Sun, ways we observe these disturbances, and how recent advances in modeling and analysis have brought us closer to determining solar in situ parameters.

Alfven Waves in the Solar Corona

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tomczyk, S.; McIntosh, S. W.; Keil, S. L.; Judge, P. G.; Schad, T.; Seeley, D. H.; Edmondson, J.

2007-12-01

We present observations of the coronal intensity, line-of-sight velocity, and linear polarization obtained in the FeXIII 1074.7 nm coronal emission line with the Coronal Multi-channel Polarimeter (CoMP) instrument. Analysis of these observations reveal ubiquitous upward propagating waves with phase speeds of 1-4 Mm/s and trajectories consistent with the direction of the magnetic field inferred from the linear polarization measurements. We can definitively identify these as Alfvén waves. An estimate of the energy carried by the waves that we spatially resolve indicates that they are unable to heat the solar corona, however, unresolved waves may carry sufficient energy.

Particle Acceleration by Cme-driven Shock Waves

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Reames, Donald V.

1999-01-01

In the largest solar energetic particle (SEP) events, acceleration occurs at shock waves driven out from the Sun by coronal mass ejections (CMEs). Peak particle intensities are a strong function of CME speed, although the intensities, spectra, and angular distributions of particles escaping the shock are highly modified by scattering on Alfven waves produced by the streaming particles themselves. Element abundances vary in complex ways because ions with different values of Q/A resonate with different parts of the wave spectrum, which varies with space and time. Just recently, we have begun to model these systematic variations theoretically and to explore other consequences of proton-generated waves.

Microscopic Lagrangian description of warm plasmas. IV - Macroscopic approximation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kim, H.; Crawford, F. W.

1983-01-01

The averaged-Lagrangian method is applied to linear wave propagation and nonlinear three-wave interaction in a warm magnetoplasma, in the macroscopic approximation. The microscopic Lagrangian treated by Kim and Crawford (1977) and by Galloway and Crawford (1977) is first expanded to third order in perturbation. Velocity integration is then carried out, before applying Hamilton's principle to obtain a general description of wave propagation and coupling. The results are specialized to the case of interaction between two electron plasma waves and an Alfven wave. The method is shown to be more powerful than the alternative possibility of working from the beginning with a macroscopic Lagrangian density.

Simulation of ITG instabilities with fully kinetic ions and drift-kinetic electrons in tokamaks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hu, Youjun; Chen, Yang; Parker, Scott

2017-10-01

A turbulence simulation model with fully kinetic ions and drift-kinetic electrons is being developed in the toroidal electromagnetic turbulence code GEM. This is motivated by the observation that gyrokinetic ions are not well justified in simulating turbulence in tokamak edges with steep density profile, where ρi / L is not small enough to be used a small parameter needed by the gyrokinetic ordering (here ρi is the gyro-radius of ions and L is the scale length of density profile). In this case, the fully kinetic ion model may be useful. Our model uses an implicit scheme to suppress high-frequency compressional Alfven waves and waves associated with the gyro-motion of ions. The ion orbits are advanced by using the well-known Boris scheme, which reproduces correct drift-motion even with large time-step comparable to the ion gyro-period. The field equation in this model is Ampere's law with the magnetic field eliminated by using an implicit scheme of Faraday's law. The current contributed by ions are computed by using an implicit δf method. A flux tube approximation is adopted, which makes the field equation much easier to solve. Numerical results of electromagnetic ITG obtained from this model will be presented and compared with the gyrokinetic results. This work is supported by U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Fusion Energy Sciences under Award No. DE-SC0008801.

Nature of Kinetic Scale Fluctuations in Solar Wind Turbulence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Salem, C. S.; Chen, C. H.; Sundkvist, D. J.; Chaston, C. C.; Bale, S. D.; Mozer, F.

2012-12-01

We present an investigation of the nature of small-scale turbulent fluctuations in the solar wind. The nature of the dissipation range fluctuations of solar wind turbulence remains a major open question in heliospheric physics. The steepening of the observed (magnetic field) spectra at ion scales was originally attributed to ion cyclotron damping, but it was later suggested that it could well be due to the dispersive nature of fluctuations at these scales. The nature of the dispersive cascade at and below the ion scales is still debated, two leading hypothesis being that these fluctuations have characteristics of Kinetic Alfven Waves (KAW) or whistler waves. Other possible contributions from current sheets and/or kinetic instabilities have been suggested. There is mounting evidence that the fluctuations at these scales are KAW-like. In this study, we analyze several carefully selected unperturbed solar wind intervals, using magnetic field, electric field as well as density measurements from the Cluster spacecraft in order to identify the nature of the wave modes present, how frequent they are and try to determine whether one or more wave modes at different times. We examine the electric to magnetic field fluctuation ratio (δ E/δd B), the magnetic compressibility (δ B∥ /δ B) as well as density fluctuations using newly developed diagnostic techniques by Salem et al (2012) and Chen et al (2012). We look for variations of the nature and properties of these kinetic scale fluctuations with solar wind conditions, such as the plasma beta and the angle between the magnetic field and the flow velocity which controls the measured (spacecraft frame) frequency of the fluctuations. We discuss how these results would impact how the solar wind plasma is heated.

Ground and Satellite Observations of ULF Waves Artificially Produced by HAARP

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chang, C.; Labenski, J.; Shroff, H.; Doxas, I.; Papadopoulos, D.; Milikh, G.; Parrot, M.

2008-12-01

Modulated ionospheric heating at ULF frequencies using the HAARP heater was performed from April 28 to May 3, 2008 (http://www.haarp.alaska.edu). Simultaneous ground-based ULF measurements were made locally at Gakona, AK and at Lake Ozette, WA that is 2000 km away. The ground-based results showed that ULF amplitudes measured at Gakona are mostly proportional to the electrojet strength above HAARP, indicating electrojet modulation to be the source of the local ULF waves. However, the timing of ULF events recorded at Lake Ozette did not correlated with the electrojet strength at Gakona, indicating that modulation of F region pressure is the more likely source for distant ULF waves. These observations are consistent with the theoretical understanding that ULF waves generated by current modulation are shear Alfven waves propagating along the magnetic field line, thus at high latitude their observations are limited to the vicinity of the heated spot. On the other hand, propagation of ULF waves at significant lateral distances requires generation of magnetosonic waves since they are the only mode that propagates isotropically and can thus couple efficiently in the Alfvenic duct. In addition to ground-based observations, the DEMETER satellite also provided space measurements of the heating effects during its passes over HAARP. The DEMETER results showed direct detection of HAARP ULF waves at 0.1 Hz. Moreover, density dips were observed every time HAARP was operated at CW mode, which provides clear evidence of duct formation by direct HF heating at F peak. Details of these results will be presented at the meeting. We would like to acknowledge the support provided by the HAARP facility during our ULF experiments.

Alfvenic Generation of Field-Aligned Currents and Displacement Currents in the M-I Coupling System and the Formation of Discrete Auroral Arcs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Song, Y.; Lysak, R. L.

2016-12-01

In previous theories (e.g., Hasegawa and Sato, 1979; Sato and Iijima, 1979; Vasyliunas, 1984), field-aligned current (FAC) generation is derived from current continuity assumption plus the force balance between the Lorentz force and other forces in the MHD momentum equation. These theories suggest that the FAC is generated by other forces, such as the inertia and/or pressure gradients. In fact, the FAC cannot be generated by these forces. From Maxwell's equations, FAC generation is associated with enhanced sheared magnetic fields and free magnetic energy where a dynamo action and Alfven waves are needed to generate and transport free magnetic energy. It is obvious that the mechanism of FAC generation cannot be given by analyzing a local force balance. We propose that FACs are generated by Alfvenic interactions in the M-I coupling driven system. From a full set of the dynamical equations, we have found that the generation of the total FAC (J||total ) is associated with spatial gradients of the parallel vorticity, where J||total=J||+J||D, and J||D=(1/4∏)(∂E||/∂t) is the displacement current, which describes E|| generation (Song and Lysak, 2006). The J||total generation is a dynamo process associated with the increase of the azimuthal magnetic flux caused by the axial torque acting on FAC flux tubes. Although the magnitude of the J||D is often very small relative to J||, neglecting this term, we cannot find the mechanism of the E|| generation. When the plasma density is low J||D becomes important relative to the current. We will demonstrate how the generation of E|| and the formation of auroral arcs can redistribute perpendicular mechanical and magnetic stresses which can cause a sudden and violent tail energy release and enhance the total FAC leading to the substorm auroral poleward expansion. We will also show how the nonlinear interaction of incident and reflected Alfven wave packets in the auroral acceleration region can produce quasi-stationary non-propagating electromagnetic plasma structures, such as Alfvenic double layers. These structures will sustain the J||D and can constitute powerful high energy particle accelerators, where electromagnetic energy can be efficiently converted to the particle energy.

Radiating Instabilities of Internal Inertio-gravity Waves

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kwasniok, F.; Schmitz, G.

The vertical radiation of local convective and shear instabilities of internal inertio- gravity waves is examined within linear stability theory. A steady, plane-parallel Boussinesq flow with vertical profiles of horizontal velocity and static stability re- sembling an internal inertio-gravity wave packet without mean vertical shear is used as dynamical framework. The influence of primary-wave frequency and amplitude as well as orientation and horizontal wavenumber of the instability on vertical radi- ation is discussed. Considerable radiation occurs at small to intermediate instability wavenumbers for basic state gravity waves with high to intermediate frequencies and moderately convectively supercritical amplitudes. Radiation is then strongest when the horizontal wavevector of the instability is aligned parallel to the horizontal wavevector of the basic state gravity wave. These radiating modes are essentially formed by shear instability. Modes of convective instability, that occur at large instability wavenum- bers or strongly convectively supercritical amplitudes, as well as modes at convec- tively subcritical amplitudes are nonradiating, trapped in the region of instability. The radiation of an instability is found to be related to the existence of critical levels, a radiating mode being characterized by the absence of critical levels outside the region of instability of the primary wave.

The Faraday rotation experiment. [solar corona

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Volland, H.; Levy, G. S.; Bird, M. K.; Stelzried, C. T.; Seidel, B. L.

1984-01-01

The magnetized plasma of the solar corona was remotely sounded using the Faraday rotation effect. The solar magnetic field together with the electrons of the coronal plasma cause a measurable Faraday rotation effect, since the radio waves of Helios are linearly polarized. The measurement is performed at the ground stations. Alfven waves traveling from the Sun's surface through the corona into interplanetary space are observed. Helios 2 signals penetrating through a region where coronal mass is ejected show wavelike structures.

Drift-Alfven wave mediated particle transport in an elongated density depression

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Vincena, Stephen; Gekelman, Walter

Cross-field particle transport due to drift-Alfven waves is measured in an elongated density depression within an otherwise uniform, magnetized helium plasma column. The depression is formed by drawing an electron current to a biased copper plate with cross-field dimensions of 28x0.24 ion sound-gyroradii {rho}{sub s}=c{sub s}/{omega}{sub ci}. The process of density depletion and replenishment via particle flux repeats in a quasiperiodic fashion for the duration of the current collection. The mode structure of the wave density fluctuations in the plane perpendicular to the background magnetic field is revealed using a two-probe correlation technique. The particle flux as a function ofmore » frequency is measured using a linear array of Langmuir probes and the only significant transport occurs for waves with frequencies between 15%-25% of the ion cyclotron frequency (measured in the laboratory frame) and with perpendicular wavelengths k{sub perpendicular}{rho}{sub s}{approx}0.7. The frequency-integrated particle flux is in rough agreement with observed increases in density in the center of the depletion as a function of time. The experiments are carried out in the Large Plasma Device (LAPD) [Gekelman et al., Rev. Sci. Instrum. 62, 2875 (1991)] at the Basic Plasma Science Facility located at the University of California, Los Angeles.« less

Modeling of Nonlinear Beat Signals of TAE's

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Bo; Berk, Herbert; Breizman, Boris; Zheng, Linjin

2012-03-01

Experiments on Alcator C-Mod reveal Toroidal Alfven Eigenmodes (TAE) together with signals at various beat frequencies, including those at twice the mode frequency. The beat frequencies are sidebands driven by quadratic nonlinear terms in the MHD equations. These nonlinear sidebands have not yet been quantified by any existing codes. We extend the AEGIS code to capture nonlinear effects by treating the nonlinear terms as a driving source in the linear MHD solver. Our goal is to compute the spatial structure of the sidebands for realistic geometry and q-profile, which can be directly compared with experiment in order to interpret the phase contrast imaging diagnostic measurements and to enable the quantitative determination of the Alfven wave amplitude in the plasma core

Wavemode identification in the dissipation/dispersion range of solar wind turbulence: Kinetic Alfven Waves and/or Whistlers? (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Salem, C. S.; Sundkvist, D. J.; Bale, S.

2009-12-01

Electromagnetic fluctuations in the inertial range of solar wind MHD turbulence and beyond (up to frequencies of 10Hz) have been studied for the first time using both magnetic field and electric field measurements on Cluster [Bale et al., 2005]. It has been shown that at frequencies above the spectral breakpoint at ~0.4Hz, in the dissipation range, the wave modes become dispersive and are consistent with Kinetic Alfven Waves (KAW). This interpretation, consistent with findings from recent theoretical studies, is based on the simple assumption that the measured frequency spectrum is actually a Doppler shifted wave number spectrum (ω ≈ k Vsw), commonly used in the solar wind and known as Taylor's hypothesis. While Taylor's hypothesis is valid in the inertial range of solar wind turbulence, it may break down in the dissipation range where temporal fluctuations can become important. We recently analyzed the effect of Doppler shift on KAW as well as compressional proton whistler waves [Salem et al., 2009]. The dispersive properties of the KAW and the whistler wave modes, as well as the electric to magnetic field (E/B) ratio, have been determined both analytically and numerically in the plasma and the spacecraft frame, with the goal of directly comparing those analytical/numerical estimates in the spacecraft frame with the data as measured. We revisit here Cluster electric field and magnetic field data in the solar wind using this approach. We focus our analysis on several ambient solar wind intervals with varying plasma parameters, allowing for a statistical study. We show that this technique provides an efficient diagnostics for wave-mode identification in the dissipation/dispersion range of solar wind turbulence.

Stochastic Acceleration of Ions Driven by Pc1 Wave Packets

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Khazanov, G. V.; Sibeck, D. G.; Tel'nikhin, A. A.; Kronberg, T. K.

2015-01-01

The stochastic motion of protons and He(sup +) ions driven by Pc1 wave packets is studied in the context of resonant particle heating. Resonant ion cyclotron heating typically occurs when wave powers exceed 10(exp -4) nT sq/Hz. Gyroresonance breaks the first adiabatic invariant and energizes keV ions. Cherenkov resonances with the electrostatic component of wave packets can also accelerate ions. The main effect of this interaction is to accelerate thermal protons to the local Alfven speed. The dependencies of observable quantities on the wave power and plasma parameters are determined, and estimates for the heating extent and rate of particle heating in these wave-particle interactions are shown to be in reasonable agreement with known empirical data.

Numerical study on the instabilities in H2-air rotating detonation engines

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Yan; Zhou, Weijiang; Yang, Yunjun; Liu, Zhou; Wang, Jianping

2018-04-01

Numerical simulations of rotating detonation engines (RDEs) are performed using two-dimensional Euler equations and a detailed chemistry model of H2-air. Two propagation modes, the one-wave mode and the two-wave mode, are observed in the RDEs. The instabilities of the RDEs are studied and analyzed specifically. A low frequency instability and a high frequency instability are found from the pressure-time trace measured at a fixed location and the average density-time trace of the RDEs. For the low frequency instability, the pressure peak of the pressure-time trace oscillates with a low frequency while the average density is stable. The deviation between the measurement location and the location of the detonation wave results in the low frequency instability. For the high frequency instability, the average density of the RDEs oscillates regularly with a single frequency while the pressure oscillates irregularly with several frequencies. The oscillation of the detonation wave height results in the high frequency instability. Furthermore, the low frequency instability and the high frequency instability both occur in the one-wave and two-wave mode RDEs.

Contributions to the Fourth Solar Wind Conference. [interplanetary magnetic fields and medium

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Acuna, M. H.; Behannon, K. W.; Burlaga, L. F.; Lepping, R.; Ness, N.; Ogilvie, K.; Pizzo, J.

1979-01-01

Recent results in interplanetary physics are examined. These include observations of shock waves and post-shock magnetic fields made by Voyager 1, 2; observations of the electron temperature as a function of distance between 1.36 AU and 2.25 AU; and observations of the structure of sector boundaries observed by Helios 1. A theory of electron energy transport in the collisionless solar wind is presented, and compared with observations. Alfven waves and Alvenic fluctuations in the solar wind are also discussed.

Equilibrium fitting analysis and propagation of magnetic fluctuations in the Multi-pulsing HIST plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Matsumoto, K.; Hanano, T.; Ito, K.; Ishihara, M.; Higashi, T.; Kikuchi, Y.; Fukumoto, N.; Nagata, M.

2011-10-01

The current drive by Multi-pulsing Coaxial Helicity Injection (M-CHI) has been performed on HIST in a wide range of configurations from high-q ST to low-q ST and spheromak generated by the utilization of the toroidal field. It is a key issue to investigate the dynamo mechanism required to maintain each configuration. To identify the detail mechanisms regarding a helicity transport from the edge to the core region, we have investigated the characteristics of magnetic field fluctuations observed in M- CHI experiments. We have fitted internal magnetic field data to a ST configuration calculated by the equilibrium code with a hollow pressure profile in order to find the sustained configurations. Fluctuation frequency is identified as about 80 kHz and it has been found to propagate from the open flux column region toward the core region. The toroidal mode n=0 is dominant in the high TF coil current operation. Alfven wave generation has been identified by evaluating its velocity as a function of plasma density or magnetic field strength. We will discuss the relationship between the Alfven wave and helicity propagation.

Turbulent Equilibria for Charged Particles in Space

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yoon, Peter

2017-04-01

The solar wind electron distribution function is apparently composed of several components including non-thermal tail population. The electron distribution that contains energetic tail feature is well fitted with the kappa distribution function. The solar wind protons also possess quasi power-law tail distribution function that is well fitted with an inverse power law model. The present paper discusses the latest theoretical development regarding the dynamical steady-state solution of electrons and Langmuir turbulence that are in turbulent equilibrium. According to such a theory, the Maxwellian and kappa distribution functions for the electrons emerge as the only two possible solution that satisfy the steady-state weak turbulence plasma kinetic equation. For the proton inverse power-law tail problem, a similar turbulent equilibrium solution can be conceived of, but instead of high-frequency Langmuir fluctuation, the theory involves low-frequency kinetic Alfvenic turbulence. The steady-state solution of the self-consistent proton kinetic equation and wave kinetic equation for Alfvenic waves can be found in order to obtain a self-consistent solution for the inverse power law tail distribution function.

Ponderomotive Force and Lower Hybrid Turbulence Effects in Space Plasmas Subjected to Large-Amplitude Low-Frequency Waves

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Khazanov, G. V.; Khazanov, George; Liemohn, M. W.; Stone, N. H.; Coffey, V. N.

1997-01-01

In the auroral region, simultaneous occurrences of upward-flowing ions and field-aligned electrons have been observed by the Viking satellite. The occurrence is strongly correlated with large amplitude low frequency fluctuations of the electric field. Large-amplitude shear Alfven waves have also been observed by sounding rockets in the auroral ionosphere. When such LF waves are propagating in a plasma, a ponderomotive force and other types of waves are produced which may lead to significant effects on the plasma. This force is directed toward decreasing density, providing the electromagnetic lift of the background plasma and an increase of collisionless plasma expansion. We find that even for modest wave strengths, the influence on the outflowing oxygen ions can be dramatic, increasing the high-altitude density by orders of magnitude. It is also demonstrated that large-amplitude low-frequency waves (LFW) may generate lower hybrid waves (LHW) in the auroral zone. The excitation of LHW by a LF wave may lead to the appearance of an additional channel of energy transfer from, for example, Alfven or fast magnetosonic waves, to particles. This process then influences the formation of the plasma distribution function at the expense of acceleration in the tail of the distribution during the collapse of the LHW. The ion energization due to the LHW can be comparable with that produced by the ponderomotive force of the LFW. It is shown that the LH turbulence leads to equalization of the ponderomotive acceleration of the different ion species. The mechanism of LHW excitation due to the oxygen ion relative drift in a plasma subjected to low-frequency waves is used for analysis of Viking satellite data for events in the cusp/cleft region. It is found that, in some cases, such a mechanism leads to LHW energy densities and ion distribution functions close to those observed.

Wave and particle evolution downstream of quasi-perpendicular shocks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mckean, M. E.; Omidi, N.; Krauss-Varban, D.; Karimabadi, H.

1995-01-01

Distributions of ions heated in quasi-perpendicular bow shocks have large perpendicular temperature anisotropies that provide free energy for the growth of Alfven ion cyclotron (AIC) and mirror waves. These modes are often obsreved in the Earth's magnetosheath. Using two-dimensional hybrid simulations, we show that these waves are produced near the shock front and convected downstream rather than being produced locally downstream. The wave activity reduces the proton anisotropy to magnetosheath levels within a few tens of gyroradii of the shock but takes significantly longer to reduce the anisotropy of He(++) ions. The waves are primarily driven by proton anisotropy and the dynamics of the helium ions is controlled by the proton waves. Downstream of high Mach number shocks, mirror waves compete effectively with AIC waves. Downstream of low Mach number shocks, AIC waves dominate.

Diffusive instabilities in a hyperbolic activator-inhibitor system with superdiffusion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mvogo, Alain; Macías-Díaz, Jorge E.; Kofané, Timoléon Crépin

2018-03-01

We investigate analytically and numerically the conditions for wave instabilities in a hyperbolic activator-inhibitor system with species undergoing anomalous superdiffusion. In the present work, anomalous superdiffusion is modeled using the two-dimensional Weyl fractional operator, with derivative orders α ∈ [1,2]. We perform a linear stability analysis and derive the conditions for diffusion-driven wave instabilities. Emphasis is placed on the effect of the superdiffusion exponent α , the diffusion ratio d , and the inertial time τ . As the superdiffusive exponent increases, so does the wave number of the Turing instability. Opposite to the requirement for Turing instability, the activator needs to diffuse sufficiently faster than the inhibitor in order for the wave instability to occur. The critical wave number for wave instability decreases with the superdiffusive exponent and increases with the inertial time. The maximum value of the inertial time for a wave instability to occur in the system is τmax=3.6 . As one of the main results of this work, we conclude that both anomalous diffusion and inertial time influence strongly the conditions for wave instabilities in hyperbolic fractional reaction-diffusion systems. Some numerical simulations are conducted as evidence of the analytical predictions derived in this work.

Instability of rectangular jets

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tam, Christopher K. W.; Thies, Andrew T.

1993-01-01

The instability of rectangular jets is investigated using a vortex-sheet model. It is shown that such jets support four linearly independent families of instability waves. Within each family there are infinitely many modes. A way to classify these modes according to the characteristics of their mode shapes or eigenfunctions is proposed. It is demonstrated that the boundary element method can be used to calculate the dispersion relations and eigenfunctions of these instability wave modes. The method is robust and efficient. A parametric study of the instability wave characteristics has been carried out. A sample of the numerical results is reported here. It is found that the first and third modes of each instability wave family are corner modes. The pressure fluctuations associated with these instability waves are localized near the corners of the jet. The second mode, however, is a center mode with maximum fluctuations concentrated in the central portion of the jet flow. The center mode has the largest spatial growth rate. It is anticipated that as the instability waves propagate downstream the center mode would emerge as the dominant instability of the jet.

An overview of recent physics results from NSTX

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kaye, S. M.; Abrams, T.; Ahn, J. -W.

Currently, the National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX) is being upgraded to operate at twice the toroidal field and plasma current (up to 1 T and 2 MA), with a second, more tangentially aimed neutral beam (NB) for current and rotation control, allowing for pulse lengths up to 5 s. Recent NSTX physics analyses have addressed topics that will allow NSTX-Upgrade to achieve the research goals critical to a Fusion Nuclear Science Facility. These include producing stable, 100% non-inductive operation in high-performance plasmas, assessing plasma-material interface (PMI) solutions to handle the high heat loads expected in the next-step devices and exploringmore » the unique spherical torus (ST) parameter regimes to advance predictive capability. Non-inductive operation and current profile control in NSTX-U will be facilitated by co-axial helicity injection (CHI) as well as radio frequency (RF) and NB heating. CHI studies using NIMROD indicate that the reconnection process is consistent with the 2D Sweet-Parker theory. Full-wave AORSA simulations show that RF power losses in the scrape-off layer (SOL) increase significantly for both NSTX and NSTX-U when the launched waves propagate in the SOL. Moreover, Toroidal Alfven eigenmode avalanches and higher frequency Alfven eigenmodes can affect NB-driven current through energy loss and redistribution of fast ions. The inclusion of rotation and kinetic resonances, which depend on collisionality, is necessary for predicting experimental stability thresholds of fast growing ideal wall and resistive wall modes. Neutral beams and neoclassical toroidal viscosity generated from applied 3D fields can be used as actuators to produce rotation profiles optimized for global stability. DEGAS-2 has been used to study the dependence of gas penetration on SOL temperatures and densities for the MGI system being implemented on the Upgrade for disruption mitigation. PMI studies have focused on the effect of ELMs and 3D fields on plasma detachment and heat flux handling. Simulations indicate that snowflake and impurity seeded radiative divertors are candidates for heat flux mitigation in NSTX-U. Studies of lithium evaporation on graphite surfaces indicate that lithium increases oxygen surface concentrations on graphite, and deuterium-oxygen affinity, which increases deuterium pumping and reduces recycling. In situ and test-stand experiments of lithiated graphite and molybdenum indicate temperature-enhanced sputtering, although that test-stand studies also show the potential for heat flux reduction through lithium vapour shielding. Non-linear gyro kinetic simulations have indicated that ion transport can be enhanced by a shear-flow instability, and that non-local effects are necessary to explain the observed rapid changes in plasma turbulence. Predictive simulations have shown agreement between a microtearing-based reduced transport model and the measured electron temperatures in a microtearing unstable regime. Finally, two Alfven eigenmode-driven fast ion transport models have been developed and successfully benchmarked against NSTX data. Upgrade construction is moving on schedule with initial physics research operation of NSTX-U planned for mid-2015.« less

An overview of recent physics results from NSTX

DOE PAGES

Kaye, S. M.; Abrams, T.; Ahn, J. -W.; ...

2015-03-27

Currently, the National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX) is being upgraded to operate at twice the toroidal field and plasma current (up to 1 T and 2 MA), with a second, more tangentially aimed neutral beam (NB) for current and rotation control, allowing for pulse lengths up to 5 s. Recent NSTX physics analyses have addressed topics that will allow NSTX-Upgrade to achieve the research goals critical to a Fusion Nuclear Science Facility. These include producing stable, 100% non-inductive operation in high-performance plasmas, assessing plasma-material interface (PMI) solutions to handle the high heat loads expected in the next-step devices and exploringmore » the unique spherical torus (ST) parameter regimes to advance predictive capability. Non-inductive operation and current profile control in NSTX-U will be facilitated by co-axial helicity injection (CHI) as well as radio frequency (RF) and NB heating. CHI studies using NIMROD indicate that the reconnection process is consistent with the 2D Sweet-Parker theory. Full-wave AORSA simulations show that RF power losses in the scrape-off layer (SOL) increase significantly for both NSTX and NSTX-U when the launched waves propagate in the SOL. Moreover, Toroidal Alfven eigenmode avalanches and higher frequency Alfven eigenmodes can affect NB-driven current through energy loss and redistribution of fast ions. The inclusion of rotation and kinetic resonances, which depend on collisionality, is necessary for predicting experimental stability thresholds of fast growing ideal wall and resistive wall modes. Neutral beams and neoclassical toroidal viscosity generated from applied 3D fields can be used as actuators to produce rotation profiles optimized for global stability. DEGAS-2 has been used to study the dependence of gas penetration on SOL temperatures and densities for the MGI system being implemented on the Upgrade for disruption mitigation. PMI studies have focused on the effect of ELMs and 3D fields on plasma detachment and heat flux handling. Simulations indicate that snowflake and impurity seeded radiative divertors are candidates for heat flux mitigation in NSTX-U. Studies of lithium evaporation on graphite surfaces indicate that lithium increases oxygen surface concentrations on graphite, and deuterium-oxygen affinity, which increases deuterium pumping and reduces recycling. In situ and test-stand experiments of lithiated graphite and molybdenum indicate temperature-enhanced sputtering, although that test-stand studies also show the potential for heat flux reduction through lithium vapour shielding. Non-linear gyro kinetic simulations have indicated that ion transport can be enhanced by a shear-flow instability, and that non-local effects are necessary to explain the observed rapid changes in plasma turbulence. Predictive simulations have shown agreement between a microtearing-based reduced transport model and the measured electron temperatures in a microtearing unstable regime. Finally, two Alfven eigenmode-driven fast ion transport models have been developed and successfully benchmarked against NSTX data. Upgrade construction is moving on schedule with initial physics research operation of NSTX-U planned for mid-2015.« less

Effects of subsurface ocean dynamics on instability waves in the tropical Pacific

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lawrence, Sean P.; Allen, Myles R.; Anderson, David L. T.; Llewellyn-Jones, David T.

1998-08-01

Tropical instability waves in a primitive equation model of the tropical Pacific Ocean, forced with analyzed wind stresses updated daily, show unexpectedly close phase correspondence with observation through the latter half of 1992. This suggests that these waves are not pure instabilities developing from infinitesimal disturbances, but that their phases and phase speeds are at least partially determined by the wind stress forcing. To quantify and explain this observation, we perfomed several numerical experiments, which indicate that remotely forced Rossby waves can influence both the phase and phase speed of tropical instability waves. We suggest that a remote wind forcing determines the high model/observation phase correspondence of tropical instability waves through a relatively realistic simulation of equatorial Kelvin and Rossby wave activity.

Polar Spacecraft Based Comparisons of Intense Electric Fields and Poynting Flux Near and Within the Plasma Sheet-Tail Lobe Boundary to UVI Images: An Energy Source for the Aurora

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wygant, J. R.; Keiling, A.; Cattell, C. A.; Johnson, M.; Lysak, R. L.; Temerin, M.; Mozer, F. S.; Kletzing, C. A.; Scudder, J. D.; Peterson, W.;

Polar spacecraft based comparisons of intense electric fields and Poynting flux near and within the plasma sheet-tail lobe boundary to UVI images: An energy source for the aurora

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wygant, J. R.; Keiling, A.; Cattell, C. A.; Johnson, M.; Lysak, R. L.; Temerin, M.; Mozer, F. S.; Kletzing, C. A.; Scudder, J. D.; Peterson, W.; Russell, C. T.; Parks, G.; Brittnacher, M.; Germany, G.; Spann, J.

2000-08-01

In this paper, we present measurements from two passes of the Polar spacecraft of intense electric and magnetic field structures associated with Alfven waves at and within the outer boundary of the plasma sheet at geocentric distances of 4-6 RE near local midnight. The electric field variations have maximum values exceeding 100 mV/m and are typically polarized approximately normal to the plasma sheet boundary. The electric field structures investigated vary over timescales (in the spacecraft frame) ranging from 1 to 30 s. They are associated with strong magnetic field fluctuations with amplitudes of 10-40 nT which lie predominantly in the plane of the plasma sheet and are perpendicular to the local magnetic field. The Poynting flux associated with the perturbation fields measured at these altitudes is about 1-2 ergs cm-2 s-1 and is directed along the average magnetic field direction toward the ionosphere. If the measured Poynting flux is mapped to ionospheric altitudes along converging magnetic field lines, the resulting energy flux ranges up to 100 ergs cm-2s-1. These strongly enhanced Poynting fluxes appear to occur in layers which are observed when the spacecraft is magnetically conjugate (to within a 1° mapping accuracy) to intense auroral structures as detected by the Polar UV Imager (UVI). The electron energy flux (averaged over a spatial resolution of 0.5° ) deposited in the ionosphere due to auroral electron beams as estimated from the intensity in the UVI Lyman-Birge-Hopfield-long filters is 15-30 ergs cm-2s-1. Thus there is evidence that these electric field structures provide sufficient Poynting flux to power the acceleration of auroral electrons (as well as the energization of upflowing ions and Joule heating of the ionosphere). During some events the phasing and ratio of the transverse electric and magnetic field variations are consistent with earthward propagation of Alfven surface waves with phase velocities of 4000-10000 km/s. During other events the phase shifts between electric and magnetic fields suggest interference between upward and downward propagating Alfven waves. The E/B ratios are about an order of magnitude larger than typical values of c/Σp, where Σp is the height integrated Pedersen conductivity. The contribution to the total energy flux at these altitudes from Poynting flux associated with Alfven waves is comparable to or larger than the contribution from the particle energy flux and 1-2 orders of magnitude larger than that estimated from the large-scale steady state convection electric field and field-aligned current system.

Hydromagnetic waves, turbulence, and collisionless processes in the interplanetary medium

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barnes, A.

1983-01-01

An extended discussion is conducted concerning the origin and evolution of interplanetary hydromagnetic waves and turbulence, and their influence on the large scale dynamics of the solar wind. The solar wind is at present the preeminent medium for the study of hydromagnetic waves and turbulence, providing an opportunity for advancement of understanding of the most fundamental processes of the astrophysical plasmas. All interplanetary fluctuations whose time scale is observed to be greater than 1 sec can be regarded as hydromagnetic fluctuations. It has been found to be simplest, and generally very satisfactory, to model interplanetary variations as fluctuations in an MHD fluid. Attention is given to the classification of wave modes, geometrical hydromagnetics, Alfven wave pressure, rugged invariants, and the kinetic theory of collisionless processes.

Radio Spectral Imaging of Reflective MHD Waves during the Impulsive Phase of a Solar Flare

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, S.; Chen, B.; Reeves, K.

2017-12-01

We report a new type of coherent radio bursts observed by the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) in 1-2 GHz during the impulsive phase of a two-ribbon flare on 2014 November 1, which we interpret as MHD waves reflected near the footpoint of flaring loops. In the dynamic spectrum, this burst starts with a positive frequency drift toward higher frequencies until it slows down near its highest-frequency boundary. Then it turns over and drifts toward lower frequencies. The frequency drift rate in its descending and ascending branch is between 50-150 MHz/s, which is much slower than type III radio bursts associated with fast electron beams but close to the well-known intermediate drift bursts, or fiber bursts, which are usually attributed to propagating whistler or Alfvenic waves. Thanks to VLA's unique capability of imaging with spectrometer-like temporal and spectral resolution (50 ms and 2 MHz), we are able to obtain an image of the radio source at every time and frequency in the dynamic spectrum where the burst is present and trace its spatial evolution. From the imaging results, we find that the radio source firstly moves downward toward one of the flaring ribbons before it "bounces off" at the lowest height (corresponding to the turnover frequency in the dynamic spectrum) and moves upward again. The measured speed in projection is at the order of 1-2 Mm/s, which is characteristic of Alfvenic or fast-mode MHD waves in the low corona. We conclude that the radio burst is emitted by trapped nonthermal electrons in the flaring loop carried along by a large-scale MHD wave. The waves are probably launched during the eruption of a magnetic flux rope in the flare impulsive phase.

Edge turbulence and divertor heat flux width simulations of Alcator C-Mod discharges using an electromagnetic two-fluid model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, B.; Xu, X. Q.; Xia, T. Y.; Porkolab, M.; Edlund, E.; LaBombard, B.; Terry, J.; Hughes, J. W.; Mao, S. F.; Ye, M. Y.; Wan, Y. X.

2017-11-01

The BOUT++ code has been exploited in order to improve the understanding of the role of turbulent modes in controlling edge transport and resulting scaling of the scrape-off layer (SOL) heat flux width. For the C-Mod enhanced D_α (EDA) H-mode discharges, BOUT++ six-field two-fluid nonlinear simulations show a reasonable agreement of upstream turbulence and divertor target heat flux behavior: (a) the simulated quasi-coherent modes show consistent characteristics of the frequency versus poloidal wave number spectra of the electromagnetic fluctuations when compared with experimental measurements: frequencies are around 60-120 kHz (experiment: about 70-110 kHz), k_θ are around 2.0 cm-1 which is similar to the phase contrast imaging data; (b) linear spectrum analysis is consistent with the nonlinear phase relationship calculation which indicates the dominance of resistive-ballooning modes and drift-Alfven wave instabilities; (c) the SOL heat flux width λq versus current I p scaling is reproduced by turbulent transport: the simulations yield similar λq to experimental measurements within a factor of 2. However the magnitudes of divertor heat fluxes can be varied, depending on the physics models, sources and sinks, sheath boundary conditions, or flux limiting coefficient; (d) Simple estimate by the ‘2-point model’ for λq is consistent with simulation. Moreover, blobby turbulent spreading is confirmed for these relatively high B p shots.

Hybrid Model of Inhomogeneous Solar Wind Plasma Heating by Alfven Wave Spectrum: Parametric Studies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ofman, L.

2010-01-01

Observations of the solar wind plasma at 0.3 AU and beyond show that a turbulent spectrum of magnetic fluctuations is present. Remote sensing observations of the corona indicate that heavy ions are hotter than protons and their temperature is anisotropic (T(sub perpindicular / T(sub parallel) >> 1). We study the heating and the acceleration of multi-ion plasma in the solar wind by a turbulent spectrum of Alfvenic fluctuations using a 2-D hybrid numerical model. In the hybrid model the protons and heavy ions are treated kinetically as particles, while the electrons are included as neutralizing background fluid. This is the first two-dimensional hybrid parametric study of the solar wind plasma that includes an input turbulent wave spectrum guided by observation with inhomogeneous background density. We also investigate the effects of He++ ion beams in the inhomogeneous background plasma density on the heating of the solar wind plasma. The 2-D hybrid model treats parallel and oblique waves, together with cross-field inhomogeneity, self-consistently. We investigate the parametric dependence of the perpendicular heating, and the temperature anisotropy in the H+-He++ solar wind plasma. It was found that the scaling of the magnetic fluctuations power spectrum steepens in the higher-density regions, and the heating is channeled to these regions from the surrounding lower-density plasma due to wave refraction. The model parameters are applicable to the expected solar wind conditions at about 10 solar radii.

Electron Alfvén waves in collisionless magnetic reconnection with a guide field

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, S.; Wang, X.; Xiao, C.; Pu, Z.

2017-12-01

It is well known that many wave modes may be related to some important reconnection issues, such as particle acceleration, the reconnection trigger, reconnection rate, etc. Here a new wave mode, the electron Alfvén wave, is introduced for the first time, with both theoretical derivations and observational data analysis. Firstly, we present a theoretical derivation of the dispersion relations of the electron Alfvén mode in a rescaled `Electron Fluid' model. Secondly, based on in situ measurements of the Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission (MMS) spacecraft, an electron Alfvén wave is identified in the electron dissipation region of a reconnection event at the magnetopause. In the last part, the excitation of the electron Alfven waves and some related reconnection issues are discussed.

The effect of spin induced magnetization on Jeans instability of viscous and resistive quantum plasma

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sharma, Prerana, E-mail: preranaiitd@rediffmail.com; Chhajlani, R. K.

2014-03-15

The effect of spin induced magnetization and electrical resistivity incorporating the viscosity of the medium is examined on the Jeans instability of quantum magnetoplasma. Formulation of the system is done by using the quantum magnetohydrodynamic model. The analysis of the problem is carried out by normal mode analysis theory. The general dispersion relation is derived from set of perturbed equations to analyse the growth rate and condition of self-gravitational Jeans instability. To discuss the influence of resistivity, magnetization, and viscosity parameters on Jeans instability, the general dispersion relation is reduced for both transverse and longitudinal mode of propagations. In themore » case of transverse propagation, the gravitating mode is found to be affected by the viscosity, magnetization, resistivity, and magnetic field strength whereas Jeans criterion of instability is modified by the magnetization and quantum parameter. In the longitudinal mode of propagation, the gravitating mode is found to be modified due to the viscosity and quantum correction in which the Jeans condition of instability is influenced only by quantum parameter. The other non-gravitating Alfven mode in this direction is affected by finite electrical resistivity, spin induced magnetization, and viscosity. The numerical study for the growth rate of Jeans instability is carried out for both in the transverse and longitudinal direction of propagation to the magnetic field. The effect of various parameters on the growth rate of Jeans instability in quantum plasma is analysed.« less

A coupled "AB" system: Rogue waves and modulation instabilities.

PubMed

Wu, C F; Grimshaw, R H J; Chow, K W; Chan, H N

2015-10-01

Rogue waves are unexpectedly large and localized displacements from an equilibrium position or an otherwise calm background. For the nonlinear Schrödinger (NLS) model widely used in fluid mechanics and optics, these waves can occur only when dispersion and nonlinearity are of the same sign, a regime of modulation instability. For coupled NLS equations, rogue waves will arise even if dispersion and nonlinearity are of opposite signs in each component as new regimes of modulation instability will appear in the coupled system. The same phenomenon will be demonstrated here for a coupled "AB" system, a wave-current interaction model describing baroclinic instability processes in geophysical flows. Indeed, the onset of modulation instability correlates precisely with the existence criterion for rogue waves for this system. Transitions from "elevation" rogue waves to "depression" rogue waves are elucidated analytically. The dispersion relation as a polynomial of the fourth order may possess double pairs of complex roots, leading to multiple configurations of rogue waves for a given set of input parameters. For special parameter regimes, the dispersion relation reduces to a cubic polynomial, allowing the existence criterion for rogue waves to be computed explicitly. Numerical tests correlating modulation instability and evolution of rogue waves were conducted.

Large-scale vortices in compressible turbulent medium with the magnetic field

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gvaramadze, V. V.; Dimitrov, B. G.

1990-08-01

An averaged equation which describes the large scale vortices and Alfven waves generation in a compressible helical turbulent medium with a constant magnetic field is presented. The presence of the magnetic field leads to anisotropization of the vortex generation. Possible applications of the anisotropic vortex dynamo effect are accretion disks of compact objects.

AE3D

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Spong, Donald A

AE3D solves for the shear Alfven eigenmodes and eigenfrequencies in a torodal magnetic fusion confinement device. The configuration can be either 2D (e.g. tokamak, reversed field pinch) or 3D (e.g. stellarator, helical reversed field pinch, tokamak with ripple). The equations solved are based on a reduced MHD model and sound wave coupling effects are not currently included.

Electromagnetic ion cyclotron waves observed near the oxygen cyclotron frequency by ISEE 1 and 2

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fraser, B. J.; Samson, J. C.; Hu, Y. D.; Mcpherron, R. L.; Russell, C. T.

1992-01-01

The first results of observations of ion cyclotron waves by the elliptically orbiting ISEE 1 and 2 pair of spacecraft are reported. The most intense waves (8 nT) were observed in the outer plasmasphere where convection drift velocities were largest and the Alfven velocity was a minimum. Wave polarization is predominantly left-handed with propagation almost parallel to the ambient magnetic field, and the spectral slot and polarization reversal predicted by cold plasma propagation theory are identified in the wave data. Computations of the experimental wave spectra during the passage through the plasmapause show that the spectral slots relate to the local plasma parameters, possibly suggesting an ion cyclotron wave growth source near the spacecraft. A regular wave packet structure seen over the first 30 min of the event is attributed to the modulation of this energy source by the Pc 5 waves seen at the same time.

Self-organized kilometer-scale shoreline sand wave generation: Sensitivity to model and physical parameters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Idier, Déborah; Falqués, Albert; Rohmer, Jérémy; Arriaga, Jaime

2017-09-01

The instability mechanisms for self-organized kilometer-scale shoreline sand waves have been extensively explored by modeling. However, while the assumed bathymetric perturbation associated with the sand wave controls the feedback between morphology and waves, its effect on the instability onset has not been explored. In addition, no systematic investigation of the effect of the physical parameters has been done yet. Using a linear stability model, we investigate the effect of wave conditions, cross-shore profile, closure depth, and two perturbation shapes (P1: cross-shore bathymetric profile shift, and P2: bed level perturbation linearly decreasing offshore). For a P1 perturbation, no instability occurs below an absolute critical angle θc0≈ 40-50°. For a P2 perturbation, there is no absolute critical angle: sand waves can develop also for low-angle waves. In fact, the bathymetric perturbation shape plays a key role in low-angle wave instability: such instability only develops if the curvature of the depth contours offshore the breaking zone is larger than the shoreline one. This can occur for the P2 perturbation but not for P1. The analysis of bathymetric data suggests that both curvature configurations could exist in nature. For both perturbation types, large wave angle, small wave period, and large closure depth strongly favor instability. The cross-shore profile has almost no effect with a P1 perturbation, whereas large surf zone slope and gently sloping shoreface strongly enhance instability under low-angle waves for a P2 perturbation. Finally, predictive statistical models are set up to identify sites prone to exhibit either a critical angle close to θc0 or low-angle wave instability.

Pondermotive acceleration of charged particles along the relativistic jets of an accreting blackhole

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ebisuzaki, T.; Tajima, T.

2014-05-01

Accreting blackholes such as miniquasars and active galactic nuclei can contribute to the highest energy components of intra- (˜1015 eV) galactic and extra-galactic components (˜1020 eV) of cosmic rays. Alfven wave pulses which are excited in the accretion disk around blackholes propagate in relativistic jets. Because of their highly non-linear nature of the waves, charged particles (protons, ions, and electrons) can be accelerated to high energies in relativistic jets in accreting blackhole systems, the central engine of miniquasars and active galactic nuclei.

Modeling TAE Response To Nonlinear Drives

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Bo; Berk, Herbert; Breizman, Boris; Zheng, Linjin

2012-10-01

Experiment has detected the Toroidal Alfven Eigenmodes (TAE) with signals at twice the eigenfrequency.These harmonic modes arise from the second order perturbation in amplitude of the MHD equation for the linear modes that are driven the energetic particle free energy. The structure of TAE in realistic geometry can be calculated by generalizing the linear numerical solver (AEGIS package). We have have inserted all the nonlinear MHD source terms, where are quadratic in the linear amplitudes, into AEGIS code. We then invert the linear MHD equation at the second harmonic frequency. The ratio of amplitudes of the first and second harmonic terms are used to determine the internal field amplitude. The spatial structure of energy and density distribution are investigated. The results can be directly employed to compare with experiments and determine the Alfven wave amplitude in the plasma region.

Microscopic theory of traffic-flow instability governing traffic breakdown at highway bottlenecks: Growing wave of increase in speed in synchronized flow.

PubMed

Kerner, Boris S

2015-12-01

We have revealed a growing local speed wave of increase in speed that can randomly occur in synchronized flow (S) at a highway bottleneck. The development of such a traffic flow instability leads to free flow (F) at the bottleneck; therefore, we call this instability an S→F instability. Whereas the S→F instability leads to a local increase in speed (growing acceleration wave), in contrast, the classical traffic flow instability introduced in the 1950s-1960s and incorporated later in a huge number of traffic flow models leads to a growing wave of a local decrease in speed (growing deceleration wave). We have found that the S→F instability can occur only if there is a finite time delay in driver overacceleration. The initial speed disturbance of increase in speed (called "speed peak") that initiates the S→F instability occurs usually at the downstream front of synchronized flow at the bottleneck. There can be many speed peaks with random amplitudes that occur randomly over time. It has been found that the S→F instability exhibits a nucleation nature: Only when a speed peak amplitude is large enough can the S→F instability occur; in contrast, speed peaks of smaller amplitudes cause dissolving speed waves of a local increase in speed (dissolving acceleration waves) in synchronized flow. We have found that the S→F instability governs traffic breakdown-a phase transition from free flow to synchronized flow (F→S transition) at the bottleneck: The nucleation nature of the S→F instability explains the metastability of free flow with respect to an F→S transition at the bottleneck.

Microscopic theory of traffic-flow instability governing traffic breakdown at highway bottlenecks: Growing wave of increase in speed in synchronized flow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kerner, Boris S.

2015-12-01

We have revealed a growing local speed wave of increase in speed that can randomly occur in synchronized flow (S) at a highway bottleneck. The development of such a traffic flow instability leads to free flow (F) at the bottleneck; therefore, we call this instability an S →F instability. Whereas the S →F instability leads to a local increase in speed (growing acceleration wave), in contrast, the classical traffic flow instability introduced in the 1950s-1960s and incorporated later in a huge number of traffic flow models leads to a growing wave of a local decrease in speed (growing deceleration wave). We have found that the S →F instability can occur only if there is a finite time delay in driver overacceleration. The initial speed disturbance of increase in speed (called "speed peak") that initiates the S →F instability occurs usually at the downstream front of synchronized flow at the bottleneck. There can be many speed peaks with random amplitudes that occur randomly over time. It has been found that the S →F instability exhibits a nucleation nature: Only when a speed peak amplitude is large enough can the S →F instability occur; in contrast, speed peaks of smaller amplitudes cause dissolving speed waves of a local increase in speed (dissolving acceleration waves) in synchronized flow. We have found that the S →F instability governs traffic breakdown—a phase transition from free flow to synchronized flow (F →S transition) at the bottleneck: The nucleation nature of the S →F instability explains the metastability of free flow with respect to an F →S transition at the bottleneck.

Linear Instability of a Uni-Directional Transversely Sheared Mean Flow

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wundrow, David W.

1996-01-01

The effect of spanwise-periodic mean-flow distortions (i.e. streamwise-vortex structures) on the evolution of small-amplitude, single-frequency instability waves in an otherwise two-dimensional shear flow is investigated. The streamwise-vortex structures are taken to be just weak enough so that the spatially growing instability waves behave (locally) like linear perturbations about a uni-directional transversely sheared mean flow. Numerical solutions are computed and discussed for both the mean flow and the instability waves. The influence of the streamwise-vortex wavelength on the properties of the most rapidly growing instability wave is also discussed.

Magnetic Reconnection and the Kelvin-Helmholtz Instability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Knoll, D. A.; Chacon, L.; Brackbill, J. U.; Lapenta, G.

2002-11-01

Results are presented from a continuing study of magnetic reconnection caused by the evolution of a Kelvin-Helmholtz instability. To date we have studied 3-D compressible, subsonic and and sub-Alfvenic flow, with differential rotation (a gradient in vorticity parallel to the initial magnetic field) [1,2], as well as 2-D incompressible super-Alfvenic flow [3]. In both cases localized transient reconnection is observed on the Kelvin-Helmholtz time scale, and results indicate that the observed reconnection rate is insensitive to resistivity. In the present study we extend both the 2-D and the 3-D results found in [1,2,3]. In the extension of the 2-D work we focus on the fundamental differences in the nonlinear evolution of a low S simulation (S = 200) and a higher S simulation (S = 10,000). In the 3-D work we study the effects of a density discontinuity (present in [1] and not in [2]), along with study the effects of initial curved field lines in the absence of differential rotation. This basic plasma physics problem has possible application to dayside magnetosphere reconnection as a theoretical model for flux transfer events [1]. The general problem also has possible application to solar physics as it could provide a trigger mechanism for some class of coronal mass ejections. Both applications will be briefly discussed. [1] J.U. Brackbill and D.A. Knoll, Phys. Rev. Lett., vol. 86 (2001). [2] D.A. Knoll and J.U. Brackbill, Physics of Plasmas, to appear (2002) [3] D.A. Knoll and L. Chacon, Phys. Rev. Lett., vol. 88 (2002).

Parametric instability induced by X-mode wave heating at EISCAT

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Xiang; Zhou, Chen; Liu, Moran; Honary, Farideh; Ni, Binbin; Zhao, Zhengyu

2016-10-01

In this paper, we present results of parametric instability induced by X-mode wave heating observed by EISCAT (European Incoherent Scatter Scientific Association) radar at Tromsø, Norway. Three typical X-mode ionospheric heating experiments on 22 October 2013, 19 October 2012, and 21 February 2013 are investigated in details. Both parametric decay instability (PDI) and oscillating two-stream instability are observed during the X-mode heating period. We suggest that the full dispersion relationship of the Langmuir wave can be employed to analyze the X-mode parametric instability excitation. A modified kinetic electron distribution is proposed and analyzed, which is able to satisfy the matching condition of parametric instability excitation. Parallel electric field component of X-mode heating wave can also exceed the parametric instability excitation threshold under certain conditions.

Numerical Investigation of Three-dimensional Instability of Standing Waves

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, Qiang; Liu, Yuming; Yue, Dick K. P.

2002-11-01

We study the three-dimensional instability of finite-amplitude standing waves under the influence of gravity using the transition matrix method. For accurate calculation of the transition matrices, we apply an efficient high-order spectral element method for nonlinear wave dynamics in complex domain. We consider two types of standing waves: (a) plane standing waves; and (b) standing waves in a circular tank. For the former, in addition to the confirmation of the side-band-like instability, we find a new three-dimensional instability for arbitrary base standing waves. The dominant component of the unstable disturbance is an oblique standing wave, with an arbitrary angle relative to the base flow, whose frequency is approximately equal to that of the base standing wave. Based on direct simulations, we confirm such a three-dimensional instability and show the occurrence of the Fermi-Pasta-Ulam recurrence phenomenon during nonlinear evolution. For the latter, we find that beyond a threshold wave steepness, the standing wave with frequency Ω becomes unstable to a small three-dimensional disturbance, which contains two dominant standing-wave components with frequencies ω1 and ω_2, provided that 2Ω ω1 + ω_2. The threshold wave steepness is found to decrease/increase as the radial/azimuthal wavenumber of the base standing wave increases. We show that the instability of standing waves in rectangular and circular tanks is caused by third-order quartet resonances between base flow and disturbance.

Theoretical investigation of EM wave generation and radiation in the ULF, ELF, and VLF bands by the electrodynamic orbiting tether

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Estes, Robert D.; Grossi, Mario D.

1989-01-01

The problem of electromagnetic wave generation by an electrodynamic tethered satellite system is important both for the ordinary operation of such systems and for their possible application as orbiting transmitters. The tether's ionospheric circuit closure problem is closely linked with the propagation of charge-carrying electromagnetic wave packets away from the tethered system. Work is reported which represents a step towards a solution to the problem that takes into account the effects of boundaries and of vertical variations in plasma density, collision frequencies, and ion species. The theory of Alfen wave packet generation by an electrodynamic tethered system in an infinite plasma medium is reviewed, and brief summary of previous work on the problem is given. The consequences of the presence of the boundaries and the vertical nonuniformity are then examined. One of the most significant new features to emerge when ion-neutral collisions are taken into account is the coupling of the Alfven waves to the fast magnetosonic wave. This latter wave is important, as it may be confined by vertical variations in the Alfven speed to a sort of leaky ionospheric wave guide, the resonances of which could be of great importance to the signal received on the Earth's surface. The infinite medium solution for this case where the (uniform) geomagnetic field makes an arbitrary angle with the vertical is taken as the incident wave-packet. Even without a full solution, a number of conclusions can be drawn, the most important of which may be that the electromagnetic field associated with the operation of a steady-current tethered system will probably be too weak to detect on the Earth's surface, even for large tethered currents. This is due to the total reflection of the incident wave at the atmospheric boundary and the inability of a steady-current tethered system to excite the ionospheric wave-guide. An outline of the approach to the numerical problem is given. The use of numerical integrations and boundary conditions consistent with a conducting Earth is proposed to obtain the solution for the horizontal electromagnetic field components at the boundary of the ionosphere with the atmospheric cavity.

The instability of the spiral wave induced by the deformation of elastic excitable media

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ma, Jun; Jia, Ya; Wang, Chun-Ni; Li, Shi-Rong

2008-09-01

There are some similarities between the spiral wave in excitable media and in cardiac tissue. Much evidence shows that the appearance and instability of the spiral wave in cardiac tissue can be linked to one kind of heart disease. There are many models that can be used to investigate the formation and instability of the spiral wave. Cardiac tissue is excitable and elastic, and it is interesting to simulate the transition and instability of the spiral wave induced by media deformation. For simplicity, a class of the modified Fitzhugh-Nagumo (MFHN) model, which can generate a stable rotating spiral wave, meandering spiral wave and turbulence within appropriate parameter regions, will be used to simulate the instability of the spiral wave induced by the periodical deformation of media. In the two-dimensional case, the total acreage of elastic media is supposed to be invariable in the presence of deformation, and the problem is described with Lx × Ly = N × ΔxN × Δy = L'xL'y = N × Δx'N × Δy'. In our studies, elastic media are decentralized into N × N sites and the space of the adjacent sites is changed to simulate the deformation of elastic media. Based on the nonlinear dynamics theory, the deformation effect on media is simplified and simulated by perturbing the diffusion coefficients Dx and Dy with different periodical signals, but the perturbed diffusion coefficients are compensatory. The snapshots of our numerical results find that the spiral wave can coexist with the spiral turbulence, instability of the spiral wave and weak deformation of the spiral wave in different conditions. The ratio parameter ɛ and the frequency of deformation forcing play a deterministic role in inducing instability of the spiral wave. Extensive studies confirm that the instability of the spiral wave can be induced and developed only if an appropriate frequency for deformation is used. We analyze the power spectrum for the time series of the mean activator of four sampled sites which are selected symmetrically in different cases, such as the condition that the spiral wave coexists with the spiral turbulence, spiral wave without evident deformation, complete instability of the spiral wave (turbulence) and weak deformation of the spiral wave. It is found that more new peaks appear in the power spectrum and the distribution of frequency becomes sparser when the spiral wave encounters instability.

Frequency chirpings in Alfven continuum

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Ge; Berk, Herb; Breizman, Boris; Zheng, Linjin

2017-10-01

We have used a self-consistent mapping technique to describe both the nonlinear wave-energetic particle resonant interaction and its spatial mode structure that depends upon the resonant energetic particle pressure. At the threshold for the onset of the energetic particle mode (EPM), strong chirping emerges in the lower continuum close to the TAE gap and then, driven by strong continuum damping, chirps rapidly to lower frequencies in the Alfven continuum. An adiabatic theory was developed that accurately replicated the results from the simulation where the nonlinearity was only due to the EPM resonant particles. The results show that the EPM-trapped particles have their action conserved during the time of rapid chirping. This adiabaticity enabled wave trapped particles to be confined within their separatrix, and produce even larger resonant structures, that can produce a large amplitude mode far from linearly predicted frequencies. In the present work we describe the effect of additional MHD nonlinearity to this calculation. We studied how the zonal flow component and its nonlinear feedback to the fundamental frequency and found that the MHD nonlinearity doesn't significantly alter the frequency chirping response that is predicted by the calculation that neglects the MHD nonlinearity.

Laser-Produced Colliding Plasmas on LaPD

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Collette, Andrew

2005-10-01

The expansion and interaction of dense plasmas in the presence of a magnetized background plasma is important in many astrophysical processes, among them shocks which transport energy. We study the collision of two dense, laser-produced plasmas expanding perpendicular to the background magnetic field, each with an Alfv'en Mach number of approximately 0.5. The plasmas are launched off of two carbon targets, 9cm apart, by a short pulse of laser energy (Nd:YAG, 1J 8ns). Experiments are currently in progress in a small test chamber at UCLA (background plasma n 3x10^12, 3 meters long, B0<700G) and will shortly be migrated to the LaPD (LArge Plasma Device; n 3x10^12, 18 meters long, 70cm diameter, 400G

On a new coordinate system with astrophysical application: Spiral coordinates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Campos, L. M. B. C.; Gil, P. J. S.

In this presentation are introduced spiral coordinates, which are a particular case of conformal coordinates, i.e. orthogonal curvelinear coordinates with equal factors along all coordinate axis. The spiral coordinates in the plane have as coordinate curves two families of logarithmic spirals, making a constant angle, respectively phi and pi / 2-phi, with all radial lines, where phi is a parameter. They can be obtained from a complex function, representing a spiral potential flow, due to the superposition of a source/sink with a vortex; the parameter phi in this case specifies the ratio of the ass flux of source/sink to the circulation of the vortex. Regardless of hydrodynamical or other interpretations, spiral coordinates are particulary convenient in situation where physical quantities vary only along a logarithmicspiral. The example chosen is the propagation of Alfven waves along a logarithmic spiral, as an approximation to Parker's spiral. The equation of dissipative MHD are written in spiral coordinates, and eliminated to specify the Alfven wave equation in spiral coordinates; the latter is solved exactly in terms of Bessel functions, and the results analyzed for values of the parameters corresponding to the solar wind.

Filamentation instability of magnetosonic waves in the solar wind environment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kuo, S. P.; Lee, M. C.

1989-01-01

Intense magnetosonic waves, originally propagating at the right angle with the interplanetary magnetic field, can excite a purely growing mode along the interplanetary magnetic field together with two symmetric magnetosonic sidebands propagating obliquely across the magnetic field. This instability process leads to the filamentation of the magnetosonic pump waves. These two excited magnetosonic sideband modes propagate together perpendicularly across the magnetic field and, meanwhile, form a standing wave pattern along the magnetic field. The thresholds of this filamentation instability can be exceeded in the solar wind environment. It is predicted that the density fluctuations produced by the filamentation instability along the interplanetary magnetic field have wavelengths greater than, at least, a few earth radii. The polarization of the obliquely propagating magnetosonic waves excited by the filamentation instability is determined by the characteristics of the magnetosonic pump waves and the environmental plasmas.

A theoretical investigation on the parametric instability excited by X-mode polarized electromagnetic wave at Tromsø

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Xiang; Cannon, Patrick; Zhou, Chen; Honary, Farideh; Ni, Binbin; Zhao, Zhengyu

2016-04-01

Recent ionospheric modification experiments performed at Tromsø, Norway, have indicated that X-mode pump wave is capable of stimulating high-frequency enhanced plasma lines, which manifests the excitation of parametric instability. This paper investigates theoretically how the observation can be explained by the excitation of parametric instability driven by X-mode pump wave. The threshold of the parametric instability has been calculated for several recent experimental observations at Tromsø, illustrating that our derived equations for the excitation of parametric instability for X-mode heating can explain the experimental observations. According to our theoretical calculation, a minimum fraction of pump wave electric field needs to be directed along the geomagnetic field direction in order for the parametric instability threshold to be met. A full-wave finite difference time domain simulation has been performed to demonstrate that a small parallel component of pump wave electric field can be achieved during X-mode heating in the presence of inhomogeneous plasma.

Secondary instability in boundary-layer flows

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nayfeh, A. H.; Bozatli, A. N.

1979-01-01

The stability of a secondary Tollmien-Schlichting wave, whose wavenumber and frequency are nearly one half those of a fundamental Tollmien-Schlichting instability wave is analyzed using the method of multiple scales. Under these conditions, the fundamental wave acts as a parametric exciter for the secondary wave. The results show that the amplitude of the fundamental wave must exceed a critical value to trigger this parametric instability. This value is proportional to a detuning parameter which is the real part of k - 2K, where k and K are the wavenumbers of the fundamental and its subharmonic, respectively. For Blasius flow, the critical amplitude is approximately 29% of the mean flow, and hence many other secondary instabilities take place before this parametric instability becomes significant. For other flows where the detuning parameter is small, such as free-shear layer flows, the critical amplitude can be small, thus the parametric instability might play a greater role.

MULTI-STRAND CORONAL LOOP MODEL AND FILTER-RATIO ANALYSIS

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bourouaine, Sofiane; Marsch, Eckart, E-mail: bourouaine@mps.mpg.d

2010-01-10

We model a coronal loop as a bundle of seven separate strands or filaments. Each of the loop strands used in this model can independently be heated (near their left footpoints) by Alfven/ion-cyclotron waves via wave-particle interactions. The Alfven waves are assumed to penetrate the strands from their footpoints, at which we consider different wave energy inputs. As a result, the loop strands can have different heating profiles, and the differential heating can lead to a varying cross-field temperature in the total coronal loop. The simulation of Transition Region and Coronal Explorer (TRACE) observations by means of this loop modelmore » implies two uniform temperatures along the loop length, one inferred from the 171:195 filter ratio and the other from the 171:284 ratio. The reproduced flat temperature profiles are consistent with those inferred from the observed extreme-ultraviolet coronal loops. According to our model, the flat temperature profile is a consequence of the coronal loop consisting of filaments, which have different temperatures but almost similar emission measures in the cross-field direction. Furthermore, when we assume certain errors in the simulated loop emissions (e.g., due to photometric uncertainties in the TRACE filters) and use the triple-filter analysis, our simulated loop conditions become consistent with those of an isothermal plasma. This implies that the use of TRACE or EUV Imaging Telescope triple filters for observation of a warm coronal loop may not help in determining whether the cross-field isothermal assumption is satisfied or not.« less

Resonant behaviour of MHD waves on magnetic flux tubes. I - Connection formulae at the resonant surfaces. II - Absorption of sound waves by sunspots

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sakurai, Takashi; Goossens, Marcel; Hollweg, Joseph V.

1991-01-01

The present method of addressing the resonance problems that emerge in such MHD phenomena as the resonant absorption of waves at the Alfven resonance point avoids solving the fourth-order differential equation of dissipative MHD by recourse to connection formulae across the dissipation layer. In the second part of this investigation, the absorption of solar 5-min oscillations by sunspots is interpreted as the resonant absorption of sounds by a magnetic cylinder. The absorption coefficient is interpreted (1) analytically, under certain simplifying assumptions, and numerically, under more general conditions. The observed absorption coefficient magnitude is explained over suitable parameter ranges.

On the instability and energy flux of lower hybrid waves in the Venus plasma mantle

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Strangeway, R. J.; Crawford, G. K.

1993-01-01

Waves generated near the lower hybrid resonance frequency by the modified two stream instability have been invoked as a possible source of energy flux into the topside ionosphere of Venus. These waves are observed above the ionopause in a region known as the plasma mantle. The plasma within the mantle appears to be a mixture of magnetosheath and ionospheric plasmas. Since the magnetosheath electrons and ions have temperatures of several tens of eV, any instability analysis of the modified two stream instability requires the inclusion of finite electron and ion temperatures. Finite temperature effects are likely to reduce the growth rate of the instability. Furthermore, the lower hybrid waves are only quasi-electrostatic, and the energy flux of the waves is mainly carried by parallel Poynting flux. The magnetic field in the mantle is draped over the ionopause. Lower hybrid waves therefore cannot transport any significant wave energy to lower altitudes, and so do not act as a source of additional heat to the topside ionosphere.

On a new scenario for the saturation of the low-threshold two-plasmon parametric decay instability of an extraordinary wave in the inhomogeneous plasma of magnetic traps

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gusakov, E. Z., E-mail: Evgeniy.Gusakov@mail.ioffe.ru; Popov, A. Yu., E-mail: a.popov@mail.ioffe.ru; Irzak, M. A., E-mail: irzak@mail.ioffe.ru

The most probable scenario for the saturation of the low-threshold two-plasmon parametric decay instability of an electron cyclotron extraordinary wave has been analyzed. Within this scenario two upperhybrid plasmons at frequencies close to half the pump wave frequency radially trapped in the vicinity of the local maximum of the plasma density profile are excited due to the excitation of primary instability. The primary instability saturation results from the decays of the daughter upper-hybrid waves into secondary upperhybrid waves that are also radially trapped in the vicinity of the local maximum of the plasma density profile and ion Bernstein waves.

On the connection between the 3HE-enrichment and spectral index of solar energetic particles

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kocharov, L. G.; Dvoryanchikov, Y. V.

1985-01-01

A model is presented which explains the observed tendency of events with large 3He/4He ratios to have steeper spectra. In this model preferential injection of 3He, acceleration by Alfven waves and Coulomb deceleration of ions are considered simultaneously. The observed tendency may be obtained as a result of competition between injection and acceleration processes.

Stability of the thermodynamic equilibrium - A test of the validity of dynamic models as applied to gyroviscous perpendicular magnetohydrodynamics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Faghihi, Mustafa; Scheffel, Jan; Spies, Guenther O.

1988-05-01

Stability of the thermodynamic equilibrium is put forward as a simple test of the validity of dynamic equations, and is applied to perpendicular gyroviscous magnetohydrodynamics (i.e., perpendicular magnetohydrodynamics with gyroviscosity added). This model turns out to be invalid because it predicts exponentially growing Alfven waves in a spatially homogeneous static equilibrium with scalar pressure.

First demonstration of HF-driven ionospheric currents

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Papadopoulos, K.; Chang, C.-L.; Labenski, J.; Wallace, T.

2011-10-01

The first experimental demonstration of HF driven currents in the ionosphere at low ELF/ULF frequencies without relying in the presence of electrojets is presented. The effect was predicted by theoretical/computational means in a recent letter and given the name Ionospheric Current Drive (ICD). The effect relies on modulated F-region HF heating to generate Magneto-Sonic (MS) waves that drive Hall currents when they reach the E-region. The Hall currents inject ELF waves into the Earth-Ionosphere waveguide and helicon and Shear Alfven (SA) waves in the magnetosphere. The proof-of-concept experiments were conducted using the HAARP heater in Alaska under the BRIOCHE program. Waves between 0.1-70 Hz were measured at both near and far sites. The letter discusses the differences between ICD generated waves and those relying on modulation of electrojets.

Magnetotail dynamics under isobaric constraints

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Birn, Joachim; Schindler, Karl; Janicke, Lutz; Hesse, Michael

1994-01-01

Using linear theory and nonlinear MHD simulations, we investigate the resistive and ideal MHD stability of two-dimensional plasma configurations under the isobaric constraint dP/dt = 0, which in ideal MHD is equivalent to conserving the pressure function P = P(A), where A denotes the magnetic flux. This constraint is satisfied for incompressible modes, such as Alfven waves, and for systems undergoing energy losses. The linear stability analysis leads to a Schroedinger equation, which can be investigated by standard quantum mechanics procedures. We present an application to a typical stretched magnetotail configuration. For a one-dimensional sheet equilibrium characteristic properties of tearing instability are rediscovered. However, the maximum growth rate scales with the 1/7 power of the resistivity, which implies much faster growth than for the standard tearing mode (assuming that the resistivity is small). The same basic eigen-mode is found also for weakly two-dimensional equilibria, even in the ideal MHD limit. In this case the growth rate scales with the 1/4 power of the normal magnetic field. The results of the linear stability analysis are confirmed qualitatively by nonlinear dynamic MHD simulations. These results suggest the interesting possibility that substorm onset, or the thinning in the late growth phase, is caused by the release of a thermodynamic constraint without the (immediate) necessity of releasing the ideal MHD constraint. In the nonlinear regime the resistive and ideal developments differ in that the ideal mode does not lead to neutral line formation without the further release of the ideal MHD constraint; instead a thin current sheet forms. The isobaric constraint is critically discussed. Under perhaps more realistic adiabatic conditions the ideal mode appears to be stable but could be driven by external perturbations and thus generate the thin current sheet in the late growth phase, before a nonideal instability sets in.

Lower Hybrid Oscillations in Multicomponent Space Plasmas Subjected to Ion Cyclotron Waves

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Khazanov, G. V.; Krivorutsky, E. N.; Moore, T. E.; Liemohn, M. W.; Horwitz, J. L.

1997-01-01

It is found that in multicomponent plasmas subjected to Alfven or fast magnetosonic waves, such as are observed in regions of the outer plasmasphere and ring current-plasmapause overlap, lower hybrid oscillations are generated. The addition of a minor heavy ion component to a proton-electron plasma significantly lowers the low-frequency electric wave amplitude needed for lower hybrid wave excitation. It is found that the lower hybrid wave energy density level is determined by the nonlinear process of induced scattering by ions and electrons; hydrogen ions in the region of resonant velocities are accelerated; and nonresonant particles are weakly heated due to the induced scattering. For a given example, the light resonant ions have an energy gain factor of 20, leading to the development of a high-energy tail in the H(+) distribution function due to low-frequency waves.

Momentum and energy transport by waves in the solar atmosphere and solar wind

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jacques, S. A.

1977-01-01

The fluid equations for the solar wind are presented in a form which includes the momentum and energy flux of waves in a general and consistent way. The concept of conservation of wave action is introduced and is used to derive expressions for the wave energy density as a function of heliocentric distance. The explicit form of the terms due to waves in both the momentum and energy equations are given for radially propagating acoustic, Alfven, and fast mode waves. The effect of waves as a source of momentum is explored by examining the critical points of the momentum equation for isothermal spherically symmetric flow. We find that the principal effect of waves on the solutions is to bring the critical point closer to the sun's surface and to increase the Mach number at the critical point. When a simple model of dissipation is included for acoustic waves, in some cases there are multiple critical points.

Waves and instabilities in plasmas

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chen, L.

1987-01-01

The contents of this book are: Plasma as a Dielectric Medium; Nyquist Technique; Absolute and Convective Instabilities; Landau Damping and Phase Mixing; Particle Trapping and Breakdown of Linear Theory; Solution of Viasov Equation via Guilding-Center Transformation; Kinetic Theory of Magnetohydrodynamic Waves; Geometric Optics; Wave-Kinetic Equation; Cutoff and Resonance; Resonant Absorption; Mode Conversion; Gyrokinetic Equation; Drift Waves; Quasi-Linear Theory; Ponderomotive Force; Parametric Instabilities; Problem Sets for Homework, Midterm and Final Examinations.

Transverse instability of periodic and generalized solitary waves for a fifth-order KP model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Haragus, Mariana; Wahlén, Erik

2017-02-01

We consider a fifth-order Kadomtsev-Petviashvili equation which arises as a two-dimensional model in the classical water-wave problem. This equation possesses a family of generalized line solitary waves which decay exponentially to periodic waves at infinity. We prove that these solitary waves are transversely spectrally unstable and that this instability is induced by the transverse instability of the periodic tails. We rely upon a detailed spectral analysis of some suitably chosen linear operators.

Influence of nonlinear interactions on the development of instability in hydrodynamic wave systems

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Romanova, N. N.; Chkhetiani, O. G., E-mail: ochkheti@mx.iki.rssi.ru, E-mail: ochkheti@gmail.ru; Yakushkin, I. G.

2016-05-15

The problem of the development of shear instability in a three-layer medium simulating the flow of a stratified incompressible fluid is considered. The hydrodynamic equations are solved by expanding the Hamiltonian in a small parameter. The equations for three interacting waves, one of which is unstable, have been derived and solved numerically. The three-wave interaction is shown to stabilize the instability. Various regimes of the system’s dynamics, including the stochastic ones dependent on one of the invariants in the problem, can arise in this case. It is pointed out that the instability development scenario considered differs from the previously consideredmore » scenario of a different type, where the three-wave interaction does not stabilize the instability. The interaction of wave packets is considered briefly.« less

Control of transversal instabilities in reaction-diffusion systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Totz, Sonja; Löber, Jakob; Totz, Jan Frederik; Engel, Harald

2018-05-01

In two-dimensional reaction-diffusion systems, local curvature perturbations on traveling waves are typically damped out and vanish. However, if the inhibitor diffuses much faster than the activator, transversal instabilities can arise, leading from flat to folded, spatio-temporally modulated waves and to spreading spiral turbulence. Here, we propose a scheme to induce or inhibit these instabilities via a spatio-temporal feedback loop. In a piecewise-linear version of the FitzHugh–Nagumo model, transversal instabilities and spiral turbulence in the uncontrolled system are shown to be suppressed in the presence of control, thereby stabilizing plane wave propagation. Conversely, in numerical simulations with the modified Oregonator model for the photosensitive Belousov–Zhabotinsky reaction, which does not exhibit transversal instabilities on its own, we demonstrate the feasibility of inducing transversal instabilities and study the emerging wave patterns in a well-controlled manner.

Studies on Equatorial Shock Formation During Plasmaspheric Refilling

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Singh, Nagendra

1995-01-01

During the grant period from August 1, 1994 to October 31, 1995 we have continued to investigate the effects of plasma wave instabilities on the early stage plasmaspheric refilling. Since ion beams are the primary feature of the interhemispheric plasma flows during the early stage refilling, ion-beam driven instabilities and associated waves are of primary interest. The major findings of this research are briefly summarized here. After a systematic examination of the relevant plasma instabilities, we realized that when the interhemispheric plasma flows begin to interpenetrate at the equator, the most relevant plasma instability is the electrostatic ion cyclotron wave instability. Only at later stages the ion-acoustic instability may be affecting the plasma flow. An interesting property of the electrostatic ion cyclotron wave is that it heats ions perpendicular to the magnetic field. When the ions in the field-aligned flows are transversely heated, they are trapped in the magnetic flux tube, thus affecting the refilling process. The eic wave instability is a microprocess with scale length of the order of ion Larmor radius and the corresponding time scale is the ion cyclotron period. We have attempted to tackle the problem for the plasmaspheric refilling by incorporating the effects of eic wave instability on the mesoscale plasma flow when the properties of the latter exceeds the critical conditions for the former. We have compared the results on refilling from the model with and without the eic instability effects.

The Influence of Trapped Particles on the Parametric Decay Instability of Near-Acoustic Waves

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Affolter, M.; Anderegg, F.; Dubin, D. H. E.; Driscoll, C. F.

2017-10-01

We present quantitative measurements of a decay instability to lower frequencies of near-acoustic waves. These experiments are conducted on pure ion plasmas confined in a cylindrical Penning-Malmberg trap. The axisymmetric, standing plasma waves have near-acoustic dispersion, discretized by the axial wave number kz =mz(π /Lp) . The nonlinear coupling rates are measured between large amplitude mz = 2 (pump) waves and small amplitude mz = 1 (daughter) waves, which have a small frequency detuning Δω = 2ω1 -ω2 . Classical 3-wave parametric coupling rates are proportional to pump wave amplitude as Γ (δn2 /n0) , with oscillatory energy exchange for Γ < Δω / 2 and decay instability for Γ > Δω / 2 . Experiments on cold plasmas agree quantitatively for oscillatory energy exchange, and agree within a factor-of-two for decay instability rates. However, nascent theory suggest that this latter agreement is merely fortuitous, and that the instability mechanism is trapped particles. Experiments at higher temperatures show that trapped particles reduce the instability threshold below classical 3-wave theory predictions. Supported by NSF Grant PHY-1414570, and DOE Grants DE-SC0002451 and DE-SC0008693. M. Affolter is supported by the DOE FES Postdoctoral Research Program administered by ORISE for the DOE. ORISE is managed by ORAU under DOE Contract Number DE-SC0014664.

Suppression of stimulated Brillouin instability of a beat-wave of two lasers in multiple-ion-species plasmas

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yadav, Pinki; Gupta, D. N., E-mail: dngupta@physics.du.ac.in; Avinash, K.

2016-01-15

Stimulated Brillouin instability of a beat-wave of two lasers in plasmas with multiple-ion-species (negative-ions) was studied. The inclusion of negative-ions affects the growth of ion-acoustic wave in Brillouin scattering. Thus, the growth rate of instability is suppressed significantly by the density of negative-ions. To obey the phase-matching condition, the growth rate of the instability attains a maxima for an appropriate scattering angle (angle between the pump and scattered sideband waves). This study would be technologically important to have diagnostics in low-temperature plasmas.

Parametric Decay Instability of Near-Acoustic Waves in Fluid and Kinetic Regimes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Affolter, M.; Anderegg, F.; Driscoll, C. F.; Valentini, F.

2016-10-01

We present quantitative measurements of parametric wave-wave coupling rates and decay instabilities in the range 10 meV Δω /2. In contrast, at higher temperatures, the mz = 2 wave is more unstable. The instability threshold is reduced from the cold fluid prediction as the plasma temperature is increased, which is in qualitative agreement with Vlasov simulations, but is not yet understood theoretically. Supported by DOE/HEDLP Grant DE-SC0008693 and DOE Fusion Energy Science Postdoctoral Research Program administered by the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education.

Inertia critical layers and their impacts on nongeostrophic baroclinic instability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shen, Bo-Wen

We investigate the effects of critical levels (CLs) on a baroclinic flow over mountains, nongeostrophic (NG) inertia critical layer instability, and NG baroclinic instability (BI) in a three-layer atmosphere with a small Richardson number (Ri) in the middle layer. We develop a numerical wave decomposition method in Chapter 2, which is found to be useful in determining the reflection coefficient (Ref) numerically when the flow system is too complicated to obtain Ref analytically. Effects of CLs on flow over mountains are studied both analytically and numerically in Chapter 3. We define the effective inertia critical level (ICL) as the height above which inertia-gravity waves attenuate significantly. Based on numerical simulations with a broad range of Rossby number (Ro) and Ri, four wave regimes are found: (a) Regime I: inertia- gravity waves. The flow behaves like unsheared inertia- gravity waves and the effective lower ICL plays a similar role as the classical critical level (CCL) does in a nonrotating flow. (b) Regime II: combined inertia-gravity waves and baroclinic lee waves. These waves behave like those in Regime I below the lower effective ICL, and like baroclinic lee waves near the CCL. (c) Regime III: combined evanescent and baroclinic lee waves. These waves still behave like baroclinic lee waves near the CCL, but are trapped near the surface. (d) Regime IV: transient waves. NG baroclinic instability exists, as evidenced by the positive domain-averaged north-south heat flux. Wave regime IV is further investigated in Chapter 5. We identify the NG baroclinic instability in Chapter 3 as an inertia critical layer (ICLY) instability. The role of the upper inertia critical level in this instability has been studied by choosing a periodic mountain. When only the CCL and upper ICL are present in the domain, the mesoscale ICLY instability tends to occur. For a periodic mountain ridge, the ICLY instability selects the mountain's tvavelength as its wavelength of maximum growth. For an isolated mountain ridge, the NG baroclinic lee wave is established in the beginning for flows with small Ri, which then develops its own upper ICL. The stability of Lindzen and Tung's (1976, hereafter LT76) type of three-layer nonrotating/rotating atmosphere is discussed in Chapter 6. We first investigate the transient dynamics of wave ducting by a numerical model. The adjustment time for waves to be ducted depends on the atmospheric structure and horizontal wavelength. Second, we study the effects of Coriolis force on LT76's wave ducting mechanism, and show that a wave with wavelength on the order of 100 km is hardly ducted. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

Kinetic water-bag model of global collisional drift waves and ion temperature gradient instabilities in cylindrical geometry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gravier, E.; Plaut, E.

2013-04-01

Collisional drift waves and ion temperature gradient (ITG) instabilities are studied using a linear water-bag kinetic model [P. Morel et al., Phys. Plasmas 14, 112109 (2007)]. An efficient spectral method, already validated in the case of drift waves instabilities [E. Gravier et al., Eur. Phys. J. D 67, 7 (2013)], allows a fast solving of the global linear problem in cylindrical geometry. The comparison between the linear ITG instability properties thus computed and the ones given by the COLUMBIA experiment [R. G. Greaves et al., Plasma Phys. Controlled Fusion 34, 1253 (1992)] shows a qualitative agreement. Moreover, the transition between collisional drift waves and ITG instabilities is studied theoretically as a function of the ion temperature profile.

On the instability of a liquid sheet moving in vacuum

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sisoev, G. M.; Osiptsov, A. N.; Koroteev, A. A.

2018-03-01

A linear stability analysis of a non-isothermal liquid sheet moving in vacuum is studied taking into account the temperature dependencies of the liquid viscosity, thermal conductivity, and surface tension coefficients. It is found that there are two mechanisms of instability. The short-wave instability is caused by viscosity stratification across the sheet due to nonuniform temperature profiles developed downstream in the cooling sheet. The long-wave thermocapillary instability is caused by the temperature gradient along the sheet surfaces. Computed examples of steady flows and their instabilities demonstrated that the unstable short waves have much larger amplification factors.

Instability waves and transition in adverse-pressure-gradient boundary layers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bose, Rikhi; Zaki, Tamer A.; Durbin, Paul A.

2018-05-01

Transition to turbulence in incompressible adverse-pressure-gradient (APG) boundary layers is investigated by direct numerical simulations. Purely two-dimensional instability waves develop on the inflectional base velocity profile. When the boundary layer is perturbed by isotropic turbulence from the free stream, streamwise elongated streaks form and may interact with the instability waves. Subsequent mechanisms that trigger transition depend on the intensity of the free-stream disturbances. All evidence from the present simulations suggest that the growth rate of instability waves is sufficiently high to couple with the streaks. Under very low levels of free-stream turbulence (˜0.1 % ), transition onset is highly sensitive to the inlet disturbance spectrum and is accelerated if the spectrum contains frequency-wave-number combinations that are commensurate with the instability waves. Transition onset and completion in this regime is characterized by formation and breakdown of Λ vortices, but they are more sporadic than in natural transition. Beneath free-stream turbulence with higher intensity (1-2 % ), bypass transition mechanisms are dominant, but instability waves are still the most dominant disturbances in wall-normal and spanwise perturbation spectra. Most of the breakdowns were by disturbances with critical layers close to the wall, corresponding to inner modes. On the other hand, the propensity of an outer mode to occur increases with the free-stream turbulence level. Higher intensity free-stream disturbances induce strong streaks that favorably distort the boundary layer and suppress the growth of instability waves. But the upward displacement of high amplitude streaks brings them to the outer edge of the boundary layer and exposes them to ambient turbulence. Consequently, high-amplitude streaks exhibit an outer-mode secondary instability.

Space Propulsion and Power

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-03-08

crystals with tunable band gaps possible Refractive index N is imaginary - Bulk Electromagnetic waves cannot propogate But surface plasmons...Directional wave radiation through plasmon resonances Directional wave guiding through mid-band defect wave localization Distribution A: Approved for... acoustic damping, shear- layer instability (PERTURBATION EXPANSION EXAMPLE) classical wave equation for combustion instability: model

Low and high frequency instabilities in an explosion-generated-plasma and possibility of wave triplet

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Malik, O. P.; Singh, Sukhmander; Malik, Hitendra K.; Kumar, A.

2015-01-01

An explosion-generated-plasma is explored for low and high frequency instabilities by taking into account the drift of all the plasma species together with the dust particles which are charged. The possibility of wave triplet is also discussed based on the solution of dispersion equation and synchronism conditions. High frequency instability (HFI) and low frequency instability (LFI) are found to occur in this system. LFI grows faster with the higher concentration of dust particles, whereas its growth rate goes down if the mass of the dust is higher. The ion and electron temperatures affect its growth in opposite manner and the electron temperature causes this instability to grow. In addition to the instabilities, a simple wave is also observed to propagate, whose velocity is larger for larger wave number, smaller mass of the dust and higher ion temperature.

Verification of long wavelength electromagnetic modes with a gyrokinetic-fluid hybrid model in the XGC code

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hager, Robert; Lang, Jianying; Chang, C. S.

As an alternative option to kinetic electrons, the gyrokinetic total-f particle-in-cell (PIC) code XGC1 has been extended to the MHD/fluid type electromagnetic regime by combining gyrokinetic PIC ions with massless drift-fluid electrons. Here, two representative long wavelength modes, shear Alfven waves and resistive tearing modes, are verified in cylindrical and toroidal magnetic field geometries.

Verification of long wavelength electromagnetic modes with a gyrokinetic-fluid hybrid model in the XGC code

DOE PAGES

Hager, Robert; Lang, Jianying; Chang, C. S.; ...

2017-05-24

As an alternative option to kinetic electrons, the gyrokinetic total-f particle-in-cell (PIC) code XGC1 has been extended to the MHD/fluid type electromagnetic regime by combining gyrokinetic PIC ions with massless drift-fluid electrons. Here, two representative long wavelength modes, shear Alfven waves and resistive tearing modes, are verified in cylindrical and toroidal magnetic field geometries.

A Study of Coronal-Interplanetary Coupling Mechanisms

DTIC Science & Technology

1991-04-30

Magnetic Feild in Astrophys. J., Vol. 344, 478-493, 1989. 111.3. Reflection and Trapping of Transient Alfven Waves Propagating in an Isothermal...1990. VI.4. A Comparison Between Progressive Extension Method (PEM) and Iterative Method (IM) for Magnetic Feild Extrapolations in the Solar...Flight Center. Representative results are shown in the upper left panel of Figure 1 in which (a) shows the observed vector magnetic field at photospheric

Wavenumber distribution in Hopf-wave instability: the reversible Selkov model of glycolytic oscillation.

PubMed

Dutt, Arun K

2005-09-22

We have investigated the short-wave instability due to Hopf bifurcation in a reaction-diffusion model of glycolytic oscillations. Very low values of the ratio d of the diffusion coefficient of the inhibitor (ATP) and that of the activator (ADP) do help to create short waves, whereas high values of the ratio d and the complexing reaction of the activator ADP reduces drastically the wave-instability domain, generating much longer wavelengths.

Reconnection-Driven Magnetohydrodynamic Turbulence in a Simulated Coronal-Hole Jet

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Uritskiy, Vadim M.; Roberts, Merrill A.; DeVore, C. Richard; Karpen, Judith T.

2017-01-01

Extreme-ultraviolet and X-ray jets occur frequently in magnetically open coronal holes on the Sun, especially at high solar latitudes. Some of these jets are observed by white-light coronagraphs as they propagate through the outer corona toward the inner heliosphere, and it has been proposed that they give rise to microstreams and torsional Alfven waves detected in situ in the solar wind. To predict and understand the signatures of coronal-hole jets, we have performed a detailed statistical analysis of such a jet simulated with an adaptively refined magnetohydrodynamics model. The results confirm the generation and persistence of three-dimensional, reconnection-driven magnetic turbulence in the simulation. We calculate the spatial correlations of magnetic fluctuations within the jet and find that they agree best with the Meuller - Biskamp scaling model including intermittent current sheets of various sizes coupled via hydrodynamic turbulent cascade. The anisotropy of the magnetic fluctuations and the spatial orientation of the current sheets are consistent with an ensemble of nonlinear Alfven waves. These properties also reflect the overall collimated jet structure imposed by the geometry of the reconnecting magnetic field. A comparison with Ulysses observations shows that turbulence in the jet wake is in quantitative agreement with that in the fast solar wind.

Space-Charge Waves and Instabilities in Intense Beams

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, J. G.

1997-11-01

Advancced accelerator applications, such as drivers for heavy ion inertial fusion, high-intensity synchrotrons for spallation neutron sources, high energy boosters, free electron lasers, high-power microwave generators, etc., require ever-increasing beam intensity. An important beam dynamics issue in such beams is the collective behavior of charged particles due to their space charge effects. This includes the phenomena of space-charge waves and instabilities excited on beams by external perturbations. It is very crucial to fully understand these phenomena in order to develop advanced accelerators for various applications. At the University of Maryland we have been conducting experimental programs to study space-charge waves and longitudinal instabilities by employing low-energy, high-current, space-charge dominated electron beams. Localized perturbations on the beams are generated from a gridded electron gun. In a conducting transport channel focused by short solenoids, these perturbations evolve into space-charge waves propagating on the beams. The wave speed is measured and many beam parameters are determined with this technique. The reflection of space-charge waves at the shoulder of an initially rectangular beam bunch is also observed. In a resistive-wall channel focused by a uniform long solenoid, the space-charge waves suffer longitudinal instability. The properties of the instabilities are studied in detail in the long wavelength range. In this talk we review our experimental results on the waves and instabilities and compare with theory.

Instability of Longitudinal Wave in Magnetized Strongly Coupled Dusty Plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xie, Bai-Song

2003-12-01

Instability of longitudinal wave in magnetized strongly coupled dusty plasmas is investigated. The dust charging relaxation is taken into account. It is found that there exists threshold of interdust distance for the instability of wave, which is determined significantly by the dust charging relaxation, the coupling parameter of high correlation of dust as well the strength of magnetic field.

Numerical modeling of convective instabilities in internal solitary waves of depression shoaling over gentle slopes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rivera, Gustavo; Diamessis, Peter

2016-11-01

The shoaling of an internal solitary wave (ISW) of depression over gentle slopes is explored through fully nonlinear and non-hydrostatic simulations based on a high-accuracy deformed spectral multidomain penalty method. As recently observed in the South China Sea, in high-amplitude shoaling ISWs, the along-wave current can exceed the wave celerity resulting in convective instabilities. If the slope is less than 3%, the wave does not disintegrate as in the case of steeper slope shoaling but, instead, maintains its symmetric shape; the above convective instability may drive the formation of a turbulent recirculating core. The sensitivity of convective instabilities in an ISW is examined as a function of the bathymetric slope and wave steepness. ISWs are simulated propagating over both idealized and realistic bathymetry. Emphasis is placed on the structure of the above instabilities, the persistence of trapped cores and their potential for particle entrainment and transport. Additionally, the role of the baroclinic background current on the development of convective instabilities is explored. A preliminary understanding is obtained of the transition to turbulence within a high-amplitude ISW shoaling over progressively varying bathymetry.

Real world ocean rogue waves explained without the modulational instability.

PubMed

Fedele, Francesco; Brennan, Joseph; Ponce de León, Sonia; Dudley, John; Dias, Frédéric

2016-06-21

Since the 1990s, the modulational instability has commonly been used to explain the occurrence of rogue waves that appear from nowhere in the open ocean. However, the importance of this instability in the context of ocean waves is not well established. This mechanism has been successfully studied in laboratory experiments and in mathematical studies, but there is no consensus on what actually takes place in the ocean. In this work, we question the oceanic relevance of this paradigm. In particular, we analyze several sets of field data in various European locations with various tools, and find that the main generation mechanism for rogue waves is the constructive interference of elementary waves enhanced by second-order bound nonlinearities and not the modulational instability. This implies that rogue waves are likely to be rare occurrences of weakly nonlinear random seas.

Real world ocean rogue waves explained without the modulational instability

PubMed Central

Fedele, Francesco; Brennan, Joseph; Ponce de León, Sonia; Dudley, John; Dias, Frédéric

2016-01-01

Since the 1990s, the modulational instability has commonly been used to explain the occurrence of rogue waves that appear from nowhere in the open ocean. However, the importance of this instability in the context of ocean waves is not well established. This mechanism has been successfully studied in laboratory experiments and in mathematical studies, but there is no consensus on what actually takes place in the ocean. In this work, we question the oceanic relevance of this paradigm. In particular, we analyze several sets of field data in various European locations with various tools, and find that the main generation mechanism for rogue waves is the constructive interference of elementary waves enhanced by second-order bound nonlinearities and not the modulational instability. This implies that rogue waves are likely to be rare occurrences of weakly nonlinear random seas. PMID:27323897

Waves on the surface of the Orion molecular cloud.

PubMed

Berné, Olivier; Marcelino, Núria; Cernicharo, José

2010-08-19

Massive stars influence their parental molecular cloud, and it has long been suspected that the development of hydrodynamical instabilities can compress or fragment the cloud. Identifying such instabilities has proved difficult. It has been suggested that elongated structures (such as the 'pillars of creation') and other shapes arise because of instabilities, but alternative explanations are available. One key signature of an instability is a wave-like structure in the gas, which has hitherto not been seen. Here we report the presence of 'waves' at the surface of the Orion molecular cloud near where massive stars are forming. The waves seem to be a Kelvin-Helmholtz instability that arises during the expansion of the nebula as gas heated and ionized by massive stars is blown over pre-existing molecular gas.

Kinetic water-bag model of global collisional drift waves and ion temperature gradient instabilities in cylindrical geometry

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gravier, E.; Plaut, E.

2013-04-15

Collisional drift waves and ion temperature gradient (ITG) instabilities are studied using a linear water-bag kinetic model [P. Morel et al., Phys. Plasmas 14, 112109 (2007)]. An efficient spectral method, already validated in the case of drift waves instabilities [E. Gravier et al., Eur. Phys. J. D 67, 7 (2013)], allows a fast solving of the global linear problem in cylindrical geometry. The comparison between the linear ITG instability properties thus computed and the ones given by the COLUMBIA experiment [R. G. Greaves et al., Plasma Phys. Controlled Fusion 34, 1253 (1992)] shows a qualitative agreement. Moreover, the transition betweenmore » collisional drift waves and ITG instabilities is studied theoretically as a function of the ion temperature profile.« less

Fast flows, ULF waves, firehose instability and their association in the Earth's mid-tail current sheet

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, C. P.; Xing, X.

2017-12-01

Ultra-Low Frequency (ULF) plasma waves with frequency range between 1 mHz to 10 Hz are widely observed in the Earth's magnetosphere and on the ground. In particular, Pi2 and Pc4 waves have been found to be closely related to many important dynamic processes in the magnetotail, e.g., fast flows (V > 300 km/s). Observations have shown Pi2 waves in association with fast flows in the near-Earth plasma sheet (X>-30 RE). However, in the mid-tail region, where fast flows are more frequently observed than those in the near-Earth magnetotail, this association has not been evaluated. Our preliminary study using ARTEMIS probes in the mid-tail region (X -60 RE) shows close association between Pi2 and Pc4 waves with the presence of fast flows. Strong connection between mid-tail Pi2 pulsations and high-latitude ground Pi2 signatures are also observed. Among many proposed theories for Pi2 wave, ballooning and firehose instabilities are plausible mechanisms in leading to the generation of plasma waves around Pi2 frequency band. Ballooning instability is widely admitted for fast flow associated Pi2 pulsations in the near-Earth region. However, firehose instability is expected to occur more easily in mid-tail and beyond due to the specific pressure anisotropy in that region. We examined the pressure anisotropy conditions and evaluated firehose instability condition for both Pi2 and Pc4 events in mid-tail. It is found that the plasma is unstable against firehose instability in association with the initiation of Pi2 and Pc4 waves. These may suggest that firehose instability can be a wave generation mechanism in the mid-tail region.

Predictions of lithium interactions with earth's bow shock in the presence of wave activity

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Decker, R. B.; Lui, A. T. Y.; Vlahos, L.

1984-01-01

The results of a test-particle simulation studying the movement of a lithium tracer ion injected upstream of the bow shock are reported. Wave activity consists of parallel and antiparallel propagating Alfven waves characterized by a frequency power spectrum within a frequency or range of amplitudes defined separately in the upstream and downstream regions. The results show that even a moderate level of wave activity can substantially change the results obtained in the absence of waves. Among the effects observed are: (1) increased ion transmission; (2) both the average energy gain and spread about the average are increased for transmitted and reflected particles; (3) the average final pitch angle for transmitted particles tends to 90 deg, and the spread of reflected particles is reduced; and (4) the spatial dispersion of the ions on the bow shock after a single encounter is increased.

Current driven instabilities of an electromagnetically accelerated plasma

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chouetri, E. Y.; Kelly, A. J.; Jahn, R. G.

1988-01-01

A plasma instability that strongly influences the efficiency and lifetime of electromagnetic plasma accelerators was quantitatively measured. Experimental measurements of dispersion relations (wave phase velocities), spatial growth rates, and stability boundaries are reported. The measured critical wave parameters are in excellent agreement with theoretical instability boundary predictions. The instability is current driven and affects a wide spectrum of longitudinal (electrostatic) oscillations. Current driven instabilities, which are intrinsic to the high-current-carrying magnetized plasma of the magnetoplasmadynmic (MPD) accelerator, were investigated with a kinetic theoretical model based on first principles. Analytical limits of the appropriate dispersion relation yield unstable ion acoustic waves for T(i)/T(e) much less than 1 and electron acoustic waves for T(i)/T(e) much greater than 1. The resulting set of nonlinear equations for the case of T(i)/T(e) = 1, of most interest to the MPD thruster Plasma Wave Experiment, was numerically solved to yield a multiparameter set of stability boundaries. Under certain conditions, marginally stable waves traveling almost perpendicular to the magnetic field would travel at a velocity equal to that of the electron current. Such waves were termed current waves. Unstable current waves near the upper stability boundary were observed experimentally and are in accordance with theoretical predictions. This provides unambiguous proof of the existence of such instabilites in electromagnetic plasma accelerators.

Gravity Waves in the Atmosphere: Instability, Saturation, and Transport.

DTIC Science & Technology

1995-11-13

role of gravity wave drag in the extratropical QBO , destabilization of large-scale tropical waves by deep moist convection, and a general theory of equatorial inertial instability on a zonally nonuniform, nonparallel flow.

Creating unstable velocity-space distributions with barium injections

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pongratz, M. B.

1983-01-01

Ion velocity-space distributions resulting from barium injections from orbiting spacecraft and shaped charges are discussed. Active experiments confirm that anomalous ionization processes may operate, but photoionization accounts for the production of the bulk of the barium ions. Pitch-angle diffusion and/or velocity-space diffusion may occur, but observations of barium ions moving upwards against gravity suggests that the ions retain a significant enough fraction of their initial perpendicular velocity to provide a mirror force. The barium ion plasmas should have a range of Alfven Mach numbers and plasma betas. Because the initial conditions can be predicted these active experiments should permit testing plasma instability hypotheses.

The Variance of Solar Wind Magnetic Fluctuations: Solutions and Further Puzzles

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Roberts, D. A.; Goldstein, M. L.

2006-01-01

We study the dependence of the variance directions of the magnetic field in the solar wind as a function of scale, radial distance, and Alfvenicity. The study resolves the question of why different studies have arrived at widely differing values for the maximum to minimum power (approximately equal to 3:1 up to approximately equal to 20:1). This is due to the decreasing anisotropy with increasing time interval chosen for the variance, and is a direct result of the "spherical polarization" of the waves which follows from the near constancy of |B|. The reason for the magnitude preserving evolution is still unresolved. Moreover, while the long-known tendency for the minimum variance to lie along the mean field also follows from this view (as shown by Barnes many years ago), there is no theory for why the minimum variance follows the field direction as the Parker angle changes. We show that this turning is quite generally true in Alfvenic regions over a wide range of heliocentric distances. The fact that nonAlfvenic regions, while still showing strong power anisotropies, tend to have a much broader range of angles between the minimum variance and the mean field makes it unlikely that the cause of the variance turning is to be found in a turbulence mechanism. There are no obvious alternative mechanisms, leaving us with another intriguing puzzle.

Generation of waves in the Venus mantle by the ion acoustic beam instability

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Huba, J. D.

1993-01-01

The ion acoustic beam instability is suggested as a mechanism to produce wave turbulence observed in the Venus mantle at frequencies 100 Hz and 730 Hz. The plasma is assumed to consist of a stationary cold O(+) ion plasma and a flowing, shocked solar wind plasma. The O(+) ions appear as a beam relative to the flowing ionosheath plasma which provides the free energy to drive the instability. The plasma is driven unstable by inverse electron Landau damping of an ion acoustic wave associated with the cold ionospheric O(+) ions. The instability can directly generate the observed 100 Hz waves in the Venus mantle as well as the observed 730 Hz waves through the Doppler shift of the frequency caused by the satellite motion.

Super-spiral structures of bi-stable spiral waves and a new instability of spiral waves

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, Jian; Wang, Qun; Lü, Huaping

2017-10-01

A new type of super-spiral structure and instability of spiral waves (in numerical simulation) are investigated. Before the period-doubling bifurcation of this system, the super-spiral structure occurs caused by phase trajectory selection. This type of super-spiral structure is totally different from the super-spiral structure observed early. Although the spiral rotates, the super-spiral structure is stationary. Observably, fully turbulence of the system occurs suddenly which has no process of instability. The forming principle of this instability may have applications in cardiology.

Deep Solar Activity Minimum 2007-2009: Solar Wind Properties and Major Effects on the Terrestrial Magnetosphere

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Farrugia, C. J.; Harris, B.; Leitner, M.; Moestl, C.; Galvin, A. B.; Simunac, K. D. C.; Torbert, R. B.; Temmer, M. B.; Veronig, A. M.; Erkaev, N. V.;

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Niemann, Christoph; Gekelman, W.; Winske, D.

We have performed several thousand high-energy laser shots in the LAPD to investigate the dynamics of an exploding laser-produced plasma in a large ambient magneto-plasma. Debris-ions expanding at super-Alfvenic velocity (up to MA=1.5) expel the ambient magnetic field, creating a large (> 20 cm) diamagnetic cavity. We observed field compressions of up to B/B{sub 0} = 1.5 at the edge of the bubble, consistent with the MHD jump conditions, as well as localized electron heating at the edge of the bubble. Two-dimensional hybrid simulations reproduce these measurements well and show that the majority of the ambient ions are energized bymore » the magnetic piston to super-Alfvenic speeds and swept outside the bubble volume. Nonlinear shear-Alfven waves ({delta}B/B{sub 0} > 25%) are radiated from the cavity with a coupling efficiency of 70% from magnetic energy in the bubble to the wave. While the data is consistent with a weak magneto-sonic shock, the experiments were severely limited by the low ambient plasma densities (10{sup 12} cm{sup -3}). 2D hybrid simulations indicate that future experiments with the new LAPD plasma source and densities in excess of 10{sup 13} cm{sup -3} will drive full-blown collisionless shocks with MA>10 over several c/wpi and shocked Larmor radii. In a separate experiment at the LANL Trident laser facility we have performed a proof-of-principle experiment at higher densities to demonstrate key elements of collisionless shocks in laser-produced magnetized plasmas with important implications to NIF. Simultaneously we have upgraded the UCLA glass-laser system by adding two large amplitude disk amplifiers from the NOVA laser and boost the on-target energy from 30 J to up to 1 kJ, making this one of the world’s largest university-scale laser systems. We now have the infrastructure in place to perform novel and unique high-impact experiments on collision-less shocks at the LAPD.« less

Resonant behaviour of MHD waves on magnetic flux tubes. III - Effect of equilibrium flow

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Goossens, Marcel; Hollweg, Joseph V.; Sakurai, Takashi

1992-01-01

The Hollweg et al. (1990) analysis of MHD surface waves in a stationary equilibrium is extended. The conservation laws and jump conditions at Alfven and slow resonance points obtained by Sakurai et al. (1990) are generalized to include an equilibrium flow, and the assumption that the Eulerian perturbation of total pressure is constant is recovered as the special case of the conservation law for an equilibrium with straight magnetic field lines and flow along the magnetic field lines. It is shown that the conclusions formulated by Hollweg et al. are still valid for the straight cylindrical case. The effect of curvature is examined.

Wave-Kinetic Simulations of the Nonlinear Generation of Electromagnetic VLF Waves through Velocity Ring Instabilities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ganguli, G.; Crabtree, C. E.; Rudakov, L.; Mithaiwala, M.

2014-12-01

Velocity ring instabilities are a common naturally occuring magnetospheric phenomenon that can also be generated by man made ionospheric experiments. These instabilities are known to generate lower-hybrid waves, which generally cannot propagte out of the source region. However, nonlinear wave physics can convert these linearly driven electrostatic lower-hybrid waves into electromagnetic waves that can escape the source region. These nonlinearly generated waves can be an important source of VLF turbulence that controls the trapped electron lifetime in the radiation belts. We develop numerical solutions to the wave-kinetic equation in a periodic box including the effects of nonlinear (NL) scattering (nonlinear Landau damping) of Lower-hybrid waves giving the evolution of the wave-spectra in wavenumber space. Simultaneously we solve the particle diffusion equation of both the background plasma particles and the ring ions, due to both linear and nonlinear Landau resonances. At initial times for cold ring ions, an electrostatic beam mode is excited, while the kinetic mode is stable. As the instability progresses the ring ions heat, the beam mode is stabilized, and the kinetic mode destabilizes. When the amplitude of the waves becomes sufficient the lower-hybrid waves are scattered (by either nearly unmagnetized ions or magnetized electrons) into electromagnetic magnetosonic waves [Ganguli et al 2010]. The effect of NL scattering is to limit the amplitude of the waves, slowing down the quasilinear relaxation time and ultimately allowing more energy from the ring to be liberated into waves [Mithaiwala et al. 2011]. The effects of convection out of the instability region are modeled, additionally limiting the amplitude of the waves, allowing further energy to be liberated from the ring [Scales et al., 2012]. Results are compared to recent 3D PIC simulations [Winske and Duaghton 2012].

Ion dynamics during the parametric instabilities of a left-hand polarized Alfvén wave in a proton-electron-alpha plasma

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gao, Xinliang; Lu, Quanming; Hao, Yufei

2014-01-01

The parametric instabilities of an Alfvén wave in a proton-electron plasma system are found to have great influence on proton dynamics, where part of the protons can be accelerated through the Landau resonance with the excited ion acoustic waves, and a beam component along the background magnetic field is formed. In this paper, with a one-dimensional hybrid simulation model, we investigate the evolution of the parametric instabilities of a monochromatic left-hand polarized Alfvén wave in a proton-electron-alpha plasma with a low beta. When the drift velocity between the protons and alpha particles is sufficiently large, the wave numbers of themore » backward daughter Alfvén waves can be cascaded toward higher values due to the modulational instability during the nonlinear evolution of the parametric instabilities, and the alpha particles are resonantly heated in both the parallel and perpendicular direction by the backward waves. On the other hand, when the drift velocity of alpha particles is small, the alpha particles are heated in the linear growth stage of the parametric instabilities due to the Landau resonance with the excited ion acoustic waves. Therefore, the heating occurs only in the parallel direction, and there is no obvious heating in the perpendicular direction. The relevance of our results to the preferential heating of heavy ions observed in the solar wind within 0.3 AU is also discussed in this paper.« less

Incompressible Modes Excited by Supersonic Shear in Boundary Layers: Acoustic CFS Instability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Belyaev, Mikhail A.

2017-02-01

We present an instability for exciting incompressible modes (e.g., gravity or Rossby modes) at the surface of a star accreting through a boundary layer. The instability excites a stellar mode by sourcing an acoustic wave in the disk at the boundary layer, which carries a flux of energy and angular momentum with the opposite sign as the energy and angular momentum density of the stellar mode. We call this instability the acoustic Chandrasekhar-Friedman-Schutz (CFS) instability, because of the direct analogy to the CFS instability for exciting modes on a rotating star by emission of energy in the form of gravitational waves. However, the acoustic CFS instability differs from its gravitational wave counterpart in that the fluid medium in which the acoustic wave propagates (I.e., the accretion disk) typically rotates faster than the star in which the incompressible mode is sourced. For this reason, the instability can operate even for a non-rotating star in the presence of an accretion disk. We discuss applications of our results to high-frequency quasi-periodic oscillations in accreting black hole and neutron star systems and dwarf nova oscillations in cataclysmic variables.

Incompressible Modes Excited by Supersonic Shear in Boundary Layers: Acoustic CFS Instability

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Belyaev, Mikhail A., E-mail: mbelyaev@berkeley.edu

We present an instability for exciting incompressible modes (e.g., gravity or Rossby modes) at the surface of a star accreting through a boundary layer. The instability excites a stellar mode by sourcing an acoustic wave in the disk at the boundary layer, which carries a flux of energy and angular momentum with the opposite sign as the energy and angular momentum density of the stellar mode. We call this instability the acoustic Chandrasekhar–Friedman–Schutz (CFS) instability, because of the direct analogy to the CFS instability for exciting modes on a rotating star by emission of energy in the form of gravitationalmore » waves. However, the acoustic CFS instability differs from its gravitational wave counterpart in that the fluid medium in which the acoustic wave propagates (i.e., the accretion disk) typically rotates faster than the star in which the incompressible mode is sourced. For this reason, the instability can operate even for a non-rotating star in the presence of an accretion disk. We discuss applications of our results to high-frequency quasi-periodic oscillations in accreting black hole and neutron star systems and dwarf nova oscillations in cataclysmic variables.« less

On the axisymmetric stability of heated supersonic round jets

PubMed Central

2016-01-01

We perform an inviscid, spatial stability analysis of supersonic, heated round jets with the mean properties assumed uniform on either side of the jet shear layer, modelled here via a cylindrical vortex sheet. Apart from the hydrodynamic Kelvin–Helmholtz (K–H) wave, the spatial growth rates of the acoustically coupled supersonic and subsonic instability waves are computed for axisymmetric conditions (m=0) to analyse their role on the jet stability, under increased heating and compressibility. With the ambient stationary, supersonic instability waves may exist for any jet Mach number Mj≥2, whereas the subsonic instability waves, in addition, require the core-to-ambient flow temperature ratio Tj/To>1. We show, for moderately heated jets at Tj/To>2, the acoustically coupled instability modes, once cut on, to govern the overall jet stability with the K–H wave having disappeared into the cluster of acoustic modes. Sufficiently high heating makes the subsonic modes dominate the jet near-field dynamics, whereas the supersonic instability modes form the primary Mach radiation at far field. PMID:27274691

Linear temporal and spatio-temporal stability analysis of a binary liquid film flowing down an inclined uniformly heated plate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hu, Jun; Hadid, Hamda Ben; Henry, Daniel; Mojtabi, Abdelkader

Temporal and spatio-temporal instabilities of binary liquid films flowing down an inclined uniformly heated plate with Soret effect are investigated by using the Chebyshev collocation method to solve the full system of linear stability equations. Seven dimensionless parameters, i.e. the Kapitza, Galileo, Prandtl, Lewis, Soret, Marangoni, and Biot numbers (Ka, G, Pr, L, ) are used to control the flow system. In the case of pure spanwise perturbations, thermocapillary S- and P-modes are obtained. It is found that the most dangerous modes are stationary for positive Soret numbers (0), and oscillatory for =0 remains so for >0 and even merges with the long-wave S-mode. In the case of streamwise perturbations, a long-wave surface mode (H-mode) is also obtained. From the neutral curves, it is found that larger Soret numbers make the film flow more unstable as do larger Marangoni numbers. The increase of these parameters leads to the merging of the long-wave H- and S-modes, making the situation long-wave unstable for any Galileo number. It also strongly influences the short-wave P-mode which becomes the most critical for large enough Galileo numbers. Furthermore, from the boundary curves between absolute and convective instabilities (AI/CI) calculated for both the long-wave instability (S- and H-modes) and the short-wave instability (P-mode), it is shown that for small Galileo numbers the AI/CI boundary curves are determined by the long-wave instability, while for large Galileo numbers they are determined by the short-wave instability.

Effects of Hall current and electrical resistivity on the stability of gravitating anisotropic quantum plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bhakta, S.; Prajapati, R. P.

2018-02-01

The effects of Hall current and finite electrical resistivity are studied on the stability of uniformly rotating and self-gravitating anisotropic quantum plasma. The generalized Ohm's law modified by Hall current and electrical resistivity is used along with the quantum magnetohydrodynamic fluid equations. The general dispersion relation is derived using normal mode analysis and discussed in the parallel and perpendicular propagations. In the parallel propagation, the Jeans instability criterion, expression of critical Jeans wavenumber, and Jeans length are found to be independent of non-ideal effects and uniform rotation but in perpendicular propagation only rotation affects the Jeans instability criterion. The unstable gravitating mode modified by Bohm potential and the stable Alfven mode modified by non-ideal effects are obtained separately. The criterion of firehose instability remains unaffected due to the presence of non-ideal effects. In the perpendicular propagation, finite electrical resistivity and quantum pressure anisotropy modify the dispersion relation, whereas no effect of Hall current was observed in the dispersion characteristics. The Hall current, finite electrical resistivity, rotation, and quantum corrections stabilize the growth rate. The stability of the dynamical system is analyzed using the Routh-Hurwitz criterion.

Instabilities of Internal Gravity Wave Beams

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dauxois, Thierry; Joubaud, Sylvain; Odier, Philippe; Venaille, Antoine

2018-01-01

Internal gravity waves play a primary role in geophysical fluids: They contribute significantly to mixing in the ocean, and they redistribute energy and momentum in the middle atmosphere. Until recently, most studies were focused on plane wave solutions. However, these solutions are not a satisfactory description of most geophysical manifestations of internal gravity waves, and it is now recognized that internal wave beams with a confined profile are ubiquitous in the geophysical context. We discuss the reason for the ubiquity of wave beams in stratified fluids, which is related to the fact that they are solutions of the nonlinear governing equations. We focus more specifically on situations with a constant buoyancy frequency. Moreover, in light of recent experimental and analytical studies of internal gravity beams, it is timely to discuss the two main mechanisms of instability for those beams: (a) the triadic resonant instability generating two secondary wave beams and (b) the streaming instability corresponding to the spontaneous generation of a mean flow.

Delay-induced wave instabilities in single-species reaction-diffusion systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Otto, Andereas; Wang, Jian; Radons, Günter

2017-11-01

The Turing (wave) instability is only possible in reaction-diffusion systems with more than one (two) components. Motivated by the fact that a time delay increases the dimension of a system, we investigate the presence of diffusion-driven instabilities in single-species reaction-diffusion systems with delay. The stability of arbitrary one-component systems with a single discrete delay, with distributed delay, or with a variable delay is systematically analyzed. We show that a wave instability can appear from an equilibrium of single-species reaction-diffusion systems with fluctuating or distributed delay, which is not possible in similar systems with constant discrete delay or without delay. More precisely, we show by basic analytic arguments and by numerical simulations that fast asymmetric delay fluctuations or asymmetrically distributed delays can lead to wave instabilities in these systems. Examples, for the resulting traveling waves are shown for a Fisher-KPP equation with distributed delay in the reaction term. In addition, we have studied diffusion-induced instabilities from homogeneous periodic orbits in the same systems with variable delay, where the homogeneous periodic orbits are attracting resonant periodic solutions of the system without diffusion, i.e., periodic orbits of the Hutchinson equation with time-varying delay. If diffusion is introduced, standing waves can emerge whose temporal period is equal to the period of the variable delay.

Electric Field Observations of Plasma Convection, Shear, Alfven Waves, and other Phenomena Observed on Sounding Rockets in the Cusp and Boundary Layer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pfaff, R. F.

2009-01-01

On December 14,2002, a NASA Black Brant X sounding rocket was launched equatorward from Ny Alesund, Spitzbergen (79 N) into the dayside cusp and subsequently cut across the open/closed field line boundary, reaching an apogee of771 km. The launch occurred during Bz negative conditions with strong By negative that was changing during the flight. SuperDarn (CUTLASS) radar and subsequent model patterns reveal a strong westward/poleward convection, indicating that the rocket traversed a rotational reversal in the afternoon merging cell. The payload returned DC electric and magnetic fields, plasma waves, energetic particle, suprathermal electron and ion, and thermal plasma data. We provide an overview of the main observations and focus on the DC electric field results, comparing the measured E x B plasma drifts in detail with the CUTLASS radar observations of plasma drifts gathered simultaneously in the same volume. The in situ DC electric fields reveal steady poleward flows within the cusp with strong shears at the interface of the closed/open field lines and within the boundary layer. We use the observations to discuss ionospheric signatures of the open/closed character of the cusp/low latitude boundary layer as a function of the IMF. The electric field and plasma density data also reveal the presence of very strong plasma irregularities with a large range of scales (10 m to 10 km) that exist within the open field line cusp region yet disappear when the payload was equatorward of the cusp on closed field lines. These intense low frequency wave observations are consistent with strong scintillations observed on the ground at Ny Alesund during the flight. We present detailed wave characteristics and discuss them in terms of Alfven waves and static irregularities that pervade the cusp region at all altitudes.

Comparing the Chromospheric Response to Different Flare Energy Transport Mechanisms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kerr, G. S.; Reep, J. W.; Allred, J. C.; Russell, A. J. B.; Leake, J. E.; Tarr, L.

2017-12-01

The chromosphere is the origin of the bulk of the enhanced radiative output during solar flares, and so the mechanism(s) by which energy is transported from the release site to the chromosphere is a crucial ingredient in our understanding of flare physics. In the standard model of solar flares, non-thermal particle beams (typically electrons) transport energy from the corona to the chromosphere. While this model has been supported by flare observations, and while flare simulations employing this model have been successful in reproducing the observational characteristics of flares, there have been suggestions that electron beams are not the sole energy transport mechanism at play. Originally proposed by Emslie and Sturrock (1982), and revisited by Fletcher and Hudson (2008) the dissipation of downward propagating Alfvénic waves have been posited as an additional, or alternative, energy transport mechanism. Reep & Russell (2016) and Kerr et al (2016) used the WKB approximation to simulate flares in which energy was transported via Alfven waves. This model has been further developed to more realistically model wave energy transport by including the wave travel time (Reep et al, in prep). We present the radiative response of the solar chromosphere to energy input using both the standard electron beam mechanism, and using the updated Alfven wave mechanism, simulated using the radiation hydrodynamics code RADYN. We will show the formation properties of the Mg II and C II resonance lines, and the Mg II subordinate lines, all of which can be observed by the IRIS spacecraft, and the Ca II 8542 line which can be routinely observed from ground based observatories, commenting on any key differences in the formation of these lines in the different simulations that may be present. Finally we discuss other, less observed, chromospheric spectral lines such as Ly-alpha and He II 304 and their potential as tools to discriminate between the models, in order to determine what future observations may of particular use.

Models of inertial range spectra of interplanetary magnetohydrodynamic turbulence

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zhou, YE; Matthaeus, William H.

1990-01-01

A framework based on turbulence theory is presented to develop approximations for the local turbulence effects that are required in transport models. An approach based on Kolmogoroff-style dimensional analysis is presented as well as one based on a wave-number diffusion picture. Particular attention is given to the case of MHD turbulence with arbitrary cross helicity and with arbitrary ratios of the Alfven time scale and the nonlinear time scale.

PERPENDICULAR ION HEATING BY LOW-FREQUENCY ALFVEN-WAVE TURBULENCE IN THE SOLAR WIND

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chandran, Benjamin D. G.; Germaschewski, Kai; Li Bo

We consider ion heating by turbulent Alfven waves (AWs) and kinetic Alfven waves (KAWs) with wavelengths (measured perpendicular to the magnetic field) that are comparable to the ion gyroradius and frequencies {omega} smaller than the ion cyclotron frequency {Omega}. We focus on plasmas in which {beta} {approx}< 1, where {beta} is the ratio of plasma pressure to magnetic pressure. As in previous studies, we find that when the turbulence amplitude exceeds a certain threshold, an ion's orbit becomes chaotic. The ion then interacts stochastically with the time-varying electrostatic potential, and the ion's energy undergoes a random walk. Using phenomenological arguments,more » we derive an analytic expression for the rates at which different ion species are heated, which we test by simulating test particles interacting with a spectrum of randomly phased AWs and KAWs. We find that the stochastic heating rate depends sensitively on the quantity {epsilon} = {delta}v {sub {rho}/}v{sub perpendicular}, where v{sub perpendicular} (v {sub ||}) is the component of the ion velocity perpendicular (parallel) to the background magnetic field B {sub 0}, and {delta}v {sub {rho}} ({delta}B {sub {rho}}) is the rms amplitude of the velocity (magnetic-field) fluctuations at the gyroradius scale. In the case of thermal protons, when {epsilon} << {epsilon}{sub crit}, where {epsilon}{sub crit} is a constant, a proton's magnetic moment is nearly conserved and stochastic heating is extremely weak. However, when {epsilon}>{epsilon}{sub crit}, the proton heating rate exceeds half the cascade power that would be present in strong balanced KAW turbulence with the same value of {delta}v {sub {rho}}, and magnetic-moment conservation is violated even when {omega} << {Omega}. For the random-phase waves in our test-particle simulations, {epsilon}{sub crit} = 0.19. For protons in low-{beta} plasmas, {epsilon} {approx_equal} {beta}{sup -1/2{delta}}B{sub {rho}/}B {sub 0}, and {epsilon} can exceed {epsilon}{sub crit} even when {delta}B{sub {rho}/}B {sub 0} << {epsilon}{sub crit}. The heating is anisotropic, increasing v {sup 2}{sub perpendicular} much more than v {sup 2}{sub ||} when {beta} << 1. (In contrast, at {beta} {approx}> 1 Landau damping and transit-time damping of KAWs lead to strong parallel heating of protons.) At comparable temperatures, alpha particles and minor ions have larger values of {epsilon} than protons and are heated more efficiently as a result. We discuss the implications of our results for ion heating in coronal holes and the solar wind.« less

Potential for the Vishniac instability in ionizing shock waves propagating into cold gases

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Robinson, A. P. L.; Pasley, J.

2018-05-01

The Vishniac instability was posited as an instability that could affect supernova remnants in their late stage of evolution when subject to strong radiative cooling, which can drive the effective ratio of specific heats below 1.3. The potential importance of this instability to these astrophysical objects has motivated a number of laser-driven laboratory studies. However, the Vishniac instability is essentially a dynamical instability that should operate independently of whatever physical processes happen to reduce the ratio of specific heats. In this paper, we examine the possibility that ionization and molecular dissociation processes can achieve this, and we show that this is possible for a certain range of shock wave Mach numbers for ionizing/dissociating shock waves propagating into cold atomic and molecular gases.

Effect of dust on tilted electrostatic resistive instability in a Hall thruster

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tyagi, Jasvendra; Singh, Sukhmander; Malik, Hitendra K.

2018-03-01

Effect of negatively charged dust on resistive instability corresponding to the electrostatic wave is investigated in a Hall thruster plasma when this purely azimuthal wave is tilted and strong axial component of wave vector is developed. Analytical calculations are done to obtain the relevant dispersion equation, which is solved numerically to investigate the growth rate of the instability. The magnitude of the growth rate in the plasma having dust particles is found to be much smaller than the case of pure plasma. However, the instability grows faster for the increasing dust density and the higher charge on the dust particles. The higher magnetic field is also found to support the instability.

2D instabilities of surface gravity waves on a linear shear current

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Francius, Marc; Kharif, Christian

2016-04-01

Periodic 2D surface water waves propagating steadily on a rotational current have been studied by many authors (see [1] and references therein). Although the recent important theoretical developments have confirmed that periodic waves can exist over flows with arbitrary vorticity, their stability and their nonlinear evolution have not been much studied extensively so far. In fact, even in the rather simple case of uniform vorticity (linear shear), few papers have been published on the effect of a vertical shear current on the side-band instability of a uniform wave train over finite depth. In most of these studies [2-5], asymptotic expansions and multiple scales method have been used to obtain envelope evolution equations, which allow eventually to formulate a condition of (linear) instability to long modulational perturbations. It is noted here that this instability is often referred in the literature as the Benjamin-Feir or modulational instability. In the present study, we consider the linear stability of finite amplitude two-dimensional, periodic water waves propagating steadily on the free surface of a fluid with constant vorticity and finite depth. First, the steadily propagating surface waves are computed with steepness up to very close to the highest, using a Fourier series expansions and a collocation method, which constitutes a simple extension of Fenton's method [6] to the cases with a linear shear current. Then, the linear stability of these permanent waves to infinitesimal 2D perturbations is developed from the fully nonlinear equations in the framework of normal modes analysis. This linear stability analysis is an extension of [7] to the case of waves in the presence of a linear shear current and permits the determination of the dominant instability as a function of depth and vorticity for a given steepness. The numerical results are used to assess the accuracy of the vor-NLS equation derived in [5] for the characteristics of modulational instabilities due to resonant four-wave interactions, as well as to study the influence of vorticity and nonlinearity on the characteristics of linear instabilities due to resonant five-wave and six-wave interactions. Depending on the dimensionless depth, superharmonic instabilities due to five-wave interactions can become dominant with increasing positive vorticiy. Acknowledgments: This work was supported by the Direction Générale de l'Armement and funded by the ANR project n°. ANR-13-ASTR-0007. References [1] A. Constantin, Two-dimensionality of gravity water flows of constant non-zero vorticity beneath a surface wave train, Eur. J. Mech. B/Fluids, 2011, 30, 12-16. [2] R. S. Johnson, On the modulation of water waves on shear flows, Proc. Royal Soc. Lond. A., 1976, 347, 537-546. [3] M. Oikawa, K. Chow, D. J. Benney, The propagation of nonlinear wave packets in a shear flow with a free surface, Stud. Appl. Math., 1987, 76, 69-92. [4] A. I Baumstein, Modulation of gravity waves with shear in water, Stud. Appl. Math., 1998, 100, 365-90. [5] R. Thomas, C. Kharif, M. Manna, A nonlinear Schrödinger equation for water waves on finite depth with constant vorticity, Phys. Fluids, 2012, 24, 127102. [6] M. M Rienecker, J. D Fenton, A Fourier approximation method for steady water waves , J. Fluid Mech., 1981, 104, 119-137 [7] M. Francius, C. Kharif, Three-dimensional instabilities of periodic gravity waves in shallow water, J. Fluid Mech., 2006, 561, 417-437

Multiple Ions Resonant Heating and Acceleration by Alfven/cyclotron Fluctuations in the Solar Wind

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xie, H.; Ofman, L.

2003-12-01

We study the interaction between protons, and multiple minor ions (O5+, He++) and a given cyclotron resonant spectra in coronal hole plasma. One-dimensional hybrid simulations are performed in initially homogeneous, collisionless, magnetized plasma with waves propagating parallel to the background magnetic field. The self-consistent hybrid simulations are used to study how multiple minor species may affect the resonance interaction between a spectrum of waves and the solar wind protons. The results of the simulations provide a clear picture of wave-particle interaction under various coronal conditions, which can explain 1) how multiple minor ions affect the resonant heating and the temperature anisotropy of the solar wind protons by a given wave spectrum; 2) how energy is distributed and transferred among waves and different ion species; 3) the growth and damping of different beam microinstability modes, including both inward and outward waves; 4) the formation of proton double-peak distribution in the solar wind.

Secondary instability of high-speed flows and the influence of wall cooling and suction

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

El-Hady, Nabil M.

1992-01-01

The periodic streamwise modulation of the supersonic and hypersonic boundary layers by a two dimensional first mode or second mode wave makes the resulting base flow susceptible to a broadband spanwise-periodic three dimensional type of instability. The principal parametric resonance of this instability (subharmonic) was analyzed using Floquet theory. The effect of Mach number and the effectiveness of wall cooling or wall suction in controlling the onset, the growth rate, and the vortical nature of the subharmonic secondary instability are assessed for both a first mode and a second mode primary wave. Results indicate that the secondary subharmonic instability of the insulated wall boundary layer is weakened as Mach number increases. Cooling of the wall destabilizes the secondary subharmonic of a second mode primary wave, but stabilizes it when the primary wave is a first mode. Suction stabilizes the secondary subharmonic at all Mach numbers.

The Kelvin-Helmhotz instability and thin current sheets in the MHD and Hall MHD formalisms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chacon, L.; Knoll, D.

2005-12-01

Sheared magnetic fields and sheared flows co-exist in many space, astrophysical, and laboratory plasmas. In such situations the evolution of the Kelvin-Helmhotz instability (KHI) can have a significant impact on the topology of the magnetic field. In particular, it can result in current sheet thinning [2,3], which may allow Hall scales to become relevant and result in fast reconnection rates [1]. There are a number of interesting applications of this phenomena in the magnetosphere. We will discuss some of our recent work in this area [1,2,3] with special focus on Hall MHD effects on the KHI [1]. As an example, we will discuss the parameter regime in which the 2-D parallel KHI can evolve for sub-Alfvenic flows [1]. This may have important implication for dayside reconnection in the magnetopause. [1] Chacon, Knoll, and Finn, Phys. Lett. A, vol. 308, 2003 [2] Knoll and Chacon, PRL, vol. 88, 2002 [3] Brackbill and Knoll, PRL, vol. 86, 2001

Comparison and prediction of chirping in NSTX and DIII-D

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Duarte, Vinicius; Berk, Herbert; Gorelenkov, Nikolai; Heidbrink, William; Kramer, Gerrit; Nazikian, Raffi; Pace, David; Podesta, Mario; van Zeeland, Michael

2016-10-01

We present an explanation of why frequency chirping of Alfven waves is ubiquitous in NSTX and rarely observed in DIII-D. A time-delayed cubic nonlinear equation is employed for the study of the onset of nonlinear phase-space structures. Its explosive solutions are chirping precursors. We employ NOVA and NOVA-K codes to provide consistent Alfvenic eigenmodes and weighted physical contributions from all regions of phase space. In addition, TRANSP is employed to determine the diffusivity needed to fulfill power balance. Though background micro-turbulence is usually unimportant in determining the energetic particle spatial profile, it may still be important with regard to whether chirping structures likely form. We show that the energetic particle micro-turbulent induced scattering often competes with collisional pitch-angle scattering. This competition explains the tendency for NSTX, where micro-turbulence is weak, to exhibit Alfvénic chirping, whereas in DIII-D turbulent diffusion usually dominates and chirping is not observed except when micro-turbulence markedly reduces.

THE EFFECTS OF LINE-OF-SIGHT INTEGRATION ON MULTISTRAND CORONAL LOOP OSCILLATIONS

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

De Moortel, I.; Pascoe, D. J., E-mail: ineke@mcs.st-and.ac.uk

2012-02-10

Observations have shown that transverse oscillations are present in a multitude of coronal structures. It is generally assumed that these oscillations are driven by (sub)surface footpoint motions. Using fully three-dimensional MHD simulations, we show that these footpoint perturbations generate propagating kink (Alfvenic) modes which couple very efficiently into (azimuthal) Alfven waves. Using an ensemble of randomly distributed loops, driven by footpoint motions with random periods and directions, we compare the absolute energy in the numerical domain with the energy that is 'visible' when integrating along the line of sight (LOS). We show that the kinetic energy derived from the LOSmore » Doppler velocities is only a small fraction of the actual energy provided by the footpoint motions. Additionally, the superposition of loop structures along the LOS makes it nearly impossible to identify which structure the observed oscillations are actually associated with and could impact the identification of the mode of oscillation.« less

CLASP2: The Chromospheric LAyer Spectro-Polarimeter

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mckenzie, D. E.; Ishikawa, R.; Bueno, J. Trujillo; Auchere, F.; Rachmeler, L.; Kubo, M.; Kobayashi, K.; Winebarger, A.; Bethge, C.; Narukage, N.;

Currents between tethered electrodes in a magnetized laboratory plasma

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stenzel, R. L.; Urrutia, J. M.

1989-01-01

Laboratory experiments on important plasma physics issues of electrodynamic tethers were performed. These included current propagation, formation of wave wings, limits of current collection, nonlinear effects and instabilities, charging phenomena, and characteristics of transmission lines in plasmas. The experiments were conducted in a large afterglow plasma. The current system was established with a small electron-emitting hot cathode tethered to an electron-collecting anode, both movable across the magnetic field and energized by potential difference up to V approx.=100 T(sub e). The total current density in space and time was obtained from complete measurements of the perturbed magnetic field. The fast spacecraft motion was reproduced in the laboratory by moving the tethered electrodes in small increments, applying delayed current pulses, and reconstructing the net field by a linear superposition of locally emitted wavelets. With this technique, the small-amplitude dc current pattern is shown to form whistler wings at each electrode instead of the generally accepted Alfven wings. For the beam electrode, the whistler wing separates from the field-aligned beam which carries no net current. Large amplitude return currents to a stationary anode generate current-driven microinstabilities, parallel electric fields, ion depletions, current disruptions and time-varying electrode charging. At appropriately high potentials and neutral densities, excess neutrals are ionized near the anode. The anode sheath emits high-frequency electron transit-time oscillations at the sheath-plasma resonance. The beam generates Langmuir turbulence, ion sound turbulence, electron heating, space charge fields, and Hall currents. An insulated, perfectly conducting transmission line embedded in the plasma becomes lossy due to excitation of whistler waves and magnetic field diffusion effects. The implications of the laboratory observations on electrodynamic tethers in space are discussed.

CLASP2: The Chromospheric LAyer Spectro-Polarimeter

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

McKenzie, D. E.; Ishikawa, R.; Bueno, J. Trujillo; Auchere, F.; Rachmeler, L; Kudo, M.; Kobayashi, K.; Winebarger, A.; Bethge, C.; Narukage, N.;

Evans functions and bifurcations of nonlinear waves of some nonlinear reaction diffusion equations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Linghai

2017-10-01

The main purposes of this paper are to accomplish the existence, stability, instability and bifurcation of the nonlinear waves of the nonlinear system of reaction diffusion equations ut =uxx + α [ βH (u - θ) - u ] - w, wt = ε (u - γw) and to establish the existence, stability, instability and bifurcation of the nonlinear waves of the nonlinear scalar reaction diffusion equation ut =uxx + α [ βH (u - θ) - u ], under different conditions on the model constants. To establish the bifurcation for the system, we will study the existence and instability of a standing pulse solution if 0 < 2 (1 + αγ) θ < αβγ; the existence and stability of two standing wave fronts if 2 (1 + αγ) θ = αβγ and γ2 ε > 1; the existence and instability of two standing wave fronts if 2 (1 + αγ) θ = αβγ and 0 <γ2 ε < 1; the existence and instability of an upside down standing pulse solution if 0 < (1 + αγ) θ < αβγ < 2 (1 + αγ) θ. To establish the bifurcation for the scalar equation, we will study the existence and stability of a traveling wave front as well as the existence and instability of a standing pulse solution if 0 < 2 θ < β; the existence and stability of two standing wave fronts if 2 θ = β; the existence and stability of a traveling wave front as well as the existence and instability of an upside down standing pulse solution if 0 < θ < β < 2 θ. By the way, we will also study the existence and stability of a traveling wave back of the nonlinear scalar reaction diffusion equation ut =uxx + α [ βH (u - θ) - u ] -w0, where w0 = α (β - 2 θ) > 0 is a positive constant, if 0 < 2 θ < β. To achieve the main goals, we will make complete use of the special structures of the model equations and we will construct Evans functions and apply them to study the eigenvalues and eigenfunctions of several eigenvalue problems associated with several linear differential operators. It turns out that a complex number λ0 is an eigenvalue of the linear differential operator, if and only if λ0 is a zero of the Evans function. The stability, instability and bifurcations of the nonlinear waves follow from the zeros of the Evans functions. A very important motivation to study the existence, stability, instability and bifurcations of the nonlinear waves is to study the existence and stability/instability of infinitely many fast/slow multiple traveling pulse solutions of the nonlinear system of reaction diffusion equations. The existence and stability of infinitely many fast multiple traveling pulse solutions are of great interests in mathematical neuroscience.

Effect of wave localization on plasma instabilities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Levedahl, William Kirk

1987-10-01

The Anderson model of wave localization in random media is involved to study the effect of solar wind density turbulence on plasma processes associated with the solar type III radio burst. ISEE-3 satellite data indicate that a possible model for the type III process is the parametric decay of Langmuir waves excited by solar flare electron streams into daughter electromagnetic and ion acoustic waves. The threshold for this instability, however, is much higher than observed Langmuir wave levels because of rapid wave convection of the transverse electromagnetic daughter wave in the case where the solar wind is assumed homogeneous. Langmuir and transverse waves near critical density satisfy the Ioffe-Reigel criteria for wave localization in the solar wind with observed density fluctuations -1 percent. Numerical simulations of wave propagation in random media confirm the localization length predictions of Escande and Souillard for stationary density fluctations. For mobile density fluctuations localized wave packets spread at the propagation velocity of the density fluctuations rather than the group velocity of the waves. Computer simulations using a linearized hybrid code show that an electron beam will excite localized Langmuir waves in a plasma with density turbulence. An action principle approach is used to develop a theory of non-linear wave processes when waves are localized. A theory of resonant particles diffusion by localized waves is developed to explain the saturation of the beam-plasma instability. It is argued that localization of electromagnetic waves will allow the instability threshold to be exceeded for the parametric decay discussed above.

Stability of nonlinear waves and patterns and related topics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ghazaryan, Anna; Lafortune, Stephane; Manukian, Vahagn

2018-04-01

Periodic and localized travelling waves such as wave trains, pulses, fronts and patterns of more complex structure often occur in natural and experimentally built systems. In mathematics, these objects are realized as solutions of nonlinear partial differential equations. The existence, dynamic properties and bifurcations of those solutions are of interest. In particular, their stability is important for applications, as the waves that are observable are usually stable. When the waves are unstable, further investigation is warranted of the way the instability is exhibited, i.e. the nature of the instability, and also coherent structures that appear as a result of an instability of travelling waves. A variety of analytical, numerical and hybrid techniques are used to study travelling waves and their properties. This article is part of the theme issue `Stability of nonlinear waves and patterns and related topics'.

Ionospheric modifications in high frequency heating experiments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kuo, Spencer P.

2015-01-01

Featured observations in high-frequency (HF) heating experiments conducted at Arecibo, EISCAT, and high frequency active auroral research program are discussed. These phenomena appearing in the F region of the ionosphere include high-frequency heater enhanced plasma lines, airglow enhancement, energetic electron flux, artificial ionization layers, artificial spread-F, ionization enhancement, artificial cusp, wideband absorption, short-scale (meters) density irregularities, and stimulated electromagnetic emissions, which were observed when the O-mode HF heater waves with frequencies below foF2 were applied. The implication and associated physical mechanism of each observation are discussed and explained. It is shown that these phenomena caused by the HF heating are all ascribed directly or indirectly to the excitation of parametric instabilities which instigate anomalous heating. Formulation and analysis of parametric instabilities are presented. The results show that oscillating two stream instability and parametric decay instability can be excited by the O-mode HF heater waves, transmitted from all three heating facilities, in the regions near the HF reflection height and near the upper hybrid resonance layer. The excited Langmuir waves, upper hybrid waves, ion acoustic waves, lower hybrid waves, and field-aligned density irregularities set off subsequent wave-wave and wave-electron interactions, giving rise to the observed phenomena.

Direct Numerical Simulations of Small-Scale Gravity Wave Instability Dynamics in Variable Stratification and Shear

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mixa, T.; Fritts, D. C.; Laughman, B.; Wang, L.; Kantha, L. H.

2015-12-01

Multiple observations provide compelling evidence that gravity wave dissipation events often occur in multi-scale environments having highly-structured wind and stability profiles extending from the stable boundary layer into the mesosphere and lower thermosphere. Such events tend to be highly localized and thus yield local energy and momentum deposition and efficient secondary gravity wave generation expected to have strong influences at higher altitudes [e.g., Fritts et al., 2013; Baumgarten and Fritts, 2014]. Lidars, radars, and airglow imagers typically cannot achieve the spatial resolution needed to fully quantify these small-scale instability dynamics. Hence, we employ high-resolution modeling to explore these dynamics in representative environments. Specifically, we describe numerical studies of gravity wave packets impinging on a sheet of high stratification and shear and the resulting instabilities and impacts on the gravity wave amplitude and momentum flux for various flow and gravity wave parameters. References: Baumgarten, Gerd, and David C. Fritts (2014). Quantifying Kelvin-Helmholtz instability dynamics observed in noctilucent clouds: 1. Methods and observations. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 119.15, 9324-9337. Fritts, D. C., Wang, L., & Werne, J. A. (2013). Gravity wave-fine structure interactions. Part I: Influences of fine structure form and orientation on flow evolution and instability. Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences, 70(12), 3710-3734.

Towards a better understanding of high-energy electron pitch-angle scattering by electromagnetic ion cyclotron waves

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vincena, S.; Gekelman, W.; Pribyl, P.; Tang, S., W.,; Papadopoulos, K.

2017-10-01

Shear Alfven waves are a fundamental mode in magnetized plasmas. Propagating near the ion cyclotron frequency, these waves are often termed electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) waves and can involve multiple ion species. Near the earth, for example, the wave may interact resonantly with oxygen ions at altitudes ranging from 1000 to 2000 km. The waves may either propagate from space towards the earth (possibly involving mode conversion), or be generated by RF transmitters on the ground. These preliminary experiments are motivated by theoretical predictions that such waves can pitch-angle scatter relativistic electrons trapped in the earth's dipole field. EMIC waves are launched in the Large Plasma Device at UCLA's Basic Plasma Science Facility in plasmas with single and multiple ion species into magnetic field gradients where ion cyclotron resonance is satisfied. We report here on the frequency and k-spectra in the critical layer and how they compare with theoretical predictions in computing an effective diffusion coefficient for high-energy electrons. Funding is provided by the NSF, DoE, and AFSOR.

Alfven Simple Waves

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Webb, G. M.; Zank, G. P.; Burrows, R.

2009-12-01

Multi-dimensional Alfvén simple waves in magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) are investigated using Boillat's formalism. For simple wave solutions, all physical variables (the gas density, pressure, fluid velocity, entropy, and magnetic field induction in the MHD case) depend on a single phase function ǎrphi which is a function of the space and time variables. The simple wave ansatz requires that the wave normal and the normal speed of the wave front depend only on the phase function ǎrphi. This leads to an implicit equation for the phase function, and a generalisation of the concept of a plane wave. We obtain examples of Alfvén simple waves, based on the right eigenvector solutions for the Alfvén mode. The Alfvén mode solutions have six integrals, namely that the entropy, density, magnetic pressure and the group velocity (the sum of the Alfvén and fluid velocity) are constant throughout the wave. The eigen-equations require that the rate of change of the magnetic induction B with ǎrphi throughout the wave is perpendicular to both the wave normal n and B. Methods to construct simple wave solutions based on specifying either a solution ansatz for n(ǎrphi) or B(ǎrphi) are developed.

Ubiquity of Kelvin–Helmholtz waves at Earth's magnetopause

PubMed Central

Kavosi, Shiva; Raeder, Joachim

2015-01-01

Magnetic reconnection is believed to be the dominant process by which solar wind plasma enters the magnetosphere. However, for periods of northward interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) reconnection is less likely at the dayside magnetopause, and Kelvin–Helmholtz waves (KHWs) may be important agents for plasma entry and for the excitation of ultra-low-frequency (ULF) waves. The relative importance of KHWs is controversial because no statistical data on their occurrence frequency exist. Here we survey 7 years of in situ data from the NASA THEMIS (Time History of Events and Macro scale Interactions during Substorms) mission and find that KHWs occur at the magnetopause ∼19% of the time. The rate increases with solar wind speed, Alfven Mach number and number density, but is mostly independent of IMF magnitude. KHWs may thus be more important for plasma transport across the magnetopause than previously thought, and frequently drive magnetospheric ULF waves. PMID:25960122

The Atmospheric Dynamics of Alpha Tau (K5 III) - Clues to Understanding the Magnetic Dynamo in Late-Type Giant Stars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Carpenter, Kenneth G.; Airapetian, Vladimir

2008-01-01

Using HST/GHRS, HST/STIS and FUSE archival data for a Tau and the CHIANTI spectroscopic code, we have derived line shifts, volumetric emission measures, and plasma density estimates, and calculated filling factors for a number of UV lines forming between 10,000 K and 300,000 K in the outer atmosphere of this red giant star. The data suggest the presence of low-temperature extended regions and high-temperature compact regions, associated with magnetically open and closed structures in the stellar atmosphere, respectively. The signatures of UV lines from a Tau can be consistently understood via a model of upward-traveling Alfv6n waves in a gravitationally stratified atmosphere. These waves cause nonthermal broadening in UV lines due to unresolved wave motions and downward plasma motions in compact magnetic loops heated by resonant Alfven wave heating.

Instability of subharmonic resonances in magnetogravity shear waves.

PubMed

Salhi, A; Nasraoui, S

2013-12-01

We study analytically the instability of the subharmonic resonances in magnetogravity waves excited by a (vertical) time-periodic shear for an inviscid and nondiffusive unbounded conducting fluid. Due to the fact that the magnetic potential induction is a Lagrangian invariant for magnetohydrodynamic Euler-Boussinesq equations, we show that plane-wave disturbances are governed by a four-dimensional Floquet system in which appears, among others, the parameter ɛ representing the ratio of the periodic shear amplitude to the vertical Brunt-Väisälä frequency N(3). For sufficiently small ɛ and when the magnetic field is horizontal, we perform an asymptotic analysis of the Floquet system following the method of Lebovitz and Zweibel [Astrophys. J. 609, 301 (2004)]. We determine the width and the maximal growth rate of the instability bands associated with subharmonic resonances. We show that the instability of subharmonic resonance occurring in gravity shear waves has a maximal growth rate of the form Δ(m)=(3√[3]/16)ɛ. This instability persists in the presence of magnetic fields, but its growth rate decreases as the magnetic strength increases. We also find a second instability involving a mixing of hydrodynamic and magnetic modes that occurs for all magnetic field strengths. We also elucidate the similarity between the effect of a vertical magnetic field and the effect of a vertical Coriolis force on the gravity shear waves considering axisymmetric disturbances. For both cases, plane waves are governed by a Hill equation, and, when ɛ is sufficiently small, the subharmonic instability band is determined by a Mathieu equation. We find that, when the Coriolis parameter (or the magnetic strength) exceeds N(3)/2, the instability of the subharmonic resonance vanishes.

Convective instability and boundary driven oscillations in a reaction-diffusion-advection model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vidal-Henriquez, Estefania; Zykov, Vladimir; Bodenschatz, Eberhard; Gholami, Azam

2017-10-01

In a reaction-diffusion-advection system, with a convectively unstable regime, a perturbation creates a wave train that is advected downstream and eventually leaves the system. We show that the convective instability coexists with a local absolute instability when a fixed boundary condition upstream is imposed. This boundary induced instability acts as a continuous wave source, creating a local periodic excitation near the boundary, which initiates waves travelling both up and downstream. To confirm this, we performed analytical analysis and numerical simulations of a modified Martiel-Goldbeter reaction-diffusion model with the addition of an advection term. We provide a quantitative description of the wave packet appearing in the convectively unstable regime, which we found to be in excellent agreement with the numerical simulations. We characterize this new instability and show that in the limit of high advection speed, it is suppressed. This type of instability can be expected for reaction-diffusion systems that present both a convective instability and an excitable regime. In particular, it can be relevant to understand the signaling mechanism of the social amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum that may experience fluid flows in its natural habitat.

Wave kinetics of drift-wave turbulence and zonal flows beyond the ray approximation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, Hongxuan; Zhou, Yao; Ruiz, D. E.; Dodin, I. Y.

2018-05-01

Inhomogeneous drift-wave turbulence can be modeled as an effective plasma where drift waves act as quantumlike particles and the zonal-flow velocity serves as a collective field through which they interact. This effective plasma can be described by a Wigner-Moyal equation (WME), which generalizes the quasilinear wave-kinetic equation (WKE) to the full-wave regime, i.e., resolves the wavelength scale. Unlike waves governed by manifestly quantumlike equations, whose WMEs can be borrowed from quantum mechanics and are commonly known, drift waves have Hamiltonians very different from those of conventional quantum particles. This causes unusual phase-space dynamics that is typically not captured by the WKE. We demonstrate how to correctly model this dynamics with the WME instead. Specifically, we report full-wave phase-space simulations of the zonal-flow formation (zonostrophic instability), deterioration (tertiary instability), and the so-called predator-prey oscillations. We also show how the WME facilitates analysis of these phenomena, namely, (i) we show that full-wave effects critically affect the zonostrophic instability, particularly its nonlinear stage and saturation; (ii) we derive the tertiary-instability growth rate; and (iii) we demonstrate that, with full-wave effects retained, the predator-prey oscillations do not require zonal-flow collisional damping, contrary to previous studies. We also show how the famous Rayleigh-Kuo criterion, which has been missing in wave-kinetic theories of drift-wave turbulence, emerges from the WME.

Small amplitude waves and linear firehose and mirror instabilities in rotating polytropic quantum plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bhakta, S.; Prajapati, R. P.; Dolai, B.

2017-08-01

The small amplitude quantum magnetohydrodynamic (QMHD) waves and linear firehose and mirror instabilities in uniformly rotating dense quantum plasma have been investigated using generalized polytropic pressure laws. The QMHD model and Chew-Goldberger-Low (CGL) set of equations are used to formulate the basic equations of the problem. The general dispersion relation is derived using normal mode analysis which is discussed in parallel, transverse, and oblique wave propagations. The fast, slow, and intermediate QMHD wave modes and linear firehose and mirror instabilities are analyzed for isotropic MHD and CGL quantum fluid plasmas. The firehose instability remains unaffected while the mirror instability is modified by polytropic exponents and quantum diffraction parameter. The graphical illustrations show that quantum corrections have a stabilizing influence on the mirror instability. The presence of uniform rotation stabilizes while quantum corrections destabilize the growth rate of the system. It is also observed that the growth rate stabilizes much faster in parallel wave propagation in comparison to the transverse mode of propagation. The quantum corrections and polytropic exponents also modify the pseudo-MHD and reverse-MHD modes in dense quantum plasma. The phase speed (Friedrichs) diagrams of slow, fast, and intermediate wave modes are illustrated for isotropic MHD and double adiabatic MHD or CGL quantum plasmas, where the significant role of magnetic field and quantum diffraction parameters on the phase speed is observed.

Secondary instabilities of hypersonic stationary crossflow waves

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Edelman, Joshua B.

A sharp, circular 7° half-angle cone was tested in the Boeing/AFOSR Mach-6 Quiet Tunnel at 6° angle of attack. Using a variety of roughness configurations, measurements were made using temperature-sensitive paint (TSP) and fast pressure sensors. High-frequency secondary instabilities of the stationary crossflow waves were detected near the aft end of the cone, from 110° to 163° from the windward ray. At least two frequency bands of the secondary instabilities were measured. The secondary instabilities have high coherence between upstream and downstream sensor pairs. In addition, the amplitudes of the instabilities increase with the addition of roughness elements near the nose of the cone. Two of the measured instabilities were captured over a range of axial Reynolds numbers of about 1 - 2 million, with amplitudes ranging from low to turbulent breakdown. For these instabilities, the wave speed and amplitude growth can be calculated. The wave speeds were all near the edge velocity. Measured growth before breakdown for the two instabilities are between e3 and e4 from background noise levels. The initial linear growth rates for the instabilities are near 50 /m. Simultaneous measurement of two frequency bands of the secondary instabilities was made during a single run. It was found that each mode was spatially confined within a small azimuthal region, and that the regions of peak amplitude for one mode correspond to regions of minimal amplitude for the other.

Super-Alfvenic Propagation and Damping of Reconnection Onset Signatures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sharma, P.; Shay, M. A.; Haggerty, C. C.; Parashar, T.; Drake, J. F.; Gary, S. P.

2016-12-01

The onset of magnetic reconnection in the magnetotail has far reaching consequences for the dynamics of the magnetosphere. However, our understanding of the dynamics of onset as well as when and where it occurs in the magnetosphere is incomplete. One of the fastest propagating signatures of reconnection onset is the quadrupolar Hall magnetic field that has been shown to be a Kinetic Alfven Wave (KAW) . These KAW propagate extremely fast away from the reconnection site, carry substantial amounts of energy in the form of Poynting flux and electron flows, and may be responsible for electron acceleration and the generation of aurora[1]. However, to date there has not been a study of how reconnection generated KAWs will damp and disperse as they propagate. Using large scale kinetic particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations of reconnection we investigate the damping of the KAWs as they propagate away from the x-line. We show that the hall quadrupolar structure dissipates according to linear Landau damping determined from a numerical solution of the linear Vlasov equation. Extending results to magnetotail parameters, we find that only the part of the wave with k c/wpi 1 will damp weakly enough to propagate from the mid-tail to the inner magnetosphere. [1] M. A. Shay et al., PRL, 107, 065001, 2011, DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.107.065001

New Method for Solving Inductive Electric Fields in the Ionosphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vanhamäki, H.

2005-12-01

We present a new method for calculating inductive electric fields in the ionosphere. It is well established that on large scales the ionospheric electric field is a potential field. This is understandable, since the temporal variations of large scale current systems are generally quite slow, in the timescales of several minutes, so inductive effects should be small. However, studies of Alfven wave reflection have indicated that in some situations inductive phenomena could well play a significant role in the reflection process, and thus modify the nature of ionosphere-magnetosphere coupling. The input to our calculation method are the time series of the potential part of the ionospheric electric field together with the Hall and Pedersen conductances. The output is the time series of the induced rotational part of the ionospheric electric field. The calculation method works in the time-domain and can be used with non-uniform, time-dependent conductances. In addition no particular symmetry requirements are imposed on the input potential electric field. The presented method makes use of special non-local vector basis functions called Cartesian Elementary Current Systems (CECS). This vector basis offers a convenient way of representing curl-free and divergence-free parts of 2-dimensional vector fields and makes it possible to solve the induction problem using simple linear algebra. The new calculation method is validated by comparing it with previously published results for Alfven wave reflection from uniformly conducting ionosphere.

Instability of Taylor-Sedov blast waves propagating through a uniform gas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grun, J.; Stamper, J.; Manka, C.; Resnick, J.; Burris, R.; Crawford, J.; Ripin, B. H.

1991-05-01

An instability in Taylor-Sedov blast waves was measured as the waves propagated through a uniform gas with a low adiabatic index. The first measurements of the instability are given and compared to theoretical predictions. The classical Taylor-Sedov blast waves resulted from the expansion of ablation plasma into an ambient gas from laser-irradiated foils, and photographs were taken using the dark-field imaging method. Visible emission from the blasts were recorded with a four-frame microchannel-plate intensifier camera. Blast waves formed in nitrogen gas are shown to be stable and smooth, whereas the waves propagating through xenon gas are found to be unstable and wrinkled. A power law is fitted to the experimental data, and the adiabatic indices are theorized to cause the different responses in the two gases. The results generally agree with theoretical predictions in spite of some minor discrepancies, and an explanation of the instability mechanism is developed. When the adiabatic index is sufficiently low, the Taylor-Sedov blast waves in a uniform gas will be unstable, and the perturbed amplitudes will grow as a power of time.

Nonlinear modeling of wave-topography interactions, shear instabilities and shear induced wave breaking using vortex method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guha, Anirban

2017-11-01

Theoretical studies on linear shear instabilities as well as different kinds of wave interactions often use simple velocity and/or density profiles (e.g. constant, piecewise) for obtaining good qualitative and quantitative predictions of the initial disturbances. Moreover, such simple profiles provide a minimal model to obtain a mechanistic understanding of shear instabilities. Here we have extended this minimal paradigm into nonlinear domain using vortex method. Making use of unsteady Bernoulli's equation in presence of linear shear, and extending Birkhoff-Rott equation to multiple interfaces, we have numerically simulated the interaction between multiple fully nonlinear waves. This methodology is quite general, and has allowed us to simulate diverse problems that can be essentially reduced to the minimal system with interacting waves, e.g. spilling and plunging breakers, stratified shear instabilities (Holmboe, Taylor-Caulfield, stratified Rayleigh), jet flows, and even wave-topography interaction problem like Bragg resonance. We found that the minimal models capture key nonlinear features (e.g. wave breaking features like cusp formation and roll-ups) which are observed in experiments and/or extensive simulations with smooth, realistic profiles.

Marangoni instability in a thin film heated from below: Effect of nonmonotonic dependence of surface tension on temperature

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sarma, Rajkumar; Mondal, Pranab Kumar

2018-04-01

We investigate Marangoni instability in a thin liquid film resting on a substrate of low thermal conductivity and separated from the surrounding gas phase by a deformable free surface. Considering a nonmonotonic variation of surface tension with temperature, here we analytically derive the neutral stability curve for the monotonic and oscillatory modes of instability (for both the long-wave and short-wave perturbations) under the framework of linear stability analysis. For the long-wave instability, we derive a set of amplitude equations using the scaling k ˜(Bi) 1 /2 , where k is the wave number and Bi is the Biot number. Through this investigation, we demonstrate that for such a fluid layer upon heating from below, both monotonic and oscillatory instability can appear for a certain range of the dimensionless parameters, viz., Biot number (Bi ) , Galileo number (Ga ) , and inverse capillary number (Σ ) . Moreover, we unveil, through this study, the influential role of the above-mentioned parameters on the stability of the system and identify the critical values of these parameters above which instability initiates in the liquid layer.

Inhibition of electron thermal conduction by electromagnetic instabilities. [in stellar coronas

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Levinson, Amir; Eichler, David

1992-01-01

Heat flux inhibition by electromagnetic instabilities in a hot magnetized plasma is investigated. Low-frequency electromagnetic waves become unstable due to anisotropy of the electron distribution function. The chaotic magnetic field thus generated scatters the electrons with a specific effective mean free path. Saturation of the instability due to wave-wave interaction, nonlinear scattering, wave propagation, and collisional damping is considered. The effective mean free path is found self-consistently, using a simple model to estimate saturation level and scattering, and is shown to decrease with the temperature gradient length. The results, limited to the assumptions of the model, are applied to astrophysical systems. For some interstellar clouds the instability is found to be important. Collisional damping stabilizes the plasma, and the heat conduction can be dominated by superthermal electrons.

Evolution of auroral acceleration region field-aligned current systems, plasma, and potentials observed by Cluster during substorms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hull, A. J.; Chaston, C. C.; Fillingim, M. O.; Frey, H. U.; Goldstein, M. L.; Bonnell, J. W.; Mozer, F.

2015-12-01

The auroral acceleration region is an integral link in the chain of events that transpire during substorms, and the currents, plasma and electric fields undergo significant changes driven by complex dynamical processes deep in the magnetotail. The acceleration processes that occur therein accelerate and heat the plasma that ultimately leads to some of the most intense global substorm auroral displays. Though this region has garnered considerable attention, the temporal evolution of field-aligned current systems, associated acceleration processes, and resultant changes in the plasma constituents that occur during key stages of substorm development remain unclear. In this study we present a survey of Cluster traversals within and just above the auroral acceleration region (≤3 Re altitude) during substorms. Particular emphasis is on the spatial morphology and developmental sequence of auroral acceleration current systems, potentials and plasma constituents, with the aim of identifying controlling factors, and assessing auroral emmission consequences. Exploiting multi-point measurements from Cluster in combination with auroral imaging, we reveal the injection powered, Alfvenic nature of both the substorm onset and expansion of auroral particle acceleration. We show evidence that indicates substorm onsets are characterized by the gross-intensification and filamentation/striation of pre-existing large-scale current systems to smaller/dispersive scale Alfven waves. Such an evolutionary sequence has been suggested in theoretical models or single spacecraft data, but has not been demonstrated or characterized in multispacecraft observations until now. It is also shown how the Alfvenic variations over time may dissipate to form large-scale inverted-V structures characteristic of the quasi-static aurora. These findings suggest that, in addition to playing active roles in driving substorm aurora, inverted-V and Alfvenic acceleration processes are causally linked. Key elements of substorm current spatial structure and temporal development, relationship to electric fields/potentials, plasma moment and distribution features, causal linkages to auroral emission features, and other properties will be discussed.

Simulation studies of plasma waves in the electron foreshock - The transition from reactive to kinetic instability

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dum, C. T.

1990-01-01

Particle simulation experiments were used to analyze the electron beam-plasma instability. It is shown that there is a transition from the reactive state of the electron beam-plasma instability to the kinetic instability of Langmuir waves. Quantitative tests, which include an evaluation of the dispersion relation for the evolving non-Maxwellian beam distribution, show that a quasi-linear theory describes the onset of this transition and applies again fully to the kinetic stage. This stage is practically identical to the late stage seen in simulations of plasma waves in the electron foreshock described by Dum (1990).

Rotating magnetic shallow water waves and instabilities in a sphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Márquez-Artavia, X.; Jones, C. A.; Tobias, S. M.

2017-07-01

Waves in a thin layer on a rotating sphere are studied. The effect of a toroidal magnetic field is considered, using the shallow water ideal MHD equations. The work is motivated by suggestions that there is a stably stratified layer below the Earth's core mantle boundary, and the existence of stable layers in stellar tachoclines. With an azimuthal background field known as the Malkus field, ?, ? being the co-latitude, a non-diffusive instability is found with azimuthal wavenumber ?. A necessary condition for instability is that the Alfvén speed exceeds ? where ? is the rotation rate and ? the sphere radius. Magneto-inertial gravity waves propagating westward and eastward occur, and become equatorially trapped when the field is strong. Magneto-Kelvin waves propagate eastward at low field strength, but a new westward propagating Kelvin wave is found when the field is strong. Fast magnetic Rossby waves travel westward, whilst the slow magnetic Rossby waves generally travel eastward, except for some ? modes at large field strength. An exceptional very slow westward ? magnetic Rossby wave mode occurs at all field strengths. The current-driven instability occurs for ? when the slow and fast magnetic Rossby waves interact. With strong field the magnetic Rossby waves become trapped at the pole. An asymptotic analysis giving the wave speed and wave form in terms of elementary functions is possible both in polar trapped and equatorially trapped cases.

The modulational instability for the TDNLS equations for weakly nonlinear dispersive MHD waves

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Webb, G. M.; Brio, M.; Zank, G. P.

1995-01-01

In this paper we study the modulational instability for the TDNLS equations derived by Hada (1993) and Brio, Hunter, and Johnson to describe the propagation of weakly nonlinear dispersive MHD waves in beta approximately 1 plasmas. We employ Whitham's averaged Lagrangian method to study the modulational instability. This complements studies of the modulational instability by Hada (1993) and Hollweg (1994), who did not use the averaged Lagrangian approach.

Real-time measurements of spontaneous breathers and rogue wave events in optical fibre modulation instability

PubMed Central

Närhi, Mikko; Wetzel, Benjamin; Billet, Cyril; Toenger, Shanti; Sylvestre, Thibaut; Merolla, Jean-Marc; Morandotti, Roberto; Dias, Frederic; Genty, Goëry; Dudley, John M.

2016-01-01

Modulation instability is a fundamental process of nonlinear science, leading to the unstable breakup of a constant amplitude solution of a physical system. There has been particular interest in studying modulation instability in the cubic nonlinear Schrödinger equation, a generic model for a host of nonlinear systems including superfluids, fibre optics, plasmas and Bose–Einstein condensates. Modulation instability is also a significant area of study in the context of understanding the emergence of high amplitude events that satisfy rogue wave statistical criteria. Here, exploiting advances in ultrafast optical metrology, we perform real-time measurements in an optical fibre system of the unstable breakup of a continuous wave field, simultaneously characterizing emergent modulation instability breather pulses and their associated statistics. Our results allow quantitative comparison between experiment, modelling and theory, and are expected to open new perspectives on studies of instability dynamics in physics. PMID:27991513

MHD instabilities in astrophysical plasmas: very different from MHD instabilities in tokamaks!

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goedbloed, J. P.

2018-01-01

The extensive studies of MHD instabilities in thermonuclear magnetic confinement experiments, in particular of the tokamak as the most promising candidate for a future energy producing machine, have led to an ‘intuitive’ description based on the energy principle that is very misleading for most astrophysical plasmas. The ‘intuitive’ picture almost directly singles out the dominant stabilizing field line bending energy of the Alfvén waves and, consequently, concentrates on expansion schemes that minimize that contribution. This happens when the wave vector {{k}}0 of the perturbations, on average, is perpendicular to the magnetic field {B}. Hence, all macroscopic instabilities of tokamaks (kinks, interchanges, ballooning modes, ELMs, neoclassical tearing modes, etc) are characterized by satisfying the condition {{k}}0 \\perp {B}, or nearly so. In contrast, some of the major macroscopic instabilities of astrophysical plasmas (the Parker instability and the magneto-rotational instability) occur when precisely the opposite condition is satisfied: {{k}}0 \\parallel {B}. How do those instabilities escape from the dominance of the stabilizing Alfvén wave? The answer to that question involves, foremost, the recognition that MHD spectral theory of waves and instabilities of laboratory plasmas could be developed to such great depth since those plasmas are assumed to be in static equilibrium. This assumption is invalid for astrophysical plasmas where rotational and gravitational accelerations produce equilibria that are at best stationary, and the associated spectral theory is widely, and incorrectly, believed to be non-self adjoint. These complications are addressed, and cured, in the theory of the Spectral Web, recently developed by the author. Using this method, an extensive survey of instabilities of astrophysical plasmas demonstrates how the Alfvén wave is pushed into insignificance under these conditions to give rise to a host of instabilities that do not occur in laboratory plasmas.

Stability of nonlinear waves and patterns and related topics.

PubMed

Ghazaryan, Anna; Lafortune, Stephane; Manukian, Vahagn

2018-04-13

Periodic and localized travelling waves such as wave trains, pulses, fronts and patterns of more complex structure often occur in natural and experimentally built systems. In mathematics, these objects are realized as solutions of nonlinear partial differential equations. The existence, dynamic properties and bifurcations of those solutions are of interest. In particular, their stability is important for applications, as the waves that are observable are usually stable. When the waves are unstable, further investigation is warranted of the way the instability is exhibited, i.e. the nature of the instability, and also coherent structures that appear as a result of an instability of travelling waves. A variety of analytical, numerical and hybrid techniques are used to study travelling waves and their properties.This article is part of the theme issue 'Stability of nonlinear waves and patterns and related topics'. © 2018 The Author(s).

Mean effects of turbulence on elliptic instability in fluids.

PubMed

Fabijonas, Bruce R; Holm, Darryl D

2003-03-28

Elliptic instability in fluids is discussed in the context of the Lagrangian-averaged Navier-Stokes-alpha (LANS-alpha) turbulence model. This model preserves the Craik-Criminale (CC) family of solutions consisting of a columnar eddy and a Kelvin wave. The LANS-alpha model is shown to preserve elliptic instability. However, the model shifts the critical stability angle. This shift increases (decreases) the maximum growth rate for long (short) waves. It also introduces a band of stable CC solutions for short waves.

Center for Multiscale Plasma Dynamics: Report on Activities (UCLA/MIT), 2009-2010

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Troy Carter

2011-04-18

The final 'phaseout' year of the CMPD ended July 2010; a no cost extension was requested until May 2011 in order to enable the MIT subcontract funds to be fully utilized. Research progress over this time included verification and validation activities for the BOUT and BOUT++ code, studies of spontaneous reconnection in the VTF facility at MIT, and studies of the interaction between Alfven waves and drift waves in LAPD. The CMPD also hosted the 6th plasma physics winter school in 2010 (jointly with the NSF frontier center the Center for Magnetic Self-Organization, significant funding came from NSF for thismore » most recent iteration of the Winter School).« less

Multi-scale phenomena of rotation-modified mode-2 internal waves

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Deepwell, David; Stastna, Marek; Coutino, Aaron

2018-03-01

We present high-resolution, three-dimensional simulations of rotation-modified mode-2 internal solitary waves at various rotation rates and Schmidt numbers. Rotation is seen to change the internal solitary-like waves observed in the absence of rotation into a leading Kelvin wave followed by Poincaré waves. Mass and energy is found to be advected towards the right-most side wall (for a Northern Hemisphere rotation), leading to increased amplitude of the leading Kelvin wave and the formation of Kelvin-Helmholtz (K-H) instabilities on the upper and lower edges of the deformed pycnocline. These fundamentally three-dimensional instabilities are localized within a region near the side wall and intensify in vigour with increasing rotation rate. Secondary Kelvin waves form further behind the wave from either resonance with radiating Poincaré waves or the remnants of the K-H instability. The first of these mechanisms is in accord with published work on mode-1 Kelvin waves; the second is, to the best of our knowledge, novel to the present study. Both types of secondary Kelvin waves form on the same side of the channel as the leading Kelvin wave. Comparisons of equivalent cases with different Schmidt numbers indicate that while adopting a numerically advantageous low Schmidt number results in the correct general characteristics of the Kelvin waves, excessive diffusion of the pycnocline and various density features precludes accurate representation of both the trailing Poincaré wave field and the intensity and duration of the Kelvin-Helmholtz instabilities.

On the conditions for nonlinear growth in magnetospheric chorus and triggered emissions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gołkowski, Mark; Gibby, Andrew R.

2017-09-01

The nonlinear whistler mode instability associated with magnetospheric chorus and VLF triggered emissions continues to be poorly understood. Following up on formulations of other authors, an analytical exploration of the stability of the phenomenon from a new vantage point is given. This exploration derives an additional requirement on the anisotropy of the energetic electron distribution relative to the linear treatment of the instability, and shows that the nonlinear instability is most favorable to increasing growth rate when electrons become initially trapped in the wave potential of a constant frequency wave. These results imply that the initiation of the nonlinear instability at the equator requires a positive frequency sweep rate, while the initiation of the instability by a constant frequency triggering wave must occur at a location downstream of the geomagnetic equator.

Tropical Instability Wave Interactions within the Galápagos Archipelago.

EPA Science Inventory

In the boreal fall of 2005, the effects of tropical instability waves (TIW) appear as oscillations within the sea surface temperature (SST), meridional current (Vy), and thermocline (20°C) in the eastern equatorial Pacific. Within the Galápagos Archipelago, a strong 3-wave succes...

Screech tones from free and ducted supersonic jets

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tam, C. K. W.; Ahuja, K. K.; Jones, R. R., III

1994-01-01

It is well known that screech tones from supersonic jets are generated by a feedback loop. The loop consists of three main components. They are the downstream propagating instability wave, the shock cell structure in the jet plume, and the feedback acoustic waves immediately outside the jet. Evidence will be presented to show that the screech frequency is largely controlled by the characteristics of the feedback acoustic waves. The feedback loop is driven by the instability wave of the jet. Thus the tone intensity and its occurrence are dictated by the characteristics of the instability wave. In this paper the dependence of the instability wave spectrum on the azimuthal mode number (axisymmetric or helical/flapping mode, etc.), the jet-to-ambient gas temperature ratio, and the jet Mach number are studied. The results of this study provide an explanation for the observed screech tone mode switch phenomenon (changing from axisymmetric to helical mode as Mach number increases) and the often-cited experimental observation that tone intensity reduces with increase in jet temperature. For ducted supersonic jets screech tones can also be generated by feedback loops formed by the coupling of normal duct modes to instability waves of the jet. The screech frequencies are dictated by the frequencies of the duct modes. Super resonance, resonance involving very large pressure oscillations, can occur when the feedback loop is powered by the most amplified instability wave. It is proposed that the observed large amplitude pressure fluctuations and tone in the test cells of Arnold Engineering Development Center were generated by super resonance. Estimated super-resonance frequency for a Mach 1.3 axisymmetric jet tested in the facility agrees well with measurement.

Do the freak waves exist in soliton gas?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shurgalina, Ekaterina; Pelinovsky, Efim

2016-04-01

The possibility of short-lived anomalous large waves (rogue waves) in soliton gas in the frameworks of integrable models like the Korteweg - de Vries - type equations is studied. It is shown that the dynamics of heteropolar soliton gas differs sufficiently from the dynamics of unipolar soliton fields. In particular, in the wave fields consisting of solitons with different polarities the freak wave appearance is possible. It is shown numerically in [Shurgalina and Pelinovsky, 2015]. Freak waves in the framework of the modified Korteweg-de Vries equation have been studied previously in the case of narrowband initial conditions [Grimshaw et al, 2005, 2010; Talipova, 2011]. In this case, the mechanism of freak wave generation was modulation instability of modulated quasi-sinusoidal wave packets. At the same time the modulation instability of modulated cnoidal waves was studied in the mathematical work [Driscoll & O'Neil, 1976]. Since a sequence of solitary waves can be a special case of cnoidal wave, the modulation instability can be a possible mechanism of freak wave appearance in a soliton gas. Thus, we expect that rogue wave phenomenon in soliton gas appears in nonlinear integrable models admitting an existence of modulation instability of periodic waves (like cnoidal waves). References: 1. Shurgalina E.G., Pelinovsky E.N. Dynamics of irregular wave ensembles in the coastal zone, Nizhny Novgorod State Technical University n.a. R.E. Alekseev. - Nizhny Novgorod, 2015, 179 pp. 2. Grimshaw R., Pelinovsky E., Talipova T., Sergeeva A. Rogue internal waves in the ocean: long wave model. European Physical Journal Special Topics, 2010, 185, 195 - 208. 3. Grimshaw R., Pelinovsky E., Talipova T., Ruderman M. Erdelyi R. Short-lived large-amplitude pulses in the nonlinear long-wave model described by the modified Korteweg-de Vries equation. Studied Applied Mathematics, 2005, 114 (2), 189. 4. Talipova T.G. Mechanisms of internal freak waves, Fundamental and Applied Hydrophysics, 2011, 4(4), 58-70. 5. Driscoll F., O'Neil T.M. Modulational instability of cnoidal wave solutions of the modified Korteweg-de Vries equation. Journal of Mathematical Physics, 1976, 17 (7), 1196-1200.

Effect of wave localization on plasma instabilities. Ph.D. Thesis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Levedahl, William Kirk

1987-01-01

The Anderson model of wave localization in random media is involved to study the effect of solar wind density turbulence on plasma processes associated with the solar type III radio burst. ISEE-3 satellite data indicate that a possible model for the type III process is the parametric decay of Langmuir waves excited by solar flare electron streams into daughter electromagnetic and ion acoustic waves. The threshold for this instability, however, is much higher than observed Langmuir wave levels because of rapid wave convection of the transverse electromagnetic daughter wave in the case where the solar wind is assumed homogeneous. Langmuir and transverse waves near critical density satisfy the Ioffe-Reigel criteria for wave localization in the solar wind with observed density fluctuations -1 percent. Numerical simulations of wave propagation in random media confirm the localization length predictions of Escande and Souillard for stationary density fluctations. For mobile density fluctuations localized wave packets spread at the propagation velocity of the density fluctuations rather than the group velocity of the waves. Computer simulations using a linearized hybrid code show that an electron beam will excite localized Langmuir waves in a plasma with density turbulence. An action principle approach is used to develop a theory of non-linear wave processes when waves are localized. A theory of resonant particles diffusion by localized waves is developed to explain the saturation of the beam-plasma instability. It is argued that localization of electromagnetic waves will allow the instability threshold to be exceeded for the parametric decay discussed above.

Flowing Magnetized Plasma experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Zhehui; Si, Jiahe

2006-10-01

Results from the Flowing Magnetized Plasma experiment at Los Alamos are summarized. Plasmas are produced using a modified coaxial plasma gun with a center electrode extending into a cylindrical vacuum tank with 0.75 m in radius and 4.5 m long. The basic diagnostics are Bdot probes for edge and internal magnetic field, Mach probes and Doppler spectroscopy for plasma flow in the axial and azimuthal directions, and Langmuir probes for plasma floating potential, electron density and temperature. We have found two different plasma flow patterns associated with distinct IV characteristics of the coaxial plasma gun, indicating axial flow is strongly correlated with the plasma ejection from the plasma gun. Global electromagnetic oscillations at frequencies below ion cyclotron frequency are observed, indicating that familiar waves at these frequencies, e.g. Alfven wave or drift wave, are strongly modified by the finite plasma beta. We eliminate the possibility of ion sound waves since the ion and electron temperatures are comparable, and therefore, ion sound waves are strongly Landau damped.

Ion flux oscillations associated with a radially polarized transverse Pc 5 magnetic pulsation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Takahashi, K.; Mcentire, R. W.; Lui, A. T. Y.; Potemra, T. A.

1990-01-01

The AMPTE CCE spacecraft observed a transverse Pc 5 magnetic pulsation (period of about 200 s) at 2155-2310 UT on November 20, 1985, at a radial distance of 5.7 - 7.0 earth radii, at a magnetic latitude of 1.2 - 19 deg, and near 1300 magnetic local time. The magnetic pulsation exhibits properties consistent with a standing Alfven wave with a second-harmonic standing structure along the ambient magnetic field. The amplitude and the phase of the flux pulsation are found to be a function of the particle detector look direction and the particle energy. The observed energy dependence of the shift is interpreted as the result of a drift-bounce resonance of the ions with the wave. From this interpretation it follows that the wave propagated westward with an azimuthal wave number of approximately 100. Thus the study demonstrates that particle data can be useful for determining the spatial structure of some types of ULF waves.

A Note on the Wave Action Density of a Viscous Instability Mode on a Laminar Free-shear Flow

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Balsa, Thomas F.

1994-01-01

Using the assumptions of an incompressible and viscous flow at large Reynolds number, we derive the evolution equation for the wave action density of an instability wave traveling on top of a laminar free-shear flow. The instability is considered to be viscous; the purpose of the present work is to include the cumulative effect of the (locally) small viscous correction to the wave, over length and time scales on which the underlying base flow appears inhomogeneous owing to its viscous diffusion. As such, we generalize our previous work for inviscid waves. This generalization appears as an additional (but usually non-negligible) term in the equation for the wave action. The basic structure of the equation remains unaltered.

Low-frequency electromagnetic plasma waves at comet P/Grigg-Skjellerup: Overview and spectral characteristics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Glassmeier, Karl-Heinz; Neubauer, Fritz M.

1993-01-01

Large-amplitude electromagnetic plasma waves are one of the dominant features of the solar wind-comet interaction. Wave characteristics strongly depend on parameters such as the solar wind flow and Alfven velocities and the angle between flow and interplanetary magnetic field as well as the production rate. With respect to the latter the flyby of the spacecraft Giotto at comet P/Griff-Skjellerup provides a unique possibility to study such waves in further detail. Pickup ion-related wave signatures have been observed up to a distance of 600,000 km from the nucleus. Peak spectral power in the spacecraft frame of reference occurs at frequencies mainly somewhat below the water group ion gyrofrequency. From this the waves are determined to be mainly left-hand polarized waves, causing one-sided pitch angle diffusion outbound. The wave activity strongly increases close to the comet; upstream it exhibits a quadratic dependence on the water group pickup ion free energy. Furthermore, a phenomenological study of the wave characteristics provides a unique description of the fine-structure of the interaction region. Indications of steepened magnetosonic waves have been found in the outbound magnetosheath region.

Two-dimensional modulated ion-acoustic excitations in electronegative plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Panguetna, Chérif S.; Tabi, Conrad B.; Kofané, Timoléon C.

2017-09-01

Two-dimensional modulated ion-acoustic waves are investigated in an electronegative plasma. Through the reductive perturbation expansion, the governing hydrodynamic equations are reduced to a Davey-Stewartson system with two-space variables. The latter is used to study the modulational instability of ion-acoustic waves along with the effect of plasma parameters, namely, the negative ion concentration ratio (α) and the electron-to-negative ion temperature ratio (σn). A parametric analysis of modulational instability is carried out, where regions of plasma parameters responsible for the emergence of modulated ion-acoustic waves are discussed, with emphasis on the behavior of the instability growth rate. Numerically, using perturbed plane waves as initial conditions, parameters from the instability regions give rise to series of dromion solitons under the activation of modulational instability. The sensitivity of the numerical solutions to plasma parameters is discussed. Some exact solutions in the form one- and two-dromion solutions are derived and their response to the effect of varying α and σn is discussed as well.

Off-equatorial current-driven instabilities ahead of approaching dipolarization fronts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Xu; Angelopoulos, V.; Pritchett, P. L.; Liu, Jiang

2017-05-01

Recent kinetic simulations have revealed that electromagnetic instabilities near the ion gyrofrequency and slightly away from the equatorial plane can be driven by a current parallel to the magnetic field prior to the arrival of dipolarization fronts. Such instabilities are important because of their potential contribution to global electromagnetic energy conversion near dipolarization fronts. Of the several instabilities that may be consistent with such waves, the most notable are the current-driven electromagnetic ion cyclotron instability and the current-driven kink-like instability. To confirm the existence and characteristics of these instabilities, we used observations by two Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms satellites, one near the neutral sheet observing dipolarization fronts and the other at the boundary layer observing precursor waves and currents. We found that such instabilities with monochromatic signatures are rare, but one of the few cases was selected for further study. Two different instabilities, one at about 0.3 Hz and the other at a much lower frequency, 0.02 Hz, were seen in the data from the off-equatorial spacecraft. A parallel current attributed to an electron beam coexisted with the waves. Our instability analysis attributes the higher-frequency instability to a current-driven ion cyclotron instability and the lower frequency instability to a kink-like instability. The current-driven kink-like instability we observed is consistent with the instabilities observed in the simulation. We suggest that the currents needed to excite these low-frequency instabilities are so intense that the associated electron beams are easily thermalized and hence difficult to observe.

Saturation of Langmuir waves in laser-produced plasmas

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Baker, K.L.

1996-04-01

This dissertation deals with the interaction of an intense laser with a plasma (a quasineutral collection of electrons and ions). During this interaction, the laser drives large-amplitude waves through a class of processes known as parametric instabilities. Several such instabilities drive one type of wave, the Langmuir wave, which involves oscillations of the electrons relative to the nearly-stationary ions. There are a number of mechanisms which limit the amplitude to which Langmuir waves grow. In this dissertation, these mechanisms are examined to identify qualitative features which might be observed in experiments and/or simulations. In addition, a number of experiments aremore » proposed to specifically look for particular saturation mechanisms. In a plasma, a Langmuir wave can decay into an electromagnetic wave and an ion wave. This parametric instability is proposed as a source for electromagnetic emission near half of the incident laser frequency observed from laser-produced plasmas. This interpretation is shown to be consistent with existing experimental data and it is found that one of the previous mechanisms used to explain such emission is not. The scattering version of the electromagnetic decay instability is shown to provide an enhanced noise source of electromagnetic waves near the frequency of the incident laser.« less

Effect of polarization force on the Jeans instability in collisional dusty plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

A, ABBASI; M, R. RASHIDIAN VAZIRI

2018-03-01

The Jeans instability in collisional dusty plasmas has been analytically investigated by considering the polarization force effect. Instabilities due to dust-neutral and ion-neutral drags can occur in electrostatic waves of collisional dusty plasmas with self-gravitating particles. In this study, the effect of gravitational force on heavy dust particles is considered in tandem with both the polarization and electrostatic forces. The theoretical framework has been developed and the dispersion relation and instability growth rate have been derived, assuming the plane wave approximation. The derived instability growth rate shows that, in collisional dusty plasmas, the Jeans instability strongly depends on the magnitude of the polarization force.

Wave kinetics of drift-wave turbulence and zonal flows beyond the ray approximation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhu, Hongxuan; Zhou, Yao; Ruiz, D. E.

Inhomogeneous drift-wave turbulence can be modeled as an effective plasma where drift waves act as quantumlike particles and the zonal-flow velocity serves as a collective field through which they interact. This effective plasma can be described by a Wigner-Moyal equation (WME), which generalizes the quasilinear wave-kinetic equation (WKE) to the full-wave regime, i.e., resolves the wavelength scale. Unlike waves governed by manifestly quantumlike equations, whose WMEs can be borrowed from quantum mechanics and are commonly known, drift waves have Hamiltonians very different from those of conventional quantum particles. This causes unusual phase-space dynamics that is typically not captured by themore » WKE. We demonstrate how to correctly model this dynamics with the WME instead. Specifically, we report full-wave phase-space simulations of the zonal-flow formation (zonostrophic instability), deterioration (tertiary instability), and the so-called predator-prey oscillations. We also show how the WME facilitates analysis of these phenomena, namely, (i) we show that full-wave effects critically affect the zonostrophic instability, particularly its nonlinear stage and saturation; (ii) we derive the tertiary-instability growth rate; and (iii) we demonstrate that, with full-wave effects retained, the predator-prey oscillations do not require zonal-flow collisional damping, contrary to previous studies. In conclusion, we also show how the famous Rayleigh-Kuo criterion, which has been missing in wave-kinetic theories of drift-wave turbulence, emerges from the WME.« less

Wave kinetics of drift-wave turbulence and zonal flows beyond the ray approximation

DOE PAGES

Zhu, Hongxuan; Zhou, Yao; Ruiz, D. E.; ...

2018-05-29

Inhomogeneous drift-wave turbulence can be modeled as an effective plasma where drift waves act as quantumlike particles and the zonal-flow velocity serves as a collective field through which they interact. This effective plasma can be described by a Wigner-Moyal equation (WME), which generalizes the quasilinear wave-kinetic equation (WKE) to the full-wave regime, i.e., resolves the wavelength scale. Unlike waves governed by manifestly quantumlike equations, whose WMEs can be borrowed from quantum mechanics and are commonly known, drift waves have Hamiltonians very different from those of conventional quantum particles. This causes unusual phase-space dynamics that is typically not captured by themore » WKE. We demonstrate how to correctly model this dynamics with the WME instead. Specifically, we report full-wave phase-space simulations of the zonal-flow formation (zonostrophic instability), deterioration (tertiary instability), and the so-called predator-prey oscillations. We also show how the WME facilitates analysis of these phenomena, namely, (i) we show that full-wave effects critically affect the zonostrophic instability, particularly its nonlinear stage and saturation; (ii) we derive the tertiary-instability growth rate; and (iii) we demonstrate that, with full-wave effects retained, the predator-prey oscillations do not require zonal-flow collisional damping, contrary to previous studies. In conclusion, we also show how the famous Rayleigh-Kuo criterion, which has been missing in wave-kinetic theories of drift-wave turbulence, emerges from the WME.« less

Nonlinear hydrodynamic stability and transition; Proceedings of the IUTAM Symposium, Nice, France, Sept. 3-7, 1990

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Theoretical and experimental research on nonlinear hydrodynamic stability and transition is presented. Bifurcations, amplitude equations, pattern in experiments, and shear flows are considered. Particular attention is given to bifurcations of plane viscous fluid flow and transition to turbulence, chaotic traveling wave covection, chaotic behavior of parametrically excited surface waves in square geometry, amplitude analysis of the Swift-Hohenberg equation, traveling wave convection in finite containers, focus instability in axisymmetric Rayleigh-Benard convection, scaling and pattern formation in flowing sand, dynamical behavior of instabilities in spherical gap flows, and nonlinear short-wavelength Taylor vortices. Also discussed are stability of a flow past a two-dimensional grid, inertia wave breakdown in a precessing fluid, flow-induced instabilities in directional solidification, structure and dynamical properties of convection in binary fluid mixtures, and instability competition for convecting superfluid mixtures.

A transverse separate-spin-evolution streaming instability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Iqbal, Z.; Andreev, Pavel A.; Murtaza, G.

2018-05-01

By using the separate spin evolution quantum hydrodynamical model, the instability of transverse mode due to electron streaming in a partially spin polarized magnetized degenerate plasma is studied. The electron spin polarization gives birth to a new spin-dependent wave (i.e., separate spin evolution streaming driven ordinary wave) in the real wave spectrum. It is shown that the spin polarization and streaming speed significantly affect the frequency of this new mode. Analyzing growth rate, it is found that the electron spin effects reduce the growth rate and shift the threshold of instability as well as its termination point towards higher values. Additionally, how the other parameters like electron streaming and Fermi pressure influence the growth rate is also investigated. Current study can help towards better understanding of the existence of new waves and streaming instability in the astrophysical plasmas.

Understanding the destabilizing role for surface tension in planar shear flows in terms of wave interaction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Biancofiore, L.; Heifetz, E.; Hoepffner, J.; Gallaire, F.

2017-10-01

Both surface tension and buoyancy force in stable stratification act to restore perturbed interfaces back to their initial positions. Hence, both are intuitively considered as stabilizing agents. Nevertheless, the Taylor-Caulfield instability is a counterexample in which the presence of buoyancy forces in stable stratification destabilize shear flows. An explanation for this instability lies in the fact that stable stratification supports the existence of gravity waves. When two vertically separated gravity waves propagate horizontally against the shear, they may become phase locked and amplify each other to form a resonance instability. Surface tension is similar to buoyancy but its restoring mechanism is more efficient at small wavelengths. Here, we show how a modification of the Taylor-Caulfield configuration, including two interfaces between three stably stratified immiscible fluids, supports interfacial capillary gravity whose interaction yields resonance instability. Furthermore, when the three fluids have the same density, an instability arises solely due to a pure counterpropagating capillary wave resonance. The linear stability analysis predicts a maximum growth rate of the pure capillary wave instability for an intermediate value of surface tension corresponding to We-1=5 , where We denotes the Weber number. We perform direct numerical nonlinear simulation of this flow and find nonlinear destabilization when 2 ≤We-1≤10 , in good agreement with the linear stability analysis. The instability is present also when viscosity is introduced, although it is gradually damped and eventually quenched.

Three-dimensional instability of standing waves

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, Qiang; Liu, Yuming; Yue, Dick K. P.

2003-12-01

We investigate the three-dimensional instability of finite-amplitude standing surface waves under the influence of gravity. The analysis employs the transition matrix (TM) approach and uses a new high-order spectral element (HOSE) method for computation of the nonlinear wave dynamics. HOSE is an extension of the original high-order spectral method (HOS) wherein nonlinear wave wave and wave body interactions are retained up to high order in wave steepness. Instead of global basis functions in HOS, however, HOSE employs spectral elements to allow for complex free-surface geometries and surface-piercing bodies. Exponential convergence of HOS with respect to the total number of spectral modes (for a fixed number of elements) and interaction order is retained in HOSE. In this study, we use TM-HOSE to obtain the stability of general three-dimensional perturbations (on a two-dimensional surface) on two classes of standing waves: plane standing waves in a rectangular tank; and radial/azimuthal standing waves in a circular basin. For plane standing waves, we confirm the known result of two-dimensional side-bandlike instability. In addition, we find a novel three-dimensional instability for base flow of any amplitude. The dominant component of the unstable disturbance is an oblique (standing) wave oriented at an arbitrary angle whose frequency is close to the (nonlinear) frequency of the original standing wave. This finding is confirmed by direct long-time simulations using HOSE which show that the nonlinear evolution leads to classical Fermi Pasta Ulam recurrence. For the circular basin, we find that, beyond a threshold wave steepness, a standing wave (of nonlinear frequency Omega) is unstable to three-dimensional perturbations. The unstable perturbation contains two dominant (standing-wave) components, the sum of whose frequencies is close to 2Omega. From the cases we consider, the critical wave steepness is found to generally decrease/increase with increasing radial/azimuthal mode number of the base standing wave. Finally, we show that the instability we find for both two- and three-dimensional standing waves is a result of third-order (quartet) resonance.

Interplanetary double-shock ensembles with anomalous electrical conductivity

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dryer, M.

1972-01-01

Similarity theory is applied to the case of constant velocity, piston-driven, shock waves. This family of solutions, incorporating the interplanetary magnetic field for the case of infinite electric conductivity, represents one class of experimentally observed, flare-generated shock waves. This paper discusses the theoretical extension to flows with finite conductivity (presumably caused by unspecified modes of wave-particle interactions). Solutions, including reverse shocks, are found for a wide range of magnetic Reynolds numbers from one to infinity. Consideration of a zero and nonzero ambient flowing solar wind (together with removal of magnetic considerations) enables the recovery of earlier similarity solutions as well as numerical simulations. A limited comparison with observations suggests that flare energetics can be reasonably estimated once the shock velocity, ambient solar wind velocity and density, and ambient azimuthal Alfven Mach number are known.

Slow Mode Waves in the Heliospheric Plasma Sheet

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith, Edward. J.; Zhou, Xiaoyan

2007-01-01

We report the results of a search for waves/turbulence in the Heliospheric Plasma Sheet (HPS) surrounding the Heliospheric Current Sheet (HCS). The HPS is treated as a distinctive heliospheric structure distinguished by relatively high Beta, slow speed plasma. The data used in the investigation are from a previously published study of the thicknesses of the HPS and HCS that were obtained in January to May 2004 when Ulysses was near aphelion at 5 AU. The advantage of using these data is that the HPS is thicker at large radial distances and the spacecraft spends longer intervals inside the plasma sheet. From the study of the magnetic field and solar wind velocity components, we conclude that, if Alfven waves are present, they are weak and are dominated by variations in the field magnitude, B, and solar wind density, NP, that are anti-correlated.

Keeping fusion plasmas hot

DOE PAGES

Pace, David C.; Heidbrink, William W.; Van Zeeland, Michael A.

2015-10-01

Energetic ion transport in the DIII-D tokamak (the center post diameter is 2.2 m). An energetic ion orbit resulting from neutral beam injection is shown as the black trace. The red and blue contours represent a synthetic image of a plasma wave (e.g., the density perturbation of an Alfven eigenmode) that perturbs the ion orbit and causes it to impact the outer wall on the right, which happens to correspond to the location of the energetic ion loss detector diagnostic system.

Keeping fusion plasmas hot

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Pace, David C.; Heidbrink, William W.; Van Zeeland, Michael A.

Energetic ion transport in the DIII-D tokamak (the center post diameter is 2.2 m). An energetic ion orbit resulting from neutral beam injection is shown as the black trace. The red and blue contours represent a synthetic image of a plasma wave (e.g., the density perturbation of an Alfven eigenmode) that perturbs the ion orbit and causes it to impact the outer wall on the right, which happens to correspond to the location of the energetic ion loss detector diagnostic system.

Composite rogue waves and modulation instability for the three-coupled Hirota system in an optical fiber

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chai, Han-Peng; Tian, Bo; Chai, Jun; Du, Zhong

2017-10-01

We investigate the three-coupled Hirota system, which is applied to model the long distance communication and ultrafast signal routing systems governing the propagation of light pulses. With the aid of the Darboux dressing transformation, composite rogue wave solutions are derived. Spatial-temporal structures, including the four-petaled structure for the three-coupled Hirota system, are exhibited. We find that the four-petaled rogue waves occur in two of the three components, whereas the eye-shaped rogue wave occurs in the other one. The composite rogue waves can split up into two or three single rogue waves. The corresponding conditions for the occurrence of such phenomena are discussed and presented. We find that the relative position of every single rogue wave is influenced by the ratios of certain parameters. Besides, the linear instability analysis is performed, and our results agree with those from the baseband modulation instability theory.

Electromagnetic drift waves dispersion for arbitrarily collisional plasmas

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lee, Wonjae, E-mail: wol023@ucsd.edu; Krasheninnikov, Sergei I., E-mail: skrash@mae.ucsd.edu; Angus, J. R.

2015-07-15

The impacts of the electromagnetic effects on resistive and collisionless drift waves are studied. A local linear analysis on an electromagnetic drift-kinetic equation with Bhatnagar-Gross-Krook-like collision operator demonstrates that the model is valid for describing linear growth rates of drift wave instabilities in a wide range of plasma parameters showing convergence to reference models for limiting cases. The wave-particle interactions drive collisionless drift-Alfvén wave instability in low collisionality and high beta plasma regime. The Landau resonance effects not only excite collisionless drift wave modes but also suppress high frequency electron inertia modes observed from an electromagnetic fluid model in collisionlessmore » and low beta regime. Considering ion temperature effects, it is found that the impact of finite Larmor radius effects significantly reduces the growth rate of the drift-Alfvén wave instability with synergistic effects of high beta stabilization and Landau resonance.« less

The acoustic and instability waves of jets confined inside an acoustically lined rectangular duct

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hu, Fang Q.

1993-01-01

An analysis of linear wave modes associated with supersonic jets confined inside an acoustically lined rectangular duct is presented. Mathematical formulations are given for the vortex-sheet model and continuous mean flow model of the jet flow profiles. Detailed dispersion relations of these waves in a two-dimensional confined jet as well as an unconfined free jet are computed. Effects of the confining duct and the liners on the jet instability and acoustic waves are studied numerically. It is found that the effect of the liners is to attenuate waves that have supersonic phase velocities relative to the ambient flow. Numerical results also show that the growth rates of the instability waves could be reduced significantly by the use of liners. In addition, it is found that the upstream propagating neutral waves of an unconfined jet could become attenuated when the jet is confined.

Periodic waves of the Lugiato-Lefever equation at the onset of Turing instability.

PubMed

Delcey, Lucie; Haraguss, Mariana

2018-04-13

We study the existence and the stability of periodic steady waves for a nonlinear model, the Lugiato-Lefever equation, arising in optics. Starting from a detailed description of the stability properties of constant solutions, we then focus on the periodic steady waves which bifurcate at the onset of Turing instability. Using a centre manifold reduction, we analyse these Turing bifurcations, and prove the existence of periodic steady waves. This approach also allows us to conclude on the nonlinear orbital stability of these waves for co-periodic perturbations, i.e. for periodic perturbations which have the same period as the wave. This stability result is completed by a spectral stability result for general bounded perturbations. In particular, this spectral analysis shows that instabilities are always due to co-periodic perturbations.This article is part of the theme issue 'Stability of nonlinear waves and patterns and related topics'. © 2018 The Author(s).

Stability and instability of periodic travelling wave solutions for the critical Korteweg-de Vries and nonlinear Schrödinger equations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Angulo Pava, Jaime; Natali, Fábio M. Amorin

2009-04-01

In this paper we establish new results about the existence, stability, and instability of periodic travelling wave solutions related to the critical Korteweg-de Vries equation ut+5u4ux+u=0, and the critical nonlinear Schrödinger equation ivt+v+|v=0. The periodic travelling wave solutions obtained in our study tend to the classical solitary wave solutions in the infinite wavelength scenario. The stability approach is based on the theory developed by Angulo & Natali in [J. Angulo, F. Natali, Positivity properties of the Fourier transform and the stability of periodic travelling wave solutions, SIAM J. Math. Anal. 40 (2008) 1123-1151] for positive periodic travelling wave solutions associated to dispersive evolution equations of Korteweg-de Vries type. The instability approach is based on an extension to the periodic setting of arguments found in Bona & Souganidis & Strauss [J.L. Bona, P.E. Souganidis, W.A. Strauss, Stability and instability of solitary waves of Korteweg-de Vries type, Proc. Roy. Soc. London Ser. A 411 (1987) 395-412]. Regarding the critical Schrödinger equation stability/instability theories similar to the critical Korteweg-de Vries equation are obtained by using the classical Grillakis & Shatah & Strauss theory in [M. Grillakis, J. Shatah, W. Strauss, Stability theory of solitary waves in the presence of symmetry II, J. Funct. Anal. 94 (1990) 308-348; M. Grillakis, J. Shatah, W. Strauss, Stability theory of solitary waves in the presence of symmetry I, J. Funct. Anal. 74 (1987) 160-197]. The arguments presented in this investigation have prospects for the study of the stability of periodic travelling wave solutions of other nonlinear evolution equations.

Nonlinear Interaction of Detuned Instability Waves in Boundary-Layer Transition: Resonant-Triad Interaction

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lee, Sang Soo

1998-01-01

The non-equilibrium critical-layer analysis of a system of frequency-detuned resonant-triads is presented using the generalized scaling of Lee. It is shown that resonant-triads can interact nonlinearly within the common critical layer when their (fundamental) Strouhal numbers are different by a factor whose magnitude is of the order of the growth rate multiplied by the wavenumber of the instability wave. Since the growth rates of the instability modes become larger and the critical layers become thicker as the instability waves propagate downstream, the frequency-detuned resonant-triads that grow independently of each other in the upstream region can interact nonlinearly in the later downstream stage. In the final stage of the non-equilibrium critical-layer evolution, a wide range of instability waves with the scaled frequencies differing by almost an Order of (l) can nonlinearly interact. Low-frequency modes are also generated by the nonlinear interaction between oblique waves in the critical layer. The system of partial differential critical-layer equations along with the jump equations are presented here. The amplitude equations with their numerical solutions are given in Part 2. The nonlinearly generated low-frequency components are also investigated in Part 2.

Resonant Drag Instability of Grains Streaming in Fluids

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Squire, J.; Hopkins, P. F.

2018-03-01

We show that grains streaming through a fluid are generically unstable if their velocity, projected along some direction, matches the phase velocity of a fluid wave (linear oscillation). This can occur whenever grains stream faster than any fluid wave. The wave itself can be quite general—sound waves, magnetosonic waves, epicyclic oscillations, and Brunt–Väisälä oscillations each generate instabilities, for example. We derive a simple expression for the growth rates of these “resonant drag instabilities” (RDI). This expression (i) illustrates why such instabilities are so virulent and generic and (ii) allows for simple analytic computation of RDI growth rates and properties for different fluids. As examples, we introduce several new instabilities, which could see application across a variety of physical systems from atmospheres to protoplanetary disks, the interstellar medium, and galactic outflows. The matrix-based resonance formalism we introduce can also be applied more generally in other (nonfluid) contexts, providing a simple means for calculating and understanding the stability properties of interacting systems.

The role of density discontinuity in the inviscid instability of two-phase parallel flows

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Behzad, M.; Ashgriz, N.

2014-02-01

We re-examine the inviscid instability of two-phase parallel flows with piecewise linear velocity profiles. Although such configuration has been theoretically investigated, we employ the concept of waves resonance to physically interpret the instability mechanism as well as the essential role of density discontinuity in the flow. Upon performing linear stability analysis, we demonstrate the existence of neutrally stable "density" and "density-vorticity" waves which are emerged due to the density jump in the flow, in addition to the well-known vorticity waves. Such waves are capable of resonating with each other to form unstable modes in the flow. Although unstable modes in this study are classified as the "shear instability" type, we demonstrate that they are not necessarily of the Rayleigh type. The results also show that the density can have both stabilizing and destabilizing effects on the flow stability. We verify that the difference in the resonating pair of neutral waves leads to such distinct behavior of the density variation.

On ballooning instability in current sheets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leonovich, Anatoliy; Kozlov, Daniil

2015-06-01

The problem of instability of the magnetotail current sheet to azimuthally small-scale Alfvén and slow magnetosonic (SMS) waves is solved. The solutions describe unstable oscillations in the presence of a current sheet and correspond to the region of stretched closed field lines of the magnetotail. The spectra of eigen-frequencies of several basic harmonics of standing Alfvén and SMS waves are found in the local and WKB approximation, which are compared. It is shown that the oscillation properties obtained in these approximations differ radically. In the local approximation, the Alfvén waves are stable in the entire range of magnetic shells. SMS waves go into the aperiodic instability regime (the regime of the "ballooning" instability), on magnetic shells crossing the current sheet. In the WKB approximation, both the Alfvén and SMS oscillations go into an unstable regime with a non-zero real part of their eigen-frequency, on magnetic shells crossing the current sheet. The structure of azimuthally small-scale Alfvén waves across magnetic shells is determined.

Hydrodynamic Model of Spatio-Temporal Evolution of Two-Plasmon Decay

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dimitrijevic, D. R.; Maluckov, A. A.

A hydrodynamic model of two-plasmon decay in a homogeneous plasma slab near the quarter-critical density is constructed in order to gain better insight into the spatio-temporal evolution of the daughter electron plasma waves in plasma in the course of the instability. The influence of laser and plasma parameters on the evolution of the amplitudes of the participating waves is discussed. The secondary coupling of two daughter electron plasma waves with an ion-acoustic wave is assumed to be the principal mechanism of saturation of the instability. The impact of the inherently nonresonant nature of this secondary coupling on the development ofmore » TPD is investigated and it is shown to significantly influence the electron plasma wave dynamics. Its inclusion leads to nonuniformity of the spatial profile of the instability and causes the burst-like pattern of the instability development, which should result in the burst-like hot-electron production in homogeneous plasma.« less

Solar Wind Acceleration: Modeling Effects of Turbulent Heating in Open Flux Tubes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Woolsey, Lauren N.; Cranmer, Steven R.

2014-06-01

We present two self-consistent coronal heating models that determine the properties of the solar wind generated and accelerated in magnetic field geometries that are open to the heliosphere. These models require only the radial magnetic field profile as input. The first code, ZEPHYR (Cranmer et al. 2007) is a 1D MHD code that includes the effects of turbulent heating created by counter-propagating Alfven waves rather than relying on empirical heating functions. We present the analysis of a large grid of modeled flux tubes (> 400) and the resulting solar wind properties. From the models and results, we recreate the observed anti-correlation between wind speed at 1 AU and the so-called expansion factor, a parameterization of the magnetic field profile. We also find that our models follow the same observationally-derived relation between temperature at 1 AU and wind speed at 1 AU. We continue our analysis with a newly-developed code written in Python called TEMPEST (The Efficient Modified-Parker-Equation-Solving Tool) that runs an order of magnitude faster than ZEPHYR due to a set of simplifying relations between the input magnetic field profile and the temperature and wave reflection coefficient profiles. We present these simplifying relations as a useful result in themselves as well as the anti-correlation between wind speed and expansion factor also found with TEMPEST. Due to the nature of the algorithm TEMPEST utilizes to find solar wind solutions, we can effectively separate the two primary ways in which Alfven waves contribute to solar wind acceleration: 1) heating the surrounding gas through a turbulent cascade and 2) providing a separate source of wave pressure. We intend to make TEMPEST easily available to the public and suggest that TEMPEST can be used as a valuable tool in the forecasting of space weather, either as a stand-alone code or within an existing modeling framework.

Research in the Optical Sciences

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-03-12

organics for guided wave devices; nonlinear propagation and wave mixing in sodium vapor: gain/feedback approach to optical instabilities; conical... SODIUM VAPOR: GAIN/FEEDBACK APPROACH TO OPTICAL INSTABILITIES; CONICAL EMISSION; KALEIDOSCOPIC SPATIAL INSTABILITY G. Khitrova and H . M . Gibbs...Falco, "Ex situ characterization of MBE-grown molybdenum silicide thin films, The 8th Annual Symposium of the Arizona chapter of The American Vacuum

Geometric Effects on the Amplification of First Mode Instability Waves

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kirk, Lindsay C.; Candler, Graham V.

2013-01-01

The effects of geometric changes on the amplification of first mode instability waves in an external supersonic boundary layer were investigated using numerical techniques. Boundary layer stability was analyzed at Mach 6 conditions similar to freestream conditions obtained in quiet ground test facilities so that results obtained in this study may be applied to future test article design to measure first mode instability waves. The DAKOTA optimization software package was used to optimize an axisymmetric geometry to maximize the amplification of the waves at first mode frequencies as computed by the 2D STABL hypersonic boundary layer stability analysis tool. First, geometric parameters such as nose radius, cone half angle, vehicle length, and surface curvature were examined separately to determine the individual effects on the first mode amplification. Finally, all geometric parameters were allowed to vary to produce a shape optimized to maximize the amplification of first mode instability waves while minimizing the amplification of second mode instability waves. Since first mode waves are known to be most unstable in the form of oblique wave, the geometries were optimized using a broad range of wave frequencies as well as a wide range of oblique wave angles to determine the geometry that most amplifies the first mode waves. Since first mode waves are seen most often in flows with low Mach numbers at the edge of the boundary layer, the edge Mach number for each geometry was recorded to determine any relationship between edge Mach number and the stability of first mode waves. Results indicate that an axisymmetric cone with a sharp nose and a slight flare at the aft end under the Mach 6 freestream conditions used here will lower the Mach number at the edge of the boundary layer to less than 4, and the corresponding stability analysis showed maximum first mode N factors of 3.

Dynamo-driven plasmoid formation from a current-sheet instability

DOE PAGES

Ebrahimi, F.

2016-12-15

Axisymmetric current-carrying plasmoids are formed in the presence of nonaxisymmetric fluctuations during nonlinear three-dimensional resistive MHD simulations in a global toroidal geometry. In this study, we utilize the helicity injection technique to form an initial poloidal flux in the presence of a toroidal guide field. As helicity is injected, two types of current sheets are formed from the oppositely directed field lines in the injector region (primary reconnecting current sheet), and the poloidal flux compression near the plasma edge (edge current sheet). We first find that nonaxisymmetric fluctuations arising from the current-sheet instability isolated near the plasma edge have tearingmore » parity but can nevertheless grow fast (on the poloidal Alfven time scale). These modes saturate by breaking up the current sheet. Second, for the first time, a dynamo poloidal flux amplification is observed at the reconnection site (in the region of the oppositely directed magnetic field). This fluctuation-induced flux amplification increases the local Lundquist number, which then triggers a plasmoid instability and breaks the primary current sheet at the reconnection site. Finally, the plasmoids formation driven by large-scale flux amplification, i.e., a large-scale dynamo, observed here has strong implications for astrophysical reconnection as well as fast reconnection events in laboratory plasmas.« less

Modulational instability of an electron plasma wave in a dusty plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Amin, M. R.; Ferdous, T.; Salimullah, M.

1997-03-01

The modulational instability of an electron plasma wave in a homogeneous, unmagnetized, hot, and collisionless dusty plasma has been investigated analytically. The Vlasov equation has been solved perturbatively to find the nonlinear response of the plasma particles with random static distribution of massive and charged dust grains having certain correlation. It is noticed that the growth rate of the modulational instability of the electron plasma wave through a new ultra-low-frequency dust mode is more efficient than that through the usual ion-acoustic mode in the dusty plasma.

Screech tones from free and ducted supersonic jets

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tam, C. K. W.; Ahuja, K. K.; Jones, R. R., III

1993-01-01

The dependence of the instability wave spectrum on azimuthal mode number, the jet to ambient gas temperature ratio, and the jet Mach number is studied. It is shown that the switch of the dominant screech mode (axisymmetric to helical/flapping) as Mach number increases is due to the switch in dominance of the corresponding mode of instability waves. Super-resonance can occur when the feedback loop is powered by the most amplified instability wave. It is suggested that the large amplitude pressure fluctuations and tone in the test cells are generated by super-resonance.

Shock-Induced Disappearance and Subsequent Recovery of Plasmaspheric Hiss: Coordinated Observations of RBSP, THEMIS, and POES Satellite

DOE PAGES

Liu, Nigang; Su, Zhenpeng; Gao, Zhonglei; ...

2017-10-04

Here, plasmaspheric hiss is an extremely low frequency whistler–mode emission contributing significantly to the loss of radiation belt electrons. There are two main competing mechanisms for the generation of plasmaspheric hiss: excitation by local instability in the outer plasmasphere and origination from chorus outside the plasmasphere. Here on the basis of the analysis of an event of shock–induced disappearance and subsequent recovery of plasmaspheric hiss observed by RBSP, THEMIS, and POES missions, we attempt to identify its dominant generation mechanism. In the preshock plasmasphere, the local electron instability was relatively weak and the hiss waves with bidirectional Poynting fluxes mainlymore » originated from the dayside chorus waves. On arrival of the shock, the removal of preexisting dayside chorus and the insignificant variation of low–frequency wave instability caused the prompt disappearance of hiss waves. In the next few hours, the local instability in the plasmasphere was greatly enhanced due to the substorm injection of hot electrons. The enhancement of local instability likely played a dominant role in the temporary recovery of hiss with unidirectional Poynting fluxes. These temporarily recovered hiss waves were generated near the equator and then propagated toward higher latitudes. In contrast, both the enhancement of local instability and the recurrence of prenoon chorus contributed to the substantial recovery of hiss with bidirectional Poynting fluxes.« less

Shock-Induced Disappearance and Subsequent Recovery of Plasmaspheric Hiss: Coordinated Observations of RBSP, THEMIS, and POES Satellite

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Liu, Nigang; Su, Zhenpeng; Gao, Zhonglei

Here, plasmaspheric hiss is an extremely low frequency whistler–mode emission contributing significantly to the loss of radiation belt electrons. There are two main competing mechanisms for the generation of plasmaspheric hiss: excitation by local instability in the outer plasmasphere and origination from chorus outside the plasmasphere. Here on the basis of the analysis of an event of shock–induced disappearance and subsequent recovery of plasmaspheric hiss observed by RBSP, THEMIS, and POES missions, we attempt to identify its dominant generation mechanism. In the preshock plasmasphere, the local electron instability was relatively weak and the hiss waves with bidirectional Poynting fluxes mainlymore » originated from the dayside chorus waves. On arrival of the shock, the removal of preexisting dayside chorus and the insignificant variation of low–frequency wave instability caused the prompt disappearance of hiss waves. In the next few hours, the local instability in the plasmasphere was greatly enhanced due to the substorm injection of hot electrons. The enhancement of local instability likely played a dominant role in the temporary recovery of hiss with unidirectional Poynting fluxes. These temporarily recovered hiss waves were generated near the equator and then propagated toward higher latitudes. In contrast, both the enhancement of local instability and the recurrence of prenoon chorus contributed to the substantial recovery of hiss with bidirectional Poynting fluxes.« less

Instability of standing waves for Klein-Gordon-Zakharov equations with different propagation speeds in three space dimensions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gan, Zaihui; Zhang, Jian

2005-07-01

This paper is concerned with the standing wave for Klein-Gordon-Zakharov equations with different propagation speeds in three space dimensions. The existence of standing wave with the ground state is established by applying an intricate variational argument and the instability of the standing wave is shown by applying Pagne and Sattinger's potential well argument and Levine's concavity method.

Evolution and stability of shock waves in dissipative gases characterized by activated inelastic collisions.

PubMed

Sirmas, N; Radulescu, M I

2015-02-01

Previous experiments have revealed that shock waves driven through dissipative gases may become unstable, for example, in granular gases and in molecular gases undergoing strong relaxation effects. The mechanisms controlling these instabilities are not well understood. We successfully isolated and investigated this instability in the canonical problem of piston-driven shock waves propagating into a medium characterized by inelastic collision processes. We treat the standard model of granular gases, where particle collisions are taken as inelastic, with a constant coefficient of restitution. The inelasticity is activated for sufficiently strong collisions. Molecular dynamic simulations were performed for 30,000 particles. We find that all shock waves investigated become unstable, with density nonuniformities forming in the relaxation region. The wavelength of these fingers is found to be comparable to the characteristic relaxation thickness. Shock Hugoniot curves for both elastic and inelastic collisions were obtained analytically and numerically. Analysis of these curves indicates that the instability is not of the Bethe-Zeldovich-Thompson or D'yakov-Kontorovich type. Analysis of the shock relaxation rates and rates for clustering in a convected fluid element with the same thermodynamic history ruled out the clustering instability of a homogeneous granular gas. Instead, wave reconstruction of the early transient evolution indicates that the onset of instability occurs during repressurization of the gas following the initial relaxation of the medium behind the lead shock. This repressurization gives rise to internal pressure waves in the presence of strong density gradients. This indicates that the mechanism of instability is more likely of the vorticity-generating Richtmyer-Meshkov type, relying on the action of the inner pressure wave development during the transient relaxation.

Magnetohydrodynamic waves with relativistic electrons and positrons in degenerate spin-1/2 astrophysical plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maroof, R.; Ali, S.; Mushtaq, A.; Qamar, A.

2015-11-01

Linear properties of high and low frequency waves are studied in an electron-positron-ion (e-p-i) dense plasma with spin and relativity effects. In a low frequency regime, the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) waves, namely, the magnetoacoustic and Alfven waves are presented in a magnetized plasma, in which the inertial ions are taken as spinless and non-degenerate, whereas the electrons and positrons are treated quantum mechanically due to their smaller mass. Quantum corrections associated with the spin magnetization and density correlations for electrons and positrons are re-considered and a generalized dispersion relation for the low frequency MHD waves is derived to account for relativistic degeneracy effects. On the basis of angles of propagation, the dispersion relations of different modes are discussed analytically in a degenerate relativistic plasma. Numerical results reveal that electron and positron relativistic degeneracy effects significantly modify the dispersive properties of MHD waves. Our present analysis should be useful for understanding the collective interactions in dense astrophysical compact objects, like, the white dwarfs and in atmosphere of neutron stars.

Quantum Space Charge Waves in a Waveguide Filled with Fermi-Dirac Plasmas Including Relativistic Wake Field and Quantum Statistical Pressure Effects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hong, Woo-Pyo; Jung, Young-Dae

2018-03-01

The effects of quantum statistical degeneracy pressure on the propagation of the quantum space charge wave are investigated in a cylindrically bounded plasma waveguide filled with relativistically degenerate quantum Fermi-Dirac plasmas and the relativistic ion wake field. The results show that the domain of the degenerate parameter for the resonant beam instability significantly increases with an increase of the scaled beam velocity. It is found that the instability domain of the wave number increases with an increase of the degenerate parameter. It is also found that the growth rate for the resonant beam instability decreases with an increase of the degenerate parameter. In addition, it is shown that the lowest harmonic mode provides the maximum value of the growth rates. Moreover, it is shown that the instability domain of the wave number decreases with an increase of the beam velocity.

Sound generated by instability waves of supersonic flows. I Two-dimensional mixing layers. II - Axisymmetric jets

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tam, C. K. W.; Burton, D. E.

1984-01-01

An investigation is conducted of the phenomenon of sound generation by spatially growing instability waves in high-speed flows. It is pointed out that this process of noise generation is most effective when the flow is supersonic relative to the ambient speed of sound. The inner and outer asymptotic expansions corresponding to an excited instability wave in a two-dimensional mixing layer and its associated acoustic fields are constructed in terms of the inner and outer spatial variables. In matching the solutions, the intermediate matching principle of Van Dyke and Cole is followed. The validity of the theory is tested by applying it to an axisymmetric supersonic jet and comparing the calculated results with experimental measurements. Very favorable agreements are found both in the calculated instability-wave amplitude distribution (the inner solution) and the near pressure field level contours (the outer solution) in each case.

Oscillatory interfacial instability between miscible fluids

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shevtsova, Valentina; Gaponenko, Yuri; Mialdun, Aliaksandr; Torregrosa, Marita; Yasnou, Viktar

Interfacial instabilities occurring between two fluids are of fundamental interest in fluid dynamics, biological systems and engineering applications such as liquid storage, solvent extraction, oil recovery and mixing. Horizontal vibrations applied to stratified layers of immiscible liquids may generate spatially periodic waving of the interface, stationary in the reference frame of the vibrated cell, referred to as a "frozen wave". We present experimental evidence that frozen wave instability exists between two ordinary miscible liquids of similar densities and viscosities. At the experiments and at the numerical model, two superimposed layers of ordinary liquids, water-alcohol of different concentrations, are placed in a closed cavity in a gravitationally stable configuration. The density and viscosity of these fluids are somewhat similar. Similar to the immiscible fluids this instability has a threshold. When the value of forcing is increased the amplitudes of perturbations grow continuously displaying a saw-tooth structure. The decrease of gravity drastically changes the structure of frozen waves.

Dust-acoustic waves modulational instability and rogue waves in a polarized dusty plasma

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bouzit, Omar; Tribeche, Mouloud

2015-10-15

The polarization force-induced changes in the dust-acoustic waves (DAWs) modulational instability (MI) are examined. Using the reductive perturbation method, the nonlinear Schrödinger equation that governs the MI of the DAWs is obtained. It is found that the effect of the polarization term R is to narrow the wave number domain for the onset of instability. The amplitude of the wave envelope decreases as R increases, meaning that the polarization force effects render weaker the associated DA rogue waves. The latter may therefore completely damp in the vicinity of R ∼ 1, i.e., as the polarization force becomes close to the electrostatic onemore » (the net force acting on the dust particles becomes vanishingly small). The DA rogue wave profile is very sensitive to any change in the restoring force acting on the dust particles. It turns out that the polarization effects may completely smear out the DA rogue waves.« less

Density waves at the interface of a binary complex plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Li; Schwabe, Mierk; Zhdanov, Sergey; Thomas, Hubertus M.; Lipaev, Andrey M.; Molotkov, Vladimir I.; Fortov, Vladimir E.; Zhang, Jing; Du, Cheng-Ran

2017-01-01

Density waves were studied in a phase-separated binary complex plasma under microgravity conditions. For the big particles, waves were self-excited by the two-stream instability, while for small particles, they were excited by heartbeat instability with the presence of reversed propagating pulses of a different frequency. By studying the dynamics of wave crests at the interface, we recognize a “collision zone” and a “merger zone” before and after the interface, respectively. The results provide a generic picture of wave-wave interaction at the interface between two “mediums”.

A snapshot of internal waves and hydrodynamic instabilities in the southern Bay of Bengal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lozovatsky, Iossif; Wijesekera, Hemantha; Jarosz, Ewa; Lilover, Madis-Jaak; Pirro, Annunziata; Silver, Zachariah; Centurioni, Luca; Fernando, H. J. S.

2016-08-01

Measurements conducted in the southern Bay of Bengal (BoB) as a part of the ASIRI-EBoB Program portray the characteristics of high-frequency internal waves in the upper pycnocline as well as the velocity structure with episodic events of shear instability. A 20 h time series of CTD, ADCP, and acoustic backscatter profiles down to 150 m as well as temporal CTD measurements in the pycnocline at z = 54 m were taken to the east of Sri Lanka. Internal waves of periods ˜10-40 min were recorded at all depths below a shallow (˜20-30 m) surface mixed layer in the background of an 8 m amplitude internal tide. The absolute values of vertical displacements associated with high-frequency waves followed the Nakagami distribution with a median value of 2.1 m and a 95% quintile 6.5 m. The internal wave amplitudes are normally distributed. The tails of the distribution deviate from normality due to episodic high-amplitude displacements. The sporadic appearance of internal waves with amplitudes exceeding ˜5 m usually coincided with patches of low Richardson numbers, pointing to local shear instability as a possible mechanism of internal-wave-induced turbulence. The probability of shear instability in the summer BoB pycnocline based on an exponential distribution of the inverse Richardson number, however, appears to be relatively low, not exceeding 4% for Ri < 0.25 and about 10% for Ri < 0.36 (K-H billows). The probability of the generation of asymmetric breaking internal waves and Holmboe instabilities is above ˜25%.

Vector rogue waves and baseband modulation instability in the defocusing regime.

PubMed

Baronio, Fabio; Conforti, Matteo; Degasperis, Antonio; Lombardo, Sara; Onorato, Miguel; Wabnitz, Stefan

2014-07-18

We report and discuss analytical solutions of the vector nonlinear Schrödinger equation that describe rogue waves in the defocusing regime. This family of solutions includes bright-dark and dark-dark rogue waves. The link between modulational instability (MI) and rogue waves is displayed by showing that only a peculiar kind of MI, namely baseband MI, can sustain rogue-wave formation. The existence of vector rogue waves in the defocusing regime is expected to be a crucial progress in explaining extreme waves in a variety of physical scenarios described by multicomponent systems, from oceanography to optics and plasma physics.

Influence of flavor oscillations on neutrino beam instabilities

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mendonça, J. T., E-mail: titomend@ist.utl.pt; Haas, F.; Bret, A.

2014-09-15

We consider the collective neutrino plasma interactions and study the electron plasma instabilities produced by a nearly mono-energetic neutrino beam in a plasma. We describe the mutual interaction between neutrino flavor oscillations and electron plasma waves. We show that the neutrino flavor oscillations are not only perturbed by electron plasmas waves but also contribute to the dispersion relation and the growth rates of neutrino beam instabilities.

The formation and dissipation of electrostatic shock waves: the role of ion–ion acoustic instabilities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Wen-shuai; Cai, Hong-bo; Zhu, Shao-ping

2018-05-01

The role of ion–ion acoustic instabilities in the formation and dissipation of collisionless electrostatic shock waves driven by counter-streaming supersonic plasma flows has been investigated via two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations. The nonlinear evolution of unstable waves and ion velocity distributions has been analyzed in detail. It is found that for electrostatic shocks driven by moderate-velocity flows, longitudinal and oblique ion–ion acoustic instabilities can be excited in the downstream and upstream regions, which lead to thermalization of the transmitted and reflected ions, respectively. For high-velocity flows, oblique ion–ion acoustic instabilities can develop in the overlap layer during the shock formation process and impede the shock formation.

Modulation Instability and Phase-Shifted Fermi-Pasta-Ulam Recurrence

PubMed Central

Kimmoun, O.; Hsu, H. C.; Branger, H.; Li, M. S.; Chen, Y. Y.; Kharif, C.; Onorato, M.; Kelleher, E. J. R.; Kibler, B.; Akhmediev, N.; Chabchoub, A.

2016-01-01

Instabilities are common phenomena frequently observed in nature, sometimes leading to unexpected catastrophes and disasters in seemingly normal conditions. One prominent form of instability in a distributed system is its response to a harmonic modulation. Such instability has special names in various branches of physics and is generally known as modulation instability (MI). The MI leads to a growth-decay cycle of unstable waves and is therefore related to Fermi-Pasta-Ulam (FPU) recurrence since breather solutions of the nonlinear Schrödinger equation (NLSE) are known to accurately describe growth and decay of modulationally unstable waves in conservative systems. Here, we report theoretical, numerical and experimental evidence of the effect of dissipation on FPU cycles in a super wave tank, namely their shift in a determined order. In showing that ideal NLSE breather solutions can describe such dissipative nonlinear dynamics, our results may impact the interpretation of a wide range of new physics scenarios. PMID:27436005

Variations in plasma wave intensity with distance along the electron foreshock boundary at Venus

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Crawford, G. K.; Strangeway, R. J.; Russell, C. T.

1991-01-01

Plasma waves are observed in the solar wind upstream of the Venus bow shock by the Pioneer Venus Orbiter. These wave signatures occur during periods when the interplanetary magnetic field through the spacecraft position intersects the bow shock, thereby placing the spacecraft in the foreshock region. Wave intensity is analyzed as a function of distance along the electron foreshock boundary. It is found that the peak wave intensity may increase along the foreshock boundary from the tangent point to a maximum value at several Venus radii, then decrease in intensity with subsequent increase in distance. These observations could be associated with the instability process: the instability of the distribution function increasing with distance from the tangent point to saturation at the peak. Thermalization of the beam for distances beyond this point could reduce the distribution function instability resulting in weaker wave signatures.

Structural and spectral studies of sunspots. [umbral core modelling

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wyller, A. A.

1974-01-01

Observations of umbral cores, both by multicolor photometry and by narrow band photometry in the vicinity of the sodium D lines, are described, and evidence is given which supports the validity of many umbral models, each of which describes different aspects of the observed umbral cores. Theoretical studies carried on at the observatory include the following: (1) Zeeman profiles of the sodium D sub 2 line and other lines; (2) turbulent heat conduction, sound waves, and the missing flux in sunspots; (3) chromospheric heating above spots by Alfven waves; (4) magnetic convection in the sun and solar neutrinos; (5) models of starspots on flare stars; (5) starspots on the primaries of contact binary systems; and (6) implications of starspots on red dwarfs.

Gravitational instability in isotropic MHD plasma waves

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cherkos, Alemayehu Mengesha

2018-04-01

The effect of compressive viscosity, thermal conductivity and radiative heat-loss functions on the gravitational instability of infinitely extended homogeneous MHD plasma has been investigated. By taking in account these parameters we developed the six-order dispersion relation for magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) waves propagating in a homogeneous and isotropic plasma. The general dispersion relation has been developed from set of linearized basic equations and solved analytically to analyse the conditions of instability and instability of self-gravitating plasma embedded in a constant magnetic field. Our result shows that the presence of viscosity and thermal conductivity in a strong magnetic field substantially modifies the fundamental Jeans criterion of gravitational instability.

Power law "thermalization" of ion pickup and ionospheric outflows

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moore, T. E.; Ofman, L.; Glocer, A.; Gershman, D. J.; Khazanov, G. V.; Paterson, W. R.

2016-12-01

One observed feature of ionospheric outflows is that the active ion heating processes produce power law tails of the core plasma velocity distribution, as well as transverse or conic peaks in the angular distributions. This characteristic is shared with hot ion distributions produced by ion pickup in the solar wind, resulting from cometary or interstellar gas ionization, and with hot ions observed around the Space Transportation System during gas releases. We revisit relevant observations and consider the hypothesis that the ion pickup thermalization process tends to produce power law (𝛋) energy distributions, using a simulation of the instability of a simple pickup (ring) distribution. Simulation results are derived for cases representative of both solar wind pickup, where ion velocities exceed the local Alfvén speed, and ionospheric pickup, where the local Alfvén speed exceeds ion velocities. The sub-Alfvenic pickup ring distribution appears to have a slow growth rate (per ion gyro period), that is, the instability evolves more slowly in the latter case than in the former. Implications for ionospheric outflow are discussed.

Dispersive MHD Shock Properties and Interactions with Alfven Solitons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hamilton, R.; Toll, K.; Ellis, C.

2017-12-01

The weakly nonlinear, weakly dispersive limit of Hall MHD with resistivity for 1D waves travelling nearly parallel to the ambient magnetic field reduces to the derivative nonlinear Schrödinger-Burgers (DNLSB) equation. This model equation describes the coupling between the Alfvenic and magnetosonic modes for a low b plasma. Without dissipation this model equation reduces to the DNLS which can be solved as an initial value problem using the Inverse Scattering Transformation through which the nonlinear component of the magnetic field profile can be represented as a combination of one-parameter bright and dark solitons as well as two-parameter solitons. The one-parameter solitons are constrained to travel at speeds ranging between the Alfvenic and magnetosonic characteristic speeds of the ambient field. We have found that these one-parameter solitons are effectively bound to a 1-2 Fast Shock and will pass back and forth across the shock until they are damped away with no apparent effect on the Fast Shock. A similar mechanism is expected for a sufficiently compressive Intermediate Shock as it arises simply from two effects: damping of a one-parameter soliton causes it to speed up and, if it does not damp away, it will eventually overtake the shock; passing forwards through a compressive shock the decrease of the field strength leads to a slowing of the soliton. We also discuss an extension of results [C. F. Kennel, R. D. Blandford, C. C. Wu, Phys. Fluids B 2(2), 1990] related to the time dependence of Intermediate Shocks in the presence of dispersion.

Rogue wave modes for a derivative nonlinear Schrödinger model.

PubMed

Chan, Hiu Ning; Chow, Kwok Wing; Kedziora, David Jacob; Grimshaw, Roger Hamilton James; Ding, Edwin

2014-03-01

Rogue waves in fluid dynamics and optical waveguides are unexpectedly large displacements from a background state, and occur in the nonlinear Schrödinger equation with positive linear dispersion in the regime of positive cubic nonlinearity. Rogue waves of a derivative nonlinear Schrödinger equation are calculated in this work as a long-wave limit of a breather (a pulsating mode), and can occur in the regime of negative cubic nonlinearity if a sufficiently strong self-steepening nonlinearity is also present. This critical magnitude is shown to be precisely the threshold for the onset of modulation instabilities of the background plane wave, providing a strong piece of evidence regarding the connection between a rogue wave and modulation instability. The maximum amplitude of the rogue wave is three times that of the background plane wave, a result identical to that of the Peregrine breather in the classical nonlinear Schrödinger equation model. This amplification ratio and the resulting spectral broadening arising from modulation instability correlate with recent experimental results of water waves. Numerical simulations in the regime of marginal stability are described.

Implications inferred from anisotropy parameter of proton distributions related to EMIC waves in the inner magnetosphere.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Noh, S. J.; Lee, D. Y.

2017-12-01

In the classic theory of wave-particle resonant interaction, anisotropy parameter of proton distribution is considered as an important factor to determine an instability such as ion cyclotron instability. The particle distribution function is often assumed to be a bi-Maxwellian distribution, for which the anisotropy parameter can be simplified to temperature anisotropy (T⊥/T∥-1) independent of specific energy of particles. In this paper, we studied the proton anisotropy related to EMIC waves using the Van Allen Probes observations in the inner magnetosphere. First, we found that the real velocity distribution of protons is usually not expressed with a simple bi-Maxwellian distribution. Also, we calculated the anisotropy parameter using the exact formula defined by Kennel and Petschek [1966] and investigated the linear instability criterion of them. We found that, for majority of the EMIC wave events, the threshold anisotropy condition for proton cyclotron instability is satisfied in the expected range of resonant energy. We further determined the parallel plasma beta and its inverse relationship with the anisotropy parameter. The inverse relationship exists both during the EMIC wave times and non-EMIC wave times, but with different slopes. Based on this result, we demonstrate that the parallel plasma beta can be a critical factor that determines occurrence of EMIC waves.

Gravitational Radiation of a Vibrating Physical String as a Model for the Gravitational Emission of an Astrophysical Plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lewis, Ray A.; Modanese, Giovanni

Vibrating media offer an important testing ground for reconciling conflicts between General Relativity, Quantum Mechanics and other branches of physics. For sources like a Weber bar, the standard covariant formalism for elastic bodies can be applied. The vibrating string, however, is a source of gravitational waves which requires novel computational techniques, based on the explicit construction of a conserved and renormalized energy-momentum tensor. Renormalization (in a classical sense) is necessary to take into account the effect of external constraints, which affect the emission considerably. Our computation also relaxes usual simplifying assumptions like far-field approximation, spherical or plane wave symmetry, TT gauge and absence of internal interference. In a further step towards unification, the method is then adapted to give the radiation field of a transversal Alfven wave in a rarefied astrophysical plasma, where the tension is produced by an external static magnetic field.

Physics of the inner heliosphere: Mechanisms, models and observational signatures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Withbroe, G. L.

1985-01-01

The physics of the solar wind acceleration phenomena (e.g. effect of transient momentum deposition on the temporal and spatial variation of the temperature, density and flow speed of the solar wind, formation of shocks, etc.) and the resultant effects on observational signatures, particularly spectroscopic signature are studied. Phenomena under study include: (1) wave motions, particularly spectroscopic signatures are studied. Phenomena under study include:(1) wave motions, particularly Alfven and fast mode waves, (2) the formation of standing shocks in the inner heliosphere as a result of momentum and/or heat addition to the wind and (3) coronal transient phenomena where momentum and/or heat are deposited in the corona to produce transient plasma heating and/or mass ejections. Also included are the theoretical investigation of spectroscopic plasma diagnostics for the inner heliosphere and the analysis of existing Skylab and other relevant data.

Absorption of acoustic waves by sunspots. II - Resonance absorption in axisymmetric fibril models

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rosenthal, C. S.

1992-01-01

Analytical calculations of acoustic waves scattered by sunspots which concentrate on the absorption at the magnetohydrodynamic Alfven resonance are extended to the case of a flux-tube embedded in a uniform atmosphere. The model is based on a flux-tubes of varying radius that are highly structured, translationally invariant, and axisymmetric. The absorbed fractional energy is determined for different flux-densities and subphotospheric locations with attention given to the effects of twist. When the flux is highly concentrated into annuli efficient absorption is possible even when the mean magnetic flux density is low. The model demonstrates low absorption at low azimuthal orders even in the presence of twist which generally increases the range of wave numbers over which efficient absorption can occur. Resonance absorption is concluded to be an efficient mechanism in monolithic sunspots, fibril sunspots, and plage fields.

Nonsimilar Solution for Shock Waves in a Rotational Axisymmetric Perfect Gas with a Magnetic Field and Exponentially Varying Density

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nath, G.; Sinha, A. K.

2017-01-01

The propagation of a cylindrical shock wave in an ideal gas in the presence of a constant azimuthal magnetic field with consideration for the axisymmetric rotational effects is investigated. The ambient medium is assumed to have the radial, axial, and azimuthal velocity components. The fluid velocities and density of the ambient medium are assumed to vary according to an exponential law. Nonsimilar solutions are obtained by taking into account the vorticity vector and its components. The dependences of the characteristics of the problem on the Alfven-Mach number and time are obtained. It is shown that the presence of a magnetic field has a decaying effect on the shock wave. The pressure and density are shown to vanish at the inner surface (piston), and hence a vacuum forms at the line of symmetry.

Auroral particle acceleration: An example of a universal plasma process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Haerendel, G.

1980-06-01

The occurrence of discrete and narrow auroral arcs is attributed to a sudden release of magnetic tensions set up in a magnetospheric-ionospheric current circuit of high strength. At altitudes of several 1000 km the condition of frozen in magnetic fields can be broken temporarily in thin regions corresponding to the observed width of auroral arcs. This implies magnetic field-aligned potential drops of several kilovolts supported by certain anomalous transport processes which can only be maintained in a quasi-stationary fashion if the current density exceeds a critical limit. The region of field aligned potential drops is structured by two pairs of standing waves which are generalized Alfven waves of large amplitude across which the parallel electric field has a finite jump. The waves are emitted from the leading edge of the acceleration region which propagates slowly into the stressed magnetic field.

Simulations of the Mg II K and Ca II 8542 Lines From an Alfvén Wave-Heated Flare Chromosphere

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kerr, Graham S.; Fletcher, Lyndsay; Russell, Alexander J. B.; Allred, Joel C.

2016-01-01

We use radiation hydrodynamic simulations to examine two models of solar flare chromospheric heating: Alfven wave dissipation and electron beam collisional losses. Both mechanisms are capable of strong chromospheric heating, and we show that the distinctive atmospheric evolution in the mid-to-upper chromosphere results in Mg II k-line emission that should be observably different between wave-heated and beam-heated simulations. We also present Ca II 8542 A profiles that are formed slightly deeper in the chromosphere. The Mg II k-line profiles from our wave-heated simulation are quite different from those from a beam-heated model and are more consistent with Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph observations. The predicted differences between the Ca II 8542 A in the two models are small. We conclude that careful observational and theoretical study of lines formed in the mid-to-upper chromosphere holds genuine promise for distinguishing between competing models for chromospheric heating inflares.

The latitudinal structure of Pc 5 waves in space - Magnetic and electric field observations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Singer, H. J.; Kivelson, M. G.

1979-01-01

The occurrence frequency and spatial structure of Pc 5 magnetic pulsations in the dawnside of the plasma trough have been studied using data from the Ogo 5 satellite. The wave magnetic fields were obtained from the University of California, Los Angeles, flux-gate magnetometer measurements, and one component of the wave electric field was inferred from oscillations of the ion flux measured by the Lockheed light ion mass spectrometer. During portions of seven of the 19 passes comprising the survey, Pc 5 oscillations were observed in the ion flux but not in the magnetic field, and in each case the satellite was within 10 deg of the geomagnetic equator. Above 10 deg latitude, transverse magnetic and electric oscillations were both observed. The results are consistent with the model of a standing Alfven wave along a resonant field line with the geomagnetic equator as a node of the magnetic perturbation, that is, an odd mode.

On the instability of wave-fields with JONSWAP spectra to inhomogeneous disturbances, and the consequent long-time evolution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ribal, A.; Stiassnie, M.; Babanin, A.; Young, I.

2012-04-01

The instability of two-dimensional wave-fields and its subsequent evolution in time are studied by means of the Alber equation for narrow-banded random surface-waves in deep water subject to inhomogeneous disturbances. A linear partial differential equation (PDE) is obtained after applying an inhomogeneous disturbance to the Alber's equation and based on the solution of this PDE, the instability of the ocean wave surface is studied for a JONSWAP spectrum, which is a realistic ocean spectrum with variable directional spreading and steepness. The steepness of the JONSWAP spectrum depends on γ and α which are the peak-enhancement factor and energy scale of the spectrum respectively and it is found that instability depends on the directional spreading, α and γ. Specifically, if the instability stops due to the directional spreading, increase of the steepness by increasing α or γ can reactivate it. This result is in qualitative agreement with the recent large-scale experiment and new theoretical results. In the instability area of α-γ plane, a long-time evolution has been simulated by integrating Alber's equation numerically and recurrent evolution is obtained which is the stochastic counterpart of the Fermi-Pasta-Ulam recurrence obtained for the cubic Schrödinger equation.

On the parameter dependence of the whistler anisotropy instability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

An, Xin; Yue, Chao; Bortnik, Jacob; Decyk, Viktor; Li, Wen; Thorne, Richard M.

2017-02-01

The evolution of the whistler anisotropy instability relevant to whistler-mode chorus waves in the Earth's inner magnetosphere is studied using kinetic simulations and is compared with satellite observations. The electron distribution is constrained by the whistler anisotropy instability to a marginal stability state and presents an upper bound of electron anisotropy, which agrees with satellite observations. The electron beta β∥e separates whistler waves into two groups: (i) quasi-parallel whistler waves for β∥e≳0.02 and (ii) oblique whistler waves close to the resonance cone for β∥e≲0.02. Landau damping is important in the saturation and relaxation stage of the oblique whistler wave growth. The saturated magnetic field energy of whistler waves roughly scales with the electron beta β∥e2, shown in both simulations and satellite observations. These results suggest the critical role of electron beta β∥e in determining the whistler wave properties in the inner magnetosphere.

Spatio-temporal dynamics induced by competing instabilities in two asymmetrically coupled nonlinear evolution equations.

PubMed

Schüler, D; Alonso, S; Torcini, A; Bär, M

2014-12-01

Pattern formation often occurs in spatially extended physical, biological, and chemical systems due to an instability of the homogeneous steady state. The type of the instability usually prescribes the resulting spatio-temporal patterns and their characteristic length scales. However, patterns resulting from the simultaneous occurrence of instabilities cannot be expected to be simple superposition of the patterns associated with the considered instabilities. To address this issue, we design two simple models composed by two asymmetrically coupled equations of non-conserved (Swift-Hohenberg equations) or conserved (Cahn-Hilliard equations) order parameters with different characteristic wave lengths. The patterns arising in these systems range from coexisting static patterns of different wavelengths to traveling waves. A linear stability analysis allows to derive a two parameter phase diagram for the studied models, in particular, revealing for the Swift-Hohenberg equations, a co-dimension two bifurcation point of Turing and wave instability and a region of coexistence of stationary and traveling patterns. The nonlinear dynamics of the coupled evolution equations is investigated by performing accurate numerical simulations. These reveal more complex patterns, ranging from traveling waves with embedded Turing patterns domains to spatio-temporal chaos, and a wide hysteretic region, where waves or Turing patterns coexist. For the coupled Cahn-Hilliard equations the presence of a weak coupling is sufficient to arrest the coarsening process and to lead to the emergence of purely periodic patterns. The final states are characterized by domains with a characteristic length, which diverges logarithmically with the coupling amplitude.

Development of a Two-Dimensional Hybrid-Kinetic Code for Simulations of Low-Altitude Auroral Flux-Tubes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sydorenko, D.; Rankin, R.; Kabin, K.

2009-12-01

This paper presents initial results based on kinetic extensions of a nonlinear two-dimensional (2D) multi-fluid (three ion species and fluid electrons) MHD model that is designed to study propagation of shear Alfven waves in low-altitude auroral flux tubes. It is intended to use the model for scientific support of the “enhanced polar outflow probe” e-POP/CASSIOPE spacecraft mission (launch scheduled in 2010). Effects of gravity, thermal pressure, and geomagnetic field curvature are included, while the parallel electric field along geomagnetic field lines is calculated under the assumption of plasma quasineutrality. The model has been used successfully to study excitation of eigenmodes of the ionospheric Alfven resonator (IAR) by an Alfven wave packet injected from the magnetospheric end of the simulated plasma region. The formation of density cavities due to the ponderomotive force of standing oscillations in the IAR [Sydorenko, Rankin, and Kabin, 2008], and excitation of double layers and ion-acoustic wave packets, has been demonstrated. The kinetic extension of the multi-fluid code involves replacing the fluid electron model with a kinetic module that solves the simplified drift-kinetic Vlasov equation for the electron velocity distribution function (EVDF). To avoid undue complexity, it is assumed that (i) the electrons move only along geomagnetic field lines and (ii) the electron magnetic moment is conserved. As a result, the evolution of the EVDF is reduced to the problem of advection in 2D phase space “distance along the field line - velocity along the field line”. This problem is solved using a semi-Lagrangian algorithm [Staniforth and Cote, 1991]. The kinetic simulation starts from the initial equilibrium state similar to [Ergun et al., 2000]. The equilibrium assumes that the plasma consists of two electron populations: cold electrons with isotropic EVDF originating from the ionosphere, and hot anisotropic electrons with a loss-cone EVDF coming from the high-altitude end. The loss-cone distribution is prone to strong numerical dispersion, which is compensated by tracing the interface of the EVDF in the coordinate-velocity phase space. Ergun R. E., C. W. Carlson, J. P. McFadden, F. S. Mozer, and R. J. Strangeway (2000), Geophys. Res. Lett., 27, 4053-4056. Staniforth A. and J. Cote (1991), Mon. Wea. Rev., 119, 2206-2223 Sydorenko, D., R. Rankin, and K. Kabin (2008), J. Geophys. Res., 113, A10206, doi:10.1029/2008JA013579.

Noise from Supersonic Coaxial Jets. Part 2; Normal Velocity Profile

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dahl, M. D.; Morris, P. J.

1997-01-01

Instability waves have been established as noise generators in supersonic jets. Recent analysis of these slowly diverging jets has shown that these instability waves radiate noise to the far field when the waves have components with phase velocities that are supersonic relative to the ambient speed of sound. This instability wave noise generation model has been applied to supersonic jets with a single shear layer and is now applied to supersonic coaxial jets with two initial shear layers. In this paper the case of coaxial jets with normal velocity profiles is considered, where the inner jet stream velocity is higher than the outer jet stream velocity. To provide mean flow profiles at all axial locations, a numerical scheme is used to calculate the mean flow properties. Calculations are made for the stability characteristics in the coaxial jet shear layers and the noise radiated from the instability waves for different operating conditions with the same total thrust, mass flow and exit area as a single reference jet. The effects of changes in the velocity ratio, the density ratio and the area ratio are each considered independently.

Long-wave theory for a new convective instability with exponential growth normal to the wall.

PubMed

Healey, J J

2005-05-15

A linear stability theory is presented for the boundary-layer flow produced by an infinite disc rotating at constant angular velocity in otherwise undisturbed fluid. The theory is developed in the limit of long waves and when the effects of viscosity on the waves can be neglected. This is the parameter regime recently identified by the author in a numerical stability investigation where a curious new type of instability was found in which disturbances propagate and grow exponentially in the direction normal to the disc, (i.e. the growth takes place in a region of zero mean shear). The theory describes the mechanisms controlling the instability, the role and location of critical points, and presents a saddle-point analysis describing the large-time evolution of a wave packet in frames of reference moving normal to the disc. The theory also shows that the previously obtained numerical solutions for numerically large wavelengths do indeed lie in the asymptotic long-wave regime, and so the behaviour and mechanisms described here may apply to a number of cross-flow instability problems.

Inertial Wave Turbulence Driven by Elliptical Instability.

PubMed

Le Reun, Thomas; Favier, Benjamin; Barker, Adrian J; Le Bars, Michael

2017-07-21

The combination of elliptical deformation of streamlines and vorticity can lead to the destabilization of any rotating flow via the elliptical instability. Such a mechanism has been invoked as a possible source of turbulence in planetary cores subject to tidal deformations. The saturation of the elliptical instability has been shown to generate turbulence composed of nonlinearly interacting waves and strong columnar vortices with varying respective amplitudes, depending on the control parameters and geometry. In this Letter, we present a suite of numerical simulations to investigate the saturation and the transition from vortex-dominated to wave-dominated regimes. This is achieved by simulating the growth and saturation of the elliptical instability in an idealized triply periodic domain, adding a frictional damping to the geostrophic component only, to mimic its interaction with boundaries. We reproduce several experimental observations within one idealized local model and complement them by reaching more extreme flow parameters. In particular, a wave-dominated regime that exhibits many signatures of inertial wave turbulence is characterized for the first time. This regime is expected in planetary interiors.