Precipitation and Release of Solar Energetic Particles from the Solar Coronal Magnetic Field

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Ming; Zhao, Lulu

2017-09-01

Most solar energetic particles (SEPs) are produced in the corona. They propagate through complex coronal magnetic fields subject to scattering and diffusion across the averaged field lines by turbulence. We examine the behaviors of particle transport using a stochastic 3D focused transport simulation in a potential field source surface model of coronal magnetic field. The model is applied to an SEP event on 2010 February 7. We study three scenarios of particle injection at (I) the compact solar flare site, (II) the coronal mass ejection (CME) shock, and (III) the EUV wave near the surface. The majority of particles injected on open field lines are able to escape the corona. We found that none of our models can explain the observations of wide longitudinal SEP spread without perpendicular diffusion. If the perpendicular diffusion is about 10% of what is derived from the random walk of field lines at the rate of supergranular diffusion, particles injected at the compact solar flare site can spread to a wide range of longitude and latitude, very similar to the behavior of particles injected at a large CME shock. Stronger pitch-angle scattering results in a little more lateral spread by holding the particles in the corona for longer periods of time. Some injected particles eventually end up precipitating onto the solar surface. Even with a very small perpendicular diffusion, the pattern of the particle precipitation can be quite complicated depending on the detailed small-scale coronal magnetic field structures, which could be seen with future sensitive gamma-ray telescopes.

FAST TRACK COMMUNICATION: The origin of Bohm diffusion, investigated by a comparison of different modelling methods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bultinck, E.; Mahieu, S.; Depla, D.; Bogaerts, A.

2010-07-01

'Bohm diffusion' causes the electrons to diffuse perpendicularly to the magnetic field lines. However, its origin is not yet completely understood: low and high frequency electric field fluctuations are both named to cause Bohm diffusion. The importance of including this process in a Monte Carlo (MC) model is demonstrated by comparing calculated ionization rates with particle-in-cell/Monte Carlo collisions (PIC/MCC) simulations. A good agreement is found with a Bohm diffusion parameter of 0.05, which corresponds well to experiments. Since the PIC/MCC method accounts for fast electric field fluctuations, we conclude that Bohm diffusion is caused by fast electric field phenomena.

Surface evolution in bare bamboo-type metal lines under diffusion and electric field effects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Averbuch, Amir; Israeli, Moshe; Nathan, Menachem; Ravve, Igor

2003-07-01

Irregularities such as voids and cracks often occur in bamboo-type metal lines of microelectronic interconnects. They increase the resistance of the circuits, and may even lead to a fatal failure. In this work, we analyze numerically the electromigration of an unpassivated bamboo-type line with pre-existing irregularities in its top surface (also called a grain-void interface). The bamboo line is subjected to surface diffusion forces and external electric fields. Under these forces, initial defects may either heal or become worse. The grain-void interface is considered to be one-dimensional, and the physical formulation of an electromigration and diffusion model results in two coupled, fourth order, one-dimensional time-dependent PDEs, with the boundary conditions imposed at the electrode points and at the triple point, which belongs to two neighboring grains and the void. These equations are discretized by finite differences on a regular grid in space, and by a Runge-Kutta integration scheme in time, and solved simultaneously with a static Laplace equation describing the voltage distribution throughout each grain, when the substrate conductivity is neglected. Since the voltage distribution is required only along an interface line, the two-dimensional discretization of the grain interior is not needed, and the static problem is solved by the boundary element method at each time step. The motion of the interface line is studied for different ratios between diffusion and electric field forces, and for different initial configurations of the grain-void interface. We study plain and tilted contour lines, considering positive and negative tilts with respect to the external electric field, a stepped contour with field lines entering or exiting the 'step', and a number of modifications of the classical Mullins problem of thermal grooving. We also consider a two-grain Mullins problem with a normal and tilted boundary between the grains, examining positive and negative tilts.

"Diffusion" region of magnetic reconnection: electron orbits and the phase space mixing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kropotkin, Alexey P.

2018-05-01

The nonlinear dynamics of electrons in the vicinity of magnetic field neutral lines during magnetic reconnection, deep inside the diffusion region where the electron motion is nonadiabatic, has been numerically analyzed. Test particle orbits are examined in that vicinity, for a prescribed planar two-dimensional magnetic field configuration and with a prescribed uniform electric field in the neutral line direction. On electron orbits, a strong particle acceleration occurs due to the reconnection electric field. Local instability of orbits in the neighborhood of the neutral line is pointed out. It combines with finiteness of orbits due to particle trapping by the magnetic field, and this should lead to the effect of mixing in the phase space, and the appearance of dynamical chaos. The latter may presumably be viewed as a mechanism producing finite conductivity in collisionless plasma near the neutral line. That conductivity is necessary to provide violation of the magnetic field frozen-in condition, i.e., for magnetic reconnection to occur in that region.

MAGNETIC FIELD LINE RANDOM WALK FOR DISTURBED FLUX SURFACES: TRAPPING EFFECTS AND MULTIPLE ROUTES TO BOHM DIFFUSION

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

Ghilea, M. C.; Ruffolo, D.; Sonsrettee, W.

2011-11-01

The magnetic field line random walk (FLRW) is important for the transport of energetic particles in many astrophysical situations. While all authors agree on the quasilinear diffusion of field lines for fluctuations that mainly vary parallel to a large-scale field, for the opposite case of fluctuations that mainly vary in the perpendicular directions, there has been an apparent conflict between concepts of Bohm diffusion and percolation/trapping effects. Here computer simulation and non-perturbative analytic techniques are used to re-examine the FLRW in magnetic turbulence with slab and two-dimensional (2D) components, in which 2D flux surfaces are disturbed by the slab fluctuations.more » Previous non-perturbative theories for D{sub perpendicular}, based on Corrsin's hypothesis, have identified a slab contribution with quasilinear behavior and a 2D contribution due to Bohm diffusion with diffusive decorrelation (DD), combined in a quadratic formula. Here we present analytic theories for other routes to Bohm diffusion, with random ballistic decorrelation (RBD) either due to the 2D component itself (for a weak slab contribution) or the total fluctuation field (for a strong slab contribution), combined in a direct sum with the slab contribution. Computer simulations confirm the applicability of RBD routes for weak or strong slab contributions, while the DD route applies for a moderate slab contribution. For a very low slab contribution, interesting trapping effects are found, including a depressed diffusion coefficient and subdiffusive behavior. Thus quasilinear, Bohm, and trapping behaviors are all found in the same system, together with an overall viewpoint to explain these behaviors.« less

Plasma Equilibrium in a Magnetic Field with Stochastic Field-Line Trajectories

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krommes, J. A.; Reiman, A. H.

2008-11-01

The nature of plasma equilibrium in a magnetic field with stochastic field lines is examined, expanding upon the ideas first described by Reiman et al. The magnetic partial differential equation (PDE) that determines the equilibrium Pfirsch-Schlüter currents is treated as a passive stochastic PDE for μj/B. Renormalization leads to a stochastic Langevin equation for μ in which the resonances at the rational surfaces are broadened by the stochastic diffusion of the field lines; even weak radial diffusion can significantly affect the equilibrium, which need not be flattened in the stochastic region. Particular attention is paid to satisfying the periodicity constraints in toroidal configurations with sheared magnetic fields. A numerical scheme that couples the renormalized Langevin equation to Ampere's law is described. A. Reiman et al, Nucl. Fusion 47, 572--8 (2007). J. A. Krommes, Phys. Reports 360, 1--351.

Putting atomic diffusion theory of magnetic ApBp stars to the test: evaluation of the predictions of time-dependent diffusion models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kochukhov, O.; Ryabchikova, T. A.

2018-02-01

A series of recent theoretical atomic diffusion studies has address the challenging problem of predicting inhomogeneous vertical and horizontal chemical element distributions in the atmospheres of magnetic ApBp stars. Here we critically assess the most sophisticated of such diffusion models - based on a time-dependent treatment of the atomic diffusion in a magnetized stellar atmosphere - by direct comparison with observations as well by testing the widely used surface mapping tools with the spectral line profiles predicted by this theory. We show that the mean abundances of Fe and Cr are grossly underestimated by the time-dependent theoretical diffusion model, with discrepancies reaching a factor of 1000 for Cr. We also demonstrate that Doppler imaging inversion codes, based either on modelling of individual metal lines or line-averaged profiles simulated according to theoretical three-dimensional abundance distribution, are able to reconstruct correct horizontal chemical spot maps despite ignoring the vertical abundance variation. These numerical experiments justify a direct comparison of the empirical two-dimensional Doppler maps with theoretical diffusion calculations. This comparison is generally unfavourable for the current diffusion theory, as very few chemical elements are observed to form overabundance rings in the horizontal field regions as predicted by the theory and there are numerous examples of element accumulations in the vicinity of radial field zones, which cannot be explained by diffusion calculations.

MRI diffusion tensor reconstruction with PROPELLER data acquisition.

PubMed

Cheryauka, Arvidas B; Lee, James N; Samsonov, Alexei A; Defrise, Michel; Gullberg, Grant T

2004-02-01

MRI diffusion imaging is effective in measuring the diffusion tensor in brain, cardiac, liver, and spinal tissue. Diffusion tensor tomography MRI (DTT MRI) method is based on reconstructing the diffusion tensor field from measurements of projections of the tensor field. Projections are obtained by appropriate application of rotated diffusion gradients. In the present paper, the potential of a novel data acquisition scheme, PROPELLER (Periodically Rotated Overlapping ParallEL Lines with Enhanced Reconstruction), is examined in combination with DTT MRI for its capability and sufficiency for diffusion imaging. An iterative reconstruction algorithm is used to reconstruct the diffusion tensor field from rotated diffusion weighted blades by appropriate rotated diffusion gradients. DTT MRI with PROPELLER data acquisition shows significant potential to reduce the number of weighted measurements, avoid ambiguity in reconstructing diffusion tensor parameters, increase signal-to-noise ratio, and decrease the influence of signal distortion.

Diffusive processes in a stochastic magnetic field

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

Wang, H.; Vlad, M.; Vanden Eijnden, E.

1995-05-01

The statistical representation of a fluctuating (stochastic) magnetic field configuration is studied in detail. The Eulerian correlation functions of the magnetic field are determined, taking into account all geometrical constraints: these objects form a nondiagonal matrix. The Lagrangian correlations, within the reasonable Corrsin approximation, are reduced to a single scalar function, determined by an integral equation. The mean square perpendicular deviation of a geometrical point moving along a perturbed field line is determined by a nonlinear second-order differential equation. The separation of neighboring field lines in a stochastic magnetic field is studied. We find exponentiation lengths of both signs describing,more » in particular, a decay (on the average) of any initial anisotropy. The vanishing sum of these exponentiation lengths ensures the existence of an invariant which was overlooked in previous works. Next, the separation of a particle`s trajectory from the magnetic field line to which it was initially attached is studied by a similar method. Here too an initial phase of exponential separation appears. Assuming the existence of a final diffusive phase, anomalous diffusion coefficients are found for both weakly and strongly collisional limits. The latter is identical to the well known Rechester-Rosenbluth coefficient, which is obtained here by a more quantitative (though not entirely deductive) treatment than in earlier works.« less

Electron heat transport measured in a stochastic magnetic field.

PubMed

Biewer, T M; Forest, C B; Anderson, J K; Fiksel, G; Hudson, B; Prager, S C; Sarff, J S; Wright, J C; Brower, D L; Ding, W X; Terry, S D

2003-07-25

New profile measurements have allowed the electron thermal diffusivity profile to be estimated from power balance in the Madison Symmetric Torus where magnetic islands overlap and field lines are stochastic. The measurements show that (1) the electron energy transport is conductive not convective, (2) the measured thermal diffusivities are in good agreement with numerical simulations of stochastic transport, and (3) transport is greatly reduced near the reversal surface where magnetic diffusion is small.

Radial transport of radiation belt electrons in kinetic field-line resonances

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

Chaston, Christopher C.; Bonnell, J. W.; Wygant, J. R.

A representative case study from the Van Allen Probes during a geomagnetic storm recovery phase reveals enhanced electron fluxes at intermediate pitch angles over energies from ~100 keV to 5 MeV coincident with broadband low-frequency electromagnetic waves. The statistical properties of these waves are used to build a model for radial diffusion via drift-bounce resonances in kinetic Alfvén eigenmodes/kinetic field-line resonances. Estimated diffusion coefficients indicate timescales for radial transport on the order of hours in storm time events at energies from <100 keV to MeVs over equatorial pitch angles from the edge of the loss cone to nearly perpendicular tomore » the geomagnetic field. In conclusion, the correlation of kinetic resonances with electron depletions and enhancements during storm main phase and recovery, and the rapid diffusion these waves drive, suggests that they may modulate the outer radiation belt.« less

Radial transport of radiation belt electrons in kinetic field-line resonances

DOE PAGES

Chaston, Christopher C.; Bonnell, J. W.; Wygant, J. R.; ...

2017-07-25

A representative case study from the Van Allen Probes during a geomagnetic storm recovery phase reveals enhanced electron fluxes at intermediate pitch angles over energies from ~100 keV to 5 MeV coincident with broadband low-frequency electromagnetic waves. The statistical properties of these waves are used to build a model for radial diffusion via drift-bounce resonances in kinetic Alfvén eigenmodes/kinetic field-line resonances. Estimated diffusion coefficients indicate timescales for radial transport on the order of hours in storm time events at energies from <100 keV to MeVs over equatorial pitch angles from the edge of the loss cone to nearly perpendicular tomore » the geomagnetic field. In conclusion, the correlation of kinetic resonances with electron depletions and enhancements during storm main phase and recovery, and the rapid diffusion these waves drive, suggests that they may modulate the outer radiation belt.« less

Structure of chaotic magnetic field lines in IR-T1 tokamak due to ergodic magnetic limiter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ahmadi, S.; Salar Elahi, A.; Ghorannevis, M.

2018-03-01

In this paper we have studied an Ergodic Magnetic Limiter (EML) based chaotic magnetic field for transport control in the edge plasma of IR-T1 tokamak. The resonance created by the EML causes perturbation of the equilibrium field line in tokamak and as a result, the field lines are chaotic in the vicinity of the dimerized island chains. Transport barriers are formed in the chaotic field line and actually observe in tokamak with reverse magnetic shear. We used area-preserving non-twist (and twist) Poincaré maps to describe the formation of transport barriers, which are actually features of Hamiltonian systems. This transport barrier is useful in reducing radial diffusion of the field line and thus improving the plasma confinement.

The generation and dissipation of solar and galactic magnetic fields.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Parker, E. N.

1973-01-01

Turbulent diffusion of magnetic field plays an essential role in the generation of magnetic field in most astrophysical bodies. Review of what can be proved and what can be believed about the turbulent diffusion of magnetic field. Observations indicate the dissipation of magnetic field at rates that can be understood only in terms of turbulent diffusion. Theory shows that a large-scale weak magnetic field diffuses in a turbulent flow in the same way that smoke is mixed throughout the fluid by the turbulence. The small-scale fields (produced from the large-scale field by the turbulence) are limited in their growth by reconnection of field lines at neutral points, so that the turbulent mixing of field and fluid is not halted by them. Altogether, it appears that the mixing of field and fluid in the observed turbulent motions in the sun and in the Galaxy is unavoidable. Turbulent diffusion causes decay of the general solar fields in a decade or so, and of the galactic field in 100 m.y. to 1 b.y. It is concluded that continual dynamo action is implied by the observed existence of the fields.

A New Probe of Line-of-sight Magnetic Field Tangling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Clark, S. E.

2018-04-01

The Galactic neutral hydrogen (H I ) sky at high Galactic latitudes is suffused with linear structure. Particularly prominent in narrow spectral intervals, these linear H I features are well aligned with the plane-of-sky magnetic field orientation as measured with optical starlight polarization and polarized thermal dust emission. We analyze the coherence of the orientation of these features with respect to line-of-sight velocity, and propose a new metric to quantify this H I coherence. We show that H I coherence is linearly correlated with the polarization fraction of 353 GHz dust emission. H I coherence constitutes a novel method for measuring the degree of magnetic field tangling along the line of sight in the diffuse interstellar medium. We propose applications of this property for H I -based models of the polarized dust emission in diffuse regions, and for studies of frequency decorrelation in the polarized dust foreground to the cosmic microwave background (CMB).

Diffusion-plus-drift models for the mass leakage from centrifugal magnetospheres of magnetic hot-stars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Owocki, Stanley P.; Cranmer, Steven R.

2018-03-01

In the subset of luminous, early-type stars with strong, large-scale magnetic fields and moderate to rapid rotation, material from the star's radiatively driven stellar wind outflow becomes trapped by closed magnetic loops, forming a centrifugally supported, corotating magnetosphere. We present here a semi-analytic analysis of how this quasi-steady accumulation of wind mass can be balanced by losses associated with a combination of an outward, centrifugally driven drift in the region beyond the Kepler co-rotation radius, and an inward/outward diffusion near this radius. We thereby derive scaling relations for the equilibrium spatial distribution of mass, and the associated emission measure for observational diagnostics like Balmer line emission. We discuss the potential application of these relations for interpreting surveys of the emission line diagnostics for OB stars with centrifugally supported magnetospheres. For a specific model of turbulent field-line-wandering rooted in surface motions associated with the iron opacity bump, we estimate values for the associated diffusion and drift coefficients.

Nonlinear restrictions on dynamo action. [in magnetic fields of astrophysical objects

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vainshtein, Samuel I.; Cattaneo, Fausto

1992-01-01

Astrophysical dynamos operate in the limit of small magnetic diffusivity. In order for magnetic reconnection to occur, very small magnetic structures must form so that diffusion becomes effective. The formation of small-scale fields is accompanied by the stretching of the field lines and therefore by an amplification of the magnetic field strength. The back reaction of the magnetic field on the motions leads to the eventual saturation of the dynamo process, thus posing a constraint on the amount of magnetic flux that can be generated by dynamo action, It is argued that in the limit of small diffusivity only a small amount of flux, many orders of magnitude less than the observed fluxes, can be created by dynamo processes.

Effects of Coronal Magnetic Field Structures on the Transport of Solar Energetic Particles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Lulu; Zhang, Ming

2018-06-01

This Letter presents a model calculation of solar energetic particle (SEP) transport to test the sensitivity of the distribution of escaped SEPs in interplanetary space and dependence upon the details of the magnetic field structure in the corona. It is applied to a circumsolar event on 2011 November 3, in which SEPs are observed promptly after the solar event eruption by three spacecraft (the twin Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatories (STEREO-A and STEREO-B) and ACE) separated by more than 100° in longitude from each other. The corona magnetic field reconstructed from photosphseric field measurements using the PFSS method changes substantially before and after the solar eruption, especially around the active region. The locations of open field regions, separatrix surfaces including the heliospheric current sheet, and footpoints of magnetic field lines connected to the spacecraft location have shifted substantially. We inject 100 keV energetic electrons on the open field lines at 1.5 R s within the size of observed coronal mass ejections (CMEs) and follow their propagation in the corona and the interplanetary space. We find that with a perpendicular diffusion due to field line random walk equal to 10% of the supergranular diffusion rate, the overall distribution of escaped SEPs does not change much even though the region of open field lines from SEPs has changed. The result suggests that detailed small-scale coronal magnetic field structures and the exact magnetic field connection are not crucially important for observing SEPs in the interplanetary space.

Scaling results for the magnetic field line trajectories in the stochastic layer near the separatrix in divertor tokamaks with high magnetic shear using the higher shear map

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Punjabi, Alkesh; Ali, Halima; Farhat, Hamidullah

2009-07-01

Extra terms are added to the generating function of the simple map (Punjabi et al 1992 Phys. Rev. Lett. 69 3322) to adjust shear of magnetic field lines in divertor tokamaks. From this new generating function, a higher shear map is derived from a canonical transformation. A continuous analog of the higher shear map is also derived. The method of maps (Punjabi et al 1994 J. Plasma Phys. 52 91) is used to calculate the average shear, stochastic broadening of the ideal separatrix near the X-point in the principal plane of the tokamak, loss of poloidal magnetic flux from inside the ideal separatrix, magnetic footprint on the collector plate, and its area, and the radial diffusion coefficient of magnetic field lines near the X-point. It is found that the width of the stochastic layer near the X-point and the loss of poloidal flux from inside the ideal separatrix scale linearly with average shear. The area of magnetic footprints scales roughly linearly with average shear. Linear scaling of the area is quite good when the average shear is greater than or equal to 1.25. When the average shear is in the range 1.1-1.25, the area of the footprint fluctuates (as a function of average shear) and scales faster than linear scaling. Radial diffusion of field lines near the X-point increases very rapidly by about four orders of magnitude as average shear increases from about 1.15 to 1.5. For higher values of average shear, diffusion increases linearly, and comparatively very slowly. The very slow scaling of the radial diffusion of the field can flatten the plasma pressure gradient near the separatrix, and lead to the elimination of type-I edge localized modes.

Dirichlet boundary conditions for arbitrary-shaped boundaries in stellarator-like magnetic fields for the Flux-Coordinate Independent method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hill, Peter; Shanahan, Brendan; Dudson, Ben

2017-04-01

We present a technique for handling Dirichlet boundary conditions with the Flux Coordinate Independent (FCI) parallel derivative operator with arbitrary-shaped material geometry in general 3D magnetic fields. The FCI method constructs a finite difference scheme for ∇∥ by following field lines between poloidal planes and interpolating within planes. Doing so removes the need for field-aligned coordinate systems that suffer from singularities in the metric tensor at null points in the magnetic field (or equivalently, when q → ∞). One cost of this method is that as the field lines are not on the mesh, they may leave the domain at any point between neighbouring planes, complicating the application of boundary conditions. The Leg Value Fill (LVF) boundary condition scheme presented here involves an extrapolation/interpolation of the boundary value onto the field line end point. The usual finite difference scheme can then be used unmodified. We implement the LVF scheme in BOUT++ and use the Method of Manufactured Solutions to verify the implementation in a rectangular domain, and show that it does not modify the error scaling of the finite difference scheme. The use of LVF for arbitrary wall geometry is outlined. We also demonstrate the feasibility of using the FCI approach in no n-axisymmetric configurations for a simple diffusion model in a "straight stellarator" magnetic field. A Gaussian blob diffuses along the field lines, tracing out flux surfaces. Dirichlet boundary conditions impose a last closed flux surface (LCFS) that confines the density. Including a poloidal limiter moves the LCFS to a smaller radius. The expected scaling of the numerical perpendicular diffusion, which is a consequence of the FCI method, in stellarator-like geometry is recovered. A novel technique for increasing the parallel resolution during post-processing, in order to reduce artefacts in visualisations, is described.

Wave Phenomena and Beam-Plasma Interactions at the Magnetopause Reconnection Region

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Burch, J. L.; Webster, J. M.; Genestreti, K. J.; Torbert, R. B.; Giles, B. L.; Fuselier, S. A.; Dorelli, J. C.; Rager, A. C.; Phan, T. D.; Allen, R. C.; Chen, L.-J.; Wang, S.; Le Contel, O.; Russell, C. T.; Strangeway, R. J.; Ergun, R. E.; Jaynes, A. N.; Lindqvist, P.-A.; Graham, D. B.; Wilder, F. D.; Hwang, K.-J.; Goldstein, J.

2018-02-01

This paper reports on Magnetospheric Multiscale observations of whistler mode chorus and higher-frequency electrostatic waves near and within a reconnection diffusion region on 23 November 2016. The diffusion region is bounded by crescent-shaped electron distributions and associated dissipation just upstream of the X-line and by magnetic field-aligned currents and electric fields leading to dissipation near the electron stagnation point. Measurements were made southward of the X-line as determined by southward directed ion and electron jets. We show that electrostatic wave generation is due to magnetosheath electron beams formed by the electron jets as they interact with a cold background plasma and more energetic population of magnetospheric electrons. On the magnetosphere side of the X-line the electron beams are accompanied by a strong perpendicular electron temperature anisotropy, which is shown to be the source of an observed rising-tone whistler mode chorus event. We show that the apex of the chorus event and the onset of electrostatic waves coincide with the opening of magnetic field lines at the electron stagnation point.

Spatial Transport of Magnetic Flux Surfaces in Strongly Anisotropic Turbulence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Matthaeus, W. H.; Servidio, S.; Wan, M.; Ruffolo, D. J.; Rappazzo, A. F.; Oughton, S.

2013-12-01

Magnetic flux surfaces afford familiar descriptions of spatial structure, dynamics, and connectivity of magnetic fields, with particular relevance in contexts such as solar coronal flux tubes, magnetic field connectivity in the interplanetary and interstellar medium, as well as in laboratory plasmas and dynamo problems [1-4]. Typical models assume that field-lines are orderly, and flux tubes remain identifiable over macroscopic distances; however, a previous study has shown that flux tubes shred in the presence of fluctuations, typically losing identity after several correlation scales [5]. Here, the structure of magnetic flux surfaces is numerically investigated in a reduced magnetohydrodynamic (RMHD) model of homogeneous turbulence. Short and long-wavelength behavior is studied statistically by propagating magnetic surfaces along the mean field. At small scales magnetic surfaces become complex, experiencing an exponential thinning. At large scales, instead, the magnetic flux undergoes a diffusive behavior. The link between the diffusion of the coarse-grained flux and field-line random walk is established by means of a multiple scale analysis. Both large and small scales limits are controlled by the Kubo number. These results have consequences for understanding and interpreting processes such as magnetic reconnection and field-line diffusion in plasmas [6]. [1] E. N. Parker, Cosmical Magnetic Fields (Oxford Univ. Press, New York, 1979). [2] J. R. Jokipii and E. N. Parker, Phys. Rev. Lett. 21, 44 (1968). [3] R. Bruno et al., Planet. Space Sci. 49, 1201 (2001). [4] M. N. Rosenbluth et al., Nuclear Fusion 6, 297 (1966). [5] W. H. Matthaeus et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 75, 2136 (1995). [6] S. Servidio et al., submitted (2013).

Parallel heat transport in integrable and chaotic magnetic fields

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

Del-Castillo-Negrete, Diego B; Chacon, Luis

2012-01-01

The study of transport in magnetized plasmas is a problem of fundamental interest in controlled fusion, space plasmas, and astrophysics research. Three issues make this problem particularly chal- lenging: (i) The extreme anisotropy between the parallel (i.e., along the magnetic field), , and the perpendicular, , conductivities ( / may exceed 1010 in fusion plasmas); (ii) Magnetic field lines chaos which in general complicates (and may preclude) the construction of magnetic field line coordinates; and (iii) Nonlocal parallel transport in the limit of small collisionality. Motivated by these issues, we present a Lagrangian Green s function method to solve themore » local and non-local parallel transport equation applicable to integrable and chaotic magnetic fields in arbitrary geom- etry. The method avoids by construction the numerical pollution issues of grid-based algorithms. The potential of the approach is demonstrated with nontrivial applications to integrable (magnetic island chain), weakly chaotic (devil s staircase), and fully chaotic magnetic field configurations. For the latter, numerical solutions of the parallel heat transport equation show that the effective radial transport, with local and non-local closures, is non-diffusive, thus casting doubts on the appropriateness of the applicability of quasilinear diffusion descriptions. General conditions for the existence of non-diffusive, multivalued flux-gradient relations in the temperature evolution are derived.« less

Mapping Ion and Electron Remagnetization Distance in the Reconnection Outflow Exhaust Region with MMS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sturner, A. P.; Eriksson, S.; Gershman, D. J.; Plaschke, F.; Burch, J.

2017-12-01

Magnetopause current sheets have been fertile ground for understanding kinetic-scale physics of magnetic reconnection, but can also be used to study more macroscopic scale phenomena statistically. Post-reconnection, magnetic flux and plasma are accelerated away from the x-line into exhaust regions. As the exhausting plasma exits the electron diffusion region, electrons become remagnetized and are accelerated by the magnetic field into an E x B jet while the ions remain unmagnetized. Further along the exhaust, at the edge of the ion diffusion region, the ions become frozen into the magnetic field, and are accelerated to join the electrons in the exhaust jet. By assuming a constant reconnection rate of 0.1, we can infer the distance to the x-line from the normal width of the exhaust. We present a statistical study using the Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission (MMS) to map out the electron and ion remagnetization distances that define the edge of the electron and ion diffusion regions for magnetopause reconnection, and explore the effects of a guide magnetic field.

Mean-flow measurements of the flow field diffusing bend

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mcmillan, O. J.

1982-01-01

Time-average measurements of the low-speed turbulent flow in a diffusing bend are presented. The experimental geometry consists of parallel top and bottom walls and curved diverging side walls. The turning of the center line of this channel is 40 deg, the area ratio is 1.5 and the ratios of height and center-line length to throat width are 1.5 and 3, respectively. The diffusing bend is preceded and followed by straight constant area sections. The inlet boundary layers on the parallel walls are artificially thickened and occupy about 30% of the channel height; those on the side walls develop naturally and are about half as thick. The free-stream speed at the inlet was approximately 30 m/sec for all the measurements. Inlet boundary layer mean velocity and turbulence intensity profiles are presented, as are data for wall static pressures, and at six cross sections, surveys of the velocity-vector and static-pressure fields. The dominant feature of the flow field is a pair of counter-rotating streamwise vortices formed by the cross-stream pressure gradient in the bend on which an overall deceleration is superimposed.

Particle acceleration at shocks in the presence of a braided magnetic field

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kirk, J. G.; Duffy, P.; Gallant, Y. A.

1997-05-01

The theory of first order Fermi acceleration at shock fronts assumes charged particles undergo spatial diffusion in a uniform magnetic field. If, however, the magnetic field is not uniform, but has a stochastic or braided structure, the transport of charged particles across the average direction of the field is more complicated. Assuming quasi-linear behaviour of the field lines, the particles undergo sub-diffusion ( ~ t^1/2) on short time scales. We investigate this process analytically, using a propagator approach, and numerically, with a Monte-Carlo simulation. It is found that, in contrast to the diffusive case, the density of particles at the shock front is lower than it is far downstream which is a consequence of the partial trapping of particles by structures in the magnetic field. As a result, the spectrum of accelerated particles is a power-law in momentum which is steeper than in the diffusive case. For a phase-space density f ~ p^-s, we find s =s_diff [1 + 1/(2rho_c)], where rho_c is the compression ratio of the shock front and s_diff is the standard result of diffusive acceleration:s_diff = 3rho_c/(rho_c - 1).

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.

Facility fence-line monitoring using passive samplers

EPA Science Inventory

In 2009, the U.S. EPA executed a year-long field study at a refinery in Corpus Christi, Texas, to evaluate the use of passive diffusive sampling technology for assessing time-averaged benzene concentrations at the facility fence line. The study utilized 14-day time-integrated Car...

Coronal Heating Topology: The Interplay of Current Sheets and Magnetic Field Lines

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

Rappazzo, A. F.; Velli, M.; Matthaeus, W. H.

2017-07-20

The magnetic topology and field line random walk (FLRW) properties of a nanoflare-heated and magnetically confined corona are investigated in the reduced magnetohydrodynamic regime. Field lines originating from current sheets form coherent structures, called current sheet connected (CSC) regions, which extend around them. CSC FLRW is strongly anisotropic, with preferential diffusion along the current sheets’ in-plane length. CSC FLRW properties remain similar to those of the entire ensemble but exhibit enhanced mean square displacements and separations due to the stronger magnetic field intensities in CSC regions. The implications for particle acceleration and heat transport in the solar corona and wind,more » and for solar moss formation are discussed.« less

Notes and Discussion

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

American Journal of Physics, 1978

1978-01-01

Describes experiments demonstrating the Josephson effect, single-file diffusion in biological membranes, refractive index of beer, lines of magnetic fields, indexing diffraction patterns, Maxwell's equations, and spherical aberration. (SL)

Random Interchange of Magnetic Connectivity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Matthaeus, W. H.; Ruffolo, D. J.; Servidio, S.; Wan, M.; Rappazzo, A. F.

2015-12-01

Magnetic connectivity, the connection between two points along a magnetic field line, has a stochastic character associated with field lines random walking in space due to magnetic fluctuations, but connectivity can also change in time due to dynamical activity [1]. For fluctuations transverse to a strong mean field, this connectivity change be caused by stochastic interchange due to component reconnection. The process may be understood approximately by formulating a diffusion-like Fokker-Planck coefficient [2] that is asymptotically related to standard field line random walk. Quantitative estimates are provided, for transverse magnetic field models and anisotropic models such as reduced magnetohydrodynamics. In heliospheric applications, these estimates may be useful for understanding mixing between open and close field line regions near coronal hole boundaries, and large latitude excursions of connectivity associated with turbulence. [1] A. F. Rappazzo, W. H. Matthaeus, D. Ruffolo, S. Servidio & M. Velli, ApJL, 758, L14 (2012) [2] D. Ruffolo & W. Matthaeus, ApJ, 806, 233 (2015)

Observational Study of Ion Diffusion Region tailward of the Cusp: Polar and Cluster Observations in 1998-2008

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Muzamil, F. M.; Farrugia, C. J.; Torbert, R. B.; Argall, M. R.; Wang, S.

2015-12-01

Asymmetries in plasma density and the presence of a guide field significantly alter the structure of the ion diffusion region (IDR) in symmetric, collisionless reconnection. These features have been shown by numerical simulations under moderate density asymmetries (~10), and theoretical analyses. However, very few studies have addressed these issues with in-situ observations. We have compiled a collection of Cluster and Polar crossings of the high-latitude magnetopause poleward of the cusp under northward interplanetary magnetic field in the years 1998-2008 when signatures of reconnection inside the IDR are observed. They encompass a wide range of density asymmetries (~10 to 1000), magnetic field asymmetries (~0.2 to 0.9), and guide fields (~10 to ~60 %). In this dedicated observational study, we target the following topics: (1) The alteration of the structure of the IDR -- i.e., its width, the non-colocation of stagnation and X-lines, jet outflow speed, and biasing of the reconnection outflow jet toward the magnetosphere -- as a function of increasing density asymmetry, and (2) the diamagnetic drift of the X-line. Further, focusing on IDR crossings during plasma flow reversals and/or near-simultaneous crossings on either side of the X-line by two spacecraft under steady ambient conditions, we report on the contrast in the Hall fields and the plasma behavior on the sunward versus the tailward sides of the X-line in its dependence on the strength of the guide field.

Spacecraft Observations of Oblique Electron Beams Breaking the Frozen-In Law During Asymmetric Reconnection

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

Egedal, J.; Le, Ari; Daughton, William

Fully kinetic simulations of asymmetric magnetic reconnection reveal the presence of magnetic-field-aligned beams of electrons flowing toward the topological magnetic x line. Within the ~ 6d e electron-diffusion region, the beams become oblique to the local magnetic field, providing a unique signature of the electron-diffusion region where the electron frozen-in law is broken. These numerical predictions are confirmed by in situ Magnetospheric Multiscale spacecraft observations during asymmetric reconnection at Earth’s dayside magnetopause.

Spacecraft Observations of Oblique Electron Beams Breaking the Frozen-In Law During Asymmetric Reconnection

DOE PAGES

Egedal, J.; Le, Ari; Daughton, William; ...

2018-01-29

Fully kinetic simulations of asymmetric magnetic reconnection reveal the presence of magnetic-field-aligned beams of electrons flowing toward the topological magnetic x line. Within the ~ 6d e electron-diffusion region, the beams become oblique to the local magnetic field, providing a unique signature of the electron-diffusion region where the electron frozen-in law is broken. These numerical predictions are confirmed by in situ Magnetospheric Multiscale spacecraft observations during asymmetric reconnection at Earth’s dayside magnetopause.

Solar-energetic particles as a probe of the inner heliosphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chollet, Eileen Emily

2008-06-01

In this dissertation, I explore the relationship between solar energetic particles (SEPs) and the interplanetary magnetic field, and I use observations of SEPs to probe the region of space between the Sun and the Earth. After an introduction of major concepts in heliospheric physics, describing some of the history of energetic particles and defining the data sets used in the work, the rest of this dissertation is organized around three major concepts related to energetic particle transport: magnetic field-line length, interplanetary turbulence, and particle scattering and diffusion. In Chapter 2, I discuss how energetic particles can be used to measure the lengths of field lines and how particle scattering complicates the interpretation of these measurements. I then propose applying these measurements to a particular open problem: the origin and properties of heliospheric current sheets. In the next chapter, I move from the large to small scale and apply energetic particle measurements to important problems in interplanetary turbulence. I introduce two energetic- particle features, one of which I discovered in the course of this work, which have size scales roughly that of the correlation scale of the turbulence (the largest scale over which observations are expected to be similar). I discuss how multi-spacecraft measurements of these energetic particle features can provide a measure of the correlation scale independent of the magnetic field measurements. Finally, I consider interplanetary scattering and diffusion in detail. I describe new observations of particle diffusion in the direction perpendicular to the average magnetic field, showing that particles only scatter a few times between their injection at the Sun and observation at the Earth. I also provide numerical simulation results of diffusion parallel to the field which can be used to correct for the effects of transport on the particles. These corrections allow inferences to be made about the particle energies at injection from observations of the event-integrated fluences at 1 AU. By carefully including scattering, cooling, field line meandering and turbulence effects, solar-energetic particles become a powerful tool for studying the inner heliosphere.

Measurements and modeling of the impact of weak magnetic fields on the plasma properties of a planar slot antenna driven plasma source

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

Yoshikawa, Jun, E-mail: jun.yoshikawa@tel.com; Susa, Yoshio; Ventzek, Peter L. G.

The radial line slot antenna plasma source is a type of surface wave plasma source driven by a planar slot antenna. Microwave power is transmitted through a slot antenna structure and dielectric window to a plasma characterized by a generation zone adjacent to the window and a diffusion zone that contacts a substrate. The diffusion zone is characterized by a very low electron temperature. This renders the source useful for soft etch applications and thin film deposition processes requiring low ion energy. Another property of the diffusion zone is that the plasma density tends to decrease from the axis tomore » the walls under the action of ambipolar diffusion at distances far from where the plasma is generated. A previous simulation study [Yoshikawa and. Ventzek, J. Vac. Sci. Technol. A 31, 031306 (2013)] predicted that the anisotropy in transport parameters due to weak static magnetic fields less than 50 G could be leveraged to manipulate the plasma profile in the radial direction. These simulations motivated experimental tests in which weak magnetic fields were applied to a radial line slot antenna source. Plasma absorption probe measurements of electron density and etch rate showed that the magnetic fields remote from the wafer were able to manipulate both parameters. A summary of these results is presented in this paper. Argon plasma simulation trends are compared with experimental plasma and etch rate measurements. A test of the impact of magnetic fields on charge up damage showed no perceptible negative effect.« less

Global diffusion of cosmic rays in random magnetic fields

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Snodin, A. P.; Shukurov, A.; Sarson, G. R.; Bushby, P. J.; Rodrigues, L. F. S.

2016-04-01

The propagation of charged particles, including cosmic rays, in a partially ordered magnetic field is characterized by a diffusion tensor whose components depend on the particle's Larmor radius RL and the degree of order in the magnetic field. Most studies of the particle diffusion presuppose a scale separation between the mean and random magnetic fields (e.g. there being a pronounced minimum in the magnetic power spectrum at intermediate scales). Scale separation is often a good approximation in laboratory plasmas, but not in most astrophysical environments such as the interstellar medium (ISM). Modern simulations of the ISM have numerical resolution of the order of 1 pc, so the Larmor radius of the cosmic rays that dominate in energy density is at least 106 times smaller than the resolved scales. Large-scale simulations of cosmic ray propagation in the ISM thus rely on oversimplified forms of the diffusion tensor. We take the first steps towards a more realistic description of cosmic ray diffusion for such simulations, obtaining direct estimates of the diffusion tensor from test particle simulations in random magnetic fields (with the Larmor radius scale being fully resolved), for a range of particle energies corresponding to 10-2 ≲ RL/lc ≲ 103, where lc is the magnetic correlation length. We obtain explicit expressions for the cosmic ray diffusion tensor for RL/lc ≪ 1, that might be used in a sub-grid model of cosmic ray diffusion. The diffusion coefficients obtained are closely connected with existing transport theories that include the random walk of magnetic lines.

Capillary Flow of Liquid Metals in Brazing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dehsara, Mohammad

Capillary flow is driven or controlled by capillary forces, exerted at the triple line where the fluid phases meet the solid boundary. Phase field (PF) models naturally accommodate diffusive triple line motion with variable contact angle, thus allowing for the no-slip boundary condition without the stress singularities. Moreover, they are uniquely suited for modeling of topological discontinuities which often arise during capillary flows. In this study, we consider diffusive triple line motion within two PF models: the compositionally compressible (CC) and the incompressible (IC) models. We derive the IC model as a systematic approximation to the CC model, based on a suitable choice of continuum velocity field. The CC model, applied to the fluids of dissimilar mass densities, exhibits a computational instability at the triple line. The IC model perfectly represents the analytic equilibria. We develop the parameter identification procedure and show that the triple line kinetics can be well represented by the IC model's diffusive boundary condition. The IC model is first tested by benchmarking the phase-field and experimental kinetics of water, and silicone oil spreading over the glass plates in which two systems do not interact with the substrate. Then, two high-temperature physical settings involving spreading of the molten Al-Si alloy: one over a rough wetting substrate, the other over a non-wetting substrate are modeled in a T-joint structure which is a typical geometric configuration for many brazing and soldering applications. Surface roughness directly influences the spreading of the molten metal by causing break-ups of the liquid film and trapping the liquid away from the joint. In the early stages of capillary flow over non-wetting surface, the melting and flow are concurrent, so that the kinetics of wetting is strongly affected by the variations in effective viscosity of the partially molten metal. We define adequate time-dependent functions for the variations of Al-Si alloy viscosity and triple line mobility to describe the wetting kinetics.

Diffusion of test particles in stochastic magnetic fields for small Kubo numbers.

PubMed

Neuer, Marcus; Spatschek, Karl H

2006-02-01

Motion of charged particles in a collisional plasma with stochastic magnetic field lines is investigated on the basis of the so-called A-Langevin equation. Compared to the previously used A-Langevin model, here finite Larmor radius effects are taken into account. The A-Langevin equation is solved under the assumption that the Lagrangian correlation function for the magnetic field fluctuations is related to the Eulerian correlation function (in Gaussian form) via the Corrsin approximation. The latter is justified for small Kubo numbers. The velocity correlation function, being averaged with respect to the stochastic variables including collisions, leads to an implicit differential equation for the mean square displacement. From the latter, different transport regimes, including the well-known Rechester-Rosenbluth diffusion coefficient, are derived. Finite Larmor radius contributions show a decrease of the diffusion coefficient compared to the guiding center limit. The case of small (or vanishing) mean fields is also discussed.

Fokker-Planck electron diffusion caused by an obliquely propagating electromagnetic wave packet of narrow bandwidth

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hizanidis, Kyriakos

1989-01-01

The relativistic motion of electrons in an intense electromagnetic wave packet propagating obliquely to a uniform magnetic field is analytically studied on the basis of the Fokker-Planck-Kolmogorov (FPK) approach. The wavepacket consists of circularly polarized electron-cyclotron waves. The dynamical system in question is shown to be reducible to one with three degrees of freedom. Within the framework of the Hamiltonian analysis the nonlinear diffusion tensor is derived, and it is shown that this tensor can be separated into zeroth-, first-, and second-order parts with respect to the relative bandwidth. The zeroth-order part describes diffusive acceleration along lines of constant unperturbed Hamiltonian. The second-order part, which corresponds to the longest time scale, describes diffusion across those lines. A possible transport theory is outlined on the basis of this separation of the time scales.

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

Kapala, M. J.; Sandstrom, K.; Groves, B.

The [C II] 158 μm line is one of the strongest emission lines observed in star-forming galaxies and has been empirically measured to correlate with the star-formation rate (SFR) globally and on kiloparsec scales. However, because of the multiphase origins of [C II], one might expect this relation to break down at small scales. We investigate the origins of [C II] emission by examining high spatial resolution observations of [C II] in M31 with the Survey of Lines in M31. We present five ∼700 × 700 pc (3' × 3') fields mapping the [C II] emission, Hα emission, and themore » ancillary infrared (IR) data. We spatially separate star-forming regions from diffuse gas and dust emission on ∼50 pc scales. We find that the [C II]-SFR correlation holds even at these scales, although the relation typically has a flatter slope than found at larger (kiloparsec) scales. While the Hα emission in M31 is concentrated in the SFR regions, we find that a significant amount (∼20%-90%) of the [C II] emission comes from outside star-forming regions and that the total IR emission (TIR) has the highest diffuse fraction of all SFR tracers. We find a weak correlation of the [C II]/TIR to dust color in each field and find a large-scale trend of increasing [C II]/TIR with galactocentric radius. The differences in the relative diffuse fractions of [C II], Hα, and IR tracers are likely caused by a combination of energetic photon leakage from H II regions and heating by the diffuse radiation field arising from older (B-star) stellar populations. However, we find that by averaging our measurements over kiloparsec scales, these effects are minimized, and the relation between [C II] and SFR found in other nearby galaxy studies is retrieved.« less

Magnetic field line draping in the plasma depletion layer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sibeck, D. G.; Lepping, R. P.; Lazarus, A. J.

1990-01-01

Simultaneous IMP 8 solar wind and ISEE 1/2 observations for a northern dawn ISEE 1/2 magnetopause crossing on November 6, 1977. During this crossing, ISEE 1/2 observed quasi-periodic pulses of magnetosheathlike plasma on northward magnetic field lines. The ISEE 1/2 observations were originally interpreted as evidence for strong diffusion of magnetosheath plasma across the magnetopause and the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability at the inner edge of the low-latitude boundary layer. An alternate explanation, in terms of magnetic field merging and flux transfer events, has also been advocated. In this paper, a third interpretation is proposed in terms of quasi-periodic magnetopause motion which causes the satellites to repeatedly exit the magnetosphere and observe draped northward magnetosheath magnetic field lines in the plasma depletion layer.

Variables that influence energy partition in asymmetric reconnection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, S.; Chen, L. J.; Bessho, N.; Hesse, M.; Yamada, M.; Yoo, J.

2017-12-01

The energy conversion in the diffusion region during asymmetric reconnection is studied using particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations and measurements from the Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) spacecraft. The simulation analysis shows that the energy partition is highly region-dependent and varies with the guide field strength. Without a guide field, within the central electron diffusion region, the input magnetic energy is mostly converted to the electron thermal energies; half of the magnetic energy input to the region extending from the X-line to a few ion inertial lengths downstream where the ion outflow peaks is converted to the plasma energy gain, with approximately equal partition between ions and electrons, similar to the laboratory results from the Magnetic Reconnection Experiment (MRX); over the entire ion diffusion region, about half of the energy goes to ions, and 20% goes to electrons. Electrons obtain energies mainly from the reconnection electric field (Er). For the ion total energy gain in the diffusion region, about 2/3 comes from the in-plane electrostatic field Ein and 1/3 comes from Er. Adding a guide field tends to reduce the plasma energy gain through reducing the contribution from Ein, even though the reconnection rates are similar. The energy partition in the diffusion region observed by MMS is estimated and compared with the results from PIC simulations and MRX experiments.

Performance of active feedforward control systems in non-ideal, synthesized diffuse sound fields.

PubMed

Misol, Malte; Bloch, Christian; Monner, Hans Peter; Sinapius, Michael

2014-04-01

The acoustic performance of passive or active panel structures is usually tested in sound transmission loss facilities. A reverberant sending room, equipped with one or a number of independent sound sources, is used to generate a diffuse sound field excitation which acts as a disturbance source on the structure under investigation. The spatial correlation and coherence of such a synthesized non-ideal diffuse-sound-field excitation, however, might deviate significantly from the ideal case. This has consequences for the operation of an active feedforward control system which heavily relies on the acquisition of coherent disturbance source information. This work, therefore, evaluates the spatial correlation and coherence of ideal and non-ideal diffuse sound fields and considers the implications on the performance of a feedforward control system. The system under consideration is an aircraft-typical double panel system, equipped with an active sidewall panel (lining), which is realized in a transmission loss facility. Experimental results for different numbers of sound sources in the reverberation room are compared to simulation results of a comparable generic double panel system excited by an ideal diffuse sound field. It is shown that the number of statistically independent noise sources acting on the primary structure of the double panel system depends not only on the type of diffuse sound field but also on the sample lengths of the processed signals. The experimental results show that the number of reference sensors required for a defined control performance exhibits an inverse relationship to control filter length.

Estimation of Kubo number and correlation length of fluctuating magnetic fields and pressure in BOUT + + edge pedestal collapse simulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Jaewook; Lee, W.-J.; Jhang, Hogun; Kaang, H. H.; Ghim, Y.-C.

2017-10-01

Stochastic magnetic fields are thought to be as one of the possible mechanisms for anomalous transport of density, momentum and heat across the magnetic field lines. Kubo number and Chirikov parameter are quantifications of the stochasticity, and previous studies show that perpendicular transport strongly depends on the magnetic Kubo number (MKN). If MKN is smaller than one, diffusion process will follow Rechester-Rosenbluth model; whereas if it is larger than one, percolation theory dominates the diffusion process. Thus, estimation of Kubo number plays an important role to understand diffusion process caused by stochastic magnetic fields. However, spatially localized experimental measurement of fluctuating magnetic fields in a tokamak is difficult, and we attempt to estimate MKNs using BOUT + + simulation data with pedestal collapse. In addition, we calculate correlation length of fluctuating pressures and Chirikov parameters to investigate variation correlation lengths in the simulation. We, then, discuss how one may experimentally estimate MKNs.

Line transport in turbulent atmosphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nikoghossian, Artur

We consider the spectral line transfer in turbulent atmospheres with a spatially correlated velocity field. Both the finite and semi-infinite media are treated. In finding the observed intensities we first deal with the problem for determining the mean intensity of radiation emerging from the medium for a fixed value of turbulent velocity at its boundary. New approach proposed in solving this problem is based on invariant imbedding technique which yields the solution of the proper problems for a family of media of different optical thicknesses and allows tackling different kinds of inhomogeneous problems. The dependence of the line profile, integral intensity and the line width on the mean correlation length and average value of the hydrodynamic velocity is studied. It is shown that the transition from a micro-turbulent regime to a macro-turbulent one occurs within a comparatively narrow range of variation in the correlation length. The diffuse reflection of the line radiation from a one-dimensional semi-infinite turbulent atmosphere is examined. In addition to the observed spectral line profile, statistical averages describing the diffusion process in the atmosphere (mean number of scattering events, average time spent by a diffusing photon in the medium) are determined. The dependence of these quantities on the average hydrodynamic velocity and correlation coefficient is studied.

Line Transport in Turbulent Atmospheres

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nikoghossian, A. G.

2017-07-01

The spectral line transfer in turbulent atmospheres with a spatially correlated velocity field is examined. Both the finite and semi-infinite media are treated. In finding the observed intensities we first deal with the problem for determining the mean intensity of radiation emerging from the medium for a fixed value of turbulent velocity at its boundary. A new approach proposed for solving this problem is based on the invariant imbedding technique which yields the solution of the proper problems for a family of media of different optical thicknesses and allows tackling different kinds of inhomogeneous problems. The dependence of the line profile, integral intensity, and the line width on the mean correlation length and the average value of the hydrodynamic velocity is studied. It is shown that the transition from a micro-turbulent regime to a macro-turbulence occurs within a comparatively narrow range of variation in the correlation length . Ambartsumian's principle of invariance is used to solve the problem of diffuse reflection of the line radiation from a one-dimensional semi-infinite turbulent atmosphere. In addition to the observed spectral line profile, statistical averages describing the diffusion process in the atmosphere (mean number of scattering events, average time spent by a diffusing photon in the medium) are determined. The dependence of these quantities on the average hydrodynamic velocity and correlation coefficient is studied.

Superthermal Electron Magnetosphere-Ionosphere Coupling in the Diffuse Aurora in the Presence of ECH Waves

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Khazanov, G. V.; Tripathi, A. K.; Singhal, R. P.; Himwich, Elizabeth; Glocer, A.; Sibeck, D. G.

2015-01-01

There are two main theories for the origin of the diffuse auroral electron precipitation: first, pitch angle scattering by electrostatic electron cyclotron harmonic (ECH) waves, and second, by whistler mode waves. Precipitating electrons initially injected from the plasma sheet to the loss cone via wave-particle interaction processes degrade in the atmosphere toward lower energies and produce secondary electrons via impact ionization of the neutral atmosphere. These secondary electrons can escape back to the magnetosphere, become trapped on closed magnetic field lines, and deposit their energy back to the inner magnetosphere. ECH and whistler mode waves can also move electrons in the opposite direction, from the loss cone into the trap zone, if the source of such electrons exists in conjugate ionospheres located at the same field lines as the trapped magnetospheric electron population. Such a situation exists in the simulation scenario of superthermal electron energy interplay in the region of diffuse aurora presented and discussed by Khazanov et al. (2014) and will be quantified in this paper by taking into account the interaction of secondary electrons with ECH waves.

The rotation of discs around neutron stars: dependence on the Hall diffusion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Faghei, Kazem; Salehi, Fatemeh

2018-01-01

In this paper, we study the dynamics of a geometrically thin, steady and axisymmetric accretion disc surrounding a rotating and magnetized star. The magnetic field lines of star penetrate inside the accretion disc and are twisted due to the differential rotation between the magnetized star and the disc. We apply the Hall diffusion effect in the accreting plasma, because of the Hall diffusion plays an important role in both fully ionized plasma and weakly ionized medium. In the current research, we show that the Hall diffusion is also an important mechanism in accreting plasma around neutron stars. For the typical system parameter values associated with the accreting X-ray binary pulsar, the angular velocity of the inner regions of disc departs outstandingly from Keplerian angular velocity, due to coupling between the magnetic field of neutron star and the rotating plasma of disc. We found that the Hall diffusion is very important in inner disc and increases the coupling between the magnetic field of neutron star and accreting plasma. On the other word, the rotational velocity of inner disc significantly decreases in the presence of the Hall diffusion. Moreover, the solutions imply that the fastness parameter decreases and the angular velocity transition zone becomes broad for the accreting plasma including the Hall diffusion.

Spectrometer system for diffuse extreme ultraviolet radiation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Labov, Simon E.

1989-01-01

A unique grazing incidence spectrometer system has been designed to study diffuse line emission between 80 and 650 A with 10-30 A resolution. The minimum detectable emission line strength during a 5-min observation ranges from 100-2000 ph/sq cm sec str. The instrument uses mechanically ruled reflection gratings placed in front of a linear array of mirrors. These mirrors focus the spectral image on microchannel plate detectors located behind thin filters. The field of view is 40 min of arc by 15 deg, and there is no spatial imaging. This instrument has been fabricated, calibrated, and successfully flown on a sounding rocket to observe the astronomical background radiation.

Transport of Charged Particles in Turbulent Magnetic Fields

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Parashar, T.; Subedi, P.; Sonsrettee, W.; Blasi, P.; Ruffolo, D. J.; Matthaeus, W. H.; Montgomery, D.; Chuychai, P.; Dmitruk, P.; Wan, M.; Chhiber, R.

2017-12-01

Magnetic fields permeate the Universe. They are found in planets, stars, galaxies, and the intergalactic medium. The magnetic field found in these astrophysical systems are usually chaotic, disordered, and turbulent. The investigation of the transport of cosmic rays in magnetic turbulence is a subject of considerable interest. One of the important aspects of cosmic ray transport is to understand their diffusive behavior and to calculate the diffusion coefficient in the presence of these turbulent fields. Research has most frequently concentrated on determining the diffusion coefficient in the presence of a mean magnetic field. Here, we will particularly focus on calculating diffusion coefficients of charged particles and magnetic field lines in a fully three-dimensional isotropic turbulent magnetic field with no mean field, which may be pertinent to many astrophysical situations. For charged particles in isotropic turbulence we identify different ranges of particle energy depending upon the ratio of the Larmor radius of the charged particle to the characteristic outer length scale of the turbulence. Different theoretical models are proposed to calculate the diffusion coefficient, each applicable to a distinct range of particle energies. The theoretical ideas are tested against results of detailed numerical experiments using Monte-Carlo simulations of particle propagation in stochastic magnetic fields. We also discuss two different methods of generating random magnetic field to study charged particle propagation using numerical simulation. One method is the usual way of generating random fields with a specified power law in wavenumber space, using Gaussian random variables. Turbulence, however, is non-Gaussian, with variability that comes in bursts called intermittency. We therefore devise a way to generate synthetic intermittent fields which have many properties of realistic turbulence. Possible applications of such synthetically generated intermittent fields are discussed.

Magnetic Field Line Random Walk in Arbitrarily Stretched Isotropic Turbulence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wongpan, P.; Ruffolo, D.; Matthaeus, W. H.; Rowlands, G.

2006-12-01

Many types of space and laboratory plasmas involve turbulent fluctuations with an approximately uniform mean magnetic field B_0, and the field line random walk plays an important role in guiding particle motions. Much of the relevant literature concerns isotropic turbulence, and has mostly been perturbative, i.e., for small fluctuations, or based on numerical simulations for specific conditions. On the other hand, solar wind turbulence is apparently anisotropic, and has been modeled as a sum of idealized two-dimensional and one dimensional (slab) components, but with the deficiency of containing no oblique wave vectors. In the present work, we address the above issues with non-perturbative analytic calculations of diffusive field line random walks for unpolarized, arbitrarily stretched isotropic turbulence, including the limits of nearly one-dimensional (highly stretched) and nearly two-dimensional (highly squashed) turbulence. We develop implicit analytic formulae for the diffusion coefficients D_x and D_z, two coupled integral equations in which D_x and D_z appear inside 3-dimensional integrals over all k-space, are solved numerically with the aid of Mathematica routines for specific cases. We can vary the parameters B0 and β, the stretching along z for constant turbulent energy. Furthermore, we obtain analytic closed-form solutions in all extreme cases. We obtain 0.54 < D_z/D_x < 2, indicating an approximately isotropic random walk even for very anisotropic (unpolarized) turbulence, a surprising result. For a given β, the diffusion coefficient vs. B0 can be described by a Padé approximant. We find quasilinear behavior at high B0 and percolative behavior at low B_0. Partially supported by a Sritrangthong Scholarship from the Faculty of Science, Mahidol University; the Thailand Research Fund; NASA Grant NNG05GG83G; and Thailand's Commission for Higher Education.

FLiT: a field line trace code for magnetic confinement devices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Innocente, P.; Lorenzini, R.; Terranova, D.; Zanca, P.

2017-04-01

This paper presents a field line tracing code (FLiT) developed to study particle and energy transport as well as other phenomena related to magnetic topology in reversed-field pinch (RFP) and tokamak experiments. The code computes magnetic field lines in toroidal geometry using curvilinear coordinates (r, ϑ, ϕ) and calculates the intersections of these field lines with specified planes. The code also computes the magnetic and thermal diffusivity due to stochastic magnetic field in the collisionless limit. Compared to Hamiltonian codes, there are no constraints on the magnetic field functional formulation, which allows the integration of whichever magnetic field is required. The code uses the magnetic field computed by solving the zeroth-order axisymmetric equilibrium and the Newcomb equation for the first-order helical perturbation matching the edge magnetic field measurements in toroidal geometry. Two algorithms are developed to integrate the field lines: one is a dedicated implementation of a first-order semi-implicit volume-preserving integration method, and the other is based on the Adams-Moulton predictor-corrector method. As expected, the volume-preserving algorithm is accurate in conserving divergence, but slow because the low integration order requires small amplitude steps. The second algorithm proves to be quite fast and it is able to integrate the field lines in many partially and fully stochastic configurations accurately. The code has already been used to study the core and edge magnetic topology of the RFX-mod device in both the reversed-field pinch and tokamak magnetic configurations.

Kubo number and magnetic field line diffusion coefficient for anisotropic magnetic turbulence.

PubMed

Pommois, P; Veltri, P; Zimbardo, G

2001-06-01

The magnetic field line diffusion coefficients Dx and D(y) are obtained by numerical simulations in the case that all the magnetic turbulence correlation lengths l(x), l(y), and l(z) are different. We find that the variety of numerical results can be organized in terms of the Kubo number, the definition of which is extended from R=(deltaB/B(0))(l(parallel)/l(perpendicular)) to R=(deltaB/B(0))(l(z)/l(x)), for l(x) > or = l(y). Here, l(parallel) (l(perpendicular)) is the correlation length along (perpendicular to) the average field B(0)=B(0)ê(z). We have anomalous, non-Gaussian transport for R less, similar 0.1, in which case the mean square deviation scales nonlinearly with time. For R greater, similar 1 we have several Gaussian regimes: an almost quasilinear regime for 0.1 less, similar R less, similar 1, an intermediate, transition regime for 1 less, similar R less, similar 10, and a percolative regime for R greater, similar 10. An analytical form of the diffusion coefficient is proposed, D(i)=D(deltaBl(z)/B(0)l(x))(mu)(l(i)/l(x))(nu)l(2)(x)/l(z), which well describes the numerical simulation results in the quasilinear, intermediate, and percolative regimes.

DESIGN INFORMATION ON FINE PORE AERATION SYSTEMS

EPA Science Inventory

Field studies were conducted over several years at municipal wastewater treatment plants employing line pore diffused aeration systems. These studies were designed to produce reliable information on the performance and operational requirements of fine pore devices under process ...

Red Fluorescent Line Emission from Hydrogen Molecules in Diffuse Molecular Clouds

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Neufeld, David A.; Spaans, Marco

1996-01-01

We have modeled the fluorescent pumping of electronic and vibrational emissions of molecular hydrogen (H2) within diffuse molecular clouds that are illuminated by ultraviolet continuum radiation. Fluorescent line intensities are predicted for transitions at ultraviolet, infrared, and red visible wavelengths as functions of the gas density, the visual extinction through the cloud, and the intensity of the incident UV continuum radiation. The observed intensity in each fluorescent transition is roughly proportional to the integrated rate of H2 photodissociation along the line of sight. Although the most luminous fluorescent emissions detectable from ground-based observatories lie at near-infrared wavelengths, we argue that the lower sky brightness at visible wavelengths makes the red fluorescent transitions a particularly sensitive probe. Fabry-Perot spectrographs of the type that have been designed to observe very faint diffuse Ha emissions are soon expected to yield sensitivities that will be adequate to detect H2 vibrational emissions from molecular clouds that are exposed to ultraviolet radiation no stronger than the mean radiation field within the Galaxy. Observations of red H2 fluorescent emission together with cospatial 21 cm H I observations could serve as a valuable probe of the gas density in diffuse molecular clouds.

Relation of short-range and long-range lithium ion dynamics in glass-ceramics: Insights from 7Li NMR field-cycling and field-gradient studies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Haaks, Michael; Martin, Steve W.; Vogel, Michael

2017-09-01

We use various 7Li NMR methods to investigate lithium ion dynamics in 70Li 2S-30 P 2S5 glass and glass-ceramic obtained from this glass after heat treatment. We employ 7Li spin-lattice relaxometry, including field-cycling measurements, and line-shape analysis to investigate short-range ion jumps as well as 7Li field-gradient approaches to characterize long-range ion diffusion. The results show that ceramization substantially enhances the lithium ion mobility on all length scales. For the 70Li 2S-30 P 2S5 glass-ceramic, no evidence is found that bimodal dynamics result from different ion mobilities in glassy and crystalline regions of this sample. Rather, 7Li field-cycling relaxometry shows that dynamic susceptibilities in broad frequency and temperature ranges can be described by thermally activated jumps governed by a Gaussian distribution of activation energies g (Ea) with temperature-independent mean value Em=0.43 eV and standard deviation σ =0.07 eV . Moreover, use of this distribution allows us to rationalize 7Li line-shape results for the local ion jumps. In addition, this information about short-range ion dynamics further explains 7Li field-gradient results for long-range ion diffusion. In particular, we quantitatively show that, consistent with our experimental results, the temperature dependence of the self-diffusion coefficient D is not described by the mean activation energy Em of the local ion jumps, but by a significantly smaller apparent value whenever the distribution of correlation times G (logτ ) of the jump motion derives from an invariant distribution of activation energies and, hence, continuously broadens upon cooling. This effect occurs because the harmonic mean, which determines the results of diffusivity or also conductivity studies, continuously separates from the peak position of G (logτ ) when the width of this distribution increases.

Ablation and radiation coupled viscous hypersonic shock layers, volume 1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Engel, C. D.

1971-01-01

The results for a stagnation-line analysis of the radiative heating of a phenolic-nylon ablator are presented. The analysis includes flow field coupling with the ablator surface, equilibrium chemistry, a step-function diffusion model and a coupled line and continuum radiation calculation. This report serves as the documentation, i e. users manual and operating instructions for the computer programs listed in the report.

The time and spatial behavior of solar flare proton anisotropies observed in deep space on Pioneers 10 and 11

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mccarthy, J.; Ogallagher, J. J.

1975-01-01

The anisotropy of solar flare protons from the direction of the 'garden hose' magnetic field line has been analyzed for 24 events observed by the University of Chicago experiment on Pioneers 10 and 11 in 1972 and 1973. The anisotropy versus time profiles during individual events are in general consistent with diffusive propagation, but several cases are observed where the decay is better described by an exponential time decay. The anisotropy amplitude evaluated at the time of maximum intensity for each event shows evidence for a gradual decrease with increasing distance from the sun which is qualitatively consistent with diffusive propagation and suggests that the effective interplanetary diffusion coefficient parallel to the magnetic field increases slowly with heliocentric distance.

The effect of turbulence strength on meandering field lines and Solar Energetic Particle event extents

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Laitinen, Timo; Effenberger, Frederic; Kopp, Andreas; Dalla, Silvia

2018-02-01

Insights into the processes of Solar Energetic Particle (SEP) propagation are essential for understanding how solar eruptions affect the radiation environment of near-Earth space. SEP propagation is influenced by turbulent magnetic fields in the solar wind, resulting in stochastic transport of the particles from their acceleration site to Earth. While the conventional approach for SEP modelling focuses mainly on the transport of particles along the mean Parker spiral magnetic field, multi-spacecraft observations suggest that the cross-field propagation shapes the SEP fluxes at Earth strongly. However, adding cross-field transport of SEPs as spatial diffusion has been shown to be insufficient in modelling the SEP events without use of unrealistically large cross-field diffusion coefficients. Recently, Laitinen et al. [ApJL 773 (2013b); A&A 591 (2016)] demonstrated that the early-time propagation of energetic particles across the mean field direction in turbulent fields is not diffusive, with the particles propagating along meandering field lines. This early-time transport mode results in fast access of the particles across the mean field direction, in agreement with the SEP observations. In this work, we study the propagation of SEPs within the new transport paradigm, and demonstrate the significance of turbulence strength on the evolution of the SEP radiation environment near Earth. We calculate the transport parameters consistently using a turbulence transport model, parametrised by the SEP parallel scattering mean free path at 1 AU, λ∥*, and show that the parallel and cross-field transport are connected, with conditions resulting in slow parallel transport corresponding to wider events. We find a scaling σφ,max∝(1/λ∥*)1/4 for the Gaussian fitting of the longitudinal distribution of maximum intensities. The longitudes with highest intensities are shifted towards the west for strong scattering conditions. Our results emphasise the importance of understanding both the SEP transport and the interplanetary turbulence conditions for modelling and predicting the SEP radiation environment at Earth.

Effects of radial diffuser hydraulic design on a double-suction centrifugal pump

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hou, H. C.; Zhang, Y. X.; Xu, C.; Zhang, J. Y.; Li, Z. L.

2016-05-01

In order to study effects of radial diffuser on hydraulic performance of crude oil pump, the steady CFD numerical method is applied and one large double-suction oil pump running in long-distance pipeline is considered. The research focuses on analysing the influence of its diffuser vane profile on hydraulic performance of oil pump. The four different types of cylindrical vane have been designed by in-house codes mainly including double arcs (DA), triple arcs (TA), equiangular spiral line (ES) and linear variable angle spiral line (LVS). During design process diffuser vane angles at inlet and outlet are tentatively given within a certain range and then the wrapping angle of the four types of diffuser vanes can be calculated automatically. Under the given inlet and outlet angles, the linear variable angle spiral line profile has the biggest wrapping angle and profile length which is good to delay channel diffusion but bring more friction hydraulic loss. Finally the vane camber line is thickened at the certain uniform thickness distribution and the 3D diffuser models are generated. The whole flow passage of oil pump with different types of diffusers under various flow rate conditions are numerically simulated based on RNG k-ɛ turbulent model and SIMPLEC algorithm. The numerical results show that different types of diffusers can bring about great difference on the hydraulic performance of oil pump, of which the ES profile diffuser with its proper setting angle shows the best hydraulic performance and its inner flow field is improved obviously. Compared with the head data from model sample, all designed diffusers can make a certain improvement on head characteristic. At the large flow rate conditions the hydraulic efficiency increases obviously and the best efficiency point shift to the large flow rate range. The ES profile diffuser embodies the better advantages on pump performance which can be explained theoretically that the diffuser actually acts as a diffusion device and is good to transform the dynamic energy to pressure energy. Then through the hydraulic loss analysis of each pump component for all diffusers, it shows that the impeller takes up the biggest part of the whole loss about 8.19% averagely, the radial diffuser about 3.70% and the volute about 1.65%. The hydraulic loss of impeller is dominant at the large flow rate while the radial diffuser is at the small flow rate. Among all diffusers, the ES profile diffuser generates the least loss and combined to the distribution of velocity vector and turbulent kinetic energy for two kinds of diffusers it also shows that ES profile is fit to apply in radial diffuser. This research can offer a significant reference for the radial diffuser hydraulic design of such centrifugal pumps.

A Green's function method for local and non-local parallel transport in general magnetic fields

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Del-Castillo-Negrete, Diego; Chacón, Luis

2009-11-01

The study of transport in magnetized plasmas is a problem of fundamental interest in controlled fusion and astrophysics research. Three issues make this problem particularly challenging: (i) The extreme anisotropy between the parallel (i.e., along the magnetic field), χ, and the perpendicular, χ, conductivities (χ/χ may exceed 10^10 in fusion plasmas); (ii) Magnetic field lines chaos which in general complicates (and may preclude) the construction of magnetic field line coordinates; and (iii) Nonlocal parallel transport in the limit of small collisionality. Motivated by these issues, we present a Lagrangian Green's function method to solve the local and non-local parallel transport equation applicable to integrable and chaotic magnetic fields. The numerical implementation employs a volume-preserving field-line integrator [Finn and Chac'on, Phys. Plasmas, 12 (2005)] for an accurate representation of the magnetic field lines regardless of the level of stochasticity. The general formalism and its algorithmic properties are discussed along with illustrative analytical and numerical examples. Problems of particular interest include: the departures from the Rochester--Rosenbluth diffusive scaling in the weak magnetic chaos regime, the interplay between non-locality and chaos, and the robustness of transport barriers in reverse shear configurations.

Diffusion of chaotic field lines in tokamaks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ali, Halima; Punjabi, Alkesh

2006-10-01

An important instability for the destruction of magnetic surfaces in tokamaks due to island overlapping is the tearing modes. Magnetic fields perturbed by tearing modes are given by the sinusoidal form Br=-1rR∑m,nbm^n ( mθ-n ) . The sinusoidal nature of perturbation creates islands structure near resonant surfaces. In this work, we consider two modes, ( m1,n1 )and ( m2,n2 )that interact with each other, leading to two chains of islands, called primary islands. We use a previously derived Hamiltonian map, the ψ-θ map, with and without higher order control terms to study the diffusion of chaotic field lines. We will present and discuss the results of this work, and discuss its implications with regard to magnetic transport barriers for a fixed q-profile and increasing strength of magnetic perturbations. This work is done under the DOE grant number DE-FG02-01ER54624. 1.A. Punjabi et al, Phys. Rev. lett., 69, 3322 (1992). 2. H. Ali, A. Punjabi, and A. Boozer, Int. J. Comp. Num. Ana. Applications 6, 17 (2005).

Flow Range of Centrifugal Compressor Being Extended

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Skoch, Gary J.

2001-01-01

General Aviation will benefit from turbine engines that are both fuel-efficient and reliable. Current engines fall short of their potential to achieve these attributes. The reason is compressor surge, which is a flow stability problem that develops when the compressor is subjected to conditions that are outside of its operating range. Compressor surge can occur when fuel flow to the engine is increased, temporarily back pressuring the compressor and pushing it past its stability limit, or when the compressor is subjected to inlet flow-field distortions that may occur during takeoff and landing. Compressor surge can result in the loss of an aircraft. As a result, engine designers include a margin of safety between the operating line of the engine and the stability limit line of the compressor. Unfortunately, the most efficient operating line for the compressor is usually closer to its stability limit line than it is to the line that provides an adequate margin of safety. A wider stable flow range will permit operation along the most efficient operating line of the compressor, improving the specific fuel consumption of the engine and reducing emissions. The NASA Glenn Research Center is working to extend the stable flow range of the compressor. Significant extension has been achieved in axial compressors by injecting air upstream of the compressor blade rows. Recently, the technique was successfully applied to a 4:1 pressure ratio centrifugal compressor by injecting streams of air into the diffuser. Both steady and controlled unsteady injection were used to inject air through the diffuser shroud surface and extend the range. Future work will evaluate the effect of air injection through the diffuser hub surface and diffuser vanes with the goal of maximizing the range extension while minimizing the amount of injected air that is required.

Bent paths of a positive streamer and a cathode-directed spark leader in diffuse discharges preionized by runaway electrons

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

Zhang, Cheng; Shao, Tao, E-mail: st@mail.iee.ac.cn; Wang, Ruixue

2015-03-15

Diffuse discharges preionized by runaway electrons can produce large-area homogeneous discharges at elevated pressures, which is an intriguing phenomenon in the physics of pulsed discharges. In this paper, runaway-electron-preionized diffuse discharge (REP DD) was obtained in a wide pressure range (0.05–0.25 MPa), and under certain conditions a positive streamer and a cathode-directed spark leader could be observed to propagate at some angles to the applied (background) electric field lines. For a 16-mm gap at an air pressure of 0.08–0.1 MPa, the percentage of pulses in which such propagation is observed is about 5%–50% of their total number, and in the other pulsesmore » such bent paths could not be observed because there is even no streamer or cathode-directed spark leader in diffuse discharges. In our opinion, such propagation of the positive streamer and the cathode-directed spark leader at some angle to the background electric field lines owes to different increase rates of the electron density in different regions of the discharge volume under REP DD conditions. Therefore, during the formation of a REP DD, the increase of the electron density is inhomogeneous and nonsimultaneous, resulting in an electron density gradient at the ionization wave front.« less

Transport properties of interacting magnetic islands in tokamak plasmas

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

Gianakon, T.A.; Callen, J.D.; Hegna, C.C.

1993-10-01

This paper explores the equilibrium and transient transport properties of a mixed magnetic topology model for tokamak equilibria. The magnetic topology is composed of a discrete set of mostly non-overlapping magnetic islands centered on the low-order rational surfaces. Transport across the island regions is fast due to parallel transport along the stochastic magnetic field lines about the separatrix of each island. Transport between island regions is assumed to be slow due to a low residual cross-field transport. In equilibrium, such a model leads to: a nonlinear dependence of the heat flux on the pressure gradient; a power balance diffusion coefficientmore » which increases from core to edge; and profile resiliency. Transiently, such a model also exhibits a heat pulse diffusion coefficient larger than the power balance diffusion coefficient.« less

Particle Diffusion in Chaotic Magnetic Fields Generated by Asymmetric Current Configurations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ram, A. K.; Dasgupta, B.

2008-12-01

The observed cross-field diffusion of charged particles in cosmic rays is assumed to be due to the chaotic nature of the interplanetary/intergalactic magnetic fields. Among the classic works on this subject have been those of Parker [1] and Jokipii [2]. Parker considered the passage of cosmic ray particles and energetic solar particles in a large scale magnetic field containing small scale irregularities. In the context of cosmic ray propagation, Jokipii considered a small fluctuating component, added on to a uniform magnetic field, to study the spatial transport of particles. In these studies the irregular component of the magnetic field is prescribed in an ad hoc fashion. In contrast, we consider asymmetric, nonlinear, steady-state magnetic fields, in three spatial dimensions, generated by currents flowing in circular loops and straight lines [3]. These magnetic fields are completely deterministic and, for certain range of parameters, chaotic. We will present analytical and numerical studies on the spatial characteristics of these fields. The motion of charged particles in the nonlinear and chaotic magnetic fields is determined using the Lorentz equation. A particle moving in a deterministic chaotic magnetic field superposed on a uniform background magnetic field is found to undergo spatial transport. This shows that chaotic magnetic fields generated by simple current configurations can produce cross-field diffusion. A detailed analysis of particle motion and diffusion along with application to space plasmas will be presented. [1] E.N. Parker, Planet. Space Sci. 13, 9 (1965). [2] J.R. Jokipii, Astrophys. J. 146, 480 (1966), and J.R. Jokipii, Astrophys. J. 149, 405 (1967). [3] A.K. Ram and B. Dasgupta, Eos Trans. AGU 87 (52), Fall Meet. Suppl. Abstract NG31B-1593 (2006); and Eos Trans. AGU 88 (52), Fall Meet. Suppl. Abstract NG21B-0522 (2007).

MMS Observations of Electron-Scale Filamentary Currents in the Reconnection Exhaust and Near the X Line

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Phan, T. D.; Eastwood, J. P.; Cassak, P. A.; Oieroset, M.; Gosling, J. T.; Gershman, D. J.; Mozer, F. S.; Shay, M. A.; Fujimoto, M.; Daughton, W.;

KPOT_wlanger_1: State of the Diffuse ISM: Galactic Observations of the Terahertz CII Line (GOT CPlus)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Langer, W.

2007-10-01

Star formation activity throughout the Galactic disk depends on the thermal and dynamical state of the interstellar gas, which in turn depends on heating and cooling rates, modulated by the gravitational potential and shock and turbulent pressures. Molecular cloud formation, and thus the star formation, may be regulated by pressures in the interstellar medium (ISM). To understand these processes we need information about the properties of the diffuse atomic and diffuse molecular gas clouds, and Photon Dominated Regions (PDR). An important tracer of these regions is the CII line at 158 microns (1900.5 GHz). We propose a "pencil-beam" survey of CII with HIFI band 7b, based on deep integrations and systematic sparse sampling of the Galactic disk plus selected targets, totaling over 900 lines of sight. We will detect both emission and, against the bright inner Galaxy and selected continuum sources, absorption lines. These spectra will provide the astronomical community with a large rich statistical database of the diffuse cloud properties throughout the Galaxy for understanding the Milky Way ISM and, by extension, other galaxies. It will be extremely valuable for determining the properties of the atomic gas, the role of barometric pressure and turbulence in cloud evolution, and the properties of the interface between the atomic and molecular clouds. The CII line is one of the major ISM cooling lines and is present throughout the Galactic plane. It is the strongest far-IR emission line in the Galaxy, with a total luminosity about a 1000 times that of the CO J=1-0 line. Combined with other data, it can be used to determine density, pressure, and radiation environment in gas clouds, and PDRs, and their dynamics via velocity fields. HSO is the best opportunity over the next several years to probe the ISM in this tracer and will provide a template for large-scale surveys with dedicated small telescopes and future surveys of other important ISM tracers.

SDP_wlanger_3: State of the Diffuse ISM: Galactic Observations of the Terahertz CII Line (GOT CPlus)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Langer, W.

2011-09-01

Star formation activity throughout the Galactic disk depends on the thermal and dynamical state of the interstellar gas, which in turn depends on heating and cooling rates, modulated by the gravitational potential and shock and turbulent pressures. Molecular cloud formation, and thus the star formation, may be regulated by pressures in the interstellar medium (ISM). To understand these processes we need information about the properties of the diffuse atomic and diffuse molecular gas clouds, and Photon Dominated Regions (PDR). An important tracer of these regions is the CII line at 158 microns (1900.5 GHz). We propose a "pencil-beam" survey of CII with HIFI band 7b, based on deep integrations and systematic sparse sampling of the Galactic disk plus selected targets, totaling over 900 lines of sight. We will detect both emission and, against the bright inner Galaxy and selected continuum sources, absorption lines. These spectra will provide the astronomical community with a large rich statistical database of the diffuse cloud properties throughout the Galaxy for understanding the Milky Way ISM and, by extension, other galaxies. It will be extremely valuable for determining the properties of the atomic gas, the role of barometric pressure and turbulence in cloud evolution, and the properties of the interface between the atomic and molecular clouds. The CII line is one of the major ISM cooling lines and is present throughout the Galactic plane. It is the strongest far-IR emission line in the Galaxy, with a total luminosity about a 1000 times that of the CO J=1-0 line. Combined with other data, it can be used to determine density, pressure, and radiation environment in gas clouds, and PDRs, and their dynamics via velocity fields. HSO is the best opportunity over the next several years to probe the ISM in this tracer and will provide a template for large-scale surveys with dedicated small telescopes and future surveys of other important ISM tracers.

THEMIS Observations of the Magnetopause Electron Diffusion Region: Large Amplitude Waves and Heated Electrons

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tang, Xiangwei; Cattell, Cynthia; Dombeck, John; Dai, Lei; Wilson, Lynn B. III; Breneman, Aaron; Hupack, Adam

2013-01-01

We present the first observations of large amplitude waves in a well-defined electron diffusion region based on the criteria described by Scudder et al at the subsolar magnetopause using data from one Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms (THEMIS) satellite. These waves identified as whistler mode waves, electrostatic solitary waves, lower hybrid waves, and electrostatic electron cyclotron waves, are observed in the same 12 s waveform capture and in association with signatures of active magnetic reconnection. The large amplitude waves in the electron diffusion region are coincident with abrupt increases in electron parallel temperature suggesting strong wave heating. The whistler mode waves, which are at the electron scale and which enable us to probe electron dynamics in the diffusion region were analyzed in detail. The energetic electrons (approx. 30 keV) within the electron diffusion region have anisotropic distributions with T(sub e(right angle))/T(sub e(parallel)) > 1 that may provide the free energy for the whistler mode waves. The energetic anisotropic electrons may be produced during the reconnection process. The whistler mode waves propagate away from the center of the "X-line" along magnetic field lines, suggesting that the electron diffusion region is a possible source region of the whistler mode waves.

Three-stage nucleation and growth of Ge self-assembled quantum dots grown on partially relaxed SiGe buffer layers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, H. J.; Zhao, Z. M.; Xie, Y. H.

2003-11-01

Three-stage nucleation and growth of Ge self-assembled quantum dots (SAQDs) on a relaxed SiGe buffer layer has been studied. Plastic relaxation of the SiGe buffer layer is associated with a network of buried 60° dislocations leading to an undulating strain field. As a result, the surface possesses three different types of sites for the nucleation and growth of Ge SAQDs: over the intersection of two perpendicular buried dislocations, over a single dislocation line, and in the region beyond one diffusion length away from any dislocation. Ge SAQDs are observed to nucleate exclusively over the dislocation intersections first, followed by over single dislocation lines, and finally in the region far away from dislocations. By increasing the Ge coverage at a slow rate, the prenucleation stage at the various sites is observed. It appears that the varying strain field has a significant effect on both the diffusion of Ge adatoms before SAQD nucleation, as well as the shape evolution of the SAQDs after they form. Moreover, two distinctly different self-assembly mechanisms are observed at different sites. There exist denuded zones free of Ge SAQDs adjacent to dislocation lines. The width of the denuded zone can be used to make direct determination of the Ge adatom diffusion lengths. The partially relaxed substrate provides a useful experimental vehicle for the in-depth understanding of the formation mechanism of SAQDs grown epitaxially in the Stranski-Krastanov growth mode.

Evidence of rock matrix back-diffusion and abiotic dechlorination using a field testing approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schaefer, Charles E.; Lippincott, David R.; Klammler, Harald; Hatfield, Kirk

2018-02-01

An in situ field demonstration was performed in fractured rock impacted with trichloroethene (TCE) and cis-1,2-dichloroethene (DCE) to assess the impacts of contaminant rebound after removing dissolved contaminants within hydraulically conductive fractures. Using a bedrock well pair spaced 2.4 m apart, TCE and DCE were first flushed with water to create a decrease in dissolved contaminant concentrations. While hydraulically isolating the well pair from upgradient contaminant impacts, contaminant rebound then was observed between the well pair over 151 days. The magnitude, but not trend, of TCE rebound was reasonably described by a matrix back-diffusion screening model that employed an effective diffusion coefficient and first-order abiotic TCE dechlorination rate constant that was based on bench-scale testing. Furthermore, a shift in the TCE:DCE ratio and carbon isotopic enrichment was observed during the rebound, suggesting that both biotic and abiotic dechlorination were occurring within the rock matrix. The isotopic data and back-diffusion model together served as a convincing argument that matrix back-diffusion was the mechanism responsible for the observed contaminant rebound. Results of this field demonstration highlight the importance and applicability of rock matrix parameters determined at the bench-scale, and suggest that carbon isotopic enrichment can be used as a line of evidence for abiotic dechlorination within rock matrices.

The electron diffusion coefficient in Jupiter's magnetosphere

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Birmingham, T.; Northrop, T.; Baxter, R.; Hess, W.; Lojko, M.

1974-01-01

A steady-state model of Jupiter's electron radiation belt is developed. The model includes injection from the solar wind, radial diffusion, energy degradation by synchrotron radiation, and absorption at Jupiter's surface. A diffusion coefficient of the form D sub RR/R sub J squared = k times R to the m-th power is assumed, and then observed data on synchrotron radiation are used to fit the model. The free parameters determined from this fit are m = 1.95 plus or minus 0.5, k = 1.7 plus or minus 0.5 x 10 to the 9th power per sec, and the magnetic moment of injected particles equals 770 plus or minus 300 MeV/G. The value of m shows quite clearly that the diffusion is not caused by magnetic pumping by a variable solar wind or by a fluctuating convection electric field. The process might be field line exchange driven by atmospheric-ionospheric winds; our diffusion coefficient has roughly the same radial dependence but is considerably smaller in magnitude than the upper bound diffusion coefficients recently suggested for this process by Brice and McDonough (1973) and Jacques and Davis (1972).

Localized Oscillatory Energy Conversion in Magnetopause Reconnection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Burch, J. L.; Ergun, R. E.; Cassak, P. A.; Webster, J. M.; Torbert, R. B.; Giles, B. L.; Dorelli, J. C.; Rager, A. C.; Hwang, K.-J.; Phan, T. D.; Genestreti, K. J.; Allen, R. C.; Chen, L.-J.; Wang, S.; Gershman, D.; Le Contel, O.; Russell, C. T.; Strangeway, R. J.; Wilder, F. D.; Graham, D. B.; Hesse, M.; Drake, J. F.; Swisdak, M.; Price, L. M.; Shay, M. A.; Lindqvist, P.-A.; Pollock, C. J.; Denton, R. E.; Newman, D. L.

2018-02-01

Data from the NASA Magnetospheric Multiscale mission are used to investigate asymmetric magnetic reconnection at the dayside boundary between the Earth's magnetosphere and the solar wind. High-resolution measurements of plasmas and fields are used to identify highly localized ( 15 electron Debye lengths) standing wave structures with large electric field amplitudes (up to 100 mV/m). These wave structures are associated with spatially oscillatory energy conversion, which appears as alternatingly positive and negative values of J · E. For small guide magnetic fields the wave structures occur in the electron stagnation region at the magnetosphere edge of the electron diffusion region. For larger guide fields the structures also occur near the reconnection X-line. This difference is explained in terms of channels for the out-of-plane current (agyrotropic electrons at the stagnation point and guide field-aligned electrons at the X-line).

Global simulation of flux transfer events: Generation mechanism and spacecraft signatures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Raeder, J.

We use global MHD simulations of Earth's magnetosphere to show that for southward IMF conditions: a) steady reconnection preferentially occurs without FTEs when the stagnation flow line nearly coincides with the X-line location, which requires small dipole tilt and nearly due southward IMF, b) FTEs occur when the flow/field symmetry is broken, which requires either a large dipole tilt and/or a substantial east-west component of the IMF, c) the predicted spacecraft signature and the repetition frequency of FTEs in the simulations agrees very well with typical observations, lending credibility to the the model, d) the fundamental process that leads to FTE formation is multiple X-line formation caused by the flow and field patterns in the magnetosheath and requires no intrinsic plasma property variations like variable resistivity, e) if the dipole tilt breaks the symmetry FTEs occur only in the winter hemisphere whereas the reconnection signatures in the summer hemisphere are steady with no bipolar FTE-like signatures, f) if the IMF east-west field component breaks the symmetry FTEs occur in both hemispheres but are least likely observed near the subsolar point, and g) FTE formation depends on sufficient resolution and low diffusion in the model. Too coarse resolution and/or too high diffusivity lead to flow-through reconnection signatures that appear unphysical given the frequent observation of FTEs.

The symmetric quartic map for trajectories of magnetic field lines in elongated divertor tokamak plasmas

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

Jones, Morgin; Wadi, Hasina; Ali, Halima

The coordinates of the area-preserving map equations for integration of magnetic field line trajectories in divertor tokamaks can be any coordinates for which a transformation to ({psi}{sub t},{theta},{phi}) coordinates exists [A. Punjabi, H. Ali, T. Evans, and A. Boozer, Phys. Lett. A 364, 140 (2007)]. {psi}{sub t} is toroidal magnetic flux, {theta} is poloidal angle, and {phi} is toroidal angle. This freedom is exploited to construct the symmetric quartic map such that the only parameter that determines magnetic geometry is the elongation of the separatrix surface. The poloidal flux inside the separatrix, the safety factor as a function of normalizedmore » minor radius, and the magnetic perturbation from the symplectic discretization are all held constant, and only the elongation is {kappa} varied. The width of stochastic layer, the area, and the fractal dimension of the magnetic footprint and the average radial diffusion coefficient of magnetic field lines from the stochastic layer; and how these quantities scale with {kappa} is calculated. The symmetric quartic map gives the correct scalings which are consistent with the scalings of coordinates with {kappa}. The effects of m=1, n={+-}1 internal perturbation with the amplitude that is expected to occur in tokamaks are calculated by adding a term [H. Ali, A. Punjabi, A. H. Boozer, and T. Evans, Phys. Plasmas 11, 1908 (2004)] to the symmetric quartic map. In this case, the width of stochastic layer scales as 0.35 power of {kappa}. The area of the footprint is roughly constant. The average radial diffusion coefficient of field lines near the X-point scales linearly with {kappa}. The low mn perturbation changes the quasisymmetric structure of the footprint, and reorganizes it into a single, large scale, asymmetric structure. The symmetric quartic map is combined with the dipole map [A. Punjabi, H. Ali, and A. H. Boozer, Phys. Plasmas 10, 3992 (2003)] to calculate the effects of magnetic perturbation from a current carrying coil. The coil position and coil current coil are constant. The dipole perturbation enhances the magnetic shear. The width of the stochastic layer scales exponentially with {kappa}. The area of the footprint decreases as the {kappa} increases. The radial diffusion coefficient of field lines scales exponentially with {kappa}. The dipole perturbation changes the topology of the footprint. It breaks up the toroidally spiraling footprint into a number of separate asymmetric toroidal strips. Practical applications of the symmetric quartic map to elongated divertor tokamak plasmas are suggested.« less

The symmetric quartic map for trajectories of magnetic field lines in elongated divertor tokamak plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jones, Morgin; Wadi, Hasina; Ali, Halima; Punjabi, Alkesh

2009-04-01

The coordinates of the area-preserving map equations for integration of magnetic field line trajectories in divertor tokamaks can be any coordinates for which a transformation to (ψt,θ,φ) coordinates exists [A. Punjabi, H. Ali, T. Evans, and A. Boozer, Phys. Lett. A 364, 140 (2007)]. ψt is toroidal magnetic flux, θ is poloidal angle, and φ is toroidal angle. This freedom is exploited to construct the symmetric quartic map such that the only parameter that determines magnetic geometry is the elongation of the separatrix surface. The poloidal flux inside the separatrix, the safety factor as a function of normalized minor radius, and the magnetic perturbation from the symplectic discretization are all held constant, and only the elongation is κ varied. The width of stochastic layer, the area, and the fractal dimension of the magnetic footprint and the average radial diffusion coefficient of magnetic field lines from the stochastic layer; and how these quantities scale with κ is calculated. The symmetric quartic map gives the correct scalings which are consistent with the scalings of coordinates with κ. The effects of m =1, n =±1 internal perturbation with the amplitude that is expected to occur in tokamaks are calculated by adding a term [H. Ali, A. Punjabi, A. H. Boozer, and T. Evans, Phys. Plasmas 11, 1908 (2004)] to the symmetric quartic map. In this case, the width of stochastic layer scales as 0.35 power of κ. The area of the footprint is roughly constant. The average radial diffusion coefficient of field lines near the X-point scales linearly with κ. The low mn perturbation changes the quasisymmetric structure of the footprint, and reorganizes it into a single, large scale, asymmetric structure. The symmetric quartic map is combined with the dipole map [A. Punjabi, H. Ali, and A. H. Boozer, Phys. Plasmas 10, 3992 (2003)] to calculate the effects of magnetic perturbation from a current carrying coil. The coil position and coil current coil are constant. The dipole perturbation enhances the magnetic shear. The width of the stochastic layer scales exponentially with κ. The area of the footprint decreases as the κ increases. The radial diffusion coefficient of field lines scales exponentially with κ. The dipole perturbation changes the topology of the footprint. It breaks up the toroidally spiraling footprint into a number of separate asymmetric toroidal strips. Practical applications of the symmetric quartic map to elongated divertor tokamak plasmas are suggested.

Focused transport of energetic particles along magnetic field lines draped around a coronal mass ejection

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tan, L. C.; Mason, G. M.; Lee, M. A.; Klecker, B.; Ipavich, F. M.

1992-01-01

Evidence is presented for focused transport of energetic particles along magnetic field lines draped around a coronal mass ejection. This evidence was obtained with the University of Maryland/Max-Planck-Institute experiment on the ISEE-3 spacecraft during the decay phase of the June 6, 1979, solar particle event. During the early portion of the decay phase of this event, interplanetary magnetic field lines were apparently draped around a coronal mass ejection, leading to a small focusing length on the western flank where ISEE 3 was located. A period of very slow decrease of particle intensity was observed, along with large sunward anisotropy in the solar wind frame, which is inconsistent with predictions of the standard Fokker-Planck equation models for diffusive transport. It was found possible to fit the observations, assuming that focused transport dominates and that the particle pitch angle scattering is isotropic.

Introduction of Shear-Based Transport Mechanisms in Radial-Axial Hybrid Hall Thruster Simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Scharfe, Michelle; Gascon, Nicolas; Scharfe, David; Cappelli, Mark; Fernandez, Eduardo

2007-11-01

Electron diffusion across magnetic field lines in Hall effect thrusters is experimentally observed to be higher than predicted by classical diffusion theory. Motivated by theoretical work for fusion applications and experimental measurements of Hall thrusters, numerical models for the electron transport are implemented in radial-axial hybrid simulations in order to compute the electron mobility using simulated plasma properties and fitting parameters. These models relate the cross-field transport to the imposed magnetic field distribution through shear suppression of turbulence-enhanced transport. While azimuthal waves likely enhance cross field mobility, axial shear in the electron fluid may reduce transport due to a reduction in turbulence amplitudes and modification of phase shifts between fluctuating properties. The sensitivity of the simulation results to the fitting parameters is evaluated and an examination is made of the transportability of these parameters to several Hall thruster devices.

Microelectrode-assisted low-voltage atmospheric pressure glow discharge in air

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Wenzheng; Zhao, Shuai; Niu, Jiangqi; Chai, Maolin

2017-09-01

During the process of discharge, appropriately changing the paths corresponding to electric field lines and the field strength distribution along these paths, as well as increasing the number of initial electrons, can effectively enhance the uniformity of discharge and inhibit the formation of filamentary discharge. A method is proposed that uses a microelectrode to initiate the macroscopic discharge phenomenon. An asymmetric structure was designed comprising a single electrode of carbon fiber; this electrode structure is of helical-contact type. Benefitting from the special electric field distribution and the microdischarge process, a three-dimensional atmospheric pressure glow discharge was achieved in air, characterized by low discharge voltage, low energy consumption, good diffusion performance, and less ozone generation. The plasma studied is uniform and stable with good diffusion characteristics and low levels of contaminants and hence has potential applications in the field of air purification.

On the cross-field diffusion of ions in one- and two-dimensional hybrid simulations of collisionless shocks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Giacalone, Joe

1994-01-01

It can be demonstrated analytically that under certain geometries used in numerical simulations of collisionless shocks in which there is at least one ignorable spatial coordinate, the transport of particles across the magnetic field is essentially zero. This notion is tested using one- and two-dimensional hybrid simulations (kinetic ions/fluid electrons). We find, as the theorem predicts, the particles treated kinetically are tied to the same field line on which they start.

Lyman-continuum leakage as dominant source of diffuse ionized gas in the Antennae galaxy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weilbacher, Peter M.; Monreal-Ibero, Ana; Verhamme, Anne; Sandin, Christer; Steinmetz, Matthias; Kollatschny, Wolfram; Krajnović, Davor; Kamann, Sebastian; Roth, Martin M.; Erroz-Ferrer, Santiago; Marino, Raffaella Anna; Maseda, Michael V.; Wendt, Martin; Bacon, Roland; Dreizler, Stefan; Richard, Johan; Wisotzki, Lutz

2018-04-01

The Antennae galaxy (NGC 4038/39) is the closest major interacting galaxy system and is therefore often studied as a merger prototype. We present the first comprehensive integral field spectroscopic dataset of this system, observed with the MUSE instrument at the ESO VLT. We cover the two regions in this system which exhibit recent star formation: the central galaxy interaction and a region near the tip of the southern tidal tail. In these fields, we detect HII regions and diffuse ionized gas to unprecedented depth. About 15% of the ionized gas was undetected by previous observing campaigns. This newly detected faint ionized gas is visible everywhere around the central merger, and shows filamentary structure. We estimate diffuse gas fractions of about 60% in the central field and 10% in the southern region. We are able to show that the southern region contains a significantly different population of HII regions, showing fainter luminosities. By comparing HII region luminosities with the HST catalog of young star clusters in the central field, we estimate that there is enough Lyman-continuum leakage in the merger to explain the amount of diffuse ionized gas that we detect. We compare the Lyman-continuum escape fraction of each HII region against emission line ratios that are sensitive to the ionization parameter. While we find no systematic trend between these properties, the most extreme line ratios seem to be strong indicators of density bounded ionization. Extrapolating the Lyman-continuum escape fractions to the southern region, we conclude that simply from the comparison of the young stellar populations to the ionized gas there is no need to invoke other ionization mechanisms than Lyman-continuum leaking HII regions for the diffuse ionized gas in the Antennae. FITS images and Table of HII regions are available at the CDS via anonymous ftp to http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (http://130.79.128.5) or via http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/qcat?J/A+A/611/A95 and at http://muse-vlt.eu/science/antennae/

Simulations of Plasmasheet Electrons in a Model Magnetosphere with AMIE Potentials: Implications for Diffuse Aurora

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, M. W.; Schulz, M.; Lu, G.

2001-12-01

We obtain distributions of precipitating electrons by tracing drift shells of plasmasheet electrons in the limit of strong pitch angle diffusion in Dungey's model magnetosphere, which consists of a dipolar magnetic field plus a uniform southward field. Under strong pitch-angle diffusion particles drift so as to conserve an adiabatic invariant Λ equal to the enclosed phase-space volume (i.e., the cube of the particle momentum p times the occupied flux-tube volume per unit magnetic flux). In the past we applied a quiescent Stern-Volland electric-field model with a cross-tail potential drop of 25 kV and added to it a storm-associated Brice-Nishida cross-magnetospheric electric field with impulses to represent substorm effects. For the present study we use the more realistic Assimilative Model of Ionospheric Electrodynamics (AMIE). We use an analytical expansion to express the AMIE ionospheric potential as a function of latitude and magnetic local time. We map this AMIE potential to latitudes >= 50^o to magnetospheric field lines with (L \\ge 2.5) in Dungey's magnetic field model. We trace the bounce-averaged drift motion of representative plasmasheet electrons for values of \\Lambda corresponding to energies of 0.25-64 keV on field lines of equatorial radial distance r = 6 R_E (L = 5.7), which maps to \\approx 65^o$ latitude in the ionosphere. We use the simulation results to map stormtime phase space distributions taking into account loss due to precipitation. We consider 2 models of electron scattering: (1) the limit of strong scattering everywhere, and (2) an MLT-dependent scattering that is less than everywhere strong in the plasma sheet. From the phase space distributions we calculate the total precipitating electron energy flux into the ionosphere. For this study we focus on the October 19, 1998, storm. We compare qualitatively the simulated energy flux with X-ray intensity from Polar/PIXIE images during this storm.

Electric field with bipolar structure during magnetic reconnection without a guide field

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guo, Jun

2014-05-01

We present a study on the polarized electric field during the collisionless magnetic reconnection of antiparallel fields using two dimensional particle-in-cell simulations. The simulations demonstrate clearly that electron holes and electric field with bipolar structure are produced during magnetic reconnection without a guide field. The electric field with bipolar structure can be found near the X-line and on the separatrix and the plasma sheet boundary layer, which is consistent with the observations. These structures will elongate electron's time staying in the diffusion region. In addition, the electric fields with tripolar structures are also found in our simulation.

Electron Pitch Angle Variations Recorded at the High Magnetic Latitude Boundary Layer by the NUADU Instrument on the TC-2 Spacecraft

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lu, L.; McKenna-Lawlor, S.; Barabash, S.; Liu, Z.; Balaz, J.; Brinkfeldt, K.; Strhansky, I.; Shen, C.; Shi, J.; Cao, J.; Pu, Z.; Fu, S.; Gunell, H.; Kudela, K.; Roelof, E. C.; Brandt, P. C.; Dandouras, I.; Zhang, T.; Carr, C.; Fazakerley, A.

2005-12-01

During the first on orbit commission, with the deflection high voltage zero, the NUADU (NeUtral Atom Detector Unit) instrument aboard TC-2, with its high temporal-spatial resolution recorded 4d solid angle images of energetic particles spiraling around the geomagnetic field lines with different configuration at high northern magnetic latitude L>10. The ambient magnetic field and particles in different energy spectrum were simultaneously measured by the magnetometer experiment (FGM), the plasma electron and current experiment (PEACE), the low energy ion detector (LEID), and the high energy electron detector (HEED). The up-flowing electron beams made the pitch angle distribution (PAD) ring like configuration, and even concentrated toward the field lines to form a dumbbell-type PAD. In integration of the variations of ambient magnetic field and particles in different energy spectrums, a temporal string magnetic bottle model was proposed which might be formed by the disturbance of the magnetic pulse. Changes in the particle pitch angle diffusion may be associated with electron acceleration along the geomagnetic field lines.

Scaling-law equilibria for calcium in canopy-type models of the solar chromosphere

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jones, H. P.

1982-01-01

Scaling laws for resonance line formation are used to obtain approximate excitation and ionization equilibria for a three-level model of singly ionized calcium. The method has been developed for and is applied to the study of magnetograph response in the 8542 A infrared triplet line to magnetostatic canopies which schematically model diffuse, nearly horizontal fields in the low solar chromosphere. For this application, the method is shown to be efficient and semi-quantitative, and the results indicate the type and range of effects on calcium-line radiation which result from reduced gas pressure inside the magnetic regions.

Interchange Slip-Running Reconnection and Sweeping SEP-Beams

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Masson, S.; Aulanier, G.; Pariat, E.; Klein, K.-L.

2011-01-01

We present a new model to explain how particles, accelerated at a reconnection site that is not magnetically connected to the Earth, could eventually propagate along the well-connected open flux tube. Our model is based on the results of a low-beta resistive magnetohydrodynamics simulation of a three-dimensional line-tied and initially current-free bipole, that is embedded in a non-uniform open potential field. The topology of this configuration is that of an asymmetric coronal null-point, with a closed fan surface and an open outer spine. When driven by slow photospheric shearing motions, field lines, initially fully anchored below the fan dome, reconnect at the null point, and jump to the open magnetic domain. This is the standard interchange mode as sketched and calculated in 2D. The key result in 3D is that, reconnected open field lines located in the vicinity of the outer spine, keep reconnecting continuously, across an open quasi-separatrix layer, as previously identified for non-open-null-point reconnection. The apparent slipping motion of these field lines leads to form an extended narrow magnetic flux tube at high altitude. Because of the slip-running reconnection, we conjecture that if energetic particles would be travelling through, or be accelerated inside, the diffusion region, they would be successively injected along continuously reconnecting field lines that are connected farther and farther from the spine. At the scale of the full Sun, owing to the super-radial expansion of field lines below 3 solar radius, such energetic particles could easily be injected in field lines slipping over significant distances, and could eventually reach the distant flux tube that is well-connected to the Earth.

Magnetically advected winds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Contopoulos, I.; Kazanas, D.; Fukumura, K.

2017-11-01

Observations of X-ray absorption lines in magnetically driven disc winds around black hole binaries and active galactic nuclei yield a universal radial density profile ρ ∝ r-1.2 in the wind. This is in disagreement with the standard Blandford and Payne profile ρBP ∝ r-1.5 expected when the magnetic field is neither advected nor diffusing through the accretion disc. In order to account for this discrepancy, we establish a new paradigm for magnetically driven astrophysical winds according to which the large-scale ordered magnetic field that threads the disc is continuously generated by the Cosmic Battery around the inner edge of the disc and continuously diffuses outward. We obtain self-similar solutions of such magnetically advected winds (MAW) and discuss their observational ramifications.

MMS observations of guide field reconnection at the interface between colliding reconnection jets inside flux rope-like structures at the magnetopause

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oieroset, M.; Phan, T.; Haggerty, C. C.; Shay, M.; Eastwood, J. P.; Gershman, D. J.; Drake, J. F.; Fujimoto, M.; Ergun, R.; Mozer, F.; Oka, M.; Torbert, R. B.; Burch, J. L.; Wang, S.; Chen, L. J.; Swisdak, M.; Pollock, C. J.; Dorelli, J.; Fuselier, S. A.; Lavraud, B.; Kacem, I.; Giles, B. L.; Moore, T. E.; Saito, Y.; Avanov, L. A.; Paterson, W. R.; Strangeway, R. J.; Schwartz, S. J.; Khotyaintsev, Y. V.; Lindqvist, P. A.; Malakit, K.

2017-12-01

The formation and evolution of magnetic flux ropes is of critical importance for a number of collisionless plasma phenomena. At the dayside magnetopause flux rope-like structures can form between two X-lines. The two X-lines produce converging plasma jets. At the interface between the colliding jets a compressed current sheet can form, which in turn can undergo reconnection. We present MMS observations of the exhaust and diffusion region of such reconnection.

Observations of the diffuse UV radiation field

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Murthy, Jayant; Henry, R. C.; Feldman, P. D.; Tennyson, P. D.

1989-01-01

Spectra are presented for the diffuse UV radiation field between 1250 to 3100 A from eight different regions of the sky, which were obtained with the Johns Hopkins UVX experiment. UVX flew aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-61C) in January 1986 as part of the Get-Away Special project. The experiment consisted of two 1/4 m Ebert-Fastie spectrometers, covering the spectral range 1250 to 1700 A at 17 A resolution and 1600 to 3100 A at 27 A resolution, respectively, with a field of view of 4 x .25 deg, sufficiently small to pick out regions of the sky with no stars in the line of sight. Values were found for the diffuse cosmic background ranging in intensity from 300 to 900 photons/sq cm/sec/sr/A. The cosmic background is spectrally flat from 1250 to 3100 A, within the uncertainties of each spectrometer. The zodiacal light begins to play a significant role in the diffuse radiation field above 2000 A, and its brightness was determined relative to the solar emission. Observed brightnesses of the zodiacal light in the UV remain almost constant with ecliptic latitude, unlike the declining visible brightnesses, possibly indicating that those (smaller) grains responsible for the UV scattering have a much more uniform distribution with distance from the ecliptic plane than do those grains responsible for the visible scattering.

In-Field Diffuse Ultraviolet Spectroscopy and Imaging of the Stardust Sample Return Capsule

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pugel, D. Elizabeth; Stackpoole, Mairead; McNamara, Karen; Schwartz, C.; Warren, J.; Kontinos, Dean

2008-01-01

In-field diffuse Ultraviolet (UV) spectroscopy and imaging systems were developed for the purposes of evaluating the surface chemical composition of spacecraft thermal control coatings and materials. The investigation of these systems and the compilation of an associated UV reflectance and luminescence database were conducted using the Stardust Sample Return Capsule (SRC), located at the Johnson Space Center. Spectral responses of the surfaces of the Stardust forebody and aftbody in both reflectance and fluorescence modes were examined post-flight. In this paper, we report on two primary findings of in-field diffuse UV spectroscopy and imaging: (1) deduction of the thermal history of thermal control coatings of the forebody and (2) bond line variations in the aftbody. In the forebody, the thermal history of thermal control coatings may be deduced from the presence of particular semiconducting defect states associated with ZnO, a common emissivity constituent in thermal control coatings. A spatial dependence of this history was mapped for these regions. In the aftbody, luminescing defect states, associated with Si and SiO2 color centers were found along regions of bond variability.

Directed Thermal Diffusions through Metamaterial Source Illusion with Homogeneous Natural Media

PubMed Central

Xu, Guoqiang; Zhang, Haochun; Jin, Liang

2018-01-01

Owing to the utilization of transformation optics, many significant research and development achievements have expanded the applications of illusion devices into thermal fields. However, most of the current studies on relevant thermal illusions used to reshape the thermal fields are dependent of certain pre-designed geometric profiles with complicated conductivity configurations. In this paper, we propose a methodology for designing a new class of thermal source illusion devices for achieving directed thermal diffusions with natural homogeneous media. The employments of the space rotations in the linear transformation processes allow the directed thermal diffusions to be independent of the geometric profiles, and the utilization of natural homogeneous media improve the feasibility. Four schemes, with fewer types of homogeneous media filling the functional regions, are demonstrated in transient states. The expected performances are observed in each scheme. The related performance are analyzed by comparing the thermal distribution characteristics and the illusion effectiveness on the measured lines. The findings obtained in this paper see applications in the development of directed diffusions with minimal thermal loss, used in novel “multi-beam” thermal generation, thermal lenses, solar receivers, and waveguide. PMID:29671833

Interpreting tracer breakthrough tailing from different forced-gradient tracer experiment configurations in fractured bedrock

USGS Publications Warehouse

Becker, M.W.; Shapiro, A.M.

2003-01-01

Conceptual and mathematical models are presented that explain tracer breakthrough tailing in the absence of significant matrix diffusion. Model predictions are compared to field results from radially convergent, weak-dipole, and push-pull tracer experiments conducted in a saturated crystalline bedrock. The models are based upon the assumption that flow is highly channelized, that the mass of tracer in a channel is proportional to the cube of the mean channel aperture, and the mean transport time in the channel is related to the square of the mean channel aperture. These models predict the consistent -2 straight line power law slope observed in breakthrough from radially convergent and weak-dipole tracer experiments and the variable straight line power law slope observed in push-pull tracer experiments with varying injection volumes. The power law breakthrough slope is predicted in the absence of matrix diffusion. A comparison of tracer experiments in which the flow field was reversed to those in which it was not indicates that the apparent dispersion in the breakthrough curve is partially reversible. We hypothesize that the observed breakthrough tailing is due to a combination of local hydrodynamic dispersion, which always increases in the direction of fluid velocity, and heterogeneous advection, which is partially reversed when the flow field is reversed. In spite of our attempt to account for heterogeneous advection using a multipath approach, a much smaller estimate of hydrodynamic dispersivity was obtained from push-pull experiments than from radially convergent or weak dipole experiments. These results suggest that although we can explain breakthrough tailing as an advective phenomenon, we cannot ignore the relationship between hydrodynamic dispersion and flow field geometry at this site. The design of the tracer experiment can severely impact the estimation of hydrodynamic dispersion and matrix diffusion in highly heterogeneous geologic media.

Energization and Transport in 3D Kinetic Simulations of MMS Magnetopause Reconnection Site Encounters with Varying Guide Fields

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Le, A.; Daughton, W. S.; Ohia, O.; Chen, L. J.; Liu, Y. H.

2017-12-01

We present 3D fully kinetic simulations of asymmetric reconnection with plasma parameters matching MMS magnetopause diffusion region crossings with varying guide fields of 0.1 [Burch et al., Science (2016)], 0.4 [Chen et al. JGR (2017)], and 1 [Burch and Phan, GRL (2016] of the reconnecting sheath field. Strong diamagnetic drifts across the magnetopause current sheet drive lower-hybrid drift instabilities (LHDI) over a range of wavelengths [Daughton, PoP (2003); Roytershteyn et al., PRL (2012)] that develop into a turbulent state. Magnetic field tracing diagnostics are employed to characterize the turbulent magnetic geometry and to evaluate the global reconnection rate. The contributions to Ohm's law are evaluated field line by field line, including time-averaged diagnostics that allow the quantification of anomalous resistivity and viscosity. We examine how fluctuating electric fields and chaotic magnetic field lines contribute to particle mixing across the separatrix, and we characterize the accelerated electron distributions that form under varying magnetic shear or guide field. The LHDI turbulence is found to strongly enhance transport and parallel electron heating in 3D compared to 2D, particularly along the magnetospheric separatrix [Le et al., GRL (2017)]. The PIC simulation results are compared to MMS observations.

Early Results from SOLIS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Harvey, J.; Giampapa, M.; Henney, C.; Keller, C.; Jones, H.

2004-05-01

SOLIS (Synoptic Optical Long-Term Investigations of the Sun) is a project that is replacing antiquated synoptic observing equipment at the National Solar Observatory. SOLIS consists of a suite of three instruments on an equatorial mount that will be installed on Kitt Peak in April 2004. The major SOLIS instrument is a vector spectromagnetograph (VSM) that maps magnetic fields across the full solar disk using a slit spectrograph and one arc sec pixels. Limited daily observations started at a temporary site in August, 2003 and include line-of-sight component magnetograms in the photosphere and chromosphere and, for the first time, full-disk vector magnetograms. At a medium scan speed ( ˜ 10 minutes for the full disk) noise is less than 1 Mx/cm2. This low noise, combined with negligible instrumental polarization and well resolved spectral line profiles, yields moderate resolution magnetograms of unprecedented quality. Observations show magnetic flux nearly everywhere in the photosphere from the disk center to the solar limb. Weak, intranetwork fields are now routinely observed and show a tendency to be of opposite polarity to the stronger surrounding fields. Diffuse fields surround decaying active regions and appear to be distinct from canopy fields. Vector magnetograms easily show the radial orientation of network fields, and the diffuse component surrounding decaying active regions. Near the disk center, the transverse magnetic fields of network elements change on a time scale of minutes. Detailed quantitative calibration of the observations is in progress. Good results have been obtained from the other SOLIS instruments: a full-disk filter imager at several narrow wavelengths and a double-pass grating spectrograph that provides high-accuracy line spectra of integrated sunlight. SOLIS data are freely available via the Internet and users are invited to submit observing time requests for special observations. The National Solar Observatory is operated by AURA, Inc. under a cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation. Additional support for the development of SOLIS from NASA and ONR is gratefully acknowledged.

Asymmetric Reconnection With A Shear Flow and Applications to X-line Motion at the Polar Cusps

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Doss, C.; Komar, C. M.; Beidler, M.; Cassak, P.; Wilder, F. D.; Eriksson, S.

2014-12-01

Magnetic reconnection at the polar cusps of the magnetosphere is marked by strong asymmetries in plasma density and magnetic field strength in addition to a potentially strong bulk flow shear parallel to the reconnecting magnetic field caused by the solar wind. Much has been learned about the effect of either asymmetries or shear flow on reconnection, but only a handful of studies have addressed systems with both. We perform a careful theoretical, numerical, and observational study of such systems. It is known that an asymmetry in magnetic field offsets the X-line from the center of the diffusion region in the inflow direction toward the weaker magnetic field. A key finding is that this alters the flow profile seen at the X-line relative to expectations from symmetric reconnection results. This causes the X-line to drift in the outflow direction due to the shear flow. We calculate a prediction for the X-line drift speed for arbitrary asymmetric magnetic field strengths and show the result is consistent with two-fluid numerical simulations. These predictions are also shown to be consistent with recent observations of a tailward moving X-line in Cluster observations of reconnection at the polar cusp. The reconnection rate with a shear flow is observed to drop as in symmetric reconnection, and the behavior of the reconnection qualitatively changes when the shear flow speed exceeds the hybrid Alfven speed of the outflow known from asymmetric reconnection theory.

Critical conditions for the buoyancy-driven detachment of a wall-bound pendant drop

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lamorgese, A.; Mauri, R.

2016-03-01

We investigate numerically the critical conditions for detachment of an isolated, wall-bound emulsion droplet acted upon by surface tension and wall-normal buoyancy forces alone. To that end, we present a simple extension of a diffuse-interface model for partially miscible binary mixtures that was previously employed for simulating several two-phase flow phenomena far and near the critical point [A. G. Lamorgese et al. "Phase-field approach to multiphase flow modeling," Milan J. Math. 79(2), 597-642 (2011)] to allow for static contact angles other than 90°. We use the same formulation of the Cahn boundary condition as first proposed by Jacqmin ["Contact-line dynamics of a diffuse fluid interface," J. Fluid Mech. 402, 57-88 (2000)], which accommodates a cubic (Hermite) interpolation of surface tensions between the wall and each phase at equilibrium. We show that this model can be successfully employed for simulating three-phase contact line problems in stable emulsions with nearly immiscible components. We also show a numerical determination of critical Bond numbers as a function of static contact angle by phase-field simulation.

Microtearing turbulence: Magnetic braiding and disruption limit

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

Firpo, Marie-Christine

2015-12-15

A realistic reduced model involving a large poloidal spectrum of microtearing modes is used to probe the existence of some stochasticity of magnetic field lines. Stochasticity is shown to occur even for the low values of the magnetic perturbation δB/B devoted to magnetic turbulence that have been experimentally measured. Because the diffusion coefficient may strongly depend on the radial (or magnetic-flux) coordinate, being very low near some resonant surfaces, and because its evaluation implicitly makes a normal diffusion hypothesis, one turns to another indicator appropriate to diagnose the confinement: the mean residence time of magnetic field lines. Their computation inmore » the microturbulence frame points to the existence of a disruption limit, namely of a critical order of magnitude of δB/B above which stochasticity is no longer benign yet, leads to a macroscopic loss of confinement in some tens to hundred of electron toroidal excursions. Since the level of magnetic turbulence δB/B has been measured to grow with the plasma electron density, this would also be a density limit.« less

Planck intermediate results. XX. Comparison of polarized thermal emission from Galactic dust with simulations of MHD turbulence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Planck Collaboration; Ade, P. A. R.; Aghanim, N.; Alina, D.; Alves, M. I. R.; Aniano, G.; Armitage-Caplan, C.; Arnaud, M.; Arzoumanian, D.; Ashdown, M.; Atrio-Barandela, F.; Aumont, J.; Baccigalupi, C.; Banday, A. J.; Barreiro, R. B.; Battaner, E.; Benabed, K.; Benoit-Lévy, A.; Bernard, J.-P.; Bersanelli, M.; Bielewicz, P.; Bond, J. R.; Borrill, J.; Bouchet, F. R.; Boulanger, F.; Bracco, A.; Burigana, C.; Cardoso, J.-F.; Catalano, A.; Chamballu, A.; Chiang, H. C.; Christensen, P. R.; Colombi, S.; Colombo, L. P. L.; Combet, C.; Couchot, F.; Coulais, A.; Crill, B. P.; Curto, A.; Cuttaia, F.; Danese, L.; Davies, R. D.; Davis, R. J.; de Bernardis, P.; de Rosa, A.; de Zotti, G.; Delabrouille, J.; Dickinson, C.; Diego, J. M.; Donzelli, S.; Doré, O.; Douspis, M.; Dupac, X.; Efstathiou, G.; Enßlin, T. A.; Eriksen, H. K.; Falgarone, E.; Fanciullo, L.; Ferrière, K.; Finelli, F.; Forni, O.; Frailis, M.; Fraisse, A. A.; Franceschi, E.; Galeotta, S.; Ganga, K.; Ghosh, T.; Giard, M.; Giraud-Héraud, Y.; González-Nuevo, J.; Górski, K. M.; Gregorio, A.; Gruppuso, A.; Guillet, V.; Hansen, F. K.; Harrison, D. L.; Helou, G.; Hernández-Monteagudo, C.; Hildebrandt, S. R.; Hivon, E.; Hobson, M.; Holmes, W. A.; Hornstrup, A.; Huffenberger, K. M.; Jaffe, A. H.; Jaffe, T. R.; Jones, W. C.; Juvela, M.; Keihänen, E.; Keskitalo, R.; Kisner, T. S.; Kneissl, R.; Knoche, J.; Kunz, M.; Kurki-Suonio, H.; Lagache, G.; Lamarre, J.-M.; Lasenby, A.; Lawrence, C. R.; Leonardi, R.; Levrier, F.; Liguori, M.; Lilje, P. B.; Linden-Vørnle, M.; López-Caniego, M.; Lubin, P. M.; Macías-Pérez, J. F.; Maino, D.; Mandolesi, N.; Maris, M.; Marshall, D. J.; Martin, P. G.; Martínez-González, E.; Masi, S.; Matarrese, S.; Mazzotta, P.; Melchiorri, A.; Mendes, L.; Mennella, A.; Migliaccio, M.; Miville-Deschênes, M.-A.; Moneti, A.; Montier, L.; Morgante, G.; Mortlock, D.; Munshi, D.; Murphy, J. A.; Naselsky, P.; Nati, F.; Natoli, P.; Netterfield, C. B.; Noviello, F.; Novikov, D.; Novikov, I.; Oxborrow, C. A.; Pagano, L.; Pajot, F.; Paoletti, D.; Pasian, F.; Pelkonen, V.-M.; Perdereau, O.; Perotto, L.; Perrotta, F.; Piacentini, F.; Piat, M.; Pietrobon, D.; Plaszczynski, S.; Pointecouteau, E.; Polenta, G.; Popa, L.; Pratt, G. W.; Prunet, S.; Puget, J.-L.; Rachen, J. P.; Reinecke, M.; Remazeilles, M.; Renault, C.; Ricciardi, S.; Riller, T.; Ristorcelli, I.; Rocha, G.; Rosset, C.; Roudier, G.; Rusholme, B.; Sandri, M.; Scott, D.; Soler, J. D.; Spencer, L. D.; Stolyarov, V.; Stompor, R.; Sudiwala, R.; Sutton, D.; Suur-Uski, A.-S.; Sygnet, J.-F.; Tauber, J. A.; Terenzi, L.; Toffolatti, L.; Tomasi, M.; Tristram, M.; Tucci, M.; Umana, G.; Valenziano, L.; Valiviita, J.; Van Tent, B.; Vielva, P.; Villa, F.; Wade, L. A.; Wandelt, B. D.; Zonca, A.

2015-04-01

Polarized emission observed by Planck HFI at 353 GHz towards a sample of nearby fields is presented, focusing on the statistics of polarization fractions p and angles ψ. The polarization fractions and column densities in these nearby fields are representative of the range of values obtained over the whole sky. We find that: (i) the largest polarization fractions are reached in the most diffuse fields; (ii) the maximum polarization fraction pmax decreases with column density NH in the more opaque fields with NH> 1021 cm-2; and (iii) the polarization fraction along a given line of sight is correlated with the local spatial coherence of the polarization angle. These observations are compared to polarized emission maps computed in simulations of anisotropic magnetohydrodynamical turbulence in which we assume a uniform intrinsic polarization fraction of the dust grains. We find that an estimate of this parameter may be recovered from the maximum polarization fraction pmax in diffuse regions where the magnetic field is ordered on large scales and perpendicular to the line of sight. This emphasizes the impact of anisotropies of the magnetic field on the emerging polarization signal. The decrease of the maximum polarization fraction with column density in nearby molecular clouds is well reproduced in the simulations, indicating that it is essentially due to the turbulent structure of the magnetic field: an accumulation of variously polarized structures along the line of sight leads to such an anti-correlation. In the simulations, polarization fractions are also found to anti-correlate with the angle dispersion function 𝒮. However, the dispersion of the polarization angle for a given polarization fraction is found to be larger in the simulations than in the observations, suggesting a shortcoming in the physical content of these numerical models. In summary, we find that the turbulent structure of the magnetic field is able to reproduce the main statistical properties of the dust polarization as observed in a variety of nearby clouds, dense cores excluded, and that the large-scale field orientation with respect to the line of sight plays a major role in the quantitative analysis of these statistical properties. Appendices are available in electronic form at http://www.aanda.org

Dependence of Perpendicular Viscosity on Magnetic Fluctuations in a Stochastic Topology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fridström, R.; Chapman, B. E.; Almagri, A. F.; Frassinetti, L.; Brunsell, P. R.; Nishizawa, T.; Sarff, J. S.

2018-06-01

In a magnetically confined plasma with a stochastic magnetic field, the dependence of the perpendicular viscosity on the magnetic fluctuation amplitude is measured for the first time. With a controlled, ˜ tenfold variation in the fluctuation amplitude, the viscosity increases ˜100 -fold, exhibiting the same fluctuation-amplitude-squared dependence as the predicted rate of stochastic field line diffusion. The absolute value of the viscosity is well predicted by a model based on momentum transport in a stochastic field, the first in-depth test of this model.

Interstellar Pickup Ion Acceleration in the Turbulent Magnetic Field at the Solar Wind Termination Shock Using a Focused Transport Approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ye, Junye; le Roux, Jakobus A.; Arthur, Aaron D.

2016-08-01

We study the physics of locally born interstellar pickup proton acceleration at the nearly perpendicular solar wind termination shock (SWTS) in the presence of a random magnetic field spiral angle using a focused transport model. Guided by Voyager 2 observations, the spiral angle is modeled with a q-Gaussian distribution. The spiral angle fluctuations, which are used to generate the perpendicular diffusion of pickup protons across the SWTS, play a key role in enabling efficient injection and rapid diffusive shock acceleration (DSA) when these particles follow field lines. Our simulations suggest that variation of both the shape (q-value) and the standard deviation (σ-value) of the q-Gaussian distribution significantly affect the injection speed, pitch-angle anisotropy, radial distribution, and the efficiency of the DSA of pickup protons at the SWTS. For example, increasing q and especially reducing σ enhances the DSA rate.

The relationship between diffuse auroral and plasma sheet electron distributions near local midnight

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

Schumaker, T.L.; Gussenhoven, M.S.; Hardy, D.A.

1989-08-01

A study of the relationship between diffuse auroral and plasma sheet electron distributions in the energy range from 50 eV to 20 keV in the midnight region was conducted using data from the P78-1 and SCATHA satellites. From 1 1/2 years of data, 14 events were found where the polar-orbiting P78-1 satellite and the near-geosynchronous SCATHA satellite were approximately on the same magnetic field line simultaneously, with SCATHA in the plasma sheet and P78-1 in the diffuse auroral region. For all cases the spectra from the two satellites are in good quantitative agreement. For 13 of the 14 events themore » pitch angle distribution measured at P78-1 was isotropic for angles mapping into the loss cone at the SCATHA orbit. For one event the P78-1 electron flux decreased with pitch angle toward the field line direction. At SCATHA the distributions outside the loss cone were most commonly butterfly or pancake, although distributions peaked toward the field line were sometimes observed at energies below 1 keV. Electron distributions, as measured where there is isotropy within the loss cone but anisotropy outside the loss cone, are inconsistent with current theories for the scattering of cone for the distribution measured at SCATHA, the electron precipitation lifetimes were calculated for the 14 events. Because the distributions are anisotropic at pitch angles away from the loss cone, the calculated lifetimes significantly exceed the lifetimes in the limit when the flu is isotropic at all pitch angles. The computed precipitation lifetimes are found to be weakly dependent on magnetic activity. The average lifetimes exceed those for the case of isotropy at all pitch angles by a factor between 2 and 3 for {ital Kp}{le}2 and approximately 1.5 for {ital Kp}{gt}2. {copyright} American Geophysical Union 1989« less

Plasma Equilibria With Stochastic Magnetic Fields

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krommes, J. A.; Reiman, A. H.

2009-05-01

Plasma equilibria that include regions of stochastic magnetic fields are of interest in a variety of applications, including tokamaks with ergodic limiters and high-pressure stellarators. Such equilibria are examined theoretically, and a numerical algorithm for their construction is described.^2,3 % The balance between stochastic diffusion of magnetic lines and small effects^2 omitted from the simplest MHD description can support pressure and current profiles that need not be flattened in stochastic regions. The diffusion can be described analytically by renormalizing stochastic Langevin equations for pressure and parallel current j, with particular attention being paid to the satisfaction of the periodicity constraints in toroidal configurations with sheared magnetic fields. The equilibrium field configuration can then be constructed by coupling the prediction for j to Amp'ere's law, which is solved numerically. A. Reiman et al., Pressure-induced breaking of equilibrium flux surfaces in the W7AS stellarator, Nucl. Fusion 47, 572--8 (2007). J. A. Krommes and A. H. Reiman, Plasma equilibrium in a magnetic field with stochastic regions, submitted to Phys. Plasmas. J. A. Krommes, Fundamental statistical theories of plasma turbulence in magnetic fields, Phys. Reports 360, 1--351.

Particle-in-Cell Simulation of Collisionless Driven Reconnection with Open Boundaries

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kimas, Alex; Hesse, Michael; Zenitani, Seiji; Kuznetsova, Maria

2010-01-01

First results are discussed from an ongoing study of driven collisionless reconnection using a 2 1/2-dimensional electromagnetic particle-in-cell simulation model with open inflow and outflow boundaries. An extended electron diffusion region (EEDR) is defined as that region surrounding a reconnecting neutral line in which the out-of-plane nonideal electric field is positive. It is shown that the boundaries of this region in the directions of the outflow jets are at the positions where the electrons make the transition from unfrozen meandering motion in the current sheet to outward drifting with the magnetic field in the outflow jets; a turning length scale is defined to mark these positions, The initial width of the EEDR in the inflow directions is comparable to the electron bounce width. Later. as shoulders develop to form a two-scale structure. thc EEDR width expands to the ion bounce width scale. The inner portion of the EEDR or the electron diffusion region proper remains at the electron bounce width. Two methods are introduced for predicting the reconnection electric field using the dimensions of the EEDR. These results are interpreted as further evidence that the EEDR is the region that is relevant to understanding the electron role in the neutral line vicinity.

Study of Magnetic Reconnection

DTIC Science & Technology

1988-11-01

and disruptions in the Tosca tokamak, Nuclear Fusion 19, 115-119, 1979. 9. Stenzel, R. L., W. Gekelman and N. Wild, Magnetic field line reconnection...Acknowledgments. The authors gratefully acknowledge the techni- plasma diffusion due to polycliromatic fluctuations, Nucl. Fussion , cal support and...sans collisions, in: Proceedings of the Conference on Plasma Physics and Controlled Nuclear Fusion, International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna

Orientation and spread of reconnection x-line in asymmetric current sheets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Y. H.; Hesse, M.; Wendel, D. E.; Kuznetsova, M.; Wang, S.

2017-12-01

The magnetic field in solar wind plasmas can shear with Earth's dipole magnetic field at arbitrary angles, and the plasma conditions on the two sides of the (magnetopause) current sheet can greatly differ. One of the outstanding questions in such asymmetric geometry is what local physics controls the orientation of the reconnection x-line; while the x-line in a simplified 2D model (simulation) always points out of the simulation plane by design, it is unclear how to predict the orientation of the x-line in a fully three-dimensional (3D) system. Using kinetic simulations run on Blue Waters, we develop an approach to explore this 3D nature of the reconnection x-line, and test hypotheses including maximizing the reconnection rate, tearing mode growth rate or reconnection outflow speed, and the bisection solution. Practically, this orientation should correspond to the M-direction of the local LMN coordinate system that is often employed to analyze diffusion region crossings by the Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission (MMS). In this talk, we will also discuss how an x-line spread from a point source in asymmetric geometries, and the boundary effect on the development of the reconnection x-line and turbulence.

On the upstream boundary of electron foreshocks in the solar wind

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zimbardo, G.; Veltri, P.

1995-01-01

The upstream boundary of electron foreshocks is defined as the path of the fastest electrons reflected by collisionless shocks and moving along the magnetic field in the solar wind. Considerable levels of magnetic fluctuations are found in these regions of the solar wind, and their effect is to create both a broadening and a fine structure of the electron foreshock boundary. The magnetic structure is studied by means of a 3-D numerical simulation of a turbulent magnetic field. Enhanced, anomalous diffusion is found, (Delta x(exp 2)) varies as s(sup alpha), where alpha is greater than 1 for typical values of the parameters (here, Delta x(exp 2) is the mean square width of the tangent magnetic surface and s is the field line length). This corresponds to a Levy flight regime for the magnetic field line random walk, and allows very efficient electron propagation perpendicular to the magnetic field. Implications on the observations of planetary foreshocks and of the termination shock foreshock are considered.

Impurity profiles and radial transport in the EXTRAP-T2 reversed field pinch

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sallander, J.

1999-05-01

Radially resolved spectroscopy has been used to measure the radial distribution of impurity ions (O III-O V and C III-CVI) in the EXTRAP-T2 reversed field pinch (RFP). The radial profile of the emission is reconstructed from line emission measured along five lines of sight. The ion density profile is the fitted quantity in the reconstruction of the brightness profile and is thus obtained directly in this process. These measurements are then used to adjust the parameters in transport calculations in order to obtain consistency with the observed ion density profiles. Comparison between model and measurements show that a radial dependence in the diffusion is needed to explain the measured ion densities.

Copper Gas Diffusers For Purging Line-Focus Laser Welds

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fonteyne, Steve L.; Hosking, Timothy J.; Shelley, D. Mark

1996-01-01

Modified flow diffusers built for inert-gas purging of welds made with 5-kW CO(2) lasers operating with line-focus optics in conduction mode instead of with point-focus optics in customary keyhole mode. Diffusers made of copper components brazed together, robust enough to withstand strong reflections of line-focused laser energy.

ON THE MISALIGNMENT BETWEEN CHROMOSPHERIC FEATURES AND THE MAGNETIC FIELD ON THE SUN

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

Martínez-Sykora, Juan; Pontieu, Bart De; Hansteen, Viggo

2016-11-01

Observations of the upper chromosphere show an enormous amount of intricate fine structure. Much of this comes in the form of linear features, which are most often assumed to be well aligned with the direction of the magnetic field in the low plasma β regime that is thought to dominate the upper chromosphere. We use advanced radiative magnetohydrodynamic simulations, including the effects of ion-neutral interactions (using the generalized Ohm’s law) in the partially ionized chromosphere, to show that the magnetic field is often not well aligned with chromospheric features. This occurs where the ambipolar diffusion is large, i.e., ions andmore » neutral populations decouple as the ion-neutral collision frequency drops, allowing the field to slip through the neutral population; where currents perpendicular to the field are strong; and where thermodynamic timescales are longer than or similar to those of ambipolar diffusion. We find this often happens in dynamic spicule or fibril-like features at the top of the chromosphere. This has important consequences for field extrapolation methods, which increasingly use such upper chromospheric features to help constrain the chromospheric magnetic field: our results invalidate the underlying assumption that these features are aligned with the field. In addition, our results cast doubt on results from 1D hydrodynamic models, which assume that plasma remains on the same field lines. Finally, our simulations show that ambipolar diffusion significantly alters the amount of free energy available in the coronal part of our simulated volume, which is likely to have consequences for studies of flare initiation.« less

Low-latitude boundary layer near noon: An open field line model

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lyons, L. R.; Schulz, M.; Pridmore-Brown, D. C.; Roeder, J. L.

1994-01-01

We propose that many features of the cusp and low-latitude boundary layer (LLBL) observed near noon MLT can be explained by interpreting the LLBL as being on open lines with an inner boundary at the separatrix between open and closed magnetic field lines. This interpretation places the poleward boundary of the LLBL and equatorward boundary of the cusp along the field line that bifurcates at the cusp neutral point. The interpretation accounts for the abrupt boundary of magnetosheath particles at the inner edge of the LLBL, a feature that is inconsistent with LLBL formation by diffusion onto closed field lines, and for the distribution of magnetosheath particles appearing more as one continuous region than as two distinct regions across the noon cusp/LLBL boundary. Furthermore, we can explain the existence of energetic radiation belt electrons and protons with differing pitch angle distributions within the LLBL and their abrupt cutoff at the poleward boundary of the LLBL. By modeling the LLBL and cusp region quantitatively, we can account for a hemispherical difference in the location of the equatorial boundary of the cusp that is observed to be dependent on the dipole tilt angle but not on the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) x component. We also find important variations and hemispherical differences in that the size of the LLBL that should depend strongly upon the x component of the IMF. This prediction is observationally testable. Finally, we find that when the IMF is strongly northward, the LLBL may include a narrow region adjacent to the magnetopause where field lines are detached (i.e., have both ends connected to the IMF).

Measured and simulated electron thermal transport in the Madisom symmetric torus reversed field pinch

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rodrigue Mbombo, Brice

New high time resolution measurements of the evolution of the electron temperature profile through a sawtooth event in high current reversed-field pinch (RFP) discharges in the Madison Symmetric Torus (MST) have been made using the enhanced capabilities of the multipoint, multi-pulse Thomson scattering system. Using this and other data, the electron thermal diffusion chie determined and is found to vary by orders of magnitude over the course of the sawtooth cycle. This experimental data is compared directly to simulations run at experimentally relevant parameters. This includes zero beta, single fluid, nonlinear, resistive magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations run with the aspect ratio, resistivity profile, and Lundquist number (S ˜ 4 x 106) of high current RFP discharges in MST. These simulations display MHD activity and sawtooth like behavior similar to that observed in the MST. This includes both the sawtooth period and the duration of the sawtooth crash. The radial shape of the magnetic mode amplitudes, scaled to match edge measurements made in MST, are then used to compute the expected level of thermal diffusion due to parallel losses along diffusing magnetic field lines, chiMD = upsilon∥Dmag. The evolution of the Dmag profile was determined for over 20 sawteeth so that the ensemble averaged evolution could be compared to the sawtooth ensembled data from MST. The resulting comparison to the measured chi e shows that chiMD is larger than chi e at most times. However, if electrons are trapped in a magnetic well, they cannot carry energy along the diffusing magnetic field lines, reducing the thermal transport. Accounting for trapped particles brings chi MD to within uncertainty of chie in the mid radius at most times throughout the sawtooth cycle. In the core, the measured chie is greater than chi MD leading up to and including the sawtooth crash, suggesting other transport mechanisms are important at these times. Additionally, in a simulation including pressure evolution, a striking agreement is found between the temperature fluctuations seen in the simulation and those previously measured in MST. This work supported by the US DOE and NSF.

The structure of galactic HI in directions of low total column density

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lockman, F. J.; Jahoda, K.; Mccammon, D.

1985-01-01

A detailed 21 cm study of areas of that have the smallest known amount of HI in the northern sky was performed. These observations were corrected for stray radiation. The region of main interest, around alpha = 10(h)45(m), delta = 57 deg 20', has a minimium N(HI) of 4.5 x 10 to the 19th power/sq cm. Spectra taken at 21' resolution over a field 4 x 3 deg in this direction show up to four HI line components. Two, near 0 and -50 km/s, are ubiquitous. There is also a narrow component at -10 km/s attributable to a diffuse cloud covering half of the field, and scattered patches of HI at v -100 km/s. the low and intermediate velocity components have a broad line width and are so smoothly distributed across the region that it is unlikely that they contain significant unresolved angular structure. Eight other low column density directions were also observed. Their spectra typically have several components, but the total column density is always 7 x 10 to the 19th power/sq cm and changes smoothly along a 2 deg strip. Half of the directions show narrow lines arising from weak diffuse HI clouds that contain 0.5 to 3.0 x 10 to the 19th power/sq cm.

Dependence of surface tension on curvature obtained from a diffuse-interface approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Badillo, Arnoldo; Lafferty, Nathan; Matar, Omar K.

2017-11-01

From a sharp-interface viewpoint, the surface tension force is f = σκδ (x -xi) n , where σ is the surface tension, κ the local interface curvature, δ the delta function, and n the unit normal vector. The numerical implementation of this force on discrete domains poses challenges that arise from the calculation of the curvature. The continuous surface tension force model, proposed by Brackbill et al. (1992), is an alternative, used commonly in two-phase computational models. In this model, δ is replaced by the gradient of a phase indicator field, whose integral across a diffuse-interface equals unity. An alternative to the Brackbill model are Phase-Field models, which do not require an explicit calculation of the curvature. However, and just as in Brackbill's approach, there are numerical errors that depend on the thickness of the diffuse interface, the grid spacing, and the curvature. We use differential geometry to calculate the leading errors in this force when obtained from a diffuse-interface approach, and outline possible routes to eliminate them. Our results also provide a simple geometrical explanation to the dependence of surface tension on curvature, and to the problem of line tension.

Spreading of a liquid film on a substrate by the evaporation-adsorption process

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

Wayner, P.C. Jr.; Schonberg, J.

1992-09-01

The importance of evaporation followed by multilayer adsorption in comparison to liquid flow at the leading edge of a volatile spreading film is analyzed. Presuming that both flows are functions of the same chemical potential gradient, a dimensionless group (N) which delineates the relative importance of vapor diffusion flow to viscous flow on the surface is obtained: N = [rho][sub i]D[nu]x/([minus][bar A][pi]). The relative importance of vapor flow increases with the vapor-pressure dependent partial density, [rho][sub i], and diffusivity, D, of the diffusing vapor, the kinematic viscosity of the liquid, [nu], and the distance downstream from the bulk liquid region,more » x, and decreases with the Hamaker constant, 6[pi][bar A]. Using physical properties the modifiers volatile'' and nonvolatile'' can thereby be put in perspective. Changes in the interfacial force field are a function of [bar A]. The spreading velocity due to the vapor diffusion process is obtained and is found to decrease with a decrease in the interfacial force field and the bulk vapor pressure. The infinite stress at the contact line can be easily relieved by evaporation-adsorption in many systems.« less

Diffusion studies and critical current in superconducting Nb-Ti-Ta artificial pinning center wire

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bormio-Nunes, C.; Gomes, P. M. N.; Tirelli, M. A.; Ghivelder, L.

2005-08-01

The diffusion between Nb-20%Ta (wt %) and pure Ti is studied at temperatures of 973, 1023, and 1073K, for duration times among 25 and 121h in an artificial pinning center (APC) wire composed of a Ti core surrounded by a Nb-20%Ta layer. The produced diffusion layer is a ternary alloy with superconducting properties, such as critical field Bc2 and critical current density JC, which intrinsically depend on the layer composition. Measurements of layer morphology and composition were performed, and the results show a preferential diffusion of Nb and Ta into Ti. There is a slight diffusion of Ti into Nb through grain boundaries. The presence of Ta also slows down the diffusion of Nb in Ti if compared to the couple formed by pure Nb and Ti. Regarding the mechanical properties of the composite wire, the use of lower temperatures to form the ternary phase is desirable in order to avoid a larger portion of the diffusion layer rich in Ti that favorites α-Ti precipitations that are detrimental to the wire ductility. The best JC value was obtained for the sample heat treated at 973K. The improvement of the flux-line pinning was associated with a sharp change of the diffusion layer composition rather than pinning by normal layer interfaces, suggesting a new source of pinning in this kind of material. Nb-Ti-Ta ternary alloys have the potential to be used in superconducting magnets when fields above 12T are required.

Record Efficiency on Large Area P-Type Czochralski Silicon Substrates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hallam, Brett; Wenham, Stuart; Lee, Haeseok; Lee, Eunjoo; Lee, Hyunwoo; Kim, Jisun; Shin, Jeongeun; Cho, Kyeongyeon; Kim, Jisoo

2012-10-01

In this work we report a world record independently confirmed efficiency of 19.4% for a large area p-type Czochralski grown solar cell fabricated with a full area aluminium back surface field. This is achieved using the laser doped selective emitter solar cell technology on an industrial screen print production line with the addition of laser doping and light induced plating equipment. The use of a modified diffusion process is explored in which the emitter is diffused to a sheet resistance of 90 Ω/square and subsequent etch back of the emitter to 120 Ω/square. This results in a lower surface concentration of phosphorus compared to that of emitters diffused directly to 120 Ω/square. This modified diffusion process subsequently reduces the conductivity of the surface in relation to that of the heavily diffused laser doped contacts and avoids parasitic plating, resulting an average absolute increase in efficiency of 0.4% compared to cells fabricated without an emitter etch back process.

A reexamination of pitch angle diffusion of electrons at the boundary of the lunar wake

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nakagawa, T.; Iizima, M.

2006-05-01

Velocity distribution of the solar wind electrons injected into the lunar wake boundary is re-examined by using a simple model structure of inward electric field. The electrons that were flowing along the magnetic field lines undergo pitch angle scattering due to the electric field component perpendicular to the magnetic field. The electrons obtain perpendicular speeds twice as much as the drift speed. On the basis of the GEOTAIL observations of the whistler mode waves and strahl electrons, the intensity of the electric field and the thickness of the wake structure are estimated to be 28-40 mVm-1 and less than 20 km, respectively.

Pitch Angle Scattering of Upgoing Electron Beams in Jupiter's Polar Regions by Whistler Mode Waves

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Elliott, S. S.; Gurnett, D. A.; Kurth, W. S.; Clark, G.; Mauk, B. H.; Bolton, S. J.; Connerney, J. E. P.; Levin, S. M.

2018-02-01

The Juno spacecraft's Jupiter Energetic-particle Detector Instrument has observed field-aligned, unidirectional (upgoing) electron beams throughout most of Jupiter's entire polar cap region. The Waves instrument detected intense broadband whistler mode emissions occurring in the same region. In this paper, we investigate the pitch angle scattering of the upgoing electron beams due to interactions with the whistler mode waves. Profiles of intensity versus pitch angle for electron beams ranging from 2.53 to 7.22 Jovian radii show inconsistencies with the expected adiabatic invariant motion of the electrons. It is believed that the observed whistler mode waves perturb the electron motion and scatter them away from the magnetic field line. The diffusion equation has been solved by using diffusion coefficients which depend on the magnetic intensity of the whistler mode waves.

Auroral displays near the 'foot' of the field line of the ATS-5 satellite

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Akasofu, S.-I.; Deforest, S.; Mcilwain, C.

1974-01-01

Summary of an extensive correlative study of ATS-5 particle and magnetic field data with all-sky photographs from Great Whale River which is near the 'foot' of the field lines passing through the ATS-5 satellite. In particular, an effort is made to identify specific particle features with specific auroral displays during substorms, such as a westward traveling surge, poleward expansive motion, and drifting patches. It is found that, in early evening hours, the first encounter of ATS-5 with hot plasma is associated with the equatorward shift of the diffuse aurora, but not necessarily with westward traveling surges (even when the satellite is embedded in the plasma sheet). In the midnight sector, an injection corresponds very well to the initial brightening of an auroral arc. Specific features of morning sector auroras are difficult to correlate with specific particle features.

The Origin Of Most Cosmic Rays: The Acceleration By E(parallel)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Colgate, Stirling A.; Li, H.

2008-03-01

We suggest a universal view of the origin of almost all cosmic rays. We propose that nearly every accelerated CRs was initially part of the parallel current that maintains most all force-free, twisted magnetic fields. We point out the greatest fraction of the free energy of magnetic fields in the universe likely resides in force-free fields as opposed to force-bounded ones, because the velocity of twisting, the ponder motive force, is small compared to local Alven speed. We suggest that these helical fields and the particles that they accelerate are distributed nearly uniformly and consequently are near space-filling with some notable exceptions. Charged particles are accelerated by the E( parallel to the magnetic field B) produced by the dissipation of the free energy of these fields by the progressive diffusive loss of "run-away" accelerated current-carrying charged particles from the "core" of the helical fields. Such diffusive loss is first identified as reconnection, but instead potentiates a much larger irreversible loss of highly accelerated anisotropic run-away current carrier particles. We suggest, as in fusion confinement experiments, that there exists a universal, highly robust, diffusion coefficient, D, resulting in D 1% of Bohm diffusion, as has been found in all confinement experiments, possibly driven by drift waves and, or collision-less, tearing modes. The consequential current carrier loss along the resulting tangled field lines is sufficient to account for the energy, number and spectrum of nearly all CR acceleration, both galactic as well as extra galactic. The spectrum is determined by a loss fraction dn/n -dE/E where dn D E-3/2 resulting in dn/dE = E/E0-2.5 up to 1022 ev. Only mass accretion onto SMBHs can supply the energy necessary, 1060 ergs, to fill the IGM with a CR spectrum of Γ 2.6. (Supported by the DOE)

The Solar Dynamo

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hathaway, David H.

1998-01-01

The solar dynamo is the process by which the Sun's magnetic field is generated through the interaction of the field with convection and rotation. In this, it is kin to planetary dynamos and other stellar dynamos. Although the precise mechanism by which the Sun generates its field remains poorly understood despite decades of theoretical and observational work, recent advances suggest that solutions to this solar dynamo problem may be forthcoming. Two basic processes are involved in dynamo activity. When the fluid stresses dominate the magnetic stresses (high plasma beta = 8(pi)rho/B(sup 2)), shear flows can stretch magnetic field lines in the direction of the shear (the "alpha effect") and helical flows can lift and twist field lines into orthogonal planes (the "alpha effect"). These two processes can be active anywhere in the solar convection zone but with different results depending upon their relative strengths and signs. Little is known about how and where these processes occur. Other processes, such as magnetic diffusion and the effects of the fine scale structure of the solar magnetic field, pose additional problems.

Coordinated analysis of data. [all sky photography observations of the ATS 5 satellite of auroras

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mende, S. B.

1974-01-01

All Sky Cameras (ASCA) observations were made at the field line conjugate of the ATS-5 Satellite. The field of view of these cameras covered the region of the magnetosphere from L=5 to L=ll at the approximate longitude of the ATS field line conjugate. Definite statements are made concerning the correlation of the auroras observed by the ASCA's and the magnetospheric trapped fluxes. No auroras are observed at the field line conjugate, on quiet days when the hot plasma does not penetrate into the magnetosphere far enough to reach the ATS-5 orbit. On more disturbed days, when the ATS-5 enters the plasma sheet containing plasma clouds, an equatorward motion of the lowest latitude auroral arc is observed. Significant qualitative correlation between the ASCA data and the trapped fluxes is observed when a local plasma injection event occurs near ATS-5. The clearest signature of the injection event is magnetic and is most pronounced as a recovery of a negative bay at the ATS-5 magnetometer. The most significant correlations are observed with the intensification of the diffuse uniform glow which intensifies during the injection event.

Magnetic reconnection process in transient coaxial helicity injection

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

Ebrahimi, F.; Hooper, E. B.; Sovinec, C. R.

The physics of magnetic reconnection and fast flux closure in transient coaxial helicity injection experiments in NSTX is examined using resistive MHD simulations. These simulations have been performed using the NIMROD code with fixed boundary flux (including NSTX poloidal coil currents) in the NSTX experimental geometry. Simulations show that an X point is formed in the injector region, followed by formation of closed flux surfaces within 0.5 ms after the driven injector voltage and injector current begin to rapidly decrease. As the injector voltage is turned off, the field lines tend to untwist in the toroidal direction and magnetic fieldmore » compression exerts a radial J × B force and generates a bi-directional radial E{sub toroidal}×B{sub poloidal} pinch flow to bring oppositely directed field lines closer together to reconnect. At sufficiently low magnetic diffusivity (high Lundquist number), and with a sufficiently narrow injector flux footprint width, the oppositely directed field lines have sufficient time to reconnect (before dissipating), leading to the formation of closed flux surfaces. The reconnection process is shown to have transient Sweet-Parker characteristics.« less

Drift waves, intense parallel electric fields, and turbulence associated with asymmetric magnetic reconnection at the magnetopause

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ergun, R. E.; Chen, L.-J.; Wilder, F. D.; Ahmadi, N.; Eriksson, S.; Usanova, M. E.; Goodrich, K. A.; Holmes, J. C.; Sturner, A. P.; Malaspina, D. M.; Newman, D. L.; Torbert, R. B.; Argall, M. R.; Lindqvist, P.-A.; Burch, J. L.; Webster, J. M.; Drake, J. F.; Price, L.; Cassak, P. A.; Swisdak, M.; Shay, M. A.; Graham, D. B.; Strangeway, R. J.; Russell, C. T.; Giles, B. L.; Dorelli, J. C.; Gershman, D.; Avanov, L.; Hesse, M.; Lavraud, B.; Le Contel, O.; Retino, A.; Phan, T. D.; Goldman, M. V.; Stawarz, J. E.; Schwartz, S. J.; Eastwood, J. P.; Hwang, K.-J.; Nakamura, R.; Wang, S.

2017-04-01

Observations of magnetic reconnection at Earth's magnetopause often display asymmetric structures that are accompanied by strong magnetic field (B) fluctuations and large-amplitude parallel electric fields (E||). The B turbulence is most intense at frequencies above the ion cyclotron frequency and below the lower hybrid frequency. The B fluctuations are consistent with a thin, oscillating current sheet that is corrugated along the electron flow direction (along the X line), which is a type of electromagnetic drift wave. Near the X line, electron flow is primarily due to a Hall electric field, which diverts ion flow in asymmetric reconnection and accompanies the instability. Importantly, the drift waves appear to drive strong parallel currents which, in turn, generate large-amplitude ( 100 mV/m) E|| in the form of nonlinear waves and structures. These observations suggest that turbulence may be common in asymmetric reconnection, penetrate into the electron diffusion region, and possibly influence the magnetic reconnection process.

A theoretical study of the global F region for June solstice, solar maximum, and low magnetic activity

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sojka, J. J.; Schunk, R. W.

1985-01-01

A time-dependent, three-dimensional, multi-ion model of the ionospheric F region at 120-800 km altitude is presented. Account is taken of field-aligned diffusion, cross-field electrodynamic drifts in equatorial and high latitude regions, interhemispheric flow, thermospheric winds, polar wind escape, energy-dependent chemical reactions and neutral composition changes. Attention is also given to the effects of ion production by solar EUV radiation and auroral precipitation, thermal conduction, diffusion-thermal heat flow, local heating and cooling processes, offsets between the geomagnetic and geographic poles, and bending of field lines near the magnetic equator. The model incorporates all phenomena described by previous models and can be applied to tracing magnetic storm and substorm disturbances from high to low latitudes on a global scale. Sample results are provided for ionospheric features during a June solstice, the solar maximum and in a period of low geomagnetic activity. The model will eventually be used to study coupled ionosphere-thermosphere activity.

Simulation services and analysis tools at the CCMC to study multi-scale structure and dynamics of Earth's magnetopause

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kuznetsova, M. M.; Liu, Y. H.; Rastaetter, L.; Pembroke, A. D.; Chen, L. J.; Hesse, M.; Glocer, A.; Komar, C. M.; Dorelli, J.; Roytershteyn, V.

2016-12-01

The presentation will provide overview of new tools, services and models implemented at the Community Coordinated Modeling Center (CCMC) to facilitate MMS dayside results analysis. We will provide updates on implementation of Particle-in-Cell (PIC) simulations at the CCMC and opportunities for on-line visualization and analysis of results of PIC simulations of asymmetric magnetic reconnection for different guide fields and boundary conditions. Fields, plasma parameters, particle distribution moments as well as particle distribution functions calculated in selected regions of the vicinity of reconnection sites can be analyzed through the web-based interactive visualization system. In addition there are options to request distribution functions in user selected regions of interest and to fly through simulated magnetic reconnection configurations and a map of distributions to facilitate comparisons with observations. A broad collection of global magnetosphere models hosted at the CCMC provide opportunity to put MMS observations and local PIC simulations into global context. We recently implemented the RECON-X post processing tool (Glocer et al, 2016) which allows users to determine the location of separator surface around closed field lines and between open field lines and solar wind field lines. The tool also finds the separatrix line where the two surfaces touch and positions of magnetic nulls. The surfaces and the separatrix line can be visualized relative to satellite positions in the dayside magnetosphere using an interactive HTML-5 visualization for each time step processed. To validate global magnetosphere models' capability to simulate locations of dayside magnetosphere boundaries we will analyze the proximity of MMS to simulated separatrix locations for a set of MMS diffusion region crossing events.

Collisional transport across the magnetic field in drift-fluid models

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

Madsen, J., E-mail: jmad@fysik.dtu.dk; Naulin, V.; Nielsen, A. H.

2016-03-15

Drift ordered fluid models are widely applied in studies of low-frequency turbulence in the edge and scrape-off layer regions of magnetically confined plasmas. Here, we show how collisional transport across the magnetic field is self-consistently incorporated into drift-fluid models without altering the drift-fluid energy integral. We demonstrate that the inclusion of collisional transport in drift-fluid models gives rise to diffusion of particle density, momentum, and pressures in drift-fluid turbulence models and, thereby, obviates the customary use of artificial diffusion in turbulence simulations. We further derive a computationally efficient, two-dimensional model, which can be time integrated for several turbulence de-correlation timesmore » using only limited computational resources. The model describes interchange turbulence in a two-dimensional plane perpendicular to the magnetic field located at the outboard midplane of a tokamak. The model domain has two regions modeling open and closed field lines. The model employs a computational expedient model for collisional transport. Numerical simulations show good agreement between the full and the simplified model for collisional transport.« less

A Comprehensive Search for Gamma-Ray Lines in the First Year of Data from the INTEGRAL Spectrometer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Teegarden, B. J.; Watanabe, K.

2006-01-01

Gamma-ray lines are produced in nature by a variety of different physical processes. They can be valuable astrophysical diagnostics providing information the may be unobtainable by other means. We have carried out an extensive search for gamma-ray lines in the first year of public data from the Spectrometer (SPI) on the INTEGRAL mission. INTEGRAL has spent a large fraction of its observing time in the Galactic Plane with particular concentration in the Galactic Center (GC) region (approximately 3 Msec in the first year). Hence the most sensitive search regions are in the Galactic Plane and Center. The phase space of the search spans the energy range 20-8000 keV, and line widths from 0-1000 keV (FWHM) and includes both diffuse and point-like emission. We have searched for variable emission on time scales down to approximately 1000 sec. Diffuse emission has been searched for on a range of different spatial scales from approximately 20 degrees (the approximate field-of-view of the spectrometer) up to the entire Galactic Plane. Our search procedures were verified by the recovery of the known gamma-ray lines at 511 keV and 1809 keV at the appropriate intensities and significances. We find no evidence for any previously unknown gamma-ray lines. The upper limits range from a few x10(exp -5) per square centimeter per second to a few x10(exp -3) per square centimeter per second depending on line width, energy and exposure. Comparison is made between our results and various prior predictions of astrophysical lines

Strongly anomalous diffusion in sheared magnetic configurations

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

Vanden Eijnden, E.; Balescu, R.

1996-03-01

The statistical behavior of magnetic lines in a sheared magnetic configuration with reference surface {ital x}=0 is investigated within the framework of the kinetic theory. A Liouville equation is associated with the equations of motion of the stochastic magnetic lines. After averaging over an ensemble of realizations, it yields a convection-diffusion equation within the quasilinear approximation. The diffusion coefficients are space dependent and peaked around the reference surface {ital x}=0. Due to the shear, the diffusion of lines away from the reference surface is slowed down. The behavior of the lines is asymptotically strongly non-Gaussian. The reference surface acts likemore » an attractor around which the magnetic lines spread with an effective subdiffusive behavior. Comparison is also made with more usual treatments based on the study of the first two moments equations. For sheared systems, it is explicitly shown that the Corrsin approximation assumed in the latter approach is no longer valid. It is also concluded that the diffusion coefficients cannot be derived from the mean square displacement of the magnetic lines in an inhomogeneous medium. {copyright} {ital 1996 American Institute of Physics.}« less

Unraveling the Nature of Steady Magnetopause Reconnection Versus Flux Transfer Events

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Raeder, J.

2002-12-01

Magnetic reconnection is a fundamental mode of energy and momentum transfer from the solar wind to the magnetosphere. It is known to occur in different forms depending on solar wind and magnetospheric conditions. In particular, steady reconnection can be distinguished from pulse-like reconnection events which are also known as Flux Transfer Events (FTEs). The formation mechanism of FTEs and their contolling factors remain controversial. We use global MHD simulations of Earth's magnetosphere to show that for southward IMF conditions: a) steady reconnection preferentially occurs without FTEs when the stagnation flow line nearly coincides with the X-line location, which requires small dipole tilt and nearly due southward IMF, b) FTEs occur when the flow/field symmetry is broken, which requires either a large dipole tilt and/or a substantial east-west component of the IMF, c) the predicted spacecraft signature and the repetition frequency of FTEs in the simulations agrees very well with typical observations, lending credibility to the the model, d) the fundamental process that leads to FTE formation is multiple X-line formation caused by the flow and field patterns in the magnetosheath and requires no intrinsic plasma property variations like variable resistivity, e) if the dipole tilt breaks the symmetry FTEs occur only in the winter hemisphere whereas the reconnection signatures in the summer hemisphere are steady with no bipolar FTE-like signatures, f) if the IMF east-west field component breaks the symmetry FTEs occur in both hemispheres, and g) FTE formation depends on sufficient resolution and low diffusion in the model -- coarse resolution and/or high diffusivity lead to flow-through reconnection signatures that appear unphysical given the frequent observation of FTEs.

Global modeling of flux transfer events: generation mechanism and spacecraft signatures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Raeder, J.

2003-04-01

Magnetic reconnection is a fundamental mode of energy and momentum transfer from the solar wind to the magnetosphere. It is known to occur in different forms depending on solar wind and magnetospheric conditions. In particular, steady reconnection can be distinguished from pulse-like reconnection events which are also known as Flux Transfer Events (FTEs). The formation mechanism of FTEs and their contolling factors remain controversial. We use global MHD simulations of Earth's magnetosphere to show that for southward IMF conditions: a) steady reconnection preferentially occurs without FTEs when the stagnation flow line nearly coincides with the X-line location, which requires small dipole tilt and nearly due southward IMF, b) FTEs occur when the flow/field symmetry is broken, which requires either a large dipole tilt and/or a substantial east-west component of the IMF, c) the predicted spacecraft signature and the repetition frequency of FTEs in the simulations agrees very well with typical observations, lending credibility to the the model, d) the fundamental process that leads to FTE formation is multiple X-line formation caused by the flow and field patterns in the magnetosheath and requires no intrinsic plasma property variations like variable resistivity, e) if the dipole tilt breaks the symmetry FTEs occur only in the winter hemisphere whereas the reconnection signatures in the summer hemisphere are steady with no bipolar FTE-like signatures, f) if the IMF east-west field component breaks the symmetry FTEs occur in both hemispheres, and g) FTE formation depends on sufficient resolution and low diffusion in the model -- coarse resolution and/or high diffusivity lead to flow-through reconnection signatures that appear unphysical given the frequent observation of FTEs.

Magnetospheric Multiscale observations of large-amplitude, parallel, electrostatic waves associated with magnetic reconnection at the magnetopause

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ergun, R. E.; Holmes, J. C.; Goodrich, K. A.; Wilder, F. D.; Stawarz, J. E.; Eriksson, S.; Newman, D. L.; Schwartz, S. J.; Goldman, M. V.; Sturner, A. P.; Malaspina, D. M.; Usanova, M. E.; Torbert, R. B.; Argall, M.; Lindqvist, P.-A.; Khotyaintsev, Y.; Burch, J. L.; Strangeway, R. J.; Russell, C. T.; Pollock, C. J.; Giles, B. L.; Dorelli, J. J. C.; Avanov, L.; Hesse, M.; Chen, L. J.; Lavraud, B.; Le Contel, O.; Retino, A.; Phan, T. D.; Eastwood, J. P.; Oieroset, M.; Drake, J.; Shay, M. A.; Cassak, P. A.; Nakamura, R.; Zhou, M.; Ashour-Abdalla, M.; André, M.

2016-06-01

We report observations from the Magnetospheric Multiscale satellites of large-amplitude, parallel, electrostatic waves associated with magnetic reconnection at the Earth's magnetopause. The observed waves have parallel electric fields (E||) with amplitudes on the order of 100 mV/m and display nonlinear characteristics that suggest a possible net E||. These waves are observed within the ion diffusion region and adjacent to (within several electron skin depths) the electron diffusion region. They are in or near the magnetosphere side current layer. Simulation results support that the strong electrostatic linear and nonlinear wave activities appear to be driven by a two stream instability, which is a consequence of mixing cold (<10 eV) plasma in the magnetosphere with warm (~100 eV) plasma from the magnetosheath on a freshly reconnected magnetic field line. The frequent observation of these waves suggests that cold plasma is often present near the magnetopause.

On the widespread use of the Corrsin hypothesis in diffusion theories

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

Tautz, R. C.; Shalchi, A.

2010-12-15

In the past four decades, several nonlinear theories have been developed to describe (i) the motion of charged test particles through a turbulent magnetized plasma and (ii) the random walk of magnetic field lines. In many such theories, the so-called Corrsin independence hypothesis has been applied to enforce analytical tractability. In this note, it is shown that the Corrsin hypothesis is part of most nonlinear diffusion theories. In some cases, the Corrsin approximation is somewhat hidden, while in other cases a different name is used for the same approach. It is shown that even the researchers who criticized the applicationmore » of this hypothesis have used it in their nonlinear diffusion theories. It is hoped that the present article will eliminate the recently caused confusion about the applicability and validity of the Corrsin hypothesis.« less

Electron Thermal Transport due to Magnetic Diffusion in the MST RFP

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reusch, J. A.; Anderson, J. K.; den Hartog, D. J.; Forest, C. B.; Kasten, C. P.; Schnack, D. D.; Stephens, H. D.

2011-10-01

Comparison of measurements made in the MST RFP to the results from extensive nonlinear resistive MHD simulations has provided two key observations. First, trapped particles reduce electron thermal diffusion; inclusion of this effect is required for quantitative agreement of simulation to measurement. Second, the structure and evolution of long-wavelength temperature fluctuations measured in MST shows remarkable qualitative similarity to fluctuations appearing in a finite-pressure simulation. These simulations were run at parameters matching those of 400 kA discharges in MST (S ~ 4 ×106). In a zero β simulation, the measured χe is compared to the thermal diffusion due to parallel losses along diffusing magnetic field lines, χst =v∥Dmag . Agreement is only found if the reduction in χst due to trapped particles is taken into account. In a second simulation, the pressure field was evolved self consistently assuming Ohmic heating and anisotropic thermal conduction. Fluctuations in the simulated temperature are very similar in character and time evolution to temperature fluctuations measured in MST. This includes m = 1 , n = 6 fluctuations that flatten the temperature profile as well as m = 1 , n = 5 fluctuations that generate hot island structures near the core shortly after sawtooth crashes. This work supported by the US DOE and NSF.

Cellular automata models for diffusion of information and highway traffic flow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fuks, Henryk

In the first part of this work we study a family of deterministic models for highway traffic flow which generalize cellular automaton rule 184. This family is parameterized by the speed limit m and another parameter k that represents degree of 'anticipatory driving'. We compare two driving strategies with identical maximum throughput: 'conservative' driving with high speed limit and 'anticipatory' driving with low speed limit. Those two strategies are evaluated in terms of accident probability. We also discuss fundamental diagrams of generalized traffic rules and examine limitations of maximum achievable throughput. Possible modifications of the model are considered. For rule 184, we present exact calculations of the order parameter in a transition from the moving phase to the jammed phase using the method of preimage counting, and use this result to construct a solution to the density classification problem. In the second part we propose a probabilistic cellular automaton model for the spread of innovations, rumors, news, etc., in a social system. We start from simple deterministic models, for which exact expressions for the density of adopters are derived. For a more realistic model, based on probabilistic cellular automata, we study the influence of a range of interaction R on the shape of the adoption curve. When the probability of adoption is proportional to the local density of adopters, and individuals can drop the innovation with some probability p, the system exhibits a second order phase transition. Critical line separating regions of parameter space in which asymptotic density of adopters is positive from the region where it is equal to zero converges toward the mean-field line when the range of the interaction increases. In a region between R=1 critical line and the mean-field line asymptotic density of adopters depends on R, becoming zero if R is too small (smaller than some critical value). This result demonstrates the importance of connectivity in diffusion of information. We also define a new class of automata networks which incorporates non-local interactions, and discuss its applicability in modeling of diffusion of innovations.

The scattering of Lyα radiation in the intergalactic medium: numerical methods and solutions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Higgins, Jonathan; Meiksin, Avery

2012-11-01

Two methods are developed for solving the steady-state spherically symmetric radiative transfer equation for resonance line radiation emitted by a point source in the intergalactic medium, in the context of the Wouthuysen-Field mechanism for coupling the hyperfine structure spin temperature of hydrogen to the gas temperature. One method is based on solving the ray and moment equations using finite differences. The second uses a Monte Carlo approach incorporating methods that greatly improve the accuracy compared with previous approaches in this context. Several applications are presented serving as test problems for both a static medium and an expanding medium, including inhomogeneities in the density and velocity fields. Solutions are obtained in the coherent scattering limit and for Doppler RII redistribution with and without recoils. We find generally that the radiation intensity is linear in the cosine of the azimuthal angle with respect to radius to high accuracy over a broad frequency region across the line centre for both linear and perturbed velocity fields, yielding the Eddington factors fν ≃ 1/3 and gν ≃ 3/5. The radiation field produced by a point source divides into three spatial regimes for a uniformly expanding homogeneous medium. The regimes are governed by the fraction of the distance r from the source in terms of the distance r* required for a photon to redshift from line centre to the frequency needed to escape from the expanding gas. For a standard cosmology, before the Universe was reionized r* takes on the universal value independent of redshift of 1.1 Mpc, depending only on the ratio of the baryon to dark matter density. At r/r* < 1, the radiation field is accurately described in the diffusion approximation, with the scattering rate declining with the distance from the source as r-7/3, except at r/r* ≪ 1 where frequency redistribution nearly doubles the mean intensity around line centre. At r/r* > 1, the diffusion approximation breaks down and the decline of the mean intensity near line centre and the scattering rate approach the geometric dilution scaling 1/r2. The mean intensity and scattering rate are found to be very sensitive to the gradient of the velocity field, growing exponentially with the amplitude of the perturbation as the limit of a vanishing velocity gradient is approached near the source. We expect the 21-cm signal from the epoch of reionization to thus be a sensitive probe of both the density and the peculiar velocity fields. The solutions for the mean intensity are made available in machine-readable format.

Simulations of Lateral Transport and Dropout Structure of Energetic Particles from Impulsive Solar Flares

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tooprakai, P.; Seripienlert, A.; Ruffolo, D.; Chuychai, P.; Matthaeus, W. H.

2016-11-01

We simulate trajectories of energetic particles from impulsive solar flares for 2D+slab models of magnetic turbulence in spherical geometry to study dropout features, I.e., sharp, repeated changes in the particle density. Among random-phase realizations of two-dimensional (2D) turbulence, a spherical harmonic expansion can generate homogeneous turbulence over a sphere, but a 2D fast Fourier transform (FFT) locally mapped onto the lateral coordinates in the region of interest is much faster computationally, and we show that the results are qualitatively similar. We then use the 2D FFT field as input to a 2D MHD simulation, which dynamically generates realistic features of turbulence such as coherent structures. The magnetic field lines and particles spread non-diffusively (ballistically) to a patchy distribution reaching up to 25° from the injection longitude and latitude at r ˜ 1 au. This dropout pattern in field line trajectories has sharper features in the case of the more realistic 2D MHD model, in better qualitative agreement with observations. The initial dropout pattern in particle trajectories is relatively insensitive to particle energy, though the energy affects the pattern’s evolution with time. We make predictions for future observations of solar particles near the Sun (e.g., at 0.25 au), for which we expect a sharp pulse of outgoing particles along the dropout pattern, followed by backscattering that first remains close to the dropout pattern and later exhibits cross-field transport to a distribution that is more diffusive, yet mostly contained within the dropout pattern found at greater distances.

The Great Solar Active Region NOAA 12192: Helicity Transport, Filament Formation, and Impact on the Polar Field

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

McMaken, Tyler C.; Petrie, Gordon J. D., E-mail: tmcmaken@gmail.com, E-mail: gpetrie@noao.edu

The solar active region (AR), NOAA 12192, appeared in 2014 October as the largest AR in 24 years. Here we examine the counterintuitive nature of two diffusion-driven processes in the region: the role of helicity buildup in the formation of a major filament, and the relationship between the effects of supergranular diffusion and meridional flow on the AR and on the polar field. Quantitatively, calculations of current helicity and magnetic twist from Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) vector magnetograms indicate that, though AR 12192 emerged with negative helicity, positive helicity from subsequent flux emergence, consistent with the hemispheric sign-preference ofmore » helicity, increased over time within large-scale, weak-field regions such as those near the polarity inversion line (PIL). Morphologically, Atmospheric Imaging Assembly observations of filament barbs, sigmoidal patterns, and bases of Fe xii stalks initially exhibited signatures of negative helicity, and the long filament that subsequently formed had a strong positive helicity consistent with the helicity buildup along the PIL. We find from full-disk HMI magnetograms that AR 12192's leading positive flux was initially closer to the equator but, owing either to the region’s magnetic surroundings or to its asymmetric flux density distribution, was transported poleward more quickly on average than its trailing negative flux, contrary to the canonical pattern of bipole flux transport. This behavior caused the AR to have a smaller effect on the polar fields than expected and enabled the formation of the very long neutral line where the filament formed.« less

The initial stage of uranium oxidation: mechanism of UO(2) scale formation in the presence of a native lateral stress field.

PubMed

Chernia, Z; Ben-Eliyahu, Y; Kimmel, G; Braun, G; Sariel, J

2006-11-23

In this work, an oxidation model for alpha-uranium is presented. It describes the internally lateral stress field built in the oxide scale during the reaction. The thickness of the elastic, stress-preserving oxide (UO(2+x)) scale is less than 0.5 microm. A lateral, 6.5 GPa stress field has been calculated from strains derived from line shifts (delta(2theta)) as measured by the X-ray diffraction of UO(2). It is shown that in the elastic growth domain, (110) is the main UO(2) growth plane for gas-solid oxidation. The diffusion-limited oxidation mechanism discussed here is based on the known "2:2:2" cluster theory which describes the mechanism of fluorite-based hyperstoichiometric oxides. In this study, it is adapted to describe oxygen-anion hopping. Anion hopping toward the oxide-metal interface proceeds at high rates in the [110] direction, hence making this pipeline route the principal growth direction in UO(2) formation. It is further argued that growth in the pure elastic domain of the oxide scale should be attributed entirely to anion hopping in 110. Anions, diffusing isotropically via grain boundaries and cracks, are shown to have a significant impact on the overall oxidation rate in relatively thick (>0.35 microm) oxide scales if followed by an avalanche break off in the postelastic regime. Stress affects oxidation in the elastic domain by controlling the hopping rate directly. In the postelastic regime, stress weakens hopping, indirectly, by enhancing isotropic diffusion. Surface roughness presents an additional hindering factor for the anion hopping. In comparison to anisotropic hopping, diffusion of isotropic hopping has a lower activation energy barrier. Therefore, a relatively stronger impact at lower temperatures due to isotropic diffusion is displayed.

Speckle pattern sequential extraction metric for estimating the focus spot size on a remote diffuse target.

PubMed

Yu, Zhan; Li, Yuanyang; Liu, Lisheng; Guo, Jin; Wang, Tingfeng; Yang, Guoqing

2017-11-10

The speckle pattern (line by line) sequential extraction (SPSE) metric is proposed by the one-dimensional speckle intensity level crossing theory. Through the sequential extraction of received speckle information, the speckle metrics for estimating the variation of focusing spot size on a remote diffuse target are obtained. Based on the simulation, we will give some discussions about the SPSE metric range of application under the theoretical conditions, and the aperture size will affect the metric performance of the observation system. The results of the analyses are verified by the experiment. This method is applied to the detection of relative static target (speckled jitter frequency is less than the CCD sampling frequency). The SPSE metric can determine the variation of the focusing spot size over a long distance, moreover, the metric will estimate the spot size under some conditions. Therefore, the monitoring and the feedback of far-field spot will be implemented laser focusing system applications and help the system to optimize the focusing performance.

Noninvasive Localization of Prostate Cancer via Diffusion Sensitive MRI

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-03-01

sequence, Haker et al and Roebuck et al using a line-scan diffusion sequence, and Vigneron et al using a fast spin-echo diffusion sequence (33,35-37...Mulkern RV, Haker S, Zhang J, Zou KH, Maier SE, Tempany CM. Detection of prostate cancer by integration of line-scan diffusion, T2-mapping and T2-weighted...36. Haker SJ, Szot Barnes A, Maier SE, Tempany CM, Mulkern RV. Diffusion Tensor Imaging for Prostate Cancer Detection: Preliminary Results from a

Finite Gyroradius Effects in the Electron Outflow of Asymmetric Magnetic Reconnection

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Norgren, C.; Graham, D. B.; Khotyaintsev, Yu. V.; Andre, M.; Vaivads, A.; Chen, Li-Jen; Lindqvist, P.-A.; Marklund, G. T.; Ergun, R. E.; Magnes, W.;

Gas Phase Spectroscopy of Cold PAH Ions: Contribution to the Interstellar Extinction and the Diffuse Interstellar Bands

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Biennier, L.; Salama, F.; Allamandola, L. J.; Scherer, J. J.; OKeefe, A.

2002-01-01

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon molecules (PAHs) are ubiquitous in the interstellar medium (ISM) and constitute the building blocks of interstellar dust grains. Despite their inferred important role in mediating the energetic and chemical processes in thc ISM, their exact contribution to the interstellar extinction, and in particular to the diffuse interstellar bands (DIBs) remains unclear. The DIBs are spectral absorption features observed in the line of sight of stars that are obscured by diffuse interstellar clouds. More than 200 bands have been reported to date spanning from the near UV to the near IR with bandwidths ranging from 0.4 to 40 Angstroms (Tielens & Snow 1995). The present consensus is that the DIBs arise from free flying, gas-phase, organic molecules and/or ions that are abundant under the typical conditions reigning in the diffuse ISM. PAHs have been proposed as possible carriers (Allamandola et al. 1985; Leger & DHendecourt 1985). The PAH hypothesis is consistent with the cosmic abundance of Carbon and Hydrogen and with the required photostability of the DIB carriers against the strong VUV radiation field in the diffuse interstellar clouds. A significant fraction of PAHs is expected to be ionized in the diffuse ISM.

Magnetic Reconnection Dynamics in the Presence of Low-energy Ion Component: PIC Simulations of Hidden Particle Population

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khotyaintsev, Y. V.; Divin, A. V.; Toledo Redondo, S.; Andre, M.; Vaivads, A.; Markidis, S.; Lapenta, G.

2015-12-01

Magnetospheric and astrophysical plasmas are rarely in the state of thermal equilibrium. Plasma distribution functions may contain beams, supra-thermal tails, multiple ion and electron populations which are not thermalized over long time scales due to the lack of collisions between particles. In particular, the equatorial region of the dayside Earth's magnetosphere is often populated by plasma containing hot and cold ion components of comparable densities [Andre and Cully, 2012], and such ion distribution alters properties of the magnetic reconnection regions at the magnetopause [Toledo-Redondo et. al., 2015]. Motivated by these recent findings and also by fact that this region is one of the targets of the recently launched MMS mission, we performed 2D PIC simulations of magnetic reconnection in collisionless plasma with hot and cold ion components. We used a standard Harris current sheet, to which a uniform cold ion background is added. We found that introduction of the cold component modifies the structure of reconnection diffusion region. Diffusion region displays three-scale structure, with the cold Ion Diffusion Region (cIDR) scale appearing in-between the Electron Diffusion Region (EDR) and Ion Diffusion Region (IDR) scales. Structure and strength of the Hall magnetic field depends weakly on cold ion temperature or density, and is rather controlled by the conditions (B, n) upstream the reconnection region. The cold ions are accelerated predominantly transverse to the magnetic field by the Hall electric fields inside the IDR, leading to a large ion pressure anisotropy, which is unstable to ion Weibel-type or mirror-type mode. On the opposite, acceleration of cold ions is mostly field-aligned at the reconnection jet fronts downstream the X-line, producing intense ion phase-space holes there. Despite comparable reconnection rates produced , we find that the overall evolution of reconnection in presence of cold ion population is more dynamic compared to the case with a single hot ion component.

Global Fluxon Modeling of the Solar Corona and Inner Heliosphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lamb, D. A.; DeForest, C. E.

2017-12-01

The fluxon approach to MHD modeling enables simulations of low-beta plasmas in the absence of undesirable numerical effects such as diffusion and magnetic reconnection. The magnetic field can be modeled as a collection of discrete field lines ("fluxons") containing a set amount of magnetic flux in a prescribed field topology. Due to the fluxon model's pseudo-Lagrangian grid, simulations can be completed in a fraction of the time of traditional grid-based simulations, enabling near-real-time simulations of the global magnetic field structure and its influence on solar wind properties. Using SDO/HMI synoptic magnetograms as lower magnetic boundary conditions, and a separate one-dimensional fluid flow model attached to each fluxon, we compare the resulting fluxon relaxations with other commonly-used global models (such as PFSS), and with white-light images of the corona (including the August 2017 total solar eclipse). Finally, we show the computed magnetic field expansion ratio, and the modeled solar wind speed near the coronal-heliospheric transition. Development of the fluxon MHD model FLUX (the Field Line Universal relaXer), has been funded by NASA's Living with a Star program and by Southwest Research Institute.

Atoms in carbon cages as a source of interstellar diffuse lines

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ballester, J. L.; Antoniewicz, P. R.; Smoluchowski, R.

1990-01-01

A model to describe the resonance absorption lines of various atoms trapped in closed carbon cages is presented. These systems may be responsible for some of the as yet unexplained diffuse interstellar bands. Model potentials for possible atom-C60 systems are obtained and used to calculate the resonance lines. The trapped atoms considered are O, N, Si, Mg, Al, Na, and S, and in all cases the resonance lines are shifted toward the red as compared to the isolated atoms. The calculated wavelengths are compared to the range of wavelengths observed for the diffuse interstellar bands, and good agreement is found for Mg and Si resonance lines. Other lines may be caused by other than resonance transitions or by trapped molecules. The oscillator strengths and the abundances are evaluated and compared with observation. Mechanisms to explain the observed band width of the lines and the existence of certain correlated pairs of lines are discussed.

Differential diffusion effects on buoyancy-driven instabilities of acid-base fronts: the case of a color indicator.

PubMed

Kuster, S; Riolfo, L A; Zalts, A; El Hasi, C; Almarcha, C; Trevelyan, P M J; De Wit, A; D'Onofrio, A

2011-10-14

Buoyancy-driven hydrodynamic instabilities of acid-base fronts are studied both experimentally and theoretically in the case where an aqueous solution of a strong acid is put above a denser aqueous solution of a color indicator in the gravity field. The neutralization reaction between the acid and the color indicator as well as their differential diffusion modifies the initially stable density profile in the system and can trigger convective motions both above and below the initial contact line. The type of patterns observed as well as their wavelength and the speed of the reaction front are shown to depend on the value of the initial concentrations of the acid and of the color indicator and on their ratio. A reaction-diffusion model based on charge balances and ion pair mobility explains how the instability scenarios change when the concentration of the reactants are varied.

Coupled acoustic-gravity field for dynamic evaluation of ion exchange with a single resin bead.

PubMed

Kanazaki, Takahiro; Hirawa, Shungo; Harada, Makoto; Okada, Tetsuo

2010-06-01

A coupled acoustic-gravity field is efficient for entrapping a particle at the position determined by its acoustic properties rather than its size. This field has been applied to the dynamic observation of ion-exchange reactions occurring in a single resin bead. The replacement of counterions in an ion-exchange resin induces changes in its acoustic properties, such as density and compressibility. Therefore, we can visually trace the advancement of an ion-exchange reaction as a time change in the levitation position of a resin bead entrapped in the field. Cation-exchange reactions occurring in resin beads with diameters of 40-120 microm are typically completed within 100-200 s. Ion-exchange equilibrium or kinetics is often evaluated with off-line chemical analyses, which require a batch amount of ion exchangers. Measurements with a single resin particle allow us to evaluate ion-exchange dynamics and kinetics of ions including those that are difficult to measure by usual off-line analyses. The diffusion properties of ions in resins have been successfully evaluated from the time change in the levitation positions of resin beads.

Ion precipitation from the inner plasma sheet due to stochastic diffusion

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zelenyi, L.; Galeev, A.; Kennel, C. F.

1990-01-01

Plasma sheet ions do not conserve their first adiabatic invariant when the magnetic field is appreciably tail-like. They do conserve a different adiabatic invariant but only to linear, rather than exponential, accuracy in the appropriate small parameter. Thus significant stochastic diffusion can occur for particles crossing the separatrix dividing the segments of orbits on which the particles cross and do not cross the tail midplane. Such ions can escape the plasma sheet and precipitate into the atmosphere. Stochastic scattering is strongest from those field lines where the ion's Larmor period in the normal component of the neutral sheet magnetic field approximately equals its bounce period. By comparing the rates of stochastic ion loss and convection in the tail, it is possible to estimate the location and thickness of the inner edge of the ion plasma sheet created by stochastic ion loss. Ions of different masses precipitate into the atmosphere at slightly different locations. Since wave particle interactions are not needed, this precipitation will always occur and should be particularly evident during quiet geomagnetic conditions, when it is less likely to be masked by other precipitation mechanisms.

The peculiar behaviour of the 5780 and 5797 DIBs in HD25137

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Porceddu, Ignazio; Benvenuti, P.

1994-01-01

The interstellar environment close to the high latitude molecular cloud Lynds 1569 (L1569, Lynds 1962), also known as MBM 18 (Magnani, Blitz and Mundy, 1985), has been analyzed by Penrase et al. (1990) and Penrase (1993). Their observations of the CH, CH(sup+), and CN molecular features, are consistent with a region having a high molecular and reduced dust content. They also observed the background star HD 24263- located 8 degrees far from the center of L1569 - reporting a CH rich line of sight and the presence of two intervening clouds from a sodium lines spectra. The infrared excess which has been revealed by the IRAS survey at 12 microns might suggest the presence of PAH's molecules, the well know candidate for the Unidentified Infrared Bands and Diffuse Interstellar Bands. This interesting scenario led to the investigation of the behavior of the diffuse interstellar bands toward HD 25137, which is supposed to be a background object for L1569 (Penrase et al., 1990); as well as the field star HD 24263. As part of a wider observational program devoted to study the HLC's special environments, the observations of the diffuse interstellar bands (DIB's) at 5780 and 5797 lambda lambda in the direction of the two above mentioned stars, HD 24263 and HD 25137 are presented here.

Observation of Three-Dimensional Magnetic Reconnection in the Terrestrial Magnetotail

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Meng; Ashour-Abdalla, Maha; Deng, Xiaohua; Pang, Ye; Fu, Huishan; Walker, Raymond; Lapenta, Giovanni; Huang, Shiyong; Xu, Xiaojun; Tang, Rongxin

2017-09-01

Study of magnetic reconnection has been focused on two-dimensional geometry in the past decades, whereas three-dimensional structures and dynamics of reconnection X line are poorly understood. In this paper, we report Cluster multispacecraft observations of a three-dimensional magnetic reconnection X line with a weak guide field ( 25% of the upstream magnetic field) in the Earth's magnetotail. We find that the X line not only retreated tailward but also expanded across the tail following the electron flow direction with a maximum average speed of (0.04-0.15) VA,up, where VA,up is the upstream Alfvén speed, or (0.14-0.57) Vde, where Vde is the electron flow speed in the out-of-plane direction. An ion diffusion region was observed by two spacecraft that were separated about 10 ion inertial lengths along the out-of-plane direction; however, these two spacecraft observed distinct magnetic structures associated with reconnection: one spacecraft observed dipolarization fronts, while the other one observed flux ropes. This indicates that reconnection proceeds in drastically different ways in different segments along the X line only a few ion inertial lengths apart.

The loss rates of O+ in the inner magnetosphere caused by both magnetic field line curvature scattering and charge exchange reactions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ji, Y.; Shen, C.

2014-03-01

With consideration of magnetic field line curvature (FLC) pitch angle scattering and charge exchange reactions, the O+ (>300 keV) in the inner magnetosphere loss rates are investigated by using an eigenfunction analysis. The FLC scattering provides a mechanism for the ring current O+ to enter the loss cone and influence the loss rates caused by charge exchange reactions. Assuming that the pitch angle change is small for each scattering event, the diffusion equation including a charge exchange term is constructed and solved; the eigenvalues of the equation are identified. The resultant loss rates of O+ are approximately equal to the linear superposition of the loss rate without considering the charge exchange reactions and the loss rate associated with charge exchange reactions alone. The loss time is consistent with the observations from the early recovery phases of magnetic storms.

Density scaling on n  =  1 error field penetration in ohmically heated discharges in EAST

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Hui-Hui; Sun, You-Wen; Shi, Tong-Hui; Zang, Qing; Liu, Yue-Qiang; Yang, Xu; Gu, Shuai; He, Kai-Yang; Gu, Xiang; Qian, Jin-Ping; Shen, Biao; Luo, Zheng-Ping; Chu, Nan; Jia, Man-Ni; Sheng, Zhi-Cai; Liu, Hai-Qing; Gong, Xian-Zu; Wan, Bao-Nian; Contributors, EAST

2018-05-01

Density scaling of error field penetration in EAST is investigated with different n  =  1 magnetic perturbation coil configurations in ohmically heated discharges. The density scalings of error field penetration thresholds under two magnetic perturbation spectra are br\\propto n_e0.5 and br\\propto n_e0.6 , where b r is the error field and n e is the line averaged electron density. One difficulty in understanding the density scaling is that key parameters other than density in determining the field penetration process may also be changed when the plasma density changes. Therefore, they should be determined from experiments. The estimated theoretical analysis (br\\propto n_e0.54 in lower density region and br\\propto n_e0.40 in higher density region), using the density dependence of viscosity diffusion time, electron temperature and mode frequency measured from the experiments, is consistent with the observed scaling. One of the key points to reproduce the observed scaling in EAST is that the viscosity diffusion time estimated from energy confinement time is almost constant. It means that the plasma confinement lies in saturation ohmic confinement regime rather than the linear Neo-Alcator regime causing weak density dependence in the previous theoretical studies.

Magnesium Vacancy Segregation and Fast Pipe Diffusion for the ½<110>{110} Edge Dislocation in MgO

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Walker, A. M.; Zhang, F.; Wright, K.; Gale, J. D.

2009-12-01

The movement of point defects in minerals plays a key role in determining their rheological properties, both by permitting diffusional creep and by allowing recovery by dislocation climb. Point defect diffusion can also control the kinetics of phase transitions and grain growth, and can determine the rate of chemical equilibration between phases. Because of this, and the difficulties associated with experimental studies of diffusion, the simulation of point defect formation and migration has been a subject of considerable interest in computational mineral physics. So far, studies have concentrated on point defects moving through otherwise perfect crystals. In this work we examine the behavior of magnesium vacancies close to the core of an edge dislocation in MgO and find that the dislocation dramatically changes the behavior of the point defect. An atomic scale model of the ½<110>{110} edge dislocation in MgO was constructed by applying the anisotropic linear elastic displacement field to the crystal structure and subsequently minimizing the energy of the crystal close to the dislocation core using a parameterized potential model. This process yielded the structure of an isolated edge dislocation in an otherwise perfect crystal. The energy cost associated with introducing magnesium vacancies around the dislocation was then mapped and compared to the formation energy of an isolated magnesium vacancy in bulk MgO. We find that the formation energy of magnesium vacancies around the dislocation mirrors the elastic strain field. Above the dislocation line σxx and σyy are negative and the strain field is compressional. Atoms are squeezed together to make room for the extra half plane effectively increasing the pressure in this region. Below the dislocation line σxx and σyy are positive and the strain field is dilatational. Planes of atoms are pulled apart to avoid a discontinuity across the glide plane and the effective pressure is decreased. In the region with a compressional strain field the vacancies become less stable than those in perfect MgO. In contrast, the region with a dilatational strain field hosts vacancies which are stabilized compared to the perfect crystal. This is in agreement with the previously observed tendency for increasing pressure to decrease the stability of vacancies in MgO. The most stable position for a magnesium vacancy was found to be 1.7 eV more stable than the vacancy in the bulk crystal, suggesting that vacancies will strongly partition to dislocations in MgO. Finally, the energy profile traced out by a vacancy moving through the bulk crystal was compared with that experienced by a vacancy moving along the dislocation core. A low energy pathway for vacancy migration along the dislocation line was found with a migration energy of 1.6 eV compared with a migration energy in the perfect crystal of 1.9 eV. This shows that vacancies segregated to the dislocation line will be significantly more mobile than vacancies in the perfect crystal. Dislocations will act as pipes, allowing material to be rapidly transported through crystals of MgO.

SIMULATIONS OF LATERAL TRANSPORT AND DROPOUT STRUCTURE OF ENERGETIC PARTICLES FROM IMPULSIVE SOLAR FLARES

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

Tooprakai, P.; Seripienlert, A.; Ruffolo, D.

2016-11-10

We simulate trajectories of energetic particles from impulsive solar flares for 2D+slab models of magnetic turbulence in spherical geometry to study dropout features, i.e., sharp, repeated changes in the particle density. Among random-phase realizations of two-dimensional (2D) turbulence, a spherical harmonic expansion can generate homogeneous turbulence over a sphere, but a 2D fast Fourier transform (FFT) locally mapped onto the lateral coordinates in the region of interest is much faster computationally, and we show that the results are qualitatively similar. We then use the 2D FFT field as input to a 2D MHD simulation, which dynamically generates realistic features ofmore » turbulence such as coherent structures. The magnetic field lines and particles spread non-diffusively (ballistically) to a patchy distribution reaching up to 25° from the injection longitude and latitude at r ∼ 1 au. This dropout pattern in field line trajectories has sharper features in the case of the more realistic 2D MHD model, in better qualitative agreement with observations. The initial dropout pattern in particle trajectories is relatively insensitive to particle energy, though the energy affects the pattern’s evolution with time. We make predictions for future observations of solar particles near the Sun (e.g., at 0.25 au), for which we expect a sharp pulse of outgoing particles along the dropout pattern, followed by backscattering that first remains close to the dropout pattern and later exhibits cross-field transport to a distribution that is more diffusive, yet mostly contained within the dropout pattern found at greater distances.« less

The structure of the electron diffusion region during asymmetric anti-parallel magnetic reconnection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Swisdak, M.; Drake, J. F.; Price, L.; Burch, J. L.; Cassak, P.

2017-12-01

The structure of the electron diffusion region during asymmetric magnetic reconnection is ex- plored with high-resolution particle-in-cell simulations that focus on an magnetopause event ob- served by the Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission (MMS). A major surprise is the development of a standing, oblique whistler-like structure with regions of intense positive and negative dissipation. This structure arises from high-speed electrons that flow along the magnetosheath magnetic sepa- ratrices, converge in the dissipation region and jet across the x-line into the magnetosphere. The jet produces a region of negative charge and generates intense parallel electric fields that eject the electrons downstream along the magnetospheric separatrices. The ejected electrons produce the parallel velocity-space crescents documented by MMS.

Comparing Time Domain Electromagnetics (TEM) and Early-Time TEM for Mapping Highly Conductive Groundwater in Mars Analog Environments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jernsletten, J. A.

2005-05-01

Introduction: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the use of (diffusive) Time Domain Electromagnetics (TEM) for sounding of subsurface water in conductive Mars analog environments. To provide a baseline for such studies, I show data from two field studies: 1) Diffusive sounding data (TEM) from Pima County, Arizona; and 2) Shallower sounding data using the Fast-Turnoff TEM method from Peña de Hierro in the Rio Tinto region of Spain. The latter is data from work conducted under the auspices of the Mars Analog Research and Technology Experiment (MARTE). Pima County TEM Survey: A TEM survey was carried out in Pima County, Arizona, in January 2003. Data was collected using 100 m Tx loops and a ferrite-cored magnetic coil Rx antenna, and processed using commercial software. The survey used a 16 Hz sounding frequency, which is sensitive to slightly salty groundwater. Prominent features in the data from Arizona are the ~500 m depth of investigation and the ~120 m depth to the water table, confirmed by data from four USGS test wells surrounding the field area. Note also the conductive (~20-40 ω m) clay-rich soil above the water table. Rio Tinto Fast-Turnoff TEM Survey: During May and June of 2003, a Fast-Turnoff (early time) TEM survey was carried out at the Peña de Hierro field area of the MARTE project, near the town of Nerva, Spain. Data was collected using 20 m and 40 m Tx loop antennae and 10 m loop Rx antennae, with a 32 Hz sounding frequency. Data from Line 4 (of 16) from this survey, collected using 40 m Tx loops, show ~200 m depth of investigation and a conductive high at ~90 m depth below Station 20 (second station of 10 along this line). This is the water table, matching the 431 m MSL elevation of the nearby pit lake. The center of the "pileup" below Station 60 is spatially coincident with the vertical fault plane located here. Data from Line 15 and Line 14 of the Rio Tinto survey, collected using 20 m Tx loops, achieve ~50 m depth of investigation and show conductive highs at ~15 m depth below Station 50 (Line 15) and Station 30 (Line 14), interpreted as subsurface water flow under mine tailings matching surface flows seen coming out from under the tailings, and shown on maps. Conclusions: Results from the Pima County TEM survey were in good agreement with control data from the four USGS test wells located around the field area. This survey also achieved very acceptable 500+ m depths of investigation. Both of the interpretations from Rio Tinto data (Line 4, and Lines 15 & 14) were confirmed by preliminary results from the MARTE ground truth drilling campaign carried out in September and October 2003. Drill Site 1 was moved ~50 m based on recommendations built on data from Line 15 and Line 14 of the Fast-Turnoff TEM survey.

Metallic Li colloids studied by Li-7 MAS NMR in electron-irradiated LiF

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zogal, O. J.; Beuneu, F.; Vajda, P.; Florian, P.; Massiot, D.

Li-7 MAS NMR spectra of 2.5 MeV electron-irradiated LiF crystals have been measured in a field of 9.4 T. Besides the resonance line of the ionic compound, a second well-separated spectrum is observed in the region of the Knight shift value for metallic lithium. At room temperature, the latter can be decomposed into two components with different Knight shift and linewidth values. When the temperature is increased, line narrowing takes place at first, indicating shortening of correlation times for self-diffusion, independently in both components. Above 370 K, both lines broaden and approach each other before collapsing into a single line. The high ppm component disappears after crossing the melting temperature of metallic lithium (454 K). The two lines are attributed to different types of metallic Li: one to bulk-like metal, the other to Li present initially under pressure and relaxing to the former under thermal treatment.

Ion Larmor radius effects near a reconnection X line at the magnetopause: THEMIS observations and simulation comparison

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Phan, T. D.; Shay, M. A.; Haggerty, C. C.; Gosling, J. T.; Eastwood, J. P.; Fujimoto, M.; Malakit, K.; Mozer, F. S.; Cassak, P. A.; Oieroset, M.; Angelopoulos, V.

2016-09-01

We report a Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms (THEMIS-D) spacecraft crossing of a magnetopause reconnection exhaust ~9 ion skin depths (di) downstream of an X line. The crossing was characterized by ion jetting at speeds substantially below the predicted reconnection outflow speed. In the magnetospheric inflow region THEMIS detected (a) penetration of magnetosheath ions and the resulting flows perpendicular to the reconnection plane, (b) ion outflow extending into the magnetosphere, and (c) enhanced electron parallel temperature. Comparison with a simulation suggests that these signatures are associated with the gyration of magnetosheath ions onto magnetospheric field lines due to the shift of the flow stagnation point toward the low-density magnetosphere. Our observations indicate that these effects, ~2-3 di in width, extend at least 9 di downstream of the X line. The detection of these signatures could indicate large-scale proximity of the X line but do not imply that the spacecraft was upstream of the electron diffusion region.

Fantastic Striations and Where to Find Them: The Origin of Magnetically Aligned Striations in Interstellar Clouds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Che-Yu; Li, Zhi-Yun; King, Patrick K.; Fissel, Laura M.

2017-10-01

Thin, magnetically aligned striations of relatively moderate contrast with the background are commonly observed in both atomic and molecular clouds. They are also prominent in MHD simulations with turbulent converging shocks. The simulated striations develop within a dense, stagnated sheet in the midplane of the post-shock region where magnetically induced converging flows collide. We show analytically that the secondary flows are an inevitable consequence of the jump conditions of oblique MHD shocks. They produce the stagnated, sheet-like sub-layer through a secondary shock when, roughly speaking, the Alfvénic speed in the primary converging flows is supersonic, a condition that is relatively easy to satisfy in interstellar clouds. The dense sub-layer is naturally threaded by a strong magnetic field that lies close to the plane of the sub-layer. The substantial magnetic field makes the sheet highly anisotropic, which is the key to the striation formation. Specifically, perturbations of the primary inflow that vary spatially perpendicular to the magnetic field can easily roll up the sheet around the field lines without bending them, creating corrugations that appear as magnetically aligned striations in column density maps. On the other hand, perturbations that vary spatially along the field lines curve the sub-layer and alter its orientation relative to the magnetic field locally, seeding special locations that become slanted overdense filaments and prestellar cores through enhanced mass accumulation along field lines. In our scenario, the dense sub-layer, which is unique to magnetized oblique shocks, is the birthplace for both magnetically aligned diffuse striations and massive star-forming structures.

Fermi LAT Search for Dark Matter in Gamma-Ray Lines and the Inclusive Photon Spectrum

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ackermann, M.; Ajello, M.; Albert, A.; Baldini, L.; Barbiellini, G.; Bechtol, K.; Bellazzini, R.; Berenji, B.; Blandford, R. D.; Bloom, E. D.;

Fermi LAT search for dark matter in gamma-ray lines and the inclusive photon spectrum

DOE PAGES

Ackermann, M.

2012-07-05

Dark matter particle annihilation or decay can produce monochromatic gamma-ray lines and contribute to the diffuse gamma-ray background. Furthermore, we present the flux upper limits for gamma-ray spectral lines from 7 to 200 GeV and for the diffuse gamma-ray background from 4.8 GeV to 264 GeV obtained from two years of Fermi Large Area Telescope data integrated over most of the sky. Here, we give cross-section upper limits and decay lifetime lower limits for dark matter models that produce gamma-ray lines or contribute to the diffuse spectrum, including models proposed as explanations of the PAMELA and Fermi cosmic-ray data.

Magnetospheric Multiscale Observations of Large-Amplitude Parallel, Electrostatic Waves Associated with Magnetic Reconnection at the Magnetopause

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ergun, R. E.; Holmes, J. C.; Goodrich, K. A.; Wilder, F. D.; Stawarz, J. E.; Eriksson, S.; Newman, D. L.; Schwartz, S. J.; Goldman, M. V.; Sturner, A. P.;

Laser-driven magnetic-flux compression in high-energy-density plasmas.

PubMed

Gotchev, O V; Chang, P Y; Knauer, J P; Meyerhofer, D D; Polomarov, O; Frenje, J; Li, C K; Manuel, M J-E; Petrasso, R D; Rygg, J R; Séguin, F H; Betti, R

2009-11-20

The demonstration of magnetic field compression to many tens of megagauss in cylindrical implosions of inertial confinement fusion targets is reported for the first time. The OMEGA laser [T. R. Boehly, Opt. Commun. 133, 495 (1997)10.1016/S0030-4018(96)00325-2] was used to implode cylindrical CH targets filled with deuterium gas and seeded with a strong external field (>50 kG) from a specially developed magnetic pulse generator. This seed field was trapped (frozen) in the shock-heated gas fill and compressed by the imploding shell at a high implosion velocity, minimizing the effect of resistive flux diffusion. The magnetic fields in the compressed core were probed via proton deflectrometry using the fusion products from an imploding D3He target. Line-averaged magnetic fields between 30 and 40 MG were observed.

Linear growth of the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability with an adiabatic cosmic-ray gas

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

Suzuki, Akihiro; Takahashi, Hiroyuki R.; Kudoh, Takahiro

2014-06-01

We investigate effects of cosmic rays on the linear growth of the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability. Cosmic rays are treated as an adiabatic gas and allowed to diffuse along magnetic field lines. We calculated the dispersion relation of the instability for various sets of two free parameters, the ratio of the cosmic-ray pressure to the thermal gas pressure, and the diffusion coefficient. Including cosmic-ray effects, a shear layer is more destabilized and the growth rates can be enhanced in comparison with the ideal magnetohydrodynamical case. Whether the growth rate is effectively enhanced or not depends on the diffusion coefficient of cosmic rays.more » We obtain the criterion for effective enhancement by comparing the growing timescale of the instability with the diffusion timescale of cosmic rays. These results can be applied to various astrophysical phenomena where a velocity shear is present, such as outflows from star-forming galaxies, active galactic nucleus jet, channel flows resulting from the nonlinear development of the magnetorotational instability, and galactic disks.« less

Anisotropy of low-energy Galactic cosmic rays in the outer heliosheath

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, M.; Pogorelov, N.

2017-12-01

Since Voyager 1 crossed the heliopause into the local interstellar medium in August 2012, it has been observing nearly unmodulated low-energy Galactic cosmic rays for over 5 years and 18 AU beyond the heliopause. The angular distribution of these cosmic rays is not isotropic, showing a slight depletion at 90-degree pitch-angle to the magnetic field lines. The anisotropy was interrupted episodically by solar disturbances transmitting through the heliopause into the local interstellar medium of outer heliosheath. These observations indicate the heliosphere still affects cosmic rays in the local interstellar medium. The paper presents a theoretical analysis of the particle transport mechanisms responsible for the observed anisotropy. In order to explain the phenomenon, we argue that cosmic rays of near 90-degree pitch angles do not a quick access to the interstellar cosmic-ray source and in the meantime, they experience some loss in the outer heliosheath. Magnetic field barriers on the both sides of the observer may reduce the access to cosmic ray source, but it still requires that pitch scattering of these particles is very weak in the magnetic field of the outer heliosheath. A possible particle loss mechanism is diffusion into the heliospheric magnetic field where they get modulated by the solar wind plasma. Our model simulation will put constraints on the rates of particle scattering and cross-field diffusion in the interstellar magnetic field of the outer heliosheath.

Nanoscale Spatiotemporal Diffusion Modes Measured by Simultaneous Confocal and Stimulated Emission Depletion Nanoscopy Imaging.

PubMed

Schneider, Falk; Waithe, Dominic; Galiani, Silvia; Bernardino de la Serna, Jorge; Sezgin, Erdinc; Eggeling, Christian

2018-06-19

The diffusion dynamics in the cellular plasma membrane provide crucial insights into molecular interactions, organization, and bioactivity. Beam-scanning fluorescence correlation spectroscopy combined with super-resolution stimulated emission depletion nanoscopy (scanning STED-FCS) measures such dynamics with high spatial and temporal resolution. It reveals nanoscale diffusion characteristics by measuring the molecular diffusion in conventional confocal mode and super-resolved STED mode sequentially for each pixel along the scanned line. However, to directly link the spatial and the temporal information, a method that simultaneously measures the diffusion in confocal and STED modes is needed. Here, to overcome this problem, we establish an advanced STED-FCS measurement method, line interleaved excitation scanning STED-FCS (LIESS-FCS), that discloses the molecular diffusion modes at different spatial positions with a single measurement. It relies on fast beam-scanning along a line with alternating laser illumination that yields, for each pixel, the apparent diffusion coefficients for two different observation spot sizes (conventional confocal and super-resolved STED). We demonstrate the potential of the LIESS-FCS approach with simulations and experiments on lipid diffusion in model and live cell plasma membranes. We also apply LIESS-FCS to investigate the spatiotemporal organization of glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored proteins in the plasma membrane of live cells, which, interestingly, show multiple diffusion modes at different spatial positions.

Generalization of the slip line field theory for temperature sensitive visco-plastic materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Paesold, Martin; Peters, Max; Regenauer-Lieb, Klaus; Veveakis, Manolis; Bassom, Andrew

2015-04-01

Geological processes can be a combination of various effects such as heat production or consumption, chemical reactions or fluid flow. These individual effects are coupled to each other via feedbacks and the mathematical analysis becomes challenging due to these interdependencies. Here, we concentrate solely on thermo-mechanical coupling and a main result of this work is that the coupling can depend on material parameters and boundary conditions and the coupling is more or less pronounced depending on theses parameters. The transitions from weak to strong coupling can be studied in the context of a bifurcation analysis. classically, Material instabilities in solids are approached as material bifurcations of a rate-independent, isothermal, elasto-plastic solid. However, previous research has shown that temperature and deformation rate are important factors and are fully coupled with the mechanical deformation. Early experiments in steel revealed a distinct pattern of localized heat dissipation and plastic deformation known as heat lines. Further, earth materials, soils, rocks and ceramics are known to be greatly influenced by temperature with strain localization being strongly affected by thermal loading. In this work, we provide a theoretical framework for the evolution of plastic deformation for such coupled systems, with a two-pronged approach to the prediction of localized failure. First, slip line field theory is employed to predict the geometry of the failure patterns and second, failure criteria are derived from an energy bifurcation analysis. The bifurcation analysis is concerned with the local energy balance of a material and compares the effects of heat diffusion terms and heat production terms where the heat production is due to mechanical processes. Commonly, the heat is produced locally along the slip lines and if the heat production outweighs diffusion the material is locally weakened which eventually leads to failure. The effect of diffusion and heat production is captured by a dimensionless quantity, the Gruntfest number, and only if the Gruntfest number is larger than a critical value localized failure occurs. This critical Gruntfest number depends on boundary conditions such as temperature or pressure and hence this critical value gives rise to localization criteria. We find that the results of this approach agree with earlier contributions to the theory of plasticity but gives the advantage of a unified framework which might prove useful in numerical schemes for visco-plasticity.

Finite-rate chemistry effects upon convective and radiative heating of an atmospheric entry vehicle. [reentry aerothermochemistry

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Guillermo, P.

1975-01-01

A mathematical model of the aerothermochemical environment along the stagnation line of a planetary return spacecraft using an ablative thermal protection system was developed and solved for conditions typical of atmospheric entry from planetary missions. The model, implemented as a FORTRAN 4 computer program, was designed to predict viscous, reactive and radiative coupled shock layer structure and the resulting body heating rates. The analysis includes flow field coupling with the ablator surface, binary diffusion, coupled line and continuum radiative and equilibrium or finite rate chemistry effects. The gas model used includes thermodynamic, transport, kinetic and radiative properties of air and ablation product species, including 19 chemical species and 16 chemical reactions. Specifically, the impact of nonequilibrium chemistry effects upon stagnation line shock layer structure and body heating rates was investigated.

Renormalization Group Tutorial

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bell, Thomas L.

2004-01-01

Complex physical systems sometimes have statistical behavior characterized by power- law dependence on the parameters of the system and spatial variability with no particular characteristic scale as the parameters approach critical values. The renormalization group (RG) approach was developed in the fields of statistical mechanics and quantum field theory to derive quantitative predictions of such behavior in cases where conventional methods of analysis fail. Techniques based on these ideas have since been extended to treat problems in many different fields, and in particular, the behavior of turbulent fluids. This lecture will describe a relatively simple but nontrivial example of the RG approach applied to the diffusion of photons out of a stellar medium when the photons have wavelengths near that of an emission line of atoms in the medium.

Magnetic Field Transport in Accretion Disks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jafari, Amir; Vishniac, Ethan T.

2018-02-01

The leading models for launching astrophysical jets rely on strong poloidal magnetic fields threading the central parts of their host accretion disks. Numerical simulations of magneto-rotationally turbulent disks suggest that such fields are actually advected from the environment by the accreting matter rather than generated by internal dynamos. This is puzzling from a theoretical point of view, since the reconnection of the radial field across the midplane should cause an outward drift on timescales much shorter than the accretion time. We suggest that a combination of effects are responsible for reducing the radial field near the midplane, causing efficient inward advection of the poloidal field. Magnetic buoyancy in subsonic turbulence pushes the field lines away from the midplane, decreasing the large-scale radial field in the main body of the disk. In magneto-rotationally driven turbulence, magnetic buoyancy dominates over the effects of turbulent pumping, which works against it, and turbulent diamagnetism, which works with it, in determining the vertical drift of the magnetic field. Balancing buoyancy with diffusion implies that the bending angle of the large-scale poloidal field can be very large near the surface, as required for outflows, but vanishes near the midplane, which impedes turbulent reconnection and outward diffusion. This effect becomes less efficient as the poloidal flux increases. This suggests that accretion disks are less likely to form jets if they have a modest ratio of outer to inner radii or if the ambient field is very weak. The former effect is probably responsible for the scarcity of jets in cataclysmic variable systems.

Hot chemistry in the diffuse medium: spectral signature in the H2 rotational lines

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Verstraete, L.; Falgarone, E.; Pineau des Forets, G.; Flower, D.; Puget, J. L.

1999-03-01

Most of the diffuse interstellar medium is cold, but it must harbor pockets of hot gas to explain the large observed abundances of molecules like CH+ and HCO+. Because they dissipate locally large amounts of kinetic energy, MHD shocks and coherent vortices in turbulence can drive endothermic chemical reactions or reactions with large activation barriers. We predict the spectroscopic signatures in the H2 rotational lines of MHD shocks and vortices and compare them to those observed with the ISO-SWS along a line of sight through the Galaxy which samples 20 magnitudes of mostly diffuse gas.

Polar Plasma at Ganymede: Ionospheric outflow and discovery of the plasma sheet

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Collinson, G.; Paterson, W.; Dorelli, J.; Glocer, A.; Sarantos, M.; Wilson, R. J.; Bard, C.

2017-12-01

On the 27th of June 1996, the NASA Galileo spacecraft made humanities first flyby of Jupiter's largest moon, Ganymede, discovering that it is unique to science in being the only moon known to possess an internally generated magnetic dynamo field. Although Galileo carried a plasma spectrometer, the Plasma Subsystem (PLS), converting its highly complex raw data stream into meaningful plasma moments (density, temperature, velocity) is extremely challenging, and was only ever performed for the second (out of six) Ganymede flybys. Resurrecting the original Galileo PLS data analysis software, we processed the raw PLS data from G01, and for the first time present the properties of plasmas encountered. Dense, cold ions were observed outflowing from the moon's north pole (presumed to be dominated by H+ from the icy surface), with more diffuse, warmer field-aligned outflows in the lobes. Dropouts in plasma density combined with velocity perturbations either side of this suggest that Galileo briefly crossed the cusps onto closed magnetic field lines. PLS observations show that upon entry into the magnetosphere, Galileo crossed through the plasma sheet, observing plasma flows consistent with reconnection-driven convection, highly energized 105 eV ions, and a reversal in the magnetic field. The densities of plasmas flowing upwards from Ganymede's ionosphere were higher on open "lobe" field lines than on closed field lines, suggesting that the ionospheric source of these plasmas may be denser at the poles, there may be additional acceleration mechanisms at play, or the balance of ions were outside the energy range of PLS.

3D Magnetic Reconnection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Parnell, Clare E.; Maclean, Rhona C.; Haynes, Andrew L.; Galsgaard, Klaus

2011-08-01

Magnetic reconnection is an important process that is prevalent in a wide range of astrophysical bodies. It is the mechanism that permits magnetic fields to relax to a lower energy state through the global restructuring of the magnetic field and is thus associated with a range of dynamic phenomena such as solar flares and CMEs. The characteristics of three-dimensional reconnection are reviewed revealing how much more diverse it is than reconnection in two dimensions. For instance, three-dimensional reconnection can occur both in the vicinity of null points, as well as in the absence of them. It occurs continuously and continually throughout a diffusion volume, as opposed to at a single point, as it does in two dimensions. This means that in three-dimensions field lines do not reconnect in pairs of lines making the visualisation and interpretation of three-dimensional reconnection difficult. By considering particular numerical 3D magnetohydrodynamic models of reconnection, we consider how magnetic reconnection can lead to complex magnetic topologies and current sheet formation. Indeed, it has been found that even simple interactions, such as the emergence of a flux tube, can naturally give rise to `turbulent-like' reconnection regions.

Propagation of Galactic cosmic rays: the influence of anisotropic diffusion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

AL-Zetoun, A.; Achterberg, A.

2018-06-01

We consider the anisotropic diffusion of cosmic rays in the large-scale Galactic magnetic field, where diffusion along the field and diffusion across the field proceeds at different rates. To calculate this diffusion, we use stochastic differential equations to describe the cosmic ray propagation, solving these numerically. The Galactic magnetic field is described using the Jansson-Farrar model for the Galactic magnetic field. In this paper, we study the influence of perpendicular diffusion on the residence time of cosmic rays in the Galaxy. This provides an estimate for the influence of anisotropic diffusion on the residence time and the amount of matter (grammage) that a typical cosmic ray traverses during its residence in the Galaxy.

A Magnetohydrodynamic Modeling of the Interchange Cycle for Oblique Northward Interplanetary Magnetic Field

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Watanabe, Masakazu; Fujita, Shigeru; Tanaka, Takashi; Kubota, Yasubumi; Shinagawa, Hiroyuki; Murata, Ken T.

2018-01-01

We perform numerical modeling of the interchange cycle in the magnetosphere-ionosphere convection system for oblique northward interplanetary magnetic field (IMF). The interchange cycle results from the coupling of IMF-to-lobe reconnection and lobe-to-closed reconnection. Using a global magnetohydrodynamic simulation code, for an IMF clock angle of 20° (measured from due north), we successfully reproduced the following features of the interchange cycle. (1) In the ionosphere, for each hemisphere, there appears a reverse cell circulating exclusively in the closed field line region (the reciprocal cell). (2) The topology transition of the magnetic field along a streamline near the equatorial plane precisely represents the magnetic flux reciprocation during the interchange cycle. (3) Field-aligned electric fields on the interplanetary-open separatrix and on the open-closed separatrix are those that are consistent with IMF-to-lobe reconnection and lobe-to-closed reconnection, respectively. These three features prove the existence of the interchange cycle in the simulated magnetosphere-ionosphere system. We conclude that the interchange cycle does exist in the real solar wind-magnetosphere-ionosphere system. In addition, the simulation revealed that the reciprocal cell described above is not a direct projection of the diffusion region as predicted by the "vacuum" model in which diffusion is added a priori to the vacuum magnetic topology. Instead, the reciprocal cell is a consequence of the plasma convection system coupled to the so-called NBZ ("northward Bz") field-aligned current system.

Acceleration of metal-atom diffusion in electric field at metal/insulator interfaces: First-principles study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nagasawa, Riki; Asayama, Yoshihiro; Nakayama, Takashi

2018-04-01

Metal-atom diffusion from metal electrodes into SiO2 in electric fields was studied using first-principles calculations. It was shown in the case without electric field that the diffusion barrier of a metal atom is mainly made of the cohesive energy of bulk metal layers, while the shape of the diffusion potential reflects the hybridization of the metal-atom state with metal-induced gap states (MIGSs) and the electron transfer between the metal atom and the electrode. We found that the metal-atom diffusion is markedly accelerated by the applied electric field, such that the diffusion barrier ϕB(E) decreases almost linearly with increasing electric field strength E. By analyzing the physical origins of the metal-atom diffusion, we derived the universal formula to estimate the diffusion barrier in the electric field, which is closely related to MIGSs.

Electromigration of intergranular voids in metal films for microelectronic interconnects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Averbuch, Amir; Israeli, Moshe; Ravve, Igor

2003-04-01

Voids and cracks often occur in the interconnect lines of microelectronic devices. They increase the resistance of the circuits and may even lead to a fatal failure. Voids may occur inside a single grain, but often they appear on the boundary between two grains. In this work, we model and analyze numerically the migration and evolution of an intergranular void subjected to surface diffusion forces and external voltage applied to the interconnect. The grain-void interface is considered one-dimensional, and the physical formulation of the electromigration and diffusion model results in two coupled fourth-order one-dimensional time-dependent PDEs. The boundary conditions are specified at the triple points, which are common to both neighboring grains and the void. The solution of these equations uses a finite difference scheme in space and a Runge-Kutta integration scheme in time, and is also coupled to the solution of a static Laplace equation describing the voltage distribution throughout the grain. Since the voltage distribution is required only along the interface line, the two-dimensional discretization of the grain interior is not needed, and the static problem is solved by the boundary element method at each time step. The motion of the intergranular void was studied for different ratios between the diffusion and the electric field forces, and for different initial configurations of the void.

SDSS-IV MaNGA: identification of active galactic nuclei in optical integral field unit surveys

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wylezalek, Dominika; Zakamska, Nadia L.; Greene, Jenny E.; Riffel, Rogemar A.; Drory, Niv; Andrews, Brett H.; Merloni, Andrea; Thomas, Daniel

2018-02-01

In this paper, we investigate 2727 galaxies observed by MaNGA as of 2016 June to develop spatially resolved techniques for identifying signatures of active galactic nuclei (AGNs). We identify 303 AGN candidates. The additional spatial dimension imposes challenges in identifying AGNs due to contamination from diffuse ionized gas, extraplanar gas and photoionization by hot stars. We show that the combination of spatially resolved line diagnostic diagrams and additional cuts on H α surface brightness and H α equivalent width can distinguish between AGN-like signatures and high-metallicity galaxies with low-ionization nuclear emission-line regions-like spectra. Low-mass galaxies with high specific star formation rates are particularly difficult to diagnose and routinely show diagnostic line ratios outside of the standard star formation locus. We develop a new diagnostic - the distance from the standard diagnostic line in the line-ratio space - to evaluate the significance of the deviation from the star formation locus. We find 173 galaxies that would not have been selected as AGN candidates based on single-fibre spectral measurements but exhibit photoionization signatures suggestive of AGN activity in the Mapping Nearby Galaxies at APO resolved observations, underscoring the power of large integral field unit surveys. A complete census of these new AGN candidates is necessary to understand their nature and probe the complex co-evolution of supermassive black holes and their hosts.

Ultrasound findings of diffuse metastasis of gastric signet-ring-cell carcinoma to the thyroid gland.

PubMed

Morita, Koji; Sakamoto, Takahiko; Ota, Shuji; Masugi, Hideo; Chikuta, Ikumi; Mashimo, Yamato; Edo, Naoki; Tokairin, Takuo; Seki, Nobuhiko; Ishikawa, Toshio

2017-01-01

It has been shown that metastases to the thyroid from extrathyroidal malignancies occur as solitary or multiple nodules, or may involve the whole thyroid gland diffusely. However, diffuse metastasis of gastric cancer to the thyroid is extremely rare. Here, we report a case of a 74-year-old woman with diffuse infiltration of gastric adenocarcinoma (signet-ring-cell carcinoma/poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma) cells in the thyroid. The pathological diagnosis was made based on upper gastrointestinal endoscopy with biopsy and fine-needle aspiration cytology of the thyroid. An 18F-FDG PET/CT revealed multiple lesions with increased uptake, including the bilateral thyroid gland. On thyroid ultrasound examination, diffuse enlargement with internal heterogeneity and hypoechoic reticular lines was observed. On color Doppler imaging, a blood-flow signal was not detected in these hypoechoic lines. These findings were similar to those of diffuse metastases caused by other primary cancers, such as lung cancer, as reported earlier. Therefore, the presence of hypoechoic reticular lines without blood-flow signals is probably common to diffuse thyroid metastasis from any origin and an important diagnostic finding. This is the first report to show detailed ultrasound findings of diffuse gastric cancer metastasis to the thyroid gland using color Doppler.

Serotyping reanalysis of unserotypable Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae isolates by agar gel diffusion test.

PubMed

Morioka, Ayako; Shimazaki, Yoko; Uchiyama, Mariko; Suzuki, Shoko

2016-05-03

We observed increasing unserotypable (UT) Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae isolates using agar gel diffusion (AGD) test. To reanalyze their serovar, we performed rapid slide agglutination (RSA) test and multiplex PCR for 47 UT isolates. Of these, 25 were serovar 1 (UT-serovar 1), 20 were serovar 2 (UT-serovar 2) and 2 were serovar 15 (UT-serovar 15). We examined serotyping antigen extraction temperature to determine heat influence. UT-serovar 1 and 15 were influenced by heat, because their precipitation lines were observed in the case of low antigen extraction temperature. To investigate the relationship between antigenicity and genotype, we performed pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) analysis using UT-serovar 2 and 15. The predominant PFGE pattern of UT-serovar 2 was identical to that of serovar 2.

Serotyping reanalysis of unserotypable Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae isolates by agar gel diffusion test

PubMed Central

MORIOKA, Ayako; SHIMAZAKI, Yoko; UCHIYAMA, Mariko; SUZUKI, Shoko

2016-01-01

We observed increasing unserotypable (UT) Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae isolates using agar gel diffusion (AGD) test. To reanalyze their serovar, we performed rapid slide agglutination (RSA) test and multiplex PCR for 47 UT isolates. Of these, 25 were serovar 1 (UT-serovar 1), 20 were serovar 2 (UT-serovar 2) and 2 were serovar 15 (UT-serovar 15). We examined serotyping antigen extraction temperature to determine heat influence. UT-serovar 1 and 15 were influenced by heat, because their precipitation lines were observed in the case of low antigen extraction temperature. To investigate the relationship between antigenicity and genotype, we performed pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) analysis using UT-serovar 2 and 15. The predominant PFGE pattern of UT-serovar 2 was identical to that of serovar 2. PMID:26726101

Resolving the Origin of the Diffuse Soft X-ray Background

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith, Randall K.; Foster, Adam R.; Edgar, Ricard J.; Brickhouse, Nancy S.; Sanders, Wilton T.

2012-01-01

In January 1993, the Diffuse X-ray Spectrometer (DXS) measured the first high-resolution spectrum of the diffuse soft X-ray background between 44-80A. A line-dominated spectrum characteristic of a 10(exp 6)K collisionally ionized plasma' was expected but while the observed spectrum was clearly line-dominated, no model would fit. Then in 2003 the Cosmic Hot Interstellar Plasma Spectrometer (CHIPS) launched and observed the diffuse extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) spectrum between 90- 265A. Although many emission lines were again expected; only Fe IX at 171.1A was detected. The discovery of X-rays from comets led to the realization that heavy ions (Z=6-28) in the solar wind will emit soft X-rays as the ions interact via charge exchange with neutral atoms in the heliosphere and geocorona. Using a new model for solar wind charge exchange (SWCX) emission, we show that the diffuse soft X-ray background can be understood as a combination of emission from charge exchange onto the slow and fast solar wind together with a more distant and diffuse hot (10(exp 6)K) plasma.

Low-frequency Carbon Radio Recombination Lines. II. The Diffuse Interstellar Medium

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

Salgado, F.; Morabito, L. K.; Oonk, J. B. R.

In the second paper of the series, we have modeled low-frequency carbon radio recombination lines (CRRLs) from the interstellar medium. Anticipating the Low Frequency Array survey of Galactic CRRLs, we focus our study on the physical conditions of the diffuse, cold neutral medium. We have used the improved departure coefficients computed in the first paper of the series to calculate line-to-continuum ratios. The results show that the line width and integrated optical depths of CRRLs are sensitive probes of the electron density, gas temperature, and emission measure of the cloud. Furthermore, the ratio of CRRL to the [C ii] atmore » the 158 μ m line is a strong function of the temperature and density of diffuse clouds. Guided by our calculations, we analyze CRRL observations and illustrate their use with data from the literature.« less

Observing Interstellar and Intergalactic Magnetic Fields

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Han, J. L.

2017-08-01

Observational results of interstellar and intergalactic magnetic fields are reviewed, including the fields in supernova remnants and loops, interstellar filaments and clouds, Hii regions and bubbles, the Milky Way and nearby galaxies, galaxy clusters, and the cosmic web. A variety of approaches are used to investigate these fields. The orientations of magnetic fields in interstellar filaments and molecular clouds are traced by polarized thermal dust emission and starlight polarization. The field strengths and directions along the line of sight in dense clouds and cores are measured by Zeeman splitting of emission or absorption lines. The large-scale magnetic fields in the Milky Way have been best probed by Faraday rotation measures of a large number of pulsars and extragalactic radio sources. The coherent Galactic magnetic fields are found to follow the spiral arms and have their direction reversals in arms and interarm regions in the disk. The azimuthal fields in the halo reverse their directions below and above the Galactic plane. The orientations of organized magnetic fields in nearby galaxies have been observed through polarized synchrotron emission. Magnetic fields in the intracluster medium have been indicated by diffuse radio halos, polarized radio relics, and Faraday rotations of embedded radio galaxies and background sources. Sparse evidence for very weak magnetic fields in the cosmic web is the detection of the faint radio bridge between the Coma cluster and A1367. Future observations should aim at the 3D tomography of the large-scale coherent magnetic fields in our Galaxy and nearby galaxies, a better description of intracluster field properties, and firm detections of intergalactic magnetic fields in the cosmic web.

A level-set method for two-phase flows with moving contact line and insoluble surfactant

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Jian-Jun; Ren, Weiqing

2014-04-01

A level-set method for two-phase flows with moving contact line and insoluble surfactant is presented. The mathematical model consists of the Navier-Stokes equation for the flow field, a convection-diffusion equation for the surfactant concentration, together with the Navier boundary condition and a condition for the dynamic contact angle derived by Ren et al. (2010) [37]. The numerical method is based on the level-set continuum surface force method for two-phase flows with surfactant developed by Xu et al. (2012) [54] with some cautious treatment for the boundary conditions. The numerical method consists of three components: a flow solver for the velocity field, a solver for the surfactant concentration, and a solver for the level-set function. In the flow solver, the surface force is dealt with using the continuum surface force model. The unbalanced Young stress at the moving contact line is incorporated into the Navier boundary condition. A convergence study of the numerical method and a parametric study are presented. The influence of surfactant on the dynamics of the moving contact line is illustrated using examples. The capability of the level-set method to handle complex geometries is demonstrated by simulating a pendant drop detaching from a wall under gravity.

Skin-layer of the eruptive magnetic flux rope in large solar flares

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kichigin, G. N.; Miroshnichenko, L. I.; Sidorov, V. I.; Yazev, S. A.

2016-07-01

The analysis of observations of large solar flares made it possible to propose a hypothesis on existence of a skin-layer in magnetic flux ropes of coronal mass ejections. On the assumption that the Bohm coefficient determines the diffusion of magnetic field, an estimate of the skin-layer thickness of ~106 cm is obtained. According to the hypothesis, the electric field of ~0.01-0.1 V/cm, having the nonzero component along the magnetic field of flux rope, arises for ~5 min in the surface layer of the eruptive flux rope during its ejection into the upper corona. The particle acceleration by the electric field to the energies of ~100 MeV/nucleon in the skin-layer of the flux rope leads to their precipitation along field lines to footpoints of the flux rope. The skin-layer presence induces helical or oval chromospheric emission at the ends of flare ribbons. The emission may be accompanied by hard X-ray radiation and by the production of gamma-ray line at the energy of 2.223 MeV (neutron capture line in the photosphere). The magnetic reconnection in the corona leads to a shift of the skin-layer of flux rope across the magnetic field. The area of precipitation of accelerated particles at the flux-rope footpoints expands in this case from the inside outward. This effect is traced in the chromosphere and in the transient region as the expanding helical emission structures. If the emission extends to the spot, a certain fraction of accelerated particles may be reflected from the magnetic barrier (in the magnetic field of the spot). In the case of exit into the interplanetary space, these particles may be recorded in the Earth's orbit as solar proton events.

Fantastic Striations and Where to Find Them: The Origin of Magnetically Aligned Striations in Interstellar Clouds

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

Chen, Che-Yu; Li, Zhi-Yun; King, Patrick K.

2017-10-01

Thin, magnetically aligned striations of relatively moderate contrast with the background are commonly observed in both atomic and molecular clouds. They are also prominent in MHD simulations with turbulent converging shocks. The simulated striations develop within a dense, stagnated sheet in the midplane of the post-shock region where magnetically induced converging flows collide. We show analytically that the secondary flows are an inevitable consequence of the jump conditions of oblique MHD shocks. They produce the stagnated, sheet-like sub-layer through a secondary shock when, roughly speaking, the Alfvénic speed in the primary converging flows is supersonic, a condition that is relativelymore » easy to satisfy in interstellar clouds. The dense sub-layer is naturally threaded by a strong magnetic field that lies close to the plane of the sub-layer. The substantial magnetic field makes the sheet highly anisotropic, which is the key to the striation formation. Specifically, perturbations of the primary inflow that vary spatially perpendicular to the magnetic field can easily roll up the sheet around the field lines without bending them, creating corrugations that appear as magnetically aligned striations in column density maps. On the other hand, perturbations that vary spatially along the field lines curve the sub-layer and alter its orientation relative to the magnetic field locally, seeding special locations that become slanted overdense filaments and prestellar cores through enhanced mass accumulation along field lines. In our scenario, the dense sub-layer, which is unique to magnetized oblique shocks, is the birthplace for both magnetically aligned diffuse striations and massive star-forming structures.« less

Stressing biological samples with pulsed magnetic fields: physical aspects and experimental results

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Delle Side, D.; Specchia, V.; D'Attis, S.; Giuffreda, E.; Quarta, G.; Calcagnile, L.; Bozzetti, M. P.; Nassisi, V.

2016-05-01

Magnetic field effects are diffused among living organisms. They are mainly studied with static or extremely low frequency fields, while scarce information is available for pulsed fields. This work is devoted to the study of the interaction between Drosophila melanogaster, both adults and larvae, and pulsed magnetic fields. We exposed the organisms to a peak field of 0.4 T, lasting for about 2 μ s, within an ad hoc designed copper coil. Adult individuals didn't present any deregulation of repetitive sequences in the germ line of Drosophila. Instead, we noticed a marked magnetic field effect in larvae. Polytene chromosomes coming from treated individuals showed the presence of heat shock puffs; the same organisms revealed also an upregulation of the genes encoding for the Hsp70 protein. These observations suggest that the larvae underwent an oxidative stress caused by the modulation of free radicals' yield induced by the magnetic field through a radical pair mechanism.

Circulation of Plasma in the Jovian Magnetosphere as Inferred from the Galileo Magnetometer Observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, Z. J.; Russell, C. T.; Kivelson, M. G.; Khurana, K. K.

2000-10-01

Massloading of the jovian magnetosphere by the addition of ions at the moon Io is the ultimate engine of the circulation of the magnetospheric plasma. In steady state the radial density profile enables the radial outflow velocity to be calculated from the mass addition rate. Some of these ions are lost from the field lines through pitch angle diffusion. Expected loss rates can be calculated from the fluctuation level in the magnetic field. Radial velocities can be calculated from observations of the Europa wake and force balance in the magnetodisk. The resulting transport times are shorter than the pitch angle scattering loss times so that most of the plasma is transported to the tail and lost by magnetic island formation. In turn the island formation process (reconnection) depletes magnetic field lines making them buoyant and allowing them to "float" back to the inner magnetosphere. In the torus these depleted flux tubes can be seen as thin tubes with stronger than the ambient field strength, implying plasma pressures about 2% of the magnetic field and ion temperatures principally in the range 30-150 eV. When the depleted flux tubes reach the orbit of Io where the energy density of the plasma drops these depleted flux tubes become indistinguishable from the ambient plasma, completing the circulation loop.

The strongest magnetic barrier in the DIII-D tokamak and comparison with the ASDEX UG

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ali, Halima; Punjabi, Alkesh

2013-05-01

Magnetic perturbations in tokamaks lead to the formation of magnetic islands, chaotic field lines, and the destruction of flux surfaces. Controlling or reducing transport along chaotic field lines is a key challenge in magnetically confined fusion plasmas. A local control method was proposed by Chandre et al. [Nucl. Fusion 46, 33-45 (2006)] to build barriers to magnetic field line diffusion by addition of a small second-order control term localized in the phase space to the field line Hamiltonian. Formation and existence of such magnetic barriers in Ohmically heated tokamaks (OHT), ASDEX UG and piecewise analytic DIII-D [Luxon, J.L.; Davis, L.E., Fusion Technol. 8, 441 (1985)] plasma equilibria was predicted by the authors [Ali, H.; Punjabi, A., Plasma Phys. Control. Fusion 49, 1565-1582 (2007)]. Very recently, this prediction for the DIII-D has been corroborated [Volpe, F.A., et al., Nucl. Fusion 52, 054017 (2012)] by field-line tracing calculations, using experimentally constrained Equilibrium Fit (EFIT) [Lao, et al., Nucl. Fusion 25, 1611 (1985)] DIII-D equilibria perturbed to include the vacuum field from the internal coils utilized in the experiments. This second-order approach is applied to the DIII-D tokamak to build noble irrational magnetic barriers inside the chaos created by the locked resonant magnetic perturbations (RMPs) (m, n)=(3, 1)+(4, 1), with m and n the poloidal and toroidal mode numbers of the Fourier expansion of the magnetic perturbation with amplitude δ. A piecewise, analytic, accurate, axisymmetric generating function for the trajectories of magnetic field lines in the DIII-D is constructed in magnetic coordinates from the experimental EFIT Grad-Shafranov solver [Lao, L, et al., Fusion Sci. Technol. 48, 968 (2005)] for the shot 115,467 at 3000 ms in the DIII-D. A symplectic mathematical map is used to integrate field lines in the DIII-D. A numerical algorithm [Ali, H., et al., Radiat. Eff. Def. Solids Inc. Plasma Sc. Plasma Tech. 165, 83 (2010)] based on continued fraction decomposition of the rotational transform labeling the barriers for selecting and identifying the strongest noble irrational barrier is used. The results are compared and contrasted with our previous results on the ASDEX UG. About six times stronger a barrier can be built in the DIII-D than in the ASDEX UG. High magnetic shear near the separatrix in the DIII-D is inferred as the possible cause of this. Implications of this for the DIII-D and the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) are discussed.

Diffusion from a line source

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Burns, R. E.

1973-01-01

The problem with predicting pollutant diffusion from a line source of arbitrary geometry is treated. The concentration at the line source may be arbitrarily varied with time. Special attention is given to the meteorological inputs which act as boundary conditions for the problem, and a mixing layer of arbitrary depth is assumed. Numerical application of the derived theory indicates the combinations of meteorological parameters that may be expected to result in high pollution concentrations.

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE SEPTEMBER 2017 MARS GLOBAL AURORA EVENT AND CRUSTAL MAGNETIC FIELDS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nasr, Camella-Rosa; Schneider, Nick; Connour, Kyle; Jain, Sonal; Deighan, Justin; Jakosky, Bruce; MAVEN/IUVS Team

2018-01-01

In September 2017, the Imaging UltraViolet Spectrograph (IUVS) on the MAVEN spacecraft observed global aurora on Mars caused by a surprisingly strong solar energetic particle event. Widespread “diffuse aurora” have previously been detected on Mars through more limited observations (Schneider et al., Science 350, (2015); DOI: 10.1126/science.aad0313), but recent observations established complete coverage of the observable portion of Mars’ nightside. The aurora was global due to Mars’s lack of a global magnetic field, which allowed energetic electrons from the Sun to directly precipitate into the atmosphere. On September 11th, IUVS detected aurora more than 25 times brighter than any prior IUVS observation, with high SNR detections of aurora at the limb and against the disk of the planet. Fainter auroral emission was seen around the nightside limb over 13 orbits spanning nearly 3 days.On September 14th, during the declining phase of the event, faint linear features and patches were detected by the spacecraft, which were higher than the noise floor, with a similar spatial distribution to “discrete aurora” patches observed on Mars by the SPICAM instrument on the Mars Express spacecraft (Bertaux et al., Nature 435, doi :10.1038/nature03603). Discrete aurora occur near areas of the crust affected by the magnetism left over from Mars’ once-strong dipole field. Emission is limited to regions of the crustal magnetic field where the field lines are likely to be open to solar wind interactions. Those regions are concentrated in Mars’ southern hemisphere centered on 180 degrees east longitude.We studied the localized emissions on 14 September to determine whether there might be a connection between the observed diffuse aurora event and discrete auroral processes. First, we investigated the localized emissions to confirm that the observed signal was consistent with expected auroral spectra. Second, their locations were projected on a map of the crustal magnetic fields to determine if they occurred near open magnetic field lines. We will report on the results of these two studies, and the ramifications for Mars auroral processes.

Cosmic Ray Measurements Inside Mir With Sileye-2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Casolino, M.; Sileye-2 Team

smallIntensity of the coronal green line (small = 5303cm) is considered as an impor- tant parameter to characterize the changes of diffusion coefficient of galactic cosmic rays versus the solar activity. A contribution of the coronal green line intensity in GCR diffusion coefficient is taken into account using its real distribution on the whole disk of the Sun averaging for three days. An assumption is made that the observed changes of the intensity of the coronal green line on the Sun's surface is taken away to the in- terplanetary space with the average solar wind velocity, U = 400 km/s. Thus, to cover the modulation region of the size of the 100 AU there is necessary data of the coronal green line intensity of the one-year duration. Alternating the coefficient of proportion- ality between the intensity of coronal green line and the diffusion coefficient of GCR the appropriate correspondence between the observation of GCR intensity sensitive to neutron monitors and solution of the Parker's transport equation have been found. The best correspondence between the observation of GCR intensity and solution of the Parker's transport equation has been found when the role of the coronal green line intensity in diffusion coefficient of GCR is gradually diminished versus the distance from the Sun.

XMM-Newton Observations of Solar Wind Charge Exchange Emission

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Snowden, S. L.; Collier, M. R.; Kuntz, K. D.

2004-01-01

We present an XMM-Newton spectrum of diffuse X-ray emission from within the solar system. The spectrum is dominated by O VII and O VIII lines at 0.57 keV and 0.65 keV, O VIII (and possibly Fe XVII) lines at approximately 0.8 keV, Ne IX lines at approximately 0.92 keV, and Mg XI lines at approximately 1.35 keV. This spectrum is consistent with what is expected from charge exchange emission between the highly ionized solar wind and either interstellar neutrals in the heliosphere or material from Earth's exosphere. The emission is clearly seen as a low-energy ( E less than 1.5 keV) spectral enhancement in one of a series of observations of the Hubble Deep Field North. The X-ray enhancement is concurrent with an enhancement in the solar wind measured by the ACE satellite. The solar wind enhancement reaches a flux level an order of magnitude more intense than typical fluxes at 1 AU, and has ion ratios with significantly enhanced higher ionization states. Whereas observations of the solar wind plasma made at a single point reflect only local conditions which may only be representative of solar wind properties with spatial scales ranging from less than half of an Earth radii (approximately 10 s) to 100 Earth radii, X-ray observations of solar wind charge exchange are remote sensing measurements which may provide observations which are significantly more global in character. Besides being of interest in its own right for studies of the solar system, this emission can have significant consequences for observations of more cosmological objects. It can provide emission lines at zero redshift which are of particular interest (e.g., O VII and O VIII) in studies of diffuse thermal emission, and which can therefore act as contamination in objects which cover the entire detector field of view. We propose the use of solar wind monitoring data, such as from the ACE and Wind spacecraft, as a diagnostic to screen for such possibilities.

Chemistry in Magnetohydrodynamic Shock Waves in Diffuse Molecular Clouds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peimbert, Antonio

1998-09-01

Absorption observations of the CH+ molecule with column densities of up to 1014 cm-2 in diffuse molecular clouds in many lines of sight are reviewed, and compared to the reddening and to abundances and velocity shifts of molecules like CH. Special attention is placed on the observations of the line of sight towards ς Ophiuchi where high quality observations of many chemical species are available. The problem of the required CH+ is described, and many formation mechanisms from the literature are reviewed, finding that none of them is particularly apt at describing the observations towards ς-Oph. Two fluid J-type shock models are studied as an alternative. The necessary conditions for their formation are discussed, and it is shown how they are expected to be present widely in the interstellar medium. Plane parallel numerical integrations, for the particular case in which the magnetic field is perpendicular to the shock velocity, are employed to study the region of phase-space of initial conditions that will produce 2 fluid shocks. A chemical network is developed and formation of key molecules like CH+, CH and OH, along with the excited roto-vibrational levels of H2, are studied under the shock dynamics. These models are then compared to the observations of the different lines of sight, showing they are capable of reproducing the features of the observations towards most of those clouds. An attempt to model the line of sight towards ς-Oph is done, finding that a shock with a shock speed vs = 9.0km/s going through a cloud with a density of nH = 14cm-3 with a magnetic field of B = 4.7μG does a reasonable job at satisfying most of the observations with the exception of the highest rotational excited states of molecular hydrogen for which observations are available. There is a small family of solutions capable of explaining the observed results which make specific predictions for the velocity profiles of the H2 lines of various excited levels. New observations with the Interstellar Medium Absorption Profile Spectrograph (IMAPS) camera would be useful in confirming or rejecting these models.

Momentum deposition on Wolf-Rayet winds: Nonisotropic diffusion with effective gray opacity

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gayley, Kenneth G.; Owocki, Stanley P.; Cranmer, Steven R.

1995-01-01

We derive the velocity and mass-loss rate of a steady state Wolf-Rayet (WR) wind, using a nonisotropic diffusion approximation applied to the transfer between strongly overlapping spectral lines. Following the approach of Friend & Castor (1983), the line list is assumed to approximate a statistically parameterized Poisson distribution in frequency, so that photon transport is controlled by an angle-dependent, effectively gray opacity. We show the nonisotropic diffusion approximation yields good agreement with more accurate numerical treatments of the radiative transfer, while providing analytic insight into wind driving by multiple scattering. We illustrate, in particular, that multiple radiative momentum deposition does not require that potons be repeatedly reflected across substantial distances within the spherical envelope, but indeed is greatest when photons undergo a nearly local diffusion, e.g., through scattering by many lines closely spaced in frequency. Our results reiterate the view that the so-called 'momentum problem' of Wolf-Rayet winds is better characterized as an 'opacity problem' of simply identfying enough lines. One way of increasing the number of thick lines in Wolf-Rayet winds is to transfer opacity from saturated to unsaturated lines, yielding a steeper opacity distribution than that found in OB winds. We discuss the implications of this perspective for extending our approach to W-R wind models that incorporate a more fundamental treatment of the ionization and excitation processes that determine the line opacity. In particular, we argue that developing statistical descriptions of the lines to allow an improved effective opacity for the line ensemble would offer several advantages for deriving such more fundamental W-R wind models.

Momentum deposition on Wolf-Rayet winds: Nonisotropic diffusion with effective gray opacity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gayley, Kenneth G.; Owocki, Stanley P.; Cranmer, Steven R.

1995-03-01

We derive the velocity and mass-loss rate of a steady state Wolf-Rayet (WR) wind, using a nonisotropic diffusion approximation applied to the transfer between strongly overlapping spectral lines. Following the approach of Friend & Castor (1983), the line list is assumed to approximate a statistically parameterized Poisson distribution in frequency, so that photon transport is controlled by an angle-dependent, effectively gray opacity. We show the nonisotropic diffusion approximation yields good agreement with more accurate numerical treatments of the radiative transfer, while providing analytic insight into wind driving by multiple scattering. We illustrate, in particular, that multiple radiative momentum deposition does not require that photons be repeatedly reflected across substantial distances within the spherical envelope, but indeed is greatest when photons undergo a nearly local diffusion, e.g., through scattering by many lines closely spaced in frequency. Our results reiterate the view that the so-called 'momentum problem' of Wolf-Rayet winds is better characterized as an 'opacity problem' of simply identifying enough lines. One way of increasing the number of thick lines in Wolf-Rayet winds is to transfer opacity from saturated to unsaturated lines, yielding a steeper opacity distribution than that found in OB winds. We discuss the implications of this perspective for extending our approach to W-R wind models that incorporate a more fundamental treatment of the ionization and excitation processes that determine the line opacity. In particular, we argue that developing statistical descriptions of the lines to allow an improved effective opacity for the line ensemble would offer several advantages for deriving such more fundamental W-R wind models.

Hanle effect in nonmonochromatic laser light

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ryan, R. E.; Bergeman, T. H.

1991-06-01

We report results of calculations on the Hanle effect in a J=0⇆J=1 atomic transition with three types of model fluctuating light fields: (a) the Brownian-motion phase-diffusion field, as produced in recent experiments by Arnett et al. [Phys. Rev. A 41, 2580 (1990)]; (b) Gaussian amplitude fluctuations; and (c) the chaotic field model, in which real and imaginary parts of the electric-field amplitude fluctuate. For the stochastic density-matrix equations, we use methods developed by Zoller and co-workers [e.g., Dixit, Zoller, and Lambropoulos, Phys. Rev. A 21, 1289 (1980)] employing the Fokker-Planck operator and leading to matrix continued-fraction expansions. The Hanle effect is of interest as a prototype for multisublevel atomic transitions. The width of the Hanle dip at zero magnetic field reflects the tendency of the light field to preserve the coherence between excited-state sublevels. For monochromatic light, the Hanle dip width increases as the square root of light intensity. When the laser bandwidth increases, power broadening of the coherence dip normally decreases. However, with the Brownian-motion phase-diffusion model, if the laser spectral profile is nearly Gaussian, broadening the laser up to several times the natural width of the atomic line does not diminish the Hanle dip width. With amplitude fluctuations, even in the limit of monochromatic light, power broadening of the Hanle dip with intensity is reduced by one-third to one-half depending on the particular model.

High temperature electrons exhausted from rf plasma sources along a magnetic nozzle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Takahashi, Kazunori; Akahoshi, Hikaru; Charles, Christine; Boswell, Rod W.; Ando, Akira

2017-08-01

Two dimensional profiles of electron temperature are measured inside and downstream of a radiofrequency plasma thruster source having a magnetic nozzle and being immersed in vacuum. The temperature is estimated from the slope of the fully swept I-V characteristics of a Langmuir probe acquired at each spatial position and with the assumption of a Maxwellian distribution. The results show that the peripheral high temperature electrons in the magnetic nozzle originate from the upstream antenna location and are transported along the "connecting" magnetic field lines. Two-dimensional measurements of electron energy probability functions are also carried out in a second simplified laboratory device consisting of the source contiguously connected to the diffusion chamber: again the high temperature electrons are detected along the magnetic field lines intersecting the wall at the antenna location, even when the antenna location is shifted along the main axis. These results demonstrate that the peripheral energetic electrons in the magnetic nozzle mirror those created in the source tube.

Galactic Observations of Terahertz C+ (GOT C+): First Results: Inner Galaxy Survey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Langer, William; Velusamy, T.; Pineda, J. L.; Goldsmith, P. F.; Li, D.; Yorke, H. W.

2010-05-01

To understand the lifecycle of the interstellar gas and star formation we need detailed information about the diffuse atomic and diffuse molecular gas cloud properties. The ionized carbon [CII] 1.9 THz fine structure line is an important tracer of the atomic gas in the diffuse regions and the interface regions of atomic gas to molecular clouds. Furthermore, C+ is a major ISM coolant and among the Galaxy's strongest far-IR emission lines, and thus controls the thermal conditions throughout large parts of the Galaxy. Until now our knowledge of interstellar gas has been limited to the diffuse atomic phase traced by HI and to the dense molecular H2 phase traced by CO. However, we are missing an important phase of the ISM called "dark gas” in which there is no or little, HI, and mostly molecular hydrogen but with insufficient shielding of UV to allow CO to form. C+ emission and absorption lines at 1.9 THz have the potential to trace this gas. Galactic Observations of the Terahertz C+ Line (GOT C+) is a Herschel Space Observatory Open Time Key Program to study the diffuse interstellar medium by sampling [CII] 1.9 THz line emission throughout the Galactic disk. We discuss the broader perspective of this survey and the first results of GOT C+ obtained during the Science Demonstration Phase (SDP) and Priority Science Phase (PSP) of HIFI, which focus on approximately 100 lines of sight in the inner galaxy. This research was conducted at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology under contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

ON THE ORIGINS OF THE DIFFUSE H{alpha} EMISSION: IONIZED GAS OR DUST-SCATTERED H{alpha} HALOS?

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

Seon, Kwang-Il; Witt, Adolf N., E-mail: kiseon@kasi.re.kr

2012-10-20

It is known that the diffuse H{alpha} emission outside of bright H II regions not only are very extended, but also can occur in distinct patches or filaments far from H II regions, and the line ratios of [S II] {lambda}6716/H{alpha} and [N II] {lambda}6583/H{alpha} observed far from bright H II regions are generally higher than those in the H II regions. These observations have been regarded as evidence against the dust-scattering origin of the diffuse H{alpha} emission (including other optical lines), and the effect of dust scattering has been neglected in studies on the diffuse H{alpha} emission. In thismore » paper, we reexamine the arguments against dust scattering and find that the dust-scattering origin of the diffuse H{alpha} emission cannot be ruled out. As opposed to the previous contention, the expected dust-scattered H{alpha} halos surrounding H II regions are, in fact, in good agreement with the observed H{alpha} morphology. We calculate an extensive set of photoionization models by varying elemental abundances, ionizing stellar types, and clumpiness of the interstellar medium (ISM) and find that the observed line ratios of [S II]/H{alpha}, [N II]/H{alpha}, and He I {lambda}5876/H{alpha} in the diffuse ISM accord well with the dust-scattered halos around H II regions, which are photoionized by late O- and/or early B-type stars. We also demonstrate that the H{alpha} absorption feature in the underlying continuum from the dust-scattered starlight ({sup d}iffuse galactic light{sup )} and unresolved stars is able to substantially increase the [S II]/H{alpha} and [N II]/H{alpha} line ratios in the diffuse ISM.« less

Extraction of line properties based on direction fields.

PubMed

Kutka, R; Stier, S

1996-01-01

The authors present a new set of algorithms for segmenting lines, mainly blood vessels in X-ray images, and extracting properties such as their intensities, diameters, and center lines. The authors developed a tracking algorithm that checks rules taking the properties of vessels into account. The tools even detect veins, arteries, or catheters of two pixels in diameter and with poor contrast. Compared with other algorithms, such as the Canny line detector or anisotropic diffusion, the authors extract a smoother and connected vessel tree without artifacts in the image background. As the tools depend on common intermediate results, they are very fast when used together. The authors' results will support the 3-D reconstruction of the vessel tree from stereoscopic projections. Moreover, the authors make use of their line intensity measure for enhancing and improving the visibility of vessels in 3-D X-ray images. The processed images are intended to support radiologists in diagnosis, radiation therapy planning, and surgical planning. Radiologists verified the improved quality of the processed images and the enhanced visibility of relevant details, particularly fine blood vessels.

The appearance, motion, and disappearance of three-dimensional magnetic null points

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

Murphy, Nicholas A., E-mail: namurphy@cfa.harvard.edu; Parnell, Clare E.; Haynes, Andrew L.

2015-10-15

While theoretical models and simulations of magnetic reconnection often assume symmetry such that the magnetic null point when present is co-located with a flow stagnation point, the introduction of asymmetry typically leads to non-ideal flows across the null point. To understand this behavior, we present exact expressions for the motion of three-dimensional linear null points. The most general expression shows that linear null points move in the direction along which the magnetic field and its time derivative are antiparallel. Null point motion in resistive magnetohydrodynamics results from advection by the bulk plasma flow and resistive diffusion of the magnetic field,more » which allows non-ideal flows across topological boundaries. Null point motion is described intrinsically by parameters evaluated locally; however, global dynamics help set the local conditions at the null point. During a bifurcation of a degenerate null point into a null-null pair or the reverse, the instantaneous velocity of separation or convergence of the null-null pair will typically be infinite along the null space of the Jacobian matrix of the magnetic field, but with finite components in the directions orthogonal to the null space. Not all bifurcating null-null pairs are connected by a separator. Furthermore, except under special circumstances, there will not exist a straight line separator connecting a bifurcating null-null pair. The motion of separators cannot be described using solely local parameters because the identification of a particular field line as a separator may change as a result of non-ideal behavior elsewhere along the field line.« less

Production of Xylella fastidiosa diffusible signal factor in transgenic grape causes pathogen confusion and reduction in severity of Pierce's disease.

PubMed

Lindow, Steven; Newman, Karyn; Chatterjee, Subhadeep; Baccari, Clelia; Lavarone, Anthony T; Ionescu, Michael

2014-03-01

The rpfF gene from Xylella fastidiosa, encoding the synthase for diffusible signal factor (DSF), was expressed in 'Freedom' grape to reduce the pathogen's growth and mobility within the plant. Symptoms in such plants were restricted to near the point of inoculation and incidence of disease was two- to fivefold lower than in the parental line. Both the longitudinal and lateral movement of X. fastidiosa in the xylem was also much lower. DSF was detected in both leaves and xylem sap of RpfF-expressing plants using biological sensors, and both 2-Z-tetradecenoic acid, previously identified as a component of X. fastidiosa DSF, and cis-11-methyl-2-dodecenoic acid were detected in xylem sap using electrospray ionization mass spectrometry. A higher proportion of X. fastidiosa cells adhered to xylem vessels of the RpfF-expressing line than parental 'Freedom' plants, reflecting a higher adhesiveness of the pathogen in the presence of DSF. Disease incidence in RpfF-expressing plants in field trials in which plants were either mechanically inoculated with X. fastidiosa or subjected to natural inoculation by sharpshooter vectors was two- to fourfold lower in than that of the parental line. The number of symptomatic leaves on infected shoots was reduced proportionally more than the incidence of infection, reflecting a decreased ability of X. fastidiosa to move within DSF-producing plants.

X-PROP: a fast and robust diffusion-weighted propeller technique.

PubMed

Li, Zhiqiang; Pipe, James G; Lee, Chu-Yu; Debbins, Josef P; Karis, John P; Huo, Donglai

2011-08-01

Diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) has shown great benefits in clinical MR exams. However, current DWI techniques have shortcomings of sensitivity to distortion or long scan times or combinations of the two. Diffusion-weighted echo-planar imaging (EPI) is fast but suffers from severe geometric distortion. Periodically rotated overlapping parallel lines with enhanced reconstruction diffusion-weighted imaging (PROPELLER DWI) is free of geometric distortion, but the scan time is usually long and imposes high Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) especially at high fields. TurboPROP was proposed to accelerate the scan by combining signal from gradient echoes, but the off-resonance artifacts from gradient echoes can still degrade the image quality. In this study, a new method called X-PROP is presented. Similar to TurboPROP, it uses gradient echoes to reduce the scan time. By separating the gradient and spin echoes into individual blades and removing the off-resonance phase, the off-resonance artifacts in X-PROP are minimized. Special reconstruction processes are applied on these blades to correct for the motion artifacts. In vivo results show its advantages over EPI, PROPELLER DWI, and TurboPROP techniques. Copyright © 2011 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Convection-diffusion effects in marathon race dynamics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rodriguez, E.; Espinosa-Paredes, G.; Alvarez-Ramirez, J.

2014-01-01

In the face of the recent terrorist attack event on the 2013 Boston Marathon, the increasing participation of recreational runners in large marathon races has imposed important logistical and safety issues for organizers and city authorities. An accurate understanding of the dynamics of the marathon pack along the race course can provide important insights for improving safety and performance of these events. On the other hand, marathon races can be seen as a model of pedestrian movement under confined conditions. This work used data of the 2011 Chicago Marathon event for modeling the dynamics of the marathon pack from the corral zone to the finish line. By considering the marathon pack as a set of particles moving along the race course, the dynamics are modeled as a convection-diffusion partial differential equation with position-dependent mean velocity and diffusion coefficient. A least-squares problem is posed and solved with optimization techniques for fitting field data from the 2011 Chicago Marathon. It was obtained that the mean pack velocity decreases while the diffusion coefficient increases with distance. This means that the dispersion rate of the initially compact marathon pack increases as the marathon race evolves along the race course.

Confined diffusion of transmembrane proteins and lipids induced by the same actin meshwork lining the plasma membrane

PubMed Central

Fujiwara, Takahiro K.; Iwasawa, Kokoro; Kalay, Ziya; Tsunoyama, Taka A.; Watanabe, Yusuke; Umemura, Yasuhiro M.; Murakoshi, Hideji; Suzuki, Kenichi G. N.; Nemoto, Yuri L.; Morone, Nobuhiro; Kusumi, Akihiro

2016-01-01

The mechanisms by which the diffusion rate in the plasma membrane (PM) is regulated remain unresolved, despite their importance in spatially regulating the reaction rates in the PM. Proposed models include entrapment in nanoscale noncontiguous domains found in PtK2 cells, slow diffusion due to crowding, and actin-induced compartmentalization. Here, by applying single-particle tracking at high time resolutions, mainly to the PtK2-cell PM, we found confined diffusion plus hop movements (termed “hop diffusion”) for both a nonraft phospholipid and a transmembrane protein, transferrin receptor, and equal compartment sizes for these two molecules in all five of the cell lines used here (actual sizes were cell dependent), even after treatment with actin-modulating drugs. The cross-section size and the cytoplasmic domain size both affected the hop frequency. Electron tomography identified the actin-based membrane skeleton (MSK) located within 8.8 nm from the PM cytoplasmic surface of PtK2 cells and demonstrated that the MSK mesh size was the same as the compartment size for PM molecular diffusion. The extracellular matrix and extracellular domains of membrane proteins were not involved in hop diffusion. These results support a model of anchored TM-protein pickets lining actin-based MSK as a major mechanism for regulating diffusion. PMID:26864625

PROPELLER EPI: An MRI Technique Suitable for Diffusion Tensor Imaging at High Field Strength With Reduced Geometric Distortions

PubMed Central

Wang, Fu-Nien; Huang, Teng-Yi; Lin, Fa-Hsuan; Chuang, Tzu-Chao; Chen, Nan-Kuei; Chung, Hsiao-Wen; Chen, Cheng-Yu; Kwong, Kenneth K.

2013-01-01

A technique suitable for diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) at high field strengths is presented in this work. The method is based on a periodically rotated overlapping parallel lines with enhanced reconstruction (PROPELLER) k-space trajectory using EPI as the signal readout module, and hence is dubbed PROPELLER EPI. The implementation of PROPELLER EPI included a series of correction schemes to reduce possible errors associated with the intrinsically higher sensitivity of EPI to off-resonance effects. Experimental results on a 3.0 Tesla MR system showed that the PROPELLER EPI images exhibit substantially reduced geometric distortions compared with single-shot EPI, at a much lower RF specific absorption rate (SAR) than the original version of the PROPELLER fast spin-echo (FSE) technique. For DTI, the self-navigated phase-correction capability of the PROPELLER EPI sequence was shown to be effective for in vivo imaging. A higher signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) compared to single-shot EPI at an identical total scan time was achieved, which is advantageous for routine DTI applications in clinical practice. PMID:16206142

PROPELLER EPI: an MRI technique suitable for diffusion tensor imaging at high field strength with reduced geometric distortions.

PubMed

Wang, Fu-Nien; Huang, Teng-Yi; Lin, Fa-Hsuan; Chuang, Tzu-Chao; Chen, Nan-Kuei; Chung, Hsiao-Wen; Chen, Cheng-Yu; Kwong, Kenneth K

2005-11-01

A technique suitable for diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) at high field strengths is presented in this work. The method is based on a periodically rotated overlapping parallel lines with enhanced reconstruction (PROPELLER) k-space trajectory using EPI as the signal readout module, and hence is dubbed PROPELLER EPI. The implementation of PROPELLER EPI included a series of correction schemes to reduce possible errors associated with the intrinsically higher sensitivity of EPI to off-resonance effects. Experimental results on a 3.0 Tesla MR system showed that the PROPELLER EPI images exhibit substantially reduced geometric distortions compared with single-shot EPI, at a much lower RF specific absorption rate (SAR) than the original version of the PROPELLER fast spin-echo (FSE) technique. For DTI, the self-navigated phase-correction capability of the PROPELLER EPI sequence was shown to be effective for in vivo imaging. A higher signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) compared to single-shot EPI at an identical total scan time was achieved, which is advantageous for routine DTI applications in clinical practice. (c) 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Modeling the chemistry of the dense interstellar clouds. I - Observational constraints for the chemistry

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Federman, S. R.; Huntress, W. T., Jr.; Prasad, S. S.

1990-01-01

A search for correlations arising from molecular line data is made in order to place constraints on the chemical models of interstellar clouds. At 10 to the 21st H2/sq cm, N(CO) for dark clouds is a factor of six greater than the value for diffuse clouds. This implies that the strength of the UV radiation field where CO shields itself from dissociation is about one-half the strength of the average Galactic field. The dark cloud data indicate that the abundance of CO continues to increase with A(V) for directions with A(V) of 4 mag or less, although less steeply with N(H2) than for diffuse clouds. For H2CO, a quadratic relationship is obtained in plots versus H2 column density. The data suggest a possible turnover at the highest values for A(V). NH3 shows no correlation with H2, C(O-18), HC3N, or HC5N; a strong correlation is found between HC5N and HC3N, indicating a chemical link between the cyanopolyynes.

Linear diffusion into a Faraday cage.

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

Warne, Larry Kevin; Lin, Yau Tang; Merewether, Kimball O.

2011-11-01

Linear lightning diffusion into a Faraday cage is studied. An early-time integral valid for large ratios of enclosure size to enclosure thickness and small relative permeability ({mu}/{mu}{sub 0} {le} 10) is used for this study. Existing solutions for nearby lightning impulse responses of electrically thick-wall enclosures are refined and extended to calculate the nearby lightning magnetic field (H) and time-derivative magnetic field (HDOT) inside enclosures of varying thickness caused by a decaying exponential excitation. For a direct strike scenario, the early-time integral for a worst-case line source outside the enclosure caused by an impulse is simplified and numerically integrated tomore » give the interior H and HDOT at the location closest to the source as well as a function of distance from the source. H and HDOT enclosure response functions for decaying exponentials are considered for an enclosure wall of any thickness. Simple formulas are derived to provide a description of enclosure interior H and HDOT as well. Direct strike voltage and current bounds for a single-turn optimally-coupled loop for all three waveforms are also given.« less

SNOW LINES AS PROBES OF TURBULENT DIFFUSION IN PROTOPLANETARY DISKS

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

Owen, James E.

2014-07-20

Sharp chemical discontinuities can occur in protoplanetary disks, particularly at ''snow lines'' where a gas-phase species freezes out to form ice grains. Such sharp discontinuities will diffuse out due to the turbulence suspected to drive angular momentum transport in accretion disks. We demonstrate that the concentration gradient—in the vicinity of the snow line—of a species present outside a snow line but destroyed inside is strongly sensitive to the level of turbulent diffusion (provided the chemical and transport timescales are decoupled) and provides a direct measurement of the radial ''Schmidt number'' (the ratio of the angular momentum transport to radial turbulentmore » diffusion). Taking as an example the tracer species N{sub 2}H{sup +}, which is expected to be destroyed inside the CO snow line (as recently observed in TW Hya) we show that ALMA observations possess significant angular resolution to constrain the Schmidt number. Since different turbulent driving mechanisms predict different Schmidt numbers, a direct measurement of the Schmidt number in accretion disks would allow inferences to be made about the nature of the turbulence.« less

Dust variations in the diffuse interstellar medium: constraints on Milky Way dust from Planck-HFI observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ysard, N.; Köhler, M.; Jones, A.; Miville-Deschênes, M.-A.; Abergel, A.; Fanciullo, L.

2015-05-01

Context. The Planck-HFI all-sky survey from 353 to 857 GHz combined with the IRAS data at 100 μm (3000 GHz, IRIS version of the data) show that the dust properties vary from line of sight to line of sight in the diffuse interstellar medium (ISM) at high Galactic latitude (1019 ≤ NH ≤ 2.5 × 1020 H/cm2, for a sky coverage of ~12%). Aims: These observations contradict the usual thinking of uniform dust properties, even in the most diffuse areas of the sky. Thus, our aim is to explain these variations with changes in the ISM properties and with evolution of the grain properties. Methods: Our starting point is the latest core-mantle dust model. This model consists of small aromatic-rich carbon grains, larger amorphous carbonaceous grains with an aliphatic-rich core and an aromatic-rich mantle, and amorphous silicates (mixture of olivine and pyroxene types) with Fe/FeS nano-inclusions covered by aromatic-rich carbon mantles. We explore whether variations in the radiation field or in the gas density distribution in the diffuse ISM could explain the observed variations. The dust properties are also varied in terms of their mantle thickness, metallic nano-inclusions, carbon abundance locked in the grains, and size distributions. Results: We show that variations in the radiation field intensity and gas density distribution cannot explain variations observed with Planck-HFI but that radiation fields harder than the standard ISRF may participate in creating part of the observed variations. We further show that variations in the mantle thickness on the grains coupled with changes in their size distributions can reproduce most of the observations. We concurrently put a limit on the mantle thickness of the silicates, which should not exceed ~ 10 to 15 nm, and find that aromatic-rich mantles are definitely needed for the carbonaceous grain population with a thickness of at least 5 to 7.5 nm. We also find that changes in the carbon cosmic abundance included in the grains could explain part of the variations in dust observations. Finally, we show that varying the composition of metallic nano-inclusions in the silicates cannot account for the variations, at the same time showing that the amount of FeS they contain cannot be > 50% by volume. Conclusions: With small variations in the dust properties, we are able to explain most of the variations in the dust emission observed by Planck-HFI in the diffuse ISM. We also find that the small realistic changes in the dust properties that we consider almost perfectly match the anti-correlation and scatter in the observed β - T relation.

Electromigration in Cu(Al) and Cu(Mn) damascene lines

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hu, C.-K.; Ohm, J.; Gignac, L. M.; Breslin, C. M.; Mittal, S.; Bonilla, G.; Edelstein, D.; Rosenberg, R.; Choi, S.; An, J. J.; Simon, A. H.; Angyal, M. S.; Clevenger, L.; Maniscalco, J.; Nogami, T.; Penny, C.; Kim, B. Y.

2012-05-01

The effects of impurities, Mn or Al, on interface and grain boundary electromigration (EM) in Cu damascene lines were investigated. The addition of Mn or Al solute caused a reduction in diffusivity at the Cu/dielectric cap interface and the EM activation energies for both Cu-alloys were found to increase by about 0.2 eV as compared to pure Cu. Mn mitigated and Al enhanced Cu grain boundary diffusion; however, no significant mitigation in Cu grain boundary diffusion was observed in low Mn concentration samples. The activation energies for Cu grain boundary diffusion were found to be 0.74 ± 0.05 eV and 0.77 ± 0.05 eV for 1.5 μm wide polycrystalline lines with pure Cu and Cu (0.5 at. % Mn) seeds, respectively. The effective charge number in Cu grain boundaries Z*GB was estimated from drift velocity and was found to be about -0.4. A significant enhancement in EM lifetimes for Cu(Al) or low Mn concentration bamboo-polycrystalline and near-bamboo grain structures was observed but not for polycrystalline-only alloy lines. These results indicated that the existence of bamboo grains in bamboo-polycrystalline lines played a critical role in slowing down the EM-induced void growth rate. The bamboo grains act as Cu diffusion blocking boundaries for grain boundary mass flow, thus generating a mechanical stress-induced back flow counterbalancing the EM force, which is the equality known as the "Blech short length effect."

HYDROGEN CHLORIDE IN DIFFUSE INTERSTELLAR CLOUDS ALONG THE LINE OF SIGHT TO W31C (G10.6-0.4)

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

Monje, R. R.; Lis, D. C.; Phillips, T. G.

2013-04-10

We report the detection of hydrogen chloride, HCl, in diffuse molecular clouds on the line of sight toward the star-forming region W31C (G10.6-0.4). The J = 1-0 lines of the two stable HCl isotopologues, H{sup 35}Cl and H{sup 37}Cl, are observed using the 1b receiver of the Heterodyne Instrument for the Far-Infrared (HIFI) on board the Herschel Space Observatory. The HCl line is detected in absorption, over a wide range of velocities associated with diffuse clouds along the line of sight to W31C. The analysis of the absorption strength yields a total HCl column density of a few 10{sup 13}more » cm{sup -2}, implying that HCl accounts for {approx}0.6% of the total gas-phase chlorine, which exceeds the theoretical model predictions by a factor of {approx}6. This result is comparable to those obtained from the chemically related species H{sub 2}Cl{sup +} and HCl{sup +}, for which large column densities have also been reported on the same line of sight. The source of discrepancy between models and observations is still unknown; however, the detection of these Cl-bearing molecules provides key constraints for the chlorine chemistry in the diffuse gas.« less

Penetration of ELF currents and electromagnetic fields into the Earth's equatorial ionosphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eliasson, B.; Papadopoulos, K.

2009-10-01

The penetration of extremely low frequency (ELF) transient electromagnetic fields and associated currents in the Earth's equatorial E-region plasma is studied theoretically and numerically. In the low-frequency regime, the plasma dynamics of the E-region is characterized by helicon waves since the ions are viscously coupled to neutrals while the electrons remain mobile. For typical equatorial E-region parameters, the plasma is magnetically insulated from penetration of very long timescale magnetic fields by a thin diffusive sheath. Wave penetration driven by a vertically incident pulse localized in space and time leads to both vertical penetration and the triggering of ELF helicon/whistler waves that carry currents obliquely to the magnetic field lines. The study presented here may have relevance for ELF wave generation by lightning discharges and seismic activity and can lead to new concepts in ELF/ULF injection in the earth-ionosphere waveguide.

TRACING THE MAGNETIC FIELD MORPHOLOGY OF THE LUPUS I MOLECULAR CLOUD

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

Franco, G. A. P.; Alves, F. O., E-mail: franco@fisica.ufmg.br, E-mail: falves@mpe.mpg.de

2015-07-01

Deep R-band CCD linear polarimetry collected for fields with lines of sight toward the Lupus I molecular cloud is used to investigate the properties of the magnetic field within this molecular cloud. The observed sample contains about 7000 stars, almost 2000 of them with a polarization signal-to-noise ratio larger than 5. These data cover almost the entire main molecular cloud and also sample two diffuse infrared patches in the neighborhood of Lupus I. The large-scale pattern of the plane-of-sky projection of the magnetic field is perpendicular to the main axis of Lupus I, but parallel to the two diffuse infraredmore » patches. A detailed analysis of our polarization data combined with the Herschel/SPIRE 350 μm dust emission map shows that the principal filament of Lupus I is constituted by three main clumps that are acted on by magnetic fields that have different large-scale structural properties. These differences may be the reason for the observed distribution of pre- and protostellar objects along the molecular cloud and the cloud’s apparent evolutionary stage. On the other hand, assuming that the magnetic field is composed of large-scale and turbulent components, we find that the latter is rather similar in all three clumps. The estimated plane-of-sky component of the large-scale magnetic field ranges from about 70 to 200 μG in these clumps. The intensity increases toward the Galactic plane. The mass-to-magnetic flux ratio is much smaller than unity, implying that Lupus I is magnetically supported on large scales.« less

Effects of elevated line sources on turbulent mixing in channel flow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nguyen, Quoc; Papavassiliou, Dimitrios

2016-11-01

Fluids mixing in turbulent flows has been studied extensively, due to the importance of this phenomena in nature and engineering. Convection effects along with motion of three-dimensional coherent structures in turbulent flow disperse a substance more efficiently than molecular diffusion does on its own. We present here, however, a study that explores the conditions under which turbulent mixing does not happen, when different substances are released into the flow field from different vertical locations. The study uses a method which combines Direct Numerical Simulation (DNS) with Lagrangian Scalar Tracking (LST) to simulate a turbulent channel flow and track the motion of passive scalars with different Schmidt numbers (Sc). The particles are released from several instantaneous line sources, ranging from the wall to the center region of the channel. The combined effects of mean velocity difference, molecular diffusion and near-wall coherent structures lead to the observation of different concentrations of particles downstream from the source. We then explore in details the conditions under which particles mixing would not happen. Results from numerical simulation at friction Reynolds number of 300 and 600 will be discussed and for Sc ranging from 0.1 to 2,400.

Simulations of Lateral Transport and Dropout Structure of Energetic Particles from Impulsive Solar Flares

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Matthaeus, W. H.; Ruffolo, D. J.; Tooprakai, P.; Seripienlert, A.; Chuychai, P.

2016-12-01

We simulate trajectories of energetic particles from impulsive solar flares for 2D+slab models of magnetic turbulence in spherical geometry to study dropout features, i.e., sharp, repeated changes in the particle density, and the particles' lateral transport. Among random-phase realizations of 2D turbulence, a spherical harmonic expansion can generate homogeneous turbulence over a sphere, but a 2D fast Fourier transform (FFT) locally mapped onto the lateral coordinates in the region of interest is much faster computationally, and we show that the results are qualitatively similar. We then use the 2D FFT field as input to a 2D MHD simulation, which dynamically generates realistic features of turbulence such as coherent structures. The magnetic field lines and particles spread non-diffusively (ballistically) to a patchy distribution reaching up to 25° from the injection longitude and latitude at r 1 AU. This dropout pattern in field line trajectories has sharper features in the case of the more realistic 2D MHD model, in better qualitative agreement with observations. The initial dropout pattern in particle trajectories is relatively insensitive to particle energy, though the energy affects the pattern's evolution with time. We make predictions for future observations of solar particles near the Sun (e.g., at 0.25 AU), for which we expect a sharp pulse of outgoing particles along the dropout pattern, followed by backscattering that first remains close to the dropout pattern and later exhibits cross-field transport to a distribution that is more diffusive, yet mostly contained within the dropout pattern found at greater distances. Partially supported by the Thailand Research Fund (Grants BRG5880009 and RTA5980003), the U.S. NSF (AGS-1063439), NASA (NNX14AI63G & NNX15AB88G), and the Solar Probe Plus/ISIS project.

Gravity Wave Mixing and Effective Diffusivity for Minor Chemical Constituents in the Mesosphere/Lower Thermosphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grygalashvyly, M.; Becker, E.; Sonnemann, G. R.

2012-06-01

The influence of gravity waves (GWs) on the distributions of minor chemical constituents in the mesosphere-lower thermosphere (MLT) is studied on the basis of the effective diffusivity concept. The mixing ratios of chemical species used for calculations of the effective diffusivity are obtained from numerical experiments with an off-line coupled model of the dynamics and chemistry abbreviated as KMCM-MECTM (Kuehlungsborn Mechanistic general Circulation Model—MEsospheric Chemistry-Transport Model). In our control simulation the MECTM is driven with the full dynamical fields from an annual cycle simulation with the KMCM, where mid-frequency GWs down to horizontal wavelengths of 350 km are resolved and their wave-mean flow interaction is self-consistently induced by an advanced turbulence model. A perturbation simulation with the MECTM is defined by eliminating all meso-scale variations with horizontal wavelengths shorter than 1000 km from the dynamical fields by means of spectral filtering before running the MECTM. The response of the MECTM to GWs perturbations reveals strong effects on the minor chemical constituents. We show by theoretical arguments and numerical diagnostics that GWs have direct, down-gradient mixing effects on all long-lived minor chemical species that possess a mean vertical gradient in the MLT. Introducing the term wave diffusion (WD) and showing that wave mixing yields approximately the same WD coefficient for different chemical constituents, we argue that it is a useful tool for diagnostic irreversible transport processes. We also present a detailed discussion of the gravity-wave mixing effects on the photochemistry and highlight the consequences for the general circulation of the MLT.

Distortion of Magnetic Fields in a Starless Core: Near-infrared Polarimetry of FeSt 1–457

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

Kandori, Ryo; Tamura, Motohide; Kusakabe, Nobuhiko

Magnetic fields are believed to play an important role in controlling the stability and contraction of the dense condensations of gas and dust that lead to the formation of stars and planetary systems. In the present study, the magnetic field of FeSt 1–457, a cold starless molecular cloud core, was mapped on the basis of the polarized near-infrared light from 185 background stars after being dichroically absorbed by dust aligned with the magnetic field in the core. A distinct “hourglass-shaped” magnetic field was identified in the region of the core, and was interpreted as the first evidence of a magneticmore » field structure distorted by mass condensation in a starless core. The steep curvature of the magnetic field lines obtained in the present study indicates that the distortion was mainly created during the formation phase of the dense core. The derived mass-to-magnetic flux ratio indicates that the core is in a magnetically supercritical state. However, the stability of the core can be considered to be in a nearly critical state if the additional contributions from the thermal and turbulent support are included. Further diffusion of the magnetic field and/or turbulent dissipation would cause the onset of the dynamical collapse of the core. The geometrical relationship between the direction of the magnetic field lines and the elongation of the core was found to be in good agreement with theoretical predictions for the formation of Sun-like stars under the influence of a magnetic field.« less

Turbulence in Three-Dimensional Simulations of Magnetopause Reconnection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Price, L.; Swisdak, M.; Drake, J. F.; Burch, J. L.; Cassak, P. A.; Ergun, R. E.

2017-11-01

We present detailed analysis of the turbulence observed in three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations of magnetic reconnection at the magnetopause. The parameters are representative of an electron diffusion region encounter of the Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission. The turbulence is found to develop around both the magnetic X line and separatrices, is electromagnetic in nature, is characterized by a wave vector k given by kρe˜(meTe/miTi)0.25 with ρe the electron Larmor radius, and appears to have the ion pressure gradient as its source of free energy. Taken together, these results suggest the instability is a variant of the lower hybrid drift instability. The turbulence produces electric field fluctuations in the out-of-plane direction (the direction of the reconnection electric field) with an amplitude of around ±10 mV/m, which is much greater than the reconnection electric field of around 0.1 mV/m. Such large values of the out-of-plane electric field have been identified in the MMS data. The turbulence in the simulations controls the scale lengths of the density profile and current layers in asymmetric reconnection, driving them closer to √{ρeρi} than the ρe or de scalings seen in 2-D reconnection simulations, and produces significant anomalous resistivity and viscosity in the electron diffusion region.

Drift turbulence, particle transport, and anomalous dissipation at the reconnecting magnetopause

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Le, A.; Daughton, W.; Ohia, O.; Chen, L.-J.; Liu, Y.-H.; Wang, S.; Nystrom, W. D.; Bird, R.

2018-06-01

Using fully kinetic 3D simulations, the reconnection dynamics of asymmetric current sheets are examined at the Earth's magnetopause. The plasma parameters are selected to model MMS magnetopause diffusion region crossings with guide fields of 0.1, 0.4, and 1 of the reconnecting magnetosheath field. In each case, strong drift-wave fluctuations are observed in the lower-hybrid frequency range at the steep density gradient across the magnetospheric separatrix. These fluctuations give rise to cross-field electron particle transport. In addition, this turbulent mixing leads to significantly enhanced electron parallel heating in comparison to 2D simulations. We study three different methods of quantifying the anomalous dissipation produced by the drift fluctuations, based on spatial averaging, temporal averaging, and temporal averaging followed by integrating along magnetic field lines. A comparison of different methods reveals complications in identifying and measuring the anomalous dissipation. Nevertheless, the anomalous dissipation from short wavelength drift fluctuations appears weak for each case, and the reconnection rates observed in 3D are nearly the same as in 2D models. The 3D simulations feature a number of interesting new features that are consistent with recent MMS observations, including cold beams of magnetosheath electrons that penetrate into the hotter magnetospheric inflow, the related observation of decreasing temperature in regions of increasing total density, and an effective turbulent diffusion coefficient that agrees with predictions from quasi-linear theory.

Dust Destruction in the Supernova Remnant N49: Additional WiFeS Integral Field data AnalysisRachel Quigley, Rachael Huxford, Parviz Ghavamian, Mike Dopita

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Quigley, Rachel; Ghavamian, Parviz

2018-01-01

Abstract:The supernova remnant N49, located in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), is widely researched because of its relatively young age and its location near a dense, dusty molecular cloud in the interstellar medium (ISM). N49 has entered into its radiative phase more quickly than to be expected for the age of this remnant. As a consequence, N49 is showing signs that the diffuse hot interior is starting to cool and recombine. Using existing integral field spectra of SNR N49, different Fe emission lines and other spectral lines were extracted via python tools, following a similar approach to Dopita et al. (2016). At optical wavelengths, the dependence of [OIII]5007/4363 ratio on shock velocity is evident. This diagnostic is important because the [OIII]-emitting zone in low-velocity shocks of the cooling post-shock gas is hot. As the shock velocity increases, the temperature indicated by the [OIII] parameter falls. The dependence of Fe depletion lines on shock velocity is rather weak. Using [FeIII]:[OIII] diagnostic, the properties of dust destruction and production of dust in the SNR can be determined. Using this method, line ratios for other emission lines can be compared to the MAPPINGS predictions of Allen et al. (2008) to study the range of shock speeds present in the supernova remnant, where radiative shocks are driven into interstellar gas.

Galactic Observations of Terahertz C+ (GOT C+): Inner Galaxy Survey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yorke, Harold; Langer, William; Velusamy, T.; Pineda, J. L.; Goldsmith, P. F.; Li, D.

To understand the lifecycle of the interstellar gas and star formation we need detailed information about the diffuse atomic and diffuse molecular gas cloud properties. The ionized carbon [CII] 1.9 THz fine structure line is an important tracer of the atomic gas in the diffuse regions and the interface regions of atomic gas to molecular clouds. Furthermore, C+ is a major ISM coolant and among the Galaxy's strongest far-IR emission lines, and thus controls the thermal conditions throughout large parts of the Galaxy. Until now our knowledge of interstellar gas has been limited to the diffuse atomic phase traced by HI and to the dense molecular H2 phase traced by CO. However, we are missing an important phase of the ISM, called "dark gas" in which there is no or little, HI, and mostly molecular hydrogen but with insufficient shielding of UV to allow CO to form. C+ emission and absorption lines at 1.9 THz have the potential to trace such cloud transitions and evolution. Galactic Observations of the Terahertz C+ Line (GOT C+) is a Herschel Space Observatory Open Time Key Program to study the diffuse interstellar medium by sampling [CII] 1.9 THz line emission throughout the Galactic disk. We discuss the broader perspective of this survey and the first results of GOT C+ obtained during the Science Demonstration Phase (SDP) and Priority Science Phase (PSP) of HIFI, which focus on approximately 100 lines of sight in the inner galaxy. These observations are being carried out with the Herschel Space Observatory, which is an ESA cornerstone mission, with contributions from NASA. This research was conducted at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology under contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. JLP is a Caltech-JPL Postdoctoral Associate.

Relativistic diffusive motion in random electromagnetic fields

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Haba, Z.

2011-08-01

We show that the relativistic dynamics in a Gaussian random electromagnetic field can be approximated by the relativistic diffusion of Schay and Dudley. Lorentz invariant dynamics in the proper time leads to the diffusion in the proper time. The dynamics in the laboratory time gives the diffusive transport equation corresponding to the Jüttner equilibrium at the inverse temperature β-1 = mc2. The diffusion constant is expressed by the field strength correlation function (Kubo's formula).

Nonlinear dynamics of capacitive charging and desalination by porous electrodes.

PubMed

Biesheuvel, P M; Bazant, M Z

2010-03-01

The rapid and efficient exchange of ions between porous electrodes and aqueous solutions is important in many applications, such as electrical energy storage by supercapacitors, water desalination and purification by capacitive deionization, and capacitive extraction of renewable energy from a salinity difference. Here, we present a unified mean-field theory for capacitive charging and desalination by ideally polarizable porous electrodes (without Faradaic reactions or specific adsorption of ions) valid in the limit of thin double layers (compared to typical pore dimensions). We illustrate the theory for the case of a dilute, symmetric, binary electrolyte using the Gouy-Chapman-Stern (GCS) model of the double layer, for which simple formulae are available for salt adsorption and capacitive charging of the diffuse part of the double layer. We solve the full GCS mean-field theory numerically for realistic parameters in capacitive deionization, and we derive reduced models for two limiting regimes with different time scales: (i) in the "supercapacitor regime" of small voltages and/or early times, the porous electrode acts like a transmission line, governed by a linear diffusion equation for the electrostatic potential, scaled to the RC time of a single pore, and (ii) in the "desalination regime" of large voltages and long times, the porous electrode slowly absorbs counterions, governed by coupled, nonlinear diffusion equations for the pore-averaged potential and salt concentration.

Nonlinear dynamics of capacitive charging and desalination by porous electrodes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Biesheuvel, P. M.; Bazant, M. Z.

2010-03-01

The rapid and efficient exchange of ions between porous electrodes and aqueous solutions is important in many applications, such as electrical energy storage by supercapacitors, water desalination and purification by capacitive deionization, and capacitive extraction of renewable energy from a salinity difference. Here, we present a unified mean-field theory for capacitive charging and desalination by ideally polarizable porous electrodes (without Faradaic reactions or specific adsorption of ions) valid in the limit of thin double layers (compared to typical pore dimensions). We illustrate the theory for the case of a dilute, symmetric, binary electrolyte using the Gouy-Chapman-Stern (GCS) model of the double layer, for which simple formulae are available for salt adsorption and capacitive charging of the diffuse part of the double layer. We solve the full GCS mean-field theory numerically for realistic parameters in capacitive deionization, and we derive reduced models for two limiting regimes with different time scales: (i) in the “supercapacitor regime” of small voltages and/or early times, the porous electrode acts like a transmission line, governed by a linear diffusion equation for the electrostatic potential, scaled to the RC time of a single pore, and (ii) in the “desalination regime” of large voltages and long times, the porous electrode slowly absorbs counterions, governed by coupled, nonlinear diffusion equations for the pore-averaged potential and salt concentration.

Magnetospheric Multiscale Observations of an Ion Diffusion Region With Large Guide Field at the Magnetopause: Current System, Electron Heating, and Plasma Waves

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, M.; Berchem, J.; Walker, R. J.; El-Alaoui, M.; Goldstein, M. L.; Lapenta, G.; Deng, X.; Li, J.; Le Contel, O.; Graham, D. B.; Lavraud, B.; Paterson, W. R.; Giles, B. L.; Burch, J. L.; Torbert, R. B.; Russell, C. T.; Strangeway, R. J.; Zhao, C.; Ergun, R. E.; Lindqvist, P.-A.; Marklund, G.

2018-03-01

We report Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) observations of a reconnecting current sheet in the presence of a weak density asymmetry with large guide field at the dayside magnetopause. An ion diffusion region (IDR) was detected associated with this current sheet. Parallel current dominated over the perpendicular current in the IDR, as found in previous studies of component reconnection. Electrons were preferentially heated parallel to the magnetic field within the IDR. The heating was manifested as a flattop distribution below 400 eV. Two types of electromagnetic electron whistler waves were observed within the regions where electrons were heated. One type of whistler wave was associated with nonlinear structures in E|| with amplitudes up to 20 mV/m. The other type was not associated with any structures in E||. Poynting fluxes of these two types of whistler waves were directed away from the X-line. We suggest that the nonlinear evolution of the oblique whistler waves gave rise to the solitary structures in E||. There was a perpendicular super-Alfvénic outflow jet that was carried by magnetized electrons. Intense electrostatic lower hybrid drift waves were localized in the current sheet center and were probably driven by the super-Alfvénic electron jet, the velocity of which was approximately equal to the diamagnetic drift of demagnetized ions. Our observations suggest that the guide field significantly modified the structures (Hall electromagnetic fields and current system) and wave properties in the IDR.

Estimates of magnetic flux, and energy balance in the plasma sheet during substorm expansion

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hesse, Michael; Birn, Joachim; Pulkkinen, Tuija

1996-01-01

The energy and magnetic flux budgets of the magnetotail plasma sheet during substorm expansion are investigated. The possible mechanisms that change the energy content of the closed field line region which contains all the major dissipation mechanisms of relevance during substorms, are considered. The compression of the plasma sheet mechanism and the diffusion mechanism are considered and excluded. It is concluded that the magnetic reconnection mechanism can accomplish the required transport. Data-based empirical magnetic field models are used to investigate the magnetic flux transport required to account for the observed magnetic field dipolarizations in the inner magnetosphere. It is found that the magnetic flux permeating the current sheet is typically insufficient to supply the required magnetic flux. It is concluded that no major substorm-type magnetospheric reconfiguration is possible in the absence of magnetic reconnection.

Plasma Equilibrium in a Magnetic Field with Stochastic Regions

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

J.A. Krommes and Allan H. Reiman

The nature of plasma equilibrium in a magnetic field with stochastic regions is examined. It is shown that the magnetic differential equation that determines the equilibrium Pfirsch-Schluter currents can be cast in a form similar to various nonlinear equations for a turbulent plasma, allowing application of the mathematical methods of statistical turbulence theory. An analytically tractable model, previously studied in the context of resonance-broadening theory, is applied with particular attention paid to the periodicity constraints required in toroidal configurations. It is shown that even a very weak radial diffusion of the magnetic field lines can have a significant effect onmore » the equilibrium in the neighborhood of the rational surfaces, strongly modifying the near-resonant Pfirsch-Schluter currents. Implications for the numerical calculation of 3D equilibria are discussed« less

On the resilience of helical magnetic fields to turbulent diffusion and the astrophysical implications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Blackman, Eric G.; Subramanian, Kandaswamy

2013-02-01

The extent to which large-scale magnetic fields are susceptible to turbulent diffusion is important for interpreting the need for in situ large-scale dynamos in astrophysics and for observationally inferring field strengths compared to kinetic energy. By solving coupled evolution equations for magnetic energy and magnetic helicity in a system initialized with isotropic turbulence and an arbitrarily helical large-scale field, we quantify the decay rate of the latter for a bounded or periodic system. The magnetic energy associated with the non-helical large-scale field decays at least as fast as the kinematically estimated turbulent diffusion rate, but the decay rate of the helical part depends on whether the ratio of its magnetic energy to the turbulent kinetic energy exceeds a critical value given by M1, c = (k1/k2)2, where k1 and k2 are the wavenumbers of the large and forcing scales. Turbulently diffusing helical fields to small scales while conserving magnetic helicity requires a rapid increase in total magnetic energy. As such, only when the helical field is subcritical can it so diffuse. When supercritical, it decays slowly, at a rate determined by microphysical dissipation even in the presence of macroscopic turbulence. In effect, turbulent diffusion of such a large-scale helical field produces small-scale helicity whose amplification abates further turbulent diffusion. Two curious implications are that (1) standard arguments supporting the need for in situ large-scale dynamos based on the otherwise rapid turbulent diffusion of large-scale fields require re-thinking since only the large-scale non-helical field is so diffused in a closed system. Boundary terms could however provide potential pathways for rapid change of the large-scale helical field. (2) Since M1, c ≪ 1 for k1 ≪ k2, the presence of long-lived ordered large-scale helical fields as in extragalactic jets do not guarantee that the magnetic field dominates the kinetic energy.

Integral imaging based light field display with enhanced viewing resolution using holographic diffuser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yan, Zhiqiang; Yan, Xingpeng; Jiang, Xiaoyu; Gao, Hui; Wen, Jun

2017-11-01

An integral imaging based light field display method is proposed by use of holographic diffuser, and enhanced viewing resolution is gained over conventional integral imaging systems. The holographic diffuser is fabricated with controlled diffusion characteristics, which interpolates the discrete light field of the reconstructed points to approximate the original light field. The viewing resolution can thus be improved and independent of the limitation imposed by Nyquist sampling frequency. An integral imaging system with low Nyquist sampling frequency is constructed, and reconstructed scenes of high viewing resolution using holographic diffuser are demonstrated, verifying the feasibility of the method.

On turbulent diffusion of magnetic fields and the loss of magnetic flux from stars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vainshtein, Samuel I.; Rosner, Robert

1991-01-01

The turbulent diffusion of magnetic fields in astrophysical objects, and the processes leading to magnetic field flux loss from such objects are discussed with attention to the suppression of turbulent diffusion by back-reaction of magnetic fields on small spatial scales, and on the constraint imposed on magnetic flux loss by flux-freezing within stars. Turbulent magnetic diffusion can be suppressed even for very weak large-scale magnetic fields, so that 'standard' turbulent diffusion is incapable of significant magnetic flux destruction within a star. Finally, magnetic flux loss via winds is shown to be generally ineffective, no matter what the value of the effective magnetic Reynolds number is.

Sharp-front wave of strong magnetic field diffusion in solid metal

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

Xiao, Bo; Gu, Zhuo-wei; Kan, Ming-xian

When a strong magnetic field diffuses into a solid metal, if the metal's resistance possesses an abrupt rise at some critical temperature and the magnetic field strength is above some critical value, the magnetic field will diffuse into the metal in the form of a sharp-front wave. Formulas for the critical conditions under which a sharp-front magnetic diffusion wave emerges and a formula for the wave-front velocity are derived in this work.

Evaluation of diffusivity in the anterior lobe of the pituitary gland: 3D turbo field echo with diffusion-sensitized driven-equilibrium preparation.

PubMed

Hiwatashi, A; Yoshiura, T; Togao, O; Yamashita, K; Kikuchi, K; Kobayashi, K; Ohga, M; Sonoda, S; Honda, H; Obara, M

2014-01-01

3D turbo field echo with diffusion-sensitized driven-equilibrium preparation is a non-echo-planar technique for DWI, which enables high-resolution DWI without field inhomogeneity-related image distortion. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of diffusion-sensitized driven-equilibrium turbo field echo in evaluating diffusivity in the normal pituitary gland. First, validation of diffusion-sensitized driven-equilibrium turbo field echo was attempted by comparing it with echo-planar DWI. Five healthy volunteers were imaged by using diffusion-sensitized driven-equilibrium turbo field echo and echo-planar DWI. The imaging voxel size was 1.5 × 1.5 × 1.5 mm(3) for diffusion-sensitized driven-equilibrium turbo field echo and 1.5 × 1.9 × 3.0 mm(3) for echo-planar DWI. ADCs measured by the 2 methods in 15 regions of interests (6 in gray matter and 9 in white matter) were compared by using the Pearson correlation coefficient. The ADC in the pituitary anterior lobe was then measured in 10 volunteers by using diffusion-sensitized driven-equilibrium turbo field echo, and the results were compared with those in the pons and vermis by using a paired t test. The ADCs from the 2 methods showed a strong correlation (r = 0.79; P < .0001), confirming the accuracy of the ADC measurement with the diffusion-sensitized driven-equilibrium sequence. The ADCs in the normal pituitary gland were 1.37 ± 0.13 × 10(-3) mm(2)/s, which were significantly higher than those in the pons (1.01 ± 0.24 × 10(-3) mm(2)/s) and the vermis (0.89 ± 0.25 × 10(-3) mm(2)/s, P < .01). We demonstrated that diffusion-sensitized driven-equilibrium turbo field echo is feasible in assessing ADC in the pituitary gland.

The Foggy EUV Corona and Coronal Heating by MHD Waves from Explosive Reconnection Events

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Moore, Ron L.; Cirtain, Jonathan W.; Falconer, David A.

2008-01-01

In 0.5 arcsec/pixel TRACE coronal EUV images, the corona rooted in active regions that are at the limb and are not flaring is seen to consist of (1) a complex array of discrete loops and plumes embedded in (2) a diffuse ambient component that shows no fine structure and gradually fades with height. For each of two not-flaring active regions, found that the diffuse component is (1) approximately isothermal and hydrostatic and (2) emits well over half of the total EUV luminosity of the active-region corona. Here, from a TRACE Fe XII coronal image of another not-flaring active region, the large sunspot active region AR 10652 when it was at the west limb on 30 July 2004, we separate the diffuse component from the discrete loop component by spatial filtering, and find that the diffuse component has about 60% of the total luminosity. If under much higher spatial resolution than that of TRACE (e. g., the 0.1 arcsec/pixel resolution of the Hi-C sounding-rocket experiment proposed by J. W. Cirtain et al), most of the diffuse component remains diffuse rather being resolved into very narrow loops and plumes, this will raise the possibility that the EUV corona in active regions consists of two basically different but comparably luminous components: one being the set of discrete bright loops and plumes and the other being a truly diffuse component filling the space between the discrete loops and plumes. This dichotomy would imply that there are two different but comparably powerful coronal heating mechanisms operating in active regions, one for the distinct loops and plumes and another for the diffuse component. We present a scenario in which (1) each discrete bright loop or plume is a flux tube that was recently reconnected in a burst of reconnection, and (2) the diffuse component is heated by MHD waves that are generated by these reconnection events and by other fine-scale explosive reconnection events, most of which occur in and below the base of the corona where they are seen as UV explosive events, EUV blinkers, and type II spicules. These MHD waves propagate across field lines and dissipate, heating the plasma in the field between the bright loops and plumes.

An Advection-Diffusion Concept for Solute Transport in Heterogeneous Unconsolidated Geological Deposits

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gillham, R. W.; Sudicky, E. A.; Cherry, J. A.; Frind, E. O.

1984-03-01

In layered permeable deposits with flow predominately parallel to the bedding, advection causes rapid solute transport in the more permeable layers. As the solute advances more rapidly in these layers, solute mass is continually transferred to the less permeable layers as a result of molecular diffusion due to the concentration gradient between the layers. The interlayer solute transfer causes the concentration to decline along the permeable layers at the expense of increasing the concentration in the less permeable layers, which produces strongly dispersed concentration profiles in the direction of flow. The key parameters affecting the dispersive capability of the layered system are the diffusion coefficients for the less permeable layers, the thicknesses of the layers, and the hydraulic conductivity contrasts between the layers. Because interlayer solute transfer by transverse molecular diffusion is a time-dependent process, the advection-diffusion concept predicts a rate of longitudinal spreading during the development of the dispersion process that is inconsistent with the classical Fickian dispersion model. A second consequence of the solute-storage effect offered by transverse diffusion into low-permeability layers is a rate of migration of the frontal portion of a contaminant in the permeable layers that is less than the groundwater velocity. Although various lines of evidence are presented in support of the advection-diffusion concept, more work is required to determine the range of geological materials for which it is applicable and to develop mathematical expressions that will make it useful as a predictive tool for application to field cases of contaminant migration.

Evidence for Enhanced Matrix Diffusion in Geological Environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sato, Kiminori; Fujimoto, Koichiro; Nakata, Masataka; Shikazono, Naotatsu

2013-01-01

Molecular diffusion in rock matrix, called as matrix diffusion, has been appreciated as a static process for elemental migration in geological environment that has been acknowledged in the context of geological disposal of radioactive waste. However, incomprehensible enhancement of matrix diffusion has been reported at a number of field test sites. Here, the matrix diffusion of saline water at Horonobe, Hokkaido, Japan is highlighted directly probing angstrom-scale pores on a field scale up to 1 km by positron--positronium annihilation spectroscopy. The first application of positron--positronium annihilation spectroscopy to field-scale geophysical research reveals the slight variation of angstrom-scale pores influenced by saline water diffusion with complete accuracy. We found widely interconnected 3 Å pores, which offer the pathway of saline water diffusion with the highly enhanced effective matrix diffusion coefficient of 4× 10-6 cm2 s-1. The present findings provide unambiguous evidence that the angstrom-scale pores enhance effective matrix diffusion on a field scale in geological environment.

Dynamics of a reconnection-driven runaway ion tail in a reversed field pinch plasma

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

Anderson, J. K., E-mail: jkanders@wisc.edu; Kim, J.; Bonofiglo, P. J.

2016-05-15

While reconnection-driven ion heating is common in laboratory and astrophysical plasmas, the underlying mechanisms for converting magnetic to kinetic energy remain not fully understood. Reversed field pinch discharges are often characterized by rapid ion heating during impulsive reconnection, generating an ion distribution with an enhanced bulk temperature, mainly perpendicular to magnetic field. In the Madison Symmetric Torus, a subset of discharges with the strongest reconnection events develop a very anisotropic, high energy tail parallel to magnetic field in addition to bulk perpendicular heating, which produces a fusion neutron flux orders of magnitude higher than that expected from a Maxwellian distribution.more » Here, we demonstrate that two factors in addition to a perpendicular bulk heating mechanism must be considered to explain this distribution. First, ion runaway can occur in the strong parallel-to-B electric field induced by a rapid equilibrium change triggered by reconnection-based relaxation; this effect is particularly strong on perpendicularly heated ions which experience a reduced frictional drag relative to bulk ions. Second, the confinement of ions varies dramatically as a function of velocity. Whereas thermal ions are governed by stochastic diffusion along tearing-altered field lines (and radial diffusion increases with parallel speed), sufficiently energetic ions are well confined, only weakly affected by a stochastic magnetic field. High energy ions traveling mainly in the direction of toroidal plasma current are nearly classically confined, while counter-propagating ions experience an intermediate confinement, greater than that of thermal ions but significantly less than classical expectations. The details of ion confinement tend to reinforce the asymmetric drive of the parallel electric field, resulting in a very asymmetric, anisotropic distribution.« less

Three-dimensional Diffusive Strip Method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martinez-Ruiz, Daniel; Meunier, Patrice; Duchemin, Laurent; Villermaux, Emmanuel

2016-11-01

The Diffusive Strip Method (DSM) is a near-exact numerical method developed for mixing computations at large Péclet number in two-dimensions. The method consists in following stretched material lines to compute a-posteriori the resulting scalar field is extended here to three-dimensional flows, following surfaces. We describe its 3D peculiarities, and show how it applies to a simple Taylor-Couette configuration with non-rotating boundary conditions at the top end, bottom and outer cylinder. This flow produces an elaborate, although controlled, steady 3D flow which relies on the Ekman pumping arising from the rotation of the inner cylinder is both studied experimentally, and numerically modeled. A recurrent two-cells structure appears formed by stream tubes shaped as nested tori. A scalar blob in the flow experiences a Lagrangian oscillating dynamics with stretchings and compressions, driving the mixing process, and yielding both rapidly-mixed and nearly pure-diffusive regions. A triangulated-surface method is developed to calculate the blob elongation and scalar concentration PDFs through a single variable computation along the advected blob surface, capturing the rich evolution observed in the experiments.

Major Pathways to Electron Distribution Function Formation in Regions of Diffuse Aurora

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Khazanov, George V.; Sibeck, David G.; Zesta, Eftyhia

2017-01-01

This paper discusses the major pathways of electron distribution function formation in the region of diffuse aurora. The diffuse aurora accounts for about of 75% of the auroral energy precipitating into the upper atmosphere, and its origin has been the subject of much discussion. We show that an earthward stream of precipitating electrons initially injected from the Earth's plasma sheet via wave-particle interactions degrades in the atmosphere toward lower energies and produces secondary electrons via impact ionization of the neutral atmosphere. These electrons of magnetospheric origin are then reflected back into the magnetosphere along closed dipolar magnetic field lines, leading to a series of reflections and consequent magnetospheric interactions that greatly augment the initially precipitating flux at the upper ionospheric boundary (700-800 km). To date this, systematic magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling element has not been included in auroral research models, and, as we demonstrate in this article, has a dramatic effect (200-300%) on the formation of the precipitating fluxes that result in the diffuse aurora. It is shown that wave-particle interaction processes that drive precipitating fluxes in the region of diffuse aurora from the magnetospheric altitudes are only the first step in the formation of electron precipitation at ionospheric altitudes, and they cannot be separated from the atmospheric collisional machine that redistributes and transfers their energy inside the magnetosphere-ionosphere-atmosphere coupling system.

Major pathways to electron distribution function formation in regions of diffuse aurora

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khazanov, George V.; Sibeck, David G.; Zesta, Eftyhia

2017-04-01

This paper discusses the major pathways of electron distribution function formation in the region of diffuse aurora. The diffuse aurora accounts for about of 75% of the auroral energy precipitating into the upper atmosphere, and its origin has been the subject of much discussion. We show that an earthward stream of precipitating electrons initially injected from the Earth's plasma sheet via wave-particle interactions degrades in the atmosphere toward lower energies and produces secondary electrons via impact ionization of the neutral atmosphere. These electrons of magnetospheric origin are then reflected back into the magnetosphere along closed dipolar magnetic field lines, leading to a series of reflections and consequent magnetospheric interactions that greatly augment the initially precipitating flux at the upper ionospheric boundary (700-800 km). To date this, systematic magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling element has not been included in auroral research models, and, as we demonstrate in this article, has a dramatic effect (200-300%) on the formation of the precipitating fluxes that result in the diffuse aurora. It is shown that wave-particle interaction processes that drive precipitating fluxes in the region of diffuse aurora from the magnetospheric altitudes are only the first step in the formation of electron precipitation at ionospheric altitudes, and they cannot be separated from the atmospheric "collisional machine" that redistributes and transfers their energy inside the magnetosphere-ionosphere-atmosphere coupling system.

Mucus-penetrating solid lipid nanoparticles for the treatment of cystic fibrosis: Proof of concept, challenges and pitfalls.

PubMed

Nafee, N; Forier, K; Braeckmans, K; Schneider, M

2018-03-01

Nanocarrier-mediated transmucosal drug delivery based on conventional mucoadhesive, muco-inert or mucus-penetrating nanoparticles (NPs) is a growing field especially in challenging diseases like cystic fibrosis (CF). Efficacy of such systems dictates profound investigation of particle-mucus interaction and factors governing the whole process. Although variable techniques studying particle diffusion in mucus have been introduced, standardized procedures are lacking. The study comprised different methods based on micro- and macro-displacement as well as colloidal stability and turbidimetric experiments. Artificial sputum medium (ASM), CF sputum and mucus-secreting cell line (Calu-3 air interface culture, AIC) were applied. Solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs) coated with variable hydrophilic sheath (poloxamer, Tween 80 or PVA) represented the nanocarriers under investigation. Both micro-displacement studies based on single particle tracking and macro-displacement experiments based on 3D-time laps confocal imaging revealed faster diffusion of poloxamer- > Tween- > PVA-coated SLNs. Compared to ASM, CF sputum showed not only lower diffusion rates but also remarkable discrepancies in particle-mucus diffusion rate due to sputum heterogenicity. Meanwhile, in case of Calu-3 AIC, thickness of the mucosal layer as well as density of mucus network were key determinants in the diffusion process. The points emphasized in this study highlight the road towards in vivo relevant particle-mucus interaction research. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Detailed numerical investigation of the Bohm limit in cosmic ray diffusion theory

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

Hussein, M.; Shalchi, A., E-mail: m_hussein@physics.umanitoba.ca, E-mail: andreasm4@yahoo.com

2014-04-10

A standard model in cosmic ray diffusion theory is the so-called Bohm limit in which the particle mean free path is assumed to be equal to the Larmor radius. This type of diffusion is often employed to model the propagation and acceleration of energetic particles. However, recent analytical and numerical work has shown that standard Bohm diffusion is not realistic. In the present paper, we perform test-particle simulations to explore particle diffusion in the strong turbulence limit in which the wave field is much stronger than the mean magnetic field. We show that there is indeed a lower limit ofmore » the particle mean free path along the mean field. In this limit, the mean free path is directly proportional to the unperturbed Larmor radius like in the traditional Bohm limit, but it is reduced by the factor δB/B {sub 0} where B {sub 0} is the mean field and δB the turbulent field. Although we focus on parallel diffusion, we also explore diffusion across the mean field in the strong turbulence limit.« less

Broad Redshifted Line as a Signature of Outflow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Titarchuk, Lev; Kazanas, Demos; Becker, Peter A.

2003-11-01

We formulate and solve the diffusion problem of line photon propagation in a bulk outflow from a compact object (black hole or neutron star) using a generic assumption regarding the distribution of line photons within the outflow. Thomson scattering of the line photons within the expanding flow leads to a decrease of their energy which is of first order in v/c, where v is the outflow velocity and c is the speed of light. We demonstrate that the emergent line profile is closely related to the time distribution of photons diffusing through the flow (the light curve) and consists of a broad redshifted feature. We analyzed the line profiles for the general case of outflow density distribution. We emphasize that the redshifted lines are intrinsic properties of the powerful outflow that are supposed to be in many compact objects.

Broad Red-Shifted Lines as a Signature of Outflow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kazanas, Demosthenes; Titarchuk, Lev; Becker, Peter A.

2004-07-01

We formulate and solve the diffusion problem of line photon propagation in a bulk outflow from a compact object (black hole or neutron star) using a generic assumption regarding the distribution of line photons within the outflow. Thomson scattering of the line photons within the expanding flow leads to a decrease of their energy which is of first order in v/c, where v is the outflow velocity and c the speed of light. We demonstrate that the emergent line profile is closely related to the time distribution of photons diffusing through the flow (the light curve) and consists of a broad redshifted feature. We analyzed the line profiles for the general case of outflow density distribution. We emphasize that the redshifted lines are intrinsic properties of the powerful outflow that are supposed to be in many compact objects.

Broad Red-Shifted Lines as a Signature of Outflows

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Titarchuck, Lev; Kazanas, Demos; Becker, Peter A.

2006-02-01

We formulate and solve the diffusion problem of line photon propagation in a bulk outflow from a compact object (black hole or neutron star) using a generic assumption regarding the distribution of line photons within the outflow. Thomson scattering of the line photons within the expanding flow leads to a decrease of their energy which is of first order in υ/c, where υ the outflow velocity and c is the speed of light. We demonstrate that the emergent line profile is closely related to the time distribution of photons diffusing through the flow (the light curve) and consists of a broad redshifted feature. We analyzed the line profiles for the general case of outflow density distribution. We emphasize that the redshifted lines are intrinsic properties of the powerful outflow that are supposed to be in many compact objects.

MMS Observations of Reconnection at Dayside Magnetopause Crossings During Transitions of the Solar Wind to Sub-Alfvenic Flow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Farrugia, C. J.; Lugaz, N.; Alm, L.; Vasquez, B. J.; Argall, M. R.; Kucharek, H.; Matsui, H.; Torbert, R. B.; Lavraud, B.; Le Contel, O.; Shuster, J. R.; Burch, J. L.; Khotyaintsev, Y. V.; Giles, B. L.; Fuselier, S. A.; Gershman, D. J.; Ergun, R.; Eastwood, J. P.; Cohen, I. J.; Dorelli, J.; Lindqvist, P. A.; Strangeway, R. J.; Russell, C. T.; Marklund, G. T.; Paulson, K.; Petrinec, S.; Phan, T.; Pollock, C.

2017-12-01

We present MMS) observations during two dayside magnetopause crossingsunder hitherto unexamined conditions: (i) when the bow shock is weakening and the solar wind transitioning to sub-Alfvenic flow, and (ii) when it is reforming. Interplanetary conditions consist of a magnetic cloud with (i) a strong B ( 20 nT) pointing south, and (ii) a density profile with episodic decreases to values of 0.3 /cc followed by moderate recovery. During the crossings he magnetosheath magnetic field is stronger than the magnetosphere field by a factor of 2.2. As a result, during the outbound crossing through the ion diffusion region, MMS observed an inversion of relative positions of the X and stagnation (S) lines from that typically the case: the S line was closer to the magnetosheath side. The S-line appears in the form of a slow expansion fan near which most of the energy dissipation is taking place. While in the magnetosphere between the crossings, MMS observed strong field and flow perturbations, which we argue to be due kinetic Alfvén waves.During the reconnection interval, whistler mode waves generated by an electron temperature anisotropy (Tperp>Tpar) were observed. Another aim of the paper isto distinguish bow shock-induced field and flow perturbations from reconnection-related signatures.The high resolution MMS data together with 2D hybrid simulations of bow shock dynamics helped us to distinguish between the two sources. We show examples of bow shock-related effects (such as heating) and reconnection effects such as accelerated flows satisfying the Walen relation.

Numerical study of transition to supersonic flows in the edge plasma

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

Goswami, Rajiv, E-mail: rajiv@ipr.res.in; Artaud, Jean-François; Imbeaux, Frédéric

The plasma scrape-off layer (SOL) in a tokamak is characterized by ion flow down a long narrow flux tube terminating on a solid surface. The ion flow velocity along a magnetic field line can be equal to or greater than sonic at the entrance of a Debye sheath or upstream in the presheath. This paper presents a numerical study of the transition between subsonic and supersonics flows. A quasineutral one-dimensional (1D) fluid code has been used for modeling of plasma transport in the SOL along magnetic field lines, both in steady state and under transient conditions. The model uses coupledmore » equations for continuity, momentum, and energy balance with ionization, radiation, charge exchange, and recombination processes. The recycled neutrals are described in the diffusion approximation. Standard Bohm sheath criterion is used as boundary conditions at the material surface. Three conditions conducive for the generation of supersonic flows in SOL plasmas have been explored. It is found that in steady state high (attached) and low (detached) divertor temperatures cases, the role of particle, momentum, and energy loss is critical. For attached case, the appearance of shock waves in the divertor region if the incoming plasma flow is supersonic and its effect on impurity retention is presented. In the third case, plasma expansion along the magnetic field can yield time-dependent supersonic solutions in the quasineutral rarefaction wave. Such situations can arise in the parallel transport of intermittent structures such as blobs and edge localized mode filaments along field lines.« less

Communication: Diffusion constant in supercooled water as the Widom line is crossed in no man's land

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ni, Yicun; Hestand, Nicholas J.; Skinner, J. L.

2018-05-01

According to the liquid-liquid critical point (LLCP) hypothesis, there are two distinct phases of supercooled liquid water, namely, high-density liquid and low-density liquid, separated by a coexistence line that terminates in an LLCP. If the LLCP is real, it is located within No Man's Land (NML), the region of the metastable phase diagram that is difficult to access using conventional experimental techniques due to rapid homogeneous nucleation to the crystal. However, a recent ingenious experiment has enabled measurement of the diffusion constant deep inside NML. In the current communication, these recent measurements are compared, with good agreement, to the diffusion constant of E3B3 water, a classical water model that explicitly includes three-body interactions. The behavior of the diffusion constant as the system crosses the Widom line (the extension of the liquid-liquid coexistence line into the one-phase region) is analyzed to derive information about the presence and location of the LLCP. Calculations over a wide range of temperatures and pressures show that the new experimental measurements are consistent with an LLCP having a critical pressure of over 0.6 kbar.

The temporal evolution of 3-m striations in the modified ionosphere

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Coster, A. J.; Djuth, F. T.; Jost, R. J.; Gordon, W. E.

1985-01-01

Experiments were performed at Arecibo, Puerto Rico, to investigate the evolution times of 3-m field-aligned striations produced in the ionosphere by powerful high-frequency (HF) radio waves. The results of this investigation are now summarized. First, the striations' rise times are dependent on the HF electric field. The E region data suggest that this dependence is nonlinear. Second, the threshold value of the HF electric field required to produce detectable striations was experimentally determined. At threshold the component of the HF electric field perpendicular to the geomagnetic field is calculated to be 0.09 V/m in the F region and 0.37 V/m in the E region. Third, both the E and the F region data verify theoretical predictions that the striations' decay times are directly proportional to the electron diffusion across B. Finally, a one-to-one correspondence between the growth of the 3-m striations and the decline of the HF-enhanced plasma line during overshoot is sometimes observed.

Magnetic polarons in antiferromagnetic CaMnO3-x (x<0.01) probed by O17 NMR

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Trokiner, A.; Verkhovskii, S.; Yakubovskii, A.; Gerashenko, A.; Monod, P.; Kumagai, K.; Mikhalev, K.; Buzlukov, A.; Litvinova, Z.; Gorbenko, O.; Kaul, A.; Kartavtzeva, M.

2009-06-01

We study with O17 NMR and bulk magnetization a lightly electron doped CaMnO3-x (x<0.01) polycrystalline sample in the G -type antiferromagnetic state. The O17 NMR spectra show two lines with very different intensities corresponding to oxygen sites with very different local magnetic environments. The more intense unshifted line is due to the antiferromagnetic (AF) matrix. The thermal dependence of the magnetic moment of the AF sublattice deduced from the O17 linewidth is typical of insulating three-dimensional Heisenberg antiferromagnets. The less intense, strongly shifted line directly evidences the existence of ferromagnetic (FM) domains embedded in the AF spin lattice. The extremely narrow line in zero magnetic field indicates a nearly perfect alignment of the manganese spins in the FM domains which also display an unusually weak temperature dependence of their magnetic moment. We show that these FM entities start to move above 40 K in a slow-diffusion regime. These static and dynamic properties bear a strong similarity with those of a small size self-trapped magnetic polaron.

Charged Particle Diffusion in Isotropic Random Static Magnetic Fields

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Subedi, P.; Sonsrettee, W.; Matthaeus, W. H.; Ruffolo, D. J.; Wan, M.; Montgomery, D.

2013-12-01

Study of the transport and diffusion of charged particles in a turbulent magnetic field remains a subject of considerable interest. Research has most frequently concentrated on determining the diffusion coefficient in the presence of a mean magnetic field. Here we consider Diffusion of charged particles in fully three dimensional statistically isotropic magnetic field turbulence with no mean field which is pertinent to many astrophysical situations. We classify different regions of particle energy depending upon the ratio of Larmor radius of the charged particle to the characteristic outer length scale of turbulence. We propose three different theoretical models to calculate the diffusion coefficient each applicable to a distinct range of particle energies. The theoretical results are compared with those from computer simulations, showing very good agreement.

Non-kinematic Flux-transport Dynamos Including the Effects of Diffusivity Quenching

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

Ichimura, Chiaki; Yokoyama, Takaaki

2017-04-10

Turbulent magnetic diffusivity is quenched when strong magnetic fields suppress turbulent motion in a phenomenon known as diffusivity quenching. Diffusivity quenching can provide a mechanism for amplifying magnetic field and influencing global velocity fields through Lorentz force feedback. To investigate this effect, we conducted mean field flux-transport dynamo simulations that included the effects of diffusivity quenching in a non-kinematic regime. We found that toroidal magnetic field strength is amplified by up to approximately 1.5 times in the convection zone as a result of diffusivity quenching. This amplification is much weaker than that in kinematic cases as a result of Lorentzmore » force feedback on the system’s differential rotation. While amplified toroidal fields lead to the suppression of equatorward meridional flow locally near the base of the convection zone, large-scale equatorward transport of magnetic flux via meridional flow, which is the essential process of the flux-transport dynamo, is sustainable in our calculations.« less

Theoretical study of fabrication of line-and-space patterns with 7 nm quarter-pitch using electron beam lithography with chemically amplified resist process: III. Post exposure baking on quartz substrates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kozawa, Takahiro

2015-09-01

Electron beam (EB) lithography is a key technology for the fabrication of photomasks for ArF immersion and extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography and molds for nanoimprint lithography. In this study, the temporal change in the chemical gradient of line-and-space patterns with a 7 nm quarter-pitch (7 nm space width and 21 nm line width) was calculated until it became constant, independently of postexposure baking (PEB) time, to clarify the feasibility of single nano patterning on quartz substrates using EB lithography with chemically amplified resist processes. When the quencher diffusion constant is the same as the acid diffusion constant, the maximum chemical gradient of the line-and-space pattern with a 7 nm quarter-pitch did not differ much from that with a 14 nm half-pitch under the condition described above. Also, from the viewpoint of process control, a low quencher diffusion constant is considered to be preferable for the fabrication of line-and-space patterns with a 7 nm quarter-pitch on quartz substrates.

An introduction to the water recovery x-ray rocket

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miles, Drew M.; McEntaffer, Randall L.; Schultz, Ted B.; Donovan, Benjamin D.; Tutt, James H.; Yastishock, Daniel; Steiner, Tyler; Hillman, Christopher R.; McCoy, Jake A.; Wages, Mitchell; Hull, Sam; Falcone, Abe; Burrows, David N.; Chattopadhyay, Tanmoy; Anderson, Tyler; McQuaide, Maria

2017-08-01

The Water Recovery X-ray Rocket (WRXR) is a sounding rocket payload that will launch from the Kwajalein Atoll in April 2018 and seeks to be the first astrophysics sounding rocket payload to be water recovered by NASA. WRXR's primary instrument is a grating spectrometer that consists of a mechanical collimator, X-ray reflection gratings, grazing-incidence mirrors, and a hybrid CMOS detector. The instrument will obtain a spectrum of the diffuse soft X-ray emission from the northern part of the Vela supernova remnant and is optimized for 3rd and 4th order OVII emission. Utilizing a field of view of 3.25° × 3.25° and resolving power of λ/δλ ≍40-50 in the lines of interest, the WRXR spectrometer aims to achieve the most highly-resolved spectrum of Vela's diffuse soft X-ray emission. This paper presents introductions to the payload and the science target.

Classification of road sign type using mobile stereo vision

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McLoughlin, Simon D.; Deegan, Catherine; Fitzgerald, Conor; Markham, Charles

2005-06-01

This paper presents a portable mobile stereo vision system designed for the assessment of road signage and delineation (lines and reflective pavement markers or "cat's eyes"). This novel system allows both geometric and photometric measurements to be made on objects in a scene. Global Positioning System technology provides important location data for any measurements made. Using the system it has been shown that road signs can be classfied by nature of their reflectivity. This is achieved by examining the changes in the reflected light intensity with changes in range (facilitated by stereo vision). Signs assessed include those made from retro-reflective materials, those made from diffuse reflective materials and those made from diffuse reflective matrials with local illumination. Field-testing results demonstrate the systems ability to classify objects in the scene based on their reflective properties. The paper includes a discussion of a physical model that supports the experimental data.

On the Formation of Filament Channels

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Y.-M.; Muglach, K.

2007-09-01

From the Hα archive of the Big Bear Solar Observatory (BBSO) we have selected three examples showing fibril structures that change their orientation, over 1 or 2 days, from nearly perpendicular to nearly parallel to the polarity inversion line (PIL). In one case, the filament channel forms within a single decaying bipole; in the other two cases, it forms along the boundary between an active region and its surroundings. Comparing the Hα filtergrams with magnetograms from the Michelson Doppler Imager (MDI), we find that the fibrils become aligned with the PIL as supergranular convection brings opposite-polarity magnetic flux together; shearing motions along the PIL, when present, act mainly to accelerate the rate of diffusive annihilation. We conclude that the reorientation of the fibrils is due to the cancellation and submergence of the transverse field component (B⊥), leaving behind the preexisting axial field component (B∥). The latter may have been generated by photospheric differential rotation over longer timescales, or else was already present when the flux emerged. The filament channel forms slowly if B∥/B⊥ is initially small, as along the internal neutral line of a newly emerged bipole, but may appear within hours if this ratio is initially substantial, as where the dipole-like loops of an active region curve around its periphery. In all of our examples, filaments form within a day or so after the fibrils become aligned with the PIL, while barbs appear at a later stage, as flux elements continue to diffuse across the PIL and cancel with the majority-polarity flux on the other side.

On the Formation Mechanism of A Long-lived Polar Crown Cavity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Karna, Nishu; Pesnell, William D.; Zhang, Jie

2016-10-01

We report the study of the longest-lived polar crown cavity of Solar Cycle 24th observed in the year 2013 and propose a physical mechanism to explain the sustained existence. We used high temporal and spatial resolution observations from the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) and the Helioseismic Magnetic Imager (HMI) instruments on board the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) to explore the structure and evolution. We examined the circumpolar cavity in great detail from March 21, 2013, till October 31, 2013, while it existed for more than one year. Our study suggests two necessary conditions to form a long stable circumpolar cavity or any polar crown cavity. First, the underlying polarity inversion line (PIL) of the circumpolar cavity is formed between the trailing part of dozens of decayed active regions distributed in different longitudes and the unipolar magnetic field in the polar coronal hole. Second, the long life of the cavity is sustained by the continuing flux cancellation along the polarity inversion line. The flux is persistently transported toward the polar region through surface meridional flow and diffusion, which also leads to the shrinking of the polar coronal hole. Comparing with the existing theory of the formation of polarity inversion lines, we introduce a new category named as "Diffused trailing flux and polar coronal hole interaction region" to explain the polar crown cavity. The existence of such region also helps explain the process of polar reversal, which provides insight into the solar cycle.

Exact calculations of survival probability for diffusion on growing lines, disks, and spheres: The role of dimension.

PubMed

Simpson, Matthew J; Baker, Ruth E

2015-09-07

Unlike standard applications of transport theory, the transport of molecules and cells during embryonic development often takes place within growing multidimensional tissues. In this work, we consider a model of diffusion on uniformly growing lines, disks, and spheres. An exact solution of the partial differential equation governing the diffusion of a population of individuals on the growing domain is derived. Using this solution, we study the survival probability, S(t). For the standard non-growing case with an absorbing boundary, we observe that S(t) decays to zero in the long time limit. In contrast, when the domain grows linearly or exponentially with time, we show that S(t) decays to a constant, positive value, indicating that a proportion of the diffusing substance remains on the growing domain indefinitely. Comparing S(t) for diffusion on lines, disks, and spheres indicates that there are minimal differences in S(t) in the limit of zero growth and minimal differences in S(t) in the limit of fast growth. In contrast, for intermediate growth rates, we observe modest differences in S(t) between different geometries. These differences can be quantified by evaluating the exact expressions derived and presented here.

Feasibility study for detecting copper contaminants in transformer insulation using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aparna, N.; Vasa, Nilesh J.; Sarathi, R.; Rajan, J. Sundara

2014-10-01

In recent times, copper sulphide (Cu2S) diffusion in the transformer insulation is a major problem reducing the life of transformers. It is therefore essential to identify a simple methodology to understand the diffusion of Cu2S into the solid insulation [oil impregnated pressboard (OIP)]. In the present work, laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) was adopted to study the diffusion of Cu2S into the pressboard insulation and to determine the depth of diffusion. The diffusion of Cu2S in pressboard was confirmed by electrical discharge studies. In general, flashover voltage and increase in ageing duration of pressboard insulation/Cu concentration had inverse relationship. The characteristic emission lines were also studied through optical emission spectroscopy. Based on LIBS studies with Cu powder dispersed pressboard samples, Cu I emission lines were found to be resolvable up to a lowest concentration of 5 μg/cm2. The LIBS intensity ratio of Cu I-Ca II emission lines were found to increase with increase in the ageing duration of the OIP sample. LIBS studies with OIP samples showed an increase in the optical emission lifetime. LIBS results were in agreement with the electrical discharge studies.

Field-scale effective matrix diffusion coefficient for fractured rock: results from literature survey.

PubMed

Zhou, Quanlin; Liu, Hui-Hai; Molz, Fred J; Zhang, Yingqi; Bodvarsson, Gudmundur S

2007-08-15

Matrix diffusion is an important mechanism for solute transport in fractured rock. We recently conducted a literature survey on the effective matrix diffusion coefficient, D(m)(e), a key parameter for describing matrix diffusion processes at the field scale. Forty field tracer tests at 15 fractured geologic sites were surveyed and selected for the study, based on data availability and quality. Field-scale D(m)(e) values were calculated, either directly using data reported in the literature, or by reanalyzing the corresponding field tracer tests. The reanalysis was conducted for the selected tracer tests using analytic or semi-analytic solutions for tracer transport in linear, radial, or interwell flow fields. Surveyed data show that the scale factor of the effective matrix diffusion coefficient (defined as the ratio of D(m)(e) to the lab-scale matrix diffusion coefficient, D(m), of the same tracer) is generally larger than one, indicating that the effective matrix diffusion coefficient in the field is comparatively larger than the matrix diffusion coefficient at the rock-core scale. This larger value can be attributed to the many mass-transfer processes at different scales in naturally heterogeneous, fractured rock systems. Furthermore, we observed a moderate, on average trend toward systematic increase in the scale factor with observation scale. This trend suggests that the effective matrix diffusion coefficient is likely to be statistically scale-dependent. The scale-factor value ranges from 0.5 to 884 for observation scales from 5 to 2000 m. At a given scale, the scale factor varies by two orders of magnitude, reflecting the influence of differing degrees of fractured rock heterogeneity at different geologic sites. In addition, the surveyed data indicate that field-scale longitudinal dispersivity generally increases with observation scale, which is consistent with previous studies. The scale-dependent field-scale matrix diffusion coefficient (and dispersivity) may have significant implications for assessing long-term, large-scale radionuclide and contaminant transport events in fractured rock, both for nuclear waste disposal and contaminant remediation.

The generation of magnetic fields in astrophysical bodies. X - Magnetic buoyancy and the solar dynamo

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Parker, E. N.

1975-01-01

The magnetic field appearing as bipolar magnetic regions at the surface of the sun represents the lines of force from a general azimuthal field of the order of 100 gauss somewhere beneath the surface. The amplification time, as a consequence of the nonuniform rotation, is of the order of 10 years. But magnetic buoyancy brings the azimuthal field up through much of the convective zone in a time rather less than 10 years, raising the question of where the azimuthal field can be retained long enough to be amplified. We show that magnetic fields can be retained for long periods of time in the stable radiative region beneath the convective zone, but unfortunately the solar dynamo cannot function there because turbulent diffusion is an essential part of its operation. The only possible conclusion appears to be that the dynamo operates principally in the very lowest levels of the convective zone at depths of 150,000 km or more, where the gas density is 0.1 g/cu cm, and the fields are limited to 50 gauss.

The CO Transition from Diffuse Molecular Gas to Dense Clouds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rice, Johnathan S.; Federman, Steven

2017-06-01

The atomic to molecular transitions occurring in diffuse interstellar gas surrounding molecular clouds are affected by the local physical conditions (density and temperature) and the radiation field penetrating the material. Our optical observations of CH, CH^{+}, and CN absorption from McDonald Observatory and the European Southern Observatory are useful tracers of this gas and provide the velocity structure needed for analyzing lower resolution ultraviolet observations of CO and H_{2} absorption from Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer. We explore the changing environment between diffuse and dense gas by using the column densities and excitation temperatures from CO and H_{2} to determine the gas density. The resulting gas densities from this method are compared to densities inferred from other methods such as C_{2} and CN chemistry. The densities allow us to interpret the trends from the combined set of tracers. Groupings of sight lines, such as those toward h and χ Persei or Chameleon provide a chance for further characterization of the environment. The Chameleon region in particular helps illuminate CO-dark gas, which is not associated with emission from H I at 21 cm or from CO at 2.6 mm. Expanding this analysis to include emission data from the GOT C+ survey allows the further characterization of neutral diffuse gas, including CO-dark gas.

Diffusion of external magnetic fields into the cone-in-shell target in the fast ignition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sunahara, Atsushi; Morita, Hiroki; Johzaki, Tomoyuki; Nagatomo, Hideo; Fujioka, Shinsuke; Hassanein, Ahmed; Firex Project Team

2017-10-01

We simulated the diffusion of externally applied magnetic fields into cone-in-shell target in the fast ignition. Recently, in the fast ignition scheme, the externally magnetic fields up to kilo-Tesla is used to guide fast electrons to the high-dense imploded core. In order to study the profile of the magnetic field, we have developed 2D cylindrical Maxwell equation solver with Ohm's law, and carried out simulations of diffusion of externally applied magnetic fields into a cone-in-shell target. We estimated the conductivity of the cone and shell target based on the assumption of Saha-ionization equilibrium. Also, we calculated the temporal evolution of the target temperature heated by the eddy current driven by temporal variation of magnetic fields, based on the accurate equation of state. Both, the diffusion of magnetic field and the increase of target temperature interact with each other. We present our results of temporal evolution of the magnetic field and its diffusion into the cone and shell target.

Relative emission-line strengths for the 146 and 63 micron transitions in O I and a comparison with far-infrared observations of photodissociation regions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Keenan, F. P.; Conlon, E. S.; Rubin, R. H.

1994-10-01

Theoretical O I density-sensitive emission-line ratios R = I(2s2)(2p4)(3P0)-((2s2)(2p4)(3P1))/I((2s2)(2p4)(3P1)-(2s2)(2p4)(3P2)) = I(146 micrometers)/I(63 micrometers) are presented for a range of temperatures (T = 100-10,000 K), neutral hydrogen densities (NH = 10-2 to 107/cu cm) and radiation fields (G0 = 1-106) applicable to both photodissociation regions (PDRs) and H II regions and the diffuse ionized medium (DIM). The observed values of R for several PDRs, measured from far-infrared spectra obtained with the Kuiper Airborne Observatory (KAO), imply hydrogen densities which are in good agreement with those determined using other methods. This provides observational support for the validity of the theoretical O I line ratios, and hence the atomic data used in their derivation.

Local Versus Long-Range Diffusion Effects of Photoexcited States on Radiative Recombination in Organic-Inorganic Lead Halide Perovskites.

PubMed

Vrućinić, Milan; Matthiesen, Clemens; Sadhanala, Aditya; Divitini, Giorgio; Cacovich, Stefania; Dutton, Sian E; Ducati, Caterina; Atatüre, Mete; Snaith, Henry; Friend, Richard H; Sirringhaus, Henning; Deschler, Felix

2015-09-01

Radiative recombination in thin films of the archetypical, high-performing perovskites CH 3 NH 3 PbBr 3 and CH 3 NH 3 PbI 3 shows localized regions of increased emission with dimensions ≈500 nm. Maps of the spectral emission line shape show narrower emission lines in high emission regions, which can be attributed to increased order. Excited states do not diffuse out of high emission regions before they decay, but are decoupled from nearby regions, either by slow diffusion rates or energetic barriers.

Density PDFs of diffuse gas in the Milky Way

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Berkhuijsen, E. M.; Fletcher, A.

2012-09-01

The probability distribution functions (PDFs) of the average densities of the diffuse ionized gas (DIG) and the diffuse atomic gas are close to lognormal, especially when lines of sight at |b| < 5∘ and |b|≥ 5∘ are considered separately. Our results provide strong support for the existence of a lognormal density PDF in the diffuse ISM, consistent with a turbulent origin of density structure in the diffuse gas.

GOT C+: A Herschel Space Observatory Key Program to Study the Diffuse ISM

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Langer, William; Velusamy, T.; Goldsmith, P. F.; Li, D.; Pineda, J.; Yorke, H.

2010-01-01

Star formation activity is regulated by pressures in the interstellar medium, which in turn depend on heating and cooling rates, modulated by the gravitational potential, and shock and turbulent pressures. To understand these processes we need information about the diffuse atomic and diffuse molecular gas cloud properties. The ionized carbon CII fine structure line at 1.9 THz is an important tracer of the atomic gas in the diffuse regions and the atomic to molecular cloud transformation. Furthermore, C+ is a major ISM coolant, the Galaxy's strongest emission line, with a total luminosity about a 1000 times that of CO J=1-0. Galactic Observations of the Terahertz C+ Line (GOT C+) is a Herschel Space Observatory Open Time Key Program to study the diffuse interstellar medium by sampling CII line emission throughout the Galactic disk. GOT C+ will obtain high spectral resolution CII using the Heterodyne Instrument for the Far Infrared (HIFI) instrument. It employees deep integrations, wide velocity coverage (350 km s-1) with 0.22 km s-1 resolution, and systematic sparse sampling of the Galactic disk together with observations of selected targets, of over 900 lines of sight. It will be a resource of the atomic gas properties, in the (a) Galactic disk, (b) Galaxy's central 300pc, (c) Galactic warp, (d) high latitude HI clouds, and (e) Photon Dominated Regions (PDRs). Along with HI, CO isotopes, and CI spectra, our C+ data will provide the astronomical community with a rich statistical database of diffuse cloud properties, for understanding the role of barometric pressure and turbulence in cloud evolution in the Galactic ISM and, by extension, other galaxies. The GOT C+ project will provide a template for future even larger-scale CII surveys. This research was conducted at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology and is supported by a NASA grant.

GOT C+: A Herschel Space Observatory Key Program to Study the Diffuse ISM

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Langer, William; Goldsmith, P. F.; Li, D.; Velusamy, T.; Yorke, H. W.

2009-01-01

Galactic Observations of the Terahertz C+ Line (GOT C+) is a Herschel Space Observatory (HSO) Key Program to study the diffuse interstellar medium by sampling the C+ fine structure line emission at 1.9 THz (158 microns) in the Galactic disk. Star formation activity is regulated by pressures in the interstellar medium, which in turn depend on heating and cooling rates, modulated by the gravitational potential, and shock and turbulent pressures. To understand these processes we need information about properties of the diffuse atomic and diffuse molecular gas clouds. The 158-micron CII line is an important tracer of diffuse regions, and C+ is a major ISM coolant, the Galaxy's strongest emission line virtually unobscured by dust, with a total luminosity about a 1000 times that of CO J=1-0. The GOT C+ program will obtain high spectral resolution CII spectra using the Heterodyne Instrument for the Far Infrared (HIFI) receiver. It will employ deep integrations, wide velocity coverage (350 km/s) with 0.22 km/s resolution, and systematic sparse sampling of the Galactic disk together with observations of selected targets, of over 900 lines of sight. It will be a resource to determine the properties of the atomic gas, in the (a) overall Galactic disk, (b) central 300pc of the Galactic center, (c) Galactic warp, (d) high latitude HI clouds, and (e) Photon Dominated Regions (PDRs). These spectra will provide the astronomical community with a rich statistical database of diffuse cloud properties, especially those of the atomic gas, sampled throughout the Galaxy for understanding the role of barometric pressure and turbulence in cloud evolution in the Galactic ISM and, by extension, other galaxies. The GOT C+ project will provide a template for future even larger-scale Galactic C+ surveys. This research was conducted at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and is supported by a NASA grant.

A Holistic Perspective on the Dynamics of G035.39-00.33: The Interplay between Gas and Magnetic Fields

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Tie; Li, Pak Shing; Juvela, Mika; Kim, Kee-Tae; Evans, Neal J., II; Di Francesco, James; Liu, Sheng-Yuan; Yuan, Jinghua; Tatematsu, Ken’ichi; Zhang, Qizhou; Ward-Thompson, Derek; Fuller, Gary; Goldsmith, Paul F.; Koch, P. M.; Sanhueza, Patricio; Ristorcelli, I.; Kang, Sung-ju; Chen, Huei-Ru; Hirano, N.; Wu, Yuefang; Sokolov, Vlas; Lee, Chang Won; White, Glenn J.; Wang, Ke; Eden, David; Li, Di; Thompson, Mark; Pattle, Kate M.; Soam, Archana; Nasedkin, Evert; Kim, Jongsoo; Kim, Gwanjeong; Lai, Shih-Ping; Park, Geumsook; Qiu, Keping; Zhang, Chuan-Peng; Alina, Dana; Eswaraiah, Chakali; Falgarone, Edith; Fich, Michel; Greaves, Jane; Gu, Q.-L.; Kwon, Woojin; Li, Hua-bai; Malinen, Johanna; Montier, Ludovic; Parsons, Harriet; Qin, Sheng-Li; Rawlings, Mark G.; Ren, Zhi-Yuan; Tang, Mengyao; Tang, Y.-W.; Toth, L. V.; Wang, Jiawei; Wouterloot, Jan; Yi, H.-W.; Zhang, H.-W.

2018-06-01

Magnetic field plays a crucial role in shaping molecular clouds and regulating star formation, yet the complete information on the magnetic field is not well constrained owing to the limitations in observations. We study the magnetic field in the massive infrared dark cloud G035.39-00.33 from dust continuum polarization observations at 850 μm with SCUBA-2/POL-2 at JCMT for the first time. The magnetic field tends to be perpendicular to the densest part of the main filament (F M), whereas it has a less defined relative orientation in the rest of the structure, where it tends to be parallel to some diffuse regions. A mean plane-of-the-sky magnetic field strength of ∼50 μG for F M is obtained using the Davis–Chandrasekhar–Fermi method. Based on 13CO (1–0) line observations, we suggest a formation scenario of F M due to large-scale (∼10 pc) cloud–cloud collision. Using additional NH3 line data, we estimate that F M will be gravitationally unstable if it is only supported by thermal pressure and turbulence. The northern part of F M, however, can be stabilized by a modest additional support from the local magnetic field. The middle and southern parts of F M are likely unstable even if the magnetic field support is taken into account. We claim that the clumps in F M may be supported by turbulence and magnetic fields against gravitational collapse. Finally, we identified for the first time a massive (∼200 M ⊙), collapsing starless clump candidate, “c8,” in G035.39-00.33. The magnetic field surrounding “c8” is likely pinched, hinting at an accretion flow along the filament.

Tungsten Contact and Line Resistance Reduction with Advanced Pulsed Nucleation Layer and Low Resistivity Tungsten Treatment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chandrashekar, Anand; Chen, Feng; Lin, Jasmine; Humayun, Raashina; Wongsenakhum, Panya; Chang, Sean; Danek, Michal; Itou, Takamasa; Nakayama, Tomoo; Kariya, Atsushi; Kawaguchi, Masazumi; Hizume, Shunichi

2010-09-01

This paper describes electrical testing results of new tungsten chemical vapor deposition (CVD-W) process concepts that were developed to address the W contact and bitline scaling issues on 55 nm node devices. Contact resistance (Rc) measurements in complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) devices indicate that the new CVD-W process for sub-32 nm and beyond - consisting of an advanced pulsed nucleation layer (PNL) combined with low resistivity tungsten (LRW) initiation - produces a 20-30% drop in Rc for diffused NiSi contacts. From cross-sectional bright field and dark field transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis, such Rc improvement can be attributed to improved plugfill and larger in-feature W grain size with the advanced PNL+LRW process. More experiments that measured contact resistance for different feature sizes point to favorable Rc scaling with the advanced PNL+LRW process. Finally, 40% improvement in line resistance was observed with this process as tested on 55 nm embedded dynamic random access memory (DRAM) devices, confirming that the advanced PNL+LRW process can be an effective metallization solution for sub-32 nm devices.

Steady-state groundwater recharge in trapezoidal-shaped aquifers: A semi-analytical approach based on variational calculus

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mahdavi, Ali; Seyyedian, Hamid

2014-05-01

This study presents a semi-analytical solution for steady groundwater flow in trapezoidal-shaped aquifers in response to an areal diffusive recharge. The aquifer is homogeneous, anisotropic and interacts with four surrounding streams of constant-head. Flow field in this laterally bounded aquifer-system is efficiently constructed by means of variational calculus. This is accomplished by minimizing a properly defined penalty function for the associated boundary value problem. Simple yet demonstrative scenarios are defined to investigate anisotropy effects on the water table variation. Qualitative examination of the resulting equipotential contour maps and velocity vector field illustrates the validity of the method, especially in the vicinity of boundary lines. Extension to the case of triangular-shaped aquifer with or without an impervious boundary line is also demonstrated through a hypothetical example problem. The present solution benefits from an extremely simple mathematical expression and exhibits strictly close agreement with the numerical results obtained from Modflow. Overall, the solution may be used to conduct sensitivity analysis on various hydrogeological parameters that affect water table variation in aquifers defined in trapezoidal or triangular-shaped domains.

New technique for excitation of bulk and surface spin waves in ferromagnets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bogacz, S. A.; Ketterson, J. B.

1985-09-01

A meander-line magnetic transducer is discussed in the context of bulk and surface spin-wave generation in ferromagnets. The magnetic field created by the transducer was calculated in closed analytic form for this model. The linear response of the ferromagnet to the inhomogenous surface disturbance of arbitrary ω and k was obtained as a self-consistent solution to the Bloch equation of motion and the Maxwell equations, subject to appropriate boundary condition. In particular, the energy flux through the boundary displays a sharp resonantlike absorption maximum concentrated at the frequency of the magnetostatic Damon-Eshbach (DE) surface mode; furthermore, the energy transfer spectrum is cut off abruptly below the threshold frequency of the bulk spin waves. The application of the meander line to the spin diffusion problem in NMR is also discussed.

Perspectives on magnetic reconnection

PubMed Central

Yamada, Masaaki

2016-01-01

Magnetic reconnection is a topological rearrangement of magnetic field that occurs on time scales much faster than the global magnetic diffusion time. Since the field lines break on microscopic scales but energy is stored and the field is driven on macroscopic scales, reconnection is an inherently multi-scale process that often involves both magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) and kinetic phenomena. In this article, we begin with the MHD point of view and then describe the dynamics and energetics of reconnection using a two-fluid formulation. We also focus on the respective roles of global and local processes and how they are coupled. We conclude that the triggers for reconnection are mostly global, that the key energy conversion and dissipation processes are either local or global, and that the presence of a continuum of scales coupled from microscopic to macroscopic may be the most likely path to fast reconnection. PMID:28119547

Perspectives on magnetic reconnection

DOE PAGES

Zweibel, Ellen G.; Yamada, Masaaki

2016-12-07

Magnetic reconnection is a topological rearrangement of magnetic field that occurs on time scales much faster than the global magnetic diffusion time. Since the field lines break on microscopic scales but energy is stored and the field is driven on macroscopic scales, reconnection is an inherently multi-scale process that often involves both magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) and kinetic phenomena. In this article, we begin with the MHD point of view and then describe the dynamics and energetics of reconnection using a two-fluid formulation. We also focus on the respective roles of global and local processes and how they are coupled. Here, wemore » conclude that the triggers for reconnection are mostly global, that the key energy conversion and dissipation processes are either local or global, and that the presence of a continuum of scales coupled from microscopic to macroscopic may be the most likely path to fast reconnection.« less

Magnetic Transport Barriers in the DIII-D Tokamak

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kessler, J.; Volpe, F.; Evans, T. E.; Ali, H.; Punjabi, A.

2009-11-01

Large overlapping magnetic islands generate chaotic fields. However, a previous work [1] showed that second or third order perturbations of special topology and strength can also generate magnetic diffusion ``barriers" in the middle of stochastic regions. In the present study, we numerically assess their experimental feasibility at DIII-D. For this, realistic I- and C-coils perturbations are superimposed on the equilibrium field and puncture plots are generated with a field-line tracer. A criterion is defined for the automatic recognition of barriers and successfully tested on earlier symplectic maps in magnetic coordinates. The criterion is systematically applied to the new puncture plots in search for dependencies, e.g. upon the edge safety factor q95, which might be relevant to edge localized mode (ELM) stability, as well as to assess the robustness of barriers against fluctuations of the plasma parameters and coil currents. 8pt [1] H. Ali and A. Punjabi, Plasma Phys. Control. Fusion 49, 1565 (2007).

Observational discrimination between modes of shock propagation in interstellar clouds: Predictions of CH+ and SH+ column densities in diffuse clouds

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Flower, D. R.; Desforets, G. P.; Roueff, E.; Hartquist, T. W.

1986-01-01

Considerable effort in recent years has been devoted to the study of shocks in the diffuse interstellar medium. This work has been motivated partly by the observations of rotationally excited states of H2, and partly by the realization that species such as CH(+), OH and H2O might be formed preferentially in hot, post-shock gas. The problem of CH(+) and the difficulties encountered when trying to explain the high column densities, observed along lines of sight to certain hot stars, have been reviewed earlier. The importance of a transverse magnetic field on the structure of an interstellar shock was also demonstrated earlier. Transverse magnetic fields above a critical strength give rise to an acceleration zone or precursor, in which the parameters on the flow vary continuously. Chemical reactions, which change the degree of ionization of the gas, also modify the structure of the shock considerably. Recent work has shown that large column densities of CH(+) can be produced in magnetohydrodynamic shock models. Shock speeds U sub s approx. = 10 km/s and initial magnetic field strengths of a few micro G are sufficient to produce ion-neutral drift velocities which can drive the endothermic C(+)(H2,H)CH(+) reaction. It was also shown that single-fluid hydrodynamic models do not generate sufficiently large column densities of CH(+) unless unacceptably high shock velocities (u sub s approx. 20 km/s) are assumed in the models. Thus, the observed column densities of CH(+) provide a constraint on the mode of shock propagation in diffuse clouds. More precisely, they determine a lower limit to the ion-neutral drift velocity.

Injection of thermal and suprathermal seed particles into coronal shocks of varying obliquity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Battarbee, M.; Vainio, R.; Laitinen, T.; Hietala, H.

2013-10-01

Context. Diffusive shock acceleration in the solar corona can accelerate solar energetic particles to very high energies. Acceleration efficiency is increased by entrapment through self-generated waves, which is highly dependent on the amount of accelerated particles. This, in turn, is determined by the efficiency of particle injection into the acceleration process. Aims: We present an analysis of the injection efficiency at coronal shocks of varying obliquity. We assessed injection through reflection and downstream scattering, including the effect of a cross-shock potential. Both quasi-thermal and suprathermal seed populations were analysed. We present results on the effect of cross-field diffusion downstream of the shock on the injection efficiency. Methods: Using analytical methods, we present applicable injection speed thresholds that were compared with both semi-analytical flux integration and Monte Carlo simulations, which do not resort to binary thresholds. Shock-normal angle θBn and shock-normal velocity Vs were varied to assess the injection efficiency with respect to these parameters. Results: We present evidence of a significant bias of thermal seed particle injection at small shock-normal angles. We show that downstream isotropisation methods affect the θBn-dependence of this result. We show a non-negligible effect caused by the cross-shock potential, and that the effect of downstream cross-field diffusion is highly dependent on boundary definitions. Conclusions: Our results show that for Monte Carlo simulations of coronal shock acceleration a full distribution function assessment with downstream isotropisation through scatterings is necessary to realistically model particle injection. Based on our results, seed particle injection at quasi-parallel coronal shocks can result in significant acceleration efficiency, especially when combined with varying field-line geometry. Appendices are available in electronic form at http://www.aanda.org

THE OFF-CENTERED SEYFERT-LIKE COMPACT EMISSION IN THE NUCLEAR REGION OF NGC 3621

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

Menezes, R. B.; Steiner, J. E.; Silva, Patricia da, E-mail: robertobm@astro.iag.usp.br

2016-02-01

We analyze an optical data cube of the nuclear region of NGC 3621, taken with the integral field unit of the Gemini Multi-object Spectrograph. We found that the previously detected central line emission in this galaxy actually comes from a blob, located at a projected distance of 2.″14 ± 0.″08 (70.1 ± 2.6 pc) from the stellar nucleus. Only diffuse emission was detected in the rest of the field of view, with a deficit of emission at the position of the stellar nucleus. Diagnostic diagram analysis reveals that the off-centered emitting blob has a Seyfert 2 spectrum. We propose that the line-emitting blob maymore » be a “fossil” emission-line region or a light “echo” from an active galactic nucleus (AGN), which was significantly brighter in the past. Our estimates indicate that the bolometric luminosity of the AGN must have decreased by a factor of ∼13–500 during the past ∼230 yr. A second scenario to explain the morphology of the line-emitting areas in the nuclear region of NGC 3621 involves no decrease of the AGN bolometric luminosity and establishes that the AGN is highly obscured toward the observer but not toward the line-emitting blob. The third scenario proposed here assumes that the off-centered line-emitting blob is a recoiling supermassive black hole, after the coalescence of two black holes. Finally, an additional hypothesis is that the central X-ray source is not an AGN, but an X-ray binary. This idea is consistent with all the scenarios we proposed.« less

[Grid laser photocoagulation in diffuse diabetic macular edema].

PubMed

Degenring, Robert F; Hugger, Philipp; Sauder, Gangolf; Jonas, Jost B

2004-01-01

To evaluate the clinical outcome of macular grid laser photocoagulation in the treatment of diffuse diabetic macular oedema. The retrospective study included 30 consecutive patients (41 eyes) who were treated by macular argon green grid laser photocoagulation for diffuse diabetic macular oedema. Follow-up time was 31.4 +/- 19.6 weeks. Visual acuity decreased from 0.25 +/- 0.18 (range, 0.03 - 0.8) to 0.20 +/- 0.18 (range, 0.02 - 0.8) (P = 0.045), representing a change of - 0.9 +/- 2,32 lines. 5 (12.2 %) eyes gained in visual acuity, visual acuity remained unchanged for 23 (56.1 %) eyes, and 13 (31.7 %) eyes showed a visual loss of more than one line. In eyes with a baseline visual acuity > or = 0.2 (N = 24) visual acuity dropped from 0.36 +/- 0.15 (0.2 - 0.8; median 0.3) to 0.29 +/- 0.19 (0.05 - 0.8; median 0.2) (p = 0.038). 3 eyes (12.5 %) gained > or = 2 lines, 11 eyes (45.8 %) lost > or = 2 lines, 10 eyes (41.7 %) remained stable. Mean loss was - 1.63 +/- 2.53 lines. Eyes with a baseline visual acuity < or = 0.2 did not change significantly. In the present study mean visual acuity decreased in the whole population and especially in the subgroup with a baseline visual acuity of > or = 0.2 after macular grid laser photocoagulation for diffuse diabetic macular oedema. Mean visual loss was just below the predefined 2 lines. In view of these results and upcoming new pharmacological and surgical treatment modalities, the significance of grid laser photocoagulation should be re-discussed.

A diffusive atmospheric pressure glow discharge in a coaxial pin-to-ring gap with a transverse magnetic field

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, YongSheng; Ding, WeiDong; Yan, JiaQi; Wang, YaNan

2017-09-01

Atmospheric pressure glow discharge (APGD) has been widely used in the industrial field. The industrial applications are based on achieving stable and diffusive APGD in a relatively large space. The existing sources only achieved stable and diffusive APGD between a short inter-electrode distance within 5 millimeters. In this paper, the effect of a transverse stationary magnetic field on the diffusion of filamentary APGD was studied in a pin-to-ring coaxial gap. The APGD was driven by a high-voltage resonant power supply, and the stationary magnetic field was supplied by a permanent magnet. The stable and diffusive APGD was achieved in the circular area, which diameter was 20 millimeters. The experimental results revealed that more collision ionization occurred and the plasma was distributed diffusively in the discharge gap by applying the external transverse magnetic field. Besides, it is likely to obtain more stable and diffusive APGD in the coaxial pin-to-ring discharge gap when adjusting the input voltage, transverse magnetic flux density and resonant frequency of the power supply.

Diffusivity of the interstitial hydrogen shallow donor in In2O3

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qin, Ying; Weiser, Philip; Villalta, Karla; Stavola, Michael; Fowler, W. Beall; Biaggio, Ivan; Boatner, Lynn

2018-04-01

Hydrogen has been found to be an n-type dopant in In2O3 that gives rise to unintentional conductivity. An infrared (IR) absorption line observed at 3306 cm-1 has been assigned to the Hi+ center. Two types of experiments have been performed to determine the diffusivity of Hi+ in In2O3 from its IR absorption spectra. (i) At temperatures near 700 K, the O-H line at 3306 cm-1 has been used to determine the diffusivity of Hi+ from its in-diffusion and out-diffusion behaviors. (ii) At temperatures near 160 K, stress has been used to produce a preferential alignment of the Hi+ center that has been detected in IR absorption experiments made with polarized light. With the help of theory, the kinetics with which a stress-induced alignment can be produced yield the time constant for a single jump of the Hi+ center and also the diffusivity of Hi+ near 160 K. The combination of the diffusivity of Hi+ found near 700 K by mass-transport measurements and that found near 160 K from the time constant for a single Hi+ jump determines the diffusivity for Hi+ over eleven decades!

Recent developments in the understanding of equatorial ionization anomaly: A review

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Balan, N.; Souza, J.; Bailey, G. J.

2018-06-01

A brief review of the recent developments in the understanding of the equatorial plasma fountain (EPF) and equatorial ionization anomaly (EIA) under quiet and active conditions is presented. It is clarified that (1) the EPF is not upward ExB plasma drift at the equator followed by downward plasma diffusion, but it is field perpendicular ExB plasma drift and field-aligned plasma diffusion acting together all along the field lines at all altitudes and plasma flowing in the direction of the resultant. (2) The EIA is formed not from the accumulation of plasma at the crests but mainly from the removal of plasma from around the equator by the upward ExB drift with small accumulations when the crests are within approximately ±20° magnetic latitude. The accumulations reduce with increasing latitude and become zero by approximately ±25°. (3) An asymmetric neutral wind makes EPF and EIA asymmetric with stronger fountain and stronger crest usually occurring in opposite hemispheres especially at equinoxes when winter anomaly is absent. (4) During the early stages of daytime main phase of major geomagnetic storms, the plasma fountain becomes a super fountain and the EIA becomes strong not due to the eastward prompt penetration electric field (PPEF) alone but due to the combined effect of eastward PPEF and storm-time equatorward winds (SEW). (5) During the later stages of the storms when EIA gets inhibited a peak sometimes occurs around the equator not due to westward electric fields but mainly due to the convergence of plasma from both hemispheres due to SEW.

Separation of Electric Fields Into Potential and Inductive Parts, and Implications for Radial Diffusion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chan, A. A.; Ilie, R.; Elkington, S. R.; Albert, J.; Huie, W.

2017-12-01

It has been traditional to separate radiation belt radial-diffusion coefficients into two contributions: an "electrostatic" diffusion coefficient, which is assumed to be due to a potential (non-inductive) electric field, and an "electromagnetic" diffusion coefficient , which is assumed to be due to the combined effect of an inductive electric field and the corresponding time-dependent magnetic field. One difficulty in implementing this separation when using magnetospheric fields obtained from measurements, or from MHD simulations, is that only the total electric field is given; the separation of the electric field into potential and inductive parts is not readily available. In this work we separate the electric field using a numerical method based on the Helmholtz decomposition of the total motional electric field calculated by the BATS-R-US MHD code. The inner boundary for the electric potential is based on the Ridley Ionospheric Model solution and we assume floating boundary conditions in the solar wind. Using different idealized solar wind drivers, including a solar wind density that is oscillating at a single frequency or with a broad spectrum of frequencies, we calculate potential and inductive electric fields, electric and magnetic power spectral densities, and corresponding radial diffusion coefficients. Simulations driven by idealized solar wind conditions show a clear separation of the potential and inductive contributions to the power spectral densities and diffusion coefficients. Simulations with more realistic solar wind drivers are underway to better assess the use of electrostatic and electromagnetic diffusion coefficients in understanding ULF wave-particle interactions in Earth's radiation belts.

Unloading Characteristics of Sand-drift in Wind-shallow Areas along Railway and the Effect of Sand Removal by Force of Wind

PubMed Central

Cheng, Jian-jun; Xin, Guo-Wei; Zhi, Ling-yan; Jiang, Fu-qiang

2017-01-01

Wind-shield walls decrease the velocity of wind-drift sand flow in transit. This results in sand accumulating in the wind-shadow zone of both windshield wall and track line, causing severe sand sediment hazard. This study reveals the characteristics of sand accumulation and the laws of wind-blown sand removal in the wind-shadow areas of three different types of windshield walls, utilizing three-dimensional numerical simulations and wind tunnel experiments and on-site sand sediment tests. The results revealed the formation of apparent vortex and acceleration zones on the leeward side of solid windshield walls. For uniform openings, the vortex area moved back and narrowed. When bottom-opening windshield walls were adopted, the track-supporting layer at the step became a conflux acceleration zone, forming a low velocity vortex zone near the track line. At high wind speeds, windshield walls with bottom-openings achieved improved sand dredging. Considering hydrodynamic mechanisms, the flow field structure on the leeward side of different types of windshield structures is a result of convergence and diffusion of fluids caused by an obstacle. This convergence and diffusion effect of air fluid is more apparent at high wind velocities, but not obvious at low wind velocities. PMID:28120915

FAR-ULTRAVIOLET OBSERVATION OF THE AQUILA RIFT WITH FIMS/SPEAR

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

Park, S.-J.; Min, K.-W.; Seon, K.-I.

2012-07-20

We present the results of far ultraviolet (FUV) observations of the broad region around the Aquila Rift including the Galactic plane. As compared with various wavelength data sets, dust scattering is found to be the major origin of the diffuse FUV continuum in this region. The FUV intensity clearly correlates with the dust extinction level for E(B - V) < 0.2, while this correlation disappears for E(B - V) > 0.2 due to heavy dust extinction combined with the effect of nonuniform interstellar radiation fields. The FUV intensity also correlates well with H{alpha} intensity, implying that at least some fractionmore » of the observed H{alpha} emission could be the dust-scattered light of H{alpha} photons originating elsewhere in the Galaxy. Most of the Aquila Rift region is seen devoid of diffuse FUV continuum due to heavy extinction while strong emission is observed in the surrounding regions. Molecular hydrogen fluorescent emission lines are clearly seen in the spectrum of 'Aquila-Serpens', while 'Aquila-East' does not show any apparent line features. CO emission intensity is also found to be higher in the 'Aquila-Serpens' region than in the 'Aquila-East' region. In this regard, we note that regions of star formation have been found in 'Aquila-Serpens' but not in 'Aquila-East'.« less

Analytical and numerical solutions of the equation for the beam propagation in a photovoltaic-photorefractive media

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lin, Ji; Wang, Hou

2013-07-01

We use the classical Lie-group method to study the evolution equation describing a photovoltaic-photorefractive media with the effects of diffusion process and the external electric field. We reduce it to some similarity equations firstly, and then obtain some analytically exact solutions including the soliton solution, the exponential solution and the oscillatory solution. We also obtain the numeric solitons from these similarity equations. Moreover, We show theoretically that these solutions have two types of trajectories. One type is a straight line. The other is a parabolic curve, which indicates these solitons have self-deflection.

Electrically tunable spatially variable switching in ferroelectric liquid crystal/water system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Choudhary, A.; Coondoo, I.; Prakash, J.; Sreenivas, K.; Biradar, A. M.

2009-04-01

An unusual switching phenomenon in the region outside conducting patterned area in ferroelectric liquid crystal (FLC) containing about 1-2 wt % of water has been observed. The presence of water in the studied heterogeneous system was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The observed optical studies have been emphasized on the "spatially variable switching" phenomenon of the molecules in the nonconducting region of the cell. The observed phenomenon is due to diffusion of water between the smectic layers of the FLC and the interaction of the curved electric field lines with the FLC molecules in the nonconducting region.

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

Martínez-Sykora, Juan; Cheung, Mark C. M.; Moreno-Insertis, Fernando

We study the buoyant rise of magnetic flux tubes embedded in an adiabatic stratification using two-and three-dimensional, magnetohydrodynamic simulations. We analyze the dependence of the tube evolution on the field line twist and on the curvature of the tube axis in different diffusion regimes. To be able to achieve a comparatively high spatial resolution we use the FLASH code, which has a built-in Adaptive Mesh Refinement (AMR) capability. Our 3D experiments reach Reynolds numbers that permit a reasonable comparison of the results with those of previous 2D simulations. When the experiments are run without AMR, hence with a comparatively largemore » diffusivity, the amount of longitudinal magnetic flux retained inside the tube increases with the curvature of the tube axis. However, when a low-diffusion regime is reached by using the AMR algorithms, the magnetic twist is able to prevent the splitting of the magnetic loop into vortex tubes and the loop curvature does not play any significant role. We detect the generation of vorticity in the main body of the tube of opposite sign on the opposite sides of the apex. This is a consequence of the inhomogeneity of the azimuthal component of the field on the flux surfaces. The lift force associated with this global vorticity makes the flanks of the tube move away from their initial vertical plane in an antisymmetric fashion. The trajectories have an oscillatory motion superimposed, due to the shedding of vortex rolls to the wake, which creates a Von Karman street.« less

ZEEMAN DOPPLER MAPS: ALWAYS UNIQUE, NEVER SPURIOUS?

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

Stift, Martin J.; Leone, Francesco

Numerical models of atomic diffusion in magnetic atmospheres of ApBp stars predict abundance structures that differ from the empirical maps derived with (Zeeman) Doppler mapping (ZDM). An in-depth analysis of this apparent disagreement investigates the detectability by means of ZDM of a variety of abundance structures, including (warped) rings predicted by theory, but also complex spot-like structures. Even when spectra of high signal-to-noise ratio are available, it can prove difficult or altogether impossible to correctly recover shapes, positions, and abundances of a mere handful of spots, notwithstanding the use of all four Stokes parameters and an exactly known field geometry;more » the recovery of (warped) rings can be equally challenging. Inversions of complex abundance maps that are based on just one or two spectral lines usually permit multiple solutions. It turns out that it can by no means be guaranteed that any of the regularization functions in general use for ZDM (maximum entropy or Tikhonov) will lead to a true abundance map instead of some spurious one. Attention is drawn to the need for a study that would elucidate the relation between the stratified, field-dependent abundance structures predicted by diffusion theory on the one hand, and empirical maps obtained by means of “canonical” ZDM, i.e., with mean atmospheres and unstratified abundances, on the other hand. Finally, we point out difficulties arising from the three-dimensional nature of the atomic diffusion process in magnetic ApBp star atmospheres.« less

The Impact of Diffuse Ionized Gas on Emission-line Ratios and Gas Metallicity Measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Kai; Yan, Renbin; MaNGA Team

2016-01-01

Diffuse Ionized Gas (DIG) is prevalent in star-forming galaxies. Using a sample of galaxies observed by MaNGA, we demonstrate how DIG in star-forming galaxies impact the measurements of emission line ratios, hence the gas-phase metallicity measurements and the interpretation of diagnostic diagrams. We demonstrate that emission line surface brightness (SB) is a reasonably good proxy to separate HII regions from regions dominated by diffuse ionized gas. For spatially-adjacent regions or regions at the same radius, many line ratios change systematically with emission line surface brightness, reflecting a gradual increase of dominance by DIG towards low SB. DIG could significantly bias the measurement of gas metallicity and metallicity gradient. Because DIG tend to have a higher temperature than HII regions, at fixed metallicity DIG displays lower [NII]/[OII] ratios. DIG also show lower [OIII]/[OII] ratios than HII regions, due to extended partially-ionized regions that enhance all low-ionization lines ([NII], [SII], [OII], [OI]). The contamination by DIG is responsible for a substantial portion of the scatter in metallicity measurements. At different surface brightness, line ratios and line ratio gradients can differ systematically. As DIG fraction could change with radius, it can affect the metallicity gradient measurements in systematic ways. The three commonly used strong-line metallicity indicators, R23, [NII]/[OII], O3N2, are all affected in different ways. To make robust metallicity gradient measurements, one has to properly isolate HII regions and correct for DIG contamination. In line ratio diagnostic diagrams, contamination by DIG moves HII regions towards composite or LINER-like regions.

Magnetic barriers and their q95 dependence at DIII-D

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Volpe, F. A.; Kessler, J.; Ali, H.; Evans, T. E.; Punjabi, A.

2012-05-01

It is well known that externally generated resonant magnetic perturbations (RMPs) can form islands in the plasma edge. In turn, large overlapping islands generate stochastic fields, which are believed to play a role in the avoidance and suppression of edge localized modes (ELMs) at DIII-D. However, large coalescing islands can also generate, in the middle of these stochastic regions, KAM surfaces effectively acting as ‘barriers’ against field-line dispersion and, indirectly, particle diffusion. It was predicted in Ali and Punjabi (2007 Plasma Phys. Control. Fusion 49 1565-82) that such magnetic barriers can form in piecewise analytic DIII-D plasma equilibria. In this work, the formation of magnetic barriers at DIII-D is corroborated by field-line tracing calculations using experimentally constrained EFIT (Lao et al 1985 Nucl. Fusion 25 1611) DIII-D equilibria perturbed to include the vacuum field from the internal coils utilized in the experiments. According to these calculations, the occurrence and location of magnetic barriers depend on the edge safety factor q95. It was thus suggested that magnetic barriers might contribute to narrowing the edge stochastic layer and play an indirect role in the RMPs failing to control ELMs for certain values of q95. The analysis of DIII-D discharges where q95 was varied, however, does not show anti-correlation between barrier formation and ELM suppression.

DIFFUSE AURORA ON GANYMEDE DRIVEN BY ELECTROSTATIC WAVES

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

Singhal, R. P.; Tripathi, A. K.; Halder, S.

The role of electrostatic electron cyclotron harmonic (ECH) waves in producing diffuse auroral emission O i 1356 Å on Ganymede is investigated. Electron precipitation flux entering the atmosphere of Ganymede due to pitch-angle diffusion by ECH waves into the atmospheric loss-cone is calculated. The analytical yield spectrum approach for electron energy degradation in gases is used for calculating diffuse auroral intensities. It is found that calculated O i 1356 Å intensity resulting from the precipitation of magnetospheric electrons observed near Ganymede is insufficient to account for the observed diffuse auroral intensity. This is in agreement with estimates made in earliermore » works. Heating and acceleration of ambient electrons by ECH wave turbulence near the magnetic equator on the field line connecting Ganymede and Jupiter are considered. Two electron distribution functions are used to simulate the heating effect by ECH waves. Use of a Maxwellian distribution with temperature 100 eV can produce about 50–70 Rayleigh O i 1356 Å intensities, and the kappa distribution with characteristic energy 50 eV also gives rise to intensities with similar magnitude. Numerical experiments are performed to study the effect of ECH wave spectral intensity profile, ECH wave amplitude, and temperature/characteristic energy of electron distribution functions on the calculated diffuse auroral intensities. The proposed missions, joint NASA/ESA Jupiter Icy Moon Explorer and the present JUNO mission to Jupiter, would provide new data to constrain the ECH wave and other physical parameters near Ganymede. These should help confirm the findings of the present study.« less

Soot Volume Fraction Maps for Normal and Reduced Gravity Laminar Acetylene Jet Diffusion Flames

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Greenberg, Paul S.; Ku, Jerry C.

1997-01-01

The study of soot particulate distribution inside gas jet diffusion flames is important to the understanding of fundamental soot particle and thermal radiative transport processes, as well as providing findings relevant to spacecraft fire safety, soot emissions, and radiant heat loads for combustors used in air-breathing propulsion systems. Compared to those under normal gravity (1-g) conditions, the elimination of buoyancy-induced flows is expected to significantly change the flow field in microgravity (O g) flames, resulting in taller and wider flames with longer particle residence times. Work by Bahadori and Edelman demonstrate many previously unreported qualitative and semi-quantitative results, including flame shape and radiation, for sooting laminar zas jet diffusion flames. Work by Ku et al. report soot aggregate size and morphology analyses and data and model predictions of soot volume fraction maps for various gas jet diffusion flames. In this study, we present the first 1-g and 0-g comparisons of soot volume fraction maps for laminar acetylene and nitrogen-diluted acetylene jet diffusion flames. Volume fraction is one of the most useful properties in the study of sooting diffusion flames. The amount of radiation heat transfer depends directly on the volume fraction and this parameter can be measured from line-of-sight extinction measurements. Although most Soot aggregates are submicron in size, the primary particles (20 to 50 nm in diameter) are in the Rayleigh limit, so the extinction absorption) cross section of aggregates can be accurately approximated by the Rayleigh solution as a function of incident wavelength, particles' complex refractive index, and particles' volume fraction.

Diffusivity of the interstitial hydrogen shallow donor in In 2 O 3

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

Qin, Ying; Weiser, Philip; Villalta, Karla

Hydrogen has been found to be an n-type dopant in In2O3 that gives rise to unintentional conductivity. An infrared (IR) absorption line observed at 3306 cm-1 has been assigned to the Hi+ center. Two types of experiments have been performed to determine the diffusivity of Hi+ in In2O3 from its IR absorption spectra. (i) At temperatures near 700 K, the O-H line at 3306 cm-1 has been used to determine the diffusivity of Hi+ from its in-diffusion and out-diffusion behavior. (ii) At temperatures near 160 K, stress has been used to produce a preferential alignment of the Hi+ center thatmore » has been detected in IR absorption experiments made with polarized light. With the help of theory, the kinetics with which a stress-induced alignment can be produced yield the time constant for a single jump of the Hi+ center and also the diffusivity of Hi+ near 160 K. The combination of the diffusivity of Hi+ found near 700 K by mass-transport measurements along with the diffusivity found near 160 K from the time constant for a single Hi+ jump determines the diffusivity for Hi+ over eleven decades!« less

A Preliminary Comparison of Three Dimensional Particle Tracking and Sizing using Plenoptic Imaging and Digital In-line Holography

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

Guildenbecher, Daniel Robert; Munz, Elise Dahnke; Farias, Paul Abraham

2015-12-01

Digital in-line holography and plenoptic photography are two techniques for single-shot, volumetric measurement of 3D particle fields. Here we present a preliminary comparison of the two methods by applying plenoptic imaging to experimental configurations that have been previously investigated with digital in-line holography. These experiments include the tracking of secondary droplets from the impact of a water drop on a thin film of water and tracking of pellets from a shotgun. Both plenoptic imaging and digital in-line holography successfully quantify the 3D nature of these particle fields. This includes measurement of the 3D particle position, individual particle sizes, and three-componentmore » velocity vectors. For the initial processing methods presented here, both techniques give out-of-plane positional accuracy of approximately 1-2 particle diameters. For a fixed image sensor, digital holography achieves higher effective in-plane spatial resolutions. However, collimated and coherent illumination makes holography susceptible to image distortion through index of refraction gradients, as demonstrated in the shotgun experiments. On the other hand, plenotpic imaging allows for a simpler experimental configuration. Furthermore, due to the use of diffuse, white-light illumination, plenoptic imaging is less susceptible to image distortion in the shotgun experiments. Additional work is needed to better quantify sources of uncertainty, particularly in the plenoptic experiments, as well as develop data processing methodologies optimized for the plenoptic measurement.« less

A Preliminary Comparison of Three Dimensional Particle Tracking and Sizing using Plenoptic Imaging and Digital In-line Holography [PowerPoint

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

Guildenbecher, Daniel Robert; Munz, Elise Dahnke; Farias, Paul Abraham

2015-12-01

Digital in-line holography and plenoptic photography are two techniques for single-shot, volumetric measurement of 3D particle fields. Here we present a preliminary comparison of the two methods by applying plenoptic imaging to experimental configurations that have been previously investigated with digital in-line holography. These experiments include the tracking of secondary droplets from the impact of a water drop on a thin film of water and tracking of pellets from a shotgun. Both plenoptic imaging and digital in-line holography successfully quantify the 3D nature of these particle fields. This includes measurement of the 3D particle position, individual particle sizes, and three-componentmore » velocity vectors. For the initial processing methods presented here, both techniques give out-of-plane positional accuracy of approximately 1-2 particle diameters. For a fixed image sensor, digital holography achieves higher effective in-plane spatial resolutions. However, collimated and coherent illumination makes holography susceptible to image distortion through index of refraction gradients, as demonstrated in the shotgun experiments. On the other hand, plenotpic imaging allows for a simpler experimental configuration. Furthermore, due to the use of diffuse, white-light illumination, plenoptic imaging is less susceptible to image distortion in the shotgun experiments. Additional work is needed to better quantify sources of uncertainty, particularly in the plenoptic experiments, as well as develop data processing methodologies optimized for the plenoptic measurement.« less

A Study of Reconnection Poleward of Cusp: Cluster and Polar

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Muzamil, Fathima

Asymmetries in plasma density and the presence of a guide field significantly alter the structure of the ion diffusion region (IDR) in symmetric, collisionless reconnection. These features have been shown by numerical simulations under moderate density asymmetries ( 10), and theoretical analyses. However, very few studies have addressed these issues with in-situ observations, particularly at high magnetic latitudes. By the structure of the IDR we refer to features such as the non-colocation of the X-line and stagnation line, the distortion of the Hall magnetic and electric fields, outflow speed, outflow density etc. We have compiled a collection of Cluster crossings of the high-latitude magnetopause poleward of the cusp under northward interplanetary magnetic field in the years 2001-2008. We identified 18 events that fulfilled the criteria that was used as plausible evidence for an IDR crossing. A wide range of guide fields (6 to 74%) and very high density asymmetries (over three orders of magnitude) were present in this event list. The total DC electric field ranged from 10 mV/m-72 mV/m. We compared theoretical predictions for ion outflow speed and density against measured values for events with least magnetic shear and found good agreement. Peak values of both measured quantities agreed better than the average values. The separation between the X and S-lines were measured for two events. The separation was in the order of 2 ion inertial lengths. We presented a detailed analysis of a current sheet crossing hallmarked by a density asymmetry of 2 orders of magnitude ( 140) [Muzamil et al., 2014, JGR]. This event was measured by the Polar spacecraft, also at high latitudes poleward of the cusp. Data agreed well with simulation results, especially the observation of density cavities together with isolated electric fields in the normal direction at both separatrices. This has not been observed in previous observational studies. Effect of the guide field on both sides of the X-line was examined using two events with jet reversals and similar guide fields. A sunward-tailward asymmetry in the Hall magnetic field structure was observed due to the guide field in the two outflow regions. The Hall field was weakened and changed polarity in the vicinity of the X-line due to an electron velocity shear layer. Using three other crossings with high guide fields, we measured a 40-60% enhancement in the Hall magnetic field showing consistency with simulations. We then presented a case study of large episodic magnetic field depressions in the magnetosheath boundary layer region near the magnetic separatrix. We identified specific characteristics and compared them to possible generating mechanisms. The most plausible one was kinetic Alfven waves. Thus, we have provided observational evidence for the structure of the IDR in poleward of the cusp under several different asymmetric conditions and guide fields.

Bounce- and MLT-averaged diffusion coefficients in a physics-based magnetic field geometry obtained from RAM-SCB for the March 17 2013 storm

DOE PAGES

Zhao, Lei; Yu, Yiqun; Delzanno, Gian Luca; ...

2015-04-01

Local acceleration via whistler wave and particle interaction plays a significant role in particle dynamics in the radiation belt. In this work we explore gyro-resonant wave-particle interaction and quasi-linear diffusion in different magnetic field configurations related to the March 17 2013 storm. We consider the Earth's magnetic dipole field as a reference and compare the results against non-dipole field configurations corresponding to quiet and stormy conditions. The latter are obtained with the ring current-atmosphere interactions model with a self-consistent magnetic field RAM-SCB, a code that models the Earth's ring current and provides a realistic modeling of the Earth's magnetic field.more » By applying quasi-linear theory, the bounce- and MLT-averaged electron pitch angle, mixed term, and energy diffusion coefficients are calculated for each magnetic field configuration. For radiation belt (~1 MeV) and ring current (~100 keV) electrons, it is shown that at some MLTs the bounce-averaged diffusion coefficients become rather insensitive to the details of the magnetic field configuration, while at other MLTs storm conditions can expand the range of equatorial pitch angles where gyro-resonant diffusion occurs and significantly enhance the diffusion rates. When MLT average is performed at drift shell L = 4.25 (a good approximation to drift average), the diffusion coefficients become quite independent of the magnetic field configuration for relativistic electrons, while the opposite is true for lower energy electrons. These results suggest that, at least for the March 17 2013 storm and for L ≲ 4.25, the commonly adopted dipole approximation of the Earth's magnetic field can be safely used for radiation belt electrons, while a realistic modeling of the magnetic field configuration is necessary to describe adequately the diffusion rates of ring current electrons.« less

Bounce- and MLT-averaged diffusion coefficients in a physics-based magnetic field geometry obtained from RAM-SCB for the March 17 2013 storm

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

Zhao, Lei; Yu, Yiqun; Delzanno, Gian Luca

Local acceleration via whistler wave and particle interaction plays a significant role in particle dynamics in the radiation belt. In this work we explore gyro-resonant wave-particle interaction and quasi-linear diffusion in different magnetic field configurations related to the March 17 2013 storm. We consider the Earth's magnetic dipole field as a reference and compare the results against non-dipole field configurations corresponding to quiet and stormy conditions. The latter are obtained with the ring current-atmosphere interactions model with a self-consistent magnetic field RAM-SCB, a code that models the Earth's ring current and provides a realistic modeling of the Earth's magnetic field.more » By applying quasi-linear theory, the bounce- and MLT-averaged electron pitch angle, mixed term, and energy diffusion coefficients are calculated for each magnetic field configuration. For radiation belt (~1 MeV) and ring current (~100 keV) electrons, it is shown that at some MLTs the bounce-averaged diffusion coefficients become rather insensitive to the details of the magnetic field configuration, while at other MLTs storm conditions can expand the range of equatorial pitch angles where gyro-resonant diffusion occurs and significantly enhance the diffusion rates. When MLT average is performed at drift shell L = 4.25 (a good approximation to drift average), the diffusion coefficients become quite independent of the magnetic field configuration for relativistic electrons, while the opposite is true for lower energy electrons. These results suggest that, at least for the March 17 2013 storm and for L ≲ 4.25, the commonly adopted dipole approximation of the Earth's magnetic field can be safely used for radiation belt electrons, while a realistic modeling of the magnetic field configuration is necessary to describe adequately the diffusion rates of ring current electrons.« less

Confined diffusion of transmembrane proteins and lipids induced by the same actin meshwork lining the plasma membrane.

PubMed

Fujiwara, Takahiro K; Iwasawa, Kokoro; Kalay, Ziya; Tsunoyama, Taka A; Watanabe, Yusuke; Umemura, Yasuhiro M; Murakoshi, Hideji; Suzuki, Kenichi G N; Nemoto, Yuri L; Morone, Nobuhiro; Kusumi, Akihiro

2016-04-01

The mechanisms by which the diffusion rate in the plasma membrane (PM) is regulated remain unresolved, despite their importance in spatially regulating the reaction rates in the PM. Proposed models include entrapment in nanoscale noncontiguous domains found in PtK2 cells, slow diffusion due to crowding, and actin-induced compartmentalization. Here, by applying single-particle tracking at high time resolutions, mainly to the PtK2-cell PM, we found confined diffusion plus hop movements (termed "hop diffusion") for both a nonraft phospholipid and a transmembrane protein, transferrin receptor, and equal compartment sizes for these two molecules in all five of the cell lines used here (actual sizes were cell dependent), even after treatment with actin-modulating drugs. The cross-section size and the cytoplasmic domain size both affected the hop frequency. Electron tomography identified the actin-based membrane skeleton (MSK) located within 8.8 nm from the PM cytoplasmic surface of PtK2 cells and demonstrated that the MSK mesh size was the same as the compartment size for PM molecular diffusion. The extracellular matrix and extracellular domains of membrane proteins were not involved in hop diffusion. These results support a model of anchored TM-protein pickets lining actin-based MSK as a major mechanism for regulating diffusion. © 2016 Fujiwara et al. This article is distributed by The American Society for Cell Biology under license from the author(s). Two months after publication it is available to the public under an Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike 3.0 Unported Creative Commons License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0).

Numerical analysis of electronegative plasma in the extraction region of negative hydrogen ion sources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kuppel, S.; Matsushita, D.; Hatayama, A.; Bacal, M.

2011-01-01

This numerical study focuses on the physical mechanisms involved in the extraction of volume-produced H- ions from a steady state laboratory negative hydrogen ion source with one opening in the plasma electrode (PE) on which a dc-bias voltage is applied. A weak magnetic field is applied in the source plasma transversely to the extracted beam. The goal is to highlight the combined effects of the weak magnetic field and the PE bias voltage (upon the extraction process of H- ions and electrons). To do so, we focus on the behavior of electrons and volume-produced negative ions within a two-dimensional model using the particle-in-cell method. No collision processes are taken into account, except for electron diffusion across the magnetic field using a simple random-walk model at each time step of the simulation. The results show first that applying the magnetic field (without PE bias) enhances H- ion extraction, while it drastically decreases the extracted electron current. Secondly, the extracted H- ion current has a maximum when the PE bias is equal to the plasma potential, while the extracted electron current is significantly reduced by applying the PE bias. The underlying mechanism leading to the above results is the gradual opening by the PE bias of the equipotential lines towards the parts of the extraction region facing the PE. The shape of these lines is due originally to the electron trapping by the magnetic field.

Electrostatic coupling between DNA and its counterions modulates the observed translational diffusion coefficients.

PubMed

Stellwagen, Earle; Stellwagen, Nancy C

2015-09-01

Free solution capillary electrophoresis (CE) is a useful technique for measuring the translational diffusion coefficients of charged analytes. The measurements are relatively fast if the polarity of the electric field is reversed to drive the analyte back and forth past the detection window during each run. We have tested the validity of the resulting diffusion coefficients using double-stranded DNA molecules ranging in size from 20 to 960 base pairs as the model system. The diffusion coefficients of small DNAs are equal to values in the literature measured by other techniques. However, the diffusion coefficients of DNA molecules larger than ∼30 base pairs are anomalously high and deviate increasingly from the literature values with increasing DNA molar mass. The anomalously high diffusion coefficients are due to electrostatic coupling between the DNA and its counterions. As a result, the measured diffusion coefficients vary with the diffusion coefficient of the counterion, as well as with cation concentration and electric field strength. These effects can be reduced or eliminated by measuring apparent diffusion coefficients of the DNA at several different electric field strengths and extrapolating the results to zero electric field.

Magnetic reversals from planetary dynamo waves.

PubMed

Sheyko, Andrey; Finlay, Christopher C; Jackson, Andrew

2016-11-24

A striking feature of many natural dynamos is their ability to undergo polarity reversals. The best documented example is Earth's magnetic field, which has reversed hundreds of times during its history. The origin of geomagnetic polarity reversals lies in a magnetohydrodynamic process that takes place in Earth's core, but the precise mechanism is debated. The majority of numerical geodynamo simulations that exhibit reversals operate in a regime in which the viscosity of the fluid remains important, and in which the dynamo mechanism primarily involves stretching and twisting of field lines by columnar convection. Here we present an example of another class of reversing-geodynamo model, which operates in a regime of comparatively low viscosity and high magnetic diffusivity. This class does not fit into the paradigm of reversal regimes that are dictated by the value of the local Rossby number (the ratio of advection to Coriolis force). Instead, stretching of the magnetic field by a strong shear in the east-west flow near the imaginary cylinder just touching the inner core and parallel to the axis of rotation is crucial to the reversal mechanism in our models, which involves a process akin to kinematic dynamo waves. Because our results are relevant in a regime of low viscosity and high magnetic diffusivity, and with geophysically appropriate boundary conditions, this form of dynamo wave may also be involved in geomagnetic reversals.

Self-diffusion imaging by spin echo in Earth's magnetic field.

PubMed

Mohoric, A; Stepisnik, J; Kos, M; Planinsi

1999-01-01

The NMR of the Earth's magnetic field is used for diffusion-weighted imaging of phantoms. Due to a weak Larmor field, care needs to be taken regarding the use of the usual high field assumption in calculating the effect of the applied inhomogeneous magnetic field. The usual definition of the magnetic field gradient must be replaced by a generalized formula valid when the strength of a nonuniform magnetic field and a Larmor field are comparable (J. Stepisnik, Z. Phys. Chem. 190, 51-62 (1995)). It turns out that the expression for spin echo attenuation is identical to the well-known Torrey formula only when the applied nonuniform field has a proper symmetry. This kind of problem may occur in a strong Larmor field as well as when the slow diffusion rate of particles needs an extremely strong gradient to be applied. The measurements of the geomagnetic field NMR demonstrate the usefulness of the method for diffusion and flow-weighted imaging. Copyright 1999 Academic Press.

Effects of microwave electric fields on the translational diffusion of dipolar molecules in surface potential: A simulation study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kapranov, Sergey V.; Kouzaev, Guennadi A.

2018-01-01

Variations of effective diffusion coefficient of polar molecules exposed to microwave electric fields in a surface potential are studied by solving coupled stochastic differential equations of motion with a deterministic component of the surface force. Being an essential tool for the simulation interpretation, a theoretical approach to effective diffusion in surface potential is first developed. The effective diffusion coefficient is represented as the product of the normal diffusion coefficient and potential-dependent correction function, whose temperature dependence is close to the Arrhenius form. The analytically found zero-diffusion condition defines the state of thermal equilibrium at the surface. The diffusion of a water-like dipole molecule in the potential of graphite surface is simulated in the field-free conditions and in the presence of the alternating electric fields of various magnitude intensities and frequencies. Temperature dependence of the correction function exhibits field-induced variations of the effective Lennard-Jones energy parameter. It demonstrates maximum departure from the zero-field value at certain frequencies and intensities, which is associated with variations in the rotational dynamics. A concept of the amplitude-frequency resonance put forward to interpret the simulation results is explained using a heuristic reasoning and is corroborated by semi-quantitative considerations in terms of the Dissado-Hill cluster theory of dielectric relaxation.

Three-dimensional anisotropy contrast periodically rotated overlapping parallel lines with enhanced reconstruction (3DAC PROPELLER) on a 3.0T system: a new modality for routine clinical neuroimaging.

PubMed

Nakada, Tsutomu; Matsuzawa, Hitoshi; Fujii, Yukihiko; Takahashi, Hitoshi; Nishizawa, Masatoyo; Kwee, Ingrid L

2006-07-01

Clinical magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has recently entered the "high-field" era, and systems equipped with 3.0-4.0T superconductive magnets are becoming the gold standard for diagnostic imaging. While higher signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) is a definite advantage of higher field systems, higher susceptibility effect remains to be a significant trade-off. To take advantage of a higher field system in performing routine clinical images of higher anatomical resolution, we implemented a vector contrast image technique to 3.0T imaging, three-dimensional anisotropy contrast (3DAC), with a PROPELLER (Periodically Rotated Overlapping Parallel Lines with Enhanced Reconstruction) sequence, a method capable of effectively eliminating undesired artifacts on rapid diffusion imaging sequences. One hundred subjects (20 normal volunteers and 80 volunteers with various central nervous system diseases) participated in the study. Anisotropic diffusion-weighted PROPELLER images were obtained on a General Electric (Waukesha, WI, USA) Signa 3.0T for each axis, with b-value of 1100 sec/mm(2). Subsequently, 3DAC images were constructed using in-house software written on MATLAB (MathWorks, Natick, MA, USA). The vector contrast allows for providing exquisite anatomical detail illustrated by clear identification of all major tracts through the entire brain. 3DAC images provide better anatomical resolution for brainstem glioma than higher-resolution T2 reversed images. Degenerative processes of disease-specific tracts were clearly identified as illustrated in cases of multiple system atrophy and Joseph-Machado disease. Anatomical images of significantly higher resolution than the best current standard, T2 reversed images, were successfully obtained. As a technique readily applicable under routine clinical setting, 3DAC PROPELLER on a 3.0T system will be a powerful addition to diagnostic imaging.

HD 66051: the first eclipsing binary hosting an early-type magnetic star

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kochukhov, O.; Johnston, C.; Alecian, E.; Wade, G. A.

2018-05-01

Early-type magnetic stars are rarely found in close binary systems. No such objects were known in eclipsing binaries prior to this study. Here we investigated the eclipsing, spectroscopic double-lined binary HD 66051, which exhibits out-of-eclipse photometric variations suggestive of surface brightness inhomogeneities typical of early-type magnetic stars. Using a new set of high-resolution spectropolarimetric observations, we discovered a weak magnetic field on the primary and found intrinsic, element-dependent variability in its spectral lines. The magnetic field structure of the primary is dominated by a nearly axisymmetric dipolar component with a polar field strength Bd ≈ 600 G and an inclination with respect to the rotation axis of βd = 13°. A weaker quadrupolar component is also likely to be present. We combined the radial velocity measurements derived from our spectra with archival optical photometry to determine fundamental masses (3.16 and 1.75 M⊙) and radii (2.78 and 1.39 R⊙) with a 1-3% precision. We also obtained a refined estimate of the effective temperatures (13000 and 9000 K) and studied chemical abundances for both components with the help of disentangled spectra. We demonstrate that the primary component of HD 66051 is a typical late-B magnetic chemically peculiar star with a non-uniform surface chemical abundance distribution. It is not an HgMn-type star as suggested by recent studies. The secondary is a metallic-line star showing neither a strong, global magnetic field nor intrinsic spectral variability. Fundamental parameters provided by our work for this interesting system open unique possibilities for probing interior structure, studying atomic diffusion, and constraining binary star evolution.

Experimental Characterization of Plasma Detachment from Magnetic Nozzles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Olsen, Christopher Scott

Magnetic nozzles, like Laval nozzles, are observed in several natural systems and have application in areas such as electric propulsion and plasma processing. Plasma flowing through these nozzles is inherently tied to the field lines and must separate for momentum redirection or particle transport to occur. Plasma detachment and associated mechanisms from a magnetic nozzle are investigated. Experimental results are presented from the plume of the VASIMRRTM VX-200 device flowing along an axisymmetric magnetic nozzle and operated at two ion energies to explore momentum dependent detachment. The argon plume expanded into a 150m3 vacuum chamber where the background pressure was low enough that charge-exchange mean-free-paths were longer than experiment scale lengths. This magnetic nozzle system is demonstrated to hydrodynamically scale up to astrophysical plasmas, particularly the solar chromosphere, implying general relevance to many systems. Plasma parameters were mapped over a large spatial range using measurements from multiple plasma diagnostics. The data show that the plume does not follow the magnetic field lines. A mapped integration of the ion flux shows the plume may be divided into three regions where 1) the plume briefly follows the magnetic flux, 2) diverges quadratically before 3) expanding with linear trajectories. Transitioning from region 1→2, the ion flux departs from the magnetic flux suggesting ion detachment. An instability forms in region 2 driving an oscillating electric field that causes ions to expand before enhancing electron cross-field transport through anomalous resistivity. Transitioning from region 2→3 the electric field dissipates, the trajectories linearize, and the plume effectively detaches. A delineation of sub-to-super Alfvenic flow aligns well with the inflection points of the linearization without a change in magnetic topology. The detachment process is best described as a two part process: First, ions detach by a breakdown of the magnetic moment when the quantity |v/fcLB| becomes of order unity. Second, the turbulent electric field enhances electron transport up to a factor of 4+/-1 above collisional diffusion; electron cross-field velocities approximate that of the ions and depart on more centralized field lines. Electrons are believed to detach by breakdown of magnetic moment further downstream in the weaker magnetic field.

Near Field Imaging of Charge Transport in Gallium Nitride and Zinc Oxide Nanostructures

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-12-01

distribution of recombination luminescence . While researching the diffusion lengths of these structures, the author also observed that many of these... diffusion length of these structures can be extracted. E. NEAR FIELD IMAGING WITH NEAR FIELD SCANNING OPTICAL MICROSCOPY Near field scanning optical...composite AFM/NSOM images and the slope analysis to extract Ld, the minority carrier diffusion length , as described in Chapter 3. In all cases, excitation

Heating the warm ionized medium

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Reynolds, R. J.; Cox, D. P.

1992-01-01

If photoelectric heating by grains within the diffuse ionized component of the interstellar medium is 10 exp -25 ergs/s per H atom, the average value within diffuse H I regions, then grain heating equals or exceeds photoionization heating of the ionized gas. This supplemental heat source would obviate the need for energetic ionizing photons to balance the observed forbidden-line cooling and could be responsible in part for enhanced intensities of some of the forbidden lines.

Interacting Cosmic Rays with Molecular Clouds: A Bremsstrahlung Origin of Diffuse High-energy Emission from the Inner 2°×1° of the Galactic Center

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yusef-Zadeh, F.; Hewitt, J. W.; Wardle, M.; Tatischeff, V.; Roberts, D. A.; Cotton, W.; Uchiyama, H.; Nobukawa, M.; Tsuru, T. G.; Heinke, C.; Royster, M.

2013-01-01

The high-energy activity in the inner few degrees of the Galactic center is traced by diffuse radio, X-ray, and γ-ray emission. The physical relationship between different components of diffuse gas emitting at multiple wavelengths is a focus of this work. We first present radio continuum observations using the Green Bank Telescope and model the nonthermal spectrum in terms of a broken power-law distribution of ~GeV electrons emitting synchrotron radiation. We show that the emission detected by Fermi is primarily due to nonthermal bremsstrahlung produced by the population of synchrotron emitting electrons in the GeV energy range interacting with neutral gas. The extrapolation of the electron population measured from radio data to low and high energies can also explain the origin of Fe I 6.4 keV line and diffuse TeV emission, as observed with Suzaku, XMM-Newton, Chandra, and the H.E.S.S. observatories. The inferred physical quantities from modeling multiwavelength emission in the context of bremsstrahlung emission from the inner ~300 × 120 pc of the Galactic center are constrained to have the cosmic-ray ionization rate ~1-10 × 10-15 s-1, molecular gas heating rate elevating the gas temperature to 75-200 K, fractional ionization of molecular gas 10-6-10-5, large-scale magnetic field 10-20 μG, the density of diffuse and dense molecular gas ~100 and ~103 cm-3 over 300 pc and 50 pc path lengths, and the variability of Fe I Kα 6.4 keV line emission on yearly timescales. Important implications of our study are that GeV electrons emitting in radio can explain the GeV γ-rays detected by Fermi and that the cosmic-ray irradiation model, like the model of the X-ray irradiation triggered by past activity of Sgr A*, can also explain the origin of the variable 6.4 keV emission from Galactic center molecular clouds.

INTERACTING COSMIC RAYS WITH MOLECULAR CLOUDS: A BREMSSTRAHLUNG ORIGIN OF DIFFUSE HIGH-ENERGY EMISSION FROM THE INNER 2 Degree-Sign Multiplication-Sign 1 Degree-Sign OF THE GALACTIC CENTER

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

Yusef-Zadeh, F.; Roberts, D. A.; Royster, M.

2013-01-01

The high-energy activity in the inner few degrees of the Galactic center is traced by diffuse radio, X-ray, and {gamma}-ray emission. The physical relationship between different components of diffuse gas emitting at multiple wavelengths is a focus of this work. We first present radio continuum observations using the Green Bank Telescope and model the nonthermal spectrum in terms of a broken power-law distribution of {approx}GeV electrons emitting synchrotron radiation. We show that the emission detected by Fermi is primarily due to nonthermal bremsstrahlung produced by the population of synchrotron emitting electrons in the GeV energy range interacting with neutral gas.more » The extrapolation of the electron population measured from radio data to low and high energies can also explain the origin of Fe I 6.4 keV line and diffuse TeV emission, as observed with Suzaku, XMM-Newton, Chandra, and the H.E.S.S. observatories. The inferred physical quantities from modeling multiwavelength emission in the context of bremsstrahlung emission from the inner {approx}300 Multiplication-Sign 120 pc of the Galactic center are constrained to have the cosmic-ray ionization rate {approx}1-10 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup -15} s{sup -1}, molecular gas heating rate elevating the gas temperature to 75-200 K, fractional ionization of molecular gas 10{sup -6}-10{sup -5}, large-scale magnetic field 10-20 {mu}G, the density of diffuse and dense molecular gas {approx}100 and {approx}10{sup 3} cm{sup -3} over 300 pc and 50 pc path lengths, and the variability of Fe I K{alpha} 6.4 keV line emission on yearly timescales. Important implications of our study are that GeV electrons emitting in radio can explain the GeV {gamma}-rays detected by Fermi and that the cosmic-ray irradiation model, like the model of the X-ray irradiation triggered by past activity of Sgr A*, can also explain the origin of the variable 6.4 keV emission from Galactic center molecular clouds.« less

Spin diffusion in disordered organic semiconductors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Ling; Gao, Nan; Lu, Nianduan; Liu, Ming; Bässler, Heinz

2015-12-01

An analytical theory for spin diffusion in disordered organic semiconductors is derived. It is based on percolation theory and variable range hopping in a disordered energy landscape with a Gaussian density of states. It describes universally the dependence of the spin diffusion on temperature, carrier density, material disorder, magnetic field, and electric field at the arbitrary magnitude of the Hubbard energy of charge pairs. It is found that, compared to the spin transport carried by carriers hopping, the spin exchange will hinder the spin diffusion process at low carrier density, even under the condition of a weak electric field. Importantly, under the influence of a bias voltage, anomalous spreading of the spin packet will lead to an abnormal temperature dependence of the spin diffusion coefficient and diffusion length. This explains the recent experimental data for spin diffusion length observed in Alq3.

Experimental Investigations on Two Potential Sound Diffuseness Measures in Enclosures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bai, Xin

This study investigates two different approaches to measure sound field diffuseness in enclosures from monophonic room impulse responses. One approach quantifies sound field diffuseness in enclosures by calculating the kurtosis of the pressure samples of room impulse responses. Kurtosis is a statistical measure that is known to describe the peakedness or tailedness of the distribution of a set of data. High kurtosis indicates low diffuseness of the sound field of interest. The other one relies on multifractal detrended fluctuation analysis which is a way to evaluate the statistical self-affinity of a signal to measure diffuseness. To test these two approaches, room impulse responses are obtained under varied room-acoustic diffuseness configurations, achieved by using varied degrees of diffusely reflecting interior surfaces. This paper will analyze experimentally measured monophonic room impulse responses, and discuss results from these two approaches.

Stefan-Maxwell Relations and Heat Flux with Anisotropic Transport Coefficients for Ionized Gases in a Magnetic Field with Application to the Problem of Ambipolar Diffusion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kolesnichenko, A. V.; Marov, M. Ya.

2018-01-01

The defining relations for the thermodynamic diffusion and heat fluxes in a multicomponent, partially ionized gas mixture in an external electromagnetic field have been obtained by the methods of the kinetic theory. Generalized Stefan-Maxwell relations and algebraic equations for anisotropic transport coefficients (the multicomponent diffusion, thermal diffusion, electric and thermoelectric conductivity coefficients as well as the thermal diffusion ratios) associated with diffusion-thermal processes have been derived. The defining second-order equations are derived by the Chapman-Enskog procedure using Sonine polynomial expansions. The modified Stefan-Maxwell relations are used for the description of ambipolar diffusion in the Earth's ionospheric plasma (in the F region) composed of electrons, ions of many species, and neutral particles in a strong electromagnetic field.

Advances in detection of diffuse seafloor venting using structured light imaging.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smart, C.; Roman, C.; Carey, S.

2016-12-01

Systematic, remote detection and high resolution mapping of low temperature diffuse hydrothermal venting is inefficient and not currently tractable using traditional remotely operated vehicle (ROV) mounted sensors. Preliminary results for hydrothermal vent detection using a structured light laser sensor were presented in 2011 and published in 2013 (Smart) with continual advancements occurring in the interim. As the structured light laser passes over active venting, the projected laser line effectively blurs due to the associated turbulence and density anomalies in the vent fluid. The degree laser disturbance is captured by a camera collecting images of the laser line at 20 Hz. Advancements in the detection of the laser and fluid interaction have included extensive normalization of the collected laser data and the implementation of a support vector machine algorithm to develop a classification routine. The image data collected over a hydrothermal vent field is then labeled as seafloor, bacteria or a location of venting. The results can then be correlated with stereo images, bathymetry and backscatter data. This sensor is a component of an ROV mounted imaging suite which also includes stereo cameras and a multibeam sonar system. Originally developed for bathymetric mapping, the structured light laser sensor, and other imaging suite components, are capable of creating visual and bathymetric maps with centimeter level resolution. Surveys are completed in a standard mowing the lawn pattern completing a 30m x 30m survey with centimeter level resolution in under an hour. Resulting co-registered data includes, multibeam and structured light laser bathymetry and backscatter, stereo images and vent detection. This system allows for efficient exploration of areas with diffuse and small point source hydrothermal venting increasing the effectiveness of scientific sampling and observation. Recent vent detection results collected during the 2013-2015 E/V Nautilus seasons will be presented. Smart, C. J. and Roman, C. and Carey, S. N. (2013) Detection of diffuse seafloor venting using structured light imaging, Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, 14, 4743-4757

Supernova remnants and diffuse ionized gas in M31

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Walterbos, Rene; Braun, Robert

1990-01-01

Researchers have compiled an initial list of radio/optical supernova remnants (SNRs) in M31, by searching for radio identifications of emission-line sources with a high (SII)/H alpha ratio (greater than 0.60). The (SII) filter included both sulfur lines and the H alpha filter did not include (NII). This search revealed 11 SNRs, of which only two were known. In addition, researchers detected radio emission from 3 SNRs that were identified in previous optical surveys (D'Odorico et al., 1980), but that were outside the charge coupled device (CCD) fields. The 14 objects only include the most obvious candidates, but a full search is in progress and the researchers expect to find several more SNRs. Also not all optical SNRs show detectable radio emission and a pure optical list of SNR candidates based only on the ratio of (SII)/H alpha emission contains many more objects. Two conclusions are apparent. First, the radio properties of the SNRs in M31 are quite similar to those of Galactic SNRs as is illustrated. The brightnesses are not systematically lower as has been suggested in the past (Dickel and D'Odorico, 1984). Second, the slope of the relation is close to -2; this slope is expected from the intrinsic dependence between surface brightness and diameter. The radio luminosity of the SNRs does not seem to depend strongly on diameter, or age, contrary to model predictions. Selection effects, however, play an important role in these plots. The CCD images show widespread diffuse ionized gas with a ratio of (SII)/H alpha that is higher than that of discrete HII regions. Discrete HII regions typically show ratios between 0.2 to 0.3, while the diffuse gas in the arms consistently shows ratios of 0.5. Researchers can trace this gas across the spiral arms to emission measures below 5 pc cm (-6). Its properties seem to be similar to that of the diffuse gas in the solar neighborhood.

Dynamics of a magnetic active Brownian particle under a uniform magnetic field.

PubMed

Vidal-Urquiza, Glenn C; Córdova-Figueroa, Ubaldo M

2017-11-01

The dynamics of a magnetic active Brownian particle undergoing three-dimensional Brownian motion, both translation and rotation, under the influence of a uniform magnetic field is investigated. The particle self-propels at a constant speed along its magnetic dipole moment, which reorients due to the interplay between Brownian and magnetic torques, quantified by the Langevin parameter α. In this work, the time-dependent active diffusivity and the crossover time (τ^{cross})-from ballistic to diffusive regimes-are calculated through the time-dependent correlation function of the fluctuations of the propulsion direction. The results reveal that, for any value of α, the particle undergoes a directional (or ballistic) propulsive motion at very short times (t≪τ^{cross}). In this regime, the correlation function decreases linearly with time, and the active diffusivity increases with it. It the opposite time limit (t≫τ^{cross}), the particle moves in a purely diffusive regime with a correlation function that decays asymptotically to zero and an active diffusivity that reaches a constant value equal to the long-time active diffusivity of the particle. As expected in the absence of a magnetic field (α=0), the crossover time is equal to the characteristic time scale for rotational diffusion, τ_{rot}. In the presence of a magnetic field (α>0), the correlation function, the active diffusivity, and the crossover time decrease with increasing α. The magnetic field regulates the regimes of propulsion of the particle. Here, the field reduces the period of time at which the active particle undergoes a directional motion. Consequently, the active particle rapidly reaches a diffusive regime at τ^{cross}≪τ_{rot}. In the limit of weak fields (α≪1), the crossover time decreases quadratically with α, while in the limit of strong fields (α≫1) it decays asymptotically as α^{-1}. The results are in excellent agreement with those obtained by Brownian dynamics simulations.

Dynamics of a magnetic active Brownian particle under a uniform magnetic field

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vidal-Urquiza, Glenn C.; Córdova-Figueroa, Ubaldo M.

2017-11-01

The dynamics of a magnetic active Brownian particle undergoing three-dimensional Brownian motion, both translation and rotation, under the influence of a uniform magnetic field is investigated. The particle self-propels at a constant speed along its magnetic dipole moment, which reorients due to the interplay between Brownian and magnetic torques, quantified by the Langevin parameter α . In this work, the time-dependent active diffusivity and the crossover time (τcross)—from ballistic to diffusive regimes—are calculated through the time-dependent correlation function of the fluctuations of the propulsion direction. The results reveal that, for any value of α , the particle undergoes a directional (or ballistic) propulsive motion at very short times (t ≪τcross ). In this regime, the correlation function decreases linearly with time, and the active diffusivity increases with it. It the opposite time limit (t ≫τcross ), the particle moves in a purely diffusive regime with a correlation function that decays asymptotically to zero and an active diffusivity that reaches a constant value equal to the long-time active diffusivity of the particle. As expected in the absence of a magnetic field (α =0 ), the crossover time is equal to the characteristic time scale for rotational diffusion, τrot. In the presence of a magnetic field (α >0 ), the correlation function, the active diffusivity, and the crossover time decrease with increasing α . The magnetic field regulates the regimes of propulsion of the particle. Here, the field reduces the period of time at which the active particle undergoes a directional motion. Consequently, the active particle rapidly reaches a diffusive regime at τcross≪τrot . In the limit of weak fields (α ≪1 ), the crossover time decreases quadratically with α , while in the limit of strong fields (α ≫1 ) it decays asymptotically as α-1. The results are in excellent agreement with those obtained by Brownian dynamics simulations.

Channel waveguides in glass via silver-sodium field-assisted ion exchange

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Forrest, K.; Pagano, S. J.; Viehmann, W.

1986-01-01

Multimode channel waveguides have been formed in sodium aluminosilicate glass by field-assisted diffusion of Ag(+) ions from vacuum-evaporated Ag films. The two-dimensional refractive index profiles of the waveguides were controlled by varying the diffusion time, the diffusion temperature, and the electric field strength. Estimates of the diffusion rate through a strip aperture were obtained, assuming the electric field was strong 120-240 V/mm. The maximum change in refractive index in the sodium aluminosilicate glasses was estimated near 65 percent of the change in soda-lime silicate glass. The physical properties of the glasses are given in a table.

Three types of aurora on Mars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schneider, N. M.; Jain, S.; Deighan, J.; Stewart, I. F.; Stiepen, A.; Larson, D. E.; Halekas, J. S.; Mitchell, D. L.; Mazelle, C. X.; Lee, C. O.; Lillis, R. J.; Evans, J. S.; Gerard, J. C. M. C.; Brain, D.; Clarke, J. T.; Mayyasi, M.; Chaffin, M.; Fang, X.; Stevens, M. H.; Crismani, M. M. J.; Lo, D.; Lefèvre, F.; McClintock, B.; Holsclaw, G.; Montmessin, F.; Jakosky, B. M.

2017-12-01

Observations by the Imaging UltraViolet Spectrograph (IUVS) on the MAVEN spacecraft have identified three types of aurora on Mars, each profoundly different from comparable types on Earth and other planets. The primary reason for these differences is Mars' lack of a global magnetic field and presence of localized crustral magnetic fields primarily in the southern hemisphere. IUVS is MAVEN's remote sensing instrument for study of the Mars atmosphere. The instrument records spatially-resolved spectra in the far-UV (110-190 nm) and Mid-UV (180-340 nm). By virtue of an internal scan mirror and a gimbaled instrument platform, IUVS obtains useful spectra on Mars with >50% duty cycle, including Mars' nightside. IUVS performs limb scans during the spacecraft periapse, and obtains UV images of the planet from reconstructed apoapse disk scans. Two types of aurora have been detected on Mars' nightside by virtue of emissions requiring excitation by precipitating charged particles. The first type, discrete aurora, are localized near the boundary between open and closed crustal magnetic field lines. They generally appear at 140 km altitude and the spectra correspond to moderate mean electron energy precipitation. These detections confirm the discovery of discrete discovered by Mars Express/SPICAM. IUVS has discovered a second type, diffuse aurora, which are widespread and potentially global. They occur as low as 70 km altitude; the spectra, depth of penetration and timing are consistent with the precipitation of relativistic electrons from the Sun. IUVS has discovered a third type, proton aurora, on Mars' dayside as excess hydrogen Lyman alpha emission confined to Mars' thermosphere. The intermittent excesses appear correlated with enhanced solar wind conditions. This type is the most common form of aurora detected by IUVS. IUVS results dispel a common misconception that aurora only occur near the edges of closed planetary magnetic field lines. While this is true for terrestrial aurora and discrete aurora on Mars, it is false for Mars' diffuse and proton auroras. In this sense, Mars serves as the best archetype for auroral processes on unmagnetized planets in our solar system and beyond.

Stochastic Reconnection for Large Magnetic Prandtl Numbers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jafari, Amir; Vishniac, Ethan T.; Kowal, Grzegorz; Lazarian, Alex

2018-06-01

We consider stochastic magnetic reconnection in high-β plasmas with large magnetic Prandtl numbers, Pr m > 1. For large Pr m , field line stochasticity is suppressed at very small scales, impeding diffusion. In addition, viscosity suppresses very small-scale differential motions and therefore also the local reconnection. Here we consider the effect of high magnetic Prandtl numbers on the global reconnection rate in a turbulent medium and provide a diffusion equation for the magnetic field lines considering both resistive and viscous dissipation. We find that the width of the outflow region is unaffected unless Pr m is exponentially larger than the Reynolds number Re. The ejection velocity of matter from the reconnection region is also unaffected by viscosity unless Re ∼ 1. By these criteria the reconnection rate in typical astrophysical systems is almost independent of viscosity. This remains true for reconnection in quiet environments where current sheet instabilities drive reconnection. However, if Pr m > 1, viscosity can suppress small-scale reconnection events near and below the Kolmogorov or viscous damping scale. This will produce a threshold for the suppression of large-scale reconnection by viscosity when {\\Pr }m> \\sqrt{Re}}. In any case, for Pr m > 1 this leads to a flattening of the magnetic fluctuation power spectrum, so that its spectral index is ∼‑4/3 for length scales between the viscous dissipation scale and eddies larger by roughly {{\\Pr }}m3/2. Current numerical simulations are insensitive to this effect. We suggest that the dependence of reconnection on viscosity in these simulations may be due to insufficient resolution for the turbulent inertial range rather than a guide to the large Re limit.

Measuring diffusion-relaxation correlation maps using non-uniform field gradients of single-sided NMR devices.

PubMed

Nogueira d'Eurydice, Marcel; Galvosas, Petrik

2014-11-01

Single-sided NMR systems are becoming a relevant tool in industry and laboratory environments due to their low cost, low maintenance and capacity to evaluate quantity and quality of hydrogen based materials. The performance of such devices has improved significantly over the last decade, providing increased field homogeneity, field strength and even controlled static field gradients. For a class of these devices, the configuration of the permanent magnets provides a linear variation of the magnetic field and can be used in diffusion measurements. However, magnet design depends directly on its application and, according to the purpose, the field homogeneity may significantly be compromised. This may prevent the determination of diffusion properties of fluids based on the natural inhomogeneity of the field using known techniques. This work introduces a new approach that extends the applicability of diffusion-editing CPMG experiments to NMR devices with highly inhomogeneous magnetic fields, which do not vary linearly in space. Herein, we propose a method to determine a custom diffusion kernel based on the gradient distribution, which can be seen as a signature of each NMR device. This new diffusion kernel is then utilised in the 2D inverse Laplace transform (2D ILT) in order to determine diffusion-relaxation correlation maps of homogeneous multi-phasic fluids. The experiments were performed using NMR MObile Lateral Explore (MOLE), which is a single-sided NMR device designed to maximise the volume at the sweet spot with enhanced depth penetration. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Spatial variation in soil properties and diffuse losses between and within grassland fields with similar short-term management.

PubMed

Peukert, S; Griffith, B A; Murray, P J; Macleod, C J A; Brazier, R E

2016-07-01

One of the major challenges for agriculture is to understand the effects of agricultural practices on soil properties and diffuse pollution, to support practical farm-scale land management. Three conventionally managed grassland fields with similar short-term management, but different ploughing histories, were studied on a long-term research platform: the North Wyke Farm Platform. The aims were to (i) quantify the between-field and within-field spatial variation in soil properties by geostatistical analysis, (ii) understand the effects of soil condition (in terms of nitrogen, phosphorus and carbon contents) on the quality of discharge water and (iii) establish robust baseline data before the implementation of various grassland management scenarios. Although the fields sampled had experienced the same land use and similar management for at least 6 years, there were differences in their mean soil properties. They showed different patterns of soil spatial variation and different rates of diffuse nutrient losses to water. The oldest permanent pasture field had the largest soil macronutrient concentrations and the greatest diffuse nutrient losses. We show that management histories affect soil properties and diffuse losses. Potential gains in herbage yield or benefits in water quality might be achieved by characterizing every field or by area-specific management within fields (a form of precision agriculture for grasslands). Permanent pasture per se cannot be considered a mitigation measure for diffuse pollution. The between- and within-field soil spatial variation emphasizes the importance of baseline characterization and will enable the reliable identification of any effects of future management change on the Farm Platform. Quantification of soil and water quality in grassland fields with contrasting management histories.Considerable spatial variation in soil properties and diffuse losses between and within fields.Contrasting management histories within and between fields strongly affected soil and water quality.Careful pasture management needed: the oldest pasture transferred the most nutrients from soil to water.

Microscale diffusion measurements and simulation of a scaffold with a permeable strut.

PubMed

Lee, Seung Youl; Lee, Byung Ryong; Lee, Jongwan; Kim, Seongjun; Kim, Jung Kyung; Jeong, Young Hun; Jin, Songwan

2013-10-10

Electrospun nanofibrous structures provide good performance to scaffolds in tissue engineering. We measured the local diffusion coefficients of 3-kDa FITC-dextran in line patterns of electrospun nanofibrous structures fabricated by the direct-write electrospinning (DWES) technique using the fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) method. No significant differences were detected between DWES line patterns fabricated with polymer supplied at flow rates of 0.1 and 0.5 mL/h. The oxygen diffusion coefficients of samples were estimated to be ~92%-94% of the oxygen diffusion coefficient in water based on the measured diffusion coefficient of 3-kDa FITC-dextran. We also simulated cell growth and distribution within spatially patterned scaffolds with struts consisting of either oxygen-permeable or non-permeable material. The permeable strut scaffolds exhibited enhanced cell growth. Saturated depths at which cells could grow to confluence were 15% deeper for the permeable strut scaffolds than for the non-permeable strut scaffold.

Alfvén 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.

2007-08-01

Alfvén waves, transverse incompressible magnetic oscillations, have been proposed as a possible mechanism to heat the Sun’s corona to millions of degrees by transporting convective energy from the photosphere into the diffuse corona. We report the detection of Alfvén waves in intensity, line-of-sight velocity, and linear polarization images of the solar corona taken using the FeXIII 1074.7-nanometer coronal emission line with the Coronal Multi-Channel Polarimeter (CoMP) instrument at the National Solar Observatory, New Mexico. Ubiquitous upward propagating waves were seen, with phase speeds of 1 to 4 megameters per second and trajectories consistent with the direction of the magnetic field inferred from the linear polarization measurements. An estimate of the energy carried by the waves that we spatially resolved indicates that they are too weak to heat the solar corona; however, unresolved Alfvén waves may carry sufficient energy.

Laser line scanning for fluorescence reflectance imaging: a phantom study and in vivo validation of the enhancement of contrast and resolution.

PubMed

Fantoni, Frédéric; Hervé, Lionel; Poher, Vincent; Gioux, Sylvain; Mars, Jérôme I; Dinten, Jean-Marc

2014-01-01

Intraoperative fluorescence imaging in reflectance geometry is an attractive imaging modality to noninvasively monitor fluorescence-targeted tumors. In some situations, this kind of imaging suffers from poor resolution due to the diffusive nature of photons in tissue. The objective of the proposed technique is to tackle this limitation. It relies on the scanning of the medium with a laser line illumination and the acquisition of images at each position of excitation. The detection scheme proposed takes advantage of the stack of images acquired to enhance the resolution and the contrast of the final image. The experimental protocol is described to fully understand why we overpass the classical limits and validate the scheme on tissue-like phantoms and in vivo with a preliminary testing. The results are compared with those obtained with a classical wide-field illumination.

3-D residual eddy current field characterisation: applied to diffusion weighted magnetic resonance imaging.

PubMed

O'Brien, Kieran; Daducci, Alessandro; Kickler, Nils; Lazeyras, Francois; Gruetter, Rolf; Feiweier, Thorsten; Krueger, Gunnar

2013-08-01

Clinical use of the Stejskal-Tanner diffusion weighted images is hampered by the geometric distortions that result from the large residual 3-D eddy current field induced. In this work, we aimed to predict, using linear response theory, the residual 3-D eddy current field required for geometric distortion correction based on phantom eddy current field measurements. The predicted 3-D eddy current field induced by the diffusion-weighting gradients was able to reduce the root mean square error of the residual eddy current field to ~1 Hz. The model's performance was tested on diffusion weighted images of four normal volunteers, following distortion correction, the quality of the Stejskal-Tanner diffusion-weighted images was found to have comparable quality to image registration based corrections (FSL) at low b-values. Unlike registration techniques the correction was not hindered by low SNR at high b-values, and results in improved image quality relative to FSL. Characterization of the 3-D eddy current field with linear response theory enables the prediction of the 3-D eddy current field required to correct eddy current induced geometric distortions for a wide range of clinical and high b-value protocols.

Near Field Imaging of Gallium Nitride Nanowires for Characterization of Minority Carrier Diffusion

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-12-01

diffusion length in nanowires is critical to potential applications in solar cells , spectroscopic sensing, and/or lasers and light emitting diodes (LED...technique has been successfully demonstrated with thin film solar cell materials [4, 5]. In these experiments, the diffusion length was measured using a...minority carrier diffusion length . This technique has been used in the near-field collection mode to image the diffusion of holes in n-type GaN

A comparative quantitative analysis of magnetic susceptibility artifacts in echo planar and PROPELLER diffusion-weighted images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cho, Jae-Hwan; Lee, Hae-Kag; Yang, Han-Joon; Lee, Gui-Won; Park, Yong-Soon; Chung, Woon-Kwan

2013-01-01

In this study, the authors investigated whether periodically-rotated overlapping parallel lines with enhanced reconstruction (PROPELLER) diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) can remove magnetic susceptibility artifacts and compared apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values for PROPELLER DWI and the common echo planar (EP) DWI. Twenty patients that underwent brain MRI with a metal dental implant were selected. A 3.0T MR scanner was then used to obtain EP DWI, PROPELLER DWI, and corresponding apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) maps for a b-value of 0 and 1,000 s/mm2. The frequencies of magnetic susceptibility artifacts in four parts of the brain (bilateral temporal lobes, pons, and orbit) were selected. In the ADC maps, we measured the ADC values of both sides of the temporal lobe and the pons. According to the study results, the frequency of magnetic susceptibility artifacts in PROPELLER DW images was lower than it was in EP DW images. In ADC maps, the ADC values of the bilateral temporal lobes and the pons were all higher in PROPELLER ADC maps than in EP ADC maps. Our findings show that when a high-field MRI machine is used, magnetic susceptibility artifacts can distort anatomical structures and produce high-intensity signals. Furthermore, our findings suggest that in many cases, PROPELLER DWI would be helpful in terms of achieving a correct diagnosis.

Observations of Solar Energetic Particles from 3He-rich Events over a Wide Range of Heliographic Longitude

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wiedenbeck, M. E.; Mason, G. M.; Cohen, C. M. S.; Nitta, N. V.; Gómez-Herrero, R.; Haggerty, D. K.

2013-01-01

A prevailing model for the origin of 3He-rich solar energetic particle (SEP) events attributes particle acceleration to processes associated with the reconnection between closed magnetic field lines in an active region and neighboring open field lines. The open field from the small reconnection volume then provides a path along which accelerated particles escape into a relatively narrow range of angles in the heliosphere. The narrow width (standard deviation <20°) of the distribution of X-ray flare longitudes found to be associated with 3He-rich SEP events detected at a single spacecraft at 1 AU supports this model. We report multispacecraft observations of individual 3He-rich SEP events that occurred during the solar minimum time period from 2007 January through 2011 January using instrumentation carried by the two Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory spacecraft and the Advanced Composition Explorer. We find that detections of 3He-rich events at pairs of spacecraft are not uncommon, even when their longitudinal separation is >60°. We present the observations of the 3He-rich event of 2010 February 7, which was detected at all three spacecraft when they spanned 136° in heliographic longitude. Measured fluences of 3He in this event were found to have a strong dependence on longitude which is well fit by a Gaussian with standard deviation ~48° centered at the longitude that is connected to the source region by a nominal Parker spiral magnetic field. We discuss several mechanisms for distributing flare-accelerated particles over a wide range of heliographic longitudes including interplanetary diffusion perpendicular to the magnetic field, spreading of a compact cluster of open field lines between the active region and the source surface where the field becomes radial and opens out into the heliosphere, and distortion of the interplanetary field by a preceding coronal mass ejection. Statistical studies of additional 3He-rich events detected at multiple spacecraft will be needed to establish the relative importance of the various mechanisms.

Low-energy ion acceleration at quasi-perpendicular shocks: Transverse diffusion

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Giacalone, J.; Jokipii, J. R.

1995-01-01

The problem of ion injection and acceleration at quasi perpendicular shocks has been the subject of some debate over the past two decades. It is widely known that these shocks efficiently accelerate particles that are well in the high-energy tail of the distribution. However, the issue of injection, or the acceleration of low-energy ions, has yet to reach a consensus. The fundamental issue is whether there is enough diffusion normal to the magnetic field for the particles to remain near the shock. Since transverse diffusion is a physical process that is not well understood in space plasmas, this is an important, and difficult issue to address. In this report, we will investigate the ion injection problem by performing test particle orbit integrations using synthesized turbulent fields. These fields are fully three-dimensional so that transverse diffusion is possible (cross-field diffusion is not possible in geometries where the electromagnetic fields are less than three dimensional). The synthesized fields are produced by superimposing a three-dimensional wave field on a background field. For completeness, we will compare the results from this model with the more well-established theories, such as the diffusive approximation and scatter-free shock drift acceleration. We will also compare these results with other numerical simulation techniques such as the well known hybrid simulation, and other test-particle calculations in which the shock fields are specified to have less than three dimensions. We will also discuss some recent relevant observations and how these compare with our results.

Mechanisms of Stochastic Diffusion of Energetic Ions in Spherical Tori

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

Ya.I. Kolesnichenko; R.B. White; Yu.V. Yakovenko

Stochastic diffusion of the energetic ions in spherical tori is considered. The following issues are addressed: (I) Goldston-White-Boozer diffusion in a rippled field; (ii) cyclotron-resonance-induced diffusion caused by the ripple; (iii) effects of non-conservation of the magnetic moment in an axisymmetric field. It is found that the stochastic diffusion in spherical tori with a weak magnetic field has a number of peculiarities in comparison with conventional tokamaks; in particular, it is characterized by an increased role of mechanisms associated with non-conservation of the particle magnetic moment. It is concluded that in current experiments on National Spherical Torus eXperiment (NSTX) themore » stochastic diffusion does not have a considerable influence on the confinement of energetic ions.« less

Micromagnetic simulation of anisotropic grain boundary diffusion for sintered Nd-Fe-B magnets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, W.; Zhou, Q.; Zhao, L. Z.; Wang, Q. X.; Zhong, X. C.; Liu, Z. W.

2018-04-01

A systematic investigation on the anisotropic grain boundary diffusion in sintered Nd-Fe-B magnets is carried out by micromagnetic simulation. The results indicate that the critical reason for the anisotropic diffusion effect is not the difference in the amount of Dy diffused along different directions but the macroscopic demagnetizing field. The diffusion parallel to the easy axis from both pole surfaces of the magnet can increase the nucleation fields in the two major regions with large macroscopic demagnetizing fields, where the reverse domains can nucleate easily. As a consequence, the grain boundary diffusion along the directions parallel to the easy axis from two pole surfaces is more effective to improve the coercivity of the magnets than that along other directions. It is also found that, to enhance the coercivity, only a limited diffusion depth is required. The present result is in good agreement with the recent experimental findings.

Anchoring Polar Magnetic Field in a Stationary Thick Accretion Disk

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

Samadi, Maryam; Abbassi, Shahram, E-mail: samadimojarad@um.ac.ir

We investigate the properties of a hot accretion flow bathed in a poloidal magnetic field. We consider an axisymmetric viscous-resistive flow in the steady-state configuration. We assume that the dominant mechanism of energy dissipation is due to turbulence viscosity and magnetic diffusivity. A certain fraction of that energy can be advected toward the central compact object. We employ the self-similar method in the radial direction to find a system of ODEs with just one varible, θ in the spherical coordinates. For the existence and maintenance of a purely poloidal magnetic field in a rotating thick disk, we find that themore » necessary condition is a constant value of angular velocity along a magnetic field line. We obtain an analytical solution for the poloidal magnetic flux. We explore possible changes in the vertical structure of the disk under the influences of symmetric and asymmetric magnetic fields. Our results reveal that a polar magnetic field with even symmetry about the equatorial plane makes the disk vertically thin. Moreover, the accretion rate decreases when we consider a strong magnetic field. Finally, we notice that hot magnetized accretion flows can be fully advected even in a slim shape.« less

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.

Structural and functional correlates of visual field asymmetry in the human brain by diffusion kurtosis MRI and functional MRI.

PubMed

O'Connell, Caitlin; Ho, Leon C; Murphy, Matthew C; Conner, Ian P; Wollstein, Gadi; Cham, Rakie; Chan, Kevin C

2016-11-09

Human visual performance has been observed to show superiority in localized regions of the visual field across many classes of stimuli. However, the underlying neural mechanisms remain unclear. This study aims to determine whether the visual information processing in the human brain is dependent on the location of stimuli in the visual field and the corresponding neuroarchitecture using blood-oxygenation-level-dependent functional MRI (fMRI) and diffusion kurtosis MRI, respectively, in 15 healthy individuals at 3 T. In fMRI, visual stimulation to the lower hemifield showed stronger brain responses and larger brain activation volumes than the upper hemifield, indicative of the differential sensitivity of the human brain across the visual field. In diffusion kurtosis MRI, the brain regions mapping to the lower visual field showed higher mean kurtosis, but not fractional anisotropy or mean diffusivity compared with the upper visual field. These results suggested the different distributions of microstructural organization across visual field brain representations. There was also a strong positive relationship between diffusion kurtosis and fMRI responses in the lower field brain representations. In summary, this study suggested the structural and functional brain involvements in the asymmetry of visual field responses in humans, and is important to the neurophysiological and psychological understanding of human visual information processing.

Diffusion Tensor Imaging of Normal-Appearing White Matter as Biomarker for Radiation-Induced Late Delayed Cognitive Decline

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

Chapman, Christopher H., E-mail: chchap@umich.edu; Nagesh, Vijaya; Sundgren, Pia C.

Purpose: To determine whether early assessment of cerebral white matter degradation can predict late delayed cognitive decline after radiotherapy (RT). Methods and Materials: Ten patients undergoing conformal fractionated brain RT participated in a prospective diffusion tensor magnetic resonance imaging study. Magnetic resonance imaging studies were acquired before RT, at 3 and 6 weeks during RT, and 10, 30, and 78 weeks after starting RT. The diffusivity variables in the parahippocampal cingulum bundle and temporal lobe white matter were computed. A quality-of-life survey and neurocognitive function tests were administered before and after RT at the magnetic resonance imaging follow-up visits. Results:more » In both structures, longitudinal diffusivity ({lambda}{sub Double-Vertical-Line }) decreased and perpendicular diffusivity ({lambda}{sub Up-Tack }) increased after RT, with early changes correlating to later changes (p < .05). The radiation dose correlated with an increase in cingulum {lambda}{sub Up-Tack} at 3 weeks, and patients with >50% of cingula volume receiving >12 Gy had a greater increase in {lambda}{sub Up-Tack} at 3 and 6 weeks (p < .05). The post-RT changes in verbal recall scores correlated linearly with the late changes in cingulum {lambda}{sub Double-Vertical-Line} (30 weeks, p < .02). Using receiver operating characteristic curves, early cingulum {lambda}{sub Double-Vertical-Line} changes predicted for post-RT changes in verbal recall scores (3 and 6 weeks, p < .05). The neurocognitive test scores correlated significantly with the quality-of-life survey results. Conclusions: The correlation between early diffusivity changes in the parahippocampal cingulum and the late decline in verbal recall suggests that diffusion tensor imaging might be useful as a biomarker for predicting late delayed cognitive decline.« less

Combining phase-field crystal methods with a Cahn-Hilliard model for binary alloys

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Balakrishna, Ananya Renuka; Carter, W. Craig

2018-04-01

Diffusion-induced phase transitions typically change the lattice symmetry of the host material. In battery electrodes, for example, Li ions (diffusing species) are inserted between layers in a crystalline electrode material (host). This diffusion induces lattice distortions and defect formations in the electrode. The structural changes to the lattice symmetry affect the host material's properties. Here, we propose a 2D theoretical framework that couples a Cahn-Hilliard (CH) model, which describes the composition field of a diffusing species, with a phase-field crystal (PFC) model, which describes the host-material lattice symmetry. We couple the two continuum models via coordinate transformation coefficients. We introduce the transformation coefficients in the PFC method to describe affine lattice deformations. These transformation coefficients are modeled as functions of the composition field. Using this coupled approach, we explore the effects of coarse-grained lattice symmetry and distortions on a diffusion-induced phase transition process. In this paper, we demonstrate the working of the CH-PFC model through three representative examples: First, we describe base cases with hexagonal and square symmetries for two composition fields. Next, we illustrate how the CH-PFC method interpolates lattice symmetry across a diffuse phase boundary. Finally, we compute a Cahn-Hilliard type of diffusion and model the accompanying changes to lattice symmetry during a phase transition process.

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

Subedi, P.; Matthaeus, W. H.; Chuychai, P.

The investigation of the diffusive transport of charged particles in a turbulent magnetic field remains a subject of considerable interest. Research has most frequently concentrated on determining the diffusion coefficient in the presence of a mean magnetic field. Here we consider the diffusion of charged particles in fully three-dimensional isotropic turbulent magnetic fields with no mean field, which may be pertinent to many astrophysical situations. We identify different ranges of particle energy depending upon the ratio of Larmor radius to the characteristic outer length scale of turbulence. Two different theoretical models are proposed to calculate the diffusion coefficient, each applicablemore » to a distinct range of particle energies. The theoretical results are compared to those from computer simulations, showing good agreement.« less

Intensity mapping the Universe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Croft, Rupert

Intensity mapping (IM) is the use of one or more emission lines to trace out the structure of the Universe without needing to resolve individual objects (such as galaxies or gas clouds). It is one of the most promising ways to radically extend the sky survey revolution in cosmology. By making spectra of the entire sky, rather than the one part in one million captured by current fiber spectrographs, one would be sensitive to all structure. There are potentially huge discoveries to be made in the vast majority of the sky that is currently spectrally unmapped, and also great gains in signal to noise of cosmological clustering measurements. Intensity mapping with the 21cm radio line has been explored theoretically by many and instruments are being built, particularly targeting the epoch of reionization. In the UV, visible and infrared, however other lines have enormous promise, and will be exploited by a range of future NASA missions including WFIRST, Euclid, and the proposed SPHEREx instrument, a dedicated intensity mapping satellite. The first measurement of large-scale structure outside the radio (using Lyman-alpha emission) was recently made by the PI and collaborators. The Ly-a absorption line also traces a continuous cosmological field, the Lyman-alpha forest, and the enormous recent increase in the number of observed quasar spectra have made it possible to interpolate between quasar sightlines to create three-dimensional maps. Being able to trace the same cosmic structure in emission and absorption offers huge advantages when we seek to understand the processes involved. It will help us make comprehensive maps of the Universe's contents and offer us the opportunity to create new powerful cosmological tests. In our proposed work we will explore the possibilities afforded by taking grism and integral field spectra of large volumes of the Universe, using state-of-the-art cosmological hydrodynamic simulations. We will make use of analysis techniques developed for the Lyman-alpha forest, as well as forest data itself to test them. Our aim is to develop intensity mapping as a cosmological tool and show how it can be used to answer questions about the contents of the Universe and the formation of structure that are not accessible to traditional techniques. The project will involve both direct sampling of cosmic structure and cross-correlations of line intensity and objects (including galaxies, quasars and absorption lines). Emission (e.g., H-alpha emission) and absorption (Ly alpha forest) will be viewed as continuous fields. Using large volume cosmological simulations combined with population synthesis techniques we will make simulated spectral data sets. The techniques to analyse these cosmological data cubes will be developed. The expected outcomes are the following: (a) Predictions for the large-scale structure of strong emission lines (including Ha, Hb, Lya, OII, OIII) in the Universe using hydrodynamic simulations including the contribution from all components, from quasars to diffuse emssion. (b) Simulations of realistic examples of the use of IM as a cosmological probe, including Baryon Oscillations and weak gravitational lensing. (c) Tests of techniques to detection and quantify the low surface brightness Universe, leading to a complete census of the cosmic intensity in specific lines such as OII and Ha. (d) Development of techniques to extract redshifts for individual galaxies from low angular resolution IM spectroscopy. (e) Mock catalogs for SPHEREx, Euclid and WFIRST spectroscopy of diffuse emission, as well as for the Galex grism survey and tests of analysis techniques on data from the latter.

3D-CFD analysis of diffusion and emission of VOCs in a FLEC cavity.

PubMed

Zhu, Q; Kato, S; Murakami, S; Ito, K

2007-06-01

This study is performed as a part of research that examines the emission and diffusion characteristics of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from indoor building materials. In this paper, the flow field and the emission field of VOCs from the surface of building materials in a Field and Laboratory Emission Cell (FLEC) cavity are examined by 3D Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analysis. The flow field within the FLEC cavity is laminar. With a total flow of 250 ml/min, the air velocity near the test material surface ranges from 0.1 to 4.5 cm/s. Three types of emission from building materials are studied here: (i) emission phenomena controlled by internal diffusion, (ii) emission phenomena controlled by external diffusion, and (iii) emission phenomena controlled by mixed diffusion (internal + external diffusion). In the case of internal diffusion material, with respect to the concentration distribution in the cavity, the local VOC emission rate becomes uniform and the FLEC works well. However, in the case of evaporation type (external diffusion) material, or mixed type materials (internal + external diffusion) when the resistance to transporting VOCs in the material is small, the FLEC is not suitable for emission testing because of the thin FLEC cavity. In this case, the mean emission rate is restricted to a small value, since the VOC concentration in the cavity rises to the same value as the surface concentration through molecular diffusion within the thin cavity, and the concentration gradient normal to the surface becomes small. The diffusion field and emission rate depend on the cavity concentration and on the Loading Factor. That is, when the testing material surface in the cavity is partially sealed to decrease the Loading Factor, the emission rate become higher with the decrease in the exposed area of the testing material. The flow field and diffusion field within the FLEC cavity are investigated by CFD method. After presenting a summary of the velocity distributed over the surface of test material and the emission properties of different type materials in FLEC, the paper pointed out that there is a bias in the airflow inside the FLEC cavity but do not influence the result of test emission rate, and the FLEC method is unsuitable for evaporation type materials in which the mass transfer of the surface controls the emission rate.

Bi-layer structure of counterstreaming energetic electron fluxes: a diagnostic tool of the acceleration mechanism in the Earth's magnetotail

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sarafopoulos, D. V.

2010-02-01

For the first time we identify a bi-layer structure of energetic electron fluxes in the Earth's magnetotail and establish (using datasets mainly obtained by the Geotail Energetic Particles and Ion Composition (EPIC/ICS) instrument) that it actually provides strong evidence for a purely spatial structure. Each bi-layer event is composed of two distinct layers with counterstreaming energetic electron fluxes, parallel and antiparallel to the local ambient magnetic field lines; in particular, the tailward directed fluxes always occur in a region adjacent to the lobes. Adopting the X-line as a standard reconnection model, we determine the occurrence of bi-layer events relatively to the neutral point, in the substorm frame; four (out of the shown seven) events are observed earthward and three tailward, a result implying that four events probably occurred with the substorm's local recovery phase. We discuss the bi-layer events in terms of the X-line model; they add more constraints for any candidate electron acceleration mechanism. It should be stressed that until this time, none proposed electron acceleration mechanism has discussed or predicted these layered structures with all their properties. Then we discuss the bi-layer events in terms of the much promising "akis model", as introduced by Sarafopoulos (2008). The akis magnetic field topology is embedded in a thinned plasma sheet and is potentially causing charge separation. We assume that as the Rc curvature radius of the magnetic field line tends to become equal to the ion gyroradius rg, then the ions become non-adiabatic. At the limit Rc=rg the demagnetization process is also under way and the frozen-in magnetic field condition is violated by strong wave turbulence; hence, the ion particles in this geometry are stochastically scattered. In addition, ion diffusion probably takes place across the magnetic field, since an intense pressure gradient is directed earthward; hence, ions are ejected tailward of akis. This way, in front of akis an "ion capsule region" is formed with net positive charge. In between them a distinct region with an electric field E⊥ orthogonal to the magnetic field is emerged; E⊥ in front of akis is directed earthward. The field-aligned and highly anisotropic energetic electron populations have probably resulted via spatially separated antiparallel and field-aligned electric fields being the very heart of the acceleration source. We assume that the ultimate cause for the field-aligned electric fields are the net positive capsule charge and the net negative charge trapped at the tip of akis; both charges will be eventually neutralized through field aligned currents, but they remain unshielded for sufficient time to produce the observed events.

Diffusional falsification of kinetic constants on Lineweaver-Burk plots.

PubMed

Ghim, Y S; Chang, H N

1983-11-07

The effect of mass transfer resistances on the Lineweaver-Burk plots in immobilized enzyme systems has been investigated numerically and with analytical approximate solutions. While Hamilton, Gardner & Colton (1974) studied the effect of internal diffusion resistances in planar geometry, our study was extended to the combined effect of internal and external diffusion in cylindrical and spherical geometries as well. The variation of Lineweaver-Burk plots with respect to the geometries was minimized by modifying the Thiele modulus and the Biot number with the shape factor. Especially for a small Biot number all the three Lineweaver-Burk plots fell on a single line. As was discussed by Hamilton et al. (1974), the curvature of the line for large external diffusion resistances was small enough to be assumed linear, which was confirmed from the two approximate solutions for large and small substrate concentrations. Two methods for obtaining intrinsic kinetic constants were proposed: First, we obtained both maximum reaction rate and Michaelis constant by fitting experimental data to a straight line where external diffusion resistance was relatively large, and second, we obtained Michaelis constant from apparent Michaelis constant from the figure in case we knew maximum reaction rate a priori.

Interaction of the 100-year old X-Ray flare produced by a central black hole with diffuse gas in the Galactic center

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chernyshov, D.; Cheng, K.; Dogiel, V.; Kong, A.; Ko, C.; Tatischeff, V.; Terrier, R.

2017-10-01

We investigate an old X-Ray flare produced by a central black hole which is most likely responsible for the transient X-Ray emission from massive molecular clouds in the Galactic center. This flare should ionize diffuse molecular gas and also excite fluorescence lines e.g. neutral iron line at 6.4 keV. It turns out that the observed diffuse 6.4 keV line can be explained by the same X-Ray flare which illuminates dense molecular clouds. The diffuse emission can also be considered as a tool to limit potential duration and intensity of the primary X-Ray flare. We show that charged particles cannot provide necessary iron ionization rate to reproduce the observed emission. On the other hand ionization of neutral hydrogen cannot be provided by a primary flare and should be done by other mechanisms like for example charged particles. We also claim that recently found afterglow from Swift J1644+57 can be produced by similar event and can be a nice example of a Compton echo observed in a distant galaxy.

Oxide ion diffusion mechanism related to Co and Fe ions in (Ba0.5Sr0.5)(Co0.8Fe0.2)O3-δ using in-situ X-ray absorption spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Itoh, Takanori; Imai, Hideto

2018-03-01

The time changes of the white line and pre-edge intensities of Co and Fe K-edge in (Ba0.5Sr0.5)(Co0.8Fe0.2)O3-δ (BSCF) were observed to estimate the oxide ion diffusion related to Co and Fe ions by using in - situ X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) during oxidation. The 20 μm self-standing BSCF film was prepared for in - situ XAS measurements. The time changes of absorption were fitted to the exponential decay function with two terms. The longer relaxation time (τ), related to the oxide ion diffusion during the oxidation of BSCF, is dependent on temperature. The oxide ion diffusion coefficients (D) were calculated from the τ s estimated by in - situ XAS. The values of the activation energy (Ea) for D related to Co K-edge white line, Co pre-edge, and Fe pre-edge were 1.8-2.0 eV. The value of Ea for D related to Fe K-edge white line, however, was higher than other absorption values at approximately 2.3 eV. We discussed the oxide ion diffusion mechanism related to Co and Fe ions in BSCF using in - situ XAS.

Avalanches and diffusion in bubble rafts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maloney, C. E.

2015-07-01

Energy dissipation distributions and particle displacement statistics are studied in the mean-field version of Durian's bubble model. A two-dimensional (2D) bi-disperse mixture is simulated at various strain rates, \\dotγ , and packing ratios, ϕ, above the rigidity onset at φ=φc . Well above φc , and at sufficiently low \\dotγ , the system responds in a highly bursty way, reminiscent of other dynamically critical systems with a power-law distribution of energy dissipation. As one increases \\dotγ at fixed ϕ or tunes φ→ φc at fixed \\dotγ , the bursty behavior vanishes. Displacement distributions are non-Fickian at short times but cross to a Fickian regime at a universal strain, Δγ* , independent of \\dotγ and ϕ. Despite the profound differences in short-time dynamics, at intermediate Δγ the systems exhibit qualitatively similar spatial patterns of deformation with lines of slip extending across large fractions of the simulation cell. These deformation patterns explain the observed diffusion constants and the universal crossover time to Fickian behavior.

An X-ray investigation of the unusual supernova remnant CTB 80

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wang, Z. R.; Seward, F. D.

1984-01-01

The X-ray properties of SNR CTB 80 (G68.8 + 2.8) are discussed based on both low- and high-resolution images from the Einstein satellite. The X-ray maps show a point source coinciding with the region of maximum radio emission. Diffuse X-ray emission is evident mainly along the radio lobe extending about 8 arcmin east of the point source and aligned with the projected magnetic field lines. The observed X-ray luminosity is 3.2 x 10 to the 34th ergs/s with 1.0 x 10 to the 3th ergs/s from the point source (assuming a distance of 3 kpc). There is also faint, diffuse, X-ray emission south of the point source, where radio emission is absent. The unusual radio and X-ray morphologies are interpreted as a result of relativistic jets energized by the central object, and the possible association of CTB 80 with SN 1408 as recorded by Chinese observers is discussed.

Impurity transport in enhanced confinement regimes in RFX-mod Reversed Field Pinch

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carraro, Lorella; Menmuir, Sheena; Fassina, Alessandro

2010-11-01

The results of impurity transport studies in RFX-mod enhanced confinement quasi-single helicity (QSH) and single helical axis (SHAx) regimes are presented and discussed. The impurity diffusion coefficient and pinch velocity are obtained through comparing experimental emission pattern (line emission and SXR time evolutions, SXR profiles) with the results of a 1-D impurity transport code. Previous analysis [S. Menmuir et al. to be published in Plasma Phys. Contr. Fus.] of impurity transport in RFX-mod standard discharges showed that the impurity pinch velocity, always directed outwards, features a barrier with high values around r/a = 0.8, where the diffusion coefficient decreases by one order of magnitude. In the QSH regime, the transition region in D and v is more internal and the barrier in velocity is wider and stronger. New results have been obtained in experiments with Ni laser blow-off (LBO) injection in high current discharges (Ip>1.5 MA) with long lasting QSH, to better characterize the Ni behavior inside the helical magnetic topology.

Figure-ground segregation: A fully nonlocal approach.

PubMed

Dimiccoli, Mariella

2016-09-01

We present a computational model that computes and integrates in a nonlocal fashion several configural cues for automatic figure-ground segregation. Our working hypothesis is that the figural status of each pixel is a nonlocal function of several geometric shape properties and it can be estimated without explicitly relying on object boundaries. The methodology is grounded on two elements: multi-directional linear voting and nonlinear diffusion. A first estimation of the figural status of each pixel is obtained as a result of a voting process, in which several differently oriented line-shaped neighborhoods vote to express their belief about the figural status of the pixel. A nonlinear diffusion process is then applied to enforce the coherence of figural status estimates among perceptually homogeneous regions. Computer simulations fit human perception and match the experimental evidence that several cues cooperate in defining figure-ground segregation. The results of this work suggest that figure-ground segregation involves feedback from cells with larger receptive fields in higher visual cortical areas. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Voyager investigation of the cosmic diffuse background: Observations of rocket-studied locations with Voyager

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Henry, Richard C.

1994-01-01

Attachments to this final report include 2 papers connected with the Voyager work: 'Voyager Observations of Dust Scattering Near the Coalsack Nebula' and 'Search for the Intergalactic Medium'. An appendix of 12 one-page write-ups prepared in connection with another program, UVISI, is also included. The one-page write-ups are: (1) Sky survey of UV point sources to 600 times fainter than previous (TD-1) survey; (2) Diffuse galactic light: starlight scattered from dust at high galactic latitude; (3) Optical properties of interstellar grains; (4) Fluorescence of molecular hydrogen in the interstellar medium; (5) Line emission from hot interstellar medium and/or hot halo of galaxy; (6) Integrated light of distant galaxies in the ultraviolet; (7) Intergalactic far-ultraviolet radiation field; (8) Radiation from recombining intergalactic medium; (9) Radiation from re-heating of intergalactic medium following recombination; (10) Radiation from radiative decay of dark matter candidates (neutrino, etc.); (11) Reflectivity of the asteroids in the Ultraviolet; and (12) Zodiacal light.

Diffuse interface modeling of three-phase contact line dynamics on curved boundaries: A lattice Boltzmann model for large density and viscosity ratios

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fakhari, Abbas; Bolster, Diogo

2017-04-01

We introduce a simple and efficient lattice Boltzmann method for immiscible multiphase flows, capable of handling large density and viscosity contrasts. The model is based on a diffuse-interface phase-field approach. Within this context we propose a new algorithm for specifying the three-phase contact angle on curved boundaries within the framework of structured Cartesian grids. The proposed method has superior computational accuracy compared with the common approach of approximating curved boundaries with stair cases. We test the model by applying it to four benchmark problems: (i) wetting and dewetting of a droplet on a flat surface and (ii) on a cylindrical surface, (iii) multiphase flow past a circular cylinder at an intermediate Reynolds number, and (iv) a droplet falling on hydrophilic and superhydrophobic circular cylinders under differing conditions. Where available, our results show good agreement with analytical solutions and/or existing experimental data, highlighting strengths of this new approach.

Electromagnetic and electrostatic emissions at the cusp-magnetosphere interface during substorms

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Curtis, S. A.; Fairfield, D. H.; Wu, C. S.

1979-01-01

Strongly peaked electrostatic emissions near 10.0 kHz and electromagnetic emissions near 0.56 kHz have been observed by the VLF wave detector on board Imp 6 on crossings from the earth's magnetosphere into the polar cusp during the occurrence of large magnetospheric substorms. The electrostatic emissions were observed to be closely confined to the cusp-magnetosphere interface. The electromagnetic emissions were of somewhat broader spatial extent and were seen on higher-latitude field lines within the cusp. Using these plasma wave observations and additional information provided by plasma, magnetometer and particle measurements made simultaneously on Imp 6, theories are constructed to explain each of the two classes of emission. The electromagnetic waves are modeled as whistlers, and the electrostatic waves as electron-cyclotron harmonics. The resulting growth rates predict power spectra similar to those observed for both emission classes. The electrostatic waves may play a significant role via enhanced diffusion in the relaxation of the sharp substorm time cusp-magnetosphere boundary to a more diffuse quiet time boundary.

Dissipative structures of diffuse molecular gas. III. Small-scale intermittency of intense velocity-shears

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hily-Blant, P.; Falgarone, E.; Pety, J.

2008-04-01

Aims: We further characterize the structures tentatively identified on thermal and chemical grounds as the sites of dissipation of turbulence in molecular clouds (Papers I and II). Methods: Our study is based on two-point statistics of line centroid velocities (CV), computed from three large 12CO maps of two fields. We build the probability density functions (PDF) of the CO line centroid velocity increments (CVI) over lags varying by an order of magnitude. Structure functions of the line CV are computed up to the 6th order. We compare these statistical properties in two translucent parsec-scale fields embedded in different large-scale environments, one far from virial balance and the other virialized. We also address their scale dependence in the former, more turbulent, field. Results: The statistical properties of the line CV bear the three signatures of intermittency in a turbulent velocity field: (1) the non-Gaussian tails in the CVI PDF grow as the lag decreases, (2) the departure from Kolmogorov scaling of the high-order structure functions is more pronounced in the more turbulent field, (3) the positions contributing to the CVI PDF tails delineate narrow filamentary structures (thickness ~0.02 pc), uncorrelated to dense gas structures and spatially coherent with thicker ones (~0.18 pc) observed on larger scales. We show that the largest CVI trace sharp variations of the extreme CO linewings and that they actually capture properties of the underlying velocity field, uncontaminated by density fluctuations. The confrontation with theoretical predictions leads us to identify these small-scale filamentary structures with extrema of velocity-shears. We estimate that viscous dissipation at the 0.02 pc-scale in these structures is up to 10 times higher than average, consistent with their being associated with gas warmer than the bulk. Last, their average direction is parallel (or close) to that of the local magnetic field projection. Conclusions: Turbulence in these translucent fields exhibits the statistical and structural signatures of small-scale and inertial-range intermittency. The more turbulent field on the 30 pc-scale is also the more intermittent on small scales. The small-scale intermittent structures coincide with those formerly identified as sites of enhanced dissipation. They are organized into parsec-scale coherent structures, coupling a broad range of scales. Based on observations carried out with the IRAM-30 m telescope. IRAM is supported by INSU-CNRS/MPG/IGN.

Distribution of forbidden neutral carbon emission in the ring nebula (NGC 6720)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jewitt, D. C.; Danielson, G. E.; Kupferman, P. N.; Maran, S. P.

1983-01-01

The spatial distribution of forbidden C I 9823, 9850 A emission in NGC 6720 is reported. Like forbidden O I, the forbidden C I radiation appears enhanced in the region of the bright filaments. A few percent of the carbon atoms in the filaments are neutral. The neutral fraction is consistent with ionization equilibrium calculations made under the assumption of complete shielding of direct stellar radiation by hydrogen. The observed carbon lines are excited by photoelectrons produced from hydrogen by the nebular diffuse radiation field. The forbidden C I observations confirm that the filaments in NGC 6720 are regions of locally enhanced shielding.

Damping of Magnetohydrodynamic Turbulence in Partially Ionized Gas and the Observed Difference of Velocities of Neutrals and Ions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Falceta-Gonçalves, D.; Lazarian, A.; Houde, M.

2010-04-01

Theoretical and observational studies on the turbulence of the interstellar medium developed fast in the past decades. The theory of supersonic magnetized turbulence, as well as the understanding of the projection effects of observed quantities, is still in progress. In this work, we explore the characterization of the turbulent cascade and its damping from observational spectral line profiles. We address the difference of ion and neutral velocities by clarifying the nature of the turbulence damping in the partially ionized. We provide theoretical arguments in favor of the explanation of the larger Doppler broadening of lines arising from neutral species compared to ions as arising from the turbulence damping of ions at larger scales. Also, we compute a number of MHD numerical simulations for different turbulent regimes and explicit turbulent damping, and compare both the three-dimensional distributions of velocity and the synthetic line profile distributions. From the numerical simulations, we place constraints on the precision with which one can measure the three-dimensional dispersion depending on the turbulence sonic Mach number. We show that no universal correspondence between the three-dimensional velocity dispersions measured in the turbulent volume and minima of the two-dimensional velocity dispersions available through observations exist. For instance, for subsonic turbulence the correspondence is poor at scales much smaller than the turbulence injection scale, while for supersonic turbulence the correspondence is poor for the scales comparable with the injection scale. We provide a physical explanation of the existence of such a two-dimensional to three-dimensional correspondence and discuss the uncertainties in evaluating the damping scale of ions that can be obtained from observations. However, we show that the statistics of velocity dispersion from observed line profiles can provide the spectral index and the energy transfer rate of turbulence. Also, by comparing two similar simulations with different viscous coefficients, it was possible to constrain the turbulent cut-off scale. This may especially prove useful since it is believed that ambipolar diffusion may be one of the dominant dissipative mechanisms in star-forming regions. In this case, the determination of the ambipolar diffusion scale may be used as a complementary method for the determination of magnetic field intensity in collapsing cores. We discuss the implications of our findings in terms of a new approach to magnetic field measurement proposed by Li & Houde.

Diffusion with Varying Drag; the Runaway Problem.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rollins, David Kenneth

We study the motion of electrons in an ionized plasma of electrons and ions in an external electric field. A probability distribution function describes the electron motion and is a solution of a Fokker-Planck equation. In zero field, the solution approaches an equilibrium Maxwellian. For arbitrarily small field, electrons overcome the diffusive effects and are freely accelerated by the field. This is the electron runaway phenomenon. We treat the electric field as a small perturbation. We consider various diffusion coefficients for the one dimensional problem and determine the runaway current as a function of the field strength. Diffusion coefficients, non-zero on a finite interval are examined. Some non-trivial cases of these can be solved exactly in terms of known special functions. The more realistic case where the diffusion coefficient decays with velocity are then considered. To determine the runaway current, the equivalent Schrodinger eigenvalue problem is analysed. The smallest eigenvalue is shown to be equal to the runaway current. Using asymptotic matching a solution can be constructed which is then used to evaluate the runaway current. The runaway current is exponentially small as a function of field strength. This method is used to extract results from the three dimensional problem.

Electron magnetic reconnection without ion coupling in Earth's turbulent magnetosheath

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Phan, T. D.; Eastwood, J. P.; Shay, M. A.; Drake, J. F.; Sonnerup, B. U. Ö.; Fujimoto, M.; Cassak, P. A.; Øieroset, M.; Burch, J. L.; Torbert, R. B.; Rager, A. C.; Dorelli, J. C.; Gershman, D. J.; Pollock, C.; Pyakurel, P. S.; Haggerty, C. C.; Khotyaintsev, Y.; Lavraud, B.; Saito, Y.; Oka, M.; Ergun, R. E.; Retino, A.; Le Contel, O.; Argall, M. R.; Giles, B. L.; Moore, T. E.; Wilder, F. D.; Strangeway, R. J.; Russell, C. T.; Lindqvist, P. A.; Magnes, W.

2018-05-01

Magnetic reconnection in current sheets is a magnetic-to-particle energy conversion process that is fundamental to many space and laboratory plasma systems. In the standard model of reconnection, this process occurs in a minuscule electron-scale diffusion region1,2. On larger scales, ions couple to the newly reconnected magnetic-field lines and are ejected away from the diffusion region in the form of bi-directional ion jets at the ion Alfvén speed3-5. Much of the energy conversion occurs in spatially extended ion exhausts downstream of the diffusion region6. In turbulent plasmas, which contain a large number of small-scale current sheets, reconnection has long been suggested to have a major role in the dissipation of turbulent energy at kinetic scales7-11. However, evidence for reconnection plasma jetting in small-scale turbulent plasmas has so far been lacking. Here we report observations made in Earth's turbulent magnetosheath region (downstream of the bow shock) of an electron-scale current sheet in which diverging bi-directional super-ion-Alfvénic electron jets, parallel electric fields and enhanced magnetic-to-particle energy conversion were detected. Contrary to the standard model of reconnection, the thin reconnecting current sheet was not embedded in a wider ion-scale current layer and no ion jets were detected. Observations of this and other similar, but unidirectional, electron jet events without signatures of ion reconnection reveal a form of reconnection that can drive turbulent energy transfer and dissipation in electron-scale current sheets without ion coupling.

Electron magnetic reconnection without ion coupling in Earth's turbulent magnetosheath.

PubMed

Phan, T D; Eastwood, J P; Shay, M A; Drake, J F; Sonnerup, B U Ö; Fujimoto, M; Cassak, P A; Øieroset, M; Burch, J L; Torbert, R B; Rager, A C; Dorelli, J C; Gershman, D J; Pollock, C; Pyakurel, P S; Haggerty, C C; Khotyaintsev, Y; Lavraud, B; Saito, Y; Oka, M; Ergun, R E; Retino, A; Le Contel, O; Argall, M R; Giles, B L; Moore, T E; Wilder, F D; Strangeway, R J; Russell, C T; Lindqvist, P A; Magnes, W

2018-05-01

Magnetic reconnection in current sheets is a magnetic-to-particle energy conversion process that is fundamental to many space and laboratory plasma systems. In the standard model of reconnection, this process occurs in a minuscule electron-scale diffusion region 1,2 . On larger scales, ions couple to the newly reconnected magnetic-field lines and are ejected away from the diffusion region in the form of bi-directional ion jets at the ion Alfvén speed 3-5 . Much of the energy conversion occurs in spatially extended ion exhausts downstream of the diffusion region 6 . In turbulent plasmas, which contain a large number of small-scale current sheets, reconnection has long been suggested to have a major role in the dissipation of turbulent energy at kinetic scales 7-11 . However, evidence for reconnection plasma jetting in small-scale turbulent plasmas has so far been lacking. Here we report observations made in Earth's turbulent magnetosheath region (downstream of the bow shock) of an electron-scale current sheet in which diverging bi-directional super-ion-Alfvénic electron jets, parallel electric fields and enhanced magnetic-to-particle energy conversion were detected. Contrary to the standard model of reconnection, the thin reconnecting current sheet was not embedded in a wider ion-scale current layer and no ion jets were detected. Observations of this and other similar, but unidirectional, electron jet events without signatures of ion reconnection reveal a form of reconnection that can drive turbulent energy transfer and dissipation in electron-scale current sheets without ion coupling.

Thermal diffusivity of alpha-mercuric iodide

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Burger, A.; Morgan, S. H.; Henderson, D. O.; Silberman, E.; Nason, D.

1991-01-01

The thermal diffusivity and its anisotropy is measured along the principal axes of tetragonal alpha-HgI2 semiconductor single crystals grown from vapor. The experiments are carried out using the flash pulse method. The results show that alpha(100-line-type) = 0.00370 sq cm/s + or - 3 percent and alpha(001-line-type = 0.00103 sq cm/s + or - 10 percent. Necessary corrections are made for the experimental variables of heat losses and finite pulse duration in the data analysis.

Comparison of three-dimensional particle tracking and sizing using plenoptic imaging and digital in-line holography.

PubMed

Hall, Elise M; Thurow, Brian S; Guildenbecher, Daniel R

2016-08-10

Digital in-line holography (DIH) and plenoptic photography are two techniques for single-shot, volumetric measurement of 3D particle fields. Here we present a comparison of the two methods by applying plenoptic imaging to experimental configurations that have been previously investigated with DIH. These experiments include the tracking of secondary droplets from the impact of a water drop on a thin film of water and tracking of pellets from a shotgun. Both plenoptic imaging and DIH successfully quantify the 3D nature of these particle fields. This includes measurement of the 3D particle position, individual particle sizes, and three-component velocity vectors. For the initial processing methods presented here, both techniques give out-of-plane positional accuracy of approximately 1-2 particle diameters. For a fixed image sensor, digital holography achieves higher effective in-plane spatial resolutions. However, collimated and coherent illumination makes holography susceptible to image distortion through index of refraction gradients, as demonstrated in the shotgun experiments. In contrast, plenoptic imaging allows for a simpler experimental configuration and, due to the use of diffuse, white-light illumination, plenoptic imaging is less susceptible to image distortion in the shotgun experiments.

Discrete and broadband electron acceleration in Jupiter's powerful aurora.

PubMed

Mauk, B H; Haggerty, D K; Paranicas, C; Clark, G; Kollmann, P; Rymer, A M; Bolton, S J; Levin, S M; Adriani, A; Allegrini, F; Bagenal, F; Bonfond, B; Connerney, J E P; Gladstone, G R; Kurth, W S; McComas, D J; Valek, P

2017-09-06

The most intense auroral emissions from Earth's polar regions, called discrete for their sharply defined spatial configurations, are generated by a process involving coherent acceleration of electrons by slowly evolving, powerful electric fields directed along the magnetic field lines that connect Earth's space environment to its polar regions. In contrast, Earth's less intense auroras are generally caused by wave scattering of magnetically trapped populations of hot electrons (in the case of diffuse aurora) or by the turbulent or stochastic downward acceleration of electrons along magnetic field lines by waves during transitory periods (in the case of broadband or Alfvénic aurora). Jupiter's relatively steady main aurora has a power density that is so much larger than Earth's that it has been taken for granted that it must be generated primarily by the discrete auroral process. However, preliminary in situ measurements of Jupiter's auroral regions yielded no evidence of such a process. Here we report observations of distinct, high-energy, downward, discrete electron acceleration in Jupiter's auroral polar regions. We also infer upward magnetic-field-aligned electric potentials of up to 400 kiloelectronvolts, an order of magnitude larger than the largest potentials observed at Earth. Despite the magnitude of these upward electric potentials and the expectations from observations at Earth, the downward energy flux from discrete acceleration is less at Jupiter than that caused by broadband or stochastic processes, with broadband and stochastic characteristics that are substantially different from those at Earth.

Diffusion of magnetic field via turbulent reconnection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Santos de Lima, Reinaldo; Lazarian, Alexander; de Gouveia Dal Pino, Elisabete M.; Cho, Jungyeon

2010-05-01

The diffusion of astrophysical magnetic fields in conducting fluids in the presence of turbulence depends on whether magnetic fields can change their topology via reconnection in highly conducting media. Recent progress in understanding fast magnetic reconnection in the presence of turbulence is reassuring that the magnetic field behavior in computer simulations and turbulent astrophysical environments is similar, as far as magnetic reconnection is concerned. This makes it meaningful to perform MHD simulations of turbulent flows in order to understand the diffusion of magnetic field in astrophysical environments. Our studies of magnetic field diffusion in turbulent medium reveal interesting new phenomena. First of all, our 3D MHD simulations initiated with anti-correlating magnetic field and gaseous density exhibit at later times a de-correlation of the magnetic field and density, which corresponds well to the observations of the interstellar media. While earlier studies stressed the role of either ambipolar diffusion or time-dependent turbulent fluctuations for de-correlating magnetic field and density, we get the effect of permanent de-correlation with one fluid code, i.e. without invoking ambipolar diffusion. In addition, in the presence of gravity and turbulence, our 3D simulations show the decrease of the magnetic flux-to-mass ratio as the gaseous density at the center of the gravitational potential increases. We observe this effect both in the situations when we start with equilibrium distributions of gas and magnetic field and when we follow the evolution of collapsing dynamically unstable configurations. Thus the process of turbulent magnetic field removal should be applicable both to quasi-static subcritical molecular clouds and cores and violently collapsing supercritical entities. The increase of the gravitational potential as well as the magnetization of the gas increases the segregation of the mass and magnetic flux in the saturated final state of the simulations, supporting the notion that the reconnection-enabled diffusivity relaxes the magnetic field + gas system in the gravitational field to its minimal energy state. This effect is expected to play an important role in star formation, from its initial stages of concentrating interstellar gas to the final stages of the accretion to the forming protostar.

One-dimensional model of interacting-step fluctuations on vicinal surfaces: Analytical formulas and kinetic Monte Carlo simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Patrone, Paul N.; Einstein, T. L.; Margetis, Dionisios

2010-12-01

We study analytically and numerically a one-dimensional model of interacting line defects (steps) fluctuating on a vicinal crystal. Our goal is to formulate and validate analytical techniques for approximately solving systems of coupled nonlinear stochastic differential equations (SDEs) governing fluctuations in surface motion. In our analytical approach, the starting point is the Burton-Cabrera-Frank (BCF) model by which step motion is driven by diffusion of adsorbed atoms on terraces and atom attachment-detachment at steps. The step energy accounts for entropic and nearest-neighbor elastic-dipole interactions. By including Gaussian white noise to the equations of motion for terrace widths, we formulate large systems of SDEs under different choices of diffusion coefficients for the noise. We simplify this description via (i) perturbation theory and linearization of the step interactions and, alternatively, (ii) a mean-field (MF) approximation whereby widths of adjacent terraces are replaced by a self-consistent field but nonlinearities in step interactions are retained. We derive simplified formulas for the time-dependent terrace-width distribution (TWD) and its steady-state limit. Our MF analytical predictions for the TWD compare favorably with kinetic Monte Carlo simulations under the addition of a suitably conservative white noise in the BCF equations.

Molecular simulation of gas adsorption and diffusion in a breathing MOF using a rigid force field.

PubMed

García-Pérez, E; Serra-Crespo, P; Hamad, S; Kapteijn, F; Gascon, J

2014-08-14

Simulation of gas adsorption in flexible porous materials is still limited by the slow progress in the development of flexible force fields. Moreover, the high computational cost of such flexible force fields may be a drawback even when they are fully developed. In this work, molecular simulations of gas adsorption and diffusion of carbon dioxide and methane in NH2-MIL-53(Al) are carried out using a linear combination of two crystallographic structures with rigid force fields. Once the interactions of carbon dioxide molecules and the bridging hydroxyls groups of the framework are optimized, an excellent match is found for simulations and experimental data for the adsorption of methane and carbon dioxide, including the stepwise uptake due to the breathing effect. In addition, diffusivities of pure components are calculated. The pore expansion by the breathing effect influences the self-diffusion mechanism and much higher diffusivities are observed at relatively high adsorbate loadings. This work demonstrates that using a rigid force field combined with a minimum number of experiments, reproduces adsorption and simulates diffusion of carbon dioxide and methane in the flexible metal-organic framework NH2-MIL-53(Al).

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

Kaufman, H.R.

Bohm diffusion has been found to be approximately valid for many plasmas in strong magnetic fields. Assuming Bohm diffusion describes electron diffusion directly (H. R. Kaufman, AIAA J. {bold 23}, 78 (1985)), with an equal ion loss possible from the ambipolar field that is generated (F. F. Chen, {ital Introduction} {ital to} {ital Plasma} {ital Physics} (Plenum, New York, 1974), p. 169), an order-of-magnitude analysis can show why such electron diffusion should be expected.

Observation and modeling of interspecies ion separation in inertial confinement fusion implosions via imaging x-ray spectroscopy

DOE PAGES

Joshi, Tirtha Raj; Hakel, Peter; Hsu, Scott C.; ...

2017-03-22

In this article, we report the first direct experimental evidence of interspecies ion separation in direct-drive inertial confinement fusion experiments performed at the OMEGA laser facility via spectrally, temporally, and spatially resolved imaging x-ray-spectroscopy data [S. C. Hsu et al., Europhys. Lett. 115, 65001 (2016)]. These experiments were designed based on the expectation that interspecies ion thermo-diffusion would be the strongest for species with a large mass and charge difference. The targets were spherical plastic shells filled with D2 and a trace amount of Ar (0.1% or 1% by atom). Ar K-shell spectral features were observed primarily between the timemore » of first-shock convergence and slightly before the neutron bang time, using a time- and space-integrated spectrometer, a streaked crystal spectrometer, and two gated multi-monochromatic x-ray imagers fielded along quasi-orthogonal lines of sight. Detailed spectroscopic analyses of spatially resolved Ar K-shell lines reveal the deviation from the initial 1% Ar gas fill and show both Ar-concentration enhancement and depletion at different times and radial positions of the implosion. The experimental results are interpreted using radiation-hydrodynamic simulations that include recently implemented, first-principles models of interspecies ion diffusion. Lastly, the experimentally inferred Ar-atom fraction profiles agree reasonably with calculated profiles associated with the incoming and rebounding first shock.« less

Application of a groundwater flow model for real-time well field management - lessons learned

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marti, B.; Kaiser, H.-P.; Kuhlmann, U.; Hendricks Franssen, H.-J.; Kinzelbach, W.

2012-04-01

The Hardhof well field, which lies in the city of Zurich, Switzerland, provides roughly 15 % of the towns drinking water demand from the Limmat valley aquifer. Groundwater and river filtrate are withdrawn in four large horizontal wells, each with a capacity of up to 48'000 m3 per day. The well field is threatened by potential pollution from leachate of a nearby land fill, possible accidents on the adjacent rail and road lines, and by diffuse pollution from former industrial sites and sewers located upstream of the well field. A line of recharge wells and basins forms a hydraulic barrier against the potentially contaminated water and increases the capacity of the well field. Currently, a genetic algorithm coupled to a 3-dimensional groundwater flow model is applied at the well field to determine optimal infiltration rates on a daily basis. This real-time control is based on particle backtracking in a quasi-stationary flow field. It estimates the origin of the water in the four horizontal wells and calculates the amount of potentially contaminated water in each well. Running the model iteratively and refining the parameters of the genetic algorithm at the end of each step yields the recommended daily infiltration rates. The current model accurately predicts the change of piezometric head due to changes in the river stage. However, during periods of large abstraction rates, the model underestimates the piezometric heads in the Hardhof area. In addition, the infiltration rates suggested by the control do not always agree with the experience of the Zurich water works (e.g. during periods with large abstraction rates) and hence the actually applied infiltration rates are sometimes chosen differently from the calculated ones. This work analyzes the performance of the model and the control during the year 2011. The computed heads of the on-line model are compared to the measured piezometric heads in over 80 measurement locations in the model area. Furthermore, differences between the computed management decisions and the actual management decisions are analyzed and suggestions for an improved management are made.

Electron microscopy of antigen precipitates extracted from gel diffusion plates

PubMed Central

Watson, D. H.; Le Bouvier, G. L.; Tomlinson, J. A.; Walkey, D. G. A.

1966-01-01

A method is described whereby material from virus precipitin lines from agar gel diffusion plates may be examined in the electron microscope by a negative staining technique. ImagesFIGS. 1-2FIGS. 3-4 PMID:4286708

Fluid self-diffusion in Scots pine sapwood tracheid cells.

PubMed

Johannessen, Espen H; Hansen, Eddy W; Rosenholm, Jarl B

2006-02-09

The self-diffusion coefficients of water and toluene in Scots pine sapwood was measured using low field pulsed field gradient nuclear magnetic resonance (PFG-NMR). Wood chips of 8 mm diameter were saturated with the respective liquids, and liquid self-diffusion was then traced in one dimension orthogonal to the tracheid cell walls in the wood's radial direction. The experimental echo attenuation curves were exponential, and characteristic self-diffusion coefficients were produced for diffusion times spanning from very short times to times on the order of magnitude of seconds. Observed self-diffusion coefficients were decaying asymptotically as a function of diffusion time, an effect which was ascribed to the cell walls' restriction on confined liquid diffusion. The observed self-diffusion behavior in Scots pine sapwood was compared to self-diffusion coefficients obtained from simulations of diffusion in a square. Principles of molecular displacements in confined geometries were used for elucidating the wood's cellular structure from the observed diffusion coefficients. The results were compared with a mathematical model for diffusion between parallel planes.

Theoretical analysis of exponential transversal method of lines for the diffusion equation

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

Salazar, A.; Raydan, M.; Campo, A.

1996-12-31

Recently a new approximate technique to solve the diffusion equation was proposed by Campo and Salazar. This new method is inspired on the Method of Lines (MOL) with some insight coming from the method of separation of variables. The proposed method, the Exponential Transversal Method of Lines (ETMOL), utilizes an exponential variation to improve accuracy in the evaluation of the time derivative. Campo and Salazar have implemented this method in a wide range of heat/mass transfer applications and have obtained surprisingly good numerical results. In this paper, the authors study the theoretical properties of ETMOL in depth. In particular, consistency,more » stability and convergence are established in the framework of the heat/mass diffusion equation. In most practical applications the method presents a very reduced truncation error in time and its different versions are proven to be unconditionally stable in the Fourier sense. Convergence of the solutions is then established. The theory is corroborated by several analytical/numerical experiments.« less

Laser absorption spectroscopy of water vapor confined in nanoporous alumina: wall collision line broadening and gas diffusion dynamics.

PubMed

Svensson, Tomas; Lewander, Märta; Svanberg, Sune

2010-08-02

We demonstrate high-resolution tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy (TDLAS) of water vapor confined in nanoporous alumina. Strong multiple light scattering results in long photon pathlengths (1 m through a 6 mm sample). We report on strong line broadening due to frequent wall collisions (gas-surface interactions). For the water vapor line at 935.685 nm, the HWHM of confined molecules are about 4.3 GHz as compared to 2.9 GHz for free molecules (atmospheric pressure). Gas diffusion is also investigated, and in contrast to molecular oxygen (that moves rapidly in and out of the alumina), the exchange of water vapor is found very slow.

VLA HI Zeeman Observations of the Cygnus X Region: DR 22 And ON 2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mayo, Elizabeth A.; Troland, T. H.

2010-01-01

The Very Large Array in Socorro, New Mexico has been used to study the Zeeman Effect in the 21cm HI line seen in absorption against radio sources in the Cygnus X region. Cygnus X is geometrically favorable for Zeeman effect observations as the region lies along the mean field direction of the diffuse interstellar medium (ISM) of the galaxy. We present observations of two compact HII regions within Cygnus X, DR 22 and ON 2. The data show magnetic field strengths of the order -80 μG toward DR 22 alone with no significant detections toward ON 2. This information is used to estimate the magnetic energy of the DR 22 star-forming cloud, and allows for a complete analysis of the energetics of the region revealing the role of the magnetic field. Support for this work was provided by the NSF PAARE program to South Carolina State University under award AST-0750814.

Perpendicular Diffusion Coefficient of Comic Rays: The Presence of Weak Adiabatic Focusing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, J. F.; Qin, G.; Ma, Q. M.; Song, T.; Yuan, S. B.

2017-08-01

The influence of adiabatic focusing on particle diffusion is an important topic in astrophysics and plasma physics. In the past, several authors have explored the influence of along-field adiabatic focusing on the parallel diffusion of charged energetic particles. In this paper, using the unified nonlinear transport theory developed by Shalchi and the method of He and Schlickeiser, we derive a new nonlinear perpendicular diffusion coefficient for a non-uniform background magnetic field. This formula demonstrates that the particle perpendicular diffusion coefficient is modified by along-field adiabatic focusing. For isotropic pitch-angle scattering and the weak adiabatic focusing limit, the derived perpendicular diffusion coefficient is independent of the sign of adiabatic focusing characteristic length. For the two-component model, we simplify the perpendicular diffusion coefficient up to the second order of the power series of the adiabatic focusing characteristic quantity. We find that the first-order modifying factor is equal to zero and that the sign of the second order is determined by the energy of the particles.

Stability of Gradient Field Corrections for Quantitative Diffusion MRI.

PubMed

Rogers, Baxter P; Blaber, Justin; Welch, E Brian; Ding, Zhaohua; Anderson, Adam W; Landman, Bennett A

2017-02-11

In magnetic resonance diffusion imaging, gradient nonlinearity causes significant bias in the estimation of quantitative diffusion parameters such as diffusivity, anisotropy, and diffusion direction in areas away from the magnet isocenter. This bias can be substantially reduced if the scanner- and coil-specific gradient field nonlinearities are known. Using a set of field map calibration scans on a large (29 cm diameter) phantom combined with a solid harmonic approximation of the gradient fields, we predicted the obtained b-values and applied gradient directions throughout a typical field of view for brain imaging for a typical 32-direction diffusion imaging sequence. We measured the stability of these predictions over time. At 80 mm from scanner isocenter, predicted b-value was 1-6% different than intended due to gradient nonlinearity, and predicted gradient directions were in error by up to 1 degree. Over the course of one month the change in these quantities due to calibration-related factors such as scanner drift and variation in phantom placement was <0.5% for b-values, and <0.5 degrees for angular deviation. The proposed calibration procedure allows the estimation of gradient nonlinearity to correct b-values and gradient directions ahead of advanced diffusion image processing for high angular resolution data, and requires only a five-minute phantom scan that can be included in a weekly or monthly quality assurance protocol.

Using Perturbation Theory to Reduce Noise in Diffusion Tensor Fields

PubMed Central

Bansal, Ravi; Staib, Lawrence H.; Xu, Dongrong; Laine, Andrew F.; Liu, Jun; Peterson, Bradley S.

2009-01-01

We propose the use of Perturbation theory to reduce noise in Diffusion Tensor (DT) fields. Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) encodes the diffusion of water molecules along different spatial directions in a positive-definite, 3 × 3 symmetric tensor. Eigenvectors and eigenvalues of DTs allow the in vivo visualization and quantitative analysis of white matter fiber bundles across the brain. The validity and reliability of these analyses are limited, however, by the low spatial resolution and low Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) in DTI datasets. Our procedures can be applied to improve the validity and reliability of these quantitative analyses by reducing noise in the tensor fields. We model a tensor field as a three-dimensional Markov Random Field and then compute the likelihood and the prior terms of this model using Perturbation theory. The prior term constrains the tensor field to be smooth, whereas the likelihood term constrains the smoothed tensor field to be similar to the original field. Thus, the proposed method generates a smoothed field that is close in structure to the original tensor field. We evaluate the performance of our method both visually and quantitatively using synthetic and real-world datasets. We quantitatively assess the performance of our method by computing the SNR for eigenvalues and the coherence measures for eigenvectors of DTs across tensor fields. In addition, we quantitatively compare the performance of our procedures with the performance of one method that uses a Riemannian distance to compute the similarity between two tensors, and with another method that reduces noise in tensor fields by anisotropically filtering the diffusion weighted images that are used to estimate diffusion tensors. These experiments demonstrate that our method significantly increases the coherence of the eigenvectors and the SNR of the eigenvalues, while simultaneously preserving the fine structure and boundaries between homogeneous regions, in the smoothed tensor field. PMID:19540791

Diffusion mechanisms in chemical vapor-deposited iridium coated on chemical vapor-deposited rhenium

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hamilton, J. C.; Yang, N. Y. C.; Clift, W. M.; Boehme, D. R.; Mccarty, K. F.; Franklin, J. E.

1992-01-01

Radiation-cooled rocket thruster chambers have been developed which use CVD Re coated with CVD Ir on the interior surface that is exposed to hot combustion gases. The Ir serves as an oxidation barrier which protects the structural integrity-maintaining Re at elevated temperatures. The diffusion kinetics of CVD materials at elevated temperatures is presently studied with a view to the prediction and extension of these thrusters' performance limits. Line scans for Ir and Re were fit on the basis of a diffusion model, in order to extract relevant diffusion constants; the fastest diffusion process is grain-boundary diffusion, where Re diffuses down grain boundaries in the Ir overlayer.

Far-field analysis of coupled bulk and boundary layer diffusion toward an ion channel entrance.

PubMed Central

Schumaker, M F; Kentler, C J

1998-01-01

We present a far-field analysis of ion diffusion toward a channel embedded in a membrane with a fixed charge density. The Smoluchowski equation, which represents the 3D problem, is approximated by a system of coupled three- and two-dimensional diffusions. The 2D diffusion models the quasi-two-dimensional diffusion of ions in a boundary layer in which the electrical potential interaction with the membrane surface charge is important. The 3D diffusion models ion transport in the bulk region outside the boundary layer. Analytical expressions for concentration and flux are developed that are accurate far from the channel entrance. These provide boundary conditions for a numerical solution of the problem. Our results are used to calculate far-field ion flows corresponding to experiments of Bell and Miller (Biophys. J. 45:279, 1984). PMID:9591651

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.

Confinement of the solar tachocline by a cyclic dynamo magnetic field

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barnabé, Roxane; Strugarek, Antoine; Charbonneau, Paul; Brun, Allan Sacha; Zahn, Jean-Paul

2017-05-01

Context. The surprising thinness of the solar tachocline is still not understood with certainty today. Among the numerous possible scenarios suggested to explain its radial confinement, one hypothesis is based on Maxwell stresses that are exerted by the cyclic dynamo magnetic field of the Sun penetrating over a skin depth below the turbulent convection zone. Aims: Our goal is to assess under which conditions (turbulence level in the tachocline, strength of the dynamo-generated field, spreading mechanism) this scenario can be realized in the solar tachocline. Methods: We develop a simplified 1D model of the upper tachocline under the influence of an oscillating magnetic field imposed from above. The turbulent transport is parametrized with enhanced turbulent diffusion (or anti-diffusion) coefficients. Two main processes that thicken the tachocline are considered; either turbulent viscous spreading or radiative spreading. An extensive parameter study is carried out to establish the physical parameter regimes under which magnetic confinement of the tachocline that is due to a surface dynamo field can be realized. Results: We have explored a large range of magnetic field amplitudes, viscosities, ohmic diffusivities and thermal diffusivities. We find that, for large but still realistic magnetic field strengths, the differential rotation can be suppressed in the upper radiative zone (and hence the tachocline confined) if weak turbulence is present (with an enhanced ohmic diffusivity of η> 107-8 cm2/ s), even in the presence of radiative spreading. Conclusions: Our results show that a dynamo magnetic field can, in the presence of weak turbulence, prevent the inward burrowing of a tachocline subject to viscous diffusion or radiative spreading.

Holographic estimate of heavy quark diffusion in a magnetic field

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dudal, David; Mertens, Thomas G.

2018-03-01

We study the influence of a background magnetic field on the J /ψ vector meson in a Dirac-Born-Infeld-extension of the soft wall model, building upon our earlier work [D. Dudal and T. G. Mertens Phys. Rev. D 91, 086002 (2015), 10.1103/PhysRevD.91.086002]. In this specific holographic QCD model, we discuss the heavy quark number susceptibility and diffusion constants of charm quarks and their dependence on the magnetic field by either a hydrodynamic expansion or by numerically solving the differential equation. This allows us to determine the response of these transport coefficients to the magnetic field. The effects of the latter are considered both from a direct as indirect (medium) viewpoint. As expected, we find a magnetic field induced anisotropic diffusion, with a stronger diffusion in the longitudinal direction compared to the transversal one. We backup, at least qualitatively, our findings with a hanging string analysis of heavy quark diffusion in a magnetic field. From the quark number susceptibility we can extract an estimate for the effective deconfinement temperature in the heavy quark sector, reporting consistency with the phenomenon of inverse magnetic catalysis.

Inverse Diffusion Curves Using Shape Optimization.

PubMed

Zhao, Shuang; Durand, Fredo; Zheng, Changxi

2018-07-01

The inverse diffusion curve problem focuses on automatic creation of diffusion curve images that resemble user provided color fields. This problem is challenging since the 1D curves have a nonlinear and global impact on resulting color fields via a partial differential equation (PDE). We introduce a new approach complementary to previous methods by optimizing curve geometry. In particular, we propose a novel iterative algorithm based on the theory of shape derivatives. The resulting diffusion curves are clean and well-shaped, and the final image closely approximates the input. Our method provides a user-controlled parameter to regularize curve complexity, and generalizes to handle input color fields represented in a variety of formats.

Magnetic Fields Recorded by Chondrules Formed in Nebular Shocks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mai, Chuhong; Desch, Steven J.; Boley, Aaron C.; Weiss, Benjamin P.

2018-04-01

Recent laboratory efforts have constrained the remanent magnetizations of chondrules and the magnetic field strengths to which the chondrules were exposed as they cooled below their Curie points. An outstanding question is whether the inferred paleofields represent the background magnetic field of the solar nebula or were unique to the chondrule-forming environment. We investigate the amplification of the magnetic field above background values for two proposed chondrule formation mechanisms, large-scale nebular shocks and planetary bow shocks. Behind large-scale shocks, the magnetic field parallel to the shock front is amplified by factors of ∼10–30, regardless of the magnetic diffusivity. Therefore, chondrules melted in these shocks probably recorded an amplified magnetic field. Behind planetary bow shocks, the field amplification is sensitive to the magnetic diffusivity. We compute the gas properties behind a bow shock around a 3000 km radius planetary embryo, with and without atmospheres, using hydrodynamics models. We calculate the ionization state of the hot, shocked gas, including thermionic emission from dust, thermal ionization of gas-phase potassium atoms, and the magnetic diffusivity due to Ohmic dissipation and ambipolar diffusion. We find that the diffusivity is sufficiently large that magnetic fields have already relaxed to background values in the shock downstream where chondrules acquire magnetizations, and that these locations are sufficiently far from the planetary embryos that chondrules should not have recorded a significant putative dynamo field generated on these bodies. We conclude that, if melted in planetary bow shocks, chondrules probably recorded the background nebular field.

Director Field Analysis (DFA): Exploring Local White Matter Geometric Structure in Diffusion MRI.

PubMed

Cheng, Jian; Basser, Peter J

2018-01-01

In Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) or High Angular Resolution Diffusion Imaging (HARDI), a tensor field or a spherical function field (e.g., an orientation distribution function field), can be estimated from measured diffusion weighted images. In this paper, inspired by the microscopic theoretical treatment of phases in liquid crystals, we introduce a novel mathematical framework, called Director Field Analysis (DFA), to study local geometric structural information of white matter based on the reconstructed tensor field or spherical function field: (1) We propose a set of mathematical tools to process general director data, which consists of dyadic tensors that have orientations but no direction. (2) We propose Orientational Order (OO) and Orientational Dispersion (OD) indices to describe the degree of alignment and dispersion of a spherical function in a single voxel or in a region, respectively; (3) We also show how to construct a local orthogonal coordinate frame in each voxel exhibiting anisotropic diffusion; (4) Finally, we define three indices to describe three types of orientational distortion (splay, bend, and twist) in a local spatial neighborhood, and a total distortion index to describe distortions of all three types. To our knowledge, this is the first work to quantitatively describe orientational distortion (splay, bend, and twist) in general spherical function fields from DTI or HARDI data. The proposed DFA and its related mathematical tools can be used to process not only diffusion MRI data but also general director field data, and the proposed scalar indices are useful for detecting local geometric changes of white matter for voxel-based or tract-based analysis in both DTI and HARDI acquisitions. The related codes and a tutorial for DFA will be released in DMRITool. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Large-scale magnetic fields at high Reynolds numbers in magnetohydrodynamic simulations.

PubMed

Hotta, H; Rempel, M; Yokoyama, T

2016-03-25

The 11-year solar magnetic cycle shows a high degree of coherence in spite of the turbulent nature of the solar convection zone. It has been found in recent high-resolution magnetohydrodynamics simulations that the maintenance of a large-scale coherent magnetic field is difficult with small viscosity and magnetic diffusivity (≲10 (12) square centimenters per second). We reproduced previous findings that indicate a reduction of the energy in the large-scale magnetic field for lower diffusivities and demonstrate the recovery of the global-scale magnetic field using unprecedentedly high resolution. We found an efficient small-scale dynamo that suppresses small-scale flows, which mimics the properties of large diffusivity. As a result, the global-scale magnetic field is maintained even in the regime of small diffusivities-that is, large Reynolds numbers. Copyright © 2016, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Electron Currents and Heating in the Ion Diffusion Region of Asymmetric Reconnection

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Graham, D. B.; Khotyaintsev, Yu. V.; Norgren, C.; Vaivads, A.; Andre, M.; Lindqvist, P. A.; Marklund, G. T.; Ergun, R. E.; Paterson, W. R.; Gershman, D. J.;

FIREBall, CHaS, and the diffuse universe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hamden, Erika Tobiason

The diffuse universe, consisting of baryons that have not yet collapsed into structures such as stars, galaxies, etc., has not been well studied. While the intergalactic and circumgalactic mediums (IGM & CGM) may contain 30-40% of the baryons in the universe, this low density gas is difficult to observe. Yet it is likely a key driver of the evolution of galaxies and star formation through cosmic time. The IGM provides a reservoir of gas that can be used for star formation, if it is able to accrete onto a galaxy. The CGM bridges the IGM and the galaxy itself, as a region of both inflows from the IGM and outflows from galactic star formation and feedback. The diffuse interstellar medium (ISM) gas and dust in the galaxy itself may also be affected by the CGM of the galaxy. Careful observations of the ISM of our own Galaxy may provide evidence of interaction with the CGM. These three regions of low density, the IGM, CGM, and ISM, are arbitrary divisions of a continuous flow of low density material into and out of galaxies. My thesis focuses on observations of this low density material using existing telescopes as well as on the development of technology and instruments that will increase the sensitivity of future missions. I used data from the Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX) to create an all sky map of the diffuse Galactic far ultraviolet (FUV) background, probing the ISM of our own galaxy and comparing to other Galactic all sky maps. The FUV background is primarily due to dust scattered starlight from bright stars in the Galactic plane, and the changing intensity across the sky can be used to characterize dust scattering asymmetry and albedo. We measure a consistent low level non-scattered isotropic component to the diffuse FUV, which may be due in small part to an extragalactic component. There are also several regions of unusually high FUV intensity given other Galactic quantities. Such regions may be the location of interactions between Galactic super-bubbles and the CGM. Other ways of probing the CGM including direct detection via emission lines. I built a proto-type of the Circumgalactic Halpha Spectrograph (CHalphaS), a wide-field, low-cost, narrow-band integral field unit (IFU) that is designed to observe Halpha emission from the CGM of nearby, low-z galaxies. This proto-type has had two recent science runs, with preliminary data on several nearby galaxies. Additional probes of the CGM are emission lines in the rest ultra-violet. These include OVI, Lyalpha, CIV, SiIII, CIII, CII, FeII, and MgII. Such lines are accessible for low redshift galaxies in the space UV, historically a difficult wavelength range in which to work due in part to low efficiency of the available detectors. I have worked with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory to develop advanced anti-reflection (AR) coatings for use on thinned, delta-doped charge coupled device (CCD) detectors. These detectors have achieved world record quantum efficiency (QE) at UV wavelengths (>50% between 130 nm and 300nm), with the potential for even greater QE with a more complex coating. One of these AR coated detectors will be used on the Faint Intergalactic Redshifted Emission Balloon (FIREBall-2), a balloon-born UV spectrograph designed to observe the CGM at 205 nm via redshifted Lyalpha (at z=0.7), CIV (at z=0.3), and OVI (at z=1.0). FIREBall-2 will launch in the fall of 2015.

A Fast Hyperspectral Vector Radiative Transfer Model in UV to IR spectral bands

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ding, J.; Yang, P.; Sun, B.; Kattawar, G. W.; Platnick, S. E.; Meyer, K.; Wang, C.

2016-12-01

We develop a fast hyperspectral vector radiative transfer model with a spectral range from UV to IR with 5 nm resolutions. This model can simulate top of the atmosphere (TOA) diffuse radiance and polarized reflectance by considering gas absorption, Rayleigh scattering, and aerosol and cloud scattering. The absorption component considers several major atmospheric absorbers such as water vapor, CO2, O3, and O2 including both line and continuum absorptions. A regression-based method is used to parameterize the layer effective optical thickness for each gas, which substantially increases the computation efficiency for absorption while maintaining high accuracy. This method is over 500 times faster than the existing line-by-line method. The scattering component uses the successive order of scattering (SOS) method. For Rayleigh scattering, convergence is fast due to the small optical thickness of atmospheric gases. For cloud and aerosol layers, a small-angle approximation method is used in SOS calculations. The scattering process is divided into two parts, a forward part and a diffuse part. The scattering in the small-angle range in the forward direction is approximated as forward scattering. A cloud or aerosol layer is divided into thin layers. As the ray propagates through each thin layer, a portion diverges as diffuse radiation, while the remainder continues propagating in forward direction. The computed diffuse radiance is the sum of all of the diffuse parts. The small-angle approximation makes the SOS calculation converge rapidly even in a thick cloud layer.

Magnetic-flutter-induced pedestal plasma transport

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Callen, J. D.; Hegna, C. C.; Cole, A. J.

2013-11-01

Plasma toroidal rotation can limit reconnection of externally applied resonant magnetic perturbation (RMP) fields δB on rational magnetic flux surfaces. Hence it causes the induced radial perturbations δBρ to be small there, thereby inhibiting magnetic island formation and stochasticity at the top of pedestals in high (H-mode) confinement tokamak plasmas. However, the δBρs induced by RMPs increase away from rational surfaces and are shown to induce significant sinusoidal radial motion (flutter) of magnetic field lines with a radial extent that varies linearly with δBρ and inversely with distance from the rational surface because of the magnetic shear. This produces a radial electron thermal diffusivity that is (1/2)(δBρ/B0)2 times a kinetically derived, electron-collision-induced, magnetic-shear-reduced, effective parallel electron thermal diffusivity in the absence of magnetic stochasticity. These low collisionality flutter-induced transport processes and thin magnetic island effects are shown to be highly peaked in the vicinity of rational surfaces at the top of low collisionality pedestals. However, the smaller but finite level of magnetic-flutter-induced electron heat transport midway between rational surfaces is the primary factor that determines the electron temperature difference between rational surfaces at the pedestal top. The magnetic-flutter-induced non-ambipolar electron density transport can be large enough to push the plasma toward an electron density transport root. Requiring ambipolar density transport is shown to determine the radial electric field, the plasma toroidal rotation (via radial force balance), a reduced electron thermal diffusivity and increased ambipolar density transport in the pedestal. At high collisionality the various flutter effects are less strongly peaked at rational surfaces and generally less significant. They are thus less likely to exhibit flutter-induced resonant behaviour and transition toward an electron transport root. Magnetic-flutter-induced plasma transport processes provide a new paradigm for developing an understanding of how RMPs modify the pedestal structure to stabilize peeling-ballooning modes and thereby suppress edge localized modes in low collisionality tokamak H-mode plasmas.

Sound field diffusivity in NASA Langley Research Center hardwalled acoustic facilities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mcgary, M. C.

1982-01-01

Cross correlation measurements were performed to determine the quality of the sound fields in the ANRL reverberation room and the ANRL transmission loss facility. The results indicate the level of sound field diffuseness which may be attained in these hardwalled acoustic facilities.

Radial Diffusion Coefficients Using E and B Field Data from the Van Allen Probes: Comparison with the CRRES Study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ali, A.; Elkington, S. R.; Malaspina, D.

2014-12-01

The Van Allen radiation belts contain highly energetic particles which interact with a variety of plasma and MHD waves. Waves with frequencies in the ULF range are understood to play an important role in loss and acceleration of energetic particles. We are investigating the contributions from perturbations in both the magnetic and the electric fields in driving radial diffusion of charged particles and wish to probe two unanswered questions about ULF wave driven radial transport. First, how important are the fluctuations in the magnetic field compared with the fluctuations in the electric field in driving radial diffusion? Second, how does ULF wave power distribution in azimuth affect radial diffusion? Analytic treatments of the diffusion coefficients generally assume uniform distribution of power in azimuth but in situ measurements suggest otherwise. We present results from a study using the electric and magnetic field measurements from the Van Allen Probes to estimate the radial diffusion coefficients as a function of L and Kp. During the lifetime of the RBSP mission to date, there has been a dearth of solar activity. This compels us to consider Kp as the only time and activity dependent parameter instead of solar wind velocity and pressure.

Fermi-LAT observations of the diffuse γ-ray emission: Implications for cosmic rays and the interstellar medium

DOE PAGES

Ackermann, M.; Ajello, M.; Atwood, W. B.; ...

2012-04-09

The γ-ray sky >100 MeV is dominated by the diffuse emissions from interactions of cosmic rays with the interstellar gas and radiation fields of the Milky Way. Our observations of these diffuse emissions provide a tool to study cosmic-ray origin and propagation, and the interstellar medium. We present measurements from the first 21 months of the Fermi Large Area Telescope (Fermi-LAT) mission and compare with models of the diffuse γ-ray emission generated using the GALPROP code. The models are fitted to cosmic-ray data and incorporate astrophysical input for the distribution of cosmic-ray sources, interstellar gas, and radiation fields. In ordermore » to assess uncertainties associated with the astrophysical input, a grid of models is created by varying within observational limits the distribution of cosmic-ray sources, the size of the cosmic-ray confinement volume (halo), and the distribution of interstellar gas. An all-sky maximum-likelihood fit is used to determine the X CO factor, the ratio between integrated CO-line intensity and H2 column density, the fluxes and spectra of the γ-ray point sources from the first Fermi-LAT catalog, and the intensity and spectrum of the isotropic background including residual cosmic rays that were misclassified as γ-rays, all of which have some dependency on the assumed diffuse emission model. The models are compared on the basis of their maximum-likelihood ratios as well as spectra, longitude, and latitude profiles. Here, we provide residual maps for the data following subtraction of the diffuse emission models. The models are consistent with the data at high and intermediate latitudes but underpredict the data in the inner Galaxy for energies above a few GeV. Possible explanations for this discrepancy are discussed, including the contribution by undetected point-source populations and spectral variations of cosmic rays throughout the Galaxy. In the outer Galaxy, we find that the data prefer models with a flatter distribution of cosmic-ray sources, a larger cosmic-ray halo, or greater gas density than is usually assumed. Our results in the outer Galaxy are consistent with other Fermi-LAT studies of this region that used different analysis methods than employed in this paper.« less

Fermi-LAT Observations of the Diffuse γ-Ray Emission: Implications for Cosmic Rays and the Interstellar Medium

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ackermann, M.; Ajello, M.; Atwood, W. B.; Baldini, L.; Ballet, J.; Barbiellini, G.; Bastieri, D.; Bechtol, K.; Bellazzini, R.; Berenji, B.; Blandford, R. D.; Bloom, E. D.; Bonamente, E.; Borgland, A. W.; Brandt, T. J.; Bregeon, J.; Brigida, M.; Bruel, P.; Buehler, R.; Buson, S.; Caliandro, G. A.; Cameron, R. A.; Caraveo, P. A.; Cavazzuti, E.; Cecchi, C.; Charles, E.; Chekhtman, A.; Chiang, J.; Ciprini, S.; Claus, R.; Cohen-Tanugi, J.; Conrad, J.; Cutini, S.; de Angelis, A.; de Palma, F.; Dermer, C. D.; Digel, S. W.; Silva, E. do Couto e.; Drell, P. S.; Drlica-Wagner, A.; Falletti, L.; Favuzzi, C.; Fegan, S. J.; Ferrara, E. C.; Focke, W. B.; Fortin, P.; Fukazawa, Y.; Funk, S.; Fusco, P.; Gaggero, D.; Gargano, F.; Germani, S.; Giglietto, N.; Giordano, F.; Giroletti, M.; Glanzman, T.; Godfrey, G.; Grove, J. E.; Guiriec, S.; Gustafsson, M.; Hadasch, D.; Hanabata, Y.; Harding, A. K.; Hayashida, M.; Hays, E.; Horan, D.; Hou, X.; Hughes, R. E.; Jóhannesson, G.; Johnson, A. S.; Johnson, R. P.; Kamae, T.; Katagiri, H.; Kataoka, J.; Knödlseder, J.; Kuss, M.; Lande, J.; Latronico, L.; Lee, S.-H.; Lemoine-Goumard, M.; Longo, F.; Loparco, F.; Lott, B.; Lovellette, M. N.; Lubrano, P.; Mazziotta, M. N.; McEnery, J. E.; Michelson, P. F.; Mitthumsiri, W.; Mizuno, T.; Monte, C.; Monzani, M. E.; Morselli, A.; Moskalenko, I. V.; Murgia, S.; Naumann-Godo, M.; Norris, J. P.; Nuss, E.; Ohsugi, T.; Okumura, A.; Omodei, N.; Orlando, E.; Ormes, J. F.; Paneque, D.; Panetta, J. H.; Parent, D.; Pesce-Rollins, M.; Pierbattista, M.; Piron, F.; Pivato, G.; Porter, T. A.; Rainò, S.; Rando, R.; Razzano, M.; Razzaque, S.; Reimer, A.; Reimer, O.; Sadrozinski, H. F.-W.; Sgrò, C.; Siskind, E. J.; Spandre, G.; Spinelli, P.; Strong, A. W.; Suson, D. J.; Takahashi, H.; Tanaka, T.; Thayer, J. G.; Thayer, J. B.; Thompson, D. J.; Tibaldo, L.; Tinivella, M.; Torres, D. F.; Tosti, G.; Troja, E.; Usher, T. L.; Vandenbroucke, J.; Vasileiou, V.; Vianello, G.; Vitale, V.; Waite, A. P.; Wang, P.; Winer, B. L.; Wood, K. S.; Wood, M.; Yang, Z.; Ziegler, M.; Zimmer, S.

2012-05-01

The γ-ray sky >100 MeV is dominated by the diffuse emissions from interactions of cosmic rays with the interstellar gas and radiation fields of the Milky Way. Observations of these diffuse emissions provide a tool to study cosmic-ray origin and propagation, and the interstellar medium. We present measurements from the first 21 months of the Fermi Large Area Telescope (Fermi-LAT) mission and compare with models of the diffuse γ-ray emission generated using the GALPROP code. The models are fitted to cosmic-ray data and incorporate astrophysical input for the distribution of cosmic-ray sources, interstellar gas, and radiation fields. To assess uncertainties associated with the astrophysical input, a grid of models is created by varying within observational limits the distribution of cosmic-ray sources, the size of the cosmic-ray confinement volume (halo), and the distribution of interstellar gas. An all-sky maximum-likelihood fit is used to determine the X CO factor, the ratio between integrated CO-line intensity and H2 column density, the fluxes and spectra of the γ-ray point sources from the first Fermi-LAT catalog, and the intensity and spectrum of the isotropic background including residual cosmic rays that were misclassified as γ-rays, all of which have some dependency on the assumed diffuse emission model. The models are compared on the basis of their maximum-likelihood ratios as well as spectra, longitude, and latitude profiles. We also provide residual maps for the data following subtraction of the diffuse emission models. The models are consistent with the data at high and intermediate latitudes but underpredict the data in the inner Galaxy for energies above a few GeV. Possible explanations for this discrepancy are discussed, including the contribution by undetected point-source populations and spectral variations of cosmic rays throughout the Galaxy. In the outer Galaxy, we find that the data prefer models with a flatter distribution of cosmic-ray sources, a larger cosmic-ray halo, or greater gas density than is usually assumed. Our results in the outer Galaxy are consistent with other Fermi-LAT studies of this region that used different analysis methods than employed in this paper.

FERMI-LAT OBSERVATIONS OF THE DIFFUSE {gamma}-RAY EMISSION: IMPLICATIONS FOR COSMIC RAYS AND THE INTERSTELLAR MEDIUM

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

Ackermann, M.; Ajello, M.; Bechtol, K.

The {gamma}-ray sky >100 MeV is dominated by the diffuse emissions from interactions of cosmic rays with the interstellar gas and radiation fields of the Milky Way. Observations of these diffuse emissions provide a tool to study cosmic-ray origin and propagation, and the interstellar medium. We present measurements from the first 21 months of the Fermi Large Area Telescope (Fermi-LAT) mission and compare with models of the diffuse {gamma}-ray emission generated using the GALPROP code. The models are fitted to cosmic-ray data and incorporate astrophysical input for the distribution of cosmic-ray sources, interstellar gas, and radiation fields. To assess uncertaintiesmore » associated with the astrophysical input, a grid of models is created by varying within observational limits the distribution of cosmic-ray sources, the size of the cosmic-ray confinement volume (halo), and the distribution of interstellar gas. An all-sky maximum-likelihood fit is used to determine the X{sub CO} factor, the ratio between integrated CO-line intensity and H{sub 2} column density, the fluxes and spectra of the {gamma}-ray point sources from the first Fermi-LAT catalog, and the intensity and spectrum of the isotropic background including residual cosmic rays that were misclassified as {gamma}-rays, all of which have some dependency on the assumed diffuse emission model. The models are compared on the basis of their maximum-likelihood ratios as well as spectra, longitude, and latitude profiles. We also provide residual maps for the data following subtraction of the diffuse emission models. The models are consistent with the data at high and intermediate latitudes but underpredict the data in the inner Galaxy for energies above a few GeV. Possible explanations for this discrepancy are discussed, including the contribution by undetected point-source populations and spectral variations of cosmic rays throughout the Galaxy. In the outer Galaxy, we find that the data prefer models with a flatter distribution of cosmic-ray sources, a larger cosmic-ray halo, or greater gas density than is usually assumed. Our results in the outer Galaxy are consistent with other Fermi-LAT studies of this region that used different analysis methods than employed in this paper.« less

Fermi-LAT observations of the diffuse γ-ray emission: Implications for cosmic rays and the interstellar medium

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

Ackermann, M.; Ajello, M.; Atwood, W. B.

The γ-ray sky >100 MeV is dominated by the diffuse emissions from interactions of cosmic rays with the interstellar gas and radiation fields of the Milky Way. Our observations of these diffuse emissions provide a tool to study cosmic-ray origin and propagation, and the interstellar medium. We present measurements from the first 21 months of the Fermi Large Area Telescope (Fermi-LAT) mission and compare with models of the diffuse γ-ray emission generated using the GALPROP code. The models are fitted to cosmic-ray data and incorporate astrophysical input for the distribution of cosmic-ray sources, interstellar gas, and radiation fields. In ordermore » to assess uncertainties associated with the astrophysical input, a grid of models is created by varying within observational limits the distribution of cosmic-ray sources, the size of the cosmic-ray confinement volume (halo), and the distribution of interstellar gas. An all-sky maximum-likelihood fit is used to determine the X CO factor, the ratio between integrated CO-line intensity and H2 column density, the fluxes and spectra of the γ-ray point sources from the first Fermi-LAT catalog, and the intensity and spectrum of the isotropic background including residual cosmic rays that were misclassified as γ-rays, all of which have some dependency on the assumed diffuse emission model. The models are compared on the basis of their maximum-likelihood ratios as well as spectra, longitude, and latitude profiles. Here, we provide residual maps for the data following subtraction of the diffuse emission models. The models are consistent with the data at high and intermediate latitudes but underpredict the data in the inner Galaxy for energies above a few GeV. Possible explanations for this discrepancy are discussed, including the contribution by undetected point-source populations and spectral variations of cosmic rays throughout the Galaxy. In the outer Galaxy, we find that the data prefer models with a flatter distribution of cosmic-ray sources, a larger cosmic-ray halo, or greater gas density than is usually assumed. Our results in the outer Galaxy are consistent with other Fermi-LAT studies of this region that used different analysis methods than employed in this paper.« less

Magnetization of Cloud Cores and Envelopes and Other Observational Consequences of Reconnection Diffusion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lazarian, A.; Esquivel, A.; Crutcher, R.

2012-10-01

Recent observational results for magnetic fields in molecular clouds reviewed by Crutcher seem to be inconsistent with the predictions of the ambipolar diffusion theory of star formation. These include the measured decrease in mass to flux ratio between envelopes and cores, the failure to detect any self-gravitating magnetically subcritical clouds, the determination of the flat probability distribution function (PDF) of the total magnetic field strengths implying that there are many clouds with very weak magnetic fields, and the observed scaling Bvpropρ2/3 that implies gravitational contraction with weak magnetic fields. We consider the problem of magnetic field evolution in turbulent molecular clouds and discuss the process of magnetic field diffusion mediated by magnetic reconnection. For this process that we termed "reconnection diffusion," we provide a simple physical model and explain that this process is inevitable in view of the present-day understanding of MHD turbulence. We address the issue of the expected magnetization of cores and envelopes in the process of star formation and show that reconnection diffusion provides an efficient removal of magnetic flux that depends only on the properties of MHD turbulence in the core and the envelope. We show that as the amplitude of turbulence as well as the scale of turbulent motions decrease from the envelope to the core of the cloud, the diffusion of the magnetic field is faster in the envelope. As a result, the magnetic flux trapped during the collapse in the envelope is being released faster than the flux trapped in the core, resulting in much weaker fields in envelopes than in cores, as observed. We provide simple semi-analytical model calculations which support this conclusion and qualitatively agree with the observational results. Magnetic reconnection is also consistent with the lack of subcritical self-gravitating clouds, with the observed flat PDF of field strengths, and with the scaling of field strength with density. In addition, we demonstrate that the reconnection diffusion process can account for the empirical Larson relations and list a few other implications of the reconnection diffusion concept. We argue that magnetic reconnection provides a solution to the magnetic flux problem of star formation that agrees better with observations than the long-standing ambipolar diffusion paradigm. Due to the illustrative nature of our simplified model we do not seek quantitative agreement, but discuss the complementary nature of our approach to the three-dimensional MHD numerical simulations.

Holographic Interferometry and Laminar Jet Diffusion Flames in the Presence of Non-Uniform Magnetic Fields

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Baker, J.; Calvert, M. E.; Saito, K.; VanderWal, R.

2001-01-01

Magnetic fields impact combustion processes in a manner analogous to that of buoyancy, i.e., as a body force. It is well known that in a terrestrial environment buoyancy is one of the principal transport mechanisms associated with diffusion flame behavior. Unfortunately, in a terrestrial environment it is difficult if not impossible to isolate flame behavior due magnetic fields from the behavior associated with buoyancy. A micro-, or reduced, gravity environment is ideally suited for studying the impact of magnetic fields on diffusion flames due to the decreased impact of buoyancy on flame behavior.

Characterizing individual scattering events by measuring the amplitude and phase of the electric field diffusing through a random medium.

PubMed

Jian, Zhongping; Pearce, Jeremy; Mittleman, Daniel M

2003-07-18

We describe observations of the amplitude and phase of an electric field diffusing through a three-dimensional random medium, using terahertz time-domain spectroscopy. These measurements are spatially resolved with a resolution smaller than the speckle spot size and temporally resolved with a resolution better than one optical cycle. By computing correlation functions between fields measured at different positions and with different temporal delays, it is possible to obtain information about individual scattering events experienced by the diffusing field. This represents a new method for characterizing a multiply scattered wave.

EM Diffusion for a Time-Domain Airborne EM System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yin, C.; Qiu, C.; Liu, Y.; Cai, J.

2014-12-01

Visualization of EM diffusion for an airborne EM (AEM) system is important for understanding the transient procedure of EM diffusion. The current distribution and diffusion features also provide effective means to evaluate EM footprint, depth of exploration and further help AEM system design and data interpretation. Most previous studies on EM diffusion (or "smoke ring" effect) are based on the static presentation of EM field, where the dynamic features of EM diffusion were not visible. For visualizing the dynamic feature of EM diffusion, we first calculate in this paper the frequency-domain EM field by downward continuation of the EM field at the EM receiver to the deep earth. After that, we transform the results to time-domain via a Fourier transform. We take a homogeneous half-space and a two-layered earth induced by a step pulse to calculate the EM fields and display the EM diffusion in the earth as 3D animated vectors or time-varying contours. The "smoke ring" effect of EM diffusion, dominated by the resistivity distribution of the earth, is clearly observed. The numerical results for an HCP (vertical magnetic dipole) and a VCX (horizontal magnetic dipole) transmitting coil above a homogeneous half-space of 100 ohm-m are shown in Fig.1. We display as example only the distribution of EM field inside the earth for the diffusion time of 0.05ms. The detailed EM diffusion will be shown in our future presentation. From the numerical experiments for different models, we find that 1) the current for either an HCP or a VCX transmitting dipole propagates downward and outward with time, becoming wider and more diffuse, forming a "smoke ring"; 2) for a VCX transmitter, the underground current forms two ellipses, corresponding to the two polarities of the magnetic flux of a horizontal magnetic dipole, injecting into or ejected from the earth; 3) for a HCP transmitter, however, the underground current forms only one circle, corresponding to the polarity of the magnetic flux for a vertical magnetic dipole, injecting into the earth; 4) there exists no vertical current in an isotropic homogeneous half-space. The currents for both HCP and VCX transmitting dipole flow horizontally.

Radial q-space sampling for DSI.

PubMed

Baete, Steven H; Yutzy, Stephen; Boada, Fernando E

2016-09-01

Diffusion spectrum imaging (DSI) has been shown to be an effective tool for noninvasively depicting the anatomical details of brain microstructure. Existing implementations of DSI sample the diffusion encoding space using a rectangular grid. Here we present a different implementation of DSI whereby a radially symmetric q-space sampling scheme for DSI is used to improve the angular resolution and accuracy of the reconstructed orientation distribution functions. Q-space is sampled by acquiring several q-space samples along a number of radial lines. Each of these radial lines in q-space is analytically connected to a value of the orientation distribution functions at the same angular location by the Fourier slice theorem. Computer simulations and in vivo brain results demonstrate that radial diffusion spectrum imaging correctly estimates the orientation distribution functions when moderately high b-values (4000 s/mm2) and number of q-space samples (236) are used. The nominal angular resolution of radial diffusion spectrum imaging depends on the number of radial lines used in the sampling scheme, and only weakly on the maximum b-value. In addition, the radial analytical reconstruction reduces truncation artifacts which affect Cartesian reconstructions. Hence, a radial acquisition of q-space can be favorable for DSI. Magn Reson Med 76:769-780, 2016. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

C+ detection of warm dark gas in diffuse clouds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Langer, W. D.; Velusamy, T.; Pineda, J. L.; Goldsmith, P. F.; Li, D.; Yorke, H. W.

2010-10-01

We present the first results of the Herschel open time key program, Galactic Observations of Terahertz C+ (GOT C+) survey of the [CII] 2P3/2-2P1/2 fine-structure line at 1.9 THz (158 μm) using the HIFI instrument on Herschel. We detected 146 interstellar clouds along sixteen lines-of-sight towards the inner Galaxy. We also acquired HI and CO isotopologue data along each line-of-sight for analysis of the physical conditions in these clouds. Here we analyze 29 diffuse clouds (AV < 1.3 mag) in this sample characterized by having [CII] and HI emission, but no detectable CO. We find that [CII] emission is generally stronger than expected for diffuse atomic clouds, and in a number of sources is much stronger than anticipated based on their HI column density. We show that excess [CII] emission in these clouds is best explained by the presence of a significant diffuse warm H2, dark gas, component. This first [CII] 158 μm detection of warm dark gas demonstrates the value of this tracer for mapping this gas throughout the Milky Way and in galaxies. Herschel is an ESA space observatory with science instruments provided by European-led Principal Investigator consortia and with important participation from NASA.

Separating non-diffuse component from ambient seismic noise cross-correlation in southern California­­

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, X.; Beroza, G. C.; Nakata, N.

2017-12-01

Cross-correlation of fully diffuse wavefields provides Green's function between receivers, although the ambient noise field in the real world contains both diffuse and non-diffuse fields. The non-diffuse field potentially degrades the correlation functions. We attempt to blindly separate the diffuse and the non-diffuse components from cross-correlations of ambient seismic noise and analyze the potential bias caused by the non-diffuse components. We compute the 9-component noise cross-correlations for 17 stations in southern California. For the Rayleigh wave components, we assume that the cross-correlation of multiply scattered waves (diffuse component) is independent from the cross-correlation of ocean microseismic quasi-point source responses (non-diffuse component), and the cross-correlation function of ambient seismic data is the sum of both components. Thus we can blindly separate the non-diffuse component due to physical point sources and the more diffuse component due to cross-correlation of multiply scattered noise based on their statistical independence. We also perform beamforming over different frequency bands for the cross-correlations before and after the separation, and we find that the decomposed Rayleigh wave represents more coherent features among all Rayleigh wave polarization cross-correlation components. We show that after separating the non-diffuse component, the Frequency-Time Analysis results are less ambiguous. In addition, we estimate the bias in phase velocity on the raw cross-correlation data due to the non-diffuse component. We also apply this technique to a few borehole stations in Groningen, the Netherlands, to demonstrate its applicability in different instrument/geology settings.

Stream interfaces and energetic ions II: Ulysses test of Pioneer results

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Intriligator, Devrie S.; Siscoe, George L.; Wibberenz, Gerd; Kunow, Horst; Gosling, John T.

1995-01-01

Ulysses measurements of energetic and solar wind particles taken near 5 AU between 20 and 30 degrees south latitude during a well-developed recurring corotating interaction region (CIR) show that the CIR's corotating energetic ion population (CEIP) associated with the trailing reverse shock starts within the CIR at the stream interface. This is consistent with an earlier result obtained by Pioneers 10 and 11 in the ecliptic plane between 4 and 6 AU. The Ulysses/Pioneer finding is noteworthy since the stream interface is not magnetically connected to the reverse shock, but lies 12-17 corotation hours from it. Thus, the finding seems to be inconsistent with the basic model that generates CEIP particles at the reverse shock and propagates them along field lines. Eliminating the inconsistency probably entails an extension of the standard model such as cross-field diffusion or a non-shock energization process operating near the stream interface closer to the sun.

Solar activity beyond the disk and variations of the cosmic ray gradient

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Belov, A. V.; Dorman, L. I.; Eroshenko, E. A.; Ishkov, V. N.; Oleneva, V. A.

1985-01-01

Part of galactic cosmic rays (CR) observed near the Earth and on the Earth come from beyond-disk regions of circumsolar space. But CR of those energies which undergo substantial modulation cover too large a path across the lines of force of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) in order that they could provide an effective transfer of information about beyond-disk solar activity. And if it is still possible, the most probable channel for transferring such information must be a neutral layer of heliomagnetosphere in which the transverse CR transport is facilitated by their drift in an inhomogeneous magnetic field. A simple diffusion model for an expected CR variation in a neutral layer near the Earth is discussed. It is of importance that variations of the CR gradient are not at all always accompanied by considerable variations of IMF and solar wind velocity at the point of observation.

Spatial reflection patterns of iridescent wings of male pierid butterflies: curved scales reflect at a wider angle than flat scales.

PubMed

Pirih, Primož; Wilts, Bodo D; Stavenga, Doekele G

2011-10-01

The males of many pierid butterflies have iridescent wings, which presumably function in intraspecific communication. The iridescence is due to nanostructured ridges of the cover scales. We have studied the iridescence in the males of a few members of Coliadinae, Gonepteryx aspasia, G. cleopatra, G. rhamni, and Colias croceus, and in two members of the Colotis group, Hebomoia glaucippe and Colotis regina. Imaging scatterometry demonstrated that the pigmentary colouration is diffuse whereas the structural colouration creates a directional, line-shaped far-field radiation pattern. Angle-dependent reflectance measurements demonstrated that the directional iridescence distinctly varies among closely related species. The species-dependent scale curvature determines the spatial properties of the wing iridescence. Narrow beam illumination of flat scales results in a narrow far-field iridescence pattern, but curved scales produce broadened patterns. The restricted spatial visibility of iridescence presumably plays a role in intraspecific signalling.

Cosmic Rays in Intermittent Magnetic Fields

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

Shukurov, Anvar; Seta, Amit; Bushby, Paul J.

The propagation of cosmic rays in turbulent magnetic fields is a diffusive process driven by the scattering of the charged particles by random magnetic fluctuations. Such fields are usually highly intermittent, consisting of intense magnetic filaments and ribbons surrounded by weaker, unstructured fluctuations. Studies of cosmic-ray propagation have largely overlooked intermittency, instead adopting Gaussian random magnetic fields. Using test particle simulations, we calculate cosmic-ray diffusivity in intermittent, dynamo-generated magnetic fields. The results are compared with those obtained from non-intermittent magnetic fields having identical power spectra. The presence of magnetic intermittency significantly enhances cosmic-ray diffusion over a wide range of particlemore » energies. We demonstrate that the results can be interpreted in terms of a correlated random walk.« less

A method for the estimate of the wall diffusion for non-axisymmetric fields using rotating external fields

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Frassinetti, L.; Olofsson, K. E. J.; Fridström, R.; Setiadi, A. C.; Brunsell, P. R.; Volpe, F. A.; Drake, J.

2013-08-01

A new method for the estimate of the wall diffusion time of non-axisymmetric fields is developed. The method based on rotating external fields and on the measurement of the wall frequency response is developed and tested in EXTRAP T2R. The method allows the experimental estimate of the wall diffusion time for each Fourier harmonic and the estimate of the wall diffusion toroidal asymmetries. The method intrinsically considers the effects of three-dimensional structures and of the shell gaps. Far from the gaps, experimental results are in good agreement with the diffusion time estimated with a simple cylindrical model that assumes a homogeneous wall. The method is also applied with non-standard configurations of the coil array, in order to mimic tokamak-relevant settings with a partial wall coverage and active coils of large toroidal extent. The comparison with the full coverage results shows good agreement if the effects of the relevant sidebands are considered.

Diffusion constant of slowly rotating black three-brane

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Amoozad, Z.; Sadeghi, J.

2018-01-01

In this paper, we take the slowly rotating black three-brane background and perturb it by introducing a vector gauge field. We find the components of the gauge field through Maxwell equations and Bianchi identities. Using currents and some ansatz we find Fick's first law at long wavelength regime. An interesting result for this non-trivial supergravity background is that the diffusion constant on the stretched horizon which emerges from Fick's first law is a complex constant. The pure imaginary part of the diffusion constant appears because the black three-brane has angular momentum. By taking the static limit of the corresponding black brane the well known diffusion constant will be recovered. On the other hand, from the point of view of the Fick's second law, we have the dispersion relation ω = - iDq2 and we found a damping of hydrodynamical flow in the holographically dual theory. Existence of imaginary term in the diffusion constant introduces an oscillating propagation of the gauge field in the dual field theory.

Diffusion of Magnetic Field and Removal of Magnetic Flux from Clouds Via Turbulent Reconnection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Santos-Lima, R.; Lazarian, A.; de Gouveia Dal Pino, E. M.; Cho, J.

2010-05-01

The diffusion of astrophysical magnetic fields in conducting fluids in the presence of turbulence depends on whether magnetic fields can change their topology via reconnection in highly conducting media. Recent progress in understanding fast magnetic reconnection in the presence of turbulence reassures that the magnetic field behavior in computer simulations and turbulent astrophysical environments is similar, as far as magnetic reconnection is concerned. This makes it meaningful to perform MHD simulations of turbulent flows in order to understand the diffusion of magnetic field in astrophysical environments. Our studies of magnetic field diffusion in turbulent medium reveal interesting new phenomena. First of all, our three-dimensional MHD simulations initiated with anti-correlating magnetic field and gaseous density exhibit at later times a de-correlation of the magnetic field and density, which corresponds well to the observations of the interstellar media. While earlier studies stressed the role of either ambipolar diffusion or time-dependent turbulent fluctuations for de-correlating magnetic field and density, we get the effect of permanent de-correlation with one fluid code, i.e., without invoking ambipolar diffusion. In addition, in the presence of gravity and turbulence, our three-dimensional simulations show the decrease of the magnetic flux-to-mass ratio as the gaseous density at the center of the gravitational potential increases. We observe this effect both in the situations when we start with equilibrium distributions of gas and magnetic field and when we follow the evolution of collapsing dynamically unstable configurations. Thus, the process of turbulent magnetic field removal should be applicable both to quasi-static subcritical molecular clouds and cores and violently collapsing supercritical entities. The increase of the gravitational potential as well as the magnetization of the gas increases the segregation of the mass and magnetic flux in the saturated final state of the simulations, supporting the notion that the reconnection-enabled diffusivity relaxes the magnetic field + gas system in the gravitational field to its minimal energy state. This effect is expected to play an important role in star formation, from its initial stages of concentrating interstellar gas to the final stages of the accretion to the forming protostar. In addition, we benchmark our codes by studying the heat transfer in magnetized compressible fluids and confirm the high rates of turbulent advection of heat obtained in an earlier study.

Irreversible reactions and diffusive escape: Stationary properties

DOE PAGES

Krapivsky, Paul L.; Ben-Naim, Eli

2015-05-01

We study three basic diffusion-controlled reaction processes—annihilation, coalescence, and aggregation. We examine the evolution starting with the most natural inhomogeneous initial configuration where a half-line is uniformly filled by particles, while the complementary half-line is empty. We show that the total number of particles that infiltrate the initially empty half-line is finite and has a stationary distribution. We determine the evolution of the average density from which we derive the average total number N of particles in the initially empty half-line; e.g. for annihilationmore » $$\\langle N\\rangle = \\frac{3}{16}+\\frac{1}{4\\π}$$ . For the coalescence process, we devise a procedure that in principle allows one to compute P(N), the probability to find exactly N particles in the initially empty half-line; we complete the calculations in the first non-trivial case (N = 1). As a by-product we derive the distance distribution between the two leading particles.« less

Intrinsic electric fields and proton diffusion in immobilized protein membranes. Effects of electrolytes and buffers.

PubMed Central

Zabusky, N J; Deem, G S

1979-01-01

We present a theory for proton diffusion through an immobilized protein membrane perfused with an electrolyte and a buffer. Using a Nernst-Planck equation for each species and assuming local charge neutrality, we obtain two coupled nonlinear diffusion equations with new diffusion coefficients dependent on the concentration of all species, the diffusion constants or mobilities of the buffers and salts, the pH-derivative of the titration curves of the mobile buffer and the immobilized protein, and the derivative with respect to ionic strength of the protein titration curve. Transient time scales are locally pH-dependent because of protonation-deprotonation reactions with the fixed protein and are ionic strength-dependent because salts provide charge carriers to shield internal electric fields. Intrinsic electric fields arise proportional to the gradient of an "effective" charge concentration. The field may reverse locally if buffer concentrations are large (greater to or equal to 0.1 M) and if the diffusivity of the electrolyte species is sufficiently small. The "ideal" electrolyte case (where each species has the same diffusivity) reduces to a simple form. We apply these theoretical considerations to membranes composed of papain and bovine serum albumin (BSA) and show that intrinsic electric fields greatly enhance the mobility of protons when the ionic strength of the salts is smaller than 0.1 M. These results are consistent with experiments where pH changes are observed to depend strongly on buffer, salt, and proton concentrations in baths adjacent to the membranes. PMID:233570

Multi-site study of diffusion metric variability: effects of site, vendor, field strength, and echo time on regions-of-interest and histogram-bin analyses.

PubMed

Helmer, K G; Chou, M-C; Preciado, R I; Gimi, B; Rollins, N K; Song, A; Turner, J; Mori, S

2016-02-27

It is now common for magnetic-resonance-imaging (MRI) based multi-site trials to include diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) as part of the protocol. It is also common for these sites to possess MR scanners of different manufacturers, different software and hardware, and different software licenses. These differences mean that scanners may not be able to acquire data with the same number of gradient amplitude values and number of available gradient directions. Variability can also occur in achievable b-values and minimum echo times. The challenge of a multi-site study then, is to create a common protocol by understanding and then minimizing the effects of scanner variability and identifying reliable and accurate diffusion metrics. This study describes the effect of site, scanner vendor, field strength, and TE on two diffusion metrics: the first moment of the diffusion tensor field (mean diffusivity, MD), and the fractional anisotropy (FA) using two common analyses (region-of-interest and mean-bin value of whole brain histograms). The goal of the study was to identify sources of variability in diffusion-sensitized imaging and their influence on commonly reported metrics. The results demonstrate that the site, vendor, field strength, and echo time all contribute to variability in FA and MD, though to different extent. We conclude that characterization of the variability of DTI metrics due to site, vendor, field strength, and echo time is a worthwhile step in the construction of multi-center trials.

Flow field and performance characteristics of combustor diffusers: A basic study

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

Hestermann, R.; Kim, S.; Ben Khaled, A.

1995-10-01

Results of a detailed study concerning the influence of geometric as well as fluid mechanic parameters o the performance of a plane model combustor diffuser in cold flow are presented. For a qualitative insight into the complex flow field inside the prediffuser, the sudden expansion region, and the flow field around the flame tube dome, results of a flow visualization study with the hydrogen bubble method as well as with the ink jet method are presented for different opening angles of the prediffuser and for different flame tube distances. Also, quantitative data from detailed measurements with LDV and conventional pressuremore » probes in a geometrically similar air-driven setup are presented. These data clearly demonstrate the effect of boundary layer thickness as well as the influence of different turbulence levels at the entry of the prediffuser on the performance characteristics of combustor diffusers. The possibility of getting an unseparated flow field inside the prediffuser even at large opening angles by appropriately matching the diffuser`s opening angle and the flame tube distance is demonstrated. Also, for flows with an increased turbulence level at the entrance--all other conditions held constant--an increased opening angle can be realized without experiencing flow separation. The comparison of the experimental data with predictions utilizing a finite-volume-code based on a body-fitted coordinate system for diffusers with an included total opening angle less than 18 deg demonstrates the capability of describing the flow field in combustor diffusers with reasonable accuracy.« less

Stimulated concentration (diffusion) light scattering on nanoparticles in a liquid suspension

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Burkhanov, I. S.; Krivokhizha, S. V.; Chaikov, L. L.

2016-06-01

A nonlinear growth of the light scattering intensity has been observed and the frequency shift of the spectral line of scattered light has been measured in light backscattered in suspensions of diamond and latex nanoparticles in water. The shift corresponds to the HWHM of the line of spontaneous scattering on particles. We may conclude that there exists stimulated concentration (diffusion) light scattering on variations of the particle concentration, which is also called the stimulated Mie scattering. In a fibre probe scheme, the growth of the shift of the scattered spectral line is observed with an increase in the exciting beam power. The variation of the frequency shift with an increase in the exciting power is explained by convection in liquid.

The Kinematics of Globular Clusters Measured with a Fabry Perot: the Inner 0.7' of M15 and 47 TUC

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gebhardt, K.; Pryor, C.; Williams, T. B.; Hesser, J. E.

1992-12-01

We are using the Rutgers Imaging Fabry Perot Interferometer on the CTIO 4m telescope to study the kinematics of globular clusters. The etalon has a resolution of 0.7 Angstroms at 5900 Angstroms (FWHM), which equals the broadening caused by a velocity dispersion of 15 \\kms. We take a series of images, spaced at about 0.25 Angstroms, covering a strong absorption line (one of the Na D lines or a Ca triplet line) to produce a short spectrum at each pixel. The Fabry Perot field of view is about 4.5 square arcmin, but, due to the parabolic variation of wavelength with radius in the field, we get good coverage of the absorption line out to about 0.7' from the center with 15 exposures. If conditions are not photometric, we can normalize the images by using the stars on the edge of the field that are in the continuum. The information in these frames can be exploited in several ways. Measuring the brightness in each frame of every identifiable star yields stellar spectra and thus velocities. We use DAOPHOT II (Stetson, P.B. 1987 (Pub. A.S.P., 99, 191)) to do this. DAOPHOT can also subtract most of the light of the brighter stars and produce frames of residual cluster light, from which we can get the spectra of the integrated light. The broadening of the line in the spectrum of the diffuse light yields, in principle, the velocity dispersion of the underlying fainter stars, particularly near the cusp center. We present our results from two runs for the clusters M15 and 47 Tuc. We confirm the inward increase in the velocity dispersion of M15 previously measured by Peterson, R.C., Seitzer, P. and Cudworth, K.M. 1989 (Ap. J., 347, 251), but our dispersion estimates are smaller than theirs. Our measured dispersion for 25 stars within the 0.2' of the cluster center is 10 \\kms, 5 \\kms smaller than the value found by Peterson et.al..

Effects of plasma flows on particle diffusion in stochastic magnetic fields

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

Vlad, M.; Spineanu, F.; Misguich, J.H.

1996-07-01

The study of collisional test particle diffusion in stochastic magnetic fields is extended to include the effects of the macroscopic flows of the plasma (drifts). We show that a substantial amplification of the diffusion coefficient can be obtained. This effect is produced by the combined action of the parallel collisional velocity and of the average drifts. The perpendicular collisional velocity influences the effective diffusion only in the limit of small average drifts. {copyright} {ital 1996 The American Physical Society.}

Pressure transfer function and absorption cross section from the diffuse field to the human infant ear canal.

PubMed

Keefe, D H; Bulen, J C; Campbell, S L; Burns, E M

1994-01-01

The diffuse-field pressure transfer function from a reverberant field to the ear canal of human infants, ages 1, 3, 6, 12, and 24 months, has been measured from 125-10700 Hz. The source was a loudspeaker using pink noise, and the diffuse-field pressure and the ear-canal pressure were simultaneously measured using a spatial averaging technique in a reverberant room. The results in most subjects show a two-peak structure in the 2-6-kHz range, corresponding to the ear-canal and concha resonances. The ear-canal resonance frequency decreases from 4.4 kHz at age 1 month to 2.9 kHz at age 24 months. The concha resonance frequency decreases from 5.5 kHz at age 1 month to 4.5 kHz at age 24 months. Below 2 kHz, the diffuse-field transfer function shows effects due to the torsos of the infant and parent, and varies with how the infant is held. Comparisons are reported of the diffuse-field absorption cross section for infants relative to adults. This quantity is a measure of power absorbed by the middle ear from a diffuse sound field, and large differences are observed in infants relative to adults. The radiation efficiencies of the infant and the adult ear are small at low frequencies, near unity at midfrequencies, and decrease at higher frequencies. The process of ear-canal development is not yet complete at age 24 months. The results have implications for experiments on hearing in infants.

The Role of Diffusivity Quenching in Flux-transport Dynamo Models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guerrero, Gustavo; Dikpati, Mausumi; de Gouveia Dal Pino, Elisabete M.

2009-08-01

In the nonlinear phase of a dynamo process, the back-reaction of the magnetic field upon the turbulent motion results in a decrease of the turbulence level and therefore in a suppression of both the magnetic field amplification (the α-quenching effect) and the turbulent magnetic diffusivity (the η-quenching effect). While the former has been widely explored, the effects of η-quenching in the magnetic field evolution have rarely been considered. In this work, we investigate the role of the suppression of diffusivity in a flux-transport solar dynamo model that also includes a nonlinear α-quenching term. Our results indicate that, although for α-quenching the dependence of the magnetic field amplification with the quenching factor is nearly linear, the magnetic field response to η-quenching is nonlinear and spatially nonuniform. We have found that the magnetic field can be locally amplified in this case, forming long-lived structures whose maximum amplitude can be up to ~2.5 times larger at the tachocline and up to ~2 times larger at the center of the convection zone than in models without quenching. However, this amplification leads to unobservable effects and to a worse distribution of the magnetic field in the butterfly diagram. Since the dynamo cycle period increases when the efficiency of the quenching increases, we have also explored whether the η-quenching can cause a diffusion-dominated model to drift into an advection-dominated regime. We have found that models undergoing a large suppression in η produce a strong segregation of magnetic fields that may lead to unsteady dynamo-oscillations. On the other hand, an initially diffusion-dominated model undergoing a small suppression in η remains in the diffusion-dominated regime.

Assembly Line of Stars

NASA Image and Video Library

2010-05-06

This image from NASA Herschel, in the constellation of Vulpecula, shows an entire assembly line of newborn stars. The diffuse glow reveals the widespread cold reservoir of raw material that our Milky Way galaxy has in stock for building stars.

Substorms: The Attempt at Magnetospheric Dynamic Equilibrium between Magnetically-Driven Frontside Reconnection and Particle-Driven Reconnection in a Multiple-Current-Sheet Magnetotail

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sofko, G. J.; Hussey, G. C.; McWilliams, K. A.; Reimer, A. S.

2016-12-01

We propose a multi-current-sheet model for magnetic substorms. Those storms are normally driven by frontside magnetically-driven reconnection (MDRx), in which the diffusion zone current JD and the electric field E have a "load" relationship JD*E >0, indicating transfer if magnetic energy to the particles in the "reconnection jets". As a result of lobe field line transport over the north and south poles, polar cap particles are subject to parallel energization as they flow upward out of the ionosphere. These particles convectively drift toward the equator and subsequently mirror near the Neutral Sheet (NSh) region, forming an extended westward NSh current sheet which is unstable and "tears up" into multiple current sheets. Each current sheet has very different behaviour at its ends: (a) strong magnetic pressure and weak particle pressure at its tailward end; (b) strong particle pressure and weak magnetic field at its earthward end. Therefore, in each Separation Zone (SZ) between current sheets, a strong eastward magnetic curl develops. The associated eastward SZ current, caused by diamagnetic electron drift, is squeezed by the repulsion of the westward currents tailward and earthward. That current becomes intense enough to act as a diffusion zone for "generator-type" or Particle-driven reconnection (PDRx) for which JD*E<0, indicating that the particles return energy to the magnetic field. The PDRx produces a Dipolarization Front (DF) on the earthward side of the SZ and a Plasmoid (PMD) on the tailward side. Such DF-PMD pairs form successively in time and radial downtail SZ distance. In this way, the magnetosphere attempts to achieve a dynamic equilibrium between magnetic and particle energy.

Electron energization mechanisms in collisionless magnetic reconnection for different guide-field intensities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pucci, F.; Usami, S.; Guo, X.; Ji, H.; Horiuchi, R.; Okamura, S.

2017-12-01

Electron dynamics and energization are a key component of magnetic field dissipation in collisionless reconnection. Indeed, in 2D reconnection, the main mechanism that limits the current density and provides the resistivity most probably relies on the electron pressure tensor term which has been shown to break the frozen-in condition at the x-point (Ishizawa and Horiuchi 2005; Horiuchi et al. 2014). In addition the electron-meandering-orbit scale controls the width of the electron dissipation region around the x-point, where the electron temperature is observed to increase, so understanding the electron heating mechanism is fundamental for magnetic reconnection. It has been shown by Guo et al. 2017 that for a 2D high guide field configuration (Bz/B0 = 3) electron perpendicular heating is mainly due to the breaking of magnetic moment conservation in the separatrix region while electron perpendicular acceleration takes place mainly in the downstream near the X-point. Electron velocity distributions have been shown to exhibit highly structured features within a few electron skin depths from the X line (Bessho et al. 2014) as well as in the exhaust (Shuster et al. 2014). By means of two-dimensional, full-particle simulations in an open system (Pei et al. 2001; Ohtani and R. Horiuchi 2009), we investigate how the energization mechanism depends on the guide field intensity. We compare electron distribution functions as well as particles orbits, in the electron diffusion region and the exhaust, in order to clarify the preferential electron heating/acceleration in two-dimensional systems. We will then compare our results with observations using the present catalogue of MMS diffusion region crossings.

Turbulent flow separation in three-dimensional asymmetric diffusers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jeyapaul, Elbert

2011-12-01

Turbulent three-dimensional flow separation is more complicated than 2-D. The physics of the flow is not well understood. Turbulent flow separation is nearly independent of the Reynolds number, and separation in 3-D occurs at singular points and along convergence lines emanating from these points. Most of the engineering turbulence research is driven by the need to gain knowledge of the flow field that can be used to improve modeling predictions. This work is motivated by the need for a detailed study of 3-D separation in asymmetric diffusers, to understand the separation phenomena using eddy-resolving simulation methods, assess the predictability of existing RANS turbulence models and propose modeling improvements. The Cherry diffuser has been used as a benchmark. All existing linear eddy-viscosity RANS models k--o SST,k--epsilon and v2- f fail in predicting such flows, predicting separation on the wrong side. The geometry has a doubly-sloped wall, with the other two walls orthogonal to each other and aligned with the diffuser inlet giving the diffuser an asymmetry. The top and side flare angles are different and this gives rise to different pressure gradient in each transverse direction. Eddyresolving simulations using the Scale adaptive simulation (SAS) and Large Eddy Simulation (LES) method have been used to predict separation in benchmark diffuser and validated. A series of diffusers with the same configuration have been generated, each having the same streamwise pressure gradient and parametrized only by the inlet aspect ratio. The RANS models were put to test and the flow physics explored using SAS-generated flow field. The RANS model indicate a transition in separation surface from top sloped wall to the side sloped wall at an inlet aspect ratio much lower than observed in LES results. This over-sensitivity of RANS models to transverse pressure gradients is due to lack of anisotropy in the linear Reynolds stress formulation. The complexity of the flow separation is due to effects of lateral straining, streamline curvature, secondary flow of second kind, transverse pressure gradient on turbulence. Resolving these effects is possible with anisotropy turbulence models as the Explicit Algebraic Reynolds stress model (EARSM). This model has provided accurate prediction of streamwise and transverse velocity, however the wall pressure is under predicted. An improved EARSM model is developed by correcting the coefficients, which predicts a more accurate wall pressure. There exists scope for improvement of this model, by including convective effects and dynamics of velocity gradient invariants.

Neoclassical Diffusion of Radiation-Belt Electrons Across Very Low L-Shells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cunningham, Gregory S.; Loridan, Vivien; Ripoll, Jean-François; Schulz, Michael

2018-04-01

In the presence of drift-shell splitting intrinsic to the International Geomagnetic Reference Field magnetic field model, pitch angle scattering from Coulomb collisions experienced by radiation-belt electrons in the upper atmosphere and ionosphere produces extra radial diffusion, a form of neoclassical diffusion. The strength of the neoclassical radial diffusion at L < 1.2 exceeds that expected there from radial-diffusion mechanisms traditionally considered and decreases with increasing L-shell. In this work we construct a numerical model for this coupled (radial and pitch angle) collisional diffusion process and apply it to simulate raw count-rate data observed aboard the Gemini spacecraft for several years after the 1962 Starfish nuclear detonation. The data show apparent lifetimes 10-100 times as long as would have been expected from collisional pitch angle diffusion and Coulomb drag alone. Our model reproduces apparent lifetimes for >0.5-MeV electrons in the region 1.14 < L < 1.26 to within a factor of 2 (comparable to the uncertainty quoted for the observations). We conclude that neoclassical radial diffusion (resulting from drift-shell splitting intrinsic to International Geomagnetic Reference Field's azimuthal asymmetries) mitigates the decay expected from collisional pitch angle diffusion and inelastic energy loss alone and thus contributes importantly to the long apparent lifetimes observed at these low L-shells.

Hall Effect–Mediated Magnetic Flux Transport in Protoplanetary Disks

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

Bai, Xue-Ning; Stone, James M.

2017-02-10

The global evolution of protoplanetary disks (PPDs) has recently been shown to be largely controlled by the amount of poloidal magnetic flux threading the disk. The amount of magnetic flux must also coevolve with the disk, as a result of magnetic flux transport, a process that is poorly understood. In weakly ionized gas as in PPDs, magnetic flux is largely frozen in the electron fluid, except when resistivity is large. When the disk is largely laminar, we show that the relative drift between the electrons and ions (the Hall drift), and the ions and neutral fluids (ambipolar drift) can playmore » a dominant role on the transport of magnetic flux. Using two-dimensional simulations that incorporate the Hall effect and ambipolar diffusion (AD) with prescribed diffusivities, we show that when large-scale poloidal field is aligned with disk rotation, the Hall effect rapidly drags magnetic flux inward at the midplane region, while it slowly pushes flux outward above/below the midplane. This leads to a highly radially elongated field configuration as a global manifestation of the Hall-shear instability. This field configuration further promotes rapid outward flux transport by AD at the midplane, leading to instability saturation. In quasi-steady state, magnetic flux is transported outward at approximately the same rate at all heights, and the rate is comparable to the Hall-free case. For anti-aligned field polarity, the Hall effect consistently transports magnetic flux outward, leading to a largely vertical field configuration in the midplane region. The field lines in the upper layer first bend radially inward and then outward to launch a disk wind. Overall, the net rate of outward flux transport is about twice as fast as that of the aligned case. In addition, the rate of flux transport increases with increasing disk magnetization. The absolute rate of transport is sensitive to disk microphysics, which remains to be explored in future studies.« less

Molecular dynamics simulation of framework flexibility effects on noble gas diffusion in HKUST-1 and ZIF-8

DOE PAGES

Parkes, Marie V.; Demir, Hakan; Teich-McGoldrick, Stephanie L.; ...

2014-03-28

Molecular dynamics simulations were used to investigate trends in noble gas (Ar, Kr, Xe) diffusion in the metal-organic frameworks HKUST-1 and ZIF-8. Diffusion occurs primarily through inter-cage jump events, with much greater diffusion of guest atoms in HKUST-1 compared to ZIF-8 due to the larger cage and window sizes in the former. We compare diffusion coefficients calculated for both rigid and flexible frameworks. For rigid framework simulations, in which the framework atoms were held at their crystallographic or geometry optimized coordinates, sometimes dramatic differences in guest diffusion were seen depending on the initial framework structure or the choice of frameworkmore » force field parameters. When framework flexibility effects were included, argon and krypton diffusion increased significantly compared to rigid-framework simulations using general force field parameters. Additionally, for argon and krypton in ZIF-8, guest diffusion increased with loading, demonstrating that guest-guest interactions between cages enhance inter-cage diffusion. No inter-cage jump events were seen for xenon atoms in ZIF-8 regardless of force field or initial structure, and the loading dependence of xenon diffusion in HKUST-1 is different for rigid and flexible frameworks. Diffusion of krypton and xenon in HKUST-1 depends on two competing effects: the steric effect that decreases diffusion as loading increases, and the “small cage effect” that increases diffusion as loading increases. Finally, a detailed analysis of the window size in ZIF-8 reveals that the window increases beyond its normal size to permit passage of a (nominally) larger krypton atom.« less

Large-scale magnetic field in the accretion discs of young stars: the influence of magnetic diffusion, buoyancy and Hall effect

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khaibrakhmanov, S. A.; Dudorov, A. E.; Parfenov, S. Yu.; Sobolev, A. M.

2017-01-01

We investigate the fossil magnetic field in the accretion and protoplanetary discs using the Shakura and Sunyaev approach. The distinguishing feature of this study is the accurate solution of the ionization balance equations and the induction equation with Ohmic diffusion, magnetic ambipolar diffusion, buoyancy and the Hall effect. We consider the ionization by cosmic rays, X-rays and radionuclides, radiative recombinations, recombinations on dust grains and also thermal ionization. The buoyancy appears as the additional mechanism of magnetic flux escape in the steady-state solution of the induction equation. Calculations show that Ohmic diffusion and magnetic ambipolar diffusion constraint the generation of the magnetic field inside the `dead' zones. The magnetic field in these regions is quasi-vertical. The buoyancy constraints the toroidal magnetic field strength close to the disc inner edge. As a result, the toroidal and vertical magnetic fields become comparable. The Hall effect is important in the regions close to the borders of the `dead' zones because electrons are magnetized there. The magnetic field in these regions is quasi-radial. We calculate the magnetic field strength and geometry for the discs with accretion rates (10^{-8}-10^{-6}) {M}_{⊙} {yr}^{-1}. The fossil magnetic field geometry does not change significantly during the disc evolution while the accretion rate decreases. We construct the synthetic maps of dust emission polarized due to the dust grain alignment by the magnetic field. In the polarization maps, the `dead' zones appear as the regions with the reduced values of polarization degree in comparison to those in the adjacent regions.

Tonic B-cell receptor signaling in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.

PubMed

Havranek, Ondrej; Xu, Jingda; Köhrer, Stefan; Wang, Zhiqiang; Becker, Lisa; Comer, Justin M; Henderson, Jared; Ma, Wencai; Man Chun Ma, John; Westin, Jason R; Ghosh, Dipanjan; Shinners, Nicholas; Sun, Luhong; Yi, Allen F; Karri, Anusha R; Burger, Jan A; Zal, Tomasz; Davis, R Eric

2017-08-24

We used clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats/Cas9-mediated genomic modification to investigate B-cell receptor (BCR) signaling in cell lines of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). Three manipulations that altered BCR genes without affecting surface BCR levels showed that BCR signaling differs between the germinal center B-cell (GCB) subtype, which is insensitive to Bruton tyrosine kinase inhibition by ibrutinib, and the activated B-cell (ABC) subtype. Replacing antigen-binding BCR regions had no effect on BCR signaling in GCB-DLBCL lines, reflecting this subtype's exclusive use of tonic BCR signaling. Conversely, Y188F mutation in the immunoreceptor tyrosine-based activation motif of CD79A inhibited tonic BCR signaling in GCB-DLBCL lines but did not affect their calcium flux after BCR cross-linking or the proliferation of otherwise-unmodified ABC-DLBCL lines. CD79A-GFP fusion showed BCR clustering or diffuse distribution, respectively, in lines of ABC and GCB subtypes. Tonic BCR signaling acts principally to activate AKT, and forced activation of AKT rescued GCB-DLBCL lines from knockout (KO) of the BCR or 2 mediators of tonic BCR signaling, SYK and CD19. The magnitude and importance of tonic BCR signaling to proliferation and size of GCB-DLBCL lines, shown by the effect of BCR KO, was highly variable; in contrast, pan-AKT KO was uniformly toxic. This discrepancy was explained by finding that BCR KO-induced changes in AKT activity (measured by gene expression, CXCR4 level, and a fluorescent reporter) correlated with changes in proliferation and with baseline BCR surface density. PTEN protein expression and BCR surface density may influence clinical response to therapeutic inhibition of tonic BCR signaling in DLBCL. © 2017 by The American Society of Hematology.

Impulsive solar X-ray bursts. III - Polarization, directivity, and spectrum of the reflected and total bremsstrahlung radiation from a beam of electrons directed toward the photosphere

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Langer, S. H.; Petrosian, V.

1977-01-01

The paper presents the spectrum, directivity, and state of polarization of the bremsstrahlung radiation expected from a beam of high-energy electrons spiraling along radial magnetic field lines toward the photosphere. A Monte Carlo method is then described for evaluation of the spectrum, directivity, and polarization of X-rays diffusely reflected from stellar photospheres. The accuracy of the technique is evaluated through comparison with analytic results. The calculated characteristics of the incident X-rays are used to evaluate the spectrum, directivity, and polarization of the reflected and total X-ray fluxes. The results are compared with observations.

Star Formation and the Hall Effect

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Braiding, Catherine

2011-10-01

Magnetic fields play an important role in star formation by regulating the removal of angular momentum from collapsing molecular cloud cores. Hall diffusion is known to be important to the magnetic field behaviour at many of the intermediate densities and field strengths encountered during the gravitational collapse of molecular cloud cores into protostars, and yet its role in the star formation process is not well-studied. This thesis describes a semianalytic self-similar model of the collapse of rotating isothermal molecular cloud cores with both Hall and ambipolar diffusion, presenting similarity solutions that demonstrate that the Hall effect has a profound influence on the dynamics of collapse. ... Hall diffusion also determines the strength of the magnetic diffusion and centrifugal shocks that bound the pseudo and rotationally-supported discs, and can introduce subshocks that further slow accretion onto the protostar. In cores that are not initially rotating Hall diffusion can even induce rotation, which could give rise to disc formation and resolve the magnetic braking catastrophe. The Hall effect clearly influences the dynamics of gravitational collapse and its role in controlling the magnetic braking and radial diffusion of the field would be worth exploring in future numerical simulations of star formation.

Using nonlinear ac electrokinetics vortex flow to enhance catalytic activities of sol-gel encapsulated trypsin in microfluidic devices

PubMed Central

Wang, Shau-Chun; Chen, Hsiao-Ping; Lai, Yi-Wen; Chau, Lai-Kwan; Chuang, Yu-Chun; Chen, Yi-Jie

2007-01-01

A novel microstirring strategy is applied to accelerate the digestion rate of the substrate Nα-benzoyl-L-arginine-4-nitroanilide (L-BAPA) catalyzed by sol-gel encapsulated trypsin. We use an ac nonlinear electrokinetic vortex flow to stir the solution in a microfluidic reaction chamber to reduce the diffusion length between the immobilized enzyme and substrate in the solution. High-intensity nonlinear electroosmotic microvortices, with angular speeds in excess of 1 cm∕s, are generated around a small (∼1.2 mm) conductive ion exchange granule when ac electric fields (133 V∕cm) are applied across a miniature chamber smaller than 10 μl. Coupling between these microvortices and the on-and-off electrophoretic motion of the granule in low frequency (0.1 Hz) ac fields produces chaotic stream lines to stir substrate molecules sufficiently. We demonstrate that, within a 5-min digestion period, the catalytic reaction rate of immobilized trypsin increases almost 30-fold with adequate reproducibility (15%) due to sufficient stirring action through the introduction of the nonlinear electrokinetic vortices. In contrast, low-frequency ac electroosmotic flow without the granule, provides limited stirring action and increases the reaction rate approximately ninefold with barely acceptable reproducibility (30%). Dye molecules are used to characterize the increases in solute diffusivity in the reaction reservoir in which sol-gel particles are placed, with and without the presence of granule, and compared with the static case. The solute diffusivity enhancement data show respective increases of ∼30 and ∼8 times, with and without the presence of granule. These numbers are consistent with the ratios of the enhanced reaction rate. PMID:19693360

Using nonlinear ac electrokinetics vortex flow to enhance catalytic activities of sol-gel encapsulated trypsin in microfluidic devices.

PubMed

Wang, Shau-Chun; Chen, Hsiao-Ping; Lai, Yi-Wen; Chau, Lai-Kwan; Chuang, Yu-Chun; Chen, Yi-Jie

2007-09-04

A novel microstirring strategy is applied to accelerate the digestion rate of the substrate N(alpha)-benzoyl-L-arginine-4-nitroanilide (L-BAPA) catalyzed by sol-gel encapsulated trypsin. We use an ac nonlinear electrokinetic vortex flow to stir the solution in a microfluidic reaction chamber to reduce the diffusion length between the immobilized enzyme and substrate in the solution. High-intensity nonlinear electroosmotic microvortices, with angular speeds in excess of 1 cms, are generated around a small ( approximately 1.2 mm) conductive ion exchange granule when ac electric fields (133 Vcm) are applied across a miniature chamber smaller than 10 mul. Coupling between these microvortices and the on-and-off electrophoretic motion of the granule in low frequency (0.1 Hz) ac fields produces chaotic stream lines to stir substrate molecules sufficiently. We demonstrate that, within a 5-min digestion period, the catalytic reaction rate of immobilized trypsin increases almost 30-fold with adequate reproducibility (15%) due to sufficient stirring action through the introduction of the nonlinear electrokinetic vortices. In contrast, low-frequency ac electroosmotic flow without the granule, provides limited stirring action and increases the reaction rate approximately ninefold with barely acceptable reproducibility (30%). Dye molecules are used to characterize the increases in solute diffusivity in the reaction reservoir in which sol-gel particles are placed, with and without the presence of granule, and compared with the static case. The solute diffusivity enhancement data show respective increases of approximately 30 and approximately 8 times, with and without the presence of granule. These numbers are consistent with the ratios of the enhanced reaction rate.

A sample of [C II] clouds tracing dense clouds in weak FUV fields observed by Herschel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pineda, J. L.; Velusamy, T.; Langer, W. D.; Goldsmith, P. F.; Li, D.; Yorke, H. W.

2010-10-01

The [C ii] fine-structure line at 158 μm is an excellent tracer of the warm diffuse gas in the ISM and the interfaces between molecular clouds and their surrounding atomic and ionized envelopes. Here we present the initial results from Galactic observations of terahertz C+ (GOT C+), a Herschel key project devoted to studying the [C ii] emission in the Galactic plane using the HIFI instrument. We used the [C ii] emission, together with observations of CO, as a probe to understand the effects of newly formed stars on their interstellar environment and characterize the physical and chemical state of the star-forming gas. We collected data along 16 lines-of-sight passing near star-forming regions in the inner Galaxy near longitudes 330° and 20°. We identified fifty-eight [C ii] components that are associated with high-column density molecular clouds as traced by 13CO emission. We combined [C ii], 12CO, and 13CO observations to derive the physical conditions of the [C ii]-emitting regions in our sample of high-column density clouds based on comparing results from a grid of photon dominated region (PDR) models. From this unbiased sample, our results suggest that most of the [C ii] emission originates in clouds with H2 volume densities between 103.5 and 105.5 cm-3 and weak FUV strength (χ0 = 1-10). We find two regions where our analysis suggest high densities >105 cm-3 and strong FUV fields (χ0 = 104-106), likely associated with massive star formation. We suggest that [C ii] emission in conjunction with CO isotopes is a good tool for differentiating regions of massive star formation (high densities/strong FUV fields) and regions that are distant from massive stars (lower densities/weaker FUV fields) along the line-of-sight. Herschel is an ESA space observatory with science instruments provided by European-led Principal Investigator consortia and with important participation from NASA.

The Eighty Six Hα Spectra from the Orion Nebula (M42, Sh2-281) with DEFPOS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sahan, M.; Yegingil, I.

2017-12-01

In this study, eighty six Hα (6563 Å) emission line spectra from the central region (˜ 40^' }× 40^' }) of the Orion Nebula (NGC1976, M42, Sh2-281) have been obtained using DEFPOS spectrometer with a circular field of view of 4^' } at TUBITAK National Observatory (TUG, Antalya, Turkey). Measurements provide information about the intensities, line widths, and radial velocities of the gas surrounding the Sh2-281 HII-region. The intensities, the radial velocities and the line widths of the Hα emission line were found in the range of from 319.85 R to 6009.08 R (mean 2006 ± 400 R), from -14.91 km s^{-1} to + 5.40 km s^{-1} (mean -4.51± 3.80 km s^{-1}), and from 27.83 km s^{-1} to 49.60 km s^{-1} (mean 41.09± 7.74 km s^{-1}), respectively. Moreover, the mean emission measure (EM) calculated from {I_{H{α }}} values was obtained as 4513.02 cm^{-6} pc. The mean LSR velocity of the nebula was found to be -4.51 km s^{-1} and was compared with some previous works. The intensity values of DEFPOS data were also compared with the data obtained from VTSS, SkyView, and SHASSA maps using APER and SKY codes. We found that our results were approximately the similar variation with VTSS (mean 2002.04 R), SkyView (mean 2680.05 R), and SHASSA (mean 2400.06 R) maps. We believe that DEFPOS spectrometer with a 4' diameter field of view is able to provide a powerful tool for the study of diffuse ionized gas and this new results may have significant contribution to the literature.

Investigation of the annealing temperature dependence of the spin pumping in Co20Fe60B20/Pt systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Belmeguenai, M.; Aitoukaci, K.; Zighem, F.; Gabor, M. S.; Petrisor, T.; Mos, R. B.; Tiusan, C.

2018-03-01

Co20Fe60B20/Pt systems with variable thicknesses of Co20Fe60B20 and of Pt have been sputtered and then annealed at various temperatures (Ta) up to 300 °C. Microstrip line ferromagnetic resonance (MS-FMR) has been used to investigate Co20Fe60B20 and Pt thickness dependencies of the magnetic damping enhancement due to the spin pumping. Using diffusion and ballistic models for spin pumping, the spin mixing conductance and the spin diffusion length have been deduced from the Co20Fe60B20 and the Pt thickness dependencies of the Gilbert damping parameter α of the Co20Fe60B20/Pt heterostructures, respectively. Within the ballistic simple model, both the spin mixing conductance at the CoFeB/Pt interface and the spin-diffusion length of Pt increase with the increasing annealing temperature and show a strong enhancement at 300 °C annealing temperature. In contrast, the spin mixing conductance, which increases with Ta, shows a different trend to the spin diffusion length when using the diffusion model. Moreover, MS-FMR measurements revealed that the effective magnetization varies linearly with the Co20Fe60B20 inverse thickness due to the perpendicular interface anisotropy, which is found to decrease as the annealing temperature increases. It also revealed that the angular dependence of the resonance field is governed by small uniaxial anisotropy which is found to vary linearly with the Co20Fe60B20 inverse thickness of the annealed films, in contrast to that of the as grown ones.

Fuel cell assembly unit for promoting fluid service and electrical conductivity

DOEpatents

Jones, Daniel O.

1999-01-01

Fluid service and/or electrical conductivity for a fuel cell assembly is promoted. Open-faced flow channel(s) are formed in a flow field plate face, and extend in the flow field plate face between entry and exit fluid manifolds. A resilient gas diffusion layer is located between the flow field plate face and a membrane electrode assembly, fluidly serviced with the open-faced flow channel(s). The resilient gas diffusion layer is restrained against entering the open-faced flow channel(s) under a compressive force applied to the fuel cell assembly. In particular, a first side of a support member abuts the flow field plate face, and a second side of the support member abuts the resilient gas diffusion layer. The support member is formed with a plurality of openings extending between the first and second sides of the support member. In addition, a clamping pressure is maintained for an interface between the resilient gas diffusion layer and a portion of the membrane electrode assembly. Preferably, the support member is spikeless and/or substantially flat. Further, the support member is formed with an electrical path for conducting current between the resilient gas diffusion layer and position(s) on the flow field plate face.

A continuous tensor field approximation of discrete DT-MRI data for extracting microstructural and architectural features of tissue.

PubMed

Pajevic, Sinisa; Aldroubi, Akram; Basser, Peter J

2002-01-01

The effective diffusion tensor of water, D, measured by diffusion tensor MRI (DT-MRI), is inherently a discrete, noisy, voxel-averaged sample of an underlying macroscopic effective diffusion tensor field, D(x). Within fibrous tissues this field is presumed to be continuous and smooth at a gross anatomical length scale. Here a new, general mathematical framework is proposed that uses measured DT-MRI data to produce a continuous approximation to D(x). One essential finding is that the continuous tensor field representation can be constructed by repeatedly performing one-dimensional B-spline transforms of the DT-MRI data. The fidelity and noise-immunity of this approximation are tested using a set of synthetically generated tensor fields to which background noise is added via Monte Carlo methods. Generally, these tensor field templates are reproduced faithfully except at boundaries where diffusion properties change discontinuously or where the tensor field is not microscopically homogeneous. Away from such regions, the tensor field approximation does not introduce bias in useful DT-MRI parameters, such as Trace(D(x)). It also facilitates the calculation of several new parameters, particularly differential quantities obtained from the tensor of spatial gradients of D(x). As an example, we show that they can identify tissue boundaries across which diffusion properties change rapidly using in vivo human brain data. One important application of this methodology is to improve the reliability and robustness of DT-MRI fiber tractography.

Sound transmission through a double-panel construction lined with poroelastic material in the presence of mean flow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Jie; Bhaskar, Atul; Zhang, Xin

2013-08-01

This paper investigates the sound transmission characteristics through a system of double-panel lined with poroelastic material in the core. The panels are surrounded by external and internal fluid media where a uniform external mean flow exists on one side. Biot's theory is used to model the porous material. Three types of constructions—bonded-bonded, bonded-unbonded and unbonded-unbonded—are considered. The effect of Mach number of the external flow on the sound transmission over a wide frequency range in a diffuse sound field is examined. External mean flow is shown to give a modest increase in transmission loss at low frequency, but a significant increase at high frequency. It is brought out that calculations based on static air on the incidence side provide a conservative estimate of sound transmission through the sandwich structure. The acoustic performance of the sandwich panel for different configurations is presented. The effect of curvature of the panel is also brought out by using shallow shell theory.

Quenching and anisotropy of hydromagnetic turbulent transport

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

Karak, Bidya Binay; Brandenburg, Axel; Rheinhardt, Matthias

2014-11-01

Hydromagnetic turbulence affects the evolution of large-scale magnetic fields through mean-field effects like turbulent diffusion and the α effect. For stronger fields, these effects are usually suppressed or quenched, and additional anisotropies are introduced. Using different variants of the test-field method, we determine the quenching of the turbulent transport coefficients for the forced Roberts flow, isotropically forced non-helical turbulence, and rotating thermal convection. We see significant quenching only when the mean magnetic field is larger than the equipartition value of the turbulence. Expressing the magnetic field in terms of the equipartition value of the quenched flows, we obtain for themore » quenching exponents of the turbulent magnetic diffusivity about 1.3, 1.1, and 1.3 for Roberts flow, forced turbulence, and convection, respectively. However, when the magnetic field is expressed in terms of the equipartition value of the unquenched flows, these quenching exponents become about 4, 1.5, and 2.3, respectively. For the α effect, the exponent is about 1.3 for the Roberts flow and 2 for convection in the first case, but 4 and 3, respectively, in the second. In convection, the quenching of turbulent pumping follows the same power law as turbulent diffusion, while for the coefficient describing the Ω×J effect nearly the same quenching exponent is obtained as for α. For forced turbulence, turbulent diffusion proportional to the second derivative along the mean magnetic field is quenched much less, especially for larger values of the magnetic Reynolds number. However, we find that in corresponding axisymmetric mean-field dynamos with dominant toroidal field the quenched diffusion coefficients are the same for the poloidal and toroidal field constituents.« less

Role of Magnetic Diffusion Induced by Turbulent Magnetic Reconnection for Star Formation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lazarian, Alex; Santos de Lima, R.; de Gouveia Dal Pino, E.

2010-01-01

The diffusion of astrophysical magnetic fields in conducting fluids in the presence of turbulence depends on whether magnetic fields can change their topology or reconnect in highly conducting media. Recent progress in understanding fast magnetic reconnection in the presence of turbulence is reassuring that the magnetic field behavior in the computer simulations and turbulent astrophysical environments is similar, as far as the magnetic reconnection is concerned. This makes it meaningful to perform MHD simulations of turbulent flows in order to understand the diffusion of magnetic field in astrophysical environments. Our study of magnetic field diffusion reveals important propertie s of the process. First of all, our 3D MHD simulations initiated with anti-correlating magnetic field and gaseous density exhibit at later times a decorrelation of the magnetic field and density, which corresponds well to the observations of the interstellar media. In the presence of gravity, our 3D simulations show the decrease of the flux to mass ratio with density concentration when turbulence is present. We observe this effect both in the situations when we start with the equilibrium distributions of gas and magnetic field and when we start with collapsing dynamically unstable configurations. Thus the process of turbulent magnetic field removal should be applicable both to quasistatic subcritical molecular clouds and cores and violently collapsing supercritical entities. The increase of the gravitational potential as well as the magnetization of the gas increases the segregation of the mass and flux in the saturated final state of simulations, supporting the notion that turbulent diffusivity relaxes the magnetic field + gas system in the gravitational field to its minimal energy state. At the same time, turbulence of high level may get the system unbound making the flux to mass ratio more uniform through the simulation box.

Homoclinic tangle of the ideal separatrix in the DIII-D tokamak from (30, 10) + (40, 10) perturbation

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

Punjabi, Alkesh

Trajectories of magnetic field lines are a 1½ degree of freedom Hamiltonian system. The perturbed separatrix in a divertor tokamak is radically different from the unperturbed one. This is because magnetic asymmetries cause the separatrix to form extremely complicated structures called homoclinic tangles. The shape of flux surfaces in the edge region of divertor tokamaks such as the DIII (J. L. Luxon and L. G. Davis, Fusion Technol. 8, 441 (1985)) is fundamentally different from near-circular. Recently, a new method is developed to calculate the homoclinic tangle and lobes of the separatrix of divertor tokamaks in physical space (A. Punjabimore » and A. Boozer, Phys. Lett. A 378, 2410 (2014)). This method is based on three elements: preservation of the two invariants—symplectic and topological neighborhood—and a new set of canonical coordinates called the natural canonical coordinates. The very complicated shape of edge surfaces can be represented very accurately and very realistically in these new coordinates (A. Punjabi and H. Ali, Phys. Plasmas 15, 122502 (2008); A. Punjabi, Nucl. Fusion 49, 115020 (2009)). A symplectic map in the new coordinates can advance the separatrix manifold forward and backward in time. Every time the two manifolds meet in a fixed poloidal plane, they intersect and form homoclinic tangle to preserve the two invariants. The new coordinates can be mapped to physical space and the dynamical evolution of the homoclinic tangle can be seen and pictured in physical space. Here, the new method is applied to the DIII-D tokamak to study the basic features of the homoclinic tangle of the unperturbed separatrix from two Fourier components, which represent the peeling-ballooning modes of equal amplitude and no radial dependence, and the results are analyzed. Homoclinic tangle has a very complicated structure and becomes extremely complicated for as the lines take more toroidal turns, especially near the X-point. Homoclinic tangle is the most complicated near the X-point and forms the largest lobes there. On average, the field lines cover a distance of about 9 m per turn. Poloidal rotation of the lines has large gradients in the poloidal direction. The average normal displacement of the lines on the separatrix varies from 5 mm to 7 cm. Average outward displacement of the lines is considerably larger than the inward displacement; however, on the average more lines are displaced inside than outside of the separatrix. The field line diffusion normal to the separatrix has extremely wide variation and very large poloidal gradients. Half of all the lines are lost in less than 6 turns. Complicated electric potentials will be required to maintain the neutrality of the plasma, and the E × B drifts from these fields can modify plasma confinement and influence the edge physics (A. Punjabi and A. Boozer, Phys. Lett. A 378, 2410 (2014))« less

Homoclinic tangle of the ideal separatrix in the DIII-D tokamak from (30, 10) + (40, 10) perturbation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Punjabi, Alkesh

2014-12-01

Trajectories of magnetic field lines are a 1½ degree of freedom Hamiltonian system. The perturbed separatrix in a divertor tokamak is radically different from the unperturbed one. This is because magnetic asymmetries cause the separatrix to form extremely complicated structures called homoclinic tangles. The shape of flux surfaces in the edge region of divertor tokamaks such as the DIII (J. L. Luxon and L. G. Davis, Fusion Technol. 8, 441 (1985)) is fundamentally different from near-circular. Recently, a new method is developed to calculate the homoclinic tangle and lobes of the separatrix of divertor tokamaks in physical space (A. Punjabi and A. Boozer, Phys. Lett. A 378, 2410 (2014)). This method is based on three elements: preservation of the two invariants—symplectic and topological neighborhood—and a new set of canonical coordinates called the natural canonical coordinates. The very complicated shape of edge surfaces can be represented very accurately and very realistically in these new coordinates (A. Punjabi and H. Ali, Phys. Plasmas 15, 122502 (2008); A. Punjabi, Nucl. Fusion 49, 115020 (2009)). A symplectic map in the new coordinates can advance the separatrix manifold forward and backward in time. Every time the two manifolds meet in a fixed poloidal plane, they intersect and form homoclinic tangle to preserve the two invariants. The new coordinates can be mapped to physical space and the dynamical evolution of the homoclinic tangle can be seen and pictured in physical space. Here, the new method is applied to the DIII-D tokamak to study the basic features of the homoclinic tangle of the unperturbed separatrix from two Fourier components, which represent the peeling-ballooning modes of equal amplitude and no radial dependence, and the results are analyzed. Homoclinic tangle has a very complicated structure and becomes extremely complicated for as the lines take more toroidal turns, especially near the X-point. Homoclinic tangle is the most complicated near the X-point and forms the largest lobes there. On average, the field lines cover a distance of about 9 m per turn. Poloidal rotation of the lines has large gradients in the poloidal direction. The average normal displacement of the lines on the separatrix varies from 5 mm to 7 cm. Average outward displacement of the lines is considerably larger than the inward displacement; however, on the average more lines are displaced inside than outside of the separatrix. The field line diffusion normal to the separatrix has extremely wide variation and very large poloidal gradients. Half of all the lines are lost in less than 6 turns. Complicated electric potentials will be required to maintain the neutrality of the plasma, and the E × B drifts from these fields can modify plasma confinement and influence the edge physics (A. Punjabi and A. Boozer, Phys. Lett. A 378, 2410 (2014)).

Giant transversal particle diffusion in a longitudinal magnetic ratchet.

PubMed

Tierno, Pietro; Reimann, Peter; Johansen, Tom H; Sagués, Francesc

2010-12-03

We study the transversal motion of paramagnetic particles on a uniaxial garnet film, exhibiting a longitudinal ratchet effect in the presence of an oscillating magnetic field. Without the field, the thermal diffusion coefficient obtained by video microscopy is D(0) ≈ 3 × 10(-4)  μm2/s. With the field, the transversal diffusion exhibits a giant enhancement by almost four decades and a pronounced maximum as a function of the driving frequency. We explain the experimental findings with a theoretical interpretation in terms of random disorder effects within the magnetic film.

Currents and Associated Electron Scattering and Bouncing Near the Diffusion Region at Earth's Magnetopause

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lavraud, B.; Zhang, Y. C.; Vernisse, Y.; Gershman, D. J.; Dorelli, J.; Cassak, P. A.; Dargent, J.; Pollock, C.; Giles, B.; Aunai, N.;

Topological Weyl superconductor to diffusive thermal Hall metal crossover in the B phase of UPt3

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goswami, Pallab; Nevidomskyy, Andriy H.

2015-12-01

The recent phase-sensitive measurements in the superconducting B phase of UPt3 provide strong evidence for the triplet, chiral kz(kx±i ky) 2 pairing symmetries, which endow the Cooper pairs with orbital angular momentum projections Lz=±2 along the c axis. In the absence of disorder such pairing can support both line and point nodes, and both types of nodal quasiparticles exhibit nontrivial topology in the momentum space. The point nodes, located at the intersections of the closed Fermi surfaces with the c axis, act as the double monopoles and the antimonopoles of the Berry curvature, and generalize the notion of Weyl quasiparticles. Consequently, the B phase should support an anomalous thermal Hall effect, the polar Kerr effect, in addition to the protected Fermi arcs on the (1 ,0 ,0 ) and the (0 ,1 ,0 ) surfaces. The line node at the Fermi surface equator acts as a vortex loop in the momentum space and gives rise to the zero-energy, dispersionless Andreev bound states on the (0 ,0 ,1 ) surface. At the transition from the B phase to the A phase, the time-reversal symmetry is restored, and only the line node survives inside the A phase. As both line and double-Weyl point nodes possess linearly vanishing density of states, we show that weak disorder acts as a marginally relevant perturbation. Consequently, an infinitesimal amount of disorder destroys the ballistic quasiparticle pole, while giving rise to a diffusive phase with a finite density of states at the zero energy. The resulting diffusive phase exhibits T -linear specific heat, and an anomalous thermal Hall effect. We predict that the low-temperature thermodynamic and transport properties display a crossover between a ballistic thermal Hall semimetal and a diffusive thermal Hall metal. By contrast, the diffusive phase obtained from a time-reversal-invariant pairing exhibits only the T -linear specific heat without any anomalous thermal Hall effect.

Ultra-broadband and planar sound diffuser with high uniformity of reflected intensity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fan, Xu-Dong; Zhu, Yi-Fan; Liang, Bin; Yang, Jing; Yang, Jun; Cheng, Jian-Chun

2017-09-01

Schroeder diffusers, as a classical design of acoustic diffusers proposed over 40 years ago, play key roles in many practical scenarios ranging from architectural acoustics to noise control to particle manipulation. Despite the great success of conventional acoustic diffusers, it is still worth pursuing ideal acoustic diffusers that are essentially expected to produce perfect sound diffuse reflection within the unlimited bandwidth. Here, we propose a different mechanism for designing acoustic diffusers to overcome the basic limits in intensity uniformity and working bandwidth in the previous designs and demonstrate a practical implementation by acoustic metamaterials with dispersionless phase-steering capability. In stark contrast to the existing production of diffuse fields relying on random scattering of sound energy by using a specific mathematical number sequence of periodically distributed unit cells, we directly mold the reflected wavefront into the desired shape by precisely manipulating the local phases of individual subwavelength metastructures. We also benchmark our design via numerical simulation with a commercially available Schroeder diffuser, and the results verify that our proposed diffuser scatters incident acoustic energy into all directions more uniformly within an ultra-broad band regardless of the incident angle. Furthermore, our design enables further improvement of the working bandwidth just by simply downscaling each individual element. With ultra-broadband functionality and high uniformity of reflected intensity, our metamaterial-based production of the diffusive field opens a route to the design and application of acoustic diffusers and may have a significant impact on various fields such as architectural acoustics and medical ultrasound imaging/treatment.

On the cosmic ray diffusion in a violent interstellar medium

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bykov, A. M.; Toptygin, I. N.

1985-01-01

A variety of the available observational data on the cosmic ray (CR) spectrum, anisotropy and composition are in good agreement with a suggestion on the diffusion propagation of CR with energy below 10(15) eV in the interstellar medium. The magnitude of the CR diffusion coefficient and its energy dependence are determined by interstellar medium (ISM) magnetic field spectra. Direct observational data on magnetic field spectra are still absent. A theoretical model to the turbulence generation in the multiphase ISM is resented. The model is based on the multiple generation of secondary shocks and concomitant large-scale rarefactions due to supernova shock interactions with interstellar clouds. The distribution function for ISM shocks are derived to include supernova statistics, diffuse cloud distribution, and various shock wave propagation regimes. This permits calculation of the ISM magnetic field fluctuation spectrum and CR diffusion coefficient for the hot phase of ISM.

Plasma processes in inert gas thrusters

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kaufman, H. R.; Robinson, R. S.

1979-01-01

Inert gas thrusters, particularly with large diameters, have continued to be of interest for space propulsion applications. Two plasma processes are treated in this study: electron diffusion across magnetic fields and double ion production in inert-gas thrusters. A model is developed to describe electron diffusion across a magnetic field that is driven by both density and potential gradients, with Bohm diffusion used to predict the diffusion rate. This model has applications to conduction across magnetic fields inside a discharge chamber, as well as through a magnetic baffle region used to isolate a hollow cathode from the main chamber. A theory for double ion production is presented, which is not as complete as the electron diffusion theory described, but it should be a useful tool for predicting double ion sputter erosion. Correlations are developed that may be used, without experimental data, to predict double ion densities for the design of new and especially larger ion thrusters.

Experimental Study of Instantaneous Evolution of A Scalar Gradient With Small-scale Anisotropic Injection In A 2d, Periodic Flow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Godard, G.; Paranthoen, P.; Gonzalez, M.

Anisotropic small-scale injection of a scalar (e.g. heat) in a turbulent medium can be performed by means of a small-diameter line source as already done in a turbulent plane jet and a turbulent boundary layer (Rosset et al., Phys. Fluids 13, 3729, 2001). In such conditions, however, experiment is revealed delicate especially, as regard to temperature gradient measurements in the near-field of the source. In the present study, we get rid of previous difficulties by setting up the heated line source in a simpler flow namely, a Bénard-von Kármán street. Under this situation, owing to a phase reference, the history of the instantaneous temperature gradient can be scrutinized from the vicinity of the source. Gradient statistics (second-order mo- ments, skewness, kurtosis ...) is derived which allows us to follow the evolution of anisotropy downstream of the line source. Alignment of temperature gradient with respect to strain principal axes is also analyzed. This experiment provides a precise knowledge of the way in which a scalar gradient evolves under the combined actions of strain, vorticity and molecular diffusion.

A SUCCESSFUL BROADBAND SURVEY FOR GIANT Ly{alpha} NEBULAE. II. SPECTROSCOPIC CONFIRMATION

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

Prescott, Moire K. M.; Dey, Arjun; Jannuzi, Buell T., E-mail: mkpresco@physics.ucsb.edu

2013-01-01

Using a systematic broadband search technique, we have carried out a survey for large Ly{alpha} nebulae (or Ly{alpha} {sup b}lobs{sup )} at 2 {approx}< z {approx}< 3 within 8.5 deg{sup 2} of the NOAO Deep Wide-Field Survey Booetes field, corresponding to a total survey comoving volume of Almost-Equal-To 10{sup 8} h {sup -3} {sub 70} Mpc{sup 3}. Here, we present our spectroscopic observations of candidate giant Ly{alpha} nebulae. Of 26 candidates targeted, 5 were confirmed to have Ly{alpha} emission at 1.7 {approx}< z {approx}< 2.7, 4 of which were new discoveries. The confirmed Ly{alpha} nebulae span a range of Ly{alpha}more » equivalent widths, colors, sizes, and line ratios, and most show spatially extended continuum emission. The remaining candidates did not reveal any strong emission lines, but instead exhibit featureless, diffuse, blue continuum spectra. Their nature remains mysterious, but we speculate that some of these might be Ly{alpha} nebulae lying within the redshift desert (i.e., 1.2 {approx}< z {approx}< 1.6). Our spectroscopic follow-up confirms the power of using deep broadband imaging to search for the bright end of the Ly{alpha} nebula population across enormous comoving volumes.« less

Comparison of three-dimensional particle tracking and sizing using plenoptic imaging and digital in-line holography

DOE PAGES

Hall, Elise M.; Thurow, Brian S.; Guildenbecher, Daniel R.

2016-08-08

Digital in-line holography (DIH) and plenoptic photography are two techniques for single-shot, volumetric measurement of 3D particle fields. Here we present a comparison of the two methods by applying plenoptic imaging to experimental configurations that have been previously investigated with DIH. These experiments include the tracking of secondary droplets from the impact of a water drop on a thin film of water and tracking of pellets from a shotgun. Both plenoptic imaging and DIH successfully quantify the 3D nature of these particle fields. Furthermore, this includes measurement of the 3D particle position, individual particle sizes, and three-component velocity vectors. Formore » the initial processing methods presented here, both techniques give out-of-plane positional accuracy of approximately 1–2 particle diameters. For a fixed image sensor, digital holography achieves higher effective in-plane spatial resolutions. However, collimated and coherent illumination makes holography susceptible to image distortion through index of refraction gradients, as demonstrated in the shotgun experiments. In contrast, plenoptic imaging allows for a simpler experimental configuration and, due to the use of diffuse, white-light illumination, plenoptic imaging is less susceptible to image distortion in the shotgun experiments.« less

Lithium ion dynamics in Li2S+GeS2+GeO2 glasses studied using (7)Li NMR field-cycling relaxometry and line-shape analysis.

PubMed

Gabriel, Jan; Petrov, Oleg V; Kim, Youngsik; Martin, Steve W; Vogel, Michael

2015-09-01

We use (7)Li NMR to study the ionic jump motion in ternary 0.5Li2S+0.5[(1-x)GeS2+xGeO2] glassy lithium ion conductors. Exploring the "mixed glass former effect" in this system led to the assumption of a homogeneous and random variation of diffusion barriers in this system. We exploit that combining traditional line-shape analysis with novel field-cycling relaxometry, it is possible to measure the spectral density of the ionic jump motion in broad frequency and temperature ranges and, thus, to determine the distribution of activation energies. Two models are employed to parameterize the (7)Li NMR data, namely, the multi-exponential autocorrelation function model and the power-law waiting times model. Careful evaluation of both of these models indicates a broadly inhomogeneous energy landscape for both the single (x=0.0) and the mixed (x=0.1) network former glasses. The multi-exponential autocorrelation function model can be well described by a Gaussian distribution of activation barriers. Applicability of the methods used and their sensitivity to microscopic details of ionic motion are discussed. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Development and applications of laser-induced incandescence

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vanderwal, Randy L.; Dietrich, Daniel L.; Zhou, Zhiquang; Choi, Mun Y.

1995-01-01

Several NASA-funded investigations focus on soot processes and radiative influences of soot in diffusion flames given their simplicity, practical significance, and potential for theoretical modeling. Among the physical parameters characterizing soot, soot volume fraction, f(sub v), a function of particle size and number density, is often of chief practical interest in these investigations, as this is the geometrical property that directly impacts radiative characteristics and the temperature field of the flame and is basic to understanding soot growth and oxidation processes. Diffusion flames, however, present a number of challenges to the determination of f(sub v) via traditional extinction measurements. Laser-induced incandescence (LII) possesses several advantages compared to line-of-sight extinction techniques for determination of f(sub v). Since LII is not a line-of-sight technique, similar to fluorescence, it possesses geometric versatility allowing spatially resolved measurements of f(sub v) in real time in nonaxisymmetric systems without using deconvolution techniques. The spatial resolution of LII is determined by the detector and imaging magnification used. Neither absorption by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH's) nor scattering contributes to the signal. Temporal capabilities are limited only by the laser pulse and camera gate duration, with measurements having been demonstrated with 10 ns resolution. Because of these advantages, LII should be applicable to a variety of combustion processes involving both homogeneous and heterogeneous phases. Our work has focussed on characterization of the technique as well as exploration of its capabilities and is briefly described.

Reconnection in the Post-impulsive Phase of Solar Flares

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Forbes, Terry G.; Seaton, Daniel B.; Reeves, Katharine K.

2018-05-01

Using a recently developed analytical procedure, we determine the rate of magnetic reconnection in the “standard” model of eruptive solar flares. During the late phase, the neutral line is located near the lower tip of the reconnection current sheet, and the upper region of the current sheet is bifurcated into a pair of Petschek-type shocks. Despite the presence of these shocks, the reconnection rate remains slow if the resistivity is uniform and the flow is laminar. Fast reconnection is achieved only if there is some additional mechanism that can shorten the length of the diffusion region at the neutral line. Observations of plasma flows by the X-ray telescope on Hinode imply that the diffusion region is, in fact, quite short. Two possible mechanisms for reducing the length of the diffusion region are localized resistivity and MHD turbulence.

Diffusion in biased turbulence

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

Vlad, M.; Spineanu, F.; Misguich, J. H.

2001-06-01

Particle transport in two-dimensional divergence-free stochastic velocity fields with constant average is studied. Analytical expressions for the Lagrangian velocity correlation and for the time-dependent diffusion coefficients are obtained. They apply to stationary and homogeneous Gaussian velocity fields.

Cold Electrons as the Drivers of Parallel, Electrostatic Waves in Asymmetric Reconnection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Holmes, J.; Ergun, R.; Newman, D. L.; Wilder, F. D.; Schwartz, S. J.; Goodrich, K.; Eriksson, S.; Torbert, R. B.; Russell, C. T.; Lindqvist, P. A.; Giles, B. L.; Pollock, C. J.; Le Contel, O.; Strangeway, R. J.; Burch, J. L.

2016-12-01

The Magnetospheric MultiScale mission (MMS) has observed several instances of asymmetric reconnection at Earth's magnetopause, where plasma from the magnetosheath encounters that of the magnetosphere. On Earth's dayside, the magnetosphere is often made up of a two-component distribution of cold (<< 10 eV) and hot ( 1 keV) plasma, sometimes including the cold ion plume. Magnetosheath plasma is primarily warm ( 100 eV) post-shock solar wind. Where they meet, magnetopause reconnection alters the magnetic topology such that these two populations are left cohabiting a field line and rapidly mix. There have been several events observed by MMS where the Fast Plasma Instrument (FPI) clearly shows cold ions near the diffusion region impinging upon the warm magnetosheath population. In many of these, we also see patches of strong electrostatic waves parallel to the magnetic field - a smoking gun for rapid mixing via nonlinear processes. Cold ions alone are too slow to create the same waves; solving for roots of a simplified dispersion relation shows the electron population damps out the ion modes. From this, we infer the presence of cold electrons; in one notable case found by Wilder et al. 2016 (in review), they have been observed directly by FPI. Vlasov simulations of plasma mixing for a number of these events closely reproduce the observed electric field signatures. We conclude from numerical analysis and direct MMS observations that cold plasma mixing, including cold electrons, is the primary driver of parallel electrostatic waves observed near the electron diffusion region in asymmetric magnetic reconnection.

Scaling of Turbulence and Transport with ρ* in LAPD

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guice, Daniel; Carter, Troy; Rossi, Giovanni

2014-10-01

The plasma column size of the Large Plasma Device (LAPD) is varied in order to investigate the variation of turbulence and transport with ρ* =ρs / a . The data set includes plasmas produced by the standard BaO plasma source (straight field plasma radius a 30 cm) as well as the new higher density, higher temperature LaB6 plasma source (straight field plasma radius a 10 cm). The size of the plasma column is scaled in order to observe a Bohm to Gyro-Bohm diffusion transition. The main plasma column magnetic field is held fixed while the field in the cathode region is changed in order to map the cathode to different plasma column scales in the main chamber. Past experiments in the LAPD have shown a change in the observed diffusion but no transition to Gyro-Bohm diffusion. Results will be presented from an ongoing campaign to push the LAPD into the Gyro-Bohm diffusion regime.

Magnetic orientation of nontronite clay in aqueous dispersions and its effect on water diffusion.

PubMed

Abrahamsson, Christoffer; Nordstierna, Lars; Nordin, Matias; Dvinskikh, Sergey V; Nydén, Magnus

2015-01-01

The diffusion rate of water in dilute clay dispersions depends on particle concentration, size, shape, aggregation and water-particle interactions. As nontronite clay particles magnetically align parallel to the magnetic field, directional self-diffusion anisotropy can be created within such dispersion. Here we study water diffusion in exfoliated nontronite clay dispersions by diffusion NMR and time-dependant 1H-NMR-imaging profiles. The dispersion clay concentration was varied between 0.3 and 0.7 vol%. After magnetic alignment of the clay particles in these dispersions a maximum difference of 20% was measured between the parallel and perpendicular self-diffusion coefficients in the dispersion with 0.7 vol% clay. A method was developed to measure water diffusion within the dispersion in the absence of a magnetic field (random clay orientation) as this is not possible with standard diffusion NMR. However, no significant difference in self-diffusion coefficient between random and aligned dispersions could be observed. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Notes on hyperscaling violating Lifshitz and shear diffusion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kolekar, Kedar S.; Mukherjee, Debangshu; Narayan, K.

2017-07-01

We explore in greater detail our investigations of shear diffusion in hyperscaling violating Lifshitz theories in Phys. Lett. B 760, 86 (2016), 10.1016/j.physletb.2016.06.046. This adapts and generalizes the membrane-paradigm-like analysis of Kovtun, Son, and Starinets for shear gravitational perturbations in the near horizon region given certain self-consistent approximations, leading to the shear diffusion constant on an appropriately defined stretched horizon. In theories containing a gauge field, some of the metric perturbations mix with some of the gauge field perturbations and the above analysis is somewhat more complicated. We find a similar near-horizon analysis can be obtained in terms of new field variables involving a linear combination of the metric and the gauge field perturbation resulting in a corresponding diffusion equation. Thereby as before, for theories with Lifshitz and hyperscaling violating exponents z , θ satisfying z <4 -θ in four bulk dimensions, our analysis here results in a similar expression for the shear diffusion constant with power-law scaling with temperature suggesting universal behavior in relation to the viscosity bound. For z =4 -θ , we find logarithmic behavior.

Diffusion-mediated dephasing in the dipole field around a single spherical magnetic object.

PubMed

Buschle, Lukas R; Kurz, Felix T; Kampf, Thomas; Triphan, Simon M F; Schlemmer, Heinz-Peter; Ziener, Christian Herbert

2015-11-01

In this work, the time evolution of the free induction decay caused by the local dipole field of a spherical magnetic perturber is analyzed. The complicated treatment of the diffusion process is replaced by the strong-collision-approximation that allows a determination of the free induction decay in dependence of the underlying microscopic tissue parameters such as diffusion coefficient, sphere radius and susceptibility difference. The interplay between susceptibility- and diffusion-mediated effects yields several dephasing regimes of which, so far, only the classical regimes of motional narrowing and static dephasing for dominant and negligible diffusion, respectively, were extensively examined. Due to the asymmetric form of the dipole field for spherical objects, the free induction decay exhibits a complex component in contradiction to the cylindrical case, where the symmetric local dipole field only causes a purely real induction decay. Knowledge of the shape of the corresponding frequency distribution is necessary for the evaluation of more sophisticated pulse sequences and a detailed understanding of the off-resonance distribution allows improved quantification of transverse relaxation. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Coherent active methods for applications in room acoustics.

PubMed

Guicking, D; Karcher, K; Rollwage, M

1985-10-01

An adjustment of reverberation time in rooms is often desired, even for low frequencies where passive absorbers fail. Among the active (electroacoustic) systems, incoherent ones permit lengthening of reverberation time only, whereas coherent active methods will allow sound absorption as well. A coherent-active wall lining consists of loudspeakers with microphones in front and adjustable control electronics. The microphones pick up the incident sound and drive the speakers in such a way that the reflection coefficient takes on prescribed values. An experimental device for the one-dimensional case allows reflection coefficients between almost zero and about 1.5 to be realized below 1000 Hz. The extension to three dimensions presents problems, especially by nearfield effects. Experiments with a 3 X 3 loudspeaker array and computer simulations proved that the amplitude reflection coefficient can be adjusted between 10% and 200% for sinusoidal waves at normal and oblique incidence. Future developments have to make the system work with broadband excitation and in more diffuse sound fields. It is also planned to combine the active reverberation control with active diffusion control.

Energy balance in the solar transition region. I - Hydrostatic thermal models with ambipolar diffusion

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fontenla, J. M.; Avrett, E. H.; Loeser, R.

1990-01-01

The energy balance in the lower transition region is analyzed by constructing theoretical models which satisfy the energy balance constraint. The energy balance is achieved by balancing the radiative losses and the energy flowing downward from the corona. This energy flow is mainly in two forms: conductive heat flow and hydrogen ionization energy flow due to ambipolar diffusion. Hydrostatic equilibrium is assumed, and, in a first calculation, local mechanical heating and Joule heating are ignored. In a second model, some mechanical heating compatible with chromospheric energy-balance calculations is introduced. The models are computed for a partial non-LTE approach in which radiation departs strongly from LTE but particles depart from Maxwellian distributions only to first order. The results, which apply to cases where the magnetic field is either absent, or uniform and vertical, are compared with the observed Lyman lines and continuum from the average quiet sun. The approximate agreement suggests that this type of model can roughly explain the observed intensities in a physically meaningful way, assuming only a few free parameters specified as chromospheric boundary conditions.

Magnetic diffusion and flare energy buildup

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wu, S. T.; Yin, C. L.; Yang, W.-H.

1992-01-01

Photospheric motion shears or twists solar magnetic fields to increase magnetic energy in the corona, because this process may change a current-free state of a coronal field to force-free states which carry electric current. This paper analyzes both linear and nonlinear 2D force-free magnetic field models and derives relations of magnetic energy buildup with photospheric velocity field. When realistic data of solar magnetic field and photospheric velocity field are used, it is found that 3-4 hours are needed to create an amount of free magnetic energy which is of the order of the current-free field energy. Furthermore, the paper studies situations in which finite magnetic diffusivities in photospheric plasma are introduced. The shearing motion increases coronal magnetic energy, while the photospheric diffusion reduces the energy. The variation of magnetic energy in the coronal region, then, depends on which process dominates.

The physical foundation of the reconnection electric field

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hesse, M.; Liu, Y.-H.; Chen, L.-J.; Bessho, N.; Wang, S.; Burch, J. L.; Moretto, T.; Norgren, C.; Genestreti, K. J.; Phan, T. D.; Tenfjord, P.

2018-03-01

Magnetic reconnection is a key charged particle transport and energy conversion process in environments ranging from astrophysical systems to laboratory plasmas [Yamada et al., Rev. Mod. Phys. 82, 603-664 (2010)]. Magnetic reconnection facilitates plasma transport by establishing new connections of magnetic flux tubes, and it converts, often explosively, energy stored in the magnetic field to kinetic energy of charged particles [J. L. Burch and J. F. Drake, Am. Sci. 97, 392-299 (2009)]. The intensity of the magnetic reconnection process is measured by the reconnection electric field, which regulates the rate of flux tube connectivity changes. The change of magnetic connectivity occurs in the current layer of the diffusion zone, where the plasma transport is decoupled from the transport of magnetic flux. Here we report on computer simulations and analytic theory to provide a self-consistent understanding of the role of the reconnection electric field, which extends substantially beyond the simple change of magnetic connections. Rather, we find that the reconnection electric field is essential to maintain the current density in the diffusion region, which would otherwise be dissipated by a set of processes. Natural candidates for current dissipation are the average convection of current carriers away from the reconnection region by the outflow of accelerated particles, or the average rotation of the current density by the magnetic field reversal in the vicinity. Instead, we show here that the current dissipation is the result of thermal effects, underlying the statistical interaction of current-carrying particles with the adjacent magnetic field. We find that this interaction serves to redirect the directed acceleration of the reconnection electric field to thermal motion. This thermalization manifests itself in form of quasi-viscous terms in the thermal energy balance of the current layer. This collisionless viscosity, found in the pressure evolution equation, dominates near the x-line. These quasi-viscous terms act to increase the average thermal energy. Our predictions regarding current and thermal energy balance are readily amenable to exploration in the laboratory or by satellite missions, in particular, by NASA's Magnetospheric Multiscale mission.

Cosmic ray diffusion: Report of the Workshop in Cosmic Ray Diffusion Theory

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Birmingham, T. J.; Jones, F. C.

1975-01-01

A workshop in cosmic ray diffusion theory was held at Goddard Space Flight Center on May 16-17, 1974. Topics discussed and summarized are: (1) cosmic ray measurements as related to diffusion theory; (2) quasi-linear theory, nonlinear theory, and computer simulation of cosmic ray pitch-angle diffusion; and (3) magnetic field fluctuation measurements as related to diffusion theory.

Field theory and diffusion creep predictions in polycrystalline aggregates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Villani, A.; Busso, E. P.; Forest, S.

2015-07-01

In polycrystals, stress-driven vacancy diffusion at high homologous temperatures leads to inelastic deformation. In this work, a novel continuum mechanics framework is proposed to describe the strain fields resulting from such a diffusion-driven process in a polycrystalline aggregate where grains and grain boundaries are explicitly considered. The choice of an anisotropic eigenstrain in the grain boundary region provides the driving force for the diffusive creep processes. The corresponding inelastic strain rate is shown to be related to the gradient of the vacancy flux. Dislocation driven deformation is then introduced as an additional mechanism, through standard crystal plasticity constitutive equations. The fully coupled diffusion-mechanical model is implemented into the finite element method and then used to describe the biaxial creep behaviour of FCC polycrystalline aggregates. The corresponding results revealed for the first time that such a coupled diffusion-stress approach, involving the gradient of the vacancy flux, can accurately predict the well-known macroscopic strain rate dependency on stress and grain size in the diffusion creep regime. They also predict strongly heterogeneous viscoplastic strain fields, especially close to grain boundaries triple junctions. Finally, a smooth transition from Herring and Coble to dislocation creep behaviour is predicted and compared to experimental results for copper.

Pulsed-field-gradient measurements of time-dependent gas diffusion

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mair, R. W.; Cory, D. G.; Peled, S.; Tseng, C. H.; Patz, S.; Walsworth, R. L.

1998-01-01

Pulsed-field-gradient NMR techniques are demonstrated for measurements of time-dependent gas diffusion. The standard PGSE technique and variants, applied to a free gas mixture of thermally polarized xenon and O2, are found to provide a reproducible measure of the xenon diffusion coefficient (5.71 x 10(-6) m2 s-1 for 1 atm of pure xenon), in excellent agreement with previous, non-NMR measurements. The utility of pulsed-field-gradient NMR techniques is demonstrated by the first measurement of time-dependent (i.e., restricted) gas diffusion inside a porous medium (a random pack of glass beads), with results that agree well with theory. Two modified NMR pulse sequences derived from the PGSE technique (named the Pulsed Gradient Echo, or PGE, and the Pulsed Gradient Multiple Spin Echo, or PGMSE) are also applied to measurements of time dependent diffusion of laser polarized xenon gas, with results in good agreement with previous measurements on thermally polarized gas. The PGMSE technique is found to be superior to the PGE method, and to standard PGSE techniques and variants, for efficiently measuring laser polarized noble gas diffusion over a wide range of diffusion times. Copyright 1998 Academic Press.

Clustering the Orion B giant molecular cloud based on its molecular emission.

PubMed

Bron, Emeric; Daudon, Chloé; Pety, Jérôme; Levrier, François; Gerin, Maryvonne; Gratier, Pierre; Orkisz, Jan H; Guzman, Viviana; Bardeau, Sébastien; Goicoechea, Javier R; Liszt, Harvey; Öberg, Karin; Peretto, Nicolas; Sievers, Albrecht; Tremblin, Pascal

2018-02-01

Previous attempts at segmenting molecular line maps of molecular clouds have focused on using position-position-velocity data cubes of a single molecular line to separate the spatial components of the cloud. In contrast, wide field spectral imaging over a large spectral bandwidth in the (sub)mm domain now allows one to combine multiple molecular tracers to understand the different physical and chemical phases that constitute giant molecular clouds (GMCs). We aim at using multiple tracers (sensitive to different physical processes and conditions) to segment a molecular cloud into physically/chemically similar regions (rather than spatially connected components), thus disentangling the different physical/chemical phases present in the cloud. We use a machine learning clustering method, namely the Meanshift algorithm, to cluster pixels with similar molecular emission, ignoring spatial information. Clusters are defined around each maximum of the multidimensional Probability Density Function (PDF) of the line integrated intensities. Simple radiative transfer models were used to interpret the astrophysical information uncovered by the clustering analysis. A clustering analysis based only on the J = 1 - 0 lines of three isotopologues of CO proves suffcient to reveal distinct density/column density regimes ( n H ~ 100 cm -3 , ~ 500 cm -3 , and > 1000 cm -3 ), closely related to the usual definitions of diffuse, translucent and high-column-density regions. Adding two UV-sensitive tracers, the J = 1 - 0 line of HCO + and the N = 1 - 0 line of CN, allows us to distinguish two clearly distinct chemical regimes, characteristic of UV-illuminated and UV-shielded gas. The UV-illuminated regime shows overbright HCO + and CN emission, which we relate to a photochemical enrichment effect. We also find a tail of high CN/HCO + intensity ratio in UV-illuminated regions. Finer distinctions in density classes ( n H ~ 7 × 10 3 cm -3 ~ 4 × 10 4 cm -3 ) for the densest regions are also identified, likely related to the higher critical density of the CN and HCO + (1 - 0) lines. These distinctions are only possible because the high-density regions are spatially resolved. Molecules are versatile tracers of GMCs because their line intensities bear the signature of the physics and chemistry at play in the gas. The association of simultaneous multi-line, wide-field mapping and powerful machine learning methods such as the Meanshift clustering algorithm reveals how to decode the complex information available in these molecular tracers.

Covariant electromagnetic field lines

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hadad, Y.; Cohen, E.; Kaminer, I.; Elitzur, A. C.

2017-08-01

Faraday introduced electric field lines as a powerful tool for understanding the electric force, and these field lines are still used today in classrooms and textbooks teaching the basics of electromagnetism within the electrostatic limit. However, despite attempts at generalizing this concept beyond the electrostatic limit, such a fully relativistic field line theory still appears to be missing. In this work, we propose such a theory and define covariant electromagnetic field lines that naturally extend electric field lines to relativistic systems and general electromagnetic fields. We derive a closed-form formula for the field lines curvature in the vicinity of a charge, and show that it is related to the world line of the charge. This demonstrates how the kinematics of a charge can be derived from the geometry of the electromagnetic field lines. Such a theory may also provide new tools in modeling and analyzing electromagnetic phenomena, and may entail new insights regarding long-standing problems such as radiation-reaction and self-force. In particular, the electromagnetic field lines curvature has the attractive property of being non-singular everywhere, thus eliminating all self-field singularities without using renormalization techniques.

Neurocomputation by Reaction Diffusion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liang, Ping

1995-08-01

This Letter demonstrates the possible role nonsynaptic diffusion neurotransmission may play in neurocomputation using an artificial neural network model. A reaction-diffusion neural network model with field-based information-processing mechanisms is proposed. The advantages of nonsynaptic field neurotransmission from a computational viewpoint demonstrated in this Letter include long-range inhibition using only local interaction, nonhardwired and changeable (target specific) long-range communication pathways, and multiple simultaneous spatiotemporal organization processes in the same medium.

Analysis and experimental study on formation conditions of large-scale barrier-free diffuse atmospheric pressure air plasmas in repetitive pulse mode

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Lee; Liu, Lun; Liu, Yun-Long; Bin, Yu; Ge, Ya-Feng; Lin, Fo-Chang

2014-01-01

Atmospheric air diffuse plasmas have enormous application potential in various fields of science and technology. Without dielectric barrier, generating large-scale air diffuse plasmas is always a challenging issue. This paper discusses and analyses the formation mechanism of cold homogenous plasma. It is proposed that generating stable diffuse atmospheric plasmas in open air should meet the three conditions: high transient power with low average power, excitation in low average E-field with locally high E-field region, and multiple overlapping electron avalanches. Accordingly, an experimental configuration of generating large-scale barrier-free diffuse air plasmas is designed. Based on runaway electron theory, a low duty-ratio, high voltage repetitive nanosecond pulse generator is chosen as a discharge excitation source. Using the wire-electrodes with small curvature radius, the gaps with highly non-uniform E-field are structured. Experimental results show that the volume-scaleable, barrier-free, homogeneous air non-thermal plasmas have been obtained between the gap spacing with the copper-wire electrodes. The area of air cold plasmas has been up to hundreds of square centimeters. The proposed formation conditions of large-scale barrier-free diffuse air plasmas are proved to be reasonable and feasible.

Fractal Theory and Field Cover Experiments: Implications for the Fractal Characteristics and Radon Diffusion Behavior of Soils and Rocks.

PubMed

Tan, Wanyu; Li, Yongmei; Tan, Kaixuan; Duan, Xianzhe; Liu, Dong; Liu, Zehua

2016-12-01

Radon diffusion and transport through different media is a complex process affected by many factors. In this study, the fractal theories and field covering experiments were used to study the fractal characteristics of particle size distribution (PSD) of six kinds of geotechnical materials (e.g., waste rock, sand, laterite, kaolin, mixture of sand and laterite, and mixture of waste rock and laterite) and their effects on radon diffusion. In addition, the radon diffusion coefficient and diffusion length were calculated. Moreover, new formulas for estimating diffusion coefficient and diffusion length functional of fractal dimension d of PSD were proposed. These results demonstrate the following points: (1) the fractal dimension d of the PSD can be used to characterize the property of soils and rocks in the studies of radon diffusion behavior; (2) the diffusion coefficient and diffusion length decrease with increasing fractal dimension of PSD; and (3) the effectiveness of final covers in reducing radon exhalation of uranium tailings impoundments can be evaluated on the basis of the fractal dimension of PSD of materials.

NMR-based diffusion pore imaging.

PubMed

Laun, Frederik Bernd; Kuder, Tristan Anselm; Wetscherek, Andreas; Stieltjes, Bram; Semmler, Wolfhard

2012-08-01

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) diffusion experiments offer a unique opportunity to study boundaries restricting the diffusion process. In a recent Letter [Phys. Rev. Lett. 107, 048102 (2011)], we introduced the idea and concept that such diffusion experiments can be interpreted as NMR imaging experiments. Consequently, images of closed pores, in which the spins diffuse, can be acquired. In the work presented here, an in-depth description of the diffusion pore imaging technique is provided. Image artifacts due to gradient profiles of finite duration, field inhomogeneities, and surface relaxation are considered. Gradients of finite duration lead to image blurring and edge enhancement artifacts. Field inhomogeneities have benign effects on diffusion pore images, and surface relaxation can lead to a shrinkage and shift of the pore image. The relation between boundary structure and the imaginary part of the diffusion weighted signal is analyzed, and it is shown that information on pore coherence can be obtained without the need to measure the phase of the diffusion weighted signal. Moreover, it is shown that quite arbitrary gradient profiles can be used for diffusion pore imaging. The matrices required for numerical calculations are stated and provided as supplemental material.

Cross-frequency and band-averaged response variance prediction in the hybrid deterministic-statistical energy analysis method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reynders, Edwin P. B.; Langley, Robin S.

2018-08-01

The hybrid deterministic-statistical energy analysis method has proven to be a versatile framework for modeling built-up vibro-acoustic systems. The stiff system components are modeled deterministically, e.g., using the finite element method, while the wave fields in the flexible components are modeled as diffuse. In the present paper, the hybrid method is extended such that not only the ensemble mean and variance of the harmonic system response can be computed, but also of the band-averaged system response. This variance represents the uncertainty that is due to the assumption of a diffuse field in the flexible components of the hybrid system. The developments start with a cross-frequency generalization of the reciprocity relationship between the total energy in a diffuse field and the cross spectrum of the blocked reverberant loading at the boundaries of that field. By making extensive use of this generalization in a first-order perturbation analysis, explicit expressions are derived for the cross-frequency and band-averaged variance of the vibrational energies in the diffuse components and for the cross-frequency and band-averaged variance of the cross spectrum of the vibro-acoustic field response of the deterministic components. These expressions are extensively validated against detailed Monte Carlo analyses of coupled plate systems in which diffuse fields are simulated by randomly distributing small point masses across the flexible components, and good agreement is found.

Analytic expressions for ULF wave radiation belt radial diffusion coefficients

PubMed Central

Ozeke, Louis G; Mann, Ian R; Murphy, Kyle R; Jonathan Rae, I; Milling, David K

2014-01-01

We present analytic expressions for ULF wave-derived radiation belt radial diffusion coefficients, as a function of L and Kp, which can easily be incorporated into global radiation belt transport models. The diffusion coefficients are derived from statistical representations of ULF wave power, electric field power mapped from ground magnetometer data, and compressional magnetic field power from in situ measurements. We show that the overall electric and magnetic diffusion coefficients are to a good approximation both independent of energy. We present example 1-D radial diffusion results from simulations driven by CRRES-observed time-dependent energy spectra at the outer boundary, under the action of radial diffusion driven by the new ULF wave radial diffusion coefficients and with empirical chorus wave loss terms (as a function of energy, Kp and L). There is excellent agreement between the differential flux produced by the 1-D, Kp-driven, radial diffusion model and CRRES observations of differential electron flux at 0.976 MeV—even though the model does not include the effects of local internal acceleration sources. Our results highlight not only the importance of correct specification of radial diffusion coefficients for developing accurate models but also show significant promise for belt specification based on relatively simple models driven by solar wind parameters such as solar wind speed or geomagnetic indices such as Kp. Key Points Analytic expressions for the radial diffusion coefficients are presented The coefficients do not dependent on energy or wave m value The electric field diffusion coefficient dominates over the magnetic PMID:26167440