MHD instabilities in astrophysical plasmas: very different from MHD instabilities in tokamaks!

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goedbloed, J. P.

2018-01-01

The extensive studies of MHD instabilities in thermonuclear magnetic confinement experiments, in particular of the tokamak as the most promising candidate for a future energy producing machine, have led to an ‘intuitive’ description based on the energy principle that is very misleading for most astrophysical plasmas. The ‘intuitive’ picture almost directly singles out the dominant stabilizing field line bending energy of the Alfvén waves and, consequently, concentrates on expansion schemes that minimize that contribution. This happens when the wave vector {{k}}0 of the perturbations, on average, is perpendicular to the magnetic field {B}. Hence, all macroscopic instabilities of tokamaks (kinks, interchanges, ballooning modes, ELMs, neoclassical tearing modes, etc) are characterized by satisfying the condition {{k}}0 \\perp {B}, or nearly so. In contrast, some of the major macroscopic instabilities of astrophysical plasmas (the Parker instability and the magneto-rotational instability) occur when precisely the opposite condition is satisfied: {{k}}0 \\parallel {B}. How do those instabilities escape from the dominance of the stabilizing Alfvén wave? The answer to that question involves, foremost, the recognition that MHD spectral theory of waves and instabilities of laboratory plasmas could be developed to such great depth since those plasmas are assumed to be in static equilibrium. This assumption is invalid for astrophysical plasmas where rotational and gravitational accelerations produce equilibria that are at best stationary, and the associated spectral theory is widely, and incorrectly, believed to be non-self adjoint. These complications are addressed, and cured, in the theory of the Spectral Web, recently developed by the author. Using this method, an extensive survey of instabilities of astrophysical plasmas demonstrates how the Alfvén wave is pushed into insignificance under these conditions to give rise to a host of instabilities that do not occur in laboratory plasmas.

Observation of the hot electron interchange instability in a high beta dipolar confined plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ortiz, Eugenio Enrique

In this thesis the first study of the high beta, hot electron interchange (HEI) instability in a laboratory, dipolar confined plasma is presented. The Levitated Dipole Experiment (LDX) is a new research facility that explores the confinement and stability of plasma created within the dipole field produced by a strong superconducting magnet. In initial experiments long-pulse, quasi-steady state microwave discharges lasting more than 10 sec have been produced with equilibria having peak beta values of 20%. Creation of high-pressure, high beta plasma is possible only when intense HEI instabilities are stabilized by sufficiently high background plasma density. LDX plasma exist within one of three regimes characterized by its response to heating and fueling. The observed HEI instability depends on the regime and can take one of three forms: as quasiperiodic bursts during the low density, low beta plasma regime, as local high beta relaxation events in the high beta plasma regime, and as global, intense energy relaxation bursts, both in the high beta and afterglow plasma regimes. Measurements of the HEI instability are made using high-impedance, floating potential probes and fast Mirnov coils. Analysis of these signals reveals the extent of the transport during high beta plasmas. During intense high beta HEI instabilities, fluctuations at the edge significantly exceed the magnitude of the equilibrium field generated by the high beta electrons and energetic electron confinement ends in under 100 musec. For heated plasmas, one of the consequences of the observed high beta transport is the presence of hysteresis in the neutral gas fueling required to stabilize and maintain the high beta plasma. Finally, a nonlinear, self-consistent numerical simulation of the growth and saturation of the HEI instability has been adapted for LDX and compared to experimental observations.

Progress toward Kelvin-Helmholtz instabilities in a High-Energy-Density Plasma on the Nike laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Harding, E. C.; Drake, R. P.; Gillespie, R. S.; Grosskopf, M. J.; Huntington, C. M.; Aglitskiy, Y.; Weaver, J. L.; Velikovich, A. L.; Plewa, T.; Dwarkadas, V. V.

2008-04-01

In the realm of high-energy-density (HED) plasmas, there exist three primary hydrodynamic instabilities of concern: Rayleigh-Taylor (RT), Richtmyer-Meshkov (RM), and Kelvin-Helmholtz (KH). Although the RT and the RM instabilities have been readily observed and diagnosed in the laboratory, the KH instability remains relatively unexplored in HED plasmas. Unlike the RT and RM instabilities, the KH instability is driven by a lifting force generated by a strong velocity gradient in a stratified fluid. Understanding the KH instability mechanism in HED plasmas will provide essential insight into oblique shock systems, jets, mass stripping, and detailed RT-spike development. In addition, our KH experiment will help provide the groundwork for future transition to turbulence experiments. We present 2D FLASH simulations and experimental data from our initial attempts to create a pure KH system using the Nike laser at the Naval Research Laboratory.

Waves and instabilities in high β, warm ion plasmas in LAPD

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carter, T. A.; Dorfman, S. E.; Rossi, G.; Guice, D.

2014-12-01

The LArge Plasma Device (LAPD) has been upgraded with a second LaB6 cathode plasma source that permits the creation of higher density (~ 3×1013 cm-3), higher temperature (Te ~ 12eV), warm ion (Ti ~ 6eV) plasmas. Along with lowered magnetic field, significant increases in plasma β can be achieved with this new source (e.g. at B=100G, β~1). These new plasma conditions permit a range of new experimental opportunities on LAPD including: linear and nonlinear studies of Alfvén waves in warm ion, high β plasmas; pressure-gradient driven instabilities in increased β plasmas and electromagnetic modifications to turbulence and transport; instabilities driven by ion temperature anisotropies (e.g. firehose and mirror instabilities). The characteristics of the new plasma will be presented along with a discussion of these new research areas.

Waves and instabilities in high β, warm ion plasmas in LAPD

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carter, Troy; Dorfman, Seth; Rossi, Giovanni; Guice, Daniel; Gekelman, Walter; Klein, Kris; Howes, Greg

2014-10-01

The LArge Plasma Device (LAPD) has been upgraded with a second LaB6 cathode plasma source that permits the creation of higher density (~ 3 ×1013 cm-3), higher temperature (Te ~ 12 eV), warm ion (Ti ~ 6 eV) plasmas. Along with lowered magnetic field, significant increases in plasma β can be achieved with this new source (e.g. at B = 100 G , β ~ 1). These new plasma conditions permit a range of new experimental opportunities on LAPD including: linear and nonlinear studies of Alfvén waves in warm ion, high β plasmas; pressure-gradient driven instabilities in increased β plasmas and electromagnetic modifications to turbulence and transport; instabilities driven by ion temperature anisotropies (e.g. firehose and mirror instabilities). The characteristics of the new plasma will be presented along with a discussion of these new research areas.

Marginal instability threshold condition of the aperiodic ordinary mode in equal-mass plasmas

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

Vafin, S.; Schlickeiser, R.; Yoon, P. H.

The purely growing ordinary (O) mode instability for counter-streaming bi-Maxwellian plasma particle distribution functions has recently received renewed attention due to its importance for the solar wind plasma. Here, the analytical marginal instability condition is derived for magnetized plasmas consisting of equal-mass charged particles, distributed in counter-streams with equal temperatures. The equal-mass composition assumption enormously facilitates the theoretical analysis due to the equality of the values of the electron and positron (positive and negative ion) plasma and gyrofrequencies. The existence of a new instability domain of the O-mode at small plasma beta values is confirmed, when the parallel counter-stream freemore » energy exceeds the perpendicular bi-Maxwellian free energy.« less

Cross-field transport by instabilities and blobs in a magnetized toroidal plasma.

PubMed

Podestà, M; Fasoli, A; Labit, B; Furno, I; Ricci, P; Poli, F M; Diallo, A; Müller, S H; Theiler, C

2008-07-25

The mechanisms for anomalous transport across the magnetic field are investigated in a toroidal magnetized plasma. The role of plasma instabilities and macroscopic density structures (blobs) is discussed. Examples from a scenario with open magnetic field lines are shown. A transition from a main plasma region into a loss region is reproduced. In the main plasma, which includes particle and heat source locations, the transport is dominated by the fluctuation-induced particle and heat flux associated with a plasma instability. On the low-field side, the cross-field transport is ascribed to the intermittent ejection of macroscopic blobs propagating toward the outer wall. It is shown that instabilities and blobs represent fundamentally different mechanisms for cross-field transport.

Kelvin-Helmholtz versus Hall magnetoshear instability in astrophysical flows.

PubMed

Gómez, Daniel O; Bejarano, Cecilia; Mininni, Pablo D

2014-05-01

We study the stability of shear flows in a fully ionized plasma. Kelvin-Helmholtz is a well-known macroscopic and ideal shear-driven instability. In sufficiently low-density plasmas, also the microscopic Hall magnetoshear instability can take place. We performed three-dimensional simulations of the Hall-magnetohydrodynamic equations where these two instabilities are present, and carried out a comparative study. We find that when the shear flow is so intense that its vorticity surpasses the ion-cyclotron frequency of the plasma, the Hall magnetoshear instability is not only non-negligible, but it actually displays growth rates larger than those of the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability.

Acceleration of plasma electrons by intense nonrelativistic ion and electron beams propagating in background plasma due to two-stream instability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kaganovich, Igor D.

2015-11-01

In this paper we study the effects of the two-stream instability on the propagation of intense nonrelativistic ion and electron beams in background plasma. Development of the two-stream instability between the beam ions and plasma electrons leads to beam breakup, a slowing down of the beam particles, acceleration of the plasma particles, and transfer of the beam energy to the plasma particles and wave excitations. Making use of the particle-in-cell codes EDIPIC and LSP, and analytic theory we have simulated the effects of the two-stream instability on beam propagation over a wide range of beam and plasma parameters. Because of the two-stream instability the plasma electrons can be accelerated to velocities as high as twice the beam velocity. The resulting return current of the accelerated electrons may completely change the structure of the beam self - magnetic field, thereby changing its effect on the beam from focusing to defocusing. Therefore, previous theories of beam self-electromagnetic fields that did not take into account the effects of the two-stream instability must be significantly modified. This effect can be observed on the National Drift Compression Experiment-II (NDCX-II) facility by measuring the spot size of the extracted beamlet propagating through several meters of plasma. Particle-in-cell, fluid simulations, and analytical theory also reveal the rich complexity of beam- plasma interaction phenomena: intermittency and multiple regimes of the two-stream instability in dc discharges; band structure of the growth rate of the two-stream instability of an electron beam propagating in a bounded plasma and repeated acceleration of electrons in a finite system. In collaboration with E. Tokluoglu, D. Sydorenko, E. A. Startsev, J. Carlsson, and R. C. Davidson. Research supported by the U.S. Department of Energy.

Mode suppression of a two-dimensional potential relaxation instability in a weakly magnetized discharge plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gyergyek, T.; Čerček, M.; Jelić, N.; Stanojević, M.

1993-05-01

A potential relaxation instability (PRI) is modulated by an external signal using an additional grid to modulate the radial plasma potential profile in a magnetized plasma column in a linear magnetized discharge plasma device. It is observed that the electrode current oscillations follow the van der Pol equation with an external forcing term, and the linear growth rate of the instability is measured.

On the marginal instability threshold condition of the aperiodic ordinary mode

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

Schlickeiser, R.; Yoon, P. H.; School of Space Research, Kyung Hee University, Yongin

2014-07-15

The purely growing ordinary (O) mode instability has recently received renewed attention owing to its potential applicability to the solar wind plasma. Here, an analytical marginal instability condition is derived for counter-streaming bi-Maxwellian plasma particle distribution functions. The derived marginal instability condition as a function of the temperature anisotropy and plasma beta agrees remarkably well with the numerically determined instability condition. The existence of a new instability domain of the O-mode at small plasma beta values is confirmed with the leading A∝β{sub ∥}{sup −1}-dependence, if the counter-stream parameter P{sub e} exceeds a critical value. At small plasma beta values atmore » large enough counter-stream parameter, the O-mode also operates for temperature anisotropies A = T{sub ⊥}/T{sub ∥} > 1 even larger than unity, as the parallel counter-stream free energy exceeds the perpendicular bi-Maxwellian free energy.« less

Kinetic instability of electrostatic ion cyclotron waves in inter-penetrating plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bashir, M. F.; Ilie, R.; Murtaza, G.

2018-05-01

The Electrostatic Ion Cyclotron (EIC) instability that includes the effect of wave-particle interaction is studied owing to the free energy source through the flowing velocity of the inter-penetrating plasmas. It is shown that the origin of this current-less instability is different from the classical current driven EIC instability. The threshold conditions applicable to a wide range of plasma parameters and the estimate of the growth rate are determined as a function of the normalized flowing velocity ( u0/vt f e ), the temperature ( Tf/Ts ) and the density ratios ( nf 0/ns 0 ) of flowing component to static one. The EIC instability is driven by either flowing electrons or flowing ions, depending upon the different Doppler shifted frequency domains. It is found that the growth rate for electron-driven instability is higher than the ion-driven one. However, in both cases, the denser (hotter) is the flowing plasma, the lesser (greater) is the growth rate. The possible applications related to the terrestrial solar plasma environment are also discussed.

Feedback control of plasma instabilities with charged particle beams and study of plasma turbulence

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tham, Philip Kin-Wah

1994-01-01

A new non-perturbing technique for feedback control of plasma instabilities has been developed in the Columbia Linear Machine (CLM). The feedback control scheme involves the injection of a feedback modulated ion beam as a remote suppressor. The ion beam was obtained from a compact ion beam source which was developed for this purpose. A Langmuir probe was used as the feedback sensor. The feedback controller consisted of a phase-shifter and amplifiers. This technique was demonstrated by stabilizing various plasma instabilities to the background noise level, like the trapped particle instability, the ExB instability and the ion-temperature-gradient (ITG) driven instability. An important feature of this scheme is that the injected ion beam is non-perturbing to the plasma equilibrium parameters. The robustness of this feedback stabilization scheme was also investigated. The principal result is that the scheme is fairly robust, tolerating about 100% variation about the nominal parameter values. Next, this scheme is extended to the unsolved general problem of controlling multimode plasma instabilities simultaneously with a single sensor-suppressor pair. A single sensor-suppressor pair of feedback probes is desirable to reduce the perturbation caused by the probes. Two plasma instabilities the ExB and the ITG modes, were simultaneously stabilized. A simple 'state' feedback type method was used where more state information was generated from the single sensor Langmuir probe by appropriate signal processing, in this case, by differentiation. This proof-of-principle experiment demonstrated for the first time that by designing a more sophisticated electronic feedback controller, many plasma instabilities may be simultaneously controlled. Simple theoretical models showed generally good agreement with the feedback experimental results. On a parallel research front, a better understanding of the saturated state of a plasma instability was sought partly with the help of feedback. A plasma instability is usually observed in its saturated state and appears as a single feature in the frequency spectrum with a single azimuthal and parallel wavenumbers. The physics of the non-zero spectral width was investigated in detail because the finite spectral width can cause "turbulent" transport. One aspect of the "turbulence" was investigated by obtaining the scaling of the linear growth rate of the instabilities with the fluctuation levels. The linear growth rates were measured with the established gated feedback technique. The research showed that the ExB instability evolves into a quasi-coherent state when the fluctuation level is high. The coherent aspects were studied with a bispectral analysis. Moreover, the single spectral feature was discovered to be actually composed of a few radial harmonics. The radial harmonics play a role in the nonlinear saturation of the instability via three-wave coupling.

Dual-mode characteristics of the Buneman instability in a bounded slab plasma

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

Hong, Woo-Pyo; Jung, Young-Dae, E-mail: ydjung@hanyang.ac.kr; Department of Applied Physics and Department of Bionanotechnology, Hanyang University, Ansan, Kyunggi-Do 426-791

2015-06-15

The dual-mode characteristics of the Buneman instability are investigated in a slab plasma, including the geometric effects. The dual symmetric and anti-symmetric dispersion modes of the Buneman instability are obtained by the plasma dielectric function with the spectral reflection conditions for the slab geometry. The result shows that the magnitudes of the growth rate for the symmetric mode are always greater than those for the anti-symmetric mode. It is also found that the geometric effect suppresses the position of the maximum growth rate for the Buneman instability in bounded slab plasmas since the maximum conditions for the symmetric and anti-symmetricmore » modes of the Buneman instability are given by 0.60« less

Ion- and dust-acoustic instabilities in dusty plasmas

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rosenberg, M.

1993-01-01

Dust ion-acoustic and dust-acoustic instabilities in dusty plasmas are investigated using a standard Vlasov approach. Possible applications of these instabilities to various cosmic environments, including protostellar clouds and planetary rings, are briefly discussed.

Quasilinear saturation of the aperiodic ordinary mode streaming instability

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

Stockem Novo, A., E-mail: anne@tp4.rub.de; Schlickeiser, R.; Yoon, P. H.

2015-09-15

In collisionless plasmas, only kinetic instabilities and fluctuations are effective in reducing the free energy and scatter plasma particles, preventing an increase of their anisotropy. Solar energetic outflows into the interplanetary plasma give rise to important thermal anisotropies and counterstreaming motions of plasma shells, and the resulting instabilities are expected to regulate the expansion of the solar wind. The present paper combines quasilinear theory and kinetic particle-in-cell simulations in order to study the weakly nonlinear saturation of the ordinary mode in hot counter-streaming plasmas with a temperature anisotropy as a follow-up of the paper by Seough et al. [Phys. Plasmasmore » 22, 082122 (2015)]. This instability provides a plausible mechanism for the origin of dominating, two-dimensional spectrum of transverse magnetic fluctuations observed in the solar wind. Stimulated by the differential motion of electron counterstreams the O mode instability may convert their free large-scale energy by nonlinear collisionless dissipation on plasma particles.« less

Effects of finite beam and plasma temperature on the growth rate of a two-stream free electron laser with background plasma

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

Mahdizadeh, N.; Aghamir, F. M.

2013-02-28

A fluid theory is used to derive the dispersion relation of two-stream free electron laser (TSFEL) with a magnetic planar wiggler pump in the presence of background plasma (BP). The effect of finite beams and plasma temperature on the growth rate of a TSFEL has been verified. The twelve order dispersion equation has been solved numerically. Three instabilities, FEL along with the TS and TS-FEL instabilities occur simultaneously. The analysis in the case of cold BP shows that when the effect of the beam temperature is taken into account, both instable bands of wave-number and peak growth rate in themore » TS instability increase, but peak growth of the FEL and TS-FEL instabilities decreases. Thermal motion of the BP causes to diminish the TS instability and it causes to decrease the FEL and TS-FEL instabilities. By increasing the beam densities and lowering initial velocities (in the collective Raman regime), growth rate of instabilities increases; however, it has opposite behavior in the Campton regime.« less

Electrostatic and magnetic instabilities in the transition layer of a collisionless weakly relativistic pair shock

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dieckmann, M. E.; Bret, A.

2018-01-01

Energetic electromagnetic emissions by astrophysical jets like those that are launched during the collapse of a massive star and trigger gamma-ray bursts are partially attributed to relativistic internal shocks. The shocks are mediated in the collisionless plasma of such jets by the filamentation instability of counterstreaming particle beams. The filamentation instability grows fastest only if the beams move at a relativistic relative speed. We model here with a particle-in-cell simulation, the collision of two cold pair clouds at the speed c/2 (c: speed of light). We demonstrate that the two-stream instability outgrows the filamentation instability for this speed and is thus responsible for the shock formation. The incomplete thermalization of the upstream plasma by its quasi-electrostatic waves allows other instabilities to grow. A shock transition layer forms, in which a filamentation instability modulates the plasma far upstream of the shock. The inflowing upstream plasma is progressively heated by a two-stream instability closer to the shock and compressed to the expected downstream density by the Weibel instability. The strong magnetic field due to the latter is confined to a layer 10 electron skin depths wide.

Preliminary investigation on the use of low current pulsed power Z-pinch plasma devices for the study of early stage plasma instabilities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kaselouris, E.; Dimitriou, V.; Fitilis, I.; Skoulakis, A.; Koundourakis, G.; Clark, E. L.; Chatzakis, J.; Bakarezos, Μ; Nikolos, I. K.; Papadogiannis, N. A.; Tatarakis, M.

2018-01-01

This article addresses key features for the implementation of low current pulsed power plasma devices for the study of matter dynamics from the solid to the plasma phase. The renewed interest in such low current plasma devices lies in the need to investigate methods for the mitigation of prompt seeding mechanisms for the generation of plasma instabilities. The low current when driven into thick wires (skin effect mode) allows for the simultaneous existence of all phases of matter from solid to plasma. Such studies are important for the concept of inertial confinement fusion where the mitigation of the instability seeding mechanisms arising from the very early moments within the target’s heating is of crucial importance. Similarly, in the magnetized liner inertial fusion concept it is an open question as to how much surface non-uniformity correlates with the magneto-Rayleigh-Taylor instability, which develops during the implosion. This study presents experimental and simulation results, which demonstrate that the use of low current pulsed power devices in conjunction with appropriate diagnostics can be important for studying seeding mechanisms for the imminent generation of plasma instabilities in future research.

Simulation studies of plasma waves in the electron foreshock - The transition from reactive to kinetic instability

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dum, C. T.

1990-01-01

Particle simulation experiments were used to analyze the electron beam-plasma instability. It is shown that there is a transition from the reactive state of the electron beam-plasma instability to the kinetic instability of Langmuir waves. Quantitative tests, which include an evaluation of the dispersion relation for the evolving non-Maxwellian beam distribution, show that a quasi-linear theory describes the onset of this transition and applies again fully to the kinetic stage. This stage is practically identical to the late stage seen in simulations of plasma waves in the electron foreshock described by Dum (1990).

Studies of Plasma Instabilities using Unstructured Discontinuous Galerkin Method with the Two-Fluid Plasma Model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Song, Yang; Srinivasan, Bhuvana

2017-10-01

The discontinuous Galerkin (DG) method has the advantage of resolving shocks and sharp gradients that occur in neutral fluids and plasmas. An unstructured DG code has been developed in this work to study plasma instabilities using the two-fluid plasma model. Unstructured meshes are known to produce small and randomized grid errors compared to traditional structured meshes. Computational tests for Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities in radially-converging flows are performed using the MHD model. Choice of grid geometry is not obvious for simulations of instabilities in these circular configurations. Comparisons of the effects for different grids are made. A 2D magnetic nozzle simulation using the two-fluid plasma model is also performed. A vacuum boundary condition technique is applied to accurately solve the Riemann problem on the edge of the plume.

The effect of shear flow and the density gradient on the Weibel instability growth rate in the dense plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Amininasab, S.; Sadighi-Bonabi, R.; Khodadadi Azadboni, F.

2018-02-01

Shear stress effect has been often neglected in calculation of the Weibel instability growth rate in laser-plasma interactions. In the present work, the role of the shear stress in the Weibel instability growth rate in the dense plasma with density gradient is explored. By increasing the density gradient, the shear stress threshold is increasing and the range of the propagation angles of growing modes is limited. Therefore, by increasing steps of the density gradient plasma near the relativistic electron beam-emitting region, the Weibel instability occurs at a higher stress flow. Calculations show that the minimum value of the stress rate threshold for linear polarization is greater than that of circular polarization. The Wiebel instability growth rate for linear polarization is 18.3 times circular polarization. One sees that for increasing stress and density gradient effects, there are smaller maximal growth rates for the range of the propagation angles of growing modes /π 2 < θ m i n < π and /3 π 2 < θ m i n < 2 π in circular polarized plasma and for /k c ω p < 4 in linear polarized plasma. Therefore, the shear stress and density gradient tend to stabilize the Weibel instability for /k c ω p < 4 in linear polarized plasma. Also, the shear stress and density gradient tend to stabilize the Weibel instability for the range of the propagation angles of growing modes /π 2 < θ m i n < π and /3 π 2 < θ m i n < 2 π in circular polarized plasma.

Parametric instabilities of finite-amplitude, circularly polarized Alfven waves in an anisotropic plasma

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hamabata, Hiromitsu

1993-01-01

A class of parametric instabilities of finite-amplitude, circularly polarized Alfven waves in a plasma with pressure anisotropy is studied by application of the CGL equations. A linear perturbation analysis is used to find the dispersion relation governing the instabilities, which is a fifth-order polynomial and is solved numerically. A large-amplitude, circularly polarized wave is unstable with respect to decay into three waves: one sound-like wave and two side-band Alfven-like waves. It is found that, in addition to the decay instability, two new instabilities that are absent in the framework of the MHD equations can occur, depending on the plasma parameters.

Amplification due to two-stream instability of self-electric and magnetic fields of an ion beam propagating in background plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tokluoglu, Erinc K.; Kaganovich, Igor D.; Carlsson, Johan A.; Hara, Kentaro; Startsev, Edward A.

2018-05-01

Propagation of charged particle beams in background plasma as a method of space charge neutralization has been shown to achieve a high degree of charge and current neutralization and therefore enables nearly ballistic propagation and focusing of charged particle beams. Correspondingly, the use of plasmas for propagation of charged particle beams has important applications for transport and focusing of intense particle beams in inertial fusion and high energy density laboratory plasma physics. However, the streaming of beam ions through a background plasma can lead to the development of two-stream instability between the beam ions and the plasma electrons. The beam electric and magnetic fields enhanced by the two-stream instability can lead to defocusing of the ion beam. Using particle-in-cell simulations, we study the scaling of the instability-driven self-electromagnetic fields and consequent defocusing forces with the background plasma density and beam ion mass. We identify plasma parameters where the defocusing forces can be reduced.

Current-driven plasmonic boom instability in three-dimensional gated periodic ballistic nanostructures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aizin, G. R.; Mikalopas, J.; Shur, M.

2016-05-01

An alternative approach of using a distributed transmission line analogy for solving transport equations for ballistic nanostructures is applied for solving the three-dimensional problem of electron transport in gated ballistic nanostructures with periodically changing width. The structures with varying width allow for modulation of the electron drift velocity while keeping the plasma velocity constant. We predict that in such structures biased by a constant current, a periodic modulation of the electron drift velocity due to the varying width results in the instability of the plasma waves if the electron drift velocity to plasma wave velocity ratio changes from below to above unity. The physics of such instability is similar to that of the sonic boom, but, in the periodically modulated structures, this analog of the sonic boom is repeated many times leading to a larger increment of the instability. The constant plasma velocity in the sections of different width leads to resonant excitation of the unstable plasma modes with varying bias current. This effect (that we refer to as the superplasmonic boom condition) results in a strong enhancement of the instability. The predicted instability involves the oscillating dipole charge carried by the plasma waves. The plasmons can be efficiently coupled to the terahertz electromagnetic radiation due to the periodic geometry of the gated structure. Our estimates show that the analyzed instability should enable powerful tunable terahertz electronic sources.

RELATIVISTIC CYCLOTRON INSTABILITY IN ANISOTROPIC PLASMAS

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

López, Rodrigo A.; Moya, Pablo S.; Muñoz, Víctor

2016-11-20

A sufficiently large temperature anisotropy can sometimes drive various types of electromagnetic plasma micro-instabilities, which can play an important role in the dynamics of relativistic pair plasmas in space, astrophysics, and laboratory environments. Here, we provide a detailed description of the cyclotron instability of parallel propagating electromagnetic waves in relativistic pair plasmas on the basis of a relativistic anisotropic distribution function. Using plasma kinetic theory and particle-in-cell simulations, we study the influence of the relativistic temperature and the temperature anisotropy on the collective and noncollective modes of these plasmas. Growth rates and dispersion curves from the linear theory show amore » good agreement with simulations results.« less

Particle in cell simulation of instabilities in space and astrophysical plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tonge, John William

Several plasma instabilities relevant to space physics are investigated using the parallel PIC plasma simulation code P3arsec. This thesis addresses electrostatic micro-instabilities relevant to ion ring distributions, proceeds to electromagnetic micro-instabilities pertinent to streaming plasmas, and then to the stability of a plasma held in the field of a current rod. The physical relevance of each of these instabilities is discussed, a phenomenological description is given, and analytic and simulation results are presented and compared. Instability of a magnetized plasma with a portion of the ions in a velocity ring distribution around the magnetic field is investigated using simulation and analytic theory. The physics of this distribution is relevant to solar flares, x-ray emission by comets, and pulsars. Physical parameters, including the mass ratio, are near those of a solar flare in the simulation. The simulation and analytic results show agreement in the linear regime. In the nonlinear stage the simulation shows highly accelerated electrons in agreement with the observed spectrum of x-rays emitted by solar flares. A mildly relativistic streaming electron positron plasma with no ambient magnetic field is known to be unstable to electrostatic (two-stream/beam instability) and purely electromagnetic (Weibel) modes. This instability is relevant to highly energetic interstellar phenomena, including pulsars, supernova remnants, and the early universe. It is also important for experiments in which relativistic beams penetrate a background plasma, as in fast ignitor scenarios. Cold analytic theory is presented and compared to simulations. There is good agreement in the regime where cold theory applies. The simulation and theory shows that to properly characterize the instability, directions parallel and perpendicular to propagation of the beams must be considered. A residual magnetic field is observed which may be of astro-physical significance. The stability of a plasma in the magnetic field of a current rod is investigated for various temperature and density profiles. Such a plasma obeys similar physics to a plasma in a dipole magnetic field, while the current rod is much easier to analyze theoretically and realize in simulations. The stability properties of a plasma confined in a dipole field are important for understanding a variety of space phenomena and the Levitated Dipole eXperiment (LDX). Simple energy principle calculations and simulations with a variety of temperature and density profiles show that the plasma is stable to interchange for pressure profiles ∝ r-10/3. The simulations also show that the density profile will be stationary as long as density ∝ r -2 even though the temperature profile may not be stable.

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

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Huba, J. D.

1993-01-01

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

Harmonic plasma waves excitation and structure evolution of intense ion beams in background plasmas

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

Hu, Zhang-Hu, E-mail: zhanghu@dlut.edu.cn; Wang, You-Nian

2016-08-15

The long-term dynamic evolutions of intense ion beams in plasmas have been investigated with two-dimensional electromagnetic particle simulations, taking into account the effect of the two-stream instability between beam ions and plasma electrons. Depending on the initial beam radial density profile and velocity distribution, ring structures may be formed in the beam edge regions. At the later stage of beam-plasma interactions, the ion beams are strongly modulated by the two-stream instability and multiple density spikes are formed in the longitudinal direction. The formation of these density spikes is shown to result from the excitation of harmonic plasma waves when themore » instability gets saturated. Comparisons between the beam cases with initial flat-top and Gaussian radial density profiles are made, and a higher instability growth rate is observed for the flat-top profile case.« less

Simulation of magnetic holes formation in the magnetosheath

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ahmadi, Narges; Germaschewski, Kai; Raeder, Joachim

2017-12-01

Magnetic holes have been frequently observed in the Earth's magnetosheath and are believed to be the consequence of the nonlinear evolution of the mirror instability. Mirror mode perturbations mainly form as magnetic holes in regions where the plasma is marginally mirror stable with respect to the linear instability criterion. We present an expanding box particle-in-cell simulation to mimic the changing conditions in the magnetosheath as the plasma is convected through it that produces mirror mode magnetic holes. We show that in the initial nonlinear evolution, where the plasma conditions are mirror unstable, the magnetic peaks are dominant, while later, as the plasma relaxes toward marginal stability, the fluctuations evolve into deep magnetic holes. While the averaged plasma parameters in the simulation remain close to the mirror instability threshold, the local plasma in the magnetic holes is highly unstable to mirror instability and locally mirror stable in the magnetic peaks.

Weibel instability for a streaming electron, counterstreaming e-e, and e-p plasmas with intrinsic temperature anisotropy

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

Ghorbanalilu, M.; Physics Department, Azarbaijan Shahid Madani University, Tabriz; Sadegzadeh, S.

2014-05-15

The existence of Weibel instability for a streaming electron, counterstreaming electron-electron (e-e), and electron-positron (e-p) plasmas with intrinsic temperature anisotropy is investigated. The temperature anisotropy is included in the directions perpendicular and parallel to the streaming direction. It is shown that the beam mean speed changes the instability mode, for a streaming electron beam, from the classic Weibel to the Weibel-like mode. The analytical and numerical solutions approved that Weibel-like modes are excited for both counterstreaming e-e and e-p plasmas. The growth rates of the instabilities in e-e and e-p plasmas are compared. The growth rate is larger for e-pmore » plasmas if the thermal anisotropy is small and the opposite is true for large thermal anisotropies. The analytical and numerical solutions are in good agreement only in the small parallel temperature and wave number limits, when the instability growth rate increases linearly with normalized wave number kc∕ω{sub p}.« less

Two-dimensional modulated ion-acoustic excitations in electronegative plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Panguetna, Chérif S.; Tabi, Conrad B.; Kofané, Timoléon C.

2017-09-01

Two-dimensional modulated ion-acoustic waves are investigated in an electronegative plasma. Through the reductive perturbation expansion, the governing hydrodynamic equations are reduced to a Davey-Stewartson system with two-space variables. The latter is used to study the modulational instability of ion-acoustic waves along with the effect of plasma parameters, namely, the negative ion concentration ratio (α) and the electron-to-negative ion temperature ratio (σn). A parametric analysis of modulational instability is carried out, where regions of plasma parameters responsible for the emergence of modulated ion-acoustic waves are discussed, with emphasis on the behavior of the instability growth rate. Numerically, using perturbed plane waves as initial conditions, parameters from the instability regions give rise to series of dromion solitons under the activation of modulational instability. The sensitivity of the numerical solutions to plasma parameters is discussed. Some exact solutions in the form one- and two-dromion solutions are derived and their response to the effect of varying α and σn is discussed as well.

Beam-Plasma Interaction and Instabilities in a 2D Yukawa Plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kyrkos, S.; Kalman, G.; Rosenberg, M.

2008-11-01

In a complex plasma, penetrating charged particle beams may lead to beam-plasma instabilities. When either the plasma, the beam, or both, are strongly interacting [1], the features of the instability are different from those in a weakly coupled plasma. We consider the case when a 2D dusty plasma forms a lattice, and the beam is moving in the lattice plane. Both the grains and the beam particles interact through a Yukawa potential; the beam particles are weakly coupled to each other and to the lattice. The system develops both a longitudinal and a transverse instability. Based on the phonon spectrum of a 2D hexagonal Yukawa lattice [2], we determine and compare the transverse and longitudinal growth rates. As a function of the wavenumber, the growth rates exhibit remarkable gaps, where no instability is excited. The gap locations are governed by the ratio of the lattice and the beam plasma frequencies. The behavior of the growth rates also depends on the direction of the beam and on the relationship between the beam speed and the longitudinal and transverse sound speeds. [1] GJ Kalman, M Rosenberg, JPA 36, 5963 (2003). [2] T Sullivan, GJ Kalman, S Kyrkos, P Bakshi, M Rosenberg, Z Donko, JPA 39, 4607 (2006).

About the influence of phase mixing process and current neutralization on the resistive sausage instability dynamics of a relativistic electron beam

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kolesnikov, E. K.; Manuilov, A. S.; Petrov, V. S.; Zelensky, A. G.

2018-05-01

The resistive sausage instability of the relativistic electron beam in dense gas-plasma medium in the case of the generation of equilibrium return plasma current is investigated. In this situation the eigenvalue equation of this instability is obtained. The stabilizing and destabilizing effects of the phase mixing and generation of the return plasma current respectively have been shown.

Characterization of >100 T magnetic fields associated with relativistic Weibel instability in laser-produced plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mishra, Rohini; Ruyer, Charles; Goede, Sebastian; Roedel, Christian; Gauthier, Maxence; Zeil, Karl; Schramm, Ulrich; Glenzer, Siegfried; Fiuza, Frederico

2016-10-01

Weibel-type instabilities can occur in weakly magnetized and anisotropic plasmas of relevance to a wide range of astrophysical and laboratory scenarios. It leads to the conversion of a significant fraction of the kinetic energy of the plasma into magnetic energy. We will present a detailed numerical study, using 2D and 3D PIC simulations of the Weibel instability in relativistic laser-solid interactions. In this case, the instability develops due to the counter-streaming of laser-heated electrons and the background return current. We show that the growth rate of the instability is maximized near the critical density region on the rear side of the expanded plasma, producing up to 400 MG magnetic fields for Hydrogen plasmas. We have found that this strong field can be directly probed by energetic protons accelerated in rear side of the plasma by Target Normal Sheath Acceleration (TNSA). This allows the experimental characterization of the instability from the analysis of the spatial modulation of the detected protons. Our numerical results are compared with recent laser experiments with Hydrogen jets and show good agreement with the proton modulations observed experimentally. This work was supported by the DOE Office of Science, Fusion Energy Science (FWP 100182).

Simulations of vertical disruptions with VDE code: Hiro and Evans currents

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Xujing; Di Hu Team; Leonid Zakharov Team; Galkin Team

2014-10-01

The recently created numerical code VDE for simulations of vertical instability in tokamaks is presented. The numerical scheme uses the Tokamak MHD model, where the plasma inertia is replaced by the friction force, and an adaptive grid numerical scheme. The code reproduces well the surface currents generated at the plasma boundary by the instability. Five regimes of the vertical instability are presented: (1) Vertical instability in a given plasma shaping field without a wall; (2) The same with a wall and magnetic flux ΔΨ|plX< ΔΨ|Xwall(where X corresponds to the X-point of a separatrix); (3) The same with a wall and magnetic flux ΔΨ|plX> ΔΨ|Xwall; (4) Vertical instability without a wall with a tile surface at the plasma path; (5) The same in the presence of a wall and a tile surface. The generation of negative Hiro currents along the tile surface, predicted earlier by the theory and measured on EAST in 2012, is well-reproduced by simulations. In addition, the instability generates the force-free Evans currents at the free plasma surface. The new pattern of reconnection of the plasma with the vacuum magnetic field is discovered. This work is supported by US DoE Contract No. DE-AC02-09-CH11466.

Effect of dust on tilted electrostatic resistive instability in a Hall thruster

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tyagi, Jasvendra; Singh, Sukhmander; Malik, Hitendra K.

2018-03-01

Effect of negatively charged dust on resistive instability corresponding to the electrostatic wave is investigated in a Hall thruster plasma when this purely azimuthal wave is tilted and strong axial component of wave vector is developed. Analytical calculations are done to obtain the relevant dispersion equation, which is solved numerically to investigate the growth rate of the instability. The magnitude of the growth rate in the plasma having dust particles is found to be much smaller than the case of pure plasma. However, the instability grows faster for the increasing dust density and the higher charge on the dust particles. The higher magnetic field is also found to support the instability.

Interplay between protons and electrons in a firehose-unstable plasma: Particle-in-cell simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bourdin, Philippe-A.; Maneva, Yana

2017-04-01

Kinetic plasma instabilities originating from unstable, non-Maxwellian shapes of the velocity distribution functions serve as internal degrees of freedom in plasma dynamics, and play an important role near solar current sheets and in solar wind plasmas. In the presence of strong temperature anisotropy (different thermal spreads in the velocity space with respect to the mean magnetic field), plasmas are unstable either to the firehose mode or to the mirror mode in the case of predominant parallel and perpendicular temperatures, respectively. The growth rates of these instabilities and their thresholds depend on plasma properties, such as the temperature anisotropy and the plasma beta. The physics of the temperature anisotropy-driven instabilities becomes even more diverse for various shapes of velocity distribution functions and the particle species of interest. Recent studies based on a linear instability analysis show an interplay in the firehose instability between protons and electrons when the both types of particle species are prone to unstable velocity distribution functions and their instability thresholds. In this work we perform for the first time 3D nonlinear PIC (particle-in-cell) numerical simulations to test for the linear-theory prediction of the simultaneous proton-electron firehose instability. The simulation setup allows us not only to evaluate the growth rate of each firehose instability, but also to track its nonlinear evolution and the related wave-particle interactions such as the pitch-angle scattering or saturation effects. The specialty of our simulation is that the magnetic and electric fields have a low numerical noise level by setting a sufficiently large number of super-particles into the simulation box and enhancing the statistical significance of the velocity distribution functions. We use the iPIC3D code with fully periodic boundaries under various conditions of the electron-to-proton mass ratio, which gives insight into the instability interplay at the intermediate electron-proton and on the scaling of our results towards more realistic particle settings.

Hydrodynamic Model of Spatio-Temporal Evolution of Two-Plasmon Decay

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

Dimitrijevic, D. R.; Maluckov, A. A.

A hydrodynamic model of two-plasmon decay in a homogeneous plasma slab near the quarter-critical density is constructed in order to gain better insight into the spatio-temporal evolution of the daughter electron plasma waves in plasma in the course of the instability. The influence of laser and plasma parameters on the evolution of the amplitudes of the participating waves is discussed. The secondary coupling of two daughter electron plasma waves with an ion-acoustic wave is assumed to be the principal mechanism of saturation of the instability. The impact of the inherently nonresonant nature of this secondary coupling on the development ofmore » TPD is investigated and it is shown to significantly influence the electron plasma wave dynamics. Its inclusion leads to nonuniformity of the spatial profile of the instability and causes the burst-like pattern of the instability development, which should result in the burst-like hot-electron production in homogeneous plasma.« less

Oscillating two-stream instability in a magnetized electron-positron-ion plasma

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

Tinakiche, Nouara; Faculty of Physics, U.S.T.H.B, Algiers 16111; Annou, R.

2015-04-15

Oscillating two-stream instability (OTSI) in a magnetized electron-ion plasma has been thoroughly studied, e.g., in ionospheric heating experiments [C. S. Liu and V. K. Tripathi, Interaction of Electromagnetic Waves With Electron Beams and Plasmas (World Scientific, 1994); V. K. Tripathi and P. V. Siva Rama Prasad, J. Plasma Phys. 41, 13 (1989); K. Ramachandran and V. K. Tripathi, IEEE Trans. Plasma Sci. 25, 423 (1997)]. In this paper, OTSI is investigated in a magnetized electron-positron-ion plasma. The dispersion relation of the process is established. The pump field threshold, along with the maximum growth rate of the instability is assessed usingmore » the Arecibo and HAARP parameters.« less

Oscillating two-stream instability in a magnetized electron-positron-ion plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tinakiche, Nouara; Annou, R.

2015-04-01

Oscillating two-stream instability (OTSI) in a magnetized electron-ion plasma has been thoroughly studied, e.g., in ionospheric heating experiments [C. S. Liu and V. K. Tripathi, Interaction of Electromagnetic Waves With Electron Beams and Plasmas (World Scientific, 1994); V. K. Tripathi and P. V. Siva Rama Prasad, J. Plasma Phys. 41, 13 (1989); K. Ramachandran and V. K. Tripathi, IEEE Trans. Plasma Sci. 25, 423 (1997)]. In this paper, OTSI is investigated in a magnetized electron-positron-ion plasma. The dispersion relation of the process is established. The pump field threshold, along with the maximum growth rate of the instability is assessed using the Arecibo and HAARP parameters.

Gyrokinetic stability of electron-positron-ion plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mishchenko, A.; Zocco, A.; Helander, P.; Könies, A.

2018-02-01

The gyrokinetic stability of electron-positron plasmas contaminated by an ion (proton) admixture is studied in a slab geometry. The appropriate dispersion relation is derived and solved. Stable K-modes, the universal instability, the ion-temperature-gradient-driven instability, the electron-temperature-gradient-driven instability and the shear Alfvén wave are considered. It is found that the contaminated plasma remains stable if the contamination degree is below some threshold and that the shear Alfvén wave can be present in a contaminated plasma in cases where it is absent without ion contamination.

Progress Toward Kelvin-Helmholtz instabilities in a High-Energy-Density Plasma on the Nike Laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Harding, E. C.; Drake, R. P.; Aglitskiy, Y.; Dwarkadas, V. V.; Gillespie, R. S.; Grosskopf, M. J.; Huntington, C. M.; Gjeci, N.; Campbell, D. A.; Marion, D. C.

2007-11-01

In the realm of high-energy-density (HED) plasmas, there exist three primary hydrodynamic instabilities: Rayleigh-Taylor (RT), Richtmyer-Meshkov (RM), and Kelvin-Helmholtz (KH). Although the RT and the RM instabilities have been observed in the laboratory, no experiment to our knowledge has cleanly diagnosed the KH instability. While the RT instability results from the acceleration of a more dense fluid into a less dense fluid and the RM instability is due to shock deposited vorticity onto an interface, the KH instability is driven by a lifting force generated by velocity shear at a perturbed fluid interface. Understanding the KH instability mechanism in HED plasmas will provide essential insight into detailed RT-spike development, mass stripping, many astrophysical processes, as well as laying the groundwork for future transition to turbulence experiments. We present 2D simulations and data from our initial attempts to create a pure KH system using the Nike laser at the Naval Research Laboratory.

Two-dimensional studies of relativistic electron beam plasma instabilities in an inhomogeneous plasma

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

Shukla, Chandrasekhar; Das, Amita, E-mail: amita@ipr.res.in; Patel, Kartik

Relativistic electron beam propagation in plasma is fraught with several micro instabilities like two stream, filamentation, etc., in plasma. This results in severe limitation of the electron transport through a plasma medium. Recently, however, there has been an experimental demonstration of improved transport of Mega Ampere of electron currents (generated by the interaction of intense laser with solid target) in a carbon nanotube structured solid target [G. Chatterjee et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 108, 235005 (2012)]. This then suggests that the inhomogeneous plasma (created by the ionization of carbon nanotube structured target) helps in containing the growth of the beammore » plasma instabilities. This manuscript addresses this issue with the help of a detailed analytical study and 2-D Particle-In-Cell simulations. The study conclusively demonstrates that the growth rate of the dominant instability in the 2-D geometry decreases when the plasma density is chosen to be inhomogeneous, provided the scale length 1/k{sub s} of the inhomogeneous plasma is less than the typical plasma skin depth (c/ω{sub 0}) scale. At such small scale lengths channelization of currents is also observed in simulation.« less

On the ordinary mode instability for low beta plasmas

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

Hadi, F.; Qamar, A.; Bashir, M. F.

2014-05-15

The purely growing ordinary (O) mode instability, first discussed by Davidson and Wu [Phys. Fluids 13, 1407 (1970)], has recently received renewed attention owing to its potential applicability to the solar wind plasma. In a series of papers, Ibscher, Schlickeiser, and their colleagues [Phys. Plasmas 19, 072116 (2012); ibid. 20, 012103 (2013); ibid. 20, 042121 (2013); ibid. 21, 022110 (2014)] revisited the O mode instability and extended it to the low-beta plasma regime by considering a counter-streaming bi-Maxwellian model. However, the O-mode instability is, thus, far discussed only on the basis of the marginal stability condition rather than actual numericalmore » solutions of the dispersion relation. The present paper revisits the O-mode instability by considering the actual complex roots. The marginal stability condition as a function of the (electron) temperature anisotropy and beta naturally emerges in such a scheme.« less

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

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

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

2016-01-15

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

Theory and observations of high frequency Alfvén eigenmodes in low aspect ratio plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gorelenkov, N. N.; Fredrickson, E.; Belova, E.; Cheng, C. Z.; Gates, D.; Kaye, S.; White, R.

2003-04-01

New observations of sub-cyclotron frequency instability in low aspect ratio plasmas in national spherical torus experiments are reported. The frequencies of observed instabilities correlate with the characteristic Alfvén velocity of the plasma. A theory of localized compressional Alfvén eigenmodes (CAE) and global shear Alfvén eigenmodes (GAE) in low aspect ratio plasmas is presented to explain the observed high frequency instabilities. CAEs/GAEs are driven by the velocity space gradient of energetic super-Alfvénic beam ions via Doppler shifted cyclotron resonances. One of the main damping mechanisms of GAEs, the continuum damping, is treated perturbatively within the framework of ideal MHD. Properties of these cyclotron instability ions are presented.

Electron/ion whistler instabilities and magnetic noise bursts

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Akimoto, K.; Gary, S. Peter; Omidi, N.

1987-01-01

Two whistler instabilities are investigated by means of the linear Vlasov dispersion equation. They are called the electron/ion parallel and oblique whistler instabilities, and are driven by electron/ion relative drifts along the magnetic field. It is demonstrated that the enhanced fluctuations from these instabilities can explain several properties of magnetic noise bursts in and near the plasma sheet in the presence of ion beams and/or field-aligned currents. At sufficiently high plasma beta, these instabilities may affect the current system in the magnetotail.

Three dimensional structure of the magnetic field generated by counter-streaming electron beams

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Califano, F.; Pegoraro, F.; Bulanov, S.

2002-11-01

The Weibel instability is an electromagnetic plasma mode that can transform the thermal energy of an anisotropic plasma into magnetic field energy. In the field of laser plasma interactions a similar type of instability has been considered as the cause of the current filamentation and magnetic field generation that occurs in the wake of an ultra-intense, ultra-short laser pulse propagating in an underdense plasma [1]. Recently, much attention has been paid to this instability also in overdense plasma regimes [2] where current filaments are observed in large scale 3D PIC numerical simulations and large ordered magnetic fields can contribute to the energetic electron transport. Here we study the evolution of this instability in a 3D fluid (relativistic) regime, in the case of a plasma where the anisotropy is due two counter-streaming electron beams, with the aim of understanding the typical magnetic structures that are to be expected as a consequence of the development of this instability. We present the initial phase of the nonlinear instability regime, where kinetic effects are not yet dominant, and stress the differences with respect to the 2D results where the system is supposed to remain homogeneous along the beam direction. The applicability of these results to the interpretation of the simulation results in the overdense laser-plasma regime is also discussed. [1] G.A.Askar'an, S.V. Bulanov, F. Pegoraro, A.M. Pukhov, Physics Reports 21, 835 (1995) [2] M. Honda, J. Meyer-ter-Vehn, and A. Pukhov, Plasma Phys. Rev. Lett. 85, 2128 (2000)

Decay instability of an electron plasma wave in a dusty plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Amin, M. R.; Ferdous, T.; Salimullah, M.

1996-03-01

The parametric decay instability of an electron plasma wave in a homogeneous, unmagnetized, hot and collisionless dusty plasma has been investigated analytically. The Vlasov equation has been solved perturbatively to find the nonlinear response of the plasma particles. The presence of the charged dust grains introduces a background inhomogeneous electric field that significantly influences the dispersive properties of the plasma and the decay process. The growth rate of the decay instability through the usual ion-acoustic mode is modified, and depends upon the dust perturbation parameter μi, dust correlation length q0, and the related ion motion. However, the decay process of the electron plasma wave through the ultralow frequency dust mode, excited due to the presence of the dust particles, is more efficient than the decay through the usual ion-acoustic mode in the dusty plasma.

Temperature anisotropy instabilities stimulated by the interplay of the core and halo electrons in space plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lazar, M.; Shaaban, S. M.; Fichtner, H.; Poedts, S.

2018-02-01

Two central components are revealed by electron velocity distributions measured in space plasmas, a thermal bi-Maxwellian core and a bi-Kappa suprathermal halo. A new kinetic approach is proposed to characterize the temperature anisotropy instabilities driven by the interplay of core and halo electrons. Suggested by the observations in the solar wind, direct correlations of these two populations are introduced as co-variations of the key parameters, e.g., densities, temperature anisotropies, and (parallel) plasma betas. The approach involving correlations enables the instability characterization in terms of either the core or halo parameters and a comparative analysis to depict mutual effects. In the present paper, the instability conditions are described for an extended range of plasma beta parameters, making the new dual approach relevant for a wide variety of space plasmas, including the solar wind and planetary magnetospheres.

Fluid theory and simulations of instabilities, turbulent transport and coherent structures in partially-magnetized plasmas of \\mathbf{E}\\times \\mathbf{B} discharges

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smolyakov, A. I.; Chapurin, O.; Frias, W.; Koshkarov, O.; Romadanov, I.; Tang, T.; Umansky, M.; Raitses, Y.; Kaganovich, I. D.; Lakhin, V. P.

2017-01-01

Partially-magnetized plasmas with magnetized electrons and non-magnetized ions are common in Hall thrusters for electric propulsion and magnetron material processing devices. These plasmas are usually in strongly non-equilibrium state due to presence of crossed electric and magnetic fields, inhomogeneities of plasma density, temperature, magnetic field and beams of accelerated ions. Free energy from these sources make such plasmas prone to various instabilities resulting in turbulence, anomalous transport, and appearance of coherent structures as found in experiments. This paper provides an overview of instabilities that exist in such plasmas. A nonlinear fluid model has been developed for description of the Simon-Hoh, lower-hybrid and ion-sound instabilities. The model also incorporates electron gyroviscosity describing the effects of finite electron temperature. The nonlinear fluid model has been implemented in the BOUT++ framework. The results of nonlinear simulations are presented demonstrating turbulence, anomalous current and tendency toward the formation of coherent structures.

Flute Instability of Expanding Plasma Cloud

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dudnikova, Galina; Vshivkov, Vitali

2000-10-01

The expansion of plasma against a magnetized background where collisions play no role is a situation common to many plasma phenomena. The character of interaction between expanding plasma and background plasma is depending of the ratio of the expansion velocity to the ambient Alfven velocity. If the expansion speed is greater than the background Alfven speed (super-Alfvenic flows) a collisionless shock waves are formed in background plasma. It is originally think that if the expansion speed is less than Alfvenic speed (sub-Alfvenic flows) the interaction of plasma flows will be laminar in nature. However, the results of laboratory experiments and chemical releases in magnetosphere have shown the development of flute instability on the boundary of expanding plasma (Rayleigh-Taylor instability). A lot of theoretical and experimental papers have been devoted to study the Large Larmor Flute Instability (LLFI) of plasma expanding into a vacuum magnetic field. In the present paper on the base of computer simulation of plasma cloud expansion in magnetizied background plasma the regimes of development and stabilization LLFI for super- and sub-Alfvenic plasma flows are investigated. 2D hybrid numerical model is based on kinetic Vlasov equation for ions and hydrodynamic approximation for electrons. The similarity parameters characterizing the regimes of laminar flows are founded. The stabilization of LLFI takes place with the transition from sub- to super-Alfvenic plasma cloud expansion. The results of the comparision between computer simulation and laboratory simulation are described.

Nonthermal Radiation Processes in Interplanetary Plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chian, A. C. L.

1990-11-01

RESUMEN. En la interacci6n de haces de electrones energeticos con plasmas interplanetarios, se excitan ondas intensas de Langmuir debido a inestabilidad del haz de plasma. Las ondas Langmuir a su vez interaccio nan con fluctuaciones de densidad de baja frecuencia para producir radiaciones. Si la longitud de las ondas de Langmujr exceden las condicio nes del umbral, se puede efectuar la conversi5n de modo no lineal a on- das electromagneticas a traves de inestabilidades parametricas. As se puede excitar en un plasma inestabilidades parametricas electromagneticas impulsadas por ondas intensas de Langmuir: (1) inestabilidades de decaimiento/fusi5n electromagnetica impulsadas por una bomba de Lang- muir que viaja; (2) inestabilidades dobles electromagneticas de decai- miento/fusi5n impulsadas por dos bombas de Langrnuir directamente opues- tas; y (3) inestabilidades de dos corrientes oscilatorias electromagne- ticas impulsadas por dos bombas de Langmuir de corrientes contrarias. Se concluye que las inestabilidades parametricas electromagneticas in- ducidas por las ondas de Langmuir son las fuentes posibles de radiacio- nes no termicas en plasmas interplanetarios. ABSTRACT: Nonthermal radio emissions near the local electron plasma frequency have been detected in various regions of interplanetary plasmas: solar wind, upstream of planetary bow shock, and heliopause. Energetic electron beams accelerated by solar flares, planetary bow shocks, and the terminal shock of heliosphere provide the energy source for these radio emissions. Thus, it is expected that similar nonthermal radiation processes may be responsible for the generation of these radio emissions. As energetic electron beams interact with interplanetary plasmas, intense Langmuir waves are excited due to a beam-plasma instability. The Langmuir waves then interact with low-frequency density fluctuations to produce radiations near the local electron plasma frequency. If Langmuir waves are of sufficiently large amplitude to exceed the thresfiold conditions, nonlinear mode conversion electromagnetic waves can be effected through parametric instabilities. A number of electromagnetic parametric instabilities driven by intense Langmuir waves can be excited in a plasma: (1) electromagnetic decay/fusion instabilities driven by a traveling Langmuir pump; (2) double electromagnetic decay/fusion instabilities driven by two oppositely directed Langmuir pumps; and (3) electromagnetic oscillating two-stream instabilities driven by two counterstreaming Langmuir pumps. It is concluded that the electromagnetic parametric instabilities induced by Langmuir waves are likely sources of nonthermal radiations in interplanetary plasmas. Keq ( : INTERPLANETARY MEDIUM - PLASMAS

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

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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

2015-01-01

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

Flow shear stabilization of rotating plasmas due to the Coriolis effect.

PubMed

Haverkort, J W; de Blank, H J

2012-07-01

A radially decreasing toroidal rotation frequency can have a stabilizing effect on nonaxisymmetric magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) instabilities. We show that this is a consequence of the Coriolis effect that induces a restoring pressure gradient force when plasma is perturbed radially. In a rotating cylindrical plasma, this Coriolis-pressure effect is canceled by the centrifugal effect responsible for the magnetorotational instability. In a magnetically confined toroidal plasma, a large aspect ratio expansion shows that only half of the effect is canceled. This analytical result is confirmed by numerical computations. When the plasma rotates faster toroidally in the core than near the edge, the effect can contribute to the formation of transport barriers by stabilizing MHD instabilities.

A transverse Kelvin-Helmholtz instability in a magnetized plasma

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kintner, P.; Dangelo, N.

1977-01-01

An analysis is conducted of the transverse Kelvin-Helmholtz instability in a magnetized plasma for unstable flute modes. The analysis makes use of a two-fluid model. Details regarding the instability calculation are discussed, taking into account the ion continuity and momentum equations, the solution of a zero-order and a first-order component, and the properties of the solution. It is expected that the linear calculation conducted will apply to situations in which the plasma has experienced no more than a few growth periods.

Plasma Instability Growth Rates in the F-Region Cusp Ionosphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moen, J. I.; Daabakk, Y.; Oksavik, K.; Clausen, L.; Bekkeng, T. A.; Abe, T.; Saito, Y.; Baddeley, L. J.; Lorentzen, D. A.; Sigernes, F.; Yeoman, T. K.

2014-12-01

There are at least two different micro-instability processes that applies to the F-region cusp/polar cap ionosphere. These are the Gradient Drift Instability (GDI) and the Kelvin Helmholtz Instability (KHI). Due to space weather effects on radio communication and satellite signals it is of practical interest to assess the relative importance of these two instability modes and to quantify their growth rates. The Investigation of Cusp Irregularities (ICI) rocket program has been developed to investigate these plasma instabilities and formation scintillation irregularities. High resolution measurements are critical to get realistic quantities on the growth rates. The results achieved so far demonstrates that cusp ionosphere precipitation can give rise to km scale plasma structures on which grow rates are down to a few tens of seconds compared to earlier measures of ten minutes based on ground observations. This has to do with the spatial resolution required for these measurements. Growth rates for the KHI instability is found to be of the same order, which is consistent with growth rates calculated from the EISCAT Svalbard Radar. I.e. both instability modes can be highly efficient in the cusp ionosphere.

Ordinary mode instability associated with thermal ring distribution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hadi, F.; Yoon, P. H.; Qamar, A.

2015-02-01

The purely growing ordinary (O) mode instability driven by excessive parallel temperature anisotropy has recently received renewed attention owing to its potential applicability to the solar wind plasma. Previous studies of O mode instability have assumed either bi-Maxwellian or counter-streaming velocity distributions. For solar wind plasma trapped in magnetic mirror-like geometry such as magnetic clouds or in the vicinity of the Earth's collisionless bow shock environment, however, the velocity distribution function may possess a loss-cone feature. The O-mode instability in such a case may be excited for cyclotron harmonics as well as the purely growing branch. The present paper investigates the O-mode instability for plasmas characterized by the parallel Maxwellian distribution and perpendicular thermal ring velocity distribution in order to understand the general stability characteristics.

Magnetic field generation in core-sheath jets via the kinetic Kelvin-Helmholtz instability

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

Nishikawa, K.-I.; Hardee, P. E.; Duţan, I.

2014-09-20

We have investigated magnetic field generation in velocity shears via the kinetic Kelvin-Helmholtz instability (kKHI) using a relativistic plasma jet core and stationary plasma sheath. Our three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations consider plasma jet cores with Lorentz factors of 1.5, 5, and 15 for both electron-proton and electron-positron plasmas. For electron-proton plasmas, we find generation of strong large-scale DC currents and magnetic fields that extend over the entire shear surface and reach thicknesses of a few tens of electron skin depths. For electron-positron plasmas, we find generation of alternating currents and magnetic fields. Jet and sheath plasmas are accelerated across the shearmore » surface in the strong magnetic fields generated by the kKHI. The mixing of jet and sheath plasmas generates a transverse structure similar to that produced by the Weibel instability.« less

Mixing the Solar Wind Proton and Electron Scales: Effects of Electron Temperature Anisotropy on the Oblique Proton Firehose Instability

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Maneva, Y.; Lazar, M.; Vinas, A.; Poedts, S.

2016-01-01

The double adiabatic expansion of the nearly collisionless solar wind plasma creates conditions for the firehose instability to develop and efficiently prevent the further increase of the plasma temperature in the direction parallel to the interplanetary magnetic field. The conditions imposed by the firehose instability have been extensively studied using idealized approaches that ignore the mutual effects of electrons and protons. Recently, more realistic approaches have been proposed that take into account the interplay between electrons and protons,? unveiling new regimes of the parallel oscillatory modes. However, for oblique wave propagation the instability develops distinct branches that grow much faster and may therefore be more efficient than the parallel firehose instability in constraining the temperature anisotropy of the plasma particles. This paper reports for the first time on the effects of electron plasma properties on the oblique proton firehose (PFH) instability and provides a comprehensive vision of the entire unstable wave-vector spectrum, unifying the proton and the smaller electron scales. The plasma ß and temperature anisotropy regimes considered here are specific for the solar wind and magnetospheric conditions, and enable the electrons and protons to interact via the excited electromagnetic fluctuations. For the selected parameters, simultaneous electron and PFH instabilities can be observed with a dispersion spectrum of the electron firehose (EFH) extending toward the proton scales. Growth rates of the PFH instability are markedly boosted by the anisotropic electrons, especially in the oblique direction where the EFH growth rates are orders of magnitude higher.

MIXING THE SOLAR WIND PROTON AND ELECTRON SCALES: EFFECTS OF ELECTRON TEMPERATURE ANISOTROPY ON THE OBLIQUE PROTON FIREHOSE INSTABILITY

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

Maneva, Y.; Lazar, M.; Poedts, S.

2016-11-20

The double adiabatic expansion of the nearly collisionless solar wind plasma creates conditions for the firehose instability to develop and efficiently prevent the further increase of the plasma temperature in the direction parallel to the interplanetary magnetic field. The conditions imposed by the firehose instability have been extensively studied using idealized approaches that ignore the mutual effects of electrons and protons. Recently, more realistic approaches have been proposed that take into account the interplay between electrons and protons, unveiling new regimes of the parallel oscillatory modes. However, for oblique wave propagation the instability develops distinct branches that grow much fastermore » and may therefore be more efficient than the parallel firehose instability in constraining the temperature anisotropy of the plasma particles. This paper reports for the first time on the effects of electron plasma properties on the oblique proton firehose (PFH) instability and provides a comprehensive vision of the entire unstable wave-vector spectrum, unifying the proton and the smaller electron scales. The plasma β and temperature anisotropy regimes considered here are specific for the solar wind and magnetospheric conditions, and enable the electrons and protons to interact via the excited electromagnetic fluctuations. For the selected parameters, simultaneous electron and PFH instabilities can be observed with a dispersion spectrum of the electron firehose (EFH) extending toward the proton scales. Growth rates of the PFH instability are markedly boosted by the anisotropic electrons, especially in the oblique direction where the EFH growth rates are orders of magnitude higher.« less

Dissipative instability in a partially ionised prominence plasma slab

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ballai, I.; Pintér, B.; Oliver, R.; Alexandrou, M.

2017-07-01

Aims: We aim to investigate the nature of dissipative instability appearing in a prominence planar thread filled with partially ionised plasma in the incompressible limit. The importance of partial ionisation is investigated in terms of the ionisation factor and the wavelength of sausage and kink waves propagating in the slab. Methods: In order to highlight the role of partial ionisation, we have constructed models describing various situations we can meet in solar prominence fine structure. Matching the solutions for the transversal component of the velocity and total pressure at the interfaces between the prominence slab and surrounding plasmas, we derived a dispersion relation whose imaginary part describes the evolution of the instability. Results were obtained in the limit of weak dissipation. We have investigated the appearance of instabilities in prominence dark plumes using single and two-fluid approximations. Results: Using simple analytical methods, we show that dissipative instabilities appear for flow speeds that are less than the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability threshold. The onset of instability is determined by the equilibrium flow strength, the ionisation factor of the plasma, the wavelength of waves and the ion-neutral collisional rate. For a given wavelength and for ionisation degrees closer to a neutral gas, the propagating waves become unstable for a narrow band of flow speeds, meaning that neutrals have a stabilising effect. Our results show that the partially ionised plasma describing prominence dark plumes becomes unstable only in a two-fluid (charged particles-neutrals) model, that is for periods that are smaller than the ion-neutral collision time. Conclusions: The present study improves our understanding of the complexity of dynamical processes and stability of solar prominences and the role partial ionisation in destabilising the plasma. We showed the necessity of two-fluid approximation when discussing the nature of instabilities: waves in a single fluid approximation show a great deal of stability. Our results clearly show that the problem of partial ionisation introduces new aspects of plasma stability with consequences on the evolution of partially ionised plasmas and solar prominences, in particular.

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

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

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

1993-01-01

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

Filamentation instability in a quantum magnetized plasma

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

Bret, A.; and Instituto de Investigaciones Energeticas y Aplicaciones Industriales, Campus Universitario de Ciudad Real, 13071 Ciudad Real

2008-02-15

The filamentation instability occurring when a nonrelativistic electron beam passes through a quantum magnetized plasma is investigated by means of a cold quantum magnetohydrodynamic model. It is proved that the instability can be completely suppressed by quantum effects if and only if a finite magnetic field is present. A dimensionless parameter is identified that measures the strength of quantum effects. Strong quantum effects allow for a much smaller magnetic field to suppress the instability than in the classical regime.

The interaction of intense subpicosecond laser pulses with underdense plasmas

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

Coverdale, Christine Ann

1995-05-11

Laser-plasma interactions have been of interest for many years not only from a basic physics standpoint, but also for their relevance to numerous applications. Advances in laser technology in recent years have resulted in compact laser systems capable of generating (psec), 10 16 W/cm 2 laser pulses. These lasers have provided a new regime in which to study laser-plasma interactions, a regime characterized by L plasma ≥ 2L Rayleigh > cτ. The goal of this dissertation is to experimentally characterize the interaction of a short pulse, high intensity laser with an underdense plasma (n o ≤ 0.05n cr). Specifically, themore » parametric instability known as stimulated Raman scatter (SRS) is investigated to determine its behavior when driven by a short, intense laser pulse. Both the forward Raman scatter instability and backscattered Raman instability are studied. The coupled partial differential equations which describe the growth of SRS are reviewed and solved for typical experimental laser and plasma parameters. This solution shows the growth of the waves (electron plasma and scattered light) generated via stimulated Raman scatter. The dispersion relation is also derived and solved for experimentally accessible parameters. The solution of the dispersion relation is used to predict where (in k-space) and at what frequency (in ω-space) the instability will grow. Both the nonrelativistic and relativistic regimes of the instability are considered.« less

Particle-in-cell Simulations of Continuously Driven Mirror and Ion Cyclotron Instabilities in High Beta Astrophysical and Heliospheric Plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Riquelme, Mario A.; Quataert, Eliot; Verscharen, Daniel

2015-02-01

We use particle-in-cell simulations to study the nonlinear evolution of ion velocity space instabilities in an idealized problem in which a background velocity shear continuously amplifies the magnetic field. We simulate the astrophysically relevant regime where the shear timescale is long compared to the ion cyclotron period, and the plasma beta is β ~ 1-100. The background field amplification in our calculation is meant to mimic processes such as turbulent fluctuations or MHD-scale instabilities. The field amplification continuously drives a pressure anisotropy with p > p ∥ and the plasma becomes unstable to the mirror and ion cyclotron instabilities. In all cases, the nonlinear state is dominated by the mirror instability, not the ion cyclotron instability, and the plasma pressure anisotropy saturates near the threshold for the linear mirror instability. The magnetic field fluctuations initially undergo exponential growth but saturate in a secular phase in which the fluctuations grow on the same timescale as the background magnetic field (with δB ~ 0.3 langBrang in the secular phase). At early times, the ion magnetic moment is well-conserved but once the fluctuation amplitudes exceed δB ~ 0.1 langBrang, the magnetic moment is no longer conserved but instead changes on a timescale comparable to that of the mean magnetic field. We discuss the implications of our results for low-collisionality astrophysical plasmas, including the near-Earth solar wind and low-luminosity accretion disks around black holes.

Current driven instabilities of an electromagnetically accelerated plasma

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

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

1988-01-01

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

Two stream instability in n-type gallium arsenide semiconductor quantum plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ghosh, S.; Muley, Apurva

2018-01-01

By using quantum hydrodynamic model, we derive a generalized dielectric response function for two stream instability (convective only) in n-type gallium arsenide semiconductor plasma. We investigate the phase and amplification profiles of two stream instability with externally applied electric field ranging from 2600 to 4000 kV m-1 in presence of non-dimensional quantum parameter- H. In this range, a significant number of electrons in satellite valley become comparable to the number of electrons in central valley. The presence of quantum corrections in plasma medium induces two novel modes; one of it has amplifying nature and propagates in forward direction. It also modifies the spectral profile of four pre-existing modes in classical plasma. The existence of two stream instability is also established analytically by deriving the real part of longitudinal electrokinetic power flow density.

On the structure of the two-stream instability–complex G-Hamiltonian structure and Krein collisions between positive- and negative-action modes

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

Zhang, Ruili; Liu, Jian; Xiao, Jianyuan

2016-07-15

The two-stream instability is probably the most important elementary example of collective instabilities in plasma physics and beam-plasma systems. For a warm plasma with two charged particle species, the instability diagram of the two-stream instability based on a 1D warm-fluid model exhibits an interesting band structure that has not been explained. We show that the band structure for this instability is the consequence of the Hamiltonian nature of the warm two-fluid system. Interestingly, the Hamiltonian nature manifests as a complex G-Hamiltonian structure in wave-number space, which directly determines the instability diagram. Specifically, it is shown that the boundaries between themore » stable and unstable regions are locations for Krein collisions between eigenmodes with different Krein signatures. In terms of physics, this rigorously implies that the system is destabilized when a positive-action mode resonates with a negative-action mode, and that this is the only mechanism by which the system can be destabilized. It is anticipated that this physical mechanism of destabilization is valid for other collective instabilities in conservative systems in plasma physics, accelerator physics, and fluid dynamics systems, which admit infinite-dimensional Hamiltonian structures.« less

Robustness of the filamentation instability for asymmetric plasma shells collision in arbitrarily oriented magnetic field

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

Bret, A.

2013-10-15

The filamentation instability triggered when two counter streaming plasma shells overlap appears to be the main mechanism by which collisionless shocks are generated. It has been known for long that a flow aligned magnetic field can completely suppress this instability. In a recent paper [Phys. Plasmas 18, 080706 (2011)], it was demonstrated in two dimensions that for the case of two cold, symmetric, relativistically colliding shells, such cancellation cannot occur if the field is not perfectly aligned. Here, this result is extended to the case of two asymmetric shells. The filamentation instability appears therefore as an increasingly robust mechanism tomore » generate shocks.« less

Observation of instability-induced current redistribution in a spherical-torus plasma.

PubMed

Menard, J E; Bell, R E; Gates, D A; Kaye, S M; LeBlanc, B P; Levinton, F M; Medley, S S; Sabbagh, S A; Stutman, D; Tritz, K; Yuh, H

2006-09-01

A motional Stark effect diagnostic has been utilized to reconstruct the parallel current density profile in a spherical-torus plasma for the first time. The measured current profile compares favorably with neoclassical theory when no large-scale magnetohydrodynamic instabilities are present in the plasma. However, a current profile anomaly is observed during saturated interchange-type instability activity. This apparent anomaly can be explained by redistribution of neutral beam injection current drive and represents the first observation of interchange-type instabilities causing such redistribution. The associated current profile modifications contribute to sustaining the central safety factor above unity for over five resistive diffusion times, and similar processes may contribute to improved operational scenarios proposed for ITER.

Observation of Rayleigh-Taylor-instability evolution in a plasma with magnetic and viscous effects

DOE PAGES

Adams, Colin S.; Moser, Auna L.; Hsu, Scott C.

2015-11-06

We present time-resolved observations of Rayleigh-Taylor-instability (RTI) evolution at the interface between an unmagnetized plasma jet colliding with a stagnated, magnetized plasma. The observed instability growth time (~10μs) is consistent with the estimated linear RTI growth rate calculated using experimentally inferred values of density (~10 14cm–3) and deceleration (~10 9 m/s 2). The observed mode wavelength (≳1 cm) nearly doubles within a linear growth time. Furthermore, theoretical estimates of magnetic and viscous stabilization and idealized magnetohydrodynamic simulations including a physical viscosity model both suggest that the observed instability evolution is subject to magnetic and/or viscous effects.

Twisted waves and instabilities in a permeating dusty plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bukhari, S.; Ali, S.; Khan, S. A.; Mendonca, J. T.

2018-04-01

New features of the twisted dusty plasma modes and associated instabilities are investigated in permeating plasmas. Using the Vlasov-Poisson model equations, a generalized dispersion relation is obtained for a Maxwellian distributed plasma to analyse the dust-acoustic and dust-ion-acoustic waves with finite orbital angular momentum (OAM) states. Existence conditions for damping/growth rates are discussed and showed significant modifications in twisted dusty modes as compared to straight propagating dusty modes. Numerically, the instability growth rate, which depends on particle streaming and twist effects in the wave potential, is significantly modified due to the Laguerre-Gaussian profiles. Relevance of the study to wave excitations due to penetration of solar wind into cometary clouds or interstellar dusty plasmas is discussed.

Energy dynamics in a simulation of LAPD turbulence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Friedman, Brett

2012-10-01

It is often assumed that linear instabilities maintain turbulence in plasmas and some fluids, but this is not always the case. It is well known that many fluids display subcritical turbulence at a Reynolds number well below the threashold of linear instability. Certain plasma models such as drift waves in a sheared slab also exhibit subcritical turbulence [1]. In other instances such as drift-ballooning turbulence in tokamak edge plasmas, linear instabilities exist in a system, but they become subdominant to more robust nonlinear mechanisms that sustain a turbulent state [2, 3]. In our simulation of LAPD turbulence, which was previously analyzed in [4], we diagnose the results using an energy dynamics analysis [5]. This allows us to track energy input into turbulent fluctuations and energy dissipation out of them. We also track conservative energy transfer between different energy types (e.g. from potential to kinetic energy) and between different Fourier waves of the system. The result is that a nonlinear instability drives and maintains the turbulence in the steady state saturated phase of the simulation. While a linear restistive drift wave instability resides in the system, the nonlinear drift wave instability dominates when the fluctuation amplitude becomes large enough. The nonlinear instability is identified by its energy growth rate spectrum, which varies significantly from the linear growth rate spectrum. The main differences are the presence of positive growth rates when k|| = 0 and negative growth rates for nonzero k||, which is opposite that of the linear growth rate spectrum.[4pt] [1] B. D. Scott, Phys. Rev. Lett., 65, 3289 (1990).[0pt] [2] A. Zeiler et al, Phys. Plasmas, 3, 2951 (1996).[0pt] [3] B. D. Scott, Phys. Plasmas, 12, 062314 (2005).[0pt] [4] P. Popovich et al, Phys. Plasmas, 17, 122312 (2010).[0pt] [5] [physics.plasm-ph].

Quantum stream instability in coupled two-dimensional plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Akbari-Moghanjoughi, M.

2014-08-01

In this paper the quantum counter-streaming instability problem is studied in planar two-dimensional (2D) quantum plasmas using the coupled quantum hydrodynamic (CQHD) model which incorporates the most important quantum features such as the statistical Fermi-Dirac electron pressure, the electron-exchange potential and the quantum diffraction effect. The instability is investigated for different 2D quantum electron systems using the dynamics of Coulomb-coupled carriers on each plasma sheet when these plasmas are both monolayer doped graphene or metalfilm (corresponding to 2D Dirac or Fermi electron fluids). It is revealed that there are fundamental differences between these two cases regarding the effects of Bohm's quantum potential and the electron-exchange on the instability criteria. These differences mark yet another interesting feature of the effect of the energy band dispersion of Dirac electrons in graphene. Moreover, the effects of plasma number-density and coupling parameter on the instability criteria are shown to be significant. This study is most relevant to low dimensional graphene-based field-effect-transistor (FET) devices. The current study helps in understanding the collective interactions of the low-dimensional coupled ballistic conductors and the nanofabrication of future graphene-based integrated circuits.

Generation of forerunner electron beam during interaction of ion beam pulse with plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hara, Kentaro; Kaganovich, Igor D.; Startsev, Edward A.

2018-01-01

The long-time evolution of the two-stream instability of a cold tenuous ion beam pulse propagating through the background plasma with density much higher than the ion beam density is investigated using a large-scale one-dimensional electrostatic kinetic simulation. The three stages of the instability are investigated in detail. After the initial linear growth and saturation by the electron trapping, a portion of the initially trapped electrons becomes detrapped and moves ahead of the ion beam pulse forming a forerunner electron beam, which causes a secondary two-stream instability that preheats the upstream plasma electrons. Consequently, the self-consistent nonlinear-driven turbulent state is set up at the head of the ion beam pulse with the saturated plasma wave sustained by the influx of the cold electrons from upstream of the beam that lasts until the final stage when the beam ions become trapped by the plasma wave. The beam ion trapping leads to the nonlinear heating of the beam ions that eventually extinguishes the instability.

Experimental Observation of Thin-shell Instability in a Collisionless Plasma

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

Ahmed, H.; Doria, D.; Sarri, G.

We report on the experimental observation of the instability of a plasma shell, which formed during the expansion of a laser-ablated plasma into a rarefied ambient medium. By means of a proton radiography technique, the evolution of the instability is temporally and spatially resolved on a timescale much shorter than the hydrodynamic one. The density of the thin shell exceeds that of the surrounding plasma, which lets electrons diffuse outward. An ambipolar electric field grows on both sides of the thin shell that is antiparallel to the density gradient. Ripples in the thin shell result in a spatially varying balancemore » between the thermal pressure force mediated by this field and the ram pressure force that is exerted on it by the inflowing plasma. This mismatch amplifies the ripples by the same mechanism that drives the hydrodynamic nonlinear thin-shell instability (NTSI). Our results thus constitute the first experimental verification that the NTSI can develop in colliding flows.« less

Experimental Observation of Thin-shell Instability in a Collisionless Plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ahmed, H.; Doria, D.; Dieckmann, M. E.; Sarri, G.; Romagnani, L.; Bret, A.; Cerchez, M.; Giesecke, A. L.; Ianni, E.; Kar, S.; Notley, M.; Prasad, R.; Quinn, K.; Willi, O.; Borghesi, M.

2017-01-01

We report on the experimental observation of the instability of a plasma shell, which formed during the expansion of a laser-ablated plasma into a rarefied ambient medium. By means of a proton radiography technique, the evolution of the instability is temporally and spatially resolved on a timescale much shorter than the hydrodynamic one. The density of the thin shell exceeds that of the surrounding plasma, which lets electrons diffuse outward. An ambipolar electric field grows on both sides of the thin shell that is antiparallel to the density gradient. Ripples in the thin shell result in a spatially varying balance between the thermal pressure force mediated by this field and the ram pressure force that is exerted on it by the inflowing plasma. This mismatch amplifies the ripples by the same mechanism that drives the hydrodynamic nonlinear thin-shell instability (NTSI). Our results thus constitute the first experimental verification that the NTSI can develop in colliding flows.

Instability of Longitudinal Wave in Magnetized Strongly Coupled Dusty Plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xie, Bai-Song

2003-12-01

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

Observation of astrophysical Weibel instability in counterstreaming laser-produced plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fox, W.; Fiksel, G.; Bhattacharjee, A.; Germaschewski, K.; Chang, P.-Y.; Hu, S. X.; Nilson, P. M.

2013-10-01

Astrophysical shocks are typically collisionless and require collective electromagnetic fields to couple the upstream and downstream plasmas. The Weibel instability has been proposed to be one of such collective mechanism. Here we present laboratory tests of this process through observations of the Weibel instability generated between two counterstreaming, supersonic plasma flows, generated on the OMEGA EP laser facility by irradiating of a pair of opposing parallel CH targets by UV laser pulses (0.351 μm, 1.8 kJ, 2 ns). The Weibel-generated electromagnetic fields were probed with an ultrafast proton beam, generated with a high-intensity laser pulse (1.053 μm, 800 J, 10 ps) focused to >1018 W/cm2 onto a thin Cu disk. Growth of a striated, transverse instability is observed at the midplane as the two plasmas interpenetrate, which is identified as the Weibel instability through agreement with analytic theory and particle-in-cell simulations. These laboratory observations directly demonstrate the existence of this astrophysical process, and pave the way for further detailed laboratory study of this instability and its consequences for particle energization and shock formation. This work was supported by DOE grant DE-SC0007168.

Color instabilities in the quark-gluon plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mrówczyński, Stanisław; Schenke, Björn; Strickland, Michael

2017-04-01

When the quark-gluon plasma (QGP) - a system of deconfined quarks and gluons - is in a nonequilibrium state, it is usually unstable with respect to color collective modes. The instabilities, which are expected to strongly influence dynamics of the QGP produced in relativistic heavy-ion collisions, are extensively discussed under the assumption that the plasma is weakly coupled. We begin by presenting the theoretical approaches to study the QGP, which include: field theory methods based on the Keldysh-Schwinger formalism, classical and quantum kinetic theories, and fluid techniques. The dispersion equations, which give the spectrum of plasma collective excitations, are analyzed in detail. Particular attention is paid to a momentum distribution of plasma constituents which is obtained by deforming an isotropic momentum distribution. Mechanisms of chromoelectric and chromomagnetic instabilities are explained in terms of elementary physics. The Nyquist analysis, which allows one to determine the number of solutions of a dispersion equation without explicitly solving it, and stability criteria are also discussed. We then review various numerical approaches - purely classical or quantum - to simulate the temporal evolution of an unstable quark-gluon plasma. The dynamical role of instabilities in the processes of plasma equilibration is analyzed.

Color instabilities in the quark–gluon plasma

DOE PAGES

Mrówczyński, Stanisław; Schenke, Björn; Strickland, Michael

2017-04-09

When the quark–gluon plasma (QGP) – a system of deconfined quarks and gluons – is in a nonequilibrium state, it is usually unstable with respect to color collective modes. The instabilities, which are expected to strongly influence dynamics of the QGP produced in relativistic heavy-ion collisions, are extensively discussed under the assumption that the plasma is weakly coupled. Here, we begin by presenting the theoretical approaches to study the QGP, which include: field theory methods based on the Keldysh–Schwinger formalism, classical and quantum kinetic theories, and fluid techniques. The dispersion equations, which give the spectrum of plasma collective excitations, aremore » analyzed in detail. We pay particular attention to a momentum distribution of plasma constituents which is obtained by deforming an isotropic momentum distribution. Mechanisms of chromoelectric and chromomagnetic instabilities are explained in terms of elementary physics. The Nyquist analysis, which allows one to determine the number of solutions of a dispersion equation without explicitly solving it, and stability criteria are also discussed. We then review various numerical approaches – purely classical or quantum – to simulate the temporal evolution of an unstable quark–gluon plasma. The dynamical role of instabilities in the processes of plasma equilibration is analyzed.« less

External control of ion waves in a plasma by high frequency fields

DOEpatents

Kaw, P.K.; Dawson, J.M.

1973-12-18

An apparatus and method are described for stabilizing plasma instabilities, in a magnetically confined plasma column by transmitting into the plasma high frequency electromagnetic waves at a frequency close to the electron plasma frequency. The said frequencies, e.g., are between the plasma frequency and 1.5 times the plasma frequency at a power level below the level for producing parametric instabilities in a plasma having temperatures from below 10 eV to about 10 keV or more, at densities from below 10/sup 13/ to above 10/sup 18/ particles/cm/sup 3/. (Official Gazette)

Jeans instability of a dusty plasma with dust charge variations

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

Hakimi Pajouh, H., E-mail: hakimi@alzahra.ac.ir; Afshari, N.

2015-09-15

The effect of the dust charge variations on the stability of a self-gravitating dusty plasma has been theoretically investigated. The dispersion relation for the dust-acoustic waves in a self-gravitating dusty plasma is obtained. It is shown that the dust charge variations have significant effects. It increases the growth rate of instability and the instability cutoff wavenumbers. It is found that by increasing the value of the ions temperature and the absolute value of the equilibrium dust charge, the cutoff wavenumber decreases and the stability region is extended.

Jeans stability in collisional quantum dusty magnetoplasmas

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

Jamil, M.; Asif, M.; Mir, Zahid

2014-09-15

Jeans instability is examined in detail in uniform dusty magnetoplasmas taking care of collisional and non-zero finite thermal effects in addition to the quantum characteristics arising through the Bohm potential and the Fermi degenerate pressure using the quantum hydrodynamic model of plasmas. It is found that the presence of the dust-lower-hybrid wave, collisional effects of plasma species, thermal effects of electrons, and the quantum mechanical effects of electrons have significance over the Jeans instability. Here, we have pointed out a new class of dissipative instability in quantum plasma regime.

Instabilities and turbulence in highly ionized plasmas in a magnetic field

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jennings, W. C.

1972-01-01

Physical mechanisms were considered which are responsible for plasma turbulence and the establishment of necessary conditions for energy exchange and transfer in the frequency spectrum. In addition, work was performed to better understand the drift instability in the highly inhomogeneous Rensselaer arc, and methods to suppress this instability using feedback stabilization techniques. Correlation techniques were refined to study plasma turbulence, the diffusion wave technique for monitoring cross-field diffusion was extended to include regimes of high turbulence levels, and a technique for coupling stabilizing RF power to the Rensselaer arc was developed.

Theory of Collisional Two-Stream Plasma Instabilities in the Solar Chromosphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Madsen, Chad Allen; Dimant, Yakov; Oppenheim, Meers; Fontenla, Juan

2014-06-01

The solar chromosphere experiences intense heating just above its temperature minimum. The heating increases the electron temperature in this region by over 2000 K. Furthermore, it exhibits little time variation and appears widespread across the solar disk. Although semi-empirical models, UV continuum observations, and line emission measurements confirm the existence of the heating, its source remains unexplained. Potential heating sources such as acoustic shocks, resistive dissipation, and magnetic reconnection via nanoflares fail to account for the intensity, persistence, and ubiquity of the heating. Fontenla (2005) suggested turbulence from a collisional two-stream plasma instability known as the Farley-Buneman instability (FBI) could contribute significantly to the heating. This instability is known to heat the plasma of the E-region ionosphere which bears many similarities to the chromospheric plasma. However, the ionospheric theory of the FBI does not account for the diverse ion species found in the solar chromosphere. This work develops a new collisional, two-stream instability theory appropriate for the chromospheric plasma environment using a linear fluid analysis to derive a new dispersion relationship and critical E x B drift velocity required to trigger the instability. Using a 1D, non-local thermodynamic equilibrium, radiative transfer model and careful estimates of collision rates and magnetic field strengths, we calculate the trigger velocities necessary to induce the instability throughout the chromosphere. Trigger velocities as low as 4 km s^-1 are found near the temperature minimum, well below the local neutral acoustic speed in that region. From this, we expect the instability to occur frequently, converting kinetic energy contained in neutral convective flows from the photosphere into thermal energy via turbulence. This could contribute significantly to chromospheric heating and explain its persistent and ubiquitous nature.

Small amplitude waves and linear firehose and mirror instabilities in rotating polytropic quantum plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bhakta, S.; Prajapati, R. P.; Dolai, B.

2017-08-01

The small amplitude quantum magnetohydrodynamic (QMHD) waves and linear firehose and mirror instabilities in uniformly rotating dense quantum plasma have been investigated using generalized polytropic pressure laws. The QMHD model and Chew-Goldberger-Low (CGL) set of equations are used to formulate the basic equations of the problem. The general dispersion relation is derived using normal mode analysis which is discussed in parallel, transverse, and oblique wave propagations. The fast, slow, and intermediate QMHD wave modes and linear firehose and mirror instabilities are analyzed for isotropic MHD and CGL quantum fluid plasmas. The firehose instability remains unaffected while the mirror instability is modified by polytropic exponents and quantum diffraction parameter. The graphical illustrations show that quantum corrections have a stabilizing influence on the mirror instability. The presence of uniform rotation stabilizes while quantum corrections destabilize the growth rate of the system. It is also observed that the growth rate stabilizes much faster in parallel wave propagation in comparison to the transverse mode of propagation. The quantum corrections and polytropic exponents also modify the pseudo-MHD and reverse-MHD modes in dense quantum plasma. The phase speed (Friedrichs) diagrams of slow, fast, and intermediate wave modes are illustrated for isotropic MHD and double adiabatic MHD or CGL quantum plasmas, where the significant role of magnetic field and quantum diffraction parameters on the phase speed is observed.

Particle Acceleration, Magnetic Field Generation, and Emission in Relativistic Pair Jets

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nishikawa, K.-I.; Ramirez-Ruiz, E.; Hardee, P.; Hededal, C.; Mizuno, Y.

2005-01-01

Shock acceleration is a ubiquitous phenomenon in astrophysical plasmas. Plasma waves and their associated instabilities (e.g., the Buneman instability, two-streaming instability, and the Weibel instability) created by relativistic pair jets are responsible for particle (electron, positron, and ion) acceleration. Using a 3-D relativistic electromagnetic particle (REMP) code, we have investigated particle acceleration associated with a relativistic jet propagating through an ambient plasma with and without initial magnetic fields. The growth rates of the Weibel instability depends on the distribution of pair jets. Simulations show that the Weibel instability created in the collisionless shock accelerates particles perpendicular and parallel to the jet propagation direction. The simulation results show that this instability is responsible for generating and amplifying highly nonuniform, small-scale magnetic fields, which contribute to the electron's transverse deflection behind the jet head. The "jitter" radiation from deflected electrons has different properties than synchrotron radiation which is calculated in a uniform magnetic field. This jitter radiation may be important to understanding the complex time evolution and/or spectral structure in gamma-ray bursts, relativistic jets, and supernova remnants.

Investigation of high power impulse magnetron sputtering (HIPIMS) discharge using fast ICCD camera

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hecimovic, Ante

2012-10-01

High power impulse magnetron sputtering (HIPIMS) combines impulse glow discharges at power levels up to the MW range with conventional magnetron cathodes to achieve a highly ionised sputtered flux. The dynamics of the HIPIMS discharge was investigated using fast Intensified Charge Coupled Device (ICCD) camera. In the first experiment the HIPIMS plasma was recorded from the side with goal to analyse the plasma intensity using Abel inversion to obtain the emissivity maps of the plasma species. Resulting emissivity maps provide the information on the spatial distribution of Ar and sputtered material and evolution of the plasma chemistry above the cathode. In the second experiment the plasma emission was recorded with camera facing the target. The images show that the HIPIMS plasma develops drift wave type instabilities characterized by well defined regions of high and low plasma emissivity along the racetrack of the magnetron. The instabilities cause periodic shifts in the floating potential. The structures rotate in ExB direction at velocities of 10 kms-1 and frequencies up to 200 kHz. The high emissivity regions comprise Ar and metal ion emission with strong Ar and metal neutral emission depletion. A detailed analysis of the temporal evolution of the saturated instabilities using four consequently triggered fast ICCD cameras is presented. Furthermore working gas pressure and discharge current variation showed that the shape and the speed of the instability strongly depend on the working gas and target material combination. In order to better understand the mechanism of the instability, different optical interference band pass filters (of metal and gas atom, and ion lines) were used to observe the spatial distribution of each species within the instability.

Modulated electron cyclotron drift instability in a high-power pulsed magnetron discharge.

PubMed

Tsikata, Sedina; Minea, Tiberiu

2015-05-08

The electron cyclotron drift instability, implicated in electron heating and anomalous transport, is detected in the plasma of a planar magnetron. Electron density fluctuations associated with the mode are identified via an adapted coherent Thomson scattering diagnostic, under direct current and high-power pulsed magnetron operation. Time-resolved analysis of the mode amplitude reveals that the instability, found at MHz frequencies and millimeter scales, also exhibits a kHz-scale modulation consistent with the observation of larger-scale plasma density nonuniformities, such as the rotating spoke. Sharply collimated axial fluctuations observed at the magnetron axis are consistent with the presence of escaping electrons in a region where the magnetic and electric fields are antiparallel. These results distinguish aspects of magnetron physics from other plasma sources of similar geometry, such as the Hall thruster, and broaden the scope of instabilities which may be considered to dictate magnetron plasma features.

Instability of the heliopause driven by charge exchange interactions

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

Avinash, K.; Zank, G. P.; Dasgupta, B.

2014-08-20

The stability of the heliopause that separates the tenuous hot magnetized heliosheath plasma from the dense cool local interstellar magnetized plasma is examined using a fully general model that includes all the essential physical processes. Charge exchange coupling between plasma protons and primary interstellar neutral atoms provides an effective gravity that drives Rayleigh-Taylor (RT)-like instabilities. The velocity difference or shear between the heliosheath and interstellar flows, when coupled to energetic neutral atoms (ENAs), drives a Kelvin-Helmholtz (KH)-like instability on the heliopause. The shoulder region of the heliopause is unstable to a new instability that has characteristics of a mixed RT-KH-likemore » mode. The instabilities are not stabilized by typical values of the magnetic fields in the inner and outer heliosheath (OHS). ENAs play an essential role in driving the KH-like instability, which is fully stabilized in their absence by magnetic fields. The nonlinear phase of these instabilities is briefly discussed. We also discuss the possibility that RT-like or mixed KH-RT-like instabilities drag outer heliosheath/very local interstellar medium (OHS/VLISM) magnetic field lines into the inner heliosheath (IHS) with the VLISM flow, and the possibility that IHS and VLISM magnetic field lines experience reconnection. Such reconnection may (1) greatly enhance the mixing of plasmas across the heliopause and (2) provide open magnetic field lines that allow easy ingress of galactic cosmic rays into the heliosphere and corresponding easy loss of anomalous cosmic rays from the heliosphere.« less

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

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

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

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

Effect of composition gradient on magnetothermal instability modified by shear and rotation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gupta, Himanshu; Chaudhuri, Anya; Sadhukhan, Shubhadeep; Chakraborty, Sagar

2018-02-01

We model the intracluster medium as a weakly collisional plasma that is a binary mixture of the hydrogen and the helium ions, along with free electrons. When, owing to the helium sedimentation, the gradient of the mean-molecular weight (or equivalently, composition or helium ions' concentration) of the plasma is not negligible, it can have appreciable influence on the stability criteria of the thermal convective instabilities, e.g. the heat-flux-buoyancy instability and the magnetothermal instability (MTI). These instabilities are consequences of the anisotropic heat conduction occurring preferentially along the magnetic field lines. In this paper, without ignoring the magnetic tension, we first present the mathematical criterion for the onset of composition gradient modified MTI. Subsequently, we relax the commonly adopted equilibrium state in which the plasma is at rest, and assume that the plasma is in a sheared state which may be due to differential rotation. We discuss how the concentration gradient affects the coupling between the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability and the MTI in rendering the plasma unstable or stable. We derive exact stability criterion by working with the sharp boundary case in which the physical variables - temperature, mean-molecular weight, density and magnetic field - change discontinuously from one constant value to another on crossing the boundary. Finally, we perform the linear stability analysis for the case of the differentially rotating plasma that is thermally and compositionally stratified as well. By assuming axisymmetric perturbations, we find the corresponding dispersion relation and the explicit mathematical expression determining the onset of the modified MTI.

Generation of Plasma Density Irregularities in the Midlatitude/Subauroral F Region

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mishin, E. V.

2017-12-01

A concise review is given of the current state of the theoretical understanding of the creation of small- and meso-scale plasma density irregularities in the midlatitude/subauroral F region during quiet and disturbed periods. The former are discussed in terms of the temperature gradient instability (TGI) in the vicinity of the ionospheric projection of the plasmapause and the Perkins instability. During active conditions some part of the midlatitude ionosphere becomes the subauroral region dominated by enhanced westward flows (SAPS and SAID) driven by poleward electric fields. Their irregular, often nonlinear wave structure leads to the formation of plasma density irregularities in the plasmasphere and conjugate ionosphere. Here, meso-scale irregularities are due to the positive feedback magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling instability, while small scales resulted from the gradient drift instability (GDI), temperature GDI, and the ion frictional heating instability. The theoretical predictions are compared with satellite observations in the perturbed subauroral geospace.

Solar wind interaction with dusty plasmas produces instabilities and solitary structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saleem, H.; Ali, S.

2017-12-01

It is pointed out that the solar wind interaction with dusty magnetospheres of the planets can give rise to purely growing instabilities as well as nonlinear electric field structures. Linear dispersion relation of the low frequency electrostatic ion-acoustic wave (IAW) is modified in the presence of stationary dust and its frequency becomes larger than its frequency in usual electron ion plasma even if ion temperature is equal to the electron temperature. This dust-ion-acoustic wave (DIAW) either becomes a purely growing electrostatic instability or turns out to be the modified dust-ion-acoustic wave (mDIAW) depending upon the magnitude of shear flow scale length and its direction. Growth rate of shear flow-driven electrostatic instability in a plasma having negatively charged stationary dust is larger than the usual D'Angelo instability of electron-ion plasma. It is shown that shear modified dust ion acoustic wave (mDIAW) produces electrostatic solitons in the nonlinear regime. The fluid theory predicts the existence of electrostatic solitons in the dusty plasmas in those regions where the inhomogeneous solar wind flow is parallel to the planetary or cometary magnetic field lines. The amplitude and width of the solitary structure depends upon dust density and magnitude of shear in the flow. This is a general theoretical model which is applied to dusty plasma of Saturn's F-ring for illustration.

Studying Electromagnetic Beam Instabilities in Laser Plasmas for Alfvénic Parallel Shock Formation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dorst, R. S.; Heuer, P. V.; Weidl, M. S.; Schaeffer, D. B.; Constantin, C. G.; Vincena, S.; Tripathi, S.; Gekelman, W.; Winske, D.; Niemann, C.

2017-10-01

We present measurements of the collisionless interaction between an exploding laser-produced plasma (LPP) and a large, magnetized ambient plasma. The LPP is created by focusing a high energy laser on a target embedded in the ambient Large Plasma Device (LAPD) plasma at the University of California, Los Angeles. The resulting super-Alfvénic (MA = 5) ablated material moves parallel to the background magnetic field (300 G) through 12m (80 δ i) of the LAPD, interacting with the ambient Helium plasma (ni = 9 ×1012 cm-3) through electromagnetic beam instabilities. The debris is characterized by Langmuir probes and a time-resolved fluorescence monochromator. Waves in the magnetic field produced by the instabilities are diagnosed by an array of 3-axis `bdot' magnetic field probes. Measurements are compared to hybrid simulations of both the experiment and of parallel shocks.

Revision of 'Cumulative effect of the filamentation and Weibel instabilities in counterstreaming thermal plasmas' [Phys. Plasmas 13, 102107 (2006)

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

Stockem, A.; Lazar, M.; Department of Physics and Engineering Physics, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon

2008-01-15

Dispersion formalism reported in Lazar et al. [Phys. Plasmas 13, 102107 (2006)] is affected by errors due to the misfitting of the distribution function (1) used to interpret the counterstreaming plasmas, with the general dispersion relations (4) and (5), where distribution function (1) has been inserted to find the unstable solutions. The analytical approach is reviewed here, providing a correct analytical and numerical description for the cumulative effect of filamentation and Weibel instabilities arising in initially counterstreaming plasmas with temperature anisotropies. The growth rates are plotted again, and for the cumulative mode, they are orders of magnitude larger than thosemore » obtained in Lazar et al. [Phys. Plasmas 13, 102107 (2006)]. Physically, this can be understood as an increasing of the efficiency of magnetic field generation, and rather enhances the potential role of magnetic instabilities for the fast magnetization scenario in astrophysical applications.« less

TIME EVOLUTION OF KELVIN–HELMHOLTZ VORTICES ASSOCIATED WITH COLLISIONLESS SHOCKS IN LASER-PRODUCED PLASMAS

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

Kuramitsu, Y.; Moritaka, T.; Mizuta, A.

2016-09-10

We report experimental results on Kelvin–Helmholtz (KH) instability and resultant vortices in laser-produced plasmas. By irradiating a double plane target with a laser beam, asymmetric counterstreaming plasmas are created. The interaction of the plasmas with different velocities and densities results in the formation of asymmetric shocks, where the shear flow exists along the contact surface and the KH instability is excited. We observe the spatial and temporal evolution of plasmas and shocks with time-resolved diagnostics over several shots. Our results clearly show the evolution of transverse fluctuations, wavelike structures, and circular features, which are interpreted as the KH instability andmore » resultant vortices. The relevant numerical simulations demonstrate the time evolution of KH vortices and show qualitative agreement with experimental results. Shocks, and thus the contact surfaces, are ubiquitous in the universe; our experimental results show general consequences where two plasmas interact.« less

Jeans instability of magnetized quantum plasma: Effect of viscosity, rotation and finite Larmor radius corrections

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

Jain, Shweta, E-mail: jshweta09@gmail.com; Sharma, Prerana; Chhajlani, R. K.

2015-07-31

The Jeans instability of self-gravitating quantum plasma is examined considering the effects of viscosity, finite Larmor radius (FLR) corrections and rotation. The analysis is done by normal mode analysis theory with the help of relevant linearized perturbation equations of the problem. The general dispersion relation is obtained using the quantum magneto hydrodynamic model. The modified condition of Jeans instability is obtained and the numerical calculations have been performed to show the effects of various parameters on the growth rate of Jeans instability.

Jeans instability with exchange effects in quantum dusty magnetoplasmas

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

Jamil, M., E-mail: jamil.gcu@gmail.com; Rasheed, A.; Rozina, Ch.

2015-08-15

Jeans instability is examined in magnetized quantum dusty plasmas using the quantum hydrodynamic model. The quantum effects are considered via exchange-correlation potential, recoil effect, and Fermi degenerate pressure, in addition to thermal effects of plasma species. It is found that the electron exchange and correlation potential have significant effects over the threshold value of wave vector and Jeans instability. The presence of electron exchange and correlation effect shortens the time of dust sound that comparatively stabilizes the self gravitational collapse. The results at quantum scale are helpful in understanding the collapse of the self-gravitating dusty plasma systems.

Must is a Four Letter Word: The Role of Plasma Instabilities in the Intergalactic Magnetic Field Story

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Broderick, Avery

2014-06-01

The detection of inverse Compton halos from cosmological TeV sources provide a direct means to constrain the putative intergalactic magnetic field. However, the converse may not be the case! The fate of the pairs generated by TeV gamma rays annihilating on the extragalactic background light is presently unclear, clouded by the possibility that cosmological scale plasma instabilities may dominate their energetic evolution. I will briefly motivate these plasma instabilities theoretically, summarize some empirical evidence that they may be occurring in practice, and assess their potential impact upon studies of intergalactic magnetic fields.

Progress of plasma wakefield self-modulation experiments at FACET

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Adli, E.; Berglyd Olsen, V. K.; Lindstrøm, C. A.; Muggli, P.; Reimann, O.; Vieira, J. M.; Amorim, L. D.; Clarke, C. I.; Gessner, S. J.; Green, S. Z.; Hogan, M. J.; Litos, M. D.; O`Shea, B. D.; Yakimenko, V.; Clayton, C.; Marsh, K. A.; Mori, W. B.; Joshi, C.; Vafaei-Najafabadi, N.; Williams, O.

2016-09-01

Simulations and theory predict that long electron and positron beams may under favorable conditions self-modulate in plasmas. We report on the progress of experiments studying the self-modulation instability in plasma wakefield experiments at FACET. The experimental results obtained so far, while not being fully conclusive, appear to be consistent with the presence of the self-modulation instability.

Waves and instabilities in plasmas

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

Chen, L.

1987-01-01

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

Kinetic electromagnetic instabilities in an ITB plasma with weak magnetic shear

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, W.; Yu, D. L.; Ma, R. R.; Shi, P. W.; Li, Y. Y.; Shi, Z. B.; Du, H. R.; Ji, X. Q.; Jiang, M.; Yu, L. M.; Yuan, B. S.; Li, Y. G.; Yang, Z. C.; Zhong, W. L.; Qiu, Z. Y.; Ding, X. T.; Dong, J. Q.; Wang, Z. X.; Wei, H. L.; Cao, J. Y.; Song, S. D.; Song, X. M.; Liu, Yi.; Yang, Q. W.; Xu, M.; Duan, X. R.

2018-05-01

Kinetic Alfvén and pressure gradient driven instabilities are very common in magnetized plasmas, both in space and the laboratory. These instabilities will be easily excited by energetic particles (EPs) and/or pressure gradients in present-day fusion and future burning plasmas. This will not only cause the loss and redistribution of the EPs, but also affect plasma confinement and transport. Alfvénic ion temperature gradient (AITG) instabilities with the frequency ω_BAE<ω<ω_TAE and the toroidal mode numbers n=2{-}8 are found to be unstable in NBI internal transport barrier plasmas with weak shear and low pressure gradients, where ω_BAE and ω_TAE are the frequencies of the beta- and toroidicity-induced Alfvén eigenmodes, respectively. The measured results are consistent with the general fishbone-like dispersion relation and kinetic ballooning mode equation, and the modes become more unstable the smaller the magnetic shear is in low pressure gradient regions. The interaction between AITG activity and EPs also needs to be investigated with greater attention in fusion plasmas, such as ITER (Tomabechi and The ITER Team 1991 Nucl. Fusion 31 1135), since these fluctuations can be enhanced by weak magnetic shear and EPs.

Direct experimental evidence of ion-ion co-stream instability excited in the sheath-presheath of Ar +He two-ion species plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kella, Vara Prasad; Ghosh, Joydeep; Chattopadhyay, Prabal; Sharma, Devendra; Saxena, Yogesh

2017-10-01

Recent experimental measurements of ion flow speeds near the sheath edge of two-ion species plasma shows that, the ions reach the sheath edge with common sound speed other than their individual Bohm speeds at nearly equal ion concentrations. Baalrud et al., explain these results on the basis of ion-ion two-stream instability enhanced collisional friction between the ions. Some authors stipulate the existence of the instability indirectly, by measuring the ion flow speeds near the sheath edge. In these experiments, the instability is directly observed from the floating potential fluctuations from Langmuir probe placed near the sheath edge and from grid in Ar +He plasma. The frequency spectra shows broad band peaks with central frequency in the range 150-200 kHz. The intensity of the instability maximizes in the plasma produced with approximately equal ion concentrations of both the ion species. The frequency and amplitude of the peak decreases as the He+ to Ar+ concentration ratio decreases from unity. The phase velocity of the wave is measured as 11 +/-2 km/s and identified to be twice the ion-sound speed in the bulk ( 6.3 km/s), which is good agreement with earlier results of IAWs. The measured wave number and frequencies are compared with the theoretical dispersion relations. These observations confirm the existence of ion-ion co-stream instability in sheath-presheath of two-ion species plasma.

Plasma Irregularities on the Leading and Trailing Edges of Polar Cap Patches

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lamarche, L. J.; Varney, R. H.; Gillies, R.; Chartier, A.; Mitchell, C. N.

2017-12-01

Plasma irregularities in the polar cap have often been attributed to the gradient drift instability (GDI). Traditional fluid theories of GDI predicts irregularity growth only on the trailing edge of polar patches, where the plasma density gradient is parallel to the plasma drift velocity, however many observations show irregularities also form on the leading edge of patches. We consider decameter-scale irregularities detected by polar-latitude SuperDARN (Super Dual Auroral Radar Network) radars with any relationship between the background density gradients and drift velocity. Global electron density from the Multi-Instrument Data Analysis System (MIDAS), a GPS tomography routine, is used to provide context for where irregularities are observed relative to polar patches and finer-scale background density gradients are found from 3D imaging from both the North and Canada faces of the Resolute Bay Incoherent Scatter Radars (RISR-N and RISR-C) jointly. Shear-based instabilities are considered as mechanisms by which plasma irregularities could form on the leading edge of patches. Theoretical predictions of instability growth from both GDI and shear instabilities are compared with irregularity observations for the October 13, 2016 storm.

Generation of forerunner electron beam during interaction of ion beam pulse with plasma

DOE PAGES

Hara, Kentaro; Kaganovich, Igor D.; Startsev, Edward A.

2018-01-01

The long-time evolution of the two-stream instability of a cold tenuous ion beam pulse propagating through the background plasma with density much higher than the ion beam density is investigated using a large-scale one-dimensional electrostatic kinetic simulation. The three stages of the instability are investigated in detail. After the initial linear growth and saturation by the electron trapping, a portion of the initially trapped electrons becomes detrapped and moves ahead of the ion beam pulse forming a forerunner electron beam, which causes a secondary two-stream instability that preheats the upstream plasma electrons. Consequently, the self-consistent nonlinear-driven turbulent state is setmore » up at the head of the ion beam pulse with the saturated plasma wave sustained by the influx of the cold electrons from upstream of the beam that lasts until the final stage when the beam ions become trapped by the plasma wave. Finally, the beam ion trapping leads to the nonlinear heating of the beam ions that eventually extinguishes the instability.« less

Generation of forerunner electron beam during interaction of ion beam pulse with plasma

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

Hara, Kentaro; Kaganovich, Igor D.; Startsev, Edward A.

The long-time evolution of the two-stream instability of a cold tenuous ion beam pulse propagating through the background plasma with density much higher than the ion beam density is investigated using a large-scale one-dimensional electrostatic kinetic simulation. The three stages of the instability are investigated in detail. After the initial linear growth and saturation by the electron trapping, a portion of the initially trapped electrons becomes detrapped and moves ahead of the ion beam pulse forming a forerunner electron beam, which causes a secondary two-stream instability that preheats the upstream plasma electrons. Consequently, the self-consistent nonlinear-driven turbulent state is setmore » up at the head of the ion beam pulse with the saturated plasma wave sustained by the influx of the cold electrons from upstream of the beam that lasts until the final stage when the beam ions become trapped by the plasma wave. Finally, the beam ion trapping leads to the nonlinear heating of the beam ions that eventually extinguishes the instability.« less

Stability of an ion-ring distribution in a multi-ion component plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mithaiwala, Manish; Rudakov, Leonid; Ganguli, Gurudas

2010-04-01

The stability of a cold ion-ring velocity distribution in a thermal plasma is analyzed. In particular, the effect of plasma temperature and density on the instability is considered. A high ring density (compared to the background plasma) neutralizes the stabilizing effect of the warm background plasma and the ring is unstable to the generation of waves below the lower-hybrid frequency even for a very high temperature plasma. For ring densities lower than the background plasma density, there is a slow instability where the growth rate is less than the background-ion cyclotron frequency and, consequently, the background-ion response is magnetized. This is in addition to the widely discussed fast instability where the wave growth rate exceeds the background-ion cyclotron frequency and hence the background ions are effectively unmagnetized. Thus, even a low density ring is unstable to waves around the lower-hybrid frequency range for any ring speed. This implies that effectively there is no velocity threshold for a sufficiently cold ring.

Magnetic field diffusion and dissipation in reversed-field plasmas

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Drake, J. F.; Gladd, N. T.; Huba, J. D.

1981-01-01

A diffusion equation is derived which describes the evolution of a magnetic field in a plasma of arbitrary beta and resistivity. The equation is valid for a one-dimensional slab geometry, assumes the plasma remains in quasi-equilibrium throughout its evolution and does not include thermal transport. Scaling laws governing the rate of change of the magnetic energy, particle drift energy, and magnetic flux are calculated. It is found that the magnetic free energy can be substantially larger than the particle drift energy and can be an important energy reservoir in driving plasma instabilities (e.g., the lower-hybrid-drift instability). In addition, the effect of a spatially varying resistivity on the evolution of a reversed-field plasma is studied. The resistivity model used is based upon the anomalous transport properties associated with the nonlocal mode structure of the lower-hybrid-drift instability. The relevance of this research to laboratory plasmas (e.g., theta pinches, reversed-field theta pinches) and space plasmas (e.g., the earth's magnetotail) is discussed.

Ion-temperature-gradient sensitivity of the hydrodynamic instability caused by shear in the magnetic-field-aligned plasma flow

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

Mikhailenko, V. V., E-mail: vladimir@pusan.ac.kr; Mikhailenko, V. S.; Faculty of Transportation Systems, Kharkiv National Automobile and Highway University, 61002 Kharkiv

2014-07-15

The cross-magnetic-field (i.e., perpendicular) profile of ion temperature and the perpendicular profile of the magnetic-field-aligned (parallel) plasma flow are sometimes inhomogeneous for space and laboratory plasma. Instability caused either by a gradient in the ion-temperature profile or by shear in the parallel flow has been discussed extensively in the literature. In this paper, (1) hydrodynamic plasma stability is investigated, (2) real and imaginary frequency are quantified over a range of the shear parameter, the normalized wavenumber, and the ratio of density-gradient and ion-temperature-gradient scale lengths, and (3) the role of inverse Landau damping is illustrated for the case of combinedmore » ion-temperature gradient and parallel-flow shear. We find that increasing the ion-temperature gradient reduces the instability threshold for the hydrodynamic parallel-flow shear instability, also known as the parallel Kelvin-Helmholtz instability or the D'Angelo instability. We also find that a kinetic instability arises from the coupled, reinforcing action of both free-energy sources. For the case of comparable electron and ion temperature, we illustrate analytically the transition of the D'Angelo instability to the kinetic instability as (a) the shear parameter, (b) the normalized wavenumber, and (c) the ratio of density-gradient and ion-temperature-gradient scale lengths are varied and we attribute the changes in stability to changes in the amount of inverse ion Landau damping. We show that near a normalized wavenumber k{sub ⊥}ρ{sub i} of order unity (i) the real and imaginary values of frequency become comparable and (ii) the imaginary frequency, i.e., the growth rate, peaks.« less

Effects of laser-plasma instabilities on hydro evolution in an OMEGA-EP long-scale-length experiment

DOE PAGES

Li, J.; Hu, S. X.; Ren, C.

2017-02-28

Laser-plasma instabilities and hydro evolution of the coronal plasma in an OMEGA EP long-scale-length experiment with planar targets were studied with particle-in-cell (PIC) and hydrodynamic simulations. Plasma and laser conditions were first obtained in a two-dimensional DRACO hydro simulation with only inverse-bremsstrahlung absorption. Using these conditions, an OSIRIS PIC simulation was performed to study laser absorption and hot-electron generation caused by laser-plasma instabilities (LPIs) near the quarter-critical region. The obtained PIC information was subsequently coupled to another DRACO simulation to examine how the LPIs affect the overall hydrodynamics. Lastly, the results showed that the LPI-induced laser absorption increased the electronmore » temperature but did not significantly change the density scale length in the corona.« less

Nonlinear excitation of long-wavelength modes in Hall plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lakhin, V. P.; Ilgisonis, V. I.; Smolyakov, A. I.; Sorokina, E. A.

2016-10-01

Hall plasmas with magnetized electrons and unmagnetized ions exhibit a wide range of small scale fluctuations in the lower-hybrid frequency range as well as low-frequency large scale modes. Modulational instability of lower-hybrid frequency modes is investigated in this work for typical conditions in Hall plasma devices such as magnetrons and Hall thrusters. In these conditions, the dispersion of the waves in the lower-hybrid frequency range propagating perpendicular to the external magnetic field is due to the gradients of the magnetic field and the plasma density. It is shown that such lower-hybrid modes are unstable with respect to the secondary instability of the large scale quasimode perturbations. It is suggested that the large scale slow coherent modes observed in a number of Hall plasma devices may be explained as a result of such secondary instabilities.

Effects of laser-plasma instabilities on hydro evolution in an OMEGA-EP long-scale-length experiment

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

Li, J.; Hu, S. X.; Ren, C.

Laser-plasma instabilities and hydro evolution of the coronal plasma in an OMEGA EP long-scale-length experiment with planar targets were studied with particle-in-cell (PIC) and hydrodynamic simulations. Plasma and laser conditions were first obtained in a two-dimensional DRACO hydro simulation with only inverse-bremsstrahlung absorption. Using these conditions, an OSIRIS PIC simulation was performed to study laser absorption and hot-electron generation caused by laser-plasma instabilities (LPIs) near the quarter-critical region. The obtained PIC information was subsequently coupled to another DRACO simulation to examine how the LPIs affect the overall hydrodynamics. Lastly, the results showed that the LPI-induced laser absorption increased the electronmore » temperature but did not significantly change the density scale length in the corona.« less

Relativistic thermal electron scale instabilities in sheared flow plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miller, Evan D.; Rogers, Barrett N.

2016-04-01

> The linear dispersion relation obeyed by finite-temperature, non-magnetized, relativistic two-fluid plasmas is presented, in the special case of a discontinuous bulk velocity profile and parallel wave vectors. It is found that such flows become universally unstable at the collisionless electron skin-depth scale. Further analyses are performed in the limits of either free-streaming ions or ultra-hot plasmas. In these limits, the system is highly unstable in the parameter regimes associated with either the electron scale Kelvin-Helmholtz instability (ESKHI) or the relativistic electron scale sheared flow instability (RESI) recently highlighted by Gruzinov. Coupling between these modes provides further instability throughout the remaining parameter space, provided both shear flow and temperature are finite. An explicit parameter space bound on the highly unstable region is found.

On the resonance amplification of magnetic perturbations near the threshold of tearing instability in a tokamak

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

Arsenin, V. V., E-mail: arsenin-vv@nrcki.ru; Skovoroda, A. A., E-mail: skovoroda-aa@nrcki.ru

2015-12-15

Using a cylindrical model, a relatively simple description is presented of how a magnetic field perturbation stimulated by a low external helical current or a small helical distortion of the boundary and generating magnetic islands penetrates into a plasma column with a magnetic surface q=m/n to which tearing instability is attached. Linear analysis of the classical instability with an aperiodic growth of the perturbation in time shows that the perturbation amplitude in plasma increases in a resonant manner as the discharge parameters approach the threshold of tearing instability. In a stationary case, under the assumption on the helical character ofmore » equilibrium, which can be found from the two-dimensional nonlinear equation for the helical flux, there is no requirement for the small size of the island. Examples of calculations in which magnetic islands are large near the threshold of tearing instability are presented. The bifurcation of equilibrium near the threshold of tearing instability in plasma with a cylindrical boundary, i.e., the existence of helical equilibrium (along with cylindrical equilibrium) with large islands, is described. Moreover, helical equilibrium can also exist in the absence of instability.« less

Interchange Instability and Transport in Matter-Antimatter Plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kendl, Alexander; Danler, Gregor; Wiesenberger, Matthias; Held, Markus

2017-06-01

Symmetric electron-positron plasmas in inhomogeneous magnetic fields are intrinsically subject to interchange instability and transport. Scaling relations for the propagation velocity of density perturbations relevant to transport in isothermal magnetically confined electron-positron plasmas are deduced, including damping effects when Debye lengths are large compared to Larmor radii. The relations are verified by nonlinear full-F gyrofluid computations. Results are analyzed with respect to planned magnetically confined electron-positron plasma experiments. The model is generalized to other matter-antimatter plasmas. Magnetized electron-positron-proton-antiproton plasmas are susceptible to interchange-driven local matter-antimatter separation, which can impede sustained laboratory magnetic confinement.

Interchange Instability and Transport in Matter-Antimatter Plasmas.

PubMed

Kendl, Alexander; Danler, Gregor; Wiesenberger, Matthias; Held, Markus

2017-06-09

Symmetric electron-positron plasmas in inhomogeneous magnetic fields are intrinsically subject to interchange instability and transport. Scaling relations for the propagation velocity of density perturbations relevant to transport in isothermal magnetically confined electron-positron plasmas are deduced, including damping effects when Debye lengths are large compared to Larmor radii. The relations are verified by nonlinear full-F gyrofluid computations. Results are analyzed with respect to planned magnetically confined electron-positron plasma experiments. The model is generalized to other matter-antimatter plasmas. Magnetized electron-positron-proton-antiproton plasmas are susceptible to interchange-driven local matter-antimatter separation, which can impede sustained laboratory magnetic confinement.

High-Speed Imaging of Dusty Plasma Instabilities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tawidian, H.; Couëdel, L.; Mikikian, M.; Lecas, T.; Boufendi, L.; Vallée, O.

2011-11-01

Dust particles in a plasma acquire negative charges by capturing electrons. If the dust particle density is high, a huge loss of free electrons can trigger unstable behaviors in the plasma. Several types of plasma behaviors are analyzed thanks to a high-speed camera like dust particle growth instabilities (DPGI) and a new phenomenon called plasma spheroids. These small plasma spheroids are about a few mm, have a slightly enhanced luminosity, and are observed in the vicinity of the electrodes. Different behaviors are identified for these spheroids like a rotational motion, or a chaotic regime (fast appearance and disappearance).

PIC Simulations of Velocity-space Instabilities in a Decreasing Magnetic Field: Viscosity and Thermal Conduction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Riquelme, Mario; Quataert, Eliot; Verscharen, Daniel

2018-02-01

We use particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations of a collisionless, electron–ion plasma with a decreasing background magnetic field, {\\boldsymbol{B}}, to study the effect of velocity-space instabilities on the viscous heating and thermal conduction of the plasma. If | {\\boldsymbol{B}}| decreases, the adiabatic invariance of the magnetic moment gives rise to pressure anisotropies with {p}| | ,j> {p}\\perp ,j ({p}| | ,j and {p}\\perp ,j represent the pressure of species j (electron or ion) parallel and perpendicular to B ). Linear theory indicates that, for sufficiently large anisotropies, different velocity-space instabilities can be triggered. These instabilities in principle have the ability to pitch-angle scatter the particles, limiting the growth of the anisotropies. Our simulations focus on the nonlinear, saturated regime of the instabilities. This is done through the permanent decrease of | {\\boldsymbol{B}}| by an imposed plasma shear. We show that, in the regime 2≲ {β }j≲ 20 ({β }j\\equiv 8π {p}j/| {\\boldsymbol{B}}{| }2), the saturated ion and electron pressure anisotropies are controlled by the combined effect of the oblique ion firehose and the fast magnetosonic/whistler instabilities. These instabilities grow preferentially on the scale of the ion Larmor radius, and make {{Δ }}{p}e/{p}| | ,e≈ {{Δ }}{p}i/{p}| | ,i (where {{Δ }}{p}j={p}\\perp ,j-{p}| | ,j). We also quantify the thermal conduction of the plasma by directly calculating the mean free path of electrons, {λ }e, along the mean magnetic field, finding that {λ }e depends strongly on whether | {\\boldsymbol{B}}| decreases or increases. Our results can be applied in studies of low-collisionality plasmas such as the solar wind, the intracluster medium, and some accretion disks around black holes.

2D Relativistic MHD simulations of the Kruskal-Schwarzschild instability in a relativistic striped wind

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gill, Ramandeep; Granot, Jonathan; Lyubarsky, Yuri

2018-03-01

We study the linear and non-linear development of the Kruskal-Schwarzchild instability in a relativisitically expanding striped wind. This instability is the generalization of Rayleigh-Taylor instability in the presence of a magnetic field. It has been suggested to produce a self-sustained acceleration mechanism in strongly magnetized outflows found in active galactic nuclei, gamma-ray bursts, and micro-quasars. The instability leads to magnetic reconnection, but in contrast with steady-state Sweet-Parker reconnection, the dissipation rate is not limited by the current layer's small aspect ratio. We performed two-dimensional (2D) relativistic magnetohydrodynamic (RMHD) simulations featuring two cold and highly magnetized (1 ≤ σ ≤ 103) plasma layers with an anti-parallel magnetic field separated by a thin layer of relativistically hot plasma with a local effective gravity induced by the outflow's acceleration. Our simulations show how the heavier relativistically hot plasma in the reconnecting layer drips out and allows oppositely oriented magnetic field lines to reconnect. The instability's growth rate in the linear regime matches the predictions of linear stability analysis. We find turbulence rather than an ordered bulk flow near the reconnection region, with turbulent velocities up to ˜0.1c, largely independent of model parameters. However, the magnetic energy dissipation rate is found to be much slower, corresponding to an effective ordered bulk velocity inflow into the reconnection region vin = βinc of 10-3 ≲ βin ≲ 5 × 10-3. This occurs due to the slow evacuation of hot plasma from the current layer, largely because of the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability experienced by the dripping plasma. 3D RMHD simulations are needed to further investigate the non-linear regime.

Instabilities and transport in Hall plasmas with ExB drift

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smolyakov, Andrei

2016-10-01

Low temperature plasma with moderate magnetic field, where the ions are not or just weakly magnetized, i.e. the ion Larmor radius being larger or comparable to the characteristic length scale of interest (e.g. the size ofthe system), have distinctly different properties from strongly magnetized plasmas such as that for fusion applications. Such parameters regimes are generally defined here as Hall plasmas. The natural scale separation between the ion and electron Larmor radii in Hall plasma, further exploited by the application of the external electric field, offers unique applications in various plasma devices for material processing and electric propulsion. Plasmas in such devices are in strongly non-equilibrium state making it prone to a number of instabilities. This talk presents physics description of the dominant unstable modes in ExB Hall plasmas resulting in highly turbulent state with nonlinear coherent structures and anomalous electron current. Since ions are un-magnetized, fundamental instabilities operating in low temperature Hall plasmas are very different from much studied gradients (density, temperature and magnetic field) driven drift-wave turbulence in strongly magnetized plasmas for fusion applications. As a result the nonlinear saturation mechanisms, role of the ExB shear flows are also markedly different in such plasmas. We review the basic instabilities in these plasmas which are related to the ion-sound, low-hybrid and anti-drift modes, discuss nonlinear saturation and anomalous transport mechanisms. The advanced nonlinear fluid model for such plasmas and results of nonlinear simulations of turbulence and anomalous transport performed within a modified BOUT++ framework will be presented. Research supported by NSERC Canada and US AFOSR FA9550-15-1-0226.

Investigation of the relevant kinetic processes in the initial stage of a double-arcing instability in oxygen plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mancinelli, B.; Prevosto, L.; Chamorro, J. C.; Minotti, F. O.; Kelly, H.

2018-05-01

A numerical investigation of the kinetic processes in the initial (nanosecond range) stage of the double-arcing instability was developed. The plasma-sheath boundary region of an oxygen-operated cutting torch was considered. The energy balance and chemistry processes in the discharge were described. It is shown that the double-arcing instability is a sudden transition from a diffuse (glow-like) discharge to a constricted (arc-like) discharge in the plasma-sheath boundary region arising from a field-emission instability. A critical electric field value of ˜107 V/m was found at the cathodic part of the nozzle wall under the conditions considered. The field-emission instability drives in turn a fast electronic-to-translational energy relaxation mechanism, giving rise to a very fast gas heating rate of at least ˜109 K/s, mainly due to reactions of preliminary dissociation of oxygen molecules via the highly excited electronic state O2(B3Σu-) populated by electron impact. It is expected that this fast oxygen heating rate further stimulates the discharge contraction through the thermal instability mechanism.

Plasma instabilities in the terrestrial magnetosphere - A review of recent theoretical research

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gary, S. Peter

1987-01-01

This paper reviews recent theoretical research on plasma instabilities in the terrestrial magnetosphere. This paper is organized with respect to particle free energies: electron-ion currents, electron beams, ion beams, electron anisotropies and ion anisotropies are successively considered. For each free energy, the associated instability properties are summarized, and their applications to magnetospheric physics are briefly described. Theory and simulations which have established close correlations with observations are emphasized.

Spontaneous magnetic fluctuations and collisionless regulation of the Earth's plasma sheet

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moya, P. S.; Espinoza, C.; Stepanova, M. V.; Antonova, E. E.; Valdivia, J. A.

2017-12-01

Even in the absence of instabilities, plasmas often exhibit inherent electromagnetic fluctuations which are present due to the thermal motion of charged particles, sometimes called thermal (quasi-thermal) noise. One of the fundamental and challenging problems of laboratory, space, and astrophysical plasma physics is the understanding of the relaxation processes of nearly collisionless plasmas, and the resultant state of electromagnetic plasma turbulence. The study of thermal fluctuations can be elegantly addressed by using the Fluctuation-Dissipation Theorem that describes the average amplitude of the fluctuations through correlations of the linear response of the media with the perturbations of the equilibrium state (the dissipation). Recently, it has been shown that solar wind plasma beta and temperature anisotropy observations are bounded by kinetic instabilities such as the ion cyclotron, mirror, and firehose instabilities. The magnetic fluctuations observed within the bounded area are consistent with the predictions of the Fluctuation-Dissipation theorem even far below the kinetic instability thresholds, with an enhancement of the fluctuation level near the thresholds. Here, for the very first time, using in-situ magnetic field and plasma data from the THEMIS spacecraft, we show that such regulation also occurs in the Earth's plasma sheet at the ion scales and that, regardless of the clear differences between the solar wind and the magnetosphere environments, spontaneous fluctuation and their collisionless regulation seem to be fundamental features of space and astrophysical plasmas, suggesting the universality of the processes.

High-Speed Imaging of the First Kink Mode Instability in a Magnetoplasmadynamic Thruster

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Walker, Jonathan A.; Langendof, Samuel; Walker, Mitchell L. R.; Polzin, Kurt; Kimberlin, Adam

2013-01-01

One of the biggest challenges to efficient magnetoplasmadynamic thruster (MPDT) operation is the onset of high-frequency voltage oscillations as the discharge current is increased above a threshold value. The onset regime is closely related to magnetohydrodynamic instabilities known as kink modes. This work documents direct observation of the formation and quasi-steady state behavior of an argon discharge plasma in a MPDT operating at discharge currents of 8 to 10 kA for a pulse length of approximately 4 ms. A high-speed camera images the quasi-steady-state operation of the thruster at 26,143 fps with a frame exposure time of 10 micro s. A 0.9 neutral density filter and 488-nm argon line filter with a 10-nm bandwidth are used on separate trials to capture the time evolution of the discharge plasma. Frame-by-frame analysis of the power flux incident on the CCD sensor shows both the initial discharge plasma formation process and the steady-state behavior of the discharge plasma. Light intensity levels on the order of 4-6 W/m2 indicate radial and azimuthal asymmetries in the concentration of argon plasma in the discharge channel. The plasma concentration exhibits characteristics that suggest the presence of a helical plasma column. This helical behavior has been observed in previous experiments that characterize plasma kink mode instabilities indirectly. Therefore, the direct imaging of these plasma kink modes further supports the link between MPDT onset behavior and the excitation of the magnetohydrodynamic instabilities.

Current flow instability and nonlinear structures in dissipative two-fluid plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koshkarov, O.; Smolyakov, A. I.; Romadanov, I. V.; Chapurin, O.; Umansky, M. V.; Raitses, Y.; Kaganovich, I. D.

2018-01-01

The current flow in two-fluid plasma is inherently unstable if plasma components (e.g., electrons and ions) are in different collisionality regimes. A typical example is a partially magnetized E ×B plasma discharge supported by the energy released from the dissipation of the current in the direction of the applied electric field (perpendicular to the magnetic field). Ions are not magnetized so they respond to the fluctuations of the electric field ballistically on the inertial time scale. In contrast, the electron current in the direction of the applied electric field is dissipatively supported either by classical collisions or anomalous processes. The instability occurs due to a positive feedback between the electron and ion current coupled by the quasi-neutrality condition. The theory of this instability is further developed taking into account the electron inertia, finite Larmor radius and nonlinear effects. It is shown that this instability results in highly nonlinear quasi-coherent structures resembling breathing mode oscillations in Hall thrusters.

Laser plasma interaction on rugby hohlraum on the Omega Laser Facility: Comparisons between cylinder, rugby, and elliptical hohlraums

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Masson-Laborde, P. E.; Monteil, M. C.; Tassin, V.; Philippe, F.; Gauthier, P.; Casner, A.; Depierreux, S.; Neuville, C.; Villette, B.; Laffite, S.; Seytor, P.; Fremerye, P.; Seka, W.; Teychenné, D.; Debayle, A.; Marion, D.; Loiseau, P.; Casanova, M.

2016-02-01

Gas-filled rugby-shaped hohlraums have demonstrated high performances compared to a classical similar diameter cylinder hohlraum with a nearly 40% increase of x-ray drive, 10% higher measured peak drive temperature, and an increase in neutron production. Experimental comparisons have been done between rugby, cylinder, and elliptical hohlraums. The impact of these geometry differences on the laser plasma instabilities is examined. Using comparisons with hydrodynamic simulations carried out with the code FCI2 and postprocessed by Piranah, we have been able to reproduce the stimulated Raman and Brillouin scattering spectrum of the different beams. Using a methodology based on a statistical analysis for the gain calculations, we show that the behavior of the laser plasma instabilities in rugby hohlraums can be reproduced. The efficiency of laser smoothing techniques to mitigate these instabilities are discussed, and we show that while rugby hohlraums exhibit more laser plasma instabilities than cylinder hohlraum, the latter can be mitigated in the case of an elliptical hohlraum.

Investigation of Ion Acoustic Wave Instabilities Near Positive Electrodes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hood, Ryan; Chu, Feng; Baalrud, Scott; Merlino, Robert; Skiff, Fred

2017-10-01

Electron sheaths occur when an electrode is biased above the plasma potential, most often during the electron saturation portion of a Langmuir probe trace. Through the presheath, electrons are accelerated to velocities exceeding the electron thermal speed at the sheath edge, while ions do not develop any appreciable flow. PIC simulations have shown that ion acoustic instabilities are excited by the differential flow between ions and electrons in the presheath region of a low temperature plasma. We present the first experimental measurements investigating these instabilities using Laser-Induced Fluorescence diagnostics in a multidipole argon plasma. The plasma dispersion relation is measured from the power spectra of the imaged LIF signal and compared to the simulation results. In addition, optical pumping is measured using time-resolved LIF measurements and fit to a model in order to determine the diffusion rate, which may be enhanced due to the instability. This research was supported by the Office of Fusion Energy Sciences at the U.S. Department of Energy under contract DE-AC04-94SL85000.

Investigation of MHD Instabilities in Jets and Bubbles Using a Compact Coaxial Plasma Gun in a Background Magnetized Plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Y.; Fisher, D. M.; Wallace, B.; Gilmore, M.; Hsu, S. C.

2016-10-01

A compact coaxial plasma gun is employed for experimental investigation of launching plasma into a lower density background magnetized plasma. Experiments are being conducted in the linear device HelCat at UNM. Four distinct operational regimes with qualitatively different dynamics are identified by fast CCD camera images. For regime I plasma jet formation, a global helical magnetic configuration is determined by a B-dot probe array data. Also the m =1 kink instability is observed and verified. Furthermore, when the jet is propagating into background magnetic field, a longer length and lifetime jet is formed. Axial shear flow caused by the background magnetic tension force contributes to the increased stability of the jet body. In regime II, a spheromak-like plasma bubble formation is identified when the gun plasma is injected into vacuum. In contrast, when the bubble propagates into a background magnetic field, the closed magnetic field configuration does not hold anymore and a lateral side, Reilgh-Taylor instability develops. Detailed experimental data and analysis will be presented for these cases.

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

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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

2016-10-01

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

Thermonuclear instabilities and plasma edge transport in tokamaks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fulop, Tunde Maria

High-energy ions generated by fusion reactions in a burning fusion plasma may give rise to different types of wave instabilities. The present thesis investigates two types of such instabilities which recently have been observed in fusion experiments: the Toroidal Alfvén Eigenmode (TAE) instability and the magnetoacoustic cyclotron instability (MCI) which is predicted to give rise to ion cyclotron emission (ICE). The TAE instability may degrade the confinement of fusion-produced high energy alpha particles and adversely affect the possibilities of reaching ignition. The present work derives it generalized expression for the linear growth rate of the instability, by including the effects of finite orbit width and finite Larmor radius of energetic particles, as well as the effects of mode localization and the possible mode excitation by both passing and trapped energetic ions. ICE does not threaten the plasma performance, but it might be useful as a fast ion diagnostic. The ICE originates from the MCI involving fast magnetoacoustic waves driven unstable by toroidicity-affected cyclotron resonance with fast ions. In the present thesis a detailed numerical and analytical investigation of this instability is presented, that explains most of the experimental ICE features observed in JET and TFTR. Moreover, the radial and poloidal localization of the fast magnetoacoustic eigenmodes is investigated, including the effects of toroidicity, ellipticity, the presence of a subpopulation of high energy ions and various profiles of the bulk ion density. In a fusion reactor, the transport of the particles near the edge have a strong influence on the global confinement of the plasma. In the edge region, where neutral atoms and impurity ions are abundant and the temperature and density gradients are large, the assumptions of the standard neoclassical theory break down. In this thesis, we explore the effect of neutral particles on the ion flow shear in the edge region. Furthermore, the neoclassical transport theory in an impure, toroidally rotating plasma is extended to allow for steeper pressure and temperature gradients than are usually considered.

Observations of shear flows in high-energy-density plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Harding, Eric C.

The research discussed in this thesis represents work toward the demonstration of experimental designs for creating a Kelvin-Helmholtz (KH) unstable shear layer in a high-energy-density (HED) plasma. Such plasmas are formed by irradiating materials with several kilo-Joules of laser light over a few nanoseconds, and are defined as having an internal pressure greater than one-million atmospheres. Similar plasmas exist in laboratory fusion experiments and in the astrophysical environment. The KH instability is a fundamental fluid instability that arises when strong velocity gradients exist at the interface between two fluids. The KH instability is important because it drives the mixing of fluids and initiates the transition to turbulence in the flow. Until now, the evolution of the KH instability has remained relatively unexplored in the HED regime This thesis presents the observations and analysis of two novel experiments carried out using two separate laser facilities. The first experiment used 1.4 kJ from the Nike laser to generate a supersonic flow of Al plasma over a low-density, rippled foam surface. The Al flow interacted with the foam and created distinct features that resulted from compressible effects. In this experiment there is little evidence of the KH instability. Nevertheless, this experimental design has perhaps pioneered a new method for generating a supersonic shear flow that has the potential to produce the KH instability if more laser energy is applied. The second experiment was performed on the Omega laser. In this case 4.3 kJ of laser energy drove a blast wave along a rippled foam/plastic interface. In response to the vorticity deposited and the shear flow established by the blast wave, the interface rolls up into large vorticies characteristic of the KH instability. The Omega experiment was the first HED experiment to capture the evolution of the KH instability.

The effect of internal magnetic structure on the fishbone instability

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

Roberts, D.W.; Powell, E.; Kaita, R.

1992-01-01

Plasmas exhibiting the ``fishbone`` instability studied on the PBX-M tokamak show a distinct relationship between the plasma shape, the internal magnetic structure, and the presence or absence of fast ion losses associated with the fishbone mode. We have, for the first time, carried out measurements of the magnetic safety factor profile in fishbone-unstable plasmas, and used the knowledge of the associated experimental equilibria to compare the stability and fast ion loss properties of these plasmas with experimental observations.

The effect of internal magnetic structure on the fishbone instability

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

Roberts, D.W.; Powell, E.; Kaita, R.

1992-01-01

Plasmas exhibiting the fishbone'' instability studied on the PBX-M tokamak show a distinct relationship between the plasma shape, the internal magnetic structure, and the presence or absence of fast ion losses associated with the fishbone mode. We have, for the first time, carried out measurements of the magnetic safety factor profile in fishbone-unstable plasmas, and used the knowledge of the associated experimental equilibria to compare the stability and fast ion loss properties of these plasmas with experimental observations.

Accurate modeling of the hose instability in plasma wakefield accelerators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mehrling, T. J.; Benedetti, C.; Schroeder, C. B.; Martinez de la Ossa, A.; Osterhoff, J.; Esarey, E.; Leemans, W. P.

2018-05-01

Hosing is a major challenge for the applicability of plasma wakefield accelerators and its modeling is therefore of fundamental importance to facilitate future stable and compact plasma-based particle accelerators. In this contribution, we present a new model for the evolution of the plasma centroid, which enables the accurate investigation of the hose instability in the nonlinear blowout regime. It paves the road for more precise and comprehensive studies of hosing, e.g., with drive and witness beams, which were not possible with previous models.

General cause of sheath instability identified for low collisionality plasmas in devices with secondary electron emission.

PubMed

Campanell, M D; Khrabrov, A V; Kaganovich, I D

2012-06-08

A condition for sheath instability due to secondary electron emission (SEE) is derived for low collisionality plasmas. When the SEE coefficient of the electrons bordering the depleted loss cone in energy space exceeds unity, the sheath potential is unstable to a negative perturbation. This result explains three different instability phenomena observed in Hall thruster simulations including a newly found state with spontaneous ∼20  MHz oscillations. When instabilities occur, the SEE propagating between the walls becomes the dominant contribution to the particle flux, energy loss and axial transport.

White-light parametric instabilities in plasmas.

PubMed

Santos, J E; Silva, L O; Bingham, R

2007-06-08

Parametric instabilities driven by partially coherent radiation in plasmas are described by a generalized statistical Wigner-Moyal set of equations, formally equivalent to the full wave equation, coupled to the plasma fluid equations. A generalized dispersion relation for stimulated Raman scattering driven by a partially coherent pump field is derived, revealing a growth rate dependence, with the coherence width sigma of the radiation field, scaling with 1/sigma for backscattering (three-wave process), and with 1/sigma1/2 for direct forward scattering (four-wave process). Our results demonstrate the possibility to control the growth rates of these instabilities by properly using broadband pump radiation fields.

Collisionless shock experiments with lasers and observation of Weibel instabilities

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

Park, H.-S., E-mail: park1@llnl.gov; Huntington, C. M.; Fiuza, F.

2015-05-15

Astrophysical collisionless shocks are common in the universe, occurring in supernova remnants, gamma ray bursts, and protostellar jets. They appear in colliding plasma flows when the mean free path for ion-ion collisions is much larger than the system size. It is believed that such shocks could be mediated via the electromagnetic Weibel instability in astrophysical environments without pre-existing magnetic fields. Here, we present laboratory experiments using high-power lasers and investigate the dynamics of high-Mach-number collisionless shock formation in two interpenetrating plasma streams. Our recent proton-probe experiments on Omega show the characteristic filamentary structures of the Weibel instability that are electromagneticmore » in nature with an inferred magnetization level as high as ∼1% [C. M. Huntington et al., “Observation of magnetic field generation via the weibel instability in interpenetrating plasma flows,” Nat. Phys. 11, 173–176 (2015)]. These results imply that electromagnetic instabilities are significant in the interaction of astrophysical conditions.« less

Modeling of flow-dominated MHD instabilities at WiPPAL using NIMROD

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Flanagan, K.; McCollam, K. J.; Milhone, J.; Mirnov, V. V.; Nornberg, M. D.; Peterson, E. E.; Siller, R.; Forest, C. B.

2017-10-01

Using the NIMROD (non-ideal MHD with rotation - open discussion) code developed at UW-Madison, we model two different flow scenarios to study the onset of MHD instabilities in flow-dominated plasmas in the Big Red Ball (BRB) and the Plasma Couette Experiment (PCX). Both flows rely on volumetric current drive, where a large current is drawn through the plasma across a weak magnetic field, injecting J × B torque across the whole volume. The first scenario uses a vertical applied magnetic field and a mostly radial injected current to create Couette-like flows which may excite the magnetorotational instability (MRI). In the other scenario, a quadrupolar field is applied to create counter-rotating von Karman-like flow that demonstrates a dynamo-like instability. For both scenarios, the differences between Hall and MHD Ohm's laws are explored. The implementation of BRB geometry in NIMROD, details of the observed flows, and instability results are shown. This work was funded by DoE and NSF.

Temporal evolution of surface ripples on a finite plasma slab subject to the magneto-Rayleigh-Taylor instability

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

Weis, M. R.; Zhang, P.; Lau, Y. Y., E-mail: yylau@umich.edu

2014-12-15

Using the ideal magnetohydrodynamic model, we calculate the temporal evolution of initial ripples on the boundaries of a planar plasma slab that is subjected to the magneto-Rayleigh-Taylor instability. The plasma slab consists of three regions. We assume that in each region the plasma density is constant with an arbitrary value and the magnetic field is also constant with an arbitrary magnitude and an arbitrary direction parallel to the interfaces. Thus, the instability may be driven by a combination of magnetic pressure and kinetic pressure. The general dispersion relation is derived, together with the feedthrough factor between the two interfaces. Themore » temporal evolution is constructed from the superposition of the eigenmodes. Previously established results are recovered in the various limits. Numerical examples are given on the temporal evolution of ripples on the interfaces of the finite plasma slab.« less

Nonlinear dynamics of beam-plasma instability in a finite magnetic field

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bogdankevich, I. L.; Goncharov, P. Yu.; Gusein-zade, N. G.; Ignatov, A. M.

2017-06-01

The nonlinear dynamics of beam-plasma instability in a finite magnetic field is investigated numerically. In particular, it is shown that decay instability can develop. Special attention is paid to the influence of the beam-plasma coupling factor on the spectral characteristics of a plasma relativistic microwave accelerator (PRMA) at different values of the magnetic field. It is shown that two qualitatively different physical regimes take place at two values of the external magnetic field: B 0 = 4.5 kG (Ω ω B p ) and 20 kG (Ω B ≫ ωp). For B 0 = 4.5 kG, close to the actual experimental value, there exists an optimal value of the gap length between the relativistic electron beam and the plasma (and, accordingly, an optimal value of the coupling factor) at which the PRMA output power increases appreciably, while the noise level decreases.

Temporal evolution of surface ripples on a finite plasma slab subject to the magneto-Rayleigh-Taylor instability

DOE PAGES

Weis, Matthew Robert; Zhang, Peng; Lau, Yue Ying; ...

2014-12-17

Using the ideal magnetohydrodynamic model, we calculate the temporal evolution of initial ripples on the boundaries of a planar plasma slab that is subjected to the magneto-Rayleigh-Taylor instability. The plasma slab consists of three regions. We assume that in each region the plasma density is constant with an arbitrary value and the magnetic field is also constant with an arbitrary magnitude and an arbitrary direction parallel to the interfaces. Then, the instability may be driven by a combination of magnetic pressure and kinetic pressure. Thus the general dispersion relation is derived, together with the feedthrough factor between the two interfaces.more » The temporal evolution is constructed from the superposition of the eigenmodes. Those previously established results are recovered in the various limits. Numerical examples are given on the temporal evolution of ripples on the interfaces of the finite plasma slab.« less

Applying Nyquist's method for stability determination to solar wind observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Klein, Kristopher G.; Kasper, Justin C.; Korreck, K. E.; Stevens, Michael L.

2017-10-01

The role instabilities play in governing the evolution of solar and astrophysical plasmas is a matter of considerable scientific interest. The large number of sources of free energy accessible to such nearly collisionless plasmas makes general modeling of unstable behavior, accounting for the temperatures, densities, anisotropies, and relative drifts of a large number of populations, analytically difficult. We therefore seek a general method of stability determination that may be automated for future analysis of solar wind observations. This work describes an efficient application of the Nyquist instability method to the Vlasov dispersion relation appropriate for hot, collisionless, magnetized plasmas, including the solar wind. The algorithm recovers the familiar proton temperature anisotropy instabilities, as well as instabilities that had been previously identified using fits extracted from in situ observations in Gary et al. (2016). Future proposed applications of this method are discussed.

Three-dimensional hybrid modeling of ion kinetic instabilities in space plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ofman, L.

2017-12-01

Ion kinetic instabilities in space plasma are believed to play an imprortant role in energy transport, heating, dissipation of turbulence, as well as in generating of spectrum of magnetic fluctuations in the kinetic frequency range. The velocity distribution functions (VDFs) of unstable ion populations are generally non-Maxwellian and provide the free energy source that drives the waves. The VDFs were measured in-situ by satellites such as Helios, WIND, and would be obtained in the future Parkers' Solar Probe close to the Sun. In particular, temperature anisotropy provides a measure of VDF non-equilibroum structure, that together with parallel-beta determine the threshold of kinetic instabilities, such as mirror, ion-cyclotron, and firehose. Drifting population of alphas with respect to protons lead to the magnetosonic instability. So far, these isntabilities were studied primaraly using 1.5D or 2.5D particle-in-cell (PIC) or hybrid models (where electrons are modeled as a fluid), i.e., in 1 or 2 spatial dimensions with 3 components of velocity and magnetic field. I will present the results of recent full 3D hybrid models that studies these instabilities for heliospheric conditions and compare to previous modeling results. I will discuss the agreement and the differences between the 3D and more approximate models of the VDFs, the magnetic fluctuations spectra, and the temporal evolution of the anisotropy for typical instabilities relevant for space plasma. I will duscuss the use of the modeled VDFs for diagnostic of the physical processes that lead to space plasma energization from the observed VDFs in the heliospheric and magnetospheric plasma.

Oscillating two-stream instability of beat waves in a hot magnetized plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ferdous, T.; Amin, M. R.; Salimullah, M.

1997-02-01

It is shown that an electrostatic electron plasma beat wave is efficiently unstable for a low-frequency and short-wave-length purely growing perturbation (ω, k), i.e. an oscillating two-stream instability in a transversely magnetized hot plasma. The nonlinear response of electrons and ions with strong finite Larmor radius effects has been obtained by solving the Vlasov equation expressed in the guiding-center coordinates. The effect of ion dynamics has been found to play a vital role around ω ∼ ωci, where ωci is the ion-cyclotron frequency. For typical plasma parameters, it is found that the maximum growth rate of the instability is about two orders higher when ion motion is taken into account in addition to the electron dynamics.

Dual-mode resonant instabilities of the surface dust-acoustic wave in a Lorentzian plasma slab

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

Lee, Myoung-Jae; Jung, Young-Dae, E-mail: ydjung@hanyang.ac.kr; Department of Physics, Applied Physics, and Astronomy, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 110 8th Street, Troy, New York 12180-3590

2015-08-15

The dual-mode resonant instabilities of the dust-acoustic surface wave propagating at the plasma-vacuum interfaces of the generalized Lorentzian dusty plasma slab are kinetically investigated. The dispersion relation is derived for the two propagation modes: symmetric and anti-symmetric waves. We have found that the temporal growth rate of the resonant instability increases with an increase of the slab thickness for both modes. Especially, the nonthermality of plasmas enhances the growth rate of the anti-symmetric resonant wave, and the nonthermal effect is enhanced as the slab thickness is increased. It is also found that the growth rate increases with increasing angular frequencymore » of the rotating dust grain due to the enhanced resonant energy exchange.« less

Saturation of the Hosing Instability in Quasilinear Plasma Accelerators

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

Lehe, R.; Schroeder, C. B.; Vay, J. -L.

The beam hosing instability is analyzed theoretically for a witness beam in the quasilinear regime of plasma accelerators. In this regime, the hosing instability saturates, even for a monoenergetic bunch, at a level much less than standard scalings predict. Analytic expressions are derived for the saturation distance and amplitude and are in agreement with numerical results. Saturation is due to the natural head-to-tail variations in the focusing force, including the self-consistent transverse beam loading.

Saturation of the Hosing Instability in Quasilinear Plasma Accelerators

DOE PAGES

Lehe, R.; Schroeder, C. B.; Vay, J. -L.; ...

2017-12-13

The beam hosing instability is analyzed theoretically for a witness beam in the quasilinear regime of plasma accelerators. In this regime, the hosing instability saturates, even for a monoenergetic bunch, at a level much less than standard scalings predict. Analytic expressions are derived for the saturation distance and amplitude and are in agreement with numerical results. Saturation is due to the natural head-to-tail variations in the focusing force, including the self-consistent transverse beam loading.

Energetic particle instabilities in fusion plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sharapov, S. E.; Alper, B.; Berk, H. L.; Borba, D. N.; Breizman, B. N.; Challis, C. D.; Classen, I. G. J.; Edlund, E. M.; Eriksson, J.; Fasoli, A.; Fredrickson, E. D.; Fu, G. Y.; Garcia-Munoz, M.; Gassner, T.; Ghantous, K.; Goloborodko, V.; Gorelenkov, N. N.; Gryaznevich, M. P.; Hacquin, S.; Heidbrink, W. W.; Hellesen, C.; Kiptily, V. G.; Kramer, G. J.; Lauber, P.; Lilley, M. K.; Lisak, M.; Nabais, F.; Nazikian, R.; Nyqvist, R.; Osakabe, M.; Perez von Thun, C.; Pinches, S. D.; Podesta, M.; Porkolab, M.; Shinohara, K.; Schoepf, K.; Todo, Y.; Toi, K.; Van Zeeland, M. A.; Voitsekhovich, I.; White, R. B.; Yavorskij, V.; TG, ITPA EP; Contributors, JET-EFDA

2013-10-01

Remarkable progress has been made in diagnosing energetic particle instabilities on present-day machines and in establishing a theoretical framework for describing them. This overview describes the much improved diagnostics of Alfvén instabilities and modelling tools developed world-wide, and discusses progress in interpreting the observed phenomena. A multi-machine comparison is presented giving information on the performance of both diagnostics and modelling tools for different plasma conditions outlining expectations for ITER based on our present knowledge.

Modulational instability of beat waves in a transversely magnetized plasma: Ion effects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ferdous, T.; Amin, M. R.; Salimullah, M.

1996-05-01

The effect of ion dynamics on the modulational instability of the electrostatic beat wave at the difference frequency of two incident laser beams in a hot, collisionless, and transversely magnetized plasma has been studied theoretically. The full Vlasov equation in terms of gyrokinetic variables is employed to obtain the nonlinear response of ions and electrons. It is found that the growth rate of modulational instability is about two orders higher when ion motions are included.

Excitation of Kelvin Helmholtz instability by an ion beam in a plasma with negatively charged dust grains

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

Rani, Kavita; Sharma, Suresh C.

2015-02-15

An ion beam propagating through a magnetized dusty plasma drives Kelvin Helmholtz Instability (KHI) via Cerenkov interaction. The frequency of the unstable wave increases with the relative density of negatively charged dust grains. It is observed that the beam has stabilizing effect on the growth rate of KHI for low shear parameter, but for high shear parameter, the instability is destabilized with relative density of negatively charged dust grains.

Fluid aspects of electron streaming instability in electron-ion plasmas

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

Jao, C.-S.; Hau, L.-N.; Department of Physics, National Central University, Jhongli, Taiwan

2014-02-15

Electrons streaming in a background electron and ion plasma may lead to the formation of electrostatic solitary wave (ESW) and hole structure which have been observed in various space plasma environments. Past studies on the formation of ESW are mostly based on the particle simulations due to the necessity of incorporating particle's trapping effects. In this study, the fluid aspects and thermodynamics of streaming instabilities in electron-ion plasmas including bi-streaming and bump-on-tail instabilities are addressed based on the comparison between fluid theory and the results from particle-in-cell simulations. The energy closure adopted in the fluid model is the polytropic lawmore » of d(pρ{sup −γ})/dt=0 with γ being a free parameter. Two unstable modes are identified for the bump-on-tail instability and the growth rates as well as the dispersion relation of the streaming instabilities derived from the linear theory are found to be in good agreement with the particle simulations for both bi-streaming and bump-on-tail instabilities. At the nonlinear saturation, 70% of the electrons are trapped inside the potential well for the drift velocity being 20 times of the thermal velocity and the pρ{sup −γ} value is significantly increased. Effects of ion to electron mass ratio on the linear fluid theory and nonlinear simulations are also examined.« less

MHD and resonant instabilities in JT-60SA during current ramp-up with off-axis N-NB injection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bierwage, A.; Toma, M.; Shinohara, K.

2017-12-01

The excitation of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) and resonant instabilities and their effect on the plasma profiles during the current ramp-up phase of a beam-driven JT-60SA tokamak plasma is studied using the MHD-PIC hybrid code MEGA. In the simple scenario considered, the plasma is only driven by one negative-ion-based neutral beam, depositing 500 keV deuterons at 5 MW power off-axis at about mid-radius. The beam injection starts half-way in the ramp-up phase. Within 1 s, the beam-driven plasma current and fast ion pressure produce a configuration that is strongly unstable to rapidly growing MHD and resonant modes. Using MEGA, modes with low toroidal mode numbers in the range n = 1-4 are examined in detail and shown to cause substantial changes in the plasma profiles. The necessity to develop reduced models and incorporate the effects of such instabilities in integrated codes used to simulate the evolution of entire plasma discharges is discussed.

Observations of a field-aligned ion/ion-beam instability in a magnetized laboratory plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Heuer, P. V.; Weidl, M. S.; Dorst, R. S.; Schaeffer, D. B.; Bondarenko, A. S.; Tripathi, S. K. P.; Van Compernolle, B.; Vincena, S.; Constantin, C. G.; Niemann, C.; Winske, D.

2018-03-01

Collisionless coupling between super Alfvénic ions and an ambient plasma parallel to a background magnetic field is mediated by a set of electromagnetic ion/ion-beam instabilities including the resonant right hand instability (RHI). To study this coupling and its role in parallel shock formation, a new experimental configuration at the University of California, Los Angeles utilizes high-energy and high-repetition-rate lasers to create a super-Alfvénic field-aligned debris plasma within an ambient plasma in the Large Plasma Device. We used a time-resolved fluorescence monochromator and an array of Langmuir probes to characterize the laser plasma velocity distribution and density. The debris ions were observed to be sufficiently super-Alfvénic and dense to excite the RHI. Measurements with magnetic flux probes exhibited a right-hand circularly polarized frequency chirp consistent with the excitation of the RHI near the laser target. We compared measurements to 2D hybrid simulations of the experiment.

Observations of a field-aligned ion/ion-beam instability in a magnetized laboratory plasma

DOE PAGES

Heuer, P. V.; Weidl, M. S.; Dorst, R. S.; ...

2018-03-01

Collisionless coupling between super Alfvénic ions and an ambient plasma parallel to a background magnetic field is mediated by a set of electromagnetic ion/ion-beam instabilities including the resonant right hand instability (RHI). To study this coupling and its role in parallel shock formation, a new experimental configuration at the University of California, Los Angeles utilizes high-energy and high-repetition-rate lasers to create a super-Alfvénic field-aligned debris plasma within an ambient plasma in the Large Plasma Device. We used a time-resolved fluorescence monochromator and an array of Langmuir probes to characterize the laser plasma velocity distribution and density. The debris ions weremore » observed to be sufficiently super-Alfvénic and dense to excite the RHI. Measurements with magnetic flux probes exhibited a right-hand circularly polarized frequency chirp consistent with the excitation of the RHI near the laser target. To conclude, we compared measurements to 2D hybrid simulations of the experiment.« less

Observations of a field-aligned ion/ion-beam instability in a magnetized laboratory plasma

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

Heuer, P. V.; Weidl, M. S.; Dorst, R. S.

Collisionless coupling between super Alfvénic ions and an ambient plasma parallel to a background magnetic field is mediated by a set of electromagnetic ion/ion-beam instabilities including the resonant right hand instability (RHI). To study this coupling and its role in parallel shock formation, a new experimental configuration at the University of California, Los Angeles utilizes high-energy and high-repetition-rate lasers to create a super-Alfvénic field-aligned debris plasma within an ambient plasma in the Large Plasma Device. We used a time-resolved fluorescence monochromator and an array of Langmuir probes to characterize the laser plasma velocity distribution and density. The debris ions weremore » observed to be sufficiently super-Alfvénic and dense to excite the RHI. Measurements with magnetic flux probes exhibited a right-hand circularly polarized frequency chirp consistent with the excitation of the RHI near the laser target. To conclude, we compared measurements to 2D hybrid simulations of the experiment.« less

Kinematic Mechanism of Plasma Electron Hole Transverse Instability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hutchinson, I. H.

2018-05-01

It is shown through multidimensional particle-in-cell simulations that at least in Maxwellian background plasmas the long-wavelength transverse instability of plasma electron holes is caused not by the previously proposed focusing of trapped particles but instead by kinematic jetting of marginally passing electrons. The mechanism is explained and heuristic analytic estimates obtained which agree with the growth rates and transverse wave numbers observed in the simulations.

Cryogenic pellet launcher adapted for controlling of tokamak plasma edge instabilities.

PubMed

Lang, P T; Cierpka, P; Harhausen, J; Neuhauser, J; Wittmann, C; Gál, K; Kálvin, S; Kocsis, G; Sárközi, J; Szepesi, T; Dorner, C; Kauke, G

2007-02-01

One of the main challenges posed recently on pellet launcher systems in fusion-oriented plasma physics is the control of the plasma edge region. Strong energy bursts ejected from the plasma due to edge localized modes (ELMs) can form a severe threat for in-vessel components but can be mitigated by sufficiently frequent triggering of the underlying instabilities using hydrogen isotope pellet injection. However, pellet injection systems developed mainly for the task of ELM control, keeping the unwanted pellet fueling minimized, are still missing. Here, we report on a novel system developed under the premise of its suitability for control and mitigation of plasma edge instabilities. The system is based on the blower gun principle and is capable of combining high repetition rates up to 143 Hz with low pellet velocities. Thus, the flexibility of the accessible injection geometry can be maximized and the pellet size kept low. As a result the new system allows for an enhancement in the tokamak operation as well as for more sophisticated experiments investigating the underlying physics of the plasma edge instabilities. This article reports on the design of the new system, its main operational characteristics as determined in extensive test bed runs, and also its first test at the tokamak experiment ASDEX Upgrade.

Evolution of Magnetic Rayleigh–Taylor Instability into the Outer Solar Corona and Low Interplanetary Space

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mishra, Sudheer K.; Singh, Talwinder; Kayshap, P.; Srivastava, A. K.

2018-03-01

We analyze the observations from Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory (STEREO)-A and B/COR-1 of an eruptive prominence in the intermediate corona on 2011 June 7 at 08:45 UT, which consists of magnetic Rayleigh–Taylor (MRT) unstable plasma segments. Its upper-northward segment shows spatio-temporal evolution of MRT instability in form of finger structures up to the outer corona and low interplanetary space. Using the method of Dolei et al., It is estimated that the density in each bright finger is greater than the corresponding dark region lying below it in the surrounding intermediate corona. The instability is evolved due to wave perturbations that are parallel to the magnetic field at the density interface. We conjecture that the prominence plasma is supported by tension component of the magnetic field against gravity. Through the use of linear stability theory, the magnetic field is estimated as 21–40 mG to suppress growth of MRT instability in the observed finger structures. In the southward plasma segment, a horn-like structure is observed at 11:55 UT in the intermediate corona that also indicates MRT instability. Falling blobs are also observed in both of the plasma segments. In the outer corona, up to 6–13 solar radii, the mushroom-like plasma structures have been identified in the upper-northward MRT unstable plasma segment using STEREO-A/COR-2. These structures most likely grew due to the breaking and twisting of fingers at large spatial scales in weaker magnetic fields. In the lower interplanetary space up to 20 solar radii, these structures are fragmented into various small-scale localized plasma spikes, most likely due to turbulent mixing.

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

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gravier, E.; Plaut, E.

2013-04-01

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

Studies of central interactions of Si ions at 14.5 x A GeV/c in Au and Cu

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eiseman, S. E.; Etkin, A.; Foley, K. J.; Hackenburg, R. W.; Longacre, R. S.; Love, W. A.; Morris, T. W.; Platner, E. D.; Saulys, A. C.; Lindenbaum, S. J.

Understanding the growth and saturation of parametric instabilities in laser-produced plasmas requires knowledge of the nonlinear properties of the instabilities and their interaction with each other. Nonlinear behavior of parametric instabilities, which are usually associated with unique optical features, were evidenced in numerous experiments on a variety of laser facilities. Four examples of nonlinear behavior in laser-produced plasmas are discussed: nonlinear stimulated Brillouin scattering spectra, suppression of stimulated Raman scattering by stimulated Brillouin scattering, the parametric decay instability and the onset of turbulence, and the transition to bursting behavior of the two-plasmon decay instability. Experiments are discussed that demonstrate the nonlinear effects which occur as a consequence.

Ion heating, burnout of the high-frequency field, and ion sound generation under the development of a modulation instability of an intense Langmuir wave in a plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kirichok, A. V.; Kuklin, V. M.; Pryimak, A. V.; Zagorodny, A. G.

2015-09-01

The development of one-dimensional parametric instabilities of intense long plasma waves is considered in terms of the so-called hybrid models, with electrons being treated as a fluid and ions being regarded as particles. The analysis is performed for both cases when the average plasma field energy is lower (Zakharov's hybrid model—ZHM) or greater (Silin's hybrid model—SHM) than the plasma thermal energy. The efficiency of energy transfer to ions and to ion perturbations under the development of the instability is considered for various values of electron-to-ion mass ratios. The energy of low-frequency oscillations (ion-sound waves) is found to be much lower than the final ion kinetic energy. We also discuss the influence of the changes in the damping rate of the high-frequency (HF) field on the instability development. The decrease of the absorption of the HF field inhibits the HF field burnout within plasma density cavities and gives rise to the broadening of the HF spectrum. At the same time, the ion velocity distribution tends to the normal distribution in both ZHM and SHM.

Ion heating, burnout of the high-frequency field, and ion sound generation under the development of a modulation instability of an intense Langmuir wave in a plasma

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

Kirichok, A. V., E-mail: sandyrcs@gmail.com; Kuklin, V. M.; Pryimak, A. V.

The development of one-dimensional parametric instabilities of intense long plasma waves is considered in terms of the so-called hybrid models, with electrons being treated as a fluid and ions being regarded as particles. The analysis is performed for both cases when the average plasma field energy is lower (Zakharov's hybrid model—ZHM) or greater (Silin's hybrid model—SHM) than the plasma thermal energy. The efficiency of energy transfer to ions and to ion perturbations under the development of the instability is considered for various values of electron-to-ion mass ratios. The energy of low-frequency oscillations (ion-sound waves) is found to be much lowermore » than the final ion kinetic energy. We also discuss the influence of the changes in the damping rate of the high-frequency (HF) field on the instability development. The decrease of the absorption of the HF field inhibits the HF field burnout within plasma density cavities and gives rise to the broadening of the HF spectrum. At the same time, the ion velocity distribution tends to the normal distribution in both ZHM and SHM.« less

Robustness of the filamentation instability as shock mediator in arbitrarily oriented magnetic field

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

Bret, A.; Alvaro, E. Perez

2011-08-15

The filamentation instability (sometimes also referred to as ''Weibel'') is a key process in many astrophysical scenario. In the Fireball model for gamma ray bursts, this instability is believed to mediate collisionless shock formation from the collision of two plasma shells. It has been known for long that a flow aligned magnetic field can completely cancel this instability. We show here that in the general case where there is an angle between the field and the flow, the filamentation instability can never be stabilized, regardless of the field strength. The presented model analyzes the stability of two symmetric counter-streaming coldmore » electron/proton plasma shells. Relativistic effects are accounted for, and various exact analytical results are derived. This result guarantees the occurrence of the instability in realistic settings fulfilling the cold approximation.« less

Non-thermal plasma instabilities induced by deformation of the electron energy distribution function

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dyatko, N. A.; Kochetov, I. V.; Napartovich, A. P.

2014-08-01

Non-thermal plasma is a key component in gas lasers, microelectronics, medical applications, waste gas cleaners, ozone generators, plasma igniters, flame holders, flow control in high-speed aerodynamics and others. A specific feature of non-thermal plasma is its high sensitivity to variations in governing parameters (gas composition, pressure, pulse duration, E/N parameter). This sensitivity is due to complex deformations of the electron energy distribution function (EEDF) shape induced by variations in electric field strength, electron and ion number densities and gas excitation degree. Particular attention in this article is paid to mechanisms of instabilities based on non-linearity of plasma properties for specific conditions: gas composition, steady-state and decaying plasma produced by the electron beam, or by an electric current pulse. The following effects are analyzed: the negative differential electron conductivity; the absolute negative electron mobility; the stepwise changes of plasma properties induced by the EEDF bi-stability; thermo-current instability and the constriction of the glow discharge column in rare gases. Some of these effects were observed experimentally and some of them were theoretically predicted and still wait for experimental confirmation.

The general dispersion relation of induced streaming instabilities in quantum outflow systems

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

Mehdian, H., E-mail: mehdian@khu.ac.ir; Hajisharifi, K.; Hasanbeigi, A.

2015-11-15

In this manuscript the dispersion relations of streaming instabilities, by using the unique property (neutralized in charge and current by default) of plasma shells colliding, have been generalized and studied. This interesting property for interpenetrating beams enables one to find the general dispersion relations without any restrictions used in the previous works in this area. In our previous work [H. Mehdian et al., ApJ. 801, 89 (2015)], employing the plasma shell concept and boost frame method, the general dispersion relation for filamentation instability has been derived in the relativistic classical regime. But in this paper, using the above mentioned concepts,more » the general dispersion relations (for each of streaming instabilities, filamentation, two-stream and multi-stream) in the non-relativistic quantum regime have been derived by employing the quantum fluid equations together with Maxwell equations. The derived dispersion relations enable to describe any arbitrary system of interacting two and three beams, justified neutralization condition, by choosing the inertial reference frame embedded on the one of the beams. Furthermore, by the numerical and analytical study of these dispersion relations, many new features of streaming instabilities (E.g. their cut-off wave numbers and growth rates) in terms of all involved parameters have been illustrated. The obtained results in this paper can be used to describe many astrophysical systems and laboratory astrophysics setting, such as collision of non-parallel plasma shells over a background plasma or the collision of three neutralized plasma slabs, and justifying the many plasma phenomena such as particle accelerations and induced fields.« less

The general dispersion relation of induced streaming instabilities in quantum outflow systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mehdian, H.; Hajisharifi, K.; Hasanbeigi, A.

2015-11-01

In this manuscript the dispersion relations of streaming instabilities, by using the unique property (neutralized in charge and current by default) of plasma shells colliding, have been generalized and studied. This interesting property for interpenetrating beams enables one to find the general dispersion relations without any restrictions used in the previous works in this area. In our previous work [H. Mehdian et al., ApJ. 801, 89 (2015)], employing the plasma shell concept and boost frame method, the general dispersion relation for filamentation instability has been derived in the relativistic classical regime. But in this paper, using the above mentioned concepts, the general dispersion relations (for each of streaming instabilities, filamentation, two-stream and multi-stream) in the non-relativistic quantum regime have been derived by employing the quantum fluid equations together with Maxwell equations. The derived dispersion relations enable to describe any arbitrary system of interacting two and three beams, justified neutralization condition, by choosing the inertial reference frame embedded on the one of the beams. Furthermore, by the numerical and analytical study of these dispersion relations, many new features of streaming instabilities (E.g. their cut-off wave numbers and growth rates) in terms of all involved parameters have been illustrated. The obtained results in this paper can be used to describe many astrophysical systems and laboratory astrophysics setting, such as collision of non-parallel plasma shells over a background plasma or the collision of three neutralized plasma slabs, and justifying the many plasma phenomena such as particle accelerations and induced fields.

Jeans instability of rotating magnetized quantum plasma: Influence of radiation

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

Joshi, H., E-mail: hjoshi8525@yahoo.com; Pensia, R. K.

2015-07-31

The effect of radiative heat-loss function and rotation on the Jeans instability of quantum plasma is investigated. The basic set of equations for this problem is constructed by considering quantum magnetohydrodynamic (QMHD) model. Using normal mode analysis, the general dispersion relation is obtained. This dispersion relation is studied in both, longitudinal and transverse direction of propagations. In both case of longitudinal and transverse direction of propagation, the Jeans instability criterion is modified due to presence of radiative heat-loss function and quantum correction.

First Simulations of a Collisional Two-Stream Instability in the Chromosphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oppenheim, Meers; Dimant, Yakov; Madsen, Chad Allen; Fontenla, Juan

2014-06-01

Observations and modeling shows that immediately above the temperature minimum in the solar atmosphere, a steep rise from below 4,000 K to over 6,000K occurs. Recent papers show that a collisional two-stream plasma instability called the Farley-Buneman Instability can develop at the altitudes where this increase occurs. This instability may play an important role in transferring energy from turbulent neutral flows originating in the photosphere to the mid-chromosphere in the form of heat. Plasma turbulence resulting from this instability could account for some or most of this intense chromospheric heating. This paper presents a set of simulations showing the development and evolution of the Farley-Buneman Instability (FBI) applicable to the chromosphere. It compares these results with the better-understood ionospheric FBI. It examines the linear behavior and the dependence of growth rates for a range of altitudes and driving flows. It also presents the first study of FBI driven plasma nonlinearities and turbulence in the chromosphere. This research should help us evaluate the FBI as a mechanism to convert neutral flow and turbulence energy into electron thermal energy in the quiet Sun.

Experimental Investigation of the Electrothermal Instability on Planar Foil Ablation Experiments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Steiner, Adam; Patel, Sonal; Yager-Elorriaga, David; Jordan, Nicholas; Gilgenbach, Ronald; Lau, Y. Y.

2014-10-01

The electrothermal instability (ETI) is an important early-time physical effect on pulsed power foil ablation experiments due to its ability to seed the destructive magneto-Rayleigh-Taylor (MRT) instability. ETI occurs whenever electrical resistivity has temperature dependence; when resistivity increases with temperature, as with solid metal liners or foils, ETI forms striation structures perpendicular to current flow. These striations provide an initial perturbation for the MRT instability, which is the dominant late-time instability in planar foil ablations. The MAIZE linear transformer driver was used to drive current pulses of approximately 600 kA into 400 nm-thick aluminum foils in order to study ETI in planar geometry. Shadowgraph images of the aluminum plasmas were taken for multiple shots at various times within approximately 50 ns of current start. Fourier analysis extracted the approximate wavelengths of the instability structures on the plasma-vacuum interface. Surface metrology of pre-shot foils was performed to provide a comparison between surface roughness features and resulting plasma structure. This work was supported by US DoE. S.G. Patel and A.M. Steiner supported by NPSC funded by Sandia. D.A. Yager supported by NSF fellowship Grant # DGE 1256260.

Beam-plasma instability in the presence of low-frequency turbulence. [during type 3 solar emission

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Goldman, M. V.; Dubois, D. F.

1982-01-01

General equations are derived for a linear beam-plasma instability in the presence of low-frequency turbulence. Within a 'quasi-linear' statistical approximation, these equations contain Langmuir wave scattering, diffusion, resonant and nonresonant anomalous absorption, and a 'plasma laser' effect. It is proposed that naturally occurring density irregularities in the solar wind may stabilize the beam-unstable Langmuir waves which occur during type III solar emissions.

Energetic-ion-driven global instabilities in stellarator/helical plasmas and comparison with tokamak plasmas

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

Toi, K.; Ogawa, K.; Isobe, M.

2011-01-01

Comprehensive understanding of energetic-ion-driven global instabilities such as Alfven eigenmodes (AEs) and their impact on energetic ions and bulk plasma is crucially important for tokamak and stellarator/helical plasmas and in the future for deuterium-tritium (DT) burning plasma experiments. Various types of global modes and their associated enhanced energetic ion transport are commonly observed in toroidal plasmas. Toroidicity-induced AEs and ellipticity-induced AEs, whose gaps are generated through poloidal mode coupling, are observed in both tokamak and stellarator/helical plasmas. Global AEs and reversed shear AEs, where toroidal couplings are not as dominant were also observed in those plasmas. Helicity induced AEs thatmore » exist only in 3D plasmas are observed in the large helical device (LHD) and Wendelstein 7 Advanced Stellarator plasmas. In addition, the geodesic acoustic mode that comes from plasma compressibility is destabilized by energetic ions in both tokamak and LHD plasmas. Nonlinear interaction of these modes and their influence on the confinement of the bulk plasma as well as energetic ions are observed in both plasmas. In this paper, the similarities and differences in these instabilities and their consequences for tokamak and stellarator/helical plasmas are summarized through comparison with the data sets obtained in LHD. In particular, this paper focuses on the differences caused by the rotational transform profile and the 2D or 3D geometrical structure of the plasma equilibrium. Important issues left for future study are listed.« less

On a nonlinear state of the electromagnetic ion/ion cyclotron instability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cremer, M.; Scholer, M.

We have investigated the nonlinear properties of the electromagnetic ion/ion cyclotron instability (EMIIC) by means of hybrid simulations (macroparticle ions, massless electron fluid). The instability is driven by the relative (super-Alfvénic) streaming of two field-aligned ion beams in a low beta plasma (ion thermal pressure to magnetic field pressure) and may be of importance in the plasma sheet boundary layer. As shown in previously reported simulations the waves propagate obliquely to the magnetic field and heat the ions in the perpendicular direction as the relative beam velocity decreases. By running the simulation to large times it can be shown that the large temperature anisotropy leads to the ion cyclotron instability (IC) with parallel propagating Alfvén ion cyclotron waves. This is confirmed by numerically solving the electromagnetic dispersion relation. An application of this property to the plasma sheet boundary layer is discussed.

Quantum Space Charge Waves in a Waveguide Filled with Fermi-Dirac Plasmas Including Relativistic Wake Field and Quantum Statistical Pressure Effects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hong, Woo-Pyo; Jung, Young-Dae

2018-03-01

The effects of quantum statistical degeneracy pressure on the propagation of the quantum space charge wave are investigated in a cylindrically bounded plasma waveguide filled with relativistically degenerate quantum Fermi-Dirac plasmas and the relativistic ion wake field. The results show that the domain of the degenerate parameter for the resonant beam instability significantly increases with an increase of the scaled beam velocity. It is found that the instability domain of the wave number increases with an increase of the degenerate parameter. It is also found that the growth rate for the resonant beam instability decreases with an increase of the degenerate parameter. In addition, it is shown that the lowest harmonic mode provides the maximum value of the growth rates. Moreover, it is shown that the instability domain of the wave number decreases with an increase of the beam velocity.

Accurate modeling of the hose instability in plasma wakefield accelerators

DOE PAGES

Mehrling, T. J.; Benedetti, C.; Schroeder, C. B.; ...

2018-05-20

Hosing is a major challenge for the applicability of plasma wakefield accelerators and its modeling is therefore of fundamental importance to facilitate future stable and compact plasma-based particle accelerators. In this contribution, we present a new model for the evolution of the plasma centroid, which enables the accurate investigation of the hose instability in the nonlinear blowout regime. Lastly, it paves the road for more precise and comprehensive studies of hosing, e.g., with drive and witness beams, which were not possible with previous models.

Accurate modeling of the hose instability in plasma wakefield accelerators

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

Mehrling, T. J.; Benedetti, C.; Schroeder, C. B.

Hosing is a major challenge for the applicability of plasma wakefield accelerators and its modeling is therefore of fundamental importance to facilitate future stable and compact plasma-based particle accelerators. In this contribution, we present a new model for the evolution of the plasma centroid, which enables the accurate investigation of the hose instability in the nonlinear blowout regime. Lastly, it paves the road for more precise and comprehensive studies of hosing, e.g., with drive and witness beams, which were not possible with previous models.

Confinement time of electron plasma approaching magnetic pumping transport limit in small aspect ratio C-shaped torus

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lachhvani, Lavkesh; Pahari, Sambaran; Goswami, Rajiv; Bajpai, Manu; Yeole, Yogesh; Chattopadhyay, P. K.

2016-06-01

A long confinement time of electron plasma, approaching magnetic pumping transport limit, has been observed in SMARTEX-C (a small aspect ratio partial torus with R o / a ˜ 1.59 ). Investigations of the growth rate reveal that they are governed by instabilities like resistive wall destabilization, ion driven instabilities, and electron-neutral collisions. Successful confinement of electron plasmas exceeding > 1 × 10 5 poloidal E → × B → rotations lasting for nearly 2.1 ± 0.1 s is achieved by suppressing these instabilities. The confinement time has been estimated in two ways: (a) from the frequency scaling of the linear diocotron mode launched from sections of the wall that are also used as capacitive probes and (b) by dumping the plasma onto a charge collector at different hold times.

Short-wavelength plasma turbulence and temperature anisotropy instabilities: Recent computational progress

DOE PAGES

Gary, S. Peter

2015-04-06

Plasma turbulence consists of an ensemble of enhanced, broadband electromagnetic fluctuations, typically driven by multi-wave interactions which transfer energy in wavevector space via non- linear cascade processes. In addition, temperature anisotropy instabilities in collisionless plasmas are driven by quasi-linear wave–particle interactions which transfer particle kinetic energy to field fluctuation energy; the resulting enhanced fluctuations are typically narrowband in wavevector magnitude and direction. Whatever their sources, short-wavelength fluctuations are those at which charged particle kinetic, that is, velocity-space, properties are important; these are generally wavelengths of the order of or shorter than the ion inertial length or the thermal ion gyroradius.more » The purpose of this review is to summarize and interpret recent computational results concerning short-wavelength plasma turbulence, short-wavelength temperature anisotropy instabilities and relationships between the two phenomena.« less

Elimination of numerical Cherenkov instability in flowing-plasma particle-in-cell simulations by using Galilean coordinates

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

Lehe, Remi; Kirchen, Manuel; Godfrey, Brendan B.

Particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations of relativistic flowing plasmas are of key interest to several fields of physics (including, e.g., laser-wakefield acceleration, when viewed in a Lorentz-boosted frame) but remain sometimes infeasible due to the well-known numerical Cherenkov instability (NCI). In this article, we show that, for a plasma drifting at a uniform relativistic velocity, the NCI can be eliminated by simply integrating the PIC equations in Galilean coordinates that follow the plasma (also sometimes known as comoving coordinates) within a spectral analytical framework. The elimination of the NCI is verified empirically and confirmed by a theoretical analysis of the instability. Moreover,more » it is shown that this method is applicable both to Cartesian geometry and to cylindrical geometry with azimuthal Fourier decomposition.« less

Elimination of numerical Cherenkov instability in flowing-plasma particle-in-cell simulations by using Galilean coordinates

DOE PAGES

Lehe, Remi; Kirchen, Manuel; Godfrey, Brendan B.; ...

2016-11-14

Particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations of relativistic flowing plasmas are of key interest to several fields of physics (including, e.g., laser-wakefield acceleration, when viewed in a Lorentz-boosted frame) but remain sometimes infeasible due to the well-known numerical Cherenkov instability (NCI). In this article, we show that, for a plasma drifting at a uniform relativistic velocity, the NCI can be eliminated by simply integrating the PIC equations in Galilean coordinates that follow the plasma (also sometimes known as comoving coordinates) within a spectral analytical framework. The elimination of the NCI is verified empirically and confirmed by a theoretical analysis of the instability. Moreover,more » it is shown that this method is applicable both to Cartesian geometry and to cylindrical geometry with azimuthal Fourier decomposition.« less

Charge separation and transport of the n=2 instability in C-2 FRC plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Deng, Bihe; Sun, Xuan; Tuszewski, Michel

2012-10-01

Charge separation is critical in the positive feedback loop for gravitational type instabilities to grow [1], such as in the case of the n=2 mode in the C-2 field reversed configuration (FRC) experiment [2]. A fast time response Langmuir probe with minimum perturbation to the plasma is inserted into the edge of the C-2 plasma to measure the plasma floating potential. With the combined plasma wobble motion and spin motion, 2-D scans of the plasma floating potential are obtained, and evidence of charge separation associated with the n=2 instability is observed. The transport due to charge separation is estimated. Charge neutralization can provide an alternative method to stabilize the n=2 mode. An experiment is proposed to test this method with two probes inserted into the plasma from two azimuthally separated ports and an external shorting circuit, to constantly neutralize the charge separation, thus suppress the growth of the n=2 mode. [4pt] [1] R.J. Goldston and P.H. Rutherford, Introduction to Plasma Physics (Institute of Physics Publishing, Bristol, 2000).[0pt] [2]. M.W. Binderbauer et al, Phys. Rev. Lett. 105, 045003 (2010).

Amplitude modulation of quantum-ion-acoustic wavepackets in electron-positron-ion plasmas: Modulational instability, envelope modes, extreme wavesa)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rahman, Ata-ur-; Kerr, Michael Mc; El-Taibany, Wael F.; Kourakis, Ioannis; Qamar, A.

2015-02-01

A semirelativistic fluid model is employed to describe the nonlinear amplitude modulation of low-frequency (ionic scale) electrostatic waves in an unmagnetized electron-positron-ion plasma. Electrons and positrons are assumed to be degenerated and inertialess, whereas ions are warm and classical. A multiscale perturbation method is used to derive a nonlinear Schrödinger equation for the envelope amplitude, based on which the occurrence of modulational instability is investigated in detail. Various types of localized ion acoustic excitations are shown to exist, in the form of either bright type envelope solitons (envelope pulses) or dark-type envelope solitons (voids, holes). The plasma configurational parameters (namely, the relativistic degeneracy parameter, the positron concentration, and the ionic temperature) are shown to affect the conditions for modulational instability significantly, in fact modifying the associated threshold as well as the instability growth rate. In particular, the relativistic degeneracy parameter leads to an enhancement of the modulational instability mechanism. Furthermore, the effect of different relevant plasma parameters on the characteristics (amplitude, width) of these envelope solitary structures is also presented in detail. Finally, the occurrence of extreme amplitude excitation (rogue waves) is also discussed briefly. Our results aim at elucidating the formation and dynamics of nonlinear electrostatic excitations in superdense astrophysical regimes.

Instability of a witness bunch in a plasma bubble

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

Burov, A.; Lebedev, V.; Nagaitsev, S.

2016-02-16

The stability of a trailing witness bunch, accelerated by a plasma wake accelerator (PWA) in a blow-out regime, is discussed. The instability growth rate as well as the energy spread, required for BNS damping, are obtained. A relationship between the PWA power efficiency and the BNS energy spread is derived.

Effects of energetic particle phase space modifications by instabilities on integrated modeling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Podestà, M.; Gorelenkova, M.; Fredrickson, E. D.; Gorelenkov, N. N.; White, R. B.

2016-11-01

Tokamak plasmas can feature a large population of energetic particles (EP) from neutral beam injection or fusion reactions. In turn, energetic particles can drive instabilities, which affect the driving EP population leading to a distortion of the original EP distribution function and of quantities that depend on it. The latter include, for example, neutral beam (NB) current drive and plasma heating through EP thermalization. Those effects must be taken into account to enable reliable and quantitative simulations of discharges for present devices as well as predictions for future burning plasmas. Reduced models for EP transport are emerging as an effective tool for long time-scale integrated simulations of tokamak plasmas, possibly including the effects of instabilities on EP dynamics. Available models differ in how EP distribution properties are modified by instabilities, e.g. in terms of gradients in real or phase space. It is therefore crucial to assess to what extent different assumptions in the transport models affect predicted quantities such as EP profile, energy distribution, NB driven current and energy/momentum transfer to the thermal populations. A newly developed kick model, which includes modifications of the EP distribution by instabilities in both real and velocity space, is used in this work to investigate these issues. Coupled to TRANSP simulations, the kick model is used to analyze NB-heated NSTX and DIII-D discharges featuring unstable Alfvén eigenmodes (AEs). Results show that instabilities can strongly affect the EP distribution function, and modifications propagate to macroscopic quantities such as NB-driven current profile and NB power transferred to the thermal plasma species. Those important aspects are only qualitatively captured by simpler fast ion transport models that are based on radial diffusion of energetic ions only.

Effects of energetic particle phase space modifications by instabilities on integrated modeling

DOE PAGES

Podesta, M.; Gorelenkova, M.; Fredrickson, E. D.; ...

2016-07-22

Tokamak plasmas can feature a large population of energetic particles (EP) from neutral beam injection or fusion reactions. In turn, energetic particles can drive instabilities, which affect the driving EP population leading to a distortion of the original EP distribution function and of quantities that depend on it. The latter include, for example, neutral beam (NB) current drive and plasma heating through EP thermalization. Those effects must be taken into account to enable reliable and quantitative simulations of discharges for present devices as well as predictions for future burning plasmas. Reduced models for EP transport are emerging as an effectivemore » tool for long time-scale integrated simulations of tokamak plasmas, possibly including the effects of instabilities on EP dynamics. Available models differ in how EP distribution properties are modified by instabilities, e.g. in terms of gradients in real or phase space. It is therefore crucial to assess to what extent different assumptions in the transport models affect predicted quantities such as EP profile, energy distribution, NB driven current and energy/momentum transfer to the thermal populations. A newly developed kick model, which includes modifications of the EP distribution by instabilities in both real and velocity space, is used in this work to investigate these issues. Coupled to TRANSP simulations, the kick model is used to analyze NB-heated NSTX and DIII-D discharges featuring unstable Alfvén eigenmodes (AEs). Results show that instabilities can strongly affect the EP distribution function, and modifications propagate to macroscopic quantities such as NB-driven current profile and NB power transferred to the thermal plasma species. Furthermore, those important aspects are only qualitatively captured by simpler fast ion transport models that are based on radial diffusion of energetic ions only.« less

Impact of Relativistic Electron Beam on Hole Acoustic Instability in Quantum Semiconductor Plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Siddique, M.; Jamil, M.; Rasheed, A.; Areeb, F.; Javed, Asif; Sumera, P.

2018-01-01

We studied the influence of the classical relativistic beam of electrons on the hole acoustic wave (HAW) instability exciting in the semiconductor quantum plasmas. We conducted this study by using the quantum-hydrodynamic model of dense plasmas, incorporating the quantum effects of semiconductor plasma species which include degeneracy pressure, exchange-correlation potential and Bohm potential. Analysis of the quantum characteristics of semiconductor plasma species along with relativistic effect of beam electrons on the dispersion relation of the HAW is given in detail qualitatively and quantitatively by plotting them numerically. It is worth mentioning that the relativistic electron beam (REB) stabilises the HAWs exciting in semiconductor (GaAs) degenerate plasma.

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

Niknam, A. R., E-mail: a-niknam@sbu.ac.ir; Rastbood, E.; Khorashadizadeh, S. M.

The dielectric permittivity tensor of a magnetoactive current-driven plasma is obtained by employing the kinetic theory based on the Vlasov equation and Lorentz transformation formulas with an emphasize on the q-nonextensive statistics. By deriving the q-generalized dispersion relation of the low frequency modes in this plasma system, the possibility and properties of filamentation and ion acoustic instabilities are then studied. It is shown that the occurrence and the growth rate of these instabilities depend strongly on the nonextensive parameters, external magnetic field strength, and drift velocity. It is observed that the growth rate of ion acoustic instability is affected bymore » the magnetic field strength much more than that of the filamentation instability in the low frequency range. The external magnetic field facilitates the development of the ion-acoustic instability. It is also shown that the filamentation is the dominant instability only for the high value of drift velocity.« less

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

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

Gravier, E.; Plaut, E.

2013-04-15

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

Particle Acceleration, Magnetic Field Generation in Relativistic Shocks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nishikawa, Ken-Ichi; Hardee, P.; Hededal, C. B.; Richardson, G.; Sol, H.; Preece, R.; Fishman, G. J.

2005-01-01

Shock acceleration is an ubiquitous phenomenon in astrophysical plasmas. Plasma waves and their associated instabilities (e.g., the Buneman instability, two-streaming instability, and the Weibel instability) created in the shocks are responsible for particle (electron, positron, and ion) acceleration. Using a 3-D relativistic electromagnetic particle (REMP) code, we have investigated particle acceleration associated with a relativistic jet front propagating through an ambient plasma with and without initial magnetic fields. We find only small differences in the results between no ambient and weak ambient parallel magnetic fields. Simulations show that the Weibel instability created in the collisionless shock front accelerates particles perpendicular and parallel to the jet propagation direction. New simulations with an ambient perpendicular magnetic field show the strong interaction between the relativistic jet and the magnetic fields. The magnetic fields are piled up by the jet and the jet electrons are bent, which creates currents and displacement currents. At the nonlinear stage, the magnetic fields are reversed by the current and the reconnection may take place. Due to these dynamics the jet and ambient electron are strongly accelerated in both parallel and perpendicular directions.

Particle Acceleration, Magnetic Field Generation, and Emission in Relativistic Shocks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nishikawa, Ken-IchiI.; Hededal, C.; Hardee, P.; Richardson, G.; Preece, R.; Sol, H.; Fishman, G.

2004-01-01

Shock acceleration is an ubiquitous phenomenon in astrophysical plasmas. Plasma waves and their associated instabilities (e.g., the Buneman instability, two-streaming instability, and the Weibel instability) created in the shocks are responsible for particle (electron, positron, and ion) acceleration. Using a 3-D relativistic electromagnetic particle (m) code, we have investigated particle acceleration associated with a relativistic jet front propagating through an ambient plasma with and without initial magnetic fields. We find only small differences in the results between no ambient and weak ambient parallel magnetic fields. Simulations show that the Weibel instability created in the collisionless shock front accelerates particles perpendicular and parallel to the jet propagation direction. New simulations with an ambient perpendicular magnetic field show the strong interaction between the relativistic jet and the magnetic fields. The magnetic fields are piled up by the jet and the jet electrons are bent, which creates currents and displacement currents. At the nonlinear stage, the magnetic fields are reversed by the current and the reconnection may take place. Due to these dynamics the jet and ambient electron are strongly accelerated in both parallel and perpendicular directions.

Comparative study of the loss cone-driven instabilities in the low solar corona

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sharma, R. R.; Vlahos, L.

1984-01-01

A comparative study of the loss cone-driven instabilities in the low solar corona is undertaken. The instabilities considered are the electron cyclotron maser, the whistler, and the electrostatic upper hybrid. It is shown that the first-harmonic extraordinary mode of the electron cyclotron maser instability is the fastest growing mode for strong magnetized plasma (the ratio of plasma frequency to cyclotron frequency being less than 0.35). For values of the ratio between 0.35 and 1.0, the first-harmonic ordinary mode of the electron cyclotron maser instability dominates the emission. For ratio values greater than 1.0, no direct electromagnetic radiation is expected since other instabilities, which do not escape directly, saturate the electron cyclotron maser (the whistler or the electrostatic upper hybrid waves). It is also shown that the second-harmonic electron cyclotron maser emission never grows to an appreciable level. Thus, it is suggested that the electron cyclotron maser instability can be the explanation for the escape of the first harmonic from a flaring loop.

Jeans instability of inhomogeneous dusty plasma with polarization force, ionization and recombination

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jain, Shweta; Sharma, Prerana; Chhajlani, R. K.

2017-05-01

The self-gravitational Jeans instability has been studied in dusty plasma containing significant background of neutral pressure and recombination of ions and electrons on the dust surface. The full dynamics of charged dust grains, ions and neutral species are employed considering the electrons as Maxwellian. We have derived the general dispersion relation for collisional dusty plasma with ionization, recombination and polarization force. The general dispersion relation describes the effects of considered parameters which are solved in different dusty plasma situations. Further, the dispersion relation is solved numerically. The present work is applicable to understand the structure formation of interstellar molecular clouds in astrophysical plasma.

Instability due to trapped electrons in magnetized multi-ion dusty plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Haider, M. M.; Ferdous, T.; Duha, S. S.

2015-05-01

An attempt has been made to find out the effects of trapped electrons in dust-ion-acoustic solitary waves in magnetized multi-ion plasmas, as in most space plasmas, the hot electrons follow the trapped/vortex-like distribution. To do so, we have derived modified Zakharov-Kuznetsov equation using reductive perturbation method and its solution. A small- perturbation technique was employed to find out the instability criterion and growth rate of such a wave.

Longitudinal instabilities of the experimentally generated laser accelerated ion beam relevant to fast ignition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khoshbinfar, S.

2017-11-01

The advent of laser-assisted ion acceleration technology promises an alternative candidate to conventional accelerator drivers used in inertial confinement fusion. The experimental generation of quasi-monoenergetic heavier ion species i.e. carbon and aluminum, applicable to fast ignition studies has been recently reported. The propagation of these energetic ions may impact on the proper ignition phase through growing of micro-instabilities of beam-plasma system. The growth of flow-aligned instabilities is much more important for heavier ions transport in the dense plasma. Here, we have presented a general non-relativistic one-dimensional dispersion relation of cold fluid model as well as corresponding kinetic theory of incident ion beam with atomic number, Zb enters into a fast ignition DT plasma. The longitudinal instabilities of some selected average energies of experimentally generated C6+ (EC=50, 100 and 200 MeV with δE/E ∼ 10 %) and Al11+ (EAl=150 and 300 MeV with δE/E ∼25%) quasi-monoenergetic beams were examined and beam-plasma system stable configuration have been then derived. It has been shown that in the kinetic theory framework, carbon and aluminum ions may be completely stabilized by the combination of beam to plasma density ratio (αb) and plasma temperature (Tp) of ignition phase parameters. Moreover, in complete stabilization, αb parameter of aluminum beam is an order of magnitude lower than carbon.

Rayleigh-Taylor Instability as the Reason for the Particle Acceleration and Plasma Heating in Solar Chromosphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stepanov, Alexander; Zaitsev, Valerii

New mechanism of electron acceleration in the solar chromosphere and chromospheric plasma heating is proposed. The main role in acceleration and heating belongs to the Rayleigh-Tailor instability. Ballooning mode of the instability develops at the chromospheric footpoints of a flare loop and deforms here the magnetic field. Thus the electric current flowing in the loop changes and an inductive electric field appears. This electric field is the reason for the acceleration of 300-500 keV electrons which do not escape from the chromosphere, providing the excitation of plasma waves and the heating of chromospheric plasma in situ. Observations with New Solar Telescope at Big Bear Solar Observatory (Ji et al. ApJ 750, L25, 2012) give us good evidences on the heating of chromospheric footpoints of coronal loops to the coronal temperatures as well as upward injection of hot plasma that excite the fine loops from the photosphere to the base of the corona. We discuss also other consequences of the Rayleigh-Taylor instability: non-thermal plasma emission at 212 and 405 GHz from the ionized chromosphere with the electron density as high as 10 (15) cm (-3) (Zaitsev et al. Astron.Lett. 39, 650, 2013), and the model of sub-second pulsations at THz observed by Kaufmann et al. (ApJ 697, 420, 2009).

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

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

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

1988-01-01

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

Relativistic laser-plasma interactions in the quantum regime.

PubMed

Eliasson, Bengt; Shukla, P K

2011-04-01

We consider nonlinear interactions between a relativistically strong laser beam and a plasma in the quantum regime. The collective behavior of electrons is modeled by a Klein-Gordon equation, which is nonlinearly coupled with the electromagnetic wave through the Maxwell and Poisson equations. This allows us to study nonlinear interactions between arbitrarily large-amplitude electromagnetic waves and a quantum plasma. We have used our system of nonlinear equations to study theoretically the parametric instabilities involving stimulated Raman scattering and modulational instabilities. A model for quasi-steady-state propagating electromagnetic wave packets is also derived, and which shows possibility of localized solitary structures in a quantum plasma. Numerical simulations demonstrate collapse and acceleration of electrons in the nonlinear stage of the modulational instability, as well as possibility of the wake-field acceleration of electrons to relativistic speeds by short laser pulses at nanometer length scales. Our study is relevant for understanding the localization of intense electromagnetic pulses in a quantum plasma with extremely high electron densities and relatively low temperature.

The Kelvin-Helmholtz instability of boundary-layer plasmas in the kinetic regime

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

Steinbusch, Benedikt, E-mail: b.steinbusch@fz-juelich.de; Gibbon, Paul, E-mail: p.gibbon@fz-juelich.de; Department of Mathematics, Centre for Mathematical Plasma Astrophysics, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven

2016-05-15

The dynamics of the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability are investigated in the kinetic, high-frequency regime with a novel, two-dimensional, mesh-free tree code. In contrast to earlier studies which focused on specially prepared equilibrium configurations in order to compare with fluid theory, a more naturally occurring plasma-vacuum boundary layer is considered here with relevance to both space plasma and linear plasma devices. Quantitative comparisons of the linear phase are made between the fluid and kinetic models. After establishing the validity of this technique via comparison to linear theory and conventional particle-in-cell simulation for classical benchmark problems, a quantitative analysis of the more complexmore » magnetized plasma-vacuum layer is presented and discussed. It is found that in this scenario, the finite Larmor orbits of the ions result in significant departures from the effective shear velocity and width underlying the instability growth, leading to generally slower development and stronger nonlinear coupling between fast growing short-wavelength modes and longer wavelengths.« less

Revisited comparison of thermal instability theory with MARFE density limit experiment in TEXTOR.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kelly, Frederick

2006-03-01

Density limit shots in TEXTOR [Tokamak EXperiment for Technology Oriented Research] that ended in MARFE [Multifaceted Asymmetric Radiation From the Edge] are analyzed by several thermal instability theories^1-7 with convective effects included. ^1W. M. Stacey, Phys. Plasmas 3, 2673 (1996); Phys. Plasmas 3, 3032 (1996); Phys. Plasmas 4, 134 (1997); Phys. Plasmas 4, 242 (1997). ^2W. M. Stacey, Plasma Phys. Contr. Fusion 39, 1245 (1997). ^3W. M. Stacey, Fusion Technol. 36, 38 (1999).^ ^4W. M. Stacey, Phys. Plasmas 7, 3464 (2000). ^5F. A. Kelly, W. M. Stacey, J. Rapp and M. Brix, Phys. Plasmas 8, 3382 (2001). ^6M. Z. Tokar and F. A. Kelly, Phys. Plasmas 10, 4378 (2003). ^7M. Z. Tokar, F. A. Kelly and X. Loozen, Phys. Plasmas 12, 052510 (2005).

Merging and Splitting of Plasma Spheroids in a Dusty Plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mikikian, Maxime; Tawidian, Hagop; Lecas, Thomas

2012-12-01

Dust particle growth in a plasma is a strongly disturbing phenomenon for the plasma equilibrium. It can induce many different types of low-frequency instabilities that can be experimentally observed, especially using high-speed imaging. A spectacular case has been observed in a krypton plasma where a huge density of dust particles is grown by material sputtering. The instability consists of well-defined regions of enhanced optical emission that emerge from the electrode vicinity and propagate towards the discharge center. These plasma spheroids have complex motions resulting from their mutual interaction that can also lead to the merging of two plasma spheroids into a single one. The reverse situation is also observed with the splitting of a plasma spheroid into two parts. These results are presented for the first time and reveal new behaviors in dusty plasmas.

Intrinsic suppression of turbulence in linear plasma devices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leddy, J.; Dudson, B.

2017-12-01

Plasma turbulence is the dominant transport mechanism for heat and particles in magnetised plasmas in linear devices and tokamaks, so the study of turbulence is important in limiting and controlling this transport. Linear devices provide an axial magnetic field that serves to confine a plasma in cylindrical geometry as it travels along the magnetic field from the source to the strike point. Due to perpendicular transport, the plasma density and temperature have a roughly Gaussian radial profile with gradients that drive instabilities, such as resistive drift-waves and Kelvin-Helmholtz. If unstable, these instabilities cause perturbations to grow resulting in saturated turbulence, increasing the cross-field transport of heat and particles. When the plasma emerges from the source, there is a time, {τ }\\parallel , that describes the lifetime of the plasma based on parallel velocity and length of the device. As the plasma moves down the device, it also moves azimuthally according to E × B and diamagnetic velocities. There is a balance point in these parallel and perpendicular times that sets the stabilisation threshold. We simulate plasmas with a variety of parallel lengths and magnetic fields to vary the parallel and perpendicular lifetimes, respectively, and find that there is a clear correlation between the saturated RMS density perturbation level and the balance between these lifetimes. The threshold of marginal stability is seen to exist where {τ }\\parallel ≈ 11{τ }\\perp . This is also associated with the product {τ }\\parallel {γ }* , where {γ }* is the drift-wave linear growth rate, indicating that the instability must exist for roughly 100 times the growth time for the instability to enter the nonlinear growth phase. We explore the root of this correlation and the implications for linear device design.

Effects of Ion Magnetization on the Farley–Buneman Instability in the Solar Chromosphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fletcher, Alex C.; Dimant, Yakov S.; Oppenheim, Meers M.; Fontenla, Juan M.

2018-04-01

Intense heating in the quiet-Sun chromosphere raises the temperature from 4000 to 6500 K but, despite decades of study, the underlying mechanism remains a mystery. This study continues to explore the possibility that the Farley–Buneman instability contributes to chromospheric heating. This instability occurs in weakly ionized collisional plasmas in which electrons are magnetized, but ions are not. A mixture of metal ions generate the plasma density in the coolest parts of the chromosphere; while some ions are weakly magnetized, others are demagnetized by neutral collisions. This paper incorporates the effects of multiple, arbitrarily magnetized species of ions to the theory of the Farley–Buneman instability and examines the ramifications on instability in the chromosphere. The inclusion of magnetized ions introduces new restrictions on the regions in which the instability can occur in the chromosphere—in fact, it confines the instability to the regions in which heating is observed. For a magnetic field of 30 G, the minimum ambient electric field capable of driving the instability is 13.5 V/m at the temperature minimum.

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

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, C. P.; Xing, X.

2017-12-01

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

Magnetic control of magnetohydrodynamic instabilities in tokamaks

DOE PAGES

Strait, Edward J.

2014-11-24

Externally applied, non-axisymmetric magnetic fields form the basis of several relatively simple and direct methods to control magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) instabilities in a tokamak, and most present and planned tokamaks now include a set of non-axisymmetric control coils for application of fields with low toroidal mode numbers. Non-axisymmetric applied fields are routinely used to compensate small asymmetries ( δB/B ~ 10 -3 to 10 -4) of the nominally axisymmetric field, which otherwise can lead to instabilities through braking of plasma rotation and through direct stimulus of tearing modes or kink modes. This compensation may be feedback-controlled, based on the magnetic responsemore » of the plasma to the external fields. Non-axisymmetric fields are used for direct magnetic stabilization of the resistive wall mode — a kink instability with a growth rate slow enough that feedback control is practical. Saturated magnetic islands are also manipulated directly with non-axisymmetric fields, in order to unlock them from the wall and spin them to aid stabilization, or position them for suppression by localized current drive. Several recent scientific advances form the foundation of these developments in the control of instabilities. Most fundamental is the understanding that stable kink modes play a crucial role in the coupling of non-axisymmetric fields to the plasma, determining which field configurations couple most strongly, how the coupling depends on plasma conditions, and whether external asymmetries are amplified by the plasma. A major advance for the physics of high-beta plasmas ( β = plasma pressure/magnetic field pressure) has been the understanding that drift-kinetic resonances can stabilize the resistive wall mode at pressures well above the ideal-MHD stability limit, but also that such discharges can be very sensitive to external asymmetries. The common physics of stable kink modes has brought significant unification to the topics of static error fields at low beta and resistive wall modes at high beta. Furthermore, these and other scientific advances, and their application to control of MHD instabilities, will be reviewed with emphasis on the most recent results and their applicability to ITER.« less

Pressure-anisotropy-induced nonlinearities in the kinetic magnetorotational instability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Squire, J.; Quataert, E.; Kunz, M. W.

2017-12-01

In collisionless and weakly collisional plasmas, such as hot accretion flows onto compact objects, the magnetorotational instability (MRI) can differ significantly from the standard (collisional) MRI. In particular, pressure anisotropy with respect to the local magnetic-field direction can both change the linear MRI dispersion relation and cause nonlinear modifications to the mode structure and growth rate, even when the field and flow perturbations are very small. This work studies these pressure-anisotropy-induced nonlinearities in the weakly nonlinear, high-ion-beta regime, before the MRI saturates into strong turbulence. Our goal is to better understand how the saturation of the MRI in a low-collisionality plasma might differ from that in the collisional regime. We focus on two key effects: (i) the direct impact of self-induced pressure-anisotropy nonlinearities on the evolution of an MRI mode, and (ii) the influence of pressure anisotropy on the `parasitic instabilities' that are suspected to cause the mode to break up into turbulence. Our main conclusions are: (i) The mirror instability regulates the pressure anisotropy in such a way that the linear MRI in a collisionless plasma is an approximate nonlinear solution once the mode amplitude becomes larger than the background field (just as in magnetohyrodynamics). This implies that differences between the collisionless and collisional MRI become unimportant at large amplitudes. (ii) The break up of large-amplitude MRI modes into turbulence via parasitic instabilities is similar in collisionless and collisional plasmas. Together, these conclusions suggest that the route to magnetorotational turbulence in a collisionless plasma may well be similar to that in a collisional plasma, as suggested by recent kinetic simulations. As a supplement to these findings, we offer guidance for the design of future kinetic simulations of magnetorotational turbulence.

Thermal instability in gravitationally stratified plasmas: implications for multiphase structure in clusters and galaxy haloes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McCourt, Michael; Sharma, Prateek; Quataert, Eliot; Parrish, Ian J.

2012-02-01

We study the interplay among cooling, heating, conduction and magnetic fields in gravitationally stratified plasmas using simplified, plane-parallel numerical simulations. Since the physical heating mechanism remains uncertain in massive haloes such as groups or clusters, we adopt a simple, phenomenological prescription which enforces global thermal equilibrium and prevents a cooling flow. The plasma remains susceptible to local thermal instability, however, and cooling drives an inward flow of material. For physically plausible heating mechanisms in clusters, the thermal stability of the plasma is independent of its convective stability. We find that the ratio of the cooling time-scale to the dynamical time-scale tcool/tff controls the non-linear evolution and saturation of the thermal instability: when tcool/tff≲ 1, the plasma develops extended multiphase structure, whereas when tcool/tff≳ 1 it does not. (In a companion paper, we show that the criterion for thermal instability in a more realistic, spherical potential is somewhat less stringent, tcool/tff≲ 10.) When thermal conduction is anisotropic with respect to the magnetic field, the criterion for multiphase gas is essentially independent of the thermal conductivity of the plasma. Our criterion for local thermal instability to produce multiphase structure is an extension of the cold versus hot accretion modes in galaxy formation that applies at all radii in hot haloes, not just to the virial shock. We show that this criterion is consistent with data on multiphase gas in galaxy groups and clusters; in addition, when tcool/tff≳ 1, the net cooling rate to low temperatures and the mass flux to small radii are suppressed enough relative to models without heating to be qualitatively consistent with star formation rates and X-ray line emission in groups and clusters.

Collective Temperature Anisotropy Instabilities in Intense Charged Particle Beams

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Startsev, Edward

2006-10-01

Periodic focusing accelerators, transport systems and storage rings have a wide range of applications ranging from basic scientific research in high energy and nuclear physics, to applications such as ion-beam-driven high energy density physics and fusion, and spallation neutron sources. Of particular importance at the high beam currents and charge densities of practical interest, are the effects of the intense self fields produced by the beam space charge and current on determining the detailed equilibrium, stability and transport properties. Charged particle beams confined by external focusing fields represent an example of nonneutral plasma. A characteristic feature of such plasmas is the non-uniformity of the equilibrium density profiles and the nonlinearity of the self fields, which makes detailed analytical investigation very difficult. The development and application of advanced numerical tools such as eigenmode codes [1] and Monte-Carlo particle simulation methods [2] are often the only tractable approach to understand the underlying physics of different instabilities familiar in electrically neutral plasmas which may cause a degradation in beam quality. Two such instabilities are the electrostatic Harris instability [2] and the electromagnetic Weibel instability [1], both driven by a large temperature anisotropy which develops naturally in accelerators. The beam acceleration causes a large reduction in the longitudinal temperature and provides the free energy to drive collective temperature anisotropy instabilities. Such instabilities may lead to an increase in the longitudinal velocity spread, which will make focusing the beam difficult, and may impose a limit on the beam luminosity and the minimum spot size achievable in focusing experiments. This paper reviews recent advances in the theory and simulation of collective instabilities in intense charged particle beams caused by temperature anisotropy. We also describe new simulation tools that have been developed to study these instabilities. The results of the investigations that identify the instability growth rates, levels of saturations, and conditions for quiescent beam propagation will also be discussed. [1] E.A. Startsev and R.C. Davidson, Phys.Plasmas 10, 4829 (2003). [2] E.A. Startsev, R.C. Davidson and H. Qin, Phys.Rev. ST Accel. Beams 8,124201 (2005).

Parametric Instabilities During High Power Helicon Wave Injection on DIII-D

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Porkolab, M.; Pinsker, R. I.

2017-10-01

High power helicon (whistler) waves at a frequency of 0.47 GHz are being considered for efficient off-axis current generation in high performance DIII-D plasmas and in K-Star [3]. The need for deploying helicon waves for current profile control has been noted in previous publications since penetration to the core of reactor grade plasmas is easier than with lower hybrid slow waves (LHCD) which suffer from accessibility limitations and strong electron Landau absorption in fusion grade high temperature plasmas. In this work we show that under typical experimental conditions in present day tokamaks with 1 MW of RF power coupled per antenna, the associated perpendicular electric fields of the order of 40 kV/m can drive strong parametric decay instabilities near the lower hybrid layer. The EXB and polarization drift velocities which are the dominant driver of the PDI can be comparable to the speed of sound in the outer plasma layers, a key measure of driving PDI instabilities. Here we calculate growth rates and convective thresholds for PDIs, and we find that decay waves into hot ion lower hybrid waves and ion cyclotron quasi modes dominate in the vicinity of the lower hybrid layer, possibly leading to pump depletion. Such instabilities in future reactor grade high temperature plasmas are less likely.

The Exchange-Correlation Field Effect over the Magnetoacoustic-Gravitational Instability in Plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rasheed, A.; Jamil, M.; Jung, Young-Dae; Sahar, A.; Asif, M.

2017-09-01

Jeans instability with magnetosonic perturbations is discussed in quantum dusty magnetoplasmas. The quantum and smaller thermal effects are associated only with electrons. The quantum characteristics include exchange-correlation potential, recoil effect, and Fermi degenerate pressure. The multifluid model of plasmas is used for the analytical study of this problem. The significant contribution of electron exchange is noticed on the threshold value of wave vector and Jeans instability. The presence of electron exchange and correlation effects reduce the time to stabilise the phenomenon of self-gravitational collapse of massive species. The results of Jeans instability by magnetosonic perturbations at quantum scale help to disclose the details of the self-gravitating dusty magnetoplasma systems.

Dynamics of flows, fluctuations, and global instability under electrode biasing in a linear plasma device

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Desjardins, T. R.; Gilmore, M.

2016-05-01

Grid biasing is utilized in a large-scale helicon plasma to modify an existing instability. It is shown both experimentally and with a linear stability analysis to be a hybrid drift-Kelvin-Helmholtz mode. At low magnetic field strengths, coherent fluctuations are present, while at high magnetic field strengths, the plasma is broad-band turbulent. Grid biasing is used to drive the once-coherent fluctuations to a broad-band turbulent state, as well as to suppress them. There is a corresponding change in the flow shear. When a high positive bias (10Te) is applied to the grid electrode, a large-scale ( n ˜/n ≈50 % ) is excited. This mode has been identified as the potential relaxation instability.

Magnetic field-related heating instabilities in the surface layers of the sun and stars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ferrari, A.; Rosner, R.; Vaiana, G. S.

1982-01-01

The stability of a magnetized low-density plasma to current-driven filamentation instabilities is investigated and the results are applied to the surface layers of stars. Unlike previous studies, the initial (i.e., precoronal) state of the stellar surface atmosphere is taken to be a low-density, optically thin magnetized plasma in radiative equilibrium. The linear analysis shows that the surface layers of main-sequence stars (including the sun) which are threaded by magnetic fields are unstable; the instabilities considered lead to structuring perpendicular to the ambient magnetic fields. These results suggest that relatively modest surface motions, in conjunction with the presence of magnetic fields, suffice to account for the presence of inhomogeneous chromospheric and coronal plasma overlying a star's surface.

Beam-plasma instabilities and the beam-plasma discharge

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kellogg, P. J.; Boswell, R. W.

1986-01-01

Using a new waves on magnetized beams and turbulence (WOMBAT) 0-450 eV electron gun, measurements bearing on the generation of beam-plasma discharge (BPD) are made. The new gun has a narrower divergence angle than the old, and the BPD ignition current is found to be proportional to the cross-sectional area of the plasma. The high-frequency instabilities are identified with the two Trivelpiece-Gould modes, (1959). The upper frequency is identified as a Cerenkov resonance with the upper Trivelpiece-Gould mode, and the lower frequency with a cyclotron resonance with the lower mode, in agreement with theoretical expectations. Convective growth rates are found to be small. A mechanism involving the conversion of a convective instability to an absolute one by trapping of the unstable waves in the density perturbations of the low-frequency waves, is suggested for the low-frequency wave control of the onset of the high frequency precursors to the BPD.

Kinetic shear Alfvén instability in the presence of impurity ions in tokamak plasmas

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

Lu, Gaimin; Shen, Y.; Xie, T.

2013-10-15

The effects of impurity ions on the kinetic shear Alfvén (KSA) instability in tokamak plasmas are investigated by numerically solving the integral equations for the KSA eigenmode in the toroidal geometry. The kinetic effects of hydrogen and impurity ions, including transit motion, finite ion Larmor radius, and finite-orbit-width, are taken into account. Toroidicity induced linear mode coupling is included through the ballooning-mode representation. Here, the effects of carbon, oxygen, and tungsten ions on the KSA instability in toroidal plasmas are investigated. It is found that, depending on the concentration and density profile of the impurity ions, the latter can bemore » either stabilizing or destabilizing for the KSA modes. The results here confirm the importance of impurity ions in tokamak experiments and should be useful for analyzing experimental data as well as for understanding anomalous transport and control of tokamak plasmas.« less

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

Dubinov, Alexander E.; Petrik, Alexey G.; Kurkin, Semen A.

We report on the possibility of the beam-plasma instability development in the system with electron beam interacting with the single-component hot electron plasma without ions. As considered system, we analyse the interaction of the low-current relativistic electron beam (REB) with squeezed state in the high-current REB formed in the relativistic magnetically insulated two-section vircator drift space. The numerical analysis is provided by means of 3D electromagnetic simulation in CST Particle Studio. We have conducted an extensive study of characteristic regimes of REB dynamics determined by the beam-plasma instability development in the absence of ions. As a result, the dependencies ofmore » instability increment and wavelength on the REB current value have been obtained. The considered process brings the new mechanism of controlled microwave amplification and generation to the device with a virtual cathode. This mechanism is similar to the action of the beam-plasma amplifiers and oscillators.« less

Can tokamaks PFC survive a single event of any plasma instabilities?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hassanein, A.; Sizyuk, V.; Miloshevsky, G.; Sizyuk, T.

2013-07-01

Plasma instability events such as disruptions, edge-localized modes (ELMs), runaway electrons (REs), and vertical displacement events (VDEs) are continued to be serious events and most limiting factors for successful tokamak reactor concept. The plasma-facing components (PFCs), e.g., wall, divertor, and limited surfaces of a tokamak as well as coolant structure materials are subjected to intense particle and heat loads and must maintain a clean and stable surface environment among them and the core/edge plasma. Typical ITER transient events parameters are used for assessing the damage from these four different instability events. HEIGHTS simulation showed that a single event of a disruption, giant ELM, VDE, or RE can cause significant surface erosion (melting and vaporization) damage to PFC, nearby components, and/or structural materials (VDE, RE) melting and possible burnout of coolant tubes that could result in shut down of reactor for extended repair time.

Analysis of Jeans instability of optically thick quantum plasma under the effect of modified Ohms law

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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

2018-05-01

The Jeans instability of self-gravitating optically thick quantum plasma is reanalyzed in the framework of viscosity, black body radiation and modify ohms law. The usual magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) equation is used for the present configuration with black body radiation, viscosity, electrical resistivity and quantum corrections. A general dispersion relation is obtained with the help of linearized perturbation equations. It is found that the quantum correction has stabilizing effect on the system. The instability of system is discussed for various cases as our interest.

Landau quantization effects on hole-acoustic instability in semiconductor plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sumera, P.; Rasheed, A.; Jamil, M.; Siddique, M.; Areeb, F.

2017-12-01

The growth rate of the hole acoustic waves (HAWs) exciting in magnetized semiconductor quantum plasma pumped by the electron beam has been investigated. The instability of the waves contains quantum effects including the exchange and correlation potential, Bohm potential, Fermi-degenerate pressure, and the magnetic quantization of semiconductor plasma species. The effects of various plasma parameters, which include relative concentration of plasma particles, beam electron temperature, beam speed, plasma temperature (temperature of electrons/holes), and Landau electron orbital magnetic quantization parameter η, on the growth rate of HAWs, have been discussed. The numerical study of our model of acoustic waves has been applied, as an example, to the GaAs semiconductor exposed to electron beam in the magnetic field environment. An increment in either the concentration of the semiconductor electrons or the speed of beam electrons, in the presence of magnetic quantization of fermion orbital motion, enhances remarkably the growth rate of the HAWs. Although the growth rate of the waves reduces with a rise in the thermal temperature of plasma species, at a particular temperature, we receive a higher instability due to the contribution of magnetic quantization of fermions to it.

Filamentation due to the Weibel instability in two counterstreaming laser ablated plasmas

DOE PAGES

Dong, Quan -Li; Yuan, Dawei; Gao, Lan; ...

2016-05-01

Weibel-type filamentation instability was observed in the interaction of two counter streaming laser ablated plasma flows, which were supersonic, collisionless, and closely relevant to astrophysical conditions. The plasma flows were created by irradiating a pair of oppositely standing plastic (CH) foils with 1ns-pulsed laser beams of total energy of 1.7 kJ in two laser spots. Finally, with characteristics diagnosed in experiments, the calculated features of Weibel-type filaments are in good agreement with measurements.

Influence of the backreaction of streaming cosmic rays on magnetic field generation and thermal instability

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

Nekrasov, Anatoly K.; Shadmehri, Mohsen, E-mail: anekrasov@ifz.ru, E-mail: nekrasov.anatoly@gmail.com, E-mail: m.shadmehri@gu.ac.ir

2014-06-10

Using a multifluid approach, we investigate streaming and thermal instabilities of the electron-ion plasma with homogeneous cold cosmic rays propagating perpendicular to the background magnetic field. Perturbations are also considered to be across the magnetic field. The backreaction of cosmic rays resulting in strong streaming instabilities is taken into account. It is shown that, for sufficiently short wavelength perturbations, the growth rates can exceed the growth rate of cosmic-ray streaming instability along the magnetic field, found by Nekrasov and Shadmehri, which is in turn considerably larger than the growth rate of the Bell instability. The thermal instability is shown notmore » to be subject to the action of cosmic rays in the model under consideration. The dispersion relation for the thermal instability has been derived, which includes sound velocities of plasma and cosmic rays and Alfvén and cosmic-ray streaming velocities. The relation between these parameters determines the kind of thermal instability ranging from the Parker to the Field instabilities. The results obtained can be useful for a more detailed investigation of electron-ion astrophysical objects, such as supernova remnant shocks, galaxy clusters, and others, including the dynamics of streaming cosmic rays.« less

Particle Acceleration and Radiation associated with Magnetic Field Generation from Relativistic Collisionless Shocks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nishikawa, K.; Hardee, P. E.; Richardson, G. A.; Preece, R. D.; Sol, H.; Fishman, G. J.

2003-01-01

Shock acceleration is an ubiquitous phenomenon in astrophysical plasmas. Plasma waves and their associated instabilities (e.g., the Buneman instability, two-streaming instability, and the Weibel instability) created in the shocks are responsible for particle (electron, positron, and ion) acceleration. Using a 3-D relativistic electromagnetic particle (REMP) code, we have investigated particle acceleration associated with a relativistic jet front propagating through an ambient plasma with and without initial magnetic fields. We find only small differences in the results between no ambient and weak ambient magnetic fields. Simulations show that the Weibel instability created in the collisionless shock front accelerates particles perpendicular and parallel to the jet propagation direction. While some Fermi acceleration may occur at the jet front, the majority of electron acceleration takes place behind the jet front and cannot be characterized as Fermi acceleration. The simulation results show that this instability is responsible for generating and amplifying highly nonuniform, small-scale magnetic fields, which contribute to the electron s transverse deflection behind the jet head. The "jitter" radiation from deflected electrons has different properties than synchrotron radiation which is calculated in a uniform magnetic field. This jitter radiation may be important to understanding the complex time evolution and/or spectral structure in gamma-ray bursts, relativistic jets, and supernova remnants.

Band structure of the growth rate of the two-stream instability of an electron beam propagating in a bounded plasma

DOE PAGES

Kaganovich, I. D.; Sydorenko, D.

2016-11-18

Our paper presents a study of the two-stream instability of an electron beam propagating in a finite-size plasma placed between two electrodes. It is shown that the growth rate in such a system is much smaller than that of an infinite plasma or a finite size plasma with periodic boundary conditions. Even if the width of the plasma matches the resonance condition for a standing wave, a spatially growing wave is excited instead with the growth rate small compared to that of the standing wave in a periodic system. Furthermore, the approximate expression for this growth rate is γ≈(1/13)ω pe(nmore » b/n p)(Lω pe/v b)ln(Lω pe/v b)[1-0.18 cos (Lω pe/v b+π/2)], where ωpe is the electron plasma frequency, n b and n p are the beam and the plasma densities, respectively, v b is the beam velocity, and L is the plasma width. The frequency, wave number, and the spatial and temporal growth rates, as functions of the plasma size, exhibit band structure. Finally, the amplitude of saturation of the instability depends on the system length, not on the beam current. For short systems, the amplitude may exceed values predicted for infinite plasmas by more than an order of magnitude.« less

The thermo magnetic instability in hot viscose plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Haghani, A.; Khosravi, A.; Khesali, A.

2017-10-01

Magnetic Rotational Instability (MRI) can not performed well in accretion disks with strong magnetic field. Studies have indicated a new type of instability called thermomagnetic instability (TMI) in systems where Nernst coefficient and gradient temperature were considered. Nernst coefficient would appear if Boltzman equation could be expanded through ω_{Be} (cyclotron frequency). However, the growth rate of this instability was two magnitude orders below MRI growth (Ωk), which could not act the same as MRI. Therefor, a higher growth rate of unstable modes was needed. In this paper, rotating viscid hot plasma with strong magnetic filed was studied. Firstly, a constant alpha viscosity was studied and then a temperature sensitive viscosity. The results showed that the temperature sensitive viscosity would be able to increase the growth rate of TMI modes significantly, hence capable of acting similar to MRI.

A non-linear theory of the parallel firehose and gyrothermal instabilities in a weakly collisional plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rosin, M. S.; Schekochihin, A. A.; Rincon, F.; Cowley, S. C.

2011-05-01

Weakly collisional magnetized cosmic plasmas have a dynamical tendency to develop pressure anisotropies with respect to the local direction of the magnetic field. These anisotropies trigger plasma instabilities at scales just above the ion Larmor radius ρi and much below the mean free path λmfp. They have growth rates of a fraction of the ion cyclotron frequency, which is much faster than either the global dynamics or even local turbulence. Despite their microscopic nature, these instabilities dramatically modify the transport properties and, therefore, the macroscopic dynamics of the plasma. The non-linear evolution of these instabilities is expected to drive pressure anisotropies towards marginal stability values, controlled by the plasma beta βi. Here this non-linear evolution is worked out in an ab initio kinetic calculation for the simplest analytically tractable example - the parallel (k⊥= 0) firehose instability in a high-beta plasma. An asymptotic theory is constructed, based on a particular physical ordering and leading to a closed non-linear equation for the firehose turbulence. In the non-linear regime, both the analytical theory and the numerical solution predict secular (∝t) growth of magnetic fluctuations. The fluctuations develop a k-3∥ spectrum, extending from scales somewhat larger than ρi to the maximum scale that grows secularly with time (∝t1/2); the relative pressure anisotropy (p⊥-p∥)/p∥ tends to the marginal value -2/βi. The marginal state is achieved via changes in the magnetic field, not particle scattering. When a parallel ion heat flux is present, the parallel firehose mutates into the new gyrothermal instability (GTI), which continues to exist up to firehose-stable values of pressure anisotropy, which can be positive and are limited by the magnitude of the ion heat flux. The non-linear evolution of the GTI also features secular growth of magnetic fluctuations, but the fluctuation spectrum is eventually dominated by modes around a maximal scale ˜ρilT/λmfp, where lT is the scale of the parallel temperature variation. Implications for momentum and heat transport are speculated about. This study is motivated by our interest in the dynamics of galaxy cluster plasmas (which are used as the main astrophysical example), but its relevance to solar wind and accretion flow plasmas is also briefly discussed.

Numerical Study of Current Driven Instabilities and Anomalous Electron Transport in Hall-effect Thrusters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tran, Jonathan

Plasma turbulence and the resulting anomalous electron transport due to azimuthal current driven instabilities in Hall-effect thrusters is a promising candidate for developing predictive models for the observed anomalous transport. A theory for anomalous electron transport and current driven instabilities has been recently studied by [Lafluer et al., 2016a]. Due to the extreme cost of fully resolving the Debye length and plasma frequency, hybrid plasma simulations utilizing kinetic ions and quasi-steady state fluid electrons have long been the principle workhorse methodology for Hall-effect thruster modeling. Using a reduced dimension particle in cell simulation implemented in the Thermophysics Universal Research Framework developed by the Air Force Research Lab, we show collective electron-wave scattering due to large amplitude azimuthal fluctuations of the electric field and the plasma density. These high-frequency and short wavelength fluctuations can lead to an effective cross-field mobility many orders of magnitude larger than what is expected from classical electron-neutral momentum collisions in the low neutral density regime. We further adapt the previous study by [Lampe et al., 1971] and [Stringer, 1964] for related current driven instabilities to electric propulsion relevant mass ratios and conditions. Finally, we conduct a preliminary study of resolving this instability with a modified hybrid simulation with the hope of integration with established hybrid Hall-effect thruster simulations.

Destabilization of counter-propagating TAEs by off-axis, co-current Neutral Beam Injection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Podesta', M.; Fredrickson, E.; Gorelenkova, M.

2017-10-01

Neutral Beam injection (NBI) is a common tool to heat the plasma and drive current non-inductively in fusion devices. Energetic particles (EP) resulting from NBI can drive instabilities that are detrimental for the performance and the predictability of plasma discharges. A broad NBI deposition profile, e.g. by off-axis injection aiming near the plasma mid-radius, is often assumed to limit those undesired effects by reducing the radial gradient of the EP density, thus reducing the ``universal'' drive for instabilities. However, this work presents new evidence that off-axis NBI can also lead to undesired effects such as the destabilization of Alfvénic instabilities, as observed in NSTX-U plasmas. Experimental observations indicate that counter propagating toroidal AEs are destabilized as the radial EP density profile becomes hollow as a result of off-axis NBI. Time-dependent analysis with the TRANSP code, augmented by a reduced fast ion transport model (known as kick model), indicates that instabilities are driven by a combination of radial and energy gradients in the EP distribution. Understanding the mechanisms for wave-particle interaction, revealed by the phase space resolved analysis, is the basis to identify strategies to mitigate or suppress the observed instabilities. Work supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Fusion Energy Sciences under Contract Number DE-AC02-09CH11466.

Manipulating Energetic Ion Velocity Space to Control Instabilities and Improve Tokamak Performance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pace, David C.

2017-10-01

The first-ever demonstration of independent current (I) and voltage (V) control of high power neutral beams in tokamak plasma shots has successfully reduced the prevalence of instabilities and improved energetic ion confinement in experiments at the DIII-D tokamak. Energetic ions drive Alfvén eigenmode (AE) instabilities through a resonant energy exchange that can increase radial diffusion of the ions, thereby reducing beam heating and current drive efficiency. This resonance is incredibly sensitive to the ion velocity and orbit topology, which then allows changes in beam voltage (keeping the injected power constant through compensating changes in current) to remove nearly all instability drive. The implementation of temporal control of beam current and voltage allows for a reduction in the resonant energetic ion velocity space while maintaining the ability to inject maximum power. DIII-D low confinement (L-mode) plasmas demonstrate a nearly complete avoidance of AE activity in plasmas with 55 kV beam injection compared to the many AEs that are observed in plasmas featuring similar total beam power at 70 kV. Across the experimental range of beam settings, resulting increases in beam divergence have been inconsequential. High performance steady-state scenarios featuring equilibria that are conducive to dense arrays of Alfvén waves benefit the most from instability control mechanisms. One such scenario, the so-called high qmin scenario, demonstrates improved confinement and equilibrium evolution when the injected beam voltage begins at lower values (i.e., fewer resonances) and then increases as the plasma reaches its stationary period. These results suggest a future in which plasma confinement and performance is improved through continuous feedback control of auxiliary heating systems such that the energetic ion distribution is constantly adapted to produce an optimal plasma state. Work supported by US DOE under DE-FC02-04ER54698.

Coherent transition radiation from a self-modulated charged particle beam

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, X.; Yu, P.; An, W.; Lu, W.; Mori, W. B.

2012-12-01

Plasma wakefield accelerator utilizing a TeV proton beam is a promising method to generate a TeV electron beam. However the length of the existing proton beam is too long compared with the proper plasma skin depth. As a result selfmodulation instability takes place after such a long pulse enters into the plasma. The transverse spot size of the long beam changes periodically in the longitudinal direction. Therefor measurement of the coherent transition radiation when the selfmodulated beam leaves the plasma is a possible method to demonstrate the self-modulation instability. In this paper, we analyze the angular spectrum of this coherent transition radiation when the beam comes from plasma to vacuum.

High power impulse magnetron sputtering discharges: Instabilities and plasma self-organization

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

Ehiasarian, A. P.; New, R.; Hecimovic, A.

We report on instabilities in high power impulse magnetron sputtering plasmas which are likely to be of the generalized drift wave type. They are characterized by well defined regions of high and low plasma emissivity along the racetrack of the magnetron and cause periodic shifts in floating potential. The azimuthal mode number m depends on plasma current, plasma density, and gas pressure. The structures rotate in E-vectorxB-vector direction at velocities of {approx}10 km s{sup -1} and frequencies up to 200 kHz. Collisions with residual gas atoms slow down the rotating wave, whereas increasing ionization degree of the gas and plasmamore » conductivity speeds it up.« less

Electrostatic plasma simulation by Particle-In-Cell method using ANACONDA package

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Blandón, J. S.; Grisales, J. P.; Riascos, H.

2017-06-01

Electrostatic plasma is the most representative and basic case in plasma physics field. One of its main characteristics is its ideal behavior, since it is assumed be in thermal equilibrium state. Through this assumption, it is possible to study various complex phenomena such as plasma oscillations, waves, instabilities or damping. Likewise, computational simulation of this specific plasma is the first step to analyze physics mechanisms on plasmas, which are not at equilibrium state, and hence plasma is not ideal. Particle-In-Cell (PIC) method is widely used because of its precision for this kind of cases. This work, presents PIC method implementation to simulate electrostatic plasma by Python, using ANACONDA packages. The code has been corroborated comparing previous theoretical results for three specific phenomena in cold plasmas: oscillations, Two-Stream instability (TSI) and Landau Damping(LD). Finally, parameters and results are discussed.

Multidimensional electron beam-plasma instabilities in the relativistic regime

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

Bret, A.; Gremillet, L.; Dieckmann, M. E.

2010-12-15

The interest in relativistic beam-plasma instabilities has been greatly rejuvenated over the past two decades by novel concepts in laboratory and space plasmas. Recent advances in this long-standing field are here reviewed from both theoretical and numerical points of view. The primary focus is on the two-dimensional spectrum of unstable electromagnetic waves growing within relativistic, unmagnetized, and uniform electron beam-plasma systems. Although the goal is to provide a unified picture of all instability classes at play, emphasis is put on the potentially dominant waves propagating obliquely to the beam direction, which have received little attention over the years. First, themore » basic derivation of the general dielectric function of a kinetic relativistic plasma is recalled. Next, an overview of two-dimensional unstable spectra associated with various beam-plasma distribution functions is given. Both cold-fluid and kinetic linear theory results are reported, the latter being based on waterbag and Maxwell-Juettner model distributions. The main properties of the competing modes (developing parallel, transverse, and oblique to the beam) are given, and their respective region of dominance in the system parameter space is explained. Later sections address particle-in-cell numerical simulations and the nonlinear evolution of multidimensional beam-plasma systems. The elementary structures generated by the various instability classes are first discussed in the case of reduced-geometry systems. Validation of linear theory is then illustrated in detail for large-scale systems, as is the multistaged character of the nonlinear phase. Finally, a collection of closely related beam-plasma problems involving additional physical effects is presented, and worthwhile directions of future research are outlined.« less

Particle Simulations in Magnetospheric Plasmas

DTIC Science & Technology

1989-12-18

Foreshock As an application of the simulation method used in the proposed research (Broadband electrostatic noise), the beam instability in the... foreshock has been investigated. Electrons backstreaming into the Earth’s foreshock generate waves near the plasma frequency by the beam instability. Two...results and numerical solutions of the dispersion equation indicate that the center frequency of the intense narrowband waves near the foreshock boundary

Energy balance in a Z pinch with suppressed Rayleigh-Taylor instability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baksht, R. B.; Oreshkin, V. I.; Rousskikh, A. G.; Zhigalin, A. S.

2018-03-01

At present Z-pinch has evolved into a powerful plasma source of soft x-ray. This paper considers the energy balance in a radiating metallic gas-puff Z pinch. In this type of Z pinch, a power-law density distribution is realized, promoting suppression of Rayleigh-Taylor (RT) instabilities that occur in the pinch plasma during compression. The energy coupled into the pinch plasma, is determined as the difference between the total energy delivered to the load from the generator and the magnetic energy of the load inductance. A calibrated voltage divider and a Rogowski coil were used to determine the coupled energy and the load inductance. Time-gated optical imaging of the pinch plasma showed its stable compression up to the stagnation phase. The pinch implosion was simulated using a 1D two-temperature radiative magnetohydrodynamic code. Comparison of the experimental and simulation results has shown that the simulation adequately describes the pinch dynamics for conditions in which RT instability is suppressed. It has been found that the proportion of the Ohmic heating in the energy balance of a Z pinch with suppressed RT instability is determined by Spitzer resistance and makes no more than ten percent.

Simulations of Atmospheric Neutral Wave Coupling to the Ionosphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Siefring, C. L.; Bernhardt, P. A.

2005-12-01

The densities in the E- and F-layer plasmas are much less than the density of background neutral atmosphere. Atmospheric neutral waves are primary sources of plasma density fluctuations and are the sources for triggering plasma instabilities. The neutral atmosphere supports acoustic waves, acoustic gravity waves, and Kelvin Helmholtz waves from wind shears. These waves help determine the structure of the ionosphere by changes in neutral density that affect ion-electron recombination and by neutral velocities that couple to the plasma via ion-neutral collisions. Neutral acoustic disturbances can arise from thunderstorms, chemical factory explosions and intentional high-explosive tests. Based on conservation of energy, acoustic waves grow in amplitude as they propagate upwards to lower atmospheric densities. Shock waves can form in an acoustic pulse that is eventually damped by viscosity. Ionospheric effects from acoustic waves include transient perturbations of E- and F-Regions and triggering of E-Region instabilities. Acoustic-gravity waves affect the ionosphere over large distances. Gravity wave sources include thunderstorms, auroral region disturbances, Space Shuttle launches and possibly solar eclipses. Low frequency acoustic-gravity waves propagate to yield traveling ionospheric disturbances (TID's), triggering of Equatorial bubbles, and possible periodic structuring of the E-Region. Gravity wave triggering of equatorial bubbles is studied numerically by solving the equations for plasma continuity and ion velocity along with Ohms law to provide an equation for the induced electric potential. Slow moving gravity waves provide density depressions on bottom of ionosphere and a gravitational Rayleigh-Taylor instability is initiated. Radar scatter detects field aligned irregularities in the resulting plasma bubble. Neutral Kelvin-Helmholtz waves are produced by strong mesospheric wind shears that are also coincident with the formation of intense E-layers. An atmospheric model for periodic structures with Kelvin-Helmholtz (KH) wavelengths is used to show the development of quasi-periodic structures in the E-layer. For the model, a background atmosphere near 100 km altitude with a scale height of 12.2 km is subjected to a wind shear profile varying by 100 m/s over a distance of 1.7 km. This neutral speed shear drives the KH instability with a growth time of about 100 seconds. The neutral KH wave is a source of plasma turbulence. The E-layer responds to the KH-Wave structure in the neutral atmosphere as an electrodynamic tracer. The plasma flow leads to small scale plasma field aligned irregularities from a gradient drift, plasma interchange instability (GDI) or a Farley-Buneman, two-stream instability (FBI). These irregularities are detected by radar scatter as quasi-periodic structures. All of these plasma phenomena would not occur without the initiation by neutral atmospheric waves.

Instability-driven electromagnetic fields in coronal plasmas

DOE PAGES

Manuel, M. J.-E.; Li, C. K.; Seguin, F. H.; ...

2013-04-15

Filamentary electromagnetic fields previously observed in the coronae of laser-driven spherical targets [F. H. S eguin et al., Phys. Plasma. 19, 012701 (2012)] have been further investigated in laser irradiated plastic foils. Face-on proton-radiography provides an axial view of these filaments and shows coherent cellular structure regardless of initial foil-surface conditions. The observed cellular fields are shown to have an approximately constant scale size of 210 lm throughout the plasma evolution. A discussion of possible field-generation mechanisms is provided and it is demonstrated that the likely source of the cellular field structure is the magnetothermal instability. Using predicted temperature andmore » density profiles, the fastest growing modes of this instability were found to be slowly varying in time and consistent with the observed cellular size.« less

Gyrokinetic-water-bag modeling of low-frequency instabilities in a laboratory magnetized plasma column

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gravier, E.; Klein, R.; Morel, P.; Besse, N.; Bertrand, P.

2008-12-01

A new model is presented, named collisional-gyro-water-bag (CGWB), which describes the collisional drift waves and ion-temperature-gradient (ITG) instabilities in a plasma column. This model is based on the kinetic gyro-water-bag approach recently developed [P. Morel et al., Phys. Plasmas 14, 112109 (2007)] to investigate ion-temperature-gradient modes. In CGWB electron-neutral collisions have been introduced and are now taken into account. The model has been validated by comparing CGWB linear analysis with other models previously proposed and experimental results as well. Kinetic effects on collisional drift waves are investigated, resulting in a less effective growth rate, and the transition from collisional drift waves to ITG instability depending on the ion temperature gradient is studied.

The fine structure of the Saturnian ring system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Houpis, H. L. F.; Mendis, D. A.

1983-01-01

A dust disk within a planetary magnetosphere constitutes a novel type of dust-ring current. Such an azimuthal current carrying dust disk is subject to the dusty plasma analog of the well known finite-resistivity 'tearing' mode instability in regular plasma current sheets, at long wavelengths. It is proposed that the presently observed fine ringlet of the Saturnian ring system is a relic of this process operating at cosmogonic times and breaking up the initial proto-ring (which may be regarded as an admixture of fine dust and plasma) into an ensemble of thin ringlets. It is shown that this instability develops at a rate that is many orders of magnitude faster than any other known instability, when the disk thickness reaches a value that is comparable to its present observed value.

Controlling dynamics of imploded core plasma for fast ignition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nagatomo, H.; Johzaki, T.; Sunahara, A.; Shiraga, H.; Sakagami, H.; Cai, H.; Mima, K.

2010-08-01

In the Fast ignition, formation of highly compressed core plasma is one of critical issue. In this work, the effect hydrodynamic instability in cone-guided shell implosion is studied. Two-dimensional radiation hydrodynamic simulations are carried out where realistic seeds of Rayleigh-Taylor instability are imposed. Preliminary results suggest that the instability reduces implosion performance, such as implosion velocity, areal density, and maximum density. In perturbed target implosion, the break-up time of the tip of the cone is earlier than that of ideal unperturbed target implosion case. This is crucial matter for the Fast ignition because the pass for the heating laser is filled with plasma before the shot of heating laser. A sophisticated implosion design of stable and low in-flight aspect ratio is necessary for cone-guided shell implosion.

Studies of small-scale plasma inhomogeneities in the cusp ionosphere using sounding rocket data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chernyshov, Alexander A.; Spicher, Andres; Ilyasov, Askar A.; Miloch, Wojciech J.; Clausen, Lasse B. N.; Saito, Yoshifumi; Jin, Yaqi; Moen, Jøran I.

2018-04-01

Microprocesses associated with plasma inhomogeneities are studied on the basis of data from the Investigation of Cusp Irregularities (ICI-3) sounding rocket. The ICI-3 rocket is devoted to investigating a reverse flow event in the cusp F region ionosphere. By numerical stability analysis, it is demonstrated that inhomogeneous-energy-density-driven (IEDD) instability can be a mechanism for the excitation of small-scale plasma inhomogeneities. The Local Intermittency Measure (LIM) method also applied the rocket data to analyze irregular structures of the electric field during rocket flight in the cusp. A qualitative agreement between high values of the growth rates of the IEDD instability and the regions with enhanced LIM is observed. This suggests that IEDD instability is connected to turbulent non-Gaussian processes.

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

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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

2016-04-01

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

Efficiency Versus Instability in Plasma Accelerators

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

Lebedev, Valeri; Burov, Alexey; Nagaitsev, Sergei

2017-01-05

Plasma wake-field acceleration in a strongly nonlinear (a.k.a. the blowout) regime is one of the main candidates for future high-energy colliders. For this case, we derive a universal efficiency-instability relation, between the power efficiency and the key instability parameter of the witness bunch. We also show that in order to stabilize the witness bunch in a regime with high power efficiency, the bunch needs to have high energy spread, which is not presently compatible with collider-quality beam properties. It is unclear how such limitations could be overcome for high-luminosity linear colliders.

Modified jeans instability for dust grains in a plasma.

PubMed

Delzanno, G L; Lapenta, G

2005-05-06

An investigation of the properties of linear stability is conducted for a system consisting of particles having mass m and charge q, interacting through the gravitational and electrostatic force (Jeans instability). However, in light of recent works showing that dust particles in a plasma can have a Lennard-Jones-like shielding potential, a new set of equations has been derived, where the electrostatic interaction among the dust particles is Lennard-Jones-like instead of Coulomb-like. A new condition for the gravitational instability is derived, showing a broader spectrum of unstable modes with faster growth rates.

Axial plasma detachment in helicon plasmas during a global transition due to spontaneous self organization: instabilities, bifurcation and the helicon core formation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chakraborty Thakur, Saikat; Hong, Rongjie; Tynan, George

2017-10-01

We observe axial plasma detachment in a helicon plasma device that occurs simultaneously along with a spontaneous, self-organized global transition in the plasma dynamics via a transport bifurcation with strong hysteresis, at a certain B_crit. For B B_crit, the plasma exhibits steepened density and ion temperature gradients, strong shearing in the azimuthal and parallel velocities, and multiple, simultaneously present, radially separated plasma instabilities. The axial detachment also follows the same hysteresis curves associated with the transport bifurcation that led to the transition. The value of B_crit depends on the source parameters (pressure, gas flow rate, rf power etc.). This study allows access to new regimes to study plasma turbulence and transport as well as plasma detachment and helicon core formation. We find that the plasma can exist in more than one type of helicon modes.

Particle acceleration magnetic field generation, and emission in Relativistic pair jets

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nishikawa, K.-I.; Ramirez-Ruiz, E.; Hardee, P.; Hededal, C.; Kouveliotou, C.; Fishman, G. J.

2005-01-01

Plasma waves and their associated instabilities (e.g., the Buneman instability, two-streaming instability, and the Weibel instability) are responsible for particle acceleration in relativistic pair jets. Using a 3-D relativistic electromagnetic particle (REMP) code, we have investigated particle acceleration associated with a relativistic pair jet propagating through a pair plasma. Simulations show that the Weibel instability created in the collisionless shock accelerates particles perpendicular and parallel to the jet propagation direction. Simulation results show that this instability generates and amplifies highly nonuniform, small-scale magnetic fields, which contribute to the electron's transverse deflection behind the jet head. The "jitter' I radiation from deflected electrons can have different properties than synchrotron radiation which is calculated in a uniform magnetic field. This jitter radiation may be important to understanding the complex time evolution and/or spectral structure in gamma-ray bursts, relativistic jets, and supernova remnants. The growth rate of the Weibel instability and the resulting particle acceleration depend on the magnetic field strength and orientation, and on the initial particle distribution function. In this presentation we explore some of the dependencies of the Weibel instability and resulting particle acceleration on the magnetic field strength and orientation, and the particle distribution function.

CUSP-PINCH DEVICE

DOEpatents

Baker, W.R.; Watteau, J.P.H.

1962-06-01

An ion-electron plasma heating device of the pinch tube class is designed with novel means for counteracting the instabilities of an ordinary linear pinch discharge. A plasma-forming discharge is created between two spacedapart coaxial electiodes through a gas such as deuterium. A pair of spaced coaxial magnetic field coils encircle the discharge and carry opposing currents so that a magnetic field having a cuspate configuration is created around the plasma, the field being formed after the plasma has been established but before significant instability arises. Thus, containment time is increased and intensified heating is obtained. In addition to the pinch compression heating additional heating is obtained by high-frequency magnetic field modulation. (AEC)

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

Mrówczyński, Stanisław; Schenke, Björn; Strickland, Michael

When the quark–gluon plasma (QGP) – a system of deconfined quarks and gluons – is in a nonequilibrium state, it is usually unstable with respect to color collective modes. The instabilities, which are expected to strongly influence dynamics of the QGP produced in relativistic heavy-ion collisions, are extensively discussed under the assumption that the plasma is weakly coupled. Here, we begin by presenting the theoretical approaches to study the QGP, which include: field theory methods based on the Keldysh–Schwinger formalism, classical and quantum kinetic theories, and fluid techniques. The dispersion equations, which give the spectrum of plasma collective excitations, aremore » analyzed in detail. We pay particular attention to a momentum distribution of plasma constituents which is obtained by deforming an isotropic momentum distribution. Mechanisms of chromoelectric and chromomagnetic instabilities are explained in terms of elementary physics. The Nyquist analysis, which allows one to determine the number of solutions of a dispersion equation without explicitly solving it, and stability criteria are also discussed. We then review various numerical approaches – purely classical or quantum – to simulate the temporal evolution of an unstable quark–gluon plasma. The dynamical role of instabilities in the processes of plasma equilibration is analyzed.« less

Probes, Moons, and Kinetic Plasma Wakes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hutchinson, I. H.; Malaspina, D.; Zhou, C.

2017-10-01

Nonmagnetic objects as varied as probes in tokamaks or moons in space give rise to flowing plasma wakes in which strong distortions of the ion and electron velocity distributions cause electrostatic instabilities. Non-linear phenomena such as electron holes are then produced. Historic probe theory largely ignores the resulting unstable character of the wake, but since we can now simulate computationally the non-linear wake phenomena, a timely challenge is to reassess the influence of these instabilities both on probe measurements and on the wakes themselves. Because the electron instability wavelengths are very short (typically a few Debye-lengths), controlled laboratory experiments face serious challenges in diagnosing them. That is one reason why they have long been neglected as an influence in probe interpretation. Space-craft plasma observations, by contrast, easily obtain sub-Debye-length resolution, but have difficulty with larger-scale reconstruction of the plasma spatial variation. In addition to surveying our developing understanding of wakes in magnetized plasmas, ongoing analysis of Artemis data concerning electron holes observed in the solar-wind lunar wake will be featured. Work partially supported by NASA Grant NNX16AG82G.

Collapse of the surface dusty plasma waves under the plasma-beam instability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grimalsky, Volodymyr; Kotsarenko, Anatoliy; Koshevaya, Svetlana; Escobedo-A., Jesus

2017-12-01

The nonlinear dynamics of the dusty plasma-dusty beam instability is investigated in the dusty plasma waveguides bounded by dielectrics. The dusty plasma includes the positive ions as the light component and the negative dust as the heavy component. A beam of dust particles moves along the waveguide. The set of hydrodynamic equations for the dust and beam particles, namely, the continuity equations and the equations for the momentum jointly with the Poisson one are used. The Boltzmann distribution is used for the ions. The electric and hydrodynamic boundary conditions are applied at the interfaces. The simulations have demonstrated that the dusty sound waves of small amplitudes are the subject to amplification with a high increment due to the convective instability, even when the concentration of the beam particles is ≤0.1 of the uniform dust concentration. The amplification very rapidly transits to the regime of strong surface nonlinearity, and near the interfaces the variations of the dust concentration reach extremely high values, where the collapse of the beam dust component occurs.

A basic plasma test for gyrokinetics: GDC turbulence in LAPD

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pueschel, M. J.; Rossi, G.; Told, D.; Terry, P. W.; Jenko, F.; Carter, T. A.

2017-02-01

Providing an important step towards validating gyrokinetics under comparatively little-explored conditions, simulations of pressure-gradient-driven plasma turbulence in the Large Plasma Device (LAPD) are compared with experimental observations. The corresponding signatures confirm the existence of a novel regime of turbulence, based on the recently-discovered gradient-driven drift coupling (GDC) instability, which is thus confirmed as a candidate mechanism for turbulence in basic, space and astrophysical plasmas. Despite the limitations of flux-tube gyrokinetics for this scenario, when accounting for box size scaling by applying a scalar factor η =6, agreement between simulations and experiment improves to within a factor of two for key observables: compressional magnetic, density, and temperature fluctuations, both in amplitude and structure. Thus, a first, strong indication is presented that the GDC instability seen in gyrokinetics appears to operate in the experiment and that the essential instability physics is present in the numerical model. Overall, the gyrokinetic framework and its numerical implementation in the Gene code therefore perform well for LAPD plasmas very different from their brethren in fusion experiments.

Radiation−condensation instability in tokamaks with mixed impurities

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

Morozov, D. Kh.; Pshenov, A. A., E-mail: Pshenov.andrey@gmail.com

2015-08-15

Radiation−condensation instability (RCI) is one of the possible mechanisms behind the formation of microfaceted asymmetric radiation from the edge (MARFE) of a tokamak. It has been previously shown by the authors that RCI in carbon-seeded plasma can be stabilized using neon injection. Recently, beryllium- and tungsten-seeded plasmas became a subject of great interest. Therefore, in the present paper, RCI stability analysis of the edge plasma seeded with beryllium, tungsten, nitrogen, and carbon is performed. The influence of neutral hydrogen fluxes from the wall on the marginal stability limit is studied as well.

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

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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

2017-10-01

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

Inductive and electrostatic acceleration in relativistic jet-plasma interactions.

PubMed

Ng, Johnny S T; Noble, Robert J

2006-03-24

We report on the observation of rapid particle acceleration in numerical simulations of relativistic jet-plasma interactions and discuss the underlying mechanisms. The dynamics of a charge-neutral, narrow, electron-positron jet propagating through an unmagnetized electron-ion plasma was investigated using a three-dimensional, electromagnetic, particle-in-cell computer code. The interaction excited magnetic filamentation as well as electrostatic plasma instabilities. In some cases, the longitudinal electric fields generated inductively and electrostatically reached the cold plasma-wave-breaking limit, and the longitudinal momentum of about half the positrons increased by 50% with a maximum gain exceeding a factor of 2 during the simulation period. Particle acceleration via these mechanisms occurred when the criteria for Weibel instability were satisfied.

Motion of negative ion plasma near the boundary with electron−ion plasma

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

Medvedev, Yu. V., E-mail: medve@mail.ru

2017-01-15

Processes occurring near the boundary between three-component plasma with negative ions and two-component electron−ion plasma are considered. The excited waves and instability are described. Stability condition at the boundary is determined.

Laser driven supersonic flow over a compressible foam surface on the Nike lasera)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Harding, E. C.; Drake, R. P.; Aglitskiy, Y.; Plewa, T.; Velikovich, A. L.; Gillespie, R. S.; Weaver, J. L.; Visco, A.; Grosskopf, M. J.; Ditmar, J. R.

2010-05-01

A laser driven millimeter-scale target was used to generate a supersonic shear layer in an attempt to create a Kelvin-Helmholtz (KH) unstable interface in a high-energy-density (HED) plasma. The KH instability is a fundamental fluid instability that remains unexplored in HED plasmas, which are relevant to the inertial confinement fusion and astrophysical environments. In the experiment presented here the Nike laser [S. P. Obenschain et al., Phys. Plasmas 3, 2098 (1996)] was used to create and drive Al plasma over a rippled foam surface. In response to the supersonic Al flow (Mach=2.6±1.1) shocks should form in the Al flow near the perturbations. The experimental data were used to infer the existence and location of these shocks. In addition, the interface perturbations show growth that has possible contributions from both KH and Richtmyer-Meshkov instabilities. Since compressible shear layers exhibit smaller growth, it is important to use the KH growth rate derived from the compressible dispersion relation.

Laser-Plasma Interactions on NIKE and the Fusion Test Facility

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Phillips, Lee; Weaver, James

2008-11-01

Recent proposed designs for a Fusion Test Facility (FTF) (Obenchain et al., Phys. Plasmas 13 056320 (2006)) for direct-drive ICF targets for energy applications involve high implosion velocities combined with higher laser irradiances. The use of high irradiances increases the likelihood of deleterious laser plasma instabilities (LPI) but the proposed use of a 248 nm KrF laser to drive these targets is expected to minimize the LPI risk. We examine, using simulation results from NRL's FAST hydrocode, the proposed operational regimes of the FTF in relation to the thresholds for the SRS, SBS, and 2-plasmon instabilities. Simulations are also used to help design and interpret ongoing experiments being conducted at NRL's NIKE facility for the purpose of generating and studying LPI. Target geometries and laser pulseshapes were devised in order to create plasma conditions with long scalelengths and low electron temperatures that allow the growth of parametric instabilities. These simulations include the effects of finite beam angles through the use of raytracing.

Inhibition of electron thermal conduction by electromagnetic instabilities. [in stellar coronas

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Levinson, Amir; Eichler, David

1992-01-01

Heat flux inhibition by electromagnetic instabilities in a hot magnetized plasma is investigated. Low-frequency electromagnetic waves become unstable due to anisotropy of the electron distribution function. The chaotic magnetic field thus generated scatters the electrons with a specific effective mean free path. Saturation of the instability due to wave-wave interaction, nonlinear scattering, wave propagation, and collisional damping is considered. The effective mean free path is found self-consistently, using a simple model to estimate saturation level and scattering, and is shown to decrease with the temperature gradient length. The results, limited to the assumptions of the model, are applied to astrophysical systems. For some interstellar clouds the instability is found to be important. Collisional damping stabilizes the plasma, and the heat conduction can be dominated by superthermal electrons.

Spatio-temporal evolution of the non-resonant instability in shock precursors of young supernova remnants

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kobzar, Oleh; Niemiec, Jacek; Pohl, Martin; Bohdan, Artem

2017-08-01

A non-resonant cosmic ray (CR) current-driven instability may operate in the shock precursors of young supernova remnants and be responsible for magnetic-field amplification, plasma heating and turbulence. Earlier simulations demonstrated magnetic-field amplification, and in kinetic studies a reduction of the relative drift between CRs and thermal plasma was observed as backreaction. However, all published simulations used periodic boundary conditions, which do not account for mass conservation in decelerating flows and only allow the temporal development to be studied. Here we report results of fully kinetic particle-in-cell simulations with open boundaries that permit inflow of plasma on one side of the simulation box and outflow at the other end, hence allowing an investigation of both the temporal and the spatial development of the instability. Magnetic-field amplification proceeds as in studies with periodic boundaries and, observed here for the first time, the reduction of relative drifts causes the formation of a shock-like compression structure at which a fraction of the plasma ions are reflected. Turbulent electric field generated by the non-resonant instability inelastically scatters CRs, modifying and anisotropizing their energy distribution. Spatial CR scattering is compatible with Bohm diffusion. Electromagnetic turbulence leads to significant non-adiabatic heating of the background plasma maintaining bulk equipartition between ions and electrons. The highest temperatures are reached at sites of large-amplitude electrostatic fields. Ion spectra show supra-thermal tails resulting from stochastic scattering in the turbulent electric field. Together, these modifications in the plasma flow will affect the properties of the shock and particle acceleration there.

Upstream ionization instability associated with a current-free double layer.

PubMed

Aanesland, A; Charles, C; Lieberman, M A; Boswell, R W

2006-08-18

A low frequency instability has been observed using various electrostatic probes in a low-pressure expanding helicon plasma. The instability is associated with the presence of a current-free double layer (DL). The frequency of the instability increases linearly with the potential drop of the DL, and simultaneous measurements show their coexistence. A theory for an upstream ionization instability has been developed, which shows that electrons accelerated through the DL increase the ionization upstream and are responsible for the observed instability. The theory is in good agreement with the experimental results.

Dust acoustic and drift waves in a non-Maxwellian dusty plasma with dust charge fluctuation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zakir, U.; Haque, Q.; Imtiaz, N.; Qamar, A.

2015-12-01

> ) on the wave dispersion and instability are presented. It is found that the presence of the non-thermal electron and ion populations reduce the growth rate of the instability which arises due to the dust charging effect. In addition, the nonlinear vortex solutions are also obtained. For illustration, the results are analysed by using the dusty plasma parameters of Saturn's magnetosphere.

Non-Linear Dynamics and Emergence in Laboratory Fusion Plasmas

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

Hnat, B.

2011-09-22

Turbulent behaviour of laboratory fusion plasma system is modelled using extended Hasegawa-Wakatani equations. The model is solved numerically using finite difference techniques. We discuss non-linear effects in such a system in the presence of the micro-instabilities, specifically a drift wave instability. We explore particle dynamics in different range of parameters and show that the transport changes from diffusive to non-diffusive when large directional flows are developed.

Saturation of Langmuir waves in laser-produced plasmas

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

Baker, K.L.

1996-04-01

This dissertation deals with the interaction of an intense laser with a plasma (a quasineutral collection of electrons and ions). During this interaction, the laser drives large-amplitude waves through a class of processes known as parametric instabilities. Several such instabilities drive one type of wave, the Langmuir wave, which involves oscillations of the electrons relative to the nearly-stationary ions. There are a number of mechanisms which limit the amplitude to which Langmuir waves grow. In this dissertation, these mechanisms are examined to identify qualitative features which might be observed in experiments and/or simulations. In addition, a number of experiments aremore » proposed to specifically look for particular saturation mechanisms. In a plasma, a Langmuir wave can decay into an electromagnetic wave and an ion wave. This parametric instability is proposed as a source for electromagnetic emission near half of the incident laser frequency observed from laser-produced plasmas. This interpretation is shown to be consistent with existing experimental data and it is found that one of the previous mechanisms used to explain such emission is not. The scattering version of the electromagnetic decay instability is shown to provide an enhanced noise source of electromagnetic waves near the frequency of the incident laser.« less

Measurements of the momentum and current transport from tearing instability in the Madison Symmetric Torus reversed-field pinch

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

Kuritsyn, A.; Fiksel, G.; Almagri, A. F.

2009-05-15

In this paper measurements of momentum and current transport caused by current driven tearing instability are reported. The measurements are done in the Madison Symmetric Torus reversed-field pinch [R. N. Dexter, D. W. Kerst, T. W. Lovell, S. C. Prager, and J. C. Sprott, Fusion Technol. 19, 131 (1991)] in a regime with repetitive bursts of tearing instability causing magnetic field reconnection. It is established that the plasma parallel momentum profile flattens during these reconnection events: The flow decreases in the core and increases at the edge. The momentum relaxation phenomenon is similar in nature to the well established relaxationmore » of the parallel electrical current and could be a general feature of self-organized systems. The measured fluctuation-induced Maxwell and Reynolds stresses, which govern the dynamics of plasma flow, are large and almost balance each other such that their difference is approximately equal to the rate of change of plasma momentum. The Hall dynamo, which is directly related to the Maxwell stress, drives the parallel current profile relaxation at resonant surfaces at the reconnection events. These results qualitatively agree with analytical calculations and numerical simulations. It is plausible that current-driven instabilities can be responsible for momentum transport in other laboratory and astrophysical plasmas.« less

Indirect self-modulation instability measurement concept for the AWAKE proton beam

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Turner, M.; Petrenko, A.; Biskup, B.; Burger, S.; Gschwendtner, E.; Lotov, K. V.; Mazzoni, S.; Vincke, H.

2016-09-01

AWAKE, the Advanced Proton-Driven Plasma Wakefield Acceleration Experiment, is a proof-of-principle R&D experiment at CERN using a 400 GeV / c proton beam from the CERN SPS (longitudinal beam size σz = 12 cm) which will be sent into a 10 m long plasma section with a nominal density of ≈ 7 ×1014 atoms /cm3 (plasma wavelength λp = 1.2 mm). In this paper we show that by measuring the time integrated transverse profile of the proton bunch at two locations downstream of the AWAKE plasma, information about the occurrence of the self-modulation instability (SMI) can be inferred. In particular we show that measuring defocused protons with an angle of 1 mrad corresponds to having electric fields in the order of GV/m and fully developed self-modulation of the proton bunch. Additionally, by measuring the defocused beam edge of the self-modulated bunch, information about the growth rate of the instability can be extracted. If hosing instability occurs, it could be detected by measuring a non-uniform defocused beam shape with changing radius. Using a 1 mm thick Chromox scintillation screen for imaging of the self-modulated proton bunch, an edge resolution of 0.6 mm and hence an SMI saturation point resolution of 1.2 m can be achieved.

Parametric decay of an extraordinary electromagnetic wave in relativistic plasma

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

Dorofeenko, V. G.; Krasovitskiy, V. B., E-mail: krasovit@mail.ru; Turikov, V. A.

2015-03-15

Parametric instability of an extraordinary electromagnetic wave in plasma preheated to a relativistic temperature is considered. A set of self-similar nonlinear differential equations taking into account the electron “thermal” mass is derived and investigated. Small perturbations of the parameters of the heated plasma are analyzed in the linear approximation by using the dispersion relation determining the phase velocities of the fast and slow extraordinary waves. In contrast to cold plasma, the evanescence zone in the frequency range above the electron upper hybrid frequency vanishes and the asymptotes of both branches converge. Theoretical analysis of the set of nonlinear equations showsmore » that the growth rate of decay instability increases with increasing initial temperature of plasma electrons. This result is qualitatively confirmed by numerical simulations of plasma heating by a laser pulse injected from vacuum.« less

MHD Instabilities in Simple Plasma Configuration

DTIC Science & Technology

1984-01-01

current near the plasma boundary) which can be detected outside the plasma ring . A concept which has proved to b- of great significance for the stability...decrease in the major radius of the plasma ring , a significant loss of plasma energy and particles (from the core of the plasma) and a decrease in the

Observation of the Self-Modulation Instability via Time-Resolved Measurements

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

Gross, M.; Engel, J.; Good, J.

Self-modulation of an electron beam in a plasma has been observed. The propagation of a long (several plasma wavelengths) electron bunch in an overdense plasma resulted in the production of multiple bunches via the self-modulation instability. Using a combination of a radio-frequency deflector and a dipole spectrometer, the time and energy structure of the self-modulated beam was measured. The longitudinal phase space measurement showed the modulation of a long electron bunch into three bunches with an approximatelymore » $$200\\text{ }\\text{ }\\mathrm{keV}/c$$ amplitude momentum modulation. Demonstrating this effect is a breakthrough for proton-driven plasma accelerator schemes aiming to utilize the same physical effect.« less

Observation of the Self-Modulation Instability via Time-Resolved Measurements

DOE PAGES

Gross, M.; Engel, J.; Good, J.; ...

2018-04-06

Self-modulation of an electron beam in a plasma has been observed. The propagation of a long (several plasma wavelengths) electron bunch in an overdense plasma resulted in the production of multiple bunches via the self-modulation instability. Using a combination of a radio-frequency deflector and a dipole spectrometer, the time and energy structure of the self-modulated beam was measured. The longitudinal phase space measurement showed the modulation of a long electron bunch into three bunches with an approximatelymore » $$200\\text{ }\\text{ }\\mathrm{keV}/c$$ amplitude momentum modulation. Demonstrating this effect is a breakthrough for proton-driven plasma accelerator schemes aiming to utilize the same physical effect.« less

Effect of fine dust particles and finite electron inertia of rotating magnetized plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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

2018-05-01

A theoretical investigation has been made of the effect of fine dust particles, viscosity and electron inertia on Jeans instability in a self-gravitating magnetized rotating plasma. The MHD model is used to formulate the problem in which a general dispersion relation. A general dispersion relation is obtained from the linearized perturbation equations using the normal mode analysis method. The analytical expressions of the growth rate of Jeans instability are obtained for the longitudinal and transverse mode of propagation. The present result shows that the Jeans criterion of instability is modified due to the presence of viscosity, rotation, and magnetic field.

Nonlinear mode coupling theory of the lower-hybrid-drift instability

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Drake, J. F.; Guzdar, P. N.; Hassam, A. B.; Huba, J. D.

1984-01-01

A nonlinear mode coupling theory of the lower-hybrid-drift instability is presented. A two-dimensional nonlinear wave equation is derived which describes lower-hybrid drift wave turbulence in the plane transverse to B (k.B = 0), and which is valid for finite beta, collisional and collisionless plasmas. The instability saturates by transferring energy from growing, long wavelength modes to damped, short wavelength modes. Detailed numerical results are presented which compare favorably to both recent computer simulations and experimental observations. Applications of this theory to space plasmas, the earth's magnetotail and the equatorial F region ionosphere, are discussed. Previously announced in STAR as N84-17734

Current Driven Instabilities and Anomalous Mobility in Hall-effect Thrusters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tran, Jonathan; Eckhardt, Daniel; Martin, Robert

2017-10-01

Due to the extreme cost of fully resolving the Debye length and plasma frequency, hybrid plasma simulations utilizing kinetic ions and quasi-steady state fluid electrons have long been the principle workhorse methodology for Hall-effect thruster (HET) modeling. Plasma turbulence and the resulting anomalous electron transport in HETs is a promising candidate for developing predictive models for the observed anomalous transport. In this work, we investigate the implementation of an anomalous electron cross field transport model for hybrid HET simulations such a HPHall. A theory for anomalous transport in HETs and current driven instabilities has been recently studied by Lafleur et al. This work has shown collective electron-wave scattering due to large amplitude azimuthal fluctuations of the electric field. We will further adapt the previous results for related current driven instabilities to electric propulsion relevant mass ratios and conduct a preliminary study of resolving this instability with a modified hybrid (fluid electron and kinetic ion) simulation with the hope of integration with established hybrid HET simulations. This work is supported by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research award FA9950-17RQCOR465.

Initial Edge Stability Observations in the PEGASUS Toroidal Experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bongard, M. W.; Battaglia, D. J.; Garstka, G. D.; Sontag, A. C.; Unterberg, E. A.

2007-11-01

Edge stability is an important consideration for design of fusion experiments, as transient heat loads generated by edge instabilities may damage the first wall. Such instabilities are now believed to include peeling (current driven) and ballooning (pressure driven) components. Peeling instability may be expected for high values of edge j||/B and low edge pressure gradient. This matches the operating space of Pegasus, with typical ˜100 kA/m^2, |B|˜ 0.01 T, and an L-mode edge. A new camera system has observed filamentary structures in the edge of nearly all ohmically-heated discharges. Ideal stability analysis of these discharges with DCON indicates marginal stability to resistive interchange for ψN>= 0.95. Modification of triangularity during startup is observed to delay instability onset. A plasma control system based on that used on DIII-D will allow study of the influence of plasma shaping on mode stability characteristics. An array of magnetic probes capable of insertion into the scrape-off layer and plasma edge is being developed to provide a local constraint on the edge current profile.

Artificial ion beam instabilities. I - Linear theory. II - Simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Scales, W. A.; Kintner, P. M.

1990-07-01

Some of the important plasma instabilities that result when an artificial ion beam is injected into the ionospheric F region are studied using linear Vlasov theory. The variation in wave spectra at the receiver as the receiver and plasma gun separate perpendicularly to the magnetic field is consistent with a beam density decrease at or near the receiver. At separation distances that are large fractions of the beam gyrodiameter, usually narrow-band waves near the background lower hybrid and H+ gyroharmonic frequencies are measured. These observations are consistent with waves expected to be generated by beam densities on the order of or less than a few percent of the background density. At smaller separation distances, broadband waves are usually observed with frequencies from zero up to and above the lower hybrid frequency. Electrostatic particle simulation studies of the plasma instabilities indicate that the broadband fluidlike lower hybrid instability is the most important for background particle heating. Perpendicular H+ heating is more efficient than perpendicular O+ or parallel electron heating for the drift velocity regime most relevant to past experiments.

The Parametric Instability of Alfvén Waves: Effects of Temperature Anisotropy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tenerani, Anna; Velli, Marco; Hellinger, Petr

2017-12-01

We study the stability of large-amplitude, circularly polarized Alfvén waves in an anisotropic plasma described by the double-adiabatic/CGL closure, and in particular the effect of a background thermal pressure anisotropy on the well-known properties of Alfvén wave parametric decay in magnetohydrodynamics (MHD). Anisotropy allows instability over a much wider range of values of parallel plasma beta (β ∥) when ξ = p 0⊥/p 0∥ > 1. When the pressure anisotropy exceeds a critical value, ξ ≥ ξ* with ξ* ≃ 2.7, there is a new regime in which the parametric instability is no longer quenched at high β ∥, and in the limit β ∥ ≫ 1, the growth rate becomes independent of β ∥. In the opposite case of ξ < ξ*, the instability is strongly suppressed with increasing parallel plasma beta, similarly to the MHD case. We analyze marginal stability conditions for parametric decay in the (ξ, β ∥) parameter space and discuss possible implications for Alfvénic turbulence in the solar wind.

Divertor-leg instability for finite beta and radially-tilted divertor plate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cohen, R. H.; Ryutov, D. D.

2004-11-01

Plasma in the divertor leg may experience a fast instability caused by sheath boundary conditions (BC). Perturbations cannot penetrate beyond the X point because of very strong shearing in its vicinity. Accordingly, this instability could increase cross-field transport in the divertor leg, and thereby reduce the heat load on the divertor plate, without having any appreciable negative effect on core plasma confinement. A way of describing the role of shearing in terms of the surface resistivity attributed to a ``control plane'' below the X point has recently been suggested (Contr. Plasma Phys., v. 44, p. 168, 2004). We use this BC, plus sheath BC at the divertor plate. We include effects of finite beta and of the radial tilt of the divertor plate. We optimize the radial tilt in order to maximize radial transport in divertor legs. We discuss experimental signatures of the instability: i) phase velocity and wave-numbers of the most unstable modes; ii) correlations between fluctuations of various parameters; and iii) the differences between fluctuations in the common and private flux regions.

Laser plasma interaction in rugby-shaped hohlraums

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Masson-Laborde, P.-E.; Philippe, F.; Tassin, V.; Monteil, M.-C.; Gauthier, P.; Casner, A.; Depierreux, S.; Seytor, P.; Teychenne, D.; Loiseau, P.; Freymerie, P.

2014-10-01

Rugby shaped-hohlraum has proven to give high performance compared to a classical similar-diameter cylinder hohlraum. Due to this performance, this hohlraum has been chosen as baseline ignition target for the Laser MegaJoule (LMJ). Many experiments have therefore been performed during the last years on the Omega laser facility in order to study in details the rugby hohlraum. In this talk, we will discuss the interpretation of these experiments from the point of view of the laser plasma instability problem. Experimental comparisons have been done between rugby, cylinder and elliptical shape rugby hohlraums and we will discuss how the geometry differences will affect the evolution of laser plasma instabilities (LPI). The efficiency of laser smoothing techniques on these instabilities will also be discussed as well as gas filling effect. The experimental results will be compared with FCI2 hydroradiative calculations and linear postprocessing with Piranah. Experimental Raman and Brillouin spectrum, from which we can infer the location of the parametric instabilities, will be compared to simulated ones, and will give the possibility to compare LPI between the different hohlraum geometries.

Particle Acceleration, Magnetic Field Generation, and Emission in Relativistic Pair Jets

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nishikawa, K. I.; Hardee, P.; Hededal, C. B.; Richardson, G.; Sol, H.; Preece, R.; Fishman, G. J.

2004-01-01

Shock acceleration is a ubiquitous phenomenon in astrophysical plasmas. Plasma waves and their associated instabilities (e.g., Buneman, Weibel and other two-stream instabilities) created in collisionless shocks are responsible for particle (electron, positron, and ion) acceleration. Using a 3-D relativistic electromagnetic particle (REMP) code, we have investigated particle acceleration associated with a relativistic jet front propagating into an ambient plasma. We find that the growth times depend on the Lorenz factors of jets. The jets with larger Lorenz factors grow slower. Simulations show that the Weibel instability created in the collisionless shock front accelerates jet and ambient particles both perpendicular and parallel to the jet propagation direction. The small scale magnetic field structure generated by the Weibel instability is appropriate to the generation of "jitter" radiation from deflected electrons (positrons) as opposed to synchrotron radiation. The jitter radiation resulting from small scale magnetic field structures may be important for understanding the complex time structure and spectral evolution observed in gamma-ray bursts or other astrophysical sources containing relativistic jets and relativistic collisionless shocks.

Rayleigh-Taylor and Richtmyer-Meshkov Instabilities in Turbulent Regime

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dimonte, G.

1998-11-01

The Rayleigh-Taylor instability (RTI) and its shock driven analog, the Richtmyer-Meshkov instability (RMI), affect a wide variety of important phenomena from sub-terrainian to astrophysical environments. The ``fluids" are equally varied from plasmas and magnetic fields to elastic-plastic solids. In most applications, the instabilities occur with a complex acceleration history and evolve to a highly nonlinear state, making the theoretical description formidable. We will link the fluid and plasma regimes while describing the theoretical issues and basic experiments in different venues to isolate key physics issues. RMI experiments on the Nova laser investigate the affects of compressibility with strong radiatively driven shocks (Mach > 10) in near solid density plasmas of sub-millimeter scale. The growth of single sinusoidal and random 3-D perturbations are measured using backlit radiography. RTI experiments with the Linear Electric Motor (LEM) are conducted with a variety of acceleration (<< 10^4 m/s^2) histories and fluids of 10 cm scale. Turbulent RTI experiments with high Reynolds number liquids show self-similar growth which is characterized with laser induced fluorescence. LEM experiments with an elastic-plastic material (yogurt) exhibit a critical wavelength and amplitude for instability. The experimental results will be compared with linear and nonlinear theories and hydrodynamic simulations.

Dependence of electron beam instability growth rates on the beam-plasma system parameters

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

Strangeway, R.J.

1982-02-01

Electron beam instabilites are studied by using a simple model for an electron beam streaming through a cold plasma, the beam being of finite width perpendicular to the ambient magnetic field. Through considerations of finite geometry and the coldness of the beam and background plasma, an instability similar to the two stream instability is assumed to be the means for wave growth in the system. Having found the maximum growth rate for one set of beam-plasma system parameters, this maximum growth rate is traced as these parameters are varied. The parameters that describe the system are the beam velocity (v/submore » b/), electron gyrofrequency to ambient electron plasma frequency ratio (..cap omega../sub e//..omega../sub p/e), the beam to background number density ratio (n/sub b//n/sub a/), and the beam width (a). When ..cap omega../sub e//..omega../sub p/e>1, a mode with ..cap omega../sub e/<..omega..<..omega../sub u/hr is found to be unstable, where ..cap omega.. is the wave frequency and ..omega../sub u/hr is the upper hybrid resonance frequency. For low values of n/sub b//n/sub a/ and ..cap omega../sub e/<..omega../sub p/e, this mode is still present with ..omega../sub p/e<..omega..<..omega../sub u/hr. If the beam density is large, n/sub b//n/sub a/approx. =1, the instability occures for frequencies just above the electron gyrofrequency. This mode may well be that observed in laboratory plasma before the system undergoes the beam-plasma discharge. There is another instability present, which occurs for ..omega..approx. =..omega../sub p/e. The growth rates for this mode, which are generally larger than those found for the ..omega..approx. =..omega..uhr mode, are only weakly dependent on ..cap omega../sub d//..omega../sub p/e. That this mode is not always observed in the laboratory implies that some factors not considered in the present theory suppress this mode, specifically, finite beam length.« less

Influence of a density increase on the evolution of the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability and vortices

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

Amerstorfer, U. V.; Erkaev, N. V.; Institute of Computational Modelling, 660036 Krasnoyarsk

2010-07-15

Results of two-dimensional nonlinear numerical simulations of the magnetohydrodynamic Kelvin-Helmholtz instability are presented. A boundary layer of a certain width is assumed, which separates the plasma in the upper layer from the plasma in the lower layer. A special focus is given on the influence of a density increase toward the lower layer. The evolution of the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability can be divided into three different phases, namely, a linear growth phase at the beginning, followed by a nonlinear phase with regular structures of the vortices, and finally, a turbulent phase with nonregular structures. The spatial scales of the vortices aremore » about five times the initial width of the boundary layer. The considered configuration is similar to the situation around unmagnetized planets, where the solar wind (upper plasma layer) streams past the ionosphere (lower plasma layer), and thus the plasma density increases toward the planet. The evolving vortices might detach around the terminator of the planet and eventually so-called plasma clouds might be formed, through which ionospheric material can be lost. For the special case of a Venus-like planet, loss rates are estimated, which are of the order of estimated loss rates from observations at Venus.« less

The linear and non-linear characterization of dust ion acoustic mode in complex plasma in presence of dynamical charging of dust

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

Bhattacharjee, Saurav, E-mail: sauravtsk.bhattacharjee@gmail.com; Das, Nilakshi

2015-10-15

A systematic theoretical investigation has been carried out on the role of dust charging dynamics on the nature and stability of DIA (Dust Ion Acoustic) mode in complex plasma. The study has been made for both linear and non-linear scale regime of DIA mode. The observed results have been characterized in terms of background plasma responses towards dust surface responsible for dust charge fluctuation, invoking important dusty plasma parameters, especially the ion flow speed and dust size. The linear analyses confirm the nature of instability in DIA mode in presence of dust charge fluctuation. The instability shows a damping ofmore » DIA mode in subsonic flow regime followed by a gradual growth in instability in supersonic limit of ion flow. The strength of non-linearity and their existence domain is found to be driven by different dusty plasma parameters. As dust is ubiquitous in interstellar medium with plasma background, the study also addresses the possible effect of dust charging dynamics in gravito-electrostatic characterization and the stability of dust molecular clouds especially in proto-planetary disc. The observations are influential and interesting towards the understanding of dust settling mechanism and formation of dust environments in different regions in space.« less

Mitigation of hot electrons from laser-plasma instabilities in high-Z, highly ionized plasmas

DOE PAGES

Fein, J. R.; Holloway, J. P.; Trantham, M. R.; ...

2017-03-20

Intense lasers interacting with under-dense plasma can drive laser-plasma instabilities (LPIs) that generate largeamplitude electron plasma waves (EPWs). Suprathermal or “hot” electrons produced in the EPWs are detrimental to inertial confinement fusion (ICF), by reducing capsule implosion efficiency through preheat, and also present an unwanted source of background on x-ray diagnostics. Mitigation of hot electrons was demonstrated in the past by altering plasma conditions near the quarter-critical density, n c/4, with the interpretation of reduced growth of the twoplasmon decay (TPD) instability. Here, we present measurements of hot electrons generated in laser-irradiated planar foils of material ranging from low- tomore » high-Z, where the fraction of laser energy converted to hot electrons, fhot was reduced by a factor of 10 3 going from CH to Au. This correlates with steepening density gradient length-scales that were also measured. Radiation hydrodynamic simulations produced electron density profiles in reasonable agreement with our measurements. According to the simulations, both multi-beam TPD and stimulated Raman scattering were predicted to be above threshold with linear threshold parameters that decreased with increasing Z due to steepening length-scales, as well as enhanced laser absorption and increased EPW collisional and Landau damping.« less

Mitigation of hot electrons from laser-plasma instabilities in high-Z, highly ionized plasmas

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

Fein, J. R.; Holloway, J. P.; Trantham, M. R.

Intense lasers interacting with under-dense plasma can drive laser-plasma instabilities (LPIs) that generate largeamplitude electron plasma waves (EPWs). Suprathermal or “hot” electrons produced in the EPWs are detrimental to inertial confinement fusion (ICF), by reducing capsule implosion efficiency through preheat, and also present an unwanted source of background on x-ray diagnostics. Mitigation of hot electrons was demonstrated in the past by altering plasma conditions near the quarter-critical density, n c/4, with the interpretation of reduced growth of the twoplasmon decay (TPD) instability. Here, we present measurements of hot electrons generated in laser-irradiated planar foils of material ranging from low- tomore » high-Z, where the fraction of laser energy converted to hot electrons, fhot was reduced by a factor of 10 3 going from CH to Au. This correlates with steepening density gradient length-scales that were also measured. Radiation hydrodynamic simulations produced electron density profiles in reasonable agreement with our measurements. According to the simulations, both multi-beam TPD and stimulated Raman scattering were predicted to be above threshold with linear threshold parameters that decreased with increasing Z due to steepening length-scales, as well as enhanced laser absorption and increased EPW collisional and Landau damping.« less

Dust-acoustic waves and stability in the permeating dusty plasma. II. Power-law distributions

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

Gong Jingyu; Du Jiulin; Liu Zhipeng

2012-08-15

The dust-acoustic waves and the stability theory for the permeating dusty plasma with power-law distributions are studied by using nonextensive q-statistics. In two limiting physical cases, when the thermal velocity of the flowing dusty plasma is much larger than, and much smaller than the phase velocity of the waves, we derived the dust-acoustic wave frequency, the instability growth rate, and the instability critical flowing velocity. As compared with the formulae obtained in part I [Gong et al., Phys. Plasmas 19, 043704 (2012)], all formulae of the present cases and the resulting plasma characteristics are q-dependent, and the power-law distribution ofmore » each plasma component of the permeating dusty plasma has a different q-parameter and thus has a different nonextensive effect. Further, we make numerical analyses of an example that a cometary plasma tail is passing through the interplanetary space dusty plasma and we show that these power-law distributions have significant effects on the plasma characteristics of this kind of plasma environment.« less

The role of cold plasma and its composition on the growth of electromagnetic ion cyclotron waves in the inner magnetosphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Snelling, J. M.; Johnson, J.; Engebretson, M. J.; Kim, E. H.; Tian, S.

2017-12-01

While it is currently well accepted that the free energy for growth of electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) waves in Earth's magnetosphere comes from unstable configurations of hot anisotropic ions that are injected into the ring current, several questions remain about what controls the instability. A recent study of the occurrence of EMIC waves relative to the plasmapause in Vallen Probes Data showed that plasma density gradients or enhancements were not the dominant factor in determining the site of EMIC wave generation [Tetrick et al. 2017]. However, the factors that control wave growth on each of the branches are not fully understood. For example, in some cases, the measured anisotropy is not adequate to explain local instability, and the relative importance of the density and composition of a cold plasma population is still uncertain. Several intervals of EMIC wave activity are analyzed to determine the role of a cold population in driving instability on each of the wave branches. This study utilizes the WHAMP (Waves in Homogeneous Anisotropic Magnetized Plasma) stability code with plasma distributions optimized to fit the observed distributions including temperature anisotropy, loss cone, and ring beam populations.

Recent progress in understanding electron thermal transport in NSTX

DOE PAGES

Ren, Y.; Belova, E.; Gorelenkov, N.; ...

2017-03-10

The anomalous level of electron thermal transport inferred in magnetically confined configurations is one of the most challenging problems for the ultimate realization of fusion power using toroidal devices: tokamaks, spherical tori and stellarators. It is generally believed that plasma instabilities driven by the abundant free energy in fusion plasmas are responsible for the electron thermal transport. The National Spherical Torus eXperiment (NSTX) (Ono et al 2000 Nucl. Fusion 40 557) provides a unique laboratory for studying plasma instabilities and their relation to electron thermal transport due to its low toroidal field, high plasma beta, low aspect ratio and largemore » ExB flow shear. Recent findings on NSTX have shown that multiple instabilities are required to explain observed electron thermal transport, given the wide range of equilibrium parameters due to different operational scenarios and radial regions in fusion plasmas. Here we review the recent progresses in understanding anomalous electron thermal transport in NSTX and focus on mechanisms that could drive electron thermal transport in the core region. The synergy between experiment and theoretical/ numerical modeling is essential to achieving these progresses. The plans for newly commissioned NSTX-Upgrade will also be discussed.« less

Jeans self gravitational instability of strongly coupled quantum plasma

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

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

2014-07-15

The Jeans self-gravitational instability is studied for quantum plasma composed of weakly coupled degenerate electron fluid and non-degenerate strongly coupled ion fluid. The formulation for such system is done on the basis of two fluid theory. The dynamics of weakly coupled degenerate electron fluid is governed by inertialess momentum equation. The quantum forces associated with the quantum diffraction effects and the quantum statistical effects act on the degenerate electron fluid. The strong correlation effects of ion are embedded in generalized viscoelastic momentum equation including the viscoelasticity and shear viscosities of ion fluid. The general dispersion relation is obtained using themore » normal mode analysis technique for the two regimes of propagation, i.e., hydrodynamic and kinetic regimes. The Jeans condition of self-gravitational instability is also obtained for both regimes, in the hydrodynamic regime it is observed to be affected by the ion plasma oscillations and quantum parameter while in the kinetic regime in addition to ion plasma oscillations and quantum parameter, it is also affected by the ion velocity which is modified by the viscosity generated compressional effects. The Jeans critical wave number and corresponding critical mass are also obtained for strongly coupled quantum plasma for both regimes.« less

Onset of magnetic reconnection in a weakly collisional, high- β plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alt, Andrew; Kunz, Matthew

2017-10-01

In a magnetized, weakly collisional plasma, the magnetic moment of the constituent particles is an adiabatic invariant. An increase of the magnetic-field strength in such a plasma thus leads to an increase in the thermal pressure perpendicular to the field lines. Above a β-dependent threshold, this pressure anisotropy drives the mirror instability, which produces strong distortions in the field lines and traps particles on ion-Larmor scales. The impact of this instability on magnetic reconnection is investigated using simple analytical and numerical models for the formation of a current sheet and the associated production of pressure anisotropy. The difficulty in maintaining an isotropic, Maxwellian particle distribution during the formation and subsequent thinning of a current sheet in a weakly collisional plasma, coupled with the low threshold for the mirror instability in a high- β plasma, imply that the topology of reconnecting magnetic fields can radically differ from the standard Harris-sheet profile often used in kinetic simulations of collisionless reconnection. Depending on the rate of current-sheet formation, this mirror-induced disruption may occur before standard tearing modes are able to develop. This work was supported by U.S. DOE contract DE-AC02-09CH11466.

Stimulated scattering of electromagnetic waves carrying orbital angular momentum in quantum plasmas.

PubMed

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

2012-07-01

We investigate stimulated scattering instabilities of coherent circularly polarized electromagnetic (CPEM) waves carrying orbital angular momentum (OAM) in dense quantum plasmas with degenerate electrons and nondegenerate ions. For this purpose, we employ the coupled equations for the CPEM wave vector potential and the driven (by the ponderomotive force of the CPEM waves) equations for the electron and ion plasma oscillations. The electrons are significantly affected by the quantum forces (viz., the quantum statistical pressure, the quantum Bohm potential, as well as the electron exchange and electron correlations due to electron spin), which are included in the framework of the quantum hydrodynamical description of the electrons. Furthermore, our investigation of the stimulated Brillouin instability of coherent CPEM waves uses the generalized ion momentum equation that includes strong ion coupling effects. The nonlinear equations for the coupled CPEM and quantum plasma waves are then analyzed to obtain nonlinear dispersion relations which exhibit stimulated Raman, stimulated Brillouin, and modulational instabilities of CPEM waves carrying OAM. The present results are useful for understanding the origin of scattered light off low-frequency density fluctuations in high-energy density plasmas where quantum effects are eminent.

3D nonlinear numerical simulation of the current-convective instability in detached diverter plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stepanenko, Alexander; Krasheninnikov, Sergei

2017-10-01

One of the possible mechanisms responsible for strong radiation fluctuations observed in the recent experiments with detached plasmas at ASDEX Upgrade [Potzel et al., Nuclear Fusion, 2014] can be related to the onset of the current-convective instability (CCI) driven by strong asymmetry of detachment in the inner and outer tokamak divertors [Krasheninnikov and Smolyakov, PoP, 2016]. In this study we present the first results of 3D nonlinear numerical simulations of the CCI in divertor plasma for the conditions relevant to the AUG experiment. The general physical model used to simulate the CCI, qualitative estimates for the instability characteristic growth rate and transverse wavelengths derived for plasma, which is spatially inhomogeneous both across and along the magnetic field lines, are presented. The simulation results, demonstrating nonlinear dynamics of the CCI, provide the frequency spectra of turbulent divertor plasma fluctuations showing good agreement with the available experimental data. This material is based upon the work supported by the U.S. Department of Energy under Award No. DE-FG02-04ER54739 at UCSD and by the Russian Ministry of Education and Science Grant No. 14.Y26.31.0008 at MEPhI.

Weibel instability mediated collisionless shocks using intense laser-driven plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Palaniyappan, Sasikumar; Fiuza, Federico; Huang, Chengkun; Gautier, Donald; Ma, Wenjun; Schreiber, Jorg; Raymer, Abel; Fernandez, Juan; Shimada, Tom; Johnson, Randall

2017-10-01

The origin of cosmic rays remains a long-standing challenge in astrophysics and continues to fascinate physicists. It is believed that ``collisionless shocks'' - where the particle Coulomb mean free path is much larger that the shock transition - are a dominant source of energetic cosmic rays. These shocks are ubiquitous in astrophysical environments such as gamma-ray bursts, supernova remnants, pulsar wind nebula and coronal mass ejections from the sun. A particular type of electromagnetic plasma instability known as Weibel instability is believed to be the dominant mechanism behind the formation of these collisionless shocks in the cosmos. The understanding of the microphysics behind collisionless shocks and their particle acceleration is tightly related with nonlinear basic plasma processes and remains a grand challenge. In this poster, we will present results from recent experiments at the LANL Trident laser facility studying collisionless shocks using intense ps laser (80J, 650 fs - peak intensity of 1020 W/cm2) driven near-critical plasmas using carbon nanotube foam targets. A second short pulse laser driven protons from few microns thick gold foil is used to radiograph the main laser-driven plasma. Work supported by the LDRD program at LANL.

A mechanism for pressure anisotropy and mirror instability in the dayside magnetosheath

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

Crooker, N.U.; Siscoe, G.L.

1977-01-01

The plasma in the dayside magnetosheaht exhibits a persistent pressure anisotropy in the sense p/sub perpendicular/>p/sub parallel/. A likely source for this anisotropy is the effect of field compression and plasma depletion along field lines as magnetosheath plasma flows toward the magnetopause. The model of Zwan and Wolf describing this effect for the case of isotropic pressure is combined with the double-adiabatic fluid equations to predict the behavior of the anisotropic pressure. For a fluid element following a streamline inward from the bow shock, we find theoretical pressure anisotropies of magnitude large enough to trigger the mirror instability over mostmore » of the dayside magnetosheath. These findings are supported by the observations of Kaufmann et al. of large-amplitude hydromagnetic waves in the inner magnetosheath believed to be generated by the mirror instability. (AIP)« less

Saturated internal instabilities in advanced-tokamak plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hua, M.-D.; Chapman, I. T.; Pinches, S. D.; Hastie, R. J.; MAST Team

2010-06-01

"Advanced tokamak" (AT) scenarios were developed with the aim of reaching steady-state operation in future potential tokamak fusion power plants. AT scenarios exhibit non-monotonic to flat safety factor profiles (q, a measure of the magnetic field line pitch), with the minimum q (qmin) slightly above an integer value (qs). However, it has been predicted that these q profiles are unstable to ideal magnetohydrodynamic instabilities as qmin approaches qs. These ideal instabilities, observed and diagnosed as such for the first time in MAST plasmas with AT-like q profiles, have far-reaching consequences like confinement degradation, flattening of the toroidal core rotation or enhanced fast ion losses. These observations motivate the stability analysis of advanced-tokamak plasmas, with a view to provide guidance for stability thresholds in AT scenarios. Additionally, the measured rotation damping is compared to the self-consistently calculated predictions from neoclassical toroidal viscosity theory.

The collisional drift mode in a partially ionized plasma. [in the F region

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hudson, M. K.; Kennel, C. F.

1974-01-01

The structure of the drift instability was examined in several density regimes. Let sub e be the total electron mean free path, k sub z the wave-vector component along the magnetic field, and the ratio of perpendicular ion diffusion to parallel electron streaming rates. At low densities (k sub z lambda 1) the drift mode is isothermal and should be treated kineticly. In the finite heat conduction regime square root of m/M k sub z Lambda sub 1) the drift instability threshold is reduced at low densities and increased at high densities as compared to the isothermal threshold. Finally, in the energy transfer limit (k sub z kambda sub e square root of m/M) the drift instability behaves adiabatically in a fully ionized plasma and isothermally in a partially ionized plasma for an ion-neutral to Coulomb collision frequency ratio.

Electromagnetic drift waves dispersion for arbitrarily collisional plasmas

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

Lee, Wonjae, E-mail: wol023@ucsd.edu; Krasheninnikov, Sergei I., E-mail: skrash@mae.ucsd.edu; Angus, J. R.

2015-07-15

The impacts of the electromagnetic effects on resistive and collisionless drift waves are studied. A local linear analysis on an electromagnetic drift-kinetic equation with Bhatnagar-Gross-Krook-like collision operator demonstrates that the model is valid for describing linear growth rates of drift wave instabilities in a wide range of plasma parameters showing convergence to reference models for limiting cases. The wave-particle interactions drive collisionless drift-Alfvén wave instability in low collisionality and high beta plasma regime. The Landau resonance effects not only excite collisionless drift wave modes but also suppress high frequency electron inertia modes observed from an electromagnetic fluid model in collisionlessmore » and low beta regime. Considering ion temperature effects, it is found that the impact of finite Larmor radius effects significantly reduces the growth rate of the drift-Alfvén wave instability with synergistic effects of high beta stabilization and Landau resonance.« less

Hydrodynamic ion sound instability in systems of a finite length

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koshkarov, O.; Chapurin, O.; Smolyakov, A.; Kaganovich, I.; Ilgisonis, V.

2016-09-01

Plasmas permeated by an energetic ion beam is prone to the kinetic ion-sound instability that occurs as a result of the inverse Landau damping for ion velocity. It is shown here that in a finite length system there exists another type of the ion sound instability which occurs for v02

Collisionless shock experiments with lasers and observation of Weibel instabilities

DOE PAGES

Park, H. -S.; Huntington, C. M.; Fiuza, F.; ...

2015-05-13

Astrophysical collisionless shocks are common in the universe, occurring in supernova remnants, gamma ray bursts, and protostellar jets. They appear in colliding plasma flows when the mean free path for ion-ion collisions is much larger than the system size. It is believed that such shocks could be mediated via the electromagnetic Weibel instability in astrophysical environments without preexisting magnetic fields. Here, we present laboratory experiments using high-power lasers and investigate the dynamics of high-Mach-number collisionless shock formation in two interpenetrating plasma streams. Our recent proton-probe experiments on Omega show the characteristic filamentary structures of the Weibel instability that are electromagneticmore » in nature with an inferred magnetization level as high as ~1% These results imply that electromagnetic instabilities are significant in the interaction of astrophysical conditions.« less

A transverse separate-spin-evolution streaming instability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Iqbal, Z.; Andreev, Pavel A.; Murtaza, G.

2018-05-01

By using the separate spin evolution quantum hydrodynamical model, the instability of transverse mode due to electron streaming in a partially spin polarized magnetized degenerate plasma is studied. The electron spin polarization gives birth to a new spin-dependent wave (i.e., separate spin evolution streaming driven ordinary wave) in the real wave spectrum. It is shown that the spin polarization and streaming speed significantly affect the frequency of this new mode. Analyzing growth rate, it is found that the electron spin effects reduce the growth rate and shift the threshold of instability as well as its termination point towards higher values. Additionally, how the other parameters like electron streaming and Fermi pressure influence the growth rate is also investigated. Current study can help towards better understanding of the existence of new waves and streaming instability in the astrophysical plasmas.

Identifying and Characterizing Kinetic Instabilities using Solar Wind Observations of Non-Maxwellian Plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Klein, K. G.

2016-12-01

Weakly collisional plasmas, of the type typically observed in the solar wind, are commonly in a state other than local thermodynamic equilibrium. This deviation from a Maxwellian velocity distribution can be characterized by pressure anisotropies, disjoint beams streaming at differing speeds, leptokurtic distributions at large energies, and other non-thermal features. As these features may be artifacts of dynamic processes, including the the acceleration and expansion of the solar wind, and as the free energy contained in these features can drive kinetic micro-instabilities, accurate measurement and modeling of these features is essential for characterizing the solar wind. After a review of these features, a technique is presented for the efficient calculation of kinetic instabilities associated with a general, non-Maxwellian plasma. As a proof of principle, this technique is applied to bi-Maxwellian systems for which kinetic instability thresholds are known, focusing on parameter scans including beams and drifting heavy minor ions. The application of this technique to fits of velocity distribution functions from current, forthcoming, and proposed missions including WIND, DSCOVR, Solar Probe Plus, and THOR, as well as the underlying measured distribution functions, is discussed. Particular attention is paid to the effects of instrument pointing and integration time, as well as potential deviation between instabilities associated with the Maxwellian fits and those associated with the observed, potentially non-Maxwellian, velocity distribution. Such application may further illuminate the role instabilities play in the evolution of the solar wind.

Ion dynamics during the parametric instabilities of a left-hand polarized Alfvén wave in a proton-electron-alpha plasma

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

Gao, Xinliang; Lu, Quanming; Hao, Yufei

2014-01-01

The parametric instabilities of an Alfvén wave in a proton-electron plasma system are found to have great influence on proton dynamics, where part of the protons can be accelerated through the Landau resonance with the excited ion acoustic waves, and a beam component along the background magnetic field is formed. In this paper, with a one-dimensional hybrid simulation model, we investigate the evolution of the parametric instabilities of a monochromatic left-hand polarized Alfvén wave in a proton-electron-alpha plasma with a low beta. When the drift velocity between the protons and alpha particles is sufficiently large, the wave numbers of themore » backward daughter Alfvén waves can be cascaded toward higher values due to the modulational instability during the nonlinear evolution of the parametric instabilities, and the alpha particles are resonantly heated in both the parallel and perpendicular direction by the backward waves. On the other hand, when the drift velocity of alpha particles is small, the alpha particles are heated in the linear growth stage of the parametric instabilities due to the Landau resonance with the excited ion acoustic waves. Therefore, the heating occurs only in the parallel direction, and there is no obvious heating in the perpendicular direction. The relevance of our results to the preferential heating of heavy ions observed in the solar wind within 0.3 AU is also discussed in this paper.« less

Particle Acceleration, Magnetic Field Generation, and Associated Emission in Collisionless Relativistic Jets

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nishikawa, K.-I.

2007-01-01

Nonthermal radiation observed from astrophysical systems containing relativistic jets and shocks, e.g., active galactic nuclei (AGNs), gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), and Galactic microquasar systems usually have power-law emission spectra. Recent PIC simulations using injected relativistic electron-ion (electro-positron)jets show that acceleration occurs within the downstream jet. Shock acceleration is a ubiquitous phenomenon in astrophysical plasmas. Plasma waves and their associated instabilities (e.g., the Buneman instability, other two-streaming instability, and the Weibel instability) created in the shocks are responsible for particle (electron, positron, and ion) acceleration. The simulation results show that the Weibel instability is responsible for generating and amplifying highly nonuniform, small-scale magnetic fields. These magnetic fields contribute to the electron's transverse deflection behind the jet head. The "jitter" radiation from deflected electrons has different properties than synchrotron radiation which is calculated in a uniform magnetic field. This jitter radiation may be important to understanding the complex time evolution and/or spectral structure in gamma-ray bursts, relativistic jets, and supernova remnants.

Particle Acceleration, Magnetic Field Generation and Associated Emission in Collisionless Relativistic Jets

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nishikawa, K. I.; Ramirez-Ruiz, E.; Hardee, P.; Mizuno, Y.; Fishman. G. J.

2007-01-01

Nonthermal radiation observed from astrophysical systems containing relativistic jets and shocks, e.g., active galactic nuclei (AGNs), gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), and Galactic microquasar systems usually have power-law emission spectra. Recent PIC simulations using injected relativistic electron-ion (electro-positron) jets show that acceleration occurs within the downstream jet. Shock acceleration is a ubiquitous phenomenon in astrophysical plasmas. Plasma waves and their associated instabilities (e.g., the Buneman instability, other two-streaming instability, and the Weibel instability) created in the shocks are responsible for particle (electron, positron, and ion) acceleration. The simulation results show that the Weibel instability is responsible for generating and amplifying highly nonuniform, small-scale magnetic fields. These magnetic fields contribute to the electron's transverse deflection behind the jet head. The "jitter" radiation from deflected electrons has different properties than synchrotron radiation which is calculated in a uniform magnetic field. This jitter radiation may be important to understanding the complex time evolution and/or spectral structure in gamma-ray bursts, relativistic jets, and supernova remnants.

Double plasma resonance instability as a source of solar zebra emission

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Benáček, J.; Karlický, M.

2018-03-01

Context. The double plasma resonance (DPR) instability plays a basic role in the generation of solar radio zebras. In the plasma, consisting of the loss-cone type distribution of hot electrons and much denser and colder background plasma, this instability generates the upper-hybrid waves, which are then transformed into the electromagnetic waves and observed as radio zebras. Aims: In the present paper we numerically study the double plasma resonance instability from the point of view of the zebra interpretation. Methods: We use a 3-dimensional electromagnetic particle-in-cell (3D PIC) relativistic model. We use this model in two versions: (a) a spatially extended "multi-mode" model and (b) a spatially limited "specific-mode" model. While the multi-mode model is used for detailed computations and verifications of the results obtained by the "specific-mode" model, the specific-mode model is used for computations in a broad range of model parameters, which considerably save computational time. For an analysis of the computational results, we developed software tools in Python. Results: First using the multi-mode model, we study details of the double plasma resonance instability. We show how the distribution function of hot electrons changes during this instability. Then we show that there is a very good agreement between results obtained by the multi-mode and specific-mode models, which is caused by a dominance of the wave with the maximal growth rate. Therefore, for computations in a broad range of model parameters, we use the specific-mode model. We compute the maximal growth rates of the double plasma resonance instability with a dependence on the ratio between the upper-hybrid ωUH and electron-cyclotron ωce frequency. We vary temperatures of both the hot and background plasma components and study their effects on the resulting growth rates. The results are compared with the analytical ones. We find a very good agreement between numerical and analytical growth rates. We also compute saturation energies of the upper-hybrid waves in a very broad range of parameters. We find that the saturation energies of the upper-hybrid waves show maxima and minima at almost the same values of ωUH/ωce as the growth rates, but with a higher contrast between them than the growth rate maxima and minima. The contrast between saturation energy maxima and minima increases when the temperature of hot electrons increases. Furthermore, we find that the saturation energy of the upper-hybrid waves is proportional to the density of hot electrons. The maximum saturated energy can be up to one percent of the kinetic energy of hot electrons. Finally we find that the saturation energy maxima in the interval of ωUH/ωce = 3-18 decrease according to the exponential function. All these findings can be used in the interpretation of solar radio zebras.

Toroidal modelling of resistive internal kink and fishbone instabilities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Tingting; He, Hongda; Liu, Yueqiang; Liu, Yue; Hao, G. Z.; Zhu, Jinxia

2018-05-01

The influence of energetic particles and plasma resistivity on the n =1 ( n is the toroidal mode number) internal kink and fishbone modes in tokamak plasmas is numerically investigated, using the full toroidal, resistive magnetohydrodynamic-kinetic hybrid stability code MARS-K [Liu et al., Phys. Plasmas 15 112503 (2008)]. The results show that energetic particles can either stabilize or destabilize the ideal internal kink mode, depending on the radial profiles of the particles' density and pressure. Resistive fishbones with and without an ideal wall are investigated. It is found that, in the presence of energetic particles as well as plasma resistivity, two branches of unstable roots exist, for a plasma which is ideally stable to the internal kink instability. One is the resistive internal kink mode. The other is the resistive fishbone mode. These two-branch solutions show similar behaviors, independent of whether the initial ideal kink stability is due to an ideal wall stabilization for high-beta plasmas, or due to a stable equilibrium below the Bussac pressure limit. For a realistic toroidal plasma, the resistive internal kink is the dominant instability, which grows much faster than the resistive fishbone. The plasma resistivity destabilizes the resistive internal kink while stabilizes the resistive fishbone. Systematic comparison with an analytic model qualitatively confirms the MARS-K results. Compared to analytic models based on the perturbative approach, MARS-K offers an improved physics model via self-consistent treatment of coupling between the fluid and kinetic effects due to energetic particles.

Mixed Pierce-two-stream instability development in an extraction system of a negative ion source

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

Barminova, H. Y., E-mail: barminova@mephi.ru; Chikhachev, A. S.

2016-02-15

Mixed Pierce-two-stream instability may occur in an extraction system of a negative ion source based on a volume-produced plasma. The reasons for instability development are discussed. Analytically the conditions of unstable beam propagation are determined. The instability threshold is shown to be increased compared with the pure Pierce instability. The influence of inclined perturbations on the instability behavior is investigated. The numerical calculations are performed in COMSOL Multiphysics. The simulation results confirm the existence of such a mixed instability appearance that develops due to both the electrons of the external circuit and the background positive ions.

Particle trapping: A key requisite of structure formation and stability of Vlasov–Poisson plasmas

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

Schamel, Hans, E-mail: hans.schamel@uni-bayreuth.de

2015-04-15

Particle trapping is shown to control the existence of undamped coherent structures in Vlasov–Poisson plasmas and thereby affects the onset of plasma instability beyond the realm of linear Landau theory.

The modulational instability for the TDNLS equations for weakly nonlinear dispersive MHD waves

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

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

1995-01-01

In this paper we study the modulational instability for the TDNLS equations derived by Hada (1993) and Brio, Hunter, and Johnson to describe the propagation of weakly nonlinear dispersive MHD waves in beta approximately 1 plasmas. We employ Whitham's averaged Lagrangian method to study the modulational instability. This complements studies of the modulational instability by Hada (1993) and Hollweg (1994), who did not use the averaged Lagrangian approach.

The formation of relativistic plasma structures and their potential role in the generation of cosmic ray electrons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dieckmann, M. E.

2008-11-01

Recent particle-in-cell (PIC) simulation studies have addressed particle acceleration and magnetic field generation in relativistic astrophysical flows by plasma phase space structures. We discuss the astrophysical environments such as the jets of compact objects, and we give an overview of the global PIC simulations of shocks. These reveal several types of phase space structures, which are relevant for the energy dissipation. These structures are typically coupled in shocks, but we choose to consider them here in an isolated form. Three structures are reviewed. (1) Simulations of interpenetrating or colliding plasma clouds can trigger filamentation instabilities, while simulations of thermally anisotropic plasmas observe the Weibel instability. Both transform a spatially uniform plasma into current filaments. These filament structures cause the growth of the magnetic fields. (2) The development of a modified two-stream instability is discussed. It saturates first by the formation of electron phase space holes. The relativistic electron clouds modulate the ion beam and a secondary, spatially localized electrostatic instability grows, which saturates by forming a relativistic ion phase space hole. It accelerates electrons to ultra-relativistic speeds. (3) A simulation is also revised, in which two clouds of an electron-ion plasma collide at the speed 0.9c. The inequal densities of both clouds and a magnetic field that is oblique to the collision velocity vector result in waves with a mixed electrostatic and electromagnetic polarity. The waves give rise to growing corkscrew distributions in the electrons and ions that establish an equipartition between the electron, the ion and the magnetic energy. The filament-, phase space hole- and corkscrew structures are discussed with respect to electron acceleration and magnetic field generation.

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

Qian, Y. Z., E-mail: qyzbird@live.com; Chen, H., E-mail: hchen61@ncu.edu.cn; Liu, S. Q., E-mail: sqlgroup@ncu.edu.cn

The Jeans instability in self-gravitating plasma with Kappa distributed dust grains is investigated basing on assumption that the mutual interaction among dust grains is governed by Lennard-Jones potential. It is shown that the presence of additional suprathermal particles has significant effects on the range of unstable modes and growth rate of Jeans instability. Compared with Maxwellian scenario, suprathermality stabilized the Jeans instability.

Mitigation of Hot Electrons from Laser-Plasma Instabilities in Laser-Generated X-Ray Sources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fein, Jeffrey R.

This thesis describes experiments to understand and mitigate energetic or "hot" electrons from laser-plasma instabilities (LPIs) in an effort to improve radiographic techniques using laser-generated x-ray sources. Initial experiments on the OMEGA-60 laser show evidence of an underlying background generated by x-rays with energies over 10 keV on radiographs using backlit pinhole radiography, whose source is consistent with hard x-rays from LPI-generated hot electrons. Mitigating this background can dramatically reduce uncertainties in measured object densities from radiographs and may be achieved by eliminating the target components in which LPIs are most likely to grow. Experiments were performed on the OMEGA-EP laser to study hot electron production from laser-plasma instabilities in high-Z plasmas relevant to laser-generated x-ray sources. Measurements of hard x-rays show a dramatic reduction in hot-electron energy going from low-Z CH to high-Z Au targets, in a manner that is consistent with steepening electron density profiles that were also measured. The profile-steepening, we infer, increased thresholds of LPIs and contributed to the reduced hot-electron production at higher Z. Possible mechanisms for generating hot electrons include the two-plasmon decay and stimulated Raman scattering instabilities driven by multiple laser beams. Radiation hydrodynamic simulations using the CRASH code predict that both of these instabilities were above threshold with linear threshold parameters that decreased with increasing Z due to steepening length-scales, as well as enhanced laser absorption and increased collisional and Landau damping of electron plasma waves. Another set of experiments were performed on the OMEGA-60 laser to test whether hard x-ray background could be mitigated in backlit pinhole imagers by controlling laser-plasma instabilities. Based on the results above, we hypothesized that LPIs and hot electrons that lead to hard x-ray background would be reduced by increasing the atomic number of the irradiated components in the pinhole imagers. Using higher-Z materials we demonstrate significant reduction in x-rays between 30-70 keV and 70% increase in the signal-to-background ratio. Based on this, a proposed backlighter and detector setup predicts a signal-to-background ratio of up to 4.5:1.

Using X-ray spectroscopy of relativistic laser plasma interaction to reveal parametric decay instabilities: a modeling tool for astrophysics.

PubMed

Oks, E; Dalimier, E; Faenov, A Ya; Angelo, P; Pikuz, S A; Tubman, E; Butler, N M H; Dance, R J; Pikuz, T A; Skobelev, I Yu; Alkhimova, M A; Booth, N; Green, J; Gregory, C; Andreev, A; Zhidkov, A; Kodama, R; McKenna, P; Woolsey, N

2017-02-06

By analyzing profiles of experimental x-ray spectral lines of Si XIV and Al XIII, we found that both Langmuir and ion acoustic waves developed in plasmas produced via irradiation of thin Si foils by relativistic laser pulses (intensities ~10²¹ W/cm²). We prove that these waves are due to the parametric decay instability (PDI). This is the first time that the PDI-induced ion acoustic turbulence was discovered by the x-ray spectroscopy in laser-produced plasmas. These conclusions are also supported by PIC simulations. Our results can be used for laboratory modeling of physical processes in astrophysical objects and a better understanding of intense laser-plasma interactions.

Intermittent laser-plasma interactions and hot electron generation in shock ignition

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

Yan, R.; Li, J.; Ren, C.

We study laser-plasma interactions and hot electron generation in the ignition phase of shock ignition through 1D and 2D particle-in-cell simulations in the regime of long density scale length and moderately high laser intensity. These long-term simulations show an intermittent bursting pattern of laser-plasma instabilities, resulting from a coupling of the modes near the quarter-critical-surface and those in the lower density region via plasma waves and laser pump depletion. The majority of the hot electrons are found to be from stimulated Raman scattering and of moderate energies. However, high energy electrons of preheating threat can still be generated from themore » two-plasmon-decay instability.« less

Scaling Relationships for ELM Diverter Heat Flux on DIII D

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peters, E. A.; Makowski, M. A.; Leonard, A. W.

2015-11-01

Edge Localized Modes (ELMs) are periodic plasma instabilities that occur during H-mode operation in tokamaks. Left unmitigated, these instabilities result in concentrated particle and heat fluxes at the divertor and stand to cause serious damage to the plasma facing components of tokamaks. The purpose of this research is to find scaling relationships that predict divertor heat flux due to ELMs based on plasma parameters at the time of instability. This will be accomplished by correlating characteristic ELM parameters with corresponding plasma measurements and analyzing the data for trends. One early assessment is the effect of the heat transmission coefficient ? on the in/out asymmetry of the calculated ELM heat fluxes. Using IR camera data, further assessments in this study will continue to emphasize in/out asymmetry in ELMs, as this has important implications for ITER operation. Work supported in part by the US DOE, DE-AC52-07NA27344, DE-FC02-04ER54698, Office of Workforce Development for Teachers and Scientists (WDTS) under the Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internships Program (SULI).

Branching and resonant characteristics of surface plasma waves in a semi-bounded quantum plasma including spin-current effects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Myoung-Jae; Jung, Gwanyong; Jung, Young-Dae

2018-05-01

The dispersion relation for the waves propagating on the surface of a bounded quantum plasma with consideration of electron spin-current and ion-stream is derived and numerically investigated. We have found that one of the real parts of the wave frequency has the branching behavior beyond the instability domains. In such a region where the frequency branching occurs, the waves exhibit purely propagating mode. The resonant instability has also been investigated. We have found that when the phase velocity of the wave is close to the velocity of ion-stream the wave becomes unstable. However, the resonant growth rate is remarkably reduced by the effect of electron spin-current. The growth rate is also decreased by either the reduction of ion-stream velocity or the increase in quantum wavelength. Thus, the quantum effect in terms of the quantum wave number is found to suppress the resonant instability. It is also found that the increase in Fermi energy can reduce the growth rate of the resonant wave in the quantum plasma.

Electrostatic stability of electron-positron plasmas in dipole geometry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mishchenko, Alexey; Plunk, Gabriel G.; Helander, Per

2018-04-01

The electrostatic stability of electron-positron plasmas is investigated in the point-dipole and Z-pinch limits of dipole geometry. The kinetic dispersion relation for sub-bounce-frequency instabilities is derived and solved. For the zero-Debye-length case, the stability diagram is found to exhibit singular behaviour. However, when the Debye length is non-zero, a fluid mode appears, which resolves the observed singularity, and also demonstrates that both the temperature and density gradients can drive instability. It is concluded that a finite Debye length is necessary to determine the stability boundaries in parameter space. Landau damping is investigated at scales sufficiently smaller than the Debye length, where instability is absent.

Possible Mechanism for Damping of Electrostatic Instability Related to Inhomogeneous Distribution of Energy Density in the Auroral Ionosphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Golovchanskaya, I. V.; Kozelov, B. V.; Chernyshov, A. A.; Ilyasov, A. A.; Mogilevsky, M. M.

2018-03-01

Satellite observations show that the electrostatic instability, which is expected to occur in most cases due to an inhomogeneous energy density caused by a strongly inhomogeneous transverse electric field (shear of plasma convection velocity), occasionally does not develop inside nonlinear plasma structures in the auroral ionosphere, even though the velocity shear is sufficient for its excitation. In this paper, it is shown that the instability damping can be caused by out-of-phase variations of the electric field and field-aligned current acting in these structures. Therefore, the mismatch of sources of free energy required for the wave generation nearly nullifies their common effect.

The influence of current neutralization and multiple Coulomb scattering on the spatial dynamics of resistive sausage instability of a relativistic electron beam propagating in ohmic plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kolesnikov, E. K.; Manuilov, A. S.; Petrov, V. S.; Klyushnikov, G. N.; Chernov, S. V.

2017-06-01

The influence of the current neutralization process, the phase mixing of the trajectories of electrons and multiple Coulomb scattering of electrons beam on the atoms of the background medium on the spatial increment of the growth of sausage instability of a relativistic electron beam propagating in ohmic plasma channel has been considered. It has been shown that the amplification of the current neutralization leads to a significant increase in this instability, and phase mixing and the process of multiple scattering of electrons beam on the atoms of the background medium are the stabilizing factor.

Understanding Transient Forcing with Plasma Instability Model, Ionospheric Propagation Model and GNSS Observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Deshpande, K.; Zettergren, M. D.; Datta-Barua, S.

2017-12-01

Fluctuations in the Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) signals observed as amplitude and phase scintillations are produced by plasma density structures in the ionosphere. Phase scintillation events in particular occur due to structures at Fresnel scales, typically about 250 meters at ionospheric heights and GNSS frequency. Likely processes contributing to small-scale density structuring in auroral and polar regions include ionospheric gradient-drift instability (GDI) and Kelvin-Helmholtz instability (KHI), which result, generally, from magnetosphere-ionosphere interactions (e.g. reconnection) associated with cusp and auroral zone regions. Scintillation signals, ostensibly from either GDI or KHI, are frequently observed in the high latitude ionosphere and are potentially useful diagnostics of how energy from the transient forcing in the cusp or polar cap region cascades, via instabilities, to small scales. However, extracting quantitative details of instabilities leading to scintillation using GNSS data drastically benefits from both a model of the irregularities and a model of GNSS signal propagation through irregular media. This work uses a physics-based model of the generation of plasma density irregularities (GEMINI - Geospace Environment Model of Ion-Neutral Interactions) coupled to an ionospheric radio wave propagation model (SIGMA - Satellite-beacon Ionospheric-scintillation Global Model of the upper Atmosphere) to explore the cascade of density structures from medium to small (sub-kilometer) scales. Specifically, GEMINI-SIGMA is used to simulate expected scintillation from different instabilities during various stages of evolution to determine features of the scintillation that may be useful to studying ionospheric density structures. Furthermore we relate the instabilities producing GNSS scintillations to the transient space and time-dependent magnetospheric phenomena and further predict characteristics of scintillation in different geophysical situations. Finally we present initial comparison of our modeling results with GNSS scintillation observed via an array of receivers at Poker Flat.

Relativistic Laser Absorption and Magnetic Field Channel Formation in 3D PIC Simulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sentoku, Yasuhiko; Mima, Kunioki; Sheng, Zheng-Ming; Kaw, Predhiman; Nishihara, Katsunobu; Nishikawa, Kyoji

2000-10-01

We carried out 3D PIC simulations on overdense plasmas. On the surface of the plasmas, relativistic electrons are generated and transported into overdense plasmas. In the transport, it is found that energy is transferred to dense plasmas by convective cells. Namely, hot electron and cold electron return flows form convective cells through the magnetic instabilities (e.g. Weibel Instability). The heat flux associating with the convective cells and the anomalous stoppings in 3D simulations are compared with these in 2D simulations by Meyer-ter-Vehn etal. and Taguchi etal. [1] M. Honda, J. Meyer-ter-Vehn, and A. Pukhov, Phys. Plasmas 7, 1302, (2000). [2] ``Relativistic Electron Transport Simulation by 2D hybrid Simulation with Darwin Approximation." by T. Taguchi etal. (to be present in the poster of this conference)

Excitation of Ion Acoustic Waves in Confined Plasmas with Untrapped Electrons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schamis, Hanna; Dow, Ansel; Carlsson, Johan; Kaganovich, Igor; Khrabrov, Alexander

2015-11-01

Various plasma propulsion devices exhibit strong electron emission from the walls either as a result of secondary processes or due to thermionic emission. To understand the electron kinetics in plasmas with strong emission, we have performed simulations using a reduced model with the LSP particle-in-cell code. This model aims to show the instability generated by the electron emission, in the form of ion acoustic waves near the sheath. It also aims to show the instability produced by untrapped electrons that propagate across the plasma, similarly to a beam, and can drive ion acoustic waves in the plasma bulk. This work was made possible by funding from the Department of Energy for the Summer Undergraduate Laboratory Internship (SULI) program. This work is supported by the US DOE Contract No.DE-AC02-09CH11466.

Linear theory of plasma Čerenkov masers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Birau, M.

1996-11-01

A different theoretical model of Čerenkov instability in the linear amplification regime of plasma Čerenkov masers is developed. The model assumes a cold relativistic annular electron beam propagating through a column of cold dense plasma, the two bodies being immersed in an infinite magnetic guiding field inside a perfect cylindrical waveguide. In order to simplify the calculations, a radial rectangular distribution of plasma and beam density is assumed and only azimuthal symmetric modes are under investigation. The model's difference consists of taking into account the whole plasma and beam electromagnetic structures in the interpretation of the Čerenkov instability. This model leads to alternative results such as the possibility of emission at several frequencies. In addition, the electric field is calculated taking into account its radial phase dependence, so that a map of the field in the interaction region can be presented.

Link between microstability and macrostability of plasmas

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

Litwin, C.

A mechanism linking high-frequency microinstabilities and the low-frequencymacrostability is proposed. The coupling is provided by the time-averagedforce, ponderomotive force, of unstable high-frequency waves. Two specificexamples of this phenomenon are discussed. It is shown that an..cap alpha..-particle loss-cone instability stabilizes the flute mode of anignited, axisymmetric mirror plasma. In tokamaks, the ion-whistler instability,driven by an anisotropic population of energetic particles, stabilizes theinternal kink mode for JET range of parameters.

Analysis of Mid-Latitude Plasma Density Irregularities in the Presence of Finite Larmor Radius Effects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sotnikov, V. I.; Kim, T. C.; Mishin, E. V.; Kil, H.; Kwak, Y. S.; Paraschiv, I.

2017-12-01

Ionospheric irregularities cause scintillations of electromagnetic signals that can severely affect navigation and transionospheric communication, in particular during space storms. At mid-latitudes the source of F-region Field Aligned Irregularities (FAI) is yet to be determined. They can be created in enhanced subauroral flow channels (SAI/SUBS), where strong gradients of electric field, density and plasma temperature are present. Another important source of FAI is connected with Medium-scale travelling ionospheric disturbances (MSTIDs). Related shear flows and plasma density troughs point to interchange and Kelvin-Helmholtz type instabilities as a possible source of plasma irregularities. A model of nonlinear development of these instabilities based on the two-fluid hydrodynamic description with inclusion of finite Larmor radius effects will be presented. This approach allows to resolve density irregularities on the meter scale. A numerical code in C language to solve the derived nonlinear equations for analysis of interchange and flow velocity shear instabilities in the ionosphere was developed. This code will be used to analyze competition between interchange and Kelvin-Helmholtz instabilities in the mid-latitude region. The high-resolution simulations with continuous density and velocity profiles will be driven by the ambient conditions corresponding to the in situ data obtained during the 2016 Daejeon (Korea) and MU (Japan) radar campaign and data collected simultaneously by the Swarm satellites passed over Korea and Japan. PA approved #: 88ABW-2017-3641

Structure of micro-instabilities in tokamak plasmas: Stiff transport or plasma eruptions?

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

Dickinson, D., E-mail: dd502@york.ac.uk; EURATOM/CCFE Fusion Association, Culham Science Centre, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 3DB; Roach, C. M.

2014-01-15

Solutions to a model 2D eigenmode equation describing micro-instabilities in tokamak plasmas are presented that demonstrate a sensitivity of the mode structure and stability to plasma profiles. In narrow regions of parameter space, with special plasma profiles, a maximally unstable mode is found that balloons on the outboard side of the tokamak. This corresponds to the conventional picture of a ballooning mode. However, for most profiles, this mode cannot exist, and instead, a more stable mode is found that balloons closer to the top or bottom of the plasma. Good quantitative agreement with a 1D ballooning analysis is found, providedmore » the constraints associated with higher order profile effects, often neglected, are taken into account. A sudden transition from this general mode to the more unstable ballooning mode can occur for a critical flow shear, providing a candidate model for why some experiments observe small plasma eruptions (Edge Localised Modes, or ELMs) in place of large Type I ELMs.« less

Kinetic theory of Jeans instability of a dusty plasma.

PubMed

Pandey, B P; Lakhina, G S; Krishan, V

1999-12-01

A kinetic theory of the Jeans instability of a dusty plasma has been developed in the present work. The effect of grain charge fluctuations due to the attachment of electrons and ions to the grain surface has been considered in the framework of Krook's collisional model. We demonstrate that the grain charge fluctuations alter the growth rate of the gravitational collapse of the dusty plasma. The Jeans length has been derived under limiting cases, and its dependence on the attachment frequency is shown. In the absence of gravity, we see that the damping rate of the dust acoustic mode is proportional to the electron-dust collision frequency.

Kinetic effects on Alfven wave nonlinearity. II - The modified nonlinear wave equation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Spangler, Steven R.

1990-01-01

A previously developed Vlasov theory is used here to study the role of resonant particle and other kinetic effects on Alfven wave nonlinearity. A hybrid fluid-Vlasov equation approach is used to obtain a modified version of the derivative nonlinear Schroedinger equation. The differences between a scalar model for the plasma pressure and a tensor model are discussed. The susceptibilty of the modified nonlinear wave equation to modulational instability is studied. The modulational instability normally associated with the derivative nonlinear Schroedinger equation will, under most circumstances, be restricted to left circularly polarized waves. The nonlocal term in the modified nonlinear wave equation engenders a new modulational instability that is independent of beta and the sense of circular polarization. This new instability may explain the occurrence of wave packet steepening for all values of the plasma beta in the vicinity of the earth's bow shock.

Solar wind pickup of ionized Venus exosphere atoms

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Curtis, S. A.

1981-01-01

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

Role of electric fields in the MHD evolution of the kink instability

DOE PAGES

Lapenta, Giovanni; Skender, Marina

2017-02-17

Here, the discovery of electrostatic fields playing a crucial role in establishing plasma motion in the flux conversion and dynamo processes in reversed field pinches is revisited. In order to further elucidate the role of the electrostatic fields, a flux rope configuration susceptible to the kink instability is numerically studied with anMHDcode. Simulated nonlinear evolution of the kink instability is found to confirm the crucial role of the electrostatic fields. Anew insight is gained on the special function of the electrostatic fields: they lead the plasma towards the reconnection site at the mode resonant surface. Without this step the plasmamore » column could not relax to its nonlinear state, since no other agent is present to perform this role. While the inductive field generated directly by the kink instability is the dominant flow driver, the electrostatic field is found to allow the motion in the vicinity of the reconnection region.« less

Simulation Study of Magnetic Fields Generated by the Electromagnetic Filamentation Instability

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nishikawa, K.-I.; Ramirez-Ruiz, E.; Hardee, P.; Hededal, C. B.; Mizuno, Y.; Fishman, G. J.

2007-01-01

We have investigated the effects of plasma instabilities driven by rapid e(sup plus or minus) pair cascades, which arise in the environment of GRB sources as a result of back-scattering of a seed fraction of the original spectrum. The injection of e(sup plus or minus) pairs induces strong streaming motions in the ambient medium. One therefore expects the pair-enriched medium ahead of the forward shock to be strongly sheared on length scales comparable to the radiation front thickness. Using three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations, we show that plasma instabilities driven by these streaming e(sup plus or minus) pairs are responsible for the excitation of near-equipartition, turbulent magnetic fields. Our results reveal the importance of the electromagnetic filamentation instability in ensuring an effective coupling between e(sup plus or minus) pairs and ions, and may help explain the origin of large upstream fields in GRB shocks.

Role of electric fields in the MHD evolution of the kink instability

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

Lapenta, Giovanni; Skender, Marina

Here, the discovery of electrostatic fields playing a crucial role in establishing plasma motion in the flux conversion and dynamo processes in reversed field pinches is revisited. In order to further elucidate the role of the electrostatic fields, a flux rope configuration susceptible to the kink instability is numerically studied with anMHDcode. Simulated nonlinear evolution of the kink instability is found to confirm the crucial role of the electrostatic fields. Anew insight is gained on the special function of the electrostatic fields: they lead the plasma towards the reconnection site at the mode resonant surface. Without this step the plasmamore » column could not relax to its nonlinear state, since no other agent is present to perform this role. While the inductive field generated directly by the kink instability is the dominant flow driver, the electrostatic field is found to allow the motion in the vicinity of the reconnection region.« less

Scrape-off-layer characterization and current-control of kink modes in HBT-EP

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brooks, John; Stewart, Ian; Levesque, Jeffrey; Mauel, Mike; Navratil, Gerald

2017-10-01

Scrape-off layer (SOL) currents and their paths through tokamaks are not well understood, but their control may prove crucial to the success of ITER and future fusion energy devices. We extend Columbia University's High Beta Tokamak-Extended Pulse (HBT-EP) experiment and active GPU feedback system to study the SOL and control MHD kink instabilities by actively controlling these currents. First, the radial plasma profiles and the edge structure of kink instabilities are measured with two triple probes. Second, we use active feedback control of a radially adjustable biased electrode to change the rotation and magnitude of slowly growing kink instabilities. By changing the phase between the probe's voltage and the edge instability with active feedback, we study its ability to influence and control plasma MHD structures. This work is in preparation for a planned 2018 multi-electrode SOL control upgrade. Supported by U.S. DOE Grant DE-FG02-86ER53222.

MULTICOMPONENT THEORY OF BUOYANCY INSTABILITIES IN ASTROPHYSICAL PLASMA OBJECTS: THE CASE OF MAGNETIC FIELD PERPENDICULAR TO GRAVITY

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

Nekrasov, Anatoly K.; Shadmehri, Mohsen, E-mail: anatoli.nekrassov@t-online.d, E-mail: mshadmehri@thphys.nuim.i

2010-12-01

We develop a general theory of buoyancy instabilities in the electron-ion plasma with the electron heat flux based not upon magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) equations, but using a multicomponent plasma approach in which the momentum equation is solved for each species. We investigate the geometry in which the background magnetic field is perpendicular to the gravity and stratification. General expressions for the perturbed velocities are given without any simplifications. Collisions between electrons and ions are taken into account in the momentum equations in a general form, permitting us to consider both weakly and strongly collisional objects. However, the electron heat flux ismore » assumed to be directed along the magnetic field, which implies a weakly collisional case. Using simplifications justified for an investigation of buoyancy instabilities with electron thermal flux, we derive simple dispersion relations for both collisionless and collisional cases for arbitrary directions of the wave vector. Our dispersion relations considerably differ from that obtained in the MHD framework and conditions of instability are similar to Schwarzschild's criterion. This difference is connected with simplified assumptions used in the MHD analysis of buoyancy instabilities and with the role of the longitudinal electric field perturbation which is not captured by the ideal MHD equations. The results obtained can be applied to clusters of galaxies and other astrophysical objects.« less

Instability of surface electron cyclotron TM-modes influenced by non-monochromatic alternating electric field

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

Girka, I. O., E-mail: igorgirka@karazin.ua; Girka, V. O.; Sydora, R. D.

2016-06-15

The influence of non-monochromaticity of an external alternating electric field on excitation of TM eigenmodes at harmonics of the electron cyclotron frequency is considered here. These TM-modes propagate along the plasma interface in a metal waveguide. An external static constant magnetic field is oriented perpendicularly to the plasma interface. The problem is solved theoretically using the kinetic Vlasov-Boltzmann equation for description of plasma particles motion and the Maxwell equations for description of the electromagnetic mode fields. The external alternating electric field is supposed to be a superposition of two waves, whose amplitudes are different and their frequencies correlate as 2:1.more » An infinite set of equations for electric field harmonics of these modes is derived with the aid of nonlinear boundary conditions. This set is solved using the wave packet approach consisting of the main harmonic frequency and two nearest satellite temporal harmonics. Analytical studies of the obtained set of equations allow one to find two different regimes of parametric instability, namely, enhancement and suppression of the instability. Numerical analysis of the instability is carried out for the three first electron cyclotron harmonics.« less

PLASMA TURBULENCE AND KINETIC INSTABILITIES AT ION SCALES IN THE EXPANDING SOLAR WIND

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

Hellinger, Petr; Trávnícek, Pavel M.; Matteini, Lorenzo

The relationship between a decaying strong turbulence and kinetic instabilities in a slowly expanding plasma is investigated using two-dimensional (2D) hybrid expanding box simulations. We impose an initial ambient magnetic field perpendicular to the simulation box, and we start with a spectrum of large-scale, linearly polarized, random-phase Alfvénic fluctuations that have energy equipartition between kinetic and magnetic fluctuations and vanishing correlation between the two fields. A turbulent cascade rapidly develops; magnetic field fluctuations exhibit a power-law spectrum at large scales and a steeper spectrum at ion scales. The turbulent cascade leads to an overall anisotropic proton heating, protons are heatedmore » in the perpendicular direction, and, initially, also in the parallel direction. The imposed expansion leads to generation of a large parallel proton temperature anisotropy which is at later stages partly reduced by turbulence. The turbulent heating is not sufficient to overcome the expansion-driven perpendicular cooling and the system eventually drives the oblique firehose instability in a form of localized nonlinear wave packets which efficiently reduce the parallel temperature anisotropy. This work demonstrates that kinetic instabilities may coexist with strong plasma turbulence even in a constrained 2D regime.« less

The Kelvin-Helmholtz instability in National Ignition Facility hohlraums as a source of gold-gas mixing

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

Vandenboomgaerde, M.; Bonnefille, M.; Gauthier, P.

Highly resolved radiation-hydrodynamics FCI2 simulations have been performed to model laser experiments on the National Ignition Facility. In these experiments, cylindrical gas-filled hohlraums with gold walls are driven by a 20 ns laser pulse. For the first time, simulations show the appearance of Kelvin-Helmholtz (KH) vortices at the interface between the expanding wall material and the gas fill. In this paper, we determine the mechanisms which generate this instability: the increase of the gas pressure around the expanding gold plasma leads to the aggregation of an over-dense gold layer simultaneously with shear flows. At the surface of this layer, all themore » conditions are met for a KH instability to grow. Later on, as the interface decelerates, the Rayleigh-Taylor instability also comes into play. A potential scenario for the generation of a mixing zone at the gold-gas interface due to the KH instability is presented. Our estimates of the Reynolds number and the plasma diffusion width at the interface support the possibility of such a mix. The key role of the first nanosecond of the laser pulse in the instability occurrence is also underlined.« less

The effect of finite Larmor radius corrections on Jeans instability of quantum plasma

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

Sharma, Prerana; Chhajlani, R. K.

2013-09-15

The influence of finite Larmor radius (FLR) effects on the Jeans instability of infinitely conducting homogeneous quantum plasma is investigated. The quantum magnetohydrodynamic (QMHD) model is used to formulate the problem. The contribution of FLR is incorporated to the QMHD set of equations in the present analysis. The general dispersion relation is obtained analytically using the normal mode analysis technique which is modified due to the contribution of FLR corrections. From general dispersion relation, the condition of instability is obtained and it is found that Jeans condition is modified due to quantum effect. The general dispersion relation is reduced formore » both transverse and longitudinal mode of propagations. The condition of gravitational instability is modified due to the presence of both FLR and quantum corrections in the transverse mode of propagation. In longitudinal case, it is found to be unaffected by the FLR effects but modified due to the quantum corrections. The growth rate of Jeans instability is discussed numerically for various values of quantum and FLR corrections of the medium. It is found that the quantum parameter and FLR effects have stabilizing influence on the growth rate of instability of the system.« less

Turbulent dynamo in a collisionless plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rincon, François; Califano, Francesco; Schekochihin, Alexander A.; Valentini, Francesco

2016-04-01

Magnetic fields pervade the entire universe and affect the formation and evolution of astrophysical systems from cosmological to planetary scales. The generation and dynamical amplification of extragalactic magnetic fields through cosmic times (up to microgauss levels reported in nearby galaxy clusters, near equipartition with kinetic energy of plasma motions, and on scales of at least tens of kiloparsecs) are major puzzles largely unconstrained by observations. A dynamo effect converting kinetic flow energy into magnetic energy is often invoked in that context; however, extragalactic plasmas are weakly collisional (as opposed to magnetohydrodynamic fluids), and whether magnetic field growth and sustainment through an efficient turbulent dynamo instability are possible in such plasmas is not established. Fully kinetic numerical simulations of the Vlasov equation in a 6D-phase space necessary to answer this question have, until recently, remained beyond computational capabilities. Here, we show by means of such simulations that magnetic field amplification by dynamo instability does occur in a stochastically driven, nonrelativistic subsonic flow of initially unmagnetized collisionless plasma. We also find that the dynamo self-accelerates and becomes entangled with kinetic instabilities as magnetization increases. The results suggest that such a plasma dynamo may be realizable in laboratory experiments, support the idea that intracluster medium turbulence may have significantly contributed to the amplification of cluster magnetic fields up to near-equipartition levels on a timescale shorter than the Hubble time, and emphasize the crucial role of multiscale kinetic physics in high-energy astrophysical plasmas.

Turbulent dynamo in a collisionless plasma

PubMed Central

Rincon, François; Califano, Francesco; Schekochihin, Alexander A.; Valentini, Francesco

2016-01-01

Magnetic fields pervade the entire universe and affect the formation and evolution of astrophysical systems from cosmological to planetary scales. The generation and dynamical amplification of extragalactic magnetic fields through cosmic times (up to microgauss levels reported in nearby galaxy clusters, near equipartition with kinetic energy of plasma motions, and on scales of at least tens of kiloparsecs) are major puzzles largely unconstrained by observations. A dynamo effect converting kinetic flow energy into magnetic energy is often invoked in that context; however, extragalactic plasmas are weakly collisional (as opposed to magnetohydrodynamic fluids), and whether magnetic field growth and sustainment through an efficient turbulent dynamo instability are possible in such plasmas is not established. Fully kinetic numerical simulations of the Vlasov equation in a 6D-phase space necessary to answer this question have, until recently, remained beyond computational capabilities. Here, we show by means of such simulations that magnetic field amplification by dynamo instability does occur in a stochastically driven, nonrelativistic subsonic flow of initially unmagnetized collisionless plasma. We also find that the dynamo self-accelerates and becomes entangled with kinetic instabilities as magnetization increases. The results suggest that such a plasma dynamo may be realizable in laboratory experiments, support the idea that intracluster medium turbulence may have significantly contributed to the amplification of cluster magnetic fields up to near-equipartition levels on a timescale shorter than the Hubble time, and emphasize the crucial role of multiscale kinetic physics in high-energy astrophysical plasmas. PMID:27035981

Turbulent dynamo in a collisionless plasma.

PubMed

Rincon, François; Califano, Francesco; Schekochihin, Alexander A; Valentini, Francesco

2016-04-12

Magnetic fields pervade the entire universe and affect the formation and evolution of astrophysical systems from cosmological to planetary scales. The generation and dynamical amplification of extragalactic magnetic fields through cosmic times (up to microgauss levels reported in nearby galaxy clusters, near equipartition with kinetic energy of plasma motions, and on scales of at least tens of kiloparsecs) are major puzzles largely unconstrained by observations. A dynamo effect converting kinetic flow energy into magnetic energy is often invoked in that context; however, extragalactic plasmas are weakly collisional (as opposed to magnetohydrodynamic fluids), and whether magnetic field growth and sustainment through an efficient turbulent dynamo instability are possible in such plasmas is not established. Fully kinetic numerical simulations of the Vlasov equation in a 6D-phase space necessary to answer this question have, until recently, remained beyond computational capabilities. Here, we show by means of such simulations that magnetic field amplification by dynamo instability does occur in a stochastically driven, nonrelativistic subsonic flow of initially unmagnetized collisionless plasma. We also find that the dynamo self-accelerates and becomes entangled with kinetic instabilities as magnetization increases. The results suggest that such a plasma dynamo may be realizable in laboratory experiments, support the idea that intracluster medium turbulence may have significantly contributed to the amplification of cluster magnetic fields up to near-equipartition levels on a timescale shorter than the Hubble time, and emphasize the crucial role of multiscale kinetic physics in high-energy astrophysical plasmas.

Hybrid simulations of radial transport driven by the Rayleigh-Taylor instability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Delamere, P. A.; Stauffer, B. H.; Ma, X.

2017-12-01

Plasma transport in the rapidly rotating giant magnetospheres is thought to involve a centrifugally-driven flux tube interchange instability, similar to the Rayleigh-Taylor (RT) instability. In three dimensions, the convective flow patterns associated with the RT instability can produce strong guide field reconnection, allowing plasma mass to move radially outward while conserving magnetic flux (Ma et al., 2016). We present a set of hybrid (kinetic ion / fluid electron) plasma simulations of the RT instability using high plasma beta conditions appropriate for Jupiter's inner and middle magnetosphere. A density gradient, combined with a centrifugal force, provide appropriate RT onset conditions. Pressure balance is achieved by initializing two ion populations: one with fixed temperature, but varying density, and the other with fixed density, but a temperature gradient that offsets the density gradient from the first population and the centrifugal force (effective gravity). We first analyze two-dimensional results for the plane perpendicular to the magnetic field by comparing growth rates as a function of wave vector following Huba et al. (1998). Prescribed perpendicular wave modes are seeded with an initial velocity perturbation. We then extend the model to three dimensions, introducing a stabilizing parallel wave vector. Boundary conditions in the parallel direction prohibit motion of the magnetic field line footprints to model the eigenmodes of the magnetodisc's resonant cavity. We again compare growth rates based on perpendicular wave number, but also on the parallel extent of the resonant cavity, which fixes the size of the largest parallel wavelength. Finally, we search for evidence of strong guide field magnetic reconnection within the domain by identifying areas with large parallel electric fields or changes in magnetic field topology.

Filamentation instability in a quantum plasma

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

Bret, A.

2007-08-15

The growth rate of the filamentation instability triggered when a diluted cold electron beam passes through a cold plasma is evaluated using the quantum hydrodynamic equations. Compared with a cold fluid model, quantum effects reduce both the unstable wave vector domain and the maximum growth rate. Stabilization of large wave vector modes is always achieved, but significant reduction of the maximum growth rate depends on a dimensionless parameter that is provided. Although calculations are extended to the relativistic regime, they are mostly relevant to the nonrelativistic one.

Magnetized Target Fusion Driven by Plasma Liners

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thio, Y. C. Francis; Eskridge, Richard; Smith, James; Lee, Michael; Richeson, Jeff; Schmidt, George; Knapp, Charles E.; Kirkpatrick, Ronald C.; Turchi, Peter J.; Rodgers, Stephen L. (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

Magnetized target fusion (MTF) attempts to combine the favorable attributes of magnetic confinement fusion (MCF) for energy confinement with the attributes of inertial confinement fusion (ICF) for efficient compression heating and wall-free containment of the fusing plasma. It uses a material liner to compress and contain a magnetized plasma. For practical applications, standoff drivers to deliver the imploding momentum flux to the target plasma remotely are required. Spherically converging plasma jets have been proposed as standoff drivers for this purpose. The concept involves the dynamic formation of a spherical plasma liner by the merging of plasma jets, and the use of the liner so formed to compress a spheromak or a field reversed configuration (FRC). For the successful implementation of the scheme, plasma jets of the requisite momentum flux density need to be produced. Their transport over sufficiently large distances (a few meters) needs to be assured. When they collide and merge into a liner, relative differences in velocity, density and temperature of the jets could give rise to instabilities in the development of the liner. Variation in the jet properties must be controlled to ensure that the growth rate of the instabilities are not significant over the time scale of the liner formation before engaging with the target plasma. On impact with the target plasma, some plasma interpenetration might occur between the liner and the target. The operating parameter space needs to be identified to ensure that a reasonably robust and conducting contact surface is formed between the liner and the target. A mismatch in the "impedance" between the liner and the target plasma could give rise to undesirable shock heating of the liner leading to increased entropy (thermal losses) in the liner. Any irregularities in the liner will accentuate the Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities during the compression of the target plasma by the liner.

Plasma instability in fast spherical discharge induced by a preionization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Antsiferov, P. S.; Dorokhin, L. A.

2015-04-01

As it was shown earlier, fast discharge (dI/dt ˜ 1012 A/s and Imax ≈ 40 kA) in a spherical cavity (Al2O3, inner diameter 11 mm, 4 mm apertures for the current supply) filled with working gas (Ar and Xe, pressure 80 Pa), results in the formation of a plasma with the form close to spherical. The physical mechanism can be the cumulation of a convergent shock wave, which was originated near the inner surface of the discharge cavity. It was also shown for the cylindrical fast discharge that the preionization influences the dynamics of the cylindrical convergent shock wave, its evolutions becomes faster. The present work is devoted to the study of the influence of the preionization on the plasma formation in the fast discharge with spherical geometry (Ar, 80 Pa). The inductive storage with plasma erosion opening switch was used as a current driver. The spatial structure of the discharge plasma was studied by means of a pin-hole camera with the microchannel plate (MCP) detector with time gate of 5 ns. The extreme ultra violet spectra were studied by means of the grazing incidence spectrometer with the same MCP detector with time gate of 20 ns. Beside the expected effects (reduction of the spherical plasma formation time and some increase of the electron temperature), the preionization of the discharge by the current 500 A results also in the development of the plasma instabilities and destruction of the compact plasma ball in several tens of nanoseconds. Possible mechanism of the instability is discussed.

Dynamic neutral beam current and voltage control to improve beam efficacy in tokamaks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pace, D. C.; Austin, M. E.; Bardoczi, L.; Collins, C. S.; Crowley, B.; Davis, E.; Du, X.; Ferron, J.; Grierson, B. A.; Heidbrink, W. W.; Holcomb, C. T.; McKee, G. R.; Pawley, C.; Petty, C. C.; Podestà, M.; Rauch, J.; Scoville, J. T.; Spong, D. A.; Thome, K. E.; Van Zeeland, M. A.; Varela, J.; Victor, B.

2018-05-01

An engineering upgrade to the neutral beam system at the DIII-D tokamak [J. L. Luxon, Nucl. Fusion 42, 614 (2002)] enables time-dependent programming of the beam voltage and current. Initial application of this capability involves pre-programmed beam voltage and current injected into plasmas that are known to be susceptible to instabilities that are driven by energetic ( E ≥ 40 keV) beam ions. These instabilities, here all Alfvén eigenmodes (AEs), increase the transport of the beam ions beyond a classical expectation based on particle drifts and collisions. Injecting neutral beam power, P beam ≥ 2 MW, at reduced voltage with increased current reduces the drive for Alfvénic instabilities and results in improved ion confinement. In lower-confinement plasmas, this technique is applied to eliminate the presence of AEs across the mid-radius of the plasmas. Simulations of those plasmas indicate that the mode drive is decreased and the radial extent of the remaining modes is reduced compared to a higher beam voltage case. In higher-confinement plasmas, this technique reduces AE activity in the far edge and results in an interesting scenario of beam current drive improving as the beam voltage reduces from 80 kV to 65 kV.

Dynamic neutral beam current and voltage control to improve beam efficacy in tokamaks

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

Austin, Max E.; Bardoczi, Laszlo; Collins, Cami S.

Here, an engineering upgrade to the neutral beam system at the DIII-D tokamak enables time-dependent programming of the beam voltage and current. Initial application of this capability involves pre-programmed beam voltage and current injected into plasmas that are known to be susceptible to instabilities that are driven by energetic (E ≥ 40 keV) beam ions. These instabilities, here all Alfvén eigenmodes (AEs), increase the transport of the beam ions beyond a classical expectation based on particle drifts and collisions. Injecting neutral beam power, P beam ≥ 2MW, at reduced voltage with increased current reduces the drive for Alfvénic instabilities andmore » results in improved ion confinement. In lower-confinement plasmas, this technique is applied to eliminate the presence of AEs across the mid-radius of the plasmas. Simulations of those plasmas indicate that the mode drive is decreased and the radial extent of the remaining modes is reduced compared to a higher beam voltage case. In higher-confinement plasmas, this technique reduces AE activity in the far edge and results in an interesting scenario of beam current drive improving as the beam voltage reduces from 80 kV to 65 kV.« less

Excitation of lower hybrid waves by a spiraling ion beam in a magnetized dusty plasma cylinder

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sharma, Suresh C.; Walia, Ritu

2008-09-01

A spiraling ion beam propagating through a magnetized dusty plasma cylinder drives electrostatic lower hybrid waves to instability via cyclotron interaction. Numerical calculations of the growth rate and unstable mode frequencies have been carried out for the Princeton Q-1 device using the experimental dusty plasma parameters [e.g., Barkan et al., Planet. Space Sci. 43, 905 (1995)]. It is found that as the density ratio δ(=nio/neo, where ni0 is the ion plasma density and ne0 is the electron density) of negatively charged dust grains to electrons increases, the unstable mode frequency of the lower hybrid waves increases. In addition, the growth rate of the instability also increases with the density ratio δ. In other words, the presence of negatively charged dust grains can further destabilize the lower hybrid wave instability. The growth rate has the largest value for the modes where Jl(pnro) is maximum [here pn=xn/r0, where pn is the perpendicular wave number in cm-1, r0 is the plasma radius, and xn are the zeros of the Bessel function J1(x )] i.e., whose eigenfunctions peak at the location of the beam. The growth rate scales as one third power of the beam current.

Dynamic neutral beam current and voltage control to improve beam efficacy in tokamaks

DOE PAGES

Austin, Max E.; Bardoczi, Laszlo; Collins, Cami S.; ...

2018-04-20

Here, an engineering upgrade to the neutral beam system at the DIII-D tokamak enables time-dependent programming of the beam voltage and current. Initial application of this capability involves pre-programmed beam voltage and current injected into plasmas that are known to be susceptible to instabilities that are driven by energetic (E ≥ 40 keV) beam ions. These instabilities, here all Alfvén eigenmodes (AEs), increase the transport of the beam ions beyond a classical expectation based on particle drifts and collisions. Injecting neutral beam power, P beam ≥ 2MW, at reduced voltage with increased current reduces the drive for Alfvénic instabilities andmore » results in improved ion confinement. In lower-confinement plasmas, this technique is applied to eliminate the presence of AEs across the mid-radius of the plasmas. Simulations of those plasmas indicate that the mode drive is decreased and the radial extent of the remaining modes is reduced compared to a higher beam voltage case. In higher-confinement plasmas, this technique reduces AE activity in the far edge and results in an interesting scenario of beam current drive improving as the beam voltage reduces from 80 kV to 65 kV.« less

Positional stability of field-reversed-configurations in the presence of resistive walls

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

Rath, N., E-mail: nrath@trialphanenergy.com; Onofri, M.; Barnes, D. C.

2016-06-15

We show that in a field-reversed-configuration, the plasma is unstable to either transverse or axial rigid displacement, but never to both. Driving forces are found to be parallel to the direction of displacement with no orthogonal components. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the properties of a resistive wall (geometry and resistivity) in the vicinity of the plasma do not affect whether the plasma is stable or unstable, but in the case of an unstable system determine the instability growth rate. Depending on the properties of the wall, the instability growth is dominated by plasma inertia (and not affected by wall resistivity)more » or dominated by ohmic dissipation of wall eddy currents (and thus proportional to the wall resistivity).« less

Ion Streaming Instabilities in Pair Ion Plasma and Localized Structure with Non-Thermal Electrons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nasir Khattak, M.; Mushtaq, A.; Qamar, A.

2015-12-01

Pair ion plasma with a fraction of non-thermal electrons is considered. We investigate the effects of the streaming motion of ions on linear and nonlinear properties of unmagnetized, collisionless plasma by using the fluid model. A dispersion relation is derived, and the growth rate of streaming instabilities with effect of streaming motion of ions and non-thermal electrons is calculated. A qausi-potential approach is adopted to study the characteristics of ion acoustic solitons. An energy integral equation involving Sagdeev potential is derived during this process. The presence of the streaming term in the energy integral equation affects the structure of the solitary waves significantly along with non-thermal electrons. Possible application of the work to the space and laboratory plasmas are highlighted.

Nonlinear Laser-Plasma Interaction in Magnetized Liner Inertial Fusion

DOE PAGES

Geissel, Matthias; Awe, Thomas James; Bliss, David E.; ...

2016-03-04

Sandia National Laboratories is pursuing a variation of Magneto-Inertial Fusion called Magnetized Liner Inertial Fusion, or MagLIF. The MagLIF approach requires magnetization of the deuterium fuel, which is accomplished by an initial external B-Field and laser-driven pre-heat. Although magnetization is crucial to the concept, it is challenging to couple sufficient energy to the fuel, since laser-plasma instabilities exist, and a compromise between laser spot size, laser entrance window thickness, and fuel density must be found. Ultimately, nonlinear processes in laser plasma interaction, or laser-plasma instabilities (LPI), complicate the deposition of laser energy by enhanced absorption, backscatter, filamentation and beam-spray. Wemore » determine and discuss key LPI processes and mitigation methods. Results with and without improvement measures are presented.« less

Nonlinear Laser-Plasma Interaction in Magnetized Liner Inertial Fusion

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

Geissel, Matthias; Awe, Thomas James; Bliss, David E.

Sandia National Laboratories is pursuing a variation of Magneto-Inertial Fusion called Magnetized Liner Inertial Fusion, or MagLIF. The MagLIF approach requires magnetization of the deuterium fuel, which is accomplished by an initial external B-Field and laser-driven pre-heat. Although magnetization is crucial to the concept, it is challenging to couple sufficient energy to the fuel, since laser-plasma instabilities exist, and a compromise between laser spot size, laser entrance window thickness, and fuel density must be found. Ultimately, nonlinear processes in laser plasma interaction, or laser-plasma instabilities (LPI), complicate the deposition of laser energy by enhanced absorption, backscatter, filamentation and beam-spray. Wemore » determine and discuss key LPI processes and mitigation methods. Results with and without improvement measures are presented.« less

RF stabilization of plasma instabilities: a note on physical mechanism

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sen, S.; Martinell, J.; Imadera, K.; Kishimoto, Y.; Vahala, G.

2018-02-01

In a series of recent works, we have developed models including realistic spatial profiles of both flow and radio-frequency-induced ponderomotive force. With these inclusions, the picture of stability of various plasma and fluid instabilities is expected to be changed drastically with ground-breaking consequences. The inhomogeneous parallel flow and the radio-frequency waves can actually stabilize turbulence. This is different from the prevalent notion that both parallel flow shear and radio-frequency waves are responsible for the excitation (destabilization) of plasma turbulence. This model thus aims to open-up new channels and provide a major breakthrough in our knowledge of plasma and fluid turbulence and its consequent roles in energy, space and processing technology. In this short note, we elucidate the physical mechanism behind this novel observation.

Nonlinear Raman forward scattering of a short laser pulse in a collisional transversely magnetized plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Paknezhad, Alireza

2013-01-01

Nonlinear Raman forward scattering (NRFS) of an intense short laser pulse with a duration shorter than the plasma period through a homogenous collisional transversely magnetized plasma is investigated theoretically when ponderomotive, relativistic and collioninal nonlinearities are taken into account. The plasma is embedded in a uniform magnetic field perpendicular to both, the direction of propagation and electric vector of the radiation field. Nonlinear wave equation is set up and Fourier transformation method is used to solve the coupled equations describing NRFS instability. Finally, the growth rate of this instability is obtained. Thermal effects of plasma electrons and effect of the electron-ion collisions are examined. It is found that the growth rate of Raman forward scattering first decreases on increasing electron thermal velocity, minimizes at an optimum value, and then increases. Our results also show that the growth rate increases by increasing the electron-ion collisions.

Modulation instability and dissipative rogue waves in ion-beam plasma: Roles of ionization, recombination, and electron attachment

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

Guo, Shimin, E-mail: gsm861@126.com; Mei, Liquan, E-mail: lqmei@mail.xjtu.edu.cn

The amplitude modulation of ion-acoustic waves is investigated in an unmagnetized plasma containing positive ions, negative ions, and electrons obeying a kappa-type distribution that is penetrated by a positive ion beam. By considering dissipative mechanisms, including ionization, negative-positive ion recombination, and electron attachment, we introduce a comprehensive model for the plasma with the effects of sources and sinks. Via reductive perturbation theory, the modified nonlinear Schrödinger equation with a dissipative term is derived to govern the dynamics of the modulated waves. The effect of the plasma parameters on the modulation instability criterion for the modified nonlinear Schrödinger equation is numericallymore » investigated in detail. Within the unstable region, first- and second-order dissipative ion-acoustic rogue waves are present. The effect of the plasma parameters on the characteristics of the dissipative rogue waves is also discussed.« less

Consequences of the Ion Cyclotron Instability in the Inner Magnetospheric Plasma

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Khazanov, George V.

2011-01-01

The inner magnetospheric plasma is a very unique composition of different plasma particles and waves. Among these plasma particles and waves are Ring Current (RC) particles and Electromagnetic Ion Cyclotron (EMIC) waves. The RC is the source of free energy for the EMIC wave excitation provided by a temperature anisotropy of RC ions, which develops naturally during inward E x B convection from the plasma sheet. The cold plasmasphere, which is under the strong influence of the magnetospheric electric field, strongly mediates the RC-EMIC waves-coupling process, and ultimately becomes part of the particle and energy interplay, generated by the ion cyclotron instability of the inner magnetosphere. On the other hand, there is a strong influence of the RC on the inner magnetospheric electric and magnetic field configurations and these configurations, in turn, are important to RC dynamics. Therefore, one of the biggest needs for inner magnetospheric plasma physics research is the continued progression toward a coupled, interconnected system, with the inclusion of nonlinear feedback mechanisms between the plasma populations, the electric and magnetic fields, and plasma waves.

Kinetic stability analysis on electromagnetic filamentary structure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Wonjae; Krasheninnikov, Sergei

2014-10-01

A coherent radial transport of filamentary structures in SOL region is important for its characteristics that can increase unwanted high fluxes to plasma facing components. In the course of propagation in radial direction, the coherency of the filaments is significantly limited by electrostatic resistive drift instability (Angus et al., 2012). Considering higher plasma pressure, which would have more large impact in heat fluxes, electromagnetic effects will reduce the growth rate of the drift wave instability and increase the instabilities from electron inertial effects. According to a linear stability analysis on equations with fluid approximation, the maximum growth rate of the instability from the electron inertia is higher than that of drift-Alfvén wave instability in high beta filaments such as ELMs. However, the analysis on the high beta filaments requires kinetic approach, since the decreased collisionality will make the fluid approximation broken. Therefore, the kinetic analysis will be presented for the electromagnetic effects on the dynamics of filamentary structures. This work was supported by the USDOE Grants DE-FG02-04ER54739 and DE-SC0010413 at UCSD and also by the Kwanjeong Educational Foundation.

Parametric dependence of density limits in the Tokamak Experiment for Technology Oriented Research (TEXTOR): Comparison of thermal instability theory with experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kelly, F. A.; Stacey, W. M.; Rapp, J.

2001-11-01

The observed dependence of the TEXTOR [Tokamak Experiment for Technology Oriented Research: E. Hintz, P. Bogen, H. A. Claassen et al., Contributions to High Temperature Plasma Physics, edited by K. H. Spatschek and J. Uhlenbusch (Akademie Verlag, Berlin, 1994), p. 373] density limit on global parameters (I, B, P, etc.) and wall conditioning is compared with the predicted density limit parametric scaling of thermal instability theory. It is necessary first to relate the edge parameters of the thermal instability theory to n¯ and the other global parameters. The observed parametric dependence of the density limit in TEXTOR is generally consistent with the predicted density limit scaling of thermal instability theory. The observed wall conditioning dependence of the density limit can be reconciled with the theory in terms of the radiative emissivity temperature dependence of different impurities in the plasma edge. The thermal instability theory also provides an explanation of why symmetric detachment precedes radiative collapse for most low power shots, while a multifaceted asymmetric radiation from the edge MARFE precedes detachment for most high power shots.

Stimulated Mirror Instability From the Interplay of Anisotropic Protons and Electrons, and their Suprathermal Populations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shaaban, S. M.; Lazar, M.; Astfalk, P.; Poedts, S.

2018-03-01

Mirror instability driven by the temperature anisotropy of protons can offer a plausible explanation for the mirror-like fluctuations observed in planetary magnetosheaths. In the present paper we invoke a realistic kinetic approach which can reproduce nonthermal features of plasma particles reported by the observations, i.e., temperature anisotropies and suprathermal populations. Seeking accuracy, a numerical analysis is performed using an advanced code named DSHARK, recently proposed to resolve the linear dispersion and stability for an arbitrary propagation in bi-Kappa distributed electron-proton plasmas. The stimulating effect of the anisotropic bi-Maxwellian electrons reported in Remya et al. (2013, https://doi.org/10.1002/jgra.50091) is markedly enhanced in the presence of suprathermal electrons described by the bi-Kappa distribution functions. The influence of suprathermal protons is more temperate, but overall, present results demonstrate that these sources of free energy provide natural conditions for a stimulated mirror instability, more efficient than predicted before and capable to compete with other instabilities (e.g., the electromagnetic ion-cyclotron instability) and mechanisms of relaxation.

Return current instability driven by a temperature gradient in ICF plasmas

DOE PAGES

Rozmus, W.; Brantov, A. V.; Sherlock, M.; ...

2017-10-12

Here, hot plasmas with strong temperature gradients in inertial confinement fusion (ICF) experiments are examined for ion acoustic instabilities produced by electron heat flow. The return current instability (RCI) due to a neutralizing current of cold electrons arising in response to a large electron heat flux has been considered. First, the linear threshold and growth rates are derived in the nonlocal regime of thermal transport. They are compared with the results of Vlasov-Fokker-Planck (VFP) simulations in one spatial dimension. Very good agreement has been found between kinetic VFP simulations and the linear theory of the RCI. A quasi-stationary state ofmore » ion acoustic turbulence produced by the RCI is achieved in the VFP simulations. Saturation of the RCI involves heating of ions in the tail of the ion distribution function and convection of the enhanced ion acoustic fluctuations from the unstable region of the plasma. Further evolution of the ion acoustic turbulence and its effects on absorption and transport are also discussed.« less

Return current instability driven by a temperature gradient in ICF plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rozmus, W.; Brantov, A. V.; Sherlock, M.; Bychenkov, V. Yu

2018-01-01

Hot plasmas with strong temperature gradients in inertial confinement fusion experiments are examined for ion acoustic instabilities produced by electron heat flow. The return current instability (RCI) due to a neutralizing current of cold electrons arising in response to a large electron heat flux has been considered. First, the linear threshold and growth rates are derived in the non-local regime of thermal transport. They are compared with the results of Vlasov-Fokker-Planck (VFP) simulations in one spatial dimension. Very good agreement has been found between kinetic VFP simulations and the linear theory of the RCI. A quasi-stationary state of ion acoustic turbulence (IAT) produced by the RCI is achieved in the VFP simulations. Saturation of the RCI involves heating of ions in the tail of the ion distribution function and convection of the enhanced ion acoustic fluctuations from the unstable region of the plasma. Further evolution of the IAT and its effects on absorption and transport are also discussed.

Supersonic shear flows in laser driven high-energy-density plasmas created by the Nike laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Harding, E. C.; Drake, R. P.; Gillespie, R. S.; Grosskopf, M. J.; Ditmar, J. R.; Aglitskiy, Y.; Weaver, J. L.; Velikovich, A. L.; Plewa, T.

2008-11-01

In high-energy-density (HED) plasmas the Kelvin-Helmholtz (KH) instability plays an important role in the evolution of Rayleigh-Taylor (RT) and Richtmyer-Meshkov (RM) unstable interfaces, as well as material interfaces that experience the passage one or multiple oblique shocks. Despite the potentially important role of the KH instability few experiments have been carried out to explore its behavior in the high-energy-density regime. We report on the evolution of a supersonic shear flow that is generated by the release of a high velocity (>100 km/s) aluminum plasma onto a CRF foam (ρ = 0.1 g/cc) surface. In order to seed the Kelvin-Helmholtz (KH) instability various two-dimensional sinusoidal perturbations (λ = 100, 200, and 300 μm with peak-to-valley amplitudes of 10, 20, and 30 μm respectively) have been machined into the foam surface. This experiment was performed using the Nike laser at the Naval Research Laboratory.

Two-stream instability with time-dependent drift velocity

DOE PAGES

Qin, Hong; Davidson, Ronald C.

2014-06-26

The classical two-stream instability driven by a constant relative drift velocity between two plasma components is extended to the case with time-dependent drift velocity. A solution method is developed to rigorously define and calculate the instability growth rate for linear perturbations relative to the time-dependent unperturbed two-stream motions. The stability diagrams for the oscillating two-stream instability are presented over a large region of parameter space. It is shown that the growth rate for the classical two-stream instability can be significantly reduced by adding an oscillatory component to the relative drift velocity.

Rigorous merging of two-stream and Buneman instabilities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bret, A.

2011-12-01

Two-stream and Buneman instabilities are among the most well-known streaming plasma instabilities. In general, they occur within distinct ranges of wave vectors and can be treated separately in the linear regime. For symmetric counter-streams however, these modes overlap and even merge exactly for some wavelengths. The corresponding range can be expressed using Cardano's method for the resolution of the cubic equation.

Preionization Techniques in a kJ-Scale Dense Plasma Focus

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Povilus, Alexander; Shaw, Brian; Chapman, Steve; Podpaly, Yuri; Cooper, Christopher; Falabella, Steve; Prasad, Rahul; Schmidt, Andrea

2016-10-01

A dense plasma focus (DPF) is a type of z-pinch device that uses a high current, coaxial plasma gun with an implosion phase to generate dense plasmas. These devices can accelerate a beam of ions to MeV-scale energies through strong electric fields generated by instabilities during the implosion of the plasma sheath. The formation of these instabilities, however, relies strongly on the history of the plasma sheath in the device, including the evolution of the gas breakdown in the device. In an effort to reduce variability in the performance of the device, we attempt to control the initial gas breakdown in the device by seeding the system with free charges before the main power pulse arrives. We report on the effectiveness of two techniques developed for a kJ-scale DPF at LLNL, a miniature primer spark gap and pulsed, 255nm LED illumination. Prepared by LLNL under Contract DE-AC52-07NA27344.

Laser plasma coupling with moderate Z, long scalelength underdense plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kruer, William; Berger, Richard; Meezan, Nathaniel; Suter, Larry; Moody, John; Glenzer, Siegfried; Stevenson, R. M.; Oades, K.

2004-11-01

Recent experiments1,2 have focussed new attention on the coupling of laser light with moderate Z, long scalelength underdense plasmas. We discuss some intriguing features of these experiments, including a significant reduction of stimulated Raman and Brillouin scattering in higher Z plasmas, such as Krypton and Xenon. Threshold conditions for various instabilities are discussed, and potential consequences of thermal filamentation and self-focussing are explored. The presence of significant temperature modulations in the plasma can lead to a number of interesting effects not usually taken into account, such as ion wave refraction out of hot spots and instability reduction by the long wavelength modulations. We also consider the extrapolation of these results to the higher temperature regimes more relevant to ignition-scale hohlraums. 1. R. M. Stevenson, et. al, Phys. Plasmas 11, 2709 (2004) 2. J. Moody (to be published) Work performed under the auspices of the U.S. DOE by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under Contract W-7405-ENG-48.

Physical interpretation of Jeans instability in quantum plasmas

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

Akbari-Moghanjoughi, M.; International Centre for Advanced Studies in Physical Sciences and Institute for Theoretical Physics, Ruhr University Bochum, D-44780 Bochum

2014-08-15

In this paper, we use the quantum hydrodynamics and its hydrostatic limit to investigate the newly posed problem of Jeans instability in quantum plasmas from a different point of view in connection with the well-known Chandrasekhar mass-limit on highly collapsed degenerate stellar configurations. It is shown that the hydrodynamic stability of a spherically symmetric uniform quantum plasma with a given fixed mass is achieved by increase in its mass-density or decrease in the radius under the action of gravity. It is also remarked that for masses beyond the limiting Jeans-mass, the plasma becomes completely unstable and the gravitational collapse wouldmore » proceed forever. This limiting mass is found to depend strongly on the composition of the quantum plasma and the atomic-number of the constituent ions, where it is observed that heavier elements rather destabilize the quantum plasma hydrodynamically. It is also shown that the Chandrasekhar mass-limit for white dwarf stars can be directly obtained from the hydrostatic limit of our model.« less

Effect of wave localization on plasma instabilities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Levedahl, William Kirk

1987-10-01

The Anderson model of wave localization in random media is involved to study the effect of solar wind density turbulence on plasma processes associated with the solar type III radio burst. ISEE-3 satellite data indicate that a possible model for the type III process is the parametric decay of Langmuir waves excited by solar flare electron streams into daughter electromagnetic and ion acoustic waves. The threshold for this instability, however, is much higher than observed Langmuir wave levels because of rapid wave convection of the transverse electromagnetic daughter wave in the case where the solar wind is assumed homogeneous. Langmuir and transverse waves near critical density satisfy the Ioffe-Reigel criteria for wave localization in the solar wind with observed density fluctuations -1 percent. Numerical simulations of wave propagation in random media confirm the localization length predictions of Escande and Souillard for stationary density fluctations. For mobile density fluctuations localized wave packets spread at the propagation velocity of the density fluctuations rather than the group velocity of the waves. Computer simulations using a linearized hybrid code show that an electron beam will excite localized Langmuir waves in a plasma with density turbulence. An action principle approach is used to develop a theory of non-linear wave processes when waves are localized. A theory of resonant particles diffusion by localized waves is developed to explain the saturation of the beam-plasma instability. It is argued that localization of electromagnetic waves will allow the instability threshold to be exceeded for the parametric decay discussed above.

Role of ionization and electron drift velocity profile to Rayleigh instability in a Hall thruster plasma

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

Singh, Sukhmander; Malik, Hitendra K.

Role of ionization to Rayleigh instability is clarified in a Hall thruster plasma under the variety of profiles of electron drift velocity, namely, step-like profile (SLP) and two different super-Gaussian profiles (SGP1 and SGP2). For this, a relevant Rayleigh equation is derived and solved numerically using fourth-order Runge-Kutta method. Interestingly, an upper cutoff frequency of oscillations {omega}{sub max} is realized for the occurrence of the instability that shows dependence on the ionization rate {alpha}, electron drift velocity u{sub 0}, electron cyclotron frequency {Omega}, azimuthal wave number k{sub y}, plasma density n{sub 0}, density gradient {partial_derivative}n{sub 0}/{partial_derivative}x, ion (electron) thermal speedmore » V{sub thI}(V{sub thE}), and ion (electron) plasma frequency {omega}{sub pi}({omega}{sub pe}). The frequency {omega}{sub max} follows the trend {omega}{sub max} (for SGP2) >{omega}{sub max} (for SLP) >{omega}{sub max} (for SGP1) and shows a similar behaviour with ionization for all types of the velocity profiles. The instability is found to grow faster for the higher {alpha} and the ion temperature but it acquires lower rate under the effect of the higher electron temperature; the perturbed potential also varies in accordance with the growth rate. The electron temperature influences the growth rate and cutoff frequency less significantly in comparison with the ion temperature.« less

Observation of the Kelvin–Helmholtz Instability in a Solar Prominence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Heesu; Xu, Zhi; Lim, Eun-Kyung; Kim, Sujin; Cho, Kyung-Suk; Kim, Yeon-Han; Chae, Jongchul; Cho, Kyuhyoun; Ji, Kaifan

2018-04-01

Many solar prominences end their lives in eruptions or abrupt disappearances that are associated with dynamical or thermal instabilities. Such instabilities are important because they may be responsible for energy transport and conversion. We present a clear observation of a streaming kink-mode Kelvin–Helmholtz Instability (KHI) taking place in a solar prominence using the Hα Lyot filter installed at the New Vacuum Solar Telescope, Fuxian-lake Solar Observatory in Yunnan, China. On one side of the prominence, a series of plasma blobs floated up from the chromosphere and streamed parallel to the limb. The plasma stream was accelerated to about 20–60 km s‑1 and then undulated. We found that 2″- and 5″-size vortices formed, floated along the stream, and then broke up. After the 5″-size vortex, a plasma ejection out of the stream was detected in the Solar Dynamics Observatory/Atmospheric Imaging Assembly images. Just before the formation of the 5″-size vortex, the stream displayed an oscillatory transverse motion with a period of 255 s with the amplitude growing at the rate of 0.001 s‑1. We attribute this oscillation of the stream and the subsequent formation of the vortex to the KHI triggered by velocity shear between the stream, guided by the magnetic field and the surrounding media. The plasma ejection suggests the transport of prominence material into the upper layer by the KHI in its nonlinear stage.

Runaway tails in magnetized plasmas

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Moghaddam-Taaheri, E.; Vlahos, L.; Rowland, H. L.; Papadopoulos, K.

1985-01-01

The evolution of a runaway tail driven by a dc electric field in a magnetized plasma is analyzed. Depending on the strength of the electric field and the ratio of plasma to gyrofrequency, there are three different regimes in the evolution of the tail. The tail can be (1) stable with electrons accelerated to large parallel velocities, (2) unstable to Cerenkov resonance because of the depletion of the bulk and the formation of a positive slope, (3) unstable to the anomalous Doppler resonance instability driven by the large velocity anisotropy in the tail. Once an instability is triggered (Cerenkov or anomalous Doppler resonance) the tail relaxes into an isotropic distribution. The role of a convection type loss term is also discussed.

Use of soft x-ray diagnostic on the COMPASS tokamak for investigations of sawteeth crash neighborhood and of plasma position using fast inversion methods

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

Imrisek, M.; Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Charles University in Prague, Prague; Weinzettl, V.

2014-11-15

The soft x-ray diagnostic is suitable for monitoring plasma activity in the tokamak core, e.g., sawtooth instability. Moreover, spatially resolved measurements can provide information about plasma position and shape, which can supplement magnetic measurements. In this contribution, fast algorithms with the potential for a real-time use are tested on the data from the COMPASS tokamak. In addition, the soft x-ray data are compared with data from other diagnostics in order to discuss possible connection between sawtooth instability on one side and the transition to higher confinement mode, edge localized modes and productions of runaway electrons on the other side.

Fast saturation of the two-plasmon-decay instability for shock-ignition conditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weber, S.; Riconda, C.; Klimo, O.; Héron, A.; Tikhonchuk, V. T.

2012-01-01

Two-plasmon-decay (TPD) instability is investigated for conditions relevant for the shock-ignition (SI) scheme of inertial confinement fusion. Two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations show that in a hot, large-scale plasma, TPD develops in concomitance with stimulated Raman scattering (SRS). It is active only during the first picosecond of interaction, and then it is rapidly saturated due to plasma cavitation. TPD-excited plasma waves extend to small wavelengths, above the standard Landau cutoff. The hot electron spectrum created by SRS and TPD is relatively soft, limited to energies below 100 keV, which should not be a danger for the fuel core preheat in the SI scenario.

Modulational instability of helicon waves in a magnetoactive semiconductor n-InSb

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Salimullah, M.; Ferdous, T.

1984-03-01

In this paper the modulational instabilithy of a beam of high amplitude helicon wave in a magnetoactive piezoelectric semiconductor is studied. The nonlinear response of electrons in the semiconductor plasma has been found by following the fluid model of homogeneous plasmas. The low frequency nonlinearity has been taken through the ponderomotive force on electrons, whereas the nonlinearity in the scattered helicon waves arises through the nonlinear current densities of electrons. For typical plasma parameters in n-type indium antimonide and for a considerable power density (approximately 20 kW/sq cm) of the incident helicon beam, the growth rate of the modulational instability is quite high (approximately 10 to the 7th rad/s).

Solar Physics - Plasma Physics Workshop

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Baum, P. J.; Beckers, J. M.; Newman, C. E.; Priest, E. R.; Rosenberg, H.; Smith, D. F.; Sturrock, P. A.; Wentzel, D. G.

1974-01-01

A summary of the proceedings of a conference whose purpose was to explore plasma physics problems which arise in the study of solar physics is provided. Sessions were concerned with specific questions including the following: (1) whether the solar plasma is thermal or non-themal; (2) what spectroscopic data is required; (3) what types of magnetic field structures exist; (4) whether magnetohydrodynamic instabilities occur; (5) whether resistive or non-magnetohydrodynamic instabilities occur; (6) what mechanisms of particle acceleration have been proposed; and (7) what information is available concerning shock waves. Very few questions were answered categorically but, for each question, there was discussion concerning the observational evidence, theoretical analyses, and existing or potential laboratory and numerical experiments.

Analytical interpretation of arc instabilities in a DC plasma spray torch: the role of pressure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rat, V.; Coudert, J. F.

2016-06-01

Arc instabilities in a plasma spray torch are investigated experimentally and theoretically thanks to a linear simplified analytical model. The different parameters that determine the useful properties of the plasma jet at the torch exit, such as specific enthalpy and speed, but also pressure inside the torch and time variations of the flow rate are studied. The work is particularly focused on the link between the recorded arc voltage and the pressure in the cathode cavity. A frequency analysis of the recorded voltage and pressure allows the separation of different contributions following their spectral characteristics and highlights a resonance effect due to Helmholtz oscillations; these oscillations are responsible for the large amplitude fluctuations of all the parameters investigated. The influence of heat transfer, friction forces and residence time of the plasma in the nozzle are taken into account, thanks to different characteristics’ times. The volume of the cathode cavity in which the cold gas is stored before entering the arc region appears to be of prime importance for the dynamics of instabilities, particularly for the non-intuitive effect that induces flow-rate fluctuations in spite of the fact that the torch is fed at a constant flow rate.

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

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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

2014-12-01

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

Nonlinear Waves, Instabilities and Singularities in Plasma and Hydrodynamics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Silantyev, Denis Albertovich

Nonlinear effects are present in almost every area of science as soon as one tries to go beyond the first order approximation. In particular, nonlinear waves emerge in such areas as hydrodynamics, nonlinear optics, plasma physics, quantum physics, etc. The results of this work are related to nonlinear waves in two areas, plasma physics and hydrodynamics, united by concepts of instability, singularity and advanced numerical methods used for their investigation. The first part of this work concentrates on Langmuir wave filamentation instability in the kinetic regime of plasma. In Internal Confinement Fusion Experiments (ICF) at National Ignition Facility (NIF), where attempts are made to achieve fusion by compressing a small target by many powerful lasers to extremely high temperatures and pressures, plasma is created in the first moments of the laser reaching the target and undergoes complicated dynamics. Some of the most challenging difficulties arise from various plasma instabilities that occur due to interaction of the laser beam and a plasma surrounding the target. In this work we consider one of such instabilities that describes a decay of nonlinear plasma wave, initially excited due to interaction of the laser beam with the plasma, into many filaments in direction perpendicular to the laser beam, therefore named Langmuir filamentation instability. This instability occurs in the kinetic regime of plasma, klambda D > 0.2, where k is the wavenumber and lambda D is the Debye length. The filamentation of Langmuir waves in turn leads to the saturation of the stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) in laser-plasma interaction experiments which plays an essential role in ICF experiments. The challenging part of this work was that unlike in hydrodynamics we needed to use fully kinetic description of plasma to capture the physics in question properly, meaning that we needed to consider the distribution function of charged particles and its evolution in time not only with respect to spatial coordinates but with respect to velocities as well. To study Langmuir filamentation instability in its simplest form we performed 2D+2V numerical simulations. Taking into account that the distribution function in question was 4-dimensional function, making these simulation quite challenging, we developed an efficient numerical method making these simulations possible on modern desktop computers. Using the developed numerical method we studied how Langmuir wave filamentation instability depends on the parameters of the Langmuir wave such as wave length and amplitude that are relevant to ICF experiments. We considered several types of Langmuir waves, including nonlinear Langmuir waves exited by external electric field as well as an idealized approximation of such Langmuir waves by a particular family of Bernstein-Greene-Kruskal (BGK) modes that bifurcates from the linear Langmuir wave. The results of these simulations were compared to the theoretical predictions in our recent papers. An alternative approach to overcome computational difficulty of this problem was considered by our research group in Ref. It involves reducing the number of transverse direction in the model therefore lowering computational difficulty at a cost of lesser accuracy of the model. The second part of this work concentrates on 2D free surface hydrodynamics and in particular on computing Stokes waves with high-precision using conformal maps and spectral methods. Stokes waves are fully nonlinear periodic gravity waves propagating with the constant velocity on a free surface of two-dimensional potential flow of the ideal incompressible fluid of infinite depth. The increase of the scaled wave height H/lambda, where H is the wave height and lambda is the wavelength, from H/lambda = 0 to the critical value Hmax/lambda marks the transition from almost linear wave to a strongly nonlinear limiting Stokes wave. The Stokes wave of the greatest height H = Hmax has an angle of 120° at the crest. To obtain Stokes wave fully nonlinear Euler equations describing the flow can be reformulated in terms of conformal map of the fluid domain into the complex lower half-plane, with fluid free surface mapped into the real line. This description is convenient for analysis and numerical simulations since the whole problem is then reduced to a single nonlinear equation on the real line. Having computed solutions on the real line we extend them to the rest of the complex plane to analyze the singularities above real line. The distance vc from the closest singularity in the upper half-plane to the real line goes to zero as we approach the limiting Stokes wave with maximum hight Hmax/lambda, which is the reason for the widening of the solution's Fourier spectrum. (Abstract shortened by ProQuest.).

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

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

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

2014-03-15

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

Wave generation by contaminant ions near a large spacecraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Singh, N.

1993-01-01

Measurements from the space shuttle flights have revealed that a large spacecraft in a low earth orbit is accompanied by an extensive gas cloud which is primarily made up of water. The charge exchange between the water molecule and the ionospheric O(+) ions produces a water ion beam traversing downstream of the spacecraft. In this report we present results from a study on the generation of plasma waves by the interaction of the water ion beams with the ionospheric plasma. Since velocity distribution function is key to the understanding of the wave generation process, we have performed a test particle simulation to determine the nature of H2O(+) ions velocity distribution function. The simulations show that at the time scales shorter than the ion cyclotron period tau(sub c), the distribution function can be described by a beam. On the other hand, when the time scales are larger than tau(sub c), a ring distribution forms. A brief description of the linear instabilities driven by an ion beam streaming across a magnetic field in a plasma is presented. We have identified two types of instabilities occurring in low and high frequency bands; the low-frequency instability occurs over the frequency band from zero to about the lower hybrid frequency for a sufficiently low beam density. As the beam density increases, the linear instability occurs at decreasing frequencies below the lower-hybrid frequency. The high frequency instability occurs near the electron cyclotron frequency and its harmonics.

Nonlinear evolution of the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability in the double current sheet configuration

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

Mao, Aohua; Li, Jiquan, E-mail: lijq@energy.kyoto-u.ac.jp; Kishimoto, Yasuaki

2016-03-15

The nonlinear evolution of the Kelvin-Helmholtz (KH) instability driven by a radially antisymmetric shear flow in the double current sheet configuration is numerically investigated based on a reduced magnetohydrodynamic model. Simulations reveal different nonlinear fate of the KH instability depending on the amplitude of the shear flow, which restricts the strength of the KH instability. For strong shear flows far above the KH instability threshold, the linear electrostatic-type KH instability saturates and achieves a vortex flow dominated quasi-steady state of the electromagnetic (EM) KH turbulence with large-amplitude zonal flows as well as zonal fields. The magnetic surfaces are twisted significantlymore » due to strong vortices but without the formation of magnetic islands. However, for the shear flow just over the KH instability threshold, a weak EM-type KH instability is saturated and remarkably damped by zonal flows through modifying the equilibrium shear flow. Interestingly, a secondary double tearing mode (DTM) is excited subsequently in highly damped KH turbulence, behaving as a pure DTM in a flowing plasma as described in Mao et al. [Phys. Plasmas 21, 052304 (2014)]. However, the explosive growth phenomenon is replaced by a gradually growing oscillation due to the extremely twisted islands. As a result, the release of the magnetic energy becomes slow and the global magnetic reconnection tends to be gentle. A complex nonlinear interaction between the EM KH turbulence and the DTMs occurs for the medium shear flows above the KH instability threshold, turbulent EM fluctuations experience oscillatory nonlinear growth of the DTMs, finally achieves a quasi-steady state with the interplay of the fluctuations between the DTMs and the EM KH instability.« less

On the numerical dispersion of electromagnetic particle-in-cell code: Finite grid instability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meyers, M. D.; Huang, C.-K.; Zeng, Y.; Yi, S. A.; Albright, B. J.

2015-09-01

The Particle-In-Cell (PIC) method is widely used in relativistic particle beam and laser plasma modeling. However, the PIC method exhibits numerical instabilities that can render unphysical simulation results or even destroy the simulation. For electromagnetic relativistic beam and plasma modeling, the most relevant numerical instabilities are the finite grid instability and the numerical Cherenkov instability. We review the numerical dispersion relation of the Electromagnetic PIC model. We rigorously derive the faithful 3-D numerical dispersion relation of the PIC model, for a simple, direct current deposition scheme, which does not conserve electric charge exactly. We then specialize to the Yee FDTD scheme. In particular, we clarify the presence of alias modes in an eigenmode analysis of the PIC model, which combines both discrete and continuous variables. The manner in which the PIC model updates and samples the fields and distribution function, together with the temporal and spatial phase factors from solving Maxwell's equations on the Yee grid with the leapfrog scheme, is explicitly accounted for. Numerical solutions to the electrostatic-like modes in the 1-D dispersion relation for a cold drifting plasma are obtained for parameters of interest. In the succeeding analysis, we investigate how the finite grid instability arises from the interaction of the numerical modes admitted in the system and their aliases. The most significant interaction is due critically to the correct representation of the operators in the dispersion relation. We obtain a simple analytic expression for the peak growth rate due to this interaction, which is then verified by simulation. We demonstrate that our analysis is readily extendable to charge conserving models.

On the numerical dispersion of electromagnetic particle-in-cell code: Finite grid instability

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

Meyers, M.D., E-mail: mdmeyers@physics.ucla.edu; Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095; Huang, C.-K., E-mail: huangck@lanl.gov

The Particle-In-Cell (PIC) method is widely used in relativistic particle beam and laser plasma modeling. However, the PIC method exhibits numerical instabilities that can render unphysical simulation results or even destroy the simulation. For electromagnetic relativistic beam and plasma modeling, the most relevant numerical instabilities are the finite grid instability and the numerical Cherenkov instability. We review the numerical dispersion relation of the Electromagnetic PIC model. We rigorously derive the faithful 3-D numerical dispersion relation of the PIC model, for a simple, direct current deposition scheme, which does not conserve electric charge exactly. We then specialize to the Yee FDTDmore » scheme. In particular, we clarify the presence of alias modes in an eigenmode analysis of the PIC model, which combines both discrete and continuous variables. The manner in which the PIC model updates and samples the fields and distribution function, together with the temporal and spatial phase factors from solving Maxwell's equations on the Yee grid with the leapfrog scheme, is explicitly accounted for. Numerical solutions to the electrostatic-like modes in the 1-D dispersion relation for a cold drifting plasma are obtained for parameters of interest. In the succeeding analysis, we investigate how the finite grid instability arises from the interaction of the numerical modes admitted in the system and their aliases. The most significant interaction is due critically to the correct representation of the operators in the dispersion relation. We obtain a simple analytic expression for the peak growth rate due to this interaction, which is then verified by simulation. We demonstrate that our analysis is readily extendable to charge conserving models.« less

Advanced Design Concepts for Dense Plasma Focus Devices at LLNL

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Povilus, Alexander; Podpaly, Yuri; Cooper, Christopher; Shaw, Brian; Chapman, Steve; Mitrani, James; Anderson, Michael; Pearson, Aric; Anaya, Enrique; Koh, Ed; Falabella, Steve; Link, Tony; Schmidt, Andrea

2017-10-01

The dense plasma focus (DPF) is a z-pinch device where a plasma sheath is accelerated down a coaxial railgun and ends in a radial implosion, pinch phase. During the pinch phase, the plasma generates intense, transient electric fields through physical mechanisms, similar to beam instabilities, that can accelerate ions in the plasma sheath to MeV-scale energies on millimeter length scales. Using kinetic modeling techniques developed at LLNL, we have gained insight into the formation of these accelerating fields and are using these observations to optimize the behavior of the generated ion beam for producing neutrons via beam-target interactions for kilojoule to megajoule-scale devices. Using a set of DPF's, both in operation and in development at LLNL, we have explored critical aspects of these devices, including plasma sheath formation behavior, power delivery to the plasma, and instability seeding during the implosion in order to improve the absolute yield and stability of the device. Prepared by LLNL under Contract DE-AC52-07NA27344. Computing support for this work came from the LLNL Institutional Computing Grand Challenge program.

Characterization of long-scale-length plasmas produced from plastic foam targets for laser plasma instability (LPI) research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oh, Jaechul; Weaver, J. L.; Serlin, V.; Obenschain, S. P.

2017-10-01

We report on an experimental effort to produce plasmas with long scale lengths for the study of parametric instabilities, such as two plasmon decay (TPD) and stimulated Raman scattering (SRS), under conditions relevant to fusion plasma. In the current experiment, plasmas are formed from low density (10-100 mg/cc) CH foam targets irradiated by Nike krypton fluoride laser pulses (λ = 248 nm, 1 nsec FWHM) with energies up to 1 kJ. This experiment is conducted with two primary diagnostics: the grid image refractometer (Nike-GIR) to measure electron density and temperature profiles of the coronas, and time-resolved spectrometers with absolute intensity calibration to examine scattered light features of TPD or SRS. Nike-GIR was recently upgraded with a 5th harmonic probe laser (λ = 213 nm) to access plasma regions near quarter critical density of 248 nm light (4.5 ×1021 cm-3). The results will be discussed with data obtained from 120 μm scale-length plasmas created on solid CH targets in previous LPI experiments at Nike. Work supported by DoE/NNSA.

Current-limited electron beam injection

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stenzel, R. L.

1977-01-01

The injection of an electron beam into a weakly collisional, magnetized background plasma was investigated experimentally. The injected beam was energetic and cold, the background plasma was initially isothermal. Beam and plasma dimensions were so large that the system was considered unbounded. The temporal and spatial evolution of the beam-plasma system was dominated by collective effects. High-frequency electrostatic instabilities rapidly thermalized the beam and heated the background electrons. The injected beam current was balanced by a return current consisting of background electrons drifting toward the beam source. The drift between electrons and ions gave rise to an ion acoustic instability which developed into strong three-dimensional turbulence. It was shown that the injected beam current was limited by the return current which is approximately given by the electron saturation current. Non-Maxwellian electron distribution functions were observed.

Radiation from particles moving in small-scale magnetic fields created in solid-density laser-plasma laboratory experiments

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

Keenan, Brett D., E-mail: bdkeenan@ku.edu; Medvedev, Mikhail V.

2015-11-15

Plasmas created by high-intensity lasers are often subject to the formation of kinetic-streaming instabilities, such as the Weibel instability, which lead to the spontaneous generation of high-amplitude, tangled magnetic fields. These fields typically exist on small spatial scales, i.e., “sub-Larmor scales.” Radiation from charged particles moving through small-scale electromagnetic (EM) turbulence has spectral characteristics distinct from both synchrotron and cyclotron radiation, and it carries valuable information on the statistical properties of the EM field structure and evolution. Consequently, this radiation from laser-produced plasmas may offer insight into the underlying electromagnetic turbulence. Here, we investigate the prospects for, and demonstrate themore » feasibility of, such direct radiative diagnostics for mildly relativistic, solid-density laser plasmas produced in lab experiments.« less

REVIEWS OF TOPICAL PROBLEMS: Instabilities of a multicomponent plasma with accelerated particles and magnetic field generation in astrophysical objects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bykov, Andrei M.; Toptygin, Igor'N.

2007-02-01

A system of MHD equations for the description of a magnetized nonequilibrium astrophysical plasma with neutral atoms and suprathermal (in particular, relativistic) particles is formulated. The instabilities of such a plasma, which arise from the presence of neutral and relativistic components, are considered. It is shown that the presence of nonthermal particles interacting with the thermal plasma component via regular and fluctuating electromagnetic fields is responsible for the emergence of specific mechanisms of MHD wave generation. The main generation mechanisms of static and turbulent magnetic fields near shock wave fronts in the Galaxy and interplanetary space are analyzed. We discuss the application of the generation effects of long-wave magnetic fluctuations to the problems of magnetic field origin and relativistic particle acceleration in astrophysical objects of various natures.

Structuring in complex plasma for nonlinearly screened dust particles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tsytovich, Vadim; Gusein-zade, Namik

2014-03-01

An explanation is proposed for the recently discovered effect of spontaneous dusty plasma structuring (and the appearance of compact dust structures) under conditions of nonlinear dust screening. Physical processes are considered that make homogenous dusty plasma universally unstable and lead to the appearance of structures. It is shown for the first time that the efficiency of structuring increases substantially in the presence of plasma flows caused by the charging of nonlinearly screened dust grains. General results are obtained for arbitrary nonlinear screening, and special attention is paid to the model of nonlinear screening often used since 1964. The growth rate of structuring instability is derived. It is shown that, in the case of nonlinear screening, the structuring has a threshold determined by the friction of grains against the neutral gas. The theoretically obtained threshold agrees with recent experimental observations. The dispersion relation for dusty plasma structuring is shown to be similar to the dispersion relation for gravitational instability with an effective gravitational constant. The effective dust attraction caused by this instability is shown to be collective, and the dependence of the effective gravitational constant on the dust-to-ion density ratio is found explicitly for the first time. It is demonstrated that the proposed method of calculation of dust attraction by using the effective gravitational constant is the most efficient and straightforward. Understanding of the role of nonlinear screening gives deeper physical grounds for the theoretical interpretation of the observed phenomenon of dust crystal formation in complex plasmas.

Electromagnetic instabilities in solar wind interaction with dusty cometary plasmas

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Verheest, Frank; Meuris, Peter

1995-01-01

Dusty plasmas contain charged dust grains which are much more massive than protons, carry high negative charges due to preferential capture of electrons, and do not have a fixed charge. Fluctuations in the grain charges due to liberation or capture of additional electrons and protons translate as mass and momentum losses or gains for these species, which can render linear modes unstable. On the other hand, many authors have addressed the pickup of ions of cometary origin by the solar wind, which for the parallel part is due to relative streaming between cometary and solar wind ions which excites low-frequency electromagnetic turbulence. In the present work we look again at those instabilities by including effects due to the presence of charged dust in the cometary environments. We have investigated several frequency regimes: nonresonant below the cometary watergroup gyrofrequency, nonresonant below the cometary charged dust gyrofrequency (new and interesting but highly unlikely!) and resonant with the cometary watergroup ions. For most parameter ranges either the existing instabilities are enhanced, showing that the presence of charged dust facilitates the cometary ion pickup by the solar wind, or new instabilities have been shown to exist. Similar conclusions might be relevant for other kinds of astrophysical and heliospheric plasmas containing charged dust, as in planetary rings.

Magnetic field production via the Weibel instability in interpenetrating plasma flows

DOE PAGES

Huntington, C. M.; Manuel, M. J. -E.; Ross, J. S.; ...

2017-04-26

Here, many astrophysical systems are effectively “collisionless,” that is, the mean free path for collisions between particles is much longer than the size of the system. The absence of particle collisions does not preclude shock formation, however, as shocks can be the result of plasma instabilities that generate and amplify electromagnetic fields. The magnetic fields required for shock formation may either be initially present, for example, in supernova remnants or young galaxies, or they may be self-generated in systems such as gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). In the case of GRB outflows, the Weibel instability is a candidate mechanism for the generationmore » of sufficiently strong magnetic fields to produce shocks. In experiments on the OMEGA Laser, we have demonstrated a quasi-collisionless system that is optimized for the study of the non-linear phase of Weibel instability growth. Using a proton probe to directly image electromagnetic fields, we measure Weibel-generated magnetic fields that grow in opposing, initially unmagnetized plasma flows. The collisionality of the system is determined from coherent Thomson scattering measurements, and the data are compared to similar measurements of a fully collisionless system. The strong, persistent Weibel growth observed here serves as a diagnostic for exploring large-scale magnetic field amplification and the microphysics present in the collisional–collisionless transition.« less

Ion firehose instability in a dusty plasma considering product-bi-kappa distributions for the plasma particles

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

Santos, M. S. dos, E-mail: michel.santos@iffarroupilha.edu.br; Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia Farroupilha, 98590-000, Santo Augusto, RS; Ziebell, L. F., E-mail: luiz.ziebell@ufrgs.br

2016-01-15

We study the dispersion relation for low frequency waves in the whistler mode propagating along the ambient magnetic field, considering ions and electrons with product-bi-kappa (PBK) velocity distributions and taking into account the presence of a population of dust particles. The results obtained by numerical analysis of the dispersion relation show that the decrease in the κ indexes in the ion PBK distribution contributes to the increase in magnitude of the growth rates of the ion firehose instability and the size of the region in wave number space where the instability occurs. It is also shown that the decrease inmore » the κ indexes in the electron PBK distribution contribute to decrease in the growth rates of instability, despite the fact that the instability occurs due to the anisotropy in the ion distribution function. For most of the interval of κ values which has been investigated, the ability of the non-thermal ions to increase the instability overcomes the tendency of decrease due to the non-thermal electron distribution, but for very small values of the kappa indexes the deleterious effect of the non-thermal electrons tends to overcome the effect due to the non-thermal ion distribution.« less

Quantum kinetic theory of the filamentation instability

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

Bret, A.; Haas, F.

2011-07-15

The quantum electromagnetic dielectric tensor for a multi-species plasma is re-derived from the gauge-invariant Wigner-Maxwell system and presented under a form very similar to the classical one. The resulting expression is then applied to a quantum kinetic theory of the electromagnetic filamentation instability. Comparison is made with the quantum fluid theory including a Bohm pressure term and with the cold classical plasma result. A number of analytical expressions are derived for the cutoff wave vector, the largest growth rate, and the most unstable wave vector.

Density waves at the interface of a binary complex plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Li; Schwabe, Mierk; Zhdanov, Sergey; Thomas, Hubertus M.; Lipaev, Andrey M.; Molotkov, Vladimir I.; Fortov, Vladimir E.; Zhang, Jing; Du, Cheng-Ran

2017-01-01

Density waves were studied in a phase-separated binary complex plasma under microgravity conditions. For the big particles, waves were self-excited by the two-stream instability, while for small particles, they were excited by heartbeat instability with the presence of reversed propagating pulses of a different frequency. By studying the dynamics of wave crests at the interface, we recognize a “collision zone” and a “merger zone” before and after the interface, respectively. The results provide a generic picture of wave-wave interaction at the interface between two “mediums”.

High frequency drift instabilities in a dusty plasma

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rosenberg, M.; Krall, N. A.

1994-01-01

High frequency drift instabilities with omega(sub ce) much greater than omega which is greater than omega(sub ci) are investigated in a dusty magnetized plasma in which locally there is an electron density gradient which is opposite in sign to a dust density gradient. Two different equilibria are considered, characterized by rho(sub d) greater than L(sub d) and less than L(sub d), where rho(sub d) is the dust gyroradius and L(sub nd) is the dust density scale length. Possible application to Saturn's F-ring is discussed.

Observation of large-scale density cavities and parametric-decay instabilities in the high-altitude discrete auroral ionosphere under pulsed electromagnetic radiation.

PubMed

Wong, A Y; Chen, J; Lee, L C; Liu, L Y

2009-03-13

A large density cavity that measured 2000 km across and 500 km in height was observed by DEMETER and Formosat/COSMIC satellites in temporal and spatial relation to a new mode of propagation of electromagnetic (em) pulses between discrete magnetic field-aligned auroral plasmas to high altitudes. Recorded positive plasma potential from satellite probes is consistent with the expulsion of electrons in the creation of density cavities. High-frequency decay spectra support the concept of parametric instabilities fed by free energy sources.

Suppression of the n=2 rotational instability in field-reversed configurations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hoffman, Alan L.; Slough, J.; Harding, Dennis G.

1983-06-01

Compact toroid plasmas formed in field-reversed theta pinches are generally destroyed after 30-50 μsec by a rotating n=2 instability. In the reported experiment, instability is controlled, and the plasma destruction is avoided in the TRX-1 theta pinch through the application of octopole magnetic fields. The decay times for loss of poloidal flux and particles are unaffected by the octopole fields. These decay times are about 100 μsec based on inferences from interferometry and excluded flux measurements. The weak, rotating elliptical disturbance (controlled n=2 mode) also made possible a novel determination of the density profile near the separatrix using single-chord interferometry. The local density gradient scale length in this region is found to be about one ion gyrodiameter.

Effect of rotation on Jeans instability of magnetized radiative quantum plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Joshi, H.; Pensia, R. K.

2017-03-01

The influence of rotation on the Jeans instability of homogeneous magnetized radiative quantum plasma is investigated. The basic equations of the problem are constructed and linearized by using the Quantum Magnetohydrodynamics (QMHD) model. The general dispersion relation is obtained by using the normal mode analysis technique, which is reduced for both the transverse and the longitudinal mode of propagations and further it is reduced for the axis of rotation parallel and perpendicular to the magnetic field. We found that the stabilizing effects of rotation are decreases for a strong magnetic field which is shown in the graphical representation. We also found that the quantum correction modified the condition of Jeans instability in both modes of propagation. The stabilizing effect of rotation is more increased in the presence of quantum correction.

Effect of rotation on gravitational instability of optically thick magnetized quantum plasma in the presence of radiation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kumar, A.; Pensia, R. K.

2018-05-01

This paper deals with the effect of rotation on the gravitational instability of optically thick magnetized quantum plasma in the presence of radiation. By using linearized perturbation equations of the problem, general dispersion relation is obtained which is reduced for longitudinal and transverse modes of propagation. For each mode, the problem is analyzed for two cases, when the direction of axis of rotation is parallel or perpendicular to the direction of magnetic field. Rotation parameter is found to modify the Jeans criterion of instability and expression for Jeans wavelength for transverse mode, when the axis of rotation is along the direction of magnetic field and it has stabilizing effect on the system. Magnetic field, radiation pressure and quantum correction also found to have stabilizing effect.

On the persistence of unstable bump-on-tail electron velocity distributions in the earth's foreshock

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Klimas, Alexander J.; Fitzenreiter, Richard J.

1988-01-01

This paper presents further evidence for the persistence of bump-on-tail unstable reduced velocity distributions in the earth's electron foreshock, which contradicts the understanding of quasi-linear saturation of the bump-on-tail instability. A modified theory for the saturation of the bump-on-tail instability in the earth's foreshock is proposed to explain the mechanism of this persistence, and the predictions are compared to the results of a numerical simulation of the electron plasma in the foreshock. The results support the thesis that quasi-linear saturation of the bump-on-tail instability is modified in the foreshock, due to the driven nature of the region, so that at saturation the stabilized velocity distribution still appears bump-on-tail unstable to linear plasma analysis.

Combined action of corrugation and Weibel instabilities from electron-beam interaction with laser-irradiated plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bai, Yafeng; Tian, Ye; Zhang, Zhijun; Cao, Lihua; Liu, Jiansheng

2018-03-01

The combined action of corrugation and Weibel instabilities was experimentally observed in the interaction between energetic electrons and a laser-irradiated insulated target. The energetic electron beam, driven by an ultrashort laser pulse, splits into filaments with a diameter of ˜10 μm while traversing an insulated target, owing to the corrugation instability. The filaments continued to split into thinner filaments owing to the Weibel instability if a preplasma was induced by a heating beam on the rear side of the target. When the time delay between the heating beam and electron beam was larger than 1 ps, a merging of the current filaments was observed. The characteristic filamentary structures disappeared when the time delay between the two beams was larger than 3 ps. A simplified model was developed to analyze this process; the obtained results were in good agreement with the experiment. Two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations supported our analysis and reproduced the filamentation of the electron beam inside the plasma.

Shear-flow driven dissipative instability and investigation of nonlinear drift-vortex modes in dusty plasmas with non-thermal ion population

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gul-e-Ali, Masood, W.; Mirza, Arshad M.

2017-12-01

The shear flow in dust dynamics driven waves in combination with the dust-neutral drag is studied in a plasma comprising of ions, electrons, and dust. Non-thermal population of ions is considered, which has been observed by many satellite missions. It is found that the dissipative instability produced by dust sheared flow and dust-neutral drag gets modified by the presence of nonthermal ions. It is found that the dissipative instability enhances for the Cairns distribution, whereas the kappa distribution arrests the growth of this instability. In the nonlinear regime, the formation of vortices in the system is studied. It is found that the nonthermal population of ions significantly alters these structures in comparison with their Maxwellian counterpart. The results obtained in this paper may have relevance in the planetary magnetospheres where the dust particles are present and non-Maxwellian distribution of particles have been observed by Freja and Viking satellites.

Gyrokinetic theory of slab universal modes and the non-existence of the gradient drift coupling (GDC) instability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rogers, Barrett N.; Zhu, Ben; Francisquez, Manaure

2018-05-01

A gyrokinetic linear stability analysis of a collisionless slab geometry in the local approximation is presented. We focus on k∥=0 universal (or entropy) modes driven by plasma gradients at small and large plasma β. These are small scale non-MHD instabilities with growth rates that typically peak near k⊥ρi˜1 and vanish in the long wavelength k⊥→0 limit. This work also discusses a mode known as the Gradient Drift Coupling (GDC) instability previously reported in the gyrokinetic literature, which has a finite growth rate γ=√{β/[2 (1 +β)] }Cs/|Lp| with Cs2=p0/ρ0 for k⊥→0 and is universally unstable for 1 /Lp≠0 . We show that the GDC instability is a spurious, unphysical artifact that erroneously arises due to the failure to respect the total equilibrium pressure balance p0+B02/(8 π)=constant , which renders the assumption B0'=0 inconsistent if p0'≠0 .

Particle acceleration, magnetic field generation, and emission in relativistic pair jets

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nishikawa, K.-I.; Ramirez-Ruiz, E.; Hardee, P.; Hededal, C.; Kouveliotou, C.; Fishman, G. J.; Mizuno, Y.

2005-01-01

Shock acceleration is a ubiquitous phenomenon in astrophysical plasmas. Recent simulations show that the Weibel instability created by relativistic pair jets is responsible for particle (electron, positron, and ion) acceleration. Using a 3-D relativistic electromagnetic particle (REMP) code, we have investigated particle acceleration associated with a relativistic jet propagating through an ambient plasma with and without initial magnetic fields. The growth rates of the Weibel instability depends on the distribution of pair jets. The Weibel instability created in the collisionless shock accelerates particles perpendicular and parallel to the jet propagation direction. This instability is also responsible for generating and amplifying highly nonuniform, small-scale magnetic fields, which contribute to the electron s transverse deflection behind the jet head. The jitter radiation from deflected electrons has different properties than synchrotron radiation which is calculated in a uniform magnetic field. This jitter radiation may be important to understanding the complex time evolution and/or spectral structure in gamma-ray bursts, relativistic jets, and supernova remnants.

Research on Heating, Instabilities, Turbulence and RF Emission from Electric Field Dominated Plasmas

DTIC Science & Technology

1989-07-01

Spence, "RF Plasma Emissions Measured with Calibrated, Broadband Antenna". February 19 Mr. Antonino Carnevali, Fusion Energy Division, ORNL,"Confinement...slides of the conference, plasma equipment exhibitors, and major Japanese fusion facilities. November 20 Dr. Antonino Carnevalli, RPI and Fusion Energy

On the role of the lower hybrid drift instability in substorm dynamics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Huba, J. D.; Gladd, N. T.; Drake, J. F.

1981-01-01

Recent studies of the lower hybrid drift instability have shed new light on the role of this mode in field-reversed plasmas. For substorm magnetotail conditions it is found that the lower hybrid drift instability can penetrate to the neutral line and can dissipate magnetic energy at a rate of approximately 4 x 10 to the 17th erg/s. Thus this instability is capable of playing a major role in the onset of substorms and providing resistivity for reconnection processes in the context of the neutral line substorm model.

A General Identification of Instabilities in Solar Wind Plasma, and a Particular Application to the WIND Data Set.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Klein, Kristopher; Kasper, Justin; Korreck, Kelly; Alterman, Benjamin

2017-04-01

The role of free-energy driven instabilities in governing heating and acceleration processes in the heliosphere has been studied for over half a century, with significant recent advancements enabled by the statistical analysis of decades worth of observations from missions such as WIND. Typical studies focus on marginal stability boundaries in a reduced parameter space, such as the canonical plasma beta versus temperature anisotropy plane, due to a single source of free energy. We present a more general method of determining stability, accounting for all possible sources of free energy in the constituent plasma velocity distributions. Through this novel implementation, we can efficiently determine if the plasma is linearly unstable, and if so, how many normal modes are growing. Such identification will enabling us to better pinpoint the dominant heating or acceleration processes in solar wind plasma. The theory behind this approach is reviewed, followed by a discussion of our methods for a robust numerical implementation, and an initial application to portions of the WIND data set. Further application of this method to velocity distribution measurements from current missions, including WIND, upcoming missions, including Solar Probe Plus and Solar Orbiter, and missions currently in preliminary phases, such as ESA's THOR and NASA's IMAP, will help elucidate how instabilities shape the evolution of the heliosphere.

Phase space evolution in linear instabilities

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

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

1994-12-01

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

EFFECTS OF LASER RADIATION ON MATTER. LASER PLASMA: Low-threshold generation of harmonics and hard x radiation in a laser plasma. 1. Single-peak generation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Apollonov, V. V.; Derzhavin, S. I.; Kazakov, K. Kh

1993-02-01

A source of hard x radiation based on a laser plasma has been studied under conditions such that parametric instabilities are driven in the plasma at low intensities of the pump radiation (below 10 GW/cm2). A qualitative interpretation of the observed effects is offered.

Characterization of Electron Temperature and Density Profiles of Plasmas Produced by Nike KrF Laser for Laser Plasma Instability (LPI) Research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oh, Jaechul; Weaver, J. L.; Phillips, L.; Obenschain, S. P.; Schmitt, A. J.; Kehne, D. M.; Chan, L.-Y.; Serlin, V.

2011-10-01

Previous experiments with Nike KrF laser (λ = 248 nm , Δν ~ 1 THz) observed LPI signatures near quarter critical density (nc / 4) in CH plasmas, however, detailed measurement of the temperature (Te) and density (ne) profiles was missing. The current Nike LPI campaign will perform experimental determination of the plasma profiles. A side-on grid imaging refractometer (GIR) is the main diagnostic to resolve Te and ne in space taking 2D snapshots of probe laser (λ = 266 nm , Δt = 8 psec) beamlets (50 μm spacing) refracted by the plasma at laser peak time. Ray tracing of the beamlets through hydrodynamically simulated (FASTRAD3D) plasma profiles estimates the refractometer may access densities up to ~ 0 . 2nc . With the measured Te and ne profiles in the plasma corona, we will discuss analysis of light data radiated from the plasmas in spectral ranges relevant to two plasmon decay and convective Raman instabilities. Validity of the (Te ,ne) data will also be discussed for the thermal transport study. Work supported by DoE/NNSA and ONR and performed at NRL.

Experimental identification of the kink instability as a poloidal flux amplification mechanism for coaxial gun spheromak formation.

PubMed

Hsu, S C; Bellan, P M

2003-05-30

The magnetohydrodynamic kink instability is observed and identified experimentally as a poloidal flux amplification mechanism for coaxial gun spheromak formation. Plasmas in this experiment fall into three distinct regimes which depend on the peak gun current to magnetic flux ratio, with (I) low values resulting in a straight plasma column with helical magnetic field, (II) intermediate values leading to kinking of the column axis, and (III) high values leading immediately to a detached plasma. Onset of column kinking agrees quantitatively with the Kruskal-Shafranov limit, and the kink acts as a dynamo which converts toroidal to poloidal flux. Regime II clearly leads to both poloidal flux amplification and the development of a spheromak configuration.

Numerical study of the current-convective instability driven by asymmetry of detachment in inner and outer divertors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stepanenko, A. A.; Krasheninnikov, S. I.

2018-01-01

One of the possible mechanisms responsible for strong radiation fluctuations observed in recent experiments with detached plasmas at ASDEX Upgrade [Potzel et al., Nucl. Fusion 54, 013001 (2014)] can be related to the onset of the current-convective instability (CCI) driven by strong asymmetry of detachment in the inner and outer divertors of the tokamak [S. Krasheninnikov and A. Smolyakov, Phys. Plasmas 23, 092505 (2016)]. In this study, we present the physical model, used to simulate the CCI, and the first numerical results of modeling of the CCI dynamics in ASDEX Upgrade-like conditions. The simulation results provide frequency spectra of turbulent divertor plasma oscillations showing reasonably good agreement with the available experimental data.

Statistical Characterization and Classification of Edge-Localized Plasma Instabilities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Webster, A. J.; Dendy, R. O.

2013-04-01

The statistics of edge-localized plasma instabilities (ELMs) in toroidal magnetically confined fusion plasmas are considered. From first principles, standard experimentally motivated assumptions are shown to determine a specific probability distribution for the waiting times between ELMs: the Weibull distribution. This is confirmed empirically by a statistically rigorous comparison with a large data set from the Joint European Torus. The successful characterization of ELM waiting times enables future work to progress in various ways. Here we present a quantitative classification of ELM types, complementary to phenomenological approaches. It also informs us about the nature of ELM processes, such as whether they are random or deterministic. The methods are extremely general and can be applied to numerous other quasiperiodic intermittent phenomena.

Simulation and analysis of chemical release in the ionosphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, Jing-Fan; Guo, Li-Xin; Xu, Zheng-Wen; Zhao, Hai-Sheng; Feng, Jie

2018-05-01

Ionospheric inhomogeneous plasma produced by single point chemical release has simple space-time structure, and cannot impact radio wave frequencies higher than Very High Frequency (VHF) band. In order to produce more complicated ionospheric plasma perturbation structure and trigger instabilities phenomena, multiple-point chemical release scheme is presented in this paper. The effects of chemical release on low latitude ionospheric plasma are estimated by linear instability growth rate theory that high growth rate represents high irregularities, ionospheric scintillation occurrence probability and high scintillation intension in scintillation duration. The amplitude scintillations and the phase scintillations of 150 MHz, 400 MHz, and 1000 MHz are calculated based on the theory of multiple phase screen (MPS), when they propagate through the disturbed area.

Hole-cyclotron instability in semiconductor quantum plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Areeb, F.; Rasheed, A.; Jamil, M.; Siddique, M.; Sumera, P.

2018-01-01

The excitation of electrostatic hole-cyclotron waves generated by an externally injected electron beam in semiconductor plasmas is examined using a quantum hydrodynamic model. The quantum effects such as tunneling potential, Fermi degenerate pressure, and exchange-correlation potential are taken care of. The growth rate of the wave is analyzed on varying the parameters normalized by hole-plasma frequency, like the angle θ between propagation vector and B0∥z ̂ , speed of the externally injected electron beam v0∥k , thermal temperature of the electron beam τ, external magnetic field B0∥z ̂ that modifies the hole-cyclotron frequency, and finally, the semiconductor electron number density. The instability of the hole-cyclotron wave seeks its applications in semiconductor devices.

Oscillating plasma bubble and its associated nonlinear studies in presence of low magnetic field

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

Megalingam, Mariammal; Sarma, Bornali; Mitra, Vramori

Oscillating plasma bubbles have been created around a cylindrical mesh grid of 75% optical transparency in a DC plasma system with a low magnetic field. Plasma bubbles are created by developing ion density gradient around a cylindrical grid of 20 cm in diameter and 25 cm in height, inserted into the plasma. Relaxation and contraction of the plasma bubbles in the presence of external conditions, such as magnetic field and pressure, have been studied. A Langmuir probe has been used to detect the plasma floating potential fluctuations at different imposed experimental conditions. Nonlinear behavior of the system has been characterized by adoptingmore » nonlinear techniques such as Fast Fourier Transform, Phase Space Plot, and Recurrence Plot. It shows that the system creates highly nonlinear phenomena associated with the plasma bubble under the imposed experimental conditions. A theoretical and numerical model has also been developed to satisfy the observed experimental analysis. Moreover, observations are extended further to study the growth of instability associated with the plasma bubbles. The intention of the present work is to correlate the findings about plasma bubbles and their related instability with the one existing in the equatorial F-region of the ionosphere.« less

Multiple-Scale Physics During Magnetic Reconnection

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

Jara-Almonte, Jonathan

Magnetic reconnection is a key fundamental process in magnetized plasmas wherein the global magnetic topology is modified and stored energy is transferred from fields to particles. Reconnection is an inherently local process, and mechanisms to couple global-scale dynamics are not well understood. This dissertation explores two different mechanisms for cross-scale coupling during magnetic reconnection. As one example, we theoretically examine reconnection in a collisionless plasma using particle-in-cell simulations and demonstrate that large scale reconnection physics can couple to and drive microscopic instabilities, even in two-dimensional systems if significant scale separation exists between the Debye length and the electron skin depth.more » The physics underlying these instabilities is explained using simple theoretical models, and their potential connection to existing discrepancies between laboratory experiments and numerical simulations is explored. In three-dimensional systems, these instabilities are shown to generate anomalous resistivity that balances a substantial fraction of the electric field. In contrast, we also use experiments to investigate cross-scale couplings during reconnection in a collisional plasma. A leading candidate for coupling global and local scales is the hierarchical breakdown of elongated, reconnecting current sheets into numerous smaller current sheets -– the plasmoid instability. In the Magnetic Reconnection Experiment (MRX), recent hardware improvements have extended the accessible parameter space allowing for the study of long-lived, elongated current sheets. Moreover, by using Argon, reproducible and collisional plasmas are produced, which allow for a detailed statistical study of collisional reconnection. As a result, we have conclusively measured the onset of sub-ion-scale plasmoids during resistive, anti-parallel reconnection for the first time. The current sheet thickness is intermediate between ion and electron kinetic scales such that the plasma is in the Hall-MHD regime. Surprisingly, plasmoids are observed at Lundquist numbers < 100 well below theoretical predictions (> 10,000). The number of plasmoids scales with both Lundquist number and current sheet aspect ratio. The Hall quadrupolar fields are shown to suppress plasmoids. Finally, plasmoids are shown to couple local and global physics by enhancing the reconnection rate. These results are compared with prior studies of tearing and plasmoid instability, and implications for astrophysical plasmas, laboratory experiments, and theoretical studies of reconnection are discussed.« less

Particle Acceleration and Magnetic Field Generation in Electron-Positron Relativistic Shocks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nishikawa, K.-I.; Hardee, P.; Richardson, G.; Preece, R.; Sol, H.; Fishman, G. J.

2004-01-01

Shock acceleration is an ubiquitous phenomenon in astrophysical plasmas. Plasma waves and their associated instabilities (e.g., Buneman, Weibel and other two-stream instabilities) created in collisionless shocks are responsible for particle (electron, positron, and ion) acceleration. Using a 3-D relativistic electromagnetic particle (REMP) code, we have investigated particle acceleration associated with a relativistic electron-positron jet front propagating into an ambient electron-positron plasma with and without initial magnetic fields. We find small differences in the results for no ambient and modest ambient magnetic fields. Simulations show that the Weibel instability created in the collisionless shock front accelerates jet and ambient particles both perpendicular and parallel to the jet propagation direction. The non-linear fluctuation amplitudes of densities, currents, electric, and magnetic fields in the electron-positron shock are larger than those found in the electron-ion shock studied in a previous paper. This comes from the fact that both electrons and positrons contribute to generation of the Weibel instability. Additionally, we have performed simulations with different electron skin depths. We find that growth times scale inversely with the plasma frequency, and the sizes of structures created by the Weibel instability scale proportional to the electron skin depth. This is the expected result and indicates that the simulations have sufficient grid resolution. While some Fermi acceleration may occur at the jet front, the majority of electron and positron acceleration takes place behind the jet front and cannot be characterized as Fermi acceleration. The simulation results show that the Weibel instability is responsible for generating and amplifying nonuniform, small-scale magnetic fields which contribute to the electron's (positron's) transverse deflection behind the jet head. This small scale magnetic field structure is appropriate to the generation of "jitter" radiation from deflected electrons (positrons) as opposed to synchrotron radiation. The jitter radiation has different properties than synchrotron radiation calculated assuming a a uniform magnetic field. The jitter radiation resulting from small scale magnetic field structures may be important for understanding the complex time structure and spectral evolution observed in gamma-ray bursts or other astrophysical sources containing relativistic jets and relativistic collisionless shocks.

Particle Acceleration and Magnetic Field Generation in Electron-Positron Relativistic Shocks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nishikawa, K.-L.; Hardee, P.; Richardson, G.; Preece, R.; Sol, H.; Fishman, G. J.

2004-01-01

Shock acceleration is an ubiquitous phenomenon in astrophysical plasmas. Plasma waves and their associated instabilities (e.g., Buneman, Weibel and other two-stream instabilities) created in collisionless shocks are responsible for particle (electron, positron, and ion) acceleration. Using a 3-D relativistic electromagnetic particle (REMP) code, we have investigated particle acceleration associated with a relativistic electron-positron jet front propagating into an ambient electron-positron plasma with and without initial magnetic fields. We find small differences in the results for no ambient and modest ambient magnetic fields. Simulations show that the Weibel instability created in the collisionless shock front accelerates jet and ambient particles both perpendicular and parallel to the jet propagation direction. The non-linear fluctuation amplitudes of densities, currents, electric, and magnetic fields in the electron-positron shock are larger than those found in the electron-ion shock studied in a previous paper at the comparable simulation time. This comes from the fact that both electrons and positrons contribute to generation of the Weibel instability. Additionally, we have performed simulations with different electron skin depths. We find that growth times scale inversely with the plasma frequency, and the sizes of structures created by the Weibel instability scale proportional to the electron skin depth. This is the expected result and indicates that the simulations have sufficient grid resolution. While some Fermi acceleration may occur at the jet front, the majority of electron and positron acceleration takes place behind the jet front and cannot be characterized as Fermi acceleration. The simulation results show that the Weibel instability is responsible for generating and amplifying nonuniform: small-scale magnetic fields which contribute to the electron's (positron's) transverse deflection behind the jet head. This small scale magnetic field structure is appropriate to the generation of jitter radiation from deflected electrons (positrons) as opposed to synchrotron radiation. The jitter radiation has different properties than synchrotron radiation calculated assuming a a uniform magnetic field. The jitter radiation resulting from small scale magnetic field structures may be important for understanding the complex time structure and spectral evolution observed in gamma-ray bursts or other astrophysical sources containing relativistic jets and relativistic collisionless shocks.

Particle Acceleration and Magnetic Field Generation in Electron-Positron Relativistic Shocks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nishikawa, K.-I.; Hardee, P.; Richardson, G.; Preece, R.; Sol, H.; Fishman, G. J.

2005-01-01

Shock acceleration is a ubiquitous phenomenon in astrophysical plasmas. Plasma waves and their associated instabilities (e.g., Buneman, Weibel, and other two-stream instabilities) created in collisionless shocks are responsible for particle (electron, positron, and ion) acceleration. Using a three-dimensional relativistic electromagnetic particle (REMP) code, we have investigated particle acceleration associated with a relativistic electron-positron jet front propagating into an ambient electron-positron plasma with and without initial magnetic fields. We find small differences in the results for no ambient and modest ambient magnetic fields. New simulations show that the Weibel instability created in the collisionless shock front accelerates jet and ambient particles both perpendicular and parallel to the jet propagation direction. Furthermore, the nonlinear fluctuation amplitudes of densities, currents, and electric and magnetic fields in the electron-positron shock are larger than those found in the electron-ion shock studied in a previous paper at a comparable simulation time. This comes from the fact that both electrons and positrons contribute to generation of the Weibel instability. In addition, we have performed simulations with different electron skin depths. We find that growth times scale inversely with the plasma frequency, and the sizes of structures created by tine Weibel instability scale proportionally to the electron skin depth. This is the expected result and indicates that the simulations have sufficient grid resolution. While some Fermi acceleration may occur at the jet front, the majority of electron and positron acceleration takes place behind the jet front and cannot be characterized as Fermi acceleration. The simulation results show that the Weibel instability is responsible for generating and amplifying nonuniform, small-scale magnetic fields, which contribute to the electron s (positron s) transverse deflection behind the jet head. This small- scale magnetic field structure is appropriate to the generation of "jitter" radiation from deflected electrons (positrons) as opposed to synchrotron radiation. The jitter radiation has different properties than synchrotron radiation calculated assuming a uniform magnetic field. The jitter radiation resulting from small-scale magnetic field structures may be important for understanding the complex time structure and spectral evolution observed in gamma-ray bursts or other astrophysical sources containing relativistic jets and relativistic collisionless shocks.

Gyrokinetic GDC turbulence simulations: confirming a new instability regime in LAPD plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pueschel, M. J.; Rossi, G.; Told, D.; Terry, P. W.; Jenko, F.; Carter, T. A.

2016-10-01

Recent high-beta experiments at the LArge Plasma Device have found significant parallel magnetic fluctuations in the region of large pressure gradients. Linear gyrokinetic simulations show the dominant instability at these radii to be the gradient-driven drift coupling (GDC) mode, a non-textbook mode driven by pressure gradients and destabilized by the coupling of ExB and grad-B∥ drifts. Unlike in previous studies, the large parallel extent of the device allows for finite-kz versions of this instability in addition to kz = 0 . The locations of maximum linear growth match very well with experimentally observed peaks of B∥ fluctuations. Local nonlinear simulations reproduce many features of the observations fairly well, with the exception of Bperp fluctuations, for which experimental profiles suggest a source unrelated to pressure gradients. In toto, the results presented here show that turbulence and transport in these experiments are driven by the GDC instability, that important characteristics of the linear instability carry over to nonlinear simulations, and - in the context of validation - that the gyrokinetic framework performs surprisingly well far outside its typical area of application, increasing confidence in its predictive abilities. Supported by U.S. DOE.

A Deeper Understanding of Stability in the Solar Wind: Applying Nyquist's Instability Criterion to Wind Faraday Cup Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alterman, B. L.; Klein, K. G.; Verscharen, D.; Stevens, M. L.; Kasper, J. C.

2017-12-01

Long duration, in situ data sets enable large-scale statistical analysis of free-energy-driven instabilities in the solar wind. The plasma beta and temperature anisotropy plane provides a well-defined parameter space in which a single-fluid plasma's stability can be represented. Because this reduced parameter space can only represent instability thresholds due to the free energy of one ion species - typically the bulk protons - the true impact of instabilities on the solar wind is under estimated. Nyquist's instability criterion allows us to systematically account for other sources of free energy including beams, drifts, and additional temperature anisotropies. Utilizing over 20 years of Wind Faraday cup and magnetic field observations, we have resolved the bulk parameters for three ion populations: the bulk protons, beam protons, and alpha particles. Applying Nyquist's criterion, we calculate the number of linearly growing modes supported by each spectrum and provide a more nuanced consideration of solar wind stability. Using collisional age measurements, we predict the stability of the solar wind close to the sun. Accounting for the free-energy from the three most common ion populations in the solar wind, our approach provides a more complete characterization of solar wind stability.

Enhancing Understanding of Magnetized High Energy Density Plasmas from Solid Liner Implosions Using Fluid Modeling with Kinetic Closures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Masti, Robert; Srinivasan, Bhuvana; King, Jacob; Stoltz, Peter; Hansen, David; Held, Eric

2017-10-01

Recent results from experiments and simulations of magnetically driven pulsed power liners have explored the role of early-time electrothermal instability in the evolution of the MRT (magneto-Rayleigh-Taylor) instability. Understanding the development of these instabilities can lead to potential stabilization mechanisms; thereby providing a significant role in the success of fusion concepts such as MagLIF (Magnetized Liner Inertial Fusion). For MagLIF the MRT instability is the most detrimental instability toward achieving fusion energy production. Experiments of high-energy density plasmas from wire-array implosions have shown the requirement for more advanced physics modeling than that of ideal magnetohydrodynamics. The overall focus of this project is on using a multi-fluid extended-MHD model with kinetic closures for thermal conductivity, resistivity, and viscosity. The extended-MHD model has been updated to include the SESAME equation-of-state tables and numerical benchmarks with this implementation will be presented. Simulations of MRT growth and evolution for MagLIF-relevant parameters will be presented using this extended-MHD model with the SESAME equation-of-state tables. This work is supported by the Department of Energy Office of Science under Grant Number DE-SC0016515.

Effect of wave localization on plasma instabilities. Ph.D. Thesis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Levedahl, William Kirk

1987-01-01

The Anderson model of wave localization in random media is involved to study the effect of solar wind density turbulence on plasma processes associated with the solar type III radio burst. ISEE-3 satellite data indicate that a possible model for the type III process is the parametric decay of Langmuir waves excited by solar flare electron streams into daughter electromagnetic and ion acoustic waves. The threshold for this instability, however, is much higher than observed Langmuir wave levels because of rapid wave convection of the transverse electromagnetic daughter wave in the case where the solar wind is assumed homogeneous. Langmuir and transverse waves near critical density satisfy the Ioffe-Reigel criteria for wave localization in the solar wind with observed density fluctuations -1 percent. Numerical simulations of wave propagation in random media confirm the localization length predictions of Escande and Souillard for stationary density fluctations. For mobile density fluctuations localized wave packets spread at the propagation velocity of the density fluctuations rather than the group velocity of the waves. Computer simulations using a linearized hybrid code show that an electron beam will excite localized Langmuir waves in a plasma with density turbulence. An action principle approach is used to develop a theory of non-linear wave processes when waves are localized. A theory of resonant particles diffusion by localized waves is developed to explain the saturation of the beam-plasma instability. It is argued that localization of electromagnetic waves will allow the instability threshold to be exceeded for the parametric decay discussed above.

FIRE HOSE INSTABILITY DRIVEN BY ALPHA PARTICLE TEMPERATURE ANISOTROPY

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

Matteini, L.; Schwartz, S. J.; Hellinger, P.

We investigate properties of a solar wind-like plasma, including a secondary alpha particle population exhibiting a parallel temperature anisotropy with respect to the background magnetic field, using linear and quasi-linear predictions and by means of one-dimensional hybrid simulations. We show that anisotropic alpha particles can drive a parallel fire hose instability analogous to that generated by protons, but that, remarkably, can also be triggered when the parallel plasma beta of alpha particles is below unity. The wave activity generated by the alpha anisotropy affects the evolution of the more abundant protons, leading to their anisotropic heating. When both ion speciesmore » have sufficient parallel anisotropies, both of them can drive the instability, and we observe the generation of two distinct peaks in the spectra of the fluctuations, with longer wavelengths associated to alphas and shorter ones to protons. If a non-zero relative drift is present, the unstable modes propagate preferentially in the direction of the drift associated with the unstable species. The generated waves scatter particles and reduce their temperature anisotropy to a marginally stable state, and, moreover, they significantly reduce the relative drift between the two ion populations. The coexistence of modes excited by both species leads to saturation of the plasma in distinct regions of the beta/anisotropy parameter space for protons and alpha particles, in good agreement with in situ solar wind observations. Our results confirm that fire hose instabilities are likely at work in the solar wind and limit the anisotropy of different ion species in the plasma.« less

Rogue waves in space dusty plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chowdhury, N. A.; Mannan, A.; Mamun, A. A.

2017-11-01

The modulational instability of dust-acoustic (DA) waves (DAWs) and corresponding DA rogue waves (DARWs) in a realistic space dusty plasma system (containing inertial warm positively and negatively charged dust, isothermal ions, and super-thermal kappa distributed electrons) has been theoretically investigated. The nonlinear Schrödinger equation is derived by using a reductive perturbation method for this investigation. It is observed that the dusty plasma system under consideration supports two branches of modes, namely, fast and slow DA modes, and that both of these two modes can be stable or unstable depending on the sign of ratio of the dispersive and nonlinear coefficients. The numerical analysis has shown that the basic features (viz., stability/instability, growth rate, amplitude, and width of the rogue structures, etc.) of the DAWs associated with the fast DA modes are significantly modified by super-thermal parameter (κ) and other various plasma parameters. The results of our present investigation should be useful for understanding DARWs in space plasma systems, viz., mesosphere and ionosphere.

Modified dust ion-acoustic surface waves in a semi-bounded magnetized plasma containing the rotating dust grains

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

Lee, Myoung-Jae; Jung, Young-Dae, E-mail: ydjung@hanyang.ac.kr; Department of Applied Physics and Department of Bionanotechnology, Hanyang University, Ansan, Kyunggi-Do 15588

2016-05-15

The dispersion relation for modified dust ion-acoustic surface waves in the magnetized dusty plasma containing the rotating dust grains is derived, and the effects of magnetic field configuration on the resonant growth rate are investigated. We present the results that the resonant growth rates of the wave would increase with the ratio of ion plasma frequency to cyclotron frequency as well as with the increase of wave number for the case of perpendicular magnetic field configuration when the ion plasma frequency is greater than the dust rotation frequency. For the parallel magnetic field configuration, we find that the instability occursmore » only for some limited ranges of the wave number and the ratio of ion plasma frequency to cyclotron frequency. The resonant growth rate is found to decrease with the increase of the wave number. The influence of dust rotational frequency on the instability is also discussed.« less

Blobs and drift wave dynamics

DOE PAGES

Zhang, Yanzeng; Krasheninnikov, S. I.

2017-09-29

The modified Hasegawa-Mima equation retaining all nonlinearities is investigated from the point of view of the formation of blobs. The linear analysis shows that the amplitude of the drift wave packet propagating in the direction of decreasing background plasma density increases and eventually saturates due to nonlinear effects. Nonlinear modification of the time averaged plasma density profile results in the formation of large amplitude modes locked in the radial direction, but still propagating in the poloidal direction, which resembles the experimentally observed chain of blobs propagating in the poloidal direction. Such specific density profiles, causing the locking of drift waves,more » could form naturally at the edge of tokamak due to a neutral ionization source. Thus, locked modes can grow in situ due to plasma instabilities, e.g., caused by finite resistivity. Furthermore, the modulation instability (in the poloidal direction) of these locked modes can result in a blob-like burst of plasma density.« less

Simulation of plasma double-layer structures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Borovsky, J. E.; Joyce, G.

1982-01-01

Electrostatic plasma double layers are numerically simulated by means of a magnetized 2 1/2 dimensional particle in cell method. The investigation of planar double layers indicates that these one dimensional potential structures are susceptible to periodic disruption by instabilities in the low potential plasmas. Only a slight increase in the double layer thickness with an increase in its obliqueness to the magnetic field is observed. Weak magnetization results in the double layer electric field alignment of accelerated particles and strong magnetization results in their magnetic field alignment. The numerical simulations of spatially periodic two dimensional double layers also exhibit cyclical instability. A morphological invariance in two dimensional double layers with respect to the degree of magnetization implies that the potential structures scale with Debye lengths rather than with gyroradii. Electron beam excited electrostatic electron cyclotron waves and (ion beam driven) solitary waves are present in the plasmas adjacent to the double layers.

Low frequency waves in streaming quantum dusty plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rozina, Ch.; Jamil, M.; Khan, Arroj A.; Zeba, I.; Saman, J.

2017-09-01

The influence of quantum effects on the excitation of two instabilities, namely quantum dust-acoustic and quantum dust-lower-hybrid waves due to the free streaming of ion/dust particles in uniformly magnetized dusty plasmas has been investigated using a quantum hydrodynamic model. We have obtained dispersion relations under some particular conditions applied on streaming ions and two contrastreaming dust particle beams at equilibrium and have analyzed the growth rates graphically. We have shown that with the increase of both the electron number density and the streaming speed of ion there is enhancement in the instability due to the fact that the dense plasma particle system with more energetic species having a high speed results in the increase of the growth rate in the electrostatic mode. The application of this work has been pointed out for laboratory as well as for space dusty plasmas.

Modulational instability: Conservation laws and bright soliton solution of ion-acoustic waves in electron-positron-ion-dust plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

EL-Kalaawy, O. H.

2018-02-01

We consider the nonlinear propagation of non-planar (cylindrical and spherical) ion-acoustic (IA) envelope solitary waves in an unmagnetized plasma consisting of electron-positron-ion-dust plasma with two-electron temperature distributions in the context of the non-extensive statistics. The basic set of fluid equations is reduced to the modified nonlinear Schrödinger (MNLS) equation in cylindrical and spherical geometry by using the reductive perturbation method (RPM). It is found that the nature of the modulational instabilities would be significantly modified due to the effects of the non-extensive and other plasma parameters as well as cylindrical and spherical geometry. Conservation laws of the MNLS equation are obtained by Lie symmetry and multiplier method. A new exact solution (envelope bright soliton) is obtained by the extended homogeneous balance method. Finally, we study the results of this article.

Numerical simulation of filling a magnetic flux tube with a cold plasma: Anomalous plasma effects

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Singh, Nagendra; Leung, W. C.

1995-01-01

Large-scale models of plasmaspheric refilling have revealed that during the early stage of the refilling counterstreaming ion beams are a common feature. However, the instability of such ion beams and its effect on refilling remain unexplored. In order to learn the basic effects of ion beam instabilities on refilling, we have performed numerical simulations of the refilling of an artificial magnetic flux tube. (The shape and size of the tube are assumed so that the essential features of the refilling problem are kept in the simulation and at the same time the small scale processes driven by the ion beams are sufficiently resolved.) We have also studied the effect of commonly found equatorially trapped warm and/or hot plasma on the filling of a flux tube with a cold plasma. Three types of simulation runs have been performed.

Evolution of the fastest-growing relativistic mixed mode instability driven by a tenuous plasma beam in one and two dimensions

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

Dieckmann, M. E.; Frederiksen, J. T.; Bret, A.

2006-11-15

Particle-in-cell simulations confirm here that a mixed plasma mode is the fastest growing when a highly relativistic tenuous electron-proton beam interacts with an unmagnetized plasma. The mixed modes grow faster than the filamentation and two-stream modes in simulations with beam Lorentz factors {gamma} of 4, 16, and 256, and are responsible for thermalizing the electrons. The mixed modes are followed to their saturation for the case of {gamma}=4 and electron phase space holes are shown to form in the bulk plasma, while the electron beam becomes filamentary. The initial saturation is electrostatic in nature in the considered one- and two-dimensionalmore » geometries. Simulations performed with two different particle-in-cell simulation codes evidence that a finite grid instability couples energy into high-frequency electromagnetic waves, imposing simulation constraints.« less

Effect of plasma absorption on dust lattice waves in hexagonal dust crystals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kerong, HE; Hui, CHEN; Sanqiu, LIU

2018-04-01

In the present paper, the effect of plasma absorption on lattice waves in 2D hexagonal dust crystals is investigated. The dispersion relations with the effect of plasma absorption are derived. It is found that the temperature effect (electron-to-ion temperature ratio τ) enhances the frequency of the dust lattice waves, while the spatial effect (dimensionless Debye shielding parameter \\tilde{κ }) weakens the frequency of the dust lattice waves. In addition, the system stabilities under the conditions of plasma absorption are studied. It is found that the temperature effect narrows the range of instability, while the spatial effect extends this range. And the range of instability is calculated, i.e. the system will always in the stable state regardless of the value of \\tilde{κ } when τ > 3.5. However, the system will be unstable when τ = 1 and \\tilde{κ }> 4.1.

On the generation of double layers from ion- and electron-acoustic instabilities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fu, Xiangrong; Cowee, Misa M.; Gary, S. Peter; Winske, Dan

2016-03-01

A plasma double layer (DL) is a nonlinear electrostatic structure that carries a uni-polar electric field parallel to the background magnetic field due to local charge separation. Past studies showed that DLs observed in space plasmas are mostly associated with the ion acoustic instability. Recent Van Allen Probes observations of parallel electric field structures traveling much faster than the ion acoustic speed have motivated a computational study to test the hypothesis that a new type of DLs—electron acoustic DLs—generated from the electron acoustic instability are responsible for these electric fields. Nonlinear particle-in-cell simulations yield negative results, i.e., the hypothetical electron acoustic DLs cannot be formed in a way similar to ion acoustic DLs. Linear theory analysis and the simulations show that the frequencies of electron acoustic waves are too high for ions to respond and maintain charge separation required by DLs. However, our results do show that local density perturbations in a two-electron-component plasma can result in unipolar-like electric field structures that propagate at the electron thermal speed, suggesting another potential explanation for the observations.

Implementation of STUD Pulses at the Trident Laser and Initial Results

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Johnson, R. P.; Shimada, T.; Montgomery, D. S.; Afeyan, B.; Hüller, S.

2012-10-01

Controlling and mitigating laser-plasma instabilities such as stimulated Brillouin scattering, stimulated Raman scattering, and crossed-beam energy transfer is important to achieve high-gain inertial fusion using laser drivers. Recent theory and simulations show that these instabilities can be largely controlled using laser pulses consisting of spike trains of uneven duration and delay (STUD) by modulating the laser on a picosecond time scale [1,2]. We have designed and implemented a STUD pulse generator at the LANL Trident Laser Facility using Fourier synthesis to produce a 0.5-ns envelope of psec-duration STUD pulses using a spatial light modulator. Initial results from laser propagation tests and measurements as well as initial laser-plasma characterization experiments will be presented.[4pt] [1] B. Afeyan and S. H"uller, ``Optimal Control of Laser Plasma Instabilities using STUD pulses,'' IFSA 2011, P.Mo.1, to appear in Euro. Phys. J. Web of Conf. (2012).[2] S. H"uller and B. Afeyan, ``Simulations of drastically reduced SBS with STUD pulses,'' IFSA 2011, O.Tu8-1, to appear in Euro. Phys. J. Web of Conf. (2012).

Effect of toroidal rotation on resistive magnetohydrodynamic instability with a nonmonotonic q profile in cylindrical geometry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, J. Q.; Peng, X. D.

2018-04-01

The effect of plasma rotation on the linear stability of the resistive magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) instabilities with a nonmonotonic q profile is investigated numerically in the cylindrical geometry. The results have shown that the plasma rotation has a stabilization effect on the double tearing modes (DTMs) depending on the magnitude of the velocity, while the velocity shear has a relatively weak effect. The effect of rotation on DTMs is determined by the velocity at each rational surface. A toroidal velocity imposed on the innermost rational surface has a weak effect on m > 1 DTMs. When the velocity is imposed on the outboard resonant surface, the growth rates of the DTMs are reduced for m > 1 modes; however, it has an obvious destabilizing effect on both m = 1 (with m the poloidal mode number) DTM and single tearing mode branches if the distance between the two rational surfaces is sufficiently small. It is shown that the effect of plasma rotation on the growth rates of the MHD instabilities is in phase with the integrated value of the coupling between potential fluctuation and magnetic flux perturbation.

Theoretical model of the plasma edge. II. Transport along the open field lines of a magnetic island belt associated with the ionization instability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rogister, A. L. M.; Hasselberg, G.

1993-12-01

For pt.I, see ibid, p.1799-1816 (1993). To the ionization instability described in Part I correspond odd phi, even br eigenfunctions leading, as for the tearing mode, to a magnetic island belt centred about the rational magnetic surface q = m < qa (q is the safety factor; m is the mode number). Plasma dumping on the target plates, along the island magnetic field lines, releases the neutrals, the ionization of which drives the instability. This self-consistent model of the plasma edge yields the electron temperature on the last closed equilibrium magnetic surface and the particle confinement time, which are compared with the values measured in TEXTOR and other tokamaks; interestingly, the value obtained for τp is very reminiscent of the heuristic energy confinement time expression proposed by Kaye and Goldston(1985). Theory also predicts an equilibrium bifurcation at high power, corresponding to a reduction, and then a collapse, of the island width. The hypothesis that the (L mode) island belt be hooked up to the machine's structure is briefly discussed

Robust dynamic mitigation of instabilities

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

Kawata, S.; Karino, T.

2015-04-15

A dynamic mitigation mechanism for instability growth was proposed and discussed in the paper [S. Kawata, Phys. Plasmas 19, 024503 (2012)]. In the present paper, the robustness of the dynamic instability mitigation mechanism is discussed further. The results presented here show that the mechanism of the dynamic instability mitigation is rather robust against changes in the phase, the amplitude, and the wavelength of the wobbling perturbation applied. Generally, instability would emerge from the perturbation of the physical quantity. Normally, the perturbation phase is unknown so that the instability growth rate is discussed. However, if the perturbation phase is known, themore » instability growth can be controlled by a superposition of perturbations imposed actively: If the perturbation is induced by, for example, a driving beam axis oscillation or wobbling, the perturbation phase could be controlled, and the instability growth is mitigated by the superposition of the growing perturbations.« less

WEIBEL, TWO-STREAM, FILAMENTATION, OBLIQUE, BELL, BUNEMAN...WHICH ONE GROWS FASTER?

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

Bret, A.

2009-07-10

Many competing linear instabilities are likely to occur in astrophysical settings, and it is important to assess which one grows faster for a given situation. An analytical model including the main beam plasma instabilities is developed. The full three-dimensional dielectric tensor is thus explained for a cold relativistic electron beam passing through a cold plasma, accounting for a guiding magnetic field, a return electronic current, and moving protons. Considering any orientations of the wave vector allows to retrieve the most unstable mode for any parameters set. An unified description of the filamentation (Weibel), two-stream, Buneman, Bell instabilities (and more) ismore » thus provided, allowing for the exact determination of their hierarchy in terms of the system parameters. For relevance to both real situations and PIC simulations, the electron-to-proton mass ratio is treated as a parameter, and numerical calculations are conducted with two different values, namely 1/1836 and 1/100. In the system parameter phase space, the shape of the domains governed by each kind of instability is far from being trivial. For low-density beams, the ultra-magnetized regime tends to be governed by either the two-stream or the Buneman instabilities. For beam densities equaling the plasma one, up to four kinds of modes are likely to play a role, depending of the beam Lorentz factor. In some regions of the system parameters phase space, the dominant mode may vary with the electron-to-proton mass ratio. Application is made to solar flares, intergalactic streams, and relativistic shocks physics.« less

Research on Short Duration Pulsed Radiation Sources.

DTIC Science & Technology

correlate soft X-ray spots with the hard radiation in a 1 kJ plasma focus showed that field structures leading to the appearance of soft X-ray spots...are always present in this plasma focus . These field structures represent m = 0 plasma instabilities and do have a direct influence upon the observed neutron emission. (Author)

Plasma Instabilities and Transport in the MPD Thruster

DTIC Science & Technology

1993-06-01

driven plasma accelera- tion vesrus current-deiven energy dissipation Part III: anomalous trasnport . In 2 8’A Joint Propulsion Conference, Nashville... trasnport In the March/April Bi- monthly Progress Report of the Electric Propulsion and Plasma Dynamics Laboratory. Technical Report MAE 1776.36, EPPDyL, Princeton Univer- sity, 1992. 0 0

Energetic particle-driven compressional Alfvén eigenmodes and prospects for ion cyclotron emission studies in fusion plasmas

DOE PAGES

Gorelenkov, N. N.

2016-10-01

As a fundamental plasma oscillation the compressional Alfvén waves (CAW) are interesting for plasma scientists both academically and in applications for fusion plasmas. They are believed to be responsible for the ion cyclotron emission (ICE) observed in many tokamaks. The theory of CAW and ICE was significantly advanced at the end of 20th century in particular motivated by first DT experiments on TFTR and subsequent JET DT experimental studies. More recently, ICE theory was advanced by ST (or spherical torus) experiments with the detailed theoretical and experimental studies of the properties of each instability signal. There the instability responsible formore » ICE signals previously indistinguishable in high aspect ratio tokamaks became the subjects of experimental studies. We discuss further the prospects of ICE theory and its applications for future burning plasma (BP) experiments such as the ITER tokamak-reactor prototype being build in France where neutrons and gamma rays escaping the plasma create extremely challenging conditions for fusion alpha particle diagnostics.a« less

Modeling of the Convection and Interaction of Ring Current, Plasmaspheric and Plasma Sheet Plasmas in the Inner Magnetosphere

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fok, Mei-Ching; Chen, Sheng-Hsien; Buzulukova, Natalia; Glocer, Alex

2010-01-01

Distinctive sources of ions reside in the plasmasphere, plasmasheet, and ring current regions at discrete energies constitute the major plasma populations in the inner/middle magnetosphere. They contribute to the electrodynamics of the ionosphere-magnetosphere system as important carriers of the global current system, in triggering; geomagnetic storm and substorms, as well as critical components of plasma instabilities such as reconnection and Kelvin-Helmholtz instability at the magnetospheric boundaries. Our preliminary analysis of in-situ measurements shoves the complexity of the plasmas pitch angle distributions at particularly the cold and warm plasmas, vary dramatically at different local times and radial distances from the Earth in response to changes in solar wind condition and Dst index. Using an MHD-ring current coupled code, we model the convection and interaction of cold, warm and energetic ions of plasmaspheric, plasmasheet, and ring current origins in the inner magnetosphere. We compare our simulation results with in-situ and remotely sensed measurements from recent instrumentation on Geotail, Cluster, THEMIS, and TWINS spacecraft.

A description on plasma background effect in growth rate of THz waves in a metallic cylindrical waveguide, including a dielectric tube and two current sources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hajijamali-Arani, Z.; Jazi, B.

2018-04-01

The propagation of slow waves in a dielectric tube surrounded by a long cylindrical metallic waveguide is investigated. The dielectric tube located in a background region of plasma under two different states A and B. In the A-state the dielectric tube hollow filled with the plasma and in the B-state the outer surface of dielectric tube has been covered by the plasma layer. There are two relativistic electron beams with opposite velocities injected in the waveguide as the energy sources. Using the fluid theory for the plasmas, the Cherenkov instability in the mentioned waveguide will be analyzed. The dispersion relations of E-mode waves for the states A, B have been obtained. The time growth rate of surface waves are compared with each other for two cases A and B. The effect of plasma region on time growth rate of the waves, will be investigated. In all cases it will be shown, while an electron beam is responsible for instability, another electron beam plays a stabilizing role.

Complex astrophysical experiments relating to jets, solar loops, and water ice dusty plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bellan, P. M.; Zhai, X.; Chai, K. B.; Ha, B. N.

2015-10-01

> Recent results of three astrophysically relevant experiments at Caltech are summarized. In the first experiment magnetohydrodynamically driven plasma jets simulate astrophysical jets that undergo a kink instability. Lateral acceleration of the kinking jet spawns a Rayleigh-Taylor instability, which in turn spawns a magnetic reconnection. Particle heating and a burst of waves are observed in association with the reconnection. The second experiment uses a slightly different setup to produce an expanding arched plasma loop which is similar to a solar corona loop. It is shown that the plasma in this loop results from jets originating from the electrodes. The possibility of a transition from slow to fast expansion as a result of the expanding loop breaking free of an externally imposed strapping magnetic field is investigated. The third and completely different experiment creates a weakly ionized plasma with liquid nitrogen cooled electrodes. Water vapour injected into this plasma forms water ice grains that in general are ellipsoidal and not spheroidal. The water ice grains can become quite long (up to several hundred microns) and self-organize so that they are evenly spaced and vertically aligned.

Dynamics of Turbulence Suppression in a Helicon Plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hayes, Tiffany; Gilmore, Mark

2012-10-01

Experiments are currently being conducted in the the Helicon-Cathode Device (HelCat) at the University of New Mexico. The goal is to the study in detail the transition from a turbulent to a non-turbulent state in the presence of flow shear. HelCat has intrinsic fluctuations that have been identified as drift-waves. Using simple electrode biasing, it has been found that these fluctuations can be completely suppressed. In some extreme cases, a different instability, possibly the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability, can be excited. Detailed studies are underway in order to understand the characteristics of each mode, and to elucidate the underlying physics that cause the change between an unstable plasma, and an instability-free plasma. Dynamics being observed include changes in flow profiles, both azimuthal and parallel, as well as changes in potential and temperature gradients. Further understanding is being sought using several computer codes developed at EPFL: a linear stability solver (LSS,footnotetextP. Ricci and B.N. Rogers (2009). Phys Plasmas 16, 062303. a one-dimensional PIC code/sheath solver, ODISEE,footnotetextJ. Loizu, P. Ricci, and C. Theiler (2011). Phys Rev E 83, 016406 and a global, 3D Braginski code, GBS.footnotetextRicci, Rogers (2009) A basic overview of results will be presented.

Influence of atomic kinetics in the simulation of plasma microscopic properties and thermal instabilities for radiative bow shock experiments.

PubMed

Espinosa, G; Rodríguez, R; Gil, J M; Suzuki-Vidal, F; Lebedev, S V; Ciardi, A; Rubiano, J G; Martel, P

2017-03-01

Numerical simulations of laboratory astrophysics experiments on plasma flows require plasma microscopic properties that are obtained by means of an atomic kinetic model. This fact implies a careful choice of the most suitable model for the experiment under analysis. Otherwise, the calculations could lead to inaccurate results and inappropriate conclusions. First, a study of the validity of the local thermodynamic equilibrium in the calculation of the average ionization, mean radiative properties, and cooling times of argon plasmas in a range of plasma conditions of interest in laboratory astrophysics experiments on radiative shocks is performed in this work. In the second part, we have made an analysis of the influence of the atomic kinetic model used to calculate plasma microscopic properties of experiments carried out on magpie on radiative bow shocks propagating in argon. The models considered were developed assuming both local and nonlocal thermodynamic equilibrium and, for the latter situation, we have considered in the kinetic model different effects such as external radiation field and plasma mixture. The microscopic properties studied were the average ionization, the charge state distributions, the monochromatic opacities and emissivities, the Planck mean opacity, and the radiative power loss. The microscopic study was made as a postprocess of a radiative-hydrodynamic simulation of the experiment. We have also performed a theoretical analysis of the influence of these atomic kinetic models in the criteria for the onset possibility of thermal instabilities due to radiative cooling in those experiments in which small structures were experimentally observed in the bow shock that could be due to this kind of instability.

Influence of atomic kinetics in the simulation of plasma microscopic properties and thermal instabilities for radiative bow shock experiments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Espinosa, G.; Rodríguez, R.; Gil, J. M.; Suzuki-Vidal, F.; Lebedev, S. V.; Ciardi, A.; Rubiano, J. G.; Martel, P.

2017-03-01

Numerical simulations of laboratory astrophysics experiments on plasma flows require plasma microscopic properties that are obtained by means of an atomic kinetic model. This fact implies a careful choice of the most suitable model for the experiment under analysis. Otherwise, the calculations could lead to inaccurate results and inappropriate conclusions. First, a study of the validity of the local thermodynamic equilibrium in the calculation of the average ionization, mean radiative properties, and cooling times of argon plasmas in a range of plasma conditions of interest in laboratory astrophysics experiments on radiative shocks is performed in this work. In the second part, we have made an analysis of the influence of the atomic kinetic model used to calculate plasma microscopic properties of experiments carried out on magpie on radiative bow shocks propagating in argon. The models considered were developed assuming both local and nonlocal thermodynamic equilibrium and, for the latter situation, we have considered in the kinetic model different effects such as external radiation field and plasma mixture. The microscopic properties studied were the average ionization, the charge state distributions, the monochromatic opacities and emissivities, the Planck mean opacity, and the radiative power loss. The microscopic study was made as a postprocess of a radiative-hydrodynamic simulation of the experiment. We have also performed a theoretical analysis of the influence of these atomic kinetic models in the criteria for the onset possibility of thermal instabilities due to radiative cooling in those experiments in which small structures were experimentally observed in the bow shock that could be due to this kind of instability.

Kinetic simulations and reduced modeling of longitudinal sideband instabilities in non-linear electron plasma waves

DOE PAGES

Brunner, S.; Berger, R. L.; Cohen, B. I.; ...

2014-10-01

Kinetic Vlasov simulations of one-dimensional finite amplitude Electron Plasma Waves are performed in a multi-wavelength long system. A systematic study of the most unstable linear sideband mode, in particular its growth rate γ and quasi- wavenumber δk, is carried out by scanning the amplitude and wavenumber of the initial wave. Simulation results are successfully compared against numerical and analytical solutions to the reduced model by Kruer et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 23, 838 (1969)] for the Trapped Particle Instability (TPI). A model recently suggested by Dodin et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 110, 215006 (2013)], which in addition to the TPImore » accounts for the so-called Negative Mass Instability because of a more detailed representation of the trapped particle dynamics, is also studied and compared with simulations.« less

Three-Dimensional Numerical Simulations of Equatorial Spread F: Results and Observations in the Pacific Sector

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Aveiro, H. C.; Hysell, D. L.; Caton, R. G.; Groves, K. M.; Klenzing, J.; Pfaff, R. F.; Stoneback, R.; Heelis, R. A.

2012-01-01

A three-dimensional numerical simulation of plasma density irregularities in the postsunset equatorial F region ionosphere leading to equatorial spread F (ESF) is described. The simulation evolves under realistic background conditions including bottomside plasma shear flow and vertical current. It also incorporates C/NOFS satellite data which partially specify the forcing. A combination of generalized Rayleigh-Taylor instability (GRT) and collisional shear instability (CSI) produces growing waveforms with key features that agree with C/NOFS satellite and ALTAIR radar observations in the Pacific sector, including features such as gross morphology and rates of development. The transient response of CSI is consistent with the observation of bottomside waves with wavelengths close to 30 km, whereas the steady state behavior of the combined instability can account for the 100+ km wavelength waves that predominate in the F region.

Scaled laboratory experiments explain the kink behaviour of the Crab Nebula jet.

PubMed

Li, C K; Tzeferacos, P; Lamb, D; Gregori, G; Norreys, P A; Rosenberg, M J; Follett, R K; Froula, D H; Koenig, M; Seguin, F H; Frenje, J A; Rinderknecht, H G; Sio, H; Zylstra, A B; Petrasso, R D; Amendt, P A; Park, H S; Remington, B A; Ryutov, D D; Wilks, S C; Betti, R; Frank, A; Hu, S X; Sangster, T C; Hartigan, P; Drake, R P; Kuranz, C C; Lebedev, S V; Woolsey, N C

2016-10-07

The remarkable discovery by the Chandra X-ray observatory that the Crab nebula's jet periodically changes direction provides a challenge to our understanding of astrophysical jet dynamics. It has been suggested that this phenomenon may be the consequence of magnetic fields and magnetohydrodynamic instabilities, but experimental demonstration in a controlled laboratory environment has remained elusive. Here we report experiments that use high-power lasers to create a plasma jet that can be directly compared with the Crab jet through well-defined physical scaling laws. The jet generates its own embedded toroidal magnetic fields; as it moves, plasma instabilities result in multiple deflections of the propagation direction, mimicking the kink behaviour of the Crab jet. The experiment is modelled with three-dimensional numerical simulations that show exactly how the instability develops and results in changes of direction of the jet.

The slow collisional E×B ion drift characterized as the major instability mechanism of a poorly magnetized plasma column with an inward-directed radial electric field

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

Pierre, Thiéry

2016-04-15

The low-frequency instability of a cylindrical poorly magnetized plasma with an inward-directed radial electric field is studied changing the gas pressure and the ion cyclotron frequency. The unstable frequency always decreases when the gas pressure is increased indicating collisional effects. At a fixed pressure, the unstable frequency increases with the magnetic field when the B-field is low and decreases at larger magnetic field strength. We find that the transition between these two regimes is obtained when the ion cyclotron frequency equals the ion-neutrals collision frequency. This is in agreement with the theory of the slow-ion drift instability induced by themore » collisional slowing of the electric ion drift [A. Simon, Phys. Fluids 6, 382 (1963)].« less

A worldwide photographic network for wide-field observations of Halley's Comet in 1985-1986

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Niedner, M. B., Jr.; Brandt, J. C.; Rahe, J.

1982-01-01

A global network of ground-based observatories for the study of Halley's Comet in 1985/1986 is discussed. Recommendations are made with respect to improving coordination between reporting observatories, in order to ensure detailed imaging of such fast-generating cometary phenomena as plasma-tail knots, helices, disconnected tails, rays and condensations. A method for calibrating telescopes is considered by which well-studied objects will be photographed to provide references for images of Halley's Comet. This procedure is expected to reduce errors to approximately 0.05 mag. A coordinated study of Halley's Comet will provide important data on the physical properties of the Comet. Examples of the topics of study related to the plasma physics of the Comet's tail include: magnetic reconnection, rippling and tearing modes, kink instability, Kelvin-Helmholtz instability, and the flute instability.

Marginal instability threshold of magnetosonic waves in kappa distributed plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bashir, M. F.; Manzoor, M. Z.; Ilie, R.; Yoon, P. H.; Miasli, M. S.

2017-12-01

The dispersion relation of magnetosonic wave is studied taking the non-extensive anisotropic counter-streaming distribution which follows the Tsallis statistics. The effects of non-extensivity parameter (q), counter-streaming parameter (P) and the wave-particle interaction is analyzed on the growth rate and the marginal instability threshold condition of Magnetosonic (MS) mode to provide the possible explanation of different regions the Bale-diagram obtained from the solar wind data at 1 AU as represented by the temperature anisotropy ( ) vs plasma beta ( ) solar wind data plot. It is shown that the most of the regions of Bale-diagram is bounded by the MS instability under different condition and best fitted by the non-extesnive distribution. The results for the bi-kappa distribution and bi- Maxwellian distribution are also obtained in the limits and respectively.

Plasma Instabilities in Hall Thrusters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Litvak, Andrei A.; Fisch, Nathaniel J.

2000-10-01

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

PLASMA EFFECTS ON EXTRAGALACTIC ULTRAHIGH-ENERGY COSMIC-RAY HADRON BEAMS IN COSMIC VOIDS. II. KINETIC INSTABILITY OF PARALLEL ELECTROSTATIC WAVES

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

Krakau, S.; Schlickeiser, R., E-mail: steffen.krakau@rub.de, E-mail: rsch@tp4.rub.de

2016-02-20

The linear instability of an ultrarelativistic hadron beam in the unmagnetized intergalactic medium (IGM) is investigated with respect to the excitation of parallel electrostatic and electromagnetic fluctuations. This analysis is important for the propagation of extragalactic ultrarelativistic cosmic rays from their distant sources to Earth. As opposed to the previous paper, we calculate the minimum instability growth time for Lorentz-distributed cosmic rays which traverse the hot IGM. The growth times are orders of magnitude higher than the cosmic-ray propagation time in the IGM. Since the backreaction of the generated plasma fluctuations (plateauing) lasts longer than the propagation time, the cosmic-raymore » hadron beam can propagate to the Earth without losing a significant amount of energy to electrostatic turbulence.« less

Computationally efficient description of relativistic electron beam transport in dense plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Polomarov, Oleg; Sefkov, Adam; Kaganovich, Igor; Shvets, Gennady

2006-10-01

A reduced model of the Weibel instability and electron beam transport in dense plasma is developed. Beam electrons are modeled by macro-particles and the background plasma is represented by electron fluid. Conservation of generalized vorticity and quasineutrality of the plasma-beam system are used to simplify the governing equations. Our approach is motivated by the conditions of the FI scenario, where the beam density is likely to be much smaller than the plasma density and the beam energy is likely to be very high. For this case the growth rate of the Weibel instability is small, making the modeling of it by conventional PICs exceedingly time consuming. The present approach does not require resolving the plasma period and only resolves a plasma collisionless skin depth and is suitable for modeling a long-time behavior of beam-plasma interaction. An efficient code based on this reduced description is developed and benchmarked against the LSP PIC code. The dynamics of low and high current electron beams in dense plasma is simulated. Special emphasis is on peculiarities of its non-linear stages, such as filament formation and merger, saturation and post-saturation field and energy oscillations. *Supported by DOE Fusion Science through grant DE-FG02-05ER54840.

Studies of waves and instabilities using increased beta, warm ion plasmas in LAPD

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carter, Troy; Dorfman, Seth; Gekelman, Walter; Vincena, Steve; van Compernolle, Bart; Tripathi, Shreekrishna; Pribyl, Pat; Morales, George

2015-11-01

A new plasma source based on a Lanthanum Hexaboride (LAB6) emissive cathode has been developed and installed on the LArge Plasma Device (LAPD) at UCLA. The new source provides a much higher discharge current density (compared to the standard LAPD Barium Oxide source) resulting in a factor of ~ 50 increase in plasma density and a factor of ~ 2 - 3 increase in electron temperature. Due to the increased density the ion-electron energy exchange time is shorter in the new plasma, resulting in warm ions (measured spectroscopically to be ~ 5 - 6 eV, up from <~ 1 eV in the standard source plasma). This increased pressure combined with lowered magnetic field provides access to magnetized plasmas with β up to order unity. Topics under investigation include the physics of Alfvén waves in increased β plasmas (dispersion and kinetic damping on ions), electromagnetic effects and magnetic transport in drift-Alfvén wave turbulence, and the excitation of ion-temperature-anisotropy driven modes such as the mirror and firehose instabilities. The capabilities of the new source will be discussed along with initial experimental resuls on electromagnetic drift-Alfvén wave turbulence and Alfvén wave propagation with increased plasma β. Supported by NSF and DOE.

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

HERRON, ISOM H

Executive summary Two important general problems of interest in plasma physics that may be addressed successfully by Magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) are: (1) Find magnetic field configurations capable of confining a plasma in equilibrium. (2) Study the stability properties of each such an equilibrium. It is often found that the length scale of many instabilities and waves that are able to grow or propagate in a system, are comparable with plasma size, such as in magnetically confined thermonuclear plasmas or in astrophysical accretion disks. Thus MHD is able to provide a good description of such large-scale disturbances. The Magnetorotational instability (MRI) ismore » one particular instance of a potential instability. The project involved theoretical work on fundamental aspects of plasma physics. Researchers at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) began to perform a series of liquid metal Couette flow experiments between rotating cylinders. Their purpose was to produce MRI, which they had predicted theoretically 2002, but was only observed in the laboratory since this project began. The personnel on the project consisted of three persons: (1) The PI, who was partially supported on the budget during each of four summers 2005-2008. (2) Two graduate research assistants, who worked consecutively on the project throughout the years 2005-2009. As a result, the first student, Fritzner Soliman, obtained an M.S. degree in 2006; the second student, Pablo Suarez obtained the Ph.D. degree in 2009. The work was in collaboration with scientists in Princeton, periodic trips were made by the PI as part of the project. There were 4 peer-reviewed publications and one book produced.« less

The universal instability in general geometry

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

Helander, P.; Plunk, G. G.

2015-09-15

The “universal” instability has recently been revived by Landreman et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 114, 095003 (2015)], who showed that it indeed exists in plasma geometries with straight (but sheared) magnetic field lines. Here, it is demonstrated analytically that this instability can be presented in more general sheared and toroidal geometries. In a torus, the universal instability is shown to be closely related to the trapped-electron mode, although the trapped-electron drive is usually dominant. However, this drive can be weakened or eliminated, as in the case in stellarators with the maximum-J property, leaving the parallel Landau resonance to drive amore » residual mode, which is identified as the universal instability.« less

Nonlinear mechanism for the generation of electromagnetic fields in a magnetized plasma by the beatings of waves

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

Aburjania, G. D.; Machabeli, G. Z.; Kharshiladze, O. A.

2006-07-15

The modulational instability in a plasma in a strong constant external magnetic field is considered. The plasmon condensate is modulated not by conventional low-frequency ion sound but by the beatings of two high-frequency transverse electromagnetic waves propagating along the magnetic field. The instability reduces the spatial scales of Langmuir turbulence along the external magnetic field and generates electromagnetic fields. It is shown that, for a pump wave with a sufficiently large amplitude, the effect described in the present paper can be a dominant nonlinear process.

Ion acceleration from thin foil and extended plasma targets by slow electromagnetic wave and related ion-ion beam instability

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

Bulanov, S. V.; A. M. Prokhorov Institute of General Physics RAS, Moscow, 119991; Esirkepov, T. Zh.

When ions are accelerated by the radiation pressure of a laser pulse, their velocity cannot exceed the pulse group velocity which can be considerably smaller than the speed of light in vacuum. This is demonstrated in two cases corresponding to a thin foil target irradiated by high intensity laser light and to the hole boring produced in an extended plasma by the laser pulse. It is found that the beams of accelerated ions are unstable against Buneman-like and Weibel-like instabilities which results in the broadening of the ion energy spectrum.

Trapped-Particle Instability Leading to Bursting in Stimulated Raman Scattering Simulations

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

S. Brunner; E. Valeo

2001-11-08

Nonlinear, kinetic simulations of Stimulated Raman Scattering (SRS) for laser-fusion-relevant conditions present a bursting behavior. Different explanations for this regime has been given in previous studies: Saturation of SRS by increased nonlinear Landau damping [K. Estabrook et al., Phys. Fluids B 1 (1989) 1282] and detuning due to the nonlinear frequency shift of the plasma wave [H.X. Vu et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 86 (2001) 4306]. Another mechanism, also assigning a key role to the trapped electrons, is proposed here: The break-up of the plasma wave through the trapped-particle instability.

Sawtooth Stabilization and Onset of Alfvenic Instabilities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nishimura, Y.; Cheng, C. Z.

2011-10-01

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

Beam-plasma instability in inhomogeneous magnetic field and second order cyclotron resonance effects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Trakhtengerts, V. Y.; Hobara, Y.; Demekhov, A. G.; Hayakawa, M.

1999-03-01

A new analytical approach to cyclotron instability of electron beams with sharp gradients in velocity space (step-like distribution function) is developed taking into account magnetic field inhomogeneity and nonstationary behavior of the electron beam velocity. Under these conditions, the conventional hydrodynamic instability of such beams is drastically modified and second order resonance effects become important. It is shown that the optimal conditions for the instability occur for nonstationary quasimonochromatic wavelets whose frequency changes in time. The theory developed permits one to estimate the wave amplification and spatio-temporal characteristics of these wavelets.

Asymmetric SOL Current in Vertically Displaced Plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cabrera, J. D.; Navratil, G. A.; Hanson, J. M.

2017-10-01

Experiments at the DIII-D tokamak demonstrate a non-monotonic relationship between measured scrape-off layer (SOL) currents and vertical displacement event (VDE) rates with SOL currents becoming largely n=1 dominant as plasma is displaced by the plasma control system (PCS) at faster rates. The DIII-D PCS is used to displace the magnetic axis 10x slower than the intrinsic growth time of similar instabilities in lower single-null plasmas. Low order (n <=2) mode decomposition is done on toroidally spaced current monitors to attain measures of asymmetry in SOL current. Normalized to peak n=0 response, a 2-4x increase is seen in peak n=1 response in plasmas displaced by the PCS versus previous VDE instabilities observed when vertical control is disabled. Previous inquiry shows VDE asymmetry characterized by SOL current fraction and geometric parameters of tokamak plasmas. We note that, of plasmas displaced by the PCS, short displacement time scales near the limit of the PCS temporal control appear to result in larger n=1/n=2 asymmetries. Work supported under USDOE Cooperative Agreement DE-FC02-04ER54698 and DE-FG02-04ER54761.

First 3-D simulations of meteor plasma dynamics and turbulence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oppenheim, Meers M.; Dimant, Yakov S.

2015-02-01

Millions of small but detectable meteors hit the Earth's atmosphere every second, creating trails of hot plasma that turbulently diffuse into the background atmosphere. For over 60 years, radars have detected meteor plasmas and used these signals to infer characteristics of the meteoroid population and upper atmosphere, but, despite the importance of meteor radar measurements, the complex processes by which these plasmas evolve have never been thoroughly explained or modeled. In this paper, we present the first fully 3-D simulations of meteor evolution, showing meteor plasmas developing instabilities, becoming turbulent, and inhomogeneously diffusing into the background ionosphere. These instabilities explain the characteristics and strength of many radar observations, in particular the high-resolution nonspecular echoes made by large radars. The simulations reveal how meteors create strong electric fields that dig out deep plasma channels along the Earth's magnetic fields. They also allow researchers to explore the impacts of the intense winds and wind shears, commonly found at these altitudes, on meteor plasma evolution. This study will allow the development of more sophisticated models of meteor radar signals, enabling the extraction of detailed information about the properties of meteoroid particles and the atmosphere.

ULF waves and plasma stability in different regions of the magnetosheath

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Soucek, Jan; Escoubet, C. Philippe; Grison, Benjamin

2016-04-01

We present a statistical study of the occurrence and properties of ultra low frequency waves in the magnetosheath and interpret the results in terms of the competition of mirror and Alfvén-ion-cyclotron (AIC) instabilities. Both mirror and AIC waves are generated in high beta plasma of the magnetosheath when ion temperature anisotropy exceeds the threshold of the respective instabilities. These waves are frequently observed in the terrestrial and planetary magnetosheaths, but their distribution within the magnetosheath is inhomogeneous and their character varies as a function of location, local and upstream plasma parameters. We studied the spatial distribution of the two wave modes in the magnetosheath together with the local plasma parameters important for the stability of ULF waves. This analysis was performed on a dataset of all magnetosheath crossings observed by Cluster spacecraft over two years. For each observation we used bow shock, magnetopause and magnetosheath flow models to identify the relative position of the spacecraft with respect to magnetosheath boundaries and local properties of the upstream shock crossing. A strong dependence of parameters characterizing plasma stability and mirror/AIC wave occurrence on upstream ΘBn and MA is identified. The occurrence of mirror and AIC modes was compared against the respective instability thresholds and it was observed that AIC waves occurred nearly exclusively under mirror stable conditions. This is interpreted in terms of the different character of non-linear saturation of the two modes.

Return currents in solar flares - Collisionless effects

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rowland, H. L.; Vlahos, L.

1985-01-01

If the primary, precipitating electrons in a solar flare are unstable to beam plasma interactions, it is shown that strong Langmuir turbulence can seriously modify the way in which a return current is carried by the background plasma. In particular, the return (or reverse) current will not be carried by the bulk of the electrons, but by a small number of high velocity electrons. For beam/plasma densities greater than 0.01, this can reduce the effects of collisions on the return current. For higher density beams where the return current could be unstable to current driven instabilities, the effects of strong turbulence anomalous resistivity is shown to prevent the appearance of such instabilities. Again in this regime, how the return current is carried is determined by the beam generated strong turbulence.

Whistler and Alfvén Mode Cyclotron Masers in Space

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Trakhtengerts, V. Y.; Rycroft, M. J.

2012-10-01

Preface; 1. Introduction; 2. Basic theory of cyclotron masers (CMs); 3. Linear theory of the cyclotron instability (CI); 4. Backward wave oscillator (BWO) regime in CMs; 5. Nonlinear cyclotron wave-particle interactions for a quasi-monochromatic wave; 6. Nonlinear interaction of quasi-monochromatic whistler mode waves with gyroresonant electrons in an in homogeneous plasma; 7. Wavelet amplification in an inhomogeneous plasma; 8. Quasi-linear theory of cyclotron masers; 9. Nonstationary generation regimes, and modulation effects; 10. ELF/VLF noise-like emissions and electrons in the Earth's radiation belts; 11. Generation of discrete ELF/VLF whistler mode emissions; 12. Cyclotron instability of the proton radiation belts; 13. Cyclotron masers elsewhere in the solar system and in laboratory plasma devices; Epilogue; Glossary of terms; List of acronyms; References; Index.

Anomalous plasma diffusion and the magnetopause boundary layer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Treumann, Rudolf A.; Labelle, James; Haerendel, Gerhard; Pottelette, Raymond

1992-01-01

An overview of the current state of anomalous diffusion research at the magnetopause and its role in the formation of the magnetopause boundary layer is presented. Plasma wave measurements in the boundary layer indicate that most of the relevant unstable wave modes contribute negligibly to the diffusion process at the magnetopause under magnetically undisturbed northward IMF conditions. The most promising instability is the lower hybrid drift instability, which may yield diffusion coefficients of the right order if the highest measured wave intensities are assumed. It is concluded that global stationary diffusion due to wave-particle interactions does not take place at the magnetopause. Microscopic wave-particle interaction and anomalous diffusion may contribute to locally break the MD frozen-in conditions and help in transporting large amounts of magnetosheath plasma across the magnetospheric boundary.

Stable discrete representation of relativistically drifting plasmas

DOE PAGES

Kirchen, M.; Lehe, R.; Godfrey, B. B.; ...

2016-10-10

Representing the electrodynamics of relativistically drifting particle ensembles in discrete, co-propagating Galilean coordinates enables the derivation of a Particle-In-Cell algorithm that is intrinsically free of the numerical Cherenkov instability for plasmas flowing at a uniform velocity. Application of the method is shown by modeling plasma accelerators in a Lorentz-transformed optimal frame of reference.

Stable discrete representation of relativistically drifting plasmas

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

Kirchen, M.; Lehe, R.; Godfrey, B. B.

Representing the electrodynamics of relativistically drifting particle ensembles in discrete, co-propagating Galilean coordinates enables the derivation of a Particle-In-Cell algorithm that is intrinsically free of the numerical Cherenkov instability for plasmas flowing at a uniform velocity. Application of the method is shown by modeling plasma accelerators in a Lorentz-transformed optimal frame of reference.

Tokamak plasma current disruption infrared control system

DOEpatents

Kugel, H.W.; Ulrickson, M.

1984-04-16

This invention is directed to the diagnosis and detection of gross or macroinstabilities in a magnetically-confined fusion plasma device. Detection is performed in real time, and is prompt such that correction of the instability can be initiated in a timely fashion.

Effect of magnetic shear on dissipative drift instabilities

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

Guzdar, P.N.; Chen, L.; Kaw, P.K.

1978-03-01

In this letter we report the results of a linear radial eigenmode analysis of dissipative drift waves in a plasma with magnetic shear and spatially varying density gradient. The results of the analysis are shown to be consistent with a recent experiment on the study of dissipative drift instabilities in a toroidal stellarator.

Sporadic radio emission connected with a definite manifestation of solar activity in the near Earth space

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dudnic, A. V.; Zaljubovski, I. I.; Kartashev, V. M.; Shmatko, E. S.

1985-01-01

Sporadic radio emission of near Earth space at the frequency of 38 MHz is shown to appear in the event of a rapid development of instabilities in the ionospheric plasma. The instabilities are generated due to primary ionospheric disturbances occurring under the influence of solar chromospheric flares.

Jeans instability in collisional strongly coupled dusty plasma with radiative condensation and polarization force

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

Prajapati, R. P., E-mail: prajapati-iter@yahoo.co.in; Bhakta, S.; Chhajlani, R. K.

2016-05-15

The influence of dust-neutral collisions, polarization force, and electron radiative condensation is analysed on the Jeans (gravitational) instability of partially ionized strongly coupled dusty plasma (SCDP) using linear perturbation (normal mode) analysis. The Boltzmann distributed ions, dynamics of inertialess electrons, charged dust and neutral particles are considered. Using the plane wave solutions, a general dispersion relation is derived which is modified due to the presence of dust-neutral collisions, strong coupling effect, polarization force, electron radiative condensation, and Jeans dust/neutral frequencies. In the long wavelength perturbations, the Jeans instability criterion depends upon strong coupling effect, polarization interaction parameter, and thermal loss,more » but it is independent of dust-neutral collision frequency. The stability of the considered configuration is analysed using the Routh–Hurwitz criterion. The growth rates of Jeans instability are illustrated, and stabilizing influence of viscoelasticity and dust-neutral collision frequency while destabilizing effect of electron radiative condensation, polarization force, and Jeans dust-neutral frequency ratio is observed. This work is applied to understand the gravitational collapse of SCDP with dust-neutral collisions.« less

Collisionless Isotropization of the Solar-Wind Protons by Compressive Fluctuations and Plasma Instabilities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Verscharen, D.; Chandran, B. D. G.; Klein, K. G.; Quataert, E.

2016-12-01

Compressive fluctuations are a minor yet significant component of astrophysical plasma turbulence. In the solar wind, long-wavelength compressive slow-mode fluctuations lead to changes in β∥p ≡ 8πnpkBT∥p/B2 and in Rp ≡ T⊥p/T∥p, where T⊥p and T∥p are the perpendicular and parallel temperatures of the protons, B is the magnetic field strength, and np is the proton density. If the amplitude of the compressive fluctuations is large enough, Rp crosses one or more instability thresholds for anisotropy-driven micro-instabilities. The enhanced field fluctuations from these micro-instabilities scatter the protons so as to reduce the anisotropy of the pressure tensor, driving the average value of Rp away from the marginal stability boundary until the fluctuating value of Rp stops crossing the boundary. We model this "fluctuating-anisotropy effect" using linear Vlasov-Maxwell theory to describe the large-scale compressive fluctuations. We show that this effect can explain why, in the nearly collisionless solar wind, the average value of Rp is close to unity.

Laser plasma instability experiments with KrF lasersa)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weaver, J. L.; Oh, J.; Afeyan, B.; Phillips, L.; Seely, J.; Feldman, U.; Brown, C.; Karasik, M.; Serlin, V.; Aglitskiy, Y.; Mostovych, A. N.; Holland, G.; Obenschain, S.; Chan, L.-Y.; Kehne, D.; Lehmberg, R. H.; Schmitt, A. J.; Colombant, D.; Velikovich, A.

2007-05-01

Deleterious effects of laser-plasma instability (LPI) may limit the maximum laser irradiation that can be used for inertial confinement fusion. The short wavelength (248nm), large bandwidth, and very uniform illumination available with krypton-fluoride (KrF) lasers should increase the maximum usable intensity by suppressing LPI. The concomitant increase in ablation pressure would allow implosion of low-aspect-ratio pellets to ignition with substantial gain (>20) at much reduced laser energy. The proposed KrF-laser-based Fusion Test Facility (FTF) would exploit this strategy to achieve significant fusion power (150MW) with a rep-rate system that has a per pulse laser energy well below 1 MJ. Measurements of LPI using the Nike KrF laser are presented at and above intensities needed for the FTF (I˜2×1015W/cm2). The results to date indicate that LPI is indeed suppressed. With overlapped beam intensity above the planar, single beam intensity threshold for the two-plasmon decay instability, no evidence of instability was observed via measurements of 3/2ωo and 1/2ωo harmonic emissions.