Effects of MHD instabilities on neutral beam current drive

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Podestà, M.; Gorelenkova, M.; Darrow, D. S.; Fredrickson, E. D.; Gerhardt, S. P.; White, R. B.

2015-05-01

Neutral beam injection (NBI) is one of the primary tools foreseen for heating, current drive (CD) and q-profile control in future fusion reactors such as ITER and a Fusion Nuclear Science Facility. However, fast ions from NBI may also provide the drive for energetic particle-driven instabilities (e.g. Alfvénic modes (AEs)), which in turn redistribute fast ions in both space and energy, thus hampering the control capabilities and overall efficiency of NB-driven current. Based on experiments on the NSTX tokamak (M. Ono et al 2000 Nucl. Fusion 40 557), the effects of AEs and other low-frequency magneto-hydrodynamic instabilities on NB-CD efficiency are investigated. A new fast ion transport model, which accounts for particle transport in phase space as required for resonant AE perturbations, is utilized to obtain consistent simulations of NB-CD through the tokamak transport code TRANSP. It is found that instabilities do indeed reduce the NB-driven current density over most of the plasma radius by up to ∼50%. Moreover, the details of the current profile evolution are sensitive to the specific model used to mimic the interaction between NB ions and instabilities. Implications for fast ion transport modeling in integrated tokamak simulations are briefly discussed.

Effects of MHD instabilities on neutral beam current drive

DOE PAGES

Podestà, M.; Gorelenkova, M.; Darrow, D. S.; ...

2015-04-17

One of the primary tools foreseen for heating, current drive (CD) and q-profile control in future fusion reactors such as ITER and a Fusion Nuclear Science Facility is the neutral beam injection (NBI). However, fast ions from NBI may also provide the drive for energetic particle-driven instabilities (e.g. Alfvénic modes (AEs)), which in turn redistribute fast ions in both space and energy, thus hampering the control capabilities and overall efficiency of NB-driven current. Based on experiments on the NSTX tokamak (M. Ono et al 2000 Nucl. Fusion 40 557), the effects of AEs and other low-frequency magneto-hydrodynamic instabilities on NB-CDmore » efficiency are investigated. When looking at the new fast ion transport model, which accounts for particle transport in phase space as required for resonant AE perturbations, is utilized to obtain consistent simulations of NB-CD through the tokamak transport code TRANSP. It is found that instabilities do indeed reduce the NB-driven current density over most of the plasma radius by up to ~50%. Moreover, the details of the current profile evolution are sensitive to the specific model used to mimic the interaction between NB ions and instabilities. Finally, implications for fast ion transport modeling in integrated tokamak simulations are briefly discussed.« less

A double layer model for solar X-ray and microwave pulsations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tapping, K. F.

1986-01-01

The wide range of wavelengths over which quasi-periodic pulsations have been observed suggests that the mechanism causing them acts upon the supply of high energy electrons driving the emission processes. A model is described which is based upon the radial shrinkage of a magnetic flux tube. The concentration of the current, along with the reduction in the number of available charge carriers, can rise to a condition where the current demand exceeds the capacity of the thermal electrons. Driven by the large inductance of the external current circuit, an instability takes place in the tube throat, resulting in the formation of a potential double layer, which then accelerates electrons and ions to MeV energies. The double layer can be unstable, collapsing and reforming repeatedly. The resulting pulsed particle beams give rise to pulsating emission which are observed at radio and X-ray wavelengths.

Verification of gyrokinetic particle simulation of current-driven instability in fusion plasmas. I. Internal kink mode

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

McClenaghan, J.; Lin, Z.; Holod, I.

The gyrokinetic toroidal code (GTC) capability has been extended for simulating internal kink instability with kinetic effects in toroidal geometry. The global simulation domain covers the magnetic axis, which is necessary for simulating current-driven instabilities. GTC simulation in the fluid limit of the kink modes in cylindrical geometry is verified by benchmarking with a magnetohydrodynamic eigenvalue code. Gyrokinetic simulations of the kink modes in the toroidal geometry find that ion kinetic effects significantly reduce the growth rate even when the banana orbit width is much smaller than the radial width of the perturbed current layer at the mode rational surface.

A hybrid Rayleigh-Taylor-current-driven coupled instability in a magnetohydrodynamically collimated cylindrical plasma with lateral gravity

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

Zhai, Xiang, E-mail: xzhai@caltech.edu; Bellan, Paul M., E-mail: pbellan@caltech.edu

We present an MHD theory of Rayleigh-Taylor instability on the surface of a magnetically confined cylindrical plasma flux rope in a lateral external gravity field. The Rayleigh-Taylor instability is found to couple to the classic current-driven instability, resulting in a new type of hybrid instability that cannot be described by either of the two instabilities alone. The lateral gravity breaks the axisymmetry of the system and couples all azimuthal modes together. The coupled instability, produced by combination of helical magnetic field, curvature of the cylindrical geometry, and lateral gravity, is fundamentally different from the classic magnetic Rayleigh-Taylor instability occurring atmore » a two-dimensional planar interface. The theory successfully explains the lateral Rayleigh-Taylor instability observed in the Caltech plasma jet experiment [Moser and Bellan, Nature 482, 379 (2012)]. Potential applications of the theory include magnetic controlled fusion, solar emerging flux, solar prominences, coronal mass ejections, and other space and astrophysical plasma processes.« less

Origin of improved scintillation efficiency in (Lu,Gd)3(Ga,Al)5O12:Ce multicomponent garnets: An X-ray absorption near edge spectroscopy study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Yuntao; Luo, Jialiang; Nikl, Martin; Ren, Guohao

2014-01-01

In the recent successful improvement of scintillation efficiency in Lu3Al5O12:Ce driven by Ga3+ and Gd3+ admixture, the "band-gap engineering" and energy level positioning have been considered the valid strategies so far. This study revealed that this improvement was also associated with the cerium valence instability along with the changes of chemical composition. By utilizing X-ray absorption near edge spectroscopy technique, tuning the Ce3+/Ce4+ ratio by Ga3+ admixture was evidenced, while it was kept nearly stable with the Gd3+ admixture. Ce valence instability and Ce3+/Ce4+ ratio in multicomponent garnets can be driven by the energy separation between 4f ground state of Ce3+ and Fermi level.

THE ROLE OF KELVIN–HELMHOLTZ INSTABILITY FOR PRODUCING LOOP-TOP HARD X-RAY SOURCES IN SOLAR FLARES

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

Fang, Xia; Yuan, Ding; Xia, Chun

We propose a model for the formation of loop-top hard X-ray (HXR) sources in solar flares through the inverse Compton mechanism, scattering the surrounding soft X-ray (SXR) photons to higher energy HXR photons. We simulate the consequences of a flare-driven energy deposit in the upper chromosphere in the impulsive phase of single loop flares. The consequent chromosphere evaporation flows from both footpoints reach speeds up to hundreds of kilometers per second, and we demonstrate how this triggers Kelvin–Helmholtz instability (KHI) in the loop top, under mildly asymmetric conditions, or more toward the loop flank for strongly asymmetric cases. The KHImore » vortices further fragment the magnetic topology into multiple magnetic islands and current sheets, and the hot plasma within leads to a bright loop-top SXR source region. We argue that the magnetohydrodynamic turbulence that appears at the loop apex could be an efficient accelerator of non-thermal particles, which the island structures can trap at the loop-top. These accelerated non-thermal particles can upscatter the surrounding thermal SXR photons emitted by the extremely hot evaporated plasma to HXR photons.« less

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.

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.

Interaction of Energetic Particles with Discontinuities Upstream of Strong Shocks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Malkov, Mikhail; Diamond, Patrick

2008-11-01

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

Observation of LPI Thresholds for the Nike Laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weaver, J. L.; Oh, J.; Afeyan, B.; Charbonneau-Lefort, M.; Phillips, L.; Seely, J.; Kehne, D.; Brown, C.; Obenschain, S.; Schmitt, A. J.; Feldman, U.; Holland, G.; Lehmberg, R. H.; McLean, E.; Manka, C.

2008-11-01

The Nike laser is being used to study thresholds for laser plasma instabilities (LPI) at intensities (10^15-10^16 W/cm^2) relevant to advanced implosion designs for direct drive inertial confinement fusion. The combination of short wavelength (248 nm), large bandwidth (1-2 THz), and beam smoothing by induced spatial incoherence available with this krypton-fluoride laser make these experiments unique among current facilities. This talk will present an overview of results with an emphasis on the two-plasmon decay instability (2φp). Measurements of x-rays and emission near ^1/2φo and ^3/2 φo harmonics of the laser wavelength have been collected over a wide range of intensities for both solid and foam targets. Data indicate collective multiple-angle driven excitation compatible with previous observations using solid planar targets.

Electrothermal instability growth in magnetically driven pulsed power liners

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peterson, Kyle J.; Sinars, Daniel B.; Yu, Edmund P.; Herrmann, Mark C.; Cuneo, Michael E.; Slutz, Stephen A.; Smith, Ian C.; Atherton, Briggs W.; Knudson, Marcus D.; Nakhleh, Charles

2012-09-01

This paper explores the role of electro-thermal instabilities on the dynamics of magnetically accelerated implosion systems. Electro-thermal instabilities result from non-uniform heating due to temperature dependence in the conductivity of a material. Comparatively little is known about these types of instabilities compared to the well known Magneto-Rayleigh-Taylor (MRT) instability. We present simulations that show electrothermal instabilities form immediately after the surface material of a conductor melts and can act as a significant seed to subsequent MRT instability growth. We also present the results of several experiments performed on Sandia National Laboratories Z accelerator to investigate signatures of electrothermal instability growth on well characterized initially solid aluminum and copper rods driven with a 20 MA, 100 ns risetime current pulse. These experiments show excellent agreement with electrothermal instability simulations and exhibit larger instability growth than can be explained by MRT theory alone.

Dynamics of Mesoscale Magnetic Field in Diffusive Shock Acceleration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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

2007-01-01

We present a theory for the generation of mesoscale (krg<<1, where rg is the cosmic-ray gyroradius) magnetic fields during diffusive shock acceleration. The decay or modulational instability of resonantly excited Alfvén waves scattering off ambient density perturbations in the shock environment naturally generates larger scale fields. For a broad spectrum of perturbations, the physical mechanism of energy transfer is random refraction, represented by the diffusion of Alfvén wave packets in k-space. The scattering field can be produced directly by the decay instability or by the Drury instability, a hydrodynamic instability driven by the cosmic-ray pressure gradient. This process is of interest to acceleration since it generates waves of longer wavelength, and so enables the confinement and acceleration of higher energy particles. This process also limits the intensity of resonantly generated turbulent magnetic fields on rg scales.

Ablative Rayleigh-Taylor and Richtmyer-Meshkov Instabilities in Laser-Accelerated Colliding Foils

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aglitskiy, Y.; Metzler, N.; Karasik, M.; Serlin, V.; Weaver, J.; Obenschain, S. P.; Oh, J.; Schmitt, A. J.; Velikovich, A. L.; Zalesak, S. T.; Gardner, J. H.; Harding, E. C.

2008-11-01

In our experiments done on the Nike KrF laser, we study instability growth at shock-decelerated interfaces in planar colliding-foil experiments. We use streaked monochromatic (1.86 keV) x-ray face-on imaging diagnostics to measure the areal mass modulation growth caused by the instability. Higher x-ray energies up to 5.25 keV are used to follow the shock propagation as well as the 1D dynamics of the collision. While a laser-driven foil is accelerated towards the stationary low-density foam layer, an ablative RT instability develops. Having reached a high velocity, the foil hits the foam layer. The impact generates strong shocks in the plastic and in the foam. The reflected shock wave re-shocks the ablation front, its acceleration stops, and so does the observed RT growth. This is followed by areal mass oscillations due to the ablative RM instability and feedout mechanisms, of which the latter dominates.

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.

Computational investigation of reshock strength in hydrodynamic instability growth at the National Ignition Facility

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bender, Jason; Raman, Kumar; Huntington, Channing; Nagel, Sabrina; Morgan, Brandon; Prisbrey, Shon; MacLaren, Stephan

2017-10-01

Experiments at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) are studying Richtmyer-Meshkov and Rayleigh-Taylor hydrodynamic instabilities in multiply-shocked plasmas. Targets feature two different-density fluids with a multimode initial perturbation at the interface, which is struck by two X-ray-driven shock waves. Here we discuss computational hydrodynamics simulations investigating the effect of second-shock (``reshock'') strength on instability growth, and how these simulations are informing target design for the ongoing experimental campaign. A Reynolds-Averaged Navier Stokes (RANS) model was used to predict motion of the spike and bubble fronts and the mixing-layer width. In addition to reshock strength, the reshock ablator thickness and the total length of the target were varied; all three parameters were found to be important for target design, particularly for ameliorating undesirable reflected shocks. The RANS data are compared to theoretical models that predict multimode instability growth proportional to the shock-induced change in interface velocity, and to currently-available data from the NIF experiments. Work performed under the auspices of the U.S. D.O.E. by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under Contract No. DE-AC52-07NA27344. LLNL-ABS-734611.

The microphysics and macrophysics of cosmic rays

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

Zweibel, Ellen G.

2013-05-15

This review paper commemorates a century of cosmic ray research, with emphasis on the plasma physics aspects. Cosmic rays comprise only ∼10{sup −9} of interstellar particles by number, but collectively their energy density is about equal to that of the thermal particles. They are confined by the Galactic magnetic field and well scattered by small scale magnetic fluctuations, which couple them to the local rest frame of the thermal fluid. Scattering isotropizes the cosmic rays and allows them to exchange momentum and energy with the background medium. I will review a theory for how the fluctuations which scatter the cosmicmore » rays can be generated by the cosmic rays themselves through a microinstability excited by their streaming. A quasilinear treatment of the cosmic ray–wave interaction then leads to a fluid model of cosmic rays with both advection and diffusion by the background medium and momentum and energy deposition by the cosmic rays. This fluid model admits cosmic ray modified shocks, large scale cosmic ray driven instabilities, cosmic ray heating of the thermal gas, and cosmic ray driven galactic winds. If the fluctuations were extrinsic turbulence driven by some other mechanism, the cosmic ray background coupling would be entirely different. Which picture holds depends largely on the nature of turbulence in the background medium.« less

Shock-driven Rayleigh-Taylor / Richtmyer-Meshkov 2D multimode ripple evolution before and after re-shock

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nagel, Sabrina; Huntington, Channing; Bender, Jason; Raman, Kumar; Baumann, Ted; MacLaren, Stephan; Prisbrey, Shon; Zhou, Ye

2017-10-01

Laser-driven hydrodynamic experiments allow for the precise control over several important experimental parameters, including the timing of the laser irradiation delivered and the initial conditions of the laser-driven target. Our experimental platform at the National Ignition Facility enables the investigation of the physics of instability growth after the passage of a second shock (``reshock''). This is done by varying the laser to change the strength and timing of the secondary shock. Here we present x-ray images capturing the rapid post-reshock instability growth for a set of reshock strengths. The radiation hydrodynamics simulations used to design these experiments are also introduced. This work was performed under the auspices of the Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC, (LLNS) under Contract No. DE-AC52-07NA27344. LLNL-ABS-734509.

X-ray driven reaction front dynamics at calcite-water interfaces

DOE PAGES

Laanait, Nouamane; Callagon, Erika Blanca R.; Zhang, Zhan; ...

2015-09-18

The interface of minerals with aqueous solutions is central to geochemical reactivity, hosting processes that span multiple spatiotemporal scales. Understanding such processes requires spatially and temporally resolved observations, and experimental controls that precisely manipulate the interfacial thermodynamic state. Using the intense radiation fields of a focused synchrotron X-ray beam, we drove dissolution at the calcite-aqueous interface and simultaneously probed the dynamics of the propagating reaction fronts using surface X-ray microscopy. Evolving surface structures are controlled by the time-dependent solution composition as characterized by a kinetic reaction model. At extreme disequilibria, the onset of reaction front instabilities was observed with velocitiesmore » of >30 nanometers per second. As a result, these instabilities are identified as a signature of transport-limited dissolution of calcite under extreme disequilibrium.« less

A large-scale dynamo and magnetoturbulence in rapidly rotating core-collapse supernovae.

PubMed

Mösta, Philipp; Ott, Christian D; Radice, David; Roberts, Luke F; Schnetter, Erik; Haas, Roland

2015-12-17

Magnetohydrodynamic turbulence is important in many high-energy astrophysical systems, where instabilities can amplify the local magnetic field over very short timescales. Specifically, the magnetorotational instability and dynamo action have been suggested as a mechanism for the growth of magnetar-strength magnetic fields (of 10(15) gauss and above) and for powering the explosion of a rotating massive star. Such stars are candidate progenitors of type Ic-bl hypernovae, which make up all supernovae that are connected to long γ-ray bursts. The magnetorotational instability has been studied with local high-resolution shearing-box simulations in three dimensions, and with global two-dimensional simulations, but it is not known whether turbulence driven by this instability can result in the creation of a large-scale, ordered and dynamically relevant field. Here we report results from global, three-dimensional, general-relativistic magnetohydrodynamic turbulence simulations. We show that hydromagnetic turbulence in rapidly rotating protoneutron stars produces an inverse cascade of energy. We find a large-scale, ordered toroidal field that is consistent with the formation of bipolar magnetorotationally driven outflows. Our results demonstrate that rapidly rotating massive stars are plausible progenitors for both type Ic-bl supernovae and long γ-ray bursts, and provide a viable mechanism for the formation of magnetars. Moreover, our findings suggest that rapidly rotating massive stars might lie behind potentially magnetar-powered superluminous supernovae.

High flux femtosecond x-ray emission from the electron-hose instability in laser wakefield accelerators

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

Dong, C. F.; Zhao, T. Z.; Behm, K.

Here, bright and ultrashort duration x-ray pulses can be produced by through betatron oscillations of electrons during laser wakefield acceleration (LWFA). Our experimental measurements using the Hercules laser system demonstrate a dramatic increase in x-ray flux for interaction distances beyond the depletion/dephasing lengths, where the initial electron bunch injected into the first wake bucket catches up with the laser pulse front and the laser pulse depletes. A transition from an LWFA regime to a beam-driven plasma wakefield acceleration regime consequently occurs. The drive electron bunch is susceptible to the electron-hose instability and rapidly develops large amplitude oscillations in its tail,more » which leads to greatly enhanced x-ray radiation emission. We measure the x-ray flux as a function of acceleration length using a variable length gas cell. 3D particle-in-cell simulations using a Monte Carlo synchrotron x-ray emission algorithm elucidate the time-dependent variations in the radiation emission processes.« less

High flux femtosecond x-ray emission from the electron-hose instability in laser wakefield accelerators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dong, C. F.; Zhao, T. Z.; Behm, K.; Cummings, P. G.; Nees, J.; Maksimchuk, A.; Yanovsky, V.; Krushelnick, K.; Thomas, A. G. R.

2018-04-01

Bright and ultrashort duration x-ray pulses can be produced by through betatron oscillations of electrons during laser wakefield acceleration (LWFA). Our experimental measurements using the Hercules laser system demonstrate a dramatic increase in x-ray flux for interaction distances beyond the depletion/dephasing lengths, where the initial electron bunch injected into the first wake bucket catches up with the laser pulse front and the laser pulse depletes. A transition from an LWFA regime to a beam-driven plasma wakefield acceleration regime consequently occurs. The drive electron bunch is susceptible to the electron-hose instability and rapidly develops large amplitude oscillations in its tail, which leads to greatly enhanced x-ray radiation emission. We measure the x-ray flux as a function of acceleration length using a variable length gas cell. 3D particle-in-cell simulations using a Monte Carlo synchrotron x-ray emission algorithm elucidate the time-dependent variations in the radiation emission processes.

High flux femtosecond x-ray emission from the electron-hose instability in laser wakefield accelerators

DOE PAGES

Dong, C. F.; Zhao, T. Z.; Behm, K.; ...

2018-04-24

Here, bright and ultrashort duration x-ray pulses can be produced by through betatron oscillations of electrons during laser wakefield acceleration (LWFA). Our experimental measurements using the Hercules laser system demonstrate a dramatic increase in x-ray flux for interaction distances beyond the depletion/dephasing lengths, where the initial electron bunch injected into the first wake bucket catches up with the laser pulse front and the laser pulse depletes. A transition from an LWFA regime to a beam-driven plasma wakefield acceleration regime consequently occurs. The drive electron bunch is susceptible to the electron-hose instability and rapidly develops large amplitude oscillations in its tail,more » which leads to greatly enhanced x-ray radiation emission. We measure the x-ray flux as a function of acceleration length using a variable length gas cell. 3D particle-in-cell simulations using a Monte Carlo synchrotron x-ray emission algorithm elucidate the time-dependent variations in the radiation emission processes.« less

A low-altitude mechanism for mesoscale dynamics, structure, and current filamentation in the discrete aurora

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Keskinen, M. J.; Chaturvedi, P. K.; Ossakow, S. L.

1992-01-01

The 2D nonlinear evolution of the ionization-driven adiabatic auroral arc instability is studied. We find: (1) the adiabatic auroral arc instability can fully develop on time scales of tens to hundreds of seconds and on spatial scales of tens to hundreds of kilometers; (2) the evolution of this instability leads to nonlinear 'hook-shaped' conductivity structures: (3) this instability can lead to parallel current filamentation over a wide range of scale sizes; and (4) the k-spectra of the density, electric field, and parallel current develop into inverse power laws in agreement with satellite observations. Comparison with mesoscale auroral phenomenology and current filamentation structures is made.

On the origin of the HLX-1 outbursts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, Mouyuan; Gu, Wei-Min; Yan, Zhen; Wu, Qingwen; Liu, Tong

2016-11-01

HLX-1, currently the best intermediate-mass black hole candidate, has undergone seven violent outbursts, each with a peak X-ray luminosity of Lpeak,X ˜ 1042 erg s-1. Interestingly, the properties of the HLX-1 outbursts evolve with time. In this work, we aim to constrain the physical parameters of the central engine of the HLX-1 outbursts in the framework of the black hole accretion. We find that the physical properties of the HLX-1 outbursts are consistent with being driven by the radiation pressure instability. This scenario can explain the evolution of the recurrent time-scales of the HLX-1 outbursts as a function of the durations.

Z pinches as intense x-ray sources for high-energy density physics applications

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

Matzen, M.K.

1997-05-01

Fast Z-pinch implosions can efficiently convert the stored electrical energy in a pulsed-power accelerator into x rays. These x rays are produced when an imploding cylindrical plasma, driven by the magnetic field pressure associated with very large axial currents, stagnates upon the cylindrical axis of symmetry. On the Saturn pulsed-power accelerator [R. B. Spielman {ital et al.}, in {ital Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Dense Z Pinches}, Laguna Beach, CA, 1989, edited by N. R. Pereira, J. Davis, and N. Rostoker (American Institute of Physics, New York, 1989), p. 3] at Sandia National Laboratories, for example, currents ofmore » 6{endash}8 MA with a rise time of less than 50 ns are driven through cylindrically symmetric loads, producing implosion velocities as high as 10{sup 8}cm/s and x-ray energies exceeding 400 kJ. Hydromagnetic Rayleigh{endash}Taylor instabilities and cylindrical load symmetry are critical, limiting factors in determining the assembled plasma densities and temperatures, and thus in the x-ray energies and pulse widths that can be produced on these accelerators. In recent experiments on the Saturn accelerator, these implosion nonuniformities have been minimized by using wire arrays with as many as 192 wires. Increasing the wire number produced significant improvements in the pinched plasma quality, reproducibility, and x-ray output power. X-ray pulse widths of less than 5 ns and peak powers of 75{plus_minus}10TW have been achieved with arrays of 120 tungsten wires. Similar loads have recently been fielded on the Particle Beam Fusion Accelerator (PBFA II), producing x-ray energies in excess of 1.8 MJ at powers in excess of 160 TW. These intense x-ray sources offer the potential for performing many new basic physics and fusion-relevant experiments. {copyright} {ital 1997 American Institute of Physics.}« less

New Model for Ionospheric Irregularities at Mars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Keskinen, M. J.

2018-03-01

A new model for ionospheric irregularities at Mars is presented. It is shown that wind-driven currents in the dynamo region of the Martian ionosphere can be unstable to the electromagnetic gradient drift instability. This plasma instability can generate ionospheric density and magnetic field irregularities with scale sizes of approximately 15-20 km down to a few kilometers. We show that the instability-driven magnetic field fluctuation amplitudes relative to background are correlated with the ionospheric density fluctuation amplitudes relative to background. Our results can explain recent observations made by the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN spacecraft in the Martian ionosphere dynamo region.

Influence of driven current on resistive tearing mode in Tokamaks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ma, Zhiwei; Wang, Sheng; Zhang, Wei

2016-10-01

Influence of driven current on the m / n = 2 / 1 resistive tearing mode is studied systematically using a three-dimensional toroidal MHD code (CLT). A uniform driven current with Gaussian distribution in the radial direction is imposed around the unperturbed rational surface. It is found that the driven current can locally modify the profiles of the current and safety factor, such that the tearing mode becomes linearly stable. The stabilizing effect increases with increase of the driven current Icd or decrease of its width δcd, unless an excessively large driven current reverses the magnetic shear near the rational surface and drives other instabilities such as double or triple tearing modes. The stabilizing effect can be negligible or becomes reversed if the maximum driven current density is not at the unperturbed rational surface. ITER-CN Program.

Evidence for a bubble-competition regime in indirectly driven ablative Rayleigh-Taylor instability experiments on the NIF.

PubMed

Martinez, D A; Smalyuk, V A; Kane, J O; Casner, A; Liberatore, S; Masse, L P

2015-05-29

We investigate on the National Ignition Facility the ablative Rayleigh-Taylor instability in the transition from weakly nonlinear to highly nonlinear regimes. A planar plastic package with preimposed two-dimensional broadband modulations is accelerated for up to 12 ns by the x-ray drive of a gas-filled Au radiation cavity with a radiative temperature plateau at 175 eV. This extended tailored drive allows a distance traveled in excess of 1 mm for a 130  μm thick foil. Measurements of the modulation optical density performed by x-ray radiography show that a bubble-merger regime for the Rayleigh-Taylor instability at an ablation front is achieved for the first time in indirect drive. The mutimode modulation amplitudes are in the nonlinear regime, grow beyond the Haan multimode saturation level, evolve toward the longer wavelengths, and show insensitivity to the initial conditions.

Evidence for a Bubble-Competition Regime in Indirectly Driven Ablative Rayleigh-Taylor Instability Experiments on the NIF

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martinez, D. A.; Smalyuk, V. A.; Kane, J. O.; Casner, A.; Liberatore, S.; Masse, L. P.

2015-05-01

We investigate on the National Ignition Facility the ablative Rayleigh-Taylor instability in the transition from weakly nonlinear to highly nonlinear regimes. A planar plastic package with preimposed two-dimensional broadband modulations is accelerated for up to 12 ns by the x-ray drive of a gas-filled Au radiation cavity with a radiative temperature plateau at 175 eV. This extended tailored drive allows a distance traveled in excess of 1 mm for a 130 μ m thick foil. Measurements of the modulation optical density performed by x-ray radiography show that a bubble-merger regime for the Rayleigh-Taylor instability at an ablation front is achieved for the first time in indirect drive. The mutimode modulation amplitudes are in the nonlinear regime, grow beyond the Haan multimode saturation level, evolve toward the longer wavelengths, and show insensitivity to the initial conditions.

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

A current-driven resistive instability and its nonlinear effects in simulations of coaxial helicity injection in a tokamak

DOE PAGES

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

2016-10-06

An instability observed in whole-device, resistive magnetohydrodynamic simulations of the driven phase of coaxial helicity injection in the National Spherical Torus eXperiment is identified as a current-driven resistive mode in an unusual geometry that transiently generates a current sheet. The mode consists of plasma flow velocity and magnetic field eddies in a tube aligned with the magnetic field at the surface of the injected magnetic flux. At low plasma temperatures (~10–20 eV), the mode is benign, but at high temperatures (~100 eV) its amplitude undergoes relaxation oscillations, broadening the layer of injected current and flow at the surface of themore » injected toroidal flux and background plasma. The poloidal-field structure is affected and the magnetic surface closure is generally prevented while the mode undergoes relaxation oscillations during injection. Furthermore, this study describes the mode and uses linearized numerical computations and an analytic slab model to identify the unstable mode.« less

Inertial Confinement Fusion Quarterly Report: April--June 1993. Volume 3, Number 3

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

MacGowan, B.J.; Kotowski, M.; Schleich, D.

1993-11-01

This issue of the ICF Quarterly contains six articles describing recent advances in Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory`s inertial confinement fusion (ICF) program. The current emphasis of the ICF program is in support of DOE`s National Ignition Facility (NIF) initiative for demonstrating ignition and gain with a 1-2 MJ glass laser. The articles describe recent Nova experiments and investigations tailored towards enhancing understanding of the key physics and technological issues for the NIF. Titles of the articles are: development of large-aperture KDP crystals; inner-shell photo-ionized X-ray lasers; X-ray radiographic measurements of radiation-driven shock and interface motion in solid density materials; themore » role of nodule defects in laser-induced damage of multilayer optical coatings; techniques for Mbar to near-Gbar equation-of-state measurements with the Nova laser; parametric instabilities and laser-beam smoothing.« less

Theory of electrohydrodynamic instabilities in electrolytic cells

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bruinsma, R.; Alexander, S.

1990-01-01

The paper develops the theory of the hydrodynamic stability of an electrolytic cell as a function of the imposed electric current. A new electrohydrodynamic instability is encountered when the current is forced to exceed the Nernst limit. The convection is driven by the volume force exerted by the electric field on space charges in the electrolyte. This intrinsic instability is found to be easily masked by extrinsic convection sources such as gravity or stirring. A linear stability analysis is performed and a dimensionless number Le is derived whose value determines the convection pattern.

X-ray shadow imprint of hydrodynamic instabilities on the surface of inertial confinement fusion capsules by the fuel fill tube

DOE PAGES

MacPhee, A. G.; Casey, D. T.; Clark, D. S.; ...

2017-03-30

Measurements of hydrodynamic instability growth for a high-density carbon ablator for indirectly driven inertial confinement fusion implosions on the National Ignition Facility are reported. We observe significant unexpected features on the capsule surface created by shadows of the capsule fill tube, as illuminated by laser-irradiated x-ray spots on the hohlraum wall. These shadows increase the spatial size and shape of the fill tube perturbation in a way that can significantly degrade performance in layered implosions compared to previous expectations. The measurements were performed at a convergence ratio of ~2 using in-flight x-ray radiography. The initial seed due to shadow imprintmore » is estimated to be equivalent to ~50–100 nm of solid ablator material. As a result, this discovery has prompted the need for a mitigation strategy for future inertial confinement fusion designs as proposed here.« less

X-ray shadow imprint of hydrodynamic instabilities on the surface of inertial confinement fusion capsules by the fuel fill tube

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

MacPhee, A. G.; Casey, D. T.; Clark, D. S.

Measurements of hydrodynamic instability growth for a high-density carbon ablator for indirectly driven inertial confinement fusion implosions on the National Ignition Facility are reported. We observe significant unexpected features on the capsule surface created by shadows of the capsule fill tube, as illuminated by laser-irradiated x-ray spots on the hohlraum wall. These shadows increase the spatial size and shape of the fill tube perturbation in a way that can significantly degrade performance in layered implosions compared to previous expectations. The measurements were performed at a convergence ratio of ~2 using in-flight x-ray radiography. The initial seed due to shadow imprintmore » is estimated to be equivalent to ~50–100 nm of solid ablator material. As a result, this discovery has prompted the need for a mitigation strategy for future inertial confinement fusion designs as proposed here.« less

Suppression of energetic particle driven instabilities with HHFW heating

DOE PAGES

Fredrickson, E. D.; Taylor, G.; Bertelli, N.; ...

2015-01-01

In plasmas in the National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX) [Ono et al., Nucl. Fusion 40 (2000) 557] heated with neutral beams, the beam ions typically excite Energetic Particle Modes (EPMs or fishbones), and Toroidal, Global or Compressional Alfvén Eigenmodes (TAE, GAE, CAE). These modes can redistribute the energetic beam ions, altering the beam driven current profile and the plasma heating profile, or they may affect electron thermal transport or cause losses of the beam ions. In this paper we present experimental results where these instabilities, driven by the super-thermal beam ions, are suppressed with the application of High Harmonic Fastmore » Wave heating.« less

Dispersion equation for electrostatic ion cyclotron instability under the effect of ionization in a dusty plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Singh, Sukhmander

2018-05-01

In the present paper we derive the plasma dispersion equation under the effect of ionization rate in a dust plasma to investigate the electrostatic ion cyclotron instability, where dust charge fluctuation is absent. It has one of the lowest threshold drift velocities among all the current-driven instabilities in isothermal plasma. The Electrostatic ion cyclotron instability in a dusty plasma containing electrons, light ions, and massive negatively charged dust grains which can be investigated both experimentally and theoretically.

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.

Development of a bunch-by-bunch longitudinal feedback system with a wide dynamic range for the HIGS facility

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, W. Z.; Kim, Y.; Li, J. Y.; Teytelman, D.; Busch, M.; Wang, P.; Swift, G.; Park, I. S.; Ko, I. S.; Wu, Y. K.

2011-03-01

Electron beam coupled-bunch instabilities can limit and degrade the performance of storage ring based light sources. A longitudinal feedback system has been developed for the Duke storage ring to suppress multi-bunch beam instabilities which prevent stable, high-current operation of the storage ring based free-electron lasers (FELs) and an FEL driven Compton gamma source, the high intensity gamma-ray source (HIGS) at Duke University. In this work, we report the development of a state-of-the-art second generation longitudinal feedback system which employs a field programmable gate array (FPGA) based processor, and a broadband, high shunt-impedance kicker cavity. With two inputs and two outputs, the kicker cavity was designed with a resonant frequency of 937 MHz, a bandwidth of 97 MHz, and a shunt impedance of 1530 Ω. We also developed an S-matrix based technique to fully characterize the performance of the kicker cavity in the cold test. This longitudinal feedback system has been commissioned and optimized to stabilize high-current electron beams with a wide range of electron beam energies (250 MeV to 1.15 GeV) and a number of electron beam bunch modes, including the single-bunch mode and all possible symmetric bunch modes. This feedback system has become a critical instrument to ensure stable, high-flux operation of HIGS to produce nearly monochromatic, highly polarized Compton gamma-ray beams.

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

Evidence for a Bubble-Competition Regime in Indirectly Driven Ablative Rayleigh-Taylor Instability Experiments on the NIF

DOE PAGES

Martinez, D. A.; Smalyuk, V. A.; Kane, J. O.; ...

2015-05-29

In this paper, we investigate on the National Ignition Facility the ablative Rayleigh-Taylor instability in the transition from weakly nonlinear to highly nonlinear regimes. A planar plastic package with preimposed two-dimensional broadband modulations is accelerated for up to 12 ns by the x-ray drive of a gas-filled Au radiation cavity with a radiative temperature plateau at 175 eV. This extended tailored drive allows a distance traveled in excess of 1 mm for a 130 μm thick foil. Measurements of the modulation optical density performed by x-ray radiography show that a bubble-merger regime for the Rayleigh-Taylor instability at an ablation frontmore » is achieved for the first time in indirect drive. Finally, the mutimode modulation amplitudes are in the nonlinear regime, grow beyond the Haan multimode saturation level, evolve toward the longer wavelengths, and show insensitivity to the initial conditions.« less

The Origin of Radially Aligned Magnetic Fields in Young Supernova Remnants

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Inoue, Tsuyoshi; Shimoda, Jiro; Ohira, Yutaka; Yamazaki, Ryo

2013-08-01

It has been suggested by radio observations of polarized synchrotron emissions that downstream magnetic fields in some young supernova remnants (SNRs) are oriented radially. We study the magnetic field distribution of turbulent SNRs driven by the Richtmyer-Meshkov instability (RMI)—in other words, the effect of rippled shock—by using three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamics simulations. We find that the induced turbulence has radially biased anisotropic velocity dispersion that leads to a selective amplification of the radial component of the magnetic field. The RMI is induced by the interaction between the shock and upstream density fluctuations. Future high-resolution polarization observations can distinguish the following candidates responsible for the upstream density fluctuations: (1) inhomogeneity caused by the cascade of large-scale turbulence in the interstellar medium, the so-called big power-law in the sky; (2) structures generated by the Drury instability in the cosmic-ray modified shock; and (3) fluctuations induced by the nonlinear feedback of the cosmic-ray streaming instability.

Dynamo-driven plasmoid formation from a current-sheet instability

DOE PAGES

Ebrahimi, F.

2016-12-15

Axisymmetric current-carrying plasmoids are formed in the presence of nonaxisymmetric fluctuations during nonlinear three-dimensional resistive MHD simulations in a global toroidal geometry. In this study, we utilize the helicity injection technique to form an initial poloidal flux in the presence of a toroidal guide field. As helicity is injected, two types of current sheets are formed from the oppositely directed field lines in the injector region (primary reconnecting current sheet), and the poloidal flux compression near the plasma edge (edge current sheet). We first find that nonaxisymmetric fluctuations arising from the current-sheet instability isolated near the plasma edge have tearingmore » parity but can nevertheless grow fast (on the poloidal Alfven time scale). These modes saturate by breaking up the current sheet. Second, for the first time, a dynamo poloidal flux amplification is observed at the reconnection site (in the region of the oppositely directed magnetic field). This fluctuation-induced flux amplification increases the local Lundquist number, which then triggers a plasmoid instability and breaks the primary current sheet at the reconnection site. Finally, the plasmoids formation driven by large-scale flux amplification, i.e., a large-scale dynamo, observed here has strong implications for astrophysical reconnection as well as fast reconnection events in laboratory plasmas.« less

Extremum seeking x-ray position feedback using power line harmonic leakage as the perturbation

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

Zohar, S.; Kissick, D. J.; Venugopalan, N.

Small x-ray beam sizes necessary for probing nanoscale phenomena require exquisite stability to prevent data corruption by noise. One source of instability at synchrotron radiation x-ray beamlines is the slow detuning of x-ray optics to marginal alignment where the onset of clipping increases the beam's susceptibility to higher frequency position oscillations. In this article, we show that a 1 mu m amplitude horizontal x-ray beam oscillation driven by power line harmonic leakage into the electron storage ring can be used as perturbation for horizontal position extremum seeking feedback. Feedback performance is characterized by convergence to 1.5% away from maximum intensitymore » at optimal alignment.« less

Extremum seeking x-ray position feedback using power line harmonic leakage as the perturbation

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

Zohar, S.; Kissick, D. J.; Venugopalan, N.

Small X-ray beam sizes necessary for probing nanoscale phenomena require exquisite stability to prevent data corruption by noise. One source of instability at synchrotron radiation X-ray beamlines is the slow detuning of X-ray optics to marginal alignment where the onset of clipping increases the beam’s susceptibility to higher frequency position oscillations. In this article, we show that a 1 µm amplitude horizontal X-ray beam oscillation driven by power line harmonic leakage into the electron storage ring can be used as perturbation for horizontal position extremum seeking feedback. Feedback performance is characterized by convergence to 1.5% away from maximum intensity atmore » optimal alignment.« less

Scaled laboratory experiments explain the kink behaviour of the Crab Nebula jet

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

Li, C. K.; Tzeferacos, P.; Lamb, D.

X-ray images from the Chandra X-ray Observatory show that the South-East jet in the Crab nebula changes direction every few years. This remarkable phenomenon is also observed in jets associated with pulsar wind nebulae and other astrophysical objects, and therefore is a fundamental feature of astrophysical jet evolution that needs to be understood. Theoretical modeling and numerical simulations have suggested that this phenomenon may be a consequence of magnetic fields (B) and current-driven magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) instabilities taking place in the jet, but until now there has been no verification of this process in a controlled laboratory environment. Here we reportmore » the first such experiments, using scaled laboratory plasma jets generated by high-power lasers to model the Crab jet and monoenergetic-proton radiography to provide direct visualization and measurement of magnetic fields and their behavior. The toroidal magnetic field embedded in the supersonic jet triggered plasma instabilities and resulted in considerable deflections throughout the jet propagation, mimicking the kinks in the Crab jet. We also demonstrated that these kinks are stabilized by high jet velocity, consistent with the observation that instabilities alter the jet orientation but do not disrupt the overall jet structure. We successfully modeled these laboratory experiments with a validated three-dimensional (3D) numerical simulation, which in conjunction with the experiments provide compelling evidence that we have an accurate model of the most important physics of magnetic fields and MHD instabilities in the observed, kinked jet in the Crab nebula. The experiments initiate a novel approach in the laboratory for visualizing fields and instabilities associated with jets observed in various astrophysical objects, ranging from stellar to extragalactic systems. We expect that future work along this line will have important impact on the study and understanding of such fundamental astrophysical phenomena.« less

Scaled laboratory experiments explain the kink behaviour of the Crab Nebula jet

DOE PAGES

Li, C. K.; Tzeferacos, P.; Lamb, D.; ...

2016-10-07

X-ray images from the Chandra X-ray Observatory show that the South-East jet in the Crab nebula changes direction every few years. This remarkable phenomenon is also observed in jets associated with pulsar wind nebulae and other astrophysical objects, and therefore is a fundamental feature of astrophysical jet evolution that needs to be understood. Theoretical modeling and numerical simulations have suggested that this phenomenon may be a consequence of magnetic fields (B) and current-driven magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) instabilities taking place in the jet, but until now there has been no verification of this process in a controlled laboratory environment. Here we reportmore » the first such experiments, using scaled laboratory plasma jets generated by high-power lasers to model the Crab jet and monoenergetic-proton radiography to provide direct visualization and measurement of magnetic fields and their behavior. The toroidal magnetic field embedded in the supersonic jet triggered plasma instabilities and resulted in considerable deflections throughout the jet propagation, mimicking the kinks in the Crab jet. We also demonstrated that these kinks are stabilized by high jet velocity, consistent with the observation that instabilities alter the jet orientation but do not disrupt the overall jet structure. We successfully modeled these laboratory experiments with a validated three-dimensional (3D) numerical simulation, which in conjunction with the experiments provide compelling evidence that we have an accurate model of the most important physics of magnetic fields and MHD instabilities in the observed, kinked jet in the Crab nebula. The experiments initiate a novel approach in the laboratory for visualizing fields and instabilities associated with jets observed in various astrophysical objects, ranging from stellar to extragalactic systems. We expect that future work along this line will have important impact on the study and understanding of such fundamental astrophysical phenomena.« less

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.

Bead lightning formation

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

Ludwig, G.O.; Saba, M.M.F.; Division of Space Geophysics, National Space Research Institute, 12227-010, Sao Jose dos Campos, SP

2005-09-15

Formation of beaded structures in triggered lightning discharges is considered in the framework of both magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) and hydrodynamic instabilities. It is shown that the space periodicity of the structures can be explained in terms of the kink and sausage type instabilities in a cylindrical discharge with anomalous viscosity. In particular, the fast growth rate of the hydrodynamic Rayleigh-Taylor instability, which is driven by the backflow of air into the channel of the decaying return stroke, dominates the initial evolution of perturbations during the decay of the return current. This instability is responsible for a significant enhancement of the anomalousmore » viscosity above the classical level. Eventually, the damping introduced at the current channel edge by the high level of anomalous viscous stresses defines the final length scale of bead lightning. Later, during the continuing current stage of the lightning flash, the MHD pinch instability persists, although with a much smaller growth rate that can be enhanced in a M-component event. The combined effect of these instabilities may explain various aspects of bead lightning.« less

Nonlinear structures and anomalous transport in partially magnetized E×B plasmas

DOE PAGES

Janhunen, Salomon; Smolyakov, Andrei; Chapurin, Oleksandr; ...

2017-12-29

Nonlinear dynamics of the electron-cyclotron instability driven by the electron E x B current in a crossed electric and magnetic field is studied. In the nonlinear regime, the instability proceeds by developing a large amplitude coherent wave driven by the energy input from the fundamental cyclotron resonance. Further evolution shows the formation of the long wavelength envelope akin to the modulational instability. Simultaneously, the ion density shows the development of a high-k content responsible for wave focusing and sharp peaks on the periodic cnoidal wave structure. Here, it is shown that the anomalous electron transport (along the direction of themore » applied electric field) is dominated by the long wavelength part of the turbulent spectrum.« less

Weibel instability mediated collisionless shocks using intense laser-driven plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Palaniyappan, Sasi; Huang, Chengkun; Gautier, Donald; Fernandez, Juan; Ma, Wenjun; Schreiber, Jorg; LANL Collaboration; LMU Team

2016-10-01

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. Several spacecraft observations have revealed acceleration of charged particles, mostly electrons, to very high energies with in the shock front. There is now also clear observational evidence that supernova remnant shocks accelerate both protons and electrons. 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 aluminum foil is used to image the laser-driven plasma.

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.

Effects of eletron heating on the current driven electrostatic ion cyclotron instability and plasma transport processes along auroral field lines

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ganguli, Supriya B.; Mitchell, Horace G.; Palmadesso, Peter J.

1988-01-01

Fluid simulations of the plasma along auroral field lines in the return current region have been performed. It is shown that the onset of electrostatic ion cyclotron (EIC) related anomalous resistivity and the consequent heating of electrons leads to a transverse ion temperature that is much higher than that produced by the current driven EIC instability (CDICI) alone. Two processes are presented for the enhancement of ion heating by anomalous resistivity. The anomalous resistivity associated with the turbulence is limited by electron heating, so that CDICI saturates at transverse temperature that is substantially higher than in the absence of resistivity. It is suggested that this process demonstrates a positive feedback loop in the interaction between CDICI, anomalous resistivity, and parallel large-scale dynamics in the topside ionosphere.

Exact solutions and low-frequency instability of the adiabatic auroral arc model

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cornwall, John M.

1988-01-01

The adiabatic auroral arc model couples a kinetic theory parallel current driven by mirror forces to horizontal ionospheric currents; the resulting equations are nonlinear. Some exact stationary solutions to these equations, some of them based on the Liouville equation, are developed, with both latitudinal and longitudinal spatial variations. These Liouville equation exact solutions are related to stability boundaries of low-frequency instabilities such as Kelvin-Helmholtz, as shown by a study of a simplified model.

Non-LTE modeling for the National Ignition Facility (and beyond)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Scott, H. A.; Hammel, B. A.; Hansen, S. B.

2012-05-01

Considerable progress has been made in the last year in the study of laser-driven inertial confinement fusion at the National Ignition Facility (NIF). Experiments have demonstrated symmetric capsule implosions with plasma conditions approaching those required for ignition. Improvements in computational models - in large part due to advances in non-LTE modeling - have resulted in simulations that match experimental results quite well for the X-ray drive, implosion symmetry and total wall emission [1]. Non-LTE modeling is a key part of the NIF simulation effort, affecting several aspects of experimental design and diagnostics. The X-rays that drive the capsule arise from high-Z material ablated off the hohlraum wall. Current capsule designs avoid excessive preheat from high-energy X-rays by shielding the fuel with a mid-Z dopant, which affects the capsule dynamics. The dopant also mixes into the hot spot through hydrodynamic instabilities, providing diagnostic possibilities but potentially impacting the energy balance of the capsule [2]. Looking beyond the NIF, a proposed design for a fusion reactor chamber depends on lowdensity high-Z gas absorbing X-rays and particles to protect the first wall [3]. These situations encompass a large range of temperatures, densities and spatial scales. They each emphasize different aspects of atomic physics and present a variety of challenges for non-LTE modeling. We discuss the relevant issues and summarize the current state of the modeling effort for these applications.

Current-driven plasma acceleration versus current-driven energy dissipation. I - Wave stability theory

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

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

1990-01-01

The dominant unstable electrostatic wave modes of an electromagnetically accelerated plasma are investigated. The study is the first part of a three-phase program aimed at characterizing the current-driven turbulent dissipation degrading the efficiency of Lorentz force plasma accelerators such as the MPD thruster. The analysis uses a kinetic theory that includes magnetic and thermal effects as well as those of an electron current transverse to the magnetic field and collisions, thus combining all the features of previous models. Analytical and numerical solutions allow a detailed description of threshold criteria, finite growth behavior, destabilization mechanisms and maximized-growth characteristics of the dominant unstable modes. The lower hybrid current-driven instability is implicated as dominant and was found to preserve its character in the collisional plasma regime.

Evidence of locally enhanced target heating due to instabilities of counter-streaming fast electron beams

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

Koester, Petra; Cecchetti, Carlo A.; Booth, Nicola

2015-02-15

The high-current fast electron beams generated in high-intensity laser-solid interactions require the onset of a balancing return current in order to propagate in the target material. Such a system of counter-streaming electron currents is unstable to a variety of instabilities such as the current-filamentation instability and the two-stream instability. An experimental study aimed at investigating the role of instabilities in a system of symmetrical counter-propagating fast electron beams is presented here for the first time. The fast electron beams are generated by double-sided laser-irradiation of a layered target foil at laser intensities above 10{sup 19 }W/cm{sup 2}. High-resolution X-ray spectroscopy ofmore » the emission from the central Ti layer shows that locally enhanced energy deposition is indeed achieved in the case of counter-propagating fast electron beams.« less

Observations of a fast transverse instability in the PSR

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Neuffer, D.; Colton, E.; Fitzgerald, D.; Hardek, T.; Hutson, R.; Macek, R.; Plum, M.; Thiessen, H.; Wang, T.-S.

1992-09-01

A fast instability with beam loss is observed in the Los Alamos Proton Storage Ring (PSR) when the injected beam current exceeds a threshold value, with both bunched and unbunched beams. Large coherent transverse oscillations occur prior to and during beam loss. The threshold depends strongly on rf voltage, beam-pulse shape, beam size, nonlinear fields, and beam environmental. Results of recent observations of the instability are reported; possible causes of the instability are discussed. Recent measurements and calculations indicate that the instability is an "e-p"-type instability, driven by coupled oscillations with electrons trapped within the proton beam. Future experiments toward further understanding of the instability are discussed, and methods of increasing PSR beam storage are suggested.

Evolution of sausage and helical modes in magnetized thin-foil cylindrical liners driven by a Z-pinch

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yager-Elorriaga, D. A.; Lau, Y. Y.; Zhang, P.; Campbell, P. C.; Steiner, A. M.; Jordan, N. M.; McBride, R. D.; Gilgenbach, R. M.

2018-05-01

In this paper, we present experimental results on axially magnetized (Bz = 0.5 - 2.0 T), thin-foil (400 nm-thick) cylindrical liner-plasmas driven with ˜600 kA by the Michigan Accelerator for Inductive Z-Pinch Experiments, which is a linear transformer driver at the University of Michigan. We show that: (1) the applied axial magnetic field, irrespective of its direction (e.g., parallel or anti-parallel to the flow of current), reduces the instability amplitude for pure magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) modes [defined as modes devoid of the acceleration-driven magneto-Rayleigh-Taylor (MRT) instability]; (2) axially magnetized, imploding liners (where MHD modes couple to MRT) generate m = 1 or m = 2 helical modes that persist from the implosion to the subsequent explosion stage; (3) the merging of instability structures is a mechanism that enables the appearance of an exponential instability growth rate for a longer than expected time-period; and (4) an inverse cascade in both the axial and azimuthal wavenumbers, k and m, may be responsible for the final m = 2 helical structure observed in our experiments. These experiments are particularly relevant to the magnetized liner inertial fusion program pursued at Sandia National Laboratories, where helical instabilities have been observed.

Proton Radiography of Spontaneous Fields, Plasma Flows and Dynamics in X-Ray Driven Inertial-Confinement Fusion Implosions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, C. K.; Seguin, F. H.; Frenje, J. A.; Rosenberg, M.; Zylstra, A. B.; Rinderknecht, H. G.; Petrasso, R. D.; Amendt, P. A.; Landen, O. L.; Town, R. P. J.; Betti, R.; Knauer, J. P.; Meyerhofer, D. D.; Back, C. A.; Kilkenny, J. D.; Nikroo, A.

2010-11-01

Backlighting of x-ray-driven implosions in empty hohlraums with mono-energetic protons on the OMEGA laser facility has allowed a number of important phenomena to be observed. Several critical parameters were determined, including plasma flow, three types of spontaneous electric fields and megaGauss magnetic fields. These results provide insight into important issues in indirect-drive ICF. Even though the cavity is effectively a Faraday cage, the strong, local fields inside the hohlraum can affect laser-plasma instabilities, electron distributions and implosion symmetry. They are of fundamental scientific importance for a range of new experiments at the frontiers of high-energy-density physics. Future experiments designed to characterize the field formation and evolution in low-Z gas fill hohlraums will be discussed.

BOW SHOCK FRAGMENTATION DRIVEN BY A THERMAL INSTABILITY IN LABORATORY ASTROPHYSICS EXPERIMENTS

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

Suzuki-Vidal, F.; Lebedev, S. V.; Pickworth, L. A.

The role of radiative cooling during the evolution of a bow shock was studied in laboratory-astrophysics experiments that are scalable to bow shocks present in jets from young stellar objects. The laboratory bow shock is formed during the collision of two counterstreaming, supersonic plasma jets produced by an opposing pair of radial foil Z-pinches driven by the current pulse from the MAGPIE pulsed-power generator. The jets have different flow velocities in the laboratory frame, and the experiments are driven over many times the characteristic cooling timescale. The initially smooth bow shock rapidly develops small-scale nonuniformities over temporal and spatial scalesmore » that are consistent with a thermal instability triggered by strong radiative cooling in the shock. The growth of these perturbations eventually results in a global fragmentation of the bow shock front. The formation of a thermal instability is supported by analysis of the plasma cooling function calculated for the experimental conditions with the radiative packages ABAKO/RAPCAL.« less

Amplification of perpendicular and parallel magnetic fields by cosmic ray currents

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Matthews, J. H.; Bell, A. R.; Blundell, K. M.; Araudo, A. T.

2017-08-01

Cosmic ray (CR) currents through magnetized plasma drive strong instabilities producing amplification of the magnetic field. This amplification helps explain the CR energy spectrum as well as observations of supernova remnants and radio galaxy hotspots. Using magnetohydrodynamic simulations, we study the behaviour of the non-resonant hybrid (NRH) instability (also known as the Bell instability) in the case of CR currents perpendicular and parallel to the initial magnetic field. We demonstrate that extending simulations of the perpendicular case to 3D reveals a different character to the turbulence from that observed in 2D. Despite these differences, in 3D the perpendicular NRH instability still grows exponentially far into the non-linear regime with a similar growth rate to both the 2D perpendicular and 3D parallel situations. We introduce some simple analytical models to elucidate the physical behaviour, using them to demonstrate that the transition to the non-linear regime is governed by the growth of thermal pressure inside dense filaments at the edges of the expanding loops. We discuss our results in the context of supernova remnants and jets in radio galaxies. Our work shows that the NRH instability can amplify magnetic fields to many times their initial value in parallel and perpendicular shocks.

A cosmic ray driven instability

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

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

1985-01-01

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

Modeling of the control of the driven current profile in ICRF MCCD on EAST plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yin, L.; Yang, C.; Gong, X. Y.; Lu, X. Q.; Cao, J. J.; Wu, Z. Y.; Chen, Y.; Du, D.

2018-05-01

Control of the current profile is a crucial issue for improved confinement and the inhibition of instability in advanced tokamak operation. Using typical discharge data for the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak, numerical simulations of driven-current profile control in mode conversion current drive (MCCD) in the ion cyclotron range of frequencies were performed employing a full-wave method and Ehst-Karney efficiency formula. Results indicate that the driven current profile in MCCD can be effectively modified by shifting the mode conversion layer. The peak of the driven current can be located at an aimed position in the normalized minor radius range (-0.60 ≤r/a≤0) by changing the radiofrequency and the minority-ion concentration. The efficiency of the off-axis MCCD can reach 233 kA/MW through optimization, and the mode converted ion cyclotron wave plays an important role in such scenarios. The effects of electron temperature and plasma density on the driven current profile are also investigated.

Kinetic-MHD simulations of gyroresonance instability driven by CR pressure anisotropy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lebiga, O.; Santos-Lima, R.; Yan, H.

2018-05-01

The transport of cosmic rays (CRs) is crucial for the understanding of almost all high-energy phenomena. Both pre-existing large-scale magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence and locally generated turbulence through plasma instabilities are important for the CR propagation in astrophysical media. The potential role of the resonant instability triggered by CR pressure anisotropy to regulate the parallel spatial diffusion of low-energy CRs (≲100 GeV) in the interstellar and intracluster medium of galaxies has been shown in previous theoretical works. This work aims to study the gyroresonance instability via direct numerical simulations, in order to access quantitatively the wave-particle scattering rates. For this, we employ a 1D PIC-MHD code to follow the growth and saturation of the gyroresonance instability. We extract from the simulations the pitch-angle diffusion coefficient Dμμ produced by the instability during the linear and saturation phases, and a very good agreement (within a factor of 3) is found with the values predicted by the quasi-linear theory (QLT). Our results support the applicability of the QLT for modelling the scattering of low-energy CRs by the gyroresonance instability in the complex interplay between this instability and the large-scale MHD turbulence.

Three-dimensional envelope instability in periodic focusing channels

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qiang, Ji

2018-03-01

The space-charge driven envelope instability can be of great danger in high intensity accelerators and was studied using a two-dimensional (2D) envelope model and three-dimensional (3D) macroparticle simulations before. In this paper, we study the instability for a bunched beam using a three-dimensional envelope model in a periodic solenoid and radio-frequency (rf) focusing channel and a periodic quadrupole and rf focusing channel. This study shows that when the transverse zero current phase advance is below 90 ° , the beam envelope can still become unstable if the longitudinal zero current phase advance is beyond 90 ° . For the transverse zero current phase advance beyond 90 ° , the instability stopband width becomes larger with the increase of the longitudinal focusing strength and even shows different structure from the 2D case when the longitudinal zero current phase advance is beyond 90 ° . Breaking the symmetry of two longitudinal focusing rf cavities and the symmetry between the horizontal focusing and the vertical focusing in the transverse plane in the periodic quadrupole and rf channel makes the instability stopband broader. This suggests that a more symmetric accelerator lattice design might help reduce the range of the envelope instability in parameter space.

Analysis of coupled-bunch instabilities for the NSLS-II storage ring with a 500MHz 7-cell PETRA-III cavity

DOE PAGES

Bassi, G.; Blednykh, A.; Cheng, W.; ...

2015-12-11

We present the NSLS-II storage ring that is designed to operate with superconducting RF-cavities with the aim to store an average current of 500 mA distributed in 1080 bunches, with a gap in the uniform filling for ion clearing. At the early stage of the commissioning (phase 1), characterized by a bare lattice without damping wigglers and without Landau cavities, a normal conducting 7-cell PETRA-III RF-cavity structure has been installed with the goal to store an average current of 25 mA. In this paper we discuss our analysis of coupled-bunch instabilities driven by the Higher Order Modes (HOMs) of themore » 7-cell PETRA-III RF-cavity. As a cure of the instabilities, we apply a well-known scheme based on a proper detuning of the HOMs frequencies based upon cavity temperature change, and the use of the beneficial effect of the slow head–tail damping at positive chromaticity to increase the transverse coupled-bunch instability thresholds. In addition, we discuss measurements of coupled-bunch instabilities observed during the phase 1 commissioning of the NSLS-II storage ring. In our analysis we rely, in the longitudinal case, on the theory of coupled-bunch instability for uniform fillings, while in the transverse case we complement our studies with numerical simulations with OASIS, a novel parallel particle tracking code for self-consistent simulations of collective effects driven by short and long-range wakefields.« less

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

Multiple secondary islands formation in nonlinear evolution of double tearing mode simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guo, W.; Ma, J.; Yu, Z.

2017-03-01

A new numerical code solving the conservative perturbed resistive magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) model is developed. Numerical tests of the ideal Kelvin-Helmholtz instability and the resistive double tearing mode (DTM) show its capability in solving linear and nonlinear MHD instabilities. The nonlinear DTM evolution in 2D geometry is numerically investigated with low guiding field B z 0 , short half-distance y 0 between the equilibrium current sheets, and small resistivity η. The interaction of islands on the two initial current sheets may generate an unstable flow driven current sheet with a high length-to-thickness aspect ratio (α), and multiple secondary islands can form. In general, the length-to-thickness aspect ratio α and the number of secondary islands increase with decreasing guide field B z 0 , decreasing half-distance y 0 , and increasing Lundquist number of the flow driven current sheet S L although the dependence may be non-monotonic. The reconnection rate dependence on S L , B z 0 , and y 0 is also investigated.

Hydrodynamic instability of elastic-plastic solid plates at the early stage of acceleration.

PubMed

Piriz, A R; Sun, Y B; Tahir, N A

2015-03-01

A model is presented for the linear Rayleigh-Taylor instability taking place at the early stage of acceleration of an elastic-plastic solid, when the shock wave is still running into the solid and is driven by a time varying pressure on the interface. When the the shock is formed sufficiently close to the interface, this stage is considered to follow a previous initial phase controlled by the Ritchmyer-Meshkov instability that settles new initial conditions. The model reproduces the behavior of the instability observed in former numerical simulation results and provides a relatively simpler physical picture than the currently existing one for this stage of the instability evolution.

Negative velocity fluctuations and non-equilibrium fluctuation relation for a driven high critical current vortex state.

PubMed

Bag, Biplab; Shaw, Gorky; Banerjee, S S; Majumdar, Sayantan; Sood, A K; Grover, A K

2017-07-17

Under the influence of a constant drive the moving vortex state in 2H-NbS 2 superconductor exhibits a negative differential resistance (NDR) transition from a steady flow to an immobile state. This state possesses a high depinning current threshold ([Formula: see text]) with unconventional depinning characteristics. At currents well above [Formula: see text], the moving vortex state exhibits a multimodal velocity distribution which is characteristic of vortex flow instabilities in the NDR regime. However at lower currents which are just above [Formula: see text], the velocity distribution is non-Gaussian with a tail extending to significant negative velocity values. These unusual negative velocity events correspond to vortices drifting opposite to the driving force direction. We show that this distribution obeys the Gallavotti-Cohen Non-Equilibrium Fluctuation Relation (GC-NEFR). Just above [Formula: see text], we also find a high vortex density fluctuating driven state not obeying the conventional GC-NEFR. The GC-NEFR analysis provides a measure of an effective energy scale (E eff ) associated with the driven vortex state. The E eff corresponds to the average energy dissipated by the fluctuating vortex state above [Formula: see text]. We propose the high E eff value corresponds to the onset of high energy dynamic instabilities in this driven vortex state just above [Formula: see text].

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.

Opposite Roles for p38MAPK-Driven Responses and Reactive Oxygen Species in the Persistence and Resolution of Radiation-Induced Genomic Instability

PubMed Central

Werner, Erica; Wang, Huichen; Doetsch, Paul W.

2014-01-01

We report the functional and temporal relationship between cellular phenotypes such as oxidative stress, p38MAPK-dependent responses and genomic instability persisting in the progeny of cells exposed to sparsely ionizing low-Linear Energy Transfer (LET) radiation such as X-rays or high-charge and high-energy (HZE) particle high-LET radiation such as 56Fe ions. We found that exposure to low and high-LET radiation increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels as a threshold-like response induced independently of radiation quality and dose. This response was sustained for two weeks, which is the period of time when genomic instability is evidenced by increased micronucleus formation frequency and DNA damage associated foci. Indicators for another persisting response sharing phenotypes with stress-induced senescence, including beta galactosidase induction, increased nuclear size, p38MAPK activation and IL-8 production, were induced in the absence of cell proliferation arrest during the first, but not the second week following exposure to high-LET radiation. This response was driven by a p38MAPK-dependent mechanism and was affected by radiation quality and dose. This stress response and elevation of ROS affected genomic instability by distinct pathways. Through interference with p38MAPK activity, we show that radiation-induced stress phenotypes promote genomic instability. In contrast, exposure to physiologically relevant doses of hydrogen peroxide or increasing endogenous ROS levels with a catalase inhibitor reduced the level of genomic instability. Our results implicate persistently elevated ROS following exposure to radiation as a factor contributing to genome stabilization. PMID:25271419

Parametric instabilities in resonantly-driven Bose–Einstein condensates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lellouch, S.; Goldman, N.

2018-04-01

Shaking optical lattices in a resonant manner offers an efficient and versatile method to devise artificial gauge fields and topological band structures for ultracold atomic gases. This was recently demonstrated through the experimental realization of the Harper–Hofstadter model, which combined optical superlattices and resonant time-modulations. Adding inter-particle interactions to these engineered band systems is expected to lead to strongly-correlated states with topological features, such as fractional Chern insulators. However, the interplay between interactions and external time-periodic drives typically triggers violent instabilities and uncontrollable heating, hence potentially ruling out the possibility of accessing such intriguing states of matter in experiments. In this work, we study the early-stage parametric instabilities that occur in systems of resonantly-driven Bose–Einstein condensates in optical lattices. We apply and extend an approach based on Bogoliubov theory (Lellouch et al 2017 Phys. Rev. X 7 021015) to a variety of resonantly-driven band models, from a simple shaken Wannier–Stark ladder to the more intriguing driven-induced Harper–Hofstadter model. In particular, we provide ab initio numerical and analytical predictions for the stability properties of these topical models. This work sheds light on general features that could guide current experiments to stable regimes of operation.

The Current Driven Kink Instability and its Relationship to Delta-Spot Active Regions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Linton, Mark George

The current driven kink instability may be the cause of both the unusual morphology of solar δ-spot active regions and the tendency of these regions to be significantly more flare active than most active regions. We investigate the current driven kink instability of flux tubes in the solar interior both with a linear stability analysis and with nonlinear MHD simulations. The linear analysis shows that there is a critical twist, which depends on the axial magnetic field profile, that a flux tube needs to become kink unstable. This critical twist decreases as the tube expands, so twisted flux tubes will become increasingly unstable as they rise through the convection zone. The nonlinear simulations show that a twisted tube excited by a single unstable kink mode will evolve to a helical equilibrium state. The emergence through the photosphere of such a kinked tube would create an active region which was tilted with respect to Hale's law and which would rotate as it evolved, as δ-spots are observed to do. We then find that, when excited by multiple unstable kink modes, highly twisted flux tubes develop concentrated kinks. These concentrated kinks would produce more of the observed characteristics of δ-spot active regions. They would create active regions which, in addition to emerging tilted and then rotating, would remain compact as they evolved, and develop strong shear along their magnetic neutral line. Finally, we find that a strong concentrated kink develops a current sheet at which the magnetic field reconnects, which may be the cause of the high flare activity of δ-spots.

Characterization of beam-driven instabilities and current redistribution in MST plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Parke, E.

2015-11-01

A unique, high-rep-rate (>10 kHz) Thomson scattering diagnostic and a high-bandwidth FIR interferometer-polarimeter on MST have enabled characterization of beam-driven instabilities and magnetic equilibrium changes observed during high power (1 MW) neutral beam injection (NBI). While NBI leads to negligible net current drive, an increase in on-axis current density observed through Faraday rotation is offset by a reduction in mid-radius current. Identification of the phase flip in temperature fluctuations associated with tearing modes provides a sensitive measure of rational surface locations. This technique strongly constrains the safety factor for equilibrium reconstruction and provides a powerful new tool for measuring the equilibrium magnetic field. For example, the n = 6 temperature structure is observed to shift inward 1.1 +/- 0.6 cm, with an estimated reduction of q0 by 5%. This is consistent with a mid-radius reduction in current, and together the Faraday rotation and Thomson scattering measurements corroborate an inductive redistribution of current that compares well with TRANSP/MSTFit predictions. Interpreting tearing mode temperature structures in the RFP remains challenging; the effects of multiple, closely-spaced tearing modes on the mode phase measurement require further verification. In addition to equilibrium changes, previous work has shown that the large fast ion population drives instabilities at higher frequencies near the Alfvén continuum. Recent observations reveal a new instability at much lower frequency (~7 kHz) with strongly chirping behavior. It participates in extensive avalanches of the higher frequency energetic particle and Alfvénic modes to drive enhanced fast ion transport. Internal structures measured from Te and ne fluctuations, their dependence on the safety factor, as well as frequency scaling motivate speculation about mode identity. Work supported by U.S. DOE.

Thermal Electron Contributions to Current-Driven Instabilities: SCIFER Observations in the 1400-km Cleft Ion Fountain and Their Implications to Thermal Ion Energization

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Adrian, Mark L.; Pollock, C. J.; Moore, T. E.; Kintner, P. M.; Arnoldy, R. L.; Whitaker, Ann F. (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

SCIFER TECHS observations of the variations in the thermal electron distribution in the 1400-km altitude cleft are associated with periods of intense ion heating and field-aligned currents. Energization of the thermal ion plasma in the mid-altitude cleft occurs within density cavities accompanied by enhanced thermal electron temperatures, large field-aligned thermal electron plasma flows and broadband low-frequency electric fields. Variations in the thermal electron contribution to field-aligned current densities indicate small scale (approximately 100's m) filamentary structure embedded within the ion energization periods. TECHS observations of the field-aligned drift velocities and temperatures of the thermal electron distribution are presented to evaluate the critical velocity thresholds necessary for the generation of electrostatic ion cyclotron and ion acoustic instabilities. This analysis suggests that, during periods of thermal ion energization, sufficient drift exists in the thermal electron distribution to excite the electrostatic ion cyclotron instability. In addition, brief periods exist within the same interval where the drift of the thermal electron distribution is sufficient to marginally excite the ion acoustic instability. In addition, the presence an enhancement in Langmuir emission at the plasma frequency at the center of the ion energization region, accompanied by the emission's second-harmonic, and collocated with observations of high-frequency electric field solitary structures suggest the presence of electron beam driven decay of Langmuir waves to ion acoustic modes as an additional free energy source for ion energization.

Strong disk winds traced throughout outbursts in black-hole X-ray binaries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tetarenko, B. E.; Lasota, J.-P.; Heinke, C. O.; Dubus, G.; Sivakoff, G. R.

2018-02-01

Recurring outbursts associated with matter flowing onto compact stellar remnants (such as black holes, neutron stars and white dwarfs) in close binary systems provide a way of constraining the poorly understood accretion process. The light curves of these outbursts are shaped by the efficiency of angular-momentum (and thus mass) transport in the accretion disks, which has traditionally been encoded in a viscosity parameter, α. Numerical simulations of the magneto-rotational instability that is believed to be the physical mechanism behind this transport yield values of α of roughly 0.1–0.2, consistent with values determined from observations of accreting white dwarfs. Equivalent viscosity parameters have hitherto not been estimated for disks around neutron stars or black holes. Here we report the results of an analysis of archival X-ray light curves of 21 outbursts in black-hole X-ray binaries. By applying a Bayesian approach to a model of accretion, we determine corresponding values of α of around 0.2–1.0. These high values may be interpreted as an indication either of a very high intrinsic rate of angular-momentum transport in the disk, which could be sustained by the magneto-rotational instability only if a large-scale magnetic field threads the disk, or that mass is being lost from the disk through substantial outflows, which strongly shape the outburst in the black-hole X-ray binary. The lack of correlation between our estimates of α and the accretion state of the binaries implies that such outflows can remove a substantial fraction of the disk mass in all accretion states and therefore suggests that the outflows correspond to magnetically driven disk winds rather than thermally driven ones, which require specific radiative conditions.

Strong disk winds traced throughout outbursts in black-hole X-ray binaries.

PubMed

Tetarenko, B E; Lasota, J-P; Heinke, C O; Dubus, G; Sivakoff, G R

2018-02-01

Recurring outbursts associated with matter flowing onto compact stellar remnants (such as black holes, neutron stars and white dwarfs) in close binary systems provide a way of constraining the poorly understood accretion process. The light curves of these outbursts are shaped by the efficiency of angular-momentum (and thus mass) transport in the accretion disks, which has traditionally been encoded in a viscosity parameter, α. Numerical simulations of the magneto-rotational instability that is believed to be the physical mechanism behind this transport yield values of α of roughly 0.1-0.2, consistent with values determined from observations of accreting white dwarfs. Equivalent viscosity parameters have hitherto not been estimated for disks around neutron stars or black holes. Here we report the results of an analysis of archival X-ray light curves of 21 outbursts in black-hole X-ray binaries. By applying a Bayesian approach to a model of accretion, we determine corresponding values of α of around 0.2-1.0. These high values may be interpreted as an indication either of a very high intrinsic rate of angular-momentum transport in the disk, which could be sustained by the magneto-rotational instability only if a large-scale magnetic field threads the disk, or that mass is being lost from the disk through substantial outflows, which strongly shape the outburst in the black-hole X-ray binary. The lack of correlation between our estimates of α and the accretion state of the binaries implies that such outflows can remove a substantial fraction of the disk mass in all accretion states and therefore suggests that the outflows correspond to magnetically driven disk winds rather than thermally driven ones, which require specific radiative conditions.

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.

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.

Modeling of fast neutral-beam-generated ions and rotation effects on RWM stability in DIII-D plasmas

DOE PAGES

Turco, Francesca; Turnbull, Alan D.; Hanson, Jeremy M.; ...

2015-10-15

Here, validation results for the MARS-K code for DIII-D equilibria, predict that the absence of fast Neutral Beam (NB) generated ions leads to a plasma response ~40–60% higher than in NB-sustained H-mode plasmas when the no-wall β N limit is reached. In a β N scan, the MARS-K model with thermal and fast-ions, reproduces the experimental measurements above the no-wall limit, except at the highest β N where the phase of the plasma response is overestimated. The dependencies extrapolate unfavorably to machines such as ITER with smaller fast ion fractions since elevated responses in the absence of fast ions indicatemore » the potential onset of a resistive wall mode (RWM). The model was also tested for the effects of rotation at high β N, and recovers the measured response even when fast-ions are neglected, reversing the effect found in lower β N cases, but consistent with the higher β N results above the no-wall limit. The agreement in the response amplitude and phase for the rotation scan is not as good, and additional work will be needed to reproduce the experimental trends. In the case of current-driven instabilities, the magnetohydrodynamic spectroscopy system used to measure the plasma response reacts differently from that for pressure driven instabilities: the response amplitude remains low up to ~93% of the current limit, showing an abrupt increase only in the last ~5% of the current ramp. This makes it much less effective as a diagnostic for the approach to an ideal limit. However, the mode structure of the current driven RWM extends radially inwards, consistent with that in the pressure driven case for plasmas with q edge~2. This suggests that previously developed RWM feedback techniques together with the additional optimizations that enabled q edge~2 operation, can be applied to control of both current-driven and pressure-driven modes at high β N.« less

Temporal and spatial evolution of runaway electrons at the instability moments in Damavand tokamak

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

Pourshahab, B.; Abdi, M. R.; Sadighzadeh, A.

2016-07-15

The time and position behavior of runaway electrons at the Parail–Pogutse instability moments has been investigated using experimental observations in plasma current, loop voltage, the Hard X-ray (HXR) radiations, and 18 poloidal pickup coils signals received by data acquisition system simultaneously. The conditional average sampling (CAS) method was used to analyze the output data. Moreover, a filament current code was modified to study the runaway electrons beam movement in the event of instabilities. The results display a rapid drift of runaway beam toward the inner wall of the vacuum vessel and the collision with the wall components at the instabilitymore » moments. The existence of the collisions in these experiments is evident in the HXR bursts which are considered as the main trigger for CAS Analysis. Also, the variation of HXR bursts with the toroidal magnetic field shows that the hard X-ray bursts drop with increase in the toroidal magnetic field and runaway electrons confinement quality.« less

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

Collisions of plastic and foam laser-driven foils studied by orthogonal x-ray imaging.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aglitskiy, Y.; Metzler, N.; Karasik, M.; Serlin, V.; Obenschain, S. P.; Schmitt, A. J.; Velikovich, A. L.; Zalesak, S. T.; Gardner, J. H.; Weaver, J.; Oh, J.; Harding, E. C.

2007-11-01

We report an experimental study of hydrodynamic Rayleigh-Taylor and Richtmyer-Meshkov-type instabilities developing at the material interface produced in double-foil collisions. Our double-foil targets consist of a plastic foil irradiated by the 4 ns Nike KrF laser pulse at ˜50 TW/cm^2 and accelerated toward a stationary plastic or foam foil. Either the rear side of the front foil or the front side of the rear foil is rippled. Orthogonal imaging, i. e., a simultaneous side-on and face-on x-ray radiography of the targets has been used in these experiments to observe the process of collision and the evolution of the areal mass amplitude modulation. Its observed evolution is similar to the case of the classical RM instability in finite thickness targets first studied by Y. Aglitsky et al., Phys. Plasmas 13, 80703 (2006). Our data are favorably compared with 1D and 2D simulation results.

Harmonic cavities and the transverse mode-coupling instability driven by a resistive wall

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

Venturini, M.

The effect of rf harmonic cavities on the transverse mode-coupling instability (TMCI) is still not very well understood. We offer a fresh perspective on the problem by proposing a new numerical method for mode analysis and investigating a regime of potential interest to the new generation of light sources where resistive wall is the dominant source of transverse impedance. When the harmonic cavities are tuned for maximum flattening of the bunch profile we demonstrate that at vanishing chromaticities the transverse single-bunch motion is unstable at any current, with growth rate that in the relevant range scales as the 6th powermore » of the current. With these assumptions and radiation damping included, we find that for machine parameters typical of 4th-generation light sources the presence of harmonic cavities could reduce the instability current threshold by more than a factor two.« less

Harmonic cavities and the transverse mode-coupling instability driven by a resistive wall

DOE PAGES

Venturini, M.

2018-02-01

The effect of rf harmonic cavities on the transverse mode-coupling instability (TMCI) is still not very well understood. We offer a fresh perspective on the problem by proposing a new numerical method for mode analysis and investigating a regime of potential interest to the new generation of light sources where resistive wall is the dominant source of transverse impedance. When the harmonic cavities are tuned for maximum flattening of the bunch profile we demonstrate that at vanishing chromaticities the transverse single-bunch motion is unstable at any current, with growth rate that in the relevant range scales as the 6th powermore » of the current. With these assumptions and radiation damping included, we find that for machine parameters typical of 4th-generation light sources the presence of harmonic cavities could reduce the instability current threshold by more than a factor two.« less

Cross-field Current Instability for Substorm Expansions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lui, Anthony

1997-01-01

The funding provided by the above-referenced NASA grant has enabled us: (1) to investigate the quasi-linear evolution of the IWI [Lui et al., 1993] and that of the generalized MTSI/IWI [Yoon and Lui, 1993], (2) to carry out the linear analysis of the LHDI to elucidate the difference between it and the MTSI/PM instability [Yoon et al., 1994], (3) to conduct some preliminary nonlocal analyses of the MTSI [Lui et al., 1995] and the IWI [Yoon and Lui, 1996] modes, (4) to study low-frequency shear-driven instability and its nonlinear evolution, which might compete with the CCI [Yoon et al., 1996], and (5) to study the evolution of current sheet during late substorm growth phase by means of 2-D Hall-MHD simulation in order to obtain a better understanding of the current sheet equilibrium crucial for CCI theory [Yoon and Lui, 1997].

Harmonic cavities and the transverse mode-coupling instability driven by a resistive wall

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Venturini, M.

2018-02-01

The effect of rf harmonic cavities on the transverse mode-coupling instability (TMCI) is still not very well understood. We offer a fresh perspective on the problem by proposing a new numerical method for mode analysis and investigating a regime of potential interest to the new generation of light sources where resistive wall is the dominant source of transverse impedance. When the harmonic cavities are tuned for maximum flattening of the bunch profile we demonstrate that at vanishing chromaticities the transverse single-bunch motion is unstable at any current, with growth rate that in the relevant range scales as the 6th power of the current. With these assumptions and radiation damping included, we find that for machine parameters typical of 4th-generation light sources the presence of harmonic cavities could reduce the instability current threshold by more than a factor two.

A Normal Incidence X-ray Telescope (NIXT) Sounding Rocket Payload

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Golub, Leon

1998-01-01

The solar corona, and the coronae of solar-type stars, consist of a low-density magnetized plasma at temperatures exceeding 10(exp 6) K. The primary coronal emission is therefore in the UV and soft X-ray range. The observed close connection between solar magnetic fields and the physical parameters of the corona implies a fundamental role for the magnetic field in coronal structuring and dynamics. Variability of the corona occurs on all temporal and spatial scales - at one extreme, as the result of plasma instabilities, and at the other extreme driven by the global magnetic flux emergence patterns of the solar cycle.

Modeling, measuring, and mitigating instability growth in liner implosions on Z

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peterson, Kyle

2015-11-01

Electro-thermal instabilities result from non-uniform heating due to temperature dependence in the conductivity of a material. In this talk, we will discuss the role of electro-thermal instabilities on the dynamics of magnetically accelerated implosion systems. We present simulations that show electro-thermal instabilities form immediately after the surface material of a conductor melts and can act as a significant seed to subsequent magneto-Rayleigh-Taylor (MRT) instability growth. We discuss measurement results from experiments performed on Sandia National Laboratories Z accelerator to investigate signatures of electro-thermal instability growth on well-characterized initially solid aluminum or beryllium rods driven with a 20 MA, 100 ns risetime current pulse. These measurements show good agreement with electro-thermal instability simulations and exhibit larger instability growth than can be explained by MRT theory alone. Recent experiments have confirmed simulation predictions of dramatically reduced instability growth in solid metallic rods when thick dielectric coatings are used to mitigate density perturbations arising from the electro-thermal instability. These results provide further evidence that the inherent surface roughness of the target is not the dominant seed for the MRT instability, in contrast with most inertial confinement fusion approaches. These results suggest a new technique for substantially reducing the integral MRT growth in magnetically driven implosions. Indeed, recent results on the Z facility with 100 km/s Al and Be liner implosions show substantially reduced growth. These new results include axially magnetized, CH-coated beryllium liner radiographs in which the inner liner surface is observed to be remarkably straight and uniform at a radius of about 120 microns (convergence ratio ~20). Sandia is a multiprogram laboratory operated by Sandia Corporation, a Lockheed Martin Company, for the United States Department of Energy under contract DE-AC04-94AL85000.

Three dimensional instabilities of an electron scale current sheet in collisionless magnetic reconnection

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

Jain, Neeraj; Büchner, Jörg; Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research, Justus-Von-Liebig-Weg-3, Göttingen

In collisionless magnetic reconnection, electron current sheets (ECS) with thickness of the order of an electron inertial length form embedded inside ion current sheets with thickness of the order of an ion inertial length. These ECS's are susceptible to a variety of instabilities which have the potential to affect the reconnection rate and/or the structure of reconnection. We carry out a three dimensional linear eigen mode stability analysis of electron shear flow driven instabilities of an electron scale current sheet using an electron-magnetohydrodynamic plasma model. The linear growth rate of the fastest unstable mode was found to drop with themore » thickness of the ECS. We show how the nature of the instability depends on the thickness of the ECS. As long as the half-thickness of the ECS is close to the electron inertial length, the fastest instability is that of a translational symmetric two-dimensional (no variations along flow direction) tearing mode. For an ECS half thickness sufficiently larger or smaller than the electron inertial length, the fastest mode is not a tearing mode any more and may have finite variations along the flow direction. Therefore, the generation of plasmoids in a nonlinear evolution of ECS is likely only when the half-thickness is close to an electron inertial length.« less

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.

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).

Propagation of electromagnetic soliton in a spin polarized current driven weak ferromagnetic nanowire

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Senthil Kumar, V.; Kavitha, L.; Gopi, D.

2017-11-01

We investigate the nonlinear spin dynamics of a spin polarized current driven anisotropic ferromagnetic nanowire with Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI) under the influence of electromagnetic wave (EMW) propagating along the axis of the nanowire. The magnetization dynamics and electromagnetic wave propagation in the ferromagnetic nanowire with weak anti-symmetric interaction is governed by a coupled vector Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert and Maxwell's equations. These coupled nonlinear vector equations are recasted into the extended derivative nonlinear Schrödinger (EDNLS) equation in the framework of reductive perturbation method. As it is well known, the modulational instability is a precursor for the emergence of localized envelope structures of various kinds, we compute the instability criteria for the weak ferromagnetic nanowire through linear stability analysis. Further, we invoke the homogeneous balance method to construct kink and anti-solitonic like electromagnetic (EM) soliton profiles for the EDNLS equation. We also explore the appreciable effect of the anti-symmetric weak interaction on the magnetization components of the propagating EM soliton. We find that the combination of spin-polarized current and the anti-symmetric DMI have a profound effect on the propagating EMW in a weak ferromagnetic nanowire. Thus, the anti-symmetric DMI in a spin polarized current driven ferromagnetic nanowire supports the lossless propagation of EM solitons, which may have potential applications in magnetic data storage devices.

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

Origin of Degradation Phenomenon under Drain Bias Stress for Oxide Thin Film Transistors using IGZO and IGO Channel Layers

PubMed Central

Bak, Jun Yong; Kang, Youngho; Yang, Shinhyuk; Ryu, Ho-Jun; Hwang, Chi-Sun; Han, Seungwu; Yoon, Sung-Min

2015-01-01

Top-gate structured thin film transistors (TFTs) using In-Ga-Zn-O (IGZO) and In-Ga-O (IGO) channel compositions were investigated to reveal a feasible origin for degradation phenomenon under drain bias stress (DBS). DBS-driven instability in terms of VTH shift, deviation of the SS value, and increase in the on-state current were detected only for the IGZO-TFT, in contrast to the IGO-TFT, which did not demonstrate VTH shift. These behaviors were visually confirmed via nanoscale transmission electron microscopy and energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy observations. To understand the degradation mechanism, we performed ab initio molecular dynamic simulations on the liquid phases of IGZO and IGO. The diffusivities of Ga and In atoms were enhanced in IGZO, confirming the degradation mechanism to be increased atomic diffusion. PMID:25601183

Origin of degradation phenomenon under drain bias stress for oxide thin film transistors using IGZO and IGO channel layers.

PubMed

Bak, Jun Yong; Kang, Youngho; Yang, Shinhyuk; Ryu, Ho-Jun; Hwang, Chi-Sun; Han, Seungwu; Yoon, Sung-Min

2015-01-20

Top-gate structured thin film transistors (TFTs) using In-Ga-Zn-O (IGZO) and In-Ga-O (IGO) channel compositions were investigated to reveal a feasible origin for degradation phenomenon under drain bias stress (DBS). DBS-driven instability in terms of V(TH) shift, deviation of the SS value, and increase in the on-state current were detected only for the IGZO-TFT, in contrast to the IGO-TFT, which did not demonstrate V(TH) shift. These behaviors were visually confirmed via nanoscale transmission electron microscopy and energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy observations. To understand the degradation mechanism, we performed ab initio molecular dynamic simulations on the liquid phases of IGZO and IGO. The diffusivities of Ga and In atoms were enhanced in IGZO, confirming the degradation mechanism to be increased atomic diffusion.

Modeling and design of radiative hydrodynamic experiments with X-ray Thomson Scattering measurements on NIF

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ma, K. H.; Lefevre, H. J.; Belancourt, P. X.; MacDonald, M. J.; Doeppner, T.; Keiter, P. A.; Kuranz, C. C.; Johnsen, E.

2017-10-01

Recent experiments at the National Ignition Facility studied the effect of radiation on shock-driven hydrodynamic instability growth. X-ray radiography images from these experiments indicate that perturbation growth is lower in highly radiative shocks compared to shocks with negligible radiation flux. The reduction in instability growth is attributed to ablation from higher temperatures in the foam for highly radiative shocks. The proposed design implements the X-ray Thomson Scattering (XRTS) technique in the radiative shock tube platform to measure electron temperatures and densities in the shocked foam. We model these experiments with CRASH, an Eulerian radiation hydrodynamics code with block-adaptive mesh refinement, multi-group radiation transport and electron heat conduction. Simulations are presented with SiO2 and carbon foams for both the high temperature, radiative shock and the low-temperature, hydrodynamic shock cases. Calculations from CRASH give estimations for shock speed, electron temperature, effective ionization, and other quantities necessary for designing the XRTS diagnostic measurement. This work is funded by the LLNL under subcontract B614207, and was performed under the auspices of the U.S. DOE by LLNL under Contract No. DE-AC52-07NA27344.

Excitation of Ion Cyclotron Waves by Ion and Electron Beams in Compensated-current System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xiang, L.; Wu, D. J.; Chen, L.

2018-04-01

Ion cyclotron waves (ICWs) can play important roles in the energization of plasma particles. Charged particle beams are ubiquitous in space, and astrophysical plasmas and can effectively lead to the generation of ICWs. Based on linear kinetic theory, we consider the excitation of ICWs by ion and electron beams in a compensated-current system. We also investigate the competition between reactive and kinetic instabilities. The results show that ion and electron beams both are capable of generating ICWs. For ICWs driven by ion beams, there is a critical beam velocity, v bi c , and critical wavenumber, k z c , for a fixed beam density; the reactive instability dominates the growth of ICWs when the ion-beam velocity {v}{bi}> {v}{bi}c and the wavenumber {k}z< {k}zc, and the maximal growth rate is reached at {k}z≃ 2{k}zc/3 for a given {v}{bi}> {v}{bi}c. For the slow ion beams with {v}{bi}< {v}{bi}c, the kinetic instability can provide important growth rates of ICWs. On the other hand, ICWs driven by electron beams are excited only by the reactive instability, but require a critical velocity, {v}{be}c\\gg {v}{{A}} (the Alfvén velocity). In addition, the comparison between the approximate analytical results based on the kinetic theory and the exact numerical calculation based on the fluid model demonstrates that the reactive instabilities can well agree quantitatively with the numerical results by the fluid model. Finally, some possible applications of the present results to ICWs observed in the solar wind are briefly discussed.

A new class of galactic discrete gamma ray sources: Chaotic winds of massive stars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chen, Wan; White, Richard L.

1992-01-01

We propose a new class of galactic discrete gamma-ray sources, the chaotic, high mass-loss-rate winds from luminous early-type stars. Early-type stellar winds are highly unstable due to intrinsic line-driven instabilities, and so are permeated by numerous strong shocks. These shocks can accelerate a small fraction of thermal electrons and ions to relativistic energies via the first-order Fermi mechanism. A power-law-like photon spectrum extending from keV to above 10 MeV energies is produced by inverse Compton scattering of the extremely abundant stellar UV photons by the relativistic electrons. In addition, a typical pi(sup 0)-decay gamma-ray spectrum is generated by proton-ion interactions in the densest part of the winds.

Stabilizing electrodeposition in elastic solid electrolytes containing immobilized anions

PubMed Central

Tikekar, Mukul D.; Archer, Lynden A.; Koch, Donald L.

2016-01-01

Ion transport–driven instabilities in electrodeposition of metals that lead to morphological instabilities and dendrites are receiving renewed attention because mitigation strategies are needed for improving rechargeability and safety of lithium batteries. The growth rate of these morphological instabilities can be slowed by immobilizing a fraction of anions within the electrolyte to reduce the electric field at the metal electrode. We analyze the role of elastic deformation of the solid electrolyte with immobilized anions and present theory combining the roles of separator elasticity and modified transport to evaluate the factors affecting the stability of planar deposition over a wide range of current densities. We find that stable electrodeposition can be easily achieved even at relatively high current densities in electrolytes/separators with moderate polymer-like mechanical moduli, provided a small fraction of anions are immobilized in the separator. PMID:27453943

Plasma instability control toward high fluence, high energy x-ray continuum source

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Poole, Patrick; Kirkwood, Robert; Wilks, Scott; Blue, Brent

2017-10-01

X-ray source development at Omega and NIF seeks to produce powerful radiation with high conversion efficiency for material effects studies in extreme fluence environments. While current K-shell emission sources can achieve tens of kJ on NIF up to 22 keV, the conversion efficiency drops rapidly for higher Z K-alpha energies. Pulsed power devices are efficient generators of MeV bremsstrahlung x-rays but are unable to produce lower energy photons in isolation, and so a capability gap exists for high fluence x-rays in the 30 - 100 keV range. A continuum source under development utilizes instabilities like Stimulated Raman Scattering (SRS) to generate plasma waves that accelerate electrons into high-Z converter walls. Optimizing instabilities using existing knowledge on their elimination will allow sufficiently hot and high yield electron distributions to create a superior bremsstrahlung x-ray source. An Omega experiment has been performed to investigate the optimization of SRS and high energy x-rays using Au hohlraums with parylene inner lining and foam fills, producing 10× greater x-ray yield at 50 keV than conventional direct drive experiments on the facility. Experiment and simulation details on this campaign will be presented. This work was performed under the auspices of the US DoE by LLNL under Contract No. DE-AC52-07NA27344.

Collisionless effects on beam-return current systems in solar flares

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vlahos, L.; Rowland, H. L.

1985-01-01

A theoretical study of the beam-return current system (BRCS) in solar flares shows that the precipitating electrons modify the way in which the return current (RC) is carried by the background plasma. In particular it is found that the RC is not carried by the bulk of the electrons but by a small number of high-velocity electrons. For beam/plasma densities exceeding approximately 0.001, this can reduce the effects of collisions and heating by the RC. For higher-density beams, where the RC could be unstable to current-driven instabilities, the effects of strong turbulence anomalous resistivity prevent the appearance of such instabilities. The main conclusion is that the BRCS is interconnected, and that the beam-generated strong turbulence determines how the RC is carried.

Transverse beam motion on the second axis of the dual axis radiographic hydrodynamic test facility

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

Caporaso, G J; Chen, Y J; Fawley, W M

1999-03-23

The accelerator on the second-axis of the Dual-Axis Radiographic Hydrodynamic Test (DARHT-II) facility will generate a 20 MeV, 2-4 kA, 2 µs long electron beam with an energy variation {<=} ± 0.5%. Four short current pulses with various lengths will be selected out of this 2 µs long current pulse and delivered to an x-ray converter target. The DARHT-II radiographic resolution requires these electron pulses to be focused to sub-millimeter spots on Bremsstrahlung targets with peak-to-peak transverse beam motion less than a few hundred microns. We have modeled the transverse beam motion, including the beam breakup instability, corkscrew motion, transversemore » resistive wall instability and beam induced transverse deflection in the kicker system, from the DARHT-II injector exit to the x-ray converter target. Simulations show that the transverse motion at the x-ray converters satisfies the DARHT-II radiographic requirements.« less

On the classification of buoyancy-driven chemo-hydrodynamic instabilities of chemical fronts.

PubMed

D'Hernoncourt, J; Zebib, A; De Wit, A

2007-03-01

Exothermic autocatalytic fronts traveling in the gravity field can be deformed by buoyancy-driven convection due to solutal and thermal contributions to changes in the density of the product versus the reactant solutions. We classify the possible instability mechanisms, such as Rayleigh-Benard, Rayleigh-Taylor, and double-diffusive mechanisms known to operate in such conditions in a parameter space spanned by the corresponding solutal and thermal Rayleigh numbers. We also discuss a counterintuitive instability leading to buoyancy-driven deformation of statically stable fronts across which a solute-light and hot solution lies on top of a solute-heavy and colder one. The mechanism of this chemically driven instability lies in the coupling of a localized reaction zone and of differential diffusion of heat and mass. Dispersion curves of the various cases are analyzed. A discussion of the possible candidates of autocatalytic reactions and experimental conditions necessary to observe the various instability scenarios is presented.

Impact of convection and resistivity on angular momentum transport in dwarf novae

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Scepi, N.; Lesur, G.; Dubus, G.; Flock, M.

2018-01-01

The eruptive cycles of dwarf novae are thought to be due to a thermal-viscous instability in the accretion disk surrounding the white dwarf. This model has long been known to imply enhanced angular momentum transport in the accretion disk during outburst. This is measured by the stress to pressure ratio α, with α ≈ 0.1 required in outburst compared to α ≈ 0.01 in quiescence. Such an enhancement in α has recently been observed in simulations of turbulent transport driven by the magneto-rotational instability (MRI) when convection is present, without requiring a net magnetic flux. We independently recover this result by carrying out PLUTO magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations of vertically stratified, radiative, shearing boxes with the thermodynamics and opacities appropriate to dwarf novae. The results are robust against the choice of vertical boundary conditions. The thermal equilibrium solutions found by the simulations trace the well-known S-curve in the density-temperature plane that constitutes the core of the disk thermal-viscous instability model. We confirm that the high values of α ≈ 0.1 occur near the tip of the hot branch of the S-curve, where convection is active. However, we also present thermally stable simulations at lower temperatures that have standard values of α ≈ 0.03 despite the presence of vigorous convection. We find no simple relationship between α and the strength of the convection, as measured by the ratio of convective to radiative flux. The cold branch is only very weakly ionized so, in the second part of this work, we studied the impact of non-ideal MHD effects on transport. Ohmic dissipation is the dominant effect in the conditions of quiescent dwarf novae. We include resistivity in the simulations and find that the MRI-driven transport is quenched (α ≈ 0) below the critical density at which the magnetic Reynolds number Rm ≤ 104. This is problematic because the X-ray emission observed in quiescent systems requires ongoing accretion onto the white dwarf. We verify that these X-rays cannot self-sustain MRI-driven turbulence by photo-ionizing the disk and discuss possible solutions to the issue of accretion in quiescence.

Ionization instability induced striations in low frequency and pulsed He/H2O atmospheric pressure plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kawamura, E.; Lieberman, M. A.; Lichtenberg, A. J.

2018-01-01

In previous work [Kawamura et al., Plasma Sources Sci. Technol. 25, 054009 (2016)] and [Kawamura et al., J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 50, 145204 (2017)], 1D kinetic particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations of narrow gap (1 to 4 mm), high frequency (27 MHz) or dc-driven, He/2%H2O atmospheric pressure plasmas (APPs) showed an ionization instability resulting in standing striations (spatial oscillations) in the bulk plasma. We developed a steady-state striation theory which showed that the striations are due to non-local electron kinetics. In both the high frequency and dc-driven cases, the equilibrium electron density n0 in the plasma bulk was stationary. In this work, we first conduct 1D PIC simulations of a 1 mm gap He/2%H2O APP, driven by a sinusoidal current at a low frequency of f = 50 kHz such that ω = 2πf is well below the ionization frequency νiz. In this case, n0 varies with time, and we observe a time-varying instability which quasistatically depends on n0(t). At each phase of the rf cycle, the discharge resembles a dc discharge at the same n0. At higher frequencies (200 kHz-1 MHz), ω approaches νiz, and quasistatic equilibrium at each phase breaks down. The discharge is also driven with a 200 kHz, 50% duty cycle square wave pulse with a short rise and fall time of 0.1 μs in an attempt to directly measure the striation growth rate s during the on-cycle before it saturated. However, the spike in current during the rise time leads to a spike in electron temperature Te and hence νiz and s at the beginning of the rise which saturated during the beginning of the on-cycle. To predict the instability growth rate and saturation during and after the current spike, we extend our striation theory to include time-varying n0, Te, νiz, as well as terms for the nonlinear saturation and noise floor of the striation amplitude. The time-varying global model predictions are compared to the PIC simulations, showing reasonable agreement.

Experimental Observation of Nonlinear Mode Coupling In the Ablative Rayleigh-Taylor Instability on the NIF

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martinez, David

2015-11-01

We investigate on the National Ignition Facility (NIF) the ablative Rayleigh-Taylor (RT) instability in the transition from linear to highly nonlinear regimes. This work is part of the Discovery Science Program on NIF and of particular importance to indirect-drive inertial confinement fusion (ICF) where careful attention to the form of the rise to final peak drive is calculated to prevent the RT instability from shredding the ablator in-flight and leading to ablator mixing into the cold fuel. The growth of the ablative RT instability was investigated using a planar plastic foil with pre-imposed two-dimensional broadband modulations and diagnosed using x-ray radiography. The foil was accelerated for 12ns by the x-ray drive created in a gas-filled Au radiation cavity with a radiative temperature plateau at 175 eV. The dependence on initial conditions was investigated by systematically changing the modulation amplitude, ablator material and the modulation pattern. For each of these cases bubble mergers were observed and the nonlinear evolution of the RT instability showed insensitivity to the initial conditions. This experiment provides critical data needed to validate current theories on the ablative RT instability for indirect drive that relies on the ablative stabilization of short-scale modulations for ICF ignition. This paper will compare the experimental data to the current nonlinear theories. This work was performed under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under contract DE-AC52-07NA27344. Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC.

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.

Coherent Structures in Magnetic Confinement Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Horton, W.

2006-04-01

Coherent structures are long-lived, nonlinear localized solutions of the selfconsistient plasma-electromagnetic field equations. They contain appreciable energy density and control various transport and magnetic reconnection processes in plasmas. These structures are self-binding from the nonlinearity balancing, or overcoming, the wave dispersion of energy in smaller amplitude structures. The structures evolve out of the nonlinear interactions in various instabilities or external driving fields. The theoretical basis for these structures are reviewed giving examples from various plasma instabilities and their reduced descriptions from the appropriate partial differential equations. A classic example from drift waves is the formation of monopole, dipole and tripolar vortex structures which have been created in both laboratory and simulation experiments. For vortices, the long life-time and nonlinear interactions of the structures can be understood with conservation laws of angular momentum given by the vorticity field associated with dynamics. Other morphologies include mushrooms, Kelvin-Helmholtz vorticity roll-up, streamers and blobs. We show simulation movies of various examples drawn from ETG modes in NSTX, H-mode like shear flow layers in LAPD and the vortices measured with soft x-ray tomography in the GAMMA 10 tandem mirror. Coherent current-sheet structures form in driven magnetic reconnection layers and control the rate of transformation of magnetic energy to flow and thermal energy.

Transport barriers in bootstrap-driven tokamaks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Staebler, G. M.; Garofalo, A. M.; Pan, C.; McClenaghan, J.; Van Zeeland, M. A.; Lao, L. L.

2018-05-01

Experiments have demonstrated improved energy confinement due to the spontaneous formation of an internal transport barrier in high bootstrap fraction discharges. Gyrokinetic analysis, and quasilinear predictive modeling, demonstrates that the observed transport barrier is caused by the suppression of turbulence primarily from the large Shafranov shift. It is shown that the Shafranov shift can produce a bifurcation to improved confinement in regions of positive magnetic shear or a continuous reduction in transport for weak or negative magnetic shear. Operation at high safety factor lowers the pressure gradient threshold for the Shafranov shift-driven barrier formation. Two self-organized states of the internal and edge transport barrier are observed. It is shown that these two states are controlled by the interaction of the bootstrap current with magnetic shear, and the kinetic ballooning mode instability boundary. Election scale energy transport is predicted to be dominant in the inner 60% of the profile. Evidence is presented that energetic particle-driven instabilities could be playing a role in the thermal energy transport in this region.

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.

The effects of pre-ionization using a shunt resistor on reproducibility of the x-ray emission in a dense plasma focus device

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Piriaei, D.; Yousefi, H. R.; Mahabadi, T. D.; SalarElahi, A.; Ghoranneviss, M.

2017-08-01

In this research, the effects of pre-ionization using a shunt resistor on reproducibility of x-ray emission in a Mather type plasma focus device have been studied. This technique increased the intensities of the emitted x-rays from argon as the filling gas of the device and made the x-ray yields with similar intensities reproducible. A Mirnov coil was also used to record the variations of the plasma's magnetic field, and the wavelet spectrums of these recorded signals showed the reduced instabilities due to the application of the pre-ionization technique. Moreover, it was demonstrated that this technique was capable of reducing the number of initial runaway electrons that could increase the impurities and instabilities inside the plasma. In addition to the above-mentioned features, this technique could improve the uniform formation of the current sheath during the breakdown phase that might later lead to a high quality pinch and high intensity emitted x-rays.

Instability of Insulators near Quantum Phase Transitions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Doron, A.; Tamir, I.; Levinson, T.; Ovadia, M.; Sacépé, B.; Shahar, D.

2017-12-01

Thin films of amorphous indium oxide undergo a magnetic field driven superconducting to insulator quantum phase transition. In the insulating phase, the current-voltage characteristics show large current discontinuities due to overheating of electrons. We show that the onset voltage for the discontinuities vanishes as we approach the quantum critical point. As a result, the insulating phase becomes unstable with respect to any applied voltage making it, at least experimentally, immeasurable. We emphasize that unlike previous reports of the absence of linear response near quantum phase transitions, in our system, the departure from equilibrium is discontinuous. Because the conditions for these discontinuities are satisfied in most insulators at low temperatures, and due to the decay of all characteristic energy scales near quantum phase transitions, we believe that this instability is general and should occur in various systems while approaching their quantum critical point. Accounting for this instability is crucial for determining the critical behavior of systems near the transition.

Differential Activity-Driven Instabilities in Biphasic Active Matter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weber, Christoph A.; Rycroft, Chris H.; Mahadevan, L.

2018-06-01

Active stresses can cause instabilities in contractile gels and living tissues. Here we provide a generic hydrodynamic theory that treats these systems as a mixture of two phases of varying activity and different mechanical properties. We find that differential activity between the phases causes a uniform mixture to undergo a demixing instability. We follow the nonlinear evolution of the instability and characterize a phase diagram of the resulting patterns. Our study complements other instability mechanisms in mixtures driven by differential adhesion, differential diffusion, differential growth, and differential motion.

The USGS World Energy Program

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ahlbrandt, Thomas S.

1997-01-01

The world has recently experienced rapid change to market-driven economies and increasing reliance on petroleum supplies from areas of political instability. The interplay of unprecedented growth of the global population, increasing worldwide energy demand, and political instability in two major petroleum exporting regions (the former Soviet Union and the Middle East) requires that the United States maintains a current, reliable, objective assessment of the world's energy resources. The need is compounded by the environmental implications of rapid increases in coal use in the Far East and international pressure on consumption of fossil fuels.

Preconditioned wire array Z-pinches driven by a double pulse current generator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Jian; Lu, Yihan; Sun, Fengju; Li, Xingwen; Jiang, Xiaofeng; Wang, Zhiguo; Zhang, Daoyuan; Qiu, Aici; Lebedev, Sergey

2018-07-01

Suppression of the core-corona structure and wire ablation in wire array Z-pinches is investigated using a novel double pulse current generator ‘Qin-1’ facility. The ‘Qin-1’ facility allows coupling a ∼10 kA 20 ns prepulse generator with a ∼0.8 MA 160 ns main current generator. The tailored prepulse current preheats wires to a gaseous state and the time interval between the prepulse and the main current pulse allows formation of a more uniform mass distribution for the implosion. The implosion of a gasified two aluminum-wire array showed no ablation phase and allowed all array mass to participate in the implosion. The initial perturbations formed from the inhomogeneous ablation were suppressed, however, the magneto Rayleigh–Taylor (MRT) instability during the implosion was still significant and further researches on the generation and development of the MRT instabilities of this gasified wire array are needed.

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.

On the Origin of Hard X-ray Structures in the VELA Supernova Remnant

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gvaramadze, V. V.

1998-12-01

We propose an alternative explanation for the origin of two hard X-ray structures recently discovered in the central part of the Vela supernova remnant (SNR) by Willmore et al. (1992, MNRAS, 254, 139) and Markwardt & Ogelman (1995, Nature, 375, 40; 1997, ApJ, 480, L13), and interpreted as a plerion and a pulsar jet respectively. We suggest that the first structure is a dense material shed by the supernova progenitor star during the red supergiant stage, and reheated after the supernova exploded, while the "jet" is simply a dense filament in the Vela SNR's general shell, whose origin is connected with the Rayleigh-Taylor instability in the (main-sequence) wind-driven shell reaccelerated by the supernova blast wave.

A universal model for solar eruptions.

PubMed

Wyper, Peter F; Antiochos, Spiro K; DeVore, C Richard

2017-04-26

Magnetically driven eruptions on the Sun, from stellar-scale coronal mass ejections to small-scale coronal X-ray and extreme-ultraviolet jets, have frequently been observed to involve the ejection of the highly stressed magnetic flux of a filament. Theoretically, these two phenomena have been thought to arise through very different mechanisms: coronal mass ejections from an ideal (non-dissipative) process, whereby the energy release does not require a change in the magnetic topology, as in the kink or torus instability; and coronal jets from a resistive process involving magnetic reconnection. However, it was recently concluded from new observations that all coronal jets are driven by filament ejection, just like large mass ejections. This suggests that the two phenomena have physically identical origin and hence that a single mechanism may be responsible, that is, either mass ejections arise from reconnection, or jets arise from an ideal instability. Here we report simulations of a coronal jet driven by filament ejection, whereby a region of highly sheared magnetic field near the solar surface becomes unstable and erupts. The results show that magnetic reconnection causes the energy release via 'magnetic breakout'-a positive-feedback mechanism between filament ejection and reconnection. We conclude that if coronal mass ejections and jets are indeed of physically identical origin (although on different spatial scales) then magnetic reconnection (rather than an ideal process) must also underlie mass ejections, and that magnetic breakout is a universal model for solar eruptions.

PIC simulation of a thermal anisotropy-driven Weibel instability in a circular rarefaction wave

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dieckmann, M. E.; Sarri, G.; Murphy, G. C.; Bret, A.; Romagnani, L.; Kourakis, I.; Borghesi, M.; Ynnerman, A.; O'C Drury, L.

2012-02-01

The expansion of an initially unmagnetized planar rarefaction wave has recently been shown to trigger a thermal anisotropy-driven Weibel instability (TAWI), which can generate magnetic fields from noise levels. It is examined here whether the TAWI can also grow in a curved rarefaction wave. The expansion of an initially unmagnetized circular plasma cloud, which consists of protons and hot electrons, into a vacuum is modelled for this purpose with a two-dimensional particle-in-cell (PIC) simulation. It is shown that the momentum transfer from the electrons to the radially accelerating protons can indeed trigger a TAWI. Radial current channels form and the aperiodic growth of a magnetowave is observed, which has a magnetic field that is oriented orthogonal to the simulation plane. The induced electric field implies that the electron density gradient is no longer parallel to the electric field. Evidence is presented here that this electric field modification triggers a second magnetic instability, which results in a rotational low-frequency magnetowave. The relevance of the TAWI is discussed for the growth of small-scale magnetic fields in astrophysical environments, which are needed to explain the electromagnetic emissions by astrophysical jets. It is outlined how this instability could be examined experimentally.

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.

Design and Construction of a Shock Tube Experiment for Multiphase Instability Experiments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Middlebrooks, John; Black, Wolfgang; Avgoustopoulos, Constantine; Allen, Roy; Kathakapa, Raj; Guo, Qiwen; McFarland, Jacob

2016-11-01

Hydrodynamic instabilities are important phenomena that have a wide range of practical applications in engineering and physics. One such instability, the shock driven multiphase instability (SDMI), arises when a shockwave accelerates an interface between two particle-gas mixtures with differing multiphase properties. The SDMI is present in high energy explosives, scramjets, and supernovae. A practical way of studying shock wave driven instabilities is through experimentation in a shock tube laboratory. This poster presentation will cover the design and data acquisition process of the University of Missouri's Fluid Mixing Shock Tube Laboratory. In the shock tube, a pressure generated shockwave is passed through a multiphase interface, creating the SDMI instability. This can be photographed for observation using high speed cameras, lasers, and advance imaging techniques. Important experimental parameters such as internal pressure and temperature, and mass flow rates of gases can be set and recorded by remotely controlled devices. The experimental facility provides the University of Missouri's Fluid Mixing Shock Tube Laboratory with the ability to validate simulated experiments and to conduct further inquiry into the field of shock driven multiphase hydrodynamic instabilities. Advisor.

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

Simulations and measurements of hot-electron generation driven by the multibeam two-plasmon-decay instability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Follett, R. K.; Myatt, J. F.; Shaw, J. G.; Michel, D. T.; Solodov, A. A.; Edgell, D. H.; Yaakobi, B.; Froula, D. H.

2017-10-01

Multibeam experiments relevant to direct-drive inertial confinement fusion show the importance of nonlinear saturation mechanisms in the common-wave two-plasmon-decay (TPD) instability. Planar-target experiments on the OMEGA laser used hard x-ray measurements to study the influence of the linear common-wave growth rate on TPD-driven hot-electron production in two drive-beam configurations and over a range of overlapped laser intensities from 3.6 to 15.2 × 1014 W/cm2. The beam configuration with the larger linear common-wave growth rate had a lower intensity threshold for the onset of hot-electron production, but the linear growth rate made no significant impact on hot-electron production at high intensities. The experiments were modeled in 3-D using a hybrid code LPSE (laser plasma simulation environment) that combines a wave solver with a particle tracker to self-consistently calculate the electron velocity distribution and evolve electron Landau damping. Good quantitative agreement was obtained between the simulated and measured hot-electron distributions using a novel technique to account for macroscopic spatial and temporal variations that were present in the experiments.

Simulations and measurements of hot-electron generation driven by the multibeam two-plasmon-decay instability

DOE PAGES

Follett, R. K.; Myatt, J. F.; Shaw, J. G.; ...

2017-10-30

We report that multiple-beam experiments relevant to direct-drive inertial confinement fusion show the importance of nonlinear saturation mechanisms in the common-wave two-plasmon-decay (TPD) instability. Planar target experiments on the OMEGA laser used hard-x-ray measurements to study the influence of the linear common-wave growth rate on TPD driven hot-electron production in two drive beam configurations and over a range of overlapped laser intensities from 3.6 to 15.2 x 10 14 W/cm 2. The beam configuration with the larger linear common-wave growth rate had a lower intensity threshold for the onset of hot-electron production, but the linear growth rate did not havemore » a significant impact on hot-electron production at high intensities. The experiments were modeled in 3-D using a hybrid code (LPSE) that combines a wave solver with a particle tracker to self-consistently calculate the electron velocity distribution and evolve electron Landau damping. Finally, good quantitative agreement was obtained between the simulated and measured hotel-electron distributions using a novel technique to account for macroscopic spatial and temporal variations that are present in the experiments.« less

Simulations and measurements of hot-electron generation driven by the multibeam two-plasmon-decay instability

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

Follett, R. K.; Myatt, J. F.; Shaw, J. G.

We report that multiple-beam experiments relevant to direct-drive inertial confinement fusion show the importance of nonlinear saturation mechanisms in the common-wave two-plasmon-decay (TPD) instability. Planar target experiments on the OMEGA laser used hard-x-ray measurements to study the influence of the linear common-wave growth rate on TPD driven hot-electron production in two drive beam configurations and over a range of overlapped laser intensities from 3.6 to 15.2 x 10 14 W/cm 2. The beam configuration with the larger linear common-wave growth rate had a lower intensity threshold for the onset of hot-electron production, but the linear growth rate did not havemore » a significant impact on hot-electron production at high intensities. The experiments were modeled in 3-D using a hybrid code (LPSE) that combines a wave solver with a particle tracker to self-consistently calculate the electron velocity distribution and evolve electron Landau damping. Finally, good quantitative agreement was obtained between the simulated and measured hotel-electron distributions using a novel technique to account for macroscopic spatial and temporal variations that are present in the experiments.« less

Talbot-Lau x-ray interferometry for high energy density plasma diagnostic.

PubMed

Stutman, D; Finkenthal, M

2011-11-01

High resolution density diagnostics are difficult in high energy density laboratory plasmas (HEDLP) experiments due to the scarcity of probes that can penetrate above solid density plasmas. Hard x-rays are one possible probe for such dense plasmas. We study the possibility of applying an x-ray method recently developed for medical imaging, differential phase-contrast with Talbot-Lau interferometers, for the diagnostic of electron density and small-scale hydrodynamic instabilities in HEDLP experiments. The Talbot method uses micro-periodic gratings to measure the refraction and ultra-small angle scatter of x-rays through an object and is attractive for HEDLP diagnostic due to its capability to work with incoherent and polychromatic x-ray sources such as the laser driven backlighters used for HEDLP radiography. Our paper studies the potential of the Talbot method for HEDLP diagnostic, its adaptation to the HEDLP environment, and its extension of high x-ray energy using micro-periodic mirrors. The analysis is illustrated with experimental results obtained using a laboratory Talbot interferometer. © 2011 American Institute of Physics

On magnetohydrodynamic thermal instabilities in magnetic flux tubes. [in plane parallel stellar atmosphere in LTE and hydrostatic equilibrium

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Massaglia, S.; Ferrari, A.; Bodo, G.; Kalkofen, W.; Rosner, R.

1985-01-01

The stability of current-driven filamentary modes in magnetic flux tubes embedded in a plane-parallel atmosphere in LTE and in hydrostatic equilibrium is discussed. Within the tube, energy transport by radiation only is considered. The dominant contribution to the opacity is due to H- ions and H atoms (in the Paschen continuum). A region in the parameter space of the equilibrium configuration in which the instability is effective is delimited, and the relevance of this process for the formation of structured coronae in late-type stars and accretion disks is discussed.

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

Modeling X-ray Absorbers in AGNs with MHD-Driven Accretion-Disk Winds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fukumura, Keigo; Kazanas, D.; Shrader, C. R.; Tombesi, F.; Contopoulos, J.; Behar, E.

2013-04-01

We have proposed a systematic view of the observed X-ray absorbers, namely warm absorbers (WAs) in soft X-ray and highly-ionized ultra-fast outflows (UFOs), in the context of magnetically-driven accretion-disk wind models. While potentially complicated by variability and thermal instability in these energetic outflows, in this simplistic model we have calculated 2D kinematic field as well as density and ionization structure of the wind with density profile of 1/r corresponding to a constant column distribution per decade of ionization parameter. In particular we show semi-analytically that the inner layer of the disk-wind manifests itself as the strongly-ionized fast outflows while the outer layer is identified as the moderately-ionized absorbers. The computed characteristics of these two apparently distinct absorbers are consistent with X-ray data (i.e. a factor of ~100 difference in column and ionization parameters as well as low wind velocity vs. near-relativistic flow). With the predicted contour curves for these wind parameters one can constrain allowed regions for the presence of WAs and UFOs.The model further implies that the UFO's gas pressure is comparable to that of the observed radio jet in 3C111 suggesting that the magnetized disk-wind with density profile of 1/r is a viable agent to help sustain such a self-collimated jet at small radii.

Rayleigh-Taylor instability experiments in cryogenic deuterium

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hansen, J. F.; Smalyuk, V. A.

2005-10-01

We report on experiments under way at the Omega laser, using cryogenic deuterium to study Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities in laser targets. These instabilities are important in astrophysical situations (e.g., mixing of the different shells during a supernova explosion) and in inertial fusion (during the compression stage of a fusion target). They can be studied in small (˜1 mm) shock tubes filled with one heavy and one light material, with an interface between the two materials that is machined to seed the instability. A high-energy laser (˜5 kJ) drives a shock from the heavy to the light material. The evolution of the interface is studied using gated x-ray cameras, where x-ray illumination is obtained from additional laser beams focused on metal backlighter foils. Traditionally the heavy material is CH (1 g/cm^3) doped with I or Br for improved contrast, while the light material is a low-density (˜0.1 g/cm^3) C foam. The goal of the current experiments is to determine if contrast can be improved even further by replacing the foam with cryogenic deuterium, which has a density similar to the foam, but a lower x-ray opacity allowing clearer images, including images taken at late times in the evolution. Work performed under the auspices of the Department of Energy by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under contract number W-7405-ENG-48.

Physics conditions for robust control of tearing modes in a rotating tokamak plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lazzaro, E.; Borgogno, D.; Brunetti, D.; Comisso, L.; Fevrier, O.; Grasso, D.; Lutjens, H.; Maget, P.; Nowak, S.; Sauter, O.; Sozzi, C.; the EUROfusion MST1 Team

2018-01-01

The disruptive collapse of the current sustained equilibrium of a tokamak is perhaps the single most serious obstacle on the path toward controlled thermonuclear fusion. The current disruption is generally too fast to be identified early enough and tamed efficiently, and may be associated with a variety of initial perturbing events. However, a common feature of all disruptive events is that they proceed through the onset of magnetohydrodynamic instabilities and field reconnection processes developing magnetic islands, which eventually destroy the magnetic configuration. Therefore the avoidance and control of magnetic reconnection instabilities is of foremost importance and great attention is focused on the promising stabilization techniques based on localized rf power absorption and current drive. Here a short review is proposed of the key aspects of high power rf control schemes (specifically electron cyclotron heating and current drive) for tearing modes, considering also some effects of plasma rotation. From first principles physics considerations, new conditions are presented and discussed to achieve control of the tearing perturbations by means of high power ({P}{{EC}}≥slant {P}{{ohm}}) in regimes where strong nonlinear instabilities may be driven, such as secondary island structures, which can blur the detection and limit the control of the instabilities. Here we consider recent work that has motivated the search for the improvement of some traditional control strategies, namely the feedback schemes based on strict phase tracking of the propagating magnetic islands.

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

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

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

2014-06-01

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

The Blazar PG 1553+113 as a Binary System of Supermassive Black Holes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tavani, M.; Cavaliere, A.; Munar-Adrover, Pere; Argan, A.

2018-02-01

The BL Lac PG 1553+113 has been continuously monitored in gamma-rays with Fermi-LAT for over 9 years. Its updated light curve now includes five iterations of a main pattern comprising a high peak and a longer trough, with a period P≃ 2.2 {year}. Our analysis of 2015–2017 data confirms the occurrence in 2017 January of a new peak fitting in with the previous trend. In addition, we identify secondary peaks (“twin peaks”) that occur in closely symmetric pairs on both sides of most main peaks, including the last one; their occurrence is supported by correlated X-ray outbursts. We stress that the above features strongly point to binary dynamics in a system of two black holes (BHs) of some 108 and {10}7 {M}ȯ . At periastron the smaller BH periodically stresses the jet j 1 launched by the heavier companion, and triggers MHD–kinetic tearing instabilities. These lead to magnetic reconnections and to acceleration of electrons that produce synchrotron emission from the optical to X-ray bands, and inverse Compton scattering into the GeV range. We discuss two possible origins of the twin peaks : a single-jet model, based on added instabilities induced in j 1 by the smaller companion BH on its inner orbital arc; and a two-jet model with the smaller BH supporting its own, precessing jet j 2 that contributes lower, specific GeV emissions. Such behaviors combining time stability with amplitude variations betray plasma instabilities driven in either jet by binary dynamics, and can provide a double signature of the long-sought supermassive BH binaries.

A platform for studying the Rayleigh-Taylor and Richtmyer-Meshkov instabilities in a planar geometry at high energy density at the National Ignition Facility

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nagel, S. R.; Raman, K. S.; Huntington, C. M.; MacLaren, S. A.; Wang, P.; Barrios, M. A.; Baumann, T.; Bender, J. D.; Benedetti, L. R.; Doane, D. M.; Felker, S.; Fitzsimmons, P.; Flippo, K. A.; Holder, J. P.; Kaczala, D. N.; Perry, T. S.; Seugling, R. M.; Savage, L.; Zhou, Y.

2017-07-01

A new experimental platform has been developed at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) for studying the Rayleigh-Taylor (RT) and Richtmyer-Meshkov (RM) instabilities in a planar geometry at high-energy-densities. The platform uses 60 beams of the NIF laser to drive an initially solid shock tube containing a pre-machined interface between dense and light materials. The strong shock turns the initially solid target into a plasma and the material boundary into a fluid interface with the imprinted initial condition. The interface evolves by action of the RT and RM instabilities, and the growth is imaged with backlit x-ray radiography. We present our first data involving sinusoidal interface perturbations driven from the heavy side to the light side. Late-time radiographic images show the initial conditions reaching the deeply nonlinear regime, and an evolution of fine structure consistent with a transition to turbulence. We show preliminary comparisons with post-shot numerical simulations and discuss the implications for future campaigns.

Quasiperiodicity and Frequency Locking in Electronic Conduction in Germanium.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gwinn, Elisabeth Gray

1987-09-01

This thesis presents an experimental study of a driven spatio-temporal instability in high-field transport in cooled, p-type Ge. The instability is produced at liquid He temperatures by d.c. voltage bias above the threshold for breakdown by impurity impact ionization, and is associated experimentally with voltage-controlled negative differential conductivity. The instability is coupled to an external oscillator by applying a sinusoidal voltage bias across the Ge sample. The driven instability exhibits frequency locking, quasiperiodicity, and chaos as the frequency and amplitude of the sinusoidal bias are varied. An iterative map of the circle provides a simple model for such a coupled, dissipative nonlinear oscillator system. The transition from quasiperiodicity to chaos in this model system occurs in a universal way; for example, the circle map has a universal, self-similar power spectrum at the onset of chaos with the golden mean winding number. When normalized appropriately, the power spectrum at the onset of chaos in the driven instability in Ge displays the same structure, with good agreement between the amplitudes of the experimental and theoretical spectral peaks. The relevance of universal theory to experiment can also be tested with a spectrum of scaling indices f( alpha), which is used to compare the probability distribution for the circle map at the onset of chaos with the golden mean winding number to the distribution of probability on a Poincare section of the experimental attractor. The procedure used to find f(alpha ) for the driven transport instability overcomes the sensitivity of f(alpha) to noise and to deviation from the critical amplitude. The f( alpha) curve for the driven instability in Ge is found to be in good agreement with the universal circle map result.

Single-Mode, Supersonic Kelvin-Helmholtz Instability Experiment on OMEGA-EP

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wan, Wesley; Malamud, G.; Di Stefano, C.; Kuranz, C. C.; Drake, R.

2013-06-01

Laboratory laser experiments are able to produce and study phenomena that occur in astrophysical systems, allowing us to study mechanisms relevant to the formation, interaction, and destruction processes of stars and planets. These dynamic processes are strongly affected by hydrodynamic instabilities such as the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability, which arises when shear flow at an interface causes mixing between fluid layers. This instability is commonly observed at the boundary of cloud bands among gas planets, and can act as an atmospheric loss mechanism on planets with little to no intrinsic magnetic field. It is also observed in simulations of astrophysical systems including supernovae and wind-driven clumps. This poster discusses an upcoming experiment for the OMEGA-EP system that will produce a supersonic Kelvin-Helmholtz instability in the high-energy-density regime. This experiment will use a long laser pulse to create a sustained shock through two stratified layers separated by a seeded, single-mode perturbation. A high Mach number is believed to suppress the growth of the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability and, if sufficiently high, prevent growth entirely. We will be quantifying these effects using x-ray radiography. This work is funded by the NNSA-DS and SC-OFES Joint Program in High-Energy-Density Laboratory Plasmas, grant number DE-FG52-09NA29548, and by the National Laser User Facility Program, grant number DE-NA0000850, with additional support provided under Cooperative Agreement No. DE-FC52-08NA28302 through the Laboratory for Laser Energetics, University of Rochester.

Ubiquitous Instabilities of Dust Moving in Magnetized Gas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hopkins, Philip F.; Squire, Jonathan

2018-06-01

Squire & Hopkins (2017) showed that coupled dust-gas mixtures are generically subject to "resonant drag instabilities" (RDIs), which drive violently-growing fluctuations in both. But the role of magnetic fields and charged dust has not yet been studied. We therefore explore the RDI in gas which obeys ideal MHD and is coupled to dust via both Lorentz forces and drag, with an external acceleration (e.g., gravity, radiation) driving dust drift through gas. We show this is always unstable, at all wavelengths and non-zero values of dust-to-gas ratio, drift velocity, dust charge, "stopping time" or drag coefficient (for any drag law), or field strength; moreover growth rates depend only weakly (sub-linearly) on these parameters. Dust charge and magnetic fields do not suppress instabilities, but give rise to a large number of new instability "families," each with distinct behavior. The "MHD-wave" (magnetosonic or Alfvén) RDIs exhibit maximal growth along "resonant" angles where the modes have a phase velocity matching the corresponding MHD wave, and growth rates increase without limit with wavenumber. The "gyro" RDIs are driven by resonances between drift and Larmor frequencies, giving growth rates sharply peaked at specific wavelengths. Other instabilities include "acoustic" and "pressure-free" modes (previously studied), and a family akin to cosmic ray instabilities which appear when Lorentz forces are strong and dust streams super-Alfvénically along field lines. We discuss astrophysical applications in the warm ISM, CGM/IGM, HII regions, SNe ejecta/remnants, Solar corona, cool-star winds, GMCs, and AGN.

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

Xie, Wei; Lei, Wei-Hua; Wang, Ding-Xiong, E-mail: leiwh@hust.edu.cn

Recently, two empirical correlations related to the minimum variability timescale (MTS) of the light curves are discovered in gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). One is the anti-correlation between MTS and Lorentz factor Γ, and the other is the anti-correlation between the MTS and gamma-ray luminosity L {sub γ}. Both of the two correlations might be used to explore the activity of the central engine of GRBs. In this paper, we try to understand these empirical correlations by combining two popular black hole central engine models (namely, the Blandford and Znajek mechanism (BZ) and the neutrino-dominated accretion flow (NDAF)). By taking the MTSmore » as the timescale of viscous instability of the NDAF, we find that these correlations favor the scenario in which the jet is driven by the BZ mechanism.« less

Development of new platforms for hydrodynamic instability and asymmetry measurements in deceleration phase of indirectly-driven implosions on NIF

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pickworth, Louisa

2017-10-01

Hydrodynamic instabilities and asymmetries are a major obstacle in the quest to achieve ignition as they cause pre-existing capsule perturbations to grow and ultimately quench the fusion burn in experiments at the National Ignition Facility (NIF). This talk will review recent developments of the experimental platforms and techniques to measure high-mode instabilities and low-mode asymmetries in the deceleration phase of implosions. These new platforms provide a natural link between the acceleration-phase experiments and neutron performance of layered deuterium-tritium implosions. In one innovative technique, self-emission from the hot spot was enhanced with argon dopant to ``self-backlight'' the shell in-flight around peak compression. Experiments with pre-imposed 2-D perturbations measured instability growth factors, while experiments with 3-D, ``native-roughness'' perturbations measured shell integrity in the deceleration phase of implosions. In a complimentary technique, the inner surface of the shell, along with its low-mode asymmetries and high-mode perturbations were visualized in implosions using x-ray emission of a high-Z dopant added to the inner surface of the capsule. These new measurements were instrumental in revealing unexpected surprises and providing improved understanding of the role of instabilities and asymmetries on implosion performance. This work performed under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under Contract DE-AC52-07NA27344.

Experimental Study of Current-Driven Turbulence During Magnetic Reconnection

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

Porkolab, Miklos; Egedal-Pedersen, Jan; Fox, William

CMPD Final Report Experimental Study of Current-Driven Turbulence During Magnetic Reconnection Miklos Porkolab, PI, Jan Egedal, co-PI, William Fox, graduate student. This is the final report for Grant DE-FC02-04ER54786, MIT Participation in the Center for Multiscale Plasma Dynamics, which was active from 8/1/2004 to 7/31/2010. This Grant supported the thesis work of one MIT graduate student, William Fox, The thesis research consisted of an experimental study of the fluctuations arising during magnetic reconnection in plasmas on the Versatile Toroidal Facility (VTF) at MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Center (PSFC). The thesis was submitted and accepted by the MIT physics Department,.more » Fox, Experimental Study of Current-Driven Turbulence During Magnetic Reconnection, Ph.D. Thesis, MIT (2009). In the VTF experiment reconnection and current-sheet formation is driven by quickly changing currents in a specially arranged set of internal conductors. Previous work on this device [Egedal, et al, PRL 98, 015003, (2007)] identified a spontaneous reconnection regime. In this work fluctuations were studied using impedance-matched, high-bandwidth Langmuir probes. Strong, broadband fluctuations, with frequencies extending from near the lower-hybrid frequency [fLH = (fcefci)1/2] to the electron cyclotron frequency fce were found to arise during the reconnection events. Based on frequency and wavelength measurements, lower-hybrid waves and Trivelpiece-Gould waves were identified. The lower-hybrid waves are easiest to drive with strong perpendicular drifts or gradients which arise due to the reconnection events; an appealing possibility is strong temperature gradients. The Trivelpiece-Gould modes can result from kinetic, bump-on-tail instability of a runaway electron population energized by the reconnection events. We also observed that the turbulence is often spiky, consisting of discrete positive-potential spikes, which were identified as electron phase-space holes, a class of nonlinear solitary wave known to evolve from a strong beam-on-tail instability. We established that fast electrons were produced by magnetic reconnection. Overall, these instabilities were found to be a consequence of reconnection, specifically the strong energization of electrons, leading to steep gradients in both coordinate- and velocity-space. Estimates (using quasi-linear theory) of the anomalous resistivity due to these modes did not appear large enough to substantially impact the reconnection process. Relevant publications: W. Fox, M. Porkolab, et al, Phys. Rev. Lett. 101, 255003 (2008). W. Fox, M. Porkolab, et al, Phys. Plasmas 17, 072303, (2010).« less

shock driven instability of a multi-phase particle-gas system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McFarland, Jacob; Black, Wolfgang; Dahal, Jeevan; Morgan, Brandon

2015-11-01

A computational study of a shock driven instability of a multiphse particle-gas system is presented. This instability can evolve in a similar fashion to the Richtmyer-Meshkov (RM) instability, but has addition parameters to be considered. Particle relaxation times, and density differences of the gas and particle-gas system can be adjusted to produce results which are different from the classical RM instability. We will show simulation results from the Ares code, developed at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, which uses a particle-in-cell approach to study the effects of the particle-gas system parameters. Mixing parameters will be presented to highlight the suppression of circulation and gas mixing by the particle phase.

Diagnostics for Magnetically Driven Implosions on the 1-MA MAIZE Facility

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Campbell, Paul; Yager-Elorriaga, David; Miller, Stephanie; Woolstrum, Jeff; Jones, Michael; Jordan, Nicholas; Lau, Y. Y.; Gilgenbach, Ronald; McBride, Ryan

2017-10-01

The Michigan Accelerator for Inductive Z-pinch Experiments (MAIZE) is a 3-m-diameter Linear Transformer Driver (LTD) at the University of Michigan which supplies a fast electrical pulse (0-1 MA in 100 ns, for matched loads) to various experimental configurations. In order to better investigate these loads, new diagnostics are being developed. First, an EUV/XUV micro-channel plate pinhole camera and a UV laser imaging system are being implemented to better observe the instability structures that form during implosions. Second, an x-pinch radiography diagnostic is being developed to probe deeper into the plasma loads. Third, Rogowski coils are being developed for enhanced load current measurements. Finally, a bolometry system and photo-conducting diamond (PCD) detectors will be implemented to measure x-ray power and energy. These new systems, combined with the existing twelve-frame laser shadowgraphy, and b-dot current monitors, will be powerful tools for the investigation of imploding z-pinch experiments. This research was supported by the DOE through award DE-SC0012328, Sandia National Laboratories contract DE-NA0003525, the National Science Foundation, and a Nuclear Regulatory Commission new-faculty development Grant. D.Y.E. was supported by an NSF fello.

Blowing magnetic skyrmion bubbles

DOE PAGES

Jiang, Wanjun; Upadhyaya, Pramey; Zhang, Wei; ...

2015-06-11

The formation of soap bubbles from thin films is accompanied by topological transitions. In this paper, we show how a magnetic topological structure, a skyrmion bubble, can be generated in a solid-state system in a similar manner. Using an inhomogeneous in-plane current in a system with broken inversion symmetry, we experimentally “blow” magnetic skyrmion bubbles from a geometrical constriction. The presence of a spatially divergent spin-orbit torque gives rise to instabilities of the magnetic domain structures that are reminiscent of Rayleigh-Plateau instabilities in fluid flows. We determine a phase diagram for skyrmion formation and reveal the efficient manipulation of thesemore » dynamically created skyrmions, including depinning and motion. Finally, the demonstrated current-driven transformation from stripe domains to magnetic skyrmion bubbles could lead to progress in skyrmion-based spintronics.« less

Experimental evidence for a transient Tayler instability in a cylindrical liquid-metal column.

PubMed

Seilmayer, Martin; Stefani, Frank; Gundrum, Thomas; Weier, Tom; Gerbeth, Gunter; Gellert, Marcus; Rüdiger, Günther

2012-06-15

In the current-driven, kink-type Tayler instability (TI) a sufficiently strong azimuthal magnetic field becomes unstable against nonaxisymmetric perturbations. The TI has been discussed as a possible ingredient of the solar dynamo mechanism and a source of the helical structures in cosmic jets. It is also considered as a size-limiting factor for liquid metal batteries. We report on a liquid metal TI experiment using a cylindrical column of the eutectic alloy GaInSn to which electrical currents of up to 8 kA are applied. We present results of external magnetic field measurements that indicate the transient occurrence of the TI in good agreement with numerical predictions. The interference of TI with the competing large-scale convection, resulting from Joule heating, is also discussed.

ISEE 1 observations of electrostatic ion cyclotron waves in association with ion beams on auroral field lines from about 2.5 to 4.5 R(E)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Catell, C. A.; Mozer, F. S.; Roth, I.; Anderson, R. R.; Elphic, R. C.

1991-01-01

Quasi-monochromatic waves at about the hydrogen cyclotron frequency were observed as the ISEE 1 satellite traversed auroral field lines at radial distances of about 2.5-4.5 R(E) near midnight on June 19, 1981. Waves and both lower and higher frequencies were observed at higher altitudes, and possible electrostatic helium cyclotron and oxygen cyclotron waves occurred at lower altitudes. Upflowing hydrogen and oxygen beams and field-aligned currents occurred simultaneously. The features of the waves are most consistent with the current-driven mode. In addition, numerical studies of the linear dispersion relation, using parameters based on the observations, show that both the parallel and oblique two-stream modes and the ion-beam-driven modes were stable while oblique current-driven modes were unstable. The O(+) and H(+) distributions provide evidence for interactions with local electrostatic ion cyclotron waves and for the H(+)-O(+) two-stream instability at altitudes below the satellite.

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

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

Loop heating by D.C. electric current and electromagnetic wave emissions simulated by 3-D EM particle zone

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sakai, J. I.; Zhao, J.; Nishikawa, K.-I.

1994-01-01

We have shown that a current-carrying plasma loop can be heated by magnetic pinch driven by the pressure imbalance between inside and outside the loop, using a 3-dimensional electromagnetic (EM) particle code. Both electrons and ions in the loop can be heated in the direction perpendicular to the ambient magnetic field, therefore the perpendicular temperature can be increased about 10 times compared with the parallel temperature. This temperature anisotropy produced by the magnetic pinch heating can induce a plasma instability, by which high-frequency electromagnetic waves can be excited. The plasma current which is enhanced by the magnetic pinch can also excite a kinetic kink instability, which can heat ions perpendicular to the magnetic field. The heating mechanism of ions as well as the electromagnetic emission could be important for an understanding of the coronal loop heating and the electromagnetic wave emissions from active coronal regions.

Tunable surface plasmon instability leading to emission of radiation

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

Gumbs, Godfrey; Donostia International Physics Center; Iurov, Andrii, E-mail: aiurov@chtm.unm.edu

2015-08-07

We propose a new approach for energy conversion from a dc electric field to tunable terahertz emission based on hybrid semiconductors by combining two-dimensional (2D) crystalline layers and a thick conducting material with possible applications for chemical analysis, security scanning, medical (single-molecule) imaging, and telecommunications. The hybrid nano-structure may consist of a single or pair of sheets of graphene, silicene, or a 2D electron gas. When an electric current is passed through a 2D layer, we discover that two low-energy plasmon branches exhibit a characteristic loop in their dispersion before they merge into an unstable region beyond a critical wavemore » vector q{sub c}. This finite q{sub c} gives rise to a wavenumber cutoff in the emission dispersion of the surface plasmon induced instability and emission of radiation (spiler). However, there is no instability for a single driven layer far from the conductor, and the instability of an isolated pair of 2D layers occurs without a wavenumber cutoff. The wavenumber cutoff is found to depend on the conductor electron density, layer separation, distances of layers from the conductor surface, and the driving-current strength.« less

Testing Precipitation-Driven Feedback Models in Nearby Ellipticals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Donahue, Megan

2016-09-01

We propose to analyze the inner cooling-time and entropy profiles of 12 elliptical galaxies with strong radio AGN. X-ray studies of galaxy-cluster cores and massive ellipticals indicate that feedback from an AGN replaces energy radiated by these objects. The AGN at 10 pc seems tuned to the thermodynamic state of gas on 10 kpc scales, but how that occurs is a resilient mystery. The precipitation model posits if the AGN does not provide enough heat, then thermal instabilities rain cold clouds on it, increasing accretion from Bondi to 100 times that rate when t_cool drops below 10 t_ff. We will test precipitation-driven feedback models by measuring t_cool and gravitational potential within the central kpc and to see how radio power is related to t_c/t_ff at small radii in these galaxies.

Phase space effects on fast ion transport modeling in tokamaks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Podesta, Mario

2015-11-01

Simulations of burning plasmas require a consistent treatment of energetic particles (EP), possibly including the effects of instabilities. Reduced EP transport models are emerging as an effective tool to account for those effects in long time-scale simulations. Available models essentially differ for the main transport drive, which is associated to gradients in real or phase space. It is crucial to assess to what extent those different assumptions affect computed quantities such as EP profile, Neutral Beam (NB) driven current and energy/momentum transfer to the thermal populations. These issues are investigated through a kick model, which includes modifications of the EP distribution by instabilities in real and velocity space. TRANSP simulations including the kick model are applied to NB-heated NSTX discharges featuring unstable toroidal Alfvén eigenmodes (TAEs). Results show that TAEs mainly affect fast ions with large parallel velocity, i.e. the most effective for NB current drive. Other portions of the EP distribution are nearly unperturbed. Core NB driven current decreases by 10-30%, with even larger relative changes toward the plasma edge. When TAEs evolve in so-called avalanches, the model reproduces measured drops of ~ 10% in the neutron rate. Consistently with previous results, the drop is caused by both EP energy loss and EP redistribution. These results are compared to those from a simple diffusive model and a ``critical gradient'' model, which postulates radial EP gradient as the only transport drive. The importance of EP velocity space modifications is discussed in terms of accuracy of the predictions, with emphasis on Neutral Beam driven current. Work supported by U.S. DOE Contract DE-AC02-09CH11466.

A Universal Model for Solar Eruptions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wyper, Peter F.; Antiochos, Spiro K.; Devore, C. Richard

2017-01-01

Magnetically driven eruptions on the Sun, from stellar-scale coronal mass ejections1 to small-scale coronal X-ray and extreme-ultraviolet jets, have frequently been observed to involve the ejection of the highly stressed magnetic flux of a filament. Theoretically, these two phenomena have been thought to arise through very different mechanisms: coronal mass ejections from an ideal (non-dissipative) process, whereby the energy release does not require a change in the magnetic topology, as in the kink or torus instability; and coronal jets from a resistive process, involving magnetic reconnection. However, it was recently concluded from new observations that all coronal jets are driven by filament ejection, just like large mass ejections. This suggests that the two phenomena have physically identical origin and hence that a single mechanism may be responsible, that is, either mass ejections arise from reconnection, or jets arise from an ideal instability. Here we report simulations of a coronal jet driven by filament ejection, whereby a region of highly sheared magnetic field near the solar surface becomes unstable and erupts. The results show that magnetic reconnection causes the energy release via 'magnetic breakout', a positive feedback mechanism between filament ejection and reconnection. We conclude that if coronal mass ejections and jets are indeed of physically identical origin (although on different spatial scales) then magnetic reconnection (rather than an ideal process) must also underlie mass ejections, and that magnetic breakout is a universal model for solar eruptions.

Suppression of AGN-Driven Turbulence by Magnetic Fields in a Magnetohydrodynamic Model of the Intracluster Medium

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bambic, Christopher J.; Morsony, Brian; Reynolds, Christopher S.

2018-01-01

We investigate the role of AGN feedback in turbulent heating of galaxy clusters. Specifically, we analyze the production of turbulence by g-modes generated by the supersonic expansion and buoyant rise of AGN-driven bubbles. Previous work which neglects magnetic fields has shown that this process is inefficient, with less than 1% of the injected energy ending up in turbulence. This inefficiency is primarily due to the fact that the bubbles are shredded apart by hydrodynamic instabilities before they can excite sufficiently strong g-modes. Using a plane-parallel model of the ICM and 3D ideal MHD simulations, we examine the role of a large-scale magnetic field which is able to drape around these rising bubbles, preserving them from hydrodynamic instabilities. We find that, while magnetic draping appears better able to preserve AGN-driven bubbles, the driving of g-modes and the resulting production of turbulence is still inefficient. The magnetic tension force prevents g-modes from transitioning into the nonlinear regime, suppressing turbulence in our model ICM below levels measured in hydrodynamic simulations. Our work highlights the ways in which ideal MHD is an insufficient description for the cluster feedback process, and we discuss future work such as the inclusion of anisotropic viscosity as a means of simulating high β plasma kinetic effects. These results suggest the hypothesis that other mechanisms of heating the ICM plasma such as sound waves or cosmic rays may be responsible for observed feedback in galaxy clusters.

Suppression of AGN-driven Turbulence by Magnetic Fields in a Magnetohydrodynamic Model of the Intracluster Medium

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bambic, Christopher J.; Morsony, Brian J.; Reynolds, Christopher S.

2018-04-01

We investigate the role of active galactic nucleus (AGN) feedback in turbulent heating of galaxy clusters. Specifically, we analyze the production of turbulence by g-modes generated by the supersonic expansion and buoyant rise of AGN-driven bubbles. Previous work that neglects magnetic fields has shown that this process is inefficient, with less than 1% of the injected energy ending up in turbulence. This inefficiency primarily arises because the bubbles are shredded apart by hydrodynamic instabilities before they can excite sufficiently strong g-modes. Using a plane-parallel model of the intracluster medium (ICM) and 3D ideal magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) simulations, we examine the role of a large-scale magnetic field that is able to drape around these rising bubbles, preserving them from hydrodynamic instabilities. We find that while magnetic draping appears better able to preserve AGN-driven bubbles, the driving of g-modes and the resulting production of turbulence is still inefficient. The magnetic tension force prevents g-modes from transitioning into the nonlinear regime, suppressing turbulence in our model ICM. Our work highlights the ways in which ideal MHD is an insufficient description for the cluster feedback process, and we discuss future work such as the inclusion of anisotropic viscosity as a means of simulating high β plasma kinetic effects. These results suggest the hypothesis that other mechanisms of heating the ICM plasma such as sound waves or cosmic rays may be responsible for the observed feedback in galaxy clusters.

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.

Experimental observation of the stratified electrothermal instability on aluminum with thickness greater than a skin depth

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hutchinson, T. M.; Awe, T. J.; Bauer, B. S.; Yates, K. C.; Yu, E. P.; Yelton, W. G.; Fuelling, S.

2018-05-01

A direct observation of the stratified electrothermal instability on the surface of thick metal is reported. Aluminum rods coated with 70 μ m Parylene-N were driven to 1 MA in 100 ns , with the metal thicker than the skin depth. The dielectric coating suppressed plasma formation, enabling persistent observation of discrete azimuthally correlated stratified thermal perturbations perpendicular to the current whose wave numbers, k , grew exponentially with rate γ (k ) =0.06 n s-1-(0.4 n s-1μ m2ra d-2 ) k2 in ˜1 g /c m3 , ˜7000 K aluminum.

Experimental Observation of the Stratified Electrothermal Instability on Aluminum with Thickness Greater than a Skin Depth

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

Hutchinson, Trevor M.; Hutchinson, Trevor M.; Awe, Thomas James

The first direct observation of the stratified electrothermal instability on the surface of thick metal is reported. Aluminum rods coated with 70 μm Parylene-N were driven to 1 MA in approximately 100 ns, with the metal thicker than the skin depth. The dielectric coating suppressed plasma formation, enabling persistent observation of discrete azimuthally-correlated stratified structures perpendicular to the current. Strata amplitudes grow rapidly, while their Fourier spectrum shifts toward longer wavelength. Assuming blackbody emission, radiometric calculations indicate strata are temperature perturbations that grow exponentially with rate γ = 0.04 ns -1 in 3000- 10,000 K aluminum.

Spin-orbit coupling, electron transport and pairing instabilities in two-dimensional square structures

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

Kocharian, Armen N.; Fernando, Gayanath W.; Fang, Kun

Rashba spin-orbit effects and electron correlations in the two-dimensional cylindrical lattices of square geometries are assessed using mesoscopic two-, three- and four-leg ladder structures. Here the electron transport properties are systematically calculated by including the spin-orbit coupling in tight binding and Hubbard models threaded by a magnetic flux. These results highlight important aspects of possible symmetry breaking mechanisms in square ladder geometries driven by the combined effect of a magnetic gauge field spin-orbit interaction and temperature. The observed persistent current, spin and charge polarizations in the presence of spin-orbit coupling are driven by separation of electron and hole charges andmore » opposite spins in real-space. The modeled spin-flip processes on the pairing mechanism induced by the spin-orbit coupling in assembled nanostructures (as arrays of clusters) engineered in various two-dimensional multi-leg structures provide an ideal playground for understanding spatial charge and spin density inhomogeneities leading to electron pairing and spontaneous phase separation instabilities in unconventional superconductors. Such studies also fall under the scope of current challenging problems in superconductivity and magnetism, topological insulators and spin dependent transport associated with numerous interfaces and heterostructures.« less

Recent results from the electron cyclotron heated plasmas in Tokamak à Configuration Variable (TCV)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Henderson, M. A.; Alberti, S.; Angioni, C.; Arnoux, G.; Behn, R.; Blanchard, P.; Bosshard, P.; Camenen, Y.; Coda, S.; Condrea, I.; Goodman, T. P.; Hofmann, F.; Hogge, J.-Ph.; Karpushov, A.; Manini, A.; Martynov, An.; Moret, J.-M.; Nikkola, P.; Nelson-Melby, E.; Pochelon, A.; Porte, L.; Sauter, O.; Ahmed, S. M.; Andrèbe, Y.; Appert, K.; Chavan, R.; Degeling, A.; Duval, B. P.; Etienne, P.; Fasel, D.; Fasoli, A.; Favez, J.-Y.; Furno, I.; Horacek, J.; Isoz, P.; Joye, B.; Klimanov, I.; Lavanchy, P.; Lister, J. B.; Llobet, X.; Magnin, J.-C.; Marlétaz, B.; Marmillod, P.; Martin, Y.; Mayor, J.-M.; Mylnar, J.; Paris, P. J.; Perez, A.; Peysson, Y.; Pitts, R. A.; Raju, D.; Reimerdes, H.; Scarabosio, A.; Scavino, E.; Seo, S. H.; Siravo, U.; Sushkov, A.; Tonetti, G.; Tran, M. Q.; Weisen, H.; Wischmeier, M.; Zabolotsky, A.; Yhuang, G.

2003-05-01

In noninductively driven discharges, 0.9 MW second harmonic (X2) off-axis co-electron cyclotron current drive deposition is combined with 0.45 MW X2 central heating to create an electron internal transport barrier (eITB) in steady plasma conditions resulting in a 1.6-fold increase of the confinement time (τEe) over ITER-98L-mode scaling. The eITB is associated with a reversed shear current profile enhanced by a large bootstrap current fraction (up to 80%) and is sustained for up to 10 current redistribution times. A linear dependence of the confinement improvement on the product of the global shear reversal factor (q0/qmin) and the reversed shear volume (ρq-min2) is shown. In other discharges heated with X2 the sawteeth are destabilized (respectively stabilized) when heating just inside (respectively outside) the q=1 surface. Control of the sawteeth may allow the avoidance of neoclassical tearing modes that can be seeded by the sawtooth instability. Results on H-mode and highly elongated plasmas using the newly completed third harmonic (X3) system and achieving up to 100% absorption are also discussed, along with comparison of experimental results with the TORAY-GA ray tracing code [K. Matsuda, IEEE Trans. Plasma Sci. PS-17, 6 (1989); R. H. Cohen, Phys. Fluids 30, 2442 (1987)].

Impact of convection and resistivity on angular momentum transport in dwarf novae.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Scepi, N.; Lesur, G.; Dubus, G.; Flock, M.

2017-12-01

The eruptive cycles of dwarf novae are thought to be due to a thermal-viscous instability in the accretion disk surrounding the white dwarf. This model has long been known to imply enhanced angular momentum transport in the accretion disk during outburst. This is measured by the stress to pressure ratio α, with α≈ 0.1 required in outburst compared to α≈ 0.01 in quiescence. Such an enhancement in α has recently been observed in simulations of turbulent transport driven by the magneto-rotational instability (MRI) when convection is present, without requiring a net magnetic flux. We independently recover this result by carrying out PLUTO MHD simulations of vertically stratified, radiative, shearing boxes with the thermodynamics and opacities appropriate to dwarf novae. The results are robust against the choice of vertical boundary conditions. In the quiescent state, the disk is only very weakly ionized so, in the second part of our work, we studied the impact of resistive MHD on transport.We find that the MRI-driven transport is quenched (α≈ 0) below the critical density at which the magnetic Reynolds number R_{m}≤ 10^4. This is problematic because the X-ray emission observed in quiescent systems requires ongoing accretion onto the white dwarf.

Active suppression of vortex-driven combustion instability using controlled liquid-fuel injection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pang, Bin

Combustion instabilities remain one of the most challenging problems encountered in developing propulsion and power systems. Large amplitude pressure oscillations, driven by unsteady heat release, can produce numerous detrimental effects. Most previous active control studies utilized gaseous fuels to suppress combustion instabilities. However, using liquid fuel to suppress combustion instabilities is more realistic for propulsion applications. Active instability suppression in vortex-driven combustors using a direct liquid fuel injection strategy was theoretically established and experimentally demonstrated in this dissertation work. Droplet size measurements revealed that with pulsed fuel injection management, fuel droplet size could be modulated periodically. Consequently, desired heat release fluctuation could be created. If this oscillatory heat release is coupled with the natural pressure oscillation in an out of phase manner, combustion instabilities can be suppressed. To identify proper locations of supplying additional liquid fuel for the purpose of achieving control, the natural heat release pattern in a vortex-driven combustor was characterized in this study. It was found that at high Damkohler number oscillatory heat release pattern closely followed the evolving vortex front. However, when Damkohler number became close to unity, heat release fluctuation wave no longer coincided with the coherent structures. A heat release deficit area was found near the dump plane when combustor was operated in lean premixed conditions. Active combustion instability suppression experiments were performed in a dump combustor using a controlled liquid fuel injection strategy. High-speed Schlieren results illustrated that vortex shedding plays an important role in maintaining self-sustained combustion instabilities. Complete combustion instability control requires total suppression of these large-scale coherent structures. The sound pressure level at the excited dominant frequency was reduced by more than 20 dB with controlled liquid fuel injection method. Scaling issues were also investigated in this dump combustor to test the effectiveness of using pulsed liquid fuel injection strategies to suppress instabilities at higher power output conditions. With the liquid fuel injection control method, it was possible to suppress strong instabilities with initial amplitude of +/-5 psi down to the background noise level. The stable combustor operating range was also expanded from equivalence ratio of 0.75 to beyond 0.9.

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.

Particle acceleration and magnetic field generation in SNR shocks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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

2006-04-01

We discuss the diffusive acceleration mechanism in SNR shocks in terms of its potential to accelerate CRs to 10^18 eV, as observations imply. One possibility, currently discussed in the literature, is to resonantly generate a turbulent magnetic field via accelerated particles in excess of the background field. We analyze some problems of this scenario and suggest a different mechanism, which is based on the generation of Alfven waves at the gyroradius scale at the background field level, with a subsequent transfer to longer scales via interaction with strong acoustic turbulence in the shock precursor. The acoustic turbulence in turn, may be generated by Drury instability or by parametric instability of the Alfven (A) waves. The essential idea is an A->A+S decay instability process, where one of the interacting scatterers (i.e. the sound, or S-waves) are driven by the Drury instability process. This rapidly generates longer wavelength Alfven waves, which in turn resonate with high energy CRs thus binding them to the shock and enabling their further acceleration.

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.

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.

Supersonic, shockwave-driven hydrodynamic instability experiments at OMEGA-EP

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wan, Willow

2016-10-01

Hydrodynamic instabilities play a dominant role in the transport of mass, momentum, and energy in nearly every plasma environment, governing the dynamics of natural and engineering systems such as solar convective zones, magnetospheric boundaries, and fusion experiments. In past decades, limitations in our understanding of hydrodynamic instabilities have led to discrepancies between observations and predictions. Since then, significant improvements have been made to our available experimental techniques, diagnostics, and simulation capabilities. Here, we present a novel experimental platform that can sustain a steady, supersonic flow across a precision-machined, well-characterized material interface for unprecedented durations We applied this platform to a series of Kelvin-Helmholtz instability experiments. The Kelvin-Helmholtz instability generates vortical structures and turbulence at an interface with shear flow. In a supersonic flow, the growth rate is inhibited and the instability structure is altered. The data were obtained at the OMEGA-EP facility by firing three laser beams in sequence to produce a 12 kJ, 28 ns stitched laser pulse. The ablation pressure sustained a steady shockwave for 70 ns over a foam-plastic, single-mode or dual-mode interface. A spherical crystal imager was used to measure the evolution of these modulations with high-resolution x-ray radiography using Cu Kα radiation at 8.0 keV. The observed structure was reproduced with 2D hydrodynamic simulations. Supported by the U.S. DOE, through NNSA Grants DE-NA0002956 (SSAA) and DE-NA0002719 (NLUF), by the LLE under DE-NA0001944, and by the LLNL under subcontract B614207 to DE-AC52-07NA27344.

The feed-out process: Rayleigh-Taylor and Richtmyer-Meshkov instabilities in thin, laser-driven foils

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

Smitherman, D.P.

Eight beams carrying a shaped pulse from the NOVA laser were focused into a hohlraum with a total energy of about 25 kJ. A planar foil was placed on the side of the hohlraum with perturbations facing away from the hohlraum. All perturbations were 4 {micro}m in amplitude and 50 {micro}m in wavelength. Three foils of pure aluminum were shot with thicknesses and pulse lengths respectively of 86 {micro}m and 2. 2 ns, 50 {micro}m and 4.5 ns, and 35 {micro}m with both 2.2 ns and 4. 5 ns pulses. Two composite foils constructed respectively of 32 and 84 {micro}mmore » aluminum on the ablative side and 10 {micro}m beryllium on the cold surface were also shot using the 2.2 ns pulse. X-ray framing cameras recorded perturbation growth using both face- and side-on radiography. The LASNEX code was used to model the experiments. A shock wave interacted with the perturbation on the cold surface generating growth from a Richtmyer-Meshkov instability and a strong acoustic mode. The cold surface perturbation fed-out to the Rayleigh-Taylor unstable ablation surface, both by differential acceleration and interface coupling, where it grew. A density jump did not appear to have a large effect on feed-out from interface coupling. The Rayleigh-Taylor instability`s vortex pairs overtook and reversed the direction of flow of the Richtmyer-Meshkov vortices, resulting in the foil moving from a sinuous to a bubble and spike configuration. The Rayleigh-Taylor instability may have acted as an ablative instability on the hot surface, and as a classical instability on the cold surface, on which grew second and third order harmonics.« less

Plasma Instabilities in the Context of Current Helium Sedimentation Models: Dynamical Implications for the ICM in Galaxy Clusters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Berlok, Thomas; Pessah, Martin E.

2015-11-01

Understanding whether Helium can sediment to the core of galaxy clusters is important for a number of problems in cosmology and astrophysics. All current models addressing this question are one-dimensional and do not account for the fact that magnetic fields can effectively channel ions and electrons, leading to anisotropic transport of momentum, heat, and particle diffusion in the weakly collisional intracluster medium (ICM). This anisotropy can lead to a wide variety of instabilities, which could be relevant for understanding the dynamics of heterogeneous media. In this paper, we consider the radial temperature and composition profiles as obtained from a state-of-the-art Helium sedimentation model and analyze its stability properties. We find that the associated radial profiles are unstable to different kinds of instabilities depending on the magnetic field orientation at all radii. The fastest growing modes are usually related to generalizations of the magnetothermal instability (MTI) and the heat-flux-driven buoyancy instability which operate in heterogeneous media. We find that the effect of sedimentation is to increase (decrease) the predicted growth rates in the inner (outer) cluster region. The unstable modes grow quickly compared to the sedimentation timescale. This suggests that the composition gradients as inferred from sedimentation models, which do not fully account for the anisotropic character of the weakly collisional environment, might not be very robust. Our results emphasize the subtleties involved in understanding the gas dynamics of the ICM and argue for the need of a comprehensive approach to address the issue of Helium sedimentation beyond current models.

PLASMA INSTABILITIES IN THE CONTEXT OF CURRENT HELIUM SEDIMENTATION MODELS: DYNAMICAL IMPLICATIONS FOR THE ICM IN GALAXY CLUSTERS

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

Berlok, Thomas; Pessah, Martin E., E-mail: berlok@nbi.dk, E-mail: mpessah@nbi.dk

2015-11-01

Understanding whether Helium can sediment to the core of galaxy clusters is important for a number of problems in cosmology and astrophysics. All current models addressing this question are one-dimensional and do not account for the fact that magnetic fields can effectively channel ions and electrons, leading to anisotropic transport of momentum, heat, and particle diffusion in the weakly collisional intracluster medium (ICM). This anisotropy can lead to a wide variety of instabilities, which could be relevant for understanding the dynamics of heterogeneous media. In this paper, we consider the radial temperature and composition profiles as obtained from a state-of-the-artmore » Helium sedimentation model and analyze its stability properties. We find that the associated radial profiles are unstable to different kinds of instabilities depending on the magnetic field orientation at all radii. The fastest growing modes are usually related to generalizations of the magnetothermal instability (MTI) and the heat-flux-driven buoyancy instability which operate in heterogeneous media. We find that the effect of sedimentation is to increase (decrease) the predicted growth rates in the inner (outer) cluster region. The unstable modes grow quickly compared to the sedimentation timescale. This suggests that the composition gradients as inferred from sedimentation models, which do not fully account for the anisotropic character of the weakly collisional environment, might not be very robust. Our results emphasize the subtleties involved in understanding the gas dynamics of the ICM and argue for the need of a comprehensive approach to address the issue of Helium sedimentation beyond current models.« less

Shock Driven Multiphase Instabilities in Scramjet Applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McFarland, Jacob

2016-11-01

Shock driven multiphase instabilities (SDMI) arise in many applications from dust production in supernovae to ejecta distribution in explosions. At the limit of small, fast reacting particles the instability evolves similar to the Richtmyer-Meshkov (RM) instability. However, as additional particle effects such as lag, phase change, and collisions become significant the required parameter space becomes much larger and the instability deviates significantly from the RM instability. In scramjet engines the SDMI arises during a cold start where liquid fuel droplets are injected and processed by shock and expansion waves. In this case the particle evaporation and mixing is important to starting and sustaining combustion, but the particles are large and slow to react, creating significant multiphase effects. This talk will examine multiphase mixing in scramjet relevant conditions in 3D multiphase hydrodynamic simulations using the FLASH code from the University of Chicago FLASH center.

Observation of Gigawatt-Class THz Pulses from a Compact Laser-Driven Particle Accelerator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gopal, A.; Herzer, S.; Schmidt, A.; Singh, P.; Reinhard, A.; Ziegler, W.; Brömmel, D.; Karmakar, A.; Gibbon, P.; Dillner, U.; May, T.; Meyer, H.-G.; Paulus, G. G.

2013-08-01

We report the observation of subpicosecond terahertz (T-ray) pulses with energies ≥460μJ from a laser-driven ion accelerator, thus rendering the peak power of the source higher even than that of state-of-the-art synchrotrons. Experiments were performed with intense laser pulses (up to 5×1019W/cm2) to irradiate thin metal foil targets. Ion spectra measured simultaneously showed a square law dependence of the T-ray yield on particle number. Two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations show the presence of transient currents at the target rear surface which could be responsible for the strong T-ray emission.

Theory of the corrugation instability of a piston-driven shock wave.

PubMed

Bates, J W

2015-01-01

We analyze the two-dimensional stability of a shock wave driven by a steadily moving corrugated piston in an inviscid fluid with an arbitrary equation of state. For h≤-1 or h>h(c), where h is the D'yakov parameter and h(c) is the Kontorovich limit, we find that small perturbations on the shock front are unstable and grow--at first quadratically and later linearly--with time. Such instabilities are associated with nonequilibrium fluid states and imply a nonunique solution to the hydrodynamic equations. The above criteria are consistent with instability limits observed in shock-tube experiments involving ionizing and dissociating gases and may have important implications for driven shocks in laser-fusion, astrophysical, and/or detonation studies.

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.

Topographic-driven instabilities in terrestrial bodies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vantieghem, S.; Cebron, D.; Herreman, W.; Lacaze, L.

2013-12-01

Models of internal planetary fluid layers (core flows, subsurface oceans) commonly assume that these fluid envelopes have a spherical shape. This approximation however entails a serious restriction from the fluid dynamics point of view. Indeed, in the presence of mechanical forcings (precession, libration, nutation or tides) due to gravitational interaction with orbiting partners, boundary topography (e.g. of the core-mantle boundary) may excite flow instabilities and space-filling turbulence. These phenomena may affect heat transport and dissipation at the main order. Here, we focus on instabilities driven by longitudinal libration. Using a suite of theoretical tools and numerical simulations, we are able to discern a parameter range for which instability may be excited. We thereby consider deformations of different azimuthal order. This study gives the first numerical evidence of the tripolar instability. Furthermore, we explore the non-linear regime and investigate the amplitude as well as the dissipation of the saturated instability. Indeed, these two quantities control the torques on the solid layers and the thermal transport. Furthermore, based on this results, we address the issue of magnetic field generation associated with these flows (by induction or by dynamo process). This instability mechanism applies to both synchronized as non-synchronized bodies. As such, our results show that a tripolar instability might be present in various terrestrial bodies (Early Moon, Gallilean moons, asteroids, etc.), where it could participate in dynamo action. Simulation of a libration-driven tripolar instability in a deformed spherical fluid layer: snapshot of the velocity magnitude, where a complex 3D flow pattern is established.

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.

Molecular characterisation of murine acute myeloid leukaemia induced by 56Fe ion and 137Cs gamma ray irradiation.

PubMed

Steffen, Leta S; Bacher, Jeffery W; Peng, Yuanlin; Le, Phuong N; Ding, Liang-Hao; Genik, Paula C; Ray, F Andrew; Bedford, Joel S; Fallgren, Christina M; Bailey, Susan M; Ullrich, Robert L; Weil, Michael M; Story, Michael D

2013-01-01

Exposure to sparsely ionising gamma- or X-ray irradiation is known to increase the risk of leukaemia in humans. However, heavy ion radiotherapy and extended space exploration will expose humans to densely ionising high linear energy transfer (LET) radiation for which there is currently no understanding of leukaemia risk. Murine models have implicated chromosomal deletion that includes the hematopoietic transcription factor gene, PU.1 (Sfpi1), and point mutation of the second PU.1 allele as the primary cause of low-LET radiation-induced murine acute myeloid leukaemia (rAML). Using array comparative genomic hybridisation, fluorescence in situ hybridisation and high resolution melt analysis, we have confirmed that biallelic PU.1 mutations are common in low-LET rAML, occurring in 88% of samples. Biallelic PU.1 mutations were also detected in the majority of high-LET rAML samples. Microsatellite instability was identified in 42% of all rAML samples, and 89% of samples carried increased microsatellite mutant frequencies at the single-cell level, indicative of ongoing instability. Instability was also observed cytogenetically as a 2-fold increase in chromatid-type aberrations. These data highlight the similarities in molecular characteristics of high-LET and low-LET rAML and confirm the presence of ongoing chromosomal and microsatellite instability in murine rAML.

A statistical study of current-sheet formation above solar active regions based on selforganized criticality

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dimitropoulou, M.; Isliker, H.; Vlahos, L.; Georgoulis, M.; Anastasiadis, A.; Toutountzi, A.

2013-09-01

We treat flaring solar active regions as physical systems having reached the self-organized critical state. Their evolving magnetic configurations in the low corona may satisfy an instability criterion, related to the excession of a specific threshold in the curl of the magnetic field. This imposed instability criterion implies an almost zero resistivity everywhere in the solar corona, except in regions where magnetic-field discontinuities and. hence, local currents, reach the critical value. In these areas, current-driven instabilities enhance the resistivity by many orders of magnitude forming structures which efficiently accelerate charged particles. Simulating the formation of such structures (thought of as current sheets) via a refined SOC cellular-automaton model provides interesting information regarding their statistical properties. It is shown that the current density in such unstable regions follows power-law scaling. Furthermore, the size distribution of the produced current sheets is best fitted by power laws, whereas their formation probability is investigated against the photospheric magnetic configuration (e.g. Polarity Inversion Lines, Plage). The average fractal dimension of the produced current sheets is deduced depending on the selected critical threshold. The above-mentioned statistical description of intermittent electric field structures can be used by collisional relativistic test particle simulations, aiming to interpret particle acceleration in flaring active regions and in strongly turbulent media in astrophysical plasmas. The above work is supported by the Hellenic National Space Weather Research Network (HNSWRN) via the THALIS Programme.

Current-driven non-linear magnetodynamics in exchange-biased spin valves

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

Seinige, Heidi; Wang, Cheng; Tsoi, Maxim, E-mail: tsoi@physics.utexas.edu

2015-05-07

This work investigates the excitation of parametric resonance in exchange-biased spin valves (EBSVs). Using a mechanical point contact, high density dc and microwave currents were injected into the EBSV sample. Observing the reflected microwave power and the small rectification voltage that develops across the contact allows detecting the current-driven magnetodynamics not only in the bulk sample but originating exclusively from the small contact region. In addition to ferromagnetic resonance (FMR), parametric resonance at twice the natural FMR frequency was observed. In contrast to FMR, this non-linear resonance was excited only in the vicinity of the point contact where current densitiesmore » are high. Power-dependent measurements displayed a typical threshold-like behavior of parametric resonance and a broadening of the instability region with increasing power. Parametric resonance showed a linear shift as a function of applied dc bias which is consistent with the field-like spin-transfer torque induced by current on magnetic moments in EBSV.« less

Studies of bandwidth dependence of laser plasma instabilities driven by the Nike laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weaver, J.; Kehne, D.; Obenschain, S.; Serlin, V.; Schmitt, A. J.; Oh, J.; Lehmberg, R. H.; Brown, C. M.; Seely, J.; Feldman, U.

2012-10-01

Experiments at the Nike laser facility of the Naval Research Laboratory are exploring the influence of laser bandwidth on laser plasma instabilities (LPI) driven by a deep ultraviolet pump (248 nm) that incorporates beam smoothing by induced spatial incoherence (ISI). In early ISI studies with longer wavelength Nd:glass lasers (1054 nm and 527 nm),footnotetextObenschain, PRL 62(1989);Mostovych, PRL 62(1987);Peyser, Phys. Fluids B 3(1991). stimulated Raman scattering, stimulated Brillouin scattering, and the two plasmon decay instability were reduced when wide bandwidth ISI (δν/ν˜0.03-0.19%) pulses irradiated targets at moderate to high intensities (10^14-10^15 W/cm^2). The current studies will compare the emission signatures of LPI from planar CH targets during Nike operation at large bandwidth (δν˜1THz) to observations for narrower bandwidth operation (δν˜0.1-0.3THz). These studies will help clarify the relative importance of the short wavelength and wide bandwidth to the increased LPI intensity thresholds observed at Nike. New pulse shapes are being used to generate plasmas with larger electron density scale-lengths that are closer to conditions during pellet implosions for direct drive inertial confinement fusion.

X-ray photoevaporation's limited success in the formation of planetesimals by the streaming instability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ercolano, Barbara; Jennings, Jeff; Rosotti, Giovanni; Birnstiel, Tilman

2017-12-01

The streaming instability is often invoked as solution to the fragmentation and drift barriers in planetesimal formation, catalysing the aggregation of dust on kyr time-scales to grow km-sized cores. However, there remains a lack of consensus on the physical mechanism(s) responsible for initiating it. One potential avenue is disc photoevaporation, wherein the preferential removal of relatively dust-free gas increases the disc metallicity. Late in the disc lifetime, photoevaporation dominates viscous accretion, creating a gradient in the depleted gas surface density near the location of the gap. This induces a local pressure maximum that collects drifting dust particles, which may then become susceptible to the streaming instability. Using a one-dimensional viscous evolution model of a disc subject to internal X-ray photoevaporation, we explore the efficacy of this process to build planetesimals. Over a range of parameters, we find that the amount of dust mass converted into planetesimals is often <1 M⊕ and at most a few M⊕ spread across tens of au. We conclude that photoevaporation may at best be relevant for the formation of debris discs, rather than a common mechanism for the formation of planetary cores. Our results are in contrast to a recent, similar investigation that considered an far-ultra-violet (FUV)-driven photoevaporation model and reported the formation of tens of M⊕ at large (>100 au) disc radii. The discrepancies are primarily a consequence of the different photoevaporation profiles assumed. Until observations more tightly constrain photoevaporation models, the relevance of this process to the formation of planets remains uncertain.

North Europe power transmission system vulnerability during extreme space weather

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Piccinelli, Roberta; Krausmann, Elisabeth

2018-01-01

Space weather driven by solar activity can induce geomagnetic disturbances at the Earth's surface that can affect power transmission systems. Variations in the geomagnetic field result in geomagnetically induced currents that can enter the system through its grounding connections, saturate transformers and lead to system instability and possibly collapse. This study analyzes the impact of extreme space weather on the northern part of the European power transmission grid for different transformer designs to understand its vulnerability in case of an extreme event. The behavior of the system was analyzed in its operational mode during a severe geomagnetic storm, and mitigation measures, like line compensation, were also considered. These measures change the topology of the system, thus varying the path of geomagnetically induced currents and inducing a local imbalance in the voltage stability superimposed on the grid operational flow. Our analysis shows that the North European power transmission system is fairly robust against extreme space weather events. When considering transformers more vulnerable to geomagnetic storms, only few episodes of instability were found in correspondence with an existing voltage instability due to the underlying system load. The presence of mitigation measures limited the areas of the network in which bus voltage instabilities arise with respect to the system in which mitigation measures are absent.

Understanding force-generating microtubule systems through in vitro reconstitution

PubMed Central

Kok, Maurits; Dogterom, Marileen

2016-01-01

ABSTRACT Microtubules switch between growing and shrinking states, a feature known as dynamic instability. The biochemical parameters underlying dynamic instability are modulated by a wide variety of microtubule-associated proteins that enable the strict control of microtubule dynamics in cells. The forces generated by controlled growth and shrinkage of microtubules drive a large range of processes, including organelle positioning, mitotic spindle assembly, and chromosome segregation. In the past decade, our understanding of microtubule dynamics and microtubule force generation has progressed significantly. Here, we review the microtubule-intrinsic process of dynamic instability, the effect of external factors on this process, and how the resulting forces act on various biological systems. Recently, reconstitution-based approaches have strongly benefited from extensive biochemical and biophysical characterization of individual components that are involved in regulating or transmitting microtubule-driven forces. We will focus on the current state of reconstituting increasingly complex biological systems and provide new directions for future developments. PMID:27715396

Front fingering and complex dynamics driven by the interaction of buoyancy and diffusive instabilities.

PubMed

D'Hernoncourt, J; Merkin, J H; De Wit, A

2007-09-01

Traveling fronts can become transversally unstable either because of a diffusive instability arising when the key variables diffuse at sufficiently different rates or because of a buoyancy-driven Rayleigh-Taylor mechanism when the density jump across the front is statically unfavorable. The interaction between such diffusive and buoyancy instabilities of fronts is analyzed theoretically for a simple model system. Linear stability analysis and nonlinear simulations show that their interplay changes considerably the stability properties with regard to the pure Rayleigh-Taylor or diffusive instabilities of fronts. In particular, an instability scenario can arise which triggers convection around statically stable fronts as a result of differential diffusion. Moreover, spatiotemporal chaos can be observed when both buoyancy and diffusive effects cooperate to destabilize the front. Experimental conditions to test our predictions are suggested.

Zonostrophic instability driven by discrete particle noise

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

St-Onge, D. A.; Krommes, J. A.

The consequences of discrete particle noise for a system possessing a possibly unstable collective mode are discussed. It is argued that a zonostrophic instability (of homogeneous turbulence to the formation of zonal flows) occurs just below the threshold for linear instability. The scenario provides a new interpretation of the random forcing that is ubiquitously invoked in stochastic models such as the second-order cumulant expansion or stochastic structural instability theory; neither intrinsic turbulence nor coupling to extrinsic turbulence is required. A representative calculation of the zonostrophic neutral curve is made for a simple two-field model of toroidal ion-temperature-gradient-driven modes. To themore » extent that the damping of zonal flows is controlled by the ion-ion collision rate, the point of zonostrophic instability is independent of that rate. Published by AIP Publishing.« less

Triaxial instabilities in rapidly rotating neutron stars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Basak, Arkadip

2018-06-01

Viscosity driven bar mode secular instabilities of rapidly rotating neutron stars are studied using LORENE/Nrotstar code. These instabilities set a more rigorous limit to the rotation frequency of a neutron star than the Kepler frequency/mass-shedding limit. The procedure employed in the code comprises of perturbing an axisymmetric and stationary configuration of a neutron star and studying its evolution by constructing a series of triaxial quasi-equilibrium configurations. Symmetry breaking point was found out for Polytropic as well as 10 realistic equations of states (EOS) from the CompOSE data base. The concept of piecewise polytropic EOSs has been used to comprehend the rotational instability of Realistic EOSs and validated with 19 different Realistic EOSs from CompOSE. The possibility of detecting quasi-periodic gravitational waves from viscosity driven instability with ground-based LIGO/VIRGO interferometers is also discussed very briefly.

New Instability Mode in A Driven Granular Gas: Athermal and Thermal Convection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shukla, Priyanka; Alam, Meheboob

2017-11-01

For a thermally-driven granular gas confined between two plates under gravity, we report a new instability mode which is found to be active at very small values of the heat-loss parameter. We show that the origin of this new mode is tied to the ``thermal'' mode of the well-studied Rayleigh-Benard convection. This is dubbed purely elastic instability since it survives even for perfectly elastic collisions (en = 1). The distinction of this new instability mode from its dissipative/athermal counterpart is clarified for the first time. Furthermore, a weakly nonlinear analysis using Stuart-Landau equation has been carried out for both instability modes, and the underlying bifurcation scenario (supercritical/subcritical) from each mode is elucidated. The resulting linear and nonlinear patterns with respect to inelasticity and gravity are compared.

Zonostrophic instability driven by discrete particle noise

DOE PAGES

St-Onge, D. A.; Krommes, J. A.

2017-04-01

The consequences of discrete particle noise for a system possessing a possibly unstable collective mode are discussed. It is argued that a zonostrophic instability (of homogeneous turbulence to the formation of zonal flows) occurs just below the threshold for linear instability. The scenario provides a new interpretation of the random forcing that is ubiquitously invoked in stochastic models such as the second-order cumulant expansion or stochastic structural instability theory; neither intrinsic turbulence nor coupling to extrinsic turbulence is required. A representative calculation of the zonostrophic neutral curve is made for a simple two-field model of toroidal ion-temperature-gradient-driven modes. To themore » extent that the damping of zonal flows is controlled by the ion-ion collision rate, the point of zonostrophic instability is independent of that rate. Published by AIP Publishing.« less

Interplay between electric fields generated by reconnection and by secondary processes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lapenta, G.; Innocenti, M. E.; Pucci, F.; Cazzola, E.; Berchem, J.; Newman, D. L.; El-Alaoui, M.; Walker, R. J.; Goldman, M. V.; Ergun, R.

2017-12-01

Reconnection regions are surrounded by several sources of free energy that push reconnection towards a turbulent regime: beams can drive streaming instabilities, currents can drive tearing like secondary instabilities, velocity and density shears can drive Kelvin-Helmholtz or Rayleigh-Taylor type of instabilities. The interaction between these instabilities can be very complex. For instance, from a kinetic point of view, instabilities resulting from shears are intermixed with drift-type instabilities, such as drift-kink, kink driven by relative species drift, lower hybrid modes of the electrostatic or electromagnetic type. In addition, the interaction with reconnection is two ways: reconnection causes the conditions for those instabilities to develop while the instabilities alter the progress of reconnection. Although MMS has observed features that can be associated with such instabilities: strong localized parallel electric fields (monopolar and bipolar), fluctuations in the drift range (lower hybrid, whistler), it has been difficult to determine which ones operate and how they differ depending on the symmetric and asymmetric reconnection configurations observed in the magnetotail and at the magnetopause, respectively. We present a comparison between the results of kinetic simulations obtained for typical magnetotail and the magnetopause configurations, using for each of them both analytical equilibria and results of global MHD simulations to initialize the iPIC3D simulations. By selecting what drivers (e.g. shear/no shear) are present, we can identify what instabilities develop and determine their effects on the progression of reconnection in the magnetotail and at the magnetopause. We focus especially on the role of drift waves and whistler instabilities, and discuss our results by comparing them with MMS observations.

Role of magnetic fluctuations in mode selection of magnetically driven instabilities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dan, Jia-Kun; Ren, Xiao-Dong; Huang, Xian-Bin; Ouyang, Kai; Chen, Guang-Hua

2014-12-01

The influences of magnetic fluctuations on quasiperiodic structure formation and fundamental wavelength selection of the instability have been studied using two 25-μm-diameter tungsten wires on a 100 ns rise time, 220 kA pulsed power facility. Two different load configurations were adopted to make end surfaces of electrodes approximately satisfy reflecting and absorbing boundary conditions, respectively. The experimental results that the fundamental wavelength in the case of absorbing boundary condition is about one half of that in the case of reflecting boundary condition have demonstrated that magnetic fluctuations appear to play a key role in mode selection of magnetically driven instabilities. The dominant wavelength should be proportional to magnetic field and inversely proportional to square root of mass density, provided that the magnetosonic wave propagating perpendicular to magnetic fields provides a leading candidate for magnetic fluctuations. Therefore, magnetic fluctuation is one of the three key perturbations, along with surface contaminants and surface roughness, that seeds magnetically driven instabilities.

Ion cyclotron emission studies: Retrospects and prospects

DOE PAGES

Gorelenkov, N. N.

2016-06-05

Ion cyclotron emission (ICE) studies emerged in part from the papers by A.B. Mikhailovskii published in the 1970s. Among the discussed subjects were electromagnetic compressional Alfv,nic cyclotron instabilities with the linear growth rate similar ~ √(n α/n e) driven by fusion products, -particles which draw a lot of attention to energetic particle physics. The theory of ICE excited by energetic particles was significantly advanced at the end of the 20th century motivated by first DT experiments on TFTR and subsequent JET experimental studies which we highlight. Recently ICE theory was advanced by detailed theoretical and experimental studies on spherical torusmore » (ST) fusion devices where the instability signals previously indistinguishable in high aspect ratio tokamaks due to high toroidal magnetic field became the subjects of experiments. Finally, we discuss prospects of ICE theory applications for future burning plasma (BP) experiments such as those to be conducted in ITER device in France, where neutron and gamma rays escaping the plasma create extremely challenging conditions fusion alpha particle diagnostics.« less

Hydrodynamic instabilities at an oblique interface: Experiments and Simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Douglas-Mann, E.; Fiedler Kawaguchi, C.; Trantham, M. A.; Malamud, G.; Wan, W. C.; Klein, S. R.; Kuranz, C. C.

2017-10-01

Hydrodynamic instabilities are important phenomena that occur in high-energy-density systems, such as astrophysical systems and inertial confinement fusion experiments, where pressure, density, and velocity gradients are present. Using a 30 ns laser pulse from the Omega EP laser system, a steady shock wave is driven into a target. A Spherical Crystal Imager provides high-resolution x-ray radiographs to study the evolution of complex hydrodynamic structures. This experiment has a light-to-heavy interface at an oblique angle with a precision-machined perturbation. The incident shock wave deposits shear and vorticity at the interface causing the perturbation to grow via Richtmyer-Meshkov and Kelvin-Helmholtz processes. We present results from analysis of radiographic data and hydrodynamics simulations showing the evolution of the shock and unstable structure. This work is supported by the NNSA-DS and SC-OFES Joint Program in High-Energy-Density Laboratory Plasmas, Grant Number DE-NA0002956 and the National Science Foundation through the Basic Plasma Science and Engineering program and LILAC.

Ion cyclotron emission studies: Retrospects and prospects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gorelenkov, N. N.

2016-05-01

Ion cyclotron emission (ICE) studies emerged in part from the papers by A.B. Mikhailovskii published in the 1970s. Among the discussed subjects were electromagnetic compressional Alfvénic cyclotron instabilities with the linear growth rate √ {n_α /n_e } driven by fusion products, -particles which draw a lot of attention to energetic particle physics. The theory of ICE excited by energetic particles was significantly advanced at the end of the 20th century motivated by first DT experiments on TFTR and subsequent JET experimental studies which we highlight. More recently ICE theory was advanced by detailed theoretical and experimental studies on spherical torus (ST) fusion devices where the instability signals previously indistinguishable in high aspect ratio tokamaks due to high toroidal magnetic field became the subjects of experiments. We discuss further prospects of ICE theory applications for future burning plasma (BP) experiments such as those to be conducted in ITER device in France, where neutron and gamma rays escaping the plasma create extremely challenging conditions fusion alpha particle diagnostics.

Microturbulence studies of pulsed poloidal current drive discharges in the reversed field pinch

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

Carmody, D., E-mail: dcarmody@wisc.edu; Pueschel, M. J.; Anderson, J. K.

2015-01-15

Experimental discharges with pulsed poloidal current drive (PPCD) in the Madison Symmetric Torus reversed field pinch are investigated using a semi-analytic equilibrium model in the gyrokinetic turbulence code GENE. PPCD cases, with plasma currents of 500 kA and 200 kA, exhibit a density-gradient-driven trapped electron mode (TEM) and an ion temperature gradient mode, respectively. Relative to expectations of tokamak core plasmas, the critical gradients for the onset of these instabilities are found to be greater by roughly a factor of the aspect ratio. A significant upshift in the nonlinear TEM transport threshold, previously found for tokamaks, is confirmed in nonlinear reversed fieldmore » pinch simulations and is roughly three times the threshold for linear instability. The simulated heat fluxes can be brought in agreement with measured diffusivities by introducing a small, resonant magnetic perturbation, thus modeling the residual fluctuations from tearing modes. These fluctuations significantly enhance transport.« less

Current-induced instability of domain walls in cylindrical nanowires

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Weiwei; Zhang, Zhaoyang; Pepper, Ryan A.; Mu, Congpu; Zhou, Yan; Fangohr, Hans

2018-01-01

We study the current-driven domain wall (DW) motion in cylindrical nanowires using micromagnetic simulations by implementing the Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation with nonlocal spin-transfer torque in a finite difference micromagnetic package. We find that in the presence of DW, Gaussian wave packets (spin waves) will be generated when the charge current is suddenly applied to the system. This effect is excluded when using the local spin-transfer torque. The existence of spin waves emission indicates that transverse domain walls can not move arbitrarily fast in cylindrical nanowires although they are free from the Walker limit. We establish an upper velocity limit for DW motion by analyzing the stability of Gaussian wave packets using the local spin-transfer torque. Micromagnetic simulations show that the stable region obtained by using nonlocal spin-transfer torque is smaller than that by using its local counterpart. This limitation is essential for multiple DWs since the instability of Gaussian wave packets will break the structure of multiple DWs.

Cosmic Ray Production in Supernovae

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bykov, A. M.; Ellison, D. C.; Marcowith, A.; Osipov, S. M.

2018-02-01

We give a brief review of the origin and acceleration of cosmic rays (CRs), emphasizing the production of CRs at different stages of supernova evolution by the first-order Fermi shock acceleration mechanism. We suggest that supernovae with trans-relativistic outflows, despite being rather rare, may accelerate CRs to energies above 10^{18} eV over the first year of their evolution. Supernovae in young compact clusters of massive stars, and interaction powered superluminous supernovae, may accelerate CRs well above the PeV regime. We discuss the acceleration of the bulk of the galactic CRs in isolated supernova remnants and re-acceleration of escaped CRs by the multiple shocks present in superbubbles produced by associations of OB stars. The effects of magnetic field amplification by CR driven instabilities, as well as superdiffusive CR transport, are discussed for nonthermal radiation produced by nonlinear shocks of all speeds including trans-relativistic ones.

Hydrodynamics of laser-driven double-foil collisions studied by orthogonal x-ray imaging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aglitskiy, Y.; Metzler, N.; Karasik, M.; Serlin, V.; Obenschain, S. P.; Schmitt, A. J.; Velikovich, A. L.; Gardner, J. H.; Weaver, J.; Oh, J.

2006-10-01

With this experiment we start the study of the physics of hydrodynamic instability seeding and growth during the deceleration and stagnation phases. Our first targets consisted of two separated parallel plastic foils -- flat and rippled. The flat foil was irradiated by the 4 ns Nike KrF laser pulses at 50 TW/cm^2 and accelerated towards the rippled one. Orthogonal imaging, i. e., a simultaneous side-on and face-on radiography of the targets has been used in these experiments. Side-on x-ray radiography and VISAR data yield shock and target velocities before and after the collision. Face-on streaks revealed well-pronounced oscillatory behavior of the single-mode mass perturbations. Both sets of synchronized data were compared with 1D and 2D simulations. Observed velocities, timing and the peak value of areal mass variation are in good agreement with the simulated ones.

Kinetic Simulations of Dense Plasma Focus Breakdown

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schmidt, A.; Higginson, D. P.; Jiang, S.; Link, A.; Povilus, A.; Sears, J.; Bennett, N.; Rose, D. V.; Welch, D. R.

2015-11-01

A dense plasma focus (DPF) device is a type of plasma gun that drives current through a set of coaxial electrodes to assemble gas inside the device and then implode that gas on axis to form a Z-pinch. This implosion drives hydrodynamic and kinetic instabilities that generate strong electric fields, which produces a short intense pulse of x-rays, high-energy (>100 keV) electrons and ions, and (in deuterium gas) neutrons. A strong factor in pinch performance is the initial breakdown and ionization of the gas along the insulator surface separating the two electrodes. The smoothness and isotropy of this ionized sheath are imprinted on the current sheath that travels along the electrodes, thus making it an important portion of the DPF to both understand and optimize. Here we use kinetic simulations in the Particle-in-cell code LSP to model the breakdown. Simulations are initiated with neutral gas and the breakdown modeled self-consistently as driven by a charged capacitor system. We also investigate novel geometries for the insulator and electrodes to attempt to control the electric field profile. The initial ionization fraction of gas is explored computationally to gauge possible advantages of pre-ionization which could be created experimentally via lasers or a glow-discharge. Prepared by LLNL under Contract DE-AC52-07NA27344.

Experiments and models of MHD jets and their relevance to astrophysics and solar physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bellan, Paul

2017-10-01

MHD-driven flows exist in both space and lab plasmas because the MHD force-balance equation J × B - ∇ P = 0 can only be satisfied in situations having an unusual degree of symmetry. In the normal situation where such symmetry does not exist, an arbitrary magnetic field B and its associated current J =μ0- 1 ∇ × B provide a magnetic force F = J × B having the character of a torque, i.e., ∇ × F ≠ 0 . Because ∇ × ∇ P = 0 is a mathematical identity, no pressure gradient can balance this torque so a flow is driven. Additionally, since ideal MHD has magnetic flux frozen into the frame of the moving plasma, the flow convects frozen-in magnetic flux. If the flow slows and piles up, both the plasma and the frozen-in magnetic flux will be compressed. This magnetic flux compression amplifies both the frozen-in B and its associated J . Slowing down thus increases certain components of F , in particular the pinch force associated with the electric current in the flow direction. This increased pinching causes the flow to self-collimate if the leading edge of the flow moves slower than the trailing part so there is compression in the flow frame. The result is that the flow self-collimates and forms a narrow jet. Self-collimating jets with embedded electric current and helical magnetic field are analogous to the straight cylindrical approximation of a tokamak, but now with the length of the cylinder continuously increasing and the radius depending on axial position. The flows are directed from axial regions having small radius to axial regions having large radius. The flow velocity is proportional to the axial electric current and is a significant fraction of the Alfvén velocity. Examples of these MHD-driven flows are astrophysical jets, certain solar coronal situations, and the initial plasma produced by the coaxial magnetized plasma guns used for making spheromaks. The above picture has been developed from laboratory measurements, analytic models, and numerical simulations. Upon attaining a critical length, laboratory jets develop a complex but resolvable sequence of instabilities which is effectively a cascade from the large-scale MHD regime to the small-scale two-fluid and kinetic regimes. This cascade involves kinking, Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities, magnetic reconnection, whistler waves, ion and electron heating, and generation of hard X-rays. An extended model shows how clumps of particles in a weakly ionized accretion disk move like a metaparticle having its charge to mass ratio reduced from that of an ion by the fractional ionization. These weakly charged metaparticles follow an inward spiral trajectory that is neither a cyclotron nor a Kepler orbit and accumulate at small radius where they produce a disk-plane radial EMF that drives astrophysical jets. Supported by DOE, NSF, and AFOSR.

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.

The formation and dissipation of electrostatic shock waves: the role of ion–ion acoustic instabilities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Wen-shuai; Cai, Hong-bo; Zhu, Shao-ping

2018-05-01

The role of ion–ion acoustic instabilities in the formation and dissipation of collisionless electrostatic shock waves driven by counter-streaming supersonic plasma flows has been investigated via two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations. The nonlinear evolution of unstable waves and ion velocity distributions has been analyzed in detail. It is found that for electrostatic shocks driven by moderate-velocity flows, longitudinal and oblique ion–ion acoustic instabilities can be excited in the downstream and upstream regions, which lead to thermalization of the transmitted and reflected ions, respectively. For high-velocity flows, oblique ion–ion acoustic instabilities can develop in the overlap layer during the shock formation process and impede the shock formation.

Suppressing Two-Plasmon Decay with Laser Frequency Detuning

DOE PAGES

Follett, R. K.; Shaw, J. G.; Myatt, J. F.; ...

2018-03-30

Three-dimensional laser-plasma interaction simulations show that laser frequency detuning by an amount achievable with current laser technology can be used to suppress the two-plasmon decay (TPD) instability and the corresponding hot-electron generation. For the plasma conditions and laser configuration in a direct-drive inertial confinement fusion implosion on the OMEGA laser, the simulations show that ~0.7% laser frequency detuning is sufficient to eliminate TPD-driven hot-electron generation in current experiments. In conclusion, this allows for higher ablation pressures in future implosion designs by using higher laser intensities.

Suppressing Two-Plasmon Decay with Laser Frequency Detuning

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

Follett, R. K.; Shaw, J. G.; Myatt, J. F.

Three-dimensional laser-plasma interaction simulations show that laser frequency detuning by an amount achievable with current laser technology can be used to suppress the two-plasmon decay (TPD) instability and the corresponding hot-electron generation. For the plasma conditions and laser configuration in a direct-drive inertial confinement fusion implosion on the OMEGA laser, the simulations show that ~0.7% laser frequency detuning is sufficient to eliminate TPD-driven hot-electron generation in current experiments. In conclusion, this allows for higher ablation pressures in future implosion designs by using higher laser intensities.

Suppressing Two-Plasmon Decay with Laser Frequency Detuning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Follett, R. K.; Shaw, J. G.; Myatt, J. F.; Palastro, J. P.; Short, R. W.; Froula, D. H.

2018-03-01

Three-dimensional laser-plasma interaction simulations show that laser frequency detuning by an amount achievable with current laser technology can be used to suppress the two-plasmon decay (TPD) instability and the corresponding hot-electron generation. For the plasma conditions and laser configuration in a direct-drive inertial confinement fusion implosion on the OMEGA laser, the simulations show that ˜0.7 % laser frequency detuning is sufficient to eliminate TPD-driven hot-electron generation in current experiments. This allows for higher ablation pressures in future implosion designs by using higher laser intensities.

Instability growth for magnetized liner inertial fusion seeded by electro-thermal, electro-choric, and material strength effects

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

Pecover, J. D.; Chittenden, J. P.

A critical limitation of magnetically imploded systems such as magnetized liner inertial fusion (MagLIF) [Slutz et al., Phys. Plasmas 17, 056303 (2010)] is the magneto-Rayleigh-Taylor (MRT) instability which primarily disrupts the outer surface of the liner. MagLIF-relevant experiments have showed large amplitude multi-mode MRT instability growth growing from surface roughness [McBride et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 109, 135004 (2012)], which is only reproduced by 3D simulations using our MHD code Gorgon when an artificially azimuthally correlated initialisation is added. We have shown that the missing azimuthal correlation could be provided by a combination of the electro-thermal instability (ETI) and anmore » “electro-choric” instability (ECI); describing, respectively, the tendency of current to correlate azimuthally early in time due to temperature dependent Ohmic heating; and an amplification of the ETI driven by density dependent resistivity around vapourisation. We developed and implemented a material strength model in Gorgon to improve simulation of the solid phase of liner implosions which, when applied to simulations exhibiting the ETI and ECI, gave a significant increase in wavelength and amplitude. Full circumference simulations of the MRT instability provided a significant improvement on previous randomly initialised results and approached agreement with experiment.« less

Novae as Tevatrons: prospects for CTA and IceCube

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Metzger, B. D.; Caprioli, D.; Vurm, I.; Beloborodov, A. M.; Bartos, I.; Vlasov, A.

2016-04-01

The discovery of novae as sources of ˜0.1-1 GeV gamma-rays highlights the key role of shocks and relativistic particle acceleration in these transient systems. Although there is evidence for a spectral cut-off above energies ˜1-100 GeV at particular epochs in some novae, the maximum particle energy achieved in these accelerators has remained an open question. The high densities of the nova ejecta (˜10 orders of magnitude larger than in supernova remnants) render the gas far upstream of the shock neutral and shielded from ionizing radiation. The amplification of the magnetic field needed for diffusive shock acceleration requires ionized gas, thus confining the acceleration process to a narrow photoionized layer immediately ahead of the shock. Based on the growth rate of the hybrid non-resonant cosmic ray current-driven instability (considering also ion-neutral damping), we quantify the maximum particle energy, Emax, across the range of shock velocities and upstream densities of interest. We find values of Emax ˜ 10 GeV-10 TeV, which are broadly consistent with the inferred spectral cut-offs, but which could also in principle lead to emission extending to ≳ 100 GeV accessible to atmosphere Cherenkov telescopes, such as the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA). Detecting TeV neutrinos with IceCube is more challenging, although the prospects are improved for a nearby event (≲ kpc) or if the shock power during the earliest, densest phases of the outburst is higher than implied by the GeV light curves, due to downscattering of the gamma-rays within the ejecta.

Role of electromagnetic wave in mode selection of magnetically driven instabilities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dan, J. K.; Ren, X. D.; Duan, S. C.; Ouyang, K.; Chen, G. H.; Huang, X. B.

2014-12-01

The fundamental wavelength of the instability along two 25-μm-diameter aluminum wires using a 100 ns rise time, 220 kA pulsed power facility is measured for two different load configurations. In one case the wires are perpendicular to end surface of electrodes, and in another case the wires are oblique to electrode's end surface. The primary diagnostic used to measure time revolution of instability wavelength and amplitude is laser shadowgraphy. The role of end surface of electrodes appears to be responsible for the differences in dominant wavelength of instability between two types of load configurations. The experimental results that the fundamental wavelength in oblique case is about one half of that in perpendicular case indicates the ionic electromagnetic waves may play a key role in mode selection of magnetically driven instabilities. Conclusions drew from this paper may help us to understand the original reason why instabilities along wires manifest itself as a quasiperiodic pattern.

Vertical Transport of Sediment from Muddy Buoyant River Plumes in the Presence of Different Modes of Interfacial Instabilities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Strom, K.; Rouhnia, M.

2016-12-01

Previous studies have suggested that sedimentation from buoyant, muddy plumes lofting over clear saltwater can take place at rates higher than that expected from individual particle settling (i.e., CWs). Two potential drivers of enhanced sedimentation are flocculation and interfacial instabilities. We experimentally measured the sediment fluxes from each of these processes using two sets of laboratory experiments that investigate two different modes of instability, one driven by sediment settling and one driven by fluid shear. The settling-driven and shear-driven instability experiments were carried out in a stagnant stratification tank and a stratification flume respectively. In both sets, continuous interface monitoring and concentration measurements were made to observe developments of instabilities and their effects on the removal of sediment. Floc size was measured during the experiments using a floc camera and image analysis routines. This presentation will provide an overview of the stagnant tank experiments, but will focus on results from the stratified flume experiments and an analysis that attempts to synthesizes the results from the entirety of the study. The results from the stratified flume experiments show that under shear instabilities, the effective settling velocity is greater than the floc settling velocity, and that the rate increases with plume velocity and interface mixing. The difference between effective and floc settling velocity was denoted as the shear-induced settling velocity. This rate was found to be a strong function of the Richardson number, and was attributed to mixing processes at the interface. Conceptual and empirical analysis shows that the shear-induced settling velocity is proportional to URi-2. The resulting effective settling velocity models developed from these experiments are then used to examine the rates and potential locations of operations of these mechanism over the length of a river mouth plume.

Recent advances in theoretical and numerical studies of wire array Z-pinch in the IAPCM

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

Ding, Ning, E-mail: ding-ning@iapcm.ac.cn; Zhang, Yang, E-mail: ding-ning@iapcm.ac.cn; Xiao, Delong, E-mail: ding-ning@iapcm.ac.cn

2014-12-15

Fast Z-pinch has produced the most powerful X-ray radiation source in laboratory and also shows the possibility to drive inertial confinement fusion (ICF). Recent advances in wire-array Z-pinch researches at the Institute of Applied Physics and Computational Mathematics are presented in this paper. A typical wire array Z-pinch process has three phases: wire plasma formation and ablation, implosion and the MRT instability development, stagnation and radiation. A mass injection model with azimuthal modulation coefficient is used to describe the wire initiation, and the dynamics of ablated plasmas of wire-array Z-pinches in (r, θ) geometry is numerically studied. In the implosionmore » phase, a two-dimensional(r, z) three temperature radiation MHD code MARED has been developed to investigate the development of the Magneto-Rayleigh-Taylor(MRT) instability. We also analyze the implosion modes of nested wire-array and find that the inner wire-array is hardly affected before the impaction of the outer wire-array. While the plasma accelerated to high speed in the implosion stage stagnates on the axis, abundant x-ray radiation is produced. The energy spectrum of the radiation and the production mechanism are investigated. The computational x-ray pulse shows a reasonable agreement with the experimental result. We also suggest that using alloyed wire-arrays can increase multi-keV K-shell yield by decreasing the opacity of K-shell lines. In addition, we use a detailed circuit model to study the energy coupling between the generator and the Z-pinch implosion. Recently, we are concentrating on the problems of Z-pinch driven ICF, such as dynamic hohlraum and capsule implosions. Our numerical investigations on the interaction of wire-array Z-pinches on foam convertors show qualitative agreements with experimental results on the “Qiangguang I” facility. An integrated two-dimensional simulation of dynamic hohlraum driven capsule implosion provides us the physical insights of wire-array plasma acceleration, shock generation and production, hohlraum formation, radiation ablation and fuel compression.« less

Unique capabilities for ICF and HEDP research with the KrF laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Obenschain, Stephen; Bates, Jason; Chan, Lop-Yung; Karasik, Max; Kehne, David; Sethian, John; Serlin, Victor; Weaver, James; Oh, Jaechul; Jenkins, Bruce; Lehmberg, Robert; Hegeler, Frank; Terrell, Stephen; Aglitskiy, Yefim; Schmitt, Andrew

2014-10-01

The krypton-fluoride (KrF) laser provides the shortest wavelength, broadest bandwidth and most uniform target illumination of all developed high-energy lasers. For directly driven targets these characteristics result in higher and more uniform ablation pressures as well as higher intensity thresholds for laser-plasma instability. The ISI beam smoothing scheme implemented on the NRL Nike KrF facility allows easy implementation of focal zooming where the laser radial profile is varied during the laser pulse. The capability for near continuous zooming with KrF would be valuable towards minimizing the effects of cross beam energy transport (CBET) in directly driven capsule implosions. The broad bandwidth ISI beam smoothing that is utilized with the Nike KrF facility may further inhibit certain laser plasma instability. In this presentation we will summarize our current understanding of laser target interaction with the KrF laser and the benefits it provides for ICF and certain HEDP experiments. Status and progress in high-energy KrF laser technology will also be discussed. Work supported by the Deparment of Energy, NNSA.

Shock heating in numerical simulations of kink-unstable coronal loops

PubMed Central

Bareford, M. R.; Hood, A. W.

2015-01-01

An analysis of the importance of shock heating within coronal magnetic fields has hitherto been a neglected area of study. We present new results obtained from nonlinear magnetohydrodynamic simulations of straight coronal loops. This work shows how the energy released from the magnetic field, following an ideal instability, can be converted into thermal energy, thereby heating the solar corona. Fast dissipation of magnetic energy is necessary for coronal heating and this requirement is compatible with the time scales associated with ideal instabilities. Therefore, we choose an initial loop configuration that is susceptible to the fast-growing kink, an instability that is likely to be created by convectively driven vortices, occurring where the loop field intersects the photosphere (i.e. the loop footpoints). The large-scale deformation of the field caused by the kinking creates the conditions for the formation of strong current sheets and magnetic reconnection, which have previously been considered as sites of heating, under the assumption of an enhanced resistivity. However, our simulations indicate that slow mode shocks are the primary heating mechanism, since, as well as creating current sheets, magnetic reconnection also generates plasma flows that are faster than the slow magnetoacoustic wave speed. PMID:25897092

Three-dimensionality development inside standard parallelepipedic lid-driven cavities at /Re=1000

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Migeon, C.; Pineau, G.; Texier, A.

2003-04-01

This paper considers the problem of the time-dependent laminar incompressible flow motion within parallelepipedic cavities in which one wall moves with uniform velocity after an impulsive start using a particle-streak and a dye-emission techniques. Of particular concern is the examination of the spanwise structures of the flow in view to point out how three-dimensionality arises and develops with time for a Reynolds number of 1000. For this purpose, attention is focused on the spanwise currents, the end-wall corner vortices and the structures resulting from the centrifugal instability. Among others, the study clearly shows the scenario of propagation of the spanwise currents by giving quantitative information on their velocity and on the time from which a given cross-plane becomes affected by such a 3-D perturbation. Furthermore, the numerous visualizations reveal the existence of only one corner-vortex on each end-wall; this vortex is quasi-toroidal shaped. Finally, concerning flow instability, the present results show that no well-formed counter-rotating vortices emerge for /Re=1000 during the start-up phase contrary to what was asserted so far. However, two successive initial phases of this instability development are revealed for the first time.

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.

GLOBAL SIMULATIONS OF GALACTIC WINDS INCLUDING COSMIC-RAY STREAMING

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

Ruszkowski, Mateusz; Yang, H.-Y. Karen; Zweibel, Ellen, E-mail: mateuszr@umich.edu, E-mail: hsyang@astro.umd.edu, E-mail: zweibel@astro.wisc.edu

2017-01-10

Galactic outflows play an important role in galactic evolution. Despite their importance, a detailed understanding of the physical mechanisms responsible for the driving of these winds is lacking. In an effort to gain more insight into the nature of these flows, we perform global three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamical simulations of an isolated Milky Way-size starburst galaxy. We focus on the dynamical role of cosmic rays (CRs) injected by supernovae, and specifically on the impact of the streaming and anisotropic diffusion of CRs along the magnetic fields. We find that these microphysical effects can have a significant effect on the wind launching andmore » mass loading factors, depending on the details of the plasma physics. Due to the CR streaming instability, CRs propagating in the interstellar medium scatter on self-excited Alfvén waves and couple to the gas. When the wave growth due to the streaming instability is inhibited by some damping process, such as turbulent damping, the coupling of CRs to the gas is weaker and their effective propagation speed faster than the Alfvén speed. Alternatively, CRs could scatter from “extrinsic turbulence” that is driven by another mechanism. We demonstrate that the presence of moderately super-Alfvénic CR streaming enhances the efficiency of galactic wind driving. Cosmic rays stream away from denser regions near the galactic disk along partially ordered magnetic fields and in the process accelerate more tenuous gas away from the galaxy. For CR acceleration efficiencies broadly consistent with the observational constraints, CRs reduce the galactic star formation rates and significantly aid in launching galactic winds.« less

Thermal energy creation and transport and X-ray/EUV emission in a thermodynamic MHD CME simulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reeves, K.; Mikic, Z.; Torok, T.; Linker, J.; Murphy, N. A.

2017-12-01

We model a CME using the PSI 3D numerical MHD code that includes coronal heating, thermal conduction and radiative cooling in the energy equation. The magnetic flux distribution at 1 Rs is produced by a localized subsurface dipole superimposed on a global dipole field, mimicking the presence of an active region within the global corona. We introduce transverse electric fields near the neutral line in the active region to form a flux rope, then a converging flow is imposed that causes the eruption. We follow the formation and evolution of the current sheet and find that instabilities set in soon after the reconnection commences. We simulate XRT and AIA EUV emission and find that the instabilities manifest as bright features emanating from the reconnection region. We examine the quantities responsible for plasma heating and cooling during the eruption, including thermal conduction, radiation, adiabatic compression and expansion, coronal heating and ohmic heating due to dissipation of currents. We find that the adiabatic compression plays an important role in heating the plasma around the current sheet, especially in the later stages of the eruption when the instabilities are present. Thermal conduction also plays an important role in the transport of thermal energy away from the current sheet region throughout the reconnection process.

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.

Kondo interactions from band reconstruction in YbInCu 4

DOE PAGES

Jarrige, I.; Kotani, A.; Yamaoka, H.; ...

2015-03-27

We combine resonant inelastic X-ray scattering (RIXS) and model calculations in the Kondo lattice compound YbInCu₄, a system characterized by a dramatic increase in Kondo temperature and associated valence fluctuations below a first-order valence transition at T≃42 K. In this study, the bulk-sensitive, element-specific, and valence-projected charge excitation spectra reveal an unusual quasi-gap in the Yb-derived state density which drives an instability of the electronic structure and renormalizes the low-energy effective Hamiltonian at the transition. Our results provide long-sought experimental evidence for a link between temperature-driven changes in the low-energy Kondo scale and the higher-energy electronic structure of this system.

Dynamic x-ray imaging of laser-driven nanoplasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fennel, Thomas

2016-05-01

A major promise of current x-ray science at free electron lasers is the realization of unprecedented imaging capabilities for resolving the structure and ultrafast dynamics of matter with nanometer spatial and femtosecond temporal resolution or even below via single-shot x-ray diffraction. Laser-driven atomic clusters and nanoparticles provide an ideal platform for developing and demonstrating the required technology to extract the ultrafast transient spatiotemporal dynamics from the diffraction images. In this talk, the perspectives and challenges of dynamic x-ray imaging will be discussed using complete self-consistent microscopic electromagnetic simulations of IR pump x-ray probe imaging for the example of clusters. The results of the microscopic particle-in-cell simulations (MicPIC) enable the simulation-assisted reconstruction of corresponding experimental data. This capability is demonstrated by converting recently measured LCLS data into a ultrahigh resolution movie of laser-induced plasma expansion. Finally, routes towards reaching attosecond time resolution in the visualization of complex dynamical processes in matter by x-ray diffraction will be discussed.

Observed transition from Richtmyer-Meshkov jet formation through feedout oscillations to Rayleigh-Taylor instability in a laser target

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aglitskiy, Y.; Karasik, M.; Velikovich, A. L.; Serlin, V.; Weaver, J. L.; Kessler, T. J.; Schmitt, A. J.; Obenschain, S. P.; Nikitin, S. P.; Metzler, N.; Oh, J.

2012-10-01

Experimental study of hydrodynamic perturbation evolution triggered by a laser-driven shock wave breakout at the free rippled rear surface of a plastic target is reported. We observed a transition between two qualitatively distinct types of perturbation evolution: jet formation at low shock pressure and areal mass oscillations at high shock pressure, which correspond respectively to high and low values of effective adiabatic index. The experiments were done on the KrF Nike laser facility with laser wavelength 248 nm and a 4 ns pulse. We varied the number of beams overlapped on the plastic target to change the ablative pressure driving the shock wave through the target: 36 beams produce pressure of ˜8 Mbar, whereas a single beam irradiation reduces the pressure to ˜0.7 Mbar. With the help of side-on monochromatic x-ray imaging, planar jets manifesting the development of the Richtmyer-Meshkov-type instability in a non-accelerated target are observed at sub-megabar shock pressure. As the shock pressure exceeds 1 Mbar, instead of jet formation an oscillatory rippled expansion wave is observed, followed by the ``feedout'' of the rear-surface perturbations to the ablation front and the development of the Rayleigh-Taylor instability, which breaks up the accelerated target.

Drying paint: from micro-scale dynamics to mechanical instabilities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goehring, Lucas; Li, Joaquim; Kiatkirakajorn, Pree-Cha

2017-04-01

Charged colloidal dispersions make up the basis of a broad range of industrial and commercial products, from paints to coatings and additives in cosmetics. During drying, an initially liquid dispersion of such particles is slowly concentrated into a solid, displaying a range of mechanical instabilities in response to highly variable internal pressures. Here we summarize the current appreciation of this process by pairing an advection-diffusion model of particle motion with a Poisson-Boltzmann cell model of inter-particle interactions, to predict the concentration gradients in a drying colloidal film. We then test these predictions with osmotic compression experiments on colloidal silica, and small-angle X-ray scattering experiments on silica dispersions drying in Hele-Shaw cells. Finally, we use the details of the microscopic physics at play in these dispersions to explore how two macroscopic mechanical instabilities-shear-banding and fracture-can be controlled. This article is part of the themed issue 'Patterning through instabilities in complex media: theory and applications.'

Long-Term Properties of Accretion Discs in X-ray Binaries. 1; The Variable Third Period in SMC X-1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Charles, P. A.; Clarkson, W. I.; Coe, M. J.; Laycock, S.; Tout, M.; Wilson, C.; Six, N. Frank (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

Long term X-ray monitoring data from the RXTE All Sky Monitor (ASM) reveal that the third (superorbital) period in SMC X-1 is not constant but varies between 40-60 days. A dynamic power spectrum analysis indicates that the third period has been present continuously throughout the five years of ASM observations. This period changed smoothly from 60 days to 45 days and then returned to its former value, on a timescale of approximately 1600 days. During the nearly 4 years of overlap between the CGRO & RXTE missions, the simultaneous BATSE hard X-ray data confirm this variation in SMC X-1. Sources of systematic error and possible artefacts are investigated and found to be incapable of reproducing the results reported here. Our disco cry of such an instability in the superorbital period of SMC X-1 is interpreted in the context of recent theoretical studies of warped, precessing accretion discs. We find that the behaviour of SMC X-1 is consistent with a radiation - driven warping model.

Multi-Band Light Curves from Two-Dimensional Simulations of Gamma-Ray Burst Afterglows

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

MacFadyen, Andrew

2010-01-01

The dynamics of gamma-ray burst outflows is inherently multi-dimensional. 1.) We present high resolution two-dimensional relativistic hydrodynamics simulations of GRBs in the afterglow phase using adaptive mesh refinement (AMR). Using standard synchrotron radiation models, we compute multi-band light curves, from the radio to X-ray, directly from the 2D hydrodynamics simulation data. We will present on-axis light curves for both constant density and wind media. We will also present off-axis light curves relevant for searches for orphan afterglows. We find that jet breaks are smoothed due to both off-axis viewing and wind media effects. 2.) Non-thermal radiation mechanisms in GRB afterglows require substantial magnetic field strengths. In turbulence driven by shear instabilities in relativistic magnetized gas, we demonstrate that magnetic field is naturally amplified to half a percent of the total energy (epsilon B = 0.005). We will show high resolution three dimensional relativistic MHD simulations of this process as well as particle in cell (PIC) simulations of mildly relativistic collisionless shocks.

Dynamical spike solutions in a nonlocal model of pattern formation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marciniak-Czochra, Anna; Härting, Steffen; Karch, Grzegorz; Suzuki, Kanako

2018-05-01

Coupling a reaction-diffusion equation with ordinary differential equa- tions (ODE) may lead to diffusion-driven instability (DDI) which, in contrast to the classical reaction-diffusion models, causes destabilization of both, constant solutions and Turing patterns. Using a shadow-type limit of a reaction-diffusion-ODE model, we show that in such cases the instability driven by nonlocal terms (a counterpart of DDI) may lead to formation of unbounded spike patterns.

Observations of nonlinear and nonuniform kink dynamics in a laboratory flux rope

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sears, J.; Intrator, T.; Feng, Y.; Swan, H.; Gao, K.; Chapdelaine, L.

2013-12-01

A plasma column with axial magnetic field and current has helically twisted field lines. When current density in the column exceeds the kink instability threshold this magnetic configuration becomes unstable. Flux ropes in the solar wind and some solar prominences exhibit this topology, with their dynamics strongly and nonlinearly coupled to the ratio of axial current to magnetic field. The current-driven kink mode is ubiquitous in laboratory plasmas and well suited to laboratory study. In the Reconnection Scaling Experiment (RSX), nonlinear stability properties beyond the simple perturbative kink model are observed and readily diagnosed. We use a plasma gun to generate a single plasma column 0.50 m in length, in which we then drive an axial plasma current at the limit of marginal kink stability. With plasma current maintained at this threshold, we observe a deformation to a new dynamic equilibrium with finite gyration amplitude, where the currents and magnetic fields that support the force balance have surprising axial structure. Three dimensional measurements of magnetic field, plasma density, plasma potential, and ion flow velocity in the deformed plasma column show variation in the axial direction of the instability parameter and in the terms of the momentum equation. Likewise the pitch of the kink is measured to be nonuniform over the column length. In addition there is a return current antiparallel to the driven plasma current at distances up to 0.30 m from the gun that also modifies the force balance. These axial inhomogeneities, which are not considered in the model of an ideal kink, may be the terms that allow the deformed equilibrium of the RSX plasma to exist. Supported by DOE Office of Fusion Energy Sciences under LANS contract DE-AC52-06NA25369, NASA Geospace NNHIOA044I, Basic. This work performed under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under Contract DE-AC52-07NA27344.

Planetesimal Formation by the Streaming Instability in a Photoevaporating Disk

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

Carrera, Daniel; Johansen, Anders; Davies, Melvyn B.

2017-04-10

Recent years have seen growing interest in the streaming instability as a candidate mechanism to produce planetesimals. However, these investigations have been limited to small-scale simulations. We now present the results of a global protoplanetary disk evolution model that incorporates planetesimal formation by the streaming instability, along with viscous accretion, photoevaporation by EUV, FUV, and X-ray photons, dust evolution, the water ice line, and stratified turbulence. Our simulations produce massive (60–130 M {sub ⊕}) planetesimal belts beyond 100 au and up to ∼20 M {sub ⊕} of planetesimals in the middle regions (3–100 au). Our most comprehensive model forms 8more » M {sub ⊕} of planetesimals inside 3 au, where they can give rise to terrestrial planets. The planetesimal mass formed in the inner disk depends critically on the timing of the formation of an inner cavity in the disk by high-energy photons. Our results show that the combination of photoevaporation and the streaming instability are efficient at converting the solid component of protoplanetary disks into planetesimals. Our model, however, does not form enough early planetesimals in the inner and middle regions of the disk to give rise to giant planets and super-Earths with gaseous envelopes. Additional processes such as particle pileups and mass loss driven by MHD winds may be needed to drive the formation of early planetesimal generations in the planet-forming regions of protoplanetary disks.« less

Parametric Instability Rates in Periodically Driven Band Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lellouch, S.; Bukov, M.; Demler, E.; Goldman, N.

2017-04-01

In this work, we analyze the dynamical properties of periodically driven band models. Focusing on the case of Bose-Einstein condensates, and using a mean-field approach to treat interparticle collisions, we identify the origin of dynamical instabilities arising from the interplay between the external drive and interactions. We present a widely applicable generic numerical method to extract instability rates and link parametric instabilities to uncontrolled energy absorption at short times. Based on the existence of parametric resonances, we then develop an analytical approach within Bogoliubov theory, which quantitatively captures the instability rates of the system and provides an intuitive picture of the relevant physical processes, including an understanding of how transverse modes affect the formation of parametric instabilities. Importantly, our calculations demonstrate an agreement between the instability rates determined from numerical simulations and those predicted by theory. To determine the validity regime of the mean-field analysis, we compare the latter to the weakly coupled conserving approximation. The tools developed and the results obtained in this work are directly relevant to present-day ultracold-atom experiments based on shaken optical lattices and are expected to provide an insightful guidance in the quest for Floquet engineering.

Simultaneous use of camera and probe diagnostics to unambiguously identify and study the dynamics of multiple underlying instabilities during the route to plasma turbulence.

PubMed

Thakur, S C; Brandt, C; Light, A; Cui, L; Gosselin, J J; Tynan, G R

2014-11-01

We use multiple-tip Langmuir probes and fast imaging to unambiguously identify and study the dynamics of underlying instabilities during the controlled route to fully-developed plasma turbulence in a linear magnetized helicon plasma device. Langmuir probes measure radial profiles of electron temperature, plasma density and potential; from which we compute linear growth rates of instabilities, cross-phase between density and potential fluctuations, Reynold's stress, particle flux, vorticity, time-delay estimated velocity, etc. Fast imaging complements the 1D probe measurements by providing temporally and spatially resolved 2D details of plasma structures associated with the instabilities. We find that three radially separated plasma instabilities exist simultaneously. Density gradient driven resistive drift waves propagating in the electron diamagnetic drift direction separate the plasma into an edge region dominated by strong, velocity shear driven Kelvin-Helmholtz instabilities and a central core region which shows coherent Rayleigh-Taylor modes propagating in the ion diamagnetic drift direction. The simultaneous, complementary use of both probes and camera was crucial to identify the instabilities and understand the details of the very rich plasma dynamics.

Reversible beam heater for suppression of microbunching instability by transverse gradient undulators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Tao; Qin, Weilun; Wang, Dong; Huang, Zhirong

2017-08-01

The microbunching instability driven by beam collective effects in a linear accelerator of a free-electron laser (FEL) facility significantly degrades the electron beam quality and FEL performance. A conventional method to suppress this instability is to introduce an additional uncorrelated energy spread by laser-electron interaction, which has been successfully operated in the Linac Coherent Light Source and Fermi@Elettra, etc. Some other ideas are recently proposed to suppress the instability without increasing energy spread, which could benefit the seeded FEL schemes. In this paper, we propose a reversible electron beam heater using two transverse gradient undulators to suppress the microbunching instability. This scheme introduces both an energy spread increase and a transverse-to-longitudinal phase space coupling, which suppress the microbunching instabilities driven by both longitudinal space charge and coherent synchrotron radiation before and within the system. Finally the induced energy spread increase and emittance growth are reversed. Theoretical analysis and numerical simulations are presented to verify the feasibility of the scheme and indicate the capability to improve the seeded FEL radiation performance.

Reversible beam heater for suppression of microbunching instability by transverse gradient undulators

DOE PAGES

Liu, Tao; Qin, Weilun; Wang, Dong; ...

2017-08-02

The microbunching instability driven by beam collective effects in a linear accelerator of a free-electron laser (FEL) facility significantly degrades the electron beam quality and FEL performance. A conventional method to suppress this instability is to introduce an additional uncorrelated energy spread by laser-electron interaction, which has been successfully operated in the Linac Coherent Light Source and Fermi@Elettra, etc. Some other ideas are recently proposed to suppress the instability without increasing energy spread, which could benefit the seeded FEL schemes. In this paper, we propose a reversible electron beam heater using two transverse gradient undulators to suppress the microbunching instability.more » This scheme introduces both an energy spread increase and a transverse-to-longitudinal phase space coupling, which suppress the microbunching instabilities driven by both longitudinal space charge and coherent synchrotron radiation before and within the system. Finally the induced energy spread increase and emittance growth are reversed. In conclusion, theoretical analysis and numerical simulations are presented to verify the feasibility of the scheme and indicate the capability to improve the seeded FEL radiation performance.« less

The effects of the cathode array on emitted hard x-ray from a small plasma focus device

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Piriaei, D.; Mahabadi, T. D.; Javadi, S.; Ghoranneviss, M.

2017-08-01

In this study, the effects of the cathode array variations on emitted hard x-rays from a small Mather type plasma focus device (450 J) were investigated. The gradual elimination of the cathode rods inside the cathode array of the device lowered the quality and quantity of the emitted hard x-rays at different pressure values of argon gas. We theorized that the variations of the cathode array were able to change some discharge parameters that could vary the number of the energetic runaway electrons generated during the pinch phase which were responsible for the created features of the emitted hard x-rays. On the other hand, we hypothesized that the removal of the cathode rods could influence the current sheath dynamics during all the phases of a shot including its average axial velocity which was demonstrated by using two axial magnetic probes. We also theorized that cathode rod omission from the cathode array could also increase the initial inductance and the impedance of the system, and the impurities inside the plasma during the pinch phase which could lead to the growth of the instabilities. Moreover, by using the wavelet technique and studying the Mirnov signals, it was shown that the decrease of the cathode rod number increased the plasma magnetic field fluctuations or instabilities (MHD activities) that adversely affected the pinch quality, and reduced the emitted hard x-rays.

Auroral vortex street formed by the magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling instability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hiraki, Y.

2015-02-01

By performing three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic simulations including Alfvén eigenmode perturbations most unstable to the ionospheric feedback effects, we examined the auroral vortex street that often appears just before substorm onset. We found that an initially placed arc splits, intensifies, and rapidly deforms into a vortex street. We also found that there is a critical convection electric field for growth of the Alfvén eigenmodes. The vortex street is shown to be a consequence of coupling between the magnetospheric Alfvén waves carrying field-aligned currents and the ionospheric density waves driven by Pedersen/Hall currents.

Collective instabilities

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

K.Y. Ng

2003-08-25

The lecture covers mainly Sections 2.VIII and 3.VII of the book ''Accelerator Physics'' by S.Y. Lee, plus mode-coupling instabilities and chromaticity-driven head-tail instability. Besides giving more detailed derivation of many equations, simple interpretations of many collective instabilities are included with the intention that the phenomena can be understood more easily without going into too much mathematics. The notations of Lee's book as well as the e{sup jwt} convention are followed.

SIMULATIONS OF THE KELVIN–HELMHOLTZ INSTABILITY DRIVEN BY CORONAL MASS EJECTIONS IN THE TURBULENT CORONA

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

Gómez, Daniel O.; DeLuca, Edward E.; Mininni, Pablo D.

Recent high-resolution Atmospheric Imaging Assembly/Solar Dynamics Observatory images show evidence of the development of the Kelvin–Helmholtz (KH) instability, as coronal mass ejections (CMEs) expand in the ambient corona. A large-scale magnetic field mostly tangential to the interface is inferred, both on the CME and on the background sides. However, the magnetic field component along the shear flow is not strong enough to quench the instability. There is also observational evidence that the ambient corona is in a turbulent regime, and therefore the criteria for the development of the instability are a priori expected to differ from the laminar case. To studymore » the evolution of the KH instability with a turbulent background, we perform three-dimensional simulations of the incompressible magnetohydrodynamic equations. The instability is driven by a velocity profile tangential to the CME–corona interface, which we simulate through a hyperbolic tangent profile. The turbulent background is generated by the application of a stationary stirring force. We compute the instability growth rate for different values of the turbulence intensity, and find that the role of turbulence is to attenuate the growth. The fact that KH instability is observed sets an upper limit on the correlation length of the coronal background turbulence.« less

Direct Measurements of the Baroclinic Instability in the Ocean

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sadek, Mahmoud; Aluie, Hussein; Hecht, Matthew; Vallis, Geoffrey

2016-11-01

The ocean is mechanically driven by wind and buoyancy at the surface which produce sloping isopycnals with a reservoir of available potential energy (APE). Large scale APE can be converted to kinetic energy via the baroclinic instability, which produces mesoscale eddies. Mesoscale eddies are ubiquitous in mid- and high-latitudes, and play a primary role in determining the strength and trajectories of currents and in generating intrinsic climate variability. The widespread belief that mesoscale eddies are generated through baroclinic instability is based on general accord between observations and linear stability analysis and the predicted behavior of nonlinear models. However, these models are unable to give us quantitative evidence of the extent to which the instability is responsible for eddy generation at various locations in the ocean. To this end, we implement a new coarse-graining framework, recently developed to study flow on a sphere, to directly analyze the baroclinic instability as a function of scale and geographic location, and implement it using strongly eddying high-resolution simulations in the North Atlantic and in the Southern Ocean. The results give us new information about location and intensity of the instability in both physical and spectral space. Partial support was provided by National Science Foundation (NSF) Grant OCE-1259794, US Department of Energy (US DOE) Grant DE-SC0014318, and the LANL LDRD program through Project Number 20150568ER.

The Parker Instability with Cosmic-Ray Streaming

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Heintz, Evan; Zweibel, Ellen G.

2018-06-01

Recent studies have found that cosmic-ray transport plays an important role in feedback processes such as star formation and the launching of galactic winds. Although cosmic-ray buoyancy is widely held to be a destabilizing force in galactic disks, the effect of cosmic-ray transport on the stability of stratified systems has yet to be analyzed. We perform a stability analysis of a stratified layer for three different cosmic-ray transport models: decoupled (Classic Parker), coupled with γ c = 4/3 but not streaming (Modified Parker), and finally coupled with streaming at the Alfvén speed. When the compressibility of the cosmic rays is decreased the system becomes much more stable, but the addition of cosmic-ray streaming to the Parker instability severely destabilizes it. Through comparison of these three cases and analysis of the work contributions for the perturbed quantities of each system, we demonstrate that cosmic-ray heating of the gas is responsible for the destabilization of the system. We find that a 3D system is unstable over a larger range of wavelengths than the 2D system. Therefore, the Parker instability with cosmic-ray streaming may play an important role in cosmic-ray feedback.

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.

Investigation of surface evolution for stainless steel electrode under pulsed megagauss magnetic field

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zou, Wenkang; Dan, Jiakun; Wang, Guilin; Duan, Shuchao; Wei, Bing; Zhang, Hengdi; Huang, Xianbin; Zhang, Zhaohui; Guo, Fan; Gong, Boyi; Chen, Lin; Wang, Meng; Feng, Shuping; Xie, Weiping; Deng, Jianjun

2018-02-01

Surface evolution for a conductor electrode under pulsed megagauss (MG) magnetic field was investigated. Stainless steel rods with 3 mm diameter were driven by 8 MA, 130 ns (10%-90%) current pulse in a series of shots on the Primary Test Stand. Experimental data from two complementary diagnostic systems and simulation results from one-dimensional magneto-hydrodynamics code reveal a transition phase for instability development. The transition, which begins as the conductor surface starts to expand, lasts about 40 ns in the pulse. It ends after the thermal plasma is formed, and striation electrothermal instability growth stops but magneto-Rayleigh-Taylor instability (MRTI) starts to develop. An expanding velocity which grows to about 2.0 km/s during the transition phase was directly measured for the first time. The threshold magnetic field for thermal plasma formation on the stainless steel surface was inferred to be 3.3 MG under a rising rate of about 66 MG/μs, and after that MRTI becomes predominant for amplitude growth in surface perturbation.

Recent progress on beam stability study in the PSR

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Tai-Sen F.; Channell, Paul J.; Cooper, Richard K.; Fitzgerald, Daniel H.; Hardek, Tom; Hutson, Richard; Jason, Andrew J.; Macek, Robert J.; Plum, Michael A.; Wilkinson, Carol

A fast transverse instability has been observed in the Los Alamos Proton Storage Ring (PSR) when the injected beam intensity reaches more than 2 (times) 10(exp 13) protons per pulse. Understanding the cause and control of this instability has taken on new importance as the neutron-scattering community considers the next generation of accelerator-driven spallation-neutron sources, which call for peak-proton intensities of 10(exp 14) per pulse or higher. Previous observations and theoretical studies indicate that the instability in the PSR is most likely driven by electrons trapped within the proton beam. Recent studies using an experimental electron-clearing system and voltage-biased pinger-electrodes for electron clearing and collection support this hypothesis. Experiments have also been performed to study the instability threshold when varying the electron production rate. Theoretical studies include a computer simulation of a simplified model for the e -- p instability and the investigation of possible electron confinement in the ring-element magnetic fields. This paper reports some recent results from these studies.

Kinetic effects on the velocity-shear-driven instability

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wang, Z.; Pritchett, P. L.; Ashour-Abdalla, M.

1992-01-01

A comparison is made between the properties of the low-frequency long-wavelength velocity-shear-driven instability in kinetic theory and magnetohydrodynamics (MHD). The results show that the removal of adiabaticity along the magnetic field line in kinetic theory leads to modifications in the nature of the instability. Although the threshold for the instability in the two formalisms is the same, the kinetic growth rate and the unstable range in wave-number space can be larger or smaller than the MHD values depending on the ratio between the thermal speed, Alfven speed, and flow speed. When the thermal speed is much larger than the flow speed and the flow speed is larger than the Alfven speed, the kinetic formalism gives a larger maximum growth rate and broader unstable range in wave-number space. In this regime, the normalized wave number for instability can be larger than unity, while in MHD it is always less than unity. The normal mode profile in the kinetic case has a wider spatial extent across the shear layer.

Minimal model for a hydrodynamic fingering instability in microroller suspensions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Delmotte, Blaise; Donev, Aleksandar; Driscoll, Michelle; Chaikin, Paul

2017-11-01

We derive a minimal continuum model to investigate the hydrodynamic mechanism behind the fingering instability recently discovered in a suspension of microrollers near a floor [M. Driscoll et al., Nat. Phys. 13, 375 (2017), 10.1038/nphys3970]. Our model, consisting of two continuous lines of rotlets, exhibits a linear instability driven only by hydrodynamic interactions and reproduces the length-scale selection observed in large-scale particle simulations and in experiments. By adjusting only one parameter, the distance between the two lines, our dispersion relation exhibits quantitative agreement with the simulations and qualitative agreement with experimental measurements. Our linear stability analysis indicates that this instability is caused by the combination of the advective and transverse flows generated by the microrollers near a no-slip surface. Our simple model offers an interesting formalism to characterize other hydrodynamic instabilities that have not been well understood, such as size scale selection in suspensions of particles sedimenting adjacent to a wall, or the recently observed formations of traveling phonons in systems of confined driven particles.

Suppression of AGN-Driven G-Mode Turbulence by Magnetic Fields in a Magnetohydrodynamic Model of the Intracluster Medium

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bambic, Christopher J.; Morsony, Brian J.; Reynolds, Christopher S.

2017-08-01

We investigate the role of AGN feedback in turbulent heating of galaxy clusters. X-ray measurements of the Perseus Cluster intracluster medium (ICM) by the Hitomi Mission found a velocity dispersion measure of σ ˜ 164 km/s, indicating a large-scale turbulent energy of approximately 4% of the thermal energy. If this energy is transferred to small scales via a turbulent cascade and dissipated as heat, radiative cooling can be offset and the cluster can remain in the observed thermal equilibrium. Using 3D ideal MHD simulations and a plane-parallel model of the ICM, we analyze the production of turbulence by g-modes generated by the supersonic expansion and buoyant rise of AGN-driven bubbles. Previous work has shown that this process is inefficient, with less than 1% of the injected energy ending up in turbulence. Hydrodynamic instabilities shred the bubbles apart before they can excite sufficiently strong g-modes. We examine the role of a large-scale magnetic field which is able to drape around these rising bubbles, preserving them from instabilities. We show that a helical magnetic field geometry is able to better preserve bubbles, driving stronger g-modes; however, the production of turbulence is still inefficient. Magnetic tension acts to stabilize g-modes, preventing the nonlinear transition to turbulence. In addition, the magnetic tension force acts along the field lines to suppress the formation of small-scale vortices. These two effects halt the turbulent cascade. Our work shows that ideal MHD is an insufficient description for the cluster feedback process, and we discuss future work such as the inclusion of anisotropic viscosity as a means of simulating high β plasma kinetic effects. In addition, other mechanisms of heating the ICM plasma such as sound waves or cosmic rays may be responsible to account for observed feedback in galaxy clusters.

Improved performances of CIBER-X: a new tabletop laser-driven electron and x-ray source

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Girardeau-Montaut, Jean-Pierre; Kiraly, Bela; Girardeau-Montaut, Claire

2000-11-01

We present the most recent data concerning the performances of the table-top laser driven electron and x-ray source developed in our laboratory. X-ray pulses are produced by a three-step process which consists of the photoelectron emission from a thin metallic photocathode illuminated by 16 ps duration laser pulse at 213 nm. The e-gun is a standard pierce diode electrode type, in which electrons are accelerated by a cw electric fields of 12 MV/m. The photoinjector produced a train of 90 - 100 keV electron pulses of approximately 1 nC and 40 A peak current at a repetition rate of 10 Hz. The electrons, transported outside the diode, are focused onto a target of thulium by magnetic fields produced by two electromagnetic coils to produce x-rays. Applications to low dose imagery of inert and living materials are also presented.

Growth rates of the buoyancy-driven instability of an autocatalytic reaction front in a narrow cell

PubMed

Bockmann; Muller

2000-09-18

Experimental studies were performed on the buoyancy-driven instability of an autocatalytic reaction front in a quasi-2D cell. The unstable density stratification at an ascending front leads to convection that results in a fingerlike front deformation. The growth rates of the spatial modes of the instability are determined at the initial stage. A stabilization is found at higher wave numbers, while the system is unstable against low wave number perturbations. Whereas comparison with a reported model governed by Hele-Shaw flow fails, a two-dimensional Navier-Stokes model yields more satisfactory results. Still, present deviations suggest the presence of an additional mechanism that suppresses the growth.

Ion sound instability driven by the ion flows

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

Koshkarov, O., E-mail: koshkarov.alexandr@usask.ca; Smolyakov, A. I.; National Research Centre

2015-05-15

Ion sound instabilities driven by the ion flow in a system of a finite length are considered by analytical and numerical methods. The ion sound waves are modified by the presence of stationary ion flow resulting in negative and positive energy modes. The instability develops due to coupling of negative and positive energy modes mediated by reflections from the boundary. It is shown that the wave dispersion due to deviation from quasineutrality is crucial for the stability. In finite length system, the dispersion is characterized by the length of the system measured in units of the Debye length. The instabilitymore » is studied analytically and the results are compared with direct, initial value numerical simulations.« less

Particle drift model for Z-pinch-driven magneto-Rayleigh-Taylor instability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dan, Jia Kun; Xu, Qiang; Wang, Kun Lun; Ren, Xiao Dong; Huang, Xian Bin

2016-09-01

A theoretical model of Z-pinch driven magneto-Rayleigh-Taylor instability is proposed based on the particle drift point of view, which can explain the helical instability structure observed in premagnetized imploding liner experiments. It is demonstrated that all possible drift motions, including polarization drift, gradient drift, and curvature drift, which can lead to charge separations, each will attribute to an effective gravity acceleration. Theoretical predictions given by this model are dramatically different from those given by previous theories which have been readily recovered in the theory presented here as a limiting case. The theory shows qualitative agreement with available experimental data of the pitch angle and provides certain predictions to be verified.

Broadening of divertor heat flux profile with increasing number of ELM filaments in NSTX

DOE PAGES

Ahn, J. -W.; Maingi, R.; Canik, J. M.; ...

2014-11-13

Edge localized modes (ELMs) represent a challenge to future fusion devices, owing to cyclical high peak heat fluxes on divertor plasma facing surfaces. One ameliorating factor has been that the heat flux characteristic profile width has been observed to broaden with the size of the ELM, as compared with the inter-ELM heat flux profile. In contrast, the heat flux profile has been observed to narrow during ELMs under certain conditions in NSTX. Here we show that the ELM heat flux profile width increases with the number of filamentary striations observed, i.e., profile narrowing is observed with zero or very fewmore » striations. Because NSTX often lies on the long wavelength current-driven mode side of ideal MHD instabilities, few filamentary structures can be expected under many conditions. Lastly, ITER is also projected to lie on the current driven low-n stability boundary, and therefore detailed projections of the unstable modes expected in ITER and the heat flux driven in ensuing filamentary structures is needed.« less

f-Mode Secular Instabilities in Deleptonizing Fizzlers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Imamura, James N.; Durisen, Richard H.

2004-12-01

Fizzlers are intermediate states that may form between white dwarf and neutron star densities during the collapse of massive rotating stars. This paper studies the gravitational radiation reaction (GRR) driven f-mode secular instabilities of fizzlers with angular momentum distributions h(mc) appropriate to the core collapse of massive rotating stars, where h is the specific angular momentum and mc is the cylindrical mass fraction. For core collapses that maintain axial symmetry, the h(mc) of the remnant reflects the conditions in the precollapse stellar core, and, thus, the h(mc) will resemble that of a uniformly rotating star supported by the pressure of relativistically degenerate electrons. Such an h(mc) concentrates most angular momentum toward the equatorial region of the object. The onset of f-mode secular instabilities in such fizzlers is affected strongly by the h(mc), whereas instability depends only weakly on compressibility. For a broad range of fizzler equations of state and the core h(mc), the f-mode secular instability thresholds drop to T/W~0.034-0.042, 0.019-0.021, and 0.012-0.0135, for m=2, 3, and 4, respectively. These same thresholds with the Maclaurin spheroid h(mc) are T/W=0.13-0.15, 0.10-0.11, and 0.08-0.09, respectively. The growth times τgw for GRR-driven m=2 modes are long. For fizzlers with specific angular momentum J/M~1.5×1016 cm2 s-1 and T/W<~0.24 (ρc<~1014 g cm-3), τgw>400 s. For these fizzlers, τgw>>τde, the deleptonization timescale, and GRR-driven secular instabilities will not grow along a deleptonizing fizzler sequence except, possibly, at T/W near the dynamic bar mode instability threshold, T/W~0.27.

Resilience of quasi-isodynamic stellarators against trapped-particle instabilities.

PubMed

Proll, J H E; Helander, P; Connor, J W; Plunk, G G

2012-06-15

It is shown that in perfectly quasi-isodynamic stellarators, trapped particles with a bounce frequency much higher than the frequency of the instability are stabilizing in the electrostatic and collisionless limit. The collisionless trapped-particle instability is therefore stable as well as the ordinary electron-density-gradient-driven trapped-electron mode. This result follows from the energy balance of electrostatic instabilities and is thus independent of all other details of the magnetic geometry.

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

Hydrodynamic instabilities and mix studies on NIF: predictions, observations, and a path forward

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

Remington, B. A.; Atherton, L. J.; Benedetti, L. R.

The goals of the Mix Campaign are to determine how mix affects performance, locate the "mix cliff", locate the source of the mix, and develop mitigation methods that allow performance to be increased. We have used several different drive pulse shapes and capsule designs in the Mix Campaign, to understand sensitivity to drive peak power, level of coast, rise time to peak power, adiabat, and dopant level in the capsule. Ablator material mixing into the hot spot has been shown conclusively with x-ray spectroscopy. The observed neutron yield drops steeply when the hot spot mix mass becomes too large. Themore » mix appears to be driven by ablation- front Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities. A high foot, higher adiabat drive has a more stable ablation front and has allowed the mix mass in the hot spot to be reduced significantly. We found two recent high foot shots achieved neutron yields > 10 15 and measured neutron yield over clean 1D simulation (YOC) > 50%, which was one of the central goals of the Mix Campaign.« less

Hydrodynamic instabilities and mix studies on NIF: predictions, observations, and a path forward

DOE PAGES

Remington, B. A.; Atherton, L. J.; Benedetti, L. R.; ...

2016-04-01

The goals of the Mix Campaign are to determine how mix affects performance, locate the "mix cliff", locate the source of the mix, and develop mitigation methods that allow performance to be increased. We have used several different drive pulse shapes and capsule designs in the Mix Campaign, to understand sensitivity to drive peak power, level of coast, rise time to peak power, adiabat, and dopant level in the capsule. Ablator material mixing into the hot spot has been shown conclusively with x-ray spectroscopy. The observed neutron yield drops steeply when the hot spot mix mass becomes too large. Themore » mix appears to be driven by ablation- front Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities. A high foot, higher adiabat drive has a more stable ablation front and has allowed the mix mass in the hot spot to be reduced significantly. We found two recent high foot shots achieved neutron yields > 10 15 and measured neutron yield over clean 1D simulation (YOC) > 50%, which was one of the central goals of the Mix Campaign.« less

LPI Thresholds in Longer Scale Length Plasmas Driven by the Nike Laser*

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weaver, J.; Oh, J.; Phillips, L.; Afeyan, B.; Seely, J.; Kehne, D.; Brown, C.; Obenschain, S.; Serlin, V.; Schmitt, A. J.; Feldman, U.; Holland, G.; Lehmberg, R. H.; McLean, E.; Manka, C.

2010-11-01

The Krypton-Fluoride (KrF) laser is an attractive driver for inertial confinement fusion due to its short wavelength (248nm), large bandwidth (1-3 THz), and beam smoothing by induced spatial incoherence. Experiments with the Nike KrF laser have demonstrated intensity thresholds for laser plasma instabilities (LPI) higher than reported for other high power lasers operating at longer wavelengths (>=351 nm). The previous Nike experiments used short pulses (350 ps FWHM) and small spots (<260 μm FWHM) that created short density scale length plasmas (Ln˜50-70 μm) from planar CH targets and demonstrated the onset of two-plasmon decay (2φp) at laser intensities ˜2x10^15 W/cm^2. This talk will present an overview of the current campaign that uses longer pulses (0.5-4.0 ns) to achieve greater density scale lengths (Ln˜100-200 μm). X-rays, emission near ^1/2φo and ^3/2φo harmonics, and reflected laser light have been monitored for onset of 2φp. The longer density scale lengths will allow better comparison to results from other laser facilities. *Work supported by DoE/NNSA and ONR.

Nanometer-scale characterization of laser-driven compression, shocks, and phase transitions, by x-ray scattering using free electron lasers

DOE PAGES

Kluge, T.; Rödel, C.; Rödel, M.; ...

2017-10-23

In this paper, we study the feasibility of using small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) as a new experimental diagnostic for intense laser-solid interactions. By using X-ray pulses from a hard X-ray free electron laser, we can simultaneously achieve nanometer and femtosecond resolution of laser-driven samples. This is an important new capability for the Helmholtz international beamline for extreme fields at the high energy density endstation currently built at the European X-ray free electron laser. We review the relevant SAXS theory and its application to transient processes in solid density plasmas and report on first experimental results that confirm the feasibilitymore » of the method. Finally, we present results of two test experiments where the first experiment employs ultra-short laser pulses for studying relativistic laser plasma interactions, and the second one focuses on shock compression studies with a nanosecond laser system.« less

Nanometer-scale characterization of laser-driven compression, shocks, and phase transitions, by x-ray scattering using free electron lasers

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

Kluge, T.; Rödel, C.; Rödel, M.

In this paper, we study the feasibility of using small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) as a new experimental diagnostic for intense laser-solid interactions. By using X-ray pulses from a hard X-ray free electron laser, we can simultaneously achieve nanometer and femtosecond resolution of laser-driven samples. This is an important new capability for the Helmholtz international beamline for extreme fields at the high energy density endstation currently built at the European X-ray free electron laser. We review the relevant SAXS theory and its application to transient processes in solid density plasmas and report on first experimental results that confirm the feasibilitymore » of the method. Finally, we present results of two test experiments where the first experiment employs ultra-short laser pulses for studying relativistic laser plasma interactions, and the second one focuses on shock compression studies with a nanosecond laser system.« less

Eta Carinae: X-ray Line Variations during the 2003 X-ray Minimum, and the Orbit Orientation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Corcoran, M. F.; Henley, D.; Hamaguchi, K.; Khibashi, K.; Pittard, J. M.; Stevens, I. R.; Gull, T. R.

2007-01-01

The future evolution of Eta Carinae will be as a supernova (or hypernova) and black hole. The evolution is highly contingent on mass and angular momentum changes and instabilities. The presence of a companion can serve to trigger instabilities and provide pathways for mass and angular momentum exchange loss. X-rays can be used a a key diagnostic tool: x-ray temperatures trace pre-shock wind velocities, periodic x-ray variability traces the orbit, and x-ray line variations traces the flow and orientation of shocked gas. This brief presentation highlights x-ray line variations from the HETG and presents a model of the colliding wind flow.

A Study of Single Pass Ion Effects at the ALS

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

Byrd, J.M.; Thomson, J.; /LBL, Berkeley

2011-09-13

We report the results of experiments on a 'fast beam-ion instability' at the Advanced Light Source (ALS). This ion instability, which can arise even when the ions are not trapped over multiple beam passages, will likely be important for many future accelerators. In our experiments, we filled the ALS storage ring with helium gas, raising the pressure approximately two orders of magnitude above the nominal pressure. With gaps in the bunch train large enough to avoid conventional (multi-turn) ion trapping, we observed a factor of 2-3 increase in the vertical beam size along with coherent beam oscillations which increased alongmore » the bunch train. Ion trapping has long been recognized as a potential limitation in electron storage rings. The ions, generated by beam-gas collisions, become trapped in the negative potential of the beam and accumulate over multiple beam passages. The trapped ions are then observed to cause a number of deleterious effects such as an increasing beam phase space, a broadening and shifting of the beam transverse oscillation frequencies (tunes), collective beam instabilities, and beam lifetime reductions. All of these effects are of concern for the next generation of accelerators, such as the B-factories or damping rings for future linear colliders, which will store high beam currents with closely spaced bunches and ultra-low beam emittances. One of the standard solutions used to prevent ion trapping is to include a gap in the bunch train which is long compared to the bunch spacing. In this case, the ions are first strongly-focused by the passing electron bunches and then over-focused in the gap. With a sufficiently large gap, the ions can be driven to large amplitudes where they form a diffuse halo and do not affect the beam. In this paper, we describe experiments that study a new regime of transient ion instabilities predicted to arise in future electron storage rings, and linacs with bunch trains. These future rings and linacs, which will be operated with higher beam currents, small transverse beam emittances, and long bunch trains, will use ion clearing gaps to prevent conventional ion trapping. But, while the ion clearing gap may suppress the conventional ion instabilities, it will not suppress a transient beam-ion instability where ions generated and trapped during the passage of a single train lead to a fast instability. While both conventional and transient ion instabilities have the same origin, namely ions produced by the beam, they have different manifestations and, more importantly, the new transient instability can arise even after the conventional ion instability is cured. This new instability is called the 'Fast Beam-Ion Instability' (FBII). In many future rings, the FBII is predicted to have very fast growth rates, much faster than the damping rates of existing and proposed transverse feedback systems, and thus is a potential limitation. To study the FBII, we performed experiments at the ALS, a 1.5 GeV electron storage ring. At the nominal ALS pressure of about 0.24 nTorr, the FBII is not evident. To study the instability, we intentionally added helium gas to the storage-ring vacuum system until the residual gas pressure was increased about 80 nTorr. This brought the predicted growth rate of the instability at least an order of magnitude above the growth rate of conventional multibunch instabilities driven by the RF cavities and above the damping rate of the transverse feedback system (TFB) in the ALS and, thereby, established conditions very similar to those in a future storage ring. We then filled the ring with a relatively short train of bunches, suppressing conventional ion instabilities. In the following, we will first briefly describe This paper describes the experiment and results in more detail.« less

Comparative modelling of lower hybrid current drive with two launcher designs in the Tore Supra tokamak

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nilsson, E.; Decker, J.; Peysson, Y.; Artaud, J.-F.; Ekedahl, A.; Hillairet, J.; Aniel, T.; Basiuk, V.; Goniche, M.; Imbeaux, F.; Mazon, D.; Sharma, P.

2013-08-01

Fully non-inductive operation with lower hybrid current drive (LHCD) in the Tore Supra tokamak is achieved using either a fully active multijunction (FAM) launcher or a more recent ITER-relevant passive active multijunction (PAM) launcher, or both launchers simultaneously. While both antennas show comparable experimental efficiencies, the analysis of stability properties in long discharges suggest different current profiles. We present comparative modelling of LHCD with the two different launchers to characterize the effect of the respective antenna spectra on the driven current profile. The interpretative modelling of LHCD is carried out using a chain of codes calculating, respectively, the global discharge evolution (tokamak simulator METIS), the spectrum at the antenna mouth (LH coupling code ALOHA), the LH wave propagation (ray-tracing code C3PO), and the distribution function (3D Fokker-Planck code LUKE). Essential aspects of the fast electron dynamics in time, space and energy are obtained from hard x-ray measurements of fast electron bremsstrahlung emission using a dedicated tomographic system. LHCD simulations are validated by systematic comparisons between these experimental measurements and the reconstructed signal calculated by the code R5X2 from the LUKE electron distribution. An excellent agreement is obtained in the presence of strong Landau damping (found under low density and high-power conditions in Tore Supra) for which the ray-tracing model is valid for modelling the LH wave propagation. Two aspects of the antenna spectra are found to have a significant effect on LHCD. First, the driven current is found to be proportional to the directivity, which depends upon the respective weight of the main positive and main negative lobes and is particularly sensitive to the density in front of the antenna. Second, the position of the main negative lobe in the spectrum is different for the two launchers. As this lobe drives a counter-current, the resulting driven current profile is also different for the FAM and PAM launchers.

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.

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.

On current drive by Ohkawa mechanism of electron cyclotron wave in large inverse aspect ratio tokamaks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zheng, Pingwei; Gong, Xueyu; Lu, Xingqiang; He, Lihua; Cao, Jingjia; Huang, Qianhong; Deng, Sheng

2018-03-01

A localized and efficient current drive method in the outer-half region of the tokamak with a large inverse aspect ratio is proposed via the Ohkawa mechanism of electron cyclotron (EC) waves. Further off-axis Ohkawa current drive (OKCD) via EC waves was investigated in high electron beta β e HL-2M-like tokamaks with a large inverse aspect ratio, and in EAST-like tokamaks with a low inverse aspect ratio. OKCD can be driven efficiently, and the driven current profile is spatially localized in the radial region, ranging from 0.62 to 0.85, where the large fraction of trapped electrons provides an excellent advantage for OKCD. Furthermore, the current drive efficiency increases with an increase in minor radius, and then drops when the minor radius beyond a certain value. The effect of trapped electrons greatly enhances the current driving capability of the OKCD mechanism. The highest current drive efficiency can reach 0.183 by adjusting the steering mirror to change the toroidal and poloidal incident angle, and the total driven current by OKCD can reach 20-32 kA MW-1 in HL-2M-like tokamaks. The current drive is less efficient for the EAST-like scenario due to the lower inverse aspect ratio. The results show that OKCD may be a valuable alternative current drive method in large inverse aspect ratio tokamaks, and the potential capabilities of OKCD can be used to suppress some important magnetohydrodynamics instabilities in the far off-axis region.

Instability growth seeded by oxygen in CH shells on the National Ignition Facility

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

Haan, S. W., E-mail: haan1@llnl.gov; Johnson, M. A.; Stadermann, M.

Fusion targets imploded on the National Ignition Facility are subject to hydrodynamic instabilities. These have generally been assumed to be seeded primarily by surface roughness, as existing work had suggested that internal inhomogeneity was small enough not to contribute significantly. New simulations presented here examine this in more detail, and consider modulations in internal oxygen content in CH plastic ablators. The oxygen is configured in a way motivated by measurement of oxygen in the shells. We find that plausible oxygen nonuniformity, motivated by target characterization experiments, seeds instability growth that is 3–5× bigger than expected from surface roughness. Pertinent existingmore » capsule characterization is discussed, which suggests the presence of internal modulations that could be oxygen at levels large enough to be the dominant seed for hydrodynamic instability growth. Oxygen-seeded growth is smaller for implosions driven by high-foot pulse shapes, consistent with the performance improvement seen with these pulse shapes. Growth is somewhat smaller for planned future pulse shapes that were optimized to minimize growth of surface ripples. A possible modified specification for oxygen modulations is discussed, which is about 1/5 of the current requirement.« less

Viscoelastic Taylor-Couette instability as analog of the magnetorotational instability.

PubMed

Bai, Yang; Crumeyrolle, Olivier; Mutabazi, Innocent

2015-09-01

A linear stability analysis and an experimental study of a viscoelastic Taylor-Couette flow corotating in the Keplerian ratio allow us to elucidate the analogy between the viscoelastic instability and the magnetorotational instability (MRI). A generalized Rayleigh criterion allows us to determine the potentially unstable zone to pure-elasticity-driven perturbations. Experiments with a viscoelastic polymer solution yield four modes: one pure-elasticity mode and three elastorotational instability (ERI) modes that represent the MRI-analog modes. The destabilization by the polymer viscosity is evidenced for the ERI modes.

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

Internal Shocks in the Magnetic Reconnection Jet in Solar Flares: Multiple Fast Shocks Created by the Secondary Tearing Instability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tanuma, S.; Shibata, K.

2005-07-01

Space solar missions such as Yohkoh and RHESSI observe the hard X- and gamma-ray emission from energetic electrons in impulsive solar flares. Their energization mechanism, however, is unknown. In this Letter, we suggest that the internal shocks are created in the reconnection jet and that they are possible sites of particle acceleration. We examine how magnetic reconnection creates the multiple shocks by performing two-dimensional resistive magnetohydrodynamic simulations. In this Letter, we use a very small grid to resolve the diffusion region. As a result, we find that the current sheet becomes thin due to the tearing instability, and it collapses to a Sweet-Parker sheet. The thin sheet becomes unstable to the secondary tearing instability. Fast reconnection starts by the onset of anomalous resistivity immediately after the secondary tearing instability. During the bursty, time-dependent magnetic reconnection, the secondary tearing instability continues in the diffusion region where the anomalous resistivity is enhanced. As a result, many weak shocks are created in the reconnection jet. This situation produces turbulent reconnection. We suggest that multiple fast shocks are created in the jet and that the energetic electrons can be accelerated by these shocks.

Turbulence in core-collapse supernovae

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Radice, David; Abdikamalov, Ernazar; Ott, Christian D.; Mösta, Philipp; Couch, Sean M.; Roberts, Luke F.

2018-05-01

Multidimensional simulations show that non-radial, turbulent, fluid motion is a fundamental component of the core-collapse supernova explosion mechanism. Neutrino-driven convection, the standing accretion shock instability, and relic-perturbations from advanced nuclear burning stages can all impact the outcome of core collapse in a qualitative and quantitative way. Here, we review the current understanding of these phenomena and their role in the explosion of massive stars. We also discuss the role of protoneutron star convection and of magnetic fields in the context of the delayed neutrino mechanism.

Impeding hohlraum plasma stagnation in inertial-confinement fusion.

PubMed

Li, C K; Séguin, F H; Frenje, J A; Rosenberg, M J; Rinderknecht, H G; Zylstra, A B; Petrasso, R D; Amendt, P A; Landen, O L; Mackinnon, A J; Town, R P J; Wilks, S C; Betti, R; Meyerhofer, D D; Soures, J M; Hund, J; Kilkenny, J D; Nikroo, A

2012-01-13

This Letter reports the first time-gated proton radiography of the spatial structure and temporal evolution of how the fill gas compresses the wall blowoff, inhibits plasma jet formation, and impedes plasma stagnation in the hohlraum interior. The potential roles of spontaneously generated electric and magnetic fields in the hohlraum dynamics and capsule implosion are discussed. It is shown that interpenetration of the two materials could result from the classical Rayleigh-Taylor instability occurring as the lighter, decelerating ionized fill gas pushes against the heavier, expanding gold wall blowoff. This experiment showed new observations of the effects of the fill gas on x-ray driven implosions, and an improved understanding of these results could impact the ongoing ignition experiments at the National Ignition Facility.

Current-driven ion-acoustic and potential-relaxation instabilities excited in plasma plume during electron beam welding

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

Trushnikov, D. N., E-mail: trdimitr@yandex.ru; Mladenov, G. M., E-mail: gmmladenov@abv.bg; Koleva, E. G., E-mail: eligeorg@abv.bg

Many papers have sought correlations between the parameters of secondary particles generated above the beam/work piece interaction zone, dynamics of processes in the keyhole, and technological processes. Low- and high-frequency oscillations of the current, collected by plasma have been observed above the welding zone during electron beam welding. Low-frequency oscillations of secondary signals are related to capillary instabilities of the keyhole, however; the physical mechanisms responsible for the high-frequency oscillations (>10 kHz) of the collected current are not fully understood. This paper shows that peak frequencies in the spectra of the collected high-frequency signal are dependent on the reciprocal distancemore » between the welding zone and collector electrode. From the relationship between current harmonics frequency and distance of the collector/welding zone, it can be estimated that the draft velocity of electrons or phase velocity of excited waves is about 1600 m/s. The dispersion relation with the properties of ion-acoustic waves is related to electron temperature 10 000 K, ion temperature 2 400 K and plasma density 10{sup 16} m{sup −3}, which is analogues to the parameters of potential-relaxation instabilities, observed in similar conditions. The estimated critical density of the transported current for creating the anomalous resistance state of plasma is of the order of 3 A·m{sup −2}, i.e. 8 mA for a 3–10 cm{sup 2} collector electrode. Thus, it is assumed that the observed high-frequency oscillations of the current collected by the positive collector electrode are caused by relaxation processes in the plasma plume above the welding zone, and not a direct demonstration of oscillations in the keyhole.« less

Current-driven ion-acoustic and potential-relaxation instabilities excited in plasma plume during electron beam welding

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Trushnikov, D. N.; Mladenov, G. M.; Belenkiy, V. Ya.; Koleva, E. G.; Varushkin, S. V.

2014-04-01

Many papers have sought correlations between the parameters of secondary particles generated above the beam/work piece interaction zone, dynamics of processes in the keyhole, and technological processes. Low- and high-frequency oscillations of the current, collected by plasma have been observed above the welding zone during electron beam welding. Low-frequency oscillations of secondary signals are related to capillary instabilities of the keyhole, however; the physical mechanisms responsible for the high-frequency oscillations (>10 kHz) of the collected current are not fully understood. This paper shows that peak frequencies in the spectra of the collected high-frequency signal are dependent on the reciprocal distance between the welding zone and collector electrode. From the relationship between current harmonics frequency and distance of the collector/welding zone, it can be estimated that the draft velocity of electrons or phase velocity of excited waves is about 1600 m/s. The dispersion relation with the properties of ion-acoustic waves is related to electron temperature 10 000 K, ion temperature 2 400 K and plasma density 1016 m-3, which is analogues to the parameters of potential-relaxation instabilities, observed in similar conditions. The estimated critical density of the transported current for creating the anomalous resistance state of plasma is of the order of 3 A.m-2, i.e. 8 mA for a 3-10 cm2 collector electrode. Thus, it is assumed that the observed high-frequency oscillations of the current collected by the positive collector electrode are caused by relaxation processes in the plasma plume above the welding zone, and not a direct demonstration of oscillations in the keyhole.

DEAD, UNDEAD, AND ZOMBIE ZONES IN PROTOSTELLAR DISKS AS A FUNCTION OF STELLAR MASS

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

Mohanty, Subhanjoy; Ercolano, Barbara; Turner, Neal J., E-mail: s.mohanty@imperial.ac.uk, E-mail: ercolano@usm.lmu.de, E-mail: neal.turner@jpl.nasa.gov

We investigate the viability of the magnetorotational instability (MRI) in X-ray ionized viscous accretion disks around both solar-type stars and very low mass stars. In particular, we determine the disk regions where the MRI can be shut off either by Ohmic resistivity (the so-called dead and undead zones) or by ambipolar diffusion (a region we term the zombie zone). We consider two stellar masses: M {sub *} = 0.7 M {sub Sun} and 0.1 M {sub Sun }. In each case, we assume that: the disk surface density profile is that of a scaled Minimum Mass Solar Nebula, with Mmore » {sub disk}/M {sub *} = 0.01 as suggested by current data; disk ionization is driven primarily by stellar X-rays, complemented by cosmic rays and radionuclides; and the stellar X-ray luminosity scales with bolometric luminosity as L{sub X} /L {sub *} Almost-Equal-To 10{sup -3.5}, as observed. Ionization rates are calculated with the MOCCASIN Monte Carlo X-ray transport code, and ionization balance determined using a simplified chemical network, including well-mixed 0.1 {mu}m grains at various levels of depletion. We find that (1) ambipolar diffusion is the primary factor controlling MRI activity in disks around both solar-type and very low mass classical T Tauri stars. Assuming that the MRI yields the maximum possible field strength at each radius, we further find that: (2) the MRI-active layer constitutes only {approx}5%-10% of the total disk mass; (3) the accretion rate ( M-dot ) varies radially in both magnitude and sign (inward or outward), implying time-variable accretion as well as the creation of disk gaps and overdensities, with consequences for planet formation and migration; (4) achieving the empirical accretion rates in solar-type and very low mass stars requires a depletion of well-mixed small grains (via grain growth and/or settling) by a factor of 10-1000 relative to the standard dust-to-gas mass ratio of 10{sup -2}; and (5) the current non-detection of polarized emission from field-aligned grains in the outer disk regions is consistent with active MRI at those radii.« less

Optical/UV-to-X-Ray Echoes from the Tidal Disruption Flare ASASSN-14li

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

Pasham, Dheeraj R.; Sadowski, Aleksander; Cenko, S. Bradley

We carried out the first multi-wavelength (optical/UV and X-ray) photometric reverberation mapping of a tidal disruption flare (TDF) ASASSN-14li. We find that its X-ray variations are correlated with and lag the optical/UV fluctuations by 32 ± 4 days. Based on the direction and the magnitude of the X-ray time lag, we rule out X-ray reprocessing and direct emission from a standard circular thin disk as the dominant source of its optical/UV emission. The lag magnitude also rules out an AGN disk-driven instability as the origin of ASASSN-14li and thus strongly supports the tidal disruption picture for this event and similarmore » objects. We suggest that the majority of the optical/UV emission likely originates from debris stream self-interactions. Perturbations at the self-interaction sites produce optical/UV variability and travel down to the black hole where they modulate the X-rays. The time lag between the optical/UV and the X-rays variations thus correspond to the time taken by these fluctuations to travel from the self-interaction site to close to the black hole. We further discuss these time lags within the context of the three variants of the self-interaction model. High-cadence monitoring observations of future TDFs will be sensitive enough to detect these echoes and would allow us to establish the origin of optical/UV emission in TDFs in general.« less

Effect of bromine-dopant on radiation-driven Rayleigh-Taylor instability in plastic foil

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Binbin; Ma, Yanyun; Yang, Xiaohu; Tang, Wenhui; Ge, Zheyi; Zhao, Yuan; Ke, Yanzhao; Kawata, Shiego

2017-10-01

Effects of bromine (Br) dopant on the growth of radiation-driven ablative Rayleigh-Taylor instability (RTI) in plastic foils are studied by radiation hydrodynamics simulations and theoretical analysis. It is found that the Br-dopant in plastic foil reduces the seed of ablative RTI. The main reasons of the reduction are attributed to the smaller oscillation amplitude of ablative Richtmyer-Meshkov instability (RMI) induced by the smaller post-shock sound speed, and the smaller oscillation frequency of ablative RMI induced by the smaller ablation velocity and blow-off plasma velocity. The Br-dopant also decreases the linear growth rate of ablative RTI due to the smaller acceleration. Treating the perturbation growth as a function of foil’s displacement, the perturbation growth would increase in Br-doped foil at the phase of ablative RTI, which is attributed to the decrease of the ablation velocity and the density gradient scale length. The results are helpful for further understanding the influence of high-Z dopant on the radiation-driven ablative RTI.

Transient many-body instability in driven Dirac materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pertsova, Anna; Triola, Christopher; Balatsky, Alexander

The defining feature of a Dirac material (DM) is the presence of nodes in the low-energy excitation spectrum leading to a strong energy dependence of the density of states (DOS). The vanishing of the DOS at the nodal point implies a very low effective coupling constant which leads to stability of the node against electron-electron interactions. Non-equilibrium or driven DM, in which the DOS and hence the effective coupling can be controlled by external drive, offer a new platform for investigating collective instabilities. In this work, we discuss the possibility of realizing transient collective states in driven DMs. Motivated by recent pump-probe experiments which demonstrate the existence of long-lived photo-excited states in DMs, we consider an example of a transient excitonic instability in an optically-pumped DM. We identify experimental signatures of the transient excitonic condensate and provide estimates of the critical temperatures and lifetimes of these states for few important examples of DMs, such as single-layer graphene and topological-insulator surfaces.

Buoyancy-driven instabilities around miscible A+B→C reaction fronts: a general classification.

PubMed

Trevelyan, P M J; Almarcha, C; De Wit, A

2015-02-01

Upon contact between miscible solutions of reactants A and B along a horizontal interface in the gravity field, various buoyancy-driven instabilities can develop when an A+B→C reaction takes place and the density varies with the concentrations of the various chemicals. To classify the possible convective instability scenarios, we analyze the spatial dependence of the large time asymptotic density profiles as a function of the key parameters of the problem, which are the ratios of diffusion coefficients and of solutal expansion coefficients of species A, B, and C. We find that 62 different density profiles can develop in the reactive problem, whereas only 6 of them can be obtained in the nonreactive one.

TURBULENT MAGNETOHYDRODYNAMIC RECONNECTION MEDIATED BY THE PLASMOID INSTABILITY

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

Huang, Yi-Min; Bhattacharjee, A., E-mail: yiminh@princeton.edu

2016-02-10

It has been established that the Sweet–Parker current layer in high Lundquist number reconnection is unstable to the super-Alfvénic plasmoid instability. Past two-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic simulations have demonstrated that the plasmoid instability leads to a new regime where the Sweet–Parker current layer changes into a chain of plasmoids connected by secondary current sheets, and the averaged reconnection rate becomes nearly independent of the Lundquist number. In this work, a three-dimensional simulation with a guide field shows that the additional degree of freedom allows plasmoid instabilities to grow at oblique angles, which interact and lead to self-generated turbulent reconnection. The averaged reconnectionmore » rate in the self-generated turbulent state is of the order of a hundredth of the characteristic Alfvén speed, which is similar to the two-dimensional result but is an order of magnitude lower than the fastest reconnection rate reported in recent studies of externally driven three-dimensional turbulent reconnection. Kinematic and magnetic energy fluctuations both form elongated eddies along the direction of the local magnetic field, which is a signature of anisotropic magnetohydrodynamic turbulence. Both energy fluctuations satisfy power-law spectra in the inertial range, where the magnetic energy spectral index is in the range from −2.3 to −2.1, while the kinetic energy spectral index is slightly steeper, in the range from −2.5 to −2.3. The anisotropy of turbulence eddies is found to be nearly scale-independent, in contrast with the prediction of the Goldreich–Sridhar theory for anisotropic turbulence in a homogeneous plasma permeated by a uniform magnetic field.« less

X-ray backlighting of imploding aluminium liners on PTS facility

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Qingguo; Liu, Dongbing; Mu, Jian; Huang, Xianbin; Dan, Jiakun; Xie, Xudong; Deng, Wu; Feng, Shuping; Wang, Meng; Ye, Yan; Peng, Qixian; Li, Zeren

2016-09-01

The x-ray backlighting systems, including a 1.865 keV (Si Heα line) spherically bent crystal imaging system and an ˜8.3 keV (Cu Heα line) point-projection imaging system, newly fielded on the Primary Test Stand facility are introduced and its preliminary experimental results in radiography of the aluminium (Al) liners with seeded sinusoidal perturbations are presented. The x-ray backlighter source is created using a 1 TW, 1 kJ Nd: glass high power laser, kilo-joule laser system, recently constructed at China Academy of Engineering Physics. The ablation melt and instability of the imploding Al liner outer edge under the driving current of ˜7.5 MA are successfully observed using these two backlighting systems, respectively.

The influence of cosmic rays on the stability and large-scale dynamics of the interstellar medium

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kuznetsov, V. D.

1986-06-01

The diffusion-convection formulation is used to study the influence of galactic cosmic rays on the stability and dynamics of the interstellar medium which is supposedly kept in equilibrium by the gravitational field of stars. It is shown that the influence of cosmic rays on the growth rate of MHD instability depends largely on a dimensionless parameter expressing the ratio of the characteristic acoustic time scale to the cosmic-ray diffusion time. If this parameter is small, the cosmic rays will decelerate the build-up of instabilities, thereby stabilizing the system; in contrast, if the parameter is large, the system will be destabilized.

Driven motion and instability of an atmospheric pressure arc

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Karasik, Max

Atmospheric pressure arcs are used extensively in applications such as welding and metallurgy. However, comparatively little is known of the physics of such arcs in external magnetic fields and the mechanisms of the instabilities present. In order to address questions of equilibrium and stability of such arcs, an experimental are furnace is constructed and operated in air with graphite cathode and steel anode at currents 100--250 A. The arc is diagnosed with a gated intensified camera and a collimated photodiode array, as well as fast voltage and current probes. Experiments are carried out on the response of the are to applied transverse DC and AC (up to ≈1 kHz) magnetic fields. The arc is found to deflect parabolically for DC field and assumes a growing sinusoidal structure for AC field. A simple analytic two-parameter fluid model of the are dynamics is derived, in which the inertia of the magnetically pumped cathode jet balances the applied J⃗xB⃗ force. Time variation of the applied field allows evaluation of the parameters individually. A fit of the model to the experimental data gives a value for the average jet speed an order of magnitude below Maecker's estimate of the maximum jet speed. A spontaneous instability of the same arc is investigated experimentally and modeled analytically. The presence of the instability is found to depend critically on cathode dimensions. For cylindrical cathodes, instability occurs only for a narrow range of cathode diameters. Cathode spot motion is proposed as the mechanism of the instability. A simple fluid model combining the effect of the cathode spot motion and the inertia of the cathode jet successfully describes the arc shape during low amplitude instability. The amplitude of cathode spot motion required by the model is in agreement with measurements. The average jet velocity required is approximately equal to that inferred from the transverse magnetic field experiments. Reasons for spot motion and for cathode geometry dependence are discussed. An exploratory study of the instability of the arc in applied axial magnetic field is also described. Applicability of the results of the thesis to an industrial steelmaking furnace is considered.

Shear-Flow Instability Saturation by Stable Modes: Hydrodynamics and Gyrokinetics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fraser, Adrian; Pueschel, M. J.; Terry, P. W.; Zweibel, E. G.

2017-10-01

We present simulations of shear-driven instabilities, focusing on the impact of nonlinearly excited, large-scale, linearly stable modes on the nonlinear cascade, momentum transport, and secondary instabilities. Stable modes, which have previously been shown to significantly affect instability saturation [Fraser et al. PoP 2017], are investigated in a collisionless, gyrokinetic, periodic zonal flow using the Gene code by projecting the results of nonlinear simulations onto a basis of linear eigenmodes that includes both stable and unstable modes. Benchmarking growth rates against previous gyrokinetic studies and an equivalent fluid system demonstrates comparable linear dynamics in the fluid and gyrokinetic systems. Cases of driven and decaying shear-flow turbulence are compared in Gene by using a Krook operator as an effective forcing. For comparison with existing hydrodynamic and MHD shear-flow instability studies, we present results for the shear layer obtained by similar means with the code Dedalus. Supported by U.S. DOE Grant No. DE-FG02-89ER53291, the NSF, and UW-Madison.

Observation of parametric instabilities in the quarter critical density region driven by the Nike KrF laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weaver, J. L.; Oh, J.; Phillips, L.; Afeyan, B.; Seely, J.; Kehne, D.; Brown, C. M.; Obenschain, S. P.; Serlin, V.; Schmitt, A. J.; Feldman, U.; Lehmberg, R. H.; Mclean, E.; Manka, C.

2013-02-01

The krypton-fluoride (KrF) laser is an attractive choice for inertial confinement fusion due to its combination of short wavelength (λ =248 nm), large bandwidth (up to 3 THz), and superior beam smoothing by induced spatial incoherence. These qualities improve the overall hydrodynamics of directly driven pellet implosions and should allow use of increased laser intensity due to higher thresholds for laser plasma instabilities when compared to frequency tripled Nd:glass lasers (λ =351 nm). Here, we report the first observations of the two-plasmon decay instability using a KrF laser. The experiments utilized the Nike laser facility to irradiate solid plastic planar targets over a range of pulse lengths (0.35 ns≤τ≤1.25 ns) and intensities (up to 2×1015 W/cm2). Variation of the laser pulse created different combinations of electron temperature and electron density scale length. The observed onset of instability growth was consistent with the expected scaling that KrF lasers have a higher intensity threshold for instabilities in the quarter critical density region.

Experimental demonstration of low laser-plasma instabilities in gas-filled spherical hohlraums at laser injection angle designed for ignition target

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lan, Ke; Li, Zhichao; Xie, Xufei; Chen, Yao-Hua; Zheng, Chunyang; Zhai, Chuanlei; Hao, Liang; Yang, Dong; Huo, Wen Yi; Ren, Guoli; Peng, Xiaoshi; Xu, Tao; Li, Yulong; Li, Sanwei; Yang, Zhiwen; Guo, Liang; Hou, Lifei; Liu, Yonggang; Wei, Huiyue; Liu, Xiangming; Cha, Weiyi; Jiang, Xiaohua; Mei, Yu; Li, Yukun; Deng, Keli; Yuan, Zheng; Zhan, Xiayu; Zhang, Haijun; Jiang, Baibin; Zhang, Wei; Deng, Xuewei; Liu, Jie; Du, Kai; Ding, Yongkun; Wei, Xiaofeng; Zheng, Wanguo; Chen, Xiaodong; Campbell, E. M.; He, Xian-Tu

2017-03-01

Octahedral spherical hohlraums with a single laser ring at an injection angle of 55∘ are attractive concepts for laser indirect drive due to the potential for achieving the x-ray drive symmetry required for high convergence implosions. Laser-plasma instabilities, however, are a concern given the long laser propagation path in such hohlraums. Significant stimulated Raman scattering has been observed in cylindrical hohlraums with similar laser propagation paths during the ignition campaign on the National Ignition Facility (NIF). In this Rapid Communication, experiments demonstrating low levels of laser-driven plasma instability (LPI) in spherical hohlraums with a laser injection angle of 55∘ are reported and compared to that observed with cylindrical hohlraums with injection angles of 28 .5∘ and 55∘, similar to that of the NIF. Significant LPI is observed with the laser injection of 28 .5∘ in the cylindrical hohlraum where the propagation path is similar to the 55∘ injection angle for the spherical hohlraum. The experiments are performed on the SGIII laser facility with a total 0.35 -μ m incident energy of 93 kJ in a 3 nsec pulse. These experiments demonstrate the role of hohlraum geometry in LPI and demonstrate the need for systematic experiments for choosing the optimal configuration for ignition studies with indirect drive inertial confinement fusion.

Experimental demonstration of low laser-plasma instabilities in gas-filled spherical hohlraums at laser injection angle designed for ignition target.

PubMed

Lan, Ke; Li, Zhichao; Xie, Xufei; Chen, Yao-Hua; Zheng, Chunyang; Zhai, Chuanlei; Hao, Liang; Yang, Dong; Huo, Wen Yi; Ren, Guoli; Peng, Xiaoshi; Xu, Tao; Li, Yulong; Li, Sanwei; Yang, Zhiwen; Guo, Liang; Hou, Lifei; Liu, Yonggang; Wei, Huiyue; Liu, Xiangming; Cha, Weiyi; Jiang, Xiaohua; Mei, Yu; Li, Yukun; Deng, Keli; Yuan, Zheng; Zhan, Xiayu; Zhang, Haijun; Jiang, Baibin; Zhang, Wei; Deng, Xuewei; Liu, Jie; Du, Kai; Ding, Yongkun; Wei, Xiaofeng; Zheng, Wanguo; Chen, Xiaodong; Campbell, E M; He, Xian-Tu

2017-03-01

Octahedral spherical hohlraums with a single laser ring at an injection angle of 55^{∘} are attractive concepts for laser indirect drive due to the potential for achieving the x-ray drive symmetry required for high convergence implosions. Laser-plasma instabilities, however, are a concern given the long laser propagation path in such hohlraums. Significant stimulated Raman scattering has been observed in cylindrical hohlraums with similar laser propagation paths during the ignition campaign on the National Ignition Facility (NIF). In this Rapid Communication, experiments demonstrating low levels of laser-driven plasma instability (LPI) in spherical hohlraums with a laser injection angle of 55^{∘} are reported and compared to that observed with cylindrical hohlraums with injection angles of 28.5^{∘} and 55^{∘}, similar to that of the NIF. Significant LPI is observed with the laser injection of 28.5^{∘} in the cylindrical hohlraum where the propagation path is similar to the 55^{∘} injection angle for the spherical hohlraum. The experiments are performed on the SGIII laser facility with a total 0.35-μm incident energy of 93 kJ in a 3 nsec pulse. These experiments demonstrate the role of hohlraum geometry in LPI and demonstrate the need for systematic experiments for choosing the optimal configuration for ignition studies with indirect drive inertial confinement fusion.

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.

X-ray source characterization of aluminum X-pinch plasmas driven by the 0. 5 TW LION accelerator

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

Qi, N.; Hammer, D.A.; Kalantar, D.H.

1989-12-01

Recent experiments at Cornell have been performed to investigate X-pinch plasmas as intense x-ray sources which might be used to pump resonant photoexcitation lasers. Crossed Al wires have been driven by up to 600 kA current for 40 ns. High density bright spots are observed at the crossing point(s). Various diagnostics were used to characterize the X-pinch plasmas as a function of initial mass loading for several specific wire configurations. The optimum mass loading for different ionization stages of Al, and the total x-ray energy yields, which are on the order of hundreds of Joules, were examined. Estimates of plasmamore » density, {similar to}10{sup 20} cm{sup {minus}3}, and temperature, about 400 eV, were obtained.« less

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.

The external kink mode in diverted tokamaks

DOE PAGES

Turnbull, Alan D.; Hanson, Jeremy M.; Turco, Francesca; ...

2016-06-16

Here, an explanation is provided for the disruptive instability in diverted tokamaks when the safety factor at the 95% poloidal flux surface, q 95, is driven below 2.0. The instability is a resistive kink counterpart to the current-driven ideal mode that traditionally explained the corresponding disruption in limited cross-sections when q edge, the safety factor at the outermost closed flux surface, lies just below a rational value. Experimentally, external kink modes are observed in limiter configurations as the current in a tokamak is ramped up and q edge decreases through successive rational surfaces. For q edge < 2, the instabilitymore » is always encountered and is highly disruptive. However, diverted plasmas, in which q edge is formally infinite in the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) model, have presented a longstanding difficulty since the theory would predict stability, yet, the disruptive limit occurs in practice when q 95, reaches 2. It is shown from numerical calculations that a resistive kink mode is linearly destabilized by the rapidly increasing resistivity at the plasma edge when q 95 < 2, but q edge >> 2. The resistive kink behaves much like the ideal kink with predominantly kink or interchange parity and no real sign of a tearing component. However, the growth rates scale with a fractional power of the resistivity near the q = 2 surface. The results have a direct bearing on the conventional edge cutoff procedures used in most ideal MHD codes, as well as implications for ITER and for future reactor options.« less

Dynamics of magnetization in ferromagnet with spin-transfer torque

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Zai-Dong; He, Peng-Bin; Liu, Wu-Ming

2014-11-01

We review our recent works on dynamics of magnetization in ferromagnet with spin-transfer torque. Driven by constant spin-polarized current, the spin-transfer torque counteracts both the precession driven by the effective field and the Gilbert damping term different from the common understanding. When the spin current exceeds the critical value, the conjunctive action of Gilbert damping and spin-transfer torque leads naturally the novel screw-pitch effect characterized by the temporal oscillation of domain wall velocity and width. Driven by space- and time-dependent spin-polarized current and magnetic field, we expatiate the formation of domain wall velocity in ferromagnetic nanowire. We discuss the properties of dynamic magnetic soliton in uniaxial anisotropic ferromagnetic nanowire driven by spin-transfer torque, and analyze the modulation instability and dark soliton on the spin wave background, which shows the characteristic breather behavior of the soliton as it propagates along the ferromagnetic nanowire. With stronger breather character, we get the novel magnetic rogue wave and clarify its formation mechanism. The generation of magnetic rogue wave mainly arises from the accumulation of energy and magnons toward to its central part. We also observe that the spin-polarized current can control the exchange rate of magnons between the envelope soliton and the background, and the critical current condition is obtained analytically. At last, we have theoretically investigated the current-excited and frequency-adjusted ferromagnetic resonance in magnetic trilayers. A particular case of the perpendicular analyzer reveals that the ferromagnetic resonance curves, including the resonant location and the resonant linewidth, can be adjusted by changing the pinned magnetization direction and the direct current. Under the control of the current and external magnetic field, several magnetic states, such as quasi-parallel and quasi-antiparallel stable states, out-of-plane precession, and bistable states can be realized. The precession frequency can be expressed as a function of the current and external magnetic field.

Power-Law Statistics of Driven Reconnection in the Magnetically Closed Corona

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Klimchuk, J. A.; DeVore, C. R.; Knizhnik, K. J.; Uritskiy, V. M.

2018-01-01

Numerous observations have revealed that power-law distributions are ubiquitous in energetic solar processes. Hard X-rays, soft X-rays, extreme ultraviolet radiation, and radio waves all display power-law frequency distributions. Since magnetic reconnection is the driving mechanism for many energetic solar phenomena, it is likely that reconnection events themselves display such power-law distributions. In this work, we perform numerical simulations of the solar corona driven by simple convective motions at the photospheric level. Using temperature changes, current distributions, and Poynting fluxes as proxies for heating, we demonstrate that energetic events occurring in our simulation display power-law frequency distributions, with slopes in good agreement with observations. We suggest that the braiding-associated reconnection in the corona can be understood in terms of a self-organized criticality model driven by convective rotational motions similar to those observed at the photosphere.

Generation of mesoscale magnetic fields and the dynamics of Cosmic Ray acceleration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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

The problem of the cosmic ray origin is discussed in connection with their acceleration in supernova remnant shocks. The diffusive shock acceleration mechanism is reviewed and its potential to accelerate particles to the maximum energy of (presumably) galactic cosmic rays (1018eV ) is considered. It is argued that to reach such energies, a strong magnetic field at scales larger than the particle gyroradius must be created as a result of the acceleration process, itself. One specific mechanism suggested here is based on the generation of Alfven wave at the gyroradius scale with a subsequent transfer to longer scales via interaction with strong acoustic turbulence in the shock precursor. The acoustic turbulence in turn, may be generated by Drury instability or by parametric instability of the Alfven waves. The generation mechanism is modulational instability of CR generated Alfven wave packets induced, in turn, by scattering off acoustic fluctuations in the shock precursor which are generated by Drury instability.

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

Discretized modeling of beads-on-a-string morphology from electrically driven, conducting, and viscoelastic polymer jets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Divvela, Mounica Jyothi; Joo, Yong Lak

2017-04-01

In this paper, we provide a theoretical investigation of axisymmetric instabilities observed during electrospinning, which lead to beads-on-a-string morphology. We used a discretized method to model the instability phenomena observed in the jet. We considered the fluid to be analogous to a bead-spring model. The motion of these beads is governed by the electrical, viscoelastic, surface tension, aerodynamic drag, and gravitational forces. The bead is perturbed at the nozzle, and the growth of the instability is observed over time, and along the length of the jet. We considered both lower electrical conducting polyisobutylene (PIB)-based Boger fluids and highly electrical conducting, polyethylene oxide (PEO)/water systems. In PIB fluids, the onset of the axisymmetric instability is predominantly based on the capillary mode, and the growth rate of the instability is decreased with the viscoelasticity of the jet. However, in the PEO/water system, the instability is electrically driven, and a significant increase in the growth rate of the instability is observed with the increase in the voltage. Our predictions from the discretized model are in good agreement with the previous linear stability analysis and experimental results. Our results also revealed the non-stationary behavior of the disturbance, where the amplitude of the perturbation is observed to be oscillating. Furthermore, we showed that the discretized model is also used to observe the non-axisymmetric behavior of the jet, which can be further used to study the bending instability in electrospinning.

Electric Field and Current Transport Mechanisms in Schottky CdTe X-ray Detectors under Perturbing Optical Radiation

PubMed Central

Cola, Adriano; Farella, Isabella

2013-01-01

Schottky CdTe X-ray detectors exhibit excellent spectroscopic performance but suffer from instabilities. Hence it is of extreme relevance to investigate their electrical properties. A systematic study of the electric field distribution and the current flowing in such detectors under optical perturbations is presented here. The detector response is explored by varying experimental parameters, such as voltage, temperature, and radiation wavelength. The strongest perturbation is observed under 850 nm irradiation, bulk carrier recombination becoming effective there. Cathode and anode irradiations evidence the crucial role of the contacts, the cathode being Ohmic and the anode blocking. In particular, under irradiation of the cathode, charge injection occurs and peculiar kinks, typical of trap filling, are observed both in the current-voltage characteristic and during transients. The simultaneous access to the electric field and the current highlights the correlation between free and fixed charges, and unveils carrier transport/collection mechanisms otherwise hidden. PMID:23881140

Magnetic field amplification by the r-mode instability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chugunov, A. I.; Friedman, J. L.; Lindblom, L.; Rezzolla, L.

2017-12-01

We discuss the magnetic field enhancement by unstable r-modes (driven by the gravitational radiation reaction force) in rotating stars. In the absence of a magnetic field, gravitational radiation exponentially increases the r-mode amplitude α, and accelerates differential rotation (secular motion of fluid elements). For a magnetized star, differential rotation enhances the magnetic field energy. Rezzolla et al (2000-2001) argued that if the magnetic energy grows faster than the gravitational radiation reaction force pumps energy into the r-modes, then the r-mode instability is suppressed. Chugunov (2015) demonstrated that without gravitational radiation, differential rotation can be treated as a degree of freedom decoupled from the r-modes and controlled by the back reaction of the magnetic field. In particular, the magnetic field windup does not damp r-modes. Here we discuss the effect of the back reaction of the magnetic field on differential rotation of unstable r-modes, and show that it limits the generated magnetic field and the magnetic energy growth rate preventing suppression of the r-mode instability by magnetic windup at low saturation amplitudes, α ≪ 1, predicted by current models.

Dynamics of streaming instability with quantum correction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goutam, H. P.; Karmakar, P. K.

2017-05-01

A modified quantum hydrodynamic model (m-QHD) is herein proposed on the basis of the Thomas-Fermi (TF) theory of many fermionic quantum systems to investigate the dynamics of electrostatic streaming instability modes in a complex (dusty) quantum plasma system. The newly formulated m-QHD, as an amelioration over the existing usual QHD, employs a dimensionality-dependent Bohmian quantum correction prefactor, γ = [(D-2)/3D], in the electron quantum dynamics, where D symbolizing the problem dimensionality under consideration. The normal mode analysis of the coupled structure equations reveals the excitation of two distinct streaming modes associated with the flowing ions (against electrons and dust) and the flowing dust particulates (against the electrons and ions). It is mainly shown that the γ-factor introduces a new source of stability and dispersive effects to the ion-streaming instability solely; but not to the dust counterparts. A non-trivial application of our investigation in electrostatic beam-plasma (flow-driven) coupled dynamics leading to the development of self-sustained intense electric current, and hence, of strong magnetic field in compact astrophysical objects (in dwarf-family stars) is summarily indicated.

Instability in extensional microflow of aqueous gel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bryce, Robert; Freeman, Mark

2007-03-01

Microfluidic devices are typically characterized by laminar flows, often leading to diffusion limited mixing. Recently it has been demonstrated that the addition of polymer to fluids can lead to elastic instabilities and, under some conditions, turbulence at arbitrarily low Reynolds numbers in mechanically driven flows [1]. We investigated electroosmotic driven extensional flow of an aqueous polymer gel. Microchannels with 100 micron width and 20 micron depth with the characteristic ``D'' chemical etch cross section were formed in glass. A Y-channel geometry with two input channels and a single output created extensional flow at the channel intersection. Instabilities where observed in the extensional region by fluorescently tagging one input stream. Instabilities were characterized by 1/f spectra in laser induced fluorescent brightness profiles. Due to the simple geometry of extensional flow and the importance of electroosmotic flows for integrated applications and in scaling, this is of interest for device applications. [1] A. Groisman and V. Steinberg, Nature 405, 53-55, 2000.

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.

Bar Mode Instability in Relativistic Rotating Stars: A Post-Newtonian Treatment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shapiro, Stuart L.; Zane, Silvia

1998-08-01

We construct analytic models of incompressible, uniformly rotating stars in post-Newtonian (PN) gravity and evaluate their stability against nonaxisymmetric bar modes. We model the PN configurations by homogeneous triaxial ellipsoids and employ an energy variational principle to determine their equilibrium shape and stability. The spacetime metric is obtained by solving Einstein's equations of general relativity in 3 + 1 ADM form. We use an approximate subset of these equations well suited to numerical integration in the case of strong-field, three-dimensional configurations in quasi equilibrium. However, the adopted equations are exact at PN order, where they admit an analytic solution for homogeneous ellipsoids. We obtain this solution for the metric, as well as analytic functionals for the conserved global quantities, M, M0, and J. We present sequences of axisymmetric, rotating equilibria of constant density and rest mass parametrized by their eccentricity. These configurations represent the PN generalization of Newtonian Maclaurin spheroids, which we compare to other PN and full relativistic incompressible equilibrium sequences constructed by previous investigators. We employ the variational principle to consider nonaxisymmetric ellipsoidal deformations of the configurations, holding the angular momentum constant and the rotation uniform. We locate the point along each sequence at which these Jacobi-like bar modes will be driven secularly unstable by the presence of a dissipative agent such as viscosity. We find that the value of the eccentricity, as well as related ratios such as Ω2/(πρ0) and T/|W| (=rotational kinetic energy/gravitational potential energy), defined invariantly, all increase at the onset of instability as the stars become more relativistic. Since higher degrees of rotation are required to trigger a viscosity-driven bar mode instability as the stars become more compact, the effect of general relativity is to weaken the instability, at least to PN order. This behavior is in stark contrast to that found recently for secular instability via nonaxisymmetric, Dedekind-like modes driven by gravitational radiation. These findings support the suggestion that in general relativity nonaxisymmetric modes driven unstable by viscosity no longer coincide with those driven unstable by gravitational radiation.

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

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

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

1976-01-01

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

Mitigation of X-ray shadow seeding of hydrodynamic instabilities on inertial confinement fusion capsules using a reduced diameter fuel fill-tube

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

MacPhee, A. G.; Smalyuk, V. A.; Landen, O. L.; Weber, C. R.; Robey, H. F.; Alfonso, E. L.; Biener, J.; Bunn, T.; Crippen, J. W.; Farrell, M.; Felker, S.; Field, J. E.; Hsing, W. W.; Kong, C.; Milovich, J.; Moore, A.; Nikroo, A.; Rice, N.; Stadermann, M.; Wild, C.

2018-05-01

We report a reduced X-ray shadow imprint of hydrodynamic instabilities on the high-density carbon ablator surface of inertial confinement fusion (ICF) capsules using a reduced diameter fuel fill tube on the National Ignition Facility (NIF). The perturbation seed mass from hydrodynamic instabilities was reduced by approximately an order of magnitude by reducing both the diameter and wall thickness of the fill tube by ˜2×, consistent with analytical estimates. This work demonstrates a successful mitigation strategy for engineered features for ICF implosions on the NIF.

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

Validation of a turbulent Kelvin-Helmholtz shear layer model using a high-energy-density OMEGA laser experiment.

PubMed

Hurricane, O A; Smalyuk, V A; Raman, K; Schilling, O; Hansen, J F; Langstaff, G; Martinez, D; Park, H-S; Remington, B A; Robey, H F; Greenough, J A; Wallace, R; Di Stefano, C A; Drake, R P; Marion, D; Krauland, C M; Kuranz, C C

2012-10-12

Following the successful demonstration of an OMEGA laser-driven platform for generating and studying nearly two-dimensional unstable plasma shear layers [Hurricane et al., Phys. Plasmas 16, 056305 (2009); Harding et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 103, 045005 (2009)], this Letter reports on the first quantitative measurement of turbulent mixing in a high-energy-density plasma. As a blast wave moves parallel to an unperturbed interface between a low-density foam and a high-density plastic, baroclinic vorticity is deposited at the interface and a Kelvin-Helmholtz instability-driven turbulent mixing layer is created in the postshock flow due to surface roughness. The spatial scale and density profile of the turbulent layer are diagnosed using x-ray radiography with sufficiently small uncertainty so that the data can be used to ~0.17 μm) in the postshock plasma flow are consistent with an "inertial subrange," within which a Kolmogorov turbulent energy cascade can be active. An illustration of comparing the data set with the predictions of a two-equation turbulence model in the ares radiation hydrodynamics code is also presented.

Pattern formation, social forces, and diffusion instability in games with success-driven motion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Helbing, Dirk

2009-02-01

A local agglomeration of cooperators can support the survival or spreading of cooperation, even when cooperation is predicted to die out according to the replicator equation, which is often used in evolutionary game theory to study the spreading and disappearance of strategies. In this paper, it is shown that success-driven motion can trigger such local agglomeration and may, therefore, be used to supplement other mechanisms supporting cooperation, like reputation or punishment. Success-driven motion is formulated here as a function of the game-theoretical payoffs. It can change the outcome and dynamics of spatial games dramatically, in particular as it causes attractive or repulsive interaction forces. These forces act when the spatial distributions of strategies are inhomogeneous. However, even when starting with homogeneous initial conditions, small perturbations can trigger large inhomogeneities by a pattern-formation instability, when certain conditions are fulfilled. Here, these instability conditions are studied for the prisoner’s dilemma and the snowdrift game. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that asymmetrical diffusion can drive social, economic, and biological systems into the unstable regime, if these would be stable without diffusion.

Calibration of PCB-132 Sensors in a Shock Tube

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Berridge, Dennis C.; Schneider, Steven P.

2012-01-01

While PCB-132 sensors have proven useful for measuring second-mode instability waves in many hypersonic wind tunnels, they are currently limited by their calibration. Until now, the factory calibration has been all that was available, which is a single-point calibration at an amplitude three orders of magnitude higher than a second-mode wave. In addition, little information has been available about the frequency response or spatial resolution of the sensors, which is important for measuring high-frequency instability waves. These shortcomings make it difficult to compare measurements at different conditions and between different sensors. If accurate quantitative measurements could be performed, comparisons of the growth and breakdown of instability waves could be made in different facilities, possibly leading to a method of predicting the amplitude at which the waves break down into turbulence, improving transition prediction. A method for calibrating the sensors is proposed using a newly-built shock tube at Purdue University. This shock tube, essentially a half-scale version of the 6-Inch shock tube at the Graduate Aerospace Laboratories at Caltech, has been designed to attain a moderate vacuum in the driven section. Low driven pressures should allow the creation of very weak, yet still relatively thin shock waves. It is expected that static pressure rises within the range of second-mode amplitudes should be possible. The shock tube has been designed to create clean, planar shock waves with a laminar boundary layer to allow for accurate calibrations. Stronger shock waves can be used to identify the frequency response of the sensors out to hundreds of kilohertz.

Collisionless kinetic theory of oblique tearing instabilities

DOE PAGES

Baalrud, S. D.; Bhattacharjee, A.; Daughton, W.

2018-02-15

The linear dispersion relation for collisionless kinetic tearing instabilities is calculated for the Harris equilibrium. In contrast to the conventional 2D geometry, which considers only modes at the center of the current sheet, modes can span the current sheet in 3D. Modes at each resonant surface have a unique angle with respect to the guide field direction. Both kinetic simulations and numerical eigenmode solutions of the linearized Vlasov-Maxwell equations have recently revealed that standard analytic theories vastly overestimate the growth rate of oblique modes. In this paper, we find that this stabilization is associated with the density-gradient-driven diamagnetic drift. Themore » analytic theories miss this drift stabilization because the inner tearing layer broadens at oblique angles sufficiently far that the assumption of scale separation between the inner and outer regions of boundary-layer theory breaks down. The dispersion relation obtained by numerically solving a single second order differential equation is found to approximately capture the drift stabilization predicted by solutions of the full integro-differential eigenvalue problem. Finally, a simple analytic estimate for the stability criterion is provided.« less

Collisionless kinetic theory of oblique tearing instabilities

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

Baalrud, S. D.; Bhattacharjee, A.; Daughton, W.

The linear dispersion relation for collisionless kinetic tearing instabilities is calculated for the Harris equilibrium. In contrast to the conventional 2D geometry, which considers only modes at the center of the current sheet, modes can span the current sheet in 3D. Modes at each resonant surface have a unique angle with respect to the guide field direction. Both kinetic simulations and numerical eigenmode solutions of the linearized Vlasov-Maxwell equations have recently revealed that standard analytic theories vastly overestimate the growth rate of oblique modes. In this paper, we find that this stabilization is associated with the density-gradient-driven diamagnetic drift. Themore » analytic theories miss this drift stabilization because the inner tearing layer broadens at oblique angles sufficiently far that the assumption of scale separation between the inner and outer regions of boundary-layer theory breaks down. The dispersion relation obtained by numerically solving a single second order differential equation is found to approximately capture the drift stabilization predicted by solutions of the full integro-differential eigenvalue problem. Finally, a simple analytic estimate for the stability criterion is provided.« less

Collisionless kinetic theory of oblique tearing instabilities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baalrud, S. D.; Bhattacharjee, A.; Daughton, W.

2018-02-01

The linear dispersion relation for collisionless kinetic tearing instabilities is calculated for the Harris equilibrium. In contrast to the conventional 2D geometry, which considers only modes at the center of the current sheet, modes can span the current sheet in 3D. Modes at each resonant surface have a unique angle with respect to the guide field direction. Both kinetic simulations and numerical eigenmode solutions of the linearized Vlasov-Maxwell equations have recently revealed that standard analytic theories vastly overestimate the growth rate of oblique modes. We find that this stabilization is associated with the density-gradient-driven diamagnetic drift. The analytic theories miss this drift stabilization because the inner tearing layer broadens at oblique angles sufficiently far that the assumption of scale separation between the inner and outer regions of boundary-layer theory breaks down. The dispersion relation obtained by numerically solving a single second order differential equation is found to approximately capture the drift stabilization predicted by solutions of the full integro-differential eigenvalue problem. A simple analytic estimate for the stability criterion is provided.

Treatment of glenohumeral instability in rugby players.

PubMed

Funk, Lennard

2016-02-01

Rugby is a high-impact collision sport, with impact forces. Shoulder injuries are common and result in the longest time off sport for any joint injury in rugby. The most common injuries are to the glenohumeral joint with varying degrees of instability. The degree of instability can guide management. The three main types of instability presentations are: (1) frank dislocation, (2) subluxations and (3) subclinical instability with pain and clicking. Understanding the exact mechanism of injury can guide diagnosis with classical patterns of structural injuries. The standard clinical examination in a large, muscular athlete may be normal, so specific tests and techniques are needed to unearth signs of pathology. Taking these factors into consideration, along with the imaging, allows a treatment strategy. However, patient and sport factors need to be also considered, particularly the time of the season and stage of sporting career. Surgery to repair the structural damage should include all lesions found. In chronic, recurrent dislocations with major structural lesions, reconstruction procedures such as the Latarjet procedure yields better outcomes. Rehabilitation should be safe, goal-driven and athlete-specific. Return to sport is dependent on a number of factors, driven by the healing process, sport requirements and extrinsic pressures. Level of evidence V.

Influence of temperature on linear stability in buoyancy-driven fingering of reaction-diffusion fronts.

PubMed

Levitán, D; D'Onofrio, A

2012-09-01

A vertical Hele-Shaw cell was used to study the influence of temperature on Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities on reaction-diffusion fronts. The propagation of the chemical front can thus be observed, and experimental results can be obtained via image treatment. A chemical front produced by the coupling between molecular diffusion and the auto-catalysis of the chlorite-tetrathionate reaction, descends through the cell, consuming the reactants below while the product is formed above. Buoyancy-driven instabilities are formed due to the density difference between reactants and products, and the front takes a fingering pattern, whose growth rate has temperature dependence. In this study, the effect of temperature on the linear regime of the instability (that is, when the effects of such instability start to appear) was analyzed. To measure the instability, Fourier transform analysis is performed, in order to obtain the different wave numbers and their power as a function of time. Thus, the growth rate for each wave number and the most unstable wave number is obtained for each of the temperatures under study. Based on repeated experiments, a decrease in the growth rate for the most unstable wave number can be observed with the increase of temperature.

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.

Analytical and numerical study of the transverse Kelvin-Helmholtz instability in tokamak edge plasmas

DOE PAGES

Myra, James R.; D'Ippolito, Daniel A.; Russell, David A.; ...

2016-04-11

Sheared flows perpendicular to the magnetic field can be driven by the Reynolds stress or ion pressure gradient effects and can potentially influence the stability and turbulent saturation level of edge plasma modes. On the other hand, such flows are subject to the transverse Kelvin- Helmholtz (KH) instability. Here, the linear theory of KH instabilities is first addressed with an analytic model in the asymptotic limit of long wavelengths compared with the flow scale length. The analytic model treats sheared ExB flows, ion diamagnetism (including gyro-viscous terms), density gradients and parallel currents in a slab geometry, enabling a unified summarymore » that encompasses and extends previous results. In particular, while ion diamagnetism, density gradients and parallel currents each individually reduce KH growth rates, the combined effect of density and ion pressure gradients is more complicated and partially counteracting. Secondly, the important role of realistic toroidal geometry is explored numerically using an invariant scaling analysis together with the 2DX eigenvalue code to examine KH modes in both closed and open field line regions. For a typical spherical torus magnetic geometry, it is found that KH modes are more unstable at and just outside the separatrix as a result of the distribution of magnetic shear. Lastly implications for reduced edge turbulence modeling codes are discussed.« less

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

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.

Pressure oscillations and instability of working processes in the combustion chambers of solid rocket motors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Emelyanov, V. N.; Teterina, I. V.; Volkov, K. N.; Garkushev, A. U.

2017-06-01

Metal particles are widely used in space engineering to increase specific impulse and to supress acoustic instability of intra-champber processes. A numerical analysis of the internal injection-driven turbulent gas-particle flows is performed to improve the current understanding and modeling capabilities of the complex flow characteristics in the combustion chambers of solid rocket motors (SRMs) in presence of forced pressure oscillations. The two-phase flow is simulated with a combined Eulerian-Lagrangian approach. The Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations and transport equations of k - ε model are solved numerically for the gas. The particulate phase is simulated through a Lagrangian deterministic and stochastic tracking models to provide particle trajectories and particle concentration. The results obtained highlight the crucial significance of the particle dispersion in turbulent flowfield and high potential of statistical methods. Strong coupling between acoustic oscillations, vortical motion, turbulent fluctuations and particle dynamics is observed.

Universality Results for Multi-Layer Hele-Shaw and Porous Media Flows

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Daripa, Prabir

2012-11-01

Saffman-Taylor instability is a well known viscosity driven instability of an interface. Motivated by a need to understand the effect of various injection policies currently in practice for chemical enhanced oil recovery, we study linear stability of displacement processes in a Hele-Shaw cell involving injection of an arbitrary number of immiscible fluid phases in succession. This is a problem involving many interfaces. Universal stability results have been obtained for this multi-layer (multi-region) flow in the sense that the results hold with arbitrary number of interfaces. These stability results have been applied to design injection policies that are considerably less unstable than the pure Saffman-Taylor case. In particular, we determine specific values of the viscosity of the fluid layers corresponding to smallest unstable band. Moreover, we discuss universal selection principle of optimal viscous profiles. The talk is based on following papers. Qatar National Fund (a member of the Qatar Foundation).

Test Particle Stability in Exoplanet Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Frewen, Shane; Hansen, B. M.

2011-01-01

Astronomy is currently going through a golden age of exoplanet discovery. Yet despite that, there is limited research on the evolution of exoplanet systems driven by stellar evolution. In this work we look at the stability of test particles in known exoplanet systems during the host star's main sequence and white dwarf stages. In particular, we compare the instability regions that develop before and after the star loses mass to form a white dwarf, a process which causes the semi-major axes of the outer planets to expand adiabatically. We investigate the possibility of secular and resonant perturbations resulting in these regions as well as the method of removal of test particles for the instability regions, such as ejection and collision with the central star. To run our simulations we used the MERCURY software package (Chambers, 1999) and evolved our systems for over 108 years using a hybrid symplectic/Bulirsch-Stoer integrator.

Colliding winds from early-type stars in binary systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stevens, Ian R.; Blondin, John M.; Pollock, A. M. T.

1992-01-01

The dynamics of the wind and shock structure formed by the wind collision in early-type binary systems is examined by means of a 2D hydrodynamics code, which self-consistently accounts for radiative cooling, and represents a significant improvement over previous attempts to model these systems. The X-ray luminosity and spectra of the shock-heated region, accounting for wind attenuation and the influence of different abundances on the resultant level and spectra of X-ray emission are calculated. A variety of dynamical instabilities that are found to dominate the intershock region is examined. These instabilities are found to be particularly important when postshock material is able to cool. These instabilities disrupt the postshock flow and add a time variability of order 10 percent to the X-ray luminosity. The X-ray spectrum of these systems is found to vary with the nuclear abundances of winds. These theoretical models are used to study several massive binary systems, in particular V444 Cyg and HD 193793.

Stable solutions of inflation driven by vector fields

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Emami, Razieh; Mukohyama, Shinji; Namba, Ryo; Zhang, Ying-li

2017-03-01

Many models of inflation driven by vector fields alone have been known to be plagued by pathological behaviors, namely ghost and/or gradient instabilities. In this work, we seek a new class of vector-driven inflationary models that evade all of the mentioned instabilities. We build our analysis on the Generalized Proca Theory with an extension to three vector fields to realize isotropic expansion. We obtain the conditions required for quasi de-Sitter solutions to be an attractor analogous to the standard slow-roll one and those for their stability at the level of linearized perturbations. Identifying the remedy to the existing unstable models, we provide a simple example and explicitly show its stability. This significantly broadens our knowledge on vector inflationary scenarios, reviving potential phenomenological interests for this class of models.

Ion-driven instabilities in the solar wind: Wind observations of 19 March 2005

DOE PAGES

Gary, S. Peter; Jian, Lan K.; Broiles, Thomas W.; ...

2016-01-16

Intervals of enhanced magnetic fluctuations have been frequently observed in the solar wind. However, it remains an open question as to whether these waves are generated at the Sun and then transported outward by the solar wind or generated locally in the interplanetary medium. Magnetic field and plasma measurements from the Wind spacecraft under slow solar wind conditions on 19 March 2005 demonstrate seven events of enhanced magnetic fluctuations at spacecraft-frame frequencies somewhat above the proton cyclotron frequency and propagation approximately parallel or antiparallel to the background magnetic field B o. The proton velocity distributions during these events are characterizedmore » by two components: a more dense, slower core and a less dense, faster beam. In conclusion, observed plasma parameters are used in a kinetic linear dispersion equation analysis for electromagnetic fluctuations at k x B o = 0; for two events the most unstable mode is the Alfvén-cyclotron instability driven by a proton component temperature anisotropy T ⊥/T || > 1 (where the subscripts denote directions relative to B o), and for three events the most unstable mode is the right-hand polarized magnetosonic instability driven primarily by ion component relative flows. Thus, both types of ion anisotropies and both types of instabilities are likely to be local sources of these enhanced fluctuation events in the solar wind.« less

Ion-driven instabilities in the solar wind: Wind observations of 19 March 2005

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

Gary, S. Peter; Jian, Lan K.; Broiles, Thomas W.

Intervals of enhanced magnetic fluctuations have been frequently observed in the solar wind. However, it remains an open question as to whether these waves are generated at the Sun and then transported outward by the solar wind or generated locally in the interplanetary medium. Magnetic field and plasma measurements from the Wind spacecraft under slow solar wind conditions on 19 March 2005 demonstrate seven events of enhanced magnetic fluctuations at spacecraft-frame frequencies somewhat above the proton cyclotron frequency and propagation approximately parallel or antiparallel to the background magnetic field B o. The proton velocity distributions during these events are characterizedmore » by two components: a more dense, slower core and a less dense, faster beam. In conclusion, observed plasma parameters are used in a kinetic linear dispersion equation analysis for electromagnetic fluctuations at k x B o = 0; for two events the most unstable mode is the Alfvén-cyclotron instability driven by a proton component temperature anisotropy T ⊥/T || > 1 (where the subscripts denote directions relative to B o), and for three events the most unstable mode is the right-hand polarized magnetosonic instability driven primarily by ion component relative flows. Thus, both types of ion anisotropies and both types of instabilities are likely to be local sources of these enhanced fluctuation events in the solar wind.« less

Ion-driven instabilities in the solar wind: Wind observations of 19 March 2005.

PubMed

Gary, S Peter; Jian, Lan K; Broiles, Thomas W; Stevens, Michael L; Podesta, John J; Kasper, Justin C

2016-01-01

Intervals of enhanced magnetic fluctuations have been frequently observed in the solar wind. But it remains an open question as to whether these waves are generated at the Sun and then transported outward by the solar wind or generated locally in the interplanetary medium. Magnetic field and plasma measurements from the Wind spacecraft under slow solar wind conditions on 19 March 2005 demonstrate seven events of enhanced magnetic fluctuations at spacecraft-frame frequencies somewhat above the proton cyclotron frequency and propagation approximately parallel or antiparallel to the background magnetic field B o . The proton velocity distributions during these events are characterized by two components: a more dense, slower core and a less dense, faster beam. Observed plasma parameters are used in a kinetic linear dispersion equation analysis for electromagnetic fluctuations at k x B o  = 0; for two events the most unstable mode is the Alfvén-cyclotron instability driven by a proton component temperature anisotropy T ⊥ /T ||  > 1 (where the subscripts denote directions relative to B o ), and for three events the most unstable mode is the right-hand polarized magnetosonic instability driven primarily by ion component relative flows. Thus, both types of ion anisotropies and both types of instabilities are likely to be local sources of these enhanced fluctuation events in the solar wind.

NONLINEAR EVOLUTION OF THE RADIATION-DRIVEN MAGNETO-ACOUSTIC INSTABILITY

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

Fernandez, Rodrigo; Socrates, Aristotle

2013-04-20

We examine the nonlinear development of unstable magnetosonic waves driven by a background radiative flux-the radiation-driven magneto-acoustic instability (RMI, a.k.a. the ''photon bubble'' instability). The RMI may serve as a persistent source of density, radiative flux, and magnetic field fluctuations in stably stratified, optically thick media. The conditions for instability are present in a variety of astrophysical environments and do not require the radiation pressure to dominate or the magnetic field to be strong. Here, we numerically study the saturation properties of the RMI, covering three orders of magnitude in the relative strength of radiation, magnetic field, and gas energies.more » Two-dimensional, time-dependent radiation-magnetohydrodynamic simulations of local, stably stratified domains are conducted with Zeus-MP in the optically thick, highly conducting limit. Our results confirm the theoretical expectations of Blaes and Socrates in that the RMI operates even in gas-pressure-dominated environments that are weakly magnetized. The saturation amplitude is a monotonically increasing function of the ratio of radiation to gas pressure. Keeping this ratio constant, we find that the saturation amplitude peaks when the magnetic pressure is comparable to the radiation pressure. We discuss the implications of our results for the dynamics of magnetized stellar envelopes, where the RMI should act as a source of sub-photospheric perturbations.« less

Kinetic instabilities in the solar wind driven by temperature anisotropies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yoon, Peter H.

2017-12-01

The present paper comprises a review of kinetic instabilities that may be operative in the solar wind, and how they influence the dynamics thereof. The review is limited to collective plasma instabilities driven by the temperature anisotropies. To limit the scope even further, the discussion is restricted to the temperature anisotropy-driven instabilities within the model of bi-Maxwellian plasma velocity distribution function. The effects of multiple particle species or the influence of field-aligned drift will not be included. The field-aligned drift or beam is particularly prominent for the solar wind electrons, and thus ignoring its effect leaves out a vast portion of important physics. Nevertheless, for the sake of limiting the scope, this effect will not be discussed. The exposition is within the context of linear and quasilinear Vlasov kinetic theories. The discussion does not cover either computer simulations or data analyses of observations, in any systematic manner, although references will be made to published works pertaining to these methods. The scientific rationale for the present analysis is that the anisotropic temperatures associated with charged particles are pervasively detected in the solar wind, and it is one of the key contemporary scientific research topics to correctly characterize how such anisotropies are generated, maintained, and regulated in the solar wind. The present article aims to provide an up-to-date theoretical development on this research topic, largely based on the author's own work.

Ion‐driven instabilities in the solar wind: Wind observations of 19 March 2005

PubMed Central

Jian, Lan K.; Broiles, Thomas W.; Stevens, Michael L.; Podesta, John J.; Kasper, Justin C.

2016-01-01

Abstract Intervals of enhanced magnetic fluctuations have been frequently observed in the solar wind. But it remains an open question as to whether these waves are generated at the Sun and then transported outward by the solar wind or generated locally in the interplanetary medium. Magnetic field and plasma measurements from the Wind spacecraft under slow solar wind conditions on 19 March 2005 demonstrate seven events of enhanced magnetic fluctuations at spacecraft‐frame frequencies somewhat above the proton cyclotron frequency and propagation approximately parallel or antiparallel to the background magnetic field B o. The proton velocity distributions during these events are characterized by two components: a more dense, slower core and a less dense, faster beam. Observed plasma parameters are used in a kinetic linear dispersion equation analysis for electromagnetic fluctuations at k x B o = 0; for two events the most unstable mode is the Alfvén‐cyclotron instability driven by a proton component temperature anisotropy T⊥/T|| > 1 (where the subscripts denote directions relative to B o), and for three events the most unstable mode is the right‐hand polarized magnetosonic instability driven primarily by ion component relative flows. Thus, both types of ion anisotropies and both types of instabilities are likely to be local sources of these enhanced fluctuation events in the solar wind. PMID:27818854

Criticality and turbulence in a resistive magnetohydrodynamic current sheet

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Klimas, Alexander J.; Uritsky, Vadim M.

2017-02-01

Scaling properties of a two-dimensional (2d) plasma physical current-sheet simulation model involving a full set of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) equations with current-dependent resistivity are investigated. The current sheet supports a spatial magnetic field reversal that is forced through loading of magnetic flux containing plasma at boundaries of the simulation domain. A balance is reached between loading and annihilation of the magnetic flux through reconnection at the current sheet; the transport of magnetic flux from boundaries to current sheet is realized in the form of spatiotemporal avalanches exhibiting power-law statistics of lifetimes and sizes. We identify this dynamics as self-organized criticality (SOC) by verifying an extended set of scaling laws related to both global and local properties of the current sheet (critical susceptibility, finite-size scaling of probability distributions, geometric exponents). The critical exponents obtained from this analysis suggest that the model operates in a slowly driven SOC state similar to the mean-field state of the directed stochastic sandpile model. We also investigate multiscale correlations in the velocity field and find them numerically indistinguishable from certain intermittent turbulence (IT) theories. The results provide clues on physical conditions for SOC behavior in a broad class of plasma systems with propagating instabilities, and suggest that SOC and IT may coexist in driven current sheets which occur ubiquitously in astrophysical and space plasmas.

Criticality and turbulence in a resistive magnetohydrodynamic current sheet.

PubMed

Klimas, Alexander J; Uritsky, Vadim M

2017-02-01

Scaling properties of a two-dimensional (2d) plasma physical current-sheet simulation model involving a full set of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) equations with current-dependent resistivity are investigated. The current sheet supports a spatial magnetic field reversal that is forced through loading of magnetic flux containing plasma at boundaries of the simulation domain. A balance is reached between loading and annihilation of the magnetic flux through reconnection at the current sheet; the transport of magnetic flux from boundaries to current sheet is realized in the form of spatiotemporal avalanches exhibiting power-law statistics of lifetimes and sizes. We identify this dynamics as self-organized criticality (SOC) by verifying an extended set of scaling laws related to both global and local properties of the current sheet (critical susceptibility, finite-size scaling of probability distributions, geometric exponents). The critical exponents obtained from this analysis suggest that the model operates in a slowly driven SOC state similar to the mean-field state of the directed stochastic sandpile model. We also investigate multiscale correlations in the velocity field and find them numerically indistinguishable from certain intermittent turbulence (IT) theories. The results provide clues on physical conditions for SOC behavior in a broad class of plasma systems with propagating instabilities, and suggest that SOC and IT may coexist in driven current sheets which occur ubiquitously in astrophysical and space plasmas.

Plasma channel undulator excited by high-order laser modes

DOE PAGES

Wang, J. W.; Schroeder, C. B.; Li, R.; ...

2017-12-04

The possibility of utilizing plasma undulators and plasma accelerators to produce compact ultraviolet and X-ray sources, has attracted considerable interest for a few decades. This interest has been driven by the great potential to decrease the threshold for accessing such sources, which are mainly provided by a few dedicated large-scale synchrotron or free-electron laser (FEL) facilities. However, the broad radiation bandwidth of such plasma devices limits the source brightness and makes it difficult for the FEL instability to develop. Here in this paper, using multi-dimensional particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations, we demonstrate that a plasma undulator generated by the beating of amore » mixture of high-order laser modes propagating inside a plasma channel, leads to a few percent radiation bandwidth. The strength of the undulator can reach unity, the period can be less than a millimeter, and the number of undulator periods can be significantly increased by a phase locking technique based on the longitudinal tapering. Polarization control of such an undulator can be achieved by appropriately choosing the phase of the modes. According to our results, in the fully beam loaded regime, the electron current in the plasma undulator can reach 0.3 kA level, making such an undulator a potential candidate towards a table-Top FEL.« less

Plasma channel undulator excited by high-order laser modes

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

Wang, J. W.; Schroeder, C. B.; Li, R.

The possibility of utilizing plasma undulators and plasma accelerators to produce compact ultraviolet and X-ray sources, has attracted considerable interest for a few decades. This interest has been driven by the great potential to decrease the threshold for accessing such sources, which are mainly provided by a few dedicated large-scale synchrotron or free-electron laser (FEL) facilities. However, the broad radiation bandwidth of such plasma devices limits the source brightness and makes it difficult for the FEL instability to develop. Here in this paper, using multi-dimensional particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations, we demonstrate that a plasma undulator generated by the beating of amore » mixture of high-order laser modes propagating inside a plasma channel, leads to a few percent radiation bandwidth. The strength of the undulator can reach unity, the period can be less than a millimeter, and the number of undulator periods can be significantly increased by a phase locking technique based on the longitudinal tapering. Polarization control of such an undulator can be achieved by appropriately choosing the phase of the modes. According to our results, in the fully beam loaded regime, the electron current in the plasma undulator can reach 0.3 kA level, making such an undulator a potential candidate towards a table-Top FEL.« less

High-Energy Cosmic Ray Self-Confinement Close to Extra-Galactic Sources.

PubMed

Blasi, Pasquale; Amato, Elena; D'Angelo, Marta

2015-09-18

The ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays observed on the Earth are most likely accelerated in extra-Galactic sources. For the typical luminosities invoked for such sources, the electric current associated to the flux of cosmic rays that leave them is large. The associated plasma instabilities create magnetic fluctuations that can efficiently scatter particles. We argue that this phenomenon forces cosmic rays to be self-confined in the source proximity for energies E

MRI and Related Astrophysical Instabilities in the Lab

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goodman, Jeremy

2018-06-01

The dynamics of accretion in astronomical disks is only partly understood. Magnetorotational instability (MRI) is surely important but has been studied largely through linear analysis and numerical simulations rather than experiments. Also, it is unclear whether MRI is effective in protostellar disks, which are likely poor electrical conductors. Shear-driven hydrodynamic turbulence is very familiar in terrestrial flows, but simulations indicate that it is inhibited in disks. I summarize experimental progress and challenges relevant to both types of instability.

Thermal effects in rapid directional solidification - Linear theory

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Huntley, D. A.; Davis, S. H.

1993-01-01

We study the morphological instability of the planar solid/liquid interface for a unidirectionally-solidified dilute binary mixture. We use a model developed by Boettinger et al. (1985, 1986), Aziz (1982), and Jackson et al. (1980), which allows for nonequilibrium effects on the interface through velocity-dependent segregation and attachment kinetics. Two types of instabilities are found in the linear stability analysis: (1) a cellular instability, and (2) an oscillatory instability driven by disequilibrium effects. Merchant and Davis (1990) characterized these instabilities subject to the frozen-temperature approximation (FTA). The present work relaxes the FTA by including the effects of latent heat and the full temperature distribution. Thermal effects slightly postpone the onset of the cellular instability but dramatically postpone the onset of the oscillatory instability; however, the absolute-stability conditions, at which at high speed the cellular and oscillatory instabilities are suppressed, remain unchanged from the FTA.

Experimental observation of ion-cyclotron turbulence in the presence of transverse-velocity shear. Ph.D. Thesis

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

Amatucci, W.E.

1994-01-01

This laboratory investigation documents the influence of transverse, localized, dc electric fields (TLE) on the excitation of ion-cyclotron waves driven by magnetic field-aligned current (FAC) in a Q-machine plasma device. A segmented disk electrode, located on axis at the end of the plasma column, is used to independently control TLE and FAC in the plasma (potassium plasma, n approximately equals 10(exp 9) cm(exp {minus}3), rho(i) approximately equals 0.2 cm, T(e) = T(i) approximately equals 0.2 eV). Ion-cyclotron waves have been characterized in both the weak-TLE and large-FAC regime and the strong-TLE and small-FAC regime. The existence of a new categorymore » of oscillation identified as the inhomogeneous energy-density driven (IEDD) instability is verified based on the properties of the waves in the latter regime. In the weak-TLE regime, current-driven electrostatic ion-cyclotron (CDEIC) waves with features in qualitative agreement with previous laboratory results have been observed at sufficiently large FAC. These waves have a frequency spectrum with a single narrow spectral feature located slightly above the ion-cyclotron frequency (omega approximately equals 1.2 Omega(i)). The waves are standing in the radial direction with peak oscillation amplitude located in the center of the FAC channel and are azimuthally symmetric (m = 0). Small magnitude TLE were found to have negligible effect on the characteristics of the waves. In the strong-TLE regime, a decrease in the threshold FAC level is observed. This transition in the instability threshold is accompanied by changes in the frequency spectra, propagation characteristics, and mode amplitude profiles. In the presence of strong-TLE, the ion-cyclotron waves propagate azimuthally in the E x B direction with k(theta) rho(i) = 0.4 and m = 1. The frequency spectrum becomes broadband and spiky, and shifts with the applied TLE strength.« less

Numerical simulations of high-energy flows in accreting magnetic white dwarfs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Van Box Som, Lucile; Falize, É.; Bonnet-Bidaud, J.-M.; Mouchet, M.; Busschaert, C.; Ciardi, A.

2018-01-01

Some polars show quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs) in their optical light curves that have been interpreted as the result of shock oscillations driven by the cooling instability. Although numerical simulations can recover this physics, they wrongly predict QPOs in the X-ray luminosity and have also failed to reproduce the observed frequencies, at least for the limited range of parameters explored so far. Given the uncertainties on the observed polar parameters, it is still unclear whether simulations can reproduce the observations. The aim of this work is to study QPOs covering all relevant polars showing QPOs. We perform numerical simulations including gravity, cyclotron and bremsstrahlung radiative losses, for a wide range of polar parameters, and compare our results with the astronomical data using synthetic X-ray and optical luminosities. We show that shock oscillations are the result of complex shock dynamics triggered by the interplay of two radiative instabilities. The secondary shock forms at the acoustic horizon in the post-shock region in agreement with our estimates from steady-state solutions. We also demonstrate that the secondary shock is essential to sustain the accretion shock oscillations at the average height predicted by our steady-state accretion model. Finally, in spite of the large explored parameter space, matching the observed QPO parameters requires a combination of parameters inconsistent with the observed ones. This difficulty highlights the limits of one-dimensional simulations, suggesting that multi-dimensional effects are needed to understand the non-linear dynamics of accretion columns in polars and the origins of QPOs.

ACCRETION DISK DYNAMO AS THE TRIGGER FOR X-RAY BINARY STATE TRANSITIONS

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

Begelman, Mitchell C.; Armitage, Philip J.; Reynolds, Christopher S., E-mail: mitch@jila.colorado.edu

2015-08-20

Magnetohydrodynamic accretion disk simulations suggest that much of the energy liberated by the magnetorotational instability (MRI) can be channeled into large-scale toroidal magnetic fields through dynamo action. Under certain conditions, this field can dominate over gas and radiation pressure in providing vertical support against gravity, even close to the midplane. Using a simple model for the creation of this field, its buoyant rise, and its coupling to the gas, we show how disks could be driven into this magnetically dominated state and deduce the resulting vertical pressure and density profiles. Applying an established criterion for MRI to operate in themore » presence of a toroidal field, we show that magnetically supported disks can have two distinct MRI-active regions, separated by a “dead zone” where local MRI is suppressed, but where magnetic energy continues to flow upward from the dynamo region below. We suggest that the relative strengths of the MRI zones, and the local poloidal flux, determine the spectral states of X-ray binaries. Specifically, “intermediate” and “hard” accretion states occur when MRI is triggered in the hot, upper zone of the corona, while disks in “soft” states do not develop the upper MRI zone. We discuss the conditions under which various transitions should take place and speculate on the relationship of dynamo activity to the various types of quasi-periodic oscillations that sometimes appear in the hard spectral components. The model also explains why luminous accretion disks in the “soft” state show no signs of the thermal/viscous instability predicted by standard α-models.« less

Symmetry breaking, phase separation and anomalous fluctuations in driven granular gas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meerson, Baruch; Pöschel, Thorsten; Sasorov, Pavel V.; Schwager, Thomas

2003-03-01

What is the role of noise, caused by the discrete nature of particles, in granular dynamics? We address this question by considering a simple driven granular system: an ensemble of nearly elastically colliding hard spheres in a rectangular box, driven by a rapidly vibrating side wall at zero gravity. The elementary state of this system is a strip of enhanced particle density away from the driving wall. Granular hydrodynamics (GHD) predicts a symmetry breaking instability of this state, when the aspect ratio of the confining box exceeds a threshold value, while the average density of the gas is within a ``spinodal interval". At large aspect ratios this instability leads to phase separation similar to that in van der Waals gas. In the present work (see cond-mat/0208286) we focus on the system behavior around the threshold of the symmetry-breaking instability. We put GHD into a quantitative test by performing extensive event-driven molecular dynamic simulations in 2D. Please watch the movies of the simulations at http://summa.physik.hu-berlin.de/ kies/HD/. We found that the supercritical bifurcation curve, predicted by GHD, agrees with the simulations well below and well above the instability threshold. In a wide region of aspect ratios around the threshold the system is dominated by fluctuations. We checked that the fluctuation strength goes down when the number of particles increases. However, fluctuations remain strong (and the critical region wide) even for as many as 4 ot 10^4 particles. We conclude by suggesting that fluctuations may put a severe limitation on the validity of continuum theories of granular flow in systems with a moderately large number of particles.

Internal wave scattering in continental slope canyons, part 1: Theory and development of a ray tracing algorithm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nazarian, Robert H.; Legg, Sonya

2017-10-01

When internal waves interact with topography, such as continental slopes, they can transfer wave energy to local dissipation and diapycnal mixing. Submarine canyons comprise approximately ten percent of global continental slopes, and can enhance the local dissipation of internal wave energy, yet parameterizations of canyon mixing processes are currently missing from large-scale ocean models. As a first step in the development of such parameterizations, we conduct a parameter space study of M2 tidal-frequency, low-mode internal waves interacting with idealized V-shaped canyon topographies. Specifically, we examine the effects of varying the canyon mouth width, shape and slope of the thalweg (line of lowest elevation). This effort is divided into two parts. In the first part, presented here, we extend the theory of 3-dimensional internal wave reflection to a rotated coordinate system aligned with our idealized V-shaped canyons. Based on the updated linear internal wave reflection solution that we derive, we construct a ray tracing algorithm which traces a large number of rays (the discrete analog of a continuous wave) into the canyon region where they can scatter off topography. Although a ray tracing approach has been employed in other studies, we have, for the first time, used ray tracing to calculate changes in wavenumber and ray density which, in turn, can be used to calculate the Froude number (a measure of the likelihood of instability). We show that for canyons of intermediate aspect ratio, large spatial envelopes of instability can form in the presence of supercritical sidewalls. Additionally, the canyon height and length can modulate the Froude number. The second part of this study, a diagnosis of internal wave scattering in continental slope canyons using both numerical simulations and this ray tracing algorithm, as well as a test of robustness of the ray tracing, is presented in the companion article.

Collision-Driven Negative-Energy Waves and the Weibel Instability of a Relativistic Electron Beam in a Quasineutral Plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Karmakar, Anupam; Kumar, Naveen; Shvets, Gennady; Polomarov, Oleg; Pukhov, Alexander

2008-12-01

A new model describing the Weibel instability of a relativistic electron beam propagating through a resistive plasma is developed. For finite-temperature beams, a new class of negative-energy magnetosound waves is identified, whose growth due to collisional dissipation destabilizes the beam-plasma system even for high beam temperatures. We perform 2D and 3D particle-in-cell simulations and show that in 3D geometry the Weibel instability persists even for collisionless background plasma. The anomalous plasma resistivity in 3D is caused by the two-stream instability.

Laboratory Study of Magnetorotational Instability and Hydrodynamic Stability at Large Reynolds Numbers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ji, H.; Burin, M.; Schartman, E.; Goodman, J.; Liu, W.

2006-01-01

Two plausible mechanisms have been proposed to explain rapid angular momentum transport during accretion processes in astrophysical disks: nonlinear hydrodynamic instabilities and magnetorotational instability (MRI). A laboratory experiment in a short Taylor-Couette flow geometry has been constructed in Princeton to study both mechanisms, with novel features for better controls of the boundary-driven secondary flows (Ekman circulation). Initial results on hydrodynamic stability have shown negligible angular momentum transport in Keplerian-like flows with Reynolds numbers approaching one million, casting strong doubt on the viability of nonlinear hydrodynamic instability as a source for accretion disk turbulence.

Computer simulations of electromagnetic cool ion beam instabilities. [in near earth space

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gary, S. P.; Madland, C. D.; Schriver, D.; Winske, D.

1986-01-01

Electromagnetic ion beam instabilities driven by cool ion beams at propagation parallel or antiparallel to a uniform magnetic field are studied using computer simulations. The elements of linear theory applicable to electromagnetic ion beam instabilities and the simulations derived from a one-dimensional hybrid computer code are described. The quasi-linear regime of the right-hand resonant ion beam instability, and the gyrophase bunching of the nonlinear regime of the right-hand resonant and nonresonant instabilities are examined. It is detected that in the quasi-linear regime the instability saturation is due to a reduction in the beam core relative drift speed and an increase in the perpendicular-to-parallel beam temperature; in the nonlinear regime the instabilities saturate when half the initial beam drift kinetic energy density is converted to fluctuating magnetic field energy density.

Disk irradiation and light curves of x ray novae

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kim, S.-W.; Wheeler, J. C.; Mineshige, S.

1994-01-01

We study the disk instability and the effect of irradiation on outbursts in the black hole X-ray nova system. In both the optical and soft X-rays, the light curves of several X-ray novae, A0620-00, GH 2000+25, Nova Muscae 1991 (GS 1124-68), and GRO J0422+32, show a main peak, a phase of exponential decline, a secondary maximum or reflare, and a final bump in the late decay followed by a rapid decline. Basic disk thermal limit cycle instabilities can account for the rapid rise and overall decline, but not the reflare and final bump. The rise time of the reflare, about 10 days, is too short to represent a viscous time, so this event is unlikely to be due to increased mass flow from the companion star. We explore the possibility that irradiation by X-rays produced in the inner disk can produce these secondary effects by enhancing the mass flow rate within the disk. Two plausible mechanisms of irradiation of the disk are considered: direct irradiation from the inner hot disk and reflected radiation from a corona or other structure above the disk. Both of these processes will be time dependent in the context of the disk instability model and result in more complex time-dependent behavior of the disk structure. We test both disk instability and mass transfer burst models for the secondary flares in the presence of irradiation.

Two LANL laboratory astrophysics experiments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Intrator, Thomas; Weber, Thomas; Feng, Yan; Hutchinson, Trevor; Dunn, John; Akcay, Cihan

2014-06-01

Two laboratory experiments are described that have been built at Los Alamos (LANL) to gain access to a wide range of fundamental plasma physics issues germane to astro, space, and fusion plasmas. The over arching theme is magnetized plasma dynamics which includes significant currents, MHD forces and instabilities, magnetic field creation and annihilation, sheared flows and shocks. The Relaxation Scaling Experiment (RSX) creates current sheets and flux ropes that exhibit fully 3D dynamics, and can kink, bounce, merge and reconnect, shred, and reform in complicated ways. Recent movies from a large data set describe the 3D magnetic structure of a driven and dissipative single flux rope that spontaneously self saturates a kink instability. Examples of a coherent shear flow dynamo driven by colliding flux ropes will also be shown.The Magnetized Shock Experiment (MSX) uses Field reversed configuration (FRC) experimental hardware that forms and ejects FRCs at 150km/sec. This is sufficient to drive a collision less magnetized shock when stagnated into a mirror stopping field region with Alfven Mach number MA=3 so that super critical shocks can be studied. We are building a plasmoid accelerator to drive Mach numbers MA >> 3 to access solar wind and more exotic astrophysical regimes. Unique features of this experiment include access to parallel, oblique and perpendicular shocks, shock region much larger than ion gyro radii and ion inertial length, room for turbulence, and large magnetic and fluid Reynolds numbers.*DOE Office of Fusion Energy Sciences under LANS contract DE-AC52-06NA25396, NASA Geospace NNHIOA044I, Basic, Center for Magnetic Self Organization

Weakly Nonlinear Model with Exact Coefficients for the Fluttering and Spiraling Motion of Buoyancy-Driven Bodies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tchoufag, Joël; Fabre, David; Magnaudet, Jacques

2015-09-01

Gravity- or buoyancy-driven bodies moving in a slightly viscous fluid frequently follow fluttering or helical paths. Current models of such systems are largely empirical and fail to predict several of the key features of their evolution, especially close to the onset of path instability. Here, using a weakly nonlinear expansion of the full set of governing equations, we present a new generic reduced-order model based on a pair of amplitude equations with exact coefficients that drive the evolution of the first pair of unstable modes. We show that the predictions of this model for the style (e.g., fluttering or spiraling) and characteristics (e.g., frequency and maximum inclination angle) of path oscillations compare well with various recent data for both solid disks and air bubbles.

A weakly nonlinear model with exact coefficients for the fluttering and spiraling motions of buoyancy-driven bodies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Magnaudet, Jacques; Tchoufag, Joel; Fabre, David

2015-11-01

Gravity/buoyancy-driven bodies moving in a slightly viscous fluid frequently follow fluttering or helical paths. Current models of such systems are largely empirical and fail to predict several of the key features of their evolution, especially close to the onset of path instability. Using a weakly nonlinear expansion of the full set of governing equations, we derive a new generic reduced-order model of this class of phenomena based on a pair of amplitude equations with exact coefficients that drive the evolution of the first pair of unstable modes. We show that the predictions of this model for the style (eg. fluttering or spiraling) and characteristics (eg. frequency and maximum inclination angle) of path oscillations compare well with various recent data for both solid disks and air bubbles.

A decades-long fast-rise-exponential-decay flare in low-luminosity AGN NGC 7213

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yan, Zhen; Xie, Fu-Guo

2018-03-01

We analysed the four-decades-long X-ray light curve of the low-luminosity active galactic nucleus (LLAGN) NGC 7213 and discovered a fast-rise-exponential-decay (FRED) pattern, i.e. the X-ray luminosity increased by a factor of ≈4 within 200 d, and then decreased exponentially with an e-folding time ≈8116 d (≈22.2 yr). For the theoretical understanding of the observations, we examined three variability models proposed in the literature: the thermal-viscous disc instability model, the radiation pressure instability model, and the TDE model. We find that a delayed tidal disruption of a main-sequence star is most favourable; either the thermal-viscous disc instability model or radiation pressure instability model fails to explain some key properties observed, thus we argue them unlikely.

Mix and hydrodynamic instabilities on NIF

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smalyuk, V. A.; Robey, H. F.; Casey, D. T.; Clark, D. S.; Döppner, T.; Haan, S. W.; Hammel, B. A.; MacPhee, A. G.; Martinez, D.; Milovich, J. L.; Peterson, J. L.; Pickworth, L.; Pino, J. E.; Raman, K.; Tipton, R.; Weber, C. R.; Baker, K. L.; Bachmann, B.; Berzak Hopkins, L. F.; Bond, E.; Caggiano, J. A.; Callahan, D. A.; Celliers, P. M.; Cerjan, C.; Dixit, S. N.; Edwards, M. J.; Felker, S.; Field, J. E.; Fittinghoff, D. N.; Gharibyan, N.; Grim, G. P.; Hamza, A. V.; Hatarik, R.; Hohenberger, M.; Hsing, W. W.; Hurricane, O. A.; Jancaitis, K. S.; Jones, O. S.; Khan, S.; Kroll, J. J.; Lafortune, K. N.; Landen, O. L.; Ma, T.; MacGowan, B. J.; Masse, L.; Moore, A. S.; Nagel, S. R.; Nikroo, A.; Pak, A.; Patel, P. K.; Remington, B. A.; Sayre, D. B.; Spears, B. K.; Stadermann, M.; Tommasini, R.; Widmayer, C. C.; Yeamans, C. B.; Crippen, J.; Farrell, M.; Giraldez, E.; Rice, N.; Wilde, C. H.; Volegov, P. L.; Gatu Johnson, M.

2017-06-01

Several new platforms have been developed to experimentally measure hydrodynamic instabilities in all phases of indirect-drive, inertial confinement fusion implosions on National Ignition Facility. At the ablation front, instability growth of pre-imposed modulations was measured with a face-on, x-ray radiography platform in the linear regime using the Hydrodynamic Growth Radiography (HGR) platform. Modulation growth of "native roughness" modulations and engineering features (fill tubes and capsule support membranes) were measured in conditions relevant to layered DT implosions. A new experimental platform was developed to measure instability growth at the ablator-ice interface. In the deceleration phase of implosions, several experimental platforms were developed to measure both low-mode asymmetries and high-mode perturbations near peak compression with x-ray and nuclear techniques. In one innovative technique, the self-emission from the hot spot was enhanced with argon dopant to "self-backlight" the shell in-flight. To stabilize instability growth, new "adiabat-shaping" techniques were developed using the HGR platform and applied in layered DT implosions.

Microscopic Processes in Relativistic Jets

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nishikawa, K.-I.; Hardee, P.; Mizuno, Y.; Medvedev, M.; Zhang, B.; Nordlund, A.; Fredricksen, J.; Sol, H.; Niemiec, J.; Lyubarsky, Y.;

Mix and hydrodynamic instabilities on NIF

DOE PAGES

Smalyuk, V. A.; Robey, H. F.; Casey, D. T.; ...

2017-06-01

Several new platforms have been developed to experimentally measure hydrodynamic instabilities in all phases of indirect-drive, inertial confinement fusion implosions on National Ignition Facility. At the ablation front, instability growth of pre-imposed modulations was measured with a face-on, x-ray radiography platform in the linear regime using the Hydrodynamic Growth Radiography (HGR) platform. Modulation growth of "native roughness" modulations and engineering features (fill tubes and capsule support membranes) were measured in conditions relevant to layered DT implosions. A new experimental platform was developed to measure instability growth at the ablator-ice interface. Here in the deceleration phase of implosions, several experimental platformsmore » were developed to measure both low-mode asymmetries and high-mode perturbations near peak compression with x-ray and nuclear techniques. In one innovative technique, the self-emission from the hot spot was enhanced with argon dopant to "self-backlight" the shell in-flight. To stabilize instability growth, new "adiabat-shaping" techniques were developed using the HGR platform and applied in layered DT implosions.« less

Radiation from Relativistic Jets

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nishikawa, K.-I.; Mizuno, Y.; Hardee, P.; Sol, H.; Medvedev, M.; Zhang, B.; Nordlund, A.; Frederiksen, J. T.; Fishman, G. J.; Preece, R.

2008-01-01

Nonthermal radiation observed from astrophysical systems containing relativistic jets and shocks, e.g., gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), active galactic nuclei (AGNs), and Galactic microquasar systems usually have power-law emission spectra. Recent PIC simulations of relativistic electron-ion (electron-positron) jets injected into a stationary medium show that particle acceleration occurs within the downstream jet. In the presence of relativistic jets, instabilities such as the Buneman instability, other two-streaming instability, and the Weibel (filamentation) instability create collisionless shocks, which 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 in small-scale magnetic fields has different properties than synchrotron radiation which is calculated in a uniform magnetic field. This jitter radiation, a case of diffusive synchrotron radiation, may be important to understand the complex time evolution and/or spectral structure in gamma-ray bursts, relativistic jets, and supernova remnants.

Theoretical studies of the solar atmosphere and interstellar pickup ions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1994-01-01

Solar atmosphere research activities are summarized. Specific topics addressed include: (1) coronal mass ejections and related phenomena; (2) parametric instabilities of Alfven waves; (3) pickup ions in the solar wind; and (4) cosmic rays in the outer heliosphere. Also included is a list of publications covering the following topics: catastrophic evolution of a force-free flux rope; maximum energy release in flux-rope models of eruptive flares; sheet approximations in models of eruptive flares; material ejection, motions of loops and ribbons of two-ribbon flares; dispersion relations for parametric instabilities of parallel-propagating; parametric instabilities of parallel-propagating Alfven waves; beat, modulation, and decay instabilities of a circularly-polarized Alfven wave; effects of time-dependent photoionization on interstellar pickup helium; observation of waves generated by the solar wind pickup of interstellar hydrogen ions; ion thermalization and wave excitation downstream of the quasi-perpendicular bowshock; ion cyclotron instability and the inverse correlation between proton anisotrophy and proton beta; and effects of cosmic rays and interstellar gas on the dynamics of a wind.

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.

A discontinuous Galerkin method for gravity-driven viscous fingering instabilities in porous media

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

Scovazzi, G.; Gerstenberger, A.; Collis, S. S.

2013-01-01

We present a new approach to the simulation of gravity-driven viscous fingering instabilities in porous media flow. These instabilities play a very important role during carbon sequestration processes in brine aquifers. Our approach is based on a nonlinear implementation of the discontinuous Galerkin method, and possesses a number of key features. First, the method developed is inherently high order, and is therefore well suited to study unstable flow mechanisms. Secondly, it maintains high-order accuracy on completely unstructured meshes. The combination of these two features makes it a very appealing strategy in simulating the challenging flow patterns and very complex geometriesmore » of actual reservoirs and aquifers. This article includes an extensive set of verification studies on the stability and accuracy of the method, and also features a number of computations with unstructured grids and non-standard geometries.« less

Long-Wavelength Rupturing Instability in Surface-Tension-Driven Benard Convection

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Swift, J. B.; Hook, Stephen J. Van; Becerril, Ricardo; McCormick, W. D.; Swinney, H. L.; Schatz, Michael F.

1999-01-01

A liquid layer with a free upper surface and heated from below is subject to thermocapillary-induced convective instabilities. We use very thin liquid layers (0.01 cm) to significantly reduce buoyancy effects and simulate Marangoni convection in microgravity. We observe thermocapillary-driven convection in two qualitatively different modes, short-wavelength Benard hexagonal convection cells and a long-wavelength interfacial rupturing mode. We focus on the long-wavelength mode and present experimental observations and theoretical analyses of the long-wavelength instability. Depending on the depths and thermal conductivities of the liquid and the gas above it, the interface can rupture downwards and form a dry spot or rupture upwards and form a high spot. Linear stability theory gives good agreement to the experimental measurements of onset as long as sidewall effects are taken into account. Nonlinear theory correctly predicts the subcritical nature of the bifurcation and the selection between the dry spot and high spots.

e(sup +/-) Pair Loading and the Origin of the Upstream Magnetic Field in GRB Shocks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ramirez-Ruiz, Enrico; Nishikawa, Ken-Ichi; Hededal, Christian B.

2006-01-01

We investigate here the effects of plasma instabilities driven by rapid e(sup +/-) pair cascades, which arise in the environment of GRB sources as a result of back-scattering of a seed fraction of their original spectrum. The injection of e(sup +/-) 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 +/-) 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 +/-) pairs and ions, and may help explain the origin of large upstream fields in GRB shocks.

e+/- Pair Loading and the Origin of the Upstream Field in GRB Shocks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ramirez-Ruiz, Enrico; Nishikawa, Ken-Ichi; Hededal, Christian B.

2006-01-01

We investigate here 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 their 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.

Magneto-Rayleigh-Taylor instability driven by a rotating magnetic field

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Duan, Shuchao; Xie, Weiping; Cao, Jintao; Li, Ding

2018-04-01

In this paper, we analyze theoretically the magneto-Rayleigh-Taylor instability driven by a rotating magnetic field. Slab configurations of finite thickness are treated both with and without using the Wenzel-Kramers-Brillouin approximation. Regardless of the slab thickness, the directional rotation of the driving magnetic field contributes to suppressing these instabilities. The two factors of the finite thickness and directional rotation of the magnetic field cooperate to enhance suppression, with the finite thickness playing a role only when the orientation of the magnetic field is time varying. The suppression becomes stronger as the driving magnetic field rotates faster, and all modes are suppressed, in contrast to the case of a non-rotating magnetic field, for which the vertical mode cannot be suppressed. This implies that the dynamically alternate configuration of a Theta-pinch and a Z-pinch may be applicable to the concept of Theta-Z liner inertial fusion.

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

PubMed

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

2011-10-14

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

Global simulation of edge pedestal micro-instabilities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wan, Weigang; Parker, Scott; Chen, Yang

2011-10-01

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

Instabilities and finger formation in replacement fronts driven by an oversaturated solution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kondratiuk, Paweł; Tredak, Hanna; Upadhyay, Virat; Ladd, Anthony J. C.; Szymczak, Piotr

2017-08-01

We consider a simple model of infiltration-driven mineral replacement, in which the chemical coupling between precipitation and dissolution leads to the appearance of a reaction front advancing into the system. Such fronts are usually accompanied by a local increase of porosity. We analyze the linear stability of the replacement front to establish whether such a localized porosity increase can lead to global instability and pattern formation in these systems. We find that for a wide range of control parameters such fronts are unstable. However, both short- and long-wavelength perturbations are stabilized, whereas in a purely dissolutional instability only short wavelengths are stable. We analyze the morphologies of the dissolution patterns emerging in the later stages of the evolution of the system, when the dynamics are beyond the linear regime. Implications of these results for the natural systems are discussed, particularly in the context of karst formation in terra rossa-covered carbonate bedrock.

A mechanism for beam-driven excitation of ion cyclotron harmonic waves in the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor

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

Dendy, R.O.; McClements, K.G.; Lashmore-Davies, C.N.

1994-10-01

A mechanism is proposed for the excitation of waves at harmonics of the injected ion cyclotron frequencies in neutral beam-heated discharges in the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor (TFTR) [[ital Proceedings] [ital of] [ital the] 17[ital th] [ital European] [ital Conference] [ital on] [ital Controlled] [ital Fusion] [ital and] [ital Plasma] [ital Heating] (European Physical Society, Petit-Lancy, Switzerland, 1990), p. 1540]. Such waves are observed to originate from the outer midplane edge of the plasma. It is shown that ion cyclotron harmonic waves can be destabilized by a low concentration of sub-Alfvenic deuterium or tritium beam ions, provided these ions havemore » a narrow distribution of speeds parallel to the magnetic field. Such a distribution is likely to occur in the edge plasma, close to the point of beam injection. The predicted instability gives rise to wave emission at propagation angles lying almost perpendicular to the field. In contrast to the magnetoacoustic cyclotron instability proposed as an excitation mechanism for fusion-product-driven ion cyclotron emission in the Joint European Torus (JET) [Phys. Plasmas [bold 1], 1918 (1994)], the instability proposed here does not involve resonant fast Alfven and ion Bernstein waves, and can be driven by sub-Alfvenic energetic ions. It is concluded that the observed emission from TFTR can be driven by beam ions.« less

Flow-driven waves and sink-driven oscillations during aggregation of Dictyostelium discoideum

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gholami, Azam; Zykov, Vladimir; Steinbock, Oliver; Bodenschatz, Eberhard

The slime mold Dictyostelium discoideum (D.d) is a well-known model system for the study of biological pattern formation. Under starvation, D.d. cells aggregate chemotactically towards cAMP signals emitted periodically from an aggregation center. In the natural environment, D.d cells may experience fluid flows that can profoundly change the underlying wave generation process. We investigate spatial-temporal dynamics of a uniformly distributed population of D.d. cells in a flow-through narrow microfluidic channel with a cell-free inlet area. We show that flow can significantly influence the dynamics of the system and lead to a flow- driven instability that initiate downstream traveling cAMP waves. We also show that cell-free boundary regions have a significant effect on the observed patterns and can lead to a new kind of instability. Since there are no cells in the inlet to produce cAMP, the points in the vicinity of the inlet lose cAMP due to advection or diffusion and gain only a little from the upstream of the channel (inlet). In other words, there is a large negative flux of cAMP in the neighborhood close to the inlet, which can be considered as a sink. This negative flux close to the inlet drives a new kind of instability called sink-driven oscillations. Financial support of the MaxSynBio Consortium is acknowledged.

COULD COSMIC RAYS AFFECT INSTABILITIES IN THE TRANSITION LAYER OF NONRELATIVISTIC COLLISIONLESS SHOCKS?

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

Stroman, Thomas; Pohl, Martin; Niemiec, Jacek

2012-02-10

There is an observational correlation between astrophysical shocks and nonthermal particle distributions extending to high energies. As a first step toward investigating the possible feedback of these particles on the shock at the microscopic level, we perform particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations of a simplified environment consisting of uniform, interpenetrating plasmas, both with and without an additional population of cosmic rays. We vary the relative density of the counterstreaming plasmas, the strength of a homogeneous parallel magnetic field, and the energy density in cosmic rays. We compare the early development of the unstable spectrum for selected configurations without cosmic rays to themore » growth rates predicted from linear theory, for assurance that the system is well represented by the PIC technique. Within the parameter space explored, we do not detect an unambiguous signature of any cosmic-ray-induced effects on the microscopic instabilities that govern the formation of a shock. We demonstrate that an overly coarse distribution of energetic particles can artificially alter the statistical noise that produces the perturbative seeds of instabilities, and that such effects can be mitigated by increasing the density of computational particles.« less

Potential for the Vishniac instability in ionizing shock waves propagating into cold gases

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Robinson, A. P. L.; Pasley, J.

2018-05-01

The Vishniac instability was posited as an instability that could affect supernova remnants in their late stage of evolution when subject to strong radiative cooling, which can drive the effective ratio of specific heats below 1.3. The potential importance of this instability to these astrophysical objects has motivated a number of laser-driven laboratory studies. However, the Vishniac instability is essentially a dynamical instability that should operate independently of whatever physical processes happen to reduce the ratio of specific heats. In this paper, we examine the possibility that ionization and molecular dissociation processes can achieve this, and we show that this is possible for a certain range of shock wave Mach numbers for ionizing/dissociating shock waves propagating into cold atomic and molecular gases.

Density Driven Removal of Sediment from a Buoyant Muddy Plume

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rouhnia, M.; Strom, K.

2014-12-01

Experiments were conducted to study the effect of settling driven instabilities on sediment removal from hypopycnal plumes. Traditional approaches scale removal rates with particle settling velocity however, it has been suggested that the removal from buoyant suspensions happens at higher rates. The enhancement of removal is likely due to gravitational instabilities, such as fingering, at two-fluid interface. Previous studies have all sought to suppress flocculation, and no simple model exists to predict the removal rates under the effect of such instabilities. This study examines whether or not flocculation hampers instability formation and presents a simple removal rate model accounting for gravitational instabilities. A buoyant suspension of flocculated Kaolinite overlying a base of clear saltwater was investigated in a laboratory tank. Concentration was continuously measured in both layers with a pair of OBS sensors, and interface was monitored with digital cameras. Snapshots from the video were used to measure finger velocity. Samples of flocculated particles at the interface were extracted to retrieve floc size data using a floc camera. Flocculation did not stop creation of settling-driven fingers. A simple cylinder-based force balance model was capable of predicting finger velocity. Analogy of fingering process of fine grained suspensions to thermal plume formation and the concept of Grashof number enabled us to model finger spacing as a function of initial concentration. Finally, from geometry, the effective cross-sectional area was correlated to finger spacing. Reformulating the outward flux expression was done by substitution of finger velocity, rather than particle settling velocity, and finger area instead of total area. A box model along with the proposed outward flux was used to predict the SSC in buoyant layer. The model quantifies removal flux based on the initial SSC and is in good agreement with the experimental data.

On the stability of radiation-pressure-dominated cavities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kuiper, R.; Klahr, H.; Beuther, H.; Henning, Th.

2012-01-01

Context. When massive stars exert a radiation pressure onto their environment that is higher than their gravitational attraction (super-Eddington condition), they launch a radiation-pressure-driven outflow, which creates cleared cavities. These cavities should prevent any further accretion onto the star from the direction of the bubble, although it has been claimed that a radiative Rayleigh-Taylor instability should lead to the collapse of the outflow cavity and foster the growth of massive stars. Aims: We investigate the stability of idealized radiation-pressure-dominated cavities, focusing on its dependence on the radiation transport approach used in numerical simulations for the stellar radiation feedback. Methods: We compare two different methods for stellar radiation feedback: gray flux-limited diffusion (FLD) and ray-tracing (RT). Both methods are implemented in our self-gravity radiation hydrodynamics simulations for various initial density structures of the collapsing clouds, eventually forming massive stars. We also derive simple analytical models to support our findings. Results: Both methods lead to the launch of a radiation-pressure-dominated outflow cavity. However, only the FLD cases lead to prominent instability in the cavity shell. The RT cases do not show such instability; once the outflow has started, it precedes continuously. The FLD cases display extended epochs of marginal Eddington equilibrium in the cavity shell, making them prone to the radiative Rayleigh-Taylor instability. In the RT cases, the radiation pressure exceeds gravity by 1-2 orders of magnitude. The radiative Rayleigh-Taylor instability is then consequently suppressed. It is a fundamental property of the gray FLD method to neglect the stellar radiation temperature at the location of absorption and thus to underestimate the opacity at the location of the cavity shell. Conclusions: Treating the stellar irradiation in the gray FLD approximation underestimates the radiative forces acting on the cavity shell. This can lead artificially to situations that are affected by the radiative Rayleigh-Taylor instability. The proper treatment of direct stellar irradiation by massive stars is crucial for the stability of radiation-pressure-dominated cavities. Movies are available in electronic form at http://www.aanda.org

Stability of a jet in confined pressure-driven biphasic flows at low reynolds numbers.

PubMed

Guillot, Pierre; Colin, Annie; Utada, Andrew S; Ajdari, Armand

2007-09-07

Motivated by its importance for microfluidic applications, we study the stability of jets formed by pressure-driven concentric biphasic flows in cylindrical capillaries. The specificity of this variant of the classical Rayleigh-Plateau instability is the role of the geometry which imposes confinement and Poiseuille flow profiles. We experimentally evidence a transition between situations where the flow takes the form of a jet and regimes where drops are produced. We describe this as the transition from convective to absolute instability, within a simple linear analysis using lubrication theory for flows at low Reynolds number, and reach remarkable agreement with the data.

Local magnetohydrodynamic instabilities and the wave-driven dynamo in accretion disks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vishniac, Ethan T.; Diamond, Patrick

1992-01-01

We consider the consequences of magnetic buoyancy and the magnetic shearing instability (MSI) on the strength and organization of the magnetic field in a thin accretion disk. We discuss a model in which the wave-driven dynamo growth rate is balanced by the dissipative effects of the MSI. As in earlier work, the net helicity is due to small advective motions driven by nonlinear interactions between internal waves. Assuming a simple model of the internal wave spectrum generated from the primary m = 1 internal waves, we find that the magnetic energy density saturates at about (H/r) exp 4/3 times the local pressure (where H is the disk thickness and r is its radius). On very small scales the shearing instability will produce an isotropic fluctuating field. For a stationary disk this is equivalent to a dimensionless 'viscosity' of about (H/r) exp 4/3. The vertical and radial diffusion coefficients will be comparable to each other. Magnetic buoyancy will be largely suppressed by the turbulence due to the MSI. We present a rough estimate of its effects and find that it removes magnetic flux from the disk at a rate comparable to that caused by turbulent diffusion.

Vibrational spectra and lattice instabilities in the high-Tc superconductors YBa2Cu3O7 and GdBa2Cu3O7

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bozović, I.; Mitzi, D.; Beasley, M.; Kapitulnik, A.; Geballe, T.; Perkowitz, S.; Carr, G. L.; Lou, B.; Sudharsanan, R.; Yom, S. S.

1987-09-01

The exceptionally high Tc of layered cuprates was proposed recently as originating from electronically driven structural instabilities. We have studied the infrared and Raman spectra of YBa2Cu3O7-δ and GdBa2Cu3O7-δ over a broad range of temperatures, from 10 to 300 K. We observed neither mode softening nor any other spectroscopic signature of lattice instabilities.

Subsynchronous instability of a geared centrifugal compressor of overhung design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hudson, J. H.; Wittman, L. J.

1980-01-01

The original design analysis and shop test data are presented for a three stage (poster) air compressor with impellers mounted on the extensions of a twin pinion gear, and driven by an 8000 hp synchronous motor. Also included are field test data, subsequent rotor dynamics analysis, modifications, and final rotor behavior. A subsynchronous instability existed on a geared, overhung rotor. State-of-the-art rotor dynamics analysis techniques provided a reasonable analytical model of the rotor. A bearing modification arrived at analytically eliminated the instability.

Surface Tension Driven Instability in the Regime of Stokes Flow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yao, Zhenwei; Bowick, Mark; Xing, Xiangjun

2010-03-01

A cylinder of liquid inside another liquid is unstable towards droplet formation. This instability is driven by minimization of surface tension energy and was analyzed first by [1,2] and then by [3]. We revisit this problem in the limit of small Laplace number, where the inertial of liquids can be completely ignored. The stream function is found to obey biharmonic equation, and its analytic solutions are found. We rederive Tomotika's main results, and also obtain many new analytic results about the velocity fields. We also apply our formalism to study the recent experiment on toroidal liquid droplet[4]. Our framework shall have many applications in micro-fluidics. [1] L.Rayleigh, On The Instability of A Cylinder of Viscous Liquid Under Capillary Force, Scientific Papers, Cambridge, Vol.III, 1902. [2] L.Rayleigh, On The Instability of Cylindrical Fluid Surfaces, Scientific Papers, Cambridge, Vol.III, 1902. [3] S.Tomotika, On the Instability of a Cylindrical Thread of a Viscous Liquid surround by Another Viscous Fluid, Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series A, Mathematical and Physical Sciences, Volume 150, Issue 870, pp. 322-337. [4] E.Pairam and A.Fern'andez-Nieves, Generation and Stability of Toroidal Droplets in a Viscous Liquid, Physical Review Letters 102, 234501 (2009).

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.

Axisymmetric magnetorotational instability in ideal and viscous laboratory plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mikhailovskii, A. B.; Lominadze, J. G.; Churikov, A. P.; Erokhin, N. N.; Pustovitov, V. D.; Konovalov, S. V.

2008-10-01

The original analysis of the axisymmetric magnetorotational instability (MRI) by Velikhov (Sov. Phys. JETP 9, 995 (1959)) and Chandrasekhar (Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. 46, 253 (1960)), applied to the ideally conducting magnetized medium in the laboratory conditions and restricted to the incompressible approximation, is extended by allowing for the compressibility. Thereby, two additional driving mechanisms of MRI are revealed in addition to the standard drive due to the negative medium rotation frequency gradient (the Velikhov effect). One is due to the squared medium pressure gradient and another is a combined effect of the pressure and density gradients. For laboratory applications, the expression for the MRI boundary with all the above driving mechanisms and the stabilizing magnetoacoustic effect is derived. The effects of parallel and perpendicular viscosities on the MRI in the laboratory plasma are investigated. It is shown that, for strong viscosity, there is a family of MRI driven for the same condition as the ideal one. It is also revealed that the presence of strong viscosity leads to additional family of instabilities called the viscosity-driven MRI. Then the parallel-viscositydriven MRI looks as an overstability (oscillatory instability) possessing both the growth rate and the real part of oscillation frequency, while the perpendicular-viscosity MRI is the aperiodical instability.

On the tertiary instability formalism of zonal flows in magnetized plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rath, F.; Peeters, A. G.; Buchholz, R.; Grosshauser, S. R.; Seiferling, F.; Weikl, A.

2018-05-01

This paper investigates the so-called tertiary instabilities driven by the zonal flow in gyro-kinetic tokamak core turbulence. The Kelvin Helmholtz instability is first considered within a 2D fluid model and a threshold in the zonal flow wave vector kZF>kZF,c for instability is found. This critical scale is related to the breaking of the rotational symmetry by flux-surfaces, which is incorporated into the modified adiabatic electron response. The stability of undamped Rosenbluth-Hinton zonal flows is then investigated in gyro-kinetic simulations. Absolute instability, in the sense that the threshold zonal flow amplitude tends towards zero, is found above a zonal flow wave vector kZF,cρi≈1.3 ( ρi is the ion thermal Larmor radius), which is comparable to the 2D fluid results. Large scale zonal flows with kZF

Overview of Mono-Energetic Gamma-Ray Sources and Applications

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

Hartemann, Fred; /LLNL, Livermore; Albert, Felicie

2012-06-25

Recent progress in accelerator physics and laser technology have enabled the development of a new class of tunable gamma-ray light sources based on Compton scattering between a high-brightness, relativistic electron beam and a high intensity laser pulse produced via chirped-pulse amplification (CPA). A precision, tunable Mono-Energetic Gamma-ray (MEGa-ray) source driven by a compact, high-gradient X-band linac is currently under development and construction at LLNL. High-brightness, relativistic electron bunches produced by an X-band linac designed in collaboration with SLAC NAL will interact with a Joule-class, 10 ps, diode-pumped CPA laser pulse to generate tunable {gamma}-rays in the 0.5-2.5 MeV photon energymore » range via Compton scattering. This MEGaray source will be used to excite nuclear resonance fluorescence in various isotopes. Applications include homeland security, stockpile science and surveillance, nuclear fuel assay, and waste imaging and assay. The source design, key parameters, and current status are presented, along with important applications, including nuclear resonance fluorescence.« less

X-Ray Probes of Cosmic Star-Formation History

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ghosh, Pranab; White, Nicholas E.

2001-01-01

In a previous paper we point out that the X-ray luminosity L(sub x) of a galaxy is driven by the evolution of its X-ray binary population and that the profile of L(sub x) with redshift can both serve as a diagnostic probe of the Star Formation Rate (SFR) profile and constrain evolutionary models for X-ray binaries. We update our previous work using a suite of more recently developed SFR profiles that span the currently plausible range. The first Chandra deep imaging results on L(sub x)-evolution are beginning to probe the SFR profile of bright spirals and the early results are consistent with predictions based on current SFR models. Using these new SFR profiles the resolution of the "birthrate problem" of lowmass X-ray binaries (LMXBs) and recycled, millisecond pulsars in terms of an evolving global SFR is more complete. We also discuss the possible impact of the variations in the SFR profile of individual galaxies.

The secondary maxima in black hole X-ray nova light curves - Clues toward a complete picture

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chen, Wan; Livio, Mario; Gehrels, Neil

1993-01-01

We study the secondary maxima observed commonly in the X-ray/optical light curves of black hole X-ray novae and show that they can play an important role in our understanding of the X-ray nova phenomenon. We discuss the observational characteristics of the secondary maxima and possible mechanisms to produce them. We propose a complete scenario for black hole X-ray nova events. The main outburst is caused by a disk instability. The second maximum is caused by X-ray evaporation of the matter near the inner Lagrangian (L1) region when the disk becomes optically thin. The third maximum (or the final minioutburst) is due to a mass transfer instability caused by hard X-ray heating of the subphotospheric layers of the secondary during the outburst. We predict that the newly discovered X-ray nova GRO J0422 + 32 may develop a final minioutburst in early 1993 and that its binary orbital period is less than 7 hr.

Diagnostics for real-time plasma control in PBX-M

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kaita, R.; Batha, S.; Bell, R. E.; Bernabei, S.; Hatcher, R.; Kozub, T.; Kugel, H.; Levinton, F.; Okabayashi, M.; Sesnic, S.; von Goeler, S.; Zolfaghari, A.; PBX-M Group

1995-01-01

An important issue for future tokamaks is real-time plasma control for the avoidance of magnetohydrodynamic instabilities and other applications that require detailed plasma profile and fluctuation data. Although measurements from diagnostics providing this information require significantly more processing than magnetic flux data, recent advancements could make them practical for adjusting operational settings for plasma heating and current drive systems as well as field coil currents. On the Princeton Beta Experiment-Modification (PBX-M), the lower hybrid current drive phasing can be varied during a plasma shot using digitally programmable ferrite phase shifters, and neural beam functions can be fully computer controlled. PBX-M diagnostics that may be used for control purposes include motional Stark-effect polarimetry for magnetic field pitch angle profiles, soft x-ray arrays for plasma position control and the separation of βp from li, hard x-ray detectors for energetic electron distributions, a multichannel electron cyclotron emission radiometer for ballooning mode identification, and passive plate eddy current monitors for kink stabilization. We will describe the present status of these systems on PBX-M, and discuss their suitability for feedback applications.

Gyrokinetic simulation of driftwave instability in field-reversed configuration

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

Fulton, D. P., E-mail: dfulton@trialphaenergy.com; University of California, Irvine, California 92697; Lau, C. K.

2016-05-15

Following the recent remarkable progress in magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) stability control in the C-2U advanced beam driven field-reversed configuration (FRC), turbulent transport has become one of the foremost obstacles on the path towards an FRC-based fusion reactor. Significant effort has been made to expand kinetic simulation capabilities in FRC magnetic geometry. The recently upgraded Gyrokinetic Toroidal Code (GTC) now accommodates realistic magnetic geometry from the C-2U experiment at Tri Alpha Energy, Inc. and is optimized to efficiently handle the FRC's magnetic field line orientation. Initial electrostatic GTC simulations find that ion-scale instabilities are linearly stable in the FRC core for realisticmore » pressure gradient drives. Estimated instability thresholds from linear GTC simulations are qualitatively consistent with critical gradients determined from experimental Doppler backscattering fluctuation data, which also find ion scale modes to be depressed in the FRC core. Beyond GTC, A New Code (ANC) has been developed to accurately resolve the magnetic field separatrix and address the interaction between the core and scrape-off layer regions, which ultimately determines global plasma confinement in the FRC. The current status of ANC and future development targets are discussed.« less

Cross-separatrix Coupling in Nonlinear Global Electrostatic Turbulent Transport in C-2U

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lau, Calvin; Fulton, Daniel; Bao, Jian; Lin, Zhihong; Binderbauer, Michl; Tajima, Toshiki; Schmitz, Lothar; TAE Team

2017-10-01

In recent years, the progress of the C-2/C-2U advanced beam-driven field-reversed configuration (FRC) experiments at Tri Alpha Energy, Inc. has pushed FRCs to transport limited regimes. Understanding particle and energy transport is a vital step towards an FRC reactor, and two particle-in-cell microturbulence codes, the Gyrokinetic Toroidal Code (GTC) and A New Code (ANC), are being developed and applied toward this goal. Previous local electrostatic GTC simulations find the core to be robustly stable with drift-wave instability only in the scrape-off layer (SOL) region. However, experimental measurements showed fluctuations in both regions; one possibility is that fluctuations in the core originate from the SOL, suggesting the need for non-local simulations with cross-separatrix coupling. Current global ANC simulations with gyrokinetic ions and adiabatic electrons find that non-local effects (1) modify linear growth-rates and frequencies of instabilities and (2) allow instability to move from the unstable SOL to the linearly stable core. Nonlinear spreading is also seen prior to mode saturation. We also report on the progress of the first turbulence simulations in the SOL. This work is supported by the Norman Rostoker Fellowship.

Gyrokinetic simulation of driftwave instability in field-reversed configuration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fulton, D. P.; Lau, C. K.; Schmitz, L.; Holod, I.; Lin, Z.; Tajima, T.; Binderbauer, M. W.

2016-05-01

Following the recent remarkable progress in magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) stability control in the C-2U advanced beam driven field-reversed configuration (FRC), turbulent transport has become one of the foremost obstacles on the path towards an FRC-based fusion reactor. Significant effort has been made to expand kinetic simulation capabilities in FRC magnetic geometry. The recently upgraded Gyrokinetic Toroidal Code (GTC) now accommodates realistic magnetic geometry from the C-2U experiment at Tri Alpha Energy, Inc. and is optimized to efficiently handle the FRC's magnetic field line orientation. Initial electrostatic GTC simulations find that ion-scale instabilities are linearly stable in the FRC core for realistic pressure gradient drives. Estimated instability thresholds from linear GTC simulations are qualitatively consistent with critical gradients determined from experimental Doppler backscattering fluctuation data, which also find ion scale modes to be depressed in the FRC core. Beyond GTC, A New Code (ANC) has been developed to accurately resolve the magnetic field separatrix and address the interaction between the core and scrape-off layer regions, which ultimately determines global plasma confinement in the FRC. The current status of ANC and future development targets are discussed.

Fragmentation of fast Josephson vortices and breakdown of ordered states by moving topological defects

DOE PAGES

Sheikhzada, Ahmad; Gurevich, Alex

2015-12-07

Topological defects such as vortices, dislocations or domain walls define many important effects in superconductivity, superfluidity, magnetism, liquid crystals, and plasticity of solids. Here we address the breakdown of the topologically-protected stability of such defects driven by strong external forces. We focus on Josephson vortices that appear at planar weak links of suppressed superconductivity which have attracted much attention for electronic applications, new sources of THz radiation, and low-dissipative computing. Our numerical simulations show that a rapidly moving vortex driven by a constant current becomes unstable with respect to generation of vortex-antivortex pairs caused by Cherenkov radiation. As a result,more » vortices and antivortices become spatially separated and accumulate continuously on the opposite sides of an expanding dissipative domain. This effect is most pronounced in thin film edge Josephson junctions at low temperatures where a single vortex can switch the whole junction into a resistive state at currents well below the Josephson critical current. In conclusion, our work gives a new insight into instability of a moving topological defect which destroys global long-range order in a way that is remarkably similar to the crack propagation in solids.« less

Sedimentation from flocculated suspensions in the presence of settling-driven gravitational interface instabilities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rouhnia, Mohamad; Strom, Kyle

2015-09-01

We experimentally examine sedimentation from a freshwater suspension of clay flocs overlying saltwater in the presence of gravitational instabilities. The study seeks to determine: (1) if flocculation hampers or alters interface instability formation; (2) how the removal rates of sediment from the buoyant layer compare to those predicted by individual floc settling; and (3) whether or not it is possible to develop a model for effective settling velocity. The experiments were conducted in a tank at isothermal conditions. All experiments were initially stably stratified but later developed instabilities near the interface that grew into downward convecting plumes of fluid and sediment. Throughout, we measured sediment concentration in the upper and lower layers, floc size, and plume descent rates. The data showed that flocculation modifies the mixture settling velocity, and therefore shifts the mode of interface instability from double-diffusive (what one would expect from unflocculated clay) to settling-driven leaking and Rayleigh-Taylor instability formation. Removal rates of sediment from the upper layer in the presence of these instabilities were on the same order of magnitude as those predicted by individual floc settling. However, removal rates were found to better correlate with the speed of the interface plumes. A simple force-balance model was found to be capable of reasonably describing plume velocity based on concentration in the buoyant layer. This relation, coupled with a critical Grashof number and geometry relations, allowed us to develop a model for the effective settling velocity of the mixture based solely on integral values of the upper layer.

Numerical Simulation of Rotation-Driven Plasma Transport In the Jovian Magnetosphere

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wolf, Richard A.

1997-01-01

A Jupiter version of the Rice Convection Model (RCM-J) was developed with support of an earlier NASA SR&T grant. The conversion from Earth to Jupiter included adding currents driven by centrifugal force, reversing the planetary magnetic field, and rescaling various parameters. A series of informative runs was carried out, all of them solving initial value problems. The simulations followed an initial plasma torus configuration as it fell apart by interchange instability. Some conclusions from the simulations were the following: 1. We confirmed that, for conventional values of the torus density and ionospheric conductance, the torus disintegrates by interchange instability on a time scale of approx. one day, which is 1-2 orders of magnitude shorter than the best estimates of the average residence time of plasma in the torus. 2. In the model, the instability could be slowed to an arbitrary degree by the addition of sufficient impounding energetic particles, as suggested earlier by Siscoe et al (1981). However, the observed energetic particles do not seem sufficient to guarantee impoundment (e.g., Mauk et al., 1996). 3. Whether inhibited by impoundment or not, the interchange was found to proceed by the formation of long fingers, which get thinner as they get longer. This picture differed dramatically from the conventional radial-diffusion picture (e.g., Siscoe and Summers (1981)), more superficially with the outward-moving-blob picture (Pontius and Hill, 1989). The obvious limitation of the original RCM-J was that it could not represent a plasma source. We could represent the decay of a pre-existing torus, but we could not represent the way ionization of material from Io continually replenishes the plasma. We consequently were precluded from studying a whole set of fundamental issues of torus theory, including whether the system can come to a steady state.

Rotating magnetic shallow water waves and instabilities in a sphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Márquez-Artavia, X.; Jones, C. A.; Tobias, S. M.

2017-07-01

Waves in a thin layer on a rotating sphere are studied. The effect of a toroidal magnetic field is considered, using the shallow water ideal MHD equations. The work is motivated by suggestions that there is a stably stratified layer below the Earth's core mantle boundary, and the existence of stable layers in stellar tachoclines. With an azimuthal background field known as the Malkus field, ?, ? being the co-latitude, a non-diffusive instability is found with azimuthal wavenumber ?. A necessary condition for instability is that the Alfvén speed exceeds ? where ? is the rotation rate and ? the sphere radius. Magneto-inertial gravity waves propagating westward and eastward occur, and become equatorially trapped when the field is strong. Magneto-Kelvin waves propagate eastward at low field strength, but a new westward propagating Kelvin wave is found when the field is strong. Fast magnetic Rossby waves travel westward, whilst the slow magnetic Rossby waves generally travel eastward, except for some ? modes at large field strength. An exceptional very slow westward ? magnetic Rossby wave mode occurs at all field strengths. The current-driven instability occurs for ? when the slow and fast magnetic Rossby waves interact. With strong field the magnetic Rossby waves become trapped at the pole. An asymptotic analysis giving the wave speed and wave form in terms of elementary functions is possible both in polar trapped and equatorially trapped cases.

The effect of a crosslinking chemical reaction on pattern formation in viscous fingering of miscible fluids in a Hele-Shaw cell.

PubMed

Bunton, Patrick H; Tullier, Michael P; Meiburg, Eckart; Pojman, John A

2017-10-01

Viscous fingering can occur in fluid motion whenever a high mobility fluid displaces a low mobility fluid in a Darcy type flow. When the mobility difference is primarily attributable to viscosity (e.g., flow between the two horizontal plates of a Hele-Shaw cell), viscous fingering (VF) occurs, which is sometimes termed the Saffman-Taylor instability. Alternatively, in the presence of differences in density in a gravity field, buoyancy-driven convection can occur. These instabilities have been studied for decades, in part because of their many applications in pollutant dispersal, ocean currents, enhanced petroleum recovery, and so on. More recent interest has emerged regarding the effects of chemical reactions on fingering instabilities. As chemical reactions change the key flow parameters (densities, viscosities, and concentrations), they may have either a destabilizing or stabilizing effect on the flow. Hence, new flow patterns can emerge; moreover, one can then hope to gain some control over flow instabilities through reaction rates, flow rates, and reaction products. We report effects of chemical reactions on VF in a Hele-Shaw cell for a reactive step-growth cross-linking polymerization system. The cross-linked reaction product results in a non-monotonic viscosity profile at the interface, which affects flow stability. Furthermore, three-dimensional internal flows influence the long-term pattern that results.

The effect of a crosslinking chemical reaction on pattern formation in viscous fingering of miscible fluids in a Hele-Shaw cell

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bunton, Patrick H.; Tullier, Michael P.; Meiburg, Eckart; Pojman, John A.

2017-10-01

Viscous fingering can occur in fluid motion whenever a high mobility fluid displaces a low mobility fluid in a Darcy type flow. When the mobility difference is primarily attributable to viscosity (e.g., flow between the two horizontal plates of a Hele-Shaw cell), viscous fingering (VF) occurs, which is sometimes termed the Saffman-Taylor instability. Alternatively, in the presence of differences in density in a gravity field, buoyancy-driven convection can occur. These instabilities have been studied for decades, in part because of their many applications in pollutant dispersal, ocean currents, enhanced petroleum recovery, and so on. More recent interest has emerged regarding the effects of chemical reactions on fingering instabilities. As chemical reactions change the key flow parameters (densities, viscosities, and concentrations), they may have either a destabilizing or stabilizing effect on the flow. Hence, new flow patterns can emerge; moreover, one can then hope to gain some control over flow instabilities through reaction rates, flow rates, and reaction products. We report effects of chemical reactions on VF in a Hele-Shaw cell for a reactive step-growth cross-linking polymerization system. The cross-linked reaction product results in a non-monotonic viscosity profile at the interface, which affects flow stability. Furthermore, three-dimensional internal flows influence the long-term pattern that results.

Roughening of surfaces under intense and rapid heating

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Andersen, Michael Louis

The High Average Power Laser (HAPL) project is aimed at a chamber design with a solid first wall in pursuit of sustained Laser Inertial Confinement Fusion. The wall must be able to withstand cyclic high temperatures and the corresponding thermal stresses. Tungsten was proposed as a suitable armor for the wall, because as a refractory metal, it has a high melting temperature and can act as a stress dampener. The nature of the surface loading consists of x-rays, ions, and neutrons, which through mainly thermal loading, create a biaxial surface stress. This condition causes the surface to roughen as ridges and valleys form to relieve the elastic energy. As the valleys deepen they eventually become cracks and traditional fracture mechanics can be used to determine the life of the first wall. Beginning from the Asaro-Tiller-Grinfeld instability, sharp interface calculations can be performed to determine the surface profile as a result of the interplay between surface stress energy and mass transport mechanisms. One successful approach to determine interface evolution is phase field theory and its embodiment in the numerical level-set method. Applications of the method included problems of solid/liquid and solid/vapor interfaces. In the present method, however, we develop a numerical procedure for surface profile tracking directly without the need to develop partial differential equations for the phase field, which typically smooth out sharp interfaces. Surface roughening instabilities, which are driven by a competition between elastic and surface energy contributions, are shown to be significantly controlled by plastic energy dissipation. We consider here a general parametric description of the surface of a stressed solid and through a mechanical kinetic transport mechanism, follow the temporal evolution of the surface morphology. It is found that once a groove reaches a certain depth and curvature, an instability is created that cannot be followed through elasticity alone. It is shown in this thesis that these morphological instabilities do not experience unbounded growth, as predicted by consideration of elastic energy alone, and that their growth will be severely limited by dislocation emission from high curvature grooves. Comparisons between perturbation theory and the present numerical approach are given along with comparisons to results from laser, ion, and x-ray experiments. Finally, the model is applied to the conditions of Inertial Confinement Fusion chamber walls to determine the number of cycles for crack nucleation.

Magnetic fields driven by tidal mixing in radiative stars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vidal, Jérémie; Cébron, David; Schaeffer, Nathanaël; Hollerbach, Rainer

2018-04-01

Stellar magnetism plays an important role in stellar evolution theory. Approximatively 10 per cent of observed main sequence (MS) and pre-main-sequence (PMS) radiative stars exhibit surface magnetic fields above the detection limit, raising the question of their origin. These stars host outer radiative envelopes, which are stably stratified. Therefore, they are assumed to be motionless in standard models of stellar structure and evolution. We focus on rapidly rotating, radiative stars which may be prone to the tidal instability, due to an orbital companion. Using direct numerical simulations in a sphere, we study the interplay between a stable stratification and the tidal instability, and assess its dynamo capability. We show that the tidal instability is triggered regardless of the strength of the stratification (Brunt-Väisälä frequency). Furthermore, the tidal instability can lead to both mixing and self-induced magnetic fields in stably stratified layers (provided that the Brunt-Väisälä frequency does not exceed the stellar spin rate in the simulations too much). The application to stars suggests that the resulting magnetic fields could be observable at the stellar surfaces. Indeed, we expect magnetic field strengths up to several Gauss. Consequently, tidally driven dynamos should be considered as a (complementary) dynamo mechanism, possibly operating in radiative MS and PMS stars hosting orbital companions. In particular, tidally driven dynamos may explain the observed magnetism of tidally deformed and rapidly rotating Vega-like stars.

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.

The dot{M}-M_* relation of pre-main-sequence stars: a consequence of X-ray driven disc evolution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ercolano, B.; Mayr, D.; Owen, J. E.; Rosotti, G.; Manara, C. F.

2014-03-01

We analyse current measurements of accretion rates on to pre-main-sequence stars as a function of stellar mass, and conclude that the steep dependence of accretion rates on stellar mass is real and not driven by selection/detection threshold, as has been previously feared. These conclusions are reached by means of statistical tests including a survival analysis which can account for upper limits. The power-law slope of the dot{M}-M_* relation is found to be in the range of 1.6-1.9 for young stars with masses lower than 1 M⊙. The measured slopes and distributions can be easily reproduced by means of a simple disc model which includes viscous accretion and X-ray photoevaporation. We conclude that the dot{M}-M_* relation in pre-main-sequence stars bears the signature of disc dispersal by X-ray photoevaporation, suggesting that the relation is a straightforward consequence of disc physics rather than an imprint of initial conditions.

The TP53 dependence of radiation-induced chromosome instability in human lymphoblastoid cells

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schwartz, Jeffrey L.; Jordan, Robert; Evans, Helen H.; Lenarczyk, Marek; Liber, Howard

2003-01-01

The dose and TP53 dependence for the induction of chromosome instability were examined in cells of three human lymphoblastoid cell lines derived from WIL2 cells: TK6, a TP53-normal cell line, NH32, a TP53-knockout created from TK6, and WTK1, a WIL2-derived cell line that spontaneously developed a TP53 mutation. Cells of each cell line were exposed to (137)Cs gamma rays, and then surviving clones were isolated and expanded in culture for approximately 35 generations before the frequency and characteristics of the instability were analyzed. The presence of dicentric chromosomes, formed by end-to-end fusions, served as a marker of chromosomal instability. Unexposed TK6 cells had low levels of chromosomal instability (0.002 +/- 0.001 dicentrics/cell). Exposure of TK6 cells to doses as low as 5 cGy gamma rays increased chromosome instability levels nearly 10-fold to 0.019 +/- 0.008 dicentrics/cell. There was no further increase in instability levels beyond 5 cGy. In contrast to TK6 cells, unexposed cultures of WTK1 and NH32 cells had much higher levels of chromosome instability of 0.034 +/- 0.007 and 0.041 +/- 0.009, respectively, but showed little if any effect of radiation on levels of chromosome instability. The results suggest that radiation exposure alters the normal TP53-dependent cell cycle checkpoint controls that recognize alterations in telomere structure and activate apoptosis.

Recent study of beam stability in the PSR

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, T. S. F.; Cooper, R.; Fitzgerald, D.; Frankle, S.; Hardek, T.; Hutson, R.; Macek, R.; Ohmori, C.; Plum, M.; Thiessen, H.

1993-05-01

A fast transverse instability with beam loss has been observed in the 800 MeV Los Alamos Pro Ring (PSR) when the injected beam intensity reaches 2 - 4(10)(exp 13) protons per pulse. Previous observations indicate that the instability is most likely driven by electrons trapped within the proton beam. Theoretical study shown that beam leakage into the inter-bunch gap leads to electron trapping. Recent experiments were carried out by using the newly implemented 'pinger' and by varying the machine transition gamma to explore further the 'e-p' instability and the nature of the instability. This paper summarizes some of these recent experimental results and theoretical studies.

Onset of dissolution-driven instabilities in fluids with nonmonotonic density profile

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jafari Raad, Seyed Mostafa; Hassanzadeh, Hassan

2015-11-01

Analog systems have recently been used in several experiments in the context of convective mixing of C O2 . We generalize the nonmonotonic density dependence of the growth of instabilities and provide a scaling relation for the onset of instability. The results of linear stability analysis and direct numerical simulations show that these fluids do not resemble the dynamics of C O2 -water convective instabilities. A typical analog system, such as water-propylene glycol, is found to be less unstable than C O2 -water. These results provide a basis for further research and proper selection of analog systems and are essential to the interpretation of experiments.

Fractal structure of low-temperature plasma of arc discharge as a consequence of the interaction of current sheets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smolanov, N. A.

2016-01-01

The structure of the particles deposited from the plasma arc discharge were studied. The flow of plasma spreading from the cathode spot to the walls of the vacuum chamber. Electric and magnetic fields to influence the plasma flow. The fractal nature of the particles from the plasma identified by small-angle X-ray scattering. Possible cause of their formation is due to the instability of the growth front and nonequilibrium conditions for their production - a high speed transition of the vapor-liquid-solid or vapor - crystal. The hypothesis of a plasma arc containing dust particles current sheets was proposed.

Predicting electromagnetic ion cyclotron wave amplitude from unstable ring current plasma conditions

DOE PAGES

Fu, Xiangrong; Cowee, Misa M.; Jordanova, Vania K.; ...

2016-11-01

Electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) waves in the Earth's inner magnetosphere are enhanced fluctuations driven unstable by ring current ion temperature anisotropy. EMIC waves can resonate with relativistic electrons and play an important role in precipitation of MeV radiation belt electrons. In this study, we investigate the excitation and saturation of EMIC instability in a homogeneous plasma using both linear theory and nonlinear hybrid simulations. We have explored a four-dimensional parameter space, carried out a large number of simulations, and derived a scaling formula that relates the saturation EMIC wave amplitude to initial plasma conditions. Finally, such scaling can be usedmore » in conjunction with ring current models like ring current-atmosphere interactions model with self-consistent magnetic field to provide global dynamic EMIC wave maps that will be more accurate inputs for radiation belt modeling than statistical models.« less

Structure of a magnetic flux annihilation layer formed by the collision of supersonic, magnetized plasma flows

DOE PAGES

Suttle, L. G.; Hare, J. D.; Lebedev, S. V.; ...

2016-05-31

We present experiments characterizing the detailed structure of a current layer, generated by the collision of two counter-streaming, supersonic and magnetized aluminum plasma flows. The anti parallel magnetic fields advected by the flows are found to be mutually annihilated inside the layer, giving rise to a bifurcated current structure—two narrow current sheets running along the outside surfaces of the layer. Measurements with Thomson scattering show a fast outflow of plasma along the layer and a high ion temperature (T i~¯ZT e, with average ionization ¯Z=7). Lastly, analysis of the spatially resolved plasma parameters indicates that the advection and subsequent annihilationmore » of the in-flowing magnetic flux determines the structure of the layer, while the ion heating could be due to the development of kinetic, current-driven instabilities.« less

Structure of a magnetic flux annihilation layer formed by the collision of supersonic, magnetized plasma flows

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

Suttle, L. G.; Hare, J. D.; Lebedev, S. V.

We present experiments characterizing the detailed structure of a current layer, generated by the collision of two counter-streaming, supersonic and magnetized aluminum plasma flows. The anti parallel magnetic fields advected by the flows are found to be mutually annihilated inside the layer, giving rise to a bifurcated current structure—two narrow current sheets running along the outside surfaces of the layer. Measurements with Thomson scattering show a fast outflow of plasma along the layer and a high ion temperature (T i~¯ZT e, with average ionization ¯Z=7). Lastly, analysis of the spatially resolved plasma parameters indicates that the advection and subsequent annihilationmore » of the in-flowing magnetic flux determines the structure of the layer, while the ion heating could be due to the development of kinetic, current-driven instabilities.« less

Onset of turbulence in accelerated high-Reynolds-number flow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Ye; Robey, Harry F.; Buckingham, Alfred C.

2003-05-01

A new criterion, flow drive time, is identified here as a necessary condition for transition to turbulence in accelerated, unsteady flows. Compressible, high-Reynolds-number flows initiated, for example, in shock tubes, supersonic wind tunnels with practical limitations on dimensions or reservoir capacity, and high energy density pulsed laser target vaporization experimental facilities may not provide flow duration adequate for turbulence development. In addition, for critical periods of the overall flow development, the driving background flow is often unsteady in the experiments as well as in the physical flow situations they are designed to mimic. In these situations transition to fully developed turbulence may not be realized despite achievement of flow Reynolds numbers associated with or exceeding stationary flow transitional criteria. Basically our transitional criterion and prediction procedure extends to accelerated, unsteady background flow situations the remarkably universal mixing transition criterion proposed by Dimotakis [P. E. Dimotakis, J. Fluid Mech. 409, 69 (2000)] for stationary flows. This provides a basis for the requisite space and time scaling. The emphasis here is placed on variable density flow instabilities initiated by constant acceleration Rayleigh-Taylor instability (RTI) or impulsive (shock) acceleration Richtmyer-Meshkov instability (RMI) or combinations of both. The significant influences of compressibility on these developing transitional flows are discussed with their implications on the procedural model development. A fresh perspective for predictive modeling and design of experiments for the instability growth and turbulent mixing transitional interval is provided using an analogy between the well-established buoyancy-drag model with applications of a hierarchy of single point turbulent transport closure models. Experimental comparisons with the procedural results are presented where use is made of three distinctly different types of acceleration driven instability experiments: (1) classical, relatively low speed, constant acceleration RTI experiments; (2) shock tube, shockwave driven RMI flow mixing experiments; (3) laser target vaporization RTI and RMI mixing experiments driven at very high energy density. These last named experiments are of special interest as they provide scaleable flow conditions simulating those of astrophysical magnitude such as shock-driven hydrodynamic mixing in supernova evolution research.

Electromagnetic ion/ion cyclotron instability - Theory and simulations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Winske, D.; Omidi, N.

1992-01-01

Linear theory and 1D and 2D hybrid simulations are employed to study electromagnetic ion/ion cyclotron (EMIIC) instability driven by the relative streaming of two field-aligned ion beams. The characteristics of the instability are studied as a function of beam density, propagation angle, electron-ion temperature ratios, and ion beta. When the propagation angle is near 90 deg the EMIIC instability has the characteristics of an electrostatic instability, while at smaller angles electromagnetic effects play a significant role as does strong beam coupling. The 2D simulations point to a narrowing of the wave spectrum and accompanying coherent effects during the linear growth stage of development. The EMIIC instability is an important effect where ion beta is low such as in the plasma-sheet boundary layer and upstream of slow shocks in the magnetotail.

Onset of density-driven instabilities in fractured aquifers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jafari Raad, Seyed Mostafa; Hassanzadeh, Hassan

2018-04-01

Linear stability analysis is conducted to study the onset of density-driven convection involved in solubility trapping of C O2 in fractured aquifers. The effect of physical properties of a fracture network on the stability of a diffusive boundary layer in a saturated fractured porous media is investigated using the dual porosity concept. Linear stability analysis results show that both fracture interporosity flow and fracture storativity play an important role in the stability behavior of the system. It is shown that a diffusive boundary layer under the gravity field in fractured porous media with lower fracture storativity and/or higher fracture interporosity flow coefficient is more stable. We present scaling relations for the onset of convective instability in fractured aquifers with single and variable matrix block size distribution. These findings improve our understanding of density-driven flow in fractured aquifers and are important in the estimation of potential storage capacity, risk assessment, and storage site characterization and screening.

Experimental characterization of 3-dimensional gravity-driven fingering in a porous medium

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dalbe, Marie-Julie; Juanes, Ruben

2017-11-01

When water infiltrates a dry porous media, a gravity-driven instability can be observed. Water will penetrate the porous media along preferential paths, called fingers. This gravity-driven unstable multiphase flow has important implications for natural phenomena such as rainwater infiltration in soil and secondary oil migration in reservoir rocks. While several experimental and numerical studies have described the instability in 2-dimensional (2D) settings, fundamental questions remain on the morphodynamics of gravity fingering in 3D. We developed a 3D experimental set-up based on planar laser-induced fluorescence of index-matched fluids that allows us to image this phenomenon dynamically. We study the impact of some crucial parameters such as rainfall rate or grain size on the finger size and velocity. In addition, experiments in stratified media reveal interesting dynamics of finger flow across material interfaces, an essential aspect towards the understanding of water infiltration in soils.

Hydrodynamic bifurcation in electro-osmotically driven periodic flows

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Morozov, Alexander; Marenduzzo, Davide; Larson, Ronald G.

2018-06-01

In this paper, we report an inertial instability that occurs in electro-osmotically driven channel flows. We assume that the charge motion under the influence of an externally applied electric field is confined to a small vicinity of the channel walls that, effectively, drives a bulk flow through a prescribed slip velocity at the boundaries. Here, we study spatially periodic wall velocity modulations in a two-dimensional straight channel numerically. At low slip velocities, the bulk flow consists of a set of vortices along each wall that are left-right symmetric, while at sufficiently high slip velocities, this flow loses its stability through a supercritical bifurcation. Surprisingly, the flow state that bifurcates from a left-right symmetric base flow has a rather strong mean component along the channel, which is similar to pressure-driven velocity profiles. The instability sets in at rather small Reynolds numbers of about 20-30, and we discuss its potential applications in microfluidic devices.

Proton-driven electromagnetic instabilities in high-speed solar wind streams

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Abraham-Shrauner, B.; Asbridge, J. R.; Bame, S. J.; Feldman, W. C.

1979-01-01

Electromagnetic instabilities of the field-aligned, right-hand circularly polarized magnetosonic wave and the left-hand circularly polarized Alfven wave driven by two drifted proton components are analyzed for model parameters determined from Imp 7 solar wind proton data measured during high-speed flow conditions. Growth rates calculated using bi-Lorentzian forms for the main and beam proton as well as core and halo electron velocity distributions do not differ significantly from those calculated using bi-Maxwellian forms. Using distribution parameters determined from 17 measured proton spectra, we show that considering the uncertainties the magnetosonic wave may be linearly stable and the Alfven wave is linearly unstable. Because proton velocity distribution function shapes are observed to persist for times long compared to the proton gyroperiod, the latter result suggests that linear stability theory fails for proton-driven ion cyclotron waves in the high-speed solar wind.

Fast evolving pair-instability supernovae

DOE PAGES

Kozyreva, Alexandra; Gilmer, Matthew; Hirschi, Raphael; ...

2016-10-06

With an increasing number of superluminous supernovae (SLSNe) discovered the ques- tion of their origin remains open and causes heated debates in the supernova commu- nity. Currently, there are three proposed mechanisms for SLSNe: (1) pair-instability supernovae (PISN), (2) magnetar-driven supernovae, and (3) models in which the su- pernova ejecta interacts with a circumstellar material ejected before the explosion. Based on current observations of SLSNe, the PISN origin has been disfavoured for a number of reasons. Many PISN models provide overly broad light curves and too reddened spectra, because of massive ejecta and a high amount of nickel. In themore » cur- rent study we re-examine PISN properties using progenitor models computed with the GENEC code. We calculate supernova explosions with FLASH and light curve evolu- tion with the radiation hydrodynamics code STELLA. We find that high-mass models (200 M⊙ and 250 M⊙) at relatively high metallicity (Z=0.001) do not retain hydro- gen in the outer layers and produce relatively fast evolving PISNe Type I and might be suitable to explain some SLSNe. We also investigate uncertainties in light curve modelling due to codes, opacities, the nickel-bubble effect and progenitor structure and composition.« less

Two Non Linear Dynamics Plasma Astrophysics Experiments At LANL

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Intrator, T.; Weber, T.; Feng, Y.; Sears, J.; Smith, R. J.; Swan, H.; Hutchinson, T.; Boguski, J.; Gao, K.; Chapdelaine, L.; Dunn, J. P.

2013-12-01

Two laboratory experiments at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) have been built to gain access to a wide range of fundamental plasma physics issues germane to astro, space, and fusion plasmas. The over arching theme is magnetized plasma dynamics that include currents, MHD forces and instabilities, sheared flows and shocks, along with creation and annihilation of magnetic field. The Relaxation Scaling Experiment (RSX) creates current sheets and flux ropes that exhibit fully 3D dynamics, that are observed to kink, bounce, merge and reconnect, shred, and reform in complicated ways. We show recent movies from a large detailed data set that describe the 3D magnetic structure and helicity budget of a driven and dissipative system that spontaneously self saturates a kink instability. The Magnetized Shock Experiment (MSX) uses a Field reversed configuration (FRC) that is ejected at high speed and then stagnated onto a stopping mirror field, which drives a collisionless magnetized shock. A plasmoid accelerator will also access super critical shocks at much larger Alfven Mach numbers. Unique features include access to parallel, oblique and perpendicular shocks, in regions much larger than ion gyro radius and inertial length, large magnetic and fluid Reynolds numbers, and volume for turbulence.

Efficient cold outflows driven by cosmic rays in high-redshift galaxies and their global effects on the IGM

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Samui, Saumyadip; Subramanian, Kandaswamy; Srianand, Raghunathan

2018-05-01

We present semi-analytical models of galactic outflows in high-redshift galaxies driven by both hot thermal gas and non-thermal cosmic rays. Thermal pressure alone may not sustain a large-scale outflow in low-mass galaxies (i.e. M ˜ 108 M⊙), in the presence of supernovae feedback with large mass loading. We show that inclusion of cosmic ray pressure allows outflow solutions even in these galaxies. In massive galaxies for the same energy efficiency, cosmic ray-driven winds can propagate to larger distances compared to pure thermally driven winds. On an average gas in the cosmic ray-driven winds has a lower temperature which could aid detecting it through absorption lines in the spectra of background sources. Using our constrained semi-analytical models of galaxy formation (that explains the observed ultraviolet luminosity functions of galaxies), we study the influence of cosmic ray-driven winds on the properties of the intergalactic medium (IGM) at different redshifts. In particular, we study the volume filling factor, average metallicity, cosmic ray and magnetic field energy densities for models invoking atomic cooled and molecular cooled haloes. We show that the cosmic rays in the IGM could have enough energy that can be transferred to the thermal gas in presence of magnetic fields to influence the thermal history of the IGM. The significant volume filling and resulting strength of IGM magnetic fields can also account for recent γ-ray observations of blazars.

Critical Decay Index at the Onset of Solar Eruptions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zuccarello, F. P.; Aulanier, G.; Gilchrist, S. A.

2015-12-01

Magnetic flux ropes are topological structures consisting of twisted magnetic field lines that globally wrap around an axis. The torus instability model predicts that a magnetic flux rope of major radius R undergoes an eruption when its axis reaches a location where the decay index -d({ln}{B}{ex})/d({ln}R) of the ambient magnetic field Bex is larger than a critical value. In the current-wire model, the critical value depends on the thickness and time evolution of the current channel. We use magnetohydrodynamic simulations to investigate whether the critical value of the decay index at the onset of the eruption is affected by the magnetic flux rope’s internal current profile and/or by the particular pre-eruptive photospheric dynamics. The evolution of an asymmetric, bipolar active region is driven by applying different classes of photospheric motions. We find that the critical value of the decay index at the onset of the eruption is not significantly affected by either the pre-erupitve photospheric evolution of the active region or the resulting different magnetic flux ropes. As in the case of the current-wire model, we find that there is a “critical range” [1.3-1.5], rather than a “critical value” for the onset of the torus instability. This range is in good agreement with the predictions of the current-wire model, despite the inclusion of line-tying effects and the occurrence of tether-cutting magnetic reconnection.

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.

Experimental evidence for the lattice instability of Bi-based superconducting systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yusheng, He; Jiong, Xiang; Hsin, Wang; Aisheng, He; Jincang, Zhang; Fanggao, Chang

1989-11-01

Ultrasonic measurements, specific heat and thermal analysis experiments, X-ray diffraction study and infrared investigation revealed that there are anomalous structural changes or lattice instabilities near 200 K in single 2212 or 2223 phase samples of Bi(Pb)-Sr-Ca-Cu-O system. Detailed study showed that anomalous changes or lattice instabilities are isothermal-like processes and have the characteristics of a structural phase transition, accompanying with increases in lattice constants. Possible mechanism for this lattice instability is discussed.

New Relativistic Particle-In-Cell Simulation Studies of Prompt and Early Afterglows from GRBs

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nishikawa, Ken-ichi; Hardee, P.; Mizuno, Y.; Zhang, B.; Medvedev, M.; Hartmann, D.; Fishman, J. F.; Preece, R.

2008-01-01

Nonthermal radiation observed from astrophysical systems containing relativistic jets and shocks, e.g., gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), active galactic nuclei (AGNs), and Galactic microquasar systems usually have power-law emission spectra. Recent PIC simulations of relativistic electron-ion (electro-positron) jets injected into a stationary medium show that particle acceleration occurs within the downstream jet. In the collisionless relativistic shock particle acceleration is due to plasma waves and their associated instabilities (e.g., the Buneman instability, other two-streaming instability, and the Weibel (filamentation) 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.

Microscopic Processes On Radiation from Accelerated Particles in Relativistic Jets

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nishikawa, K.-I.; Hardee, P. E.; Mizuno, Y.; Medvedev, M.; Zhang, B.; Sol, H.; Niemiec, J.; Pohl, M.; Nordlund, A.; Fredriksen, J.;

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.

Experimental study of z-pinch driven radiative shocks in low density gases

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Skidmore, Jonathan; Lebedev, S. V.; Suzuki-Vidal, F.; Swadling, G.; Bland, S. N.; Burdiak, G.; Chittenden, J. P.; de Grouchy, P.; Hall, G. N.; Pickworth, L.; Suttle, L.; Bennett, M.; Ciardi, A.

2012-10-01

Results of experiments performed on MAGPIE pulsed power facility (1.4MA, 250ns) will be presented. Shocks with velocities of 50-70km/s are driven in Ar, Xe and He gases at density ˜10-5g/cc using radial foil z-pinch configuration [1]. Measurements of the structure of the shocks obtained with laser probing will be presented and observations of the development of instabilities will be discussed. It was found that the structure of the shocks and the development of instabilities strongly depend on the rate of radiative cooling, increasing for gases with higher atomic numbers.[4pt] [1] F. Suzuki-Vidal et al., PoP 19, 022708 (2012)

Thermocapillary effect on the dynamics of viscous beads on vertical fiber

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Rong; Liu, Qiu Sheng

2014-09-01

The gravity-driven flow of a thin liquid film down a uniformly heated vertical fiber is considered. This is an unstable open flow that exhibits rich dynamics including the formation of droplets, or beads, driven by a Rayleigh-Plateau mechanism modified by the presence of gravity as well as the variation of surface tension induced by temperature disturbance at the interface. A linear stability analysis and a nonlinear simulation are performed to investigate the dynamic of axisymmetric disturbances. The results showed that the Marangoni instability and the Rayleigh-Plateau instability reinforce each other. With the increase of the thermocapillary effect, the fiber flow has a tendency to break up into smaller droplets.

Dynamical instability of a driven-dissipative electron-hole condensate in the BCS-BEC crossover region

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

Hanai, Ryo; Littlewood, Peter B.; Ohashi, Yoji

2017-09-01

We present a stability analysis on a driven-dissipative electron-hole condensate in the BCS (Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer)-BEC (Bose-Einstein-condensation)-crossover region. Extending the combined BCS-Leggett theory with the generalized random phase approximation (GRPA) to the non-equilibrium case by employing the Keldysh formalism, we show that the pumping-and-decay of carriers causes a depairing effect on excitons. This phenomenon gives rise to an attractive interaction between excitons in the BEC regime, as well as a supercurrent that anomalously flows anti-parallel to ∇θ(r) (where θ(r) is the phase of the condensate) in the BCS regime, both leading to dynamical instabilities of an exciton-BEC.

Fluid instabilities and wakes in a soap-film tunnel

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

Vorobieff, P.; Ecke, R.E.

1999-05-01

We present a compact, low-budget two-dimensional hydrodynamic flow visualization system based on a tilted, gravity-driven soap film tunnel. This system is suitable for demonstrations and studies of a variety of fluid mechanics problems, including turbulent wakes past bluff bodies and lifting surfaces, Kelvin{endash}Helmholtz instability, and grid turbulence. {copyright} {ital 1999 American Association of Physics Teachers.}

Relativistic particle transport in hot accretion disks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Becker, Peter A.; Kafatos, Menas; Maisack, Michael

1994-01-01

Accretion disks around rapidly rotating black holes provide one of the few plausible models for the production of intense radiation in Acitve Galactic Nuclei (AGNs) above energies of several hundred MeV. The rapid rotation of the hole increases the binding energy per nucleon in the last stable orbit relative to the Schwarzschild case, and naturally leads to ion temperatures in the range 10(exp 12) - 10(exp 13) K for sub-Eddington accretion rates. The protons in the hot inner region of a steady, two-temperature disk form a reservoir of energy that is sufficient to power the observed Energetic Gamma Ray Experiment Telescope (EGRET) outbursts if the black hole mass is 10(exp 10) solar mass. Moreover, the accretion timescale for the inner region is comparable to the observed transient timescale of approximately 1 week. Hence EGRET outbursts may be driven by instabilities in hot, two-temperature disks around supermassive black holes. In this paper we discuss turbulent (stochastic) acceleration in hot disks as a possible source of GeV particles and radiation. We constrain the model by assuming the turbulence is powered by a collective instability that drains energy from the hot protons. We also provide some ideas concerning new, high-energy Penrose processes that produce GeV emission be directly tapping the rotational energy of Kerr black holes.

Universal elastic-hardening-driven mechanical instability in α-quartz and quartz homeotypes under pressure

PubMed Central

Dong, Juncai; Zhu, Hailiang; Chen, Dongliang

2015-01-01

As a fundamental property of pressure-induced amorphization (PIA) in ice and ice-like materials (notably α-quartz), the occurrence of mechanical instability can be related to violation of Born criteria for elasticity. The most outstanding elastic feature of α-quartz before PIA has been experimentally reported to be the linear softening of shear modulus C44, which was proposed to trigger the transition through Born criteria B3. However, by using density-functional theory, we surprisingly found that both C44 and C66 in α-quartz exhibit strong nonlinearity under compression and the Born criteria B3 vanishes dominated by stiffening of C14, instead of by decreasing of C44. Further studies of archetypal quartz homeotypes (GeO2 and AlPO4) repeatedly reproduced the same elastic-hardening-driven mechanical instability, suggesting a universal feature of this family of crystals and challenging the long-standing idea that negative pressure derivatives of individual elastic moduli can be interpreted as the precursor effect to an intrinsic structural instability preceding PIA. The implications of this elastic anomaly in relation to the dispersive softening of the lowest acoustic branch and the possible transformation mechanism were also discussed. PMID:26099720

Universal elastic-hardening-driven mechanical instability in α-quartz and quartz homeotypes under pressure.

PubMed

Dong, Juncai; Zhu, Hailiang; Chen, Dongliang

2015-06-23

As a fundamental property of pressure-induced amorphization (PIA) in ice and ice-like materials (notably α-quartz), the occurrence of mechanical instability can be related to violation of Born criteria for elasticity. The most outstanding elastic feature of α-quartz before PIA has been experimentally reported to be the linear softening of shear modulus C44, which was proposed to trigger the transition through Born criteria B3. However, by using density-functional theory, we surprisingly found that both C44 and C66 in α-quartz exhibit strong nonlinearity under compression and the Born criteria B3 vanishes dominated by stiffening of C14, instead of by decreasing of C44. Further studies of archetypal quartz homeotypes (GeO2 and AlPO4) repeatedly reproduced the same elastic-hardening-driven mechanical instability, suggesting a universal feature of this family of crystals and challenging the long-standing idea that negative pressure derivatives of individual elastic moduli can be interpreted as the precursor effect to an intrinsic structural instability preceding PIA. The implications of this elastic anomaly in relation to the dispersive softening of the lowest acoustic branch and the possible transformation mechanism were also discussed.

Particle force model effects in a shock-driven multiphase instability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Black, W. J.; Denissen, N.; McFarland, J. A.

2018-05-01

This work presents simulations on a shock-driven multiphase instability (SDMI) at an initial particle volume fraction of 1% with the addition of a suite of particle force models applicable in dense flows. These models include pressure-gradient, added-mass, and interparticle force terms in an effort to capture the effects neighboring particles have in non-dilute flow regimes. Two studies are presented here: the first seeks to investigate the individual contributions of the force models, while the second study focuses on examining the effect of these force models on the hydrodynamic evolution of a SDMI with various particle relaxation times (particle sizes). In the force study, it was found that the pressure gradient and interparticle forces have little effect on the instability under the conditions examined, while the added-mass force decreases the vorticity deposition and alters the morphology of the instability. The relaxation-time study likewise showed a decrease in metrics associated with the evolution of the SDMI for all sizes when the particle force models were included. The inclusion of these models showed significant morphological differences in both the particle and carrier species fields, which increased as particle relaxation times increased.

Effects of stochastic field lines on the pressure driven MHD instabilities in the Large Helical Device

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ohdachi, Satoshi; Watanabe, Kiyomasa; Sakakibara, Satoru; Suzuki, Yasuhiro; Tsuchiya, Hayato; Ming, Tingfeng; Du, Xiaodi; LHD Expriment Group Team

2014-10-01

In the Large Helical Device (LHD), the plasma is surrounded by the so-called magnetic stochastic region, where the Kolmogorov length of the magnetic field lines is very short, from several tens of meters and to thousands meters. Finite pressure gradient are formed in this region and MHD instabilities localized in this region is observed since the edge region of the LHD is always unstable against the pressure driven mode. Therefore, the saturation level of the instabilities is the key issue in order to evaluate the risk of this kind of MHD instabilities. The saturation level depends on the pressure gradient and on the magnetic Reynolds number; there results are similar to the MHD mode in the closed magnetic surface region. The saturation level in the stochastic region is affected also by the stocasticity itself. Parameter dependence of the saturation level of the MHD activities in the region is discussed in detail. It is supported by NIFS budget code ULPP021, 028 and is also partially supported by the Ministry of Education, Science, Sports and Culture, Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research 26249144, by the JSPS-NRF-NSFC A3 Foresight Program NSFC: No. 11261140328.

Linear stability of an active fluid interface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nagilla, Amarender; Prabhakar, Ranganathan; Jadhav, Sameer

2018-02-01

Motivated by studies suggesting that the patterns exhibited by the collectively expanding fronts of thin cells during the closing of a wound [S. Mark et al., "Physical model of the dynamic instability in an expanding cell culture," Biophys. J. 98(3), 361-370 (2010)] and the shapes of single cells crawling on surfaces [A. C. Callan-Jones et al., "Viscous-fingering-like instability of cell fragments," Phys. Rev. Lett. 100(25), 258106 (2008)] are due to fingering instabilities, we investigate the stability of actively driven interfaces under the Hele-Shaw confinement. An initially radial interface between a pair of viscous fluids is driven by active agents. Surface tension and bending rigidity resist the deformation of the interface. A point source at the origin and a distributed source are also included to model the effects of injection or suction and growth or depletion, respectively. Linear stability analysis reveals that for any given initial radius of the interface, there are two key dimensionless driving rates that determine interfacial stability. We discuss stability regimes in a state space of these parameters and their implications for biological systems. An interesting finding is that an actively mobile interface is susceptible to the fingering instability irrespective of viscosity contrast.

Recent and future liquid metal experiments on homogeneous dynamo action and magnetic instabilities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stefani, Frank; Gerbeth, Gunter; Giesecke, Andre; Gundrum, Thomas; Kirillov, Oleg; Seilmayer, Martin; Gellert, Marcus; Rüdiger, Günther; Gailitis, Agris

2011-10-01

The present status of the Riga dynamo experiment is summarized and the prospects for its future exploitation are evaluated. We further discuss the plans for a large-scale precession driven dynamo experiment to be set-up in the framework of the new installation DRESDYN (DREsden Sodium facility for dynamo and thermohydraulic studies) at Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf. We report recent investigations of the magnetorotational instability and the Tayler instability and sketch the plans for another large-scale liquid sodium facility devoted to the combined study of both effects.

Relativistic, Viscous, Radiation Hydrodynamic Simulations of Geometrically Thin Disks. I. Thermal and Other Instabilities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fragile, P. Chris; Etheridge, Sarina M.; Anninos, Peter; Mishra, Bhupendra; Kluźniak, Włodek

2018-04-01

We present results from two-dimensional, general relativistic, viscous, radiation hydrodynamic numerical simulations of Shakura–Sunyaev thin disks accreting onto stellar-mass Schwarzschild black holes. We consider cases on both the gas- and radiation-pressure-dominated branches of the thermal equilibrium curve, with mass accretion rates spanning the range from \\dot{M}=0.01{L}Edd}/{c}2 to 10L Edd/c 2. The simulations directly test the stability of this standard disk model on the different branches. We find clear evidence of thermal instability for all radiation-pressure-dominated disks, resulting universally in the vertical collapse of the disks, which in some cases then settle onto the stable, gas-pressure-dominated branch. Although these results are consistent with decades-old theoretical predictions, they appear to be in conflict with available observational data from black hole X-ray binaries. We also find evidence for a radiation-pressure-driven instability that breaks the unstable disks up into alternating rings of high and low surface density on a timescale comparable to the thermal collapse. Since radiation is included self-consistently in the simulations, we are able to calculate light curves and power density spectra (PDS). For the most part, we measure radiative efficiencies (ratio of luminosity to mass accretion rate) close to 6%, as expected for a nonrotating black hole. The PDS appear as broken power laws, with a break typically around 100 Hz. There is no evidence of significant excess power at any frequencies, i.e., no quasi-periodic oscillations are observed.

Intracellular HMGB1 as a novel tumor suppressor of pancreatic cancer

PubMed Central

Kang, Rui; Xie, Yangchun; Zhang, Qiuhong; Hou, Wen; Jiang, Qingping; Zhu, Shan; Liu, Jinbao; Zeng, Dexing; Wang, Haichao; Bartlett, David L; Billiar, Timothy R; Zeh, Herbert J; Lotze, Michael T; Tang, Daolin

2017-01-01

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) driven by oncogenic K-Ras remains among the most lethal human cancers despite recent advances in modern medicine. The pathogenesis of PDAC is partly attributable to intrinsic chromosome instability and extrinsic inflammation activation. However, the molecular link between these two events in pancreatic tumorigenesis has not yet been fully established. Here, we show that intracellular high mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) remarkably suppresses oncogenic K-Ras-driven pancreatic tumorigenesis by inhibiting chromosome instability-mediated pro-inflammatory nucleosome release. Conditional genetic ablation of either single or both alleles of HMGB1 in the pancreas renders mice extremely sensitive to oncogenic K-Ras-driven initiation of precursor lesions at birth, including pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasms, intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms, and mucinous cystic neoplasms. Loss of HMGB1 in the pancreas is associated with oxidative DNA damage and chromosomal instability characterized by chromosome rearrangements and telomere abnormalities. These lead to inflammatory nucleosome release and propagate K-Ras-driven pancreatic tumorigenesis. Extracellular nucleosomes promote interleukin 6 (IL-6) secretion by infiltrating macrophages/neutrophils and enhance oncogenic K-Ras signaling activation in pancreatic lesions. Neutralizing antibodies to IL-6 or histone H3 or knockout of the receptor for advanced glycation end products all limit K-Ras signaling activation, prevent cancer development and metastasis/invasion, and prolong animal survival in Pdx1-Cre;K-RasG12D/+;Hmgb1−/− mice. Pharmacological inhibition of HMGB1 loss by glycyrrhizin limits oncogenic K-Ras-driven tumorigenesis in mice under inflammatory conditions. Diminished nuclear and total cellular expression of HMGB1 in PDAC patients correlates with poor overall survival, supporting intracellular HMGB1 as a novel tumor suppressor with prognostic and therapeutic relevance in PDAC. PMID:28374746

Lagrangian chaos in three- dimensional steady buoyancy-driven flows

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Contreras, Sebastian; Speetjens, Michel; Clercx, Herman

2016-11-01

Natural convection plays a key role in fluid dynamics owing to its ubiquitous presence in nature and industry. Buoyancy-driven flows are prototypical systems in the study of thermal instabilities and pattern formation. The differentially heated cavity problem has been widely studied for the investigation of buoyancy-induced oscillatory flow. However, far less attention has been devoted to the three-dimensional Lagrangian transport properties in such flows. This study seeks to address this by investigating Lagrangian transport in the steady flow inside a cubic cavity differentially-heated from the side. The theoretical and numerical analysis expands on previously reported similarities between the current flow and lid-driven flows. The Lagrangian dynamics are controlled by the Péclet number (Pe) and the Prandtl number (Pr). Pe controls the behaviour qualitatively in that growing Pe progressively perturbs the integable state (Pe =0), thus paving the way to chaotic dynamics. Pr plays an entirely quantitative role in that Pr<1 and Pr>1 amplifies and diminishes, respectively, the perturbative effect of non-zero Pe. S.C. acknowledges financial support from Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONACYT).

The role of current sheet formation in driven plasmoid reconnection in laser-produced plasma bubbles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lezhnin, Kirill; Fox, William; Bhattacharjee, Amitava

2017-10-01

We conduct a multiparametric study of driven magnetic reconnection relevant to recent experiments on colliding magnetized laser produced plasmas using the PIC code PSC. Varying the background plasma density, plasma resistivity, and plasma bubble geometry, the results demonstrate a variety of reconnection behavior and show the coupling between magnetic reconnection and global fluid evolution of the system. We consider both collision of two radially expanding bubbles where reconnection is driven through an X-point, and collision of two parallel fields where reconnection must be initiated by the tearing instability. Under various conditions, we observe transitions between fast, collisionless reconnection to a Sweet-Parker-like slow reconnection to complete stalling of the reconnection. By varying plasma resistivity, we observe the transition between fast and slow reconnection at Lundquist number S 103 . The transition from plasmoid reconnection to a single X-point reconnection also happens around S 103 . We find that the criterion δ /di < 1 is necessary for fast reconnection onset. Finally, at sufficiently high background density, magnetic reconnection can be suppressed, leading to bouncing motion of the magnetized plasma bubbles.

MODELING THE MULTI-BAND AFTERGLOW OF GRB 130831A: EVIDENCE FOR A SPINNING-DOWN MAGNETAR DOMINATED BY GRAVITATIONAL WAVE LOSSES?

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

Zhang, Q.; Zong, H. S.; Huang, Y. F., E-mail: zonghs@nju.edu.cn, E-mail: hyf@nju.edu.cn

2016-06-01

The X-ray afterglow of GRB 130831A shows an “internal plateau” with a decay slope of ∼0.8, followed by a steep drop at around 10{sup 5} s with a slope of ∼6. After the drop, the X-ray afterglow continues with a much shallower decay. The optical afterglow exhibits two segments of plateaus separated by a luminous optical flare, followed by a normal decay with a slope basically consistent with that of the late-time X-ray afterglow. The decay of the internal X-ray plateau is much steeper than what we expect in the simplest magnetar model. We propose a scenario in which themore » magnetar undergoes gravitational-wave-driven r-mode instability, and the spin-down is dominated by gravitational wave losses up to the end of the steep plateau, so that such a relatively steep plateau can be interpreted as the internal emission of the magnetar wind and the sharp drop can be produced when the magnetar collapses into a black hole. This scenario also predicts an initial X-ray plateau lasting for hundreds of seconds with an approximately constant flux which is compatible with observation. Assuming that the magnetar wind has a negligible contribution in the optical band, we interpret the optical afterglow as the forward shock emission by invoking the energy injection from a continuously refreshed shock following the prompt emission phase. It is shown that our model can basically describe the temporal evolution of the multi-band afterglow of GRB 130831A.« less

Modeling the Multi-band Afterglow of GRB 130831A: Evidence for a Spinning-down Magnetar Dominated by Gravitational Wave Losses?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Q.; Huang, Y. F.; Zong, H. S.

2016-06-01

The X-ray afterglow of GRB 130831A shows an “internal plateau” with a decay slope of ˜0.8, followed by a steep drop at around 105 s with a slope of ˜6. After the drop, the X-ray afterglow continues with a much shallower decay. The optical afterglow exhibits two segments of plateaus separated by a luminous optical flare, followed by a normal decay with a slope basically consistent with that of the late-time X-ray afterglow. The decay of the internal X-ray plateau is much steeper than what we expect in the simplest magnetar model. We propose a scenario in which the magnetar undergoes gravitational-wave-driven r-mode instability, and the spin-down is dominated by gravitational wave losses up to the end of the steep plateau, so that such a relatively steep plateau can be interpreted as the internal emission of the magnetar wind and the sharp drop can be produced when the magnetar collapses into a black hole. This scenario also predicts an initial X-ray plateau lasting for hundreds of seconds with an approximately constant flux which is compatible with observation. Assuming that the magnetar wind has a negligible contribution in the optical band, we interpret the optical afterglow as the forward shock emission by invoking the energy injection from a continuously refreshed shock following the prompt emission phase. It is shown that our model can basically describe the temporal evolution of the multi-band afterglow of GRB 130831A.

Proton velocity ring-driven instabilities and their dependence on the ring speed: Linear theory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Min, Kyungguk; Liu, Kaijun; Gary, S. Peter

2017-08-01

Linear dispersion theory is used to study the Alfvén-cyclotron, mirror and ion Bernstein instabilities driven by a tenuous (1%) warm proton ring velocity distribution with a ring speed, vr, varying between 2vA and 10vA, where vA is the Alfvén speed. Relatively cool background protons and electrons are assumed. The modeled ring velocity distributions are unstable to both the Alfvén-cyclotron and ion Bernstein instabilities whose maximum growth rates are roughly a linear function of the ring speed. The mirror mode, which has real frequency ωr=0, becomes the fastest growing mode for sufficiently large vr/vA. The mirror and Bernstein instabilities have maximum growth at propagation oblique to the background magnetic field and become more field-aligned with an increasing ring speed. Considering its largest growth rate, the mirror mode, in addition to the Alfvén-cyclotron mode, can cause pitch angle diffusion of the ring protons when the ring speed becomes sufficiently large. Moreover, because the parallel phase speed, v∥ph, becomes sufficiently small relative to vr, the low-frequency Bernstein waves can also aid the pitch angle scattering of the ring protons for large vr. Potential implications of including these two instabilities at oblique propagation on heliospheric pickup ion dynamics are discussed.

Instability Coupling Experiments*

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chrien, R. E.; Hoffman, N. M.; Magelssen, G. R.; Schappert, G. T.; Smitherman, D. P.

1996-11-01

The coupling of Richtmyer-Meshkov (RM) and ablative Rayleigh-Taylor (ART) instabilities is being studied with indirectly-driven planar foil experiments on the Nova laser at Livermore. The foil is attached to a 1.6-mm-diameter, 2.75-mm-long Au hohlraum driven by a 2.2-ns long, 1:5-contrast-ratio shaped laser pulse. A shock is generated in 35-μm or 86-μm thick Al foils with a 50-μm-wavelength, 4-μm-amplitude sinusoidal perturbation on its rear surface. In some experiments, the perturbation is applied to a 10-μm Be layer on the Al. A RM instability develops when the shock encounters the perturbed surface. The flow field of the RM instability can ``feed out'' to the ablation surface of the foil and provide the seed for ART perturbation growth. Face-on and side-on x-radiography are used to observe areal density perturbations in the foil. For the 86-μm foil, the perturbation arrives at the ablation surface while the hohlraum drive is dropping and the data are consistent with RM instability alone. For the 35-μm foil, the perturbation feeds out while the hohlraum drive is close to its peak and the data appear to show strong ART perturbation growth. Comparisons with LASNEX simulations will be presented. *This work supported under USDOE contract W-7405-ENG-36.

SPREADING LAYERS IN ACCRETING OBJECTS: ROLE OF ACOUSTIC WAVES FOR ANGULAR MOMENTUM TRANSPORT, MIXING, AND THERMODYNAMICS

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

Philippov, Alexander A.; Rafikov, Roman R.; Stone, James M., E-mail: sashaph@princeton.edu

Disk accretion at a high rate onto a white dwarf (WD) or a neutron star has been suggested to result in the formation of a spreading layer (SL)—a belt-like structure on the object's surface, in which the accreted matter steadily spreads in the poleward (meridional) direction while spinning down. To assess its basic characteristics, we perform two-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations of supersonic SLs in the relevant morphology with a simple prescription for cooling. We demonstrate that supersonic shear naturally present at the base of the SL inevitably drives sonic instability that gives rise to large-scale acoustic modes governing the evolution ofmore » the SL. These modes dominate the transport of momentum and energy, which is intrinsically global and cannot be characterized via some form of local effective viscosity (e.g., α-viscosity). The global nature of the wave-driven transport should have important implications for triggering Type I X-ray bursts in low-mass X-ray binaries. The nonlinear evolution of waves into a system of shocks drives effective rearrangement (sensitively depending on thermodynamical properties of the flow) and deceleration of the SL, which ultimately becomes transonic and susceptible to regular Kelvin–Helmholtz instability. We interpret this evolution in terms of the global structure of the SL and suggest that mixing of the SL material with the underlying stellar fluid should become effective only at intermediate latitudes on the accreting object's surface, where the flow has decelerated appreciably. In the near-equatorial regions the transport is dominated by acoustic waves and mixing is less efficient. We speculate that this latitudinal nonuniformity of mixing in accreting WDs may be linked to the observed bipolar morphology of classical nova ejecta.« less

Characterizing the turbulent porosity of stellar wind structure generated by the line-deshadowing instability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Owocki, Stanley P.; Sundqvist, Jon O.

2018-03-01

We analyse recent 2D simulations of the non-linear evolution of the line-deshadowing instability (LDI) in hot-star winds, to quantify how the associated highly clumped density structure can lead to a `turbulent porosity' reduction in continuum absorption and/or scattering. The basic method is to examine the statistical variations of mass column as a function of path length, and fit these to analytic forms that lead to simple statistical scalings for the associated mean extinction. A key result is that one can characterize porosity effects on continuum transport in terms of a single `turbulent porosity length', found here to scale as H ≈ (fcl - 1)a, where fcl ≡ 〈ρ2〉/〈ρ〉2 is the clumping factor in density ρ, and a is the density autocorrelation length. For continuum absorption or scattering in an optically thick layer, we find the associated effective reduction in opacity scales as ˜ 1/√{1+τ_H}, where τH ≡ κρH is the local optical thickness of this porosity length. For these LDI simulations, the inferred porosity lengths are small, only about a couple per cent of the stellar radius, H ≈ 0.02R*. For continuum processes like bound-free absorption of X-rays that are only marginally optically thick throughout the full stellar wind, this implies τH ≪ 1, and thus that LDI-generated porosity should have little effect on X-ray transport in such winds. The formalism developed here could however be important for understanding the porous regulation of continuum-driven, super-Eddington outflows from luminous blue variables.

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.

Hydrodynamic Model for Density Gradients Instability in Hall Plasmas Thrusters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Singh, Sukhmander

2017-10-01

There is an increasing interest for a correct understanding of purely growing electromagnetic and electrostatic instabilities driven by a plasma gradient in a Hall thruster devices. In Hall thrusters, which are typically operated with xenon, the thrust is provided by the acceleration of ions in the plasma generated in a discharge chamber. The goal of this paper is to study the instabilities due to gradients of plasma density and conditions for the growth rate and real part of the frequency for Hall thruster plasmas. Inhomogeneous plasmas prone a wide class of eigen modes induced by inhomogeneities of plasma density and called drift waves and instabilities. The growth rate of the instability has a dependences on the magnetic field, plasma density, ion temperature and wave numbers and initial drift velocities of the plasma species.

Fates of the most massive primordial stars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Ke-Jung; Heger, Alexander; Almgren, Ann; Woosley, Stan

2012-09-01

We present our results of numerical simulations of the most massive primordial stars. For the extremely massive non-rotating Pop III stars over 300Msolar, they would simply die as black holes. But the Pop III stars with initial masses 140 - 260Msolar may have died as gigantic explosions called pair-instability supernovae (PSNe). We use a new radiation-hydrodynamics code CASTRO to study evolution of PSNe. Our models follow the entire explosive burning and the explosion until the shock breaks out from the stellar surface. In our simulations, we find that fluid instabilities occurred during the explosion. These instabilities are driven by both nuclear burning and hydrodynamical instability. In the red supergiant models, fluid instabilities can lead to significant mixing of supernova ejecta and alter the observational signature.

Interface instabilities during displacements of two miscible fluids in a vertical pipe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Scoffoni, J.; Lajeunesse, E.; Homsy, G. M.

2001-03-01

We study experimentally the downward vertical displacement of one miscible fluid by another in a vertical pipe at sufficiently high velocities for diffusive effects to be negligible. For certain viscosity ratios and flow rates, the interface between the two fluids can destabilize. We determine the dimensionless flow rate Uc above which the instability is triggered and its dependence on the viscous ratio M, resulting in a stability map Uc=Uc(M). Two different instability modes have been observed: an asymmetric "corkscrew" mode and an axisymmetric one. We remark that the latter is always eventually disturbed by "corkscrew" type instabilities. We speculate that these instabilities are driven by the viscosity stratification and are analogous to those already observed in core annular flows of immiscible fluids.

NEUTRINO-DRIVEN TURBULENT CONVECTION AND STANDING ACCRETION SHOCK INSTABILITY IN THREE-DIMENSIONAL CORE-COLLAPSE SUPERNOVAE

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

Abdikamalov, Ernazar; Ott, Christian D.; Radice, David

2015-07-20

We conduct a series of numerical experiments into the nature of three-dimensional (3D) hydrodynamics in the postbounce stalled-shock phase of core-collapse supernovae using 3D general-relativistic hydrodynamic simulations of a 27 M{sub ⊙} progenitor star with a neutrino leakage/heating scheme. We vary the strength of neutrino heating and find three cases of 3D dynamics: (1) neutrino-driven convection, (2) initially neutrino-driven convection and subsequent development of the standing accretion shock instability (SASI), and (3) SASI-dominated evolution. This confirms previous 3D results of Hanke et al. and Couch and Connor. We carry out simulations with resolutions differing by up to a factor ofmore » ∼4 and demonstrate that low resolution is artificially favorable for explosion in the 3D convection-dominated case since it decreases the efficiency of energy transport to small scales. Low resolution results in higher radial convective fluxes of energy and enthalpy, more fully buoyant mass, and stronger neutrino heating. In the SASI-dominated case, lower resolution damps SASI oscillations. In the convection-dominated case, a quasi-stationary angular kinetic energy spectrum E(ℓ) develops in the heating layer. Like other 3D studies, we find E(ℓ) ∝ℓ{sup −1} in the “inertial range,” while theory and local simulations argue for E(ℓ) ∝ ℓ{sup −5/3}. We argue that current 3D simulations do not resolve the inertial range of turbulence and are affected by numerical viscosity up to the energy-containing scale, creating a “bottleneck” that prevents an efficient turbulent cascade.« less

High frequency fishbone driven by passing energetic ions in tokamak plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Feng; Yu, L. M.; Fu, G. Y.; Shen, Wei

2017-05-01

High frequency fishbone instability driven by passing energetic ions was first reported in the Princeton beta experiment with tangential neutral-beam-injection (Heidbrink et al 1986 Phys. Rev. Lett. 57 835-8). It could play an important role for ITER-like burning plasmas, where α particles are mostly passing particles. In this work, a generalized energetic ion distribution function and finite drift orbit width effect are considered to improve the theoretical model for passing particle driving fishbone instability. For purely passing energetic ions with zero drift orbit width, the kinetic energy δ {{W}k} is derived analytically. The derived analytic expression is more accurate as compared to the result of previous work (Wang 2001 Phys. Rev. Lett. 86 5286-8). For a generalized energetic ion distribution function, the fishbone dispersion relation is derived and is solved numerically. Numerical results show that broad and off-axis beam density profiles can significantly increase the beam ion beta threshold {βc} for instability and decrease mode frequency.

High frequency fishbone driven by passing energetic ions in tokamak plasmas

DOE PAGES

Wang, Feng; Yu, L. M.; Fu, G. Y.; ...

2017-03-22

High frequency fishbone instability driven by passing energetic ions was first reported in the Princeton beta experiment with tangential neutral-beam-injection (Heidbrink et al 1986 Phys. Rev. Lett. 57 835–8). It could play an important role for ITER-like burning plasmas, where α particles are mostly passing particles. In this work, a generalized energetic ion distribution function and finite drift orbit width effect are considered to improve the theoretical model for passing particle driving fishbone instability. For purely passing energetic ions with zero drift orbit width, the kinetic energymore » $$\\delta {{W}_{k}}$$ is derived analytically. The derived analytic expression is more accurate as compared to the result of previous work. For a generalized energetic ion distribution function, the fishbone dispersion relation is derived and is solved numerically. As a result, numerical results show that broad and off-axis beam density profiles can significantly increase the beam ion beta threshold $${{\\beta}_{c}}$$ for instability and decrease mode frequency.« less

Flow-driven instabilities during pattern formation of Dictyostelium discoideum

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gholami, A.; Steinbock, O.; Zykov, V.; Bodenschatz, E.

2015-06-01

The slime mold Dictyostelium discoideum is a well known model system for the study of biological pattern formation. In the natural environment, aggregating populations of starving Dictyostelium discoideum cells may experience fluid flows that can profoundly change the underlying wave generation process. Here we study the effect of advection on the pattern formation in a colony of homogeneously distributed Dictyostelium discoideum cells described by the standard Martiel-Goldbeter model. The external flow advects the signaling molecule cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) downstream, while the chemotactic cells attached to the solid substrate are not transported with the flow. The evolution of small perturbations in cAMP concentrations is studied analytically in the linear regime and by corresponding numerical simulations. We show that flow can significantly influence the dynamics of the system and lead to a flow-driven instability that initiate downstream traveling cAMP waves. We also show that boundary conditions have a significant effect on the observed patterns and can lead to a new kind of instability.

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.

The temporal evolution of the resistive pressure-gradient-driven turbulence and anomalous transport in shear flow across the magnetic field

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Hae June; Mikhailenko, Vladmir; Mikhailenko, Vladimir

2017-10-01

The temporal evolution of the resistive pressure-gradient-driven mode in the sheared flow is investigated by employing the shearing modes approach. It reveals an essential difference in the processes, which occur in the case of the flows with velocity shearing rate less than the growth rate of the instability in the steady plasmas, and in the case of the flows with velocity shear larger than the instability growth rate in steady plasmas. It displays the physical content of the empirical ``quench rule'' which predicts the suppression of the turbulence in the sheared flows when the velocity shearing rate becomes larger than the maximum growth rate of the possible instability. We found that the distortion of the perturbations by the sheared flow with such velocity shear introduces the time dependencies into the governing equations, which prohibits the application of the eigenmodes formalism and requires the solution of the initial value problem.

Current Topics in Gamma-Ray Astrophysics

PubMed Central

Mathews, Grant J.; Maronetti, P.; Salmonson, Jay; Wilson, J. R.

2000-01-01

This paper reports on recent progress toward unraveling the origin of gamma-ray bursts. It is concluded that neutron-star binaries are one of the few remaining candidates. A model is proposed based upon general relativistic hydrodynamic studies which indicate a new physical process by which to power a gamma-ray burst. Relativistically driven compression, heating, and collapse of the individual neutron stars can occur many seconds before inspiral and merger. This compression may produce a neutrino burst of ∼1053 ergs lasting several seconds. The associated thermal neutrino emission produces an e+–e − pair plasma by vv¯ annihilation. We show first results of a simulated burst which produces ∼1051 erg in γ rays of the correct spectral and temporal properties. PMID:27551592

Current Topics in Gamma-Ray Astrophysics.

PubMed

Mathews, G J; Maronetti, P; Salmonson, J; Wilson, J R

2000-01-01

This paper reports on recent progress toward unraveling the origin of gamma-ray bursts. It is concluded that neutron-star binaries are one of the few remaining candidates. A model is proposed based upon general relativistic hydrodynamic studies which indicate a new physical process by which to power a gamma-ray burst. Relativistically driven compression, heating, and collapse of the individual neutron stars can occur many seconds before inspiral and merger. This compression may produce a neutrino burst of ∼10(53) ergs lasting several seconds. The associated thermal neutrino emission produces an e (+)-e (-) pair plasma by [Formula: see text] annihilation. We show first results of a simulated burst which produces ∼10(51) erg in γ rays of the correct spectral and temporal properties.

Off-axis current drive and real-time control of current profile in JT-60U

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Suzuki, T.; Ide, S.; Oikawa, T.; Fujita, T.; Ishikawa, M.; Seki, M.; Matsunaga, G.; Hatae, T.; Naito, O.; Hamamatsu, K.; Sueoka, M.; Hosoyama, H.; Nakazato, M.; JT-60 Team

2008-04-01

Aiming at optimization of current profile in high-β plasmas for higher confinement and stability, a real-time control system of the minimum of the safety factor (qmin) using the off-axis current drive has been developed. The off-axis current drive can raise the safety factor in the centre and help to avoid instability that limits the performance of the plasma. The system controls the injection power of lower-hybrid waves, and hence its off-axis driven current in order to control qmin. The real-time control of qmin is demonstrated in a high-β plasma, where qmin follows the temporally changing reference qmin,ref from 1.3 to 1.7. Applying the control to another high-β discharge (βN = 1.7, βp = 1.5) with m/n = 2/1 neo-classical tearing mode (NTM), qmin was raised above 2 and the NTM was suppressed. The stored energy increased by 16% with the NTM suppressed, since the resonant rational surface was eliminated. For the future use for current profile control, current density profile for off-axis neutral beam current drive (NBCD) is for the first time measured, using the motional Stark effect diagnostic. Spatially localized NBCD profile was clearly observed at the normalized minor radius ρ of about 0.6-0.8. The location was also confirmed by multi-chordal neutron emission profile measurement. The total amount of the measured beam driven current was consistent with the theoretical calculation using the ACCOME code. The CD location in the calculation was inward shifted than the measurement.

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.

Backscatter spectra measurements of the two beams on the same cone on Shenguang-III laser facility

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zha, Weiyi; Yang, Dong; Xu, Tao; Liu, Yonggang; Wang, Feng; Peng, Xiaoshi; Li, Yulong; Wei, Huiyue; Liu, Xiangming; Mei, Yu; Yan, Yadong; He, Junhua; Li, Zhichao; Li, Sanwei; Jiang, Xiaohua; Guo, Liang; Xie, Xufei; Pan, Kaiqiang; Liu, Shenye; Jiang, Shaoen; Zhang, Baohan; Ding, Yongkun

2018-01-01

In laser driven hohlraums, laser beams on the same incident cone may have different beam and plasma conditions, causing beam-to-beam backscatter difference and subsequent azimuthal variations in the x-ray drive on the capsule. To elucidate the large variation of backscatter proportion from beam to beam in some gas-filled hohlraum shots on Shenguang-III, two 28.5° beams have been measured with the Stimulated Raman Scattering (SRS) time-resolved spectra. A bifurcated fiber is used to sample two beams and then coupled to a spectrometer and streak camera combination to reduce the cost. The SRS spectra, characterized by a broad wavelength, were further corrected considering the temporal distortion and intensity modulation caused by components along the light path. This measurement will improve the understanding of the beam propagation inside the hohlraum and related laser plasma instabilities.

Electronic signatures of dimerization in IrTe2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dai, Jixia; Wu, Weida; Oh, Yoon Seok; Cheong, S.-W.; Yang, J. J.

2014-03-01

Recently, the mysterious phase transition around Tc ~ 260 K in IrTe2 has been intensively studied. A structural supermodulation with q =1/5 was identified below Tc. A variety of microscopic mechanisms have been proposed to account for this transition, including charge-density wave due to Fermi surface nesting, Te p-orbital driven structure instability, anionic depolymerization, ionic dimerization, and so on. However, there has not been an unified picture on the nature of this transition. To address this issue, we have performed low-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy (STM/STS) experiments on IrTe2 and IrTe2-xSex. Our STM data clearly shows a strong bias dependence in both topography and local density of states (STS) maps. High resolution spectroscopic data further confirms the stripe-like electronic states modulation, which provides insight to the ionic dimerization revealed by X-ray diffraction.

Transport simulation of EAST long-pulse H-mode discharge with integrated modeling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, M. Q.; Li, G. Q.; Chen, J. L.; Du, H. F.; Gao, X.; Ren, Q. L.; Li, K.; Chan, Vincent; Pan, C. K.; Ding, S. Y.; Jian, X.; Zhu, X.; Lian, H.; Qian, J. P.; Gong, X. Z.; Zang, Q.; Duan, Y. M.; Liu, H. Q.; Lyu, B.

2018-04-01

In the 2017 EAST experimental campaign, a steady-state long-pulse H-mode discharge lasting longer than 100 s has been obtained using only radio frequency heating and current drive, and the confinement quality is slightly better than standard H-mode, H98y2 ~ 1.1, with stationary peaked electron temperature profiles. Integrated modeling of one long-pulse H-mode discharge in the 2016 EAST experimental campaign has been performed with equilibrium code EFIT, and transport codes TGYRO and ONETWO under integrated modeling framework OMFIT. The plasma current is fully-noninductively driven with a combination of ~2.2 MW LHW, ~0.3 MW ECH and ~1.1 MW ICRF. Time evolution of the predicted electron and ion temperature profiles through integrated modeling agree closely with that from measurements. The plasma current (I p ~ 0.45 MA) and electron density are kept constantly. A steady-state is achieved using integrated modeling, and the bootstrap current fraction is ~28%, the RF drive current fraction is ~72%. The predicted current density profile matches the experimental one well. Analysis shows that electron cyclotron heating (ECH) makes large contribution to the plasma confinement when heating in the core region while heating in large radius does smaller improvement, also a more peaked LHW driven current profile is got when heating in the core. Linear analysis shows that the high-k modes instability (electron temperature gradient driven modes) is suppressed in the core region where exists weak electron internal transport barriers. The trapped electron modes dominates in the low-k region, which is mainly responsible for driving the electron energy flux. It is found that the ECH heating effect is very local and not the main cause to sustained the good confinement, the peaked current density profile has the most important effect on plasma confinement improvement. Transport analysis of the long-pulse H-mode experiments on EAST will be helpful to build future experiments.

A Fully GPU-Based Ray-Driven Backprojector via a Ray-Culling Scheme with Voxel-Level Parallelization for Cone-Beam CT Reconstruction.

PubMed

Park, Hyeong-Gyu; Shin, Yeong-Gil; Lee, Ho

2015-12-01

A ray-driven backprojector is based on ray-tracing, which computes the length of the intersection between the ray paths and each voxel to be reconstructed. To reduce the computational burden caused by these exhaustive intersection tests, we propose a fully graphics processing unit (GPU)-based ray-driven backprojector in conjunction with a ray-culling scheme that enables straightforward parallelization without compromising the high computing performance of a GPU. The purpose of the ray-culling scheme is to reduce the number of ray-voxel intersection tests by excluding rays irrelevant to a specific voxel computation. This rejection step is based on an axis-aligned bounding box (AABB) enclosing a region of voxel projection, where eight vertices of each voxel are projected onto the detector plane. The range of the rectangular-shaped AABB is determined by min/max operations on the coordinates in the region. Using the indices of pixels inside the AABB, the rays passing through the voxel can be identified and the voxel is weighted as the length of intersection between the voxel and the ray. This procedure makes it possible to reflect voxel-level parallelization, allowing an independent calculation at each voxel, which is feasible for a GPU implementation. To eliminate redundant calculations during ray-culling, a shared-memory optimization is applied to exploit the GPU memory hierarchy. In experimental results using real measurement data with phantoms, the proposed GPU-based ray-culling scheme reconstructed a volume of resolution 28032803176 in 77 seconds from 680 projections of resolution 10243768 , which is 26 times and 7.5 times faster than standard CPU-based and GPU-based ray-driven backprojectors, respectively. Qualitative and quantitative analyses showed that the ray-driven backprojector provides high-quality reconstruction images when compared with those generated by the Feldkamp-Davis-Kress algorithm using a pixel-driven backprojector, with an average of 2.5 times higher contrast-to-noise ratio, 1.04 times higher universal quality index, and 1.39 times higher normalized mutual information. © The Author(s) 2014.

BUOYANCY INSTABILITIES IN A WEAKLY COLLISIONAL INTRACLUSTER MEDIUM

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

Kunz, Matthew W.; Stone, James M.; Bogdanovic, Tamara

2012-08-01

The intracluster medium (ICM) of galaxy clusters is a weakly collisional plasma in which the transport of heat and momentum occurs primarily along magnetic-field lines. Anisotropic heat conduction allows convective instabilities to be driven by temperature gradients of either sign: the magnetothermal instability (MTI) in the outskirts of clusters and the heat-flux buoyancy-driven instability (HBI) in their cooling cores. We employ the Athena magnetohydrodynamic code to investigate the nonlinear evolution of these instabilities, self-consistently including the effects of anisotropic viscosity (i.e., Braginskii pressure anisotropy), anisotropic conduction, and radiative cooling. We find that, in all but the innermost regions of cool-coremore » clusters, anisotropic viscosity significantly impairs the ability of the HBI to reorient magnetic-field lines orthogonal to the temperature gradient. Thus, while radio-mode feedback appears necessary in the central few Multiplication-Sign 10 kpc, heat conduction may be capable of offsetting radiative losses throughout most of a cool core over a significant fraction of the Hubble time. Magnetically aligned cold filaments are then able to form by local thermal instability. Viscous dissipation during cold filament formation produces accompanying hot filaments, which can be searched for in deep Chandra observations of cool-core clusters. In the case of MTI, anisotropic viscosity leads to a nonlinear state with a folded magnetic field structure in which field-line curvature and field strength are anti-correlated. These results demonstrate that, if the HBI and MTI are relevant for shaping the properties of the ICM, one must self-consistently include anisotropic viscosity in order to obtain even qualitatively correct results.« less

The wavelength of supercritical surface tension driven Benard convection

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Koschmieder, E. L.

1991-01-01

The size or the wavelength of moderately supercritical surface tension driven Benard convection has been investigated experimentally in a thin fluid layer of large aspect ratio. It has been found that the number of the hexagonal convection cells increases with increased temperature differences, up to 1.3 times the critical temperature difference. That means that the wavelength of surface tension driven convection decreases after onset of the instability for moderately nonlinear conditions. This result is in striking contrast to the well-known increase of the wavelength of buoyancy driven Rayleigh-Benard convection.

Related Progenitor Models for Long-duration Gamma-Ray Bursts and Type Ic Superluminous Supernovae

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aguilera-Dena, David R.; Langer, Norbert; Moriya, Takashi J.; Schootemeijer, Abel

2018-05-01

We model the late evolution and mass loss history of rapidly rotating Wolf–Rayet stars in the mass range 5 M ⊙…100 M ⊙). We find that quasi-chemically homogeneously evolving single stars computed with enhanced mixing retain very little or no helium and are compatible with Type Ic supernovae. The more efficient removal of core angular momentum and the expected smaller compact object mass in our lower-mass models lead to core spins in the range suggested for magnetar-driven superluminous supernovae. Our higher-mass models retain larger specific core angular momenta, expected for long-duration gamma-ray bursts in the collapsar scenario. Due to the absence of a significant He envelope, the rapidly increasing neutrino emission after core helium exhaustion leads to an accelerated contraction of the whole star, inducing a strong spin-up and centrifugally driven mass loss at rates of up to {10}-2 {M}ȯ {yr}}-1 in the last years to decades before core collapse. Because the angular momentum transport in our lower-mass models enhances the envelope spin-up, they show the largest relative amounts of centrifugally enforced mass loss, i.e., up to 25% of the expected ejecta mass. Our most massive models evolve into the pulsational pair-instability regime. We would thus expect signatures of interaction with a C/O-rich circumstellar medium for Type Ic superluminous supernovae with ejecta masses below ∼10 M ⊙ as well as for the most massive engine-driven explosions with ejecta masses above ∼30 M ⊙. Signs of such interaction should be observable at early epochs of the supernova explosion; they may be related to bumps observed in the light curves of superluminous supernovae, or to the massive circumstellar CO-shell proposed for Type Ic superluminous supernova Gaia16apd.

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

Smalyuk, V. A.; Robey, H. F.; Casey, D. T.

Several new platforms have been developed to experimentally measure hydrodynamic instabilities in all phases of indirect-drive, inertial confinement fusion implosions on National Ignition Facility. At the ablation front, instability growth of pre-imposed modulations was measured with a face-on, x-ray radiography platform in the linear regime using the Hydrodynamic Growth Radiography (HGR) platform. Modulation growth of "native roughness" modulations and engineering features (fill tubes and capsule support membranes) were measured in conditions relevant to layered DT implosions. A new experimental platform was developed to measure instability growth at the ablator-ice interface. Here in the deceleration phase of implosions, several experimental platformsmore » were developed to measure both low-mode asymmetries and high-mode perturbations near peak compression with x-ray and nuclear techniques. In one innovative technique, the self-emission from the hot spot was enhanced with argon dopant to "self-backlight" the shell in-flight. To stabilize instability growth, new "adiabat-shaping" techniques were developed using the HGR platform and applied in layered DT implosions.« less

Particle/fluid simulations of an eruptive flare: Identifying the field-aligned currents responsible for the hard x-rays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Winglee, R. M.

1994-09-01

While magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) can provide a reasonable description of the overall magnetic reconnection that is believed to drive flares, additional, and often separate processes have to be envoked to in order to explain the electron acceleration that is responsible for many of the observed flare emissions. A new model that incorporates the dynamic coronal current sheets, the reconnection site, and possible electron acceleration processes is developed through the use of two-dimensional particle and modified two-fluid simulations. The specific example of an eruptive flare driven by the coalescence of flux tubes supported by prescribed photospheric current elements is evaluated. It is shown that the electrons and ions have differential trajectories through the coronal current sheet which leads to the development of additonal plasma currents that flow around the surface of the current sheet. These surface currents are explicitly neglected in MHD but they are vital to the flare dynamics because they divert current from the coronal current sheet into the chromosphere, producing an effective resistivity that aids the development of fast reconnection. Because the surface currents are in the plane of the magnetic field, electrons in them experience strong acceleration and can account for the observed hard X-ray emissions. Model predictions are compared with observed time profiles of hard X-ray emissions and Doppler shifts seen in soft X-ray line emissions and are able to account for such features as (1) the asymmetry in the rise and decay time of the hard X-rays, (2) the apparent delay between the largest Doppler shifts and the hard X-ray peak, and (3) the relatively low intensity of the blue-shifted component. The use of particle and fluid simulations is important because it provides different, but complementary treatments of the electron acceleration, the global magnetic morphology, and the flare current system.

Fundamental Techniques for High Photon Energy Stability of a Modern Soft X-ray Beamline

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

Senba, Yasunori; Kishimoto, Hikaru; Miura, Takanori

2007-01-19

High energy resolution and high energy stability are required for modern soft x-ray beamlines. Attempts at improving the energy stability are presented in this paper. Some measures have been adopted to avoid energy instability. It is clearly observed that the unstable temperature of the support frame of the optical elements results in photon energy instability. A photon energy stability of 10 meV for half a day is achieved by controlling the temperature with an accuracy of 0.01 deg. C.

Enhancement of 3D guide field magnetic reconnection by self-generated kinetic turbulence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alejandro Munoz Sepulveda, Patricio; Buechner, Joerg

2017-04-01

Kinetic plasma turbulence is ubiquitous in magnetic reconnection in laboratory, space and astrophysical plasmas. Most of previous investigations focused on the role of low-frequency/Alfvénic turbulence in homogeneous plasmas. High-frequency/electron-scale turbulence in the reconnecting current sheets, however, have been rarely addressed. Our aim is to investigate the role of this self-generated turbulence via kinetic instabilities in 3D magnetic reconnection. For this sake, we carried out 3D fully-kinetic Particle-in-Cell (PiC) code numerical simulations of force free current sheets with a guide magnetic field, a common situation in the plasmas of interest. We show that the dynamically evolving kinetic turbulence spectra is broadband, with a power-law spectrum between the lower hybrid and up to the electron frequencies with a spectral index near 2.7 at the reconnection site. This result is directly in the frequency-domain, without change of frame of reference assuming Taylor's hypothesis. The evolution of the turbulence correlates with the growth and rate of magnetic reconnection and can be explained by unstable waves caused by (kinetic) streaming instabilities driven by electron current. This provides a plausible explanation for the enhancement of magnetic reconnection due to turbulence observed in laboratory experiments like MRX, VTF and VINETA-II, as well as of in-situ measurements in the Earth's magnetosphere by the MMS spacecraft.

Ionospheric Alfvén resonator and aurora: Modeling of MICA observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tulegenov, B.; Streltsov, A. V.

2017-07-01

We present results from a numerical study of small-scale, intense magnetic field-aligned currents observed in the vicinity of the discrete auroral arc by the Magnetosphere-Ionosphere Coupling in the Alfvén Resonator (MICA) sounding rocket launched from Poker Flat, Alaska, on 19 February 2012. The goal of the MICA project was to investigate the hypothesis that such currents can be produced inside the ionospheric Alfvén resonator by the ionospheric feedback instability (IFI) driven by the system of large-scale magnetic field-aligned currents interacting with the ionosphere. The trajectory of the MICA rocket crossed two discrete auroral arcs and detected packages of intense, small-scale currents at the edges of these arcs, in the most favorable location for the development of the ionospheric feedback instability, predicted by the IFI theory. Simulations of the reduced MHD model derived in the dipole magnetic field geometry with realistic background parameters confirm that IFI indeed generates small-scale ULF waves inside the ionospheric Alfvén resonator with frequency, scale size, and amplitude showing a good, quantitative agreement with the observations. The comparison between numerical results and observations was performed by "flying" a virtual MICA rocket through the computational domain, and this comparison shows that, for example, the waves generated in the numerical model have frequencies in the range from 0.30 to 0.45 Hz, and the waves detected by the MICA rocket have frequencies in the range from 0.18 to 0.50 Hz.

Explosive vessel for coupling dynamic experiments to the X-ray beam at the Advanced Photon Source

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Owens, Charles; Sanchez, Nathaniel; Sorensen, Christian; Jensen, Brian

2017-06-01

Recent experiments at the Advanced Photon Source have been successful in coupling gun systems to the synchrotron to take advantage of the advanced X-ray diagnostics available including X-ray diffraction and X-ray phase contrast imaging (PCI) to examine matter at extreme conditions. There are many experiments that require explosive loading capabilities, e.g. detonator and initiator dynamics, small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), ejecta formation, and explosively driven flyer experiments. The current work highlights a new explosive vessel that was designed specifically for use at a synchrotron facility with requirements to confine up to 15 grams of explosives (TNT equivalent), couple the vessel to the X-ray beam line, and reliably position samples remotely. A description of the system and capability will be provided along with the results from qualification testing to bring the system into service (LA-UR-17-21381).

Intensity stabilisation of optical pulse sequences for coherent control of laser-driven qubits

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thom, Joseph; Yuen, Ben; Wilpers, Guido; Riis, Erling; Sinclair, Alastair G.

2018-05-01

We demonstrate a system for intensity stabilisation of optical pulse sequences used in laser-driven quantum control of trapped ions. Intensity instability is minimised by active stabilisation of the power (over a dynamic range of > 104) and position of the focused beam at the ion. The fractional Allan deviations in power were found to be <2.2 × 10^{-4} for averaging times from 1 to 16,384 s. Over similar times, the absolute Allan deviation of the beam position is <0.1 μm for a 45 {μ }m beam diameter. Using these residual power and position instabilities, we estimate the associated contributions to infidelity in example qubit logic gates to be below 10^{-6} per gate.

Estimates of the lateral eddy diffusivity in the Indian Ocean as derived from drifter data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhurbas, V. M.; Lyzhkov, D. A.; Kuzmina, N. P.

2014-05-01

The Global Drifter Program data set is applied to develop 2° × 2° bin estimates of the lateral eddy diffusivity K in the Indian Ocean (IO) by means of a modification of the Davis approach. The calculations were performed relative to the seasonal change in the mean currents, which is especially important in the case of monsoon-driven circulation in the IO. Estimates of K were found to be below 1 × 104 m2/s almost every-where in the IO. The spatial variations of K were analyzed in relation to the instabilities of the ocean circulation.

Numerical simulation of MPD thruster flows with anomalous transport

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Caldo, Giuliano; Choueiri, Edgar Y.; Kelly, Arnold J.; Jahn, Robert G.

1992-01-01

Anomalous transport effects in an Ar self-field coaxial MPD thruster are presently studied by means of a fully 2D two-fluid numerical code; its calculations are extended to a range of typical operating conditions. An effort is made to compare the spatial distribution of the steady state flow and field properties and thruster power-dissipation values for simulation runs with and without anomalous transport. A conductivity law based on the nonlinear saturation of lower hybrid current-driven instability is used for the calculations. Anomalous-transport simulation runs have indicated that the resistivity in specific areas of the discharge is significantly higher than that calculated in classical runs.

Comparison of runaway electron generation parameters in small, medium-sized and large tokamaks—A survey of experiments in COMPASS, TCV, ASDEX-Upgrade and JET

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Plyusnin, V. V.; Reux, C.; Kiptily, V. G.; Pautasso, G.; Decker, J.; Papp, G.; Kallenbach, A.; Weinzettl, V.; Mlynar, J.; Coda, S.; Riccardo, V.; Lomas, P.; Jachmich, S.; Shevelev, A. E.; Alper, B.; Khilkevitch, E.; Martin, Y.; Dux, R.; Fuchs, C.; Duval, B.; Brix, M.; Tardini, G.; Maraschek, M.; Treutterer, W.; Giannone, L.; Mlynek, A.; Ficker, O.; Martin, P.; Gerasimov, S.; Potzel, S.; Paprok, R.; McCarthy, P. J.; Imrisek, M.; Boboc, A.; Lackner, K.; Fernandes, A.; Havlicek, J.; Giacomelli, L.; Vlainic, M.; Nocente, M.; Kruezi, U.; COMPASS Team; TCV Team; ASDEX-Upgrade Team; EUROFusion MST1 Team; contributors, JET

2018-01-01

This paper presents a survey of the experiments on runaway electrons (RE) carried out recently in frames of EUROFusion Consortium in different tokamaks: COMPASS, ASDEX-Upgrade, TCV and JET. Massive gas injection (MGI) has been used in different scenarios for RE generation in small and medium-sized tokamaks to elaborate the most efficient and reliable ones for future RE experiments. New data on RE generated at disruptions in COMPASS and ASDEX-Upgrade was collected and added to the JET database. Different accessible parameters of disruptions, such as current quench rate, conversion rate of plasma current into runaways, etc have been analysed for each tokamak and compared to JET data. It was shown, that tokamaks with larger geometrical sizes provide the wider limits for spatial and temporal variation of plasma parameters during disruptions, thus extending the parameter space for RE generation. The second part of experiments was dedicated to study of RE generation in stationary discharges in COMPASS, TCV and JET. Injection of Ne/Ar have been used to mock-up the JET MGI runaway suppression experiments. Secondary RE avalanching was identified and quantified for the first time in the TCV tokamak in RE generating discharges after massive Ne injection. Simulations of the primary RE generation and secondary avalanching dynamics in stationary discharges has demonstrated that RE current fraction created via avalanching could achieve up to 70-75% of the total plasma current in TCV. Relaxations which are reminiscent the phenomena associated to the kinetic instability driven by RE have been detected in RE discharges in TCV. Macroscopic parameters of RE dominating discharges in TCV before and after onset of the instability fit well to the empirical instability criterion, which was established in the early tokamaks and examined by results of recent numerical simulations.

X-Ray Probes of Cosmic Star Formation History

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ghosh, Pranab; White, Nicholas E.

2001-01-01

We discuss the imprints left by a cosmological evolution of the star formation rate (SFR) on the evolution of X-ray luminosities Lx of normal galaxies, using the scheme earlier proposed by us, wherein the evolution of LX of a galaxy is driven by the evolution of its X-ray binary population. As indicated in our earlier work, the profile of Lx with redshift can both serve as a diagnostic probe of the SFR profile and constrain evolutionary models for X-ray binaries. We report here the first calculation of the expected evolution of X-ray luminosities of galaxies, updating our work by using a suite of more recently developed SFR profiles that span the currently plausible range. The first Chandra deep imaging results on Lx evolution are beginning to probe the SFR profile of bright spiral galaxies; the early results are consistent with predictions based on current SFR models. Using these new SFR profiles, the resolution of the "birthrate problem" of low-mass X-ray binaries and recycled, millisecond pulsars in terms of an evolving global SFR is more complete. We discuss the possible impact of the variations in the SFR profile of individual galaxies and galaxy types.

Critical target and dose and dose-rate responses for the induction of chromosomal instability by ionizing radiation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Limoli, C. L.; Corcoran, J. J.; Milligan, J. R.; Ward, J. F.; Morgan, W. F.

1999-01-01

To investigate the critical target, dose response and dose-rate response for the induction of chromosomal instability by ionizing radiation, bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU)-substituted and unsubstituted GM10115 cells were exposed to a range of doses (0.1-10 Gy) and different dose rates (0.092-17.45 Gy min(-1)). The status of chromosomal stability was determined by fluorescence in situ hybridization approximately 20 generations after irradiation in clonal populations derived from single progenitor cells surviving acute exposure. Overall, nearly 700 individual clones representing over 140,000 metaphases were analyzed. In cells unsubstituted with BrdU, a dose response was found, where the probability of observing delayed chromosomal instability in any given clone was 3% per gray of X rays. For cells substituted with 25-66% BrdU, however, a dose response was observed only at low doses (<1.0 Gy); at higher doses (>1.0 Gy), the incidence of chromosomal instability leveled off. There was an increase in the frequency and complexity of chromosomal instability per unit dose compared to cells unsubstituted with BrdU. The frequency of chromosomal instability appeared to saturate around approximately 30%, an effect which occurred at much lower doses in the presence of BrdU. Changing the gamma-ray dose rate by a factor of 190 (0.092 to 17.45 Gy min(-1)) produced no significant differences in the frequency of chromosomal instability. The enhancement of chromosomal instability promoted by the presence of the BrdU argues that DNA comprises at least one of the critical targets important for the induction of this end point of genomic instability.

Simulation study of enhancing laser driven multi-keV line-radiation through application of external magnetic fields

DOE PAGES

Kemp, G. E.; Colvin, J. D.; Blue, B. E.; ...

2016-10-20

Here, we present a path forward for enhancing laser driven, multi-keV line-radiation from mid- to high-Z, sub-quarter-critical density, non-equilibrium plasmas through inhibited thermal transport in the presence of an externally generated magnetic field. Preliminary simulations with Kr and Ag suggest that as much as 50%–100% increases in peak electron temperatures are possible—without any changes in laser drive conditions—with magnetized interactions. The increase in temperature results in ~2–3× enhancements in laser-to-x-ray conversion efficiency for K-shell emission with simultaneous ≲4× reduction in L-shell emission using current field generation capabilities on the Omega laser and near-term capabilities on the National Ignition Facility laser.more » Increased plasma temperatures and enhanced K-shell emission are observed to come at the cost of degraded volumetric heating. Such enhancements in high-photon-energy x-ray sources could expand the existing laser platforms for increasingly penetrating x-ray radiography.« less

Assisted stellar suicide: the wind-driven evolution of the recurrent nova T Pyxidis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Knigge, Ch.; King, A. R.; Patterson, J.

2000-12-01

We show that the extremely high luminosity of the short-period recurrent nova T Pyx in quiescence can be understood if this system is a wind-driven supersoft x-ray source (SSS). In this scenario, a strong, radiation-induced wind is excited from the secondary star and accelerates the binary evolution. The accretion rate is therefore much higher than in an ordinary cataclysmic binary at the same orbital period, as is the luminosity of the white dwarf primary. In the steady state, the enhanced luminosity is just sufficient to maintain the wind from the secondary. The accretion rate and luminosity predicted by the wind-driven model for T Pyx are in good agreement with the observational evidence. X-ray observations with Chandra or XMM may be able to confirm T Pyx's status as a SSS. T Pyx's lifetime in the wind-driven state is on the order of a million years. Its ultimate fate is not certain, but the system may very well end up destroying itself, either via the complete evaporation of the secondary star, or in a Type Ia supernova if the white dwarf reaches the Chandrasekhar limit. Thus either the primary, the secondary, or both may currently be committing assisted stellar suicide.

ON HELIUM MIXING IN QUASI-GLOBAL SIMULATIONS OF THE INTRACLUSTER MEDIUM

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

Berlok, Thomas; Pessah, Martin E., E-mail: berlok@nbi.dk, E-mail: mpessah@nbi.dk

The assumption of a spatially uniform helium distribution in the intracluster medium (ICM) can lead to biases in the estimates of key cluster parameters if composition gradients are present. The helium concentration profile in galaxy clusters is unfortunately not directly observable. Current models addressing the putative sedimentation are one-dimensional and parametrize the presence of magnetic fields in a crude way, ignoring the weakly collisional, magnetized nature of the medium. When these effects are considered, a wide variety of instabilities can play an important role in the plasma dynamics. In a series of recent papers, we have developed the local, linearmore » theory of these instabilities and addressed their nonlinear development with a modified version of Athena. Here, we extend our study by developing a quasi-global approach that we use to simulate the mixing of helium as induced by generalizations of the heat-flux-driven buoyancy instability (HBI) and the magnetothermal instability, which feed off thermal and composition gradients. In the inner region of the ICM, mixing can occur over a few gigayears, after which the average magnetic field inclination angle is ∼30°–50°, resulting in an averaged Spitzer parameter higher by about 20% than the value obtained in homogeneous simulations. In the cluster outskirts the instabilities are rather inefficient, due to the shallow gradients. This suggests that composition gradients in cluster cores might be shallower than one-dimensional models predict. More quantitative statements demand more refined models that can incorporate the physics driving the sedimentation process and simultaneously account for the weakly collisional nature of the plasma.« less

Proposed Laser-driven, Dielectric Microstructure Few-cm Long Undulator for Attosecond Coherent X-rays

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

Plettner, T; Byer, R.L.; /Stanford U., Ginzton Lab.

This article presents the concept of an all-dielectric laser-driven undulator for the generation of coherent X-rays. The proposed laser-driven undulator is expected to produce internal deflection forces equivalent to a several-Tesla magnetic field acting on a speed-of-light particle. The key idea for this laser-driven undulator is its ability to provide phase synchronicity between the deflection force and the electron beam for a distance that is much greater than the laser wavelength. The potential advantage of this undulator is illustrated with a possible design example that assumes a small laser accelerator which delivers a 2 GeV, 1 pC, 1 kHz electronmore » bunch train to a 10 cm long, 1/2 mm period laser-driven undulator. Such an undulator could produce coherent X-ray pulses with {approx}10{sup 9} photons of 64 keV energy. The numerical modeling for the expected X-ray pulse shape was performed with GENESIS, which predicts X-ray pulse durations in the few-attosecond range. Possible applications for nonlinear electromagnetic effects from these X-ray pulses are briefly discussed.« less

Insights into the Streaming Instability in Protoplanetary Disks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Youdin, Andrew N.; Lin, Min-Kai; Li, Rixin

2017-10-01

The streaming instability is a leading mechanism to concentrate particles in protoplanetary disks, thereby triggering planetesimal formation. I will present recent analytical and numerical work on the origin of the streaming instability and its robustness. Our recent analytic work examines the origin of, and relationship between, a variety of drag-induced instabilities, including the streaming instability as well as secular gravitational instabilities, a drag instability driven by self-gravity. We show that drag instabilities are powered by a specific phase relationship between gas pressure and particle concentrations, which power the instability via pressure work. This mechanism is analogous to pulsating instabilities in stars. This mechanism differs qualitatively from other leading particle concentration mechanisms in pressure bumps and vortices. Our recent numerical work investigates the numerical robustness of non-linear particle clumping by the streaming instability, especially with regard to the location and boundary condition of vertical boundaries. We find that particle clumping is robust to these choices in boxes that are not too short. However, hydrodynamic activity away from the particle-dominated midplane is significantly affected by vertical boundary conditions. This activity affects the observationally significant lofting of small dust grains. We thus emphasize the need for larger scale simulations which connect disk surface layers, including outflowing winds, to the planet-forming midplane.

Simulation study of 3-5 keV x-ray conversion efficiency from Ar K-shell vs. Ag L-shell targets on the National Ignition Facility laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kemp, G. E.; Colvin, J. D.; Fournier, K. B.; May, M. J.; Barrios, M. A.; Patel, M. V.; Scott, H. A.; Marinak, M. M.

2015-05-01

Tailored, high-flux, multi-keV x-ray sources are desirable for studying x-ray interactions with matter for various civilian, space and military applications. For this study, we focus on designing an efficient laser-driven non-local thermodynamic equilibrium 3-5 keV x-ray source from photon-energy-matched Ar K-shell and Ag L-shell targets at sub-critical densities (˜nc/10) to ensure supersonic, volumetric laser heating with minimal losses to kinetic energy, thermal x rays and laser-plasma instabilities. Using Hydra, a multi-dimensional, arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian, radiation-hydrodynamics code, we performed a parameter study by varying initial target density and laser parameters for each material using conditions readily achievable on the National Ignition Facility (NIF) laser. We employ a model, benchmarked against Kr data collected on the NIF, that uses flux-limited Lee-More thermal conductivity and multi-group implicit Monte-Carlo photonics with non-local thermodynamic equilibrium, detailed super-configuration accounting opacities from Cretin, an atomic-kinetics code. While the highest power laser configurations produced the largest x-ray yields, we report that the peak simulated laser to 3-5 keV x-ray conversion efficiencies of 17.7% and 36.4% for Ar and Ag, respectively, occurred at lower powers between ˜100-150 TW. For identical initial target densities and laser illumination, the Ag L-shell is observed to have ≳10× higher emissivity per ion per deposited laser energy than the Ar K-shell. Although such low-density Ag targets have not yet been demonstrated, simulations of targets fabricated using atomic layer deposition of Ag on silica aerogels (˜20% by atomic fraction) suggest similar performance to atomically pure metal foams and that either fabrication technique may be worth pursuing for an efficient 3-5 keV x-ray source on NIF.

A new necessary condition for Turing instabilities.

PubMed

Elragig, Aiman; Townley, Stuart

2012-09-01

Reactivity (a.k.a initial growth) is necessary for diffusion driven instability (Turing instability). Using a notion of common Lyapunov function we show that this necessary condition is a special case of a more powerful (i.e. tighter) necessary condition. Specifically, we show that if the linearised reaction matrix and the diffusion matrix share a common Lyapunov function, then Turing instability is not possible. The existence of common Lyapunov functions is readily checked using semi-definite programming. We apply this result to the Gierer-Meinhardt system modelling regenerative properties of Hydra, the Oregonator, to a host-parasite-hyperparasite system with diffusion and to a reaction-diffusion-chemotaxis model for a multi-species host-parasitoid community. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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.

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.