Explicit symplectic algorithms based on generating functions for relativistic charged particle dynamics in time-dependent electromagnetic field

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Ruili; Wang, Yulei; He, Yang; Xiao, Jianyuan; Liu, Jian; Qin, Hong; Tang, Yifa

2018-02-01

Relativistic dynamics of a charged particle in time-dependent electromagnetic fields has theoretical significance and a wide range of applications. The numerical simulation of relativistic dynamics is often multi-scale and requires accurate long-term numerical simulations. Therefore, explicit symplectic algorithms are much more preferable than non-symplectic methods and implicit symplectic algorithms. In this paper, we employ the proper time and express the Hamiltonian as the sum of exactly solvable terms and product-separable terms in space-time coordinates. Then, we give the explicit symplectic algorithms based on the generating functions of orders 2 and 3 for relativistic dynamics of a charged particle. The methodology is not new, which has been applied to non-relativistic dynamics of charged particles, but the algorithm for relativistic dynamics has much significance in practical simulations, such as the secular simulation of runaway electrons in tokamaks.

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

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

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

2005-01-01

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

Lorentz boosted frame simulation technique in Particle-in-cell methods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, Peicheng

In this dissertation, we systematically explore the use of a simulation method for modeling laser wakefield acceleration (LWFA) using the particle-in-cell (PIC) method, called the Lorentz boosted frame technique. In the lab frame the plasma length is typically four orders of magnitude larger than the laser pulse length. Using this technique, simulations are performed in a Lorentz boosted frame in which the plasma length, which is Lorentz contracted, and the laser length, which is Lorentz expanded, are now comparable. This technique has the potential to reduce the computational needs of a LWFA simulation by more than four orders of magnitude, and is useful if there is no or negligible reflection of the laser in the lab frame. To realize the potential of Lorentz boosted frame simulations for LWFA, the first obstacle to overcome is a robust and violent numerical instability, called the Numerical Cerenkov Instability (NCI), that leads to unphysical energy exchange between relativistically drifting particles and their radiation. This leads to unphysical noise that dwarfs the real physical processes. In this dissertation, we first present a theoretical analysis of this instability, and show that the NCI comes from the unphysical coupling of the electromagnetic (EM) modes and Langmuir modes (both main and aliasing) of the relativistically drifting plasma. We then discuss the methods to eliminate them. However, the use of FFTs can lead to parallel scalability issues when there are many more cells along the drifting direction than in the transverse direction(s). We then describe an algorithm that has the potential to address this issue by using a higher order finite difference operator for the derivative in the plasma drifting direction, while using the standard second order operators in the transverse direction(s). The NCI for this algorithm is analyzed, and it is shown that the NCI can be eliminated using the same strategies that were used for the hybrid FFT

Particle Acceleration, Magnetic Field Generation and Emission from Relativistic Jets

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nishikawa, K.-I.; Hardee, P.; Hededal, C.; Mizuno, Yosuke; Fishman, G. Jerry; Hartmann, D. H.

2006-01-01

Nonthermal radiation observed from astrophysical systems containing relativistic jets and shocks, e.g., active galactic nuclei (AGNs), gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), supernova remnants, and Galactic microquasar systems usually have power-law emission spectra. Fermi acceleration is the mechanism usually assumed for the acceleration of particles in astrophysical environments. Recent PIC simulations using injected relativistic electron-ion (electro-positron) jets show that particle acceleration occurs within the downstream jet, rather than by the scattering of particles back and forth across the shock as in Fermi acceleration. 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 spectral 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. We will review recent PIC simulations of relativistic jets and try to make a connection with observations.

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

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

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

2004-01-01

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

Relativistic particle acceleration in plerions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Arons, Jonathan; Tavani, Marco

1994-01-01

We discuss recent research on the structure and particle acceleration properties of relativistic shock waves in which the magnetic field is transverse to the flow direction in the upstream medium, and whose composition is either pure electrons and positrons or primarily electrons and positrons with an admixture of heavy ions. Particle-in-cell simulation techniques as well as analytic theory have been used to show that such shocks in pure pair plasmas are fully thermalized -- the downstream particle spectra are relativistic Maxwellians at the temperature expected from the jump conditions. On the other hand, shocks containing heavy ions which are a minority constituent by number but which carry most of the energy density in the upstream medium do put approximately 20% of the flow energy into a nonthermal population of pairs downstream, whose distribution in energy space is N(E) varies as E(exp -2), where N(E)dE is the number of particles with energy between E and E+dE. The mechanism of thermalization and particle acceleration is found to be synchrotron maser activity in the shock front, stimulated by the quasi-coherent gyration of the whole particle population as the plasma flowing into the shock reflects from the magnetic field in the shock front. The synchrotron maser modes radiated by the heavy ions are absorbed by the pairs at their (relativistic) cyclotron frequencies, allowing the maximum energy achievable by the pairs to be gamma(sub +/-)m(sub +/-)c squared = m(sub i)c squared gamma(sub 1)/Z(sub i), where gamma(sub 1) is the Lorentz factor of the upstream flow and Z(sub i) is the atomic number of the ions. The shock's spatial structure is shown to contain a series of 'overshoots' in the magnetic field, regions where the gyrating heavy ions compress the magnetic field to levels in excess of the eventual downstream value. This shock model is applied to an interpretation of the structure of the inner regions of the Crab Nebula, in particular to the 'wisps

Relativistic Electrons in Ground-Level Enhanced (GLE) Solar Particle Events

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tylka, Allan J.; Dietrich, William; Novikova, Elena I.

Ground-level enhanced (GLE) solar particle events are one of the most spectacular manifesta-tions of solar activity, with protons accelerated to multi-GeV energies in minutes. Although GLEs have been observed for more than sixty years, the processes by which the particle ac-celeration takes place remain controversial. Relativistic electrons provide another means of investigating the nature of the particle accelerator, since some processes that can efficiently ac-celerate protons and ions are less attractive candidates for electron acceleration. We report on observations of relativistic electrons, at ˜0.5 -5 MeV, during GLEs of 1976-2005, using data from the University of Chicago's Cosmic Ray Nuclei Experiment (CRNE) on IMP-8, whose electron response has recently been calibrated using GEANT-4 simulations (Novikova et al. 2010). In particular, we examine onset times, temporal structure, fluences, and spectra of elec-trons in GLEs and compare them with comparable quantities for relativistic protons derived from neutron monitors. We discuss the implications of these comparisons for the nature of the particle acceleration process.

Magnetic Field Generation, Particle Energization and Radiation at Relativistic Shear Boundary Layers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liang, Edison; Fu, Wen; Spisak, Jake; Boettcher, Markus

2015-11-01

Recent large scale Particle-in-Cell (PIC) simulations have demonstrated that in unmagnetized relativistic shear flows, strong transverse d.c. magnetic fields are generated and sustained by ion-dominated currents on the opposite sides of the shear interface. Instead of dissipating the shear flow free energy via turbulence formation and mixing as it is usually found in MHD simulations, the kinetic results show that the relativistic boundary layer stabilizes itself via the formation of a robust vacuum gap supported by a strong magnetic field, which effectively separates the opposing shear flows, as in a maglev train. Our new PIC simulations have extended the runs to many tens of light crossing times of the simulation box. Both the vacuum gap and supporting magnetic field remain intact. The electrons are energized to reach energy equipartition with the ions, with 10% of the total energy in electromagnetic fields. The dominant radiation mechanism is similar to that of a wiggler, due to oscillating electron orbits around the boundary layer.

Particle Acceleration and Magnetic Field Generation in Electron-Positron Relativistic Shocks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

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

2005-01-01

Shock acceleration is a ubiquitous phenomenon in astrophysical plasmas. Plasma waves and their associated instabilities (e.g., Buneman, Weibel, and other two-stream instabilities) created in collisionless shocks are responsible for particle (electron, positron, and ion) acceleration. Using a three-dimensional relativistic electromagnetic particle (REMP) code, we have investigated particle acceleration associated with a relativistic electron-positron jet front propagating into an ambient electron-positron plasma with and without initial magnetic fields. We find small differences in the results for no ambient and modest ambient magnetic fields. New simulations show that the Weibel instability created in the collisionless shock front accelerates jet and ambient particles both perpendicular and parallel to the jet propagation direction. Furthermore, the nonlinear fluctuation amplitudes of densities, currents, and electric and magnetic fields in the electron-positron shock are larger than those found in the electron-ion shock studied in a previous paper at a comparable simulation time. This comes from the fact that both electrons and positrons contribute to generation of the Weibel instability. In addition, we have performed simulations with different electron skin depths. We find that growth times scale inversely with the plasma frequency, and the sizes of structures created by tine Weibel instability scale proportionally to the electron skin depth. This is the expected result and indicates that the simulations have sufficient grid resolution. While some Fermi acceleration may occur at the jet front, the majority of electron and positron acceleration takes place behind the jet front and cannot be characterized as Fermi acceleration. The simulation results show that the Weibel instability is responsible for generating and amplifying nonuniform, small-scale magnetic fields, which contribute to the electron s (positron s) transverse deflection behind the jet head. This

Particle Acceleration and Magnetic Field Generation in Electron-Positron Relativistic Shocks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nishikawa, K.-L.; Hardee, P.; Richardson, G.; Preece, R.; Sol, H.; Fishman, G. J.

2004-01-01

Shock acceleration is an ubiquitous phenomenon in astrophysical plasmas. Plasma waves and their associated instabilities (e.g., Buneman, Weibel and other two-stream instabilities) created in collisionless shocks are responsible for particle (electron, positron, and ion) acceleration. Using a 3-D relativistic electromagnetic particle (REMP) code, we have investigated particle acceleration associated with a relativistic electron-positron jet front propagating into an ambient electron-positron plasma with and without initial magnetic fields. We find small differences in the results for no ambient and modest ambient magnetic fields. Simulations show that the Weibel instability created in the collisionless shock front accelerates jet and ambient particles both perpendicular and parallel to the jet propagation direction. The non-linear fluctuation amplitudes of densities, currents, electric, and magnetic fields in the electron-positron shock are larger than those found in the electron-ion shock studied in a previous paper at the comparable simulation time. This comes from the fact that both electrons and positrons contribute to generation of the Weibel instability. Additionally, we have performed simulations with different electron skin depths. We find that growth times scale inversely with the plasma frequency, and the sizes of structures created by the Weibel instability scale proportional to the electron skin depth. This is the expected result and indicates that the simulations have sufficient grid resolution. While some Fermi acceleration may occur at the jet front, the majority of electron and positron acceleration takes place behind the jet front and cannot be characterized as Fermi acceleration. The simulation results show that the Weibel instability is responsible for generating and amplifying nonuniform: small-scale magnetic fields which contribute to the electron's (positron's) transverse deflection behind the jet head. This small scale magnetic field structure

RELATIVISTIC CYCLOTRON INSTABILITY IN ANISOTROPIC PLASMAS

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

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

2016-11-20

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

General relativistic screening in cosmological simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hahn, Oliver; Paranjape, Aseem

2016-10-01

We revisit the issue of interpreting the results of large volume cosmological simulations in the context of large-scale general relativistic effects. We look for simple modifications to the nonlinear evolution of the gravitational potential ψ that lead on large scales to the correct, fully relativistic description of density perturbations in the Newtonian gauge. We note that the relativistic constraint equation for ψ can be cast as a diffusion equation, with a diffusion length scale determined by the expansion of the Universe. Exploiting the weak time evolution of ψ in all regimes of interest, this equation can be further accurately approximated as a Helmholtz equation, with an effective relativistic "screening" scale ℓ related to the Hubble radius. We demonstrate that it is thus possible to carry out N-body simulations in the Newtonian gauge by replacing Poisson's equation with this Helmholtz equation, involving a trivial change in the Green's function kernel. Our results also motivate a simple, approximate (but very accurate) gauge transformation—δN(k )≈δsim(k )×(k2+ℓ-2)/k2 —to convert the density field δsim of standard collisionless N -body simulations (initialized in the comoving synchronous gauge) into the Newtonian gauge density δN at arbitrary times. A similar conversion can also be written in terms of particle positions. Our results can be interpreted in terms of a Jeans stability criterion induced by the expansion of the Universe. The appearance of the screening scale ℓ in the evolution of ψ , in particular, leads to a natural resolution of the "Jeans swindle" in the presence of superhorizon modes.

Relativistic charged particle ejection from optical lattice

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Frolov, E. N.; Dik, A. V.; Dabagov, S. B.

2018-03-01

We have analyzed relativistic (~ MeV) electron ejection from potential channels of standing laser wave taking into account both rapid and averaged oscillations within the region of declining field of standing wave. We show that only a few last rapid oscillations can define transverse speed and, therefore, angle at which a particle leaves standing wave. This conclusion might drastically simplify numerical simulations of charged particles channeling and accompanying radiation in crossed lasers field. Moreover, it might provide a valuable information for estimation of charged particle beams parameters after their interaction with finite standing wave.

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

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

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

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

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

DOE PAGES

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

2016-11-14

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

Particle Acceleration and Magnetic Field Generation in Electron-Positron Relativistic Shocks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

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

2004-01-01

Shock acceleration is an ubiquitous phenomenon in astrophysical plasmas. Plasma waves and their associated instabilities (e.g., Buneman, Weibel and other two-stream instabilities) created in collisionless shocks are responsible for particle (electron, positron, and ion) acceleration. Using a 3-D relativistic electromagnetic particle (REMP) code, we have investigated particle acceleration associated with a relativistic electron-positron jet front propagating into an ambient electron-positron plasma with and without initial magnetic fields. We find small differences in the results for no ambient and modest ambient magnetic fields. Simulations show that the Weibel instability created in the collisionless shock front accelerates jet and ambient particles both perpendicular and parallel to the jet propagation direction. The non-linear fluctuation amplitudes of densities, currents, electric, and magnetic fields in the electron-positron shock are larger than those found in the electron-ion shock studied in a previous paper. This comes from the fact that both electrons and positrons contribute to generation of the Weibel instability. Additionally, we have performed simulations with different electron skin depths. We find that growth times scale inversely with the plasma frequency, and the sizes of structures created by the Weibel instability scale proportional to the electron skin depth. This is the expected result and indicates that the simulations have sufficient grid resolution. While some Fermi acceleration may occur at the jet front, the majority of electron and positron acceleration takes place behind the jet front and cannot be characterized as Fermi acceleration. The simulation results show that the Weibel instability is responsible for generating and amplifying nonuniform, small-scale magnetic fields which contribute to the electron's (positron's) transverse deflection behind the jet head. This small scale magnetic field structure is appropriate to the generation

Kinetic Modeling of Radiative Turbulence in Relativistic Astrophysical Plasmas: Particle Acceleration and High-Energy Flares

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Uzdensky, Dmitri

Relativistic astrophysical plasma environments routinely produce intense high-energy emission, which is often observed to be nonthermal and rapidly flaring. The recently discovered gamma-ray (> 100 MeV) flares in Crab Pulsar Wind Nebula (PWN) provide a quintessential illustration of this, but other notable examples include relativistic active galactic nuclei (AGN) jets, including blazars, and Gamma-ray Bursts (GRBs). Understanding the processes responsible for the very efficient and rapid relativistic particle acceleration and subsequent emission that occurs in these sources poses a strong challenge to modern high-energy astrophysics, especially in light of the necessity to overcome radiation reaction during the acceleration process. Magnetic reconnection and collisionless shocks have been invoked as possible mechanisms. However, the inferred extreme particle acceleration requires the presence of coherent electric-field structures. How such large-scale accelerating structures (such as reconnecting current sheets) can spontaneously arise in turbulent astrophysical environments still remains a mystery. The proposed project will conduct a first-principles computational and theoretical study of kinetic turbulence in relativistic collisionless plasmas with a special focus on nonthermal particle acceleration and radiation emission. The main computational tool employed in this study will be the relativistic radiative particle-in-cell (PIC) code Zeltron, developed by the team members at the Univ. of Colorado. This code has a unique capability to self-consistently include the synchrotron and inverse-Compton radiation reaction force on the relativistic particles, while simultaneously computing the resulting observable radiative signatures. This proposal envisions performing massively parallel, large-scale three-dimensional simulations of driven and decaying kinetic turbulence in physical regimes relevant to real astrophysical systems (such as the Crab PWN), including the

Relativistic N-body simulations with massive neutrinos

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Adamek, Julian; Durrer, Ruth; Kunz, Martin

2017-11-01

Some of the dark matter in the Universe is made up of massive neutrinos. Their impact on the formation of large scale structure can be used to determine their absolute mass scale from cosmology, but to this end accurate numerical simulations have to be developed. Due to their relativistic nature, neutrinos pose additional challenges when one tries to include them in N-body simulations that are traditionally based on Newtonian physics. Here we present the first numerical study of massive neutrinos that uses a fully relativistic approach. Our N-body code, gevolution, is based on a weak-field formulation of general relativity that naturally provides a self-consistent framework for relativistic particle species. This allows us to model neutrinos from first principles, without invoking any ad-hoc recipes. Our simulation suite comprises some of the largest neutrino simulations performed to date. We study the effect of massive neutrinos on the nonlinear power spectra and the halo mass function, focusing on the interesting mass range between 0.06 eV and 0.3 eV and including a case for an inverted mass hierarchy.

Non-thermal particle acceleration in collisionless relativistic electron-proton reconnection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Werner, G. R.; Uzdensky, D. A.; Begelman, M. C.; Cerutti, B.; Nalewajko, K.

2018-02-01

Magnetic reconnection in relativistic collisionless plasmas can accelerate particles and power high-energy emission in various astrophysical systems. Whereas most previous studies focused on relativistic reconnection in pair plasmas, less attention has been paid to electron-ion plasma reconnection, expected in black hole accretion flows and relativistic jets. We report a comprehensive particle-in-cell numerical investigation of reconnection in an electron-ion plasma, spanning a wide range of ambient ion magnetizations σi, from the semirelativistic regime (ultrarelativistic electrons but non-relativistic ions, 10-3 ≪ σi ≪ 1) to the fully relativistic regime (both species are ultrarelativistic, σi ≫ 1). We investigate how the reconnection rate, electron and ion plasma flows, electric and magnetic field structures, electron/ion energy partitioning, and non-thermal particle acceleration depend on σi. Our key findings are: (1) the reconnection rate is about 0.1 of the Alfvénic rate across all regimes; (2) electrons can form concentrated moderately relativistic outflows even in the semirelativistic, small-σi regime; (3) while the released magnetic energy is partitioned equally between electrons and ions in the ultrarelativistic limit, the electron energy fraction declines gradually with decreased σi and asymptotes to about 0.25 in the semirelativistic regime; and (4) reconnection leads to efficient non-thermal electron acceleration with a σi-dependent power-law index, p(σ _i)˜eq const+0.7σ _i^{-1/2}. These findings are important for understanding black hole systems and lend support to semirelativistic reconnection models for powering non-thermal emission in blazar jets, offering a natural explanation for the spectral indices observed in these systems.

Relativistic particle in a box: Klein-Gordon versus Dirac equations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alberto, Pedro; Das, Saurya; Vagenas, Elias C.

2018-03-01

The problem of a particle in a box is probably the simplest problem in quantum mechanics which allows for significant insight into the nature of quantum systems and thus is a cornerstone in the teaching of quantum mechanics. In relativistic quantum mechanics this problem allows also to highlight the implications of special relativity for quantum physics, namely the effect that spin has on the quantised energy spectra. To illustrate this point, we solve the problem of a spin zero relativistic particle in a one- and three-dimensional box using the Klein-Gordon equation in the Feshbach-Villars formalism. We compare the solutions and the energy spectra obtained with the corresponding ones from the Dirac equation for a spin one-half relativistic particle. We note the similarities and differences, in particular the spin effects in the relativistic energy spectrum. As expected, the non-relativistic limit is the same for both kinds of particles, since, for a particle in a box, the spin contribution to the energy is a relativistic effect.

Relativistic interpretation of Newtonian simulations for cosmic structure formation

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

Fidler, Christian; Tram, Thomas; Crittenden, Robert

2016-09-01

The standard numerical tools for studying non-linear collapse of matter are Newtonian N -body simulations. Previous work has shown that these simulations are in accordance with General Relativity (GR) up to first order in perturbation theory, provided that the effects from radiation can be neglected. In this paper we show that the present day matter density receives more than 1% corrections from radiation on large scales if Newtonian simulations are initialised before z =50. We provide a relativistic framework in which unmodified Newtonian simulations are compatible with linear GR even in the presence of radiation. Our idea is to usemore » GR perturbation theory to keep track of the evolution of relativistic species and the relativistic space-time consistent with the Newtonian trajectories computed in N -body simulations. If metric potentials are sufficiently small, they can be computed using a first-order Einstein–Boltzmann code such as CLASS. We make this idea rigorous by defining a class of GR gauges, the Newtonian motion gauges, which are defined such that matter particles follow Newtonian trajectories. We construct a simple example of a relativistic space-time within which unmodified Newtonian simulations can be interpreted.« less

Nonthermal Particle Acceleration in 3D Relativistic Magnetic Reconnection in Pair Plasma

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

Werner, Gregory R.; Uzdensky, Dmitri A., E-mail: Greg.Werner@colorado.edu

As a fundamental process converting magnetic to plasma energy in high-energy astrophysical plasmas, relativistic magnetic reconnection is a leading explanation for the acceleration of particles to the ultrarelativistic energies that are necessary to power nonthermal emission (especially X-rays and gamma-rays) in pulsar magnetospheres and pulsar wind nebulae, coronae and jets of accreting black holes, and gamma-ray bursts. An important objective of plasma astrophysics is therefore the characterization of nonthermal particle acceleration (NTPA) effected by reconnection. Reconnection-powered NTPA has been demonstrated over a wide range of physical conditions using large 2D kinetic simulations. However, its robustness in realistic 3D reconnection—in particular,more » whether the 3D relativistic drift-kink instability (RDKI) disrupts NTPA—has not been systematically investigated, although pioneering 3D simulations have observed NTPA in isolated cases. Here, we present the first comprehensive study of NTPA in 3D relativistic reconnection in collisionless electron–positron plasmas, characterizing NTPA as the strength of 3D effects is varied systematically via the length in the third dimension and the strength of the guide magnetic field. We find that, while the RDKI prominently perturbs 3D reconnecting current sheets, it does not suppress particle acceleration, even for zero guide field; fully 3D reconnection robustly and efficiently produces nonthermal power-law particle spectra closely resembling those obtained in 2D. This finding provides strong support for reconnection as the key mechanism powering high-energy flares in various astrophysical systems. We also show that strong guide fields significantly inhibit NTPA, slowing reconnection and limiting the energy available for plasma energization, yielding steeper and shorter power-law spectra.« less

Simulation of Relativistic Shocks and Associated Self-Consistent Radiation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

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

Particle acceleration in relativistic magnetic flux-merging events

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lyutikov, Maxim; Sironi, Lorenzo; Komissarov, Serguei S.; Porth, Oliver

2017-12-01

Using analytical and numerical methods (fluid and particle-in-cell simulations) we study a number of model problems involving merger of magnetic flux tubes in relativistic magnetically dominated plasma. Mergers of current-carrying flux tubes (exemplified by the two-dimensional `ABC' structures) and zero-total-current magnetic flux tubes are considered. In all cases regimes of spontaneous and driven evolution are investigated. We identify two stages of particle acceleration during flux mergers: (i) fast explosive prompt X-point collapse and (ii) ensuing island merger. The fastest acceleration occurs during the initial catastrophic X-point collapse, with the reconnection electric field of the order of the magnetic field. During the X-point collapse, particles are accelerated by charge-starved electric fields, which can reach (and even exceed) values of the local magnetic field. The explosive stage of reconnection produces non-thermal power-law tails with slopes that depend on the average magnetization . For plasma magnetization 2$ the spectrum power-law index is 2$ ; in this case the maximal energy depends linearly on the size of the reconnecting islands. For higher magnetization, 2$ , the spectra are hard, , yet the maximal energy \\text{max}$ can still exceed the average magnetic energy per particle, , by orders of magnitude (if is not too close to unity). The X-point collapse stage is followed by magnetic island merger that dissipates a large fraction of the initial magnetic energy in a regime of forced magnetic reconnection, further accelerating the particles, but proceeds at a slower reconnection rate.

Relativistic laser channeling in plasmas for fast ignition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lei, A. L.; Pukhov, A.; Kodama, R.; Yabuuchi, T.; Adumi, K.; Endo, K.; Freeman, R. R.; Habara, H.; Kitagawa, Y.; Kondo, K.; Kumar, G. R.; Matsuoka, T.; Mima, K.; Nagatomo, H.; Norimatsu, T.; Shorokhov, O.; Snavely, R.; Yang, X. Q.; Zheng, J.; Tanaka, K. A.

2007-12-01

We report an experimental observation suggesting plasma channel formation by focusing a relativistic laser pulse into a long-scale-length preformed plasma. The channel direction coincides with the laser axis. Laser light transmittance measurement indicates laser channeling into the high-density plasma with relativistic self-focusing. A three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulation reproduces the plasma channel and reveals that the collimated hot-electron beam is generated along the laser axis in the laser channeling. These findings hold the promising possibility of fast heating a dense fuel plasma with a relativistic laser pulse.

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

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

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

2003-01-01

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

Particle-in-cell simulations for virtual cathode oscillator including foil ablation effects

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

Singh, Gursharn; Chaturvedi, S.

2011-06-15

We have performed two- and three-dimensional, relativistic, electromagnetic, particle-in-cell simulations of an axially extracted virtual cathode oscillator (vircator). The simulations include, for the first time, self-consistent dynamics of the anode foil under the influence of the intense electron beam. This yields the variation of microwave output power as a function of time, including the role of anode ablation and anode-cathode gap closure. These simulations have been done using locally developed particle-in-cell (PIC) codes. The codes have been validated using two vircator designs available from the literature. The simulations reported in the present paper take account of foil ablation due tomore » the intense electron flux, the resulting plasma expansion and shorting of the anode-cathode gap. The variation in anode transparency due to plasma formation is automatically taken into account. We find that damage is generally higher near the axis. Also, at all radial positions, there is little damage in the early stages, followed by a period of rapid erosion, followed in turn by low damage rates. A physical explanation has been given for these trends. As a result of gap closure due to plasma formation from the foil, the output microwave power initially increases, reaches a near-flat-top and then decreases steadily, reaching a minimum around 230 ns. This is consistent with a typical plasma expansion velocity of {approx}2 cm/{mu}s reported in the literature. We also find a significant variation in the dominant output frequency, from 6.3 to 7.6 GHz. This variation is small as long as the plasma density is small, up to {approx}40 ns. As the AK gap starts filling with plasma, there is a steady increase in this frequency.« less

Relativistic Laser Absorption and Magnetic Field Channel Formation in 3D PIC Simulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sentoku, Yasuhiko; Mima, Kunioki; Sheng, Zheng-Ming; Kaw, Predhiman; Nishihara, Katsunobu; Nishikawa, Kyoji

2000-10-01

We carried out 3D PIC simulations on overdense plasmas. On the surface of the plasmas, relativistic electrons are generated and transported into overdense plasmas. In the transport, it is found that energy is transferred to dense plasmas by convective cells. Namely, hot electron and cold electron return flows form convective cells through the magnetic instabilities (e.g. Weibel Instability). The heat flux associating with the convective cells and the anomalous stoppings in 3D simulations are compared with these in 2D simulations by Meyer-ter-Vehn etal. and Taguchi etal. [1] M. Honda, J. Meyer-ter-Vehn, and A. Pukhov, Phys. Plasmas 7, 1302, (2000). [2] ``Relativistic Electron Transport Simulation by 2D hybrid Simulation with Darwin Approximation." by T. Taguchi etal. (to be present in the poster of this conference)

On the relativistic micro-canonical ensemble and relativistic kinetic theory for N relativistic particles in inertial and non-inertial rest frames

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alba, David; Crater, Horace W.; Lusanna, Luca

2015-03-01

A new formulation of relativistic classical mechanics allows a reconsideration of old unsolved problems in relativistic kinetic theory and in relativistic statistical mechanics. In particular a definition of the relativistic micro-canonical partition function is given strictly in terms of the Poincaré generators of an interacting N-particle system both in the inertial and non-inertial rest frames. The non-relativistic limit allows a definition of both the inertial and non-inertial micro-canonical ensemble in terms of the Galilei generators.

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.

Particle Acceleration in Relativistic Outflows

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bykov, Andrei; Gehrels, Neil; Krawczynski, Henric; Lemoine, Martin; Pelletier, Guy; Pohl, Martin

2012-01-01

In this review we confront the current theoretical understanding of particle acceleration at relativistic outflows with recent observational results on various source classes thought to involve such outflows, e.g. gamma-ray bursts, active galactic nuclei, and pulsar wind nebulae. We highlight the possible contributions of these sources to ultra-high-energy cosmic rays.

Particle-in-cell simulations of Hall plasma thrusters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miranda, Rodrigo; Ferreira, Jose Leonardo; Martins, Alexandre

2016-07-01

Hall plasma thrusters can be modelled using particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations. In these simulations, the plasma is described by a set of equations which represent a coupled system of charged particles and electromagnetic fields. The fields are computed using a spatial grid (i.e., a discretization in space), whereas the particles can move continuously in space. Briefly, the particle and fields dynamics are computed as follows. First, forces due to electric and magnetic fields are employed to calculate the velocities and positions of particles. Next, the velocities and positions of particles are used to compute the charge and current densities at discrete positions in space. Finally, these densities are used to solve the electromagnetic field equations in the grid, which are interpolated at the position of the particles to obtain the acting forces, and restart this cycle. We will present numerical simulations using software for PIC simulations to study turbulence, wave and instabilities that arise in Hall plasma thrusters. We have sucessfully reproduced a numerical simulation of a SPT-100 Hall thruster using a two-dimensional (2D) model. In addition, we are developing a 2D model of a cylindrical Hall thruster. The results of these simulations will contribute to improve the performance of plasma thrusters to be used in Cubesats satellites currenty in development at the Plasma Laboratory at University of Brasília.

Simulation of Relativistic Shocks and Associated Radiation from Turbulent Magnetic Fields

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nishikawa, K.-I.; Mizuno, Y.; Niemiec, J.; Medvedev, M.; Zhang, B.; Hardee, P.; Frederiksen, J.; Sol, H.; Pohl, M.; Hartmann, D. H.;

Numerical investigation of kinetic turbulence in relativistic pair plasmas - I. Turbulence statistics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhdankin, Vladimir; Uzdensky, Dmitri A.; Werner, Gregory R.; Begelman, Mitchell C.

2018-02-01

We describe results from particle-in-cell simulations of driven turbulence in collisionless, magnetized, relativistic pair plasma. This physical regime provides a simple setting for investigating the basic properties of kinetic turbulence and is relevant for high-energy astrophysical systems such as pulsar wind nebulae and astrophysical jets. In this paper, we investigate the statistics of turbulent fluctuations in simulations on lattices of up to 10243 cells and containing up to 2 × 1011 particles. Due to the absence of a cooling mechanism in our simulations, turbulent energy dissipation reduces the magnetization parameter to order unity within a few dynamical times, causing turbulent motions to become sub-relativistic. In the developed stage, our results agree with predictions from magnetohydrodynamic turbulence phenomenology at inertial-range scales, including a power-law magnetic energy spectrum with index near -5/3, scale-dependent anisotropy of fluctuations described by critical balance, lognormal distributions for particle density and internal energy density (related by a 4/3 adiabatic index, as predicted for an ultra-relativistic ideal gas), and the presence of intermittency. We also present possible signatures of a kinetic cascade by measuring power-law spectra for the magnetic, electric and density fluctuations at sub-Larmor scales.

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.;

A generalized weight-based particle-in-cell simulation scheme

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, W. W.; Jenkins, T. G.; Ethier, S.

2011-03-01

A generalized weight-based particle simulation scheme suitable for simulating magnetized plasmas, where the zeroth-order inhomogeneity is important, is presented. The scheme is an extension of the perturbative simulation schemes developed earlier for particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations. The new scheme is designed to simulate both the perturbed distribution ( δf) and the full distribution (full- F) within the same code. The development is based on the concept of multiscale expansion, which separates the scale lengths of the background inhomogeneity from those associated with the perturbed distributions. The potential advantage for such an arrangement is to minimize the particle noise by using δf in the linear stage of the simulation, while retaining the flexibility of a full- F capability in the fully nonlinear stage of the development when signals associated with plasma turbulence are at a much higher level than those from the intrinsic particle noise.

Global Particle-in-Cell Simulations of Mercury's Magnetosphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schriver, D.; Travnicek, P. M.; Lapenta, G.; Amaya, J.; Gonzalez, D.; Richard, R. L.; Berchem, J.; Hellinger, P.

2017-12-01

Spacecraft observations of Mercury's magnetosphere have shown that kinetic ion and electron particle effects play a major role in the transport, acceleration, and loss of plasma within the magnetospheric system. Kinetic processes include reconnection, the breakdown of particle adiabaticity and wave-particle interactions. Because of the vast range in spatial scales involved in magnetospheric dynamics, from local electron Debye length scales ( meters) to solar wind/planetary magnetic scale lengths (tens to hundreds of planetary radii), fully self-consistent kinetic simulations of a global planetary magnetosphere remain challenging. Most global simulations of Earth's and other planet's magnetosphere are carried out using MHD, enhanced MHD (e.g., Hall MHD), hybrid, or a combination of MHD and particle in cell (PIC) simulations. Here, 3D kinetic self-consistent hybrid (ion particle, electron fluid) and full PIC (ion and electron particle) simulations of the solar wind interaction with Mercury's magnetosphere are carried out. Using the implicit PIC and hybrid simulations, Mercury's relatively small, but highly kinetic magnetosphere will be examined to determine how the self-consistent inclusion of electrons affects magnetic reconnection, particle transport and acceleration of plasma at Mercury. Also the spatial and energy profiles of precipitating magnetospheric ions and electrons onto Mercury's surface, which can strongly affect the regolith in terms of space weathering and particle outflow, will be examined with the PIC and hybrid codes. MESSENGER spacecraft observations are used both to initiate and validate the global kinetic simulations to achieve a deeper understanding of the role kinetic physics play in magnetospheric dynamics.

On a relativistic particle and a relativistic position-dependent mass particle subject to the Klein–Gordon oscillator and the Coulomb potential

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

Vitória, R.L.L.; Furtado, C., E-mail: furtado@fisica.ufpb.br; Bakke, K., E-mail: kbakke@fisica.ufpb.br

2016-07-15

The relativistic quantum dynamics of an electrically charged particle subject to the Klein–Gordon oscillator and the Coulomb potential is investigated. By searching for relativistic bound states, a particular quantum effect can be observed: a dependence of the angular frequency of the Klein–Gordon oscillator on the quantum numbers of the system. The meaning of this behaviour of the angular frequency is that only some specific values of the angular frequency of the Klein–Gordon oscillator are permitted in order to obtain bound state solutions. As an example, we obtain both the angular frequency and the energy level associated with the ground statemore » of the relativistic system. Further, we analyse the behaviour of a relativistic position-dependent mass particle subject to the Klein–Gordon oscillator and the Coulomb potential.« less

Electron and ion acceleration in relativistic shocks with applications to GRB afterglows

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Warren, Donald C.; Ellison, Donald C.; Bykov, Andrei M.; Lee, Shiu-Hang

2015-09-01

We have modelled the simultaneous first-order Fermi shock acceleration of protons, electrons, and helium nuclei by relativistic shocks. By parametrizing the particle diffusion, our steady-state Monte Carlo simulation allows us to follow particles from particle injection at non-relativistic thermal energies to above PeV energies, including the non-linear smoothing of the shock structure due to cosmic ray (CR) backpressure. We observe the mass-to-charge (A/Z) enhancement effect believed to occur in efficient Fermi acceleration in non-relativistic shocks and we parametrize the transfer of ion energy to electrons seen in particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations. For a given set of environmental and model parameters, the Monte Carlo simulation determines the absolute normalization of the particle distributions and the resulting synchrotron, inverse Compton, and pion-decay emission in a largely self-consistent manner. The simulation is flexible and can be readily used with a wide range of parameters typical of γ-ray burst (GRB) afterglows. We describe some preliminary results for photon emission from shocks of different Lorentz factors and outline how the Monte Carlo simulation can be generalized and coupled to hydrodynamic simulations of GRB blast waves. We assume Bohm diffusion for simplicity but emphasize that the non-linear effects we describe stem mainly from an extended shock precursor where higher energy particles diffuse further upstream. Quantitative differences will occur with different diffusion models, particularly for the maximum CR energy and photon emission, but these non-linear effects should be qualitatively similar as long as the scattering mean-free path is an increasing function of momentum.

Plasmoids in relativistic reconnection, from birth to adulthood: first they grow, then they go

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sironi, Lorenzo; Giannios, Dimitrios; Petropoulou, Maria

2016-10-01

Blobs, or quasi-spherical emission regions containing relativistic particles and magnetic fields, are often assumed ad hoc in emission models of relativistic astrophysical jets, yet their physical origin is still not well understood. Here, we employ a suite of large-scale 2D particle-in-cell simulations in electron-positron plasmas to demonstrate that relativistic magnetic reconnection can naturally account for the formation of quasi-spherical plasmoids filled with high-energy particles and magnetic fields. Our simulations extend to unprecedentedly long temporal and spatial scales, so we can capture the asymptotic physics independently of the initial setup. We characterize the properties of the plasmoids, continuously generated as a self-consistent by-product of the reconnection process: they are in rough energy equipartition between particles and magnetic fields; the upper energy cutoff of the plasmoid particle spectrum is proportional to the plasmoid width w, corresponding to a Larmor radius ˜0.2 w; the plasmoids grow in size at ˜0.1 of the speed of light, with most of the growth happening while they are still non-relativistic (`first they grow'); their growth is suppressed once they get accelerated to relativistic speeds by the field line tension, up to the Alfvén speed (`then they go'). The largest plasmoids reach a width wmax ˜ 0.2 L independently of the system length L, they have nearly isotropic particle distributions and contain the highest energy particles, whose Larmor radius is ˜0.03 L. The latter can be regarded as the Hillas criterion for relativistic reconnection. We briefly discuss the implications of our results for the high-energy emission from relativistic jets and pulsar winds.

Acceleration and Pickup Ring of Energetic Electrons Observed in Relativistic Magnetic Reconnection Simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ping, Y. L.; Zhong, J. Y.; Wang, X. G.; Sheng, Z. M.; Zhao, G.

2017-11-01

Pickup ring of energetic electrons found in relativistic magnetic reconnection (MR) driven by two relativistic intense femtosecond laser pulses is investigated by particle simulation in 3D geometry. Magnetic reconnection processes and configurations are characterized by plasma current density distributions at different axial positions. Two helical structures associated with the circular polarization of laser pulses break down in the reconnection processes to form a current sheet between them, where energetic electrons are found to pile up and the outflow relativistic electron jets are observed. In the field line diffusion region, electrons are accelerated to multi-MeV with a flatter power-law spectrum due to MR. The development of the pickup ring of energetic electrons is strongly dependent upon laser peak intensities.

Interplanetary Magnetic Field Guiding Relativistic Particles

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Masson, S.; Demoulin, P.; Dasso, S.; Klein, K. L.

2011-01-01

The origin and the propagation of relativistic solar particles (0.5 to few Ge V) in the interplanetary medium remains a debated topic. These relativistic particles, detected at the Earth by neutron monitors have been previously accelerated close to the Sun and are guided by the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) lines, connecting the acceleration site and the Earth. Usually, the nominal Parker spiral is considered for ensuring the magnetic connection to the Earth. However, in most GLEs the IMF is highly disturbed, and the active regions associated to the GLEs are not always located close to the solar footprint of the nominal Parker spiral. A possible explanation is that relativistic particles are propagating in transient magnetic structures, such as Interplanetary Coronal Mass Ejections (ICMEs). In order to check this interpretation, we studied in detail the interplanetary medium where the particles propagate for 10 GLEs of the last solar cycle. Using the magnetic field and the plasma parameter measurements (ACE/MAG and ACE/SWEPAM), we found widely different IMF configurations. In an independent approach we develop and apply an improved method of the velocity dispersion analysis to energetic protons measured by SoHO/ERNE. We determined the effective path length and the solar release time of protons from these data and also combined them with the neutron monitor data. We found that in most of the GLEs, protons propagate in transient magnetic structures. Moreover, the comparison between the interplanetary magnetic structure and the interplanetary length suggest that the timing of particle arrival at Earth is dominantly determined by the type of IMF in which high energetic particles are propagating. Finally we find that these energetic protons are not significantly scattered during their transport to Earth.

Apar-T: code, validation, and physical interpretation of particle-in-cell results

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Melzani, Mickaël; Winisdoerffer, Christophe; Walder, Rolf; Folini, Doris; Favre, Jean M.; Krastanov, Stefan; Messmer, Peter

2013-10-01

We present the parallel particle-in-cell (PIC) code Apar-T and, more importantly, address the fundamental question of the relations between the PIC model, the Vlasov-Maxwell theory, and real plasmas. First, we present four validation tests: spectra from simulations of thermal plasmas, linear growth rates of the relativistic tearing instability and of the filamentation instability, and nonlinear filamentation merging phase. For the filamentation instability we show that the effective growth rates measured on the total energy can differ by more than 50% from the linear cold predictions and from the fastest modes of the simulation. We link these discrepancies to the superparticle number per cell and to the level of field fluctuations. Second, we detail a new method for initial loading of Maxwell-Jüttner particle distributions with relativistic bulk velocity and relativistic temperature, and explain why the traditional method with individual particle boosting fails. The formulation of the relativistic Harris equilibrium is generalized to arbitrary temperature and mass ratios. Both are required for the tearing instability setup. Third, we turn to the key point of this paper and scrutinize the question of what description of (weakly coupled) physical plasmas is obtained by PIC models. These models rely on two building blocks: coarse-graining, i.e., grouping of the order of p ~ 1010 real particles into a single computer superparticle, and field storage on a grid with its subsequent finite superparticle size. We introduce the notion of coarse-graining dependent quantities, i.e., quantities depending on p. They derive from the PIC plasma parameter ΛPIC, which we show to behave as ΛPIC ∝ 1/p. We explore two important implications. One is that PIC collision- and fluctuation-induced thermalization times are expected to scale with the number of superparticles per grid cell, and thus to be a factor p ~ 1010 smaller than in real plasmas, a fact that we confirm with

Relativistic plasma control for single attosecond x-ray burst generation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baeva, T.; Gordienko, S.; Pukhov, A.

2006-12-01

We show that managing time-dependent polarization of the relativistically intense laser pulse incident on a plasma surface allows us to gate a single (sub)attosecond x-ray burst even when a multicycle driver is used. The single x-ray burst is emitted when the tangential component of the vector potential at the plasma surface vanishes. This relativistic plasma control is based on the theory of relativistic spikes [T. Baeva, S. Gordienko, and A. Pukhov, Phys. Rev. E 74, 046404 (2006)]. The relativistic plasma control is demonstrated here numerically by particle-in-cell simulations.

Speed-limited particle-in-cell (SLPIC) simulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Werner, Gregory; Cary, John; Jenkins, Thomas

2016-10-01

Speed-limited particle-in-cell (SLPIC) simulation is a new method for particle-based plasma simulation that allows increased timesteps in cases where the timestep is determined (e.g., in standard PIC) not by the smallest timescale of interest, but rather by an even smaller physical timescale that affects numerical stability. For example, SLPIC need not resolve the plasma frequency if plasma oscillations do not play a significant role in the simulation; in contrast, standard PIC must usually resolve the plasma frequency to avoid instability. Unlike fluid approaches, SLPIC retains a fully-kinetic description of plasma particles and includes all the same physical phenomena as PIC; in fact, if SLPIC is run with a PIC-compatible timestep, it is identical to PIC. However, unlike PIC, SLPIC can run stably with larger timesteps. SLPIC has been shown to be effective for finding steady-state solutions for 1D collisionless sheath problems, greatly speeding up computation despite a large ion/electron mass ratio. SLPIC is a relatively small modification of standard PIC, with no complexities that might degrade parallel efficiency (compared to PIC), and is similarly compatible with PIC field solvers and boundary conditions.

Quasi-monoenergetic electron acceleration in relativistic laser-plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pukhov, Alexander; Gordienko, Sergei; Seredov, Vasili; Kostyukov, Igor

2009-03-01

Using Particle-in-Cell simulations as well as analytical theory we study electron acceleration in underdense plasmas both in the Bubble regime and in the weakly relativistic periodic wake fields. In the Bubble regime, electron trapping is taken as a function of the propagated distance. The number of trapped electrons depends on the effective phase velocity of the X-point at the rear of the Bubble. For the weakly relativistic periodic wakes, we show that the phase synchronism between the wake and the relativistic electrons can be maintained over very long distances when the plasma density is tapered properly. Moreover, one can use layered plasmas to control and improve the accelerated beam quality. To cite this article: A. Pukhov et al., C. R. Physique 10 (2009).

Simulations of Jetted Relativistic Blastwaves in Astrophysics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Salmonson, Jay; Fragile, P. Chris; Anninos, Peter; Jauregui, Jeff

2006-10-01

We present relativistic hydrodynamic simulations of jetted blastwaves using the Cosmos++ astrophysics code. We post-process these simulations by integrating the radiative transfer equation thru a observer's space-time slices of the data, assuming relativistic self-absorbed synchrotron emission, to derive detailed multi-frequency lightcurves for the jet as viewed at arbitrary inclination angle. In particular, we simulate the asymmetric outflow resulting from the giant flare of December 27, 2004 from SGR 1806-20 and obtain excellent agreement with the data. We find that the asymmetric radio nebula that was observed to expand over the months following the flare cannot be explained by a simple ballistic ejection of material during the flare, but requires angular dependence of the energy injection with respect to the jet axis. In addition, we present simulations of jetted blastwaves of the relativistic afterglows resulting from gamma-ray bursts. This work was performed under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy by the University of California, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under contract No. W-7405-Eng-48.

ICPP: Relativistic Plasma Physics with Ultra-Short High-Intensity Laser Pulses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meyer-Ter-Vehn, Juergen

2000-10-01

Recent progress in generating ultra-short high-intensity laser pulses has opened a new branch of relativistic plasma physics, which is discussed in this talk in terms of particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations. These pulses create small plasma volumes of high-density plasma with plasma fields above 10^12 V/m and 10^8 Gauss. At intensities beyond 10^18 W/cm^2, now available from table-top systems, they drive relativistic electron currents in self-focussing plasma channels. These currents are close to the Alfven limit and allow to study relativistic current filamentation. A most remarkable feature is the generation of well collimated relativistic electron beams emerging from the channels with energies up to GeV. In dense matter they trigger cascades of gamma-rays, e^+e^- pairs, and a host of nuclear and particle processes. One of the applications may be fast ignition of compressed inertial fusion targets. Above 10^23 W/cm^2, expected to be achieved in the future, solid-density matter becomes relativistically transparent for optical light, and the acceleration of protons to multi-GeV energies is predicted in plasma layers less than 1 mm thick. These results open completely new perspectives for plasma-based accelerator schemes. Three-dimensional PIC simulations turn out to be the superior tool to explore the relativistic plasma kinetics at such intensities. Results obtained with the VLPL code [1] are presented. Different mechanisms of particle acceleration are discussed. Both laser wakefield and direct laser acceleration in plasma channels (by a mechanism similar to inverse free electron lasers) have been identified. The latter describes recent MPQ experimental results. [1] A. Pukhov, J. Plasma Physics 61, 425 - 433 (1999): Three-dimensional electromagnetic relativistic particle-in-cell code VLPL (Virtual Laser Plasma Laboratory).

How large can the electron to proton mass ratio be in particle-in-cell simulations of unstable systems?

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

Bret, A.; Dieckmann, M. E.

2010-03-15

Particle-in-cell simulations are widely used as a tool to investigate instabilities that develop between a collisionless plasma and beams of charged particles. However, even on contemporary supercomputers, it is not always possible to resolve the ion dynamics in more than one spatial dimension with such simulations. The ion mass is thus reduced below 1836 electron masses, which can affect the plasma dynamics during the initial exponential growth phase of the instability and during the subsequent nonlinear saturation. The goal of this article is to assess how far the electron to ion mass ratio can be increased, without changing qualitatively themore » physics. It is first demonstrated that there can be no exact similarity law, which balances a change in the mass ratio with that of another plasma parameter, leaving the physics unchanged. Restricting then the analysis to the linear phase, a criterion allowing to define a maximum ratio is explicated in terms of the hierarchy of the linear unstable modes. The criterion is applied to the case of a relativistic electron beam crossing an unmagnetized electron-ion plasma.« less

Fourier-Bessel Particle-In-Cell (FBPIC) v0.1.0

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

Lehe, Remi; Kirchen, Manuel; Jalas, Soeren

The Fourier-Bessel Particle-In-Cell code is a scientific simulation software for relativistic plasma physics. It is a Particle-In-Cell code whose distinctive feature is to use a spectral decomposition in cylindrical geometry. This decomposition allows to combine the advantages of spectral 3D Cartesian PIC codes (high accuracy and stability) and those of finite-difference cylindrical PIC codes with azimuthal decomposition (orders-of-magnitude speedup when compared to 3D simulations). The code is built on Python and can run both on CPU and GPU (the GPU runs being typically 1 or 2 orders of magnitude faster than the corresponding CPU runs.) The code has the exactmore » same output format as the open-source PIC codes Warp and PIConGPU (openPMD format: openpmd.org) and has a very similar input format as Warp (Python script with many similarities). There is therefore tight interoperability between Warp and FBPIC, and this interoperability will increase even more in the future.« less

Track structure simulations at relativistic energies: an update on cross section calculations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dingfelder, Michael

Charged particle track structure simulations follow the primary, as well as all (produced) sec-ondary particles in an event-by-event matter, from starting or ejection energies down to total stopping. They provide detailed information on the spacial distributions of energy depositions, interaction types, and radical species produced. These quantities provide a starting point to describe the interaction of the radiation with matter of biological interest and to explore and estimate the effects of radiation quality on various biological responses of these systems. Of special interest is liquid water which serves as surrogate for soft tissue. Ionization and excitation cross sections for bare charged particles can be calculated within the framework of the (relativistic) plane-wave Born approximation or the (relativistic) Bethe approximation. Both theories rely on a realistic model of the dielectric response function of the material under consideration and need to address relativistic medium polarization effects like the Fermi-density effect in a consistent way. In this talk we will review and present new and updated aspects of charged particle cross section calculations for relativistic heavy ions with liquid water and other materials of biological interest. This includes an updated model for the dielectric response function of liquid water to better reflect new data from inelastic X-ray scattering (IXS) experiments using synchrotron radiation and a model for the dielectric response function of calcium, which serves as a bone surrogate. We will also discuss the implementation of relativistic effect, especially of the Fermi-density effect into the cross section calculations. This work is supported by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), grant no. NNJ04HF39G.

Relativistic Channeling of a Picosecond Laser Pulse in a Near-Critical Preformed Plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Borghesi, M.; MacKinnon, A. J.; Barringer, L.; Gaillard, R.; Gizzi, L. A.; Meyer, C.; Willi, O.; Pukhov, A.; Meyer-Ter-Vehn, J.

1997-02-01

Relativistic self-channeling of a picosecond laser pulse in a preformed plasma near critical density has been observed both experimentally and in 3D particle-in-cell simulations. Optical probing measurements indicate the formation of a single pulsating propagation channel, typically of about 5 μm in diameter. The computational results reveal the importance in the channel formation of relativistic electrons traveling with the light pulse and of the corresponding self-generated magnetic field.

Conservative, special-relativistic smoothed particle hydrodynamics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rosswog, Stephan

2010-11-01

We present and test a new, special-relativistic formulation of smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH). Our approach benefits from several improvements with respect to earlier relativistic SPH formulations. It is self-consistently derived from the Lagrangian of an ideal fluid and accounts for the terms that stem from non-constant smoothing lengths, usually called “grad-h terms”. In our approach, we evolve the canonical momentum and the canonical energy per baryon and thus circumvent some of the problems that have plagued earlier formulations of relativistic SPH. We further use a much improved artificial viscosity prescription which uses the extreme local eigenvalues of the Euler equations and triggers selectively on (a) shocks and (b) velocity noise. The shock trigger accurately monitors the relative density slope and uses it to fine-tune the amount of artificial viscosity that is applied. This procedure substantially sharpens shock fronts while still avoiding post-shock noise. If not triggered, the viscosity parameter of each particle decays to zero. None of these viscosity triggers is specific to special relativity, both could also be applied in Newtonian SPH.The performance of the new scheme is explored in a large variety of benchmark tests where it delivers excellent results. Generally, the grad-h terms deliver minor, though worthwhile, improvements. As expected for a Lagrangian method, it performs close to perfect in supersonic advection tests, but also in strong relativistic shocks, usually considered a particular challenge for SPH, the method yields convincing results. For example, due to its perfect conservation properties, it is able to handle Lorentz factors as large as γ = 50,000 in the so-called wall shock test. Moreover, we find convincing results in a rarely shown, but challenging test that involves so-called relativistic simple waves and also in multi-dimensional shock tube tests.

Simulations of DSB Yields and Radiation-induced Chromosomal Aberrations in Human Cells Based on the Stochastic Track Structure Induced by HZE Particles

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ponomarev, Artem; Plante, Ianik; George, Kerry; Wu, Honglu

2014-01-01

The formation of double-strand breaks (DSBs) and chromosomal aberrations (CAs) is of great importance in radiation research and, specifically, in space applications. We are presenting a new particle track and DNA damage model, in which the particle stochastic track structure is combined with the random walk (RW) structure of chromosomes in a cell nucleus. The motivation for this effort stems from the fact that the model with the RW chromosomes, NASARTI (NASA radiation track image) previously relied on amorphous track structure, while the stochastic track structure model RITRACKS (Relativistic Ion Tracks) was focused on more microscopic targets than the entire genome. We have combined chromosomes simulated by RWs with stochastic track structure, which uses nanoscopic dose calculations performed with the Monte-Carlo simulation by RITRACKS in a voxelized space. The new simulations produce the number of DSBs as function of dose and particle fluence for high-energy particles, including iron, carbon and protons, using voxels of 20 nm dimension. The combined model also calculates yields of radiation-induced CAs and unrejoined chromosome breaks in normal and repair deficient cells. The joined computational model is calibrated using the relative frequencies and distributions of chromosomal aberrations reported in the literature. The model considers fractionated deposition of energy to approximate dose rates of the space flight environment. The joined model also predicts of the yields and sizes of translocations, dicentrics, rings, and more complex-type aberrations formed in the G0/G1 cell cycle phase during the first cell division after irradiation. We found that the main advantage of the joined model is our ability to simulate small doses: 0.05-0.5 Gy. At such low doses, the stochastic track structure proved to be indispensable, as the action of individual delta-rays becomes more important.

A fully implicit numerical integration of the relativistic particle equation of motion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pétri, J.

2017-04-01

Relativistic strongly magnetized plasmas are produced in laboratories thanks to state-of-the-art laser technology but can naturally be found around compact objects such as neutron stars and black holes. Detailed studies of the behaviour of relativistic plasmas require accurate computations able to catch the full spatial and temporal dynamics of the system. Numerical simulations of ultra-relativistic plasmas face severe restrictions due to limitations in the maximum possible Lorentz factors that current algorithms can reproduce to good accuracy. In order to circumvent this flaw and repel the limit to 9$ , we design a new fully implicit scheme to solve the relativistic particle equation of motion in an external electromagnetic field using a three-dimensional Cartesian geometry. We show some examples of numerical integrations in constant electromagnetic fields to prove the efficiency of our algorithm. The code is also able to follow the electric drift motion for high Lorentz factors. In the most general case of spatially and temporally varying electromagnetic fields, the code performs extremely well, as shown by comparison with exact analytical solutions for the relativistic electrostatic Kepler problem as well as for linearly and circularly polarized plane waves.

Inductive and electrostatic acceleration in relativistic jet-plasma interactions.

PubMed

Ng, Johnny S T; Noble, Robert J

2006-03-24

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

Relativistic distribution function for particles with spin at local thermodynamical equilibrium

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

Becattini, F., E-mail: becattini@fi.infn.it; INFN Sezione di Firenze, Florence; Universität Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main

2013-11-15

We present an extension of relativistic single-particle distribution function for weakly interacting particles at local thermodynamical equilibrium including spin degrees of freedom, for massive spin 1/2 particles. We infer, on the basis of the global equilibrium case, that at local thermodynamical equilibrium particles acquire a net polarization proportional to the vorticity of the inverse temperature four-vector field. The obtained formula for polarization also implies that a steady gradient of temperature entails a polarization orthogonal to particle momentum. The single-particle distribution function in momentum space extends the so-called Cooper–Frye formula to particles with spin 1/2 and allows us to predict theirmore » polarization in relativistic heavy ion collisions at the freeze-out. -- Highlights: •Single-particle distribution function in local thermodynamical equilibrium with spin. •Polarization of spin 1/2 particles in a fluid at local thermodynamical equilibrium. •Prediction of a new effect: a steady gradient of temperature induces a polarization. •Application to the calculation of polarization in relativistic heavy ion collisions.« less

Simulations of DSB Yields and Radiation-induced Chromosomal Aberrations in Human Cells Based on the Stochastic Track Structure iIduced by HZE Particles

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ponomarev, Artem; Plante, Ianik; George, Kerry; Wu, Honglu

2014-01-01

The formation of double-strand breaks (DSBs) and chromosomal aberrations (CAs) is of great importance in radiation research and, specifically, in space applications. We are presenting a new particle track and DNA damage model, in which the particle stochastic track structure is combined with the random walk (RW) structure of chromosomes in a cell nucleus. The motivation for this effort stems from the fact that the model with the RW chromosomes, NASARTI (NASA radiation track image) previously relied on amorphous track structure, while the stochastic track structure model RITRACKS (Relativistic Ion Tracks) was focused on more microscopic targets than the entire genome. We have combined chromosomes simulated by RWs with stochastic track structure, which uses nanoscopic dose calculations performed with the Monte-Carlo simulation by RITRACKS in a voxelized space. The new simulations produce the number of DSBs as function of dose and particle fluence for high-energy particles, including iron, carbon and protons, using voxels of 20 nm dimension. The combined model also calculates yields of radiation-induced CAs and unrejoined chromosome breaks in normal and repair deficient cells. The joined computational model is calibrated using the relative frequencies and distributions of chromosomal aberrations reported in the literature. The model considers fractionated deposition of energy to approximate dose rates of the space flight environment. The joined model also predicts of the yields and sizes of translocations, dicentrics, rings, and more complex-type aberrations formed in the G0/G1 cell cycle phase during the first cell division after irradiation. We found that the main advantage of the joined model is our ability to simulate small doses: 0.05-0.5 Gy. At such low doses, the stochastic track structure proved to be indispensable, as the action of individual delta-rays becomes more important.

Turbulence dissipation challenge: particle-in-cell simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roytershteyn, V.; Karimabadi, H.; Omelchenko, Y.; Germaschewski, K.

2015-12-01

We discuss application of three particle in cell (PIC) codes to the problems relevant to turbulence dissipation challenge. VPIC is a fully kinetic code extensively used to study a variety of diverse problems ranging from laboratory plasmas to astrophysics. PSC is a flexible fully kinetic code offering a variety of algorithms that can be advantageous to turbulence simulations, including high order particle shapes, dynamic load balancing, and ability to efficiently run on Graphics Processing Units (GPUs). Finally, HYPERS is a novel hybrid (kinetic ions+fluid electrons) code, which utilizes asynchronous time advance and a number of other advanced algorithms. We present examples drawn both from large-scale turbulence simulations and from the test problems outlined by the turbulence dissipation challenge. Special attention is paid to such issues as the small-scale intermittency of inertial range turbulence, mode content of the sub-proton range of scales, the formation of electron-scale current sheets and the role of magnetic reconnection, as well as numerical challenges of applying PIC codes to simulations of astrophysical turbulence.

Accelerating a Particle-in-Cell Simulation Using a Hybrid Counting Sort

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bowers, K. J.

2001-11-01

In this article, performance limitations of the particle advance in a particle-in-cell (PIC) simulation are discussed. It is shown that the memory subsystem and cache-thrashing severely limit the speed of such simulations. Methods to implement a PIC simulation under such conditions are explored. An algorithm based on a counting sort is developed which effectively eliminates PIC simulation cache thrashing. Sustained performance gains of 40 to 70 percent are measured on commodity workstations for a minimal 2d2v electrostatic PIC simulation. More complete simulations are expected to have even better results as larger simulations are usually even more memory subsystem limited.

A Non-Perturbative, Finite Particle Number Approach to Relativistic Scattering Theory

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

Lindesay, James V

2001-05-11

We present integral equations for the scattering amplitudes of three scalar particles, using the Faddeev channel decomposition, which can be readily extended to any finite number of particles of any helicity. The solution of these equations, which have been demonstrated to be calculable, provide a non-perturbative way of obtaining relativistic scattering amplitudes for any finite number of particles that are Lorentz invariant, unitary, cluster decomposable and reduce unambiguously in the non-relativistic limit to the non-relativistic Faddeev equations. The aim of this program is to develop equations which explicitly depend upon physically observable input variables, and do not require ''renormalization'' ormore » ''dressing'' of these parameters to connect them to the boundary states.« less

AB INITIO PULSAR MAGNETOSPHERE: THREE-DIMENSIONAL PARTICLE-IN-CELL SIMULATIONS OF OBLIQUE PULSARS

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

Philippov, Alexander A.; Spitkovsky, Anatoly; Cerutti, Benoit, E-mail: sashaph@princeton.edu

2015-03-01

We present “first-principles” relativistic particle-in-cell simulations of the oblique pulsar magnetosphere with pair formation. The magnetosphere starts to form with particles extracted from the surface of the neutron star. These particles are accelerated by surface electric fields and emit photons capable of producing electron–positron pairs. We inject secondary pairs at the locations of primary energetic particles whose energy exceeds the threshold for pair formation. We find solutions that are close to the ideal force-free magnetosphere with the Y-point and current sheet. Solutions with obliquities ≤40° do not show pair production in the open field line region because the local currentmore » density along the magnetic field is below the Goldreich–Julian value. The bulk outflow in these solutions is charge-separated, and pair formation happens in the current sheet and return current layer only. Solutions with higher inclinations show pair production in the open field line region, with high multiplicity of the bulk flow and the size of the pair-producing region increasing with inclination. We observe the spin-down of the star to be comparable to MHD model predictions. The magnetic dissipation in the current sheet ranges between 20% for the aligned rotator and 3% for the orthogonal rotator. Our results suggest that for low obliquity neutron stars with suppressed pair formation at the light cylinder, the presence of phenomena related to pair activity in the bulk of the polar region, e.g., radio emission, may crucially depend on the physics beyond our simplified model, such as the effects of curved spacetime or multipolar surface fields.« less

Two-way coupling of magnetohydrodynamic simulations with embedded particle-in-cell simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Makwana, K. D.; Keppens, R.; Lapenta, G.

2017-12-01

We describe a method for coupling an embedded domain in a magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulation with a particle-in-cell (PIC) method. In this two-way coupling we follow the work of Daldorff et al. (2014) [19] in which the PIC domain receives its initial and boundary conditions from MHD variables (MHD to PIC coupling) while the MHD simulation is updated based on the PIC variables (PIC to MHD coupling). This method can be useful for simulating large plasma systems, where kinetic effects captured by particle-in-cell simulations are localized but affect global dynamics. We describe the numerical implementation of this coupling, its time-stepping algorithm, and its parallelization strategy, emphasizing the novel aspects of it. We test the stability and energy/momentum conservation of this method by simulating a steady-state plasma. We test the dynamics of this coupling by propagating plasma waves through the embedded PIC domain. Coupling with MHD shows satisfactory results for the fast magnetosonic wave, but significant distortion for the circularly polarized Alfvén wave. Coupling with Hall-MHD shows excellent coupling for the whistler wave. We also apply this methodology to simulate a Geospace Environmental Modeling (GEM) challenge type of reconnection with the diffusion region simulated by PIC coupled to larger scales with MHD and Hall-MHD. In both these cases we see the expected signatures of kinetic reconnection in the PIC domain, implying that this method can be used for reconnection studies.

Eigenenergies of a Relativistic Particle in an Infinite Range Linear Potential Using WKB Method

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shivalingaswamy, T.; Kagali, B. A.

2011-01-01

Energy eigenvalues for a non-relativistic particle in a linear potential well are available. In this paper we obtain the eigenenergies for a relativistic spin less particle in a similar potential using an extension of the well-known WKB method treating the potential as the time component of a four-vector potential. Since genuine bound states do…

Variational principles for relativistic smoothed particle hydrodynamics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Monaghan, J. J.; Price, D. J.

2001-12-01

In this paper we show how the equations of motion for the smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) method may be derived from a variational principle for both non-relativistic and relativistic motion when there is no dissipation. Because the SPH density is a function of the coordinates the derivation of the equations of motion through variational principles is simpler than in the continuum case where the density is defined through the continuity equation. In particular, the derivation of the general relativistic equations is more direct and simpler than that of Fock. The symmetry properties of the Lagrangian lead immediately to the familiar additive conservation laws of linear and angular momentum and energy. In addition, we show that there is an approximately conserved quantity which, in the continuum limit, is the circulation.

Kinetic Simulations of the Lowest-order Unstable Mode of Relativistic Magnetostatic Equilibria

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nalewajko, Krzysztof; Zrake, Jonathan; Yuan, Yajie; East, William E.; Blandford, Roger D.

2016-08-01

We present the results of particle-in-cell numerical pair plasma simulations of relativistic two-dimensional magnetostatic equilibria known as the “Arnold-Beltrami-Childress” fields. In particular, we focus on the lowest-order unstable configuration consisting of two minima and two maxima of the magnetic vector potential. Breaking of the initial symmetry leads to exponential growth of the electric energy and to the formation of two current layers, which is consistent with the picture of “X-point collapse” first described by Syrovatskii. Magnetic reconnection within the layers heats a fraction of particles to very high energies. After the saturation of the linear instability, the current layers are disrupted and the system evolves chaotically, diffusing the particle energies in a stochastic second-order Fermi process, leading to the formation of power-law energy distributions. The power-law slopes harden with the increasing mean magnetization, but they are significantly softer than those produced in simulations initiated from Harris-type layers. The maximum particle energy is proportional to the mean magnetization, which is attributed partly to the increase of the effective electric field and partly to the increase of the acceleration timescale. We describe in detail the evolving structure of the dynamical current layers and report on the conservation of magnetic helicity. These results can be applied to highly magnetized astrophysical environments, where ideal plasma instabilities trigger rapid magnetic dissipation with efficient particle acceleration and flares of high-energy radiation.

KINETIC SIMULATIONS OF THE LOWEST-ORDER UNSTABLE MODE OF RELATIVISTIC MAGNETOSTATIC EQUILIBRIA

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

Nalewajko, Krzysztof; Zrake, Jonathan; Yuan, Yajie

2016-08-01

We present the results of particle-in-cell numerical pair plasma simulations of relativistic two-dimensional magnetostatic equilibria known as the “Arnold–Beltrami–Childress” fields. In particular, we focus on the lowest-order unstable configuration consisting of two minima and two maxima of the magnetic vector potential. Breaking of the initial symmetry leads to exponential growth of the electric energy and to the formation of two current layers, which is consistent with the picture of “X-point collapse” first described by Syrovatskii. Magnetic reconnection within the layers heats a fraction of particles to very high energies. After the saturation of the linear instability, the current layers aremore » disrupted and the system evolves chaotically, diffusing the particle energies in a stochastic second-order Fermi process, leading to the formation of power-law energy distributions. The power-law slopes harden with the increasing mean magnetization, but they are significantly softer than those produced in simulations initiated from Harris-type layers. The maximum particle energy is proportional to the mean magnetization, which is attributed partly to the increase of the effective electric field and partly to the increase of the acceleration timescale. We describe in detail the evolving structure of the dynamical current layers and report on the conservation of magnetic helicity. These results can be applied to highly magnetized astrophysical environments, where ideal plasma instabilities trigger rapid magnetic dissipation with efficient particle acceleration and flares of high-energy radiation.« less

Two-spinor description of massive particles and relativistic spin projection operators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Isaev, A. P.; Podoinitsyn, M. A.

2018-04-01

On the basis of the Wigner unitary representations of the covering group ISL (2 , C) of the Poincaré group, we obtain spin-tensor wave functions of free massive particles with arbitrary spin. The wave functions automatically satisfy the Dirac-Pauli-Fierz equations. In the framework of the two-spinor formalism we construct spin-vectors of polarizations and obtain conditions that fix the corresponding relativistic spin projection operators (Behrends-Fronsdal projection operators). With the help of these conditions we find explicit expressions for relativistic spin projection operators for integer spins (Behrends-Fronsdal projection operators) and then find relativistic spin projection operators for half integer spins. These projection operators determine the numerators in the propagators of fields of relativistic particles. We deduce generalizations of the Behrends-Fronsdal projection operators for arbitrary space-time dimensions D > 2.

Ef: Software for Nonrelativistic Beam Simulation by Particle-in-Cell Algorithm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boytsov, A. Yu.; Bulychev, A. A.

2018-04-01

Understanding of particle dynamics is crucial in construction of electron guns, ion sources and other types of nonrelativistic beam devices. Apart from external guiding and focusing systems, a prominent role in evolution of such low-energy beams is played by particle-particle interaction. Numerical simulations taking into account these effects are typically accomplished by a well-known particle-in-cell method. In practice, for convenient work a simulation program should not only implement this method, but also support parallelization, provide integration with CAD systems and allow access to details of the simulation algorithm. To address the formulated requirements, development of a new open source code - Ef - has been started. It's current features and main functionality are presented. Comparison with several analytical models demonstrates good agreement between the numerical results and the theory. Further development plans are discussed.

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.

Particle-in-Cell laser-plasma simulation on Xeon Phi coprocessors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Surmin, I. A.; Bastrakov, S. I.; Efimenko, E. S.; Gonoskov, A. A.; Korzhimanov, A. V.; Meyerov, I. B.

2016-05-01

This paper concerns the development of a high-performance implementation of the Particle-in-Cell method for plasma simulation on Intel Xeon Phi coprocessors. We discuss the suitability of the method for Xeon Phi architecture and present our experience in the porting and optimization of the existing parallel Particle-in-Cell code PICADOR. Direct porting without code modification gives performance on Xeon Phi close to that of an 8-core CPU on a benchmark problem with 50 particles per cell. We demonstrate step-by-step optimization techniques, such as improving data locality, enhancing parallelization efficiency and vectorization leading to an overall 4.2 × speedup on CPU and 7.5 × on Xeon Phi compared to the baseline version. The optimized version achieves 16.9 ns per particle update on an Intel Xeon E5-2660 CPU and 9.3 ns per particle update on an Intel Xeon Phi 5110P. For a real problem of laser ion acceleration in targets with surface grating, where a large number of macroparticles per cell is required, the speedup of Xeon Phi compared to CPU is 1.6 ×.

Transverse electron-scale instability in relativistic shear flows.

PubMed

Alves, E P; Grismayer, T; Fonseca, R A; Silva, L O

2015-08-01

Electron-scale surface waves are shown to be unstable in the transverse plane of a sheared flow in an initially unmagnetized collisionless plasma, not captured by (magneto)hydrodynamics. It is found that these unstable modes have a higher growth rate than the closely related electron-scale Kelvin-Helmholtz instability in relativistic shears. Multidimensional particle-in-cell simulations verify the analytic results and further reveal the emergence of mushroomlike electron density structures in the nonlinear phase of the instability, similar to those observed in the Rayleigh Taylor instability despite the great disparity in scales and different underlying physics. This transverse electron-scale instability may play an important role in relativistic and supersonic sheared flow scenarios, which are stable at the (magneto)hydrodynamic level. Macroscopic (≫c/ωpe) fields are shown to be generated by this microscopic shear instability, which are relevant for particle acceleration, radiation emission, and to seed magnetohydrodynamic processes at long time scales.

Simulations of Jetted Relativistic Blastwaves in Astrophysics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Salmonson, Jay; Fragile, Chris; Anninos, Peter

2005-10-01

We present new 2D relativistic hydrodynamic simulations of jetted blastwaves using the Cosmos++ astrophysics code. In particular, we simulate the asymmetric outflow resulting from the giant flare of December 27, 2004 from SGR 1806-20. We find that the asymmetric radio nebula observed to expand over the months following the flare cannot be explained by a simple ballistic ejection of material during the flare, but requires angular dependence of the energy injection with respect to the jet axis. In addition, we present simulations of jetted blastwaves of the relativistic afterglows resulting from gamma-ray bursts. Evolving these jetted blastwaves from Lorentz factors of order 10, we explore the dependence of observed lightcurves on initial jet opening angle, energy distribution, and observer angle with respect to the jet axis. This work was performed under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy by the University of California, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under contract No. W-7405-Eng-48.

Relativistic initial conditions for N-body simulations

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

Fidler, Christian; Tram, Thomas; Crittenden, Robert

2017-06-01

Initial conditions for (Newtonian) cosmological N-body simulations are usually set by re-scaling the present-day power spectrum obtained from linear (relativistic) Boltzmann codes to the desired initial redshift of the simulation. This back-scaling method can account for the effect of inhomogeneous residual thermal radiation at early times, which is absent in the Newtonian simulations. We analyse this procedure from a fully relativistic perspective, employing the recently-proposed Newtonian motion gauge framework. We find that N-body simulations for ΛCDM cosmology starting from back-scaled initial conditions can be self-consistently embedded in a relativistic space-time with first-order metric potentials calculated using a linear Boltzmann code.more » This space-time coincides with a simple ''N-body gauge'' for z < 50 for all observable modes. Care must be taken, however, when simulating non-standard cosmologies. As an example, we analyse the back-scaling method in a cosmology with decaying dark matter, and show that metric perturbations become large at early times in the back-scaling approach, indicating a breakdown of the perturbative description. We suggest a suitable ''forwards approach' for such cases.« less

Stationary phase method and delay times for relativistic and non-relativistic tunneling particles

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

Bernardini, A.E.

2009-06-15

The stationary phase method is frequently adopted for calculating tunneling phase times of analytically-continuous Gaussian or infinite-bandwidth step pulses which collide with a potential barrier. This report deals with the basic concepts on deducing transit times for quantum scattering: the stationary phase method and its relation with delay times for relativistic and non-relativistic tunneling particles. After reexamining the above-barrier diffusion problem, we notice that the applicability of this method is constrained by several subtleties in deriving the phase time that describes the localization of scattered wave packets. Using a recently developed procedure - multiple wave packet decomposition - for somemore » specifical colliding configurations, we demonstrate that the analytical difficulties arising when the stationary phase method is applied for obtaining phase (traversal) times are all overcome. In this case, we also investigate the general relation between phase times and dwell times for quantum tunneling/scattering. Considering a symmetrical collision of two identical wave packets with an one-dimensional barrier, we demonstrate that these two distinct transit time definitions are explicitly connected. The traversal times are obtained for a symmetrized (two identical bosons) and an antisymmetrized (two identical fermions) quantum colliding configuration. Multiple wave packet decomposition shows us that the phase time (group delay) describes the exact position of the scattered particles and, in addition to the exact relation with the dwell time, leads to correct conceptual understanding of both transit time definitions. At last, we extend the non-relativistic formalism to the solutions for the tunneling zone of a one-dimensional electrostatic potential in the relativistic (Dirac to Klein-Gordon) wave equation where the incoming wave packet exhibits the possibility of being almost totally transmitted through the potential barrier. The conditions for

Towards robust algorithms for current deposition and dynamic load-balancing in a GPU particle in cell code

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rossi, Francesco; Londrillo, Pasquale; Sgattoni, Andrea; Sinigardi, Stefano; Turchetti, Giorgio

2012-12-01

We present `jasmine', an implementation of a fully relativistic, 3D, electromagnetic Particle-In-Cell (PIC) code, capable of running simulations in various laser plasma acceleration regimes on Graphics-Processing-Units (GPUs) HPC clusters. Standard energy/charge preserving FDTD-based algorithms have been implemented using double precision and quadratic (or arbitrary sized) shape functions for the particle weighting. When porting a PIC scheme to the GPU architecture (or, in general, a shared memory environment), the particle-to-grid operations (e.g. the evaluation of the current density) require special care to avoid memory inconsistencies and conflicts. Here we present a robust implementation of this operation that is efficient for any number of particles per cell and particle shape function order. Our algorithm exploits the exposed GPU memory hierarchy and avoids the use of atomic operations, which can hurt performance especially when many particles lay on the same cell. We show the code multi-GPU scalability results and present a dynamic load-balancing algorithm. The code is written using a python-based C++ meta-programming technique which translates in a high level of modularity and allows for easy performance tuning and simple extension of the core algorithms to various simulation schemes.

Load management strategy for Particle-In-Cell simulations in high energy particle acceleration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Beck, A.; Frederiksen, J. T.; Dérouillat, J.

2016-09-01

In the wake of the intense effort made for the experimental CILEX project, numerical simulation campaigns have been carried out in order to finalize the design of the facility and to identify optimal laser and plasma parameters. These simulations bring, of course, important insight into the fundamental physics at play. As a by-product, they also characterize the quality of our theoretical and numerical models. In this paper, we compare the results given by different codes and point out algorithmic limitations both in terms of physical accuracy and computational performances. These limitations are illustrated in the context of electron laser wakefield acceleration (LWFA). The main limitation we identify in state-of-the-art Particle-In-Cell (PIC) codes is computational load imbalance. We propose an innovative algorithm to deal with this specific issue as well as milestones towards a modern, accurate high-performance PIC code for high energy particle acceleration.

Output power fluctuations due to different weights of macro particles used in particle-in-cell simulations of Cerenkov devices

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

Bao, Rong; Li, Yongdong; Liu, Chunliang

2016-07-15

The output power fluctuations caused by weights of macro particles used in particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations of a backward wave oscillator and a travelling wave tube are statistically analyzed. It is found that the velocities of electrons passed a specific slow-wave structure form a specific electron velocity distribution. The electron velocity distribution obtained in PIC simulation with a relative small weight of macro particles is considered as an initial distribution. By analyzing this initial distribution with a statistical method, the estimations of the output power fluctuations caused by different weights of macro particles are obtained. The statistical method is verified bymore » comparing the estimations with the simulation results. The fluctuations become stronger with increasing weight of macro particles, which can also be determined reversely from estimations of the output power fluctuations. With the weights of macro particles optimized by the statistical method, the output power fluctuations in PIC simulations are relatively small and acceptable.« less

Spatiotemporal distributions of pair production and cascade in solid targets irradiated by ultra-relativistic lasers with different polarizations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yuan, T.; Yu, J. Y.; Liu, W. Y.; Weng, S. M.; Yuan, X. H.; Luo, W.; Chen, M.; Sheng, Z. M.; Zhang, J.

2018-06-01

Two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations have been performed to study electron-positron pair production and cascade development in single ultra-relativistic laser interaction with solid targets. The spatiotemporal distributions of particles produced via QED processes are illustrated and their dependence on laser polarizations is investigated. The evolution of particle generation displays clear QED cascade characters. Studies show that although a circularly polarized laser delays the QED process due to the effective ion acceleration, it can reduce the target heating and confine high-energy charged particles, which leads to deeper QED cascade order and denser pair plasma production than linearly polarized lasers. These findings may benefit the understanding of the coming experimental studies of ultra-relativistic laser target interaction in the QED dominated regime.

Explosive X-point collapse in relativistic magnetically dominated plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lyutikov, Maxim; Sironi, Lorenzo; Komissarov, Serguei S.; Porth, Oliver

2017-12-01

The extreme properties of the gamma-ray flares in the Crab nebula present a clear challenge to our ideas on the nature of particle acceleration in relativistic astrophysical plasma. It seems highly unlikely that standard mechanisms of stochastic type are at work here and hence the attention of theorists has switched to linear acceleration in magnetic reconnection events. In this series of papers, we attempt to develop a theory of explosive magnetic reconnection in highly magnetized relativistic plasma which can explain the extreme parameters of the Crab flares. In the first paper, we focus on the properties of the X-point collapse. Using analytical and numerical methods (fluid and particle-in-cell simulations) we extend Syrovatsky's classical model of such collapse to the relativistic regime. We find that the collapse can lead to the reconnection rate approaching the speed of light on macroscopic scales. During the collapse, the plasma particles are accelerated by charge-starved electric fields, which can reach (and even exceed) values of the local magnetic field. The explosive stage of reconnection produces non-thermal power-law tails with slopes that depend on the average magnetization . For sufficiently high magnetizations and vanishing guide field, the non-thermal particle spectrum consists of two components: a low-energy population with soft spectrum that dominates the number census; and a high-energy population with hard spectrum that possesses all the properties needed to explain the Crab flares.

General Relativistic MHD Simulations of Jet Formation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mizuno, Y.; Nishikawa, K.-I.; Hardee, P.; Koide, S.; Fishman, G. J.

2005-01-01

We have performed 3-dimensional general relativistic magnetohydrodynamic (GRMHD) simulations of jet formation from an accretion disk with/without initial perturbation around a rotating black hole. We input a sinusoidal perturbation (m = 5 mode) in the rotation velocity of the accretion disk. The simulation results show the formation of a relativistic jet from the accretion disk. Although the initial perturbation becomes weakened by the coupling among different modes, it survives and triggers lower modes. As a result, complex non-axisymmetric density structure develops in the disk and the jet. Newtonian MHD simulations of jet formation with a non-axisymmetric mode show the growth of the m = 2 mode but GRMHD simulations cannot see the clear growth of the m = 2 mode.

The extent of power-law energy spectra in collisionless relativistic magnetic reconnection in pair plasma

DOE PAGES

Werner, G. R.; Uzdensky, D. A.; Cerutti, B.; ...

2015-12-30

Using two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations, we characterize the energy spectra of particles accelerated by relativistic magnetic reconnection (without guide field) in collisionless electron–positron plasmas, for a wide range of upstream magnetizations σ and system sizes L. The particle spectra are well-represented by a power lawmore » $${\\gamma }^{-\\alpha }$$, with a combination of exponential and super-exponential high-energy cutoffs, proportional to σ and L, respectively. As a result, for large L and σ, the power-law index α approaches about 1.2.« less

Particle simulation of plasmas on the massively parallel processor

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gledhill, I. M. A.; Storey, L. R. O.

1987-01-01

Particle simulations, in which collective phenomena in plasmas are studied by following the self consistent motions of many discrete particles, involve several highly repetitive sets of calculations that are readily adaptable to SIMD parallel processing. A fully electromagnetic, relativistic plasma simulation for the massively parallel processor is described. The particle motions are followed in 2 1/2 dimensions on a 128 x 128 grid, with periodic boundary conditions. The two dimensional simulation space is mapped directly onto the processor network; a Fast Fourier Transform is used to solve the field equations. Particle data are stored according to an Eulerian scheme, i.e., the information associated with each particle is moved from one local memory to another as the particle moves across the spatial grid. The method is applied to the study of the nonlinear development of the whistler instability in a magnetospheric plasma model, with an anisotropic electron temperature. The wave distribution function is included as a new diagnostic to allow simulation results to be compared with satellite observations.

Plasmoid statistics in relativistic magnetic reconnection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Petropoulou, M.; Christie, I. M.; Sironi, L.; Giannios, D.

2018-04-01

Plasmoids, overdense blobs of plasma containing magnetic fields and high-energy particles, are a self-consistent outcome of the reconnection process in the relativistic regime. Recent two-dimensional particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations have shown that plasmoids can undergo a variety of processes (e.g. mergers, bulk acceleration, growth, and advection) within the reconnection layer. We developed a Monte Carlo code, benchmarked with the recent PIC simulations, to examine the effects of these processes on the steady-state size and momentum distributions of the plasmoid chain. The differential plasmoid size distribution is shown to be a power law, ranging from a few plasma skin depths to ˜0.1 of the reconnection layer's length. The power-law slope is shown to be linearly dependent upon the ratio of the plasmoid acceleration and growth rates, which slightly decreases with increasing plasma magnetization. We perform a detailed comparison of our results with those of recent PIC simulations and briefly discuss the astrophysical implications of our findings through the representative case of flaring events from blazar jets.

A signed particle formulation of non-relativistic quantum mechanics

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

Sellier, Jean Michel, E-mail: jeanmichel.sellier@parallel.bas.bg

2015-09-15

A formulation of non-relativistic quantum mechanics in terms of Newtonian particles is presented in the shape of a set of three postulates. In this new theory, quantum systems are described by ensembles of signed particles which behave as field-less classical objects which carry a negative or positive sign and interact with an external potential by means of creation and annihilation events only. This approach is shown to be a generalization of the signed particle Wigner Monte Carlo method which reconstructs the time-dependent Wigner quasi-distribution function of a system and, therefore, the corresponding Schrödinger time-dependent wave-function. Its classical limit is discussedmore » and a physical interpretation, based on experimental evidences coming from quantum tomography, is suggested. Moreover, in order to show the advantages brought by this novel formulation, a straightforward extension to relativistic effects is discussed. To conclude, quantum tunnelling numerical experiments are performed to show the validity of the suggested approach.« less

Persistence of Precursor Waves in Two-dimensional Relativistic Shocks

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

Iwamoto, Masanori; Amano, Takanobu; Hoshino, Masahiro

2017-05-01

We investigated the efficiency of coherent upstream large-amplitude electromagnetic wave emission via synchrotron maser instability in relativistic magnetized shocks using two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations. We considered a purely perpendicular shock in an electron–positron plasma. The coherent wave emission efficiency was measured as a function of the magnetization parameter σ , which is defined as the ratio of the Poynting flux to the kinetic energy flux. The wave amplitude was systematically smaller than that observed in one-dimensional simulations. However, it continued to persist, even at a considerably low magnetization rate, where the Weibel instability dominated the shock transition. The emitted electromagnetic wavesmore » were sufficiently strong to disturb the upstream medium, and transverse filamentary density structures of substantial amplitude were produced. Based on this result, we discuss the possibility of the wakefield acceleration model to produce nonthermal electrons in a relativistic magnetized ion–electron shock.« less

The effects of particle recycling on the divertor plasma: A particle-in-cell with Monte Carlo collision simulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chang, Mingyu; Sang, Chaofeng; Sun, Zhenyue; Hu, Wanpeng; Wang, Dezhen

2018-05-01

A Particle-In-Cell (PIC) with Monte Carlo Collision (MCC) model is applied to study the effects of particle recycling on divertor plasma in the present work. The simulation domain is the scrape-off layer of the tokamak in one-dimension along the magnetic field line. At the divertor plate, the reflected deuterium atoms (D) and thermally released deuterium molecules (D2) are considered. The collisions between the plasma particles (e and D+) and recycled neutral particles (D and D2) are described by the MCC method. It is found that the recycled neutral particles have a great impact on divertor plasma. The effects of different collisions on the plasma are simulated and discussed. Moreover, the impacts of target materials on the plasma are simulated by comparing the divertor with Carbon (C) and Tungsten (W) targets. The simulation results show that the energy and momentum losses of the C target are larger than those of the W target in the divertor region even without considering the impurity particles, whereas the W target has a more remarkable influence on the core plasma.

Splitter target for controlling magnetic reconnection in relativistic laser plasma interactions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gu, Y. J.; Bulanov, S. S.; Korn, G.; Bulanov, S. V.

2018-04-01

The utilization of a conical target irradiated by a high power laser is proposed to study fast magnetic reconnection in relativistic plasma interactions. Such target, placed in front of the near critical density gas jet, splits the laser pulse, forming two parallel laser pulses in the 2D case and a donut shaped pulse in the 3D case. The magnetic annihilation and reconnection occur in the density downramp region of the subsequent gas jet. The magnetic field energy is converted into the particle kinetic energy. As a result, a backward accelerated electron beam is obtained as a signature of reconnection. The above mechanisms are demonstrated using particle-in-cell simulations in both 2D and 3D cases. Facilitating the synchronization of two laser beams, the proposed approach can be used in designing the corresponding experiments on studying fundamental problems of relativistic plasma physics.

Synchronization of relativistic particles in the hyperbolic Kuramoto model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ritchie, Louis M.; Lohe, M. A.; Williams, Anthony G.

2018-05-01

We formulate a noncompact version of the Kuramoto model by replacing the invariance group SO(2) of the plane rotations by the noncompact group SO(1, 1). The N equations of the system are expressed in terms of hyperbolic angles αi and are similar to those of the Kuramoto model, except that the trigonometric functions are replaced by hyperbolic functions. Trajectories are generally unbounded, nevertheless synchronization occurs for any positive couplings κi, arbitrary positive multiplicative parameters λi and arbitrary exponents ωi. There are no critical values for the coupling constants. We measure the onset of synchronization by means of several order and disorder parameters. We show numerically and by means of exact solutions for N = 2 that solutions can develop singularities if the coupling constants are negative, or if the initial values are not suitably restricted. We describe a physical interpretation of the system as a cluster of interacting relativistic particles in 1 + 1 dimensions, subject to linear repulsive forces with space-time trajectories parametrized by the rapidity αi. The trajectories synchronize provided that the particle separations remain predominantly time-like, and the synchronized cluster can be viewed as a bound state of N relativistic particle constituents. We extend the defining equations of the system to higher dimensions by means of vector equations which are covariant with respect to SO(p, q).

Relativistic ponderomotive Hamiltonian of a Dirac particle in a vacuum laser field

DOE PAGES

Ruiz, D. E.; Ellison, C. L.; Dodin, I. Y.

2015-12-16

Here, we report a point-particle ponderomotive model of a Dirac electron oscillating in a high-frequency field. Starting from the Dirac Lagrangian density, we derive a reduced phase-space Lagrangian that describes the relativistic time-averaged dynamics of such a particle in a geometrical-optics laser pulse propagating in vacuum. The pulse is allowed to have an arbitrarily large amplitude provided that radiation damping and pair production are negligible. The model captures the Bargmann-Michel-Telegdi (BMT) spin dynamics, the Stern-Gerlach spin-orbital coupling, the conventional ponderomotive forces, and the interaction with large-scale background fields (if any). Agreement with the BMT spin precession equation is shown numerically.more » The commonly known theory in which ponderomotive effects are incorporated in the particle effective mass is reproduced as a special case when the spin-orbital coupling is negligible. This model could be useful for studying laser-plasma interactions in relativistic spin-1/2 plasmas.« less

Ion-acoustic shocks with reflected ions: modelling and particle-in-cell simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liseykina, T. V.; Dudnikova, G. I.; Vshivkov, V. A.; Malkov, M. A.

2015-10-01

> Non-relativistic collisionless shock waves are widespread in space and astrophysical plasmas and are known as efficient particle accelerators. However, our understanding of collisionless shocks, including their structure and the mechanisms whereby they accelerate particles, remains incomplete. We present here the results of numerical modelling of an ion-acoustic collisionless shock based on the one-dimensional kinetic approximation for both electrons and ions with a real mass ratio. Special emphasis is paid to the shock-reflected ions as the main driver of shock dissipation. The reflection efficiency, the velocity distribution of reflected particles and the shock electrostatic structure are studied in terms of the shock parameters. Applications to particle acceleration in geophysical and astrophysical shocks are discussed.

Relativistic extension of a charge-conservative finite element solver for time-dependent Maxwell-Vlasov equations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Na, D.-Y.; Moon, H.; Omelchenko, Y. A.; Teixeira, F. L.

2018-01-01

Accurate modeling of relativistic particle motion is essential for physical predictions in many problems involving vacuum electronic devices, particle accelerators, and relativistic plasmas. A local, explicit, and charge-conserving finite-element time-domain (FETD) particle-in-cell (PIC) algorithm for time-dependent (non-relativistic) Maxwell-Vlasov equations on irregular (unstructured) meshes was recently developed by Moon et al. [Comput. Phys. Commun. 194, 43 (2015); IEEE Trans. Plasma Sci. 44, 1353 (2016)]. Here, we extend this FETD-PIC algorithm to the relativistic regime by implementing and comparing three relativistic particle-pushers: (relativistic) Boris, Vay, and Higuera-Cary. We illustrate the application of the proposed relativistic FETD-PIC algorithm for the analysis of particle cyclotron motion at relativistic speeds, harmonic particle oscillation in the Lorentz-boosted frame, and relativistic Bernstein modes in magnetized charge-neutral (pair) plasmas.

General Relativistic Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics code developments: A progress report

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Faber, Joshua; Silberman, Zachary; Rizzo, Monica

2017-01-01

We report on our progress in developing a new general relativistic Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) code, which will be appropriate for studying the properties of accretion disks around black holes as well as compact object binary mergers and their ejecta. We will discuss in turn the relativistic formalisms being used to handle the evolution, our techniques for dealing with conservative and primitive variables, as well as those used to ensure proper conservation of various physical quantities. Code tests and performance metrics will be discussed, as will the prospects for including smoothed particle hydrodynamics codes within other numerical relativity codebases, particularly the publicly available Einstein Toolkit. We acknowledge support from NSF award ACI-1550436 and an internal RIT D-RIG grant.

Formulation of the relativistic moment implicit particle-in-cell method

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

Noguchi, Koichi; Tronci, Cesare; Zuccaro, Gianluca

2007-04-15

A new formulation is presented for the implicit moment method applied to the time-dependent relativistic Vlasov-Maxwell system. The new approach is based on a specific formulation of the implicit moment method that allows us to retain the same formalism that is valid in the classical case despite the formidable complication introduced by the nonlinear nature of the relativistic equations of motion. To demonstrate the validity of the new formulation, an implicit finite difference algorithm is developed to solve the Maxwell's equations and equations of motion. A number of benchmark problems are run: two stream instability, ion acoustic wave damping, Weibelmore » instability, and Poynting flux acceleration. The numerical results are all in agreement with analytical solutions.« less

Fluctuations, noise, and numerical methods in gyrokinetic particle-in-cell simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jenkins, Thomas Grant

In this thesis, the role of the "marker weight" (or "particle weight") used in gyrokinetic particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations is explored. Following a review of the foundations and major developments of gyrokinetic theory, key concepts of the Monte Carlo methods which form the basis for PIC simulations are set forth. Consistent with these methods, a Klimontovich representation for the set of simulation markers is developed in the extended phase space {R, v||, v ⊥, W, P} (with the additional coordinates representing weight fields); clear distinctions are consequently established between the marker distribution function and various physical distribution functions (arising from diverse moments of the marker distribution). Equations describing transport in the simulation are shown to be easily derivable using the formalism. The necessity of a two-weight model for nonequilibrium simulations is demonstrated, and a simple method for calculating the second (background-related) weight is presented. Procedures for arbitrary marker loading schemes in gyrokinetic PIC simulations are outlined; various initialization methods for simulations are compared. Possible effects of inadequate velocity-space resolution in gyrokinetic continuum simulations are explored. The "partial-f" simulation method is developed and its limitations indicated. A quasilinear treatment of electrostatic drift waves is shown to correctly predict nonlinear saturation amplitudes, and the relevance of the gyrokinetic fluctuation-dissipation theorem in assessing the effects of discrete-marker-induced statistical noise on the resulting marginally stable states is demonstrated.

On the Relativistic Correction of Particles Trajectory in Tandem Type Electrostatic Accelerator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Minárik, Stanislav

2015-08-01

A constant potential is applied to the acceleration of the ion-beam in the tandem type electrostatic accelerator. However, not just one voltage is applied, but instead a number of applications can be made in succession by means of the tandem arrangement of high voltage tubes. This number of voltage applications, which is the number of so-called "stages" of a tandem accelerator, may be two, three, or four, depending on the chosen design. Electrostatic field with approximately constant intensity acts on ions in any stage. In general, non-relativistic dynamics is used for the description of the ion transport in tandem accelerator. Energies of accelerated ions are too low and relativistic effects cannot be commonly observed by standard experimental technique. Estimation of possible relativistic correction of ion trajectories is therefore only a matter of calculation. In this note, we briefly present such calculation. Our aim is to show how using the relativistic dynamics modifies the particles trajectory in tandem type accelerator and what parameters determine this modification.

Particle in cell simulation of peaking switch for breakdown evaluation

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

Umbarkar, Sachin B.; Bindu, S.; Mangalvedekar, H.A.

2014-07-01

Marx generator connected to peaking capacitor and peaking switch can generate Ultra-Wideband (UWB) radiation. A new peaking switch is designed for converting the existing nanosecond Marx generator to a UWB source. The paper explains the particle in cell (PIC) simulation for this peaking switch, using MAGIC 3D software. This peaking switch electrode is made up of copper tungsten material and is fixed inside the hermitically sealed derlin material. The switch can withstand a gas pressure up to 13.5 kg/cm{sup 2}. The lower electrode of the switch is connected to the last stage of the Marx generator. Initially Marx generator (withoutmore » peaking stage) in air; gives the output pulse with peak amplitude of 113.75 kV and pulse rise time of 25 ns. Thus, we design a new peaking switch to improve the rise time of output pulse and to pressurize this peaking switch separately (i.e. Marx and peaking switch is at different pressure). The PIC simulation gives the particle charge density, current density, E counter plot, emitted electron current, and particle energy along the axis of gap between electrodes. The charge injection and electric field dependence on ionic dissociation phenomenon are briefly analyzed using this simulation. The model is simulated with different gases (N{sub 2}, H{sub 2}, and Air) under different pressure (2 kg/cm{sup 2}, 5 kg/cm{sup 2}, 10 kg/cm{sup 2}). (author)« less

Precursor Wave Emission Enhanced by Weibel Instability in Relativistic Shocks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Iwamoto, Masanori; Amano, Takanobu; Hoshino, Masahiro; Matsumoto, Yosuke

2018-05-01

We investigated the precursor wave emission efficiency in magnetized purely perpendicular relativistic shocks in pair plasmas. We extended our previous study to include the dependence of upstream magnetic field orientations. We performed two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations and focused on two magnetic field orientations: the magnetic field in the simulation plane (i.e., in-plane configuration) and that perpendicular to the simulation plane (i.e., out-of-plane configuration). Our simulations in the in-plane configuration demonstrated that not only extraordinary but also ordinary mode waves are excited. We quantified the emission efficiency as a function of the magnetization parameter σ e and found that the large-amplitude precursor waves are emitted for a wide range of σ e . We found that especially at low σ e , the magnetic field generated by Weibel instability amplifies the ordinary mode wave power. The amplitude is large enough to perturb the upstream plasma, and transverse density filaments are generated as in the case of the out-of-plane configuration investigated in the previous study. We confirmed that our previous conclusion holds regardless of upstream magnetic field orientations with respect to the two-dimensional simulation plane. We discuss the precursor wave emission in three dimensions and the feasibility of wakefield acceleration in relativistic shocks based on our results.

The formation of relativistic plasma structures and their potential role in the generation of cosmic ray electrons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dieckmann, M. E.

2008-11-01

Recent particle-in-cell (PIC) simulation studies have addressed particle acceleration and magnetic field generation in relativistic astrophysical flows by plasma phase space structures. We discuss the astrophysical environments such as the jets of compact objects, and we give an overview of the global PIC simulations of shocks. These reveal several types of phase space structures, which are relevant for the energy dissipation. These structures are typically coupled in shocks, but we choose to consider them here in an isolated form. Three structures are reviewed. (1) Simulations of interpenetrating or colliding plasma clouds can trigger filamentation instabilities, while simulations of thermally anisotropic plasmas observe the Weibel instability. Both transform a spatially uniform plasma into current filaments. These filament structures cause the growth of the magnetic fields. (2) The development of a modified two-stream instability is discussed. It saturates first by the formation of electron phase space holes. The relativistic electron clouds modulate the ion beam and a secondary, spatially localized electrostatic instability grows, which saturates by forming a relativistic ion phase space hole. It accelerates electrons to ultra-relativistic speeds. (3) A simulation is also revised, in which two clouds of an electron-ion plasma collide at the speed 0.9c. The inequal densities of both clouds and a magnetic field that is oblique to the collision velocity vector result in waves with a mixed electrostatic and electromagnetic polarity. The waves give rise to growing corkscrew distributions in the electrons and ions that establish an equipartition between the electron, the ion and the magnetic energy. The filament-, phase space hole- and corkscrew structures are discussed with respect to electron acceleration and magnetic field generation.

RF Priming Experiments and Simulations of Magnetic Priming in Relativistic Magnetrons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

White, W. M.; Gilgenbach, R. M.; Jones, M. C.; Neculaes, V. B.; Lau, Y. Y.; Jordan, N.; Pengvanich, P.; Edgar, R.; Hoff, B.; Spencer, T. A.; Price, D.

2004-11-01

We investigate 2 priming techniques in relativistic magnetrons for rapid startup and mode-locking: RF priming experiments with 0.1-1 MW from a 2nd magnetron; Magnetic-priming simulations by azimuthally-varying-axial magnetic field. Experiments utilize MELBA-C with a Titan 6-vane magnetron: V = -300kV, I = 1-10kA, e-beam T = 0.5 μs, microwave power = 100-500 MW, f= 1-1.3 GHz, base vacuum= 8.5 x 10-10 Torr. The AFRL RF priming magnetron is at 0.1-2 MW, 3 μsec, 1.27-1.32 GHz. About 0.2-0.3 MW is injected into 1 of 3 open coupling slots in the relativistic magnetron. Analysis of the relativistic magnetron's microwave output shows a clear effect of RF priming. Simulations of magnetic priming in the pi-mode are run in MAGIC code by imposing N/2 azimuthal-variations in the axial magnetic field of an N-vane magnetron. Faster startup and mode-locking are simulated by rapid-electron spoke formation and excitation of RF fields.

Relativistic Hamiltonian dynamics for N point particles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

King, M. J.

1980-08-01

The theory is quantized canonically to give a relativistic quantum mechanics for N particles. The existence of such a theory has been in doubt since the proof of the No-interaction theorem. However, such a theory does exist and was generalized. This dynamics is expressed in terms of N + 1 pairs of canonical fourvectors (center-of-momentum variables or CMV). A gauge independent reduction due to N + 3 first class kinematic constraints leads to a 6N + 2 dimensional minimum kinematic phase space, K. The kinematics and dynamics of particles with intrinsic spin were also considered. To this end known constraint techniques were generalized to make use of graded Lie algebras. The (Poincare) invariant Hamiltonian is specified in terms of the gauge invarient variables of K. The covariant worldline variables of each particle were found to be gauge dependent. As such they will usually not satisfy a canonical algebra. An exception exists for free particles. The No-interaction theorem therefore is not violated.

Particle-in-cell code library for numerical simulation of the ECR source plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shirkov, G.; Alexandrov, V.; Preisendorf, V.; Shevtsov, V.; Filippov, A.; Komissarov, R.; Mironov, V.; Shirkova, E.; Strekalovsky, O.; Tokareva, N.; Tuzikov, A.; Vatulin, V.; Vasina, E.; Fomin, V.; Anisimov, A.; Veselov, R.; Golubev, A.; Grushin, S.; Povyshev, V.; Sadovoi, A.; Donskoi, E.; Nakagawa, T.; Yano, Y.

2003-05-01

The project ;Numerical simulation and optimization of ion accumulation and production in multicharged ion sources; is funded by the International Science and Technology Center (ISTC). A summary of recent project development and the first version of a computer code library for simulation of electron-cyclotron resonance (ECR) source plasmas based on the particle-in-cell method are presented.

Mode control in a high-gain relativistic klystron amplifier

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Zheng-Hong; Zhang, Hong; Ju, Bing-Quan; Su, Chang; Wu, Yang

2010-05-01

Middle cavities between the input and output cavity can be used to decrease the required input RF power for the relativistic klystron amplifier. Meanwhile higher modes, which affect the working mode, are also easy to excite in a device with more middle cavities. In order for the positive feedback process for higher modes to be excited, a special measure is taken to increase the threshold current for such modes. Higher modes' excitation will be avoided when the threshold current is significantly larger than the beam current. So a high-gain S-band relativistic klystron amplifier is designed for the beam of current 5 kA and beam voltage 600 kV. Particle in cell simulations show that the gain is 1.6 × 105 with the input RF power of 6.8 kW, and that the output RF power reaches 1.1 GW.

Numerical Simulation of the Motion of Aerosol Particles in Open Cell Foam Materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Solovev, S. A.; Soloveva, O. V.; Popkova, O. S.

2018-03-01

The motion of aerosol particles in open cell foam material is studied. The porous medium is investigated for a three-dimensional case with detailed simulation of cellular structures within an ordered geometry. Numerical calculations of the motion of particles and their deposition due to inertial and gravitational mechanisms are performed. Deposition efficiency curves for a broad range of particle sizes are constructed. The effect deposition mechanisms have on the efficiency of the porous material as a filter is analyzed.

Aerobiological Stabilities of Different Species of Gram-Negative Bacteria, Including Well-Known Biothreat Simulants, in Single-Cell Particles and Cell Clusters of Different Compositions

PubMed Central

Skogan, Gunnar

2017-01-01

ABSTRACT The ability to perform controlled experiments with bioaerosols is a fundamental enabler of many bioaerosol research disciplines. A practical alternative to using hazardous biothreat agents, e.g., for detection equipment development and testing, involves using appropriate model organisms (simulants). Several species of Gram-negative bacteria have been used or proposed as biothreat simulants. However, the appropriateness of different bacterial genera, species, and strains as simulants is still debated. Here, we report aerobiological stability characteristics of four species of Gram-negative bacteria (Pantoea agglomerans, Serratia marcescens, Escherichia coli, and Xanthomonas arboricola) in single-cell particles and cell clusters produced using four spray liquids (H2O, phosphate-buffered saline[PBS], spent culture medium[SCM], and a SCM-PBS mixture). E. coli showed higher stability in cell clusters from all spray liquids than the other species, but it showed similar or lower stability in single-cell particles. The overall stability was higher in cell clusters than in single-cell particles. The highest overall stability was observed for bioaerosols produced using SCM-containing spray liquids. A key finding was the observation that stability differences caused by particle size or compositional changes frequently followed species-specific patterns. The results highlight how even moderate changes to one experimental parameter, e.g., bacterial species, spray liquid, or particle size, can strongly affect the aerobiological stability of Gram-negative bacteria. Taken together, the results highlight the importance of careful and informed selection of Gram-negative bacterial biothreat simulants and also the accompanying particle size and composition. The outcome of this work contributes to improved selection of simulants, spray liquids, and particle size for use in bioaerosol research. IMPORTANCE The outcome of this work contributes to improved selection of simulants

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

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

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

2007-01-01

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

Relating the finite-volume spectrum and the two-and-three-particle S matrix for relativistic systems of identical scalar particles

DOE PAGES

Briceño, Raúl A.; Hansen, Maxwell T.; Sharpe, Stephen R.

2017-04-18

Working in relativistic quantum field theory, we derive the quantization condition satisfied by coupled two- and three-particle systems of identical scalar particles confined to a cubic spatial volume with periodicitymore » $L$. This gives the relation between the finite-volume spectrum and the infinite-volume $$\\textbf 2 \\to \\textbf 2$$, $$\\textbf 2 \\to \\textbf 3$$ and $$\\textbf 3 \\to \\textbf 3$$ scattering amplitudes for such theories. The result holds for relativistic systems composed of scalar particles with nonzero mass $m$, whose center of mass energy lies below the four-particle threshold, and for which the two-particle K-matrix has no singularities below the three-particle threshold. Finally, the quantization condition is exact up to corrections of the order $$\\mathcal{O}(e^{-mL})$$ and holds for any choice of total momenta satisfying the boundary conditions.« less

Relating the finite-volume spectrum and the two-and-three-particle S matrix for relativistic systems of identical scalar particles

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

Briceño, Raúl A.; Hansen, Maxwell T.; Sharpe, Stephen R.

Working in relativistic quantum field theory, we derive the quantization condition satisfied by coupled two- and three-particle systems of identical scalar particles confined to a cubic spatial volume with periodicitymore » $L$. This gives the relation between the finite-volume spectrum and the infinite-volume $$\\textbf 2 \\to \\textbf 2$$, $$\\textbf 2 \\to \\textbf 3$$ and $$\\textbf 3 \\to \\textbf 3$$ scattering amplitudes for such theories. The result holds for relativistic systems composed of scalar particles with nonzero mass $m$, whose center of mass energy lies below the four-particle threshold, and for which the two-particle K-matrix has no singularities below the three-particle threshold. Finally, the quantization condition is exact up to corrections of the order $$\\mathcal{O}(e^{-mL})$$ and holds for any choice of total momenta satisfying the boundary conditions.« less

On the numerical dispersion of electromagnetic particle-in-cell code: Finite grid instability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meyers, M. D.; Huang, C.-K.; Zeng, Y.; Yi, S. A.; Albright, B. J.

2015-09-01

The Particle-In-Cell (PIC) method is widely used in relativistic particle beam and laser plasma modeling. However, the PIC method exhibits numerical instabilities that can render unphysical simulation results or even destroy the simulation. For electromagnetic relativistic beam and plasma modeling, the most relevant numerical instabilities are the finite grid instability and the numerical Cherenkov instability. We review the numerical dispersion relation of the Electromagnetic PIC model. We rigorously derive the faithful 3-D numerical dispersion relation of the PIC model, for a simple, direct current deposition scheme, which does not conserve electric charge exactly. We then specialize to the Yee FDTD scheme. In particular, we clarify the presence of alias modes in an eigenmode analysis of the PIC model, which combines both discrete and continuous variables. The manner in which the PIC model updates and samples the fields and distribution function, together with the temporal and spatial phase factors from solving Maxwell's equations on the Yee grid with the leapfrog scheme, is explicitly accounted for. Numerical solutions to the electrostatic-like modes in the 1-D dispersion relation for a cold drifting plasma are obtained for parameters of interest. In the succeeding analysis, we investigate how the finite grid instability arises from the interaction of the numerical modes admitted in the system and their aliases. The most significant interaction is due critically to the correct representation of the operators in the dispersion relation. We obtain a simple analytic expression for the peak growth rate due to this interaction, which is then verified by simulation. We demonstrate that our analysis is readily extendable to charge conserving models.

On the numerical dispersion of electromagnetic particle-in-cell code: Finite grid instability

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

Meyers, M.D., E-mail: mdmeyers@physics.ucla.edu; Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095; Huang, C.-K., E-mail: huangck@lanl.gov

The Particle-In-Cell (PIC) method is widely used in relativistic particle beam and laser plasma modeling. However, the PIC method exhibits numerical instabilities that can render unphysical simulation results or even destroy the simulation. For electromagnetic relativistic beam and plasma modeling, the most relevant numerical instabilities are the finite grid instability and the numerical Cherenkov instability. We review the numerical dispersion relation of the Electromagnetic PIC model. We rigorously derive the faithful 3-D numerical dispersion relation of the PIC model, for a simple, direct current deposition scheme, which does not conserve electric charge exactly. We then specialize to the Yee FDTDmore » scheme. In particular, we clarify the presence of alias modes in an eigenmode analysis of the PIC model, which combines both discrete and continuous variables. The manner in which the PIC model updates and samples the fields and distribution function, together with the temporal and spatial phase factors from solving Maxwell's equations on the Yee grid with the leapfrog scheme, is explicitly accounted for. Numerical solutions to the electrostatic-like modes in the 1-D dispersion relation for a cold drifting plasma are obtained for parameters of interest. In the succeeding analysis, we investigate how the finite grid instability arises from the interaction of the numerical modes admitted in the system and their aliases. The most significant interaction is due critically to the correct representation of the operators in the dispersion relation. We obtain a simple analytic expression for the peak growth rate due to this interaction, which is then verified by simulation. We demonstrate that our analysis is readily extendable to charge conserving models.« less

Harnessing the relativistic Buneman instability for laser-ion acceleration in the transparency regime

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stark, D. J.; Yin, L.; Albright, B. J.

2018-06-01

We examine the relativistic Buneman instability in systems relevant to high-intensity laser-plasma interactions under conditions of relativistically-induced transparency, as this instability can generate large-amplitude electrostatic waves at low frequencies that are pertinent to ion dynamics in these systems. Ion flows are shown to significantly alter the range of unstable wave numbers and to increase the phase velocities of the unstable modes; we particularly highlight the relativistic effects from both the ion and electron (with transverse motion) populations. These findings are related to the mode structure seen in particle-in-cell simulation results of a short-pulse laser breaking through an initially opaque target with the onset of relativistic transparency. Additionally, driving mechanisms from free energy present in density and velocity gradients are shown to be capable of significantly enhancing the growth rates, and these instabilities furthermore extend the breadth of the unstable wave number range. Lastly, we discuss how the transverse self-generated magnetic fields characteristic of short-pulse interactions can potentially constrain the unstable wave numbers in a non-trivial manner.

Global linear gyrokinetic particle-in-cell simulations including electromagnetic effects in shaped plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mishchenko, A.; Borchardt, M.; Cole, M.; Hatzky, R.; Fehér, T.; Kleiber, R.; Könies, A.; Zocco, A.

2015-05-01

We give an overview of recent developments in electromagnetic simulations based on the gyrokinetic particle-in-cell codes GYGLES and EUTERPE. We present the gyrokinetic electromagnetic models implemented in the codes and discuss further improvements of the numerical algorithm, in particular the so-called pullback mitigation of the cancellation problem. The improved algorithm is employed to simulate linear electromagnetic instabilities in shaped tokamak and stellarator plasmas, which was previously impossible for the parameters considered.

Evolution of the fastest-growing relativistic mixed mode instability driven by a tenuous plasma beam in one and two dimensions

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

Dieckmann, M. E.; Frederiksen, J. T.; Bret, A.

2006-11-15

Particle-in-cell simulations confirm here that a mixed plasma mode is the fastest growing when a highly relativistic tenuous electron-proton beam interacts with an unmagnetized plasma. The mixed modes grow faster than the filamentation and two-stream modes in simulations with beam Lorentz factors {gamma} of 4, 16, and 256, and are responsible for thermalizing the electrons. The mixed modes are followed to their saturation for the case of {gamma}=4 and electron phase space holes are shown to form in the bulk plasma, while the electron beam becomes filamentary. The initial saturation is electrostatic in nature in the considered one- and two-dimensionalmore » geometries. Simulations performed with two different particle-in-cell simulation codes evidence that a finite grid instability couples energy into high-frequency electromagnetic waves, imposing simulation constraints.« less

Multidimensional, fully implicit, exactly conserving electromagnetic particle-in-cell simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chacon, Luis

2015-09-01

We discuss a new, conservative, fully implicit 2D-3V particle-in-cell algorithm for non-radiative, electromagnetic kinetic plasma simulations, based on the Vlasov-Darwin model. Unlike earlier linearly implicit PIC schemes and standard explicit PIC schemes, fully implicit PIC algorithms are unconditionally stable and allow exact discrete energy and charge conservation. This has been demonstrated in 1D electrostatic and electromagnetic contexts. In this study, we build on these recent algorithms to develop an implicit, orbit-averaged, time-space-centered finite difference scheme for the Darwin field and particle orbit equations for multiple species in multiple dimensions. The Vlasov-Darwin model is very attractive for PIC simulations because it avoids radiative noise issues in non-radiative electromagnetic regimes. The algorithm conserves global energy, local charge, and particle canonical-momentum exactly, even with grid packing. The nonlinear iteration is effectively accelerated with a fluid preconditioner, which allows efficient use of large timesteps, O(√{mi/me}c/veT) larger than the explicit CFL. In this presentation, we will introduce the main algorithmic components of the approach, and demonstrate the accuracy and efficiency properties of the algorithm with various numerical experiments in 1D and 2D. Support from the LANL LDRD program and the DOE-SC ASCR office.

High order volume-preserving algorithms for relativistic charged particles in general electromagnetic fields

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

He, Yang; Sun, Yajuan; Zhang, Ruili; Wang, Yulei; Liu, Jian; Qin, Hong

2016-09-01

We construct high order symmetric volume-preserving methods for the relativistic dynamics of a charged particle by the splitting technique with processing. By expanding the phase space to include the time t, we give a more general construction of volume-preserving methods that can be applied to systems with time-dependent electromagnetic fields. The newly derived methods provide numerical solutions with good accuracy and conservative properties over long time of simulation. Furthermore, because of the use of an accuracy-enhancing processing technique, the explicit methods obtain high-order accuracy and are more efficient than the methods derived from standard compositions. The results are verified by the numerical experiments. Linear stability analysis of the methods shows that the high order processed method allows larger time step size in numerical integrations.

Mass, Momentum and Kinetic Energy of a Relativistic Particle

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zanchini, Enzo

2010-01-01

A rigorous definition of mass in special relativity, proposed in a recent paper, is recalled and employed to obtain simple and rigorous deductions of the expressions of momentum and kinetic energy for a relativistic particle. The whole logical framework appears as the natural extension of the classical one. Only the first, second and third laws of…

The Plasma Simulation Code: A modern particle-in-cell code with patch-based load-balancing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Germaschewski, Kai; Fox, William; Abbott, Stephen; Ahmadi, Narges; Maynard, Kristofor; Wang, Liang; Ruhl, Hartmut; Bhattacharjee, Amitava

2016-08-01

This work describes the Plasma Simulation Code (PSC), an explicit, electromagnetic particle-in-cell code with support for different order particle shape functions. We review the basic components of the particle-in-cell method as well as the computational architecture of the PSC code that allows support for modular algorithms and data structure in the code. We then describe and analyze in detail a distinguishing feature of PSC: patch-based load balancing using space-filling curves which is shown to lead to major efficiency gains over unbalanced methods and a previously used simpler balancing method.

Observation of Shot Noise Suppression at Optical Wavelengths in a Relativistic Electron Beam

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

Ratner, Daniel; Stupakov, Gennady; /SLAC

2012-06-19

Control of collective properties of relativistic particles is increasingly important in modern accelerators. In particular, shot noise affects accelerator performance by driving instabilities or by competing with coherent processes. We present experimental observations of shot noise suppression in a relativistic beam at the Linac Coherent Light Source. By adjusting the dispersive strength of a chicane, we observe a decrease in the optical transition radiation emitted from a downstream foil. We show agreement between the experimental results, theoretical models, and 3D particle simulations.

Causal Wave Propagation for Relativistic Massive Particles: Physical Asymptotics in Action

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Berry, M. V.

2012-01-01

Wavepackets representing relativistic quantum particles injected into a half-space, from a source that is switched on at a definite time, are represented by superpositions of plane waves that must include negative frequencies. Propagation is causal: it is a consequence of analyticity that at time t no part of the wave has travelled farther than…

A particle-based model to simulate the micromechanics of single-plant parenchyma cells and aggregates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Van Liedekerke, P.; Ghysels, P.; Tijskens, E.; Samaey, G.; Smeedts, B.; Roose, D.; Ramon, H.

2010-06-01

This paper is concerned with addressing how plant tissue mechanics is related to the micromechanics of cells. To this end, we propose a mesh-free particle method to simulate the mechanics of both individual plant cells (parenchyma) and cell aggregates in response to external stresses. The model considers two important features in the plant cell: (1) the cell protoplasm, the interior liquid phase inducing hydrodynamic phenomena, and (2) the cell wall material, a viscoelastic solid material that contains the protoplasm. In this particle framework, the cell fluid is modeled by smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH), a mesh-free method typically used to address problems with gas and fluid dynamics. In the solid phase (cell wall) on the other hand, the particles are connected by pairwise interactions holding them together and preventing the fluid to penetrate the cell wall. The cell wall hydraulic conductivity (permeability) is built in as well through the SPH formulation. Although this model is also meant to be able to deal with dynamic and even violent situations (leading to cell wall rupture or cell-cell debonding), we have concentrated on quasi-static conditions. The results of single-cell compression simulations show that the conclusions found by analytical models and experiments can be reproduced at least qualitatively. Relaxation tests revealed that plant cells have short relaxation times (1 µs-10 µs) compared to mammalian cells. Simulations performed on cell aggregates indicated an influence of the cellular organization to the tissue response, as was also observed in experiments done on tissues with a similar structure.

A relativistically interacting exactly solvable multi-time model for two massless Dirac particles in 1 + 1 dimensions

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

Lienert, Matthias, E-mail: lienert@math.lmu.de

2015-04-15

The question how to Lorentz transform an N-particle wave function naturally leads to the concept of a so-called multi-time wave function, i.e., a map from (space-time){sup N} to a spin space. This concept was originally proposed by Dirac as the basis of relativistic quantum mechanics. In such a view, interaction potentials are mathematically inconsistent. This fact motivates the search for new mechanisms for relativistic interactions. In this paper, we explore the idea that relativistic interaction can be described by boundary conditions on the set of coincidence points of two particles in space-time. This extends ideas from zero-range physics to amore » relativistic setting. We illustrate the idea at the simplest model which still possesses essential physical properties like Lorentz invariance and a positive definite density: two-time equations for massless Dirac particles in 1 + 1 dimensions. In order to deal with a spatio-temporally non-trivial domain, a necessity in the multi-time picture, we develop a new method to prove existence and uniqueness of classical solutions: a generalized version of the method of characteristics. Both mathematical and physical considerations are combined to precisely formulate and answer the questions of probability conservation, Lorentz invariance, interaction, and antisymmetry.« less

Ultrashort-Pulse Child-Langmuir Law in the Quantum and Relativistic Regimes

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

Ang, L. K.; Zhang, P.

This Letter presents a consistent quantum and relativistic model of short-pulse Child-Langmuir (CL) law, of which the pulse length {tau} is less than the electron transit time in a gap of spacing D and voltage V. The classical value of the short-pulse CL law is enhanced by a large factor due to quantum effects when the pulse length and the size of the beam are, respectively, in femtosecond duration and nanometer scale. At high voltage larger than the electron rest mass, relativistic effects will suppress the enhancement of short-pulse CL law, which is confirmed by particle-in-cell simulation. When the pulsemore » length is much shorter than the gap transit time, the current density is proportional to V, and to the inverse power of D and {tau}.« less

Half-Cell RF Gun Simulations with the Electromagnetic Particle-in-Cell Code VORPAL

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Paul, K.; Dimitrov, D. A.; Busby, R.; Bruhwiler, D. L.; Smithe, D.; Cary, J. R.; Kewisch, J.; Kayran, D.; Calaga, R.; Ben-Zvi, I.

2009-01-01

We have simulated Brookhaven National Laboratory's half-cell superconducting RF gun design for a proposed high-current ERL using the three-dimensional, electromagnetic particle-in-cell code VORPAL. VORPAL computes the fully self-consistent electromagnetic fields produced by the electron bunches, meaning that it accurately models space-charge effects as well as bunch-to-bunch beam loading effects and the effects of higher-order cavity modes, though these are beyond the scope of this paper. We compare results from VORPAL to the well-established space-charge code PARMELA, using RF fields produced by SUPERFISH, as a benchmarking exercise in which the two codes should agree well.

Realistic simulations of a cyclotron spiral inflector within a particle-in-cell framework

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Winklehner, Daniel; Adelmann, Andreas; Gsell, Achim; Kaman, Tulin; Campo, Daniela

2017-12-01

We present an upgrade to the particle-in-cell ion beam simulation code opal that enables us to run highly realistic simulations of the spiral inflector system of a compact cyclotron. This upgrade includes a new geometry class and field solver that can handle the complicated boundary conditions posed by the electrode system in the central region of the cyclotron both in terms of particle termination, and calculation of self-fields. Results are benchmarked against the analytical solution of a coasting beam. As a practical example, the spiral inflector and the first revolution in a 1 MeV /amu test cyclotron, located at Best Cyclotron Systems, Inc., are modeled and compared to the simulation results. We find that opal can now handle arbitrary boundary geometries with relative ease. Simulated injection efficiencies and beam shape compare well with measured efficiencies and a preliminary measurement of the beam distribution after injection.

Cooling rates and intensity limitations for laser-cooled ions at relativistic energies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eidam, Lewin; Boine-Frankenheim, Oliver; Winters, Danyal

2018-04-01

The ability of laser cooling for relativistic ion beams is investigated. For this purpose, the excitation of relativistic ions with a continuous wave and a pulsed laser is analyzed, utilizing the optical Bloch equations. The laser cooling force is derived in detail and its scaling with the relativistic factor γ is discussed. The cooling processes with a continuous wave and a pulsed laser system are investigated. Optimized cooling scenarios and times are obtained in order to determine the required properties of the laser and the ion beam for the planed experiments. The impact of beam intensity effects, like intrabeam scattering and space charge are analyzed. Predictions from simplified models are compared to particle-in-cell simulations and are found to be in good agreement. Finally two realistic example cases of Carbon ions in the ESR and relativistic Titanium ions in SIS100 are compared in order to discuss prospects for future laser cooling experiments.

Spectrum and Angular Distribution of γ-rays from Radiative Damping in Extremely Relativistic Laser-Plasma Interaction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pandit, Rishi; Sentoku, Yasuhiko

2013-10-01

Effects of the radiative damping in the interaction of extremely intense laser (> 1022 W/cm2) with dense plasma is studied via a relativistic collisional particle-in-cell simulation, PICLS. When the laser intensity is getting close to 1024 W/cm2, the effect of quantum electrodynamics (QED) appears. We had calculated γ-rays from the radiative damping processes based on the classical model [1], but had taken into account the QED effect [2] in the spectrum calculation. In ultra-intense laser-plasma interaction, electrons are accelerated by the strong laser fields and emit γ-ray photons mainly via two processes, namely, Bremsstrahlung and radiative damping. Such relativistic γ-ray has wide range of frequencies and the angular distribution depends on the hot electron source. Comparing the details of γ-rays from the Bremsstrahlung and the radiative damping in simulations, we will discuss the laser parameters and the target conditions (geometry and material) to distinguish the photons from each process and also the QED effect in the γ-rays spectrum at the extremely relativistic intensity. Supported by US DOE DE-SC0008827.

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.

Nonlinear Dynamic Polarization Force on a Relativistic Test Particle in a Nonequilibrium Beam-Plasma System.

DTIC Science & Technology

1983-09-01

AD-Ai36 768 NONLINEAR DYNAMIC POLARIZATION FORCE ON A RELATIVISTIC i / i TEST PARTICLE IN A NONEDUILIBRIUM BEAM-PLASMA SYSTEM (U) HARRY DIAMOND LABS...longer needed. Do not return I to the orgiatr A prellmiiary version of this report was Issued as HDL-PRL82-6 in May I D82...conditions for the occurrence of radiative instability in relativistic beam-plasma systems. DD FmOA 43 MTION OF I Nov 5s OBSOETE- IIS -- - 1 UNCLASSIFIED

Full particle simulations of quasi-perpendicular shocks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lembège, B.

This tutorial-style review is dedicated to the different strategies and constraints used for analysing the dynamics of a collisionless shocks with full particle simulations. Main results obtained with such simulations can be found in published materials (recent references are provided in this text); these will be only quoted herein in order to illustrate a few aspects of these simulations. Thanks to the large improvement of super computers, full particle simulations reveal to be quite helpful for analyzing in details the dynamics of collisionless shocks. The main characteristics of such codes can be shortly reminded as follows: one resolves the full set of Poisson and Maxwell's equations without any approximation. Two approaches are commonly used for resolving this equation's set, more precisely the space derivatives: (i) the finite difference approach and (ii) the use of FFT's (Fast Fourier Transform). Two advantages of approach (ii) are that FFT's are highly optimized in supercomputers libraries, and these allow to separate all fields components into two groups: the longitudinal electrostatic component El (solution of Poisson equation) and the transverse electromagnetic components Et and Bt solutions of the Maxwell's equations (so called "fields pusher"). Such a separation is quite helpful in the post processing stage necessary for the data analysis, as will be explained in the presentation. both ions and electrons populations are treated as individual finite-size particles and suffer the effects of all fields via the Lorentz force, so called "particle pusher", which is applied to each particle. Because of the large number of particles commonly used, the particle pusher represents the most expensive part of the calculations on which most efforts of optimisation needs to be performed (in terms of "vectorisation" or of "parallelism"). Relativistic effects may be included in this force via the use of particle momemtum. Each particle has three velocity components (vx

Relativistic theory of particles in a scattering flow I: basic equations, diffusion and drift.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Achterberg, A.; Norman, C. A.

2018-06-01

We reconsider the theory of particle transport in a scattering medium, allowing for relativistic flow velocities. The theory uses a mixed set of variables, with position and time measured in the Laboratory Frame, and particle energy and momentum measured in the Fluid Rest Frame, the reference frame where scattering is assumed to be elastic. We give a new derivation for the fictitious force terms in the equation of motion that are present if the Fluid Rest Frame is not an inertial frame. By using a 3+1 notation we discuss the physical interpretation of the different terms in the fictitious force. It is shown that different approaches to the problem of particle propagation in a magnetized medium due to Skilling (1975) and Kulsrud (1983) are largely equivalent. We extend known results for non-relativistic flows to include the effects of cross-field diffusion for cosmic rays in a magnetized plasma. We also carefully consider the correct form of the diffusion approximation for scattering, and show that the resulting equations can be cast in conservation form.

General Relativistic Radiative Transfer and General Relativistic MHD Simulations of Accretion and Outflows of Black Holes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fuerst, Steven V.; Mizuno, Yosuke; Nishikawa, Ken-Ichi; Wu, Kinwah

2007-01-01

We have calculated the emission from relativistic flows in black hole systems using a fully general relativistic radiative transfer, with flow structures obtained by general relativistic magnetohydrodynamic simulations. We consider thermal free-free emission and thermal synchrotron emission. Bright filament-like features are found protruding (visually) from the accretion disk surface, which are enhancements of synchrotron emission when the magnetic field is roughly aligned with the line-of-sight in the co-moving frame. The features move back and forth as the accretion flow evolves, but their visibility and morphology are robust. We propose that variations and location drifts of the features are responsible for certain X-ray quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs) observed in black-hole X-ray binaries.

General Relativistic Radiative Transfer and GeneralRelativistic MHD Simulations of Accretion and Outflows of Black Holes

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

Fuerst, Steven V.; /KIPAC, Menlo Park; Mizuno, Yosuke

2007-01-05

We calculate the emission from relativistic flows in black hole systems using a fully general relativistic radiative transfer formulation, with flow structures obtained by general relativistic magneto-hydrodynamic simulations. We consider thermal free-free emission and thermal synchrotron emission. Bright filament-like features protrude (visually) from the accretion disk surface, which are enhancements of synchrotron emission where the magnetic field roughly aligns with the line-of-sight in the co-moving frame. The features move back and forth as the accretion flow evolves, but their visibility and morphology are robust. We propose that variations and drifts of the features produce certain X-ray quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs) observedmore » in black-hole X-ray binaries.« less

The Wigner function in the relativistic quantum mechanics

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

Kowalski, K., E-mail: kowalski@uni.lodz.pl; Rembieliński, J.

2016-12-15

A detailed study is presented of the relativistic Wigner function for a quantum spinless particle evolving in time according to the Salpeter equation. - Highlights: • We study the Wigner function for a quantum spinless relativistic particle. • We discuss the relativistic Wigner function introduced by Zavialov and Malokostov. • We introduce relativistic Wigner function based on the standard definition. • We find analytic expressions for relativistic Wigner functions.

Bfv Quantization of Relativistic Spinning Particles with a Single Bosonic Constraint

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rabello, Silvio J.; Vaidya, Arvind N.

Using the BFV approach we quantize a pseudoclassical model of the spin-1/2 relativistic particle that contains a single bosonic constraint, contrary to the usual locally supersymmetric models that display first and second class constraints.

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

Effective photon mass and exact translating quantum relativistic structures

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

Haas, Fernando, E-mail: fernando.haas@ufrgs.br; Manrique, Marcos Antonio Albarracin, E-mail: sagret10@hotmail.com

2016-04-15

Using a variation of the celebrated Volkov solution, the Klein-Gordon equation for a charged particle is reduced to a set of ordinary differential equations, exactly solvable in specific cases. The new quantum relativistic structures can reveal a localization in the radial direction perpendicular to the wave packet propagation, thanks to a non-vanishing scalar potential. The external electromagnetic field, the particle current density, and the charge density are determined. The stability analysis of the solutions is performed by means of numerical simulations. The results are useful for the description of a charged quantum test particle in the relativistic regime, provided spinmore » effects are not decisive.« less

Modelling and simulation of particle-particle interaction in a magnetophoretic bio-separation chip

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alam, Manjurul; Golozar, Matin; Darabi, Jeff

2018-04-01

A Lagrangian particle trajectory model is developed to predict the interaction between cell-bead particle complexes and to track their trajectories in a magnetophoretic bio-separation chip. Magnetic flux gradients are simulated in the OpenFOAM CFD software and imported into MATLAB to obtain the trapping lengths and trajectories of the particles. A connector vector is introduced to calculate the interaction force between cell-bead complexes as they flow through a microfluidic device. The interaction force calculations are performed for cases where the connector vector is parallel, perpendicular, and at an angle of 45° with the applied magnetic field. The trajectories of the particles are simulated by solving a system of eight ordinary differential equations using a fourth order Runge-Kutta method. The model is then used to study the effects of geometric positions and angles of the connector vector between the particles as well as the cell size, number of beads per cell, and flow rate on the interaction force and trajectories of the particles. The results show that the interaction forces may be attractive or repulsive, depending on the orientation of the connector vector distance between the particle complexes and the applied magnetic field. When the interaction force is attractive, the particles are observed to merge and trap sooner than a single particle, whereas a repulsive interaction force has little or no effect on the trapping length.

Particle-in-cell simulations of anomalous transport in a Penning discharge

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carlsson, Johan; Kaganovich, Igor; Powis, Andrew; Raitses, Yevgeny; Romadanov, Ivan; Smolyakov, Andrei

2018-06-01

Electrostatic particle-in-cell simulations of a Penning discharge are performed in order to investigate azimuthally asymmetric, spoke-like structures previously observed in experiments. Two-dimensional simulations show that for Penning-discharge conditions, a persistent nonlinear spoke-like structure forms readily and rotates in the direction of E × B and electron diamagnetic drifts. The azimuthal velocity is within about a factor of 2 of the ion acoustic speed. The spoke frequency follows the experimentally observed scaling with ion mass, which indicates the importance of ion inertia in spoke formation. The spoke provides enhanced (anomalous) radial electron transport, and the effective cross-field conductivity is several times larger than the classical (collisional) value. The level of anomalous current obtained in the simulations is in good agreement with the experimental data. The rotating spoke channels most of the radial current, observable by an edge probe as short pulses.

Particle-in-cell numerical simulations of a cylindrical Hall thruster with permanent magnets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miranda, Rodrigo A.; Martins, Alexandre A.; Ferreira, José L.

2017-10-01

The cylindrical Hall thruster (CHT) is a propulsion device that offers high propellant utilization and performance at smaller dimensions and lower power levels than traditional Hall thrusters. In this paper we present first results of a numerical model of a CHT. This model solves particle and field dynamics self-consistently using a particle-in-cell approach. We describe a number of techniques applied to reduce the execution time of the numerical simulations. The specific impulse and thrust computed from our simulations are in agreement with laboratory experiments. This simplified model will allow for a detailed analysis of different thruster operational parameters and obtain an optimal configuration to be implemented at the Plasma Physics Laboratory at the University of Brasília.

A parallel electrostatic Particle-in-Cell method on unstructured tetrahedral grids for large-scale bounded collisionless plasma simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Averkin, Sergey N.; Gatsonis, Nikolaos A.

2018-06-01

An unstructured electrostatic Particle-In-Cell (EUPIC) method is developed on arbitrary tetrahedral grids for simulation of plasmas bounded by arbitrary geometries. The electric potential in EUPIC is obtained on cell vertices from a finite volume Multi-Point Flux Approximation of Gauss' law using the indirect dual cell with Dirichlet, Neumann and external circuit boundary conditions. The resulting matrix equation for the nodal potential is solved with a restarted generalized minimal residual method (GMRES) and an ILU(0) preconditioner algorithm, parallelized using a combination of node coloring and level scheduling approaches. The electric field on vertices is obtained using the gradient theorem applied to the indirect dual cell. The algorithms for injection, particle loading, particle motion, and particle tracking are parallelized for unstructured tetrahedral grids. The algorithms for the potential solver, electric field evaluation, loading, scatter-gather algorithms are verified using analytic solutions for test cases subject to Laplace and Poisson equations. Grid sensitivity analysis examines the L2 and L∞ norms of the relative error in potential, field, and charge density as a function of edge-averaged and volume-averaged cell size. Analysis shows second order of convergence for the potential and first order of convergence for the electric field and charge density. Temporal sensitivity analysis is performed and the momentum and energy conservation properties of the particle integrators in EUPIC are examined. The effects of cell size and timestep on heating, slowing-down and the deflection times are quantified. The heating, slowing-down and the deflection times are found to be almost linearly dependent on number of particles per cell. EUPIC simulations of current collection by cylindrical Langmuir probes in collisionless plasmas show good comparison with previous experimentally validated numerical results. These simulations were also used in a parallelization

A Variational Formulation of Macro-Particle Algorithms for Kinetic Plasma Simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shadwick, B. A.

2013-10-01

Macro-particle based simulations methods are in widespread use in plasma physics; their computational efficiency and intuitive nature are largely responsible for their longevity. In the main, these algorithms are formulated by approximating the continuous equations of motion. For systems governed by a variational principle (such as collisionless plasmas), approximations of the equations of motion is known to introduce anomalous behavior, especially in system invariants. We present a variational formulation of particle algorithms for plasma simulation based on a reduction of the distribution function onto a finite collection of macro-particles. As in the usual Particle-In-Cell (PIC) formulation, these macro-particles have a definite momentum and are spatially extended. The primary advantage of this approach is the preservation of the link between symmetries and conservation laws. For example, nothing in the reduction introduces explicit time dependence to the system and, therefore, the continuous-time equations of motion exactly conserve energy; thus, these models are free of grid-heating. In addition, the variational formulation allows for constructing models of arbitrary spatial and temporal order. In contrast, the overall accuracy of the usual PIC algorithm is at most second due to the nature of the force interpolation between the gridded field quantities and the (continuous) particle position. Again in contrast to the usual PIC algorithm, here the macro-particle shape is arbitrary; the spatial extent is completely decoupled from both the grid-size and the ``smoothness'' of the shape; smoother particle shapes are not necessarily larger. For simplicity, we restrict our discussion to one-dimensional, non-relativistic, un-magnetized, electrostatic plasmas. We comment on the extension to the electromagnetic case. Supported by the US DoE under contract numbers DE-FG02-08ER55000 and DE-SC0008382.

Multi-species first-principles simulations of particle acceleration at shocks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Caprioli, Damiano

Astrophysical shocks are known to be prominent sources of non-thermal particles and emission. In particular, strong shocks at supernova remnant blast waves are thought to accelerate Galactic cosmic rays (CRs) up to about 10^17eV via diffusive shock acceleration (DSA). The chemical composition of Galactic CRs, now measured with great accuracy by payloads and satellites, is reminiscent of that of the typical interstellar medium, although with some significant deviations. Observations reveal: 1) an electron/proton ratio of about 1% at about 10 GeV, (2) a general enhancement of the refractory elements relative to the volatile ones, (3) among the volatile elements, an enhancement of the heavier elements relative to the lighter ones, and (4) a discrepant hardening of CR nuclei heavier than hydrogen. Such peculiar trends contain precious information about the dependence of the acceleration process on the particle mass/charge ratio, a trend that has no theoretical counterpart in the DSA theory, yet. Building on our recent successes in modeling electron and proton DSA at non-relativistic astrophysical shocks via first-principles kinetic simulations, we will perform multispecies particle-in-cells simulations of such systems also including nuclei heavier than hydrogen, in order to investigate thermalization, injection, and acceleration of species with different mass/charge ratio. We will also analyze how the simulation outputs compare with the observed CR abundances, in order to build a model for DSA that accounts for the relative acceleration efficiency of energetic electrons, protons, and heavier ions. Finally, we will assess the possible contribution of accelerated heavy ions, especially helium, to the generation of magnetic turbulence via CR-driven instabilities - crucial to foster rapid particle energgization- and to the hadronic gamma-ray emission from young supernova remnants.

Numerical simulation of particle jet formation induced by shock wave acceleration in a Hele-Shaw cell

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Osnes, A. N.; Vartdal, M.; Pettersson Reif, B. A.

2018-05-01

The formation of jets from a shock-accelerated cylindrical shell of particles, confined in a Hele-Shaw cell, is studied by means of numerical simulation. A number of simulations have been performed, systematically varying the coupling between the gas and solid phases in an effort to identify the primary mechanism(s) responsible for jet formation. We find that coupling through drag is sufficient for the formation of jets. Including the effect of particle volume fraction and particle collisions did not alter the general behaviour, but had some influence on the length, spacing and number of jets. Furthermore, we find that the jet selection process starts early in the dispersal process, during the initial expansion of the particle layer.

Perpendicular relativistic shocks in magnetized pair plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Plotnikov, Illya; Grassi, Anna; Grech, Mickael

2018-07-01

Perpendicular relativistic (γ0= 10) shocks in magnetized pair plasmas are investigated using two-dimensional Particle-in-Cell simulations. A systematic survey, from unmagnetized to strongly magnetized shocks, is presented accurately capturing the transition from Weibel-mediated to magnetic-reflection-shaped shocks. This transition is found to occur for upstream flow magnetizations 10-3 < σ < 10-2 at which a strong perpendicular net current is observed in the precursor, driving the so-called current-filamentation instability. The global structure of the shock and shock formation time are discussed. The magnetohydrodynamics shock jump conditions are found in good agreement with the numerical results, except for 10-4 < σ < 10-2 where a deviation up to 10 per cent is observed. The particle precursor length converges towards the Larmor radius of particles injected in the upstream magnetic field at intermediate magnetizations. For σ > 10-2, it leaves place to a purely electromagnetic precursor following from the strong emission of electromagnetic waves at the shock front. Particle acceleration is found to be efficient in weakly magnetized perpendicular shocks in agreement with previous works, and is fully suppressed for σ > 10-2. Diffusive shock acceleration is observed only in weakly magnetized shocks, while a dominant contribution of shock drift acceleration is evidenced at intermediate magnetizations. The spatial diffusion coefficients are extracted from the simulations allowing for a deeper insight into the self-consistent particle kinematics and scale with the square of the particle energy in weakly magnetized shocks. These results have implications for particle acceleration in the internal shocks of active galactic nucleus jets and in the termination shocks of pulsar wind nebulae.

Perpendicular relativistic shocks in magnetized pair plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Plotnikov, Illya; Grassi, Anna; Grech, Mickael

2018-04-01

Perpendicular relativistic (γ0 = 10) shocks in magnetized pair plasmas are investigated using two dimensional Particle-in-Cell simulations. A systematic survey, from unmagnetized to strongly magnetized shocks, is presented accurately capturing the transition from Weibel-mediated to magnetic-reflection-shaped shocks. This transition is found to occur for upstream flow magnetizations 10-3 < σ < 10-2 at which a strong perpendicular net current is observed in the precursor, driving the so-called current-filamentation instability. The global structure of the shock and shock formation time are discussed. The MHD shock jump conditions are found in good agreement with the numerical results, except for 10-4 < σ < 10-2 where a deviation up to 10% is observed. The particle precursor length converges toward the Larmor radius of particles injected in the upstream magnetic field at intermediate magnetizations. For σ > 10-2, it leaves place to a purely electromagnetic precursor following from the strong emission of electromagnetic waves at the shock front. Particle acceleration is found to be efficient in weakly magnetized perpendicular shocks in agreement with previous works, and is fully suppressed for σ > 10-2. Diffusive Shock Acceleration is observed only in weakly magnetized shocks, while a dominant contribution of Shock Drift Acceleration is evidenced at intermediate magnetizations. The spatial diffusion coefficients are extracted from the simulations allowing for a deeper insight into the self-consistent particle kinematics and scale with the square of the particle energy in weakly magnetized shocks. These results have implications for particle acceleration in the internal shocks of AGN jets and in the termination shocks of Pulsar Wind Nebulae.

GPU-accelerated Red Blood Cells Simulations with Transport Dissipative Particle Dynamics.

PubMed

Blumers, Ansel L; Tang, Yu-Hang; Li, Zhen; Li, Xuejin; Karniadakis, George E

2017-08-01

Mesoscopic numerical simulations provide a unique approach for the quantification of the chemical influences on red blood cell functionalities. The transport Dissipative Particles Dynamics (tDPD) method can lead to such effective multiscale simulations due to its ability to simultaneously capture mesoscopic advection, diffusion, and reaction. In this paper, we present a GPU-accelerated red blood cell simulation package based on a tDPD adaptation of our red blood cell model, which can correctly recover the cell membrane viscosity, elasticity, bending stiffness, and cross-membrane chemical transport. The package essentially processes all computational workloads in parallel by GPU, and it incorporates multi-stream scheduling and non-blocking MPI communications to improve inter-node scalability. Our code is validated for accuracy and compared against the CPU counterpart for speed. Strong scaling and weak scaling are also presented to characterizes scalability. We observe a speedup of 10.1 on one GPU over all 16 cores within a single node, and a weak scaling efficiency of 91% across 256 nodes. The program enables quick-turnaround and high-throughput numerical simulations for investigating chemical-driven red blood cell phenomena and disorders.

Massively parallel simulations of relativistic fluid dynamics on graphics processing units with CUDA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bazow, Dennis; Heinz, Ulrich; Strickland, Michael

2018-04-01

Relativistic fluid dynamics is a major component in dynamical simulations of the quark-gluon plasma created in relativistic heavy-ion collisions. Simulations of the full three-dimensional dissipative dynamics of the quark-gluon plasma with fluctuating initial conditions are computationally expensive and typically require some degree of parallelization. In this paper, we present a GPU implementation of the Kurganov-Tadmor algorithm which solves the 3 + 1d relativistic viscous hydrodynamics equations including the effects of both bulk and shear viscosities. We demonstrate that the resulting CUDA-based GPU code is approximately two orders of magnitude faster than the corresponding serial implementation of the Kurganov-Tadmor algorithm. We validate the code using (semi-)analytic tests such as the relativistic shock-tube and Gubser flow.

Balancing Particle and Mesh Computation in a Particle-In-Cell Code

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

Worley, Patrick H; D'Azevedo, Eduardo; Hager, Robert

2016-01-01

The XGC1 plasma microturbulence particle-in-cell simulation code has both particle-based and mesh-based computational kernels that dominate performance. Both of these are subject to load imbalances that can degrade performance and that evolve during a simulation. Each separately can be addressed adequately, but optimizing just for one can introduce significant load imbalances in the other, degrading overall performance. A technique has been developed based on Golden Section Search that minimizes wallclock time given prior information on wallclock time, and on current particle distribution and mesh cost per cell, and also adapts to evolution in load imbalance in both particle and meshmore » work. In problems of interest this doubled the performance on full system runs on the XK7 at the Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility compared to load balancing only one of the kernels.« less

Uniform laser-driven relativistic electron layer for coherent Thomson scattering.

PubMed

Wu, H-C; Meyer-ter-Vehn, J; Fernández, J; Hegelich, B M

2010-06-11

A novel scheme is proposed to generate uniform relativistic electron layers for coherent Thomson backscattering. A few-cycle laser pulse is used to produce the electron layer from an ultrathin solid foil. The key element of the new scheme is an additional foil that reflects the drive-laser pulse, but lets the electrons pass almost unperturbed. Making use of two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations and well-known basic theory, it is shown that the electrons, after interacting with both the drive and reflected laser pulses, form a very uniform flyer freely cruising with a high relativistic γ factor exactly in the drive-laser direction (no transverse momentum). It backscatters the probe light with a full Doppler shift factor of 4γ(2). The reflectivity and its decay due to layer expansion are discussed.

Capturing relativistic wakefield structures in plasmas using ultrashort high-energy electrons as a probe

DOE PAGES

Zhang, C. J.; Hua, J. F.; Xu, X. L.; ...

2016-07-11

A new method capable of capturing coherent electric field structures propagating at nearly the speed of light in plasma with a time resolution as small as a few femtoseconds is proposed. This method uses a few femtoseconds long relativistic electron bunch to probe the wake produced in a plasma by an intense laser pulse or an ultra-short relativistic charged particle beam. As the probe bunch traverses the wake, its momentum is modulated by the electric field of the wake, leading to a density variation of the probe after free-space propagation. This variation of probe density produces a snapshot of themore » wake that can directly give many useful information of the wake structure and its evolution. Furthermore, this snapshot allows detailed mapping of the longitudinal and transverse components of the wakefield. We develop a theoretical model for field reconstruction and verify it using 3-dimensional particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations. This model can accurately reconstruct the wakefield structure in the linear regime, and it can also qualitatively map the major features of nonlinear wakes. As a result, the capturing of the injection in a nonlinear wake is demonstrated through 3D PIC simulations as an example of the application of this new method.« less

Proton probing of a relativistic laser interaction with near-critical plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Willingale, Louise; Zulick, C.; Thomas, A. G. R.; Maksimchuk, A.; Krushelnick, K.; Nilson, P. M.; Stoeckl, C.; Sangster, T. C.; Nazarov, W.

2014-10-01

The Omega EP laser (1000 J in 10 ps pulses) was used to investigate a relativistic intensity laser interaction with near-critical density plasma using a transverse proton beam to diagnose the large electromagnetic fields generated. A very low density foam target mounted in a washer provided the near-critical density conditions. The fields from a scaled, two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulation were inputed into a particle-tracking code to create simulated proton probe images. This allows us to understand the origins of the complex features in the experimental images, including a rapidly expanding sheath field, evidence for ponderomotive channeling and fields at the foam-washer interface. This material is based upon work supported by the Department of Energy National Nuclear Security Administration under Award Number DE-NA0002028.

Relativistic Electron Acceleration with Ultrashort Mid-IR Laser Pulses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feder, Linus; Woodbury, Daniel; Shumakova, Valentina; Gollner, Claudia; Miao, Bo; Schwartz, Robert; Pugžlys, Audrius; Baltuška, Andrius; Milchberg, Howard

2017-10-01

We report the first results of laser plasma wakefield acceleration driven by ultrashort mid-infrared laser pulses (λ = 3.9 μm , pulsewidth 100 fs, energy <20 mJ, peak power <1 TW), which enables near- and above-critical density interactions with moderate-density gas jets. We present thresholds for electron acceleration based on critical parameters for relativistic self-focusing and target width, as well as trends in the accelerated beam profiles, charge and energy spectra which are supported by 3D particle-in-cell simulations. These results extend earlier work with sub-TW self-modulated laser wakefield acceleration using near IR drivers to the Mid-IR, and enable us to capture time-resolved images of relativistic self-focusing of the laser pulse. This work supported by DOE (DESC0010706TDD, DESC0015516); AFOSR(FA95501310044, FA95501610121); NSF(PHY1535519); DHS.

Reconnection in the Martian Magnetotail: Hall-MHD With Embedded Particle-in-Cell Simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ma, Yingjuan; Russell, Christopher T.; Toth, Gabor; Chen, Yuxi; Nagy, Andrew F.; Harada, Yuki; McFadden, James; Halekas, Jasper S.; Lillis, Rob; Connerney, John E. P.; Espley, Jared; DiBraccio, Gina A.; Markidis, Stefano; Peng, Ivy Bo; Fang, Xiaohua; Jakosky, Bruce M.

2018-05-01

Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) mission observations show clear evidence of the occurrence of the magnetic reconnection process in the Martian plasma tail. In this study, we use sophisticated numerical models to help us understand the effects of magnetic reconnection in the plasma tail. The numerical models used in this study are (a) a multispecies global Hall-magnetohydrodynamic (HMHD) model and (b) a global HMHD model two-way coupled to an embedded fully kinetic particle-in-cell code. Comparison with MAVEN observations clearly shows that the general interaction pattern is well reproduced by the global HMHD model. The coupled model takes advantage of both the efficiency of the MHD model and the ability to incorporate kinetic processes of the particle-in-cell model, making it feasible to conduct kinetic simulations for Mars under realistic solar wind conditions for the first time. Results from the coupled model show that the Martian magnetotail is highly dynamic due to magnetic reconnection, and the resulting Mars-ward plasma flow velocities are significantly higher for the lighter ion fluid, which are quantitatively consistent with MAVEN observations. The HMHD with Embedded Particle-in-Cell model predicts that the ion loss rates are more variable but with similar mean values as compared with HMHD model results.

A Large-Particle Monte Carlo Code for Simulating Non-Linear High-Energy Processes Near Compact Objects

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stern, Boris E.; Svensson, Roland; Begelman, Mitchell C.; Sikora, Marek

1995-01-01

High-energy radiation processes in compact cosmic objects are often expected to have a strongly non-linear behavior. Such behavior is shown, for example, by electron-positron pair cascades and the time evolution of relativistic proton distributions in dense radiation fields. Three independent techniques have been developed to simulate these non-linear problems: the kinetic equation approach; the phase-space density (PSD) Monte Carlo method; and the large-particle (LP) Monte Carlo method. In this paper, we present the latest version of the LP method and compare it with the other methods. The efficiency of the method in treating geometrically complex problems is illustrated by showing results of simulations of 1D, 2D and 3D systems. The method is shown to be powerful enough to treat non-spherical geometries, including such effects as bulk motion of the background plasma, reflection of radiation from cold matter, and anisotropic distributions of radiating particles. It can therefore be applied to simulate high-energy processes in such astrophysical systems as accretion discs with coronae, relativistic jets, pulsar magnetospheres and gamma-ray bursts.

High-Speed Particle-in-Cell Simulation Parallelized with Graphic Processing Units for Low Temperature Plasmas for Material Processing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hur, Min Young; Verboncoeur, John; Lee, Hae June

2014-10-01

Particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations have high fidelity in the plasma device requiring transient kinetic modeling compared with fluid simulations. It uses less approximation on the plasma kinetics but requires many particles and grids to observe the semantic results. It means that the simulation spends lots of simulation time in proportion to the number of particles. Therefore, PIC simulation needs high performance computing. In this research, a graphic processing unit (GPU) is adopted for high performance computing of PIC simulation for low temperature discharge plasmas. GPUs have many-core processors and high memory bandwidth compared with a central processing unit (CPU). NVIDIA GeForce GPUs were used for the test with hundreds of cores which show cost-effective performance. PIC code algorithm is divided into two modules which are a field solver and a particle mover. The particle mover module is divided into four routines which are named move, boundary, Monte Carlo collision (MCC), and deposit. Overall, the GPU code solves particle motions as well as electrostatic potential in two-dimensional geometry almost 30 times faster than a single CPU code. This work was supported by the Korea Institute of Science Technology Information.

Self-aligning concave relativistic plasma mirror with adjustable focus

DOE PAGES

Tsai, Hai-En; Arefiev, Alexey V.; Shaw, Joseph M.; ...

2017-01-04

We report an experimental-computational study of the optical properties of plasma mirrors (PMs) at the incident laser frequency when irradiated directly at relativistic intensity (10 180<10 19W/cm 2) by near-normally incident (4°), high-contrast, 30 fs, 800 nm laser pulses. We find that such relativistic PMs are highly reflective (0.6–0.8) and focus a significant fraction of reflected light to intensity as large as ~10I0 at distance f as small as ~25 μm from the PM, provided that pre-pulses do not exceed 10 14 W/cm 2 prior to ~20 ps before arrival of the main pulse peak. Particle-in-cell simulations show that focusingmore » results from denting of the reflecting surface by light pressure combined with relativistic transparency and that reflectivity and f can be adjusted by controlling pre-plasma length L over the range 0.5 ≲L ≲ 3 μm. Pump-probe reflectivity measurements show that the PM's focusing properties evolve on a ps time scale.« less

Self-aligning concave relativistic plasma mirror with adjustable focus

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tsai, Hai-En; Arefiev, Alexey V.; Shaw, Joseph M.; Stark, David J.; Wang, Xiaoming; Zgadzaj, Rafal; Downer, M. C.

2017-01-01

We report an experimental-computational study of the optical properties of plasma mirrors (PMs) at the incident laser frequency when irradiated directly at relativistic intensity ( 10 18 < I 0 < 10 19 W / cm 2 ) by near-normally incident ( 4 ° ), high-contrast, 30 fs, 800 nm laser pulses. We find that such relativistic PMs are highly reflective ( 0.6 - 0.8 ) and focus a significant fraction of reflected light to intensity as large as ˜ 10 I 0 at distance f as small as ˜ 25 μ m from the PM, provided that pre-pulses do not exceed 1014 W/cm2 prior to ˜ 20 ps before arrival of the main pulse peak. Particle-in-cell simulations show that focusing results from denting of the reflecting surface by light pressure combined with relativistic transparency and that reflectivity and f can be adjusted by controlling pre-plasma length L over the range 0.5 ≲ L ≲ 3 μ m. Pump-probe reflectivity measurements show that the PM's focusing properties evolve on a ps time scale.

Exploiting MIC architectures for the simulation of channeling of charged particles in crystals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bagli, Enrico; Karpusenko, Vadim

2016-08-01

Coherent effects of ultra-relativistic particles in crystals is an area of science under development. DYNECHARM + + is a toolkit for the simulation of coherent interactions between high-energy charged particles and complex crystal structures. The particle trajectory in a crystal is computed through numerical integration of the equation of motion. The code was revised and improved in order to exploit parallelization on multi-cores and vectorization of single instructions on multiple data. An Intel Xeon Phi card was adopted for the performance measurements. The computation time was proved to scale linearly as a function of the number of physical and virtual cores. By enabling the auto-vectorization flag of the compiler a three time speedup was obtained. The performances of the card were compared to the Dual Xeon ones.

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

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ebisuzaki, T.; Tajima, T.

2014-05-01

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

Propagation of relativistic surface harmonics radiation in free space

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

an der Brügge, Daniel; Pukhov, Alexander

2007-09-01

Relativistic high-harmonics generation from overdense plasma surfaces is studied using three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations. It is shown that the simple vacuum propagation in the real three-dimensional geometry strongly affects the harmonics spectrum on the optical axis. It may even lead to the formation of attosecond pulses without any special optical filters. To make good use of these effects it is necessary to shape either the laser pulse focal spot, or the surface material in such a way that the S-number of the interaction [see Gordienko and Pukhov, Phys. Plasmas 12, 043109 (2005)] is preserved over the largest possible area. The three-dimensional simulations are carefully compared with the one-dimensional ones. It is shown that the one-dimensional models work well even in cases where the laser is focused to a quite small spot on the harmonics generating surface (σ≈λ).

Stable discrete representation of relativistically drifting plasmas

DOE PAGES

Kirchen, M.; Lehe, R.; Godfrey, B. B.; ...

2016-10-10

Representing the electrodynamics of relativistically drifting particle ensembles in discrete, co-propagating Galilean coordinates enables the derivation of a Particle-In-Cell algorithm that is intrinsically free of the numerical Cherenkov instability for plasmas flowing at a uniform velocity. Application of the method is shown by modeling plasma accelerators in a Lorentz-transformed optimal frame of reference.

Stable discrete representation of relativistically drifting plasmas

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

Kirchen, M.; Lehe, R.; Godfrey, B. B.

Representing the electrodynamics of relativistically drifting particle ensembles in discrete, co-propagating Galilean coordinates enables the derivation of a Particle-In-Cell algorithm that is intrinsically free of the numerical Cherenkov instability for plasmas flowing at a uniform velocity. Application of the method is shown by modeling plasma accelerators in a Lorentz-transformed optimal frame of reference.

Relativistic solar particle events during STIP (study of travelling interplanetary phenomena) intervals II and IV

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

Shea, M.A.; Smart, D.F.

1982-12-27

Using spaceship 'Earth' as a detector located at 1 AU, the relativistic solar cosmic ray events of 30 April 1976 and 22 November 1977 are compared to deduce the relativistic solar particle flux anisotropy and pitch angle characteristics in the interplanetary medium. These two ground level events occurred during STIP Interval II and IV respectively - periods of time of coordinated and cooperative scientific efforts.

Kinetic effects on the transition to relativistic self-induced transparency in laser-driven ion acceleration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Siminos, Evangelos; Svedung Wettervik, Benjamin; Grech, Mickael; Fülöp, Tünde

2016-10-01

We study kinetic effects responsible for the transition to relativistic self-induced transparency in the interaction of a circularly-polarized laser-pulse with an overdense plasma and their relation to hole-boring and ion acceleration. It is shown, using particle-in-cell simulations and an analysis of separatrices in single-particle phase-space, that this transition is mediated by the complex interplay of fast electron dynamics and ion motion at the initial stage of the interaction. It thus depends on the ion charge-to-mass ratio and can be controlled by varying the laser temporal profile. Moreover, we find a new regime in which a transition from relativistic transparency to hole-boring occurs dynamically during the course of the interaction. It is shown that, for a fixed laser intensity, this dynamic transition regime allows optimal ion acceleration in terms of both energy and energy spread. This work was supported by the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation (pliona project) and the European Research Council (ERC-2014-CoG Grant 647121).

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

Plasma electron hole kinematics. II. Hole tracking Particle-In-Cell simulation

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

Zhou, C.; Hutchinson, I. H.

The kinematics of a 1-D electron hole is studied using a novel Particle-In-Cell simulation code. A hole tracking technique enables us to follow the trajectory of a fast-moving solitary hole and study quantitatively hole acceleration and coupling to ions. We observe a transient at the initial stage of hole formation when the hole accelerates to several times the cold-ion sound speed. Artificially imposing slow ion speed changes on a fully formed hole causes its velocity to change even when the ion stream speed in the hole frame greatly exceeds the ion thermal speed, so there are no reflected ions. Themore » behavior that we observe in numerical simulations agrees very well with our analytic theory of hole momentum conservation and the effects of “jetting.”.« less

PAM: Particle automata model in simulation of Fusarium graminearum pathogen expansion.

PubMed

Wcisło, Rafał; Miller, S Shea; Dzwinel, Witold

2016-01-21

The multi-scale nature and inherent complexity of biological systems are a great challenge for computer modeling and classical modeling paradigms. We present a novel particle automata modeling metaphor in the context of developing a 3D model of Fusarium graminearum infection in wheat. The system consisting of the host plant and Fusarium pathogen cells can be represented by an ensemble of discrete particles defined by a set of attributes. The cells-particles can interact with each other mimicking mechanical resistance of the cell walls and cell coalescence. The particles can move, while some of their attributes can be changed according to prescribed rules. The rules can represent cellular scales of a complex system, while the integrated particle automata model (PAM) simulates its overall multi-scale behavior. We show that due to the ability of mimicking mechanical interactions of Fusarium tip cells with the host tissue, the model is able to simulate realistic penetration properties of the colonization process reproducing both vertical and lateral Fusarium invasion scenarios. The comparison of simulation results with micrographs from laboratory experiments shows encouraging qualitative agreement between the two. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Study on longitudinal dispersion relation in one-dimensional relativistic plasma: Linear theory and Vlasov simulation

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

Zhang, H.; Wu, S. Z.; Zhou, C. T.

2013-09-15

The dispersion relation of one-dimensional longitudinal plasma waves in relativistic homogeneous plasmas is investigated with both linear theory and Vlasov simulation in this paper. From the Vlasov-Poisson equations, the linear dispersion relation is derived for the proper one-dimensional Jüttner distribution. Numerically obtained linear dispersion relation as well as an approximate formula for plasma wave frequency in the long wavelength limit is given. The dispersion of longitudinal wave is also simulated with a relativistic Vlasov code. The real and imaginary parts of dispersion relation are well studied by varying wave number and plasma temperature. Simulation results are in agreement with establishedmore » linear theory.« less

Particle acceleration and plasma dynamics during magnetic reconnection in the magnetically dominated regime

DOE PAGES

Guo, Fan; Liu, Yi -Hsin; Daughton, William; ...

2015-06-17

Magnetic reconnection is thought to be the driver for many explosive phenomena in the universe. The energy release and particle acceleration during reconnection have been proposed as a mechanism for producing high-energy emissions and cosmic rays. We carry out two- and three-dimensional (3D) kinetic simulations to investigate relativistic magnetic reconnection and the associated particle acceleration. The simulations focus on electron–positron plasmas starting with a magnetically dominated, force-free current sheet (σ ≡ B 2 / (4πn em ec 2) >> 1). For this limit, we demonstrate that relativistic reconnection is highly efficient at accelerating particles through a first-order Fermi process accomplishedmore » by the curvature drift of particles along the electric field induced by the relativistic flows. This mechanism gives rise to the formation of hard power-law spectra f α (γ - 1) -p and approaches p = 1 for sufficiently large σ and system size. Eventually most of the available magnetic free energy is converted into nonthermal particle kinetic energy. An analytic model is presented to explain the key results and predict a general condition for the formation of power-law distributions. The development of reconnection in these regimes leads to relativistic inflow and outflow speeds and enhanced reconnection rates relative to nonrelativistic regimes. In the 3D simulation, the interplay between secondary kink and tearing instabilities leads to strong magnetic turbulence, but does not significantly change the energy conversion, reconnection rate, or particle acceleration. This paper suggests that relativistic reconnection sites are strong sources of nonthermal particles, which may have important implications for a variety of high-energy astrophysical problems.« less

On the theory of the relativistic motion of a charged particle in the field of intense electromagnetic radiation

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

Milant'ev, V. P., E-mail: vmilantiev@sci.pfu.edu.ru; Castillo, A. J., E-mail: vmilant@mail.ru

2013-04-15

Averaged relativistic equations of motion of a charged particle in the field of intense electromagnetic radiation have been obtained in the geometrical optics approximation using the Bogoliubov method. Constraints are determined under which these equations are valid. Oscillating additions to the smoothed dynamical variables of the particle have been found; they are reduced to known expressions in the case of the circularly and linearly polarized plane waves. It has been shown that the expressions for the averaged relativistic force in both cases contain new additional small terms weakening its action. The known difference between the expressions for the ponderomotive forcemore » in the cases of circularly and linearly polarized waves has been confirmed.« less

On the acceleration of charged particles at relativistic shock fronts

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kirk, J. G.; Schneider, P.

1987-01-01

The diffusive acceleration of highly relativistic particles at a shock is reconsidered. Using the same physical assumptions as Blandford and Ostriker (1978), but dropping the restriction to nonrelativistic shock velocities, the authors find approximate solutions of the particle kinetic equation by generalizing the diffusion approximation to higher order terms in the anisotropy of the particle distribution. The general solution of the transport equation on either side of the shock is constructed, which involves the solution of an eigenvalue problem. By matching the two solutions at the shock, the spectral index of the resulting power law is found by taking into account a sufficiently large number of eigenfunctions. Low-order truncation corresponds to the standard diffusion approximation and to a somewhat more general method described by Peacock (1981). In addition to the energy spectrum, the method yields the angular distribution of the particles and its spatial dependence.

Effects of front-surface target structures on properties of relativistic laser-plasma electrons.

PubMed

Jiang, S; Krygier, A G; Schumacher, D W; Akli, K U; Freeman, R R

2014-01-01

We report the results of a study of the role of prescribed geometrical structures on the front of a target in determining the energy and spatial distribution of relativistic laser-plasma electrons. Our three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulation studies apply to short-pulse, high-intensity laser pulses, and indicate that a judicious choice of target front-surface geometry provides the realistic possibility of greatly enhancing the yield of high-energy electrons while simultaneously confining the emission to narrow (<5°) angular cones.

Transition from convective to absolute Raman instability via the longitudinal relativistic effect by using Vlasov-Maxwell simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Q.; Liu, Z. J.; Zheng, C. Y.; Xiao, C. Z.; Feng, Q. S.; Zhang, H. C.; He, X. T.

2018-01-01

The longitudinal relativistic effect on stimulated Raman backscattering (SRBS) is investigated by using one-dimensional (1D) Vlasov-Maxwell simulations. Using a short backscattered light seed pulse with a very small amplitude, the linear gain spectra of SRBS in the strongly convective regime is presented by combining the relativistic and non-relativistic 1D Vlasov-Maxwell simulations, which is in agreement with the steady-state linear theory. More interestingly, by considering transition from convective to absolute instability due to electron trapping, we successfully predict the critical duration of the seed which can just trigger the kinetic inflation of the excited SRBS after the seed leaves the simulation box. The critical duration in the relativistic case is much shorter than that in the nonrelativistic case, which indicates that the kinetic inflation more easily occurs in the relativistic case than in the nonrelativistic case. In the weakly convective regime, the transition from convective to absolute instability for SRBS can directly occur in the linear regime due to the longitudinal relativistic modification. For the same pump, our simulations first demonstrate that the SRBS excited by a short and small seed pulse is a convective instability in the nonrelativistic case but becomes an absolute instability due to the decrease of the linear Landau damping from the longitudinal relativistic modification in the relativistic case. In more detail, the growth rate of the backscattered light is also in excellent agreement with theoretical prediction.

Numerical heating in Particle-In-Cell simulations with Monte Carlo binary collisions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alves, E. Paulo; Mori, Warren; Fiuza, Frederico

2017-10-01

The binary Monte Carlo collision (BMCC) algorithm is a robust and popular method to include Coulomb collision effects in Particle-in-Cell (PIC) simulations of plasmas. While a number of works have focused on extending the validity of the model to different physical regimes of temperature and density, little attention has been given to the fundamental coupling between PIC and BMCC algorithms. Here, we show that the coupling between PIC and BMCC algorithms can give rise to (nonphysical) numerical heating of the system, that can be far greater than that observed when these algorithms operate independently. This deleterious numerical heating effect can significantly impact the evolution of the simulated system particularly for long simulation times. In this work, we describe the source of this numerical heating, and derive scaling laws for the numerical heating rates based on the numerical parameters of PIC-BMCC simulations. We compare our theoretical scalings with PIC-BMCC numerical experiments, and discuss strategies to minimize this parasitic effect. This work is supported by DOE FES under FWP 100237 and 100182.

Investigation of an X-band gigawatt long pulse multi-beam relativistic klystron amplifier

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

Liu, Zhenbang; Huang, Hua; Lei, Lurong

2015-09-15

To achieve a gigawatt-level long pulse radiation power in X-band, a multi-beam relativistic klystron amplifier is proposed and studied experimentally. By introducing 18 electron drift tubes and extended interaction cavities, the power capacity of the device is increased. A radiation power of 1.23 GW with efficiency of 41% and amplifier gain of 46 dB is obtained in the particle-in-cell simulation. Under conditions of a 10 Hz repeat frequency and an input RF power of 30 kW, a radiation power of 0.9 GW, frequency of 9.405 GHz, pulse duration of 105 ns, and efficiency of 30% is generated in the experiment, and the amplifier gain is aboutmore » 45 dB. Both the simulation and the experiment prove that the multi-beam relativistic klystron amplifier can generate a long pulse GW-level radiation power in X-band.« less

Particle-in-cell simulation study on halo formation in anisotropic beams

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ikegami, Masanori

2000-11-01

In a recent paper (M. Ikegami, Nucl. Instr. and Meth. A 435 (1999) 284), we investigated halo formation processes in transversely anisotropic beams based on the particle-core model. The effect of simultaneous excitation of two normal modes of core oscillation, i.e., high- and low-frequency modes, was examined. In the present study, self-consistent particle simulations are performed to confirm the results obtained in the particle-core analysis. In these simulations, it is confirmed that the particle-core analysis can predict the halo extent accurately even in anisotropic situations. Furthermore, we find that the halo intensity is enhanced in some cases where two normal modes of core oscillation are simultaneously excited as expected in the particle-core analysis. This result is of practical importance because pure high-frequency mode oscillation has frequently been assumed in preceding halo studies. The dependence of halo intensity on the 2:1 fixed point locations is also discussed.

Particle-In-Cell simulations of high pressure plasmas using graphics processing units

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gebhardt, Markus; Atteln, Frank; Brinkmann, Ralf Peter; Mussenbrock, Thomas; Mertmann, Philipp; Awakowicz, Peter

2009-10-01

Particle-In-Cell (PIC) simulations are widely used to understand the fundamental phenomena in low-temperature plasmas. Particularly plasmas at very low gas pressures are studied using PIC methods. The inherent drawback of these methods is that they are very time consuming -- certain stability conditions has to be satisfied. This holds even more for the PIC simulation of high pressure plasmas due to the very high collision rates. The simulations take up to very much time to run on standard computers and require the help of computer clusters or super computers. Recent advances in the field of graphics processing units (GPUs) provides every personal computer with a highly parallel multi processor architecture for very little money. This architecture is freely programmable and can be used to implement a wide class of problems. In this paper we present the concepts of a fully parallel PIC simulation of high pressure plasmas using the benefits of GPU programming.

Global Explicit Particle-in-cell Simulations of the Nonstationary Bow Shock and Magnetosphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Zhongwei; Huang, Can; Liu, Ying D.; Parks, George K.; Wang, Rui; Lu, Quanming; Hu, Huidong

2016-07-01

We carry out two-dimensional global particle-in-cell simulations of the interaction between the solar wind and a dipole field to study the formation of the bow shock and magnetosphere. A self-reforming bow shock ahead of a dipole field is presented by using relatively high temporal-spatial resolutions. We find that (1) the bow shock and the magnetosphere are formed and reach a quasi-stable state after several ion cyclotron periods, and (2) under the B z southward solar wind condition, the bow shock undergoes a self-reformation for low β I and high M A . Simultaneously, a magnetic reconnection in the magnetotail is found. For high β I and low M A , the shock becomes quasi-stationary, and the magnetotail reconnection disappears. In addition, (3) the magnetopause deflects the magnetosheath plasmas. The sheath particles injected at the quasi-perpendicular region of the bow shock can be convected downstream of an oblique shock region. A fraction of these sheath particles can leak out from the magnetosheath at the wings of the bow shock. Hence, the downstream situation is more complicated than that for a planar shock produced in local simulations.

Rapid decay of nonlinear whistler waves in two dimensions: Full particle simulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Umeda, Takayuki; Saito, Shinji; Nariyuki, Yasuhiro

2017-05-01

The decay of a nonlinear, short-wavelength, and monochromatic electromagnetic whistler wave is investigated by utilizing a two-dimensional (2D) fully relativistic electromagnetic particle-in-cell code. The simulation is performed under a low-beta condition in which the plasma pressure is much lower than the magnetic pressure. It has been shown that the nonlinear (large-amplitude) parent whistler wave decays through the parametric instability in a one-dimensional (1D) system. The present study shows that there is another channel for the decay of the parent whistler wave in 2D, which is much faster than in the timescale of the parametric decay in 1D. The parent whistler wave decays into two sideband daughter whistlers propagating obliquely with respect to the ambient magnetic field with a frequency close to the parent wave and two quasi-perpendicular electromagnetic modes with a frequency close to zero via a 2D decay instability. The two sideband daughter oblique whistlers also enhance a nonlinear longitudinal electrostatic wave via a three-wave interaction as a secondary process.

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

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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

2017-06-01

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

Post-arc current simulation based on measurement in vacuum circuit breaker with a one-dimensional particle-in-cell model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jia, Shenli; Mo, Yongpeng; Shi, Zongqian; Li, Junliang; Wang, Lijun

2017-10-01

The post-arc dielectric recovery process has a decisive effect on the current interruption performance in a vacuum circuit breaker. The dissipation of residual plasma at the moment of current zero under the transient recovery voltage, which is the first stage of the post-arc dielectric recovery process and forms the post-arc current, has attracted many concerns. A one-dimensional particle-in-cell model is developed to simulate the measured post-arc current in the vacuum circuit breaker in this paper. At first, the parameters of the residual plasma are estimated roughly by the waveform of the post-arc current which is taken from measurements. After that, different components of the post-arc current, which are formed by the movement of charged particles in the residual plasma, are discussed. Then, the residual plasma density is adjusted according to the proportion of electrons and ions absorbed by the post-arc anode derived from the particle-in-cell simulation. After this adjustment, the post-arc current waveform obtained from the simulation is closer to that obtained from measurements.

GRMHD and GRPIC Simulations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nishikawa, K.-I.; Mizuno, Y.; Watson, M.; Fuerst, S.; Wu, K.; Hardee, P.; Fishman, G. J.

2007-01-01

We have developed a new three-dimensional general relativistic magnetohydrodynamic (GRMHD) code by using a conservative, high-resolution shock-capturing scheme. The numerical fluxes are calculated using the HLL approximate Riemann solver scheme. The flux-interpolated constrained transport scheme is used to maintain a divergence-free magnetic field. We have performed various 1-dimensional test problems in both special and general relativity by using several reconstruction methods and found that the new 3D GRMHD code shows substantial improvements over our previous code. The simulation results show the jet formations from a geometrically thin accretion disk near a nonrotating and a rotating black hole. We will discuss the jet properties depended on the rotation of a black hole and the magnetic field configuration including issues for future research. A General Relativistic Particle-in-Cell Code (GRPIC) has been developed using the Kerr-Schild metric. The code includes kinetic effects, and is in accordance with GRMHD code. Since the gravitational force acting on particles is extreme near black holes, there are some difficulties in numerically describing these processes. The preliminary code consists of an accretion disk and free-falling corona. Results indicate that particles are ejected from the black hole. These results are consistent with other GRMHD simulations. The GRPIC simulation results will be presented, along with some remarks and future improvements. The emission is calculated from relativistic flows in black hole systems using a fully general relativistic radiative transfer formulation, with flow structures obtained by GRMHD simulations considering thermal free-free emission and thermal synchrotron emission. Bright filament-like features protrude (visually) from the accretion disk surface, which are enhancements of synchrotron emission where the magnetic field roughly aligns with the line-of-sight in the co-moving frame. The features move back and forth as

Multi-Algorithm Particle Simulations with Spatiocyte.

PubMed

Arjunan, Satya N V; Takahashi, Koichi

2017-01-01

As quantitative biologists get more measurements of spatially regulated systems such as cell division and polarization, simulation of reaction and diffusion of proteins using the data is becoming increasingly relevant to uncover the mechanisms underlying the systems. Spatiocyte is a lattice-based stochastic particle simulator for biochemical reaction and diffusion processes. Simulations can be performed at single molecule and compartment spatial scales simultaneously. Molecules can diffuse and react in 1D (filament), 2D (membrane), and 3D (cytosol) compartments. The implications of crowded regions in the cell can be investigated because each diffusing molecule has spatial dimensions. Spatiocyte adopts multi-algorithm and multi-timescale frameworks to simulate models that simultaneously employ deterministic, stochastic, and particle reaction-diffusion algorithms. Comparison of light microscopy images to simulation snapshots is supported by Spatiocyte microscopy visualization and molecule tagging features. Spatiocyte is open-source software and is freely available at http://spatiocyte.org .

Classical and quantum dynamics of a kicked relativistic particle in a box

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yusupov, J. R.; Otajanov, D. M.; Eshniyazov, V. E.; Matrasulov, D. U.

2018-03-01

We study classical and quantum dynamics of a kicked relativistic particle confined in a one dimensional box. It is found that in classical case for chaotic motion the average kinetic energy grows in time, while for mixed regime the growth is suppressed. However, in case of regular motion energy fluctuates around certain value. Quantum dynamics is treated by solving the time-dependent Dirac equation with delta-kicking potential, whose exact solution is obtained for single kicking period. In quantum case, depending on the values of the kicking parameters, the average kinetic energy can be quasi periodic, or fluctuating around some value. Particle transport is studied by considering spatio-temporal evolution of the Gaussian wave packet and by analyzing the trembling motion.

Combining cell-based hydrodynamics with hybrid particle-field simulations: efficient and realistic simulation of structuring dynamics.

PubMed

Sevink, G J A; Schmid, F; Kawakatsu, T; Milano, G

2017-02-22

We have extended an existing hybrid MD-SCF simulation technique that employs a coarsening step to enhance the computational efficiency of evaluating non-bonded particle interactions. This technique is conceptually equivalent to the single chain in mean-field (SCMF) method in polymer physics, in the sense that non-bonded interactions are derived from the non-ideal chemical potential in self-consistent field (SCF) theory, after a particle-to-field projection. In contrast to SCMF, however, MD-SCF evolves particle coordinates by the usual Newton's equation of motion. Since collisions are seriously affected by the softening of non-bonded interactions that originates from their evaluation at the coarser continuum level, we have devised a way to reinsert the effect of collisions on the structural evolution. Merging MD-SCF with multi-particle collision dynamics (MPCD), we mimic particle collisions at the level of computational cells and at the same time properly account for the momentum transfer that is important for a realistic system evolution. The resulting hybrid MD-SCF/MPCD method was validated for a particular coarse-grained model of phospholipids in aqueous solution, against reference full-particle simulations and the original MD-SCF model. We additionally implemented and tested an alternative and more isotropic finite difference gradient. Our results show that efficiency is improved by merging MD-SCF with MPCD, as properly accounting for hydrodynamic interactions considerably speeds up the phase separation dynamics, with negligible additional computational costs compared to efficient MD-SCF. This new method enables realistic simulations of large-scale systems that are needed to investigate the applications of self-assembled structures of lipids in nanotechnologies.

Relativistic collective diffusion in one-dimensional systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lin, Gui-Wu; Lam, Yu-Yiu; Zheng, Dong-Qin; Zhong, Wei-Rong

2018-05-01

The relativistic collective diffusion in one-dimensional molecular system is investigated through nonequilibrium molecular dynamics with Monte Carlo methods. We have proposed the relationship among the speed, the temperature, the density distribution and the collective diffusion coefficient of particles in a relativistic moving system. It is found that the relativistic speed of the system has no effect on the temperature, but the collective diffusion coefficient decreases to zero as the velocity of the system approaches to the speed of light. The collective diffusion coefficient is modified as D‧ = D(1 ‑w2 c2 )3 2 for satisfying the relativistic circumstances. The present results may contribute to the understanding of the behavior of the particles transport diffusion in a high speed system, as well as enlighten the study of biological metabolism at relativistic high speed situation.

Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics Simulations of Ultrarelativistic Shocks with Artificial Viscosity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Siegler, S.; Riffert, H.

2000-03-01

We present a fully Lagrangian conservation form of the general relativistic hydrodynamic equations for perfect fluids with artificial viscosity in a given arbitrary background spacetime. This conservation formulation is achieved by choosing suitable Lagrangian time evolution variables, from which the generic fluid variables of rest-mass density, 3-velocity, and thermodynamic pressure have to be determined. We present the corresponding equations for an ideal gas and show the existence and uniqueness of the solution. On the basis of the Lagrangian formulation we have developed a three-dimensional general relativistic smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) code using the standard SPH formalism as known from nonrelativistic fluid dynamics. One-dimensional simulations of a shock tube and a wall shock are presented together with a two-dimensional test calculation of an inclined shock tube. With our method we can model ultrarelativistic fluid flows including shocks with Lorentz factors of even 1000.

Covariant scalar representation of ? and quantization of the scalar relativistic particle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jarvis, P. D.; Tsohantjis, I.

1996-03-01

A covariant scalar representation of iosp(d,2/2) is constructed and analysed in comparison with existing BFV-BRST methods for the quantization of the scalar relativistic particle. It is found that, with appropriately defined wavefunctions, this iosp(d,2/2) produced representation can be identified with the state space arising from the canonical BFV-BRST quantization of the modular-invariant, unoriented scalar particle (or antiparticle) with admissible gauge-fixing conditions. For this model, the cohomological determination of physical states can thus be obtained purely from the representation theory of the iosp(d,2/2) algebra.

Time Operator in Relativistic Quantum Mechanics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khorasani, Sina

2017-07-01

It is first shown that the Dirac’s equation in a relativistic frame could be modified to allow discrete time, in agreement to a recently published upper bound. Next, an exact self-adjoint 4 × 4 relativistic time operator for spin-1/2 particles is found and the time eigenstates for the non-relativistic case are obtained and discussed. Results confirm the quantum mechanical speculation that particles can indeed occupy negative energy levels with vanishingly small but non-zero probablity, contrary to the general expectation from classical physics. Hence, Wolfgang Pauli’s objection regarding the existence of a self-adjoint time operator is fully resolved. It is shown that using the time operator, a bosonic field referred here to as energons may be created, whose number state representations in non-relativistic momentum space can be explicitly found.

A relativistic dissipative hydrodynamic description for systems including particle number changing processes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

El, Andrej; Muronga, Azwinndini; Xu, Zhe; Greiner, Carsten

2010-12-01

Relativistic dissipative hydrodynamic equations are extended by taking into account particle number changing processes in a gluon system, which expands in one dimension boost-invariantly. Chemical equilibration is treated by a rate equation for the particle number density based on Boltzmann equation and Grad's ansatz for the off-equilibrium particle phase space distribution. We find that not only the particle production, but also the temperature and the momentum spectra of the gluon system, obtained from the hydrodynamic calculations, are sensitive to the rates of particle number changing processes. Comparisons of the hydrodynamic calculations with the transport ones employing the parton cascade BAMPS show the inaccuracy of the rate equation at large shear viscosity to entropy density ratio. To improve the rate equation, Grad's ansatz has to be modified beyond the second moments in momentum.

Combining electromagnetic gyro-kinetic particle-in-cell simulations with collisions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Slaby, Christoph; Kleiber, Ralf; Könies, Axel

2017-09-01

It has been an open question whether for electromagnetic gyro-kinetic particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations pitch-angle collisions and the recently introduced pullback transformation scheme (Mishchenko et al., 2014; Kleiber et al., 2016) are consistent. This question is positively answered by comparing the PIC code EUTERPE with an approach based on an expansion of the perturbed distribution function in eigenfunctions of the pitch-angle collision operator (Legendre polynomials) to solve the electromagnetic drift-kinetic equation with collisions in slab geometry. It is shown how both approaches yield the same results for the frequency and damping rate of a kinetic Alfvén wave and how the perturbed distribution function is substantially changed by the presence of pitch-angle collisions.

Particle-In-Cell Simulations of Asymmetric Dual Frequency Capacitive Discharge Physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Alan; Lichtenberg, A. J.; Lieberman, M. A.; Verboncoeur, J. P.

2003-10-01

Dual frequency capacitive discharges are finding increasing use for etching in the microelectronics industry. In the ideal case, the high frequency power (typically 27.1-160 MHz) controls the plasma density and the low frequency power (typically 2-13.56 MHz) controls the ion energy. The electron power deposition and the dynamics of dual frequency rf sheaths are not well understood. We report on particle-in-cell computer simulations of an asymmetric dual frequency argon discharge. The simulations are performed in 1D (radial) geometry using the bounded electrostatic code XPDP1. Operating parameters are 27.1/2 MHz high/low frequencies, 10/13 cm inner/outer radii, 3-200 mTorr pressures, and 10^9-10^11 cm-3 densities. We determine the power deposition and sheath dynamics for the high frequency power alone, and with various added low frequency powers. We compare the simulation results to simple global models of dual frequency discharges. Support provided by Lam Research, NSF Grant ECS-0139956, California industries, and UC-SMART Contract SM99-10051.

Relativistic magnetic reconnection driven by a moderately intense laser interacting with a micro-plasma-slab

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yi, Longqing; Shen, Baifei; Pukhov, Alexander; Fülöp, Tünde

2017-10-01

Magnetic reconnection (MR) in the relativistic regime is generally thought to be responsible for powering rapid bursts of non-thermal radiation in astrophysical events. It is therefore of significant importance to study how the field energy is transferred to the plasma to power the observed emission. However, due to the difficulty in making direct measurements in astrophysical systems or achieving relativistic MR in laboratory environments, the particle acceleration is usually studied using fully kinetic PIC simulations. Here we present a numerical study of a readily available (TW-mJ-class) laser interacting with a micro-scale plasma slab. The simulations show when the electron beams excited on both sides of the slab approach the end of the plasma structure, ultrafast relativistic MR occurs. As the field topology changes, the explosive release of magnetic energy results in emission of relativistic electron jets with cut-off energy 12 MeV. The proposed novel scenario can be straightforwardly implemented in experiments, and might significantly improve the understanding of fundamental questions such as field dissipation and particle acceleration in relativistic MR. This work is supported by the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation and the European Research Council (ERC-2014-CoG Grant 64712).

Self-consistent particle-in-cell simulations of fundamental and harmonic radio plasma emission mechanisms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tsiklauri, D.; Thurgood, J. O.

2015-12-01

first co-author Jonathan O. Thurgood (QMUL) The simulation of three-wave interaction based plasma emission, an underlying mechanism for type III solar radio bursts, is a challenging task requiring fully-kinetic, multi-dimensional models. This paper aims to resolve a contradiction in past attempts, whereby some authors report that no such processes occur and others draw conflicting conclusions, by using 2D, fully kinetic, particle-in-cell simulations of relaxing electron beams. Here we present the results of particle-in-cell simulations which for different physical parameters permit or prohibit the plasma emission. We show that the possibility of plasma emission is contingent upon the frequency of the initial electrostatic waves generated by the bump-in-tail instability, and that these waves may be prohibited from participating in the necessary three-wave interactions due to the frequency beat requirements. We caution against simulating astrophysical radio bursts using unrealistically dense beams (a common approach which reduces run time), as the resulting non-Langmuir characteristics of the initial wave modes significantly suppresses the emission. Comparison of our results indicates that, contrary to the suggestions of previous authors, a plasma emission mechanism based on two counter-propagating beams is unnecessary in astrophysical context. Finally, we also consider the action of the Weibel instability, which generates an electromagnetic beam mode. As this provides a stronger contribution to electromagnetic energy than the emission, we stress that evidence of plasma emission in simulations must disentangle the two contributions and not simply interpret changes in total electromagnetic energy as the evidence of plasma emission. In summary, we present the first self-consistent demonstration of fundamental and harmonic plasma emission from a single-beam system via fully kinetic numerical simulation. Pre-print can be found at http://astro.qmul.ac.uk/~tsiklauri/jtdt1

Model and particle-in-cell simulation of ion energy distribution in collisionless sheath

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

Zhou, Zhuwen, E-mail: zzwwdxy@gznc.edu.cn; Key Laboratory of Photoelectron Materials Design and Simulation in Guizhou Province, Guiyang 550018; Scientific Research Innovation Team in Plasma and Functional Thin Film Materials in Guizhou Province, Guiyang 550018

2015-06-15

In this paper, we propose a self-consistent theoretical model, which is described by the ion energy distributions (IEDs) in collisionless sheaths, and the analytical results for different combined dc/radio frequency (rf) capacitive coupled plasma discharge cases, including sheath voltage errors analysis, are compared with the results of numerical simulations using a one-dimensional plane-parallel particle-in-cell (PIC) simulation. The IEDs in collisionless sheaths are performed on combination of dc/rf voltage sources electrodes discharge using argon as the process gas. The incident ions on the grounded electrode are separated, according to their different radio frequencies, and dc voltages on a separated electrode, themore » IEDs, and widths of energy in sheath and the plasma sheath thickness are discussed. The IEDs, the IED widths, and sheath voltages by the theoretical model are investigated and show good agreement with PIC simulations.« less

Simulation of DNA Damage in Human Cells from Space Radiation Using a Physical Model of Stochastic Particle Tracks and Chromosomes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ponomarev, Artem; Plante, Ianik; Hada, Megumi; George, Kerry; Wu, Honglu

2015-01-01

The formation of double-strand breaks (DSBs) and chromosomal aberrations (CAs) is of great importance in radiation research and, specifically, in space applications. We are presenting a recently developed model, in which chromosomes simulated by NASARTI (NASA Radiation Tracks Image) is combined with nanoscopic dose calculations performed with the Monte-Carlo simulation by RITRACKS (Relativistic Ion Tracks) in a voxelized space. The model produces the number of DSBs, as a function of dose for high-energy iron, oxygen, and carbon ions, and He ions. The combined model calculates yields of radiation-induced CAs and unrejoined chromosome breaks in normal and repair deficient cells. The merged computational model is calibrated using the relative frequencies and distributions of chromosomal aberrations reported in the literature. The model considers fractionated deposition of energy to approximate dose rates of the space flight environment. The merged model also predicts of the yields and sizes of translocations, dicentrics, rings, and more complex-type aberrations formed in the G0/G1 cell cycle phase during the first cell division after irradiation.

Electron and ion heating by whistler turbulence: Three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations

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

Hughes, R. Scott; Gary, S. Peter; Wang, Joseph

2014-12-17

Three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations of decaying whistler turbulence are carried out on a collisionless, homogeneous, magnetized, electron-ion plasma model. In addition, the simulations use an initial ensemble of relatively long wavelength whistler modes with a broad range of initial propagation directions with an initial electron beta β e = 0.05. The computations follow the temporal evolution of the fluctuations as they cascade into broadband turbulent spectra at shorter wavelengths. Three simulations correspond to successively larger simulation boxes and successively longer wavelengths of the initial fluctuations. The computations confirm previous results showing electron heating is preferentially parallel to the background magnetic fieldmore » B o, and ion heating is preferentially perpendicular to B o. The new results here are that larger simulation boxes and longer initial whistler wavelengths yield weaker overall dissipation, consistent with linear dispersion theory predictions of decreased damping, stronger ion heating, consistent with a stronger ion Landau resonance, and weaker electron heating.« less

GLOBAL EXPLICIT PARTICLE-IN-CELL SIMULATIONS OF THE NONSTATIONARY BOW SHOCK AND MAGNETOSPHERE

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

Yang, Zhongwei; Liu, Ying D.; Wang, Rui

2016-07-01

We carry out two-dimensional global particle-in-cell simulations of the interaction between the solar wind and a dipole field to study the formation of the bow shock and magnetosphere. A self-reforming bow shock ahead of a dipole field is presented by using relatively high temporal-spatial resolutions. We find that (1) the bow shock and the magnetosphere are formed and reach a quasi-stable state after several ion cyclotron periods, and (2) under the B{sub z} southward solar wind condition, the bow shock undergoes a self-reformation for low β{sub i} and high M{sub A}. Simultaneously, a magnetic reconnection in the magnetotail is found.more » For high β{sub i} and low M{sub A}, the shock becomes quasi-stationary, and the magnetotail reconnection disappears. In addition, (3) the magnetopause deflects the magnetosheath plasmas. The sheath particles injected at the quasi-perpendicular region of the bow shock can be convected downstream of an oblique shock region. A fraction of these sheath particles can leak out from the magnetosheath at the wings of the bow shock. Hence, the downstream situation is more complicated than that for a planar shock produced in local simulations.« less

Particle-In-Cell simulations of electron beam microbunching instability in three dimensions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Chengkun; Zeng, Y.; Meyers, M. D.; Yi, S.; Albright, B. J.; Kwan, T. J. T.

2013-10-01

Microbunching instability due to Coherent Synchrotron Radiation (CSR) in a magnetic chicane is one of the major effects that can degrade the electron beam quality in an X-ray Free Electron Laser. Self-consistent simulation using the Particle-In-Cell (PIC) method for the CSR fields of the beam and their effects on beam dynamics have been elusive due to the excessive dispersion error on the grid. We have implemented a high-order finite-volume PIC scheme that models the propagation of the CSR fields accurately. This new scheme is characterized and optimized through a detailed dispersion analysis. The CSR fields from our improved PIC calculation are compared to the extended CSR numerical model based on the Lienard-Wiechert formula in 2D/3D. We also conduct beam dynamics simulation of the microbunching instability using our new PIC capability. Detailed self-consistent PIC simulations of the CSR fields and beam dynamics will be presented and discussed. Work supported by the U.S. Department of Energy through the LDRD program at Los Alamos National Laboratory.

General-relativistic Simulations of Four States of Accretion onto Millisecond Pulsars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Parfrey, Kyle; Tchekhovskoy, Alexander

2017-12-01

Accreting neutron stars can power a wide range of astrophysical phenomena including short- and long-duration gamma-ray bursts, ultra-luminous X-ray sources, and X-ray binaries. Numerical simulations are a valuable tool for studying the accretion-disk–magnetosphere interaction that is central to these problems, most clearly for the recently discovered transitional millisecond pulsars. However, magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) methods, widely used for simulating accretion, have difficulty in highly magnetized stellar magnetospheres, while force-free methods, suitable for such regions, cannot include the accreting gas. We present an MHD method that can stably evolve essentially force-free, highly magnetized regions, and describe the first time-dependent relativistic simulations of magnetized accretion onto millisecond pulsars. Our axisymmetric general-relativistic MHD simulations for the first time demonstrate how the interaction of a turbulent accretion flow with a pulsar’s electromagnetic wind can lead to the transition of an isolated pulsar to the accreting state. This transition naturally leads to the formation of relativistic jets, whose power can greatly exceed the power of the isolated pulsar’s wind. If the accretion rate is below a critical value, the pulsar instead expels the accretion stream. More generally, our simulations produce for the first time the four possible accretion regimes, in order of decreasing mass accretion rate: (a) crushed magnetosphere and direct accretion; (b) magnetically channeled accretion onto the stellar poles; (c) the propeller state, where material enters through the light cylinder but is prevented from accreting by the centrifugal barrier; (d) almost perfect exclusion of the accretion flow from the light cylinder by the pulsar wind.

Scattering of Non-Relativistic Charged Particles by Electromagnetic Radiation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Apostol, M.

2017-11-01

The cross-section is computed for non-relativistic charged particles (like electrons and ions) scattered by electromagnetic radiation confined to a finite region (like the focal region of optical laser beams). The cross-section exhibits maxima at scattering angles given by the energy and momentum conservation in multi-photon absorption or emission processes. For convenience, a potential scattering is included and a comparison is made with the well-known Kroll-Watson scattering formula. The scattering process addressed in this paper is distinct from the process dealt with in previous studies, where the scattering is immersed in the radiation field.

Particle-in-cell simulation study of a lower-hybrid shock

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

Dieckmann, M. E.; Ynnerman, A.; Sarri, G.

2016-06-15

The expansion of a magnetized high-pressure plasma into a low-pressure ambient medium is examined with particle-in-cell simulations. The magnetic field points perpendicular to the plasma's expansion direction and binary collisions between particles are absent. The expanding plasma steepens into a quasi-electrostatic shock that is sustained by the lower-hybrid (LH) wave. The ambipolar electric field points in the expansion direction and it induces together with the background magnetic field a fast E cross B drift of electrons. The drifting electrons modify the background magnetic field, resulting in its pile-up by the LH shock. The magnetic pressure gradient force accelerates the ambientmore » ions ahead of the LH shock, reducing the relative velocity between the ambient plasma and the LH shock to about the phase speed of the shocked LH wave, transforming the LH shock into a nonlinear LH wave. The oscillations of the electrostatic potential have a larger amplitude and wavelength in the magnetized plasma than in an unmagnetized one with otherwise identical conditions. The energy loss to the drifting electrons leads to a noticeable slowdown of the LH shock compared to that in an unmagnetized plasma.« less

Two-dimensional relativistic space charge limited current flow in the drift space

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Y. L.; Chen, S. H.; Koh, W. S.; Ang, L. K.

2014-04-01

Relativistic two-dimensional (2D) electrostatic (ES) formulations have been derived for studying the steady-state space charge limited (SCL) current flow of a finite width W in a drift space with a gap distance D. The theoretical analyses show that the 2D SCL current density in terms of the 1D SCL current density monotonically increases with D/W, and the theory recovers the 1D classical Child-Langmuir law in the drift space under the approximation of uniform charge density in the transverse direction. A 2D static model has also been constructed to study the dynamical behaviors of the current flow with current density exceeding the SCL current density, and the static theory for evaluating the transmitted current fraction and minimum potential position have been verified by using 2D ES particle-in-cell simulation. The results show the 2D SCL current density is mainly determined by the geometrical effects, but the dynamical behaviors of the current flow are mainly determined by the relativistic effect at the current density exceeding the SCL current density.

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

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dieckmann, M. E.; Bret, A.

2018-01-01

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

The Particle-in-Cell and Kinetic Simulation Software Center

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mori, W. B.; Decyk, V. K.; Tableman, A.; Fonseca, R. A.; Tsung, F. S.; Hu, Q.; Winjum, B. J.; An, W.; Dalichaouch, T. N.; Davidson, A.; Hildebrand, L.; Joglekar, A.; May, J.; Miller, K.; Touati, M.; Xu, X. L.

2017-10-01

The UCLA Particle-in-Cell and Kinetic Simulation Software Center (PICKSC) aims to support an international community of PIC and plasma kinetic software developers, users, and educators; to increase the use of this software for accelerating the rate of scientific discovery; and to be a repository of knowledge and history for PIC. We discuss progress towards making available and documenting illustrative open-source software programs and distinct production programs; developing and comparing different PIC algorithms; coordinating the development of resources for the educational use of kinetic software; and the outcomes of our first sponsored OSIRIS users workshop. We also welcome input and discussion from anyone interested in using or developing kinetic software, in obtaining access to our codes, in collaborating, in sharing their own software, or in commenting on how PICKSC can better serve the DPP community. Supported by NSF under Grant ACI-1339893 and by the UCLA Institute for Digital Research and Education.

Particle-in-cell simulation of x-ray wakefield acceleration and betatron radiation in nanotubes

DOE PAGES

Zhang, Xiaomei; Tajima, Toshiki; Farinella, Deano; ...

2016-10-18

Though wakefield acceleration in crystal channels has been previously proposed, x-ray wakefield acceleration has only recently become a realistic possibility since the invention of the single-cycled optical laser compression technique. We investigate the acceleration due to a wakefield induced by a coherent, ultrashort x-ray pulse guided by a nanoscale channel inside a solid material. By two-dimensional particle-in-cell computer simulations, we show that an acceleration gradient of TeV/cm is attainable. This is about 3 orders of magnitude stronger than that of the conventional plasma-based wakefield accelerations, which implies the possibility of an extremely compact scheme to attain ultrahigh energies. In additionmore » to particle acceleration, this scheme can also induce the emission of high energy photons at ~O(10–100) MeV. Here, our simulations confirm such high energy photon emissions, which is in contrast with that induced by the optical laser driven wakefield scheme. In addition to this, the significantly improved emittance of the energetic electrons has been discussed.« less

Enhanced quasi-static particle-in-cell simulation of electron cloud instabilities in circular accelerators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feng, Bing

Electron cloud instabilities have been observed in many circular accelerators around the world and raised concerns of future accelerators and possible upgrades. In this thesis, the electron cloud instabilities are studied with the quasi-static particle-in-cell (PIC) code QuickPIC. Modeling in three-dimensions the long timescale propagation of beam in electron clouds in circular accelerators requires faster and more efficient simulation codes. Thousands of processors are easily available for parallel computations. However, it is not straightforward to increase the effective speed of the simulation by running the same problem size on an increasingly number of processors because there is a limit to domain size in the decomposition of the two-dimensional part of the code. A pipelining algorithm applied on the fully parallelized particle-in-cell code QuickPIC is implemented to overcome this limit. The pipelining algorithm uses multiple groups of processors and optimizes the job allocation on the processors in parallel computing. With this novel algorithm, it is possible to use on the order of 102 processors, and to expand the scale and the speed of the simulation with QuickPIC by a similar factor. In addition to the efficiency improvement with the pipelining algorithm, the fidelity of QuickPIC is enhanced by adding two physics models, the beam space charge effect and the dispersion effect. Simulation of two specific circular machines is performed with the enhanced QuickPIC. First, the proposed upgrade to the Fermilab Main Injector is studied with an eye upon guiding the design of the upgrade and code validation. Moderate emittance growth is observed for the upgrade of increasing the bunch population by 5 times. But the simulation also shows that increasing the beam energy from 8GeV to 20GeV or above can effectively limit the emittance growth. Then the enhanced QuickPIC is used to simulate the electron cloud effect on electron beam in the Cornell Energy Recovery Linac

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.

Relativistic impulse dynamics.

PubMed

Swanson, Stanley M

2011-08-01

Classical electrodynamics has some annoying rough edges. The self-energy of charges is infinite without a cutoff. The calculation of relativistic trajectories is difficult because of retardation and an average radiation reaction term. By reconceptuallizing electrodynamics in terms of exchanges of impulses rather than describing it by forces and potentials, we eliminate these problems. A fully relativistic theory using photonlike null impulses is developed. Numerical calculations for a two-body, one-impulse-in-transit model are discussed. A simple relationship between center-of-mass scattering angle and angular momentum was found. It reproduces the Rutherford cross section at low velocities and agrees with the leading term of relativistic distinguishable-particle quantum cross sections (Møller, Mott) when the distance of closest approach is larger than the Compton wavelength of the particle. Magnetism emerges as a consequence of viewing retarded and advanced interactions from the vantage point of an instantaneous radius vector. Radiation reaction becomes the local conservation of energy-momentum between the radiating particle and the emitted impulse. A net action is defined that could be used in developing quantum dynamics without potentials. A reinterpretation of Newton's laws extends them to relativistic motion.

Global relativistic effects in chaotic scattering.

PubMed

Bernal, Juan D; Seoane, Jesús M; Sanjuán, Miguel A F

2017-03-01

The phenomenon of chaotic scattering is very relevant in different fields of science and engineering. It has been mainly studied in the context of Newtonian mechanics, where the velocities of the particles are low in comparison with the speed of light. Here, we analyze global properties such as the escape time distribution and the decay law of the Hénon-Heiles system in the context of special relativity. Our results show that the average escape time decreases with increasing values of the relativistic factor β. As a matter of fact, we have found a crossover point for which the KAM islands in the phase space are destroyed when β≃0.4. On the other hand, the study of the survival probability of particles in the scattering region shows an algebraic decay for values of β≤0.4, and this law becomes exponential for β>0.4. Surprisingly, a scaling law between the exponent of the decay law and the β factor is uncovered where a quadratic fitting between them is found. The results of our numerical simulations agree faithfully with our qualitative arguments. We expect this work to be useful for a better understanding of both chaotic and relativistic systems.

Parametric study of rod-pinch diode using particle-in-cell simulation

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

Kumar, R.; Biswas, D., E-mail: raghav@barc.gov.in; Chandra, R.

2014-07-01

We perform Particle-In-Cell (PIC) simulation of KALI-30 GW pulsed power generator based rod-pinch diode. It is shown that ions emitted from the anode-plasma play a crucial role in diode dynamics. It is found that ions not only help in compensating the space charge due to electron beam, but also lead to enhancement of the local electric field at the side walls of the cathode leading to additional electron emission from the side wall. Electrons emanating from one side wall of the cathode tend to converge at the anode tip. This can be used to design an improved Flash X-ray source.more » (author)« less

Design and analysis of a radio frequency extractor in an S-band relativistic klystron amplifier.

PubMed

Zhang, Zehai; Zhang, Jun; Shu, Ting; Qi, Zumin

2012-09-01

A radio frequency (RF) extractor converts the energy of a strongly modulated intense relativistic electron beam (IREB) into the energy of high power microwave in relativistic klystron amplifier (RKA). In the aim of efficiently extracting the energy of the modulated IREB, a RF extractor with all round coupling structure is proposed. Due to the all round structure, the operating transverse magnetic mode can be established easily and its resonant property can be investigated with an approach of group delay time. Furthermore, the external quality factor can be low enough. The design and analysis of the extractor applied in an S-band RKA are carried out, and the performance of the extractor is validated with three-dimensional (3D) particle-in-cell simulations. The extraction efficiency reaches 27% in the simulation with a totally 3D model of the whole RKA. The primary experiments are also carried out and the results show that the RF extractor with the external quality factor of 7.9 extracted 22% of the beam power and transformed it into the high power microwave. Better results are expected after the parasitic mode between the input and middle cavities is suppressed.

Design and analysis of a radio frequency extractor in an S-band relativistic klystron amplifier

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Zehai; Zhang, Jun; Shu, Ting; Qi, Zumin

2012-09-01

A radio frequency (RF) extractor converts the energy of a strongly modulated intense relativistic electron beam (IREB) into the energy of high power microwave in relativistic klystron amplifier (RKA). In the aim of efficiently extracting the energy of the modulated IREB, a RF extractor with all round coupling structure is proposed. Due to the all round structure, the operating transverse magnetic mode can be established easily and its resonant property can be investigated with an approach of group delay time. Furthermore, the external quality factor can be low enough. The design and analysis of the extractor applied in an S-band RKA are carried out, and the performance of the extractor is validated with three-dimensional (3D) particle-in-cell simulations. The extraction efficiency reaches 27% in the simulation with a totally 3D model of the whole RKA. The primary experiments are also carried out and the results show that the RF extractor with the external quality factor of 7.9 extracted 22% of the beam power and transformed it into the high power microwave. Better results are expected after the parasitic mode between the input and middle cavities is suppressed.

Enhanced pair plasma generation in the relativistic transparency regime

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, W. Y.; Luo, W.; Yuan, T.; Yu, J. Y.; Chen, M.; Sheng, Z. M.

2017-10-01

Electron-positron ( e - e + ) pair plasma generation in the relativistic transparency regime in a thin foil with a fixed thickness irradiated by two counter-propagating laser pulses is investigated through multi-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations. It is shown that target transparency can significantly enhance the pair generation due to the formation of a stable standing wave. An optimum foil density of 200-280 n c (with nc being the critical plasma density of the incident laser at the wavelength of 1 μm) is found for enhanced e - e + pair generation for laser intensity around 10 PW. With such foil density, laser energy transformed to pair plasma formation is approximately four times higher than that with a foil density of 710 nc, while the laser energy transformed to γ-photons remains almost the same. Dense e - e + plasma with a density as high as 10 22 cm - 3 ( ≃ 10 n c ) can be produced accordingly. Comparison of pair plasma generation between cases with fundamental and double frequency driver lasers further demonstrates such an enhancement effect. It shows that when the duration of the laser pulse is relatively short, the double frequency driver can generate more pair plasmas due to the earlier excitation of relativistic transparency.

Extended Magnetohydrodynamics with Embedded Particle-in-Cell Simulation of Ganymede's Magnetosphere

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Toth, Gabor; Jia, Xianzhe; Markidis, Stefano; Peng, Ivy Bo; Chen, Yuxi; Daldorff, Lars K. S.; Tenishev, Valeriy M.; Borovikov, Dmitry; Haiducek, John D.; Gombosi, Tamas I.;

Intense isolated attosecond pulse generation from relativistic laser plasmas using few-cycle laser pulses

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

Ma, Guangjin, E-mail: guangjin.ma@mpq.mpg.de; Max-Planck-Institut für Quantenoptik, D-85748 Garching; Dallari, William

2015-03-15

We have performed a systematic study through particle-in-cell simulations to investigate the generation of attosecond pulse from relativistic laser plasmas when laser pulse duration approaches the few-cycle regime. A significant enhancement of attosecond pulse energy has been found to depend on laser pulse duration, carrier envelope phase, and plasma scale length. Based on the results obtained in this work, the potential of attaining isolated attosecond pulses with ∼100 μJ energy for photons >16 eV using state-of-the-art laser technology appears to be within reach.

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.

The D-dimensional non-relativistic particle in the Scarf Trigonometry plus Non-Central Rosen-Morse Potentials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Deta, U. A.; Lestari, N. A.; Yantidewi, M.; Suparmi, A.; Cari, C.

2018-03-01

The D-Dimensional Non-Relativistic Particle Properties in the Scarf Trigonometry plus Non-Central Rosen-Morse Potentials was investigated using an analytical method. The bound state energy is given approximately in the closed form. The approximate wave function for arbitrary l-state in D-dimensions are expressed in the form of generalised Jacobi Polynomials. The energy spectra of the particle are increased when the dimensions are higher. The relationship between the orbital number in each dimension is recursive. The special case in 3 dimensions is given to the ground state.

Thermodynamic laws and equipartition theorem in relativistic Brownian motion.

PubMed

Koide, T; Kodama, T

2011-06-01

We extend the stochastic energetics to a relativistic system. The thermodynamic laws and equipartition theorem are discussed for a relativistic Brownian particle and the first and the second law of thermodynamics in this formalism are derived. The relation between the relativistic equipartition relation and the rate of heat transfer is discussed in the relativistic case together with the nature of the noise term.

Improved understanding of the ball-pen probe through particle-in-cell simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Murphy-Sugrue, S.; Harrison, J.; Walkden, N. R.; Bryant, P.; Bradley, J. W.

2017-05-01

Ball-pen probes (BPP) have been deployed in the SOL of numerous tokamak experiments and low-temperature magnetised plasmas to make direct measurements of the plasma potential and electron temperature. Despite strong empirical evidence for the success of the BPP it lacks a theoretical underpinning of its collection mechanism. In this paper we investigate the capability of the probe to measure the plasma potential by means of particle-in-cell simulations. The BPP is found to float at a potential offset from the plasma potential by a factor {T}{{e}}{α }{{BPP}}. By simulating BPPs and Langmuir probes, excellent agreement has been found between the measured electron temperature and the specified source temperature. The transport mechanism for both ions and electrons has been determined. E × B drifts are observed to drive electrons and ions down the tunnel. This mechanism is sensitive to the diameter of the probe.

Three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulation on gain saturation effect of microchannel plate

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

Wang, Qiangqiang; Yuan, Zheng; Cao, Zhurong, E-mail: cao33jin@aliyun.com

We present here the results of the simulation work, using the three-dimensional particle-in-cell method, on the performance of the lead glass microchannel plate under saturated state. We calculated the electron cascade process with different DC bias voltages under both self-consistent condition and non-self-consistent condition. The comparative results have demonstrated that the strong self-consistent field can suppress the cascade process and make the microchannel plate saturated. The simulation results were also compared to the experimental data and good agreement was obtained. The simulation results also show that the electron multiplication process in the channel is accompanied by the buildup process ofmore » positive charges in the channel wall. Though the interactions among the secondary electron cloud in the channel, the positive charges in the channel wall, and the external acceleration field can make the electron-surface collision more frequent, the collision energy will be inevitably reduced, thus the electron gain will also be reduced.« less

Bonded-cell model for particle fracture.

PubMed

Nguyen, Duc-Hanh; Azéma, Emilien; Sornay, Philippe; Radjai, Farhang

2015-02-01

Particle degradation and fracture play an important role in natural granular flows and in many applications of granular materials. We analyze the fracture properties of two-dimensional disklike particles modeled as aggregates of rigid cells bonded along their sides by a cohesive Mohr-Coulomb law and simulated by the contact dynamics method. We show that the compressive strength scales with tensile strength between cells but depends also on the friction coefficient and a parameter describing cell shape distribution. The statistical scatter of compressive strength is well described by the Weibull distribution function with a shape parameter varying from 6 to 10 depending on cell shape distribution. We show that this distribution may be understood in terms of percolating critical intercellular contacts. We propose a random-walk model of critical contacts that leads to particle size dependence of the compressive strength in good agreement with our simulation data.

Emission of energetic protons from relativistic intensity laser interaction with a cone-wire target.

PubMed

Paradkar, B S; Yabuuchi, T; Sawada, H; Higginson, D P; Link, A; Wei, M S; Stephens, R B; Krasheninnikov, S I; Beg, F N

2012-11-01

Emission of energetic protons (maximum energy ∼18 MeV) from the interaction of relativistic intensity laser with a cone-wire target is experimentally measured and numerically simulated with hybrid particle-in-cell code, lsp [D. R. Welch et al., Phys. Plasmas 13, 063105 (2006)]. The protons originate from the wire attached to the cone after the OMEGA EP laser (670 J, 10 ps, 5 × 10^{18} W/cm^{2}) deposits its energy inside the cone. These protons are accelerated from the contaminant layer on the wire surface, and are measured in the radial direction, i.e., in a direction transverse to the wire length. Simulations show that the radial electric field, responsible for the proton acceleration, is excited by three factors, viz., (i) transverse momentum of the relativistic fast electrons beam entering into the wire, (ii) scattering of electrons inside the wire, and (iii) refluxing of escaped electrons by "fountain effect" at the end of the wire. The underlying physics of radial electric field and acceleration of protons is discussed.

Spectral control of high harmonics from relativistic plasmas using bicircular fields

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Zi-Yu

2018-04-01

We introduce two-color counterrotating circularly polarized laser fields as a way to spectrally control high harmonic generation (HHG) from relativistic plasma mirrors. Through particle-in-cell simulations, we show that only a selected group of harmonic orders can appear owing to the symmetry of the laser fields and the related conservation laws. By adjusting the intensity ratio of the two driving field components, we demonstrate the overall HHG efficiency, the relative intensity of allowed neighboring harmonic orders, and that the polarization state of the harmonic source can be tuned. The HHG efficiency of this scheme can be as high as that driven by a linearly polarized laser field.

Conformal Electromagnetic Particle in Cell: A Review

DOE PAGES

Meierbachtol, Collin S.; Greenwood, Andrew D.; Verboncoeur, John P.; ...

2015-10-26

We review conformal (or body-fitted) electromagnetic particle-in-cell (EM-PIC) numerical solution schemes. Included is a chronological history of relevant particle physics algorithms often employed in these conformal simulations. We also provide brief mathematical descriptions of particle-tracking algorithms and current weighting schemes, along with a brief summary of major time-dependent electromagnetic solution methods. Several research areas are also highlighted for recommended future development of new conformal EM-PIC methods.

Implementation of a 3D version of ponderomotive guiding center solver in particle-in-cell code OSIRIS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Helm, Anton; Vieira, Jorge; Silva, Luis; Fonseca, Ricardo

2016-10-01

Laser-driven accelerators gained an increased attention over the past decades. Typical modeling techniques for laser wakefield acceleration (LWFA) are based on particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations. PIC simulations, however, are very computationally expensive due to the disparity of the relevant scales ranging from the laser wavelength, in the micrometer range, to the acceleration length, currently beyond the ten centimeter range. To minimize the gap between these despair scales the ponderomotive guiding center (PGC) algorithm is a promising approach. By describing the evolution of the laser pulse envelope separately, only the scales larger than the plasma wavelength are required to be resolved in the PGC algorithm, leading to speedups in several orders of magnitude. Previous work was limited to two dimensions. Here we present the implementation of the 3D version of a PGC solver into the massively parallel, fully relativistic PIC code OSIRIS. We extended the solver to include periodic boundary conditions and parallelization in all spatial dimensions. We present benchmarks for distributed and shared memory parallelization. We also discuss the stability of the PGC solver.

Species Entropies in the Kinetic Range of Collisionless Plasma Turbulence: Particle-in-cell Simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gary, S. Peter; Zhao, Yinjian; Hughes, R. Scott; Wang, Joseph; Parashar, Tulasi N.

2018-06-01

Three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations of the forward cascade of decaying turbulence in the relatively short-wavelength kinetic range have been carried out as initial-value problems on collisionless, homogeneous, magnetized electron-ion plasma models. The simulations have addressed both whistler turbulence at β i = β e = 0.25 and kinetic Alfvén turbulence at β i = β e = 0.50, computing the species energy dissipation rates as well as the increase of the Boltzmann entropies for both ions and electrons as functions of the initial dimensionless fluctuating magnetic field energy density ε o in the range 0 ≤ ε o ≤ 0.50. This study shows that electron and ion entropies display similar rates of increase and that all four entropy rates increase approximately as ε o , consistent with the assumption that the quasilinear premise is valid for the initial conditions assumed for these simulations. The simulations further predict that the time rates of ion entropy increase should be substantially greater for kinetic Alfvén turbulence than for whistler turbulence.

Advanced Accelerators: Particle, Photon and Plasma Wave Interactions

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

Williams, Ronald L.

2017-06-29

The overall objective of this project was to study the acceleration of electrons to very high energies over very short distances based on trapping slowly moving electrons in the fast moving potential wells of large amplitude plasma waves, which have relativistic phase velocities. These relativistic plasma waves, or wakefields, are the basis of table-top accelerators that have been shown to accelerate electrons to the same high energies as kilometer-length linear particle colliders operating using traditional decades-old acceleration techniques. The accelerating electrostatic fields of the relativistic plasma wave accelerators can be as large as GigaVolts/meter, and our goal was to studymore » techniques for remotely measuring these large fields by injecting low energy probe electron beams across the plasma wave and measuring the beam’s deflection. Our method of study was via computer simulations, and these results suggested that the deflection of the probe electron beam was directly proportional to the amplitude of the plasma wave. This is the basis of a proposed diagnostic technique, and numerous studies were performed to determine the effects of changing the electron beam, plasma wave and laser beam parameters. Further simulation studies included copropagating laser beams with the relativistic plasma waves. New interesting results came out of these studies including the prediction that very small scale electron beam bunching occurs, and an anomalous line focusing of the electron beam occurs under certain conditions. These studies were summarized in the dissertation of a graduate student who obtained the Ph.D. in physics. This past research program has motivated ideas for further research to corroborate these results using particle-in-cell simulation tools which will help design a test-of-concept experiment in our laboratory and a scaled up version for testing at a major wakefield accelerator facility.« less

Investigation of EMIC wave scattering as the cause for the BARREL 17 January 2013 relativistic electron precipitation event: A quantitative comparison of simulation with observations

DOE PAGES

Li, Zan; Millan, Robyn M.; Hudson, Mary K.; ...

2014-12-23

Electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) waves were observed at multiple observatory locations for several hours on 17 January 2013. During the wave activity period, a duskside relativistic electron precipitation (REP) event was observed by one of the Balloon Array for Radiation belt Relativistic Electron Losses (BARREL) balloons and was magnetically mapped close to Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) 13. We simulate the relativistic electron pitch angle diffusion caused by gyroresonant interactions with EMIC waves using wave and particle data measured by multiple instruments on board GOES 13 and the Van Allen Probes. We show that the count rate, the energy distribution,more » and the time variation of the simulated precipitation all agree very well with the balloon observations, suggesting that EMIC wave scattering was likely the cause for the precipitation event. The event reported here is the first balloon REP event with closely conjugate EMIC wave observations, and our study employs the most detailed quantitative analysis on the link of EMIC waves with observed REP to date.« less

Investigation of EMIC wave scattering as the cause for the BARREL 17 January 2013 relativistic electron precipitation event: A quantitative comparison of simulation with observations

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

Li, Zan; Millan, Robyn M.; Hudson, Mary K.

Electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) waves were observed at multiple observatory locations for several hours on 17 January 2013. During the wave activity period, a duskside relativistic electron precipitation (REP) event was observed by one of the Balloon Array for Radiation belt Relativistic Electron Losses (BARREL) balloons and was magnetically mapped close to Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) 13. We simulate the relativistic electron pitch angle diffusion caused by gyroresonant interactions with EMIC waves using wave and particle data measured by multiple instruments on board GOES 13 and the Van Allen Probes. We show that the count rate, the energy distribution,more » and the time variation of the simulated precipitation all agree very well with the balloon observations, suggesting that EMIC wave scattering was likely the cause for the precipitation event. The event reported here is the first balloon REP event with closely conjugate EMIC wave observations, and our study employs the most detailed quantitative analysis on the link of EMIC waves with observed REP to date.« less

Advanced particle-in-cell simulation techniques for modeling the Lockheed Martin Compact Fusion Reactor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Welch, Dale; Font, Gabriel; Mitchell, Robert; Rose, David

2017-10-01

We report on particle-in-cell developments of the study of the Compact Fusion Reactor. Millisecond, two and three-dimensional simulations (cubic meter volume) of confinement and neutral beam heating of the magnetic confinement device requires accurate representation of the complex orbits, near perfect energy conservation, and significant computational power. In order to determine initial plasma fill and neutral beam heating, these simulations include ionization, elastic and charge exchange hydrogen reactions. To this end, we are pursuing fast electromagnetic kinetic modeling algorithms including a two implicit techniques and a hybrid quasi-neutral algorithm with kinetic ions. The kinetic modeling includes use of the Poisson-corrected direct implicit, magnetic implicit, as well as second-order cloud-in-cell techniques. The hybrid algorithm, ignoring electron inertial effects, is two orders of magnitude faster than kinetic but not as accurate with respect to confinement. The advantages and disadvantages of these techniques will be presented. Funded by Lockheed Martin.

A Particle-in-Cell Simulation for the Traveling Wave Direct Energy Converter (TWDEC) for Fusion Propulsion

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chap, Andrew; Tarditi, Alfonso G.; Scott, John H.

2013-01-01

A Particle-in-cell simulation model has been developed to study the physics of the Traveling Wave Direct Energy Converter (TWDEC) applied to the conversion of charged fusion products into electricity. In this model the availability of a beam of collimated fusion products is assumed; the simulation is focused on the conversion of the beam kinetic energy into alternating current (AC) electric power. The model is electrostatic, as the electro-dynamics of the relatively slow ions can be treated in the quasistatic approximation. A two-dimensional, axisymmetric (radial-axial coordinates) geometry is considered. Ion beam particles are injected on one end and travel along the axis through ring-shaped electrodes with externally applied time-varying voltages, thus modulating the beam by forming a sinusoidal pattern in the beam density. Further downstream, the modulated beam passes through another set of ring electrodes, now electrically oating. The modulated beam induces a time alternating potential di erence between adjacent electrodes. Power can be drawn from the electrodes by connecting a resistive load. As energy is dissipated in the load, a corresponding drop in beam energy is measured. The simulation encapsulates the TWDEC process by reproducing the time-dependent transfer of energy and the particle deceleration due to the electric eld phase time variations.

Numerical algorithms for cold-relativistic plasma models in the presence of discontinuties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hakim, Ammar; Cary, John; Bruhwiler, David; Geddes, Cameron; Leemans, Wim; Esarey, Eric

2006-10-01

A numerical algorithm is presented to solve cold-relativistic electron fluid equations in the presence of sharp gradients and discontinuities. The intended application is to laser wake-field accelerator simulations in which the laser induces accelerating fields thousands of times those achievable in conventional RF accelerators. The relativistic cold-fluid equations are formulated as non-classical system of hyperbolic balance laws. It is shown that the flux Jacobian for this system can not be diagonalized which causes numerical difficulties when developing shock-capturing algorithms. Further, the system is shown to admit generalized delta-shock solutions, first discovered in the context of sticky-particle dynamics (Bouchut, Ser. Adv. Math App. Sci., 22 (1994) pp. 171--190). A new approach, based on relaxation schemes proposed by Jin and Xin (Comm. Pure Appl. Math. 48 (1995) pp. 235--276) and LeVeque and Pelanti (J. Comput. Phys. 172 (2001) pp. 572--591) is developed to solve this system of equations. The method consists of finding an exact solution to a Riemann problem at each cell interface and coupling these to advance the solution in time. Applications to an intense laser propagating in an under-dense plasma are presented.

Particle-in-cell simulations of sheath formation around biased interconnectors in a low-earth-orbit plasma

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thiemann, H.; Schunk, R. W.

1990-01-01

The interaction between satellite solar arrays and the LEO plasma is presently studied with particle-in-cell simulations in which an electrical potential was suddenly applied to the solar cell interconnector. The consequent temporal response was followed for the real O(+)-electron mass ratio in the cases of 100- and 250-V solar cells, various solar cell thicknesses, and solar cells with secondary electron emission. Larger applied potentials and thinner solar cells lead to greater initial polarization surface charges, and therefore longer discharging and shielding times. When secondary electron emission from the cover glass is brought to bear, however, the potential structure is nearly planar, allowing constant interaction between plasma electrons and cover glass; a large fraction of the resulting secondary electrons is collected by the interconnector, constituting an order-of-magnitude increase in collected current.

Reconnection and Associated Flares in Global Relativistic Jets Containing Helical Magnetic Fields with PIC Simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nishikawa, Ken-Ichi; Hartmann, Dieter; Mizuno, Yosuke; Niemiec, Jacek; Dutan, Ioana; Kobzar, Oleh; Gomez, Jose; Meli, Athina; POHL, Martin

2018-01-01

In the study of relativistic jets one of the key open questions is their interaction with theenvironment on the microscopic level. Here, we study the initial evolution of both electron–proton and electron–positron relativistic jets containing helical magnetic fields, focusing on their interaction with an ambient plasma. We have performed simulations of “global” jets containing helical magnetic fields in order to examine how helical magnetic fields affect kinetic instabilities such as the Weibel instability, the kinetic Kelvin-Helmholtz instability (kKHI) and the Mushroom instability (MI) using a larger jet radius. In our initial simulation study these kinetic instabilities are suppressed and new types of instabilities can grow. In the electron-proton jet simulation a recollimation-like instability occurs near the center of jet. In the electron-positron jet simulation mixed kinetic instabilities grow and the jet electrons are accelerated. The evolution of electron-ion jets will be investigated with different mass ratios. Simulations using much larger systems are required in order to thoroughly follow the evolution of global jets containing helical magnetic fields. We will investigate mechanisms of flares possibly due to reconnection.

A fully-implicit Particle-In-Cell Monte Carlo Collision code for the simulation of inductively coupled plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mattei, S.; Nishida, K.; Onai, M.; Lettry, J.; Tran, M. Q.; Hatayama, A.

2017-12-01

We present a fully-implicit electromagnetic Particle-In-Cell Monte Carlo collision code, called NINJA, written for the simulation of inductively coupled plasmas. NINJA employs a kinetic enslaved Jacobian-Free Newton Krylov method to solve self-consistently the interaction between the electromagnetic field generated by the radio-frequency coil and the plasma response. The simulated plasma includes a kinetic description of charged and neutral species as well as the collision processes between them. The algorithm allows simulations with cell sizes much larger than the Debye length and time steps in excess of the Courant-Friedrichs-Lewy condition whilst preserving the conservation of the total energy. The code is applied to the simulation of the plasma discharge of the Linac4 H- ion source at CERN. Simulation results of plasma density, temperature and EEDF are discussed and compared with optical emission spectroscopy measurements. A systematic study of the energy conservation as a function of the numerical parameters is presented.

On specular reflectivity measurements in high and low-contrast relativistic laser-plasma interactions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kemp, G. E.; Link, A.; Ping, Y.; McLean, H. S.; Patel, P. K.; Freeman, R. R.; Schumacher, D. W.; Tiedje, H. F.; Tsui, Y. Y.; Ramis, R.; Fedosejevs, R.

2015-01-01

Using both experiment and 2D3V particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations, we describe the use of specular reflectivity measurements to study relativistic (Iλ2 > 1018 W/cm2ṡμm2) laser-plasma interactions for both high and low-contrast 527 nm laser pulses on initially solid density aluminum targets. In the context of hot-electron generation, studies typically rely on diagnostics which, more-often-than-not, represent indirect processes driven by fast electrons transiting through solid density materials. Specular reflectivity measurements, however, can provide a direct measure of the interaction that is highly sensitive to how the EM fields and plasma profiles, critical input parameters for modeling of hot-electron generation, evolve near the interaction region. While the fields of interest occur near the relativistic critical electron density, experimental reflectivity measurements are obtained centimeters away from the interaction region, well after diffraction has fully manifested itself. Using a combination of PIC simulations with experimentally inspired conditions and an analytic, non-paraxial, pulse propagation algorithm, we calculate reflected pulse properties, both near and far from the interaction region, and compare with specular reflectivity measurements. The experiment results and PIC simulations demonstrate that specular reflectivity measurements are an extremely sensitive qualitative, and partially quantitative, indicator of initial laser/target conditions, ionization effects, and other details of intense laser-matter interactions. The techniques described can provide strong constraints on many systems of importance in ultra-intense laser interactions with matter.

Relativistic Kinetic Theory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vereshchagin, Gregory V.; Aksenov, Alexey G.

2017-02-01

Preface; Acknowledgements; Acronyms and definitions; Introduction; Part I. Theoretical Foundations: 1. Basic concepts; 2. Kinetic equation; 3. Averaging; 4. Conservation laws and equilibrium; 5. Relativistic BBGKY hierarchy; 6. Basic parameters in gases and plasmas; Part II. Numerical Methods: 7. The basics of computational physics; 8. Direct integration of Boltzmann equations; 9. Multidimensional hydrodynamics; Part III. Applications: 10. Wave dispersion in relativistic plasma; 11. Thermalization in relativistic plasma; 12. Kinetics of particles in strong fields; 13. Compton scattering in astrophysics and cosmology; 14. Self-gravitating systems; 15. Neutrinos, gravitational collapse and supernovae; Appendices; Bibliography; Index.

Multidimensional electron beam-plasma instabilities in the relativistic regime

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

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

2010-12-15

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

Monte Carlo Simulations of Photospheric Emission in Relativistic Outflows

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bhattacharya, Mukul; Lu, Wenbin; Kumar, Pawan; Santana, Rodolfo

2018-01-01

We study the spectra of photospheric emission from highly relativistic gamma-ray burst outflows using a Monte Carlo code. We consider the Comptonization of photons with a fast-cooled synchrotron spectrum in a relativistic jet with a realistic photon-to-electron number ratio {N}γ /{N}{{e}}={10}5, using mono-energetic protons that interact with thermalized electrons through Coulomb interaction. The photons, electrons, and protons are cooled adiabatically as the jet expands outward. We find that the initial energy distributions of the protons and electrons do not have any appreciable effect on the photon peak energy {E}γ ,{peak} and the power-law spectrum above {E}γ ,{peak}. The Coulomb interaction between the electrons and the protons does not affect the output photon spectrum significantly as the energy of the electrons is elevated only marginally. {E}γ ,{peak} and the spectral indices for the low- and high-energy power-law tails of the photon spectrum remain practically unchanged even with electron-proton coupling. Increasing the initial optical depth {τ }{in} results in a slightly shallower photon spectrum below {E}γ ,{peak} and fewer photons at the high-energy tail, although {f}ν \\propto {ν }-0.5 above {E}γ ,{peak} and up to ∼1 MeV, independent of {τ }{in}. We find that {E}γ ,{peak} determines the peak energy and the shape of the output photon spectrum. Finally, we find that our simulation results are quite sensitive to {N}γ /{N}{{e}}, for {N}{{e}}=3× {10}3. For almost all our simulations, we obtain an output photon spectrum with a power-law tail above {E}γ ,{peak} extending up to ∼1 MeV.

Fast Particle Methods for Multiscale Phenomena Simulations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Koumoutsakos, P.; Wray, A.; Shariff, K.; Pohorille, Andrew

2000-01-01

We are developing particle methods oriented at improving computational modeling capabilities of multiscale physical phenomena in : (i) high Reynolds number unsteady vortical flows, (ii) particle laden and interfacial flows, (iii)molecular dynamics studies of nanoscale droplets and studies of the structure, functions, and evolution of the earliest living cell. The unifying computational approach involves particle methods implemented in parallel computer architectures. The inherent adaptivity, robustness and efficiency of particle methods makes them a multidisciplinary computational tool capable of bridging the gap of micro-scale and continuum flow simulations. Using efficient tree data structures, multipole expansion algorithms, and improved particle-grid interpolation, particle methods allow for simulations using millions of computational elements, making possible the resolution of a wide range of length and time scales of these important physical phenomena.The current challenges in these simulations are in : [i] the proper formulation of particle methods in the molecular and continuous level for the discretization of the governing equations [ii] the resolution of the wide range of time and length scales governing the phenomena under investigation. [iii] the minimization of numerical artifacts that may interfere with the physics of the systems under consideration. [iv] the parallelization of processes such as tree traversal and grid-particle interpolations We are conducting simulations using vortex methods, molecular dynamics and smooth particle hydrodynamics, exploiting their unifying concepts such as : the solution of the N-body problem in parallel computers, highly accurate particle-particle and grid-particle interpolations, parallel FFT's and the formulation of processes such as diffusion in the context of particle methods. This approach enables us to transcend among seemingly unrelated areas of research.

Fluid dynamical description of relativistic nuclear collisions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nix, J. R.; Strottman, D.

1982-01-01

On the basis of both a conventional relativistic nuclear fluid dynamic model and a two fluid generalization that takes into account the interpenetration of the target and projectile upon contact, collisions between heavy nuclei moving at relativistic speeds are calculated. This is done by solving the relevant equations of motion numerically in three spatial dimensions by use of particle in cell finite difference computing techniques. The effect of incorporating a density isomer, or quasistable state, in the nuclear equation of state at three times normal nuclear density, and the effect of doubling the nuclear compressibility coefficient are studied. For the reaction 20Ne + 238U at a laboratory bombarding energy per nucleon of 393 MeV, the calculated distributions in energy and angle of outgoing charged particles are compared with recent experimental data both integrated over all impact parameters and for nearly central collisions.

Violation of Field Line Conservation and Associated Spatial Scales in Particle-in-Cell Simulations and MMS Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wendel, D. E.; Liu, Y. H.; Giles, B. L.; Torbert, R. B.

2017-12-01

For the first time, space flight technology exists to detect, in situ, violation of magnetic field line conservation. The violation of magnetic line conservation on scales smaller than the system size is a necessary and sufficient condition for magnetic reconnection. We demonstrate that violation of line conservation produces a detectable, structured signature in both particle-in-cell simulations of reconnection and in data from the Magnetospheric Multi-Scale mission. In particle-in-cell simulations of asymmetric reconnection, the quantity-which we call M-that identifies this violation achieves a significant value in electron skin depth-scale layers that extend from the electron diffusion region along the separatrices, with higher values emerging on the low density, high magnetic field side of the current sheet. In two MMS burst data intervals associated with detection of the electron diffusion region—one interval with antiparallel reconnecting fields and the other with a guide field-we determine the location and scale of M and of the diffusion region relative to electron outflows and the magnetic separatrices. We find that M exceeds measurement uncertainties both at the diffusion region and near the separatrices, where it attains its highest values in layered structures. The observed magnitude scales as the simulated magnitude after adjusting for the artificial parameters of the simulation. Bipolar forms of the quantity also appear further from the diffusion region, possibly associated with electron holes. The measure serves not only as a powerful diagnostic for magnetic reconnection, but reveals that electrons transport this signature of reconnection away from the x-line.

Rotating black hole solutions in relativistic analogue gravity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Giacomelli, Luca; Liberati, Stefano

2017-09-01

Simulation and experimental realization of acoustic black holes in analogue gravity systems have lead to a novel understanding of relevant phenomena such as Hawking radiation or superradiance. We explore here the possibility of using relativistic systems for simulating rotating black hole solutions and possibly get an acoustic analogue of a Kerr black hole. In doing so, we demonstrate a precise relation between nonrelativistic and relativistic solutions and provide a new class of vortex solutions for relativistic systems. Such solutions might be used in the future as a test bed in numerical simulations as well as concrete experiments.

Nonlinear Force on an Unpolarized Relativistic Test Particle to Second Order in the Total Field in a Nonequilibrium Beam-Plasma System.

DTIC Science & Technology

1983-08-01

631Al b NONLINEAR FORCE ON AN UNP LARI ED RELATIVISTIC TEST / i , L11 -1 PARTICLE TO SECOND OR..Ii HARR DIAMOND LABS AIDELPHI I MD H E BRANDT AUG 83...Cmthanm erverse ai I n eeawand Ideanll by block number) For a nonequilibrium relativistic beam-plasma system, an expression is obtained for the time...Nonequilibrium Beam-Plasma System, Harry Diamond Laboratories, HDL-PRL-82-6 (May 1982) to be published as HDL-TR-1994. 5 ’ ’ I

Transient Simulation of Accumulating Particle Deposition in Pipe Flow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hewett, James; Sellier, Mathieu

2015-11-01

Colloidal particles that deposit in pipe systems can lead to fouling which is an expensive problem in both the geothermal and oil & gas industries. We investigate the gradual accumulation of deposited colloids in pipe flow using numerical simulations. An Euler-Lagrangian approach is employed for modelling the fluid and particle phases. Particle transport to the pipe wall is modelled with Brownian motion and turbulent diffusion. A two-way coupling exists between the fouled material and the pipe flow; the local mass flux of depositing particles is affected by the surrounding fluid in the near-wall region. This coupling is modelled by changing the cells from fluid to solid as the deposited particles exceed each local cell volume. A similar method has been used to model fouling in engine exhaust systems (Paz et al., Heat Transfer Eng., 34(8-9):674-682, 2013). We compare our deposition velocities and deposition profiles with an experiment on silica scaling in turbulent pipe flow (Kokhanenko et al., 19th AFMC, 2014).

Propagation of an ultra-short, intense laser in a relativistic fluid

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

Ritchie, A.B.; Decker, C.D.

1997-12-31

A Maxwell-relativistic fluid model is developed to describe the propagation of an ultrashort, intense laser pulse through an underdense plasma. The model makes use of numerically stabilizing fast Fourier transform (FFT) computational methods for both the Maxwell and fluid equations, and it is benchmarked against particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations. Strong fields generated in the wake of the laser are calculated, and the authors observe coherent wake-field radiation generated at harmonics of the plasma frequency due to nonlinearities in the laser-plasma interaction. For a plasma whose density is 10% of critical, the highest members of the plasma harmonic series begin to overlapmore » with the first laser harmonic, suggesting that widely used multiple-scales-theory, by which the laser and plasma frequencies are assumed to be separable, ceases to be a useful approximation.« less

Current-Sheet Formation and Reconnection at a Magnetic X Line in Particle-in-Cell Simulations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Black, C.; Antiochos, S. K.; Hesse, M.; Karpen, J. T.; Kuznetsova, M. M.; Zenitani, S.

2011-01-01

The integration of kinetic effects into macroscopic numerical models is currently of great interest to the heliophysics community, particularly in the context of magnetic reconnection. Reconnection governs the large-scale energy release and topological rearrangement of magnetic fields in a wide variety of laboratory, heliophysical, and astrophysical systems. We are examining the formation and reconnection of current sheets in a simple, two-dimensional X-line configuration using high-resolution particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations. The initial minimum-energy, potential magnetic field is perturbed by excess thermal pressure introduced into the particle distribution function far from the X line. Subsequently, the relaxation of this added stress leads self-consistently to the development of a current sheet that reconnects for imposed stress of sufficient strength. We compare the time-dependent evolution and final state of our PIC simulations with macroscopic magnetohydrodynamic simulations assuming both uniform and localized electrical resistivities (C. R. DeVore et al., this meeting), as well as with force-free magnetic-field equilibria in which the amount of reconnection across the X line can be constrained to be zero (ideal evolution) or optimal (minimum final magnetic energy). We will discuss implications of our results for understanding magnetic-reconnection onset and cessation at kinetic scales in dynamically formed current sheets, such as those occurring in the solar corona and terrestrial magnetotail.

On relativistic motion of a pair of particles having opposite signs of masses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ivanov, Pavel B.

2012-12-01

In this methodological note, we consider, in a weak-fleld limit, the relativistic linear motion of two particles with masses of opposite signs and a small difference between their absolute values: m_{1,2}=+/- (\\mu+/- \\Delta \\mu) , \\mu \\gt 0, \\vert\\Delta \\mu \\vert \\ll\\mu. In 1957, H Bondi showed in the framework of both Newtonian analysis and General Relativity that, when the relative motion of particles is absent, such a pair can be accelerated indefinitely. We generalize the results of his paper to account for the small nonzero difference between the velocities of the particles. Assuming that the weak-field limit holds and the dynamical system is conservative, an elementary treatment of the problem based on the laws of energy and momentum conservation shows that the system can be accelerated indefinitely, or attain very large asymptotic values of the Lorentz factor \\gamma. The system experiences indefinite acceleration when its energy-momentum vector is null and the mass difference \\Delta \\mu \\le 0. When the modulus of the square of the norm of the energy-momentum vector, \\vert N^{\\,2}\\vert, is sufficiently small, the system can be accelerated to very large \\gamma \\propto \\vert N^{\\,2}\\vert^{-1}. It is stressed that, when only leading terms in the ratio of a characteristic gravitational radius to the distance between the particles are retained, our elementary analysis leads to equations of motion equivalent to those derived from relativistic weak-field equations of motion by Havas and Goldberg in 1962. Thus, in the weak-field approximation it is possible to bring the system to the state with extremely high values of \\gamma. The positive energy carried by the particle with positive mass may be conveyed to other physical bodies, say by intercepting this particle with a target. If we suppose that there is a process of production of such pairs and the particles with positive mass are intercepted, while the negative mass particles are expelled

RELATIVISTIC MHD SIMULATIONS OF COLLISION-INDUCED MAGNETIC DISSIPATION IN POYNTING-FLUX-DOMINATED JETS/OUTFLOWS

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

Deng, Wei; Zhang, Bing; Li, Hui

We perform 3D relativistic ideal magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) simulations to study the collisions between high-σ (Poynting-flux-dominated (PFD)) blobs which contain both poloidal and toroidal magnetic field components. This is meant to mimic the interactions inside a highly variable PFD jet. We discover a significant electromagnetic field (EMF) energy dissipation with an Alfvénic rate with the efficiency around 35%. Detailed analyses show that this dissipation is mostly facilitated by the collision-induced magnetic reconnection. Additional resolution and parameter studies show a robust result that the relative EMF energy dissipation efficiency is nearly independent of the numerical resolution or most physical parameters in themore » relevant parameter range. The reconnection outflows in our simulation can potentially form the multi-orientation relativistic mini jets as needed for several analytical models. We also find a linear relationship between the σ values before and after the major EMF energy dissipation process. Our results give support to the proposed astrophysical models that invoke significant magnetic energy dissipation in PFD jets, such as the internal collision-induced magnetic reconnection and turbulence model for gamma-ray bursts, and reconnection triggered mini jets model for active galactic nuclei. The simulation movies are shown in http://www.physics.unlv.edu/∼deng/simulation1.html.« less

Nonlinear analysis of a relativistic beam-plasma cyclotron instability

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sprangle, P.; Vlahos, L.

1986-01-01

A self-consistent set of nonlinear and relativistic wave-particle equations are derived for a magnetized beam-plasma system interacting with electromagnetic cyclotron waves. In particular, the high-frequency cyclotron mode interacting with a streaming and gyrating electron beam within a background plasma is considered in some detail. This interaction mode may possibly find application as a high-power source of coherent short-wavelength radiation for laboratory devices. The background plasma, although passive, plays a central role in this mechanism by modifying the dielectric properties in which the magnetized electron beam propagates. For a particular choice of the transverse beam velocity (i.e., the speed of light divided by the relativistic mass factor), the interaction frequency equals the nonrelativistic electron cyclotron frequency times the relativistic mass factor. For this choice of transverse beam velocity the detrimental effects of a longitudinal beam velocity spread is virtually removed. Power conversion efficiencies in excess of 18 percent are both analytically calculated and obtained through numerical simulations of the wave-particle equations. The quality of the electron beam, degree of energy and pitch angle spread, and its effect on the beam-plasma cyclotron instability is studied.

Code C# for chaos analysis of relativistic many-body systems with reactions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grossu, I. V.; Besliu, C.; Jipa, Al.; Stan, E.; Esanu, T.; Felea, D.; Bordeianu, C. C.

2012-04-01

In this work we present a reaction module for “Chaos Many-Body Engine” (Grossu et al., 2010 [1]). Following our goal of creating a customizable, object oriented code library, the list of all possible reactions, including the corresponding properties (particle types, probability, cross section, particle lifetime, etc.), could be supplied as parameter, using a specific XML input file. Inspired by the Poincaré section, we propose also the “Clusterization Map”, as a new intuitive analysis method of many-body systems. For exemplification, we implemented a numerical toy-model for nuclear relativistic collisions at 4.5 A GeV/c (the SKM200 Collaboration). An encouraging agreement with experimental data was obtained for momentum, energy, rapidity, and angular π distributions. Catalogue identifier: AEGH_v2_0 Program summary URL:http://cpc.cs.qub.ac.uk/summaries/AEGH_v2_0.html Program obtainable from: CPC Program Library, Queen's University, Belfast, N. Ireland Licensing provisions: Standard CPC licence, http://cpc.cs.qub.ac.uk/licence/licence.html No. of lines in distributed program, including test data, etc.: 184 628 No. of bytes in distributed program, including test data, etc.: 7 905 425 Distribution format: tar.gz Programming language: Visual C#.NET 2005 Computer: PC Operating system: Net Framework 2.0 running on MS Windows Has the code been vectorized or parallelized?: Each many-body system is simulated on a separate execution thread. One processor used for each many-body system. RAM: 128 Megabytes Classification: 6.2, 6.5 Catalogue identifier of previous version: AEGH_v1_0 Journal reference of previous version: Comput. Phys. Comm. 181 (2010) 1464 External routines: Net Framework 2.0 Library Does the new version supersede the previous version?: Yes Nature of problem: Chaos analysis of three-dimensional, relativistic many-body systems with reactions. Solution method: Second order Runge-Kutta algorithm for simulating relativistic many-body systems with reactions

Particle Acceleration and Radiative Losses at Relativistic Shocks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dempsey, P.; Duffy, P.

A semi-analytic approach to the relativistic transport equation with isotropic diffusion and consistent radiative losses is presented. It is based on the eigenvalue method first introduced in Kirk & Schneider [5]and Heavens & Drury [3]. We demonstrate the pitch-angle dependence of the cut-off in relativistic shocks.

Kinetic structures of quasi-perpendicular shocks in global particle-in-cell simulations

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

Peng, Ivy Bo, E-mail: bopeng@kth.se; Markidis, Stefano; Laure, Erwin

2015-09-15

We carried out global Particle-in-Cell simulations of the interaction between the solar wind and a magnetosphere to study the kinetic collisionless physics in super-critical quasi-perpendicular shocks. After an initial simulation transient, a collisionless bow shock forms as a result of the interaction of the solar wind and a planet magnetic dipole. The shock ramp has a thickness of approximately one ion skin depth and is followed by a trailing wave train in the shock downstream. At the downstream edge of the bow shock, whistler waves propagate along the magnetic field lines and the presence of electron cyclotron waves has beenmore » identified. A small part of the solar wind ion population is specularly reflected by the shock while a larger part is deflected and heated by the shock. Solar wind ions and electrons are heated in the perpendicular directions. Ions are accelerated in the perpendicular direction in the trailing wave train region. This work is an initial effort to study the electron and ion kinetic effects developed near the bow shock in a realistic magnetic field configuration.« less

Dual-cavity mode converter for a fundamental mode output in an over-moded relativistic backward-wave oscillator

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

Li, Jiawei; Huang, Wenhua; Science and Technology on High Power Microwave Laboratory, Northwest Institute of Nuclear Technology, Xi'an 710024

2015-03-16

A dual-cavity TM{sub 02}–TM{sub 01} mode converter is designed for a dual-mode operation over-moded relativistic backward-wave oscillator. With the converter, the fundamental mode output is achieved. Particle-in-cell simulation shows that the efficiency of beam-wave conversion was over 46% and a pureTM{sub 01} mode output was obtained. Effects of end reflection provided by the mode converter were studied. Adequate TM{sub 01} mode feedback provided by the converter enhances conversion efficiency. The distance between the mode converter and extraction cavity critically affect the generation of microwaves depending on the reflection phase of TM{sub 01} mode feedback.

Development of 1D Particle-in-Cell Code and Simulation of Plasma-Wall Interactions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rose, Laura P.

This thesis discusses the development of a 1D particle-in-cell (PIC) code and the analysis of plasma-wall interactions. The 1D code (Plasma and Wall Simulation -- PAWS) is a kinetic simulation of plasma done by treating both electrons and ions as particles. The goal of this thesis is to study near wall plasma interaction to better understand the mechanism that occurs in this region. The main focus of this investigation is the effects that secondary electrons have on the sheath profile. The 1D code is modeled using the PIC method. Treating both the electrons and ions as macroparticles the field is solved on each node and weighted to each macro particle. A pre-ionized plasma was loaded into the domain and the velocities of particles were sampled from the Maxwellian distribution. An important part of this code is the boundary conditions at the wall. If a particle hits the wall a secondary electron may be produced based on the incident energy. To study the sheath profile the simulations were run for various cases. Varying background neutral gas densities were run with the 2D code and compared to experimental values. Different wall materials were simulated to show their effects of SEE. In addition different SEE yields were run, including one study with very high SEE yields to show the presence of a space charge limited sheath. Wall roughness was also studied with the 1D code using random angles of incidence. In addition to the 1D code, an external 2D code was also used to investigate wall roughness without secondary electrons. The roughness profiles where created upon investigation of wall roughness inside Hall Thrusters based off of studies done on lifetime erosion of the inner and outer walls of these devices. The 2D code, Starfish[33], is a general 2D axisymmetric/Cartesian code for modeling a wide a range of plasma and rarefied gas problems. These results show that higher SEE yield produces a smaller sheath profile and that wall roughness produces a lower SEE yield

Dissipative particle dynamics simulations of deformation and aggregation of healthy and diseased red blood cells in a tube flow

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

Ye, Ting; Phan-Thien, Nhan, E-mail: Nhan@nus.edu.sg; Khoo, Boo Cheong

In this paper, we report simulation results assessing the deformation and aggregation of mixed healthy and malaria-infected red blood cells (RBCs) in a tube flow. A three dimensional particle model based on Dissipative Particle Dynamics (DPD) is developed to predict the tube flow containing interacting cells. The cells are also modelled by DPD, with a Morse potential to characterize the cell-cell interaction. As validation tests, a single RBC in a tube flow and two RBCs in a static flow are simulated to examine the cell deformation and intercellular interaction, respectively. The study of two cells, one healthy and the othermore » malaria-infected RBCs in a tube flow demonstrates that the malaria-infected RBC (in the leading position along flow direction) has different effects on the healthy RBC (in the trailing position) at the different stage of parasite development or at the different capillary number. With parasitic development, the malaria-infected RBC gradually loses its deformability, and in turn the corresponding trailing healthy RBC also deforms less due to the intercellular interaction. With increasing capillary number, both the healthy and malaria-infected RBCs are likely to undergo an axisymmetric motion. The minimum intercellular distance becomes small enough so that rouleaux is easily formed, i.e., the healthy and malaria-infected RBCs are difficultly disaggregated.« less

Molecular dynamics approach to dissipative relativistic hydrodynamics: Propagation of fluctuations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shahsavar, Leila; Ghodrat, Malihe; Montakhab, Afshin

2016-12-01

Relativistic generalization of hydrodynamic theory has attracted much attention from a theoretical point of view. However, it has many important practical applications in high energy as well as astrophysical contexts. Despite various attempts to formulate relativistic hydrodynamics, no definitive consensus has been achieved. In this work, we propose to test the predictions of four types of first-order hydrodynamic theories for nonperfect fluids in the light of numerically exact molecular dynamics simulations of a fully relativistic particle system in the low density regime. In this regard, we study the propagation of density, velocity, and heat fluctuations in a wide range of temperatures using extensive simulations and compare them to the corresponding analytic expressions we obtain for each of the proposed theories. As expected, in the low temperature classical regime all theories give the same results, consistent with the numerics. In the high temperature extremely relativistic regime, not all considered theories are distinguishable from one another. However, in the intermediate regime, a meaningful distinction exists in the predictions of various theories considered here. We find that the predictions of the recent formulation due to Tsumura, Kunihiro, and Ohnishi are more consistent with our numerical results than the traditional theories: the Meixner, modified Eckart, and modified Marle-Stewart theories.

Towards Observational Astronomy of Jets in Active Galaxies from General Relativistic Magnetohydrodynamic Simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anantua, Richard; Roger Blandford, Jonathan McKinney and Alexander Tchekhovskoy

2016-01-01

We carry out the process of "observing" simulations of active galactic nuclei (AGN) with relativistic jets (hereafter called jet/accretion disk/black hole (JAB) systems) from ray tracing between image plane and source to convolving the resulting images with a point spread function. Images are generated at arbitrary observer angle relative to the black hole spin axis by implementing spatial and temporal interpolation of conserved magnetohydrodynamic flow quantities from a time series of output datablocks from fully general relativistic 3D simulations. We also describe the evolution of simulations of JAB systems' dynamical and kinematic variables, e.g., velocity shear and momentum density, respectively, and the variation of these variables with respect to observer polar and azimuthal angles. We produce, at frequencies from radio to optical, fixed observer time intensity and polarization maps using various plasma physics motivated prescriptions for the emissivity function of physical quantities from the simulation output, and analyze the corresponding light curves. Our hypothesis is that this approach reproduces observed features of JAB systems such as superluminal bulk flow projections and quasi-periodic oscillations in the light curves more closely than extant stylized analytical models, e.g., cannonball bulk flows. Moreover, our development of user-friendly, versatile C++ routines for processing images of state-of-the-art simulations of JAB systems may afford greater flexibility for observing a wide range of sources from high power BL-Lacs to low power quasars (possibly with the same simulation) without requiring years of observation using multiple telescopes. Advantages of observing simulations instead of observing astrophysical sources directly include: the absence of a diffraction limit, panoramic views of the same object and the ability to freely track features. Light travel time effects become significant for high Lorentz factor and small angles between

Relativistic Newtonian dynamics for objects and particles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Friedman, Y.

2017-04-01

Relativistic Newtonian Dynamics (RND) was introduced in a series of recent papers by the author, in partial cooperation with J. M. Steiner. RND was capable of describing non-classical behavior of motion under a central attracting force. RND incorporates the influence of potential energy on spacetime in Newtonian dynamics, treating gravity as a force in flat spacetime. It was shown that this dynamics predicts accurately gravitational time dilation, the anomalous precession of Mercury and the periastron advance of any binary. In this paper the model is further refined and extended to describe also the motion of both objects with non-zero mass and massless particles, under a conservative attracting force. It is shown that for any conservative force a properly defined energy is conserved on the trajectories and if this force is central, the angular momentum is also preserved. An RND equation of motion is derived for motion under a conservative force. As an application, it is shown that RND predicts accurately also the Shapiro time delay - the fourth test of GR.

Kinetic and finite ion mass effects on the transition to relativistic self-induced transparency in laser-driven ion acceleration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Siminos, E.; Grech, M.; Svedung Wettervik, B.; Fülöp, T.

2017-12-01

We study kinetic effects responsible for the transition to relativistic self-induced transparency in the interaction of a circularly-polarized laser-pulse with an overdense plasma and their relation to hole-boring (HB) and ion acceleration. It is demonstrated using particle-in-cell simulations and an analysis of separatrices in single-electron phase-space, that ion motion can suppress fast electron escape to the vacuum, which would otherwise lead to transition to the relativistic transparency regime. A simple analytical estimate shows that for large laser pulse amplitude a 0 the time scale over which ion motion becomes important is much shorter than usually anticipated. As a result of enhanced ion mobility, the threshold density above which HB occurs decreases with the charge-to-mass ratio. Moreover, the transition threshold is seen to depend on the laser temporal profile, due to the effect that the latter has on electron heating. Finally, we report a new regime in which a transition from relativistic transparency to HB occurs dynamically during the course of the interaction. It is shown that, for a fixed laser intensity, this dynamic transition regime allows optimal ion acceleration in terms of both energy and energy spread.

Statistical thermodynamics of a two-dimensional relativistic gas.

PubMed

Montakhab, Afshin; Ghodrat, Malihe; Barati, Mahmood

2009-03-01

In this paper we study a fully relativistic model of a two-dimensional hard-disk gas. This model avoids the general problems associated with relativistic particle collisions and is therefore an ideal system to study relativistic effects in statistical thermodynamics. We study this model using molecular-dynamics simulation, concentrating on the velocity distribution functions. We obtain results for x and y components of velocity in the rest frame (Gamma) as well as the moving frame (Gamma;{'}) . Our results confirm that Jüttner distribution is the correct generalization of Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution. We obtain the same "temperature" parameter beta for both frames consistent with a recent study of a limited one-dimensional model. We also address the controversial topic of temperature transformation. We show that while local thermal equilibrium holds in the moving frame, relying on statistical methods such as distribution functions or equipartition theorem are ultimately inconclusive in deciding on a correct temperature transformation law (if any).

Comparison of the analytical and simulation results of the equilibrium beam profile

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

Liu, Z. J.; Zhu Shaoping; Cao, L. H.

2007-10-15

The evolution of high current electron beams in dense plasmas has been investigated by using two-dimensional particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations with immobile ions. It is shown that electron beams are split into many filaments at the beginning due to the Weibel instability, and then different filamentation beams attract each other and coalesce. The profile of the filaments can be described by formulas. Hammer et al. [Phys. Fluids 13, 1831 (1970)] developed a self-consistent relativistic electron beam model that allows the propagation of relativistic electron fluxes in excess of the Alfven-Lawson critical-current limit for a fully neutralized beam. The equilibrium solution hasmore » been observed in the simulation results, but the electron distribution function assumed by Hammer et al. is different from the simulation results.« less

A Coulomb collision algorithm for weighted particle simulations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Miller, Ronald H.; Combi, Michael R.

1994-01-01

A binary Coulomb collision algorithm is developed for weighted particle simulations employing Monte Carlo techniques. Charged particles within a given spatial grid cell are pair-wise scattered, explicitly conserving momentum and implicitly conserving energy. A similar algorithm developed by Takizuka and Abe (1977) conserves momentum and energy provided the particles are unweighted (each particle representing equal fractions of the total particle density). If applied as is to simulations incorporating weighted particles, the plasma temperatures equilibrate to an incorrect temperature, as compared to theory. Using the appropriate pairing statistics, a Coulomb collision algorithm is developed for weighted particles. The algorithm conserves energy and momentum and produces the appropriate relaxation time scales as compared to theoretical predictions. Such an algorithm is necessary for future work studying self-consistent multi-species kinetic transport.

Nonlinear, relativistic Langmuir waves in astrophysical magnetospheres

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chian, Abraham C.-L.

1987-01-01

Large amplitude, electrostatic plasma waves are relevant to physical processes occurring in the astrophysical magnetospheres wherein charged particles are accelerated to relativistic energies by strong waves emitted by pulsars, quasars, or radio galaxies. The nonlinear, relativistic theory of traveling Langmuir waves in a cold plasma is reviewed. The cases of streaming electron plasma, electronic plasma, and two-streams are discussed.

A relativistic gravity train

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Parker, Edward

2017-08-01

A nonrelativistic particle released from rest at the edge of a ball of uniform charge density or mass density oscillates with simple harmonic motion. We consider the relativistic generalizations of these situations where the particle can attain speeds arbitrarily close to the speed of light; generalizing the electrostatic and gravitational cases requires special and general relativity, respectively. We find exact closed-form relations between the position, proper time, and coordinate time in both cases, and find that they are no longer harmonic, with oscillation periods that depend on the amplitude. In the highly relativistic limit of both cases, the particle spends almost all of its proper time near the turning points, but almost all of the coordinate time moving through the bulk of the ball. Buchdahl's theorem imposes nontrivial constraints on the general-relativistic case, as a ball of given density can only attain a finite maximum radius before collapsing into a black hole. This article is intended to be pedagogical, and should be accessible to those who have taken an undergraduate course in general relativity.

Cell structures caused by settling particles in turbulent Rayleigh-Bénard convection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Changhoon; Park, Sangro

2016-11-01

Turbulent thermal convection is an important phenomenon frequently found in nature and industrial processes, often with laden particles. In the last several decades, the vast majority of studies have addressed single phase convective flow with focus on the scaling relation of flow parameters associated with heat transfer. Particle-laden Rayleigh-Bénard convection, however, has not been sufficiently studied. In this study, modulation of cell structures by settling particles in turbulent Rayleigh-Bénard convection in a doubly periodic square channel is investigated using direct numerical simulation with a point particle approach. Flow parameters are fixed at Rayleigh number=106, Prandtl number=0.7, the aspect ratio=6, and Froude number=0.19. We report from the simulations that settling heavy particles modulate irregular large-scale thermal plume structures into organized polygonal cell structures. Different shapes of flow structures are obtained for different particle diameters and mass loadings. We found that polygonal cell structures arise due to asymmetric feedback force exerted by particles onto hot and cold plumes. Increasing the number of particles augments the asymmetry and the polygonal cell structures become smaller, eventually going to the hexagonal structures.

Collisional PIC Simulations of Particles in Magnetic Fields

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peter, William

2003-10-01

Because of the long range of Coloumb forces, collisions with distant particles in plasmas are more important than collisions with near neighbors. In addition, many problems in space physics and magnetic confinement include regions of weak magnetic field where the MHD approximation breaks down. A particle-in-cell code based on the quiet direct simulation Monte-Carlo method(B. J. Albright, W. Daughton, D. Lemons, D. Winske, and M. E. Jones, Physics of Plasmas) 9, 1898 (2002). is being developed to study collisional (e.g., ν ˜ Ω) particle motion in magnetic fields. Primary application is to energetic particle loss in the radiation belts(K. Papadopoulos, COSPAR Meeting, Houston, TX, Oct., 2002.) at a given energy and L-shell. Other applications include trapping in rotating field-reversed configurations(N. Rostoker and A. Qerushi, Physics of Plasmas) 9, 3057 (2002)., and electron behavior in magnetic traps(V. Gorgadze, T. Pasquini, J. S. Wurtele, and J. Fajans, Bull. Am. Phys. Soc.) 47, 127 (2002).. The use of the random time-step method(W. Peter, Bull. Am. Phys. Soc.) 47, 52 (2002). to decrease simulation times by 1-2 orders of magnitude is also being studied.

Radiation from Accelerated Particles in Shocks and Reconnections

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nishikawa, K. I.; Choi, E. J.; Min, K. W.; Niemiec, J.; Zhang, B.; Hardee, P.; Mizuno, Y.; Medvedev, M.; Nordlund, A.; Frederiksen, J.;

Current Sheets in Pulsar Magnetospheres and Winds: Particle Acceleration and Pulsed Gamma Ray Emission

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arons, Jonathan

electric current that separate regions of differing magnetization into the domain of highly relativistic magnetic fields - those with energy density large compared to the rest mass energy of the charged particles - the plasma - caught in that field. The investigators will create theoretical and computational models of the magnetic dissipation - a form of viscous flow in the thin sheets of electric current that form in the magnetized regions around the rotating stars - using Particle in-Cell plasma simulations. These simulations use a large computer to solve the equations of motion of many charged particles - millions to billions in the research that will be pursued - to unravel the dissipation of those fields and the acceleration of beams of particles in the thin sheets. The results will be incorporated into macroscopic MHD models of the magnetic structures around the stars which determine the location and strength of the current sheets, so as to model and analyze the pulsed gamma ray emission seen from hundreds of Rotation Powered Pulsars. The computational models will be assisted by ``pencil and paper'' theoretical modeling designed to motivate and interpret the computer simulations, and connect them to the observations.

Global Three-dimensional Simulation of the Solar Wind-Magnetosphere Interaction Using a Two-way Coupled Magnetohydrodynamics with Embedded Particle-in-Cell Model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Y.; Toth, G.; Cassak, P.; Jia, X.; Gombosi, T. I.; Slavin, J. A.; Welling, D. T.; Markidis, S.; Peng, I. B.; Jordanova, V. K.; Henderson, M. G.

2017-12-01

We perform a three-dimensional (3D) global simulation of Earth's magnetosphere with kinetic reconnection physics to study the interaction between the solar wind and Earth's magnetosphere. In this global simulation with magnetohydrodynamics with embedded particle-in-cell model (MHD-EPIC), both the dayside magnetopause reconnection region and the magnetotail reconnection region are covered with a kinetic particle-in-cell code iPIC3D, which is two-way coupled with the global MHD model BATS-R-US. We will describe the dayside reconnection related phenomena, such as the lower hybrid drift instability (LHDI) and the evolution of the flux transfer events (FTEs) along the magnetopause, and compare the simulation results with observations. We will also discuss the response of the magnetotail to the southward IMF. The onset of the tail reconnection and the properties of the magnetotail flux ropes will be discussed.

Covariant spinor representation of iosp(d,2/2) and quantization of the spinning relativistic particle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jarvis, P. D.; Corney, S. P.; Tsohantjis, I.

1999-12-01

A covariant spinor representation of iosp(d,2/2) is constructed for the quantization of the spinning relativistic particle. It is found that, with appropriately defined wavefunctions, this representation can be identified with the state space arising from the canonical extended BFV-BRST quantization of the spinning particle with admissible gauge fixing conditions after a contraction procedure. For this model, the cohomological determination of physical states can thus be obtained purely from the representation theory of the iosp(d,2/2) algebra.

Analysis of photoelectron effect on the antenna impedance via Particle-In-Cell simulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miyake, Y.; Usui, H.

2008-08-01

We present photoelectron effects on the impedance of electric field antennas used for plasma wave investigations. To illustrate the photoelectron effects, we applied electromagnetic Particle-In-Cell simulation to the self-consistent antenna impedance analysis. We confirmed the formation of a dense photoelectron region around the sunlit surfaces of the antenna and the spacecraft. The dense photoelectrons enhance the real part, and decrease the absolute value of the imaginary part, of antenna impedance at low frequencies. We also showed that the antenna conductance can be analytically calculated from simulation results of the electron current flowing into or out of the antenna. The antenna impedance in the photoelectron environment is represented by a parallel equivalent circuit consisting of a capacitance and a resistance, which is consistent with empirical knowledge. The results also imply that the impedance varies with the spin of the spacecraft, which causes the variation of the photoelectron density around the antenna.

Thermal noise in a boost-invariant matter expansion in relativistic heavy-ion collisions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chattopadhyay, Chandrodoy; Bhalerao, Rajeev S.; Pal, Subrata

2018-05-01

We formulate a general theory of thermal fluctuations within causal second-order viscous hydrodynamic evolution of matter formed in relativistic heavy-ion collisions. The fluctuation is treated perturbatively on top of a boost-invariant longitudinal expansion. Numerical simulation of thermal noise is performed for a lattice quantum chromodynamics equation of state and for various second-order dissipative evolution equations. Phenomenological effects of thermal fluctuations on the two-particle rapidity correlations are studied.

Particle-in-cell simulations of electron energization in laser-driven magnetic reconnection

DOE PAGES

Lu, San; Lu, Quanming; Guo, Fan; ...

2016-01-25

Electrons can be energized during laser-driven magnetic reconnection, and the energized electrons form three super-Alfvénic electron jets in the outflow region (Lu et al 2014 New J. Phys. 16 083021). In this paper, by performing two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations, we find that the electrons can also be significantly energized before magnetic reconnection occurs. When two plasma bubbles with toroidal magnetic fields expand and squeeze each other, the electrons in the magnetic ribbons are energized through betatron acceleration due to the enhancement of the magnetic field, and an electron temperature anisotropymore » $${T}_{{\\rm{e}}\\perp }\\gt {T}_{{\\rm{e}}| | }$$ develops. Meanwhile, some electrons are trapped and bounced repeatedly between the two expanding/approaching bubbles and get energized through a Fermi-like process. Furthermore, the energization before magnetic reconnection is more significant (or important) than that during magnetic reconnection.« less

Sparse grid techniques for particle-in-cell schemes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ricketson, L. F.; Cerfon, A. J.

2017-02-01

We propose the use of sparse grids to accelerate particle-in-cell (PIC) schemes. By using the so-called ‘combination technique’ from the sparse grids literature, we are able to dramatically increase the size of the spatial cells in multi-dimensional PIC schemes while paying only a slight penalty in grid-based error. The resulting increase in cell size allows us to reduce the statistical noise in the simulation without increasing total particle number. We present initial proof-of-principle results from test cases in two and three dimensions that demonstrate the new scheme’s efficiency, both in terms of computation time and memory usage.

Magnetohydrodynamics with Embedded Particle-in-Cell Simulation of Mercury's Magnetosphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Y.; Toth, G.; Jia, X.; Gombosi, T. I.; Markidis, S.

2015-12-01

Mercury's magnetosphere is much more dynamic than other planetary magnetospheres because of Mercury's weak intrinsic magnetic field and its proximity to the Sun. Magnetic reconnection and Kelvin-Helmholtz phenomena occur in Mercury's magnetopause and magnetotail at higher frequencies than in other planetary magnetosphere. For instance, chains of flux transfer events (FTEs) on the magnetopause, have been frequentlyobserved by the the MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry and Ranging (MESSENGER) spacecraft (Slavin et al., 2012). Because ion Larmor radius is comparable to typical spatial scales in Mercury's magnetosphere, finite Larmor radius effects need to be accounted for. In addition, it is important to take in account non-ideal dissipation mechanisms to accurately describe magnetic reconnection. A kinetic approach allows us to model these phenomena accurately. However, kinetic global simulations, even for small-size magnetospheres like Mercury's, are currently unfeasible because of the high computational cost. In this work, we carry out global simulations of Mercury's magnetosphere with the recently developed MHD-EPIC model, which is a two-way coupling of the extended magnetohydrodynamic (XMHD) code BATS-R-US with the implicit Particle-in-Cell (PIC) model iPIC3D. The PIC model can cover the regions where kinetic effects are most important, such as reconnection sites. The BATS-R-US code, on the other hand, can efficiently handle the rest of the computational domain where the MHD or Hall MHD description is sufficient. We will present our preliminary results and comparison with MESSENGER observations.

Radio-loud AGN Variability from Propagating Relativistic Jets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Yutong; Schuh, Terance; Wiita, Paul J.

2018-06-01

The great majority of variable emission in radio-loud AGNs is understood to arise from the relativistic flows of plasma along two oppositely directed jets. We study this process using the Athena hydrodynamics code to simulate propagating three-dimensional relativistic jets for a wide range of input jet velocities and jet-to-ambient matter density ratios. We then focus on those simulations that remain essentially stable for extended distances (60-120 times the jet radius). Adopting results for the densities, pressures and velocities from these propagating simulations we estimate emissivities from each cell. The observed emissivity from each cell is strongly dependent upon its variable Doppler boosting factor, which depends upon the changing bulk velocities in those zones with respect to our viewing angle to the jet. We then sum the approximations to the fluxes from a large number of zones upstream of the primary reconfinement shock. The light curves so produced are similar to those of blazars, although turbulence on sub-grid scales is likely to be important for the variability on the shortest timescales.

Particle-In-Cell simulation concerning heat-flux mitigation using electromagnetic fields

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lüskow, Karl Felix; Duras, Julia; Kemnitz, Stefan; Kahnfeld, Daniel; Matthias, Paul; Bandelow, Gunnas; Schneider, Ralf; Konigorski, Detlev

2016-10-01

In space missions enormous amount of money is spent for the thermal protection system for re-entry. To avoid complex materials and save money one idea is to reduce the heat-flux towards the spacecraft. The partially-ionized gas can be controlled by electromagnetic fields. For first-principle tests partially ionized argon flow from an arc-jet was used to measure the heat-flux mitigation created by an external magnetic field. In the successful experiment a reduction of 85% was measured. In this work the Particle-in-Cell (PIC) method was used to simulate this experiment. PIC is able to reproduce the heat flux mitigation qualitatively. The main mechanism is identified as a changed electron transport and by this, modified electron density due to the reaction to the applied magnetic field. Ions follow due to quasi-neutrality and influence then strongly by charge exchange collisions the neutrals dynamics and heat deposition. This work was supported by the German Space Agency DLR through Project 50RS1508.

CHARGED PARTICLE MULTIPLICITIES IN ULTRA-RELATIVISTIC AU+AU AND CU+CU COLLISIONS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Back, B. B.; Alver, B.; Back, B. B.; Baker, M. D.; Ballintijn, M.; Barton, D. S.; Betts, R. R.; Bickley, A. A.; Bindel, R.; Busza, W.; Carroll, A.; Chai, Z.; Chetluru, V.; Decowski, M. P.; Garcia, E.; Gburek, T.; George, N.; Gulbrandsen, K.; Halliwell, C.; Hamblen, J.; Harnarine, I.; Hauer, M.; Henderson, C.; Hofman, D. J.; Hollis, R. S.; Holynski, R.; Holzman, B.; Iordanova, A.; Johnson, E.; Kane, J. L.; Khan, N.; Kulinich, P.; Kuo, C. M.; Li, W.; Lin, W. T.; Loizides, C.; Manly, S.; Mignerey, A. C.; Nouicer, R.; Olszewski, A.; Pak, R.; Reed, C.; Richardson, E.; Roland, C.; Roland, G.; Sagerer, J.; Seals, H.; Sedykh, I.; Smith, C. E.; Stankiewicz, M. A.; Steinberg, P.; Stephans, G. S. F.; Sukhanov, A.; Szostak, A.; Tonjes, M. B.; Trzupek, A.; Vale, C.; Vannieuwenhuizen, G. J.; Vaurynovich, S. S.; Verdier, R.; Veres, G. I.; Walters, P.; Wenger, E.; Willhelm, D.; Wolfs, F. L. H.; Wosiek, B.; Wozniak, K.; Wyngaardt, S.; Wyslouch, B.

The PHOBOS collaboration has carried out a systematic study of charged particle multiplicities in Cu+Cu and Au+Au collisions at the Relativistic Heavy-Ion Collider (RHIC) at Brookhaven National Laboratory. A unique feature of the PHOBOS detector is its ability to measure charged particles over a very wide angular range from 0.5° to 179.5° corresponding to |η| <5.4. The general features of the charged particle multiplicity distributions as a function of pseudo-rapidity, collision energy and centrality, as well as system size, are discussed.

Particle-in-cell Simulation of Dipolarization Front Associated Whistlers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lin, D.; Scales, W.; Ganguli, G.; Crabtree, C. E.

2017-12-01

Dipolarization fronts (DFs) are dipolarized magnetic field embedded in the Earthward propagating bursty bulk flows (BBFs), which separates the hot, tenuous high-speed flow from the cold, dense, and slowly convecting surrounding plasma [Runov et al. 2011]. Broadband fluctuations have been observed at DFs including the electromagnetic whistler waves and electrostatic lower hybrid waves in the Very Low Frequency (VLF) range [e.g., Zhou et al. 2009, Deng et al. 2010]. There waves are suggested to be able heat electrons and play a critical role in the plasma sheet dynamics [Chaston et al., 2012, Angelopoulos et al., 2013]. However, their generation mechanism and role in the energy conversion are still under debate. The gradient scale of magnetic field, plasma density at DFs in the near-Earth magnetotail is comparable to or lower than the ion gyro radius [Runov et al., 2011, Fu et al., 2012, Breuillard et al., 2016]. Such strongly inhomogeneous configuration could be unstable to the electron-ion hybrid (EIH) instability, which arises from strongly sheared transverse flow and is in the VLF range [Ganguli et al. 1988, Ganguli et al. 2014]. The equilibrium of the EIH theory implies an anisotropy of electron temperature, which are likely to drive the whistler waves observed in DFs [Deng et al., 2010, Gary et al., 2011]. In order to better understand how the whistler waves are generated in DFs and whether the EIH theory is applicable, a fully electromagnetic particle-in-cell (EMPIC) model is used to simulate the EIH instability with similar equilibrium configurations in DF observations. The EMPIC model deals with three dimensions in the velocity space and two dimensions in the configuration space, which is quite ready to include the third configuration dimension. Simulation results will be shown in this presentation.

Particle acceleration in explosive relativistic reconnection events and Crab Nebula gamma-ray flares

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lyutikov, Maxim; Komissarov, Serguei; Sironi, Lorenzo

2018-04-01

We develop a model of gamma-ray flares of the Crab Nebula resulting from the magnetic reconnection events in a highly magnetised relativistic plasma. We first discuss physical parameters of the Crab Nebula and review the theory of pulsar winds and termination shocks. We also review the principle points of particle acceleration in explosive reconnection events [Lyutikov et al., J. Plasma Phys., vol. 83(6), p. 635830601 (2017a); J. Plasma Phys., vol. 83(6), p. 635830602 (2017b)]. It is required that particles producing flares are accelerated in highly magnetised regions of the nebula. Flares originate from the poleward regions at the base of the Crab's polar outflow, where both the magnetisation and the magnetic field strength are sufficiently high. The post-termination shock flow develops macroscopic (not related to the plasma properties on the skin-depth scale) kink-type instabilities. The resulting large-scale magnetic stresses drive explosive reconnection events on the light-crossing time of the reconnection region. Flares are produced at the initial stage of the current sheet development, during the X-point collapse. The model has all the ingredients needed for Crab flares: natural formation of highly magnetised regions, explosive dynamics on the light travel time, development of high electric fields on macroscopic scales and acceleration of particles to energies well exceeding the average magnetic energy per particle.

Axisymmetric simulations of magnetorotational core collapse: approximate inclusion of general relativistic effects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Obergaulinger, M.; Aloy, M. A.; Dimmelmeier, H.; Müller, E.

2006-10-01

We continue our investigations of the magnetorotational collapse of stellar cores by discussing simulations performed with a modified Newtonian gravitational potential that mimics general relativistic effects. The approximate TOV gravitational potential used in our simulations captures several basic features of fully relativistic simulations quite well. In particular, it is able to correctly reproduce the behavior of models that show a qualitative change both of the dynamics and the gravitational wave signal when switching from Newtonian to fully relativistic simulations. For models where the dynamics and gravitational wave signals are already captured qualitatively correctly by a Newtonian potential, the results of the Newtonian and the approximate TOV models differ quantitatively. The collapse proceeds to higher densities with the approximate TOV potential, allowing for a more efficient amplification of the magnetic field by differential rotation. The strength of the saturation fields (˜ 1015 ~ G at the surface of the inner core) is a factor of two to three higher than in Newtonian gravity. Due to the more efficient field amplification, the influence of magnetic fields is considerably more pronounced than in the Newtonian case for some of the models. As in the Newtonian case, sufficiently strong magnetic fields slow down the core's rotation and trigger a secular contraction phase to higher densities. More clearly than in Newtonian models, the collapsed cores of these models exhibit two different kinds of shock generation. Due to magnetic braking, a first shock wave created during the initial centrifugal bounce at subnuclear densities does not suffice for ejecting any mass, and the temporarily stabilized core continues to collapse to supranuclear densities. Another stronger shock wave is generated during the second bounce as the core exceeds nuclear matter density. The gravitational wave signal of these models does not fit into the standard classification

Understanding Sgr A* with PIC Simulations of Particle Acceleration in Magnetic Reconnection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ozel, Feryal

2017-09-01

Sgr A* has been the subject of intense observational studies with Chandra. In the proposed work, we will investigate magnetic reconnection and particle acceleration in low-luminosity black hole accretion flows using a combination of GRMHD and particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations. We will use the PIC simulations to understand how particles are accelerated when magnetic energy is dissipated and quantify the resulting electron energy distributions. Incorporating the results of the microphysical studies into the global simulations of Sgr A*, we will investigate the origin of the intense X-ray flares observed with Chandra. We will also study how these processes affect the 1.3 mm image size in preparation for the upcoming simultaneous Chandra and EHT observations of Sgr A*.

Three-dimensional relativistic jet simulations and the morphological classification of radio-loud AGN

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schuh, Terance; Li, Yutong; Elghossain, Geena; Wiita, Paul J.

2018-06-01

We have computed a suite of simulations of propagating three-dimensional relativistic jets, involving substantial ranges of initial jet Lorentz factors and ratios of jet density to external medium density. These allow us to categorize the respective AGN into Fanaroff-Riley class I (jet dominated) and FR class II (lobe-dominated) based upon the stability and morphology of the simulations. We used the Athena code to produce a substantial collection of large 3D variations of jets, many of which propagate stably and quickly for over 100 jet radii, but others of which eventually go unstable and fill up slowing advancing lobes. Most of these simulations have jet-to-ambient medium densities between 0.005 and 0.5 and velocities between 0.90c and 0.995c. Comparing the times when some jets go unstable to these initial parameters allow us to find a threshold where radio-loud AGNs transition from class II to class I. With these high resolution fully 3D relativistic simulations we can represent the jets more accurately and thus improve upon and refine earlier results that were based on 2D simulations.

WHISTLER TURBULENCE FORWARD CASCADE VERSUS INVERSE CASCADE: THREE-DIMENSIONAL PARTICLE-IN-CELL SIMULATIONS

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

Chang, Ouliang; Gary, S. Peter; Wang, Joseph, E-mail: ouliang@usc.edu, E-mail: pgary@lanl.gov, E-mail: josephjw@usc.edu

2015-02-20

We present the results of the first fully three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations of decaying whistler turbulence in a magnetized, homogeneous, collisionless plasma in which both forward cascades to shorter wavelengths, and inverse cascades to longer wavelengths are allowed to proceed. For the electron beta β {sub e} = 0.10 initial value considered here, the early-time rate of inverse cascade is very much smaller than the rate of forward cascade, so that at late times the fluctuation energy in the regime of the inverse cascade is much weaker than that in the forward cascade regime. Similarly, the wavevector anisotropy in the inversemore » cascade regime is much weaker than that in the forward cascade regime.« less

Scaled-down particle-in-cell simulation of cathode plasma expansion in magnetically insulated coaxial diode

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

Zhu, Danni; Zhang, Jun, E-mail: zhangjun@nudt.edu.cn; Zhong, Huihuang

2016-03-15

The expansion of cathode plasma in magnetically insulated coaxial diode (MICD) is investigated in theory and particle-in-cell (PIC) simulation. The temperature and density of the cathode plasma are about several eV and 10{sup 13}–10{sup 16 }cm{sup −3}, respectively, and its expansion velocity is of the level of few cm/μs. Through hydrodynamic theory analysis, expressions of expansion velocities in axial and radial directions are obtained. The characteristics of cathode plasma expansion have been simulated through scaled-down PIC models. Simulation results indicate that the expansion velocity is dominated by the ratio of plasma density other than the static electric field. The electric fieldmore » counteracts the plasma expansion reverse of it. The axial guiding magnetic field only reduces the radial transport coefficients by a correction factor, but not the axial ones. Both the outward and inward radial expansions of a MICD are suppressed by the much stronger guiding magnetic field and even cease.« less

Observation of Relativistic Electron Microbursts in Conjunction with Intense Radiation Belt Whistler-Mode Waves

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kersten, K.; Cattell, C. A.; Breneman, A.; Goetz, K.; Kellogg, P. J.; Wygant, J. R.; Wilson, L. B., III; Blake, J. B.; Looper, M. D.; Roth, I.

2011-01-01

We present multi-satellite observations of large amplitude radiation belt whistler-mode waves and relativistic electron precipitation. On separate occasions during the Wind petal orbits and STEREO phasing orbits, Wind and STEREO recorded intense whistler-mode waves in the outer nightside equatorial radiation belt with peak-to-peak amplitudes exceeding 300 mV/m. During these intervals of intense wave activity, SAMPEX recorded relativistic electron microbursts in near magnetic conjunction with Wind and STEREO. This evidence of microburst precipitation occurring at the same time and at nearly the same magnetic local time and L-shell with a bursty temporal structure similar to that of the observed large amplitude wave packets suggests a causal connection between the two phenomena. Simulation studies corroborate this idea, showing that nonlinear wave.particle interactions may result in rapid energization and scattering on timescales comparable to those of the impulsive relativistic electron precipitation.

Relativistic Acceleration of Electrons Injected by a Plasma Mirror into a Radially Polarized Laser Beam.

PubMed

Zaïm, N; Thévenet, M; Lifschitz, A; Faure, J

2017-09-01

We propose a method to generate femtosecond, relativistic, and high-charge electron bunches using few-cycle and tightly focused radially polarized laser pulses. In this scheme, the incident laser pulse reflects off an overdense plasma that injects electrons into the reflected pulse. Particle-in-cell simulations show that the plasma injects electrons ideally, resulting in a dramatic increase of charge and energy of the accelerated electron bunch in comparison to previous methods. This method can be used to generate femtosecond pC bunches with energies in the 1-10 MeV range using realistic laser parameters corresponding to current kHz laser systems.

Particle-in-cell simulation study of the scaling of asymmetric magnetic reconnection with in-plane flow shear

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

Doss, C. E.; Cassak, P. A., E-mail: Paul.Cassak@mail.wvu.edu; Swisdak, M.

2016-08-15

We investigate magnetic reconnection in systems simultaneously containing asymmetric (anti-parallel) magnetic fields, asymmetric plasma densities and temperatures, and arbitrary in-plane bulk flow of plasma in the upstream regions. Such configurations are common in the high-latitudes of Earth's magnetopause and in tokamaks. We investigate the convection speed of the X-line, the scaling of the reconnection rate, and the condition for which the flow suppresses reconnection as a function of upstream flow speeds. We use two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations to capture the mixing of plasma in the outflow regions better than is possible in fluid modeling. We perform simulations with asymmetric magnetic fields,more » simulations with asymmetric densities, and simulations with magnetopause-like parameters where both are asymmetric. For flow speeds below the predicted cutoff velocity, we find good scaling agreement with the theory presented in Doss et al. [J. Geophys. Res. 120, 7748 (2015)]. Applications to planetary magnetospheres, tokamaks, and the solar wind are discussed.« less

Wave-induced loss of ultra-relativistic electrons in the Van Allen radiation belts.

PubMed

Shprits, Yuri Y; Drozdov, Alexander Y; Spasojevic, Maria; Kellerman, Adam C; Usanova, Maria E; Engebretson, Mark J; Agapitov, Oleksiy V; Zhelavskaya, Irina S; Raita, Tero J; Spence, Harlan E; Baker, Daniel N; Zhu, Hui; Aseev, Nikita A

2016-09-28

The dipole configuration of the Earth's magnetic field allows for the trapping of highly energetic particles, which form the radiation belts. Although significant advances have been made in understanding the acceleration mechanisms in the radiation belts, the loss processes remain poorly understood. Unique observations on 17 January 2013 provide detailed information throughout the belts on the energy spectrum and pitch angle (angle between the velocity of a particle and the magnetic field) distribution of electrons up to ultra-relativistic energies. Here we show that although relativistic electrons are enhanced, ultra-relativistic electrons become depleted and distributions of particles show very clear telltale signatures of electromagnetic ion cyclotron wave-induced loss. Comparisons between observations and modelling of the evolution of the electron flux and pitch angle show that electromagnetic ion cyclotron waves provide the dominant loss mechanism at ultra-relativistic energies and produce a profound dropout of the ultra-relativistic radiation belt fluxes.

Wave-induced loss of ultra-relativistic electrons in the Van Allen radiation belts

PubMed Central

Shprits, Yuri Y.; Drozdov, Alexander Y.; Spasojevic, Maria; Kellerman, Adam C.; Usanova, Maria E.; Engebretson, Mark J.; Agapitov, Oleksiy V.; Zhelavskaya, Irina S.; Raita, Tero J.; Spence, Harlan E.; Baker, Daniel N.; Zhu, Hui; Aseev, Nikita A.

2016-01-01

The dipole configuration of the Earth's magnetic field allows for the trapping of highly energetic particles, which form the radiation belts. Although significant advances have been made in understanding the acceleration mechanisms in the radiation belts, the loss processes remain poorly understood. Unique observations on 17 January 2013 provide detailed information throughout the belts on the energy spectrum and pitch angle (angle between the velocity of a particle and the magnetic field) distribution of electrons up to ultra-relativistic energies. Here we show that although relativistic electrons are enhanced, ultra-relativistic electrons become depleted and distributions of particles show very clear telltale signatures of electromagnetic ion cyclotron wave-induced loss. Comparisons between observations and modelling of the evolution of the electron flux and pitch angle show that electromagnetic ion cyclotron waves provide the dominant loss mechanism at ultra-relativistic energies and produce a profound dropout of the ultra-relativistic radiation belt fluxes. PMID:27678050

Superluminal tunneling of a relativistic half-integer spin particle through a potential barrier

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nanni, Luca

2017-11-01

This paper investigates the problem of a relativistic Dirac half-integer spin free particle tunneling through a rectangular quantum-mechanical barrier. If the energy difference between the barrier and the particle is positive, and the barrier width is large enough, there is proof that the tunneling may be superluminal. For first spinor components of particle and antiparticle states, the tunneling is always superluminal regardless the barrier width. Conversely, the second spinor components of particle and antiparticle states may be either subluminal or superluminal depending on the barrier width. These results derive from studying the tunneling time in terms of phase time. For the first spinor components of particle and antiparticle states, it is always negative while for the second spinor components of particle and antiparticle states, it is always positive, whatever the height and width of the barrier. In total, the tunneling time always remains positive for particle states while it becomes negative for antiparticle ones. Furthermore, the phase time tends to zero, increasing the potential barrier both for particle and antiparticle states. This agrees with the interpretation of quantum tunneling that the Heisenberg uncertainty principle provides. This study's results are innovative with respect to those available in the literature. Moreover, they show that the superluminal behaviour of particles occurs in those processes with high-energy confinement.

Fluctuation analysis of relativistic nucleus-nucleus collisions in emulsion chambers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mcguire, Stephen C.

1988-01-01

An analytical technique was developed for identifying enhanced fluctuations in the angular distributions of secondary particles produced from relativistic nucleus-nucleus collisions. The method is applied under the assumption that the masses of the produced particles are small compared to their linear momenta. The importance of particles rests in the fact that enhanced fluctuations in the rapidity distributions is considered to be an experimental signal for the creation of the quark-gluon-plasma (QGP), a state of nuclear matter predicted from the quantum chromodynamics theory (QCD). In the approach, Monte Carlo simulations are employed that make use of a portable random member generator that allow the calculations to be performed on a desk-top computer. The method is illustrated with data taken from high altitude emulsion exposures and is immediately applicable to similar data from accelerator-based emulsion exposures.

Physics of Nonmagnetic Relativistic Thermal Plasmas. Ph.D. Thesis - Calif. Univ., San Diego

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dermer, C. D.

1984-01-01

A detailed treatment of the kinematics of relativistic systems of particles and photons is presented. In the case of a relativistic Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution of particles, the reaction rate and luminosity are written as single integrals over the invariant cross section, and the production spectrum is written as a double integral over the cross section differential in the energy of the produced particles (or photons) in the center-of-momentum system of two colliding particles. The results are applied to the calculation of the annihilation spectrum of a thermal electron-positron plasma, confirming previous numerical and analytic results. Relativistic thermal electron-ion and electron-electron bremsstrahlung are calculated exactly to lowest order, and relativistic thermal electron-positron bremsstrahlung is calculated in an approximate fashion. An approximate treatment of relativistic Comptonization is developed. The question of thermalization of a relativistic plasma is considered. A formula for the energy loss or exchange rate from the interaction of two relativistic Maxwell-Boltzmann plasmas at different temperatures is derived. Application to a stable, uniform, nonmagnetic relativistic thermal plasma is made. Comparison is made with other studies.

Fundamentals of collisionless shocks for astrophysical application, 2. Relativistic shocks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bykov, A. M.; Treumann, R. A.

2011-08-01

In this concise review of the recent developments in relativistic shock theory in the Universe we restrict ourselves to shocks that do not exhibit quantum effects. On the other hand, emphasis is given to the formation of shocks under both non-magnetised and magnetised conditions. We only briefly discuss particle acceleration in relativistic shocks where much of the results are still preliminary. Analytical theory is rather limited in predicting the real shock structure. Kinetic instability theory is briefed including its predictions and limitations. A recent self-similar relativistic shock theory is described which predicts the average long-term shock behaviour to be magnetised and to cause reasonable power-law distributions for energetic particles. The main focus in this review is on numerical experiments on highly relativistic shocks in (i) pair and (ii) electron-nucleon plasmas and their limitations. These simulations do not validate all predictions of analytic and self-similar theory and so far they do not solve the injection problem and the self-modification by self-generated cosmic rays. The main results of the numerical experiments discussed in this review are: (i) a confirmation of shock evolution in non-magnetised relativistic plasma in 3D due to either the lepton-Weibel instability (in pair plasmas) or to the ion-Weibel instability; (ii) the sensitive dependence of shock formation on upstream magnetisation which causes suppression of Weibel modes for large upstream magnetisation ratios σ>10-3; (iii) the sensitive dependence of particle dynamics on the upstream magnetic inclination angle θ Bn , where particles of θ Bn >34° cannot escape upstream, leading to the distinction between `subluminal' and `superluminal' shocks; (iv) particles in ultra-relativistic shocks can hardly overturn the shock and escape to upstream; they may oscillate around the shock ramp for a long time, so to speak `surfing it' and thereby becoming accelerated by a kind of SDA; (v

Particle-in-cell simulations of the lower-hybrid instability driven by an ion-ring distribution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Swanekamp, Stephen; Richardson, Steve; Mithaiwala, Manish; Crabtree, Chris

2013-10-01

Fully electromagnetic particle-in-cell simulations of the excitation of the lower-hybrid mode in a plasma driven by an ion-ring distribution using the Lsp code are presented. At early times the simulations agree with linear theory. The resulting wave evolution and non-linear plasma and ring-ion heating are compared with theoretical models [Mithaiwala et al. 2010; Crabtree et al., this meeting] and previous simulation results [Winske and Daughton, 2012]. 2D simulations show that when the magnetic field is perpendicular to the wave vector, k, the electrostatic potential fluctuations work in conjunction with the applied magnetic field causing a circular electron E ×B drift around a positively charged center. Similar phenomena are observed in 2D simulations of magnetic-field penetration into a spatially inhomogeneous unmagnetized plasma [Richardson et al., this meeting] where circular paramagnetic vortices are formed. These vortices are altered by the addition of a small, in-plane, component of magnetic field which allows electrons to stream along field lines effectively shorting out one component of the electric field. In this case, the vortex structures are no longer circular but elongated along the direction of the in-plane magnetic field component.

Method for maximizing the brightness of the bunches in a particle injector by converting a highly space-charged beam to a relativistic and emittance-dominated beam

DOEpatents

Hannon, Fay

2016-08-02

A method for maximizing the brightness of the bunches in a particle injector by converting a highly space-charged beam to a relativistic and emittance-dominated beam. The method includes 1) determining the bunch charge and the initial kinetic energy of the highly space-charge dominated input beam; 2) applying the bunch charge and initial kinetic energy properties of the highly space-charge dominated input beam to determine the number of accelerator cavities required to accelerate the bunches to relativistic speed; 3) providing the required number of accelerator cavities; and 4) setting the gradient of the radio frequency (RF) cavities; and 5) operating the phase of the accelerator cavities between -90 and zero degrees of the sinusoid of phase to simultaneously accelerate and bunch the charged particles to maximize brightness, and until the beam is relativistic and emittance-dominated.

Dynamics of bulk electron heating and ionization in solid density plasmas driven by ultra-short relativistic laser pulses

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

Huang, L. G., E-mail: lingen.huang@hzdr.de; Kluge, T.; Cowan, T. E.

The dynamics of bulk heating and ionization is investigated both in simulations and theory, which determines the crucial plasma parameters such as plasma temperature and density in ultra-short relativistic laser-solid target interactions. During laser-plasma interactions, the solid density plasma absorbs a fraction of laser energy and converts it into kinetic energy of electrons. A portion of the electrons with relativistic kinetic energy goes through the solid density plasma and transfers energy into the bulk electrons, which results in bulk electron heating. The bulk electron heating is finally translated into the processes of bulk collisional ionization inside the solid target. Amore » simple model based on the Ohmic heating mechanism indicates that the local and temporal profile of bulk return current is essential to determine the temporal evolution of bulk electron temperature. A series of particle-in-cell simulations showing the local heating model is robust in the cases of target with a preplasma and without a preplasma. Predicting the bulk electron heating is then benefit for understanding the collisional ionization dynamics inside the solid targets. The connection of the heating and ionization inside the solid target is further studied using Thomas-Fermi model.« less

Efficient particle-in-cell simulation of auroral plasma phenomena using a CUDA enabled graphics processing unit

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sewell, Stephen

This thesis introduces a software framework that effectively utilizes low-cost commercially available Graphic Processing Units (GPUs) to simulate complex scientific plasma phenomena that are modeled using the Particle-In-Cell (PIC) paradigm. The software framework that was developed conforms to the Compute Unified Device Architecture (CUDA), a standard for general purpose graphic processing that was introduced by NVIDIA Corporation. This framework has been verified for correctness and applied to advance the state of understanding of the electromagnetic aspects of the development of the Aurora Borealis and Aurora Australis. For each phase of the PIC methodology, this research has identified one or more methods to exploit the problem's natural parallelism and effectively map it for execution on the graphic processing unit and its host processor. The sources of overhead that can reduce the effectiveness of parallelization for each of these methods have also been identified. One of the novel aspects of this research was the utilization of particle sorting during the grid interpolation phase. The final representation resulted in simulations that executed about 38 times faster than simulations that were run on a single-core general-purpose processing system. The scalability of this framework to larger problem sizes and future generation systems has also been investigated.

Electron Heating in a Relativistic, Weibel-unstable Plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kumar, Rahul; Eichler, David; Gedalin, Michael

2015-06-01

The dynamics of two initially unmagnetized relativistic counter-streaming homogeneous ion-electron plasma beams are simulated in two dimensions (2D) using the particle-in-cell (PIC) method. It is shown that current filaments, which form due to the Weibel instability, develop a large-scale longitudinal electric field in the direction opposite to the current carried by the filaments as predicted by theory. This field, which is partially inductive and partially electrostatic, is identified as the main source of net electron acceleration, greatly exceeding that due to magnetic field decay at later stages. The transverse electric field, although larger than the longitudinal field, is shown to play a smaller role in heating electrons, contrary to previous claims. It is found that in one dimension, the electrons become strongly magnetized and are not accelerated beyond their initial kinetic energy. Rather, the heating of the electrons is enhanced by the bending and break up of the filaments, which releases electrons that would otherwise be trapped within a single filament and slow the development of the Weibel instability (i.e., the magnetic field growth) via induction as per Lenz’s law. In 2D simulations, electrons are heated to about one quarter of the initial kinetic energy of ions. The magnetic energy at maximum is about 4%, decaying to less than 1% by the end of the simulation. The ions are found to gradually decelerate until the end of the simulation, by which time they retain a residual anisotropy of less than 10%.

Electron injection by whistler waves in non-relativistic shocks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Riquelme, Mario A.; Spitkovsky, Anatoly

2012-04-01

Radio and X-ray observations of shocks in young supernova remnants (SNRs) reveal electron acceleration to non-thermal, ultra-relativistic energies (~ 10-100 TeV). This acceleration is usually assumed to happen via the diffusive shock acceleration (DSA) mechanism. However, the way in which electrons are initially energized or 'injected' into this acceleration process is an open question and the main focus of this work. We present our study of electron acceleration in nonrelativistic shocks using 2D and 3D particle-in-cell (PIC) plasma simulations. Our simulations show that significant non-thermal acceleration happens due to the growth of oblique whistler waves in the foot of quasi-perpendicular shocks. The obtained electron energy distributions show power law tails with spectral indices up to α ~ 3-4. Also, the maximum energies of the accelerated particles are consistent with the electron Larmor radii being comparable to that of the ions, indicating potential injection into the subsequent DSA process. This injection mechanism requires the shock waves to have fairly low Alfvénic Mach numbers, MA <20, which is consistent with the theoretical conditions for the growth of whistler waves in the shock foot (MA <(mi/me)1/2). Thus, if this mechanism is the only robust electron injection process at work in SNR shocks, then SNRs that display non-thermal emission must have significantly amplified upstream magnetic fields. Such field amplification is likely achieved by accelerated ions in these environments, so electron and ion acceleration in SNR shocks must be interconnected.

Gamma-Ray Burst Dynamics and Afterglow Radiation from Adaptive Mesh Refinement, Special Relativistic Hydrodynamic Simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

De Colle, Fabio; Granot, Jonathan; López-Cámara, Diego; Ramirez-Ruiz, Enrico

2012-02-01

We report on the development of Mezcal-SRHD, a new adaptive mesh refinement, special relativistic hydrodynamics (SRHD) code, developed with the aim of studying the highly relativistic flows in gamma-ray burst sources. The SRHD equations are solved using finite-volume conservative solvers, with second-order interpolation in space and time. The correct implementation of the algorithms is verified by one-dimensional (1D) and multi-dimensional tests. The code is then applied to study the propagation of 1D spherical impulsive blast waves expanding in a stratified medium with ρvpropr -k , bridging between the relativistic and Newtonian phases (which are described by the Blandford-McKee and Sedov-Taylor self-similar solutions, respectively), as well as to a two-dimensional (2D) cylindrically symmetric impulsive jet propagating in a constant density medium. It is shown that the deceleration to nonrelativistic speeds in one dimension occurs on scales significantly larger than the Sedov length. This transition is further delayed with respect to the Sedov length as the degree of stratification of the ambient medium is increased. This result, together with the scaling of position, Lorentz factor, and the shock velocity as a function of time and shock radius, is explained here using a simple analytical model based on energy conservation. The method used for calculating the afterglow radiation by post-processing the results of the simulations is described in detail. The light curves computed using the results of 1D numerical simulations during the relativistic stage correctly reproduce those calculated assuming the self-similar Blandford-McKee solution for the evolution of the flow. The jet dynamics from our 2D simulations and the resulting afterglow light curves, including the jet break, are in good agreement with those presented in previous works. Finally, we show how the details of the dynamics critically depend on properly resolving the structure of the relativistic flow.

Quantum mechanics in noninertial reference frames: Relativistic accelerations and fictitious forces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Klink, W. H.; Wickramasekara, S.

2016-06-01

One-particle systems in relativistically accelerating reference frames can be associated with a class of unitary representations of the group of arbitrary coordinate transformations, an extension of the Wigner-Bargmann definition of particles as the physical realization of unitary irreducible representations of the Poincaré group. Representations of the group of arbitrary coordinate transformations become necessary to define unitary operators implementing relativistic acceleration transformations in quantum theory because, unlike in the Galilean case, the relativistic acceleration transformations do not themselves form a group. The momentum operators that follow from these representations show how the fictitious forces in noninertial reference frames are generated in quantum theory.

E × B electron drift instability in Hall thrusters: Particle-in-cell simulations vs. theory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boeuf, J. P.; Garrigues, L.

2018-06-01

The E × B Electron Drift Instability (E × B EDI), also called Electron Cyclotron Drift Instability, has been observed in recent particle simulations of Hall thrusters and is a possible candidate to explain anomalous electron transport across the magnetic field in these devices. This instability is characterized by the development of an azimuthal wave with wavelength in the mm range and velocity on the order of the ion acoustic velocity, which enhances electron transport across the magnetic field. In this paper, we study the development and convection of the E × B EDI in the acceleration and near plume regions of a Hall thruster using a simplified 2D axial-azimuthal Particle-In-Cell simulation. The simulation is collisionless and the ionization profile is not-self-consistent but rather is given as an input parameter of the model. The aim is to study the development and properties of the instability for different values of the ionization rate (i.e., of the total ion production rate or current) and to compare the results with the theory. An important result is that the wavelength of the simulated azimuthal wave scales as the electron Debye length and that its frequency is on the order of the ion plasma frequency. This is consistent with the theory predicting destruction of electron cyclotron resonance of the E × B EDI in the non-linear regime resulting in the transition to an ion acoustic instability. The simulations also show that for plasma densities smaller than under nominal conditions of Hall thrusters the field fluctuations induced by the E × B EDI are no longer sufficient to significantly enhance electron transport across the magnetic field, and transit time instabilities develop in the axial direction. The conditions and results of the simulations are described in detail in this paper and they can serve as benchmarks for comparisons between different simulation codes. Such benchmarks would be very useful to study the role of numerical noise (numerical

Particle dynamics and particle-cell interaction in microfluidic systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stamm, Matthew T.

Particle-laden flow in a microchannel resulting in aggregation of microparticles was investigated to determine the dependence of the cluster growth rate on the following parameters: suspension void fraction, shear strain rate, and channel-height to particle-diameter ratio. The growth rate of an average cluster was found to increase linearly with suspension void fraction, and to obey a power-law relationships with shear strain rate as S 0.9 and channel-height to particle-diameter ratio as (h/d )--3.5. Ceramic liposomal nanoparticles and silica microparticles were functionalized with antibodies that act as targeting ligands. The bio-functionality and physical integrity of the cerasomes were characterized. Surface functionalization allows cerasomes to deliver drugs with selectivity and specificity that is not possible using standard liposomes. The functionalized particle-target cell binding process was characterized using BT-20 breast cancer cells. Two microfluidic systems were used; one with both species in suspension, the other with cells immobilized inside a microchannel and particle suspension as the mobile phase. Effects of incubation time, particle concentration, and shear strain rate on particle-cell binding were investigated. With both species in suspension, the particle-cell binding process was found to be reasonably well-described by a first-order model. Particle desorption and cellular loss of binding affinity in time were found to be negligible; cell-particle-cell interaction was identified as the limiting mechanism in particle-cell binding. Findings suggest that separation of a bound particle from a cell may be detrimental to cellular binding affinity. Cell-particle-cell interactions were prevented by immobilizing cells inside a microchannel. The initial stage of particle-cell binding was investigated and was again found to be reasonably well-described by a first-order model. For both systems, the time constant was found to be inversely proportional to