Partially Ionized Plasmas in Astrophysics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ballester, José Luis; Alexeev, Igor; Collados, Manuel; Downes, Turlough; Pfaff, Robert F.; Gilbert, Holly; Khodachenko, Maxim; Khomenko, Elena; Shaikhislamov, Ildar F.; Soler, Roberto; Vázquez-Semadeni, Enrique; Zaqarashvili, Teimuraz

2018-03-01

Partially ionized plasmas are found across the Universe in many different astrophysical environments. They constitute an essential ingredient of the solar atmosphere, molecular clouds, planetary ionospheres and protoplanetary disks, among other environments, and display a richness of physical effects which are not present in fully ionized plasmas. This review provides an overview of the physics of partially ionized plasmas, including recent advances in different astrophysical areas in which partial ionization plays a fundamental role. We outline outstanding observational and theoretical questions and discuss possible directions for future progress.

PREFACE: Second International Workshop & Summer School on Plasma Physics 2006

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Benova, Evgeniya; Atanassov, Vladimir

2007-04-01

The Second International Workshop & Summer School on Plasma Physics (IWSSPP'06) organized by St. Kliment Ohridsky University of Sofia, The Union of the Physicists in Bulgaria, the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and the Bulgarian Nuclear Society, was held in Kiten, Bulgaria, on the Black Sea Coast, from 3-9 July 2006. As with the first of these scientific meetings (IWSSPP'05 Journal of Physics: Conference Series 44 (2006)), its aim was to stimulate the creation and support of a new generation of young scientists for further development of plasma physics fundamentals and applications, as well as to ensure an interdisciplinary exchange of views and initiate possible collaborations by bringing together scientists from various branches of plasma physics. This volume of Journal of Physics: Conference Series includes 33 papers (invited lectures, contributed talks and posters) devoted to various branches of plasma physics, among them fusion plasma research, dc and microwave discharge modelling, transport phenomena in gas discharge plasmas, plasma diagnostics, cross sections and rate constants of elementary processes, material processing, plasma-chemistry and technology. Some of these papers were presented by internationally known and recognized specialists in their fields; others are MSc or PhD students' first steps in science. In both cases, we believe they will raise readers' interest. We would like to thank the members of both the International Advisory Committee and the Local Organizing Committee, the participants who sent their manuscripts and passed through the (sometimes heavy and troublesome) refereeing and editing procedure and our referees for their patience and considerable effort to improve the manuscripts. We greatly appreciate the financial support from the sponsors: the Department for Language Teaching and International Students at the University of Sofia and Natsionalna Elektricheska Kompania EAD. We would like to express our gratitude to the invited lecturers who were willing to pay the participation fee. In this way, in addition to the intellectual support they provided by means of their excellent lectures, they also supported the school financially.

Plasma physics of extreme astrophysical environments.

PubMed

Uzdensky, Dmitri A; Rightley, Shane

2014-03-01

Among the incredibly diverse variety of astrophysical objects, there are some that are characterized by very extreme physical conditions not encountered anywhere else in the Universe. Of special interest are ultra-magnetized systems that possess magnetic fields exceeding the critical quantum field of about 44 TG. There are basically only two classes of such objects: magnetars, whose magnetic activity is manifested, e.g., via their very short but intense gamma-ray flares, and central engines of supernovae (SNe) and gamma-ray bursts (GRBs)--the most powerful explosions in the modern Universe. Figuring out how these complex systems work necessarily requires understanding various plasma processes, both small-scale kinetic and large-scale magnetohydrodynamic (MHD), that govern their behavior. However, the presence of an ultra-strong magnetic field modifies the underlying basic physics to such a great extent that relying on conventional, classical plasma physics is often not justified. Instead, plasma-physical problems relevant to these extreme astrophysical environments call for constructing relativistic quantum plasma (RQP) physics based on quantum electrodynamics (QED). In this review, after briefly describing the astrophysical systems of interest and identifying some of the key plasma-physical problems important to them, we survey the recent progress in the development of such a theory. We first discuss the ways in which the presence of a super-critical field modifies the properties of vacuum and matter and then outline the basic theoretical framework for describing both non-relativistic and RQPs. We then turn to some specific astrophysical applications of relativistic QED plasma physics relevant to magnetar magnetospheres and to central engines of core-collapse SNe and long GRBs. Specifically, we discuss the propagation of light through a magnetar magnetosphere; large-scale MHD processes driving magnetar activity and responsible for jet launching and propagation in GRBs; energy-transport processes governing the thermodynamics of extreme plasma environments; micro-scale kinetic plasma processes important in the interaction of intense electric currents flowing through a magnetar magnetosphere with the neutron star surface; and magnetic reconnection of ultra-strong magnetic fields. Finally, we point out that future progress in applying RQP physics to real astrophysical problems will require the development of suitable numerical modeling capabilities.

Application of atmospheric plasma sources in growth and differentiation of plant and mammalian stem cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Puac, Nevena

2014-10-01

The expansion of the plasma medicine and its demand for in-vivo treatments resulted in fast development of various plasma devices that operate at atmospheric pressure. These sources have to fulfill all demands for application on biological samples. One of the sources that meet all the requirements needed for treatment of biological material is plasma needle. Previously, we have used this device for sterilization of planctonic samples of bacteria, MRSA biofilm, for improved differentiation of human periodontal stem cells into osteogenic line and for treatment of plant meristematic cells. It is well known that plasma generates reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reactive nitrogen species (RNS) that strongly affect metabolism of living cells. One of the open issues is to correlate external plasma products (electrons, ions, RNS, ROS, photons, strong fields etc.) with the immediate internal response which triggers or induces effects in the living cell. For that purpose we have studied the kinetics of enzymes which are typical indicators of the identity of reactive species from the plasma created environment that can trigger signal transduction in the cell and ensue cell activity. In collaboration with Suzana Zivkovicm, Institute for Biological Research ``Sinisa Stankovic,'' University of Belgrade; Nenad Selakovic, Institute of Physics, University of Belgrade; Milica Milutinovic, Jelena Boljevic, Institute for Biological Research ``Sinisa Stankovic,'' University of Belgrade; and Gordana Malovic, Zoran Lj. Petrovic, Institute of Physics, University of Belgrade. Grants III41011, ON171037 and ON173024, MESTD, Serbia.

Contemporary Physics Education Project - CPEP

Science.gov Websites

Fundamental Particles Plasma Physics & Fusion History & Fate of the Universe Nuclear current understanding of the fundamental nature of matter and energy, incorporating the major research

Preparing Students for Careers in Science and Industry with Computational Physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Florinski, V. A.

2011-12-01

Funded by NSF CAREER grant, the University of Alabama (UAH) in Huntsville has launched a new graduate program in Computational Physics. It is universally accepted that today's physics is done on a computer. The program blends the boundary between physics and computer science by teaching student modern, practical techniques of solving difficult physics problems using diverse computational platforms. Currently consisting of two courses first offered in the Fall of 2011, the program will eventually include 5 courses covering methods for fluid dynamics, particle transport via stochastic methods, and hybrid and PIC plasma simulations. The UAH's unique location allows courses to be shaped through discussions with faculty, NASA/MSFC researchers and local R&D business representatives, i.e., potential employers of the program's graduates. Students currently participating in the program have all begun their research careers in space and plasma physics; many are presenting their research at this meeting.

EDITORIAL: Invited review and topical lectures from the 13th International Congress on Plasma Physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zagorodny, A.; Kocherga, O.

2007-05-01

The 13th International Congress on Plasma Physics (ICPP 2006) was organized, on behalf of the International Advisory Committee of the ICPP series, by the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine and the Bogolyubov Institute for Theoretical Physics (BITP) and held in Kiev, Ukraine, 22 26 May 2006. The Congress Program included the topics: fundamental problems of plasma physics; fusion plasmas; plasmas in astrophysics and space physics; plasmas in applications and technologies; complex plasmas. A total of 305 delegates from 30 countries took part in the Congress. The program included 9 invited review lectures, 32 invited topical and 313 contributed papers (60 of which were selected for oral presentation). The Congress Program was the responsibility of the International Program Committee: Anatoly Zagorodny (Chairman) Bogolyubov Institute for Theoretical Physics, Ukraine Olha Kocherga (Scientific Secretary) Bogolyubov Institute for Theoretical Physics, Ukraine Boris Breizman The University of Texas at Austin, USA Iver Cairns School of Physics, University of Sydney, Australia Tatiana Davydova Institute for Nuclear Research, Ukraine Tony Donne FOM-Institute for Plasma Physics, Rijnhuizen, The Netherlands Nikolai S Erokhin Space Research Institute of RAS, Russia Xavier Garbet CEA, France Valery Godyak OSRAM SYLVANIA, USA Katsumi Ida National Institute for Fusion Science, Japan Alexander Kingsep Russian Research Centre `Kurchatov Institute', Russia E P Kruglyakov Budker Institute of Nuclear Physics, Russia Gregor Morfill Max-Planck-Institut für extraterrestrische Physik, Germany Osamu Motojima National Institute for Fusion Science, Japan Jef Ongena ERM-KMS, Brussels and EFDA-JET, UK Konstantyn Shamrai Institute for Nuclear Research, Ukraine Raghvendra Singh Institute for Plasma Research, India Konstantyn Stepanov Kharkiv Institute of Physics and Technology, Ukraine Masayoshi Tanaka National Institute for Fusion Science, Japan Nodar Tsintsadze Physics Institute, Georgia The four-page texts of the contributed papers are presented as a CD, `ICPP 2006. Contributed Papers' which was distributed among the delegates. They are also available at the Congress website http://icpp2006.kiev.ua. A major part of the review and topical lectures is published in this special issue which has been sent to the Congress delegates. The papers were refereed to the usual high standard of the journal Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion. The Guest Editors of the special issue are grateful to the Publishers for their cooperation. Recognizing the role of Professor Alexej Sitenko (12 February 1927 11 February 2002) in the initiation and organization of the International (Kiev) Conferences on Plasma Theory which, after having been combined with the International Congresses on Waves and Instabilities in Plasma in 1980, created the series of International Congresses on Plasma Physics, and taking into account the contribution of Professor Sitenko to the progress of plasma theory, the Program Committee decided to open ICPP 2006 with the Sitenko memorial lecture. This memorial lecture is available as supplementary data (PDF) at stacks.iop.org/PPCF/49/i=5A.

Laboratory and Space Plasma Studies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hyman, Ellis

1996-08-01

The work performed by Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), encompasses a wide range of topics in experimental, computational, and analytical laboratory and space plasma physics. The accomplishments described in this report have been in support of the programs of the Laser Plasma Branch (Code 6730) and other segments of the Plasma Physics Division at the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) and cover the period 27 September 1993 to August 1, 1996. SAIC's efforts have been supported by sub-contracts or consulting agreements with Pulse Sciences, Inc., Clark Richardson, and Biskup Consulting Engineers, Pharos Technical Enterprises, Plex Corporation, Cornell University, Stevens Institute of Technology, the University of Connecticut, Plasma Materials and Technologies, Inc., and GaSonics International, Inc. In the following discussions section we will describe each of the topics investigated and the results obtained. Much of the research work has resulted in journal publications and NRL Memorandum Reports in which the investigation is described in detail. These reports are included as Appendices to this Final Report.

A Tool for Empirical Forecasting of Major Flares, Coronal Mass Ejections, and Solar Particle Events from a Proxy of Active-Region Free Magnetic Energy

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-04-07

Center, Huntsville, Alabama , USA. 2Physics Department, University of Alabama in Huntsville, Huntsville, Alabama , USA. 3Center for Space Plasma and...Aeronomic Research, University of Alabama in Huntsville, Huntsville, Alabama , USA. SPACE WEATHER, VOL. 9, S04003, doi:10.1029/2009SW000537, 2011...PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) University of of Alabama in Huntsville,Center for Space Plasma and Aeronomic Research,Huntsville,AL,35899

Book review: Modern Plasma Physics, Vol. I: Physical Kinetics of Turbulent Plasmas, by Patrick H. Diamond, Sanae-I. Itoh and Kimitaka Itoh, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge (UK), 2010, IX, 417 p., ISBN 978-0-521-86920-1 (Hardback)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Somov, B. V.

If you want to learn not only the most fundamental things about the physics of turbulent plasmas but also the current state of the problem including the most recent results in theoretical and experimental investigations - and certainly many physicists and astrophysicists do - this series of three excellent monographs is just for you. The first volume "Physical Kinetics of Turbulent Plasmas" develops the kinetic theory of turbulence through a focus on quasi-particle models and dynamics. It discusses the concepts and theoretical methods for describing weak and strong fluid and phase space turbulence in plasma systems far from equilibrium. The core material includes fluctuation theory, self-similar cascades and transport, mean field theory, resonance broadening and nonlinear wave-particle interaction, wave-wave interaction and wave turbulence, strong turbulence theory and renormalization. The book gives readers a deep understanding of the fields under consideration and builds a foundation for future applications to multi-scale processes of self-organization in tokamaks and other confined plasmas. In spite of a short pedagogical introduction, the book is addressed mainly to well prepared readers with a serious background in plasma physics, to researchers and advanced graduate students in nonlinear plasma physics, controlled fusions and related fields such as cosmic plasma physics

Addressing the Underrepresentation of Women in Physics at Multiple Levels

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Greco, Shannon; Dominguez, Arturo; Ortiz, Deedee; Zwicker, Andrew

2016-10-01

APS provides support to several universities and research institutions to host Conferences for Undergraduate Women in Physics (CUWiP). The goal of these Conferences is to provide practical tools and a community to help women persist in physics and STEM careers. This is particularly relevant for the DPP where women make up only 7% of the membership. In January 2017, Princeton University and the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) will host a CUWiP. CUWiP and the Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internship (SULI) program expose undergraduates to the variety of possible careers in plasma physics and fusion energy in academia, government labs or private industry. We will report on the success of a number of PPPL programs to engage women at all levels in physics and highlight how programs such as CUWiP and SULI contribute to this goal. Special thanks to the Department of Energy for supporting PPPL's education programs and to APS for supporting the Conference for Undergraduate Women in Physics.

The Effect of New Experimental System Design Related to the Plasma State on Achievement of Candidate Elementary Science Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Korkmaz, S. D.; Aybek, E. C.; Pat, S.

2015-01-01

The educational objectives related to the plasma state of matter, which comprises more than 90% of our universe, are located in the "properties of substances" unit in the 9th grade high school physics course curriculum. If there are physical and technical limitations while performing an experiment, the use of different techniques is…

Final Technical Report: Magnetic Reconnection in High-Energy Laser-Produced Plasmas

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

Germaschewski, Kai; Fox, William; Bhattacharjee, Amitava

This report describes the final results from the DOE Grant DE-SC0007168, “Fast Magnetic Reconnection in HED Laser-Produced Plasmas.” The recent generation of laboratory high-energy-density physics facilities has opened significant physics opportunities for experimentally modeling astrophysical plasmas. The goal of this proposal is to use these new tools to study fundamental problems in plasma physics and plasma astrophysics. Fundamental topics in this area involve study of the generation, amplification, and fate of magnetic fields, which are observed to pervade the plasma universe and govern its evolution. This project combined experiments at DOE laser facilities with kinetic plasma simulation to study thesemore » processes. The primary original goal of the project was to study magnetic reconnection using a new experimental platform, colliding magnetized laser-produced plasmas. However through a series of fortuitous discoveries, the work broadened out to allow significant advancement on multiple topics in laboratory astrophysics, including magnetic reconnection, Weibel instability, and collisionless shocks.« less

“The Marshall Rosenbluth International Summer School – 2007: Plasma Thermonuclear Fusion and Plasma Astrophysics – 2007”

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

Stefan, Vladislav Alexander

Contents: H. Berk: Frequency Sweeping Due to Phase Space Structure Formation in Plasmas M. Campbell : The Legacy of Marshall Rosenbluth in the Development of the Laser Fusion Program in the United States J. Candy: Gyrokinetic Simulations of Fusion Plasmas P. Diamond: The Legacy of Marshall Rosenbluth in Magnetic Confinement Theory G-Y. Fu: Nonlinear Hybrid Simulations of Multiple Energetic Particle Driven Alfven Modes in Toroidal Plasmas O. Gurcan: Theory of Intrinsic Rotation and Momentum Transport V. L. Jacobs: Kinetic and Spectral Descriptions for Atomic Processes in Astrophysical and Laboratory Plasmas C. F. Kennel: Marshall Rosenbluth and Roald Sagdeev in Trieste:Themore » Birth of Modern Space Plasma N. A. Krall: The Contribution of Marshall Rosenbluth in the Development of Plasma Drift Wave and Universal Instability Theories C. S. Liu: The Legacy of Marshall Rosenbluth in Laser-Plasma Interaction Research N. Rostoker: Plasma Physics Research With Marshall Rosenbluth - My Teacher R. Z. Sagdeev: The Legacy of Marshall Rosenbluth in Plasma Physics V. Alexander Stefan A Note on the Rosenbluth Paper: Phys. Rev. Letters, 29, 565 (1972), and the Research in Parametric Plasma Theory Thereupon J. W. Van Dam: The Role of Marshall Rosenbluth in the Development of the Thermonuclear Fusion Program in the U.S.A. E. P. Velikhov: Problems in Plasma Astrophysics R. White: The Role of Marshall Rosenbluth in the Development of the Particle and MHD Interaction in Plasmas X. Xu: Edge Gyrokinetic Theory and Continuum Simulations Marshall Nicholas ROSENBLUTH (A Brief Biography) b. February 5,1927 - Albany, New York. d. September 28, 2003 - San Diego, California. M. N. Rosenbluth, a world-acclaimed scientist, is one of the ultimate authorities in plasma and thermonuclear fusion research, often indicated by the sobriquet the "Pope of Plasma Physics." His theoretical contributions have been central to the development of controlled thermonuclear fusion. In the 1950s his pioneering work in plasma instabilities, together with pioneering works of A. Sakharov, I. Tamm, L. Spitzer, Jr., L. A. Artsimovich, and others, led to the design of the TOKAMAK, the principal configuration used for contemporary magnetic fusion experiments. In addition to his research achievements, he has made significant administrative contributions as a scientific advisor in the fields of energy policy and national defense. He is the founder and the first director of The Institute for Fusion Studies at Austin, Texas. M. N. Rosenbluth has been the recipient of the E. O. Lawrence Memorial Award (1964),the Albert Einstein Award (1967),the James Clerk Maxwell prize in Plasma Physics(1976),and the Enrico Fermi Award (1986). M. N. Rosenbluth had been Science Advisor for the INSTITUTE for ADVANCED PHYSICS STUDIES (presently a division of The Stefan University) since 1989. He is the editor-in-chief of the FSRC, (Frontier Science Research Conferences) Book: "NEW IDEAS in TOKAMAK CONFINEMENT" Published by the American Institute of Physics (August 1994) in the Research Trends in Physics Series founded and edited by V. Alexander Stefan in 1989. M. N. Rosenbluth was a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the National Academy of Sciences of the USA, a Professor Emeritus at the University of California, San Diego, and a Senior Scientist at General Atomics, San Diego.« less

IN MEMORIUM: Second International Workshop & Summer School on Plasma Physics 2006

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2007-04-01

Zdravko Neichev, a PhD student at University of Sofia and a member of the Local Organising Committee of the International Workshop and Summer School on Plasma Physics, died September 22, 2006 at the age of 27 in a tragic car accident. He was close to finishing his PhD thesis working thoroughly in the field of Plasma Physics. Being also an excellent programmer he produced a number of perfect programs for numerical modelling of the coaxial discharge properties. He was a smart, friendly person, always ready to help. His colleagues and friends will never forget his radiant smile. Zdravko Neichev

How can laboratory plasma experiments contribute to space and &astrophysics?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yamada, M.

Plasma physics plays key role in a wide range of phenomena in the universe, from laboratory plasmas to the magnetosphere, the solar corona, and to the tenuous interstellar and intergalactic gas. Despite the huge difference in physical scales, there are striking similarities in plasma behavior of laboratory and space plasmas. Similar plasma physics problems have been investigated independently by both laboratory plasma physicists and astrophysicists. Since 1991, cross fertilization has been increased among laboratory plasma physicists and space physicists through meeting such as IPELS [Interrelationship between Plasma Experiments in the Laboratory and Space] meeting. The advances in laboratory plasma physics, along with the recent surge of astronomical data from satellites, make this moment ripe for research collaboration to further advance plasma physics and to obtain new understanding of key space and astrophysical phenomena. The recent NRC review of astronomy and astrophysics notes the benefit that can accrue from stronger connection to plasma physics. The present talk discusses how laboratory plasma studies can contribute to the fundamental understandings of the space and astrophysical phenomena by covering common key physics topics such as magnetic reconnection, dynamos, angular momentum transport, ion heating, and magnetic self-organization. In particular, it has recently been recognized that "physics -issue- dedicated" laboratory experiments can contribute significantly to the understanding of the fundamental physics for space-astrophysical phenomena since they can create fundamental physics processes in controlled manner and provide well-correlated plasma parameters at multiple plasma locations simultaneously. Such dedicated experiments not only can bring about better understanding of the fundamental physics processes but also can lead to findings of new physics principles as well as new ideas for fusion plasma confinement. Several dedicated experiments have provided the fundamental physics data for magnetic reconnection [1]. Linear plasma devices have been utilized to investigate Whistler waves and Alfven wave phenomena [2,3]. A rotating gallium disk experiment has been initiated to study magneto-rotational instability [4]. This talk also presents the most recent progress of these dedicated laboratory plasma research. 1. M. Yamada et al., Phys. Plasmas 4, 1936, (1997) 2. R. Stenzel, Phys. Rev. Lett. 65, 3001 (1991) 3. W. Gekelman et al, Plasma Phys. Contr. Fusion, v42, B15-B26, Suppl.12B (2000) 4. H. Ji, J. Goodman, A. Kageyama Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 325, L1- (2001)

PREFACE: 11th IAEA Technical Meeting on H-mode Physics and Transport Barriers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Takizuka, Tomonori

2008-07-01

This volume of Journal of Physics: Conference Series contains papers based on invited talks and contributed posters presented at the 11th IAEA Technical Meeting on H-mode Physics and Transport Barriers. This meeting was held at the Tsukuba International Congress Center in Tsukuba, Japan, on 26-28 September 2007, and was organized jointly by the Japan Atomic Energy Agency and the University of Tsukuba. The previous ten meetings in this series were held in San Diego (USA) 1987, Gut Ising (Germany) 1989, Abingdon (UK) 1991, Naka (Japan) 1993, Princeton (USA) 1995, Kloster Seeon (Germany) 1997, Oxford (UK) 1999, Toki (Japan) 2001, San Diego (USA) 2003, and St Petersburg (Russia) 2005. The purpose of the eleventh meeting was to present and discuss new results on H-mode (edge transport barrier, ETB) and internal transport barrier, ITB, experiments, theory and modeling in magnetic fusion research. It was expected that contributions give new and improved insights into the physics mechanisms behind high confinement modes of H-mode and ITBs. Ultimately, this research should lead to improved projections for ITER. As has been the tradition at the recent meetings of this series, the program was subdivided into six topics. The topics selected for the eleventh meeting were: H-mode transition and the pedestal-width Dynamics in ETB: ELM threshold, non-linear evolution and suppression, etc Transport relations of various quantities including turbulence in plasmas with ITB: rotation physics is especially highlighted Transport barriers in non-axisymmetric magnetic fields Theory and simulation on transport barriers Projections of transport barrier physics to ITER For each topic there was an invited talk presenting an overview of the topic, based on contributions to the meeting and on recently published external results. The six invited talks were: A Leonard (GA, USA): Progress in characterization of the H-mode pedestal and L-H transition N Oyama (JAEA, Japan): Progress and issues in physics understanding of dynamics, mitigation and control of ELMs J Rice (MIT, USA): Spontaneous rotation and momentum transport in tokamak plasmas K Ida (NIFS, Japan): Transport barriers in non-axisymmetric magnetic fields F Jenko (IPP, Germany): Transport barriers: Recent progress in theory and simulation T Hoang (CEA, France): Internal transport barriers: Projection to ITER Every talk satisfied the objective of the meeting. A discussion period followed each invited talk in order to expand physics understandings, projection capabilities, and the direction of research around the topic. Short talks were presented by contributing speakers in addition to questions, answers, comments and discussion among the participants. For each topic there was an associated poster session for contributed papers, and lively discussion took place in front of every poster. Through the meeting six invited papers and 77 contributed papers were presented in total. The final session of the meeting was devoted to summaries; R Groebner, T S Hahm and K Ida of the IAC summarized the fruits of topics 1 and 2, 3 and 5, and 4 and 6, respectively. I would like to thank Dr A Malaquias, the IAEA Scientific Secretary, for his continuous support and useful suggestions on the arrangements of the meeting. I am very grateful to the IAC members for their cooperation in selecting topics and invited speakers, and for their important advices on the meeting strategy and proceedings publication. I also wish to express my gratitude to LOC colleagues for their hard work organizing the meeting. Young students of the University of Tsukuba helped us during the meeting. Financial and personel support from JAEA and the University of Tsukuba were essential. Finally I would like to acknowledge the participants of the meeting and the referees for the present proceedings. All of the above contributions contributed to the success of the meeting. Tomonori Takizuka Editor Group photograph International Advisory Committee T Takizuka (Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Japan: Chair) R J Groebner (General Atomics, USA) T S Hahm (Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, USA) A E Hubbard (MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Center, USA) K Ida (National Institute for Fusion Science, Japan) S V Lebedev (Ioffe Institute, Russia) G Saibene (EFDA CSU Garching, Germany) W Suttrop (Max-Plank-Institut für Plasmaphysik, Germany) Additional information about this meeting (H-mode-TM-11) is available in its homepage http://www-jt60.naka.jaea.go.jp/h-mode-tm-11/. List of Participants N Aiba (Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Japan) T Akiyama (National Institute for Fusion Science, Japan) N Asakura (Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Japan) L G Askinazi (Ioffe Institute, Russia) M N A Beurskens (EURATOM/UKAEA Fusion Association, UK) J D Callen (University of Wisconsin, USA) T Cho (University of Tsukuba, Japan) P C DeVries (EURATOM/UKAEA Fusion Association, UK) X T Ding (Southwestern Institute of Physics, China) E J Doyle (University of California, Los Angels, USA) A Fukuyama (Kyoto University, Japan) P Gohil (General Atomics, USA) R J Groebner (General Atomics, USA) T S Hahm (Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, USA) N Hayashi (Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Japan) Y Higashiyama (Nagoya University, Japan) Y Higashizono (University of Tsukuba, Japan) M Hirata (University of Tsukuba, Japan) G T Hoang (Association Euratom-CEA sur la Fusion Controle, France) G M D Hogeweij (FOM-Institute for Plasma Physics Rijnhuizen, The Netherlands) M Honda (Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Japan) L D Horton (Max-Plank-Institut für Plasmaphysik, Germany) W A Houlberg (ITER Organization) A E Hubbard (MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Center, USA) J W Hughes (MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Center, USA) M Ichimura (University of Tsukuba, Japan) K Ida (National Institute for Fusion Science, Japan) T Ido (National Institute for Fusion Science, Japan) T Imai (University of Tsukuba, Japan) F Imbeaux (Association Euratom-CEA sur la Fusion Controle, France) A Itakura (University of Tsukuba, Japan) K Itoh (National Institute for Fusion Science, Japan) S-I Itoh (Kyushu University, Japan) F Jenko (Max-Plank-Institut für Plasmaphysik, Germany) D Kalupin (Institut für Plasmaphysik, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Germany) Y Kamada (Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Japan) N Kasuya (National Institute for Fusion Science, Japan) I Katanuma (University of Tsukuba, Japan) M Kimura (Kyushu University, Japan) A Kirk (EURATOM/UKAEA Fusion Association, UK) S Kitajima (Tohoku University, Japan) S Kobayashi (Kyoto University, Japan) T Kobuchi (Tohoku University, Japan) J Kohagura (University of Tsukuba, Japan) P T Lang (Max-Plank-Institut für Plasmaphysik, Germany) S V Lebedev (Ioffe Institute, Russia) A W Leonard (General Atomics, USA) J Q Li (Kyoto University, Japan) A Malaquias (International Atomic Energy Agency) Y R Martin (Centre de Recherches en Physique des Plasmas, EPFL, Switzerland) C J McDevitt (University of California, San Diego, USA) D C McDonald (EURATOM/UKAEA Fusion Association, UK) H Meyer (EURATOM/UKAEA Fusion Association, UK) C A Michael (National Institute for Fusion Science, Japan) K Miki (Kyushu University, Japan) R Minami (University of Tsukuba, Japan) T Minami (National Institute for Fusion Science, Japan) Y Miyata (University of Tsukuba, Japan) N Miyato (Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Japan) Y Motegi (University of Tsukuba, Japan) V Mukhovatov (ITER Organization) S Murakami (Kyoto University, Japan) Y Nagashima (Kyushu University, Japan) Y Nakashima (University of Tsukuba, Japan) T Numakura (University of Tsukuba, Japan) S Ohshima (National Institute for Fusion Science, Japan) T Oishi (National Institute for Fusion Science, Japan) T Onjun (Sirindhorn International Institute of Technology, Thailand) T H Osborne (GENERAL Atomics, USA) N Oyama (Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Japan) T Ozeki (Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Japan) V Parail (EURATOM/UKAEA Fusion Association, UK) A Polevoi (ITER Organization, France) J E Rice (MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Center, USA) F Ryter (Max-Plank-Institut für Plasmaphysik, Germany) H Saimaru (University of Tsukuba, Japan) R Sakamoto (National Institute for Fusion Science, Japan) Y Sakamoto (Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Japan) M Sasaki (University of Tokyo, Japan) Y Shi (Institute of Plasma Physics, Chinese Academy of Science, China) A Shimizu (National Institute for Fusion Science, Japan) T Shimozuma (National Institute for Fusion Science, Japan) P B Snyder (General Atomics, USA) C Suzuki (National Institute for Fusion Science, Japan) H Takahashi (National Institute for Fusion Science, Japan) Y Takahashi (Nagoya University, Japan) Y Takeiri (National Institute for Fusion Science, Japan) H Takenaga (Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Japan) M Takeuchi (Nagoya University, Japan) T Takizuka (Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Japan) N Tamura (National Institute for Fusion Science, Japan) K Tanaka (National Institute for Fusion Science, Japan) S Tokuda (Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Japan) S Tokunaga (Kyushu University, Japan) G Turri (Centre de Recherches en Physique des Plasmas, EPFL, Switzerland) H Urano (Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Japan) H Utoh (Tohok University, Japan) K Uzawa (Kyoto University, Japan) M Valovic (EURATOM/UKAEA Fusion Association, UK) L Vermare (Max-Plank-Institut für Plasmaphysik, Germany) F Watanabe (Nagoya University, Japan) M Yagi (Kyushu University, Japan) Y Yamaguchi (University of Tsukuba, Japan) K Yamazaki (Nagoya University, Japan) M Yokoyama (National Institute for Fusion Science, Japan) M Yoshida (Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Japan) M Yoshinuma (National Institute for Fusion Science, Japan)

BOOK REVIEW: Fundamentals of Plasma Physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cargill, P. J.

2007-02-01

The widespread importance of plasmas in many areas of contemporary physics makes good textbooks in the field that are both introductory and comprehensive invaluable. This new book by Paul Bellen from CalTech by and large meets these goals. It covers the traditional textbook topics such as particle orbits, the derivation of the MHD equations from Vlasov theory, cold and warm plasma waves, Landau damping, as well as in the later chapters less common subjects such as magnetic helicity, nonlinear processes and dusty plasmas. The book is clearly written, neatly presented, and each chapter has a number of exercises or problems at their end. The author has also thankfully steered clear of the pitfall of filling the book with his own research results. The preface notes that the book is designed to provide an introduction to plasma physics for final year undergraduate and post-graduate students. However, it is difficult to see many physics undergraduates now at UK universities getting to grips with much of the content since their mathematics is not of a high enough standard. Students in Applied Mathematics departments would certainly fare better. An additional problem for the beginner is that some of the chapters do not lead the reader gently into a subject, but begin with quite advanced concepts. Being a multi-disciplinary subject, beginners tend to find plasma physics quite hard enough even when done simply. For postgraduate students these criticisms fade away and this book provides an excellent introduction. More senior researchers should also enjoy the book, especially Chapters 11-17 where more advanced topics are discussed. I found myself continually comparing the book with my favourite text for many years, `The Physics of Plasmas' by T J M Boyd and J J Sanderson, reissued by Cambridge University Press in 2003. Researchers would want both books on their shelves, both for the different ways basic plasma physics is covered, and the diversity of more advanced topics. For the undergraduate level, I would find it easier to construct an introductory course from Boyd and Sanderson.

PREFACE: 27th Summer School and International Symposium on the Physics of Ionized Gases (SPIG 2014)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marić, Dragana; Milosavljević, Aleksandar R.; Mijatović, Zoran

2014-12-01

This volume of Journal of Physics: Conference Series contains a selection of papers presented at the 27th Summer School and International Symposium on the Physics of Ionized Gases - SPIG 2014, as General Invited Lectures, Topical Invited Lectures, Progress Reports and associated Workshop Lectures. The conference was held in Belgrade, Serbia, from 26-29 August 2014 at the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts. It was organized by the Institute of Physics Belgrade, University of Belgrade and Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, under the auspices of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, Republic of Serbia. A rare virtue of a SPIG conference is that it covers a wide range of topics, bringing together leading scientists worldwide to present and discuss state-of-the art research and the most recent applications, thus stimulating a modern approach of interdisciplinary science. The Invited lectures and Contributed papers are related to the following research fields: 1. Atomic Collision Processes (Electron and Photon Interactions with Atomic Particles, Heavy Particle Collisions, Swarms and Transport Phenomena) 2. Particle and Laser Beam Interactions with Solids (Atomic Collisions in Solids, Sputtering and Deposition, Laser and Plasma Interaction with Surfaces) 3. Low Temperature Plasmas (Plasma Spectroscopy and other Diagnostic Methods, Gas Discharges, Plasma Applications and Devices) 4. General Plasmas (Fusion Plasmas, Astrophysical Plasmas and Collective Phenomena) Additionally, the 27th SPIG encompassed three workshops that are closely related to the scope of the conference: • The Workshop on Dissociative Electron Attachment (DEA) - Chaired by Prof. Nigel J Mason, OBE, The Open University, United Kingdom • The Workshop on X-ray Interaction with Biomolecules in Gas Phase (XiBiGP), Chaired by Dr. Christophe Nicolas, Synchrotron SOLEIL, France • The 3rd International Workshop on Non-Equilibrium Processes (NonEqProc) - Chaired by Prof. Zoran Lj. Petrović, Institute of Physics Belgrade, University of Belgrade, Serbia The Editors would like to thank the members of the Scientific and Advisory Committees of SPIG conference for their efforts in proposing the program of the conference and to the referees that have reviewed submitted papers, as well as the chairmen of the associated workshops for their efforts and help in organizing them and a selection of excellent invited talks. We particularly acknowledge the efforts of all the members of the Local Organizing Committee in the organization of the Conference. We are grateful to all sponsors of the conference: SOLEIL synchrotron, RoentDek Handels GmbH, Klett Publishing House Ltd, Springer (EPJD and EPJ TI), IOP Publishing (IOP Conference Series), DEA club, Austrian Cultural Forum Belgrade, Institut français de Serbie and Collegium Hungaricum Belgrade. Holding on to a long tradition is never easy and the only way to achieve that is to have a large number of people who appreciate the conference, so we would like to thank all the invited speakers and participants for taking part in the 27th SPIG conference. Editors of the issue: Dr Dragana Marić (Instutute of Physics Belgrade, University of Belgrade Dr Aleksandar R. Milosavljević (Instutute of Physics Belgrade, University of Belgrade) Prof Zoran Mijatović (Faculty of Sciences, University of Novi Sad)

Experimental Measurement of Self-Diffusion in a Strongly Coupled Plasma

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-08-04

Killian1 1Department of Physics and Astronomy , Rice University, Houston, Texas 77005, USA 2Theoretical Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los...2] L. Spitzer, Physics of Fully Ionized Gases, Interscience Tracts on Physics and Astronomy (Interscience Publishers, New York, 1962), Vol. 3. [3] L

A survey of dusty plasma physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shukla, P. K.

2001-05-01

Two omnipresent ingredients of the Universe are plasmas and charged dust. The interplay between these two has opened up a new and fascinating research area, that of dusty plasmas, which are ubiquitous in different parts of our solar system, namely planetary rings, circumsolar dust rings, the interplanetary medium, cometary comae and tails, as well as in interstellar molecular clouds, etc. Dusty plasmas also occur in noctilucent clouds in the arctic troposphere and mesosphere, cloud-to-ground lightening in thunderstorms containing smoke-contaminated air over the United States, in the flame of a humble candle, as well as in microelectronic processing devices, in low-temperature laboratory discharges, and in tokamaks. Dusty plasma physics has appeared as one of the most rapidly growing fields of science, besides the field of the Bose-Einstein condensate, as demonstrated by the number of published papers in scientific journals and conference proceedings. In fact, it is a truly interdisciplinary science because it has many potential applications in astrophysics (viz. in understanding the formation of dust clusters and structures, instabilities of interstellar molecular clouds and star formation, decoupling of magnetic fields from plasmas, etc.) as well as in the planetary magnetospheres of our solar system [viz. Saturn (particularly, the physics of spokes and braids in the B and F rings), Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune, and Mars] and in strongly coupled laboratory dusty plasmas. Since a dusty plasma system involves the charging and dynamics of massive charged dust grains, it can be characterized as a complex plasma system providing new physics insights. In this paper, the basic physics of dusty plasmas as well as numerous collective processes are discussed. The focus will be on theoretical and experimental observations of charging processes, waves and instabilities, associated forces, the dynamics of rotating and elongated dust grains, and some nonlinear structures (such as dust ion-acoustic shocks, Mach cones, dust voids, vortices, etc). The latter are typical in astrophysical settings and in several laboratory experiments. It appears that collective processes in a complex dusty plasma would have excellent future perspectives in the twenty-first century, because they have not only potential applications in interplanetary space environments, or in understanding the physics of our universe, but also in advancing our scientific knowledge in multidisciplinary areas of science.

ICPP: Introduction to Dusty Plasma Physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kant Shukla, Padma

2000-10-01

Two omnipresent ingredients of the Universe are plasmas and charged dust. The interplay between these two has opened up a new and fascinating research area, that of dusty plasmas, which are ubiquitous in in different parts of our solar system, namely planetary rings, circumsolar dust rings, interplanetary medium, cometary comae and tails, interstellar molecular clouds, etc. Dusty plasmas also occur in noctilucent clouds in the arctic troposphere and mesosphere, cloud-to-ground lightening in thunderstorms containing smoke-contaminated air over the US, in the flame of humble candle, as well as in microelectronics and in low-temperature laboratory discharges. In the latter, charged dust grains are strongly correlated. Dusty plasma physics has appeared as one of the most rapidly growing field of science, besides the field of the Bose-Einstein condensate, as demonstrated by the number of published papers in scientific journals and conference proceedings. In fact, it is a truly interdisciplinary science because it has many potential applications in astrophysics (viz. in understanding the formation of dust clusters and structures, instabilities of interstellar molecular clouds and star formation, decoupling of magnetic fields from plasmas, etc.) as well as in the planetary magnetospheres of our solar system [viz. the Saturn (particularly, the physics of spokes and braids in B and F rings), Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune, and Mars] and in strongly coupled laboratory dusty plasmas. Since dusty plasma system involves the charging and the dynamics of extremely massive charged dust particulates, it can be characterized as a complex plasma system with new physics insights. In this talk, I shall describe the basic physics of dusty plasmas and present the status of numerous collective processes that are relevant to space research and laboratory experiments. The focus will be on theoretical and experimental observations of novel waves and instabilities, various forces, and some nonlinear structures (such as dust ion-acoustic shocks, Mach cones, dust voids, vortices, etc). The latter are typical in astrophysical settings and in microgravity experiments. It appears that collective processes in a complex dusty plasma would have excellent future perspectives in the twenty first century, because they have not only potential applications in interplanetary space environments, or in understanding the physics of our universe, but also in advancing our scientific knowledge in multi-disciplinary areas of science.

PREFACE: Progress in the ITER Physics Basis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ikeda, K.

2007-06-01

I would firstly like to congratulate all who have contributed to the preparation of the `Progress in the ITER Physics Basis' (PIPB) on its publication and express my deep appreciation of the hard work and commitment of the many scientists involved. With the signing of the ITER Joint Implementing Agreement in November 2006, the ITER Members have now established the framework for construction of the project, and the ITER Organization has begun work at Cadarache. The review of recent progress in the physics basis for burning plasma experiments encompassed by the PIPB will be a valuable resource for the project and, in particular, for the current Design Review. The ITER design has been derived from a physics basis developed through experimental, modelling and theoretical work on the properties of tokamak plasmas and, in particular, on studies of burning plasma physics. The `ITER Physics Basis' (IPB), published in 1999, has been the reference for the projection methodologies for the design of ITER, but the IPB also highlighted several key issues which needed to be resolved to provide a robust basis for ITER operation. In the intervening period scientists of the ITER Participant Teams have addressed these issues intensively. The International Tokamak Physics Activity (ITPA) has provided an excellent forum for scientists involved in these studies, focusing their work on the high priority physics issues for ITER. Significant progress has been made in many of the issues identified in the IPB and this progress is discussed in depth in the PIPB. In this respect, the publication of the PIPB symbolizes the strong interest and enthusiasm of the plasma physics community for the success of the ITER project, which we all recognize as one of the great scientific challenges of the 21st century. I wish to emphasize my appreciation of the work of the ITPA Coordinating Committee members, who are listed below. Their support and encouragement for the preparation of the PIPB were fundamental to its completion. I am pleased to witness the extensive collaborations, the excellent working relationships and the free exchange of views that have been developed among scientists working on magnetic fusion, and I would particularly like to acknowledge the importance which they assign to ITER in their research. This close collaboration and the spirit of free discussion will be essential to the success of ITER. Finally, the PIPB identifies issues which remain in the projection of burning plasma performance to the ITER scale and in the control of burning plasmas. Continued R&D is therefore called for to reduce the uncertainties associated with these issues and to ensure the efficient operation and exploitation of ITER. It is important that the international fusion community maintains a high level of collaboration in the future to address these issues and to prepare the physics basis for ITER operation. ITPA Coordination Committee R. Stambaugh (Chair of ITPA CC, General Atomics, USA) D.J. Campbell (Previous Chair of ITPA CC, European Fusion Development Agreement—Close Support Unit, ITER Organization) M. Shimada (Co-Chair of ITPA CC, ITER Organization) R. Aymar (ITER International Team, CERN) V. Chuyanov (ITER Organization) J.H. Han (Korea Basic Science Institute, Korea) Y. Huo (Zengzhou University, China) Y.S. Hwang (Seoul National University, Korea) N. Ivanov (Kurchatov Institute, Russia) Y. Kamada (Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Naka, Japan) P.K. Kaw (Institute for Plasma Research, India) S. Konovalov (Kurchatov Institute, Russia) M. Kwon (National Fusion Research Center, Korea) J. Li (Academy of Science, Institute of Plasma Physics, China) S. Mirnov (TRINITI, Russia) Y. Nakamura (National Institute for Fusion Studies, Japan) H. Ninomiya (Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Naka, Japan) E. Oktay (Department of Energy, USA) J. Pamela (European Fusion Development Agreement—Close Support Unit) C. Pan (Southwestern Institute of Physics, China) F. Romanelli (Ente per le Nuove tecnologie, l'Energia e l'Ambiente, Italy and European Fusion Development Agreement—Close Support Unit) N. Sauthoff (Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, USA and Oak Ridge National Laboratories, USA) Y. Saxena (Institute for Plasma Research, India) Y. Shimomura (ITER Organization) R. Singh (Institute for Plasma Research, India) S. Takamura (Nagoya University, Japan) K. Toi (National Institute for Fusion Studies, Japan) M. Wakatani (Kyoto University, Japan (deceased)) H. Zohm (Max-Planck-Institut für Plasmaphysik, Garching, Germany)

USSR Report, Physics and Mathematics

DTIC Science & Technology

1985-08-20

TEKHNICHESKIY FIZIKI, No 6(148), Nov-Dec 84) 80 Thermodynamic Potential of Quark -Antiquark Plasma in Constant Chromomagnetic Field CSh. S. Agayev... QUARK -ANTIQUARK PLASMA IN CONSTANT CHROMOMAGNETIC FIELD Tomsk IZVESTIYA VYSSHIKH UCHEBNYKH ZAVEDENIY: FIZIKA in Russian Vol 28, No 1, Jan 85...Automation Institute; Moscow State University imeni M. V. Lomonosov [Abstract] Light-neutral quark -antiquark plasma in a constant optical magnetic

Connecting QGP-Heavy Ion Physics to the Early Universe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rafelski, Johann

2013-10-01

We discuss properties and evolution of quark-gluon plasma in the early Universe and compare to laboratory heavy ion experiments. We describe how matter and antimatter emerged from a primordial soup of quarks and gluons. We focus our discussion on similarities and differences between the early Universe and the laboratory experiments.

PREFACE: 11th Asia-Pacific Conference on Plasma Science and Technology (APCPST-11) and 25th Symposium on Plasma Science for Materials (SPSM-25)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Watanabe, Takayuki; Kaneko, Toshio; Sekine, Makoto; Tanaka, Yasunori

2013-06-01

The 11th Asia-Pacific Conference on Plasma Science and Technology (APCPST-11) was held in Kyoto, Japan on 2-5 October 2012 with the 25th Symposium on Plasma Science for Materials (SPSM-25). SPSM has been held annually since 1988 under the sponsorship of The 153rd Committee on Plasma Materials Science, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS). This symposium is one of the major activities of the Committee, which is organized by researchers in academia and industry for the purpose of advancing intersectional scientific information exchange and discussion of science and technology of plasma materials processing. APCPST and SPSM are jointly held biennially to survey the current status of low temperature and thermal plasma physics and chemistry for industrial applications. The whole area of plasma processing was covered from fundamentals to applications. Previous meetings were held in China, Japan, Korea, and Australia, attended by scientists from the Asia-Pacific and other countries. The joint conference was organized in plenary lectures, invited, contributed oral presentations and poster sessions. At this meeting, we had 386 participants from 10 countries and 398 presentations, including 26 invited presentations. This year, we arranged special topical sessions that covered green innovation, life innovation, and technical reports from industry. This conference seeks to bring the plasma community together and to create a forum for discussing the latest developments and issues, the challenges ahead in the field of plasma research and applications among engineers and scientists in Asia, the Pacific Rim, as well as Europe. This volume presents 44 papers that were selected via a strict peer-review process from full papers submitted for the proceedings of the conference. The topics range from the basic physics and chemistry of plasma processing to a broad variety of materials processing and environmental applications. This volume offers an overview of recent advances in thermal and non-equilibrium plasmas as well as on more new and innovative developments in the field of life innovation, green innovation and a technical report session. The editors hope that this volume will be useful and helpful for deepening our understanding of science and technology of plasma materials processing and also for stimulating further development of the plasma technology. Finally, we would like to thank the conference chairmen, the members of the organizing committee, the advisory committee, the executive committee, the program committee, the publication committee, organizing secretariat and financial support from The 153rd Committee on Plasma Materials Science, JSPS. Sponsors and Supporting Organization: The 153rd Committee on Plasma Materials Science, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Organizing Committee Chairperson: Osamu Tsuji, SAMCO Corporation, Japan Advisory Committee Chairperson: Akihisa Matsuda, Osaka University, Japan Executive Committee Chairperson: Masaru Hori, Nagoya University, Japan Program Committee Chairperson: Takamasa Ishigaki, Hosei University, Japan Publication Committee Chairperson: Takayuki Watanabe, Kyushu University Editors of APCPST-11 and SPMS-25 Professor Takayuki Watanabe, Kyushu University, Japan Professor Toshio Kaneko, Tohoku University, Japan Professor Makoto Sekine, Nagoya University, Japan Professor Yasunori Tanaka, Kanazawa University, Japan

Fusion plasma theory project summaries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

1993-10-01

This Project Summary book is a published compilation consisting of short descriptions of each project supported by the Fusion Plasma Theory and Computing Group of the Advanced Physics and Technology Division of the Department of Energy, Office of Fusion Energy. The summaries contained in this volume were written by the individual contractors with minimal editing by the Office of Fusion Energy. Previous summaries were published in February of 1982 and December of 1987. The Plasma Theory program is responsible for the development of concepts and models that describe and predict the behavior of a magnetically confined plasma. Emphasis is given to the modelling and understanding of the processes controlling transport of energy and particles in a toroidal plasma and supporting the design of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER). A tokamak transport initiative was begun in 1989 to improve understanding of how energy and particles are lost from the plasma by mechanisms that transport them across field lines. The Plasma Theory program has actively participated in this initiative. Recently, increased attention has been given to issues of importance to the proposed Tokamak Physics Experiment (TPX). Particular attention has been paid to containment and thermalization of fast alpha particles produced in a burning fusion plasma as well as control of sawteeth, current drive, impurity control, and design of improved auxiliary heating. In addition, general models of plasma behavior are developed from physics features common to different confinement geometries. This work uses both analytical and numerical techniques. The Fusion Theory program supports research projects at U.S. government laboratories, universities and industrial contractors. Its support of theoretical work at universities contributes to the office of Fusion Energy mission of training scientific manpower for the U.S. Fusion Energy Program.

78 FR 20950 - Department of Energy Facilities Covered Under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-04-08

...- Health Research, University of Present [dagger]. California (Davis). Laboratory of Biomedical and Los... Radiobiology and San Francisco..... 1951-1999. Environmental Health, University of California (San Francisco........... New Brunswick..... 1948-1977. Princeton Plasma Physics Princeton......... 1951-Present. Laboratory...

10 CFR 820.20 - Purpose and scope.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

...; (5) Princeton University for activities associated with Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory; (6) The... OF ENERGY PROCEDURAL RULES FOR DOE NUCLEAR ACTIVITIES Enforcement Process § 820.20 Purpose and scope... activities specified below: (1) The University of Chicago for activities associated with Argonne National...

Electron density measurements in STPX plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Clark, Jerry; Williams, R.; Titus, J. B.; Mezonlin, E. D.; Akpovo, C.; Thomas, E.

2017-10-01

Diagnostics have been installed to measure the electron density of Spheromak Turbulent Physics Experiment (STPX) plasmas at Florida A. & M. University. An insertable probe, provided by Auburn University, consisting of a combination of a triple-tipped Langmuir probe and a radial array consisting of three ion saturation current / floating potential rings has been installed to measure instantaneous plasma density, temperature and plasma potential. As the ramp-up of the experimental program commences, initial electron density measurements from the triple-probe show that the electron density is on the order of 1019 particles/m3. For a passive measurement, a CO2 interferometer system has been designed and installed for measuring line-averaged densities and to corroborate the Langmuir measurements. We describe the design, calibration, and performance of these diagnostic systems on large volume STPX plasmas.

Long path-length experimental studies of longitudinal phenomena in intense beams

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

Beaudoin, B. L.; Haber, I.; Kishek, R. A.

2016-05-15

Intense charged particle beams are nonneutral plasmas as they can support a host of plasma waves and instabilities. The longitudinal physics, for a long beam, can often be reasonably described by a 1-D cold-fluid model with a geometry factor to account for the transverse effects. The plasma physics of such beams has been extensively studied theoretically and computationally for decades, but until recently, the only experimental measurements were carried out on relatively short linacs. This work reviews experimental studies over the past five years on the University of Maryland Electron Ring, investigating longitudinal phenomena over time scales of thousands ofmore » plasma periods, illustrating good agreement with simulations.« less

Space plasma physics at the Applied Physics Laboratory over the past half-century

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Potemra, Thomas A.

1992-01-01

An overview is given of space-plasma experiments conducted at the Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) at Johns Hopkins University including observational campaigns and the instrumentation developed. Specific space-plasma experiments discussed include the study of the radiation environment in the Van Allen radiation belt with solid-state proton detectors. Also described are the 5E-1 satellites which acquired particle and magnetic-field data from earth orbit. The Triad satellite and its magnetometer system were developed for high-resolution studies of the earth's magnetic field, and APL contributions to NASA's Interplanetary Monitoring Platforms are listed. The review mentions the International Ultraviolet Explorer, the Atmosphere Explorer mission, and the Active Magnetic Particle Tracer Explorers mission. Other recent programs reviewed include a high-latitude satellite, contributions to the Voyager mission, and radar studies of space plasmas.

Collisionless Coupling in the AMPTE (Active Magnetospheric Particle Tracer Explorers) Artificial Comet.

DTIC Science & Technology

1986-09-29

34." J. D. HUBA e . Geophysical and Plasma Dynamics Branch .. .. Plasma Physics Division .- - -’ Applied Physics Laboratory Johns Hopkins University Laurel...reverse if necessnary and identify by block number) e Analysis of previously reported observations of the solar wind barium interaction associated with...83 APR ed,tion may be used until exhausted SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF THIS PAGE All other editions are obsolete #ALL 0. ft"" e ~ Wiism "go-aew

PLASMA-2013: International Conference on Research and Applications of Plasmas (Warsaw, Poland, 2-6 September 2013)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sadowski, Marek J.

2014-05-01

The PLASMA-2013 International Conference on Research and Applications of Plasmas was held in Warsaw (Poland) from 2 to 6 September 2013. The conference was organized by the Institute of Plasma Physics and Laser Microfusion, under the auspices of the Polish Physical Society. The scope of the PLASMA conferences, which have been organized every two years since 1993, covers almost all issues of plasma physics and fusion research as well as selected problems of plasma technology. The PLASMA-2013 conference topics included: •Elementary processes and general plasma physics. •Plasmas in tokamaks and stellarators (magnetic confinement fusion). •Plasmas generated by laser beams and inertial confinement fusion. •Plasmas produced by Z-pinch and plasma-focus discharges. •Low-temperature plasma physics. •Space plasmas and laboratory astrophysics. •Plasma diagnostic methods and applications of plasmas. This conference was designed not only for plasma researchers and engineers, but also for students from all over the world, in particular for those from Central and Eastern Europe. Almost 140 participants had the opportunity to hear 9 general lectures, 11 topical talks and 26 oral presentations, as well as to see and discuss around 120 posters. From about 140 contributions, after the preparation of about 100 papers and the peer review process, only 74 papers have been accepted for publication in this topical issue. Acknowledgments Acting on behalf of the International Scientific Committee I would like to express our thanks to all the invited speakers and all the participants of the PLASMA-2013 conference for their numerous contributions. In particular, I wish to thank all of the authors of papers submitted for publication in this topical issue of Physica Scripta . Particular thanks are due to all of the reviewers for their valuable reports and comments, which helped to improve the quality of many of the papers. International Scientific Committee Marek J Sadowski, NCBJ, Otwock, Poland—Chairman Dimitri Batani, Universite Bordeaux, France Sergio Ciattaglia, ITER, Cadarache, France Michael Dudeck, UPMC, Paris, France Igor E Garkusha, NSC KIPT, Kharkov, Ukraine Zbigniew Kłos, CBK PAN, Warsaw Giorgio Maddaluno, ENEA Frascati, Italy Andrea Murari, EFDA JET, Culham, UK Józef Musielok, University of Opole, Poland Svetlana Ratynskaia, RIT, Stockholm, Sweden Karel Rohlena, IP CAS, Prague, Czech Republic Valentin Smirnov, Rosatom, Moscow, Russia Francisco Tabares, CIEMAT, Madrid, Spain Lorenzo Torrisi, University of Messina, Messina, Italy Jerzy Wołowski, IFPiLM, Warsaw, Poland Urszula Woźnicka, IFJ PAN, Cracow, Poland Local Organizing Committee Jerzy Wołowski—Chairman Paweł Gąsior—Secretary Zofia Kalinowska Ewa Kowalska-Strzęciwilk Monika Kubkowska Anita Pokorska Ryszard Panfil Joanna Dziak-Beme Conference website: http://plasma2013.ipplm.pl/

Formation of Imploding Plasma Liners for HEDP and MIF Applications - Diagnostics

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

Gilmore, Mark; Hsu, Scott; Witherspoon, F. Douglas

The goal of the plasma liner experiment (PLX) was to explore and demonstrate the feasibility of forming imploding spherical plasma liners that can reach High Energy Density (HED)-relevant (~ 0.1 Mbar) pressures upon stagnation. The plasma liners were to be formed by a spherical array of 30 – 36 railgun-driven hypervelocity plasma jets (Mach 10 – 50). Due to funding and project scope reductions in year two of the project, this initial goal was revised to focus on studies of individual jet propagation, and on two jet merging physics. PLX was a collaboration between a number of partners including Losmore » Alamos National Laboratory, HyperV Technologies, University of New Mexico (UNM), University of Alabama, Huntsville, and University of Nevada, Reno. UNM’s part in the collaboration was primary responsibility for plasma diagnostics. Though full plasma liner experiments could not be performed, the results of single and two jet experiments nevertheless laid important groundwork for future plasma liner investigations. Though challenges were encountered, the results obtained with one and two jets were overwhelmingly positive from a liner formation point of view, and were largely in agreement with predictions of hydrodynamic models.« less

Ion source research and development at University of Jyväskylä: Studies of different plasma processes and towards the higher beam intensities.

PubMed

Koivisto, H; Kalvas, T; Tarvainen, O; Komppula, J; Laulainen, J; Kronholm, R; Ranttila, K; Tuunanen, J; Thuillier, T; Xie, D; Machicoane, G

2016-02-01

Several ion source related research and development projects are in progress at the Department of Physics, University of Jyväskylä (JYFL). The work can be divided into investigation of the ion source plasma and development of ion sources, ion beams, and diagnostics. The investigation covers the Electron Cyclotron Resonance Ion Source (ECRIS) plasma instabilities, vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) and visible light emission, photon induced electron emission, and the development of plasma diagnostics. The ion source development covers the work performed for radiofrequency-driven negative ion source, RADIS, beam line upgrade of the JYFL 14 GHz ECRIS, and the development of a new room-temperature-magnet 18 GHz ECRIS, HIISI.

Preface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Makabe, Toshiaki; Samukawa, Seiji

2007-06-01

Twenty-first century will be the era of the design technology on a firm basis of physics and chemistry under circumstances of a prospective high-speed computing along the line of environmentally friendly and economically saving society. The 4th International Workshop on Basic Aspects of Nonequilibrium Plasmas Interacting with Surfaces (BANPIS); Negative ions, their function & designability, and the 4th EU-Japan Joint Symposium on Plasma Processes (JSPP) were held at Hotel Highland Resort close to Mt. Fuji in Japan on January 30 - February 1, 2006. The joint conference was organized by the 21st century Center of Excellence (COE) for ;Optical & Electronic Device Technology for Access Networks; in Keio University, and co-operated by the Center for ;Atomic and Molecular Engineering,; in Open University, and by The Japan Society of Applied Physics.

EDITORIAL 37th European Physical Society Conference on Plasma Physics 37th European Physical Society Conference on Plasma Physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mendonça, Tito; Hidalgo, Carlos

2010-12-01

Introduction We are very pleased to present this special issue of Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion dedicated to another annual EPS Plasma Physics Division Conference. It contains the invited papers of the 37th Conference, which was held at the Helix Arts Centre of the Dublin City University Campus, in Dublin, Ireland, from 21 to 25 June 2010. It was locally organized by a team drawn from different Irish institutions, led by Dublin City University and Queen's University Belfast. This team was coordinated by Professor Miles Turner (DCU), with the help of Dr Deborah O'Connell (QUB) as Scientific Secretary, and Ms Samantha Fahy (DCU) as Submissions Secretary. It attracted a large number of delegates (nearly 750), coming from 37 countries. Our Irish hosts provided an excellent atmosphere for the conference and social programme, very helpful for promoting personal links between conference participants. The Conference hosted three satellite meetings, and two special evening sessions. The satellite meetings were the Third Workshop on Plasma for Environmental Issues, the International Workshop on the Role of Arcing and Hot Spots in Magnetic Fusion Devices, and the Workshop on Electric Fields, Turbulence and Self-Organization in Magnetic Plasmas. The aim of this annual EPS Conference is to bring together the different communities of plasma physicists, in order to stimulate cross-collaboration and to promote in an integrated way this area of science. As in previous Conferences, we tried to attract the more relevant researchers and to present the latest developments in plasma physics and related areas. The Programme Committee was divided into four sub-committees, representing the main areas of plasma science. These four areas were magnetic confinement fusion (MCF), still the dominant area of this Conference with the largest number of participants, beam plasma and inertial fusion (BPIF), low temperature plasmas (LTP), which attracted a significant and growing number of participants, and finally basic and astrophysical plasmas (BAP). New strategies are required to achieve a more balanced participation of these four areas of knowledge in future meetings, but the large number of participants and the overall high quality of the invited talks were particularly relevant this year. In the preparation of the Conference Programme we tried to present an updated view of plasma physics and to integrate suggestions coming from the scientific community, in particular through the use of the EPS PPD Open Forum. As mentioned, two evening sessions took place during the Conference. This year, the traditional evening on ITER was replaced by a session dedicated to inertial fusion, organized by D Batani, where the main installations and experiments on laser fusion around the world were presented and critically discussed. The other session, dedicated to plasma physics education, was organized by N Lopes-Cardoso, and discussed the specific educational issues of plasma physics and fusion, and presented the training programmes existing in Europe. As a concluding remark, we would like to thank our colleagues of the Programme Committee and, in particular, the coordinators of the subcommittees, Clarisse Bourdelle and Arthur Peters for MCF, Javier Honrubia for BPIF, Christoph Hollenstein for LTP, and Uli Stroth for BAP, for their generous help, suggestions and support. Due to the large number of participants, the smooth and efficient local organization, and the high overall quality of the plenary and invited presentations, the 37th EPS Conference on Plasma Physics can be considered an undeniable success. I hope you will find, in this special issue of Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion, an interesting and useful account of this event. Outstanding scientists honoured at the 37th European Physical Society Conference on Plasma Physics During the Conference the EPS Plasma Physics Division rewarded researchers who have achieved outstanding scientific or technological results. In this way the EPS PPD seeks to reinforce excellence in science. The Plasma Physics Hannes Alfvén Prize 2010 The Hannes Alfvén Prize is awarded to Allen Boozer (Professor, Columbia University) and Jürgen Nührenberg (Professor, Max-Planck-Institut für Plasmaphysik and Greifswald University) for the formulation and practical application of criteria allowing stellarators to have good fast-particle and neoclassical energy confinement. Photo of Boozer and Nuhrenberg Jürgen Nührenberg (left) and Allen Boozer. The tokamak and the stellarator are two major candidate concepts for magnetically confining fusion plasmas. They were both conceived in the early 1950s, but the tokamak developed more rapidly because of its intrinsically favourable confinement properties. Indeed, the stellarator seemed fundamentally unable to confine energy and collisionless alpha-particle orbits well enough for a fusion reactor. In the 1980s, however, Allen Boozer and Jürgen Nührenberg developed methods for tailoring stellarator magnetic fields so as to guarantee confinement comparable to that in tokamaks. Allen Boozer introduced a set of magnetic coordinates, now named after him, in which the description of three-dimensionally shaped magnetic fields is particularly simple. He went on to show that if the magnetic field strength |B| is symmetric in these coordinates (so-called quasisymmetry) then the guiding-centre orbits and the neoclassical confinement properties are equivalent to those in a tokamak. In pioneering calculations a few years later, Jürgen Nührenberg showed that such magnetic fields can indeed be realized in practice, as can other configurations which have equally good confinement without being quasisymmetric. There is an unexpected vastness of configurational possibilities for toroidal plasma confinement, where the limit is likely to be set by turbulence rather than neoclassical losses. In addition, quasisymmetry should facilitate the development of strongly sheared rotation with direct impact in the control of turbulent transport. Moreover, Jügen Nührenberg showed that a number of other properties of the magnetic field can also be optimized simultaneously, allowing high equilibrium and stability limits to be achieved and thus opening up a route to an inherently steady-state fusion reactor. The ideas of Allen Boozer and Jürgen Nührenberg have revolutionized stellarator research. They have already partially been confirmed on the W7-AS and HSX stellarators, and provide the basis for the world's largest stellarator under construction, Wendelstein 7-X. The award of the 2010 Hannes Alfvén Prize to these two leading scientists underlines the development of understanding and transfer of knowledge in plasma physics. Invited papers by Allen Boozer and Jürgen Nührenberg are published as articles 124002 and 124003 in this special issue of Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion. The Plasma Physics Innovation Prize 2010 The 2010 Plasma Physics Innovation Prize of the European Physical Society is awarded to Uwe Czarnetzki (Professor, Ruhr-Universität Bochum) for his outstanding contributions in the discovery of the electrical asymmetry effect, its scientific characterization and for its development up to the level of successful industrial application. photo of Uwe Czarnetzki Uwe Czarnetzki. The energy of ions impacting surfaces during plasma processing is crucial in determining both the properties of materials being deposited by plasmas and for the control of the etching of thin films. The independent control of the ion energy and the plasma density has been the object of intense industrial research. Current technologies for modifying the ion energy rely on the geometry of the plasma processing chamber or on applying low and high frequency RF power that is not phase locked. These techniques are either not applicable to some situations or have only been partially successful. The electrical asymmetry effect allows the ion energy and plasma density to be decoupled. If the RF power applied to a plasma chamber is comprised of a phase locked fundamental and its second harmonic, the ion energy is a linear function of the phase angle between the two. This simple but previously overlooked technique has proved to be an enabling technology for future materials and plasma applications. The method has been patented and is currently used, for example, by leading manufacturers of large area solar cells and has resulted in unsurpassed quality and homogeneity of the devices. In addition to the elctrical asymmetry effect, Uwe Czarnetzki is internationally renowned for his many important contributions in the areas of laser-based plasma diagnostics and gas discharge physics. For all of these outstanding contributions to low temperature plasmas, the European Physical Society bestows its 2010 Plasma Physics Innovation Prize on Uwe Czarnetzki. The PhD Research Award 2010 The Plasma Physics Division 2010 PhD Research Award has been judged by a committee comprising Juergen Meyer-ter-Vehn, Emmanuel Marode and Michel Chatelier who examined all the candidatures in a process managed by Dimitri Batani. The EPS PhD prize is a key element of the EPS PPD activities to recognize exceptional quality of the work carried out by young physicists. photo of PhD Award winners The 2010 PhD Research Award winners. From left to right: Emeric Falize, Guilhem Dif-Pradalier, Bérénice Loupias, Peter Manz and Xavier Davoine. The jury nominated four award winners from a pool of impressively high quality candidates. The 2010 citations in alphabetical order are: Xavier Davoine for his research on an intense ultra short X source obtained by acceleration of a class of electrons in the wakefield of a laser pulse, improving the numerical procedure to model the electron dynamics. Guilhem Dif-Pradalier for a fundamental discussion of the formalism needed to describe turbulence and transport in magnetized plasmas, including a collision operator in the Gysela gyrokinetic code that could modify the characteristics of the turbulence. Emeric Falize and Bérénice Loupias for their investigation of similarities between laser-induced plasmas and astrophysical systems and for the description of a set of diagnostics for laser plasmas aimed at demonstrating the possible astrophysics character of plasma jets in laser-induced plasma formation. Peter Manz for his comprehensive analysis of turbulence in magnetized plasmas, exploring the interplay between flows, electric fields and fluctuations. Itoh Project Prize in Plasma Turbulence 2010 Professor Sanae Itoh from Kyushu University continued to sponsor the Itoh Project Prize in Plasma Turbulence. The 2010 prize was awarded to G Birkenmeier (Stuttgart University). IOP Poster Prize winners in Dublin, 2010. The Institute of Physics (IOP) has once again provided encouragement for young physiscs with the IOP Poster Prize. Caroline Wilkinson presented the awards this year to three candidates: Mattia Albergante (EPFL, Lausanne), Clelia Pagano (Trinity College Dublin) and Marija Vranic (Instituto Superior Tecnico, Lisbon). Proceedings of 37th EPS Conference on Plasma Physics As previously mentioned, this special issue contains the invited papers of the 37th Conference, held in 2010. The complete proceedings are available online at http://ocs.ciemat.es/EPS2010PAP/html/ This site is also accessible from the conference website at http://www.eps2010.com/ (under `Contributions'). The Local Organizing Committee has also prepared a CD with a copy of the proceedings, identical to the online proceedings. This CD is stored at the offices of the European Physical Society as a backup, and as a master copy to make additional copies in case anyone should require one.

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

Philippe, Sebastien

A system that can compare physical objects while potentially protecting sensitive information about the objects themselves has been demonstrated experimentally at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL). This work, by researchers at Princeton University and PPPL, marks an initial confirmation of the application of a powerful cryptographic technique in the physical world. Graduate student Sébastien Philippe discusses the experiment.

Padma Kant Shukla 1950-2013

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bingham, Robert; Eliasson, Bengt; Mendonca, Tito; Stenflo, Lennart; Stenflo

2013-03-01

Professor Padma Kant Shukla passed away on the 26th of January in New Delhi, India, just after receiving the prestigious Hind Rattan (Jewel of India) Award. He was born in the village Tulapur, Uttar Pradesh (UP), India and was educated there. After his Ph.D. in Physics from Banaras Hindu University in Varanasi, he obtained his second doctorate degree in Theoretical Plasma Physics from Umea University under the supervision of one of us (Lennart Stenflo). He worked at the Faculty of Physics & Astronomy, Ruhr-University Bochum, Germany since January 1973, where he was a permanent faculty member and Professor of International Affairs, a position that was created for him to honour his international accomplishments and reputation.

Velior Petrovich

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ness, Norman

Dr. Velior Petrovich Shabansky, aged 58, the head of the Laboratory of Cosmic Electrodynamics, Institute of Nuclear Physics, Moscow State University, suddenly passed away on November 16, 1985, of a heart attack. He was one of the founders of theoretical ideas in physics of interplanetary and near-earth space. Shabansky obtained his education at the Moscow State University and joined the P. N. Lebedev Physical Institute, Academy of Sciences of the U.S.S.R., as a postgraduate. He obtained his Candidate's Degree in theory of conductivity of metals in strong electric fields, with V. L. Ginsburg as his advisor, in 1954. During 1954-1958, Shabansky continued investigation of nonlinear properties of plasma in metals. For the next 2 years, he worked at the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory. Shabansky left the Crimean Observatory to go to the Institute of Nuclear Physics, Moscow State University, where he investigated the earth's radiation belts, the plasma of the earth's magnetosphere, finished his doctoral dissertation, and received his degree in 1966. From 1966, he headed the Laboratory of Cosmic Electrodynamics, Institute of Nuclear Physics, Moscow State University. He is best known to the scientific community in the Soviet Union as chief of the Seminar on Cosmic Electrodynamics. Shabansky elaborated a special course of lectures on space physics that has been delivered for many years at the Physical Faculty, Moscow State University. He taught a large number of Soviet physicists, experts in cosmic electrodynamics. An enthusiastic, talented, and many-sided personality, he carried away everybody who knew him. He was known to the U.S. space physics community because of his own work, because of the work of his colleagues and students, a n d because of his infectious and spirited personality. Having died an untimely death, he left a deeply mourning widow and a 23-year-old son. Friends and colleagues will keep the bright image of Dr. Shabansky in their memory forever.

PREFACE: 26th Symposium on Plasma Science for Materials (SPSM-26)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2014-06-01

26th Symposium on Plasma Science for Materials (SPSM-26) Takayuki Watanabe The 26th Symposium on Plasma Science for Materials (SPSM-26) was held in Fukuoka, Japan on September 23-24, 2013. SPSM has been held annually since 1988 under the sponsorship of The 153rd Committee on Plasma Materials Science, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS). This symposium is one of the major activities of the Committee, which is organized by researchers in academia and industry for the purpose of advancing intersectional scientific information exchange and discussion of science and technology of plasma materials processing. Plasma processing have attracted extensive attention due to their unique advantages, and it is expected to be utilized for a number of innovative industrial applications such as synthesis of high-quality and high-performance nanomaterials. The advantages of plasmas including high chemical reactivity in accordance with required chemical reactions are beneficial for innovative processing. In recent years, plasma materials processing with reactive plasmas has been extensively employed in the fields of environmental issues and biotechnology. This conference seeks to bring different scientific communities together to create a forum for discussing the latest developments and issues. The conference provides a platform for the exploration of both fundamental topics and new applications of plasmas by the contacts between science, technology, and industry. The conference was organized in plenary lectures, invited, contributed oral presentations, and poster sessions. At this meeting, we had 142 participants from 10 countries and 104 presentations, including 11 invited presentations. This year, we arranged special topical sessions that cover Plasma Medicine and Biotechnologies, Business and Academia Cooperation, Plasma with Liquids, Plasma Processes for Nanomaterials, together with Basic, Electronics, and Thermal Plasma sessions. This special issue presents 28 papers that are selected via strict peer-review process from full papers submitted for the proceedings of the conference. The topics range from basic physics and chemistry of plasma processing to a broad variety of materials processing and environmental applications. This proceeding offers an overview on the recent advances in thermal and non-equilibrium plasmas as well as the challenges ahead in the field of plasma research and applications among engineers and scientists. It is an honor to present this volume of Journal of Physics: Conference Series and we deeply thank the authors for their enthusiastic and high-grade contribution. The editors hope that this proceeding will be useful and helpful for deepening our understanding of science and technology of plasma materials processing and also for stimulating further development of the plasma technology. Finally, I would like to thank the organizing committee and organizing secretariat of SPSM-26, and the participants of the conference for contribution to a successful and exciting meeting. The conference was chaired by Prof. Masaharu Shiratani, Kyushu University. I would also like to thank the financial support from The 153rd Committee on Plasma Materials Science. Editors of SPMS-26 Prof Takayuki Watanabe, Kyushu University, Japan Prof Makoto Sekine, Nagoya University, Japan Prof Takanori Ichiki, The University of Tokyo, Japan Prof Masaharu Shiratani, Kyushu University, Japan Prof Akimitsu Hatta, Kochi University of Technology, Japan Sponsors and Supporting Organization: The 153rd Committee on Plasma Materials Science, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science

Preface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Benage, J. F.; Dufty, J. W.; Murillo, M. S.

2003-06-01

This special issue contains papers presented at the International Conference on Strongly Coupled Coulomb Systems (SCCS) which was held during the week of 2--6 September 2002 in Santa Fe, New Mexico. It was the ninth in a series of conferences starting in 1977 in Orléans-la-Source, France as a summer institute. The second in the series was a workshop held in Les Houches in 1982. The conferences were then held in the following order: Santa Cruz, California in 1986, Tokyo, Japan in 1989, Rochester, USA in 1992, Binz, Germany in 1995, Boston, USA in 1997 and St Malo, France in 1999. The planned frequency for the future is every three years. The purpose of these conferences is to provide an international forum for the presentation and discussion of research accomplishments and ideas relating to plasma, liquid and condensed systems dominated by strong Coulomb interactions between their constituents. Strongly coupled Coulomb systems encompass diverse many-body systems and physical conditions. Each meeting has seen an evolution of topics and emphasis as new discoveries and new methods appear. This year, sessions were organized for invited presentations and posters on dense plasmas, colloids, condensed matter, two-dimensional systems, astrophysics, dense hydrogen, ultra-cold plasmas, traps and beams, dusty plasmas, clusters, kinetic theory and statistical mechanics. Within each area new results from theory, simulation and experiment were presented. In addition, a special panel discussion was held one evening to explore the questions which continue to be posed by the experiments on and modelling of dense hydrogen. As this special issue illustrates, the field remains vibrant and challenging, being driven to a great extent by new experimental tools and access to new strongly coupled conditions. This is illustrated by the inclusion of developments in the area of beams, traps, plasma crystals and ultra-cold plasmas. In total, 105 participants from 13 countries attended the conference, including 34 invited speakers. Unfortunately, some international speakers could not attend due to problems with obtaining visas, and we deeply regret the difficulties and lost opportunities. These individuals and all others giving presentations at the conference, including invited plenary and topical talks and posters, were asked to contribute to this special issue and most have done so. We trust that this special issue will accurately record the contents of the conference, and provide a valuable resource for researchers in this rapidly evolving field. We would like to thank all members of the International Advisory Board for their contributions to the conference. In particular, we thank Chairman Jean-Pierre Hansen for his diligent work at coordinating the International Advisory Board, the Programme Committee and the Local Organizing Committee. Of course, nothing would have been possible without the dedicated efforts of the Local Organizing Committee. We wish to thank the Los Alamos National Laboratory (Theoretical, Physics, Applied Physics, Materials Science and Technology divisions) and Sandia National Laboratory (Pulsed Power Sciences) for sponsoring this conference. We also gratefully acknowledge the administrative support we received from Marianna Martinez, Marion Hutton and Ellie Vigil of Los Alamos National Laboratory, all of whom were major contributors to the success of the conference. John F Benage, James W Dufty and Michael S Murillo Guest Editors Please see PDF for photograph of conference participants. Local Organizing Committee J F Benage Los Alamos National Laboratory, USA M Desjarlais Sandia National Laboratory, USA G J Kalman Boston College, USA J Kress Los Alamos National Laboratory, USA M S Murillo Los Alamos National Laboratory, USA G Ortiz Los Alamos National Laboratory, USA J Weisheit Los Alamos National Laboratory, USA SCCS International Advisory Board A Alastuey Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon, France D Andelman Tel Aviv University, Israel N W Ashcroft Cornell University, USA J Bollinger NIST, Boulder, USA J-M Caillol Université Paris XI, France D M Ceperley University of Illinois, USA G Chabrier Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon, France J Clerouin CEA Bruyeres-le-Chatel, France S das Sarma University of Maryland, USA A DeSilva University of Maryland, USA H DeWitt Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, USA D Dubin University of California, USA J Dufty University of Florida, USA W Ebeling Humboldt University, Germany V Filinov Institute of High Temperature Physics, Russia M Fisher University of Maryland, USA V E Fortov Institute of High Temperature Physics, Russia K Golden University of Vermont, USA J-P Hansen Cambridge University, UK F Hensel Philipps-Universität, Germany G Kalman Boston College, USA W Kohn University of California, USA H Lowen University of Dusseldorf, Germany G Morfill Max Planck Institute of Extraterrestrial Physics, Germany D Neilson University of New South Wales, Australia G Patey University of British Columbia, Canada F Peeters University of Antwerp, Germany D Pines Los Alamos National Laboratory, USA G Roepke University of Rostock, Germany M Rosenberg University of California, USA Y Rosenfeld Negev Nuclear Research Center, Israel M Schlanges University of Greifswald, Germany G Senatore University of Trieste, France H Totsuji Okayama University, Japan J Weisheit Los Alamos National Laboratory, USA Obituary Forty years of plasma line broadening---in memory of Professor Charles Hooper Jr Our friend and colleague, Charles Hooper Jr, died on 5 May 2002 after a long illness and a valiant battle against it. This presentation is a brief look back at the issues in plasma line broadening over the past forty years, and the contributions to them by Chuck and his students. Chuck graduated from Dartmouth College in 1954. He served in the US Navy for two years before receiving a PhD from Johns Hopkins University in 1963. He then joined the faculty at the University of Florida where his first two papers were written on `Electric microfield distributions in plasmas' and `Relaxation theory of spectral line broadening in plasma'. These two topics were the focus of his research for the next four decades. A personal perspective on the primary problems in this field for each decade is presented here to highlight the many contributions from his research programme. Chuck was particularly proud of the seventeen PhD students who graduated during this time, most of whom are still active in line broadening and related areas. During the early 1970s he recognized the importance of laser fusion and was a strong protagonist for US investment in this area at the national laboratories. He became a leader in this field through his continuing work on spectroscopy as the primary diagnostic tool for laser-produced plasmas. As such Chuck served on several advisory panels at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and Los Alamos National Laboratory. He was also co-organizer of a series of conferences on radiative and atomic processes in dense plasmas for the past twenty years. His most recent research has been in collaboration with the University of Rochester Laser Laboratory where he designed and analysed experiments on laser-produced plasmas. The Department of Energy has continuously supported his research since 1974. Less well-known to the plasma community are Chuck's successes as Chairman of the Physics Department at the University of Florida from 1979--86. He initiated a new phase of growth in many science departments at both the University of Florida and Florida State University through his statewide cross-disciplinary Microfabritec programme, bringing significant new funds and faculty lines to physics and materials sciences. He was recognized with The Distinguished Service Award from the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory in 2000 as founder and former director of that programme. The field of plasma line broadening has lost one of its most dedicated and enthusiastic spokesmen. His colleagues will miss a cheerful and personable friend, and will remember well his irrefutable response to disagreement, `I am not convinced...'. James W Dufty Department of Physics, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611 Obituary In Memorium: Dr Yaakov (Yasha) Rosenfeld Dr Yaakov Rosenfeld (16 February 1948-21 July 2002) In his research life, all too brief, Yasha Rosenfeld notably enriched and significantly advanced an area of physics which is still one of the more challenging fields in the expanding pantheon of the condensed matter sciences: the statistical physics of the liquid state. The ambit of physics associated with this highly correlated state of matter is itself extraordinarily broad, and Yasha's work has had notable impact over an impressively wide front, including charged and neutral liquids, uniform and non-uniform liquids, classical and quantal liquids, single component and multicomponent liquids, liquids close to and far from criticality, liquids both disturbed and in equilibrium. He also greatly elucidated the universal and scaling properties of liquids, and many at this conference will have encountered and admired his remarkable fundamental measures functional, originating in the latter stages of his life. Yasha was an undergraduate at the Technion, and a graduate student (for both masters and doctoral degrees) at the Weizmann Institute. He was a Weizmann Fellow at Cornell University in 1977--78, and it was both a great pleasure and a considerable stimulation to work with him during this period. Subsequently he held several visiting appointments at distinguished intitutions in the US and in Europe, while holding (since 1973) a permanent position at the Nuclear Research Center of the Negev. His first two papers (in 1974 and 75, and joint with Thieberger) dealt with the square well fluid and solid; at the end of his life he had again taken up the pressure dissociation of dense hydrogen a topic he also worked on in 1976. In the intervening years there are more than 100 papers prolifically covering all the areas mentioned above. Because of his originality and eclectic interests, and particularly his ability to link to so many areas in the physics of liquids, he was always much in demand as a speaker at conferences (such as ours). We can but speculate on what more he might have contributed, for he was surely one of the most productive of physicists in our field and also surely in full flight with respect to his creative powers. Yasha's passing has therefore robbed us of one who has given `...a purpose in liquidity...' and for many of us we have also lost a deeply admired friend and colleague, one who was unfailingly generous with insights and ideas, and one whose cheerful scepticism was invariably a constant creative and innovative force on the road to the deeper understanding of the liquid state. Neil Ashcroft

Characterization of the Inductively Heated Plasma Source IPG6-B

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dropmann, Michael; Laufer, Rene; Herdrich, Georg; Matthews, Lorin; Hyde, Truell

2014-10-01

In close collaboration between the Center for Astrophysics, Space Physics and Engineering Research (CASPER) at Baylor University, Texas, and the Institute of Space Systems (IRS) at the University of Stuttgart, Germany, two plasma facilities have been established using the Inductively heated Plasma Generator 6 (IPG6). The facility at Baylor University (IPG6-B) works at a frequency of 13.56 MHz and a maximum power of 15 kW. A vacuum pump of 160 m3/h in combination with a butterfly valve allows pressure control over a wide range. Intended fields of research include basic investigation into thermo-chemistry and plasma radiation, space plasma environments and high heat fluxes e.g. those found in fusion devices or during atmospheric re-entry of spacecraft. After moving the IPG6-B facility to the Baylor Research and Innovation Collaborative (BRIC) it was placed back into operation during the summer of 2014. Initial characterization in the new lab, using a heat flux probe, Pitot probe and cavity calorimeter, has been conducted for Air, Argon and Helium. The results of this characterization are presented.

PREFACE: 4th International Workshop & Summer School on Plasma Physics 2010

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2014-06-01

Fourth International Workshop & Summer School on Plasma Physics 2010 The Fourth International Workshop & Summer School on Plasma Physics (IWSSPP'10) is organized by St. Kliment Ohridsky University of Sofia, with co-organizers TCPA Foundation, Association EURATOM/IRNRE, The Union of the Physicists in Bulgaria, and the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. It was held in Kiten, Bulgaria, at the Black Sea Coast, from July 5 to July 10, 2010. The scientific programme covers the topics Fusion Plasma and Materials; Plasma Modeling and Fundamentals; Plasma Sources, Diagnostics and Technology. As the previous issues of this scientific meeting (IWSSPP'05, J. Phys.: Conf. Series 44 (2006) and IWSSPP'06, J. Phys.: Conf. Series 63 (2007), IWSSPP'08, J. Phys.: Conf. Series 207 (2010), its aim was to stimulate the creation and support of a new generation of young scientists for further development of plasma physics fundamentals and applications, as well as to ensure an interdisciplinary exchange of views and initiate possible collaborations by bringing together scientists from various branches of plasma physics. This volume of Journal of Physics: Conference Series includes 34 papers (invited lectures, contributed talks and posters) devoted to various branches of plasma physics, among them fusion plasma and materials, dc and microwave discharge modelling, transport phenomena in gas discharge plasmas, plasma diagnostics, cross sections and rate constants of elementary processes, material processing, plasma-chemistry and technology. Some of them have been presented by internationally known and recognized specialists in their fields; others are MSc or PhD students' first steps in science. In both cases, we believe they will raise readers' interest. We would like to thank the members of both the International Advisory Committee and the Local Organizing Committee, the participants who sent their manuscripts and passed through the (sometimes heavy and troublesome) refereeing and editing procedure and our referees for their patience and considerable effort to improve the manuscripts. We would like to express our gratitude to the invited lecturers who were willing to pay the participation fee. In this way, in addition to the intellectual support they provided by means of their excellent lectures, they also supported the school financially. E. Benova

First Plasma Results from the Levitated Dipole Experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Garnier, Darren T.

2005-04-01

On August 13, 2004, the first plasma physics experiments were conducted using the Levitated Dipole Experiment(LDX)http://www.psfc.mit.edu/ldx/. LDX was built at MIT's Plasma Science and Fusion Center as a joint research project of Columbia University and MIT. LDX is a first-of-its-kind experiment incorporating three superconducting magnets and exploring the physics of high-temperature plasma confined by dipole magnetic fields, similar to planetary magnetospheres. It will test recent theories that suggest that stable, high-β plasma can be confined without good curvature or magnetic shear, instead using plasma compressibility to provide stability. (Plasma β is the ratio of plasma pressure to magnetic pressure.) In initial experiments, 750 kA of current was induced in the dipole coil which was physically supported in the center of the 5 m diameter vacuum chamber. Deuterium plasma discharges, lasting from 4 to 10 seconds, were formed with multi-frequency ECRH microwave heating of up to 6.2 kW. Each plasma contained a large fraction of energetic and relativistic electrons that created a significant pressure that caused outward expansion of the magnetic field. Reconstruction of the magnetic equilibrium from external magnetic diagnostics indicate local peak plasma β 7 %. Along with an overview of the LDX device, results from numerous diagnostics operating during this initial supported campaign measuring the basic plasma parameters will be presented. In addition, observations of instabilities leading to rapid plasma loss and the effects of changing plasma compressibility will be explored.

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

Wieser, Patti; Hopkins, David

The DOE Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) collaborates to develop fusion as a safe, clean and abundant energy source for the future. This video discusses PPPL's research and development on plasma, the fourth state of matter. In this simulation of plasma turbulence inside PPPL's National Spherical Torus Experiment, the colorful strings represent higher and lower electron density in turbulent plasma as it circles around a donut-shaped fusion reactor; red and orange are higher density. This image is among those featured in the slide show, "Plasmas are Hot and Fusion is Cool," a production of PPPL and the Princeton University Broadcastmore » Center.« less

Study of plasma convection and wall interactions in magnetic confinement systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

York, T. M.

1986-06-01

The subject contract research effort was initiated in September 1976 with two specific tasks: (1) to study the fundamental physics of confinement of an alternate concept (i.e., theta pinch based) devices; and (2) to study and to develop new diagnostic systems for use on major experiments at other locations in the country. There has been active collaboration with Los Alamos National Laboratory and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory; there has been proposed collaboration with Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, Fusion Research Center at the University of Texas, and General Atomics.

The effects of a 12-week worksite physical activity intervention on anthropometric indices, blood pressure indices, and plasma biomarkers of cardiovascular disease risk among university employees.

PubMed

Corbett, Duane B; Fennell, Curtis; Peroutky, Kylene; Kingsley, J Derek; Glickman, Ellen L

2018-01-29

To determine the effectiveness of a low-cost 12-week worksite physical activity intervention targeting a goal of 10,000 steps per day on reducing anthropometric indices, blood pressure indices, and plasma biomarkers of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk among the employees of a major university. Fifty university employees (n = 43 female, n = 7 male; mean age = 48 ± 10 years) participated in the 12-week physical activity intervention (60 min, 3 day/week). Each session included both aerobic (cardiorespiratory endurance) and muscle-strengthening (resistance) physical activity using existing university facilities and equipment. Anthropometric indices, blood pressure indices, and plasma biomarkers of CVD risk assessed included those for obesity (body mass index), hypertension (systolic blood pressure, SBP; diastolic blood pressure, DBP), dyslipidemia (high-density lipoprotein, HDL; low-density lipoprotein, LDL; total serum cholesterol), and prediabetes (impaired fasting glucose, IFG). Steps per day were assessed using a wrist-worn activity monitor. Participants were given the goal of 10,000 steps per day and categorized as either compliers (≥ 10,000 steps per day on average) or non-compliers (< 10,000 steps per day on average) based on their ability to achieve this goal. Overall, 34% of participants at baseline were already at an elevated risk of CVD due to age. On average, 28% of participants adhered to the goal of 10,000 steps per day. After 12-weeks, participants in both groups (compliers and non-compliers) had lower BMI scores (p < 0.001), lower HDL scores (p < 0.034), and higher IFG scores (p < 0.001). The non-compliers had a greater reduction of BMI scores than the compliers (p = 0.003). Participants at risk for CVD had greater reductions than those not at risk for several risk factors, including SBP (p = 0.020), DBP (p = 0.028), IFG (p = 0.002), LDL (p = 0.006), and total serum cholesterol (p = 0.009). While the physical activity intervention showed mixed results overall with both favorable changes in anthropometric indices yet unfavorable changes in plasma biomarkers, it was particularly beneficial in regards to both blood pressure indices and plasma biomarkers among those already at risk of CVD. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03385447; retrospectively registered.

The Earth's magnetosphere as a sample of the plasma universe

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Faelthammar, Carl-Gunne

1986-01-01

Plasma processes in the Earth's neighborhood determine the environmental conditions under which space-based equipment for science or technology must operate. These processes are peculiar to a state of matter that is rare on Earth but dominates the universe as whole. The physical, and especially the electrodynamic, properties of this state of matter is still far from well understood. By fortunate circumstances, the magnetosphere-ionosphere system of the Earth provides a rich sample of widely different plasma populations, and, even more importantly, it is the site of a remarkable variety of plasma processes. In different combinations such processes must be important throughout the universe, which is overwhelmingly dominated by matter in the plasma state. Therefore, observations and experiments in the near-Earth plasma serve a multitude of purposes. They will not only (1) clarify the dynamics of the space environment but also (2) widen the understanding of matter, (3) form a basis for interpretating remote observations of astrophysical objects, thereby even (4) help to reconstruct events that led to the evolution of the solar system. Last but not least they will (5) provide know-how required for adapting space-based technology to the plasma environment. Such observations and experiments will require a close mutual interplay between science and technology.

Using Modern C++ Idiom for the Discretisation of Sets of Coupled Transport Equations in Numerical Plasma Physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van Dijk, Jan; Hartgers, Bart; van der Mullen, Joost

2006-10-01

Self-consistent modelling of plasma sources requires a simultaneous treatment of multiple physical phenomena. As a result plasma codes have a high degree of complexity. And with the growing interest in time-dependent modelling of non-equilibrium plasma in three dimensions, codes tend to become increasingly hard to explain-and-maintain. As a result of these trends there has been an increased interest in the software-engineering and implementation aspects of plasma modelling in our group at Eindhoven University of Technology. In this contribution we will present modern object-oriented techniques in C++ to solve an old problem: that of the discretisation of coupled linear(ized) equations involving multiple field variables on ortho-curvilinear meshes. The `LinSys' code has been tailored to the transport equations that occur in transport physics. The implementation has been made both efficient and user-friendly by using modern idiom like expression templates and template meta-programming. Live demonstrations will be given. The code is available to interested parties; please visit www.dischargemodelling.org.

Numerical and Experimental Investigation of Turbulent Transport Control via Shaping of Radial Plasma Flow Profiles

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

Gilmore, Mark Allen

Turbulence, and turbulence-driven transport are ubiquitous in magnetically confined plasmas, where there is an intimate relationship between turbulence, transport, instability driving mechanisms (such as gradients), plasma flows, and flow shear. Though many of the detailed physics of the interrelationship between turbulence, transport, drive mechanisms, and flow remain unclear, there have been many demonstrations that transport and/or turbulence can be suppressed or reduced via manipulations of plasma flow profiles. This is well known in magnetic fusion plasmas [e.g., high confinement mode (H-mode) and internal transport barriers (ITB’s)], and has also been demonstrated in laboratory plasmas. However, it may be that themore » levels of particle transport obtained in such cases [e.g. H-mode, ITB’s] are actually lower than is desirable for a practical fusion device. Ideally, one would be able to actively feedback control the turbulent transport, via manipulation of the flow profiles. The purpose of this research was to investigate the feasibility of using both advanced model-based control algorithms, as well as non-model-based algorithms, to control cross-field turbulence-driven particle transport through appropriate manipulation of radial plasma flow profiles. The University of New Mexico was responsible for the experimental portion of the project, while our collaborators at the University of Montana provided plasma transport modeling, and collaborators at Lehigh University developed and explored control methods.« less

Preface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mendonça, J. T.; Shukla, P. K.; Eliasson, B.; Rodrigues, J. A.; Rodrigues

2013-08-01

The ``International Topical Conference on Plasma Science: Advanced Plasma Concepts'' was hosted by Instituto Superior Técnico, Lisbon and the University of Algarve, Faro, Portugal, during the period 24-28 September 2012. The conference was organized by Padma Kant Shukla, (Ruhr University Bochum, Germany), Robert Bingham (RAL, United Kingdom) and José Tito Mendonça, (IST, Portugal). The scientific activity belongs to a series of successful meetings, which started at the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Trieste, in 1989, and which has also been taking place at various other locations, including Faro and Lisbon in Portugal, and Santorini in Greece.

PREFACE: IX International Conference on Modern Techniques of Plasma Diagnostics and their Application

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Savjolov, A. S.; Dodulad, E. I.

2016-01-01

The IX Conference on ''Modern Techniques of Plasma Diagnosis and their Application'' was held on 5 - 7 November, 2014 at National Research Nuclear University MEPhI (NRNU MEPhI). The goal of the conference was an exchange of information on both high-temperature and low-temperature plasma diagnostics as well as deliberation and analysis of various diagnostic techniques and their applicability in science, industry, ecology, medicine and other fields. The Conference also provided young scientists from scientific centres and universities engaged in plasma diagnostics with an opportunity to attend the lectures given by the leading specialists in this field as well as present their own results and findings. The first workshop titled ''Modern problems of plasma diagnostics and their application for control of chemicals and the environment'' took place at Moscow Engineering and Physics Institute (MEPhI) in June 1998 with the support of the Section on Diagnostics of the Council of Russian Academic of Science on Plasma Physics and since then these forums have been held at MEPhI every two years. In 2008 the workshop was assigned a conference status. More than 150 specialists on plasma diagnostics and students took part in the last conference. They represented leading Russian scientific centres (such as Troitsk Institute of Innovative and Thermonuclear Research, National Research Centre ''Kurchatov Institute'', Russian Federal Nuclear Centre - All-Russian Scientific Research Institute of Experimental Physics and others) and universities from Belarus, Ukraine, Germany, USA, Belgium and Sweden. About 30 reports were made by young researchers, students and post-graduate students. All presentations during the conference were broadcasted online over the internet with viewers in Moscow, Prague, St. Petersburgh and other cities. The Conference was held within the framework of the Centre of Plasma, Laser Research and Technology supported by MEPhI Academic Excellence Project (Russian Ministry of Education and Science contract 02.•03.21.0005 of August 27th 2013). Papers selected by the Program Committee for publishing were reviewed under control of invited editors Prof. Andrey Kukushkin, Dr. Sci. Alexander Kukushkin, Dr. Sci. Elena Baronova, Dr. Emil Dodulad. We would like to thank heartily all of the speakers, participants and organizing committee members for their contribution to the conference

The space laboratory of University College London

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Johnstone, Alan

1994-10-01

University College London was one of the first universities in the world to become involved in making scientific observations in space. Since its laboratory, the Mullard Space Science Laboratory was established, it has participated in 40 satellite missions and more than 200 sounding rocket experiments. Its scientific research in five fields, space plasma physics, high energy astronomy, solar astronomy, Earth remote sensing, and detector physics is internationally renowned. The scientific and technological expertise development through the construction and use of space instrumentation has been fed back into an educational program which leads to degrees at the three levels of B.Sc., M.Sc., and Ph.D.

Microwave produced plasma in a Toroidal Device

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Singh, A. K.; Edwards, W. F.; Held, E. D.

2010-11-01

A currentless toroidal plasma device exhibits a large range of interesting basic plasma physics phenomena. Such a device is not in equilibrium in a strict magneto hydrodynamic sense. There are many sources of free energy in the form of gradients in plasma density, temperature, the background magnetic field and the curvature of the magnetic field. These free energy sources excite waves and instabilities which have been the focus of studies in several devices in last two decades. A full understanding of these simple plasmas is far from complete. At Utah State University we have recently designed and installed a microwave plasma generation system on a small tokamak borrowed from the University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada. Microwaves are generated at 2.45 GHz in a pulsed dc mode using a magnetron from a commercial kitchen microwave oven. The device is equipped with horizontal and vertical magnetic fields and a transformer to impose a toroidal electric field for current drive. Plasmas can be obtained over a wide range of pressure with and without magnetic fields. We present some preliminary measurements of plasma density and potential profiles. Measurements of plasma temperature at different operating conditions are also presented.

Lunar Swirls: Plasma Magnetic Field Interaction and Dust Transport

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dropmann, Michael; Laufer, Rene; Herdrich, Georg; Matthews, Lorin; Hyde, Truell

2013-10-01

In close collaboration between the Center for Astrophysics, Space Physics and Engineering Research (CASPER) at Baylor University, Texas, and the Institute of Space Systems (IRS) at the University of Stuttgart, Germany, two plasma facilities have been established using the Inductively heated Plasma Generator 6 (IPG6), based on proven IRS designs. A wide range of applications is currently under consideration for both test and research facilities. Basic investigations in the area of plasma radiation and catalysis, simulation of certain parameters of fusion divertors and space applications are planned. In this paper, the facility at Baylor University (IPG6-B) will be used for simulation of mini-magnetospheres on the Moon. The interaction of the solar wind with magnetic fields leads to the formation of electric fields, which can influence the incoming solar wind ion flux and affect dust transport processes on the lunar surface. Both effects may be partially responsible for the occurrence of lunar swirls. Interactions of the solar wind with such mini-magnetospheres will be simulated in the IPG6-B by observing the interaction between a plasma jet and a permanent magnet. The resulting data should lead to better models of dust transport processes and solar wind deflection on the moon.

Sebastien Philippe Discusses the Zero-Knowledge Protocol

ScienceCinema

Philippe, Sebastien

2018-06-12

A system that can compare physical objects while potentially protecting sensitive information about the objects themselves has been demonstrated experimentally at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL). This work, by researchers at Princeton University and PPPL, marks an initial confirmation of the application of a powerful cryptographic technique in the physical world. Graduate student Sébastien Philippe discusses the experiment.

Special issue: Culham Thesis Prize winners

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ham, C. J.

2015-01-01

The Culham Thesis Prize is awarded annually to the nominee who has displayed an excellence in the execution of the scientific method as witnessed by the award of Doctor of Philosophy in Plasma Science from a UK or Irish university. The thesis content should exhibit significant new work and originality, clearly driven by the nominee, be well explained and demonstrate a good understanding of the subject. The prize is awarded at the Institute of Physics Plasma Physics Group Spring Conference and the prize winner gives an invited talk about their thesis work. The prize is sponsored by Culham Centre for Fusion Energy.

Helping Teachers Teach Plasma Physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Correll, Donald

2008-11-01

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's E/O program in Fusion Science and Plasma Physics now includes both `pre-service' as well as `in-service' high school science teacher professional development activities. Teachers are instructed and mentored by `master teachers' and LLNL plasma researchers working in concert. The Fusion/Plasma E/O program exploits a unique science education partnership that exists between LLNL's Science Education Program and the UC Davis Edward Teller Education Center. For `in-service' teachers, the Fusion & Astrophysics Teacher Research Academy (TRA) has four levels of workshops that are designed to give in-service high school science teachers experience in promoting and conducting research, most notably in the filed of plasma spectroscopy. Participating teachers in all four TRA levels may earn up to ten units of graduate credit from Cal-State University East Bay, and may apply these units toward a Masters of Science in Education. For `pre-service' teachers, the Science Teacher and Researcher (STAR) program, as a partnership with the California State University System, includes attracting undergraduate science majors to teaching careers by allowing them to pursue professional identities as both a research scientist as well as a science teacher. Participating `pre-service' STAR students are provided research internships at LLNL and work closely with the `in-service' TRA teachers. Results from the continuum `pre-service' to `in-service' science teacher professional development programs will be presented.

Initial Operation of the Miniaturized Inductively Heated Plasma Generator IPG6

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dropmann, Michael; Herdrich, Georg; Laufer, Rene; Koch, Helmut; Gomringer, Chris; Cook, Mike; Schmoke, Jimmy; Matthews, Lorin; Hyde, Truell

2012-10-01

In close collaboration between the Center for Astrophysics, Space Physics and Engineering Research (CASPER) at Baylor University, Texas, and the Institute of Space Systems (IRS) at the University of Stuttgart, Germany, two plasma wind tunnel facilities of similar type have been established using the inductively heated plasma source IPG6 which is based on proven IRS designs. The facility at Baylor University (IPG6-B) works at a frequency of 13.56 MHz and a maximum power of 15 kW. A vacuum pump of 160m^3/h in combination with a butterfly valve allows pressure control in a wide range. First experiments have been conducted with Air, O2 and N2 as working gases and volumetric flow rates of up to 14 L/min at pressures of a few 100 Pa, although pressures below 1 Pa are achievable at lower flow rates. The maximum tested electric power so far was 8 kW. Plasma powers and total pressures in the plasma jet have been obtained. In the near future the set up of additional diagnostics, the use of other gases (i.e. H2, He), and the integration of a dust particle accelerator are planned. The intended fields of research are basic investigation in thermo-chemistry and plasma radiation, space plasma environments and high heat fluxes e.g. in fusion devices or during atmospheric entry of spacecraft.

Pre-Ionization Controlled Laser Plasma Formation for Ignition Applications

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

Shneider, Mikhail

The presented research explored new physics and ignition schemes based on laser induced plasmas that are fundamentally distinct from past laser ignition research focused on single laser pulses. Specifically, we consider the use of multiple laser pulses where the first pulse provides pre-ionization allowing controlled absorption of the second pulse. In this way, we can form tailored laser plasmas in terms of their ionization fraction, gas temperature (e.g. to achieve elevated temperature of ~2000 K ideally suited for an ignition source), reduced energy loss to shock waves and radiation, and large kernel size (e.g. length ~1-10 cm). The proposed researchmore » included both experimental and modeling efforts, at Colorado State University, Princeton University and University of Tennessee, towards the basic science of the new laser plasma approach with emphasis on tailoring the plasmas to practical propulsion systems. Experimental results (CSU) show that the UV beam produces a pre-ionized volume which assists in breakdown of the NIR beam, leading to reduction in NIR breakdown threshold by factor of >2. Numerical modeling is performed to examine the ionization and breakdown of both beams. The main theoretical and computational parts of the work were done at Princeton University. The modeled breakdown threshold of the NIR, including assist by pre-ionization, is in reasonable agreement with the experimental results.« less

Wave-particle energy exchange directly observed in a kinetic Alfvén-branch wave

PubMed Central

Gershman, Daniel J.; F-Viñas, Adolfo; Dorelli, John C.; Boardsen, Scott A.; Avanov, Levon A.; Bellan, Paul M.; Schwartz, Steven J.; Lavraud, Benoit; Coffey, Victoria N.; Chandler, Michael O.; Saito, Yoshifumi; Paterson, William R.; Fuselier, Stephen A.; Ergun, Robert E.; Strangeway, Robert J.; Russell, Christopher T.; Giles, Barbara L.; Pollock, Craig J.; Torbert, Roy B.; Burch, James L.

2017-01-01

Alfvén waves are fundamental plasma wave modes that permeate the universe. At small kinetic scales, they provide a critical mechanism for the transfer of energy between electromagnetic fields and charged particles. These waves are important not only in planetary magnetospheres, heliospheres and astrophysical systems but also in laboratory plasma experiments and fusion reactors. Through measurement of charged particles and electromagnetic fields with NASA's Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission, we utilize Earth's magnetosphere as a plasma physics laboratory. Here we confirm the conservative energy exchange between the electromagnetic field fluctuations and the charged particles that comprise an undamped kinetic Alfvén wave. Electrons confined between adjacent wave peaks may have contributed to saturation of damping effects via nonlinear particle trapping. The investigation of these detailed wave dynamics has been unexplored territory in experimental plasma physics and is only recently enabled by high-resolution MMS observations. PMID:28361881

Turbulence in space plasmas and beyond

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Galtier, S.

2018-07-01

Most of the visible matter in the Universe is in the form of highly turbulent plasmas. For a long time the turbulent character of astrophysical fluids has been neglected and not well understood. One reason for this is the extremely complicated physics involved in astrophysical processes ranging from the machinery of stars, solar and stellar winds, accretion disks to interstellar clouds and galaxies. The other reason is that turbulence constitutes in itself a difficult subject where most of the fundamental results belongs to the incompressible hydrodynamics. Nevertheless, significant theoretical progress has been made during the last years to incorporate some ingredients like compressibility or small-scale plasma physics which are fundamental in astrophysics. This paper reviews some of these results with a strong focus on space plasmas (solar wind, solar corona). Turbulence in interstellar clouds (supersonic flows) and cosmology (space-time fluctuations) are also briefly mentioned.

Wave-particle energy exchange directly observed in a kinetic Alfvén-branch wave.

PubMed

Gershman, Daniel J; F-Viñas, Adolfo; Dorelli, John C; Boardsen, Scott A; Avanov, Levon A; Bellan, Paul M; Schwartz, Steven J; Lavraud, Benoit; Coffey, Victoria N; Chandler, Michael O; Saito, Yoshifumi; Paterson, William R; Fuselier, Stephen A; Ergun, Robert E; Strangeway, Robert J; Russell, Christopher T; Giles, Barbara L; Pollock, Craig J; Torbert, Roy B; Burch, James L

2017-03-31

Alfvén waves are fundamental plasma wave modes that permeate the universe. At small kinetic scales, they provide a critical mechanism for the transfer of energy between electromagnetic fields and charged particles. These waves are important not only in planetary magnetospheres, heliospheres and astrophysical systems but also in laboratory plasma experiments and fusion reactors. Through measurement of charged particles and electromagnetic fields with NASA's Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission, we utilize Earth's magnetosphere as a plasma physics laboratory. Here we confirm the conservative energy exchange between the electromagnetic field fluctuations and the charged particles that comprise an undamped kinetic Alfvén wave. Electrons confined between adjacent wave peaks may have contributed to saturation of damping effects via nonlinear particle trapping. The investigation of these detailed wave dynamics has been unexplored territory in experimental plasma physics and is only recently enabled by high-resolution MMS observations.

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

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

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

PREFACE: VI Scientific Technical Conference on "Low-temperature plasma during the deposition of functional coatings"

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2014-11-01

The VI Republican Scientific Technical Conference "Low-temperature plasma during the deposition of functional coatings" took place from 4 to 7 November 2014 at the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Tatarstan and the Kazan Federal University. The conference was chaired by a Member of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Tatarstan Nail Kashapov -Professor, Doctor of Technical Sciences- a member of the Scientific and Technical Council of the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Tatarstan. At the conference, the participants discussed a wide range of issues affecting the theoretical and computational aspects of research problems in the physics and technology of low-temperature plasma. A series of works were devoted to the study of thin films obtained by low-temperature plasma. This year work dedicated to the related field of heat mass transfer in multiphase media and low-temperature plasma was also presented. Of special interest were reports on the exploration of gas discharges with liquid electrolytic electrotrodes and the study of dusty plasmas. Kashapov Nail, D.Sc., Professor (Kazan Federal University)

Numerical studies from quantum to macroscopic scales of carbon nanoparticules in hydrogen plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lombardi, Guillaume; Ngandjong, Alain; Mezei, Zsolt; Mougenot, Jonathan; Michau, Armelle; Hassouni, Khaled; Seydou, Mahamadou; Maurel, François

2016-09-01

Dusty plasmas take part in large scientific domains from Universe Science to nanomaterial synthesis processes. They are often generated by growth from molecular precursor. This growth leads to the formation of larger clusters which induce solid germs nucleation. Particle formed are described by an aerosol dynamic taking into account coagulation, molecular deposition and transport processes. These processes are controlled by the elementary particle. So there is a strong coupling between particle dynamics and plasma discharge equilibrium. This study is focused on the development of a multiscale physic and numeric model of hydrogen plasmas and carbon particles around three essential coupled axes to describe the various physical phenomena: (i) Macro/mesoscopic fluid modeling describing in an auto-coherent way, characteristics of the plasma, molecular clusters and aerosol behavior; (ii) the classic molecular dynamics offering a description to the scale molecular of the chains of chemical reactions and the phenomena of aggregation; (iii) the quantum chemistry to establish the activation barriers of the different processes driving the nanopoarticule formation.

Conversion of magnetic energy in the magnetic reconnection layer of a laboratory plasma

DOE PAGES

Yamada, Masaaki; Yoo, Jongsoo; Jara-Almonte, Jonathan; ...

2014-09-10

Magnetic reconnection, in which magnetic field lines break and reconnect to change their topology, occurs throughout the universe. The essential feature of reconnection is that it energizes plasma particles by converting magnetic energy. Despite the long history of reconnection research, how this energy conversion occurs remains a major unresolved problem in plasma physics. Here we report that the energy conversion in a laboratory reconnection layer occurs in a much larger region than previously considered. The mechanisms for energizing plasma particles in the reconnection layer are identified, and a quantitative inventory of the converted energy is presented for the first timemore » in a well defined reconnection layer; 50% of the magnetic energy is converted to particle energy, 2/3 of which transferred to ions and 1/3 to electrons. Our results are compared with simulations and space measurements, for a key step toward resolving one of the most important problems in plasma physics.« less

Final Report for DOE Grant Number DE-SC0001481

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

Liang, Edison

2013-12-02

This report covers research activities, major results and publications supported by DE-SC-000-1481. This project was funded by the DOE OFES-NNSA HEDLP program. It was a joint research program between Rice University and the University of Texas at Austin. The physics of relativistic plasmas was investigated in the context of ultra-intense laser irradiation of high-Z solid targets. Laser experiments using the Texas Petawatt Laser were performed in the summers of 2011, 2012 and 2013. Numerical simulations of laser-plasma interactions were performed using Monte Carlo and Particle-in-Cell codes to design and support these experiments. Astrophysical applications of these results were also investigated.

Turbulence in laboratory and natural plasmas: Connecting the dots

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jenko, Frank

2015-11-01

It is widely recognized that turbulence is an important and fascinating frontier topic of both basic and applied plasma physics. Numerous aspects of this paradigmatic example of self-organization in nonlinear systems far from thermodynamic equilibrium remain to be better understood. Meanwhile, for both laboratory and natural plasmas, an impressive combination of new experimental and observational data, new theoretical concepts, and new computational capabilities (on the brink of the exascale era) have become available. Thus, it seems fair to say that we are currently facing a golden age of plasma turbulence research, characterized by fundamental new insights regarding the role and nature of turbulent processes in phenomena like cross-field transport, particle acceleration and propagation, plasma heating, magnetic reconnection, or dynamo action. At the same time, there starts to emerge a more unified view of this key topic of basic plasma physics, putting it into the much broader context of complex systems research and connecting it, e.g., to condensed matter physics and biophysics. I will describe recent advances and future challenges in this vibrant area of plasma physics, highlighting novel insights into the redistribution and dissipation of energy in turbulent plasmas at kinetic scales, using gyrokinetic, hybrid, and fully kinetic approaches in a complementary fashion. In this context, I will discuss, among other things, the influence of damped eigenmodes, the importance of nonlocal interactions, the origin and nature of non-universal power law spectra, as well as the role of coherent structures. Moreover, I will outline exciting new research opportunities on the horizon, combining extreme scale simulations with basic plasma and fusion experiments as well as with observations from satellites.

Cosmological Implications of the Electron-Positron Aether

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rothwarf, Allen

1997-04-01

An aether is not prohibited on theoretical nor experimental grounds; only a credible physical model for it is lacking.By assuming that the particles and anti-particles created during the "big-bang" origin of the universe have not annihilated one another, but instead, form a bound state plasma, we have a model for a real aether.This aether is dominated by electron-positron pairs at very high density(10**30/cm3),in close analogy with electron-hole droplets formed in laser irradiated semiconductors. The Fermi velocity of this plasma is the speed of light, and the plasma expands at this speed. This gives results for the expanding universe in agreement with the Einstein-deSitter result for a universe dominated by radiation.The speed of light varies with time as do the other fundamental constants.This leads to an alternate explanation for cosmological redshifts. Independent,mini big bangs can occur and account for observed anomalous redshifts. The model can be tested using LIGO apparatus.

First results from Spacelab 2

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Urban, E. W.

1986-01-01

Preliminary results of physical experiments carried out during the Spacelab 2 Shuttle mission are summarized. Attention is given to experiments in the fields of plasma dynamics; solar physics; high-energy astrophysics; and astronomy. Plasma experiments included an ejectable plasma diagnosics package and measurements of the passive charging of the Shuttle vehicle in the surrounding space plasma. The solar physics instrument package consisted of a solar spectral irradiance monitor; a solar optical universal polarimeter (SOUP); and a solar helium abundance high-resolution telescope and spectrograph (HRTS). Astronomical observations were performed using a scanning infrared telescope (IRT) which consisted of a highly baffled herschelian telescope and 10 detectors covering wavelengths from 2 to 120 microns. Cosmic-ray nuclei were detected and analyzed using gas Cerenkov counters and a transition radiation detector. Addition experiments included a thin film fluid dynamics payload and analysis of blood samples taken from the mission specialists. Complete data records from the experiments have now been distributed for an analysis period which will take at least a year. A table listing the Spacelab 2 experiments and their principal investigators is provided.

Challenges in Teaching Space Physics to Different Target Groups From Space Weather Forecasters to Heavy-weight Theorists

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koskinen, H. E.

2008-12-01

Plasma physics as the backbone of space physics is difficult and thus the space physics students need to have strong foundations in general physics, in particular in classical electrodynamics and thermodynamics, and master the basic mathematical tools for physicists. In many universities the number of students specializing in space physics at Master's and Doctoral levels is rather small and the students may have quite different preferences ranging from experimental approach to hard-core space plasma theory. This poses challenges in building up a study program that has both the variety and depth needed to motivate the best students to choose this field. At the University of Helsinki we require all beginning space physics students, regardless whether they enter the field as Master's or Doctoral degree students, to take a one-semester package consisting of plasma physics and its space applications. However, some compromises are necessary. For example, it is not at all clear, how thoroughly Landau damping should be taught at the first run or how deeply should the intricacies of collisionless reconnection be discussed. In both cases we have left the details to an optional course in advanced space physics, even with the risk that the student's appreciation of, e.g., reconnection may remain at the level of a magic wand. For learning experimental work, data analysis or computer simulations we have actively pursued arrangements for the Master's degree students to get a summer employments in active research groups, which usually lead to the Master's theses. All doctoral students are members of research groups and participate in experimental work, data analysis, simulation studies or theory development, or any combination of these. We emphasize strongly "learning by doing" all the way from the weekly home exercises during the lecture courses to the PhD theses which in Finland consist typically of 4-6 peer-reviewed articles with a comprehensive introductory part.

Preface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eliasson, B.; Stenflo, L.; Bingham, R.; Mendonça, J. T.; Mendonça

2013-12-01

This special issue is devoted to the memory of Professor Padma Kant Shukla, who passed away 26 January 2013 on his travel to New Delhi, India to receive the prestigious Hind Rattan (Jewel of India) award. Padma was born in Tulapur, Uttar Pradesh, India, 7 July 1950, where he grew up and got his education. He received a PhD degree in Physics at the Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India, in 1972, under the supervision of late Prof. R. N. Singh, and a second PhD degree in Theoretical Plasma Physics from Umeå University in Sweden in 1975, under the supervision of Prof. Lennart Stenflo. He worked at the Faculty of Physics & Astronomy, Ruhr-University Bochum, Germany since January 1973, where he was a permanent faculty member and Professor of International Affairs, a position that was created for him to honour his international accomplishments and reputation.

Magnetosphere-ionosphere interactions: Near Earth manifestations of the plasma universe

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Faelthammar, Carl-Gunne

1986-01-01

As the universe consists almost entirely of plasma, the understanding of astrophysical phenomena must depend critically on the understanding of how matter behaves in the plasma state. In situ observations in the near Earth cosmical plasma offer an excellent opportunity of gaining such understanding. The near Earth cosmical plasma not only covers vast ranges of density and temperature, but is the site of a rich variety of complex plasma physical processes which are activated as a results of the interactions between the magnetosphere and the ionosphere. The geomagnetic field connects the ionosphere, tied by friction to the Earth, and the magnetosphere, dynamically coupled to the solar wind. This causes an exchange of energy an momentum between the two regions. The exchange is executed by magnetic-field-aligned electric currents, the so-called Birkeland currents. Both directly and indirectly (through instabilities and particle acceleration) these also lead to an exchange of plasma, which is selective and therefore causes chemical separation. Another essential aspect of the coupling is the role of electric fields, especially magnetic field aligned (parallel) electric fields, which have important consequences both for the dynamics of the coupling and, especially, for energization of charged particles.

Walter Greiner: In Memoriam

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zen Vasconcellos, César; Coelho, Helio T.; Hess, Peter Otto

Walter Greiner (29 October 1935 - 6 October 2016) was a German theoretical physicist. His scientific research interests include the thematic areas of atomic physics, heavy ion physics, nuclear physics, elementary particle physics (particularly quantum electrodynamics and quantum chromodynamics). He is most known in Germany for his series of books in theoretical physics, but he is also well known around the world. Greiner was born on October 29, 1935, in Neuenbau, Sonnenberg, Germany. He studied physics at the University of Frankfurt (Goethe University in Frankfurt Am Main), receiving in this institution a BSci in physics and a Master’s degree in 1960 with a thesis on plasma-reactors, and a PhD in 1961 at the University of Freiburg under Hans Marshal, with a thesis on the nuclear polarization in μ-mesic atoms. During the period of 1962 to 1964 he was assistant professor at the University of Maryland, followed by a position as research associate at the University of Freiburg, in 1964. Starting in 1965, he became a full professor at the Institute for Theoretical Physics at Goethe University until 2003. Greiner has been a visiting professor to many universities and laboratories, including Florida State University, the University of Virginia, the University of California, the University of Melbourne, Vanderbilt University, Yale University, Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Los Alamos National Laboratory. In 2003, with Wolf Singer, he was the founding Director of the Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies (FIAS), and gave lectures and seminars in elementary particle physics. He died on October 6, 2016 at the age of 80. Walter Greiner was an excellent teacher, researcher, friend. And he was a great supporter of the series of events known by the acronyms IWARA - International Workshop on Astronomy and Relativistic Astrophysics, STARS - Caribbean Symposium on Cosmology, Gravitation, Nuclear and Astroparticle Physics, and SMFNS - International Symposium on Strong Electromagnetic Fields and Neutron Stars. Walter Greiner left us. But his memory will remain always alive among us who have had the privilege of knowing him and enjoy his wisdom and joy of living.

EDITORIAL: Non-thermal plasma-assisted fuel conversion for green chemistry Non-thermal plasma-assisted fuel conversion for green chemistry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nozaki, Tomohiro; Gutsol, Alexander

2011-07-01

This special issue is based on the symposium on Non-thermal Plasma Assisted Fuel Conversion for Green Chemistry, a part of the 240th ACS National Meeting & Exposition held in Boston, MA, USA, 22-26 August 2010. Historically, the Division of Fuel Chemistry of the American Chemical Society (ACS) has featured three plasma-related symposia since 2000, and has launched special issues in Catalysis Today on three occasions: 'Catalyst Preparation using Plasma Technologies', Fall Meeting, Washington DC, USA, 2000. Special issue in Catalysis Today 72 (3-4) with 12 peer-reviewed articles. 'Plasma Technology and Catalysis', Spring Meeting, New Orleans, LA, USA, 2003. Special issue in Catalysis Today 89 (1-2) with more than 30 peer-reviewed articles. 'Utilization of Greenhouse Gases II' (partly focused on plasma-related technologies), Spring Meeting, Anaheim, CA, USA, 2004. Special issue in Catalysis Today 98 (4) with 25 peer-reviewed articles. This time, selected presentations are published in this Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics special issue. An industrial material and energy conversion technology platform is established on thermochemical processes including various catalytic reactions. Existing industry-scale technology is already well established; nevertheless, further improvement in energy efficiency and material saving has been continuously demanded. Drastic reduction of CO2 emission is also drawing keen attention with increasing recognition of energy and environmental issues. Green chemistry is a rapidly growing research field, and frequently highlights renewable bioenergy, bioprocesses, solar photocatalysis of water splitting, and regeneration of CO2 into useful chemicals. We would also like to emphasize 'plasma catalysis' of hydrocarbon resources as an important part of the innovative next-generation green technologies. The peculiarity of non-thermal plasma is that it can generate reactive species almost independently of reaction temperature. Plasma-generated reactive species are used to initiate chemical reactions at unexpectedly lower temperatures than conventional thermochemical reactions, leading to non-equilibrium product distribution or creating unconventional reaction pathways. When non-thermal plasma is combined with catalysts, a synergistic effect is frequently observed. Such unique properties of non-thermal plasma are expected to contribute excellent control over process parameters that meet the need for energy saving, environment protection, and material preservation. This special issue consists of eleven peer-reviewed papers including two invited publications. Professors Alexander Fridman and Alexander Rabinovich from Drexel University, and Dr Gutsol from the Chevron Energy Technology Company present a critical review of various industry-oriented practical plasma fuel conversion processes. Professor Richard Mallinson from University of Oklahoma describes his recent project on E85 (85%-ethanol/15%-gasoline) upgrading using non-thermal plasma and catalyst hybrid reactor, and highlights the synergistic effect on fuel conversion processes. Other papers focus on plasma/catalyst hybrid reactions for methane dry (CO2) reforming, plasma synthesis of carbon suboxide polymer from CO, the gas-to-liquid (GTL) process using a non-thermal plasma-combined micro-chemical reactor, and molecular beam characterization of plasma-generated reactive species. Much research regarding plasma catalysis is ongoing worldwide, but there is plenty of room for further development of plasma fuel processing, which could eventually provide a viable and flexible solution in future energy and material use. Finally, we would like to thank all symposium participants for their active discussion. We appreciate the sponsorship of the Division of Fuel Chemistry of the American Chemical Society. We express special thanks to the program chair of the Fuel Chemistry Division, Professor Chang-jun Liu at Tianjin University, for his dedication to the success of the symposium. We particularly express our appreciation to the Editorial Board of Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics for publication of the special issue.

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

Hunsberger, Maren; Kirkwood, Bob

The way the Death Star works in the fictional Star Wars universe has long been dismissed by scientists as something that defies our physical reality, but researchers at Lawrence Livermore's National Ignition Facility have found a way to successfully combine laser beams using plasma for the first time ever.

Pure Electron Plasmas near Thermal Equilibrium

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-11-01

I University of California, San Diego Institute of Pure and Applied Physical Sciences La Jolla, CA 92093 N 0 (V) Final Technical Report N "Pure...Research/code -..... " 1112AI. VC 1/8/91 ’ , .... i ; () -ii- r INTRODUCTION Since 1982 the plasma group at UCSD has been conducting an experimental and...scale. We have also observed an unusual I = 1 instability which the previously published theoretical literature stated unconditionally was stable. The

Aerospace Thematic Workshop (4th): Fundamentals of Aerodynamic Flow and Combustion Control by Plasmas

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-04-01

Supersonic Flow Control by Microwave Discharge and Non-equilibrium Processes in Viscous Gas Flows Elena Kustova (Saint Petersburg State University...implying new technologies (direct injection, turbocharging, exhaust gas recirculation, ...) and introducing new physics ( liquid films, flame propagation...combustion  Discharges physics and kinetics A visit was also organized in the afternoon of April 10 to the supersonic and hypersonic wind tunnels

Development of Spectral and Atomic Models for Diagnosing Energetic Particle Characteristics in Fast Ignition Experiments

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

MacFarlane, Joseph J.; Golovkin, I. E.; Woodruff, P. R.

2009-08-07

This Final Report summarizes work performed under DOE STTR Phase II Grant No. DE-FG02-05ER86258 during the project period from August 2006 to August 2009. The project, “Development of Spectral and Atomic Models for Diagnosing Energetic Particle Characteristics in Fast Ignition Experiments,” was led by Prism Computational Sciences (Madison, WI), and involved collaboration with subcontractors University of Nevada-Reno and Voss Scientific (Albuquerque, NM). In this project, we have: Developed and implemented a multi-dimensional, multi-frequency radiation transport model in the LSP hybrid fluid-PIC (particle-in-cell) code [1,2]. Updated the LSP code to support the use of accurate equation-of-state (EOS) tables generated by Prism’smore » PROPACEOS [3] code to compute more accurate temperatures in high energy density physics (HEDP) plasmas. Updated LSP to support the use of Prism’s multi-frequency opacity tables. Generated equation of state and opacity data for LSP simulations for several materials being used in plasma jet experimental studies. Developed and implemented parallel processing techniques for the radiation physics algorithms in LSP. Benchmarked the new radiation transport and radiation physics algorithms in LSP and compared simulation results with analytic solutions and results from numerical radiation-hydrodynamics calculations. Performed simulations using Prism radiation physics codes to address issues related to radiative cooling and ionization dynamics in plasma jet experiments. Performed simulations to study the effects of radiation transport and radiation losses due to electrode contaminants in plasma jet experiments. Updated the LSP code to generate output using NetCDF to provide a better, more flexible interface to SPECT3D [4] in order to post-process LSP output. Updated the SPECT3D code to better support the post-processing of large-scale 2-D and 3-D datasets generated by simulation codes such as LSP. Updated atomic physics modeling to provide for more comprehensive and accurate atomic databases that feed into the radiation physics modeling (spectral simulations and opacity tables). Developed polarization spectroscopy modeling techniques suitable for diagnosing energetic particle characteristics in HEDP experiments. A description of these items is provided in this report. The above efforts lay the groundwork for utilizing the LSP and SPECT3D codes in providing simulation support for DOE-sponsored HEDP experiments, such as plasma jet and fast ignition physics experiments. We believe that taken together, the LSP and SPECT3D codes have unique capabilities for advancing our understanding of the physics of these HEDP plasmas. Based on conversations early in this project with our DOE program manager, Dr. Francis Thio, our efforts emphasized developing radiation physics and atomic modeling capabilities that can be utilized in the LSP PIC code, and performing radiation physics studies for plasma jets. A relatively minor component focused on the development of methods to diagnose energetic particle characteristics in short-pulse laser experiments related to fast ignition physics. The period of performance for the grant was extended by one year to August 2009 with a one-year no-cost extension, at the request of subcontractor University of Nevada-Reno.« less

QSAT: The Satellite for Polar Plasma Observation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tsuruda, Yoshihiro; Fujimoto, Akiko; Kurahara, Naomi; Hanada, Toshiya; Yumoto, Kiyohumi; Cho, Mengu

2009-04-01

This paper introduces QSAT, the satellite for polar plasma observation. The QSAT project began in 2006 as an initiative by graduate students of Kyushu University, and has the potential to contribute greatly to IHY (International Heliophysical Year) by showing to the world the beauty, importance, and relevance of space science. The primary objectives of the QSAT mission are (1) to investigate plasma physics in the Earth’s aurora zone in order to better understand spacecraft charging, and (2) to conduct a comparison of the field-aligned current observed in orbit with ground-based observations. The QSAT project can provide education and research opportunities for students in an activity combining space sciences and satellite engineering. The QSAT satellite is designed to be launched in a piggyback fashion with the Japanese launch vehicle H-IIA. The spacecraft bus is being developed at the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics of Kyushu University with collaboration of Fukuoka Institute of Technology. Regarding the payload instruments, the Space Environment Research Center of Kyushu University is developing the magnetometers, whereas the Laboratory of Spacecraft Environment Interaction Engineering of Kyushu Institute of Technology is developing the plasma probes. We aim to be ready for launch in 2009 or later.

The Development of Plasma Thrusters and Its Importance for Space Technology and Science Education at University of Brasilia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ferreira, Jose Leonardo; Calvoso, Lui; Gessini, Paolo; Ferreira, Ivan

Since 2004 The Plasma Physics Laboratory of University of Brasilia (Brazil) is developing Hall Plasma Thurusters for Satellite station keeping and orbit control. The project is supported by CNPq, CAPES, FAP DF and from The Brazillian Space Agency-AEB. The project is part of The UNIESPAÇO Program for Space Activities Development in Brazillian Universities. In this work we are going to present the highlights of this project together with its vital contribution to include University of Brasilia in the Brazillian Space Program. Electric propulsion has already shown, over the years, its great advantages in being used as main and secondary thruster system of several space mission types. Between the many thruster concepts, one that has more tradition in flying real spacecraft is the Hall Effect Thruster (HET). These thrusters, first developed by the USSR in the 1960s, uses, in the traditional design, the radial magnetic field and axial electric field to trap electrons, ionize the gas and accelerate the plasma to therefore generate thrust. In contrast to the usual solution of using electromagnets to generate the magnetic field, the research group of the Plasma Physics Laboratory of University of Brasília has been working to develop new models of HETs that uses combined permanent magnets to generate the necessary magnetic field, with the main objective of saving electric power in the final system design. Since the beginning of this research line it was developed and implemented two prototypes of the Permanent Magnet Hall Thruster (PMHT). The first prototype, called P-HALL1, was successfully tested with the using of many diagnostics instruments, including, RF probe, Langmuir probe, Ion collector and Ion energy analyzer. The second prototype, P-HALL2, is currently under testing, and it’s planned the increasing of the plasma diagnostics and technology analysis, with the inclusion of a thrust balance, mass spectroscopy and Doppler broadening. We are also developing an Helicon Double Layer Thruster based on plasma expiation along diverging magnetic field lines within similar conditons that can be met in auroral plasma formation. HDLT is sometimes called an Auroral thruster because during the plasma expiation in the cusped magnetic field a current free double layer is formed accelerating ions and a supersonic ion beam. The development fo this type of thruster are been made in several laboratories around the world and tis application for high specific impulce space mission in the solar system is foreseen. Since the beginning of this project we have about 20 undergraduate students working at the laboratory as junior scientist with CNPq schollarships for Scientific Initiation Program called PIBIC. More than 10 graduate students were involved in master and doctoral thesis work related to space science and technology problems concerning the application of plasma space propulsion for satellite and spacecrafts for solar system missions.

Comparing plasma and X-ray exposure and identifying vulnerable cell parts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Graham, Bill

2012-10-01

Here two issues in plasma medicine that are being addressed in a collaboration between the Centre of Plasma Physics and the School of Pharmacy at Queen's University Belfast and the Plasma Institute at York University UK will be discussed. Recent measurements of the interaction of plasmas created directly in DMEM cell medium and MDAMB-231, a human breast cancer cell line, showed evidence of reduced cell viability and of DNA damage. The same set of experiments were undertaken but with X-ray exposure. A correlation of the dependence on plasma exposure time and X-ray dose was observed which might point the way to dose definition in plasma medicine. We have also been working to identify the cell parts most vulnerable to plasma exposure. In this study a 10 kHz atmospheric pressure non-thermal plasma jet, operating in He/0.5%O2 and characterized to determine the behavior of many of the plasma species, was incident onto the surface of media containing either bacterial strains, in their planktonic and biofilm forms, or isolated bacterial plasmid DNA. The results of measurements to look for changes in plasmid structural conformation, rates of single and double strand breaks, the catalytic activity of certain bacterial enzymes, the peroxidation of lipid content of the bacterial cells, the leakage of ATP and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) images will be discussed.

Benchmarking atomic physics models for magnetically confined fusion plasma physics experiments

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

May, M.J.; Finkenthal, M.; Soukhanovskii, V.

In present magnetically confined fusion devices, high and intermediate {ital Z} impurities are either puffed into the plasma for divertor radiative cooling experiments or are sputtered from the high {ital Z} plasma facing armor. The beneficial cooling of the edge as well as the detrimental radiative losses from the core of these impurities can be properly understood only if the atomic physics used in the modeling of the cooling curves is very accurate. To this end, a comprehensive experimental and theoretical analysis of some relevant impurities is undertaken. Gases (Ne, Ar, Kr, and Xe) are puffed and nongases are introducedmore » through laser ablation into the FTU tokamak plasma. The charge state distributions and total density of these impurities are determined from spatial scans of several photometrically calibrated vacuum ultraviolet and x-ray spectrographs (3{endash}1600 {Angstrom}), the multiple ionization state transport code transport code (MIST) and a collisional radiative model. The radiative power losses are measured with bolometery, and the emissivity profiles were measured by a visible bremsstrahlung array. The ionization balance, excitation physics, and the radiative cooling curves are computed from the Hebrew University Lawrence Livermore atomic code (HULLAC) and are benchmarked by these experiments. (Supported by U.S. DOE Grant No. DE-FG02-86ER53214 at JHU and Contract No. W-7405-ENG-48 at LLNL.) {copyright} {ital 1999 American Institute of Physics.}« less

A table top experiment to study plasma confined by a dipole magnet

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bhattacharjee, Sudeep; Baitha, Anuj Ram

2016-10-01

There has been a long quest to understand charged particle generation, confinement and underlying complex processes in a plasma confined by a dipole magnet. Our earth's magnetosphere is an example of such a naturally occurring system. A few laboratory experiments have been designed for such investigations, such as the Levitated Dipole Experiment (LDX) at MIT, the Terella experiment at Columbia university, and the Ring Trap-1 (RT-1) experiment at the University of Tokyo. However, these are large scale experiments, where the dipole magnetic field is created with superconducting coils, thereby, necessitating power supplies and stringent cryogenic requirements. We report a table top experiment to investigate important physical processes in a dipole plasma. A strong cylindrical permanent magnet, is employed to create the dipole field inside a vacuum chamber. The magnet is suspended and cooled by circulating chilled water. The plasma is heated by electromagnetic waves of 2.45 GHz and a second frequency in the range 6 - 11 GHz. Some of the initial results of measurements and numerical simulation of magnetic field, visual observations of the first plasma, and spatial measurements of plasma parameters will be presented.

A domain-decomposed multi-model plasma simulation of collisionless magnetic reconnection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Datta, I. A. M.; Shumlak, U.; Ho, A.; Miller, S. T.

2017-10-01

Collisionless magnetic reconnection is a process relevant to many areas of plasma physics in which energy stored in magnetic fields within highly conductive plasmas is rapidly converted into kinetic and thermal energy. Both in natural phenomena such as solar flares and terrestrial aurora as well as in magnetic confinement fusion experiments, the reconnection process is observed on timescales much shorter than those predicted by a resistive MHD model. As a result, this topic is an active area of research in which plasma models with varying fidelity have been tested in order to understand the proper physics explaining the reconnection process. In this research, a hybrid multi-model simulation employing the Hall-MHD and two-fluid plasma models on a decomposed domain is used to study this problem. The simulation is set up using the WARPXM code developed at the University of Washington, which uses a discontinuous Galerkin Runge-Kutta finite element algorithm and implements boundary conditions between models in the domain to couple their variable sets. The goal of the current work is to determine the parameter regimes most appropriate for each model to maintain sufficient physical fidelity over the whole domain while minimizing computational expense. This work is supported by a Grant from US AFOSR.

AMPS sciences objectives and philosophy. [Atmospheric, Magnetospheric and Plasmas-in-Space project on Spacelab

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schmerling, E. R.

1975-01-01

The Space Shuttle will open a new era in the exploration of earth's near-space environment, where the weight and power capabilities of Spacelab and the ability to use man in real time add important new features. The Atmospheric, Magnetospheric, and Plasmas-in-Space project (AMPS) is conceived of as a facility where flexible core instruments can be flown repeatedly to perform different observations and experiments. The twin thrusts of remote sensing of the atmosphere below 120 km and active experiments on the space plasma are the major themes. They have broader implications in increasing our understanding of plasma physics and of energy conversion processes elsewhere in the universe.

Wave-particle energy exchange directly observed in a kinetic Alfvén-branch wave

DOE PAGES

Gershman, Daniel J.; F-Viñas, Adolfo; Dorelli, John C.; ...

2017-03-31

Alfvén waves are fundamental plasma wave modes that permeate the universe. At small kinetic scales, they provide a critical mechanism for the transfer of energy between electromagnetic fields and charged particles. These waves are important not only in planetary magnetospheres, heliospheres and astrophysical systems but also in laboratory plasma experiments and fusion reactors. Through measurement of charged particles and electromagnetic fields with NASA’s Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission, we utilize Earth’s magnetosphere as a plasma physics laboratory. Here we confirm the conservative energy exchange between the electromagnetic field fluctuations and the charged particles that comprise an undamped kinetic Alfvén wave. Electronsmore » confined between adjacent wave peaks may have contributed to saturation of damping effects via nonlinear particle trapping. As a result, the investigation of these detailed wave dynamics has been unexplored territory in experimental plasma physics and is only recently enabled by high-resolution MMS observations.« less

Wave-particle energy exchange directly observed in a kinetic Alfvén-branch wave

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

Gershman, Daniel J.; F-Viñas, Adolfo; Dorelli, John C.

Alfvén waves are fundamental plasma wave modes that permeate the universe. At small kinetic scales, they provide a critical mechanism for the transfer of energy between electromagnetic fields and charged particles. These waves are important not only in planetary magnetospheres, heliospheres and astrophysical systems but also in laboratory plasma experiments and fusion reactors. Through measurement of charged particles and electromagnetic fields with NASA’s Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission, we utilize Earth’s magnetosphere as a plasma physics laboratory. Here we confirm the conservative energy exchange between the electromagnetic field fluctuations and the charged particles that comprise an undamped kinetic Alfvén wave. Electronsmore » confined between adjacent wave peaks may have contributed to saturation of damping effects via nonlinear particle trapping. As a result, the investigation of these detailed wave dynamics has been unexplored territory in experimental plasma physics and is only recently enabled by high-resolution MMS observations.« less

Partnership for Edge Physics (EPSI), University of Texas Final Report

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

Moser, Robert; Carey, Varis; Michoski, Craig

Simulations of tokamak plasmas require a number of inputs whose values are uncertain. The effects of these input uncertainties on the reliability of model predictions is of great importance when validating predictions by comparison to experimental observations, and when using the predictions for design and operation of devices. However, high fidelity simulation of tokamak plasmas, particular those aimed at characterization of the edge plasma physics, are computationally expensive, so lower cost surrogates are required to enable practical uncertainty estimates. Two surrogate modeling techniques have been explored in the context of tokamak plasma simulations using the XGC family of plasma simulationmore » codes. The first is a response surface surrogate, and the second is an augmented surrogate relying on scenario extrapolation. In addition, to reduce the costs of the XGC simulations, a particle resampling algorithm was developed, which allows marker particle distributions to be adjusted to maintain optimal importance sampling. This means that the total number of particles in and therefore the cost of a simulation can be reduced while maintaining the same accuracy.« less

Turbulent Stresses in LAPD and CSDX

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Light, A. D.; Sechrest, Y.; Schaffner, D. A.; Muller, S. H.; Rossi, G. D.; Guice, D.; Carter, T. A.; Tynan, G. R.; Vincena, S.; Munsat, T.

2011-10-01

Turbulent momentum transport can affect phenomena as diverse as intrinsic rotation in self-organized systems, stellar dynamo, astrophysical accretion, and the mechanism of internal transport barriers in fusion devices. Contributions from turbulent fluctuations, in the form of Reynolds and Maxwell stress terms, have been predicted theoretically and observed in toroidal devices. In an effort to gain general insight into the physics, we present new results from turbulent stress measurements on two linear devices: the LArge Plasma Device (LAPD) at the University of California, Los Angeles, and the Controlled Shear De-correlation eXperiment (CSDX) at the University of California, San Diego. Both experiments are well-characterized linear machines in which the plasma beta can be varied. Electrostatic and magnetic fluctuations are measured over a range of plasma parameters in concert with fast imaging. Maxwell and Reynolds stresses are calculated from probe data and fluctuations are compared with fast camera images using velocimetry techniques.

Re-appraisal and extension of the Gratton-Vargas two-dimensional analytical snowplow model of plasma focus. III. Scaling theory for high pressure operation and its implications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Auluck, S. K. H.

2016-12-01

Recent work on the revised Gratton-Vargas model (Auluck, Phys. Plasmas 20, 112501 (2013); 22, 112509 (2015) and references therein) has demonstrated that there are some aspects of Dense Plasma Focus (DPF), which are not sensitive to details of plasma dynamics and are well captured in an oversimplified model assumption, which contains very little plasma physics. A hyperbolic conservation law formulation of DPF physics reveals the existence of a velocity threshold related to specific energy of dissociation and ionization, above which, the work done during shock propagation is adequate to ensure dissociation and ionization of the gas being ingested. These developments are utilized to formulate an algorithmic definition of DPF optimization that is valid in a wide range of applications, not limited to neutron emission. This involves determination of a set of DPF parameters, without performing iterative model calculations, that lead to transfer of all the energy from the capacitor bank to the plasma at the time of current derivative singularity and conversion of a preset fraction of this energy into magnetic energy, while ensuring that electromagnetic work done during propagation of the plasma remains adequate for dissociation and ionization of neutral gas being ingested. Such a universal optimization criterion is expected to facilitate progress in new areas of DPF research that include production of short lived radioisotopes of possible use in medical diagnostics, generation of fusion energy from aneutronic fuels, and applications in nanotechnology, radiation biology, and materials science. These phenomena are expected to be optimized for fill gases of different kinds and in different ranges of mass density compared to the devices constructed for neutron production using empirical thumb rules. A universal scaling theory of DPF design optimization is proposed and illustrated for designing devices working at one or two orders higher pressure of deuterium than the current practice of designs optimized at pressures less than 10 mbar of deuterium. These examples show that the upper limit for operating pressure is of technological (and not physical) origin.

High heat flux testing of CFC composites for the tokamak physics experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Valentine, P. G.; Nygren, R. E.; Burns, R. W.; Rocket, P. D.; Colleraine, A. P.; Lederich, R. J.; Bradley, J. T.

1996-10-01

High heat flux (HHF) testing of carbon fiber reinforced carbon composites (CFC's) was conducted under the General Atomics program to develop plasma-facing components (PFC's) for Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory's tokamak physics experiment (TPX). As part of the process of selecting TPX CFC materials, a series of HHF tests were conducted with the 30 kW electron beam test system (EBTS) facility at Sandia National Laboratories, and with the plasma disruption simulator I (PLADIS-I) facility at the University of New Mexico. The purpose of the tests was to make assessments of the thermal performance and erosion behavior of CFC materials. Tests were conducted with 42 different CFC materials. In general, the CFC materials withstood the rapid thermal pulse environments without fracturing, delaminating, or degrading in a non-uniform manner; significant differences in thermal performance, erosion behavior, vapor evolution, etc. were observed and preliminary findings are presented below. The CFC's exposed to the hydrogen plasma pulses in PLADIS-I exhibited greater erosion rates than the CFC materials exposed to the electron-beam pulses in EBTS. The results obtained support the continued consideration of a variety of CFC composites for TPX PFC components.

The Spherical Tokamak MEDUSA for Costa Rica

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ribeiro, Celso; Vargas, Ivan; Guadamuz, Saul; Mora, Jaime; Ansejo, Jose; Zamora, Esteban; Herrera, Julio; Chaves, Esteban; Romero, Carlos

2012-10-01

The former spherical tokamak (ST) MEDUSA (Madison EDUcation Small Aspect.ratio tokamak, R<0.14m, a<0.10m, BT<0.5T, Ip<40kA, 3ms pulse)[1] is in a process of donation to Costa Rica Institute of Technology. The main objective of MEDUSA is to train students in plasma physics /technical related issues which will help all tasks of the very low aspect ratio stellarator SCR-1(A≡R/>=3.6, under design[2]) and also the ongoing activities in low temperature plasmas. Courses in plasma physics at undergraduate and post-graduate joint programme levels are regularly conducted. The scientific programme is intend to clarify several issues in relevant physics for conventional and mainly STs, including transport, heating and current drive via Alfv'en wave, and natural divertor STs with ergodic magnetic limiter[3,4]. [1] G.D.Garstka, PhD thesis, University of Wisconsin at Madison, 1997 [2] L.Barillas et al., Proc. 19^th Int. Conf. Nucl. Eng., Japan, 2011 [3] C.Ribeiro et al., IEEJ Trans. Electrical and Electronic Eng., 2012(accepted) [4] C.Ribeiro et al., Proc. 39^th EPS Conf. Contr. Fusion and Plasma Phys., Sweden, 2012

PREFACE Turbulent Mixing and Beyond

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abarzhi, Snezhana I.; Gauthier, Serge; Niemela, Joseph J.

2010-12-01

The goals of the International Conference 'Turbulent Mixing and Beyond', TMB-2009, are to expose the generic problem of non-equilibrium turbulent processes to a broad scientific community, to promote the development of new ideas in tackling the fundamental aspects of the problem, to assist in the application of novel approaches in a broad range of phenomena, where the turbulent processes occur, and to have a potential impact on technology. The Conference provides the opportunity to bring together researchers from different areas, which include but are not limited to fluid dynamics, plasmas, high energy density physics, astrophysics, material science, combustion, atmospheric and Earth sciences, nonlinear and statistical physics, applied mathematics, probability and statistics, data processing and computations, optics and telecommunications, and to have their attention focused on the long-standing formidable task of non-equilibrium processes. Non-equilibrium turbulent processes play a key role in a broad variety of phenomena spanning astrophysical to atomistic scales and high or low energy density regimes. Inertial confinement and magnetic fusion, light-matter interaction and non-equilibrium heat transfer, strong shocks and explosions, material transformation under high strain rate, supernovae and accretion disks, stellar non-Boussinesq and magneto-convection, planetary interiors and mantle-lithosphere tectonics, premixed and non-premixed combustion, non-canonical wall-bounded flows, hypersonic and supersonic boundary layers, dynamics of atmosphere and oceanography, are just a few examples. A grip on non-equilibrium turbulent processes is crucial for cutting-edge technology such as laser micro-machining, nano-electronics, free-space optical telecommunications, and for industrial applications in the areas of aeronautics and aerodynamics. Non-equilibrium turbulent processes are anisotropic, non-local, multi-scale and multi-phase, and often are driven by shocks or acceleration. Their scaling, spectral and invariant properties differ substantially from those of classical Kolmogorov turbulence. At atomistic and meso-scales, the non-equilibrium dynamics depart dramatically from a standard scenario given by the Gibbs statistic ensemble average and quasi-static Boltzmann equation. The singular aspect and the similarity of the non-equilibrium dynamics at macroscopic scales are interplayed with the fundamental properties of the Euler and compressible Navier-Stokes equations and with the problem sensitivity to the boundary conditions at discontinuities. The state-of-the-art numerical simulations of multi-phase flows suggest new methods for predictive modeling of the multi-scale non-equilibrium dynamics in fluids and plasmas, up to peta-scale level, for error estimate and uncertainty quantification, as well as for novel data assimilation techniques. The Second International Conference and Advanced School 'Turbulent Mixing and Beyond', TMB-2009, was held on 27 July-7 August 2009 at the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP), Trieste, Italy. This was a highly informative and exciting meeting, and it strengthened and reaffirmed the success of TMB-2007. TMB-2009 brought together over 180 participants from five continents, ranging from students to members of National Academies of Sciences and Engineering and including researchers at experienced and early stages of their carriers from leading scientific institutions in academia, national laboratories, corporations and industry, from developed and developing countries. The success of TMB-2009 came from the successful work of all the participants, who were responsible professionals caring for the quality of their research and sharing their scientific vision. The level of presentations was high; about 170 presentations included over 60 invited lectures and 15 tutorials (4500 minutes of talks in total), about 40 posters and two Round Tables. TMB-2009 covered 17 different topics, maintaining the scope and the interdisciplinary character of the meeting while keeping the focus on a fundamental scientific problem of non-equilibrium processes and on the Conference objectives. The abstracts of the 194 accepted presentations of more than 400 authors were published in the Book of Abstracts of the Second International Conference and Advanced School 'Turbulent Mixing and Beyond', 27 July-7 August 2009 , Copyright © 2009, the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Trieste, Italy (ISBN 92095003-41-1). This Topical Issue consists of 70 articles accepted for publication in the Conference Proceedings and represents a substantial part of the Conference contributions. The articles are in a broad variety of TMB-2009 themes and are sorted alphabetically by the last name of the first author within each of the following topics: Canonical turbulence and turbulent mixing: invariant, scaling, spectral properties, scalar transports, convection; Wall-bounded flows: structure and fundamentals, non-canonical turbulent boundary layers, including unsteady and transitional flows, supersonic and hypersonic flows, shock-boundary layer interactions; Non-equilibrium processes: unsteady, multiphase and shock-driven turbulent flows, anisotropic non-local dynamics, connection of continuous description at macro-scales to kinetic processes at atomistic scales; Interfacial dynamics: instabilities of Rayleigh-Taylor, Kelvin-Helmholtz, Richtmyer-Meshkov, Landau-Darrieus, Saffman-Taylor High energy density physics: inertial confinement and heavy-ion fusion, Z-pinches, light-matter and laser-plasma interactions, non-equilibrium heat transfer; Material science: material transformation under high strain rates, equation of state, impact dynamics, mixing at nano- and micro-scales; Astrophysics: supernovae, interstellar medium, star formation, stellar interiors, early Universe, cosmic-microwave background, accretion disks; Magneto-hydrodynamics: magnetic fusion and magnetically confined plasmas, magneto-convection, magneto-rotational instability, dynamo; Canonical plasmas: coupled plasmas, anomalous resistance, ionosphere; Physics of atmosphere: environmental fluid dynamics, weather forecasting, turbulent flows in stratified media and atmosphere, non-Boussinesq convection; Geophysics and Earth science: mantle-lithosphere tectonics, oceanography, turbulent convection under rotation, planetary interiors; Combustion: dynamics of flames and fires, deflagration-to-detonation transition, blast waves and explosions, flows with chemical reactions, flows in jet engines; Mathematical aspects of non-equilibrium dynamics: vortex dynamics, singularities, discontinuities, asymptotic dynamics, weak solutions, well- and ill-posedness, continuous transports out of thermodynamic equilibrium; Stochastic processes and probabilistic description: long-tail distributions and anomalous diffusion, data assimilation and processing methodologies, error estimate and uncertainty quantification, statistically unsteady processes; Advanced numerical simulations: continuous DNS/LES/RANS, molecular dynamics, Monte-Carlo, predictive modeling, validation and verification of numerical models; Experimental diagnostics: model experiments in high energy density and low energy density regimes, plasma diagnostics, fluid flow visualizations and control, opto-fluidics, novel optical methods, holography, advanced technologies. TMB-2009 was organized by the following members of the Organizing Committee: Snezhana I Abarzhi (chairperson, Chicago, USA) Malcolm J Andrews (Los Alamos National Laboratory, USA) Sergei I Anisimov (Landau Institute for Theoretical Physics, Russia) Hiroshi Azechi (Institute of Laser Engineering, Osaka, Japan) Serge Gauthier (Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique, France) Christopher J Keane (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, USA) Robert Rosner (Argonne National Laboratory, USA) Katepalli R Sreenivasan (International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Italy) Alexander L Velikovich (Naval Research Laboratory, USA) and the Local Organizing Committee at the International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Italy Joseph J Niemela Katepalli R Sreenivasan with the assistance of Suzie Radosic (administrator and assistant, ICTP) Daniil Ilyin (web-master, University of Chicago Laboratory Schools, Chicago, USA) The Conference and the School were sponsored by several Agencies and Institutions in the USA, Europe and Japan. The Organizing Committee of TMB-2009 gratefully acknowledges the support of International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP), Italy National Science Foundation (NSF), USA Programs: Plasma Physics; Astronomy and Astrophysics; Computational Mathematics; Applied Mathematics; Fluid Dynamics; Combustion, Fire and Plasma Systems; Cyber-Physical Systems; Computer and Network Systems Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR), US Programs: Hypersonics and Turbulence; Flow Control and Aeroelasticity European Office of Aerospace Research and Development (EOARD) of the AFOSR, UK Programs: Aeronautical Sciences Department of Energy (DOE), USA, DOE Office of Science US Department of Energy Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), USA Programs: National Ignition Facility; Fusion Energy US Department of Energy Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), USA US Department of Energy Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), USA Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique (CEA), France Institute for Laser Engineering (ILE), Japan The University of Chicago, USA ASC Alliance Center for Astrophysical Thermonuclear Flashes, USA Photron (Europe) Ltd, UK and thank them for making this event possible. We express our gratitude for the help with the Conference Program to the members of the Scientific Advisory Committee: S I Abarzhi (University of Chicago, USA) Y Aglitskiy (Science Applications International Corporation, USA) H Azechi (Institute for Laser Engineering, Osaka, Japan) M J Andrews (Los Alamos National Laboratory, USA) S I Anisimov (Landau Institute for Theoretical Physics, Russia) E Bodenschatz (Max Plank Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization, Germany) F Cattaneo (University of Chicago, USA) P Cvitanović (Georgia Institute of Technology, USA) S Cowley (Imperial College, UK) S Dalziel (DAMTP, University of Cambridge, UK) W S Don (Brown University, USA) R Ecke (Los Alamos National Laboratory, USA) H J Fernando (Arizona State University, USA) I Foster (University of Chicago, USA) S Gauthier (Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique, France) G A Glatzmaier (University of California at Santa Cruz, USA) J Glimm (State University of New York at Stony Brook, USA) W A Goddard III (California Institute of Technology, USA) J Jimenez (Universidad Politecnica de Madrid, Spain) L P Kadanoff (The University of Chicago, USA) D Q Lamb (The University of Chicago, USA) D P Lathrop (University of Maryland, USA) S Lebedev (Imperial College, UK) P Manneville (École Polytechnique, France) D I Meiron (California Institute of Technology, USA) P Moin (Stanford University, USA) A Nepomnyashchy (Technion, Israel) J Niemela (International Center for Theoretical Physics, Italy) K Nishihara (Institute for Laser Engineering, Osaka, Japan) S S Orlov (Stanford University, USA) S A Orszag (Yale University, USA) E Ott (University of Maryland, USA) N Peters (RWTH Aachen University, Germany) S B Pope (Cornell, USA) A Pouquet (University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, USA) B A Remington (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, USA) R Rosner (Argonne National Laboratory and University of Chicago, USA) A J Schmitt (Naval Research Laboratory, USA) C -W Shu (Brown University, USA) K R Sreenivasan (International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Italy) E Tadmor (University of Maryland, USA) Y C F Thio (US Department of Energy) A L Velikovich (Naval Research Laboratory, USA) V Yakhot (Boston University, USA) P K Yeung (Georgia Institute of Technology, USA) F A Williams (University of California at San Diego, USA) E Zweibel (University of Wisconsin, USA). We deeply appreciate the work of the Selection Committee for applications for the Advanced School: S Gauthier (Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique, France) C J Keane (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, USA) J Niemela (International Center for Theoretical Physics, Italy) S S Orlov (Stanford University, USA) A L Velikovich (Naval Research Laboratory, USA) and thank the members of the Committee for the award 'Turbulent Mixing and Beyond for Youth': S I Abarzhi (University of Chicago, USA) M J Andrews (Los Alamos National Laboratory, USA) P Cvitanović (Georgia Institute of Technology, USA) S Gauthier (Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique, France) C J Keane (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, USA) S Lebedev (Imperial College, UK) J Niemela (International Center for Theoretical Physics, Italy) S S Orlov (Stanford University, USA) A Pouquet (University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, USA) K R Sreenivasan (International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Italy) A L Velikovich (Naval Research Laboratory, USA) We would like to thank all the authors and the referees for their contributions to this Topical Issue and for offering their expertise, time and effort. The readers are cordially invited to take a look at this Topical Issue for information on the frontiers of theoretical, numerical and experimental research, and state-of-the-art technology. The Organizing Committee hopes the TMB Conference will serve to advance the state-of-the-art in understanding of fundamental physical properties of non-equilibrium turbulent processes and will have an impact on predictive modeling capabilities, physical description and, ultimately, control of these complex processes. Welcome to the Topical Issue 'Turbulent Mixing and Beyond', TMB-2009.

Particle in cell simulation of instabilities in space and astrophysical plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tonge, John William

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

Computational modeling of fully-ionized, magnetized plasmas using the fluid approximation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schnack, Dalton

2005-10-01

Strongly magnetized plasmas are rich in spatial and temporal scales, making a computational approach useful for studying these systems. The most accurate model of a magnetized plasma is based on a kinetic equation that describes the evolution of the distribution function for each species in six-dimensional phase space. However, the high dimensionality renders this approach impractical for computations for long time scales in relevant geometry. Fluid models, derived by taking velocity moments of the kinetic equation [1] and truncating (closing) the hierarchy at some level, are an approximation to the kinetic model. The reduced dimensionality allows a wider range of spatial and/or temporal scales to be explored. Several approximations have been used [2-5]. Successful computational modeling requires understanding the ordering and closure approximations, the fundamental waves supported by the equations, and the numerical properties of the discretization scheme. We review and discuss several ordering schemes, their normal modes, and several algorithms that can be applied to obtain a numerical solution. The implementation of kinetic parallel closures is also discussed [6].[1] S. Chapman and T.G. Cowling, ``The Mathematical Theory of Non-Uniform Gases'', Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK (1939).[2] R.D. Hazeltine and J.D. Meiss, ``Plasma Confinement'', Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, Redwood City, CA (1992).[3] L.E. Sugiyama and W. Park, Physics of Plasmas 7, 4644 (2000).[4] J.J. Ramos, Physics of Plasmas, 10, 3601 (2003).[5] P.J. Catto and A.N. Simakov, Physics of Plasmas, 11, 90 (2004).[6] E.D. Held et al., Phys. Plasmas 11, 2419 (2004)

The Dense Plasma Focus Group of IFAS at Argentina: A brief history and recent direction of the investigations

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

Milanese, Maria Magdalena; CONICET - 7000 Tandil

2006-12-04

This is a short review of the research done by the Dense Plasma Focus Group (GPDM) presently working in Tandil, Argentina, from its origin, more than three decades ago, as part of the Plasma Physics Laboratory of Buenos Aires University (the first one in Latin-America where experiments in plasma focus have been made) up to the present. The interest has been mainly experimental studies on plasma focus and, in general, fast electrical discharges. The plasma focus has extensively been studied as neutron producer, including its possibility to play a role in nuclear fusion. It was also researched not only formore » basic plasma studies, but also for other important applications. Conception, design, construction and study of devices and diagnostics suitable for each application have been made on basis of developed criteria.« less

Validation of non-local electron heat conduction model for radiation MHD simulation in magnetized laser plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nagatomo, Hideo; Matsuo, Kazuki; Nicolai, Pilippe; Asahina, Takashi; Fujioka, Shinsuke

2017-10-01

In laser plasma physics, application of an external magnetic field is an attractive method for various research of high energy density physics including fast ignition. Meanwhile, in the high intense laser plasma the behavior of hot electron cannot be ignored. In the radiation hydrodynamic simulation, a classical electron conduction model, Spitzer-Harm model has been used in general. However the model has its limit, and modification of the model is necessary if it is used beyond the application limit. Modified SNB model, which considering the influence of magnetic field is applied to 2-D radiation magnetohydrodynamic code PINOCO. Some experiments related the non-local model are carried out at GXII, Osaka University. In this presentation, these experimental results are shown briefly. And comparison between simulation results considering the non-local electron heat conduction mode are discussed. This study was supported JSPS KAKENHI Grant No. 17K05728.

Overview of the NSTX Control System

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

P. Sichta; J. Dong; G. Oliaro

2001-12-03

The National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX) is an innovative magnetic fusion device that was constructed by the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) in collaboration with the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Columbia University, and the University of Washington at Seattle. Since achieving first plasma in 1999, the device has been used for fusion research through an international collaboration of more than twenty institutions. The NSTX is operated through a collection of control systems that encompass a wide range of technology, from hardwired relay controls to real-time control systems with giga-FLOPS of capability. This paper presents a broad introduction to the controlmore » systems used on NSTX, with an emphasis on the computing controls, data acquisition, and synchronization systems.« less

Stopping and Coulomb explosion of energetic carbon clusters in a plasma irradiated by an intense laser field

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Guiqiu; Wang, Younian

2015-09-01

The interaction of a charged particle beam with a plasma is a very important subject of relevance for many fields of physics, such as inertial confinement fusion (ICF) driven by ion or electron beams, high energy density physics, and related astrophysical problems. Recently, a promising ICF scheme has been proposed, in which the plasma target is irradiated simultaneously by intense laser and ion beams. For molecular ion or cluster, slowing down process will company the Coulomb explosion phenomenon. In this paper, we present a study of the effects of intense radiation field (RF) on the interaction of energetic carbon clusters in a plasma. The emphasis is laid on the dynamic polarization and correlation effects of the constituent ions within the cluster in order to disclose the role of the vicinage effects on the Coulomb explosion and energy deposition of the clusters in plasma. On the other hand, affecting of a strong laser field on the cluster propagating in plasma is considered, the influence of a large range of laser parameters and plasma parameters on the Coulomb explosion and stopping power are discussed. This work is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (11375034), and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities of China (3132015144, 3132014337).

Research in space physics at the University of Iowa

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vanallen, J. A.

1976-01-01

Energetic particles in outer space and their relationship to electric, magnetic, and electromagnetic fields associated with the earth, sun, moon, and planets, and the interplanetary medium are investigated. Special attention was given to observations of earth and moon satellites and interplanetary spacecraft; phenomenological analysis and interpretation were emphasized. Data also cover ground based on radio astronomical and optical techniques and theoretical problems in plasma physics as revelant to solar planetary and interplanetary phenomena.

Growing a Science Internship One Year at a Time: Updates to the Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internship Program D. Ortiz-Arias, A. Dominguez, A. Zwicker, S. Greco

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ortiz, Deedee; Dominguez, Arturo; Zwicker, Andrew; Greco, Shannon

2016-10-01

Between 1993-2014, the National Undergraduate Fellowship (NUF) program, sponsored by the DOE Office of Fusion Energy Sciences, provided summer research internships for outstanding undergraduate students from around the country. Since then, the NUF program was merged into the Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internship (SULI) program, sponsored by the DOE Office of Workforce Development for Teachers and Students. While there were many similarities between the two programs, the SULI program did not include the one-week introductory course in plasma physics or the opportunity for participants to present their summer research results at this meeting. In the past two years, working with representatives from both OFES and WDTS, we have again implemented some of the most important components of the NUF program. The week-long, introductory course in plasma physics is included and streamed live- especially important since most undergraduate physics students have not taken a plasma physics course before they begin their research. Students are again able to present their research to our community, a critical component of a full research experience and plans are underway to obtain additional funding to once again include universities as eligible host sites.

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

Koivisto, H., E-mail: hannu.koivisto@phys.jyu.fi; Kalvas, T.; Tarvainen, O.

Several ion source related research and development projects are in progress at the Department of Physics, University of Jyväskylä (JYFL). The work can be divided into investigation of the ion source plasma and development of ion sources, ion beams, and diagnostics. The investigation covers the Electron Cyclotron Resonance Ion Source (ECRIS) plasma instabilities, vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) and visible light emission, photon induced electron emission, and the development of plasma diagnostics. The ion source development covers the work performed for radiofrequency-driven negative ion source, RADIS, beam line upgrade of the JYFL 14 GHz ECRIS, and the development of a new room-temperature-magnetmore » 18 GHz ECRIS, HIISI.« less

Reheating and the asymmetric production of matter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Adshead, Peter

The early thermal history of the universe, from the end of inflation until the light elements are produced at big-bang nucleosynthesis, remains one of the most poorly understood periods of our cosmic history. We do not understand how inflation ends, and the connection between the physics that drives inflation and the standard model is poorly constrained. Consequently, the mechanism by which the Universe is reheated from its super-cooled post-inflationary state into a thermalized plasma is unknown. Furthermore, the precise mechanism responsible for the matter-antimatter asymmetry and the detailed particle origin of dark matter are, as yet, unknown. However, it is precisely during this epoch that abundant phenomenology from fundamental physics beyond the standard model is anticipated. The objective of the proposed research is to address this gap in our understanding of the history of the Universe by exploring the connection between the physics that drives the inflationary epoch, and the physics that ignites the hot big-bang. This will be achieved by two detailed studies of the physics of reheating. The first study examines the cosmic history of dark sectors, and addresses the cosmological question of how these sectors are populated in the early universe. The second study examines detailed particle physics models of reheating where the inflaton couples to gauge fields. NASA's strategic objectives in astrophysics are to discover how the universe works and to explore how it began and evolved. The primary goal of this proposal is to address these questions by developing a deeper understanding of the history of the post-inflationary universe through cosmological observations and fundamental theory. Specifically, this proposal will advance NASA's science goal to probe the origin and destiny of our universe, including the nature of black holes, dark energy, dark matter and gravity

Theoretical Technology Research for the International Solar Terrestrial Physics (ISTP) Program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ashour-Abdalla, Maha; Curtis, Steve (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

During the last four years the UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles) IGPP (Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics) Space Plasma Simulation Group has continued its theoretical effort to develop a Mission Oriented Theory (MOT) for the International Solar Terrestrial Physics (ISTP) program. This effort has been based on a combination of approaches: analytical theory, large-scale kinetic (LSK) calculations, global magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations and self-consistent plasma kinetic (SCK) simulations. These models have been used to formulate a global interpretation of local measurements made by the ISTP spacecraft. The regions of applications of the MOT cover most of the magnetosphere: solar wind, low- and high- latitude magnetospheric boundary, near-Earth and distant magnetotail, and auroral region. Most recent investigations include: plasma processes in the electron foreshock, response of the magnetospheric cusp, particle entry in the magnetosphere, sources of observed distribution functions in the magnetotail, transport of oxygen ions, self-consistent evolution of the magnetotail, substorm studies, effects of explosive reconnection, and auroral acceleration simulations. A complete list of the activities completed under the grant follow.

Plasma diagnostics of non-equilibrium atmospheric plasma jets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shashurin, Alexey; Scott, David; Keidar, Michael; Shneider, Mikhail

2014-10-01

Intensive development and biomedical application of non-equilibrium atmospheric plasma jet (NEAPJ) facilitates rapid growth of the plasma medicine field. The NEAPJ facility utilized at the George Washington University (GWU) demonstrated efficacy for treatment of various cancer types (lung, bladder, breast, head, neck, brain and skin). In this work we review recent advances of the research conducted at GWU concerned with the development of NEAPJ diagnostics including Rayleigh Microwave Scattering setup, method of streamer scattering on DC potential, Rogowski coils, ICCD camera and optical emission spectroscopy. These tools allow conducting temporally-resolved measurements of plasma density, electrical potential, charge and size of the streamer head, electrical currents flowing though the jet, ionization front propagation speed etc. Transient dynamics of plasma and discharge parameters will be considered and physical processes involved in the discharge will be analyzed including streamer breakdown, electrical coupling of the streamer tip with discharge electrodes, factors determining NEAPJ length, cross-sectional shape and propagation path etc.

Bringing Space Science to the Undergraduate Classroom: NASA's USIP Mission

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vassiliadis, D.; Christian, J. A.; Keesee, A. M.; Spencer, E. A.; Gross, J.; Lusk, G. D.

2015-12-01

As part of its participation in NASA's Undergraduate Student Instrument Project (USIP), a team of engineering and physics students at West Virginia University (WVU) built a series of sounding rocket and balloon missions. The first rocket and balloon missions were flown near-simultaneously in a campaign on June 26, 2014 (image). The second sounding rocket mission is scheduled for October 5, 2015. Students took a course on space science in spring 2014, and followup courses in physics and aerospace engineering departments have been developed since then. Guest payloads were flown from students affiliated with WV Wesleyan College, NASA's IV&V Facility, and the University of South Alabama. Students specialized in electrical and aerospace engineering, and space physics topics. They interacted regularly with NASA engineers, presented at telecons, and prepared reports. A number of students decided to pursue internships and/or jobs related to space science and technology. Outreach to the campus and broader community included demos and flight projects. The physics payload includes plasma density and temperature measurements using a Langmuir and a triple probe; plasma frequency measurements using a radio sounder (WVU) and an impedance probe (U.S.A); and a magnetometer (WVWC). The aerospace payload includes an IMU swarm, a GPS experiment (with TEC capability); a cubesat communications module (NASA IV&V), and basic flight dynamics. Acknowledgments: staff members at NASA Wallops Flight Facility, and at the Orbital-ATK Rocket Center, WV.

Te and H_α Measurements on the HT-7 Tokamak: A Collaboration between the Fusion Research Center and the Institute of Plasma Physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Winslow, D. L.; Carter, K. R.; Chatterjee, R.; Huang, H.; Phillips, P. E.; Rowan, W. L.; Kuang, G. L.; Li, J. G.; Luo, J. R.; Wan, B. N.; Wan, Y. X.; Xie, J. K.

1998-11-01

A team from the Fusion Research Center at the University of Texas at Austin visited the HT-7 Tokamak at the Institute of Plasma Physics at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Hefei, Anhui, China to study the effects of lower hybrid current drive (LHCD) in the HT-7 plasma. HT-7(HT-7 Group, Fusion Energy 1996 Vol. 1, 685 (1997).) is a medium-sized (R = 1.22 m) tokamak with superconducting toroidal field coils and long--pulse capabilities utilizing LHCD to assist ohmic current drive. Core and edge diagnostics supported by a stand-alone data acquisition system were installed for the spring 1998 campaign. The diagnostics included an ECE radiometer which allows determination of both electron temperature profiles and fluctuation levels in the core plasma and an H_α array detector for measurement of turbulence in regions not easily accessible to probes. In addition, a reciprocating Langmuir probe system was developed for use on HT-7 and should be available for the next campaign. The effects of LHCD upon fluctuation levels in the plasma will be discussed.

From laser spectroscopy research to nonlinear optics instruction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

de la Rosa, M. I.; Pérez, C.; Grützmacher, K.

2005-10-01

In this paper we describe how to join the two fundamental activities of a university professor: research and teaching. The work of our research team is devoted to the applications of two photon polarization spectroscopy to plasmas and combustion processes diagnostics. As a result of this work now we have powerful equipment and experience on nonlinear processes. Therefore, we decided to offer Nonlinear Optics as an elective subject, to the students in the last year of the Physics Degree at Valladolid University. We conclude that research at the University acquires its total significance when it is applied to the student's instruction.

Studies to Improve the Science in the GAIM - Full Physics Model

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-01-01

Hromsco, J. J., Sensitivity of IFM /GAIM-GM Model to High Cadence Kp and F10.7 Input, Utah State University/Air Force Institute of Technology, M . S ...Institute of Technology, M . S . Thesis; March, 2011. Nava, O. A ., Analysis of plasma bubble signatures in the ionosphere, Utah State University/Air...Force Institute of Technology, M . S . Thesis; March, 2011. Scherliess, L., R. W. Schunk and D. C. Thompson, Data assimilation models: A ’new’ tool for

PREFACE: The 19th European Sectional Conference on Atomic and Molecular Physics of Ionized Gases Preface: The 19th European Sectional Conference on Atomic and Molecular Physics of Ionized Gases

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gordillo-Vazquez, F. J.

2009-07-01

The 19th Europhysics Sectional Conference on the Atomic and Molecular Physics of Ionized Gases (ESCAMPIG-2008) took place in Granada (Spain) from 15 to 19 July 2008. The conference was mainly organized by the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), with the collaboration and support of the University of Córdoba (UCO) and the Research Center for Energy, Environment and Technology (CIEMAT). It is already 35 years since the first ESCAMPIG in 1973. The first editions of ESCAMPIG were in consecutive years (1973 and 1974) but later on it became a biennial conference of the European Physical Society (EPS) initially focusing on the collisional and radiative atomic and molecular processes in low temperature plasmas. The successive ESCAMPIGs took place in Bratislava in 1976 (3rd), Essen in 1978 (4th), Dubrovnik in 1980 (5th) and so on until the last one organized in Granada in 2008 (19th), the first ESCAMPIG in Spain. A number of changes have taken place in the Granada edition of ESCAMPIG. First, the previous six topics that have remained unchanged for almost two decades (since 1990) have now been updated to become twelve new topics which, in the opinion of the International Scientific Committee (ISC), will enhance the opportunity for discussions and communication of new findings and developments in the field of low temperature plasmas. The new list of topics for ESCAMPIG is: • Atomic and molecular processes in plasmas • Transport phenomena, particle velocity distribution function • Physical basis of plasma chemistry • Plasma surface interaction (boundary layers, sheath, surface processes) • Plasma diagnostics • Plasma and dicharges theory and simulation • Self-organization in plasmas, dusty plasmas • Upper atmospheric plasmas and space plasmas • Low pressure plasma sources • High pressure plasma sources • Plasmas and gas flows • Laser produced plasmas Secondly, a new prize has been created, the `William Crookes' prize in Plasma Physics to be awarded biennially to a mid-career (10 to 20 years after PhD) researcher who has been judged to have made major contributions in one or more of the areas covered by ESCAMPIG. The prize was co-sponsored by the ESCAMPIG-2008 local committee, the European Physical Society (EPS) and Plasma Sources Science and Technology. The award was 1,000 Euros and a diploma along with hotel accommodation and waived fees to attend ESCAMPIG-2008 where the award was presented. The first `William Crookes' prize was awarded to Professor Dr Richard Van de Sanden from the Eindhoven University of Technology `for his major contributions to fundamental plasma-wall interaction studies and their use in plasma enhanced deposition and etching'. More than 290 scientists from 35 countries around the world attended ESCAMPIG-2008 in Granada. Also remarkable is the important number of registered students (87) that participated in the conference. The total number of abstracts submitted was over 330 with more than 300 poster presentations in the three scheduled poster sessions. The oral sessions involved 16 invited lectures and eight ISC selected hot topical presentations. In addition, two afternoon special sessions of ESCAMPIG-2008 were devoted to two workshops on: • Sprite chemistry and their impact in the upper atmosphere of the Earth, organized by Dr T Neubert and Dr F J Gordillo-Vazquez • Diagnostics of active species in plasma deposition of thin films, organized by Dr F L Tabarés Following a tradition started in previous ESCAMPIG editions, a special issue of {\\it Plasma Sources Science and Technology} (PSST) is published including peer-reviewed papers based on the invited lectures, hot topic presentations and workshop contributions. Many of the authors agreed to prepare and submit within deadline suitable articles with original results or in the form of reviews and critical overviews of their own published results. I would like to thank all the speakers for their co-operation and efforts in preparing interesting lectures and for preparing papers for the special issue of PSST devoted to ESCAMPIG XIX. These papers are an equilibrated representation of the topics treated during the conference. Their publication in PSST will significantly contribute to giving the contents of ESCAMPIG a wider audience. I would like to thank the International Scientific Committee, chaired by Professor W G Graham, for building up the Scientific Program of ESCAMPIG-2008. Finally, I want to thank the workshop organizers and all the sponsors (public institutions and companies) whose contribution was an essential part of the success of ESCAMPIG 2008 in Granada. F J Gordillo-Vazquez, CSIC, Granada, Spain Guest Editor

First light from the Diocles laser: Relativistic laser-plasmas and beams

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Umstadter, Donald

2007-06-01

Reported are first experimental results from a new high-power (150 TW) laser, Diocles, now in operation at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. Discussed are novel approaches to using the ultra-high-intensity light from this laser to study relativistic laser plasma interactions. Bright, ultrashort duration (femtosecond ) pulses of energetic (keV -- MeV) x-ray and charged-particle beams are generated through these interactions. Also covered in this talk will be applications of these unique radiation sources for research in the physical sciences, as well as biomedicine, defense and homeland security.

Neutron emission spectroscopy of DT plasmas at enhanced energy resolution with diamond detectors

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

Giacomelli, L., E-mail: giacomelli@ifp.cnr.it; Tardocchi, M.; Nocente, M.

2016-11-15

This work presents measurements done at the Peking University Van de Graaff neutron source of the response of single crystal synthetic diamond (SD) detectors to quasi-monoenergetic neutrons of 14-20 MeV. The results show an energy resolution of 1% for incoming 20 MeV neutrons, which, together with 1% detection efficiency, opens up to new prospects for fast ion physics studies in high performance nuclear fusion devices such as SD neutron spectrometry of deuterium-tritium plasmas heated by neutral beam injection.

The International Colloquium on Atomic Spectra and Oscillator Strengths for Astrophysical and Laboratory Plasmas

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sugar, J.; Leckrone, D.

1993-01-01

This was the fourth in a series of colloquia begun at the University of Lund, Sweden in 1983 and subsequently held in Toledo, Ohio and Amsterdam, The Netherlands. The purpose of these meetings is to provide an international forum for communication between major users of atomic spectroscopic data and the providers of these data. These data include atomic wavelengths, line shapes, energy levels, lifetimes, and oscillator strengths. Speakers were selected from a wide variety of disciplines including astrophysics, laboratory plasma research, spectrochemistry, and theoretical and experimental atomic physics.

Visualization tool for three-dimensional plasma velocity distributions (ISEE_3D) as a plug-in for SPEDAS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Keika, Kunihiro; Miyoshi, Yoshizumi; Machida, Shinobu; Ieda, Akimasa; Seki, Kanako; Hori, Tomoaki; Miyashita, Yukinaga; Shoji, Masafumi; Shinohara, Iku; Angelopoulos, Vassilis; Lewis, Jim W.; Flores, Aaron

2017-12-01

This paper introduces ISEE_3D, an interactive visualization tool for three-dimensional plasma velocity distribution functions, developed by the Institute for Space-Earth Environmental Research, Nagoya University, Japan. The tool provides a variety of methods to visualize the distribution function of space plasma: scatter, volume, and isosurface modes. The tool also has a wide range of functions, such as displaying magnetic field vectors and two-dimensional slices of distributions to facilitate extensive analysis. The coordinate transformation to the magnetic field coordinates is also implemented in the tool. The source codes of the tool are written as scripts of a widely used data analysis software language, Interactive Data Language, which has been widespread in the field of space physics and solar physics. The current version of the tool can be used for data files of the plasma distribution function from the Geotail satellite mission, which are publicly accessible through the Data Archives and Transmission System of the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS)/Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). The tool is also available in the Space Physics Environment Data Analysis Software to visualize plasma data from the Magnetospheric Multiscale and the Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms missions. The tool is planned to be applied to data from other missions, such as Arase (ERG) and Van Allen Probes after replacing or adding data loading plug-ins. This visualization tool helps scientists understand the dynamics of space plasma better, particularly in the regions where the magnetohydrodynamic approximation is not valid, for example, the Earth's inner magnetosphere, magnetopause, bow shock, and plasma sheet.

Research in space physics at the University of Iowa. [astronomical observatories, spaceborne astronomy, satellite observation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vanallen, J. A.

1974-01-01

Various research projects in space physics are summarized. Emphasis is placed on: (1) the study of energetic particles in outer space and their relationships to electric, magnetic, and electromagnetic fields associated with the earth, the sun, the moon, the planets, and interplanetary medium; (2) observational work on satellites of the earth and the moon, and planetary and interplanetary spacecraft; (3) phenomenological analysis and interpretation; (4) observational work by ground based radio-astronomical and optical techniques; and (5) theoretical problems in plasma physics. Specific fields of current investigations are summarized.

Differential drift of plasma clouds in the magnetosphere: an update

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lemaire, J. F.

2001-07-01

First, Brice's (Journal of Geophysical Research 72 (1967) 5193) original theory for the formation of the plasmapause is recalled. Next, the motivation for writing a modification to this early theory is pointed out. The key aspects of Brice's manuscript are outlined and discussed. The mechanism of interchange driven by gravitational forces, centrifugal effects and kinetic pressure is considered in the cases when the integrated Pedersen conductivity is (i) negligibly small (as in Chandrasekhar's, Plasma Physics, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1960, 217 pp. and Longmire's, Elementary Plasma Physics, Wiley Interscience, New York, 1963, 296 pp., textbooks), (ii) infinitely large (as in many magnetospheric convection models), or (iii) has a finite value of the order of 0.2 mho, as in the Earth's ionosphere. Updates of this theory of interchange resulting from the existence of weak double layers, from quasi-interchange, or from the effects of an additional population of energetic ring-current particles forming the extended tail of the velocity distribution function, have also been reexamined.

Ultrastrong light fields (Scientific session of the Physical Sciences Division of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 29 October 2014)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2015-01-01

On 29 October 2014, the scientific session "Super strong light fields" of the Physical Sciences Division (PSD), Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS), was held at the conference hall of the Lebedev Physical Institute, RAS.The agenda of the session announced on the website http://www.gpad.ac.ru of the PSD RAS contains the reports: (1) Bychenkov V Yu (Lebedev Physical Institute, RAS, Moscow) "Laser acceleration of ions: New results and prospects for applications"; (2) Kostyukov I Yu (Institute of Applied Physics, RAS, Nizhnii Novgorod) "Plasma methods for electron acceleration: the state of the art and outlook"; (3) Zheltikov A M (Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow) "Nonlinear optics of mid-IR ultrashort pulses"; (4) Narozhnyi N B, Fedotov A M (Moscow Engineering Physics Institute, Nuclear Research University, Moscow) "Quantum electrodynamics cascades in intense laser fields."Papers written on the basis of oral presentations 1-4 are published below. • Laser acceleration of ions: recent results and prospects for applications, V Yu Bychenkov, A V Brantov, E A Govras, V F Kovalev Physics-Uspekhi, 2015, Volume 58, Number 1, Pages 71-81 • Plasma-based methods for electron acceleration: current status and prospects, I Yu Kostyukov, A M Pukhov Physics-Uspekhi, 2015, Volume 58, Number 1, Pages 81-88 • Subterawatt femtosecond pulses in the mid-infrared range: new spatiotemporal dynamics of high-power electromagnetic fields, A V Mitrofanov, D A Sidorov-Biryukov, A A Voronin, A Pugžlys, G Andriukaitis, E A Stepanov, S Ališauskas, T Flöri, A B Fedotov, V Ya Panchenko, A Baltuška, A M Zheltikov Physics-Uspekhi, 2015, Volume 58, Number 1, Pages 89-94 • Quantum-electrodynamic cascades in intense laser fields, N B Narozhny, A M Fedotov Physics-Uspekhi, 2015, Volume 58, Number 1, Pages 95-102

Independent association of plasma hydroxysphingomyelins with physical function in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study.

PubMed

Li, Danni; Misialek, Jeffrey R; Huang, Fangying; Windham, B Gwen; Yu, Fang; Alonso, Alvaro

2017-10-19

Plasma metabolites such as phosphatidylcholines (PCs) and sphingomyelins (SMs) are associated with in age-related cognitive decline. However, their relations to age-related physical function decline remain largely unknown. We examined the cross-sectional relations of 12 plasma metabolites (including 4 PCs and 4 SMs) with physical function in 383 older adults in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities study at the fifth exam (2011-13, mean age [standard deviation (SD)]: 78.0 [5.5], 54.4% women, 28.3% African Americans). Physical function was assessed using grip strength, Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB), and 4-meter walking speed. Individual metabolites were log-transformed and standardized. Multivariable linear regression was performed to account for demographics, APOE genotype, cardiovascular risk factors, comorbidities, use of antihypertensive and lipid-lowering medications, depressive symptoms, and cognition. Lower concentrations of asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) and higher concentrations of SM (OH) C22:1, SM(OH) C22:2, and SM(OH) C24:1 were associated with physical function measures. In particular, SM (OH) C22:1 and SM (OH) C24:1 were associated with all 3 measures of physical function: β-coefficients (95% Confidence Interval) with grip strength were 0.89 kg (0.00, 1.78) and 0.86 kg (0.10, 1.61) per 1-SD higher concentration, respectively; with SPPB score, were 0.61 (0.34, 0.88) and 0.41 (0.19, 0.63) per 1-SD difference, respectively; with 4-meter walking speed were 0.035 m/s (0.013, 0.056) and 0.035 m/s (0.028, 0.047), respectively. Plasma SM(OH)s may be independently associated with physical function in older adults. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Role of theory in space science

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1983-01-01

The goal of theory is to understand how the fundamental laws of physics laws of physics and chemistry give rise to the features of the universe. It is recommended that NASA establish independent theoretical research programs in planetary sciences and in astrophysics similar to the solar-system plasma-physics theory program, which is characterized by stable, long-term support for theorists in university departments, NASA centers, and other organizations engaged in research in topics relevant to present and future space-derived data. It is recommended that NASA keep these programs under review to full benefit from the resulting research and to assure opportunities for inflow of new ideas and investigators. Also, provisions should be made by NASA for the computing needs of the theorists in the programs. Finally, it is recommended that NASA involve knowledgeable theorists in mission planning activities at all levels, from the formulation of long-term scientific strategies through the planning and operation of specific missions.

Precision Cosmology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jones, Bernard J. T.

2017-04-01

Preface; Notation and conventions; Part I. 100 Years of Cosmology: 1. Emerging cosmology; 2. The cosmic expansion; 3. The cosmic microwave background; 4. Recent cosmology; Part II. Newtonian Cosmology: 5. Newtonian cosmology; 6. Dark energy cosmological models; 7. The early universe; 8. The inhomogeneous universe; 9. The inflationary universe; Part III. Relativistic Cosmology: 10. Minkowski space; 11. The energy momentum tensor; 12. General relativity; 13. Space-time geometry and calculus; 14. The Einstein field equations; 15. Solutions of the Einstein equations; 16. The Robertson-Walker solution; 17. Congruences, curvature and Raychaudhuri; 18. Observing and measuring the universe; Part IV. The Physics of Matter and Radiation: 19. Physics of the CMB radiation; 20. Recombination of the primeval plasma; 21. CMB polarisation; 22. CMB anisotropy; Part V. Precision Tools for Precision Cosmology: 23. Likelihood; 24. Frequentist hypothesis testing; 25. Statistical inference: Bayesian; 26. CMB data processing; 27. Parametrising the universe; 28. Precision cosmology; 29. Epilogue; Appendix A. SI, CGS and Planck units; Appendix B. Magnitudes and distances; Appendix C. Representing vectors and tensors; Appendix D. The electromagnetic field; Appendix E. Statistical distributions; Appendix F. Functions on a sphere; Appendix G. Acknowledgements; References; Index.

Dusty (complex) plasmas: recent developments, advances, and unsolved problems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Popel, Sergey

The area of dusty (complex) plasma research is a vibrant subfield of plasma physics that be-longs to frontier research in physical sciences. This area is intrinsically interdisciplinary and encompasses astrophysics, planetary science, atmospheric science, magnetic fusion energy sci-ence, and various applied technologies. The research in dusty plasma started after two major discoveries in very different areas: (1) the discovery by the Voyager 2 spacecraft in 1980 of the radial spokes in Saturn's B ring, and (2) the discovery of the early 80's growth of contaminating dust particles in plasma processing. Dusty plasmas are ubiquitous in the universe; examples are proto-planetary and solar nebulae, molecular clouds, supernovae explosions, interplanetary medium, circumsolar rings, and asteroids. Within the solar system, we have planetary rings (e.g., Saturn and Jupiter), Martian atmosphere, cometary tails and comae, dust clouds on the Moon, etc. Close to the Earth, there are noctilucent clouds and polar mesospheric summer echoes, which are clouds of tiny (charged) ice particles that are formed in the summer polar mesosphere at the altitudes of about 82-95 km. Dust and dusty plasmas are also found in the vicinity of artificial satellites and space stations. Dust also turns out to be common in labo-ratory plasmas, such as in the processing of semiconductors and in tokamaks. In processing plasmas, dust particles are actually grown in the discharge from the reactive gases used to form the plasmas. An example of the relevance of industrial dusty plasmas is the growth of silicon microcrystals for improved solar cells in the future. In fact, nanostructured polymorphous sili-con films provide solar cells with high and time stable efficiency. These nano-materials can also be used for the fabrication of ultra-large-scale integration circuits, display devices, single elec-tron devices, light emitting diodes, laser diodes, and others. In microelectronic industries, dust has to be kept under control in the manufacture of microchips, otherwise charged dust particles (also known as killer particles) can destroy electronic circuits. In magnetic fusion research using tokamaks, one realizes that the absorption of tritium by dust fragments could cause a serious health hazard. The evaporation of dust particles could also lead to bremsstrahlung adversely affecting the energy gain of the tokamaks or other fusion devices. The specific features of dusty plasmas are a possibility of the formation of dust Coulomb lattices and the anomalous dissi-pation arising due to the interplay between plasmas and charged dust grains. These features determine new physics of dusty plasmas including, in particular, phase transitions and critical point phenomena, wave propagation, nonlinear effects and turbulence, dissipative and coherent structures, etc. The present review covers the main aspects of the area of dusty (complex) plasma research. The author acknowledges the financial support of the Division of Earth Sci-ences, Russian Academy of Sciences (the basic research program "Nanoscale particles in nature and technogenic products: conditions of existence, physical and chemical properties, and mech-anisms of formation"'), of the Division of Physical Sciences, Russian Academy of Sciences (the basic research program "Plasma physics in the Solar system"), of the Dynasty Foundation, as well as of the Russian Foundation for Basic Research.

Fractal and multifractal models for extreme bursts in space plasmas.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Watkins, Nicholas; Chapman, Sandra; Credgington, Dan; Rosenberg, Sam; Sanchez, Raul

2010-05-01

Space plasmas may be said to show at least two types of "universality". One type arises from the fact that plasma physics underpins all astrophysical systems, while another arises from the generic properties of coupled nonlinear physical systems, a branch of the emerging science of complexity. Much work in complexity science is contributing to the physical understanding of the ways by which complex interactions in such systems cause driven or random perturbations to be nonlinearly amplified in amplitude and/or spread out over a wide range of frequencies. These mechanisms lead to non-Gaussian fluctuations and long-ranged temporal memory (referred to by Mandelbrot as the "Noah" and "Joseph" effects, respectively). This poster discusses a standard toy model (linear fractional stable motion, LFSM) which combines the Noah and Joseph effects in a controllable way. I will describe how LFSM is being used to explore the interplay of the above two effects in the distribution of bursts above thresholds, with applications to extreme events in space time series. I will describe ongoing work to improve the accuracy of maximum likelihood-based estimation of burst size and waiting time distributions for LFSM first reported in Watkins et al [Space Science Review, 2005; PRE, 2009]. The relevance of turbulent cascades to space plasmas necessitates comparison between this model and multifractal models, and early results will be described [Watkins et al, PRL comment, 2009].

Scoping study for compact high-field superconducting net energy tokamaks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mumgaard, R. T.; Greenwald, M.; Freidberg, J. P.; Wolfe, S. M.; Hartwig, Z. S.; Brunner, D.; Sorbom, B. N.; Whyte, D. G.

2016-10-01

The continued development and commercialization of high temperature superconductors (HTS) may enable the construction of compact, net-energy tokamaks. HTS, in contrast to present generation low temperature superconductors, offers improved performance in high magnetic fields, higher current density, stronger materials, higher temperature operation, and simplified assembly. Using HTS along with community-consensus confinement physics (H98 =1) may make it possible to achieve net-energy (Q>1) or burning plasma conditions (Q>5) in DIII-D or ASDEX-U sized, conventional aspect ratio tokamaks. It is shown that, by operating at high plasma current and density enabled by the high magnetic field (B>10T), the required triple products may be achieved at plasma volumes under 20m3, major radii under 2m, with external heating powers under 40MW. This is at the scale of existing devices operated by laboratories, universities and companies. The trade-offs in the core heating, divertor heat exhaust, sustainment, stability, and proximity to known plasma physics limits are discussed in the context of the present tokamak experience base and the requirements for future devices. The resulting HTS-based design space is compared and contrasted to previous studies on high-field copper experiments with similar missions. The physics exploration conducted with such HTS devices could decrease the real and perceived risks of ITER exploitation, and aid in quickly developing commercially-applicable tokamak pilot plants and reactors.

Development of hybrid computer plasma models for different pressure regimes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hromadka, Jakub; Ibehej, Tomas; Hrach, Rudolf

2016-09-01

With increased performance of contemporary computers during last decades numerical simulations became a very powerful tool applicable also in plasma physics research. Plasma is generally an ensemble of mutually interacting particles that is out of the thermodynamic equilibrium and for this reason fluid computer plasma models give results with only limited accuracy. On the other hand, much more precise particle models are often limited only on 2D problems because of their huge demands on the computer resources. Our contribution is devoted to hybrid modelling techniques that combine advantages of both modelling techniques mentioned above, particularly to their so-called iterative version. The study is focused on mutual relations between fluid and particle models that are demonstrated on the calculations of sheath structures of low temperature argon plasma near a cylindrical Langmuir probe for medium and higher pressures. Results of a simple iterative hybrid plasma computer model are also given. The authors acknowledge the support of the Grant Agency of Charles University in Prague (project 220215).

Insights into neutrino decoupling gleaned from considerations of the role of electron mass

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grohs, E.; Fuller, George M.

2017-10-01

We present calculations showing how electron rest mass influences entropy flow, neutrino decoupling, and Big Bang Nucleosynthesis (BBN) in the early universe. To elucidate this physics and especially the sensitivity of BBN and related epochs to electron mass, we consider a parameter space of rest mass values larger and smaller than the accepted vacuum value. Electromagnetic equilibrium, coupled with the high entropy of the early universe, guarantees that significant numbers of electron-positron pairs are present, and dominate over the number of ionization electrons to temperatures much lower than the vacuum electron rest mass. Scattering between the electrons-positrons and the neutrinos largely controls the flow of entropy from the plasma into the neutrino seas. Moreover, the number density of electron-positron-pair targets can be exponentially sensitive to the effective in-medium electron mass. This entropy flow influences the phasing of scale factor and temperature, the charged current weak-interaction-determined neutron-to-proton ratio, and the spectral distortions in the relic neutrino energy spectra. Our calculations show the sensitivity of the physics of this epoch to three separate effects: finite electron mass, finite-temperature quantum electrodynamic (QED) effects on the plasma equation of state, and Boltzmann neutrino energy transport. The ratio of neutrino to plasma-component energy scales manifests in Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) observables, namely the baryon density and the radiation energy density, along with the primordial helium and deuterium abundances. Our results demonstrate how the treatment of in-medium electron mass (i.e., QED effects) could translate into an important source of uncertainty in extracting neutrino and beyond-standard-model physics limits from future high-precision CMB data.

EDITORIAL: The 28th International Conference on Phenomena in Ionized Gases

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Simek, Milan; Sunka, Pavel

2008-05-01

The 28th International Conference on Phenomena in Ionized Gases (ICPIG) was held in Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic, on 15--20 July 2007, under the sponsorship of the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP). The ICPIG, a traditional international conference with a remarkably long history, is held every two years and covers the fundamental physical aspects of ionized gases. It emphasizes interdisciplinary research and fosters exchange between the different communities. The 28th ICPIG was organized by the Institute of Plasma Physics, Academy Sciences of the Czech Republic with the participation of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Czech Technical University, and the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics of Charles University, all in Prague. The conference was attended by 619 scientists from 50 countries (537 participants from outside the host country) and, compared with preceding meetings, ICPIG in Prague came with several changes. The pocket program and CD proceedings have been replaced by the book of abstracts, pocket program and CD containing full-length contributions. The International Scientific Committee also decided to update substantially the list of ICPIG topics. These topics have been grouped into four major sections: A. Fundamentals; B. Modelling, Simulation and Diagnostics; C. Plasma Sources and Discharge Regimes; D. Applications, with each major section structured into several sub-topics. Last but not least, on the occasion of ICPIG 2007, the IUPAP Early Career Award in Plasma Physics was bestowed for the first time. Complete 28th ICPIG conference records include the von Engel Prize Lecture, 10 general and 26 topical invited lectures, 18 workshop lectures and the contributed papers (http://icpig2007.ipp.cas.cz/). All 718 submitted full-length contributed papers were reviewed and 608 contributions were accepted for poster presentation. It is worth noting that 98 of the total of 608 poster contributions belong to the topic 'Non-equilibrium Plasmas and Micro-plasmas at High Pressures', reflecting new trends in the field. Important parts of the conference were two workshops focused on specific themes. The workshop 'Pulsed electrical discharges in water: fundamentals and applications', organized by Professor Pavel Sunka, reviewed the scientific challenges related to fundamentals of pulsed discharges initiated in slightly conductive liquid water solutions. The workshop 'Physics and applications of pulsed high-current capillary discharges', organized by Dr Karel Kolácek, addressed scientific challenges and technological applications of high-current capillary discharges pinching into a nearly uni-dimensional dense plasma column composed of a quasi-neutral mixture of very hot electrons and multiply charged ions. All ICPIG speakers were invited to prepare peer-reviewed articles based on their conference lectures for the journal Plasma Sources Sciences and Technology (PSST) in the form of either reviews or original works. A selection of invited papers is published in this special issue. We would like to thank all authors for their effort in preparing interesting articles for the readers of PSST. We would like to thank once more all members of the International Scientific Committee chaired by Professor Jerzy Mizeraczyk as well as the members of the Local Organizing Committee and the National Advisory Board for their considerable contributions to the success of the conference. We are particularly grateful to the Editorial Board of Plasma Sources Science and Technology for the opportunity to bring the 28th ICPIG to a wider audience.

The kappa Distribution as Tool in Investigating Hot Plasmas in the Magnetospheres of Outer Planets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krimigis, S. M.; Carbary, J. F.

2014-12-01

The first use of a Maxwellian distribution with a high-energy tail (a κ-function) was made by Olbert (1968) and applied by Vasyliunas (1968) in analyzing electron data. The k-function combines aspects of both Maxwellian and power law forms to provide a reasonably complete description of particle density, temperature, pressure and convection velocity, all of which are key parameters of magnetospheric physics. Krimigis et al (1979) used it to describe flowing plasma ions in Jupiter's magnetosphere measured by Voyager 1, and obtained temperatures in the range of 20 to 35 keV. Sarris et al (1981) used the κ-function to describe plasmas in Earth's distant plasma sheet. The κ-function, in various formulations and names (e. g., γ-thermal distribution, Krimigis and Roelof, 1983) has been used routinely to parametrize hot, flowing plasmas in the magnetospheres of the outer planets, with typical kT ~ 10 to 50 keV. Using angular measurements, it has been possible to obtain pitch angle distributions and convective flow directions in sufficient detail for computations of temperatures and densities of hot particle pressures. These 'hot' pressures typically dominate the cold plasma pressures in the high beta (β > 1) magnetospheres of Jupiter and Saturn, but are of less importance in the relatively empty (β < 1) magnetospheres of Uranus and Neptune. Thus, the κ-function represents an effective tool in analyzing plasma behavior in planetary magnetospheres, but it is not applicable in all plasma environments. References Olbert, S., in Physics of the Magnetosphere, (Carovillano, McClay, Radoski, Eds), Springer-Verlag, New York, p. 641-659, 1968 Vasyliunas, V., J. Geophys. Res., 73(9), 2839-2884, 1968 Krimigis, S. M., et al, Science 204, 998-1003, 1979 Sarris, E., et al, Geophys. Res. Lett. 8, 349-352, 1981 Krimigis, S. M., and E. C. Roelof, Physics of the Jovian Magnetosphere, edited by A. J. Dessler, 106-156, Cambridge University Press, New York, 1983

The joint NASA/Goddard-University of Maryland research program in charged particle and high energy photon detector technology

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1986-01-01

Progress made in the following areas is discussed: low energy ion and electron experiments; instrument design for current experiments; magnetospheric measurement of particles; ion measurement in the earth plasma sheet; abundance measurement; X-ray data acquisition; high energy physics; extragalactic astronomy; compact object astrophysics; planetology; and high energy photon detector technology.

Research in space physics at the University of Iowa

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vanallen, J. A.

1979-01-01

Current investigations relating to energetic particles and the electric, magnetic, and electromagnetic fields associated with the earth, the sun, the moon, the planets, comets, and the interplanetary medium are reported. Primary emphasis is on observational work using a wide diversity of intruments on satellites of the earth and the moon and on planetary and interplanetary spacecraft, and on phenomenological analysis and interpretation. Secondary emphasis is given to closely related observational work by ground based radio-astronomical and optical techniques, and to theoretical problems in plasma physics as relevant to solar, planetary, and interplanetary phenomena.

Membrane tension: A challenging but universal physical parameter in cell biology.

PubMed

Pontes, Bruno; Monzo, Pascale; Gauthier, Nils C

2017-11-01

The plasma membrane separates the interior of cells from the outside environment. The membrane tension, defined as the force per unit length acting on a cross-section of membrane, regulates many vital biological processes. In this review, we summarize the first historical findings and the latest advances, showing membrane tension as an important physical parameter in cell biology. We also discuss how this parameter must be better integrated and we propose experimental approaches for key unanswered questions. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The diagnosing of plasmas using spectroscopy and imaging on Proto-MPEX

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baldwin, K. A.; Biewer, T. M.; Crouse Powers, J.; Hardin, R.; Johnson, S.; McCleese, A.; Shaw, G. C.; Showers, M.; Skeen, C.

2015-11-01

The Prototype Material Plasma Exposure eXperiment (Proto-MPEX) is a linear plasma device being developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). This machine plans to study plasma-material interaction (PMI) physics relevant to future fusion reactors. We tested and learned to use tools of spectroscopy and imaging. These tools consist of a spectrometer, a high speed camera, an infrared camera, and a thermocouple. The spectrometer measures the color of the light from the plasma and its intensity. We also used a high speed camera to see how the magnetic field acts on the plasma, and how it is heated to the fourth state of matter. The thermocouples measure the temperature of the objects they are placed against, which in this case are the end plates of the machine. We also used the infrared camera to see the heat pattern of the plasma on the end plates. Data from these instruments will be shown. This work was supported by the US. D.O.E. contract DE-AC05-00OR22725, and the Oak Ridge Associated Universities ARC program.

Characterization of a plasma photonic crystal using a multi-fluid plasma model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thomas, W. R.; Shumlak, U.; Wang, B.; Righetti, F.; Cappelli, M. A.; Miller, S. T.

2017-10-01

Plasma photonic crystals have the potential to significantly expand the capabilities of current microwave filtering and switching technologies by providing high speed (μs) control of energy band-gap/pass characteristics in the GHz through low THz range. While photonic crystals consisting of dielectric, semiconductor, and metallic matrices have seen thousands of articles published over the last several decades, plasma-based photonic crystals remain a relatively unexplored field. Numerical modeling efforts so far have largely used the standard methods of analysis for photonic crystals (the Plane Wave Expansion Method, Finite Difference Time Domain, and ANSYS finite element electromagnetic code HFSS), none of which capture nonlinear plasma-radiation interactions. In this study, a 5N-moment multi-fluid plasma model is implemented using University of Washington's WARPXM finite element multi-physics code. A two-dimensional plasma-vacuum photonic crystal is simulated and its behavior is characterized through the generation of dispersion diagrams and transmission spectra. These results are compared with theory, experimental data, and ANSYS HFSS simulation results. This research is supported by a Grant from United States Air Force Office of Scientific Research.

To Boldly Go: America's Next Era in Space. The Plasma Universe

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2004-01-01

Dr. France Cordova, NASA's Chief Scientist, chaired this, the eighth seminar in the Administrator's Seminar Series. She introduced the NASA Administrator, Daniel S. Goldin, who, in turn, introduced the subject of plasma. Plasma, an ionized gas, is a function of temperature and density. We ve learned that, at Jupiter, the radiation is dense. But, Goldin asked, what else do we know? Dr. Cordova then introduced Dr. James Van Allen, for whom the Van Allen radiation belt was named. Dr. Van Allen, a member of the University of Iowa faculty, discussed the growing interest in practical applications of space physics, including radiation fields and particles, plasmas and ionospheres. He listed a hierarchy of magnetic fields, beginning at the top, as pulsars, the Sun, planets, interplanetary medium, and interstellar medium. He pointed out that we have investigated eight of the nine known planets,. He listed three basic energy sources as 1) kinetic energy from flowing plasma such as constitutional solar wind or interstellar wind; 2) rotational energy of the planet, and 3) orbital energy of satellites. He believes there are seven sources of energetic particles and five potential places where particles may go. The next speaker, Dr. Ian Axford of New Zealand, has been associated with the Max Planck Institut fuer Aeronomie and plasma physics. He has studied solar and galactic winds and clusters of galaxies of which there are several thousand. He believes that the solar wind temperature is in the millions of degrees. The final speaker was Dr. Roger Blanford of the California Institute of Technology. He classified extreme plasmas as lab plasmas and cosmic plasmas. Cosmic plasmas are from supernovae remnants. These have supplied us with heavy elements and may come via a shock front of 10(sup 15) electron volts. To understand the physics of plasma, one must learn about x-rays, the maximum energy of acceleration by supernova remnants, particle acceleration and composition of cosmic rays, maximum acceleration, and how fast protons are heated by ions. He asked questions about where high energy cosmic rays are made, what accelerates electrons, radiates gamma rays, makes electronpositron plasma, and finally noted that pulsars are good time keepers, but we need a better understanding of their mechanism and of plasmas, both cosmic and ground-based. In the discussion period, Goldin asked if NASA should put up an x-ray interferometer. The answer was no; gamma rays are of greater interest just now. Goldin also asked what the assembled scientists would like to see for a future mission? They expressed an interest in learning more about the origin of galaxies, cosmic rays, solar systems, planets, the existence of life "out there", gamma ray sources, the nature of gamma ray bursts, and the flow of gases around black holes. The discussion concluded with a suggestion that NASA should communicate to the general public more information regarding actual technological trials and tribulations involved in getting an experiment to work. The speakers thought that this would help non-scientists to better appreciate what it is that NASA does in connection with the benefits that are achieved.

Overview of the Fusion Z-Pinch Experiment FuZE

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weber, T. R.; Shumlak, U.; Nelson, B. A.; Golingo, R. P.; Claveau, E. L.; McLean, H. S.; Tummel, K. K.; Higginson, D. P.; Schmidt, A. E.; UW/LLNL Team

2016-10-01

Previously, the ZaP device, at the University of Washington, demonstrated sheared flow stabilized (SFS) Z-pinch plasmas. Instabilities that have historically plagued Z-pinch plasma confinement were mitigated using sheared flows generated from a coaxial plasma gun of the Marshall type. Based on these results, a new SFS Z-pinch experiment, the Fusion Z-pinch Experiment (FuZE), has been constructed. FuZE is designed to investigate the scaling of SFS Z-pinch plasmas towards fusion conditions. The experiment will be supported by high fidelity physics modeling using kinetic and fluid simulations. Initial plans are in place for a pulsed fusion reactor following the results of FuZE. Notably, the design relies on proven commercial technologies, including a modest discharge current (1.5 MA) and voltage (40 kV), and liquid metal electrodes. Supported by DoE FES, NNSA, and ARPA-E ALPHA.

Cross-scale: multi-scale coupling in space plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schwartz, Steven J.; Horbury, Timothy; Owen, Christopher; Baumjohann, Wolfgang; Nakamura, Rumi; Canu, Patrick; Roux, Alain; Sahraoui, Fouad; Louarn, Philippe; Sauvaud, Jean-André; Pinçon, Jean-Louis; Vaivads, Andris; Marcucci, Maria Federica; Anastasiadis, Anastasios; Fujimoto, Masaki; Escoubet, Philippe; Taylor, Matt; Eckersley, Steven; Allouis, Elie; Perkinson, Marie-Claire

2009-03-01

Most of the visible universe is in the highly ionised plasma state, and most of that plasma is collision-free. Three physical phenomena are responsible for nearly all of the processes that accelerate particles, transport material and energy, and mediate flows in systems as diverse as radio galaxy jets and supernovae explosions through to solar flares and planetary magnetospheres. These processes in turn result from the coupling amongst phenomena at macroscopic fluid scales, smaller ion scales, and down to electron scales. Cross-Scale, in concert with its sister mission SCOPE (to be provided by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency—JAXA), is dedicated to quantifying that nonlinear, time-varying coupling via the simultaneous in-situ observations of space plasmas performed by a fleet of 12 spacecraft in near-Earth orbit. Cross-Scale has been selected for the Assessment Phase of Cosmic Vision by the European Space Agency.

Cross-Scale: multi-scale coupling in space plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vaivads, A.; Taylor, M. G.

2009-12-01

Most of the visible universe is in the highly ionised plasma state, and most of that plasma is collision-free. Three physical phenomena are responsible for nearly all of the processes that accelerate particles, transport material and energy, and mediate flows in systems as diverse as radio galaxy jets and supernovae explosions through to solar flares and planetary magnetospheres. These processes in turn result from the coupling amongst phenomena at macroscopic fluid scales, smaller ion scales, and down to electron scales. Cross-Scale, in concert with its sister mission SCOPE (to be provided by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency—JAXA in collaboration with the Canadian Space Agency), is dedicated to quantifying that nonlinear, time-varying coupling via the simultaneous in-situ observations of space plasmas performed by a fleet of 12 spacecraft in near-Earth orbit. Cross-Scale is currently in the Assessment Phase of ESA's Cosmic Vision.

Technique for fabrication of ultrathin foils in cylindrical geometry for liner-plasma implosion experiments with sub-megaampere currents

DOE PAGES

Yager-Elorriaga, D. A.; Steiner, A. M.; Patel, S. G.; ...

2015-11-19

In this study, we describe a technique for fabricating ultrathin foils in cylindrical geometry for liner-plasma implosion experiments using sub-MA currents. Liners are formed by wrapping a 400 nm, rectangular strip of aluminum foil around a dumbbell-shaped support structure with a non-conducting center rod, so that the liner dimensions are 1 cm in height, 6.55 mm in diameter, and 400 nm in thickness. The liner-plasmas are imploded by discharging ~600 kA with ~200 ns rise time using a 1 MA linear transformer driver, and the resulting implosions are imaged four times per shot using laser-shadowgraphy at 532 nm. As amore » result, this technique enables the study of plasma implosion physics, including the magneto Rayleigh-Taylor, sausage, and kink instabilities on initially solid, imploding metallic liners with university-scale pulsed power machines.« less

Technique for fabrication of ultrathin foils in cylindrical geometry for liner-plasma implosion experiments with sub-megaampere currents

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yager-Elorriaga, D. A.; Steiner, A. M.; Patel, S. G.; Jordan, N. M.; Lau, Y. Y.; Gilgenbach, R. M.

2015-11-01

In this work, we describe a technique for fabricating ultrathin foils in cylindrical geometry for liner-plasma implosion experiments using sub-MA currents. Liners are formed by wrapping a 400 nm, rectangular strip of aluminum foil around a dumbbell-shaped support structure with a non-conducting center rod, so that the liner dimensions are 1 cm in height, 6.55 mm in diameter, and 400 nm in thickness. The liner-plasmas are imploded by discharging ˜600 kA with ˜200 ns rise time using a 1 MA linear transformer driver, and the resulting implosions are imaged four times per shot using laser-shadowgraphy at 532 nm. This technique enables the study of plasma implosion physics, including the magneto Rayleigh-Taylor, sausage, and kink instabilities on initially solid, imploding metallic liners with university-scale pulsed power machines.

Technique for fabrication of ultrathin foils in cylindrical geometry for liner-plasma implosion experiments with sub-megaampere currents

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

Yager-Elorriaga, D. A.; Steiner, A. M.; Patel, S. G.

In this study, we describe a technique for fabricating ultrathin foils in cylindrical geometry for liner-plasma implosion experiments using sub-MA currents. Liners are formed by wrapping a 400 nm, rectangular strip of aluminum foil around a dumbbell-shaped support structure with a non-conducting center rod, so that the liner dimensions are 1 cm in height, 6.55 mm in diameter, and 400 nm in thickness. The liner-plasmas are imploded by discharging ~600 kA with ~200 ns rise time using a 1 MA linear transformer driver, and the resulting implosions are imaged four times per shot using laser-shadowgraphy at 532 nm. As amore » result, this technique enables the study of plasma implosion physics, including the magneto Rayleigh-Taylor, sausage, and kink instabilities on initially solid, imploding metallic liners with university-scale pulsed power machines.« less

PREFACE: IUPAP C20 Conference on Computational Physics (CCP 2011)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Troparevsky, Claudia; Stocks, George Malcolm

2012-12-01

Increasingly, computational physics stands alongside experiment and theory as an integral part of the modern approach to solving the great scientific challenges of the day on all scales - from cosmology and astrophysics, through climate science, to materials physics, and the fundamental structure of matter. Computational physics touches aspects of science and technology with direct relevance to our everyday lives, such as communication technologies and securing a clean and efficient energy future. This volume of Journal of Physics: Conference Series contains the proceedings of the scientific contributions presented at the 23rd Conference on Computational Physics held in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, USA, in November 2011. The annual Conferences on Computational Physics (CCP) are dedicated to presenting an overview of the most recent developments and opportunities in computational physics across a broad range of topical areas and from around the world. The CCP series has been in existence for more than 20 years, serving as a lively forum for computational physicists. The topics covered by this conference were: Materials/Condensed Matter Theory and Nanoscience, Strongly Correlated Systems and Quantum Phase Transitions, Quantum Chemistry and Atomic Physics, Quantum Chromodynamics, Astrophysics, Plasma Physics, Nuclear and High Energy Physics, Complex Systems: Chaos and Statistical Physics, Macroscopic Transport and Mesoscopic Methods, Biological Physics and Soft Materials, Supercomputing and Computational Physics Teaching, Computational Physics and Sustainable Energy. We would like to take this opportunity to thank our sponsors: International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP), IUPAP Commission on Computational Physics (C20), American Physical Society Division of Computational Physics (APS-DCOMP), Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Center for Defect Physics (CDP), the University of Tennessee (UT)/ORNL Joint Institute for Computational Sciences (JICS) and Cray, Inc. We are grateful to the committees that helped put the conference together, especially the local organizing committee. Particular thanks are also due to a number of ORNL staff who spent long hours with the administrative details. We are pleased to express our thanks to the conference administrator Ann Strange (ORNL/CDP) for her responsive and efficient day-to-day handling of this event, Sherry Samples, Assistant Conference Administrator (ORNL), Angie Beach and the ORNL Conference Office, and Shirley Shugart (ORNL) and Fern Stooksbury (ORNL) who created and maintained the conference website. Editors: G Malcolm Stocks (ORNL) and M Claudia Troparevsky (UT) http://ccp2011.ornl.gov Chair: Dr Malcolm Stocks (ORNL) Vice Chairs: Adriana Moreo (ORNL/UT) James Guberrnatis (LANL) Local Program Committee: Don Batchelor (ORNL) Jack Dongarra (UTK/ORNL) James Hack (ORNL) Robert Harrison (ORNL) Paul Kent (ORNL) Anthony Mezzacappa (ORNL) Adriana Moreo (ORNL) Witold Nazarewicz (UT) Loukas Petridis (ORNL) David Schultz (ORNL) Bill Shelton (ORNL) Claudia Troparevsky (ORNL) Mina Yoon (ORNL) International Advisory Board Members: Joan Adler (Israel Institute of Technology, Israel) Constantia Alexandrou (University of Cyprus, Cyprus) Claudia Ambrosch-Draxl (University of Leoben, Austria) Amanda Barnard (CSIRO, Australia) Peter Borcherds (University of Birmingham, UK) Klaus Cappelle (UFABC, Brazil) Giovanni Ciccotti (Università degli Studi di Roma 'La Sapienza', Italy) Nithaya Chetty (University of Pretoria, South Africa) Charlotte Froese-Fischer (NIST, US) Giulia A. Galli (University of California, Davis, US) Gillian Gehring (University of Sheffield, UK) Guang-Yu Guo (National Taiwan University, Taiwan) Sharon Hammes-Schiffer (Penn State, US) Alex Hansen (Norweigan UST) Duane D. Johnson (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, US) David Landau (University of Georgia, US) Joaquin Marro (University of Granada, Spain) Richard Martin (UIUC, US) Todd Martinez (Stanford University, US) Bill McCurdy (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, US) Ingrid Mertig (Martin Luther University, Germany) Alejandro Muramatsu (Universitat Stuttgart, Germany) Richard Needs (Cavendish Laboratory, UK) Giuseppina Orlandini (University of Trento, Italy) Martin Savage (University of Washington, US) Thomas Schulthess (ETH, Switzerland) Dzidka Szotek (Daresbury Laboratory, UK) Hideaki Takabe (Osaka University, Japan) William M. Tang (Princeton University, US) James Vary (Iowa State, US) Enge Wang (Chinese Academy of Science, China) Jian-Guo Wang (Institute of Applied Physics and Computational Mathematics, China) Jian-Sheng Wang (National University, Singapore) Dan Wei (Tsinghua University, China) Tony Williams (University of Adelaide, Australia) Rudy Zeller (Julich, Germany) Conference Administrator: Ann Strange (ORNL)

CONFERENCES AND SYMPOSIA Commemoration of the 85th birthday of S I Syrovatskii(Scientific session of the Physical Sciences Division of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 26 May 2010)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2010-12-01

A scientific session of the Physical Sciences Division, Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS), was held on 26 May 2010 at the conference hall of the Lebedev Physical Institute, RAS. The session was devoted to the 85th birthday of S I Syrovatskii. The program announced on the web page of the RAS Physical Sciences Division (www.gpad.ac.ru) contained the following reports: (1) Zelenyi L M (Space Research Institute, RAS, Moscow) "Current sheets and reconnection in the geomagnetic tail"; (2) Frank A G (Prokhorov General Physics Institute, RAS, Moscow) "Dynamics of current sheets as the cause of flare events in magnetized plasmas"; (3) Kuznetsov V D (Pushkov Institute of Terrestrial Magnetism, the Ionosphere, and Radio Wave Propagation, RAS, Troitsk, Moscow region) "Space research on the Sun"; (4) Somov B V (Shternberg Astronomical Institute, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow) "Strong shock waves and extreme plasma states"; (5) Zybin K P (Lebedev Physical Institute, RAS, Moscow) "Structure functions for developed turbulence"; (6) Ptuskin V S (Pushkov Institute of Terrestrial Magnetism, the Ionosphere, and Radio Wave Propagation, RAS, Troitsk, Moscow region) "The origin of cosmic rays." Papers based on reports 1-4 and 6 are published in what follows. • Metastability of current sheets, L M Zelenyi, A V Artemyev, Kh V Malova, A A Petrukovich, R Nakamura Physics-Uspekhi, 2010, Volume 53, Number 9, Pages 933-941 • Dynamics of current sheets underlying flare-type events in magnetized plasmas, A G Frank Physics-Uspekhi, 2010, Volume 53, Number 9, Pages 941-947 • Space research of the Sun, V D Kuznetsov Physics-Uspekhi, 2010, Volume 53, Number 9, Pages 947-954 • Magnetic reconnection in solar flares, B V Somov Physics-Uspekhi, 2010, Volume 53, Number 9, Pages 954-958 • The origin of cosmic rays, V S Ptuskin Physics-Uspekhi, 2010, Volume 53, Number 9, Pages 958-961

44th Annual Anomalous Absorption Conference

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

Beg, Farhat

Conference Grant Report July 14, 2015 Submitted to the U. S. Department of Energy Attn: Dr. Sean Finnegan By the University of California, San Diego 9500 Gilman Drive La Jolla, California 92093 On behalf of the 44th Annual Anomalous Absorption Conference 8-13 June 2014, in Estes Park, Colorado Support Requested: $10,100 Amount expended: $3,216.14 Performance Period: 1 March 20 14 to 28 February 20 15 Principal Investigator Dr. Farhat Beg Center for Energy Research University of California, San Diego 9500 Gilman Drive La Jolla, California 92093-0417 858-822-1266 (telephone) 858-534-4543 (fax) fbeg@ucsd.edu Administrative Point of Contact: Brandi Pate, 858-534-0851, blpate®ucsd.edu I.more » Background The forty-fourth Anomalous Absorption Conference was held in Estes Park, Colorado from June 5-8, 2014 (aac2014.ucsd.edu). The first Anomalous Absorption Conference was held in 1971 to assemble experts in the poorly understood area of laser-plasma absorption. The goal of that conference was to address the anomalously large laser absorption seen in plasma experiments with respect to the laser absorption predicted by linear plasma theory. Great progress in this research area has been made in the decades since that first meeting, due in part to the scientific interactions that have occurred annually at this conference. Specifically, this includes the development of nonlinear laser-plasma theory and the simulation of laser interactions with plasmas. Each summer since that first meeting, this week-long conference has been held at unique locations in North America as a scientific forum for intense scientific exchanges relevant to the interaction of laser radiation with plasmas. Responsibility for organizing the conference has traditional rotated each year between the major Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) laboratories and universities including LANL, LLNL, LLE, UCLA UC Davis and NRL. As the conference has matured over the past four decades, its technical footprint has expanded beyond ICF-related laser-plasma interactions to encompass closely related technical areas including laser particle acceleration, high-intensity laser effects, short­ pulse laser interactions, PIC and Vlasov/rad-hydro modeling, inertial and magnetic fusion plasmas, advanced plasma diagnostics, alternate ignition schemes, EOS/transport/opacity, and this year, x­ ray free-electron lasers and their applications. The conference continues to be a showcase for the presentation and discussion of the latest developments in these areas. II. Meeting Report The conference was extremely successful with more than one hundred participants. There were ninety-nine (99) abstracts submitted. There were forty-four (44) presentations including eleven (11) invited talks. The following topics were covered: a) Radiation Hydrodynamics b) Implosion Plasma Kinetic Effects c) Alternate Ignition Schemes d) Astrophysical Phenomena e) Opacity/Transport/EOS f) High Power Lasers and Facilities g) High-Intensity Laser-Matter Interactions h) Hydrodynamics and Hydro-instabilities i) Hot Dense Plasma Atomic Processes j) High Energy Density Physics k) Laser Particle Acceleration Physics l) Advanced Plasma Diagnostics m) Advanced light sources and applications Despite significant advertising, there were two students who applied for the travel grants: Charlie Jarrott and Joohwan Kim. The total funds expended were $3,216.14.« less

Obituary: Ludwig Friedrich Oster, 1931-2003

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sofia, Sabatino; Altschuler, Martin D.

2003-12-01

Ludwig Friedrich Oster died at the Anchorage Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Salisbury, MD on 28 February 2003, of complications from advanced Alzheimer's disease. He is survived by his wife Cheryl M. (Oroian) and his two children by a previous marriage, Ulrika and Mattias Oster. He had a distinguished career both as a researcher in solar physics and as a science administrator in the National Science Foundation. Ludwig was born on 8 March 1931 in Konstanz, Germany and emigrated to the U.S. in 1958, acquiring American citizenship in 1963. His mother and father were Emma Josefine (Schwarz) and Ludwig Friedrich Oster. He got a BS degree in physics at the University of Freiburg under the guidance of Prof. K. O. Kiepenheuer in 1951, and a MS (1954) and PhD from the University of Kiel in 1956 under the guidance of Prof. A. Unsold. From 1956 to 1958 he was a Fellow of the German Science Council at Kiel and, upon his arrival to the US in 1958, he became a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Physics Department of Yale University. He became an Assistant Professor of Physics and Astrophysics at Yale in 1960 and five years later he was promoted to Associate Professor. In 1967 he became an Associate Professor of Physics and Astrophysics at the University of Colorado and a Fellow of the Joint Institute for Laboratory Astrophysics; he was promoted to Full Professor in 1970. In 1981 he was a Visiting Professor at Johns Hopkins University, and shortly thereafter became a National Research Council Senior Associate at NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, MD, where he worked on solar variability. He joined the National Science Foundation in 1983, where he became the Program Manager for the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in the Division of Astronomical Sciences of the Foundation; he remained there until his retirement in 1996. His early work, started in Germany and continued at Yale, concerned radiation mechanisms related to solar phenomena. His works on cyclotron radiation, plasma oscillations and bremsstrahlung radiation have become classic publications in plasma physics and they continue to be referenced in the current literature. During this period he started his student mentoring work that led to the awarding of several PhD degrees. At Boulder, he extended his work on solar and plasma physics to the newly discovered quasars and pulsars. He loved to study and understand the mysterious and the puzzling phenomena, which the Universe so generously provides. While at Goddard, he joined the effort to understand the variations in total solar irradiance then recently discovered by the Nimbus 7 satellite and the ACRIM experiment on the SMM satellite. He made significant contributions to that problem, particularly regarding the ultraviolet radiation component, and continued to work on it after he had joined the NSF as a science administrator. He published his last scientific paper in 1983, after having joined NSF. Ludwig was a great teacher and an even greater friend. He taught courses including electromagnetic theory, relativistic theory of radiation, quantum mechanics, solar physics and radio astronomy among others. He wrote an introductory textbook in astronomy that was translated into several languages. He directed PhD theses in a variety of topics. Best of all, he instilled in his students a sense of curiosity and confidence that lasted for a lifetime. He used to say, ``if what you think disagrees with the opinion of well-known astronomers, do not simply assume that you are wrong and they are right. It may well be that you are right! Think carefully about it." That advice has served all of us, his former students, well. We will miss his cheerful disposition, his friendliness, and his never- ending curiosity.

Structuring in complex plasma for nonlinearly screened dust particles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tsytovich, Vadim; Gusein-zade, Namik

2014-03-01

An explanation is proposed for the recently discovered effect of spontaneous dusty plasma structuring (and the appearance of compact dust structures) under conditions of nonlinear dust screening. Physical processes are considered that make homogenous dusty plasma universally unstable and lead to the appearance of structures. It is shown for the first time that the efficiency of structuring increases substantially in the presence of plasma flows caused by the charging of nonlinearly screened dust grains. General results are obtained for arbitrary nonlinear screening, and special attention is paid to the model of nonlinear screening often used since 1964. The growth rate of structuring instability is derived. It is shown that, in the case of nonlinear screening, the structuring has a threshold determined by the friction of grains against the neutral gas. The theoretically obtained threshold agrees with recent experimental observations. The dispersion relation for dusty plasma structuring is shown to be similar to the dispersion relation for gravitational instability with an effective gravitational constant. The effective dust attraction caused by this instability is shown to be collective, and the dependence of the effective gravitational constant on the dust-to-ion density ratio is found explicitly for the first time. It is demonstrated that the proposed method of calculation of dust attraction by using the effective gravitational constant is the most efficient and straightforward. Understanding of the role of nonlinear screening gives deeper physical grounds for the theoretical interpretation of the observed phenomenon of dust crystal formation in complex plasmas.

PREFACE: International Conference on Recent Trends in Physics (ICRTP 2014)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kane, Shashank N.; Mishra, Ashutosh; Gaur, Abhijeet

2014-09-01

The International Conference on Recent Trends in Physics (ICRTP 2014) was held at Indore, India, during 22-23 February 2014. The conference was hosted by the School of Physics, Devi Ahilya University, Indore - 452001. The objective of the conference was to provide a platform for interaction among scientists, teachers, researchers and students, and to share their ideas, thoughts and scientific findings in various areas of physics, including condensed matter and materials physics, laser and plasma physics. ICRTP 2014 attracted a total of 103 abstracts submitted by scientists from France, Germany, Hungary, India, Italy and Portugal. The conference included an inaugural talk and 17 invited talks. PhD students presented their work in the form of posters. Presented posters were judged by a panel of five experts. Two best posters were awarded prizes. It is our pleasure to thank the members of the Advisory Committee and Local Organizing Committee for their invaluable help, especially for their proposals for invited talks. A total of 80 papers were submitted to be considered for publication and 68 papers have been accepted for inclusion in the proceedings. All the papers were reviewed, and we wish to thank all the referees for their support and prompt reviewing of the papers. We are grateful to the University Grants Commission (UGC), New Delhi, India for their financial support. Personally, we would like to thank all the volunteers without whom the conference would not have been functional. We express our sincere thanks to our university administration for their continuous support. Special thanks go to all the faculty members, administrative staff and students of the School of Physics for their tireless efforts in organizing ICRTP 2014. Finally, we deeply appreciate the assistance of Ms Sarah Toms, Conference Publishing Coordinator, Journal of Physics Conference Series (JPCS), IOP Publishing Ltd, UK, for all help in getting ICRTP 2014 published in JPCS. Indore, 28 July 2014 Shashank N Kane*, Ashutosh Mishra School of Physics, Devi Ahilya University, Indore - 452001, India Abhijeet Gaur School of Studies in Physics, Vikram University, Ujjain - 456010, India Guest Editors * E-mail address: kane_sn@yahoo.com Conference photograph Details of the organizing committees are available in the PDF

Development of a new experimental device for long-duration magnetic reconnection in weakly ionized plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yanai, Ryoma; Kaminou, Yasuhiro; Nishida, Kento; Inomoto, Michiaki

2016-10-01

Magnetic reconnection is a universal phenomenon which determines global structure and energy conversion in magnetized plasmas. Many experimental studies have been carried out to explore the physics of magnetic reconnection in fully ionized condition. However, it is predicted that the behavior of magnetic reconnection in weakly ionized plasmas such as solar chromosphere plasma will show different behavior such as ambipolar diffusion caused by interaction with neutral particles. In this research, we are developing a new experimental device to uncover the importance of ambipolar diffusion during magnetic reconnection in weakly ionized plasmas. We employ an inverter-driven rotating magnetic fields technique, which is used for generating steady azimuthal plasma current, to establish long-duration ( 1 ms) anti-parallel reconnection with magnetic field of 5 mT in weakly ionized plasma. We will present development status and initial results from the new experimental setup. This work was supported by JSPS A3 Foresight Program ``Innovative Tokamak Plasma Startup and Current Drive in Spherical Torus'', Giant-in Aid for Scientific Research (KAKENHI) 15H05750, 15K14279, 26287143 and the NIFS Collaboration Research program (NIFS14KNWP004).

Vortex formation in a complex plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ishihara, Osamu

Complex plasma experiments in ground-based laboratories as well as in microgravity conditions have shown the formation of vortex structures in various conditions (e.g., 1,2,3,4). The vortex structures formed in a complex plasma are visible by naked eyes with the help of irradiating laser and the individual dust particles in the structure give us the opportunity to study detailed physics of the commonly observed natural phenomena known such as tornadoes, typhoons, hurricanes and dust devils. Based on the Navier-Stokes equation with proper complex plasma conditions we analyze as much as possible in a universal way the vortex structure and clarifies the role of the controlling parameters like flow velocity and external magnetic field. 1. G. E. Morfill,H. M. Thomas, U. Konopka,H. Rothermel, M. Zuzic, A. Ivlev, and J. Goree, Phys,. Rev. Lett. 83, 1598 (1999). 2. E. Nebbat and R. Annou, Phys. Plasmas 17, 093702 (2010). 3. Y. Saitou and O. Ishihara, Phys. Rev. Lett. 111, 185003 (2013). 4. V. N. Tsytovich and N. G. Gusein-zade, Plasma Phys. Rep. 39, 515 (2013).

Laboratory Simulations of the Solar Wind's Effect on Surface Interactions and Plasma Wakes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Munsat, T. L.; Ulibarri, Z.; Han, J.; Horanyi, M.; Wang, X.; Yeo, L. H.

2016-12-01

The Colorado Solar Wind Experiment (CSWE) is a new device constructed at the Institute for Modeling Plasma, Atmospheres, and Cosmic Dust (IMPACT) at the University of Colorado. This large ion source is being developed for studies of the interaction of solar wind plasma with planetary surfaces and cosmic dust, and for the investigation of plasma wake physics. With a plasma beam diameter of 12 cm at the source, ion energies of up to 1 keV, and ion flows of up to 1 mA/cm^2, a large cross-section Kaufman Ion Source is used to create steady state plasma flow to model the solar wind in an experimental vacuum chamber. Chamber pressure can be reduced to 3x10^-5 Torr under operating conditions to suppress ion-neutral collisions and create a uniform ion velocity distribution. Diagnostic instruments such as a double Langmuir probe and an ion energy analyzer are mounted on a two-dimensional translation stage that allow the beam to be characterized throughout the chamber. Initial experimental results and technical details of the device will be explained.

A journey into medical physics as viewed by a physicist

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gueye, Paul

2007-03-01

The world of physics is usually linked to a large variety of subjects spanning from astrophysics, nuclear/high energy physics, materials and optical sciences, plasma physics etc. Lesser is known about the exciting world of medical physics that includes radiation therapy physics, medical diagnostic and imaging physics, nuclear medicine physics, and medical radiation safety. These physicists are typically based in hospital departments of radiation oncology or radiology, and provide technical support for patient diagnosis and treatment in a clinical environment. This talk will focus on providing a bridge between selected areas of physics and their medical applications. The journey will first start from our understanding of high energy beam production and transport beamlines for external beam treatment of diseases (e.g., electron, gamma, X-ray and proton machines) as they relate to accelerator physics. We will then embrace the world of nuclear/high energy physics where detectors development provide a unique tool for understanding low energy beam distribution emitted from radioactive sources used in Brachytherapy treatment modality. Because the ultimate goal of radiation based therapy is its killing power on tumor cells, the next topic will be microdosimetry where responses of biological systems can be studied via electromagnetic systems. Finally, the impact on the imaging world will be embraced using tools heavily used in plasma physics, fluid mechanics and Monte Carlo simulations. These various scientific areas provide unique opportunities for faculty and students at universities, as well as for staff from research centers and laboratories to contribute in this field. We will conclude with the educational training related to medical physics programs.

Tribute to Professor Padma Kant Shukla on the occasion of his 60th birthday

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mendis, Asoka

2010-08-01

As the Journal of Plasma Physics so fittingly dedicates this current volume to honor Professor Padma Kant Shukla, for his extraordinary and prolific contributions to the field, over a period spanning four decades, on the occasion of his 60th birthday, it gives me great pleasure to contribute this personal tribute. Padma is without doubt one of the preeminent plasma theorists of his generation with a productivity that is phenomenal and perhaps unmatched (well in excess of 1000). What is truly impressive is not only his extraordinary productivity but also the depth and breadth of his contributions, which while being centered in plasma physics, bridge many other disciplines including condensed matter physics, particle physics, and geophysics. Although I was familiar with Padma's work, in several areas, earlier, I first met him about 20 years ago, when he began working in a field of great interest to me, namely dusty plasmas. Very quickly Padma became a leader in this very new and rapidly developing field, in particular, pioneering the fascinating area of waves in dusty plasmas; predicting the existence, among others, of the very low frequency dust acoustic mode, which was spectacularly observed subsequently in the laboratory, and has been cited about 1000 times since. During this time I got to know Padma very well while participating in numerous international meetings convened by him and also while hosting him, several times, as a visiting professor at my home institution, and observing his multifaceted talents as an outstanding scholar, inspiring mentor, tireless organizer, and committed humanitarian. While Padma's accomplishments are extraordinary, what makes them even more noteworthy is his personal history. Padma came from a family of modest means in a small Indian village. He was the first member of his extended family who went to college, mainly due to the efforts of the village schoolteacher who obviously recognized the young student's innate talent. Living up to his schoolteacher's expectations he later graduated (with honors) from Agra University at the age of 17 and then proceeded to obtain his PhD in physics from the Hindu Banaras University, at the age of 21. He then proceeded to the University of Umeå, Sweden, on scholarship, and quickly blossomed to his full potential under the caring guidance of Prof. Lennart Stenflo, while also earning his second PhD, three years later. These early experiences deeply influenced Padma; on the one hand he recognizes that raw talent exists in all corners of the world, and on the other hand he feels a deep commitment to help discover, nurture, and mentor such talent. Toward this end Padma did several things. He organized numerous international meetings in both developed and developing nations. He has also continued to organize the annual Plasma Physics Summer School at the Abdus Salam International Center for Theoretical Physics in Trieste, Italy. He has used these opportunities to discover promising young scientists from the world over, helping them to come to his host university in Bochum, with support obtained from various international organizations, and mentored them. These young scholars, haling from every continent of the world, have gone on to become active scientists in their own right and many have proceeded to become leading researchers, educators, and administrators in their home countries. It is in recognition of his “extraordinary efforts in the discovery, the nurturing and mentoring of scientific talent across the globe” that he received the highly prestigious Nicholson Medal, awarded by the American Physical Society, for human outreach by a leading scientist in 2005. In recognition of his outstanding scientific contributions Padma has received numerous international honors including several honorary doctorates, foreign membership of several national academies, fellowships of a number of international scientific organizations and prizes. Yet, I think that among all these honors, the Nicholson Medal perhaps is the most appropriate because it recognizes what Padma truly is: not just a great scientist but one who is also an outstanding humanitarian. It has been a great privilege to have known Padma for the last twenty years. I have been inspired by his life and his work. Personally, as well as on behalf of all his friends and admirers in the scientific community around the globe, I wish Padma a long, happy, healthy, and prosperous life, with continuing success in all his endeavors.

The Plasma Archipelago: Plasma Physics in the 1960s

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weisel, Gary J.

2017-09-01

With the foundation of the Division of Plasma Physics of the American Physical Society in April 1959, plasma physics was presented as the general study of ionized gases. This paper investigates the degree to which plasma physics, during its first decade, established a community of interrelated specialties, one that brought together work in gaseous electronics, astrophysics, controlled thermonuclear fusion, space science, and aerospace engineering. It finds that, in some regards, the plasma community was indeed greater than the sum of its parts and that its larger identity was sometimes glimpsed in inter-specialty work and studies of fundamental plasma behaviors. Nevertheless, the plasma specialties usually worked separately for two inter-related reasons: prejudices about what constituted "basic physics," both in the general physics community and within the plasma community itself; and a compartmentalized funding structure, in which each funding agency served different missions.

SUPPORT FOR HU CFRT SUMMER HIGH SCHOOL FUSION WORKSHOP

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

Punjabi, Alkesh

Nine summer fusion science research workshops for minority and female high school students were conducted at the Hampton University Center for Fusion Research and Training from 1996 to 2005. Each workshop was of the duration of eight weeks. In all 35 high school students were mentored. The students presented 28 contributed papers at the annual meetings of the American Physical Society Division of Plasma Physics. These contributed papers were very well received by the plasma physics and fusion science research community. The students won a number of prestigious local, state, and national honors, awards, prizes, and scholarships. The notable amongmore » these are the two regional finalist positions in the 1999 Siemens-Westinghouse Science and Technology Competitions; 1st Place U.S. Army Award, 2006; 1st Place U.S. Naval Science Award, 2006; Yale Science and Engineering Association Best 11th Grade Project, 2006; Society of Physics Students Book Award, 2006; APS Corporate Minority Scholarship and others. This workshop program conducted by the HU CFRT has been an exemplary success, and served the minority and female students exceptionally fruitfully. The Summer High School Fusion Science Workshop is an immensely successful outreach activity conducted by the HU CFRT. In this workshop, we train, motivate, and provide high quality research experiences to young and talented high school scholars with emphasis on under-represented minorities and female students in fusion science and related areas. The purpose of this workshop is to expose minority and female students to the excitement of research in science at an early stage in their academic lives. It is our hope that this may lead the high school students to pursue higher education and careers in physical sciences, mathematics, and perhaps in fusion science. To our knowledge, this workshop is the first and only one to date, of fusion science for under-represented minorities and female high school students at an HBCU. The faculty researchers in the HU CFRT mentor the students during summers. Mentors spend a considerable amount of time and efforts in training, teaching, guiding and supervising research projects. The HU CFRT has so far conducted nine workshops during the summers of 1996-2000 and 2002-2005. The first workshop was conducted in summer 1996. Students for the workshop are chosen from a national pool of exceptionally talented high school rising seniors/juniors. To our knowledge, most of these students have gone on to prestigious universities such as Duke University, John Hopkins University, CalTech, UCLA, Hampton University, etc. after completing their high school. For instance, Tiffany Fisher, participant of the 1996 summer workshop completed her BS in Mathematics at Hampton University in May 2001. She then went on to Wake Forest University at Winston-Salem, North Carolina to pursue graduate studies. Anshul Haldipur, participant of the 1999 summer workshop, began his undergraduate studies at Duke University in 2000. Christina Nguyen and Ilissa Martinez, participants of the 2000 summer workshop, are pursuing their undergraduate degrees at the UCLA and Florida State University respectively. The organizing committee of the APS DPP annual meeting invited Dr. Punjabi to deliver an invited talk on training the next generation of fusion scientists and engineers at the 2005 APS DPP meeting in Denver, CO. The organizing committee distributed a special flier with the Bulletin to highlight this invited talk and another talk on education as well the expo. This has given wide publicity and recognition to our workshops and Hampton University. Prof. Punjabi's talk: 'LI2 2: Training the next generation of fusion scientists and engineers: summer high school fusion science workshop, Bull. Amer. Phys. Soc. 50, 221 (2005)' was very well-received. He talked about HU education and outreach initiative and the HU CFRT Summer High School Workshop. The audience had a considerable number of questions about our workshops and the High School to PhD Pipeline in fusion science. Professor William Mathews of University of Delaware offered to give the HU Team MHD codes to use, and Professor Birdsall of University of California, Berkeley, plasma theory and simulation group, offered to give the team simple simulation codes to use. We are very happy and proud and very gratified by this, and we thank the US DOE OFES, Dr. Sam Barish and Dr. Michael Crisp for their support and encouragement.« less

Photon Physics and Plasma Research, Photonics Applications and Web Engineering, Wilga, May 2012

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Romaniuk, Ryszard S.

2012-05-01

This paper is the third part (out of five) of the research survey of WILGA Symposium work, May 2012 Edition, concerned with Photon Physics and Plasma Research. It presents a digest of chosen technical work results shown by young researchers from different technical universities from this country during the Jubilee XXXth SPIE-IEEE Wilga 2012, May Edition, symposium on Photonics and Web Engineering. Topical tracks of the symposium embraced, among others, nanomaterials and nanotechnologies for photonics, sensory and nonlinear optical fibers, object oriented design of hardware, photonic metrology, optoelectronics and photonics applications, photonics-electronics co-design, optoelectronic and electronic systems for astronomy and high energy physics experiments, JET tokamak and pi-of-the sky experiments development. The symposium is an annual summary in the development of numerable Ph.D. theses carried out in this country in the area of advanced electronic and photonic systems. It is also a great occasion for SPIE, IEEE, OSA and PSP students to meet together in a large group spanning the whole country with guests from this part of Europe. A digest of Wilga references is presented [1-270].

Falsification of Dark Energy by Fluid Mechanics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gibson, Carl H.

2012-03-01

The 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded for the discovery of accelerating super- novae dimness, suggesting a remarkable reversal in the expansion rate of the Universe from a decrease to an increase, driven by anti-gravity forces of a mysterious dark energy material comprising 70% of the Universe mass-energy. Fluid mechanics and Herschel- Planck-Spitzer-Hubble etc. space telescope observations falsify both the accelerating ex- pansion rate and dark energy concepts. Kinematic viscosity is neglected in models of self-gravitational structure formation. Large plasma photon viscosity predicts protosu- perclustervoid fragmentation early in the plasma epoch and protogalaxies at the end. At the plasma-gas transition, the gas protogalaxies fragment into Earth-mass rogue plan- ets in highly persistent, trillion-planet clumps (proto-globular-star-cluster PGCs). PGC planets freeze to form the dark matter of galaxies and merge to form their stars, giving the hydrogen triple-point (14 K) infrared emissions observed. Dark energy is a system- atic dimming error for Supernovae Ia caused by partially evaporated planets feeding hot white dwarf stars at the Chandrasekhar carbon limit. Planet atmospheres may or may not dim light from SNe-Ia events depending on the line of sight.

Soft x-ray generation by a tabletop Nd:YAG/glass laser system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martellucci, S.; Bellecci, C.; Francucci, M.; Gaudio, P.; Richetta, M.; Toscano, D.; Rydzy, A.; Gelfusa, M.; Ciuffa, P.

2006-08-01

The advent and development of ultra-intense tabletop laser systems has played a significant role in recent decades thanks to the wide number of applications and studies in which these systems were demonstrated to be appropriate. Among these, one of the main applications of ultra-intense radiation is generation of plasma by solid, liquid or gaseous targets. The by-product of x-radiation found many different applications such as spectroscopy, imaging, microlithography, microscopy, radiographies (in particular of biological samples), radiation-matter interaction, fundamental plasma parameter determination, astrophysics, inertial confinement fusion, high energy physics, quantum electrodynamics, and many others. In the following a brief description of our tabletop Nd:YAG/glass apparatus (facility of the Quantum Electronic and Plasma Laboratory of the University of Rome 'Tor Vergata'), together with x-ray conversion efficiency studies for different targets, are reported.

PREFACE: First International Workshop on Nonequilibrium Processes in Plasma Physics and Studies of Environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Petrović, Z. Lj; Malović, G.; Tasić, M.; Nikitović, Ž.

2007-06-01

This volume is a collection of papers associated with a series of invited lectures presented at the First Workshop on Nonequilibrium processes in Plasma Physics and studies of Environment that was held at Mt Kopaonik in August 2006. The workshop originated as a part of the FP6 COE 026328 which had the basic aim of promoting centers of excellence in Western Balkan countries, to facilitate dissemination of their results and to help them establish themselves in the broader arena of European and international science. So the best way to achieve all those goals was to prepare a workshop associated with the local conference SPIG (Symposium on Physics of Ionized Gases) where the participants could attend sessions in which the host Laboratory presented progress reports and papers and thereby gain a full perspective of our results. At the same time this allowed participants in the COE the opportunity to compare their results with the results of external speakers and to gain new perspectives and knowledge. The program of the workshop was augmented by inviting some of our colleagues who visited the COE in recent years or have an active collaboration with a participating member. In that respect this volume is not only a proceedings of the workshop but a collection of papers related to the topic of the workshop: Non-equilibrium phenomena in plasmas and in the science of our environment. The idea is to offer review articles either summarizing a broader area of published or about to be published work or to give overviews showing preliminary results of the works in progress. The refereeing of the papers consisted of two parts, first in selection of the invitees and second in checking the submitted manuscripts. The papers were refereed to the standard of the Journal. As the program of the COE covers a wide area of topics from application of plasmas in nano- electronics to monitoring and removal of pollutants in the atmosphere, so the program of the workshop covered an even broader range of topics with the common thread of non- equilibrium phenomena playing a major part in the basic physics and also in the technological applications. The universal symbol of non-equilibrium phenomena is Maxwell's demon and it was selected, as designed by Professor Rastko Ćirić (of Belgrade's University for Fine Arts), to be the symbol of the conference. In plasma physics, the field is usually divided between equilibrium and non-equilibrium plasmas. The advantage of studying plasmas in thermal equilibrium is that they may be described by universal laws, such as Saha and Boltzmann equations. The only problem is that, apart from the very early stages in the development of the universe, such plasmas do not exist, although there are plasmas that come very close and at least satisfy the thermal laws locally. Non-equilibrium plasmas have laws unique to each situation and studies of their idiosyncrasies continue to provide a lot of food for thought for scientists, possibilities for applications and job opportunities. Or as Tolstoy wrote, `Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way?'. So, while making analogy of the non-equilibrium with the lack of happiness may sound discouraging, the scientists who try to observe these phenomena (like psychologists in the case of families) have plenty to study and are, therefore, likely to be happy. At the same time non-equilibrium phenomena in plasmas and in the atmosphere are extremely important. A fact we should be aware of every time we use an integrated circuit manufactured after the late 1970s or whenever weather changes, wind blows and pollution is carried in from some distant locations. This volume starts with a paper by D Batani (Milano, Italy) on shock waves, an example of plasmas that may be locally thermal but display very strong gradients, M Pinheiro (Lisboa, Portugal) contributed an article on anomalous diffusion in magnetized plasmas, a problem that has been addressed in the literature from many different standpoints. A special case of non-equilibrium is that of non-neutral plasmas, i.e. plasmas devoid of ions, as described in the lecture and paper by J Marler (Appleton, USA). Physics of swarms (the low space charge limit of ionized gases) is similar to the previous study in the fact that we may have only one group of charged particles electrons (or ions). But the difference is that the latter has a much higher pressure and therefore number of collisions. In the lecture on one aspect of the application of swarm data (transport coefficients) to determine the electron scattering cross sections R White (Townsville, Australia) addresses a long standing controversy in the vibrational excitation of H2 of an unacceptable discrepancy between swarm results and binary collision experiments and theories, (a problem that has been of particular importance to the host Laboratory). The lecture of N Dyatko (Troitsk, Russian Federation) tackles one of the most interesting recent problems in the transport theory of ionized gases, that of the negative absolute conductivity and attempts to translate it to solid state physics where the stakes are much higher. The swarm studies were always based on excellent experimental data and the leading experimental group today is that of J de Urquijo (Cuernavaca, Mexico) who presents a review of a wide range of transport data that his group obtained in fluorinated gases. The gas breakdown in dc and high frequency fields was addressed by M Radmilović-Rađenović (Belgrade, Serbia) by applying a detailed secondary electron production model in Particle in Cell (PIC) code and comparing the results to a broad range of experimental data. The hybrid (fluid-Monte Carlo) model has been applied in the study by Z Donko and K Kutasi (Budapest, Hungary) of low pressure obstructed glow discharges to decribe the effect of fast neutrals on gas discharges. A study of kinetics of negative ions of hydrogen in glow discharges with positive column and in hollow cathode dicharges is presented by R Djulgerova (Sofia, Boulgaria). Modelling and experimental results for surface plasmas with an aim to study the kinetics of dissociation are given by V Guerra (Lisboa, Portugal). L Campbell (Adelaide, Australia) describes modelling of a similar kinetics, albeit for a significantly larger ionized gas in his study of electron induced processes in the upper atmosphere. Atmospheric pressure discharges is also the topic of the work of T Gans (Belfast, Northern Ireland andBochum, Germany) but his experiments with atmospheric plasma jet are carried out at sea level and therefore the pressures are significantly higher than those for usual non-equilibrium plasmas. Higher still are the densities in plasmas generated in liquids (for medical purposes) as described in the paper of W Graham (Belfast, Northern Ireland). Another very applied aspect of non-equilibrium plasma is highlighted in a comprehensive review given by S Radovanov (Gloucester, USA) of the basic physics of the non-equilibrium plasma source for implantation of boron (for doping in the manufacture of integrated circuits) . A topical review of diagnostics of dusty particles in rf plasmas is given by I Stefanović, J Winter and colleagues (Bochum, Germany) and includes implications for plasma processing, nanotechnologies and all the way to astrophysics. Transport of particles of similar sizes in the atmosphere and its influence on the pollution of the human environment is presented in the paper by M Tasić (Belgrade, Serbia). Finally a paper that connects both aspects of the workshop, plasma physics and environment, is the review of M Radetić (Belgrade, Serbia) which covers application of low pressure non-equilibrium plasmas in treatment of textiles, not only to reduce the cost and environmental impact of the technology but also to produce filters to purify waters used in the process and in general. The broad range of topics indicates that modern plasma physics is driven not only by the need to further understand the fundamental principles but with an eye towards applications. Consequently in addition to furthering the cause of physics, we strive to improve increasingly complex technologies or develop new technologies. The non-equilibrium nature of plasmas that are the subject of our studies allows us to control properties that are critical and to design optimum conditions for these varied applications. We hope that this volume will serve as a useful source of information for experienced researchers, as a textbook for postgraduate students and as a reminder, for all who attended the workshop, of the wonderful time (http://www.euj07.phy.bg.ac.yu/index.php?page=p04) we had on top of the mountain Kopaonik, even though we were subjected to freezing temperatures in the middle of summer. Organization of this workshop was supported by INCO EU FP6 026328 project (Reinforcing Experimental Center for Non-equilibrium studies with Application in Nano-technologies, Etching of Integrated Circuits and Environmental Research), by the Ministry of Science and Environment of Serbia (project 141025) and also, to a great extend, by the individual funding of the participants some of whom traveled from remote continents in order to participate. Z Lj Petrović, G Malović, M Tasić and Ž Nikitović Editors

EDITORIAL: Special issue in honour of J E Allen's 75th birthday

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Franklin, R. N.

2003-11-01

This issue of Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics is dedicated to Professor John Allen who has spent most of his professional life in the Department of Engineering Science, Oxford University, working on problems in gas discharges and plasma physics. His first degrees and doctorate were taken at Liverpool University in the 1950s where at the time there was an internationally renowned group led by Meek, Craggs and Edels. He then spent some time at Frascati in Italy on secondment from Harwell, helping to build up expertise there. He returned to England in the mid-1960s, first to Cambridge, but he soon migrated to Oxford to University College and the Department of Engineering Science to strengthen a team that already included von Engel, Motz and Woods with more recent reinforcement by Howatson and myself. Thus there was built up both a post-graduate MSc course and what amounted to a graduate school producing many scientists who have since distinguished themselves in all parts of the world. The prospects for success in the quest for fusion and the proximity of Culham Laboratory produced a heady mix. But the timescales lengthened and fashions changed. However, John moved with the times and he and his research students made notable contributions to the understanding of dusty plasmas and to radio-frequency plasmas used in the processing of microchips. The structure at Oxford was such that the recognition of a professorship came late in his career, but his international reputation was well established much earlier. Being freed of tutorial duties he has travelled much in recent years and has been Chairman of the International Conference on Phenomena in Ionized Gases (ICPIG) 1999-2001 and directly involved in the international effort to carry out dusty plasma experiments in space under micro-gravity conditions. For my part, having known John as a colleague over the past forty years, he has been a valuable point of reference when one needed someone to comment on new ideas, a challenging competitor when we were working on similar lines, and his research students provided me with the stimulation that comes from such interaction, be it informal or more formally in the course of D Phil vivas. Thus I have felt that there was a debt to be repaid by encouraging his students and other co-workers to contribute to this issue. More importantly, we honour someone whose contributions we know will stand the test of time.

Plasma universe

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Alfven, H.

1986-01-01

Traditionally the views on the cosmic environent have been based on observations in the visual octave of the electromagnetic spectrum, during the last half-century supplemented by infrared and radio observations. Space research has opened the full spectrum. Of special importance are the X-ray-gamma-ray regions, in which a number of unexpected phenomena have been discovered. Radiations in these regions are likely to originate mainly from magnetised cosmic plasmas. Such a medium may also emit synchrotron radiation which is observable in the radio region. If a model of the universe is based on the plasma phenomena mentioned it is found that the plasma universe is drastically different from the traditional visual universe. Information about the plasma universe can also be obtained by extrapolation of laboratory experiments and magnetospheric in situ measurements of plasmas. This approach is possible because it is likely that the basic properties of plasmas are the same everywhere. In order to test the usefulness of the plasma universe model it is applied to cosmogony. Such an approach seems to be rather successful. For example, the complicated structure of the Saturnian C ring can be accounted for. It is possible to reconstruct certain phenomena 4 to 5 billions of years ago with an accuracy of better than 1%.

IMpact of Platelet Rich plasma OVer alternative therapies in patients with lateral Epicondylitis (IMPROVE): protocol for a multicenter randomized controlled study: a multicenter, randomized trial comparing autologous platelet-rich plasma, autologous whole blood, dry needle tendon fenestration, and physical therapy exercises alone on pain and quality of life in patients with lateral epicondylitis.

PubMed

Chiavaras, Mary M; Jacobson, Jon A; Carlos, Ruth; Maida, Eugene; Bentley, Todd; Simunovic, Nicole; Swinton, Marilyn; Bhandari, Mohit

2014-09-01

Lateral epicondylitis, commonly known as tennis elbow, is the most common cause of lateral elbow pain and the second most frequently diagnosed musculoskeletal disorder in the neck and upper limb in a primary care setting. Many therapeutic options, including conservative, surgical, and minimally invasive procedures, have been advocated for the treatment of lateral epicondylitis. Although numerous small studies have been performed to assess the efficacy of various treatments, there are conflicting results with no clear consensus on the optimal treatment. In an economic environment with limited health care resources, it is paramount that optimal cost-effective therapies with favorable patient-important outcomes be identified. This is a protocol paper which outlines a multicenter, multidisciplinary, single-blinded, four-arm randomized controlled trial, comparing platelet-rich plasma (PRP), whole blood injection, dry needle tendon fenestration, and sham injection with physical therapy alone for the treatment of lateral epicondylitis. Patients are screened based on pre-established eligibility criteria and randomized to one of the four study groups using an Internet-based system. The patients are followed at 6-week, 12-week, 24-week, and 52-week time points to assess the primary and secondary outcomes of the study. The primary outcome is pain. Secondary outcomes include health-related quality of life and ultrasound appearance of the common extensor tendon. Two university centers (McMaster University and the University of Michigan) are currently recruiting patients. We have planned a sample size of 100 patients (25 patients per arm) to ensure over 80% power to detect a three-point difference in pain scores at 52 weeks of follow-up. This study has ethics approval from the McMaster University Research Ethics Board (REB# 12-146) and the University of Michigan Institutional Review Board (IRB# HUM00067750). Successful completion of this proposed study will significantly impact clinical practice and enhance patients' lives. More broadly, this trial will develop a network of collaboration from which further high-quality trials in ultrasound-guided interventions will follow. Copyright © 2014 AUR. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Laboratory Experiments Enabling Electron Beam use in Tenuous Space Plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miars, G.; Leon, O.; Gilchrist, B. E.; Delzanno, G. L.; Castello, F. L.; Borovsky, J.

2017-12-01

A mission concept is under development which involves firing a spacecraft-mounted electron beam from Earth's magnetosphere to connect distant magnetic field lines in real time. To prevent excessive spacecraft charging and consequent beam return, the spacecraft must be neutralized in the tenuous plasma environment of the magnetosphere. Particle-In-Cell (PIC) simulations suggest neutralization can be accomplished by emitting a neutral plasma with the electron beam. Interpretation of these simulations also led to an ion emission model in which ion current is emitted from a quasi-neutral plasma as defined by the space charge limit [1,2]. Experiments were performed at the University of Michigan's Plasmadynamics and Electric Propulsion Laboratory (PEPL) to help validate the ion emission model. A hollow cathode plasma contactor was used as a representative spacecraft and charged with respect to the chamber walls to examine the effect of spacecraft charging on ion emission. Retarding Potential Analyzer (RPA) measurements were performed to understand ion flow velocity as this parameter relates directly to the expected space charge limit. Planar probe measurements were also made to identify where ion emission primarily occurred and to determine emission current density levels. Evidence of collisions within the plasma (particularly charge exchange collisions) and a simple model predicting emitted ion velocities are presented. While a detailed validation of the ion emission model and of the simulation tools used in [1,2] is ongoing, these measurements add to the physical understanding of ion emission as it may occur in the magnetosphere. 1. G.L. Delzanno, J.E. Borovsky, M.F. Thomsen, J.D. Moulton, and E.A. MacDonald, J. Geophys. Res. Space Physics 120, 3647, 2015. 2. G.L. Delzanno, J.E. Borovsky, M.F. Thomsen, and J.D. Moulton, J. Geophys. Res. Space Physics 120, 3588, 2015. ________________________________ * This work is supported by Los Alamos National Laboratory.

Research in space physics at the University of Iowa, 1982

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vanallen, J. A.; Frank, L. A.; Gurnett, D. A.; Shawhan, S. D.; Robison, E. D.; Robertson, T. D.

1983-01-01

The energetic particles and the electric, magnetic, and electromagnetic fields associated with the Earth, the Sun, the Moon, the planets, comets, and the interplanetary medium are examined. Matters under current investigation are following: energetic particles trapped in the Earth's magnetic field, origin and propagation of very low frequency radio waves and electrostatic, the magnetospheres of Jupiter, Saturn and prospectively Uranus and Neptune, diffusion of energetic particles in Saturn's magnetosphere, radio emissions from Jupiter and Saturn, solar modulation and the heliocentric radial dependence of the intensity of galactic cosmic rays, interplanetary propagation and acceleration of energetic particles, the theory of wave phenomena in turbulent plasmas, and basic wave-particle-chemical processes in the ionospheric plasma.

Review of Plasma Techniques Used to Trap Antihydrogen

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fajans, Joel

2011-10-01

Recently, the ALPHA collaboration at CERN trapped antihydrogen atoms. To date, over three hundred antiatoms have been confined, some for as long as 1000s. This was the first time that antiatoms had ever been trapped. The ultimate goal of the ALPHA collaboration is to test CPT invariance by comparing the spectra of hydrogen and antihydrogen, and to measure the gravitational attraction between matter and antimatter. Such studies might resolve the baryogenesis problem: why is there very little antimatter in the Universe? The ALPHA experiment brought together techniques from many different fields of physics, but the crucial breakthroughs were in plasma physics. The essential problem is this: How does one combine two Malmberg-Penning trapped plasmas, one made from antiprotons, and the other positrons, which have opposite electrostatic potentials of nearly one volt, in such a manner that the antiprotons traverse the positrons with kinetic energies of less than 40 μeV, this latter being the depth of the superimposed neutral antihydrogen trap? The plasma techniques ALPHA developed to accomplish this include: Minimizing the effects of the neutral trap multipole fields on the positron and antiproton plasma confinement. Compressing antiprotons down to less than 0.5mm. Using autoresonance to inject antiprotons into the positrons with very little excess energy. Evaporative cooling of the electrons and antiprotons to record low temperatures. Development of charge, radial profile, temperature, and antiproton loss location diagnostics. Careful and lengthy manipulations to finesse the plasmas into the best states for optimal antihydrogen production and trapping. The plasma techniques necessary to trap antihydrogen will be reviewed in this talk. This work was supported by DOE and NSF, and is reported on behalf of the ALPHA collaboration.

Plasmolysis for efficient CO2 -to-fuel conversion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van Rooij, Gerard

2015-09-01

The strong non-equilibrium conditions provided by the plasma phase offer the opportunity to beat traditional thermal process energy efficiencies via preferential excitation of molecular vibrational modes. It is therefore a promising option for creating artificial solar fuels from CO2as raw material using (intermittently available) sustainable energy surpluses, which can easily be deployed within the present infrastructure for conventional fossil fuels. In this presentation, a common microwave reactor approach is evaluated experimentally with Rayleigh scattering and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy to assess gas temperatures and conversion degrees, respectively. The results are interpreted on basis of estimates of the plasma dynamics obtained with electron energy distribution functions calculated with a Boltzmann solver. It indicates that the intrinsic electron energies are higher than is favourable for preferential vibrational excitation due to dissociative excitation, which causes thermodynamic equilibrium chemistry still to dominate the initial experiments. Novel reactor approaches are proposed to tailor the plasma dynamics to achieve the non-equilibrium in which vibrational excitation is dominant. In collaboration with Dirk van den Bekerom, Niek den Harder, Teofil Minea, Dutch Institute For Fundamental Energy Research, Eindhoven, Netherlands; Gield Berden, Institute for Molecules and Materials, FELIX facility, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands; Richard Engeln, Applied Physics, Plasma en Materials Processing, Eindhoven University of Technology; and Waldo Bongers, Martijn Graswinckel, Erwin Zoethout, Richard van de Sanden, Dutch Institute For Fundamental Energy Research, Eindhoven, Netherlands.

On the generation of magnetized collisionless shocks in the large plasma device

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schaeffer, D. B.; Winske, D.; Larson, D. J.; Cowee, M. M.; Constantin, C. G.; Bondarenko, A. S.; Clark, S. E.; Niemann, C.

2017-04-01

Collisionless shocks are common phenomena in space and astrophysical systems, and in many cases, the shocks can be modeled as the result of the expansion of a magnetic piston though a magnetized ambient plasma. Only recently, however, have laser facilities and diagnostic capabilities evolved sufficiently to allow the detailed study in the laboratory of the microphysics of piston-driven shocks. We review experiments on collisionless shocks driven by a laser-produced magnetic piston undertaken with the Phoenix laser laboratory and the Large Plasma Device at the University of California, Los Angeles. The experiments span a large parameter space in laser energy, background magnetic field, and ambient plasma properties that allow us to probe the physics of piston-ambient energy coupling, the launching of magnetosonic solitons, and the formation of subcritical shocks. The results indicate that piston-driven magnetized collisionless shocks in the laboratory can be characterized with a small set of dimensionless formation parameters that place the formation process in an organized and predictive framework.

Turbulence Heating ObserveR: - Satellite Mission Proposal

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vaivads, A.; Retino, A.; Soucek, J.; Khotyaintsev, Yu V.; Valentini, F.; Escoubet, C. P.; Alexandrova, O.; Andre, M.; Bale, S. D.; Balikhin, M.;

On the generation of magnetized collisionless shocks in the large plasma device

DOE PAGES

Schaeffer, D. B.; Winske, D.; Larson, D. J.; ...

2017-03-22

Collisionless shocks are common phenomena in space and astrophysical systems, and in many cases, the shocks can be modeled as the result of the expansion of a magnetic piston though a magnetized ambient plasma. Only recently, however, have laser facilities and diagnostic capabilities evolved sufficiently to allow the detailed study in the laboratory of the microphysics of piston-driven shocks. We review experiments on collisionless shocks driven by a laser-produced magnetic piston undertaken with the Phoenix laser laboratory and the Large Plasma Device at the University of California, Los Angeles. The experiments span a large parameter space in laser energy, backgroundmore » magnetic field, and ambient plasma properties that allow us to probe the physics of piston-ambient energy coupling, the launching of magnetosonic solitons, and the formation of subcritical shocks. Here, the results indicate that piston-driven magnetized collisionless shocks in the laboratory can be characterized with a small set of dimensionless formation parameters that place the formation process in an organized and predictive framework.« less

Coherence Imaging Measurements of Impurity Flow in the CTH and W7-X Experiments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ennis, D. A.; Allen, N. R.; Hartwell, G. J.; Johnson, C. A.; Maurer, D. A.; Allen, S. L.; Samuell, C. M.; Gradic, D.; Konig, R.; Perseo, V.; W7-X Team

2017-10-01

Measurements of impurity ion emissivity and velocity in the Compact Toroidal Hybrid (CTH) experiment are achieved with a new optical coherence imaging diagnostic. The Coherence Imaging Spectroscopy (CIS) technique uses an imaging interferometer of fixed delay to provide 2D spectral images, making it ideal for investigating the non-axisymmetric geometry of CTH plasmas. Preliminary analysis of C III interferograms indicate a net toroidal flow on the order of 10 km/s during the time of peak current. Bench tests using Zn and Cd light sources reveal that the temperature of the interferometer optics must be controlled to within 0.01°C to limit phase drift resulting in artificially measured flow. A new collaboration between Auburn University and the Max-Planck-Institute for Plasma Physics is underway to develop two new coherence imaging instruments for ion impurity flow measurements in orthogonal directions to investigate the 3D physics of the W7-X island divertor during OP1.2. A continuous wave laser tunable over most of the visible region will be incorporated to provide immediate and accurate calibrations of both CIS systems during plasma operations. Work supported by USDoE Grant DE-FG02-00ER54610.

Proton-hydrogen collisions for Rydberg n,l-changing transitions in the early Universe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vrinceanu, Daniel

2013-05-01

Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) is a vestige radiation generated during the Recombination era, some 390,000 years after the Big Bang, when the Universe had become transparent for the first time. Initial observations of CMB made by the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) led to determining the age of the Universe. The mechanisms that drove the recombination have been discovered by using modeling of the primordial plasma and seeking agreement with the observations. The new Plank Surveyor Instrument launched in 2009 is expected to produce data about the recombination era of an unprecedented accuracy, that require including better information regarding the basic atomic physics processes into the present models. In this talk, I will review the results for various Rydberg atom - charge particle collisions and establish their relative importance during the stages of recombination era, with respect to each other and to radiative processes. Energy changing and angular momentum changing collisions with electrons and ions are considered. This work has been supported by NSF through grants to the Institute for Theoretical Atomic and Molecular Physics at Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and to the Center for Research on Complex Networks at Texas Southern University.

The Colorado Solar Wind Experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Munsat, Tobin; Han, Jia; Horanyi, Mihaly; Ulibarri, Zach; Wang, Xu; Yeo, Lihsia

2016-10-01

The Colorado Solar Wind Experiment (CSWE) is a new device developed at the Institute for Modeling Plasma, Atmospheres, and Cosmic Dust (IMPACT) at the University of Colorado. This large ion source is for studies of the interaction of solar wind plasma with planetary surfaces and cosmic dust, and for the investigation of plasma wake physics. With a plasma beam diameter of 12 cm at the source, ion energies of up to 1 keV, and ion flows of up to 1 mA/cm2, a large cross-section Kaufman Ion Source is used to create steady state plasma flow to model the solar wind in an experimental vacuum chamber. Chamber pressure can be reduced to 3e-5 Torr under operating conditions to suppress ion-neutral collisions and create a uniform ion velocity distribution. Diagnostic instruments such as a double Langmuir probe and an ion energy analyzer are mounted on a two-dimensional translation stage that allow the beam to be characterized throughout the chamber. Early experiments include the measurement of dust grain charging from the interaction with flowing plasma, and measurements of the plasma sheath created by the interaction of the flowing plasma impinging on a surface with a dipole magnetic field. This poster will describe the facility and the scientific results obtained to date.

Early Spacelab physics and astronomy missions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chapman, R. D.

1976-01-01

Some of the scientific problems which will be investigated during the early Spacelab physics and astronomy missions are reviewed. The Solar Terrestrial Programs will include the Solar Physics Spacelab Payloads (SPSP) and the Atmospheres, Magnetospheres and Plasmas in Space (AMPS) missions. These missions will study the sun as a star and the influence of solar phenomena on the earth, including sun-solar wind interface, the nature of the solar flares, etc. The Astrophysics Spacelab Payloads (ASP) programs are divided into the Ultraviolet-Optical Astronomy and the High Energy Astrophysics areas. The themes of astrophysics Spacelab investigations will cover the nature of the universe, the fate of matter and the life cycles of stars. The paper discusses various scientific experiments and instruments to be used in the early Spacelab missions.

2016 Final Reports from the Los Alamos National Laboratory Computational Physics Student Summer Workshop

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

Runnels, Scott Robert; Bachrach, Harrison Ian; Carlson, Nils

The two primary purposes of LANL’s Computational Physics Student Summer Workshop are (1) To educate graduate and exceptional undergraduate students in the challenges and applications of computational physics of interest to LANL, and (2) Entice their interest toward those challenges. Computational physics is emerging as a discipline in its own right, combining expertise in mathematics, physics, and computer science. The mathematical aspects focus on numerical methods for solving equations on the computer as well as developing test problems with analytical solutions. The physics aspects are very broad, ranging from low-temperature material modeling to extremely high temperature plasma physics, radiation transportmore » and neutron transport. The computer science issues are concerned with matching numerical algorithms to emerging architectures and maintaining the quality of extremely large codes built to perform multi-physics calculations. Although graduate programs associated with computational physics are emerging, it is apparent that the pool of U.S. citizens in this multi-disciplinary field is relatively small and is typically not focused on the aspects that are of primary interest to LANL. Furthermore, more structured foundations for LANL interaction with universities in computational physics is needed; historically interactions rely heavily on individuals’ personalities and personal contacts. Thus a tertiary purpose of the Summer Workshop is to build an educational network of LANL researchers, university professors, and emerging students to advance the field and LANL’s involvement in it.« less

FOREWORD: 7th Symposium on Vacuum-based Science and Technology (SVBST2013)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gulbiński, W.

2014-11-01

These are the proceedings of the 7th Symposium on Vacuum based Science and Technology organized in Kołobrzeg (PL) on November 19-21, 2013 by the Institute of Technology and Education, Koszalin University of Technology and the Clausius Tower Society under auspices of the Polish Vacuum Society (PTP) and the German Vacuum Society (DVG) and in collaboration with the BalticNet PlasmaTec and the Society of Vacuum Coaters (SVC). It was accompanied by the 12-th Annual Meeting of the German Vacuum Society. The mission of the Symposium is to provide a forum for presentation and exchange of expertise and research results in the field of vacuum and plasma science. After already six successful meetings organized alternately in Poland and Germany our goal is to continue and foster cooperation within the vacuum and plasma science community. This year, the Rudolf-Jaeckel Prize, awarded by the DVG for outstanding achievements in the field of vacuum based sciences, was presented to Dr Ute Bergner, president of the VACOM Vakuum Komponenten & Messtechnik GmbH and a member of our community. The full-day course organized in the framework of the Educational Program by the Society of Vacuum Coaters (SVC) and entitled: An Introduction to Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) Processes was held on November 18, 2013 as a satellite event of the Symposium. The instructor was Prof. Ismat Shah from Delaware University (US). The Clausius Session, already traditionally organized during the Symposium was addressed this year to young generation. We invited our young colleagues to attend a series of educational lectures reporting on achievements in graphene science, scanning probe microscopy and plasma science. Lectures were given by: Prof. Jacek Baranowski from the Institute of Electronic Materials Technology in Warsaw, Prof. Teodor Gotszalk from the Wroclaw University of Technology and Prof. Holger Kersten from the Christian Albrechts University in Kiel. The Symposium was accompanied by an industry exhibition attended by the representatives of leading companies offering vacuum equipment, complete solutions for plasma based technology as well as advanced research equipment. Witold Gulbiński Michael Kopnarski Frank Richter Jan Walkowicz

Rayleigh-Taylor-instability evolution in colliding-plasma-jet experiments with magnetic and viscous stabilization

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

Adams, Colin Stuart

The Rayleigh-Taylor instability causes mixing in plasmas throughout the universe, from micron-scale plasmas in inertial confinement fusion implosions to parsec-scale supernova remnants. The evolution of this interchange instability in a plasma is influenced by the presence of viscosity and magnetic fields, both of which have the potential to stabilize short-wavelength modes. Very few experimental observations of Rayleigh-Taylor growth in plasmas with stabilizing mechanisms are reported in the literature, and those that are reported are in sub-millimeter scale plasmas that are difficult to diagnose. Experimental observations in well-characterized plasmas are important for validation of computational models used to make design predictionsmore » for inertial confinement fusion efforts. This dissertation presents observations of instability growth during the interaction between a high Mach-number, initially un-magnetized plasma jet and a stagnated, magnetized plasma. A multi-frame fast camera captures Rayleigh-Taylor-instability growth while interferometry, spectroscopy, photodiode, and magnetic probe diagnostics are employed to estimate plasma parameters in the vicinity of the collision. As the instability grows, an evolution to longer mode wavelength is observed. Comparisons of experimental data with idealized magnetohydrodynamic simulations including a physical viscosity model suggest that the observed instability evolution is consistent with both magnetic and viscous stabilization. These data provide the opportunity to benchmark computational models used in astrophysics and fusion research.« less

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

Stewart Zweben; Samuel Cohen; Hantao Ji

Small ''concept exploration'' experiments have for many years been an important part of the fusion research program at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL). this paper describes some of the present and planned fusion concept exploration experiments at PPPL. These experiments are a University-scale research level, in contrast with the larger fusion devices at PPPL such as the National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX) and the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor (TFTR), which are at ''proof-of-principle'' and ''proof-of-performance'' levels, respectively.

PREFACE: 1982 International Conference on Plasma Physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wilhelmsson, Hans

1982-01-01

Invited Papers: The Physics of Hot Plasmas During the last decade a dramatic evolution of plasma physics has occurred. Not only have gigantic fusion plasma machines been planned, and are now being built, and elaborate spaceships and antenna systems been constructed to explore remote parts of the cosmos; new observations have revealed fascinating structures in space, ranging from pulsar plasmas under extreme conditions in very strong magnetic fields to large-scale magnetic field and electric current systems in cosmic plasmas. X-rays from very distant sources as well as radio-waves from the plasma in the magnetosphere and in the Aurora have recently been studied with new observational techniques. Ingenious laboratory experiments are continuously being carried out to exploit new fundamental processes in plasmas. These are of great interest for the basic understanding of plasmas and also have immediate consequences for applications, like plasma heating and diagnostics. The theoretical description of new plasma phenomena, and of the plasma state in general poses challenging problems, particularly in situations where high concentration of energy is located in the plasmas. Nonlinear wave analysis and turbulence theory have accordingly been extensively developed to describe in particular the collective plasma phenomena. New concepts have been envisaged like plasma solitons, which may be thought of as excitations of local concentrations of longitudinal plasma waves which turn out to be particularly stable. More and more sophisticated structures of nonlinear nature are being revealed by means of high capacity computer facilities. Simulation experiments allow for studies of chaotic behaviour of plasma particles. Related fields of activity form new trends in the development of plasma theory. The programme of the 1982 International Conference on Plasma Physics, which was held in Göteborg, Sweden, stressed the role of the Physics of Hot Plasmas. Studies of such plasmas are essential, not only for fusion energy development, but also for astro- and space research. Plasmas in different situations often have important features in common. Results obtained under various conditions, in the laboratory or in space, should therefore be compared and interrelated. The Göteborg conference emphasized more than the previous one, which was held in Nagoya, Japan, the astro- and space aspects, but there were still more contributions from the fusion and laboratory research. The fundamental plasma theory part was, however, the most extensive one in the programme. At the conference there were seventy invited talks, including six comprehensive talks addressed to all participants. The remaining sixtyfour invited talks were topical talks. Besides, we had received about 450 contributed papers. About 300 of them were given as posters, and most of the remaining ones were presented as orals. The set of one page abstracts of these contributed papers as well as the titles of the invited talks were collected in two volumes, which were sent to all participants a month before the conference. Another set, the four page papers, which had been carefully prepared by the authors for photoreproduction to one page papers, were published in a volume of proceedings of some 460 pages available at the conference. When trying to classify the contributions, it turned out that they fell naturally into four main categories, namely: General Theory Space and Astro Plasmas Fusion Laboratory Plasmas For practical reasons we had to divide the Abstracts into two Volumes, the first one including categories (1) and (2), and the second one the two remaining categories (3) and (4). In publishing the invited talks from the conference we had to handle a great number of extensive papers. It turned out to be natural to have also the invited papers published in two parts, as two separate numbers of Physica Scripta, the first one devoted to (1) General Theory, and (2) Space and Astro Plasmas, whereas the second one to (3) Fusion and (4) Laboratory Plasmas. The 1982 International Conference on Plasma Physics was organized by Chalmers University of Technology. It gathered about 500 participants from 40 countries. Large delegations came from the USA, France, West Germany, Japan, the USSR, and India, the number of participants from these countries ranging from 100 to 20. Sweden had about 50 participating scientists. There were a total of about 20 from the other Scandinavian countries. The principal sponsor of the conference was IUPAP, the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics. The conference also had a number of co-sponsors like IAU, the International Astronomical Union, URSI, the International Union of Radio Science, EPS, the European Physical Society, and EURATOM-FUSION. The conference was supported by Swedish Industry and Swedish Research Boards. The previous ICPP, held in Nagoya two years ago, was the first attempt to combine two types of conferences: the Plasma Theory Conference, first held in Kiev in the Soviet Union in 1971, and the Waves and Instabilities Congress, held for the first time in Innsbruck, Austria in 1973. As a consequence of the success of the Nagoya conference it was decided by the International Organizing Committee of the ICPP that the 1982 conference should also be of the combined type. The 1982 ICPP in Göteborg was thus a Joint Conference of the Fifth Kiev International Conference in Plasma Theory and the Fifth International Congress on Waves and Instabilities in Plasmas. During the conference in Göteborg the International Organizing Committee had a meeting and it was decided that also the next International Conference on Plasma Physics will be of the combined type. It will be held in Lausanne, Switzerland in 1984. The International Organizing Committee on the 1982 International Conference on Plasma Physics comprised about 40 plasma physics scientists from all over the world, who represented various sections of plasma physics. I would like to thank the active members of the IOC for an efficient and friendly co-operation in deciding about the program of invited speakers and for discussions on the general structure of the conference. Our most cordial thanks are extended to the invited speakers for coming to the conference to deliver such excellent talks and to provide us in good time for printing with so beautifully prepared manuscripts. Symposium on Plasma Theory: Preface Several satellite meetings were arranged following the 1982 International Conference on Plasma Physics in Göteborg. Among them a Symposium on Plasma Theory was held at Aspenäsgården outside Göteborg during three days, June 16-18, 1982. The purpose of the symposium was to discuss problems of current interest in plasma theory with applications to space and astrophysical plasmas as well as to fusion plasmas. A total of fifteen talks were given during the three days, and some very lively discussions arose, notably in the area of plasma turbulence. There were around 30 invited scientists present, about one third from the United States, one third from the Soviet Union, and the rest from England, Japan, and various other countries. This volume of Physica Scripta (2B, 506-595) includes some of the talks which were given at Aspenäsgården. Several of the authors of contributed papers to the 1982 International Conference on Plasma Physics were encouraged to write extended versions of their contributions, and these are also included in this number, as are furthermore some papers, which were prepared during prolonged stays of visiting scientists at our institute in connection with the 1982 ICPP. It is expected that the collection of papers thus assembled will give a general picture of the activities accompanying the main conference and that it will elucidate some trends in the development of plasma theory.

EDITORIAL: Selected papers from the 16th Workshop on MHD Stability Control: Optimizing and Understanding the Role of Coils for Mode Control Selected papers from the 16th Workshop on MHD Stability Control: Optimizing and Understanding the Role of Coils for Mode Control

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

La Haye, Rob

2012-09-01

The Magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) Control Workshop with the theme 'Optimizing and Understanding the Role of Coils for Mode Control' was held at General Atomics (20-22 November 2011) following the 2011 APS-DPP Annual Meeting in Salt Lake City, Utah (14-18 November). This was the 16th in the annual series and was organized jointly by Columbia University, General Atomics, Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Program committee participation included representatives from the EU and Japan along with other US laboratory and university institutions. This workshop highlighted the role of applied non-axisymmetric magnetic fields from both internal and external coils for control of MHD stability to achieve high performance fusion plasmas. The application of 3D magnetic field offers control of important elements of equilibrium, stability, and transport. The use of active 3D fields to stabilize global instabilities and to correct magnetic field errors is an established tool for achieving high beta configurations. 3D fields also affect transport and plasma momentum, and are shown to be important for the control of edge localized modes (ELMs), resistive wall modes, and optimized stellarator configurations. The format was similar to previous workshops, including 13 invited talks, 21 contributed talks, and this year there were 2 panel discussions ('Error Field Correction' led by Andrew Cole of Columbia University and 'Application of Coils in General' led by Richard Buttery of General Atomics). Ted Strait of General Atomics also gave a summary of the International Tokamak Physics Activity (ITPA) MHD meeting in Padua, a group for which he is now the leader. In this special section of Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion (PPCF) is a sample of the presentations at the workshop, which have been subject to the normal refereeing procedures of the journal. They include a review (A Boozer) and an invited talk (R Fitzpatrick) on error fields, an invited on control of neoclassical tearing modes (H van den Brand), and an invited talk (P Zanca) and a contributed talk (E Oloffson) on control of the resistive wall mode kink. These are just representative of the broad spectrum of recent work on stability found posted at the web site (https://fusion.gat.com/conferences/mhd11/). We thank PPCF for continuing to have this special issue section. This was the third time the workshop was held at General Atomics. We thank General Atomics for making the site available for an internationally represented workshop in the new era of heightened security and controls. The next workshop (17th) will be held at Columbia University for the (fourth time) (https://fusion.gat.com/conferences/mhd12/) with the theme of 'Addressing the Disruption Challenge for ITER' to be combined with the Joint US-Japan MHD Workshop with a special session on: 'Fundamentals of 3D Perturbed Equilibrium Control: Present & Beyond'.

Physics through the 1990s: Plasmas and fluids

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1986-01-01

The volume contains recommendations for programs in, and government support of, plasma and fluid physics. Four broad areas are covered: the physics of fluids, general plasma physics, fusion, and space and astrophysical plasmas. In the first section, the accomplishments of fluid physics and a detailed review of its sub-fields, such as combustion, non-Newtonian fluids, turbulence, aerodynamics, and geophysical fluid dynamics, are described. The general plasma physics section deals with the wide scope of the theoretical concepts involved in plasma research, and with the machines; intense beam systems, collective and laser-driven accelerators, and the associated diagnostics. The section on the fusion plasma research program examines confinement and heating systems, such as Tokamaks, magnetic mirrors, and inertial-confinement systems, and several others. Finally, theory and experiment in space and astrophysical plasma research is detailed, ranging from the laboratory to the solar system and beyond. A glossary is included.

Thinking and doing, a long way to the top in commercialisation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boswell, Rod

2013-09-01

A university's primary role is to educate and produce research results, mostly funded by the common weal. A business's primary role is to survive. Generally business wants ideas that help with their immediate problems into a 3 month foreseeable future. Universities are used to timescales at least an order of magnitude longer. The speaker's experience as lead guitar in a rock and roll band, building cars, running an offset printing firm, the helicon source and interacting with a Large American Manufacturer will be presented. His university research and development of a plasma source focussed ion beam, the creation of a start-up ``Oregon Physics,'' the subsequent industrial development and commercialisation, the distasteful legal wrangles about IP and the eventual emergence of OP into the sunshine of a successful operation will be described.

Fusion/Astrophysics Teacher Research Academy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Correll, Donald

2005-10-01

In order to engage California high school science teachers in the area of plasma physics and fusion research, LLNL's Fusion Energy Program has partnered with the UC Davis Edward Teller Education Center, ETEC (http://etec.ucdavis.edu), the Stanford University Solar Center (http://solar-center.stanford.edu) and LLNL's Science / Technology Education Program, STEP (http://education.llnl.gov). A four-level ``Fusion & Astrophysics Research Academy'' has been designed to give teachers experience in conducting research using spectroscopy with their students. Spectroscopy, and its relationship to atomic physics and electromagnetism, provides for an ideal plasma `bridge' to the CA Science Education Standards (http://www.cde.ca.gov/be/st/ss/scphysics.asp). Teachers attend multiple-day professional development workshops to explore new research activities for use in the high school science classroom. A Level I, 3-day program consists of two days where teachers learn how plasma researchers use spectrometers followed by instructions on how to use a research grade spectrometer for their own investigations. A 3rd day includes touring LLNL's SSPX (http://www.mfescience.org/sspx/) facility to see spectrometry being used to measure plasma properties. Spectrometry classroom kits are made available for loaning to participating teachers. Level I workshop results (http://education.llnl.gov/fusion&_slash;astro/) will be presented along with plans being developed for Level II (one week advanced SKA's), Level III (pre-internship), and Level IV (summer internship) research academies.

Constraining nuclear data via cosmological observations: Neutrino energy transport and big bang nucleosynthesis

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

Paris, Mark W.; Fuller, George M.; Grohs, Evan Bradley

Here, we introduce a new computational capability that moves toward a self-consistent calculation of neutrino transport and nuclear reactions for big bang nucleosynthesis (BBN). Such a self-consistent approach is needed to be able to extract detailed information about nuclear reactions and physics beyond the standard model from precision cosmological observations of primordial nuclides and the cosmic microwave background radiation. We also calculate the evolution of the early universe through the epochs of weak decoupling, weak freeze-out and big bang nucleosynthesis (BBN) by simultaneously coupling a full strong, electromagnetic, and weak nuclear reaction network with a multi-energy group Boltzmann neutrino energymore » transport scheme. The modular structure of our approach allows the dissection of the relative contributions of each process responsible for evolving the dynamics of the early universe. Such an approach allows a detailed account of the evolution of the active neutrino energy distribution functions alongside and self-consistently with the nuclear reactions and entropy/heat generation and flow between the neutrino and photon/electron/positron/baryon plasma components. Our calculations reveal nonlinear feedback in the time evolution of neutrino distribution functions and plasma thermodynamic conditions. We discuss the time development of neutrino spectral distortions and concomitant entropy production and extraction from the plasma. These effects result in changes in the computed values of the BBN deuterium and helium-4 yields that are on the order of a half-percent relative to a baseline standard BBN calculation with no neutrino transport. This is an order of magnitude larger effect than in previous estimates. For particular implementations of quantum corrections in plasma thermodynamics, our calculations show a 0.4% increase in deuterium and a 0.6% decrease in 4He over our baseline. The magnitude of these changes are on the order of uncertainties in the nuclear physics for the case of deuterium and are potentially significant for the error budget of helium in upcoming cosmological observations.« less

Constraining nuclear data via cosmological observations: Neutrino energy transport and big bang nucleosynthesis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Paris, Mark; Fuller, George; Grohs, Evan; Kishimoto, Chad; Vlasenko, Alexey

2017-09-01

We introduce a new computational capability that moves toward a self-consistent calculation of neutrino transport and nuclear reactions for big bang nucleosynthesis (BBN). Such a self-consistent approach is needed to be able to extract detailed information about nuclear reactions and physics beyond the standard model from precision cosmological observations of primordial nuclides and the cosmic microwave background radiation. We calculate the evolution of the early universe through the epochs of weak decoupling, weak freeze-out and big bang nucleosynthesis (BBN) by simultaneously coupling a full strong, electromagnetic, and weak nuclear reaction network with a multi-energy group Boltzmann neutrino energy transport scheme. The modular structure of our approach allows the dissection of the relative contributions of each process responsible for evolving the dynamics of the early universe. Such an approach allows a detailed account of the evolution of the active neutrino energy distribution functions alongside and self-consistently with the nuclear reactions and entropy/heat generation and 'ow between the neutrino and photon/electron/positron/baryon plasma components. Our calculations reveal nonlinear feedback in the time evolution of neutrino distribution functions and plasma thermodynamic conditions. We discuss the time development of neutrino spectral distortions and concomitant entropy production and extraction from the plasma. These e↑ects result in changes in the computed values of the BBN deuterium and helium-4 yields that are on the order of a half-percent relative to a baseline standard BBN calculation with no neutrino transport. This is an order of magnitude larger e↑ect than in previous estimates. For particular implementations of quantum corrections in plasma thermodynamics, our calculations show a 0.4% increase in deuterium and a 0.6% decrease in 4He over our baseline. The magnitude of these changes are on the order of uncertainties in the nuclear physics for the case of deuterium and are potentially signi↓cant for the error budget of helium in upcoming cosmological observations.

Constraining nuclear data via cosmological observations: Neutrino energy transport and big bang nucleosynthesis

DOE PAGES

Paris, Mark W.; Fuller, George M.; Grohs, Evan Bradley; ...

2017-09-13

Here, we introduce a new computational capability that moves toward a self-consistent calculation of neutrino transport and nuclear reactions for big bang nucleosynthesis (BBN). Such a self-consistent approach is needed to be able to extract detailed information about nuclear reactions and physics beyond the standard model from precision cosmological observations of primordial nuclides and the cosmic microwave background radiation. We also calculate the evolution of the early universe through the epochs of weak decoupling, weak freeze-out and big bang nucleosynthesis (BBN) by simultaneously coupling a full strong, electromagnetic, and weak nuclear reaction network with a multi-energy group Boltzmann neutrino energymore » transport scheme. The modular structure of our approach allows the dissection of the relative contributions of each process responsible for evolving the dynamics of the early universe. Such an approach allows a detailed account of the evolution of the active neutrino energy distribution functions alongside and self-consistently with the nuclear reactions and entropy/heat generation and flow between the neutrino and photon/electron/positron/baryon plasma components. Our calculations reveal nonlinear feedback in the time evolution of neutrino distribution functions and plasma thermodynamic conditions. We discuss the time development of neutrino spectral distortions and concomitant entropy production and extraction from the plasma. These effects result in changes in the computed values of the BBN deuterium and helium-4 yields that are on the order of a half-percent relative to a baseline standard BBN calculation with no neutrino transport. This is an order of magnitude larger effect than in previous estimates. For particular implementations of quantum corrections in plasma thermodynamics, our calculations show a 0.4% increase in deuterium and a 0.6% decrease in 4He over our baseline. The magnitude of these changes are on the order of uncertainties in the nuclear physics for the case of deuterium and are potentially significant for the error budget of helium in upcoming cosmological observations.« less

Overview of the FuZE Fusion Z-Pinch Experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shumlak, U.; Nelson, B. A.; Claveau, E. L.; Forbes, E. G.; Golingo, R. P.; Stepanov, A. D.; Weber, T. R.; Zhang, Y.; McLean, H. S.; Higginson, D. P.; Schmidt, A.; Tummel, K. K.

2017-10-01

Successful results of the sheared flow stabilized (SFS) Z-pinch from ZaP and ZaP-HD have motivated the new FuZE project to scale the plasma performance to fusion conditions. The SFS Z-pinch is immune to the instabilities that plague the conventional Z-pinch yet maintains the same favorable radial scaling. The plasma density and temperature increase rapidly with decreasing plasma radius, which naturally leads to a compact configuration at fusion conditions. The SFS Z-pinch is being investigated as a novel approach to a compact fusion device in a collaborative ARPA-E ALPHA project with the University of Washington and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. The project includes an experimental effort coupled with high-fidelity physics modeling using kinetic and fluid simulations. Along with scaling law analysis, computational and experimental results from the FuZE device are presented. This work is supported by an award from US ARPA-E.

Heliophysics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Austin, M.; Guhathakurta, M.; Bhattacharjee, A.; Longcope, D. W.; Sojka, J. J.

2010-12-01

Heliophysics Summer Schools. NASA Living With a Star and the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, Visiting Scientist Programs sponsor the Heliophysics Summer Schools to build the next generation of scientists in this new field. The series of summer schools (commencing 2007) trains graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and university faculty to learn and develop the science of heliophysics as a broad, coherent discipline that reaches in space from the Earth’s troposphere to the depths of the Sun, and in time from the formation of the solar system to the distant future. The first three years of the school resulted in the publication of three textbooks for use at universities worldwide. Subsequent years will both teach generations of students and faculty and develop the complementary materials that support teaching of heliophysics at both graduate and undergraduate levels. Heliophysics is a developing scientific discipline integrating studies of the Sun’s variability, the surrounding heliopsphere, and climate environments. Over the past few centuries, our understanding of how the Sun drives space weather and climate on the Earth and other planets has advanced at an ever-increasing rate. The three volumes, “Plasma Physics of the Local Cosmos”, “Space Storms and Radiation: Causes and Effects” and “Evolving Solar Activity and the Climates of Space and Earth”, edited by Carolus J. Schrijver, Lockheed Martin, and George L. Siscoe, Boston University, integrate such diverse topics for the first time as a coherent intellectual discipline. The books may be ordered through Cambridge University Press, and provide a foundational reference for researchers in heliophysics, astrophysics, plasma physics, space physics, solar physics, aeronomy, space weather, planetary science and climate science. Heliophysics Postdoctoral Program. Hosting/mentoring scientists and postdoctoral fellows are invited to apply to this new program designed to train the next generation of researchers in heliophysics. Two major topics of focus for LWS are the science of space weather and of the Sun-climate connection. Preference is given to applicants whose proposed research addresses one of these two foci; but any research program relevant to LWS is considered. Since the goal of this fellowship program is to train Sun-Earth system researchers, preference is also given to research projects that cross the traditional heliophysics subdomains of the Sun, heliosphere, magnetosphere, and ionosphere/upper atmosphere, as well as Sun-climate investigations. Host institutions and mentoring scientists will play critical roles. Interested hosts may submit information about their research on a central database for this program: http://www.vsp.ucar.edu/Heliophysics/

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

Finley, V.L. and Levine, J.D.

The results of the 1997 environmental surveillance and monitoring program for the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) are presented and discussed. The purpose of this report is to provide the U.S. Department of Energy and the public with information on the level of radioactive and non-radioactive pollutants, if any, that are added to the environment as a result of PPPL's operations. During Calendar Year 1997, PPPL's Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor (TFTR) completed fifteen years of fusion experiments begun in 1982. Over the course of three and half years of deuterium-tritium (D-T) plasma experiments, PPPL set a world record of 10.7more » million watts of controlled fusion power, more than 700 tritium shots pulsed into the reactor vessel generating more than 5.6 x 10 20 neutron and 1.6 gigajoules of fusion energy and researchers studied plasma science experimental data, which included "enhanced reverse shear techniques." As TFTR was completing its historic operations, PPPL participated with the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Columbia University, and the University of Washington (Seattle) in a collaboration effort to design the National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX). This next device, NSTX, is located in the former TFTR Hot Cell on D site, and it is designed to be a smaller and more economical torus fusion reactor. Construction of this device began in late 1997, and first plasma in scheduled for early 1999. For 1997, the U.S. Department of Energy in its Laboratory Appraisal report rated the overall performance of Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory as "excellent." The report cited the Laboratory's consistently excellent scientific and technological achievements and its successful management practices, which included high marks for environmental management, employee health and safety, human resources administration, science education, and communications. Groundwater investigations continued under a voluntary agreement with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. PPPL monitored the presence of non-radiological contaminants, mainly volatile organic compounds (components of degreasing solvents). Monitoring revealed the presence of low levels of volatile organic compounds in an adjacent area to PPPL. Also, PPPL's radiological monitoring program characterized the ambient, background levels of tritium in the environment and from the TFTR stack; the data are presented in this report.« less

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

Greenly, John B.; Seyler, Charles

Experimental and computational studies of high energy density plasma streams ablated from fine wires. Laboratory of Plasma Studies, School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Cornell University. Principal Investigators: Dr. John B. Greenly and Dr. Charles E. Seyler. This report summarizes progress during the final year of this project to study the physics of high energy density (HED) plasma streams of 10^17-10^20/cm3 density and high velocity (~100-500 km/s). Such streams are produced from 5-250 micrometer diameter wires heated and ionized by a 1 MA, 250 ns current pulse on the COBRA pulsed power facility at Cornell University. Plasma is ablated frommore » the wires and is driven away to high velocity by unbalanced JxB force. A wire, or an array of wires, can persist as an essentially stationary, continuous source of this streaming plasma for >200 ns, even with driving magnetic fields of many Tesla and peak current densities in the plasma of many MA/cm2. At the heart of the ablation stream generation is the continuous transport of mass from the relatively cold, near-solid-density wire "core" into current-carrying plasma within 1 mm of the wire, followed by the magnetic acceleration of that plasma and its trapped flux to form a directed stream. In the first two years of this program, an advancing understanding of ablation physics led to the discovery of several novel wire ablation experimental regimes. In the final year, one of these new HED plasma regimes has been studied in quantitative detail. This regime studies highly reproducible magnetic reconnection in strongly radiating plasma with supersonic and superalfvenic flow, and shock structures in the outflow. The key discovery is that very heavy wires, e.g. 250 micrometer diameter Al or 150 micrometer Cu, behave in a qualitatively different way than the lighter wires typically used in wire-array Z-pinches. Such wires can be configured to produce a static magnetic X-point null geometry that stores magnetic and thermal energy; reconnection and outflow are triggered when the current begins to decrease and the electric field reverses. The reconnecting flow is driven by both magnetic and thermal pressure forces, and it has been found to be possible to vary the configuration so that one or the other dominates. The magnetic null extends into a current sheet that is heated and radiates strongly, with supersonic outflows. This is the first study of reconnection in this HED plasma regime. This compressible, radiative regime, and the triggering mechanism, may be relevant to solar and astrophysical processes. The PERSEUS extended MHD code has been developed for simulation of these phenomena, and will continue to be used and further developed to help interpret and understand experimental results, as well as to guide experimental design. The code is well-suited to simulations of shocks, and includes Hall and electron inertia physics that appear to be of importance in a number of ablation flow regimes, and definitely in the reconnection regime when gradient scales are comparable to the ion inertial scale. During the final year, our graduate student supported by this grant completed a new version of PERSEUS with the finite volume computational scheme replaced by a discontinuous Galerkin method that gives much less diffusive behavior and allows faster run time and higher spatial resolution. Thecode is now being used to study shock structures produced in the outflow region of the reconnection regime.« less

Neutrino energy transport in weak decoupling and big bang nucleosynthesis

DOE PAGES

Grohs, Evan Bradley; Paris, Mark W.; Kishimoto, Chad T.; ...

2016-04-21

In this study, we calculate the evolution of the early universe through the epochs of weak decoupling, weak freeze-out and big bang nucleosynthesis (BBN) by simultaneously coupling a full strong, electromagnetic, and weak nuclear reaction network with a multienergy group Boltzmann neutrino energy transport scheme. The modular structure of our code provides the ability to dissect the relative contributions of each process responsible for evolving the dynamics of the early universe in the absence of neutrino flavor oscillations. Such an approach allows a detailed accounting of the evolution of the νe, ν¯e, νμ, ν¯μ, ντ, ν¯τ energy distribution functions alongsidemore » and self-consistently with the nuclear reactions and entropy/heat generation and flow between the neutrino and photon/electron/positron/baryon plasma components. This calculation reveals nonlinear feedback in the time evolution of neutrino distribution functions and plasma thermodynamic conditions (e.g., electron-positron pair densities), with implications for the phasing between scale factor and plasma temperature; the neutron-to-proton ratio; light-element abundance histories; and the cosmological parameter N eff. We find that our approach of following the time development of neutrino spectral distortions and concomitant entropy production and extraction from the plasma results in changes in the computed value of the BBN deuterium yield. For example, for particular implementations of quantum corrections in plasma thermodynamics, our calculations show a 0.4% increase in deuterium. These changes are potentially significant in the context of anticipated improvements in observational and nuclear physics uncertainties.« less

Neutrino energy transport in weak decoupling and big bang nucleosynthesis

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

Grohs, Evan Bradley; Paris, Mark W.; Kishimoto, Chad T.

In this study, we calculate the evolution of the early universe through the epochs of weak decoupling, weak freeze-out and big bang nucleosynthesis (BBN) by simultaneously coupling a full strong, electromagnetic, and weak nuclear reaction network with a multienergy group Boltzmann neutrino energy transport scheme. The modular structure of our code provides the ability to dissect the relative contributions of each process responsible for evolving the dynamics of the early universe in the absence of neutrino flavor oscillations. Such an approach allows a detailed accounting of the evolution of the νe, ν¯e, νμ, ν¯μ, ντ, ν¯τ energy distribution functions alongsidemore » and self-consistently with the nuclear reactions and entropy/heat generation and flow between the neutrino and photon/electron/positron/baryon plasma components. This calculation reveals nonlinear feedback in the time evolution of neutrino distribution functions and plasma thermodynamic conditions (e.g., electron-positron pair densities), with implications for the phasing between scale factor and plasma temperature; the neutron-to-proton ratio; light-element abundance histories; and the cosmological parameter N eff. We find that our approach of following the time development of neutrino spectral distortions and concomitant entropy production and extraction from the plasma results in changes in the computed value of the BBN deuterium yield. For example, for particular implementations of quantum corrections in plasma thermodynamics, our calculations show a 0.4% increase in deuterium. These changes are potentially significant in the context of anticipated improvements in observational and nuclear physics uncertainties.« less

On the universality of power laws for tokamak plasma predictions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Garcia, J.; Cambon, D.; Contributors, JET

2018-02-01

Significant deviations from well established power laws for the thermal energy confinement time, obtained from extensive databases analysis as the IPB98(y,2), have been recently reported in dedicated power scans. In order to illuminate the adequacy, validity and universality of power laws as tools for predicting plasma performance, a simplified analysis has been carried out in the framework of a minimal modeling for heat transport which is, however, able to account for the interplay between turbulence and collinear effects with the input power known to play a role in experiments with significant deviations from such power laws. Whereas at low powers, the usual scaling laws are recovered with little influence of other plasma parameters, resulting in a robust power low exponent, at high power it is shown how the exponents obtained are extremely sensitive to the heating deposition, the q-profile or even the sampling or the number of points considered due to highly non-linear behavior of the heat transport. In particular circumstances, even a minimum of the thermal energy confinement time with the input power can be obtained, which means that the approach of the energy confinement time as a power law might be intrinsically invalid. Therefore plasma predictions with a power law approximation with a constant exponent obtained from a regression of a broad range of powers and other plasma parameters which can non-linearly affect and suppress heat transport, can lead to misleading results suggesting that this approach should be taken cautiously and its results continuously compared with modeling which can properly capture the underline physics, as gyrokinetic simulations.

Plasma Processing with a One Atmosphere Uniform Glow Discharge Plasma (OAUGDP)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reece Roth, J.

2000-10-01

The vast majority of all industrial plasma processing is conducted with glow discharges at pressures below 10 torr. This has limited applications to high value workpieces as a result of the large capital cost of vacuum systems and the production constraints of batch processing. It has long been recognized that glow discharges would play a much larger industrial role if they could be operated at one atmosphere. The One Atmosphere Uniform Glow Discharge Plasma (OAUGDP) has been developed at the University of Tennessee Plasma Sciences Laboratory. The OAUGDP is non-thermal RF plasma with the time-resolved characteristics of a classical low pressure DC normal glow discharge. An interdisciplinary team was formed to conduct exploratory investigations of the physics and applications of the OAUGDP. This team includes collaborators from the UTK Textiles and Nonwovens Development Center (TANDEC) and the Departments of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Microbiology, Food Science and Technology, and Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Science. Exploratory tests were conducted on a variety of potential plasma processing and other applications. These include the use of OAUGDP to sterilize medical and dental equipment and air filters; diesel soot removal; plasma aerodynamic effects; electrohydrodynamic (EDH) flow control of the neutral working gas; increasing the surface energy of materials; increasing the wettability and wickability of fabrics; and plasma deposition and directional etching. A general overview of these topics will be presented.

Preface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Craciun, Valentin; Iacomi, Felicia; Tetean, Romulus

2017-12-01

The 11th International Conference on Physics of Advanced Materials, ICPAM-11 (https://www.icpam.ro/) was organized under the auspices of the Romanian Ministry of Education and Research by Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iasi, Romania in collaboration with Babes-Bolyai University of Cluj-Napoca, Romania, National Institute for Laser, Plasma and Radiation Physics, Magurele, Romania and other 22 prestigious institutions from Romania, France, U.K, Russia, Japan, Portugal, Ukraine, Netherlands, Switzerland, Hungary, Turkey, Greece and USA. During September 8-14, 2016, ICPAM 11, together with the other three events, 2nd Autumn School on Physics of Advanced Materials, PAMS-2, 4th International Festival of NanoArt and 2nd Art and Science Photography Exhibition and Workshop, attracted in Cluj-Napoca 290 participants, of which an important number were young researchers, postdocs, artists and PhD and Master students. The financial support offered by important sponsors and exhibitors such as Al Fateh@Sons Traders, Emerson, ArcelorMittal, THORLABS, Histeresis, Specs, Blade Solutions, had a major contribution to provide gratuities and to award many prices to young researchers and PhD students.

Plasma physics abstracts, 1 January - 31 December 1971

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

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

1971-01-01

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

Physical Processes in Hollow Cathode Discharge

DTIC Science & Technology

1989-12-01

State University. Finally, many thanks to my wife, Kyoung -Sook and my son, Frederick Teut, for their love and being supportive for two and half years...recommended for all electron emission purposes. 46 REFERENCES 1. Kim Gunther, "Hollow Cathode Plasma Source" ( Spectra-Mat Hollow Cathode Manual...59 Dong 401 Ho Seoul, Republic of Korea 8. Maj. Kim , Jong-Ryul 1 Postal Code 500-00 Book-Gu, Du-Am Dong, 874-14 Kwang-Ju, Republic of Korea 9. Maj

Study on the immunological safety of universal plasma in the Chinese population in vitro.

PubMed

Chen, Guanyi; Zhu, Liguo; Wang, Shufang; Zhuang, Yuan; Yu, Yang; Wang, Deqing

2017-04-01

The prepared procedure for universal plasma in the Chinese population has been developed. However, the immunological safety with the level of antibodies, soluble immune complexes and complements is necessary to investigate. The universal plasma was pooled at the optimal ratio of A:B:AB=6:2.5:1.5 at 22°C for 1 hour. The titer of IgM antibodies was detected by saline agglutination, and the titer of IgG antibodies was detected by a Polybrene test after IgM destroyed by 2-mereaptoethanol. The hemolysis extent of RBC was investigated by an extracorporal hemolysis test, and the concentration of free-hemoglobin was determined by the ortho-tolidine method. The levels of CIC-C1q, C3b and TCC (C5-9) were tested using an enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The titer of IgM and IgG in universal plasma was lower than 2 and 4, respectively. The hemolysis of the universal plasma with A, B and AB group RBCs was negative with values of 5.5, 6.8 and 5.7, respectively. The level of CIC-C1q and TCC (C5-9) in universal plasma was comparable to that in A or B type pooled plasma, but CIC-C1q was lower than that and TCC (C5-9) was higher than that in AB type pooled plasma. The level of complement C3b was comparable to that in A type pooled plasma, but lower than that in B type pooled plasma and higher than that in AB type pooled plasma. The results of this study demonstrated that the immunological levels were within an acceptable range and confirmed the safety in vitro. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Potential Industrial Applications of the One Atmosphere Uniform Glow Discharge Plasma (OAUGDP) Operating in Ambient Air

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reece Roth, J.

2004-11-01

The majority of industrial plasma processing with glow discharges has been conducted at pressures below 10 torr. This tends to limit applications to high value workpieces as a result of the high capital cost of vacuum systems and the production constraints of batch processing. It has long been recognized that glow discharge plasmas would play a much larger industrial role if they could be generated at one atmosphere. The One Atmosphere Uniform Glow Discharge Plasma (OAUGDP), developed at the University of Tennessee's Plasma Sciences Laboratory, is a non-thermal RF plasma operating on displacement currents with the time-resolved characteristics of a classical low pressure DC normal glow discharge. As a glow discharge, the OAUGDP operates with maximum electrical efficiency at the Stoletow point, where the energy input per ion-electron pair is a minimum [1, 2]. Several interdisciplinary teams have investigated potential applications of the OAUGDP. These teams included collaborators from the UTK Textiles and Nonwovens Development Center (TANDEC), and the Departments of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Microbiology, and Food Science and Technology, as well as the NASA Langley Research Center. The potential applications of the OAUGDP have all been at one atmosphere and room temperature, using air as the working gas. These applications include sterilizing medical and dental equipment; sterilizable air filters to deal with the "sick building syndrome"; removal of soot from Diesel engine exhaust; subsonic plasma aerodynamic effects, including flow re-attachment to airfoils and boundary layer modification; electrohydrodynamic (EDH) flow control of working gases; increasing the surface energy of materials; improving the adhesion of paints and electroplated layers: improving the wettability and wickability of fabrics; stripping of photoresist; and plasma deposition and directional etching of potential microelectronic relevance. [1] J. R. Roth, Industrial Plasma Engineering: Volume I, Principles. Institute of Physics Publishing, Bristol and Philadelphia 1995, ISBN 0-7503-0318-2. [2] Roth, J. R. Industrial Plasma Engineering: Volume II Applications to Nonthermal Plasma Processing Institute of Physics Publishing, Bristol and Philadelphia. 2001, ISBN 0-7503-0545-2.

Charging of Space Debris and Their Dynamical Consequences

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-01-08

field of plasmas and space physics . 15. SUBJECT TERMS Space Plasma Physics , Space Debris 16. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF: 17. LIMITATION OF ABSTRACT...opens up potential new areas of fundamental and applied research in the field of plasmas and space physics ...object in a plasma”, accepted for publication in Physics of Plasmas. (attached as Annexure III) For details on (iv) please refer to the

Introduction to Particle Acceleration in the Cosmos

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gallagher, D. L.; Horwitz, J. L.; Perez, J.; Quenby, J.

2005-01-01

Accelerated charged particles have been used on Earth since 1930 to explore the very essence of matter, for industrial applications, and for medical treatments. Throughout the universe nature employs a dizzying array of acceleration processes to produce particles spanning twenty orders of magnitude in energy range, while shaping our cosmic environment. Here, we introduce and review the basic physical processes causing particle acceleration, in astrophysical plasmas from geospace to the outer reaches of the cosmos. These processes are chiefly divided into four categories: adiabatic and other forms of non-stochastic acceleration, magnetic energy storage and stochastic acceleration, shock acceleration, and plasma wave and turbulent acceleration. The purpose of this introduction is to set the stage and context for the individual papers comprising this monograph.

Falsification of dark energy by fluid mechanics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gibson, Carl H.

2011-11-01

The 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics has been awarded for the discovery from observations of increased supernovae dimness interpreted as distance, so that the Universe expansion rate has changed from a rate decreasing since the big bang to one that is now increasing, driven by anti-gravity forces of a mysterious dark energy material comprising 70% of the Universe mass-energy. Fluid mechanical considerations falsify both the accelerating expansion and dark energy concepts. Kinematic viscosity is neglected in current stan- dard models of self-gravitational structure formation, which rely on cold dark matter CDM condensations and clusterings that are also falsified by fluid mechanics. Weakly collisional CDM particles do not condense but diffuse away. Photon viscosity predicts su- perclustervoid fragmentation early in the plasma epoch and protogalaxies at the end. At the plasma-gas transition, the plasma fragments into Earth-mass gas planets in trillion planet clumps (proto-globular-star-cluster PGCs). The hydrogen planets freeze to form the dark matter of galaxies and merge to form their stars. Dark energy is a systematic dimming error for Supernovae Ia caused by dark matter planets near hot white dwarf stars at the Chandrasekhar carbon limit. Evaporated planet atmospheres may or may not scatter light from the events depending on the line of sight.

The opacity of the universe and the strong equivalence principle

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Canuto, V. M.; Goldman, I.

1983-01-01

A possible explanation of why the advanced solutions of Maxwell's equations are not observed in nature is by way of absorption by an opaque universe. As Davies has shown, the ever expanding, general relativistic cosmological models fail to provide the needed absorption. The absorption mechanism calling for an interplay between local physics and cosmology, is usually developed adopting the strong equivalence principle, SEP, which precludes such interplay. It is shown that complete absorption of electromagnetic radiation by ionized intergalactic plasma is obtained provided a violation of the SEP, of the order of the Hubble's constant, is allowed to occur. The same degree of violation was previously found to be compatible with a large body of observational data.

Finite-β Split-weight Gyrokinetic Particle Simulation of Microinstabilities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jenkins, Thomas G.; Lee, W. W.; Lewandowski, J. L. V.

2003-10-01

The finite-β split-weight gyrokinetic particle simulation scheme [1] has been implemented in two-dimensional slab geometry for the purpose of studying the effects of high temperature electrons on microinstabilities. Drift wave instabilities and ion temperature gradient modes are studied in both shearless slab and sheared slab geometries. The linear and nonlinear evolution of these modes, as well as the physics of microtearing, is compared with the results of Reynders [2] and Cummings [3]. [1] W. W. Lee, J. L. V. Lewandowski, T. S. Hahm, and Z. Lin, Phys. Plasmas 8, 4435 (2001). [2] J. V. W. Reynders, Ph.D. thesis, Princeton University (1992). [3] J. C. Cummings, Ph.D. thesis, Princeton University (1995).

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

Virginia Finley

The results of the 1999 environmental surveillance and monitoring program for the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) are presented and discussed. The purpose of this report is to provide the U.S. Department of Energy and the public with information on the level of radioactive and non-radioactive pollutants (if any) that are added to the environment as a result of PPPL's operations. The report also summarizes environmental initiatives, assessments, and programs that were undertaken in 1999. The Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory has engaged in fusion energy research since 1951. The long-range goal of the U.S. Magnetic Fusion Energy Research Program ismore » to create innovations to make fusion power a practical reality--an alternative energy source. 1999 marked the first year of National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX) operations and Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor (TFTR) dismantlement and deconstruction activities. A collaboration among fourteen national laboratories, universities, and research institutions, the NSTX is a major element in the U.S. Fusion Energy Sciences Program. It has been designed to test the physics principles of spherical torus (ST) plasmas. The ST concept could play an important role in the development of smaller, more economical fusion reactors. With its completion within budget and ahead of its target schedule, NSTX first plasma occurred on February 12, 1999. The 1999 performance of the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory was rated ''outstanding'' by the U.S. Department of Energy in the Laboratory Appraisal report issued early in 2000. The report cited the Laboratory's consistently excellent scientific and technological achievements, its successful management practices, and included high marks in a host of other areas including environmental management, employee health and safety, human resources administration, science education, and communications. Groundwater investigations continued under a voluntary agreement with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. PPPL monitored for the presence of non-radiological contaminants, mainly volatile organic compounds (components of degreasing solvents). Monitoring revealed the presence of low levels of volatile organic compounds in an area adjacent to PPPL. Also, PPPL's radiological monitoring program characterized the ambient, background levels of tritium in the environment and from the TFTR stack; the data are presented in this report.« less

The design and development of a space laboratory to conduct magnetospheric and plasma research

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rosen, A.

1974-01-01

A design study was conducted concerning a proposed shuttle-borne space laboratory for research on magnetospheric and plasma physics. A worldwide survey found two broad research disciplines of interest: geophysical studies of the dynamics and structure of the magnetosphere (including wave characteristics, wave-particle interactions, magnetospheric modifications, beam-plasma interactions, and energetic particles and tracers) and plasma physics studies (plasma physics in space, wake and sheath studies, and propulsion and devices). The Plasma Physics and Environmental Perturbation Laboratory (PPEPL) designed to perform experiments in these areas will include two 50-m booms and two maneuverable subsatellites, a photometer array, standardized proton, electron, and plasma accelerators, a high-powered transmitter for frequencies above 100 kHz, a low-power transmitter for VLF and below, and complete diagnostic packages. Problem areas in the design of a space plasma physics laboratory are indicated.

Plasma Physics at the National Science Foundation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lukin, Vyacheslav

2017-10-01

The Town Meeting on Plasma Physics at the National Science Foundation will provide an opportunity for Q&A about the variety of NSF programs and solicitations relevant to a broad cross-section of the academic plasma science community, from graduating college seniors to senior leaders in the field, and from plasma astrophysics to basic physics to plasma engineering communities. We will discuss recent NSF-hosted events, research awards, and multi-agency partnerships aimed at enabling the progress of science in plasma science and engineering. Future outlook for plasma physics and broader plasma science support at NSF, with an emphasis on how you can help NSF to help the community, will be speculated upon within the uncertainty of the federal budgeting process.

EDITORIAL: Invited papers from the 15th International Congress on Plasma Physics combined with the 13th Latin American Workshop on Plasma Physics Invited papers from the 15th International Congress on Plasma Physics combined with the 13th Latin American Workshop on Plasma Physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Soto, Leopoldo

2011-07-01

The International Advisory Committee of the 15th International Congress on Plasma Physics (ICPP 2010) and the International Advisory Committee of the 13th Latin American Workshop on Plasma Physics (LAWPP 2010) both agreed to hold this combined meeting ICPP-LAWPP-2010 in Santiago de Chile, 8-13 August 2010, considering the celebration of the Bicentennial of Chilean Independence. ICPP-LAWPP-2010 was organized by the Thermonuclear Plasma Department of the Chilean Nuclear Energy Commission (CCHEN) as part of its official program, within the framework of the Chilean Bicentennial activities. This event was also a scientific and academic activity of the project `Center for Research and Applications in Plasma Physics and Pulsed Power, P4', supported by the National Scientific and Technological Commission, CONICYT-Chile, under grant ACT-26. The International Congress on Plasma Physics was first held in Nagoya in 1980, and was followed by: Gothenburg (1982), Lausanne (1984), Kiev (1987), New Delhi (1989), Innsbruck (1992), Foz do Iguacu (1994), Nagoya (1996), Prague (1998), Quebec City (2000), Sydney (2002), Nice (2004), Kiev (2006) and Fukuoka (2008). The purpose of the Congress is to discuss recent progress and outlooks in plasma science, covering fundamental plasma physics, fusion plasmas, astrophysical plasmas, plasma applications, etc. The Latin American Workshop on Plasma Physics was first held in 1982 in Cambuquira, Brazil, followed by: Medellín (1985), Santiago (1988), Buenos Aires (1990), Mexico City (1992), Foz do Iguacu (1994, also combined with ICPP), Caracas (1997), Tandil (1998), La Serena (2000), Sao Pedro (2003), Mexico City (2005) and Caracas (2007). The purpose of the Latin American Workshop on Plasma Physics is to provide a forum in which the achievements of the Latin American plasma physics communities can be displayed, as well as to foster collaboration between plasma scientists within the region and elsewhere. The Program of ICPP-LAWPP-2010 included, amongst others, the following topics: fundamentals of plasma physics, fusion plasmas, plasmas in astrophysics and space physics, plasma applications and technologies, complex plasmas, high energy density plasmas, quantum plasmas and laser-plasma interaction. A total of 180 delegates from 34 different countries took part in ICPP-LAWPP-2010, and 60 delegates received financial assistance from the Local Organizing Committee, thanks to the support granted by the International Union for Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP) and by CCHEN. The ICPP-LAWPP-2010 Program was established by the following Program Committee: • Carlos Alejaldre, ITER • Maria Virginia Alves, Brazil • Julio Herrera, Mexico • Günter Mank, IAEA • George Morales, USA • Padma Kant Shukla, Germany • Guido Van Oost, Belgium • Leopoldo Soto, Chile (Chairman) This Program Committee was formed of selected members from the International Advisory Committee of the ICPP and from the International Advisory Committee of the LAWPP (http://www.icpp-lawpp-2010.cl/page/committees.php). In particular, plenary lectures and invited topical lectures were selected by the Program Committee from a list of nominated lectures presented by the International Advisory Committees of both ICPP and LAWPP. Also, the classification of oral and poster presentations was established by the Program Committee. The Congress included 15 invited plenary talks, 33 invited topical talks, 45 oral contributions, and 160 poster contributions. Most of the plenary and topical lectures are published in this special issue of Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion. The papers were refereed according to the usual standards of the journal. Prior to ICPP-LAWPP 2010, an important activity usually associated with the Latin American Workshop on Plasma Physics took place. This activity was the LAWPP School on Plasma Physics, which was open to participants from all over the world, providing basic training to students and young researchers. The School was attended by 44 participants and 7 lecturers from 11 different countries. All participants received financial assistance from the Local Organizing Committee. The topics covered by the School were: a general description of plasmas, space and astrophysical plasmas, plasma diagnostic techniques, high temperature and fusion plasmas, and low temperature and industrial plasmas. The organizers of ICPP-LAWPP-2010 are grateful to the lecturers of the LAWPP Plasma Physics School: Luis Felipe Delgado-Aparicio (USA), Homero Maciel (Brazil), and Marina Stepanova, J Alejandro Valdivia, Victor Muñoz, Felipe Veloso and Leopoldo Soto (Chile). On 27 February 2010, Chile suffered a major earthquake, one of the worst in the recorded history of the world up to that time. Although Santiago was little affected, the region located 200 km to the south was seriously damaged. After this event, the Local Organizing Committee received many messages from members of the plasma physics community around the world expressing their concern. The Local Organizing Committee greatly appreciates the support of the participants from all over the world who decided to come to Chile to attend the Conference. Their solidarity is highly appreciated. The Chairman of ICPP-LAWPP-2010 is grateful to the members of the Local Organizing Committee for the conference: Karla Cubillos, José Moreno, Cristian Pavez, Felipe Veloso, Marcelo Zambra, Luis Huerta and Fabian Reyes, and to the members of the Program Committee for their work and commitment. The Guest Editor of this special issue is grateful to the Publishers, in particular to Caroline Wilkinson, for their excellent work and cooperation.

2015 Final Reports from the Los Alamos National Laboratory Computational Physics Student Summer Workshop

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

Runnels, Scott Robert; Caldwell, Wendy; Brown, Barton Jed

The two primary purposes of LANL’s Computational Physics Student Summer Workshop are (1) To educate graduate and exceptional undergraduate students in the challenges and applications of computational physics of interest to LANL, and (2) Entice their interest toward those challenges. Computational physics is emerging as a discipline in its own right, combining expertise in mathematics, physics, and computer science. The mathematical aspects focus on numerical methods for solving equations on the computer as well as developing test problems with analytical solutions. The physics aspects are very broad, ranging from low-temperature material modeling to extremely high temperature plasma physics, radiation transportmore » and neutron transport. The computer science issues are concerned with matching numerical algorithms to emerging architectures and maintaining the quality of extremely large codes built to perform multi-physics calculations. Although graduate programs associated with computational physics are emerging, it is apparent that the pool of U.S. citizens in this multi-disciplinary field is relatively small and is typically not focused on the aspects that are of primary interest to LANL. Furthermore, more structured foundations for LANL interaction with universities in computational physics is needed; historically interactions rely heavily on individuals’ personalities and personal contacts. Thus a tertiary purpose of the Summer Workshop is to build an educational network of LANL researchers, university professors, and emerging students to advance the field and LANL’s involvement in it. This report includes both the background for the program and the reports from the students.« less

Investigating the Response and Expansion of Plasma Plumes in a Mesosonic Plasma Using the Situational Awareness Sensor Suite for the ISS (SASSI)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gilchrist, Brian E.; Hoegy, W. R.; Krause, L. Habash; Minow, J. I.; Coffey, V. N.

2014-01-01

To study the complex interactions between the space environment surrounding the International Space Station (ISS) and the ISS space vehicle, we are exploring a specialized suite of plasma sensors, manipulated by the Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS) to probe the near-ISS mesosonic plasma ionosphere moving past the ISS. It is proposed that SASSI consists of the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center's (MSFC's) Thermal Ion Capped Hemispherical Spectrometer (TICHS), Thermal Electron Capped Hemispherical Spectrometer (TECHS), Charge Analyzer Responsive to Local Oscillations (CARLO), the Collimated PhotoElectron Gun (CPEG), and the University of Michigan Advanced Langmuir Probe (ALP). There are multiple expected applications for SASSI. Here, we will discuss the study of fundamental plasma physics questions associated with how an emitted plasma plume (such as from the ISS Plasma Contactor Unit (PCU)) responds and expands in a mesosonic magnetoplasma as well as emit and collect current. The ISS PCU Xe plasma plume drifts through the ionosphere and across the Earth's magnetic field, resulting in complex dynamics. This is of practical and theoretical interest pertaining to contamination concerns (e.g. energetic ion scattering) and the ability to collect and emit current between the spacecraft and the ambient plasma ionosphere. This impacts, for example, predictions of electrodynamic tether current performance using plasma contactors as well as decisions about placing high-energy electric propulsion thrusters on ISS. We will discuss the required measurements and connection to proposed instruments for this study.

Ion Bernstein wave heating research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ono, Masayuki

1993-02-01

Ion Bernstein wave heating (IBWH) utilizes the ion Bernstein wave (IBW), a hot plasma wave, to carry the radio frequency (rf) power to heat the tokamak reactor core. Earlier wave accessibility studies have shown that this finite-Larmor-radius (FLR) mode should penetrate into a hot dense reactor plasma core without significant attenuation. Moreover, the IBW's low perpendicular phase velocity (ω/k⊥≊VTi≪Vα) greatly reduces the otherwise serious wave absorption by the 3.5 MeV fusion α particles. In addition, the property of IBW's that k⊥ρi≊1 makes localized bulk ion heating possible at the ion cyclotron harmonic layers. Such bulk ion heating can prove useful in optimizing fusion reactivity. In another vein, with proper selection of parameters, IBW's can be made subject to strong localized electron Landau damping near the major ion cyclotron harmonic resonance layers. This property can be useful, for example, for rf current drive in the reactor plasma core. IBW's can be excited with loop antennas or with a lower-hybrid-like waveguide launcher at the plasma edge, the latter structure being one that is especially compatible with reactor application. In either case, the mode at the plasma edge is an electron plasma wave (EPW). Deeper in the plasma, the EPW is mode transformed into an IBW. Such launching and mode transformation of IBW's were first demonstrated in experiments in the Advanced Concepts Torus-1 (ACT-1) [Phys. Rev. Lett. 45, 1105 (1980)] plasma torus and in particle simulation calculations. These and other aspects of IBW heating physics have been investigated through a number of experiments performed on ACT-1, the Japanese Institute of Plasma Physics Tokamak II-Upgrade (JIPPTII-U) [Phys. Rev. Lett. 54, 2339 (1985)], the Tokyo University Non-Circular Tokamak (TNT) [Nucl. Fusion 26, 1097 (1986)], the Princeton Large Tokamak (PLT) [Phys. Rev. Lett. 60, 294 (1988)], and Alcator-C [Phys. Rev. Lett. 60, 298 (1988)]. In these experiments both linear and nonlinear heating processes have been observed. Interestingly, improvement of plasma confinement was also observed in the PLT and Alcator-C experiments, opening up the possible use of IBW's for the active control of plasma transport. Two theoretical explanations have been proposed: one based on four-wave mixing of IBW with low-frequency turbulence, the other on the nonlinear generation of a velocity-shear layer. Both models are consistent with the observed threshold power level of a few hundred kW in the experiments. Experiments on lower field plasmas on JFTII-M [Eighth Topical Conference on Radio-Frequency Power in Plasmas, Irvine, CA, 1989 (American Institute of Physics, New York, 1989), p. 350] and DIII-D [Eighth Topical Conference on Radio-Frequency Power in Plasmas, Irvine, CA, 1989 (American Institute of Physics, New York, 1989), p. 314] have raised some concern with the IBW wave-launching process. The experiments showed serious impurity release from the walls but little or no core heating, a combination of circumstances strongly suggestive of edge heating. Possible parasitic channels could include the excitation of short wavelength modes by the Faraday shield's fringing fields, antenna-sheath-wave excitation, an axial-convective loss channel, and nonlinear processes such as parametric instability and ponderomotive effects. Suggested remedies include changes in the antenna phasing, the use of low-Z insulators, operating at higher frequencies, positioning the plasma differently with respect to the antenna, eliminating the Faraday shields, and using a waveguide launcher. The recent JIPPTII-U experiment, employing a 0-π phased antenna array with a higher frequency 130 MHz source, demonstrated that those remedies can indeed work. Looking to the future, one seeks additional ways in which IBWH can improve tokamak performance. The strong ponderomotive potential of the IBWH antenna may be used to stabilize external kinks and, acting as an rf limiter, to control the plasma edge. Control of the plasma pressure profile with local IBWH heating is already an important part of the Princeton Beta Experiment-Modified (PBX-M) [Ninth Topical Conference on Radio-Frequency Power in Plasmas, Charleston, SC, 1991 (American Institute of Physics, New York, 1991), p. 129] program in its exploration of the second-stability regime. Application of IBWH may also improve the performance of neutral beam heating and the efficiency and localization of lower-hybrid current drive for current profile control. Used with pellet injection, IBWH may also prolong the period of good confinement. The three planned high-power IBWH experiments covering vastly different parameters: f=40-80 MHz for PBX-M; f=130 MHz for JIPPT-II-U; and f=430 MHz for the Frascati Tokamak-Upgrade (FT-U) [16th European Physical Society Conference on Controlled Fusion and Plasma Physics, Venice, Italy, 1989 (European Physical Society, Amsterdam, 1989), Vol. III, p. 1069] appear to be well positioned to explore these possibilities and to clarify other issues including the physics of wave launching and associated nonlinear processes.

Laser Wakefield Acceleration: Structural and Dynamic Studies. Final Technical Report ER40954

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

Downer, Michael C.

2014-04-30

Particle accelerators enable scientists to study the fundamental structure of the universe, but have become the largest and most expensive of scientific instruments. In this project, we advanced the science and technology of laser-plasma accelerators, which are thousands of times smaller and less expensive than their conventional counterparts. In a laser-plasma accelerator, a powerful laser pulse exerts light pressure on an ionized gas, or plasma, thereby driving an electron density wave, which resembles the wake behind a boat. Electrostatic fields within this plasma wake reach tens of billions of volts per meter, fields far stronger than ordinary non-plasma matter (suchmore » as the matter that a conventional accelerator is made of) can withstand. Under the right conditions, stray electrons from the surrounding plasma become trapped within these “wake-fields”, surf them, and acquire energy much faster than is possible in a conventional accelerator. Laser-plasma accelerators thus might herald a new generation of compact, low-cost accelerators for future particle physics, x-ray and medical research. In this project, we made two major advances in the science of laser-plasma accelerators. The first of these was to accelerate electrons beyond 1 gigaelectronvolt (1 GeV) for the first time. In experimental results reported in Nature Communications in 2013, about 1 billion electrons were captured from a tenuous plasma (about 1/100 of atmosphere density) and accelerated to 2 GeV within about one inch, while maintaining less than 5% energy spread, and spreading out less than ½ milliradian (i.e. ½ millimeter per meter of travel). Low energy spread and high beam collimation are important for applications of accelerators as coherent x-ray sources or particle colliders. This advance was made possible by exploiting unique properties of the Texas Petawatt Laser, a powerful laser at the University of Texas at Austin that produces pulses of 150 femtoseconds (1 femtosecond is 10-15 seconds) in duration and 150 Joules in energy (equivalent to the muzzle energy of a small pistol bullet). This duration was well matched to the natural electron density oscillation period of plasma of 1/100 atmospheric density, enabling efficient excitation of a plasma wake, while this energy was sufficient to drive a high-amplitude wake of the right shape to produce an energetic, collimated electron beam. Continuing research is aimed at increasing electron energy even further, increasing the number of electrons captured and accelerated, and developing applications of the compact, multi-GeV accelerator as a coherent, hard x-ray source for materials science, biomedical imaging and homeland security applications. The second major advance under this project was to develop new methods of visualizing the laser-driven plasma wake structures that underlie laser-plasma accelerators. Visualizing these structures is essential to understanding, optimizing and scaling laser-plasma accelerators. Yet prior to work under this project, computer simulations based on estimated initial conditions were the sole source of detailed knowledge of the complex, evolving internal structure of laser-driven plasma wakes. In this project we developed and demonstrated a suite of optical visualization methods based on well-known methods such as holography, streak cameras, and coherence tomography, but adapted to the ultrafast, light-speed, microscopic world of laser-driven plasma wakes. Our methods output images of laser-driven plasma structures in a single laser shot. We first reported snapshots of low-amplitude laser wakes in Nature Physics in 2006. We subsequently reported images of high-amplitude laser-driven plasma “bubbles”, which are important for producing electron beams with low energy spread, in Physical Review Letters in 2010. More recently, we have figured out how to image laser-driven structures that change shape while propagating in a single laser shot. The latter techniques, which use the methods of computerized tomography, were demonstrated on test objects – e.g. laser-driven filaments in air and glass – and reported in Optics Letters in 2013 and Nature Communications in 2014. Their output is a multi-frame movie rather than a snapshot. Continuing research is aimed at applying these tomographic methods directly to evolving laser-driven plasma accelerator structures in our laboratory, then, once perfected, to exporting them to plasma-based accelerator laboratories around the world as standard in-line metrology instruments.« less

Physics of the Space Environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vasyliünas, Vytenis M.

This book, one in the Cambridge Atmospheric and Space Science Series, joins a growing list of advanced-level textbooks in a field of study and research known under a variety of names: space plasma physics, solar-terrestrial or solar-planetary relations, space weather, or (the official name of the relevant AGU section) space physics and aeronomy. On the basis of graduate courses taught by the author in various departments at the University of Michigan, complete with problems and with appendices of physical constants and mathematical identities, this is indeed a textbook, systematic and severe in its approach. The book is divided into three parts, in length ratios of roughly 6:4:5. Part I, “Theoretical Description of Gases and Plasmas,” starts by writing down Maxwell's equations and the Lorentz transformation (no nonsense about any introductory material of a descriptive or historical nature) and proceeds through particle orbit theory, kinetics, and plasma physics with fluid and MHD approximations to waves, shocks, and energetic particle transport. Part II, “The Upper Atmosphere,” features chapters on the terrestrial upper atmosphere, airglow and aurora, and the ionosphere. Part III, “Sun-Earth Connection,” deals with the Sun, the solar wind, cosmic rays, and the terrestrial magnetosphere. The book thus covers, with two exceptions, just about all the topics of interest to Space Physics and Aeronomy scientists, and then some (the chapter on the Sun, for instance, briefly discusses also topics of the solar interior: thermonuclear energy generation, equilibrium structure, energy transfer, with a page or two on each). One exception reflects a strong geocentric bias: there is not one word in the main text on magnetospheres and ionospheres of other planets and their interaction with the solar wind (they are mentioned in a few problems). The other exception: the chapter on the terrestrial magnetosphere lacks a systematic exposition of the theory of magnetosphereionosphere coupling.

The concept of collision strength and its applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chang, Yongbin

Collision strength, the measure of strength for a binary collision, hasn't been defined clearly. In practice, many physical arguments have been employed for the purpose and taken for granted. A scattering angle has been widely and intensively used as a measure of collision strength in plasma physics for years. The result of this is complication and unnecessary approximation in deriving some of the basic kinetic equations and in calculating some of the basic physical terms. The Boltzmann equation has a five-fold integral collision term that is complicated. Chandrasekhar and Spitzer's approaches to the linear Fokker-Planck coefficients have several approximations. An effective variable-change technique has been developed in this dissertation as an alternative to scattering angle as the measure of collision strength. By introducing the square of the reduced impulse or its equivalencies as a collision strength variable, many plasma calculations have been simplified. The five-fold linear Boltzmann collision integral and linearized Boltzmann collision integral are simplified to three-fold integrals. The arbitrary order linear Fokker-Planck coefficients are calculated and expressed in a uniform expression. The new theory provides a simple and exact method for describing the equilibrium plasma collision rate, and a precise calculation of the equilibrium relaxation time. It generalizes bimolecular collision reaction rate theory to a reaction rate theory for plasmas. A simple formula of high precision with wide temperature range has been developed for electron impact ionization rates for carbon atoms and ions. The universality of the concept of collision strength is emphasized. This dissertation will show how Arrhenius' chemical reaction rate theory and Thomson's ionization theory can be unified as one single theory under the concept of collision strength, and how many important physical terms in different disciplines, such as activation energy in chemical reaction theory, ionization energy in Thomson's ionization theory, and the Coulomb logarithm in plasma physics, can be unified into a single one---the threshold value of collision strength. The collision strength, which is a measure of a transfer of momentum in units of energy, can be used to reconcile the differences between Descartes' opinion and Leibnitz's opinion about the "true" measure of a force. Like Newton's second law, which provides an instantaneous measure of a force, collision strength, as a cumulative measure of a force, can be regarded as part of a law of force in general.

An Explorative Study to Use DBD Plasma Generation for Aircraft Icing Mitigation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hu, Hui; Zhou, Wenwu; Liu, Yang; Kolbakir, Cem

2017-11-01

An explorative investigation was performed to demonstrate the feasibility of utilizing thermal effect induced by Dielectric-Barrier-Discharge (DBD) plasma generation for aircraft icing mitigation. The experimental study was performed in an Icing Research Tunnel available at Iowa State University (i.e., ISU-IRT). A NACA0012 airfoil/wing model embedded with DBD plasma actuators was installed in ISU-IRT under typical glaze icing conditions pertinent to aircraft inflight icing phenomena. While a high-speed imaging system was used to record the dynamic ice accretion process over the airfoil surface for the test cases with and without switching on the DBD plasma actuators, an infrared (IR) thermal imaging system was utilized to map the corresponding temperature distributions to quantify the unsteady heat transfer and phase changing process over the airfoil surface. The thermal effect induced by DBD plasma generation was demonstrated to be able to keep the airfoil surface staying free of ice during the entire ice accretion experiment. The measured quantitative surface temperature distributions were correlated with the acquired images of the dynamic ice accretion and water runback processes to elucidate the underlying physics. National Science Foundation CBET-1064196 and CBET-1435590.

Plasma Physics Applied (New Book)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grabbe, Crockett

2007-03-01

0.5cm Plasma physics applications are one of the most rapidly growing fields in engineering & applied science today. The last decade alone has seen the rapid emergence of new applications such as dusty plasmas in the semiconductor and microchip industries, and plasma TVs. In addition, this last decade saw the achievement of the 50-year Lawson breakeven condition for fusion. With new discoveries in space plasma physics and applications to spacecraft for worldwide communication and space weather, as well as new applications being discovered, this diversity is always expanding. The new book Plasma Physics Applied reviews developments in several of these areas. Chapter 1 reviews the content and its authors, and is followed by a more comprehensive review of plasma physics applications in general in Chapter 2. Plasma applications in combustion and environmental uses are presented in Chapter 3. Lightning effects in planetary magnetospheres and potential application are described in Chapter 4. The area of dusty plasmas in both industrial and space plasmas and their applications are reviewed in Chapter 5. The particular area of Coulomb clusters in dusty plasmas is presented in Chapter 6. The variety of approaches to plasma confinement in magnetic devices for fusion are laid out in Chapter 7. Finally, an overview of plasma accelerator developments and their applications are presented in Chapter 8.

The interplay between biological and physical scenarios of bacterial death induced by non-thermal plasma.

PubMed

Lunov, Oleg; Zablotskii, Vitalii; Churpita, Olexander; Jäger, Ales; Polívka, Leoš; Syková, Eva; Dejneka, Alexandr; Kubinová, Šárka

2016-03-01

Direct interactions of plasma matter with living cells and tissues can dramatically affect their functionality, initiating many important effects from cancer elimination to bacteria deactivation. However, the physical mechanisms and biochemical pathways underlying the effects of non-thermal plasma on bacteria and cell fate have still not been fully explored. Here, we report on the molecular mechanisms of non-thermal plasma-induced bacteria inactivation in both Gram-positive and Gram-negative strains. We demonstrate that depending on the exposure time plasma induces either direct physical destruction of bacteria or triggers programmed cell death (PCD) that exhibits characteristic features of apoptosis. The interplay between physical disruption and PCD is on the one hand driven by physical plasma parameters, and on the other hand by biological and physical properties of bacteria. The explored possibilities of the tuneable bacteria deactivation provide a basis for the development of advanced plasma-based therapies. To a great extent, our study opens new possibilities for controlled non-thermal plasma interactions with living systems. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

EDITORIAL: Interrelationship between plasma phenomena in the laboratory and in space

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koepke, Mark

2008-07-01

The premise of investigating basic plasma phenomena relevant to space is that an alliance exists between both basic plasma physicists, using theory, computer modelling and laboratory experiments, and space science experimenters, using different instruments, either flown on different spacecraft in various orbits or stationed on the ground. The intent of this special issue on interrelated phenomena in laboratory and space plasmas is to promote the interpretation of scientific results in a broader context by sharing data, methods, knowledge, perspectives, and reasoning within this alliance. The desired outcomes are practical theories, predictive models, and credible interpretations based on the findings and expertise available. Laboratory-experiment papers that explicitly address a specific space mission or a specific manifestation of a space-plasma phenomenon, space-observation papers that explicitly address a specific laboratory experiment or a specific laboratory result, and theory or modelling papers that explicitly address a connection between both laboratory and space investigations were encouraged. Attention was given to the utility of the references for readers who seek further background, examples, and details. With the advent of instrumented spacecraft, the observation of waves (fluctuations), wind (flows), and weather (dynamics) in space plasmas was approached within the framework provided by theory with intuition provided by the laboratory experiments. Ideas on parallel electric field, magnetic topology, inhomogeneity, and anisotropy have been refined substantially by laboratory experiments. Satellite and rocket observations, theory and simulations, and laboratory experiments have contributed to the revelation of a complex set of processes affecting the accelerations of electrons and ions in the geospace plasma. The processes range from meso-scale of several thousands of kilometers to micro-scale of a few meters to kilometers. Papers included in this special issue serve to synthesise our current understanding of processes related to the coupling and feedback at disparate scales. Categories of topics included here are (1) ionospheric physics and (2) Alfvén-wave physics, both of which are related to the particle acceleration responsible for auroral displays, (3) whistler-mode triggering mechanism, which is relevant to radiation-belt dynamics, (4) plasmoid encountering a barrier, which has applications throughout the realm of space and astrophysical plasmas, and (5) laboratory investigations of the entire magnetosphere or the plasma surrounding the magnetosphere. The papers are ordered from processes that take place nearest the Earth to processes that take place at increasing distances from Earth. Many advances in understanding space plasma phenomena have been linked to insight derived from theoretical modeling and/or laboratory experiments. Observations from space-borne instruments are typically interpreted using theoretical models developed to predict the properties and dynamics of space and astrophysical plasmas. The usefulness of customized laboratory experiments for providing confirmation of theory by identifying, isolating, and studying physical phenomena efficiently, quickly, and economically has been demonstrated in the past. The benefits of laboratory experiments to investigating space-plasma physics are their reproducibility, controllability, diagnosability, reconfigurability, and affordability compared to a satellite mission or rocket campaign. Certainly, the plasma being investigated in a laboratory device is quite different from that being measured by a spaceborne instrument; nevertheless, laboratory experiments discover unexpected phenomena, benchmark theoretical models, develop physical insight, establish observational signatures, and pioneer diagnostic techniques. Explicit reference to such beneficial laboratory contributions is occasionally left out of the citations in the space-physics literature in favor of theory-paper counterparts and, thus, the scientific support that laboratory results can provide to the development of space-relevant theoretical models is often under-recognized. It is unrealistic to expect the dimensional parameters corresponding to space plasma to be matchable in the laboratory. However, a laboratory experiment is considered well designed if the subset of parameters relevant to a specific process shares the same phenomenological regime as the subset of analogous space parameters, even if less important parameters are mismatched. Regime boundaries are assigned by normalizing a dimensional parameter to an appropriate reference or scale value to make it dimensionless and noting the values at which transitions occur in the physical behavior or approximations. An example of matching regimes for cold-plasma waves is finding a 45° diagonal line on the log--log CMA diagram along which lie both a laboratory-observed wave and a space-observed wave. In such a circumstance, a space plasma and a lab plasma will support the same kind of modes if the dimensionless parameters are scaled properly (Bellan 2006 Fundamentals of Plasma Physics (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press) p 227). The plasma source, configuration geometry, and boundary conditions associated with a specific laboratory experiment are characteristic elements that affect the plasma and plasma processes that are being investigated. Space plasma is not exempt from an analogous set of constraining factors that likewise influence the phenomena that occur. Typically, each morphologically distinct region of space has associated with it plasma that is unique by virtue of the various mechanisms responsible for the plasma's presence there, as if the plasma were produced by a unique source. Boundary effects that typically constrain the possible parameter values to lie within one or more restricted ranges are inescapable in laboratory plasma. The goal of a laboratory experiment is to examine the relevant physics within these ranges and extrapolate the results to space conditions that may or may not be subject to any restrictions on the values of the plasma parameters. The interrelationship between laboratory and space plasma experiments has been cultivated at a low level and the potential scientific benefit in this area has yet to be realized. The few but excellent examples of joint papers, joint experiments, and directly relevant cross-disciplinary citations are a direct result of the emphasis placed on this interrelationship two decades ago. Building on this special issue Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion plans to create a dedicated webpage to highlight papers directly relevant to this field published either in the recent past or in the future. It is hoped that this resource will appeal to the readership in the laboratory-experiment and space-plasma communities and improve the cross-fertilization between them.

Nonlinear screening of dust grains and structurization of dusty plasma: II. formation and stability of dust structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tsytovich, V. N.; Gusein-zade, N. G.; Ignatov, A. M.

2017-10-01

The second part of the review on dust structures (the first part was published in Plasma Phys. Rep. 39, 515 (2013)) is devoted to experimental and theoretical studies on the stability of structures and their formation from the initially uniform dusty plasma components. The applicability limits of theoretical results and the role played by nonlinearity in the screening of dust grains are considered. The importance of nonlinearity is demonstrated by using numerous laboratory observations of planar clusters and volumetric dust structures. The simplest compact agglomerates of dust grains in the form of stable planar clusters are discussed. The universal character of instability resulting in the structurization of an initially uniform dusty plasma is shown. The fundamental correlations described in the first part of the review, supplemented with effects of dust inertia and dust friction by the neutral gas, are use to analyze structurization instability. The history of the development of theoretical ideas on the physics of the cluster formation for different types of interaction between dust grains is described.

Multi-scale simulations of space problems with iPIC3D

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lapenta, Giovanni; Bettarini, Lapo; Markidis, Stefano

The implicit Particle-in-Cell method for the computer simulation of space plasma, and its im-plementation in a three-dimensional parallel code, called iPIC3D, are presented. The implicit integration in time of the Vlasov-Maxwell system removes the numerical stability constraints and enables kinetic plasma simulations at magnetohydrodynamics scales. Simulations of mag-netic reconnection in plasma are presented to show the effectiveness of the algorithm. In particular we will show a number of simulations done for large scale 3D systems using the physical mass ratio for Hydrogen. Most notably one simulation treats kinetically a box of tens of Earth radii in each direction and was conducted using about 16000 processors of the Pleiades NASA computer. The work is conducted in collaboration with the MMS-IDS theory team from University of Colorado (M. Goldman, D. Newman and L. Andersson). Reference: Stefano Markidis, Giovanni Lapenta, Rizwan-uddin Multi-scale simulations of plasma with iPIC3D Mathematics and Computers in Simulation, Available online 17 October 2009, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.matcom.2009.08.038

Turbulence Heating ObserveR – satellite mission proposal

DOE PAGES

Vaivads, A.; Retinò, A.; Soucek, J.; ...

2016-09-22

The Universe is permeated by hot, turbulent, magnetized plasmas. Turbulent plasma is a major constituent of active galactic nuclei, supernova remnants, the intergalactic and interstellar medium, the solar corona, the solar wind and the Earth’s magnetosphere, just to mention a few examples. Furthermore, energy dissipation of turbulent fluctuations plays a key role in plasma heating and energization, yet we still do not understand the underlying physical mechanisms involved.THOR is a mission designed to answer the questions of how turbulent plasma is heated and particles accelerated, how the dissipated energy is partitioned and how dissipation operates in different regimes of turbulence.THOR is amore » single-spacecraft mission with an orbit tuned to maximize data return from regions in near-Earth space – magnetosheath, shock, foreshock and pristine solar wind – featuring different kinds of turbulence. We summarize theTHOR proposal submitted on 15 January 2015 to the ‘Call for a Medium-size mission opportunity in ESAs Science Programme for a launch in 2025 (M4)’.THOR has been selected by European Space Agency (ESA) for the study phase.« less

Turbulence Heating ObserveR – satellite mission proposal

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

Vaivads, A.; Retinò, A.; Soucek, J.

The Universe is permeated by hot, turbulent, magnetized plasmas. Turbulent plasma is a major constituent of active galactic nuclei, supernova remnants, the intergalactic and interstellar medium, the solar corona, the solar wind and the Earth’s magnetosphere, just to mention a few examples. Furthermore, energy dissipation of turbulent fluctuations plays a key role in plasma heating and energization, yet we still do not understand the underlying physical mechanisms involved.THOR is a mission designed to answer the questions of how turbulent plasma is heated and particles accelerated, how the dissipated energy is partitioned and how dissipation operates in different regimes of turbulence.THOR is amore » single-spacecraft mission with an orbit tuned to maximize data return from regions in near-Earth space – magnetosheath, shock, foreshock and pristine solar wind – featuring different kinds of turbulence. We summarize theTHOR proposal submitted on 15 January 2015 to the ‘Call for a Medium-size mission opportunity in ESAs Science Programme for a launch in 2025 (M4)’.THOR has been selected by European Space Agency (ESA) for the study phase.« less

FLARE (Facility for Laboratory Reconnection Experiments): A Major Next-Step for Laboratory Studies of Magnetic Reconnection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ji, H.; Bhattacharjee, A.; Prager, S.; Daughton, W. S.; Bale, S. D.; Carter, T. A.; Crocker, N.; Drake, J. F.; Egedal, J.; Sarff, J.; Wallace, J.; Belova, E.; Ellis, R.; Fox, W. R., II; Heitzenroeder, P.; Kalish, M.; Jara-Almonte, J.; Myers, C. E.; Que, W.; Ren, Y.; Titus, P.; Yamada, M.; Yoo, J.

2014-12-01

A new intermediate-scale plasma experiment, called the Facility for Laboratory Reconnection Experiments or FLARE, is under construction at Princeton as a joint project by five universities and two national labs to study magnetic reconnection in regimes directly relevant to space, solar and astrophysical plasmas. The currently existing small-scale experiments have been focusing on the single X-line reconnection process in plasmas either with small effective sizes or at low Lundquist numbers, both of which are typically very large in natural plasmas. These new regimes involve multiple X-lines as guided by a reconnection "phase diagram", in which different coupling mechanisms from the global system scale to the local dissipation scale are classified into different reconnection phases [H. Ji & W. Daughton, Phys. Plasmas 18, 111207 (2011)]. The design of the FLARE device is based on the existing Magnetic Reconnection Experiment (MRX) at Princeton (http://mrx.pppl.gov) and is to provide experimental access to the new phases involving multiple X-lines at large effective sizes and high Lundquist numbers, directly relevant to space and solar plasmas. The motivating major physics questions, the construction status, and the planned collaborative research especially with space and solar research communities will be discussed.

FLARE (Facility for Laboratory Reconnection Experiments): A Major Next-Step for Laboratory Studies of Magnetic Reconnection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ji, Hantao; Bhattacharjee, A.; Prager, S.; Daughton, W.; Bale, Stuart D.; Carter, T.; Crocker, N.; Drake, J.; Egedal, J.; Sarff, J.; Fox, W.; Jara-Almonte, J.; Myers, C.; Ren, Y.; Yamada, M.; Yoo, J.

2015-04-01

A new intermediate-scale plasma experiment, called the Facility for Laboratory Reconnection Experiments or FLARE (flare.pppl.gov), is under construction at Princeton as a joint project by five universities and two national labs to study magnetic reconnection in regimes directly relevant to heliophysical and astrophysical plasmas. The currently existing small-scale experiments have been focusing on the single X-line reconnection process in plasmas either with small effective sizes or at low Lundquist numbers, both of which are typically very large in natural plasmas. These new regimes involve multiple X-lines as guided by a reconnection "phase diagram", in which different coupling mechanisms from the global system scale to the local dissipation scale are classified into different reconnection phases [H. Ji & W. Daughton, Phys. Plasmas 18, 111207 (2011)]. The design of the FLARE device is based on the existing Magnetic Reconnection Experiment (MRX) (mrx.pppl.gov) and is to provide experimental access to the new phases involving multiple X-lines at large effective sizes and high Lundquist numbers, directly relevant to magnetospheric, solar wind, and solar coronal plasmas. After a brief summary of recent laboratory results on the topic of magnetic reconnection, the motivating major physics questions, the construction status, and the planned collaborative research especially with heliophysics communities will be discussed.

15th International Congress on Plasma Physics & 13th Latin American Workshop on Plasma Physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Soto, Leopoldo

2014-05-01

The International Advisory Committee of the 15th International Congress on Plasma Physics (ICPP 2010) and the International Advisory Committee of the 13th Latin American Workshop on Plasma Physics (LAWPP 2010), together agreed to carry out this combined meeting ICPP-LAWPP-2010 in Santiago de Chile, 8-13 August 2010, on occasion of the Bicentennial of Chilean Independence. The ICPP-LAWPP-2010 was organized by the Thermonuclear Plasma Department of the Chilean Nuclear Energy Commission (CCHEN) as part of the official program within the framework of the Chilean Bicentennial. The event was also a scientific and academic activity of the project ''Center for Research and Applications in Plasma Physics and Pulsed Power, P4'', supported by National Scientific and Technological Commission, CONICYT-Chile, under grant ACT-26. The International Congress on Plasma Physics was first held in Nagoya, in 1980, and followed by the Congresses: Gothenburg (1982), Lausanne (1984), Kiev (1987), New Delhi (1989), Innsbruck (1992), Foz do Iguacu (1994), Nagoya (1996), Prague (1998), Quebec City (2000), Sydney (2002), Nice (2004), Kiev (2006), and Fukuoka (2008). The purpose of the Congress is to discuss the recent progress and future views in plasma science, including fundamental plasma physics, fusion plasmas, astrophysical plasmas, and plasma applications, and so forth. The Latin American Workshop on Plasma Physics was first held in 1982 in Cambuquira, Brazil, followed by the Workshops: Medellín (1985), Santiago (1988), Buenos Aires (1990), Mexico City (1992), Foz do Iguacu (1994, also combined with ICPP), Caracas (1997), Tandil (1998), La Serena (2000), Sao Pedro (2003), Mexico City (2005), and Caracas (2007). The Latin American Workshop on Plasma Physics is a communication forum of the achievements of the plasma-physics regional community, fostering collaboration between plasma scientists within the region and elsewhere. The program of the ICPP-LAWPP-2010 included the topics: Fundamentals of Plasma Physics, Fusion Plasmas, Plasmas in Astrophysics and Space Physics, Plasma Applications and Technologies, Complex Plasmas, High Energy Density Plasmas, Quantum Plasmas, Laser-Plasma Interaction and among others. A total of 180 delegates from 34 different countries took part in the ICPP-LAWPP-2010. Sixty delegates received economical assistance from the local organized committee, thanks to the support of the International Union for Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP) and the Chilean Nuclear Energy Commission (CCHEN). The ICPP-LAWPP-2010 Program was elaborated by the following Program Committee: Carlos Alejaldre, ITER Maria Virginia Alves, Brazil Julio Herrera, Mexico Günter Mank, IAEA George Morales, USA Padma Kant Shukla, Germany Guido Van Oost, Belgium Leopoldo Soto, Chile (Chairman) This Program Committee was formed by selected members from the International Advisory Committee of the ICPP and by selected members from the International Advisory Committee of the LAWPP. In particular, Plenary Lectures and Invited Topical Lectures were selected by the Program Committee from a list of nominated presentations by the International Advisory Committees of both ICPP and LAWPP. Also, the classification of oral and poster presentations was elaborated by the Program Committee. The congress included: 15 invited plenary talks, 33 invited topical talks, 45 oral contributions, and 160 poster contributions. A major part of the plenary and topical lectures were published in a special issue of the Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion, IOP Publishing (Plasma Phys. Control Fusion Volume 53, Number 7, July 2011: http://iopscience.iop.org/0741-3335/53/7). The papers were refereed according to the standards of the journal Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion. An large number of the participants sent their contributions articles to this volume of Journal of Physics: Conference Series, IOP Publishing. The articles received were reviewed by the local organizing committee and by invited peers. The criteria for review focused on the demand for a consistent research and the clear statement of results. Most of the articles received report the work of research groups where advanced students and young investigators are prominent. Thanks to their enthusiasm, we would like to express our appreciation to the authors. Previous to the ICPP-LAWPP 2010, an important activity associated to the Latin American Workshop on Plasma Physics took place. This activity was the LAWPP School on Plasma Physics, which was open to participants from over the world, providing basic training to students and young researchers. The School was attended by 44 participants and 6 lecturers from 11 different countries. All participants received economical assistance from the local organizing committee. The topics covered by the school were: general description of plasmas, space and astrophysical plasmas, plasma diagnostic techniques, high temperature and fusion plasmas, and low temperature and industrial plasmas. The organizers of the ICPP-LAWPP-2010 are grateful to the lectures of the LAWPP Plasma Physics School: Luis Felipe Delgado-Aparicio (USA), Homero Maciel (Brazil), and Marina Stepanova, J Alejandro Valdivia, Victor Muñoz, Felipe Veloso, Leopoldo Soto from Chile. On 27 February, 2010, one of the worst earthquakes in the recorded history of the world struck Chile. Although Santiago was affected little, the region located 200 km South of Santiago was seriously damaged. After this event, the local organizing committee received many messages from members of the plasma physics community around the world expressing their concern. The local organizing committee greatly appreciates the support of the participants from the entire world that decided to come to Chile and attend the Conference. Their solidarity is highly appreciated. During the celebration of the ICPP-LAWPP in Chile the two pioneers of plasma physics in Chile were affected by grave illness. Albeit that, Dr Hernán Chuaqui, pioneer of experimental plasma physics in Chile participated in the meeting. Alas, Dr Luis Gomberoff, pioneer of the theoretical plasma physics in Chile could not attend. Sadly, Professor Gomberoff died in September 2010 and Professor Chuaqui in July 2012. We would like to remember them with admiration. The Chairman of the ICPP-LAWPP-2010 is grateful to the members of the Local Organizing Committee of the conference: Karla Cubillos, José Moreno, Cristian Pavez, Felipe Veloso, Marcelo Zambra, Luis Huerta, and Fabian Reyes and to the members of the Program Committee for their work and commitment. Finally, my personal apology is in order regarding the delay in publishing these proceedings due to an unfortunate sequence of personal and professional circumstances. I would like to thank the Journal of Physics: Conference Series for the fast publication of the proceedings, in particular to Ms Sarah Toms for her excellent work and cooperation. Leopoldo Soto Chairman of the ICPP-LAWPP-2010 Chilean Nuclear Energy Commission, Chile Conference photograph Details of the committees are available in the PDF

Overview of Space Station attached payloads in the areas of solar physics, solar terrestrial physics, and plasma processes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Roberts, W. T.; Kropp, J.; Taylor, W. W. L.

1986-01-01

This paper outlines the currently planned utilization of the Space Station to perform investigations in solar physics, solar terrestrial physics, and plasma physics. The investigations and instrumentation planned for the Solar Terrestrial Observatory (STO) and its associated Space Station accommodation requirements are discussed as well as the planned placement of the STO instruments and typical operational scenarios. In the area of plasma physics, some preliminary plans for scientific investigations and for the accommodation of a plasma physics facility attached to the Space Station are outlined. These preliminary experiment concepts use the space environment around the Space Station as an unconfined plasma laboratory. In solar physics, the initial instrument complement and associated accommodation requirements of the Advanced Solar Observatory are described. The planned evolutionary development of this observatory is outlined, making use of the Space Station capabilities for servicing and instrument reconfiguration.

On extended analytic theory of 2D ballooning modes in tokamak plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abdoul, Peshwaz; Dickinson, David; Roach, Colin; Wilson, Howard

2016-10-01

We have extended the leading order ballooning theory which typically yields more unstable isolated mode (IM) that usually sit on the outboard mid-plane, to higher order where less unstable general mode (GM) sits at a different poloidal location. Our analytic theory has revealed that any poloidal shift of the mode with respect to the outboard mid-plane - arising from the effect of profile variations, for example - is always accompanied by an asymmetry of the radial eigenmode structure. Hence, GMs have radial asymmetry. Our theory can have important consequences, especially for calculations that invoke quasilinear theory to model intrinsic rotation arising from Reynolds stress. This is very important in ITER for which external torques are small. In such theories it is the radial asymmetry in the global GM mode which can generate a Reynolds stress that could in principle contribute to the poloidal flow during the low to high (L-H) mode transition in tokamaks. I am also an associate member at the York Plasma Institute, University of York and teaching at the Physics Department, University of Sulaimani, Kurdistan Region, Iraq.

A perspective on the contributions of Ronald C. Davidson to plasma physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wurtele, Jonathan S.

2016-10-01

Starting in the 1960s and continuing for half a century, Ronald C. Davidson made fundamental theoretical contributions to a wide range of areas of pure and applied plasma physics. Davidson was one of the founders of nonneutral plasma physics and a pioneer in developing and applying kinetic theory and nonlinear stability theorems to collective interaction processes and nonlinear dynamics of nonneutral plasmas and intense charged particle beams. His textbooks on nonneutral plasmas are the classic references for the field and educated generations of graduate students. Davidson was a strong advocate for applying the ideas of plasma theory to develop techniques that benefit other branches of science. For example, one of the major derivative fields enabled by nonneutral plasmas is the study of antimatter plasmas and the synthesis of antihydrogen. This talk will review a few highlights of Ronald Davidson's impact on plasma physics and related fields of science.

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

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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

2017-12-01

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

Observation of Trapped-Electron Mode Microturbulence in Improved Confinement Reversed-Field Pinch Plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Duff, James R.

This is a dissertation for the completion of a Doctorate of Philosophy in Physics degree granted at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Density fluctuations in the large-density-gradient region of improved confinement Madison Sym- metric Torus (MST) RFP plasmas exhibit multiple features that are characteristic of the trapped- electron mode (TEM). In fusion relevant plasmas, thermal transport is a key avenue of research in order to achieve a burning plasma. In the reversed field pinch (RFP) magnetic geometry, the dy- namics of conventional plasma discharges are primarily governed by magnetic stochasticity stem- ming from multiple long-wavelength tearing modes, that sustain the RFP discharge but have an adverse effect on the plasma confinement. Using inductive current profile control, these tearing modes are reduced, and global confinement is increased to that expected for comparable tokamak plasma. Under these conditions with certain plasma equilibria, new short-wavelength fluctuations distinct from global tearing modes appear in the spectrum at frequencies f 50 kHz that have normalized perpendicular wavenumbers k⊥rhos ≤ 0.2, and propagate in the electron diamagnetic drift direction. By adjusting the plasma current or the inductive suppression, there are observable variations in the spectral features. They exhibit a critical-gradient threshold, and the fluctuation amplitude increases with a local density gradient dependent parameter. These characteristics are consistent with the predictions of unstable TEMs based on gyrokinetic analysis using the GENE code. This thesis represents the first observation and description of TEM-like instabilities in the RFP geometry.

Plasma Onco-Immunotherapy: Novel Approach to Cancer Treatment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fridman, Alexander

2015-09-01

Presentation is reviewing the newest results obtained by researchers of A.J. Drexel Plasma Institute on direct application of non-thermal plasma for direct treatment of different types of cancer by means of specific stimulation of immune system in the frameworks of the so-called onco-immunotherapy. Especial attention is paid to analysis of depth of penetration of different plasma-medical effects, from ROS, RNS, and ions to special biological signaling and immune system related processes. General aspects of the plasma-stimulation of immune system are discussed, pointing out specific medical applications. Most of experiments have been carried out using nanosecond pulsed DBD at low power and relatively low level of treatment doses, guaranteeing non-damage no-toxicity treatment regime. The nanosecond pulsed DBD physics is discussed mostly regarding its space uniformity and control of plasma parameters relevant to plasma medical treatment, and especially relevant to depth of penetration of different plasma medical effects. Detailed mechanism of the plasma-induced onco-immunotherapy has been suggested based upon preliminary in-vitro experiments with DBD treatment of different cancer cells. Sub-elements of this mechanism related to activation of macrophages and dendritic cells, specific stressing of cancer cells and the immunogenic cell death (ICD) are to be discussed based on results of corresponding in-vitro experiments. In-vivo experiments focused on the plasma-induced onco-immunotherapy were carried out in collaboration with medical doctors from Jefferson University hospital of Philadelphia. Todays achievements and nearest future prospective of clinical test focused on plasma-controlled cancer treatment are discussed in conclusion.

Konrad Bajer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2014-10-01

These Proceedings are dedicated to our co-editor Konrad Bajer, who carried the lion's share of the work involved until his sudden and untimely death from cancer on 29th August 2014. Konrad was one of the key Organisers of the program "Topological Dynamics in the Physical and Biological Sciences" held at the Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences in Cambridge from July to December 2012. During that time, he was on leave from the University of Warsaw, and held a Visiting Fellow Commonership at Trinity College, Cambridge. He had particular responsibility for the satellite workshop Tangled Magnetic Fields in Astro- and Plasma Physics, held at ICMS, Edinburgh, in October 2012. Konrad graduated in Physics from the University of Warsaw in 1980, and took his PhD in Fluid Dynamics at DAMTP, Cambridge, 1984-89. He was active in EUROMECH, having been a principal organiser of the European Turbulence Conference (ETC13) in Warsaw 2011, and the meeting Turbulence: the Historical Perspective that followed it. He has been equally active in IUTAM; his distinction was recognised by his very recent election to the Congress Committee of IUTAM. Konrad's research interests were in magnetohydrodynamics and vortex dynamics in classical and quantum systems; also in problems of gasifcation, in which he played a coordinating role at the University of Warsaw. He impressed all with his exceptionally warm and friendly personality, and will be greatly missed in the whole scientifc community.

F-region and Topside Plasma Response During Geomagnetic Storms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fuller-Rowell, T. J.; Fedrizzi, M.; Maruyama, N.; Richards, P.; Fang, T. W.; Codrescu, M.

2015-12-01

The noon to dusk mid-latitudes sector appears to be a preferred region for substantial rise in plasma density during elevated geomagnetic activity. Previous the plasma density increase in this sector was referred to as the "dusk effect" and more recently the "storm enhanced density". Certainly in some longitude sectors, if the increase in magnetospheric convection occurs at the appropriate Universal Time, the activity does not need to be particularly strong to produce a significant increase in plasma content, such as during the February 27th 2014 event when Kp reached only 6 but there was substantial loss of the FAA WAAS system. The March 2015 St. Patrick's Day storm was considerably more intense with respect to Kp and Dst, and different in timing and duration, so the response and longitude sectors affected were quite different. Numerical simulation of the St. Patrick's Day storm with a coupled thermosphere-ionosphere model (CTIPe) and a stand-alone ionosphere-plasmasphere code (IPE) can be used to understand the physical processes in the plasma and neutral response. In particular the focus is on the vertical distribution of the plasma from the F-region to the topside. The models can be used to assess the impact of electric fields, meridional neutral winds, and solar illumination aiding plasma buildup and storage, neutral composition creating depletions, and magnetospheric convection creating structure.

A laser application to nuclear astrophysics

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

Barbui, M.; Hagel, K.; Schmidt, K.

2014-05-09

In the last decade, the availability in high-intensity laser beams capable of producing plasmas with ion energies large enough to induce nuclear reactions has opened new research paths in nuclear physics. We studied the reactions {sup 3}He(d,p){sup 4}He and d(d,n){sup 3}He at temperatures of few keV in a plasma, generated by the interaction of intense ultrafast laser pulses with molecular deuterium or deuterated-methane clusters mixed with {sup 3}He atoms. The yield of 14.7 MeV protons from the {sup 3}He(d,p){sup 4}He reaction was used to extract the astrophysical S factor. Results of the experiment performed at the Center for High Energymore » Density Science at The University of Texas at Austin will be presented.« less

3rd International Conference on Turbulent Mixing and Beyond

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abarzhi, Snezhana I.; Gauthier, Serge; Keane, Christopher J.; Niemela, Joseph J.

2013-07-01

1. Introduction 'Turbulent Mixing and Beyond' (TMB) is the programme established for scientists, by scientists. It is merit-based, and is shaped by requirements of academic credentials, and novelty and quality of information. The goals of this programme are to expose the generic problem of non-equilibrium turbulent processes to a wide scientific community, to promote the development of new ideas in tackling the fundamental aspects of the problem, to assist in application of novel approaches in a broad range of phenomena, in which the turbulent processes occur, and to have a potential impact on technology. The programme was founded in 2007 with the support of the international scientific community and of the US National Science Foundation, the US Air Force Office of the Scientific Research and its European Office for Research and Development in the UK, the UNESCO-IAEA International Centre for Theoretical Physics in Italy, the Commissariat l'Energie Atomique in France, the US Department of Energy and the Department of Energy National Laboratories, the Institute for Laser Engineering in Japan, and the University of Chicago in the USA. The International Conference on Turbulent Mixing and Beyond provides opportunities to bring together researchers from the areas, which include but are not limited to, fluid dynamics, plasmas, high energy density physics, astrophysics, material science, combustion, atmospheric and earth sciences, nonlinear and statistical physics, applied mathematics, probability and statistics, data processing and computations, optics and communications, and to have their attention focused on the long-standing formidable task of non-equilibrium turbulent processes. 2. Non-equilibrium turbulent processes Non-equilibrium turbulent processes play a key role in a wide variety of phenomena, ranging from astrophysical to atomistic scales, under either high or low energy density conditions. Inertial confinement and magnetic fusion, light-matter interaction and non-equilibrium heat transfer, strong shocks and explosions, material transformation under high strain rate, supernovae and accretion discs, stellar non-Boussinesq and magneto-convection, planetary interiors and mantle-lithosphere tectonics, premixed and non-premixed combustion, non-canonical wall-bounded flows, hypersonic and supersonic boundary layers, dynamics of atmosphere and oceanography, are just a few examples to list. A grip on non-equilibrium turbulent processes is crucial for cutting-edge technology such as laser micro-machining, nano-electronics, free-space optical telecommunications and for industrial applications in the areas of aeronautics and aerodynamics. Non-equilibrium turbulent processes are anisotropic, non-local, multi-scale and multi-phase, and often are driven by shocks or acceleration. Their scaling, spectral and invariant properties differ substantially from those of classical Kolmogorov turbulence. At atomistic and meso-scales, the non-equilibrium dynamics depart dramatically from a standard scenario given by Gibbs statistic ensemble average and quasi-static Boltzmann equation. The singular aspect and the similarity of the non-equilibrium dynamics at macroscopic scales are interplayed with the fundamental properties of the Euler and compressible Navier-Stokes equations and with the problem sensitivity to the boundary conditions at discontinuities. The state-of-the-art numerical simulations of multi-phase flows suggest new methods for predictive modelling of the multi-scale non-equilibrium dynamics in fluids and plasmas, for error estimates and uncertainty quantifications, as well as for novel data assimilation techniques. 3. International Conference 'Turbulent Mixing and Beyond' The First and Second International Conferences on Turbulent Mixing and Beyond found that: (i) TMB-related problems have in common a set of outstanding research issues; (ii) their solution has a potential to significantly advance a variety of disciplines in science, technology and mathematics; (iii) TMB participants conduct highly innovative research and their interactions strengthen the community's might. Based on the success of the first and second conferences and on the recommendations of the conference round table discussions, and in response to the inquiry of the community, the Third International Conference on Turbulent Mixing and Beyond was organized. The Third International Conference on Turbulent Mixing and Beyond, TMB-2011, was held on 21-28 August 2011 at the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP), Trieste, Italy. This was a highly informative and exciting meeting, and it strengthened and reaffirmed the success of TMB-2009 and 2007. The objectives of the Third International Conference on Turbulent Mixing and Beyond were to: (i) focus the integration of theory, experiments, large-scale numerical simulations and state-of-the-art technologies on the exploration of physical mechanisms of non-equilibrium dynamics, from micro to macro-scales, in both high and low energy density regimes; (ii) foster the application of innovative approaches for tackling the fundamental aspects of turbulent mixing problems and for understanding and further extending the range of applicability of canonical considerations; (iii) encourage the development of new approaches and stimulate the application of advanced data analysis techniques for unified characterization of experimental and numerical data sets, for estimation of their quality and information capacity, and for transforming data to knowledge; (iv) further develop the 'Turbulent Mixing and Beyond' community via organizing a positive and constructive collaborative environment, maintaining the quality of information flux in the community and sharing research methodologies, tools and data among the community members. The objectives were accomplished at TMB-2011. 4. Programme of TMB-2011 TMB-2011 brought together 150 participants, ranging from students to members of National Academies of Sciences and Engineering, and including researchers at experienced and early stages of their careers from leading scientific institutions in academia, national laboratories, corporations and industry, from developed and developing countries across five continents. The success of TMB-2011 consisted from the successful work of the conference participants, who were responsible professionals caring for the quality of their research and sharing their scientific vision. The level of presentations was high, and 205 presentations included about 50 invited lectures, nearly 70 oral talks (3500 min of talks in total), some 90 posters and one round table. The special course on 'Turbulence and Waves' was organized at TMB-2011 with the support of the US Office of Naval Research Global, and included nearly 40 lectures and talks (960 minutes of talks in total). TMB-2011 covered 16 different topics, maintaining the scope and the interdisciplinary character of the meeting and at the same time keeping the focus on a fundamental scientific problem of non-equilibrium processes and on the conference objectives. The topics included: • Canonical turbulent and turbulent mixing: invariant, scaling, spectral properties, scalar transports, convection. • Wall-bounded flows: structure and fundamentals, non-canonical turbulent boundary layers, including unsteady and transitional flows, supersonic and hypersonic flows, shock-boundary layer interactions. • Non-equilibrium processes: unsteady, multiphase and shock-driven turbulent flows, anisotropic non-local dynamics, connection of continuous description at macro-scales to kinetic processes at atomistic scales. • Interfacial dynamics: the instabilities of Rayleigh-Taylor, Kelvin-Helmholtz, Richtmyer-Meshkov, Landau-Darrieus, Saffmann-Taylor. • High energy density physics: inertial confinement and heavy-ion fusion, Z-pinches, light-material and laser-plasma interaction, non-equilibrium heat transfer. • Material science: material transformation under high strain rates, equation of state, impact dynamics, mixing at nano- and micro-scales. • Astrophysics: supernovae, interstellar medium, star formation, stellar interiors, early Universe, cosmic-microwave background, accretion discs. • Magneto-hydrodynamics: magnetic fusion and magnetically confined plasmas, magneto-convection, magneto-rotational instability, dynamo. • Canonical plasmas: coupled plasmas, anomalous resistance, ionosphere. • Physics of atmosphere: environmental fluid dynamics, forecasting, turbulent flows in stratified media and atmosphere. • Geophysics and Earth science: mantle-lithosphere tectonics, oceanography, turbulent convection under rotation, planetary interiors. • Combustion: dynamics of flames and fires, deflagration-to-detonation transition, blast waves and explosions, flows with chemical reactions, reactive flows in jet engines. • Theoretical aspects of non-equilibrium dynamics: vortex dynamics, singularities, discontinuities, asymptotic dynamics, weak solutions, well- and ill-posedness, continuous transports out of thermodynamic equilibrium. • Stochastic processes and probabilistic description: long-tail distributions and anomalous diffusion, data assimilation and processing methodologies, error estimate and uncertainty quantification, statistically unsteady processes. • Advanced numerical simulations: continuous DNS/LES/RANS, molecular dynamics, Monte-Carlo, predictive modelling, validation and verification of numerical models. • Experiments and experimental diagnostics: model experiments in high energy density and low energy density regimes, plasma diagnostics, fluid flow visualizations and control, opto-fluidics, novel optical method, holography, advanced technologies. The abstracts of the 207 accepted presentations of 443 authors were published in Proceedings. Abstracts. The Third International Conference 'Turbulent Mixing and Beyond', 21 -28 August 2011. Copyright (ISBN 92-95003-45-4). All the accepted contributions have been reviewed by the international team of 27 members of the Scientific Committee, with every contribution considered by four to eleven experts. In the majority of cases, the opinions of referees with diverse backgrounds and expertise converged. In 2011, the award 'Turbulent Mixing and Beyond for Youth' was issued to Gregory P Bewley (Max Plank Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization, Germany) and Robert Zimmermann (Ecole Normale Superieure de Lyon, France) in recognition of their contributions to TMB-related scientific problems. The Best Poster Award was issued by Physica Scripta to Michael Winkler (University of Potsdam, Germany) in recognition of their poster presentation at TMB-2011. 5. Organization and acknowledgments The Third International Conference on Turbulent Mixing and Beyond was organized by the following members of the Organizing Committee: • Snezhana I Abarzhi (Chairperson, University of Chicago, USA) • Malcolm J Andrews (Los Alamos National Laboratory, USA) • Hiroshi Azechi (Institute for Laser Engineering, Osaka, Japan) • Vladimir E Fortov (Institute for High Energy Density, Russia) • Boris Galperin (Organizer of the Special Course, University of South Florida, USA) • Serge Gauthier (Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique, France) • Christopher J Keane (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, USA) • Joseph J Niemela (Local Organizer, International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Italy) • Katepalli R Sreenivasan (New York University, USA) The conference and course were sponsored by several agencies and institutions in the USA, Europe, Russia and Japan. The Organizing Committee of the TMB-2011 gratefully acknowledges support of the: • National Science Foundation (NSF), USA. Programmes: Plasma Physics; Physics Education and Interdisciplinary Research; Astronomy and Astrophysics; Applied Mathematics; Particulate and Multiphase Processes; Combustion, Fire and Plasma Systems • European Office of Aerospace Research and Development (EOARD), UK, of the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR), USA • Office of Naval Research Global, UK • Department of Energy, Office of Science, USA • US Department of Energy Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), USA. Programme: National Ignition Facility (NIF) • US Department of Energy Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), USA • US Department of Energy Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), USA • The UNESCO- IAEA International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP), Italy • Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique et aux énergies Alternatives (CEA), France • The University of Chicago, USA • Institute for Laser Engineering (ILE), Japan • Joint Institute for High Temperatures (JIHT) of the Academy of Sciences, Russia • Institute of Physics Publishing (IOP), UK • Physica Scripta , the journal of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences for the Science Academies and the Physical Societies of the Nordic Countries and thank them for making this event possible. We express our gratitude to the members of the Scientific Advisory Committee: • S I Abarzhi (University of Chicago, USA) • Y Aglitskiy (Science Applications International Corporation, USA) • H Azechi (Institute for Laser Engineering, Osaka, Japan) • M J Andrews (Los Alamos National Laboratory, USA) • S I Anisimov (Landau Institute for Theoretical Physics, Russia) • E Bodenschatz (Max Plank Institute, Germany) • F Cattaneo (University of Chicago, USA) • P Cvitanović (Georgia Institute of Technology, USA) • S Cowley (Imperial College, UK) • S Dalziel (DAMTP, Cambridge, UK) • R Ecke (Los Alamos National Laboratory, USA) • H J Fernando (University of Notre Dame, USA) • Y Fukumoto (Kyushu University, Japan) • B Galperin (University of South Floorida, USA) • S Gauthier (Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique, France) • W Gekelman (University of California, Los Angeles, USA) • G A Glatzmaier (University of California at Santa Cruz, USA) • J Glimm (State University of New York at Stony Brook, USA) • W A Goddard III (California Institute of Technology, USA) • F Grinstein (Los Alamos National Laboratory, USA) • J Jimenez (Universidad Politecnica de Madrid, Spain) • L P Kadanoff (The University of Chicago, USA) • D Q Lamb (The University of Chicago, USA) • D P Lathrop (University of Maryland, USA) • S Lebedev (Imperial College, UK) • P Manneville (Ecole Polytechnique, France) • D I Meiron (California Institute of Technology, USA) • P Moin (Stanford University, USA) • A Nepomnyashchy (Technion, Israel) • J Niemela (International Center for Theoretical Physics, Italy) • K Nishihara (Institute for Laser Engineering, Osaka, Japan) • S S Orlov (Physical Optics Corporation, USA) • N Peters (RWTS, Aachen, Germany) • S B Pope (Cornell, USA) • A Pouquet (University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, USA) • B A Remington (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, USA) • R R Rosales (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA) • R Rosner (Argonne National Laboratory and University of Chicago, USA) • A J Schmitt (Naval Research Laboratory, USA) • C-W Shu (Brown University, USA) • K R Sreenivasan (New York University, USA) • E Tadmor (University of Maryland, USA) • A L Velikovich (Naval Research Laboratory, USA) • V Yakhot (Boston University, USA) • P K Yeung (Georgia Institute of Technology, USA) • F A Williams (University of California at San Diego, USA) • E Zweibel (University of Wisconsin, USA) We deeply appreciate the work of the Members of Steering Committee for Financial Support: • Snezhana I Abarzhi (University of Chicago, USA) • Serge Gauthier (Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique, France) • Joseph J Niemela (International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Italy) • Walter Gekelman (University of California, Los Angeles, USA) We thank the members of the Committee for the award 'Turbulent Mixing and Beyond for Youth': • Boris Galperin (University of South Florida, USA) • Serge Gauthier (Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique, France) • Joseph J Niemela (International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Italy) • Katsunobu Nishihara (Institute for Laser Engineering, Osaka, Japan) • Katepalli R Sreenivasan (New York University, USA) We greatly acknowledge the effort and dedication of the members of the Committee for Best Poster Award: • Serge Gauthier (Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique, France) • Katsunobu Nishihara (Institute for Laser Engineering, Osaka, Japan) • Annick Pouquet (National Center for Atmospheric Research, USA) • Walter Gekelman (University of California, Los Angeles, USA) • Graeme Watt (Institute of Physics, UK) We greatly appreciate the work of conference web-master Daniil V Ilyin (University of Chicago, USA). We thank for technical support: • Bhanesh Akula (Texas A & M University, USA) • Ahmad Qamar (University of Chicago, USA) We warmly acknowledge the logistics assistance of the offices and officers of the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics: • Conference Support Office, and Ms Katrina Danforth and Ms Daniela Giombi • Financial Office, and Mr Andrej Michelcich and Ms Alessandra Ricci • Visa Office, and Mr Erich Jost and Mr Adriano Maggio • Housing Office, and Ms Tiziana Bottazzi and Ms Dora Photiou • Publications Office, and Mr Guido Comar and Mr Raffaele Corona • Computer Office, and Dr Johannes Grassberger • Science Dissemination Unit, and Dr Enrique Canessa, Dr. Carlo Fonda and Dr Marco Zennaro We gratefully appreciate the support of the members of the Programme Coordination Board: • Snezhana I Abarzhi (University of Chicago, USA) • Malcolm J Andrews (Los Alamos National Laboratory, USA) • Sergei I Anisimov (Landau Institute for Theoretical Physics, Russia) • Hiroshi Azechi (Institute for Laser Engineering, Osaka, Japan) • Vladimir E Fortov (Institute for High Energy Density, Russia) • Serge Gauthier (Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique, France) • Christopher J Keane (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, USA) • Joseph J Niemela (International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Italy) • Katsunobu Nishihara (Institute for Laser Engineering, Osaka, Japan) • Sergei S Orlov (Physical Optics Corporation, USA) • Bruce Remington (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, USA) • Robert Rosner (University of Chicago, USA) • Katepalli R Sreenivasan (New York University, USA) • Alexander L Velikovich (Naval Research Laboratory, USA) 6. The Topical Issue This Topical Issue consists of over 70 articles accepted for publication and represents a substantial part of the Conference contributions, including research papers, research briefs and review papers. The papers are in a broad variety of TMB-2011 themes and are sorted alphabetically by the last name of the first author within each topic. The review papers are published as 'Comments' articles in Physica Scripta . We thank all the authors and the referees for their contributions to this Topical Issue and for offering their expertise, time and effort. To conclude, the TMB programme was organized to serve to advance the state-of-the-art in understanding of fundamental physical properties of non-equilibrium turbulent processes and to have an impact on predictive modelling capabilities, physical description and, ultimately, control of these complex processes. The readers are cordially invited to take a look at this Topical Issue for information on the frontiers of theoretical, numerical and experimental research, and state-of-the-art technology. Welcome to 'Turbulent Mixing and Beyond'.

Bow shock data analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zipf, Edward C.; Erdman, Peeter W.

1994-08-01

The University of Pittsburgh Space Physics Group in collaboration with the Army Research Office (ARO) modeling team has completed a systematic organization of the shock and plume spectral data and the electron temperature and density measurements obtained during the BowShock I and II rocket flights which have been submitted to the AEDC Data Center, has verified the presence of CO Cameron band emission during the Antares engine burn and for an extended period of time in the post-burn plume, and have adapted 3-D radiation entrapment codes developed by the University of Pittsburgh to study aurora and other atmospheric phenomena that involve significant spatial effects to investigate the vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) and extreme ultraviolet (EUV) envelope surrounding the re-entry that create an extensive plasma cloud by photoionization.

INTRODUCTION: Award of the 2003 Hannes Alfvén Prize of the European Physical Society to Professor Vladimir Evgenievitch Fortov

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wagner, F.

2003-12-01

The Hannes Alfvén Prize of the European Physical Society for Outstanding Contributions to Plasma Physics (2003) has been awarded to Vladimir Evgenievitch Fortov `for his seminal contributions in the area of non-ideal plasmas and strongly coupled Coulomb systems, and for his pioneering work on the generation and investigation of plasmas under extreme conditions'. Vladimir Evgenievitch Fortov was born on 23 January 1946 in Noginsk, Russia. He studied physics at the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (PhD in 1976). In 1978 he was made a Professor and in 1991 he was awarded the Chair of the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology. In the same year he became a Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences and was its vice-chairman from 1996 to 2001. From 1996 to 1998, Professor Fortov went into politics where he was just as successful, becoming Deputy Prime Minister of the Government of the Russian Federation and Minister of Science and Technology of the Russian Federation. Professor Fortov has made outstanding experimental and theoretical contributions to low temperature plasma physics. His pioneering work investigating non-ideal plasmas produced by intense shock waves initiated a new research field---the physical properties of highly compressed plasmas with strong inter-particle interactions. Under the leadership of Professor Fortov, experimental methods for generating and diagnosing these plasmas under extreme conditions were developed. To generate intense shock waves, a broad spectrum of drivers was used---chemical explosives, hypervelocity impact, lasers, relativistic electrons, heavy-ion and soft x-ray beams. Measurements of the equation of state, transport and optical properties of strongly coupled plasmas were carried out, including the interesting region lying between condensed matter and rarefied plasmas where specific plasma phase transitions and insulator--metal transitions were expected and explored. In another area of strongly coupled plasmas, Professor Fortov led theoretical and experimental studies on `dusty plasmas', carried out over a wide range of plasma parameters, using a broad spectrum of experimental techniques and devices. These studies embraced thermal combustion, glow and rf discharges and plasmas induced by cosmic ultraviolet and nuclear radiation. Under many of these conditions, ordered structures of dust in plasma liquids and plasma crystals were observed for the first time. Investigations of dusty plasmas induced by solar radiation and dust structures in DC glow discharges were first carried out on the Mir space station under micro-gravity conditions. The Russian--German experiment on dusty plasma crystals in space was successfully started on the International Space Station (ISS) in March 2001. This experiment was the first physics experiment on board the ISS. On the basis of his experimental results, Professor Fortov developed a general method of constructing semi-empirical equations of state of highly compressed materials. He put forward theoretical models of thermodynamical, transport and optical properties of strongly non-ideal plasmas. On the basis of these models Professor Fortov developed two-dimensional and three-dimensional computer codes for computer simulations of the processes in advanced energetic, space, nuclear and aviation systems based on high energy density plasmas. Professor Fortov has not only contributed to plasma theory but also to more applied topics. His laboratory participated in international space projects like the VEGA project (plasma dust impact phenomena), as well as the Halley Comet exploration, and studied plasma and shock wave phenomena stimulated by the impact of the Shoemaker-Levy 9 comet with Jupiter. Professor Fortov is an internationally well known scientist. He collaborates actively with many plasma laboratories and institutions. He has received many national and international awards, including several USSR and Russian State Awards, the A P Karpinskii-Toepfer Scientific Award for Physics and Chemistry (1997), the P Bridgman Award for High Pressure Plasma Investigations and Achievements in High Pressure Physics and Chemistry (1999), the A Einstein Medal of UNESCO (2000) and the Max Planck Award for Physics (2002). It is therefore with great pleasure and honour that the Plasma Physics Division of the European Physical Society has awarded the Hannes Alfvén prize this year to Professor Vladimir Evgenievitch Fortov. This article first appeared on the Europhyisics News website.

MESSENGER observations of the response of Mercury's magnetosphere to northward and southward interplanetary magnetic fields

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Slavin, James

M. H. Acũa (2), B. J. Anderson (3), D. N. Baker (4), M. Benna (2), S. A. Boardsen (1), G. n Gloeckler (5), R. E. Gold (3), G. C. Ho (3), H. Korth (3), S. M. Krimigis (3), S. A. Livi (6), R. L. McNutt Jr. (3), J. M. Raines (5), M. Sarantos (1), D. Schriver (7), S. C. Solomon (8), P. Travnicek (9), and T. H. Zurbuchen (5) (1) Heliophysics Science Division, NASA GSFC, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA, (2) Solar System Exploration Division, NASA GSFC, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA, (3) The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA, (4) Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80303, USA, (5) Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic, and Space Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA (6) Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, TX 28510, USA, (7) Institute for Geophysics and Planetary Physics, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90024, USA, (8) Department of Terrestrial Magnetism, Carnegie Institution of Washington, DC 20015, USA, and (9) Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Prague, Czech Republic, 14131 MESSENGER's 14 January 2008 encounter with Mercury has provided new observations of the solar wind interaction with this planet. Here we report initial results concerning this miniature magnetosphere's response to the north-south component of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF). This is the component of the IMF that is expected to exert the greatest influence over the structure of the magnetopause and the processes responsible for energy transfer into the magnetosphere. The IMF was northward immediately prior to and following the passage of the MESSENGER spacecraft through this small magnetosphere. However, several-minute episodes of southward IMF were observed in the magnetosheath during the inbound portion of the encounter. Evidence for reconnection at the dayside magnetopause in the form of welldeveloped flux transfer events (FTEs) was observed in the magnetosheath following some of these southward-Bz intervals. The inbound magnetopause crossing in the magnetic field measurements is consistent with a transition from the magnetosheath into the plasma sheet. Immediately following MESSENGER's entry into the magnetosphere, rotational perturbations in the magnetic field similar to those seen at the Earth in association with large-scale plasma sheet vortices driven by Kelvin-Helmholtz waves along the magnetotail boundary at the Earth are observed. The outbound magnetopause occurred during northward IMF Bz and had the characteristics of a tangential discontinuity. These new observations have important implications for our understanding of energy transfer into Mercury's magnetosphere.

Foreword to Special Issue: Papers from the 54th Annual Meeting of the APS Division of Plasma Physics, Providence, Rhode Island, USA, 2012

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Skiff, Fred; Davidson, Ronald C.

2013-05-01

Each year, the annual meeting of the APS Division of Plasma Physics (DPP) brings together a broad representation of the many active subfields of plasma physics and enjoys an audience that is equally diverse. The meeting was well attended and largely went as planned despite the interventions of hurricane Sandy which caused the city of Providence to shut-down during the first day of the conference. The meeting began on Monday morning with a review of the physics of cosmic rays, 2012 being the 100th year since their discovery, which illustrated the central importance of plasma physics to astrophysical problems. Subsequent reviews covered the importance of tokamak plasma boundaries, progress towards ignition on the National Ignition Facility (NIF), and magnetized plasma turbulence. The Maxwell prize address, by Professor Liu Chen, covered the field of nonlinear Alfvén wave physics. Tutorial lectures were presented on the verification of gyrokinetics, new capabilities in laboratory astrophysics, magnetic flux compression, and tokamak plasma start-up.

Tiger Team Assessment of the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory

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

Not Available

1991-03-01

This report documents the Tiger Team Assessment of the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) conducted from February 11 to March 12, 1991. The PPPL is operated for the US Department of Energy (DOE) by Princeton University. The assessment was conducted under the auspices of the Headquarters, DOE, Office of Special Projects which is under the Assistant Secretary for Environment, Safety and Health. Activities of the Tiger Team Assessment resulted in identification of compliance findings or concerns and noteworthy practices and an analysis as to the root causes for noncompliance. The PPPL Tiger Team Assessment is one component of a larger,more » comprehensive DOE Tiger Team Assessment program for DOE facilities that will eventually encompass over 100 of the Department's operating facilities. The objective of the initiative is to provide the Secretary with information on the compliance status of DOE facilities with regard to ES H requirements; root causes for noncompliances; adequacy of DOE and contractor ES H management programs; response actions to address the identified problems areas; and DOE-wide ES H compliance trends and root causes.« less

Promoting Pre-college Science Education

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Taylor, P. L.; Lee, R. L.

2000-10-01

The Fusion Education Program, with continued support from DOE, has strengthened its interactions with educators in promoting pre-college science education for students. Projects aggressively pursued this year include an on-site, college credited, laboratory-based 10-day educator workshop on plasma and fusion science; completion of `Starpower', a fusion power plant simulation on interactive CD; expansion of scientist visits to classrooms; broadened participation in an internet-based science olympiad; and enhancements to the tours of the DIII-D Facility. In the workshop, twelve teachers used bench top devices to explore basic plasma physics. Also included were radiation experiments, computer aided drafting, techniques to integrate fusion science and technology in the classroom, and visits to a University Physics lab and the San Diego Supercomputer Center. Our ``Scientist in a Classroom'' program reached more than 2200 students at 20 schools. Our `Starpower' CD allows a range of interactive learning from the effects of electric and magnetic fields on charged particles to operation of a Tokamak-based power plant. Continuing tours of the DIII-D facility were attended by more than 800 students this past year.

Analysis of Optogalvanic Transients at 621.7 nm, 633.4 nm and 640.2 nm of Neon in a Discharge Plasma Fitted with a Monte Carlo Mathematical Model.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ogungbemi, Kayode; Han, Xianming; Blosser, Micheal; Misra, Prabhakar; LASER Spectroscopy Group Collaboration

2014-03-01

Optogalvanic transitions have been recorded and fitted for 1s5 - 2p7\\ (621.7 nm), 1s5 - 2p8 (633.4 nm) and 1s5 - 2p9 (640.2 nm) transitions of neon in a Fe-Ne hollow cathode plasma discharge as a function of current (2-19 mA) and time evolution (0-50 microsec). The optogalvanic waveforms have been fitted to a Monte carlo mathematical model. The variation in the excited population of neon is governed by the rate of collision of the atoms involving the common metastable state (1s5) for the three transitions investigated. The concomitant changes in amplitudes and intensities of the optogalvanic signal waveforms associated with these transitions have been studied rigorously and the fitted parameters obtained using the Monte Carlo algorithm to help better understand the physics of the hollow cathode discharge. Thanks to Laser Spectroscopy group in Physics and Astronomy Dept. Howard University Washington DC.

UCLA Tokamak Program Close Out Report.

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

Taylor, Robert John

2014-02-04

The results of UCLA experimental fusion program are summarized. Starting with smaller devices like Microtor, Macrotor, CCT and ending the research on the large (5 m) Electric Tokamak. CCT was the most diagnosed device for H-mode like physics and the effects of rotation induced radial fields. ICRF heating was also studied but plasma heating of University Type Tokamaks did not produce useful results due to plasma edge disturbances of the antennae. The Electric Tokamak produced better confinement in the seconds range. However, it presented very good particle confinement due to an "electric particle pinch". This effect prevented us from reachingmore » a quasi steady state. This particle accumulation effect was numerically explained by Shaing's enhanced neoclassical theory. The PI believes that ITER will have a good energy confinement time but deleteriously large particle confinement time and it will disrupt on particle pinching at nominal average densities. The US fusion research program did not study particle transport effects due to its undue focus on the physics of energy confinement time. Energy confinement time is not an issue for energy producing tokamaks. Controlling the ash flow will be very expensive.« less

Pathway to STEM: Using Outreach Initiatives as a Method of Identifying, Educating and Recruiting the Next Generation of Scientists and Engineers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ortiz-Arias, Deedee; Zwicker, Andrew; Dominguez, Arturo; Greco, Shannon

2017-10-01

The Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) uses a host of outreach initiatives to inform the general population: the Young Women's Conference, Science Bowl, Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internship, My Brother's Keeper, a variety of workshops for university faculty and undergraduate students, public and scheduled lab tours, school and community interactive plasma science demonstrations. In addition to informing and educating the public about the laboratory's important work in the areas of Plasma and Fusion, these outreach initiatives, are also used as an opportunity to identify/educate/recruit the next generation of the STEM workforce. These programs provide the laboratory with the ability to: engage the next generation at different paths along their development (K-12, undergraduate, graduate, professional), at different levels of scientific content (science demonstrations, remote experiments, lectures, tours), in some instances, targeting underrepresented groups in STEM (women and minorities), and train additional STEM educators to take learned content into their own classrooms.

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

Schaeffer, D. B.; Winske, D.; Larson, D. J.

Collisionless shocks are common phenomena in space and astrophysical systems, and in many cases, the shocks can be modeled as the result of the expansion of a magnetic piston though a magnetized ambient plasma. Only recently, however, have laser facilities and diagnostic capabilities evolved sufficiently to allow the detailed study in the laboratory of the microphysics of piston-driven shocks. We review experiments on collisionless shocks driven by a laser-produced magnetic piston undertaken with the Phoenix laser laboratory and the Large Plasma Device at the University of California, Los Angeles. The experiments span a large parameter space in laser energy, backgroundmore » magnetic field, and ambient plasma properties that allow us to probe the physics of piston-ambient energy coupling, the launching of magnetosonic solitons, and the formation of subcritical shocks. Here, the results indicate that piston-driven magnetized collisionless shocks in the laboratory can be characterized with a small set of dimensionless formation parameters that place the formation process in an organized and predictive framework.« less

The STPX Spheromak System: Recent Measurements and Observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Williams, R. L.; Clark, J.; Richardson, M.; Williams, R. E.

2016-10-01

We present results of recent measurements made to characterize the plasma formed in the STPX* Spheromak plasma device installed at the Florida A. and M University. The toroidal plasma is formed using a pulsed cylindrical gun discharge and, when fully operational, is designed to approach a density of 1021 /m3 and electron temperatures in the range of 100-350 eV. The diagnostic devices used for these recent measurements include Langmuir probes, electrostatic triple probes, optical spectrometers, CCD detectors, laser probes and magnetic field coils. These probes have been tested using both a static and the pulsed discharges created in the device, and we report the latest measurements. The voltage and current profiles of the pulsed discharge as well as the pulsed magnetic field coils are discussed. Progress in modeling this spheromak using NIMROD and other simulation codes will be discussed. Our recent results of an ongoing study of the topology of magnetic helicity are presented in a separate poster. Spheromak Turbulent Physics Experiment.

The 2017 Plasma Roadmap: Low temperature plasma science and technology

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics published the first Plasma Roadmap in 2012 consisting of the individual perspectives of 16 leading experts in the various sub-fields of low temperature plasma science and technology. The 2017 Plasma Roadmap is the first update of a planned series of periodic upd...

Applications of Fusion Energy Sciences Research - Scientific Discoveries and New Technologies Beyond Fusion

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

Wendt, Amy; Callis, Richard; Efthimion, Philip

Since the 1950s, scientists and engineers in the U.S. and around the world have worked hard to make an elusive goal to be achieved on Earth: harnessing the reaction that fuels the stars, namely fusion. Practical fusion would be a source of energy that is unlimited, safe, environmentally benign, available to all nations and not dependent on climate or the whims of the weather. Significant resources, most notably from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Fusion Energy Sciences (FES), have been devoted to pursuing that dream, and significant progress is being made in turning it into a reality.more » However, that is only part of the story. The process of creating a fusion-based energy supply on Earth has led to technological and scientific achievements of far-reaching impact that touch every aspect of our lives. Those largely unanticipated advances, spanning a wide variety of fields in science and technology, are the focus of this report. There are many synergies between research in plasma physics (the study of charged particles and fluids interacting with self-consistent electric and magnetic fields), high-energy physics, and condensed matter physics dating back many decades. For instance, the formulation of a mathematical theory of solitons, solitary waves which are seen in everything from plasmas to water waves to Bose-Einstein Condensates, has led to an equal span of applications, including the fields of optics, fluid mechanics and biophysics. Another example, the development of a precise criterion for transition to chaos in Hamiltonian systems, has offered insights into a range of phenomena including planetary orbits, two-person games and changes in the weather. Seven distinct areas of fusion energy sciences were identified and reviewed which have had a recent impact on fields of science, technology and engineering not directly associated with fusion energy: Basic plasma science; Low temperature plasmas; Space and astrophysical plasmas; High energy density laboratory plasmas and inertial fusion energy; Particle accelerator technology; Fusion nuclear science; and Magnetically confined plasmas. Individual sections within the report summarize applications associated with each of these areas. These sections were also informed by a survey that went out to the community, and the subcommittee wishes to thank those who responded, as well as to the national labs and universities that contributed photographs.« less

EDITORIAL: Stability and nonlinear dynamics of plasmas: A symposium celebrating Professor Robert Dewar's accomplishments in plasma physics Stability and nonlinear dynamics of plasmas: A symposium celebrating Professor Robert Dewar's accomplishments in plasma physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bhattacharjee, Amitava

2012-01-01

To celebrate Professor Robert Dewar's 65th birthday, a Symposium was held on 31 October 2009 in Atlanta, Georgia, just before the 51st Annual Meeting of the Division of Plasma Physics of the American Physical Society. The Symposium was attended by many of Bob's colleagues, friends, postdoctoral colleagues and students (present and former). Boyd Blackwell, Anthony Cooper, Chris Hegna, Stuart Hudson, John Krommes, Alexander Pletzer, Ellen Zweibel, and I gave talks that covered various aspects of Bob's wide-ranging scholarship, and his leadership in the Australian and the US fusion program. At the Symposium, Bob gave an insightful talk, published in this issue as a paper with D Leykam. This paper makes available for the first time unpublished results from Bob's M Sc Thesis on a general method for calculating the potential around a `dressed' test particle in an isotropic and collisionless plasma. The paper is interesting not only because it provides a glimpse of the type of elegant applied mathematics that we have come to associate with Bob, but also because he discusses some leitmotifs in his intellectual evolution since the time he was a graduate student at the University of Melbourne and Princeton University. Through his early encounter with quantum field theory, Bob appreciated the power of Lagrangian and Hamiltonian formalisms, which he used with great effectiveness in nonlinear dynamics and plasma physics. A question that animates much of his work is one that underlies the `dressed' particle problem: if one is given a Hamiltonian with an unperturbed (or `bare') part and an interaction part, how is one to obtain a canonical transformation to `the oscillation centre' thatwould reduce the interaction part to an irreducible residual part while incorporating the rest in a renormalized zeroth-order Hamiltonian? One summer in Princeton, I worked with Bob on a possible variational formulation for this problem, and failed. I was daunted enough by my failure that I turned to MHD relaxation theory for my PhD thesis under Bob's supervision. It was a good decision because Bob showed me how beautiful MHD theory can be, but he did not himself give up the problem of formulating optimal oscillation-centre transformations. He has a singular ability to hold difficult problems like this in in his mind for many years until they crack open (or even if they do not!), a trait that many of us find altogether admirable. The impact of such thinking on plasma turbulence theory over the last four decades is described in the article by John Krommes in this issue. Stuart Hudson's article touches on some of the same themes in the pursuit of fully three-dimensional relaxed states in toroidal stellarators. Zensho Yoshida has contributed an interesting article on the interplay of Lagrangian and Eulerian representations of collective motions in a fluid, a theme that appears in Bob's work in several contexts. Underlying much of Bob's work on Hamiltonian systems is his deep knowledge and appreciation of Lie perturbation theory, and the article by Steven Richardson and John Finn, which discusses an example of symplectic integrators and their numerical implementation, reflects that interest. It is impossible to do justice to all of Bob's contributions to theoretical plasma physics in this short section. Bob's WKB theory of ballooning modes in three-dimensional toroidal systems (with Alan Glasser) is a classic paper that was in some ways years ahead of its time, especially in its exploration of the deep connections between KAM theory and the nature of the spectrum. In later work, he developed these ideas further by establishing connections with the phenomenon of Anderson localization in condensed matter physics. His papers on the subject of ballooning modes are gems of the plasma physics literature, and are unsurpassed in their mathematical elegance, insight, and their development of broad connections with other fields of theoretical physics. Some of this was covered in the talks at the Symposium. The paper by David Barmaz and coworkers published in this issue discusses the problem diamagnetic stabilization of ballooning instabilities in stellarators. It is not surprising that Bob's work on ballooning modes shows an accomplished master of WKB theory at work, for it is the culmination of a process that began many years earlier. His involvement in applications of WKB theory to problems involving instability and turbulence began in 1970, when he was a graduate student. At this time he wrote a very influential paper, discussed at the Symposium, on the interaction between hydromagnetic waves and a timedependent inhomogeneous medium. This paper is widely cited, especially in the astrophysical and space plasma literature, for it gives a rigorous method of evaluating the effects of lowfrequency hydromagnetic fluctuations on a slowly varying background medium. The method has found use in problems as diverse as the self-sustainment of molecular clouds, the heating and acceleration of the solar wind, and the effect of cosmic rays on the interplanetary medium. Attentive readers will note that Bob has been drafted as a co-author and participant in about half of the publications in this issue. This is a reflection of Bob's continued and tireless involvement in a wide spectrum of research problems that have their genesis in his fundamental contributions to plasma physics, as well as the eagerness with which we all welcome his involvement in our own projects. We hope to have this continue for many years to come.

PREFACE: 14th International Conference on the Physics of Highly Charged Ions (HCI 2008)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Azuma, Toshiyuki; Nakamura, Nobuyuki; Yamada, Chikashi

2009-07-01

This volume contains the Proceedings of the 14th International Conference on the Physics of Highly Charged Ions (HCI2008), held at the University of Electro-Communications, Chofu, Tokyo, Japan from 1-5 September 2008. This series of conferences began in Stockholm, Sweden in 1982 and has since been held every other year; in Oxford, UK (1984), Groningen, the Netherlands (1986), Grenoble, France (1988), Giessen, Germany (1990), Manhattan, Kansas, USA (1992), Vienna, Austria (1994), Omiya, Japan (1996), Bensheim, Germany (1998), Berkeley, USA (2000), Caen, France (2002), Vilnius, Lithuania (2004) and Belfast, UK (2006). Highly charged ions (HCI), which are defined as highly ionized (i.e. positively charged atomic) ions here, mainly exist in hot plasmas such as the solar corona and fusion plasmas. It is true that its importance in plasma physics has driven researchers to the spectroscopic studies of HCIs, but the spectroscopy of few-electron ions is not only important for plasmas but also interesting for fundamental atomic physics. Electrons moving fast near a heavy nucleus give a suitable system to test the fundamental atomic theory involving relativistic and quantum electro-dynamic effects in a strong field. Also, the huge potential energy of a HCI induces drastic reaction in the interaction with matter. This unique property of HCIs, coupled with the recent development of efficient ion sources, is opening the possibility to utilize them in new technologies in the field such as nano-fabrication, surface analysis, medical physics, and so on. Hence, this conference is recognized as a valuable gathering place for established practitioners and also for newcomers; we exchange information, we are introduced to the subject itself, and to unexpected interfaces with other fields. On 31 August, the day before the opening of HCI2008, we welcomed the delegates at the university's restaurant—and we were greeted with an unusually heavy summer shower! The conference then opened on the morning of 1 September. In the evening we invited the foreign delegates to the Tokyo-EBIT laboratory and entertained them with sushi and YEBISU beer at the lab (YEBISU is a popular brand of beer in Japan and also the nickname of the Tokyo-EBIT project, Young Electron Beam Ion Source Unit). Cans of YEBISU beer also helped us to make the poster sessions lively, on the evenings of 2 and 4 September. The best poster of each session was selected by the vote of International Advisory Board, and two young scientists were awarded the prizes. On the afternoon of 3 September, we took an excursion to Lake Yamanaka near Mount Fuji for a conference outing. The conference dinner was then held at a hotel alongside Lake Yamanaka from where we really enjoyed the view of Mount Fuji. In the summer it is quite rare to have clear weather, but a teru-teru bozu (a Japanese paper doll with a wish for good weather) placed on the top page of the conference WEB site brought us clear skies for the dinner. About 200 scientists from 22 countries registered for the HCI2008. The number of invited talks was 18 and the contributed papers 206. These proceedings contain 9 invited talks and 107 contributed articles. Following the previous conference, they are grouped into the five categories of: (1) Fundamental aspects, structure and spectroscopy; (2) Collisions with electrons, ions, atoms and molecules; (3) Interactions with clusters, surfaces and solids; (4) Interactions with photons, plasmas and strong field processes, and (5) Production, experimental developments and applications. We are happy that the conference was completely successful, and this success owes much to the sponsors. We acknowledge the support from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), The International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP), Matsuo Foundation, Iwatani Naoji Foundation, CASIO Science Promotion Foundation, and The Society for Atomic Collision Research. The next International Conference on the Physics of Highly Charged Ions will be held in Shanghai under the organization of Professor Y Zou of Fudan University and her colleagues. We wish the organizers of HCI2010 all possible success and are looking forward to meeting you all in Shanghai. Toshiyuki Azuma, Nobuyuki Nakamura and Chikashi Yamada Editors

CONFERENCE DESCRIPTION Theory of Fusion Plasmas: Varenna-Lausanne International Workshop

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Garbet, X.; Sauter, O.

2010-12-01

The Joint Varenna-Lausanne international workshop on Theory of Fusion Plasmas takes place every other year in a place particularly favourable for informal and in-depth discussions. Invited and contributed papers present state-of-the-art research in theoretical plasma physics, covering all domains relevant to fusion plasmas. This workshop always welcomes a fruitful mix of experienced researchers and students, to allow a better understanding of the key theoretical physics models and applications. Theoretical issues related to burning plasmas Anomalous Transport (Turbulence, Coherent Structures, Microinstabilities) RF Heating and Current Drive Macroinstabilities Plasma-Edge Physics and Divertors Fast particles instabilities Further details: http://Varenna-Lausanne.epfl.ch The conference is organized by: Centre de Recherches en Physique des Plasmas, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Association EURATOM - Confédération Suisse 'Piero Caldirola' International Centre for the Promotion of Science and International School of Plasma Physics Istituto di Fisica del Plasma del CNR, Milano Editors: X Garbet (CEA, Cadarache, France) and O Sauter (CRPP-EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland)

Towards a turbulent magnetic dysnamo platform

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Flippo, Kirk; Rasmus, Alexander; Li, Hui; Li, Shengtai; Kuranz, Carolyn; Levesque, Joseph; Klein, Sallee; Tzeferacos, Petros

2017-10-01

It is known through astronomical observations that most of the Universe is ionized, magnetized, and often turbulent and filled with jets. One theorized process to create strong magnetic fields and jets is the turbulent magnetic dynamo. The magnetic dynamo is a fundamental process in plasma physics, taking kinetic energy and converting it to magnetic energy and is very important to planetary physics and astrophysics. We report on recent Omega EP experiments to produce platform with a turbulent plume of magnetized material with which to study the turbulent magnetic dynamo process. The laser interaction with the target can seed magnetic fields that can be advected into the plume and amplified to saturation by the turbulent magnetic dynamo process. The experimentally measured plume characteristics are compared to hydro code calculations.

Investigation Of The High-Voltage Discharge On The Surface Of Gas-Liquid System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nguyen-Kuok, Shi; Morgunov, Aleksandr; Malakhov, Yury; Korotkikh, Ivan

2016-09-01

This paper describes an experimental setup for study of physical processes in the high-voltage discharge on the surface of gas-liquid system at atmospheric pressure. Measurements of electrical and optical characteristics of the high-voltage discharge in gas, at the surface of the gas-liquid system and in the electrolyte are obtained. The parameters of the high-voltage discharge and the conditions for its stable operation are presented. Investigations with various electrolytes and cathode assemblies of various materials and sizes were carried out. The installation can be used for the processing and recycling of industrial and chemical liquid waste. Professor of Laboratory of Plasma Physics, National Research University MPEI, Krasnokazarmennya Str.14, 111250, Moscow, Russia.

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

Buneman, R.; Barker, R.J.; Peratt, A.L.

Highlights are presented from among the many contributions made by Oscar Buneman to the science, engineering, and mathematics communities. Emphasis is placed not only on ''what'' this pioneer of computational plasma physics contributed but, of equal importance, on ''how'' he made his contributions. Therein lies the difference between technical competence and scientific greatness. The picture which emerges illustrates the open-mindedness, enthusiasm, intellectual/physical stamina, imagination, intellectual integrity, interdisciplinary curiosity, and deep humanity that made this individual unique. As a gentleman and a scholar, he had mastered the art of making cold technical facts ''come to life.'' Oscar Buneman died peacefully atmore » his home near Stanford University on Sunday, January 24th, 1993. The profound influence he has had on many of his colleagues guarantees his immortality.« less

PREFACE: 17th Russian Youth Conference on Physics and Astronomy (PhysicA.SPb/2014)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Averkiev, Nikita S.; Poniaev, Sergey A.; Sokolovskii, Grigorii S.

2015-12-01

The seventeenth Russian Youth Conference on Physics and Astronomy (PhysicA.SPb) was held from 28-30 October 2014 in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The Conference continues the tradition of Saint Petersburg Seminars on Physics and Astronomy originating from the mid-1990s. Since then PhysicA.SPb maintains both the scientific and educational quality of contributions delivered to the young audience. This is the main feature of the Conference that makes it possible to combine the whole spectrum of modern Physics and Astronomy within one event. PhysicA.SPb/2014 has brought together more than 200 students, young scientists and their professor colleagues from many universities and research institutes across the whole of Russia as well as from Belarus, Ukraine, Finland, the Netherlands, France and Germany. Oral and poster presentations were combined into the well-defined sections of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Optics and spectroscopy, Physics of ferroics, Nanostructured and thin-film materials, Mathematical physics and numerical methods, Biophysics, Plasma physics, hydro- and aero-dynamics, and Physics of quantum structures. This volume of Journal of Physics: Conference Series presents the extended contributions from participants of PhysicA.SPb/2014 that were peer-reviewed by expert referees through processes administered by the Presiders of the Organising and Programme Committees to the best professional and scientific standards.

Alfvénic wave packets collision in a kinetic plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pezzi, Oreste; Parashar, Tulasi N.; Servidio, Sergio; Valentini, Francesco; Malara, Francesco; Matthaeus, William H.; Veltri, Pierluigi

2016-04-01

The problem of two colliding and counter-propagating Alfvénic wave packets has been investigated in detail since the late Seventies. In particular Moffatt [1] and Parker [2] showed that, in the framework of the incompressible magnetohydrodynamics (MHD), nonlinear interactions can develop only during the overlapping of the two packets. Here we describe a similar problem in the framework of the kinetic physics. The collision of two quasi-Alfvénic packets has been analyzed by means of MHD, Hall-MHD and kinetic simulations performed with two different hybrid codes: a PIC code [3] and a Vlasov-Maxwell code [4]. Due to the huge computational cost, only a 2D-3V phase space is allowed (two dimensions in the physical space, three dimensions in the velocity space). Preliminary results suggest that, as well as in the MHD case, the most relevant nonlinear effects occur during the overlapping of the two packets. For both the PIC and Vlasov cases, strong temperature anisotropies are present during the evolution of the wave packets. Moreover, due to the absence of numerical noise, Vlasov simulations show that the collision of the counter-propagating solitary waves produces a significant beam in the velocity distribution functions [5], which, instead, cannot be appreciated in PIC simulations. We remark that, beyond the interest of studying a well-known MHD problem in the realm of the kinetic physics, our results allows also to compare different numerical codes. [1] H.K. Moffatt, Field generation in electrically conducting fluids (Cambridge University Press, 1978). [2] E.N. Parker, Cosmical magnetic fields: their origin and their activity (Oxford University Press, 1979). [3] T.N. Parashar, M.A. Shay, P.A. Cassak and W.H. Matthaeus, Physics of Plasmas 16, 032310 (2009). [4] F. Valentini, P. Trávníček, F. Califano, P. Hellinger & A. Mangeney, Journal of Computational Physics 225, 753-770 (2007). [5] J. He, C. Tu, E. Marsch, C.H. Chen, L. Wang, Z. Pei, L. Zhang, C.S. Salem and S.D. Bale, The Astrophysical Journal Letters 813, L30 (2015).

Collisions of two Alfvénic wave packets in a kinetic plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pezzi, O.; Servidio, S.; Valentini, F.; Parashar, T.; Malara, F.; Matthaeus, W. H.; Veltri, P.

2016-12-01

The problem of two colliding and counter-propagating Alfvénic wave packets has been investigated in detail since the late Seventies. In particular Moffatt [1] and Parker [2] showed that, in the framework of the incompressible magnetohydrodynamics (MHD), nonlinear interactions can develop only during the overlapping of the two packets. Here we describe a similar problem in the framework of the kinetic physics. The collision of two quasi-Alfvénic packets has been analyzed by means of MHD, Hall-MHD and kinetic simulations performed with two different hybrid codes: a PIC code [3] and a Vlasov-Maxwell code [4]. Due to the huge computational cost, only a 2D-3V phase space is allowed (two dimensions in the physical space, three dimensions in the velocity space). Preliminary results suggest that, as well as in the MHD case, the most relevant nonlinear effects occur during the overlapping of the two packets. For both the PIC and Vlasov cases, strong temperature anisotropies are present during the evolution of the wave packets. Moreover, due to the absence of numerical noise, Vlasov simulations show that the collision of the counter-propagating solitary waves produces a significant beam in the velocity distribution functions [5], which, instead, cannot be appreciated in PIC simulations. We remark that, beyond the interest of studying a well-known MHD problem in the realm of the kinetic physics, our results allows also to compare different numerical codes. [1] H.K. Moffatt, Field generation in electrically conducting fluids (Cambridge University Press, 1978). [2] E.N. Parker, Cosmical magnetic fields: their origin and their activity (Oxford University Press, 1979). [3] T.N. Parashar, M.A. Shay, P.A. Cassak and W.H. Matthaeus, Physics of Plasmas 16, 032310 (2009). [4] F. Valentini, P. Trávníček, F. Califano, P. Hellinger & A. Mangeney, Journal of Computational Physics 225, 753-770 (2007). [5] J. He, C. Tu, E. Marsch, C.H. Chen, L. Wang, Z. Pei, L. Zhang, C.S. Salem and S.D. Bale, The Astrophysical Journal Letters 813, L30 (2015).

Advanced Concept Exploration for Fast Ignition Science Program, Final Report

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

Stephens, Richard Burnite; McLean, Harry M.; Theobald, Wolfgang

The Fast Ignition (FI) Concept for Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) has the potential to provide a significant advance in the technical attractiveness of Inertial Fusion Energy reactors. FI differs from conventional “central hot spot” (CHS) target ignition by decoupling compression from heating: using a laser (or heavy ion beam or Z pinch) drive pulse (10’s of nanoseconds) to create a dense fuel and a second, much shorter (~10 picoseconds) high intensity pulse to ignite a small volume within the dense fuel. The physics of fast ignition process was the focus of our Advanced Concept Exploration (ACE) program. Ignition depends criticallymore » on two major issues involving Relativistic High Energy Density (RHED) physics: The laser-induced creation of fast electrons and their propagation in high-density plasmas. Our program has developed new experimental platforms, diagnostic packages, computer modeling analyses, and taken advantage of the increasing energy available at laser facilities to advance understanding of the fundamental physics underlying these issues. Our program had three thrust areas: • Understand the production and characteristics of fast electrons resulting from FI relevant laser-plasma interactions and their dependence on laser prepulse and laser pulse length. • Investigate the subsequent fast electron transport in solid and through hot (FI-relevant) plasmas. • Conduct and understand integrated core-heating experiments by comparison to simulations. Over the whole period of this project (three years for this contract), we have greatly advanced our fundamental understanding of the underlying properties in all three areas: • Comprehensive studies on fast electron source characteristics have shown that they are controlled by the laser intensity distribution and the topology and plasma density gradient. Laser pre-pulse induced pre-plasma in front of a solid surface results in increased stand-off distances from the electron origin to the high density target as well as large and erratic spread of the electron beam with increasing short pulse duration. We have demonstrated, using newly available higher contrast lasers, an improved energy coupling, painting a promising picture for FI feasibility. • Our detailed experiments and analyses of fast electron transport dependence on target material have shown that it is feasible to collimate fast electron beam by self-generated resistive magnetic fields in engineered targets with a rather simple geometry. Stable and collimated electron beam with spot size as small as 50-μm after >100-μm propagation distance (an angular divergence angle of 20°!) in solid density plasma targets has been demonstrated with FI-relevant (10-ps, >1-kJ) laser pulses Such collimated beam would meet the required heating beam size for FI. • Our new experimental platforms developed for the OMEGA laser (i.e., i) high resolution 8 keV backlighter platform for cone-in-shell implosion and ii) the 8 keV imaging with Cu-doped shell targets for detailed transport characterization) have enabled us to experimentally confirm fuel assembly from cone-in-shell implosion with record-high areal density. We have also made the first direct measurement of fast electron transport and spatial energy deposition in integrated FI experiments enabling the first experiment-based benchmarking of integrated simulation codes. Executing this program required a large team. It was managed as a collaboration between General Atomics (GA), Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), and the Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE). GA fulfills its responsibilities jointly with the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), The Ohio State University (OSU) and the University of Nevada at Reno (UNR). The division of responsibility was as follows: (1) LLE had primary leadership for channeling studies and the integrated energy transfer, (2) LLNL led the development of measurement methods, analysis, and deployment of diagnostics, and (3) GA together with UCSD, OSU and UNR studied the detailed energy-transfer physics. The experimental program was carried out using the Titan laser at the Jupiter Laser Facility at LLNL, the OMEGA and OMEGA EP lasers at LLE and the Texas Petawatt laser at the University of Texas, Austin. Modeling has been pursued on large computing facilities at LLNL, OSU, and UCSD using codes developed (by us and others) within the HEDLP program, commercial codes, and by leveraging existing simulations codes developed by the National Nuclear Security Administration ICF program. One important aspect of this program was the involvement and training of young scientists including postdoctoral fellows and graduate students. This project generated an impressive forty articles in high quality journals including nine (two under review) in Physical Review Letters during the three years of this grant and five graduate students completed their doctoral dissertations.« less

Study of Plasma Liner Driven Magnetized Target Fusion Via Advanced Simulations

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

Samulyak, Roman V.; Brookhaven National Lab.; Parks, Paul

The feasibility of the plasma liner driven Magnetized Target Fusion (MTF) via terascale numerical simulations will be assessed. In the MTF concept, a plasma liner, formed by merging of a number (60 or more) of radial, highly supersonic plasma jets, implodes on the target in the form of two compact plasma toroids, and compresses it to conditions of the fusion ignition. By avoiding major difficulties associated with both the traditional laser driven inertial confinement fusion and solid liner driven MTF, the plasma liner driven MTF potentially provides a low-cost and fast R&D path towards the demonstration of practical fusion energy.more » High fidelity numerical simulations of full nonlinear models associated with the plasma liner MTF using state-of-art numerical algorithms and terascale computing are necessary in order to resolve uncertainties and provide guidance for future experiments. At Stony Brook University, we have developed unique computational capabilities that ideally suite the MTF problem. The FronTier code, developed in collaboration with BNL and LANL under DOE funding including SciDAC for the simulation of 3D multi-material hydro and MHD flows, has beenbenchmarked and used for fundamental and engineering problems in energy science applications. We have performed 3D simulations of converging supersonic plasma jets, their merger and the formation of the plasma liner, and a study of the corresponding oblique shock problem. We have studied the implosion of the plasma liner on the magnetized plasma target by resolving Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities in 2D and 3D and other relevant physics and estimate thermodynamic conditions of the target at the moment of maximum compression and the hydrodynamic efficiency of the method.« less

Plasma Physics of the Subauroral Space Weather

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-03-20

AFRL-RV-PS- AFRL-RV-PS- TR-2016-0068 TR-2016-0068 PLASMA PHYSICS OF THE SUBAURORAL SPACE WEATHER Evgeny V. Mishin, et al. 20 March 2016 Final...Oct 2013 to 30 Sep 2015 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE Plasma Physics of the Subauroral Space Weather 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER 5b. GRANT NUMBER 5c. PROGRAM...5 4.3. Physics -based hybrid model with finite Larmor radius effects

Plasma Science and Innovation Center (PSI-Center) at Washington, Wisconsin, and Utah State, ARRA Supplement

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

Sovinec, Carl

The objective of the Plasma Science and Innovation Center (PSI-Center) is to develop and deploy computational models that simulate conditions in smaller, concept-exploration plasma experiments. The PSIC group at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, led by Prof. Carl Sovinec, uses and enhances the Non-Ideal Magnetohydrodynamics with Rotation, Open Discussion (NIMROD) code, to simulate macroscopic plasma dynamics in a number of magnetic confinement configurations. These numerical simulations provide information on how magnetic fields and plasma flows evolve over all three spatial dimensions, which supplements the limited access of diagnostics in plasma experiments. The information gained from simulation helps explain how plasma evolves.more » It is also used to engineer more effective plasma confinement systems, reducing the need for building many experiments to cover the physical parameter space. The ultimate benefit is a more cost-effective approach to the development of fusion energy for peaceful power production. The supplemental funds provided by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 were used to purchase computer components that were assembled into a 48-core system with 256 Gb of shared memory. The system was engineered and constructed by the group's system administrator at the time, Anthony Hammond. It was successfully used by then graduate student, Dr. John O'Bryan, for computing magnetic relaxation dynamics that occur during experimental tests of non-inductive startup in the Pegasus Toroidal Experiment (pegasus.ep.wisc.edu). Dr. O'Bryan's simulations provided the first detailed explanation of how the driven helical filament of electrical current evolves into a toroidal tokamak-like plasma configuration.« less

Equation of state for two-dimensional dusty plasma liquids and its applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feng, Yan

2017-10-01

Laboratory dusty plasma consists of free electrons, free ions, and micro-sized dust particles with thousands of negative elementary charges. Due to their extremely low charge-to-mass ratio, these dust particles are strongly coupled, arranging themselves like atoms in liquids or solids. Due to the shielding effects of electrons and ions, dust particles interact with each other through the Yukawa potential, so that simulations of Yukawa liquids or solids are used to study properties of dusty plasmas. In the past two decades, the properties of liquid 2D dusty plasmas have been widely studied from experiments to theories and simulations. However, from our literature search, we have not found a quantitative and comprehensive study of properties of 2D liquid dusty plasmas over a wide range of plasma conditions. Here, from molecular-dynamics simulations of Yukawa liquids, we have obtained a concise equation of state (EOS) for the 2D liquid dusty plasmas from empirical fitting, which contains three quantities of the internal pressure, the coupling parameter, and the screening parameter. From this EOS, different thermodynamical processes can be directly derived, such as isotherms, isobars and isochores. Also, various physical properties of 2D liquid dusty plasmas, like the bulk modulus of elasticity, can be analytically derived, so that the sound speeds can be obtained. Finally, an analytical expression of the specific heat for 2D liquid dusty plasmas has been achieved. Work supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant No. 11505124, the 1000 Youth Talents Plan, and the startup funds from Soochow University.

A gyrokinetic collision operator for magnetized Lorentz plasmas

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

Liu Chang; Ma Chenhao; Yu Xiongjie

2011-03-15

A gyrocenter collision operator for magnetized Lorentz plasmas is derived using the Fokker-Plank method. The gyrocenter collision operator consists of drift and diffusion terms in the gyrocenter coordinates, including the diffusion of the gyrocenter, which does not exist for the collision operator in the particle phase space coordinates. The gyrocenter collision operator also depends on the transverse electric field explicitly, which is crucial for the correct treatment of collisional effects and transport in the gyrocenter coordinates. The gyrocenter collision operator derived is applied to calculate the particle and heat transport fluxes in a magnetized Lorentz plasma with an electric field.more » The particle and heat transport fluxes calculated from our gyrocenter collision operator agree exactly with the classical Braginskii's result [S. I. Braginskii, Reviews of Plasma Physics (Consultants Bureau, New York, 1965), Vol. 1, p. 205: P. Helander and D. J. Sigmar, Collisional Transport in Magnetized Plasmas (Cambridge University, Cambridge, 2002), p. 65], which validates the correctness of our collision operator. To calculate the transport fluxes correctly, it is necessary to apply the pullback transformation associated with gyrocenter coordinate transformation in the presence of collisions, which also serves as a practical algorithm for evaluating collisional particle and heat transport fluxes in the gyrocenter coordinates.« less

Preface to advances in numerical simulation of plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Parker, Scott E.; Chacon, Luis

2016-10-01

This Journal of Computational Physics Special Issue, titled ;Advances in Numerical Simulation of Plasmas,; presents a snapshot of the international state of the art in the field of computational plasma physics. The articles herein are a subset of the topics presented as invited talks at the 24th International Conference on the Numerical Simulation of Plasmas (ICNSP), August 12-14, 2015 in Golden, Colorado. The choice of papers was highly selective. The ICNSP is held every other year and is the premier scientific meeting in the field of computational plasma physics.

Plasma Jet Simulations Using a Generalized Ohm's Law

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ebersohn, Frans; Shebalin, John V.; Girimaji, Sharath S.

2012-01-01

Plasma jets are important physical phenomena in astrophysics and plasma propulsion devices. A currently proposed dual jet plasma propulsion device to be used for ISS experiments strongly resembles a coronal loop and further draws a parallel between these physical systems [1]. To study plasma jets we use numerical methods that solve the compressible MHD equations using the generalized Ohm s law [2]. Here, we will discuss the crucial underlying physics of these systems along with the numerical procedures we utilize to study them. Recent results from our numerical experiments will be presented and discussed.

Radiative precursors driven by converging blast waves in noble gases

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

Burdiak, G. C.; Lebedev, S. V.; Harvey-Thompson, A. J.

2014-03-15

A detailed study of the radiative precursor that develops ahead of converging blast waves in gas-filled cylindrical liner z-pinch experiments is presented. The experiment is capable of magnetically driving 20 km s{sup −1} blast waves through gases of densities of the order 10{sup −5} g cm{sup −3} (see Burdiak et al. [High Energy Density Phys. 9(1), 52–62 (2013)] for a thorough description). Data were collected for Ne, Ar, and Xe gas-fills. The geometry of the setup allows a determination of the plasma parameters both in the precursor and across the shock, along a nominally uniform line of sight that is perpendicularmore » to the propagation of the shock waves. Radiation from the shock was able to excite NeI, ArII, and XeII/XeIII precursor spectral features. It is shown that the combination of interferometry and optical spectroscopy data is inconsistent with upstream plasmas being in LTE. Specifically, electron density gradients do not correspond to any apparent temperature change in the emission spectra. Experimental data are compared to 1D radiation hydrodynamics HELIOS-CR simulations and to PrismSPECT atomic physics calculations to assist in a physical interpretation of the observations. We show that upstream plasma is likely in the process of being radiatively heated and that the emission from a small percentage of ionised atoms within a cool background plasma dominates the emission spectra. Experiments were carried out on the MAGPIE and COBRA pulsed-power facilities at Imperial College London and Cornell University, respectively.« less

Direct Drive Fusion Energy Shock Ignition Designs for Sub-MJ Lasers

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-09-01

FUSION ENERGY SHOCK IGNITION DESIGNS FOR SUB-MJ LASERS Andrew J. Schmitt, J. W. Bates, S. P. Obenschain, and S. T. Zalesak Plasma Physics Division, Naval Research Laboratory, Washington DC 20375 andrew.schmitt@nrl.navy.mil D. E. Fyfe LCP&FD, Naval Research Laboratory, Washington DC 20375 R. Betti Fusion Science Center and Laboratory for Laser Energetics, University of Rochester, Rochester NY New approaches in target design have increased the pos- sibility that useful fusion power can be generated with sub-MJ lasers. We have performed many 1D and 2D

CALL FOR PAPERS: Special cluster issue on `Experimental studies of zonal flow and turbulence'

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Itoh, S.-I.

2005-07-01

Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion (PPCF) invites submissions on the topic of `Experimental studies of zonal flow and turbulence', for consideration for a special topical cluster of articles to be published early in 2006. The topical cluster will be published in an issue of PPCF, combined with regular articles. The Guest Editor for the special cluster will be S-I Itoh, Kyushu University, Japan. There has been remarkable progress in the area of structure formation by turbulence. One of the highlights has been the physics of zonal flow and drift wave turbulence in toroidal plasmas. Extensive theoretical as well as computational studies have revealed the various mechanisms in turbulence and zonal flows. At the same time, experimental research on the zonal flow, geodesic acoustic modes and generation of global electric field by turbulence has evolved rapidly. Fast growth in reports of experimental results has stimulated further efforts to develop increased knowledge and systematic understanding. Each paper considered for the special cluster should describe the present research status and new scientific knowledge/results from the authors on experimental studies of zonal flow, geodesic acoustic modes and generation of electric field by turbulence (including studies of Reynolds-Maxwell stresses, etc). Manuscripts submitted to this special cluster in Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion will be refereed according to the normal criteria and procedures of the journal. The Guest Editor guides the progress of the cluster from the initial open call, through the standard refereeing process, to publication. To be considered for inclusion in the special cluster, articles must be submitted by 2 September 2005 and must clearly state `for inclusion in the Turbulent Plasma Cluster'. Articles submitted after this deadline may not be included in the cluster issue but may be published in a later issue of the journal. Please submit your manuscript electronically via our web site at www.iop.org/journals/ppcf or by e-mail to mailto:ppcf@iop.org. Electronic submissions are encouraged but if you wish to submit a hard copy of your article then please send your typescript, a set of original figures and a covering letter to: The Publishing Administrator Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion Institute of Physics Publishing Dirac House Temple Back Bristol BS1 6BE UK Further information on how to submit may be obtained on request by e-mailing the journal at the above address. Alternatively, visit the homepage of the journal (www.iop.org/journals/ppcf).

Electron-impact excitation and recombination of molecular cations in edge fusion plasma: application to H2+and BeD+

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pop, Nicolina; Iacob, Felix; Mezei, Zsolt; Motapon, Ousmanou; Niyonzima, Sebastien; Schneider, Ioan

2017-10-01

Dissociative recombination, ro-vibrational excitation and dissociative excitation of molecular cations with electrons are major elementary process in the kinetics and in the energy balance of astrophysically-relevant ionized media (supernovae, interstellar molecular clouds, planetary ionospheres, early Universe), in edge fusion and in many other cold media of technological interest. For the fusion plasma edge, extensive cross sections and rate coefficients have been produced for reactions induced on HD+, H2+ and BeD+ using the Multichannel Quantum Defect Theory (MQDT). Our calculations resulted in good agreement with the CRYRING (Stockholm) and TSR (Heidelberg) magnetic storage ring results, and our approach is permanently improved in order to face the new generation of electrostatic storage rings, as CSR (Heidelberg) and DESIREE (Stockholm). Member of APS Reciprocal Society: European Physics Society.

Laboratory space physics: Investigating the physics of space plasmas in the laboratory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Howes, Gregory G.

2018-05-01

Laboratory experiments provide a valuable complement to explore the fundamental physics of space plasmas without the limitations inherent to spacecraft measurements. Specifically, experiments overcome the restriction that spacecraft measurements are made at only one (or a few) points in space, enable greater control of the plasma conditions and applied perturbations, can be reproducible, and are orders of magnitude less expensive than launching spacecraft. Here, I highlight key open questions about the physics of space plasmas and identify the aspects of these problems that can potentially be tackled in laboratory experiments. Several past successes in laboratory space physics provide concrete examples of how complementary experiments can contribute to our understanding of physical processes at play in the solar corona, solar wind, planetary magnetospheres, and the outer boundary of the heliosphere. I present developments on the horizon of laboratory space physics, identifying velocity space as a key new frontier, highlighting new and enhanced experimental facilities, and showcasing anticipated developments to produce improved diagnostics and innovative analysis methods. A strategy for future laboratory space physics investigations will be outlined, with explicit connections to specific fundamental plasma phenomena of interest.

Some Research Centers for Plasma Physics and Solid State Physics in the Netherlands and Belgium. Part II. Belgium,

DTIC Science & Technology

plasma column and observed the interesting phenomenon of plasma ejection. At FUB, Balescu and Prigogine direct a group of sixty theoreticians doing...outstanding work in statistical physics. Balescu is writing another graduate textbook on non-equilibrium statistical mechanics. He is tackling the

Incoherent Scatter Plasma Lines: Observations and Applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Akbari, Hassanali; Bhatt, Asti; La Hoz, Cesar; Semeter, Joshua L.

2017-10-01

Space plasmas are host to the electrostatic Langmuir waves and a rich range of processes associated with them. Many of such processes that are of interest in micro-scale plasma physics and magnetosphere-ionosphere physics are open to investigation via incoherent scatter plasma lines—i.e., a pair of resonant peaks in the incoherent scatter radar (ISR) spectrum, symmetrically displaced from the radar transmitting frequency by about the plasma frequency, as the signature of Langmuir waves in the ISR spectrum. There now exists a large body of literature devoted to the investigation of a number of topics in ionospheric physics via plasma line theory and observation. It is the goal of this work to provide a comprehensive review of this literature, from the early theoretical works on oscillations in magnetized plasma to the recent advances in plasma line measurements and applications. This review includes detailed theoretical discussions on the intensity and frequency displacement of plasma lines. It reviews the experimental observations of plasma lines enhanced by various sources of energy and discusses the implications of the observations in the context of ionospheric physics. The review also covers the practical aspects of plasma line measurements, from measurement techniques to the applications of plasma lines in estimating the bulk parameters of the ionosphere.

EBIT - Electronic Beam Ion Trap: N Divison experimental physics annual report 1995

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

Schneider, D.

1996-10-01

The multi-faceted research effort of the EBIT (Electron Beam Ion Trap) program in N-Division of the Physics and Space Technology Department at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) continues to contribute significant results to the physical sciences from studies with low energy very highly charged heavy ions. The EBIT program attracts a number of collaborators from the US and abroad for the different projects. The collaborations are partly carried out through participating graduate students demonstrating the excellent educational capabilities at the LLNL EBIT facilities. Moreover, participants from Historically Black Colleges and Universities are engaged in the EBIT project. This report describesmore » EBIT work for 1995 in atomic structure measurements and radiative transition probabilities, spectral diagnostics for laboratory and astrophysical plasmas, ion/surface interaction studies, electron-ion interactions studies, retrap and ion collisions, and instrumental development.« less

A DOE/Fusion Energy Sciences Research/Education Program at PVAMU Study of Rotamak Plasmas

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

Huang, Tian-Sen; Saganti, Premkumar

During recent years (2004-2015), with DOE support, the PVAMU plasma research group accomplished new instrumentation development, conducted several new plasma experiments, and is currently poised to advance with standing-wave microwave plasma propulsion research. On the instrumentation development, the research group completed: (i) building a new plasma chamber with metal CF flanges, (ii) setting up of a 6kW/2450MHz microwave input system as an additional plasma heating source at our rotamak plasma facility, (iii) installation of one programmatic Kepco ATE 6-100DMG fast DC current supply system used in rotamak plasma shape control experiment, built a new microwave, standing-wave experiment chamber and (iv)more » established a new plasma lab with field reversal configuration capability utilizing 1MHz/200kW RF (radio frequency) wave generator. Some of the new experiments conducted in this period also include: (i) assessment of improved magnetic reconnection at field-reversed configuration (FRC) plasma, (ii) introduction of microwave heating experiments, and (iii) suppression of n = 1 tilt instability by one coil with a smaller current added inside the rotamak’s central pipe. These experiments led to publications in Physical Review Letters, Reviews of Scientific Instruments, Division of Plasma Physics (DPP) of American Physical Society (APS) Reports, Physics of Plasmas Controlled Fusion, and Physics of Plasmas (between 2004 and 2015). With these new improvements and advancements, we also initiated and accomplished design and fabrication of a plasma propulsion system. Currently, we are assembling a plasma propulsion experimental system that includes a 5kW helicon plasma source, a 25 cm diameter plasma heating chamber with 1MHz/200kW RF power rotating magnetic field, and a 60 cm diameter plasma exhaust chamber, and expect to achieve a plasma mass flow of 0.1g/s with 60km/s ejection. We anticipate several propulsion applications in near future as we advance our capabilities. Apart from scientific staff members, several students (more than ten undergraduate students and two graduate students from several engineering and science disciplines) were supported and worked on the equipment and experiments during the award period. We also anticipate that these opportunities with current expansions may result in a graduate program in plasma science and propulsion engineering disciplines. *Corresponding Author – Dr. Saganti, Regents Professor and Professor of Physics – pbsaganti@pvamu.edu« less

On the Magnetospheric Heating Problem

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nykyri, K.; Moore, T.; Dimmock, A. P.; Ma, X.; Johnson, J.; Delamere, P. A.

2016-12-01

In the Earth's magnetosphere the specific entropy, increases by approximately two orders of magnitude when transitioning from the magnetosheath into the magnetosphere. However, the origin of this non-adiabatic heating is not well understood. In addition, there exists a dawn-dusk temperature asymmetry in the flanks of the plasma sheet - the cold component ions are hotter by 30-40% at the dawnside plasma sheet compared to the duskside plasma sheet. Our recent statistical study of magnetosheath temperatures using 7 years of THEMIS data indicates that ion magnetosheath temperatures downstream of quasi-parallel (dawn-flank for the Parker-Spiral IMF) bow shock are only 15 percent higher than downstream of the quasi-perpendicular shock. This magnetosheath temperature asymmetry is therefore inadequate to cause the observed level of the plasma sheet temperature asymmetry. In this presentation we address the origin of non-adiabatic heating from the magnetosheath into the plasma sheet by utilizing small Cluster spacecraft separations, 9 years of statistical THEMIS data as well as Hall-MHD and hybrid simulations. We present evidence of a new physical mechanism capable of cross-scale energy transport at the flank magnetopause with strong contributions to the non-adiabatic heating observed between the magnetosheath and plasma sheet. This same heating mechanism may occur and drive asymmetries also in the magnetospheres of gas giants: Jupiter and Saturn, as well as play role elsewhere in the universe where significant flow shears are present such as in the solar corona, and other astrophysical and laboratory plasmas.

Turbulent dynamo in a collisionless plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rincon, François; Califano, Francesco; Schekochihin, Alexander A.; Valentini, Francesco

2016-04-01

Magnetic fields pervade the entire universe and affect the formation and evolution of astrophysical systems from cosmological to planetary scales. The generation and dynamical amplification of extragalactic magnetic fields through cosmic times (up to microgauss levels reported in nearby galaxy clusters, near equipartition with kinetic energy of plasma motions, and on scales of at least tens of kiloparsecs) are major puzzles largely unconstrained by observations. A dynamo effect converting kinetic flow energy into magnetic energy is often invoked in that context; however, extragalactic plasmas are weakly collisional (as opposed to magnetohydrodynamic fluids), and whether magnetic field growth and sustainment through an efficient turbulent dynamo instability are possible in such plasmas is not established. Fully kinetic numerical simulations of the Vlasov equation in a 6D-phase space necessary to answer this question have, until recently, remained beyond computational capabilities. Here, we show by means of such simulations that magnetic field amplification by dynamo instability does occur in a stochastically driven, nonrelativistic subsonic flow of initially unmagnetized collisionless plasma. We also find that the dynamo self-accelerates and becomes entangled with kinetic instabilities as magnetization increases. The results suggest that such a plasma dynamo may be realizable in laboratory experiments, support the idea that intracluster medium turbulence may have significantly contributed to the amplification of cluster magnetic fields up to near-equipartition levels on a timescale shorter than the Hubble time, and emphasize the crucial role of multiscale kinetic physics in high-energy astrophysical plasmas.

Turbulent dynamo in a collisionless plasma

PubMed Central

Rincon, François; Califano, Francesco; Schekochihin, Alexander A.; Valentini, Francesco

2016-01-01

Magnetic fields pervade the entire universe and affect the formation and evolution of astrophysical systems from cosmological to planetary scales. The generation and dynamical amplification of extragalactic magnetic fields through cosmic times (up to microgauss levels reported in nearby galaxy clusters, near equipartition with kinetic energy of plasma motions, and on scales of at least tens of kiloparsecs) are major puzzles largely unconstrained by observations. A dynamo effect converting kinetic flow energy into magnetic energy is often invoked in that context; however, extragalactic plasmas are weakly collisional (as opposed to magnetohydrodynamic fluids), and whether magnetic field growth and sustainment through an efficient turbulent dynamo instability are possible in such plasmas is not established. Fully kinetic numerical simulations of the Vlasov equation in a 6D-phase space necessary to answer this question have, until recently, remained beyond computational capabilities. Here, we show by means of such simulations that magnetic field amplification by dynamo instability does occur in a stochastically driven, nonrelativistic subsonic flow of initially unmagnetized collisionless plasma. We also find that the dynamo self-accelerates and becomes entangled with kinetic instabilities as magnetization increases. The results suggest that such a plasma dynamo may be realizable in laboratory experiments, support the idea that intracluster medium turbulence may have significantly contributed to the amplification of cluster magnetic fields up to near-equipartition levels on a timescale shorter than the Hubble time, and emphasize the crucial role of multiscale kinetic physics in high-energy astrophysical plasmas. PMID:27035981

Turbulent dynamo in a collisionless plasma.

PubMed

Rincon, François; Califano, Francesco; Schekochihin, Alexander A; Valentini, Francesco

2016-04-12

Magnetic fields pervade the entire universe and affect the formation and evolution of astrophysical systems from cosmological to planetary scales. The generation and dynamical amplification of extragalactic magnetic fields through cosmic times (up to microgauss levels reported in nearby galaxy clusters, near equipartition with kinetic energy of plasma motions, and on scales of at least tens of kiloparsecs) are major puzzles largely unconstrained by observations. A dynamo effect converting kinetic flow energy into magnetic energy is often invoked in that context; however, extragalactic plasmas are weakly collisional (as opposed to magnetohydrodynamic fluids), and whether magnetic field growth and sustainment through an efficient turbulent dynamo instability are possible in such plasmas is not established. Fully kinetic numerical simulations of the Vlasov equation in a 6D-phase space necessary to answer this question have, until recently, remained beyond computational capabilities. Here, we show by means of such simulations that magnetic field amplification by dynamo instability does occur in a stochastically driven, nonrelativistic subsonic flow of initially unmagnetized collisionless plasma. We also find that the dynamo self-accelerates and becomes entangled with kinetic instabilities as magnetization increases. The results suggest that such a plasma dynamo may be realizable in laboratory experiments, support the idea that intracluster medium turbulence may have significantly contributed to the amplification of cluster magnetic fields up to near-equipartition levels on a timescale shorter than the Hubble time, and emphasize the crucial role of multiscale kinetic physics in high-energy astrophysical plasmas.

PREFACE: International Congress on Energy Fluxes and Radiation Effects (EFRE-2014)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2014-11-01

The International Congress on Energy Fluxes and Radiation Effects 2014 (EFRE 2014) was held in Tomsk, Russia, on September 21-26, 2014. The organizers of the Congress were the Institute of High Current Electronics SB RAS and Tomsk Polytechnic University. EFRE 2014 combines three international conferences which are regularly held in Tomsk, Russia: the 18th International Symposium on High-Current Electronics (18th SHCE), the 12th International Conference on Modification of Materials with Particle Beams and Plasma Flows (12th CMM) and the 16th International Conference on Radiation Physics and Chemistry of Condensed Matter (16th RPC). The International Conference on Radiation Physics and Chemistry of Condensed Matter is a traditional representative forum devoted to the discussion of the fundamental problems of physical and chemical non-linear processes in condensed matter (mainly inorganic dielectrics) under the action of particle and photon beams of all types including pulsed power laser radiation. The International Symposium on High-Current Electronics is held biannually in Tomsk, Russia. The program of the conferences covers a wide range of scientific and technical areas including pulsed power technology, ion and electron beams, high-power microwaves, plasma and particle beam sources, modification of materials, and pulsed power applications in chemistry, biology and medicine. The 12th International Conference on Modification of Materials with Particle Beams and Plasma Flows is devoted to the discussion of the fundamental and applied issues in the field of modification of materials properties with particle beams and plasma flows. The six-day Congress brought together more than 250 specialists and scientists from different countries and organizations and provided an excellent opportunity to exchange knowledge, make oral contributions and poster presentations, and initiate discussion on the topics of interest. The proceedings were edited by Victor Lisitsyn, Vladimir Lopatin, and Anna Bogdan. We appreciate the contribution of the invited speakers and all participants, as well as sponsors "Intech Analytics" and "MICROSPLAV" for making the Congress successful.

Computational Studies of Magnetic Nozzle Performance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ebersohn, Frans H.; Longmier, Benjamin W.; Sheehan, John P.; Shebalin, John B.; Raja, Laxminarayan

2013-01-01

An extensive literature review of magnetic nozzle research has been performed, examining previous work, as well as a review of fundamental principles. This has allow us to catalog all basic physical mechanisms which we believe underlie the thrust generation process. Energy conversion mechanisms include the approximate conservation of the magnetic moment adiabatic invariant, generalized hall and thermoelectric acceleration, swirl acceleration, thermal energy transformation into directed kinetic energy, and Joule heating. Momentum transfer results from the interaction of the applied magnetic field with currents induced in the plasma plume., while plasma detachment mechanisms include resistive diffusion, recombination and charge exchange collisions, magnetic reconnection, loss of adiabaticity, inertial forces, current closure, and self-field detachment. We have performed a preliminary study of Hall effects on magnetic nozzle jets with weak guiding magnetic fields and weak expansions (p(sub jet) approx. = P(sub background)). The conclusion from this study is that the Hall effect creates an azimuthal rotation of the plasma jet and, more generally, creates helical structures in the induced current, velocity field, and magnetic fields. We have studied plasma jet expansion to near vacuum without a guiding magnetic field, and are presently including a guiding magnetic field using a resistive MHD solver. This research is progressing toward the implementation of a full generalized Ohm's law solver. In our paper, we will summarize the basic principle, as well as the literature survey and briefly review our previous results. Our most recent results at the time of submittal will also be included. Efforts are currently underway to construct an experiment at the University of Michigan Plasmadynamics and Electric Propulsion Laboratory (PEPL) to study magnetic nozzle physics for a RF-thruster. Our computational study will work directly with this experiment to validate the numerical model, in order to study magnetic nozzle physics and optimize magnetic nozzle design. Preliminary results from the PEPL experiment will also be presented.

Plasma rotation in the Peking University Plasma Test device.

PubMed

Xiao, Chijie; Chen, Yihang; Yang, Xiaoyi; Xu, Tianchao; Wang, Long; Xu, Min; Guo, Dong; Yu, Yi; Lin, Chen

2016-11-01

Some preliminary results of plasma rotations in a linear plasma experiment device, Peking University Plasma Test (PPT) device, are reported in this paper. PPT has a cylindrical vacuum chamber with 500 mm diameter and 1000 mm length, and a pair of Helmholtz coils which can generate cylindrical or cusp magnetic geometry with magnitude from 0 to 2000 G. Plasma was generated by a helicon source and the typical density is about 10 13 cm -3 for the argon plasma. Some Langmuir probes, magnetic probes, and one high-speed camera are set up to diagnose the rotational plasmas. The preliminary results show that magnetic fluctuations exist during some plasma rotation processes with both cylindrical and cusp magnetic geometries, which might be related to some electromagnetic processes and need further studies.

Construction and performance of the magnetic bunch compressor for the THz facility at Chiang Mai University

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saisut, J.; Kusoljariyakul, K.; Rimjaem, S.; Kangrang, N.; Wichaisirimongkol, P.; Thamboon, P.; Rhodes, M. W.; Thongbai, C.

2011-05-01

The Plasma and Beam Physics Research Facility at Chiang Mai University has established a THz facility to focus on the study of ultra-short electron pulses. Short electron bunches can be generated from a system that consists of a radio-frequency (RF) gun with a thermionic cathode, an alpha magnet as a magnetic bunch compressor, and a linear accelerator as a post-acceleration section. The alpha magnet is a conventional and simple instrument for low-energy electron bunch compression. With the alpha magnet constructed in-house, several hundred femtosecond electron bunches for THz radiation production can be generated from the thermionic RF gun. The construction and performance of the alpha magnet, as well as some experimental results, are presented in this paper.

Plasma Assisted Ignition and Combustion at Low Initial Gas Temperatures: Development of Kinetic Mechanism

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-10-05

describes physics of a nanosecond surface dielectric barrier discharge (SDBD) at ambient gas temperature and high pressures (1-6 bar) in air. Details about...the ignition by a nanosecond discharge. Chapter 7 presents the high pressure high temperature reactor built recently at Laboratory for Plasma Physics ...livelink.ebs.afrl.af.mil/livelink/llisapi.dll Laboratory for Physics of Plasma, Ecole Polytechnique Plasma Assisted Ignition and Combustion at Low Initial Gas

Heliophysics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Austin, M.; Guhathakurta, M.; Schrijver, C. J.; Bagenal, F.; Sojka, J. J.

2013-12-01

Title: Heliophysics Presentation Type: Poster Current Section/Focus Group: SPA-Solar and Heliosphere Physics (SH) Current Session: SH-01. SPA-Solar and Heliosphere Physics General Contributions Authors: Meg Austin1, Madhulika Guhathakurta2, Carolus Schrijver3, Frances Bagenal4, Jan Sojka5 1. UCAR Visiting Scientist Programs 2. NASA Living With a Star Program 3. Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Center 4. Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado 5. Utah State University Abstract: Heliophysics is a developing scientific discipline integrating studies of the Sun's variability, the surrounding heliosphere, and climate environments. Over the past few centuries our understanding of how the Sun drives space weather and climate on the Earth and other planets has advanced at an ever-increasing rate. NASA Living With a Star and the UCAR Visiting Scientist Progams sponsor the annual Heliophysics Summer Schools to build the next generation of scientists in this emerging field. The highly successful series of the summer schools (commencing 2007) trains a select group of graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and university faculty to learn and develop the science of heliophysics as a broad, coherent discipline that reaches in space from the Earth's troposphere to the depths of the Sun, and in time from the formation of the solar system to the distant future. The first three years of the school resulted in the publication of three textbooks now being used at universities worldwide. Subsequent years have also developed the complementary materials that support teaching of heliophysics at both graduate and undergraduate levels. The textbooks are edited by Carolus J. Schrijver, Lockheed Martin, and George L. Siscoe, Boston University. The books provide a foundational reference for researchers in heliophysics, astrophysics, plasma physics, space physics, solar physics aeronomy, space weather, planetary science and climate science. The Jack Eddy Postdoctoral Fellowship Program matches newly graduated postdoctorates with hosting mentors for the purpose of training the next generation researchers needed in heliophysics. The fellowships are for two years, and any U.S. university or research lab may apply to host a fellow. Two major topics of focus for the program are the science of space weather and of the Sun-climate connection. Since the goal of this fellowship program is to train Sun-Earth system researchers, preference is also given to research projects that cross the traditional heliophysics subdomains of the Sun, heliosphere, magnetosphere, and ionosphere/upper atmosphere, as well as Sun-climate investigations. Host mentors plan critical roles. Potential hosts may enter information about their research on a central database.

PlasmaPy: beginning a community developed Python package for plasma physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Murphy, Nicholas A.; Huang, Yi-Min; PlasmaPy Collaboration

2016-10-01

In recent years, researchers in several disciplines have collaborated on community-developed open source Python packages such as Astropy, SunPy, and SpacePy. These packages provide core functionality, common frameworks for data analysis and visualization, and educational tools. We propose that our community begins the development of PlasmaPy: a new open source core Python package for plasma physics. PlasmaPy could include commonly used functions in plasma physics, easy-to-use plasma simulation codes, Grad-Shafranov solvers, eigenmode solvers, and tools to analyze both simulations and experiments. The development will include modern programming practices such as version control, embedding documentation in the code, unit tests, and avoiding premature optimization. We will describe early code development on PlasmaPy, and discuss plans moving forward. The success of PlasmaPy depends on active community involvement and a welcoming and inclusive environment, so anyone interested in joining this collaboration should contact the authors.

Development of TPF-1 plasma focus for education

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Picha, R.; Promping, J.; Channuie, J.; Poolyarat, N.; Sangaroon, S.; Traikool, T.

2017-09-01

The plasma focus is a device that uses high voltage and electromagnetic force to induce plasma generation and acceleration, in order to cause nuclear reactions. Radiation of various types (X-ray, gamma ray, electrons, ions, neutrons) can be generated using this method during the pinch phase, thus making the plasma focus able to serve as a radiation source. Material testing, modification, and identification are among the current applications of the plasma focus. Other than being an alternative option to isotopic sources, the plasma focus, which requires multidisciplinary team of personnel to design, operate, and troubleshoot, can also serve as an excellent learning device for physics and engineering students in the fields including, but not limited to, plasma physics, nuclear physics, electronics engineering, and mechanical engineering. This work describes the parameters and current status of Thai Plasma Focus 1 (TPF-1) and the characteristics of the plasma being produced in the machine using a Rogowski coil.

On the correlation between ‘non-local’ effects and intrinsic rotation reversals in Alcator C-Mod

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rodriguez-Fernandez, P.; Rice, J. E.; Cao, N. M.; Creely, A. J.; Howard, N. T.; Hubbard, A. E.; Irby, J. H.; White, A. E.

2017-07-01

Contemporary predictive models for heat and particle transport in tokamak plasmas are based on the assumption that local fluxes can be described in terms of local plasma parameters, where electromagnetic drift-wave-type turbulence is driven by local gradients and results in cross-field transport. The question of whether or not transport could be dominated by non-local terms in certain circumstances is essential for our understanding of transport in magnetically confined plasmas, and critical for developing predictive models for future tokamaks, such as ITER. Perturbative transport experiments using cold-pulse injections at low density seem to challenge the local closure of anomalous transport: a rapid temperature increase in the core of the plasma following a sharp edge cooling is widely observed in tokamaks and helical devices. Past work in Ohmic plasmas in Alcator C-Mod and in ECH plasmas in KSTAR found that the temperature inversions disappear at higher densities, above the intrinsic toroidal rotation reversal density. These observations suggested that the so-called ‘non-local’ heat transport effects were related to the intrinsic rotation reversal, and therefore to changes in momentum transport. In this work, new experiments and analysis at Alcator C-Mod show that intrinsic rotation reversals and disappearance of temperature inversions are not concomitant in Ohmic plasmas at high plasma current and in ICRH L-modes. This new data set shows that the correlation between transient temperature inversions and intrinsic rotation reversals is not universal, suggesting that ‘non-local’ heat transport and momentum transport effects may be affected by different physical mechanisms.

Inductive Electron Heating Revisited

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tuszewski, M.

1996-11-01

Inductively Coupled Plasmas (ICPs) have been studied for over a century. Recently, ICPs have been rediscovered by the multi-billion dollar semiconductor industry as an important class of high-density, low-pressure plasma sources suitable for the manufacture of next-generation integrated circuits. Present low-pressure ICP development is among the most active areas of plasma research. However, this development remains largely empirical, a prohibitively expensive approach for upcoming 300-mm diameter wafers. Hence, there is an urgent need for basic ICP plasma physics research, including experimental characterization and predictive numerical modeling. Inductive radio frequency (rf) power absorption is fundamental to the ICP electron heating and the resulting plasma transport but remains poorly understood. For example, recent experimental measurements and supporting fluid calculationsfootnote M. Tuszewski, Phys. Rev. Lett. 77 in press (1996) on a commercial deposition tool prototype show that the induced rf magnetic fields in the source can cause an order of magnitude reduction in plasma conductivity and in electron heating power density. In some cases, the rf fields penetrate through the entire volume of the ICP discharges while existing models that neglect the induced rf magnetic fields predict rf absorption in a thin skin layer near the plasma surface. The rf magnetic fields also cause more subtle changes in the plasma density and in the electron temperature spatial distributions. These data will be presented and the role of basic research in the applied world of semiconductor manufacturing will be discussed. ^*This research was conducted under the auspices of the U.S. DOE, supported by funds provided by the University of California for discretionary research by Los Alamos National Laboratory.

Exploration of spherical torus physics in the NSTX device

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ono, M.; Kaye, S. M.; Peng, Y.-K. M.; Barnes, G.; Blanchard, W.; Carter, M. D.; Chrzanowski, J.; Dudek, L.; Ewig, R.; Gates, D.; Hatcher, R. E.; Jarboe, T.; Jardin, S. C.; Johnson, D.; Kaita, R.; Kalish, M.; Kessel, C. E.; Kugel, H. W.; Maingi, R.; Majeski, R.; Manickam, J.; McCormack, B.; Menard, J.; Mueller, D.; Nelson, B. A.; Nelson, B. E.; Neumeyer, C.; Oliaro, G.; Paoletti, F.; Parsells, R.; Perry, E.; Pomphrey, N.; Ramakrishnan, S.; Raman, R.; Rewoldt, G.; Robinson, J.; Roquemore, A. L.; Ryan, P.; Sabbagh, S.; Swain, D.; Synakowski, E. J.; Viola, M.; Williams, M.; Wilson, J. R.; NSTX Team

2000-03-01

The National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX) is being built at Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory to test the fusion physics principles for the spherical torus concept at the MA level. The NSTX nominal plasma parameters are R0 = 85 cm, a = 67 cm, R/a >= 1.26, Bt = 3 kG, Ip = 1 MA, q95 = 14, elongation κ <= 2.2, triangularity δ <= 0.5 and a plasma pulse length of up to 5 s. The plasma heating/current drive tools are high harmonic fast wave (6 MW, 5 s), neutral beam injection (5 MW, 80 keV, 5 s) and coaxial helicity injection. Theoretical calculations predict that NSTX should provide exciting possibilities for exploring a number of important new physics regimes, including very high plasma β, naturally high plasma elongation, high bootstrap current fraction, absolute magnetic well and high pressure driven sheared flow. In addition, the NSTX programme plans to explore fully non-inductive plasma startup as well as a dispersive scrape-off layer for heat and particle flux handling.

Intense Plasma Waveguide Terahertz Sources for High-Field THz Probe Science with Ultrafast Lasers for Solid State Physics

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-08-25

AFRL-AFOSR-UK-TR-2016-0029 Intense Plasma-Waveguide Terahertz Sources for High-Field THz probe science with ultrafast lasers for Solid State Physics...Plasma-Waveguide Terahertz Sources for High-Field THz probe science with ultrafast lasers for Solid State Physics, 5a.  CONTRACT NUMBER 5b.  GRANT...an existing high energy laser system, has been applied to the study of intense terahertz radiation generated in gaseous plasmas in purpose

Plasma Physics Network Newsletter, No. 3

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

1991-02-01

This issue of the Newsletter contains a report on the First South-North International Workshop on Fusion Theory, Tipaza, Algeria, 17-20 September, 1990; a report in the issuance of the 'Buenos Aires Memorandum' generated during the IV Latin American Workshop on Plasma Physics, Argentina, July 1990, and containing a proposal that the IFRC establish a 'Steering Committee on North-South Collaboration in Controlled Nuclear Fusion and Plasma Physics Research'; the announcement that the 14th International Conference on Plasma Physics and Controlled Nuclear Fusion will be held in Wuerzburg, Germany, September 30 to October 7, 1992; a list of IAEA technical committee meetings for 1991; an item on ITER news; an article 'Long Term Physics R and D Planning (for ITER)' by F. Engelmann; in the planned sequence of 'Reports on National Fusion Programs' contributions on the Chinese and Yugoslav programs; finally, the titles and contacts for two other newsletters of potential interest, i.e., the AAAPT (Asian African Association for Plasma Training) Newsletter, and the IPG (International physics Group-A sub unit of the American Physical Society) Newsletter.

Plasma Modification of Poly Lactic Acid Solutions to Generate High Quality Electrospun PLA Nanofibers.

PubMed

Rezaei, Fatemeh; Nikiforov, Anton; Morent, Rino; De Geyter, Nathalie

2018-02-02

Physical properties of pre-electrospinning polymer solutions play a key role in electrospinning as they strongly determine the morphology of the obtained electrospun nanofibers. In this work, an atmospheric-pressure argon plasma directly submerged in the liquid-phase was used to modify the physical properties of poly lactic acid (PLA) spinning solutions in an effort to improve their electrospinnability. The electrical characteristics of the plasma were investigated by two methods; V-I waveforms and Q-V Lissajous plots while the optical emission characteristics of the plasma were also determined using optical emission spectroscopy (OES). To perform a complete physical characterization of the plasma-modified polymer solutions, measurements of viscosity, surface tension, and electrical conductivity were performed for various PLA concentrations, plasma exposure times, gas flow rates, and applied voltages. Moreover, a fast intensified charge-couple device (ICCD) camera was used to image the bubble dynamics during the plasma treatments. In addition, morphological changes of PLA nanofibers generated from plasma-treated PLA solutions were observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The performed plasma treatments were found to induce significant changes to the main physical properties of the PLA solutions, leading to an enhancement of electrospinnability and an improvement of PLA nanofiber formation.

The order of the quantum chromodynamics transition predicted by the standard model of particle physics.

PubMed

Aoki, Y; Endrodi, G; Fodor, Z; Katz, S D; Szabó, K K

2006-10-12

Quantum chromodynamics (QCD) is the theory of the strong interaction, explaining (for example) the binding of three almost massless quarks into a much heavier proton or neutron--and thus most of the mass of the visible Universe. The standard model of particle physics predicts a QCD-related transition that is relevant for the evolution of the early Universe. At low temperatures, the dominant degrees of freedom are colourless bound states of hadrons (such as protons and pions). However, QCD is asymptotically free, meaning that at high energies or temperatures the interaction gets weaker and weaker, causing hadrons to break up. This behaviour underlies the predicted cosmological transition between the low-temperature hadronic phase and a high-temperature quark-gluon plasma phase (for simplicity, we use the word 'phase' to characterize regions with different dominant degrees of freedom). Despite enormous theoretical effort, the nature of this finite-temperature QCD transition (that is, first-order, second-order or analytic crossover) remains ambiguous. Here we determine the nature of the QCD transition using computationally demanding lattice calculations for physical quark masses. Susceptibilities are extrapolated to vanishing lattice spacing for three physical volumes, the smallest and largest of which differ by a factor of five. This ensures that a true transition should result in a dramatic increase of the susceptibilities. No such behaviour is observed: our finite-size scaling analysis shows that the finite-temperature QCD transition in the hot early Universe was not a real phase transition, but an analytic crossover (involving a rapid change, as opposed to a jump, as the temperature varied). As such, it will be difficult to find experimental evidence of this transition from astronomical observations.

Department of Defense Instrumentation Award.

DTIC Science & Technology

1985-07-01

Office of Scientific Research Prepared by The Electrical Engineering Department and The Laboratory for Plasma and Fusion Energy Studies University of...Electrical Engineering Department Laboratory for Plasma and Fusion Energy Studies University of Maryland College Park, Maryland 20742 Principal Investigator

QUARTERLY PROGRESS REPORT NO. 83,

DTIC Science & Technology

Topics included are: microwave spectroscopy; radio astronomy; solid-state microwave electronics; optical and infrared spectroscopy; physical electronics and surface physics; physical acoustics; plasma physics; gaseous electronics; plasmas and controlled nuclear fusion ; energy conversion research; statistical communication theory; linguistics; cognitive information processing; communications biophysics; neurophysiology; computation research.

High-Performance Computational Modeling of ICRF Physics and Plasma-Surface Interactions in Alcator C-Mod

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jenkins, Thomas; Smithe, David

2016-10-01

Inefficiencies and detrimental physical effects may arise in conjunction with ICRF heating of tokamak plasmas. Large wall potential drops, associated with sheath formation near plasma-facing antenna hardware, give rise to high-Z impurity sputtering from plasma-facing components and subsequent radiative cooling. Linear and nonlinear wave excitations in the plasma edge/SOL also dissipate injected RF power and reduce overall antenna efficiency. Recent advances in finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) modeling techniques allow the physics of localized sheath potentials, and associated sputtering events, to be modeled concurrently with the physics of antenna near- and far-field behavior and RF power flow. The new methods enable time-domain modeling of plasma-surface interactions and ICRF physics in realistic experimental configurations at unprecedented spatial resolution. We present results/animations from high-performance (10k-100k core) FDTD/PIC simulations spanning half of Alcator C-Mod at mm-scale resolution, exploring impurity production due to localized sputtering (in response to self-consistent sheath potentials at antenna surfaces) and the physics of parasitic slow wave excitation near the antenna hardware and SOL. Supported by US DoE (Award DE-SC0009501) and the ALCC program.

Cal Poly Pomona NUE Project: Implementing Microscale and Nanoscale Investigations Throughout the Undergraduate Curriculum

PubMed Central

Vandervoort, Kurt; Brelles-Mariño, Graciela

2013-01-01

NUE funded work at California State Polytechnic University involved development and implementation of nanotechnology modules for physics courses spanning all levels of the undergraduate curriculum, from freshman service courses to senior level laboratories and independent research projects. These modules demonstrate the application of fundamental physics at the nanoscale that complement macroscopic investigations. The introductory level and some of the advanced level modules have been described previously in journal papers and will be outlined briefly here. The main focus of this article, however, is to describe some newer work involving nanoscale experiments that have been developed for senior level laboratories and independent research. These experiments involve applications as diverse as tunneling diodes, gas discharge plasmas for biofilm inactivation, and quantized conductance in gold nanowires. PMID:24163716

Cal Poly Pomona NUE Project: Implementing Microscale and Nanoscale Investigations Throughout the Undergraduate Curriculum.

PubMed

Vandervoort, Kurt; Brelles-Mariño, Graciela

2013-06-01

NUE funded work at California State Polytechnic University involved development and implementation of nanotechnology modules for physics courses spanning all levels of the undergraduate curriculum, from freshman service courses to senior level laboratories and independent research projects. These modules demonstrate the application of fundamental physics at the nanoscale that complement macroscopic investigations. The introductory level and some of the advanced level modules have been described previously in journal papers and will be outlined briefly here. The main focus of this article, however, is to describe some newer work involving nanoscale experiments that have been developed for senior level laboratories and independent research. These experiments involve applications as diverse as tunneling diodes, gas discharge plasmas for biofilm inactivation, and quantized conductance in gold nanowires.

[Physical activity, dietary habits and plasma lipoproteins in young men and women].

PubMed

Malara, Marzena; Lutosławska, Grazyna

2010-01-01

There are studies suggesting that in young women strenuous physical activity and inadequate daily energy intake cause unfavorable changes in lipoprotein profile. However until know data concerning this issue are contradictory, possibly due to small number of participants. This study aimed at evaluation of lipoprotein profile in young men and women with different weekly physical activity together with their dietary habits. A total of 202 subjects volunteered to participate of the study--54 female and 56 male students of physical education and 46 female and 49 male students representing other specialization. Daily energy and macronutrient intakes were assessed using FOOD 2 computer program. Plasma TG, TC and HDL-C were assayed colorimetically using Randox commercial kits (Great Britain). It has been demonstrated that high physical activity adversely affects lipoprotein profile in young women characterized by higher TC and LDL-C in comparison with women with low physical activity and with men with high physical activity. The effect of high physical activity on plasma lipoproteins is equivocal. Active men are characterized by higher HDL, but also by higher frequency of unfavorable plasma TC and similar frequency of unfavorable plasma LDL-C C as compared with their less active counterparts. The mean daily energy intake in highly active men and women covered 82% and 72.2% recommended intake, respectively. It seems feasible that in both sexes high physical activity and inadequate energy intake brings about unfavorable changes in plasma lipoproteins.

PREFACE: Strongly Coupled Coulomb Systems Strongly Coupled Coulomb Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Neilson, David; Senatore, Gaetano

2009-05-01

This special issue contains papers presented at the International Conference on Strongly Coupled Coulomb Systems (SCCS), held from 29 July-2 August 2008 at the University of Camerino. Camerino is an ancient hill-top town located in the Apennine mountains of Italy, 200 kilometres northeast of Rome, with a university dating back to 1336. The Camerino conference was the 11th in a series which started in 1977: 1977: Orleans-la-Source, France, as a NATO Advanced Study Institute on Strongly Coupled Plasmas (hosted by Marc Feix and Gabor J Kalman) 1982: Les Houches, France (hosted by Marc Baus and Jean-Pierre Hansen) 1986: Santa Cruz, California, USA (hosted by Forrest J Rogers and Hugh E DeWitt) 1989: Tokyo, Japan (hosted by Setsuo Ichimaru) 1992: Rochester, New York, USA (hosted by Hugh M Van Horn and Setsuo Ichimaru) 1995: Binz, Germany (hosted by Wolf Dietrich Kraeft and Manfred Schlanges) 1997: Boston, Massachusetts, USA (hosted by Gabor J Kalman) 1999: St Malo, France (hosted by Claude Deutsch and Bernard Jancovici) 2002: Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA (hosted by John F Benage and Michael S Murillo) 2005: Moscow, Russia (hosted by Vladimir E Fortov and Vladimir Vorob'ev). The name of the series was changed in 1996 from Strongly Coupled Plasmas to Strongly Coupled Coulomb Systems to reflect a wider range of topics. 'Strongly Coupled Coulomb Systems' encompasses diverse many-body systems and physical conditions. The purpose of the conferences is to provide a regular international forum for the presentation and discussion of research achievements and ideas relating to a variety of plasma, liquid and condensed matter systems that are dominated by strong Coulomb interactions between their constituents. Each meeting has seen an evolution of topics and emphases that have followed new discoveries and new techniques. The field has continued to see new experimental tools and access to new strongly coupled conditions, most recently in the areas of warm matter, dusty plasmas, condensed matter and ultra-cold plasmas. One hundred and thirty participants came from twenty countries and four continents to participate in the conference. Those giving presentations were asked to contribute to this special issue to make a representative record of an interesting conference. We thank the International Advisory Board and the Programme Committee for their support and suggestions. We thank the Local Organizing Committee (Stefania De Palo, Vittorio Pellegrini, Andrea Perali and Pierbiagio Pieri) for all their efforts. We highlight for special mention the dedication displayed by Andrea Perali, by Rocco di Marco for computer support, and by our tireless conference secretary Fiorella Paino. The knowledgeable guided tour of the historic centre of Camerino given by Fiorella Paino was appreciated by many participants. It is no exaggeration to say that without the extraordinary efforts put in by these three, the conference could not have been the success that it was. For their sustained interest and support we thank Fulvio Esposito, Rector of the University of Camerino, Fabio Beltram, Director of NEST, Scuola Normale Superiore, Pisa, and Daniel Cox, Co-Director of ICAM, University of California at Davis. We thank the Institute of Complex and Adaptive Matter ICAM-I2CAM, USA for providing a video record of the conference on the web (found at http://sccs2008.df.unicam.it/). Finally we thank the conference sponsors for their very generous support: the University of Camerino, the Institute of Complex and Adaptive Matter ICAM-I2CAM, USA, the International Centre for Theoretical Physics ICTP Trieste, and CNR-INFM DEMOCRITOS Modeling Center for Research in Atomistic Simulation, Trieste. Participants at the International Conference on Strongly Coupled Coulomb Systems (SCCS) (University of Camerino, Italy, 29 July-2 August 2008).

Plasma Physics Network Newsletter, no. 5

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

1992-08-01

The fifth Plasma Physics Network Newsletter (IAEA, Vienna, Aug. 1992) includes the following topics: (1) the availability of a list of the members of the Third World Plasma Research Network (TWPRN); (2) the announcement of the fourteenth IAEA International Conference on Plasma Physics and Controlled Nuclear Fusion Research to be held in Wuerzburg, Germany, from 30 Sep. to 7 Oct. 1992; (3) the announcement of a Technical Committee Meeting on research using small tokamaks, organized by the IAEA as a satellite meeting to the aforementioned fusion conference; (4) IAEA Fellowships and Scientific Visits for the use of workers in developing member states, and for which plasma researchers are encouraged to apply through Dr. D. Banner, Head, Physics Section, IAEA, P.O. Box 100, A-1400 Vienna, Austria; (5) the initiation in 1993 of a new Coordinated Research Programme (CRP) on 'Development of Software for Numerical Simulation and Data Processing in Fusion Energy Research', as well as a proposed CRP on 'Fusion Research in Developing Countries using Middle- and Small-Scale Plasma Devices'; (6) support from the International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) for meetings held in Third World countries; (7) a report by W. Usada on Fusion Research in Indonesia; (8) News on ITER; (9) the Technical Committee Meeting planned 8-12 Sep. 1992, Canada, on Tokamak Plasma Biasing; (10) software made available for the study of tokamak transport; (11) the electronic mail address of the TWPRN; (12) the FAX, e-mail, and postal address for contributions to this plasma physics network newsletter.

Report on the solar physics-plasma physics workshop

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sturrock, P. A.; Baum, P. J.; Beckers, J. M.; Newman, C. E.; Priest, E. R.; Rosenberg, H.; Smith, D. F.; Wentzel, D. G.

1976-01-01

The paper summarizes discussions held between solar physicists and plasma physicists on the interface between solar and plasma physics, with emphasis placed on the question of what laboratory experiments, or computer experiments, could be pursued to test proposed mechanisms involved in solar phenomena. Major areas discussed include nonthermal plasma on the sun, spectroscopic data needed in solar plasma diagnostics, types of magnetic field structures in the sun's atmosphere, the possibility of MHD phenomena involved in solar eruptive phenomena, the role of non-MHD instabilities in energy release in solar flares, particle acceleration in solar flares, shock waves in the sun's atmosphere, and mechanisms of radio emission from the sun.

Plasma Equilibrium Control in Nuclear Fusion Devices 2. Plasma Control in Magnetic Confinement Devices 2.1 Plasma Control in Tokamaks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fukuda, Takeshi

The plasma control technique for use in large tokamak devices has made great developmental strides in the last decade, concomitantly with progress in the understanding of tokamak physics and in part facilitated by the substantial advancement in the computing environment. Equilibrium control procedures have thereby been established, and it has been pervasively recognized in recent years that the real-time feedback control of physical quantities is indispensable for the improvement and sustainment of plasma performance in a quasi-steady-state. Further development is presently undertaken to realize the “advanced plasma control” concept, where integrated fusion performance is achieved by the simultaneous feedback control of multiple physical quantities, combined with equilibrium control.

EDITORIAL: Gas plasmas in biology and medicine

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stoffels, Eva

2006-08-01

It is my great pleasure to introduce this special cluster devoted to recent developments in biomedical plasma technology. It is an even greater pleasure to behold the enormous progress which has been made in this area over the last five years. Research on biomedical plasma applications proceeds hand in hand with the development of new material processing technologies, based on atmospheric plasma sources. In the beginning, major research effort was invested in the development and control of new plasma sources—in this laborious process, novel devices were constructed and characterized, and also new plasma physical phenomena were discovered. Self-constriction of micro-plasmas, pattern formation, filamentation of glow discharges and various mode transitions are just a few examples. It is a real challenge for theorists to gain an understanding of these complex phenomena. Later, the devices had to be thoroughly tested and automated, and various safety issues had to be addressed. At present, many atmospheric plasma sources are ready to use, but not all fundamental and technical problems have been resolved by far. There is still plenty of room for improvement, as in any dynamic area of research. The recent trends are clear: the application area of plasmas expands into processing of unconventional materials such as biological scaffolds, and eventually living human, animal and plant tissues. The gentle, precise and versatile character of cold plasmas simply invites this new application. Firstly, non-living surfaces have been plasma-treated to attain desired effects in biomedical research; tissue engineering will soon fully profit from this powerful technique. Furthermore, studies on cultured plant and animal cells have provided many findings, which are both fundamentally interesting and potentially applicable in health care, veterinary medicine and agriculture. The most important and hitherto unique property of plasma treatment is that it can evade accidental cell death and its attendant complications, such as inflammation and scarring. Another substantial research direction makes use of the bactericidal properties of the plasma. The number of findings on plasma inactivation of bacteria and spores is growing; plasma sterilization has already achieved some commercial success. In future, bacteriostatic properties of cold plasmas will even facilitate non-contact disinfection of human tissues. At this moment, one cannot explicitly list all the medical procedures in which cold plasmas will be involved. My personal intuition predicts widespread use of plasma treatment in dentistry and dermatology, but surely more applications will emerge in the course of this multi-disciplinary research. In fact, some plasma techniques, such as coagulation and coblation, are already used in clinical practice—this is another image of plasma science, which is so far unfamiliar to plasma physicists. Therefore, this particular topic forms a perfect platform for contacts between physicists and medical experts. Our colleagues from the medical scientific community will continue giving us feedback, suggestions or even orders. Biomedical plasmas should not become an isolated research area—we must grow together with medical research, listen to criticism, and eventually serve the physicians. Only then will this new field grow, flourish and bear fruit. All the above-mentioned topics meet in this issue of Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics, comprising the most significant examples of modern biomedical plasma research. Browsing through the contributions, the reader can trace back the progress in this field: from fundamental physical (numerical) studies, through phenomenology and physics of new discharges, studies on plasma-surface modification, bacterial inactivation tests, fundamental cell biological investigations, to final in vivo applications. One may ask why this selection has found its place in a purely physical journal—many contributions are concerned with (micro)-biology rather than physics. To me, the answer is clear: it is important to maintain the visibility of this fascinating and growing cross-disciplinary field within the (plasma) physical community. This is not the `physics we are used to', but one we will eventually get used to and accept.

History of Nuclear Fusion Research in Japan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Iguchi, Harukazu; Matsuoka, Keisuke; Kimura, Kazue; Namba, Chusei; Matsuda, Shinzaburo

In the late 1950s just after the atomic energy research was opened worldwide, there was a lively discussion among scientists on the strategy of nuclear fusion research in Japan. Finally, decision was made that fusion research should be started from the basic, namely, research on plasma physics and from cultivation of human resources at universities under the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture (MOE). However, an endorsement was given that construction of an experimental device for fusion research would be approved sooner or later. Studies on toroidal plasma confinement started at Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute (JAERI) under the Science and Technology Agency (STA) in the mid-1960s. Dualistic fusion research framework in Japan was established. This structure has lasted until now. Fusion research activities over the last 50 years are described by the use of a flowchart, which is convenient to glance the historical development of fusion research in Japan.

The Center for Multiscale Plasma Dynamics, Final Report

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

Gombosi, Tamas I.

The University of Michigan participated in the joint UCLA/Maryland fusion science center focused on plasma physics problems for which the traditional separation of the dynamics into microscale and macroscale processes breaks down. These processes involve large scale flows and magnetic fields tightly coupled to the small scale, kinetic dynamics of turbulence, particle acceleration and energy cascade. The interaction between these vastly disparate scales controls the evolution of the system. The enormous range of temporal and spatial scales associated with these problems renders direct simulation intractable even in computations that use the largest existing parallel computers. Our efforts focused on twomore » main problems: the development of Hall MHD solvers on solution adaptive grids and the development of solution adaptive grids using generalized coordinates so that the proper geometry of inertial confinement can be taken into account and efficient refinement strategies can be obtained.« less

FOREWORD: International Workshop on Theoretical Plasma Physics: Modern Plasma Science. Sponsored by the Abdus Salam ICTP, Trieste, Italy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shukla, P. K.; Stenflo, L.

2005-01-01

The "International Workshop on Theoretical Plasma Physics: Modern Plasma Science was held at the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (Abdus Salam ICTP), Trieste, Italy during the period 5 16 July 2004. The workshop was organized by P K Shukla, R Bingham, S M Mahajan, J T Mendonça, L Stenflo, and others. The workshop enters into a series of previous biennial activities that we have held at the Abdus Salam ICTP since 1989. The scientific program of the workshop was split into two parts. In the first week, most of the lectures dealt with problems concerning astrophysical plasmas, while in the second week, diversity was introduced in order to address the important role of plasma physics in modern areas of science and technology. Here, attention was focused on cross-disciplinary topics including Schrödinger-like models, which are common in plasma physics, nonlinear optics, quantum engineering (Bose-Einstein condensates), and nonlinear fluid mechanics, as well as emerging topics in fundamental theoretical and computational plasma physics, space and dusty plasma physics, laser-plasma interactions, etc. The workshop was attended by approximately hundred-twenty participants from the developing countries, Europe, USA, and Japan. A large number of participants were young researchers from both the developing and industrial countries, as the directors of the workshop tried to keep a good balance in inviting senior and younger generations of theoretical, computational and experimental plasma physicists to our Trieste activities. In the first week, there were extensive discussions on the physics of electromagnetic wave emissions from pulsar magnetospheres, relativistic magnetohydrodynamics of astrophysical objects, different scale sizes turbulence and structures in astrophysics. The scientific program of the second week included five review talks (60 minutes) and about thirty invited topical lectures (30 minutes). In addition, during the two weeks, there were more than seventy poster papers in three sessions. The latter provided opportunities for younger physicists to display the results of their recent work and to obtain comments from the other participants. During the period 11 16 July 2004 at the Abdus Salam ICTP, we focused on nonlinear effects that are common in plasmas, fluids, nonlinear optics, and condensed matter physics. In addition, we concentrated on collective processes in space and dusty plasmas, as well as in astrophysics and intense laser-plasma interactions. Also presented were modern topics of nonlinear neutrino-plasma interactions, nonlinear quantum electrodynamics, quark-gluon plasmas, and high-energy astrophysics. This reflects that plasma physics is a truly cross-disciplinary and very fascinating science with many potential applications. The workshop was attended by several distinguished invited speakers. Most of the contributions from the second week of our Trieste workshop appear in this Topical Issue of Physica Scripta, which will be distributed to all the participants. The organizers are grateful to Professor Katepalli Raju Sreenivasan, the director of the Abdus Salam ICTP, for his generous support and warm hospitality in Trieste. The Editors appreciate their colleagues and co-organizers for their constant and wholehearted support in our endeavours of publishing this Topical Issue of Physica Scripta. We highly value the excellent work of Mrs Ave Lusenti and Dr. Brian Stewart at the Abdus Salam ICTP. Thanks are also due to the European Commission for supporting our activity through the Research Training Networks entitled "Complex Plasmas" and "Turbulent Boundary Layers". Finally, we would like to express our gratitude to the Abdus Salam ICTP for providing financial support to our workshop in Trieste. Besides, the workshop directors thank the speakers and the attendees for their contributions which resulted in the success of our Trieste workshop 2004. Specifically, we appreciate the speakers for delivering excellent talks, supplying well prepared manuscripts for publication, and enhancing the plasma physics activity at the Abdus Salam ICTP.

Space plasma branch at NRL

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

The Naval Research Laboratory (Washington, D.C.) formed the Space Plasma Branch within its Plasma Physics Division on July 1. Vithal Patel, former Program Director of Magnetospheric Physics, National Science Foundation, also joined NRL on the same date as Associate Superintendent of the Plasma Physics Division. Barret Ripin is head of the newly organized branch. The Space Plasma branch will do basic and applied space plasma research using a multidisciplinary approach. It consolidates traditional rocket and satellite space experiments, space plasma theory and computation, with laboratory space-related experiments. About 40 research scientists, postdoctoral fellows, engineers, and technicians are divided among its five sections. The Theory and Computation sections are led by Joseph Huba and Joel Fedder, the Space Experiments section is led by Paul Rodriguez, and the Pharos Laser Facility and Laser Experiments sections are headed by Charles Manka and Jacob Grun.

Strongly-Interacting Fermi Gases in Reduced Dimensions

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-05-29

effective theories of the strong interactions), astrophysics (compact stellar objects), the physics of quark -gluon plasmas (elliptic flow), and most...strong interactions: Superconductors, neutron stars and quark -gluon plasmas on a desktop," Seminar on Modern Optics and Spectroscopy, M. I. T...interface of quark -gluon plasma physics and cold-atom physics," (Trento, Italy, March 19-23, 2007). Talk given by Andrey Turlapov. 17) J. E. Thomas

Influence of the turbulent motion on the chiral magnetic effect in the early universe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dvornikov, Maxim; Semikoz, Victor B.

2017-02-01

We study the magnetohydrodynamics of relativistic plasmas accounting for the chiral magnetic effect (CME). To take into account the evolution of the plasma velocity, obeying the Navier-Stokes equation, we approximate it by the Lorentz force accompanied by the phenomenological drag time parameter. On the basis of this ansatz, we obtain the contributions of both the turbulence effects, resulting from the dynamo term, and the magnetic field instability, caused by the CME, to the evolution of the magnetic field governed by the modified Faraday equation. In this way, we explore the evolution of the magnetic field energy and the magnetic helicity density spectra in the early Universe plasma. We find that the right-left electron asymmetry is enhanced by the turbulent plasma motion in a strong seed magnetic field compared to the pure CME case studied earlier for the hot Universe plasma in the same broken phase.

The influence of physical activity on hair toxic and essential trace element content in male and female students.

PubMed

Zaitseva, Irina P; Skalny, Andrey A; Tinkov, Alexey A; Berezkina, Elena S; Grabeklis, Andrei R; Skalny, Anatoly V

2015-02-01

The primary aim of the current study is to estimate the effect of different physical activity levels on hair trace element content in male and female students. A total of 113 students (59 women and 54 men) of P. G. Demidov Yaroslavl State University (Yaroslavl, Russia) took part in the current investigation. According to the level of the physical activity, all students were divided into three groups: high, medium, and low physical activity. Essential and toxic metal content (μg/g) in hair samples was assessed by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry using NexION 300D + NWR213 (Perkin-Elmer, USA). The obtained data show that hair iodine, zinc, arsenic, nickel, and tin levels are not related to physical activity in male and female students. At the same time, increased physical activity is associated with decreased hair copper, vanadium, bismuth, and mercury content in comparison to the low physical activity groups. Students with higher physical activity are also characterized by significantly higher hair cobalt, iron, manganese, selenium, cadmium, lithium, and lead concentrations. Finally, statistical analysis has revealed maximal gender differences in hair trace element content in the high physical activity groups, whereas in the low activity groups, the hair metal concentrations were nearly similar in females and males.

The expansion of a plasma into a vacuum - Basic phenomena and processes and applications to space plasma physics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wright, K. H., Jr.; Stone, N. H.; Samir, U.

1983-01-01

In this review attention is called to basic phenomena and physical processes involved in the expansion of a plasma into a vacuum, or the expansion of a plasma into a more tenuous plasma, in particular the fact that upon the expansion, ions are accelerated and reach energies well above their thermal energy. Also, in the process of the expansion a rarefaction wave propagates into the ambient plasma, an ion front moves into the expansion volume, and discontinuities in plasma parameters occur. The physical processes which cause the above phenomena are discussed, and their possible application is suggested for the case of the distribution of ions and electrons (hence plasma potential and electric fields) in the wake region behind artificial and natural obstacles moving supersonically in a rarefied space plasma. To illustrate this, some in situ results are reexamined. Directions for future work in this area via the utilization of the Space Shuttle and laboratory work are also mentioned.

Pulsed fusion space propulsion: Computational Magneto-Hydro Dynamics of a multi-coil parabolic reaction chamber

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Romanelli, Gherardo; Mignone, Andrea; Cervone, Angelo

2017-10-01

Pulsed fusion propulsion might finally revolutionise manned space exploration by providing an affordable and relatively fast access to interplanetary destinations. However, such systems are still in an early development phase and one of the key areas requiring further investigations is the operation of the magnetic nozzle, the device meant to exploit the fusion energy and generate thrust. One of the last pulsed fusion magnetic nozzle design is the so called multi-coil parabolic reaction chamber: the reaction is thereby ignited at the focus of an open parabolic chamber, enclosed by a series of coaxial superconducting coils that apply a magnetic field. The field, beside confining the reaction and preventing any contact between hot fusion plasma and chamber structure, is also meant to reflect the explosion and push plasma out of the rocket. Reflection is attained thanks to electric currents induced in conductive skin layers that cover each of the coils, the change of plasma axial momentum generates thrust in reaction. This working principle has yet to be extensively verified and computational Magneto-Hydro Dynamics (MHD) is a viable option to achieve that. This work is one of the first detailed ideal-MHD analysis of a multi-coil parabolic reaction chamber of this kind and has been completed employing PLUTO, a freely distributed computational code developed at the Physics Department of the University of Turin. The results are thus a preliminary verification of the chamber's performance. Nonetheless, plasma leakage through the chamber structure has been highlighted. Therefore, further investigations are required to validate the chamber design. Implementing a more accurate physical model (e.g. Hall-MHD or relativistic-MHD) is thus mandatory, and PLUTO shows the capabilities to achieve that.

Physical activity affects plasma coenzyme Q10 levels differently in young and old humans.

PubMed

Del Pozo-Cruz, Jesús; Rodríguez-Bies, Elisabet; Ballesteros-Simarro, Manuel; Navas-Enamorado, Ignacio; Tung, Bui Thanh; Navas, Plácido; López-Lluch, Guillermo

2014-04-01

Coenzyme Q (Q) is a key lipidic compound for cell bioenergetics and membrane antioxidant activities. It has been shown that also has a central role in the prevention of oxidation of plasma lipoproteins. Q has been associated with the prevention of cholesterol oxidation and several aging-related diseases. However, to date no clear data on the levels of plasma Q during aging are available. We have measured the levels of plasmatic Q10 and cholesterol in young and old individuals showing different degrees of physical activity. Our results indicate that plasma Q10 levels in old people are higher that the levels found in young people. Our analysis also indicates that there is no a relationship between the degree of physical activity and Q10 levels when the general population is studied. However, very interestingly, we have found a different tendency between Q10 levels and physical activity depending on the age of individuals. In young people, higher activity correlates with lower Q10 levels in plasma whereas in older adults this ratio changes and higher activity is related to higher plasma Q10 levels and higher Q10/Chol ratios. Higher Q10 levels in plasma are related to lower lipoperoxidation and oxidized LDL levels in elderly people. Our results highlight the importance of life habits in the analysis of Q10 in plasma and indicate that the practice of physical activity at old age can improve antioxidant capacity in plasma and help to prevent cardiovascular diseases.

Physical Processes in the MAGO/MFT Systems

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

Garanin, Sergey F; Reinovsky, Robert E.

2015-03-23

The Monograph is devoted to theoretical discussion of the physical effects, which are most significant for the alternative approach to the problem of controlled thermonuclear fusion (CTF): the MAGO/MTF approach. The book includes the description of the approach, its difference from the major CTF systems—magnetic confinement and inertial confinement systems. General physical methods of the processes simulation in this approach are considered, including plasma transport phenomena and radiation, and the theory of transverse collisionless shock waves, the surface discharges theory, important for such kind of research. Different flows and magneto-hydrodynamic plasma instabilities occurring in the frames of this approach aremore » also considered. In virtue of the general physical essence of the considered phenomena the presented results are applicable to a wide range of plasma physics and hydrodynamics processes. The book is intended for the plasma physics and hydrodynamics specialists, post-graduate students, and senior students-physicists.« less

Plasma soluble prion protein, a potential biomarker for sport-related concussions: a pilot study.

PubMed

Pham, Nam; Akonasu, Hungbo; Shishkin, Rhonda; Taghibiglou, Changiz

2015-01-01

Sport-related mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) or concussion is a significant health concern to athletes with potential long-term consequences. The diagnosis of sport concussion and return to sport decision making is one of the greatest challenges facing health care clinicians working in sports. Blood biomarkers have recently demonstrated their potential in assisting the detection of brain injury particularly, in those cases with no obvious physical injury. We have recently discovered plasma soluble cellular prion protein (PrP(C)) as a potential reliable biomarker for blast induced TBI (bTBI) in a rodent animal model. In order to explore the application of this novel TBI biomarker to sport-related concussion, we conducted a pilot study at the University of Saskatchewan (U of S) by recruiting athlete and non-athlete 18 to 30 year-old students. Using a modified quantitative ELISA method, we first established normal values for the plasma soluble PrP(C) in male and female students. The measured plasma soluble PrP(C) in confirmed concussion cases demonstrated a significant elevation of this analyte in post-concussion samples. Data collected from our pilot study indicates that the plasma soluble PrP(C) is a potential biomarker for sport-related concussion, which may be further developed into a clinical diagnostic tool to assist clinicians in the assessment of sport concussion and return-to-play decision making.

Active Black Holes: Relevant Plasma Structures, Regimes and Processes Involving All Phase Space*

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Coppi, B.

2010-11-01

The presented theory is motivated by the growing body of experimental information on the characteristics, connected with relevant spectral, time and space resolutions, of the radiation emission from objects considered as rotating black holes. In the immediate surroundings of these objects three plasma regions [1] are identified: an innermost Buffer Region, an intermediate Three-regime Region and a Structured Peripheral Region. In the last region a Composite Disk Structure that is a sequence of plasma rings corresponding to closed magnetic surfaces is considered to be present and to allow intermittent accretion flows along the relevant separatrices. The non-linear ``Master Equation'' describing this structure is derived and solved in appropriate asymptotic limits. The rings structure, depending on microscopic plasma characteristics: i) can be excluded from forming in the intermediate region allowing the onset of a spiral structure with which High Frequency Quasi Periodic Oscillations are associated; ii) may be allowed to propagate to the outer edge of the Buffer Region where successive rings with opposite currents are ejected vertically (in opposite directions) and originate the observed jets; iii) is dissipated well before the Buffer Region. *Sponsored in part by the U.S. D.O.E. [1] B. Coppi, Plasmas in the Laboratory and in the Universe, Eds. G. Bertin et al. (Publ. American Institute of Physics, New York, 2010).

Simulation of Mini-Magnetospheric Plasma Propulsion (M2P2) Interacting with an External Plasma Wind

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Winglee, R. M.; Euripides, P.; Ziemba, T.; Slough, J.; Giersch, L.

2003-01-01

Substantial progress has been made over the last year in the development of the laboratory Mini-Magnetospheric Plasma Propulsion (M2P2) prototype. The laboratory testing has shown that that the plasma can be produced at high neutral gas efficiency, at high temperatures (a few tens of eV) with excellent confinement up to the point where chamber wall interactions dominate the physics. This paper investigates the performance of the prototype as it is opposed by an external plasma acting as a surrogate for the solar wind. The experiments were performed in 5ft diameter by 6ft long vacuum chamber at the University of Washington. The solar wind source comprised of a 33 kWe arc jet attached to a 200 kWe inductively generated plasma source. The dual plasma sources allow the interaction to be studied for different power levels, shot duration and production method. It is shown that plasma from the solar wind source (SWS) is able to penetrate the field of the M2P2 magnetic when no plasma is present. With operation of the M2P2 plasma source at only 1.5 kWe, the penetration of the SWS even at the highest power of operation at 200 kWe is stopped. This deflection is shown to be greatly enhanced over that produced by the magnet alone. In addition it is shown that with the presence of the SWS, M2P2 is able to produce enhanced magnetized plasma production out to at least 10 magnet radii where the field strength is only marginally greater than the terrestrial field. The results are consistent with the initial predictions that kWe M2P2 systems would be able to deflect several hundred kWe plasma winds to produce enhanced propulsion for a spacecraft.

Laboratory study of collisionless coupling between explosive debris plasma and magnetized ambient plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bondarenko, A. S.; Schaeffer, D. B.; Everson, E. T.; Clark, S. E.; Lee, B. R.; Constantin, C. G.; Vincena, S.; Van Compernolle, B.; Tripathi, S. K. P.; Winske, D.; Niemann, C.

2017-08-01

The explosive expansion of a localized plasma cloud into a relatively tenuous, magnetized, ambient plasma characterizes a variety of astrophysical and space phenomena. In these rarified environments, collisionless electromagnetic processes rather than Coulomb collisions typically mediate the transfer of momentum and energy from the expanding "debris" plasma to the surrounding ambient plasma. In an effort to better understand the detailed physics of collisionless coupling mechanisms, compliment in situ measurements of space phenomena, and provide validation of previous computational and theoretical work, the present research jointly utilizes the Large Plasma Device and the Raptor laser facility at the University of California, Los Angeles to study the super-Alfvénic, quasi-perpendicular expansion of laser-produced carbon (C) and hydrogen (H) debris plasma through preformed, magnetized helium (He) ambient plasma via a variety of diagnostics, including emission spectroscopy, wavelength-filtered imaging, and a magnetic flux probe. Doppler shifts detected in a He1+ ion spectral line indicate that the ambient ions initially accelerate transverse to both the debris plasma flow and the background magnetic field. A qualitative analysis in the framework of a "hybrid" plasma model (kinetic ions and inertia-less fluid electrons) demonstrates that the ambient ion trajectories are consistent with the large-scale laminar electric field expected to develop due to the expanding debris. In particular, the transverse ambient ion motion provides direct evidence of Larmor coupling, a collisionless momentum exchange mechanism that has received extensive theoretical and numerical investigation. In order to quantitatively evaluate the observed Doppler shifts, a custom simulation utilizing a detailed model of the laser-produced debris plasma evolution calculates the laminar electric field and computes the initial response of a distribution of ambient test ions. A synthetic Doppler-shifted spectrum constructed from the simulated test ion velocities excellently reproduces the experimental measurements, verifying that the observed ambient ion motion corresponds to collisionless coupling through the laminar electric field.

Temperature and Electron Density Determination on Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) Plasmas: A Physical Chemistry Experiment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Najarian, Maya L.; Chinni, Rosemarie C.

2013-01-01

This laboratory is designed for physical chemistry students to gain experience using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) in understanding plasma diagnostics. LIBS uses a high-powered laser that is focused on the sample causing a plasma to form. The emission of this plasma is then spectrally resolved and detected. Temperature and electron…

Fusion in a staged Z-pinch

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wessel, F. J.; Rahman, H. U.; Ney, P.; Valenzuela, J.; Beg, F.; McKee, E.; Darling, T.

2016-03-01

This paper is dedicated to Norman Rostoker, our (FJW and HUR) mentor and long-term collaborator, who will always be remembered for the incredible inspiration that he has provided us. Norman's illustrious career dealt with a broad range of fundamental-physics problems and we were fortunate to have worked with him on many important topics: intense-charged-particle beams, field-reversed configurations, and Z-pinches. Rostoker 's group at the University of CA, Irvine was well known for having implemented many refinements to the Z-pinch, that make it more stable, scalable, and efficient, including the development of: the gas-puff Z-pinch [1], which provides for the use of an expanded range of pinch-load materials; the gas-mixture Z-pinch [2], which enhances the pinch stability and increases its radiation efficiency; e-beam pre-ionization [3], which enhances the uniformity of the initial-breakdown process in a gas pinch; magnetic-flux-compression [4, 5], which allows for the amplification of an axial-magnetic field Bz; the Z-θ pinch [6], which predicts fusion in a pinch-on-fiber configuration; the Staged Z-pinch (SZP) [7], which allows for the amplification of the pinch self-magnetic field, Bθ , in addition to a Bz, and leads to a stable implosion and high-gain fusion [8, 9, 10]. This paper describes the physical basis for a magneto-inertial compression in a liner-on-target SZP [11]. Initially a high-atomic-number liner implodes under the action of the J →×B → , Lorentz Force. As the implosion becomes super Alfvénic, magnetosonic waves form, transporting current and magnetic field through the liner toward the interface of the low-atomic-number target. The target implosion remains subsonic with its surface bounded by a stable-shock front. Shock waves that pass into the target provide a source of target plasma pre-heat. At peak compression the assembly is compressed by liner inertia, with flux compression producing an intense-magnetic field near the target. Instability develops at the interface, as the plasma decelerates, which promotes the formation of target-hot spots. Early experiments provide evidence for the magneto-inertial implosion [8, 9, 10]. Studies underway are designed to verify these predictions on the National Terawatt Facility, Zebra Generator, located at the University of Nevada, Reno. Simulations for an unmagnetized, silver-plasma liner imploding onto a deuterium-tritium plasma target, driven by a 200 TW generator, predict fusion beyond break-even, with a 200 MJ yield in an ignited plasma, with an engineering gain factor of, G = Efusion/Estored˜20.

Research in Space Physics at the University of Iowa. [spaceborne experiments and instruments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vanallen, J. A.

1981-01-01

Currently active projects conducted to extend knowledge of the energetic particles and the electric, magnetic, and electromagnetic fields associated with Earth, other celestial bodies, and the interplanetary medium are summarized. These include investigations and/or instruments for Hawkeye 1; Pioneers 10 and 11; Voyagers 1 and 2; ISEE; IMP 8; Dynamics Explorer; Galileo; Spacelab and Orbital flight test missions; VLBI; and the International Solar Polar mission. Experiments and instruments proposed for the future international comet mission, the origin of plasmas in the Earth's environment mission, and the NASA active magnetospheric particle tracer experiment are mentioned.

Cold Fronts in Clusters of Galaxies: Observations and Modeling

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Markevitch, Maxim

2012-01-01

Mergers of galaxy clusters -- some of the most energetic events in the Universe -- produce disturbances in hot intracluster medium, such as shocks and cold fronts, that can be used as tools to study the physics of galaxy clusters. Cold fronts may constrain viscosity and the structure and strength of the cluster magnetic fields. Combined with radio data, these observations also shed light on the production of ultrarelativistic particles that are known to coexist with the cluster thermal plasma. This talk will summarize the current X-ray observations of cluster mergers, as well as some recent radio data and high resolution hydrodynamic simulations.

PREFACE: 2nd International Meeting for Researchers in Materials and Plasma Technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Niño, Ely Dannier V.

2013-11-01

These proceedings present the written contributions of the participants of the 2nd International Meeting for Researchers in Materials and Plasma Technology, 2nd IMRMPT, which was held from February 27 to March 2, 2013 at the Pontificia Bolivariana Bucaramanga-UPB and Santander and Industrial - UIS Universities, Bucaramanga, Colombia, organized by research groups from GINTEP-UPB, FITEK-UIS. The IMRMPT, was the second version of biennial meetings that began in 2011. The three-day scientific program of the 2nd IMRMPT consisted in 14 Magisterial Conferences, 42 Oral Presentations and 48 Poster Presentations, with the participation of undergraduate and graduate students, professors, researchers and entrepreneurs from Colombia, Russia, France, Venezuela, Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, Peru, Mexico, United States, among others. Moreover, the objective of IMRMPT was to bring together national and international researchers in order to establish scientific cooperation in the field of materials science and plasma technology; introduce new techniques of surface treatment of materials to improve properties of metals in terms of the deterioration due to corrosion, hydrogen embrittlement, abrasion, hardness, among others; and establish cooperation agreements between universities and industry. The topics covered in the 2nd IMRMPT include New Materials, Surface Physics, Laser and Hybrid Processes, Characterization of Materials, Thin Films and Nanomaterials, Surface Hardening Processes, Wear and Corrosion / Oxidation, Modeling, Simulation and Diagnostics, Plasma Applications and Technologies, Biomedical Coatings and Surface Treatments, Non Destructive Evaluation and Online Process Control, Surface Modification (Ion Implantation, Ion Nitriding, PVD, CVD). The editors hope that those interested in the are of materials science and plasma technology, enjoy the reading that reflect a wide range of topics. It is a pleasure to thank the sponsors and all the participants and contributors for making possible this international meeting of researchers. It should be noted that the event organized by UIS and UPB universities, through their research groups FITEK and GINTEP, was a very significant contribution to the national and international scientific community, achieving the interaction of different research groups from academia and business sector. On behalf of the research groups GINTEP - UPB and FITEK - UIS, we greatly appreciate the support provided by the Sponsors, who allowed to continue with the dream of research. Ely Dannier V-Nitilde no The Editor The PDF file also contains a list of committees and sponsors.

Bunch compression efficiency of the femtosecond electron source at Chiang Mai University

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thongbai, C.; Kusoljariyakul, K.; Saisut, J.

2011-07-01

A femtosecond electron source has been developed at the Plasma and Beam Physics Research Facility (PBP), Chiang Mai University (CMU), Thailand. Ultra-short electron bunches can be produced with a bunch compression system consisting of a thermionic cathode RF-gun, an alpha-magnet as a magnetic bunch compressor, and a linear accelerator as a post acceleration section. To obtain effective bunch compression, it is crucial to provide a proper longitudinal phase-space distribution at the gun exit matched to the subsequent beam transport system. Via beam dynamics calculations and experiments, we investigate the bunch compression efficiency for various RF-gun fields. The particle distribution at the RF-gun exit will be tracked numerically through the alpha-magnet and beam transport. Details of the study and results leading to an optimum condition for our system will be presented.

Observing the Plasma-Physical Processes of Pulsar Radio Emission with Arecibo

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rankin, Joanna M.

2017-01-01

With their enormous densities and fields, neutron stars entail some of the most exotic physics in the cosmos. Similarly, the physical mechanisms of pulsar radio emission are no less exotic, and we are only now beginning to understand them. The talk will provide an introduction to the phenomenology of radio pulsar emission and focus on those aspects of the exquisite Arecibo observations that bear on their challenging emission physics.The commonalities of the radio beamforms of most slow pulsars (and some millisecond pulsars) argue strongly that their magnetic fields have a nearly dipolar structure at the height of their radio emission regions. These heights can often be determined by aberration/retardation analyses. Similarly, measurement of the orientation of the polarized radio emission with respect to the emitting magnetic field facilitates identification of the physical(X/O) emission modes and study of the plasma coupling to the electromagnetic radiation.While the physics of primary plasma generation above the pulsar polar cap is only beginning to be understood, it is clear that the radio pulsars we see are able to generate copious amounts of electron-positron plasma in their emission regions. Within the nearly dipolar field structure of these emission regions, the plasma density is near to that of the Goldreich-Julian model, and so the physical conditions in these regions can be accurately estimated.These conditions show that the plasma frequencies in the emission regions are much higher than the frequency of the emitted radiation, such that the plasma couples most easily to the extraordinary mode as observed. Therefore, the only surviving emission mechanism is curvature radiation from charged solitons, produced by the two-stream instability. Such soliton emission has probably been observed directly in the Crab pulsar; however, a physical theory of charged soliton radiation does not yet exist.

PREFACE: XXII International Conference on Spectral Line Shapes 2014

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Parigger, C. G.

2014-11-01

The 22nd International Conference on Spectral Line Shapes (ICSLS) was convened at The University of Tennessee Space Institute (UTSI) at Tullahoma, Tennessee, USA, during June 1 to 6, 2014. A variety of topics of interest to the line shape community were addressed during invited and contributed oral and poster presentations. General categories of the ICSLS 2014 scientific contents included Astrophysics, Biomedical Physics, High and Low Temperature Plasma Physics, Magnetic Fusion Physics, Neutrals Atomic-Molecular-Optical (AMO) Physics, and Applied Physics. Research interests at UTSI and at the Center for Laser Applications (CLA) focus on Applied Physics and Plasma Physics areas such as laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy, spectroscopy with ultra-short light pulses, combustion diagnostics, to name a few. Consequently, the presentations during the conference addressed a variety of these topics. Attendance at the conference included researchers from North America, Africa, Asia and Europe, with an international representation showing 250 authors and co-authors with over 25 different citizenships, and 100 participants at the Conference. Figure 1 shows a photo of Conference attendees. The schedule included 82 contributions, 41 oral and 41 poster presentations. The 29 invited, 12 contributed oral and 41 contributed poster presentations were selected following communication with the international organizing committee members. A smart phone ''app'' was also utilized, thanks to Elsevier, to communicate electronic versions of the posters during the conference. Special thanks go to the members of the international and local committees for their work in organizing the 22nd ICSLS. In addition, thank you notes also go to the peer reviewers for the proceedings. Following the success of the IOP: Journal of Physics Conference Series selected for the 21st ICSLS publication, the proceedings papers report ongoing research activities. Papers submitted amount to 68 in number, or 83% of the 82 papers contributed to the 22nd ICSLS conference will be published in the IOP: Journal of Physics proceedings. The Executive Director of the University of Tennessee Space Institute welcomed all participants of the Conference on the first day of the technical sessions on Monday June 2, 2014. This welcome address is also included in the conference series publication, especially important for Physics and Engineering research at UTSI is the concurrent 50-year celebration of the Institute in 2014. Informal welcome occurred on Sunday June 1, 2014, and various social activities included a tour to the Jack Daniel's distillery in Lynchburg, Tennessee, followed by the conference dinner. The international scientific committee met to look into various aspects of the ICSLS and future role of this conference for the spectral line shape community. The next meeting locations have been discussed, including the scheduling of the next 23rd conference in Torun, Poland, in June of 2016. Further meeting locations include hosting the conference in Egypt in 2018, possibly in Luxor, Egypt. Communication regarding the 24th ICSLS in 2020 included mentioning of scheduling the Conference to occur in Dublin, Ireland. Clearly, there is a wealth of interest in continuing the long standing tradition of communicating spectral signatures and line shapes at the biannual ICSLS meetings. The 22nd International Conference on Spectral Line Shapes was supported by the Institute of Physics, the University of Tennessee Space Institute, the Center for Laser Applications, the Quantel Laser company, and by Elsevier. On behalf of the organizing committee, I greatly appreciate the support.

Physical Foundations of Plasma Microwave Sources Based on Anomalous Doppler Effect

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-09-17

International Science and Technology Center ( ISTC ), Moscow. ISTC Project A-1512p Physical Foundations of Plasma Microwave Sources Based on Anomalous...07 – 31-Aug-07 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER ISTC Registration No: A-1512p 5b. GRANT NUMBER 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE Physical foundations of plasma microwave... ISTC 05-7008 12. DISTRIBUTION/AVAILABILITY STATEMENT Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. 13. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES

PlasmaPy: initial development of a Python package for plasma physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Murphy, Nicholas; Leonard, Andrew J.; Stańczak, Dominik; Haggerty, Colby C.; Parashar, Tulasi N.; Huang, Yu-Min; PlasmaPy Community

2017-10-01

We report on initial development of PlasmaPy: an open source community-driven Python package for plasma physics. PlasmaPy seeks to provide core functionality that is needed for the formation of a fully open source Python ecosystem for plasma physics. PlasmaPy prioritizes code readability, consistency, and maintainability while using best practices for scientific computing such as version control, continuous integration testing, embedding documentation in code, and code review. We discuss our current and planned capabilities, including features presently under development. The development roadmap includes features such as fluid and particle simulation capabilities, a Grad-Shafranov solver, a dispersion relation solver, atomic data retrieval methods, and tools to analyze simulations and experiments. We describe several ways to contribute to PlasmaPy. PlasmaPy has a code of conduct and is being developed under a BSD license, with a version 0.1 release planned for 2018. The success of PlasmaPy depends on active community involvement, so anyone interested in contributing to this project should contact the authors. This work was partially supported by the U.S. Department of Energy.

PREFACE: 31st European Physical Society Conference on Plasma Physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dendy, Richard

2004-12-01

This special issue of Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion comprises refereed papers contributed by invited speakers at the 31st European Physical Society Conference on Plasma Physics. The conference was jointly hosted by the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, by the EURATOM/UKAEA Fusion Association and by Imperial College London, where it took place from 28 June to 2 July 2004. The overall agenda for this conference was set by the Board of the Plasma Physics Division of the European Physical Society, chaired by Friedrich Wagner (MPIPP, Garching) and his successor Jo Lister (CRPP, Lausanne). It built on developments in recent years, by further increasing the scientific diversity of the conference programme, whilst maintaining its depth and quality. A correspondingly diverse Programme Committee was set up, whose members are listed below. The final task of the Programme Committee has been the preparation of this special issue. In carrying out this work, as in preparing the scientific programme of the conference, the Programme Committee formed specialist subcommittees representing the different fields of plasma science. The chairmen of these subcommittees, in particular, accepted a very heavy workload on behalf of their respective research communities. It is a great pleasure to take this opportunity to thank: Emilia R Solano (CIEMAT, Madrid), magnetic confinement fusion; Jürgen Meyer-ter-Vehn (MPQ, Garching), laser-plasma interaction and beam plasma physics; and Jean-Luc Dorier (CRPP, Lausanne), dusty plasmas. The relatively few papers in astrophysical and basic plasma physics were co-ordinated by a small subcommittee which I led. Together with Peter Norreys (RAL, Chilton), we five constitute the editorial team for this special issue. The extensive refereeing load, compressed into a short time interval, was borne by the Programme Committee members and by many other experts, to whom this special issue owes much. We are also grateful to the Local Organizing Committee chaired by Henry Hutchinson (RAL, Chilton), and to the Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion journal team (Institute of Physics Publishing, Bristol), for their work on this conference. At the 2004 European Physical Society Conference on Plasma Physics, plenary invited speakers whose talks spanned the entire field were followed, each day, by multiple parallel sessions which also included invited talks. Invited speakers in both these categories were asked to contribute papers to this special issue (the contributed papers at this conference, and at all recent conferences in this series, are archived at http://epsppd.epfl.ch). The Programme Committee is very grateful to the many invited speakers who have responded positively to this request. Invited papers appear here in their order of presentation during the week beginning 28 June 2004; this ordering provides an echo of the character of the conference, as it was experienced by those who took part. Programme Committee 2004 Professor Richard Dendy UKAEA Culham Division, UK Chairman and guest editor Dr Jean-Luc Dorier Centre de Recherches en Physique des Plasmas, Lausanne, Switzerland (Co-ordinator of dusty plasmas and guest editor) Professor Jürgen Meyer-ter-Vehn Max-Planck-Institut für Quantenoptik, Garching, Germany (Co-ordinator of laser-plasma interaction and beam plasma physics and guest editor) Dr Peter Norreys Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Chilton, UK (Scientific Secretary and guest editor) Dr Emilia R Solano CIEMAT Laboratorio Nacional de Fusión, Madrid, Spain ( Co-ordinator of magnetic confinement fusion and guest editor) Dr Shalom Eliezer Soreq Nuclear Research Centre, Israel Dr Wim Goedheer FOM-Instituut voor Plasmafysica, Rijnhuizen, Netherlands Professor Henry Hutchinson Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Chilton, UK Professor John Kirk Max-Planck-Institut für Kernphysik, Heidelberg, Germany Dr Raymond Koch Ecole Royale Militaire/Koninklijke Militaire School, Brussels, Belgium Professor Gerrit Kroesen Technische Universiteit Eindhoven, Netherlands Dr Martin Lampe Naval Research Laboratory, Washington DC, USA Dr Jo Lister Centre de Recherches en Physique des Plasmas, Lausanne, Switzerland Dr Paola Mantica Istituto di Fisica del Plasma, Milan, Italy Professor Tito Mendonca Instituto Superior Tecnico, Lisbon, Portugal Dr Patrick Mora École Polytechnique, Palaiseau, France Professor Lennart Stenflo Umeå Universitet, Sweden Professor Paul Thomas CEA Cadarache, Saint-Paul-lez-Durance, France Professor Friedrich Wagner Max-Planck-Institut fr Plasmaphysik, Garching, Germany Professor Hannspeter Winter Technische Universität Wien, Austria

Physical exercise induces specific adaptations resulting in reduced organ injury and mortality during severe polymicrobial sepsis.

PubMed

Sossdorf, Maik; Fischer, Jacqueline; Meyer, Stefan; Dahlke, Katja; Wissuwa, Bianka; Seidel, Carolin; Schrepper, Andrea; Bockmeyer, Clemens L; Lupp, Amelie; Neugebauer, Sophie; Schmerler, Diana; Rödel, Jürgen; Claus, Ralf A; Otto, Gordon P

2013-10-01

High physical activity levels are associated with wide-ranging health benefits, disease prevention, and longevity. In the present study, we examined the impact of regular physical exercise on the severity of organ injury and survival probability, as well as characteristics of the systemic immune and metabolic response during severe polymicrobial sepsis. Animal study. University laboratory. Male C57BL/6N mice. Mice were trained for 6 weeks by treadmill and voluntary wheel running or housed normally. Polymicrobial sepsis in mice was induced by injection of fecal slurry. Subsequently, mice were randomized into the following groups: healthy controls, 6 hours postsepsis, and 24 hours postsepsis. Blood and organ samples were collected and investigated by measuring clinical chemistry variables, cytokines, plasma metabolites, and bacterial clearance. Organ morphology and damage were characterized by histological staining. Physical exercise improved survival and the ability of bacterial clearance in blood and organs. The release of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines, including interleukin-6 and interleukin-10, was diminished in trained compared to untrained mice during sepsis. The sepsis-associated acute kidney tubular damage was less pronounced in pretrained animals. By metabolic profiling and regression analysis, we detected lysophosphatidylcholine 14:0, tryptophan, as well as pimelylcarnitine linked with levels of neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin representing acute tubular injury (corrected R=0.910; p<0.001). We identified plasma lysophosphatidylcholine 16:0, lysophosphatidylcholine 17:0, and lysophosphatidylcholine 18:0 as significant metabolites discriminating between trained and untrained mice during sepsis. Regular physical exercise reduces sepsis-associated acute kidney injury and death. As a specific mechanism of exercise-induced adaptation, we identified various lysophosphatidylcholines that might function as surrogate for improved outcome in sepsis.

Fundamentals of Plasma Physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bellan, Paul M.

2008-07-01

Preface; 1. Basic concepts; 2. The Vlasov, two-fluid, and MHD models of plasma dynamics; 3. Motion of a single plasma particle; 4. Elementary plasma waves; 5. Streaming instabilities and the Landau problem; 6. Cold plasma waves in a magnetized plasma; 7. Waves in inhomogeneous plasmas and wave energy relations; 8. Vlasov theory of warm electrostatic waves in a magnetized plasma; 9. MHD equilibria; 10. Stability of static MHD equilibria; 11. Magnetic helicity interpreted and Woltjer-Taylor relaxation; 12. Magnetic reconnection; 13. Fokker-Planck theory of collisions; 14. Wave-particle nonlinearities; 15. Wave-wave nonlinearities; 16. Non-neutral plasmas; 17. Dusty plasmas; Appendix A. Intuitive method for vector calculus identities; Appendix B. Vector calculus in orthogonal curvilinear coordinates; Appendix C. Frequently used physical constants and formulae; Bibliography; References; Index.

Frontiers of Physics 1998, Proceedings of the Intl Mtg

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chia, S. P.; Bradley, D. A.

The Table of Contents for the book is as follows: * FOREWORD * PLENARY SESSIONS * Progress of RFQ and superconducting accelerators in China * Dual Ginzburg-Landau theory and quark nuclear physics * Study of solid surfaces on a atomic scale * QCD phase transition in the laboratory and in the early universe * X-ray studies of magnetism: the synchrotron revolution * On the possibility of a gamma-laser: photon emission by a charged particle channeling in a acoustically bent crystal * Frontiers in ultrafast laser science * Inductively coupled RF discharges * Asymmetries of sea quark distributions in baryons * High energy limit of photon-atom interactions: example of double ionization of He by photoabsorption * Excitation of nuclear levels in atomic transitions * PARALLEL SESSIONS * Condensed Matter Physics * A variational approach to many-particle systems * Path-integral approach to band tail density of states in heavily doped semiconductors * Study of vibrational spectra of nanocrystalline silicon by Raman scattering and photoluminescence spectroscopy * Derivation of nonlinear magnetic susceptibility tensors for a ferromagnet * High hard magnetic properties of Sr hexagonal ferrite substituted by La * Elastic anomalies in superconducting and non-superconducting tl-based compounds * Theoretical calculation of the variation of interface parameter, S with the band gap of the ionic insulator * Stationary waves in nonlinear crystal lattices * Quantum field theory, non-linear optics and magnetic phase transitions * Annealing effects on optical and electrical properties of hydrogenated amorphous silicon film * Effect of composition, sintering and grain size on the physical properties of cullet-mica ceramics * Optical characterisation of thin metal film using surface plasmons resonance * A look at nonlinear susceptibility coefficients of ferroelectrics in the far infrared * Elastic behaviour of lead zinc phosphate glasses * Characterization of Gd doped Y-Ba-Cu-O superconductor by ac-susceptibility method * Role of Pb substitution in the formation of single phase Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O superconductors * Magnetic and electrical properties of Bi1.6Pb0.4Sr2Ca2(Su1-xSnx)3Oδ superconducting ceramics * Synchrotron Light Sources * Synchrotron radiation activities at KEK * From archaeology to zoology: the diversity in experimentation at a versatile synchrotron radiation beamline * Beijing light source: the Beijing synchrotron radiation facility * Present status of Pohang light source * Present status of synchrotron radiation research in Thailand - the Siam Photon project * Present status of Taiwan light source * Plasma Physics & Technology * Results of the UNU/ICTP PFF network * Dense plasma focus and plasma processing of materials * Carbon nitride thin films research at Nanyang Technological University * High voltage shock-wave and soliton generation * Film deposition of TiN on metal substrates using a plasma sputter-type Ion source * Investigation of the performance of a 2.3 kJ plasma focus device * Dense plasma sequential focus device * Time profile of the neutron emission from a small plasma focus * Characterization of a plasma ozonizer and its application * 0.2 micron lithography using a powerful plasma focus soft X-ray source * Transverse profile analysis of a plasma beam in a plasma-sputter-type ion source * Ion dynamics in the sheath in multicomponent plasma with negative ions * Atomic Physics * New generation positron-atom scattering theories * Electron impact on excited helium * An ab initio optical potential treatment of positron scattering by H atom * Optical potential models for positron scattering from bound atoms * Particle Physics * Superconducting pairing of quarks in QCD * Absorptive contributions of the electroweak penguins * Results on atmospheric neutrinos from super-Kamiokande - evidence for νμ oscillations - * Fermion quantum field theory in black-hole spacetimes * Calculation of the Higgs-Penguin vertex function * Torsion and the Adler-Bell-Jackiw anomaly * Cosmological constant in de-Sitter spacetime * Quantum supergroups and noncommutative superspaces * Production of dissimilar quark-antiquark pairs from e+e- collision * Flavour-changing two-gluon penguin vertex * Laser Physics * Photon-gated persistent spectral hole burning * Propagation of finite electromagnetic waves in the generalised eikonal formalism * Digital recording and reconstruction of holograms * A two-stage Blumlein circuit for nitrogen laser * Some characteristics of thermally induced fracture of glass under non-uniform radiant heating * Digital holography and application to laser metrology * Investigation of laser-etching quality on film substrate using copper vapour and argon ion lasers * Studies of side pin electrode configuration in a fast-axial-flow CW CO2 laser * Laser trimming of thick film resistors * Damage performed by a Q-switched infrared laser * Applied Physics * Wind driven circulation of the South China Sea * An efficient analysis of temporal pulse propagation through a turbid medium using a Monte Carlo protocol * Pulsed photothermal radiometry in lateral geometry * Changes in dielectric constant and loss factor of various cooking oils * Polarization conversion through the excitation of electromagnetic modes on grating and grating waveguide * Vibration monitoring of a rotary vacuum pump at various levels of vacuum and their remedial techniques * El Nino southern oscillation (ENSO) and outgoing longwave radiation (OLR) * Experimental evidence for variation in electronic chemical potential with size of metal substrate in a reversible electrode * Radiation & Nuclear Physics * Effect of soil type on environmental terrestrial gamma radiation dose in Johor State, Malaysia * Uptake and tissue distribution of 137Cs by Magur fish (clarius batrachus) * Diurnal and spacial variation of radon concentration in Malaysian houses * Tests of thermoluminescence dating at Gua Tok Long archaeological site * Alpha spectra from samples of alluvial material contaminated by oxides of thorium * Effect of radiation on thermoluminescence and transmission characteristics of optical fibres * Photon backscatter factors for ISO reference radiations * Discriminant analysis of breast tissue elemental concentration data with determination limits * Determination of air kerma and absorbed dose to water calibration factors of a chamber in a 60Co gamma ray beam * Beam size measurement of a 60Co teletherapy unit at a dosimeter calibration position * Modern neutron skyshine response functions for integral line-beam and conical-beam methods * On the normalization constants associated with the nuclear bound-state wavefunctions * Atomic and nuclear cluster effects in deuterium cluster ion implantation on solids * Optical Fibres * Research in optical fibres devices at Telekom Malaysia photonics laboratory * Erbium doped fiber lasers for optical communications * Characteristics evolution in erbium-doped fibre amplifiers * Development of optical fiber preform fabrication facility at Telekom Malaysia * Multiple signal generation in a BEFL system * Fibre Bragg gratings for optical communication: fabrication and characterisation * Optimization of the reflectivity in Er3+/Yb3+ co-doped fiber laser design for maximum output power * Back reflection study on a fiber laser system * Mathematical and Computational Physics * Simplifying complexity * Asymptotic behaviour of Burgers equation with noisy boundary condition * Kinematical symmetries on punctured sphere * Cellular automata studies of the prisoner's dilemma * Astrophysics * Gravitational wave detection in the laboratory * Eclipsing binary stars in the EROS catalogue * Measurement of seismic noise at the site of Tianyin-100 in UTM * Using thinner suspension wire to reduce thermal noise in Tianyin-100 * Energy losses of solar neutrinos using the standard solar model * Participant List

Association of plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D with physical performance in physically active children.

PubMed

Bezrati, Ikram; Hammami, Raouf; Ben Fradj, Mohamed Kacem; Martone, Domenico; Padulo, Johnny; Feki, Moncef; Chaouachi, Anis; Kaabachi, Naziha

2016-11-01

Vitamin D is thought to regulate skeletal muscle function and boost physical performance. The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between vitamin D and physical performance in physically active children. This cross-sectional study included 125 children who practice football as a leisure activity. Plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-OHD) was assessed using a chemiluminescence immunoassay method. Vitamin D inadequacy was defined as 25-OHD < 20 ng/mL. Physical performance testing included measurements of muscle strength (maximal isometric contraction), jumping ability (vertical jump, standing broad jump, triple hop test), linear sprint (10 m and 20 m), and agility (9 × 4-m shuttle run). Plasma 25-OHD concentrations were positively correlated with muscle strength (r = 0.539; p < 0.001), vertical jump (r = 0.528; p < 0.001), and standing broad jump (r = 0.492; p < 0.001) but inversely correlated with sprint performance (r = -0.539; p < 0.001). In multivariate analysis models, plasma 25-OHD concentrations were associated with each physical performance parameter independently of age, maturity status, body mass index, fat mass, and protein and calcium intakes. In conclusion, a low plasma 25-OHD level was associated with decreased muscle strength, agility, and jumping and sprinting abilities in physically active children. Vitamin D inadequacy may limit exercise performance. Further research should verify whether correction of vitamin D deficiency enhances physical performance.

Photoionized Plasma and Opacity Experiments on the Z Machine

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bailey, James

2008-04-01

Laboratory experiments at Z use high energy density to create plasma conditions similar to extreme astrophysical environments, including stellar interiors and accretion powered objects. The importance of radiation unifies these topics, even though the plasmas involved are very different. Understanding stellar interiors requires knowledge of radiation transport in dense, hot, collision-dominated plasma. A Z x-ray source was used to measure iron plasma transmission at 156 eV electron temperature, 2x higher than in prior work. The data provide the first experimental tests of absorption features critical for stellar interior opacity models and may provide insight into whether the present discrepancy between solar models and helioseismology originates in opacity model deficiencies or in some other aspect of the solar model. In contrast, accretion physics requires interpretation of x-ray spectra from lower density photoionization-dominated plasma. Exploiting astrophysical spectra requires a spectral model that connects the observations with a model that describes the overall picture of the astrophysical object. However, photoionized plasma spectral models are largely untested. Z-pinch radiation was used to create photoionized iron and neon plasmas with photoionization parameter 5-25 erg cm /s. Comparisons with the data improve x-ray photoionization models and promote more accurate interpretation of spectra acquired with astrophysical observatories. The prospects for new experiments at the higher radiation powers provided by the recently upgraded Z facility will be described.* In collaboration with scientists from CEA, LANL, LLNL, Oxford, Prism, Queens University, Swarthmore College, U. Nevada Reno, and Sandia ++Sandia is a multiprogram laboratory operated by Sandia Corporation, a Lockheed Martin Company, for the United States Department of Energy under contract DE-AC04-94AL85000.

Physical processes associated with current collection by plasma contactors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Katz, Ira; Davis, Victoria A.

1990-01-01

Recent flight data confirms laboratory observations that the release of neutral gas increases plasma sheath currents. Plasma contactors are devices which release a partially ionized gas in order to enhance the current flow between a spacecraft and the space plasma. Ionization of the expellant gas and the formation of a double layer between the anode plasma and the space plasma are the dominant physical processes. A theory is presented of the interaction between the contactor plasma and the background plasma. The conditions for formation of a double layer between the two plasmas are derived. Double layer formation is shown to be a consequence of the nonlinear response of the plasmas to changes in potential. Numerical calculations based upon this model are compared with laboratory measurements of current collection by hollow cathode-based plasma contactors.

The effect of plasma density and emitter geometry on space charge limits for field emitter array electron charge emission into a space plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Morris, Dave; Gilchrist, Brian; Gallimore, Alec

2001-02-01

Field Emitter Array Cathodes (FEACs) are a new technology being developed for several potential spacecraft electron emission and charge control applications. Instead of a single hot (i.e., high powered) emitter, or a gas dependant plasma contactor, FEAC systems consist of many (hundreds or thousands) of small (micron level) cathode/gate pairs printed on a semiconductor wafer that effect cold field emission at relatively low voltages. Each individual cathode emits only micro-amp level currents, but a functional array is capable of amp/cm2 current densities. It is hoped that thus FEAC offers the possibility of a relatively low-power, simple to integrate, and inexpensive technique for the high level of current emissions that are required for an electrodynamic tether (EDT) propulsion mission. Space charge limits are a significant concern for the EDT application. Vacuum chamber tests and PIC simulations are being performed at the University of Michigan Plasmadynamics and Electric Propulsion Laboratory and Space Physics Research Laboratory to determine the effect of plasma density and emitter geometry on space charge limitations. The results of this work and conclusions to date of how to best mitigate space charge limits will be presented. .

Investigations Of A Pulsed Cathodic Vacuum Arc

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oates, T. W. H.; Pigott, J.; Denniss, P.; Mckenzie, D. R.; Bilek, M. M. M.

2003-06-01

Cathodic vacuum arcs are well established as a method for producing thin films for coatings and as a source of metal ions. Research into DC vacuum arcs has been going on for over ten years in the School of Physics at the University of Sydney. Recently a project was undertaken in the school to design and build a pulsed CVA for use in the investigation of plasma sheaths and plasma immersion ion implantation. Pulsed cathodic vacuum arcs generally have a higher current and plasma density and also provide a more stable and reproducible plasma density than their DC counterparts. Additionally it has been shown that if a high repetition frequency can be established the deposition rate of pulsed arcs is equal to or greater than that of DC arcs with a concomitant reduction in the rate of macro-particle formation. We present here results of our investigations into the building of a center-triggered pulsed cathodic vacuum arc. The design of the power supply and trigger mechanism and the geometry of the anode and cathode are examined. Observations of type I and II arc spots using a CCD camera, and cathode spot velocity dependence on arc current will be presented. The role of retrograde motion in a high current pulsed arc is discussed.

Dynamics of Turbulence Suppression in a Helicon Plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hayes, Tiffany; Gilmore, Mark

2012-10-01

Experiments are currently being conducted in the the Helicon-Cathode Device (HelCat) at the University of New Mexico. The goal is to the study in detail the transition from a turbulent to a non-turbulent state in the presence of flow shear. HelCat has intrinsic fluctuations that have been identified as drift-waves. Using simple electrode biasing, it has been found that these fluctuations can be completely suppressed. In some extreme cases, a different instability, possibly the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability, can be excited. Detailed studies are underway in order to understand the characteristics of each mode, and to elucidate the underlying physics that cause the change between an unstable plasma, and an instability-free plasma. Dynamics being observed include changes in flow profiles, both azimuthal and parallel, as well as changes in potential and temperature gradients. Further understanding is being sought using several computer codes developed at EPFL: a linear stability solver (LSS,footnotetextP. Ricci and B.N. Rogers (2009). Phys Plasmas 16, 062303. a one-dimensional PIC code/sheath solver, ODISEE,footnotetextJ. Loizu, P. Ricci, and C. Theiler (2011). Phys Rev E 83, 016406 and a global, 3D Braginski code, GBS.footnotetextRicci, Rogers (2009) A basic overview of results will be presented.

Synthetic reconstruction of recycling on the limiter during startup phase of W7-X based on EMC3-EIRENE simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Frerichs, Heinke; Effenberg, Florian; Schmitz, Oliver; Stephey, Laurie; W7-X Team

2016-10-01

Interpretation of spectroscopic measurements in the edge region of high-temperature plasmas can be a challenge due to line of sight integration effects. The EMC3-EIRENE code - a 3D fluid edge plasma and kinetic neutral gas transport code - is a suitable tool for full 3D reconstruction of such signals. A versatile synthetic diagnostic module has been developed recently which allows the realistic three dimensional setup of various plasma edge diagnostics to be captured. We present an analysis of recycling on the inboard limiter of W7-X during its startup phase in terms of a synthetic camera for Hα light observations and reconstruct the particle flux from these synthetic images based on ionization per photon coefficients (S/XB). We find that line of sight integration effects can lead to misinterpretation of data (redistribution of particle flux due to neutral gas diffusion), and that local plasma effects are important for the correct treatment of photon emissions. This work was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) under Grant DE-SC0014210, by startup funds of the Department of Engineering Physics at the University of Wisconsin - Madison, and by the EUROfusion Consortium under Euratom Grant No 633053.

Analytic calculation of radio emission from parametrized extensive air showers: A tool to extract shower parameters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Scholten, O.; Trinh, T. N. G.; de Vries, K. D.; Hare, B. M.

2018-01-01

The radio intensity and polarization footprint of a cosmic-ray induced extensive air shower is determined by the time-dependent structure of the current distribution residing in the plasma cloud at the shower front. In turn, the time dependence of the integrated charge-current distribution in the plasma cloud, the longitudinal shower structure, is determined by interesting physics which one would like to extract, such as the location and multiplicity of the primary cosmic-ray collision or the values of electric fields in the atmosphere during thunderstorms. To extract the structure of a shower from its footprint requires solving a complicated inverse problem. For this purpose we have developed a code that semianalytically calculates the radio footprint of an extensive air shower given an arbitrary longitudinal structure. This code can be used in an optimization procedure to extract the optimal longitudinal shower structure given a radio footprint. On the basis of air-shower universality we propose a simple parametrization of the structure of the plasma cloud. This parametrization is based on the results of Monte Carlo shower simulations. Deriving the parametrization also teaches which aspects of the plasma cloud are important for understanding the features seen in the radio-emission footprint. The calculated radio footprints are compared with microscopic CoREAS simulations.

The thermal X-ray flare plasma. [on sun

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Moore, R.; Mckenzie, D. L.; Svestka, Z.; Widing, K. G.; Dere, K. P.; Antiochos, S. K.; Dodson-Prince, H. W.; Hiei, E.; Krall, K. R.; Krieger, A. S.

1980-01-01

Following a review of current observational and theoretical knowledge of the approximately 10 to the 7th K plasma emitting the thermal soft X-ray bursts accompanying every H alpha solar flare, the fundamental physical problem of the plasma, namely the formation and evolution of the observed X-ray arches, is examined. Extensive Skylab observations of the thermal X-ray plasmas in two large flares, a large subflare and several compact subflares are analyzed to determine plasma physical properties, deduce the dominant physical processes governing the plasma and compare large and small flare characteristics. Results indicate the density of the thermal X-ray plasma to be higher than previously thought (from 10 to the 10th to 10 to the 12th/cu cm for large to small flares), cooling to occur radiatively as much as conductively, heating to continue into the decay phase of large flares, and the mass of the thermal X-ray plasma to be supplied primarily through chromospheric evaporation. Implications of the results for the basic flare mechanism are indicated.

Advances in continuum kinetic and gyrokinetic simulations of turbulence on open-field line geometries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hakim, Ammar; Shi, Eric; Juno, James; Bernard, Tess; Hammett, Greg

2017-10-01

For weakly collisional (or collisionless) plasmas, kinetic effects are required to capture the physics of micro-turbulence. We have implemented solvers for kinetic and gyrokinetic equations in the computational plasma physics framework, Gkeyll. We use a version of discontinuous Galerkin scheme that conserves energy exactly. Plasma sheaths are modeled with novel boundary conditions. Positivity of distribution functions is maintained via a reconstruction method, allowing robust simulations that continue to conserve energy even with positivity limiters. We have performed a large number of benchmarks, verifying the accuracy and robustness of our code. We demonstrate the application of our algorithm to two classes of problems (a) Vlasov-Maxwell simulations of turbulence in a magnetized plasma, applicable to space plasmas; (b) Gyrokinetic simulations of turbulence in open-field-line geometries, applicable to laboratory plasmas. Supported by the Max-Planck/Princeton Center for Plasma Physics, the SciDAC Center for the Study of Plasma Microturbulence, and DOE Contract DE-AC02-09CH11466.

Fusion programs in applied plasma physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

1992-07-01

The Applied Plasma Physics (APP) program at General Atomics (GA) described here includes four major elements: (1) Applied Plasma Physics Theory Program, (2) Alpha Particle Diagnostic, (3) Edge and Current Density Diagnostic, and (4) Fusion User Service Center (USC). The objective of the APP theoretical plasma physics research at GA is to support the DIII-D and other tokamak experiments and to significantly advance our ability to design a commercially-attractive fusion reactor. We categorize our efforts in three areas: magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) equilibria and stability; plasma transport with emphasis on H-mode, divertor, and boundary physics; and radio frequency (RF). The objective of the APP alpha particle diagnostic is to develop diagnostics of fast confined alpha particles using the interactions with the ablation cloud surrounding injected pellets and to develop diagnostic systems for reacting and ignited plasmas. The objective of the APP edge and current density diagnostic is to first develop a lithium beam diagnostic system for edge fluctuation studies on the Texas Experimental Tokamak (TEXT). The objective of the Fusion USC is to continue to provide maintenance and programming support to computer users in the GA fusion community. The detailed progress of each separate program covered in this report period is described.

America COMPETES Act and the FY2010 Budget

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-06-15

Outstanding Junior Investigator, Nuclear Physics Outstanding Junior Investigator, Fusion Energy Sciences Plasma Physics Junior Faculty Development...Spallation Neutron Source Instrumentation Fellowships, and the Fusion Energy Sciences Graduate Fellowships.2 If members of Congress agree with this...Nuclear Physics Outstanding Junior Investigator, Fusion Energy Sciences Plasma Physics Junior Faculty Development; Advanced Scientific Computing

Plasma, The Fourth State of Matter

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zandy, Hassan F.

1970-01-01

Discusses plasma as a source of energy through nuclear fission processes, as well as the difficulties encountered in such a process. States that 99 percent of the matter in the universe is plasma, and only 1 percent is the common three states of matter. Describes the fundamental properties of plasma, plasma "pinch, and plasma oscillations. (RR)

Effect of naltrexone treatment on the treadmill exercise-induced hormone release in amenorrheic women.

PubMed

Botticelli, G; Bacchi Modena, A; Bresciani, D; Villa, P; Aguzzoli, L; Florio, P; Nappi, R E; Petraglia, F; Genazzani, A R

1992-12-01

The effect of an acute physical stress on hormone secretions before and after a 10-day naltrexone treatment in untrained healthy and amenorrheic women was investigated. Plasma levels of pituitary (LH, FSH, prolactin, GH, ACTH, beta-endorphin) and adrenal (cortisol, androstenedione, testosterone) hormones were measured at rest and in response to 60 min of physical exercise. The test was done both before and after a 10-day naltrexone (50 mg/day) treatment. Graded levels of treadmill exercise (50, 70 and 90% of maximal oxygen uptake (VO2) every 20 min) was used as physical stressor. While mean +/- SE plasma LH levels in control women were higher than in amenorrheic patients and increased following the naltrexone treatment (p < 0.01), no significant differences of basal plasma hormonal levels were observed between amenorrheic and eumenorrheic women, both before and after naltrexone treatment. Physical exercise at 90% VO2 induced a significant increase in plasma GH, ACTH, beta-endorphin, cortisol, androstenedione and testosterone levels in controls before naltrexone treatment (p < 0.01). The mean increase in plasma androstenedione and testosterone levels in control women was significantly higher after naltrexone treatment (p < 0.01). In amenorrheic patients before naltrexone, physical exercise induced an increase in plasma prolactin and GH levels, but not in plasma ACTH, beta-endorphin, cortisol, testosterone and androstenedione. After naltrexone treatment, the exercise induced a significant plasma ACTH, beta-endorphin and cortisol levels, while the increase of plasma prolactin levels was significantly higher than before treatment (p < 0.01).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Plasma Dynamics of the Arc-Driven Rail Gun

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-09-01

Authors’ unpublished calculations. 11. A.B. Cambel , Plasma Physics and Magnetofluidmechanics (McGraw-Hill New York, 1963), Chap. 8. ’ 16 k T P = (1 +cO...Energy, and Forces (Wiley, New York, 1960), Chap. 9. 10. Authors’ unpublished calculations. 11. A.B. Cambel , Plasma Physics and Magnetofluidmechanics

Plasma Physics/Fusion Energy Education at the Liberty Science Center

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zwicker, Andrew; Delooper, John; Carpe, Andy; Amara, Joe; Butnick, Nancy; Lynch, Ellen; Osowski, Jeff

2007-11-01

The Liberty Science Center (LSC) is the largest (300,000 sq. ft.) education resource in the New Jersey-New York City region. A major 109 million expansion and renewal was recently completed. Accordingly, PPPL has expanded the science education collaboration with the Center into three innovative, hands-on programs. On the main floor, a new fusion exhibit is one of the focuses of ``Energy Quest.'' This includes a DC glow discharge tube with a permanent external magnet allowing visitors to manipulate the plasma while reading information on plasma creation and fusion energy. In the section of LSC dedicated to intensive science investigations (20,000 sq. ft) we have added ``Live from NSTX'' which will give students an opportunity to connect via video-conferencing to the NSTX control room during plasma operations. A prototype program was completed in May, 2007 with three high school physics classes and will be expanded when NSTX resumes operation. Finally, a plasma physics laboratory in this area will have a fully functioning, research-grade plasma source that will allow long-term visitors an opportunity to perform experiments in plasma processing, plasma spectroscopy, and dusty plasmas.

Micro- to macroscale perspectives on space plasmas

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Eastman, Timothy E.

1993-01-01

The Earth's magnetosphere is the most accessible of natural collisionless plasma environments; an astrophysical plasma 'laboratory'. Magnetospheric physics has been in an exploration phase since its origin 35 years ago but new coordinated, multipoint observations, theory, modeling, and simulations are moving this highly interdisciplinary field of plasma science into a new phase of synthesis and understanding. Plasma systems are ones in which binary collisions are relatively negligible and collective behavior beyond the microscale emerges. Most readily accessible natural plasma systems are collisional and nearest-neighbor classical interactions compete with longer-range plasma effects. Except for stars, most space plasmas are collisionless, however, and the effects of electrodynamic coupling dominate. Basic physical processes in such collisionless plasmas occur at micro-, meso-, and macroscales that are not merely reducible to each other in certain crucial ways as illustrated for the global coupling of the Earth's magnetosphere and for the nonlinear dynamics of charged particle motion in the magnetotail. Such global coupling and coherence makes the geospace environment, the domain of solar-terrestrial science, the most highly coupled of all physical geospheres.

[Physical activity in patients with symptoms of metabolic syndrome reduces the concentration of plasma antioxidant vitamins - protective effect of vitamin C].

PubMed

Godala, Małgorzata; Materek-Kuśmierkiewicz, Izabela; Moczulski, Dariusz; Rutkowski, Maciej; Szatko, Franciszek; Gaszyńska, Ewelina; Tokarski, Sławomir; Kowalski, Jan

2015-05-01

Patients with cardiovascular diseases, including those with the symptoms of metabolic syndrome (MS), are recommended regular exercise but many studies indicate its role in the production of reactive oxygen species. Vitamin C supplementation may enhance the antioxidant barrier in MS patients. The aim of the study was to assess the impact of regular physical activity (PA)and vitamin C supplementation on plasma vitamin A, C and E levels in patients with MS. The study included 62 patients with MS according to International Diabetes Federation criteria, 32 men and 30 women, aged 38-57 years (mean age 51,24 ± 5,29 years). The patients were divided in two groups: group I (MS+PA) - 31 patients with recommended regular physical activity; group II ( MS+PA+C) - 31 patients with recommended regular physical activity and vitamin C supplementation per os. The control group consisted of 23 healthy individuals without MS, 17 men and 6 women, aged 49-56 years (mean age 53,21 ± 3,6 years), who were not recommended any vitamin supplementation nor physical activity. Plasma vitamin A, C and E levels were estimated in MS patients with spectrophotometry using T60V spectrophotometer (PG Instruments) before and after regular exercise with and without vitamin C supplementation. In the control group plasma levels of antioxidant vitamins were assessed only once. The plasma vitamin A, C and E levels were significantly lower (p<0,05) in MS patients than in the control group. After 6 weeks of regular physical activity a significant fall in plasma levels of antioxidant vitamins was observed in MS patients. In the group of patients with regular physical activity and vitamin C supplementation there was detected a significant rise in the level of all the tested vitamins close to the levels in control group. Regular physical activity enhances the decrease in plasma antioxidant vitamin level in patients with MS. Vitamin C supplementation conducted in parallel with regular physical activity normalize plasma vitamin A, C and E levels in these patients. © 2015 MEDPRESS.

Review on plasmas in extraordinary media: plasmas in cryogenic conditions and plasmas in supercritical fluids

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stauss, Sven; Muneoka, Hitoshi; Terashima, Kazuo

2018-02-01

Plasma science and technology has enabled advances in very diverse fields: micro- and nanotechnology, chemical synthesis, materials fabrication and, more recently, biotechnology and medicine. While many of the currently employed plasma tools and technologies are very advanced, the types of plasmas used in micro- and nanofabrication pose certain limits, for example, in treating heat-sensitive materials in plasma biotechnology and plasma medicine. Moreover, many physical properties of plasmas encountered in nature, and especially outer space, i.e. very-low-temperature plasmas or plasmas that occur in high-density media, are not very well understood. The present review gives a short account of laboratory plasmas generated under ’extreme’ conditions: at cryogenic temperatures and in supercritical fluids. The fundamental characteristics of these cryogenic plasmas and cryoplasmas, and plasmas in supercritical fluids, especially supercritical fluid plasmas, are presented with their main applications. The research on such exotic plasmas is expected to lead to further understanding of plasma physics and, at the same time, enable new applications in various technological fields.

Anomalous Resistivity of Auroral Field Lines.

DTIC Science & Technology

1982-01-25

Anomalous Resistivity on Auroral Field Lines H-. L. R0VNLAND AND K. PAPADOPOULOS Laboratory for Plasma and Fusion Energy Studies$ University of Maryland...d in Stock 20, It difitir.oI from Reprt) It.SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES * Laboratory for Plasma and Fusion Energy Studies, University of NMarland, College

Nonlocal collisionless and collisional electron transport in low temperature plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kaganovich, Igor

2009-10-01

The purpose of the talk is to describe recent advances in nonlocal electron kinetics in low-pressure plasmas. A distinctive property of partially ionized plasmas is that such plasmas are always in a non-equilibrium state: the electrons are not in thermal equilibrium with the neutral species and ions, and the electrons are also not in thermodynamic equilibrium within their own ensemble, which results in a significant departure of the electron velocity distribution function from a Maxwellian. These non-equilibrium conditions provide considerable freedom to choose optimal plasma parameters for applications, which make gas discharge plasmas remarkable tools for a variety of plasma applications, including plasma processing, discharge lighting, plasma propulsion, particle beam sources, and nanotechnology. Typical phenomena in such discharges include nonlocal electron kinetics, nonlocal electrodynamics with collisionless electron heating, and nonlinear processes in the sheaths and in the bounded plasmas. Significant progress in understanding the interaction of electromagnetic fields with real bounded plasma created by this field and the resulting changes in the structure of the applied electromagnetic field has been one of the major achievements of the last decade in this area of research [1-3]. We show on specific examples that this progress was made possible by synergy between full scale particle-in-cell simulations, analytical models, and experiments. In collaboration with Y. Raitses, A.V. Khrabrov, Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, Princeton, NJ, USA; V.I. Demidov, UES, Inc., 4401 Dayton-Xenia Rd., Beavercreek, OH 45322, USA and AFRL, Wright-Patterson AFB, OH 45433, USA; and D. Sydorenko, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada. [4pt] [1] D. Sydorenko, A. Smolyakov, I. Kaganovich, and Y. Raitses, IEEE Trans. Plasma Science 34, 895 (2006); Phys. Plasmas 13, 014501 (2006); 14 013508 (2007); 15, 053506 (2008). [0pt] [2] I. D. Kaganovich, Y. Raitses, D. Sydorenko, and A. Smolyakov, Phys. Plasmas 14, 057104 (2007). [0pt] [3] V.I. Demidov, C.A. DeJoseph, and A.A. Kudryavtsev, Phys. Rev. Lett. 95, 215002 (2005); V.I. Demidov, C.A. DeJoseph, J. Blessington, and M.E. Koepke, Europhysics News, 38, 21 (2007).

Magnetospheric plasma interactions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Faelthammar, Carl-Gunne

1994-04-01

The Earth's magnetosphere (including the ionosphere) is our nearest cosmical plasma system and the only one accessible to mankind for extensive empirical study by in situ measurements. As virtually all matter in the universe is in the plasma state, the magnetosphere provides an invaluable sample of cosmical plasma from which we can learn to better understand the behavior of matter in this state, which is so much more complex than that of unionized matter. It is therefore fortunate that the magnetosphere contains a wide range of different plasma populations, which vary in density over more than six powers of ten and even more in equivalent temperature. Still more important is the fact that its dual interaction with the solar wind above and the atmosphere below make the magnetopshere the site of a large number of plasma phenomena that are of fundamental interest in plasma physics as well as in astrophysics and cosmology. The interaction of the rapidly streaming solar wind plasma with the magnetosphere feeds energy and momentum, as well as matter, into the magnetosphere. Injection from the solar wind is a source of plasma populations in the outer magnetosphere, although much less dominating than previously thought. We now know that the Earth's own atmosphere is the ultimate source of much of the plasma in large regions of the magnetosphere. The input of energy and momentum drives large scale convection of magnetospheric plasma and establishes a magnetospheric electric field and large scale electric current systems that car ry millions of ampere between the ionosphere and outer space. These electric fields and currents play a crucial role in generating one of the the most spectacular among natural phenomena, the aurora, as well as magnetic storms that can disturb man-made systems on ground and in orbit. The remarkable capability of accelerating charged particles, which is so typical of cosmical plasmas, is well represented in the magnetosphere, where mechanisms of such acceleration can be studied in detail. In situ measurements in the magnetosphere have revealed an unexpected tendency of cosmical plasmas to form cellular structure, and shown that the magnetospheric plasma sustains previously unexpected, and still not fully explained, chemical separation mechanisms, which are likely to operate in other cosmical plasmas as well.

Increases in Plasma Lutein through Supplementation Are Correlated with Increases in Physical Activity and Reductions in Sedentary Time in Older Adults

PubMed Central

Thomson, Rebecca L.; Coates, Alison M.; Howe, Peter R. C.; Bryan, Janet; Matsumoto, Megumi; Buckley, Jonathan D.

2014-01-01

Cross-sectional studies have reported positive relationships between serum lutein concentrations and higher physical activity levels. The purpose of the study was to determine whether increasing plasma lutein levels increases physical activity. Forty-four older adults (BMI, 25.3 ± 2.6 kg/m2; age, 68.8 ± 6.4 year) not meeting Australian physical activity guidelines (150 min/week of moderate to vigorous activity) were randomized to consume capsules containing 21 mg of lutein or placebo with 250 mL of full-cream milk per day for 4 weeks and encouraged to increase physical activity. Physical activity was assessed by self-report, pedometry and accelerometry (daily activity counts and sedentary time). Exercise self-efficacy was assessed by questionnaire. Thirty-nine participants competed the study (Lutein = 19, Placebo = 20). Lutein increased plasma lutein concentrations compared with placebo (p < 0.001). Absolute and percentage changes in plasma lutein were inversely associated with absolute (r = −0.36, p = 0.03) and percentage changes (r = −0.39, p = 0.02) in sedentary time. Percentage change in plasma lutein was positively associated with the percentage change in average daily activity counts (r = 0.36, p = 0.03). Exercise self-efficacy did not change (p = 0.16). Lutein increased plasma lutein, which was associated with increased physical activity and reduced sedentary time in older adults. Larger trials should evaluate whether Lutein can provide health benefits over the longer term. PMID:24594505

Research briefing on contemporary problems in plasma science

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1991-01-01

An overview is presented of the broad perspective of all plasma science. Detailed discussions are given of scientific opportunities in various subdisciplines of plasma science. The first subdiscipline to be discussed is the area where the contemporary applications of plasma science are the most widespread, low temperature plasma science. Opportunities for new research and technology development that have emerged as byproducts of research in magnetic and inertial fusion are then highlighted. Then follows a discussion of new opportunities in ultrafast plasma science opened up by recent developments in laser and particle beam technology. Next, research that uses smaller scale facilities is discussed, first discussing non-neutral plasmas, and then the area of basic plasma experiments. Discussions of analytic theory and computational plasma physics and of space and astrophysical plasma physics are then presented.

Performance Modeling of Experimental Laser Lightcrafts

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wang, Ten-See; Chen, Yen-Sen; Liu, Jiwen; Myrabo, Leik N.; Mead, Franklin B., Jr.; Turner, Jim (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

A computational plasma aerodynamics model is developed to study the performance of a laser propelled Lightcraft. The computational methodology is based on a time-accurate, three-dimensional, finite-difference, chemically reacting, unstructured grid, pressure-based formulation. The underlying physics are added and tested systematically using a building-block approach. The physics modeled include non-equilibrium thermodynamics, non-equilibrium air-plasma finite-rate kinetics, specular ray tracing, laser beam energy absorption and refraction by plasma, non-equilibrium plasma radiation, and plasma resonance. A series of transient computations are performed at several laser pulse energy levels and the simulated physics are discussed and compared with those of tests and literatures. The predicted coupling coefficients for the Lightcraft compared reasonably well with those of tests conducted on a pendulum apparatus.

Complex Plasma Physics and Rising Above the Gathering Storm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hyde, Truell

2008-11-01

Research in complex plasma is prevalent across a variety of regimes ranging from the majority of plasma processing environments to many astrophysical settings. Dust particles suspended within such plasmas acquire a charge from collisions with electrons and ions in the plasma. Depending upon the ratio of their interparticle potential energy to their average kinetic energy, once charged these particles can form a gaseous, liquid or crystalline structure with short to longer range ordering. The field of complex plasmas thus offers research opportunities across a wide range of academic disciplines including physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, electrical engineering and nanoscience. The field of complex plasmas also offers unique educational research opportunities for combating many of the issues raised in Rising Above the Gathering Storm, recently published by the National Academies Press. CASPER's Educational Outreach programs, supported by the National Science Foundation, the Department of Education and the Department of Labor takes advantage of these opportunities through a variety of avenues including a REU / RET program, a High School Scholars Program, integrated curriculum development and the CASPER Physics Circus. Together, these programs impact thousands of students and parents while providing K-12 teachers with curriculum, supporting hands-on material and support for introducing plasma and basic physical science concepts into the classroom. Both research results and educational outreach concepts from the above will be discussed.

Plasma chemerin in young untrained men: association with cardio-metabolic traits and physical performance, and response to intensive interval training.

PubMed

Ouerghi, Nejmeddine; Fradj, Mohamed Kacem Ben; Khammassi, Marwa; Feki, Moncef; Kaabachi, Naziha; Bouassida, Anissa

2017-02-01

Chemerin is an adipose tissue-derived adipokine thought to decrease insulin sensitivity and increase cardiometabolic risk. This study aimed to assess the association of chemerin with cardiometabolic risk and physical performance and examine its response to high-intensity interval training (HIIT). Eighteen young men have been applied a HIIT program during 8 weeks. Plasma chemerin together with several cardiometabolic factors and physical performance indices were determined before and after the training program. Plasma chemerin and insulin were assessed using immunoenzymatic methods. The homeostasis model assessment (HOMA-IR) index was calculated as an estimate of insulin resistance. Basal plasma chemerin was positively correlated with body mass index (r=0.782, p<0.001), body fat (r=0.767, p<0.001), total (r=0.686, p=0.002) and LDL (r=0.587, p=0.010) cholesterol, triglycerides (r=0.775, p<0.001), HOMA-IR (r=0.673, p=0.002) and C-reactive protein (r=0.765, p<0.001). With regards to physical performance, chemerin was negatively correlated with maximal oxygen uptake (r=-0.572, p=0.013) and squat jump (r=-0.627, p=0.005), but positively related to 10-m sprint (r=0.716, p=0.001) and 30-m sprint (r=0.667, p=0.002) times. HIIT program resulted in significant improvements in body composition, plasma lipids and insulin sensitivity. However, no significant change was detected for plasma chemerin in response to HIIT (134±50.7 ng/mL vs. 137±51.9 ng/mL, p=0.750). Basal plasma chemerin is associated with cardiometabolic health and physical performance in young men. Following HIIT, cardiometabolic health and physical performance had improved, but no significant change had occurred for plasma chemerin.

The Equation of State and Optical Conductivity of Warm Dense He and H2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brygoo, Stephanie; Eggert, Jon H.; Loubeyre, Paul; McWilliams, Ryan S.; Hicks, Damien G.; Celliers, Peter M.; Boehly, Tom R.; Jeanloz, Raymond; Collins, Gilbert W.

2007-06-01

The determination of the equations of state of helium and hydrogen at very high density is an important problem at the frontier between condensed matter physics and plasma physics with important implications for planetary physics. Due to the limitations of the conventional techniques for reaching extreme densities(static or single shock compression), there are almost no data for the deep interior states of Jupiter. We present here shock compression measurements of helium and hydrogen, precompressed in diamond anvil cells up to 3ρliquid. We report the shock pressure, density and reflectivity up to 2 Mbar for helium and up to 1 Mbar for hydrogen. The data are compared to equations of state models used for astrophysical applications and to recent first principles calculations. This work was performed under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) by the University of California, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under Contract No. W-7405-Eng-48.

Development of Long-Pulse Heating and Current Drive Actuators and Operational Techniques Compatible with a High-Z Divertor and First Wall

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

Wang, Guiding

Accurate measurement of the edge electron density profile is essential to optimizing antenna coupling and assessment of impurity contamination in studying long-pulse plasma heating and current drive in fusion devices. Measurement of the edge density profile has been demonstrated on the US fusion devices such as C-Mod, DIII-D, and TFTR amongst many devices, and has been used for RF loading and impurity modeling calculations for many years. University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) has recently installed a density profile reflectometer system on the EAST fusion device at the Institute of Plasma Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences in Chinamore » based on the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA)-designed reflectometer system on the DIII-D fusion device at General Atomics Company in San Diego, California. UCLA has been working with USTC to optimize the existing microwave antenna, waveguide system, microwave electronics, and data analysis to produce reliable edge density profiles. During the past budget year, progress has been made in all three major areas: effort to achieve reliable system operations under various EAST operational conditions, effort to optimize system performance, and effort to provide quality density profiles into EAST’s database routinely.« less

THE TURBULENT DYNAMO IN HIGHLY COMPRESSIBLE SUPERSONIC PLASMAS

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

Federrath, Christoph; Schober, Jennifer; Bovino, Stefano

The turbulent dynamo may explain the origin of cosmic magnetism. While the exponential amplification of magnetic fields has been studied for incompressible gases, little is known about dynamo action in highly compressible, supersonic plasmas, such as the interstellar medium of galaxies and the early universe. Here we perform the first quantitative comparison of theoretical models of the dynamo growth rate and saturation level with three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamical simulations of supersonic turbulence with grid resolutions of up to 1024{sup 3} cells. We obtain numerical convergence and find that dynamo action occurs for both low and high magnetic Prandtl numbers Pm = ν/ηmore » = 0.1-10 (the ratio of viscous to magnetic dissipation), which had so far only been seen for Pm ≥ 1 in supersonic turbulence. We measure the critical magnetic Reynolds number, Rm{sub crit}=129{sub −31}{sup +43}, showing that the compressible dynamo is almost as efficient as in incompressible gas. Considering the physical conditions of the present and early universe, we conclude that magnetic fields need to be taken into account during structure formation from the early to the present cosmic ages, because they suppress gas fragmentation and drive powerful jets and outflows, both greatly affecting the initial mass function of stars.« less

Laboratory Astrophysics as Key to Understanding the Universe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van Dishoeck, Ewine F.

2012-05-01

Modern astrophysics is blessed with an increasing amount of high quality observational data on astronomical sources, ranging from our own solar system to the edge of the Universe and from the lowest temperature clouds to the highest energy cosmic rays. Spectra containing thousands of features of atoms, molecules, ice and dust are routinely obtained for stars, planets, comets, the ISM andstar-forming regions, and in the near future even for the most distant galaxies. Realistic models of exo-planetary atmospheres require information on billions of lines. Theories of jets from young stars benefit from plasma experiments to benchmark them. Stellar evolution theories and cosmology rely heavily on accurate rates for nuclear fusion reactions. The first stars could not have formed without the simplest chemical reactions taking place in primordial clouds. Particle physics is at the heart of finding candidates for the mysterious dark matter. There is no doubt that laboratory astrophysics, which includes theoretical calculations, remains at the foundation of the interpretation of observations and truly 'makes astronomy tick'. In this talk, several recent developments in determining these fundamental data will be presented which have resulted in significant advances in our understanding of astrophysical environments. Often, a comparatively minor investment in basic studies can greatly enhance the scientific return from missions. Examples will be taken from each of the 6 themes of the new Laboratory Astrophysics dvision of the AAS (www.aas.org/labastro/lawg_charter.php): atomic, molecular, solid matter, plasma, nuclear, and particle physics. Special attention will be given to recent results from infrared and millimeter facilities, including Herschel and ALMA, which reveal rich spectra of water and organic molecules in star- and planet forming zones. Their interpretation is greatly added by the application of ultra-high vacuum surface science techniques to astrophysical problems.

Effect of basic physical parameters to control plasma meniscus and beam halo formation in negative ion sources

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

Miyamoto, K.; Okuda, S.; Nishioka, S.

2013-09-14

Our previous study shows that the curvature of the plasma meniscus causes the beam halo in the negative ion sources: the negative ions extracted from the periphery of the meniscus are over-focused in the extractor due to the electrostatic lens effect, and consequently become the beam halo. In this article, the detail physics of the plasma meniscus and beam halo formation is investigated with two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulation. It is shown that the basic physical parameters such as the H{sup −} extraction voltage and the effective electron confinement time significantly affect the formation of the plasma meniscus and the resultant beammore » halo since the penetration of electric field for negative ion extraction depends on these physical parameters. Especially, the electron confinement time depends on the characteristic time of electron escape along the magnetic field as well as the characteristic time of electron diffusion across the magnetic field. The plasma meniscus penetrates deeply into the source plasma region when the effective electron confinement time is short. In this case, the curvature of the plasma meniscus becomes large, and consequently the fraction of the beam halo increases.« less

Structure and structure-preserving algorithms for plasma physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Morrison, P. J.

2016-10-01

Conventional simulation studies of plasma physics are based on numerically solving the underpinning differential (or integro-differential) equations. Usual algorithms in general do not preserve known geometric structure of the physical systems, such as the local energy-momentum conservation law, Casimir invariants, and the symplectic structure (Poincaré invariants). As a consequence, numerical errors may accumulate coherently with time and long-term simulation results may be unreliable. Recently, a series of geometric algorithms that preserve the geometric structures resulting from the Hamiltonian and action principle (HAP) form of theoretical models in plasma physics have been developed by several authors. The superiority of these geometric algorithms has been demonstrated with many test cases. For example, symplectic integrators for guiding-center dynamics have been constructed to preserve the noncanonical symplectic structures and bound the energy-momentum errors for all simulation time-steps; variational and symplectic algorithms have been discovered and successfully applied to the Vlasov-Maxwell system, MHD, and other magnetofluid equations as well. Hamiltonian truncations of the full Vlasov-Maxwell system have opened the field of discrete gyrokinetics and led to the GEMPIC algorithm. The vision that future numerical capabilities in plasma physics should be based on structure-preserving geometric algorithms will be presented. It will be argued that the geometric consequences of HAP form and resulting geometric algorithms suitable for plasma physics studies cannot be adapted from existing mathematical literature but, rather, need to be discovered and worked out by theoretical plasma physicists. The talk will review existing HAP structures of plasma physics for a variety of models, and how they have been adapted for numerical implementation. Supported by DOE DE-FG02-04ER-54742.

Study of Fractal Features of Geomagnetic Activity Through an MHD Shell Model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dominguez, M.; Nigro, G.; Munoz, V.; Carbone, V.

2013-12-01

Studies on complexity have been of great interest in plasma physics, because they provide new insights and reveal possible universalities on issues such as geomagnetic activity, turbulence in laboratory plasmas, physics of the solar wind, etc. [1, 2]. In particular, various studies have discussed the relationship between the fractal dimension, as a measure of complexity, and physical processes in magnetized plasmas such as the Sun's surface, the solar wind and the Earth's magnetosphere, including the possibility of forecasting geomagnetic activity [3, 4, 5]. Shell models are low dimensional dynamical models describing the main statistical properties of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence [6]. These models allow us to describe extreme parameter conditions hence reaching very high Reynolds (Re) numbers. In this work a MHD shell model is used to describe the dissipative events which are taking place in the Earth's magnetosphere and causing geomagnetic storms. The box-counting fractal dimension (D) [7] is calculated for the time series of the magnetic energy dissipation rate obtained in this MHD shell model. We analyze the correlation between D and the energy dissipation rate in order to make a comparison with the same analysis made on the geomagnetic data. We show that, depending on the values of the viscosity and the diffusivity, the fractal dimension and the occurrence of bursts exhibit correlations similar as those observed in geomagnetic and solar data, [8] suggesting that the latter parameters could play a fundamental role in these processes. References [1] R. O. Dendy, S. C. Chapman, and M. Paczuski, Plasma Phys. Controlled Fusion 49, A95 (2007). [2] T. Chang and C. C. Wu, Phys. Rev. E 77, 045401 (2008). [3] R. T. J. McAteer, P. T. Gallagher, and J. Ireland, Astrophys. J. 631, 628 (2005). [4] V. M. Uritsky, A. J. Klimas, and D. Vassiliadis, Adv. Space Res. 37, 539 (2006). [5] S. C. Chapman, B. Hnat, and K. Kiyani, Nonlinear Proc. Geophys. 15, 445 (2008). [6] G. Boffetta, V. Carbone, P. Giuliani, P. Veltri, and A. Vulpiani, Phys. Rev. Lett. 83, 4662 (1999). [7] P. S. Addison, Fractals and Chaos, an Illustrated Course, vol. 1 (Institute of Physics Publishing, Bristol and Philadelphia, 1997), second ed. [8] M. Domínguez, V. Muñoz, and J. A. Valdivia, Temporal evolution of fractality in the Earth's magnetosphere and the solar photosphere, in preparation.

Obituary: Edward R. (Ted) Harrison, 1919-2007

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Irvine, William M.; Arny, Thomas T.; Trimble, Virginia

2007-12-01

Cosmologist Edward R. (Ted) Harrison, emeritus Distinguished University Professor of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, died on 29 January 2007 in his retirement city of Tucson, Arizona, where he was adjunct professor at the Steward Observatory, University of Arizona. The cause of death was colon cancer. He is survived by a sister, brother, and daughter. (A son died in 2000.) Perhaps best known for his work on the growth of fluctuations in the expanding universe and his books on cosmology for the dedicated layperson, Ted had extremely broad interests, and he published more than 200 papers in space sciences, plasma physics, high-energy physics, physical chemistry, and, principally, many aspects of astrophysics. He was a Fellow of the American Physical Society, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Royal Astronomical Society, and the Institute of Physics (UK). Ted Harrison was born 8 January 1919 in London, England. His parents were Robert Harrison and Daisy Harrison (nee White). His education at Sir John Cass College, London University, was interrupted by the Second World War, during which he served for six years with the British Army in various campaigns, ultimately acting as Radar Adviser to the Northern Area of the Egyptian Army. It was during the latter service that he met his wife Photeni (nee Marangas). Following the War, Ted became a British Civil Servant, at first with the Atomic Energy Research Establishment in Harwell and then at the Rutherford High Energy Laboratory. During this period he acquired the equivalent of university degrees, becoming a graduate, then an Associate, and finally a Fellow of the Institute of Physics. His somewhat unorthodox education may have contributed to his broad interests and his very intuitive and physical approach to scientific problems. The latter became the bane of generations of graduate students, who might find themselves asked on their physics qualifying exams to calculate "the length of a wild goose chase" (how far do you think a goose can fly on a meal?) or "the inductance of a wedding ring." Ted came to the USA in 1965 as a NAS-NRC Senior Research Associate in the Theoretical Division at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. In 1966 he became one of the three founders of the Astronomy Program within the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Massachusetts. Over the next 30 years he also was instrumental in the revival of the Five College Astronomy Department, which links the University to Amherst, Hampshire, Smith, and Mount Holyoke Colleges, and he played a key role in the growth of the corresponding astronomy graduate program to international recognition. His two PhD students remain active in academia, Allan Walstad at the University of Pittsburgh, Johnstown, and Alice Argon at the Center for Astrophysics. Ted loved to play chess and was a very skilled player. He was also a remarkably talented oil painter. Ted's research in cosmology included a series of papers discussing the physics of the early universe and the evolution of galaxies from primordial fluctuations, in which he was the first person to identify several of the key processes. His work led to what came to be called the Harrison-Zeldovich spectrum for density fluctuations. But Ted turned his hand to any physical problem that caught his interest, from thermonuclear power, to the origin of galactic magnetic fields, to the acceleration of pulsars, to the diffusion of dust in molecular clouds. He even managed to combine cosmology and astrobiology, suggesting that if there exist a multitude of "universes," those like our own with intelligent life may be the result of natural selection (QJRAS, 36, p. 193, 1995). Ted was a wonderful writer, whose books frequently illustrate points of physics or cosmology with references to poetry or to classical history and philosophy. They have been translated into several languages, including German, French, Finnish, and Japanese. He was fascinated with Olbers' Paradox (which he pointed out had not been discovered by Olbers and was not really a paradox, but a riddle), the question of why the sky is dark at night if the universe is filled with bright stars and galaxies. His book, Darkness at Night, points out that this is not primarily because the universe is expanding, nor because light is absorbed, but rather because the stars and galaxies have had only about 15 billion years to radiate and indeed do not have enough energy to keep radiating for much longer. He points out that this conclusion was anticipated in the writings of Edgar Allan Poe! Ted's monograph, Cosmology: The Science of the Universe, has gone through some seven printings and two editions. Again typical of his command of the history of science, he describes the problem of the "cosmic edge" of the universe by quoting fifth-century BCE soldier-philosopher Archytas of Tarentum, who asked what happens to a spear that is hurled across the outer boundary of the universe? But to many of us, Ted's most intriguing book is Masks of the Universe (second edition published just three years ago). Is our present cosmology, with ordinary matter, dark matter, and dark energy, but another mask obscuring a Universe which will remain perforce forever unknown? Will the ?CDM model be looked upon some day in the same way that we now view the medieval, the geometric, or the mythic universes of earlier eras? Read the book and form your own opinion!

The physics basis for ignition using indirect-drive targets on the National Ignition Facility

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lindl, John D.; Amendt, Peter; Berger, Richard L.; Glendinning, S. Gail; Glenzer, Siegfried H.; Haan, Steven W.; Kauffman, Robert L.; Landen, Otto L.; Suter, Laurence J.

2004-02-01

The 1990 National Academy of Science final report of its review of the Inertial Confinement Fusion Program recommended completion of a series of target physics objectives on the 10-beam Nova laser at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory as the highest-priority prerequisite for proceeding with construction of an ignition-scale laser facility, now called the National Ignition Facility (NIF). These objectives were chosen to demonstrate that there was sufficient understanding of the physics of ignition targets that the laser requirements for laboratory ignition could be accurately specified. This research on Nova, as well as additional research on the Omega laser at the University of Rochester, is the subject of this review. The objectives of the U.S. indirect-drive target physics program have been to experimentally demonstrate and predictively model hohlraum characteristics, as well as capsule performance in targets that have been scaled in key physics variables from NIF targets. To address the hohlraum and hydrodynamic constraints on indirect-drive ignition, the target physics program was divided into the Hohlraum and Laser-Plasma Physics (HLP) program and the Hydrodynamically Equivalent Physics (HEP) program. The HLP program addresses laser-plasma coupling, x-ray generation and transport, and the development of energy-efficient hohlraums that provide the appropriate spectral, temporal, and spatial x-ray drive. The HEP experiments address the issues of hydrodynamic instability and mix, as well as the effects of flux asymmetry on capsules that are scaled as closely as possible to ignition capsules (hydrodynamic equivalence). The HEP program also addresses other capsule physics issues associated with ignition, such as energy gain and energy loss to the fuel during implosion in the absence of alpha-particle deposition. The results from the Nova and Omega experiments approach the NIF requirements for most of the important ignition capsule parameters, including drive temperature, drive symmetry, and hydrodynamic instability. This paper starts with a review of the NIF target designs that have formed the motivation for the goals of the target physics program. Following that are theoretical and experimental results from Nova and Omega relevant to the requirements of those targets. Some elements of this work were covered in a 1995 review of indirect-drive [J. D. Lindl, ``Development of the indirect-drive approach to inertial confinement fusion and the target physics basis for ignition and gain,'' Phys. Plasmas 2, 3933 (1995)]. In order to present as complete a picture as possible of the research that has been carried out on indirect drive, key elements of that earlier review are also covered here, along with a review of work carried out since 1995.

PREFACE: 16th Russian Youth Conference on Physics and Astronomy (PhysicA.SPb/2013)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2014-12-01

The sixteenth Russian Conference on Physics and Astronomy PhysicA.SPb was held 23-24 October 2013 in Saint-Petersburg, Russia. The Conference continues the tradition of Saint-Petersburg Seminars on Physics and Astronomy originating from mid-90s. Since then PhysicA.SPb maintains both scientific and educational quality of contributions delivered to the young audience. This is the main feature of the Conference that makes it possible to combine the whole spectrum of modern Physics and Astronomy within one event. PhysicA.SPb/2013 has brought together about 200 students, young scientists and their colleague professors from many universities and research institutes across whole Russia as well as from Belarus, Ukraine, Switzerland, Turkey, Finland and France. Oral and poster presentations were combined into a few well-defined sections among which one should name Astronomy and Astrophysics, Plasma physics, hydro- and aero-dynamics, Physics of quantum-sized structures, Nanostructured and thin-film materials, Biophysics, THz and UHF materials and devices, Optoelectronic devices, Optics and spectroscopy, Atomic and elementary particles physics, Defects and impurities in solid state, Physics and technology of the alternative energetics. This issue of the Journal of Physics: Conference Series presents the extended contributions from participants of PhysicA.SPb/2013 that were peer-reviewed by expert referees through processes administered by the Presiders of the Organising and Programme Committees to the best professional and scientific standards. The Editors: Nikita S. Averkiev, Sergey A. Poniaev and Grigorii S. Sokolovskii

Lincoln Advanced Science and Engineering Reinforcement

DTIC Science & Technology

1989-01-01

Chamblee Physics Lincoln University Kelvin Clark Physics Lincoln University Dwayne Cole Mechanical Engineering Howard University Francis Countiss Physics...Mathematics Lincoln University Spencer Lane Mechanical Engineering Howard University Edward Lawerence Physics Lincoln University Cyd Hall Actuarial Science...Pittsburgh Lloyd Hammond Ph.D., Bio-Chemistry Purdue University Timothy Moore M.S., Psychology Howard University * completedI During 1988, three (3

EDITORIAL: The Fifth International Workshop and Summer School on Plasma Physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2006-04-01

Plasma, the fourth state of matter, is actually the first state of Nature. The great fireball, the Sun, entirely decides the existence of our tiny planet immersed in the ocean of cosmic plasma. Mankind has also learnt how to produce and use plasma under terrestrial conditions, though it is not at all easy to domesticate this unstable ionized medium. Plasma finds countless applications that improve the quality of our daily life. Some of them, such as fluorescent light tubes, are so obvious to us that we do not give any thought to the processes underlying colourful neon signs. Another vast field is the production of materials with tailored-to-demand properties: mechanical, chemical, optical, electrical, magnetic, etc. Thin layers formed on solid surfaces by various plasma--material interactions play important roles in present-day computer technology, communication, space research, machinery and even many decorative items. However, the most demanding challenge in using plasma is to harness on Earth the processes that power stars. The endeavour is to confine and stabilize hot plasmas and to achieve the ultimate goal: to benefit from the might of thermonuclear reactions for environmentally benign energy production. The goal is clear, as the demand for energy is unquestionable. But the challenges are also enormous. Two basic plasma confinement schemes have been explored: inertial (using ultra-strong laser pulses or ion beams), and magnetic confinement (using strong magnetic fields). Hot plasma must be maintained in a vacuum vessel. The temperature gradients between the plasma and the surrounding wall are probably the greatest in the Universe. The history of fusion research began in the 1940s. Since then we have observed significant progress in fusion science and technology. We have come to the point when it has been decided to construct a reactor-class device. ITER International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor will be built by seven co-operating parties: the EU, Japan, Russia, the US, China, South Korea and India (as of March 2006). It will take several years to accomplish this important task. There is no doubt that the success depends not only on funding but also on enthusiastic people willing to contribute with their skills and knowledge. Young scientists and engineers must be enrolled to the programme and trained in various disciplines of fusion science and technology. There are various education schemes and work programmes. Organization of summer schools on fusion-related plasma physics is an important part of the training process. Several schools are organized annually or every second year in Europe. Fusion-related science is so vast that it is impossible to cover all topics during an event lasting for one or two weeks. Therefore, each school has its distinctive features and focuses on a selected group of issues to be addressed in depth. This also applies to the Workshop and Summer School on Plasma Physics in Kudowa Zdrój (Poland) that, has been organised annually since 2001. It was initiated by Dr Marek Scholz with the help of his colleagues from the Institute of Plasma Physics and Laser Microfusion (IPPLM) in Warsaw. The idea was to create a forum for students mainly from Eastern Europe to learn and discuss subjects in general plasma physics and dense magnetized media, predominantly in plasma focus devices. Over the years the school has matured and created a clear profile. A unique feature has always been to accommodate in the programme not only tutorials delivered by invited senior scientists but also presentations prepared by the students. In June 2005 the 5th Workshop and Summer School on Plasma Physics was held under the heading 'Towards Fusion Energy: Plasma Physics, Diagnostics, Applications'. There were 59 participants, including 44 students, coming from plasma physics and material research laboratories in 17 countries: Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Georgia, Iran, Italy, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Russia, Singapore, Slovakia, Sweden, Turkey, Ukraine and the United Kingdom. Thirteen invited speakers overviewed the history of fusion research (from early machines to the reactor concept) and state-of-the-art aspects of production and diagnosis of plasmas confined by intense laser and ion beams and magnetic fields. Radiative processes in dense magnetized plasma have also been presented. A series of tutorials emphasized issues related to plasma--material interactions, experience with various plasma facing materials, material testing and fusion technology. Global energy research and the fusion research programme were addressed in detail during a special evening lecture. There were twenty-eight oral contributions presented by students who covered a broad range of subjects related to theory, modelling, experiments and development and application of plasma diagnostic methods. Many of those tutorials and contributed papers are now published in this volume. We do hope that this collection of papers will be useful not only to students but also to professionals in plasma science. The meeting was interesting and fruitful. It was also very pleasant, because not all the time was spent in the lecture room. Kudowa Zdrój is a charming all-year resort and spa situated in the south-west of Poland, just on the border with the Czech Republic. The location, in a dell surrounded by the beautiful old Sudeten Mountains, provides countess attractions for tourists. The erosion of rocks resulted in the creation of fantastic shapes worth visiting and admiring. The region has a very interesting history and many objects of splendid architecture: castles, fortresses and chapels including the Skull Chapel in Kudowa Zdrój. And the earth is rich in minerals such as coal, silver, gold, uranium (all nearly fully exploited) and a variety of gemstones. During every School there have been excursions to interesting sites. In the past it included mining of gold in Zloty R\\'{o}g and black coal in Nowa Ruda. This time we had an unforgettable experience producing paper sheets ourselves in an old but still operational paper mill in the green enchanting spa of Duszniki Zdrój. A short intensive course in pottery handcraft was also offered to us in the Skansen. Hiking in the rocky labyrinth of Szczeliniec (please try to pronounce this name describing a magnificent cliffed hill with creviced rocks) was also a great adventure. This was followed by a ride on the serpentine Road of a Hundred Turns. And there was another event strongly supported by the local authorities. Two special tutorials on energy research and fusion for young scholars and the general public attracted nearly 200 people. The School was financially supported by the International Centre for Dense Magnetised Plasmas at IPPLM, European Commission, International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna (Austria), the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Trieste (Italy) and the US Department of Energy. We would like to thank cordially our sponsors. Their financial support made it possible for a number of students and teachers to come to Kudowa Zdrój. We are very grateful to Dr Adam Ziembinski, the director of the spa in Kudowa, and his staff for the immense hospitality during our stay. We wish to thank Mr Czeslaw Krecichwost, the mayor of Kudowa Zdrój, for his strong support and interest in the School and help in organizing the lectures for scholars and residents of the region. And our most cordial thanks and gratitude go to Mr Ryszard Panfil for his great kindness, inexhaustible energy and organizational efficiency that helped all of us to enjoy the meeting. We thank all the participants for their contributions and we thank the reviewers of all submitted papers. Thank you for your hard work and co-operation. We are looking forward to the next school and all hope to meet again in Kudowa. Marek Rubel, Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden Irena Ivanova-Stanik, Institute of Plasma Physics and Laser Microfusion, Poland Ryszard Miklaszewski, Institute of Plasma Physics and Laser Microfusion, Poland Marek Scholz, Institute of Plasma Physics and Laser Microfusion, Poland

Sachs equations for light bundles in a cold plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schulze-Koops, Karen; Perlick, Volker; Schwarz, Dominik J.

2017-11-01

We study the propagation of light bundles in non-empty spacetime, as most of the Universe is filled by baryonic matter in the form of a (dilute) plasma. Here we restrict to the case of a cold (i.e. pressureless) and non-magnetised plasma. Then the influence of the medium on the light rays is encoded in the spacetime dependent plasma frequency. Our result for a general spacetime generalises the Sachs equations to the case of a cold plasma Universe. We find that the reciprocity law (Etherington theorem), the relation that connects area distance with luminosity distance, is modified. Einstein’s field equation is not used, i.e. our results apply independently of whether or not the plasma is self-gravitating. As an example, our findings are applied to a homogeneous plasma in a Robertson-Walker spacetime. We find small modifications of the cosmological redshift of frequencies and of the Hubble law.

Time-nonlocal kinetic equations, jerk and hyperjerk in plasmas and solar physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

El-Nabulsi, Rami Ahmad

2018-06-01

The simulation and analysis of nonlocal effects in fluids and plasmas is an inherently complicated problem due to the massive breadth of physics required to describe the nonlocal dynamics. This is a multi-physics problem that draws upon various miscellaneous fields, such as electromagnetism and statistical mechanics. In this paper we strive to focus on one narrow but motivating mathematical way: the derivation of nonlocal plasma-fluid equations from a generalized nonlocal Liouville derivative operator motivated from Suykens's nonlocal arguments. The paper aims to provide a guideline toward modeling nonlocal effects occurring in plasma-fluid systems by means of a generalized nonlocal Boltzmann equation. The generalized nonlocal equations of fluid dynamics are derived and their implications in plasma-fluid systems are addressed, discussed and analyzed. Three main topics were discussed: Landau damping in plasma electrodynamics, ideal MHD and solar wind. A number of features were revealed, analyzed and confronted with recent research results and observations.

Radio diagnostics and analysis on the Puerto Rico CubeSat

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bergman, J. E. S.; Bruhn, F.; Isham, B.; Rincon-Charris, A.

2014-04-01

The Puerto Rico CubeSat is a collaboration between Interamerican University of Puerto Rico, the University of Puerto Rico, the Ana G. Ḿendez University System, NASA Marshal Space Flight Center, the University of Alabama at Huntsville, the Swedish Institute of Space Physics, and M¨alardalens University. Principle goals include providing aerospace and systems engineering experiences to students at the participating institutions. Mission objectives include the acquisition of space weather data to aid in better understanding the Sun to Earth connection. The Puerto Rico Cube- Sat is a 3U configuration, 10 × 10 × 30 cm. Active attitude control will be used to align the long (3U) axis along the orbital path, and the satellite will rotate along the 3U axis to assist in thermal management. The Puerto Rico CubeSat will carry two scientific payloads. One is CARLO (Charge Analyzer Responsive to Local Oscillation), which is designed to measure ion turbulence from 0 to 10 kHz. CARLO will operate in a ram configuration, thus giving it the ability to distinguish between ambient and spacecraftinduced irregularities in plasma density. The second payload is GIMMERF, a 0 to 30 MHz radio instrument, consisting of a digital 4-channel direct sampling receiver board, atmospheric-noise-limited preamplifiers, and four electrically short monopole antennas. The antennas are connected electronically, as dipoles, to enable measurements of the full 3-dimensional electric field vector signal, which, in turn makes it possible to characterize the radio emissions in terms of Stokes parameters and to perform direction finding. GIMME-RF will use artificial neural network technology to automatically identify radio data of interest. All radio data will be downloaded at 1% time resolution, and radio data of special interest (automatically identified or human selected) will be downloaded at full time and frequency resolution. CARLO and GIMME-RF are complementary instruments, as CARLO will measure low-frequency plasma turbulence, which affects radio propagation in the high-frequency radio band. The satellite communications system 1 EPSC Abstracts Vol. 9, EPSC2014-799, 2014 European Planetary Science Congress 2014 c Author(s) 2014 EPSC European Planetary Science Congress will operate at frequencies between 902 and 928 MHz and will share the same antenna used by GIMME-RF. The Puerto Rico CubeSat is expected to be ready for launch in 2016; a launch vehicle has not yet been identified. Support for the Puerto Rico Cubesat comes from the Puerto Rico Industrial Development Company (PRIDCO), the Puerto Rico NASA Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR), and the Interamerican University of Puerto Rico Bayaḿon Campus. The GIMMERF payload is supported by the Swedish National Space Board (SNSB), with in-kind contributions from Ḿalardalen's University and the Swedish Institute of Space Physics.

Plasma globe revisited

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lincoln, James

2018-01-01

The plasma globe or plasma ball is an underutilized resource for teaching the physics of electricity. It also offers a convenient source of electric field that can be used for demonstrations and experiments. Unlike the Van de Graaff generator, the plasma globe does not shock you and is essentially silent. Other authors have written up some of these activities, but the full potential of the plasma globe is generally not taken advantage of by most teachers. I hope that this article can bring more awareness to how this ubiquitous piece of novelty lighting can be an essential physics teaching apparatus.

Physics of the inner heliosphere 1-10R sub O plasma diagnostics and models

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Withbroe, G. L.

1984-01-01

The physics of solar wind flow in the acceleration region and impulsive phenomena in the solar corona is studied. The study of magnetohydrodynamic wave propagation in the corona and the solutions for steady state and time dependent solar wind equations gives insights concerning the physics of the solar wind acceleration region, plasma heating and plasma acceleration processes and the formation of shocks. Also studied is the development of techniques for placing constraints on the mechanisms responsible for coronal heating.

Research in space science and technology. [including X-ray astronomy and interplanetary plasma physics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Beckley, L. E.

1977-01-01

Progress in various space flight research programs is reported. Emphasis is placed on X-ray astronomy and interplanetary plasma physics. Topics covered include: infrared astronomy, long base line interferometry, geological spectroscopy, space life science experiments, atmospheric physics, and space based materials and structures research. Analysis of galactic and extra-galactic X-ray data from the Small Astronomy Satellite (SAS-3) and HEAO-A and interplanetary plasma data for Mariner 10, Explorers 47 and 50, and Solrad is discussed.

Low-Energy Electron Interactions with CF_4

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Christophorou, Loucas G.; Olthoff, James K.; Rao, M. V. V. S.

1996-10-01

Carbon tetrafluoride is one of the most widely used components of feed gas mixtures employed for a variety of plasma assisted materials processing applications. In this presentation, we synthesize and assess the available information on the cross sections and rate coefficients of collisional interations of CF4 with electrons.(L. G. Christophorou, J. K. Olthoff, and M.V. V. S. Rao, J. Phys. Chem. Ref. Data, submitted (May 1996)) A ``recommended'' data set is presented, based upon available data for: (i) cross sections for electron scattering (total, elastic, momentum, differential, inelastic), electron impact ionization (total and partial), electron impact dissociation, and electron attachment; and (ii) coefficients for electron transport, electron attachment, and electron impact ionization. -Research sponsored in part by the U.S. Air Force Wright Laboratory under contract F33615-96-C-2600 with the University of Tennessee. Also, Department of Physics, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN.

Horava-Lifshitz cosmology, entropic interpretation and quark-hadron phase transition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kheyri, F.; Khodadi, M.; Sepangi, Hamid Reza

2013-05-01

Based on the assumptions of the standard model of cosmology, a phase transition associated with chiral symmetry breaking after the electroweak transition has occurred at approximately 10 μs after the Big Bang to convert a plasma of free quarks and gluons into hadrons. We consider such a phase transition in the context of a deformed Horava-Lifshitz cosmology. The Friedmann equation for the deformed Horava-Lifshitz universe is obtained using the entropic interpretation of gravity, proposed by Verlinde. We investigate the effects of the parameter ω appearing in the theory on the evolution of the physical quantities relevant to a description of the early universe, namely, the energy density and temperature before, during and after the phase transition. Finally, we study the cross-over phase transition in both high and low temperature regions in view of the recent lattice QCD simulations data.

Physics Criteria for a Subscale Plasma Liner Experiment

DOE PAGES

Hsu, Scott C.; Thio, Yong C. Francis

2018-02-02

Spherically imploding plasma liners, formed by merging hypersonic plasma jets, are a proposed standoff driver to compress magnetized target plasmas to fusion conditions (Hsu et al. in IEEE Trans Plasma Sci 40:1287, 2012). Here, in this paper, the parameter space and physics criteria are identified for a subscale, plasma-liner-formation experiment to provide data, e.g., on liner ram-pressure scaling and uniformity, that are relevant for addressing scientific issues of full-scale plasma liners required to achieve fusion conditions. Lastly, based on these criteria, we quantitatively estimate the minimum liner kinetic energy and mass needed, which informed the design of a subscale plasmamore » liner experiment now under development.« less

Physics Criteria for a Subscale Plasma Liner Experiment

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

Hsu, Scott C.; Thio, Yong C. Francis

Spherically imploding plasma liners, formed by merging hypersonic plasma jets, are a proposed standoff driver to compress magnetized target plasmas to fusion conditions (Hsu et al. in IEEE Trans Plasma Sci 40:1287, 2012). Here, in this paper, the parameter space and physics criteria are identified for a subscale, plasma-liner-formation experiment to provide data, e.g., on liner ram-pressure scaling and uniformity, that are relevant for addressing scientific issues of full-scale plasma liners required to achieve fusion conditions. Lastly, based on these criteria, we quantitatively estimate the minimum liner kinetic energy and mass needed, which informed the design of a subscale plasmamore » liner experiment now under development.« less

Modeling of limiter heat loads and impurity transport in Wendelstein 7-X startup plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Effenberg, Florian; Feng, Y.; Frerichs, H.; Schmitz, O.; Hoelbe, H.; Koenig, R.; Krychowiak, M.; Pedersen, T. S.; Bozhenkov, S.; Reiter, D.

2015-11-01

The quasi-isodynamic stellarator Wendelstein 7-X starts plasma operation in a limiter configuration. The field consists of closed magnetic flux surfaces avoiding magnetic islands in the plasma boundary. Because of the small size of the limiters and the absence of wall-protecting elements in this phase, limiter heat loads and impurity generation due to plasma surface interaction become a concern. These issues are studied with the 3D fluid plasma edge and kinetic neutral transport code EMC3-Eirene. It is shown that the 3D SOL consists of three separate helical magnetic flux bundles of different field line connection lengths. A density scan at input power of 4MW reveals a strong modulation of the plasma paramters with the connection length. The limiter peak heat fluxes drop from 14 MWm-2 down to 10 MWm-2 with raising the density from 1 ×1018m-3 to 1.9 ×1019m-3, accompanied by an increase of the heat flux channel widths λq. Radiative power losses can help to avoid thermal overloads of the limiters at the upper margin of the heating power. The power removal feasibility of the intrinsic carbon and other extrinsic light impurities via active gas injection is discussed as a preparation of this method for island divertor operation. Work supported in part by start up funds of the Department of Engineering Physics at the University of Wisconsin - Madison, USA and by the U.S. Department of Energy under grant DE-SC0013911.

The America COMPETES Act and the FY2009 Budget

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-10-17

Junior Investigator, Nuclear Physics Outstanding Junior Investigator, Fusion Energy Sciences Plasma Physics Junior Faculty Development; Advanced...Instrumentation Fellowships, and the Fusion Energy Sciences Graduate Fellowships.20 The DOE Summer Institutes authorization in the act is $20 million in FY2009...corresponds to pre-existing High Energy Physics Outstanding Junior Investigator, Nuclear Physics Outstanding Junior Investigator, Fusion Energy Sciences Plasma

FOREWORD: International Topical Workshop on Plasma Physics: Coherent Processes in Nonlinear Media. Sponsored by the ICTP (Trieste) and the European Union (Brussels)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shukla, P. K.; Bingham, R.; Stenflo, L.; Dawson, J. M.

1996-01-01

Starting in 1989 we have created a forum at the International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Trieste, where scientists from different parts of the world can meet and exchange information in the frontier areas of physics. In the three previous meetings, we focused on large amplitude waves and fields in plasmas, the physics of dusty plasmas, and wave-particle interactions and energization in plasmas. In 1995, we came up with a fresh idea of organizing somewhat enlarged but still well focused research topics that are cross-disciplinary. Thus, the usual 'fourth-week activity' of the Plasma Physics College at the ICTP was replaced by an International Topical Workshop on Plasma Physics: Coherent Processes in Nonlinear Media, which was held at the ICTP during the period 16-20 October, 1995. This provided us an opportunity to draw eminent speakers from many closely related fields such as plasma physics, fluid dynamics, nonlinear optics, and astrophysics. The Workshop was attended by 82 delegates from 34 countries, and the participation from the industrial and the developing countries was about half each. The programme included 4 review and 29 topical invited lectures. In addition, about 30 contributed papers were presented as posters in two sessions. The latter were created in order to give opportunities to younger physicists for displaying the results of their recent work and to obtain constructive comments from the other participants. During the five days at the ICTP, we focused on almost all the various aspects of nonlinear phenomena that are common in different branches of science. The review and topical lectures as well as the posters dealt with the most recent advances in coherent nonlinear processes in space and astrophysical plasmas, in fluids and optics, in low temperature dusty plasmas, as well as in laser produced and magnetically confined laboratory plasmas. The focus was on the physics of various types of waves and their generation mechanisms, the development of turbulence and the formation of coherent structures, particle and heat transport, plasma based charged particle acceleration by intense electrostatic waves that are created by powerful short laser beams, etc. Specifically, the review talks presented the general picture of the subject matter at hand and the underlying physics, whereas the remaining topical talks and the posters described the present state-of-the-art in the field. Instead of presenting the technical details, the speakers kept a good balance in injecting both the physics and the mathematical techniques to their audience. It was noted that despite the diversity of the physical problems, the mathematical equations governing particular phenomena and their solutions remain somewhat similar. Most contributions from the Trieste meeting appear in the form of a collection of articles in this Topical Issue of Physica Scripta, which will be distributed to all the delegates. We are grateful to the ICTP director Professor M A Virasoro and the deputy director Professor L Bertocchi for their generous support and warm hospitality at the ICTP. Thanks are also due to Professor G Denardo of the ICTP and Professor M H A Hassan of the Third World Academy of Sciences (TWAS, ICTP) for their constant and wholehearted support in our endeavours. We would like to express our gratitude to the ICTP and the Commission of the European Union (through the HCM networks on Dusty Plasmas and Nonlinear Phenomena in the Microphysics of Collisionless Plasmas) for providing partial financial support to our activities at Trieste. Finally, our cordial thanks are extended to the speakers and the attendees for their contributions which resulted in the success of this workshop. Specifically, we appreciate the speakers for delivering excellent talks, supplying well prepared manuscripts for publication, and enhancing the plasma physics activity at the ICTP. The excellent work of MS Ave Lusenti is gratefully acknowledged.

Performance Modeling of an Experimental Laser Propelled Lightcraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wang, Ten-See; Chen, Yen-Sen; Liu, Jiwen; Myrabo, Leik N.; Mead, Franklin B., Jr.

2000-01-01

A computational plasma aerodynamics model is developed to study the performance of an experimental laser propelled lightcraft. The computational methodology is based on a time-accurate, three-dimensional, finite-difference, chemically reacting, unstructured grid, pressure- based formulation. The underlying physics are added and tested systematically using a building-block approach. The physics modeled include non-equilibn'um thermodynamics, non-equilibrium air-plasma finite-rate kinetics, specular ray tracing, laser beam energy absorption and equi refraction by plasma, non-equilibrium plasma radiation, and plasma resonance. A series of transient computations are performed at several laser pulse energy levels and the simulated physics are discussed and compared with those of tests and literature. The predicted coupling coefficients for the lightcraft compared reasonably well with those of tests conducted on a pendulum apparatus.

MTF Driven by Plasma Liner Dynamically Formed by the Merging of Plasma Jets: An Overview

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thio, Y. C. Francis; Eskridge, Richard; Martin, Adam; Smith, James; Lee, Michael; Rodgers, Stephen L. (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

One approach for standoff delivery of the momentum flux for compressing the target in MTF consists of using a spherical array of plasma jets to form a spherical plasma shell imploding towards the center of a magnetized plasma, a compact toroid (Figure 1). A 3-year experiment (PLX-1) to explore the physics of forming a 2-D plasma liner (shell) by merging plasma jets is described. An overview showing how this 3-year project (PLX-1) fits into the program plan at the national and international level for realizing MTF for energy and propulsion is discussed. Assuming that there will be a parallel program in demonstrating and establishing the underlying physics principles of MTF using whatever liner is appropriate (e.g. a solid liner) with a goal of demonstrating breakeven by 2010, the current research effort at NASA MSFC attempts to complement such a program by addressing the issues of practical embodiment of MTF for propulsion. Successful conclusion of PLX-1 will be followed by a Physics Feasibility Experiment (PLX-2) for the Plasma Liner Driven MTF.

Nuclear Fusion prize laudation Nuclear Fusion prize laudation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Burkart, W.

2011-01-01

Clean energy in abundance will be of critical importance to the pursuit of world peace and development. As part of the IAEA's activities to facilitate the dissemination of fusion related science and technology, the journal Nuclear Fusion is intended to contribute to the realization of such energy from fusion. In 2010, we celebrated the 50th anniversary of the IAEA journal. The excellence of research published in the journal is attested to by its high citation index. The IAEA recognizes excellence by means of an annual prize awarded to the authors of papers judged to have made the greatest impact. On the occasion of the 2010 IAEA Fusion Energy Conference in Daejeon, Republic of Korea at the welcome dinner hosted by the city of Daejeon, we celebrated the achievements of the 2009 and 2010 Nuclear Fusion prize winners. Steve Sabbagh, from the Department of Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics, Columbia University, New York is the winner of the 2009 award for his paper: 'Resistive wall stabilized operation in rotating high beta NSTX plasmas' [1]. This is a landmark paper which reports record parameters of beta in a large spherical torus plasma and presents a thorough investigation of the physics of resistive wall mode (RWM) instability. The paper makes a significant contribution to the critical topic of RWM stabilization. John Rice, from the Plasma Science and Fusion Center, MIT, Cambridge is the winner of the 2010 award for his paper: 'Inter-machine comparison of intrinsic toroidal rotation in tokamaks' [2]. The 2010 award is for a seminal paper that analyzes results across a range of machines in order to develop a universal scaling that can be used to predict intrinsic rotation. This paper has already triggered a wealth of experimental and theoretical work. I congratulate both authors and their colleagues on these exceptional papers. W. Burkart Deputy Director General Department of Nuclear Sciences and Applications International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna, Austria References [1] Sabbagh S. et al 2006 Nucl. Fusion 46 635-44 [2] Rice J.E. et al 2007 Nucl. Fusion 47 1618-24

Plasma contactor research, 1990

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Williams, John D.; Wilbur, Paul J.

1991-01-01

Emissive and Langmuir probes were used to measure plasma potential profiles, plasma densities, electron energy distributions, and plasma noise levels near a hollow cathode-based plasma contactor emitting electrons. The effects of electron emission current (100 to 1500 mA) and contactor flowrate (2 to 10 sccm (Xenon)) on these data are examined. Retarding potential analyzer (RPA) measurements showing that high energy ions generally stream from a contactor along with the electrons being emitted are also presented, and a mechanism by which this occurs is postulated. This mechanism, which involves a high rate of ionization induced between electrons and atoms flowing together from the hollow cathode orifice, results in a region of high positive space charge and high positive potential. Langmuir and RPA probe data suggests that both electrons and ions expand spherically from this potential hill region. In addition to experimental observations, a simple one-dimensional model which describes the electron emission process and predicts the phenomena just mentioned is presented and is shown to agree qualitatively with these observations. Experimental results of the first stage of bilateral cooperation with the Italian Institute of Interplanetary Space Physics (IFSI CNR) are presented. Sharp, well-defined double layers were observed downstream of a contactor collecting electrons from an ambient plasma created in the IFSI Facility. The voltage drop across these double layers was observed to increase with the current drawn from the ambient plasma. This observation, which was not as clear in previous IFSI tests conducted at higher neutral pressures, is in agreement with previous experimental observations made at both Colorado State University and NASA Lewis Research Center. Greater double layer voltage drops, multiple double layers, and higher noise levels in the region near the double layers were also observed when a magnetic field was imposed and oriented perpendicular to the line joining the contactor and simulator.

Optical Guiding in the Separable Beam Limit,

DTIC Science & Technology

1987-09-01

UNIV COLLEGE PARK LAB FOR PLASMA AND FUSION ENERGY STUDIES T M ANTONSEN ET AL SEP 87 UMLPF-BB-Bui UNCLASSIFIED N8884-6-K-2 85 F/G 9/2 N E m9h hOTCA...University of Maryland, D-Aiitiun f Laboratory for Plasma and Fusion Energy Studies Av-,-~t Codes DISTEIBTION GT TMNTA Approved for public releaBOI...Distfibution Unlimited OPTICAL GUIDING IN THE SEPARABLE BEAM LIMIT T. M. Antonsen, Jr. and B. Levush Laboratory for Plasma and Fusion Energy Studies University

Intense laser pulse propagation in capillary discharge plasma channels

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

Hubbard, R.F.; Moore, C.I.; Sprangle, P.

Optical guiding of intense laser pulses is required for plasma-based accelerator concepts such as the laser wakefield accelerator. Reported experiments have successfully transported intense laser pulses in the hollow plasma column produced by a capillary discharge. The hollow plasma has an index of refraction which peaks on-axis, thus providing optical guiding which overcomes beam expansion due to diffraction. In more recent experiments at Hebrew University, 800 nm wavelength, 0.1 mJ, 100 fs pulses have been guided in {approximately}300 micron radius capillaries over distances as long as 6.6 cm. Simulations of these experiments using a 2-D nonlinear laser propagation model producemore » the expected optical guiding, with the laser pulse radius r{sub L} exhibiting oscillations about the equilibrium value predicted by an analytical envelope equation model. The oscillations are damped at the front of the pulse and grow in amplitude in the back of the pulse. This growth and damping is attributed to finite pulse length effects. Simulations also show that further ionization of the discharge plasma by the laser pulse may hollow the laser pulse and introduce modulations in the spot size. This ionization-defocusing effect is expected to be significant at the high intensities required for accelerator application. Capillary discharge experiments at much higher intensities are in progress on the Naval Research Laboratory T{sup 3} laser, and preliminary results are reported. {copyright} {ital 1999 American Institute of Physics.}« less

High energy density Z-pinch plasmas using flow stabilization

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

Shumlak, U., E-mail: shumlak@uw.edu; Golingo, R. P., E-mail: shumlak@uw.edu; Nelson, B. A., E-mail: shumlak@uw.edu

The ZaP Flow Z-Pinch research project[1] at the University of Washington investigates the effect of sheared flows on MHD instabilities. Axially flowing Z-pinch plasmas are produced that are 100 cm long with a 1 cm radius. The plasma remains quiescent for many radial Alfvén times and axial flow times. The quiescent periods are characterized by low magnetic mode activity measured at several locations along the plasma column and by stationary visible plasma emission. Plasma evolution is modeled with high-resolution simulation codes – Mach2, WARPX, NIMROD, and HiFi. Plasma flow profiles are experimentally measured with a multi-chord ion Doppler spectrometer. Amore » sheared flow profile is observed to be coincident with the quiescent period, and is consistent with classical plasma viscosity. Equilibrium is determined by diagnostic measurements: interferometry for density; spectroscopy for ion temperature, plasma flow, and density[2]; Thomson scattering for electron temperature; Zeeman splitting for internal magnetic field measurements[3]; and fast framing photography for global structure. Wall stabilization has been investigated computationally and experimentally by removing 70% of the surrounding conducting wall to demonstrate no change in stability behavior.[4] Experimental evidence suggests that the plasma lifetime is only limited by plasma supply and current waveform. The flow Z-pinch concept provides an approach to achieve high energy density plasmas,[5] which are large, easy to diagnose, and persist for extended durations. A new experiment, ZaP-HD, has been built to investigate this approach by separating the flow Z-pinch formation from the radial compression using a triaxial-electrode configuration. This innovation allows more detailed investigations of the sheared flow stabilizing effect, and it allows compression to much higher densities than previously achieved on ZaP by reducing the linear density and increasing the pinch current. Experimental results and scaling analyses will be presented. In addition to studying fundamental plasma science and high energy density physics, the ZaP and ZaP-HD experiments can be applied to laboratory astrophysics.« less

Analysis of Solar Coronal Holes with Synoptic Magnetogram Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Canner, A.; Kim, T. K.; Pogorelov, N.; Yalim, M. S.

2017-12-01

Coronal holes are regions in which the magnetic field of the Sun is open with high magnetic flux and low plasma density. Because of the low plasma beta in these regions, the open field lines transport plasma from the Sun throughout the heliosphere. Coronal hole area is closely related to the expansion factor of the magnetic flux tube, as demonstrated by Tokumaru et al. (2017). Following the approach of Tokumaru et al. (2017), we employ a potential field source surface model to identify the open field regions on the photosphere and estimate the area and expansion factor for each coronal hole. While Tokumaru et al. (2017) analyzed synoptic maps from Kitt Peak National Observatory for the period 1995-2011, we use different magnetograph observations with higher spatial resolution (e.g., SOHO-MDI) for the same time period. We compare the coronal hole area - expansion factor relationship with the original results of Tokumaru et al (2017). This work was supported by the NSF-funded Research Experience for Undergraduates program "Solar and Heliospheric Physics at UAH and MSFC" run by the University of Alabama in Huntsville in partnership with the Marshall Space Flight Center through grant AGS-1460767.

Drift Wave Chaos and Turbulence in a LAPTAG Plasma Physics experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Katz, Cami; Gekelman, Walter; Pribyl, Patrick; Wise, Joe; Birge-Lee, Henry; Baker, Bob; Marmie, Ken; Thomas, Sam; Buckley-Bonnano, Samuel

2015-11-01

Whenever there is a pressure gradient in a magnetized plasma drift waves occur spontaneously. Drift waves have density and electrical potential fluctuations but no self magnetic field. In our experiment the drift waves form spontaneously in a narrow plasma column. (ne = 5 ×1011 cm3 , Te = 5 eV , B = 200 Gauss, dia = 25 cm , L = 1 . 5 m). As the drift waves grow from noise simple averaging techniques cannot be used to map them out in space and time. The ion saturation current Isat n√{Te} is recorded for an ensemble of 50 shots on a fixed probe located on the density gradient and for a movable probe. The probe signals are not sinusoidal and are filtered to calculate the cross-spectral function CSF = ∫ ∑ nshot Ifix, ωr->1 , tImov , ω (r->1 + δr-> , t + τ) dt , which can be used to extract the temporal and spatially varying wave patterns. The dominant wave at 18 kHz is a rotating spiral with m =2. LAPTAG is a university-high school alliance outreach program, which has been in existence for over 20 years. Work done at the BaPSF and supported by NSF/DOE.

Recent developments in shock tube research; Proceedings of the Ninth International Symposium, Stanford University, Stanford, Calif., July 16-19, 1973

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bershader, D. (Editor); Griffith, W.

1973-01-01

Recent advances in shock tube research are described in papers dealing with the design and performance features of new devices as well as applications in aerodynamic, chemical, and physics experiments. Topics considered include a cryogenic shock tube for studying liquid helium fluid mechanics, studies of shock focusing and nonlinear resonance in shock tubes, applications in gas laser studies, very-low and very-high temperature chemical kinetic measurements, shock tube studies of ionization and recombination phenomena, applications in bioacoustic research, shock-tube simulation studies of sonic booms, and plasma research. Individual items are announced in this issue.

Quark Matter and Nuclear Collisions a Brief History of Strong Interaction Thermodynamics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Satz, Helmut

2012-08-01

The past 50 years have seen the emergence of a new field of research in physics, the study of matter at extreme temperatures and densities. The theory of strong interactions, quantum chromodynamics (QCD), predicts that in this limit, matter will become a plasma of deconfined quarks and gluons — the medium which made up the early universe in the first 10 microseconds after the Big Bang. High energy nuclear collisions are expected to produce short-lived bubbles of such a medium in the laboratory. I survey the merger of statistical QCD and nuclear collision studies for the analysis of strongly interacting matter in theory and experiment.

Understanding Solar Coronal Heating through Atomic and Plasma Physics Experiments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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

2017-08-01

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

Understanding Solar Coronal Heating through Atomic and Plasma Physics Experiments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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

2017-06-01

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

Fundamental Mechanisms, Predictive Modeling, and Novel Aerospace Applications of Plasma Assisted Combustion. Overview of OSU Research Plan

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-11-04

air, low-temperature plasma chemistry kinetic model Nonequilibrium Thermodynamics Laboratories The Ohio State University • Air plasma model...problems require separate analysis: • Nsec pulse plasma / sheath models cannot incorporate detailed reactive plasma chemistry : too many species ( 100...and reactions ( 1 000)~ ~ , • Detailed plasma chemistry models (quasi-neutral) cannot incorporate repetitive, nsec time scale sheath dynamics and plasma

Preface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eliasson, B.; Stenflo, L.; Bingham, R.; Mendonça, J. T.; Mamun, A. A.; Shaikh, D.

2010-08-01

It is our great pleasure to dedicate this special issue of Journal of Plasma Physics to our dear friend and colleague Professor Padma Kant Shukla on the occasion of his 60th birthday on 7th July 2010. Padma is one of the most prominent and productive scientists in plasma physics and in neighboring fields, and has published more than 1300 papers in scientific journals. It has for some time been the aim of his friends to honor him on this occasion, and earlier this year we sent out invitations to distinguished scientists who have collaborated with Padma over the years. The response has been overwhelming, and we collected 43 manuscripts, covering a diverse range of topics in plasma physics, which are now published in this issue. We believe that these papers reflect some of the impact of Padma's research in plasma physics.

On the physics of the pressure and temperature gradients in the edge of tokamak plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stacey, Weston M.

2018-04-01

An extended plasma fluid theory including atomic physics, radiation, electromagnetic and themodynamic forces, external sources of particles, momentum and energy, and kinetic ion orbit loss is employed to derive theoretical expressions that display the role of the various factors involved in the determination of the pressure and temperature gradients in the edge of tokamak plasmas. Calculations for current experiments are presented to illustrate the magnitudes of various effects including strong radiative and atomic physics edge cooling effects and strong reduction in ion particle and energy fluxes due to ion orbit loss in the plasma edge. An important new insight is the strong relation between rotation and the edge pressure gradient.

The effects of diet and physical activity on plasma homovanillic acid in normal human subjects.

PubMed

Kendler, K S; Mohs, R C; Davis, K L

1983-03-01

This study examines the effect of diet and moderate physical activity on plasma levels of the dopamine metabolite homovanillic acid (HVA) in healthy young males. At weekly intervals, subjects were fed four isocaloric meals: polycose (pure carbohydrate), sustecal, low monoamine, and high monoamine. Moderate physical activity consisted of 30 minutes of exercise on a bicycle ergometer. The effect of diet on plasma HVA (pHVA) was highly significant. Compared to the polycose meal, the high monoamine meal significantly increased pHVA. Moderate physical activity also significantly increased pHVA. Future clinical studies using pHVA in man as an index of brain dopamine function should control for the effects of both diet and physical activity.

Dedication to Professor Hannspeter Winter (1941 2006): Dedication to Professor Hannspeter Winter (1941 2006)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McCullough, Bob

2007-03-01

Professor H Winter. It was with great sadness that we learnt of the death of colleague and friend Professor Hannspeter Winter in Vienna on the 8 November 2006. In memory of him and the contribution he made both to our conference and to the field of the physics of highly charged ions we dedicate these proceedings. Hannspeter was one of our distinguished invited speakers at HCI2006 and gave a talk on the status of the ITER programme. His invited paper on the subject is included in these proceedings. Hannspeter will be particularly remembered for his pioneering work on ion-surface interactions that, together with his colleagues at the Vienna University of Technology (TUW), has stimulated a worldwide experimental and theoretical interest in this field. He was appointed Director of the Institut fuer Allgemeine Physik at TUW in 1987 and using both his scientific and management skills has made it one of the leading university physics laboratories in the world. His research publications, of which there are 270, have inspired many others to work in the field of atomic and plasma physics. He was also a great European playing a major role in the EURATOM fusion programme, the European Physical Society and the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics and was an evaluator and advisory board member for many national and international institutions. Hannspeter was also an interesting and friendly social companion with interests in current affairs, music and fine wines and will be greatly missed both on a scientific and social level. Our condolences go to his wife Renate, son Dorian and his relatives. R W McCullough Co-chair HCI2006

Noble Gas Plasmas with Metallic Conductivity: A New Light Source from a New State of Matter

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-11-01

light, Applied Physics Letters, (12 2014): 223501. doi: A. Bataller, B. Kappus , C. Camara, S. Putterman. Collision Time Measurements in a...Plasma Extremes Seen through Gas Bubble, Physics, (07 2014): 0. doi: 10.1103/Physics.7.72 A. Bataller, G.?R. Plateau, B. Kappus , S. Putterman

America COMPETES Act and the FY2010 Budget

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-06-29

Outstanding Junior Investigator, Fusion Energy Sciences Plasma Physics Junior Faculty Development; Advanced Scientific Computing Research Early Career...the Fusion Energy Sciences Graduate Fellowships.2 If members of Congress agree with this contention, these America COMPETES Act programs were...Physics Outstanding Junior Investigator, Fusion Energy Sciences Plasma Physics Junior Faculty Development; Advanced Scientific Computing Research Early

Welcome to the 21st International Conference on Spectral Line Shapes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2012-12-01

Dear Participants and Guests On behalf of the Rector's Office, welcome to St. Petersburg University, one of the oldest, largest and most prestigious universities in Russia. The 12 Colleges Building (named after the Collegia of Peter the Great's time, Ministries in the modern sense of the word) has been home to the University since 1804. St. Petersburg State University is the successor of the first Russian University founded by Peter the Great on 24 January 1724. It's distinguished faculty members include mathematicians Chebyshev and Smirnov, physicists Lenz and Fock, chemists Mendeleev and Butlerov, embryologist Kovalevsky, and physiologist Sechenov. Several of our alumni won Nobel Prizes - Pavlov, Semenov, Kantorovich, Landau and Prokhorov. The University is the alma mater of two presidents of Russia, Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Medvedev. St. Petersburg State University today consists of 19 faculties on two campuses: in the historic downtown, on Vasilyevsky Island, and in Peterhof. The Faculty of Physics carries out research projects through the efforts of 260 employees, of which 150 hold doctoral degrees, and 50 have been awarded Grand Doctorates. The work is done in a vast variety of areas, from the physics of elementary particles to the physics of the atmosphere. Optics and spectroscopy has been a particularly significant area of research. This field of inquiry goes back to the work of Academician D S Rozhdestvensky more than 70 years ago, when he first suggested his famous hook method. After him the work was headed by S Frisch, corresponding member of the Academy of Sciences and editor-in-chief of Optics and Spectroscopy Journal. Today research projects in optics involve over 50 staff members, graduate and post-graduate students. Work involves projects on spectroscopy of cold and hot plasma, atomic and molecular spectroscopy, non-linear spectroscopy and spectroscopic analysis. Our scholars support active international ties with their colleagues worldwide. The organizing committee of the conference has not forgotten about the cultural and tourism significance of the host city, with Hermitage and the Russian Museum, memorial museums of Pushkin and Dostoevsky, Mariinsky and Mikhailovsky Theaters being only a few of the many places to visit. Early June is the time of white nights, the best time to visit the environs of St. Petersburg with its many imperial palaces and parks, and attend multiple music and theater festivals. This is just the right time to take a break from physics overall and spectral line shapes in particular. On behalf of the Rector's Office let me wish the Conference every success, and do not forget to take some time out to enjoy your visit. Welcome! Professor N G Skvortsov Vice-Rector for Research St. Petersburg University

The kINPen—a review on physics and chemistry of the atmospheric pressure plasma jet and its applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reuter, Stephan; von Woedtke, Thomas; Weltmann, Klaus-Dieter

2018-06-01

The kINPen® plasma jet was developed from laboratory prototype to commercially available non-equilibrium cold plasma jet for various applications in materials research, surface treatment and medicine. It has proven to be a valuable plasma source for industry as well as research and commercial use in plasma medicine, leading to very successful therapeutic results and its certification as a medical device. This topical review presents the different kINPen plasma sources available. Diagnostic techniques applied to the kINPen are introduced. The review summarizes the extensive studies of the physics and plasma chemistry of the kINPen performed by research groups across the world, and closes with a brief overview of the main application fields.

Deuterium Abundance in Consciousness and Current Cosmology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rauscher, Elizabeth A.

We utilize the deuterium-hydrogen abundances and their role in setting limits on the mass and other conditions of cosmogenesis and cosmological evolution. We calculate the dependence of a set of physical variables such as density, temperature, energy mass, entropy and other physical variable parameters through the evolution of the universe under the Schwarzschild conditions as a function from early to present time. Reconciliation with the 3°K and missing mass is made. We first examine the Schwarzschild condition; second, the geometrical constraints of a multidimensional Cartesian space on closed cosmologies, and third we will consider the cosmogenesis and evolution of the universe in a multidimensional Cartesian space, obeying the Schwarzschild condition. Implications of this model for matter creation are made. We also examine experimental evidence for closed versus open cosmologies; x-ray detection of the "missing mass" density. Also the interstellar deuterium abundance, along with the value of the Hubble constant set a general criterion on the value of the curvature constant, k. Once the value of the Hubble constant, H is determined, the deuterium abundance sets stringent restrictions on the value of the curvature constant k by an detailed discussion is presented. The experimental evidences for the determination of H and the primary set of coupled equations to determine D abundance is given. 'The value of k for an open, closed, or flat universe will be discussed in terms of the D abundance which will affect the interpretation of the Schwarzschild, black hole universe. We determine cosmology solutions to Einstein's field obeying the Schwarzschild solutions condition. With this model, we can form a reconciliation of the black hole, from galactic to cosmological scale. Continuous creation occurs at the dynamic blackhole plasma field. We term this new model the multiple big bang or "little whimper model". We utilize the deuteriumhydrogen abundances and their role in setting limits on the mass and other conditions of cosmogenesis and cosmological evolution. We calculate the dependence of a set of physical variables such as density, temperature, energy mass, entropy and other physical variable parameters through the evolution of the universe under the Schwarzschild conditions as a function from early to present time. Reconciliation with the 3°K background and missing mass is made.

Physics objectives of PI3 spherical tokamak program

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Howard, Stephen; Laberge, Michel; Reynolds, Meritt; O'Shea, Peter; Ivanov, Russ; Young, William; Carle, Patrick; Froese, Aaron; Epp, Kelly

2017-10-01

Achieving net energy gain with a Magnetized Target Fusion (MTF) system requires the initial plasma state to satisfy a set of performance goals, such as particle inventory (1021 ions), sufficient magnetic flux (0.3 Wb) to confine the plasma without MHD instability, and initial energy confinement time several times longer than the compression time. General Fusion (GF) is now constructing Plasma Injector 3 (PI3) to explore the physics of reactor-scale plasmas. Energy considerations lead us to design around an initial state of Rvessel = 1 m. PI3 will use fast coaxial helicity injection via a Marshall gun to create a spherical tokamak plasma, with no additional heating. MTF requires solenoid-free startup with no vertical field coils, and will rely on flux conservation by a metal wall. PI3 is 5x larger than SPECTOR so is expected to yield magnetic lifetime increase of 25x, while peak temperature of PI3 is expected to be similar (400-500 eV) Physics investigations will study MHD activity and the resistive and convective evolution of current, temperature and density profiles. We seek to understand the confinement physics, radiative loss, thermal and particle transport, recycling and edge physics of PI3.

Features of behavior of the plasma area formed by explosion spent in range of heights of 100-1000 km

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vasilev, Mikhail; Kholodov, Alexander; Stupitsky, Evgeny; Repin, Andrew

Explosive plasma experiments remain the important means of research of geophysical effects in the top ionosphere and magnetosphere. In particular their results can be useful for development of full model of powerful geomagnetic storms. Scientific and applied value of such experiments depends on our ability to simulate them numerically and to understand the physical processes. Complexity of mathematical modelling of such experiments is caused by two circumstances - complexity and variety of physical processes, and large-scale three-dimensional current of plasma. It's important to note that not all features of the processes under consideration are well known and well modelled. And plasma parameters in the indignant area can vary up to 5-7 orders. During last several years we have developed universal enough 3D algorithm for the simulation of large-scale movement of the plasma, based on MHD approach. Diffusion of a magnetic field and the ionization structure of plasma and air is considered. The full algorithm includes the most initial the radiation-gas dynamic stage, a stage of inertial scattering when the charging structure of plasma is formed, a stage of braking of plasma a geomagnetic field and the rarefied ionosphere and later (down to 100-500 s) the stage of convective movements of plasma in a geomagnetic field and the rarefied ionosphere. The algorithm is based on special updating of a monotonous conservative variant of grid-characteristic method 2-3 orders of the approximation, including splitting on spatial variables. Calculations of explosion of energy about 1015 J are executed for some heights from a range of 100-1000 km. Character of development of current essentially varies depending on height. For 100-120 km current is close to bi-dimensional, in an initial stage the shock wave is formed, and for the period of 40-60 seconds the plasma area rises up to 300 km. At heights more than 150 km current, for a while more than 5 seconds are got with character of a powerful ascending jet. The wave comes off plasma the magneto sonic wave and quickly extends along a surface of globe. With increase in height of explosion (400-700 km) the jet gets flat character with primary distribution of weight in a plane of a magnetic meridian. It is gradually developed on a magnetic field, saving the certain inclination in relation to it. At explosions at heights more than 400 km scales current of plasma make more than 1000 km. It is shown, that the plasma area is a source of global low-frequency electromagnetic disturbance. Their parameters are estimated. At energy more than certain size, becomes possible having dug magnetosphere and global infringements in its structure, which depends on height and breadth of explosion. The developed numerical method allows to investigate a relaxation magnetosphere after such artificial indignations and at powerful magnetic storms.

The QUANTGRID Project (RO)—Quantum Security in GRID Computing Applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dima, M.; Dulea, M.; Petre, M.; Petre, C.; Mitrica, B.; Stoica, M.; Udrea, M.; Sterian, R.; Sterian, P.

2010-01-01

The QUANTGRID Project, financed through the National Center for Programme Management (CNMP-Romania), is the first attempt at using Quantum Crypted Communications (QCC) in large scale operations, such as GRID Computing, and conceivably in the years ahead in the banking sector and other security tight communications. In relation with the GRID activities of the Center for Computing & Communications (Nat.'l Inst. Nucl. Phys.—IFIN-HH), the Quantum Optics Lab. (Nat.'l Inst. Plasma and Lasers—INFLPR) and the Physics Dept. (University Polytechnica—UPB) the project will build a demonstrator infrastructure for this technology. The status of the project in its incipient phase is reported, featuring tests for communications in classical security mode: socket level communications under AES (Advanced Encryption Std.), both proprietary code in C++ technology. An outline of the planned undertaking of the project is communicated, highlighting its impact in quantum physics, coherent optics and information technology.

Atomic Physics Effects on Convergent, Child-Langmuir Ion Flow between Nearly Transparent Electrodes

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

Santarius, John F.; Emmert, Gilbert A.

Research during this project at the University of Wisconsin Fusion Technology Institute (UW FTI) on ion and neutral flow through an arbitrary, monotonic potential difference created by nearly transparent electrodes accomplished the following: (1) developed and implemented an integral equation approach for atomic physics effects in helium plasmas; (2) extended the analysis to coupled integral equations that treat atomic and molecular deuterium ions and neutrals; (3) implemented the key deuterium and helium atomic and molecular cross sections; (4) added negative ion production and related cross sections; and (5) benchmarked the code against experimental results. The analysis and codes treat themore » species D0, D20, D+, D2+, D3+, D and, separately at present, He0 and He+. Extensions enhanced the analysis and related computer codes to include He++ ions plus planar and cylindrical geometries.« less

Advancing the understanding of plasma transport in mid-size stellarators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hidalgo, Carlos; Talmadge, Joseph; Ramisch, Mirko; TJ-II, the; HXS; TJ-K Teams

2017-01-01

The tokamak and the stellarator are the two main candidate concepts for magnetically confining fusion plasmas. The flexibility of the mid-size stellarator devices together with their unique diagnostic capabilities make them ideally suited to study the relation between magnetic topology, electric fields and transport. This paper addresses advances in the understanding of plasma transport in mid-size stellarators with an emphasis on the physics of flows, transport control, impurity and particle transport and fast particles. The results described here emphasize an improved physics understanding of phenomena in stellarators that complements the empirical approach. Experiments in mid-size stellarators support the development of advanced plasma scenarios in Wendelstein 7-X (W7-X) and, in concert with better physics understanding in tokamaks, may ultimately lead to an advance in the prediction of burning plasma behaviour.

Squeezing of Particle Distributions by Expanding Magnetic Turbulence and Space Weather Variability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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

2014-12-01

Among the space weather effects due to gradual solar storms, greatly enhanced high-energy ion fluxes can cause radiation damage to satellites, spacecraft, and astronauts, which motivates examination of the transport of high-energy solar ions to Earth orbit. Ions of low kinetic energy (up to ˜2sim 2 MeV/nucleon) from impulsive solar events exhibit abrupt changes due to filamentation of magnetic connection from the Sun, indicating that anisotropic, field-aligned magnetic flux tube-like structures persist to Earth orbit. By employing a corresponding spherical two-component model of Alfv'enic (slab) and 2D magnetic fluctuations to trace simulated trajectories in the solar wind, we show that the distribution of high-energy (E≥1Egeq1 GeV) protons from gradual solar events is squeezed toward magnetic flux structures with a specific polarity due to the conical shape of the flux structures, which results from the expanding flow of the solar wind. It is difficult to observationally determine what polarity of flux structure the Earth is in at a given time, so this transport phenomenon contributes to event-to-event variability in ground level enhancements of GeV-range ions from solar storms, presenting a fundamental uncertainty in space weather prediction. Partially supported by the Thailand Research Fund, a Postdoctoral Fellowship from the Thailand Center of Excellence in Physics, a Research Fellowship from the Faculty of Science, Mahidol University, the U.S. NSF (AGS-1063439 and SHINE AGS-1156094), NASA (Heliophysics Theory NNX08AI47G & NNX11AJ44G), and the Solar Probe Plus/ISIS project. KEYWORDS: [7807] SPACE PLASMA PHYSICS / Charged particle motion and acceleration, [7863] SPACE PLASMA PHYSICS / Turbulence, [2118] INTERPLANETARY PHYSICS / Energetic particles, solar, [7984] SPACE WEATHER / Space radiation environment

Response to "Comment on `Magnetic geometry and physics of advanced divertors: The X-divertor and the snowflake' " [Phys. Plasmas 21, 054701 (2014)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kotschenreuther, Mike; Valanju, Prashant; Covele, Brent; Mahajan, Swadesh

2014-05-01

Relying on coil positions relative to the plasma, the "Comment on `Magnetic geometry and physics of advanced divertors: The X-divertor and the snowflake' " [Phys. Plasmas 21, 054701 (2014)], emphasizes a criterion for divertor characterization that was critiqued to be ill posed [M. Kotschenreuther et al., Phys. Plasmas 20, 102507 (2013)]. We find that no substantive physical differences flow from this criteria. However, using these criteria, the successful NSTX experiment by Ryutov et al. [Phys. Plasmas 21, 054701 (2014)] has the coil configuration of an X-divertor (XD), rather than a snowflake (SF). On completing the divertor index (DI) versus distance graph for this NSTX shot (which had an inexplicably missing region), we find that the DI is like an XD for most of the outboard wetted divertor plate. Further, the "proximity condition," used to define an SF [M. Kotschenreuther et al., Phys. Plasmas 20, 102507 (2013)], does not have a substantive physics basis to override metrics based on flux expansion and line length. Finally, if the criteria of the comment are important, then the results of NSTX-like experiments could have questionable applicability to reactors.

PREFACE Preface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Degrez, Gérard; van der Mullen, Joost

2011-01-01

It is with pleasure and pride that we present the selected contributions from participants of the 11th High-Tech Plasma Processes conference. This conference, which took place in Brussels from June 28 to July 2 2010, is based on a European forum with a history of more than twenty years. The conference series started as a thermal plasma conference and gradually expanded to include other topics and fields as well. HTPP 11 was organized in collaboration with the Belgian Interuniversity Attraction Pole (IAP): Physical chemistry of Plasma-surface Interactions (PSI-ψ). The program was devised by the plasma group of the Technische Universiteit Eindhoven in collaboration with the IAP, the Association Arc Electrique and the International Scientific Committee. The organization was guided by the Steering Committee and supervised by the two founding members, Jacques Amouroux and Pierre Fauchais. HTPP aims to bring together different scientific communities to facilitate contacts between science, technology and industry, providing a platform for the exploration of elementary processes in and by plasmas. This implies that, apart from fundamental topics, considerable attention is paid to new plasma applications; plasma engineering in Europe is one of the main driving forces behind HTPP. The conference supports the dissemination of methods for plasma diagnostics and monitoring and the exchange of models for plasmas sources and plasma applications. A novelty of HTPP 11 was the model market; a special type of poster session where running models were demonstrated and spectators were challenged to assemble their own plasma models using one of the available construction platforms. For the first time in this series of conferences, the proceedings are published in two companion issues: Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics, which presents a selection of papers including invited and keynote papers, and the Journal of Physics: Conference Series. The present volume of the Journal of Physics: Conference Series includes 21 papers devoted to various branches of plasma physics. In line with the objectives of the HTPP conference, you will find papers on plasma sources, diagnostics and theory, covering the fields of thermal and non-thermal (even cold) plasmas, plasma-electrode interactions, surface treatment, synthesis, light generation and transport, and on applications in the fields of environmental technologies, biochemistry, and aeronautical and space sciences. We would like to thank the members of the various committees, the participants who sent their contributions and the referees who did an excellent job giving support to improve the manuscripts. We greatly appreciate the financial support from the conference sponsors: Association Arc Electrique, Belspo (Belgian Science Policy), Fonds National de la Recherche Scientifique, Ocean Optics Inc., Technifutur - Pôle Génie Mécanique & Solvay S.A.. Gérard DegrezChairman of the Local Organizing Committee Joost van der MullenChairman of the Steering Committee

Quasilinear theory of plasma turbulence. Origins, ideas, and evolution of the method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bakunin, O. G.

2018-01-01

The quasilinear method of describing weak plasma turbulence is one of the most important elements of current plasma physics research. Today, this method is not only a tool for solving individual problems but a full-fledged theory of general physical interest. The author's objective is to show how the early ideas of describing the wave-particle interactions in a plasma have evolved as a result of the rapid expansion of the research interests of turbulence and turbulent transport theorists.

Simulating plasma production from hypervelocity impacts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fletcher, Alex; Close, Sigrid; Mathias, Donovan

2015-09-01

Hypervelocity particles, such as meteoroids and space debris, routinely impact spacecraft and are energetic enough to vaporize and ionize themselves and as well as a portion of the target material. The resulting plasma rapidly expands into the surrounding vacuum. While plasma measurements from hypervelocity impacts have been made using ground-based technologies such as light gas guns and Van de Graaff dust accelerators, some of the basic plasma properties vary significantly between experiments. There have been both ground-based and in-situ measurements of radio frequency (RF) emission from hypervelocity impacts, but the physical mechanism responsible and the possible connection to the impact-produced plasma are not well understood. Under certain conditions, the impact-produced plasma can have deleterious effects on spacecraft electronics by providing a new current path, triggering an electrostatic discharge, causing electromagnetic interference, or generating an electromagnetic pulse. Multi-physics simulations of plasma production from hypervelocity impacts are presented. These simulations incorporate elasticity and plasticity of the solid target, phase change and plasma formation, and non-ideal plasma physics due to the high density and low temperature of the plasma. A smoothed particle hydrodynamics method is used to perform a continuum dynamics simulation with these additional physics. By examining a series of hypervelocity impacts, basic properties of the impact produced plasma plume (density, temperature, expansion speed, charge state) are determined for impactor speeds between 10 and 72 km/s. For a large range of higher impact speeds (30-72 km/s), we find the temperature is unvarying at 2.5 eV. We also find that the plasma plume is weakly ionized for impact speeds less than 14 km/s and fully ionized for impact speeds greater than 20 km/s, independent of impactor mass. This is the same velocity threshold for the detection of RF emission in recent Van de Graaff experiments, suggesting that the RF is correlated to the formation of fully ionized plasma.

Simulating plasma production from hypervelocity impacts

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

Fletcher, Alex, E-mail: alexcf@stanford.edu; Close, Sigrid; Mathias, Donovan

2015-09-15

Hypervelocity particles, such as meteoroids and space debris, routinely impact spacecraft and are energetic enough to vaporize and ionize themselves and as well as a portion of the target material. The resulting plasma rapidly expands into the surrounding vacuum. While plasma measurements from hypervelocity impacts have been made using ground-based technologies such as light gas guns and Van de Graaff dust accelerators, some of the basic plasma properties vary significantly between experiments. There have been both ground-based and in-situ measurements of radio frequency (RF) emission from hypervelocity impacts, but the physical mechanism responsible and the possible connection to the impact-producedmore » plasma are not well understood. Under certain conditions, the impact-produced plasma can have deleterious effects on spacecraft electronics by providing a new current path, triggering an electrostatic discharge, causing electromagnetic interference, or generating an electromagnetic pulse. Multi-physics simulations of plasma production from hypervelocity impacts are presented. These simulations incorporate elasticity and plasticity of the solid target, phase change and plasma formation, and non-ideal plasma physics due to the high density and low temperature of the plasma. A smoothed particle hydrodynamics method is used to perform a continuum dynamics simulation with these additional physics. By examining a series of hypervelocity impacts, basic properties of the impact produced plasma plume (density, temperature, expansion speed, charge state) are determined for impactor speeds between 10 and 72 km/s. For a large range of higher impact speeds (30–72 km/s), we find the temperature is unvarying at 2.5 eV. We also find that the plasma plume is weakly ionized for impact speeds less than 14 km/s and fully ionized for impact speeds greater than 20 km/s, independent of impactor mass. This is the same velocity threshold for the detection of RF emission in recent Van de Graaff experiments, suggesting that the RF is correlated to the formation of fully ionized plasma.« less

On the universality of thermodynamics and η/s ratio for the charged Lovelock black branes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cadoni, Mariano; Frassino, Antonia M.; Tuveri, Matteo

2016-05-01

We investigate general features of charged Lovelock black branes by giving a detailed description of geometrical, thermodynamic and holographic properties of charged Gauss-Bonnet (GB) black branes in five dimensions. We show that when expressed in terms of effective physical parameters, the thermodynamic behaviour of charged GB black branes is completely indistinguishable from that of charged Einstein black branes. Moreover, the extremal, near-horizon limit of the two classes of branes is exactly the same as they allow for the same AdS2 × R 3, near-horizon, exact solution. This implies that, although in the UV the associated dual QFTs are different, they flow in the IR to the same fixed point. The calculation of the shear viscosity to entropy ratio η/s confirms these results. Despite the GB dual plasma has in general a non-universal temperature-dependent η/s, it flows monotonically to the universal value 1 /4 π in the IR. For negative (positive) GB coupling constant, η/s is an increasing (decreasing) function of the temperature and the flow respects (violates) the KSS bound.

Ion Chemistry in Atmospheric and Astrophysical Plasmas

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dalgarno, A.; Fox, J. L.

1994-01-01

There are many differences and also remarkable similarities between the ion chemistry and physics of planetary ionospheres and the ion chemistry and physics of astronomical environments beyond the solar system. In the early Universe, an expanded cooling gas of hydrogen and helium was embedded in the cosmic background radiation field and ionized by it. As the Universe cooled by adiabatic expansion, recombination occurred and molecular formation was driven by catalytic reactions involving the relict electrons and protons. Similar chemical processes are effective in the ionized zones of gaseous and planetary nebulae and in stellar winds where the ionization is due to radiation from the central stars, in the envelopes of supernovae where the ionization is initiated by the deposition of gamma-rays, in dissociative shocks where the ionization arises from electron impacts in a hot gas and in quasar broad-line region clouds where the quasar is responsible for the ionization. At high altitudes in the atmospheres of the Jovian planets, the main constituents are hydrogen and helium and the ion chemistry and physics is determined by the same processes, the source of the ionization being solar ultraviolet radiation and cosmic rays. After the collapse of the first distinct astronomical entities to emerge from the uniform flow, heavy elements were created by nuclear burning in the cores of the collapsed objects and distributed throughout the Universe by winds and explosions. The chemistry and physics became more complicated. Over 90 distinct molecular species have been identified in interstellar clouds where they are ionized globally by cosmic ray impacts and locally by radiation and shocks associated with star formation and evolution. Complex molecules have also been found in circumstellar shells of evolved stars. At intermediate and low altitudes in the Jovian atmospheres, the ion chemistry is complicated by the increasing abundance of heavy elements such as carbon, and an extensive array of complex molecules has been predicted. Reactions involving heavy elements dominate the structure of the ionspheres of the terrestrial planets and the satellites Titan and Triton.

Hybrid-PIC Computer Simulation of the Plasma and Erosion Processes in Hall Thrusters

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hofer, Richard R.; Katz, Ira; Mikellides, Ioannis G.; Gamero-Castano, Manuel

2010-01-01

HPHall software simulates and tracks the time-dependent evolution of the plasma and erosion processes in the discharge chamber and near-field plume of Hall thrusters. HPHall is an axisymmetric solver that employs a hybrid fluid/particle-in-cell (Hybrid-PIC) numerical approach. HPHall, originally developed by MIT in 1998, was upgraded to HPHall-2 by the Polytechnic University of Madrid in 2006. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory has continued the development of HPHall-2 through upgrades to the physical models employed in the code, and the addition of entirely new ones. Primary among these are the inclusion of a three-region electron mobility model that more accurately depicts the cross-field electron transport, and the development of an erosion sub-model that allows for the tracking of the erosion of the discharge chamber wall. The code is being developed to provide NASA science missions with a predictive tool of Hall thruster performance and lifetime that can be used to validate Hall thrusters for missions.

EXPERIMENTAL AND MONTE CARLO INVESTIGATIONS OF BCF-12 SMALL‑AREA PLASTIC SCINTILLATION DETECTORS FOR NEUTRON PINHOLE CAMERA.

PubMed

Bielecki, J; Drozdowicz, K; Dworak, D; Igielski, A; Janik, W; Kulinska, A; Marciniak, L; Scholz, M; Turzanski, M; Wiacek, U; Woznicka, U; Wójcik-Gargula, A

2017-12-11

Plastic organic scintillators such as the blue-emitting BCF-12 are versatile and inexpensive tools. Recently, BCF-12 scintillators have been foreseen for investigation of the spatial distribution of neutrons emitted from dense magnetized plasma. For this purpose, small-area (5 mm × 5 mm) detectors based on BCF-12 scintillation rods and Hamamatsu photomultiplier tubes were designed and constructed at the Institute of Nuclear Physics. They will be located inside the neutron pinhole camera of the PF-24 plasma focus device. Two different geometrical layouts and approaches to the construction of the scintillation element were tested. The aim of this work was to determine the efficiency of the detectors. For this purpose, the experimental investigations using a neutron generator and a Pu-Be source were combined with Monte Carlo computations using the Geant4 code. © The Author(s) 2017. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Dust Acoustic Wave Excitation in a Plasma with Warm Dust

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rosenberg, M.; Thomas, E., Jr.; Marcus, L.; Fisher, R.; Williams, J. D.; Merlino, R. L.

2008-11-01

Measurements of the dust acoustic wave dispersion relation in dusty plasmas formed in glow discharges at the University of Iowa [1] and Auburn University [2] have shown the importance of finite dust temperature effects. The effect of dust grains with large thermal speeds was taken into account using kinetic theory of the ion-dust streaming instability [3]. The results of analytic and numerical calculations of the dispersion relation based on the kinetic theory will be presented and compared with the experimental results. [1] E. Thomas, Jr., R. Fisher, and R. L. Merlino, Phys. Plasmas 14, 123701 (2007). [2] J. D. Williams, E. Thomas Jr., and L. Marcus, Phys. Plasmas 15, 043704 (2008). [3] M. Rosenberg, E. Thomas Jr., and R. L. Merlino, Phys. Plasmas 15, 073701 (2008).

PREFACE: 1st International Symposium on Electrical Arc and Thermal Plasmas in Africa (ISAPA)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Andre, Pascal; Koalaga, Zacharie

2012-02-01

Logos of the University of Ouagadougou, ISAPA and Universite Blaise Pascal Africa (especially Sub-Saharan Africa) is a continent where electrification is at a low level. However, the development of the electrical power sector is a prerequisite for the growth of other industrial activities, that is to say for the social and economic development of African countries. Consequently, a large number of electrification projects (rural electrification, interconnection of different country's grids) takes place in many countries. These projects need expertise and make Africa a continent of opportunity for companies in different domains for business and research: energy; energetic production, transmission, distribution and protection of electricity; the supply of cable; the construction, engineering and expertise in the field of solar and wind power. The first International Symposium on electrical Arc and thermal Plasma in Africa (ISAPA) was held for the first time in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso to progress and develop the research of new physical developments, technical breakthroughs, and ideas in the fields of electrical production and electrical applications. The ISAPA aims to encourage the advancement of the science and applications of electrical power transformation in Africa by bringing together specialists from many areas in Africa and the rest of the world. Such considerations have led us to define a Scientific Committee including representatives from many countries. This first meeting was an innovative opportunity for researchers and engineers from academic and industrial sectors to exchange views and knowledge. Both fundamental aspects such as thermal plasma, electrical arc, diagnostics and applied aspects as circuit breakers, ICP analyses, photovoltaic energy conversion and alternative energies, as well as space applications were covered. The Laboratory of Material and Environment (LAME) from Ouagadougou University and the Laboratory of Electric Arc and Thermal Plasmas (LAEPT) from Blaise Pascal University have worked in close collaboration within the framework of the Organizing Committee of this new and first ISAPA symposium in Africa. We registered 40 participants from France, Portugal, Belgium, Mali, Niger, Togo, Tchad and, of course, Burkina Faso, and also through collaborative works from Russia, Poland and Ukraine. 20 papers, one poster and 3 oral contributions were presented for this first ISAPA. The ISAPA Symposium has been held with the material and financial support of the following organizations: EDULINK Program of EU-ACP; SCAC Service of the French Embassy in Burkina Faso; IRD (Institute of Development Research) Burkina Faso; ASDI/SAREC project in Burkina Faso; University of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso; Blaise Pascal University of Clermont Ferrand, France. The opening ceremony of ISAPA Symposium was presided over by two ministers: the minister in charge of secondary and higher education (MESS) and the minister in charge of scientific research and innovation (MRSI). Thus, they have marked the interest given by the government of Burkina Faso for RAMSES Scientific Meetings such as ISAPA. Zacharie Koalaga (LAME, University of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso) Pascal André (LAEPT, Blaise Pascal University, France) ISAPA 2011 Co-Chairmen of the ISAPA International Organizing Committee and editors Logos

Solar system plasma waves

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gurnett, Donald A.

1995-01-01

An overview is given of spacecraft observations of plasma waves in the solar system. In situ measurements of plasma phenomena have now been obtained at all of the planets except Mercury and Pluto, and in the interplanetary medium at heliocentric radial distances ranging from 0.29 to 58 AU. To illustrate the range of phenomena involved, we discuss plasma waves in three regions of physical interest: (1) planetary radiation belts, (2) planetary auroral acceleration regions and (3) the solar wind. In each region we describe examples of plasma waves that are of some importance, either due to the role they play in determining the physical properties of the plasma, or to the unique mechanism involved in their generation.

Plasma Liner Research for MTF at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thio, Y. C. F.; Eskridge, R.; Lee, M.; Martin, A.; Smith, J.; Cassibry, J. T.; Wu, S. T.; Kirkpatrick, R. C.; Knapp, C. E.; Turchi, P. J.;

Perspective: The physics, diagnostics, and applications of atmospheric pressure low temperature plasma sources used in plasma medicine

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Laroussi, M.; Lu, X.; Keidar, M.

2017-07-01

Low temperature plasmas have been used in various plasma processing applications for several decades. But it is only in the last thirty years or so that sources generating such plasmas at atmospheric pressure in reliable and stable ways have become more prevalent. First, in the late 1980s, the dielectric barrier discharge was used to generate relatively large volume diffuse plasmas at atmospheric pressure. Then, in the early 2000s, plasma jets that can launch cold plasma plumes in ambient air were developed. Extensive experimental and modeling work was carried out on both methods and much of the physics governing such sources was elucidated. Starting in the mid-1990s, low temperature plasma discharges have been used as sources of chemically reactive species that can be transported to interact with biological media, cells, and tissues and induce impactful biological effects. However, many of the biochemical pathways whereby plasma affects cells remain not well understood. This situation is changing rather quickly because the field, known today as "plasma medicine," has experienced exponential growth in the last few years thanks to a global research community that engaged in fundamental and applied research involving the use of cold plasma for the inactivation of bacteria, dental applications, wound healing, and the destruction of cancer cells/tumors. In this perspective, the authors first review the physics as well as the diagnostics of the principal plasma sources used in plasma medicine. Then, brief descriptions of their biomedical applications are presented. To conclude, the authors' personal assessment of the present status and future outlook of the field is given.

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.

Effects of prolonged physical exercise and fasting upon plasma testosterone level in rats.

PubMed

Guezennec, C Y; Ferre, P; Serrurier, B; Merino, D; Pesquies, P C

1982-01-01

Prolonged physical exercise and fasting in male rats were studied to determine the effect of these two treatments on plasma testosterone level. Blood and tissue samples were drawn after 1 h, 3 h, 5 h, and 7 h treadmill running, and after 24 h, 48 h, and 72 h of fasting. Both treatments resulted in a significant fall in plasma testosterone, plasma luteinizing hormone (LH), plasma Insulin (IRI) and in liver and muscle glycogen stores. In the course of these two treatments the injection of a supra maximal dose of Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (HCG) produced a rise in plasma testosterone similar to that in control rats. This indicates that the decrease of plasma LH may be responsible for the decrease in plasma testosterone, which is time-related with the decrease in glycogen stores. The possible metabolic role of the decrease in plasma testosterone is discussed.

Effect of gas mixing on physical properties of warm collisional helicon plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kabir, M.; Niknam, A. R.

2017-10-01

The effect of inert gas mixing on the physical properties of a helicon plasma source with a Nagoya type III antenna is analytically investigated by taking into account the thermal and collisional effects. The dielectric permittivity tensor of this mixed gas plasma is obtained by using the Bhatnagar-Gross- Krook kinetic theory. Considering the dielectric tensor of mixed gas plasma and solving the electromagnetic field equations, the profiles of electromagnetic fields and plasma resistance are plotted and discussed. The results show that the plasma resistance peaks decrease with increasing Xe fraction in Ar-Xe plasma, and increase with the He fraction in Ar-He plasma. It is also shown that by increasing the xenon filling fraction, the electromagnetic field amplitudes are lowered, and by increasing the helium filling fraction, they are increased.

PREFACE: 15th International Conference on the Physics of Highly Charged Ions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zou, Yaming; Hutton, Roger

2011-07-01

This issue contains papers presented at the 15th International Conference on the Physics of Highly Charged Ions, HCI2010. The conference was held at Fudan University, Shanghai, 29 August-3 September 2010. HCI is a biannual conference series going back to the very first conference held in Stockholm, Sweden in 1982. Previous editions in this millennium were held in Berkeley, USA, 2000; Caen, France, 2002; Vilnius, Lithuania, 2004; Belfast, UK, 2006, and Tokyo, Japan, 2008. The physics of highly charged ions, HCIs, is of great interest due to their key role in testing quantum electrodynamics in strong fields, and possible testing of parity non-conservation. However, HCIs also play crucial roles in the physics of hot plasmas, for example those produced in tokamak fusion devices and in inertial confinement fusion experiments. Much of the diagnostics of matter under such extreme environments relies very heavily on high quality atomic data of HCIs. The field of x-ray astronomy hinges almost entirely on the use of spectral lines from HCIs to provide information from distant astrophysical plasmas and objects. Given these fundamental interests and the current rapid developments in fusion and x-ray astronomy, it is clear that the physics of HCIs is a rich area of research with strong and important connections to many important subfields of physics. New application areas of HCI physics are also under development: two examples are (a) to provide 13.5 nm—and later half of this wavelength—radiation for lithography and (b) applications in medical research. The need for high quality atomic data of HCIs is as important now as it has ever been. HCI2010 was attended by over 200 scientists from around 20 countries; see the following table. Over 70 of the participants were students, which is very encouraging for the future of HCI related physics. The academic programme was organized based on the suggestions from the International Advisory Board, and consisted of six review lectures, nine progress reports, one local report and 21 selected talks. Country Tot. Reg. Stu. Country Tot. Reg. Stu. Argentina 1 1 0 Ireland 4 3 1 Austria 4 3 1 Japan 33 18 15 Brazil 1 1 0 Jordan 1 1 0 Canada 1 1 0 The Netherlands 1 1 0 China 63 26 37 Poland 4 3 1 Egypt 1 1 0 Portugal 1 1 0 France 12 11 1 Russia 4 2 2 Germany 30 19 11 Sweden 5 3 2 Greece 1 1 0 USA 7 7 0 India 8 5 3 Tot.=Total, Reg.=Regular and Stu.=Student. The proceedings could never have been published without the diligent work of the referees and we are very grateful for their help. The order of the 69 articles follows the five classic subfields of the HCI conference: Fundamental aspects, structure and spectroscopy Collisions with electrons, ions, atoms and molecules Interactions with clusters, surfaces and solids Interactions with photons, plasmas and strong field processes Production, experimental developments and applications. The day before the official opening of HCI2010, Sunday 29 August, we welcomed the conference delegates with a reception held at the Guanghua (Fudan twin towers) 15th floor 'sky bar' restaurant. Two poster sessions were arranged for the contributed papers on the afternoons of 30 and 31 August. After a visit to the Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility on the afternoon of Wednesday 1 September we enjoyed a conference dinner at the Shanghai Sea Palace restaurant. Throughout the dinner we were entertained with traditional Chinese music by members of Fudan University's folk music group. A visit to the Shanghai 2010 World Expo, the largest World Expo in history (so far), was arranged for the Thursday afternoon. Finally the conference came to a close at lunchtime on Friday 3 September. It was a very successful conference due to the contributions of all the participants, the International Advisory Committee and the Local Organization Committee. We would like to thank them all. The next edition of the HCI conference series will be held at the University of Heidelberg, Germany in 2012, under the Chairmanship of Professors Thomas Stoehlker and Joachim Ullrich. We wish them all the best with their plans and look forward to meeting you all again in 2012. Committees, Exhibitors and Sponsors HCI2010 International Advisory Committee F Aumayr (Austria) T Azuma (Japan) P Beiersdorfer (USA) J Burgdoerfer (Austria) A Cassimi (France) H Cederquist (Sweden) J Costello (Ireland) F Currell (UK) R Hoekstra (Holland) X Ma (China) F Martín (Spain) A Mueller (German) N Nakamura (Japan) M Pajek (Poland) R Rivarola (Argentina) Z Rudzikas (Lithuania) V Shabaev (Russia) R Schuch (Sweden) T Stoehlker (Germany) J Tanis (USA) L Tribedi (India) K Tokési (Hungary) J Ullrich (Germany) D Vernhet (France) Y Zou (China) T Zouros (Greece) HCI2010 Local Organizing Committee Co-chairs: Yaming Zou and Roger Hutton (Fudan university) Secretaries: Baoren Wei and Yunqing Fu (Fudan University) Treasurers: Xiuqing Xu and Daoli Xu (Shanghai Nuclear Society) Members Chongyang Chen (Shanghai) Jianmin Yuan (Changsha) Jun Yan (Beijing) Chenzhong Dong (Lanzhou) Xiaohong Cai (Lanzhou) Xinwen Ma (Lanzhou) Xuru Duan (Sichuan) Baohan Zhang (Sichuan) Exhibitors Andor Technology andor.com Shanghai Kelin Technology Development Co. Ltd chnkelin.com Varian Inc. varianinc.com Sponsors Natural Science Foundation of China International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP) Fudan University

PREFACE: Turbulent Mixing and Beyond Turbulent Mixing and Beyond

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abarzhi, Snezhana I.; Gauthier, Serge; Rosner, Robert

2008-10-01

The goals of the International Conference `Turbulent Mixing and Beyond' are to expose the generic problem of Turbulence and Turbulent Mixing in Unsteady Flows to a wide scientific community, to promote the development of new ideas in tackling the fundamental aspects of the problem, to assist in the application of novel approaches in a broad range of phenomena, where the non-canonical turbulent processes occur, and to have a potential impact on technology. The Conference provides the opportunity to bring together scientists from the areas which include, but are not limited to, high energy density physics, plasmas, fluid dynamics, turbulence, combustion, material science, geophysics, astrophysics, optics and telecommunications, applied mathematics, probability and statistics, and to have their attention focused on the long-standing formidable task. The Turbulent Mixing and Turbulence in Unsteady Flows, including multiphase flows, plays a key role in a wide variety of phenomena, ranging from astrophysical to nano-scales, under either high or low energy density conditions. Inertial confinement and magnetic fusion, light-matter interaction and non-equilibrium heat transfer, properties of materials under high strain rates, strong shocks, explosions, blast waves, supernovae and accretion disks, stellar non-Boussinesq and magneto-convection, planetary interiors and mantle-lithosphere tectonics, premixed and non-premixed combustion, oceanography, atmospheric flows, unsteady boundary layers, hypersonic and supersonic flows, are a few examples to list. A grip on unsteady turbulent processes is crucial for cutting-edge technology such as laser-micromachining and free-space optical telecommunications, and for industrial applications in aeronautics. Unsteady Turbulent Processes are anisotropic, non-local and multi-scale, and their fundamental scaling, spectral and invariant properties depart from the classical Kolmogorov scenario. The singular aspects and similarity of the mixing dynamics are interplayed with fundamental properties of the Euler and compressible Navier-Stokes equations, with the problem sensitivity to the initial conditions and to the boundary conditions at the discontinuities, and with its stochastic description. The state-of-the-art numerical simulations of the multi-phase non-equilibrium dynamics suggest new methods for capturing discontinuities and singularities and shock-interface interaction, for predictive modeling of the multi-scale dynamics in fluids and plasmas, for error estimate and uncertainty quantification as well as for novel data assimilation techniques. The First International Conference `Turbulent Mixing and Beyond' (TMB-2007), was held on 18-26 August 2007 at the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Trieste, Italy. This was a highly informative and exciting meeting, by all the standards a major success. The Conference brought together 120 participants (307 authors) from five continents, ranging from students to members of National Academies of Sciences and Engineering and including researchers from the Universities, National Laboratories, Leading Scientific Institutions and Industry. TMB-2007 covered 16 different topics, maintaining the scope and the interdisciplinary character of the meeting, and kept the focus on a fundamental fluid dynamic problem of unsteady turbulent processes and the Conference Objectives. The success of the TMB-07 was a result of the successful work of all the participants, who were serious and professional people, caring for the quality of their research and sharing their scientific vision. The level of presentations was high, and the presentations included 87 oral contributions, 32 invited lectures and 5 tutorials and over 30 poster contributions. The round table discussions held at TMB-2007 investigated the organization of a Collaborative Computing Environment for the Turbulent Mixing and Beyond Community. The abstracts of the 150 accepted Conference presentations were published in the Book of Abstracts, International Conference `Turbulent Mixing and Beyond', August 18-26, 2007, Copyright 2007 Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Trieste, Italy, ISBN 92-95003-36-5. This Topical Issue consists of nearly 60 articles accepted for publication in the Conference Proceedings and reflects a substantial part of the Conference contributions. The articles cover a broad variety of TMB-2007 themes and are sorted alphabetically by the last name of the first author within each of the following topics: Canonical Turbulence and Turbulent Mixing (invariant, scaling, spectral properties, scalar transports) Wall-bounded Flows (structure and fundamentals, unsteady boundary layers, super-sonic flows, shock - boundary layer interaction) Interfacial Dynamics (Rayleigh-Taylor, Richtmyer-Meshkov and Kelvin-Helmholtz instabilities) Unsteady Turbulent Processes (turbulence and turbulent mixing in unsteady, multiphase and anisotropic flows) High Energy Density Physics (laser-material interaction, Z-pinches, laser-driven, heavy-ion and magnetic fusion) Astrophysics (supernovae, interstellar medium, star formation, stellar interiors, early Universe, cosmic micro-wave background) Magneto-hydrodynamics (magneto-convection, magneto-rotational instability, accretion disks, dynamo) Plasmas in Ionosphere (coupled plasmas, anomalous resistance, ionosphere) Physics of Atmosphere (environmental fluid dynamics, forecasting, data analysis, error estimate) Geophysics (turbulent convection in stratified, rotating and active flows) Combustion (dynamics of flames, fires, blast waves and explosions) Mathematical Aspects of Multi-Scale Dynamics (vortex dynamics, singularities, discontinuities, asymptotic dynamics, weak solutions, well- and ill-posedness) Statistical Approaches, Stochastic Processes and Probabilistic Description (uncertainty quantification, anomalous diffusion, long-tail distributions, wavelets) Advanced Numerical Simulations (continuous DNS/LES/RANS, Molecular dynamics, Monte-Carlo, predictive modeling) New Experimental Diagnostics (novel methods for flow visualization and control, high-tech) The First International Conference `Turbulent Mixing and Beyond' was organized by the following members of the Organizing Committee: Snezhana I Abarzhi (chairperson, Chicago, USA) Malcolm J Andrews (Los Alamos National Laboratory, USA) Sergei I Anisimov (Landau Institute for Theoretical Physics, Russia) Serge Gauthier (Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique, France) Donald Q Lamb (The University of Chicago, USA) Katsunobu Nishihara (Institute for Laser Engineering, Osaka, Japan) Bruce A Remington (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, USA) Robert Rosner (Argonne National Laboratory, USA) Katepalli R Sreenivasan (International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Italy) Alexander L Velikovich (Naval Research Laboratory, USA) The Organizing Committee gratefully acknowledges the financial support of the Conference Sponsors: National Science Foundation (NSF), USA (Divisions and Programs Directors: Drs A G Detwiler, L M Jameson, E L Lomon, P E Phelan, G A Prentice, J A Raper, W Schultz, P R Westmoreland; PI: Dr S I Abarzhi) Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR), USA (Program Director: Dr J D Schmisseur; PI: Dr S I Abarzhi) European Office of Aerospace Research and Development (EOARD) of the AFOSR, UK (Program Chief: Dr S Surampudi; PI: Dr S I Abarzhi) International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP), Trieste, Italy (Centre's Director: Dr K R Sreenivasan) The University of Chicago and The Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), USA (Laboratory's Director: Dr R Rosner) Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique (CEA), France (Directeur de Recherche: Dr S Gauthier) Department of Energy, Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), USA (Program manager: Dr R J Hanrahan; Group Leader: Dr M J Andrew) The DOE ASC Alliance Center for Astrophysical Thermonuclear Flashes, The University of Chicago, USA (Center's Director: Dr D Q Lamb) Institute for Laser Engineering (ILE), Osaka, Japan (Division Head: Dr K Nishihara) Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT), Chicago, USA (College of Science and Letters, Department of Applied Mathematics: Dr S I Abarji) and thanks them for making this event possible. The Organizing Committee appreciates the assistance of Suzie Radosic (administrator and assistant, ICTP) Daniil Ilyin (web-master, Chicago) Elena Magnus (assistant, Chicago) We express our gratitude for the help with the Conference Program to the members of the Scientific Advisory Committee S I Abarzhi (The University of Chicago, Illinois Institute of Technology, USA) G Ahlers (University of California at Santa Barbara, USA) M J Andrews (Los Alamos National Laboratory, Texas A & M University, USA) S I Anisimov (Landau Institute for Theoretical Physics, Russia) E Bodenschatz (Max Plank Institute, Gottingen, Germany) S Dalziel (DAMTP, University of Cambridge, UK) R Ecke (Los Alamos National Laboratory, USA) H J Fernando (Arizona State University, USA) S Gauthier (Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique, France) G A Glatzmaier (University of California at Santa Cruz, USA) W A Goddard III (California Institute of Technology, USA) L P Kadanoff (The University of Chicago, USA) D Q Lamb (The University of Chicago, USA) D P Lathrop (University of Maryland, USA) S Lebedev (Imperial College, UK) P Manneville (Ecole Polytechnique, France) D I Meiron (California Institute of Technology, USA) H Nagib (Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, USA) J Niemela (International Center for Theoretical Physics, Italy) K Nishihara (Institute for Laser Engineering, Osaka, Japan) S A Orszag (Yale University, USA) E Ott (University of Maryland, USA) N Peters (RWTS, Aachen, Germany) S B Pope (Cornell, USA) B A Remington (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, USA) R Rosner (Argonne National Laboratory and The University of Chicago, USA) A Schmidt (Naval Research Laboratory, USA) K R Sreenivasan (International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Italy) V Steinberg (Weiznmann Institute, Israel) A L Velikovich (Naval Research Laboratory, USA) P K Yeung (Georgia Institute of Technology, USA) F A Williams (University of California at San Diego, USA) We would like to thank all the authors and the referees for their contributions to this Topical Issue and for offering their expertise, time and effort We cordially invite the reader to take a look at this Topical Issue for information on the frontiers of theoretical, numerical and experimental research and technology The Organizing Committee hopes the TMB Conference will serve to advance the state-of-the-art in understanding of fundamental physical properties of turbulent mixing and turbulence in unsteady flows and will have an impact on predictive modeling capabilities, physical description and, ultimately, control of these complex processes Snezhana I Abarzhi, Serge Gauthier, Robert Rosner Chicago, 20 Nov 2008

Innovative diagnostics for ITER physics addressed in JET

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Murari, A.; Edlington, T.; Alfier, A.; Alonso, A.; Andrew, Y.; Arnoux, G.; Beurskens, M.; Coad, P.; Crombe, C.; Gauthier, E.; Giroud, C.; Hidalgo, C.; Hong, S.; Kempenaars, M.; Kiptily, V.; Loarer, T.; Meigs, A.; Pasqualotto, R.; Tala, T.; Contributors, JET-EFDA

2008-12-01

In recent years, JET diagnostic capability has been significantly improved to widen the range of physical phenomena that can be studied and thus contribute to the understanding of some ITER relevant issues. The most significant results reported in this paper refer to the plasma wall interactions, the interplay between core and edge physics and fast particles. A synergy between new infrared cameras, visible cameras and spectroscopy diagnostics has allowed investigating a series of new aspects of the plasma wall interactions. The power loads on the plasma facing components of JET main chambers have been assessed at steady state and during transient events like ELMs and disruptions. Evidence of filaments in the edge region of the plasma has been collected with a new fast visible camera and high resolution Thomson scattering. The physics of detached plasmas and some new aspects of dust formation have also been devoted particular attention. The influence of the edge plasma on the core has been investigated with upgraded active spectroscopy, providing new information on momentum transport and the effects of impurity injection on ELMs and ITBs and their interdependence. Given the fact that JET is the only machine with a plasma volume big enough to confine the alphas, a coherent programme of diagnostic developments for the energetic particles has been undertaken. With upgraded γ-ray spectroscopy and a new scintillator probe, it is now possible to study both the redistribution and the losses of the fast particles in various plasma conditions.

Redox Stimulation of Human THP-1 Monocytes in Response to Cold Physical Plasma.

PubMed

Bekeschus, Sander; Schmidt, Anke; Bethge, Lydia; Masur, Kai; von Woedtke, Thomas; Hasse, Sybille; Wende, Kristian

2016-01-01

In plasma medicine, cold physical plasma delivers a delicate mixture of reactive components to cells and tissues. Recent studies suggested a beneficial role of cold plasma in wound healing. Yet, the biological processes related to the redox modulation via plasma are not fully understood. We here used the monocytic cell line THP-1 as a model to test their response to cold plasma in vitro. Intriguingly, short term plasma treatment stimulated cell growth. Longer exposure only modestly compromised cell viability but apparently supported the growth of cells that were enlarged in size and that showed enhanced metabolic activity. A significantly increased mitochondrial content in plasma treated cells supported this notion. On THP-1 cell proteome level, we identified an increase of protein translation with key regulatory proteins being involved in redox regulation (hypoxia inducible factor 2α), differentiation (retinoic acid signaling and interferon inducible factors), and cell growth (Yin Yang 1). Regulation of inflammation is a key element in many chronic diseases, and we found a significantly increased expression of the anti-inflammatory heme oxygenase 1 (HMOX1) and of the neutrophil attractant chemokine interleukin-8 (IL-8). Together, these results foster the view that cold physical plasma modulates the redox balance and inflammatory processes in wound related cells.

Solar Physics - Plasma Physics Workshop

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Baum, P. J.; Beckers, J. M.; Newman, C. E.; Priest, E. R.; Rosenberg, H.; Smith, D. F.; Sturrock, P. A.; Wentzel, D. G.

1974-01-01

A summary of the proceedings of a conference whose purpose was to explore plasma physics problems which arise in the study of solar physics is provided. Sessions were concerned with specific questions including the following: (1) whether the solar plasma is thermal or non-themal; (2) what spectroscopic data is required; (3) what types of magnetic field structures exist; (4) whether magnetohydrodynamic instabilities occur; (5) whether resistive or non-magnetohydrodynamic instabilities occur; (6) what mechanisms of particle acceleration have been proposed; and (7) what information is available concerning shock waves. Very few questions were answered categorically but, for each question, there was discussion concerning the observational evidence, theoretical analyses, and existing or potential laboratory and numerical experiments.

The cathode plasma simulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Suksila, Thada

Since its invention at the University of Stuttgart, Germany in the mid-1960, scientists have been trying to understand and explain the mechanism of the plasma interaction inside the magnetoplasmadynamics (MPD) thruster. Because this thruster creates a larger level of efficiency than combustion thrusters, this MPD thruster is the primary cadidate thruster for a long duration (planetary) spacecraft. However, the complexity of this thruster make it difficult to fully understand the plasma interaction in an MPD thruster while operating the device. That is, there is a great deal of physics involved: the fluid dynamics, the electromagnetics, the plasma dynamics, and the thermodynamics. All of these physics must be included when an MPD thruster operates. In recent years, a computer simulation helped scientists to simulate the experiments by programing the physics theories and comparing the simulation results with the experimental data. Many MPD thruster simulations have been conducted: E. Niewood et al.[5], C. K. J. Hulston et al.[6], K. D. Goodfellow[3], J Rossignol et al.[7]. All of these MPD computer simulations helped the scientists to see how quickly the system responds to the new design parameters. For this work, a 1D MPD thruster simulation was developed to find the voltage drop between the cathode and the plasma regions. Also, the properties such as thermal conductivity, electrical conductivity and heat capacity are temperature and pressure dependent. These two conductivity and heat capacity are usually definded as constant values in many other models. However, this 1D and 2D cylindrical symmetry MPD thruster simulations include both temperature and pressure effects to the electrical, thermal conductivities and heat capacity values interpolated from W. F. Ahtye [4]. Eventhough, the pressure effect is also significant; however, in this study the pressure at 66 Pa was set as a baseline. The 1D MPD thruster simulation includes the sheath region, which is the interface between the plasma and the cathode regions. This sheath model [3] has been fully combined in the 1D simulation. That is, the sheath model calculates the heat flux and the sheath voltage by giving the temperature and the current density. This sheath model must be included in the simulation, as the sheath region is treated differently from the main plasma region. For our 2D cylindrical symmetry simulation, the dimensions of the cathode, the anode, the total current, the pressure, the type of gases, the work function can be changed in the input process as needed for particular interested. Also, the sheath model is still included and fully integrated in this 2D cylindrical symmetry simulation at the cathode surface grids. In addition, the focus of the 2D cylindrical symmetry simulation is to connect the properties on the plasma and the cathode regions on the cathode surface until the MPD thruster reach steady state and estimate the plasma arc attachement edge, electroarc edge, on the cathode surface. Finally, we can understand more about the behavior of an MPD thruster under many different conditions of 2D cylindrical symmetry MPD thruster simulations.

ICPP: Charge and Density Coupling in Nonideal Plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fortov, V. E.

2000-10-01

Plasmas with Strong Coulomb Interaction (SCI) are found in astrophysics, planetary physics, inertial confinement fusion, advanced energetics and elsewhere[1]. SCI plasmas can be achieved in: I Dusty plasmas, II Shock-compressed plasmas. I. SCI in low-density dusty (colloidal) plasmas arises from the high charge of micron-size macroparticles[2]. Experiments use glow and inductive RF discharges, combustion flames of gas and solid propellant, ultraviolet light beams, and radioactive decay fluxes. Liquid- and solid-like structures are seen, and phase diagrams and transitions investigated by experiment and simulation. Zero-g experiments on space station Mir and in aircraft clarified the gravity effect on plasma crystal formation. II. Plasma SCI can arise in shock compression of solid and porous metals, noble gases, hydrogen, sulphur, and iodine at megabar pressures [3,4], using high explosive drive. Phase diagram regions were examined, where thermal and pressure ionization exist. Multiple-shock-compressed hydrogen can show metal-like conductivity from pressure ionization. The ``metal-to-dielectric" transition in shock-compressed lithium at 0.5 Mbar was detected and analyzed. Thermodynamics, equation of state, plasma composition, electrical and radiative properties show SCI suppression of discrete electron spectra and strong lowering of ionization potentials, evoking the ``confined-atom" model[5] for SCI and other models[6]. [1] V.E.Fortov, I.T.Yakubov, Physics of Nonideal Plasmas, Hemisphere, N.Y.-London (1989). [2] V.E.Fortov, A.P.Nefedov, O.F.Petrov, Soviet Physics-Uspekhy, 167(1997)1215. [3] V.Gryaznov, I.Iosilevsky, V.Fortov, Contrib. Plasma Physics, 39(1999)89. [4] V.Ya.Temovoi, A.S. Filimonov, V.E.Fortov et al. Proc. XXXVI EHPRG Meeting, Catania, Italy (1998). [5] V.K.Gryaznov, M.V.Zhernokletov et al. Zh. Exp. Teor. Fiz. (Soviet JETP) 78(1980) 573. [6] V.Ebeling, A.Foerster, V.Fortov et al. Thermodynamical Properties of Hot Dense Plasmas, Teubner Verlaggeselschaft , Berlin-Stuttgart, 1991.

Guest investigator program study: Physics of equatorial plasma bubbles

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tsunoda, Roland T.

1994-01-01

Plasma bubbles are large-scale (10 to 100 km) depletions in plasma density found in the night-time equatorial ionosphere. Their formation has been found to entail the upward transport of plasma over hundreds of kilometers in altitude, suggesting that bubbles play significant roles in the physics of many of the diverse and unique features found in the low-latitude ionosphere. In the simplest scenario, plasma bubbles appear first as perturbations in the bottomside F layer, which is linearly unstable to the gravitationally driven Rayleigh-Taylor instability. Once initiated, bubbles develop upward through the peak of the F layer into its topside (sometimes to altitudes in excess of 1000 km), a behavior predicted by the nonlinear form of the same instability. While good general agreement has been found between theory and observations, little is known about the detailed physics associated with plasma bubbles. Our research activity centered around two topics: the shape of plasma bubbles and associated electric fields, and the day-to-day variability in the occurrence of plasma bubbles. The first topic was pursued because of a divergence in view regarding the nonlinear physics associated with plasma bubble development. While the development of perturbations in isodensity contours in the bottomside F layer into plasma bubbles is well accepted, some believed bubbles to be cylinder-like closed regions of depleted plasma density that floated upward leaving a turbulent wake behind them (e.g., Woodman and LaHoz, 1976; Ott, 1978; Kelley and Ott, 1978). Our results, summarized in a paper submitted to the Journal of Geophysical Research, consisted of incoherent scatter radar measurements that showed unambiguously that the depleted region is wedgelike and not cylinderlike, and a case study and modeling of SM-D electric field instrument (EFI) measurements that showed that the absence of electric-field perturbations outside the plasma-depleted region is a distinct signature of wedge-shaped plasma bubbles. The second topic was pursued because the inability to predict the day-to-day occurrence of plasma bubbles indicated inadequate knowledge of the physics of plasma bubbles. An understanding of bubble formation requires an understanding of the roles of the various terms in the linearized growth rate of the collisional Rayleigh-Taylor instability. In our study, we examined electric-field perturbations found in SM-D EFI data and found that the seeding is more likely to be produced in the E region rather than the F region. The results of this investigation are presented in the Appendix of this report and will be submitted for publication in the Journal of Geophysical Research.

Efficient Means of Detecting Neutral Atoms in Space

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zinicola, W. N.

2006-12-01

This summer, The Society of Physics Students granted me the opportunity to participate in an internship for The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and The University of Maryland. Our chief interest was analyzing low energy neutral atoms that were created from random interactions of ions in space plasma. From detecting these neutrals one can project a image of what the plasma's composition is, and how this plasma changes through interactions with the solar wind. Presently, low energy neutral atom detectors have poor efficiency, typically in the range of 1%. Our goal was to increase this efficiency. To detect low energy neutrals we must first convert them from neutral molecules to negatively charged ions. Once converted, these "new" negatively charged ions can be easily detected and completely analyzed giving us information about their energy, mass, and instantaneous direction. The efficiency of the detector is drastically affected by the surface used for converting these neutrals. My job was first to create thin metal conversion surfaces. Then, using an X-ray photoelectron spectrometer, analyze atomic surface composition and gather work function values. Once the work function values were known we placed the surfaces in our neutral detector and measured their conversion efficiencies. Finally, a relation between the work function of the metal surface an its conversion efficiency was generated. With this relationship accurately measured one could use this information to help give suggestions on what surface would be the best to increase our detection efficiency. If we could increase the efficiency of these low energy neutral atom detectors by even 1% we would be able to decrease the size of the detector therefore making it cheaper and more applicable for space exploration.* * A special thanks to Dr. Michael Coplan of the University of Maryland for his support and guidance through all my research.

Statistics on the parameters of nonisothermal ionospheric plasma in large mesospheric electric fields

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martynenko, S.; Rozumenko, V.; Tyrnov, O.; Manson, A.; Meek, C.

The large V/m electric fields inherent in the mesosphere play an essential role in lower ionospheric electrodynamics. They must be the cause of large variations in the electron temperature and the electron collision frequency at D region altitudes, and consequently the ionospheric plasma in the lower part of the D region undergoes a transition into a nonisothermal state. This study is based on the databases on large mesospheric electric fields collected with the 2.2-MHz radar of the Institute of Space and Atmospheric Studies, University of Saskatchewan, Canada (52°N geographic latitude, 60.4°N geomagnetic latitude) and with the 2.3-MHz radar of the Kharkiv V. Karazin National University (49.6°N geographic latitude, 45.6°N geomagnetic latitude). The statistical analysis of these data is presented in Meek, C. E., A. H. Manson, S. I. Martynenko, V. T. Rozumenko, O. F. Tyrnov, Remote sensing of mesospheric electric fields using MF radars, Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics, in press. The large mesospheric electric fields is experimentally established to follow a Rayleigh distribution in the interval 0

The feed gas composition determines the degree of physical plasma-induced platelet activation for blood coagulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bekeschus, Sander; Brüggemeier, Janik; Hackbarth, Christine; Weltmann, Klaus-Dieter; von Woedtke, Thomas; Partecke, Lars-Ivo; van der Linde, Julia

2018-03-01

Cold atmospheric (physical) plasma has long been suggested to be a useful tool for blood coagulation. However, the clinical applicability of this approach has not been addressed sufficiently. We have previously demonstrated the ability of a clinically accepted atmospheric pressure argon plasma jet (kINPen® MED) to coagulate liver incisions in mice with similar performance compared to the gold standard electrocauterization. We could show that plasma-mediated blood coagulation was dependent on platelet activation. In the present work, we extended on this by investigating kINPen®-mediated platelet activation in anticoagulated human donor blood ex vivo. With focus on establishing high-throughput, multi-parametric platelet activation assays and performing argon feed gas parameter studies we achieved the following results: (i) plasma activated platelets in heparinized but not in EDTA-anticoagulated blood; (ii) plasma decreased total platelet counts but increased numbers of microparticles; (iii) plasma elevated the expression of several surface activation markers on platelets (CD62P, CD63, CD69, and CD41/61); (iv) in platelet activation, wet and dry argon plasma outperformed feed gas admixtures with oxygen and/or nitrogen; (v) plasma-mediated platelet activation was accompanied by platelet aggregation. Platelet aggregation is a necessary requirement for blood clot formation. These findings are important to further elucidate molecular details and clinical feasibility of cold physical plasma-mediated blood coagulation.

Physical properties of erupting plasma associated with coronal mass ejections

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, J.; Raymond, J. C.; Reeves, K. K.; Moon, Y.; Kim, K.

2013-12-01

We investigate the physical properties (temperature, density, and mass) of erupting plasma observed in X-rays and EUV, which are all associated with coronal mass ejections observed by SOHO/LASCO. The erupting plasmas are observed as absorption or emission features in the low corona. The absorption feature provides a lower limit to the cold mass while the emission feature provides an upper limit to the mass of observed plasma in X-ray and EUV. We compare the mass constraints for each temperature response and find that the mass estimates in EUV and XRT are smaller than the total mass in the coronagraph. Several events were observed by a few passbands in the X-rays, which allows us to determine the temperature of the eruptive plasma using a filter ratio method. The temperature of one event is estimated at about 8.6 MK near the top of the erupting plasma. This measurement is possibly an average temperature for higher temperature plasma because the XRT is more sensitive at higher temperatures. In addition, a few events show that the absorption features of a prominence or a loop change to emission features with the beginning of their eruptions in all EUV wavelengths of SDO/AIA, which indicates the heating of the plasma. By estimating the physical properties of the erupting plasmas, we discuss the heating of the plasmas associated with coronal mass ejections in the low corona.

Theoretical Studies of Nonlinear Phenomena in Plasmas.

DTIC Science & Technology

1984-02-14

AD-Ai38 762 THEORETICAL STUDIES OF NONLINEAR PHENOMENA IN PLASMAS i/i, (U) MARYLAND UNIV COLLEUE FHRK LAB FOR PLASMA AND FUSION ENERGY STUDIES H H...Tnvestiga-tor: H. Chen 4 j DTIC $ELECTE ~ ~.UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND * S 4ABORATORY FOR PLASMA AND FUSION ENERGY STUDIES " ’ ..COLLEGE PARK, MARYLAND 4k

EDITORIAL: Extreme Ultraviolet Light Sources for Semiconductor Manufacturing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Attwood, David

2004-12-01

The International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (ITRS) [1] provides industry expectations for high volume computer chip fabrication a decade into the future. It provides expectations to anticipated performance and requisite specifications. While the roadmap provides a collective projection of what international industry expects to produce, it does not specify the technology that will be employed. Indeed, there are generally several competing technologies for each two or three year step forward—known as `nodes'. Recent successful technologies have been based on KrF (248 nm), and now ArF (193 nm) lasers, combined with ultraviolet transmissive refractive optics, in what are known as step and scan exposure tools. Less fortunate technologies in the recent past have included soft x-ray proximity printing and, it appears, 157 nm wavelength F2 lasers. In combination with higher numerical aperture liquid emersion optics, 193 nm is expected to be used for the manufacture of leading edge chip performance for the coming five years. Beyond that, starting in about 2009, the technology to be employed is less clear. The leading candidate for the 2009 node is extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography, however this requires that several remaining challenges, including sufficient EUV source power, be overcome in a timely manner. This technology is based on multilayer coated reflective optics [2] and an EUV emitting plasma. Following Moore's Law [3] it is expected, for example, that at the 2009 `32 nm node' (printable patterns of 32 nm half-pitch), isolated lines with 18 nm width will be formed in resist (using threshold effects), and that these will be further narrowed to 13 nm in transfer to metalized electronic gates. These narrow features are expected to provide computer chips of 19 GHz clock frequency, with of the order of 1.5 billion transistors per chip [1]. This issue of Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics contains a cluster of eight papers addressing the critical issue of available EUV power from electrical discharge pinch plasmas and laser produced plasmas, including the roots of these requirements, the relevant plasma and radiation physics, and current state-of-the-art commercial technology. In the first paper of the cluster, Vadim Banine and Roel Moors of ASML in the Netherlands provide a detailed review of the required EUV power based on an economically viable throughput of one hundred 300 mm diameter wafers per hour, projected resist sensitivity, number of finite reflectivity multilayer coated surfaces and their collective spectral bandwidth, and a collection solid angle set by optical phase-space constraints and plasma source size. Thomas Krücken and his colleagues from Philips and the Fraunhofer Institute in Aachen present a theoretical model of radiation generation and transport based on model density and temperature profiles in an electrical discharge plasma, providing valuable insights into radiation physics and the limits to achievable power. Kenneth Fahy and his colleagues at UCD in Dublin and NIST in the US, in their paper, describe in detail atomic physics calculations of emission from relevant lines and unresolved transition arrays (UTAs) of candidate xenon and tin ions, each of which radiate strongly within the acceptance bandwidth of the multilayer coatings. The different elements, Xe and Sn, however, raise significantly different implications for source debris production and thus of requisite debris mitigation requirements. Björn Hannson and Hans Hertz of KTH University in Stockholm present a substantial review of laser produced plasmas for the EUV, including those based on liquid jet technologies, leading to a path of mass limited target material, and significant stand-off distance from the solid nozzle, which maximize EUV power generation while minimizing debris production. In addition to an extensive review of EUV source related literature, they describe experiments with laser irradiated droplets and filaments, for both Xe and Sn. The embodiment of electrical discharge plasmas and laser-produced plasmas into commercially available EUV sources, with EUV powers that project to suitable levels, is presented in the fifth paper by Uwe Stamm of XTREME Technologies in Göttingen. For discharge produced plasmas, thermal loading and electrode erosion are significant issues. Vladimir Borisov and his colleagues, at the Troitsk Institute outside Moscow, address these issues and provide novel ideas for the multiplexing of several discharge plasmas feeding a single optical system. Igor Fomenkov and his colleagues at Cymer in San Diego describe issues associated with a dense plasma focus pinch, including a comparison of operations with both positive and negative polarity. In the eighth paper, Malcolm McGeoch of Plex in Massachusetts provides a theoretical description of the vaporization and ionization of spherical tin droplets in discharge plasma. Together this cluster of papers provides a broad review of the current status of high power EUV plasma sources for semiconductor manufacturing. This very current topic, of intense interest worldwide, is considered further in a book [4] of collected papers to become available in mid-2005. Additionally, a special journal issue emphasizing coherent EUV sources, albeit at lower average powers, is soon to appear [5]. References [1] http://public.itrsr.net [2] Attwood D 2000 Soft X-Rays and Extreme Ultraviolet Radiation: Principles and Applications (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press) www.coe.Berkeley.edu/AST/sxreuv [3] Moore G E 1965 Cramming More Components onto Integrated Circuits Electronics Magazine 114 Moore G E 1995 Lithography and the Future of Moore's Law SPIE 243 2 [4] Bakshi V ed 2005 EUV Sources for Lithography (Bellingham WA:SPIE) at press [5] IEEE J. Special Topics in Quantum Electronics, Short Wavelength and EUV Lasers 10 Dec 2004 at press

25(OH)D levels in trained versus sedentary university students at 64° north.

PubMed

Jerome, Scott P; Sticka, Kendra D; Schnurr, Theresia M; Mangum, Sally J; Reynolds, Arleigh J; Dunlap, Kriya L

2017-01-01

25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) deficiency is associated with compromised bone mineralisation, fatigue, suppressed immune function and unsatisfactory skeletal muscle recovery. We investigated the risk of 25(OH)D insufficiency or deficiency in endurance athletes compared to sedentary non-athletes living at 64° north. University student-athletes (TS) and sedentary students (SS) volunteered to participate in this study. TS engaged in regular exercise while SS exercised no more than 20 minutes/week. Metabolic Equivalent of Task (MET) scores for participants were determined. Vitamin D intake was assessed using the National Cancer Institute's 24-hour food recall (ASA24). Fasting plasma 25(OH)D levels were quantified via enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. TS reported higher activity levels than SS as assessed with MET-minutes/week and ranking of physical activity levels (p < 0.05). The reported mean daily intake of vitamin D was higher in TS compared to SS (p < 0.05) while 25(OH)D plasma levels were lower in TS than in SS (p < 0.05). In total, 43.8% of the TS were either insufficient (31.3%) or deficient (12.5%) in 25(OH)D, while none of the SS were insufficient and 13.3% were deficient. TS are at increased risk of 25(OH)D insufficiency or deficiency compared to their sedentary counterparts residing at the same latitude, despite higher vitamin D intake.

Telescience operations with the solar array module plasma interaction experiment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wald, Lawrence W.; Bibyk, Irene K.

1995-01-01

The Solar Array Module Plasma Interactions Experiment (SAMPIE) is a flight experiment that flew on the Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-62) in March 1994, as part of the OAST-2 mission. The overall objective of SAMPIE was to determine the adverse environmental interactions within the space plasma of low earth orbit (LEO) on modern solar cells and space power system materials which are artificially biased to high positive and negative direct current (DC) voltages. The two environmental interactions of interest included high voltage arcing from the samples to the space plasma and parasitic current losses. High voltage arcing can cause physical damage to power system materials and shorten expected hardware life. parasitic current losses can reduce power system efficiency because electric currents generated in a power system drain into the surrounding plasma via parasitic resistance. The flight electronics included two programmable high voltage DC power supplies to bias the experiment samples, instruments to measure the surrounding plasma environment in the STS cargo bay, and the on-board data acquisition system (DAS). The DAS provided in-flight experiment control, data storage, and communications through the Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) Hitchhiker flight avionics to the GSFC Payload Operations Control Center (POCC). The DAS and the SAMPIE POCC computer systems were designed for telescience operations; this paper will focus on the experiences of the SAMPIE team regarding telescience development and operations from the GSFC POCC during STS-62. The SAMPIE conceptual development, hardware design, and system verification testing were accomplished at the NASA Lewis Research Center (LeRC). SAMPIE was developed under the In-Space Technology Experiment Program (IN-STEP), which sponsors NASA, industry, and university flight experiments designed to enable and enhance space flight technology. The IN-STEP Program is sponsored by the Office of Space Access and Technology (OSAT).

Measuring the ionization balance of gold in a low-density plasma of importance to ICF

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

May, M; Beiersdorfer, P; Schneider, M

Charge state distributions (CSDs) have been determined in low density ({approx}10 {sup 12} cm{sup -3}) gold plasmas having either a monoenergetic beam (E{sub Beam} = 2.66, 3.53 and 4.54 keV) or experimentally simulated thermal electron distributions (T{sub e} = 2.0, 2.5 and 3.0 keV). These plasmas were created in the Livermore electron beam ion traps EBIT-I and EBIT-II. Line emission and radiative recombination features of Ni to Kr-like gold ions were recorded in the x-ray region with a crystal spectrometer and a photometrically calibrated microcalorimeter. The CSDs in the experimentally simulated thermal plasmas were inferred by fitting the observed 4f{yields}3dmore » and 5f{yields}3d lines with synthetic spectra from the Hebrew University Lawrence Livermore Atomic Code (HULLAC). Additionally, the CSDs in the beam plasmas were inferred both from fitting the line emission and fitting the radiative recombination emission to calculations from the General Relativistic Atomic Structure Program (GRASP). Despite the relatively simple atomic physics in the low density plasma, differences existed between the experimental CSDs and the simulations from several available codes (e.g. RIGEL). Our experimental CSD relied upon accurate electron impact cross sections provided by HULLAC. To determine their reliability, we have experimentally determined the cross sections for several of the n=3{yields}4 and n=3{yields}5 excitations in Ni to Ga-like Au and compared them to distorted wave calculations. Recent Au spectra recorded during experiments at the HELEN laser facility are presented and compared with those from EBIT-I and EBIT-II.« less

Measuring the Ionization Balance of Gold in a Low-Density Plasma of Importance to ICF

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

May, M.J.; Beiersdorfer, P.; Schneider, M.

Charge state distributions (CSDs) have been determined in low density ({approx_equal}1012 cm-3) gold plasmas having either a monoenergetic beam (EBeam = 2.66, 3.53 and 4.54 keV) or experimentally simulated thermal electron distributions (Te = 2.0, 2.5 and 3.0 keV). These plasmas were created in the Livermore electron beam ion traps EBIT-I and EBIT-II. Line emission and radiative recombination features of Ni to Kr-like gold ions were recorded in the x-ray region with a crystal spectrometer and a photometrically calibrated microcalorimeter. The CSDs in the experimentally simulated thermal plasmas were inferred by fitting the observed 4f{yields}3d and 5f{yields}3d lines with syntheticmore » spectra from the Hebrew University Lawrence Livermore Atomic Code (HULLAC). Additionally, the CSDs in the beam plasmas were inferred both from fitting the line emission and fitting the radiative recombination emission to calculations from the General Relativistic Atomic Structure Program (GRASP). Despite the relatively simple atomic physics in the low density plasma, differences existed between the experimental CSDs and the simulations from several available codes (e.g. RIGEL). Our experimental CSD relied upon accurate electron impact cross sections provided by HULLAC. To determine their reliability, we have experimentally determined the cross sections for several of the n=3{yields}4 and n=3{yields}5 excitations in Ni to Ga-like Au and compared them to distorted wave calculations. Recent Au spectra recorded during experiments at the HELEN laser facility are presented and compared with those from EBIT-I and EB0011IT-.« less

Measurements of Ion and Neutral Fluctuation Changes with Pressure in a Large-Scale Helicon Plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dwyer, R. H.; Fisher, D. M.; Kelly, R. F.; Hatch, M. W.; Gilmore, M.

2017-10-01

Neutral particle dynamics may play an important role both in laboratory plasmas and in the edge of magnetic fusion devices. However, studies of neutral dynamics in these plasmas have been limited to date. Here we report on a basic study of ion and neutral fluctuations as a function of background neutral gas pressure. These experiments have been conducted in helicon discharges in the HelCat (Helicon-Cathode) dual-source plasma device at the University of New Mexico. The goal is to measure changes in ion and neutral density fluctuations with pressure and to gain an improved understanding of plasma-neutral interactions. Langmuir probe, Ar-I LIF, and high-speed imaging measurements of the fluctuations will be presented. Supported by U.S. National Science Foundation Award 1500423 and The University of New Mexico School of Engineering.

Electron current extraction from a permanent magnet waveguide plasma cathode.

PubMed

Weatherford, B R; Foster, J E; Kamhawi, H

2011-09-01

An electron cyclotron resonance plasma produced in a cylindrical waveguide with external permanent magnets was investigated as a possible plasma cathode electron source. The configuration is desirable in that it eliminates the need for a physical antenna inserted into the plasma, the erosion of which limits operating lifetime. Plasma bulk density was found to be overdense in the source. Extraction currents over 4 A were achieved with the device. Measurements of extracted electron currents were similar to calculated currents, which were estimated using Langmuir probe measurements at the plasma cathode orifice and along the length of the external plume. The influence of facility effects and trace ionization in the anode-cathode gap are also discussed. © 2011 American Institute of Physics

Optical spectroscopy of laser-produced plasmas for standoff isotopic analysis

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

Harilal, Sivanandan S.; Brumfield, Brian E.; LaHaye, Nicole L.

2018-04-20

This review article covers the present status of isotope detection through emission, absorption, and fluorescence spectroscopy of atoms and molecules in a laser-produced plasma formed from a solid sample. A description of the physics behind isotope shifts in atoms and molecules is presented, followed by the physics behind solid sampling of laser ablation plumes, optical methods for isotope measurements, the suitable physical conditions of laser-produced plasma plumes for isotopic analysis, and the current status. Finally, concluding remarks will be made on the existing gaps between previous works in the literature and suggestions for future work.

Optical spectroscopy of laser-produced plasmas for standoff isotopic analysis

DOE PAGES

Harilal, S. S.; Brumfield, B. E.; LaHaye, N. L.; ...

2018-04-20

This review article covers the present status of isotope detection through emission, absorption, and fluorescence spectroscopy of atoms and molecules in a laser-produced plasma formed from a solid sample. A description of the physics behind isotope shifts in atoms and molecules is presented, followed by the physics behind solid sampling of laser ablation plumes, optical methods for isotope measurements, the suitable physical conditions of laser-produced plasma plumes for isotopic analysis, and the current status. Lastly, concluding remarks will be made on the existing gaps between previous works in the literature and suggestions for future work.

Optical spectroscopy of laser-produced plasmas for standoff isotopic analysis

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

Harilal, S. S.; Brumfield, B. E.; LaHaye, N. L.

This review article covers the present status of isotope detection through emission, absorption, and fluorescence spectroscopy of atoms and molecules in a laser-produced plasma formed from a solid sample. A description of the physics behind isotope shifts in atoms and molecules is presented, followed by the physics behind solid sampling of laser ablation plumes, optical methods for isotope measurements, the suitable physical conditions of laser-produced plasma plumes for isotopic analysis, and the current status. Finally, concluding remarks will be made on the existing gaps between previous works in the literature and suggestions for future work.

Optical spectroscopy of laser-produced plasmas for standoff isotopic analysis

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

Harilal, S. S.; Brumfield, B. E.; LaHaye, N. L.

This review article covers the present status of isotope detection through emission, absorption, and fluorescence spectroscopy of atoms and molecules in a laser-produced plasma formed from a solid sample. A description of the physics behind isotope shifts in atoms and molecules is presented, followed by the physics behind solid sampling of laser ablation plumes, optical methods for isotope measurements, the suitable physical conditions of laser-produced plasma plumes for isotopic analysis, and the current status. Lastly, concluding remarks will be made on the existing gaps between previous works in the literature and suggestions for future work.

Optical spectroscopy of laser-produced plasmas for standoff isotopic analysis

DOE PAGES

Harilal, S. S.; Brumfield, B. E.; LaHaye, N. L.; ...

2018-06-01

This review article covers the present status of isotope detection through emission, absorption, and fluorescence spectroscopy of atoms and molecules in a laser-produced plasma formed from a solid sample. A description of the physics behind isotope shifts in atoms and molecules is presented, followed by the physics behind solid sampling of laser ablation plumes, optical methods for isotope measurements, the suitable physical conditions of laser-produced plasma plumes for isotopic analysis, and the current status. Finally, concluding remarks will be made on the existing gaps between previous works in the literature and suggestions for future work.

Plasma physics goes beyond fusion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Franklin, Raoul

2008-11-01

I was interested to read the fusion supplement published with the October issue of Physics World. However, in asserting that fusion created the need to recognize plasma physics as a separate branch of the subject, Stephen Cowley, the new director of the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority, was not quite correct. In fact, the word "plasma" was appropriated from the Greek by the chemical physicist (and later Nobel laureate) Irving Langmuir in 1928. It was used to describe the positive column of a gas discharge, which was then the subject of research into better lighting sources and advertising displays, as well as the underlying science.

BOOK REVIEW: Controlled Fusion and Plasma Physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Engelmann, F.

2007-07-01

This new book by Kenro Miyamoto provides an up-to-date overview of the status of fusion research and the important parts of the underlying plasma physics at a moment where, due to the start of ITER construction, an important step in fusion research has been made and many new research workers will enter the field. For them, and also for interested graduate students and physicists in other fields, the book provides a good introduction into fusion physics as, on the whole, the presentation of the material is quite appropriate for getting acquainted with the field on the basis of just general knowledge in physics. There is overlap with Miyamoto's earlier book Plasma Physics for Nuclear Fusion (MIT Press, Cambridge, USA, 1989) but only in a few sections on subjects which have not evolved since. The presentation is subdivided into two parts of about equal length. The first part, following a concise survey of the physics basis of thermonuclear fusion and of plasmas in general, covers the various magnetic configurations studied for plasma confinement (tokamak; reversed field pinch; stellarator; mirror-type geometries) and introduces the specific properties of plasmas in these devices. Plasma confinement in tokamaks is treated in particular detail, in compliance with the importance of this field in fusion research. This includes a review of the ITER concept and of the rationale for the choice of ITER's parameters. In the second part, selected topics in fusion plasma physics (macroscopic instabilities; propagation of waves; kinetic effects such as energy transfer between waves and particles including microscopic instabilities as well as plasma heating and current drive; transport phenomena induced by turbulence) are presented systematically. While the emphasis is on displaying the essential physics, deeper theoretical analysis is also provided here. Every chapter is complemented by a few related problems, but only partial hints for their solution are given. A selection of references, mostly to articles covering original research, allows the interested reader to go deeper into the various subjects. There are a few quite relevant areas which are essentially not covered in the book (plasma diagnostics; fuelling). The discussion of particle and power exhaust is limited to tokamaks and is somewhat scarce. Other points which I did not find fully satisfactory are: the index is too selective and does not really allow easy access to any specific subject. Cross references between different sections treating related topics are not always given. There are quite a lot of typographical errors which as far as cross references are concerned may be disturbing. A list of the symbols used would be a helpful supplement, especially since some of them appear with different meanings. There are apparent imperfections in the structure of certain chapters. While the English is sometimes unusual, this generally does not affect the readability. Overall, the book can be warmly recommended to all interested in familiarizing themselves with the physics of magnetic fusion.

PREFACE: 14th Latin American Workshop on Plasma Physics (LAWPP 2011)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bilbao, Luis; Minotti, Fernando; Kelly, Hector

2012-06-01

These proceedings present the written contributions from participants of the Latin American Workshop on Plasma Physics (LAWPP), which was held in Mar del Plata, Argentina, on 20-25 November 2011. This was the 14th session of the series of LAWPP biennial meetings, which started in 1982. The five-day scientific program of LAWPP 2011 consisted of 32 talks and various poster sessions, with the participation of 135 researchers from Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Puerto Rico, USA, Venezuela, as well as others from Europe and Asia. In addition, a School on Plasma Physics and a Workshop on Industrial Applications of Plasma Technology (AITP) were organized together with the main meeting. The five-day School held in the week previous to the meeting was intended for young scientists starting their research in Plasma Physics. On the other hand, the objective of the AITP Workshop was to enhance regional academic and industrial cooperation in the field of plasma assisted surface technology. Topics addressed at LAWPP 2011 included space plasmas, dusty plasmas, nuclear fusion, non-thermal plasmas, basic plasma processes, plasma simulation and industrial plasma applications. This variety of subjects is reflected in these proceedings, which the editors hope will result in enjoyable and fruitful reading for those interested in Plasma Physics. It is a pleasure to thank the Institutions that sponsored the meeting, as well as all the participants and collaborators for making this meeting possible. The Editors Luis Bilbao, Fernando Minotti and Hector Kelly LAWPP participants Participants of the 14th Latin American Workshop on Plasma Physics, 20-25 November 2011, Mar del Plata, Argentina International Scientific Committee Carlos Alejaldre, Spain María Virginia Alves, Brazil Ibere Caldas, Brazil Luis Felipe Delgado-Aparicio, Peru Mayo Villagrán, Mexico Kohnosuke Sato, Japan Héctor Kelly, Argentina Edberto Leal-Quirós, Puerto Rico George Morales, USA Julio Puerta, Venezuela Leopoldo Soto, Chile Michael Tendler, Sweden Carlos Varandas, Portugal Henry Riascos, Colombia Ivan Vargas-Blanco, Costa Rica Local Organizing Committee Luis Bilbao (Chairman) Fernando Minotti (Vice-Chairman) Luis Bernal, UNMDP Alejandro Clausse, PLADEMA-CNEA Graciela Gnavi, INFIP, CONICET-UBA Fausto Gratton, INFIP, CONICET-UBA Diana Grondona, INFIP, CONICET-UBA Héctor Kelly, INFIP, CONICET-UBA Adriana Márquez, INFIP, CONICET-UBA María Milanese, UNCPBA César Moreno, INFIP, CONICET-UBA Sponsors Instituto de Física del Plasma (INFIP) Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET) Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica (CNEA) Agencia Nacional de Promoción Científica y Tecnológica (ANPCyT) Centro Latino-Americano de Física (CLAF) Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata (UNMP) Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires (UNICEN) Academia Nacional de Ciencias de Buenos Aires (ANCBA) Conference poster

BOOK REVIEW: Introduction to Plasma Physics: With Space and Laboratory Applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Browning, P. K.

2005-07-01

A new textbook on plasma physics must be very welcome, as this will encourage the teaching of courses on the subject. This book is written by two experts in their fields, and is aimed at advanced undergraduate and postgraduate courses. There are of course many other plasma physics textbooks available. The niche which this particular book fills is really defined by its subtitle: that is, `with space and laboratory applications'. This differs from most other books which tend to emphasise either space or fusion applications (but not both) or to concentrate only on general theory. Essentially, the emphasis here is on fundamental plasma physics theory, but applications are given from time to time. For example, after developing Alfvén wave theory, observations of Alfvén waves in the solar wind and in the Jovian magnetosphere are presented; whilst ion acoustic cylcotron waves are illustrated by data from a laboratory Q machine. It is fair to say that examples from space seem to predominate. Nevertheless, the approach of including a broad range of applications is very good from an educational point of view, and this should help to train a generation of students with a grasp of fundamental plasma physics who can work in a variety of research fields. The subject coverage of the book is fairly conventional and there are no great surprises. It begins, inevitably, with a discussion of plasma parameters (Debye length etc) and of single particle motions. Both kinetic theory and magnetohydrodynamics are introduced. Waves are quite extensively discussed in several chapters, including both cold and hot plasmas, magnetised and unmagnetised. Nonlinear effects—a large subject!—are briefly discussed. A final chapter deals with collisions in fully ionised plasmas. The choice of contents of a textbook is always something of a matter of personal choice. It is easy to complain about what has been left out, and everyone has their own favourite topics. With that caveat, I would question whether the rather heavy emphasis on waves is optimal. Newcomers to plasma physics could be left with the impression that plasma physics is mainly a collection of dispersion relations. On the other hand, there is almost no mention of two fluid theory, surely an important subject. Topics relevant to fusion edge plasmas, a subject of growing research interest, are not mentioned at all (for example, sheath theory; also partially ionised plasmas, which are also of course very relevant in space applications). And I am surprised that the discussion of MHD stability does not even mention the kink instability, which is of primary importance both in fusion and solar plasmas. The book is clearly set out and easy to read. Diagrams are clear and helpful. Derivations are properly explained, without leaving too many missing steps. From the point of view of a textbook, it is useful that not too much mathematical knowledge is assumed; for example, when it is needed, the theory of Laplace transforms is explained. A nice feature—very important for a text book—is the presence of end-of-chapter problems. These will be very useful for both students and teachers! It is also good that each chapter has a comprehensive list of references, which might be used to direct more advanced students to the up-to-date scientific literature, as well as suggestions for further reading. Although the primary emphasis is on standard, `classical' plasma physics, a good attempt is made to present more recent aspects of the subject. For example, after presenting the standard theory of particle orbits—which usefully includes a discussion of Hamiltonian theory as well as guiding centre theory—there is an introduction to the topic of chaotic orbits. Such material is important from an educational point of view, so that from the very beginning students are made aware that plasma physics is a living subject. Overall, this is a very useful addition to the literature. I would recommend it for adoption as a course text for those teaching courses in plasma physics. It would also be a useful book for reference or self study for those working in the field, particularly new postgraduate students.

Public Data Set: Impedance of an Intense Plasma-Cathode Electron Source for Tokamak Plasma Startup

DOE Data Explorer

Hinson, Edward T. [University of Wisconsin-Madison] (ORCID:000000019713140X); Barr, Jayson L. [University of Wisconsin-Madison] (ORCID:0000000177685931); Bongard, Michael W. [University of Wisconsin-Madison] (ORCID:0000000231609746); Burke, Marcus G. [University of Wisconsin-Madison] (ORCID:0000000176193724); Fonck, Raymond J. [University of Wisconsin-Madison] (ORCID:0000000294386762); Perry, Justin M. [University of Wisconsin-Madison] (ORCID:0000000171228609)

2016-05-31

This data set contains openly-documented, machine readable digital research data corresponding to figures published in E.T. Hinson et al., 'Impedance of an Intense Plasma-Cathode Electron Source for Tokamak Plasma Startup,' Physics of Plasmas 23, 052515 (2016).

What formulas are good for representing dipole and generalized oscillator-strength spectra

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Inokuti, M.; Dillon, M. A.

The dipole oscillator-strength distribution df/depsilon for a single continuum excitation of an atom or molecule is a function of the kinetic energy epsilon of an outgoing electron. The distribution describes many optical phenomena such as absorption, refraction, and reflection; in particular, df/depsilon is equal to the cross section for ionization by a photon with energy epsilon + I, apart from an universal constant, where I is the ionization threshold for the relevant shell. Furthermore, df/depsilon governs the ionization by glancing collisions of fast charged particles. Recent years have seen considerable accumulation of experimental data on df/depsilon. Those data are indeed valuable for many aplications in radiation physics, plasma physics, atmospheric physics, and astrophysics. In most of these applications, one needs a comprehensive set of data, i.e., numerical values of df/depsilon over a wide range of epsilon, say, from several eV to many keV; most often, one needs data at all epsilon at which df/depsilon is appreciable. A method for systematizing the data so that one can extrapolate or interpolate them dependably was sought.

EDITORIAL: Special issue containing papers presented at the 12th International Workshop on H-mode Physics and Transport Barriers Special issue containing papers presented at the 12th International Workshop on H-mode Physics and Transport Barriers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hahm, T. S.

2010-06-01

The 12th International Workshop on H-mode Physics and Transport Barriers was held at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, Princeton, New Jersey, USA between September 30 and October 2, 2009. This meeting was the continuation of a series of previous meetings which was initiated in 1987 and has been held bi-annually since then. Following the recent tradition at the last few meetings, the program was sub- divided into six sessions. At each session, an overview talk was presented, followed by two or three shorter oral presentations which supplemented the coverage of important issues. These talks were followed by discussion periods and poster sessions of contributed papers. The sessions were: Physics of Transition to/from Enhanced Confinement Regimes, Pedestal and Edge Localized Mode Dynamics, Plasma Rotation and Momentum Transport, Role of 3D Physics in Transport Barriers, Transport Barriers: Theory and Simulations and High Priority ITER Issues on Transport Barriers. The diversity of the 90 registered participants was remarkable, with 22 different nationalities. US participants were in the majority (36), followed by Japan (14), South Korea (7), and China (6). This special issue of Nuclear Fusion consists of a cluster of 18 accepted papers from submitted manuscripts based on overview talks and poster presentations. The paper selection procedure followed the guidelines of Nuclear Fusion which are essentially the same as for regular articles with an additional requirement on timeliness of submission, review and revision. One overview paper and five contributed papers report on the H-mode pedestal related results which reflect the importance of this issue concerning the successful operation of ITER. Four papers address the rotation and momentum transport which play a crucial role in transport barrier physics. The transport barrier transition condition is the main focus of other four papers. Finally, four additional papers are devoted to the behaviour and control of Edge Localized Modes. The selection of topics and overview speakers and the scientific programme were carried out by the International Advisory Committee, consisting of: R. Groebner (GA, USA), T.S. Hahm (PPPL, USA--Chair), A. Hubbard (MIT, USA), K. Ida (NIFS, Japan), S. Lebedev (Ioffe Institute, Russia), N. Oyama (JAEA, Japan), G. Saibene (F4E, EU) and W. Suttrop (IPP, Germany). Their work, advice, and participation contributed to the success of the meeting. Finally, I would like to express deep gratitude to J. Jones and B. Sarfaty who took care of numerous issues relating to the organization of the meeting, and to J.K. Park and several graduate students of the Princeton University Plasma Physics Program for helping with the transportation of participants.

Outreach to Underrepresented Groups in Plasma Physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dominguez, A.; Zwicker, A.; Ortiz, D.; Greco, S. L.

2017-10-01

Physics, and specifically plasma physics, has a recruitment and retention problem for women and historically underrepresented minorities at all levels of their academic careers. For example, women make up approximately 8% of the APS-DPP membership while making up 13% of APS membership at large. In this presentation, we describe outreach activities we have undertaken targeting retention of these groups after their undergraduate careers. These include: Targeted recruitment visits for undergraduate research internships, as well as plasma physics workshops aimed at undergraduate women in physics, faculty members of minority serving institutions, and underrepresented undergraduates. After the first year of implementation, we have already seen results, including students reached through these programs participating in SULI undergraduate internships at PPPL. This work was support by a Grant from the DOE Office of Workforce Development for Teachers and Scientists (WDTS).

Exploring Sun-Earth Connections: A Physical Science Program for (K-8)Teachers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Michels, D. J.; Pickert, S. M.; Thompson, J. L.; Montrose, C. J.

2003-12-01

An experimental, inquiry-based physical science curriculum for undergraduate, pre-service K-8 teachers is under development at the Catholic University of America in collaboration with the Solar Physics Branch of the Naval Research Laboratory and NASA's Sun-Earth Connection missions. This is a progress report. The current, stunningly successful exploratory phase in Sun-Earth Connection (SEC) physics, sparked by SOHO, Yohkoh, TRACE, and other International Solar Terrestrial Physics (ISTP) and Living With a Star (LWS) programs, has provided dynamic, visually intuitive data that can be used for teaching basic physical concepts such as the properties of gravitational and electromagnetic fields which are manifest in beautiful imagery of the astrophysical plasmas of the solar atmosphere and Earth's auroras. Through a team approach capitalizing on the combined expertise of the Catholic University's departments of Education and Physics and of NRL solar researchers deeply involved in SEC missions we have laid out a program that will teach non-science-major undergraduates a very limited number of physical science concepts but in such a way as to develop for each one both a formal understanding and an intuitive grasp that will instill confidence, spark interest and scientific curiosity and, ideally, inspire a habit of lifetime inquiry and professional growth. A three-semester sequence is planned. The first semester will be required of incoming Education freshmen. The second and third semesters will be of such a level as to satisfy the one-year science requirement for non-science majors in the College of Arts and Sciences. The approach as adopted will integrate physics content and educational methods, with each concept introduced through inquiry-based, hands-on investigation using methods and materials directly applicable to K-8 teaching situations (Exploration Phase). The topic is further developed through discussion, demonstration and lecture, introducing such mathematical formulations as are necessary to express the concept clearly (Invention Phase). To further clarify the concept, exercises will be carried out using Web-accessible SEC mission data to develop facility in use of the mathematical formulations, stimulate a sense of participation in ongoing research, and expand on ways to introduce future pupils to the excitement of real-world exploration (Expansion Phase).

Review of inductively coupled plasmas: Nano-applications and bistable hysteresis physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Hyo-Chang

2018-03-01

Many different gas discharges and plasmas exhibit bistable states under a given set of conditions, and the history-dependent hysteresis that is manifested by intensive quantities of the system upon variation of an external parameter has been observed in inductively coupled plasmas (ICPs). When the external parameters (such as discharge powers) increase, the plasma density increases suddenly from a low- to high-density mode, whereas decreasing the power maintains the plasma in a relatively high-density mode, resulting in significant hysteresis. To date, a comprehensive description of plasma hysteresis and a physical understanding of the main mechanism underlying their bistability remain elusive, despite many experimental observations of plasma bistability conducted under radio-frequency ICP excitation. This fundamental understanding of mode transitions and hysteresis is essential and highly important in various applied fields owing to the widespread use of ICPs, such as semiconductor/display/solar-cell processing (etching, deposition, and ashing), wireless light lamp, nanostructure fabrication, nuclear-fusion operation, spacecraft propulsion, gas reformation, and the removal of hazardous gases and materials. If, in such applications, plasma undergoes a mode transition and hysteresis occurs in response to external perturbations, the process result will be strongly affected. Due to these reasons, this paper comprehensively reviews both the current knowledge in the context of the various applied fields and the global understanding of the bistability and hysteresis physics in the ICPs. At first, the basic understanding of the ICP is given. After that, applications of ICPs to various applied fields of nano/environmental/energy-science are introduced. Finally, the mode transition and hysteresis in ICPs are studied in detail. This study will show the fundamental understanding of hysteresis physics in plasmas and give open possibilities for applications to various applied fields to find novel control knob and optimizing processing conditions.

Laboratory Experiments to Simulate and Investigate the Physics Underlying the Dynamics of Merging Solar Corona Structures

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-06-05

have attended and made presen- tations at the annual APS Division of Plasma Physics Meeting, the bi-annual High Energy Laboratory Astrophysics meeting...the AFOSR Space Science Pro- gram Review, the SHINE solar physics meeting, the International Astrophysics Conference, and the workshop “Complex plasma...tor k and Resolving Space-time Ambiguity. GR-Space Physics . submitted. Bellan, P. M., Zhai, X., Chai, K. B., & Ha, B. N. 2015. Complex astrophysical

Computations in Plasma Physics.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cohen, Bruce I.; Killeen, John

1983-01-01

Discusses contributions of computers to research in magnetic and inertial-confinement fusion, charged-particle-beam propogation, and space sciences. Considers use in design/control of laboratory and spacecraft experiments and in data acquisition; and reviews major plasma computational methods and some of the important physics problems they…

Unveiling the High Energy Obscured Universe: Hunting Collapsed Objects Physics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ubertini, P.; Bazzano, A.; Cocchi, M.; Natalucci, L.; Bassani, L.; Caroli, E.; Stephen, J. B.; Caraveo, P.; Mereghetti, S.; Villa, G.

2005-01-01

A large part of energy from space is coming from collapsing stars (SN, Hypernovae) and collapsed stars (black holes, neutron stars and white dwarfs). The peak of their energy release is in the hard-X and gamma-ray wavelengths where photons are insensitive to absorption and can travel from the edge the Universe or the central core of the Galaxy without loosing the primordial information of energy, time signature and polarization. The most efficient process to produce energetic photons is gravitational accretion of matter from a "normal" star onto a collapsed companion (LGxMcollxdMacc/dtx( 1Rdisc)-dMacc/dt x c2), exceeding by far the nuclear reaction capability to generate high energy quanta. Thus our natural laboratory for "in situ" investigations are collapsed objects in which matter and radiation co-exist in extreme conditions of temperature and density due to gravitationally bent geometry and magnetic fields. This is a unique opportunity to study the physics of accretion flows in stellar mass and super-massive Black Holes (SMBHs), plasmoids generated in relativistic jets in galactic microQSOs and AGNs, ionised plasma interacting at the touching point of weakly magnetized NS surface, GRB/Supernovae connection, and the mysterious origins of "dark" GRB and X-ray flash.

Hearing the signal of dark sectors with gravitational wave detectors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jaeckel, Joerg; Khoze, Valentin V.; Spannowsky, Michael

2016-11-01

Motivated by advanced LIGO (aLIGO)'s recent discovery of gravitational waves, we discuss signatures of new physics that could be seen at ground- and space-based interferometers. We show that a first-order phase transition in a dark sector would lead to a detectable gravitational wave signal at future experiments, if the phase transition has occurred at temperatures few orders of magnitude higher than the electroweak scale. The source of gravitational waves in this case is associated with the dynamics of expanding and colliding bubbles in the early universe. At the same time we point out that topological defects, such as dark sector domain walls, may generate a detectable signal already at aLIGO. Both bubble and domain-wall scenarios are sourced by semiclassical configurations of a dark new physics sector. In the first case, the gravitational wave signal originates from bubble wall collisions and subsequent turbulence in hot plasma in the early universe, while the second case corresponds to domain walls passing through the interferometer at present and is not related to gravitational waves. We find that aLIGO at its current sensitivity can detect smoking-gun signatures from domain-wall interactions, while future proposed experiments including the fifth phase of aLIGO at design sensitivity can probe dark sector phase transitions.

Evolution of the phase-space density and the Jeans scale for dark matter derived from the Vlasov-Einstein equation

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

Piattella, O.F.; Rodrigues, D.C.; Fabris, J.C.

2013-11-01

We discuss solutions of Vlasov-Einstein equation for collisionless dark matter particles in the context of a flat Friedmann universe. We show that, after decoupling from the primordial plasma, the dark matter phase-space density indicator Q = ρ/(σ{sub 1D}{sup 2}){sup 3/2} remains constant during the expansion of the universe, prior to structure formation. This well known result is valid for non-relativistic particles and is not ''observer dependent'' as in solutions derived from the Vlasov-Poisson system. In the linear regime, the inclusion of velocity dispersion effects permits to define a physical Jeans length for collisionless matter as function of the primordial phase-spacemore » density indicator: λ{sub J} = (5π/G){sup 1/2}Q{sup −1/3}ρ{sub dm}{sup −1/6}. The comoving Jeans wavenumber at matter-radiation equality is smaller by a factor of 2-3 than the comoving wavenumber due to free-streaming, contributing to the cut-off of the density fluctuation power spectrum at the lowest scales. We discuss the physical differences between these two scales. For dark matter particles of mass equal to 200 GeV, the derived Jeans mass is 4.3 × 10{sup −6}M{sub ⊙}.« less

Astrophysical fluid dynamics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ogilvie, Gordon I.

2016-06-01

> These lecture notes and example problems are based on a course given at the University of Cambridge in Part III of the Mathematical Tripos. Fluid dynamics is involved in a very wide range of astrophysical phenomena, such as the formation and internal dynamics of stars and giant planets, the workings of jets and accretion discs around stars and black holes and the dynamics of the expanding Universe. Effects that can be important in astrophysical fluids include compressibility, self-gravitation and the dynamical influence of the magnetic field that is `frozen in' to a highly conducting plasma. The basic models introduced and applied in this course are Newtonian gas dynamics and magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) for an ideal compressible fluid. The mathematical structure of the governing equations and the associated conservation laws are explored in some detail because of their importance for both analytical and numerical methods of solution, as well as for physical interpretation. Linear and nonlinear waves, including shocks and other discontinuities, are discussed. The spherical blast wave resulting from a supernova, and involving a strong shock, is a classic problem that can be solved analytically. Steady solutions with spherical or axial symmetry reveal the physics of winds and jets from stars and discs. The linearized equations determine the oscillation modes of astrophysical bodies, as well as their stability and their response to tidal forcing.

Overview of MST Research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sarff, J. S.; MST Team

2011-10-01

MST progress in advancing the RFP for (1) fusion plasma confinement with minimal external magnetization, (2) toroidal confinement physics, and (3) basic plasma physics is summarized. New tools and diagnostics are accessing physics barely studied in the RFP. Several diagnostic advances are important for ITER/burning plasma. A 1 MW neutral beam injector operates routinely for fast ion, heating, and transport investigations. Energetic ions are also created spontaneously by tearing mode reconnection, reminiscent of astrophysical plasmas. Classical confinement of impurity ions is measured in reduced-tearing plasmas. Fast ion slowing-down is also classical. Alfven-eigenmode-like activity occurs with NBI, but apparently not TAE. Stellarator-like helical structure appears in the core of high current plasmas, with improved confinement characteristics. FIR interferometry, Thomson scattering, and HIBP diagnostics are beginning to explore microturbulence scales, an opportunity to exploit the RFP's high beta and strong magnetic shear parameter space. A programmable power supply for the toroidal field flexibly explores scenarios from advanced inductive profile control to low current tokamak operation. A 1 MW 5.5 GHz source for electron Bernstein wave injection is nearly complete to investigate heating and current drive in over-dense plasmas. Supported by DOE and NSF.

New Outreach Initiatives at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zwicker, Andrew; Dominguez, Arturo; Greco, Shannon; Ortiz, Deedee; Delooper, John

2015-11-01

In FY15, PPPL concentrated its efforts on a portfolio of outreach activities centered around plasma science and fusion energy that have the potential to reach a large audience and have a significant and measurable impact. The overall goal of these outreach activities is to expose the public (within New Jersey, the US and the world) to the Department of Energy's scientific endeavors and specifically to PPPL's research regarding fusion and plasma science. The projects include several new activities along with upgrades to existing ones. The new activities include the development of outreach demos for the plasma physics community and the upgrade of the Internet Plasma Physics Experience (IPPEX). Our first plasma demo is a low cost DC glow discharge, suitable for tours as well as for student laboratories (plasma breakdown, spectroscopy, probes). This has been field tested in a variety of classes and events. The upgrade to the IPPEX web site includes a new template and a new interactive virtual tokamak. Future work on IPPEX will provide users limited access to data from NSTX-U. Finally, our Young Women's Conference was expanded and improved. These and other new outreach activities will be presented.

Integration of process diagnostics and three dimensional simulations in thermal spraying

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Wei

Thermal spraying is a group of processes in which the metallic or ceramic materials are deposited in a molten or semi-molten state on a prepared substrate. In atmospheric plasma spray process, a thermal plasma jet is used to heat up and accelerate loading particles. The process is inherently complex due to the deviation from equilibrium conditions, three dimensional nature, multitude of interrelated variables involved, and stochastic variability at different stages. This dissertation is aimed at understanding the in-flight particle state and plasma plume characteristics in atmospheric plasma spray process through the integration of process diagnostics and three-dimensional simulation. Effects of injection angle and carrier gas flow rate on in-flight particle characteristics are studied experimentally and interpreted through numerical simulation. Plasma jet perturbation by particle injection angle, carrier gas, and particle loading are also identified. Maximum particle average temperature and velocity at any given spray distance is systematically quantified. Optimum plasma plume position for particle injection which was observed in experiments was verified numerically along with description of physical mechanisms. Correlation of spray distance with in-flight particle behavior for various kinds of materials is revealed. A new strategy for visualization and representation of particle diagnostic results for thermal spray processes has been presented. Specifically, 1 st order process maps (process-particle interactions) have been addressed by converting the Temperature-Velocity of particles obtained via diagnostics into non-dimensional group parameters [Melting Index-Reynolds number]. This approach provides an improved description of the thermal and kinetic energy of particles and allows for cross-comparison of diagnostic data within a given process for different materials, comparison of a single material across different thermal spray processes, and detailed assessment of the melting behavior through recourse to analysis of the distributions. An additional group parameter, Oxidation Index, has been applied to relatively track the oxidation extent of metallic particles under different operating conditions. The new mapping strategies have also been proposed in circumstances where only ensemble particle diagnostics are available. Through the integration of process diagnostics and numerical simulation, key issues concerning in-flight particle status as well as the controlling physical mechanisms have been analyzed. A scientific and intellectual strategy for universal description of particle characteristics has been successfully developed.

Physical vs. photolithographic patterning of plasma polymers: an investigation by ToF-SSIMS and multivariate analysis

PubMed Central

Mishra, Gautam; Easton, Christopher D.; McArthur, Sally L.

2009-01-01

Physical and photolithographic techniques are commonly used to create chemical patterns for a range of technologies including cell culture studies, bioarrays and other biomedical applications. In this paper, we describe the fabrication of chemical micropatterns from commonly used plasma polymers. Atomic force microcopy (AFM) imaging, Time-of-Flight Static Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (ToF-SSIMS) imaging and multivariate analysis have been employed to visualize the chemical boundaries created by these patterning techniques and assess the spatial and chemical resolution of the patterns. ToF-SSIMS analysis demonstrated that well defined chemical and spatial boundaries were obtained from photolithographic patterning, while the resolution of physical patterning via a transmission electron microscopy (TEM) grid varied depending on the properties of the plasma system including the substrate material. In general, physical masking allowed diffusion of the plasma species below the mask and bleeding of the surface chemistries. Multivariate analysis techniques including Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Region of Interest (ROI) assessment were used to investigate the ToF-SSIMS images of a range of different plasma polymer patterns. In the most challenging case, where two strongly reacting polymers, allylamine and acrylic acid were deposited, PCA confirmed the fabrication of micropatterns with defined spatial resolution. ROI analysis allowed for the identification of an interface between the two plasma polymers for patterns fabricated using the photolithographic technique which has been previously overlooked. This study clearly demonstrated the versatility of photolithographic patterning for the production of multichemistry plasma polymer arrays and highlighted the need for complimentary characterization and analytical techniques during the fabrication plasma polymer micropatterns. PMID:19950941

Plasma physics and the 2013-2022 decadal survey in solar and space physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baker, Daniel N.

2016-11-01

The U.S. National Academies established in 2011 a steering committee to develop a comprehensive strategy for solar and space physics research. This updated and extended the first (2003) solar and space physics decadal survey. The latest decadal study implemented a 2008 Congressional directive to NASA for the fields of solar and space physics, but also addressed research in other federal agencies. The new survey broadly canvassed the fields of research to determine the current state of the discipline, identified the most important open scientific questions, and proposed the measurements and means to obtain them so as to advance the state of knowledge during the years 2013-2022. Research in this field has sought to understand: dynamical behaviour of the Sun and its heliosphere; properties of the space environments of the Earth and other solar system bodies; multiscale interaction between solar system plasmas and the interstellar medium; and energy transport throughout the solar system and its impact on the Earth and other solar system bodies. Research in solar and space plasma processes using observation, theory, laboratory studies, and numerical models has offered the prospect of understanding this interconnected system well enough to develop a predictive capability for operational support of civil and military space systems. We here describe the recommendations and strategic plans laid out in the 2013-2022 decadal survey as they relate to measurement capabilities and plasma physical research. We assess progress to date. We also identify further steps to achieve the Survey goals with an emphasis on plasma physical aspects of the program.

Computational study of hot electron generation and energy transport in intense laser produced hot dense matter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mishra, Rohini

Present ultra high power lasers are capable of producing high energy density (HED) plasmas, in controlled way, with a density greater than solid density and at a high temperature of keV (1 keV ˜ 11,000,000° K). Matter in such extreme states is particularly interesting for (HED) physics such as laboratory studies of planetary and stellar astrophysics, laser fusion research, pulsed neutron source etc. To date however, the physics in HED plasma, especially, the energy transport, which is crucial to realize applications, has not been understood well. Intense laser produced plasmas are complex systems involving two widely distinct temperature distributions and are difficult to model by a single approach. Both kinetic and collisional process are equally important to understand an entire process of laser-solid interaction. By implementing atomic physics models, such as collision, ionization, and radiation damping, self consistently, in state-of-the-art particle-in-cell code (PICLS) has enabled to explore the physics involved in the HED plasmas. Laser absorption, hot electron transport, and isochoric heating physics in laser produced hot dense plasmas are studied with a help of PICLS simulations. In particular, a novel mode of electron acceleration, namely DC-ponderomotive acceleration, is identified in the super intense laser regime which plays an important role in the coupling of laser energy to a dense plasma. Geometric effects on hot electron transport and target heating processes are examined in the reduced mass target experiments. Further, pertinent to fast ignition, laser accelerated fast electron divergence and transport in the experiments using warm dense matter (low temperature plasma) is characterized and explained.

Childhood Chronic Physical Aggression Associates with Adult Cytokine Levels in Plasma

PubMed Central

Provençal, Nadine; Suderman, Matthew J.; Vitaro, Frank; Szyf, Moshe; Tremblay, Richard E.

2013-01-01

Background An increasing number of animal and human studies are indicating that inflammation is associated with behavioral disorders including aggression. This study investigates the association between chronic physical aggression during childhood and plasma cytokine levels in early adulthood. Methodology/Principal Findings Two longitudinal studies were used to select males on a chronic physical aggression trajectory from childhood to adolescence (n = 7) and a control group from the same background (n = 25). Physical aggression was assessed yearly by teachers from childhood to adolescence and plasma levels of 10 inflammatory cytokines were assessed at age 26 and 28 years. Compared to the control group, males on a chronic physical aggression trajectory from childhood to adolescence had consistently lower plasma levels of five cytokines: lower pro-inflammatory interleukins IL-1α (T(28.7) = 3.48, P = 0.002) and IL-6 (T(26.9) = 3.76, P = 0.001), lower anti-inflammatory interleukin IL-4 (T(27.1) = 4.91, P = 0.00004) and IL-10 (T(29.8) = 2.84, P = 0.008) and lower chemokine IL-8 (T(26) = 3.69, P = 0.001). The plasma levels of four cytokines accurately predicted aggressive and control group membership for all subjects. Conclusions/Significance Physical aggression of boys during childhood is a strong predictor of reduced plasma levels of cytokines in early adulthood. The causal and physiological relations underlying this association should be further investigated since animal data suggest that some cytokines such as IL-6 and IL-1β play a causal role in aggression. PMID:23922720

SciDAC GSEP: Gyrokinetic Simulation of Energetic Particle Turbulence and Transport

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

Lin, Zhihong

Energetic particle (EP) confinement is a key physics issue for burning plasma experiment ITER, the crucial next step in the quest for clean and abundant energy, since ignition relies on self-heating by energetic fusion products (α-particles). Due to the strong coupling of EP with burning thermal plasmas, plasma confinement property in the ignition regime is one of the most uncertain factors when extrapolating from existing fusion devices to the ITER tokamak. EP population in current tokamaks are mostly produced by auxiliary heating such as neutral beam injection (NBI) and radio frequency (RF) heating. Remarkable progress in developing comprehensive EP simulationmore » codes and understanding basic EP physics has been made by two concurrent SciDAC EP projects GSEP funded by the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Fusion Energy Science (OFES), which have successfully established gyrokinetic turbulence simulation as a necessary paradigm shift for studying the EP confinement in burning plasmas. Verification and validation have rapidly advanced through close collaborations between simulation, theory, and experiment. Furthermore, productive collaborations with computational scientists have enabled EP simulation codes to effectively utilize current petascale computers and emerging exascale computers. We review here key physics progress in the GSEP projects regarding verification and validation of gyrokinetic simulations, nonlinear EP physics, EP coupling with thermal plasmas, and reduced EP transport models. Advances in high performance computing through collaborations with computational scientists that enable these large scale electromagnetic simulations are also highlighted. These results have been widely disseminated in numerous peer-reviewed publications including many Phys. Rev. Lett. papers and many invited presentations at prominent fusion conferences such as the biennial International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Fusion Energy Conference and the annual meeting of the American Physics Society, Division of Plasma Physics (APS-DPP).« less