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Qian, S.

Publications and source records attributed to Qian, S..

6 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1990

Evolution equation for infinitesimal rotational discontinuities

An evolution equation in the form of a modified Korteweg-de Vries equation is developed which describes the small-amplitude version of the infinitesimal rotational discontinuity (RD) studied by Wang and Sonnerup (1984). It is shown that the small-amplitude version of the equilibrium pulse solution obtained by Wang and Sonnerup is metastable and thus unlikely to arise spontaneously. When the initial pulse amplitude is smaller than and/or the initial pulse width is greater than the equilibrium value, the pulse decays. When the reverse is the case, the pulse is converted to an infinitesimal intermediate-mode solitary wave having greater pulse amplitude and speed. A simulation experiment is performed in which one of the equilibrium intermediate-mode solitary waves overtakes another, less rapidly moving version of the same wave. The existence of multipeaked intermediate-mode solitary pulses is demonstrated.

Sonnerup, B. U. O.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Particle simulation of ion heating in the ring current

Heating of heavy ions has been observed in the equatorial magnetosphere in GEOS 1 and 2 and ATS 6 data due to ion cyclotron waves generated by anisotropic hot ring current ions. A one-dimensional hybrid-Darwin code has been developed to study ion heating in the ring current. Here, a strong instability and heating of thermal ions is investigated in a plasma with a los cone distribution of hot ions. The linear growth rate calculation and particle simulations are conducted for cases with different loss cones and relative ion densities. The linear instability of the waves, the quasi-linear heating of cold ions and dependence on the thermal H(+)/He(+) density ratio are analyzed, as well as nonlinear parallel heating of thermal ions. Effects of thermal oxygen and hot oxygen are also studied.

Qian, S.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Oxygen acoustic solitary waves in a magnetized plasma

Ion-acoustic solitary waves in a magnetized plasma containing an arbitrary mixture of H(+) and O(+) ions are studied. A nonlinear wave equation has been derived from the Poisson-Vlasov equations, including a uniform magnetic field and dissipation due to reflected electrons. When dissipation is ignored, the equation has soliton solutions associated with both oxygen and hydrogen acoustic modes, which can be either rarefactive or compressive depending on the ion concentrations and the electron/ion temperature ratio and, more weakly, on the bulk drifts of the species. If electron reflection is included, the solitary wave can be intensified. Under somewhat restrictive conditions the oxygen solitary wave is rarefactive and propagates with a velocity comparable to that observed by the Viking satellite. The three-dimensional solitons obey a relation of scales parallel to the magnetic field and in the transverse direction. Computer simulations of one-dimensional versions of the nonlinear wave equation are presented.

Qian, S.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Dynamics of localized ion-acoustic waves in a magnetized plasma

The evolution of negative potential pulses in a magnetized plasma is studied. A three-dimensional nonlinear ion-acoustic wave equation, including nonstationary effects of reflected electrons, has been derived from the Poisson-Vlasov equations with uniform magnetic field. The studies show that a negative potential pulse can be enhanced by drifting electrons. The growing pulse develops asymmetrically with an oscillatory precursor and a local potential jump resembling the early phase of weak double layer formation.

Qian, S.↗