Engineering topics

Zank, G P

Publications and source records attributed to Zank, G P.

10 records

DOE OSTI2012

Numerical modeling of the solar wind flow with observational boundary conditions

In this paper we describe our group efforts to develop a self-consistent, data-drivenmodel of the solar wind (SW) interaction with the local interstellar medium. The motion of plasma in this model is described with the MHD approach, while the transport of neutral atoms is addressed by either kinetic or multi-fluid equations. The model and its implementation in the Multi-Scale Fluid-Kinetic Simulation Suite (MS-FLUKSS) are continuously tested and validated by comparing our results with other models and spacecraft measurements. In particular, it was successfully applied to explain an unusual SW behavior discovered by the Voyager 1 spacecraft, i.e., the development of a substantial negative radial velocity component, flow turning in the transverse direction, while the latitudinal velocity component goes to very small values. We explain recent SW velocity measurements at Voyager 1 in the context of our 3-D, MHD modeling. We also present a comparison of different turbulence models in their ability to reproduce the SW temperature profile from Voyager 2 measurements. The boundary conditions obtained at 50 solar radii from data-driven numerical simulations are used to model a CME event throughout the heliosphere.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2012

A ROLE OF MAGNETOSONIC PULSES ON VARIATIONS OF VOYAGER-1 MeV ELECTRON INTENSITY IN THE HELIOSHEATH

Voyager 1 (V1) spacecraft observed electrons of 6-14 MeV in the heliosheath which showed several enhancements of significant flux variation. We compare these temporal electron flux variations, from the time when V1 crossed the termination shock (TS) up to mid-2008, with dynamical phenomena in the heliosheath that are obtained from our MHD simulations which are based on Voyager 2 (V2) observed solar-wind data. Our simulations indicate that all electron flux enhancements, except for one, correspond fairly well to the times when a magnetosonic (MS) pulse was driven downstream of the TS due to collision of interplanetary shock (IPS) or shock-driven MS pulse and its reflection in the heliosheath that either passed V1, or collided with the TS or with the plasma sheet near the heliopause (HP). This result suggests that these enhancements in the electron flux should correspond to either direct or indirect effects of MS pulses in the heliosheath driven by IPSs. The scale of the heliosphere is estimated by comparing V1-observed magnetic field intensity with the simulated intensity which suggests that V1 is possibly located near the HP within 4-8 AU at the present time.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2012

Solitons in two-fluid plasma

We examine ion-acoustic solitons in two-fluid plasmas without the usual simplification of setting electron mass to zero. Assuming one-dimensional, electrostatic and cold protons, the system is treated analytically, resulting in an integral form solution. We present numerical calculations which resolve the ion-acoustic solitary wave signatures. Also, we consider the conditions for which ion-acoustic solitons may exist. The existence conditions set up a Mach number threshold. Our result shows that the Mach number threshold depends on the electron-to-proton mass ratio and the electron adiabatic index; for a special adiabatic index {gamma}= 2, the condition reduces to a cubic equation.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

DOE OSTI2012

Numerical modeling of transient phenomena in the distant solar wind and in the heliosheath

In this paper we summarize our group's efforts to develop a self-consistent, data-driven model of the solar wind interaction with the local interstellar medium. In this model, we describe the motion of plasma with the MHD approach, while the transport of neutral atoms is described by either kinetic or multi-fluid equations. The model and its implementation in the Multi-Scale Fluid-Kinetic Simulation Suite (MS-FLUKSS) is thoroughly tested and validated by comparing our results with other models and spacecraft measurements. The model appears to be rather accurate in reproducing the Interstellar Boundary Explorer ribbon and the general features of the plasma flow available from the Voyager 1 and 2 in-situ data. In particular, the timing of the Voyager crossing of the termination shock is reasonably accurately reproduced without involving exotically strong interstellar magnetic field values. We added a turbulence model to our governing equations and started treating pickup ions as a separate fluid, which made it possible to greatly improve our ability to reproduce the proton temperature. We discuss the results of our modeling of corotating interaction regions, global merged interaction regions, and solar cycle effects. A possible explanation is provided for the low radial velocity measurements from Voyager 1.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

DOE OSTI2012

PICK-UP ION DISTRIBUTIONS AND THEIR INFLUENCE ON ENERGETIC NEUTRAL ATOM SPECTRAL CURVATURE

This paper focuses on the analysis and significance of the spectral curvature of energetic neutral atoms (ENAs) detected by the Interstellar Boundary Explorer. The flux versus energy spectrum is analytically expressed in terms of the source proton distributions, namely: (1) the solar wind kappa distribution of protons and (2) the coexisting filled spherical shell distribution of pick-up ions (PUIs). The influence of PUIs on the spectral index and curvature is modeled and investigated in detail. It is analytically shown that (1) the PUI speed upper limit is restricted by the Earthward PUI velocity vector, (2) the PUI distribution causes a positive spectral curvature, and (3) the exact expressions of the spectral index and curvature can be used to extract information about the governing parameters of the parent proton distributions. The sky maps of the spectral curvature reveal a possible band-like configuration of positive spectral curvature that is missing in the original flux sky maps. This band can be roughly separated into the north/south polar regions and two ecliptic meridional 'columns' located around the ecliptic longitudes {approx}5 Degree-Sign and {approx}150 Degree-Sign . The geometric locus between the two cones with noseward axis, and apertures {approx}60 Degree-Sign and {approx}120 Degree-Sign , configures the band-like region of (1) the positive curvature and (2) the maximum values of PUI distribution. Indeed, the observed curvature band is highly correlated with PUI distributions, and is possibly caused by the influence of PUIs on bending the spectrum from linear (log-log scale) to concave upward, thus increasing its spectral curvature.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2012

RADIAL VELOCITY ALONG THE VOYAGER 1 TRAJECTORY: THE EFFECT OF SOLAR CYCLE

As Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 are approaching the heliopause (HP)-the boundary between the solar wind (SW) and the local interstellar medium (LISM)-we expect new, unknown features of the heliospheric interface to be revealed. A seeming puzzle reported recently by Krimigis et al. concerns the unusually low, even negative, radial velocity components derived from the energetic ion distribution. Steady-state plasma models of the inner heliosheath (IHS) show that the radial velocity should not be equal to zero even at the surface of the HP. Here we demonstrate that the velocity distributions observed by Voyager 1 are consistent with time-dependent simulations of the SW-LISM interaction. In this Letter, we analyze the results from a numerical model of the large-scale heliosphere that includes solar cycle effects. Our simulations show that prolonged periods of low to negative radial velocity can exist in the IHS at substantial distances from the HP. It is also shown that Voyager 1 was more likely to observe such regions than Voyager 2.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2012

THE TRANSPORT OF LOW-FREQUENCY TURBULENCE IN ASTROPHYSICAL FLOWS. I. GOVERNING EQUATIONS

Numerous problems in space physics and astrophysics require a detailed understanding of the transport and dissipation of low-frequency turbulence in an expanding magnetized flow. We employ a scale-separated decomposition of the incompressible MHD equations (based on an Elssaesser description) and develop a moment hierarchy to describe the transport of the total energy density in fluctuations, the cross-helicity, the energy difference, and correlation lengths corresponding to forward- and backward-propagating modes and to the energy difference. The dissipation terms for the various transport equations are derived. One-point closure schemes are utilized. The technical elements of this work that distinguish it from previous studies are (1) the inclusion of the large-scale background inhomogeneous Alfvenic velocity V{sub A} at a level of detail greater than before, (2) the introduction of a tractable slow timescale closure to eliminate high-frequency interference terms that is likely to prove a useful approximation for practical problems related to the transport of turbulence in an inhomogeneous flow such as the solar wind or solar corona, and finally, (3) we develop a simplified phenomenology for the energy difference or equivalently residual energy that may be useful for practical applications. This yields a coupled system of six equations that describes the transport of turbulence in inhomogeneous sub-Alfvenic and super-Alfvenic flows. The turbulence transport equations are quasi-linear in their spatial evolution operators and nonlinear in the dissipation terms, making the model equations relatively tractable to analysis.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2011

Heliopause Instabilities Driven by Plasma-Neutral Interaction: Linear Analysis from Fluid Model

The heliopause (HP) is the outer edge of the heliosphere that separates the tenuous and hot heliosheath plasma from the relatively dense and cool magnetized plasma of the local interstellar medium (LISM). As a surface of tangential discontinuity, the HP is subject to both Rayleigh-Taylor (RT) and Kelvin-Helmholtz (KH) instabilities. The coupling between plasma ions and neutral atoms through charge exchange provides an ''effective gravity'' for RT, while shear flows due to the velocity difference between the heliosheath and the interstellar flows can drive KH modes. We derive the linearized dispersion relations for waves propagating along the surface of this discontinuity using a fluid picture, to study the possibility for both RT and KH instabilities, including a second population of energetic neutrals produced by charge exchange interactions between the hot solar wind plasma in the heliosheath with interstellar hydrogen. We show that due to charge exchange interactions, the HP is unconditionally unstable to all perturbations.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

DOE OSTI2010

Modified Burgers' equation resulting from a hydrodynamic model of shock waves with reflected particles

Ion reflection at perpendicular, collisionless shock waves is treated in a simple gas dynamical context. The effect of pickup ions reflected by the cross-shock potential and their subsequent energization in the motional electric field is included through the introduction of source terms in the basic inviscid fluid equations. From a weak source description, a Burgers' equation is derived modified by the addition of a quadratically nonlinear term. The construction of Burgers' equation demonstrates explicitly that particle reflection is a dissipation mechanism for collisionless shocks. Numerical solutions for the modified Burgers' equation (MBE) are presented. From these solutions it is implied that the dissipative term of the MBE is associated with the length scale of the shock foot, while the additional term is associated with the shock ramp. The general physical model is discussed in terms of the reflection and energization of pickup ions at outer heliospheric perpendicular shocks.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

DOE OSTI2010

ALFVEN SIMPLE WAVES: EULER POTENTIALS AND MAGNETIC HELICITY

The magnetic helicity characteristics of fully nonlinear, multi-dimensional Alfven simple waves are investigated, by using relative helicity formulae and also by using an approach involving poloidal and toroidal decomposition of the magnetic field and magnetic vector potential. Different methods to calculate the magnetic vector potential are used, including the homotopy and Biot-Savart formulae. Two basic Alfven modes are identified: (1) the plane one-dimensional Alfven simple wave given in standard texts, in which the Alfven wave propagates along the z-axis with wave phase {psi} = k{sub 0}(z - {lambda}t), where k{sub 0} is the wave number and {lambda} is the group velocity of the wave and (2) the generalized Barnes simple Alfven wave in which the wave normal n moves in a circle in the xy-plane perpendicular to the mean field, which is directed along the z-axis. The plane Alfven wave (1) is analogous to the slab Alfven mode and the generalized Barnes solution (2) is analogous to the two-dimensional mode in Alfvenic, incompressible turbulence. The helicity characteristics of these two basic Alfven modes are distinct. The helicity characteristics of more general multi-dimensional simple Alfven waves are also investigated. Applications to nonlinear Alfvenic fluctuations and structures observed in the solar wind are discussed.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗