Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “relativistic processes”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 181 records · Page 10
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1976

Efficiencies for production of atomic nitrogen and oxygen by relativistic proton impact in air

Relativistic electron and proton impact cross sections are obtained and represented by analytic forms which span the energy range from threshold to 1 GeV. For ionization processes, the Massey-Mohr continuum generalized oscillator strength surface is parameterized. Parameters are determined by simultaneous fitting to (1) empirical data, (2) the Bethe sum rule, and (3) doubly differential cross sections for ionization. Branching ratios for dissociation and predissociation from important states of N2 and O2 are determined. The efficiency for the production of atomic nitrogen and oxygen by protons with kinetic energy less than 1 GeV is determined using these branching ratio and cross section assignments.

Porter, H. S.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Radio imaging of solar flares using the very large array - New insights into flare process

An interpretation of VLA observations of microwave bursts is presented in an attempt to distinguish between certain models of flares. The VLA observations provide information about the pre-flare magnetic field topology and the existence of mildly relativistic electrons accelerated during flares. Examples are shown of changes in magnetic field topology in the hour before flares. In one case, new bipolar loops appear to emerge, which is an essential component of the model developed by Heyvaerts et al. (1977). In another case, a quadrupole structure, suggestive of two juxtaposed bipolar loops, appears to trigger the flare. Because of the observed diversity of magnetic field topologies in microwave bursts, it is believed that the magnetic energy must be dissipated in more than one way. The VLA observations are clearly providing means for sorting out the diverse flare models.

Kundu, M. R.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Implications of cyclotron features in the X-ray spectrum of Her X-1

The X-ray spectra from binary pulsars is investigated through the modification of physical processes due to an intense magnetic field. An effective scattering cross section for line photons and the Coulomb cross section for electron-ion collisions, treating the electrons relativistically, are calculated. The quantization of electron orbits in strong fields are discussed. The absorption cross sections and emission rates for cyclotron photons are calculated. An application of the results to the data from Hercules X-1 is examined.

Bussard, R.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Precise time and Time Interval (PTTI) measurements from the navigation technology satellites and the GPS NAVSTAR-4 satellite

A time domain estimate for the NAVSTAR-4 SV clock offset was obtained for each SV pass over the GPS monitor sites, using a smoothed reference ephemeris, with corrections for ionospheric delay, tropospheric delay, earth rotation and relativistic effects. Conversion from the time domain to the frequency domain was made using the two sample Allan Variance; sigma-tau plots used to identify the noise processes. Estimates of flicker and white frequency noise for the NAVSTAR-4 rubidium frequency standard were obtained. The contribution of the reference ground clocks and other error sources to the frequency stability estimates were also considered.

Buisson, J. A.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Relativistic plasmas

Recent work on the kinetic theory of a highly relativistic electron gas and the associated photon opacity is discussed. The relaxation time for thermalization by Moller scattering is compared with the characteristic times associated with various loss processes acting to perturb the distribution away from equilibrium. For an optically thin plasma, bremsstrahlung is found to dominate Moller scattering when the dimensionless electron temperature is greater than about 3.5. Results are presented for the opacity from Compton scattering, pair production in the fields of electrons and ions, inverse bremsstrahlung, and synchrotron self-absorption.

Gould, R. J.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Pair annihilation in superstrong magnetic fields

The kinematical and dynamical aspects of the annihilation processes in superstrong magnetic fields are studied. The feasibility and potential significance of detecting from magnetic neutron stars are discussed. The discussion proceeds from the derivation of the fully relativistic differential cross sections and annihilation rates for both one- and two-photon emission from a ground-state gas of electrons and positrons in a static, uniform magnetic field.

Daugherty, J. K.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Ionization of K-shell electrons by highly relativistic protons

A comparative study of three theoretical formalisms by Anholt et al. (1976), Scofield (1978), and Becker et al. (1985) for K-shell ionization by highly relativistic protons has been carried out. The importance of the spin-flip mechanism is emphasized. It is concluded that in the analysis of such inner-shell ionization processes, an accurate description of the projectile-target interaction is of much more significance than the accuracy of the wave functions of the atomic electrons.

Rustgi, M. L.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Manipulation of quantum evolution

The free evolution of a non-relativistic charged particle is manipulated using time-dependent magnetic fields. It is shown that the application of a programmed sequence of magnetic pulses can invert the free evolution process, forcing an arbitrary wave packet to 'go back in time' to recover its past shape. The possibility of more general operations upon the Schrodinger wave packet is discussed.

Cabera, David Jose Fernandez↗
NASA NTRS1974

Non-relativistic solar electrons

Summary of both the direct spacecraft observations of nonrelativistic solar electrons, and observations of the X-ray and radio emission generated by these particles at the sun and in the interplanetary medium. These observations bear on three physical processes basic to energetic particle phenomena: (1) the acceleration of particles in tenuous plasmas; (2) the propagation of energetic charged particles in a disordered magnetic field, and (3) the interaction of energetic charged particles with tenuous plasmas to produce electromagnetic radiation. Because these electrons are frequently accelerated and emitted by the sun, mostly in small and relatively simple flares, it is possible to define a detailed physical picture of these processes. In many small solar flares nonrelativistic electrons accelerated during flash phase constitute the bulk of the total flare energy. Thus the basic flare mechanism in these flares essentially converts the available flare energy into fast electrons. Nonrelativistic electrons exhibit a wide variety of propagation modes in the interplanetary medium, ranging from diffusive to essentially scatter-free. This variability in the propagation may be explained in terms of the distribution of interplanetary magnetic field fluctuations.

Lin, R. P.↗
NASA NTRS1999

A Plasma Instability Theory of Gamma-Ray Burst Emission

A plasma instability theory is presented for the prompt radiation from gamma-ray bursts. In the theory, a highly relativistic shell interacts with the interstellar medium through the filamentation and the two-stream instabilities to convert bulk kinetic energy into electron thermal energy and magnetic field energy. The processes are not efficient enough to satisfy the Rankine-Hugoniot conditions, so a shock cannot form through this mechanism. Instead, the interstellar medium passes through the shell, with the electrons radiating during this passage. Gamma-rays are produced by synchrotron self-Compton emission. Prompt optical emission is also produced through this mechanism, while prompt radio emission is produced through synchrotron emission. The model timescales are consistent with the shortest burst timescales. To emit gamma-rays, the shell's bulk Lorentz factor must be $\simg 10(exp 3)$. For the radiative processes to be efficient, the interstellar medium density must satisfy a lower limit that is a function of the bulk Lorentz factor. Because the limits operate as selection effects, bursts that violate them constitute new classes. In particular, a class of optical and ultraviolet bursts with no gamma-ray emission should exist. The lower limit on the density of the interstellar medium is consistent with the requirements of the Compton attenuation theory, providing an explanation for why all burst spectra appear to be attenuated. Several tests of the theory are discussed, as are the next theoretical investigations that should be conducted.

Brainerd, Jerome J.↗
NASA NTRS2006

Dynamic Theory of Relativistic Electrons Stochastic Heating by Whistler Mode Waves with Application to the Earth Magnetosphere

In the Hamiltonian approach an electron motion in a coherent packet of the whistler mode waves propagating along the direction of an ambient magnetic field is studied. The physical processes by which these particles are accelerated to high energy are established. Equations governing a particle motion by group symmetries of the problem were transformed in to a closed pair of nonlinear difference equations. The solutions of these equations have shown there exists the energetic threshold below that the electron motion is regular, and when the initial energy is above the threshold an electron moves stochastically. It is proved that the upper boundary of particle stochastic heating is conditioned by intrinsic property of the particle chaotic motion. Particle energy spectra and pitch angle electron scattering are described by the Fokker-Planck-Kolmogorov equations. It is shown that significant pitch angle diffusion occurs for the Earth radiation belt electrons with energies from a few keV up to a few MeV.

Khazanov, G. V.↗
NASA NTRS2007

Dynamic Theory of Relativistic Electrons Stochastic Heating by Whistler Mode Waves with Application to the Earth Magnetosphere

In the Hamiltonian approach an electron motion in a coherent packet of the whistler mode waves propagating along the direction of an ambient magnetic field is studied. The physical processes by which these particles are accelerated to high energy are established. Equations governing a particle motion were transformed in to a closed pair of nonlinear difference equations. The solutions of these equations have shown there exists the energetic threshold below that the electron motion is regular, and when the initial energy is above the threshold an electron moves stochastically. Particle energy spectra and pitch angle electron scattering are described by the Fokker-Planck-Kolmogorov equations. Calculating the stochastic diffusion of electrons due to a spectrum of whistler modes is presented. The parametric dependence of the diffusion coefficients on the plasma particle density, magnitude of wave field, and the strength of magnetic field is studies. It is shown that significant pitch angle diffusion occurs for the Earth radiation belt electrons with energies from a few keV up to a few MeV.

Khazanov, G. V.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Astrophysical gamma-ray production by inverse Compton interactions of relativistic electrons

The inverse Compton scattering of background photon gases by relativistic electrons is a good candidate for the production of high-energy gamma rays in the diffuse interstellar medium as well as in discrete sources. By discussing the special case of the scattering of the diffuse starlight in the interstellar medium by cosmic ray electrons, we demonstrate that previous derivations of the gamma ray source function for this process on the basis of the Thomson limit of the Klein-Nishina cross section lead to incorrect values for gamma-ray energies above 100 MeV. It is shown that the Thomson limit is not applicable for the calculation of gamma-ray source functions in astrophysical circumstances in which target photons with energies greater than 1 eV are scattered by relativistic electrons.

Schlickeiser, R.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Diffusive transport in cluster-center radio sources

Unlike most jet-fed radio sources, those attached to dominant central galaxies in clusters are thought to be maintained by diffusion of relativistic electrons through the turbulent, magnetized cluster gas. However, severe synchrotron losses do not allow the electrons to diffuse far enough to account for these sources, unless some in situ reacceleration process is taking place. In this paper I consider the possibility that second-order turbulent acceleration can account for these sources.

Eilek, Jean A.↗
NASA NTRS2007

The Physical Nature of Polar Broad Absorption Line Quasars

It has been shown based on radio variability arguments that some BALQSOs (broad absorption line quasars) are viewed along the polar axis (o rthogonal to accretion disk) in the recent article of Zhou et a. Thes e arguments are based on the brightness temperature, T(sub b) exceedi ng 10(exp 12) K which leads to the well-known inverse Compton catastr ophe unless the radio jet is relativistic and is viewed along its axi s. In this letter, we expand the Zhou et al sample of polar BALQSOs u sing their techniques applied to SDSS DR5. In the process, we clarify a mistake in their calculation of brightness temperature. The expanded sample of high T(sub b) BALQSOS, has an inordinately large fraction of LoBALQSOs (low ionization BALQSOs). We consider this an important clue to understanding the nature of the polar BALQSOs. This is expec ted in the polar BALQSO analytical/numerical models of Punsly that pr edicted that LoBALQSOs occur when the line of sight is very close to the polar axis, where the outflow density is the highest.

Ghost, Kajal↗
NASA NTRS2011

Bursty Precipitation Driven by Chorus Waves

The electron precipitation bursts have been shown to be a major sink for the radiation belt relativistic electrons. As underlying mechanism of such bursts, we propose particle scattering into the loss cone due to nonlinear resonance interaction between electrons and chorus. Stochastic heating due to the coupling leads to diffusion in pitch angle, and the rate of diffusion would be sufficient to account for the emptying of the Earth's radiation belt over the time of the main phase of geomagnetic storms. The results obtained in the present paper account for a strong energy dependence in the electron precipitation event and the correlation between the energization and loss processes on macroscopic timescales, which is primarily attributed to the cooperative effects of the coupling. This mechanism of chorus scattering should produce pitch angle distributions that are energy-dependent and butterfly-shaped. The calculated timescales and the total energy input to the atmosphere from precipitating relativistic electrons are in reasonable agreement with experimental data.

Khazanov, G. V.↗
NASA NTRS2000

Photoionization and Recombination

Theoretically self-consistent calculations for photoionization and (e + ion) recombination are described. The same eigenfunction expansion for the ion is employed in coupled channel calculations for both processes, thus ensuring consistency between cross sections and rates. The theoretical treatment of (e + ion) recombination subsumes both the non-resonant recombination ("radiative recombination"), and the resonant recombination ("di-electronic recombination") processes in a unified scheme. In addition to the total, unified recombination rates, level-specific recombination rates and photoionization cross sections are obtained for a large number of atomic levels. Both relativistic Breit-Pauli, and non-relativistic LS coupling, calculations are carried out in the close coupling approximation using the R-matrix method. Although the calculations are computationally intensive, they yield nearly all photoionization and recombination parameters needed for astrophysical photoionization models with higher precision than hitherto possible, estimated at about 10-20% from comparison with experimentally available data (including experimentally derived DR rates). Results are electronically available for over 40 atoms and ions. Photoionization and recombination of He-, and Li-like C and Fe are described for X-ray modeling. The unified method yields total and complete (e+ion) recombination rate coefficients, that can not otherwise be obtained theoretically or experimentally.

Nahar, Sultana N.↗
NASA NTRS1997

Learning about jet physics from gamma-ray blazars

The spectral properties of the MeV radiation-dominated blazars are used to place constraints on the physical parameters of relativistic jets in quasars. The luminosities and positions of high energy and low energy spectral components are used to derive constraints on the jet speeds, magnetic fields and the distances at which most of the nonthermal radiation is produced. By comparing the theoretically predicted bulk-Compton radiation with the observed soft X-ray luminosities, upper limits on the optical thickness and lower limits on the distance where the relativistic jet is formed and collimated, are identified. The results show that these jets should be Thomson optically thin and, in the case of gamma ray production dominated by the external radiation Compton process, favor proton-electron jets. Weaker constraints on the pair production are provided if the gamma ray production is dominated by the synchrotron self Compton (SSC) process. The values of the jet Lorentz factors predicted by the SSC models are smaller than those observed in quasars.

Sikora, M.↗