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At least 271 records · Page 15

Enabling Real-time Multi-messenger Astrophysics Discoveries with Deep Learning

Multi-messenger astrophysics is a fast-growing, interdisciplinary field that combines data, which vary in volume and speed of data processing, from many different instruments that probe the Universe using different cosmic messengers: electromagnetic waves, cosmic rays, gravitational waves and neutrinos. In this Expert Recommendation, we review the key challenges of real-time observations of gravitational wave sources and their electromagnetic and astroparticle counterparts, and make a number of recommendations to maximize their potential for scientific discovery. These recommendations refer to the design of scalable and computationally efficient machine learning algorithms; the cyber-infrastructure to numerically simulate astrophysical sources, and to process and interpret multi-messenger astrophysics data; the management of gravitational wave detections to trigger real-time alerts for electromagnetic and astroparticle follow-ups; a vision to harness future developments of machine learning and cyber-infrastructure resources to cope with the big-data requirements; and the need to build a community of experts to realize the goals of multi-messenger astrophysics.

E A Huerta

Theory of microwave remote sensing

Active and passive microwave remote sensing of earth terrains is studied. Electromagnetic wave scattering and emission from stratified media and rough surfaces are considered with particular application to the remote sensing of soil moisture. Radiative transfer theory for both the random and discrete scatterer models is examined. Vector radiative transfer equations for nonspherical particles are developed for both active and passive remote sensing. Single and multiple scattering solutions are illustrated with applications to remote sensing problems. Analytical wave theory using the Dyson and Bethe-Salpeter equations is employed to treat scattering by random media. The backscattering enhancement effects, strong permittivity fluctuation theory, and modified radiative transfer equations are addressed. The electromagnetic wave scattering from a dense distribution of discrete scatterers is studied. The effective propagation constants and backscattering coefficients are calculated and illustrated for dense media.

Tsang, L.

Electromagnetic processes in the atmosphere of pulsars

The work consists of two parts. The first deals with the fine structure of radio pulses. Based on kinetic theory, processes occurring in the plasma shell of a pulsar when external electromagnetic radiation is present are investigated. It is shown that electromagnetic waves cause electrons to drift relative to ions, and initiate longitudinal oscillations. A dispersion equation describing the longitudinal oscillations in magnetized plasma is derived. Conditions for excitation of oscillations are found. Correlation functions of electron density are calculated, along with the coefficients of electromagnetic wave scattering. It is shown that variations in the amplitude of pulsar pulses are associated with scintillations caused by fluctuations in the plasma electron density. The second part of the study presents a mechanism for the radio emission of pulsars. The model of a rotating and a pulsating star, a neutron star with dipolar or more complex magnetic field, is examined.

Yukhimuk, A. K.

Correlated plasma wave, magnetic field, and energetic ion observations in the ion pickup region of Comet Giacobini-Zinner

Relationships between simultaneous plasma wave, magnetic field, and energetic heavy ion data obtained by the International Cometary Explorer (ICE) spacecraft in the large-scale solar wind particle pickup region surrounding Comet Giacobini-Zinner are examined. In particular, consideration is given to the conditions under which electrostatic emissions at frequencies of a few kilohertz and electromagnetic waves at a few tens of hertz are observed. It is shown that the data are consistent with the view that the kilohertz electrostatic emissions result from a beam-type instability excited by the pickup photoelectron population when the angle alpha between the magnetic field and the plasma velocity vectors is not too large. The data also suggest that the few tens of hertz electromagnetic waves may be excited by a ring-type instability associated with the pickup ion population, which occurs when the magnetic field is near to orthogonality with the flow.

Richardson, I. G.

Measuring Gravitation Using Polarization Spectroscopy

A proposed method of measuring gravitational acceleration would involve the application of polarization spectroscopy to an ultracold, vertically moving cloud of atoms (an atomic fountain). A related proposed method involving measurements of absorption of light pulses like those used in conventional atomic interferometry would yield an estimate of the number of atoms participating in the interferometric interaction. The basis of the first-mentioned proposed method is that the rotation of polarization of light is affected by the acceleration of atoms along the path of propagation of the light. The rotation of polarization is associated with a phase shift: When an atom moving in a laboratory reference interacts with an electromagnetic wave, the energy levels of the atom are Doppler-shifted, relative to where they would be if the atom were stationary. The Doppler shift gives rise to changes in the detuning of the light from the corresponding atomic transitions. This detuning, in turn, causes the electromagnetic wave to undergo a phase shift that can be measured by conventional means. One would infer the gravitational acceleration and/or the gradient of the gravitational acceleration from the phase measurements.

Matsko, Andrey

Induced gyroresonant emission of extraordinary mode radiation

Induced amplification of extraordinary-mode electromagnetic waves in a magnetized plasma is investigated. The analysis is performed for a plasma which consists of two components: a relatively dense species of thermal plasma and a diffuse population of suprathermal electrons characterized by a loss cone-type distribution. The excitation mechanism is primarily due to the interaction of the electromagnetic waves with the energetic electrons via the relativistic cyclotron resonance which arises because of the momentum dependence of the gyrofrequency. The present study is particularly concerned with waves propagating perpendicularly and nearly perpendicularly with respect to the external magnetic field, since it is expected that for these cases the cyclotron damping due to thermal electrons is vanishingly small and the growth rates are maximum. The results indicate that excitation occurs primarily for frequencies near the first two gyroharmonics.

Freund, H. P.

Generation of Electron Suprathermal Tails in the Upper Solar Atmosphere: Implications for Coronal Heating

We present a mechanism for the generation of non-Maxwellian electron distribution function in the upper regions of the solar atmosphere in the presence of collisional damping. It is suggested that finite amplitude, low frequency, obliquely propagating electromagnetic waves can carry a substantial electric field component parallel to the mean magnetic field that can be significantly larger than the Dreicer electric field. This long wavelength electric fluctuation is capable of generating high frequency electron plasma oscillations and low frequency ion acoustic-like waves. The analysis has been performed using 1-1/2D Vlasov and PIC numerical simulations in which both electrons and ions are treated kinetically and self consistently. The simulation results indicate that high frequency electron plasma oscillations and low frequency ion acoustic-like waves are generated. The high frequency electron plasma oscillation drives electron plasma turbulence, which subsequently is damped out by the background electrons. The turbulence damping results in electron acceleration and the generation of non-Maxwellian suprathermal tails on time scales short compared to collisional damping. Bulk heating also occurs if the fluctuating parallel electric field is strong enough. This study suggests that finite amplitude, low frequency, obliquely propagating, electromagnetic waves can play a significant role in the acceleration and heating of the solar corona electrons and in the coupling of medium and small-scale phenomena.

Vinas, Adolfo F.

Dynamic magneto-chiral instability in photoexcited tellurium

In systems of charged chiral fermions out of equilibrium, an electric current parallel to a magnetic field can generate a dynamic instability that amplifies electromagnetic waves. Whether this mechanism also operates in chiral solid-state systems has remained uncertain. Here we observe signatures of a dynamic magneto-chiral instability in elemental tellurium, a structurally chiral crystal, using time-domain terahertz emission spectroscopy. Under transient photoexcitation in a moderate magnetic field, we observe terahertz radiation with coherent modes that grow in amplitude over time. We present a theoretical model that describes this behaviour based on a dynamic instability of electromagnetic waves interacting with infrared-active oscillators of acceptor states in tellurium, giving rise to an amplifying polariton. These results demonstrate that magneto-chiral instabilities can emerge in solid-state systems and establish a mechanism for terahertz-wave amplification in chiral materials.

42 ENGINEERING

Simulation of an inductively coupled plasma with a two-dimensional Darwin particle-in-cell code

A two-dimensional particle-in-cell code for the simulation of low-frequency electromagnetic processes in laboratory plasmas has been developed. The code uses the Darwin method omitting the electromagnetic wave propagation. The Darwin method separates the electric field into solenoidal and irrotational parts. The solenoidal electric field is calculated with a new algorithm based on the equation for the electric field vorticity. The system of linear equations in the new algorithm is readily solved using a standard iterative method. The irrotational electric field is the electrostatic field calculated with the direct implicit algorithm. The code is verified by reproducing the two-stream instability, electron electromagnetic waves, and shear Alfvén waves. The code is applied to simulate an inductively coupled plasma with the driving current flowing around the plasma region. In this simulation, a ring of dense plasma forms at the initial stage but then the density becomes maximal in the center and decays monotonically toward the walls. The skin effect is in the transitional mode between local and non-local, and the electron velocity distribution function is non-Maxwellian.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY

LRAT: Lightning Radiative Transfer

In this report, we extend to cloud physics the work done for single and multiple scattering of electromagnetic waves. We consider the scattering of light, visible or infrared, by a spherical cloud represented by a statistically homogeneous ensemble of configurations of N identical spherical water droplets whose centers are uniformly distributed in its volume V. The ensemble is specified by the average number rho of scatterers in unit volume and by rho f(R) with f(R) as the distribution function for separations R of pairs. The incident light, vector-phi(sub 0) a plane electromagnetic wave with harmonic time dependence, is from outside the cloud. The propagation parameter kappa(sub 0) and the index of refraction eta(sub 0) determine physically the medium outside the distribution of scatterers. We solve the interior problem separately to obtain the bulk parameters for the scatterer equivalent to the ensemble of spherical droplets. With the interior solution or the equivalent medium approach, the multiple scattering problem is reduced to that of an equivalent single scatterer excited from outside illumination. A dispersion relation which determines the bulk propagation parameter K and the bulk index of refraction eta of the cloud is given in terms of the vector equivalent scattering amplitude vector-G and the dyadic scattering amplitude tilde-g of the single object in isolation. Based on this transfer model we will have the ability to consider clouds composed of inhomogeneous distribution of water and/or ice particles and we will be able to take into account particle size distributions within the cloud. We will also be able to study the effects of cloud composition (i.e., particle shape, size, composition, orientation, location) on the polarization of the single or the multiple scattered waves. Finally, this study will provide a new starting point for studying the problem of lightning radiative transfer.

Phanord, Dieudonne D.

Radiative Transfer in a Discrete Random Medium Adjacent to a Half-Space with a Rough Interface

For a macroscopically plane-parallel discrete random medium, the boundary conditions for the specific coherency dyadic at a rough interface are derived. The derivation is based on a modification of the Twersky approximation for a scattering system consisting of a group of particles and the rough surface, and reduces to the solution of the scattering problem for a rough surface illuminated by a plane electromagnetic wave propagating in a discrete random medium with non-scattering boundaries. In a matrix-form setting, the boundary conditions for the specific coherency dyadic imply the boundary conditions for specific intensity column vectors which in turn, yield the expressions for the reflection and transmission matrices. The derived expressions are shown to be identical to those obtained by applying a phenomenological approach based on a facet model to the solution of the scattering problem for a rough surface illuminated by a plane electromagnetic wave.

Adrian Doicu

Electromagnetic Scattering by Discrete Random Media. II: The Coherent Field

The computation of the coherent field in the case of a plane electromagnetic wave obliquely incident on a discrete random layer with non-scattering boundaries is addressed. For dense media, the analysis is based on a special-form solution for the conditional configuration-averaged exciting field coefficients, and is restricted to the computation of the so-called zeroth-order fields without a special treatment of the boundary regions. In this setting, we calculate the coherent fields reflected and transmitted by the layer, and the coherent field inside the layer. We found that these fields are analytically equivalent to plane electromagnetic waves, and investigated the fulfillment of the boundary conditions for the electric fields at the layer interfaces. The results are then particularized to the cases of normal incidence and a semi-infinite discrete random medium. For sparsely distributed particles, we present a self-consistent derivation of the coherent field and discuss the Twersky and Foldy approximations.

Adrian Doicu

Dependent scattering and fractal microstructure determine the transparency of aerogel monoliths

This study reveals how dependent scattering and microstructure significantly affect electromagnetic wave propagation through aerogel monoliths, contributing to their transparency. Light scattering by particle ensembles is considered “dependent” when the scattering properties rely not only on particle size and optical constants but also on their spatial distribution, typically occurring when the average interparticle distance is small in comparison with the wavelength of incident radiation. Addressing dependent scattering requires solving Maxwell’s equations for complex heterogeneous structures, which is computationally demanding and usually limited to sample thicknesses on the same scale as the wavelength. This study combines computer-generated ambigel microstructures of fractal aggregates of polydisperse nanoparticles and the radiative transfer with reciprocal transaction method to predict the transmittance of thick ambigel slabs. Transmittance measurements of ambiently dried aerogel monoliths (ambigels) with porosities from about 50% to 90% closely matched the predicted values for their digital twins. However, ignoring dependent scattering or particle aggregation led to inaccurate predictions. This study validated the computational framework, and its findings offer insights for designing photonic metamaterials and analyzing their interactions with electromagnetic waves.

Yalcin, Refet A. (ORCID:0000000339973494)

Experiments in low energy plasmas

Electron energy loss in afterglow plasmas, plasma transport and stability and electromagnetic wave propagation through magnetoplasmas

MAGNETOPLASMA