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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.

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At least 271 records · Page 15
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2003

Self-Consistent Model of Magnetospheric Ring Current and Electromagnetic Ion Cyclotron Waves: The 2-7 May 1998 Storm

A complete description of a self-consistent model of magnetospheric ring current interacting with electromagnetic ion cyclotron waves is presented. The model is based on the system of two kinetic equations; one equation describes the ring current ion dynamics, and another equation describes the wave evolution. The effects on ring current ions interacting with electromagnetic ion cyclotron waves and back on waves are considered self-consistently by solving both equations on a global magnetospheric scale under nonsteady state conditions. The developed model is employed to simulate the entire 2-7 May 1998 storm period. First, the trapped number fluxes of the ring current protons are calculated and presented along with comparison with the data measured by the three- dimensional hot plasma instrument Polar/HYDRA. Incorporating in the model the wave-particle interaction leads to much better agreement between the experimental data and the model results. Second, examining of the wave (MLT, L shell) distributions produced by the model during the storm progress reveals an essential intensification of the wave emission about 2 days after the main phase of the storm. This result is well consistent with the earlier ground-based observations. Finally, the theoretical shapes and the occurrence rates of the wave power spectral densities are studied. It is found that about 2 days after the storm s main phase on 4 May, mainly non-Gaussian shapes of power spectral densities are produced.

Khazanov, G. V.↗
NASA NTRS2011

Low Frequency Turbulence as the Source of High Frequency Waves in Multi-Component Space Plasmas

Space plasmas support a wide variety of waves, and wave-particle interactions as well as wavewave interactions are of crucial importance to magnetospheric and ionospheric plasma behavior. High frequency wave turbulence generation by the low frequency (LF) turbulence is restricted by two interconnected requirements: the turbulence should be strong enough and/or the coherent wave trains should have the appropriate length. These requirements are strongly relaxed in the multi-component plasmas, due to the heavy ions large drift velocity in the field of LF wave. The excitation of lower hybrid waves (LHWs), in particular, is a widely discussed mechanism of interaction between plasma species in space and is one of the unresolved questions of magnetospheric multi-ion plasmas. It is demonstrated that large-amplitude Alfven waves, in particular those associated with LF turbulence, may generate LHW s in the auroral zone and ring current region and in some cases (particularly in the inner magnetosphere) this serves as the Alfven wave saturation mechanism. We also argue that the described scenario can playa vital role in various parts of the outer magnetosphere featuring strong LF turbulence accompanied by LHW activity. Using the data from THEMIS spacecraft, we validate the conditions for such cross-scale coupling in the near-Earth "flow-braking" magnetotail region during the passage of sharp injection/dipolarization fronts, as well as in the turbulent outflow region of the midtail reconnection site.

Khazanov, George V.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Plasma wave observations at Comets Giacobini-Zinner and Halley

Cometary plasma wave measurements in the spectral range from the lower hybrid resonance frequency to the electron plasma frequency are presented for the Comets Giacobini-Zinner and Halley. The results show the significant role played by plasma physics in controlling the solar wind interaction with a comet. A variety of very strong wave-particle interactions are found to develop in the entire region where strong mass loading occurs, and additional important plasma instabilities are found in the vast region where newly-born ions are picked up by the solar wind. The difficulties involved in making plasma wave measurements in the presence of large fluxes of dust particles impacting the spacecraft at high speed are discussed.

Scarf, Frederick↗
NASA NTRS1990

Electron-positron heating and the eclipsing millisecond pulsar PSR 1957 + 20

The companion in the eclipsing millisecond PSR 1957 + 20 appears to be strongly heated by the pulsar and may also be rapidly losing mass due to that heating. A new mechanism is presented by which the heating may be accomplished: diffusion of mildly relativistic electron-positron pairs from the pulsar's relativistic wind through a thermal wind issuing from the companion. Wave-particle scattering regulates the depth at which the pairs deposit their energy; requirements of self-consistency place bounds on the wave spectrum and pair distribution function. If the pairs carry over about 10 percent of the pulsar spin-down luminosity, and the companion's heavy element abundance is subsolar, the heating rate can be adequate to drive a wind with sufficient momentum flux to explain the eclipse geometry. Annihilation photons then heat the companion beneath its photosphere and supply a significant part of the power for the optical luminosity. This model also suggests that the eclipse duration decreases sharply above a critical photon frequency.

Krolik, Julian H.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Association of electron conical distributions with upper hybrid waves

The particle and plasma wave data of the DE 1 and Swedish Viking satellites shows that intense (greater than 1 mV/m) upper hybrid emissions are sometimes present in the midaltitude polar magnetosphere on both the dayside cusp/cleft and the nightside auroral regions and that waves near the upper hybrid frequency are often associated with electron conical distributions. These observations are consistent with the production of at least some electron conical distributions by oblique heating of the electrons by upper hybrid waves. Examination of the wave data to establish the role of parallel heating remains to be performed.

Menietti, J. D.↗
NASA NTRS2013

Solar Wind Strahl Broadening by Self-Generated Plasma Waves

This Letter reports on the results of numerical simulations which may provide a possible explanation for the strahl broadening during quiet solar conditions. The relevant processes involved in the broadening are due to kinetic quasi-linear wave-particle interaction. Making use of static analytical electron distribution in an inhomogeneous field, it is found that self-generated electrostatic waves at the plasma frequency, i.e., Langmuir waves, are capable of scattering the strahl component, resulting in energy and pitch-angle diffusion that broadens its velocity distribution significantly. The present theoretical results provide an alternative or complementary explanation to the usual whistler diffusion scenario, suggesting that self-induced electrostatic waves at the plasma frequency might play a key role in broadening the solar wind strahl during quiet solar conditions.

strahl↗
NASA NTRS1984

Direct multiple path magnetospheric propagation - A fundamental property of nonducted VLF waves

An elongation of 20-200 ms, attributed to closely spaced multiple propagation paths between the satellite and the ground, is noted in well defined pulses observed by the ISEE 1 satellite in nonducted whistler mode signals from the Siple Station VLF transmitter. Electric field measurements show a 2 to 10 dB amplitude variation in the observed amplitude fading pattern which is also consistent with direct multiple path propagation. The results obtained for two cases, one outside and one inside the plasmapause, establish that the direct signals transmitted from the ground arrive almost simultaneously at any point in the magnetosphere along two or more closely spaced direct ray paths. It is also shown that multiple paths can be explained by assuming field-aligned irregularities, and the implications of these results for nonducted wave-particle interaction in the magnetosphere are discussed. For reasonable parameters of nonducted, multiple path propagation, a cyclotron-resonant electron will experience a wave Doppler broadening of a few tens to a few hundreds of Hz.

Sonwalkar, V. S.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Standing hydromagnetic oscillations in the magnetosphere

The mechanisms for generating Alfven waves in the magnetosphere are determined, on the basis of a comprehensive survey of satellite magnetometer data. The mechanisms are classified in terms of the physical properties of standing Alfven waves such as the direction of the major axis of polarization, harmonic mode, and the azimuthal wave number. In an analysis of the statistical organization of the pulsations, it is shown that the most common transverse waves seem to be azimuthally polarized waves involving the fundamental and several harmonics, with radially polarized waves excited at the second harmonic. The former are probably driven externally, while the latter are likely to be excited internally through particle-wave interactions.

Takahashi, K.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Magnetospheric radio and plasma wave research - 1987-1990

This review covers research performed in the area of magnetospheric plasma waves and wave-particle interactions as well as magnetospheric radio emissions. The report focuses on the near-completion of the discovery phase of radio and plasma wave phenomena in the planetary magnetospheres with the successful completion of the Voyager 2 encounters of Neptune and Uranus. Consideration is given to the advances made in detailed studies and theoretical investigations of radio and plasma wave phenomena in the terrestrial magnetosphere or in magnetospheric plasmas in general.

Kurth, W. S.↗
NASA NTRS2021

ARTEMIS Observations of Plasma Waves in Laminar and Perturbed Interplanetary Shocks

The ‘Acceleration, Reconnection, Turbulence and Electrodynamics of the Moon's Interaction with the Sun’ (ARTEMIS) mission provides a unique opportunity to study the structure of interplanetary shocks and the associated generation of plasma waves with frequencies between ~50-8000 Hz due to its long duration electric and magnetic field burst waveform captures. We compare wave properties and occurrence rates at 11 quasi-perpendicular interplanetary shocks with burst data within 10 minutes (~3200 proton gyroradii upstream, ~1900 downstream) of the shock ramp. A perturbed shock is defined as possessing a large amplitude whistler precursor in the quasi-static magnetic field with an amplitude greater than ⅓ the difference between the upstream and downstream average magnetic field magnitudes; laminar shocks lack these large precursors and have a smooth, step function-like transition. In addition to wave modes previously observed, including ion acoustic, whistler, and electrostatic solitary waves, waves in the ion acoustic frequency range that show rapid temporal frequency change are common. Three shocks had burst captures in the ramp; of these, the two laminar shocks with burst data in the ramp contained a wide range of large amplitude wave modes in the ramp whereas the one perturbed shock contained no such waves. Thus, energy dissipation through wave-particle interactions is more prominent in these two laminar shocks than in the perturbed shock. Based on observations from all 11 shocks, the The wave occurrence rates for laminar shocks are higher in the transition region, especially the ramp, than downstream. In contrast, perturbed shocks have approximately 2-3 times the wave occurrence rate downstream than laminar shocks.

L. A. Davis↗
NASA NTRS1978

The kinetic effects of Alfven wave pressure in the solar wind

The results of a kinetic model for the radial evolution of the proton component of the solar wind in the presence of Alfven waves are presented. The calculation is based on general quasi-linear equations developed to describe the temporal and spatial evolution of the ion distribution functions of a multispecies plasma in presence of waves, using a short wavelength expansion. These equations include new wave-particle interaction terms arising from temporal and spatial inhomogeneities in the plasma. Numerical solutions are obtained of these equations specialized to the case of Alfven waves in a spherically symmetric solar wind. The Alfven wave effects on the proton distribution function vary strongly in velocity space. Protons with small transverse velocities are primarily decelerated with respect to the wave rest frame. This deceleration becomes less important with increasing transverse velocity, as wave induced diffusion to larger transverse velocity becomes the dominant effect. The competition of these effects results in interesting distortions of evolving proton distribution functions which give rise the wave acceleration well known from fluid theory.

Goodrich, C. C.↗
NASA NTRS2024

Electrostatic Waves and Electron Holes in Simulations of Low-Mach Quasi-Perpendicular Shocks

Collisionless low Mach number shocks are abundant in astrophysical and space plasma environments, exhibiting complex wave activity and wave-particle interactions. In this paper, we present 2D Particle in-Cell (PIC) simulations of quasi-perpendicular nonrelativistic (vsh ≈ (5500−22000) km/s) low Mach number shocks, with a specific focus on studying electrostatic waves in the shock ramp and the precursor regions. In these shocks, an ion-scale oblique whistler wave creates a configuration with two hot counter streaming electron beams, which drive unstable electron acoustic waves (EAWs) that can turn into electrostatic solitary waves (ESWs) at the late stage of their evolution. By conducting simulations with periodic boundaries, we show that EAW properties agree with linear dispersion analysis. The characteristics of ESWs in shock simulations, including their wavelength and amplitude, depend on the shock velocity. When extrapolated to shocks with realistic velocities (vsh ≈ 300 km/s), the ESW wavelength is reduced to one tenth of the electron skin depth and the ESW amplitude is anticipated to surpass that of the quasi-static electric field by more than a factor of 100. These theoretical predictions may explain a discrepancy, between PIC and satellite measurements, in the relative amplitude of high and low-frequency electric field fluctuations.

Plasma astrophysics↗
NASA NTRS1992

Electrostatic waves due to field-aligned electron beams in the low-latitude boundary layer

Mass-resolved ion, electron, and plasma wave data obtained from several low-latitude boundary layer (LLBL) crossings by the AMPTE CCE satellite are analyzed. The data clearly separate the LLBL from the adjacent magnetosheath and magnetosphere. Attention was focused on wave-particle interactions involving electrons. Electron beams were found to be present in the LLBL during the southward interplanetary magnetic field, along with a simultaneous enhancement of electrostatic waves with parallel polarization. Linear theory analysis shows that for plasma conditions in the LLBL, electron beams are unstable to electrostatic waves that propagate parallel to the local magnetic field, in agreement with observations. A numerical simulation study of the beam-plasma interaction in the LLBL shows that the instability saturates by thermalization of the beam but that a beamlike structure can still remain in the electron distribution for certain initial parameters. It is suggested that peaks in the electron velocity distribution function may be found in the LLBL away from the beam source region.

Peroomian, V.↗
NASA NTRS2010

Recent Developments in the Radiation Belt Environment Model

The fluxes of energetic particles in the radiation belts are found to be strongly controlled by the solar wind conditions. In order to understand and predict the radiation particle intensities, we have developed a physics-based Radiation Belt Environment (RBE) model that considers the influences from the solar wind, ring current and plasmasphere. Recently, an improved calculation of wave-particle interactions has been incorporated. In particular, the model now includes cross diffusion in energy and pitch-angle. We find that the exclusion of cross diffusion could cause significant overestimation of electron flux enhancement during storm recovery. The RBE model is also connected to MHD fields so that the response of the radiation belts to fast variations in the global magnetosphere can be studied.Weare able to reproduce the rapid flux increase during a substorm dipolarization on 4 September 2008. The timing is much shorter than the time scale of wave associated acceleration.

Fok, M.-C.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Relaxation of the loss-cone by quasi-linear diffusion of the electron-cyclotron maser instability in the solar corona

A self-consistent numeric two-dimensional code using kinetic-wave particle equations has been developed and applied to the maser dynamics of the solar corona. Time histories generated by the code reveal details of the evolution of the linear phase, the saturation and subsequent relaxation of the loss cone. Quantitative values are obtained for the saturation time, the amount of the converted free energy, the critical wave energy level for onset of maser diffusion, the velocity and pitch angle range of the resonant particles, and the relative importance of the different magnetoionic modes and harmonics. A wide range of initial conditions is covered by varying the loss-cone distribution and the ambient cold plasma parameters.

Aschwanden, Markus J.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Solar terrestrial observatory

Eight basic solar-terrestrial scientific objectives that benefit from the Shuttle/Platform approach and a program of measurements for each are discussed. The objectives are to understand: (1) solar variability, (2) wave-particle processes, (3) magnetosphere-ionosphere mass transport, (4) the global electric circuit, (5) upper atmospheric dynamics, (6) middle atmospheric chemistry and energetics, (7) lower atmospheric turbidity, and (8) planetary atmospheric waves. A two stage approach to a multidisciplinary payload is developed: an initial STO, that uses a single platform in a low-Earth orbit, and an advanced STO that uses two platforms in differing orbits.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1972

Particle-flux limits in the synchronous orbit.

Examination of measurements of 40- and 75-keV electrons and 60and 120-keV protons on the ATS 5 satellite in synchronous orbit in order to show that fluxes of such particles often approach but rarely exceed limiting values that agree within a factor of about 2 with the fluxes predicted by Kennel and Petschek (1966) from consideration of whistler-mode wave-particle interactions. A study is made of the proton and electron fluxes for evidence of the stably trapped flux limits in order to determine them, and to study the local-time dependences of their existence.

Mozer, F. S.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Comparison of magnetosonic wave and water group ion energy densities at Comet Giacobini-Zinner

Measurements of the Comet Giacobini-Zinner (GZ) are presented to determine to what extent wave-particle scattering redistributed the initial pick-up energy of the ion population. Also examined is the difference between the ion thermal energy and the energy in the magnetic fields of the waves. In spite of uncertainty of about a factor of 2 noted in the pick-up and mass-loaded regions, it is shown that less than approximately 50 percent of the pick-up energy is converted into wave magnetic energy in the inbound pick-up region.

Staines, K.↗