Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “Particles & Fields”

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 37 records · Page 2

Dynamics Explorer measurements of particles, fields, and plasma drifts over a horse-collar auroral pattern

As shown from ground-based measurements and satellite-borne imagers, one type of global auroral pattern characteristic of quiet (usually northward IMF) intervals is that of a contracted but thickened emission region of a pattern referred to as 'horse-collar' aurora (Hones et al., 1989). In this report we use the Dynamics Explorer data set to examine a case in which this horse-collar pattern was observed by the DE-1 auroral imager, while at the same time DE-2, at lower altitude, measured precipitating particles, electric and magnetic fields, and plasma drifts. Our analysis shows that, in general, there is close agreement between the optical signatures and the particle precipitation patterns. In many instances, over scales ranging from tens to a few hundred kilometers, electron precipitation features and upward field-aligned currents are observed at locations where the plasma flow gradients indicate negative V-average x E. The particle, plasma, and field measurements made along the satellite track and the 2D perspective of the imager provide a means of determining the configuration of convective flows in the high-latitude ionosphere during this interval of northward IMF. Recent mapping studies are used to relate the low-altitude observations to possible magnetospheric source regions.

Sharber, J. R.↗

Humidity and particle fields around some small cumulus clouds

Aircraft-borne measurements showed that five small cumulus clouds were surrounded by regions of high humidity out to distances of several cloud radii from their centers. Total particle concentrations in the regions of high humidity were about twice those in the air at the same level but well removed from the cloud boundaries. The regions of high humidity and particle concentrations also coincided with regions of high turbulence surrounding the clouds. In addition to affecting particle production, regions of high humidity surrounding clouds can be expected to affect chemical process and atmospheric radiation transfer.

Radke, Lawrence F.↗

Evidence for parallel electric field particle acceleration in the dayside auroral oval

Electron and ion energy spectra and electron pitch angle distributions are presented for two sounding rocket flights in the dayside auroral zone. At times, effects of dc electric fields parallel to the magnetic field are evident in that: (1) within precipitation features, protons are decelerated by an amount of energy consistent with that which electrons gain and (2) electrons are sometimes aligned to within 3 deg (full width at half maximum) of the magnetic field. A maximum altitude for the accelerating region of several thousand kilometers is deduced from the narrow width of the pitch angle distribution and also from time-of-flight delays between the observation of accelerated electrons and decelerated protons.

Torbert, R. B.↗

Image analysis of particle field by means of computed tomography

In order to visualize and investigate spray structures, computed tomography technique is applied to analyze droplet information. From the transmitted light intensity through the spray and/or the data of particle size distribution obtained from a Fraunhofer diffraction principle, the quantitative volume of spray droplet or local particle size was calculated and the reconstruction of spray structures was made. The background of computed tomography is described along with some experimental results of the structure of intermittent spray such as diesel spray.

Nakayama, Mitsushige↗

Observations and Modeling of the Green Ocean Amazon 2014/15: Transmission Electron Microscopy Analysis of Aerosol Particles Field Campaign Report

During two Intensive Operational Periods (IOP), we collected samples at 3-hour intervals for transmission electron microscopy analysis. The resulting transmission electron microscopy images and compositions were analyzed for the samples of interest. Further analysis will be done especially for the plume of interest. We found solid spherical organic particles from rebounded samples collected with Professor Scot Martin’s group (Harvard University). Approximately 30% of the rebounded particles at 95% relative humidity were spherical organic particles. Their sources and formation process are not known, but such spherical particles could be solid and will have heterogeneous chemical reactions. We observed many organic particles that are internally mixed with inorganic elements such as potassium and nitrogen. They are either homogeneously mixed or have inorganic cores with organic aerosol coatings. Samples collected from the Manaus, Brazil, pollution plume included many nano-size soot particles mixed with organic material and sulfate. Aerosol particles from clean periods included organic aerosol particles, sulfate, sea salt, dust, and primary biogenic aerosol particles. There was more dust, primary biogenic aerosol, and tar balls in samples taken during IOP1 than those taken during IOP2. Many dust particles were found between March 2 and 3.

spherical organic particles, Manaus pollution plum↗

COMBLE ARM Mobile Facility (AMF) Measurements of Ice Nucleating Particles Field Campaign Report

During the Cold-Air Outbreaks in the Marine Boundary Layer Experiment (COMBLE), a project with the overarching goal to shed light on the dynamics and microphysical properties of clouds and precipitation in the high-latitude marine boundary layer during cold-air outbreaks (CAOs), we were tasked with providing and assisting the collection of aerosol filter samples for measuring ice nucleating particle (INP) concentrations. Little is known about the properties of CAO cloud systems, how they vary with surface, environmental, and aerosol conditions, the role of cold-air outbreaks in the global atmospheric and ocean circulation, and the accuracy of the treatment of this atmospheric regime in climate models. Uncertainties in climate projections for the arctic and sub-arctic region are large, in part due to the lack of observational guidance to constrain the treatment of aerosol-cloud-precipitation linkages in climate models.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Rocket-borne particle, field, and plasma observations in the cleft region

Results are reported for comprehensive observations of magnetic and electric fields together with ambient and suprathermal plasmas above the dayside auroral oval with rocket-borne instrumentation which penetrated the cleft region. Measurements were also obtained equatorward and poleward of the cleft. Convection velocities as inferred from electric-field measurements were generally toward noon equatorward of the cleft and were antisunward over the polar cap. Observations of electron temperatures, electric fields, and low-frequency electrostatic noise provide strong evidence of a plasma instability (Farley-Buneman) in the E-layer associated with the appearance of the 'slant E condition' identified in ground-acquired ionograms. The positions of these measurements relative to that of the cleft were firmly established via the determination of the plasma environment with an electrostatic analyzer.

Ungstrup, E.↗

Gyrokinetic Landau collision operator in conservative form

A gyrokinetic linearized exact (not model) Landau collision operator is derived by transforming the symmetric and conservative Landau form. The formulation obtains the velocity-space flux density and preserves the operator's conservative form as the divergence of this flux density. The operator contains both test-particle and field-particle contributions, and finite Larmor radius effects are evaluated in either Bessel function series or gyrophase integrals. While equivalent to the gyrokinetic Fokker–Planck form with Rosenbluth potentials [B. Li and D. R. Ernst, Phys. Rev. Lett. 106, 195002 (2011)], the gyrokinetic conservative Landau form explicitly preserves the symmetry between test-particle and field-particle contributions, which underlies the conservation laws and the H theorem, and enables discretization with a finite-volume or spectral method to preserve the conservation properties numerically, independent of resolution. The form of the exact linearized field-particle terms differs from those of widely used model operators. We show the finite Larmor radius corrections to the field-particle terms in the exact linearized operator involve Bessel functions of all orders, while present model field-particle terms involve only the first two Bessel functions. This new symmetric and conservative formulation enables the gyrokinetic exact linearized Landau operator to be implemented in gyrokinetic turbulence codes for comparison with present model operators using similar numerical methods.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗