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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 361 records · Page 20
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2006

Why Do T Tauri Disks Accrete?

Observations of T Tauri stars and young brown dwarfs suggest that the accretion rates of their disks scales roughly with the square of the central stellar mass. No dependence of accretion rate on stellar mass is predicted by the simplest version of the Gammie layered disk model, in which nonthermal ionization of upper disk layers allows accretion to occur via the magnetorotational instability. We show that a minor modification of Gaminie's model to include heating by irradiation from the central star yields a modest dependence of accretion on the mass of the central star. A purely viscous disk model could provide a strong dependence of accretion rate on stellar mass if the initial disk radius (before much viscous evolution has occurred) has a strong dependence on stellar mass. However, it is far from clear that at least the most massive pre-main-sequence disks can be totally magnetically activated by X-rays or cosmic rays. We suggest that a combination of effects are responsible for the observed dependence, with the lowest mass stars having the lowest mass disks, which can be thoroughly magnetically active, while the higher mass stars have higher mass disks that have layered accret,ion and relatively inactive or "dead" central zones at some radii. In such dead zones, we suggest that gravitational instabilities may play a role in allowing accretion to proceed. In this connection, we emphasize the uncertainty in disk masses derived from dust emission and argue that T Tauri disk masses have been systematically underestimated by conventional analyses. Furtlier study of accretion rates, especially in the lowest mass stars, would help to clarify the mechanisms of accretion in T Tauri stars.

Hartmann, Lee↗
DOE OSTI2015

A new reversal mode in exchange coupled antiferromagnetic/ferromagnetic disks: distorted viscous vortex

Magnetic vortices have generated intense interest in recent years due to their unique reversal mechanisms, fascinating topological properties, and exciting potential applications. In addition, the exchange coupling of magnetic vortices to antiferromagnets has also been shown to lead to a range of novel phenomena and functionalities. Here we report a new magnetization reversal mode of magnetic vortices in exchange coupled Ir 20 Mn 80 /Fe 20 Ni 80 microdots: distorted viscous vortex reversal. In contrast to the previously known or proposed reversal modes, the vortex is distorted close to the interface and viscously dragged due to the uncompensated spins of a thin antiferromagnet, which leads to unexpected asymmetries in the annihilation and nucleation fields. Lastly, these results provide a deeper understanding of the physics of exchange coupled vortices and may also have important implications for applications involving exchange coupled nanostructures.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2016

ENSEMBLE EMPIRICAL MODE DECOMPOSITION OF THE MAGNETIC FIELD OF THE SUN AS A STAR

The ensemble empirical mode decomposition (EEMD) analysis is utilized to extract the intrinsic mode functions (IMFs) of the solar mean magnetic field (SMMF) observed at the Wilcox Solar Observatory of Stanford University from 1975 to 2014, and then we analyze the periods of these IMFs as well as the relation of IMFs (SMMF) with some solar activity indices. The two special rotation cycles of 26.6 and 28.5 days should be derived from different magnetic flux elements in the SMMF. The rotation cycle of the weak magnetic flux element in the SMMF is 26.6 days, while the rotation cycle of the strong magnetic flux element in the SMMF is 28.5 days. The two rotation periods of the structure of the interplanetary magnetic field near the ecliptic plane are essentially related to weak and strong magnetic flux elements in the SMMF, respectively. The rotation cycle of weak magnetic flux in the SMMF did not vary over the last 40 years because the weak magnetic flux element derived from the weak magnetic activity on the full disk is not influenced by latitudinal migration. Neither the internal rotation of the Sun nor the solar magnetic activity on the disk (including the solar polar fields) causes the annual variation of SMMF. The variation of SMMF at timescales of a solar cycle is more related to weak magnetic activity on the full solar disk.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
NASA NTRS2014

Classical Accreting Pulsars with NICER

Soft excesses are very common center dot Lx > 1038 erg/s - reprocessing by optically thick material at the inner edge of the accretion disk center dot Lx < 1036 erg/s - photoionized or collisionally heated diffuse gas or thermal emission from the NS surface center dot Lx ~ 1037 erg/s - either or both types of emission center dot NICER observations of soft excesses in bright X‐ray pulsars combined with reflection modeling will constrain the ionization state, metalicity and dynamics of the inner edge of the magnetically truncated accretion disk Reflection models of an accretion disk for a hard power law - Strong soft excess below 3 keV from hot X‐ray heated disk - For weakly ionized case: strong recombination lines - Are we seeing changes in the disk ionization in 4U1626‐26? 13 years of weekly monitoring with RXTE PCA center dot Revealed an unexpectedly large population of Be/X‐ray binaries compared to the Milky Way center dot Plotted luminosities are typical of "normal" outbursts (once per orbit) center dot The SMC provides an excellent opportunity to study a homogenous population of HMXBs with low interstellar absorption for accretion disk studies. Monitoring with NICER will enable studies of accretion disk physics in X‐ray pulsars center dot The SMC provides a potential homogeneous low‐absorption population for this study center dot NICER monitoring and TOO observations will also provide measurements of spinfrequencies, QPOs, pulsed fluxes, and energy spectra.

Wilson-Hodge, Colleen A.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Striped tertiary storage arrays

Data stripping is a technique for increasing the throughput and reducing the response time of large access to a storage system. In striped magnetic or optical disk arrays, a single file is striped or interleaved across several disks; in a striped tape system, files are interleaved across tape cartridges. Because a striped file can be accessed by several disk drives or tape recorders in parallel, the sustained bandwidth to the file is greater than in non-striped systems, where access to the file are restricted to a single device. It is argued that applying striping to tertiary storage systems will provide needed performance and reliability benefits. The performance benefits of striping for applications using large tertiary storage systems is discussed. It will introduce commonly available tape drives and libraries, and discuss their performance limitations, especially focusing on the long latency of tape accesses. This section will also describe an event-driven tertiary storage array simulator that is being used to understand the best ways of configuring these storage arrays. The reliability problems of magnetic tape devices are discussed, and plans for modeling the overall reliability of striped tertiary storage arrays to identify the amount of error correction required are described. Finally, work being done by other members of the Sequoia group to address latency of accesses, optimizing tertiary storage arrays that perform mostly writes, and compression is discussed.

Drapeau, Ann L.↗
DOE OSTI2016

Ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays and black hole mergers

The recent detection of the gravitational-wave source GW150914 by the LIGO collaboration motivates a speculative source for the origin of ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays as a possible byproduct of the immense energies achieved in black hole (BH) mergers, provided that the BHs have spin, as seems inevitable, and there are relic magnetic fields and disk debris remaining from the formation of the BHs or from their accretion history. We argue that given the modest efficiency <0.01 required per event per unit of gravitational-wave energy release, merging BHs potentially provide an environment for accelerating cosmic rays to ultrahigh energies. The presence of tidally disrupted planetary or asteroidal debris could lead to associated fast radio bursts.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Small Events Involve the Entire Solar Atmosphere

Here we discuss and analyze observations centered on a bipolar region of enhanced-network magnetic flux near disk center on SOL2017-03-17T14:00-17:00. The comprehensive data set comprises observations from SDO:HMI,AIA; Hinode:SOT, XRT; DST:IBIS, FIRS; ALMA; and IRIS, thus providing a variety of plasma diagnostics spanning the photosphere to the corona. We confirm the correspondence between the broadest width of the hydrogen-α spectral line and the hottest temperatures observed in millimeter wavelengths, which persist for the duration of cotemporal observations. We use these data to study the existence and persistence of oscillatory power with periods in the 3 to 5 minute range. Previous studies have found conflicting results on the existence of these modes in the ALMA data, which we suggest is linked to the spectral windowing due to requisite calibration observations. We also find that spatial maps of oscillatory power at 3mm display the pattern of magnetic shadows and halos typically displayed by other chromospheric diagnostics. Finally, numerous transient brightenings were observed across the data set, and here we highlight transient brightenings within a set of thin filamentary features. One interesting event shows initial heating in the cooler (ALMA, 7000 K) before showing in the hotter (XRT, 3 MK) data series.

Adam Kobelski↗
DOE OSTI2017

Global Simulations of the Inner Regions of Protoplanetary Disks with Comprehensive Disk Microphysics

The gas dynamics of weakly ionized protoplanetary disks (PPDs) are largely governed by the coupling between gas and magnetic fields, described by three non-ideal magnetohydrodynamical (MHD) effects (Ohmic, Hall, ambipolar). Previous local simulations incorporating these processes have revealed that the inner regions of PPDs are largely laminar and accompanied by wind-driven accretion. We conduct 2D axisymmetric, fully global MHD simulations of these regions (∼1–20 au), taking into account all non-ideal MHD effects, with tabulated diffusion coefficients and approximate treatment of external ionization and heating. With the net vertical field aligned with disk rotation, the Hall-shear instability strongly amplifies horizontal magnetic field, making the overall dynamics dependent on initial field configuration. Following disk formation, the disk likely relaxes into an inner zone characterized by asymmetric field configuration across the midplane, which smoothly transitions to a more symmetric outer zone. Angular momentum transport is driven by both MHD winds and laminar Maxwell stress, with both accretion and decretion flows present at different heights, and modestly asymmetric winds from the two disk sides. With anti-aligned field polarity, weakly magnetized disks settle into an asymmetric field configuration with supersonic accretion flow concentrated at one side of the disk surface, and highly asymmetric winds between the two disk sides. In all cases, the wind is magneto-thermal in nature, characterized by a mass loss rate exceeding the accretion rate. More strongly magnetized disks give more symmetric field configuration and flow structures. Deeper far-UV penetration leads to stronger and less stable outflows. Implications for observations and planet formation are also discussed.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
NASA NTRS2016

Measuring a Truncated Disk in Aquila X-1

We present NuSTAR and Swift observations of the neutron star Aquila X-1 during the peak of its 2014 July outburst. The spectrum is soft with strong evidence for a broad Fe K(alpha) line. Modeled with a relativistically broadened reflection model, we find that the inner disk is truncated with an inner radius of 15 +/- 3RG. The disk is likely truncated by either the boundary layer and/or a magnetic field. Associating the truncated inner disk with pressure from a magnetic field gives an upper limit of B < 5+/- 2x10(exp 8) G. Although the radius is truncated far from the stellar surface, material is still reaching the neutron star surface as evidenced by the X-ray burst present in the NuSTAR observation.

accretion disks aEuro" magnetic fields aEuro" star↗
DOE OSTI2016

Angular momentum loss in the envelope-disk transition region of the HH 111 protostellar system: evidence for magnetic braking?

HH 111 is a Class I protostellar system at a distance of ∼400 pc, with the central source VLA 1 associated with a rotating disk deeply embedded in a flattened envelope. Here we present the observations of this system at ∼0.″6 (240 au) resolution in C{sup 18}O (J = 2 — 1) and a 230 GHz continuum obtained with the Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array, and in SO (N{sub J} = 5{sub 6}−4{sub 5}) obtained with the Submillimeter Array. The observations show for the first time how a Keplerian rotating disk can be formed inside a flattened envelope. The flattened envelope is detected in C{sup 18}O, extending out to ≳2400 au from the VLA 1 source. It has a differential rotation, with the outer part (≳2000 au) better described by a rotation that has constant specific angular momentum, and the innermost part (≲160 au) by a Keplerian rotation. The rotationally supported disk is therefore relatively compact in this system, which is consistent with the dust continuum observations. Most interestingly, if the flow is in steady state, there is a substantial drop in specific angular momentum in the envelope–disk transition region from 2000 to 160 au, by a factor of ∼3. Such a decrease is not expected outside a disk formed from simple hydrodynamic core collapse, but can happen naturally if the core is significantly magnetized, because magnetic fields can be trapped in the transition region outside the disk by the ram pressure of the protostellar accretion flow, which can lead to efficient magnetic braking. In addition, SO shock emission is detected around the outer radius of the disk and could trace an accretion shock around the disk.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Conservative discontinuous Galerkin interpolation: Sheared boundary conditions

Local studies of accretion disks and laboratory magnetized plasmas employ analytical coordinate mappings that introduce sheared boundary conditions (BCs). Here, we present a discontinuous Galerkin (DG) algorithm to apply such BCs based on projections and quadrature-free integration. The procedure is high-order accurate, preserves moments exactly and works in multiple dimensions. Tests of increasing complexity are provided, beginning with translations of one and two dimensional fields, followed by 3D and 5D simulations with sheared (twist-shift) BCs. Results show that the algorithm is (p + 1)-order accurate in the DG representation and (p + 2) -order accurate in the cell averages, with p being the order of the polynomial basis. Quantification of the algorithm's hyperdiffusion and discussion of aliasing errors are given. This technique enables conservative local simulations of plasma turbulence with DG, not possible until now.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2016

Ultrahigh-energy neutrino follow-up of gravitational wave events GW150914 and GW151226 with the Pierre Auger Observatory

On September 14, 2015 the Advanced LIGO detectors observed their first gravitational wave (GW) transient GW150914. This was followed by a second GW event observed on December 26, 2015. Both events were inferred to have arisen from the merger of black holes in binary systems. Such a system may emit neutrinos if there are magnetic fields and disk debris remaining from the formation of the two black holes. With the surface detector array of the Pierre Auger Observatory we can search for neutrinos with energy Eν above 100 PeV from point like sources across the sky with equatorial declination from about -65° to +60°, and, in particular, from a fraction of the 90% confidence-level inferred positions in the sky of GW150914 and GW151226. A targeted search for highly inclined extensive air showers, produced either by interactions of downward-going neutrinos of all flavors in the atmosphere or by the decays of tau leptons originating from tau-neutrino interactions in the Earth’s crust (Earth-skimming neutrinos), yielded no candidates in the Auger data collected within ±500 s around or 1 day after the coordinated universal time (UTC) of GW150914 and GW151226, as well as in the same search periods relative to the UTC time of the GW candidate event LVT151012. As a result, from the non-observation we constrain the amount of energy radiated in ultrahigh-energy neutrinos from such remarkable events.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2016

THE PARKER INSTABILITY IN DISK GALAXIES

We examine the evolution of the Parker instability in galactic disks using 3D numerical simulations. We consider a local Cartesian box section of a galactic disk, where gas, magnetic fields, and cosmic rays are all initially in a magnetohydrostatic equilibrium. This is done for different choices of initial cosmic-ray density and magnetic field. The growth rates and characteristic scales obtained from the models, as well as their dependences on the density of cosmic rays and magnetic fields, are in broad agreement with previous (linearized, ideal) analytical work. However, this nonideal instability develops a multimodal 3D structure, which cannot be quantitatively predicted from the earlier linearized studies. This 3D signature of the instability will be of importance in interpreting observations. As a preliminary step toward such interpretations, we calculate synthetic polarized intensity and Faraday rotation measure (RM) maps, and the associated structure functions of the latter, from our simulations; these suggest that the correlation scales inferred from RM maps are a possible probe for the cosmic-ray content of a given galaxy. Our calculations highlight the importance of cosmic rays in these measures, making them an essential ingredient of realistic models of the interstellar medium.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2016

SUSTAINED TURBULENCE IN DIFFERENTIALLY ROTATING MAGNETIZED FLUIDS AT A LOW MAGNETIC PRANDTL NUMBER

We show for the first time that sustained turbulence is possible at a low magnetic Prandtl number in local simulations of Keplerian flows with no mean magnetic flux. Our results indicate that increasing the vertical domain size is equivalent to increasing the dynamical range between the energy injection scale and the dissipative scale. This has important implications for a large variety of differentially rotating systems with low magnetic Prandtl number such as protostellar disks and laboratory experiments.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2019

Quasi-periodicity of Supermassive Binary Black Hole Accretion Approaching Merger

In this paper we continue the first ever study of magnetized mini-disks coupled to circumbinary accretion in a supermassive binary black hole (SMBBH) approaching merger reported in Bowen et al. We extend this simulation from 3 to 12 binary orbital periods. We find that relativistic SMBBH accretion acts as a resonant cavity, where quasi-periodic oscillations tied to the frequency at which the black hole's (BH's) orbital phase matches a nonlinear m = 1 density feature, or "lump," in the circumbinary accretion disk permeate the system. Here, the rate of mass accretion onto each of the mini-disks around the BHs is modulated at the beat frequency between the binary frequency and the lump's mean orbital frequency, i.e., ${{\rm{\Omega }}}_{\mathrm{beat}}={{\rm{\Omega }}}_{\mathrm{bin}}-{\bar{{\rm{\Omega }}}}_{\mathrm{lump}}$, while the total mass accretion rate of this equal-mass binary is modulated at two different frequencies, $\gtrsim {\bar{{\rm{\Omega }}}}_{\mathrm{lump}}$ and $\approx 2{{\rm{\Omega }}}_{\mathrm{beat}}$. The instantaneous rotation rate of the lump itself is also modulated at two frequencies close to the modulation frequencies of the total accretion rate, ${\bar{{\rm{\Omega }}}}_{\mathrm{lump}}$ and $2{{\rm{\Omega }}}_{\mathrm{beat}}$. Because of the compact nature of the mini-disks in SMBBHs approaching merger, the inflow times within the mini-disks are comparable to the period on which their mass supply varies, so that their masses—and the accretion rates they supply to their BHs—are strongly modulated at the same frequency. In essence, the azimuthal symmetry of the circumbinary disk is broken by the dynamics of orbits near a binary, and this m = 1 asymmetry then drives quasi-periodic variation throughout the system, including both accretion and disk-feeding. In SMBBHs approaching merger, such time variability could introduce distinctive, increasingly rapid, fluctuations in their electromagnetic emission.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
NASA NTRS1966

Rod and dish cathode improves penning-type vacuum gage

Improved penning-type ionization gage provides range and sensitivity required to measure gas pressure below .01 torr under high vacuum conditions. The gage uses a highly conductive cathode composed of two disks of high magnetic permeability separated by a rod of low magnetic permeability.

Peppin, G. B.↗
NASA NTRS1975

Geophysical data base

A general data-management system that provides a random-access capability for large amounts of data is described. The system operates on a CDC 6400 computer using a combination of magnetic tape and disk storage. A FORTRAN subroutine package is provided to simplify the maintenance and use of the data.

Williamson, M. R.↗