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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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NASA NTRS1979

Auroral magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling: A brief topical review

Auroral arcs result from the acceleration and precipitation of magnetospheric plasma in narrow regions characterized by strong electric fields both perpendicular and parallel to the Earth's magnetic field. The various mechanisms proposed for the origin of such strong electric fields include electrostatic double layers, double reverse shocks, anomalous resistivity, magnetic mirroring of hot plasma, mapping of the magnetospheric convection electric field through an auroral discontinuity.

Chiu, Y. T.↗

NASA NTRS1987

Electron beam experiments at high altitudes

Experiments with the electron gun on the SCATHA satellite produced evidence of beam-plasma interactions, and heating of the low energy electrons around the satellite. These experiments were conducted near geosynchronous orbit, in the dusk bulge, and plasma sheet, with one short operation in the lobe regions, providing a range of ambient plasma densities. The electron gun was operated at 50 eV, with beam currents of 1, 10, and 100 micro-A. Data from electrostatic analyzers and the dc electric field experiment show that the satellite charged to near the beam energy in sunlight, if the beam current was sufficient. Higher ambient densities required higher beam currents. The electrostatic analyzers showed distribution functions which had peaks, or plateaus, at energies greater than the satellite potential. These measurements indicate heating of the ambient plasma at several Debye lengths from the satellite, with the heated plasma then accelerated into the satellite. It is likely that the ambient plasma is in fact the photoelectron sheath generated by the satellite.

Olsen, R. C.↗

NASA NTRS1988

Electron beam experiments at high altitudes

Experiments with the electron gun on the SCATHA satellite produced evidence of beam-plasma interactions, and heating of the low energy electrons around the satellite. These experiments were conducted near geosynchronous orbit, in the dusk bulge, and plasma sheet, with one short operation in the lobe regions, providing a range of ambient plasma densities. The electron gun was operated at 50 eV, with beam currents of 1, 10, and 100 micro-A. Data from electrostatic analyzers and the DC electric field experiment show that the satellite charged to near the beam energy in sunlight, if the beam current was sufficient. Higher ambient densities required higher beam currents. The electrostatic analyzers showed distribution functions which had peaks, or plateaus, at energies greater than the satellite potential. These measurements indicate heating of the ambient plasma at several Debye lengths from the satellite, with the heated plasma then accelerated into the satellite. It is likely that the ambient plasma is in fact the photoelectron sheath generated by the satellite.

Olsen, R. C.↗

NASA NTRS2018

Subcritical Growth of Electron Phase-Space Holes in Planetary Radiation Belts

The discovery of long-lived electrostatic coherent structures with large-amplitude electric fields (1 less than or equal to E less than or equal to 500 mV/m) by the Van Allen Probes has revealed alternative routes through which planetary radiation belts' acceleration can take place. Following previous reports showing that small phase-space holes, with q(phi)/T (exp c)(sub e) approximately minus 10 (exp -2) - 10 (exp -3), could result from electron interaction with large-amplitude whistlers, we demonstrate one possible mechanism through which holes can grow nonlinearly (i.e., Gamma alpha square root of phi) and subcritically as a result of momentum exchange between hot and cold electron populations. Our results provide an explanation for the common occurrence and fast growth of large-amplitude electron phase-space holes in the Earth's radiation belts.

Osmane, Adnane↗

DOE OSTI2016

Sirepo - Warp

Sirepo is an open source framework for cloud computing. The graphical user interface (GUI) for Sirepo, also known as the client, executes in any HTML5 compliant web browser on any computing platform, including tablets. The client is built in JavaScript, making use of the following open source libraries: Bootstrap, which is fundamental for cross-platform web applications; AngularJS, which provides a model–view–controller (MVC) architecture and GUI components; and D3.js, which provides interactive plots and data-driven transformations. The Sirepo server is built on the following Python technologies: Flask, which is a lightweight framework for web development; Jin-ja, which is a secure and widely used templating language; and Werkzeug, a utility library that is compliant with the WSGI standard. We use Nginx as the HTTP server and proxy, which provides a scalable event-driven architecture. The physics codes supported by Sirepo execute inside a Docker container. One of the codes supported by Sirepo is Warp. Warp is a particle-in-cell (PIC) code de-signed to simulate high-intensity charged particle beams and plasmas in both the electrostatic and electromagnetic regimes, with a wide variety of integrated physics models and diagnostics. At pre-sent, Sirepo supports a small subset of Warp’s capabilities. Warp is open source and is part of the Berkeley Lab Accelerator Simulation Toolkit.

Nagler, Robert↗

DOE OSTI2016

Sirepo - Warp

Nagler, Robert↗

NASA NTRS1978

The nuclear and ionic charge distribution particle experiments on the ISEE-1 and ISEE-C spacecraft

The ISEE-1 and ISEE-C instruments are designed to measure the elemental abundances, charge state composition, energy spectra, and angular distributions of energetic ions in the energy range 2 keV/charge to 80 MeV/nucleon and electrons between 75 and 1300 keV. The instrument consists of three sensor systems: (1) ULECA which is an electrostatic deflection system with rectangular solid-state detectors for the 3-560 keV/charge range; (2) ULEWATT which is a double dE/dX vs E thin-window flowthrough proportional counter/solid-state detector telescope for the 0.2-80 MeV/nucleon (Fe) range; and (3) ULEZEQ which is a combination of an electrostatic deflection analyzer and a thin-window dE/dX vs E system with thin-window proportional counter and position-sensitive solid-state detector. The applications of the instruments to solar and interplanetary phenomena and to magnetospheric acceleration and trapped particles are discussed.

Hovestadt, D.↗

NASA NTRS1987

Voyager 2 plasma wave observations at Uranus

At Uranus, the Voyager 2 plasma wave investigation observed very significant phenomena related to radio emissions, dust impacts, and magnetospheric wave-particle interactions. On January 19, 1986 (R = 270 R-sub U) the plasma wave investigation detected an intense radio burst at 31 and 56 kHz, and this provided the first indication that Uranus had a magnetosphere. During the encounter, more of these sporadic bursts were observed along with relatively continuous radio emissions extending down to 10 kHz, and a sporadic narrowband radio signal with f near 5 kHz. As Voyager passed through the ring plane, the plasma wave investigation recorded a large number of dust impacts. The Voyager 2 plasma wave instrument also detected many strong electromagnetic and electrostatic plasma waves, with intensity peaks in the region within 12 Uranus radii. These waves have characteristics that can interact strongly with the local plasma and with the trapped energetic particles, leading to precipitation into the atmosphere, charged particle acceleration, and charged particle diffusion. In addition, strong wave activity was detected in the region of the bow and shock and moderate levels in the magnetic tail.

Scarf, F. L.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Electron tunnel sensors

We have used the extreme sensitivity of electron tunneling to variations in electrode separation to construct a novel, compact displacement transducer. Electrostatic forces are used to control the separation between the tunneling electrodes, thereby eliminating the need for piezoelectric actuators. The entire structure is composed of micromachined silicon single crystals. Applications of the tunneling displacement transducer to the measurement of acceleration and infrared signals are discussed. Measurements of acceleration and infrared sensitivity are reported.

Kenny, T. W.↗

DOE OSTI2023

Atomistic insight into the effects of electrostatic fields on hydrocarbon reaction kinetics

Reactive Molecular Dynamics (MD) and Density Functional Theory (DFT) computations are performed to provide insight into the effects of external electrostatic fields on hydrocarbon reaction kinetics. By comparing the results from MD and DFT, the suitability of the MD method in modeling electrodynamics is first assessed. Results show that the electric field-induced polarization predicted by the MD charge equilibration method is in good agreement with various DFT charge partitioning schemes. Then, the effects of oriented external electric fields on the transition pathways of non-redox reactions are investigated. Results on the minimum energy path suggest that electric fields can cause catalysis or inhibition of oxidation reactions, whereas pyrolysis reactions are not affected due to the weaker electronegativity of the hydrogen and carbon atoms. MD simulations of isolated reactions show that the reaction kinetics is also affected by applied external Lorentz forces and interatomic Coulomb forces since they can increase or decrease the energy of collision depending on the molecular conformation. In addition, electric fields can affect the kinetics of polar species and force them to align in the direction of field lines. These effects are attributed to energy transfer via intermolecular collisions and stabilization under the external Lorentz force. The kinetics of apolar species is not significantly affected mainly due to the weak induced dipole moment even under strong electric fields. The dynamics and reaction rates of species are studied by means of large-scale combustion simulations of n-dodecane and oxygen mixtures. Results show that under strong electric fields, the fuel, oxidizer, and most product molecules experience translational and rotational acceleration mainly due to close charge transfer along with a reduction in their vibrational energy due to stabilization. This study will serve as a basis to improve the current methods used in MD and to develop novel methodologies for the modeling of macroscale reacting flows under external electrostatic fields.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

DOE OSTI2020

New Simulations for Ion-Production and Back-Bombardment in GaAs Photo-guns

GaAs-based DC high voltage photo-guns used at accelerators with extensive user programs must exhibit long photocathode operating lifetime. Achieving this goal represents a significant challenge for proposed high average current facilities that must operate at tens of milliamperes or more. Specifically, the operating lifetime is dominated by ion back-bombardment of the photocathode from ionized residual gas. While numerous experiments have been performed to characterize the operating lifetime under various conditions, detailed simulations of the ion back-bombardment mechanism that explains these experiments are lacking. Recently, a new user routine was implemented using the code General Particle Tracer (GPT) to simulate electron impact ionization of residual beam line gas and simultaneously track the incident electron, the ejected electron, and the newly formed ion. This new routine was benchmarked against analytical calculations and then applied to experiments performed at the CEBAF injector at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility to study the effectiveness of limiting ions from entering the cathode-anode gap using a positively biased anode. These simulations were performed using detailed 3D field maps produced with CST Microwave Studio describing the photo-gun electrostatics. Discussion of the experiment and the application of this new GPT routine to model the experiments will be presented at the workshop.

Yoskowitz, Joshua↗

NASA NTRS1983

Numerically simulated two-dimensional auroral double layers

A magnetized 2 1/2-dimensional particle-in-cell system which is periodic in one direction and bounded by reservoirs of Maxwellian plasma in the other is used to numerically simulate electrostatic plasma double layers. For the cases of both oblique and two-dimensional double layers, the present results indicate periodic instability, Debye length rather than gyroradii scaling, and low frequency electrostatic turbulence together with electron beam-excited electrostatatic electron-cyclotron waves. Estimates are given for the thickness of auroral doule layers, as well as the separations within multiple auroral arcs. Attention is given to the temporal modulation of accelerated beams, and the possibilities for ion precipitation and ion conic production by the double layer are hypothesized. Simulations which include the atmospheric backscattering of electrons imply the action of an ionospheric sheath which accelerates ionospheric ions upward.

Borovsky, J. E.↗

NASA NTRS2009

Advances in Non-Contact Measurement of Creep Properties

As the required service temperatures for superalloys increases, so do the demands on testing for development of these alloys. Non-contact measurement of creep of refractory metals using electrostatic levitation has been demonstrated at temperatures up to 2300 C using samples of only 20-40 mg. These measurements load the spherical specimen by inertial forces due to rapid rotation. However, the first measurements relied on photon pressure to accelerate the samples to the high rotational rates of thousands of rotations per second, limiting the applicability to low stresses and high temperatures. Recent advances in this area extend this measurement to higher stresses and lower-temperatures through the use of an induction motor to drive the sample to such high rotational speeds. Preliminary results on new measurements on new materials will be presented.

Hyers, Robert↗

DOE OSTI2019

Spin simulations in eRHIC Wien filter

This Technical Note introduces to a simulation of spin dynamics in a Wien filter used as a spin rotator, based on (i) the use of a semi-analytical model for the electrostatic and magnetostatic vectors and (ii) step-wise ray-tracing techniques. It shows that the method reproduces theoretical expectations.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

NASA NTRS1992

High-flux source of low-energy neutral beams using reflection of ions from metals

Reflection of low-energy ions from surfaces can be applied as a method of producing high-flux beams of low-energy neutral particles, and is an important effect in several areas of plasma technology, such as in the edge region of fusion devices. We have developed a beam source based on acceleration and reflection of ions from a magnetically confined coaxial RF plasma source. The beam provides a large enough flux to allow the energy distribution of the reflected neutrals to be measured despite the inefficiency of detection, by means of an electrostatic cylindrical mirror analyzer coupled with a quadrupole mass spectrometer. Energy distributions have been measured for oxygen, nitrogen, and inert gas ions incident with from 15 to 70 eV reflected from amorphous metal surfaces of several compositions. For ions of lighter atomic mass than the reflecting metal, reflected beams have peaked energy distributions; beams with the peak at 4-32 eV have been measured. The energy and mass dependences of the energy distributions as well as measurements of absolute flux, and angular distribution and divergence are reported. Applications of the neutral beams produced are described.

Cuthbertson, John W.↗

DOE OSTI2025

LDRD for a high-current polarized-beam photogun

The electron accelerator driving the Ce+BAF conversion target requires a spin-polarized photogun capable of delivering a CW beam current of at least 1 mA. As the high beam current limits the useful operating time of the gun between photocathode reactivations due to ion back-bombardment, it is critical to increase the charge lifetime. A Jefferson Lab LDRD project aims to calibrate the simulation models needed to predict photocathode lifetime as a function of electrostatic optics and drive laser parameters in order to design a gun providing at least 1000 C charge lifetime. A prototype gun demonstrating the validity of the scaling predictions will be built and tested at the Gun Test Stand. I will describe the background and progress of this project and give an outlook on the expected performance.

Bruker, Max [Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator↗

DOE OSTI2014

Formation of ultrashort electron pulses in an electrostatic laser reflectron-deflector

The temporal compression of photoelectron pulses obtained by irradiation of the target by femtosecond electron pulses is analysed by using an electrostatic reflectron with a deflecting pulse laser field. It is shown that the use of a reflectron-deflector allows one both to generate and deflect ultrashort, ∼30-fs electron pulses with a countable number of electrons by focusing them into a given region with a focal size about tens of microns. It is found that the laser ponderomotive potential can play a role of a dispersive element in the electrostatic reflectron to spatially separate the electron pulses with different energies. (ultrashort electron pulses)

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

DOE OSTI2025

On the Computation of the Beam Position in the Arcs of the Hadron Storage Ring

To compensate for the velocity differences of the hadrons and electrons in the Electron-Ion Collider, the hadron beam will be operated in a large range of the radial displacement (±20 mm in the 64 mm wide vacuum chamber). Machine protection and beam optics measurement require high-accuracy calculations of the beam position from the signal induced on the pickup electrodes. For the HSR, we need at least the fifth-order polynomial fit, which provides 70 microns r.m.s. error in the 40 by 20 mm region of interest as shown in Fig. 1. The calculations are made using a MATLAB script solving the 2D electrostatic problem.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗