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Results for “PLASMA EXPANSION”

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 577 records · Page 32
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2016

The influence of the nitrogen admixture on the evolution of a deuterium pinch column

The application of a mixture of nitrogen and deuterium for the gas-puffing along the anode axis in deuterium plasma-focus discharges, as carried out at megaampere-level currents, enabled observations of the filamentary structure, and the decrease in the transformation velocity of the plasma column to be performed. It made possible to investigate the instability evolution during the production of hard X-rays and fast neutrons in more detail. The constriction of a plasma column transforms itself during the final phase of the compression into one or more small dense plasmoid-like structures which are separated by narrow necks. During the next phase, these structures start to decay by an expansion, in which a part of the plasma volume maintains its compactness. This evolution is explained by an increase and later decrease in the internal poloidal current component by reconnections of the associated magnetic lines, which are responsible for the acceleration of electron and ion beams.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2014

Spectroscopic measurement of high-frequency electric fields in the interaction of explosive debris plasma with magnetized background plasma

The collision-less transfer of momentum and energy from explosive debris plasma to magnetized background plasma is a salient feature of various astrophysical and space environments. While much theoretical and computational work has investigated collision-less coupling mechanisms and relevant parameters, an experimental validation of the results demands the measurement of the complex, collective electric fields associated with debris-background plasma interaction. Emission spectroscopy offers a non-interfering diagnostic of electric fields via the Stark effect. A unique experiment at the University of California, Los Angeles, that combines the Large Plasma Device (LAPD) and the Phoenix laser facility has investigated the marginally super-Alfvénic, quasi-perpendicular expansion of a laser-produced carbon (C) debris plasma through a preformed, magnetized helium (He) background plasma via emission spectroscopy. Spectral profiles of the He II 468.6 nm line measured at the maximum extent of the diamagnetic cavity are observed to intensify, broaden, and develop equally spaced modulations in response to the explosive C debris, indicative of an energetic electron population and strong oscillatory electric fields. The profiles are analyzed via time-dependent Stark effect models corresponding to single-mode and multi-mode monochromatic (single frequency) electric fields, yielding temporally resolved magnitudes and frequencies. The proximity of the measured frequencies to the expected electron plasma frequency suggests the development of the electron beam-plasma instability, and a simple saturation model demonstrates that the measured magnitudes are feasible provided that a sufficiently fast electron population is generated during C debris–He background interaction. Potential sources of the fast electrons, which likely correspond to collision-less coupling mechanisms, are briefly considered.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2018

Measurements of fireball onset

Laser-based measurements of the characteristic features of fireball onset and stabilization in response to a stepped voltage applied to an anode immersed in a low pressure (100 mTorr) helium afterglow are reported. These include spatial and temporal evolution of metastable species, electron density, and electric field magnitude as measured by planar laser induced fluorescence, laser-collision induced fluorescence, and laser-induced fluorescence-dip spectroscopy, respectively. These measurements are found to be in qualitative agreement with recent particle-in-cell simulations and theoretical models. The measurements validate the simulations and models in which fireball onset was predicted to follow from the trapping of electrons born from electron impact ionization within a potential well created by a buildup of ions in the sheath. The experimental measurements also demonstrate transient features following the onset that were not present in previous simulations. New simulation results are presented which demonstrate that these features are associated with the abruptness of the voltage step used to initiate fireball onset. In conclusion, an abrupt step in the anode bias causes rapid displacement of ions and an associated plasma potential response following the sheath and fireball expansion.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2021

Investigation of experimental observables in search of the chiral magnetic effect in heavy-ion collisions in the STAR experiment *

The chiral magnetic effect (CME) is a novel transport phenomenon, arising from the interplay between quantum anomalies and strong magnetic fields in chiral systems. In high-energy nuclear collisions, the CME may survive the expansion of the quark-gluon plasma fireball and be detected in experiments. Over the past two decades, experimental searches for the CME have attracted extensive interest at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) and the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). The main goal of this study is to investigate three pertinent experimental approaches: the $γ$ correlator, the R correlator, and the signed balance functions. We exploit simple Monte Carlo simulations and a realistic event generator (EBE-AVFD) to verify the equivalence of the core components among these methods and to ascertain their sensitivities to the CME signal and the background contributions for the isobar collisions at the RHIC.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Magnetic Pumping as a Source of Particle Heating and Power-Law Distributions in the Solar Wind

Based on the rate of expansion of the solar wind, the plasma should cool rapidly as a function of distance to the Sun. Observations show this is not the case. In this work, a magnetic pumping model is developed as a possible explanation for the heating and the generation of power-law distribution functions observed in the solar wind plasma. Most previous studies in this area focus on the role that the dissipation of turbulent energy on microscopic kinetic scales plays in the overall heating of the plasma. However, with magnetic pumping, particles are energized by the largest-scale turbulent fluctuations, thus bypassing the energy cascade. In contrast to other models, we include the pressure anisotropy term, providing a channel for the large-scale fluctuations to heat the plasma directly. A complete set of coupled differential equations describing the evolution, and energization, of the distribution function are derived, as well as an approximate closed-form solution. Numerical simulations using the VPIC kinetic code are applied to verify the model's analytical predictions. The results of the model for realistic solar wind scenario are computed, where thermal streaming of particles are important for generating a phase shift between the magnetic perturbations and the pressure anisotropy. In turn, averaged over a pump cycle, the phase shift permits mechanical work to be converted directly to heat in the plasma. Here, the results of this scenario show that magnetic pumping may account for a significant portion of the solar wind energization.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
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 NTRS1986

Thermal structure of the Venus ionosphere - A two-dimensional model study

A simple, two-dimensional, spectral model of heat transport in the Venus ionosphere has been constructed. Numerical experiments with the model suggest that a nocturnal heat source about an order of magnitude smaller than the daytime source is required to simulate the observed ion and electron temperatures. The solar zenith angle dependence of the high-altitude ion temperature appears to be caused by expansion followed by compression of the plasma as it flows from the dayside to the nightside. Thermal-flux saturation appears to be significant on the nightside, but the formation of a standing shock wave does not seem to be required to explain the broad features of the observed, nocturnal ion temperature.

Whitten, R. C.↗
NASA NTRS2015

Laser Induced Fluorescence Spectroscopy of Neutral and Ionized Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in the Cosmic Simulation Chamber

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) molecules are considered the best carriers to account for the ubiquitous infrared emission bands. PAHs have also been proposed as candidates to explain the diffuse interstellar bands (DIBs), a series of absorption features seen on the interstellar extinction curve and are plausible carriers for the extended red emission (ERE), a photoluminescent process associated with a wide variety of interstellar environments. Extensive efforts have been devoted over the past two decades to characterize the physical and chemical properties of PAH molecules and ions in space. Absorption spectra of PAH molecules and ions trapped in solid matrices have been compared to the DIBs. Absorption spectra of several cold, isolated gas-phase PAHs have also been measured under experimental conditions that mimic the interstellar conditions. The purpose of this study is to provide a new dimension to the existing spectroscopic database of neutral and single ionized PAHs that is largely based on absorption spectra by adding emission spectroscopy data. The measurements are based on the laser induced fluorescence (LIF) technique and are performed with the Pulsed Discharge Nozzle (PDN) of the COSmIC laboratory facility at NASA Ames laboratory. The PDN generates a plasma in a free supersonic jet expansion to simulate the physical and the chemical conditions in interstellar environments. We focus, here, on the fluorescence spectra of large neutral PAHs and their cations where there is a lack of fluorescence spectroscopy data. The astronomical implications of the data (e.g., ERE) are examined.

Laboratory↗
DOE OSTI2017

On the generation of magnetized collisionless shocks in the large plasma device

Collisionless shocks are common phenomena in space and astrophysical systems, and in many cases, the shocks can be modeled as the result of the expansion of a magnetic piston though a magnetized ambient plasma. Only recently, however, have laser facilities and diagnostic capabilities evolved sufficiently to allow the detailed study in the laboratory of the microphysics of piston-driven shocks. We review experiments on collisionless shocks driven by a laser-produced magnetic piston undertaken with the Phoenix laser laboratory and the Large Plasma Device at the University of California, Los Angeles. The experiments span a large parameter space in laser energy, background magnetic field, and ambient plasma properties that allow us to probe the physics of piston-ambient energy coupling, the launching of magnetosonic solitons, and the formation of subcritical shocks. Here, the results indicate that piston-driven magnetized collisionless shocks in the laboratory can be characterized with a small set of dimensionless formation parameters that place the formation process in an organized and predictive framework.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2014

Influence of insulating coating on aluminum wire explosions

Single wire explosions are widely used in understanding the early stages of z-pinch experiments. This paper presents a serial of experiments conducted on the pulse power generator with ∼1 kA peak current and ∼10 ns rising time in Xi'an Jiao Tong University. Polyimide coated aluminum wires and uncoated ones were tested under three different voltages to analyze the effect of insulating coating. Experimental results showed that insulating coating can increase the energy deposition 10%∼30% in aluminum wires by delaying the voltage collapse and raising the maximum load resistance. The substantial energy deposition resulted in about 20% faster expansion rates for coated wires. Experimental evidence that plasma channel shunts the current from the wire core was observed by streak camera and schlieren graphs. This paper also briefly discussed the influence of nonuniform coating on the morphology of wire expansion.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2019

Optimizing multi-modal, non-axisymmetric plasma response metrics with additional coil rows on DIII-D

The expansion of the DIII-D tokamak operational space via the addition of new non-axisymmetric coil rows is investigated using the linear MHD plasma response code MARS-F. The plasma response to magnetic perturbations imposed by five distinct low- and high-field side coil geometries is modeled for toroidal mode numbers up to n = 6. A set of linear (~δB^2: resonant, kink mode amplitude) and quadratic (~δB: core and edge integrated NTV torque) plasma metrics are defined and compared directly for the various coil geometries. Coil size is also scanned as a secondary optimization variable. An in-vessel coil located at the low-field side midplane is identified as the most efficient plasma response actuator across all metrics and toroidal mode numbers. The multi-row combination of this new midplane (M) coil with the existing DIII-D non-axisymmetric coil set is considered in numerical optimization studies to quantify the impact of this new coil on modeled plasma response metrics. The addition of the M coil is shown to significantly increase the actuator efficiency in maximizing individual plasma response metrics as well as maximizing multi-modal ratios of response metrics, e.g. maximizing resonant modes or edge NTV torque while minimizing kink modes or core NTV torque. The ex-vessel midplane (C) coil is also observed to have an outsize effect on multi-modal optimization due to its uniquely narrow poloidal spectra, and the expansion of optimization space due to the combined use of the two existing in-vessel coil rows with both the M and C coils is notably larger than either coil's individual contribution even though both share similar poloidal locations. This four-row system is expected to greatly extend abilities to understand and optimize the control of transients and rotation on the DIII-D tokamak.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2018

Computational and experimental investigation of plasma deflagration jets and detonation shocks in coaxial plasma accelerators

Here, we present a magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) numerical simulation to study the physical mechanisms underlying plasma acceleration in a coaxial plasma gun. Coaxial plasma accelerators are known to exhibit two distinct modes of operation depending on the delay between gas loading and capacitor discharging. Shorter delays lead to a high velocity plasma deflagration jet and longer delays produce detonation shocks. During a single operational cycle that typically consists of two discharge events, the plasma acceleration exhibits a behavior characterized by a mode transition from deflagration to detonation. The first of the discharge events, a deflagration that occurs when the discharge expands into an initially evacuated domain, requires a modification of the standard MHD algorithm to account for rarefied regions of the simulation domain. The conventional approach of using a low background density gas to mimic the vacuum background results in the formation of an artificial shock, inconsistent with the physics of free expansion. To this end, we present a plasma-vacuum interface tracking framework with the objective of predicting a physically consistent free expansion, devoid of the spurious shock obtained with the low background density approach. The interface tracking formulation is integrated within the MHD framework to simulate the plasma deflagration and the second discharge event, a plasma detonation, formed due to its initiation in a background prefilled with gas remnant from the deflagration. The mode transition behavior obtained in the simulations is qualitatively compared to that observed in the experiments using high framing rate Schlieren videography. The deflagration mode is further investigated to understand the jet formation process and the axial velocities obtained are compared against experimentally obtained deflagration plasma front velocities. The simulations are also used to provide insight into the conditions responsible for the generation and sustenance of the magnetic pinch. The pinch width and number density distribution are compared to experimentally obtained data to calibrate the inlet boundary conditions used to set up the plasma acceleration problem.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
NASA NTRS1991

The expansion of polarization charge layers into magnetized vacuum - Theory and computer simulations

The formation and evolution of polarization charge layers on cylindrical plasma streams moving in vacuum are investigated using analytic theory and 2D electrostatic particle-in-cell computer simulations. It is shown that the behavior of the electron charge layer goes through three stages. An early time expansion is driven by electrostatic repulsion of electrons in the charge layer. At the intermediate stage, the simulations show that the electron-charge-layer expansion is halted by the positively charged plasma stream. Electrons close to the stream are pulled back to the stream and a second electron expansion follows in time. At the late stage, the expansion of the ion charge layer along the magnetic field lines accompanies the electron expansion to form an ambipolar expansion. It is found that the velocities of these electron-ion expansions greatly exceed the velocities of ambipolar expansions which are driven by plasma temperatures.

Galvez, Miguel↗
NASA NTRS1976

Multiple-satellite studies of magnetospheric substorms - Radial dynamics of the plasma sheet

The radial dynamics of the nighttime plasma sheet during substorms is examined. The spatial dependence of plasma sheet variations at different radial distances is studied on the basis of simultaneous recordings from two closely spaced satellites. The simultaneous measurements of the plasma sheet behavior earthward and tailward of r = 15 earth radii confirm substorm models which predict a thinning of the near-earth plasma sheet before the formation of an X-type neutral line, followed by a thickening on the earthward side and a further thinning on the tailward side. Temporal correlations between the plasma sheet variations and substorm development on the ground are studied by obtaining accurate timing of individual substorm expansion onsets. In particular, during multiple onset storms, the near-earth plasma sheet is found to experience a series of multiple expansions and contractions, which usually occur in a one-to-one relationship with ground Pi 2 bursts and are well correlated with auroral zone and low-altitude magnetic disturbances.

Pytte, T.↗
DOE OSTI2016

Hydrodynamic description of an unmagnetized plasma with multiple ion species. I. General formulation

A generalization of the Braginskii ion fluid description [S. I. Braginskii, Sov. Phys. JETP 6, 358 (1958)] to the case of an unmagnetized collisional plasma with multiple ion species is presented. An asymptotic expansion in the ion Knudsen number is used to derive the individual ion species continuity, as well as the total ion mass density, momentum, and energy evolution equations accurate through the second order. Expressions for the individual ion species drift velocities with respect to the center of mass reference frame, as well as for the total ion heat flux and viscosity, which are required to close the fluid equations, are evaluated in terms of the first-order corrections to the lowest order Maxwellian ion velocity distribution functions. A variational formulation for evaluating such corrections and its relation to the plasma entropy are presented. Employing trial functions for the corrections, written in terms of expansions in generalized Laguerre polynomials, and maximizing the resulting functionals produces two systems of linear equations (for “vector” and “tensor” portions of the corrections) for the expansion coefficients. A general matrix formulation of the linear systems as well as expressions for the resulting transport fluxes are presented in forms convenient for numerical implementation. The general formulation is employed in the companion paper [A. N. Simakov and K. Molvig, Hydrodynamic description of an unmagnetized plasma with multiple ion species. II. Two and three ion species plasmas, submitted to Phys. Plasmas (2015)] to evaluate the individual ion drift velocities and the total ion heat flux and viscosity for specific cases of two and three ion species plasmas.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2021

Real-time estimation and control of divertor surface heat flux on the DⅢ-D tokamak

We report Future tokamaks will require robust technologies for the mitigation of heat exhaust onto the plasma-facing components. As a first step towards this development, a system has been developed at DIII-D that estimates and controls in real-time the heat flux to the PFCs. Real-time estimation of the peak power flux from this model-based approach is validated with off-line infra-red measurements for various DIII-D plasma discharges. A nonlinear free-boundary simulation code (GSevolve) is used for simulating the closed loop response and for the off-line determination of the control parameters. The implementation and first experimental results of the application during the DIII-D plasma campaign are reported.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

Polarization and phase control of electron injection and acceleration in the plasma by a self-steepening laser pulse

Abstract We describe an interplay between two injection mechanism of background electrons into an evolving plasma bubble behind an intense laser pulse: one due to the overall bubble expansion, and another due to its periodic undulation. The two mechanisms occur simultaneously when an intense laser pulse propagating inside a plasma forms a shock-like steepened front. Periodic undulations of the plasma bubble along the laser propagation path can either inhibit or conspire with electron injection due to bubble expansion. We show that carrier-envelope-phase (CEP) controlled plasma bubble undulation induced by the self-steepening laser pulse produces a unique electron injector—expanding phase-controlled undulating bubble (EPUB). The longitudinal structure of the electron bunch injected by the EPUB can be controlled by laser polarization and power, resulting in high-charge (multiple nano-Coulombs) high-current (tens of kilo-amperes) electron beams with ultra-short (femtosecond-scale) temporal structure. Generation of high-energy betatron radiation with polarization- and CEP-controlled energy spectrum and angular distribution is analyzed as a promising application of EPUB-produced beams.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗