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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 73 records · Page 4
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1983

Plasma waves in planetary magnetospheres

Research conducted within the last four years on plasma waves in the terrestrial magnetosphere as well as those of Jupiter and Saturn is reviewed. Studies aimed at the characterization of plasma wave emissions in the earth's magnetosheath and magnetopause are considered, together with investigations of the characteristics and mechanisms of electron cyclotron harmonic and upper hybrid resonance waves, nonthermal continuum radiation, auroral kilometric radiation, chorus, hiss and whistler-mode turbulence, whistlers, power line radiation, ion cyclotron waves, an ionospheric irregularities and instabilities. Experimental studies based on the injection of waves or plasma into the ionosphere and plasma waves in the laboratory are also examined. In situ Voyager data and radio astronomical observations of Jupiter are discussed as they relate to the plasma waves detected in the Jovian mgnetosheath and magnetopause, outer and inner magnetosphere and magnetotail, as well as the Jovian radio emission. In the case of Saturn, particular attention is given to the emissions observed during the Voyager encounter with the planet, its rings and Titan.

Anderson, R. R.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Plasma waves associated with energetic particles streaming into the solar wind from the earth's bow shock

Plasma wave and plasma data from ISEE 1 and 2 are examined. In the upstream solar wind, three dominant types of plasma waves are observed which are associated with energetic particle streams coming from the bow shock: ion acoustic waves, electron plasma oscillations, and whistler mode waves. The ion acoustic waves occur simultaneously with either ion beams or a dispersed ion population in the energy range from 0.5 to greater than 45 keV. The electron plasma oscillations are long-wavelength, nearly monochromatic electrostatic waves which are closely correlated with the flux of low-energy electrons, especially in the 0.2-1.5 keV range. Electromagnetic waves with frequencies below 200 Hz are observed when either ion beams or dispersed ion distributions are present; for these waves the refractive index determined from the wave B to E ratio is consistent with whistler mode radiation.

Anderson, R. R.↗
NASA NTRS1996

Plasma Waves in the Magnetosheath of Venus

Research supported by this grant is divided into three basic topics of investigation. These are: (1) Plasma waves in the Venus magnetosheath, (2) Plasma waves in the Venus foreshock and solar wind, (3) plasma waves in the Venus nightside ionosphere and ionotail. The main issues addressed in the first area - Plasma waves in the Venus magnetosheath - dealt with the wave modes observed in the magnetosheath and upper ionosphere, and whether these waves are a significant source of heating for the topside ionosphere. The source of the waves was also investigated. In the second area - Plasma waves in the Venus foreshock and solar wind, we carried out some research on waves observed upstream of the planetary bow shock known as the foreshock. The foreshock and bow shock modify the ambient magnetic field and plasma, and need to be understood if we are to understand the magnetosheath. Although most of the research was directed to wave observations on the dayside of the planet, in the last of the three basic areas studied, we also analyzed data from the nightside. The plasma waves observed by the Pioneer Venus Orbiter on the nightside continue to be of considerable interest since they have been cited as evidence for lightning on Venus.

Strangeway, Robert J.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Initial results from the ISEE-1 and -2 plasma wave investigation

A survey of initial results from the plasma-wave investigation on the ISEE 1 and 2 spacecraft is presented. The plasma-wave instruments employed are designed to provide measurements of the electric and magnetic fields of plasma waves over the frequency range from about 5 Hz to 300 kHz. Several representative satellite passes are analyzed in detail and discussed. The results considered are shown to demonstrate the very high-quality data being obtained with the instruments and to illustrate the wide range of magnetospheric plasma-physics problems that can be treated with the ISEE spacecraft. Comparisons of plasma-wave spectra between the two spacecraft are performed which indicate the great advantages of using two spacecraft in similar orbits to unravel the complex spatial and temporal variations that occur in the magnetosphere.

Gurnett, D. A.↗
NASA NTRS2001

Electrostatic Electron Cyclotron Waves Observed by the Plasma Wave Instrument on Board Polar

We report the results of an investigation of waves observed by the Polar spacecraft at high altitudes and latitudes and at frequencies just above the cyclotron frequency. These observations are made frequently when the spacecraft is over the polar cap as well as near the dayside cusp and near the nightside auroral region, and observations are made for ratios of plasma frequency to cyclotron frequency, f(sub p)/f(sub c) = 1. Using the six-channel high-frequency waveform receiver (HFWR) on board the spacecraft, which can provide three-axis electric and three-axis magnetic field measurements, we attempt to identify the wavemode of these emissions and investigate possible source mechanisms including low-energy electron beams. We further observe electromagnetic emission associated with upper hybrid waves near and within the plasmasphere. This emission is consistent with both Z and O modes.

Menietti, J. D.↗
NASA NTRS1989

First plasma wave observations at Neptune

The Voyager 2 plasma wave instrument detected many familiar plasma waves during the encounter with Neptune, including electron plasma oscillations in the solar wind upstream of the bow shock, electrostatic turbulence at the bow shock, and chorus, hiss, electron cyclotron waves, and upper hybrid resonance waves in the inner magnetosphere. Low-frequency radio emissions, believed to be generated by mode conversion from the upper hybrid resonance emissions, were also observed propagating outward in a disklike beam along the magnetic equatorial plane. At the two ring plane crossings many small micrometer-sized dust particles were detected striking the spacecraft. The maximum impact rates were about 280 impacts per second at the inbound ring plane crossing, and about 110 impacts per second at the outbound ring plane crossing. Most of the particles are concentrated in a dense disk, about 1000 kilometers thick, centered on the equatorial plane. However, a broader more tenuous distribution also extends many tends of thousands of kilometers from the equatorial plane, including over the northern polar region.

Gurnett, D. A.↗
DOE OSTI2017

Collisional damping rates for electron plasma waves reassessed

Collisional damping of electron plasma waves, the primary damping for high phase velocity waves, is proportional to the electron-ion collision rate, ν ei,th . Here in this work, it is shown that the damping rate normalized to ν ei,th depends on the charge state, Z, on the magnitude of ν ei,th and the wave number k in contrast with the commonly used damping rate in plasma wave research. Only for weak collision rates in low-Z plasmas for which the electron self-collision rate is comparable to the electron-ion collision rate is the damping rate given by the commonly accepted value. The result presented here corrects the result presented in textbooks at least as early as 1973. Lastly, the complete linear theory requires the inclusion of both electron-ion pitch-angle and electron-electron scattering, which itself contains contributions to both pitch-angle scattering and thermalization.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
NASA NTRS1976

Plasma waves in the distant magnetotail

The results of an extensive study of plasma waves in the distant magnetotail on the basis of measurements from the Imp 8 spacecraft are discussed. The plasma measurements are compared with plasma and magnetic field measurements described by Frank et al. (1976) to study the relationship of the plasma waves to the various plasma regimes found in the distant magnetotail. Three distinctly different types of plasma wave turbulence in the distant magnetotail are detected. The first, most frequently occurring type of turbulence, consists of broadband electrostatic noise at frequencies between 10 Hz and a few kHz. The second, less frequent type of plasma wave turbulence consists of intense (100 milligamma) bursts of low frequency (10 to 300 Hz) magnetic noise. The third, least frequent type of turbulence consists of electrostatic waves near harmonics of the electron gyrofrequency.

Gurnett, D. A.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Cometary plasma waves and instabilities

Various plasma waves and instabilities that have been observed near comets are discussed. Observational results are ordered by plasma parameters and compared with specific instabilities. The variation in the cometary ion and electron beam densities and velocities are studied by examining regions far from and near the comet nucleus. Spacecraft observations relevant to nonlinear wave evolution, wave cascading, and the development of turbulence are reviewed. The implications of the results for wave-particle interactions - linear, nonlinear, resonant, and nonresonant - and their effects on stochastic particle acceleration are addressed. Higher-frequency ELF/VLF wave observations are also reviewed, and comparisons between the various measurements are made.

Tsurutani, Bruce T.↗
DOE OSTI2016

Comment on “In-depth Plasma-Wave Heating of Dense Plasma Irradiated by Short Laser Pulses”

Sherlock et al. have reported on the heating of solid density targets by collisional damping of wakefields that are driven by relativistic electron bunches generated in relativistic laser matter interaction. Analyzing collisional particle-in-cell simulations they calculate the fast electron current j f inside the plasma by adding contributions from electrons with energies greater than E cut = 50 keV; time-integrating the specific resistive energy deposition η j 2 f they arrive at a temperature profile and compare the result to the one 'measured' in their simulation, defined as the energy of particles with E < 30 keV; the discrepancy is due to collisional damping of wake fields (CDW). Here, we disagree with their metric of fast current, which leads to false conclusions about CDW heating being a volumetric, rather than surface effect.

42 ENGINEERING↗
NASA NTRS1989

A statistical study of ELF-VLF plasma waves at the magnetopause

ISEE 1 plasma wave data are used to study the broadband ELF-VLF plasma waves at the magnetopause. Enhanced wave intensities are detected at 85 percent of all magnetopause crossings. Wave amplitudes vary from event to event and even with a single event. Wave spectra averaged over many passes, however, are similar at dawn, noon, and dusk local hours. The only parameter correlated with wave intensity is the magnitude of the Z component of the magnetosheath magnetic field. The results place strong constraints on any proposed generation mechanism for the broadband magnetopause boundary layer waves.

Tsurutani, Bruce T.↗
NASA NTRS2001

Wave Normal and Poynting Vector Calculations using the Cassini Radio and Plasma Wave Instrument

Wave normal and Poynting vector measurements from the Cassini radio and plasma wave instrument (RPWS) are used to examine the propagation characteristics of various plasma waves during the Earth flyby on August 18, 1999. Using the five-channel waveform receiver (WFR), the wave normal vector is determined using the Means method for a lightning-induced whistler, equatorial chorus, and a series of low-frequency emissions observed while Cassini was in the magnetosheath. The Poynting vector for these emissions is also calculated from the five components measured by the WFR. The propagation characteristics of the lightning-induced whistler were found to be consistent with the whistler wave mode of propagation, with propagation antiparallel to the magnetic field (southward) at Cassini. The sferic associated with this whistler was observed by both Cassini and the Stanford VLF group at the Palmer Station in Antarctica. Analysis of the arrival direction of the sferic at the Palmer Station suggests that the lightning stroke is in the same sector as Cassini. Chorus was observed very close (within a few degrees) to the magnetic equator during the flyby. The chorus was found to propagate primarily away from the magnetic equator and was observed to change direction as Cassini crossed the magnetic equator. This suggests that the source region of the chorus is very near the magnetic equator. The low-frequency emission in the magnetosheath has many of the characteristics of lion roars. The average value of the angle between the wave normal vector and the local magnetic field was found to be 16 degrees, and the emissions ranged in frequency from 0. 19 to 0.75 f(sub ce), where f(sub ce) is the electron cyclotron frequency. The wave normal vectors of these waves were primarily in one direction for each individual burst (either parallel or antiparallel to the local field) but varied in direction throughout the magnetosheath. This suggests that the sources of the emissions are far from the spacecraft and that there are multiple source regions.

Hospodarsky, G. B.↗
DOE OSTI2016

Parametric amplification of a superconducting plasma wave

Many applications in photonics require all-optical manipulation of plasma waves, which can concentrate electromagnetic energy on sub-wavelength length scales. This is difficult in metallic plasmas because of their small optical nonlinearities. Some layered superconductors support Josephson plasma waves, involving oscillatory tunnelling of the superfluid between capacitively coupled planes. Josephson plasma waves are also highly nonlinear, and exhibit striking phenomena such as cooperative emission of coherent terahertz radiation, superconductor–metal oscillations and soliton formation. In this paper, we show that terahertz Josephson plasma waves can be parametrically amplified through the cubic tunnelling nonlinearity in a cuprate superconductor. Finally, parametric amplification is sensitive to the relative phase between pump and seed waves, and may be optimized to achieve squeezing of the order-parameter phase fluctuations or terahertz single-photon devices.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
NASA NTRS1978

The ISEE-1 and ISEE-2 plasma wave investigation

The ISEE-1 and ISEE-2 plasma wave experiments are designed to provide basic information on wave-particle interactions in the earth's magnetosphere and in the solar wind. The ISEE-1 plasma wave instrument uses three electric dipole antennas with lengths of 215, 73.5 and 0.61 m for electric field measurements, and a triaxial search coil antenna for magnetic field measurements. The ISEE-2 instrument uses two electric dipole antennas with lengths of 30 and 0.61 m for electric field measurements and a single-axis search coil antenna for magnetic field measurements. The primary scientific objectives of the experiments are described, including the resolution of space-time relationships of plasma wave phenomena and VLBI studies. The instrumentation is described, with emphasis on the antennas and the electronics.

Gurnett, D. A.↗
NASA NTRS1995

Solar system plasma waves

An overview is given of spacecraft observations of plasma waves in the solar system. In situ measurements of plasma phenomena have now been obtained at all of the planets except Mercury and Pluto, and in the interplanetary medium at heliocentric radial distances ranging from 0.29 to 58 AU. To illustrate the range of phenomena involved, we discuss plasma waves in three regions of physical interest: (1) planetary radiation belts, (2) planetary auroral acceleration regions and (3) the solar wind. In each region we describe examples of plasma waves that are of some importance, either due to the role they play in determining the physical properties of the plasma, or to the unique mechanism involved in their generation.

Gurnett, Donald A.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Plasma waves as indicators of the termination shock

The plasma wave receivers on the Voyager spacecraft will likely provide indicators of both the actual crossing of the termination shock as well as precursors of the shock crossing. Since the electron foreshock can extend considerable distances upstream of the termination shock, the detection of these waves can provide as many as several weeks warning that a crossing of the termination shock is imminent. Electrostatic turbulence associated with planetary bow shocks themselves is also an expected feature of the solar wind termination shock and will provide an important signature with which to identify the shock and to provide information on its thickness and fundamental processes. Both upstream Langmuir waves and electrostatic wave turbulence can often be found in conjunction with interplanetary shocks, although the generally weaker nature of these shocks often leads to weaker plasma wave signatures than observed at planetary bow shocks. We demonstrate with Voyager observations that the amplitudes expected for each of these phenomena are well within the range of detectability by the Voyager plasma wave receiver even for termination shock distances exceeding 100 AU.

Kurth, W. S.↗
NASA NTRS1996

Micron-Sized Particles Detected in the Vicinity of Jupiter by the Voyager Plasma Wave Instruments

Wideband waveform data obtained by the plasma wave instruments onboard the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft have been used to study micron-sized dust particles in the vicinity of Jupiter. The technique used was developed during the flybys of Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune, and makes use of the fact that a particle striking the spacecraft at 10-20 km/s causes a voltage pulse in the plasma wave receiver. The waveform of the voltage pulse is much different than the waveform of plasma waves and provides a highly reliable method of detecting micron-sized dust particles. Although the dust impact rate observed in the vicinity of Jupiter is much lower than the rates at Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune, the particles are easily detectable. Approximately 1200 48-second frames of wideband waveform data were examined in the vicinity of Jupiter. Dust impact signatures were found in approximately 20% of these frames. The peak impact rates are about 1 impact per second, and the peak number densities are about 10(exp -5) m(exp -3). Most of the impacts occurred near the equatorial plane at radial distances less than about 35 R(sub j) from Jupiter. Analysis of the detection threshold indicates that the particles have masses greater than 10(exp -11) g, which corresponds to particles with diameters of a few micrometers or larger.

Tsintikidis, D.↗
DOE OSTI2017

Advanced Accelerators: Particle, Photon and Plasma Wave Interactions

The overall objective of this project was to study the acceleration of electrons to very high energies over very short distances based on trapping slowly moving electrons in the fast moving potential wells of large amplitude plasma waves, which have relativistic phase velocities. These relativistic plasma waves, or wakefields, are the basis of table-top accelerators that have been shown to accelerate electrons to the same high energies as kilometer-length linear particle colliders operating using traditional decades-old acceleration techniques. The accelerating electrostatic fields of the relativistic plasma wave accelerators can be as large as GigaVolts/meter, and our goal was to study techniques for remotely measuring these large fields by injecting low energy probe electron beams across the plasma wave and measuring the beam’s deflection. Our method of study was via computer simulations, and these results suggested that the deflection of the probe electron beam was directly proportional to the amplitude of the plasma wave. This is the basis of a proposed diagnostic technique, and numerous studies were performed to determine the effects of changing the electron beam, plasma wave and laser beam parameters. Further simulation studies included copropagating laser beams with the relativistic plasma waves. New interesting results came out of these studies including the prediction that very small scale electron beam bunching occurs, and an anomalous line focusing of the electron beam occurs under certain conditions. These studies were summarized in the dissertation of a graduate student who obtained the Ph.D. in physics. This past research program has motivated ideas for further research to corroborate these results using particle-in-cell simulation tools which will help design a test-of-concept experiment in our laboratory and a scaled up version for testing at a major wakefield accelerator facility.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗