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At least 91 records · Page 5

Variable temperature pressure broadening of the 4(1,4)-3(2,1) transition of H2O by O2 and N2

The O2 and N2 pressure-broadening parameters of the 4(1,4)-3(2,1) rotational transition in the ground vibrational state of H2O have been measured in the temperature range between 100 and 520 K. Above 250 K the measurements were made in an equilibrium cell. Below 250 K a cell, which uses collisional cooling to circumvent the temperature limits imposed by the vapor pressure of the sample gas, was used. The data were fitted to an exponential temperature-dependence for data above 150 K with resultant n values of 0.81(3) for O2 and 0.70(3) for N2, where the entries in parentheses represent the error in the last significant figure of the parameter. Below 150 K the measured pressure-broadening parameters are smaller than those calculated using these values of n.

Goyette, Thomas M.↗

Turbulence driven widening of the near-SOL power width in ASDEX Upgrade H-Mode discharges

Divertor heat flux data from infra red (IR) from various tokamaks in H-Mode regime show that the power width, $\lambda_{q}$, scales approximately like 1.6 $(R/a) ρ_{s,pol}$. However, the IR based scaling comes with the restriction that only discharges were considered with attached divertor conditions. Here we set up a new data base covering low edge density data but also including high density plasmas reaching the H-mode density limit. We use Thomson-scattering to measure the electron temperature decay length which will set the near-SOL power width through parallel heat conduction. We present scaling results for the density, temperature and pressure separatrix fall-off lengths. As the principal result we derive a generalized power width scaling which reads as $\lambda_{q}\propto\,\rho_{s,pol}\cdot(1+2.1\alpha_{t}^{1.7})$ where $\alpha_{t}$ describes a normalized collisionality ($\alpha_{t} = 3\cdot\,10^{-18}\,R\,q^2\,n\,Z_{eff}T^{-2}$). The parameter $\alpha_{t}$ describes the relative importance of the interchange effect on drift-wave turbulence as proposed by Scott and is found to be closely linked to the diamagnetic parameter αd introduced by Rogers, Drake and Zeiler (RDZ). The edge operational space for ASDEX Upgrade displays a boundary qualitatively in agreement with the region labelled as density limit in the edge plasma phase space proposed by RDZ. The data base shows in the limit of low edge densities ($\alpha_{t}\simeq\,0.2$) accurate agreement to the IR based power width scaling. At elevated separatrix densities ($\alpha_{t}\simeq\,1$) the power width is broadened by a factor of up to about three accompanied by a reduction of the $\text{H}_{98,y2}$ confinement factor. Finally, plasmas with higher triangularity show higher values for $\text{H}_{98,y2}$ in the same range of normalized collisionality.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Collisional excitation of interstellar formaldehyde

Previous calculations for rates of excitation of ortho-H2CO by collisions with He have been extended to higher rotational levels and kinetic temperatures to 80 K. Rates for para-H2CO have also been computed. Pressure-broadening widths for several spectral lines have been obtained from these calculations and are found to agree with recent data within the experimental uncertainty of 10%. Excitation of formaldehyde by collisions with H2 molecules is also discussed.

Green, S.↗

Broadening of the Divertor Heat Flux Profile in High Confinement Tokamak Fusion Plasmas with Edge Pedestals Limited by Turbulence in DIII-D

Multimachine empirical scaling predicts an extremely narrow heat exhaust layer in future high magnetic field tokamaks, producing high power densities that require mitigation. Here, in the experiments presented, the width of this exhaust layer is nearly doubled using actuators to increase turbulent transport in the plasma edge. This is achieved in low collisionality, high confinement edge pedestals with their gradients limited by turbulent transport instead of large-scale, coherent instabilities. The exhaust heat flux profile width and divertor leg diffusive spreading both double as a high frequency band of turbulent fluctuations propagating in the electron diamagnetic direction doubles in amplitude. The results are quantitatively reproduced in electromagnetic XGC particle-in-cell simulations which show the heat flux carried by electrons emerges to broaden the heat flux profile, directly supported by Langmuir probe measurements.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Piecewise omnigenous stellarators with zero bootstrap current

Until now, quasi-isodynamic magnetic fields have been the only known stellarator configurations that, at low collisionality, give small radial neoclassical transport and zero bootstrap current for arbitrary plasma profiles, the latter facilitating control of the magnetic configuration. The recently introduced notion of piecewise omnigenous fields has enormously broadened the space of stellarator configurations with small radial neoclassical transport. Here, in this Letter, the existence of piecewise omnigenous fields that give zero bootstrap current is proven analytically and confirmed numerically. These results establish piecewise omnigenity as an alternative approach to stellarator reactor design.

Calvo, Iván [Research Centre for Energy, Environme↗

Chandra and XMM-Newton: Atomic Data Needs For X-ray Astronomy

With the launches of the Chandra X-ray Observatory and XM M-Newton, high resolution X-ray spectra of cosmic sources are broadening our understanding of the physical conditions, such as temperature, density, Ionization state, and elemental abundances. X-ray emitting astrophysical plasmas can be generally classified by their dominant ionization mechanism, either collisional ionization or X-ray photoionization. The atomic data needs are significantly different for these two cases; however, for both cases it is important that we identify robust and accurate diagnostics and that we verify completeness of the broadband models. We discuss the status of tile atomic data currently used in atomic databases for X-ray astronomy, in view of theoretical and experimental atomic physics considerations. We will also discuss the application of these models to new astrophysical data.

Brickhouse, Nancy↗

Decoupling in the line mixing of acetylene infrared Q branches

A difference-frequency laser spectrometer was used to record the Q-branch profiles of the nu1 + nu5, nu3 + nu4, and nu2 + 2nu4 + nu5 Pi(u)-Sigma(g) combination bands in the 2.5 micron C-H stretch-bend region of acetylene. The experiment was carried out at pressures in the range of 1 to 500 Torr. It is shown that line mixing causes substantial deviation of collisionally overlapped Q-branch profiles from the independently additive superposition of Lorentzian line shapes. It is also found that the degree of line mixing is greatly reduced from that assuming all the broadening arises from rotationally inelastic collisions coupling Q-branch lines only to one another.

Pine, A. S.↗

Velocity-changing collisional effects in nonlinear atomic spectroscopy and photon echo decay in gases

A general theory of atomic dipole coherence under the influence of collisional phase changes, inelastic effects and optically active atom velocity changes, including those due to anisotropic interactions is presented. Velocity change effects are obtained in closed form. Line shapes appear as convolutions of standard pressure broadening contours with velocity-change contours. Width and shift parameters for the He-broadened Na D lines at 2 m bar pressure, 380 K are calculated, as are He-induced photon echo decay rates for these lines. Overall agreement with xperiment is reasonably good.

Herman, R. M.↗

Theory of the current-driven ion cyclotron instability in the bottomside ionosphere

A comprehensive treatment of the theory of electrostatic ion cyclotron instability in the collisional bottomside ionosphere is given. The linear dispersion relations for the ion cyclotron instability (electron and ion collisions) are derived. Analytical solutions to the dispersion relation are obtained in three limits: collisionless; weakly collisional; and collisional. In addition, the linear dispersion relation is solved numerically, using parameters typical of the high-latitude bottomside ionosphere. It is pointed out that the linear growth rates in the bottomside collisional regime can be of the same order as the corresponding topside collisionless growth rates. A nonlinear saturation mechanism for the electrostatic ion cyclotron instability is proposed on the basis of Dupree's (1966) resonance broadening theory.

Satyanarayana, P.↗

Line-width temperature dependence of selected R-branch transitions in the nu-3 fundamental of (N-14)2O-16 between 135 and 295 K

Tunable diode laser spectroscopy has been used to measure the temperature dependence of N2 foreign gas broadening coefficients for eight R-branch transitions in the nu-3 fundamental of (N-14)2O-16 at 135, 176, 210, and 295 K. The exponent n of the relation for quadrupole-quadrupole collisional interactions is found to range from 0.66 to 0.71, in approximate agreement with the theoretically predicted value of 0.75.

Loewenstein, Max↗

Measurements of the imploding plasma sheath in triple-nozzle gas-puff z pinches

Gas-puff z-pinch implosions are characterized by the formation of a dense annular plasma shell, the sheath, that is driven to the axis by magnetic forces and therefore subject to the magneto-Rayleigh–Taylor instability. Here, the conditions within these sheaths are measured on the 1-MA COBRA generator at Cornell University for various gas species and initial fill densities. The gas-puff loads are initialized by a 7 cm diameter triple-nozzle gas valve assembly with concentric outer and inner annular nozzles and a central gas jet. Thomson scattering and laser interferometry provide spatially resolved flow, temperature, and electron density profiles midway through the implosion, while extreme ultraviolet pinhole cameras record the evolution of the plasma column and photoconducting diodes measure x-ray emission. Analysis of the scattering spectra includes a means of discriminating between thermal and non-thermal broadening to test for the presence of hydrodynamic turbulence. Two types of sheath profiles are observed, those with sharp discontinuities at the leading edge and those with smooth gradients. In both cases, non-thermal broadening is generally peaked at the front of the sheath and exhibits a characteristic decay length that roughly scales with the sheath ion mean free path. Here, we demonstrate that this non-thermal broadening term is inconsistent with laminar velocity gradients and is more consistent with dissipative turbulence driven by unstable plasma waves in a collisionless shock. The resulting differences in sheath profile are then set by the sheath ion collisionality in a manner consistent with recent 1D kinetic simulations.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Femtosecond electronic structure response to high intensity XFEL pulses probed by iron X-ray emission spectroscopy

We report the time-resolved femtosecond evolution of the K-shell X-ray emission spectra of iron during high intensity illumination of X-rays in a micron-sized focused hard X-ray free electron laser (XFEL) beam. Detailed pulse length dependent measurements revealed that rapid spectral energy shift and broadening started within the first 10 fs of the X-ray illumination at intensity levels between 10 17 and 10 18 W cm -2 . We attribute these spectral changes to the rapid evolution of high-density photoelectron mediated secondary collisional ionization processes upon the absorption of the incident XFEL radiation. These fast electronic processes, occurring at timescales well within the typical XFEL pulse durations (i.e., tens of fs), set the boundary conditions of the pulse intensity and sample parameters where the widely-accepted ‘probe-before-destroy’ measurement strategy can be adopted for electronic-structure related XFEL experiments.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗

Direct measurement of the electron turbulence-broadening edge transport barrier to facilitate core–edge integration in tokamak fusion plasmas

Abstract The integration of a high-performance core and a dissipative divertor, or the so-called ‘core–edge integration,’ has been widely identified as a critical gap in the design of future fusion reactors. In this letter, we report, for the first time, direct experimental evidence of electron turbulence at the DIII-D H-mode pedestal that correlates with the broadening of the pedestal and thus facilitates core–edge integration. In agreement with gyrokinetic simulations, this electron turbulence is enhanced by high η e ( η e = L n / L T e , where L n is the density scale length and L T e is the electron temperature scale length), which is due to a strong shift between the density and temperature pedestal profiles associated with a closed divertor. The modeled turbulence drives significant heat transport with a lower pressure gradient that may broaden the pedestal to a greater degree than the empirical and theoretically predicted pedestal width scalings. Such a wide pedestal, coupled with a closed divertor, enables us to achieve a good core–edge scenario that integrates a high-temperature low-collisionality pedestal (pedestal top temperature T e,ped > 0.8 keV and a pedestal top collisionality ν * ped < 1) under detached divertor conditions. This paves a new path toward solving the core–edge integration issue in future fusion reactors.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

0.Measurements of H216O Linestrengths and Air-Induced Broadenings and Shifts in the 815-nm Spectral Region

The linestrengths for 40 absorption lines of H2 16-O water vapor that were located between 813 and 820 nm were measured; most of these lines were selected for their potential usefulness in laser remote measurements of atmospheric humidity using the differential absorption lidar technique. The air-induced pressure-broadening coefficients were also measured for 32 of these lines and the air-induced pressure shift coefficients were measured for 29 lines. These spectroscopic parameters were derived from spectra obtained with an AlGaAs diode laser and two long-path absorption cells. Collisional narrowing effects were observed and were accurately described by a Galatry profile. Comparisons were made with previous experimental work or theoretical calculations as available.

Ponsardin, Patrick L.↗

XRISM Finds the Changing-look Active Galactic Nucleus NGC 1365 in an Extended Low State: A Dense, Highly Ionized Outflow Obscures the Central Source

We present the first XRISM/Resolve observations of the active galactic nucleus NGC 1365, obtained in 2024 February and July. NGC 1365 is known for rapid transitions between Compton-thick and Compton-thin states, along with strong absorption from a highly ionized wind. During our observations, the source was found in a persistent low-flux state, characterized by a decrease in hard-X-ray luminosity and significant line-of-sight obscuration. In this state, XRISM/Resolve reveals clear Fe XXV and Fe XXVI absorption lines together with, for the first time in this source, corresponding emission lines. These features may arise either from reemission from a photoionized wind (P Cygni profile) or from collisionally ionized gas associated with outflow-driven shocks in the interstellar medium. We estimate the wind launch radius to be approximately 10 16 cm (∼10 4 R g ), consistent with the location of the X-ray broadline region. We also resolve a broadened Fe Kα line by σ ∼ 1300 km s −1 , placing it at similar scales to the wind, consistent with radii inferred from disk-broadening models and the variability of the Fe Kα broad line. The similarity of the Fe Kα profile to the Hβ wing and broad Paα width indicates that the X-ray-emitting region is likely cospatial with the optical/infrared broadline region and originates from the same gas.

Astronomy and AstroPhysics↗

Highly ionized gas absorption in the disk and halo toward HD 167756 at 3.5 kilometers per second resolution

High-resolution spectra of interstellar Si IV, C IV, and N V absorption lines along the 4 kpc path to the inner Galaxy star HD 167756 at z = -0.85 kpc are presented. The spectra were obtained with the echelle mode of Goddard High Resolution Spectrograph (GHRS) aboard the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) and have signal-to-noise ratios ranging from 23 to 38. The high resolution of the measurements full width at half maximum (FWHM = 3.5 km/s) results in fully resolved line profiles for the highly ionized gas absorption. The measurements provide information on the column density per unit velocity, N(v), as a function of velocity for Si IV, C IV, and N V. The C IV and N V profiles extend from -70 to +70 km/s, while the Si IV profiles extend from -40 to +70 km/s. The integrated logarithmic column densities are long N(Si IV) = 13.09 +/- 0.02, log N(C IV) = 13.83 +/- 0.02, and log N(N V) = 13.56 +/- 0.03. The N V profile is broad, asymmetric, and featureless, while the Si IV profile contains narrow absorption components near V(sub LSR) = -19, 0, +20, and +52 km/s with Doppler spread parameters, b about = 10-12 km/s. The C IV profile contains both broad and narrow structure. The high ion feature near +52 km/s is also detected in the low-ionization lines of Ca II, O I, Si II, and Fe II. The other narrow Si IV and C IV components occur within several km/s of components seen in low-ionization species. The sight line contains at least two types of highly ionized gas. One type gives rise to a broad N V profile, and the other results in the more structured Si IV profile. The C IV profile contains contributions from both types of highly ionized gas. The broad but asymmetric N V profile is well represented by a large Galactic scale height gas which is participating in Galactic rotation and has a combination of thermal and turbulent broadening with b(sub tot) about = 42 km/s. The C IV to N V abundance ratio of 1.0 +/- 0.3 for the gas implies T about 1.6 x 10(exp 5) K or about 8 x 10(exp 5) K if the gas is in collisional ionization equilibrium and has a solar carbon to nitrogen abundance ratio. This absorption may be associated with cooling hot gas situated in Galactic shells and supershells along the sight line. The gas producing the narrow Si IV and C IV absorption components has line widths that are compatible with origins in conductive interfaces between the warm and hot interstellar medium. Kinematic flows associated with the photoionized edges of clouds might also produce Si IV and C IV lines with Doppler spread parameters similar to those observed, but the C IV to Si IV ratio in this gas is 3.5, which leads us to favor the conductive interface interpretation.

Savage, Blair D.↗

Summary of Research/Publications

Summary of research/publications include:(1) Comment on broadening of water microwave lines by collisions with helium atoms; (2) Calculations of ion-molecule deuterium fractionation reactions involving HD; (3) Ab initio predictions on the rotational spectra of carbon-chain carbene molecules; (4) Theoretical IR spectra of ionized naphthalene; (5) Improved collisional excitation rates for interstellar water; (6) Calculations on the competition between association and reaction for C3H+ + H2; (7) Theoretical infrared spectra of some model polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons: effect of ionization; (8) Calculations concerning interstellar isomeric abundance ratios for C3H and C3H2; (9) New calculations on the ion-molecule processes C2H2+ + H2 C2H3+ + H and C2H2+ + H2 C2H4+; (10) Anisotropic rigid rotor potential energy function for H2O-H2; (11) A correlated ab initio study of linear carbon-chain radicals CnH (n=2-7); (12) Ab initio characterization of MgCCH, MgCCH+, and MgC2 and pathways to their formation in the interstellar medium; (13) Why HOC+ is detectable in interstellar clouds: The rate of the reaction between HOC+ and H2; (14) A correlated ab initio study of the X 2A 1 and A 2E states of MgCH3; (15) On the stability of interstellar carbon clusters: The rate of the reaction between C3 and O; and (16) The rate of the reaction between CN and C2H2 at interstellar temperatures.

Source record↗

An Experimental and Theoretical Study of Nitrogen-Broadened Acetylene Lines

We present experimental nitrogen-broadening coefficients derived from Voigt profiles of isotropic Raman Q-lines measured in the 2 band of acetylene (C2H2) at 150 K and 298 K, and compare them to theoretical values obtained through calculations that were carried out specifically for this work. Namely, full classical calculations based on Gordon's approach, two kinds of semi-classical calculations based on Robert Bonamy method as well as full quantum dynamical calculations were performed. All the computations employed exactly the same ab initio potential energy surface for the C2H2N2 system which is, to our knowledge, the most realistic, accurate and up-to-date one. The resulting calculated collisional half-widths are in good agreement with the experimental ones only for the full classical and quantum dynamical methods. In addition, we have performed similar calculations for IR absorption lines and compared the results to bibliographic values. Results obtained with the full classical method are again in good agreement with the available room temperature experimental data. The quantum dynamical close-coupling calculations are too time consuming to provide a complete set of values and therefore have been performed only for the R(0) line of C2H2. The broadening coefficient obtained for this line at 173 K and 297 K also compares quite well with the available experimental data. The traditional Robert Bonamy semi-classical formalism, however, strongly overestimates the values of half-width for both Qand R-lines. The refined semi-classical Robert Bonamy method, first proposed for the calculations of pressure broadening coefficients of isotropic Raman lines, is also used for IR lines. By using this improved model that takes into account effects from line coupling, the calculated semi-classical widths are significantly reduced and closer to the measured ones.

coefficients↗