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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 127 records · Page 7
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2024

Effect of plasma initialization on 3D PIC simulation of Hall thruster azimuthal instability

Abstract The lack of understanding of the azimuthal instability and the resulting electron anomalous transport limits further improvement of Hall thrusters. Compared to theoretical and experimental approaches, the numerical particle-in-cell (PIC) simulation is a suitable and powerful tool, which has been widely applied to investigate the azimuthal instability, and great progress has been made in the past decades. However, PIC simulations are intrinsically computationally expensive, and it is realized that the Hall thruster azimuthal instability has a three dimensional nature. Therefore, massive 3D PIC simulation must be carried out to completely reveal the mechanism of the instability. In this paper, the effect of plasma initialization on 3D PIC simulation of Hall thruster azimuthal instability is studied as a starting point. It is found that by initializing with ion density and velocity fitting functions to the steady-state simulation results, a faster convergence can be obtained and the computational time can be reduced by about 1.5 times. Typical fitting functions of ion density, drifting velocity, and temperature are given, and the influence of different initialization profiles is presented.

Physics↗
DOE OSTI2026

Physics insights from a large-scale 2D UEDGE simulation database for detachment control in KSTAR

A large-scale database of two-dimensional UEDGE simulations has been developed to study detachment physics in KSTAR and to support surrogate models for control applications. Nearly 70 000 steady-state solutions were generated, systematically scanning upstream density, input power, plasma current, impurity fraction, and anomalous transport coefficients, with magnetic and electric drifts across the magnetic field included. The database identifies robust detachment indicators, with strike-point electron temperature at detachment onset consistently T e,target ~ 3-4 eV, largely insensitive to upstream conditions. Scaling relations reveal weaker impurity sensitivity than one-dimensional models and show that heat flux widths follow Eich’s scaling only for uniform, low D and χ. Distinctive in–out divertor asymmetries are observed in KSTAR, differing qualitatively from DIII-D. Complementary time-dependent simulations quantify plasma response to gas puffing, with delays of 5 - 15 ms at the outer strike point and ∼ 40 ms for the low-magnetic-field-side radiation front. These dynamics are well captured by first-order-plus-dead-time models and are consistent with experimentally observed detachment-control behavior in KSTAR (Gupta et al 2025 Plasma Phys. Control. Fusion (submitted)).

Physics - Plasma physics↗
DOE OSTI2023

Theory of criticality for quantum ferroelectric metals

A variety of compounds, for example, doped paraelectrics and polar metals, exhibit both ferroelectricity and correlated electronic phenomena such as low-density superconductivity and anomalous transport. Characterizing such properties is tied to understanding the quantum dynamics of inversion symmetry breaking in the presence of itinerant electrons. Here, we present a comprehensive analysis of the properties of a metal near a quantum critical transition to a ferroelectric state, in both two and three dimensions. In this study, starting from a minimal model of electrons coupled to a transverse polar phonon via a Rashba-type spin-orbit interaction, we compute the dynamical response of both electrons and phonons. We find that the system can evince both Fermi and non-Fermi liquid phases, as well as enhanced pairing in both singlet and triplet channels. Furthermore, we systematically compute corrections to one-loop theory and find a tendency to quantum order-by-disorder, leading to a phase diagram that can include second-order, first-order, and finite-momentum phase transitions. Finally, we show that the entire phase diagram can be controlled via application of external strain, either compressive or volume-preserving. Our results provide a map of the dynamical and thermodynamical phase space of quantum ferroelectic metals, which can serve in characterizing existing materials and in seeking applications for quantum technologies.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2024

Complete quasilinear model for the acceleration-driven lower hybrid drift instability and a computational assessment of its validity

A complete quasilinear model is derived for the electrostatic acceleration-driven lower hybrid drift instability in a uniform two-species low-beta plasma in which current is perpendicular to the background magnetic field. The model consists of coupled nonlinear velocity space diffusion equations for the volume-averaged ion and electron distribution functions. Each species' diffusion coefficient depends on a time-evolving spectral density of the electric-field energy per unit volume and a time-evolving dispersion relation. The dispersion relation is expressed analytically in integral form without the use of asymptotic limits and applies to arbitrary distribution functions, so long as they can be expressed as a function of one velocity coordinate, e.g., f⁡(vy) or f⁡(v⊥). The quasilinear model conserves energy and is complete in that it fully describes the evolution of the distribution functions, including resonant and nonresonant particle-wave interactions, while accounting for distribution-function-dependent mixed-complex frequencies. Further, the quasilinear diffusion model is solved numerically and self-consistently using a Crank-Nicolson temporal discretization and a second-order finite-volume velocity-space discretization. Numerical solutions are compared to nonlinear fourth-order accurate continuum kinetic Vlasov-Poisson simulations. Evolution of electric-field energy, growth rates, distribution functions, and diffusion coefficients are shown to be in agreement with Vlasov simulations. The quasilinear model is shown to predict anomalous transport terms, like resistivity and heating, to within a factor of order unity. Discrepancies between the quasilinear model and Vlasov simulations are assessed and attributed primarily to lack of damping in the quasilinear description and to the use of unperturbed-orbit susceptibilities in the linear theory dispersion relation. The results illuminate the predictive accuracy of the quasilinear model, place approximate bounds on its validity, and provide much needed vetting of quasilinear theory's ability to predict the nonlinear state of a microturbulent plasma.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2021

Multiple Charge Density Waves and Superconductivity Nucleation at Antiphase Domain Walls in the Nematic Pnictide Ba 1– x Sr x Ni 2 As 2

How superconductivity interacts with charge or nematic order is one of the great unresolved issues at the center of research in quantum materials. Ba 1– x Sr x Ni 2 As 2 (BSNA) is a charge ordered pnictide superconductor recently shown to exhibit a sixfold enhancement of superconductivity due to nematic fluctuations near a quantum phase transition (at $x_c$ = 0.7). The superconductivity is, however, anomalous, with the resistive transition for $0.4 < x < x_c$ occurring at a higher temperature than the specific heat anomaly. Here, using x-ray scattering, we discovered a new charge density wave (CDW) in BSNA in this composition range. The CDWis commensurate with a period of two lattice parameters, and is distinct from the two CDWs previously reported in this material. We argue that the anomalous transport behavior arises from heterogeneous superconductivity nucleating at antiphase domain walls in this CDW. We also present new data on the incommensurate CDW, previously identified as being unidirectional, showing that it is a rotationally symmetric “4$\textit{Q}$” state with $C_4$ symmetry. Our study establishes BSNA as a rare material containing three distinct CDWs, and an exciting test bed for studying coupling between CDW, nematic, and SC orders.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2021

Identification of Non-Fermi Liquid Physics in a Quantum Critical Metal via Quantum Loop Topography

Non-Fermi liquid physics is ubiquitous in strongly correlated metals, manifesting itself in anomalous transport properties, such as a $\textit{T}$-linear resistivity in experiments. However, its theoretical understanding in terms of microscopic models is lacking, despite decades of conceptual work and attempted numerical simulations. In this work, we demonstrate that a combination of sign-problem-free quantum Monte Carlo sampling and quantum loop topography, a physics-inspired machine-learning approach, can map out the emergence of non-Fermi liquid physics in the vicinity of a quantum critical point (QCP) with little prior knowledge. Using only three parameter points for training the underlying neural network, we are able to robustly identify a stable non-Fermi liquid regime tracing the fans of metallic QCPs at the onset of both spin-density wave and nematic order. In particular, we establish for the first time that a spin-density wave QCP commands a wide fan of non-Fermi liquid region that funnels into the quantum critical point. Our study thereby provides an important proof-of-principle example that new physics can be detected via unbiased machine-learning approaches.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2021

Evidence for a delocalization quantum phase transition without symmetry breaking in CeCoIn 5

The study of quantum phase transitions that are not clearly associated with broken symmetry is a major effort in condensed matter physics, particularly in regard to the problem of high-temperature superconductivity, for which such transitions are thought to underlie the mechanism of superconductivity itself. Here we argue that the putative quantum critical point in the prototypical unconventional superconductor CeCoIn 5 is characterized by the delocalization of electrons in a transition that connects two Fermi surfaces of different volumes, with no apparent broken symmetry. Drawing on established theory of f-electron metals, we discuss an interpretation for such a transition that involves the fractionalization of spin and charge, a model that effectively describes the anomalous transport behavior we measured for the Hall effect.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2023

The Wiedemann-Franz law in doped Mott insulators without quasiparticles

Many metallic quantum materials display anomalous transport phenomena that defy a Fermi liquid description. In this report we use numerical methods to calculate thermal and charge transport in the doped Hubbard model and observe a crossover separating high- and low-temperature behaviors. Distinct from the behavior at high temperatures, the Lorenz number L becomes weakly doping dependent and less sensitive to parameters at low temperatures. At the lowest numerically accessible temperatures, L roughly approaches the Wiedemann-Franz constant L, even in a doped Mott insulator that lacks well-defined quasiparticles. Decomposing the energy current operator indicates a compensation between kinetic and potential contributions, which may help to clarify the interpretation of transport experiments beyond Boltzmann theory in strongly correlated metals.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2024

The Information Length Concept Applied to Plasma Turbulence

A methodology to study statistical properties of anomalous transport in fusion plasma is investigated. Three time traces generated by the full-f gyrokinetic code GKNET are analyzed for this purpose. The time traces consist of heat flux as a function of the radial position, which is studied in a novel manner using statistical methods. The simulation data exhibit transport processes with both medium and long correlation length along the radius. A typical example of a phenomenon with long correlation length is avalanches. In order to investigate the evolution of the turbulent state, two basic configurations are studied, one flux-driven and one gradient-driven with decaying turbulence. The information length concept in tandem with Boltzmann–Gibbs and Tsallis entropy is used in the investigation. It is found that the dynamical states in both flux-driven and gradient-driven cases are surprisingly similar, but the Tsallis entropy reveals differences between them. This indicates that the types of probability distribution function are nevertheless quite different since the higher moments are significantly different.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
NASA NTRS1974

Simulation of colliding solar wind streams with multifluid codes

The description of a multifluid code with anomalous transport coefficients due to plasma instabilities self consistently followed in space and time is given. As an example, simulations of colliding solar wind streamers are presented. The results compare favorably with the observations.

Papadopoulos, K.↗
NASA NTRS1976

Plasma processes in space

Elementary microscopic interactions in plasmas are described. The importance of plasma physics in space studies is illustrated by examining several phenomena which cannot be explained satisfactorily by MHD theory. These include kinetic instabilities, plasma turbulence in the bow shock, magnetic turbulence near the moon, VLF emissions in the magnetosphere, planetary and solar radio emissions, and interaction of planetary and cometary plasmas with the solar wind. Evidence for the existence of anomalous transport processes in terrestrial and planetary magnetospheres is presented.

Wu, C. S.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Lower-hybrid-drift wave turbulence in the distant magnetotail

Recent satellite observations of electrostatic and magnetic noise in the distant magnetotail (Gurnett et al., 1976) can be explained by the excitation of the lower-hybrid-drift instability. In particular, it is shown that (1) existence conditions for the lower-hybrid-drift instability can be met, (2) the observed frequency spectra and polarization are in good agreement with the predictions of linear theory, and (3) the observed amplitudes of fluctuations are consistent with the nonlinear theory of this mode. Moreover, the observation of this instability suggests that the anomalous transport properties associated with these waves, which are important in many laboratory devices, may play a crucial role in the macroscopic evolution of magnetotail processes such as field line merging, tearing instabilities, or 'fireballs'.

Huba, J. D.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Theory of strong turbulence by renormalization

The hydrodynamical equations of turbulent motions are inhomogeneous and nonlinear in their inertia and force terms and will generate a hierarchy. A kinetic method was developed to transform the hydrodynamic equations into a master equation governing the velocity distribution, as a function of the time, the position and the velocity as an independent variable. The master equation presents the advantage of being homogeneous and having fewer nonlinear terms and is therefore simpler for the investigation of closure. After the closure by means of a cascade scaling procedure, the kinetic equation is derived and possesses a memory which represents the nonMarkovian character of turbulence. The kinetic equation is transformed back to the hydrodynamical form to yield an energy balance in the cascade form. Normal and anomalous transports are analyzed. The theory is described for incompressible, compressible and plasma turbulence. Applications of the method to problems relating to sound generation and the propagation of light in a nonfrozen turbulence are considered.

Tchen, C. M.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Unstable current systems and plasma instabilities in astrophysics; Proceedings of the 107th Symposium, University of Maryland, College Park, August 8-11, 1983

Among the topics discussed are: magnetic field reconnection in cosmic plasmas; energy dissipation mechanisms in the solar corona; and the acceleration of runaway electrons and Joule heating in solar flares. Consideration is also given to: the nonlinear evolution of the resistive tearing mode; anomalous transport in current sheets; equilibrium and instability in extragalactic jets; and magnetic field reconnection in differentially rotating accretion disks. Among additional topics discussed are: the creation of high energy electron tails by lower hybrid waves and its connection with type-II and type-III bursts; beam current systems in solar flares; and the spatio-temporal features of microwave emissions of active regions and flares.

Kundu, M. R.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Simulation of double layers in a model auroral circuit with nonlinear impedance

A reduced circuit description of the U-shaped potential structure of a discrete auroral arc, consisting of the flank transmission line plus parallel-electric-field region, is used to provide the boundary condition for one-dimensional simulations of the double-layer evolution. The model yields asymptotic scalings of the double-layer potential, as a function of an anomalous transport coefficient alpha and of the perpendicular length scale l(a) of the arc. The arc potential phi(DL) scales approximately linearly with alpha, and for alpha fixed phi (DL) about l(a) to the z power. Using parameters appropriate to the auroral zone acceleration region, potentials of phi (DPL) 10 kV scale to projected ionospheric dimensions of about 1 km, with power flows of the order of magnitude of substorm dissipation rates.

Smith, R. A.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Collisionless shocks in the heliosphere: A tutorial review

An update is presented on current knowledge of collisionless shocks in the heliosphere. The individual papers address: a quarter century of collisionless shock research, some macroscopic properties of shock waves in the heliosphere, microinstabilities and anomalous transport, and acceleration of energetic particles.

Stone, Robert G.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Theory of plasma contactors in ground-based experiments and low earth orbit

An examination of several models of electron collection by plasma contactors leads to a definition of the range of validity and applicability for each model. It is noted that most present ground-based experiments are of limited relevance to space applications of plasma contactors, since they operate in a regime where the magnetic field and effective collisions are at most only marginally important. An exception is the experiment of Stenzel and Urrutia (1986), which examined a plasma whose electron Larmor radius was small by comparison to the scale of the potential, and in which the anomalous transport of electrons across the magnetic field was important. The enhanced electron current was not continuous in time, but occurred in periodic bursts as the instabilities periodically emerged, saturated, and decayed.

Gerver, M. J.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Recent advances in MPD thruster research at Princeton

A summary of last years anode, plasma, and cathode findings is presented. A summary of this years activities and findings is also presented. A brief discussion of previous and current understanding is given and covers the following topics: existence of microinstabilities; the scaling of Va with the Hall parameter; the scaling of anomalous resistivity with the Hall parameter; the relation between anomalous resistivity and the anode drop; the presence of turbulence in the anode region; numerical simulation with anomalous transport; the use of magnets to decrease dissipation; performance testing with the new anode; the mechanisms behind the ionization sink; and lithiated cathode research.

Jahn, Robert G.↗