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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 1,423 records · Page 79

Is Diffuse Aurora Driven from Above or Below?

Abstract In the diffuse aurora, magnetospheric electrons, initially precipitated from the inner plasma sheet via wave-particle interaction processes, degrade in the atmosphere toward lower energies, and produce secondary electrons via impact ionization of the neutral atmosphere. These initially precipitating electrons of magnetospheric origin can also be additionally reflected back into the magnetosphere, leading to a series of multiple reactions by the two magnetically conjugate atmospheres that can greatly impact the initially precipitating flux at the upper ionospheric boundary (700-800 km). The resultant population of secondary and primary electrons cascades toward lower energies and escape back to the magnetosphere. Escaping upward electrons traveling from the ionosphere can be trapped in the magnetosphere, as they travel inside the loss cone, via Coulomb collisions with the cold plasma, or by interactions with various plasma waves. Even though this scenario is intuitively transparent, this magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling element is not considered in any of the existing diffuse aurora research. Nevertheless, as we demonstrate in this letter, this process has the potential to dramatically affect the formation of electron precipitated fluxes in the regions of diffuse auroras.

aurora↗

Secluded and Putative Flipped Dark Matter and Stueckelberg Extensions of the Standard Model

We consider here three dark matter models with the gauge symmetry of the standard model plus an additional local U(1)D factor. One model is truly secluded and the other two models begin flipped, but end up secluded. All of these models include one dark fermion and one vector boson that gains mass via the Stueckelberg mechanism. We show that the would be flipped models provide an example dark matter composed of "almost least interacting particles" (ALIPs). Such particles are therefore compatible with the constraints obtained from both laboratory measurements and astrophysical observations.

Fortes, E. C. F. S.↗

Kinetic Scale Structure of Low-Frequency Waves and Fluctuations

The dissipation of solar wind turbulence at kinetic scales is believed to be important for the heating of the corona and for accelerating the wind. The linear Vlasov kinetic theory is a useful tool for identifying various wave modes, including kinetic Alfven, fast magnetosonic/whistler, and ion-acoustic (or kinetic slow), and their possible roles in the dissipation. However, the kinetic mode structure in the vicinity of ion-cyclotron modes is not clearly understood. The present paper aims to further elucidate the structure of these low-frequency waves by introducing discrete particle effects through hybrid simulations and Klimontovich formalism of spontaneous emission theory. The theory and simulation of spontaneously emitted low-frequency fluctuations are employed to identify and distinguish the detailed mode structures associated with ion-Bernstein modes versus quasi-modes. The spontaneous emission theory and simulation also confirm the findings of the Vlasov theory in that the kinetic Alfven waves can be defined over a wide range of frequencies, including the proton cyclotron frequency and its harmonics, especially for high-beta plasmas. This implies that these low-frequency modes may play predominant roles even in the fully kinetic description of kinetic scale turbulence and dissipation despite the fact that cyclotron harmonic and Bernstein modes may also play important roles in wave-particle interactions.

waves↗

Electron Bulk Acceleration and Thermalization at Earth's Quasiperpendicular Bow Shock

Electron heating at Earth's quasiperpendicular bow shock has been surmised to be due to the combined effects of a quasistatic electric potential and scattering through wave-particle interaction. Here we report the observation of electron distribution functions indicating a new electron heating process occurring at the leading edge of the shock front. Incident solar wind electrons are accelerated parallel to the magnetic field toward downstream, reaching an electron-ion relative drift speed exceeding the electron thermal speed. The bulk acceleration is associated with an electric field pulse embedded in a whistler-mode wave. The high electron-ion relative drift is relaxed primarily through a nonlinear current-driven instability. The relaxed distributions contain a beam traveling toward the shock as a remnant of the accelerated electrons. Similar distribution functions prevail throughout the shock transition layer, suggesting that the observedacceleration and thermalization is essential to the cross-shock electron heating.

Chen, L.-J.↗

Solar Wind Induced Waves in the Skies of Mars: Ionospheric Compression, Energization, and Escape Resulting from the Impact of Ultralow Frequency Magnetosonic Waves Generated Upstream of the Martian Bow Shock

Using data from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Mars Atmosphere and Voltatile EvolutioN and the European Space Agency Mars Express spacecraft, we show that transient phenomena in the foreshock and solar wind can directly inject energy into the ionosphere of Mars. We demonstrate that the impact of compressive ultralow frequency waves in the solar wind on the induced magnetospheres drive compressional, linearly polarized, magnetosonic ultralow frequency waves in the ionosphere, and a localized electromagnetic "ringing" at the local proton gyro frequency. The pulsations heat and energize Ionospheric plasmas. A preliminary survey of events shows that no special upstream conditions are required in the interplanetary magnetic field or solar wind. Elevated ion densities and temperatures in the solar wind near to Mars are consistent with the presence of an additional population of Martian ions, leading to ion-ion instabilities, associated wave-particle interactions, and heating of the solar wind. The phenomenon was found to be seasonal, occurring when Mars is near perihelion. Finally, we present simultaneous multipoint observations of the phenomenon, with the Mars Express observing the waves upstream, and Mars Atmosphere and Voltatile EvolutioN observing the response in the ionosphere. When these new observations are combined with decades of previous studies, they collectively provide strong evidence for a previously undemonstrated atmospheric loss process at unmagnetized planets: ionospheric escape driven by the direct impact of transient phenomena from the foreshock and solar wind.

Collinson, Glyn↗

POEMMA: Probe of Extreme Multi-Messenger Astrophysics

The Probe Of Extreme Multi-Messenger Astrophysics (POEMMA) mission is being designed to establish charged-particle astronomy with ultra-high energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) and to observe cosmogenic tau neutrinos (CTNs). The study of UHECRs and CTNs from space will yield orders-of-magnitude increase in statistics of observed UHECRs at the highest energies, and the observation of the cosmogenic flux of neutrinos for a range of UHECR models. These observations should solve the long-standing puzzle of the origin of the highest energy particles ever observed, providing a new window onto the most energetic environments and events in the Universe, while studying particle interactions well beyond accelerator energies. The discovery of CTNs will help solve the puzzle of the origin of UHECRs and begin a new field of Astroparticle Physics with the study of neutrino properties at ultra-high energies.

Olinto, Angela V.↗

Acceleration of Cometary H 2 0 Group Pickup Ions by Obliquely Propagating Nonlinear Magnetosonic Waves

The observations made during the encounter with comet Giacobini Zinner show that the character of MHD turbulence is governed by the magnetosonic (MS) waves generated by the pickup ions via a resonant cyclotron instability. We have performed the test particle calculations to study wave particle interactions via cyclotron resonance of water group cometary ions with (1) linearly polarized monochromatic MS waves, (2) circularly polarized monochromatic MS waves, and (3) magnetic fluctuations consisting of MS waves with a power spectrum which varies as 1 / k 2 .

magnetosonic↗

Magnetosphere–Ionosphere Coupling of Precipitating Electrons and Ionospheric Conductance

Modeling of electrodynamic coupling between the magnetosphere and ionosphere depends on accurate specification of ionospheric conductances produced by auroral precipitation. Magnetospheric models determine the plasma properties on magnetic field lines connected to the auroral ionosphere, but the precipitation of energetic particles into the ionosphere is the result of a two-step process. The first step is the initiation of electron precipitation into both magnetically conjugate points from Earth’s plasma sheet via wave–particle interactions. The second step consists of the multiple atmospheric reflections of electrons at the two magnetically conjugate points.

George V Khazanov↗

Polarized Observations of Falling Snow from IMPACTS

The polarization of electromagnetic waves (radio waves and light) provides useful information on the dynamics and structure of precipitating storms. Polarization results from aligned precipitation particles interacting with the electromagnetic waves. This orientation is related to the dynamics of the weather system, and the orientation effects the radiative properties of the clouds (which is related to climate sensivity and feedbacks). We use observations from the Investigation of Microphysics and Precipitation for Atlantic Coast-Threatening Storms (IMPACTS), a NASA field campaign aiming to understand winter storms that regularly impact the East Coast of the United States, to understand the relationship between properties of snowstorms and polarization of millimeter waves (89 GHz and 166 GHz). We see that height and intensity are strong indicators of the polarization signatures observed in these systems.

Ian S Adams↗

Connecting Energy Input With Ionospheric Upflow and Outflow

The connection between energy inputs and the generation of ion upflows and outflows is a topic of keen scientific interest and the subject of a number of empirical studies. Despite this interest, it remains uncertain how different ion species respond to energy input, what defines the upper and lower bounds of the ion flux, and what role solar illumination plays in regulating the relationship between energy input and ion upflows/outflows. This work simulates how ion flux scales with low and high altitude energization, and to a combination of both. Furthermore, we examine the influence of solar illumination on these relationships by considering how the scaling of ion flux with energy input changes over the solar cycle, comparing solar minimum and maximum, as well as how they change from day to night conditions. We find O -+ flux tends to respond more strongly to energy inputs than H -+ flux, with the O -+ flux often exhibiting a lower activation energy and a greater dynamic range. The lower bound of the ion flux at 4,000 km is typically defined by the polar wind H -+ , although O -+ upflows can dominate at low altitudes in the presence of significant frictional heating of the ion gas or soft electron precipitation. However, when significant soft electron precipitation and wave-particle interactions are present simultaneously the lower bound of the ion flux at 4,000 km is defined by the O -+ . Finally, we find a difference between the steady state response of the outflow to energy input and the peak response.

A. Glocer↗

Theoretical Study of Interhemispheric Electron Bouncing Within Pulsating Aurora

Wave-particle interaction processes in the equatorial magnetosphere initiate time-dependent electron precipitation in the pulsating aurora. These electrons enter loss-cone and bounce between the two magnetically conjugate hemispheres, collide with the atmospheric constituents, and introduce additional time scales in electron precipitation dynamics. In this letter we present preliminary results of pulsating aurora formation using the time-dependent SuperThermal Electron Transport code, which considers the magnetosphere-ionosphere-atmosphere energy coupling between the two magnetically conjugate regions and discuss their contribution to the peculiarities of electron distribution function formation within the pulsating aurora.

Pulsating Aurora↗

A Holistic DSMC Transport Database for Re-Entry and Ablation Modeling

Hybrid simulation frameworks combining Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and Direct Simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) are frequently employed to efficiently perform high-fidelity solutions of environments containing combined continuum/rarified flow. The use of DSMC, a stochastic, particle-based method, is necessary for high-Knudsen flow where continuum-based assumptions governing CFD break down. However, the DSMC methodology is generally very computationally inefficient to model the continuum regime. In a CFD/DSMC hybrid approach, obtaining an accurate, high-fidelity solution hinges on the consistent treatment of transport properties and the used thermo-chemical models employed within the two solvers. In principle, in regions where CFD and DSMC are both employed, the same gas mixture under the same conditions should have the same properties, regardless of simulation type. Observed differences should be due to non-equilibrium processes, rather than differences in physical models. While the transport models governing CFD and DSMC simulations are starkly different, they can effectively be linked via their use of reduced Chapman-Enskog collision integrals. In CFD, these integrals are typically stored as fitted polynomial expressions and used to directly compute gas transport properties via mixing rules or the full Chapman-Enskog formulation. In DSMC, they can be used to derive the collision parameters needed for the phenomenological collision cross-section models that govern particle interactions, via a Nelder-Mead optimization scheme. The goal of this work is to provide a unified DSMC transport database encompassing the vast majority of known gas species encountered during atmospheric entry, on Earth or any other Solar body. This goal is largely possible due to recently performed ab-initio quantum chemistry calculations. Combined with other high-fidelity literature sources, the planned database will consist of collision integral data for over 200 neutral and ionized species and over 17000 binary collisions. From these collision integrals, Nelder-Mead optimization is used to compute Variable Soft Sphere (VSS) collision model parameters for DSMC, fitted from 300 K to 20000 K. Initial comparisons of transport properties of relevant equilibrium gas mixtures show great agreement between CFD and DSMC-derived results. The completed database will be able to be readily applied to model binary collisions of any gas mixture containing the included species over the specified temperature range, making it a valuable tool for future planetary probe modeling efforts. An example is shown below. Equilibrium mixture transport properties for a 19-species Titan atmospheric model [4] are computed using both fitted VSS parameters and the original CFD collision integral values. Deviations in computed properties between the two approaches is less than 5% for the entire temperature range.

M R Gosma↗

Deciphering the Birth Region, Formation, and Evolution of Ambient and Transient Solar Wind Using Heavy Ion Observations

This paper outlines key scientific topics that are important for the development of solar system physics and how observations of heavy ion composition can address them. The key objectives include, 1) understanding the Sun’s chemical composition by identifying specific mechanisms driving elemental variation in the corona. 2) Disentangling the solar wind birthplace and drivers of release by determining the relative contributions of active regions (ARs), quiet Sun, and coronal hole plasma to the solar wind. 3) Determining the principal mechanisms driving solar wind evolution from the Sun by identifying the importance and interplay of reconnection, waves, and/or turbulence in driving the extended acceleration and heating of solar wind and transient plasma. The paper recommends complementary heavy ion measurements that can be traced from the Sun to the heliosphere to properly connect and study these regions to address these topics. The careful determination of heavy ion and elemental composition of several particle populations, matched at the Sun and in the heliosphere, will permit for a comprehensive examination of fractionation processes, wave-particle interactions, coronal heating, and solar wind release and energization that are key to understanding how the Sun forms and influences the heliosphere.

chemical composition↗

How Auroral Electron Precipitations Contribute to the Formation of Electron Heat Fluxes to the Ionosphere?

Electron heat fluxes (also called electron thermal fluxes) in the ionosphere are carried by thermal electrons whose energy is below a few eV. Electron heat fluxes greatly impact on electron temperature, which is a fundamental parameter in the ionospheric dynamics. At the high latitude in the auroral regions electron heat flux is originated dominantly from the magnetosphere through high-energy electron energy fluxes. High-energy electron fluxes in the diffuse auroral region can undergo multiple backscatters between the magnetically conjugated regions of both hemispheres, and different kind of wave-particle interactions along the magnetic field line. High-energy electron fluxes in discrete auroral region can be trapped below the auroral acceleration region and can also undergo backscatter and multiple reflection. These processes, in turn, amplify super-thermal electrons (<~500-600 eV) that dominantly form electron heat fluxes through Coulomb collision between thermal electrons. Such electron heat fluxes play an important role to determine electron temperature profile in the ionosphere, which is one of the key parameters that controls the ionospheric dynamics. Thus, it is necessary to include electron heat flux as a topside energy input in all global ionospheric models. We demonstrate all above results based on Superthermal Electron Transport (STET), Superthermal Proton, Electron and Atomic Hydrogen tRansport in the Ionosphere and Thermosphere (SPEAH-RIT), and Comprehensive Inner Magnetosphere and Ionospheres (CIMI) codes developed at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.

George V. Khazanov↗

The Global Mapping of Electron Precipitation and Ionospheric Conductance From Whistler-Mode Chorus Waves

Auroral precipitation is the second major energy source after solar irradiation that ionizes the Earth’s upper atmosphere. Diffuse electron aurora caused by wave-particle interaction in the inner magnetosphere (L < 8) takes over 60% of total auroral energy flux, strongly contributing to the ionospheric conductance and thus to the ionosphere-thermosphere dynamics. This paper quantifies the impact of chorus waves on the diffuse aurora and the ionospheric conductance during quiet, medium, and strong geomagnetic activities, parameterized by AE <100, 100 < AE < 300, and AE > 300, respectively. Using chorus wave statistics and inner-magnetosphere plasma conditions from Timed History Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms (THEMIS) observations, we directly derive the energy spectrum of diffuse electron precipitation under quasi-linear theory. We then calculate the height-integrated conductance from the wave-driven aurora spectrum using the electron impact ionization model of Fang et al. (Geophys. Res. Lett., 2010, 37) and the MSIS atmosphere model. By utilizing Fang’s ionization model, the US Naval Research Laboratory Mass Spectrometer and Incoherent Scattar Radar (NRLMSISE-00) model from 2000s for the neutral atmosphere components, and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Full Diffusion Code, we improve upon the standard generalization of Maxwellian diffuse electron precipitation patterns and their resulting ionosphere conductance. Our study of global auroral precipitation and ionospheric conductance from chorus wave statistics is the first statistical model of its kind. We show that the total electron flux and conductance pattern from our results agree with those of Ovation Prime model over the pre-midnight to post-dawn sector as geomagnetic activity increases. Our study examines the relative contributions of upper band chorus (UBC) and lower band chorus wave (LBC) driven conductance in the ionosphere. We found LBC waves drove diffuse electron precipitation significantly more than UBC waves, however it is possible that THEMIS data may have underestimated the upper chorus band wave observations for magnetic latitudes below 65 degrees. ° .

diffuse auroral precipitation↗

Time and Energy Characterization of a Neutron time of Flight Detector for Re-designing Line of Sight 270 at the Z Pulsed Power Facility.

This work will focus on the characterization of NTOF detectors fielded on ICF experiments conducted at the Z-experimental facility with emphasis on the MagLif and gas puff campaigns. Three experiments have been proposed. The first experiment will characterize the response of the PMT with respect to the amplitude and width of signals produced by single neutron events. A second experiment will characterize the neutron transit time through the scintillator and the third is to characterize the pulse amplitude for a very specific range of neutron induced charged particle interactions within the scintillator. These experiments will cover incident neutron energies relevant to D-D and D-T fusion reactions. These measurements will be taken as a function of detector bias to cover the entire dynamic range of the detector. Throughout the characterization process, the development of a predictive capability is desired. A new post processing code has been proposed that will calculate a neutron time-of-flight spectrum in units of MeVee. This code will couple the experimentally obtained values and the results obtained with the Monte Carlo code MCNP6. The motivation of this code is to correct for geometry issues when transferring the calibration results from a light lab setting to the Zenvironment. This capability will be used to develop a hypothetical design of LOS270 such that more favorable neutron measurements, requiring less correction, can be made in the future.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

Microchannel plate detector and methods for their fabrication

A multi-component tunable resistive coating and methods of depositing the coating on the surfaces of a microchannel plate (MCP) detector. The resistive coating composed of a plurality of alternating layers of a metal oxide resistive component layer and a conductive component layer composed of at least one of a metal, a metal nitride and a metal sulfide. The coating may further include an emissive layer configured to produce a secondary electron emission in response to a particle interacting with the MCP and a neutron-absorbing layer configured to respond to a neutron interacting with the MCP.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Fermilab Muon g-2 Experiment

The Fermilab muon g-2 experiment will measure the muon anomalous magnetic moment $a_{\mu}$ to 140 ppb – a four-fold improvement over the earlier Brookhaven experiment. The measurement of $a_{\mu}$ is well known as a unique test of the standard model with broad sensitivity to new interactions, particles and phenomena. The goal of 140 ppb is commensurate with ongoing improvements in the SM prediction of the anomalous moment and addresses the longstanding 3.5$\sigma$ discrepancy between the BNL result and the SM prediction. In this article I discuss the physics motivation and experimental technique for measuring $a_{\mu}$, and the current status and the future work for the project.

Gorringe, Tim↗