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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 163 records · Page 9
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2017

Parsec-Scale Obscuring Accretion Disk with Large-Scale Magnetic Field in AGNs

A magnetic field dragged from the galactic disk, along with inflowing gas, can provide vertical support to the geometrically and optically thick pc (parsec) -scale torus in AGNs (Active Galactic Nuclei). Using the Soloviev solution initially developed for Tokamaks, we derive an analytical model for a rotating torus that is supported and confined by a magnetic field. We further perform three-dimensional magneto-hydrodynamic simulations of X-ray irradiated, pc-scale, magnetized tori. We follow the time evolution and compare models that adopt initial conditions derived from our analytic model with simulations in which the initial magnetic flux is entirely contained within the gas torus. Numerical simulations demonstrate that the initial conditions based on the analytic solution produce a longer-lived torus that produces obscuration that is generally consistent with observed constraints.

galaxies↗
NASA NTRS1985

Bipolar Flows and X-ray Emission from Young Stellar Object

Production of both the large scale CO bipolar flows and the small scale optical bipolar jets from the star-forming regions is given interpretation in terms of a magnetic mechanism related to accretion model. It is shown by an axisymmetric 2.5-dimensional simulation that the large scale cold bipolar flow may be produced in the relaxation of the magnetic twist which is created by the rotational winding-up of the magnetic field in the contracting disk. In contrast, the small scale warm bipolar jets may be driven by the recoiling shocks which are produced in the crash at the stellar surface of the infalling material released from the inner edge of the disk through magnetic reconnections.

Uchida, Y.↗
DOE OSTI2016

MAGNETIC FIELDS IN EARLY PROTOSTELLAR DISK FORMATION

We consider formation of accretion disks from a realistically turbulent molecular gas using 3D MHD simulations. In particular, we analyze the effect of the fast turbulent reconnection described by the Lazarian and Vishniac model for the removal of magnetic flux from a disk. With our numerical simulations we demonstrate how the fast reconnection enables protostellar disk formation resolving the so-called “magnetic braking catastrophe.” In particular, we provide a detailed study of the dynamics of a 0.5 M{sub ⊙} protostar and the formation of its disk for up to several thousands years. We measure the evolution of the mass, angular momentum, magnetic field, and turbulence around the star. We consider effects of two processes that strongly affect the magnetic transfer of angular momentum, both of which are based on turbulent reconnection: the first, “reconnection diffusion,” removes the magnetic flux from the disk; the other involves the change of the magnetic field's topology, but does not change the absolute value of the magnetic flux through the disk. We demonstrate that for the first mechanism, turbulence causes a magnetic flux transport outward from the inner disk to the ambient medium, thus decreasing the coupling of the disk to the ambient material. A similar effect is achieved through the change of the magnetic field's topology from a split monopole configuration to a dipole configuration. We explore how both mechanisms prevent the catastrophic loss of disk angular momentum and compare both above turbulent reconnection mechanisms with alternative mechanisms from the literature.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Parsec-scale Obscuring Accretion Disk with Large-scale Magnetic Field in AGNs

A magnetic field dragged from the galactic disk, along with inflowing gas, can provide vertical support to the geometrically and optically thick pc-scale torus in AGNs. Using the Soloviev solution initially developed for Tokamaks, we derive an analytical model for a rotating torus that is supported and confined by a magnetic field. We further perform three-dimensional magneto-hydrodynamic simulations of X-ray irradiated, pc-scale, magnetized tori. We follow the time evolution and compare models that adopt initial conditions derived from our analytic model with simulations in which the initial magnetic flux is entirely contained within the gas torus. Numerical simulations demonstrate that the initial conditions based on the analytic solution produce a longer-lived torus that produces obscuration that is generally consistent with observed constraints.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

Imaging the equilibrium state and magnetization dynamics of partially built hard disk write heads

Four different designs of partially built hard disk write heads with a yoke comprising four repeats of NiFe (1 nm)/CoFe (50 nm) were studied by both x-ray photoemission electron microscopy (XPEEM) and time-resolved scanning Kerr microscopy (TRSKM). These techniques were used to investigate the static equilibrium domain configuration and the magnetodynamic response across the entire structure, respectively. Simulations and previous TRSKM studies have made proposals for the equilibrium domain configuration of similar structures, but no direct observation of the equilibrium state of the writers has yet been made. In this study, static XPEEM images of the equilibrium state of writer structures were acquired using x-ray magnetic circular dichroism as the contrast mechanism. These images suggest that the crystalline anisotropy dominates the equilibrium state domain configuration, but competition with shape anisotropy ultimately determines the stability of the equilibrium state. Dynamic TRSKM images were acquired from nominally identical devices. These images suggest that a longer confluence region may hinder flux conduction from the yoke into the pole tip: the shorter confluence region exhibits clear flux beaming along the symmetry axis, whereas the longer confluence region causes flux to conduct along one edge of the writer. The observed variations in dynamic response agree well with the differences in the equilibrium magnetization configuration visible in the XPEEM images, confirming that minor variations in the geometric design of the writer structure can have significant effects on the process of flux beaming.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2016

AN ORDERED MAGNETIC FIELD IN THE PROTOPLANETARY DISK OF AB Aur REVEALED BY MID-INFRARED POLARIMETRY

Magnetic fields ( B -fields) play a key role in the formation and evolution of protoplanetary disks, but their properties are poorly understood due to the lack of observational constraints. Using CanariCam at the 10.4 m Gran Telescopio Canarias, we have mapped out the mid-infrared polarization of the protoplanetary disk around the Herbig Ae star AB Aur. We detect ∼0.44% polarization at 10.3 μ m from AB Aur's inner disk ( r < 80 au), rising to ∼1.4% at larger radii. Our simulations imply that the mid-infrared polarization of the inner disk arises from dichroic emission of elongated particles aligned in a disk B -field. The field is well ordered on a spatial scale, commensurate with our resolution (∼50 au), and we infer a poloidal shape tilted from the rotational axis of the disk. The disk of AB Aur is optically thick at 10.3 μ m, so polarimetry at this wavelength is probing the B -field near the disk surface. Our observations therefore confirm that this layer, favored by some theoretical studies for developing magneto-rotational instability and its resultant viscosity, is indeed very likely to be magnetized. At radii beyond ∼80 au, the mid-infrared polarization results primarily from scattering by dust grains with sizes up to ∼1 μ m, a size indicating both grain growth and, probably, turbulent lofting of the particles from the disk mid-plane.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
NASA NTRS1994

Influence of technology on magnetic tape storage device characteristics

There are available today many data storage devices that serve the diverse application requirements of the consumer, professional entertainment, and computer data processing industries. Storage technologies include semiconductors, several varieties of optical disk, optical tape, magnetic disk, and many varieties of magnetic tape. In some cases, devices are developed with specific characteristics to meet specification requirements. In other cases, an existing storage device is modified and adapted to a different application. For magnetic tape storage devices, examples of the former case are 3480/3490 and QIC device types developed for the high end and low end segments of the data processing industry respectively, VHS, Beta, and 8 mm formats developed for consumer video applications, and D-1, D-2, D-3 formats developed for professional video applications. Examples of modified and adapted devices include 4 mm, 8 mm, 12.7 mm and 19 mm computer data storage devices derived from consumer and professional audio and video applications. With the conversion of the consumer and professional entertainment industries from analog to digital storage and signal processing, there have been increasing references to the 'convergence' of the computer data processing and entertainment industry technologies. There has yet to be seen, however, any evidence of convergence of data storage device types. There are several reasons for this. The diversity of application requirements results in varying degrees of importance for each of the tape storage characteristics.

Gniewek, John J.↗
DOE OSTI2014

Convection causes enhanced magnetic turbulence in accretion disks in outburst

We present the results of local, vertically stratified, radiation magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) shearing box simulations of magneto-rotational instability (MRI) turbulence appropriate for the hydrogen ionizing regime of dwarf nova and soft X-ray transient outbursts. We incorporate the frequency-integrated opacities and equation of state for this regime, but neglect non-ideal MHD effects and surface irradiation, and do not impose net vertical magnetic flux. We find two stable thermal equilibrium tracks in the effective temperature versus surface mass density plane, in qualitative agreement with the S-curve picture of the standard disk instability model. We find that the large opacity at temperatures near 10{sup 4} K, a corollary of the hydrogen ionization transition, triggers strong, intermittent thermal convection on the upper stable branch. This convection strengthens the magnetic turbulent dynamo and greatly enhances the time-averaged value of the stress to thermal pressure ratio α, possibly by generating vertical magnetic field that may seed the axisymmetric MRI, and by increasing cooling so that the pressure does not rise in proportion to the turbulent dissipation. These enhanced stress to pressure ratios may alleviate the order of magnitude discrepancy between the α-values observationally inferred in the outburst state and those that have been measured from previous local numerical simulations of magnetorotational turbulence that lack net vertical magnetic flux.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Stochasticity in the Switching of Nanodisks for Probabilistic Computing

Stochasticity in magnetic nanodevices is an essential characteristic for harnessing these devices to computing based on population coding or the building blocks of probabilistic computing, p-bits. A magnetic tunneling junction (MTJ) consisting of a patterned magnetic element is considered a promising computing unit in the concept of artificial neurons and p-bits. A comprehensive understanding of the stochasticity in the switching of patterned magnetic elements is crucial for realizing MTJ-based probabilistic computing technology. In the present work, the stochastic behavior in the switching process of a perpendicularly magnetized Co/Pt disk within an array was directly observed utilizing full-field soft X-ray microscopy. Within 50 repeated hysteretic cycles, the stochastic magnetization switching of individual Co/Pt disks within disk arrays is identified. We found that the stochasticity in the magnetization switching of disks considerably depends on the disk size. The stochasticity initially decreases as the disk radius gets bigger from 125 to 375 nm (region I), then increases with further enlarging the disk size to 625 nm (region II). The variance of thermal fluctuation relevant to the disk size and the multilevel switching within a disk are severely involved in the observed size-dependent stochasticity. Furthermore, this work provides the way for controlling the stochasticity in the switching of nanopatterned elements, which is a key aspect of MTJ-based probabilistic computing.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
NASA NTRS1995

Magnetohydrodynamic simulations of outflows from accretion disks

Magnetohydrodynamic simulations have been made of the formation of outflows from a Keplerian disk threaded by a magnetic field. The disk is treated as a boundary condition, where matter is ejected with Keplerian azimuthal speed and poloidal speed less than the slow magnetosonic velocity, and where boundary conditions on the magnetic field correspond to a highly conducting disk. Initially, the space above the disk, the corona, is filled with high specific entropy plasma in thermal equilibrium in the gravitational potential of the central object. The initial magnetic field is poloidal and is represented by a superposition of monopoles located below the plane of the disk. The rotation of the disk twists the initial poloidal magnetic field, and this twist propagates into the corona pushing and collimating matter into jetlike outflow in a cylindrical region. Matter outflowing from the disk flows and accelerates in the z-direction owing to both the magnetic and pressure gradient forces. The flow accelerates through the slow magnetosonic and Alfven surfaces and at larger distances through the fast magnetosonic surface. The flow velocity of the jet is approximately parallel to the z-axis, and the collimation results from the pinching force of the toroidal magnetic field. For a nonrotating disk no collimation is observed.

Ustyugova, G. V.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Dynamo magnetic field modes in thin astrophysical disks - An adiabatic computational approximation

An adiabatic approximation is applied to the calculation of turbulent MHD dynamo magnetic fields in thin disks. The adiabatic method is employed to investigate conditions under which magnetic fields generated by disk dynamos permeate the entire disk or are localized to restricted regions of a disk. Two specific cases of Keplerian disks are considered. In the first, magnetic field diffusion is assumed to be dominated by turbulent mixing leading to a dynamo number independent of distance from the center of the disk. In the second, the dynamo number is allowed to vary with distance from the disk's center. Localization of dynamo magnetic field structures is found to be a general feature of disk dynamos, except in the special case of stationary modes in dynamos with constant dynamo number. The implications for the dynamical behavior of dynamo magnetized accretion disks are discussed and the results of these exploratory calculations are examined in the context of the protosolar nebula and accretion disks around compact objects.

Stepinski, T. F.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Evaluation of magnetic shear in off-disk center active regions

The changes that projection effects produce in the evaluation of magnetic shear in off-disk center active regions by comparing angular shear calculated in image plane and heliographic coordinates are analyzed, and the procedure for properly evaluating magnetic shear by transforming the observed vector magnetic field into the heliographic system is described. This procedure is then used to evaluate magnetic shear along the magnetic neutral line in an active region that was observed on April 24, 1984 at a longitude offset of -45 deg. In particular, the number of 'critically sheared' pixels along an east-west directed segment of the neutral line in the leader sunspot group changes from 16 in the image plane magnetogram to 14 in the heliographic magnetogram. The critical shear as calculated in the image plane served as a good predictor for the location of flaring activity since the flare ribbons of the great flare of April 24 bracketed the inversion line where the critical shear was located. These results indicate that for this particular region, projection effects did not significantly affect the evaluation of critical shear.

Venkatakrishnan, P.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Magnetic bearings for a spaceflight optical disk recorder

The development and testing of a magnetic bearing system for the translator of the read/write head in a magneto-optic disk drive are discussed. The asymmetrical three-pole actuators with permanent magnet bias support the optical head, and its tracking and focusing servos, through their radial excursion above the disk. The specifications for the magnetic bearing are presented, along with the configuration of the magnetic hardware. Development of a five degree of freedom collision model is examined which allowed assessment of the system response during large scale transients. Experimental findings and the results of performance testing are presented, including the roll-off of current-to-force due to eddy current loss in the magnetic materials.

Hockney, Richard↗
DOE OSTI2017

Self-gravity in Magnetized Neutrino-dominated Accretion Disks

In the present work we study self-gravity effects on the vertical structure of a magnetized neutrino-dominated accretion disk as a central engine for gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). Some of the disk physical timescales that are supposed to play a pivotal role in the late-time evolutions of the disk, such as viscous, cooling, and diffusion timescales, have been studied. We are interested in investigating the possibility of the occurrence of X-ray flares, observed in late-time GRBs’ extended emission through the “magnetic barrier” and “fragmentation” processes in our model. The results lead us to interpret self-gravity as an amplifier for Blandford–Payne luminosity (BP power) and the generated magnetic field, but a suppressor for neutrino luminosity and magnetic barrier processes via highlighting the fragmentation mechanism in the outer disk, especially for the higher mass accretion rates.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2023

A Unified Picture of Short and Long Gamma-Ray Bursts from Compact Binary Mergers

Abstract The recent detections of the ∼10 s longγ-ray bursts (GRBs) 211211A and 230307A followed by softer temporally extended emission (EE) and kilonovae point to a new GRB class. Using state-of-the-art first-principles simulations, we introduce a unifying theoretical framework that connects binary neutron star (BNS) and black hole–NS (BH–NS) merger populations with the fundamental physics governing compact binary GRBs (cbGRBs). For binaries with large total masses,M tot ≳ 2.8M ⊙ , the compact remnant created by the merger promptly collapses into a BH surrounded by an accretion disk. The duration of the pre-magnetically arrested disk (MAD) phase sets the duration of the roughly constant power cbGRB and could be influenced by the disk mass,M d . We show that massive disks (M d ≳ 0.1M ⊙ ), which form for large binary mass ratiosq≳ 1.2 in BNS orq≲ 3 in BH–NS mergers, inevitably produce 211211A-like long cbGRBs. Once the disk becomes MAD, the jet power drops with the mass accretion rate as M ̇ ∼ t − 2 , establishing the EE decay. Two scenarios are plausible for short cbGRBs. They can be powered by BHs with less massive disks, which form for otherqvalues. Alternatively, for binaries withM tot ≲ 2.8M ⊙ , mergers should go through a hypermassive NS (HMNS) phase, as inferred for GW170817. Magnetized outflows from such HMNSs, which typically live for ≲1 s, offer an alternative progenitor for short cbGRBs. The first scenario is challenged by the bimodal GRB duration distribution and the fact that the Galactic BNS population peaks at sufficiently low masses that most mergers should go through an HMNS phase.

Astronomy & Astrophysics↗
DOE OSTI2014

Early excitation of spin-orbit misalignments in close-in planetary systems

Continued observational characterization of transiting planets that reside in close proximity to their host stars has shown that a substantial fraction of such objects possess orbits that are inclined with respect to the spin axes of their stars. Mounting evidence for the wide-spread nature of this phenomenon has challenged the conventional notion that large-scale orbital transport occurs during the early epochs of planet formation and is accomplished via planet-disk interactions. However, recent work has shown that the excitation of spin-orbit misalignment between protoplanetary nebulae and their host stars can naturally arise from gravitational perturbations in multi-stellar systems as well as magnetic disk-star coupling. In this work, we examine these processes in tandem. We begin with a thorough exploration of the gravitationally facilitated acquisition of spin-orbit misalignment and analytically show that the entire possible range of misalignments can be trivially reproduced. Moreover, we demonstrate that the observable spin-orbit misalignment only depends on the primordial disk-binary orbit inclination. Subsequently, we augment our treatment by accounting for magnetic torques and show that more exotic dynamical evolution is possible, provided favorable conditions for magnetic tilting. Cumulatively, our results suggest that observed spin-orbit misalignments are fully consistent with disk-driven migration as a dominant mechanism for the origin of close-in planets.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Particle Acceleration during Magnetic Reconnection in a Low-beta Plasma

Magnetic reconnection is a primary mechanism for particle energization in space and astrophysical plasmas. By carrying out two-dimensional (2D) fully kinetic simulations, we study particle acceleration during magnetic reconnection in plasmas with different plasma β (the ratio between the thermal pressure and the magnetic pressure). For the high-β cases, we do not observe significant particle acceleration. In the low-β regime (β<0.1), we find that reconnection is efficient at energizing both electrons and ions. While the distribution of accelerated particles integrated over the whole simulation box appears highly non-thermal, it is actually the superposition of a series of distributions in different sectors of a 2D magnetic island. Each of those distributions has only a small non-thermal component compared with its thermal core. By tracking a large number of particles, we show that particles get energized in X-line regions, contracting magnetic islands, and magnetic island coalescence regions. We obtain the particle energization rate j⋅E by averaging over particle drift motions and find that it agrees well with the particle kinetic energy change. We quantify the contribution of curvature drift, gradient drift, polarization drift, magnetization, non-gyrotropic effect, and parallel electric field in different acceleration regions. We find that the major energization is due to particle curvature drift along the motional electric field. The other particle motions contribute less but may become important in different acceleration regions. The highly efficient particle energization in low-β plasmas may help us understand the strong particle energization in solar flares and accretion disk coronae.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
NASA NTRS1988

Magnetic bearings for an optical disk read/write head

A program is described whose aim is to establish the technical feasibility of developing magnetic bearings for an optical disk buffer for use in a spacecraft environment. The approach taken was to develop the specifications for the magnetic bearings and define the hardware configuration, controller characteristics, position sensors, and electronic functions required.

Hockney, Richard↗