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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 1,639 records · Page 91
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DOE OSTI2026

Fokker-Planck simulations of fast ion ICRF and electron EC heating in a mirror plasma using CQL3D-m

The CQL3D-m continuum bounce-average Fokker-Planck code is adapted for magnetic mirror plasmas [1] and is now routinely used in no-free-parameter classical integrated modeling of mirror devices [2, 3]. In the present effort, we report on two RF methods of plasma heating in mirror machine. The fast ions (FI) are heated by Fast waves at 2nd-4th harmonic, where FIs originate from neutral beam injection at 45 degrees to the magnetic field. The scenario shows an efficient ion heating near the FI bouncing point. The electrons are heated by X-mode launched from the high magnetic field side towards the resonance. Different from the tokamak applications, CQL3D-m provides an evolving self-consistent ambipolar parallel electric field, which determines the shape of the loss cone and hence an accurate confinement time of both ions and electrons. Also, it includes a description of ion and electron sources and sinks (related to charge exchange and impact ionization) which are updated at every time step. CQL3D-m utilizes a fully nonlinear Coulomb collision operator that is important for the significantly non-Maxwellian ion distributions typically established in mirror plasmas.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2021

Model for current drive induced crash cycles in W7-X

In the Wendelstein 7-X (W7-X) stellarator, the vacuum rotational transform, ι, has a flat radial profile and does not cross any major rational resonance. Nevertheless, during plasma operation the ι–profile can be strongly modified by electron cyclotron current drive in such a way that the resulting ι-profile passes through low-order rational values, and this can trigger magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) events. Indeed, W7-X plasmas are sometimes subject to repetitive collapses of core confinement, which can be observed regardless of the direction in which the EC current is driven. Even though the origin of these MHD instabilities is under investigation, the crashes may be connected to the formation of magnetic islands and magnetic reconnection. In the present work, we try to shed light on the dynamics of different events happening during the course of sawtooth cycles in W7-X by proposing a model that combines a slow current diffusion with a recipe for fast relaxation that conserves the corresponding helical flux (Kadomtsev 1975 Fiz. Plazmy 1 710–15). We also propose a simple model based on Taylor relaxation (Taylor 1974 Phys. Rev. Lett. 33 1139), (Taylor 1986 Rev. Mod. Phys. 58 741) to predict the nonlinear redistribution of plasma current caused by the largest of the observed events.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2022

Radiative pulsed L-mode operation in ARC-class reactors

Abstract A new ARC-class, highly-radiative, pulsed, L-mode, burning plasma scenario is developed and evaluated as a candidate for future tokamak reactors. Pulsed inductive operation alleviates the stringent current drive requirements of steady-state reactors, and operation in L-mode affords ELM-free access to ∼ 90 % core radiation fractions, significantly reducing the divertor power handling requirements. In this configuration the fusion power density can be maximized despite L-mode confinement by utilizing high-field to increase plasma densities and current. This allows us to obtain high gain in robust scenarios in compact devices with P fus > 1000 MW despite low confinement. We demonstrate the feasibility of such scenarios here; first by showing that they avoid violating 0D tokamak limits, and then by performing self-consistent integrated simulations of flattop operation including neoclassical and turbulent transport, magnetic equilibrium, and radiofrequency current drive models. Finally we examine the potential effect of introducing negative triangularity with a 0D model. Our results show high-field radiative pulsed L-mode scenarios are a promising alternative to the typical steady state advanced tokamak scenarios which have dominated tokamak reactor development.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2017

Transition into the improved core confinement mode as a possible mechanism for additional electron heating observed in the lower hybrid current drive experiments at the FT-2 tokamak

In experiments on lower hybrid current drive (LHCD) carried out at the FT-2 tokamak, a substantial increase in the central electron temperature T{sub e}(r = 0 cm) from 550 to 700 eV was observed. A complex simulation procedure is used to explain a fairly high LHCD efficiency and the observed additional heating, which can be attributed to a transition into the improved core confinement (ICC) mode. For numerical simulations, data obtained in experiments with deuterium plasma at 〈n{sub e}〉 = 1.6 × 10{sup 19} m{sup –3} were used. Simulations by the GRILL3D, FRTC, and ASTRA codes have shown that the increase in the density and central temperature is apparently caused by a significant suppression of heat transport in the electron component. The mechanism for transition into the improved confinement mode at r < 3 cm can be associated with the broadening of the plasma current channel due to the lower hybrid drive of the current carried by superthermal and runaway electrons. In this case, the magnetic shear s = (r/q)(dq/dr) in the axial region of the plasma column almost vanishes during the RF pulse. In this study, the effect of lower hybrid waves on the plasma parameters, resulting in a transition into the ICC mode, is considered. New experimental and calculated data are presented that evidence in favor of such a transition. Special attention is paid to the existence of a threshold for the transition into the ICC mode in deuterium plasma.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2017

A hunt for massive starless cores

We carry out an ALMA N{sub 2}D{sup +}(3-2) and 1.3 mm continuum survey of 32 high-mass surface density regions of seven infrared dark clouds, with the aim of finding massive starless cores that may form the initial conditions for the formation of massive stars. Cores showing strong N{sub 2}D{sup +}(3-2) emission are expected to be highly deuterated and indicative of early, potentially pre-stellar stages of star formation. We also present maps of these regions in ancillary line tracers, including C{sup 18}O(2-1), DCN(3-2), and DCO{sup +}(3-2). Over 100 N{sub 2}D{sup +} cores are identified with our newly developed core-finding algorithm, based on connected structures in position–velocity space. The most massive core has ∼70 M{sub ⊙} (potentially ∼170 M{sub ⊙}) and so may be representative of the initial conditions or early stages of massive star formation. The existence and dynamical properties of such cores constrain massive star formation theories. We measure the line widths and thus velocity dispersion of six of the cores with strongest N{sub 2}D{sup +}(3-2) line emission, finding results that are generally consistent with virial equilibrium of pressure confined cores.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

A NOVEL PARADIGM FOR SHORT GAMMA-RAY BURSTS WITH EXTENDED X-RAY EMISSION

The merger of a binary of neutron stars provides natural explanations for many of the features of short gamma-ray bursts (SGRBs), such as the generation of a hot torus orbiting a rapidly rotating black hole, which can then build a magnetic jet and provide the energy reservoir to launch a relativistic outflow. However, this scenario has problems explaining the recently discovered long-term and sustained X-ray emission associated with the afterglows of a subclass of SGRBs. We propose a new model that explains how an X-ray afterglow can be sustained by the product of the merger and how the X-ray emission is produced before the corresponding emission in the gamma-band, though it is observed to follow it. Overall, our paradigm combines in a novel manner a number of well-established features of the emission in SGRBs and results from simulations. Because it involves the propagation of an ultra-relativistic outflow and its interaction with a confining medium, the paradigm also highlights a unifying phenomenology between short and long GRBs.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Observation of a highly conductive warm dense state of water with ultrafast pump–probe free-electron-laser measurements

The electrical conductivity of water under extreme temperatures and densities plays a central role in modeling planetary magnetic fields. Experimental data are vital to test theories of high-energy-density water and assess the possible development and presence of extraterrestrial life. These states are also important in biology and chemistry studies when specimens in water are confined and excited using ultrafast optical or free-electron lasers (FELs). Here we utilize femtosecond optical lasers to measure the transient reflection and transmission of ultrathin water sheet samples uniformly heated by a 13.6 nm FEL approaching a highly conducting state at electron temperatures exceeding 20 000 K. The experiment probes the trajectory of water through the high-energy-density phase space and provides insights into changes in the index of refraction, charge carrier densities, and AC electrical conductivity at optical frequencies. At excitation energy densities exceeding 10 MJ/kg, the index of refraction falls to n = 0.7, and the thermally excited free-carrier density reaches ne = 5 × 1027 m−3, which is over an order of magnitude higher than that of the electron carriers produced by direct photoionization. Significant specular reflection is observed owing to critical electron density shielding of electromagnetic waves. The measured optical conductivity reaches 2 × 104 S/m, a value that is one to two orders of magnitude lower than those of simple metals in a liquid state. At electron temperatures below 15 000 K, the experimental results agree well with the theoretical calculations using density-functional theory/molecular-dynamics simulations. With increasing temperature, the electron density increases and the system approaches a Fermi distribution. In this regime, the conductivities agree better with predictions from the Ziman theory of liquid metals.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2018

Long spin-flip time and large Zeeman splitting of holes in type-II ZnTe/ZnSe submonolayer quantum dots

The Zeeman splitting and degree of circular polarization (DCP) of photoluminescence (PL) from type-II submonolayer ZnTe/ZnSe quantum dots (QDs) have been investigated in magnetic fields up to 18 T. To explain the observed relative intensities and energy positions of the σ + and the σ - PL, a non-Boltzmann distribution for holes with ultra-long spin-flip time, confined to submonolayer QDs, is proposed. The g -factor of electrons, located in the ZnSe barriers, was obtained from fitting the temperature dependence of the DCP, and its value is in excellent agreement with that of bulk ZnSe. The g -factor of type-II excitons was extracted by analyzing the Zeeman splitting, from which the g -factor of holes confined within submonolayer ZnTe QDs was found to be ~2.65 ± 0.40. This value is considerably larger than that in bulk ZnTe. Tight-binding calculations using an sp 3 s* model were employed to understand the origin of such an increase. The results of the simulation match the experiment and show that the enhancement of the hole g -factor is mostly caused by a reduced orbital contribution to Zeeman splitting arising from the submonolayer thickness of these QDs.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Overview of the KSTAR experiments toward fusion reactor

The Korean Superconducting Tokamak Advanced Research has been focused on exploring the key physics and engineering issues for future fusion reactors by demonstrating the long pulse operation of high beta steady-state discharge. Advanced scenarios are being developed with the goal for steady-state operation, and significant progress has been made in high ℓ i , hybrid and high beta scenarios with β N of 3. In the new operation scenario called fast ion regulated enhanced (FIRE), fast ions play an essential role in confinement enhancement. GK simulations show a significant reduction of the thermal energy flux when the thermal ion fraction decreases and the main ion density gradient is reversed by the fast ions in FIRE mode. Optimization of 3D magnetic field techniques, including adaptive control and real-time machine learning control algorithm, enabled long-pulse operation and high-performance ELM-suppressed discharge. Symmetric multiple shattered pellet injections (SPIs) and real-time disruption event characterization and forecasting are being performed to mitigate and avoid the disruptions associated with high-performance, long-pulse ITER-like scenarios. Finally, the near-term research plan will be addressed with the actively cooled tungsten divertor, a major upgrade of the NBI and helicon current drive heating, and transition to a full metallic wall.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2019

Kinetic ‘jets’ from fast-moving pulsars

Abstract Some fast-moving pulsars, such as the Guitar and the Lighthouse, exhibit asymmetric non-thermal emission features that extend well beyond their ram pressure confined pulsar wind nebulae (PWNe). Based on our 3D relativistic simulations, we analytically explain these features as kinetically streaming pulsar wind particles that escaped into the interstellar medium (ISM) due to reconnection between the PWN and ISM magnetic fields. The structure of the reconnecting magnetic fields at the incoming and outgoing regions produces highly asymmetric magnetic bottles therefore and result in asymmetric extended features. For the features to become visible, the ISM magnetic field should be sufficiently high, BISM > 10 $\mu$G. We also discuss archival observations of PWNe displaying evidence of kinetic jets: the Dragonfly PWN (PSR J2021 + 3651), G327.1–1.1, and MSH 11–62, the latter two of which exhibit symmetric ‘snail eyes’ morphologies. We suggest that in those cases the pulsar is moving along the ambient magnetic field in a frisbee-type configuration.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Confinement of many-body Bethe strings

Based on the Bethe ansatz approach and inelastic neutron scattering experiments, we reveal the evolution of confinement of many-body Bethe strings in ordered regions of the quasi-one-dimensional antiferromagnet YbAlO 3 . In the antiferromagnetic phase, the spin dynamics is dominated by confined length-1 Bethe strings, whose dominancy in the high-energy branch of the excitation spectrum yields to confined length-2 Bethe strings when the material is tuned to the spin-density-wave phase. In the thermal-induced disordered region, the confinement effect disappears, and the system restores the conventional quantum integrable physics of the one-dimensional Heisenberg model. Finally, our results establish a unified picture based on a Bethe string for the spin dynamics in different magnetic phases of YbAlO 3 , and thus provide profound insight into many-body quantum magnetism.

1-dimensional spin chains↗
DOE OSTI2015

SEMICIRCULAR-LIKE SECONDARY FLARE RIBBONS ASSOCIATED WITH A FAILED ERUPTION

Flare ribbons (FRs) are one of the most apparent signatures of solar flares and have been treated as an indicator of magnetic reconnection. Drawing upon the observations from the Solar Dynamics Observatory, we present semicircular-like secondary FRs (SFRs) of a C2.3 flare on 2013 June 19. Before the flare eruption, two bipoles in this core region subsequently emerged. Due to the interaction between the two bipoles, a tether-cutting eruption took place in the core region. The SFRs, surrounding the core region nearly simultaneously with the flare onset, were much weaker than the two normal FRs. Two ends of the SFRs experienced a separation and extension movement, but the middle part of the SFRs hardly expanded outward. We find SFRs are closely associated with the footpoint brightenings of some small loops around the core region. The eruption was confined by transequatorial loops (TLs), which resulted in the plasma material falling in the north end of the TLs and remote brightenings showing up in the south end of the TLs. The disappearance of the faint (filament) material during the emergence of the SFRs could indicate another eruption. We conclude that two or more magnetic reconnections are involved in this event and propose that SFRs consisting of a small part of true FRs resulted from the second magnetic reconnection and bright footpoints of loop clusters likely heated by the main flare.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Continuum gyrokinetic simulations of edge plasmas in single-null geometries

The first continuum gyrokinetic calculations of electrostatic ion scale turbulence are presented for the case of a diverted tokamak geometry. The simulation model solves the long-wavelength limit of the full-F gyrokinetic equation for ion species coupled to the quasi-neutrality equation for electrostatic potential variations, where a fluid model is used for an electron response. Furthermore, in order to facilitate simulations of highly-anisotropic microturbulence in the presence of strong magnetic shear and a magnetic X-point, a numerical algorithm utilizing a locally field-aligned multiblock coordinate system has been developed and implemented in the 5D finite-volume code COGENT. In this approach, the toroidal direction is divided into blocks, such that within each block, the cells are field-aligned and a non-matching grid interface is allowed at block boundaries. The toroidal angle corresponds to the “coarse” field-aligned coordinate, whereas the poloidal cross section, comprised of the radial and poloidal directions, is finely gridded to resolve short-scale perpendicular turbulence structures and to support accurate re-mapping (interpolation) at block boundaries. The 5D simulations explore cross-separatrix ion scale turbulence in the presence of a self-consistent radial electric field and address the effects of magnetic-shear stabilization in the X-point region.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

Minimizing separatrix crossings through isoprominence

Abstract A simple property of magnetic fields that minimizes bouncing to passing type transitions of guiding center orbits is defined and discussed. This property, called isoprominence, is explored through the framework of a near-axis expansion. It is shown that isoprominent magnetic fields for a toroidal configuration exist to all orders in a formal expansion about a magnetic axis. Some key geometric features of these fields are described.

confinement↗
DOE OSTI2015

Design, development, and results from a charge-collector diagnostic for a toroidal electron plasma experiment

A suitable charge-collector has been designed and developed to estimate charge-content of electron plasmas in a Small Aspect Ratio Toroidal Experiment in a C-shaped trap (SMARTEX-C). The electrons are periodically injected and held in the trap with the aid of electrostatic end-fields and a toroidal magnetic field. After a preset “hold” time, the trapped charges are dumped onto a grounded collector (by gating it). As the charges flow along the magnetic field lines onto the collector, the integrated current gives the charge-content of the plasma at the instant of dump. In designing such a charge collector, several challenges peculiar to the geometry of the trap and the nature of the plasma had to be addressed. Instantaneous charge measurements synchronised with the E × B drift of the plasma, along with fast transit times of electrons to the collector (few 100 ns or less) (due to the low aspect ratio of the trap) essentially require fast gating of the collector. The resulting large capacitive transients alongside low charge content (few nC) of such plasmas further lead to increasing demands on response and sensitivity of the collector. Complete cancellation of such transients is shown to be possible, in principle, by including the return path in our measurement circuit but the “non-neutrality” of the plasma acts as a further impediment. Ultimately, appropriate shielding and measurement circuits allow us to (re)distribute the capacitance and delineate the paths of these currents, leading to effective cancellation of transients and marked improvement in sensitivity. Improved charge-collector has thus been used to successfully estimate the time evolution of total charge of the confined electron plasma in SMARTEX-C.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2017

Improving fast-ion confinement in high-performance discharges by suppressing Alfvén eigenmodes

Here, we show that the degradation of fast-ion confinement in steady-state DIII-D discharges is quantitatively consistent with predictions based on the effects of multiple unstable Alfven eigenmodes on beam-ion transport. Simulation and experiment show that increasing the radius where the magnetic safety factor has its minimum is effective in minimizing beam-ion transport. This is favorable for achieving high performance steady-state operation in DIII-D and future reactors. A comparison between the experiments and a critical gradient model, in which only equilibrium profiles were used to predict the most unstable modes, show that in a number of cases this model reproduces the measured neutron rate well.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2015

Chiral streamers

The interaction of time-varying electromagnetic fields and solid, liquid, and gaseous matter may lead to electrical breakdown phenomena through the excitation of ionization waves or streamers that control the dynamics of localized plasma propagation through the media. The streamers usually propagate along straight lines, either between random points in space or along a certain direction in a guided mode. Here, we report on a new type of plasma discharges with the regular helical propagation pattern driven by a pulsed dc voltage in nitrogen at sub-atmospheric-pressure conditions. The helical guided streamers, named chiral streamers or chi-streamers, are excited without any external magnetic fields, which commonly cause helical plasma motions. We also demonstrate a hybrid propagation mode involving the interchangeable chiral streamers and the straight-line propagating plasmas. High-speed, time-resolved optical imaging reveals that the chiral streamers and the hybrid patterns are made of spatially localized discrete plasma bullets, similar to the straight-line guided streamers. These results may enable effective control of propagation of confined plasmas and electromagnetic energy along pre-determined, potentially deterministic paths, which have important implications for the development of next-generation plasma-based radiation sources, communication devices, and medical treatments.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2018

Efficient Nonthermal Particle Acceleration by the Kink Instability in Relativistic Jets

Relativistic magnetized jets from active galaxies are among the most powerful cosmic accelerators, but their particle acceleration mechanisms remain a mystery. Here we present a new acceleration mechanism associated with the development of the helical kink instability in relativistic jets, which leads to the efficient conversion of the jet’s magnetic energy into nonthermal particles. Large-scale three-dimensional ab initio simulations reveal that the formation of highly tangled magnetic fields and a large-scale inductive electric field throughout the kink-unstable region promotes rapid energization of the particles. The energy distribution of the accelerated particles develops a well-defined power-law tail extending to the radiation-reaction limited energy in the case of leptons, and to the confinement energy of the jet in the case of ions. When applied to the conditions of well-studied bright knots in jets from active galaxies, this mechanism can account for the spectrum of synchrotron and inverse Compton radiating particles, and offers a viable means of accelerating ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays to 1 0 20 eV .

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗