Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “LARMOR RADIUS”

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.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 19 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2016

Two-fluid and finite Larmor radius effects on helicity evolution in a plasma pinch

The evolution of magnetic energy, helicity, and hybrid helicity during nonlinear relaxation of a driven-damped plasma pinch is compared in visco-resistive magnetohydrodynamics and two-fluid models with and without the ion gyroviscous stress tensor. Magnetic energy and helicity are supplied via a boundary electric field which initially balances the resistive dissipation, and the plasma undergoes multiple relaxation events during the nonlinear evolution. The magnetic helicity is well conserved relative to the magnetic energy over each event, which is short compared with the global resistive diffusion time. The magnetic energy decreases by roughly 1.5% of its initial value over a relaxation event, while the magnetic helicity changes by at most 0.2% of the initial value. The hybrid helicity is dominated by magnetic helicity in low-β pinch conditions and is also well conserved. Differences of less than 1% between magnetic helicity and hybrid helicity are observed with two-fluid modeling and result from cross helicity evolution. The cross helicity is found to change appreciably due to the first-order finite Larmor radius effects which have not been included in contemporary relaxation theories. The plasma current evolves towards the flat parallel current state predicted by Taylor relaxation theory but does not achieve it. Plasma flow develops significant structure for two-fluid models, and the flow perpendicular to the magnetic field is much more substantial than the flow along it.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2015

Formation of large-scale structures with sharp density gradient through Rayleigh-Taylor growth in a two-dimensional slab under the two-fluid and finite Larmor radius effects

Two-fluid and the finite Larmor effects on linear and nonlinear growth of the Rayleigh-Taylor instability in a two-dimensional slab are studied numerically with special attention to high-wave-number dynamics and nonlinear structure formation at a low β-value. The two effects stabilize the unstable high wave number modes for a certain range of the β-value. In nonlinear simulations, the absence of the high wave number modes in the linear stage leads to the formation of the density field structure much larger than that in the single-fluid magnetohydrodynamic simulation, together with a sharp density gradient as well as a large velocity difference. The formation of the sharp velocity difference leads to a subsequent Kelvin-Helmholtz-type instability only when both the two-fluid and finite Larmor radius terms are incorporated, whereas it is not observed otherwise. It is shown that the emergence of the secondary instability can modify the outline of the turbulent structures associated with the primary Rayleigh-Taylor instability.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2015

Linear vs. nonlinear acceleration in plasma turbulence. II. Hall–finite-Larmor-radius magnetohydrodynamics

The local k-space ratio of linear and nonlinear accelerations associated with a variety of initial conditions undergoing steady relaxation is investigated for the Hall–finite-Larmor-radius magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) system in the presence of a mean magnetic field. Building on a related study (Paper I) where it was shown that discrepancies exist between describing the global and local characterizations of the pure MHD system with mean magnetic field, we find regions of the Fourier space that are consistently dominated by linear acceleration and other regions that are consistently dominated by nonlinear acceleration, independent of the overall system's description as linear, weakly nonlinear, or turbulent. In general, dynamics within a certain angular range of the mean magnetic field direction are predominantly linear, while dynamics adjacent the Hall scales along the field-parallel direction and dynamics adjacent the finite Larmor radius scales in the field-perpendicular direction can become strongly nonlinear. The nonlinear influences are particularly significant as the plasma beta increases from unity to higher values.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2017

Quasilinear diffusion coefficients in a finite Larmor radius expansion for ion cyclotron heated plasmas

In this study, a reduced model of quasilinear velocity diffusion by a small Larmor radius approximation is derived to couple the Maxwell’s equations and the Fokker Planck equation self-consistently for the ion cyclotron range of frequency waves in a tokamak. The reduced model ensures the important properties of the full model by Kennel-Engelmann diffusion, such as diffusion directions, wave polarizations, and H-theorem. The kinetic energy change (Wdot ) is used to derive the reduced model diffusion coefficients for the fundamental damping (n = 1) and the second harmonic damping (n = 2) to the lowest order of the finite Larmor radius expansion. The quasilinear diffusion coefficients are implemented in a coupled code (TORIC-CQL3D) with the equivalent reduced model of the dielectric tensor. We also present the simulations of the ITER minority heating scenario, in which the reduced model is verified within the allowable errors from the full model results.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2018

Finite Larmor radius effects on E x B weak turbulence transport

Transport of test particles in two-dimensional weak turbulence with waves propagating along the poloidal direction is studied using a reduced model. Finite Larmor radius (FLR) effects are included by gyroaveraging over one particle orbit. For low wave amplitudes the motion is mostly regular with particles trapped in the potential wells. As the amplitude increases the trajectories become chaotic and the Larmor radius modifies the orbits. For a thermal distribution of Finite Larmor radii the particle distribution function (PDF) is Gaussian for small $\unicode[STIX]{x1D70C}_{th}$ (thermal gyroradius) but becomes non-Gaussian for large $\unicode[STIX]{x1D70C}_{th}$ . Furthermore, the time scaling of transport is diffusive, as characterized by a linear dependence of the variance of the PDF with time. An explanation for this behaviour is presented that provides an expression for an effective diffusion coefficient and reproduces the numerical results for large wave amplitudes which implies generalized chaos. When a shear flow is added in the direction of wave propagation, a modified model is obtained that produces free-streaming particle trajectories in addition to trapped ones; these contribute to ballistic transport for low wave amplitude but produce super-ballistic transport in the chaotic regime. As in the previous case, the PDF is Gaussian for low $\unicode[STIX]{x1D70C}_{th}$ becoming non-Gaussian as it increases. The perpendicular transport presents the same behaviour as in the case with no flow but the diffusion is faster in the presence of the flow.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2016

Star formation through thermal instability of radiative plasma with finite electron inertia and finite Larmor radius corrections

I have studied the effects of finite electron inertia, finite ion Larmor radius (FLR) corrections, and radiative heat-loss function on the thermal instability of an infinite homogeneous, viscous plasma incorporating the effect of thermal conductivity for star formation in interstellar medium (ISM). A general dispersion relation is derived using the normal mode analysis method with the help of relevant linearized perturbation equations of the problem. The wave propagation is discussed for longitudinal and transverse directions to the external magnetic field and the conditions of modified thermal instabilities and stabilities are discussed in different cases. We find that the thermal instability criterion is get modified into radiative instability criterion by inclusion of radiative heat-loss functions with thermal conductivity. The viscosity of medium removes the effect of FLR corrections from the condition of radiative instability. Numerical calculation shows stabilizing effect of heat-loss function, viscosity and FLR corrections, and destabilizing effect of finite electron inertia on the thermal instability. Results carried out in this paper shows that stars are formed in interstellar medium mainly due to thermal instability.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

Jeans instability of magnetized quantum plasma: Effect of viscosity, rotation and finite Larmor radius corrections

The Jeans instability of self-gravitating quantum plasma is examined considering the effects of viscosity, finite Larmor radius (FLR) corrections and rotation. The analysis is done by normal mode analysis theory with the help of relevant linearized perturbation equations of the problem. The general dispersion relation is obtained using the quantum magneto hydrodynamic model. The modified condition of Jeans instability is obtained and the numerical calculations have been performed to show the effects of various parameters on the growth rate of Jeans instability.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2016

EFFECT OF FINITE LARMOR RADIUS CORRECTIONS ON THE THERMAL INSTABILITY OF THERMALLY CONDUCTING VISCOUS PLASMA WITH HALL CURRENT AND ELECTRON INERTIA

The thermal instability of an infinite homogeneous, thermally conducting, and rotating plasma, incorporating finite electrical resistivity, finite electron inertia, and an arbitrary radiative heat-loss function in the presence of finite Larmor radius corrections and Hall current, has been studied. Analysis has been made with the help of linearized magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) equations. A general dispersion relation is obtained using the normal mode analysis method, and the dispersion relation is discussed for longitudinal propagation and transverse propagation separately. The dispersion relation has been solved numerically to obtain the dependence of the growth rate on the various parameters involved. The conditions of modified thermal instability and stability are discussed in the different cases of interest.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2018

Role of electron inertia and electron/ion finite Larmor radius effects in low-beta, magneto-Rayleigh-Taylor instability

The magneto-Rayleigh-Taylor (MRT) instability has been explored in great detail in previous work using magnetohydrodynamic and kinetic models for low-beta plasmas. The work presented here extends previous studies of this instability to regimes where finite-Larmor-Radius (FLR) effects may be important. Comparisons of the MRT instability are made using a 5-moment and a 10-moment two-fluid model, the two fluids being ions and electrons. The 5-moment model includes Hall stabilization, whereas the 10-moment model includes Hall and FLR stabilization. Results are presented for these two models using different electron mass to understand the role of electron iner- tia in the late-time nonlinear evolution of the MRT instability. For the 5-moment model, the late- time nonlinear MRT evolution does not significantly depend on the electron inertia. Yet, when FLR stabilization is important, the 10-moment results show that a lower ion-to-electron mass ratio (i.e., larger electron inertia) under-predicts the energy in high-wavenumber modes due to larger FLR stabilization.

nite Larmor radius↗
DOE OSTI2018

Direction of cascades in a magnetofluid model with electron skin depth and ion sound Larmor radius scales

The direction of cascades in a two-dimensional model that takes electron inertia and ion sound Larmor radius into account is studied here, resulting in analytical expressions for the absolute equilibrium states of the energy and helicities. These states suggest that typically both the energy and magnetic helicity at scales shorter than the electron skin depth have a direct cascade, while at large scales the helicity has an inverse cascade as established earlier for reduced magnetohydrodynamics (MHD). The calculations imply that the introduction of gyro-effects allows for the existence of negative temperature (conjugate to energy) states and the condensation of energy to the large scales. Comparisons between two- and three-dimensional extended MHD models (MHD with two-fluid effects) show qualitative agreement between the two.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2025

Deuterium and tritium anomalous transport in the generalized Hasegawa–Wakatani resistive drift wave turbulence model with finite ion Larmor radius

Anomalous transport of mixed deuterium–tritium plasma in the edge of magnetic fusion reactors is investigated using numerical solutions of resistive drift wave turbulence model equations, including finite Larmor radius effects, that are derived within the generalized Hasegawa–Wakatani framework. The anomalous cross field diffusivities of deuterium and tritium are compared in turbulence regimes with different values of the electron adiabaticity parameter controlling the existence of zonal flow. The dependence of the tritium-to-deuterium diffusivity ratio on the deuterium and tritium densities and the logarithmic density gradients is analyzed, and a scaling relation is obtained.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2019

Finite Larmor radius effects at the high confinement mode pedestal and the related force-free steady state

In this letter, we will first relate our previous calculations on the radial electric field at the high confinement H-mode pedestal to the actual magnetic fusion experimental measurements. We will then discuss the new pressure balance due to the E × B current, which is induced by the resulting radial electric field, and its impact on the gyrokinetic MHD equations as well as their conservation properties in the force-free steady state. Here the recent controversy on the H-mode physics will also be addressed.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2015

New regime of low ion collisionality in the neoclassical equilibrium of tokamak plasmas

Here, the neoclassical description of an axisymmetric toroidal plasma equilibrium is formulated for an unconventionally low ordering of the collisionality that suits realistic thermonuclear fusion conditions. This requires a drift-kinetic analysis to the second order of the ion Larmor radius, which yields a new contribution to the leading solution for the non-Maxwellian part of the ion distribution function if the equilibrium geometry is not up-down symmetric. An explicit geometrical factor weighs this second Larmor-radius order, low-collisionality effect that modifies the neoclassical ion parallel flow, and the ion contribution to the bootstrap current.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2024

Generalized kinetic equation for tokamak plasma equilibrium distribution function

A generalised kinetic equation for the equilibrium distribution function in a finite beta, arbitrary tokamak plasma is derived. The equation is correct to second order in ρ/L (ρ is the particle Larmor radius and L is the system size). Resolving finite Larmor radius length scales with no restriction on the ratio of poloidal to total equilibrium magnetic field, B $\vartheta$ /B, it generalises the drift kinetic theory of [Hazeltine Phys. Plasmas 15 (1973) 77] to the limit of B $\vartheta$ /B ~ 1 (e.g. to ensure validity for spherical tokamaks). Two cases are considered. The first provides the equilibrium distribution function, consistent with the generalised gyrokinetic formalism of [Dudkovskaia et al. Plasma Phys. Control. Fusion 65 (2023) 045010], derived specifically to capture neoclassical equilibrium currents in gyrokinetic stability analyses in strong gradient regions. The second assumes short length scales in the direction perpendicular to the magnetic field, which can occur as a result of small coherent magnetic structures in the plasma, such as neoclassical tearing mode magnetic islands close to threshold. This then extends the drift island equations of [Dudkovskaia et al. Nucl. Fusion 63 (2023) 016020] for the plasma response to magnetic islands to a spherical tokamak plasma configuration. In conclusion, resolving ρ ~ ρ $\vartheta$ (or B $\vartheta$ ~ B), where ρ $\vartheta$ is the particle poloidal Larmor radius, is also expected to influence calculations of the magnetic island propagation frequency and the associated contributions to the island onset conditions.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2025

Solution of the linear wave-particle kinetic equation for global modes of arbitrary frequency in a tokamak

The linear response of a plasma to perturbations of arbitrary frequency and wavelength is derived for any axisymmetric magnetized toroidal plasma. An explicit transformation to action-angle coordinates is achieved using orthogonal magnetic coordinates and the Littlejohn Lagrangian, establishing the validity of this result to arbitrary order in normalized Larmor radius. The global resonance condition for compressional modes is clarified in more detail than in previous works, confirming that the poloidal orbit-average of the cyclotron frequency gives the desired result at lowest order in Larmor radius. The global plasma response to the perturbation at each resonance is captured by a poloidal and gyroaverage of the perturbing potential. A “global gyroaveraging” of the potential is a natural by-product of this analysis which takes into account the changing of the magnetic field over an orbit. The resonance condition depends on two arbitrary integers which completely separately capture the effects poloidal non-uniformity and finite Larmor radius in generating sidebands. We learn that poloidal sidebands generated for compressional modes are dominated by the change in gyrofrequency over the orbit, which is very different to shear modes where the gyrofrequency only contributes via a finite Larmor radius effect. This increases the number of bounce harmonics required to compute the linear drive, giving a more complicated resonance map. An example calculation is given comparing resonance of shear and compressional modes in a published DIII-D case.

Compressional↗
DOE OSTI2017

Super-Alfvénic Propagation and Damping of Reconnection Onset Signatures

The quadrupolar out-of-plane Hall magnetic leld generated during collisionless reconnection propagates away from the x line as a kinetic Alfvén wave (KAW). While it has been shown that this KAW carries substantial Poynting flux and propagates super-Alfvenically, how this KAW damps as it propagates away from the x line is not well understood. In this study, this damping is examined using kinetic particle-in-cell simulations of antiparallel symmetric magnetic reconnection in a one-dimensional current sheet equilibrium. In the reconnection simulations, the KAW wave vector has a typical magnitude comparable to an inverse fluid Larmor radius (effectively an inverse ion Larmor radius) and a direction of 85–89°relative to the local magnetic field. We find that the damping of the reconnection KAW is consistent with linear Landau damping results from a numerical Vlasov dispersion solver. This knowledge allows us to generalize our damping predictions to regions in the magnetotail and solar corona where the magnetic geometry can be approximated as a current sheet. For the magneto tail, the KAW from reconnection will not damp away before propagating the approximately 20 Earth radii associated with global magneto tail distances. For the solar corona, on the other hand, these KAWs will completely damp before reaching the distances comparable to the flare loop length.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Effects of a Guide Field on the Larmor Electric Field and Upstream Electron Temperature Anisotropy in Collisionless Asymmetric Magnetic Reconnection

We perform the first study of the properties of the Larmor electric field (LEF) in collisionless asymmetric magnetic reconnection in the presence of an out-of-plane (guide) magnetic field for different sets of representative upstream parameters at Earth’s dayside magnetopause with an ion temperature greater than the electron temperature (the ion-to-electron temperature ratio fixed at 2) using two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations. We show that the LEF does persist in the presence of a guide field. We study how the LEF thickness and strength change as a function of guide field and the magnetospheric temperature and reconnecting magnetic field strength. We find that the thickness of the LEF structure decreases, while its magnitude increases when a guide field is added to the reconnecting magnetic field. The added guide field makes the Larmor radius smaller, so the scaling with the magnetospheric ion Larmor radius is similar to that reported for the case without a guide field. Note, however, that the physics causing the LEF is not well understood, so future work in other parameter regimes is needed to fully predict the LEF for arbitrary conditions. We also find that a previously reported upstream electron temperature anisotropy arises in the vicinity of the LEF region both with and without a guide field. We argue that the generation of the anisotropy is linked to the existence of the LEF. The LEF can be used in combination with the electron temperature anisotropy as a signature to effectively identify dayside reconnection sites in observations.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗