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Results for “Strong magnetic field”

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 19 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2020

Strong surface magnetic field generation in relativistic short pulse laser–plasma interaction with an applied seed magnetic field

Abstract While plasma often behaves diamagnetically, we demonstrate that the laser irradiation of a thin opaque target with an embedded target-transverse seed magnetic field B seed can trigger the generation of an order-of-magnitude stronger magnetic field with opposite sign at the target surface. Strong surface field generation occurs when the laser pulse is relativistically intense and results from the currents associated with the cyclotron rotation of laser-heated electrons transiting through the target and the compensating current of cold electrons. We derive a predictive scaling for this surface field generation, B gen ∼ −2 πB seed Δ x / λ 0 (in the large spot size limit), where Δ x is the target thickness and λ 0 is the laser wavelength, and conduct 1D and 2D particle-in-cell simulations to confirm its applicability over a wide range of conditions. We additionally demonstrate that both the seed and surface-generated magnetic fields can have a strong impact on application-relevant plasma dynamics, for example substantially altering the overall expansion and ion acceleration from a μ m-thick laser-irradiated target with a kilotesla-level seed magnetic field.

Weichman, K. (ORCID:0000000234877922)↗
DOE OSTI2021

Self-Consistent Field Methods for Excited States in Strong Magnetic Fields: A Comparison Between Energy - and Variance-based Approaches

An efficient implementation of geometrical derivatives at the Hartree–Fock (HF) and current-density functional theory (CDFT) levels is presented for the study of molecular structure in strong magnetic fields. The required integral derivatives are constructed using a hybrid McMurchie–Davidson and Rys quadrature approach, which combines the amenability of the former to the evaluation of derivative integrals with the efficiency of the latter for basis sets with high angular momentum. In addition to its application to evaluating derivatives of four-center integrals, this approach is also applied to gradients using the resolution-of-the-identity approximation, enabling efficient optimization of molecular structure for many-electron systems under a strong magnetic field. The CDFT contributions have been implemented for a wide range of density functionals up to and including the meta-GGA level with current-density dependent contributions and (range-separated) hybrids for the first time. Illustrative applications are presented to the OH and benzene molecules, revealing the rich and complex chemistry induced by the presence of an external magnetic field. Challenges for geometry optimization in strong fields are highlighted, along with the requirement for careful analysis of the resulting electronic structure at each stationary point. The importance of correlation effects is examined by comparison of results at the HF and CDFT levels. The present implementation of molecular gradients at the CDFT level provides a cost-effective approach to the study of molecular structure under strong magnetic fields, opening up many new possibilities for the study of chemistry in this regime.

Comparison↗
NASA NTRS1991

Physics in strong magnetic fields near neutron stars

Electromagnetic phenomena occurring in the strong magnetic fields of neutron stars are currently of great interest in high-energy astrophysics. Observations of rotation rate changes and cyclotron lines in pulsars and gamma-ray bursts indicate that surface magnetic fields of neutron stars often exceed a trillion gauss. In fields this strong, where electrons behave much as if they were in bound atomic states, familiar processes undergo profound changes, and exotic processes become important. Strong magnetic fields affect the physics in several fundamental ways: energies perpendicular to the field are quantized, transverse momentum is not conserved, and electron-positron spin is important. Neutron stars therefore provide a unique laboratory for the study of physics in extremely high fields that cannot be generated on earth.

Harding, Alice K.↗
NASA NTRS1974

The instability of strong magnetic fields in stellar interiors

There has been discussion of the possibility of resolving the solar neutrino dilemma with a sufficiently strong magnetic field (500 MG) in the solar interior to relieve the gas pressure by some 10% or more. The time in which magnetic buoyancy will bring a strong field to the surface is examined and is found to be less than 100 m.y. No possibility is seen for retaining a suitably strong magnetic field in the solar interior.

Parker, E. N.↗
NASA NTRS1972

Origin of strong magnetic fields.

A possible mechanism by which extremely strong magnetic fields in neutron stars and white dwarfs could originate involves the existence of thermodynamic equilibrium states (LOFER states) of an electron gas. The essence of the stability theory of a LOFER state is discussed. The extended electronic system considered is in contact with a thermal bath in the presence of an external magnetic field. It is found that it is not necessary to require absolute stability in order to realize a LOFER state in nature.

Canuto, V.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Oscillation spectra of neutron stars with strong magnetic fields

The effects of strong frozen-in vertical magnetic fields on nonradial oscillation spectra in neutron stars are investigated theoretically, focusing on the surface layers near the polar cap of a cylindrically symmetric neutron-star model with shear-supporting crust and molten-crust oceans. The pulsation equations are derived; analytical estimates are obtained; and the results of numerical experiments are presented in tables and graphs. Significant modifications in the frequencies and displacements of the modes are found when a magnetic field is present: Alfven-like g modes (designated magneto-gravity), pseudotoroidal a modes with periods less than 100 ns for a 1-TG field, p-mode displacements almost totally parallel to the field, and a mode spectrum for periods of 100 microsec or more comprising only t, s, and p modes at 1 TG.

Carroll, B. W.↗
NASA NTRS1975

Quantum processes in strong magnetic fields

Quantum-mechanical processes that occur in a piece of matter embedded in a magnetic field with a strength of the order of 10 to the 13th power G are described which either are entirely due to the presence of the field or become modified because of it. The conversion of rotational energy into electromagnetic energy in pulsars is analyzed as a mechanism for producing such a field, and it is shown that a strong magnetic field is not sufficient for quantum effects to play a significant role; in addition, the density must be adjusted to be as low as possible. The pressure and energy density of a free electron gas in a uniform magnetic field are evaluated, neutron beta-decay in the presence of a strong field is examined, and the effect of such a field on neutrino reactions is discussed. The thermal history of a neutron star is studied, and it is concluded that a strong magnetic field helps to increase the cooling rate of the star by producing new channels through which neutrinos can carry away energy.

Canuto, V.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Pair Production and Annihilation in Strong Magnetic Fields

Electromagnetic phenomena occurring in the presence of strong magnetic fields are currently of great interest in high-energy astrophysics. In particular, the process of pair production by single photons in the presence of fields of order 10 to the 12th power Gauss is of importance in cascade models of pulsar gamma ray emission, and may also become significant in theories of other radiation phenomena whose sources may be neutron stars (e.g., gamma ray bursts). In addition to pair production, the inverse process of pair annihilation is greatly affected by the presence of superstrong magnetic fields. The most significant departures from annihilation processes in free space are a reduction in the total rate for annihilation into two photons, a broadening of the familiar 511-keV line for annihilation at rest, and the possibility for annihilation into a single photon (which dominates the two-photon annihilation for B ( 10 the 13th power Gauss). The physics of these pair conversion processes, which is reviewed briefly, can become quite complex in the teragauss regime, and can involve calculations which are technically difficult to incorporate into models of emission mechanisms in neutron star magnetospheres. However, theoretical work, especially the case of pair annihilation, also suggests potential techniques for more direct measurements of field strengths near the stellar surface.

Daugherty, J. K.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Pair production and annihilation in strong magnetic fields

Electromagnetic phenomena occurring in the presence of strong magnetic fields are currently of great interest in high-energy astrophysics. In particular, the process of pair production by single photons in the presence of fields of order 10 to the 12th power Gauss is of importance in cascade models of pulsar gamma ray emission, and may also become significant in theories of other radiation phenomena whose sources may be neutron stars (e.g., gamma ray bursts). In addition to pair production, the inverse process of pair annihilation is greatly affected by the presence of superstrong magnetic fields. The most significant departures from annihilation processes in free space are a reduction in the total rate for annihilation into two photons, a broadening of the familiar 511-keV line for annihilation at rest, and the possibility for annihilation into a single photon which dominates the two-photon annihilation for B (10 to 13th power Gauss) The physics of these pair conversion processes, which is reviewed briefly, can become quite complex in the teragauss regime, and can involve calculations which are technically difficult to incorporate into models of emission mechanisms in neutron star magnetospheres. However, theoretical work, especially the case of pair annihilation, also suggests potential techniques for more direct measurements of field strengths near the stellar surface.

Daugherty, J. K.↗
DOE OSTI2020

Energy gain by laser-accelerated electrons in a strong magnetic field

This paper deals with electron acceleration by a laser pulse in a plasma with a static uniform magnetic field B * . The laser pulse propagates perpendicular to the magnetic field lines with the polarization chosen such that (E laser · B * ) = 0. The focus of the work is on the electrons with an appreciable initial transverse momentum that are unable to gain significant energy from the laser in the absence of the magnetic field due to strong dephasing. It is shown that the magnetic field can initiate an energy increase by rotating such an electron, so that its momentum becomes directed forward. The energy gain continues well beyond this turning point where the dephasing drops to a very small value. In contrast to the case of purely vacuum acceleration, the electron experiences a rapid energy increases with the analytically derived maximum energy gain dependent on the strength of the magnetic field and the phase velocity of the wave. The energy enhancement by the magnetic field can be useful at high laser amplitudes, a 0 » 1, where the acceleration similar to that in the vacuum is unable to produce energetic electrons over just tens of microns. A strong magnetic field helps leverage an increase in a0 without a significant increase in the interaction length.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
NASA NTRS1989

Strong magnetic fields, galaxy formation, and the Galactic engine

The strong-magnetic-field model proposed as an energy source for AGN and quasars by Greyber (1961, 1962, 1964, 1967, 1984, 1988, and 1989) is discussed. The basic principles of the model are reviewed; its advantages (in explaining the observed features of AGN and quasars) over models based on a rotating accretion disk are indicated in a table; and its implications for galaxy and quasar formation are explored. The gravitationally bound current loops detected in nearby spiral galaxies are interpreted as weak remnants of the current loops present during their formation. An observational search for a similar loop near the Galactic center is proposed.

Greyber, Howard D.↗