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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 19 records

Electromagnetic wave propagation and wave-vector diagram in space-time periodic media.

Analysis of TE and TM wave propagation in space-time periodic media such as dielectrics, isotropic plasmas and uniaxial plasmas. A numerical solution is obtained for media with sinusoidal periodicity. Wave-vector diagrams are plotted to facilitate studies of dipole radiation, wave propagation in waveguides and wave interactions with a half-space.

Elachi, C.

Microscopic Lagrangian description of warm plasmas. I - Linear wave propagation. II - Nonlinear wave interactions

It is pointed out that the conventional iterative analysis of nonlinear plasma wave phenomena, which involves a direct use of Maxwell's equations and the equations describing the particle dynamics, leads to formidable theoretical and algebraic complexities, especially for warm plasmas. As an effective alternative, the Lagrangian method may be applied. It is shown how this method may be used in the microscopic description of small-signal wave propagation and in the study of nonlinear wave interactions. The linear theory is developed for an infinite, homogeneous, collisionless, warm magnetoplasma. A summary is presented of a perturbation expansion scheme described by Galloway and Kim (1971), and Lagrangians to third order in perturbation are considered. Attention is given to the averaged-Lagrangian density, the action-transfer and coupled-mode equations, and the general solution of the coupled-mode equations.

Kim, H.

Resonance, particle trapping, and Landau damping in finite amplitude obliquely propagating waves

The equations of motion for a particle in resonance with a small finite amplitude wave are solved approximately, using secularity free perturbation theory. The wave propagates at an arbitrary angle to a uniform background magnetic field in an infinite collisionless plasma. The wave fields include a longitudinal electrostatic component and elliptically polarized transverse electric and magnetic components. The trajectories of trapped and resonant untrapped particles are described, for each of the possible wave-particle resonances. These trajectories are used to construct an estimate of the nonlinear time dependent Landau damping rate of the wave.

Palmadesso, P. J.

Wave propagation in gaseous accretion disks

Linear wave propagation is studied in geometrically thin accretion disks where the equilibrium variables, such as density and temperature, are stratified in the direction normal to the plane of the disk, i.e., the vertical direction. Temperature stratification causes refraction such that initially radially propagating waves are deflected in the vertical direction. For moderate temperature contrast between the disk's midplane and its surface, wave transmission into the tenuous upper atmosphere is allowed. In typical astrophysical accretion disks, these two effects inhibit wave propagation through large distances in the radial direction.

Lin, D. N. C.

Holographic measurement of wave propagation in axi-symmetric shells

The report deals with the use of pulsed, double-exposure holographic interferometry to record the propagation of transverse waves in thin-walled axi-symmetric shells. The report is subdivided into sections dealing with: (1) wave propagation in circular cylindrical shells, (2) wave propagation past cut-outs and stiffeners, and (3) wave propagation in conical shells. Several interferograms are presented herein which show the waves reflecting from the shell boundaries, from cut-outs, and from stiffening rings. The initial response of the shell was nearly axi-symmetric in all cases, but nonsymmetric modes soon appeared in the radial response. This result suggests that the axi-symmetric response of the shell may be dynamically unstable, and thus may preferentially excite certain circumferential harmonics through parametric excitation. Attempts were made throughout to correlate the experimental data with analysis. For the most part, good agreement between theory and experiment was obtained. Occasional differences were attributed primarily to simplifying assumptions used in the analysis. From the standpoint of engineering applications, it is clear that pulsed laser holography can be used to obtain quantitative engineering data. Areas of dynamic stress concentration, stress concentration factors, local anomalies, etc., can be readily determined by holography.

Evensen, D. A.

Wave propagation in intense flux tubes

The nature of nonadiabatic wave propagation in a slender magnetic flux tube is explored. The results of the theory are compared with the observations of Giovanelli et al. (1978), and found to be in general agreement. Those observations, of tubes in the photosphere-chromosphere, show outwardly propagating waves, with periods of 300 s, which take some 19 s to propagate from one level of line formation to another level higher in the atmosphere. In sharp contrast to this, is the time of 7 s for a similar disturbance outside the tube to propagate between the same two levels of line formation, estimated to be some 600 km apart in the field-free atmosphere. It is argued that the sharply contrasting propagation times for the tube and its environment is principally due to the elasticity of the tube and its subsequent propensity for propagation. A nonadiabatic disturbance may be essentially propagating within the tube but essentially nonpropagating outside, with considerably slower phase speeds thus arising inside the tube. The theory suggests that the observed disturbances are nonadiabatic, acoustic-gravity waves channelled along a magnetic flux tube and modulated by external pressure variations.

Roberts, B.

Effects of density turbulence on helicon wave propagation in the core plasmas

Radio frequency wave propagation can be significantly affected by density irregularities, such as filaments in the scrape-off layer or instabilities in the core plasma. In this study, we examine the impact of edge turbulence on helicon wave propagation using the Petra-M simulation tool. To analyze the effect of edge turbulence, we utilize a realistic background plasma derived from XGC simulations, which includes spatial density fluctuations at the edge. This focus is particularly relevant for the DIII-D configuration, characterized by edge density turbulence of the core plasmas in a wide pedestal QH-mode. We focus on helicon wave propagation in the core plasma since the slow mode cannot propagate into the core plasma when the density is higher than the lower hybrid resonance, where a wide pedestal QH-mode occurs. The simulation results indicate that edge density fluctuations have a substantial impact on helicon wave coupling due to scattering in the core. We specifically demonstrate that the toroidal mode number and the level of density fluctuations are significant factors influencing scattering. While we have minimized the excitation of slow modes from the antenna, we still observe mode-converted slow modes resulting from the incoming helicon waves. The insights derived from these simulations will inform upcoming tokamak experiments regarding helicon antenna coupling in long pulse scenarios.

Kim, Eun-Hwa [Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory