A weakened cascade model for turbulence in astrophysical plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Howes, G. G.; TenBarge, J. M.; Dorland, W.

2011-01-01

A refined cascade model for kinetic turbulence in weakly collisional astrophysical plasmas is presented that includes both the transition between weak and strong turbulence and the effect of nonlocal interactions on the nonlinear transfer of energy. The model describes the transition between weak and strong MHD turbulence and the complementary transition from strong kinetic Alfven wave (KAW) turbulence to weak dissipating KAW turbulence, a new regime of weak turbulence in which the effects of shearing by large scale motions and kinetic dissipation play an important role. The inclusion of the effect of nonlocal motions on the nonlinear energy cascade rate in the dissipation range, specifically the shearing by large-scale motions, is proposed to explain the nearly power-law energy spectra observed in the dissipation range of both kinetic numerical simulations and solar wind observations.

Study of aluminum emission spectra in astrophysical plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jin Zhan; Zhang Jie

2001-01-01

High temperature, high density and strong magnetic fields in plasmas produced by ultra-high intensity and ultrashort laser pulses are similar to the main characteristics of astrophysical plasmas. This makes it possible to simulate come astrophysical processes at laboratories. The author presents the theoretic simulation of aluminum emission spectra in astrophysical plasmas. It can be concluded that using laser produced plasmas, the authors can obtain rich information on astrophysical spectroscopy, which is unobservable for astronomer

Physics of Collisional Plasmas Introduction to High-Frequency Discharges

CERN Document Server

Moisan, Michel

2012-01-01

The Physics of Collisional Plasmas deals with the plasma physics of interest to laboratory research and industrial applications, such as lighting, fabrication of microelectronics, destruction of greenhouse gases. Its emphasis is on explaining the physical mechanisms, rather than the detailed mathematical description and theoretical analysis. At the introductory level, it is important to convey the characteristic physical phenomena of plasmas, before addressing the ultimate formalism of kinetic theory, with its microscopic, statistical mechanics approach. To this aim, this text translates the physical phenomena into more tractable equations, using the hydrodynamic model; this considers the plasma as a fluid, in which the macroscopic physical parameters are the statistical averages of the microscopic (individual) parameters. This book is an introduction to the physics of collisional plasmas, as opposed to plasmas in space. It is intended for graduate students in physics and engineering . The first chapter intr...

Transport processes in space physics and astrophysics

CERN Document Server

Zank, Gary P

2014-01-01

Transport Processes in Space Physics and Astrophysics' is aimed at graduate level students to provide the necessary mathematical and physics background to understand the transport of gases, charged particle gases, energetic charged particles, turbulence, and radiation in an astrophysical and space physics context. Subjects emphasized in the work include collisional and collisionless processes in gases (neutral or plasma), analogous processes in turbulence fields and radiation fields, and allows for a simplified treatment of the statistical description of the system. A systematic study that addresses the common tools at a graduate level allows students to progress to a point where they can begin their research in a variety of fields within space physics and astrophysics. This book is for graduate students who expect to complete their research in an area of plasma space physics or plasma astrophysics. By providing a broad synthesis in several areas of transport theory and modeling, the work also benefits resear...

Modeling X-ray Spectra of Astrophysical Plasmas: Current Status and Future Needs

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Randall

Existing high-resolution astrophysical X-ray spectra has exposed the need for high-quality atomic data of all stripes: wavelengths, collisional and absorption cross sections, and radiative rates. The Astro-H soft X-ray spectrometer (2015 launch) will vastly increase the number and type of high-resolution X-ray spectra available and likely expose a number of shortcomings in our models. I will describe recent advances in theoretical calculations and laboratory measurements, as well as a number of existing needs in the field. These include accurate soft X-ray wavelengths for L-shell ions, diagnostic emission line ratios with estimated error bars, and high-resolution absorption cross sections for abundant ions and molecules. Finally, new models of emission from non-equilibrium ionization plasmas and astrophysical charge exchange will be discussed. This latter emission arises due to the interaction of highly charged ions with neutral atoms, forming a diffuse background in the case of solar wind ions and possibly also arising in more distant environments.

Impact of plasma triangularity and collisionality on electron heat transport in TCV L-mode plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Camenen, Y.; Pochelon, A.; Behn, R.; Bottino, A.; Bortolon, A.; Coda, S.; Karpushov, A.; Sauter, O.; Zhuang, G.

2007-01-01

The impact of plasma shaping on electron heat transport is investigated in TCV L-mode plasmas. The study is motivated by the observation of an increase in the energy confinement time with decreasing plasma triangularity which may not be explained by a change in the temperature gradient induced by changes in the geometry of the flux surfaces. The plasma triangularity is varied over a wide range, from positive to negative values, and various plasmas conditions are explored by changing the total electron cyclotron (EC) heating power and the plasma density. The mid-radius electron heat diffusivity is shown to significantly decrease with decreasing triangularity and, for similar plasma conditions, only half of the EC power is required at a triangularity of -0.4 compared with +0.4 to obtain the same temperature profile. Besides, the observed dependence of the electron heat diffusivity on the electron temperature, electron density and effective charge can be grouped in a unique dependence on the plasma effective collisionality. In summary, the electron heat transport level exhibits a continuous decrease with decreasing triangularity and increasing collisionality. Local gyro-fluid and global gyro-kinetic simulations predict that trapped electron modes are the most unstable modes in these EC heated plasmas with an effective collisionality ranging from 0.2 to 1. The modes stability dependence on the plasma triangularity is investigated

The limits of the Bohm criterion in collisional plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Valentini, H.-B.; Kaiser, D.

2015-01-01

The sheath formation within a low-pressure collisional plasma is analysed by means of a two-fluid model. The Bohm criterion takes into account the effects of the electric field and the inertia of the ions. Numerical results yield that these effects contribute to the space charge formation, only, if the collisionality is lower than a relatively small threshold. It follows that a lower and an upper limit of the drift speed of the ions exist where the effects treated by Bohm can form a sheath. This interval becomes narrower as the collisionality increases and vanishes at the mentioned threshold. Above the threshold, the sheath is mainly created by collisions and the ionisation. Under these conditions, the sheath formation cannot be described by means of Bohm like criteria. In a few references, a so-called upper limit of the Bohm criterion is stated for collisional plasmas where the momentum equation of the ions is taken into account, only. However, the present paper shows that this limit results in an unrealistically steep increase of the space charge density towards the wall, and, therefore, it yields no useful limit of the Bohm velocity

Numerical study of drift-kinetic evolution of collisional plasmas in tori

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Beasley, C.O. Jr.; Meier, H.K.; van Rij, W.I.; McCune, J.E.

1976-03-01

Preliminary numerical results for the dynamics of toroidally confined plasmas in the drift-kinetic, Fokker--Planck description are discussed. These solutions were obtained by using the techniques inherent to the collisional plasma model (CPM) described in detail elsewhere. An initial value problem is solved in the local approximation in which collisions and particle dynamics compete in a given magnetic field to set up a quasi-equilibrium. Both the plasma (guiding center) distribution function and many macroscopic quantities of interest are monitored. Good agreement with corresponding but more approximate theories is obtained over a wide range of collisionality, particularly with regard to the neoclassical particle flux. Encouraging confirmation of earlier results for the distribution function is achieved when due account is taken of the differing collisionality of particles with differing energies. These initial results indicate the potential importance of certain non-local effects as well as inclusion of self-consistency between fields and plasma currents and densities

Collisional absorption of two laser beams in plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mohan, M.; Acharya, R.

1977-04-01

The collisional absorption of two laser beams is considered by solving the kinetic equation for the plasma electron. Results show that the simultaneous effect of two laser beams on the heating rate is greater as compared with the individual contribution of each laser beam when the two laser beams have a difference of frequencies equal to the plasma frequency

Plasma Astrophysics, part II Reconnection and Flares

CERN Document Server

Somov, Boris V

2007-01-01

This well-illustrated monograph is devoted to classic fundamentals, current practice, and perspectives of modern plasma astrophysics. The first part is unique in covering all the basic principles and practical tools required for understanding and working in plasma astrophysics. The second part presents the physics of magnetic reconnection and flares of electromagnetic origin in space plasmas within the solar system; single and double stars, relativistic objects, accretion disks, and their coronae are also covered. This book is designed mainly for professional researchers in astrophysics. However, it will also be interesting and useful to graduate students in space sciences, geophysics, as well as advanced students in applied physics and mathematics seeking a unified view of plasma physics and fluid mechanics.

Plasma Astrophysics, Part I Fundamentals and Practice

CERN Document Server

Somov, Boris V

2006-01-01

This well-illustrated monograph is devoted to classic fundamentals, current practice, and perspectives of modern plasma astrophysics. The first part is unique in covering all the basic principles and practical tools required for understanding and working in plasma astrophysics. The second part presents the physics of magnetic reconnection and flares of electromagnetic origin in space plasmas within the solar system; single and double stars, relativistic objects, accretion disks, and their coronae are also covered. This book is designed mainly for professional researchers in astrophysics. However, it will also be interesting and useful to graduate students in space sciences, geophysics, as well as advanced students in applied physics and mathematics seeking a unified view of plasma physics and fluid mechanics.

Exact collisional moments for plasma fluid theories

Science.gov (United States)

Pfefferle, David; Hirvijoki, Eero; Lingam, Manasvi

2017-10-01

The velocity-space moments of the often troublesome nonlinear Landau collision operator are expressed exactly in terms of multi-index Hermite-polynomial moments of the distribution functions. The collisional moments are shown to be generated by derivatives of two well-known functions, namely the Rosenbluth-MacDonald-Judd-Trubnikov potentials for a Gaussian distribution. The resulting formula has a nonlinear dependency on the relative mean flow of the colliding species normalised to the root-mean-square of the corresponding thermal velocities, and a bilinear dependency on densities and higher-order velocity moments of the distribution functions, with no restriction on temperature, flow or mass ratio of the species. The result can be applied to both the classic transport theory of plasmas, that relies on the Chapman-Enskog method, as well as to deriving collisional fluid equations that follow Grad's moment approach. As an illustrative example, we provide the collisional ten-moment equations with exact conservation laws for momentum- and energy-transfer rate.

Collisional transport in nonneutral plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dubin, D.H.E.

1999-01-01

Classical transport theory grossly underestimates collisionally-driven cross-field transport for plasmas in the parameter regime of r c D , where r c ≡ v-bar/Ω c , λ D 2 ≡ T/4πe 2 n. In current experiments operating in this regime, cross-field test particle transport is observed to be a factor of 10 larger than the prediction of classical theory. Heat conduction is enhanced by up to 300 times over classical theory, and viscosity is up to 10 4 times larger. New guiding center theories of transport due to long-range collisions have been developed that agree with the measurements. Theory also predicts that emission and absorption of plasma waves may further enhance the thermal conduction and viscosity, providing a possible mechanism for anomalous thermal conductivity in the electron channel of fusion plasmas. (author)

Kinetic simulation on collisional bounded plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhu, S.P.; Sato, Tetsuya; Tomita, Yukihiro; Hatori, Tadatsugu

1998-01-01

A self-consistent kinetic simulation model on collisional bounded plasma is presented. The electric field is given by solving Poisson equation and collisions among particles (including charged particles and neutral particles) are included. The excitation and ionization of neutral particle, and recombination are also contained in the present model. The formation of potential structure near a boundary for a discharge system was used as an application of this model. (author)

Collisional-radiative model: a plasma spectroscopy theory for experimentalists

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fujimoto, Takashi [Kyoto Univ. (Japan); Sawada, Keiji

1997-01-01

The rate equation describing the population n(p) of an excited (and the ground state) level p of ions immersed in plasma is shown. In 1962, the method of quasi-steady state solution (collisional-radiative model) was proposed. Its idea is explained. The coupled differential equations reduce to a set of coupled linear equations for excited levels. The solution of these coupled equations is presented. The equations giving the ionization and recombination of this system of ions under consideration are described in terms of the effective rate coefficients. The collisional-radiative ionization and recombination rate coefficients are expressed in terms of the population coefficients for p > 1. As for ionizing plasma, the excited level populations, the populations, the population distribution among the excited levels, two regimes of the excited levels, the dominant flows of electrons among the levels and so on are shown. As for recombining plasma, the excited level populations, the population distribution among the excited levels, the dominant flows of electrons and so on are shown. Ionization balance plasma may be considered. (K.I.)

LAD Dissertation Prize Talk: Molecular Collisional Excitation in Astrophysical Environments

Science.gov (United States)

Walker, Kyle M.

2017-06-01

While molecular excitation calculations are vital in determining particle velocity distributions, internal state distributions, abundances, and ionization balance in gaseous environments, both theoretical calculations and experimental data for these processes are lacking. Reliable molecular collisional data with the most abundant species - H2, H, He, and electrons - are needed to probe material in astrophysical environments such as nebulae, molecular clouds, comets, and planetary atmospheres. However, excitation calculations with the main collider, H2, are computationally expensive and therefore various approximations are used to obtain unknown rate coefficients. The widely-accepted collider-mass scaling approach is flawed, and alternate scaling techniques based on physical and mathematical principles are presented here. The most up-to-date excitation data are used to model the chemical evolution of primordial species in the Recombination Era and produce accurate non-thermal spectra of the molecules H2+, HD, and H2 in a primordial cloud as it collapses into a first generation star.

Generalized fluid equations for parallel transport in collisional to weakly collisional plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zawaideh, E.; Najmabadi, F.; Conn, R.W.

1986-01-01

A new set of two-fluid equations that are valid from collisional to weakly collisional limits is derived. Starting from gyrokinetic equations in flux coordinates with no zero-order drifts, a set of moment equations describing plasma transport along the field lines of a space- and time-dependent magnetic field is derived. No restriction on the anisotropy of the ion distribution function is imposed. In the highly collisional limit, these equations reduce to those of Braginskii, while in the weakly collisional limit they are similar to the double adiabatic or Chew, Goldberger, and Low (CGL) equations [Proc. R. Soc. London, Ser. A 236, 112 (1956)]. The new set of equations also exhibits a physical singularity at the sound speed. This singularity is used to derive and compute the sound speed. Numerical examples comparing these equations with conventional transport equations show that in the limit where the ratio of the mean free path lambda to the scale length of the magnetic field gradient L/sub B/ approaches zero, there is no significant difference between the solution of the new and conventional transport equations. However, conventional fluid equations, ordinarily expected to be correct to the order (lambda/L/sub B/) 2 , are found to have errors of order (lambda/L/sub u/) 2 = (lambda/L/sub B/) 2 /(1-M 2 ) 2 , where L/sub u/ is the scale length of the flow velocity gradient and M is the Mach number. As such, the conventional equations may contain large errors near the sound speed (Mroughly-equal1)

Electromagnetic-wave absorption by inhomogeneous, collisional plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gregoire, D.J.; Santoru, J.; Schumacher, R.W.

1990-01-01

Unmagnetized, collisional plasmas can be used as broadband EM-wave absorbers or refractors. In the absorption process, plasma electrons are first accelerated by the EM-wave fields and then collide with background-gas molecules, thereby transferring energy from the EM waves to the gas. A plasma absorber has several advantages compared to conventional materials. A plasma can be turned on and off very rapidly, thereby switching between absorbing and transparent conditions. Calculations indicate that plasma absorbers can also be tailored to provide broadband absorption (>40 dB) over multiple octaves. The authors have developed a one-dimensional model and a computer code to calculate the net power reflected from a plasma-enclosed EM-wave-reflecting target. They included three contributions to the reflected EM-wave power: reflections from the vacuum-plasma interface; reflections from the bulk plasma volume; and reflection of the attenuated EM wave that is transmitted through the plasma and reflected by the target

Kinetic equations for the collisional plasma model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rij, W.I. Van; Meier, H.K.; Beasley, C.O. Jr.; McCune, J.E.

1977-01-01

Using the Collisional Plasma Model (CPM) representation, expressions are derived for the Vlasov operator, both in its general form and in the drift-kinetic approximation following the recursive derivation by Hazeltine. The expressions for the operators give easily calculated couplings between neighbouring components of the CPM representation. Expressions for various macroscopic observables in the drift-kinetics approximation are also given. (author)

Temperature relaxation in collisional non equilibrium plasmas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Potapenko, I.F.; Bobylev, A.V.; Azevedo, C.A.; Assis, A.S. [Universidade do Estado, Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil). Inst. de Fisica

1997-12-31

Full text. We study the relaxation of a space uniform plasma composed of electrons and one species of ions. To simplified the consideration, standard approach is usually accepted: the distribution functions are considered to be a Maxwellian with time dependent electron T{sub e}(t) and ion T{sub i}(t) temperatures. This approach imposes a severe restriction on the electron/ion distributions that could be very far from the equilibrium. In the present work the problem is investigated on the basis of the nonlinear kinetic Fokker - Planck equation, which is widely used for the description of collisional plasmas. This equation has many applications in plasma physics as an intrinsic part of physical models, both analytical and numerical. A new detailed description of this classical problem of the collisional plasma kinetic theory is given. A deeper examination of the problem shows that the unusual perturbation theory can not be used. The part of the perturbation of the electron distribution has the character of a boundary layer in the neighborhood of small velocities. In this work the boundary layer is thoroughly studied. The correct distribution electron function is given. Nonmonotonic character of the distribution relaxation in the tail region is observed. The corrected formula for temperature equalization is obtained. The comparison of the calculation results with the asymptotic approach is made. We should stress the important role of the completely conservative different scheme used here, which keeps the symmetric properties of the nonlinear exact equation. This allows us to make calculations without numerical error accumulations, except for machine errors. (author)

Reduction of collisional-radiative models for transient, atomic plasmas

Science.gov (United States)

Abrantes, Richard June; Karagozian, Ann; Bilyeu, David; Le, Hai

2017-10-01

Interactions between plasmas and any radiation field, whether by lasers or plasma emissions, introduce many computational challenges. One of these computational challenges involves resolving the atomic physics, which can influence other physical phenomena in the radiated system. In this work, a collisional-radiative (CR) model with reduction capabilities is developed to capture the atomic physics at a reduced computational cost. Although the model is made with any element in mind, the model is currently supplemented by LANL's argon database, which includes the relevant collisional and radiative processes for all of the ionic stages. Using the detailed data set as the true solution, reduction mechanisms in the form of Boltzmann grouping, uniform grouping, and quasi-steady-state (QSS), are implemented to compare against the true solution. Effects on the transient plasma stemming from the grouping methods are compared. Distribution A: Approved for public release; unlimited distribution, PA (Public Affairs) Clearance Number 17449. This work was supported by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR), Grant Number 17RQCOR463 (Dr. Jason Marshall).

Diagnostics of helium plasma by collisional-radiative modeling and optical emission spectroscopy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Wonwook; Kwon, Duck-Hee [KAERI, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2015-05-15

Optical diagnostics for the electron temperature (T{sub e}) and the electron density (n{sub e}) of fusion plasma is important for understanding and controlling the edge and the divertor plasmas in tokamak. Since the line intensity ratio method using the collisional-radiative modeling and OES (optical emission spectroscopy) is simple and does not disturb the plasma, many fusion devices with TEXTOR, JET, JT-60U, LHD, and so on, have employed the line intensity ratio method as a basic diagnostic tool for neutral helium (He I). The accuracy of the line intensity ratio method depends on the reliability of the cross sections and rate coefficients. We performed state-of-the-art R-matrix calculations including couplings up to n=7 states and the distorted wave (DW) calculations for the electron-impact excitation (EIE) cross sections of He I using the flexible atomic code (FAC). The collisional-radiative model for He I was constructed using the calculated the cross sections. The helium collisional-radiative model for He I was constructed to diagnose the electron temperature and the electron density of the plasma. The electron temperature and density were determined by using the line intensity ratio method.

Drift wave dispersion relation for arbitrarily collisional plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Angus, Justin R.; Krasheninnikov, Sergei I.

2012-01-01

The standard local linear analysis of drift waves in a plasma slab is generalized to be valid for arbitrarily collisional electrons by considering the electrons to be governed by the drift-kinetic equation with a BGK-like (Bhatnagar-Gross-Krook) collision operator. The obtained dispersion relation reduces to that found from collisionless kinetic theory when the collision frequency is zero. Electron temperature fluctuations must be retained in the standard fluid analysis in order to obtain good quantitative agreement with our general solution in the highly collisional limit. Any discrepancies between the fluid solution and our general solution in this limit are attributed to the limitations of the BGK collision operator. The maximum growth rates in both the collisional and collisionless limits are comparable and are both on the order of the fundamental drift wave frequency. The main role of the destabilizing mechanism is found to be in determining the parallel wave number at which the maximum growth rate will occur. The parallel wave number corresponding to the maximum growth rate is set by the wave-particle resonance condition in the collisionless limit and transitions to being set by the real frequency being on the order of the rate for electrons to diffuse a parallel wavelength in the collisional limit.

Drift wave dispersion relation for arbitrarily collisional plasma

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Angus, Justin R.; Krasheninnikov, Sergei I. [Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093-0417 (United States)

2012-05-15

The standard local linear analysis of drift waves in a plasma slab is generalized to be valid for arbitrarily collisional electrons by considering the electrons to be governed by the drift-kinetic equation with a BGK-like (Bhatnagar-Gross-Krook) collision operator. The obtained dispersion relation reduces to that found from collisionless kinetic theory when the collision frequency is zero. Electron temperature fluctuations must be retained in the standard fluid analysis in order to obtain good quantitative agreement with our general solution in the highly collisional limit. Any discrepancies between the fluid solution and our general solution in this limit are attributed to the limitations of the BGK collision operator. The maximum growth rates in both the collisional and collisionless limits are comparable and are both on the order of the fundamental drift wave frequency. The main role of the destabilizing mechanism is found to be in determining the parallel wave number at which the maximum growth rate will occur. The parallel wave number corresponding to the maximum growth rate is set by the wave-particle resonance condition in the collisionless limit and transitions to being set by the real frequency being on the order of the rate for electrons to diffuse a parallel wavelength in the collisional limit.

Critical ionisation velocity effects in astrophysical plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Raadu, M.A.

1979-08-01

Critical ionisation velocity effects are relevant to astrophysical situations where neutral gas moves through a magnetised plasma. The experimental significance of the critical velocity is well established and the physical basis is now becoming clear. The underlying mechanism depends on the combined effects of electron impact ionisation and electron energisation by collective plasma interactions. For low density plasmas a theory based on a circular process involving electron heating through a modified two stream instability has been developed. Several applications of critical velocity effects to astrophysical plasmas have been discussed in the literature. The importance of the effect in any particular case may be determined from a detailed consideration of energy and momentum balance, using appropriate atomic rate coefficients and taking full account of collective plasma processes. (Auth.)

Doppler tomography in fusion plasmas and astrophysics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Salewski, Mirko; Geiger, B.; Heidbrink, W. W.

2015-01-01

Doppler tomography is a well-known method in astrophysics to image the accretion flow, often in the shape of thin discs, in compact binary stars. As accretion discs rotate, all emitted line radiation is Doppler-shifted. In fast-ion Dα (FIDA) spectroscopy measurements in magnetically confined plasma......, the Dα-photons are likewise Doppler-shifted ultimately due to gyration of the fast ions. In either case, spectra of Doppler-shifted line emission are sensitive to the velocity distribution of the emitters. Astrophysical Doppler tomography has lead to images of accretion discs of binaries revealing bright...... and limits, analogies and differences in astrophysical and fusion plasma Doppler tomography and what can be learned by comparison of these applications....

Spatial mode structures of electrostatic drift waves in a collisional cylindrical helicon plasma

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schröder, C.; Grulke, O.; Klinger, T.

2004-01-01

In a cylindrical helicon plasma, mode structures of coherent drift waves are studied in the poloidal plane, the plane perpendicular to the ambient magnetic field. The mode structures rotate with a constant angular velocity in the direction of the electron diamagnetic drift and show significant...... radial bending. The experimental observations are compared with numerical solutions of a linear nonlocal cylindrical model for drift waves [ Ellis , Plasma Phys. 22, 113 (1980) ]. In the numerical model, a transition to bended mode structures is found if the plasma collisionality is increased....... This finding proves that the experimentally observed bended mode structures are the result of high electron collisionality. (C) 2004 American Institute of Physics....

Modulational instability of electric helicons in a magnetized collisional plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

El-Ashry, M.Y.; Papuashvili, N.A.

1987-06-01

The interaction of a rf electromagnetic wave with a magnetized collisional plasma in the ultra-relativistic case has been investigated to show the effect of the collisions on the modulational instability growth rate. (author). 5 refs

Global kinetic theory of astrophysical jets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chang, T.

1989-01-01

We suggest that an astrophysical plasma stream flowing outward from a central object aling an open magnetic field line with decreasing field strength generally will have anisotropic velocity distributions. I particular, the electron distribution function of this type of plasma streams will contain a 'thermally populated' region and a stretche out high energy tail (or 'jet-like') region collimated in the utward direction of the magnetic field line. Our argument is based on a global, collisional, kinetic theory. Because the 'kinetic jets' are always pointed aling the outward direction of the field lines, thy are automatically collimated and will assume whatever the peculiar geometries dictated by the magnetic field. This result should be useful in the understanding of the basic structures of such diverse astrophysical objects as the extragalactic radio jets, stellar winds, the solar wind, planetary polar winds, and galactic jets. (author). 8 refs.; 2 figs

A one-dimensional collisional model for plasma-immersion ion implantation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vahedi, V.; Lieberman, M.A.; Alves, M.V.; Verboncoeur, J.P.; Birdsall, C.K.

1991-01-01

Plasma-immersion ion implantation (also known as plasma-source ion implantation) is a process in which a target is immersed in a plasma and a series of large negative-voltage pulses are applied to it to extract ions from the plasma and implant them into the target. A general one-dimensional model is developed to study this process in different coordinate systems for the case in which the pressure of the neutral gas is large enough that the ion motion in the sheath can be assumed to be highly collisional

Continuous Emission Spectrum Measurement for Electron Temperature Determination in Low-Temperature Collisional Plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Qiuyan; Li Hong; Chen Zhipeng; Xie Jinlin; Liu Wandong

2011-01-01

Continuous emission spectrum measurement is applied for the inconvenient diagnostics of low-temperature collisional plasmas. According to the physical mechanism of continuous emission, a simplified model is presented to analyze the spectrum in low temperature plasma. The validity of this model is discussed in a wide range of discharge parameters, including electron temperature and ionization degree. Through the simplified model, the continuous emission spectrum in a collisional argon internal inductively coupled plasma is experimentally measured to determine the electron temperature distribution for different gas pressures and radio-frequency powers. The inverse Abel transform is also applied for a better spatially resoluted results. Meanwhile, the result of the continuous emission spectrum measurement is compared to that of the electrostatic double probes, which indicates the effectiveness of this method. (low temperature plasma)

Multi-scale Dynamical Processes in Space and Astrophysical Plasmas

CERN Document Server

Vörös, Zoltán; IAFA 2011 - International Astrophysics Forum 2011 : Frontiers in Space Environment Research

2012-01-01

Magnetized plasmas in the universe exhibit complex dynamical behavior over a huge range of scales. The fundamental mechanisms of energy transport, redistribution and conversion occur at multiple scales. The driving mechanisms often include energy accumulation, free-energy-excited relaxation processes, dissipation and self-organization. The plasma processes associated with energy conversion, transport and self-organization, such as magnetic reconnection, instabilities, linear and nonlinear waves, wave-particle interactions, dynamo processes, turbulence, heating, diffusion and convection represent fundamental physical effects. They demonstrate similar dynamical behavior in near-Earth space, on the Sun, in the heliosphere and in astrophysical environments. 'Multi-scale Dynamical Processes in Space and Astrophysical Plasmas' presents the proceedings of the International Astrophysics Forum Alpbach 2011. The contributions discuss the latest advances in the exploration of dynamical behavior in space plasmas environm...

Dusty Plasma Modeling of the Fusion Reactor Sheath Including Collisional-Radiative Effects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dezairi, Aouatif; Samir, Mhamed; Eddahby, Mohamed; Saifaoui, Dennoun; Katsonis, Konstantinos; Berenguer, Chloe

2008-01-01

The structure and the behavior of the sheath in Tokamak collisional plasmas has been studied. The sheath is modeled taking into account the presence of the dust 2 and the effects of the charged particle collisions and radiative processes. The latter may allow for optical diagnostics of the plasma.

Challenges and opportunities in laboratory plasma astrophysics

Science.gov (United States)

Drake, R. Paul

2017-06-01

We are in a period of explosive success and opportunity in the laboratory study of plasma phenomena that are relevant to astrophysics. In this talk I will share with you several areas in which recent work, often foreshadowed 20 or 30 years ago, has produced dramatic initial success with prospects for much more. To begin, the talk will provide a brief look at the types of devices used and the regimes they access, showing how they span many orders of magnitude in parameters of interest. It will then illustrate the types of work one can do with laboratory plasmas that are relevant to astrophysics, which range from direct measurement of material properties to the production of scaled models of certain dynamics to the pursuit of complementary understanding. Examples will be drawn from the flow of energy and momentum in astrophysics, the formation and structure of astrophysical systems, and magnetization and its consequences. I hope to include some discussion of collisionless shocks, very dense plasmas, work relevant to the end of the Dark Ages, reconnection, and dynamos. The talk will conclude by highlighting some topics where it seems that we may be on the verge of exciting new progress.The originators of work discussed, and collaborators and funding sources when appropriate, will be included in the talk.

Charging properties of a dust grain in collisional plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khrapak, S.A.; Morfill, G.E.; Khrapak, A.G.; D'yachkov, L.G.

2006-01-01

Charging related properties of a small spherical grain immersed in a collisional plasma are investigated. Asymptotic expressions for charging fluxes, grain surface potential, long range electrostatic potential, and the properties of grain charge fluctuations due to the discrete nature of the charging process are obtained. These analytical results are in reasonable agreement with the available results of numerical modeling

A plasma deflagration accelerator as a platform for laboratory astrophysics

Science.gov (United States)

Underwood, Thomas C.; Loebner, Keith T. K.; Cappelli, Mark A.

2017-06-01

The replication of astrophysical flows in the laboratory is critical for isolating particular phenomena and dynamics that appear in complex, highly-coupled natural systems. In particular, plasma jets are observed in astrophysical contexts at a variety of scales, typically at high magnetic Reynolds number and driven by internal currents. In this paper, we present detailed measurements of the plasma parameters within deflagration-produced plasma jets, the scaling of these parameters against both machine operating conditions and the corresponding astrophysical phenomena. Using optical and spectroscopic diagnostics, including Schlieren cinematography, we demonstrate the production of current-driven plasma jets of ∼100 km/s and magnetic Reynolds numbers of ∼100, and discuss the dynamics of their acceleration into vacuum. The results of this study will contribute to the reproduction of various types of astrophysical jets in the laboratory and indicate the ability to further probe active research areas such as jet collimation, stability, and interaction.

Resonant absorption of radar waves by a magnetized collisional plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sun Aiping; Tong Honghui; Shen Liru; Tang Deli; Qiu Xiaoming

2001-01-01

The propagation of radar waves in a magnetized collisional plasma slab is studied numerically. It is found for uniform plasma that: first, the wave attenuation and absorbed power show a peak value, i.e., resonant absorption when the collision frequency f en = 0.1, 0.5, 1 GHz and the wave frequency nears upper hybrid frequency. Secondly, the attenuation, absorbed, and transmitted power curves become flat at f en = 5, 10 Ghz. thirdly, the attenuation and absorbed power increase with plasma density, and the attenuation and the proportion of absorbed power can reach 100 dB and 80%, respectively, at the plasma density n = 10 11 cm -3 . For nonuniform plasma, the peak value of reflected power is larger than that in uniform plasma. So, uniform magnetized plasma is of more benefit to plasma cloaking

Plasma phenomenology in astrophysical systems: Radio-sources and jets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Montani, Giovanni; Petitta, Jacopo

2014-01-01

We review the plasma phenomenology in the astrophysical sources which show appreciable radio emissions, namely Radio-Jets from Pulsars, Microquasars, Quasars, and Radio-Active Galaxies. A description of their basic features is presented, then we discuss in some details the links between their morphology and the mechanisms that lead to the different radio-emissions, investigating especially the role played by the plasma configurations surrounding compact objects (Neutron Stars, Black Holes). For the sake of completeness, we briefly mention observational techniques and detectors, whose structure set them apart from other astrophysical instruments. The fundamental ideas concerning angular momentum transport across plasma accretion disks—together with the disk-source-jet coupling problem—are discussed, by stressing their successes and their shortcomings. An alternative scenario is then inferred, based on a parallelism between astrophysical and laboratory plasma configurations, where small-scale structures can be found. We will focus our attention on the morphology of the radio-jets, on their coupling with the accretion disks and on the possible triggering phenomena, viewed as profiles of plasma instabilities

Mini-conference and Related Sessions on Laboratory Plasma Astrophysics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hantao Ji

2004-01-01

This paper provides a summary of some major physics issues and future perspectives discussed in the Mini-Conference on Laboratory Plasma Astrophysics. This Mini-conference, sponsored by the Topical Group on Plasma Astrophysics, was held as part of the American Physical Society's Division of Plasma Physics 2003 Annual Meeting (October 27-31, 2003). Also included are brief summaries of selected talks on the same topic presented at two invited paper sessions (including a tutorial) and two contributed focus oral sessions, which were organized in coordination with the Mini-Conference by the same organizers

Mini-conference and Related Sessions on Laboratory Plasma Astrophysics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hantao Ji

2004-02-27

This paper provides a summary of some major physics issues and future perspectives discussed in the Mini-Conference on Laboratory Plasma Astrophysics. This Mini-conference, sponsored by the Topical Group on Plasma Astrophysics, was held as part of the American Physical Society's Division of Plasma Physics 2003 Annual Meeting (October 27-31, 2003). Also included are brief summaries of selected talks on the same topic presented at two invited paper sessions (including a tutorial) and two contributed focus oral sessions, which were organized in coordination with the Mini-Conference by the same organizers.

PARTICLE-IN-CELL SIMULATIONS OF CONTINUOUSLY DRIVEN MIRROR AND ION CYCLOTRON INSTABILITIES IN HIGH BETA ASTROPHYSICAL AND HELIOSPHERIC PLASMAS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Riquelme, Mario A.; Quataert, Eliot; Verscharen, Daniel

2015-01-01

We use particle-in-cell simulations to study the nonlinear evolution of ion velocity space instabilities in an idealized problem in which a background velocity shear continuously amplifies the magnetic field. We simulate the astrophysically relevant regime where the shear timescale is long compared to the ion cyclotron period, and the plasma beta is β ∼ 1-100. The background field amplification in our calculation is meant to mimic processes such as turbulent fluctuations or MHD-scale instabilities. The field amplification continuously drives a pressure anisotropy with p > p ∥ and the plasma becomes unstable to the mirror and ion cyclotron instabilities. In all cases, the nonlinear state is dominated by the mirror instability, not the ion cyclotron instability, and the plasma pressure anisotropy saturates near the threshold for the linear mirror instability. The magnetic field fluctuations initially undergo exponential growth but saturate in a secular phase in which the fluctuations grow on the same timescale as the background magnetic field (with δB ∼ 0.3 (B) in the secular phase). At early times, the ion magnetic moment is well-conserved but once the fluctuation amplitudes exceed δB ∼ 0.1 (B), the magnetic moment is no longer conserved but instead changes on a timescale comparable to that of the mean magnetic field. We discuss the implications of our results for low-collisionality astrophysical plasmas, including the near-Earth solar wind and low-luminosity accretion disks around black holes

A small electron beam ion trap/source facility for electron/neutral–ion collisional spectroscopy in astrophysical plasmas

Science.gov (United States)

Liang, Gui-Yun; Wei, Hui-Gang; Yuan, Da-Wei; Wang, Fei-Lu; Peng, Ji-Min; Zhong, Jia-Yong; Zhu, Xiao-Long; Schmidt, Mike; Zschornack, Günter; Ma, Xin-Wen; Zhao, Gang

2018-01-01

Spectra are fundamental observation data used for astronomical research, but understanding them strongly depends on theoretical models with many fundamental parameters from theoretical calculations. Different models give different insights for understanding a specific object. Hence, laboratory benchmarks for these theoretical models become necessary. An electron beam ion trap is an ideal facility for spectroscopic benchmarks due to its similar conditions of electron density and temperature compared to astrophysical plasmas in stellar coronae, supernova remnants and so on. In this paper, we will describe the performance of a small electron beam ion trap/source facility installed at National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences.We present some preliminary experimental results on X-ray emission, ion production, the ionization process of trapped ions as well as the effects of charge exchange on the ionization.

The usage of numerical code FLASH in plasma astrophysics

OpenAIRE

BROŽ, Jaroslav

2013-01-01

My diploma thesis is focused on the use of numerical computer codes for simulation in plasma astrophysics. They will learn the basic characteristics of the Sun, a closer focus on the solar corona and the solar corona heating problem. The following section is devoted to simulation software in plasma astrophysics, their installing and displaying the results using the visualization software. In the conclusion is demonstrated using this software on a model example and a simulation that performs s...

Current sustaining by RF travelling field in a collisional toroidal plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fukuda, Masaji; Matsuura, Kiyokata

1978-01-01

The relation between the current generated by RF travelling field and the absorbed power is studied in a collisional toroidal plasma, parameters being phase velocity and filling gap pressure or electron collision frequency. It is observed at a low magnetic field that the current is proportional to the plasma conductivity and an effective electromotive force, which is a new concept introduced on the basis of fluid model; the electromotive force is proportional to the absorbed RF power and inversely proportional to the plasma density and the phase velocity of the travelling field. (author)

Current sustaining by RF travelling field in a collisional toroidal plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fukuda, Masaji; Matsuura, Kiyokata.

1977-06-01

The relation between the current generation by RF travelling field and the accompanied power absorption is studied in a collisional toroidal plasma, parameters being phase velocity and filling gas pressure or electron collision frequency. It is observed at a low magnetic field that the current is proportional to the plasma conductivity and an effective electromotive force, which is a new concept introduced on the basis of fluid model; the electromotive force is proportional to the absorbed RF power and inversely proportional to the plasma density and the phase velocity of the travelling field. (auth.)

Generation of Suprathermal Electrons by Collective Processes in Collisional Plasma

Science.gov (United States)

Tigik, S. F.; Ziebell, L. F.; Yoon, P. H.

2017-11-01

The ubiquity of high-energy tails in the charged particle velocity distribution functions (VDFs) observed in space plasmas suggests the existence of an underlying process responsible for taking a fraction of the charged particle population out of thermal equilibrium and redistributing it to suprathermal velocity and energy ranges. The present Letter focuses on a new and fundamental physical explanation for the origin of suprathermal electron velocity distribution function (EVDF) in a collisional plasma. This process involves a newly discovered electrostatic bremsstrahlung (EB) emission that is effective in a plasma in which binary collisions are present. The steady-state EVDF dictated by such a process corresponds to a Maxwellian core plus a quasi-inverse power-law tail, which is a feature commonly observed in many space plasma environments. In order to demonstrate this, the system of self-consistent particle- and wave-kinetic equations are numerically solved with an initially Maxwellian EVDF and Langmuir wave spectral intensity, which is a state that does not reflect the presence of EB process, and hence not in force balance. The EB term subsequently drives the system to a new force-balanced steady state. After a long integration period it is demonstrated that the initial Langmuir fluctuation spectrum is modified, which in turn distorts the initial Maxwellian EVDF into a VDF that resembles the said core-suprathermal VDF. Such a mechanism may thus be operative at the coronal source region, which is characterized by high collisionality.

ZAPP: The Z Astrophysical Plasma Properties collaboration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rochau, G. A.; Bailey, J. E.; Falcon, R. E.; Loisel, G. P.; Nagayama, T.; Mancini, R. C.; Hall, I.; Winget, D. E.; Montgomery, M. H.; Liedahl, D. A.

2014-01-01

The Z Facility at Sandia National Laboratories [Matzen et al., Phys. Plasmas 12, 055503 (2005)] provides MJ-class x-ray sources that can emit powers >0.3 PW. This capability enables benchmark experiments of fundamental material properties in radiation-heated matter at conditions previously unattainable in the laboratory. Experiments on Z can produce uniform, long-lived, and large plasmas with volumes up to 20 cc, temperatures from 1–200 eV, and electron densities from 10 17–23  cc −1 . These unique characteristics and the ability to radiatively heat multiple experiments in a single shot have led to a new effort called the Z Astrophysical Plasma Properties (ZAPP) collaboration. The focus of the ZAPP collaboration is to reproduce the radiation and material characteristics of astrophysical plasmas as closely as possible in the laboratory and use detailed spectral measurements to strengthen models for atoms in plasmas. Specific issues under investigation include the LTE opacity of iron at stellar-interior conditions, photoionization around active galactic nuclei, the efficiency of resonant Auger destruction in black-hole accretion disks, and H-Balmer line shapes in white dwarf photospheres

Nonlinear acoustic waves in partially ionized collisional plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rao, N.N.; Kaup, D.J.; Shukla, P.K.

1991-01-01

Nonlinear propagation of acoustic-type waves in a partially ionized three-component collisional plasma consisting of electrons, ions and neutral particles is investigated. For bidirectional propagation, it is shown that the small- but finite-amplitude waves are governed by the Boussinesq equation, which for unidirectional propagation near the acoustic speed reduces to the usual Korteweg-de Vries equation. For large-amplitude waves, it is demonstrated that the relevant fluid equations are integrable in a stationary frame, and the parameter values for the existence of finite-amplitude solutions are explicitly obtained. In both cases, the different temperatures of the individual species, are taken into account. The relevance of the results to the earth's ionospheric plasma in the lower altitude ranges is pointed out. (author)

Clocking Femtosecond Collisional Dynamics via Resonant X-Ray Spectroscopy

Science.gov (United States)

van den Berg, Q. Y.; Fernandez-Tello, E. V.; Burian, T.; Chalupský, J.; Chung, H.-K.; Ciricosta, O.; Dakovski, G. L.; Hájková, V.; Hollebon, P.; Juha, L.; Krzywinski, J.; Lee, R. W.; Minitti, M. P.; Preston, T. R.; de la Varga, A. G.; Vozda, V.; Zastrau, U.; Wark, J. S.; Velarde, P.; Vinko, S. M.

2018-02-01

Electron-ion collisional dynamics is of fundamental importance in determining plasma transport properties, nonequilibrium plasma evolution, and electron damage in diffraction imaging applications using bright x-ray free-electron lasers (FELs). Here we describe the first experimental measurements of ultrafast electron impact collisional ionization dynamics using resonant core-hole spectroscopy in a solid-density magnesium plasma, created and diagnosed with the Linac Coherent Light Source x-ray FEL. By resonantly pumping the 1 s →2 p transition in highly charged ions within an optically thin plasma, we have measured how off-resonance charge states are populated via collisional processes on femtosecond time scales. We present a collisional cross section model that matches our results and demonstrates how the cross sections are enhanced by dense-plasma effects including continuum lowering. Nonlocal thermodynamic equilibrium collisional radiative simulations show excellent agreement with the experimental results and provide new insight on collisional ionization and three-body-recombination processes in the dense-plasma regime.

FIRST KODAI-TRIESTE WORKSHOP ON PLASMA ASTROPHYSICS

CERN Document Server

Hasan, S. S; Krishan, V; TURBULENCE, DYNAMOS, ACCRETION DISKS, PULSARS AND COLLECTIVE PLASMA PROCESSES

2008-01-01

It is well established and appreciated by now that more than 99% of the baryonic matter in the universe is in the plasma state. Most astrophysical systems could be approximated as conducting fluids in a gravitational field. It is the combined effect of these two that gives rise to the mind boggling variety of configurations in the form of filaments, loops , jets and arches. The plasma structures that cannot last for more than a second or less in a laboratory remain intact for astronomical time and spatial scales in an astrophysical setting. The case in point is the well known extragalactic jets whose collimation and stability has remained an enigma inspite of the efforts of many for many long years. The high energy radiation sources such as the active galactic nuclei again summon the coherent plasma radiation processes for their exceptionally large output from regions of relatively small physical sizes. The generation of magnetic field, anomalous transport of angular momentum with decisive bearing on star for...

Nonlinear magnetic reconnection in low collisionality plasmas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ottaviani, M [Commission of the European Communities, Abingdon (United Kingdom). JET Joint Undertaking; Porcelli, F [Politecnico di Torino, Turin (Italy)

1994-07-01

The magnetic reconnection in collisionless regimes, where electron inertia is responsible for the decoupling of the plasma motion from that of the field lines, is discussed. Since the linear theory of m=1 modes breaks down for very small magnetic island widths, a non linear analysis is called for. Thus, the behaviour of a collisionless, 2-D fluid slab model in the limit {rho}/d -> 0, is analyzed. The main result is that, when the island size is larger than the linear layer but smaller than the equilibrium scale length, the reconnection rate exhibits a quasi-explosive time behaviour, during which a current density sub-layer narrower than the skin depth is formed. It is believed that the inclusion of the electron initial term in Ohm`s law opens the possibility to understand the rapidity of relaxation process observed in low collisionality plasmas. 7 refs., 6 figs.

Generation of poloidal magnetic field in a hot collisional plasma by inverse Faraday effect

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Srivastava, M.K.; Lawande, S.V.; Dutta, D.; Sarkar, S.; Khan, M.; Chakraborty, B.

1996-01-01

Generation of poloidal magnetic field in a hot and collisional plasma by an inverse Faraday effect is discussed. This field can either be induced by a circularly polarized laser beam (CPLB) or a plane-polarized laser beam (PPLB). For the CPLB, an average field left-angle Re x right-angle ∼I 0 λ∼11.6 MG could be produced in a DT plasma for a high intensity (I 0 =10 22 W/m 2 ) and shorter wavelength (λ=0.35 μm) laser. This field is essentially induced by the field inhomogeneity effect and dominates over that induced by the plasma inhomogeneity effect (left-angle Re x right-angle ∼I 2/3 0 λ 7/3 ∼2.42 MG). The collisional and thermal contribution to left-angle Re x right-angle is just negligible for the CPLB. However, in the case of PPLB the poloidal field is generated only for a hot and collisional plasma and can be quite large for a longer wavelength laser (e.g., CO 2 laser, λ=10.6 μm). The collisional effect induces a field left-angle Re x right-angle ∼0.08 kG, which dominates near the turning point and is independent of the laser parameters. However, in the outer cronal region the thermal pressure effect dominates (e.g., left-angle Re x right-angle ∼I 5/3 0 λ 4/3 ∼3.0 MG). Further, left-angle Re x right-angle for the p-polarized beam is, in general, relatively smaller than that for the s-polarized beam. Practical implications of these results and their limitations are discussed. copyright 1996 American Institute of Physics

Highly Resolved Measurements of a Developing Strong Collisional Plasma Shock

Science.gov (United States)

Rinderknecht, Hans G.; Park, H.-S.; Ross, J. S.; Amendt, P. A.; Higginson, D. P.; Wilks, S. C.; Haberberger, D.; Katz, J.; Froula, D. H.; Hoffman, N. M.; Kagan, G.; Keenan, B. D.; Vold, E. L.

2018-03-01

The structure of a strong collisional shock front forming in a plasma is directly probed for the first time in laser-driven gas-jet experiments. Thomson scattering of a 526.5 nm probe beam was used to diagnose temperature and ion velocity distribution in a strong shock (M ˜11 ) propagating through a low-density (ρ ˜0.01 mg /cc ) plasma composed of hydrogen. A forward-streaming population of ions traveling in excess of the shock velocity was observed to heat and slow down on an unmoving, unshocked population of cold protons, until ultimately the populations merge and begin to thermalize. Instabilities are observed during the merging, indicating a uniquely plasma-phase process in shock front formation.

Behavior of collisional sheath in electronegative plasma with q-nonextensive electron distribution

Science.gov (United States)

Borgohain, Dima Rani; Saharia, K.

2018-03-01

Electronegative plasma sheath is addressed in a collisional unmagnetized plasma consisting of q-nonextensive electrons, Boltzmann distributed negative ions and cold fluid positive ions. Considering the positive ion-neutral collisions and ignoring the effects of ionization and collisions between negative species and positive ions (neutrals), a modified Bohm sheath criterion and hence floating potential are derived by using multifluid model. Using the modified Bohm sheath criterion, the sheath characteristics such as spatial profiles of density, potential and net space charge density have been numerically investigated. It is found that increasing values of q-nonextensivity, electronegativity and collisionality lead to a decrease of the sheath thickness and an increase of the sheath potential and the net space charge density. With increasing values of the electron temperature to negative ion temperature ratio, the sheath thickness increases and the sheath potential as well as the net space charge density in the sheath region decreases.

Streaming instabilities in a collisional dusty plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mamun, A. A.; Shukla, P. K.

2000-01-01

A pair of low-frequency electrostatic modes, which are very similar to those experimentally observed by Praburam and Goree [Phys. Plasmas 3, 1212 (1996)], are found to exist in a dusty plasma with a significant background neutral pressure and background ion streaming. One of these two modes is the dust-acoustic mode and the other one is a new mode which is due to the combined effects of the ion streaming and ion--neutral collisions. It has been shown that in the absence of the ion streaming, the dust-acoustic mode is damped due to the combined effects of the ion--neutral and dust--neutral collisions and the electron--ion recombination onto the dust grain surface. This result disagrees with Kaw and Singh [Phys. Rev. Lett. 79, 423 (1997)], who reported collisional instability of the dust-acoustic mode in such a dusty plasma. It has also been found that a streaming instability with the growth rate of the order of the dust plasma frequency is triggered when the background ion streaming speed relative to the charged dust particles is comparable or higher than the ion--thermal speed. This point completely agrees with Rosenberg [J. Vac. Soc. Technol. A 14, 631 (1996)

A plasma formulary for physics, technology, and astrophysics

CERN Document Server

Diver, Declan

2011-01-01

Plasma physics has matured rapidly as a discipline, and now touches on many different research areas, including manufacturing processes. This collection of fundamental formulae and definitions in plasma physics is vital to anyone with an interest in plasmas or ionized gases, whether in physics, astronomy or engineering.Both theorists and experimentalists will find this book useful, as it incorporates the latest results and findings.The text treats astrophysical plasmas, fusion plasmas, industrial plasmas and low temperature plasmas as aspects of the same discipline - a unique approach made pos

Experimental studies of collisional plasma shocks and plasma interpenetration via merging supersonic plasma jets

Science.gov (United States)

Hsu, S. C.; Moser, A. L.; Merritt, E. C.; Adams, C. S.

2015-11-01

Over the past 4 years on the Plasma Liner Experiment (PLX) at LANL, we have studied obliquely and head-on-merging supersonic plasma jets of an argon/impurity or hydrogen/impurity mixture. The jets are formed/launched by pulsed-power-driven railguns. In successive experimental campaigns, we characterized the (a) evolution of plasma parameters of a single plasma jet as it propagated up to ~ 1 m away from the railgun nozzle, (b) density profiles and 2D morphology of the stagnation layer and oblique shocks that formed between obliquely merging jets, and (c) collisionless interpenetration transitioning to collisional stagnation between head-on-merging jets. Key plasma diagnostics included a fast-framing CCD camera, an 8-chord visible interferometer, a survey spectrometer, and a photodiode array. This talk summarizes the primary results mentioned above, and highlights analyses of inferred post-shock temperatures based on observations of density gradients that we attribute to shock-layer thickness. We also briefly describe more recent PLX experiments on Rayleigh-Taylor-instability evolution with magnetic and viscous effects, and potential future collisionless shock experiments enabled by low-impurity, higher-velocity plasma jets formed by contoured-gap coaxial guns. Supported by DOE Fusion Energy Sciences and LANL LDRD.

Physics and astrophysics of quark-gluon plasma

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Anon.

1993-06-15

The quark gluon plasma - matter too hot or dense for quarks to crystallize into particles - played a vital role in the formation of the Universe. Efforts to recreate and understand this type of matter are forefront physics and astrophysics, and progress was highlighted in the Second International Conference on Physics and Astrophysics of Quark Gluon Plasma (ICPA-QGP 93), held in Calcutta from 19-23 January. (The first conference in the series was held in Bombay in February 1988). Although primarily motivated towards enlightening the Indian physics community in this new and rapidly evolving area, in which India now plays an important role, the conference also catered for an international audience. Particular emphasis was placed on the role of quark gluon plasma in astrophysics and cosmology. While Charles Alcock of Lawrence Livermore looked at a less conventional picture giving inhomogeneous ('clumpy') nucleosynthesis, David Schramm (Chicago) covered standard big bang nucleosynthesis. The abundances of very light elements do not differ appreciably for these contrasting scenarios; the crucial difference between them shows up for heavier elements like lithium-7 and -8 and boron-11. Richard Boyd (Ohio State) highlighted the importance of accurate measurements of the primordial abundances of these elements for clues to the cosmic quark hadron phase transition. B. Banerjee (Bombay) argued, on the basis of lattice calculations, for only slight supercooling in the cosmic quark phase transition - an assertion which runs counter to the inhomogeneous nucleosynthesis scenario.

Physics and astrophysics of quark-gluon plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1993-01-01

The quark gluon plasma - matter too hot or dense for quarks to crystallize into particles - played a vital role in the formation of the Universe. Efforts to recreate and understand this type of matter are forefront physics and astrophysics, and progress was highlighted in the Second International Conference on Physics and Astrophysics of Quark Gluon Plasma (ICPA-QGP 93), held in Calcutta from 19-23 January. (The first conference in the series was held in Bombay in February 1988). Although primarily motivated towards enlightening the Indian physics community in this new and rapidly evolving area, in which India now plays an important role, the conference also catered for an international audience. Particular emphasis was placed on the role of quark gluon plasma in astrophysics and cosmology. While Charles Alcock of Lawrence Livermore looked at a less conventional picture giving inhomogeneous ('clumpy') nucleosynthesis, David Schramm (Chicago) covered standard big bang nucleosynthesis. The abundances of very light elements do not differ appreciably for these contrasting scenarios; the crucial difference between them shows up for heavier elements like lithium-7 and -8 and boron-11. Richard Boyd (Ohio State) highlighted the importance of accurate measurements of the primordial abundances of these elements for clues to the cosmic quark hadron phase transition. B. Banerjee (Bombay) argued, on the basis of lattice calculations, for only slight supercooling in the cosmic quark phase transition - an assertion which runs counter to the inhomogeneous nucleosynthesis scenario

Tungsten Ions in Plasmas: Statistical Theory of Radiative-Collisional Processes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alexander V. Demura

2015-05-01

Full Text Available The statistical model for calculations of the collisional-radiative processes in plasmas with tungsten impurity was developed. The electron structure of tungsten multielectron ions is considered in terms of both the Thomas-Fermi model and the Brandt-Lundquist model of collective oscillations of atomic electron density. The excitation or ionization of atomic electrons by plasma electron impacts are represented as photo-processes under the action of flux of equivalent photons introduced by E. Fermi. The total electron impact single ionization cross-sections of ions Wk+ with respective rates have been calculated and compared with the available experimental and modeling data (e.g., CADW. Plasma radiative losses on tungsten impurity were also calculated in a wide range of electron temperatures 1 eV–20 keV. The numerical code TFATOM was developed for calculations of radiative-collisional processes involving tungsten ions. The needed computational resources for TFATOM code are orders of magnitudes less than for the other conventional numerical codes. The transition from corona to Boltzmann limit was investigated in detail. The results of statistical approach have been tested by comparison with the vast experimental and conventional code data for a set of ions Wk+. It is shown that the universal statistical model accuracy for the ionization cross-sections and radiation losses is within the data scattering of significantly more complex quantum numerical codes, using different approximations for the calculation of atomic structure and the electronic cross-sections.

Review and limitations of 3D plasma blob modeling with reduced collisional fluid equations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Angus, Justin R., E-mail: jangus@ucsd.edu [University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA (United States); Umansky, Maxim V. [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA (United States); Krashenninikov, Sergei I. [University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA (United States)

2013-07-15

Recent 3D studies on plasma blobs (coherent structures found in the edge region of magnetic confinement devices) have demonstrated that the drift wave instability can strongly limit the blob’s coherency and cross field convective nature that is predicted by 2D theory. However, the dominant unstable drift wave modes that effect plasma blobs were found to exist in parameter regimes that only marginally satisfied several of the major assumptions considered for the validity of the reduced collisional fluid equations used in the study. Namely, the neglect of electron heat flow, finite electron mean free path effects, and thermal ions. A follow up study demonstrated how the drift wave instability might change if a set of equations that does not suffer from the limitations mentioned above were considered. In the present paper, the results of this later work are used to discuss the limitations on using the collisional fluid equations for 3D studies of plasma blobs.

Laboratory studies of photoionized plasma related to astrophysics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang Peiqiang; Wang Feilu; Zhao Gang

2011-01-01

Photoionized plasma is universal in astronomy and has great importance on account of its close relation to compact astrophysical objects such as black holes. Recently, with the development of high energy density lasers and Z-pinch facilities, it has become possible to simulate astronomical photoionized plasma in the laboratory. These experiments help us to benchmark and modify the photoionization models, and to understand the photoionization processes to diagnose related astronomical plasma environments. (authors)

Electromagnetic drift waves dispersion for arbitrarily collisional plasmas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Wonjae, E-mail: wol023@ucsd.edu; Krasheninnikov, Sergei I., E-mail: skrash@mae.ucsd.edu [Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, California 92093 (United States); Angus, J. R. [Naval Research Laboratory, 4555 Overlook Avenue, Washington, DC 20375 (United States)

2015-07-15

The impacts of the electromagnetic effects on resistive and collisionless drift waves are studied. A local linear analysis on an electromagnetic drift-kinetic equation with Bhatnagar-Gross-Krook-like collision operator demonstrates that the model is valid for describing linear growth rates of drift wave instabilities in a wide range of plasma parameters showing convergence to reference models for limiting cases. The wave-particle interactions drive collisionless drift-Alfvén wave instability in low collisionality and high beta plasma regime. The Landau resonance effects not only excite collisionless drift wave modes but also suppress high frequency electron inertia modes observed from an electromagnetic fluid model in collisionless and low beta regime. Considering ion temperature effects, it is found that the impact of finite Larmor radius effects significantly reduces the growth rate of the drift-Alfvén wave instability with synergistic effects of high beta stabilization and Landau resonance.

A collisional model for plasma immersion ion implantation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vahedi, V.; Lieberman, M.A.; Alves, M.V.; Verboncoeur, J.P.; Birdsall, C.K.

1990-01-01

In plasma immersion ion implantation, a target is immersed in a plasma and a series of negative short pulses are applied to it to implant the ions. A new analytical model is being developed for the high pressure regimes in which the motion of the ions is highly collisional. The model provides values for ion flux, average ion velocity at the target, and sheath edge motion as a function of time. These values are being compared with those obtained from simulation and show good agreement. A review is also given (for comparison) of the earlier work done at low pressures, where the motion of ions in the sheath is collisionless, also showing good agreement between analysis and simulation. The simulation code is PDP1 which utilizes particle-in-cell techniques plus Monte-Carlo simulation of electron-neutral (elastic, excitation and ionization) and ion-neutral (scattering and charge-exchange) collisions

Influence of the collisional recombination on the electrostatic fluctuation spectrum in an helium plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baravian, G.; Bretagne, J.; Godart, J.; Sultan, G.

1975-01-01

The collisional recombination, in the afterglow of a dense plasma, is regarded as a source process for an overpopulation of the high energy tail of the electron velocity distribution function. The perturbation of the distribution function leads to an important enhancement of the fluctuations of the electrostatic field in a narrow range near the plasma frequency ωsub(p). (orig.) [de

Measurements of radiative material properties for astrophysical plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bailey, James E.

2010-01-01

The new generation of z-pinch, laser, and XFEL facilities opens the possibility to produce astrophysically-relevant laboratory plasmas with energy densities beyond what was previously possible. Furthermore, macroscopic plasmas with uniform conditions can now be created, enabling more accurate determination of the material properties. This presentation will provide an overview of our research at the Z facility investigating stellar interior opacities, AGN warm-absorber photoionized plasmas, and white dwarf photospheres. Atomic physics in plasmas heavily influence these topics. Stellar opacities are an essential ingredient of stellar models and they affect what we know about the structure and evolution of stars. Opacity models have become highly sophisticated, but laboratory tests have not been done at the conditions existing inside stars. Our research is presently focused on measuring Fe at conditions relevant to the base of the solar convection zone, where the electron temperature and density are believed to be 190 eV and 9 x 10 22 e/cc, respectively. The second project is aimed at testing atomic kinetics models for photoionized plasmas. Photoionization is an important process in many astrophysical plasmas and the spectral signatures are routinely used to infer astrophysical object's characteristics. However, the spectral synthesis models at the heart of these interpretations have been the subject of very limited experimental tests. Our current research examines photoionization of neon plasma subjected to radiation flux similar to the warm absorber that surrounds active galactic nuclei. The third project is a recent initiative aimed at producing a white dwarf photosphere in the laboratory. Emergent spectra from the photosphere are used to infer the star's effective temperature and surface gravity. The results depend on knowledge of H, He, and C spectral line profiles under conditions where complex physics such as quasi-molecule formation may be important. These

Collisional and radiative processes in high-pressure discharge plasmas

Science.gov (United States)

Becker, Kurt H.; Kurunczi, Peter F.; Schoenbach, Karl H.

2002-05-01

Discharge plasmas at high pressures (up to and exceeding atmospheric pressure), where single collision conditions no longer prevail, provide a fertile environment for the experimental study of collisions and radiative processes dominated by (i) step-wise processes, i.e., the excitation of an already excited atomic/molecular state and by (ii) three-body collisions leading, for instance, to the formation of excimers. The dominance of collisional and radiative processes beyond binary collisions involving ground-state atoms and molecules in such environments allows for many interesting applications of high-pressure plasmas such as high power lasers, opening switches, novel plasma processing applications and sputtering, absorbers and reflectors for electromagnetic waves, remediation of pollutants and waste streams, and excimer lamps and other noncoherent vacuum-ultraviolet light sources. Here recent progress is summarized in the use of hollow cathode discharge devices with hole dimensions in the range 0.1-0.5 mm for the generation of vacuum-ultraviolet light.

Dielectric constant and laser beam propagation in an underdense collisional plasma: effects of electron temperature

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xia Xiongping; Qin Zhen; Xu Bin; Cai Zebin

2011-01-01

Dielectric constant and laser beam propagation in an underdense collisional plasma are investigated, using the wave and dielectric function equations, for their dependence on the electron temperature. Simulation results show that, due to the influence of the ponderomotive force there is a nonlinear variation of electron temperature in an underdense collisional plasma, and this leads to a complicated and interesting nonlinear variation of dielectric constant; this nonlinear variation of dielectric constant directly affects the beam propagation and gives rise to laser beam self-focusing in some spatial-temporal regions; in particular, the beam width and the beam intensity present an oscillatory variation in the self-focusing region. The influence of several parameters on the dielectric function and beam self-focusing is discussed.

Collisionality dependence of Mercier stability in LHD equilibria with bootstrap currents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ichiguchi, Katsuji.

1997-02-01

The Mercier stability of the plasmas carrying bootstrap currents with different plasma collisionality is studied in the Large Helical Device (LHD). In the LHD configuration, the direction of the bootstrap current depends on the collisionality of the plasma through the change in the sign of the geometrical factor. When the beta value is raised by increasing the density of the plasma with a fixed low temperature, the plasma becomes more collisional and the collisionality approaches the plateau regime. In this case, the bootstrap current can flow in the direction so as to decrease the rotational transform. Then, the large Shafranov shift enhances the magnetic well and the magnetic shear, and therefore, the Mercier stability is improved. On the other hand, when the beta value is raised by increasing the temperature of the plasma with a fixed low density, the plasma collisionality becomes reduced to enter the 1/ν collisionality regime and the bootstrap current flows so that the rotational transform should be increased, which is unfavorable for the Mercier stability. Hence, the beta value should be raised by increasing the density rather than the temperature in order to obtain a high beta plasma. (author)

Potential around a dust grain in collisional plasma

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Moulick, R., E-mail: moulick@gmail.com; Goswami, K. S. [Centre of Plasma Physics - Institute for Plasma Research Sonapur, Guwahati, Assam 782402 (India)

2015-04-15

The ion neutral collision can lead to interesting phenomena in dust charging, totally different from the expectations based on the traditional orbit motion limited theory. The potential around a dust grain is investigated for the collisional plasma considering the presence of ion neutral collisions. Fluid equations are solved for the one dimensional radial coordinate. It is observed that with the gradual increase in ion neutral collision, the potential structure around the dust grain changes its shape and is different from the usual Debye-Hückel potential. The shift however starts from a certain value of ion neutral collision and the electron-ion density varies accordingly. The potential variation is interesting and reconfirms the fact that there exists a region of attraction for negative charges. The collision modeling is done for the full range of plasma, i.e., considering the bulk and the sheath jointly. The potential variation with collision is also shown explicitly and the variation is found to cope up with the earlier observations.

Measured improvement of global magnetohydrodynamic mode stability at high-beta, and in reduced collisionality spherical torus plasmas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Berkery, J. W.; Sabbagh, S. A.; Balbaky, A. [Department of Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics, Columbia University, New York, New York 10027 (United States); Bell, R. E.; Diallo, A.; Gerhardt, S. P.; LeBlanc, B. P.; Manickam, J.; Menard, J. E.; Podestà, M. [Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08543 (United States); Betti, R. [Laboratory for Laser Energetics, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York 14623 (United States)

2014-05-15

Global mode stability is studied in high-β National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX) plasmas to avoid disruptions. Dedicated experiments in NSTX using low frequency active magnetohydrodynamic spectroscopy of applied rotating n = 1 magnetic fields revealed key dependencies of stability on plasma parameters. Observations from previous NSTX resistive wall mode (RWM) active control experiments and the wider NSTX disruption database indicated that the highest β{sub N} plasmas were not the least stable. Significantly, here, stability was measured to increase at β{sub N}∕l{sub i} higher than the point where disruptions were found. This favorable behavior is shown to correlate with kinetic stability rotational resonances, and an experimentally determined range of measured E × B frequency with improved stability is identified. Stable plasmas appear to benefit further from reduced collisionality, in agreement with expectation from kinetic RWM stabilization theory, but low collisionality plasmas are also susceptible to sudden instability when kinetic profiles change.

A collisional-radiative average atom model for hot plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rozsnyai, B.F.

1996-01-01

A collisional-radiative 'average atom' (AA) model is presented for the calculation of opacities of hot plasmas not in the condition of local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE). The electron impact and radiative rate constants are calculated using the dipole oscillator strengths of the average atom. A key element of the model is the photon escape probability which at present is calculated for a semi infinite slab. The Fermi statistics renders the rate equation for the AA level occupancies nonlinear, which requires iterations until the steady state. AA level occupancies are found. Detailed electronic configurations are built into the model after the self-consistent non-LTE AA state is found. The model shows a continuous transition from the non-LTE to the LTE state depending on the optical thickness of the plasma. 22 refs., 13 figs., 1 tab

Jet energy loss in quark-gluon plasma. Kinetic theory with a Bhatnagar-Gross-Krook collisional kernel

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Han, Cheng; Hou, De-fu; Li, Jia-rong [Central China Normal University, Key Laboratory of Quark and Lepton Physics (MOE) and Institute of Particle Physics, Wuhan, Hubei (China); Jiang, Bing-feng [Hubei University for Nationalities, Center for Theoretical Physics and School of Sciences, Enshi, Hubei (China)

2017-10-15

The dielectric functions ε{sub L}, ε{sub T} of the quark-gluon plasma (QGP) are derived within the framework of the kinetic theory with BGK-type collisional kernel. The collision effect manifested by the collision rate is encoded in the dielectric functions. Based on the derived dielectric functions we study the collisional energy loss suffered by a fast parton traveling through the QGP. The numerical results show that the collision rate increases the energy loss. (orig.)

Parametric instabilities in a magnetized and collisional plasma

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Phalswal, D R; Dube, A [Punjabi Univ., Patiala (India). Dept. of Physics

1980-09-01

The dispersion relation for a magnetized, collisional and hot plasma in the presence of a pump wave is developed for the case where the pump frequency ..omega../sub 0/ is large compared with the cyclotron frequency ..omega..sub(c) and the plasma frequency ..omega..sub(p). Formulae for the growth rate, the damping rate for the free electron plasma wave and the threshold power are derived and discussed numerically under different conditions. It is found that in a hot plasma (for magnetic fields with ..omega..sub(c)/..omega..sub(p) = 1 and 10) the threshold power Psub(T) is less than or greater than that in a cold plamsa for the (Re..omega../sub 2/)sub(+) or (Re..omega../sub 2/)sub(-) modes respectively. In a weak magnetic field (..omega..sub(c)/..omega..sub(p) = 0.1), Psub(T) does not vary with the direction theta of the magnetic field for the (Re..omega../sub 2/) sub(+) mode. However, Psub(T) for the (Re..omega../sub 2/)sub(-) mode is a minimum at theta = 30deg. and 10deg. for ..omega..sub(c)/ ..omega..sub(p) = 1 and 10 respectively, and it becomes very large (10/sup 5/-10/sup 7/ times its value in a cold unmagnetized plasma) for ..omega..sub(c)/..omega..sub(p) = 0.1. The results for the growth are found to be just the reverse of those for the threshold power.

Ground-state populations of atomic hydrogen and hydrogen-like ions in nonthermal plasmas, and collisional-radiative recombination and ionization coefficients

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Drawin, H.W.; Emard, F.

1978-01-01

The populations of atomic hydrogen and hydrogen-like ions have been calculated using a collisional-radiative model. The global collisional-radiative excitation coefficients rsub(j)sup((0)) and rsub(j)sup((1)) valid for homogeneous-stationary and/or quasi-homogeneous quasi-stationary plasmas were published recently. The present paper contains in tabulated form the ground state populations and Saha decrements for the homogeneous stationary state, and the collisional-radiative recombination and ionization coefficients. (Auth.)

Nonlinear coherent structures of Alfvén wave in a collisional plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jana, Sayanee; Chakrabarti, Nikhil; Ghosh, Samiran

2016-01-01

The Alfvén wave dynamics is investigated in the framework of two-fluid approach in a compressible collisional magnetized plasma. In the finite amplitude limit, the dynamics of the nonlinear Alfvén wave is found to be governed by a modified Korteweg-de Vries Burgers equation (mKdVB). In this mKdVB equation, the electron inertia is found to act as a source of dispersion, and the electron-ion collision serves as a dissipation. The collisional dissipation is eventually responsible for the Burgers term in mKdVB equation. In the long wavelength limit, this weakly nonlinear Alfvén wave is shown to be governed by a damped nonlinear Schrödinger equation. Furthermore, these nonlinear equations are analyzed by means of analytical calculation and numerical simulation to elucidate the various aspects of the phase-space dynamics of the nonlinear wave. Results reveal that nonlinear Alfvén wave exhibits the dissipation mediated shock, envelope, and breather like structures. Numerical simulations also predict the formation of dissipative Alfvénic rogue wave, giant breathers, and rogue wave holes. These results are discussed in the context of the space plasma.

Nonlinear coherent structures of Alfvén wave in a collisional plasma

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jana, Sayanee; Chakrabarti, Nikhil [Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics, 1/AF Bidhannagar, Kolkata 700 064 (India); Ghosh, Samiran [Department of Applied Mathematics, University of Calcutta, 92, Acharya Prafulla Chandra Road, Kolkata 700 009 (India)

2016-07-15

The Alfvén wave dynamics is investigated in the framework of two-fluid approach in a compressible collisional magnetized plasma. In the finite amplitude limit, the dynamics of the nonlinear Alfvén wave is found to be governed by a modified Korteweg-de Vries Burgers equation (mKdVB). In this mKdVB equation, the electron inertia is found to act as a source of dispersion, and the electron-ion collision serves as a dissipation. The collisional dissipation is eventually responsible for the Burgers term in mKdVB equation. In the long wavelength limit, this weakly nonlinear Alfvén wave is shown to be governed by a damped nonlinear Schrödinger equation. Furthermore, these nonlinear equations are analyzed by means of analytical calculation and numerical simulation to elucidate the various aspects of the phase-space dynamics of the nonlinear wave. Results reveal that nonlinear Alfvén wave exhibits the dissipation mediated shock, envelope, and breather like structures. Numerical simulations also predict the formation of dissipative Alfvénic rogue wave, giant breathers, and rogue wave holes. These results are discussed in the context of the space plasma.

Maxwell Prize Talk: Scaling Laws for the Dynamical Plasma Phenomena

Science.gov (United States)

Ryutov, Livermore, Ca 94550, Usa, D. D.

2017-10-01

The scaling and similarity technique is a powerful tool for developing and testing reduced models of complex phenomena, including plasma phenomena. The technique has been successfully used in identifying appropriate simplified models of transport in quasistationary plasmas. In this talk, the similarity and scaling arguments will be applied to highly dynamical systems, in which temporal evolution of the plasma leads to a significant change of plasma dimensions, shapes, densities, and other parameters with respect to initial state. The scaling and similarity techniques for dynamical plasma systems will be presented as a set of case studies of problems from various domains of the plasma physics, beginning with collisonless plasmas, through intermediate collisionalities, to highly collisional plasmas describable by the single-fluid MHD. Basic concepts of the similarity theory will be introduced along the way. Among the results discussed are: self-similarity of Langmuir turbulence driven by a hot electron cloud expanding into a cold background plasma; generation of particle beams in disrupting pinches; interference between collisionless and collisional phenomena in the shock physics; similarity for liner-imploded plasmas; MHD similarities with an emphasis on the effect of small-scale (turbulent) structures on global dynamics. Relations between astrophysical phenomena and scaled laboratory experiments will be discussed.

Investigation of collisional excitation-transfer processes in a plasma by laser perturbation method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sakurai, Takeki

1983-01-01

The theoretical background and the experimental method of the laser perturbation method applied to the study of collisional excitation transfer process in plasma are explained. The atomic density at some specified level can be evaluated theoretically. By using the theoretical results and the experimentally obtained data, the total attenuation probability, the collisional transfer probability and natural emission probability were estimated. For the experiments, continuous wave laser (cw) and pulse laser are employed. It is possible by using pulse dye laser to observe the attenuation curve directly, and to bring in resonance to any atomic spectra. At the beginning, the experimental studies were made on He-Ne discharge. The pulse dye laser has been used for the excitation of alkali atoms. The first application of pulse laser to the study of plasma physics was the study on He. The cross section of disalignment has also been studied by the laser perturbation. The alignment of atoms, step and cascade transfer, the confinement of radiation and optogalvanic effect are discussed in this paper. (Kato, T.)

Nonlinear transport processes in tokamak plasmas. I. The collisional regimes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sonnino, Giorgio; Peeters, Philippe

2008-01-01

An application of the thermodynamic field theory (TFT) to transport processes in L-mode tokamak plasmas is presented. The nonlinear corrections to the linear ('Onsager') transport coefficients in the collisional regimes are derived. A quite encouraging result is the appearance of an asymmetry between the Pfirsch-Schlueter (P-S) ion and electron transport coefficients: the latter presents a nonlinear correction, which is absent for the ions, and makes the radial electron coefficients much larger than the former. Explicit calculations and comparisons between the neoclassical results and the TFT predictions for Joint European Torus (JET) plasmas are also reported. It is found that the nonlinear electron P-S transport coefficients exceed the values provided by neoclassical theory by a factor that may be of the order 10 2 . The nonlinear classical coefficients exceed the neoclassical ones by a factor that may be of order 2. For JET, the discrepancy between experimental and theoretical results for the electron losses is therefore significantly reduced by a factor 10 2 when the nonlinear contributions are duly taken into account but, there is still a factor of 10 2 to be explained. This is most likely due to turbulence. The expressions of the ion transport coefficients, determined by the neoclassical theory in these two regimes, remain unaltered. The low-collisional regimes, i.e., the plateau and the banana regimes, are analyzed in the second part of this work

A quiver kinetic formulation of radio frequency heating and confinement in collisional edge plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Catto, P.J.; Myra, J.R.

1989-01-01

The near fields in the collisional edge plasma of a radio frequency heated tokamak can cause one or more charged species to oscillate in the applied field with a quiver (or jitter) speed comparable to its thermal speed. By assuming the quiver motion dominates over drifts and gyromotion a completely new kinetic description of the flows in an edge plasma is formulated which retains Coulomb collisions and the relevant atomic processes. Moment equations are employed to obtain a description in which only a lowest order quiver kinetic equation need be solved to evaluate the slow time particle fluxes and current induced by the applied fields. The electron heating by collisional randomization of their quiver motion (inverse bremsstrahlung) is balanced by impact excitation losses since equilibration with the ions is too weak. A model plasma of electrons, neutrals, and a single cold ion species is considered to illustrate the utility of the quiver kinetic formulation. The model predicts local electrostatic potential changes and a local /rvec E//times//rvec B/ convective flux that is of the same magnitude and scaling as would be predicted by Bohm diffusion. 30 refs

MHD instabilities in astrophysical plasmas: very different from MHD instabilities in tokamaks!

Science.gov (United States)

Goedbloed, J. P.

2018-01-01

The extensive studies of MHD instabilities in thermonuclear magnetic confinement experiments, in particular of the tokamak as the most promising candidate for a future energy producing machine, have led to an ‘intuitive’ description based on the energy principle that is very misleading for most astrophysical plasmas. The ‘intuitive’ picture almost directly singles out the dominant stabilizing field line bending energy of the Alfvén waves and, consequently, concentrates on expansion schemes that minimize that contribution. This happens when the wave vector {{k}}0 of the perturbations, on average, is perpendicular to the magnetic field {B}. Hence, all macroscopic instabilities of tokamaks (kinks, interchanges, ballooning modes, ELMs, neoclassical tearing modes, etc) are characterized by satisfying the condition {{k}}0 \\perp {B}, or nearly so. In contrast, some of the major macroscopic instabilities of astrophysical plasmas (the Parker instability and the magneto-rotational instability) occur when precisely the opposite condition is satisfied: {{k}}0 \\parallel {B}. How do those instabilities escape from the dominance of the stabilizing Alfvén wave? The answer to that question involves, foremost, the recognition that MHD spectral theory of waves and instabilities of laboratory plasmas could be developed to such great depth since those plasmas are assumed to be in static equilibrium. This assumption is invalid for astrophysical plasmas where rotational and gravitational accelerations produce equilibria that are at best stationary, and the associated spectral theory is widely, and incorrectly, believed to be non-self adjoint. These complications are addressed, and cured, in the theory of the Spectral Web, recently developed by the author. Using this method, an extensive survey of instabilities of astrophysical plasmas demonstrates how the Alfvén wave is pushed into insignificance under these conditions to give rise to a host of instabilities that do not

Effects of Collisionality on the Nonlinear Characteristics of Boundary Turbulence and Blob/hole Transport in Tokamak Plasmas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Li, J.; Yasuaki, K., E-mail: lijq@energy.kyoto-u.ac.jp [Kyoto University, Kyoto (Japan); Cheng, J.; Longwen, Y.; Jiaqi, D. [Southwestern Institute of Physics, Chengdu (China)

2012-09-15

Full text: Blob/hole dynamics near tokamak separatrix is of striking importance in determining the boundary transport. Based on simulations using an extended 2-region (edge/SOL) fluid model, we found that blob/hole dynamics are sensitively influenced by the plasma collisionality, i.e., ion-electron and ion-neutral collisions. Namely, the holes are enhanced in highly collisional edge whereas the blobs are weakened at the SOL, causing larger particle convection. These blob/hole dynamics are closely correlated with potential dipoles. The trends are experimentally evidenced on the HL-2A tokamak. Moreover, as the neutral-ion collision increases, the blobs at the SOL tend to develop into streamers propagating outwards with reduced amplitude while the holes inwards are suppressed, showing a key role in nonlinear structure regulation and resultant transport suppression. Results suggest that adjusting the plasma collisionality by fueling, e.g., gas puffing, could serve as a method to nonlinearly select turbulent structures, i.e., blobs, holes or streamers, to access the control of boundary transport. (author)

The influence of collisional and anomalous radial diffusion on parallel ion transport in edge plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Helander, P.; Hazeltine, R.D.; Catto, P.J.

1996-01-01

The orderings in the kinetic equations commonly used to study the plasma core of a tokamak do not allow a balance between parallel ion streaming and radial diffusion, and are, therefore, inappropriate in the plasma edge. Different orderings are required in the edge region where radial transport across the steep gradients associated with the scrape-off layer is large enough to balance the rapid parallel flow caused by conditions close to collecting surfaces (such as the Bohm sheath condition). In the present work, we derive and solve novel kinetic equations, allowing for such a balance, and construct distinctive transport laws for impure, collisional, edge plasmas in which the perpendicular transport is (i) due to Coulomb collisions of ions with heavy impurities, or (ii) governed by anomalous diffusion driven by electrostatic turbulence. In both the collisional and anomalous radial transport cases, we find that one single diffusion coefficient determines the radial transport of particles, momentum and heat. The parallel transport laws and parallel thermal force in the scrape-off layer assume an unconventional form, in which the relative ion-impurity flow is driven by a combination of the conventional parallel gradients, and new (i) collisional or (ii) anomalous terms involving products of radial derivatives of the temperature and density with the radial shear of the parallel velocity. Thus, in the presence of anomalous radial diffusion, the parallel ion transport cannot be entirely classical, as usually assumed in numerical edge computations. The underlying physical reason is the appearance of a novel type of parallel thermal force resulting from the combined action of anomalous diffusion and radial temperature and velocity gradients. In highly sheared flows the new terms can modify impurity penetration into the core plasma

Species separation and kinetic effects in collisional plasma shocks

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bellei, C., E-mail: bellei1@llnl.gov; Wilks, S. C.; Amendt, P. A. [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, 7000 East Avenue, Livermore, California 94550 (United States); Rinderknecht, H.; Zylstra, A.; Rosenberg, M.; Sio, H.; Li, C. K.; Petrasso, R. [Plasma Science and Fusion Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139 (United States)

2014-05-15

The properties of collisional shock waves propagating in uniform plasmas are studied with ion-kinetic calculations, in both slab and spherical geometry and for the case of one and two ion species. Despite the presence of an electric field at the shock front—and in contrast to the case where an interface is initially present [C. Bellei et al., Phys. Plasmas 20, 044702 (2013)]—essentially no ion reflection at the shock front is observed due to collisions, with a probability of reflection ≲10{sup −4} for the cases presented. A kinetic two-ion-species spherical convergent shock is studied in detail and compared against an average-species calculation, confirming effects of species separation and differential heating of the ion species at the shock front. The effect of different ion temperatures on the DT and D{sup 3}He fusion reactivity is discussed in the fluid limit and is estimated to be moderately important.

Astrophysics of magnetically collimated jets generated from laser-produced plasmas.

Science.gov (United States)

Ciardi, A; Vinci, T; Fuchs, J; Albertazzi, B; Riconda, C; Pépin, H; Portugall, O

2013-01-11

The generation of astrophysically relevant jets, from magnetically collimated, laser-produced plasmas, is investigated through three-dimensional, magnetohydrodynamic simulations. We show that for laser intensities I∼10(12)-10(14) W cm(-2), a magnetic field in excess of ∼0.1  MG, can collimate the plasma plume into a prolate cavity bounded by a shock envelope with a standing conical shock at its tip, which recollimates the flow into a supermagnetosonic jet beam. This mechanism is equivalent to astrophysical models of hydrodynamic inertial collimation, where an isotropic wind is focused into a jet by a confining circumstellar toruslike envelope. The results suggest an alternative mechanism for a large-scale magnetic field to produce jets from wide-angle winds.

Collisional effects in the ion Weibel instability for two counter-propagating plasma streams

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ryutov, D. D.; Fiuza, F.; Huntington, C. M.; Ross, J. S.; Park, H.-S. [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California 94550 (United States)

2014-03-15

Experiments directed towards the study of the collisionless interaction between two counter-streaming plasma flows generated by high-power lasers are designed in such a way as to make collisions between the ions of the two flows negligibly rare. This is reached by making flow velocities v as high as possible and thereby exploiting the 1/v{sup 4} dependence of the Rutherford cross-section. At the same time, the plasma temperature of each flow may be relatively low so that collisional mean-free paths for the intra-stream particle collisions may be much smaller than the characteristic spatial scale of the unstable modes required for the shock formation. The corresponding effects are studied in this paper for the case of the ion Weibel (filamentation) instability. Dispersion relations for the case of strong intra-stream collisions are derived. It is shown that the growth-rates become significantly smaller than those stemming from a collisionless model. The underlying physics is mostly related to the increase of the electron stabilizing term. Additional effects are an increased “stiffness” of the collisional ion gas and the ion viscous dissipation. A parameter domain where collisions are important is identified.

Laser plasma physics in shock ignition – transition from collisional to collisionless absorption

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Klimo O.

2013-11-01

Full Text Available Shock Ignition is considered as a relatively robust and efficient approach to inertial confinement fusion. A strong converging shock, which is used to ignite the fuel, is launched by a high power laser pulse with intensity in the range of 1015 − 1016 W/cm2 (at the wavelength of 351 nm. In the lower end of this intensity range the interaction is dominated by collisions while the parametric instabilities are playing a secondary role. This is manifested in a relatively weak reflectivity and efficient electron heating. The interaction is dominated by collective effects at the upper edge of the intensity range. The stimulated Brillouin and Raman scattering (SBS and SRS respectively take place in a less dense plasma and cavitation provides an efficient collisionless absorption mechanism. The transition from collisional to collisionless absorption in laser plasma interactions at higher intensities is studied here with the help of large scale one-dimensional Particle-in-Cell (PIC simulations. The relation between the collisional and collisionless processes is manifested in the energy spectrum of electrons transporting the absorbed laser energy and in the spectrum of the reflected laser light.

Multispecies density peaking in gyrokinetic turbulence simulations of low collisionality Alcator C-Mod plasmas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mikkelsen, D. R., E-mail: dmikkelsen@pppl.gov; Bitter, M.; Delgado-Aparicio, L.; Hill, K. W. [Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, P.O. Box 451, Princeton, New Jersey 08543 (United States); Greenwald, M.; Howard, N. T.; Hughes, J. W.; Rice, J. E. [MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Center, 175 Albany St., Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139 (United States); Reinke, M. L. [MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Center, 175 Albany St., Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139 (United States); York Plasma Institute, Department of Physics, University of York, Heslington, York YO10 5DD (United Kingdom); Podpaly, Y. [MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Center, 175 Albany St., Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139 (United States); AAAS S and T Fellow placed in the Directorate for Engineering, NSF, 4201 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, Virginia 22230 (United States); Ma, Y. [MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Center, 175 Albany St., Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139 (United States); ITER Organization, Route de Vinon-sur-Verdon, CS 90 046, 13067 St Paul Lez Durance Cedex (France); Candy, J.; Waltz, R. E. [General Atomics, P.O. Box 85608, San Diego, California 92186-5608 (United States)

2015-06-15

Peaked density profiles in low-collisionality AUG and JET H-mode plasmas are probably caused by a turbulently driven particle pinch, and Alcator C-Mod experiments confirmed that collisionality is a critical parameter. Density peaking in reactors could produce a number of important effects, some beneficial, such as enhanced fusion power and transport of fuel ions from the edge to the core, while others are undesirable, such as lower beta limits, reduced radiation from the plasma edge, and consequently higher divertor heat loads. Fundamental understanding of the pinch will enable planning to optimize these impacts. We show that density peaking is predicted by nonlinear gyrokinetic turbulence simulations based on measured profile data from low collisionality H-mode plasma in Alcator C-Mod. Multiple ion species are included to determine whether hydrogenic density peaking has an isotope dependence or is influenced by typical levels of low-Z impurities, and whether impurity density peaking depends on the species. We find that the deuterium density profile is slightly more peaked than that of hydrogen, and that experimentally relevant levels of boron have no appreciable effect on hydrogenic density peaking. The ratio of density at r/a = 0.44 to that at r/a = 0.74 is 1.2 for the majority D and minority H ions (and for electrons), and increases with impurity Z: 1.1 for helium, 1.15 for boron, 1.3 for neon, 1.4 for argon, and 1.5 for molybdenum. The ion temperature profile is varied to match better the predicted heat flux with the experimental transport analysis, but the resulting factor of two change in heat transport has only a weak effect on the predicted density peaking.

Laboratory Plasma Source as an MHD Model for Astrophysical Jets

Science.gov (United States)

Mayo, Robert M.

1997-01-01

The significance of the work described herein lies in the demonstration of Magnetized Coaxial Plasma Gun (MCG) devices like CPS-1 to produce energetic laboratory magneto-flows with embedded magnetic fields that can be used as a simulation tool to study flow interaction dynamic of jet flows, to demonstrate the magnetic acceleration and collimation of flows with primarily toroidal fields, and study cross field transport in turbulent accreting flows. Since plasma produced in MCG devices have magnetic topology and MHD flow regime similarity to stellar and extragalactic jets, we expect that careful investigation of these flows in the laboratory will reveal fundamental physical mechanisms influencing astrophysical flows. Discussion in the next section (sec.2) focuses on recent results describing collimation, leading flow surface interaction layers, and turbulent accretion. The primary objectives for a new three year effort would involve the development and deployment of novel electrostatic, magnetic, and visible plasma diagnostic techniques to measure plasma and flow parameters of the CPS-1 device in the flow chamber downstream of the plasma source to study, (1) mass ejection, morphology, and collimation and stability of energetic outflows, (2) the effects of external magnetization on collimation and stability, (3) the interaction of such flows with background neutral gas, the generation of visible emission in such interaction, and effect of neutral clouds on jet flow dynamics, and (4) the cross magnetic field transport of turbulent accreting flows. The applicability of existing laboratory plasma facilities to the study of stellar and extragalactic plasma should be exploited to elucidate underlying physical mechanisms that cannot be ascertained though astrophysical observation, and provide baseline to a wide variety of proposed models, MHD and otherwise. The work proposed herin represents a continued effort on a novel approach in relating laboratory experiments to

Nonlinear saturation of stimulated Raman scattering in a collisional homogeneous plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McKinstrie, C.J.

1985-11-01

Using multiple scale analysis, the nonlinear saturation of the stimulated Raman scattering instability is examined in a collisional homogeneous plasma. The first problem considered is the temporal problem in an infinite plasma, with a ubiquitous driver and arbitrary damping for each wave. The second problem considered is the absolute Raman instability in a finite plasma. The incident wave amplitude exceeds the absolute instability threshold by the fractional amount Δ. In the marginally unstable regime, the complete time dependence and spatial variation of each wave amplitude is obtained. An expression for the reflected light intensity is determined analytically, and is proportional to Δ. The conditions under which the steady-state results can be extended to the moderately unstable regime are discussed. The reflected light intensity is compared to values predicted for the convective instability, for the same incident intensity. In ''short'' plasmas, i.e., ones which extend over only a few linear convective gain lengths, the reflected intensity is found to be much higher when the absolute instability is excited

Simulation of some nonstationary astrophysical processes in laser-produced-plasma experiments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Antonov, V.M.; Zakharov, Yu.P.; Orishich, A.M.; Ponomarenko, A.G.; Posukh, V.G.

1985-01-01

Preliminary results and calibration are reported on the astrophysical plasma dynamics simulator. This apparatus creates a spherical plasma cloud by the irradiation of a perlon filament target from two radial opposite directions by pulses of highly ionized background plasma in a high-vacuum chamber with diameter of 1.2 m and length of 5 m. The spherical plasma cloud simulates the exploding peripheric part of a supernova, expanding into the interstellar medium. (author)

Scaling law in laboratory astrophysics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xia Jiangfan; Zhang Jie

2001-01-01

The use of state-of-the-art lasers makes it possible to produce, in the laboratory, the extreme conditions similar to those in astrophysical processes. The introduction of astrophysics-relevant ideas in laser-plasma interaction experiments is propitious to the understanding of astrophysical phenomena. However, the great difference between laser-produced plasma and astrophysical objects makes it awkward to model the latter by laser-plasma experiments. The author presents the physical reasons for modeling astrophysical plasmas by laser plasmas, connecting these two kinds of plasmas by scaling laws. This allows the creation of experimental test beds where observation and models can be quantitatively compared with laboratory data

Magnetic Reconnection in Extreme Astrophysical Environments

Science.gov (United States)

Uzdensky, Dmitri

Magnetic reconnection is a fundamental plasma physics process of breaking ideal-MHD's frozen-in constraints on magnetic field connectivity and of dramatic rearranging of the magnetic topol-ogy, which often leads to a violent release of the free magnetic energy. Reconnection has long been acknowledged to be of great importance in laboratory plasma physics (magnetic fusion) and in space and solar physics (responsible for solar flares and magnetospheric substorms). In addition, its importance in Astrophysics has been increasingly recognized in recent years. However, due to a great diversity of astrophysical environments, the fundamental physics of astrophysical magnetic reconnection can be quite different from that of the traditional recon-nection encountered in the solar system. In particular, environments like the solar corona and the magnetosphere are characterized by relatively low energy densities, where the plasma is ad-equately described as a mixture of electrons and ions whose numbers are conserved and where the dissipated magnetic energy basically stays with the plasma. In contrast, in many high-energy astrophysical phenomena the energy density is so large that photons play as important a role as electrons and ions and, in particular, radiation pressure and radiative cooling become dominant. In this talk I focus on the most extreme case of high-energy-density astrophysical reconnec-tion — reconnection of magnetar-strength (1014 - 1015 Gauss) magnetic fields, important for giant flares in soft-gamma repeaters (SGRs), and for rapid magnetic energy release in either the central engines or in the relativistic jets of Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs). I outline the key relevant physical processes and present a new theoretical picture of magnetic reconnection in these environments. The corresponding magnetic energy density is so enormous that, when suddenly released, it inevitably heats the plasma to relativistic temperatures, resulting in co-pious production of electron

Exploring extreme plasma physics in the laboratory and in astrophysics

Science.gov (United States)

Silva, L. O.; Grismayer, T.; Fonseca, R. A.; Cruz, F.; Gaudio, F. D.; Martins, J. L.; Vieira, J.; Vranic, M.

2017-10-01

The interaction of ultra intense fields with plasmas is at the confluence of several sub-fields ranging from QED, and nuclear physics to high energy astrophysics, and fundamental plasma processes. It requires novel theoretical tools, highly optimised numerical codes and algorithms tailored to these complex scenarios, where physical mechanisms at very disparate temporal and spatial scales are self-consistently coupled in multidimensional geometries. The key developments implemented in Osiris will be presented along with some examples of problems, relevant for laboratory or astrophysical scenarios, that are being addressed resorting to the combination of massively parallel simulations with theoretical models. The relevance for near future experimental facilities such as ELI will also be presented. Work supported by the European Research Council (ERC-AdG-2015 InPairs Grant No. 695088).

2D collisional-radiative model for non-uniform argon plasmas: with or without ‘escape factor’

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhu, Xi-Ming; Tsankov, Tsanko Vaskov; Luggenhölscher, Dirk; Czarnetzki, Uwe

2015-01-01

Collisional-radiative models for excited rare-gas atoms in low-temperature plasmas are a widely investigated topic. When these plasmas are optically thick, an ‘escape factor’ is introduced into the models to account for the reabsorption of photons (so-called radiation trapping process). This factor is usually obtained assuming a uniform density profile of the excited species; however, such an assumption is often not satisfied in a bounded plasma. This article reports for the first time a self-consistent collisional-radiative model without using an ad hoc ‘escape factor’ for excited Ar atoms in the 2p states (in Paschen’s notation). Rather, the rate balance equations—i.e. the radiation transfer equations—of the 2p states are numerically solved to yield the actual density profiles. The predictions of this self-consistent model and a model based on the escape factor concept are compared with spatially-resolved emission measurements in a low-pressure inductive Ar plasma. The self-consistent model agrees well with the experiment but the ‘escape factor’ model shows considerable deviations. By the comparative analysis the limitations and shortcomings of the escape factor concept as adopted in a significant number of works are revealed. (paper)

Updated Collisional Ionization Equilibrium Calculated for Optically Thin Plasmas

Science.gov (United States)

Savin, Daniel Wolf; Bryans, P.; Badnell, N. R.; Gorczyca, T. W.; Laming, J. M.; Mitthumsiri, W.

2010-03-01

Reliably interpreting spectra from electron-ionized cosmic plasmas requires accurate ionization balance calculations for the plasma in question. However, much of the atomic data needed for these calculations have not been generated using modern theoretical methods and their reliability are often highly suspect. We have carried out state-of-the-art calculations of dielectronic recombination (DR) rate coefficients for the hydrogenic through Na-like ions of all elements from He to Zn as well as for Al-like to Ar-like ions of Fe. We have also carried out state-of-the-art radiative recombination (RR) rate coefficient calculations for the bare through Na-like ions of all elements from H to Zn. Using our data and the recommended electron impact ionization data of Dere (2007), we present improved collisional ionization equilibrium calculations (Bryans et al. 2006, 2009). We compare our calculated fractional ionic abundances using these data with those presented by Mazzotta et al. (1998) for all elements from H to Ni. This work is supported in part by the NASA APRA and SHP SR&T programs.

First-principle description of collisional gyrokinetic turbulence in tokamak plasmas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dif-Pradalier, G

2008-10-15

This dissertation starts in chapter 1 with a comprehensive introduction to nuclear fusion, its basic physics, goals and means. It especially defines the concept of a fusion plasma and some of its essential physical properties. The following chapter 2 discusses some fundamental concepts of statistical physics. It introduces the kinetic and the fluid frameworks, compares them and highlights their respective strengths and limitations. The end of the chapter is dedicated to the fluid theory. It presents two new sets of closure relations for fluid equations which retain important pieces of physics, relevant in the weakly collisional tokamak regimes: collective resonances which lead to Landau damping and entropy production. Nonetheless, since the evolution of the turbulence is intrinsically nonlinear and deeply influenced by velocity space effects, a kinetic collisional description is most relevant. First focusing on the kinetic aspect, chapter 3 introduces the so-called gyrokinetic framework along with the numerical solver - the GYSELA code - which will be used throughout this dissertation. Very generically, code solving is an initial value problem. The impact on turbulent nonlinear evolution of out of equilibrium initial conditions is discussed while studying transient flows, self-organizing dynamics and memory effects due to initial conditions. This dissertation introduces an operational definition, now of routine use in the GYSELA code, for the initial state and concludes on the special importance of the accurate calculation of the radial electric field. The GYSELA framework is further extended in chapter 4 to describe Coulomb collisions. The implementation of a collision operator acting on the full distribution function is presented. Its successful confrontation to collisional theory (neoclassical theory) is also shown. GYSELA is now part of the few gyrokinetic codes which can self-consistently address the interplay between turbulence and collisions. While

First-principle description of collisional gyrokinetic turbulence in tokamak plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dif-Pradalier, G.

2008-10-01

This dissertation starts in chapter 1 with a comprehensive introduction to nuclear fusion, its basic physics, goals and means. It especially defines the concept of a fusion plasma and some of its essential physical properties. The following chapter 2 discusses some fundamental concepts of statistical physics. It introduces the kinetic and the fluid frameworks, compares them and highlights their respective strengths and limitations. The end of the chapter is dedicated to the fluid theory. It presents two new sets of closure relations for fluid equations which retain important pieces of physics, relevant in the weakly collisional tokamak regimes: collective resonances which lead to Landau damping and entropy production. Nonetheless, since the evolution of the turbulence is intrinsically nonlinear and deeply influenced by velocity space effects, a kinetic collisional description is most relevant. First focusing on the kinetic aspect, chapter 3 introduces the so-called gyrokinetic framework along with the numerical solver - the GYSELA code - which will be used throughout this dissertation. Very generically, code solving is an initial value problem. The impact on turbulent nonlinear evolution of out of equilibrium initial conditions is discussed while studying transient flows, self-organizing dynamics and memory effects due to initial conditions. This dissertation introduces an operational definition, now of routine use in the GYSELA code, for the initial state and concludes on the special importance of the accurate calculation of the radial electric field. The GYSELA framework is further extended in chapter 4 to describe Coulomb collisions. The implementation of a collision operator acting on the full distribution function is presented. Its successful confrontation to collisional theory (neoclassical theory) is also shown. GYSELA is now part of the few gyrokinetic codes which can self-consistently address the interplay between turbulence and collisions. While

Laser-pulse compression in a collisional plasma under weak-relativistic ponderomotive nonlinearity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Singh, Mamta; Gupta, D. N.

2016-01-01

We present theory and numerical analysis which demonstrate laser-pulse compression in a collisional plasma under the weak-relativistic ponderomotive nonlinearity. Plasma equilibrium density is modified due to the ohmic heating of electrons, the collisions, and the weak relativistic-ponderomotive force during the interaction of a laser pulse with plasmas. First, within one-dimensional analysis, the longitudinal self-compression mechanism is discussed. Three-dimensional analysis (spatiotemporal) of laser pulse propagation is also investigated by coupling the self-compression with the self-focusing. In the regime in which the laser becomes self-focused due to the weak relativistic-ponderomotive nonlinearity, we provide results for enhanced pulse compression. The results show that the matched interplay between self-focusing and self-compression can improve significantly the temporal profile of the compressed pulse. Enhanced pulse compression can be achieved by optimizing and selecting the parameters such as collision frequency, ion-temperature, and laser intensity.

Laser-pulse compression in a collisional plasma under weak-relativistic ponderomotive nonlinearity

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Singh, Mamta; Gupta, D. N., E-mail: dngupta@physics.du.ac.in [Department of Physics and Astrophysics, North Campus, University of Delhi, Delhi 110 007 (India)

2016-05-15

We present theory and numerical analysis which demonstrate laser-pulse compression in a collisional plasma under the weak-relativistic ponderomotive nonlinearity. Plasma equilibrium density is modified due to the ohmic heating of electrons, the collisions, and the weak relativistic-ponderomotive force during the interaction of a laser pulse with plasmas. First, within one-dimensional analysis, the longitudinal self-compression mechanism is discussed. Three-dimensional analysis (spatiotemporal) of laser pulse propagation is also investigated by coupling the self-compression with the self-focusing. In the regime in which the laser becomes self-focused due to the weak relativistic-ponderomotive nonlinearity, we provide results for enhanced pulse compression. The results show that the matched interplay between self-focusing and self-compression can improve significantly the temporal profile of the compressed pulse. Enhanced pulse compression can be achieved by optimizing and selecting the parameters such as collision frequency, ion-temperature, and laser intensity.

Collisional Rayleigh-Taylor instability and shear-flow in equatorial Spread-F plasma

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

N. Chakrabarti

2003-05-01

Full Text Available Collisional Rayleigh-Taylor (RT instability is considered in the bottom side of the equatorial F-region. By a novel nonmodal calculation it is shown that for an applied shear flow in equilibrium, the growth of the instability is considerably reduced. Finite but small amounts of diffusion enhances the stabilization process. The results may be relevant to the observations of long-lived irregularities at the bottom-side of the F-layer.Key words. Ionosphere (ionospheric irregularities, equatorial ionosphere, plasma waves and instabilities

An efficient, selective collisional ejection mechanism for inner-shell population inversion in laser-driven plasmas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

SCHROEDER,W. ANDREAS; NELSON,THOMAS R.; BORISOV,A.B.; LONGWORTH,J.W.; BOYER,K.; RHODES,C.K.

2000-06-07

A theoretical analysis of laser-driven collisional ejection of inner-shell electrons is presented to explain the previously observed anomalous kilovolt L-shell x-ray emission spectra from atomic Xe cluster targets excited by intense sub-picosecond 248nrn ultraviolet radiation. For incident ponderomotively-driven electrons photoionized by strong above threshold ionization, the collisional ejection mechanism is shown to be highly l-state and significantly n-state (i.e. radially) selective for time periods shorter than the collisional dephasing time of the photoionized electronic wavefunction. The resulting preference for the collisional ejection of 2p electrons by an ionized 4p state produces the measured anomalous Xe(L) emission which contains direct evidence for (i) the generation of Xe{sup 27+}(2p{sup 5}3d{sup 10}) and Xe{sup 28+}(2p{sup 5}3d{sup 9}) ions exhibiting inner-shell population inversion and (ii) a coherent correlated electron state collision responsible for the production of double 2p vacancies. For longer time periods, the selectivity of this coherent impact ionization mechanism is rapidly reduced by the combined effects of intrinsic quantum mechanical spreading and dephasing--in agreement with the experimentally observed and extremely strong {minus}{lambda}{sup {minus}6} pump-laser wavelength dependence of the efficiency of inner-shell (2p) vacancy production in Xe clusters excited in underdense plasmas.

Proton temperature-anisotropy-driven instabilities in weakly collisional plasmas: Hybrid simulations

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Hellinger, Petr; Trávníček, Pavel M.

2015-01-01

Roč. 81, č. 1 (2015), 305810103/1-305810103/14 ISSN 0022-3778 R&D Projects: GA ČR GAP209/12/2023 Grant - others:EU(XE) SHOCK Project No. 284515 Institutional support: RVO:67985815 ; RVO:68378289 Keywords : magnetic field * solar wind * mirror instability Subject RIV: BN - Astronomy, Celestial Mechanics, Astrophysics; BL - Plasma and Gas Discharge Physics (UFA-U) Impact factor: 0.981, year: 2015

Collisional Damping of Electron Bernstein Waves and its Mitigation by Evaporated Lithium Conditioning in Spherical-Tokamak Plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Diem, S. J.; Caughman, J. B.; Taylor, G.; Efthimion, P. C.; Kugel, H.; LeBlanc, B. P.; Phillips, C. K.; Preinhaelter, J.; Urban, J.; Sabbagh, S. A.

2009-01-01

The first experimental verification of electron Bernstein wave (EBW) collisional damping, and its mitigation by evaporated Li conditioning, in an overdense spherical-tokamak plasma has been observed in the National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX). Initial measurements of EBW emission, coupled from NSTX plasmas via double-mode conversion to O-mode waves, exhibited <10% transmission efficiencies. Simulations show 80% of the EBW energy is dissipated by collisions in the edge plasma. Li conditioning reduced the edge collision frequency by a factor of 3 and increased the fundamental EBW transmission to 60%.

Collisional boundary layer analysis for neoclassical toroidal plasma viscosity in tokamaks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shaing, K. C.; Cahyna, P.; Becoulet, M.; Park, J.-K.; Sabbagh, S. A.; Chu, M. S.

2008-01-01

It is demonstrated that the pitch angle integrals in the transport fluxes in the ν regime calculated in K. C. Shang [Phys. Plasmas 10, 1443 (2003)] are divergent as the trapped-circulating boundary is approached. Here, ν is the collision frequency. The origin of this divergence results from the logarithmic dependence in the bounce averaged radial drift velocity. A collisional boundary layer analysis is developed to remove the singularity. The resultant pitch angle integrals now include not only the original physics of the ν regime but also the boundary layer physics. The transport fluxes, caused by the particles inside the boundary layer, scale as √(ν)

Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) Observation of Plasma Velocity-Space Cascade Processes

Science.gov (United States)

Parashar, T. N.; Servidio, S.; Matthaeus, W. H.; Chasapis, A.; Perrone, D.; Valentini, F.; Veltri, P.; Gershman, D. J.; Schwartz, S. J.; Giles, B. L.; Fuselier, S. A.; Phan, T.; Burch, J.

2017-12-01

Plasma turbulence is investigated using high-resolution ion velocity distributions, measured by theMagnetospheric Multiscale Mission (MMS) in the Earth's magnetosheath. The particle distributionmanifests large fluctuations, suggesting a cascade-like process in velocity space, invoked by theoristsfor many years. This complex velocity space structure is investigated using a three-dimensional Hermitetransform that reveals a power law distribution of moments. A Kolmogorov approach leads directlyto a range of predictions for this phase-space cascade. The scaling theory is in agreement withobservations, suggesting a new path for the study of plasma turbulence in weakly collisional spaceand astrophysical plasmas.

Collisional drift waves in a plasma with electron temperature inhomogeneity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Drake, J.F.; Hassam, A.B.

1981-01-01

A fluid theory of collisional electrostatic drift waves in a plasma slab with magnetic shear is presented. Both electron temperature and density gradients are included. The equations are solved analytically in all relevant regions of the parameter space defined by the magnetic shear strength and the perpendicular wavelength and explicit expressions for the growth rates are given. For shear strengths appropriate for present-day tokamak discharges the temperature gradient produces potential wells which localize the mode in the electron resistive region, well inside the ion sound turning points. Mode stability arises from a competition between the destabilizing influence of the time dependent thermal force and the stabilizing influence of electron energy dissipation. Convective energy loss is not important for shear parameters of present-day fusion devices

Triangularity effects on the collisional diffusion for elliptic tokamak plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Martin, P.; Castro, E.

2007-01-01

In this conference the effect of ellipticity and triangularity will be analyzed for axisymmetric tokamak in the collisional regime. Analytic forms for the magnetic field cross sections are taken from those derived recently by other authors [1,2]. Analytical results can be obtained in elliptic plasmas with triangularity by using an special system of tokamak coordinates recently published [3-5]. Our results show that triangularities smaller than 0.6, increases confinement for ellipticities in the range 1.2 to 2. This behavior happens for negative and positive triangularities; however this effect is stronger for positive than for negative triangularities. The maximum diffusion velocity is not obtained for zero triangularity, but for small negative triangularities. Ellipticity is also very important in confinement, but the effect of triangularity seems to be more important. High electric inductive field increases confinement, though this field is difficult to modify once the tokamak has been built. The analytic form of the current produced by this field is like that of a weak Ware pinch with an additional factor, which weakens the effect by an order of magnitude. The dependence of the triangularity effect with the Shafranov shift is also analyzed. References 1. - L. L. Lao, S. P. Hirshman, and R. M. Wieland, Phys. Fluids 24, 1431 (1981) 2. - G. O. Ludwig, Plasma Physics Controlled Fusion 37, 633 (1995) 3. - P. Martin, Phys. Plasmas 7, 2915 (2000) 4. - P. Martin, M. G. Haines and E. Castro, Phys. Plasmas 12, 082506 (2005) 5. - P. Martin, E. Castro and M. G. Haines, Phys. Plasmas 12, 102505 (2005)

Pair plasma relaxation time scales.

Science.gov (United States)

Aksenov, A G; Ruffini, R; Vereshchagin, G V

2010-04-01

By numerically solving the relativistic Boltzmann equations, we compute the time scale for relaxation to thermal equilibrium for an optically thick electron-positron plasma with baryon loading. We focus on the time scales of electromagnetic interactions. The collisional integrals are obtained directly from the corresponding QED matrix elements. Thermalization time scales are computed for a wide range of values of both the total-energy density (over 10 orders of magnitude) and of the baryonic loading parameter (over 6 orders of magnitude). This also allows us to study such interesting limiting cases as the almost purely electron-positron plasma or electron-proton plasma as well as intermediate cases. These results appear to be important both for laboratory experiments aimed at generating optically thick pair plasmas as well as for astrophysical models in which electron-positron pair plasmas play a relevant role.

Collisional drift waves in the H-mode edge

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sen, S.

1994-01-01

The stability of the collisional drift wave in a sheared slab geometry is found to be severely restricted at the H-mode edge plasma due to the very steep density gradient. However, a radially varying transverse velocity field is found to play the key role in stability. Velocity profiles usually found in the H-mode plasma stabilize drift waves. On the other hand, velocity profiles corresponding to the L-mode render collisional drift waves unstable even though the magnetic shear continues to play its stabilizing role. (author). 24 refs

Destabilization of hydromagnetic drift-Alfven waves in a finite pressure collisional plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tang, J.T.

1974-01-01

In a finite beta (β = 8πn 0 kT 0 /B 0 2 ) plasma, where the plasma pressure n 0 kT 0 is an appreciable fraction of the confining magnetic field energy-density B 0 2 /8π, density-gradient driven drift waves couple with Alfven waves when the phase velocities of the two waves become comparable. The resulting hydromagnetic drift-Alfven waves separate into two branches--a drift mode and an Alfven mode, with both modes exhibiting magnetic field and localized density fluctuations near the coupling point. The dispersion relation of the collisional drift-Alfven wave is derived by using a slab-geometry, two-fluid model which includes finite beta, electron-ion collisions, ion-ion collisions, finite ion larmar radius, temperature fluctuations, and an axial electron current. A hydromagnetic drift mode is found to be unstable in a moderately dense plasma. A localized ''Alfven'' mode is destabilized only with the passage of an axial current along the plasma column. In order to check the theoretical predictions an experiment is performed in a finite-beta plasma of density n 0 = 10 13 -10 15 cm -3 and temperature T/sub e/ approximately T/sub i/ = 1-7 eV. (U.S.)

Collisional particle-in-cell modeling for energy transport accompanied by atomic processes in dense plasmas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mishra, R.; Beg, F. N. [Center for Energy Research, University of California, San Diego, California 92093 (United States); Leblanc, P.; Sentoku, Y. [Department of Physics, University of Nevada, Reno, Nevada 89557 (United States); Wei, M. S. [General Atomics, San Diego, California 92121 (United States)

2013-07-15

Fully relativistic collisional Particle-in-Cell (PIC) code, PICLS, has been developed to study extreme energy density conditions produced in intense laser-solid interaction. Recent extensions to PICLS, such as the implementation of dynamic ionization, binary collisions in a partially ionized plasma, and radiative losses, enhance the efficacy of simulating intense laser plasma interaction and subsequent energy transport in resistive media. Different ionization models are introduced and benchmarked against each other to check the suitability of the model. The atomic physics models are critical to determine the energy deposition and transport in dense plasmas, especially when they consist of high Z (atomic number) materials. Finally we demonstrate the electron transport simulations to show the importance of target material on fast electron dynamics.

Magnetized and collimated millimeter scale plasma jets with astrophysical relevance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brady, Parrish C.; Quevedo, Hernan J.; Valanju, Prashant M.; Bengtson, Roger D.; Ditmire, Todd

2012-01-01

Magnetized collimated plasma jets are created in the laboratory to extend our understanding of plasma jet acceleration and collimation mechanisms with particular connection to astrophysical jets. In this study, plasma collimated jets are formed from supersonic unmagnetized flows, mimicking a stellar wind, subject to currents and magnetohydrodynamic forces. It is found that an external poloidal magnetic field, like the ones found anchored to accretion disks, is essential to stabilize the jets against current-driven instabilities. The maximum jet length before instabilities develop is proportional to the field strength and the length threshold agrees well with Kruskal-Shafranov theory. The plasma evolution is modeled qualitatively using MHD theory of current-carrying flux tubes showing that jet acceleration and collimation arise as a result of electromagnetic forces.

Spectroscopy of X-ray Photoionized Plasmas in the Laboratory

Science.gov (United States)

Liedahl, Duane A.; Loisel, Guillaume; Bailey, James E.; Nagayama, Taisuke; Hansen, Stephanie B.; Rochau, Gregory; Fontes, Christopher J.; Mancini, Roberto; Kallman, Timothy R.

2018-06-01

The physical processes operating in astrophysical plasmas --- heating, cooling, ionization, recombination, level population kinetics, and radiation transport --- are all accessible to observation in the laboratory. What distinguishes X-ray photoionized plasmas from the more common case of high-temperature collisionally-ionized plasmas is the elevated level of importance of the radiation/matter interaction. The advent of laboratory facilities with the capability to generate high-powered X-ray sources has provided the means by which to study this interaction, which is also fundamental to active galactic nuclei and other accretion-powered objects. We discuss recent and ongoing experiments, with an emphasis on X-ray spectroscopic measurements of silicon plasmas obtained at the Sandia Z Pulsed Power Facility.

Space-charge waves in magnetized and collisional quantum plasma columns confined in carbon nanotubes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bagheri, Mehran; Abdikian, Alireza

2014-01-01

We study the dispersion relation of electrostatic waves propagating in a column of quantum magnetized collisional plasma embraced completely by a metallic single-walled carbon nanotubes. The analysis is based on the quantum linearized hydrodynamic formalism of collective excitations within the quasi-static approximation. It is shown when the electronic de Broglie's wavelength of the plasma is comparable in the order of magnitude to the radius of the nanotube, the quantum effects are quite meaningful and our model anticipates one acoustical and two optical space-charge waves which are positioned into three propagating bands. With increasing the nanotube radius, the features of the acoustical branch remain unchanged, yet two distinct optical branches are degenerated and the classical behavior is recovered. This study might provide a platform to create new finite transverse cross section quantum magnetized plasmas and to devise nanometer dusty plasmas based on the metallic carbon nanotubes in the absence of either a drift or a thermal electronic velocity and their existence could be experimentally examined

Dusty plasmas in application to astrophysics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Verheest, F.

1999-01-01

Highly charged and massive dust grains have much smaller characteristic frequencies than electrons and ions and lead to interesting modifications of existing modes and to exciting new possibilities for modes and instabilities at the lower frequency end of the spectrum. Space observations of planets and comets have shown wave-like behaviour which can only be explained by the presence of charged dust grains. Two typical solar system applications are spokes and braids in the rings of Saturn and the influence of charged dust on the pickup process of ions of cometary origin by the solar wind. As dust is ubiquitous in the universe, the Jeans instability in astrophysics is modified by incorporating plasma and charged dust and treating electromagnetic and self-gravitational aspects together. Besides the usual mechanism based upon thermal agitation, other ways of countering gravitational contraction are via excitation of electrostatic dust-acoustic modes or via Alfven-Jeans instabilities for perpendicular magnetosonic waves. The unstable wavelengths tend to be much larger, due to the dominance of plasma and magnetic pressures in inhibiting gravitational collapse. (author)

Complex astrophysical experiments relating to jets, solar loops, and water ice dusty plasma

Science.gov (United States)

Bellan, P. M.; Zhai, X.; Chai, K. B.; Ha, B. N.

2015-10-01

> Recent results of three astrophysically relevant experiments at Caltech are summarized. In the first experiment magnetohydrodynamically driven plasma jets simulate astrophysical jets that undergo a kink instability. Lateral acceleration of the kinking jet spawns a Rayleigh-Taylor instability, which in turn spawns a magnetic reconnection. Particle heating and a burst of waves are observed in association with the reconnection. The second experiment uses a slightly different setup to produce an expanding arched plasma loop which is similar to a solar corona loop. It is shown that the plasma in this loop results from jets originating from the electrodes. The possibility of a transition from slow to fast expansion as a result of the expanding loop breaking free of an externally imposed strapping magnetic field is investigated. The third and completely different experiment creates a weakly ionized plasma with liquid nitrogen cooled electrodes. Water vapour injected into this plasma forms water ice grains that in general are ellipsoidal and not spheroidal. The water ice grains can become quite long (up to several hundred microns) and self-organize so that they are evenly spaced and vertically aligned.

Jeans instability of inhomogeneous dusty plasma with polarization force, ionization and recombination

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jain, Shweta; Sharma, Prerana; Chhajlani, R K

2017-01-01

The self-gravitational Jeans instability has been studied in dusty plasma containing significant background of neutral pressure and recombination of ions and electrons on the dust surface. The full dynamics of charged dust grains, ions and neutral species are employed considering the electrons as Maxwellian. We have derived the general dispersion relation for collisional dusty plasma with ionization, recombination and polarization force. The general dispersion relation describes the effects of considered parameters which are solved in different dusty plasma situations. Further, the dispersion relation is solved numerically. The present work is applicable to understand the structure formation of interstellar molecular clouds in astrophysical plasma. (paper)

Jeans instability of inhomogeneous dusty plasma with polarization force, ionization and recombination

Science.gov (United States)

Jain, Shweta; Sharma, Prerana; Chhajlani, R. K.

2017-05-01

The self-gravitational Jeans instability has been studied in dusty plasma containing significant background of neutral pressure and recombination of ions and electrons on the dust surface. The full dynamics of charged dust grains, ions and neutral species are employed considering the electrons as Maxwellian. We have derived the general dispersion relation for collisional dusty plasma with ionization, recombination and polarization force. The general dispersion relation describes the effects of considered parameters which are solved in different dusty plasma situations. Further, the dispersion relation is solved numerically. The present work is applicable to understand the structure formation of interstellar molecular clouds in astrophysical plasma.

Conditions for double layers in the earth's magnetosphere and perhaps in other astrophysical objects

Science.gov (United States)

Lyons, L. R.

1987-01-01

It is suggested that the features which govern the formation of the double layers are: (1) the divergence of the magnetospheric electric field, (2) the ionospheric conductivity, and (3) the current-voltage characteristics of auroral magnetic field lines. Also considered are conditions in other astrophysical objects that could lead to the formation of DLs in a manner analogous to what occurs in the earth's auroral zones. It is noted that two processes can drive divergent Pedersen currents within a collisional conducting layer: (1) sheared plasma flow applied anywhere along the magnetic field lines connected to the conducting layer and (2) a neutral flow with shear within the conducting layer.

Electron heat transport analysis of low-collisionality plasmas in the neoclassical-transport-optimized configuration of LHD

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Murakami, Sadayoshi; Yamada, Hiroshi; Wakasa, Arimitsu

2002-01-01

Electron heat transport in low-collisionality LHD plasma is investigated in order to study the neoclassical transport optimization effect on thermal plasma transport with an optimization level typical of so-called ''advanced stellarators''. In the central region, a higher electron temperature is obtained in the optimized configuration, and transport analysis suggests the considerable effect of neoclassical transport on the electron heat transport assuming the ion-root level of radial electric field. The obtained experimental results support future reactor design in which the neoclassical and/or anomalous transports are reduced by magnetic field optimization in a non-axisymmetric configuration. (author)

Plasma out of thermodynamical equilibrium: influence of the plasma environment on atomic structure and collisional cross sections

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Belkhiri, Madeny

2014-01-01

In hot dense plasmas, the free-electron and ion spatial distribution may strongly affect the atomic structure. To account for such effects we have implemented a potential correction based on the uniform electron gas model and on a Thomas-Fermi Approach in the Flexible Atomic Code (FAC). This code has been applied to obtain energies, wave-functions and radiative rates modified by the plasma environment. In hydrogen-like ions, these numerical results have been successfully compared to an analytical calculation based on first-order perturbation theory. In the case of multi-electron ions, we observe level crossings in agreement with another recent model calculation. Various methods for the collision cross-section calculations are reviewed. The influence of plasma environment on these cross-sections is analyzed in detail. Some analytical expressions are proposed for hydrogen-like ions in the limit where Born or Lotz approximations apply and are compared to the numerical results from the FAC code. Finally, from this work, we study the influence of the plasma environment on our collisional-radiative model so-called Foch. Because of this environment, the mean charge state of the ions increases. The line shift is observed on the bound-bound emission spectra. A good agreement is found between our work and experimental data on a Titanium plasma. (author) [fr

Astrophysical Aspects of Neutrino Dynamics in Ultradegenerate Quark Gluon Plasma

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Souvik Priyam Adhya

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The cardinal focus of the present review is to explore the role of neutrinos originating from the ultradense core of neutron stars composed of quark gluon plasma in the astrophysical scenario. The collective excitations of the quarks involving the neutrinos through the different kinematical processes have been studied. The cooling of the neutron stars as well as pulsar kicks due to asymmetric neutrino emission has been discussed in detail. Results involving calculation of relevant physical quantities like neutrino mean free path and emissivity have been presented in the framework of non-Fermi liquid behavior as applicable to ultradegenerate plasma.

Modeling of collisional excited x-ray lasers using short pulse laser pumping

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sasaki, Akira; Moribayashi, Kengo; Utsumi, Takayuki; Tajima, Toshiki [Japan Atomic Energy Research Inst., Neyagawa, Osaka (Japan). Kansai Research Establishment

1998-03-01

A simple atomic kinetics model of electron collisional excited x-ray lasers has been developed. The model consists of a collisional radiative model using the average ion model (AIM) and a detailed term accounting (DTA) model of Ni-like Ta. An estimate of plasma condition to produce gain in Ni-like Ta ({lambda}=44A) is given. Use of the plasma confined in a cylinder is proposed to preform a uniform high density plasma from 1-D hydrodynamics calculations. (author)

Influence of ions on relativistic double layers radiation in astrophysical plasmas

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

AM Ahadi

2009-12-01

Full Text Available As double layers (DLs are one of the most important acceleration mechanisms in space as well as in laboratory plasmas, they are studied from different points of view. In this paper, the emitted power and energy radiated from charged particles, accelerated in relativistic cosmic DLs are investigated. The effect of the presence of additional ions in a multi-species plasma, as a real example of astrophysical plasma, is also investigated. Considering the acceleration role of DLs, radiations from accelerated charged particles could be seen as a loss mechanism. These radiations are influenced directly by the additional ion species as well as their relative densities.

The stability of weakly collisional plasmas with thermal and composition gradients

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pessah, M.E.; Chakraborty, S.

2013-01-01

and magnitudes of the gradients in the temperature and the mean molecular weight, the plasma can be subject to a wide variety of unstable modes which include modifications to the magnetothermal instability (MTI), the heat-flux-driven buoyancy instability (HBI), and overstable gravity modes previously studied...... in homogeneous media. We also find that there are new modes which are driven by heat conduction and particle diffusion. We discuss the astrophysical implications of our findings for a representative galaxy cluster where helium has sedimented. Our findings suggest that the core insulation that results from...

Experimental evidence for collisional shock formation via two obliquely merging supersonic plasma jets

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Merritt, Elizabeth C., E-mail: emerritt@lanl.gov; Adams, Colin S. [Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545 (United States); University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87131 (United States); Moser, Auna L.; Hsu, Scott C., E-mail: scotthsu@lanl.gov; Dunn, John P.; Miguel Holgado, A. [Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545 (United States); Gilmore, Mark A. [University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87131 (United States)

2014-05-15

We report spatially resolved measurements of the oblique merging of two supersonic laboratory plasma jets. The jets are formed and launched by pulsed-power-driven railguns using injected argon, and have electron density ∼10{sup 14} cm{sup −3}, electron temperature ≈1.4 eV, ionization fraction near unity, and velocity ≈40 km/s just prior to merging. The jet merging produces a few-cm-thick stagnation layer, as observed in both fast-framing camera images and multi-chord interferometer data, consistent with collisional shock formation [E. C. Merritt et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 111, 085003 (2013)].

Transition from Collisionless to Collisional MRI

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sharma, Prateek; Hammett, Gregory W.; Quataert, Eliot

2003-01-01

Recent calculations by Quataert et al. (2002) found that the growth rates of the magnetorotational instability (MRI) in a collisionless plasma can differ significantly from those calculated using MHD. This can be important in hot accretion flows around compact objects. In this paper, we study the transition from the collisionless kinetic regime to the collisional MHD regime, mapping out the dependence of the MRI growth rate on collisionality. A kinetic closure scheme for a magnetized plasma is used that includes the effect of collisions via a BGK operator. The transition to MHD occurs as the mean free path becomes short compared to the parallel wavelength 2*/k(sub)||. In the weak magnetic field regime where the Alfven and MRI frequencies w are small compared to the sound wave frequency k(sub)||c(sub)0, the dynamics are still effectively collisionless even if omega << v, so long as the collision frequency v << k(sub)||c(sub)0; for an accretion flow this requires n less than or approximately equal to *(square root of b). The low collisionality regime not only modifies the MRI growth rate, but also introduces collisionless Landau or Barnes damping of long wavelength modes, which may be important for the nonlinear saturation of the MRI

Coherent emission mechanisms in astrophysical plasmas

Science.gov (United States)

Melrose, D. B.

2017-12-01

Three known examples of coherent emission in radio astronomical sources are reviewed: plasma emission, electron cyclotron maser emission (ECME) and pulsar radio emission. Plasma emission is a multi-stage mechanism with the first stage being generation of Langmuir waves through a streaming instability, and subsequent stages involving partial conversion of the Langmuir turbulence into escaping radiation at the fundamental (F) and second harmonic (H) of the plasma frequency. The early development and subsequent refinements of the theory, motivated by application to solar radio bursts, are reviewed. The driver of the instability is faster electrons outpacing slower electrons, resulting in a positive gradient ({d}f(v_allel )/{d}v_allel >0) at the front of the beam. Despite many successes of the theory, there is no widely accepted explanation for type I bursts and various radio continua. The earliest models for ECME were purely theoretical, and the theory was later adapted and applied to Jupiter (DAM), the Earth (AKR), solar spike bursts and flare stars. ECME strongly favors the x mode, whereas plasma emission favors the o mode. Two drivers for ECME are a ring feature (implying {d}f(v)/{d}v>0) and a loss-cone feature. Loss-cone-driven ECME was initially favored for all applications. The now favored driver for AKR is the ring-feature in a horseshoe distribution, which results from acceleration by a parallel electric on converging magnetic field lines. The driver in DAM and solar and stellar applications is uncertain. The pulsar radio emission mechanism remains an enigma. Ingredients needed in discussing possible mechanisms are reviewed: general properties of pulsars, pulsar electrodynamics, the properties of pulsar plasma and wave dispersion in such plasma. Four specific emission mechanisms (curvature emission, linear acceleration emission, relativistic plasma emission and anomalous Doppler emission) are discussed and it is argued that all encounter difficulties. Coherent

A simulation package for soft X-ray and EUV spectroscopy of astrophysical and laboratory plasmas in different environments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liang, G Y; Li, F; Wang, F L; Zhong, J Y; Zhao, G; Wu, Y

2014-01-01

Spectroscopic researches in astronomy are significantly dependent on theoretical modelling methods, such as Chianti, Xstar, Cloudy etc. Recently, a different research community - Laboratory Astrophysics tries to benchmark these theoretical models or simulate the astrophysical phenomenon directly in conditions accessed in ground laboratory. Those unavoidable differences between the astrophysical objects and laboratory provide a need for a self-consistent model to make a bridge for the two cases. So we setup a visualized simulation package for soft X-ray and EUV spectroscopy in astrophysical and laboratory plasmas.

Influence of the plasma pedestal parameters on ELM mitigation at low collisionality

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Leuthold, Nils [Max-Planck-Institut fuer Plasmaphysik, Boltzmannstr. 2, 85748 Garching (Germany); Universitaet Bayreuth, Universitaetsstrasse 30, 95440 Bayreuth (Germany); Suttrop, Wolfgang [Max-Planck-Institut fuer Plasmaphysik, Boltzmannstr. 2, 85748 Garching (Germany)

2016-07-01

The control of Edge Localized Modes (ELMs) is of great importance for future fusion devices in order to provide longevity of the plasma facing components and a better overall plasma performance. In recent magnetic perturbation ELM mitigation experiments in ASDEX Upgrade at low pedestal collisionality, the dependence of ELM losses on pedestal parameters is investigated. It is found that the reduction of the stored energy loss associated with ELMs occurs in correlation with a reduction of edge density and edge pedestal pressure induced by the applied magnetic perturbation (''pedestal pump-out''). Significant ELM mitigation occurs at lowest densities, in a region of pedestal n-T parameter space that has not been accessible in ASDEX Upgrade without magnetic perturbations, and which is occupied by type-IV ELMs in DIII-D. The role of magnetic perturbations for ELM mitigation will be discussed in this context and attempts to counteract the confinement loss by increasing neutral beam injection power or pellet injection increases the ELM energy losses.

The effect of collisionality and diamagnetism on the plasma dynamo

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ji, H.; Yagi, Y.; Hattori, K.; Hirano, Y.; Shimada, T.; Maejima, Y.; Hayase, K.; Almagri, A.F.; Prager, S.C.; Sarff, J.S.

1995-01-01

Fluctuation-induced dynamo forces are measured over a wide range of electron collisionality in the edge of TPE-1RM20 Reversed-Field Pinch (RFP). In the collisionless region the Magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) dynamo alone can sustain the parallel current, while in the collisional region a new dynamo mechanism resulting from the fluctuations in the electron diamagnetic drift becomes dominant. A comprehensive picture of the RFP dynamo emerges by combining with earlier results from MST and REPUTE RFPs

Fully nonlinear heavy ion-acoustic solitary waves in astrophysical degenerate relativistic quantum plasmas

Science.gov (United States)

Sultana, S.; Schlickeiser, R.

2018-05-01

Fully nonlinear features of heavy ion-acoustic solitary waves (HIASWs) have been investigated in an astrophysical degenerate relativistic quantum plasma (ADRQP) containing relativistically degenerate electrons and non-relativistically degenerate light ion species, and non-degenerate heavy ion species. The pseudo-energy balance equation is derived from the fluid dynamical equations by adopting the well-known Sagdeev-potential approach, and the properties of arbitrary amplitude HIASWs are examined. The small amplitude limit for the propagation of HIASWs is also recovered. The basic features (width, amplitude, polarity, critical Mach number, speed, etc.) of HIASWs are found to be significantly modified by the relativistic effect of the electron species, and also by the variation of the number density of electron, light ion, and heavy ion species. The basic properties of HIASWs, that may propagated in some realistic astrophysical plasma systems (e.g., in white dwarfs), are briefly discussed.

Particle and parallel momentum balance equations with inclusion of drifts, for modelling strong- to weakly-collisional edge plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chankin, A. V.; Stangeby, P. C.

2006-01-01

A system of plasma particle and parallel momentum balance equations is derived appropriate for understanding the role of drifts in the edge and for edge modelling, particularly in the scrape-off layer (SOL) of tokamaks, stellarators and other magnetic confinement devices. The formulation allows for strong collisionality-but also covers the case of weak collisionality and strong drifts, a combination often encountered in the SOL. The most important terms are identified by assessing the magnitude of characteristic velocities and fluxes for the plasma edge region. Explanations of the physical nature of each term are provided. A number of terms that are sometimes not included in edge modelling has been included in the parallel momentum balance equation after detailed analysis of the parallel component of the gradient of the total pressure-stress tensor. This includes terms related to curvature and divergence of the field lines, as well as further contributions coming from viscous forces related mainly to the ion centrifugal drift. All these terms are shown to be roughly of the same order of magnitude as convective momentum fluxes related to drifts and therefore should be included in the momentum balance equation

Magnetic Field Effects and Electromagnetic Wave Propagation in Highly Collisional Plasmas.

Science.gov (United States)

Bozeman, Steven Paul

The homogeneity and size of radio frequency (RF) and microwave driven plasmas are often limited by insufficient penetration of the electromagnetic radiation. To investigate increasing the skin depth of the radiation, we consider the propagation of electromagnetic waves in a weakly ionized plasma immersed in a steady magnetic field where the dominant collision processes are electron-neutral and ion-neutral collisions. Retaining both the electron and ion dynamics, we have adapted the theory for cold collisionless plasmas to include the effects of these collisions and obtained the dispersion relation at arbitrary frequency omega for plane waves propagating at arbitrary angles with respect to the magnetic field. We discuss in particular the cases of magnetic field enhanced wave penetration for parallel and perpendicular propagation, examining the experimental parameters which lead to electromagnetic wave propagation beyond the collisional skin depth. Our theory predicts that the most favorable scaling of skin depth with magnetic field occurs for waves propagating nearly parallel to B and for omega << Omega_{rm e} where Omega_{rm e} is the electron cyclotron frequency. The scaling is less favorable for propagation perpendicular to B, but the skin depth does increase for this case as well. Still, to achieve optimal wave penetration, we find that one must design the plasma configuration and antenna geometry so that one generates primarily the appropriate angles of propagation. We have measured plasma wave amplitudes and phases using an RF magnetic probe and densities using Stark line broadening. These measurements were performed in inductively coupled plasmas (ICP's) driven with a standard helical coil, a reverse turn (Stix) coil, and a flat spiral coil. Density measurements were also made in a microwave generated plasma. The RF magnetic probe measurements of wave propagation in a conventional ICP with wave propagation approximately perpendicular to B show an increase in

Collisional plasma transport: two-dimensional scalar formulation of the initial boundary value problem and quasi one-dimensional models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mugge, J.W.

1979-10-01

The collisional plasma transport problem is formulated as an initial boundary value problem for general characteristic boundary conditions. Starting from the full set of hydrodynamic and electrodynamic equations an expansion in the electron-ion mass ratio together with a multiple timescale method yields simplified equations on each timescale. On timescales where many collisions have taken place for the simplified equations the initial boundary value problem is formulated. Through the introduction of potentials a two-dimensional scalar formulation in terms of quasi-linear integro-differential equations of second order for a domain consisting of plasma and vacuum sub-domains is obtained. (Auth.)

R-matrix calculations for electron impact excitation and their application in astrophysical plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liang, G Y; Badnell, N R; Zhao, G; Del Zanna, G; Mason, H E; Storey, P J

2012-01-01

The large number of high-resolution spectra routinely recorded in the astrophysical and fusion communities leads to the need for an extensive set of accurate baseline atomic data. The advantages of the intermediate-coupling frame transformation (ICFT) R-matrix method make it feasible to provide excitation data along iso-electronic sequences (Z ≤ 36) at the high level of accuracy afforded by the R-matrix method. The resultant data helps to overcome the longstanding shortcomings in X-ray and EUV astronomy. This is one of the key goals of the UK Atomic Processes for Astrophysical Plasmas (APAP) network.

Temperature Measurements of Dense Plasmas by Detailed Balance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Holl, A; Redmer, R; Ropke, G; Reinholz, H; Thiele, R; Fortmann, C; Forster, E; Cao, L; Tschentscher, T; Toleikis, S; Glenzer, S H

2006-01-01

Plasmas at high electron densities of n e = 10 20 - 10 26 cm -3 and moderate temperatures T e = 1 - 20 eV are important for laboratory astrophysics, high energy density science and inertial confinement fusion. These plasmas are usually referred to as Warm Dense Matter (WDM) and are characterized by a coupling parameter of Λ ∼> 1 where correlations become important. The characterization of such plasmas is still a challenging task due to the lack of direct measurement techniques for temperatures and densities. They propose to measure the Thomson scattering spectrum of vacuum-UV radiation off density fluctuations in the plasma. Collective Thomson scattering provides accurate data for the electron temperature applying first principles. Further, this method takes advantage of the spectral asymmetry resulting from detailed balance and is independent of collisional effects in these dense systems

Kinetic particle simulation study of parallel heat transport in scrape-off layer plasmas over a wide range of collisionalities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Froese, Aaron; Takizuka, Tomonori; Yagi, Masatoshi

2010-01-01

Fluid models are not generally applicable to fusion edge plasmas without external provision of kinetic factors: closure parameters and boundary conditions inside the sheath region. We explain the PARASOL-1D simulation, a particle-in-cell code with a binary collision Monte-Carlo model, and use it to determine four kinetic factors commonly needed in fluid codes. These are the electron and ion heat flux limiting factors, α e and α i , the ion adiabatic index, γ A , and the electron and ion temperature anisotropy, T ‖ /T ⊥ . We survey these factors over a wide range of collisionalities and find that, as predicted, the conductive heat flux is accurately described by the Spitzer-Härm expression in the collisional limit and asymptotes to a constant value in the collisionless limit. However, unique behavior occurs in the weakly collisional regime when the ratio of the mean free path to connection length is 0.1 < λ mfp /L ‖ < 10, when the SOL is between the conduction- and sheath-limited regimes. We find that α e can peak, becoming larger than the collisionless limit, γ A is less than unity, and only the ions are anisotropic. The effects of electron energy radiation and Langevin heating are explored. Finally, the strong deviations of the energy distribution function from Maxwellian in the weakly collisional and collisionless regimes are explained. (author)

Parametric instabilities in shallow water magnetohydrodynamics of astrophysical plasma in external magnetic field

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Klimachkov, D.A., E-mail: klimachkovdmitry@gmail.com [Space Research Institute of Russian Academy of Science, 84/32, Profsoyuznaya str., Moscow, 117997 (Russian Federation); Petrosyan, A.S. [Space Research Institute of Russian Academy of Science, 84/32, Profsoyuznaya str., Moscow, 117997 (Russian Federation); Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (State University), 9 Institutskyi per., Dolgoprudny, Moscow Region, 141700 (Russian Federation)

2017-01-15

This article deals with magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) flows of a thin rotating layer of astrophysical plasma in external magnetic field. We use the shallow water approximation to describe thin rotating plasma layer with a free surface in a vertical external magnetic field. The MHD shallow water equations with external vertical magnetic field are revised by supplementing them with the equations that are consequences of the magnetic field divergence-free conditions and reveal the existence of third component of the magnetic field in such approximation providing its relation with the horizontal magnetic field. It is shown that the presence of a vertical magnetic field significantly changes the dynamics of the wave processes in astrophysical plasma compared to the neutral fluid and plasma layer in a toroidal magnetic field. The equations for the nonlinear wave packets interactions are derived using the asymptotic multiscale method. The equations for three magneto-Poincare waves interactions, for three magnetostrophic waves interactions, for the interactions of two magneto-Poincare waves and for one magnetostrophic wave and two magnetostrophic wave and one magneto-Poincare wave interactions are obtained. The existence of parametric decay and parametric amplifications is predicted. We found following four types of parametric decay instabilities: magneto-Poincare wave decays into two magneto-Poincare waves, magnetostrophic wave decays into two magnetostrophic waves, magneto-Poincare wave decays into one magneto-Poincare wave and one magnetostrophic wave, magnetostrophic wave decays into one magnetostrophic wave and one magneto-Poincare wave. Following mechanisms of parametric amplifications are found: parametric amplification of magneto-Poincare waves, parametric amplification of magnetostrophic waves, magneto-Poincare wave amplification in magnetostrophic wave presence and magnetostrophic wave amplification in magneto-Poincare wave presence. The instabilities growth rates

Production of radiatively cooled hypersonic plasma jets and links to astrophysical jets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lebedev, S V; Ciardi, A; Ampleford, D J; Bland, S N; Bott, S C; Chittenden, J P; Hall, G N; Rapley, J; Jennings, C; Sherlock, M; Frank, A; Blackman, E G

2005-01-01

We present results of high energy density laboratory experiments on the production of supersonic radiatively cooled plasma jets with dimensionless parameters (Mach number ∼30, cooling parameter ∼1 and density contrast ρ j /ρ a ∼ 10) similar to those in young stellar objects jets. The jets are produced using two modifications of wire array Z-pinch driven by 1 MA, 250 ns current pulse of MAGPIE facility at Imperial College, London. In the first set of experiments the produced jets are purely hydrodynamic and are used to study deflection of the jets by the plasma cross-wind, including the structure of internal oblique shocks in the jets. In the second configuration the jets are driven by the pressure of the toroidal magnetic field and this configuration is relevant to the astrophysical models of jet launching mechanisms. Modifications of the experimental configuration allowing the addition of the poloidal magnetic field and angular momentum to the jets are also discussed. We also present three-dimensional resistive magneto-hydrodynamic simulations of the experiments and discuss the scaling of the experiments to the astrophysical systems

Visco-instability of shear viscoelastic collisional dusty plasma systems

Science.gov (United States)

Mahdavi-Gharavi, M.; Hajisharifi, K.; Mehidan, H.

2018-04-01

In this paper, the stability of Newtonian and non-Newtonian viscoelastic collisional shear-velocity dusty plasmas is studied, using the framework of a generalized hydrodynamic (GH) model. Motivated by Banerjee et al.'s work (Banerjee et al., New J. Phys., vol. 12 (12), 2010, p. 123031), employing linear perturbation theory as well as the local approximation method in the inhomogeneous direction, the dispersion relations of the Fourier modes are obtained for Newtonian and non-Newtonian dusty plasma systems in the presence of a dust-neutral friction term. The analysis of the obtained dispersion relation in the non-Newtonian case shows that the inhomogeneous viscosity force depending on the velocity shear profile can be the genesis of a free energy source which leads the shear system to be unstable. Study of the dust-neutral friction effect on the instability of the considered systems using numerical analysis of the dispersion relation in the Newtonian case demonstrates that the maximum growth rate decreases considerably by increasing the collision frequency in the hydrodynamic regime, while this reduction can be neglected in the kinetic regime. Results show a more significant stabilization role of the dust-neutral friction term in the non-Newtonian cases, through decreasing the maximum growth rate at any fixed wavenumber and construction of the instable wavenumber region. The results of the present investigation will greatly contribute to study of the time evolution of viscoelastic laboratory environments with externally applied shear; where in these experiments the dust-neutral friction process can play a considerable role.

First Test of Long-Range Collisional Drag via Plasma Wave Damping

Science.gov (United States)

Affolter, Matthew

2017-10-01

In magnetized plasmas, the rate of particle collisions is enhanced over classical predictions when the cyclotron radius rc is less than the Debye length λD. Classical theories describe local velocity scattering collisions with impact parameters ρ exchange energy and momentum over the range rc regime, the measured damping rates exceed classical predictions of collisional drag damping by as much as an order of magnitude, but agree with the new long-range enhanced collision theory. The enhanced slowing is most significant for strong magnetization and low temperatures. For example, the slowing of anti-protons at a density of 107 cm-3 and a temperature of 10 K in a 6 T trap is enhanced by a factor of 30. Supported by NSF Grant PHY-1414570 and DOE Grant DE-SC0002451. In collaboration with F. Anderegg, D.H.E. Dubin, and C.F. Driscoll.

Effects of ionization and ion loss on dust ion- acoustic solitary waves in a collisional dusty plasma with suprathermal electrons

Science.gov (United States)

Tribeche, Mouloud; Mayout, Saliha

2016-07-01

The combined effects of ionization, ion loss and electron suprathermality on dust ion- acoustic solitary waves in a collisional dusty plasma are examined. Carrying out a small but finite amplitude analysis, a damped Korteweg- de Vries (dK-- dV) equation is derived. The damping term decreases with the increase of the spectral index and saturates for Maxwellian electrons. Choosing typical plasma parameters, the analytical approximate solution of the dK- dV equation is numerically analyzed. We first neglect the ionization and ion loss effects and account only for collisions to estimate the relative importance between these damping terms which can act concurrently. Interestingly, we found that as the suprathermal character of the electrons becomes important, the strength of the collisions related dissipation becomes more important and causes the DIA solitary wave amplitude to decay more rapidly. Moreover, the collisional damping may largely prevail over the ionization and ion loss related damping. The latter becomes more effective as the electrons evolve far away from their thermal equilibrium. Our results complement and provide new insights into previously published work on this problem.

Micro- to macroscale perspectives on space plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eastman, T.E.

1993-01-01

The Earth's magnetosphere is the most accessible of natural collisionless plasma environments; an astrophysical plasma ''laboratory.'' Magnetospheric physics has been in an exploration phase since its origin 35 years ago but new coordinated, multipoint observations, theory, modeling, and simulations are moving this highly interdisciplinary field of plasma science into a new phase of synthesis and understanding. Plasma systems are ones in which binary collisions are relatively negligible and collective behavior beyond the microscale emerges. Most readily accessible natural plasma systems are collisional and nearest-neighbor classical interactions compete with longer-range plasma effects. Except for stars, most space plasmas are collisionless, however, and the effects of electrodynamic coupling dominate. Basic physical processes in such collisionless plasmas occur at micro-, meso-, and macroscales that are not merely reducible to each other in certain crucial ways as illustrated for the global coupling of the Earth's magnetosphere and for the nonlinear dynamics of charged particle motion in the magnetotail. Such global coupling and coherence makes the geospace environment, the domain of solar-terrestrial science, the most highly coupled of all physical geospheres

On the kinetic collisional theory of beam-plasma system (relativistic dielectric tensor). Vol. 2.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Khalil, Sh M; Sayed, Y A; Zaki, N G [Plasma Physics and Nuclear Fusion Department, Nuclear Research Center, Atomic Energy Authority, Cairo, (Egypt)

1996-03-01

Calculation of the dielectric tensor is useful for calculating and oscillations the stability of an inhomogeneous plasma. If the dielectric tensor is known, the problem of oscillations is reduced the derivation of the Maxwellian equations. In this case, there is no need to derive the equations of the motion of charged particles every time. The properties of the plasma, especially those connected to its instability, may be equally well specified through permittivity as through conductivity. The features of plasma instabilities and the plasma dielectric tensor are essentially affected by the presence of collision. Coloumb collisions (C.C.) are very important in the process of no linear saturation of some plasma instabilities (e.g., ion cyclotron instability, electron-ion two stream instability). For C.C., two basic properties are considered; (i) the cross section decreases rapidly as the particle velocity increases, (ii) the dominate contribution arises from a commutative effect of small-angle scattering or small-momentum transfer processes. If allowance is made for C.C. to derive the kinetic wave equations in a homogeneous plasma, it will remove the divergance in the matrix elements describing nonlinear interactions. In this paper, the collisional kinetic wave equation in cylindrical hot plasma is studied. The dielectric and polarizing tensor elements which describes the kinetic relativistic electron beam (REB) interaction with magnetized plasma into consideration the effect of pair C.C. is derived. Most research carried out in this direction has neglected the effect of C.C. In the absence of collisions, a `plauste` is formed on the distribution function, and the adsorption of the energy by the plasma stops. 1 fig.

Collisional spin-oriented Sherman function in electron-hole semiconductor plasmas: Landau damping effect

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Myoung-Jae; Jung, Young-Dae

2018-04-01

The influence of Landau damping on the spin-oriented collisional asymmetry is investigated in electron-hole semiconductor plasmas. The analytical expressions of the spin-singlet and the spin-triplet scattering amplitudes as well as the spin-oriented asymmetry Sherman function are obtained as functions of the scattering angle, the Landau parameter, the effective Debye length, and the collision energy. It is found that the Landau damping effect enhances the spin-singlet and spin-triplet scattering amplitudes in the forward and back scattering domains, respectively. It is also found that the Sherman function increases with an increase in the Landau parameter. In addition, the spin-singlet scattering process is found to be dominant rather than the spin-triplet scattering process in the high collision energy domain.

Interferometric characterization of laboratory plasma astrophysical jets produced by a 1-μs pulsed power driver

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Plouhinec, Damien; Zucchini, Frederic; Loyen, Arnaud; Sol, David; Combes, Philippe; Grunenwald, Julien; Hammer, David A.

2014-01-01

A high current driver based on microsecond LTD technology has been used to perform laboratory plasma astrophysics studies using a conical wire array load coupled a 950 kA, 1.2-μs pulsed power generator. A plasma jet is generated as a result of the on-axis shock formed by the ablation streams from the wires of a conical tungsten wire-array load together with conservation of the axial momentum. The aim of this paper is to produce a scaled-down laboratory simulation of astrophysical Herbig-Haro plasma jets occurring during star formation along with some of their interactions with the interstellar medium, such as a cross wind. Due to the relatively long duration of the current pulse delivered by the driver, the jet develops on a 2-μs timescale and grows up to 100 mm. A time-resolved laser interferometer has been fielded to measure the plasma areal electron density as a function of time in and around the plasma jets. The setup consists of a continuous diode-pumped solid state laser (5 W-532 nm), a Mach-Zehnder interferometer and fast gated visible multi frame camera. (authors)

11th International Conference on Numerical Modeling of Space Plasma Flows: ASTRONUM-2016

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2017-01-01

accretion, numerical methods for ideal and non-ideal, relativistic and nonrelativistic MHD, etc. The proceedings volume is structured so that it covers all of these topics.A distinctive feature of the ASTRONUM conference series is based on the idea that modelers working in seemingly distant fields should have an opportunity to share their scientific achievements with the broad community of computational scientists performing numerical experiments. As in previous ASTRONUM meetings, we were interested in physical systems that are coupled across a multiplicity of spatial and temporal that incorporate diverse physical processes.The contributors to this volume are both young researchers and renowned experts in space physics and astrophysics, applied mathematics, and computational physics. This book describes the application of numerical methods and the algorithms themselves, allowing us to discuss the challenges that theory imposes on numerical schemes for solving partial differential equations describing collisional and collisionless processes in space and astrophysical plasmas.We would like to thank the participants who submitted their papers to Proceedings of ASTRONUM-2016 and especially to those who reviewed manuscripts thus ensuring the high quality of this publication. We also are grateful to Adele Corona (International Conferencing and Networking Solutions) for the excellent management of the conference.The book will be useful to graduate and postgraduate students majoring in space physics, astrophysics, numerical, engineering, and applied mathematics. It is also aimed at specialists in applied mathematics, and various fields of physics that involve flows of partially ionized plasmas at both the collisional and collisionless levels.Nikolai V. Pogorelov, Edouard Audit, and Gary P. ZankApril 21, 2017 (paper)

Results from colliding magnetized plasma jet experiments executed at the Trident laser facility

Science.gov (United States)

Manuel, M. J.-E.; Rasmus, A. M.; Kurnaz, C. C.; Klein, S. R.; Davis, J. S.; Drake, R. P.; Montgomery, D. S.; Hsu, S. C.; Adams, C. S.; Pollock, B. B.

2015-11-01

The interaction of high-velocity plasma flows in a background magnetic field has applications in pulsed-power and fusion schemes, as well as astrophysical environments, such as accretion systems and stellar mass ejections into the magnetosphere. Experiments recently executed at the Trident Laser Facility at the Los Alamos National Laboratory investigated the effects of an expanding aluminum plasma flow into a uniform 4.5-Tesla magnetic field created using a solenoid designed and manufactured at the University of Michigan. Opposing-target experiments demonstrate interesting collisional behavior between the two magnetized flows. Preliminary interferometry and Faraday rotation measurements will be presented and discussed. This work is funded by the U.S Department of Energy, through the NNSA-DS and SC-OFES Joint Program in High-Energy-Density Laboratory Plasmas, grant number DE-NA0001840. Support for this work was provided by NASA through Einstein Postdoctoral Fellowship grant number PF3-140111 awarded by the Chandra X-ray Center, which is operated by the Astrophysical Observatory for NASA under contract NAS8-03060.

Simulations of Dynamo and Magnetorotational Instability in Madison Plasma Experiments and Astrophysical Disks

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ebrahimi, Fatima [Princeton Univ., NJ (United States). Dept. of Astrophysical Sciences

2018-02-22

Magnetic fields are observed to exist on all scales in many astrophysical sources such as stars, galaxies, and accretion discs. Understanding the origin of large scale magnetic fields, whereby the field emerges on spatial scales large compared to the fluctuations, has been a particularly long standing challenge. Our physics objective are: 1) what are the minimum ingredients for large-scale dynamo growth? 2) could a large-scale magnetic field grow out of turbulence and sustained despite the presence of dissipation? These questions are fundamental for understanding the large-scale dynamo in both laboratory and astrophysical plasmas. Here, we report major new findings in the area of Large-Scale Dynamo (magnetic field generation).

Effects of ionization and ion loss on dust ion-acoustic solitary waves in a collisional dusty plasma with suprathermal electrons

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mayout, Saliha; Gougam, Leila Ait [Faculty of Physics, Theoretical Physics Laboratory, Plasma Physics Group, University of Bab-Ezzouar, USTHB, B.P. 32, El Alia, Algiers 16111 (Algeria); Tribeche, Mouloud, E-mail: mouloudtribeche@yahoo.fr, E-mail: mtribeche@usthb.dz [Faculty of Physics, Theoretical Physics Laboratory, Plasma Physics Group, University of Bab-Ezzouar, USTHB, B.P. 32, El Alia, Algiers 16111 (Algeria); Algerian Academy of Sciences and Technologies, Algiers (Algeria)

2016-03-15

The combined effects of ionization, ion loss, and electron suprathermality on dust ion-acoustic solitary waves in a collisional dusty plasma are examined. Carrying out a small but finite amplitude analysis, a damped Korteweg-de Vries (dK–dV) equation is derived. The damping term decreases with the increase of the spectral index and saturates for Maxwellian electrons. Choosing typical plasma parameters, the analytical approximate solution of the dK-dV equation is numerically analyzed. We first neglect the ionization and ion loss effects and account only for collisions to estimate the relative importance between these damping terms which can act concurrently. Interestingly, we found that as the suprathermal character of the electrons becomes important, the strength of the collisions related dissipation becomes more important and causes the dust ion-acoustic solitary wave amplitude to decay more rapidly. Moreover, the collisional damping may largely prevail over the ionization and ion loss related damping. The latter becomes more effective as the electrons evolve far away from their thermal equilibrium. Our results complement and provide new insights into previously published work on this problem.

Effects of ionization and ion loss on dust ion-acoustic solitary waves in a collisional dusty plasma with suprathermal electrons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mayout, Saliha; Gougam, Leila Ait; Tribeche, Mouloud

2016-01-01

The combined effects of ionization, ion loss, and electron suprathermality on dust ion-acoustic solitary waves in a collisional dusty plasma are examined. Carrying out a small but finite amplitude analysis, a damped Korteweg-de Vries (dK–dV) equation is derived. The damping term decreases with the increase of the spectral index and saturates for Maxwellian electrons. Choosing typical plasma parameters, the analytical approximate solution of the dK-dV equation is numerically analyzed. We first neglect the ionization and ion loss effects and account only for collisions to estimate the relative importance between these damping terms which can act concurrently. Interestingly, we found that as the suprathermal character of the electrons becomes important, the strength of the collisions related dissipation becomes more important and causes the dust ion-acoustic solitary wave amplitude to decay more rapidly. Moreover, the collisional damping may largely prevail over the ionization and ion loss related damping. The latter becomes more effective as the electrons evolve far away from their thermal equilibrium. Our results complement and provide new insights into previously published work on this problem.

Simple Analytic Collisional Rates for non-LTE Vibrational Populations in Astrophysical Environments: the Cases of Circumstellar SiO Masers and Shocked H2

Science.gov (United States)

Bieniek, Ronald

2008-05-01

Rates for collisionally induced transitions between molecular vibrational levels are important in modeling a variety of non-LTE processes in astrophysical environments. Two examples are SiO masering in circumstellar envelopes in certain late-type stars [1] and the vibrational populations of molecular hydrogen in shocked interstellar medium [cf 2]. A simple exponential-potential model of molecular collisions leads to a two-parameter analytic expression for state-to-state and thermally averaged rates for collisionally induced vibrational-translational (VT) transitions in diatomic molecules [3,4]. The thermally averaged rates predicted by this formula have been shown to be in excellent numerical agreement with absolute experimental and quantum mechanical rates over large temperature ranges and initial vibrational excitation levels in a variety of species, e.g., OH, O2, N2 [3] and even for the rate of H2(v=1)+H2, which changes by five orders of magnitude in the temperature range 50-2000 K [4]. Analogous analytic rates will be reported for vibrational transitions in SiO due to collisions with H2 and compared to the numerical fit of quantum-mechanical rates calculated by Bieniek and Green [5]. [1] Palov, A.P., Gray, M.D., Field, D., & Balint-Kurti, G.G. 2006, ApJ, 639, 204. [2] Flower, D. 2007, Molecular Collisions in the Interstellar Medium (Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press) [3] Bieniek, R.J. & Lipson, S.J. 1996, Chem. Phys. Lett. 263, 276. [4] Bieniek, R.J. 2006, Proc. NASA LAW (Lab. Astrophys. Workshop) 2006, 299; http://www.physics.unlv.edu/labastro/nasalaw2006proceedings.pdf. [5] Bieniek, R.J., & Green, S. 1983, ApJ, 265, L29 and 1983, ApJ, 270, L101.

Collisional effects on interaction potential in complex plasma in presence of magnetic field

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bezbaruah, Pratikshya; Das, Nilakshi

2016-01-01

Interaction potential in complex plasma with streaming ions is derived analytically in presence of ion-neutral collision and magnetic field. The linear dielectric response function obtained describes the behavior of charged micron sized dust particles in strong collisional limit. A new type of repulsive potential is found to be operative among the dust grains apart from the normal Debye–Hückel potential. The amplitude and shielding length involved in the potential are substantially affected by the parameters describing ion cyclotron frequency, collision frequency among ions and neutrals, and ion streaming. It is also observed that the usual mechanism of ion focusing surrounding the grain is inhibited due to collision. As a result, the attractive wake potential structure is destroyed in the ion flow direction. The horizontal interaction involves only Debye–Hückel potential.

Collisional effects on interaction potential in complex plasma in presence of magnetic field

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bezbaruah, Pratikshya, E-mail: pratphd@tezu.ernet.in; Das, Nilakshi [Department of Physics, Tezpur University, Tezpur, Assam 784028 (India)

2016-04-15

Interaction potential in complex plasma with streaming ions is derived analytically in presence of ion-neutral collision and magnetic field. The linear dielectric response function obtained describes the behavior of charged micron sized dust particles in strong collisional limit. A new type of repulsive potential is found to be operative among the dust grains apart from the normal Debye–Hückel potential. The amplitude and shielding length involved in the potential are substantially affected by the parameters describing ion cyclotron frequency, collision frequency among ions and neutrals, and ion streaming. It is also observed that the usual mechanism of ion focusing surrounding the grain is inhibited due to collision. As a result, the attractive wake potential structure is destroyed in the ion flow direction. The horizontal interaction involves only Debye–Hückel potential.

FOREWORD: The 5th International Colloquium on Atomic Spectra and Oscillator Strengths for Astrophysical and Laboratory Plasmas

Science.gov (United States)

Tchang-Brillet, Wad Lydia; Wyart, Jean-François; Zeippen, Claude

1996-01-01

The 5th International Colloquium on Atomic Spectra and Oscillator Strengths for Astrophysical and Laboratory Plasmas was held in Meudon, France, from August 28 to 31 1995. It was the fifth in a series started by the Atomic Spectroscopic Group at the University of Lund, Sweden, in 1983. Then followed the meetings in Toledo, USA, Amsterdam, The Nether- lands and Gaithersburg, USA, with a three year period. The original title of the series ended with "... for Astrophysics and Fusion Research" and became more general with the 4th colloquium in Gaithersburg. The purpose of the present meeting was, in line with tradition, to bring together "producers" and "users" of atomic data so as to ensure optimal coordination. Atomic physicists who study the structure of atoms and their radiative and collisional properties were invited to explain the development of their work, emphasizing the possibilities of producing precise transition wavelengths and relative line intensities. Astrophysicists and laboratory plasma physicists were invited to review their present research interests and the context in which atomic data are needed. The number of participants was about 70 for the first three meetings, then exploded to 170 at Gaithersburg. About 140 participants, coming from 13 countries, attended the colloquium in Meudon. This large gathering was partly due to a number of participants from Eastern Europe larger than in the past, and it certainly showed a steady interest for interdisciplinary exchanges between different communities of scientists. This volume includes all the invited papers given at the conference and, in the appendix, practical information on access to some databases. All invited speakers presented their talks aiming at good communication between scientists from different backgrounds. A separate bound volume containing extended abstracts of the poster papers has been published by the Publications de l'Observatoire de Paris, (Meudon 1996), under the responsibility of

Terahertz radiation generation by beating of two laser beams in a collisional plasma with oblique magnetic field

Science.gov (United States)

Hematizadeh, Ayoob; Jazayeri, Seyed Masud; Ghafary, Bijan

2018-02-01

A scheme for excitation of terahertz (THz) radiation is presented by photo mixing of two super-Gaussian laser beams in a rippled density collisional magnetized plasma. Lasers having different frequencies and wave numbers but the same electric fields create a ponderomotive force on the electrons of plasma in the beating frequency. Super-Gaussian laser beam has the exclusive features such as steep gradient in laser intensity distribution, wider cross-section in comparison with Gaussian profiles, which make stronger ponderomotive force and higher THz radiation. The magnetic field is considered oblique to laser beams propagation direction; in this case, depending on the phase matching conditions different mode waves can propagate in plasma. It is found that amplitude and efficiency of the emitted THz radiation not only are sensitive to the beating frequency, collision frequency, and magnetic field strength but to the angle between laser beams and static magnetic field. The efficiency of THz radiation can be optimized in a certain angle.

Analytical investigation on domain of decentered parameter for self-focusing of Hermite-cosh-Gaussian laser beam in collisional plasma

Science.gov (United States)

Valkunde, Amol T.; Patil, Sandip D.; Vhanmore, Bandopant D.; Urunkar, Trupti U.; Gavade, Kusum M.; Takale, Mansing V.; Fulari, Vijay J.

2018-03-01

In the present paper, an analytically investigated domain of decentered parameter and its effect on the self-focusing of Hermit-cosh-Gaussian (HChG) laser beams in a collisional plasma have been studied theoretically. The nonlinearity in the dielectric constant of plasma arising due to the nonuniform heating of carriers along the wavefront of the laser beam has been employed in the present investigation. The nonlinear differential equation of beam width parameter for various laser modes of HChG beam is obtained by following the standard Akhamanov's parabolic equation approach under Wentzel-Kramers-Brillouin and paraxial approximations. The analytical treatment has enabled us to define three distinct regions: self-focusing, self-trapping and defocusing, which are presented graphically.

Electrostatic instabilities and nonlinear structures of low-frequency waves in nonuniform electron-positron-ion plasmas with shear flow

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mirza, Arshad M.; Hasan, Asma; Azeem, M.; Saleem, H.

2003-01-01

It is found that the low-frequency ion acoustic and electrostatic drift waves can become unstable in uniform electron-ion and electron-positron-ion plasmas due to the ion shear flow. In a collisional plasma a drift-dissipative instability can also take place. In the presence of collisions the temporal behavior of nonlinear drift-dissipative mode can be represented in the form of well-known Lorenz and Stenflo type equations that admit chaotic trajectories. On the other hand, a quasi-stationary solution of the mode coupling equations can be represented in the form of monopolar vortex. The results of the present investigation can be helpful in understanding electrostatic turbulence and wave phenomena in laboratory and astrophysical plasmas

MHD description of plasma: handbook of plasma physics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kulsrud, R.M.

1980-10-01

The basic sets of MHD equations for the description of a plasma in various limits are derived and their usefulness and limits of validity are discussed. These limits are: the one fluid collisional plasma, the two fluid collisional plasma, the Chew-Goldberger Low formulation of the guiding center limit of a collisionless plasma and the double-adiabatic limit. Conservation relations are derived from these sets and the mathematics of the concept of flux freezing is given. An example is given illustrating the differences between guiding center theory and double adiabatic theory

High density plasmas formation in Inertial Confinement Fusion and Astrophysics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Martinez-Val, J. M.; Minguez, E.; Velarde, P.; Perlado, J. M.; Velarde, G.; Bravo, E.; Eliezer, S.; Florido, R.; Garcia Rubiano, J.; Garcia-Senz, D.; Gil de la Fe, J. M.; Leon, P. T.; Martel, P.; Ogando, F.; Piera, M.; Relano, A.; Rodriguez, R.; Garcia, C.; Gonzalez, E.; Lachaise, M.; Oliva, E.

2005-01-01

In inertially confined fusion (ICF), high densities are required to obtain high gains. In Fast Ignition, a high density, low temperature plasma can be obtained during the compression. If the final temperature reached is low enough, the electrons of the plasma can be degenerate. In degenerate plasmas. Bremsstrahlung emission is strongly suppressed an ignition temperature becomes lower than in classical plasmas, which offers a new design window for ICF. The main difficulty of degenerate plasmas in the compression energy needed for high densities. Besides that, the low specific heat of degenerate electrons (as compared to classical values) is also a problem because of the rapid heating of the plasma. Fluid dynamic evolution of supernovae remnants is a very interesting problem in order to predict the thermodynamical conditions achieved in their collision regions. Those conditions have a strong influence in the emission of light and therefore the detection of such events. A laboratory scale system has been designed reproducing the fluid dynamic field in high energy experiments. The evolution of the laboratory system has been calculated with ARWEN code, 2D Radiation CFD that works with Adaptive Mesh Refinement. Results are compared with simulations on the original system obtained with a 3D SPH astrophysical code. New phenomena at the collision plane and scaling of the laboratory magnitudes will be described. Atomic physics for high density plasmas has been studied with participation in experiments to obtain laser produced high density plasmas under NLTE conditions, carried out at LULI. A code, ATOM3R, has been developed which solves rate equations for optically thin plasmas as well as for homogeneous optically thick plasmas making use of escape factors. New improvements in ATOM3R are been done to calculate level populations and opacities for non homogeneous thick plasmas in NLTE, with emphasis in He and H lines for high density plasma diagnosis. Analytical expression

Rovibrationally Resolved Time-Dependent Collisional-Radiative Model of Molecular Hydrogen and Its Application to a Fusion Detached Plasma

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Keiji Sawada

2016-12-01

Full Text Available A novel rovibrationally resolved collisional-radiative model of molecular hydrogen that includes 4,133 rovibrational levels for electronic states whose united atom principal quantum number is below six is developed. The rovibrational X 1 Σ g + population distribution in a SlimCS fusion demo detached divertor plasma is investigated by solving the model time dependently with an initial 300 K Boltzmann distribution. The effective reaction rate coefficients of molecular assisted recombination and of other processes in which atomic hydrogen is produced are calculated using the obtained time-dependent population distribution.

Final Report. Hydrodynamics by high-energy-density plasma flow and hydrodynamics and radiative hydrodynamics with astrophysical application

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

R Paul Drake

2004-01-01

OAK-B135 This is the final report from the project Hydrodynamics by High-Energy-Density Plasma Flow and Hydrodynamics and Radiation Hydrodynamics with Astrophysical Applications. This project supported a group at the University of Michigan in the invention, design, performance, and analysis of experiments using high-energy-density research facilities. The experiments explored compressible nonlinear hydrodynamics, in particular at decelerating interfaces, and the radiation hydrodynamics of strong shock waves. It has application to supernovae, astrophysical jets, shock-cloud interactions, and radiative shock waves

Shukla-Spatschek diffusion effects on surface plasma waves in astrophysical turbulent plasmas

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Myoung-Jae; Jung, Young-Dae

2017-02-01

The effects of Shukla-Spatschek turbulent diffusion on a temporal mode of surface waves propagating at the interface of an astrophysical turbulent plasma are investigated. The damping rates for high and low modes of surface wave are kinetically derived by employing the Vlasov-Poisson equation and the specular reflection boundary condition. We found that the diffusion caused by the fluctuating electric fields leads to damping for both high and low modes of surface waves. The high-mode damping is enhanced with an increase of the wavenumber and the diffusion coefficient, but suppressed by an increase of electron thermal energy. By contrast, the low-mode damping is suppressed as the wavenumber and the thermal energy increase although it is enhanced as the diffusion increases. The variation of the damping rate due to the Shukla-Spatschek turbulent diffusion is also discussed.

Collision excitation studies useful for plasma diagnostics in astrophysics and fusion research

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Man Mohan; Aggarwal, Sunny

2015-01-01

The urgent research for energy sources has led many countries to collaborate on demonstrating the scientific and technological feasibility of magnetic fusion through the construction of International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor in France. Data on highly charged ions with high Z will be important in this quest. Atomic data such as energy levels, radiative rates and collision excitation plays an important role in fusion research and extensive knowledge of atomic parameters is needed for plasma diagnostics. There is a very limited knowledge so far about the heavy atoms due to involvement of strong relativistic effects. For heavy atoms, electron correlation effects and relativistic effects are strongly coupled making it necessary to use a relativistic theory which also incorporates 'electron correlations effects on the same footing. For treating heavy atoms there have been new developments and many codes in the relativistic domain have been developed by various authors. Among them, multi-configuration Hartree (Dirac) Fock (MCDF) model based codes have been found very useful in ab-initio investigations. We have calculated the energy levels, radiative rates and lifetimes for heavy charged F, Na and Mg like tungsten ions using MCDF and FAC and compared our results with the other available theoretical and experimental results. Also, we have performed collision excitation calculations for F, Na and Mg like tungsten ions which will be useful for astrophysical and fusion, plasma. Also, we have compared our collision excitation results with distorted wave calculations and they are found to be in good agreement. The main goal of this paper is to provide useful atomic physics data for use in fusion research and in astrophysical and industrial plasmas. (author)

Role of Magnetic Reconnection in Heating Astrophysical Plasmas

Science.gov (United States)

Hammoud, M. M.; El Eid, M.; Darwish, M.; Dayeh, M. A.

2017-12-01

The description of plasma in the context of a fluid model reveals the important phenomenon of magnetic reconnection (MGR). This process is thought to be the cause of particle heating and acceleration in various astrophysical phenomena. Examples are geomagnetic storms, solar flares, or heating the solar corona, which is the focus of the present contribution. The magnetohydrodynamic approach (MHD) provides a basic description of MGR. However, the simulation of this process is rather challenging. Although it is not yet established whether waves or reconnection play the dominant role in heating the solar atmosphere, the present goal is to examine the tremendous increase of the temperature between the solar chromosphere and the corona in a very narrow transition region. Since we are dealing with very-high temperature plasma, the modeling of such heating process seems to require a two-fluid description consisting of ions and electrons. This treatment is an extension of the one-fluid model of resistive MHD that has been recently developed by [Hammoud et al., 2017] using the modern numerical openfoam toolbox. In this work, we outline the two-fluid approach using coronal conditions, show evidence of MGR in the two-fluid description, and investigate the temperature increase as a result of this MGR process.

Anomalous transport of charged dust grains in a magnetized collisional plasma: A molecular dynamics study

Science.gov (United States)

Bezbaruah, Pratikshya; Das, Nilakshi

2018-05-01

Anomalous diffusion of charged dust grains immersed in a plasma in the presence of strong ion-neutral collision, flowing ions, and a magnetic field has been observed. Molecular Dynamics simulation confirms the deviation from normal diffusion in an ensemble of dust grains probed in laboratory plasma chambers. Collisional effects are significant in governing the nature of diffusion. In order to have a clear idea on the transport of particles in a real experimental situation, the contribution of streaming ions and the magnetic field along with collision is considered through the relevant interaction potential. The nonlinear evolution of Mean Square Displacement is an indication of the modification in particle trajectories due to several effects as mentioned above. It is found that strong collision and ion flow significantly affect the interparticle interaction potential in the presence of the magnetic field and lead to the appearance of the asymmetric type of Debye Hückel (D H) potential. Due to the combined effect of the magnetic field, ion flow, and collision, dusty plasma exhibits a completely novel behavior. The coupling parameter Γ enhances the asymmetric D H type potential arising due to ion flow, and this may drive the system to a disordered state.

High Energy Density Laboratory Astrophysics

CERN Document Server

Lebedev, Sergey V

2007-01-01

During the past decade, research teams around the world have developed astrophysics-relevant research utilizing high energy-density facilities such as intense lasers and z-pinches. Every two years, at the International conference on High Energy Density Laboratory Astrophysics, scientists interested in this emerging field discuss the progress in topics covering: - Stellar evolution, stellar envelopes, opacities, radiation transport - Planetary Interiors, high-pressure EOS, dense plasma atomic physics - Supernovae, gamma-ray bursts, exploding systems, strong shocks, turbulent mixing - Supernova remnants, shock processing, radiative shocks - Astrophysical jets, high-Mach-number flows, magnetized radiative jets, magnetic reconnection - Compact object accretion disks, x-ray photoionized plasmas - Ultrastrong fields, particle acceleration, collisionless shocks. These proceedings cover many of the invited and contributed papers presented at the 6th International Conference on High Energy Density Laboratory Astrophys...

Exploring Astrophysical Magnetohydrodynamics in the Laboratory

Science.gov (United States)

Manuel, Mario

2014-10-01

Plasma evolution in many astrophysical systems is dominated by magnetohydrodynamics. Specifically of interest to this talk are collimated outflows from accretion systems. Away from the central object, the Euler equations can represent the plasma dynamics well and may be scaled to a laboratory system. We have performed experiments to investigate the effects of a background magnetic field on an otherwise hydrodynamically collimated plasma. Laser-irradiated, cone targets produce hydrodynamically collimated plasma jets and a pulse-powered solenoid provides a constant background magnetic field. The application of this field is shown to completely disrupt the original flow and a new magnetically-collimated, hollow envelope is produced. Results from these experiments and potential implications for their astrophysical analogs will be discussed.

Self-consistent Kinetic Simulation of RMP-driven Transport: Collisionality and Rotation Effects on RMP Penetration and Transport

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Park, G.; Jeon, Y.; Kim, J., E-mail: gypark@nfri.re.kr [NFRI, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Chang, C. [Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, Princeton (United States)

2012-09-15

Full text: Control of the edge localized modes (ELMs) is one of the most critical issues for a more successful operation of ITER and the future tokamak fusion reactors. This paper reports ITER relevant simulation results from the XGC0 drift-kinetic code, with respect to the collisionality, plasma density, and rotation dependence of the RMP penetration and the RMP-driven transport in diverted DIII-D geometry with neutral recycling. The simulation results are consistent with the experimental results, and contribute to the physics understanding needed for more confident extrapolation of the present RMP experiments to ITER. It is found that plasma-responded stochasticity becomes weaker as the collisionality gets higher and RMP-driven transport (i.e., density pump-out) is much weaker in the high collisionality case compared with that in the low collisionality one, which is consistent with the recent experimental results on DIII-D and ASDEX-U tokamaks. As for rotation effect, low rotation is found not to affect the stochasticity much in the edge region, while high rotation significantly suppresses the RMPs in the core. The clear difference in RMP behavior between the low and high collisionality regimes can be understood by examining the perturbed current Fourier amplitude profiles within the range of resonant poloidal mode numbers (m = 8 - 15, n = 3). It can be seen that primary shielding currents are strongly concentrated around the steep pedestal region just inside the separatrix, which naturally produces very strong suppression of RMPs there, in low collisionality case. However, in high collisionality case, primary shielding currents are very weak and accumulating toward inner radii leading to the shielding of RMPs further into the plasma. Our kinetic simulation method is also applied to the modeling of RMP ELM control experiments on KSTAR tokamak and the results will be presented together. (author)

ENERGY RELAXATION OF HELIUM ATOMS IN ASTROPHYSICAL GASES

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lewkow, N. R.; Kharchenko, V.; Zhang, P.

2012-01-01

We report accurate parameters describing energy relaxation of He atoms in atomic gases, important for astrophysics and atmospheric science. Collisional energy exchange between helium atoms and atomic constituents of the interstellar gas, heliosphere, and upper planetary atmosphere has been investigated. Energy transfer rates, number of collisions required for thermalization, energy distributions of recoil atoms, and other major parameters of energy relaxation for fast He atoms in thermal H, He, and O gases have been computed in a broad interval of energies from 10 meV to 10 keV. This energy interval is important for astrophysical applications involving the energy deposition of energetic atoms and ions into atmospheres of planets and exoplanets, atmospheric evolution, and analysis of non-equilibrium processes in the interstellar gas and heliosphere. Angular- and energy-dependent cross sections, required for an accurate description of the momentum-energy transfer, are obtained using ab initio interaction potentials and quantum mechanical calculations for scattering processes. Calculation methods used include partial wave analysis for collisional energies below 2 keV and the eikonal approximation at energies higher than 100 eV, keeping a significant energy region of overlap, 0.1-2 keV, between these two methods for their mutual verification. The partial wave method and the eikonal approximation excellently match results obtained with each other as well as experimental data, providing reliable cross sections in the astrophysically important interval of energies from 10 meV to 10 keV. Analytical formulae, interpolating obtained energy- and angular-dependent cross sections, are presented to simplify potential applications of the reported database. Thermalization of fast He atoms in the interstellar gas and energy relaxation of hot He and O atoms in the upper atmosphere of Mars are considered as illustrative examples of potential applications of the new database.

Model of magnetic reconnection in space and astrophysical plasmas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Boozer, Allen H. [Department of Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics, Columbia University, New York, New York 10027 (United States)

2013-03-15

Maxwell's equations imply that exponentially smaller non-ideal effects than commonly assumed can give rapid magnetic reconnection in space and astrophysical plasmas. In an ideal evolution, magnetic field lines act as stretchable strings, which can become ever more entangled but cannot be cut. High entanglement makes the lines exponentially sensitive to small non-ideal changes in the magnetic field. The cause is well known in popular culture as the butterfly effect and in the theory of deterministic dynamical systems as a sensitive dependence on initial conditions, but the importance to magnetic reconnection is not generally recognized. Two-coordinate models are too constrained geometrically for the required entanglement, but otherwise the effect is general and can be studied in simple models. A simple model is introduced, which is periodic in the x and y Cartesian coordinates and bounded by perfectly conducting planes in z. Starting from a constant magnetic field in the z direction, reconnection is driven by a spatially smooth, bounded force. The model is complete and could be used to study the impulsive transfer of energy between the magnetic field and the ions and electrons using a kinetic plasma model.

Model of magnetic reconnection in space and astrophysical plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boozer, Allen H.

2013-01-01

Maxwell's equations imply that exponentially smaller non-ideal effects than commonly assumed can give rapid magnetic reconnection in space and astrophysical plasmas. In an ideal evolution, magnetic field lines act as stretchable strings, which can become ever more entangled but cannot be cut. High entanglement makes the lines exponentially sensitive to small non-ideal changes in the magnetic field. The cause is well known in popular culture as the butterfly effect and in the theory of deterministic dynamical systems as a sensitive dependence on initial conditions, but the importance to magnetic reconnection is not generally recognized. Two-coordinate models are too constrained geometrically for the required entanglement, but otherwise the effect is general and can be studied in simple models. A simple model is introduced, which is periodic in the x and y Cartesian coordinates and bounded by perfectly conducting planes in z. Starting from a constant magnetic field in the z direction, reconnection is driven by a spatially smooth, bounded force. The model is complete and could be used to study the impulsive transfer of energy between the magnetic field and the ions and electrons using a kinetic plasma model.

Determination of Non-Maxwellian Electron Energy Distributions in Low-Pressure Plasmas by Using the Optical Emission Spectroscopy and a Collisional-Radiative Model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhu Ximing; Pu Yikang

2011-01-01

A Maxwellian electron energy distribution function (EEDF) is often assumed when using the optical emission line-ratio method to determine the electron temperature in low-temperature plasmas. However, in many cases, non-Maxwellian EEDFs can be formed due to the non-local electron heating or the inelastic-collisional energy loss processes. In this work, with a collisional-radiative model, we propose an approach to obtain the non-Maxwellian EEDF with a 'two-temperature structure' from the emission line-ratios of Paschen 2p levels of argon and krypton atoms. For applications of this approach in reactive gas (CF 4 , O 2 , etc) discharges that contain argon and krypton, recommendations of some specific emission line-ratios are provided, according to their sensitivities to the EEDF variation. The kinetic processes of the relevant excited atoms are also discussed in detail. (cai awardee's article)

Determination of electron temperature and density at plasma edge in the Large Helical Device with opacity-incorporated helium collisional-radiative model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goto, M.; Sawada, K.

2014-01-01

Spectra of neutral helium in the visible wavelength range are measured for a discharge in the Large Helical Device (LHD). The electron temperature (T e ) and density (n e ) are derived from the intensity distribution of helium emission lines. For that purpose, a collisional-radiative model developed by Sawada et al. [Plasma and Fusion Res. 2010;5:001] which takes the reabsorption effect into account is used. It is found that incorporation of the reabsorption effect is necessary to obtain a set of T e and n e giving consistent line intensity distribution with the measurement, and that those parameters obtained vary as the line-averaged n e changes in the course of time. The position where the helium line emission dominantly takes place is located with the help of T e and n e profiles measured by the Thomson scattering system. The result indicates that the emission position is almost fixed at the place where the connection length of the magnetic field lines to the divertor plate leaps beyond 10 m. Because intense neutral atom line emission suggests the vigorous ionization of neutral atoms, the helium line emission location determined here can be regarded as the effective boundary of the plasma. - Highlights: • The reabsorption effect is included in the helium collisional-radiative model. • Electron temperature and density are derived for the Large Helical Device (LHD). • Line emission location is found to be little changed during the discharge. • This measurement method can be used to determine the position of effective plasma boundary

The collisional Penrose process

Science.gov (United States)

Schnittman, Jeremy D.

2018-06-01

Shortly after the discovery of the Kerr metric in 1963, it was realized that a region existed outside of the black hole's event horizon where no time-like observer could remain stationary. In 1969, Roger Penrose showed that particles within this ergosphere region could possess negative energy, as measured by an observer at infinity. When captured by the horizon, these negative energy particles essentially extract mass and angular momentum from the black hole. While the decay of a single particle within the ergosphere is not a particularly efficient means of energy extraction, the collision of multiple particles can reach arbitrarily high center-of-mass energy in the limit of extremal black hole spin. The resulting particles can escape with high efficiency, potentially serving as a probe of high-energy particle physics as well as general relativity. In this paper, we briefly review the history of the field and highlight a specific astrophysical application of the collisional Penrose process: the potential to enhance annihilation of dark matter particles in the vicinity of a supermassive black hole.

Differential neutrino rates and emissivities from the plasma process in astrophysical systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ratkovic, Sasa; Iyer Dutta, Sharada; Prakash, Madappa

2003-01-01

The differential rates and emissivities of neutrino pairs from an equilibrium plasma are calculated for the wide range of density and temperature encountered in astrophysical systems. New analytical expressions are derived for the differential emissivities which yield total emissivities in full agreement with those previously calculated. The photon and plasmon pair production and absorption kernels in the source term of the Boltzmann equation for neutrino transport are provided. The appropriate Legendre coefficients of these kernels, in forms suitable for multi-group flux-limited diffusion schemes are also computed

Collisional transport across the magnetic field in drift-fluid models

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Madsen, Jens; Naulin, Volker; Nielsen, Anders Henry

2016-01-01

Drift ordered fluid models are widely applied in studies of low-frequency turbulence in the edge and scrape-off layer regions of magnetically confined plasmas. Here, we show how collisional transport across the magnetic field is self-consistently incorporated into drift-fluid models without...

Proceedings of the eighth international colloquium on ultraviolet and x-ray spectroscopy of astrophysical and laboratory plasmas (IAU colloquium 86)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1984-01-01

This volume represents the Proceedings of the Eighth International Colloquium on Ultraviolet and X-Ray Spectroscopy of Astrophysical and Laboratory Plasmas. The aim of this series of colloquia has been to bring together workers in the fields of astrophysical spectroscopy, laboratory spectroscopy and atomic physics in order to exchange ideas and results on problems which are common to these different disciplines. In addition to the presented papers there was a poster paper session

Proceedings of the eighth international colloquium on ultraviolet and x-ray spectroscopy of astrophysical and laboratory plasmas (IAU colloquium 86)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1984-01-01

This volume represents the Proceedings of the Eighth International Colloquium on Ultraviolet and X-Ray Spectroscopy of Astrophysical and Laboratory Plasmas. The aim of this series of colloquia has been to bring together workers in the fields of astrophysical spectroscopy, laboratory spectroscopy and atomic physics in order to exchange ideas and results on problems which are common to these different disciplines. In addition to the presented papers there was a poster paper session. (WRF)

Collisional-Radiative Modeling of Tungsten at Temperatures of 1200–2400 eV

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

James Colgan

2015-04-01

Full Text Available We discuss new collisional-radiative modeling calculations of tungsten at moderate temperatures of 1200 to 2400 eV. Such plasma conditions are relevant to ongoing experimental work at ASDEX Upgrade and are expected to be relevant for ITER. Our calculations are made using the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL collisional-radiative modeling ATOMIC code. These calculations formed part of a submission to the recent NLTE-8 workshop that was held in November 2013. This series of workshops provides a forum for detailed comparison of plasma and spectral quantities from NLTE collisional-radiative modeling codes. We focus on the LANL ATOMIC calculations for tungsten that were submitted to the NLTE-8 workshop and discuss different models that were constructed to predict the tungsten emission. In particular, we discuss comparisons between semi-relativistic configuration-average and fully relativistic configuration-average calculations. We also present semi-relativistic calculations that include fine-structure detail, and discuss the difficult problem of ensuring completeness with respect to the number of configurations included in a CR calculation.

From the Telescope to the Laboratory and Back Again: The Center for Astrophysical Plasma Properties

Science.gov (United States)

Houston Montgomery, Michael; Winget, Don; Schaeuble, Marc; Hawkins, Keith; Wheeler, Craig

2018-01-01

The Center for Astrophysical Plasma Properties (CAPP) is a new center focusing on the spectroscopic properties of stars and accretion disks using “at-parameter” experiments. Currently, these experiments use the X-ray output of the Z machine at Sandia National Laboratories—the largest X-ray source in the world—to heat plasmas to the same conditions (temperature, density, and radiation environment) as those observed in astronomical objects. Current experiments include measuring (1) density-dependent opacities of iron-peak elements at solar interior conditions, (2) spectral lines of low-Z elements at white dwarf photospheric conditions, (3) atomic population kinetics of neon in a radiation-dominated environment, and (4) resonant Auger destruction (RAD) of silicon at accretion disk conditions around supermassive black holes. We will be moving to new astrophysical environments and additional experimental facilities, such as the National Ignition Facility (NIF) and the OMEGA facility at the Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE). We seek students and collaborators to work on these experiments as well as the calculations that complement them. CAPP has funding for 5 years and can support up to six graduate students and three post-docs.

Recommended atomic data for collisional-radiative model of Li-like ions and gain calculation for Li-like Al ions in the recombining plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nishikawa, T.; Kawachi, T.; Nishihara, K.; Fujimoto, T.

1995-09-01

We have assessed atomic data for lithium-like ions for the purpose of constructing a reliable collisional-radiative model. We show several examples of the atomic data for aluminum and oxygen ions, and comparison of data from several sources is done in detail. For ions with nuclear charge z, the scaling formulas and fitting parameters, which are based on the data of oxygen ions, are presented. By use of these data, we have constructed two collisional-radiative models: the one for aluminum ions and the one for ions according to the scaling for z. The population inversion and the amplification gain of the soft x-ray laser lines in the recombining aluminum plasma are calculated for several electron temperatures. We also examine the effects of ion collisions for Δn=0 transitions on the excited level populations

Local thermodynamic equilibrium and related metrological issues involving collisional-radiative model in laser-induced aluminum plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Travaille, G.; Peyrusse, O.; Bousquet, B.; Canioni, L.; Pierres, K. Michel-Le; Roy, S.

2009-01-01

We present a collisional-radiative approach of the theoretical analysis of laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) plasmas. This model, which relies on an optimized effective potential atomic structure code, was used to simulate a pure aluminum plasma. The description of aluminum involved a set of 220 atomic levels representative of three different stages of ionization (Al 0 , Al + and Al ++ ). The calculations were carried for stationary plasmas, with input parameters (n e and T e ) ranging respectively between 10 13-18 cm -3 and 0.3-2 eV. A comparison of our atomic data with some existing databases is made. The code was mainly developed to address the validity of the local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) assumption. For usual LIBS plasma parameters, we did not reveal a sizeable discrepancy of the radiative equilibrium of the plasma towards LTE. For cases where LTE was firmly believed to stand, the Boltzmann plot outputs of this code were used to check the physical accuracy of the Boltzmann temperature, as it is currently exploited in several calibration-free laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (CF-LIBS) studies. In this paper, a deviation ranging between 10 and 30% of the measured Boltzmann temperature to the real excitation temperature is reported. This may be due to the huge dispersion induced on the line emissivities, on which the Boltzmann plots are based to extract this parameter. Consequences of this fact on the CF-LIBS procedure are discussed and further insights to be considered for the future are introduced.

Hydrodynamic Instability, Integrated Code, Laboratory Astrophysics, and Astrophysics

Science.gov (United States)

Takabe, Hideaki

2016-10-01

This is an article for the memorial lecture of Edward Teller Medal and is presented as memorial lecture at the IFSA03 conference held on September 12th, 2003, at Monterey, CA. The author focuses on his main contributions to fusion science and its extension to astrophysics in the field of theory and computation by picking up five topics. The first one is the anomalous resisitivity to hot electrons penetrating over-dense region through the ion wave turbulence driven by the return current compensating the current flow by the hot electrons. It is concluded that almost the same value of potential as the average kinetic energy of the hot electrons is realized to prevent the penetration of the hot electrons. The second is the ablative stabilization of Rayleigh-Taylor instability at ablation front and its dispersion relation so-called Takabe formula. This formula gave a principal guideline for stable target design. The author has developed an integrated code ILESTA (ID & 2D) for analyses and design of laser produced plasma including implosion dynamics. It is also applied to design high gain targets. The third is the development of the integrated code ILESTA. The forth is on Laboratory Astrophysics with intense lasers. This consists of two parts; one is review on its historical background and the other is on how we relate laser plasma to wide-ranging astrophysics and the purposes for promoting such research. In relation to one purpose, I gave a comment on anomalous transport of relativistic electrons in Fast Ignition laser fusion scheme. Finally, I briefly summarize recent activity in relation to application of the author's experience to the development of an integrated code for studying extreme phenomena in astrophysics.

Tenth International Colloquium on UV and X-Ray Spectroscopy of Astrophysical and Laboratory Plasmas

Science.gov (United States)

Silver, Eric H.; Kahn, Steven M.

UV and X-ray spectroscopy of astrophysical and laboratory plasmas draws interest from many disciplines. Contributions from international specialists are collected together in this book from a timely recent conference. In astrophysics, the Hubble Space Telescope, Astro 1 and ROSAT observatories are now providing UV and X-ray spectra and images of cosmic sources in unprecedented detail, while the Yohkoh mission recently collected superb data on the solar corona. In the laboratory, the development of ion-trap facilities and novel laser experiments are providing vital new data on high temperature plasmas. Recent innovations in the technology of spectroscopic instrumentation are discussed. These papers constitute an excellent up-to-date review of developments in short-wavelength spectroscopy and offer a solid introduction to its theoretical and experimental foundations. These proceedings give an up-to-date review of developments in short-wavelength spectroscopy and offer a solid introduction to its theoretical and experimental foundations. Various speakers presented some of the first results from the high resolution spectrograph on the Hubble Space Telescope, the high sensitivity far ultraviolet and X-ray spectrometers of the ASTRO 1 Observatory, the imaging X-ray spectrometer on the ROSAT Observatory, and the high resolution solar X-ray spectrometer on Yohkoh. The development of ion trap devices had brought about a revolution in laboratory investigations of atomic processes in highly charged atoms. X-ray laser experiments had not only yielded considerable insight into electron ion interactions in hot dense plasmas, but also demonstrated the versatility of laser plasmas as laboratory X-ray sources. Such measurements also motivated and led to refinements in the development of large-scale atomic and molecular codes. On the instrumental side, the design and development of the next series of very powerful short wavelength observatories had generated a large number of

Influence of Kohn singularity on the occurrence scattering time in degenerate quantum collisional plasmas

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Myoung-Jae; Jung, Young-Dae

2017-10-01

The influence of Kohn singularity on the occurrence scattering time for the electron-ion interaction is investigated in degenerate quantum collisional plasmas. The first-order eikonal analysis is used to obtain the scattering amplitude and the occurrence scattering time. The result shows that the Friedel oscillation due to the Kohn singularity suppresses the advance phenomena of occurrence scattering time in both forward and backward scattering domains. It is shown that the increase of plasmon energy would reduce the time advance for both forward and backward scattering domains. However, the increase of Fermi energy would enhance the phenomena of time advance. It is also found that the time advance with high collision frequency is larger than that with low collision frequency for the forward scattering domain and vice versa for the backward scattering domain. We have shown that the time advance is stronger in general for the forward scattering domain than that for the backward scattering domain.

Comparison of particle trajectories and collision operators for collisional transport in nonaxisymmetric plasmas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Landreman, M., E-mail: mattland@umd.edu [Institute for Research in Electronics and Applied Physics, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742 (United States); Smith, H. M.; Helander, P. [Max-Planck-Institut für Plasmaphysik, 17491 Greifswald (Germany); Mollén, A. [Department of Applied Physics, Chalmers University of Technology, Göteborg (Sweden)

2014-04-15

In this work, we examine the validity of several common simplifying assumptions used in numerical neoclassical calculations for nonaxisymmetric plasmas, both by using a new continuum drift-kinetic code and by considering analytic properties of the kinetic equation. First, neoclassical phenomena are computed for the LHD and W7-X stellarators using several versions of the drift-kinetic equation, including the commonly used incompressible-E × B-drift approximation and two other variants, corresponding to different effective particle trajectories. It is found that for electric fields below roughly one third of the resonant value, the different formulations give nearly identical results, demonstrating the incompressible E × B-drift approximation is quite accurate in this regime. However, near the electric field resonance, the models yield substantially different results. We also compare results for various collision operators, including the full linearized Fokker-Planck operator. At low collisionality, the radial transport driven by radial gradients is nearly identical for the different operators; while in other cases, it is found to be important that collisions conserve momentum.

Astrophysics in a nutshell from the telescope to the sputnik

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alfven, H.; Faelthammar, C.G.

1988-03-01

Progress in astrophysics - as well as in many other sciences - is not only due to new ideas but also to the introduction of new methods of observation. The 'Copernican revolution' was more due to the introduction of the telescope than to the heliocentric model which had been invented 2000 years earlier. Further, the decisive importance of electromagnetic effects in astrophysics originated from Langmuir's invention of the plasma probe and from Birkeland's terrella experiment and his observations of plasma in space (aurora). A similar revolution has now been introduced by space research which has made possible in situ measurements in cosmic plasmas and has opened the X-ray and γ-ray regions to observation. The result is a drastic revision of essential parts of astrophysics (including cosmology) leading to the 'Plasma Universe' model. (authors)

Sheath waves, non collisional dampings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marec, Jean Lucien Ernest

1974-01-01

When a metallic conductor is inserted into an ionised gas, an area of electron depletion is formed between the conductor and the plasma: the ionic sheath. Moreover, if the conductor is excited by an electric field, this ionic sheath plays an important role with respect to microwave properties. In this research thesis, the author addresses the range of frequencies smaller than the plasma frequency, and reports the study of resonance phenomena. After a presentation of the problem through a bibliographical study, the author recalls general characteristics of sheath wave propagation and of sheath resonances, and discusses the validity of different hypotheses (for example and among others, electrostatic approximations, cold plasma). Then, the author more particularly addresses theoretical problems related to non collisional dampings: brief bibliographical study, detailed presentation and description of the theoretical model, damping calculation methods. The author then justifies the design and performance of an experiment, indicates measurement methods used to determine plasma characteristics as well as other magnitudes which allow the description of mechanisms of propagation and damping of sheath waves. Experimental results are finally presented with respect to various parameters. The author discusses to which extent the chosen theoretical model is satisfying [fr

Astrophysical opacity library

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huebner, W.F.; Merts, A.L.; Magee, N.H. Jr.; Argo, M.F.

1977-08-01

The astrophysical elements opacity library includes equation of state data, various mean opacities, and 2000 values of the frequency-dependent extinction coefficients in equally spaced intervals u identical with hν/kT from 0 to 20 for 41 degeneracy parameters eta from -28 (nondegenerate) to 500 and 46 temperatures kT from 1 eV to 100 keV. Among available auxiliary quantities are the free electron density, mass density, and plasma cutoff frequency. A library-associated program can produce opacities for mixtures with up to 20 astrophysically abundant constituent elements at 4 levels of utility for the user

Dynamo transformation of the collisional R-T in a weakly ionized ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

where the interstellar neutrals undergo charge exchange collisions with ions in the solar wind [1]. ... regime of magnetically confined torroidal plasma. The author refutes their ... rate ´7К-М µ for the usual collisional R-T is given as. 7К-М g v Дp.

Energy exchange in strongly coupled plasmas with electron drift

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Akbari-Moghanjoughi, M.; Ghorbanalilu, M.

2015-01-01

In this paper, the generalized viscoelastic collisional quantum hydrodynamic model is employed in order to investigate the linear dielectric response of a quantum plasma in the presence of strong electron-beam plasma interactions. The generalized Chandrasekhar's relativistic degeneracy pressure together with the electron-exchange and Coulomb interaction effects are taken into account in order to extend current research to a wide range of plasma number density relevant to big planetary cores and astrophysical compact objects. The previously calculated shear viscosity and the electron-ion collision frequencies are used for strongly coupled ion fluid. The effect of the electron-beam velocity on complex linear dielectric function is found to be profound. This effect is clearly interpreted in terms of the wave-particle interactions and their energy-exchange according to the sign of the imaginary dielectric function, which is closely related to the wave attenuation coefficient in plasmas. Such kinetic effect is also shown to be in close connection with the stopping power of a charged-particle beam in a quantum plasma. The effect of many independent plasma parameters, such as the ion charge-state, electron beam-velocity, and relativistic degeneracy, is shown to be significant on the growing/damping of plasma instability or energy loss/gain of the electron-beam

Comment on 'Ion collection by a sphere in a flowing collisional plasma' [Phys. Plasmas 14, 034502 (2007)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hutchinson, I. H.

2007-01-01

It is shown that the numerical solutions presented in a recent paper discussing a highly simplified model of collisional particle collection are unnecessary because simple analytic solutions of the quantities presented are available

Effects of pressure anisotropy on plasma transport

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zawaideh, E.; Najmabadi, F.; Conn, R.W.

1986-03-01

In a recent paper a new set of generalized two-field equations is derived which describes plasma transport along the field lines of a space and time dependent magnetic field. These equations are valid for collisional to weakly collisional plasmas; they reduce to the conventional fluid equations of Braginskii for highly collisional plasmas. An important feature of these equations is that the anisotropy in the ion pressure is explicitly included. In this paper, these generalized transport equations are applied to a model problem of plasma flow through a magnetic mirror field. The profiles of the plasma parameters (density, flow speed, and pressures) are numerically calculated for plasma in different collisionality regimes. These profiles are explained by examining the competing terms in the transport equation. The pressure anisotropy is found to profoundly impact the plasma flow behavior. As a result, the new generalized equations predict flow behavior more accurately than the conventional transport equations. A large density and pressure drop is predicted as the flow passes through a magnetic mirror. Further, the new equations uniquely predict oscillations in the density profile, an effect missing in results from the conventional equations

Planar and nonplanar ion acoustic shock waves in relativistic degenerate astrophysical electron-positron-ion plasmas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ata-ur-Rahman,; Qamar, A. [Institute of Physics and Electronics, University of Peshawar, Peshawar 25000 (Pakistan); National Centre for Physics, QAU Campus, Shahdrah Valley Road, Islamabad 44000 (Pakistan); Ali, S. [National Centre for Physics, QAU Campus, Shahdrah Valley Road, Islamabad 44000 (Pakistan); Mirza, Arshad M. [Theoretical Plasma Physics Group, Physics Department, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad 45320 (Pakistan)

2013-04-15

We have studied the propagation of ion acoustic shock waves involving planar and non-planar geometries in an unmagnetized plasma, whose constituents are non-degenerate ultra-cold ions, relativistically degenerate electrons, and positrons. By using the reductive perturbation technique, Korteweg-deVries Burger and modified Korteweg-deVries Burger equations are derived. It is shown that only compressive shock waves can propagate in such a plasma system. The effects of geometry, the ion kinematic viscosity, and the positron concentration are examined on the ion acoustic shock potential and electric field profiles. It is found that the properties of ion acoustic shock waves in a non-planar geometry significantly differ from those in planar geometry. The present study has relevance to the dense plasmas, produced in laboratory (e.g., super-intense laser-dense matter experiments) and in dense astrophysical objects.

Recent progress on astrophysical opacity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rogers, F.J.; Iglesias, C.A.

1992-08-01

Improvements in the calculation of the opacity of astrophysical plasmas has helped to resolve several long-standing puzzles in the modeling of variable stars. The most significant opacity enhancements over the Los Alamos Astrophysical Library (LAOL) are due to improvements in the equation of state and atomic physics. Comparison with experiment has corroborated the predicted large opacity increases due to transitions in M-shell iron. We give a summary of recent developments

Determination of microturbulence enhanced electron collisionality in magnetized coaxial accelerator channels by direct magnetic field measurement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Black, D.C.; Mayo, R.M.; Caress, R.W.

1997-01-01

A miniature magnetic probe array, consisting of 10 spatially separated coils, has been used to obtain profile information on the time varying magnetic field within the 2.54 cm wide flow channel of the coaxial plasma source experiment (CPS-1) [R. M. Mayo et al., Plasma Sources Sci. Technol. 4, 47 (1995)]. The magnetic field data have been used, together with a resistive, Hall magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) model of applied field distortion by the flowing plasma, to obtain estimates of the microturbulent enhancement to electron collisionality within the CPS-1 flow channel. These measurements provide direct experimental evidence of anomalous electron collisionality, a previously predicted effect in these devices. The anomaly parameter, a=ν an /ν cl , determined both from the distortion of contours of constant magnetic flux, and from local B θ and B z measurements scales with the classical electron magnetization parameter (Ω cl =ω ce /ν e cl ), indicating that collisionality plays a strong role in determining the level of anomalous transport in the plasma. When this anomaly parameter scaling is cast in terms of the ratio ν e cl /ω lh , it is found that the resistivity enhancement scales with ν e cl /ω lh , and becomes significant at ν e cl /ω lh ≤1, suggesting that a lower hybrid drift instability may be the responsible mechanism for enhanced transport. copyright 1997 American Institute of Physics

Collisional processes of interest in MFE plasma research. Annual report, October 1, 1985-July 31, 1986

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Olson, R.E.

1986-01-01

Research on this grant can be divided into two general topics: (1) determination of electron capture cross sections between impurity ions and hydrogen atoms needed for diagnostic studies of magnetic fusion plasmas, and (2) studies into reactions important in neutral beam ion source work. For topic (1) during last year, we completed cross section calculations for B 3+ and Be 2+ on H using the molecular state approach for energies between 50 eV/u and 10 keV/u. At higher energies, 40 keV/u to 140 keV/u, we have completed classical trajectory Monte Carlo calculations to determine the nl electron capture cross sections for He 2+ , C 6+ , N 7+ and O 8+ on H collisions. For ion source work, topic (2), collisional studies were completed for negative ion formation in the process H + Na → H - + Na +

Near field imaging of transient collisional excitation x-ray laser

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tanaka, Momoko; Kado, Masataka; Hasegawa, Noboru; Kawachi, Tetsuya; Sukegawa, Kouta; Lu, Peixiang; Nagashima, Akira; Kato, Yoshiaki

2001-01-01

We observed the spatial profile of the transient collisional excitation Ni-like Ag laser (λ=13.9 nm) for various plasma lengths using the near field imaging method. The gain coefficient of the x-ray laser was estimated as 24 cm -1 . The gain region was a 50 μm crescent shape and included localized high gain areas. (author)

Collisional radiative model for Ar-O2 mixture plasma with fully relativistic fine structure cross sections

Science.gov (United States)

Priti, Gangwar, Reetesh Kumar; Srivastava, Rajesh

2018-04-01

A collisional radiative (C-R) model has been developed to diagnose the rf generated Ar-O2 (0%-5%) mixture plasma at low temperatures. Since in such plasmas the most dominant process is an electron impact excitation process, we considered several electron impact fine structure transitions in an argon atom from its ground as well as excited states. The cross-sections for these transitions have been obtained using the reliable fully relativistic distorted wave theory. Processes which account for the coupling of argon with the oxygen molecules have been further added to the model. We couple our model to the optical spectroscopic measurements reported by Jogi et al. [J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 47, 335206 (2014)]. The plasma parameters, viz. the electron density (ne) and the electron temperature (Te) as a function of O2 concentration have been obtained using thirteen intense emission lines out of 3p54p → 3p54s transitions observed in their spectroscopic measurements. It is found that as the content of O2 in Ar increases from 0%-5%, Te increases in the range 0.85-1.7 eV, while the electron density decreases from 2.76 × 1012-2.34 × 1011 cm-3. The Ar-3p54s (1si) fine-structure level populations at our extracted plasma parameters are found to be in very good agreement with those obtained from the measurements. Furthermore, we have estimated the individual contributions coming from the ground state, 1si manifolds and cascade contributions to the population of the radiating Ar-3p54p (2pi) states as a function of a trace amount of O2. Such information is very useful to understand the importance of various processes occurring in the plasma.

Computation of the Spitzer function in stellarators and tokamaks with finite collisionality

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kernbichler Winfried

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The generalized Spitzer function, which determines the current drive efficiency in toka- maks and stellarators is modelled for finite plasma collisionality with help of the drift kinetic equation solver NEO-2 [1]. The effect of finite collisionality on the global ECCD efficiency in a tokamak is studied using results of the code NEO-2 as input to the ray tracing code TRAVIS [2]. As it is known [3], specific features of the generalized Spitzer function, which are absent in asymptotic (collisionless or highly collisional regimes result in current drive from a symmetric microwave spectrum with respect to parallel wave numbers. Due to this effect the direction of the current may become independent of the microwave beam launch angle in advanced ECCD scenarii (O2 and X3 where due to relatively low optical depth a significant amount of power is absorbed by trapped particles.

SCROLL, a superconfiguration collisional radiative model with external radiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bar-Shalom, A.; Oreg, J.; Klapisch, M.

2000-01-01

A collisional radiative model for calculating non-local thermodynamical-equilibrium (non-LTE) spectra of heavy atoms in hot plasmas has been developed. It takes into account the numerous excited an autoionizing states by using superconfigurations. These are split systematically until the populations converge. The influence of an impinging radiation field has recently been added to the model. The effect can be very important. (author)

An introduction to astrophysical hydrodynamics

CERN Document Server

Shore, Steven N

1992-01-01

This book is an introduction to astrophysical hydrodynamics for both astronomy and physics students. It provides a comprehensive and unified view of the general problems associated with fluids in a cosmic context, with a discussion of fluid dynamics and plasma physics. It is the only book on hydrodynamics that addresses the astrophysical context. Researchers and students will find this work to be an exceptional reference. Contents include chapters on irrotational and rotational flows, turbulence, magnetohydrodynamics, and instabilities.

On various validity criteria for the configuration average in collisional-radiative codes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Poirier, M [Commissariat a l' Energie Atomique, Service ' Photons, Atomes et Molecules' , Centre d' Etudes de Saclay, F91191 Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex (France)

2008-01-28

The characterization of out-of-local-thermal-equilibrium plasmas requires the use of collisional-radiative kinetic equations. This leads to the solution of large linear systems, for which statistical treatments such as configuration average may bring considerable simplification. In order to check the validity of this procedure, a criterion based on the comparison between a partial-rate systems and the Saha-Boltzmann solution is discussed in detail here. Several forms of this criterion are discussed. The interest of these variants is that they involve each type of relevant transition (collisional or radiative), which allows one to check separately the influence of each of these processes on the configuration-average validity. The method is illustrated by a charge-distribution analysis in carbon and neon plasmas. Finally, it is demonstrated that when the energy dispersion of every populated configuration is smaller than the electron thermal energy, the proposed criterion is fulfilled in each of its forms.

Transition from the constant ion mobility regime to the ion-atom charge-exchange regime for bounded collisional plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Poggie, Jonathan; Sternberg, Natalia

2005-01-01

A numerical and analytical study of a planar, collisional, direct-current, plasma-wall problem is presented. The fluid model for the problem is first validated by comparing numerical solutions with experimental data for low-pressure (∼0.1 Pa) electrode sheaths with wall potentials on the order of -100 V. For electric potential, ion number density, and ion velocity, good agreement was found between theory and experiment from within the sheath out to the bulk plasma. The frictional drag resulting from ion-neutral collisions is described by a model incorporating both linear and quadratic velocity terms. In order to study the transition from the constant ion mobility regime (linear friction) to the ion-atom charge-exchange collision regime (quadratic friction), the theoretical model was examined numerically for a range of ion temperatures and ion-neutral collision rates. It was found that the solution profiles in the quasineutral plasma depend on the ion temperature. For low ion temperatures they are governed mainly by the ion-atom charge-exchange regime, whereas for high temperatures they are governed by the constant ion mobility regime. Quasineutral plasma models corresponding to these two limiting cases were solved analytically. In particular, an analytical plasma solution is given for the ion-atom charge exchange regime that includes the effects of ion inertia. In contrast to the quasineutral plasma, the sheath is always governed for low to moderate collision rates by the ion-atom charge-exchange regime, independent of the ion temperature. Varying the collision rate, it was shown that when the wall potential is sufficiently high, the sheath cannot be considered collisionless, even if the collision rate is quite small

Double layers in a modestly collisional electronegative discharge

CERN Document Server

Sheridan, T E

1999-01-01

The effect of ion-neutral collisions on the structure and ion flux emanating from a steady-state, planar discharge with two negative components is investigated. The positive ion component is modelled as a cold fluid subject to constant-mobility collisions, while the electrons and negative ions obey Boltzmann relations. The model includes the collisionless limit. When the negative ions are sufficiently cold three types of discharge structures are found. For small negative ion concentrations or high collisionality, the discharge is 'stratified', with an electronegative core and an electropositive edge. For the opposite conditions, the discharge is 'uniform' with the negative ion density remaining significant at the edge of the plasma. Between these cases lies the special case of a double-layer-stratified discharge, where quasi-neutrality is violated at the edge of the electronegative core. Double-layer-stratified solutions are robust in that they persist for moderate collisionality. Numerical solutions for fini...

Model of a source-driven plasma interacting with a wall in an oblique magnetic field

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ahedo, E.; Carralero, D.

2009-01-01

A fluid model of a magnetized source-driven plasma is discussed for regimes with (Debye length)<<(ion Larmor radius)<<(plasma size and collisional mean-free path). Plasma collection by the wall is determined in terms of angle of incidence, magnetic strength, and plasma collisionality. For nonparallel incidence, a three-scale asymptotic analysis reveals a three-region matched structure consisting of a magnetically aligned bulk region, the Chodura layer, and the Debye sheath. Sonic Chodura and Bohm conditions define the singular region transitions. For near-parallel incidence, a separate analysis demonstrates the presence of a diffusive-collisional bulk region followed by a thin collisionless layer, which differs partially from the Chodura layer. A parametric analysis unveils the presence of four regimes depending on plasma collisionality: (1) a collisionless regime, with the magnetically channeled bulk region governed by plasma production; (2) a resistive semicollisional regime, where collisions retard the plasma transport in the bulk region; (3) a diffusive semicollisional regime, where the ExB drift dominates the ion flux in the bulk region; and (4) a collisional regime, where collisions cancel out magnetic effects. At grazing incidence, plasma collection is found to vary nonmonotonically with plasma collisionality. Nonzero Debye-length effects are discussed briefly.

Introduction to Nuclear Astrophysics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Iliadis, Christian

2010-01-01

In the first lecture of this volume, we will present the basic fundamental ideas regarding nuclear processes occurring in stars. We start from stellar observations, will then elaborate on some important quantum-mechanical phenomena governing nuclear reactions, continue with how nuclear reactions proceed in a hot stellar plasma and, finally, we will provide an overview of stellar burning stages. At the end, the current knowledge regarding the origin of the elements is briefly summarized. This lecture is directed towards the student of nuclear astrophysics. Our intention is to present seemingly unrelated phenomena of nuclear physics and astrophysics in a coherent framework.

Magnetohydrodynamic waves with relativistic electrons and positrons in degenerate spin-1/2 astrophysical plasmas

Science.gov (United States)

Maroof, R.; Ali, S.; Mushtaq, A.; Qamar, A.

2015-11-01

Linear properties of high and low frequency waves are studied in an electron-positron-ion (e-p-i) dense plasma with spin and relativity effects. In a low frequency regime, the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) waves, namely, the magnetoacoustic and Alfven waves are presented in a magnetized plasma, in which the inertial ions are taken as spinless and non-degenerate, whereas the electrons and positrons are treated quantum mechanically due to their smaller mass. Quantum corrections associated with the spin magnetization and density correlations for electrons and positrons are re-considered and a generalized dispersion relation for the low frequency MHD waves is derived to account for relativistic degeneracy effects. On the basis of angles of propagation, the dispersion relations of different modes are discussed analytically in a degenerate relativistic plasma. Numerical results reveal that electron and positron relativistic degeneracy effects significantly modify the dispersive properties of MHD waves. Our present analysis should be useful for understanding the collective interactions in dense astrophysical compact objects, like, the white dwarfs and in atmosphere of neutron stars.

Magnetohydrodynamic waves with relativistic electrons and positrons in degenerate spin-1/2 astrophysical plasmas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Maroof, R. [Department of Physics, Abdul Wali Khan University, Mardan 23200 (Pakistan); Department of Physics, University of Peshawar, Peshawar 25000 (Pakistan); National Center for Physics (NCP) at QAU Campus, Shahdra Valley Road, Islamabad 44000 (Pakistan); Ali, S. [National Center for Physics (NCP) at QAU Campus, Shahdra Valley Road, Islamabad 44000 (Pakistan); Mushtaq, A. [Department of Physics, Abdul Wali Khan University, Mardan 23200 (Pakistan); National Center for Physics (NCP) at QAU Campus, Shahdra Valley Road, Islamabad 44000 (Pakistan); Qamar, A. [Department of Physics, University of Peshawar, Peshawar 25000 (Pakistan)

2015-11-15

Linear properties of high and low frequency waves are studied in an electron-positron-ion (e-p-i) dense plasma with spin and relativity effects. In a low frequency regime, the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) waves, namely, the magnetoacoustic and Alfven waves are presented in a magnetized plasma, in which the inertial ions are taken as spinless and non-degenerate, whereas the electrons and positrons are treated quantum mechanically due to their smaller mass. Quantum corrections associated with the spin magnetization and density correlations for electrons and positrons are re-considered and a generalized dispersion relation for the low frequency MHD waves is derived to account for relativistic degeneracy effects. On the basis of angles of propagation, the dispersion relations of different modes are discussed analytically in a degenerate relativistic plasma. Numerical results reveal that electron and positron relativistic degeneracy effects significantly modify the dispersive properties of MHD waves. Our present analysis should be useful for understanding the collective interactions in dense astrophysical compact objects, like, the white dwarfs and in atmosphere of neutron stars.

Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

2016-01-27

Jan 27, 2016 ... Home; Journals; Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. NAGENDRA KUMAR. Articles written in Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Volume 29 Issue 1-2 March-June 2008 pp 243-248. Damping of Slow Magnetoacoustic Waves in an Inhomogeneous Coronal Plasma · Nagendra Kumar Pradeep ...

A High-Order Transport Scheme for Collisional-Radiative and Nonequilibrium Plasma

Science.gov (United States)

2009-02-06

400–422, 1987. [18] M. P. F. Bristow and I. I. Glass. Polarizability of singly ionized argon . Physics of Fluids, 15(11):2066–2067, 1972. [19] A. Bultel...unsteady calculations. Numerical simulations of ionizing shocks in argon are conducted to gain insight to the shock structure and help determine the source...parameters used in previous research. . . . . . . . . 4 9.1 Rate coefficients for collisional-radiative model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83 9.2 Argon

FDTD simulation of radar cross section reduction by a collisional inhomogeneous magnetized plasma

Science.gov (United States)

Foroutan, V.; Azarmanesh, M. N.; Foroutan, G.

2018-02-01

The recursive convolution finite difference time domain method is addressed in the scattered field formulation and employed to investigate the bistatic radar cross-section (RCS) of a square conductive plate covered by a collisional inhomogeneous magnetized plasma. The RCS is calculated for two different configurations of the magnetic field, i.e., parallel and perpendicular to the plate. The results of numerical simulations show that, for a perpendicularly applied magnetic field, the backscattered RCS is significantly reduced when the magnetic field intensity coincides with the value corresponding to the electron cyclotron resonance. By increasing the collision frequency, the resonant absorption is suppressed, but due to enhanced wave penetration and bending, the reduction in the bistatic RCS is improved. At very high collision frequencies, the external magnetic field has no significant impact on the bistatic RCS reduction. Application of a parallel magnetic field has an adverse effect near the electron cyclotron resonance and results in a large and asymmetric RCS profile. But, the problem is resolved by increasing the magnetic field and/or the collision frequency. By choosing proper values of the collision frequency and the magnetic field intensity, a perpendicular magnetic field can be effectively used to reduce the bistatic RCS of a conductive plate.

A collisional radiative model of hydrogen plasmas developed for diagnostic purposes of negative ion sources

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Iordanova, Snejana, E-mail: snejana@phys.uni-sofia.bg; Paunska, Tsvetelina [Faculty of Physics, Sofia University, BG-1164 Sofia (Bulgaria)

2016-02-15

A collisional radiative model of low-pressure hydrogen plasmas is elaborated and applied in optical emission spectroscopy diagnostics of a single element of a matrix source of negative hydrogen ions. The model accounts for the main processes determining both the population densities of the first ten states of the hydrogen atom and the densities of the positive hydrogen ions H{sup +}, H{sub 2}{sup +}, and H{sub 3}{sup +}. In the calculations, the electron density and electron temperature are varied whereas the atomic and molecular temperatures are included as experimentally obtained external parameters. The ratio of the H{sub α} to H{sub β} line intensities is calculated from the numerical results for the excited state population densities, obtained as a solution of the set of the steady-state rate balance equations. The comparison of measured and theoretically obtained ratios of line intensities yields the values of the electron density and temperature as well as of the degree of dissociation, i.e., of the parameters which have a crucial role for the volume production of the negative ions.

Nuclear astrophysics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arnould, M.; Takahashi, K.

1999-01-01

Nuclear astrophysics is that branch of astrophysics which helps understanding of the Universe, or at least some of its many faces, through the knowledge of the microcosm of the atomic nucleus. It attempts to find as many nuclear physics imprints as possible in the macrocosm, and to decipher what those messages are telling us about the varied constituent objects in the Universe at present and in the past. In the last decades much advance has been made in nuclear astrophysics thanks to the sometimes spectacular progress made in the modelling of the structure and evolution of the stars, in the quality and diversity of the astronomical observations, as well as in the experimental and theoretical understanding of the atomic nucleus and of its spontaneous or induced transformations. Developments in other subfields of physics and chemistry have also contributed to that advance. Notwithstanding the accomplishment, many long-standing problems remain to be solved, and the theoretical understanding of a large variety of observational facts needs to be put on safer grounds. In addition, new questions are continuously emerging, and new facts endangering old ideas. This review shows that astrophysics has been, and still is, highly demanding to nuclear physics in both its experimental and theoretical components. On top of the fact that large varieties of nuclei have to be dealt with, these nuclei are immersed in highly unusual environments which may have a significant impact on their static properties, the diversity of their transmutation modes, and on the probabilities of these modes. In order to have a chance of solving some of the problems nuclear astrophysics is facing, the astrophysicists and nuclear physicists are obviously bound to put their competence in common, and have sometimes to benefit from the help of other fields of physics, like particle physics, plasma physics or solid-state physics. Given the highly varied and complex aspects, we pick here some specific nuclear

A drift-ordered short mean-free path description of a partially ionized magnetized plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Simakov, Andrei N

2009-01-01

Neutral particles that are present at the edge of plasma magnetic confinement devices can play an important role in energy and momentum transport, and their effects should be accounted for. This work uses the drift ordering to derive a closed fluid description for a collisional, magnetized, partially ionized plasma. Charge-exchange, ionization and recombination processes are taken into account. It is assumed that electron distribution function is unaffected by atomic processes, so that electron-ion momentum and energy exchange are described by the usual expressions for a fully ionized plasma, and that neutral-neutral collisions are unimportant. The collisional fluid equations derived herein generalize the drift-ordered description of a fully ionized collisional plasma (Catto P J et al 2004 Phys. Plasmas 11 90), agree with the MHD-ordered description of a partially ionized plasma (Helander P et al 1994 Phys. Plasmas 1 3174) in the large-flow limit and can be used to describe both turbulent and collisional behavior of a partially ionized plasma.

Solar High-energy Astrophysical Plasmas Explorer (SHAPE). Volume 1: Proposed concept, statement of work and cost plan

Science.gov (United States)

Dennis, Brian R.; Martin, Franklin D.; Prince, T.; Lin, R.; Bruner, M.; Culhane, L.; Ramaty, R.; Doschek, G.; Emslie, G.; Lingenfelter, R.

1986-01-01

The concept of the Solar High-Energy Astrophysical Plasmas Explorer (SHAPE) is studied. The primary goal is to understand the impulsive release of energy, efficient acceleration of particles to high energies, and rapid transport of energy. Solar flare studies are the centerpieces of the investigation because in flares these high energy processes can be studied in unmatched detail at most wavelenth regions of the electromagnetic spectrum as well as in energetic charged particles and neutrons.

Optically thick model for radiative and collisional effects in nonequilibrium argon plasma flows in a circular tube

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shirai, Hiroyuki; Tabei, Katsuine; Koaizawa, Hisashi.

1984-01-01

Experimental and theoretical studies were made to gain a deeper understanding of the radiative properties of nonequilibrium argon plasma flows in a circular tube. The self-absorption effects were taken into account as rigorously as possible. Experimentally, the radial profiles of the population densities of argon atoms at the excited 4s, 4p, 5p, and 5d levels were obtained from the lateral distributions of the absolute intensities of ArI spectral lines originating from these levels. On the other hand, theoretical profiles of the population densities for the same levels were calculated based on the optically thick model for collisional and radiative processes proposed by Bates et al. and experimentally measured atom temperature, electron temperature, electron density and gas pressure. Comparison of the experimental and theoretical results showed a reasonably good agreement and the importance of the self-absorption effects. (author)

Collisionality dependent transport in TCV SOL plasmas

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Garcia, Odd Erik; Pitts, R.A.; Horacek, J.

2007-01-01

Results are presented from probe measurements in the low field side scrape-off layer (SOL) region of TCV during plasma current scan experiments. It is shown that with decreasing plasma current the radial particle density profile becomes broader and the fluctuation levels and turbulence driven...... radial particle flux increase. In the far SOL the fluctuations exhibit a high degree of statistical similarity and the particle density and flux at the wall radius scale inversely with the plasma current. Together with previous TCV density scan experiments, this indicates that plasma fluctuations...

Laboratory Astrophysics Using a Spare XRS Microcalorimeter

Science.gov (United States)

Audley, M. Damian; Beiersdorfer, Peter; Porter, Frederick Scott; Brown, Gregory; Boyce, Kevin R.; Brekosky, Regis; Brown, Gregory V.; Gendreau, Keith C.; Gygax, John; Kahn, Steve;

Collisional-radiative model for the visible spectrum of W{sup 26+} ions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ding, Xiaobin, E-mail: dingxb@nwnu.edu.cn [Key Laboratory of Atomic and Molecular Physics and Functional Materials of Gansu Province, College of Physics and Electronic Engineering, Northwest Normal University, Lanzhou 730070 (China); Liu, Jiaxin [Key Laboratory of Atomic and Molecular Physics and Functional Materials of Gansu Province, College of Physics and Electronic Engineering, Northwest Normal University, Lanzhou 730070 (China); Koike, Fumihiro [Department of Physics, Sophia University, Tokyo, 102-8554 (Japan); Murakami, Izumi; Kato, Daiji; Sakaue, Hiroyuki A. [National Institute for Fusion Science, Toki, Gifu 509-5292 (Japan); Nakamura, Nobuyuki [Institute for Laser Science, The University of Electro-Communications, Chofu, Tokyo 182-8585 (Japan); Dong, Chenzhong [Key Laboratory of Atomic and Molecular Physics and Functional Materials of Gansu Province, College of Physics and Electronic Engineering, Northwest Normal University, Lanzhou 730070 (China)

2016-02-22

Plasma diagnostics in magnetic confinement fusion plasmas by using visible spectrum strongly depends on the knowledge of fundamental atomic properties. A detailed collisional-radiative model of W{sup 26+} ions has been constructed by considering radiative and electron excitation processes, in which the necessary atomic data had been calculated by relativistic configuration interaction method with the implementation of Flexible Atomic Code. The visible spectrum observed at an electron beam ion trap (EBIT) in Shanghai in the range of 332 nm to 392 nm was reproduced by present calculations. Some transition pairs of which the intensity ratio is sensitive to the electron density were selected as potential candidates of plasma diagnostics. Their electron density dependence is theoretically evaluated for the cases of EBIT plasmas and magnetic confinement fusion plasmas.

How plasmas dissipate: cascade and the production of internal energy and entropy in weakly collisional plasma turbulence

Science.gov (United States)

Matthaeus, W. H.; Yang, Y.; Servidio, S.; Parashar, T.; Chasapis, A.; Roytershteyn, V.

2017-12-01

Turbulence cascade transfers energy from large scale to small scale but what happens once kinetic scales are reached? In a collisional medium, viscosity and resistivity remove fluctuation energy in favor of heat. In the weakly collisional solar wind, (or corona, m-sheath, etc.), the sequence of events must be different. Heating occurs, but through what mechanisms? In standard approaches, dissipation occurs though linear wave modes or instabilities and one seeks to identify them. A complementary view is that cascade leads to several channels of energy conversion, interchange and spatial rearrangement that collectively leads to production of internal energy. Channels may be described using compressible MHD & multispecies Vlasov Maxwell formulations. Key steps are: Conservative rearrangement of energy in space; Parallel incompressible and compressible cascades - conservative rearrangment in scale; electromagnetic work on particles that drives flows, both macroscopic and microscopic; and pressure-stress interactions, both compressive and shear-like, that produces internal energy. Examples given from MHD, PIC simulations and MMS observations. A more subtle issue is how entropy is related to this degeneration (or, "dissipation") of macroscopic, fluid-scale fluctuations. We discuss this in terms of Boltzmann and thermodynamic entropies, and velocity space effects of collisions.

Contributions to the study of astrophysical plasmas. From accretion-ejection flows to particle acceleration in shocks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Casse, Fabien

2013-01-01

After having outlined that the study of turbulence is a point of convergence between mathematics and physics, and that magnetic turbulence is omnipresent in astrophysical plasmas and also present in the interstellar medium, in stars and in their environment, in accretion disks, at the vicinity of shocks, and so on, the author proposes an overview of his research works which started with a research thesis on magnetised accretion disks and transport of relativistic particles in a magnetic turbulence. So, in this report for an accreditation to supervise research (HDR), he first focuses on physics of systems in accretion, and particularly on magnetised accretion-ejection structures. He evokes his work on a stationary modelling of these structures, on magnetohydrodynamics digital simulation of these systems, and on some instabilities in accretion disks and their interest in astrophysics. In a second part, the author reports his works on numerical assessment of coefficients of spatial diffusion of cosmic rays in a magnetic turbulence, and the description of multi-scale environments such as supernovae debris or different regions of extra-galactic jets.

Maxima and minima of the orientation phenomena for direct 1s→2p+-1 electron-ion collisional excitations in weakly coupled plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yoon Jung-Sik; Jung Young-Dae

1999-01-01

Orientation phenomena for direct 1s→2p +-1 electron-ion collisional excitations in weakly coupled plasma are investigated using the semiclassical trajectory method including the close-encounter effects. In weakly coupled plasmas, the electron-ion interaction potential is given by the classical nonspherical Debye-Hueckel model. The semiclassical screened hyperbolic-orbit trajectory method is applied to describe the motion of the projectile electron in order to investigate the variation of the orientation parameter as a function of the impact parameter, projectile energy, and Debye length. A comparison is also given for the hyperbolic-orbit and straight-line trajectory methods. The results show that the orientation parameters obtained by the hyperbolic-orbit trajectory method have maxima and minima for small impact parameter regions. In other words, there are complete 1s→2p +1 (maxima) and complete 1s→2p -1 (minima) transitions for certain impact parameters. These maxima cannot be found using the straight-line trajectory method. The variation of the propensity of the 1s→2p -1 transitions due to the plasma screening effects on the atomic wave functions is also discussed

Analysis of plasma instabilities and verification of the BOUT code for the Large Plasma Device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Popovich, P.; Carter, T. A.; Friedman, B.; Umansky, M. V.

2010-01-01

The properties of linear instabilities in the Large Plasma Device [W. Gekelman et al., Rev. Sci. Instrum. 62, 2875 (1991)] are studied both through analytic calculations and solving numerically a system of linearized collisional plasma fluid equations using the three-dimensional fluid code BOUT[M. Umansky et al., Contrib. Plasma Phys. 180, 887 (2009)], which has been successfully modified to treat cylindrical geometry. Instability drive from plasma pressure gradients and flows is considered, focusing on resistive drift waves and the Kelvin-Helmholtz and rotational interchange instabilities. A general linear dispersion relation for partially ionized collisional plasmas including these modes is derived and analyzed. For Large Plasma Device relevant profiles including strongly driven flows, it is found that all three modes can have comparable growth rates and frequencies. Detailed comparison with solutions of the analytic dispersion relation demonstrates that BOUT accurately reproduces all characteristics of linear modes in this system.

Physical processes in hot cosmic plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fabian, A.G.; Giovannelli, F.

1990-01-01

The interpretation of many high energy astrophysical phenomena relies on a detailed knowledge of radiation and transport processes in hot plasmas. The understanding of these plasma properties is one of the aims of terrestrial plasma physics. While the microscopic properties of astrophysical plasmas can hardly be determined experimentally, laboratory plasmas are more easily accessible to experimental techniques, but transient phenomena and the interaction of the plasma with boundaries often make the interpretation of measurements cumbersome. This book contains the talks given at the NATO Advanced Research Workshop on astro- and plasma-physics in Vulcano, Sicily, May 29-June 2, 1989. The book focuses on three main areas: radiation transport processes in hot (astrophysical and laboratory) plasmas; magnetic fields; their generation, reconnection and their effects on plasma transport properties; relativistic and ultra-high density plasmas

Plasma flow healing of magnetic islands in stellarators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hegna, C. C.

2012-01-01

Recent experiments from the large helical device (LHD) demonstrate a correlation between the “healing” of vacuum magnetic islands in stellarators and changes in the plasma flow. A model explaining this phenomenon is developed based on self-consistent torque balance and island evolution equations. In conventional stellarators, neoclassical flow damping physics plays an important role in establishing the flow profiles. The balance of neoclassical damping and cross-field viscosity produces a radial boundary layer for the plasma rotation profile outside the separatrix of a locked magnetic island. The width of this boundary layer decreases as the plasma becomes less collisional. Associated with these flow effects are plasma currents flowing in the island region that attempt to suppress island formation. These currents are enhanced as the collisionality drops making magnetic island healing occur more readily in high temperature conventional stellarators. The analytic theory produces a critical β for healing that scales monotonically with collisionality and is in qualitative agreement with LHD observations.

On the significance of magnetospheric research for progress in astrophysics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Faelthammar, C-G.; Akasofu, S-I.; Alfen, H.

1978-04-01

Recent discoveries by means of in situ measurements have led to a substantial revision of our picture of the magnetosphere and parts of the heliosphere. This concerns such essential aspects as the character and distribution of electric fields and currents, the ways in which charged particles are energized, and the chemical composition of the magnetospheric plasma. This revision reflects the fact that even in fundamental respects, real cosmical plasmas behave in different ways than predicted by the idealized models that have traditionally been used in magnetospheric physics as well as in astrophysics. The new understanding of the general properties of cosmical plasma that has been, and continues to be, provided by in situ measurements gives us a much improved basis on which to interpret astrophysical observations

Plasma transport near material boundaries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Singer, C.E.

1985-06-01

The fluid theory of two-dimensional (2-d) plasma transport in axisymmetric devices is reviewed. The forces which produce flow across the magnetic field in a collisional plasma are described. These flows may lead to up-down asymmetries in the poloidal rotation and radial fluxes. Emphasis is placed on understanding the conditions under which the known 2-d plasma fluid equations provide a valid description of these processes. Attempts to extend the fluid treatment to less collisional, turbulent plasmas are discussed. A reduction to the 1-d fluid equations used in many computer simulations is possible when sources or boundary conditions provide a large enough radial scale length. The complete 1-d fluid equations are given in the text, and 2-d fluid equations are given in the Appendix

Wavelength scaling of laser plasma coupling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kruer, W.L.

1983-01-01

The use of shorter wavelength laser light both enhances collisional absorption and reduces deleterious collective plasma effects. Coupling processes which can be important in reactor-size targets are briefly reviewed. Simple estimates are presented for the intensity-wavelength regime in which collisional absorption is high and collective effects are minimized

Neoclassical transport including collisional nonlinearity.

Science.gov (United States)

Candy, J; Belli, E A

2011-06-10

In the standard δf theory of neoclassical transport, the zeroth-order (Maxwellian) solution is obtained analytically via the solution of a nonlinear equation. The first-order correction δf is subsequently computed as the solution of a linear, inhomogeneous equation that includes the linearized Fokker-Planck collision operator. This equation admits analytic solutions only in extreme asymptotic limits (banana, plateau, Pfirsch-Schlüter), and so must be solved numerically for realistic plasma parameters. Recently, numerical codes have appeared which attempt to compute the total distribution f more accurately than in the standard ordering by retaining some nonlinear terms related to finite-orbit width, while simultaneously reusing some form of the linearized collision operator. In this work we show that higher-order corrections to the distribution function may be unphysical if collisional nonlinearities are ignored.

Battery-powered pulsed high density inductively coupled plasma source for pre-ionization in laboratory astrophysics experiments.

Science.gov (United States)

Chaplin, Vernon H; Bellan, Paul M

2015-07-01

An electrically floating radiofrequency (RF) pre-ionization plasma source has been developed to enable neutral gas breakdown at lower pressures and to access new experimental regimes in the Caltech laboratory astrophysics experiments. The source uses a customized 13.56 MHz class D RF power amplifier that is powered by AA batteries, allowing it to safely float at 3-6 kV with the electrodes of the high voltage pulsed power experiments. The amplifier, which is capable of 3 kW output power in pulsed (<1 ms) operation, couples electrical energy to the plasma through an antenna external to the 1.1 cm radius discharge tube. By comparing the predictions of a global equilibrium discharge model with the measured scalings of plasma density with RF power input and axial magnetic field strength, we demonstrate that inductive coupling (rather than capacitive coupling or wave damping) is the dominant energy transfer mechanism. Peak ion densities exceeding 5 × 10(19) m(-3) in argon gas at 30 mTorr have been achieved with and without a background field. Installation of the pre-ionization source on a magnetohydrodynamically driven jet experiment reduced the breakdown time and jitter and allowed for the creation of hotter, faster argon plasma jets than was previously possible.

Multi-fluid Approach to High-frequency Waves in Plasmas. III. Nonlinear Regime and Plasma Heating

Science.gov (United States)

Martínez-Gómez, David; Soler, Roberto; Terradas, Jaume

2018-03-01

The multi-fluid modeling of high-frequency waves in partially ionized plasmas has shown that the behavior of magnetohydrodynamic waves in the linear regime is heavily influenced by the collisional interaction between the different species that form the plasma. Here, we go beyond linear theory and study large-amplitude waves in partially ionized plasmas using a nonlinear multi-fluid code. It is known that in fully ionized plasmas, nonlinear Alfvén waves generate density and pressure perturbations. Those nonlinear effects are more pronounced for standing oscillations than for propagating waves. By means of numerical simulations and analytical approximations, we examine how the collisional interaction between ions and neutrals affects the nonlinear evolution. The friction due to collisions dissipates a fraction of the wave energy, which is transformed into heat and consequently raises the temperature of the plasma. As an application, we investigate frictional heating in a plasma with physical conditions akin to those in a quiescent solar prominence.

A Laboratory Astrophysical Jet to Study Canonical Flux Tubes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

You, Setthivoine [Univ. of Washington, Seattle, WA (United States)

2017-12-20

Understanding the interaction between plasma flows and magnetic fields remains a fundamental problem in plasma physics, with important applications to astrophysics, fusion energy, and advanced space propulsion. For example, flows are of primary importance in astrophysical jets even if it is not fully understood how jets become so long without becoming unstable. Theories for the origin of magnetic fields in the cosmos rely on flowing charged fluids that should generate magnetic fields, yet this remains to be demonstrated experimentally. Fusion energy reactors can be made smaller with flows that improve stability and confinement. Advanced space propulsion could be more efficient with collimated and stable plasma flows through magnetic nozzles but must eventually detach from the nozzle. In all these cases, there appears to be a spontaneous emergence of flowing and/or magnetic structures, suggesting a form of self-organization in plasmas. Beyond satisfying simple intellectual curiosity, understanding plasma self-organization could enable the development of methods to control plasma structures for fusion energy, space propulsion, and other applications. The research project has therefore built a theory and an experiment to investigate the interaction between magnetic fields and plasma flows. The theory is called canonical field theory for short, and the experiment is called Mochi after a rice cake filled with surprising, yet delicious fillings.

Novel laboratory simulations of astrophysical jets

Science.gov (United States)

Brady, Parrish Clawson

This thesis was motivated by the promise that some physical aspects of astrophysical jets and collimation processes can be scaled to laboratory parameters through hydrodynamic scaling laws. The simulation of astrophysical jet phenomena with laser-produced plasmas was attractive because the laser- target interaction can inject energetic, repeatable plasma into an external environment. Novel laboratory simulations of astrophysical jets involved constructing and using the YOGA laser, giving a 1064 nm, 8 ns pulse laser with energies up to 3.7 + 0.2 J . Laser-produced plasmas were characterized using Schlieren, interferometry and ICCD photography for their use in simulating jet and magnetosphere physics. The evolution of the laser-produced plasma in various conditions was compared with self-similar solutions and HYADES computer simulations. Millimeter-scale magnetized collimated outflows were produced by a centimeter scale cylindrically symmetric electrode configuration triggered by a laser-produced plasma. A cavity with a flared nozzle surrounded the center electrode and the electrode ablation created supersonic uncollimated flows. This flow became collimated when the center electrode changed from an anodeto a cathode. The plasma jets were in axially directed permanent magnetic fields with strengths up to 5000 Gauss. The collimated magnetized jets were 0.1-0. 3 cm wide, up to 2.0 cm long, and had velocities of ~4.0 × 10 6 cm/s. The dynamics of the evolution of the jet were compared qualitatively and quantitatively with fluxtube simulations from Bellan's formulation [6] giving a calculated estimate of ~2.6 × 10 6 cm/s for jet evolution velocity and evidence for jet rotation. The density measured with interferometry was 1.9 ± 0.2 × 10 17 cm -3 compared with 2.1 × 10 16 cm -3 calculated with Bellan's pressure balance formulation. Kinks in the jet column were produced consistent with the Kruskal-Shafranov condition which allowed stable and symmetric jets to form with

A hybrid gyrokinetic ion and isothermal electron fluid code for astrophysical plasma

Science.gov (United States)

Kawazura, Y.; Barnes, M.

2018-05-01

This paper describes a new code for simulating astrophysical plasmas that solves a hybrid model composed of gyrokinetic ions (GKI) and an isothermal electron fluid (ITEF) Schekochihin et al. (2009) [9]. This model captures ion kinetic effects that are important near the ion gyro-radius scale while electron kinetic effects are ordered out by an electron-ion mass ratio expansion. The code is developed by incorporating the ITEF approximation into AstroGK, an Eulerian δf gyrokinetics code specialized to a slab geometry Numata et al. (2010) [41]. The new code treats the linear terms in the ITEF equations implicitly while the nonlinear terms are treated explicitly. We show linear and nonlinear benchmark tests to prove the validity and applicability of the simulation code. Since the fast electron timescale is eliminated by the mass ratio expansion, the Courant-Friedrichs-Lewy condition is much less restrictive than in full gyrokinetic codes; the present hybrid code runs ∼ 2√{mi /me } ∼ 100 times faster than AstroGK with a single ion species and kinetic electrons where mi /me is the ion-electron mass ratio. The improvement of the computational time makes it feasible to execute ion scale gyrokinetic simulations with a high velocity space resolution and to run multiple simulations to determine the dependence of turbulent dynamics on parameters such as electron-ion temperature ratio and plasma beta.

Hydrodynamic instabilities in astrophysics and ICF

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Paul Drake, R.

2005-01-01

Inertial fusion systems and astrophysical systems both involve hydrodynamic effects, including sources of pressure, shock waves, rarefactions, and plasma flows. In the evolution of such systems, hydrodynamic instabilities naturally evolve. As a result, a fundamental understanding of hydrodynamic instabilities is necessary to understand their behavior. In addition, high-energy-density facilities designed for ICF purposes can be used to provide and experimental basis for understanding astrophysical processes. In this talk. I will discuss the instabilities that appear in astrophysics and ICF from the common perspective of the basic mechanisms at work. Examples will be taken from experiments aimed at ICF, from astrophysical systems, and from experiments using ICF systems to address issues in astrophysics. The high-energy-density research facilities of today can accelerate small but macroscopic amounts of material to velocities above 100 km/s, can heat such material to temperature above 100 eV, can produce pressures far above a million atmospheres (10''12 dybes/cm''2 or 0.1 TPascal), and can do experiments under these conditions that address basic physics issues. This enables on to devise experiments aimed directly at important process such as the Rayleigh Taylor instability at an ablating surface or at an embedded interface that is accelerating, the Richtmeyer Meshkov evolution of shocked interfaces, and the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability of shear flows. The talk will include examples of such phenomena from the laboratory and from astrophysics, and will discuss experiments to study them. (Author)

Laboratory Astrophysics Using High Energy Density Photon and Electron Beams

CERN Document Server

Bingham, Robert

2005-01-01

The development of intense laser and particle beams has opened up new opportunities to study high energy density astrophysical processes in the Laboratory. With even higher laser intensities possible in the near future vacuum polarization processes such as photon - photon scattering with or without large magnetic fields may also be experimentally observed. In this talk I will review the status of laboratory experiments using intense beans to investigate extreme astrophysical phenomena such as supernovae explosions, gamma x-ray bursts, ultra-high energy cosmic accelerators etc. Just as intense photon or electron beams can excite relativistic electron plasma waves or wakefields used in plasma acceleration, intense neutrino beams from type II supernovae can also excite wakefields or plasma waves. Other instabilities driven by intense beams relevant to perhaps x-ray bursts is the Weibel instability. Simulation results of extreme processes will also be presented.

The effect of plasma collisionality on pedestal current density formation in DIII-D

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Thomas, D M; Leonard, A W; Osborne, T H; Groebner, R J; West, W P; Burrell, K H [General Atomics, PO Box 85608, San Diego, California 92186-5608 (United States)

2006-05-15

The evolution and performance limits for the pedestal in H-mode are dependent on the two main drive terms for instability: namely the edge pressure gradient and the edge current density. These terms are naturally coupled though neoclassical (Pfirsch-Schluter and bootstrap) effects. On DIII-D, local measurements of the edge current density are made using an injected lithium beam in conjunction with Zeeman polarimetry and compared with pressure profile measurements made with other diagnostics. These measurements have confirmed the close spatial and temporal correlation that exists between the measured current density and the edge pressure in H- and QH-mode pedestals, where substantial pressure gradients exist. In the present work we examine the changes in the measured edge current for DIII-D pedestals which have a range of values for the ion and electron collisionalities {l_brace}{upsilon}{sub i}*,{upsilon}{sub e}*{r_brace} due to fuelling effects. Such changes in the collisionality in the edge are expected to significantly alter the level of the bootstrap current from the value predicted from the collisionless limit and therefore should correspondingly alter the pedestal stability limits. We find a clear decrease in measured current as {nu} increases, even for discharges having similar edge pressure gradients.

Astrophysical fluid dynamics

Science.gov (United States)

Ogilvie, Gordon I.

2016-06-01

> These lecture notes and example problems are based on a course given at the University of Cambridge in Part III of the Mathematical Tripos. Fluid dynamics is involved in a very wide range of astrophysical phenomena, such as the formation and internal dynamics of stars and giant planets, the workings of jets and accretion discs around stars and black holes and the dynamics of the expanding Universe. Effects that can be important in astrophysical fluids include compressibility, self-gravitation and the dynamical influence of the magnetic field that is `frozen in' to a highly conducting plasma. The basic models introduced and applied in this course are Newtonian gas dynamics and magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) for an ideal compressible fluid. The mathematical structure of the governing equations and the associated conservation laws are explored in some detail because of their importance for both analytical and numerical methods of solution, as well as for physical interpretation. Linear and nonlinear waves, including shocks and other discontinuities, are discussed. The spherical blast wave resulting from a supernova, and involving a strong shock, is a classic problem that can be solved analytically. Steady solutions with spherical or axial symmetry reveal the physics of winds and jets from stars and discs. The linearized equations determine the oscillation modes of astrophysical bodies, as well as their stability and their response to tidal forcing.

Collisional drag may lead to disappearance of wave-breaking phenomenon of lower hybrid oscillations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maity, Chandan; Chakrabarti, Nikhil

2013-01-01

The inhomogeneity in the magnetic field in a cold electron-ion non-dissipative homogeneous plasma leads to the breaking of lower hybrid modes via phase mixing phenomenon [Maity et al. Phys. Plasmas 19, 102302 (2012)]. In this work, we show that an inclusion of collisional drag force in fluid equations may lead to the disappearance of the wave-breaking phenomenon of lower hybrid oscillations. The nonlinear analysis in Lagrangian variables provides an expression for a critical value of damping rate, above which spikes in the plasma density profile may disappear. The critical damping rate depends on the perturbation and magnetic field inhomogeneity amplitudes as well as the ratio of the magnetic field inhomogeneity and perturbation scale lengths.

High density turbulent plasma processes from a shock tube

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oyedeji, O.; Johnson, J.A. III

1991-01-01

We have finished the first stages of our experimental and theoretical investigations on models for energy and momentum transport and for photon-particle collision processes in a turbulent quasi-stationary high density plasma. The system is explored by beginning to determine the turbulence phenomenology associated with an ionizing shock wave. The theoretical underpinnings are explored for phonon particle collisions by determining the collisional redistribution function, using Lioville Space Green's Function, which will characterize the inelastic scattering of the radiation from one frequency to another. We have observed that a weak magnetic field tends to increase the apparent random-like behaviors in a collisional turbulent plasma. On the theoretical side, we have been able to achieve a form for the collisional redistribution function. It remains to apply these concepts to a stationary turbulent plasma in the reflected ionizing shock wave and to exercise the implications of evaluations of the collisional redistribution function for such a system when it is probed by a strong radiation source. These results are discussed in detail in the publications, which have resulted from the this effort, cited at the end of the report

Ion Motion in a Plasma Interacting with Strong Magnetic Fields

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Weingarten, A.; Grabowski, C.; Chakrabarti, N.; Maron, Y.; Fruchtmant, A.

1999-01-01

The interaction of a plasma with strong magnetic fields takes place in many laboratory experiments and astrophysical plasmas. Applying a strong magnetic field to the plasma may result in plasma displacement, magnetization, or the formation of instabilities. Important phenomena in plasma, such as the energy transport and the momentum balance, take a different form in each case. We study this interaction in a plasma that carries a short-duration (80-ns) current pulse, generating a magnetic field of up to 17 kG. The evolution of the magnetic field, plasma density, ion velocities, and electric fields are determined before and during the current pulse. The dependence of the plasma limiting current on the plasma density and composition are studied and compared to theoretical models based on the different phenomena. When the plasma collisionality is low, three typical velocities should be taken into consideration: the proton and heavier-ion Alfven velocities (v A p and v A h , respectively) and the EMHD magnetic-field penetration velocity into the plasma (v EMHD ). If both Alfven velocities are larger than v EMHD the plasma is pushed ahead of the magnetic piston and the magnetic field energy is dissipated into ion kinetic energy. If v EMHD is the largest of three velocities, the plasma become magnetized and the ions acquire a small axial momentum only. Different ion species may drift in different directions along the current lines. In this case, the magnetic field energy is probably dissipated into electron thermal energy. When vs > V EMHD > vi, as in the case of one of our experiments, ion mass separation occurs. The protons are pushed ahead of the piston while the heavier-ions become magnetized. Since the plasma electrons are unmagnetized they cannot cross the piston, and the heavy ions are probably charge-neutralized by electrons originating from the cathode that are 'born' magnetized

Kinetics and hybrid kinetic-fluid models for nonequilibrium gas and plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Crouseilles, N.

2004-12-01

For a few decades, the application of the physics of plasmas has appeared in different fields like laser-matter interaction, astrophysics or thermonuclear fusion. In this thesis, we are interested in the modeling and the numerical study of nonequilibrium gas and plasmas. To describe such systems, two ways are usually used: the fluid description and the kinetic description. When we study a nonequilibrium system, fluid models are not sufficient and a kinetic description have to be used. However, solving a kinetic model requires the discretization of a large number of variables, which is quite expensive from a numerical point of view. The aim of this work is to propose a hybrid kinetic-fluid model thanks to a domain decomposition method in the velocity space. The derivation of the hybrid model is done in two different contexts: the rarefied gas context and the more complicated plasmas context. The derivation partly relies on Levermore's entropy minimization approach. The so-obtained model is then discretized and validated on various numerical test cases. In a second stage, a numerical study of a fully kinetic model is presented. A collisional plasma constituted of electrons and ions is considered through the Vlasov-Poisson-Fokker-Planck-Landau equation. Then, a numerical scheme which preserves total mass and total energy is presented. This discretization permits in particular a numerical study of the Landau damping. (author)

Interaction of the electromagnetic waves and non-magnetized plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sun Aiping; Qiu Xiaoming; Dong Yuying; Li Liqiong

2002-01-01

The propagation of electromagnetic waves with 0.5 - 10 GHz in a non-magnetized collisional plasma slab is studied numerically. The change in the absorbed power, reflected power and transmitted power of the electromagnetic wave with collisional frequency of electrons and neutral atoms in plasma from 0.1 - 10 GHz, is calculated, in the condition of the uniform plasma with density of 10 10 or 10 11 cm -3 and depth of 10 cm, and the non-uniform plasma with density distribution of n = n 0 exp[2(z/d-1)] and depth of 10 cm, respectively. The results show that the absorbed power in either uniform or non-uniform plasma is large when the plasma density is large and collision frequency is high, and the peak value is 90%

Quasi-linear landau kinetic equations for magnetized plasmas: compact propagator formalism, rotation matrices and interaction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Misguich, J.H.

2004-04-01

As a first step toward a nonlinear renormalized description of turbulence phenomena in magnetized plasmas, the lowest order quasi-linear description is presented here from a unified point of view for collisionless as well as for collisional plasmas in a constant magnetic field. The quasi-linear approximation is applied to a general kinetic equation obtained previously from the Klimontovich exact equation, by means of a generalised Dupree-Weinstock method. The so-obtained quasi-linear description of electromagnetic turbulence in a magnetoplasma is applied to three separate physical cases: -) weak electrostatic turbulence, -) purely magnetic field fluctuations (the classical quasi-linear results are obtained for cosmic ray diffusion in the 'slab model' of magnetostatic turbulence in the solar wind), and -) collisional kinetic equations of magnetized plasmas. This mathematical technique has allowed us to derive basic kinetic equations for turbulent plasmas and collisional plasmas, respectively in the quasi-linear and Landau approximation. In presence of a magnetic field we have shown that the systematic use of rotation matrices describing the helical particle motion allows for a much more compact derivation than usually performed. Moreover, from the formal analogy between turbulent and collisional plasmas, the results derived here in detail for the turbulent plasmas, can be immediately translated to obtain explicit results for the Landau kinetic equation

Quasi-linear landau kinetic equations for magnetized plasmas: compact propagator formalism, rotation matrices and interaction

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Misguich, J.H

2004-04-01

As a first step toward a nonlinear renormalized description of turbulence phenomena in magnetized plasmas, the lowest order quasi-linear description is presented here from a unified point of view for collisionless as well as for collisional plasmas in a constant magnetic field. The quasi-linear approximation is applied to a general kinetic equation obtained previously from the Klimontovich exact equation, by means of a generalised Dupree-Weinstock method. The so-obtained quasi-linear description of electromagnetic turbulence in a magnetoplasma is applied to three separate physical cases: -) weak electrostatic turbulence, -) purely magnetic field fluctuations (the classical quasi-linear results are obtained for cosmic ray diffusion in the 'slab model' of magnetostatic turbulence in the solar wind), and -) collisional kinetic equations of magnetized plasmas. This mathematical technique has allowed us to derive basic kinetic equations for turbulent plasmas and collisional plasmas, respectively in the quasi-linear and Landau approximation. In presence of a magnetic field we have shown that the systematic use of rotation matrices describing the helical particle motion allows for a much more compact derivation than usually performed. Moreover, from the formal analogy between turbulent and collisional plasmas, the results derived here in detail for the turbulent plasmas, can be immediately translated to obtain explicit results for the Landau kinetic equation.

Collisional pumping for the production of intense spin-polarized neutral beams: target considerations. Revision

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stearns, J.W.; Burrell, C.F.; Kaplan, S.N.; Pyle, R.V.; Ruby, L.; Schlachter, A.S.

1985-04-01

Polarized beams at intensity levels heretofore not considered feasible have recently been proposed for heating and fueling fusion plasmas. Polarized-beam fueling could increase fusion rates by 50% as well as allow control of the directionality of the fusion products. A process which we have recently described, and called collisional pumping, promises to produce beams of polarized ions vastly more intense than producible by current methods

Non equilibrium atomic processes and plasma spectroscopy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kato, Takako

2003-01-01

Along with the technical progress in plasma spectroscopy, non equilibrium ionization processes have been recently observed. We study non local thermodynamic equilibrium and non ionization equilibrium for various kinds of plasmas. Specifically we discuss non equilibrium atomic processes in magnetically confined plasmas, solar flares and laser produced plasmas using a collisional radiative model based on plasma spectroscopic data. (author)

Nonlinear evolution of astrophysical Alfven waves

Science.gov (United States)

Spangler, S. R.

1984-01-01

Nonlinear Alfven waves were studied using the derivative nonlinear Schrodinger equation as a model. The evolution of initial conditions, such as envelope solitons, amplitude-modulated waves, and band-limited noise was investigated. The last two furnish models for naturally occurring Alfven waves in an astrophysical plasma. A collapse instability in which a wave packet becomes more intense and of smaller spatial extent was analyzed. It is argued that this instability leads to enhanced plasma heating. In studies in which the waves are amplified by an electron beam, the instability tends to modestly inhibit wave growth.

Determination of Plasma Screening Effects for Thermonuclear Reactions in Laser-generated Plasmas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wu, Yuanbin; Pálffy, Adriana, E-mail: yuanbin.wu@mpi-hd.mpg.de, E-mail: Palffy@mpi-hd.mpg.de [Max-Planck-Institut für Kernphysik, Saupfercheckweg 1, D-69117 Heidelberg (Germany)

2017-03-20

Due to screening effects, nuclear reactions in astrophysical plasmas may behave differently than in the laboratory. The possibility to determine the magnitude of these screening effects in colliding laser-generated plasmas is investigated theoretically, having as a starting point a proposed experimental setup with two laser beams at the Extreme Light Infrastructure facility. A laser pulse interacting with a solid target produces a plasma through the Target Normal Sheath Acceleration scheme, and this rapidly streaming plasma (ion flow) impacts a secondary plasma created by the interaction of a second laser pulse on a gas jet target. We model this scenario here and calculate the reaction events for the astrophysically relevant reaction {sup 13}C({sup 4}He, n ){sup 16}O. We find that it should be experimentally possible to determine the plasma screening enhancement factor for fusion reactions by detecting the difference in reaction events between two scenarios of ion flow interacting with the plasma target and a simple gas target. This provides a way to evaluate nuclear reaction cross-sections in stellar environments and can significantly advance the field of nuclear astrophysics.

Proton temperature-anisotropy-driven instabilities in weakly collisional plasmas: Hybrid simulations

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Hellinger, Petr; Trávníček, Pavel M.

2015-01-01

Roč. 81, č. 1 (2015), s. 1-14 ISSN 0022-3778 Institutional support: RVO:68378289 Keywords : magnetic-field * solar- wind * mirror instability * Langevin representation * Coulomb collisions * nonlinear-theory * fluid model * evolution * turbulence * threshold Subject RIV: BN - Astronomy, Celestial Mechanics, Astrophysics Impact factor: 0.981, year: 2015 http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=9525437

Collisional Transport in a Low Aspect Ratio Tokamak -- Beyond the Drift Kinetic Formalism

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gates, D.A.; White, R.B.

2004-01-01

Calculations of collisional thermal and particle diffusivities in toroidal magnetic plasma confinement devices order the toroidal gyroradius to be small relative to the poloidal gyroradius. This ordering is central to what is usually referred to as neoclassical transport theory. This ordering is incorrect at low aspect ratio, where it can often be the case that the toroidal gyroradius is larger than the poloidal gyroradius. We calculate the correction to the particle and thermal diffusivities at low aspect ratio by comparing the diffusivities as determined by a full orbit code (which we refer to as omni-classical diffusion) with those from a gyroaveraged orbit code (neoclassical diffusion). In typical low aspect ratio devices the omni-classical diffusion can be up to 2.5 times the calculated neoclassical value. We discuss the implications of this work on the analysis of collisional transport in low aspect ratio magnetic confinement experiments

Radiative properties of astrophysical matter: a quest to reproduce astrophysical conditions on earth

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bailey, James E.

2010-01-01

dynamic hohlraums provide such a megajoule-class source. Initial Z experiments measured transmission through iron samples ionized to the same charge states that exist at the solar convection zone base. The resulting data made it possible to test challenging aspects of the opacity calculations such as the ionization balance and the completeness and accuracy of the atomic energy level description. However, the density was too low to provide a definitive test of the physics at the solar convection zone base. Recent experiments have reached higher densities, and opacity model tests for stellar interiors now appear within reach. Accretion powered objects, including active galactic nuclei, x-ray binaries, and black hole accretion disks, are the most luminous objects in the universe. Astrophysical models for these objects rely largely on comparing spectroscopic predictions with observations. A dilemma arises because the spectra originate from plasmas that are bathed in the enormous photon flux from the accretion disk and photoionization dominates the atomic ionization and energy level populations. Thus, constraining astrophysical models depends on accurate atomic models for photoionized plasmas. Unfortunately, to date the ionization in almost all laboratory experiments is collision-dominated and very few tests of photoionized plasma atomic kinetics exist. Megajoule class high-energy-density facilities can help because they generate higher x-ray fluence over larger spatial scales and longer times. Expanded iron foils and pre-filled neon gas cells have been used in experiments at Z to study photoionized atomic kinetics in two elements commonly observed in astrophysical objects. In these experiments, low density samples are exposed to a measured intense x-ray spectrum, emergent emission or absorption spectra are recorded, and the results are compared to predictions made with spectral synthesis codes used by astrophysicists. Initial experiments focused on testing models used to

Plasma sheath criterion in thermal electronegative plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ghomi, Hamid; Khoramabadi, Mansour; Ghorannevis, Mahmod; Shukla, Padma Kant

2010-01-01

The sheath formation criterion in electronegative plasma is examined. By using a multifluid model, it is shown that in a collisional sheath there will be upper as well as lower limits for the sheath velocity criterion. However, the parameters of the negative ions only affect the lower limit.

Development of transient collisional excitation x-ray laser with ultra short-pulse laser

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kado, Masataka; Kawachi, Tetsuya; Hasegawa, Noboru; Tanaka, Momoko; Sukegawa, Kouta; Nagashima, Keisuke; Kato, Yoshiaki

2001-01-01

We have observed lasing on Ne-like 3s-3p line from titanium (32.4 nm), Ni-like 4p-4d line from silver (13.9 nm) and tin (11.9 nm) with the transient collisional excitation (TCE) scheme that uses combination of a long pre-pulse (∼ns) and a short main pulse (∼ps). A gain coefficient of 23 cm -1 was measured for plasma length up to 4 mm with silver slab targets. We have also observed lasing on Ne-like and Ni-like lines with new TCE scheme that used pico-seconds laser pulse to generate plasma and observed strong improvement of x-ray laser gain coefficient. A gain coefficient of 14 cm -1 was measured for plasma length up to 6 mm with tin targets. (author)

The Pade approximate method for solving problems in plasma kinetic theory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jasperse, J.R.; Basu, B.

1992-01-01

The method of Pade Approximates has been a powerful tool in solving for the time dependent propagator (Green function) in model quantum field theories. We have developed a modified Pade method which we feel has promise for solving linearized collisional and weakly nonlinear problems in plasma kinetic theory. In order to illustrate the general applicability of the method, in this paper we discuss Pade solutions for the linearized collisional propagator and the collisional dielectric function for a model collisional problem. (author) 3 refs., 2 tabs

Magnetic-flutter-induced pedestal plasma transport

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Callen, J.D.; Hegna, C.C.; Cole, A.J.

2013-01-01

Plasma toroidal rotation can limit reconnection of externally applied resonant magnetic perturbation (RMP) fields δB on rational magnetic flux surfaces. Hence it causes the induced radial perturbations δB ρ to be small there, thereby inhibiting magnetic island formation and stochasticity at the top of pedestals in high (H-mode) confinement tokamak plasmas. However, the δB ρ s induced by RMPs increase away from rational surfaces and are shown to induce significant sinusoidal radial motion (flutter) of magnetic field lines with a radial extent that varies linearly with δB ρ and inversely with distance from the rational surface because of the magnetic shear. This produces a radial electron thermal diffusivity that is (1/2)(δB ρ /B 0 ) 2 times a kinetically derived, electron-collision-induced, magnetic-shear-reduced, effective parallel electron thermal diffusivity in the absence of magnetic stochasticity. These low collisionality flutter-induced transport processes and thin magnetic island effects are shown to be highly peaked in the vicinity of rational surfaces at the top of low collisionality pedestals. However, the smaller but finite level of magnetic-flutter-induced electron heat transport midway between rational surfaces is the primary factor that determines the electron temperature difference between rational surfaces at the pedestal top. The magnetic-flutter-induced non-ambipolar electron density transport can be large enough to push the plasma toward an electron density transport root. Requiring ambipolar density transport is shown to determine the radial electric field, the plasma toroidal rotation (via radial force balance), a reduced electron thermal diffusivity and increased ambipolar density transport in the pedestal. At high collisionality the various flutter effects are less strongly peaked at rational surfaces and generally less significant. They are thus less likely to exhibit flutter-induced resonant behaviour and transition toward an

Magnetic-flutter-induced pedestal plasma transport

Science.gov (United States)

Callen, J. D.; Hegna, C. C.; Cole, A. J.

2013-11-01

Plasma toroidal rotation can limit reconnection of externally applied resonant magnetic perturbation (RMP) fields δB on rational magnetic flux surfaces. Hence it causes the induced radial perturbations δBρ to be small there, thereby inhibiting magnetic island formation and stochasticity at the top of pedestals in high (H-mode) confinement tokamak plasmas. However, the δBρs induced by RMPs increase away from rational surfaces and are shown to induce significant sinusoidal radial motion (flutter) of magnetic field lines with a radial extent that varies linearly with δBρ and inversely with distance from the rational surface because of the magnetic shear. This produces a radial electron thermal diffusivity that is (1/2)(δBρ/B0)2 times a kinetically derived, electron-collision-induced, magnetic-shear-reduced, effective parallel electron thermal diffusivity in the absence of magnetic stochasticity. These low collisionality flutter-induced transport processes and thin magnetic island effects are shown to be highly peaked in the vicinity of rational surfaces at the top of low collisionality pedestals. However, the smaller but finite level of magnetic-flutter-induced electron heat transport midway between rational surfaces is the primary factor that determines the electron temperature difference between rational surfaces at the pedestal top. The magnetic-flutter-induced non-ambipolar electron density transport can be large enough to push the plasma toward an electron density transport root. Requiring ambipolar density transport is shown to determine the radial electric field, the plasma toroidal rotation (via radial force balance), a reduced electron thermal diffusivity and increased ambipolar density transport in the pedestal. At high collisionality the various flutter effects are less strongly peaked at rational surfaces and generally less significant. They are thus less likely to exhibit flutter-induced resonant behaviour and transition toward an electron

Collisional properties of weakly bound heteronuclear dimers

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Marcelis, B.; Kokkelmans, S.J.J.M.F.; Shlyapnikov, G.V.; Petrov, D.S.

2008-01-01

We consider collisional properties of weakly bound heteronuclear molecules (dimers) formed in a two-species mixture of atoms with a large mass difference. We focus on dimers containing light fermionic atoms as they manifest collisional stability due to an effective dimer-dimer repulsion originating

Elements of plasma kinetic theory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guasp, J.

1976-01-01

The physical foundations of plasma kinetic equations are exposed inside a series of seminars on plasma and fusion physics. The Vlasov and collisional equations with its application range have been discussed. The momenta equations for the macroscopic magnitudes and the more usual approximations have been obtained: two fluid equations for cold and warm plasmas, magnetohydrodynamic equations and the double-adiabatic theory. (author)

Introduction to Plasma Physics

Science.gov (United States)

Gurnett, Donald A.; Bhattacharjee, Amitava

2017-03-01

Preface; 1. Introduction; 2. Characteristic parameters of a plasma; 3. Single particle motions; 4. Waves in a cold plasma; 5. Kinetic theory and the moment equations; 6. Magnetohydrodynamics; 7. MHD equilibria and stability; 8. Discontinuities and shock waves; 9. Electrostatic waves in a hot unmagnetized plasma; 10. Waves in a hot magnetized plasma; 11. Nonlinear effects; 12. Collisional processes; Appendix A. Symbols; Appendix B. Useful trigonometric identities; Appendix C. Vector differential operators; Appendix D. Vector calculus identities; Index.

Use of nonlocal helium microplasma for gas impurities detection by the collisional electron spectroscopy method

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kudryavtsev, Anatoly A., E-mail: akud@ak2138.spb.edu [St. Petersburg State University, 7-9 Universitetskaya nab., 199034 St. Petersburg (Russian Federation); Stefanova, Margarita S.; Pramatarov, Petko M. [Institute of Solid State Physics, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 72 Tzarigradsko Chaussee blvd., 1784 Sofia (Bulgaria)

2015-10-15

The collisional electron spectroscopy (CES) method, which lays the ground for a new field for analytical detection of gas impurities at high pressures, has been verified. The CES method enables the identification of gas impurities in the collisional mode of electron movement, where the advantages of nonlocal formation of the electron energy distribution function (EEDF) are fulfilled. Important features of dc negative glow microplasma and probe method for plasma diagnostics are applied. A new microplasma gas analyzer design is proposed. Admixtures of 0.2% Ar, 0.6% Kr, 0.1% N{sub 2}, and 0.05% CO{sub 2} are used as examples of atomic and molecular impurities to prove the possibility for detecting and identifying their presence in high pressure He plasma (50–250 Torr). The identification of the particles under analysis is made from the measurements of the high energy part of the EEDF, where maxima appear, resulting from the characteristic electrons released in Penning reactions of He metastable atoms with impurity particles. Considerable progress in the development of a novel miniature gas analyzer for chemical sensing in gas phase environments has been made.

Gyrokinetic-water-bag modeling of low-frequency instabilities in a laboratory magnetized plasma column

Science.gov (United States)

Gravier, E.; Klein, R.; Morel, P.; Besse, N.; Bertrand, P.

2008-12-01

A new model is presented, named collisional-gyro-water-bag (CGWB), which describes the collisional drift waves and ion-temperature-gradient (ITG) instabilities in a plasma column. This model is based on the kinetic gyro-water-bag approach recently developed [P. Morel et al., Phys. Plasmas 14, 112109 (2007)] to investigate ion-temperature-gradient modes. In CGWB electron-neutral collisions have been introduced and are now taken into account. The model has been validated by comparing CGWB linear analysis with other models previously proposed and experimental results as well. Kinetic effects on collisional drift waves are investigated, resulting in a less effective growth rate, and the transition from collisional drift waves to ITG instability depending on the ion temperature gradient is studied.

Expansion of Collisional Radiative Model for Helium line ratio spectroscopy

Science.gov (United States)

Cinquegrani, David; Cooper, Chris; Forest, Cary; Milhone, Jason; Munoz-Borges, Jorge; Schmitz, Oliver; Unterberg, Ezekial

2015-11-01

Helium line ratio spectroscopy is a powerful technique of active plasma edge spectroscopy. It enables reconstruction of plasma edge parameters like electron density and temperature by use of suitable Collisional Radiative Models (CRM). An established approach is successful at moderate plasma densities (~1018m-3 range) and temperature (30-300eV), taking recombination and charge exchange to be negligible. The goal of this work is to experimentally explore limitations of this approach to CRM. For basic validation the Madison Plasma Dynamo eXperiment (MPDX) will be used. MPDX offers a very uniform plasma and spherical symmetry at low temperature (5-20 eV) and low density (1016 -1017m-3) . Initial data from MPDX shows a deviation in CRM results when compared to Langmuir probe data. This discrepancy points to the importance of recombination effects. The validated model is applied to first time measurement of electron density and temperature in front of an ICRH antenna at the TEXTOR tokamak. These measurements are important to understand RF coupling and PMI physics at the antenna limiters. Work supported in part by start up funds of the Department of Engineering Physics at the UW - Madison, USA and NSF CAREER award PHY-1455210.

Evolution of a Gaussian laser beam in warm collisional magnetoplasma

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jafari, M. J.; Jafari Milani, M. R., E-mail: mrj.milani@gmail.com [Plasma Physics Research School, NSTRI, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Niknam, A. R. [Laser and Plasma Research Institute, Shahid Beheshti University, G.C., Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

2016-07-15

In this paper, the spatial evolution of an intense circularly polarized Gaussian laser beam propagated through a warm plasma is investigated, taking into account the ponderomotive force, Ohmic heating, external magnetic field, and collisional effects. Using the momentum transfer and energy equations, both modified electron temperature and electron density in plasma are obtained. By introducing the complex dielectric permittivity of warm magnetized plasma and using the complex eikonal function, coupled differential equations for beam width parameter are established and solved numerically. The effects of polarization state of laser and magnetic field on the laser spot size evolution are studied. It is observed that in case of the right-handed polarization, an increase in the value of external magnetic field causes an increase in the strength of the self-focusing, especially in the higher values, and consequently, the self-focusing occurs in shorter distance of propagation. Moreover, the results demonstrate the existence of laser intensity and electron temperature ranges where self-focusing can occur, while the beam diverges outside of these regions; meanwhile, in these intervals, there exists a turning point for each of intensity and temperature in which the self-focusing process has its strongest strength. Finally, it is found that the self-focusing effect can be enhanced by increasing the plasma frequency (plasma density).

Experimental investigation of the formation and propagation of plasma jets created by a power laser: application to laboratory astrophysics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Loupias, B.

2008-10-01

Plasma jets are often observed in the polar regions of Young Stellar Objects (YSO). For a better understanding of the whole processes at the origin of their formation and evolution, this research thesis aims at demonstrating the feasibility of a plasma jet generation by a power laser, and at investigating its characteristics. After a detailed description of Young Stellar Objects jets and an overview of theoretical models, the author describes some experiments performed with gas guns, pulsed machines and power lasers. He describes means of generation of a jet by laser interaction via strong shock propagation. He reports experimental work, describing the target, laser operating conditions and the determination of jet parameters: speed, temperature, density. Then, he introduces results obtained for plasma jet propagation in vacuum, describes their evolution with respect to initial conditions (target type, laser operating conditions), and identifies optimal conditions for generating a jet similar to that in astrophysical conditions. He considers their propagation in ambient medium like for YSO jets in interstellar medium. Two distinct cases are investigated: collision of two successive shocks in a gaseous medium, and propagation of a plasma jet in a gas jet

Theory of dielectronic recombination and plasma effects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yukap Hahn

2000-01-01

Current status of the various theoretical approaches to calculation of dielectronic recombination rates is summarized, with emphasis on the available data base and on the plasma effects of both the plasma ion (and external) fields and plasma electron collisional effects which seriously affect the rates and complicate compilation of data. (author)

Nonlocal transport in hot plasma. Part I

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brantov, A. V.; Bychenkov, V. Yu.

2013-01-01

The problem of describing charged particle transport in hot plasma under the conditions in which the ratio of the electron mean free path to the gradient length is not too small is one of the key problems of plasma physics. However, up to now, there was a deficit of the systematic interpretation of the current state of this problem, which, in most studies, is formulated as the problem of nonlocal transport. In this review, we fill this gap by presenting a self-consistent linear theory of nonlocal transport for small plasma perturbations and an arbitrary collisionality from the classical highly collisional hydrodynamic regime to the collisionless regime. We describe a number of nonlinear transport models and demonstrate the application of the nonclassical transport theory to the solution of some problems of plasma physics, first of all for plasmas produced by nanosecond laser pulses with intensities of 10 13 –10 16 W/cm 2

Computation of Collision-Induced Absorption by Simple Molecular Complexes, for Astrophysical Applications

Science.gov (United States)

Abel, Martin; Frommhold, Lothar; Li, Xiaoping; Hunt, Katharine L. C.

2012-06-01

The interaction-induced absorption by collisional pairs of H{_2} molecules is an important opacity source in the atmospheres of various types of planets and cool stars, such as late stars, low-mass stars, brown dwarfs, cool white dwarf stars, the ambers of the smaller, burnt out main sequence stars, exoplanets, etc., and therefore of special astronomical interest The emission spectra of cool white dwarf stars differ significantly in the infrared from the expected blackbody spectra of their cores, which is largely due to absorption by collisional H{_2}-H{_2}, H{_2}-He, and H{_2}-H complexes in the stellar atmospheres. Using quantum-chemical methods we compute the atmospheric absorption from hundreds to thousands of kelvin. Laboratory measurements of interaction-induced absorption spectra by H{_2} pairs exist only at room temperature and below. We show that our results reproduce these measurements closely, so that our computational data permit reliable modeling of stellar atmosphere opacities even for the higher temperatures. First results for H_2-He complexes have already been applied to astrophysical models have shown great improvements in these models. L. Frommhold, Collision-Induced Absorption in Gases, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, New York, 1993 and 2006 X. Li, K. L. C. Hunt, F. Wang, M. Abel, and L. Frommhold, Collision-Induced Infrared Absorption by Molecular Hydrogen Pairs at Thousands of Kelvin, Int. J. of Spect., vol. 2010, Article ID 371201, 11 pages, 2010. doi: 10.1155/2010/371201 M. Abel, L. Frommhold, X. Li, and K. L. C. Hunt, Collision-induced absorption by H{_2} pairs: From hundreds to thousands of Kelvin, J. Phys. Chem. A, 115, 6805-6812, 2011} L. Frommhold, M. Abel, F. Wang, M. Gustafsson, X. Li, and K. L. C. Hunt, "Infrared atmospheric emission and absorption by simple molecular complexes, from first principles", Mol. Phys. 108, 2265, 2010 M. Abel, L. Frommhold, X. Li, and K. L. C. Hunt, Infrared absorption by collisional H_2-He complexes

Two families of astrophysical diverging lens models

Science.gov (United States)

Er, Xinzhong; Rogers, Adam

2018-03-01

In the standard gravitational lensing scenario, rays from a background source are bent in the direction of a foreground lensing mass distribution. Diverging lens behaviour produces deflections in the opposite sense to gravitational lensing, and is also of astrophysical interest. In fact, diverging lensing due to compact distributions of plasma has been proposed as an explanation for the extreme scattering events that produce frequency-dependent dimming of extragalactic radio sources, and may also be related to the refractive radio wave phenomena observed to affect the flux density of pulsars. In this work we study the behaviour of two families of astrophysical diverging lenses in the geometric optics limit, the power law, and the exponential plasma lenses. Generally, the members of these model families show distinct behaviour in terms of image formation and magnification, however the inclusion of a finite core for certain power-law lenses can produce a caustic and critical curve morphology that is similar to the well-studied Gaussian plasma lens. Both model families can produce dual radial critical curves, a novel distinction from the tangential distortion usually produced by gravitational (converging) lenses. The deflection angle and magnification of a plasma lens vary with the observational frequency, producing wavelength-dependent magnifications that alter the amplitudes and the shape of the light curves. Thus, multiwavelength observations can be used to physically constrain the distribution of the electron density in such lenses.

Promising lines of investigations in the realms of laboratory astrophysics with the aid of powerful lasers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Belyaev, V. S.; Batishchev, P. A.; Bolshakov, V. V.; Elkin, K. S.; Karabadzhak, G. F.; Kovkov, D. V.; Matafonov, A. P.; Raykunov, G. G.; Yakhin, R. A.; Pikuz, S. A.; Skobelev, I. Yu.; Faenov, A. Ya.; Fortov, V. E.; Krainov, V. P.; Rozanov, V. B.

2013-01-01

The results of work on choosing and substantiating promising lines of research in the realms of laboratory astrophysics with the aid of powerful lasers are presented. These lines of research are determined by the possibility of simulating, under laboratory conditions, problematic processes of presentday astrophysics, such as (i) the generation and evolution of electromagnetic fields in cosmic space and the role of magnetic fields there at various spatial scales; (ii) the mechanisms of formation and evolution of cosmic gamma-ray bursts and relativistic jets; (iii) plasma instabilities in cosmic space and astrophysical objects, plasma jets, and shock waves; (iv) supernova explosions and mechanisms of the explosion of supernovae featuring a collapsing core; (v) nuclear processes in astrophysical objects; (vi) cosmic rays and mechanisms of their production and acceleration to high energies; and (vii) astrophysical sources of x-ray radiation. It is shown that the use of existing powerful lasers characterized by an intensity in the range of 10 18 –10 22 W/cm 2 and a pulse duration of 0.1 to 1 ps and high-energy lasers characterized by an energy in excess of 1 kJ and a pulse duration of 1 to 10 ns makes it possible to perform investigations in laboratory astrophysics along all of the chosen promising lines. The results obtained by experimentally investigating laser plasma with the aid of the laser facility created at Central Research Institute of Machine Building (TsNIIMash) and characterized by a power level of 10 TW demonstrate the potential of such facilities for performing a number of experiments in the realms of laboratory astrophysics.

Collisional Thermalization in Strongly Coupled Ultracold Neutral Plasmas

Science.gov (United States)

2017-01-25

calculated collisions rates in a strongly coupled plasma. From Bannasch et al., PRL 109, 185008 (2012). DISTRIBUTION A: Distribution approved for public...applicability to other plasmas.) We use a Green- Kubo relation to extract the diffusion constant from our measurements of the relaxation towards...strongly coupled systems. Our measurements (data symbols) agree with numerical calculations (solid lines) from J. Daligault, PRL 108, 225004 (2012

Accelerated Recombination in Cold Dense Plasmas with Metastable Ions due to Resonant Deexcitation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ralchenko, Yu.V.; Maron, M.

2001-01-01

In a recombining plasma the metastable states are known to accumulate population thereby slowing down the recombination process. We show that a proper account of the doubly-excited autoionizing states, populated through collisional 3-body recombination of metastable ions, results in a significant acceleration of recombination. 3-body recombination followed by collisional (de)excitations and autoionization effectively produces deexcitation via the following chain of elementary events: A fully time-dependent collisional-radiative (CR) modeling for stripped ions of carbon recombining in a cold dense plasma demonstrates an order of magnitude faster recombination of He-like ions. The CR model used in calculations is discussed in details

10. LAWPP: Latin American workshop on plasma physics; 7. EBFP: Brazilian meeting on plasma physics. Abstracts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2003-01-01

Theoretical and experimental short communications are presented on plasma and fusion covering the following subjects: plasma production, confinement, plasma waves, diagnostics, heating, tokamak, impurities, astrophysics plasma and technological applications

Theoretical and numerical study of Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities in magnetized plasmas; Etude theorique et numerique des instabilites rayleigh-taylor en plasmas magnetises

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Andrei, A. Ivanov

2001-06-15

In this thesis we're studying both the general case of the 'classic' Rayleigh-Taylor instability (in incompressible fluids) and more specific cases of the instabilities of Rayleigh-Taylor type in magnetized plasmas, in the liners or wire array implosions etc. We have studied the influence of the Hall diffusion of magnetic field on the growth rate of the instability. We have obtained in this work a self-similar solution for the widening of the initial profile of the magnetic field and for the wave of the penetration of magnetic field. After that the subsequent evolution of the magnetic field in plasma opening switches (POS) has been examined. We have shown the possibility of the existence of a strong rarefaction wave for collisional and non-collisional cases. This wave can explain the phenomenon of the opening of POS. The effect of the suppression of Rayleigh-Taylor instability by forced oscillations of the boundary between two fluids permits us to propose some ideas for the experiments of inertial fusion. We have considered the general case of the instability, in other words - two incompressible viscous superposed fluids in a gravitational field. We have obtained an exact analytical expression for the growth rate and then we have analyzed the influence of the parameters of external 'pumping' on the instability. These results can be applied to a wide range of systems, starting from classic hydrodynamics and up to astrophysical plasmas. The scheme of wire arrays has become recently a very popular method to obtain a high power X-radiation or for a high quality implosion in Z-pinches. The experimental studies have demonstrated that the results of implosion are much better for the case of multiple thin wires situated cylindrically than in a usual liner scheme. We have examined the problem modeling the stabilization of Rayleigh-Taylor instability for a wire array system. The reason for instability suppression is the regular spatial modulation of

Study of carbon ion behavior by using collisional radiative model in the GAMMA 10 tandem mirror

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kobayashi, Takayuki; Yoshikawa, Masayuki; Kubota, Yuusuke; Saito, Masashi; Matama, Ken; Itakura, Akiyoshi; Cho, Teruji; Kato, Takako

2006-01-01

In a plasma experiment, collisional radiative model (CRM) is very useful model to evaluate impurity behaviors and plasma parameters with line emission from a plasma. CRMs for carbon and oxygen have been developed. However verification and application of the model for analysis of experimental results are not enough. Then we applied CRM calculation results to observed impurity spectra in the GAMMA 10 tandem mirror to evaluate the impurity density profile and the particle balance of each charge state of carbon ion. We calculated the effective ionization rate for each charge state of carbon ion and obtained the density profile of each ion. Moreover, we calculated absolute emission intensities from all carbon ions. (author)

Astrophysical gyrokinetics: turbulence in pressure-anisotropic plasmas at ion scales and beyond

Science.gov (United States)

Kunz, M. W.; Abel, I. G.; Klein, K. G.

2018-04-01

and perpendicular phase mixing in space and astrophysical plasmas.

Nonlinear neoclassical transport in toroidal edge plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fueloep, T.; Helander, P.

2001-01-01

In conventional neoclassical theory, the density and temperature gradients are not allowed to be as steep as frequently observed in the tokamak edge. In this paper the theory of neoclassical transport in a collisional, impure plasma is extended to allow for steeper profiles than normally assumed. The dynamics of highly charged impurity ions then becomes nonlinear, which affects the transport of all species. As earlier found in the banana regime, when the bulk plasma gradients are large the impurity ions undergo a poloidal redistribution, which reduces their parallel friction with the bulk ions and suppresses the neoclassical ion particle flux. The neoclassical confinement is thus improved in regions with large radial gradients. When the plasma is collisional and the gradients are large, the impurities accumulate on the inboard side of the torus

Plasma residual poloidal rotation in TCABR tokamak

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Severo, J.H.F.; Nascimento, I.C.; Tsypin, V.S.; Galvao, R.M.O.

2003-01-01

This paper reports the first measurement of the radial profiles of plasma poloidal and toroidal rotation performed on the TCABR tokamak for a collisional plasma (Pfirsch-Schluter regime), using Doppler shift of carbon spectral lines, measured with a high precision optical spectrometer. The results for poloidal rotation show a maximum velocity of (4.5±1.0)·10 3 m/s at r ∼ 2/3a, (a - limiter radius), in the direction of the diamagnetic electron drift. Within the error limits, reasonable agreement is obtained with calculations using the neoclassical theory for a collisional plasma, except near the plasma edge, as expected. For toroidal rotation, the radial profile shows that the velocity decreases from a counter-current value of (20 ± 1) · 10 3 m/s for the plasma core to a co-current value of (2.0 ± 1.0) · 10 3 m/s near the limiter. An agreement within a factor 2, for the plasma core rotation, is obtained with calculations using the model proposed by Kim, Diamond and Groebner. (author)

Nonlocal collisionless and collisional electron transport in low temperature plasmas

Science.gov (United States)

Kaganovich, Igor

2009-10-01

The purpose of the talk is to describe recent advances in nonlocal electron kinetics in low-pressure plasmas. A distinctive property of partially ionized plasmas is that such plasmas are always in a non-equilibrium state: the electrons are not in thermal equilibrium with the neutral species and ions, and the electrons are also not in thermodynamic equilibrium within their own ensemble, which results in a significant departure of the electron velocity distribution function from a Maxwellian. These non-equilibrium conditions provide considerable freedom to choose optimal plasma parameters for applications, which make gas discharge plasmas remarkable tools for a variety of plasma applications, including plasma processing, discharge lighting, plasma propulsion, particle beam sources, and nanotechnology. Typical phenomena in such discharges include nonlocal electron kinetics, nonlocal electrodynamics with collisionless electron heating, and nonlinear processes in the sheaths and in the bounded plasmas. Significant progress in understanding the interaction of electromagnetic fields with real bounded plasma created by this field and the resulting changes in the structure of the applied electromagnetic field has been one of the major achievements of the last decade in this area of research [1-3]. We show on specific examples that this progress was made possible by synergy between full scale particle-in-cell simulations, analytical models, and experiments. In collaboration with Y. Raitses, A.V. Khrabrov, Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, Princeton, NJ, USA; V.I. Demidov, UES, Inc., 4401 Dayton-Xenia Rd., Beavercreek, OH 45322, USA and AFRL, Wright-Patterson AFB, OH 45433, USA; and D. Sydorenko, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada. [4pt] [1] D. Sydorenko, A. Smolyakov, I. Kaganovich, and Y. Raitses, IEEE Trans. Plasma Science 34, 895 (2006); Phys. Plasmas 13, 014501 (2006); 14 013508 (2007); 15, 053506 (2008). [0pt] [2] I. D. Kaganovich, Y. Raitses, D. Sydorenko, and

Diffusion and transport phenomena in a collisional magnetoplasma ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Boltzmann-transport equation is analytically solved for two-component magnetoplasma using Chapman-Enskog analysis to include collisional diffusion transport having anisotropies in both streaming velocity and temperature components. The modified collisional integrals are analytically solved with flux integrals and ...

Diagnosing collisionless energy transfer using field-particle correlations: Vlasov-Poisson plasmas

Science.gov (United States)

Howes, Gregory G.; Klein, Kristopher G.; Li, Tak Chu

2017-02-01

Turbulence plays a key role in the conversion of the energy of large-scale fields and flows to plasma heat, impacting the macroscopic evolution of the heliosphere and other astrophysical plasma systems. Although we have long been able to make direct spacecraft measurements of all aspects of the electromagnetic field and plasma fluctuations in near-Earth space, our understanding of the physical mechanisms responsible for the damping of the turbulent fluctuations in heliospheric plasmas remains incomplete. Here we propose an innovative field-particle correlation technique that can be used to measure directly the secular energy transfer from fields to particles associated with collisionless damping of the turbulent fluctuations. Furthermore, this novel procedure yields information about the collisionless energy transfer as a function of particle velocity, providing vital new information that can help to identify the dominant collisionless mechanism governing the damping of the turbulent fluctuations. Kinetic plasma theory is used to devise the appropriate correlation to diagnose Landau damping, and the field-particle correlation technique is thoroughly illustrated using the simplified case of the Landau damping of Langmuir waves in a 1D-1V (one dimension in physical space and one dimension in velocity space) Vlasov-Poisson plasma. Generalizations necessary to apply the field-particle correlation technique to diagnose the collisionless damping of turbulent fluctuations in the solar wind are discussed, highlighting several caveats. This novel field-particle correlation technique is intended to be used as a primary analysis tool for measurements from current, upcoming and proposed spacecraft missions that are focused on the kinetic microphysics of weakly collisional heliospheric plasmas, including the Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS), Solar Probe Plus, Solar Orbiter and Turbulence Heating ObserveR (THOR) missions.

IDENTIFYING COLLISIONAL FAMILIES IN THE KUIPER BELT

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marcus, Robert A.; Ragozzine, Darin; Murray-Clay, Ruth A.; Holman, Matthew J.

2011-01-01

The identification and characterization of numerous collisional families-clusters of bodies with a common collisional origin-in the asteroid belt has added greatly to the understanding of asteroid belt formation and evolution. More recent study has also led to an appreciation of physical processes that had previously been neglected (e.g., the Yarkovsky effect). Collisions have certainly played an important role in the evolution of the Kuiper Belt as well, though only one collisional family has been identified in that region to date, around the dwarf planet Haumea. In this paper, we combine insights into collisional families from numerical simulations with the current observational constraints on the dynamical structure of the Kuiper Belt to investigate the ideal sizes and locations for identifying collisional families. We find that larger progenitors (r ∼ 500 km) result in more easily identifiable families, given the difficulty in identifying fragments of smaller progenitors in magnitude-limited surveys, despite their larger spread and less frequent occurrence. However, even these families do not stand out well from the background. Identifying families as statistical overdensities is much easier than characterizing families by distinguishing individual members from interlopers. Such identification seems promising, provided the background population is well known. In either case, families will also be much easier to study where the background population is small, i.e., at high inclinations. Overall, our results indicate that entirely different techniques for identifying families will be needed for the Kuiper Belt, and we provide some suggestions.

Field distribution of a source and energy absorption in an inhomogeneous magneto-active plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Galushko, N.P.; Erokhin, N.S.; Moiseev, S.S.

1975-01-01

In the present paper the distribution of source fields in in a magnetoactive plasma is studied from the standpoint of the possibility of an effective SHF heating of an inhomogeneous plasma in both high (ωapproximatelyωsub(pe) and low (ωapproximatelyωsub(pi) frequency ranges, where ωsub(pe) and ωsub(pi) are the electron and ion plasma frequencies. The localization of the HF energy absorption regions in cold and hot plasma and the effect of plasma inhomogeneity and source dimensions on the absorption efficiency are investigated. The linear wave transformation in an inhomogeneous hot plasma is taken into consideration. Attention is paid to the difference between the region localization for collisional and non-collisional absorption. It has been shown that the HF energy dissipation in plasma particle collisions is localized in the region of thin jets going from the source; the radiation field has a sharp peak in this region. At the same time, non-collisional HF energy dissipation is spread over the plasma volume as a result of Cherenkov and cyclotron wave attenuation. The essential contribution to the source field from resonances due to standing wave excitation in an inhomogeneous plasma shell near the source is pointed out

Collisional-radiative model including recombination processes for W27+ ion★

Science.gov (United States)

Murakami, Izumi; Sasaki, Akira; Kato, Daiji; Koike, Fumihiro

2017-10-01

We have constructed a collisional-radiative (CR) model for W27+ ions including 226 configurations with n ≤ 9 and ł ≤ 5 for spectroscopic diagnostics. We newly include recombination processes in the model and this is the first result of extreme ultraviolet spectrum calculated for recombining plasma component. Calculated spectra in 40-70 Å range in ionizing and recombining plasma components show similar 3 strong lines and 1 line weak in recombining plasma component at 45-50 Å and many weak lines at 50-65 Å for both components. Recombination processes do not contribute much to the spectrum at around 60 Å for W27+ ion. Dielectronic satellite lines are also minor contribution to the spectrum of recombining plasma component. Dielectronic recombination (DR) rate coefficient from W28+ to W27+ ions is also calculated with the same atomic data in the CR model. We found that larger set of energy levels including many autoionizing states gave larger DR rate coefficients but our rate agree within factor 6 with other works at electron temperature around 1 keV in which W27+ and W28+ ions are usually observed in plasmas. Contribution to the Topical Issue "Atomic and Molecular Data and their Applications", edited by Gordon W.F. Drake, Jung-Sik Yoon, Daiji Kato, and Grzegorz Karwasz.

Preface to special topic: High-energy density laboratory astrophysics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Glenzer, Siegfried H

2017-01-01

Here, in the 1990s, when the large inertial confinement fusion facilities in the United States became accessible for discovery-class research, physicists soon realized that the combination of these energetic drivers with precision plasmas diagnostics would allow the unprecedented experimental study of astrophysical problems.

Statistical gamma-ray emission of gold and its astrophysical implications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Giacoppo F.

2014-03-01

Full Text Available The properties of the excited states of gold isotopes were investigated at the Oslo Cyclotron Laboratory. This study is important for the understanding of neutron capture rates in astrophysical plasmas relevant for heavy element nucleosynthesys.

Laser enhancement of the collisional broadening of the 4713 and 3188 A lines in a helium plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pignolet, P.

1986-01-01

The enhancement of the electron collisional broadening of the 4s 3 S 1 and 4p 3 P 0 sub(2,1,0) levels in a helium glow discharge (nsub(e) = 10 13 -10 14 cm -3 ), induced by the non-resonant interaction of the 4s 3 S 1 and 4p 3 P 0 sub(2,1,0) levels with a CO 2 laser field, is reported. This extra broadening depends on the product of the electron density with the laser field amplitude and manifests itself on the 4713 and 3188 A linewidths. This effect results from the destruction, by electronic collisions, of the coherence induced by the laser field between the 4s 3 S 1 and 4p 3 P 0 sub(2,1,0) levels, and can be viewed as an electron-atom collisional fluorescence redistribution process at relatively large laser detuning. (author)

Propagation of laser-generated plasma jet in an ambient medium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Loupias, B; Falize, E; Vinci, T; Bouquet, S; Gregory, C D; Koenig, M; Ravasio, A; Pikuz, S; Waugh, J; Woolsey, N C; Nazarov, W; Michaut, C; Kuramitsu, Y; Seiichi, D; Sakawa, Y; Takabe, H; Schiavi, A; Atzeni, S

2009-01-01

In this work we present experimental research related to laboratory astrophysics using an intense laser. The goal of these experiments is to investigate some of the complex features of young stellar objects and astrophysical outflows, in particular the plasma jet interaction with the interstellar medium. The relevance of these experiments to astrophysics is measured through similarity criteria (scaling laws). These ensure the similarity between the astrophysical object and the laboratory provided that the dimensionless numbers are equivalent. Consequently, measurements of the plasma parameters are crucial to link laboratory research to astrophysics as they are needed for the determination of these dimensionless numbers. In this context, we designed experiments to generate plasma jets using an intense laser, and to study the evolution in vacuum and in an ambient medium.

Theory of the collisional presheath in an oblique magnetic field

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Riemann, K.

1994-01-01

In the limit of a small Debye length (λ D →0), the plasma boundary layer in front of a negative absorbing wall is split up into a collision-free planar space charge sheath and a quasineutral presheath, where the ions are accelerated to ion sound speed (Bohm criterion). Usually the presheath mechanism depends decisively on collisional friction of the ions, on ionization, or on geometric ion current concentration. If the ion dynamics in the presheath is dominated by a magnetic field (nearly) parallel to the wall, an additional effect must be considered to provide an ion transport to the wall. The special cases (a) of an ion transport by field lines intersecting the wall at a finite angle and (b) of an ion transport by collisions result in somewhat contradictory conclusions. To get a coherent picture, a hydrodynamic model of the presheath is investigated accounting for an oblique magnetic field and for collisions. The limiting cases (a) and (b) are discussed, and it is shown that (in plane geometry) the presheath ion acceleration depends always on elementary processes. The main effect of a strong magnetic field is to ''compress'' the collisional presheath into a thin layer with a characteristic extension of the ion gyroradius ρ i

Parallel Transport with Sheath and Collisional Effects in Global Electrostatic Turbulent Transport in FRCs

Science.gov (United States)

Bao, Jian; Lau, Calvin; Kuley, Animesh; Lin, Zhihong; Fulton, Daniel; Tajima, Toshiki; Tri Alpha Energy, Inc. Team

2017-10-01

Collisional and turbulent transport in a field reversed configuration (FRC) is studied in global particle simulation by using GTC (gyrokinetic toroidal code). The global FRC geometry is incorporated in GTC by using a field-aligned mesh in cylindrical coordinates, which enables global simulation coupling core and scrape-off layer (SOL) across the separatrix. Furthermore, fully kinetic ions are implemented in GTC to treat magnetic-null point in FRC core. Both global simulation coupling core and SOL regions and independent SOL region simulation have been carried out to study turbulence. In this work, the ``logical sheath boundary condition'' is implemented to study parallel transport in the SOL. This method helps to relax time and spatial steps without resolving electron plasma frequency and Debye length, which enables turbulent transports simulation with sheath effects. We will study collisional and turbulent SOL parallel transport with mirror geometry and sheath boundary condition in C2-W divertor.

Fundamental Questions in Astrophysics: Guidelines for Future UV Observatories

CERN Document Server

Gómez de Castro, Ana I

2006-01-01

Modern astrophysics is a mature science that has evolved from its early phase of discovery and classification to a physics-oriented discipline focused in finding answers to fundamental problems ranging from cosmology to the origin and diversity of life-sustainable systems in the Universe. For this very reason, progress of modern astrophysics requires the access to the electromagnetic spectrum in the broadest energy range. The Ultraviolet is a fundamental energy domain since it is one of the most powerful tool to study plasmas at temperatures in the 3,000-300,000~K range as well as electronic transitions of the most abundant molecules in the Universe. Moreover, the UV radiation field is a powerful astrochemical and photoionizing agent. This book describes the fundamental problems in modern astrophysics that cannot progress without easy and wide-spread access to modern UV instrumentation.

Status reports of supercomputing astrophysics in Japan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nakamura, Takashi; Nagasawa, Mikio

1990-01-01

The Workshop on Supercomputing Astrophysics was held at National Laboratory for High Energy Physics (KEK, Tsukuba) from August 31 to September 2, 1989. More than 40 participants of physicists, astronomers were attendant and discussed many topics in the informal atmosphere. The main purpose of this workshop was focused on the theoretical activities in computational astrophysics in Japan. It was also aimed to promote effective collaboration between the numerical experimentists working on supercomputing technique. The various subjects of the presented papers of hydrodynamics, plasma physics, gravitating systems, radiative transfer and general relativity are all stimulating. In fact, these numerical calculations become possible now in Japan owing to the power of Japanese supercomputer such as HITAC S820, Fujitsu VP400E and NEC SX-2. (J.P.N.)

Simulation of an ITER-like dissipative divertor plasma with a combined edge plasma Navier-Stokes neutral model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Knoll, D.A.; McHugh, P.R.; Krasheninnikov, S.I.; Sigmar, D.J.

1996-01-01

A combined edge plasma/Navier-Stokes neutral transport model is used to simulate dissipative divertor plasmas in the collisional limit for neutrals on a simplified two-dimensional slab geometry with ITER-like plasma conditions and scale lengths. The neutral model contains three momentum equations which are coupled to the plasma through ionization, recombination, and ion-neutral elastic collisions. The neutral transport coefficients are evaluated including both ion-neutral and neutral-neutral collisions. (orig.)

Collisional transport in a plasma with steep gradients

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, W.; Okamoto, M.; Nakajima, N.; Murakami, S.

1999-06-01

The validity is given to the newly proposed two δf method for neoclassical transport calculation, which can be solve the drift kinetic equation considering effects of steep plasma gradients, large radial electric field, finite banana width, and an orbit topology near the axis. The new method is applied to the study of ion transport with steep plasma gradients. It is found that the ion thermal diffusivity decreases as the scale length of density gradient decreases, while the ion particle flux due to ion-ion self collisions increases with increasing gradient. (author)

Laboratory Astrophysics Experiments to Study Star Formation

Science.gov (United States)

Young, Rachel

As a thesis project, I devised and implemented a scaled accretion shock experiment on the OMEGA laser (Laboratory for Laser Energetics). This effort marked the first foray into the growing field of laser-created magnetized flowing plasmas for the Center for Laser Experimental Astrophysical Research (CLEAR) here at the University of Michigan. Accretion shocks form when streams of accreting material fall to the surface of a young, growing star along magnetic field lines and, due to their supersonic flow, create shocks. As I was concerned with what was happening immediately on the surface of the star where the shock forms, I scaled the system by launching a plasma jet (the "accreting flow") and driving it into a solid surface (the "stellar surface") in the presence of an imposed magnetic field parallel to the jet flow (locally analogous to the dipole field of the star). Early work for this thesis project was dedicated to building a magnetized flowing plasma platform at CLEAR. I investigated a method for launching collimated plasma jets and studied them using Thomson scattering, a method which measures parameters such as temperature and density by scattering a probe beam off the experimental plasma. Although the data were corrupted with probe heating effects, I overcame this problem by finding the mass density of the jets and using it to determine they were isothermal rarefactions with a temperature of 6 eV. Scaling an astrophysical phenomenon to the laboratory requires tailoring the parameters of the experiment to preserve its physics, rather than creating an experiment that merely superficially resembles it. I ensured this by distilling the driving physical processes of the astrophysical system--accretion shocks--into a list of dimensionless number constraints and mapping these into plasma parameter space. Due to this project being the first magnetized flowing plasma effort at CLEAR, it suffered the growing pains typical of a young research program. Of my two primary

Theoretical modeling of transport barriers in helical plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Toda, S.; Itoh, K.; Ohyabu, N.

2008-10-01

A unified transport modelling to explain electron Internal Transport Barriers (e-ITB) in helical plasmas and Internal Diffusion Barriers (IDB) observed in Large Helical Device (LHD) is proposed. The e-ITB can be predicted with the effect of zonal flows to obtain the e-ITB in the low collisional regime when the radial variation of the particle anomalous diffusivity is included. Transport analysis in this article can newly show that the particle fuelling induces the IDB formation when this unified transport modelling is used in the high collisional regime. The density limit for the IDB in helical plasmas is also examined including the effect of the radiation loss. (author)

Atomic data for beam-stimulated plasma spectroscopy in fusion plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marchuk, O.; Biel, W.; Schlummer, T.; Ralchenko, Yu.; Schultz, D. R.

2013-01-01

Injection of high energy atoms into a confined plasma volume is an established diagnostic technique in fusion research. This method strongly depends on the quality of atomic data for charge-exchange recombination spectroscopy (CXRS), motional Stark effect (MSE) and beam-emission spectroscopy (BES). We present some examples of atomic data for CXRS and review the current status of collisional data for parabolic states of hydrogen atoms that are used for accurate MSE modeling. It is shown that the collisional data require knowledge of the excitation density matrix including the off-diagonal matrix elements. The new datasets for transitions between parabolic states are used in an extended collisional-radiative model. The ratios between the σ- and π-components and the beam-emission rate coefficients are calculated in a quasi-steady state approximation. Good agreement with the experimental data from JET is found which points out to strong deviations from the statistical distribution for magnetic sublevels

Proceedings of the thirty second national symposium on plasma science and technology: plasma for societal benefits: book of abstracts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dave, Sandhya; Shravan Kumar, S.; Vijayakumaran; Singh, Raj; Awasthi, L.M.

2017-01-01

This symposium covers topics on: basic plasma, computer modelling for plasma, exotic plasma, industrial plasma, laser plasma theory, nuclear fusion, plasma diagnostics, laser plasma, plasma processing, pulsed power, space and astrophysical plasma. Papers relevant to INIS are indexed separately

Simulations of radiative shocks and jet formation in laboratory plasmas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Velarde, P; Gonzalez, M; GarcIa-Fernandez, C; Oliva, E [Instituto de Fusion Nuclear, Universidad Politcnica de Madrid, Madrid (Spain) (Spain); Kasperczuk, A; Pisarczyk, T [Institute of Plasma Physics and Laser Microfusion, Warsaw (Poland) (Poland); Ullschmied, J [Institute of Plasma Physics AS CR, Prague (Czech Republic) (Czech Republic); Stehle, C [LERMA, Observatoire de Paris, Meudon (France) (France); Rus, B [Institute of Physics, PALS Center, Prague (Czech Republic) (Czech Republic); GarcIa-Senz, D; Bravo, E; Relano, A [Departament de Fisica i Enginyeria Nuclear. Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya. Barcelona (Spain) (Spain)], E-mail: velarde@din.upm.es

2008-05-01

We present the simulations of two relevant hydrodynamical problems related to astrophysical phenomena performed by three different codes. The numerical results from these codes will be compared in order to test both the numerical method implemented inside them and the influence of the physical phenomena simulated by the codes. Under some conditions laser produced plasmas could be scaled to the typical conditions prevailing in astrophysical plasmas. Therefore, such similarity allows to use existing laser facilities and numerical codes suitable to a laser plasma regime, for studying astrophysical proccesses. The codes are the radiation fluid dynamic 2D ARWEN code and the 3D HERACLES, and, without radiation energy transport, a Smoothed-Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) code. These codes use different numerical techniques and have overlapping range of application, from laser produced plasmas to astrophysical plasmas. We also present the first laser experiments obtaining cumulative jets with a velocity higher than 100 km/s.

Suppression of Phase Mixing in Drift-Kinetic Plasma Turbulence

Science.gov (United States)

Parker, J. T.; Dellar, P. J.; Schekochihin, A. A.; Highcock, E. G.

2017-12-01

The solar wind and interstellar medium are examples of strongly magnetised, weakly collisional, astrophysical plasmas. Their turbulent fluctuations are strongly anisotropic, with small amplitudes, and frequencies much lower than the Larmor frequency. This regime is described by gyrokinetic theory, a reduced five-dimensional kinetic system describing averages over Larmor orbits. A turbulent plasma may transfer free energy, a measure of fluctuation amplitudes, from injection at large scales, typically by an instability, to dissipation at small physical scales like a turbulent fluid. Alternatively, a turbulent plasma may form fine scale structures in velocity space via phase-mixing, the mechanism that leads to Landau damping in linear plasma theory. Macroscopic plasma properties like heat and momentum transport are affected by both mechanisms. While each is understood in isolation, their interaction is not. We study this interaction using a Hankel-Hermite velocity space representation of gyrokinetic theory. The Hankel transform interacts neatly with the Bessel functions that arise from averaging over Larmor orbits, so the perpendicular velocity space is decoupled for linearized problems. The Hermite transform expresses phase mixing as nearest-neighbor coupling between parallel velocity space scales represented by Hermite mode numbers. We use this representation to study transfer mechanisms in drift-kinetic plasma turbulence, the long wavelength limit of gyrokinetic theory. We show that phase space is divided into two regions, with one transfer mechanism dominating in each. Most energy is contained in the region where the fluid-like nonlinear cascade dominates. Moreover, in that region the nonlinear cascade interferes with phase mixing by exciting an "anti phase mixing" transfer of free energy from small to large velocity space scales. This cancels out the usual phase mixing, and renders the overall behavior fluid-like. These results profoundly change our understanding

Astrophysical Flows

Science.gov (United States)

Pringle, James E.; King, Andrew

2003-07-01

Almost all conventional matter in the Universe is fluid, and fluid dynamics plays a crucial role in astrophysics. This new graduate textbook provides a basic understanding of the fluid dynamical processes relevant to astrophysics. The mathematics used to describe these processes is simplified to bring out the underlying physics. The authors cover many topics, including wave propagation, shocks, spherical flows, stellar oscillations, the instabilities caused by effects such as magnetic fields, thermal driving, gravity, shear flows, and the basic concepts of compressible fluid dynamics and magnetohydrodynamics. The authors are Directors of the UK Astrophysical Fluids Facility (UKAFF) at the University of Leicester, and editors of the Cambridge Astrophysics Series. This book has been developed from a course in astrophysical fluid dynamics taught at the University of Cambridge. It is suitable for graduate students in astrophysics, physics and applied mathematics, and requires only a basic familiarity with fluid dynamics.• Provides coverage of the fundamental fluid dynamical processes an astrophysical theorist needs to know • Introduces new mathematical theory and techniques in a straightforward manner • Includes end-of-chapter problems to illustrate the course and introduce additional ideas

Damping of electron center-of-mass oscillation in ultracold plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, Wei-Ting; Witte, Craig; Roberts, Jacob L.

2016-01-01

Applying a short electric field pulse to an ultracold plasma induces an electron plasma oscillation. This manifests itself as an oscillation of the electron center of mass around the ion center of mass in the ultracold plasma. In general, the oscillation can damp due to either collisionless or collisional mechanisms, or a combination of the both. To investigate the nature of oscillation damping in ultracold plasmas, we developed a molecular dynamics model of the ultracold plasma electrons. Through this model, we found that depending on the neutrality of the ultracold plasma and the size of an applied DC electric field, there are some parameter ranges where the damping is primarily collisional and some primarily collisionless. We conducted experiments to compare the measured damping rate with theory predictions and found them to be in good agreement. Extension of our measurements to different parameter ranges should enable studies for strong-coupling influence on electron-ion collision rates.

Local thermodynamic equilibrium in rapidly heated high energy density plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aslanyan, V.; Tallents, G. J.

2014-01-01

Emission spectra and the dynamics of high energy density plasmas created by optical and Free Electron Lasers (FELs) depend on the populations of atomic levels. Calculations of plasma emission and ionization may be simplified by assuming Local Thermodynamic Equilibrium (LTE), where populations are given by the Saha-Boltzmann equation. LTE can be achieved at high densities when collisional processes are much more significant than radiative processes, but may not be valid if plasma conditions change rapidly. A collisional-radiative model has been used to calculate the times taken by carbon and iron plasmas to reach LTE at varying densities and heating rates. The effect of different energy deposition methods, as well as Ionization Potential Depression are explored. This work shows regimes in rapidly changing plasmas, such as those created by optical lasers and FELs, where the use of LTE is justified, because timescales for plasma changes are significantly longer than the times needed to achieve an LTE ionization balance

Dynamics of dust in astrophysical plasma and implications

Science.gov (United States)

Hoang, Thiem

2012-06-01

Dust is a ubiquitous constituent of the interstellar medium, molecular clouds, and circumstellar and protoplanetary disks. Dust emission interferes with observations of cosmic microwave background (CMB) temperature anisotropy and its polarized emission dominates the CMB B-mode polarization that prevents us from getting insight into the inflation epoch of the early universe. In my PhD thesis, I have studied fundamental physical processes of dust dynamics in astrophysical plasma and explored their implications for observations of the CMB, studies of magnetic fields, and formation of planets. I have investigated the spinning dust emission from very small grains (e.g., polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) of non-spherical shapes (including spheroid and triaxial ellipsoid shapes) that have grain axes fluctuating around grain angular momentum due to internal thermal fluctuations within the grain. I have proposed an approach based on Fourier transform to find power spectrum of spinning dust emission from grains of arbitrary grain shape. In particular, I have devised a method to find exact grain angular momentum distribution using the Langevin equation. I have explored the effects of transient spin-up by single-ion collisions, transient heating by single UV photons, and compressible turbulence on spinning dust emission. This improved model of spinning dust emission well reproduces observation data by Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe and allows a reliable separation of Galactic contamination from the CMB. I have identified grain helicity as the major driver for grain alignment via radiative torques (RATs) and suggested an analytical model of RATs based on this concept. Dust polarization predicted by the model has been confirmed by numerous observations, and can be used as a frequency template for the CMB B-mode searches. I have proposed a new type of dust acceleration due to magnetohydrodynamic turbulence through transit time damping for large grains, and quantified a

Astrophysical radiative shocks: From modeling to laboratory experiments

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Gonzales, N.; Stehlé, C.; Audit, E.; Busquet, M.; Rus, Bedřich; Thais, F.; Acef, O.; Barroso, P.; Bar-Shalom, A.; Bauduin, D.; Kozlová, Michaela; Lery, T.; Madouri, A.; Mocek, Tomáš; Polan, Jiří

2006-01-01

Roč. 24, - (2006), s. 535-540 ISSN 0263-0346 EU Projects: European Commission(XE) 506350 - LASERLAB-EUROPE; European Commission(XE) 5592 - JETSET Grant - others:CNRS(FR) PNPS Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10100523 Keywords : laboratory astrophysics * laser plasmas * radiative shock waves * radiative transfer Subject RIV: BH - Optics, Masers, Lasers Impact factor: 3.958, year: 2006

Experimental astrophysics with high power lasers and Z pinches

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Remington, B A; Drake, R P; Ryutov, D D

2004-12-10

With the advent of high energy density (HED) experimental facilities, such as high-energy lasers and fast Z-pinch, pulsed-power facilities, mm-scale quantities of matter can be placed in extreme states of density, temperature, and/or velocity. This has enabled the emergence of a new class of experimental science, HED laboratory astrophysics, wherein the properties of matter and the processes that occur under extreme astrophysical conditions can be examined in the laboratory. Areas particularly suitable to this class of experimental astrophysics include the study of opacities relevant to stellar interiors; equations of state relevant to planetary interiors; strong shock driven nonlinear hydrodynamics and radiative dynamics, relevant to supernova explosions and subsequent evolution; protostellar jets and high Mach-number flows; radiatively driven molecular clouds and nonlinear photoevaporation front dynamics; and photoionized plasmas relevant to accretion disks around compact objects, such as black holes and neutron stars.

Experimental observation of strong coupling effects on the dispersion of dust acoustic waves in a plasma

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bandyopadhyay, P. [Institute for Plasma Research, Bhat, Gandhinagar 382428 (India)], E-mail: pintu@ipr.res.in; Prasad, G.; Sen, A.; Kaw, P.K. [Institute for Plasma Research, Bhat, Gandhinagar 382428 (India)

2007-09-03

The dispersion properties of low frequency dust acoustic waves in the strong coupling regime are investigated experimentally in an argon plasma embedded with a mixture of kaolin and MnO{sub 2} dust particles. The neutral pressure is varied over a wide range to change the collisional properties of the dusty plasma. In the low collisional regime the turnover of the dispersion curve at higher wave numbers and the resultant region of {partial_derivative}{omega}/{partial_derivative}k<0 are identified as signatures of dust-dust correlations. In the high collisional regime dust neutral collisions produce a similar effect and prevent an unambiguous identification of strong coupling effects.

Experimental observation of strong coupling effects on the dispersion of dust acoustic waves in a plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bandyopadhyay, P.; Prasad, G.; Sen, A.; Kaw, P.K.

2007-01-01

The dispersion properties of low frequency dust acoustic waves in the strong coupling regime are investigated experimentally in an argon plasma embedded with a mixture of kaolin and MnO 2 dust particles. The neutral pressure is varied over a wide range to change the collisional properties of the dusty plasma. In the low collisional regime the turnover of the dispersion curve at higher wave numbers and the resultant region of ∂ω/∂k<0 are identified as signatures of dust-dust correlations. In the high collisional regime dust neutral collisions produce a similar effect and prevent an unambiguous identification of strong coupling effects

Experimental observation of strong coupling effects on the dispersion of dust acoustic waves in a plasma

Science.gov (United States)

Bandyopadhyay, P.; Prasad, G.; Sen, A.; Kaw, P. K.

2007-09-01

The dispersion properties of low frequency dust acoustic waves in the strong coupling regime are investigated experimentally in an argon plasma embedded with a mixture of kaolin and MnO2 dust particles. The neutral pressure is varied over a wide range to change the collisional properties of the dusty plasma. In the low collisional regime the turnover of the dispersion curve at higher wave numbers and the resultant region of ∂ω/∂k<0 are identified as signatures of dust dust correlations. In the high collisional regime dust neutral collisions produce a similar effect and prevent an unambiguous identification of strong coupling effects.

On the mechanism of energy transfer in the plasma-propellant interaction

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Porwitzky, Andrew J.; Keidar, Michael; Boyd, Iain D. [University of Michigan, Department of Aerospace Engineering, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-2140 (United States)

2007-10-15

A coupled plasma sheath/ablation model is developed for electrothermal chemical gun applications. By combining a commonly employed collisional sheath model with a previous ablation model, the convective heat flux as a function of time to the propellant bed is determined for two potential electrothermal chemical gun propellants, XM39 and JA2. It is found that the convective heat flux varies smoothly from a nearly collisionless to a fully collisional regime over the short duration of the plasma pulse. The possibility of determining an accurate estimate of the amount of heat flux to the propellant bed due to radiation from the bulk plasma presents itself. (Abstract Copyright [2007], Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Electrostatic fluctuations measured in low temperature helical plasmas with low collisionality

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takeuchi, M.; Ikeda, R.; Ito, T.; Toi, K.; Suzuki, C.; Matsunaga, G.

2004-01-01

Electrostatic fluctuations have been measured by Langmuir probes from edge to core plasma region in low temperature helical plasmas which are produced by 2.45 GHz microwaves at very low field less than 0.1 T. The principal dimensionless parameters of the plasmas, that is, the normalized electron-ion collision frequency ν ei , and averaged plasma β φ and others are in the same range of them in high temperature plasmas, except the normalized gyro radius ρ s . The data on fluctuation characteristics from the dimensionally similar low temperature plasmas may give an important insight into the understanding of turbulent transport in high temperature plasmas. Dependences of fluctuation amplitudes on the radial electric field shear, ρ s and ν ei are investigated. Electrostatic fluctuations propagating in electron-diamagnetic drift direction have been observed in the plasma edge region and in ion-diamagnetic drift direction in the plasma core region. (authors)

International conference on plasma physics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Silin, V.P.; Sitenko, A.G.

1985-01-01

A brief report on the 6th International conference on plasma physics and on the 6th International Congress on plasma waves and plasma instabilities, which have taken place in summer 1984 in Losanne, is presented. Main items of the conference are enlightened, such as the general theory of a plasma, laboratory plasma, thermonuclear plasma, cosmic plasma and astrophysics

Collisional damping of giant monopole and quadrupole resonances

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yildirim, S.; Gokalp, A.; Yilmaz, O.; Ayik, S.

2001-01-01

Collisional damping widths of giant monopole and quadrupole excitations for 120 Sn and 208 Pb at zero and finite temperatures are calculated within Thomas-Fermi approximation by employing the microscopic in-medium cross-sections of Li and Machleidt and the phenomenological Skyrme and Gogny forces, and are compared with each other. The results for the collisional widths of giant monopole and quadrupole vibrations at zero temperature as a function of the mass number show that the collisional damping of giant monopole vibrations accounts for about 30 - 40% of the observed widths at zero temperature, while for giant quadrupole vibrations it accounts for only 20 - 30% of the observed widths at zero temperature. (orig.)

Theoretical and numerical study of Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities in magnetized plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Andrei, A. Ivanov

2001-06-01

In this thesis we're studying both the general case of the 'classic' Rayleigh-Taylor instability (in incompressible fluids) and more specific cases of the instabilities of Rayleigh-Taylor type in magnetized plasmas, in the liners or wire array implosions etc. We have studied the influence of the Hall diffusion of magnetic field on the growth rate of the instability. We have obtained in this work a self-similar solution for the widening of the initial profile of the magnetic field and for the wave of the penetration of magnetic field. After that the subsequent evolution of the magnetic field in plasma opening switches (POS) has been examined. We have shown the possibility of the existence of a strong rarefaction wave for collisional and non-collisional cases. This wave can explain the phenomenon of the opening of POS. The effect of the suppression of Rayleigh-Taylor instability by forced oscillations of the boundary between two fluids permits us to propose some ideas for the experiments of inertial fusion. We have considered the general case of the instability, in other words - two incompressible viscous superposed fluids in a gravitational field. We have obtained an exact analytical expression for the growth rate and then we have analyzed the influence of the parameters of external 'pumping' on the instability. These results can be applied to a wide range of systems, starting from classic hydrodynamics and up to astrophysical plasmas. The scheme of wire arrays has become recently a very popular method to obtain a high power X-radiation or for a high quality implosion in Z-pinches. The experimental studies have demonstrated that the results of implosion are much better for the case of multiple thin wires situated cylindrically than in a usual liner scheme. We have examined the problem modeling the stabilization of Rayleigh-Taylor instability for a wire array system. The reason for instability suppression is the regular spatial modulation of the surface plasma

Proceedings of the 1. Brazilian Congress on Plasma Physics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1991-01-01

The 1. Brazilian Congress on Plasma Physics proceedings presents technical papers on magnetohydrodynamics, plasma diagnostic, plasma waves, plasma impurities, plasma instabilities, and astrophysics plasma. (L.C.J.A.)

Tearing modes with pressure gradient effect in pair plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cai Huishan; Li Ding; Zheng Jian

2009-01-01

The general dispersion relation of tearing mode with pressure gradient effect in pair plasmas is derived analytically. If the pressure gradients of positron and electron are not identical in pair plasmas, the pressure gradient has significant influence at tearing mode in both collisionless and collisional regimes. In collisionless regime, the effects of pressure gradient depend on its magnitude. For small pressure gradient, the growth rate of tearing mode is enhanced by pressure gradient. For large pressure gradient, the growth rate is reduced by pressure gradient. The tearing mode can even be stabilized if pressure gradient is large enough. In collisional regime, the growth rate of tearing mode is reduced by the pressure gradient. While the positron and electron have equal pressure gradient, tearing mode is not affected by pressure gradient in pair plasmas.

FOREWORD: 4th International Colloquium on Atomic Spectra and Oscillator Strengths for Astrophysical and Laboratory Plasmas

Science.gov (United States)

Leckrone, David S.; Sugar, Jack

1993-01-01

or about work currently in progress. This resulted in a number of interesting exchanges, and served to facilitate the coordination of work to be done in the near term. Over the past 15 years we have witnessed the explosive growth of astrophysical spectroscopic observations in both the ultraviolet and infrared bands. Recently, with the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the precision and resolution of such data have reached remarkable levels, giving one the sense that the body of atomic data currently to be found in the literature lags far behind what is needed to adequately interpret the observations. Similarly, high temperature laboratory experiments in plasma physics, e.g. fusion energy and x-ray lasers, are demanding larger quantities of atomic data over a wide range of ionization states. Fortunately, the experimental and computational techniques of atomic physics have kept pace. One may cite, for example, the extraordinary precision inherent in recent laboratory work with laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy and with Fourier transform spectrometers, and for data of highly-ionized atoms, with ion traps and tokamak plasmas. The major challenge is to nurture and support expanded activity in those sub-disciplines of atomic physics that apply such modern techniques to the production of extensive volumes of atomic data, and to reinvigorate such "old fashioned" subjects as the term analysis of new, more accurate laboratory spectra. This series of conferences has a very special character. It is not sponsored or supported by any particular institution, government organization or professional society. The meetings occur only because they serve the common scientific interests of a broad and diverse group of people from around the world. They have had the delightful effect of stimulating professional collaborations and friendships among astronomers, physicists, chemists, mathematicians, and others, who might not have initially realized that they shared so much in

Dynamic plasma screening effects on atomic collisions in dense plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Young-Dae Jung

1999-01-01

Dynamic plasma screening effects are investigated on electron-ion collisional excitation and Coulomb Bremsstrahlung processes in dense plasmas. The electron-ion interaction potential is considered by introduction of the plasma dielectric function. The straight-ling trajectory method is applied to the path of the projectile electron. The transition probability including the dynamic plasma screening effect is found to be always greater than that including the static plasma screening effects. It is found that the differential Bremsstrahlung radiation cross section including the dynamic plasma screening effect is also greater than that including the static plasma screening effect. When the projectile velocity is smaller than the electron thermal velocity, the dynamic polarization screening effect becomes the static plasma screening effect. However, when the projectile velocity is greater than the electron thermal velocity, the interaction potential is almost unshielded

Impact of the pedestal plasma density on dynamics of edge localized mode crashes and energy loss scaling

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Xu, X. Q., E-mail: xxu@llnl.gov [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California 94551 (United States); Ma, J. F. [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California 94551 (United States); Institute for Fusion Studies, University of Texas, Austin, Texas 78712 (United States); Li, G. Q. [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California 94551 (United States); Institute of Plasma Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei (China)

2014-12-15

The latest BOUT++ studies show an emerging understanding of dynamics of edge localized mode (ELM) crashes and the consistent collisionality scaling of ELM energy losses with the world multi-tokamak database. A series of BOUT++ simulations are conducted to investigate the scaling characteristics of the ELM energy losses vs collisionality via a density scan. Linear results demonstrate that as the pedestal collisionality decreases, the growth rate of the peeling-ballooning modes decreases for high n but increases for low n (1 < n < 5), therefore the width of the growth rate spectrum γ(n) becomes narrower and the peak growth shifts to lower n. Nonlinear BOUT++ simulations show a two-stage process of ELM crash evolution of (i) initial bursts of pressure blob and void creation and (ii) inward void propagation. The inward void propagation stirs the top of pedestal plasma and yields an increasing ELM size with decreasing collisionality after a series of micro-bursts. The pedestal plasma density plays a major role in determining the ELM energy loss through its effect on the edge bootstrap current and ion diamagnetic stabilization. The critical trend emerges as a transition (1) linearly from ballooning-dominated states at high collisionality to peeling-dominated states at low collisionality with decreasing density and (2) nonlinearly from turbulence spreading dynamics at high collisionality into avalanche-like dynamics at low collisionality.

ENERGY DISSIPATION AND LANDAU DAMPING IN TWO- AND THREE-DIMENSIONAL PLASMA TURBULENCE

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Li, Tak Chu; Howes, Gregory G. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242 (United States); Klein, Kristopher G. [Space Science Center, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH 03824 (United States); TenBarge, Jason M. [IREAP, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742 (United States)

2016-12-01

Plasma turbulence is ubiquitous in space and astrophysical plasmas, playing an important role in plasma energization, but the physical mechanisms leading to dissipation of the turbulent energy remain to be definitively identified. Kinetic simulations in two dimensions (2D) have been extensively used to study the dissipation process. How the limitation to 2D affects energy dissipation remains unclear. This work provides a model of comparison between two- and three-dimensional (3D) plasma turbulence using gyrokinetic simulations; it also explores the dynamics of distribution functions during the dissipation process. It is found that both 2D and 3D nonlinear gyrokinetic simulations of a low-beta plasma generate electron velocity-space structures with the same characteristics as that of the linear Landau damping of Alfvén waves in a 3D linear simulation. The continual occurrence of the velocity-space structures throughout the turbulence simulations suggests that the action of Landau damping may be responsible for the turbulent energy transfer to electrons in both 2D and 3D, and makes possible the subsequent irreversible heating of the plasma through collisional smoothing of the velocity-space fluctuations. Although, in the 2D case where variation along the equilibrium magnetic field is absent, it may be expected that Landau damping is not possible, a common trigonometric factor appears in the 2D resonant denominator, leaving the resonance condition unchanged from the 3D case. The evolution of the 2D and 3D cases is qualitatively similar. However, quantitatively, the nonlinear energy cascade and subsequent dissipation is significantly slower in the 2D case.

Electron acceleration by electromagnetic irradiation of a weakly-collisional plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Karfidov, D.M.; Lukina, N.A.; Sergeychev, K.F.

1989-01-01

In this paper, electron acceleration is investigated experimentally in both a homogeneous and an inhomogeneous plasma. In the first case acceleration is produced by development of a parametric instability, while in the second case acceleration in a plasma resonance field is used. It is demonstrated that multiple electron passes through a resonant field will produce and accelerated electron energy spectrum characterized by the effective temperature. It is established that the electron replacement current flowing in the interaction region between the plasma and a spatially-limited microwave field excites ion-acoustic turbulence in plasma and also produces an anomalously low thermal conductivity and an anomalously high resistivity

Experimental study and numerical simulations of the spectral properties of XUV lasers pumped by collisional excitation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Meng, L.

2012-01-01

Improving the knowledge of the spectral and temporal properties of plasma-based XUV lasers is an important issue for the ongoing development of these sources towards significantly higher peak power. The spectral properties of the XUV laser line actually control several physical quantities that are important for applications, such as the minimum duration that can be achieved (Fourier-transform limit). The shortest duration experimentally achieved to-date is ∼1 picosecond. The demonstrated technique of seeding XUV laser plasmas with a coherent femtosecond pulse of high-order harmonic radiation opens new and promising prospects to reduce the duration to a few 100 fs, provided that the gain bandwidth can be kept large enough.XUV lasers pumped by collisional excitation of Ni-like and Ne-like ions have been developed worldwide in hot plasmas created either by fast electrical discharge, or by various types of high-power lasers. This leads to a variety of XUV laser sources with distinct output properties, but also markedly different plasma parameters (density, temperature) in the amplification zone. Hence different spectral properties are expected. The purpose of our work was then to investigate the spectral behaviour of the different types of existing collisional excitation XUV lasers, and to evaluate their potential to support amplification of pulses with duration below 1 ps in a seeded mode.The spectral characterization of plasma-based XUV lasers is challenging because the extremely narrow bandwidth (typically Δλ/λ ∼10 -5 ) lies beyond the resolution limit of existing spectrometers in this spectral range. In our work the narrow linewidth was resolved using a wavefront-division interferometer specifically designed to measure temporal coherence, from which the spectral linewidth is inferred. We have characterized three types of collisional XUV lasers, developed in three different laboratories: transient pumping in Ni-like Mo, capillary discharge pumping in Ne

Conference record of the 1986 IEEE international conference on plasma science

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1986-01-01

This book presents the papers given at a conference on plasma science. Topics considered at the conference included inverse diode computations, collisional ion heating, gyrotron phase locking using a modulated electron beam, klystrons and lasertrons, radiation pressure on moving plasma, RF heating by cylindrical plasma waveguide modes, and deionization phase characteristics of hydrogen thyratron plasmas

X-ray emission lines from photoionized plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liedahl, D.A.

1992-11-01

Plasma emission codes have become a standard tool for the analysis of spectroscopic data from cosmic X-ray sources. However, the assumption of collisional equilibrium, typically invoked in these codes, renders them inapplicable to many important astrophysical situations, particularly those involving X-ray photoionized nebulae, which are likely to exist in the circumsource environments of compact X-ray sources. X-ray line production in a photoionized plasma is primarily the result of radiative cascades following recombination. Through the development of atomic models of several highly-charged ions, this work extends the range of applicability of discrete spectral models to plasmas dominated by recombination. Assuming that ambient plasma conditions lie in the temperature range 10 5 --10 6 K and the density range 10 11 --10 16 cm -3 , X-ray line spectra are calculated over the wavelength range 5--45 angstrom using the HULLAC atomic physics package. Most of the work focuses on the Fe L-shell ions. Line ratios of the form (3s-2p)/(3d-2p) are shown to characterize the principal mode of line excitation, thereby providing a simple signature of photoionization. At electron densities exceeding 10 12 cm -3 , metastable state populations in the ground configurations approach their LTE value, resulting in the enrichment of the Fe L-shell recombination spectrum and a set of density-sensitive X-ray line ratios. Radiative recombination continua and emission lines produced selectively by Δn = 0 dielectronic recombination are shown to provide two classes of temperature diagnostics. Because of the extreme overionization, the recombination continua are expected to be narrow (ΔE/E much-lt 1), with ΔE = kT. Dielectronic recombination selectively drives radiative transitions that originate on states with vacancies in the 2s subshell, states that are inaccessible under pure RR population kinetics

Non linear excitation of waves at the vicinity of plasma resonance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chiron, Arnaud

1992-01-01

This research thesis reports the study of the non linear evolution of ionic acoustic and plasma waves excited by resonant absorption of an electromagnetic wave, in a non collisional plasma, without external magnetic field, and with a parabolic density profile. The plasma resonance occurs about the density profile peak. The numerical resolution of the Zakharov equation system is performed to describe the coupled evolution of the plasma wave electric field envelope, and low frequency density disturbances. Experiments performed in the microwave domain show the existence of a new effect related to the modification of the electromagnetic wave propagation under the influence of plasma density disturbances created by the ponderomotive force. This effect which results in a collisional relaxation of plasma waves trapped in the cavity formed at resonance, cannot be taken into account by a numerical simulation using a capacitive pump field. Measurements showed that plasma waves were trapped and relaxing in a cavity with characteristic dimensions of some thousands of Debye lengths, and that the plasma wave in the cavity was stationary. A new turbulence regime is thus highlighted [fr

Topics in Astrophysical X-Ray and Gamma Ray Spectroscopy. Ph.D. Thesis - Maryland Univ.

Science.gov (United States)

Bussard, R. W.

1978-01-01

A number of topics relating to astrophysical observations that have already been made or are currently planned of spectral features, mostly emission lines, in the X-ray and gamma ray region of the electromagnetic spectrum are investigated. These topics include: the production of characteristic X-ray and gamma ray lines by nonthermal ions, spectral features induced by processes occurring in strong magnetic fields, and the positron annihilation line at 0.5 MeV. The rate of X-ray production at 6.8 keV by the 2p to 1s transition in fast hydrogen- and helium-like iron ions, following both electron capture to excited levels and collisional excitation is calculated. The cross section for electron-ion Coulomb collisions in strong fields is also calculated.

Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

2016-01-27

Jan 27, 2016 ... Home; Journals; Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy; Volume 36; Issue 1. Issue front cover thumbnail. Volume 36, Issue 1. March 2015, pages a-254. Dynamical Plasma Processes in the Sun and Sun-like Stars. pp a-b. General Editorial on Publication Ethics · More Details Fulltext PDF. pp 1-3. Editorial.

Plasma residual rotation in the TCABR tokamak

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Severo, J.H.F.; Nascimento, I.C.; Tsypin, V.S.; Galvao, R.M.O.

2003-01-01

This paper reports the first results on the measurement of the radial profiles of plasma poloidal and toroidal rotation performed on the TCABR tokamak, in the collisional regime (Pfirsch-Schluter), using Doppler shift of carbon spectral lines, measured with a high precision optical spectrometer. The results for poloidal rotation show a maximum velocity of (4.5±1.0) x 10 3 m s -1 at r ∼ 2/3a,(a-limiter radius), in the direction of the diamagnetic electron drift. Within the error limits, reasonable agreement is obtained with calculations using the neoclassical theory for a collisional plasma, except near the plasma edge, as expected. For toroidal rotation, the radial profile shows that the velocity decreases from a counter-current value of (20 ± 1) x 10 3 m s -1 , at the plasma core, to a co-current value of (2.0 ± 0.9) x 10 3 m s -1 near the limiter. An agreement within a factor 2, for the plasma core rotation, is obtained with calculations using the model proposed by Kim, Diamond and Groebner (1991 Phys. Fluids B 3 2050). (author)

Anisotropic hydrodynamics with a scalar collisional kernel

Science.gov (United States)

Almaalol, Dekrayat; Strickland, Michael

2018-04-01

Prior studies of nonequilibrium dynamics using anisotropic hydrodynamics have used the relativistic Anderson-Witting scattering kernel or some variant thereof. In this paper, we make the first study of the impact of using a more realistic scattering kernel. For this purpose, we consider a conformal system undergoing transversally homogenous and boost-invariant Bjorken expansion and take the collisional kernel to be given by the leading order 2 ↔2 scattering kernel in scalar λ ϕ4 . We consider both classical and quantum statistics to assess the impact of Bose enhancement on the dynamics. We also determine the anisotropic nonequilibrium attractor of a system subject to this collisional kernel. We find that, when the near-equilibrium relaxation-times in the Anderson-Witting and scalar collisional kernels are matched, the scalar kernel results in a higher degree of momentum-space anisotropy during the system's evolution, given the same initial conditions. Additionally, we find that taking into account Bose enhancement further increases the dynamically generated momentum-space anisotropy.

Density and field effect on electron-ion collision cross-sections in hot dense plasma; Etude de l'influence de l'environnement plasma sur les sections efficaces d'excitation collisionnelle electron-ion dans un plasma chaud et dense

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gaufridy de Dortan, F. de

2003-03-15

Collisional excitation cross-sections are essential for the modeling of the properties of non equilibrium plasmas. There has been a lot of work on electron impact excitation of isolated ions, but in dense plasmas, neighboring particles are expected to widely disturb these electron transitions in atoms. Plasma modeling through a radially perturbed potential has already been done but is not satisfactory as it does not account for levels degeneracy breaking and its consequences. Introduction of a quasistatic electric micro-field of neighboring ions allows us to break spherical symmetry. Our original theoretical study has given birth to a numerical code that accurately computes collisional strengths and rates (in the Distorted Waves approach) in atoms submitted to a realistic micro-field. Hydrogen- and helium-like aluminium is studied. Stark mixing widely increases rates of transitions from high l levels and forbidden transitions are field-enhanced by many orders of magnitude until they reach allowed ones. Eventually, we conduct an elementary stationary collisional radiative study to investigate field-enhancement effects on corresponding line shapes. In cases we study (aluminium, hydrogen- and helium-like) we find a relatively weak increase of K-shell line broadening.

Population inversion in recombining hydrogen plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Furukane, Utaro; Yokota, Toshiaki; Oda, Toshiatsu.

1978-11-01

The collisional-radiative model is applied to a recombining hydrogen plasma in order to investigate the plasma condition in which the population inversion between the energy levels of hydrogen can be generated. The population inversion is expected in a plasma where the three body recombination has a large contribution to the recombining processes and the effective recombination rate is beyond a certain value for a given electron density and temperature. Calculated results are presented in figures and tables. (author)

Quantum degeneracy corrections to plasma line emission and to Saha equation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Molinari, V.G.; Mostacci, D.; Rocchi, F.; Sumini, M.

2003-01-01

The effect of quantum degeneracy on the electron collisional excitation is investigated, and its effects on line emission evaluated for applications to spectroscopy of dense, cold plasmas. A correction to Saha equation for weakly-degenerate plasmas is also presented

Collisional effects in He I lines and helium abundances in planetary nebulae

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Clegg, R.E.S.

1987-01-01

Attention is drawn to new, 19-state quantal calculations for collisional excitation by electron impact in neutral helium. Recommended empirical formulae are given for the collisional contribution to HeI recombination lines such as λλ4471, 5876 A in gaseous nebulae. Collisional ionization of metastable (2 3 S) He I is significant for high-temperature nebulae. Collisional transfers provide significant cooling in nebulae with low heavy-element abundances. Revised mean He/H ratios for three large samples of planetary nebulae are given. (author)

New rate coefficients of CS in collision with para- and ortho-H2 and astrophysical implications

Science.gov (United States)

Denis-Alpizar, Otoniel; Stoecklin, Thierry; Guilloteau, Stéphane; Dutrey, Anne

2018-05-01

Astronomers use the CS molecule as a gas mass tracer in dense regions of the interstellar medium, either to measure the gas density through multi-line observations or the level of turbulence. This necessarily requires the knowledge of the rates coefficients with the most common colliders in the interstellar medium, He and H2. In the present work, the close coupling collisional rates are computed for the first thirty rotational states of CS in collision with para- and ortho-H2 using a recent rigid rotor potential energy surface. Some radiative transfer calculations, using typical astrophysical conditions, are also performed to test this new set of data and to compare with the existing ones.

The impact of recent advances in laboratory astrophysics on our understanding of the cosmos

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Savin, D W; Brickhouse, N S; Cowan, J J; Drake, R P; Federman, S R; Ferland, G J; Frank, A; Gudipati, M S; Haxton, W C; Herbst, E; Profumo, S; Salama, F; Ziurys, L M; Zweibel, E G

2012-01-01

An emerging theme in modern astrophysics is the connection between astronomical observations and the underlying physical phenomena that drive our cosmos. Both the mechanisms responsible for the observed astrophysical phenomena and the tools used to probe such phenomena—the radiation and particle spectra we observe—have their roots in atomic, molecular, condensed matter, plasma, nuclear and particle physics. Chemistry is implicitly included in both molecular and condensed matter physics. This connection is the theme of the present report, which provides a broad, though non-exhaustive, overview of progress in our understanding of the cosmos resulting from recent theoretical and experimental advances in what is commonly called laboratory astrophysics. This work, carried out by a diverse community of laboratory astrophysicists, is increasingly important as astrophysics transitions into an era of precise measurement and high fidelity modeling.

Essential astrophysics

CERN Document Server

Lang, Kenneth R

2013-01-01

Essential Astrophysics is a book to learn or teach from, as well as a fundamental reference volume for anyone interested in astronomy and astrophysics. It presents astrophysics from basic principles without requiring any previous study of astronomy or astrophysics. It serves as a comprehensive introductory text, which takes the student through the field of astrophysics in lecture-sized chapters of basic physical principles applied to the cosmos. This one-semester overview will be enjoyed by undergraduate students with an interest in the physical sciences, such as astronomy, chemistry, engineering or physics, as well as by any curious student interested in learning about our celestial science. The mathematics required for understanding the text is on the level of simple algebra, for that is all that is needed to describe the fundamental principles. The text is of sufficient breadth and depth to prepare the interested student for more advanced specialized courses in the future. Astronomical examples are provide...

Asteroid collisional history - Effects on sizes and spins

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Davis, D.R.; Weidenschilling, S.J.; Farinella, P.; Paolicchi, P.; Binzel, R.P.

1989-01-01

The effects of asteroid collisional history on sizes and spins of present-day objects are discussed. Collisional evolution studies indicate that collisions have altered the spin-rates of small bodies, but that the largest asteroids may have retained their primordial rotation rates. Most asteroids larger than 100 km diam have probably been shattered, but have gravitationally recaptured their fragments to form a rubble-pile structure. Large angular momentum asteroids appear to have Maclaurian spheroidal or Jacobi-ellipsoid-like shapes; some of them may have fissioned into binaries. An integrated size and spin collisional evolution model is presented, with two critical parameters: one which determines the spin rates for small fragments resulting from a shattering collision, and the other determines the fraction of impact angular momentum that is retained by the target. 36 refs

Parametric analysis of a magnetized cylindrical plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ahedo, Eduardo

2009-01-01

The relevant macroscopic model, the spatial structure, and the parametric regimes of a low-pressure plasma confined by a cylinder and an axial magnetic field is discussed for the small-Debye length limit, making use of asymptotic techniques. The plasma response is fully characterized by three-dimensionless parameters, related to the electron gyroradius, and the electron and ion collision mean-free-paths. There are the unmagnetized regime, the main magnetized regime, and, for a low electron-collisionality plasma, an intermediate-magnetization regime. In the magnetized regimes, electron azimuthal inertia is shown to be a dominant phenomenon in part of the quasineutral plasma region and to set up before ion radial inertia. In the main magnetized regime, the plasma structure consists of a bulk diffusive region, a thin layer governed by electron inertia, a thinner sublayer controlled by ion inertia, and the non-neutral Debye sheath. The solution of the main inertial layer yields that the electron azimuthal energy near the wall is larger than the electron thermal energy, making electron resistivity effects non-negligible. The electron Boltzmann relation is satisfied only in the very vicinity of the Debye sheath edge. Ion collisionality effects are irrelevant in the magnetized regime. Simple scaling laws for plasma production and particle and energy fluxes to the wall are derived.

ELM suppression in low edge collisionality H-mode discharges using n = 3 magnetic perturbations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Burrell, K H [General Atomics, PO Box 85608, San Diego, CA 92186-9784 (United States); Evans, T E [General Atomics, PO Box 85608, San Diego, CA 92186-9784 (United States); Doyle, E J [University of California, Los Angeles, California (United States); Fenstermacher, M E [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California (United States); Groebner, R J [General Atomics, PO Box 85608, San Diego, CA 92186-9784 (United States); Leonard, A W [General Atomics, PO Box 85608, San Diego, CA 92186-9784 (United States); Moyer, R A [University of California, San Diego, California (United States); Osborne, T H; Schaffer, M J; Snyder, P B [General Atomics, PO Box 85608, San Diego, CA 92186-9784 (United States); Thomas, P R [CEA Cadarache EURATOM Association, Cadarache (France); West, W P [General Atomics, PO Box 85608, San Diego, CA 92186-9784 (United States); Boedo, J A [University of California, San Diego, California (United States); Garofalo, A M [Columbia University, New York, New York (United States); Gohil, P; Jackson, G L; La Haye, R J [General Atomics, PO Box 85608, San Diego, CA 92186-9784 (United States); Lasnier, C J [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California (United States); Reimerdes, H [Columbia University, New York, New York (United States); Rhodes, T L [University of California, Los Angeles, California (United States); Scoville, J T [General Atomics, PO Box 85608, San Diego, CA 92186-9784 (United States); Solomon, W M [Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, Princeton, New Jersey (United States); Thomas, D M [General Atomics, PO Box 85608, San Diego, CA 92186-9784 (United States); Wang, G [University of California, Los Angeles, California (United States); Watkins, J G [Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, New Mexico (United States); Zeng, L [University of California, Los Angeles, California (United States)

2005-12-15

Using resonant magnetic perturbations with toroidal mode number n = 3, we have produced H-mode discharges without edge localized modes (ELMs) which run with constant density and radiated power for periods up to about 2550 ms (17 energy confinement times). These ELM suppression results are achieved at pedestal collisionalities close to those desired for next step burning plasma experiments such as ITER and provide a means of eliminating the rapid erosion of divertor components in such machines which could be caused by giant ELMs. The ELM suppression is due to an enhancement in the edge particle transport which reduces pedestal current density and maximum edge pressure gradient below the threshold for peeling-ballooning modes. These n = 3 magnetic perturbations provide a means of active control of edge plasma transport.

ELM suppression in low edge collisionality H-mode discharges using n = 3 magnetic perturbations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Burrell, K H; Evans, T E; Doyle, E J; Fenstermacher, M E; Groebner, R J; Leonard, A W; Moyer, R A; Osborne, T H; Schaffer, M J; Snyder, P B; Thomas, P R; West, W P; Boedo, J A; Garofalo, A M; Gohil, P; Jackson, G L; La Haye, R J; Lasnier, C J; Reimerdes, H; Rhodes, T L; Scoville, J T; Solomon, W M; Thomas, D M; Wang, G; Watkins, J G; Zeng, L

2005-01-01

Using resonant magnetic perturbations with toroidal mode number n = 3, we have produced H-mode discharges without edge localized modes (ELMs) which run with constant density and radiated power for periods up to about 2550 ms (17 energy confinement times). These ELM suppression results are achieved at pedestal collisionalities close to those desired for next step burning plasma experiments such as ITER and provide a means of eliminating the rapid erosion of divertor components in such machines which could be caused by giant ELMs. The ELM suppression is due to an enhancement in the edge particle transport which reduces pedestal current density and maximum edge pressure gradient below the threshold for peeling-ballooning modes. These n = 3 magnetic perturbations provide a means of active control of edge plasma transport

New and old accelerators: what can they do for astrophysics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bjorken, J.D.

1985-07-01

The quantum numbers and energy spectrum of high energy accelerators and storage rings are described, along with some ways they may contribute to astrophysical issues. Some emphasis is given to the role of relativistic heavy-ion colliders in possibly providing laboratory samples of quark-gluon plasma. 6 refs., 3 figs

General Relativistic Plasma Dynamics

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Moortgat, J.B.

2006-01-01

In this thesis I discuss the importance of general relativity on plasma physics in several astrophysical and cosmological contexts. The first chapters show how gravitational waves can excite all three fundamental low frequency magnetohydrodynamic plasma modes, the Alfven, slow and fast

Self-focusing and self-defocusing of elliptically shaped Gaussian laser beams in plasmas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nayyar, V P; Soni, V S [Punjabi Univ., Patiala (India). Dept. of Physics

1979-02-14

This paper presents a study of the self-focusing and self-defocusing of elliptically shaped Gaussian laser beams in collisional and collisionless plasmas. The non-linear dependence of the dielectric constant inside a collisional plasma is due to inhomogeneous heating of energy carriers and in a collisionless plasma it is due to the ponderomotive force. It is found that the beam gets focused at different points in different planes, exhibiting the effect of astigmatism. In certain power regions considered, the beam either converges or defocuses in both the directions, while in some other regions of the power spectrum one dimension of the beam focuses while the other defocuses. The beam also propagates in an oscillatory waveguide.

Final Technical Report: Magnetic Reconnection in High-Energy Laser-Produced Plasmas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Germaschewski, Kai [Univ. of New Hampshire, Durham, NH (United States); Fox, William [Princeton Plasma Physics Lab. (PPPL), Princeton, NJ (United States); Bhattacharjee, Amitava [Princeton Plasma Physics Lab. (PPPL), Princeton, NJ (United States)

2017-04-06

This report describes the final results from the DOE Grant DE-SC0007168, “Fast Magnetic Reconnection in HED Laser-Produced Plasmas.” The recent generation of laboratory high-energy-density physics facilities has opened significant physics opportunities for experimentally modeling astrophysical plasmas. The goal of this proposal is to use these new tools to study fundamental problems in plasma physics and plasma astrophysics. Fundamental topics in this area involve study of the generation, amplification, and fate of magnetic fields, which are observed to pervade the plasma universe and govern its evolution. This project combined experiments at DOE laser facilities with kinetic plasma simulation to study these processes. The primary original goal of the project was to study magnetic reconnection using a new experimental platform, colliding magnetized laser-produced plasmas. However through a series of fortuitous discoveries, the work broadened out to allow significant advancement on multiple topics in laboratory astrophysics, including magnetic reconnection, Weibel instability, and collisionless shocks.

Generation mechanism and properties of plasma double layers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sanduloviciu, M.; Lozneanu, E.

1985-01-01

The generation mechanism of plasma double layers is studied surveying the results of some experiments. The main mechanism is the same in the cases of collisional and collisionless plasmas. Inelastic quantum collision processes taking place between plasma electrons, accelerated in a local field up to near the same oriented velocity and the neutral particles of the background gases create the necessary conditions for double layer formation. (D.Gy.)

Experimental observation of strong coupling effects on the dispersion of dust acoustic waves in a plasma

OpenAIRE

Bandyopadhyay, P.; Prasad, G.; Sen, A.; Kaw, P. K.

2016-01-01

The dispersion properties of low frequency dust acoustic waves in the strong coupling regime are investigated experimentally in an argon plasma embedded with a mixture of kaolin and $MnO_2$ dust particles. The neutral pressure is varied over a wide range to change the collisional properties of the dusty plasma. In the low collisional regime the turnover of the dispersion curve at higher wave numbers and the resultant region of $\\partial\\omega/\\partial k < 0$ are identified as signatures of du...

Curvature-induced electrostatic drift modes in a toroidal plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Venema, M.

1985-01-01

This thesis deals with a number of problems in the theory of linear stability of a hot, fully ionized plasma immersed in a strong magnetic field. The most widely used system to magnetically confine a plasma is the tokamak. This is a toroidal, current carrying device with a strong, externally imposed, magnetic field. The author discusses the linear theory of unstable, low-frequency waves in the gradient region, restricted to electrostatic waves. In that case the resulting radial fluxes of particles and energy are due to electric cross-field drifts. In the presence of magnetic fluctuations and small-scale reconnection phenomena, radial transport could also be predominantly along field lines. At present, it is not clear which of the two mechanisms is the dominant feature of the observed anomalous transport. First, the author introduces the theory of drift waves in toroidal geometry. Next, the electrostratic drift modes in toroidal geometry (weakly collisional regime), the equations for low-frequency waves in the strongly collisional regime and the electrostatic drift modes (strongly collisional regime) are discussed. (Auth.)

Dust particle charge and screening in the collisional RF plasma sheath

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Beckers, J.; Trienekens, D.J.M.; Kroesen, G.M.W.; Sprouse, G.D.

2012-01-01

Once immersed in plasma, a dust particle gathers a highly negative charge due to the net collection of free electrons. In most plasma's on earth and with particle sizes is in the micrometer range, the gravitational force is dominant and consequently the particle ends up within the plasma sheath

High-energy Nd:glass laser facility for collisionless laboratory astrophysics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Niemann, C; Constantin, C G; Schaeffer, D B; Lucky, Z; Gekelman, W; Everson, E T; Tauschwitz, A; Weiland, T; Winske, D

2012-01-01

A kilojoule-class laser (Raptor) has recently been activated at the Phoenix-laser-facility at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) for an experimental program on laboratory astrophysics in conjunction with the Large Plasma Device (LAPD). The unique combination of a high-energy laser system and the 18 meter long, highly-magnetized but current-free plasma will support a new class of plasma physics experiments, including the first laboratory simulations of quasi-parallel collisionless shocks, experiments on magnetic reconnection, or advanced laser-based diagnostics of basic plasmas. Here we present the parameter space accessible with this new instrument, results from a laser-driven magnetic piston experiment at reduced power, and a detailed description of the laser system and its performance.

Theoretical and numerical studies of Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities in magnetized plasmas; Etude theorique et numerique des instabilites Rayleigh-Taylor en plasmas magnetises

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ivanov, A.A

2001-06-01

The instabilities of Rayleigh-Taylor type are considered in the thesis. The topic of the thesis was inspired by recent advances in the physics of plasma compression, especially with the aid of systems like Z-pinch. Rayleigh-Taylor instability (RTI) plays an important role in the evolution of magnetized plasmas in these experiments, as well as in stellar plasmas and classic fluids. For the phenomena concerning the nuclear fusion the RTI is very often the factor limiting the possibility of compression. In the current work we try to examine in detail the characteristic features of the instabilities of this type in order to eliminate their detrimental influence. In this thesis we are studying both the general case of the 'classic' Rayleigh-Taylor instability (in incompressible fluids) and more specific cases of the instabilities of Rayleigh-Taylor type in magnetized plasmas, in the liners or wire array implosions etc. We have studied the influence of the Hall diffusion of magnetic field on the growth rate of the instability. We have obtained in this work a self-similar solution for the widening of the initial profile of the magnetic field and for the wave of the penetration of magnetic field. After that the subsequent evolution of the magnetic field in plasma opening switches (POS) has been examined. We have shown the possibility of the existence of a strong rarefaction wave for collisional and non-collisional cases. This wave can explain the phenomenon of the opening of POS. The effect of the suppression of Rayleigh-Taylor instability by forced oscillations of the boundary between two fluids permits us to propose some ideas for the experiments of inertial fusion. We have considered the general case of the instability, in other words, two incompressible viscous superposed fluids in a gravitational field. We have obtained an exact analytical expression for the growth rate and then we have analyzed the influence of the parameters of external &apos

Sum rules for collisional processes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oreg, J.; Goldstein, W.H.; Bar-Shalom, A.; Klapisch, M.

1991-01-01

We derive level-to-configuration sum rules for dielectronic capture and for collisional excitation and ionization. These sum rules give the total transition rate from a detailed atomic level to an atomic configuration. For each process, we show that it is possible to factor out the dependence on continuum-electron wave functions. The remaining explicit level dependence of each rate is then obtained from the matrix element of an effective operator acting on the bound orbitals only. In a large class of cases, the effective operator reduces to a one-electron monopole whose matrix element is proportional to the statistical weight of the level. We show that even in these cases, nonstatistical level dependence enters through the dependence of radial integrals on continuum orbitals. For each process, explicit analytic expressions for the level-to-configuration sum rules are given for all possible cases. Together with the well-known J-file sum rule for radiative rates [E. U. Condon and G. H. Shortley, The Theory of Atomic Spectra (University Press, Cambridge, 1935)], the sum rules offer a systematic and efficient procedure for collapsing high-multiplicity configurations into ''effective'' levels for the purpose of modeling the population kinetics of ionized heavy atoms in plasma

Double layers and circuits in astrophysics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alfven, H.

1986-05-01

As the rate of energy release in a double layer with voltage DeltaV is P corresponding to IDeltaV, a double layer must be treated part of a circuit which delivers the current I. As neither double layer nor circuit can be derived from magnetofluid models of a plasma, such models are useless for treating energy transfer by menas of double layers. They must be replaced by particle models and circuit theory. A simple circuit is suggested which is applied to the energizing of auroroal particles, to solar flares, and to intergalactic double radio sources. Application to the heliospheric current systems leads to the prediction of two double layers on the sun's axis which may give radiations detectable from earth. Double layers in space should be classified as a new type of celestial object (one example is the double radio sources). It is tentatively suggested in X-ray and gamma-ray bursts may be due to exploding double layers (although annihilation is an alternative energy source). A study of how a number of the most used textbooks in astrophysics treat important concepts like double layers, critical velocity, pinch effects and circuits is made. It is found that students using these textbooks remain essentially ignorant of even the existence of these, in spite of the fact that some of them have been well known for half a centry (e.g., double layers, Langmuir, 1929: pinch effect, Bennet, 1934). The conclusion is that astrophysics is too important to be left in the hands of the astrophysicist. Earth bound and space telescope data must be treated by scientists who are familiar with laboratory and magnetospheric physics and circuit theory, and of course with modern plasma theory. At least by volume the universe consists to more than 99 percent of plasma, and electromagnetic forces are 10/sup39/ time stronger than gravitation

Diagram of collisional regimes for particle diffusion in a stochastic magnetic field

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Misguich, J.H.; Balescu, R.

1995-01-01

This document deals with static stochastic fields, where magnetic lines experience exponential separation and magnetic diffusion. It more particularly focuses on the diffusivity of collisional particles in such a fields and presents a general graph which describes most regimes of collisional and weakly collisional diffusion for guiding centers in a time-independent magnetic field. (TEC). 9 refs., 1 fig., 2 tabs

Collisional boundary layer analysis for neoclassical toroidal plasma viscosity in tokamaks

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Shaing, K.C.; Cahyna, Pavel; Bécoulet, M.; Park, J.-K.; Sabbagh, S.A.; Chu, M.S.

2008-01-01

Roč. 15, č. 8 (2008), 082506-1-7 ISSN 1070-664X Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z20430508 Keywords : plasma boundary layers * plasma toroidal confinement * Tokamak devices Subject RIV: BL - Plasma and Gas Discharge Physics Impact factor: 2.427, year: 2008 http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.2969434

Electrostatic sheath at the boundary of a collisional dusty plasma

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Department of Physics, Cotton College, Guwahati 781 001, India. Abstract. Considering the Boltzmann response of the ions ... respect to normal electronic charge (q ~105. –106e). The mass of the dust grains can have very high value too, up to ... degrees of plasma dynamics. Thus, the theoretical modeling of a dusty plasma ...

Nuclear astrophysics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lehoucq, Roland; Klotz, Gregory

2015-11-01

Astronomy deals with the position and observation of the objects in our Universe, from planets to galaxies. It is the oldest of the sciences. Astrophysics is the study of the physical properties of these objects. It dates from the start of the 20. century. Nuclear astrophysics is the marriage of nuclear physics, a laboratory science concerned with the infinitely small, and astrophysics, the science of what is far away and infinitely large. Its aim is to explain the origin, evolution and abundance of the elements in the Universe. It was born in 1938 with the work of Hans Bethe, an American physicist who won the Nobel Prize for physics in 1967, on the nuclear reactions that can occur at the center of stars. It explains where the incredible energy of the stars and the Sun comes from and enables us to understand how they are born, live and die. The matter all around us and from which we are made, is made up of ninety-two chemical elements that can be found in every corner of the Universe. Nuclear astrophysics explains the origin of these chemical elements by nucleosynthesis, which is the synthesis of atomic nuclei in different astrophysical environments such as stars. Nuclear astrophysics provides answers to fundamental questions: - Our Sun and the stars in general shine because nuclear reactions are taking place within them. - The stars follow a sequence of nuclear reaction cycles. Nucleosynthesis in the stars enables us to explain the origin and abundance of elements essential to life, such as carbon, oxygen, nitrogen and iron. - Star explosions, in the form of supernovae, disperse the nuclei formed by nucleosynthesis into space and explain the formation of the heaviest chemical elements such as gold, platinum and lead. Nuclear astrophysics is still a growing area of science. (authors)

On the two weighting scheme for δf collisional transport simulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Okamoto, M.; Nakajima, N.; Wang, W.

1999-08-01

The validity is given to the newly proposed two weighting δf scheme (Wang et al., Research Report of National Institute for Fusion Science NIFS-588, 1999) for collisional or neoclassical transport calculations, which can solve the drift kinetic equation taking account of effects of steep plasma gradients, large radial electric field, finite banana width, and the non-standard orbit topology near the axis. The marker density functions in weight equations are successively solved by using the idea of δf method and a hierarchy of equations for weight and marker density functions is obtained. These hierarchy equations are solved by choosing an appropriate source function for each marker density. Thus the validity of the two weighting δf scheme is mathematically proved. (author)

Plasma heating in a variable magnetic field

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kichigin, G. N., E-mail: king@iszf.irk.ru [Russian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Solar-Terrestrial Physics (Russian Federation)

2013-05-15

The problem of particle acceleration in a periodically variable magnetic field that either takes a zero value or passes through zero is considered. It is shown that, each time the field [0]passes through zero, the particle energy increases abruptly. This process can be regarded as heating in the course of which plasma particles acquire significant energy within one field period. This mechanism of plasma heating takes place in the absence of collisions between plasma particles and is analogous to the mechanism of magnetic pumping in collisional plasma considered by Alfven.

An introduction to the atomic and radiation physics of plasmas

CERN Document Server

Tallents, G J

2018-01-01

Plasmas comprise more than 99% of the observable universe. They are important in many technologies and are key potential sources for fusion power. Atomic and radiation physics is critical for the diagnosis, observation and simulation of astrophysical and laboratory plasmas, and plasma physicists working in a range of areas from astrophysics, magnetic fusion, and inertial fusion utilise atomic and radiation physics to interpret measurements. This text develops the physics of emission, absorption and interaction of light in astrophysics and in laboratory plasmas from first principles using the physics of various fields of study including quantum mechanics, electricity and magnetism, and statistical physics. Linking undergraduate level atomic and radiation physics with the advanced material required for postgraduate study and research, this text adopts a highly pedagogical approach and includes numerous exercises within each chapter for students to reinforce their understanding of the key concepts.

Comparison of bootstrap current and plasma conductivity models applied in a self-consistent equilibrium calculation for Tokamak plasmas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Andrade, Maria Celia Ramos; Ludwig, Gerson Otto [Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais (INPE), Sao Jose dos Campos, SP (Brazil). Lab. Associado de Plasma]. E-mail: mcr@plasma.inpe.br

2004-07-01

Different bootstrap current formulations are implemented in a self-consistent equilibrium calculation obtained from a direct variational technique in fixed boundary tokamak plasmas. The total plasma current profile is supposed to have contributions of the diamagnetic, Pfirsch-Schlueter, and the neoclassical Ohmic and bootstrap currents. The Ohmic component is calculated in terms of the neoclassical conductivity, compared here among different expressions, and the loop voltage determined consistently in order to give the prescribed value of the total plasma current. A comparison among several bootstrap current models for different viscosity coefficient calculations and distinct forms for the Coulomb collision operator is performed for a variety of plasma parameters of the small aspect ratio tokamak ETE (Experimento Tokamak Esferico) at the Associated Plasma Laboratory of INPE, in Brazil. We have performed this comparison for the ETE tokamak so that the differences among all the models reported here, mainly regarding plasma collisionality, can be better illustrated. The dependence of the bootstrap current ratio upon some plasma parameters in the frame of the self-consistent calculation is also analysed. We emphasize in this paper what we call the Hirshman-Sigmar/Shaing model, valid for all collisionality regimes and aspect ratios, and a fitted formulation proposed by Sauter, which has the same range of validity but is faster to compute than the previous one. The advantages or possible limitations of all these different formulations for the bootstrap current estimate are analysed throughout this work. (author)

PANDORA, a new facility for interdisciplinary in-plasma physics

Science.gov (United States)

Mascali, D.; Musumarra, A.; Leone, F.; Romano, F. P.; Galatà, A.; Gammino, S.; Massimi, C.

2017-07-01

PANDORA, Plasmas for Astrophysics, Nuclear Decays Observation and Radiation for Archaeometry, is planned as a new facility based on a state-of-the-art plasma trap confining energetic plasma for performing interdisciplinary research in the fields of Nuclear Astrophysics, Astrophysics, Plasma Physics and Applications in Material Science and Archaeometry: the plasmas become the environment for measuring, for the first time, nuclear decay rates in stellar-like condition (such as 7Be decay and beta-decay involved in s-process nucleosynthesis), especially as a function of the ionization state of the plasma ions. These studies will give important contributions for addressing several astrophysical issues in both stellar and primordial nucleosynthesis environment ( e.g., determination of solar neutrino flux and 7Li Cosmological Problem), moreover the confined energetic plasma will be a unique light source for high-performance stellar spectroscopy measurements in the visible, UV and X-ray domains, offering advancements in observational astronomy. As to magnetic fields, the experimental validation of theoretical first- and second-order Landé factors will drive the layout of next-generation polarimetric units for the high-resolution spectrograph of the future giant telescopes. In PANDORA new plasma heating methods will be explored, that will push forward the ion beam output, in terms of extracted intensity and charge states. More, advanced and optimized injection methods of ions in an ECR plasma will be experimented, with the aim to optimize its capture efficiency. This will be applied to the ECR-based Charge Breeding technique, that will improve the performances of the SPES ISOL-facility at Laboratori Nazionali di Legnaro-INFN. Finally, PANDORA will be suitable for energy conversion, making the plasma a source of high-intensity electromagnetic radiation, for applications in material science and archaeometry.

PANDORA, a new facility for interdisciplinary in-plasma physics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mascali, D.; Gammino, S. [INFN-Laboratori Nazionali del Sud, Catania (Italy); Musumarra, A. [INFN-Laboratori Nazionali del Sud, Catania (Italy); University of Catania, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Catania (Italy); Leone, F. [INFN-Laboratori Nazionali del Sud, Catania (Italy); University of Catania, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Catania (Italy); INAF-OACT, Catania (Italy); Romano, F.P. [INFN-Laboratori Nazionali del Sud, Catania (Italy); CNR-IBAM, Catania (Italy); Galata, A. [INFN-Laboratori Nazionali di Legnaro, Legnaro (Italy); Massimi, C. [University of Bologna, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Bologna (Italy); INFN-Bologna, Bologna (Italy)

2017-07-15

PANDORA, Plasmas for Astrophysics, Nuclear Decays Observation and Radiation for Archaeometry, is planned as a new facility based on a state-of-the-art plasma trap confining energetic plasma for performing interdisciplinary research in the fields of Nuclear Astrophysics, Astrophysics, Plasma Physics and Applications in Material Science and Archaeometry: the plasmas become the environment for measuring, for the first time, nuclear decay rates in stellar-like condition (such as {sup 7}Be decay and beta-decay involved in s-process nucleosynthesis), especially as a function of the ionization state of the plasma ions. These studies will give important contributions for addressing several astrophysical issues in both stellar and primordial nucleosynthesis environment (e.g., determination of solar neutrino flux and {sup 7}Li Cosmological Problem), moreover the confined energetic plasma will be a unique light source for high-performance stellar spectroscopy measurements in the visible, UV and X-ray domains, offering advancements in observational astronomy. As to magnetic fields, the experimental validation of theoretical first- and second-order Lande factors will drive the layout of next-generation polarimetric units for the high-resolution spectrograph of the future giant telescopes. In PANDORA new plasma heating methods will be explored, that will push forward the ion beam output, in terms of extracted intensity and charge states. More, advanced and optimized injection methods of ions in an ECR plasma will be experimented, with the aim to optimize its capture efficiency. This will be applied to the ECR-based Charge Breeding technique, that will improve the performances of the SPES ISOL-facility at Laboratori Nazionali di Legnaro-INFN. Finally, PANDORA will be suitable for energy conversion, making the plasma a source of high-intensity electromagnetic radiation, for applications in material science and archaeometry. (orig.)

Dynamics of collisional particles in a fluctuating magnetic field

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Spineanu, F.; Vlad, M.

1995-01-01

The equations of motion of a test particle in a stochastic magnetic field and interacting through collisions with a plasma are Langevin-type equations. Under reasonable assumptions on the statistical properties of the random processes (field and collisional velocity fluctuations), we perform an analytical calculation of the mean-square displacement (MSD) of the particle. The basic nonlinearity in the problem (Lagrangian argument of the random field) yields complicated averages, which we carry out using a functional formalism. The result is expressed as a series, and we find the conditions for its convergence, i.e. the limits of validity of our approach (essentially, we must restrict attention to non-chaotic regimes). Further, employing realistic bounds (spectral cut-off and limited time of observation), we derive an explicit formula for the MSD. We show that from this unique expression, we can obtain several previously known results. (author)

Comments on pulses of characteristic energy produced in solar flare detonations and its possible application to other astrophysical plasmas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kaufmann, P [Universidade Mackenzie, Sao Paulo (Brazil). Centro de Radio-Astronomia e Astrofisica

1977-06-01

A qualitative discussion of physical conditions at neutral sheets was developed in an attempt to explain the repetitive pulsed energy-production mechanism, which has been suggested for solar flares. A characteristic energy per pulse appears to depend critically on the magnetic field strength and dipole length applied to a high temperature plasma, and seem to be regulated by discrete characteristic relative changes in the magnetic moment, following Syrovatskii's model. Discrete energy pulses are produced when neutral sheet thickness approaches to critical values, proportional to the characteristic relative changes in the magnetic moment. Repetition of pulses may occur in multi-sheet configurations as magnetically complex active centres, or at a single sheet where the total system energy change exceeds the critical conditions. The time-scale of the pulsed energy release may be explained by the tearing mode instability, and the repetition time-scale might be understood by the Sweet mechanism in limit conditions. The mechanism might have attractive applications in other high temperature astrophysical plasmas. An empirical relation is derived for pulses' energy prediction, in orders of magnitude, and some possible tests were suggested. An attempt was made to interpret soft ..gamma..-ray events of cosmic origin.

Comments on pulses of characteristic energy produced in solar flare detonations and its possible application to other astrophysical plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kaufmann, P.

1977-01-01

A qualitative discussion of physical conditions at neutral sheets was developed in an attempt to explain the repetitive pulsed energy-production mechanism, which has been suggested for solar flares. A characteristic energy per pulse appears to depend critically on the magnetic field strength and dipole length applied to a high temperature plasma, and seem to be regulated by discrete characteristic relative changes in the magnetic moment, following Syrovatskii's model. Discrete energy pulses are produced when neutral sheet thickness approaches to critical values, proportional to the characteristic relative changes in the magnetic moment. Repetition of pulses may occur in multi-sheet configurations as magnetically complex active centres, or at a single sheet where the total system energy change exceeds the critical conditions. The time-scale of the pulsed energy release may be explained by the tearing mode instability, and the repetition time-scale might be understood by the Sweet mechanism in limit conditions. The mechanism might have attractive applications in other high temperature astrophysical plasmas. An empirical relation is derived for pulses' energy prediction, in orders of magnitude, and some possible tests were suggested. An attempt was made to interpret soft γ-ray events of cosmic origin. (Auth.)

Recent astrophysical applications of the Trojan Horse Method to nuclear astrophysics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Spitaleri, C.; Cherubini, S.; Crucilla, V.; Gulino, M.; La Cognata, M.; Lamia, L.; Pizzone, R. G.; Puglia, S. M. R.; Rapisarda, G. G.; Romano, S.; Sergi, M. L.; Tumino, A.; Fu, C.; Tribble, R.; Banu, A.; Al-Abdullah, T.; Goldberg, V.; Mukhamedzhanov, A.; Tabacaru, G.; Trache, L.

2008-01-01

The Trojan Horse Method (THM) is an unique indirect technique allowing to measure astrophysical rearrangement reactions down to astrophysical relevant energies. The basic principle and a review of the recent applications of the Trojan Horse Method are presented. The applications aiming to the extraction of the bare astrophysical S b (E) for some two-body processes are discussed

A numerical model for diffusion of helium in a hydrogen plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Potters, J.H.H.M.

1983-07-01

A quasi-cylindrical steady-state numerical model for the diffusion of helium in a hydrogen plasma is presented, adopting collisional plus either ALCATOR-INTOR- or ASDEX-like anomalous transport for the charged species. The coupled momentum and conservation equations for H + , He + and He ++ are solved to obtain radial profiles of their densities, consistent with those of the neutral species. For the neutrals, a diffusion equation is used for the transport of H, whereas He is assumed to enter the plasma with an energy equal to the temperature of the plasma immediately in front of the wall. A stable numerical scheme for the solution of the coupled ion and electron energy balances is discussed. Results are presented for the JET-tokamak, using prescribed temperature profiles. Collisional effects are shown to produce an enhancement of the alpha particle density about 10 centimetres in front of the wall, especially in combination with ALCATOR-INTOR-like scaling. The neutral helium density that accumulates in the outer plasma is too low to allow for pumping helium from a cool plasma/gas blanket

Stability of axisymmetric plasmas in closed line magnetic fields

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Simakov, A.N.; Vernon Wong, H.; Berk, H.L.

2003-01-01

The stability of axisymmetric plasmas confined by closed poloidal magnetic field lines is considered. The results are relevant to plasmas in the dipolar fields of stars and planets, as well as the Levitated Dipole Experiment, multipoles, Z pinches and field reversed configurations. The ideal MHD energy principle is employed to study the stability of pressure driven shear Alfven modes. A point dipole is considered in detail to demonstrate that equilibria exist which are MHD stable for arbitrary beta. Effects of sound waves and plasma resistivity are investigated for Z pinch and point dipole equilibria by means of resistive MHD theory. Kinetic theory is used to study drift frequency modes and their interaction with MHD modes near the ideal stability boundary for different collisionality regimes. Effects of collisional dissipation on drift mode stability are explicitly evaluated and applied to a Z pinch. The role of finite Larmor radius effects and drift reversed particles in modifying ideal stability thresholds is examined. (author)

Convective cells and transport in toroidal plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hassam, A.B.; Kulsrud, R.M.

1978-12-01

The properties of convective cells and the diffusion resulting from such cells are significantly influenced by an inhomogeneity in the extermal confining magnetic field, such as that in toroidal plasmas. The convective diffusion in the presence of a field inhomogeneity is estimated. For a thermal background, this diffusion is shown to be substantially smaller than classical collisional diffusion. For a model nonthermal background, the diffusion is estimated, for typical parameters, to be at most of the order of collisional diffusion. The model background employed is based on spectra observed in numerical simulations of drift-wave-driven convective cells

Relativistic Astrophysics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Font, J. A.

2015-01-01

The relativistic astrophysics is the field of astrophysics employing the theory of relativity Einstein as physical-mathematical model is to study the universe. This discipline analyzes astronomical contexts in which the laws of classical mechanics of Newton's law of gravitation are not valid. (Author)

Relativistic Shear Flow between Electron–Ion and Electron–Positron Plasmas and Astrophysical Applications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Liang, Edison; Fu, Wen [Rice University, Houston, TX 77005 (United States); Böttcher, Markus [North-West University, Potchefstroom, 2520 (South Africa)

2017-10-01

We present particle-in-cell simulation results of relativistic shear boundary layers between electron–ion and electron–positron plasmas and discuss their potential applications to astrophysics. Specifically, we find that in the case of a fast electron–positron spine surrounded by a slow-moving or stationary electron–ion sheath, lepton acceleration proceeds in a highly anisotropic manner due to electromagnetic fields created at the shear interface. While the highest-energy leptons still produce a beaming pattern (as seen in the quasi-stationary frame of the sheath) of order 1/Γ, where Γ is the bulk Lorentz factor of the spine, for lower-energy particles, the beaming is much less pronounced. This is in stark contrast to the case of pure electron–ion shear layers, in which anisotropic particle acceleration leads to significantly narrower beaming patterns than 1/Γ for the highest-energy particles. In either case, shear-layer acceleration is expected to produce strongly angle-dependent lepton (hence, emanating radiation) spectra, with a significantly harder spectrum in the forward direction than viewed from larger off-axis angles, much beyond the regular Doppler boosting effect from a co-moving isotropic lepton distribution. This may solve the problem of the need for high (and apparently arbitrarily chosen) minimum Lorentz factors of radiating electrons, often plaguing current blazar and GRB jet modeling efforts.

Magnetic confinement fusion plasma theory, Task 1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Callen, J.D.

1991-07-01

The research performed under this grant during the current year has concentrated on a few key tokamak plasma confinement and heating theory issues: extensive development of a new Chapman-Enskog-like fluid/kinetic hybrid approach to deriving rigorously valid fluid moment equations; applications (neoclassical viscous force, instabilities in the banana-plateau collisionality regime, nonlinear gyroviscous force, unified plasma microinstability equations and their implications, semi-collisional presheath modeling, etc.) of this new formalism; interactions of fluctuating bootstrap-current-driven magnetic islands; determination of net transport processes and equations for a tokamak; and some other topics (extracting more information from heat-pulse-propagation data, modeling of BES fluctuation data, exploring sawtooth effects on energy confinement in DIII-D, divertor X-point modeling). Recent progress and publications in these areas, and in the management of the local NERSC node and fusion theory DECstation 5000 at UW-Madison are summarized briefly in this report

Neoclassical current and plasma rotation in helical systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nakajima, N.; Okamoto, M.

1991-01-01

In order to clarify geometrical effects of the magnetic field on the neoclassical theory in general toroidal systems, the neoclassical parallel particle flow, heat flux, current and plasma rotation of a multispecies plasma are examined using the moment approach on the basis of the original papers under the assumptions of no fluctuations, no external sources and losses except for a fast ion beam and an external inductive electric field, steady state, and |u a | Ta where u a and v Ta are the macro and thermal velocity of species a, respectively. Hence, we might have a point of view of unifying understanding the neoclassical theory in general toroidal systems. Three collisionality regimes, i.e., the 1/ν (in non-axisymmetric toroidal systems) or banana (in axisymmetric toroidal systems), plateau, and Pfirsch-Schlueter collisionality regimes are examined separately. (author) 8 refs

Transport in a toroidally confined pure electron plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Crooks, S.M.; ONeil, T.M.

1996-01-01

O close-quote Neil and Smith [T.M. O close-quote Neil and R.A. Smith, Phys. Plasmas 1, 8 (1994)] have argued that a pure electron plasma can be confined stably in a toroidal magnetic field configuration. This paper shows that the toroidal curvature of the magnetic field of necessity causes slow cross-field transport. The transport mechanism is similar to magnetic pumping and may be understood by considering a single flux tube of plasma. As the flux tube of plasma undergoes poloidal ExB drift rotation about the center of the plasma, the length of the flux tube and the magnetic field strength within the flux tube oscillate, and this produces corresponding oscillations in T parallel and T perpendicular . The collisional relaxation of T parallel toward T perpendicular produces a slow dissipation of electrostatic energy into heat and a consequent expansion (cross-field transport) of the plasma. In the limit where the cross section of the plasma is nearly circular the radial particle flux is given by Γ r =1/2ν perpendicular,parallel T(r/ρ 0 ) 2 n/(-e∂Φ/∂r), where ν perpendicular,parallel is the collisional equipartition rate, ρ 0 is the major radius at the center of the plasma, and r is the minor radius measured from the center of the plasma. The transport flux is first calculated using this simple physical picture and then is calculated by solving the drift-kinetic Boltzmann equation. This latter calculation is not limited to a plasma with a circular cross section. copyright 1996 American Institute of Physics

Extended numerical modeling of impurity neoclassical transport in tokamak edge plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Inoue, H.; Yamoto, S.; Hatayama, A.; Homma, Y.

2016-01-01

Understanding of impurity transport in tokamaks is an important issue in order to reduce the impurity contamination in fusion core plasmas. Recently, a new kinetic numerical scheme of impurity classical/neoclassical transport has been developed. This numerical scheme makes it possible to include classical self-diffusion (CL SD), classical inward pinch (CL IWP), and classical temperature screening effect (CL TSE) of impurity ions. However, impurity neoclassical transport has been modeled only in the case where background plasmas are in the Pfirsch-Schluter (PS) regime. The purpose of this study is to extend our previous model to wider range of collisionality regimes, i.e., not only the PS regime, but also the plateau regime. As in the previous study, a kinetic model with Binary Collision Monte-Carlo Model (BMC) has been adopted. We focus on the modeling of the neoclassical self-diffusion (NC SD) and the neoclassical inward pinch (NC IWP). In order to simulate the neoclassical transport with the BCM, velocity distribution of background plasma ions has been modeled as a deformed Maxwell distribution which includes plasma density gradient. Some test simulations have been done. As for NC SD of impurity ions, our scheme reproduces the dependence on the collisionality parameter in wide range of collisionality regime. As for NC IWP, in cases where test impurity ions and background ions are in the PS and plateau regimes, parameter dependences have been reproduced. (copyright 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

Extended numerical modeling of impurity neoclassical transport in tokamak edge plasmas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Inoue, H.; Yamoto, S.; Hatayama, A. [Graduate School of Science and Technology, Keio University, Hiyoshi, Yokohama (Japan); Homma, Y. [Graduate School of Science and Technology, Keio University, Hiyoshi, Yokohama (Japan); Research Fellow of Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Tokyo (Japan)

2016-08-15

Understanding of impurity transport in tokamaks is an important issue in order to reduce the impurity contamination in fusion core plasmas. Recently, a new kinetic numerical scheme of impurity classical/neoclassical transport has been developed. This numerical scheme makes it possible to include classical self-diffusion (CL SD), classical inward pinch (CL IWP), and classical temperature screening effect (CL TSE) of impurity ions. However, impurity neoclassical transport has been modeled only in the case where background plasmas are in the Pfirsch-Schluter (PS) regime. The purpose of this study is to extend our previous model to wider range of collisionality regimes, i.e., not only the PS regime, but also the plateau regime. As in the previous study, a kinetic model with Binary Collision Monte-Carlo Model (BMC) has been adopted. We focus on the modeling of the neoclassical self-diffusion (NC SD) and the neoclassical inward pinch (NC IWP). In order to simulate the neoclassical transport with the BCM, velocity distribution of background plasma ions has been modeled as a deformed Maxwell distribution which includes plasma density gradient. Some test simulations have been done. As for NC SD of impurity ions, our scheme reproduces the dependence on the collisionality parameter in wide range of collisionality regime. As for NC IWP, in cases where test impurity ions and background ions are in the PS and plateau regimes, parameter dependences have been reproduced. (copyright 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

Validity of the Taylor hypothesis for linear kinetic waves in the weakly collisional solar wind

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Howes, G. G.; Klein, K. G.; TenBarge, J. M.

2014-01-01

The interpretation of single-point spacecraft measurements of solar wind turbulence is complicated by the fact that the measurements are made in a frame of reference in relative motion with respect to the turbulent plasma. The Taylor hypothesis—that temporal fluctuations measured by a stationary probe in a rapidly flowing fluid are dominated by the advection of spatial structures in the fluid rest frame—is often assumed to simplify the analysis. But measurements of turbulence in upcoming missions, such as Solar Probe Plus, threaten to violate the Taylor hypothesis, either due to slow flow of the plasma with respect to the spacecraft or to the dispersive nature of the plasma fluctuations at small scales. Assuming that the frequency of the turbulent fluctuations is characterized by the frequency of the linear waves supported by the plasma, we evaluate the validity of the Taylor hypothesis for the linear kinetic wave modes in the weakly collisional solar wind. The analysis predicts that a dissipation range of solar wind turbulence supported by whistler waves is likely to violate the Taylor hypothesis, while one supported by kinetic Alfvén waves is not.

A collision model in plasma particle simulations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ma Yanyun; Chang Wenwei; Yin Yan; Yue Zongwu; Cao Lihua; Liu Daqing

2000-01-01

In order to offset the collisional effects reduced by using finite-size particles, β particle clouds are used in particle simulation codes (β is the ratio of charge or mass of modeling particles to real ones). The method of impulse approximation (strait line orbit approximation) is used to analyze the scattering cross section of β particle clouds plasmas. The authors can obtain the relation of the value of a and β and scattering cross section (a is the radius of β particle cloud). By using this relation the authors can determine the value of a and β so that the collisional effects of the modeling system is correspondent with the real one. The authors can also adjust the values of a and β so that the authors can enhance or reduce the collisional effects fictitiously. The results of simulation are in good agreement with the theoretical ones

Collisional shifts in optical-lattice atom clocks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Band, Y. B.; Vardi, A.

2006-01-01

We theoretically study the effects of elastic collisions on the determination of frequency standards via Ramsey-fringe spectroscopy in optical-lattice atom clocks. Interparticle interactions of bosonic atoms in multiply occupied lattice sites can cause a linear frequency shift, as well as generate asymmetric Ramsey-fringe patterns and reduce fringe visibility due to interparticle entanglement. We propose a method of reducing these collisional effects in an optical lattice by introducing a phase difference of π between the Ramsey driving fields in adjacent sites. This configuration suppresses site-to-site hopping due to interference of two tunneling pathways, without degrading fringe visibility. Consequently, the probability of double occupancy is reduced, leading to cancellation of collisional shifts

Neoclassical transport in a multiple-helicity torsatron in the low-collisionality (1/#betta#) regime

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shaing, K.C.; Hokin, S.A.

1983-02-01

For a sufficiently high number of field periods (m/iota > l), the magnetic field of a multiple helicity torsatron can be reduced to a simple form such that the second adiabatic invariant J can be calculated. It is found that the particle and the heat fluxes for a multiple helicity torsatron in the low collisionality (1/#betta#) regime have the same geometric dependences. An optimization of both quantities is carried out for a given equilibrium constraint. It is shown that the transport fluxes can be smaller than those of the conventional stellarator by an order of magnitude. The effect of finite plasma beta on the neoclassical fluxes is also studied

Collisional-radiative model for neutral helium in plasma. Excitation cross section and singlet-triplet wavefunction mixing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Goto, Motoshi [National Inst. for Fusion Science, Toki, Gifu (Japan); Fujimoto, Takashi

1997-10-01

We have revised the collisional-radiative (CR) model code of neutral helium (T. Fujimoto, JQSRT 21, 1979). The spin-orbit interaction gives rise to mixing of the wavefunctions of the singlet and triplet states. The degree of the mixing depends on the magnetic field, and at the field strength of the level-anticrossings complete mixing, or complete breakdown of the L-S coupling scheme, occurs. We have approximately incorporated this effect into the code. We have reviewed the excitation cross section data for electron impacts. For transitions starting from the ground state, the recent assessment by the group led by Dr. de Heer is judged satisfactory. For transitions from the metastable levels the assessment by the same group appears rather conservative; there remains a question about the cross section values near the threshold. For transitions between different-l levels within the same multiplicity and same n, a semi-empirical formula based on the Born cross section gives a good agreement with experiment. Proton impacts are also considered for these transitions. We compare the new cross sections with those used in the original version. These cross sections for transitions starting from the metastable levels are fitted by analytical formulas and the parameter values are given. We also give parameter values for the excitation rate coefficient for these transitions as well as for transitions starting from the ground state. With all the above revisions incorporated into the CR model code, we have calculated the energy loss rates and the line intensity ratios for the purpose of plasma diagnostics, where the effect of a magnetic field is noted. The calculated population distribution over excited levels are compared with experiment, and a tentative conclusion is drawn concerning the excitation cross section from the metastable level. (author)

Recombining Plasma and Gamma-Ray Emission in the Mixed-morphology Supernova Remnant 3C 400.2

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ergin, T. [TUBITAK Space Technologies Research Institute, ODTU Campus, 06800, Ankara (Turkey); Sezer, A. [Department of Electrical-Electronics Engineering, Avrasya University, 61250 Trabzon (Turkey); Sano, H.; Fukui, Y. [Department of Physics, Nagoya University, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, Aichi 464–8601 (Japan); Yamazaki, R., E-mail: ergin.tulun@gmail.com, E-mail: aytap.sezer@avrasya.edu.tr, E-mail: sano@a.phys.nagoya-u.ac.jp [Department of Physics and Mathematics, Aoyama Gakuin University, 5-10-1 Fuchinobe, Sagamihara 252–5258 (Japan)

2017-06-10

3C 400.2 belongs to the mixed-morphology supernova remnant class, showing center-filled X-ray and shell-like radio morphology. We present a study of 3C 400.2 with archival Suzaku and Fermi -LAT observations. We find recombining plasma (RP) in the Suzaku spectra of north–east and south–east regions. The spectra of these regions are well described by two-component thermal plasma models: the hard component is in RP, while the soft component is in collisional ionization equilibrium (CIE) conditions. The RP has enhanced abundances, indicating that the X-ray emission has an ejecta origin, while the CIE has solar abundances associated with the interstellar material. The X-ray spectra of north–west and south–west regions are best fitted by a two-component thermal plasma model: an ionizing and a CIE plasma. We have detected GeV gamma-ray emission from 3C 400.2 at the level of ∼5 σ , assuming a point-like source model with a power-law (PL) type spectrum. We have also detected a new GeV source at the level of ∼13 σ, assuming a Gaussian extension model with a PL-type spectrum in the neighborhood of the supernova remnant. We report the analysis results of 3C 400.2 and the new extended gamma-ray source, and discuss the nature of gamma-ray emission of 3C 400.2 in the context of existing NANTEN CO data, Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory H i data, and the Suzaku X-ray analysis results.

Collision effects on propagation characteristics of electromagnetic waves in a sub-wavelength plasma slab of partially ionized dense plasmas

Science.gov (United States)

Bowen, LI; Zhibin, WANG; Qiuyue, NIE; Xiaogang, WANG; Fanrong, KONG; Zhenyu, WANG

2018-01-01

Intensive collisions between electrons and neutral particles in partially ionized plasmas generated in atmospheric/sub-atmospheric pressure environments can sufficiently affect the propagation characteristics of electromagnetic waves, particularly in the sub-wavelength regime. To investigate the collisional effect in such plasmas, we introduce a simplified plasma slab model with a thickness on the order of the wavelength of the incident electromagnetic wave. The scattering matrix method (SMM) is applied to solve the wave equation in the plasma slab with significant nonuniformity. Results show that the collisions between the electrons and the neutral particles, as well as the incident angle and the plasma thickness, can disturb the transmission and reduce reflection significantly.

Plasma-neutral gas interaction in a tokamak divertor: effects of hydrogen molecules and plasma recombination

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Krasheninnikov, S.I.; Pigarov, A.Yu.; Soboleva, T.K.; Sigmar, D.J.

1997-01-01

We investigate the influence of hydrogen molecules on plasma recombination using a collisional-radiative model for multispecies hydrogen plasmas and tokamak detached divertor parameters. The rate constant found for molecular activated recombination of a plasma can be as high as 2 x 10 -10 cm 3 /s, confirming our pervious estimates. We investigate the effects of hydrogen molecules and plasma recombination on self-consistent plasma-neutral gas interactions in the recycling region of a tokamak divertor. We treat the plasma flow in a fluid approximation retaining the effects of plasma recombination and employing a Knudsen neutral transport model for a 'gas box' divertor geometry. For the model of plasma-neutral interactions we employ we find: (a) molecular activated recombination is a dominant channel of divertor plasma recombination; and (b) plasma recombination is a key element leading to a decrease in the plasma flux onto the target and substantial plasma pressure drop which are the main features of detached divertor regimes. (orig.)

Density and field effect on electron-ion collision cross-sections in hot dense plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gaufridy de Dortan, F. de

2003-03-01

Collisional excitation cross-sections are essential for the modeling of the properties of non equilibrium plasmas. There has been a lot of work on electron impact excitation of isolated ions, but in dense plasmas, neighboring particles are expected to widely disturb these electron transitions in atoms. Plasma modeling through a radially perturbed potential has already been done but is not satisfactory as it does not account for levels degeneracy breaking and its consequences. Introduction of a quasistatic electric micro-field of neighboring ions allows us to break spherical symmetry. Our original theoretical study has given birth to a numerical code that accurately computes collisional strengths and rates (in the Distorted Waves approach) in atoms submitted to a realistic micro-field. Hydrogen- and helium-like aluminium is studied. Stark mixing widely increases rates of transitions from high l levels and forbidden transitions are field-enhanced by many orders of magnitude until they reach allowed ones. Eventually, we conduct an elementary stationary collisional radiative study to investigate field-enhancement effects on corresponding line shapes. In cases we study (aluminium, hydrogen- and helium-like) we find a relatively weak increase of K-shell line broadening

Relativistic current sheets in electron-positron plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zenitani, S.

2008-01-01

The current sheet structure with magnetic field reversal is one of the fundamental structure in space and astrophysical plasmas. It draws recent attention in high-energy astrophysical settings, where relativistic electron-positron plasmas are considered. In this talk we will review the recent progress of the physical processes in the relativistic current sheet. The kinetic stability of a single current sheet, the nonlinear behavior of these instabilities, and recent challenges on the multi current sheet systems are introduced. We will also introduce some problems of magnetic reconnection in these relativistic environments. (author)

Theoretical and numerical studies of Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities in magnetized plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ivanov, A.A.

2001-06-01

The instabilities of Rayleigh-Taylor type are considered in the thesis. The topic of the thesis was inspired by recent advances in the physics of plasma compression, especially with the aid of systems like Z-pinch. Rayleigh-Taylor instability (RTI) plays an important role in the evolution of magnetized plasmas in these experiments, as well as in stellar plasmas and classic fluids. For the phenomena concerning the nuclear fusion the RTI is very often the factor limiting the possibility of compression. In the current work we try to examine in detail the characteristic features of the instabilities of this type in order to eliminate their detrimental influence. In this thesis we are studying both the general case of the 'classic' Rayleigh-Taylor instability (in incompressible fluids) and more specific cases of the instabilities of Rayleigh-Taylor type in magnetized plasmas, in the liners or wire array implosions etc. We have studied the influence of the Hall diffusion of magnetic field on the growth rate of the instability. We have obtained in this work a self-similar solution for the widening of the initial profile of the magnetic field and for the wave of the penetration of magnetic field. After that the subsequent evolution of the magnetic field in plasma opening switches (POS) has been examined. We have shown the possibility of the existence of a strong rarefaction wave for collisional and non-collisional cases. This wave can explain the phenomenon of the opening of POS. The effect of the suppression of Rayleigh-Taylor instability by forced oscillations of the boundary between two fluids permits us to propose some ideas for the experiments of inertial fusion. We have considered the general case of the instability, in other words, two incompressible viscous superposed fluids in a gravitational field. We have obtained an exact analytical expression for the growth rate and then we have analyzed the influence of the parameters of external 'pumping' on the instability

Plasmas and fluids

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1986-01-01

Plasma and fluid physics includes the fields of fusion research and space investigation. This book discusses the most important advances in these areas over the past decade and recommends a stronger commitment to basic research in plasma and fluid physics. The book recommends that plasma and fluid physics be included in physics curriculums because of their increasing importance in energy and defense. The book also lists recent accomplishments in the fields of general plasma physics, fusion plasma confinement and heating, space and astrophysical plasmas, and fluid physics and lists research opportunities in these areas. A funding summary explains how research monies are allocated and suggests ways to improve their effectiveness

On calculation of collisional angular-momentum mixing of Rydberg states

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oreg, J.; Strauss, M.; Hazak, G.

1983-09-01

Exact solutions of the coupled differential equations for collisional mixing probabilities are presented for a sodium-helium system. The results show that complete mixing is not reached in this model. The main contribution to the collisional mixing cross-section of the sodium ''nd'' state comes from impact parameters b within the range n 2 2 . The total cross-sections obtained are in agreement with the experiment. (author)

Collisional redistribution effects on x-ray laser saturation behavior

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koch, J.A.; MacGowan, B.J.; Da Silva, L.B.; Matthews, D.J.; Lee, R.W.; London, R.A.; Mrowka, S.; Underwood, J.H.; Batson, P.J.

1994-06-01

We recently published a detailed summary of our experimental and theoretical research on Ne-like Se x-ray laser line widths, and one of our conclusions was that collisional redistribution rates are likely to have an effect on the saturation behavior of the 206.4 angstrom Se x-ray laser. In this paper we focus on the effects of collisional redistribution on x-ray laser gain coefficients, and discuss ways of including these effects in existing laser line- transfer models

Statistical moments of the angular spectrum of normal waves in a turbulent collisional magnetized plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aistov, A.V.; Gavrilenko, V.G.

1996-01-01

The normal incidence of a small-amplitude electromagnetic wave upon a semi-infinite turbulent collisional plasm with an oblique external magnetic field is considered. Within a small-angle-scattering approximation of the radiative transport theory, a system of differential equations is derived for statistical moments of the angular power spectrum of radiation. The dependences of the spectrum centroid, dispersion, and asymmetry on the depth of penetration are studied numerically. The nonmonotonic behavior of the dispersion is revealed, and an increase in the spectrum width with absorption anisotropy is found within some depth interval. It is shown that, at large depths, the direction of the displacement of the spectrum centroid, does not always coincide with the direction of minimum absorption

Database and Related Activities in Japan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Murakami, Izumi; Kato, Daiji; Kato, Masatoshi; Sakaue, Hiroyuki A.; Kato, Takako; Ding, Xiaobin; Morita, Shigeru; Kitajima, Masashi; Koike, Fumihiro; Nakamura, Nobuyuki; Sakamoto, Naoki; Sasaki, Akira; Skobelev, Igor; Tsuchida, Hidetsugu; Ulantsev, Artemiy; Watanabe, Tetsuya; Yamamoto, Norimasa

2011-01-01

We have constructed and made available atomic and molecular (AM) numerical databases on collision processes such as electron-impact excitation and ionization, recombination and charge transfer of atoms and molecules relevant for plasma physics, fusion research, astrophysics, applied-science plasma, and other related areas. The retrievable data is freely accessible via the internet. We also work on atomic data evaluation and constructing collisional-radiative models for spectroscopic plasma diagnostics. Recently we have worked on Fe ions and W ions theoretically and experimentally. The atomic data and collisional-radiative models for these ions are examined and applied to laboratory plasmas. A visible M1 transition of W 26+ ion is identified at 389.41 nm by EBIT experiments and theoretical calculations. We have small non-retrievable databases in addition to our main database. Recently we evaluated photo-absorption cross sections for 9 atoms and 23 molecules and we present them as a new database. We established a new association ''Forum of Atomic and Molecular Data and Their Applications'' to exchange information among AM data producers, data providers and data users in Japan and we hope this will help to encourage AM data activities in Japan.

Collisional effect on lower hybrid waves instability in a dusty plasma ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The effect of particle collisions on lower hybrid modes in a dusty plasma is studied. The dispersion relation derived from fluid theory is numerically solved for plasma parameters relevant to determine the modification in wave propagation due to collisions. This study is relevant to the earth's lower atmosphere, in particular, the ...

Temperature and impurity transport studies of heated tokamak plasmas by means of a collisional-radiative model of x-ray emission from Mo30+ to Mo39+

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pacella, D.; Fournier, K. B.; Zerbini, M.; Finkenthal, M.; Mattioli, M.; May, M. J.; Goldstein, W. H.

2000-01-01

This work presents and interprets, by means of detailed atomic calculations, observations of L-shell (n=3→n=2) transitions in highly ionized molybdenum, the main intrinsic heavy impurity in the Frascati tokamak upgrade plasmas. These hot plasmas were obtained by additional electron cyclotron resonance heating (ECRH), at the frequency of 140 Ghz, during the current ramp-up phase of the discharge. Injecting 400 kW on axis and 800 kW slightly off axis, the peak central electron temperature reached 8.0 and 7.0 keV, respectively, for a time much longer than the ionization equilibrium time of the molybdenum ions. X-ray emissions from rarely observed high charge states, Mo 30+ to Mo 39+ , have been studied with moderate spectral resolution (λ/Δλ∼150) and a time resolution of 5 ms. A sophisticated collisional-radiative model for the study of molybdenum ions in plasmas with electron temperature in the range 4-20 keV is presented. The sensitivity of the x-ray emission to the temperature and to impurity transport processes is discussed. This model has been then used to investigate two different plasma scenarios. In the first regime the ECRH heating occurs on axis during the current ramp up phase, when the magnetic shear is evolving from negative to zero up to the half radius. The spectrum is well reproduced with the molybdenum ions in coronal equilibrium and with a central impurity peaking. In the second regime, at the beginning of the current flat top when magnetic shear is monotonic and sawtoothing activity is appearing, the lowest charge states (Mo 33+ to Mo 30+ ), populated off axis, are affected by anomalous transport and the total molybdenum profile is found to be flat up to the half radius. We conclude with the presentation of ''synthetic spectra'' computed for even higher temperature plasmas that are expected in future experiments with higher ECRH power input. (c) 2000 The American Physical Society

Amplification of magnetic modes in laser-created plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matte, J.P.; Bendib, A.; Luciani, J.F.

1987-01-01

The amplification of magnetic (Weibel) modes in laser-plasma interaction is investigated by use of unperturbed distribution functions given by Fokker-Planck simulations and a dispersion relation valid for all collisionality regimes. In the five cases studied, a strongly growing mode is found in the underdense plasma, where v-bar/sub x/ 2 2 , and the usual slowly growing one in the overdense plasma. The first mode grows convectively outwards by more than 10 4 . The convection velocities are found to be very different from Nernst values

Non linear evolution of plasma waves excited to mode conversion at the vicinity of plasma resonance. Application to experiments of ionosphere modification

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cros, Brigitte

1989-01-01

This research thesis reports the study of the non linear evolution of plasma waves excited by mode conversion in a non homogeneous, non collisional, and free-of-external-magnetic-field plasma. Experiments performed in the microwave domain in a plasma created by means of a multi-polar device show that the evolution of plasma waves displays a transition between a non linear quasi-steady regime and a stochastic regime when the power of incident electromagnetic waves or plasma gradient length is increased. These regimes are characterized through a numerical resolution of Zakharov equations which describe the coupled evolution of plasma wave envelope and low frequency density perturbations [fr

Ion trapping within the dust grain plasma sheath

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jovanovic, D.; Shukla, P.K.

2002-01-01

One of the most important and still unresolved problems in the physics of dusty plasmas is the determination of the dust charge. The grains are not directly accessible to measurements and it is necessary to have a reliable theoretical model of the electron and ion dynamics inside the Debye sphere for the interpretation of the relevant experimental data, which include also the effects of the surrounding electron and ion clouds. Recent computer simulations [6] and laboratory experiments [9] indicate that the plasma sheath is dominated by trapped ions, orbiting the grain on closed trajectories at distances smaller than the Debye radius, that cannot be accounted for by the classical theories. We present the first analytical, fully self-consistent, calculations of the electrostatic shielding of a charged dust grain in a collisional plasma. In the regime when the mean free path for the ion-dust collisions is larger than that for the ion-neutral collisions, we solve the kinetic equation for the ions, coupled with Boltzmann distributed electrons and Poisson's equation. The ion velocity distribution function, in the form of a spherically symmetric ion hole, is found to be anisotropic in the presence of charge-exchange collisions. The number of trapped ions and their spatial distribution are determined from the interplay between the collective plasma interaction and the collisional trapping/de-trapping. The stationary state results from the self-tuning of the trapped ion density by the feedback based on the nonlocality of the collisional integral, and on the ion mixing in the radial direction along elongated orbits. Our results confirm the existence of a strong Debye shielding of the dust charge, allowing also the over-population of the trapped ion distribution (ion hump)

Fundamental Processes in Plasmas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Driscoll, Charles Fred [Univ. of California, San Diego, CA (United States)

2017-11-03

This Final Technical Report gives brief summaries of the plasma physics results developed under DOE grant DE-SC0002451; and provides reference to the published journal articles giving full scientific descriptions. General topics include 1) cyclotron modes; 2) damping and decay of Langmuir modes; 3) 2D vortex dynamics and diocotron modes; 4) separatrix-induced transport and damping; and 5) long-range collisional velocity slowing.

International Conference on Plasma Diagnostics. Slides, papers and posters of Plasma Diagnostics 2010

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hartfuss, H.J.; Bonhomme, G.; Grisolia, C.; Hirsch, M.; Klos, Z.; Mazouffre, S.; Musielok, J.; Ratynskaya, S.; Sadowski, M.; Van de Sanden, R.; Sentis, M.; Stroth, U.; Tereshin, V.; Tichy, M.; Unterberg, B.; Weisen, H.; Zoletnik, S.

2011-01-01

Plasma diagnostics 2010 is an International Conference on Diagnostic Methods involved in Research and Applications of Plasmas, originating on combining the 5. German-Polish Conference on Plasma Diagnostics for Fusion and Applications and the 7. French-Polish Seminar on Thermal Plasma in Space and Laboratory. The Scientific Committee of 'Plasma 2007' decided to concentrate the attention of future conferences more on the diagnostic development and diagnostic interpretation in the fields of high and low temperature plasmas and plasma applications. It is aimed at involving all European activities in the fields. The Scientific Program will cover the fields from low temperature laboratory to fusion plasmas of various configurations as well as dusty and astrophysical plasmas and industrial plasma applications

High Temperature Plasmas Theory and Mathematical Tools for Laser and Fusion Plasmas

CERN Document Server

Spatschek, Karl-Heinz

2012-01-01

Filling the gap for a treatment of the subject as an advanced course in theoretical physics with a huge potential for future applications, this monograph discusses aspects of these applications and provides theoretical methods and tools for their investigation. Throughout this coherent and up-to-date work the main emphasis is on classical plasmas at high-temperatures, drawing on the experienced author's specialist background. As such, it covers the key areas of magnetic fusion plasma, laser-plasma-interaction and astrophysical plasmas, while also including nonlinear waves and phenomena.

Spectroscopic and Collisional Data for Tungsten from 1 eV to 20 keV. Summary Report of the Final Research Coordination Meeting

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chung, H.-K.; Beiersdorfer, P.; Müller, A.; Ralchenko, Yu.; Braams, B. J.

2014-12-01

The final Research Coordination Meeting of a coordinated research project (CRP) on spectroscopic and collisional data for tungsten ions in fusion plasma was held at IAEA Headquarters with 17 external experts representing 14 research groups and staff from the International Atomic Energy Agency. Participants summarized their research during the CRP and made plans for a final report. The proceedings and conclusions of the meeting are summarized here. (author)

Revisited neoclassical transport theory for steep, collisional plasma edge profiles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rogister, A.L.

1994-01-01

Published neoclassical results are misleading as concerns the plasma edge for they do not adequately take the peculiar local conditions into account, in particular the fact that the density and temperature variation length-scales are quite small. Coupled novel neoclassical equations obtain, not only for the evolution of the density and temperatures, but also for the radial electric field and the evolution of the parallel ion momentum: gyro-stresses and inertia indeed upset the otherwise de facto ambipolarity of particle transport and a radial electric field necessarily builds up. The increased nonlinear character of these revisited neoclassical equations widens the realm of possible plasma behaviors. (author)

Propagation of electromagnetic waves in a weak collisional and fully ionized dusty plasma

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jia, Jieshu; Yuan, Chengxun, E-mail: yuancx@hit.edu.cn; Gao, Ruilin; Wang, Ying; Zhou, Zhong-Xiang [Department of Physics, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001 (China); Liu, Sha; Yue, Feng [Shanghai Institute of Spaceflight Control Technology, Shanghai 200233 (China); Wu, Jian [China Research Institute of Radio wave Propagation, Beijing 102206 (China); Li, Hui [Department of Physics, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001 (China); China Research Institute of Radio wave Propagation, Beijing 102206 (China)

2016-04-15

The propagation properties of electromagnetic (EM) waves in fully ionized dusty plasmas is the subject of this study. The dielectric relationships for EM waves propagating in a fully ionized dusty plasma was derived from the Boltzmann distribution law, taking into consideration the collision and charging effects of the dust grains. The propagation properties of the EM waves in a dusty plasma were numerically calculated and studied. The study results indicated that the dusty grains with an increased radius and charge were more likely to impede the penetration of EM waves. Dust grains with large radii and high charge cause the attenuation of the EM wave in the dusty plasma. The different density of the dust in the plasma appeared to have no obvious effect on the transmission of the EM waves. The propagation of the EM waves in a weakly ionized dusty plasma varies from that in a fully ionized dusty plasma. The results are helpful to analyze the effects of dust in dusty plasmas and also provide a theoretical basis for future studies.

Propagation of electromagnetic waves in a weak collisional and fully ionized dusty plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jia, Jieshu; Yuan, Chengxun; Gao, Ruilin; Wang, Ying; Zhou, Zhong-Xiang; Liu, Sha; Yue, Feng; Wu, Jian; Li, Hui

2016-01-01

The propagation properties of electromagnetic (EM) waves in fully ionized dusty plasmas is the subject of this study. The dielectric relationships for EM waves propagating in a fully ionized dusty plasma was derived from the Boltzmann distribution law, taking into consideration the collision and charging effects of the dust grains. The propagation properties of the EM waves in a dusty plasma were numerically calculated and studied. The study results indicated that the dusty grains with an increased radius and charge were more likely to impede the penetration of EM waves. Dust grains with large radii and high charge cause the attenuation of the EM wave in the dusty plasma. The different density of the dust in the plasma appeared to have no obvious effect on the transmission of the EM waves. The propagation of the EM waves in a weakly ionized dusty plasma varies from that in a fully ionized dusty plasma. The results are helpful to analyze the effects of dust in dusty plasmas and also provide a theoretical basis for future studies.

Proceedings of the thirtieth national symposium on plasma science and technology: book of abstracts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2015-01-01

The topics covered in this symposium are: basic plasma, nuclear fusion, industrial plasma/plasma processing, space plasma and astrophysical plasma, laser plasma, exotic plasma, plasma diagnostics, computer modeling and other areas. Papers relevant to INIS are indexed separately

Wills Plasma Physics Department annual progress report 1982

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1982-01-01

Progress in the experimental program using the research tokamak TORTUS is presented. The main thrust of the program is the study of the characteristics of hydromagnetic waves in tokamak plasmas and in the use of such waves in r.f. heating. Work on runaway electron production, on wave propagation in collisional plasmas and on hydromagnetic shock wave studies is reported. Diagnostic techniques and equipment described include a laser interferometer system and techniques based on the observation of resonance fluorescence and near-resonant scattering of a laser beam from atomic species in a plasma

Parallel Transport and Profile of Boundary Plasma with a Low Recycling Wall

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tang, X.; Guo, Z., E-mail: xtang@lanl.gov [Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos (United States)

2012-09-15

Full text: Reduction of wall recycling by, for example, a flowing liquid surface at the divertor and first wall, holds the promise of accessing the distinct tokamak reactor operational mode with boundary plasmas of high temperature and low density. Earlier work has indicated that such a boundary plasma would reduce the temperature gradient across the entire plasma and hence remove the primary micro-instability drive responsibly for anomalous particle and energy transport. Here we present a systematic study solving the kinetic equations both analytically and numerically, with and without Coulomb collision. The distinct roles of magnetic field strength modulation and the ambipolar electric field on the electron and ion distribution functions are clarified. The resulting behavior on plasma profile and parallel heat flux, which are often surprising and counter the expectations from the collisional fluid models, on which previous work were based, are explained both intuitively and with a contrast between analytical calculation and numerical simulations. The transport-induced plasma instabilities, and their essential role in maintaining ambipolarity, are clarified, along with the subtle effect of Coulomb collision on electron temperature and wall potential as small but finite collisionality is taken into account. (author)

Computer models for kinetic equations of magnetically confined plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Killeen, J.; Kerbel, G.D.; McCoy, M.G.; Mirin, A.A.; Horowitz, E.J.; Shumaker, D.E.

1987-01-01

This paper presents four working computer models developed by the computational physics group of the National Magnetic Fusion Energy Computer Center. All of the models employ a kinetic description of plasma species. Three of the models are collisional, i.e., they include the solution of the Fokker-Planck equation in velocity space. The fourth model is collisionless and treats the plasma ions by a fully three-dimensional particle-in-cell method

Nuclear astrophysics of the sun

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kocharov, G.E.

1980-01-01

In the first chapter we will discuss the problem of nuclear reactions in the interior of the sun and consider the modern aspects of the neutrino astrophysics of the Sun. The second chapter is devoted to the high energy interactions in the solar atmosphere during the flares. Among a great number of events during the solar flares we shall consider mainly the nuclear reactions. Special attention will be paid to the genetic connection between the different components of solar electromagnetic and corpuscular radiation. The idea of the unity of processes in different parts of the Sun, from hot and dense interior up to the rare plasma of the solar corona will be the main line of the book. (orig./WL) 891 WL/orig.- 892 HIS

Astrophysical Hydrodynamics An Introduction

CERN Document Server

Shore, Steven N

2007-01-01

This latest edition of the proven and comprehensive treatment on the topic -- from the bestselling author of ""Tapestry of Modern Astrophysics"" -- has been updated and revised to reflect the newest research results. Suitable for AS0000 and AS0200 courses, as well as advanced astrophysics and astronomy lectures, this is an indispensable theoretical backup for studies on celestial body formation and astrophysics. Includes exercises with solutions.

Oxygen auroral transition laser system excited by collisional and photolytic energy transfer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Murray, J.R.; Powell, H.T.; Rhodes, C.K.

1975-06-01

The properties of laser media involving the auroral transition of atomic oxygen and analogous systems are examined. A discussion of the atomic properties, collisional mechanisms, excitation processes, and collisionally induced radiative phenomena is given. Crossing phenomena play a particularly important role in governing the dynamics of the medium

The physics of collective neutrino-plasma interactions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shukla, P.K.; Silva, L.O.; Dawson, J.M.; Bethe, H.; Bingham, R.; Stenflo, L.; Mendonca, J.T.; Dalhed, S.

1999-01-01

A review of recent work on collective neutrino-plasma interactions is presented. The basic physical concepts of this new field as well as some possible astrophysical problems where the physics of collective neutrino-plasma interactions can have a radical impact, are discussed. (author)

Optical diagnostics of atmospheric pressure air plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Laux, C O; Spence, T G; Kruger, C H; Zare, R N

2003-01-01

Atmospheric pressure air plasmas are often thought to be in local thermodynamic equilibrium owing to fast interspecies collisional exchange at high pressure. This assumption cannot be relied upon, particularly with respect to optical diagnostics. Velocity gradients in flowing plasmas and/or elevated electron temperatures created by electrical discharges can result in large departures from chemical and thermal equilibrium. This paper reviews diagnostic techniques based on optical emission spectroscopy and cavity ring-down spectroscopy that we have found useful for making temperature and concentration measurements in atmospheric pressure plasmas under conditions ranging from thermal and chemical equilibrium to thermochemical nonequilibrium

Study of a continuous plasma generated by electron bombardment and its mixing with a laser induced plasma. Influence of collisions on resonance cone phenomenon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Besuelle, E.

1997-01-01

This thesis deals with three different fields of plasma physics. In the first part, we studied free expansion of an ionised uranium vapour generated in an electron beam evaporator. The electron temperature and the electron density of the expanding plasma have been measured by a Langmuir probe. The experimental results have been compared with the ones obtained by numerical simulation using a fluid code. The calculated points are in the error bars. We observe that there are two electron populations with different temperatures, which undergo a mixing during the plasma expansion. The neutral density influence on the electron temperature by collisional relaxation is also studied. The second part deals with a plasma diagnostic which can replace Langmuir probe in the case of a cold magnetized plasma: the resonance cone phenomenon. After recalling the wave propagation theory in a cold plasma, we introduce a new calculation of the potential radiated by an antenna in a collisional magnetized plasma. The domain where the resonance cone exists in considerably reduced because of collisions. More of that, the cone angle is reduced by this phenomenon too. The experiments performed show that we must take into account a wave turbulence phenomenon to explain the High collision frequency that we observe. The third part is about the study of the expansion of a plasma into another one. We solve this problem with fluid codes and Particle-In-Cell (PIC) code. THe electron families have a counter stream motion locally. Then, we study the electrostatic extraction of two plasmas-one pulsed, one continuous-in which we observe electron unfurling. (author)

Indirect techniques in nuclear astrophysics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mukhamedzhanov, A.M.; Tribble, R.E.; Blokhintsev, L.D.; Cherubini, S.; Spitaleri, C.; Kroha, V.; Nunes, F.M.

2005-01-01

It is very difficult or often impossible to measure in the lab conditions nuclear cross sections at astrophysically relevant energies. That is why different indirect techniques are used to extract astrophysical information. In this talk different experimental possibilities to get astrophysical information using radioactive and stable beams will be addressed. 1. The asymptotic normalization coefficient (ANC) method. 2. Radiative neutron captures are determined by the spectroscopic factors (SP). A new experimental technique to determine the neutron SPs will be addressed. 3. 'Trojan Horse' is another unique indirect method, which allows one to extract the astrophysical factors for direct and resonant nuclear reactions at astrophysically relevant energies. (author)

COLLISIONALLY BORN FAMILY ABOUT 87 SYLVIA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vokrouhlicky, David; Nesvorny, David; Bottke, William F.; Morbidelli, Alessandro

2010-01-01

There are currently more than 1000 multi-opposition objects known in the Cybele population, adjacent and exterior to the asteroid main belt, allowing a more detailed analysis than was previously possible. Searching for collisionally born clusters in this population, we find only one statistically robust case: a family of objects about (87) Sylvia. We use a numerical model to simulate the Sylvia family long-term evolution due to gravitational attraction from planets and thermal (Yarkovsky) effects and to explain its perturbed structure in the orbital element space. This allows us to conclude that the Sylvia family must be at least several hundreds of million years old, in agreement with evolutionary timescales of Sylvia's satellite system. We find it interesting that other large Cybele-zone asteroids with known satellites-(107) Camilla and (121) Hermione-do not have detectable families of collisional fragments about them (this is because we assume that binaries with large primary and small secondary components are necessarily impact generated). Our numerical simulations of synthetic clusters about these asteroids show they would suffer a substantial dynamical depletion by a combined effect of diffusion in numerous weak mean-motion resonances and Yarkovsky forces provided their age is close to ∼4 billion years. However, we also believe that a complete effacement of these two families requires an additional component, very likely due to resonance sweeping or other perturbing effects associated with the late Jupiter's inward migration. We thus propose that both Camilla and Hermione originally had their collisional families, as in the Sylvia case, but they lost them in an evolution that lasted a billion years. Their satellites are the only witnesses of these effaced families.

Nuclear astrophysics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Haxton, W.C.

1992-01-01

The problem of core-collapse supernovae is used to illustrate the many connections between nuclear astrophysics and the problems nuclear physicists study in terrestrial laboratories. Efforts to better understand the collapse and mantle ejection are also motivated by a variety of interdisciplinary issues in nuclear, particle, and astrophysics, including galactic chemical evolution, neutrino masses and mixing, and stellar cooling by the emission of new particles. The current status of theory and observations is summarized

Using Three-Body Recombination to Extract Electron Temperatures of Ultracold Plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fletcher, R. S.; Zhang, X. L.; Rolston, S. L.

2007-01-01

Three-body recombination, an important collisional process in plasmas, increases dramatically at low electron temperatures, with an accepted scaling of T e -9/2 . We measure three-body recombination in an ultracold neutral xenon plasma by detecting recombination-created Rydberg atoms using a microwave-ionization technique. With the accepted theory (expected to be applicable for weakly coupled plasmas) and our measured rates, we extract the plasma temperatures, which are in reasonable agreement with previous measurements early in the plasma lifetime. The resulting electron temperatures indicate that the plasma continues to cool to temperatures below 1 K

The Plasma Archipelago: Plasma Physics in the 1960s

Science.gov (United States)

Weisel, Gary J.

2017-09-01

With the foundation of the Division of Plasma Physics of the American Physical Society in April 1959, plasma physics was presented as the general study of ionized gases. This paper investigates the degree to which plasma physics, during its first decade, established a community of interrelated specialties, one that brought together work in gaseous electronics, astrophysics, controlled thermonuclear fusion, space science, and aerospace engineering. It finds that, in some regards, the plasma community was indeed greater than the sum of its parts and that its larger identity was sometimes glimpsed in inter-specialty work and studies of fundamental plasma behaviors. Nevertheless, the plasma specialties usually worked separately for two inter-related reasons: prejudices about what constituted "basic physics," both in the general physics community and within the plasma community itself; and a compartmentalized funding structure, in which each funding agency served different missions.

Fluctuations in collisional plasma in the presence of an external electric field

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Momot, A. I.; Zagorodny, A. G.

2011-01-01

The theory of large-scale fluctuations in a plasma is used to calculate the correlations functions of electron and ion density with regard to particle collisions described within the Bhatnagar-Gross-Krook (BGK) model and the presence of a constant external electric field. The changes of plasma particle distribution functions due to an external electric field and their influence on the plasma dielectric response are taken into account. The dispersion relations for longitudinal waves in such a plasma are studied in details. It is shown that external electric field can lead to the ion-acoustic wave instability and anomalous growth of the fluctuation level. Detailed numerical studies of the general relations for electron number density fluctuations are performed and the effect of external electric field on the fluctuation spectra is studied.

Optogalvanic monitoring of collisional transfer of laser excitation energy in a neon RF plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Armstrong, T.D.

1994-01-01

The optogalvanic signals produced by pulsed laser excitation of 1s5--2p8 and 1s5-2p9 (Paschen notation) transition by a ∼29 MHz radiofrequency (rf) discharge at ∼5 torr have been investigated. The optogalvanic signal produced by 1s5-2p9 excitations indicates that there is transfer of energy from the 2p9 state to some other state. The state to which this energy is transferred is believed to be mainly the 2p8 state because of the very small energy gap between the 2p9 and 2p8 states. To verify this transfer, the 1s5-2p8 transition was investigated. The similarity of the temporal profiles of the optogalvanic signals in both excitations confirms the collisional transfer of laser excitation energy from 2p9 to 2p8

The collective emission of electromagnetic waves from astrophysical jets - Luminosity gaps, BL Lacertae objects, and efficient energy transport

Science.gov (United States)

Baker, D. N.; Borovsky, Joseph E.; Benford, Gregory; Eilek, Jean A.

1988-01-01

A model of the inner portions of astrophysical jets is constructed in which a relativistic electron beam is injected from the central engine into the jet plasma. This beam drives electrostatic plasma wave turbulence, which leads to the collective emission of electromagnetic waves. The emitted waves are beamed in the direction of the jet axis, so that end-on viewing of the jet yields an extremely bright source (BL Lacertae object). The relativistic electron beam may also drive long-wavelength electromagnetic plasma instabilities (firehose and Kelvin-Helmholtz) that jumble the jet magnetic field lines. After a sufficient distance from the core source, these instabilities will cause the beamed emission to point in random directions and the jet emission can then be observed from any direction relative to the jet axis. This combination of effects may lead to the gap turn-on of astrophysical jets. The collective emission model leads to different estimates for energy transport and the interpretation of radio spectra than the conventional incoherent synchrotron theory.

Spectroscopic and Collisional Data for Tungsten from 1 eV to 20 keV. Summary Report of the First Research Coordination Meeting

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Braams, B.J.; Chung, H.-K.

2012-06-01

Experts representing 14 research groups and the International Atomic Energy Agency met at IAEA Headquarters for the first research coordination meeting of a coordinated research project (CRP) on spectroscopic and collisional data for tungsten ions in fusion plasma. Participants presented their research following which a work plan was developed for the remainder of the CRP and outstanding data needs were identified. The proceedings and conclusions of the meeting are summarized here. (author)

Density dependence of line intensities and application to plasma diagnostics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Masai, Kuniaki.

1993-02-01

Electron density dependence of spectral lines are discussed in view of application to density diagnostics of plasmas. The dependence arises from competitive level population processes, radiative and collisional transitions from the excited states. Results of the measurement on tokamak plasmas are presented to demonstrate the usefulness of line intensity ratios for density diagnostics. Also general characteristics related to density dependence are discussed with atomic-number scaling for H-like and He-like systems to be helpful for application to higher density plasmas. (author)

Study of a continuous plasma generated by electron bombardment and its mixing with a laser induced plasma. Influence of collisions on resonance cone phenomenon; Contribution a l`etude d`un plasma cree de facon continue par bombardement electronique et de son melange avec un photo-plasma pulse. Influence des collisions sur les cones de resonance

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Besuelle, E.

1997-02-25

This thesis deals with three different fields of plasma physics. In the first part, we studied free expansion of an ionised uranium vapour generated in an electron beam evaporator. The electron temperature and the electron density of the expanding plasma have been measured by a Langmuir probe. The experimental results have been compared with the ones obtained by numerical simulation using a fluid code. The calculated points are in the error bars. We observe that there are two electron populations with different temperatures, which undergo a mixing during the plasma expansion. The neutral density influence on the electron temperature by collisional relaxation is also studied. The second part deals with a plasma diagnostic which can replace Langmuir probe in the case of a cold magnetized plasma: the resonance cone phenomenon. After recalling the wave propagation theory in a cold plasma, we introduce a new calculation of the potential radiated by an antenna in a collisional magnetized plasma. The domain where the resonance cone exists in considerably reduced because of collisions. More of that, the cone angle is reduced by this phenomenon too. The experiments performed show that we must take into account a wave turbulence phenomenon to explain the High collision frequency that we observe. The third part is about the study of the expansion of a plasma into another one. We solve this problem with fluid codes and Particle-In-Cell (PIC) code. THe electron families have a counter stream motion locally. Then, we study the electrostatic extraction of two plasmas-one pulsed, one continuous-in which we observe electron unfurling. (author).