Multi-Scale Plasma Turbulence in the Diffuse Interstellar Medium

I discuss how radioastronomical observations can provide information on the turbulence that governs the propagation of cosmic rays in the Galaxy. Interstellar radio wave propagation effects, collectively referred to as interstellar scintillations, yield information on the spatial power spectra of fluctuations in plasma density and magnetic field. Results of relevance to cosmic-ray physics are the existence of interstellar turbulence over a wide range of spatial scales (which can thus interact with a wide range of cosmic ray energies), the detection of magnetic field fluctuations in association with this turbulence, and a change in the nature of the turbulence on spatial scales of about 3.5 parsecs. A number of mysteries remain, such as the apparent suppression of Fast Magnetosonic wave generation by the interstellar turbulence.     

湍流等离子体尾迹雷达散射截面的计算及其影响因素分析

针对一阶畸变波Born近似模型,深入分析了湍流内外尺度和电子数密度脉动值对雷达散射截面的影响,并且给出了关于湍流外尺度的一个经验的,能被工程上较好使用的公式.在以上分析的基础上,计算了几种高程条件下再入小钝头锥体等离子尾迹的雷达散射截面,与已有实验结果进行了对比分析.分析和计算结果表明,湍流的外尺度和局部电子数密度值对雷达散射截面值影响较大;湍流内尺度变化的影响不大.     

Solar Wind Turbulence and the Role of Ion Instabilities

Solar wind is probably the best laboratory to study turbulence in astrophysical plasmas. In addition to the presence of magnetic field, the differences with neutral fluid isotropic turbulence are: (i) weakness of collisional dissipation and (ii) presence of several characteristic space and time scales. In this paper we discuss observational properties of solar wind turbulence in a large range from the MHD to the electron scales. At MHD scales, within the inertial range, turbulence cascade of magnetic fluctuations develops mostly in the plane perpendicular to the mean field, with the Kolmogorov scaling $k_{\perp}^{-5/3}$ for the perpendicular cascade and $k_{\|}^{-2}$ for the parallel one. Solar wind turbulence is compressible in nature: density fluctuations at MHD scales have the Kolmogorov spectrum. Velocity fluctuations do not follow magnetic field ones: their spectrum is a power-law with a ?3/2 spectral index. Probability distribution functions of different plasma parameters are not Gaussian, indicating presence of intermittency. At the moment there is no global model taking into account all these observed properties of the inertial range. At ion scales, turbulent spectra have a break, compressibility increases and the density fluctuation spectrum has a local flattening. Around ion scales, magnetic spectra are variable and ion instabilities occur as a function of the local plasma parameters. Between ion and electron scales, a small scale turbulent cascade seems to be established. It is characterized by a well defined power-law spectrum in magnetic and density fluctuations with a spectral index close to ?2.8. Approaching electron scales, the fluctuations are no more self-similar: an exponential cut-off is usually observed (for time intervals without quasi-parallel whistlers) indicating an onset of dissipation. The small scale inertial range between ion and electron scales and the electron dissipation range can be together described by $\sim k_{\perp}^{-\alpha}\exp(-k_{\perp}\ell_{d})$ , with α?8/3 and the dissipation scale ? _d close to the electron Larmor radius ? _d ?ρ _e . The nature of this small scale cascade and a possible dissipation mechanism are still under debate.     

Plasma Diagnostics of the Interstellar Medium with Radio Astronomy

We discuss the degree to which radio propagation measurements diagnose conditions in the ionized gas of the interstellar medium (ISM). The “signal generators” of the radio waves of interest are extragalactic radio sources (quasars and radio galaxies), as well as Galactic sources, primarily pulsars. The polarized synchrotron radiation of the Galactic non-thermal radiation also serves to probe the ISM, including space between the emitting regions and the solar system. Radio propagation measurements provide unique information on turbulence in the ISM as well as the mean plasma properties such as density and magnetic field strength. Radio propagation observations can provide input to the major contemporary questions on the nature of ISM turbulence, such as its dissipation mechanisms and the processes responsible for generating the turbulence on large spatial scales. Measurements of the large scale Galactic magnetic field via Faraday rotation provide unique observational input to theories of the generation of the Galactic field.     

关于电磁频谱作战的思考

电磁频谱作战能力是打赢未来体系化战争的必要能力,是实现战争信息化与智能化的核心基础。随着作战域维度的不断增加,通过掌控电磁频谱以获得战场信息主动权,实现跨作战域高维度的协同与融合是掌控战争的终极制胜目标。通过回顾电磁域对抗演变的全过程,分析掌控电磁频谱能力的必要性,并从低-零功率电磁频谱战、电磁机动作战、制电磁权与制信息权、电子对抗系统技术等方面阐述电磁频谱作战所面临的挑战与发展需求,最后在组织管理、理论研究、关键技术、评估验证等方面提出加强电磁频谱作战能力的发展建议。     

Magnetic Turbulence in the Geospace Environment

Magnetic turbulence is found in most space plasmas, including the Earth’s magnetosphere, and the interaction region between the magnetosphere and the solar wind. Recent spacecraft observations of magnetic turbulence in the ion foreshock, in the magnetosheath, in the polar cusp regions, in the magnetotail, and in the high latitude ionosphere are reviewed. It is found that: 1. A large share of magnetic turbulence in the geospace environment is generated locally, as due for instance to the reflected ion beams in the ion foreshock, to temperature anisotropy in the magnetosheath and the polar cusp regions, to velocity shear in the magnetosheath and magnetotail, and to magnetic reconnection at the magnetopause and in the magnetotail. 2. Spectral indices close to the Kolmogorov value can be recovered for low frequency turbulence when long enough intervals at relatively constant flow speed are analyzed in the magnetotail, or when fluctuations in the magnetosheath are considered far downstream from the bow shock. 3. For high frequency turbulence, a spectral index α?2.3 or larger is observed in most geospace regions, in agreement with what is observed in the solar wind. 4. More studies are needed to gain an understanding of turbulence dissipation in the geospace environment, also keeping in mind that the strong temperature anisotropies which are observed show that wave particle interactions can be a source of wave emission rather than of turbulence dissipation. 5. Several spacecraft observations show the existence of vortices in the magnetosheath, on the magnetopause, in the magnetotail, and in the ionosphere, so that they may have a primary role in the turbulent injection and evolution. The influence of such a turbulence on the plasma transport, dynamics, and energization will be described, also using the results of numerical simulations.     

A Review of Low Frequency Electromagnetic Wave Phenomena Related to Tropospheric-Ionospheric Coupling Mechanisms

Investigation of coupling mechanisms between the troposphere and the ionosphere requires a multidisciplinary approach involving several branches of atmospheric sciences, from meteorology, atmospheric chemistry, and fulminology to aeronomy, plasma physics, and space weather. In this work, we review low frequency electromagnetic wave observations in the Earth-ionosphere cavity from a troposphere-ionosphere coupling perspective. We discuss electromagnetic wave generation, propagation, and resonance phenomena, considering atmospheric, ionospheric and magnetospheric sources, from lightning and transient luminous events at low altitude to Alfvén waves and particle precipitation related to solar and magnetospheric processes. We review ionospheric processes as well as surface and space weather phenomena that drive the coupling between the troposphere and the ionosphere. Effects of aerosols, water vapor distribution, thermodynamic parameters, and cloud charge separation and electrification processes on atmospheric electricity and electromagnetic waves are reviewed. Regarding the role of the lower boundary of the cavity, we review transient surface phenomena, including seismic activity, earthquakes, volcanic processes and dust electrification. The role of surface perturbations and atmospheric gravity waves in ionospheric dynamics is also briefly addressed. We summarize analytical and numerical tools and techniques to model low frequency electromagnetic wave propagation and to solve inverse problems and outline in a final section a few challenging subjects that are important to advance our understanding of tropospheric-ionospheric coupling.     

磁流体湍流中的结构和能量传输

磁流体湍流中存在多种相干结构,包括电流和涡旋结构。文章主要对近几年有关磁流体湍流相干结构及其相关的能量传输的一些工作进行了介绍。不同于中性流体湍流中的管状结构,磁流体中的相干结构多呈现为片状,强电流片附近也存在强涡片结构。磁流体湍流中的能量级串使能量跨尺度从大尺度传递至小尺度;与中性流体湍流能量传输主要集中在相近尺度上不同,磁流体湍流除了动能传输,还有磁能传输,以及动能与磁能之间的跨尺度互相转换。研究表明,磁流体湍流中的能量传输及耗散具有强间歇性,集中在较小区域范围,且与相干结构存在关联。在存在背景磁场的情况下,磁流体湍流中的相干结构在背景磁场方向上被拉长,而同样方向上的能量传输受到抑制。在高马赫数的情况下,激波的产生会使能量传输明显增强,同时带来很强的间歇性,结构函数标度律远远偏离线性标度关系,并且随着阶数的增加,标度指数会达到饱和值。     

Electrodynamic coupling of the magnetosphere and ionosphere

The auroral zone ionosphere is coupled to the outer magnetosphere by means of field-aligned currents. Parallel electric fields associated with these currents are now widely accepted to be responsible for the acceleration of auroral particles. This paper will review the theoretical concepts and models describing this coupling. The dynamics of auroral zone particles will be described, beginning with the adiabatic motions of particles in the converging geomagnetic field in the presence of parallel potential drops and then considering the modifications to these adiabatic trajectories due to wave-particle interactions. The formation of parallel electric fields can be viewed both from microscopic and macroscopic viewpoints. The presence of a current carrying plasma can give rise to plasma instabilities which in a weakly turbulent situation can affect the particle motions, giving rise to an effective resistivity in the plasma. Recent satellite observations, however, indicate that the parallel electric field is organized into discrete potential jumps, known as double layers. From a macroscopic viewpoint, the response of the particles to a parallel potential drop leads to an approximately linear relationship between the current density and the potential drop.The currents flowing in the auroral circuit must close in the ionosphere. To a first approximation, the ionospheric conductivity can be considered to be constant, and in this case combining the ionospheric Ohm's Law with the linear current-voltage relation for parallel currents leads to an outer scale length, above which electric fields can map down to the ionosphere and below which parallel electric fields become important. The effects of particle precipitation make the picture more complex, leading to enhanced ionization in upward current regions and to the possibility of feedback interactions with the magnetosphere.Determining adiabatic particle orbits in steady-state electric and magnetic fields can be used to determine the self-consistent particle and field distributions on auroral field lines. However, it is difficult to pursue this approach when the fields are varying with time. Magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) models deal with these time-dependent situations by treating the particles as a fluid. This class of model, however, cannot treat kinetic effects in detail. Such effects can in some cases be modeled by effective transport coefficients inserted into the MHD equations. Intrinsically time-dependent processes such as the development of magnetic micropulsations and the response of the magnetosphere to ionospheric fluctuations can be readily treated in this framework.The response of the lower altitude auroral zone depends in part on how the system is driven. Currents are generated in the outer parts of the magnetosphere as a result of the plasma convection. The dynamics of this region is in turn affected by the coupling to the ionosphere. Since dissipation rates are very low in the outer magnetosphere, the convection may become turbulent, implying that nonlinear effects such as spectral transfer of energy to different scales become important. MHD turbulence theory, modified by the ionospheric coupling, can describe the dynamics of the boundary-layer region. Turbulent MHD fluids can give rise to the generation of field-aligned currents through the so-called -effect, which is utilized in the theory of the generation of the Earth's magnetic field. It is suggested that similar processes acting in the boundary-layer plasma may be ultimately responsible for the generation of auroral currents.     

The Multi-Needle Langmuir Probe System on Board NorSat-1

On July 14th, 2017, the first Norwegian scientific satellite NorSat-1 was launched into a high-inclination (98^°), low-Earth orbit (600 km altitude) from Baikonur, Kazakhstan. As part of the payload package, NorSat-1 carries the multi-needle Langmuir probe (m-NLP) instrument which is capable of sampling the electron density at a rate up to 1 kHz, thus offering an unprecedented opportunity to continuously resolve ionospheric plasma density structures down to a few meters. Over the coming years, NorSat-1 will cross the equatorial and polar regions twice every 90 minutes, providing a wealth of data that will help to better understand the mechanisms that dissipate energy input from larger spatial scales by creating small-scale plasma density structures within the ionosphere. In this paper we describe the m-NLP system on board NorSat-1 and present some first results from the instrument commissioning phase. We show that the m-NLP instrument performs as expected and highlight its unique capabilities at resolving small-scale ionospheric plasma density structures.     

The Galileo Plasma wave investigation

The purpose of the Galileo plasma wave investigation is to study plasma waves and radio emissions in the magnetosphere of Jupiter. The plasma wave instrument uses an electric dipole antenna to detect electric fields, and two search coil magnetic antennas to detect magnetic fields. The frequency range covered is 5 Hz to 5.6 MHz for electric fields and 5 Hz to 160 kHz for magnetic fields. Low time-resolution survey spectrums are provided by three on-board spectrum analyzers. In the normal mode of operation the frequency resolution is about 10%, and the time resolution for a complete set of electric and magnetic field measurements is 37.33 s. High time-resolution spectrums are provided by a wideband receiver. The wideband receiver provides waveform measurements over bandwidths of 1, 10, and 80 kHz. These measurements can be either transmitted to the ground in real time, or stored on the spacecraft tape recorder. On the ground the waveforms are Fourier transformed and displayed as frequency-time spectrogams. Compared to previous measurements at Jupiter this instrument has several new capabilities. These new capabilities include (1) both electric and magnetic field measurements to distinguish electrostatic and electromagnetic waves, (2) direction finding measurements to determine source locations, and (3) increased bandwidth for the wideband measurements.Deceased     

高空低气压下电晕放电电磁脉冲辐射特性模拟实验

为研究高空低气压下飞行器表面电晕放电电磁脉冲辐射特性,以尖端导体电晕放电为研究对象,进行了低气压下电晕放电电磁脉冲辐射特性模拟实验,给出了辐射电场幅值与气压的关系表达式,并基于气体放电和电磁场理论总结了电晕放电电磁脉冲辐射特性随电压极性、气压以及测试距离的变化规律。结果表明:电晕放电电磁脉冲辐射电场时域波形呈衰减振荡形式,持续时间约为600 ns,首脉冲方向随电压极性的不同而不同,且辐射电场分量主要集中在与放电针相同的极化方向;辐射电场频谱主要分布在500 MHz以内,在35 MHz和170 MHz处出现稳定的波峰;在气压为4~30 kPa范围内,随着气压的降低,放电电磁脉冲辐射电场增强;随着测试距离的增加,电晕放电电磁脉冲辐射电场逐渐衰减。该研究结论可为低气压下飞行器电晕放电电磁脉冲辐射特性研究提供有益参考。     

Elimination of electromagnetic radiation in plasma simulation: The Darwin or magneto inductive approximation

For many astrophysical and magnetic fusion applications, the purely electromagnetic modes generated by real as well as simulation “plasma” fluctuations are a source of high frequency radiation that is often irrelevant to the physics of interest. Unfortunately, a numerical CFL stability limit prevents either making c infinite or Δt large while using the usual explicit Maxwell's equations for the fields. A modification of Maxwell's equations, which provides implicitly the field components, circumvents this problem. The solution is to neglect retardation effects so that the electromagnetic propagation speed is effectively infinite. The purely electromagnetic modes in this limit evolve “instantly” to a time-asymptotic configuration about the macroscopic plasma configuration at each new time level. The Darwin or magnetoinduetive approximation effectively provides infinite propagation speeds for purely electromagnetic modes by converting Maxwell's equations from hyperbolic to elliptic in character. In practice, this is accomplished by neglecting the solenoidal part of the displacement current. The elimination of the CFL time step constraint more than offsets the substantially more complicated field solution that is required. The details of a numerical implementation of this model will be presented. Numerical examples will be given and extentions of the Darwin field solution to other plasma models also will be considered. This work was performed under the auspices of the U. S. Department of Energy by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under Contract No. W-7405-Eng-48.     

Microwave spectrum analysis as solar energy release diagnostics

The possibilities of using spectrographic observations of microwave radio emission as a solar flare plasma diagnostic are discussed. The spectral fine structure of the emission is interpreted in the context of plasma emission mechanisms. The balance equations for particles and plasma turbulence together with the transfer equations for electromagnetic waves in a plasma are solved for a model containing a diverging magnetic loop. As a result of the analysis of the blip-type spectral feature, the structure of energy release region and the unperturbed plasma concentration in the preflare loop are evaluated. The number of accelerated electrons and the intensity of the plasma turbulence in the source region are estimated using the properties of the weak continuum emission following the blip. Based on the degree of circular polarization of both the narrow band and the continuum emission, estimates for the external magnetic field strength and the angular width of the radiating plasma turbulence have been obtained.     

弓网电弧辐射特性及对机场下滑信标的影响

为获得弓网电弧辐射特性及从理论上分析其对机场下滑信标的影响。选择典型电气化动车线路,首先基于CISPR16-1标准,利用电磁干扰接收机对电分相和普通点处的弓网电弧电磁辐射进行点频测试,获得了其在下滑信标台频谱内的辐射特性,然后基于电波传播理论,以电气化轨道平行跑道为例,分析了弓网电弧电磁辐射对飞机导航的影响。结果表明：电弧电磁辐射具有一定的随机特性,普通点处产生的电磁辐射场强小于电分相处;普通点的电磁辐射不会对飞机的导航产生干扰;当轨道距跑道中心的距离分别为700、120和60 m时,电分相拉弧点距下滑信标台天线的距离应分别小于3 291、546和249 m时才不会对飞机的导航产生干扰。本结果能够为轨道电气化和民用航空这两大工业体系在机场区域的电磁兼容性设计提供依据。     

用于飞行器的强电离放电非平衡等离子体隐身方法研究

着重研究了等离子体临界电子密度、电子等离子体频率等参数对电磁波的折射、吸收、反射的影响。在此基础上,采用了强电场电离放电方法,在放电间隙内产生高密度、高能量的电子,它足以电离氮、氧等气体,在飞行器表面形成具有一定梯度的高密度等离子体层,能够吸收、折射电磁波,衰减雷达散射面积达千余倍。该等离子体器件是一个很薄的组合件,仅有百余克重,可贴附在电磁波强散射部位和进气道壁上。此方法具有吸收频带宽、吸收率高等特点,有望成为机载微型等离子体产生器件。     

VLF electromagnetic waves observed onboard GEOS-1

This paper is concerned mainly with the information which can be extracted from frequency-time spectra in the VLF range. The instrument used is the correlator which has a good frequency resolution (50 Hz) and time resolution (30 ms) in one magnetic and one electric component simultaneously. By suitable computer analysis, it is possible for instance to distinguish between the two dominant electromagnetic emissions, hiss and chorus, as well as to display the complete spectra. This treatment is applied to the Survey periods, which are a fixed sequence of modes, repeated every hour on the hour in order to have reference data from GEOS analogous to many ground-based observatories. One result of this treatment obtained already is that hiss and chorus normally appear together, although one or the other may be dominating in intensity. The occurrence rate of these emissions in local time is also given.For continuous surveillance the filterbank data are used. There are 16 frequency filters supplying magnetic and electric amplitude at few different frequencies. Using these data, a storm sudden commencement can be followed with good time resolution (1 s), and an interesting correlation has been found in a few cases between the VLF signal amplitude and the cold plasma density (as measured by the active part of the S-300 experiment).     

The Radio Plasma Imager investigation on the IMAGE spacecraft

Radio plasma imaging uses total reflection of electromagnetic waves from plasmas whose plasma frequencies equal the radio sounding frequency and whose electron density gradients are parallel to the wave normals. The Radio Plasma Imager (RPI) has two orthogonal 500-m long dipole antennas in the spin plane for near omni-directional transmission. The third antenna is a 20-m dipole along the spin axis. Echoes from the magnetopause, plasmasphere and cusp will be received with the three orthogonal antennas, allowing the determination of their angle-of-arrival. Thus it will be possible to create image fragments of the reflecting density structures. The instrument can execute a large variety of programmable measuring options at frequencies between 3 kHz and 3 MHz. Tuning of the transmit antennas provides optimum power transfer from the 10 W transmitter to the antennas. The instrument can operate in three active sounding modes: (1) remote sounding to probe magnetospheric boundaries, (2) local (relaxation) sounding to probe the local plasma frequency and scalar magnetic field, and (3) whistler stimulation sounding. In addition, there is a passive mode to record natural emissions, and to determine the local electron density, the scalar magnetic field, and temperature by using a thermal noise spectroscopy technique.     

Notes on Magnetohydrodynamics of Magnetic Reconnection in Turbulent Media

Astrophysical fluids have very large Reynolds numbers and therefore turbulence is their natural state. Magnetic reconnection is an important process in many astrophysical plasmas, which allows restructuring of magnetic fields and conversion of stored magnetic energy into heat and kinetic energy. Turbulence is known to dramatically change different transport processes and therefore it is not unexpected that turbulence can alter the dynamics of magnetic field lines within the reconnection process. We shall review the interaction between turbulence and reconnection at different scales, showing how a state of turbulent reconnection is natural in astrophysical plasmas, with implications for a range of phenomena across astrophysics. We consider the process of magnetic reconnection that is fast in magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) limit and discuss how turbulence—both externally driven and generated in the reconnecting system—can make reconnection independent on the microphysical properties of plasmas. We will also show how relaxation theory can be used to calculate the energy dissipated in turbulent reconnecting fields. As well as heating the plasma, the energy dissipated by turbulent reconnection may cause acceleration of non-thermal particles, which is briefly discussed here.     

Schumann Resonances as a Means of Investigating the Electromagnetic Environment in the Solar System

The propagation of extremely low frequency (ELF, 3 Hz to 3 kHz) radio waves and resonant phenomena in the spherical Earth-ionosphere cavity has been studied for almost fifty years. When such a cavity is excited by naturally occurring broadband electromagnetic radiation, resonances can develop if the equatorial circumference is approximately equal to an integral number of wavelengths of the propagating electromagnetic waves; these are termed Schumann resonances. They provide information not only about thunderstorm and lightning activity on the Earth, and their relation to climate, but also on the properties of the low ionosphere. Similar investigations can be performed for any other planet or satellite, provided that it has an ionosphere. There are important differences between the Earth and other celestial bodies regarding, for example, the surface conductivity, the atmospheric conductivity profile, the geometry of the ionospheric cavity, and the sources of excitation. To a first approximation, the size of the cavity defines the fundamental resonant frequency, the atmospheric electron density profile controls the wave attenuation, the nature of the sources influences the electromagnetic field distribution in the cavity, and the body surface conductivity indicates to what extent the subsurface can be explored. The frequencies and attenuation rates of the principal eigenmodes depend upon the electrical properties of the cavity. Instruments that monitor the electromagnetic environment in the ELF range on the surface, on balloons, or on descent probes provide unique information on the cavity. In this paper, we present Schumann resonance models for selected inner planets, some gaseous giant planets and a few of their satellites. We review the crucial parameters of ELF electromagnetic waves in their atmospheric cavities, namely the electric and magnetic field spectra, their eigenfrequencies, and the associated Q-factors (damping factors). Then we present important information on theoretical developments, on a general model that uses the finite element method and on the parameterization of the cavity. Next we show the distinctiveness of each planetary environment, and discuss how ELF radio wave propagation can contribute to an assessment of the major characteristics of those planetary environments.