离子迴旋波的参量激发

本文分析了极光区上空以低混杂波作为泵波激发静电离子迴旋波的可能性,并计算了增长率。结果表明,当泵波较强时(峰值100mV/m)增长率可达0.5ω_ci,大于电流驱动不稳定性及离子束流不稳定性等线性理论所可能期待的增长率。从而在某些情况下,离子迥旋波的这种参量激发可能是主要的。      

离子温度对磁化等离子体中非线性静电波的影响

本文讨论了无碰撞磁化低β等离子体中离子温度对非线性静电波的影响。结果表明,在参量α≡T_i/T_e≠0条件下,存在着三种非线性静电波(T_i和T_e分别为离子和电子的热能):在波速ν_p>(1+α)(1/2)c_s情况下存在着非线性离子回旋周期波;在(1+α)(1/2)c_scosθp<(1+α)(1/2)c_s情况下存在着离子声孤立波;在v_p<(1+α)(1/2)c_scosθ情况下存在着非线性离子声周期波。当参量α增加时,孤立波的波幅(最大电位)减小,而另外两种非线性周期波的电位幅度都几乎保持不变。      

中等相对论性电子环-束引起的束迴旋不稳定性

本文研究了在电子等离子体频率ω_e远大于电子迴旋频率Ω_e的等离子体内,由中等相对论性电子环-束激发的高频(ω≥ω_e)束迴旋不稳定性。结果表明,高能电子束迴旋模在N2cos2θ<1和N2cos2θ>1范围内都是不稳定的,在N2cos2θ=1时是稳定的,这里N为折射指数,θ为传播角。当束迴旋模频率近乎等于冷背景等离子体本征模频率之一(ω≈ω_e)时增长率最大。文中介绍和讨论了色散方程的数值计算结果。      

在静电离子迴旋波中电子分布的演化及不稳定性分析

静电离子迴旋波可以导致异常电阻及平行电场的出现.本文分析了电子分布函数在这种波场及平行电场中的演化.结果表明, 电子分布可分成捕获和逃逸两部分.双流不稳定性的发展使逃逸部分变平, 形成具有长而平的尾巴的分布函数.后者在一定速度空间范围内对异常迴旋共振是不稳定的, 结果导致电子的热化和投掷角扩散, 使电子损失掉平行方向的能量, 形成尾部隆起的分布特征, 导致新的不稳定性的出现, 使隆起的部分基本拉平.此后虽然有少部分电子仍可能被加速, 但要慢得多, 且边加速边被热化.      

相对论电子束的哨声不稳定性

本文根据相对论粒子与电磁波的共振特性, 讨论了相对论电子束的反常迴旋共振产生的哨声不稳定性.满足共振条件的粒子在动量空间位于一组双曲线上.对于具有损失锥分布的相对论电子束, 相对论效应的共振特性提高了哨声不稳定性的阈值, 对ω～0.5Ω_e频段的哨声影响最大.这种作用在背景参数ω_e～Ω_e时最为显著, 并随ω_e/Ω_e增大而减小.      

BGK模离子声波的实验研究

文中实验研究证实了BGK模离子声波的存在.用连续波和调制脉冲波两种方法研究了由慢电子漂移引起的增长离子声波不稳定性.同时首次测量了激发BGK模离子声波的条件.得到的结果与理论预言是一致的.      

高空科学气球的应力分析与球形设计

本文分析了迴转对称高空科学气球球膜的应力状态,指出按实际情况给定有关纬向应力σ_t的约束条件后就可解得正确的球形.σ_t的选择原则有三:下半球σ_t尽可能为零;上半球的σ_t自腰至顶逐渐增加;在球顶处则维持经向应力σ≈σ_t.按此原则设计的附加强带或不附加强带的气球,其最大应力和应力总潜能均较纬向应力恒为零的自然型气球有明显的改善,将用于大型气球的设计中.      

磁化等离子体中斜传播的离子孤波

近几年卫星空间电场测量经常证认出局地非线性离子静电波,它们可能与极光粒子加速有直接关系。这些静电波被认为或者是离子声波模的演化,或者是静电离子逥旋波模的演化结果。本文研究了磁场中斜传播小振幅离子非线性波的演化,得到非线性Schrodinger方程。结果表明离子声孤波和离子迴旋孤波都是可能的。计算结果与卫星S(3-3)电场测量比较,可以很好说明部分测量结果。      

多离子空间等离子体中快磁声波与粒子的回旋共振特性

快磁声波是空间等离子体中一种接近垂直传播的右旋极化电磁波,能够在等离子体层内外传播.快磁声波与带电粒子的回旋共振相互作用能够导致高能电子随机加速和投掷角扩散、能量质子投掷角扩散等,从而影响辐射带高能带电粒子的动态过程.分别基于完整的色散关系和高密度近似的色散关系,在不同空间等离子体条件下研究多离子空间等离子体中不同传播角的快磁声波色散曲线,并计算了快磁声波与H+,He+和O+离子的最小共振能量.结果表明,当传播角较小时,采用高密度近似与采用完整色散关系计算的离子最小共振能量没有太大差别.在中低密度中强磁场空间等离子体中,传播角≥ 88°时高密度近似色散关系会带来很大的误差,因此应利用完整色散关系计算最小共振能量.      

弓激波前内透射离子动力学横场流静电不稳定性

本文讨论了地球弓激波前内背景电子速度分布函数为平顶形式时的透射离子横场流静电不稳定性.结果表明,在超临界(Alfvén Mach数M_A>3)准垂直激波区(激波法向与行星际磁场之间的夹角75°)情况下,透射离子流产生的静电不稳定性增长率峰值要比电子速度为Maxwell分布时更加显著,并满足动力学性质.     

Generation of kinetic Alfvén waves by velocity shear instability on auroral field lines

Ion beams observed in the plasma sheet boundary layer (PSBL), cusp, and on the auroral zone field lines are expected to have spatial gradients in their drift velocity. Generation of kinetic Alfvén waves by velocity shear of the ion beams is discussed. It is shown that a hot ion beam can excite both a resonant kinetic Alfvén wave instability and a non-resonant coupled Alfvén-ion acoustic instability. For typical parameters, observed on the auroral field lines in the altitude range of 5–7 R_E (where R_E is the Earth’s radius), the frequency of the velocity shear modes, in the satellite frame of reference, lie in the ultra-low frequency (ULF) range. The noise due to velocity shear driven Alfvén modes is electromagnetic in nature, and has a finite parallel electric field component.     

Ion beam produced plasma waves observed by the δn/n plasma wave receiver during the porcupine experiment

The Porcupine sounding rocket consisted of a central instrumented payload with 4 smaller payloads ejected in the radial direction. One of the smaller payloads contained a xenon ion gun which directed a 200eV Xe+ ion beam roughly perpendicular to the magnetic field. During the ion gun exercises a variety of plasma waves were observed by the δn/n experiment on the central spacecraft. For small separations betwen the ion gun and the plasma wave receivers, intense and very narrow band emissions were observed just above harmonics of the hydrogen gyrofrequency extending from n=1 to at least n=11 and perhaps to much higher harmonics. Additional structure at the helium gyrofrequency was also observed and the width of each spectral line was the order of the oxygen gyrofrequency. The fastest growing modes were at n=5 or 6. For larger separations between the ion gun and plasma wave receiver, band limited emissions were observed between the NO+ and O+ lower hybrid frequencies. The intense ion cyclotron harmonic waves observed for short separations are very similar to plasma waves observed at high altitudes in ion conics by the S3-3 satellite. In those examples, natural ion beams, which were nearly perpendicular to the magnetic field, produced plasma waves between harmonics of the hydrogen gyrofrequency and the most intense waves occurred between n=3 and n=7. Hence the ion beam experiment is directly applicable to understanding ion beams within the magnetosphere.     

Broadband electrostatic noise and low-frequency waves in the Earth’s magnetosphere

Broadband electrostatic noise (BEN) is commonly observed in different regions of the Earth’s magnetosphere, eg., auroral region, plasma sheet boundary layer, etc. The frequency of these BENs lies in the range from lower hybrid to the local electron plasma frequency and sometimes even higher. Spacecraft observations suggest that the high and low-frequency parts of BEN appear to be two different wave modes. There is a well established theory for the high-frequency part which can be explained by electrostatic solitary waves, however, low-frequency part is yet to be fully understood. The linear theory of low-frequency waves is developed in a four-component magnetized plasma consisting of three types of electrons, namely cold background electron, warm electrons, warm electron beam and ions. The electrostatic dispersion relation is solved, both analytically and numerically. For the parameters relevant to the auroral region, our analysis predict excitation of electron acoustic waves in the frequency range of 17 Hz to 2.6 kHz with transverse wavelengths in range of (1–70) km. The results from this model may be applied to explain some features of the low-frequency part of the broadband electrostatic noise observed in other regions of the magnetosphere.     

Electromagnetic ion cyclotron resonance heating in the VASIMR

Plasma physics has found an increasing range of practical industrial applications, including the development of electric spacecraft propulsion systems. One of these systems, the Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket (VASIMR) engine, both applies several important physical processes occurring in the magnetosphere. These processes include the mechanisms involved in the ion acceleration and heating that occur in the Birkeland currents of an auroral arc system. Auroral current region processes that are simulated in VASIMR include lower hybrid heating, parallel electric field acceleration and ion cyclotron acceleration. This paper will focus on using a physics demonstration model VASIMR to study ion cyclotron resonance heating (ICRH). The major purpose is to provide a VASIMR status report to the COSPAR community. The VASIMR uses a helicon antenna with up to 20 kW of power to generate plasma. This plasma is energized by an RF booster stage that uses left hand polarized slow mode waves launched from the high field side of the ion cyclotron resonance. The present setup for the booster uses 2–4 MHz waves with up to 20 kW of power. This process is similar to the ion cyclotron heating in tokamaks, but in the VASIMR the ions only pass through the resonance region once. The rapid absorption of ion cyclotron waves has been predicted in recent theoretical studies. These theoretical predictions have been supported with several independent measurements in this paper. The ICRH produced a substantial increase in ion velocity. Pitch angle distribution studies show that this increase takes place in the resonance region where the ion cyclotron frequency is equal to the frequency on the injected RF waves. Downstream of the resonance region the perpendicular velocity boost should be converted to axial flow velocity through the conservation of the first adiabatic invariant as the magnetic field decreases in the exhaust region of the VASIMR. In deuterium plasma, 80% efficient absorption of 20 kW of ICRH input power has been achieved. No evidence for power limiting instabilities in the exhaust beam has been observed.     

磁尾静电离子束流-密度漂移不稳定性的数值研究

本文研究了磁尾等离子体片边界层宽频带静电噪声的产生机制.模型等离子体由暖的背景电子、暖的向地球方向的离子束流和较冷的向尾方向的离子束流组成.结果表明,静电离子束流-密度漂移不稳定性可以在比较宽的频率范围内激发,在低频区大传播角方向上增长率最大,在高频区小传播角方向上增长率也比较大。最大增长率的方向取决于离子束流和密度漂移的速度比值.这些结果与磁尾观测到的宽频带静电噪声特征符合一致.      

Ion- and electron-acoustic solitons and double layers in multi-component space plasmas

A general model for the ion- and electron-acoustic solitons and double layers in a multi-component unmagnetized plasma consisting of background electrons, counter-streaming electron beams and ions is discussed. The model is based on the multi-fluid equations and the Poisson equation, and uses the Sagdeev pseudo-potential techniques. For identical counter-streaming electron beams and depending upon the plasma parameters, three types of solutions, namely, ion-acoustic, slow and fast electron-acoustic soliton/double layer, are possible. Generally, the ion acoustic solitons have positive potentials, slow-electron acoustic solitons have negative potentials and fast electron-acoustic solitons and double layers can have either positive or negative potentials depending on the core electron density. As beam speed is increased, first ion-acoustic and then slow electron-acoustic solitons disappear. At large beam speed, only fast electron-acoustic solitons/double layers survive. The results may be relevant to the observations of the electrostatic solitary waves (ESWs) observed in the Earth’s magnetosphere.     

Solitary and periodic waves in magneto–rotating plasmas: Effect of the Kappa–Cairns distributed electrons

The nonlinear propagation of ion–acoustic (IA) waves in a magneto–rotating plasma is studied by considering the Kappa-Cairns electron distribution. Employing the perturbation scheme, Korteweg–de Vries equation is derived. It is seen that both positive and negative potential solitons can be supported in the present plasma model. The numerical results reveal that the Kappa-Cairns distributed electrons modify features of the electrostatic waves significantly. The effects of non–thermal parameters, plasma rotation frequency, ion temperature, and the wave propagation angle on electrostatic solitary wave structures are also discussed here. It is found that the plasma parameters considerably influence the propagation of IA waves in rotating plasmas. Furthermore, using the bifurcation theory of planar dynamical systems to the K-dV equation, we have presented the existence of solitary and periodic traveling waves. Our study may be helpful to understand the behavior of ion–acoustic wave in the rotating plasma.     

Theoretical properties of offset bipolar electric field solitary structures in space plasmas

The bipolar electric field solitary (EFS) structures have been frequently observed in the near Earth plasma regions, such as auroral zone, magnetopause, cusp regions, and magneto-tail. Sometimes these structures are observed as offset bipolar structures. In this paper, the properties of the offset bipolar EFS structures parallel to the magnetic field are studied with an ion fluid model in a cylindrical symmetry by considering electrostatic condition. The model results show that the offset bipolar EFS structures can develop from both ion-acoustic waves and ion cyclotron waves, and propagate along the magnetic field line in the space plasmas if plasma satisfies some conditions. The offset bipolar EFS structures can have both polarities. It will be first negative pulse and then positive pulse if the initial electric field E₀ < 0 or reverse in order if E₀ > 0. The amplitude of the offset bipolar EFS structures first decreases and then increases with the wave propagation velocity. Some results from our model are consistent with the observations.