Vertical plasma transport in the ionosphere over Irkutsk during St. Patrick’s Day geomagnetic storm: Observations and modeling

The St. Patrick’s Day storm being the strongest geomagnetic storm of Solar Cycle 24 caused strong changes in ionospheric and thermospheric dynamics. The paper presents a study of vertical plasma transport in the ionosphere during the St. Patrick’s Day storm with using both observations and modeling. The observations give the ionospheric peak height obtained with the chirp vertical sounding ionosonde and the neutral wind velocities obtained with the Fabry-Perot interferometer. The ionospheric peak height is an indicator of the total vertical plasma transport, while meridional wind and electromagnetic drift are the two main drivers of the vertical plasma transport. The Global Self-consistent Model of the Thermosphere, Ionosphere, and Protonosphere used in this study gives the total set of ionospheric and thermospheric parameters including F2-layer peak height, neutral wind velocities, electric field, and neutral composition. The model/data comparison allows us to obtain two main results. The first one is an estimation of the model prediction possibilities under storm conditions. The second result is an indirect assessment of the neutral wind and electric field contribution into the changes in the ionospheric peak height in the case of the St. Patrick’s Day geomagnetic storm.     

稳态等离子体推力器羽流数值模拟

以国内研制的稳态等离子体推力器羽流为研究对象,建立了基于粒子单元法和直接蒙特卡罗模拟法的数值仿真模型,简化了电子动量方程,运用Boltzmann关系式求解了等离子体电势,研究了羽流电子数密度、离子电流密度及流场温度分布。通过与实验数据和已有数值结果对比,以验证模型和编制的程序。研究表明,羽流出口下游0.3~1.0 m处的羽流中心电子数密度约为2.5×1016~5×1015m-3,电流密度约为65~1 A/m2。文中工作对分析等离子体羽流污染具有参考意义。     

基于PIC方法的离子发动机光学系统粒子模拟

采用单元内粒子(PIC, Particle-In-Cell)方法对离子发动机光学系统进行了等离子体粒子模拟.PIC方法可有效地对等离子体进行粒子模拟,其中电场求解采用SOR(Successive Over Relaxation)方法,离子加速方法采用蛙跳格式.推进剂采用氙,模拟粒子为单核离子.模拟得到了栅极间电势分布、电场强度分布及栅极间氙离子数密度分布.计算结果表明,在所取的光学系统电压参数和几何参数下,粒子束能够顺利通过栅极孔,不会撞击到栅极孔壁上.粒子模拟为今后开展离子发动机光学系统腐蚀机理分析及寿命评估提供了有效的数值方法.      

微小卫星的在轨推进技术

简述了微小卫星对在轨推进(控制)技术提出的新要求,分析和比较了几种不同的在轨推进技术,着重介绍了脉冲等离子体推力器的应用和发展情况。     

大气等离子喷涂纳米ZrO2涂层工艺与性能研究

以结合强度为测试指标进行正交试验,优化出纳米ZrO2热障涂层喷涂的最佳工艺参数,并对该涂层的结合强度、抗热震性能及隔热性能进行了试验研究。试验结果表明,经优化工艺喷涂的涂层结合强度可达33 MPa;抗热震性能好,1050℃水冷试验中,涂层可经历22次左右的热震循环;隔热效果明显,火焰与涂层表面以及涂层表面和试样背面随着火焰温度不同,分别具有300~600℃和100~200℃左右的温差。     

空间环境对无线电波传播的影响综述

文章研究了空间环境对无线电通信的影响,主要体现在多种因素制约下的等离子体环境对电波传播的影响。首先介绍了几种典型的电离层模型,接着详细讲述了工程实用电离层模型;随后给出了电磁波在等离子体环境中的传播路径和等离子体介质在磁场环境下对电磁波影响的定量分析,并建议将空间等离子体环境（包括星际等离子体环境和电离层等离子体环境等）作为一个整体进行研究,来考虑地磁场对等离子体电磁特性的影响;最后基于目前理论的不足与实际需求的矛盾,探讨未来的研究方向。     

脉冲等离子体推力器等效电路模型分析

脉冲等离子体推力器(PPT)的放电电流与推力器性能有密切关系。为了分析影响脉冲等离子体推力器放电电流的因素,建立了推力器放电过程中的等效电路模型,分析了等效电路中电感及电阻的分量,并对简化的等效电路模型进行解耦,得到了放电电流的3种状态。通过实验以及方程解耦,得到了实际电路中的等效电感及等效电阻值,研究了等效电感及电阻中影响推力器性能的因素。结果表明,推力器的间距和放电能量改变了等离子体的电感及电阻值,从而改变了放电电流曲线,影响了推力器的电磁加速性能。设计PPT时,应尽量减小电极的寄生电感和电阻,采用内感和内阻较小的放电电容,获得较高的PPT效率。     

空间等离子体源与测试系统设计

文章介绍了空间等离子体源与测试系统的设计方法。为了实现具有较高能量的低密度等离子体环境,首先在源入口处设计水平与垂直两种微波输入模式,提高电子的密度和温度,然后在源出口处设计装有几何调节栅和电位调节网的扩散杯,调节电子密度和温度。     

Relativistic waves raised by explosions in space as sources of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays

The paper discusses the possibility of particle acceleration up to high energies in relativistic waves generated by various explosive processes in the interstellar medium. We propose to use the surfatron mechanism of acceleration (surfing) of charged particles trapped in the front of relativistic waves as a generator of high-energy cosmic rays (CRs). Conditions under which surfing in the waves under consideration can be made are studied thoroughly. Ultra-high-energy CRs (up to 10²⁰ eV) are shown to be obtained due to the surfing in relativistic plane and spherical waves. Surfing is supposed to take place in nonlinear Langmuir waves excited by powerful electromagnetic radiation or relativistic beams of charged particles, as well as in strong shock waves generated by relativistic jets or spherical formations that expand fast (fireballs).     

Specific features of the high-speed plasma stream cycles

The high-speed plasma streams in the solar wind are investigated during the solar cycles nos. 20–22 (1964–1996), separately on the two types of streams according to their solar origin: the HSPS produced by coronal holes (co-rotating) and the flare-generated, in keeping with the classification made in different catalogues. The analysis is performed taking into account the following high-speed stream parameters: the durations (in days), the maximum velocities, the velocity gradients and, the importance of the streams. The time variation of these parameters and the high-speed plasma streams occurrence rate show an 11-year periodicity with some differences between the solar cycles considered. A detailed analysis of the high-speed stream 11-year cycles is made by comparison with the “standard” cycles of the sunspot relative number (Wolf number). The different behaviour of the high-speed stream parameters between even and odd solar cycles could be due to the 22-year solar magnetic cycle. The increased activity of the high-speed plasma streams on the descendant phases of the cycles, regardless of their solar sources, proves the existence of some special local conditions of the solar plasma and the magnetic field on a large scale that allow the ejection of the high energy plasma streams. This fact has led us to the analysis the stream parameters during the different phases of the solar cycles (minimum, ascendant, maximum and, descendant) as well as during the polar magnetic field reversal intervals. The differences between the phases considered are pointed out. The solar cycles 20 and 22 reveal very similar dynamics of the flare-generated and also co-rotating stream parameters during the maximum, descendant and reversal intervals. This fact could be due to their position in a Hale Cycle (the first component of the 22-year solar magnetic cycle). The 21st solar cycle dominance of all co-rotating stream parameters against the 20th and 22nd solar cycle ones, during almost all phases, could be due to the same structure of a Hale Cycle – solar cycle 21 is the second component in a 22-year SC. During the reversal intervals, all high-speed stream parameters have comparable values with the ones of the maximum phases of the cycles even if this interval contains a small part of the descendant branch (solar cycles 20 and 22).