Lithium ion sources for investigations of fast ion transport in magnetized plasmas

In order to study the interaction of ions of intermediate energies with plasma fluctuations, two plasma immersible lithium ion sources, based on solid-state thermionic emitters (Li aluminosilicate) were developed. Compared to discharge based ion sources, they are compact, have zero gas load, small energy dispersion, and can be operated at any angle with respect to an ambient magnetic field of up to 4.0 kG. Beam energies range from 400 eV to 2.0 keV with typical beam current densities in the 1 mAcm(2) range. Because of the low ion mass, beam velocities of 100-300 kms are in the range of Alfven speeds in typical helium plasmas in the large plasma device

Measurements of classical transport of fast ions

To study the fast-ion transport in a well controlled background plasma, a 3-cm diameter rf ion gun launches a pulsed, ~300 eV ribbon shaped argon ion beam parallel to or at 15°to the magnetic field in the Large Plasma Device (LAPD) [W. Gekelman, H. Pfister, Z. Lucky, J. Bamber, D. Leneman, and J. Maggs, Rev. Sci. Instrum. 62, 2875 (1991)] at UCLA. The parallel energy of the beam is measured by a two-grid energy analyzer at two axial locations (z=0.32 m and z=6.4 m) from the ion gun in LAPD. The calculated ion beam slowing-down time is consistent to within 10% with the prediction of classical Coulomb collision theory using the LAPD plasma parameters measured by a Langmuir probe. To measure cross-field transport, the beam is launched at 15°to the magnetic field. The beam then is focused periodically by the magnetic field to avoid geometrical spreading. The radial beam profile measurements are performed at different axial locations where the ion beam is periodically focused. The measured cross-field transport is in agreement to within 15% with the analytical classical collision theory and the solution to the Fokker-Planck kinetic equation. Collisions with neutrals have a negligible effect on the beam transport measurement but do attenuate the beam current. © 2005 American Institute of Physics

Measurements of interactions between waves and energetic ions in basic plasma experiments

To measure the transport of fast ions by various types of waves, complementary experiments are conducted in linear and toroidal magnetic fields in the large plasma device and the toroidal plasma experiment. Lithium sources that are immersed in the plasma provide the energetic ions. Spatial scans of collectors measure the transport. Techniques to find the beam and optimize the spatial sensitivity are described. Measurements of Coulomb scattering, resonant interaction with Alfven waves, and transport by drift-wave and interchange turbulence are summarized

Energetic electron precipitation driven by electromagnetic ion cyclotron waves from ELFIN's low altitude perspective

We review comprehensive observations of electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) wave-driven energetic electron precipitation using data from the energetic electron detector on the Electron Losses and Fields InvestigatioN (ELFIN) mission, two polar-orbiting low-altitude spinning CubeSats, measuring 50-5000 keV electrons with good pitch-angle and energy resolution. EMIC wave-driven precipitation exhibits a distinct signature in energy-spectrograms of the precipitating-to-trapped flux ratio: peaks at 0.5 MeV which are abrupt (bursty) with significant substructure (occasionally down to sub-second timescale). Multiple ELFIN passes over the same MLT sector allow us to study the spatial and temporal evolution of the EMIC wave - electron interaction region. Using two years of ELFIN data, we assemble a statistical database of 50 events of strong EMIC wave-driven precipitation. Most reside at L=5-7 at dusk, while a smaller subset exists at L=8-12 at post-midnight. The energies of the peak-precipitation ratio and of the half-peak precipitation ratio (our proxy for the minimum resonance energy) exhibit an L-shell dependence in good agreement with theoretical estimates based on prior statistical observations of EMIC wave power spectra. The precipitation ratio's spectral shape for the most intense events has an exponential falloff away from the peak (i.e., on either side of 1.45 MeV). It too agrees well with quasi-linear diffusion theory based on prior statistics of wave spectra. Sub-MeV electron precipitation observed concurrently with strong EMIC wave-driven 1MeV precipitation has a spectral shape that is consistent with efficient pitch-angle scattering down to 200-300 keV by much less intense higher frequency EMIC waves. These results confirm the critical role of EMIC waves in driving relativistic electron losses. Nonlinear effects may abound and require further investigation

The ELFIN mission

The Electron Loss and Fields Investigation with a Spatio-Temporal Ambiguity-Resolving option (ELFIN-STAR, or heretoforth simply: ELFIN) mission comprises two identical 3-Unit (3U) CubeSats on a polar (∼93∘ inclination), nearly circular, low-Earth (∼450 km altitude) orbit. Launched on September 15, 2018, ELFIN is expected to have a >2.5 year lifetime. Its primary science objective is to resolve the mechanism of storm-time relativistic electron precipitation, for which electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) waves are a prime candidate. From its ionospheric vantage point, ELFIN uses its unique pitch-angle-resolving capability to determine whether measured relativistic electron pitch-angle and energy spectra within the loss cone bear the characteristic signatures of scattering by EMIC waves or whether such scattering may be due to other processes. Pairing identical ELFIN satellites with slowly-variable along-track separation allows disambiguation of spatial and temporal evolution of the precipitation over minutes-to-tens-of-minutes timescales, faster than the orbit period of a single low-altitude satellite (Torbit ∼ 90 min). Each satellite carries an energetic particle detector for electrons (EPDE) that measures 50 keV to 5 MeV electrons with Δ E/E 1 MeV. This broad energy range of precipitation indicates that multiple waves are providing scattering concurrently. Many observed events show significant backscattered fluxes, which in the past were hard to resolve by equatorial spacecraft or non-pitch-angle-resolving ionospheric missions. These observations suggest that the ionosphere plays a significant role in modifying magnetospheric electron fluxes and wave-particle interactions. Routine data captures starting in February 2020 and lasting for at least another year, approximately the remainder of the mission lifetime, are expected to provide a very rich dataset to address questions even beyond the primary mission science objective.Published versio