282 research outputs found
Spectral evolution of two-dimensional kinetic plasma turbulence in the wavenumber-frequency domain
We present a method for studying the evolution of plasma turbulence by
tracking dispersion relations in the energy spectrum in the
wavenumber-frequency domain. We apply hybrid plasma simulations in a simplified
two-dimensional geometry to demonstrate our method and its applicability to
plasma turbulence in the ion kinetic regime. We identify four dispersion
relations: ion-Bernstein waves, oblique whistler waves, oblique
Alfv\'en/ion-cyclotron waves, and a zero-frequency mode. The energy partition
and frequency broadening are evaluated for these modes. The method allows us to
determine the evolution of decaying plasma turbulence in our restricted
geometry and shows that it cascades along the dispersion relations during the
early phase with an increasing broadening around the dispersion relations.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figure
Can an interplanetary magnetic field reach the surface of Venus?
We address the question of whether there is a possibility of an
interplanetary magnetic field reaching Venus' surface by magnetic diffusion
across the ionosphere. We present a model calculation, estimate the magnetic
diffusion time at Venus, and find out that the typical diffusion timescale is
in a range between 12 and 54 h, depending on the solar activity and the
ionospheric magnetic field condition. The magnetic field can thus permeate
Venus' surface and even its interior when the solar wind is stationary (i.e.,
no magnetic field reversal) on the timescale of half a day to several days.</p
Influence of the flow on the anchoring of nematic liquid crystals on a Langmuir-Blodgett monolayer studied by optical second-harmonic generation
The influence of capillary flow on the alignment of the nematic liquid
crystal MBBA on fatty acid Langmuir-Blodgett monolayers was studied by optical
second-harmonic generation. The surface dipole sensitivity of the technique
allows probing the orientation of the first liquid crystal monolayer in the
presence of the liquid crystal bulk. It was found that capillary flow causes
the first monolayer of liquid crystal molecules in contact with the fatty acid
monolayer to be oriented in the flow direction with a large pretilt (78
degrees), resulting in a quasi-planar alignment with splay-bend deformation of
the nematic director in the bulk. itself is affected by the flow. The
quasi-planar flow-induced alignment was found to be metastable. Once the flow
ceases, circular domains of homeotropic orientation nucleate in the sample and
expand until the whole sample becomes homeotropic. This relaxation process from
flow-induced quasi-planar to surface-induced homeotropic alignment was also
monitored by SHG. It was found that in the homeotropic state the first nematic
layer presents a pretilt of 38 degrees almost isotropically distributed in the
plane of the cell, with a slight preference for the direction of the previous
flow.Comment: LaTeX2e article, 11 figures, 17 EPS files, submitte
A mode filter for plasma waves in the Hall-MHD approximation
International audienceA filter method is presented which allows a qualitative and quantitative identification of wave modes observed with plasma experiments on satellites. Hitherto existing mode filters are based on the MHD theory and thus they are restricted to low frequencies well below the ion cyclotron frequency. The present method is generalized to cover wave modes up to the characteristic ion frequencies. The spectral density matrix determined by the observations is decomposed using the eigenvectors of the linearized Hall-MHD equations. As the wave modes are dispersive in this formalism, a precise determination of the k->-vectors requires the use of multi-point measurements. Therefore the method is particularly relevant to multi-satellite missions. The method is tested using simulated plasma data. The Hall-MHD filter is able to identify the modes excited in the model plasma and to assign the correct energetic contributions. By comparison with the former method it is shown that the simple MHD filter leads to large errors if the frequency is not well below the ion cyclotron frequency. Further the range of validity of the linear theory is examined rising the simulated wave amplitudes
Low-frequency magnetic field fluctuations in Venus' solar wind interaction region: Venus Express observations
We investigate wave properties of low-frequency magnetic field
fluctuations in Venus' solar wind
interaction region based on the measurements made on board the Venus
Express spacecraft. The orbit geometry is very suitable to
investigate the fluctuations in Venus' low-altitude magnetosheath
and mid-magnetotail and provides an opportunity for a comparative
study of low-frequency waves at Venus and Mars. The
spatial distributions of the wave properties, in particular in the
dayside and nightside magnetosheath as well as in the tail and
mantle region, are similar to observations at Mars. As both planets
do not have a global magnetic field, the interaction process of the
solar wind with both planets is similar and leads to similar
instabilities and wave structures. We focus on the spatial
distribution of the wave intensity of the fluctuating magnetic field and
detect an enhancement of the intensity in the dayside magnetosheath
and a strong decrease towards the terminator. For a detailed
investigation of the intensity distribution we adopt an
analytical streamline model to describe the plasma flow around
Venus. This allows displaying the evolution of the intensity along
different streamlines. It is assumed that the waves are generated
in the vicinity of the bow shock and are convected
downstream with the turbulent magnetosheath flow.
However, neither the different Mach numbers upstream and downstream
of the bow shock, nor the variation of the cross sectional area and
the flow velocity along the streamlines play probably an important role
in order to explain the observed concentration of wave intensity in the
dayside magnetosheath and the decay towards the nightside
magnetosheath. But, the concept of freely evolving or decaying turbulence is in good
qualitative agreement with the observations, as we observe a power law decay
of the intensity along the streamlines. The observations support the assumption of
wave convection through the magnetosheath, but reveal at the same time
that wave sources may not only exist at the bow shock, but also in the magnetosheath
Phase-matched second-harmonic generation in a ferroelectric liquid crystal waveguide
True phase-matched second-harmonic generation in a waveguide of crosslinkable
ferroelectric liquid crystals is demonstrated. These materials allow the
formation of macroscopically polar structures whose order can be frozen by
photopolymerization. Homeotropic alignment was chosen which offers decisive
advantages compared to other geometries. All parameters contributing to the
conversion efficiency are maximized by deliberately controlling the
supramolecular arrangement. The system has the potential to achieve practical
level of performances as a frequency doubler for low power laser diodes.Comment: 4 pages, LaTeX2e article, 3 figures, 4 EPS files, submitted to
Physical Review Letter
Plasma boundaries at Mars: a 3-D simulation study
The interaction of the solar wind with the ionosphere of planet Mars is studied using a three-dimensional hybrid model. Mars has only a weak intrinsic magnetic field, and consequently its ionosphere is directly affected by the solar wind. The gyroradii of the solar wind protons are in the range of several hundred kilometers and therefore comparable with the characteristic scales of the interaction region. Different boundaries emerge from the interaction of the solar wind with the continuously produced ionospheric heavy-ion plasma, which could be identified as a bow shock (BS), ion composition boundary (ICB) and magnetic pile up boundary (MPB), where the latter both turn out to coincide. The simulation results regarding the shape and position of these boundaries are in good agreement with the measurements made by Phobos-2 and MGS spacecraft. It is shown that the positions of these boundaries depend essentially on the ionospheric production rate, the solar wind ram pressure, and the often unconsidered electron temperature of the ionospheric heavy ion plasma. Other consequences are rays of planetary plasma in the tail and heavy ion plasma clouds, which are stripped off from the dayside ICB region by some instability.<br><br> <b>Key words.</b> Magnetospheric physics (solar wind interactions with unmagnetized bodies) – Space plasma physics (discontinuities; numerical simulation studies
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