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Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Velocity–Space Drag And Diffusion In A Model, Two-Dimensional Plasma, Mark Anthony Reynolds, B.D. Fried, G.J. Morales Mar 2017

Velocity–Space Drag And Diffusion In A Model, Two-Dimensional Plasma, Mark Anthony Reynolds, B.D. Fried, G.J. Morales

M. Anthony Reynolds

The quasilinear fluctuation integral is calculated for a two-dimensional, unmagnetized plasma ~composed of charged rods!, and is expressed in terms of Fokker–Planck coefficients. It is found that in two dimensions, the enhanced fluctuations generated by fast electrons lead to anomalously large transport coefficients. In particular, the effect of a small population of fast electrons is only weakly dependent on their density. In three dimensions, the effect of fast electrons is masked by the dominant approximation, but higher-order terms describe processes similar to those in two dimensions, and these terms can become significant for weakly stable plasmas. The differences between two …


Ion Bernstein Waves Driven By Two Transverse Flow Layers, Mark Anthony Reynolds, G. Ganguli Mar 2017

Ion Bernstein Waves Driven By Two Transverse Flow Layers, Mark Anthony Reynolds, G. Ganguli

M. Anthony Reynolds

The interaction between two narrow layers of E3B flow is investigated, along with their stability properties. The mode frequencies, growth rates, and eigenfunctions are calculated. It is found that the instability due to a single layer is robust to the inclusion of a second layer. Specifically, when the separation between the layers is on the order of the ion-cyclotron radius, there is strong coupling between the two layers and the second layer is destabilizing. In addition, when the flow velocities are in opposite directions a wide variety of modes is possible, including near-zero-frequency modes, resulting in broadband structure in both …


Thermal Plasmaspheric Morphology: Effect Of Geomagnetic And Solar Activity, Mark Anthony Reynolds, G. Ganguli, J.A. Fedder, J. Lemaire, R.R. Meier, D.J. Melendez-Alvira Mar 2017

Thermal Plasmaspheric Morphology: Effect Of Geomagnetic And Solar Activity, Mark Anthony Reynolds, G. Ganguli, J.A. Fedder, J. Lemaire, R.R. Meier, D.J. Melendez-Alvira

M. Anthony Reynolds

A multispecies kinetic model of the thermal plasma in the plasmasphere is used to predict the spatial dependence of the hydrogen ion and helium ion density and temperature for different levels of geomagnetic and solar activity. The particular convection electric field model chosen is intended for the time intervals between substorms. The plasma density and temperature in the equatorial plane are found to exhibit a local-time variation that is sensitive to the details of the convection electric field. In particular, the parallel temperature increases with altitude and the perpendicular temperature decreases with altitude, except in the postmidnight sector, features that …


High-Frequency Fluctuations Of A Modulated, Helical Electron Beam, Mark Anthony Reynolds Mar 2017

High-Frequency Fluctuations Of A Modulated, Helical Electron Beam, Mark Anthony Reynolds

M. Anthony Reynolds

The high-frequency electromagnetic field generated by a density-modulated, helical electron beam propagating in a magnetized plasma is calculated. The magnetic fluctuations are found to exhibit spatially localized ~evanescent! resonances at harmonics of the electron-cyclotron frequency, whose width is determined by the pitch angle of the beam, and whose existence is a consequence of the helical geometry. In addition, electrostatic modes are radiated near the hybrid frequencies, and electromagnetic modes are radiated above the upper-hybrid frequency. The predicted frequency spectrum and mode structure in configuration space are in good agreement with experimental observations of discrete emission lines at the electron-cyclotron harmonics.


Periods Of Eo And Fv Comae Berenices And The Functional Forms Of Their O-C Diagrams, Mark Anthony Reynolds Mar 2017

Periods Of Eo And Fv Comae Berenices And The Functional Forms Of Their O-C Diagrams, Mark Anthony Reynolds

M. Anthony Reynolds

New elements are given for the RRab Lyrae variables EO Comae Berenices and FV Comae Berenices. The statistical significance of higher order terms in a polynomial least squares fit is discussed.


The Local-Time Variation Of The Quiet Plasmasphere: Geosynchronous Observations And Kinetic Theory, Mark Anthony Reynolds, G. Ganguli, Y-J Su, M.F. Thomsen Mar 2017

The Local-Time Variation Of The Quiet Plasmasphere: Geosynchronous Observations And Kinetic Theory, Mark Anthony Reynolds, G. Ganguli, Y-J Su, M.F. Thomsen

M. Anthony Reynolds

The quiet-time structure of the plasmaspheric density was investigated using observations of the Los Alamos geosynchronous satellites, and these observations were compared with theoretical predictions of the quasi-static localtime variation by a kinetic model. It was found that the coupling to the ionosphere (via the local-time variation of the exobase) played a key role in determining the density structure at 6.6 RE. The kinetic model predicts that most of the local-time variation at geosynchronous orbit is due to the variation of the exobase parameters. During quiet times, when the convection electric field is dominated by the corotation field, the effects …


Measurement Of The Stochasticity Of Low-Latitude Geomagnetic Temporal Variations, Mark Anthony Reynolds, James A. Wanliss Mar 2017

Measurement Of The Stochasticity Of Low-Latitude Geomagnetic Temporal Variations, Mark Anthony Reynolds, James A. Wanliss

M. Anthony Reynolds

Ground magnetometer measurements of total magnetic field strength from 6 stations at low latitudes were analyzed using power spectrum and Hurst range scaling techniques. The Hurst exponents for most of these time-series were near 0.5, which indicates stochasticity, with the highest latitude stations exhibiting some persistence with Hurst exponents greater than 0.6. Although no definite correlations are evident, the relative increase of the Hurst exponent with latitude suggests the possibility that the underlying dynamics of the magnetosphere change with latitude. This result may help quantify the dynamics of the inner magnetosphere itself without the direct presence of the solar wind …


Inversion Of Plasmaspheric Euv Remote Sensing Data From The Stp 72-1 Satellite, R.R. Meier, A.C. Nicholas, J.M. Picone, D.J. Melendez-Alvira, G. Ganguli, Mark Anthony Reynolds, E.C. Roelof Mar 2017

Inversion Of Plasmaspheric Euv Remote Sensing Data From The Stp 72-1 Satellite, R.R. Meier, A.C. Nicholas, J.M. Picone, D.J. Melendez-Alvira, G. Ganguli, Mark Anthony Reynolds, E.C. Roelof

M. Anthony Reynolds

Observations of the extreme ultraviolet emission of helium ions at 30.4 nm can be used to study the global shape of the plasmasphere and its dynamical response to geomagnetic forcing. In order to retrieve number densities of plasmaspheric He+ from such observations, we have developed a new inversion technique based on discrete inverse theory, which uses the optical data to optimize a parameterized model of the He+ distribution. We apply this inversion technique to several orbits of data obtained from the Naval Research Laboratory extreme ultraviolet photometric experiment launched on the STP 72-1 satellite in October 1972. The inversion is …


Interpreting Ulysses Data Using Inverse Scattering Theory: Oblique Alfvén Waves, Mark Anthony Reynolds, Henry R. Wheeler Iv, R.L. Hamilton Mar 2017

Interpreting Ulysses Data Using Inverse Scattering Theory: Oblique Alfvén Waves, Mark Anthony Reynolds, Henry R. Wheeler Iv, R.L. Hamilton

M. Anthony Reynolds

Solitary wave structures observed by the Ulysses spacecraft in the solar wind were analyzed using both inverse scattering theory and direct numerical integration of the derivative nonlinear Schrödinger (DNLS) equation. Several of these structures were found to be consistent with soliton solutions of the DNLS equation. Such solitary structures have been commonly observed in the space plasma environment and may, in fact, be long-lived solitons. While the generation of these solitons may be due to an instability mechanism, e.g., the mirror instability, they may be observable far from the source region due to their coherent nature.


Effect Of Diurnal Convection On Trapped Thermal Plasma In The Outer Plasmasphere, Mark Anthony Reynolds, G. Ganguli, J.A. Fedder, D.J. Melendez-Alvira Mar 2017

Effect Of Diurnal Convection On Trapped Thermal Plasma In The Outer Plasmasphere, Mark Anthony Reynolds, G. Ganguli, J.A. Fedder, D.J. Melendez-Alvira

M. Anthony Reynolds

A kinetic, multi‐species model of the plasmasphere is constructed that includes the effect of convection and corotation electric fields on trapped particles in drifting flux tubes. The resulting morphology of the outer plasmasphere is significantly different from the morphology obtained using the assumption of diffusive equilibrium. The difference is due primarily to the contraction and expansion of the region of velocity space accessible to the trapped particles, and has implications for the interpretation of remote sensing experiments.