Ambipolar Diffusion Research Articles

Nonlinear coupling of Alfvén and magnetoacoustic waves in partially ionized plasmas: the effect of thermal misbalance on propagating waves.

Partially ionized plasmas constitute an essential ingredient of the solar atmosphere, and ground- and space-based observations have pointed outthe presence of oscillations in partially ionizedsolar plasmas such as chromosphere, photosphere, prominences or spicules, which have been interpreted in terms of magnetohydrodynamic waves. Our aim is to study the spatial behaviour of propagating weakly and fully nonlinear Alfvén waves, and the subsequent excitation of field-aligned motions and perturbations, when dissipative mechanisms, such as ambipolar diffusion and radiative losses, together with parametrized heating mechanisms, are taken into account. When only ambipolar diffusion is taken into account, first-order Alfvén waves as well as ponderomotive-driven perturbations are spatially damped, while field-aligned motions and perturbations representing propagating slow waves are undamped. These perturbations are damped when thermal effects are also considered and their damping lengths can be longer or shorter than those of ponderomotive-driven perturbations. Therefore, after the initialexcitation, Alfvén waves and ponderomotive-driven perturbations could be quickly damped while slow waves still remain in the plasma, and vice versa. This article is part of the theme issue 'Partially ionized plasma of the solar atmosphere: recent advances and future pathways'.

On the ambipolar diffusion formulation for ion-neutral drifts in the non-negligible drift velocity limit.

The ambipolar diffusion approximation is used to model partially ionized plasma dynamics in a single-fluid setting. To correctly apply the commonly used version of ambipolar diffusion, a set of criteria should be satisfied including the requirement that the difference in velocity between charges and neutral species (known as drift velocity) is much smaller than the thermal velocity, otherwise the drift velocity will drive a non-negligible level of further collisions between the two species. In this paper, we explore the consequences of relaxing this assumption. We show that a new induction equation can be formulated without this assumption. This formulation reduces to the ambipolar induction equation in the case the drift velocity is small. In the large drift velocity limit, the feedback of the drift velocity on the collision frequency results in decreased diffusion of the magnetic field compared with the standard ambipolar diffusion approximation for the same parameters. This has a natural consequence of reducing the frictional heating that can occur. Applying this to results from flux emergence simulations where the expansion of the magnetic field leads to strong adiabatic cooling of the partially ionized chromosphere resulted in a noticeable reduction in the magnitude of the predicted drift velocities. This article is part of the theme issue 'Partially ionized plasma of the solar atmosphere: recent advances and future pathways'.

The influence of thermal pressure gradients and ionization (im)balance on the ambipolar diffusion and charge-neutral drifts.

Solar partially ionized plasma is frequently modelled using single-fluid (1F) or two-fluid (2F) approaches. In the 1F case, charge-neutral interactions are often described through ambipolar diffusion, while the 2F model fully considers charge-neutral drifts. Here, we expand the definition of the ambipolar diffusion coefficient to include inelastic collisions (ion/rec) in two cases: a VAL3C one-dimensional model and a 2F simulation of the Rayleigh-Taylor instability (RTI) in a solar prominence thread based on [Lukin et al. 2024 Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A 382, 20230417. (doi:10.1098/rsta.2023.0417)]. On one side, we evaluate the relative importance of the inelastic contribution, compared to elastic and charge-exchange collisions. On the other side, we compare the contributions of ion/rec, thermal pressure, viscosity and magnetic forces to the charge-neutral drift velocity of the turbulent flow of the RTI. Our analysis reveals that the contribution of inelastic collisions to the ambipolar diffusion coefficient is negligible across the chromosphere, allowing the classical definition of this coefficient to be safely used in 1F modelling. However, in the transition region, the contribution of inelastic collisions can become as significant as that of elastic collisions. Furthermore, we ascertain that the thermal pressure force predominantly influences the charge-neutral drifts in the RTI model, surpassing the impact of the magnetic force. This article is part of the theme issue 'Partially ionized plasma of the solar atmosphere: recent advances and future pathways'.

The Impact of Ambipolar Diffusion on the Rossby Wave Instability in a Protoplanetary Disk

Recent observational and simulation studies have revealed that ambipolar diffusion is an important phenomenon in the outer regions of a protoplanetary disk (PPD). However, numerous simulation studies have found that ambipolar diffusion suppresses the turbulence caused by the magnetorotational instability (MRI) in these regions of a PPD. The aim of this study is to investigate the impact of ambipolar diffusion on the Rossby wave instability (RWI) at large radii of a PPD. To accomplish this, we examine the occurrence of the RWI in a PPD threaded by the magnetic field in the presence of ambipolar diffusion. Additionally, we scale the ambipolar diffusivity with respect to both the toroidal magnetic field and an important parameter known as the Elsässer number. We obtain the growth rate of unstable RWI modes in the outer regions of a PPD using linear perturbation analysis. In our nonaxisymmetric perturbation analysis, we find that the amplitude of the toroidal field oscillates in various modes for small values of the Elsässer numbers. For small Elsässer numbers, the growth rate of unstable modes associated with the RWI decreases. In other words, ambipolar diffusion suppresses the perturbation caused by the RWI. This effect is similar to the effect of ambipolar diffusion on the MRI. In contrast to the MRI, where there is a range around 1 for the Elsässer numbers, the existence of ambipolar diffusion supports the occurrence of RWI. Finally, we compare our findings with those of simulation studies to emphasize the importance of RWI in the outer regions of a PPD.

Comprehensive understanding of charge and mass transport in BaZr0.1Ce0.7Y0.1Yb0.1O3−δ

This work reports transport properties of BaZr0.1Ce0.7Y0.1Yb0.1O3−δ (BZCYYb1711), studied during oxidation/reduction and hydration/dehydration using electrical conductivity relaxation (ECR) measurements. The oxidation/reduction displayed typical monotonic conductivity relaxation behavior, attributed to the ambipolar diffusion of oxygen vacancies (Vo∙∙) and electron-holes (h∙), and oxygen surface exchange coefficient (k) were >1 order of magnitude higher than bulk diffusivities (D˜), indicating a diffusion-controlled process. Whereas, hydration/dehydration displayed a temperature-dependent gradual transition from monotonic to non-monotonic relaxation profile. At lower temperatures, transient defect concentration profile indicated that overall hydration/dehydration involved an acid-base-type reaction, comprising the diffusion of oxygen vacancy (Vo∙∙) and proton (Hi∙) couples. However, at higher temperatures and high [h∙], it involved a combination of a hydrogenation reaction (comprising component H via diffusion of h∙ and Hi∙ couple) and an oxidation reaction (involving component O via diffusion of h∙ and Vo∙∙ couple), thus giving rise to a two-fold non-monotonic relaxation profile. The k and D˜ values for oxygen vacancies (kVO∙∙; DVO∙∙) were lower than those for protons (kHi∙;DHi∙) with the respective Ea being 57.51 ± 3.14 and 60.72 ± 1.48 kJ∙mol−1 for oxygen-vacancies and 68.78 ± 12.65 and 71.05 ± 13.87 kJ∙mol−1 for protons.

SIMULATION OF DYNAMIC PROCESSES IN A p - i - n DIODE BY THE METHODS OF PERTURBATION THEORY

In the paper a mathematical model of the dynamic process of the electron-hole plasma formation in the active region ( i - region) of a semiconductor p - i - n - diode in the direct bias mode with a harmonic signal fed on the diode is developed. The basis of the model is a nonlinear nonstationary sin- gularly perturbed boundary value problem for a system of continuity equations of electron-hole currents and Poisson's equation. The algorithm for searching the charge carrier concentration distributions and the potential distribution is based on the asymptotic method of boundary functions and the Fourier method. In the course of the research, a technique for decomposing a nonlinear problem based on the development of perturbation theory me- thods was proposed. The initial nonlinear problem is reduced to a recurrent sequence of linear stationary boundary value problems, solved by classical and partially original analytical-numerical methods. The identification of the boundary functions in the solution of the problem provides, in particular, in contrast to the classical approximation of ambipolar diffusion, an adequate description of the electric field strength behavior in the active region of p - i - n - diodes. The obtained research results shed light on the peculiarities of the formation of the impedance characteristics of p - i - n - structures. The results of the work reveal more deeply the nature of the physical processes in the studied technical system and are aimed at improving the methodology for modeling and designing control semiconductor devices.

Three-dimensional Venusian ionosphere model

To study the Venusian ionosphere, a 3D ionospheric model is included in the Venus Planetary Climate Model (Venus PCM), which we present here with a number of recent extensions and improvements. Our ionospheric model of Venus consists of 15 charged species (electron and 14 ions), 13 photo-ionization for 8 species, an ion-neutral chemistry (61 reactions) and an ambipolar diffusion scheme for the ion vertical transport. The electron temperature is assumed independent of the solar activity. Simulation results are compared with observation from the Pioneer Venus (PV) and Venus Express (VEX) for high and low/intermediate solar activity respectively. The model shows that ambipolar diffusion dominates photochemical equilibrium above 180 km and above 130 km altitude on the dayside and the nightside respectively. On the dayside, the electron density predicted by Venus PCM and its variation with solar zenith angle (SZA) are in good agreement with PV observations at high solar activity, even if the secondary electron peak is underestimated by the model, due to the absence of (photo-)electron impact ionization process, in Venus PCM. At higher solar activity, the predicted horizontal and vertical variations in electron and ion densities are both significantly underestimated on the nightside, probably due to the currently predicted weak day-to-night transport and the absence of photo-electron impact ionization process which is the main source of ion production on the nightside. On the dayside at low solar activity, the electron density predicted by Venus PCM are over-estimated by a factor 1.25 at the altitude of the main ionospheric peak and by a factor 2–3 at 250 km, compared to VEX observations. We suggest that this difference between high and low solar activity is linked to the overestimation of the neutral density at low solar activity and the independence of electron temperature with solar activity used in Venus PCM, which should have a significant effect on ion chemistry and the scale height of ion species.

Thermal Effects of Ambipolar Diffusion during the Gravitational Collapse of a Radiative Cooling Filament

In this study, we consider the effects of ambipolar diffusion during the gravitational collapse of a radiative cooling filamentary molecular cloud. Two separate configurations of magnetic field, i.e., axial and toroidal, are considered in the presence of the ambipolar diffusion for a radiative cooling filament. These configurations lead to two different formulations of the problem. The filament is radiatively cooled and heated by ambipolar diffusion in both cases of magnetic field configurations. The self-similar method is used to solve the obtained equations in each case. We found that the adiabatic exponent and ambipolar diffusivity play very important roles during the gravitational collapse of a cooling filament. The results show that the ambipolar heating significantly increases the temperature in the middle regions of a cooling filament. Furthermore, we found that the ambipolar diffusion has very important effects during the collapse, so that its heating effect is dominant over its dynamical effect in the middle regions of a cooling filament. The obtained results also address some regions where the rate of star formation is more or less compared to the observational reports.

Influence of protostellar outflows on star and protoplanetary disk formation in a massive star-forming clump

Context. Due to the presence of magnetic fields, protostellar jets or outflows are a natural consequence of accretion onto protostars. They are expected to play an important role in star and protoplanetary disk formation. Aims. We aim to determine the influence of outflows on star and protoplanetary disk formation in star-forming clumps. Methods. Using RAMSES, we performed the first magnetohydrodynamics calculation of massive star-forming clumps with ambipolar diffusion; radiative transfer, including the radiative feedback of protostars; and protostellar outflows while systematically resolving the disk scales. We compared this simulation to a model without outflows. Results. We found that protostellar outflows have a significant impact on both star and disk formation. They provide a significant amount of additional kinetic energy to the clump, with typical velocities of around a few 10 km s−1; impact the clump and disk temperatures; reduce the accretion rate onto the protostars; and enhance fragmentation in the filaments. We found that they promote a more numerous stellar population. They do not impact the low-mass end of the IMF much, which is probably controlled by the mass of the first Larson core; however, they have an influence on its peak and high-mass end. Conclusions. Protostellar outflows appear to have a significant influence on both star and disk formation and should therefore be included in realistic simulations of star-forming environments.

MODELING OF SPATIAL-TEMPORAL VARIATIONS OF PHYSICAL PROCESS PARAMETERS IN THE IONOSPHERIC PLASMA OVER UKRAINE DURING THE MAXIMUM PHASE OF THE 24-TH SOLAR ACTIVITY CYCLE (2012—2015)

The object of research is physical processes occurring in the ionospheric plasma. The subject of research: spatial-temporal variations of the main parameters of the ionospheric plasma, which were obtained using incoherent scatter radar. Research methods include the ground-based radiophysical method of incoherent scatter of radio waves, statistical analysis of observation results, and semi-empirical modeling of parameters of dynamic and thermal processes. Modeling and analysis of spatial-temporal variations of the dynamic and thermal processes parameters in the ionosphere during the maximum phase of the 24th solar activity cycle (2012—2015) have been performed using experimental data obtained by the Kharkiv incoherent scatter radar. For the periods of the equinoxes and solstices, diurnal dependences of process parameters in the ionospheric plasma at altitudes from 210 to 450 km were constructed. The values of plasma transfer velocity due to ambipolar diffusion, the density of the full plasma flux, and the flux of charged particles due to ambipolar diffusion were determined. The values of the energy supplied to the electron gas, the density of the heat flux transferred by electrons from the plasmasphere to the ionosphere, as well as the velocity of the equivalent neutral wind and the meridional component of the neutral wind velocity, were calculated. It was established that for the considered periods, the effects of space weather variations and geomagnetic activity were significantly manifested in variations of the plasma flux density due to ambipolar diffusion, the density of the full plasma flux, as well as the energy supplied to electrons per unit time. Quantitative and qualitative characteristics of these parameters were typical but changed significantly (by 2…3 times) in some cases, even with a slight increase in geomagnetic activity.

Production of warm ions in electron beam generated E × B plasma

Several recent experiments have demonstrated low-damage processing of 2D materials, such as graphene and single crystal diamond, using electron beam (e-beam) generated plasmas with applied crossed electric and magnetic (E × B) fields. The low damage of these sensitive materials is commonly attributed to the low energy of ions incident to the substrate surface and the ion confinement in E × B fields. In this work, measurements of atom and ion velocity distribution functions in an e-beam E × B plasma at sub-mTorr argon pressures using a laser-induced fluorescence diagnostic revealed the presence of a warm population of ions with temperatures of ∼ 1 eV that are sufficient to destroy the ion confinement in E × B fields and drive the ion flux by cross field diffusion in the direction opposite to the applied electric field, toward the plasma-bounded walls or substrate. Thus, it is this nearly ambipolar diffusion process that is responsible for the flux of charged particles impinging on the wall/substrate surface.

Ambipolar Diffusion with a Polytropic Equation of State

Ambipolar diffusion is the mechanism believed to be responsible for the loss of magnetic support in dense molecular cloud cores, and is therefore likely to play a key role in the star formation process. As such, this mechanism has been studied extensively both semianalytically and numerically. We build upon this existing body of work by considering a one-dimensional self-gravitating gas with a polytropic equation of state (P ∝ ρ ϵ ), and consider cases that range from softer (ϵ < 1) to stiffer (ϵ > 1) than isothermal. Our results indicate that the diffusion time is not very sensitive to the polytropic exponent ϵ when stiffer than isothermal, but is sensitive to the exponent when softer than isothermal. Additionally, the presence of magnetic and density fluctuations causes the ambipolar diffusion process to speed up, with the shortest diffusion times obtained for gases with large initial magnetic to gas pressure ratios and fairly soft equations of state. However, the diffusion time starts to increase significantly for ϵ ≲ 0.5, indicating that such soft equations of state are inconsistent with observations.

Synthetic populations of protoplanetary disks: Impact of magnetic fields and radiative transfer

Context. Protostellar disks are the product of angular momentum conservation during protostellar collapse. Understanding their formation is crucial because they are the birthplace of planets and their formation is also tightly related to star formation. Unfortunately, the initial properties of Class 0 disks and their evolution are still poorly constrained both theoretically and observationally. Aims. We aim to better understand the mechanisms that set the statistics of disk properties as well as to study their formation in massive protostellar clumps. We also want to provide the community with synthetic disk populations to better interpret young disk observations. Methods. We used the ramses code to model star and disk formation in massive protostellar clumps with magnetohydrodynamics, including the effect of ambipolar diffusion and radiative transfer as well as stellar radiative feedback. Those simulations, resolved up to the astronomical unit scale, have allowed us to investigate the formation of disk populations. Results. Magnetic fields play a crucial role in disk formation. A weaker initial field leads to larger and massive disks and weakens the stellar radiative feedback by increasing fragmentation. We find that ambipolar diffusion impacts disk and star formation and leads to very different disk magnetic properties. The stellar radiative feedback also have a strong influence, increasing the temperature and reducing fragmentation. Comparing our disk populations with observations reveals that our models with a mass-to-flux ratio of 10 seems to better reproduce observed disk sizes. This also sheds light on a tension between models and observations for the disk masses. Conclusions. The clump properties and physical modeling significantly impact disk populations. It is critical to for the tension, with respect to disk mass estimates, between observations and models to be solved with synthetic observations. This is particularly important in the context of understanding planet formation.

Combined magnetic field evolution in neutron star cores and crusts: ambipolar diffusion, Hall effect, and Ohmic dissipation

ABSTRACT Neutron star magnetic field evolution is mediated through the Hall effect and Ohmic dissipation in the crust while ambipolar diffusion is taking place in the core. These effects have been studied in detail in either part of the star, however, their combined, simultaneous evolution and interplay has not been explored in detail yet. Here, we present simulation results of the simultaneous evolution of the magnetic field in the core due to ambipolar diffusion and the crust due to Hall effect and Ohmic decay, under the assumption of axial symmetry. We find that a purely poloidal field generates a toroidal field in the crust, due to the Hall effect, that sinks into the core. A purely toroidal field remains toroidal and spreads into the core and the crust. Finally, for a mixed poloidal–toroidal field, the north–south symmetry is broken due to the Hall effect in the crust, however, ambipolar diffusion, tends to restore it. We examine the role of ambipolar diffusion to the magnetic field decay and we compare the rate of the conversion of magnetic field energy into heat, finding that it enhances the magnetic field decay in neutron stars.

GMF G214.5-1.8 as traced by CO: I – cloud-scale CO freeze-out as a result of a low cosmic-ray ionization rate

ABSTRACT We present an analysis of the outer Galaxy giant molecular filament (GMF) G214.5-1.8 (G214.5) using IRAM 30m data of 12CO, 13CO, and C18O. We find that the 12CO (1-0) and (2-1) derived excitation temperatures are near identical and are very low, with a median of 8.2 K, showing that the gas is extremely cold across the whole cloud. Investigating the abundance of 13CO across G214.5, we find that there is a significantly lower abundance along the entire 13 pc spine of the filament, extending out to a radius of ∼0.8 pc, corresponding to Av ≳ 2 mag and Tdust ≲ 13.5 K. Due to this, we attribute the decrease in abundance to CO freeze-out, making G214.5 the largest scale example of freeze-out yet. We construct an axisymmetric model of G214.5’s 13CO volume density considering freeze-out and find that to reproduce the observed profile significant depletion is required beginning at low volume densities, n ≳ 2000 cm−3. Freeze-out at this low number density is possible only if the cosmic-ray ionization rate is ∼1.9 × 10−18 s−1, an order of magnitude below the typical value. Using time scale arguments, we posit that such a low ionization rate may lead to ambipolar diffusion being an important physical process along G214.5’s entire spine. We suggest that if low cosmic-ray ionization rates are more common in the outer Galaxy, and other quiescent regions, cloud-scale CO freeze-out occurring at low column and number densities may also be more prevalent, having consequences for CO observations and their interpretation.

Growth of Massive Molecular Cloud Filament by Accretion Flows. I. Slow-shock Instability versus Ambipolar Diffusion

The Herschel Gould Belt Survey showed that stars form in dense filaments in nearby molecular clouds. Recent studies suggest that massive filaments are bound by the slow shocks caused by accretion flows onto the filaments. The slow shocks are known to be unstable to corrugation deformation of the shock front. Corrugation instability could convert the accretion flow's ram pressure into turbulent pressure that influences the width of the filament, which, according to theory, determines the self-gravitational fragmentation scale and core mass. In spite of its importance, the effect of slow-shock instability on star-forming filaments has not been investigated. In addition, the linear dispersion relation obtained from ideal magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) analysis shows that the most unstable wavelength of shock corrugation is infinitesimally small. In the scale of dense filaments, the effect of ambipolar diffusion can suppress the instability at small scales. This study investigates the influence of ambipolar diffusion on the instability of the slow shock. We perform two-dimensional MHD simulations to examine the linear growth of the slow-shock instability, considering the effect of ambipolar diffusion. The results demonstrate that the most unstable scale of slow-shock instability is approximately 5 times the length scale of ambipolar diffusion ℓ AD calculated using post-shock variables, where ℓ AD corresponds to the scale where the magnetic Reynolds number for ambipolar diffusivity is unity.

A new method for direct extraction of ambipolar diffusion length in a thin film by scanning photoluminescence microscopy

In this study, we demonstrate a new method of scanning photoluminescence (PL) microscopy (SPLM) to directly extract the ambipolar diffusion length in a GaAs thin film. The PL intensity of the GaAs thin film was recorded while the excitation source scanned along a 400 nm wide slit between the metal masks to avoid the influence of surface recombination and light scattering at the sample edge. The experimental SPLM profile showed a simple-exponential-decay functional form and was numerically verified. A fitted decay length of 723 nm was extracted, which represents the ambipolar diffusion length of the GaAs thin film and agrees well with our previous study.

Time-varying mechanism of ion composition in a pulse-modulated Ar/C4F8/O2 dual-frequency capacitively coupled plasma

The time-varying mechanism of the positive-ion composition in a pulse-modulated Ar/C4F8/O2 dual-frequency capacitively coupled plasma was investigated in detail using a quadrupole mass spectrometer equipped with an electrostatic energy analyzer. Time-resolved measurements of the ion composition with respect to the pulse-off period ( Toff ) revealed that the electron temperature ( Te ) just after turning on the pulse is an important factor in determining the ratio of the ionization rates of the Ar+ and C x F y + ions. The time-varying phenomenon of the ion composition was also investigated through a numerical analysis based on the particle balance model, considering the production and loss rates of ions, ion–ion recombination processes, and ion–molecule reactions. When the VHF power ( PVHF ) was increased, a decrease in the ambipolar diffusion loss time constants of the ions ( τlossi ) was observed, and the change in electronegativity was pointed out as the cause of this phenomenon.

Numerical model of Earth ionosphere F region based on three-dimensional transport and ambipolar diffusion equations

Abstract The paper provides a detailed description of the numerical implementation of the transport scheme in the Earth’s ionosphere three-dimensional dynamical model of the Institute of Numerical Mathematics (INMIM). The presented version of INM-IM model takes into account the global dynamical processes of ion transport and ambipolar diffusion in the altitude range between 100 and 500 km (corresponding to F region). Based upon the splitting method the model solves the equations of ambipolar diffusion on the first split step and incorporates specifically designed advective transport scheme on the second step. The accuracy of transport scheme implementation in the model has been investigated through analytical solutions. The stability of the numerical algorithm has been demonstrated even for cases when transport velocities approaching extreme values.

Observing Planetesimal Formation under Streaming Instability in the Rings of HD 163296

We introduce a new technique to determine the gas turbulence and surface density in bright disk rings, under the assumption that dust growth is limited by turbulent fragmentation at the ring center. We benchmark this prescription in HD 163296, showing that our measurements are consistent with available turbulence upper limits and agree with independent estimates of the gas surface density within a factor of 2. We combine our results with literature measurements of the dust surface density and grain size to determine the dust-to-gas ratio and Stokes number in the 67 and 100 au rings. Our estimates suggest that particle clumping is taking place under the effect of streaming instability (SI) in the 100 au ring. Even though in the presence of external isotropic turbulence this process might be hindered, we provide evidence that turbulence is nonisotropic in both rings and likely originates from mechanisms (such as ambipolar diffusion) that could ease particle clumping under SI. Finally, we determine the mass accretion rate under the assumption that the disk is in steady state and turbulence regulates angular momentum transport. Our results are in tension with spectroscopic measurements and suggest that other mechanisms might be responsible for accretion, in qualitative agreement with the detection of a magnetocentrifugal wind in this system. Applying our method to larger samples can be used to statistically assess if SI is a viable mechanism to form planetesimals in bright rings.