Charged Particles Research Articles

Confined Z-Pinch Magnetic Nozzle : A New Approach to Space Propulsion System that Utilizes Trapped Charged Particles

This paper provides a theoretical overview of a Z-pinch magnetic nozzle plasma propulsion system designed for Low Earth Orbit (LEO). The system utilizes trapped charged particles from the spacecraft's environment and magnetic confinement to generate thrust, reducing the need for onboard propellants. By employing a magnetic mirror configuration, the plasma is confined and accelerated to create propulsion. The proposed propulsion system is tailored to function in the dynamic space radiation environment of LEO, particularly in polar orbits, accounting for variations in solar activity that affect trapped protons and electrons. The mechanism involves converting magnetic plasma energy into directed kinetic energy, facilitating efficient plasma detachment and momentum transfer to the spacecraft. This study examines the feasibility, design overview, and constraints of implementing this propulsion technology. Key challenges include the variability of the space environment, technological complexities, radiation effects, plasma detachment efficiency, energy requirements, and material durability. Overcoming these challenges through innovative engineering and rigorous testing is essential for successful implementation. The Z-pinch magnetic nozzle plasma propulsion system promises to advance space propulsion technology, offering a more efficient and cost-effective method for satellite operations in LEO. With further research and development, it has the potential to support future satellite missions and space exploration initiatives.

Scattering of a Bessel Pincer Light-Sheet Beam on a Charged Particle at Arbitrary Size.

Electromagnetic scattering is a routine tool for rapid, non-contact characterization of particle media. In previous work, the interaction targets of scattering intensity, scattering efficiency, and extinction efficiency of Bessel pincer light-sheet beams were all aimed at dielectric spheres. However, most particles in nature are charged. Considering the boundary condition on a charged sphere, the beam shape coefficients (BSCs) (pmn,qmn) of the charged spherical particle illuminated by a Bessel pincer light-sheet beam are obtained. The extinction, scattering, and absorption efficiencies are derived under the generalized Lorenz-Mie theory (GLMT) framework. This study reveals the significant differences in scattering characteristics of Bessel pincer light-sheet beams on a charged particle compared to traditional beams. The simulations show a few apparent differences in the far-field scattering intensity and efficiencies between charged and natural spheres under the influence of dimensionless size parameters. As dimensionless parameters increase, the difference between the charged and neutral spheres decreases. The effects of refractive index and beam parameters on scattering, extinction, and absorption coefficients are different but tend to converge with increasing dimensionless parameters. When applied to charged spheres with different refractive indices, the scattering, extinction, and absorption efficiencies of Bessel pincer light-sheet beams change with variations in surface charge. However, once the surface charge reaches saturation, these efficiencies become stable. This study is significant for understanding optical manipulation and super-resolution imaging in single-molecule microbiology.

Quaternary Fission of Various Z = 120 Isotopes Accompanied by Two α Particles as Light Charge Particles

Quaternary Fission of Various Z = 120 Isotopes Accompanied by Two α Particles as Light Charge Particles

Circular motion and collisions of charged spinning particles near Kerr Newman black holes

We investigate the dynamics of spinning particles with an electric charge orbiting electrically charged Kerr–Newman black holes. First, we derive the equations of motion for the test particles using the Mathisson-Papapetrou-Dixon (MPD) equations, taking into account electromagnetic interaction and the interaction between the particle spin and the spacetime curvature known as the Lorentz coupling term in the MPD equation. We analyze the related effective potential in various scenarios of particle spin, angular momentum, and black hole spin orientation. In addition, we provide graphical analyses of the radius of innermost stable circular orbits (ISCOs) of the particles, their angular momentum, and energy at ISCOs and superluminal bounds. The ISCOs for positive and negatively charged particles are almost the same. The combined effects of the black hole and particle spins enhance the Coulomb interaction effect on the ISCO radius. The ISCO energy and angular momentum decrease with the increase in particle spin. In the Reissner–Nordström (RN) black hole limit, the decreasing rate is faster at positive values of the particle spin, and the spin limit changes in the Kerr–Newman black hole case. Finally, we study collisions between spinning charged particles near Kerr–Newman black holes. The critical values of the angular momentum of spinning charged particles are explored, and the particles can collide in various cases of particle and black hole spin, as well as the particle angular momentum. We also analyze electromagnetic and spin effects on the center-of-mass energy of the colliding particles.

Study of charged particle multiplicity with centrality in Au+Au collisions at SNN = 200 GeV

We have carried out methods of study to find the correlation between charged particle multiplicity and collision centrality of Au+Au collisions at SNN = 200 GeV. We have studied the open data from the ALICE experiment and arrived at the conclusion that central collisions produced a greater number of charged particles than peripheral collisions. This is done by reconstructing the three silicon layers inside the inner tracking system of the detector and studying the change in two spatial variables between layers: pseudorapidity with range || < 1 and azimuthal angle with acceptance , which can then be input into the sideband method to find the final multiplicity of each event. The study provides an insight into the transient nature of the Quark Gluon Plasma (QGP) produced in collisions by exploring how collision aftermaths vary with different conditions of the partons, which hopefully adds to the understanding of matter under the strong force at extreme energy density.

A new kind of Robe’s problem with charged bodies

This paper studies the motion of charged test particle, moving in the outermost layer of a heterogeneous body (taken as first primary) filled with incompressible homogeneous viscous fluid and second primary is taken as point mass, whereas both the primaries are assumed to be charged. We compute the equations of motion of test particle (the third body) and stationary points (circular, axial and out-of-plane stationary points). And also, the stability of stationary points is examined utilizing characteristics equations and Routh–Hurwitz criterion. In addition to this, the numerical analysis of stationary points and their stability are worked out for different values of parameters.

Dust particle surface potential in an argon-helium plasma using the (r,q)-distribution function

Abstract In this paper, the dust particle surface potential for argon-helium plasma is evaluated analytically and numerically in the context of negatively charged dust particles by employing a power-law r , q -distribution function. Recent studies have reported the argon-helium plasma and conducted a brief theoretical and experimental survey. To deepen our understanding further, this study aims to analyze the argon-helium plasma comprehensively using the same pattern but with the r , q -distribution function. For this purpose, the current balance equations are derived for electron, helium and argon ions, when these charge species attain the quasineutrality condition. We numerically examined the currents of plasma species for a broad range of effective distribution function parameters r and q . It is revealed that the surface potential of dust particles is significantly affected by the parameters r and q , helium ion-to-electron temperature ratio, argon ion-to-electron temperature ratio, and helium ion to argon ion number density ratio. By incorporating the multi-ion (argon-helium) species, the significance of low-temperature non-Maxwellian dusty (complex) plasma is briefly examined.

Study of quasi-projectile properties at Fermi energies in 48\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$^{48}$$\\end{document}Ca projectile systems

A systematic analysis of the data obtained by the FAZIA collaboration during a recent experiment with a neutron rich projectile is presented. The main goal was to compare the experimental results with the HIPSE event generator simulations to investigate the influence of the neutron rich entrance channel on the quasi-projectile fragment properties. The full isotopic range of charged particles detected in this experiment was within the limit of the resolution of the FAZIA detector. A majority of quasi-projectile fragments were detected thanks to the forward angular acceptance of the experimental setup which was confirmed through the HIPSE calculations. Essentially, the lowering of N/Z of quasi-projectile fragments with the beam energy was found to be present since the initial phase of the reaction. Thus, pre-equilibrium neutron emissions might be a possible candidate to explain such an effect.

Habitability of an exoplanet based on stellar wind

This paper aims to investigate the influence of stellar winds on the atmosphere of exoplanets. Stellar winds, which consist of charged particles produced by stars, can heavily alter and affect the evolution and composition of exoplanet atmospheres. This paper will provide an overview of stellar wind characteristics and their interactions with exoplanets. It will also investigate the consequences of such interactions, such as atmospheric erosion, atmospheric escape, and the exoplanets habitability. In order to develop a more sophisticated and accurate method for identifying habitable planets that may host life, it is necessary to better understand the mechanisms of stellar wind to build more accurate models of stellar wind.

Magnetically nanorized seaweed residue for the adsorption of methylene blue in aqueous solutions.

The cost-effective and green separation of dye pollutants from wastewater is of great importance in environmental remediation. Industrial seaweed residue (SR), as a low-cost cellulose source, was used to produce carboxylated nanorized-SR (NSR) via oxalic acid (OA)-water pretreatments followed by ultrasonic disintegration. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray polycrystalline diffraction, nitrogen isotherms, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, vibrating sample magnetometry, X-ray photoelectron spectrometry, particle charge detection, zeta potential and retro titration experiments were utilized to explore the physiochemical properties of samples. The NSRs with carboxyl content of 4.58-6.73 mmol g-1 were prepared using 10-60% OA-water pretreatment. In the case of 20% OA-water pretreatment, the highest NSR yield (73.9%) and nanocellulose content (80.2%) were obtained. Through self-assembly induced by the electrostatic interaction, magnetic NSR composite adsorbents (MNSRs) were prepared with the combination of NSR and Fe3O4 nanoparticles (NPs). The carboxylated NSR with negative charge demonstrated good affinity for Fe3O4 NPs. The Fe3O4 NPs were perfectly microencapsulated with the NSR when the NSR/Fe3O4 mass ratio was higher than 1/1. The adsorption properties of the MNSR for methylene blue (MB) removal from aqueous solution were investigated. The adsorbent with NSR/Fe3O4 mass ratio of 1/1 (MNSR1/1) exhibited optimum performance in terms of the magnetic properties and adsorption capacity. The MNSR1/1 showed high adsorption ability in a pH ≥7 environment. According to the Langmuir fitting, the maximum adsorption capacity of MNSR1/1 for MB reached 184.25 mg g-1. The adsorption of MB complies with the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. MNSR1/1 still maintained good adsorption properties after the fifth cycle of adsorption-desorption. MNSR1/1 could selectively adsorb cationic dye (i.e., MB and methyl violet) from wastewater, with hydrogen bonding and electrostatic interaction as the main force.

Evaluation of Scale-dependent Kurtosis with HelioSwarm

Plasma turbulence involves complex, nonlinear interactions of electromagnetic fields and charged particles across multiple scales. Studying these phenomena in space plasmas, like the solar wind, is facilitated by the intrinsic scale separations and the availability of in situ spacecraft observations. However, the single-point or single-scale configurations of current spacecraft limit our understanding of many properties of the turbulent solar wind. To overcome these limitations, multipoint measurements spanning a range of characteristic scales are essential. This Letter prepares for the enhanced measurement capabilities of upcoming multispacecraft missions by demonstrating that higher-order statistics, specifically kurtosis, as a baseline for intermittency can be accurately measured. Using synthetic turbulent fields with adjustable intermittency levels, we achieve scale separations analogous to those in the solar wind and apply these techniques to the planned trajectories of the HelioSwarm mission. This approach promises significant advancements in our understanding of plasma turbulence.

Origin of the Improved Photoelectrochemical and Photocatalytic Activity in a ZnO-TiO2 Nanohybrid Revealed by Experimental and Density Functional Theory Studies.

Heterojunctions of metal oxides have attracted a great deal of attention as photo (electro) catalysts owing to their excellent photoactivity. While multiple fundamental studies have been dedicated to heteroaggregation, self-assembly of oppositely charged particles to obtain heterojunctions for energy applications has been underexplored. Herein, we report the synthesis of ZnO-TiO2 heterojunctions using the electrostatic self-assembly approach. The synthesized ZnO-TiO2 heterojunctions were characterized by using multiple experimental techniques. Density functional theory calculations were conducted to establish the heterojunction formation mechanism and electronic properties. The ZnO-TiO2 nanohybrid was tested for the photodegradation of rhodamine B dye and water splitting applications. The photocatalytic performance of the ZnO-TiO2 nanohybrid is 3.5 times higher than that of bare ZnO. In addition, the heterostructure exhibited an excellent photocurrent density of 2.4 mA cm-2 at a low onset potential during photoelectrochemical oxygen evolution. The performance improvements are attributed to the formation of the type II heterojunction between ZnO and TiO2, which suppresses carrier recombination and enhances carrier transport, boosting the catalytic activity.

Shot noise-mitigated secondary electron imaging with ion count-aided microscopy

Modern science is dependent on imaging on the nanoscale, often achieved through processes that detect secondary electrons created by a highly focused incident charged particle beam. Multiple types of measurement noise limit the ultimate trade-off between the image quality and the incident particle dose, which can preclude useful imaging of dose-sensitive samples. Existing methods to improve image quality do not fundamentally mitigate the noise sources. Furthermore, barriers to assigning a physically meaningful scale make the images qualitative. Here, we introduce ion count-aided microscopy (ICAM), which is a quantitative imaging technique that uses statistically principled estimation of the secondary electron yield. With a readily implemented change in data collection, ICAM substantially reduces source shot noise. In helium ion microscopy, we demonstrate 3[Formula: see text] dose reduction and a good match between these empirical results and theoretical performance predictions. ICAM facilitates imaging of fragile samples and may make imaging with heavier particles more attractive.

Towards modelling AR Sco: generalized particle dynamics and strong radiation-reaction regimes

ABSTRACT Numerical simulations of relativistic plasmas have become more feasible, popular, and crucial for various astrophysical sources with the availability of computational resources. The necessity for high-accuracy particle dynamics is especially highlighted in pulsar modelling due to the extreme associated electromagnetic fields and particle Lorentz factors. Including the radiation-reaction force in the particle dynamics adds even more complexity to the problem, but is crucial for such extreme astrophysical sources. We have also realized the need for such modelling concerning magnetic mirroring and particle injection models proposed for AR Sco, the first white dwarf pulsar. This paper demonstrates the benefits of using higher-order explicit numerical integrators with adaptive time-step methods to solve the full particle dynamics with radiation-reaction forces included. We show that for standard test scenarios, namely various combinations of uniform E- and B-fields and a static dipole B-field, the schemes we use are equivalent to and in extreme field cases outperform standard symplectic integrators in accuracy. We show that the higher-order schemes have massive computational time improvements due to the adaptive time-steps we implement, especially in non-uniform field scenarios and included radiation reaction where the particle gyro-radius rapidly changes. When balancing accuracy and computational time, we identified the adaptive Dormand–Prince eighth-order scheme to be ideal for our use cases. The schemes we use maintain accuracy and stability in describing the particle dynamics and we indicate how a charged particle enters radiation-reaction equilibrium and conforms to the analytical Aristotelian Electrodynamics expectations.

Avoiding dust contamination by near-plasma chemical surface engineering

Dust contamination is a frequent problem when processing materials at the nanoscale by plasma technology. Various approaches have thus been applied to protect samples, however, requiring to adjust plasma properties which also imposes limitations on the process window. We therefore propose near-plasma chemical (NPC) surface engineering as a way to avoid dust contamination during and after plasma operation without altering the plasma environment by simply locating a polymeric mesh above the samples in the plasma sheath. Because of the electric potential acquired by the mesh, heavy charged particles cannot pass the open area of the mesh, avoiding their contact with the samples positioned below. Samples fabricated by NPC surface engineering are dust-free independently on the size or the origin of the powder nanoparticles. This neat approach can support many high-precision, dust-free applications of plasma technology on an industrial scale.

Structural reactions, green chemistry solvents, topology surface, electronic and biological studies of 4-(dihydroxymethyl) pyridine-2-carbonitrile – Anti-tuberculosis activity

Spectroscopic properties of 4-(dihydroxymethyl) pyridine-2-carbonitrile have been theoretically scrutinized using DFT technique utilizing B3LYP approach along with 6–311G++(d,p) basis set. Electronic-stability, electronic transitions, and distribution of charge within the molecule were analyzed using FMO and NBO analyses, which involve π*(C13–C14) to π*(C10–C15) transition, with a maximum stabilization energy of 212.33 kcal/mol, which ascertain the molecule's stability. Vibrational assignments for FT-IR and FT-Raman spectrum have been conducted using PED for identifying functional groups. Topological analyses such as ELF, LOL, and RDG provided a comprehensive understanding of the distribution of charged particles across each element within molecule, enabling the identification of electrophilic and nucleophilic sites. DMPC adheres to Lipinski's rule of five, indicating suitability for oral administration similar to other drugs. Investigations using molecular docking were performed to analyze the biological asset of the compound. Protein 6UCR demonstrated superior binding potency with a minimum binding-energy reaching −8.5 kcal/mol, revealing its potential treatment for tuberculosis.

JWST Reveals CO Ice, Concentrated CO2 Deposits, and Evidence for Carbonates Potentially Sourced from Ariel’s Interior

The Uranian moon Ariel exhibits a diversity of geologically young landforms, with a surface composition rich in CO2 ice. The origin of CO2 and other species, however, remains uncertain. We report observations of Ariel’s leading and trailing hemispheres, collected with NIRSpec (2.87–5.10 μm) on the James Webb Space Telescope. These data shed new light on Ariel's spectral properties, revealing a double-lobed CO2 ice scattering peak centered near 4.20 and 4.25 μm, with the 4.25 μm lobe possibly representing the largest CO2 Fresnel peak yet observed in the solar system. A prominent 4.38 μm 13CO2 ice feature is also present, as is a 4.90 μm band that results from 12CO2 ice. The spectra reveal a 4.67 μm 12CO ice band and a broad 4.02 μm band that might result from carbonate minerals. The data confirm that features associated with CO2 and CO are notably stronger on Ariel’s trailing hemisphere compared to its leading hemisphere. We compared the detected CO2 features to synthetic spectra of CO2 ice and mixtures of CO2 with CO, H2O, and amorphous carbon, finding that CO2 could be concentrated in deposits thicker than ∼10 mm on Ariel’s trailing hemisphere. Comparison to laboratory data indicates that CO is likely mixed with CO2. The evidence for thick CO2 ice deposits and the possible presence of carbonates on both hemispheres suggests that some carbon oxides could be sourced from Ariel’s interior, with their surface distributions modified by charged particle bombardment, sublimation, and seasonal migration of CO and CO2 from high to low latitudes.

Predicting the Electrophoretic Mobility of Charged Particles in an Aqueous Medium.

Electrophoresis of charged particles has important applications in biochemical separation processes. The mobility of these particles depends on the surrounding electric double layer (EDL), which is impacted by solvent restructuring because of hydration interactions. Nevertheless, most theoretical estimates ignore such interactions during computation of the electrophoretic mobility. Here, we employ a complementary blend of mean-field analysis and molecular dynamics simulations performed for a peptide-G-quadruplex complex to assess how hydration interactions alter the mobility of a charged particle in an aqueous medium. These interactions are seen to stabilize the EDL, resulting in more significant localized counterion concentrations while strengthening the ensuing electrokinetic flow. The ordering of ions near the particle surface is obtained only upon including hydration interaction, revealing that the hydration water molecules act as a glue for forming a stable EDL, a key finding of this work. Conversely, the observed microstructure of ions near the charged surface as obtained from our theory establishes a bridge link between the micro and continuum model. The presence of larger counter ions enhances the drag on the particle, thus restricting its mobility. The mobility also becomes dependent on size, which may be useful for isolating a wide array of biomolecules. The impact of hydration interactions intensifies with increases in particle size, surface charge density, and bulk ion concentration.

Analysis of high-frequency limit in absorption cross-section for Kerr–Newman–de Sitter black hole

In this paper, we study the critical impact parameter and Lyapunov exponent for a massive charged particle and a photon in the Kerr–Newman–de Sitter (KNdS) spacetime. From the geodesic equations obtained for the particle traveling parallel to the rotation axis (on-axis) of the KNdS spacetime and using the complex angular momentum (CAM) technique, it is found that the total absorption cross-section at a high-frequency limit oscillates with decreasing amplitude. We show that the black hole charge and spin affect the total absorption cross-section in the case of both the massive charged particle and photon.

Vibration Control Solutions for Microscopy

Abstract Vibration is always present in our environment at some level. It can have a deleterious effect on all types of microscopes and should always be considered when installing a microscope in a facility. Some microscope manufacturers, particularly those who make charged electron or particle beam microscopes, have detailed vibration specifications; others do not. In this article we discuss sources of vibration, techniques for mitigating vibration, and some general rules about which types of vibration control to use based on the type of microscope being used.