Coherent Density Fluctuations Research Articles

Astrometric search for ultralight dark matter

Precision astrometry offers a way to probe new physics. By measuring the angular position of light sources at unprecedented precision, astrometry could probe minuscule fluctuations of underlying spacetime. This work explores the possibility of probing ultralight dark matter candidates using precision astrometry. Through the coherent and stochastic density fluctuations over the scale of its wavelength, ultralight dark matter perturbs the propagation of light and the geodesics of the observer and source, leading to unique time-dependent signatures in the angular position of background light sources. With detector specifications similar to the current and future astrometry observations, such as Gaia and the Roman Space Telescope, it is shown that the ultralight scalar dark matter of mass 10−18–10−16 eV could be probed when its density near the Solar System is about a few thousand times larger than the nominal dark matter density measured on a much larger kpc scale. This sensitivity is comparable to current pulsar timing array observations at a similar mass range. Explicit expressions for the angular deflection induced by most generic metric perturbations are derived and its gauge invariance is explicitly checked at the linear order. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

MHD activity induced coherent mode excitation in the edge plasma region of ADITYA-U tokamak

In this paper, we report the excitation of coherent density and potential fluctuations induced by magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) activity in the edge plasma region of ADITYA-U tokamak. When the amplitude of the MHD mode, mainly the m/n = 2/1, increases beyond a threshold value, |B̃θ|/Bθ ∼ 0.3%–0.4%, coherent oscillations in the density and potential fluctuations are observed having the same frequency as that of the MHD mode. The mode numbers of these MHD induced density and potential fluctuations are obtained by Langmuir probes placed at different radial, poloidal, and toroidal locations in the edge plasma region. Detailed analyses of these Langmuir probe measurements reveal that the coherent mode in edge potential fluctuation has a mode structure of m/n = 2/1, whereas the edge density fluctuation has an m/n = 1/1 structure. It is further observed that beyond the threshold, the coupled power fraction scales almost linearly with the magnitude of B̃θ/Bθ fluctuations. Furthermore, the rise rates of the coupled power fraction for coherent modes in density and potential fluctuations are also found to be dependent on the growth rate of magnetic fluctuations. The disparate mode structures of the excited modes in density and plasma potential fluctuations suggest that the underlying mechanism for their existence is the coupling of even harmonics of potential to the odd harmonics of pressure due to 1/R dependence of the toroidal magnetic field.

Modeling and simulation of transitional Rayleigh–Taylor flow with partially averaged Navier–Stokes equations

The partially averaged Navier–Stokes (PANS) equations are used to predict the variable-density Rayleigh–Taylor (RT) flow at Atwood number 0.5 and maximum Reynolds number 500. This is a prototypical problem of material mixing, featuring laminar, transitional, and turbulent flow, instabilities and coherent structures, density fluctuations, and production of turbulence kinetic energy by both shear and buoyancy mechanisms. These features pose numerous challenges to modeling and simulation, making the RT flow ideal to develop the validation space of the recently proposed PANS Besnard–Harlow–Rauenzahn-linear eddy viscosity model closure. The numerical simulations are conducted at different levels of physical resolution and test three approaches to set the parameters fϕ defining the range of physically resolved scales. The computations demonstrate the efficiency (accuracy vs cost) of the PANS model predicting the spatiotemporal development of the RT flow. Results comparable to large-eddy simulations and direct numerical simulations are obtained at significantly lower physical resolution without the limitations of the Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes equations in these transitional flows. The data also illustrate the importance of appropriate selection of the physical resolution and the resolved fraction of each dependent quantity ϕ of the turbulent closure, fϕ. These two aspects determine the ability of the model to resolve the flow phenomena not amenable to modeling by the closure and, as such, the computations' fidelity.

Scattering of radio frequency waves by cylindrical filaments with general orientation relative to the magnetic field

Radio frequency (RF) waves are routinely used in tokamak fusion plasmas for plasma heating, current control, as well as in diagnostics. These waves are excited by antenna structures placed near the tokamak’s wall and they have to propagate through a turbulent layer known as the scrape-off layer, before reaching the core plasma (which is their target). This layer exhibits coherent density fluctuations in the form of filaments and blobs. The scattering processes of RF plane waves by a single filament is studied with the assumption that the filament has a cylindrical shape and infinite length. Furthermore, besides the major toroidal component of the externally imposed magnetic field, there is also a small poloidal magnetic field component. Considering also that the cylindrical filament’s axis is not necessarily aligned with the toroidal direction, the total magnetic field is in general neither aligned with the axis of the cylinder nor with the toroidal direction. The investigation concerns the case of electron cyclotron (EC) waves (of frequency $f_{0}=170~\text{GHz}$) for tokamak applications. The study covers a variety of density contrasts between the filament and the ambient plasma, different magnetic field inclinations with respect to the cylinder axis (for the same magnitude of magnetic induction $B=4.5T$) and a wide range of filament radii.

Microwave imaging reflectometry for density fluctuation measurement on KSTAR

A dual-frequency microwave imaging reflectometry system was commissioned to measure both coherent and turbulent electron density fluctuations in KSTAR plasmas. Imaging of the density fluctuations is achieved with an array of 16 vertically aligned detectors and two X-mode probe beam frequencies (tunable over 78–92 GHz between plasma discharges). The system provides the capability of fluctuation measurements with poloidal wavenumbers (kθ) up to ∼3 cm−1 at the maximum sampling rate of 2 MHz. Following extensive laboratory tests, the system was further tested with known coherent density fluctuations during the precursor oscillation of the m/n = 1/1 internal kink mode. The phase information of the reflected beam was compared with the precursor oscillation of the electron temperature measured by an electron cyclotron emission (ECE) radiometer. Density fluctuation levels (δne/ne) at two radial positions separated by the inversion radius (inside and outside) were comparable to temperature fluctuation levels (δTe/Te) from ECE signals. Subsequently, two correlation analysis methods were applied to turbulent fluctuation measurements in a neutral beam heated L-mode plasma to determine the mean poloidal rotation velocities of density fluctuations at two radial positions. The measured mean poloidal velocities were ∼8.4 km s−1 at r/a ∼ 0.6 and ∼5 km s−1 at r/a ∼ 0.7 in the clockwise direction, which differed by 1–2 km s−1 with the projected poloidal velocities from the toroidal rotation velocity measured by charge exchange recombination spectroscopy.

Collective THz dynamics in living Escherichia coli cells

We have employed neutron Brillouin spectroscopy to study coherent collective density fluctuations in the biological macromolecular components of living Escherichia coli cells. To highlight the contribution of the macromolecular material alone, a suitably prepared mixture of light and heavy water was exploited to cancel the scattering length of intracellular water. The present results indicate that the cellular biomaterial sustains THz coherent density fluctuations, characterised by a propagating mode travelling at about 3600m/s and by a localised mode at energies between 4 and 7meV. A comparison with both hydration water and simpler biomolecules, such as proteins or DNA, brings further support to the idea that the dynamical coupling between biomolecular structures and biological water provides the delicate dynamical adaptation needed to achieve a full biological functionality. Finally, the behaviour of the damping factors of the observed collective modes strengthens the dynamical similarity of biological systems with glass-forming materials.

Vibrational Collective Dynamics of Dry Proteins in the Terahertz Region

The coherent density fluctuations of a perdeuterated dry protein have been studied by Brillouin neutron spectroscopy. Besides a nearly wavevector-independent branch located around 5 meV, a propagating mode with a linear trend at low wavevector Q is revealed. The corresponding speed of 3780 ± 130 m/s is definitely higher than that of hydrated proteins. Above Q = 0.8 Å(-1), this mode becomes overdamped, with lifetimes shorter than 0.1 ps, in fashion similar to glassy materials. The present results indicate that dry proteins sustain coherent density fluctuations in the THz frequency regime. The trend of the longitudinal modulus indicates that in this frequency range dry biomolecules are more rigid than hydrated proteins.

Collective Dynamics of Intracellular Water in Living Cells

Water dynamics plays a fundamental role for the fulfillment of biological functions in living organisms. Decades of hydrated protein powder studies have revealed the peculiar dynamical properties of hydration water with respect to pure water, due to close coupling interactions with the macromolecule. In such a framework, we have studied coherent collective dynamics in protein and DNA hydration water. State-of-the-art neutron instrumentation has allowed us to observe the propagation of coherent density fluctuations within the hydration shell of the biomolecules. The corresponding dispersion curves resulted to be only slightly affected by the coupling with the macromolecules. Nevertheless, the effects of the interaction appeared as a marked increase of the mode damping factors, which suggested a destructuring of the water hydrogen-bond network. Such results were interpreted as the signature of a "glassy" dynamical character of macromolecule hydration water, in agreement with indications from measurements of the density of vibrational states. Extending the investigations to living organisms at physiological conditions, we present here an in-vivo study of collective dynamics of intracellular water in Escherichia coli cells. The cells and water were fully deuterated to minimise the incoherent neutron scattering background. The water dynamics observed in the living cells is discussed in terms of the dynamics of pure bulk water and that of hydration water measured in powder samples.

Dynamical evolution of pedestal parameters in ELMy H-mode in the National Spherical Torus Experiment

Characterizations of the pedestal parameter dynamics throughout the edge localized mode (ELM) cycles are performed on the National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX, (Ono et al 2000 Nucl. Fusion 40 557)). A clear buildup of the pedestal height between ELMs is observed for three different plasma currents. This buildup tends to saturate at low and medium plasma currents. Similarly, the pedestal width increases with no clear evidence of saturation during an ELM cycle. The maximum pedestal gradient increases as a function of plasma current, reaches a nominal value after the ELM crash, and remains constant until the end of the ELM cycle. The pedestal height just prior to the onset of ELM is shown to increase quadratically with plasma current. The pedestal width (Δ) scales as with the poloidal β at the top of the pedestal. Coherent density fluctuations strongly increasing at the plasma edge are observed to be maximum after the ELM crash and to decay during the rest of the ELM cycle. Finally, the evolution of the pedestal height and width during the ELM cycle as well as the scaling with Ip of the pedestal pressure prior to the onset ELM are found to be qualitatively consistent with the peeling–ballooning theory.

Collective density fluctuations of DNA hydration water in the time-window below 1 ps

The coherent density fluctuations propagating through DNA hydration water were studied by neutron scattering spectroscopy. Two collective modes were found to be sustained by the aqueous solvent: a propagating excitation, characterised by a speed of about 3500 m/s, and another one placed at about 6 meV. These results globally agree with those previously found for the coherent excitations in bulk water, although in DNA hydration water the speed of propagating modes is definitely higher than that of the pure solvent. The short-wavelength collective excitations of DNA hydration water are reminiscent of those observed in protein hydration water and in the amorphous forms of ice.

Drift-Alfven waves induced optical emission fluctuations in Aditya tokamak

In Aditya tokamak [S. B. Bhatt et al. Indian J. Pure Appl. Phys. 27, 710 (1989)], an increase in the Hα and C2+ intensity fluctuations from the edge region is observed with an increase in the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) activity. Very small fluctuation amplitudes of Hα and C2+ intensity are observed in discharges where there is no MHD activity compared to the discharges with MHD activity. These fluctuations in the Hα and C2+, measured by optical filter—photomultiplier tube combination—are modulated by Mirnov oscillations having a dominant peak with a common frequency ∼7–10 kHz. Further investigation reveals the presence of strong coherent fluctuations in density and floating potential at same frequency as well. These observations indicate the existence of a nonelectrostatic instability, which may be based on the coupled mode of the drift mode and the Alfven mode. The coherent density fluctuations give rise to the experimentally observed coherent Hα and C2+ intensity fluctuations.

Ab initiocalculation of low-energy collective charge-density excitations inMgB2

We present {\it ab-initio} time-dependent density-functional theory calculation results for low-energy collective electron excitations in $\textrm{MgB}_2$. The existence of a long-lived collective excitation corresponding to coherent charge density fluctuations between the boron $\sigma$- and $\pi$- bands ($\sigma\pi$ mode) is demonstrated. This mode has a sine-like oscillating dispersion for energies below 0.5 eV. At even lower energy we find another collective mode ($\sigma\sigma$ mode). We show the strong impact of local-field effects on dielectric functions in MgB$_2$. These effects account for the long q-range behavior of the modes. We discuss the physics that these collective excitations bring to the energy region typical for lattice vibrations.

Collective Dynamics of Protein Hydration Water by Brillouin Neutron Spectroscopy

By a detailed experimental study of THz dynamics in the ribonuclease protein, we could detect the propagation of coherent collective density fluctuations within the protein hydration shell. The emerging picture indicates the presence of both a dispersing mode, traveling with a speed greater than 3000 m/s, and a nondispersing one, characterized by an almost constant energy of 6-7 meV. In agreement with molecular dynamics simulations [Phys. Rev. Lett. 2002, 89, 275501], the features of the dispersion curves closely resemble those observed in pure liquid water [Phys. Rev. E: Stat. Phys., Plasmas, Fluids, Relat. Interdiscip. Top. 2004, 69, 061203]. On the contrary, the observed damping factors are much larger than in bulk water, with the dispersing mode becoming overdamped at Q = 0.6 A(-1) already. Such novel experimental findings are discussed as a dynamic signature of the disordering effect induced by the protein surface on the local structure of water.

Quantitative density fluctuation measurements utilizing quadrature reflectometers on DIII-D

Fixed-frequency reflectometers utilizing quadrature phase detection are employed on DIII-D to study both coherent and turbulent density fluctuations. For coherent fluctuations, the reconstructed phase information successfully identifies MHD/coherent mode activity, e.g. tearing modes, compressional Alfvén eigenmodes, etc. For an m = 3/n = 2 tearing mode, a basic 1D phase screen model is applied to infer fluctuation levels, and the result is consistent with the beam emission spectroscopy (BES) measurement. For turbulent fluctuation studies, a 2D full-wave code (Valeo E.J., Kramer G.J. and Nazikian R. 2002 Plasma Phys. Control. Fusion 44 L1) is applied to interpret reflectometry data obtained in the H-mode edge pedestal region to deduce density fluctuation levels. The measurement is simulated using realistic geometry, plasma conditions and antenna patterns. Comparison of the fluctuation level deduced from the 2D code with BES measurement shows reasonable agreement.

The ‘neutron window’ of collective excitations in lipid membranes

While most spectroscopic techniques, e.g., nuclear magnetic resonance or dielectric spectroscopy probe macroscopic responses, neutron and with some restrictions also X-ray scattering experiments give unique access to microscopic dynamics at length scales of intermolecular or atomic distances. Only recently, it has become possible to study collective dynamics of planar lipid bilayers using neutron spectroscopy techniques [M.C. Rheinstädter, et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 93 (2004) 108107]. We determined the dispersion relation of the coherent fast picosecond density fluctuations on nearest-neighbor distances of the phospholipid acyl chains in the gel and in the fluid phases of a DMPC bilayer. The experiments shed light on the evolution of structure and dynamics, and the relation between them, in the range of the gel–fluid main phase transition. The scattering volume restriction for inelastic neutron experiments was overcome by stacking several thousand highly aligned membrane bilayers. By combining different neutron scattering techniques, namely three-axis, backscattering and spin–echo spectroscopy, we present measurements of short and long wavelength collective fluctuations in biomimetic and biological membranes in a large range in momentum and energy transfer, covering time scales from about 0.1 ps to almost 1 μ s and length scales from 3 Å to about 0.1 μ m . The neutron backscattering technique gives information about slow molecular dynamics of lipid acyl chains and the ‘membrane-water’, i.e., the water molecules in between the stacked bilayers in the nanosecond time range [M.C. Rheinstädter, et al., Phys. Rev. E 71 (2005) 061908]. The dispersion relations of the long wavelength undulation modes in lipid bilayers with nanosecond relaxation times can be determined by quasielastic reflectometry on spin–echo spectrometers and give direct access to the elasticity parameters of the membranes. [M.C. Rheinstädter, et al., cond-mat/0606114].

Exploring the collective dynamics of lipid membranes with inelastic neutron scattering

While most spectroscopic techniques, as e.g., nuclear magnetic resonance or dielectric spectroscopy, probe macroscopic responses, neutron and within some restrictions also x-ray scattering experiments give the unique access to microscopic dynamics at length scales of intermolecular or atomic distances. Only recently, it has become possible to study collective dynamics of planar lipid bilayers using neutron spectroscopy techniques [M. Rheinstädter, C. Ollinger, G. Fragneto, F. Demmel, and T. Salditt, Phys. Rev. Lett. 93, 108107 (2004)]. We determined the dispersion relation of the coherent fast picosecond density fluctuations on nearest-neighbor distances of the phospholipid acyl chains in the gel and in the fluid phases of a dimyristoylphoshatidylcholine bilayer. The experiments shed light on the evolution of structure and dynamics, and the relation between them, in the range of the gel-fluid main phase transition. The scattering volume restriction for inelastic neutron experiments was overcome by stacking several thousands of highly aligned membrane bilayers. By combining different neutron-scattering techniques, namely, three-axis, backscattering, and spin-echo spectroscopies, we present measurements of short- and long-wavelength collective fluctuations in biomimetic and biological membranes in a large range in momentum and energy transfer, covering time scales from about 0.1ps to almost 1μs and length scales from 3Å to about 0.1μm. The neutron-backscattering technique gives information about slow molecular dynamics of lipid acyl chains and the “membrane-water,” i.e., the water molecules in between the stacked bilayers in the nanosecond time range [M. C. Rheinstädter, T. Seydel, F. Demmel, and T. Salditt, Phys. Rev. E 71, 061908 (2005)]. The dispersion relations of the long-wavelength undulation modes in lipid bilayers with nanosecond relaxation times can be determined by quasielastic reflectometry on spin-echo spectrometers and give direct access to the elasticity parameters of the membranes.

Ultrafast dynamic control of spin and charge density oscillations in a GaAs quantum well.

We use subpicosecond laser pulses to generate and monitor in real time collective oscillations of electrons in a modulation-doped GaAs quantum well. The observed frequencies match those of intersubband spin- and charge-density excitations. Light couples to coherent density fluctuations through resonant stimulated Raman scattering. Because the spin- and charge-related modes obey different selection rules and resonant behavior, the amplitudes of the corresponding oscillations can be independently controlled by using shaped pulses of the proper polarization.

Scattering of reflectometer signals from rippled surfaces

Transverse coherent density fluctuations at the plasma cutoff layer are modeled by a rippled conducting surface. Two simulations are presented which give the reflectometer back scattered power as functions of ripple wavelength, amplitude, and phase. Results from an experimental simulation of the STOR-M tokamak geometry and a numerical simulation using the Helmholtz integral and a paraxial Gaussian probe beam, agree in showing three ripple wavelength (Λ) sensitivity regions defined by beam radius (w): Short wavelengths Λ/λ≪2w/λ experience large Bragg scattering. Long wavelengths Λ/λ≫10w/λ experience no scattering. Intermediate wavelengths experience complex scattering with strong modulation of reflected power at twice ripple frequency.

Effects of coherent density fluctuations on the ion–ion hybrid resonance

An analytic and numerical study is made of the effects caused by coherent density fluctuations, localized near the ion–ion hybrid resonance, on the propagation and absorption of fast Alfven waves. The system is represented by a Budden equation that incorporates static fluctuations in the ion density profiles. The unperturbed system contains a resonance at x=0 and a cutoff at x=d; the Alfven wave number at resonance is kA. Two cases are considered: fluctuations in the ion concentration ratio η and bulk density fluctuations. When the incident wave directly approaches the resonance, the fluctuation in the concentration ratio δη/η0 is less than 20%, and kAd 1, and concentration fluctuations 2%<δη/η0<5%, enhanced reflection leads to decreased absorption. ...

Studies of drift waves in a toroidal heliac

Low frequency, coherent density fluctuations have been studied for three typical magnetic configurations in the helical axis stellarator SHEILA using Langmuir probe techniques. The parametric dependence, the threshold magnetic field, the frequency spectrum and the spatial structure of the fluctuations are measured experimentally. Mode analyses are made in a magnetic coordinate system. Both the mode numbers thus obtained and the smallness of the directly measured values of k/sub ///(k perpendicular to /k/sub /// approximately 100) indicate a close correspondence between the helicity of the fluctuations and the field lines. These experimental results are consistent with a collisional drift wave model, derived from a linearized two-fluid theory, related to the heliac geometry. Density reduction associated with the fluctuations is clearly observed and is consistent with rough estimates of the cross-field particle flux due to the fluctuations.