Ion Density Measurements Research Articles

Experimental test of the ρ(1-α) evolution for rotational discontinuities: cluster magnetopause observations

Abstract. Rotational discontinuities (RDs) are governed by two relations: the Walén relation predicting that the plasma velocity observed in the deHoffmann–Teller frame equals the local Alfvén velocity and another relation that connects the variation in plasma mass density, ρ, to variations in the pressure anisotropy factor, α, defined as α: ≡(p∥ − p⊥) μ0/B2, so that ρ(1 − α) is constant. While the Walén relation has become a standard tool for classifying magnetopause crossings as RDs , the ρ(1 − α)= const. condition has never been directly verified at the same time, largely due to problems with determining ρ when no ion composition measurements were available. In fact, to overcome the lack of composition information, the validity of the relation has often been assumed and the Walén relation reformulated so that variations in ρ are replaced by variations in α. In this paper we exploit the availability of high-time-resolution composition measurements on the Cluster spacecraft to directly test the ρ (1− α)= const. condition for three magnetopause crossings, identified as RDs from the application of the Walén relation to measurements of plasma ions and magnetic field by the CIS (Cluster Ion Spectrometry) and FGM (flux-gate magnetometer) instruments, respectively. We find that the relation is not fulfilled in either case. In one event, with a fairly large content of oxygen ions, the Walén test improved when the contribution from these ions was taken into account. Through comparisons of the measured ion densities with simultaneously measured total electron densities by the Waves of HIgh frequency and Sounder for Probing of Electron density by Relaxation (WHISPER) instrument, we were able to exclude the possibility that ion populations hidden to the CIS instrument because of their very low energies could have changed ρ to match the ρ(1 − α)= const. condition. We also excluded the possibility that energetic ions above the CIS energy range could have sufficiently changed the true α. It thus appears that the ρ(1 − α)= const. condition, for reasons not presently understood, is not valid for the kind of RD-like structures we observe.

Measurement of ion density in an atmospheric pressure argon with pin-to-plate dielectric barrier discharge by resonance of plasma radiation

The measurements of the ion densities in the atmospheric AC barrier corona argon discharge are carried out by receiving and analyzing the frequencies of the electromagnetic radiation emitted from the plasma. An auxiliary excitation source composed of a pin-to-pin discharge system is introduced to excite the oscillations of the main discharge. To analyze the resonance mechanism, a complemented model based on a one-dimensional description of forced vibrations is given. Calculations indicate that Ar2+ is the dominant ion (∼89% in number density). By analyzing resonance frequencies, the ion densities of Ar2+ are in the order of 1019∼1020m−3 and increase slowly as the applied voltage increases.

High speed measurements of neutral beam turn-on and impact of beam modulation on measurements of ion density.

Modulation of neutral beams on tokamaks is performed routinely, enabling background rejection for active spectroscopic diagnostics, and control of injected power and torque. We find that there exists an anomalous initial transient in the beam neutrals delivered to the tokamak that is not accounted for by the accelerator voltage and power supply current. Measurements of the charge-exchange and beam photoemission on the DIII-D tokamak [J. L. Luxon, Nucl. Fusion 42, 614 (2002)] at high speed (200 μs) reveal that the energy of the beam neutrals is constant, but the density of beam neutrals displays dramatic variation in the first 2-3 ms following beam turn-on. The impact of this beam density variation on inferred ion densities and impurity transport is presented, with suggested means to correct for the anomalous transient.

Global model for plasmas generated by electron beams in low-pressure nitrogen

A global model is presented to determine the densities of the major charged and neutral species generated by a thin, planar electron beam passing through low-pressure nitrogen. The creation rates are based on results provided by a Boltzmann code that includes contributions not only from the beam electrons but also from the energetic daughter electrons created by ionization. Optical emission spectrometry is used to help validate the rates, and measurements of the total ion density are used to help validate the charged-particle densities. A key conclusion of the study is that electron-beam-generated plasmas differ strongly in character and composition, and thus in capabilities, from plasmas generated by the electrical discharges now widely used in material processing.

Development of the charge exchange recombination spectroscopy and the beam emission spectroscopy on the EAST tokamak.

Charge eXchange Recombination Spectroscopy (CXRS) and Beam Emission Spectroscopy (BES) diagnostics based on a heating neutral beam have recently been installed on EAST to provide local measurements of ion temperature, velocity, and density. The system design features common light collection optics for CXRS and BES, background channels for the toroidal views, multi-chord viewing sightlines, and high throughput lens-based spectrometers with good signal to noise ratio for high time resolution measurements. Additionally, two spectrometers each has a tunable grating to observe any wavelength of interest are used for the CXRS and one utilizes a fixed-wavelength grating to achieve higher diffraction efficiency for the BES system. A real-time wavelength correction is implemented to achieve a high-accuracy wavelength calibration. Alignment and calibration are performed. Initial performance test results are presented.

Comparison of H+ and He+ plasmapause locations based on the resurrected and reevaluated OGO-5 ion composition data base

Orbiting Geophysical Observatory 5 (OGO 5) magnetospheric ion-composition data (H+, He+ and O+) have been retrieved from old magnetic tapes archived at the National Space Science Data Center (NSSDC). The highly compressed binary format was converted into a user-friendly ASCII format and these data have been made available online. We have inspected the reliability and consistency of this data set. Comparisons with the IRI-2012 climatological model and the FLIP theoretical model revealed a shift of absolute and relative ion densities with time. Here we have developed a correction procedure for the individual H+, He+ and O+ ion density measurements. We investigated plasmapause locations based on the density gradients in H+, and He+. The correlation coefficient between these locations was determined to be ~0.886 with the typical difference in L about 0.1. The electron density at the He+ plasmapause location based on the corrected data for all cases was >100cm−3.

Edge Radial Electric Field Formation after the L‐H Transition on JT‐60U

AbstractSpatio‐temporal measurements of the impurity ion temperature, density, and rotation profiles around the plasma edge region have been made in the JT‐60U tokamak, allowing the determination of radial electric field, Er, with the key dimensionless parameter (poloidal Mach number, Upm) at the L‐H transition in a number of operational regimes. We found that there is variation in the L‐H transition in terms of its time‐scale; not only “hard” type transition with a faster time‐scale than that seen in the plasma transport (as represented by an energy confinement time, τE) as seen in the many conventional tokamaks, but also “soft” one with a slow time‐scale (≈τE) is possible solution, including a complex multi‐stage Er transition in the later H‐phase. The most important point is that the critical condition for the L‐H transition predicted by ion‐orbit loss model could be applicable only for “hard” transition (occurred at Upm ≥ 1), and not necessary for “slow” one (occurred even at Upm < 1). Characteristics of the turbulent density fluctuation with the frequency range of 100 kHz at the plasma edge region, in addition to a uniform toroidal MHD oscillation (i.e., n = 0), during ELM‐free H‐phase are also reported. (© 2014 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

On-Line Measurement of Ion Density in Atmospheric Nitrogen Discharge Filaments via Radiation Signals from Plasma Oscillation

Diagnosis of the particle number density of plasma plays an important role in the understanding of plasma sources and processing. Regular radiation signals from plasma oscillation in filaments of atmospheric nitrogen discharge, which were excited by the injection of secondary electron beams during the propagation of the streamer, are employed to determine the ion density of plasma and its evolution in the filaments. Results show that the density of N+4 in a filament of atmospheric nitrogen discharge is of the order of 1013 cm−3. It is also found that the recombination processes play a dominant role in plasma decay, and that the ion density decreases non-monotonically with time during streamer propagation.

Initial Performance Evaluation of a Gridded Radio Frequency Ion Thruster

Helicon plasma sources are devices that are capable of efficiently producing high-density plasmas. There is growing interest in using a helicon plasma source in space propulsion as a replacement to the direct current plasma discharge in ion engines. A radio frequency ion engine is developed that combines a helicon plasma source with electrostatic grids and a magnetically shielded anode. Thruster performance evaluation includes estimation of the discharge plasma ion density and electron temperature and measurement of the plume current density, grid currents, and thrust. The radio frequency ion engine is tested across the following operating parameter ranges: 343–600 W radio frequency power, 50–250 G magnetic field strength, argon flow rate, and 100–600 V discharge voltage range at an operating pressure of , discharge ion density and electron temperature range and 5.4–9.9 eV, respectively. Maximum beam current extracted is 120 mA at a 600 V discharge and is primarily limited by ion impingement on the grids due to insufficient grid potentials. The maximum measured thrust is 2.77 mN with an average uncertainty of . Further optimization of the thruster operating conditions and grid assembly can improve thruster performance.

Effects of discharge chamber length on the negative ion generation in volume-produced negative hydrogen ion source

In a volume-produced negative hydrogen ion source, control of electron temperature is essential due to its close correlation with the generation of highly vibrationally excited hydrogen molecules in the heating region as well as the generation of negative hydrogen ions by dissociative attachment in the extraction region. In this study, geometric effects of the cylindrical discharge chamber on negative ion generation via electron temperature changes are investigated in two discharge chambers with different lengths of 7.5 cm and 11 cm. Measurements with a radio-frequency-compensated Langmuir probe show that the electron temperature in the heating region is significantly increased by reducing the length of the discharge chamber due to the reduced effective plasma size. A particle balance model which is modified to consider the effects of discharge chamber configuration on the plasma parameters explains the variation of the electron temperature with the chamber geometry and gas pressure quite well. Accordingly, H(-) ion density measurement with laser photo-detachment in the short chamber shows a few times increase compared to the longer one at the same heating power depending on gas pressure. However, the increase drops significantly as operating gas pressure decreases, indicating increased electron temperatures in the extraction region degrade dissociative attachment significantly especially in the low pressure regime. It is concluded that the increase of electron temperature by adjusting the discharge chamber geometry is efficient to increase H(-) ion production as long as low electron temperatures are maintained in the extraction region in volume-produced negative hydrogen ion sources.

Electron temperature and ion density measurements in a glow discharge of an Ar–N2 mixture

A DC glow discharge produced in N2 gas can generate several species that are important in different applications, such as the modification of surface properties of materials. A low-pressure glow discharge apparatus was used for the the analysis of the Ar–N2 mixture at a total pressure of 2.0 Torr, a power of 20 W and 40 l/min flow rate of gases. The emission bands were measured in the wavelength range of 200–1100 nm. The principal elements are N2, N 2+ and Ar I. The electron temperature was found in the range of 1.72–2.08 eV, and the ion density was in the order of 1010 cm−3.

Meteor smoke influences on the D-region charge balance – review of recent in situ measurements and one-dimensional model results

Abstract. This work investigates the influence of meteoric smoke particles (MSP) on the charge balance in the D-region ionosphere. Both experimental in situ measurements and a one-dimensional ionospheric model reveal a clear impact of MSP on the ionospheric composition of the D-region. The study reviews rocket-borne in situ measurements of electron and positive ion density, which show a distinct deficit of electrons in comparison to positive ions between 80 and 95 km. This deficit can be explained by the ambient negatively charged MSP measured simultaneously with a Faraday cup. The influence of MSP on the D-region charge balance is addressed with a simplified ionospheric model with only six components, i.e. electrons, positive and negative ions and neutral and charged MSP (both signs). The scheme includes reactions of plasma captured by MSP and MSP photo reactions as well as the standard ionospheric processes, e.g. ion-ion recombination. The model shows that the capture of plasma constituents by MSP is an important process leading to scavenging of electrons. Since Faraday cup measurements are biased towards heavy MSP because of aerodynamical filtering, we have applied an estimate of this filter on the modelled MSP densities. By doing that, we find good qualitative agreement between the experimental data and our model results. In addition, the model study reveals an increase of positive ions in the presence of MSP. That is primarily caused by the reduced dissociative recombination with electrons which have been removed from the gas phase by the MSP.

Development of the gas puff charge exchange recombination spectroscopy (GP-CXRS) technique for ion measurements in the plasma edge

A novel charge-exchange recombination spectroscopy (CXRS) diagnostic method is presented, which uses a simple thermal gas puff for its donor neutral source, instead of the typical high-energy neutral beam. This diagnostic, named gas puff CXRS (GP-CXRS), is used to measure ion density, velocity, and temperature in the tokamak edge/pedestal region with excellent signal-background ratios, and has a number of advantages to conventional beam-based CXRS systems. Here we develop the physics basis for GP-CXRS, including the neutral transport, the charge-exchange process at low energies, and effects of energy-dependent rate coefficients on the measurements. The GP-CXRS hardware setup is described on two separate tokamaks, Alcator C-Mod and ASDEX Upgrade. Measured spectra and profiles are also presented. Profile comparisons of GP-CXRS and a beam based CXRS system show good agreement. Emphasis is given throughout to describing guiding principles for users interested in applying the GP-CXRS diagnostic technique.

In situ irregularity identification and scintillation estimation using wavelets and CINDI on C/NOFS

Wavelets are a time‐domain method that is able to extract both time and frequency information from a signal. The Morlet wavelet is used here to characterize the magnitude of ionospheric irregularities using measurements of the total ion density from the Coupled Ion Neutral Dynamics Investigation package onboard the Communications/Navigation Outage Forecasting System spacecraft. The power in ionospheric irregularities at scale sizes less than 128 km is used to generate an irregularity amplitude index. This index is used with a phase screen analysis to form an estimate of scintillation at the satellite location. The temporal information retained in a wavelet analysis also allows for an accurate power spectrum calculation even when used on short segments of data which is useful for real‐time processing of irregularity detection onboard a satellite or for analyzing the long data sets produced by a satellite. To validate the process, a comparison of the in situ scintillation estimate and Scintillation Network and Decision Aid measurements of the S4 index is presented.

A non-invasive technique to determine ion fluxes and ion densities in reactive and non-reactive pulsed plasmas

A non-invasive diagnostic technique for measurements of ion fluxes and ion densities in low-pressure pulsed radio-frequency (RF) discharges is described. The ion flux towards an electrode is determined from the change in electrode dc-bias in the plasma afterglow. The measurements in various gas mixtures (Ar, N2, Ar/C2H2 and Ar with nanoparticles) show an increase in ion flux with the applied RF power. Ion densities are estimated from the ion fluxes and the plasma density at the plasma–sheath boundary, assuming the afterglow electron temperature to be known. Very good agreement between the estimated ion densities and independently measured electron densities is found in the bulk of dust-free plasmas assuming an afterglow electron temperature of 0.05 eV for argon and argon/acetylene plasmas and 0.2 eV for the nitrogen plasma. In dusty plasmas, the ion density at the plasma–sheath boundary can be determined from the measured ion flux and assuming an afterglow electron temperature of 0.05 eV. For the estimation of ion density in the dusty plasma bulk, the ion density distribution, influenced by the negatively charged dust particles, has to be taken into account.

Spectroscopic Measurements of Neutral Hydrogen and Impurity Ion Densities with SMBI in GAMMA 10 Central Plasma

Supersonic Molecular Beam Injection (SMBI) experiments were performed at GAMMA 10 device under the collaboration with HELIOTRON Group of Kyoto University. In order to survey the effects of SMBI on the plasma behavior, we measured the plasma radiation by using the ultraviolet and visible (UV/V) spectroscopic system and study behavior of the neutral hydrogen and impurity ions emissions with using the collisional-radiative model (CR-model).With SMBI, the neutral hydrogen density calculated by the CR-model was about 20 times larger than that without SMBI. Impurity densities of oxygen ions also increased with SMBI.

The composition of Mars' topside ionosphere: Effects of hydrogen

AbstractA one‐dimensional model of the Martian ionosphere is used to explore the importance of atomic and molecular hydrogen chemistry in the upper atmosphere and ionosphere. Neutral and ionized H and H2 undergo chemical reactions that lead to the production of the hydrogenated ions: H+, H2+, H3+, OH+, HCO+, ArH+, N2H+, HCO2+, and HOC+. Simulations are conducted for the cases of photochemistry only and photochemistry coupled with transport in order to asses the separate effects of plasma diffusion in the topside ionosphere. For both of these cases, the sensitivity of the ionosphere is tested for (1) molecular hydrogen abundance and (2) reaction rate, k1, for the charge exchange between H+ and H2. Results are reported for midday solar minimum conditions. We find that the ionospheric composition of Mars is sensitive to H2 abundance, but relatively insensitive to the reaction rate, k1. Depending on the conditions simulated, the topside ionosphere can contain appreciable amounts of hydrogenated species such as H3+, OH+, and HCO+. Comparisons are made with Viking ion density measurements as well as with results of other published Mars ionospheric models. Future comparisons with more extensive ion composition will be available when the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution mission arrives at Mars.

Plasma parameters and electron energy distribution functions in a magnetically focused plasma

Spatially resolved measurements of ion density, electron temperature, floating potential, and the electron energy distribution function (EEDF) are presented for a magnetically focused plasma. The measurements identify a central plasma column displaying Maxwellian EEDFs at an electron temperature of about 5 eV indicating the presence of a significant fraction of electrons in the inelastic energy range (energies above 15 eV). It is observed that the EEDF remains Maxwellian along the axis of the discharge with an increase in density, at constant electron temperature, observed in the region of highest magnetic field strength. Both electron density and temperature decrease at the plasma radial edge. Electron temperature isotherms measured in the downstream region are found to coincide with the magnetic field lines.

Ion densities and composition of Titan's upper atmosphere derived from the Cassini Ion Neutral Mass Spectrometer: Analysis methods and comparison of measured ion densities to photochemical model simulations

The Cassini Ion Neutral Mass Spectrometer (INMS) has measured both neutral and ion species in Titan's upper atmosphere and ionosphere and the Enceladus plumes. Ion densities derived from INMS measurements are essential data for constraining photochemical models of Titan's ionosphere. The objective of this paper is to present an optimized method for converting raw data measured by INMS to ion densities. To do this, we conduct a detailed analysis of ground and in‐flight calibration to constrain the instrument response to ion energy, the critical parameter on which the calibration is based. Data taken by the Cassini Radio Plasma Wave Science Langmuir Probe and the Cassini Plasma Spectrometer Ion Beam Spectrometer are used as independent measurement constraints in this analysis. Total ion densities derived with this method show good agreement with these data sets in the altitude region (∼1100–1400 km) where ion drift velocities are low and the mass of the ions is within the measurement range of the INMS (1–99 Daltons). Although ion densities calculated by the method presented here differ slightly from those presented in previous INMS publications, we find that the implications for the science presented in previous publications is mostly negligible. We demonstrate the role of the INMS ion densities in constraining photochemical models and find that (1) cross sections having high resolution as a function of wavelength are necessary for calculating the initial photoionization products and (2) there are disagreements between the measured ion densities representative of the initial steps in Titan photochemistry that require further investigation.

High-resolution charge exchange measurements at ASDEX Upgrade

The charge exchange recombination spectroscopy (CXRS) diagnostics at ASDEX Upgrade (AUG) have been upgraded and extended to provide high-resolution measurements of impurity ion temperature, density, and rotation profiles. The existing core toroidal CXRS diagnostic has been refurbished to increase the level of signal, thus enabling shorter exposure times down to 3.5 ms. Additional lines of sight provide more detailed profiles and enable simultaneous measurements of multiple impurities. In addition, a new CXRS system has been installed, which allows for the measurement of poloidal impurity ion rotation in the plasma edge with high temporal (1.9 ms) and spatial resolution (down to 5 mm). A new wavelength correction method has been implemented to perform in situ wavelength calibrations on a shot-to-shot basis. Absolute measurements of the poloidal impurity ion rotation with uncertainties smaller than 1.5 km/s have been obtained. Comparison of all the CXRS measurements provides a consistency check of the diagnostics and good agreement has been found for all of the CXRS systems.