Particle Transport Mechanisms Research Articles

Modeling the X-Ray Emission of the Boomerang Nebula and Implication for Its Potential Ultrahigh-energy Gamma-Ray Emission

The Boomerang Nebula is a bright radio and X-ray pulsar wind nebula (PWN) powered by an energetic pulsar, PSR J2229+6114. It is spatially coincident with one of the brightest ultrahigh-energy (UHE; ≥100 TeV) gamma-ray sources, LHAASO J2226+6057. While X-ray observations have provided radial profiles for both the intensity and photon index of the nebula, previous theoretical studies have not reached an agreement on their physical interpretation, which also leads to different anticipation of the UHE emission from the nebula. In this work, we model its X-ray emission with a dynamical evolution model of PWN, considering both convective and diffusive transport of electrons. On the premise of fitting the X-ray intensity and photon index profiles, we find that the magnetic field within the Boomerang Nebula is weak (∼10 μG in the core region and diminishing to 1 μG at the periphery), which therefore implies a significant contribution to the UHE gamma-ray emission by the inverse Compton (IC) radiation of injected electron/positron pairs. Depending on the particle transport mechanism, the UHE gamma-ray flux contributed by the Boomerang Nebula via the IC radiation may constitute about 10%–50% of the flux of LHAASO J2226+6057 at 100 TeV and up to 30% at 500 TeV. Finally, we compare our results with previous studies and discuss potential hadronic UHE emission from the PWN. In our modeling, most of the spindown luminosity of the pulsar may be transformed into thermal particles or relativistic protons.

Anomalous diffusion of active Brownian particles in responsive elastic gels: Nonergodicity, non-Gaussianity, and distributions of trapping times.

Understanding actual transport mechanisms of self-propelled particles (SPPs) in complex elastic gels-such as in the cell cytoplasm, in in vitro networks of chromatin or of F-actin fibers, or in mucus gels-has far-reaching consequences. Implications beyond biology/biophysics are in engineering and medicine, with a particular focus on microrheology and on targeted drug delivery. Here, we examine via extensive computer simulations the dynamics of SPPs in deformable gellike structures responsive to thermal fluctuations. We treat tracer particles comparable to and larger than the mesh size of the gel. We observe distinct trapping events of active tracers at relatively short times, leading to subdiffusion; it is followed by an escape from meshwork-induced traps due to the flexibility of the network, resulting in superdiffusion. We thus find crossovers between different transport regimes. We also find pronounced nonergodicity in the dynamics of SPPs and non-Gaussianity at intermediate times. The distributions of trapping times of the tracers escaping from "cages" in our quasiperiodic gel often reveal the existence of two distinct timescales in the dynamics. At high activity of the tracers these timescales become comparable. Furthermore, we find that the mean waiting time exhibits a power-law dependence on the activity of SPPs (in terms of their Péclet number). Our results additionally showcase both exponential and nonexponential trapping events at high activities. Extensions of this setup are possible, with the factors such as anisotropy of the particles, different topologies of the gel network, and various interactions between the particles (also of a nonlocal nature) to be considered.

Distribution of transitional flow deposits in sedimentary environments of mixed sand-mud turbidite system

Predicting facies distribution in turbidite systems is essential for resource exploration and identifying geohazards from an economic standpoint. Models that describe facies distribution depend heavily on understanding the mechanisms of particle transport and deposition. These processes are closely tied to the volume, concentration, and composition of sediment gravity flows, which display a range of behaviours between turbulent and laminar flow extremes. Recently, there has been a rise in studies on transitional flow deposits, although they remain much less understood than fully turbulent or laminar flows.For the first time, the distribution of Structured sandstone–mudstone associated with transitional flow deposits has been quantitatively presented for various sedimentary environments within the turbidite system. The distribution of Structured sandstone–mudstone was analysed for six areas of the Ropianka Fm (Skole Nappe, Polish Outer Carpathians) across twelve sedimentary environments, including channels, channel-levees, channel-mouths, and sub-environments of the depositional lobe. An increased amount of Structured sandstone–mudstone was observed in proximal settings away from the transport axis and in the distal parts of the turbidite system. It was found that flow transformation can occur in both proximal and distal zones of the turbidite system. Structured sandstone–mudstone in proximal zones is more often deposited from diluted mud-laden flows of small volume, where fine-grained cohesive material likely underwent vertical segregation. In contrast, Structured sandstone–mudstone formed basinward tend to be initially formed by larger flows. In proximal part of depositional lobe setting, the flow transformation due to longitudinal or longitudinal and vertical segregation of fine-grained cohesive material occurs slowly. At this point the velocity of sediment gravity flow is too high and the concentration of cohesive particles is too low for common development of cohesive bonds. Flow transformation accelerates in lobe fringe and lobe distal fringe/interlobe, due to flow deceleration, changes in sand-to-mud ratio, and the time required for development of cohesive bonds and the transition to a transitional flow regime, leading to increased deposition of Structured sandstone–mudstone distally.

Multispacecraft Observations of Protons and Helium Nuclei in Some Solar Energetic Particle Events toward the Maximum of Cycle 25

The intricate behavior of particle acceleration and transport mechanisms complicates the overall efforts in formulating a comprehensive understanding of solar energetic particle (SEP) events; these efforts include observations of low-energy particles (from tens of keV to hundreds of MeV) by space-borne instruments and measurements by the ground-based neutron monitors of the secondary particles generated in the Earth atmosphere by SEPs in the GeV range. Numerous space-borne missions provided good data on the nature/characteristics of these solar particles in past solar cycles, but more recently—concurrently with the rise toward the maximum of solar cycle 25—the High-Energy Particle Detector (HEPD-01) proved to be well suited for the study of solar physics and space weather. Its nominal 30–300 MeV energy range for protons can enlarge the detection capabilities of solar particles at low Earth orbit, closer to the injection limit of many SEP events. In this work, we characterize three SEP events within the first six months of 2022 through spectral and velocity dispersion analysis, assessing the response of HEPD-01 to >M1 events.

VUV imaging of type-I ELM filamentary structures and their temporal characteristics on EAST

In the H-mode experiments conducted on the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST), fluctuations induced by the so-called edge localized modes (ELMs) are captured by a high-speed vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) imaging system. Clear field line-aligned filamentary structures are analyzed in this work. Ion transport induced by ELM filaments in the scrape-off layer (SOL) under different discharge conditions is analyzed by comparing the VUV signals with the divertor probe signals. It is found that convective transport along open field lines towards the divertor target dominates the parallel ion particle transport mechanism during ELMs. The toroidal mode number of the filamentary structure derived from the VUV images increases with the electron density pedestal height. The analysis of the toroidal distribution characteristics during ELM bursts reveals toroidal asymmetry. The influence of resonance magnetic perturbation (RMP) on the ELM size is also analyzed using VUV imaging data. When the phase difference of the coil changes periodically, the widths of the filaments change as well. Additionally, the temporal evolution of the ELMs on the VUV signals provides rise time and decay time for each single ELM event, and the results indicate a negative correlation trend between these two times.

Flat Spectra of Energetic Particles in Interplanetary Shock Precursors

The observed energy spectra of accelerated particles at interplanetary shocks often do not match the diffusive shock acceleration (DSA) theory predictions. In some cases, the particle flux forms a plateau over a wide range of energies, extending upstream of the shock for up to seven flux e-folds before submerging into the background spectrum. Remarkably, at and downstream of the shock we have studied in detail, the flux falls off in energy as ϵ −1, consistent with the DSA prediction for a strong shock. The upstream plateau suggests a particle transport mechanism different from those traditionally employed in DSA models. We show that a standard (linear) DSA solution based on a widely accepted diffusive particle transport with an underlying resonant wave–particle interaction is inconsistent with the plateau in the particle flux. To resolve this contradiction, we modify the DSA theory in two ways. First, we include a dependence of the particle diffusivity κ on the particle flux F (nonlinear particle transport). Second, we invoke short-scale magnetic perturbations that are self-consistently generated by, but not resonant with, accelerated particles. They lead to the particle diffusivity increasing with the particle energy as ∝ϵ 3/2 that simultaneously decreases with the particle flux as 1/F. The combination of these two trends results in the flat spectrum upstream. We speculate that nonmonotonic spatial variations of the upstream spectrum, apart from being time-dependent, may also result from non-DSA acceleration mechanisms at work upstream, such as stochastic Fermi or magnetic pumping acceleration.

Experimental study on dynamics of a free-falling finite-size sphere associated with its collision with a wall in a boundary layer

To reveal the physical mechanisms of particle transport in the pneumatic and hydraulic transports, this study experimentally investigated the dynamics of a free-falling finite-size sphere associated with its collision with a wall and the surrounding flow field in a boundary layer flow. The simultaneous motion of finite-size sphere and its inducing flow field near the wall were measured by using a time-resolved particle image velocimetry. The results revealed that the free-falling velocity of sphere increases with Reynolds number before the first impaction, and then is almost unrelated to Reynolds number. The effect of gravity on sphere motion becomes weak with increasing Reynolds number. As the sphere approaches to the wall, the vortex appeared at the front of sphere moves to left side near the wall and reduces the sphere falling speed. After the sphere collided on the wall, the upward motion of sphere induces another vortex pair, which generates strong rotation of sphere.

Diagnosing the Particle Transport Mechanism in the Pulsar Halo via X-Ray Observations

Pulsar halos (also termed “TeV halos”) are a new class of γ-ray sources in the Galaxy, which manifest as extended γ-ray emission around middle-aged pulsars, as discovered around the Geminga pulsar, the Monogem pulsar, and PSR J0622+3749 by the High-Altitude Water Cherenkov Observatory and the Large High-Altitude Air Shower Observatory. A consensus has been reached that the teraelectronvolt emission comes from the inverse Compton scattering of escaping electrons/positrons from the pulsar wind nebula of the soft background radiation field, while the particle transport mechanism in the halo is still in dispute. Currently, there are mainly three interpretations: the isotropic, suppressed diffusion model; the isotropic, unsuppressed diffusion model that considers the ballistic propagation of newly injected particles; and the anisotropic diffusion model. While the predicted γ-ray surface brightness profiles of all three models can be more or less consistent with the observations, the implications of the three models for cosmic-ray transport mechanisms and the properties of the interstellar magnetic field are quite different. In this study, we calculate the anticipated X-ray emission of pulsar halos under the three models. We show that the synchrotron radiation of these escaping electrons/positrons can produce a corresponding X-ray halo around the pulsar and that the expected surface brightness profiles are distinct in the three models. We suggest that sensitive X-ray detectors of a large field of view (such as eROSITA and the Einstein Probe) with a reasonably long exposure time are crucial to understanding the formation mechanism of pulsar halos and can serve as a probe of the properties of interstellar turbulence.

Variable Non-Gaussian Transport of Nanoplastic on Supported Lipid Bilayers in Saline Conditions.

Nanoplastic-lipid interaction is vital to understanding the nanoscale mechanism of plastic adsorption and aggregation on a lipid membrane surface. However, a single-particle mechanistic picture of the nanoplastic transport process on a lipid surface remains unclear. Here, we report a salt-dependent non-Gaussian transport mechanism of polystyrene particles on a supported 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-glycero-3-phosphocholine (POPC) lipid bilayer surface. Particle stickiness on the POPC surface increases with salt concentration, where the particles stay longer at the surface and diffuse to shorter distances. Additionally, a non-Gaussian diffusion state dominates the transport process at high salt concentrations. Our current study provides insight into the transport mechanism of polystyrene (PS) particles on supported lipid membranes, which is essential to understanding fundamental questions regarding the adsorption mechanisms of nanoplastics on lipid surfaces.

Height-modulating horizontal transport of dust particles in a dusty plasma ratchet

Dust particles are often electrostatically trapped and levitated within the non-electroneutral region of a sheath. The fascinating transport phenomena of dust particles strongly depend on the plasma parameters surrounding them within the sheath, whereas, that are quite difficult to obtain, leading to an unclear understanding of particle transport mechanisms. Here, we demonstrate a tunable horizontal transport of micron-sized dust particles by precisely manipulating their vertically suspended heights in an asymmetric ratchet sheath by designing dusty plasma ratchet. A collection of dust particles serves as micro-probes to detect the height-dependent transport properties and the feature of the sheath. Two methods are employed to lift or reduce the suspended heights of dust particles while maintaining the sheath unchanged. As the suspended heights of dust particles vary, their directional transport changes accordingly, including a flow reversal. A two-dimensional model of the ratchet sheath depicts the nonlinear distributions of plasma parameters and reveals that these unexpected transport phenomena can be attributed to the dependence of the electric ratchet potential and the resulting non-equilibrium net ion drag force on the suspended heights of dust particles. Our combined experimental and theoretical study provides insights into the fundamental transport properties of dust particles in an asymmetrical sheath.

Numeričko istraživanje uticaja gustine čestica i brzine strujanja na transport i depoziciju čestica u prisustvu proizvoljno orijentisanog loma

Introduction/purpose: Fractured formations recently gained significant interest as a landscape for securing both energy and groundwater demands, However, the dual role of fracture in transporting fluids and contaminants underscores the need for further investigations to mitigate the impact on human health. This study aims to numerically investigate the combined effect of particle density and flow velocity on their transport and deposition in different fracture orientations. Methods: A 2D particle tracing simulation was implemented accounting for drag and gravity forces on a smooth fracture. The derived particle numbers under the studied scenario e.g., fracture orientation, particle density, and flow velocity, were fitted to a 1D advection-dispersion equation with a deposition term. Results: The model elucidated that both particle densities yielded an increase in the normalized concentration in non-horizontal scenarios as the fracture orientation angle increased. The overall increment led to an observed decrease in the deposition coefficients and was associated with an increase in the dispersion coefficients. Hence the effect was more pronounced for denser particles where gravitational settling dominated, particularly in horizontal fractures. Less dense particles (1.05 g/cm³) were more strongly influenced by hydrodynamic forces, exhibiting lower overall deposition and dispersion across all fracture orientations. Additionally, increased flow velocity enhanced mechanical mixing and amplified dispersion and deposition coefficients. Conclusion: The findings demonstrated a clear dependency on the combined effect of fracture orientation, particle density, and flow velocity. These valuable insights into particle transport mechanisms in fractured media have applications in subsurface flow, contaminant migration, and reservoir engineering.

Direct numerical simulation of sand particles transporting in the atmospheric Ekman boundary layer

Abstract This study presents a direct numerical simulation that investigates the transport mechanisms of sand particles in the neutrally stable atmospheric Ekman boundary layer (AEBL). The simulation models the AEBL in a half-channel flow, taking into account the Earth's rotation and adding a Coriolis term to the Navier–Stokes equations. The Lagrangian point-particle method with one-way coupling is used to track the sand particles. The main objective is to examine the impact of gravity and particle Stokes number on the sand particle dynamics. The results indicate that gravity has a significant effect on large-size sand particles, as seen in the mean and root-mean-square sand velocity profiles. The slip velocity profiles of sand particles relative to the surrounding air show that larger particles experience higher drag forces in the viscous sublayer, which hinders their forward movement. This effect is also amplified by gravity. Furthermore, the mean profiles of the streamwise and spanwise slip velocities exhibit distinct demarcations of the viscous sublayer, buffer layer and log-law region. The spatial and temporal Voronoï analysis reveals that gravity increases the clustering level of sand particles in the entire turbulent Ekman layer and reduces the time for the change of the Voronoï volume, particularly for large-size particles.

Energy and mass transport properties in the near-cathode region of atmospheric thermal plasma

As the main region where charged particles are accelerated by the electric field and accumulated near the cathode, the near-cathode region has significant non-local equilibrium characteristics and plays a crucial role in exploring the energy and mass transport properties of the thermal plasma from the arc column region to the hot cathode surface. However, there is a lack of universally adopted models and accepted theories for the study of the near-cathode region due to the complexity of the physical mechanisms involved in the sheath. According to the physical characteristics of the arc discharge, an external circuit is usually used to regulate the total current applied to the electrodes to maintain stable discharge. Therefore, the energy and mass transport properties of atmospheric thermal plasma driven by a current source coupled to an external circuit are investigated in this work to explore the transport mechanism of charged particles in the near-cathode region based on an implicit particle-in-cell Monte Carlo collision method. Firstly, the current-driven model in this work is compared with the present voltage-driven model and fluid model to verify the correctness of this model. Then, the collisions between charged particles and gas atoms inside the sheath are analyzed, and the spatial distributions of particle current density and particle heating rate inside the sheath are also studied. Finally, the variations of typical parameters of thermal particles under different current densities (106–107 A m−2) are analyzed, including maximum particle number density, maximum particle spatially-averaged temperature, sheath thickness, charge density and electric field strength in the cathode.

Theoretical analyses on the one-dimensional charged particle transport in a decaying plasma under an electrostatic field

The spatiotemporal evolutions of a one-dimensional collisionless decaying plasma bounded by two electrodes with an externally applied electrostatic field are studied by theoretical analyses and particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations with the ion extraction process in a laser-induced plasma as the major research background. Based on the theoretical analyses, the transport process of the charged particles including electrons and ions can be divided into three stages: electron oscillation and ion matrix sheath extraction stage, sheath expansion and ion rarefaction wave propagation stage and the plasma collapse stage, and the corresponding criterion for each stage is also presented. Consequently, a complete analytical model is established for describing the ion extraction flux at each stage during the decaying of the laser-induced plasmas under an electrostatic field, which is also validated by the PIC modeling results. Based on this analytical model, influences of the key physical parameters, including the initial electron temperature and number density, plasma width and the externally applied electric voltage, on the ratio of the extracted ions are predicted. The calculated results show that a higher applied electric potential, smaller initial plasma number density and plasma width lead to a higher ratio of the extracted ions during the first stage; while in this stage, the initial electron temperature shows little effect on it. Meanwhile, more ions will be extracted before the plasma collapse once a higher electric potential is applied. The theoretical model presented in this paper is helpful not only for a deep understanding to the charged particle transport mechanisms for a bounded decaying plasma under an applied electrostatic field, but also for an optimization of the ion extraction process in practical applications.

Deposition characteristics of particles in backward-facing step flow and a radiant syngas cooler

Investigation of the mechanism of particle transport and deposition in backward-facing step (BFS) flow is conducive to enhancing the understanding of the deposition characteristics of fly ash in the radiant syngas cooler (RSC). In this study, the regional characteristics of particle deposition in BFS and RSC are deeply studied by numerical simulation. The results show that the deposition of small particles in the recirculation (RC) zone and most particles in the reattachment and redevelopment (RR) zone is promoted while that of large particles in the RC zone is inhibited by the main flow. The variation curves of dimensionless deposition velocity gradually approach to that in straight channel with the increase in deposition length, but they are little affected by the step height and inlet velocity. The differences in particle deposition rates and size distributions between the two zones in RSC are analyzed. The average deposition rate in the RC zone is 21% lower than that in the RR zone, and the proportion of particles smaller than 45.03 μm in the RC zone is higher than that in the RR zone by 24%. This study can provide a basis for the establishment of ash deposition control strategies.

A Study of Particle Transport in Young Pulsar Wind Nebulae

The broadband emission of numerous pulsar wind nebula (PWNe) in our Galaxy can be well described by synchrotron radiation and inverse Compton scattering from relativistic particles, specifically electrons and positrons. However, the particle transport mechanism is still under debate. We use here a time-dependent model to investigate the particle transport process of the young PWN, while the particle cooling processes are also analyzed. Following applications of the model to six young PWNe, our results show that (1) the particle cooling process is dominated by adiabatic loss in the low-energy band but by synchrotron loss in the high-energy band; (2) the advection dominates the particle transport process in the low-energy band, whereas the advection and diffusion codominate in the high-energy band, indicating that both advection and diffusion play an important role in particle transport; and (3) the diffusion coefficient is (2–360) × 1024 cm2 s−1 at the electron energy of 1 TeV, i.e., about 3 orders of magnitude smaller than the value considered to be the average in the Galaxy. We conclude that a slow-diffusion mechanism may explain the multiband observation of the sample of six young PWNe considered in this study.

Monitoring and characterization of particle contamination in the pulse compression chamber of the OMEGA EP laser system

Abstract The laser-damage performance of optics is known to be negatively affected by microscale particle contamination induced by the operational environment. This work investigates the properties of particles accumulating in various locations near critical optics inside the OMEGA EP grating compressor chamber during quarterly operational periods over a 2-year duration. The particles found were characterized using optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The analysis indicates significant concentrations of micrometer- to nanometer-scale particles inside the vacuum chamber, with higher values observed near the port leading to the OMEGA EP target chamber. The distribution of the chemical composition of these particles varies between collection periods. Although understanding of the mechanisms of particle generation and transport remains uncertain, the hypothesis is that this particle load represents a risk for contaminating the surfaces of high-value optics located inside the chamber, including the compression gratings and deformable mirrors, and therefore affecting their laser-damage resistance and overall operational lifetime.

Hybrid numerical simulation on fast particle transport induced by synergistic interaction of low- and medium-frequency magnetohydrodynamic instabilities in tokamak plasma

In tokamak experiments, various magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) instabilities usually co-exist and interact with fast particles. It can cause the fast particles to significantly transport and lose, which results in damaging the first wall and quenching discharge in tokamak. Therefore, the understanding of the physical mechanism of fast particle transport caused by MHD instabilities is crucial and this physical problem needs solving urgently for the steady-state long pulse operation of future reactor-graded devices. According to the phenomenon of synergy between non-resonant internal kink mode and tearing mode, observed experimentally on NSTX, a spherical tokamak device, we utilize the global nonlinear hybrid-kinetic simulation code M3D-K to study and compare the characteristics of loss, transport and redistribution of fast particles in the two cases: 1) the synergy between the non-resonant internal kink mode and tearing mode and 2) only non-resonant internal kink modes. The physical mechanisms of transport, loss, and redistribution of fast particles caused by such synergy are studied, respectively. The results show that the synergy between the non-resonant internal kink mode and the tearing mode can significantly enhance the loss and transport of fast particles. The main reason is that such a synergy can provide a radial channel for fast particles to migrate from the plasma core to the plasma boundary accompanied with the total stochasticity of the magnetic topology. These results can help understand the physical mechanism of the transport and loss of fast particles caused by the synergy of low-frequency MHD instabilities in future fusion reactors, and provide some new ideas for finding strategies to control and mitigate the loss and transport level of fast particles in future fusion reactors.

Application of an aerosol deposition model to whole body dermal exposure scenarios involving VX

In this report we present the application of a modified aerosol deposition model to a number of scenarios involving a whole body dermal exposure to the toxic chemical nerve agent VX in the form of a liquid aerosol. An aerosol deposition model is modified to simulate the distribution of deposited aerosolized particles on the surface of a mannequin exposed to a turbulent air stream with a specified aerosol concentration and particle size distribution, using as few turbulence flow parameters as possible. The aerosol deposition model allows for the calculation of deposition velocity, total deposited mass, and other quantities, over the entire surface of a mannequin given the aerosol concentration, exposure time, particle size distribution, and air flow conditions are specified. The model uses shear velocity distributions over a mannequin, obtained from computational fluid dynamic (CFD) simulations, and accounts for three particle transport mechanisms: Brownian (molecular) diffusion, turbulence (eddy) diffusion, and gravitational sedimentation. Additionally, the model considers surface roughness and orientation of the mannequin surface relative to gravity. The model is integrated into a broader computer program, written in the Fortran programming language, that handles all input and output.

Conceptual design of a heavy ion beam probe for the QUEST spherical tokamak.

A heavy ion beam probe (HIBP) has been designed for the QUEST spherical tokamak to measure plasma turbulence and the profiles of electric potential profiles. Using a cesium ion beam with an energy of several 10keV, the observable region covers most of the upper half of the plasma. Although the probe beam is deflected by the poloidal magnetic field produced by plasma current and poloidal coil currents, it can be detected under plasma current up to 150kA by modifying the trajectories with two electrostatic sweepers. According to the numerical estimation of the intensity of the detected beam, sufficient signal intensity for measuring plasma turbulence can be obtained over almost the measurable area when the electron density is up to 1 × 1019 m-3, which is larger than the cut-off density of electron cyclotron heating in QUEST. The performance of the designed HIBP is sufficient to explore the mechanisms of heat and particle transport in magnetically confined plasmas, including the influence of plasma wall interactions, which is a goal of the QUEST project.