Electric Field Structure Research Articles

Observation of multi-scale turbulence and non-local transport in LHD plasmas

We have studied two types of spatio-temporal turbulence dynamics in plasmas in the Large Helical Device, based on turbulence measurements with high spatial and temporal resolution. Applying conditional ensemble-averaging to a plasma with Edge-Localized Modes (ELMs), fast radial inward propagation of a micro-scale turbulence front is observed just after ELM event, and the propagation speed is evaluated as ∼100 m/s. A self-organized radial electric field structure is observed in an electrode biasing experiment, and it is found to realize a multi-valued state. The curvature of the radial electric field is found to play an important role for turbulence reduction.

Accurate Formulas for the Capacitance of Tapered-Through Silicon Vias in 3-D ICs

This letter first proposes novel formulas for the calculation of the oxide capacitance and the silicon substrate capacitance in Tapered-Through Silicon vias (T-TSVs). The electric field is non-uniform distribution in T-TSVs due to its non-uniform three-dimensional structure. In order to get accurate formulas for the capacitance of T-TSVs, the conformal mapping method was used properly based on the analytical results of the local electric field structure in T-TSVs. When the slope angle equals to zero, the obtained formulas can be reduced to the formulas of cylindrical TSVs. The comparison between the results of the proposed formulas and the three-dimensional quasi-static field solver shows that the proposed formulas have very high accuracy, with maximum errors of 1% and 3% for the oxide capacitance and the silicon substrate capacitance, respectively.

Evaluation of a space-observed electric field structure for the ability to destabilize inhomogeneous energy-density-driven waves

Abstract. We examine the effectiveness of nonuniform, quasistatic, transverse electric fields that are often observed in the auroral region in destabilization of inhomogeneous energy-density-driven (IEDD) waves. Specifically, the IEDD dispersion relation of Ganguli et al. (1985a, b) is evaluated for an electric field structure observed by the FAST satellite in the auroral ionosphere at 1000 km altitude. The background field-aligned current, plasma density and ion composition are derived from FAST observations. Other input parameters adopted in the calculations are varied in pertinent ranges. Unstable solutions are obtained that indicate a variety of frequencies and perpendicular wavelengths. These can manifest as a broadband spectrum of IEDD waves.

The role of electric fields in sporadic E layer formation over low latitudes under quiet and magnetic storm conditions

Sporadic E layers are formed dominantly by wind shear mechanism, but their formation and dynamics are driven also by ionospheric electric fields. Investigation of low latitude sporadic E layers under quiet conditions shows that Es layer formation during post sunset hours can be disrupted or enhanced depending upon the vertical structure of the vertical electric field arising from sunset electrodynamic processes. During magnetic storms the formation and disruption of these layers are also strongly controlled by vertical Hall electric field induced by the zonal magnetospheric electric fields that penetrates to equatorial/low latitude ionosphere. Observational results on storm time Es layer responses in the Brazilian and Indian-Asian longitudes are compared. An under-shielding prompt penetration electric field (PPEF) of westward polarity that dominate the night side ionosphere, or an over-shielding electric field also of westward polarity in the evening sector can cause formation of sporadic E layers near 100km, while an eastward polarity electric field, (under-shielding/over-shielding depending upon local time) can lead to disruption of an Es layer in progress. Ionization convergence/divergence leading to the Es layer formation/disruption is driven by a vertical Hall electric field, induced by the primary zonal PPEF, in the presence of storm associated enhanced ratio of field line integrated Hall to Pedersen conductivity (∑H)/(∑P). A downward polarity of the Hall electric field leads to Es layer formation, while an upward polarity causes the Es layer disruption. An enhancement in the ∑H/∑P ratio can result from E layer conductivity enhancement due to energetic particle precipitation peculiar to the longitude of the South Atlantic Magnetic Anomaly (SAMA) and/or from a drastic reduction in integrated Pederson conductivity in the form of reduced foF2 that is observed in all longitudes.

Numerical Simulations of Magnetic Reconnection in an Asymmetric Current Sheet

Previous particle-in-cell simulations have shown that electron phase-space holes (electron holes), where the associated parallel electric field has a bipolar structure, exist near the four separatrices in anti-parallel magnetic reconnection. By performing two-dimensional (2-D) particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations, here we investigate magnetic reconnection in an asymmetric current sheet, with emphasis on the parallel electric field near the separatrices. Compared with magnetic reconnection in a symmetric current sheet, it is found that the parallel electric field with a bipolar structure only exists around the separatrices in the upper region with a lower density (upper separatrices). Such a bipolar structure of the parallel electric field is considered to be associated with electron holes resulting from the nonlinear evolution of the electron beam instability excited by the high-speed electron flow formed after their acceleration around the X line. The disappearance of the parallel electric field around the separatrices in the lower region with a higher density (lower separatrices) may be due to the transverse instability, which is unstable in a weak magnetized plasma.

Finite Element Optimization of Electric Field Structure in Electrospinning

Electrospinning technique is currently one of the most important methods for preparing nanofiber. According to the fact that the electric field at the receiver is relatively weak, the electric fields distribution in the typical electrospinning device was calculated and analyzed by ANSYS. It put forward the method of optimizing electric fields distribution by using an auxiliary electric field device. At the same boundary conditions, the electric fields distribution in the original device and improved binode device are compared. The simulation analysis provides an effective reference for the optimization design of electric fields distribution in the electrospinning device.

The formation and evolution of double layers inside the auroral cavity

The formation and dynamic evolution of double layers which form inside the auroral cavity are studied using one‐ and two‐dimensional electrostatic particle‐in‐cell simulations. Both the one‐ and two‐dimensional simulations are confined to processes that occur in the auroral cavity and include four plasma populations: hot electrons, H+ and O+ anti‐earthward ion beams and a hot H+background population. We show that double layers inside the auroral cavity can evolve nonlinearly from ion phase space holes and are supported by the cold, anti‐earthward traveling O+beam. We then present two‐dimensional particle‐in‐cell results which show that double layers in the interior of the auroral cavity can form in higher dimensions. The electric field structure in 2‐D is verified as a double layer through simultaneous analysis of the parallel electric field and H+ and O+ phase space.

SEEING AND COMMUNICATING THROUGH WEAK ELECTRIC FIELDS

![][1] Weakly electric fish spend their lives bathed in their own internally generated mild electric field, interpreting perturbations in the field as objects pass through and when communicating with members of their own species through high frequency electric ‘chirps’. Rudiger

A first principle calculation of electronic and dielectric properties of electrically gated low-buckled mono and bilayer silicene

The structural, electronic and dielectric properties of mono and bilayer buckled silicene sheets are investigated using density functional theory. A comparison of stabilities, electronic structure and effect of external electric field are investigated for AA and AB-stacked bilayer silicene. It has been found that there are no excitations of electrons i.e. plasmons at low energies for out-of-plane polarization. While for AB-stacked bilayer silicene 1.48eV plasmons for in-plane polarization is found, a lower value compared to 2.16eV plasmons for monolayer silicene. Inter-band transitions and plasmons in both bilayer and monolayer silicene are found relatively at lower energies than graphene. The calculations suggest that the band gap can be opened up and varied over a wide range by applying external electric field for bilayer silicene. In infra-red region imaginary part of dielectric function for AB-stacked buckled bilayer silicene shows a broad structure peak in the range of 75–270meV compared to a short structure peak at 70meV for monolayer silicene and no structure peaks for AA-stacked bilayer silicene. On application of external electric field the peaks are found to be blue-shifted in infra-red region. With the help of imaginary part of dielectric function and electron energy loss function effort has been made to understand possible interband transitions in both buckled bilayer silicene and monolayer silicene.

Poole-Frenkel effect in chalcogenide semiconductors with various crystalline structures

The results of investigation of electrical conductivity of a large group of chalcogenide semiconductors having the layered, cubic, and orthorhombic structures in strong electric fields up to 105 V/cm are presented. The revealed increase in electrical conductivity σ in strong electric fields has been explained by the Frenkel thermionic ionization. This has made it possible, along with other parameters (for example, activation energy and trap concentration, charge-carrier mean free path, permittivity), to evaluate the concentration and mobility of charge carriers in semiconductors under study. It has been shown that in strong electric fields in semiconductors, when the thermionic ionization of the traps occurs, their permittivity ɛ, which is caused by the electron polarization, is determined by the simple formula ɛ = n 2, where n is the refractive index of light.

Measurement of electric fields and estimation of dielectric susceptibility

We describe a method of measuring the spatial structures of electric fields produced by charge distributions such as those on strip electrodes, small disk electrodes, and long double-plate electrodes. An electric-field sensor with high sensitivity to ac fields is fabricated for the measurement using a thin copper sheet. The reliability of the sensor is confirmed using a parallel-plate capacitor. The electric fields are oscillated at a frequency of 300 kHz to operate the electric-field sensor successfully. The structures of the measured fields coincide well with those of theoretical fields derived from Coulomb's law. When a dielectric is inserted in an electric field, polarization charges appear on the surface of the dielectric and modify the electric field in empty space. We measure the modified field and confirm the well-known linear relation between the polarization of a dielectric and the electric field. Dielectric susceptibilities are estimated from the linear relation for four types of dielectric.

Non-adiabatic electron behaviour due to short-scale electric field structures at collisionless shock waves

Abstract. Under sufficiently high electric field gradients, electron behaviour within exactly perpendicular shocks is unstable to the so-called trajectory instability. We extend previous work paying special attention to short-scale, high-amplitude structures as observed within the electric field profile. Via test particle simulations, we show that such structures can cause the electron distribution to heat in a manner that violates conservation of the first adiabatic invariant. This is the case even if the overall shock width is larger than the upstream electron gyroradius. The spatial distance over which these structures occur therefore constitutes a new scale length relevant to the shock heating problem. Furthermore, we find that the spatial location of the short-scale structure is important in determining the total effect of non-adiabatic behaviour – a result that has not been previously noted.

Laminar pipe flow at the entrance into transverse magnetic field

High-resolution numerical simulations are conducted to analyze transformation of a liquid metal flow in a pipe at the entrance into a transverse magnetic field. The case of laminar flow, perfectly insulating pipe walls, and Hartmann number up to 200 is considered. The simulations reveal detailed structure of velocity and electric current fields and distribution of forces with particular attention given to the flow with an M-shaped velocity profile. They also establish criteria for accurate computations of laminar magnetohydrodynamic flows in strong non-uniform magnetic fields.

Longitudinal and seasonal structure of the ionospheric equatorial electric field

AbstractThe daytime eastward equatorial electric field (EEF) in the ionospheric E‐region plays an important role in equatorial ionospheric dynamics. It is responsible for driving the equatorial electrojet (EEJ) current system, equatorial vertical ion drifts, and the equatorial ionization anomaly. Due to its importance, there is much interest in accurately measuring and modeling the EEF. In this work we propose a method of estimating the EEF using CHAMP satellite‐derived latitudinal current profiles of the daytime EEJ along with Δ H measurements from ground magnetometer stations. Magnetometer station pairs in both Africa and South America were used for this study to produce time series of electrojet current profiles. These current profiles were then inverted for estimates of the EEF by solving the governing electrostatic equations. We compare our results with the Ion Velocity Meter (IVM) instrument on board the Communication/Navigation Outage Forecasting System satellite. We find high correlations of about 80% with the IVM data; however, we also find a constant offset of about 0.3 mV/m between the two data sets in Africa. Further investigation is needed to determine its cause. We compare the EEF structure in Africa and South America and find differences which can be attributed to the effect of atmospheric nonmigrating tides. This technique can be extended to any pair of ground magnetometer stations which can capture the day‐to‐day strength of the EEJ.

Dynamical one-dimensional models of passive piezoelectric sensors

This study concerns the mathematical modeling of anisotropic and transversely inhomogeneous slender piezoelectric bars. Such rod-like structures are employed as passive sensors aimed at measuring the displacement field on the boundary of an underlying elastic medium excited by an external source. Based on the coupled three-dimensional dynamical equations of piezoelectricity in the quasi-electrostatic approximation, a set of limit problems is derived using formal asymptotic expansions of the electric potential and elastic displacement fields. The nature of these problems depends strongly on the choice of boundary conditions, therefore, an appropriate set of constrains is introduced in order to derive one-dimensional models that are relevant to the measurement of a displacement field imposed at one end of the bar. The structure of the first-order electric and displacement fields as well as the associated coupled limit equations are determined. Moreover, the properties of the homogenized material parameters entering these equations are investigated in various configurations. The obtained one-dimensional models of piezoelectric sensors are analyzed, and it is finally shown how they enable the identification of the boundary displacement associated with the probed elastic medium.

Excitation and propagation of an electromagnetic pulse in magnetized plasma in the low-hybrid frequency range

We analyze specific features of slow quasi-static waves excited in the low-hybrid frequency band by a source whose dimensions are much smaller than electromagnetic wavelength. Main attention in this paper is given to an analysis of emission of harmonic signals by a dipole source in pulsed mode. First, the issue of influence of electromagnetic, thermal, and collision corrections in the dispersion equation on the field structure has been studied. Second, the structure of electric and magnetic fields near the resonant cone has been analyzed: in particular, effects of group delay and anomalous spreading of signals are considered. Thus constructed theory explains results of the OEDIPUS-C experiment, in which, for example, already at distances of order of ten wavelengths a signal delay of approximately 10−4 s was observed. Finally, we have studied some aspects of the inverse problem of electrodynamics: the role played in field formation by smoothness of charge distribution over antenna is demonstrated, and a class of smooth distributions of charge on antenna is found that form a preset field structure.

Dynamics of zonal-flow-like structures in the edge of the TJ-II stellarator

The dynamics of fluctuating electric field structures in the edge of the TJ-II stellarator, which display zonal-flow-like traits, is studied. These structures have been shown to be global and affect particle transport dynamically (Alonso J et al 2012 Nucl. Fusion 52 063010). In this paper we discuss the possible drive (Reynolds stress) and damping (neoclassical viscosity, geodesic transfer) mechanisms for the associated E × B velocity. We show that (a) while the observed turbulence-driven forces can provide the necessary perpendicular acceleration, a causal relation could not be firmly established, possibly because of the locality of the Reynolds stress measurements, (b) the calculated neoclassical viscosity and damping times are comparable to the observed zonal-flow relaxation times and (c) although an accompanying density modulation is observed to be associated with the zonal flow, it is not consistent with the excitation of pressure sidebands, as those present in geodesic acoustic oscillations, caused by the compression of the E × B flow field.

Characterization of edge radial electric field structures in the Large Helical Device and their viability for determining the location of the plasma boundary

This paper provides a systematic investigation on how plasma conditions (magnetic configuration, collisionality and beta) affect the edge radial electric field (Er) structure derived from charge exchange spectroscopic measurements in the Large Helical Device. We found that the location at which the spatial derivative in the Er structure (∇Er) had a local maximum value shifts outwards from the vacuum last closed flux surface location as the volume-averaged plasma beta (the ratio of the plasma pressure to the magnetic pressure, β ≡ 〈βdia〉 measured by a diamagnetic loop) becomes large. The loss of electrons on the open field lines, leaving the ions behind, might be the physics that determines the positive Er structure just outside the plasma boundary. The collisionality dependence of the experimentally observed Er values inside the plasma boundary is found to be consistent with a neoclassical ambipolar condition, while the Er formation outside the plasma boundary is different from the trend that is predicted by the neoclassical theory inside the plasma boundary. Furthermore, experimental data on saturation in the shift of the location even in a higher β regime (3% ⩽ β ⩽ 4.5%) are presented, inferring and predicting shrinkage of the plasma (i.e. a reduction in the averaged minor radius) in the higher β regime in which the Shafranov shift becomes larger.

Modifications to the edge radial electric field by angular momentum injection in JT-60U and their implication for pedestal transport

The first detailed measurements of ion-impurity dynamics for NBI-heated ELMy H-modes at the edge of the JT-60U tokamak are reported. We investigated the ability of external momentum/power input to modify and control the radial electric field, Er, and pedestal structures. The relationship between Er and pedestal structures of ion-impurity density, ni, and temperature, Ti, during the ELMing H-mode phase for various momentum input directions (i.e. co-, balanced- and counter-NBI) and input powers from perpendicular NBI are compared with the ELM-free phase. The observed trend is that the edge Er-well width increases in the co-NBI discharge, while the Er value at the base of the Er-well becomes more negative in the counter-NBI discharge. The scale length for both ni and Ti in the pedestal is ∼2 cm and values are ∼1 for both ELM-free and ELMing phases with different magnitudes of Er (and/or Er shear). Characteristics of the turbulent density fluctuation, in addition to a uniform toroidal MHD oscillation (i.e. n = 0), during both ELM-free and ELMing phases are also reported.

Ion-cyclotron range of frequencies in the scrape-off-layer: fine structure radial electric fields

Gas-puff-imaging techniques are utilized to detect radial electric field structures in the scrape-off-layer (SOL) of the Alcator C-Mod tokamak via the observation of poloidal motion of advected fluctuations. When the diagnostic's field of view is magnetically connected to the ion-cyclotron range of frequencies (ICRF) active antennas, large (up to 8 km s−1) poloidal velocities are observed in a radial region encompassing both field lines terminating on and those passing in front of the antennas. The radial electric field switches sign indicating a peak in the potential profile corresponding to the transition from piercing to passing field lines. The electric field extends a few centimeters into the SOL and its local magnitude is of order Er ≈ 20–30 kV m−1. The corresponding plasma potentials scale as the square root of RF power; the poloidal structure is peaked when the field lines are connected to the top and bottom of the antenna. This structure is consistent with the presence of potential structures arising as a consequence of sheath rectification of the RF waves. The most striking result, however, is that the radial penetration λ⊥ of the potential structures is an order of magnitude larger than the basic theoretical expectation (λ⊥ ≈ 10δe, where δe is the skin depth). This substantial broadening is expected to have a strong impact on RF impurity physics. A (weak) power dependence observed in the width of the poloidal velocity features is explained as a competition between the RF induced and the background potential gradients.