Improvement of SPECTER II code: injection and evolution of an artificial radiation belt. Final report

Technical Report · Wed Aug 01 04:00:00 EDT 1979

OSTI ID:5386937

Cladis, J B; Davidson, G T; Francis, W E; Newkirk, L L; Walt, M

Further improvements have been made in the SPECTER codes which compute the nuclear environment resulting from a high-altitude nuclear explosion and irradiation of satellites in that environment. A realistic model has been developed for the computation of fission-debris distribution in the magnetosphere. The model uses as input the distribution of debris and hot ionized air in the vicinity of the magnetic bubble. It computes the subsequent evolution of the distribution as the plasma expands along and across the magnetic field. The motion across the magnetic field is determined by using an equivalent LCR circuit to find the ionospheric currents, which neutralize the transverse polarization fields. For a yield larger than 1 Megaton it was found that the tube containing the debris was convected outward from an initial L of 1.16 to beyond the maximum L value for trapping.

• Research Organization: Lockheed Missiles and Space Co., Palo Alto, CA (USA). Lockheed Palo Alto Research Lab.
• OSTI ID: 5386937
• Report Number(s): AD-A-073645
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

640202* -- Atmospheric Physics-- Effects of Nuclear Detonations
640203 -- Atmospheric Physics-- Magnetospheric Phenomena-- (-1987)
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
ATMOSPHERIC EXPLOSIONS
CHARGE DENSITY
CHARGED PARTICLES
COMPUTER CODES
DISTRIBUTION
EARTH ATMOSPHERE
ELECTRONS
ELEMENTARY PARTICLES
EXPLOSIONS
FERMIONS
FISSION PRODUCTS
GEOMAGNETIC FIELD
IONIZATION
ISOTOPES
LEPTONS
MAGNETIC FIELDS
MAGNETOSPHERE
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
NUCLEAR EXPLOSIONS
RADIATION BELTS
RADIATION EFFECTS
RADIATION TRANSPORT
RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS
S CODES
SATELLITES
SIMULATION
SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION
SYNERGISM
TRAPPING