Computer modeling of active experiments in space plasmas

Thesis/Dissertation · Fri Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1993

OSTI ID:6963265

Bollens, R J

The understanding of space plasmas is expanding rapidly. This is, in large part, due to the ambitious efforts of scientists from around the world who are performing large scale active experiments in the space plasma surrounding the earth. One such effort was designated the Active Magnetospheric Particle Tracer Explorers (AMPTE) and consisted of a series of plasma releases that were completed during 1984 and 1985. What makes the AMPTE experiments particularly interesting was the occurrence of a dramatic anomaly that was completely unpredicted. During the AMPTE experiment, three satellites traced the solar-wind flow into the earth's magnetosphere. One satellite, built by West Germany, released a series of barium and lithium canisters that were detonated and subsequently photo-ionized via solar radiation, thereby creating an artificial comet. Another satellite, built by Great Britain and in the vicinity during detonation, carried, as did the first satellite, a comprehensive set of magnetic field, particle and wave instruments. Upon detonation, what was observed by the satellites, as well as by aircraft and ground-based observers, was quite unexpected. The initial deflection of the ion clouds was not in the ambient solar wind's flow direction ([rvec V]) but rather in the direction transverse to the solar wind and the background magnetic field ([rvec V] [times] [rvec B]). This result was not predicted by any existing theories or simulation models; it is the main subject discussed in this dissertation. A large three dimensional computer simulation was produced to demonstrate that this transverse motion can be explained in terms of a rocket effect. Due to the extreme computer resources utilized in producing this work, the computer methods used to complete the calculation and the visualization techniques used to view the results are also discussed.

• Research Organization: California Univ., Los Angeles, CA (United States)
• OSTI ID: 6963265
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

661320* -- Auroral
Ionospheric
& Magnetospheric Phenomena-- (1992-)
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
COMPUTERIZED SIMULATION
DATA
DATA ANALYSIS
EARTH ATMOSPHERE
EARTH MAGNETOSPHERE
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
INFORMATION
INTERPLANETARY SPACE
NUMERICAL DATA
PLASMA
SIMULATION
SPACE
THREE-DIMENSIONAL CALCULATIONS