ALBERT

Description: In the present work, we have examined the nonlinear interaction of pump whistler wave and low frequency kinetic Alfvén wave (KAW) in three regions viz., solar wind, earth's radiation belt, and magnetopause. The modification in the background density leads to the introduction of nonlinearity. The nonlinear ponderomotive force is responsible for this change in density. Low frequency kinetic Alfvén wave is excited by the nonlinear ponderomotive force of pump whistler wave. A set of dimensionless equations characterizing the dynamics of whistler wave and low frequency KAW perturbed by whistler wave were developed. The coupled equations were then simulated numerically. The nonlinear effects related with the whistler wave were studied. The resulting localized structures and the magnetic turbulent spectra in various regions have been investigated.

Description: This paper presents a scheme for the generation of high power terahertz radiation by the beating of two femtosecond super Gaussian lasers in plasma having dc electric field in the transverse direction. In this mechanism, a strong nonlinear ponderomotive force acts on the plasma electrons at the frequency difference of the two lasers ( ω 1 − ω 2 ) that imparts a nonlinear oscillatory velocity to plasma electrons which further result in the generation of a nonlinear current at this difference frequency (lying in THz domain). The dynamical equations governing the generation of THz waves have been solved semi-analytically; the result shows that the amplitude of the generated waves is considerably enhanced in the presence of dc electric field, and the index of super Gaussian beams also plays a keen role in governing the yield of THz waves.

Description: Over the years, coronal heating has been the most fascinating question among the scientific community. In the present article, a heating mechanism has been proposed based on the wave–wave interaction. Under this wave–wave interaction, the high frequency kinetic Alfvén wave interacts with the low frequency ion acoustic wave. These waves are three dimensionally propagating and nonlinearly coupled through ponderomotive nonlinearity. A numerical code based on pseudo-spectral technique has been developed for solving these normalized dynamical equations. Localization of kinetic Alfvén wave field has been examined, and magnetic power spectrum has also been analyzed which shows the cascading of energy to higher wavenumbers, and this cascading has been found to have Kolmogorov scaling, i.e., k − 5 / 3 . A breakpoint appears after Kolmogorov scaling and next to this spectral break; a steeper scaling has been obtained. The presented nonlinear interaction for coronal loops plasmas is suggested to generate turbulent spectrum having Kolmogorov scaling in the inertial range and steepened scaling in the dissipation range. Since Kolmogorov turbulence is considered as the main source for coronal heating; therefore, the suggested mechanism will be a useful tool to understand the mystery of coronal loop heating through Kolmogorov turbulence and dissipation.

Description: This paper presents a theoretical model for the transient response of nonlinear coupling between magnetosonic wave and ion acoustic wave in the overdense plasma. Filamentation of magnetosonic wave has been considered to be responsible for magnetic turbulence during the laser plasma interaction. The ion acoustic wave gets excited due to the ponderomotive force exerted by magnetosonic wave and this ion acoustic wave in turn generates perturbation in the background density in the form of spatial density harmonics. Numerical simulation has been carried out for dimensionless coupled equations of magnetosonic wave and ion acoustic wave; and the results show quite complex localized structures that grow with time. The power spectrum has also been studied which shows that the spectral index follows an approximate scaling of the order of ∼ k − 2.4 at smaller scales. The data obtained from numerical simulation are used in semi analytical model to better understand the mechanism of nonlinear evolution of magnetosonic wave. The results indicate considerable randomness in the spatial structure of the magnetic field profile which gives sufficient indication of turbulence.

Description: The transient response of nonlinear coupling between relatively high frequency magnetosonic wave (HMSW) and low frequency magnetosonic wave (LMSW) in the overdense plasma has been presented in this paper. Along with this, the adiabatic response of HMSW also has been studied for low value of magnetic field in the underdense plasma. The ponderomotive force of relatively high frequency and high power pump magnetosonic wave is expected to excite the low frequency magnetosonic wave. The dynamical equation of LMSW in the presence of ponderomotive force of HMSW (pump wave) has been derived for this purpose. Using this coupled system of dynamical equations, the nonlinear behavior of the pump HMSW was studied, and the resulting turbulent spectrum has been presented. Numerical simulation has been carried out for dimensionless nonlinear coupled equations of HMSW and LMSW, and the results show quite complex localized structures that grow with time. The ensemble averaged power spectrum has also been studied which shows that the spectral index follows an approximate scaling of the order of ∼ k − 1.67 at larger scales and scaling of the order of ∼ k − 3.4 at smaller scales. The results indicate considerable randomness in the spatial structure of the magnetic field profile which gives sufficient indication of turbulence. In this context, filamentation of high frequency magnetosonic wave has been considered to be responsible for magnetic turbulence during the laser plasma interaction. The results of the present paper are found relevant with two different experimental observations. Such a nonlinear interaction is quite important in understanding turbulence in the astrophysical phenomenon.

Description: This paper presents a model to study the interplay between the stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) and stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) in the presence of background magnetic field. This formalism is applicable to laser produced plasma as well as to heating mechanism in toroidal system by an extraordinary electromagnetic wave. In the former case, the magnetic field is self-generated, while in the latter case (toroidal plasmas) magnetic field is applied externally. The behavior of one scattering process is explicitly dependent on the coexisting scattering process as well as on the magnetic field. Explicit expressions for the back-reflectivity of scattered beams (SRS and SBS) are presented. It has been demonstrated that due to the magnetic field and coexistence of the scattering processes (SRS and SBS) the back-reflectivity gets modified significantly. Results are also compared with the three wave interaction case (isolated SRS or SBS case).

Description: Localization of kinetic Alfvén waves (KAW) due to ponderomotive nonlinearity can be regarded as an important mechanism for heating the space plasmas. The present paper investigates the effect of background density fluctuations on the formation of large amplitude localized structures and turbulent spectrum of KAW applicable to magnetopause. The dynamical equations are derived, taking into account the ponderomotive nonlinearity of the KAW as well as the background fluctuations which are in the form of ion acoustic waves. The system is studied numerically as well as semi-analytically. The results reveal that the presence of density fluctuations affects the formation of localized structures. These fluctuations affecting the localization of KAW may also affect heating and acceleration of plasma. Respective turbulent scaling for the different amplitude of background fluctuations has also been studied. The relevance of the numerical results has been discussed with the THEMIS observations near the magnetopause [C. Chaston et al. , Geophys. Res. Lett. 35 , L17S08 (2008)].

Description: Terahertz (THz) generation by beating of two co-axial Gaussian laser beams, propagating in ripple density plasma, has been studied when both ponderomotive and relativistic nonlinearities are operative. When the two lasers co-propagate in rippled density plasma, electrons acquire a nonlinear velocity at beat frequency in the direction transverse to the direction of propagation. This nonlinear oscillatory velocity couples with the density ripple to generate a nonlinear current, which in turn generates THz radiation at the difference frequency. The necessary phase matching condition is provided by the density ripple. Relativistic ponderomotive focusing of the two lasers and its effects on yield of the generated THz amplitude have been discussed. Numerical results show that conversion efficiency of the order of 10 −3 can be achieved in the terahertz radiation generation with relativistic ponderomotive focusing.

Description: In-vitro tests and analyses are of fundamental importance for investigating biological mechanisms in cells and bio-molecules. The controlled application of forces to activate specific bio-pathways and investigate their effects, mimicking the role of the cellular environment, is becoming a prominent approach in this field. In this work, we present a non-invasive magnetic on-chip platform which allows for the manipulation of magnetic particles, through micrometric magnetic conduits of Permalloy patterned on-chip. We show, from simulations and experiments, that this technology permits to exert a finely controlled force on magnetic beads along the chip surface. This force can be tuned from few to hundreds pN by applying a variable external magnetic field.

Description: H 2 induced etching of graphene is of significant interest to understand graphene growth process as well as to fabricate nanoribbons and various other structures. Here, we demonstrate the structure dependent H 2 induced etching behavior of graphene crystals. We synthesized graphene crystals on electro-polished Cu foil by an atmospheric pressure chemical vapor deposition process, where some of the crystals showed hexagonal shaped snowflake-dendritic morphology. Significant differences in H 2 induced etching behavior were observed for the snowflake-dendritic and regular graphene crystals by annealing in a gas mixture of H 2 and Ar. The regular graphene crystals were etched anisotropically creating hexagonal holes with pronounced edges, while etching of all the dendritic crystals occurred from the branches of lobs creating symmetrical fractal structures. The etching behavior provides important clue of graphene nucleation and growth as well as their selective etching to fabricate well-defined structures for nanoelectronics.