No Arabic abstract
The hybrid Vlasov-Maxwell system of equations is suitable to describe a magnetized plasma at scales of the order of or larger than proton kinetic scales. An exact stationary solution is presented by revisiting previous results with a uniform-density shear flow, directed either parallel or perpendicular to a uniform magnetic field, and by adapting the solution to the hybrid Vlasov-Maxwell model. A quantitative characterization of the equilibrium distribution function is provided by studying both analytically and numerically the temperature anisotropy and gyrotropy and the heat flux. In both cases, in the shear region, the velocity distribution significantly departs from local thermodynamical equilibrium. A comparison between the time behavior of the usual fluid-like equilibrium shifted Maxwellian and the exact stationary solutions is carried out by means of numerical simulations of the hybrid Vlasov-Maxwell equations. These hybrid equilibria can be employed as an unperturbed states for numerous problems which involve sheared flows, such as the wave propagation in inhomogeneous background and the onset of the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability.
The NASA Magnetospheric Multiscale mission has made in situ diffusion region and kinetic-scale resolution measurements of asymmetric magnetic reconnection for the first time, in the Earths magnetopause. The principal theoretical tool currently used to model collisionless asymmetric reconnection is particle-in-cell simulations. Many particle-in-cell simulations of asymmetric collisionless reconnection start from an asymmetric Harris-type magnetic field but with distribution functions that are not exact equilibrium solutions of the Vlasov equation. We present new and exact equilibrium solutions of the Vlasov-Maxwell system that are self-consistent with one-dimensional asymmetric current sheets, with an asymmetric Harris-type magnetic field profile, plus a constant nonzero guide field. The distribution functions can be represented as a combination of four shifted Maxwellian distribution functions. This equilibrium describes a magnetic field configuration with more freedom than the previously known exact solution and has different bulk flow properties.
Nanoscale superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs) demonstrate record sensitivities to small magnetic moments, but are typically sensitive only to the field component that is normal to the plane of the SQUID and out-of-plane with respect to the scanned surface. We report on a nanoscale three-junction Pb SQUID which is fabricated on the apex of a sharp tip. Because of its three-dimensional structure, it exhibits a unique tunable sensitivity to both in-plane and out-of-plane fields. We analyze the two-dimensional interference pattern from both numerical and experimental points of view. This device is integrated into a scanning microscope and its ability to independently measure the different components of the magnetic field with outstanding spin sensitivity better than $5 frac{mu_B}{mathrm{Hz}^{1/2}}$ is demonstrated. This highlights its potential as a local probe of nanoscale magnetic structures.
Kinetic simulations based on the Eulerian Hybrid Vlasov-Maxwell (HVM) formalism permit the examination of plasma turbulence with useful resolution of the proton velocity distribution function (VDF). The HVM model is employed here to study the balance of energy, focusing on channels of conversion that lead to proton kinetic effects, including growth of internal energy and temperature anisotropies. We show that this Eulerian simulation approach, which is almost noise-free, is able to provide an accurate energy balance for protons. The results demonstrate explicitly that the recovered temperature growth is directly related to the role of the pressure-strain interaction. Furthermore, analysis of local spatial correlations indicates that the pressure-strain interaction is qualitatively associated with strong-current, high-vorticity structures, although other local terms -- such as the heat flux -- weaken the correlation. These numerical capabilities based on the Eulerian approach will enable deeper study of transfer and conversion channels in weakly collisional Vlasov plasmas.
Equilibrium spin-current is calculated in a quasi-two-dimensional electron gas with finite thickness under in-plane magnetic field and in the presence of Rashba- and Dresselhaus spin-orbit interactions. The transverse confinement is modeled by means of a parabolic potential. An orbital effect of the in-plane magnetic field is shown to mix a transverse quantized spin-up state with nearest-neighboring spin-down states. The out-off-plane component of the equilibrium spin current appears to be not zero in the presence of an in-plane magnetic field, provided at least two transverse-quantized levels are filled. In the absence of the magnetic field the obtained results coincide with the well-known results, yielding cubic dependence of the equilibrium spin current on the spin-orbit coupling constants. The persistent spin-current vanishes in the absence of the magnetic field if Rashba- and Dresselhaus spin-orbit coefficients,{alpha} and {beta}, are equal each other. In-plane magnetic field destroys this symmetry, and accumulates a finite spin-current as {alpha} rightarrow {beta}. Magnetic field is shown to change strongly the equilibrium current of the in-plane spin components, and gives new contributions to the cubic-dependent on spin-orbit constants terms. These new terms depend linearly on the spin-orbit constants.
The prevailing paradigm for plasma turbulence associates a unique stationary state to given equilibrium parameters. We report the discovery of bistable turbulence in a strongly magnetised plasma. Two distinct states, obtained with identical equilibrium parameters in first-principle gyrokinetic simulations, have turbulent fluxes of particles, momentum and energy that differ by an order of magnitude, with the low-transport state agreeing with experimental observations. Occurrences of the two states are regulated by the competition between an externally imposed mean flow shear and zonal flows generated by the plasma. With small turbulent amplitudes, zonal flows have little impact, and the mean shear causes turbulence to saturate in a low-transport state. With larger amplitudes, the zonal shear can (partially) oppose the effect of the mean shear, allowing the system to sustain a high-transport state. This poses a new challenge for research that has so far assumed a uniquely defined turbulent state.