Effects of cosmic ray acceleration in relic grains of nanodiamonds in chondrites

A new mechanism of the formation of isotopic relations of anomalous Xe-HL component in nanodiamond grains of chondrites under conditions of the propagation of explosive shock waves from supernova outbursts is described, and the regularities of this mechanism are determined. Experimental evidence for the formation by supersonic turbulence of the power-law spectrum of particles with the index γ ∼ 1 in the carbondetonation supernova SnIa explosion is obtained, possibly opening up new prospects for investigating the processes of particle acceleration by shock waves.     

Spallation reactions in shock waves at supernova explosions and related problems

The isotopic anomalies of some extinct radionuclides testify to the outburst of a nearby supernova just before the collapse of the protosolar nebula, and to the fact that the supernova was Sn Ia, i.e. the carbon-detonation supernova. A key role of spallation reactions in the formation of isotopic anomalies in the primordial matter of the Solar System is revealed. It is conditioned by the diffusive acceleration of particles in the explosive shock waves, which leads to the amplification of rigidity of the energy spectrum of particles and its enrichment with heavier ions. The quantitative calculations of such isotopic anomalies of many elements are presented. It is well-grounded that the anomalous Xe-HL in meteoritic nanodiamonds was formed simultaneously with nanodiamonds themselves during the shock wave propagation at the Sn Ia explosion. The possible effects of shock wave fractionation of noble gases in the atmosphere of planets are considered. The origin of light elements Li, Be and B in spallation reactions, predicted by Fowler in the middle of the last century, is argued. All the investigated isotopic anomalies give the evidence for the extremely high magneto- hydrodynamics (MHD) conditions at the initial stage of free expansion of the explosive shock wave from Sn Ia, which can be essential in solution of the problem of origin of cosmic rays. The specific iron-enriched matter of Sn Ia and its MHD-separation in turbulent processes must be taking into account in the models of origin of the Solar System.     

Model of pulsed electric discharge expansion in dense gas taking into account electron and radiative thermal conductivities. II. Energy balance and equation

Using an ionization sensor, it was found that weakly ionized plasma with an ionization degree larger than 10⁻⁶ is formed under exposure to UV radiation of a high-current pulsed electric discharge in gas (air, nitrogen, xenon, and krypton) at atmospheric pressure at a distance of ∼1.2–2.5 cm from the discharge boundary. It was shown that the structure of such discharge includes, in addition to the discharge channel, a dense shell and a shock wave, also a region of weakly ionized and excited gas before the shock wave front. The mechanism of discharge expansion in dense gas is ionization and heating of gas involved in the discharge due to absorption of the UV energy flux from the discharge channel and the flux of the thermal energy transferred from the discharge channel to the discharge shell due to electron thermal conductivity.     

Spectrum of galactic cosmic rays accelerated in supernova remnants

The spectra of protons, nuclei, and electrons accelerated by shocks in supernova remnants of different types were determined. The calculations were made using a numerical code that allows us to model spherical shock evolution and particle acceleration with allowance for the back reaction of accelerating particles on a hydrodynamic flow. The effect of Alfvenic particle drift in the amplified magnetic field in the regions upstream and downstream of the shock was taken into consideration. The maximum energy of accelerated particles is as high as ∼5 × 10¹⁸ eV for iron nuclei in Type IIb supernova remnants. The calculated spectrum and composition of cosmic rays in the interstellar medium are in good agreement with observations.     

Superelasticity and the propagation of shock waves in crystals

The separation of a shock wave into an elastic precursor and a plastic wave is a characteristic phenomenon occurring only in solid media. The existence of the elastic shock wave at pressures p ≈ 10 GPa, which is one or two orders of magnitude higher than the dynamic elastic limit, has been detected in recent numerical calculations and a femtosecond laser experiment. The plastic shock wave has no time to be formed in these ultrashort waves at p ≈ 10 GPa. The processes of the formation and propagation of the elastic and plastic waves in aluminum at higher pressures obtained by means of femtosecond lasers have been analyzed in this work. It has been found that the elastic precursor survives even under the conditions when the pressure behind the plastic front reaches a giant value p ∼ 1 Mbar at which the melting of the metal begins. It has been shown that superelasticity should be taken into account to correctly interpret the preceding laser experiments.     

Decay of an electronic vortex of a collisionless shock wave as a possible mechanism of a “Coulomb explosion”

A new mechanism of a “Coulomb explosion,” where ions are accelerated by the electric field separating charges at the magnetic Debye radius r _B∼B/4πen _e, is proposed on the basis of a nonquasineutral model of electronic vortices in a magnetic field. It is shown by means of numerical calculations that in the process of acceleration of the ions a collisionless shock wave, whose front has an effective width of the order of δ∼r _B, determined by the breakdown of quasineutrality, is formed in a time of the order of ω _pi ⁻¹ , where ω_pi is the ion plasma frequency. The origin of such explosive dynamics is the formation of “holes” in the electron density at characteristic times of the order of ω _pe ⁻¹ (ω_pe is the electronic plasma frequency) as a result of the generation of electronic vorticity by the Weibel instability of an electromagnetic wave. Calculations for a laser pulse with intensity J∼6×10¹⁸ W/cm² show that the ions expand in the radial direction with velocities up to 3.5×10⁸ cm/s. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 70, No. 10, 669–674 (25 November 1999)     

Structure of a collisionless shock front with relativistically accelerated particles

A nonlinear self-consistent analytic theory is developed to describe the front structure of a strong magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) collisionless shock wave that generates accelerated particles (including ultrarelativistic particles). The theory is used to predict the degree of compression of matter at the plane front of such a wave, which can greatly exceed compression at an ordinary gas-dynamic front, and also the velocity, density, and pressure profiles. The energy spectrum of the accelerated particles, which is produced by the complex velocity profile at the shock transition, is determined self-consistently. New nonlinear effects are predicted that have not been discussed previously in the literature: a strong dependence of the particle acceleration regimes on the rate of injection; the existence of several regimes within a certain range of injected powers with differing spectra of accelerated particles, shapes of the shock transition profile, and magnitudes of compression of the medium; and the possibility of spontaneous jumps between different states of the shock transition. The question of stability of these states is discussed. For the values of the system parameters used here, the nonlinear regimes correspond to extremely low injection rates, of order 10⁻²–10⁻¹⁰ of the plasma flux density advancing into the front, and to exponents of the power-law spectra of accelerated particles between 5 and 3. Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 112, 1584–1602 (November 1997)     

Size dependence of complex refractive index function of growing nanoparticles

The evidence of the change of the complex refractive index function E(m) of carbon and iron nanoparticles as a function of their size was found from two-color time-resolved laser-induced incandescence (TiRe-LII) measurements. Growing carbon particles were observed from acetylene pyrolysis behind a shock wave and iron particles were synthesized by pulse Kr–F excimer laser photo-dissociation of Fe(CO)₅. The magnitudes of refractive index function were found through the fitting of two independently measured values of particle heat up temperature, determined by two-color pyrometry and from the known energy of the laser pulse and the E(m) variation. Small carbon particles of about 1–14 nm in diameter had a low value of E(m)∼0.05–0.07, which tends to increase up to a value of 0.2–0.25 during particle growth up to 20 nm. Similar behavior for iron particles resulted in E(m) rise from ∼0.1 for particles 1–3 nm in diameter up to ∼0.2 for particles >12 nm in diameter.     

The investigation of the optics of shock-compressed strongly correlated plasma

Rare gas plasmas at high temperatures and pressures, produced by explosive shock fronts, are explored using laser diagnostics. The analysis of the response of a dense plasma to an electromagnetic wave of moderate-intensity proves successful for investigating properties and the validity of physical models describing the behaviour of dense and non-ideal plasmas. We present new experimental data for the reflectivity of oblique incidence of polarized electromagnetic waves on the front of shock-compressed xenon plasmas. The optical properties of strongly correlated plasma were studied in the near-infrared and green spectral regions at a plasma mass density ρ = 0.83 g/cm³ and temperature T = 32900 K. The spatial parameters of the plasma transition shock-front layer are determined by solving numerically the electromagnetic field equations.     

Surfing and generation of cosmic rays in relativistic shock waves

We consider the problem of cosmic-ray generation through the surfing acceleration of charged particles in relativistic magnetosonic shock waves (the branch of fast magnetic sound) propagating in magnetized space plasmas. The dependence of the particle surfing acceleration efficiency on the angle θ _Bn between the normal to the shock front plane and the magnetic field vector in the plasma upstream of the shock is analyzed in detail. We show that for angles satisfying the condition χ = βΓ tan θ _Bn ⩾ 1, where β = U/c, Γ = (1 − β)^{2 −1/2}, U is the shock velocity, and c is the speed of light, the particles can theoretically be accelerated through surfing for an unlimited time and can gain an unlimited energy. For angles satisfying the condition χ < 1, the kinetic energy ℰ of the particles is limited by ℰ = 2mc ²χ²/(1 − χ²) (m is the particle rest mass). Our main conclusion is that the generation of cosmic rays through the surfing acceleration of particles in the front of a relativistic shock wave for Γ ≫ 1 is also efficient when the angle θ _Bn is very small, i.e., it differs significantly from a right angle. Estimates for the energies of particles accelerated through surfing in relativistic jets are provided.     

Anomalous light-induced drift of linear molecules

The sudden approximation in energy is used to derive analytic formulas that describe the anomalous light-induced drift (LID) of linear molecules absorbing radiation in the rovibrational transition nJ _i −mJ _f (n and m are the ground and excited vibrational states, and J _α is the rotational quantum number in the vibrational state α=m, n). It is shown that for all linear molecules with moderate values B≲1 cm⁻¹ of the rotational constant, anomalous LID can always by observed under the proper experimental conditions; temperature T, rotational quantum number J _i , and type of transition (P or R). The parameter γ=B[J _i (J _i +1)−J _f (J _f +1)] ν _n /2k _BT (ν _m −ν _n ) is used to derive a condition for observing anomalous LID: γ∼1 (k _B is the Boltzmann constant and ν _α is the transport rate of collisions of molecules in the vibrational state α and buffer particles at moderate molecular velocities , where is the most probable velocity of the buffer particles). For ν _m >ν _n anomalous LID can be observed only in P-transitions, while for ν _m <ν _n it can be observed only in R-transitions. It is shown that anomalous LID is possible for all ratios β=M _b /M of the masses of the buffer particles (M _b ) and of the resonant particles (M) and any absorption-line broadening (Doppler or homogeneous). The optimum conditions for observing anomalous LID are realized when the absorption line is Doppler-broadened in an atmosphere of medium-weight (β∼1) and heavy (β≫1) buffer particles. In this case, anomalous LID can be observed in the same transition within a broad temperature interval ΔT∼T. If the buffer particles are light (β≪1) or if the broadening of the absorption line is homogeneous, anomalous LID in the same transition can be observed only within a narrow temperature range ΔT≪T. Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 115, 1664–1679 (May 1999)     

Properties of shock-compressed liquid krypton at pressures of up to 90 GPa

The following quantities of shock-compressed liquid krypton are measured behind a plane shock front at pressures up to 90 GPa: compressibility up to densities of 7 g/cm³, brightness (color) temperatures of 6000–24000 K, and electrical conductivities of 40–60000 (Ω·m)⁻¹. X-t diagram methods are used to estimate sound speeds of up to 5.5 km/s at pressures of 30–75 GPa. The optical absorption coefficients in the violet and red (30–300 cm⁻¹) are measured at pressures of 20–90 GPa from the rise in brightness of the shock front luminosity. The optical reflection coefficient of the shock front (∼13%) at a pressure of 76.1 GPa is measured for the first time. Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 116, 551–562 (August 1999)     

Effect of multiple ion reflections on the structure of an ion-sound shock wave

It is shown that multiple ion reflection, arising as a result of collisional dissipation, from a shock front can produce an ion-sound shock wave with an arbitrarily large Mach number. For an exponentially small number of reflected ions, the ion-sound shock wave “degenerates” into a collisionless quasishock wave. The comparative role of viscosity and sound dispersion with different initial nonisothermality of the plasma is discussed. Zh. Tekh. Fiz. 69, 52–56 (December 1999)     

Mechanisms of the destruction of micron conductors by an electromagnetic pulse with a subnanosecond front

The results of the experiments on the destruction of micron-diameter conductors by an electromagnetic pulse, which is generated in an inhomogeneous coaxial line by a high-voltage power source and has a subnanosecond front, are reported. The role of electrodynamic processes in the surface layer of microconductors and in environment in the formation of the spatial structure of the plasma channel and in the transformation of the energy of the source to the energy of radiation has been revealed. The spectral characteristics of the radiation of the plasma channel have been analyzed. It has been shown that the radiation spectrum at the time of the formation of the plasma corona is continuous. The most intense spectral lines of copper (510.554, 515.324, 521.82 nm) appear at ∼3 ns after the formation of the plasma corona. The temperature has been estimated from the ratio of the intensities of the spectral lines as T _e ∼ 0.7 eV.     

Optical study of parameters of the passage of a shock wave from air to water

A study is made of the penetration of shock waves from air into water. The shock wave in air is generated as a result of dielectric breakdown induced by pulsed CO₂-laser radiation. A combination of the double-exposure shadow method and holographic interferometry is used to measure the shock-wave parameters. Density and pressure profiles behind the wave front are obtained at different times after onset of breakdown. It is shown experimentally that as the wave passes through the interface from the air to the water, there is a fourfold amplification of the pressure in the shock wave front. Estimates of the width of the shock wave front formed in the water are given in the context of studies of large-scale explosion processes. It is shown that simple empirical dependences, established in the course of studies of large-scale explosions, are also valid with certain corrections for microscopic laboratory experiments. Zh. Tekh. Fiz. 68, 39–43 (August 1998)     

Stability and ambiguous representation of shock wave discontinuity in thermodynamically nonideal media

The nonlinear analysis of the behavior of a shock wave on a Hugoniot curve fragment that allows for the ambiguous representation of shock wave discontinuity has been performed. The fragment under consideration includes a section where the condition L > 1 + 2M is satisfied, which is a linear criterion of the instability of the shock wave in media with an arbitrary equation of state. The calculations in the model of a viscous heat-conductive gas show that solutions with an instable shock wave are not implemented. In the one-dimensional model, the shock wave decays into two shock waves or a shock wave and a rarefaction wave, which propagate in opposite directions, or can remain in the initial state. The choice of the solution depends on the parameters of the shock wave (position on the Hugoniot curve), as well as on the form and intensity of its perturbation. In the two-dimensional and three-dimensional calculations with a periodic perturbation of the shock wave, a “cellular” structure is formed on the shock front with a finite amplitude of perturbations that does not decrease and increase in time. Such behavior of the shock wave is attributed to the appearance of the triple configurations in the inclined sections of the perturbed shock wave, which interact with each other in the process of propagation along its front.     

A diffusion model of chain-branching reaction of the explosive decomposition of heavy metal azides

A diffusion model of a solid-phase chain reaction of explosive decomposition of heavy metal azides was developed. The dimensional effects of initiation of the reaction were examined: the dependence of the critical fluence of initiation on the microcrystal size H(R) and on the irradiated zone diameter H(d). It was demonstrated that the diffusion model of the chain reaction closely describes the measured H(R) dependence at diffusion coefficients of D ∼ 0.2–0.3 cm²/s, values that correspond to experimentally measured mobility of electronic charge carriers of μ ∼ 10 cm²/(V s). To account for the measured H(d) dependence and the reaction front propagation velocity (V = 1.2 km/s), it is necessary that the diffusion coefficient be three orders of magnitude higher than the experimentally determined value. That the H(R) and H(d) dependences cannot be quantitatively described simultaneously is indicative of the underlying mechanisms of energy transfer being different.     

Van der Waals molecules and collision pairs of noble-gas atoms ahead of a shock wave front

The effect of creation of an excess concentration of free electrons in an anomalously thick layer (≈5 cm) ahead of an explosively driven shock wave in noble gases is discussed and interpreted. This effect is the ionization of excited 1_u-state molecules produced due to the absorption of a small intensity flux (as compared to the ionization one) of photons (with energies substantially lower than the atom ionization threshold) by unexcited colliding complexes and van der Waals molecules. A model is proposed which explains the excitation of xenon molecules ahead of the radiationless shock wave of an open discharge. The absorption spectra of colliding complexes and van der Waals molecules adjacent to each other near the atomic absorption lines can be resolved into two spectra, and these spectra can be changed by an increase in gas temperature. As a result, radiation capable of exciting van der Waals molecules penetrates through the shock wave of an open discharge and excites xenon molecules there. The present work develops further the knowledge concerning the radiation energy transport in the shock wave front. It also proves that in front of an explosively driven shock wave a great number of excited molecules of noble gases are actually formed, and this means considerable progress toward a VUV laser with optical pumping. Translated from Preprint No. 56 of the P. N. Lebedev Physical Institute, Moscow, 1993.     

On the kinetic theory of energy losses in a randomly heterogeneous medium

The equation describing the distribution of energy losses of a particle propagating in a fractal medium with quenched and dynamic heterogeneities has been derived. It has been shown that in the case of the medium with fractal dimension 2 < D < 3, the losses Δ are characterized by the sublinear anomalous dependence Δ ∼ x ^α with a power-law dependence on the distance x from the surface and exponent α = D − 2.     

Spectra of high-frequency waves in hot magnetized plasmas

On the basis of numerical solution of the dispersion equation, we obtain the spectra of weakly damped high-frequency waves in a hot magnetized plasma for the case where the electron cyclotron frequency ω_He is below the plasma frequency ω_pe. It is shown that the longitudinal wave propagating at an angle to the magnetic field evolves into the slow extraordinary wave for the refractive index n ≤ 1. For n ≫ 1, the longitudinal-wave frequency increases with the refractive index, and the wave evolves into the wave with anomalous dispersion if the angle θ between the wave vector and the magnetic field is close to 90°. In the same range of θ angles, Bernstein modes appear in the spectrum of plasma eigenmode oscillations. __________ Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Radiofizika, Vol. 49, No. 3, pp. 258–266, March 2006.