The Influence of Humidity on Electron Transport Parameters and Insulation Performance of Air

The environmental conditions affect the external insulation performance of power equipment. In order to study the physical characteristics of air discharge, the microscopic process of electron–molecule collision in the air based on the Boltzmann equation has been studied in this paper. The influence of humidity on the air gap insulation performance was also analyzed. The calculation results show that with the temperature 300 K and the pressure 1.0 atm, the electron energy distribution function and electron transport parameters varied with the air relative humidity. As the air relative humidity is increased by each 30%, the average electron energy decreases by about 0.2 eV, the reduced electron mobility decreases by about 0.25 × 1023 [1/(V·m·s)], the reduced electron diffusion coefficient decreases by about 0.2 × 1024 [1/(m s)], and the effective ionization coefficient decreases by about 4 × 10−24 m2. As the air relative humidity increases from 0% to 60%, the critical breakdown electric field increases by 1.22 kV/cm.

Validation of SSUSI-derived auroral electron densities: comparisons to EISCAT data

The coupling of the atmosphere to the space environment has become recognized as an important driver of atmospheric chemistry and dynamics. In order to quantify the effects of particle precipitation on the atmosphere, reliable global energy inputs on spatial scales commensurate with particle precipitation variations are required. To that end, we have validated auroral electron densities derived from the Special Sensor Ultraviolet Spectrographic Imager (SSUSI) data products for average electron energy and electron energy flux by comparing them to EISCAT (European Incoherent Scatter Scientific Association) electron density profiles. This comparison shows that SSUSI far-ultraviolet (FUV) observations can be used to provide ionization rate and electron density profiles throughout the auroral region. The SSUSI on board the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) Block 5D3 satellites provide nearly hourly, 3000 km wide high-resolution (10 km×10 km) UV snapshots of auroral emissions. These UV data have been converted to average energies and energy fluxes of precipitating electrons. Here we use those SSUSI-derived energies and fluxes as input to standard parametrizations in order to obtain ionization-rate and electron-density profiles in the E region (90–150 km). These profiles are then compared to EISCAT ground-based electron density measurements. We compare the data from two satellites, DMSP F17 and F18, to the Tromsø UHF radar profiles. We find that differentiating between the magnetic local time (MLT) “morning” (03:00–11:00 MLT) and “evening” (15:00–23:00 MLT) provides the best fit to the ground-based data. The data agree well in the MLT morning sector using a Maxwellian electron spectrum, while in the evening sector using a Gaussian spectrum and accounting for backscattered electrons achieved optimum agreement with EISCAT. Depending on the satellite and MLT period, the median of the differences varies between 0 % and 20 % above 105 km (F17) and ±15 % above 100 km (F18). Because of the large density gradient below those altitudes, the relative differences get larger, albeit without a substantially increasing absolute difference, with virtually no statistically significant differences at the 1σ level.

Validation of SSUSI derived ionization rates and electron densities

The coupling of the atmosphere to the space environment has become recognized as an important driver of atmospheric chemistry and dynamics. In order to quantify the effects of particle precipitation on the atmosphere, reliable global energy inputs on spatial scales commensurate with particle precipitation variations are required. To that end, we have validated the Special Sensor Ultraviolet Spectrographic Imagers (SSUSI) products for average electron energy and electron energy flux by comparing to EISCAT electron density profiles. This comparison shows that SSUSI FUV observations can be used to provide ionization rate profiles throughout the auroral region. The SSUSI on board the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) Block 5D3 satellites provide nearly hourly, high-resolution UV snapshots of auroral emissions. These UV data have been converted to average energies and energy fluxes of precipitating electrons. Here we use those SSUSI-derived energies and fluxes to drive standard parametrizations in order to obtain ionization-rate and electron-density profiles in the E-region (90–150 km). These profiles are then compared to EISCAT ground-based electron density measurements. We compare the data from two satellites, DMSP F17 and F18, to the Tromsø UHF radar profiles. We find that differentiating between the magnetic local time (MLT) morning (3–11 h) and evening (15–23 h) provides the best fit to the ground-based data. The data agree well in the MLT morning sector using a Maxwellian electron spectrum, while in the evening sector using a Gaussian spectrum and accounting for bounce-electrons achieved optimum agreement with EISCAT. Depending on the satellite and MLT period, the median of the differences varies between 0 and 20 % above 105 km (F17) and ±15 % above 100 km (F18). Because of the large density gradient below those altitudes, the relative differences get larger, albeit without a substantially increasing absolute difference, with virtually no statistically significant differences at the 1 σ level.

All that is known about Mars discrete aurorae so far

<p>The discrete aurorae on Mars were discovered with the SPICAM spectrograph on board Mars Express. Now, they have been analyzed in detail using the much more sensitive MAVEN/IUVS imaging spectrograph.</p><p>This presentation gives a summary of the very latest results obtained by Schneider et al. and Soret et al. on this topic.</p><p>The main conclusions are the following:</p><ul><li>the number of auroral event detections has considerably increased since the Mars Express observations;</li> <li>many detections have been made outside of the Southern crustal magnetic field structures;</li> <li>the MUV spectrum shows the same emissions as those observed in the dayglow, with similar intensity ratios;</li> <li>the Vegard-Kaplan bands of N<sub>2</sub> have been observed for the first time in the Martian aurora;</li> <li>the CO Cameron and the CO<sub>2</sub><sup>+</sup> UVD emissions occur at the same altitude;</li> <li>the OI emission at 297.2 nm has been analyzed;</li> <li>the CO Cameron/CO<sub>2</sub><sup>+</sup> UVD ratio is quasi-constant;</li> <li>intensities are higher in B-field regions;</li> <li>auroral emissions are more frequent in the pre-midnight sector;</li> <li>the altitude of the emission layer is independent of local time and presence or absence of a crustal magnetic field;</li> <li>the altitude of the emission layer varies moderately with season (atmospheric effect);</li> <li>the events are spatially correlated with an increase in the flux of energetic electrons simultaneously measured by the MAVEN/SWEA (Solar Wind Electron Analyzer) detectors;</li> <li>the peak altitude of the emission is in good agreement with that expected from the average electron energy.</li> </ul>

Влияние вида функции распределения электронов в плазме и дисперсии по энергии электронного пучка на устойчивость низковольтного пучкового разряда

Within the framework of the kinetic approach, the conditions for the loss of stability of a low-voltage beam discharge in inert gases (LVBD) are studied depending on the temperature of the electron beam, the dispersion of the electron beam velocity in the direction of the discharge axis, and the form of the electron energy distribution function (EEDF). Regimes are considered when the interelectrode distance is on the order of the electron mean free path relative to elastic collisions with inert gas atoms. It is shown that the beam temperature Tb, determined in the LVBD by the cathode temperature not exceeding 1500 K, and the dispersion of the beam electron energy, which in the LVBD can be significantly higher than kTb and reaches 1 - 2 eV, have little effect on the conditions for the loss of stability of the LVBD and the magnitude of the growth rate of disturbance amplification at frequencies up to plasma It was found that the form of the EEDF monotonically decreasing with increasing electron energy also does not affect the parameters of the perturbations propagating in the LVBD at the beam energy much higher than the average electron energy in the plasma. The results obtained are applicable not only to LVBD, but also to other types of self-sustained beam discharges.

Patterns of inhibition of the culture of Salmonella

Studies on the inhibition effectiveness of the initial degree of inoculation of the Salmonella microorganism were carried out. In this paper, the irradiation efficiency of model systems with electron beams with beam energy of 6.5 and 10 MeV was studied. The investigations were carried out at UELV-10-10-C-70 accelerator at Frumkin Institute of Physical Chemistry and Electrochemistry of Russian Academy of Sciences (IPCE RAS) with an average beam power of 6.5 MeV and at radiation-technological center with an electron accelerator UELR-10-10-40 at A.I. Burnazyan Federal Medical Biophysical Centre of Federal Medical Biological Agency with an average electron energy of 10 MeV. The conducted researches on studying and revealing the dependence of inhibition of pathogenic microflora, irradiation with different intensity, on the structure (density) of the studied samples, which model liquid and solid nutrient media. The study used a strain Salmonella enterica subsp. Enterica serovar Typhimurium. The results of the effective inhibition of the initial degree of contamination for the two plants were obtained. Studies have shown that the effectiveness of inhibition of Salmonella culture can vary depending on the characteristics of electron beams. For example, when samples were irradiated with electrons with energy of 6.5 and 10 MeV at doses from 3 to 7 kGy, various results of the inhibition effectiveness of Salmonella culture on media with different work were obtained. When processing samples with studied strains of cultures in the dose range from 4 to 5 kGy, there is an increase in the growth of microorganisms for all processing conditions. In the remaining studied ranges their inhibition are observed. It is important to take into account not only the effectiveness of the oppression of microflora on specific products, but also the efficiency of the installation for a specific sample.

Филаментация и самофокусировка электронных пучков в вакуумных и газовых диодах

In this paper, we experimentally studied pulsed electron beams with a high local density. The conditions in which the energy density cumulation is observed during the interaction of electrons with the anode are shown to develop in vacuum and gas diodes at nanosecond and subnanosecond durations of a beam current pulse and a decrease in the interelectrode gap. The average electron energy in filamentation and self-focusing of an electron beam in a vacuum diode of an accelerator at a current of ~2 kA and a no-load voltage of ~400 kV was established to be 50–100 keV while the energy density was 10^9–10^10 J/cm^3. It is confirmed that the beam current density in a gas diode can exceed 1 kA/cm^2. It is hypothesized that superdense electron beams in vacuum and gas diodes are formed as a result of avalanche multiplication of runaway electrons in the cathode–anode gap plasma.

Evaluation of Monte Carlo tools for high energy atmospheric physics II: relativistic runaway electron avalanches

The emerging field of High Energy Atmospheric Physics studies events producing high energy particles and associated with thunderstorms, such as terrestrial gamma-ray flashes and gamma-ray glows. Understanding these phenomena requires appropriate models of the interaction of electrons, positrons and photons with air and electric fields. This work is made as a continuation of Rutjes et al. (2016), now including the effects of electric fields. We investigated results of three codes used in the community (Geant4, GRRR and REAM), for simulating the process of Relativistic Runaway Electron Avalanches. From analytical considerations, we show that the avalanche is mainly driven by electric fields and the ionisation and scattering processes determining the minimum energy of electrons that can runaway. To investigate this point further, we used a first simulation set-up to estimate the probability to produce a RREA from a relevant range of electron energies and electric field magnitudes. We found that the stepping methodology is important, and the stepping parameters have to be set up very carefully for Geant4. For example, a too large step size can lead to an avalanche probability reduced by a factor of 10, or a 40 % over-estimation of the average electron energy. Furthermore, the probability for the particles below 10 keV to accelerate and participate in the penetrating radiation is actually negligible for the full range of electric field we tested (E

Electron Transport Characteristics of Wurtzite GaN

A three-valley Monte Carlo simulation approach was used to investigate electron transport in wurtzite GaN such as the drift velocity, the drift mobility, the average electron energy, energy relaxation time, and momentum relaxation time at high electric fields. The simulation accounted for polar optical phonon, acoustic phonon, piezoelectric, intervalley scattering, and Ridley charged impurity scattering model. For the steady-state transport, the drift velocity against electric field showed a negative differential resistance of a peak value of 2.9×105 m/s at a critical electric field strength 180×105 V/m. The electron drift velocity relaxes to the saturation value of 1.5×105 m/s at very high electric fields. The electron velocities against time over wide range of electric fields are reported.