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Produced by the NASA Center for Aerospace Information (CASI)
SCIENCE APPLICATIONS, INC.

134008 Northrup Way #36

Bellevue, Wlashington 98005

September 1983

Prepared for

R.A. Wolf, Principal Investigator

DEPARTMENT OF SPACE PHYSICS AND ASTRONOMY

RICE UNIVERSITY

Houston, Texac 77251

and

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

GSFC/Wallops Flight Center

Wallops Island, VA 23337

1-1

1S

Hugh' . Anderson

;svk

(NASA-CR- 175352) STUDY PLASMA INTERACTIONS N84

IN THE AURORAL IONOSPHERE Final Report

(Rice Univ. ) 16 p HC A02 /MF A01 CSCL 04A

Unc

G3/46 151

l

i

1

1

1

SAI/NW-83-482-06

STUDY PLASMA INTERACTIONS IN THE

AURORAL IONOSPHERE

Final Report on Grant NAG6-5

0

1!

t

r
TECHNICAL REPORT STANDARD TITLE PAGE

1. Report No. 2. Government Accession Me. 3. Recipient's Catalog No.

4. Title and 5.675r,_

Study Plasma Interactions in the Auroral

S. Report Date

September 1983

Ionosphere: Final Report Grant NAG6-5 to 6. Performing Organization Cade

Rice University

7. Awhar(a) N.R. Anderson, SFi ence Applications 8. Performing Organization Report No.

R.A. W SAI/NW-83-428-06

9. Performing Organization Nome and Address 10. work Unit Me.

Science Applications, Inc.

11. Contract ar Grant No. 134008 Northrup Way #36

Bellevue, WA 98005• NAG6-5

13. Type of Report and Period Covered

Final Report

12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address

Larry J. Early

NASA GSFC,/WFC 14. Sponsoring Agency Code

Wallops Island, VA 23337

I

15. Supplementary Notes

i16. Abstract

Analyzed data from an earlier rocket flight, 29.007UE. (Support for

analysis was also provided by NSF.) Principal completed results are:

a) In a discrete electron arc the measured upward moving electrons

are well accounted for by secondaries produced in collisional scattering of the measured downcoming electrons. No collective mechanisms

need be invoked. b) The low energy downcoming electrons are accounted for by thermal plasma accelerated through a potential drop of a few

kV that specularly reflects upward-moving lower energy electrons. No

low altitude collective effects need be invoked in the arc. c) Simultaneous measurements of electric field by double probes on 29.007 and

the Chatanika Radar allow one to infer that: there are upward drifting ions above the discrete electron arc; and there is a westward

neutral wind in the discrete arc. Built two rocket payloads to investigate plasma effects in the pulsating aurora. These were designated

33.023/024 and launched 11/82 and 1/83 with support from a follow-on

contract to SAI, #NAS5-26944. Refurbished a frequency spectrum analyzer, recovered from rocket 29.013 (reflight of 29.007; on 29.013 a

nd-sta e.en i failed) for use on the U.of_MN SCEX rocket, 27.045UE

17. 6y Was' iet:ed Vy utnor(s)) lf3 isfribution Statement

pulsating aurora

auroral arc electrodynamics UNLIMITED

sounding rocket

19. Security ClossiL (a' this report) 20. Security Clasalf. (of this page) 21. No o; Pages 22. Price,

UNCLASSIFIED UNCLASSIFIED 4 + appen.

• For sale by the Cleeringbouse for Federal Scientific one Technical Infom ation, Springfield, Virginia 22151.
SAI/NW-83-482-06 Page 1

STUDY OF PLASMA INTERACTIONS IN THE AURORAL IONOSPHERE

The history of events and accomplishments supported by Grant

NAG6-5 is as follows:

1) The proposal from which the grant resulted was submitted to

NASA in September 1979, by Rice University. The Principal Investigator was

Dr. Hugh R. Anderson, Professor of Space Physics at Rice. The proposal

asked two years' support for three tasks:

a) Analysis of ion and electric field data from rocket 29.007.

b) Construction and launch of two payloads to study thin layers

in the pulsating aurora.

c) Construction of an electric field frequency spectrum analyzer

for operation on rocket 27.045, commonly called SCEX, for

which Dr. Paul Kellogg at the University of Minnesota is the

PI (SCEX carries an electron accelerator and a suite of diagnostic instruments to observe effects of the electron beam.)

elec

Coinvestigators were Dr. T.J. Hallinan and H.C. Stenbaek-Nielsen of the

University of Alaska and Dr. E.A. Bering of the University of Houston.

n% 1_
SAI/NW-83-482-06 Page 2

3) In August 1980 Grant NAG6-5 was awarded for one year (1 July

1980 - 30 June 1981)

.._. _ r.

Work began in summer of 1980 on all phases of the payload except

the photometers, which were built in their entirety by our Coinvestigator

Dr. Nallinan at the University of Alaska.

The Project Initiation Conference was held at WFC on 14 October

1980.

The Design Review was held 13 April 1981.

A paper was published based on data from rocket 29.007.

4) In June 1981, a renewal proposal for the period 1 July 1981 to

30 June 1982 was submitted to:

Continue Task A

Complete Task B

Initiate and complete Task C

!d

is

The Principal Investigator for this second year was Dr. R.A. Wolf,

Professor of Space Physics at Rice. This change was agreed to by Anderson

and Wolf because Anderson resigned from the Rice University faculty effective 15 August 1981 and joined the staff of Science Applications, Inc. (SAI)

in their Seattle area office.

50
( SAI/NW-83-482-06 Page 3

t

In this second year we continued analysis of data from 29.007 and

a second paper was published on it.

F, Work continued on all aspects of the new rocket payloads. Circuit

boards for the AN/N experiment were delivered by Rice to the University of

Houston where Dr. E.A. Bering, our Coinvestigator who designed that detector, completed it. The photometer design was completed by T.J. Hallinan in

Alaska, and the detailed solid state detector design were completed by

Anderson in Seattle with support from the grant as noted above, and with

additional support from SAI. The electron optics design of the electrostatic analyzers was also completed by Anderson. Other portions of the work

were carried out by John McGarity, the project engineer at Rice, with support b P Yregular contact with Del Oehme also at Rice. These men were in 9

Anderson, who continued to take responsibility for the scientific program.

1 Launch had been planned for March 1982, but in December 1981 it

PS

became obvious that the payloads would not be complete in time, and a status

report from John McGarity in January 1982 made this quite clear. this

k

situation and future plans were reported to NASA by SAI and Rice in Status

is

Report #1 dated 12 February 1982 (included in Appendix).

' Following this realization, work proceeded on the payloads through i`

the balance of the grant period. On 14 April 1982, SAI submitted a proposal

to NASA to complete and launch the payloads in a third year, 1 Juiy 1982 to

30 June 1983. In support of this, R.A. Wolf and J.O. McGarity of Rice

I (.

If 1

proposed to SAI to complete their portion of the program under subcontract

to SAI. The proposal from SAI was accepted by NASA and Contract NAS5-26944

!" a between NASA and SAI resulted. Under this contract SAI and Rice completed

r.

!

Y(_ the payloads and launched them (rockets 33.023 and 33.024) from Poker Flat

l

Research Range, Alaska, in the winter of 1982-83.

The work on Task C, the electric field frequency spectrum analyzer, was brought to a successful conclusion unde r Grant NAG6-5. The analyzer that had been recovered in 1979 from 29.013 was refurbished, delivered

to the University of Minnesota, and launched on 27.045UE from Churchill

Research Range in January 1982. A retarding potential analyzer (RPA) was

It

6
S

/NW83806 Page 4

also built at Rice and successfully launched on 27.045. Prior to launch the

27.045 mother payload, carrying the electron accelerator and RPA, were

operated in the Space Simulation Chamber A at NASA-JSC. Interesting data

resulted (see appendices on this related work). The RPA was built with

support from a subcontract to Rice from the University of Minnesota and from

the NASA SR&T grant to Rice, NGL44-006-012.
APPENDIX 1

STATUS REPORT #1

12 February 1982
-:d'LA-

" -4n\ ^

Hugh R. Anderson

Co-Investigator

SA!/NWHRA48202

February 12, 1982

STATUS REPORT #1

on Grant NAG6-5

From NASA-Wallops Flight Center to Rice University

STUDY PLASMA INTERACTIONS IN THE

AURORAL IONOSPHERE

Prepared for

Rice University

Department of Space Physics

Houston, Texas 77251

BY

Science Applications, Inc.

134006 Northrup Way #36

Bellevue, Washington 98005
I. BACKGROUND

j

This program was initially proposed by H.R. Anderson at Rice University in

September 1979, and funding approval was given in August 1980 for work beginning

July 1980 under Grant NAG6-5 to Rice University. The work as proposed was planned

for a period of two years. A renewal proposal for the second year was submitted by

Rice in June 1981, with R.A. Wolf as the Principal Investigator. This change in

PI was made because Anderson resigned from Rice effective 15 August 1981, and has

become a full-time employee of Science App. cations, Inc. He remains Adjunct Professor at Rice. His work at SAI on Grant NAG6-5 is supported by PO 22183 from

Rice University.

^. II. WORK ACCOMPLISHED THROUGH 30 JANUARY 1982

f

Three tasks were proposed in June 1981. Their status follows.

Task A. Further analysis of data from rocket 29.007 is proceeding slowly.

Work is being done by Anderson at SAI, by E.A. Bering at the University of Houston,

by R.M. Robinson at Stanford Research International, and by M.H. Rees at the University of Alaska (the latter three are not supported by NAG6-5). Publication of the

following paper was supported by NAG6-5; preparation was supported in part by NSF:

Robinson, R.M., E.A. Bering, R.R. Vondrak, H.R. Anderson, and P.A. Cloutier,

"Simultaneous rocket and radar measurements of currents in an auroral arc",

J. Geophys. Res. 86, 7703-7717 (1981).

A reprint is appended.

Task C. The refurbished electric field frequency analyzer was delivered to

the University of Minnesota for use on rocket 27.045UE (called SCEX, with Paul Kello

the PI). A retarding potential analyzer was delivered earlier; its construction was

supported in part by a PO from the University of Minnesota to Rice.

H.R. Anderson participated in the launch from Churchill during the period

16-30 January; travel was funded by the University of Minnesota. The rocket was

successfully launched over an aurora, and both of the above instruments worked and

detected effects of the electron accelerator carried by the rocket. Data will be

reduced at SAI in the coming months.

1
Task B. This task includes construction and launch of payloads on rockets

33.023 and 33.024, and eventually reduction and analysis of data. Design and construction of the payloads is being accomplished at Rice University under the direc

ttion of J.O. McGarity with the following exceptions:

( 1) The dN/N experiment is being tested by E.A. Bering at the University of

( Houston. The instrument was designed by Bering and built at mice. It is

complete and functioning.

2) The photometers were designed, built and tested under the direction of

T.J. Hallinan at the University of Alaska. The photometers are complete

but tests show inadequate sensitivity so that some rework may be necessar

3) Analysis of electron trajectories and geometric design of the electrostatic analyzers was done by H.R. Anderson at SAI and forwarded to Rice

in August 1981.

4) Detailed mechanical and electrical design of the solid state detectors

and breadboarding of circuits was completed by H.R. Anderson in December

1981, and designs were sent to Rice. Some circuit changes were suggested

by McGarity. Parts were machined in the Rice shop and recently returned

to SAT for assembly and test.

The status of the payloads is summarized in the attached memo from McGarity

to Wolf and Anderson. Obviously, construction is substantially behind schedule,

and we have to postpone the rocket launches from the 1981-82 season to the following winter. Launch was initially scheduled for January 1982, and a slip to March

1982 was requested in the fall of 1981. We now project that launch from Poker Fla

can be accomplished in the dark-moon period 10-28 November 1982. We request suppo

in this period.

There are no special technical problems that have caused the delay. Each of

the detector types has been used before on rockets or in laboratory measurements,

but Anderson and McGarity underestimated the difficulty of adapting these for a

rocket. Other factors have been:

a) Anderson's move to SAI took some time in the summer of 1981. In addition,

the lack of daily communication between Anderson and McGarity may have

caused some inefficiency.

b) In early 1981 Anderson and McGarity spent a lot of time on beam-plasma

,experiments in the large vacuum chamber at Johnson Space Center.

2
3

i

c) Anderson spent most of the period May-September 1981 writing reports and

proposals for the Spacelab beam-plasma physics pr.,gram (TEBPP) supported

by NASA-MSFC. Definition phase is completed and we are in Preliminary

Design so the work load is less.

d) Construction of the instruments for the Kellogg rocket took substantial

time. That work has come to a successful conclusion (Task C).

e) Most importantly, less manpower has been available than was used for previous projects. From the beginning there has been no postdoctoral fellow

and no graduate student involved with this project. For 29.007 and 29.013

there were two students, two faculty, a full-time postdoc and, during some

periods, a very able undergraduate technician.

There will be no change in the manpower during payload construction.

_ Anderson plans to have a graduate student from the University of Washingto

work on data analysis beginning in the fall of 1982.

III. WORK TO BE ACCOMPLISHED 1 FEBRUARY-30 JUNE 1982

Detailed success criteria and the launch window will be defined promptly.

Analysis of data from 29.007 and 27.045 will proceed.

The GSE and payiaads for 33.023 and 33.024 will be completed and tested. It

is possible that testing and integration at WFC can also be accomplished during thi

period. Anderson will be at Rice for 1-2 weeks in March and during this time a new

schedule and budget will be prepared for the balance of the period.

In order to launch the payloads and analyze the results, we need an additional

year's time (1 July 1982 - 30 June 1983) and some additional financial support. We

understand that a formal proposal for this work must be submitted. Anderson will

submit this from Science Applications, Inc., requesting a contract to complete the

work, unless NASA-WFC strongly prefers to continue with a grant to Rice. SAI, as

prime contractor, will then subcontract with Rice for engineering services during

the launch. Such an arrangement will correspond to the fact that:

a) Most of the third year's work will be data analysis at SAT;

b) Responsibility should reside with H.R. Anderson.

Attach.: Robinson, et al. (1981).

Memo: McGarity/Wolf&Anderson

Letter: Hallinan/Anderson
Fr

APPENDIX 2

REPORT TO NASA HEADQUARTERS ON GRANT NAG6-5

AND RELATED WORK ON SRBi GRANTS

(INCLUDES BIBLIOGRAPHY)

L
• August'h981

Supporting Research at Rice University and SAI Northwest PP g Y /

!± A. SR&T Grant NGL 44-006-012

I. Built a high resolution electrostatic Analyzer for electronics

in laboratory beam-plasma experiments.

2. Built a retarding potential analyzer to cover the electron energy range

5-400 eV, measuring currents from 10- 11 to 10-7 A in four auto-ranging

decades for lab and SCEX rocket.

3. Conducted laborat,

investigation with William Bernstein and R. Jerry Jos

at the JSC Chamber A:

a. Measured the scaling laws for BPD ignition;

b. Measured the time delay in evolution of BPD ignition as a function of

beam current;

c. Measured the power spectral density spectrum of electric field oscillations cis a function of position in the bPU interaction region --

strong radial dependence is observed;

d. Measured energy spectrum of electrons resulting from beam-plasma interactions, including 9PD -- both beam heating and ambient heating are see

B. Research Grant NAG6-5 for auroral plasma

1. Analyzed data from an earVer rocket flight. 29.007UE. (Support for analysis was also provided by NSF.) Principal completed results are:

a. In a discrete electron arc the measured upward moving plectrons are

well accounted for by secondaries produced in collisional scattering

r of the measured oawncoming t l ectrons. No collective mechanisms need

be invoked.

b. The low energy downcoming electrons are accounted for by thermal plasma

accelerated through a potential drop of a few kV that soecularly reflec

upward-moving lower energy plectrons. No low altitude collective effec

need be invoked in the arc.

c. Simultaneous measurements of electric field by double probes on 29.007

and the Chatanika Radar allow one to infer that:

- There are upward drifting ions above the discrete electron arc;

- There is a westward neutral wind in the discrete arc.

2. We are building two rocket payloads to investigate plasma effects in the

pulsating aurora, with launches planned for January 1982.

3. We will refurbish a frequency spectrum analyzer. recovered from rocket

29.013 (a reflight of 29.007; on 29.013 the second-stage engine failed) for

use on the University of Minnesota SCEX rocket.

C. Future work: The scientific objective continues to be understanding of plasma

(collective) processes in the ionosphere with emphasis on beam-plasma interactions. Analysis of existing data and new experiments with SCEX and pulsating

aurori: rocket payloads will continue during the next year. An immediate techno

logical objective is to complete a microprocessor-controlled particle detector.

Hugh R. Anderson
SR&T NGL 44-006-012 Papers Presented

NATO Advanced Research Institute on

"Artificial Particle Beams Utilized in Space Plasma Physics"

1

{ Geilo, Norway, April 21-26, 1981

Anderson, H.R., R.J. Jost and J. Gordeuk, "Measured electron energy distribution

1 in beam- plasma interactions: (1) laboratory experiments and (2) auroral

observations."

k j

Bernstein, W., P.J. Kellogg, S.J. Monson, R.H. Holzworth and B . A. Whalen, "Recen

observations of injected beam- plasma interactions in the ionosphere and a

comparison with laboratory studies of the beam- plasma discharge" ( invited).

I

t'

` Hallinan, T . J., H. Leinbach and W. Bernstein, " Visible signatures of the multiste

transition to a beam plasma discharge."

Jost, R . J., "The NASA space environment simulation laboratory."

Jost, R . J., "Temporal characteristics of BPD ignition."

Jost, R . J., H.R. Anderson and W. Bernstein, "Radial dependence of the HF wave

field strength in the BPD column."

SR&T Publications

Bernstein, W., F.H. Leinbach, P.J. Kellogg, S.J. Monson, T.J. Hallinan,

O.K. Garriott, J. McCoy, A. Konradi, P. Daly, and H . R. Anderson, "The beam

plasma discharge at low pressures and low magnetic field strengths,"

Geophys. Res. Letters 5:2, 1978.

Bernstein, W., F.H. Leinbach, P.J. Kellogg, S.J. Monson and T. Hallinan, " Further

laboratory measurements of the beam plasma discharge," J. Geophys. Res. 84:12

1979.

Bernstein, W., B.A. Wh a len, F.R. Harris, A.G. McNamara and A. Konradi, "Laborator

studies of the charge neutralization of a rocket payload during electron beam

emission," Geophys. Res. Letters 7:1, 1980.

Bernstein, W. and P.J. Kellogg, "Laboratory simulation of the injection of ever-

_ - getic electron beams into the ionosphere - ignition of the beam plasma discharge," in Advances in Space Research, Vol. 1, pp. 347-360, COSPAR 1981.

Jost, R.J., H.R. Anderson and J.O. McGarity, "Electron energy distribution measur

during beam/plasma interact 4n n," Geophys. Res. Letters 7:509, 1980.

3 

` 

^
Grant NAG6-5 Publications

Pulliam, D.M., H.R. Anderson, K. Stammes, and M.H. Rees, "Auroral electron acc

eration and atmospheric interaction," J. Geophys. Res. 86:2397-2404, 1981.

Robinson, R.M., E.A. Bering, R.R. Vondrak, H.R. Anderson and P.A. Cloutier, "

taneous rocket and radar measurements of currents in an auroral arc," in p

Presentations

Anderson, H.R., R.M. Robinson and E.A. Bering, "Birkeland current and electric

field in auroral arcs," invited review at AGU Chapman Conference on Aurora

Arcs, University of Alaska, July 1980.

Bering, E.A., H.R. Anderson et al., "Simultaneous rocket and radar observation

of fields and plasr;a In a quiet auroral arc," Fourth General Assembly of I

1979.

Bering, E.A., H.R. Anderson and D.M. Pulliam, "Acceleration of auroral particl

inferred from observed electron spectra and electric fields," IAGA Edinbur

r. 4 Assembly, 1981.

Robinson, R.M., H.R. Anderson, E.A. Bering and R.R. Vondrak, "Rocket and radar

electric field measurements in an auroral arc," AGU Chapman Conference on

Auroral Arcs, University of Alaska, July 1980.
APPENDIX 3

PAPERS PUBLISHED WITH SUPPORT FROM NAG6-5

1,L