arXiv subjects

Donald Q. Lamb

Publications and source records attributed to Donald Q. Lamb.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2016

Inferring Morphology and Strength of Magnetic Fields From Proton Radiographs

Proton radiography is an important diagnostic method for laser plasma experiments, and is particularly important in the analysis of magnetized plasmas. The theory of radiographic image analysis has heretofore only permitted somewhat limited analysis of the radiographs of such plasmas. We furnish here a theory that remedies this deficiency. We show that to linear order in magnetic field gradients, proton radiographs are projection images of the MHD current along the proton trajectories. We demonstrate that in the linear approximation, the full structure of the perpedicular magnetic field can be reconstructed by solving a steady-state inhomogeneous 2-dimensional diffusion equation sourced by the radiograph fluence contrast data. We explore limitations of the inversion method due to Poisson noise, to discretization errors, to radiograph edge effects, and to obstruction by laser target structures. We also provide a separate analysis that is well-suited to the inference of isotropic-homogeneous magnetic turbulence spectra. We discuss extension of these results to the nonlinear contrast regime.

physics.plasm-ph↗

arXiv2015

Creation of Magnetized Jet Using a Ring of Laser Beams

We propose a new way of generating magnetized supersonic jets using a ring laser to irradiate a flat surface target. Using 2D FLASH code simulations which include the Biermann Battery term, we demonstrate that strong toroidal fields can be generated and sustained downstream in the collimated jet outflow far from the target surface. The field strength can be controlled by varying the ring laser separation, thereby providing a versatile laboratory platform for studying the effects of magnetic field in a variety of astrophysical settings.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2015

The Biermann Catastrophe in Numerical MHD

The Biermann Battery effect is frequently invoked in cosmic magnetogenesis and studied in High-Energy Density laboratory physics experiments. Generation of magnetic fields by the Biermann effect due to mis-aligned density and temperature gradients in smooth flow behind shocks is well known. We show that a Biermann-effect magnetic field is also generated within shocks. Direct implementation of the Biermann effect in MHD codes does not capture this physical process, and worse, produces unphysical magnetic fields at shocks whose value does not converge with resolution. We show that this convergence breakdown is due to naive discretization, which fails to account for the fact that discretized irrotational vector fields have spurious solenoidal components that grow without bound near a discontinuity. We show that careful consideration of the kinetics of ion viscous shocks leads to a formulation of the Biermann effect that gives rise to a convergent algorithm. We note two novel physical effects: a resistive magnetic precursor in which Biermann-generated field in the shock "leaks" resistively upstream; and a thermal magnetic precursor , in which field is generated by the Biermann effect ahead of the shock front due to gradients created by the shock's electron thermal conduction precursor. Both effects appear to be potentially observable in experiments at laser facilities. We re-examine published studies of magnetogenesis in galaxy cluster formation, and conclude that the simulations in question had inadequate resolution to reliably estimate the field generation rate. Corrected estimates suggest primordial field values in the range $B\sim 10^{-22}$G --- $10^{-19}$G by $z=3$.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2013

Radiation Transport for Explosive Outflows: A Multigroup Hybrid Monte Carlo Method

We explore Implicit Monte Carlo (IMC) and Discrete Diffusion Monte Carlo (DDMC) for radiation transport in high-velocity outflows with structured opacity. The IMC method is a stochastic computational technique for nonlinear radiation transport. IMC is partially implicit in time and may suffer in efficiency when tracking Monte Carlo particles through optically thick materials. DDMC accelerates IMC in diffusive domains. Abdikamalov extended IMC and DDMC to multigroup, velocity-dependent transport with the intent of modeling neutrino dynamics in core-collapse supernovae. Densmore has also formulated a multifrequency extension to the originally grey DDMC method. We rigorously formulate IMC and DDMC over a high-velocity Lagrangian grid for possible application to photon transport in the post-explosion phase of Type Ia supernovae. This formulation includes an analysis that yields an additional factor in the standard IMC-to-DDMC spatial interface condition. To our knowledge the new boundary condition is distinct from others presented in prior DDMC literature. The method is suitable for a variety of opacity distributions and may be applied to semi-relativistic radiation transport in simple fluids and geometries. Additionally, we test the code, called SuperNu, using an analytic solution having static material, as well as with a manufactured solution for moving material with structured opacities. Finally, we demonstrate with a simple source and 10 group logarithmic wavelength grid that IMC-DDMC performs better than pure IMC in terms of accuracy and speed when there are large disparities between the magnitudes of opacities in adjacent groups. We also present and test our implementation of the new boundary condition.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2013

Comparing the light curves of simulated Type Ia Supernovae with observations using data-driven models

We propose a robust, quantitative method to compare the synthetic light curves of a Type Ia Supernova (SNIa) explosion model with a large set of observed SNeIa, and derive a figure of merit for the explosion model's agreement with observations. The synthetic light curves are fit with the data-driven model SALT2 which returns values for stretch, color, and magnitude at peak brightness, as well as a goodness-of-fit parameter. Each fit is performed multiple times with different choices of filter bands and epoch range in order to quantify the systematic uncertainty on the fitted parameters. We use a parametric population model for the distribution of observed SNIa parameters from large surveys, and extend it to represent red, dim, and bright outliers found in a low-redshift SNIa data set. We discuss the potential uncertainties of this population model and find it to be reliable given the current uncertainties on cosmological parameters. Using our population model, we assign each set of fitted parameters a likelihood of being observed in nature, and a figure of merit based on this likelihood. We define a second figure of merit based on the quality of the light curve fit, and combine the two measures into an overall figure of merit for each explosion model. We compute figures of merit for a variety of 1D, 2D and 3D explosion models and show that our evaluation method allows meaningful inferences across a wide range of light curve quality and fitted parameters.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2013

A Radiation-Hydrodynamics Code Comparison for Laser-Produced Plasmas: FLASH versus HYDRA and the Results of Validation Experiments

The potential for laser-produced plasmas to yield fundamental insights into high energy density physics (HEDP) and deliver other useful applications can sometimes be frustrated by uncertainties in modeling the properties and expansion of these plasmas using radiation-hydrodynamics codes. In an effort to overcome this and to corroborate the accuracy of the HEDP capabilities recently added to the publicly available FLASH radiation-hydrodynamics code, we present detailed comparisons of FLASH results to new and previously published results from the HYDRA code used extensively at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. We focus on two very different problems of interest: (1) an Aluminum slab irradiated by 15.3 and 76.7 mJ of "pre-pulse" laser energy and (2) a mm-long triangular groove cut in an Aluminum target irradiated by a rectangular laser beam. Because this latter problem bears a resemblance to astrophysical jets, Grava et al., Phys. Rev. E, 78, (2008) performed this experiment and compared detailed x-ray interferometric measurements of electron number densities to HYDRA simulations. Thus, the former problem provides an opportunity for code-to-code comparison, while the latter provides an opportunity for both code-to-code comparison and validation. Despite radically different schemes for determining the computational mesh, and different equation of state and opacity models, the HYDRA and FLASH codes yield results that are in excellent agreement for both problems and with the experimental data for the latter. Having validated the FLASH code in this way, we use the code to further investigate the formation of the jet seen in the Grava et al. (2008) experiment and discuss its relation to the Wan et al. (1997) experiment at the NOVA laser.

physics.plasm-ph↗

arXiv2013

Increase of the Density, Temperature and Velocity of Plasma Jets driven by a Ring of High Energy Laser Beams

Supersonic plasma outflows driven by multi-beam, high-energy lasers, such as Omega and NIF, have been and will be used as platforms for a variety of laboratory astrophysics experiments. Here we propose a new way of launching high density and high velocity, plasma jets using multiple intense laser beams in a hollow ring formation. We show that such jets provide a more flexible and versatile platform for future laboratory astrophysics experiments. Using high resolution hydrodynamic simulations, we demonstrate that the collimated jets can achieve much higher density, temperature and velocity when multiple laser beams are focused to form a hollow ring pattern at the target, instead of focused onto a single spot. We carried out simulations with different ring radii and studied their effects on the jet properties. Implications for laboratory collisionless shock experiments are discussed.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2008

Multiple Component Analysis of Time Resolved Spectra of GRB041006: A Clue to the Nature of Underlying Soft Component of GRBs

GRB 041006 was detected by HETE-2 at 12:18:08 UT on 06 October 2004. This GRB displays a soft X-ray emission, a precursor before the onset of the main event, and also a soft X-ray tail after the end of the main peak. The light curves in four different energy bands display different features; At higher energy bands several peaks are seen in the light curve, while at lower energy bands a single broader bump dominates. It is expected that these different features are the result of a mixture of several components each of which has different energetics and variability. To reveal the nature of each component, we analysed the time resolved spectra and they are successfully resolved into several components. We also found that these components can be classified into two distinct classes; One is a component which has an exponential decay of $E_{p}$ with a characteristic timescale shorter than $\sim$ 30 sec, and its spectrum is well represented by a broken power law function, which is frequently observed in many prompt GRB emissions, so it should have an internal-shock origin. Another is a component whose $E_{p}$ is almost unchanged with characteristic timescale longer than $\sim$ 60 sec, and shows a very soft emission and slower variability. The spectrum of the soft component is characterized by either a broken power law or a black body spectrum. This component might originate from a relatively wider and lower velocity jet or a photosphere of the fireball. By assuming that the soft component is a thermal emission, the radiation radius is initially $4.4 \times 10^{6}$ km, which is a typical radius of a blue supergiant, and its expansion velocity is $2.4 \times 10^{5}$ km/s in the source frame.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2007

HETE-2 Observations of the X-Ray Flash XRF 040916

A long X-ray flash was detected and localized by the instruments aboard the High Energy Transient Explorer II (HETE-2) at 00:03:30 UT on 2004 September 16. The position was reported to the GRB Coordinates Network (GCN) approximately 2 hours after the burst. This burst consists of two peaks separated by 200 s, with durations of 110 s and 60 s. We have analyzed the energy spectra of the 1st and 2nd peaks observed with the Wide Field X-Ray Monitor (WXM) and the French Gamma Telescope (FREGATE). We discuss the origin of the 2nd peak in terms of flux variabilities and timescales. We find that it is most likely part of the prompt emission, and is explained by the long-acting engine model. This feature is similar to some bright X-ray flares detected in the early afterglow phase of bursts observed by the Swift satellite.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2006

An Optically Dark GRB Observed by HETE-2: GRB 051022

GRB 051022 was detected at 13:07:58 on 22 October 2005 by HETE-2. The location of GRB 051022 was determined immediately by the flight localization system. This burst contains multiple pulses and has a rather long duration of about 190 seconds. The detections of candidate X-ray and radio afterglows were reported, whereas no optical afterglow was found. The optical spectroscopic observations of the host galaxy revealed the redshift z = 0.8. Using the data derived by HETE-2 observation of the prompt emission, we found the absorption N_H = 8.8 -2.9/+3.1 x 10^22 cm^-2 and the visual extinction A_V = 49 -16/+17 mag in the host galaxy. If this is the case, no detection of any optical transient would be quite reasonable. The absorption derived by the Swift XRT observations of the afterglow is fully consistent with those obtained from the early HETE-2 observation of the prompt emission. Our analysis implies an interpretation that the absorbing medium could be outside external shock at R ~ 10^16 cm, which may be a dusty molecular cloud.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2006

A Study of Compact Object Mergers as Short Gamma-ray Burst Progenitors

We present a theoretical study of double compact objects as potential short/hard gamma-ray burst (GRB) progenitors. An updated population synthesis code StarTrack is used to calculate properties of double neutron stars and black-hole neutron star binaries. We obtain their formation rates, estimate merger times and finally predict their most likely merger locations and afterglow properties for different types of host galaxies. Our results serve for a direct comparison with the recent HETE-II and SWIFT observations of several short bursts, for which afterglows and host galaxies were detected. We also discuss the possible constraints these observations put on the evolutionary models of double compact object formation. We emphasize that our double compact object models can successfully reproduce at the same time short GRBs within both young, star-forming galaxies (e.g., GRB 050709 and GRB 051221A), as well as within old, elliptical hosts (e.g., GRB 050724 and probably GRB 050509B)

astro-ph↗

arXiv2003

The X-ray Afterglows of GRB 020813 and GRB 021004 with Chandra HETGS: Possible Evidence for a Supernova Prior to GRB 020813

We report on the detection of an emission line near 1.3 keV, which we associate with blue-shifted hydrogen-like sulfur (S XVI), in a 76.8 ksec Chandra HETGS spectrum of the afterglow of GRB 020813. The line is detected at 3.3 sigma significance. We also find marginal evidence for a line possibly due to hydrogen-like silicon (Si XIV) with the same blue-shift. A line from Fe is not detected, though a very low significance Ni feature may be present. A thermal model fits the data adequately, but a reflection model may provide a better fit. There is marginal evidence that the equivalent width of the S XVI line decrease as the burst fades. We infer from these results that a supernova likely occurred >~ 2 months prior to the GRB. We find no discrete or variable spectral features in the Chandra HETGS spectrum of the GRB 021004 afterglow.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2002

Localization of GRBs by Bayesian Analysis of Data from the HETE WXM

We describe a new method of transient point source localization for coded-aperture X-ray detectors that we have applied to data from the HETE Wide-Field X-Ray Monitor (WXM). The method is based upon the calculation of the likelihood function and its interpretation as a probability density for the transient source location by an application of Bayes' Theorem. The method gives a point estimate of the source location by finding the maximum of this probability density, and credible regions for the source location by choosing suitable contours of constant probability density. We describe the application of this method to data from the WXM, and give examples of GRB localizations which illustrate the results that can be obtained using this method.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2002

The Role of Dust in GRB Afterglows

We show that the clumpy structure of star-forming regions can naturally explain the fact that 50-70% of GRB afterglows are optically ``dark.'' We also show that dust echos from the GRB and its afterglow, produced by the clumpy structure of the star-forming region in which the GRB occurs, can lead to temporal variability and peaks in the NIR, optical, and UV lightcurves of GRB afterglows. We note that the detection of GRB ``orphan'' afterglows would provide strong evidence that the star-forming regions in which GRBs occur are clumpy.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2002

Gamma-Ray Bursts as a Probe of Cosmology

We show that, if the long GRBs are produced by the collapse of massive stars, GRBs and their afterglows may provide a powerful probe of cosmology and the early universe.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2002

Determining the GRB (Redshift, Luminosity)-Distribution Using Burst Variability

We use the possible Cepheid-like luminosity estimator for the long-duration gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) developed by Reichart et al. (2000) to estimate the intrinsic luminosity, and thus the redshift, of 907 long-duration GRBs from the BATSE 4B catalog. We describe a method based on Bayesian inference which allows us to infer the intrinsic GRB burst rate as a function of redshift for bursts with estimated intrinsic luminosities and redshifts. We apply this method to the above sample of long-duration GRBs, and present some preliminary results.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2002

Determining the Gamma-Ray Burst Rate as a Function of Redshift

We exploit the 14 gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) with known redshifts $z$ and the 7 GRBs for which there are constraints on $z$ to determine the GRB rate $R_{\rm GRB}(z)$, using a method based on Bayesian inference. We find that, despite the qualitative differences between the observed GRB rate and estimates of the SFR in the universe, current data are consistent with $R_{\rm GRB}(z)$ being proportional to the SFR.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2001

Gamma-Ray Bursts as a Probe of Cosmology

We show that, if the long GRBs are produced by the collapse of massive stars, GRBs and their afterglows may provide a powerful probe of cosmology and the early universe.

astro-ph↗