Solar wind ion charge state distributions and compound cross sections for solar wind charge exchange X-ray emission

Solar Wind Charge eXchange X-ray(SWCX) emission in the heliosphere and Ea rth’s exosphere is a hard to avoid signal in soft Xray obse rvations of astrophysical targets.On the other hand,the X-ray imaging possibilities offered by the SWCX process has led to an increasing number of future dedicated space missions for investigating the solar wind-terrestrial inte ractions and magnetospheric interfaces.In both cases,accurate modelling of the SWCX emission is key to correctly interpret its signal,and remove it from obse rvations,when needed.In this paper,we compile solar wind abundance measurements from ACE for different solar wind types,and atomic data from literature,including charge exchange cross-sections and emission probabilities,used fo r calculating the compound cross-section a for the SWCX X-ray emission.We calculate a values for charge-exchange with H and He,relevant to soft X-ray energy bands(0.1-2.0 keV)for various solar wind types and solar cycle conditions.

Two methods for separating the magnetospheric solar wind charge exchange soft X-ray emission from the diffuse X-ray background

Solar wind charge exchange(SWCX)is the process of solar wind high-valence ions exchanging charges with neutral components and generating soft X-rays.Recently,detecting the SWCX emission from the magnetosphere is proposed as a new technique to study the magnetosphere using panoramic soft X-ray imaging.To better prepare for the data analysis of upcoming magnetospheric soft X-ray imaging missions,this paper compares the magnetospheric SWCX emission obtained by two methods in an XMM-Newton observation,during which the solar wind changed dramatically.The two methods differ in the data used to fit the diffuse X-ray background(DXB)parameters in spectral analysis.The method adding data from the ROSAT All-Sky Survey(RASS)is called the RASS method.The method using the quiet observation data is called the Quiet method,where quiet observations usually refer to observations made by the same satellite with the same target but under weaker solar wind conditions.Results show that the spectral compositions of magnetospheric SWCX emission obtained by the two methods are very similar,and the changes in intensity over time are highly consistent,although the intensity obtained by the RASS method is about 2.68±0.56 keV cm^(-2)s^(-1)sr^(-1)higher than that obtained by the Quiet method.Since the DXB intensity obtained by the RASS method is about 2.84±0.74 keV cm^(-2)s^(-1)sr^(-1)lower than that obtained by the Quiet method,and the linear correlation coefficient between the difference of SWCX and DXB obtained by the two methods in diffe rent energy band is close to-1,the diffe rences in magnetospheric SWCX can be fully attributed to the diffe rences in the fitted DXB.The difference between the two methods is most significant when the energy is less than 0.7 keV,which is also the main energy band of SWCX emission.In addition,the difference between the two methods is not related to the SWCX intensity and,to some extent,to solar wind conditions,because SWCX intensity typically va ries with the solar wind.In summary,both methods are robust and reliable,and should be considered based on the best available options.

State-selective charge exchange cross sections in collisions of highly-charged sulfur ions with helium and molecular hydrogen

The state-selective cross section data are useful for understanding and modeling the x-ray emission in celestial observations.In the present work,using the cold target recoil ion momentum spectroscopy,for the first time we investigated the state-selective single electron capture processes for S^(q+)–He and H_(2)(q=11–15)collision systems at an impact energy of q×20 keV and obtained the relative state-selective cross sections.The results indicate that only a few principal quantum states of the projectile energy level are populated in a single electron capture process.In particular,the increase of the projectile charge state leads to the population of the states with higher principal quantum numbers.It is also shown that the experimental averaged n-shell populations are reproduced well by the over-barrier model.The database is openly available in Science Data Bank at 10.57760/sciencedb.j00113.00091.

Ion-Velocity Imaging Study of Dissociative Charge Exchange Reactions between Ar^(+)and trans-/cis-Dichloroethylene

Dissociative charge exchange re-actions between Ar^(+)ion and trans-/cis-dichloroethylene(trans-/cis-C_(2)H_(2)Cl_(2))are investi-gated with the ion-velocity imag-ing technique.The dechlorinated product C_(2)H_(2)Cl^(+)is the predomi-nant,and most of this product show the spatial distribution around the target,implying that the dissociation occurs in the large impact-parameter collision and via the energy resonant charge transfer.Meanwhile,a few C_(2)H_(2)Cl^(+)locate around the center-of-mass,which is at-tributed to the fragmentation of intimate association between C_(2)H_(2)Cl_(2)and Ar^(+)or in the small impact-parameter collision.The product C_(2)HCl_(+)exhibits the velocity distribution fea-tures similar to those of C_(2)H_(2)Cl_(+).The rarest product C_(2)HCl_(2)+shows the distributions around the molecular target,due to the quick dehydrogenation after the energy-resonant charge transfer in the large impact-parameter collision.

Profile Measurement of Ion Temperature and Toroidal Rotation Velocity with Charge Exchange Recombination Spectroscopy Diagnostics in the HL-2A Tokamak

This paper deals with the profile measurement of impurity ion temperature and toroidal rotation velocity that can be achieved by using the charge exchange recombination spectrum （CXRS） diagnostics tool built on the HL-2A toknmak. By using CXRS, an accurate impurity ion temperature and toroidal plasma rotation velocity profile can be achieved under the condition of neutrM beam injection （NBI） heating. Considering the edge effect of the line of CVI 529.06 nm （n= 8-7）, which contains three lines （active exciting spectral line （ACX）, passivity exciting spectral line （PCX） and electron exciting spectral line （ICE））, and using three Gaussian fitted curves, we obtain the following experimental results： the core ion temperature of HL-2A device is nearly thousands of eV, and the plasma rotation velocity reaches about 104 m· s^-1. At the end of paper, some explanations are presented for the relationship between the curves and the inner physical mechanism.

Charge Exchange Recombination Spectroscopy Based on Diagnostic Neutral Beam in HT-7 Tokamak

Charge exchange recombination spectroscopy （CXRS） based on a diagnostic neutral beam （DNB） installed in the HT-7 tokamak is introduced. DNB can provide a 6 A extracted current at 50 kV for 0.1 s in hydrogen. It can penetrate into the core plasma in HT-7. The CXRS system is designed to observe charge exchange （CX） transitions in the visible spectrum. CX light from the beam is focused onto 10 optical fibers, which view the plasma from -5 cm to 20 cm. The CXRS system can measure the ion temperature as low as 0.1 keV. With CXRS, the local ion temperature profile in HT-7 was obtained for the first time.

Modification to poloidal charge exchange recombination spectroscopy measurement in JT-60U tokamak

With consideration of the effects of the atomic process and the sight line direction on the charge exchange re-combination spectroscopy （CXRS）, a code used to modify the poloidal CXRS measurement on Tokamak-60 Upgrade （JT-60U） in Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute is developed, offering an effective tool to modify the measurement and analyse experimental results further. The results show that the poloidal velocity of ion is overestimated but the ion temperature is underestimated by the poloidal CXRS measurement, and they also indicate that the effect of observation angle on rotation velocity is a dominant one in a core region （r/a 〈 0.65）, whereas in an edge region where the sight line is nearly normal to the neutral beam, the observation angle effect is very small. The difference between the modified velocity and the neoclassical velocity is not larger than the error in measurement. The difference inside the internal transport barrier （ITB） region is 2-3 times larger than that outside the ITB region, and it increases when the effect of excited components in neutral beam is taken into account. The radial electric field profile is affected greatly by the poloidal rotation term, which possibly indicates the correlation between the poloidal rotation and the transport barrier formation.

Charge Exchange Effect on Space-Charge-Limited Current Densities in Ion Diode

The article theoretically studied the charge-exchange effects on space charge limitedelectron and ion current densities of non-relativistic one-dimensional slab ion diode, and comparedwith those of without charge exchange.

On the apparent line-of-sight alignment of the peak X-ray intensity of the magnetosheath and the tangent to the magnetopause,as viewed by SMILE-SXI

The Soft X-ray Imager(SXI)on board the Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer(SMILE)spacecraft will be able to view the Earth’s magnetosheath in soft X-rays.Simulated images of the X-ray emission visible from the position of SMILE are created for a range of solar wind densities by using 3 years of the SMILE mission orbit,together with models of the expected X-ray emissivity from the Earth’s magnetosheath.Results from global magnetohydrodynamic simulations and a simple model for exospheric neutral densities are used to compare the locations of the lines of sight along which integrated soft X-ray intensities peak with the lines of sight lying tangent to surfaces(defined here to be the magnetopause)along which local soft X-ray intensities peak or exhibit their strongest gradients,or both,for strongly southward interplanetary magnetic field conditions when no depletion or low-latitude boundary layers are expected.Where,in the parameter space of the various times and seasons,orbital phases,solar wind conditions,and magnetopause models,the alignment of the X-ray emission peak with the magnetopause tangent is good,or is not,is presented.The main results are as follows.The spacecraft needs to be positioned well outside the magnetopause;low-altitude times near perigee are not good.In addition,there are seasonal aspects:dayside-apogee orbits are generally very good because the spacecraft travels out sunward at high altitude,but nightside-apogee orbits,behind the Earth,are bad because the spacecraft only rarely leaves the magnetopause.Dusk-apogee and dawnapogee orbits are intermediate.Dayside-apogee orbits worsen slightly over the first three mission years,whereas nightside-apogee orbits improve slightly.Additionally,many more times of good agreement with the peak-to-tangent hypothesis occur when the solar wind is in a high-density state,as opposed to a low-density state.In a high-density state,the magnetopause is compressed,and the spacecraft is more often a good distance outside the magnetopause.

Simulation of the SMILE Soft X-ray Imager response to a southward interplanetary magnetic field turning

The Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer(SMILE)Soft X-ray Imager(SXI)will shine a spotlight on magnetopause dynamics during magnetic reconnection.We simulate an event with a southward interplanetary magnetic field turning and produce SXI count maps with a 5-minute integration time.By making assumptions about the magnetopause shape,we find the magnetopause standoff distance from the count maps and compare it with the one obtained directly from the magnetohydrodynamic(MHD)simulation.The root mean square deviations between the reconstructed and MHD standoff distances do not exceed 0.2 RE(Earth radius)and the maximal difference equals 0.24 RE during the 25-minute interval around the southward turning.

The magnetosheath at high spectral resolution

While we eagerly anticipate SMILE’s(Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer)unprecedented X-ray observations of the Earth’s magnetosheath and the initiation of a new era of magnetospheric research,it seems appropriate to look ahead to the abilities of the next generation of astrophysics missions.Of these,the Line Emission Mapper(LEM),a large aperture micro-calorimeter based mission,is currently planned to be able to observe the magnetosheath at high spectral resolution(~2 eV).With a field of view of~30′,LEM will allow higher spatial resolution and higher cadence measurement of the motion of a very small portion of the magnetopause over relatively short periods of time(multiple hours),complementing SMILE’s global mapping.LEM’s strength is its spectral resolution.It will be able to measure the abundance of a broad range of elements and ionization states,many of which are inaccessible to current in situ instruments,and will be able to separate the emission from the magnetosheath from the emission from the cosmic X-ray background using the difference in their relative velocities.

Measurements of absolute electron capture cross sections in He^(2+)–He and Ne^(8+)–O_(2'), N_(2'), CH_4 collisions

The total absolute cross sections of single-and double-electron capture (SEC and DEC) in the collisions of He^(2+)with He and Ne^(8+)with O_(2),N_(2),and CH_(4) were studied in the energy ranges 3.5–50 keV/u and 2.8–40 keV/u,respectively.Through a deep analysis of the experimental systematic uncertainties in the measurement procedure and data evaluation,the error in the experimental results of the SEC cross sections is less than 9%.Within the uncertainties,the present results of the He^(2+)–He collision show good consistency with previous measurements,validating the experimental system and paving the way for precise measurements of EC cross sections for a variety of ions and neutral gases.The present measurements allow for a test of EC theory and provide crucial EC cross section data for the establishment of plasma models in fusion research and astrophysical X-ray studies.

Neutron skin thickness of ^(90)Zr and symmetry energy constrained by charge exchange spin-dipole excitations

The charge exchange spin-dipole(SD) excitations of ^(90)Zr are studied using the Skyrme Hartee-Fock plus proton-neutron random phase approximation with SAMi-J interactions.The experimental value of the model-independent sum rule obtained from the SD strength distributions of ^(90)Zr(p,n) ^(90)Nb and ^(90)Zr(n,p) ^(90)Y is used to deduce the neutron skin thickness.The neutron skin thickness Δr_(np) of ^(90)Zr is extracted as 0.083±0.032 fm,which is similar to the results of other studies.Based on the correlation analysis of the neutron skin thickness Δr_(np) and the nuclear symmetry energy J as well as its slope parameter L,a constraint from the extracted Δr_(np) leads to the limitation of J to 29.2±2.6 MeV and L to 53.3±28.2 MeV.

Energy loss on of low energy ion N^＋q grazing the A1（111） surface

The total energy loss of N^＋q ions （for v 〈 Bohr velocity） grazing on the Al（111） has been simulated without any ＇fit＇ parameter and compared with the experimental data. The energy loss due to the charge exchange, happening before the N^＋q hits the Al（111） surface, is studied. The present simulation shows that the energy loss strongly depends on the charge state of the projectile and the lattice orientation of Al（111） surface. The calculated total energy loss agrees with experimental data very well.

Investigation of Ion Temperature Characteristics in the HT-7 Tokamak

Characteristics of ion temperature measured with charge-exchange recombination spectroscopy （CXRS） were studied in Ohmic, lower-hybrid-wave （LHW） driven and ion-cyclotron- resonance-frequency （ICRF） heated plasmas in HT-7. The results indicate that the central ion temperature T10 follows the one-third power law in the product of central line-averaged density Ne and plasma current Ip in Ohmic discharges and is therefore consistent with the Artsimovich scaling law T10 = K （Ip Bt ne R2）1/3. It is shown that there is an appreciable increase of ion temperature during the operation with both LHW and ICRF and that the increment of ion temperature in those shots is mainly due to the energy transfer via collisions between ions and electrons rather that by direct heating of the ions.

Simulation of loss of uranium ions due to charge changing processes in the CSRm ring

Significant beam loss caused by the charge exchange processes and ion impact-induced outgassing may restrict the maximum number of accelerated heavy ions during the high intensity operation of an accelerator. In order to control beam loss due to charge exchange processes and confine the generated desorption gas, tracking of the beam loss distribution and installation of absorber blocks with low-desorption rate material at appropriate locations in the main Cooler Storage Ring （CSRm） at the Institute of Modern Physics, Lanzhou, will be performed. The loss simulation of uranium ions with electron-loss is presented in this report and the conclusion is that most charge changed particles are lost in the second dipole of the super-period structure. The calculation of the collimation efficiency of the CSRm ring will be continued in the future.

Ion thruster accelerator grid erosion mechanism under extreme conditions of cylindrical erosion and chamfer erosion

In this paper,the abnormal experimental phenomenon on barrel erosion under extreme working conditions in the ultra-long life experiment(>10000 h)of ion thruster ion optics is studied by the Immersed-Finite-Element Particle-In-Cell Monte-Carlo-Collision(IFE-PIC-MCC)method and the grid erosion evaluation model.The transport process of beam ions and Charge Exchange(CEX)ions in the grid system,and the characteristics and mechanisms of the aperture barrel erosion under extreme erosion conditions(i.e.the cylindrical erosion and chamfer erosion)were systematically studied.Thanks to the advantage of the IFE method for dealing with complex boundaries in structured mesh,the aperture barrel erosion morphology of the accelerator grid is reconstructed accurately based on the experimental results.The results show that,with the evolution of working conditions,the mechanism of the aperture barrel erosion changes significantly,which relies heavily on the accelerator grid morphology.The change of the accelerator grid aperture barrel morphology has a significant effect on the behavior of CEX ions,and only affects the local electric field distribution,but has no effect on the upstream plasma sheath.As the erosion progresses,the erosion position moves downstream along the grid aperture axis direction,and the erosion range becomes narrower.Regardless of the erosion phase,the erosion rate of the CEX ions located downstream of the decelerator grid is the largest.The erosion rate is related to the mean incident energy and angle,and their variation is closely related to the position and trajectory of CEXions.

Numerical Simulation of Characteristics of CEX Ions in Ion Thruster Optical System

Charge exchange （CEX） ions could inflict severe damages on the ion thruster optical system. This article is aimed at investigating the characteristics of the CEX ions and their influences upon the optical system by means of particle-incell（PIC） ion simulation and Monte Carlo collision（MCC） methods. The results from numerical simulation indicate that despite the fact that CEX ions appear in the entire beamlet region near the ion optical system, the ones that present themselves downstream of the accelerator grid have good reason for attracting more attention. As their trajectories are significantly affected by the local electric field, a great number of CEX ions are accelerated toward grids resulting in sputtering erosion. When the influences of the CEX ions are considered in the nulnerical simulation,there could hardly be observed augments in the screen grid current,but the accelerator grid current increases from zero to 1.4% of the beamlet current. It can be understood from the numerical simulation that the CEX ions formed in the region far downstream of the accelerator grid should be blamed for the erosion on the downstream surface of the accelerator grid.