In the search for natural orbital angular momentum (OAM) effects, some of the first incoherent scatter experiments with twisted radar beams during aurora were conducted at Poker Flat Incoherent Scatter Radar (PFISR), Alaska, USA, in October 2012. Experimental data of scatter from beam configurations with opposite twists were investigated. By the use of hypothesis tests in combination with Monte Carlo simulations together with traditional estimations of the mean and confidence interval, asymmetries between scatter of radar beams with opposite twists were identified for an integration time of at least 30 minutes. Asymmetries were detected in the internal radar noise too, but not necessarily with the same signs as for the asymmetries from the ionospheric signals. The asymmetries identified could be due to amplified noise for signals coming from intense aurora or perhaps the rectangular-shaped antenna array used at PFISR. These two possible causes need to be ruled out before suggesting that the asymmetries identified are an outcome of OAM effects present in the ionosphere.

An important part of the fusion research program is to understand and control the large number of plasma instabilities that a fusion plasma can exhibit. One such instability is known as the “sawtooth” instability, which is a perturbation in the plasma electric and magnetic fields that manifests itself as periodic relaxations of the temperature and density in the plasma center. The aim of this project was to investigate how the fuel ions in a fusion plasma react to the sawtooth instability. We were able to implement a model of the plasma electromagnetic field during a sawtooth relaxation into an existing code that computes the orbits of the fuel ions in the tokamak magnetic field. To this end, it was necessary to modify the orbit code to allow for non-zero electric fields, and for time-varying fields. In order to validate the new additions to the code, we compared simulated results to analytical ones. The model of the sawtooth electromagnetic fields required for our simulations was set up within a different student project. However, due to unforeseen complications, only the magnetic (not the electric) field contribution was available to us during our project, but once the electric field is available it is straightforward to include in our code. Our simulations did not exhibit any noticeable perturbation to the particle orbit during a sawtooth crash. However, before the electric field contribution is included it is not possible to draw any physics conclusions from these results. Our code could also be used as a foundation for future projects since it is possible (with further implementations to the existing code) to simulate how the spatial profile of the neutron emission is expected to vary during the sawtooth. These simulations can be compared against experimental measurements of the neutron emission profile in order to investigate the accuracy of the sawtooth model under consideration.

The aim of the project is to investigate the characteristics and causes of two different types of bow shocks at Mars. We define Type 1 as an undefined, drawn out ramp, and Type 2 as a shorter duration ramp that has clearer characteristics and behaves more like a step increase in the magnetic field. A total of forty five events of the two different types were investigated using data from 2014-2015 from NASA’s MAVEN spacecraft. The Power Spectral Density of the magnetic field is calculated for downstream/ramp/upstream intervals. The normal is calculated with a mixed-mode coplanarity model. Proton, alpha particle and atomic oxygen density are also calculated. Results show higher frequencies for nose events of Type 1, and lower for flank events of Type 1. No such pattern can be seen in Type 2 events. Proton and alpha-particles are shown to be shocked, and their densities are slightly higher at the flanks as compared to the nose of the bow shock. Atomic oxygen density stays constant before and after the bow shock, likely due to the fact that the oxygen originates mostly from the exosphere rather than from the solar wind. Ion densities seem not to be affected by whether the event is Type 1 or 2.

The DDFTU code has been modified and updated to study the transport of dust in the reverse field pinch (RFP) EXTRAP-T2R. The DDFTU code solves the coupled equations of charging, heating and motion of a dust grain immersed in a plasma whose profiles are given. Updates of the code have been introduced to include (i) non-steady state heat balance and phase transitions models, (ii) realistic boundary conditions for dust-wall collisions, and (iii) a radius and temperature-dependent thermal radiation model, for which a dedicated code has been developed. The models for secondary electron emission (SEE), thermionic emission and magnetic dipole force have been refined as well, the sensitivity to SEE and thermal radiation modelling being highlighted. Similarly to limiter tokamak configuration, the ion drag is confirmed to be the main force driving the dust dynamics. However for RFP configurations, the strong contribution of the electric force is demonstrated. The latter plays an important role in the RFP edge plasma due to (i) the large value of the radial electric field and (ii) its sign which is opposite to typical tokamak edge electric fields. A comparison with available experimental data - dust collection in the mid-plane - has been carried out. For this purpose, the dust toroidal transport asymmetry has been evaluated numerically from the computation of the time dependent velocity distribution of an ensemble of many particles launched from the vessel wall. An empirical scaling law for the asymmetry has been found in the high dust inertia regime.

Spectral indices and flatness scaling exponents corresponding to solar wind plasma measurements before, during and after a coronal mass ejection (CME) detected by NASA's Wind spacecraft on September 2014 have been obtained. The Politano-Pouquet (PP) law for isotropic and incompressible magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence has been validated over a series of selected time intervals. The performed analysis showed that turbulence was well established within most of such intervals and several mean energy transfer rates were computed. Furthermore, the results detailed in this essay suggest possible correlations between the aforementioned energy transfer rates and the spectral indices and flatness scaling exponents, and also between enhanced intermittencies and large values of the mean energy transfer rates.

Ultraviolet (UV) light has been used for disinfection purposes for over 100 years. Irradiation by UV light is a method to disinfect surfaces in order to prevent microbiological growth. At Tetra Pak this is of great importance as they are manufacturer of filling machines. Those filling machines must ensure a certain level of sterility on all packages produced. The irradiation process can be simulated using Geant4 which is a software package that tracks particles through matter. The simulation model used today does not consider the absorption of photons inside of medium-pressure UV lamps. By understanding the absorption that takes place in the lamp, one can quantify how changes in the design would impact the emitter output. In this master's thesis, the aim is to develop a model that can describe the interaction of photons with a medium-pressure UV lamp. An absorption model was suggested and developed with the assumption of local thermodynamical equilibrium and existing Hg radiative data. A simulation including the collision process in Geant4 was used. In this collision process the non-radiative transition probabilities were assumed to be the same as that of the radiative, this was done in order to demonstrate how it can be done. It resulted in collisions populating other states allowing more transitions to be present in the final output spectrum. The collision process and a method for computing the Einstein's emission coefficient with the software package General Relativistic Atomic Structure Package is proposed as future work. / I över 100 år har ultraviolet (UV) ljus använts till desinficering. UV bestrålning är en metod för att desinficera ytor med målet att förhindra mikrobiologisk tillväxt. För Tetra Pak som är ledande inom tillverkning av fyllmaskiner är det extra viktigt. Förpackningarna inuti fyllningsmaskinerna måste garantera en viss nivå av sterilitet för alla förpackningar. Dagens simuleringar av medeltrycks UV lampa utförs i Geant4 som är ett mjukvarupaket som möjliggör följandet av partiklar genom olika medium. Detta görs utan att ta hänsyn till absorptionen av fotoner. Genom att förstå absorptionen som sker i lampans gas kan man kvantifiera hur förändringar i design skulle påverka emittorns utgående effekt. I detta examensarbete är målet att utveckla en modell som kan beskriva hur fotoner växelverkar med gasen i en medeltrycks UV lampa. En modell utvecklas och föreslås med antagandet att lokalt termodynamisk jämvikt råder och att enbart Hg strålnings data används. En simulering med en kollisionsprocess i Geant4 inkluderades. I denna kollisionsprocess antas den icke-optiska övergångssannolikheten vara densamma som för de optiska övergångarna. Detta inkluderades för att demonstrera hur en sådan process kan gå till. Detta resulterade i att kollisionerna populerade andra tillstånd vilket gjorde att dessa övergångar visade sig i utgående spektrum. Kollisionsprocessen och en metod för att beräkna Einsteins emissions koefficient med mjukvarupaketet General Relativistic Atomic Structure Package föreslås även som framtida arbete.

In this thesis, we investigate the interaction between electromagnetic, gravitational, and plasma related perturbations on homogeneous and hypersurface orthogonal Locally Rotationally Symmetric (LRS) class II spacetimes. By using these spacetimes, which allow for the inclusion of a non-zero magnetic field, as backgrounds in a perturbative approach, we are able to see interactions between the electromagnetic and gravitational variables already to first order in the perturbations. This is in contrast to earlier works using isotropic Friedmann-Lemaı̂tre-Robertson-Walker (FLRW) backgrounds, where one is usually faced with going to second order in the perturbations. To get the equations governing our perturbations, we use a 1+1+2 covariant approach and gather relations from the Ricci and Bianchi identities, Maxwell’s equations, particle conservation, and energy-momentum conservation for the individual plasma components. After linearising these equations around a LRS background, performing a harmonic decomposition, and using the Magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) approximation for a cold plasma, we then arrive at a closed system for the first order perturbations. This system, consisting of ordinary differential equations in time and a set of constraints, is then reduced to two separate subsectors, containing seven and nine variables respectively. These variables include quantities related to the Weyl tensor, the vorticity, and the electromagnetic fields, as well as perturbations in the plasma velocity and energy density. Through numerical calculations, we use the equations for these variables to show that perturbations in the magnetic field can be sourced by perturbations in both the plasma velocity and the gravitational variables. We also observe beat-like interference patterns for large values of the Alfvén velocity. These results can be of interest when considering the large scale cosmic magnetic fields, as their origin still seems to elude us. However, since we neglect thermal pressures and dissipative fluxes, it should be noted that our results are mainly applicable in the limit of low temperature and in cases where the thermal pressure is smaller than the pressure due to the electromagnetic fields.

In a plasma environment particles and plasma waves have complex interactions and can affect each other significantly. The velocity distribution functions (VDFs) can effectively be used to try and understand these interactions. This study uses VDFs to investigate heavy ion temperatures in the Venusian plasma environment. A Maxwellian fitting methodology previously used to obtain proton plasma parameters is used to obtain plasma parameters for heavy ions instead. Ion and magnetic-field data are gathered from the ion mass analyser IMA and the magnetometer MAG which were on board the European spacecraft Venus Express. The temperature anisotropies are analysed to see if they may affect the observed plasma waves around Venus. Spatial maps of the obtained plasma parameters are presented, and the average values are shown. The temperature ratio T⊥/T∥ is calculated to look for anisotropies. Case studies were made to investigate how well the methodology worked with heavy ion data. The methodology is shown to work well in the magnetotail, where heavy ions are expected, and less well in the magnetosheath and solar wind, where heavy ions were not expected. No statistically significant anisotropies were found for the heavy ions in the Venusian plasma environment.

Solar Orbiter is a mission launched in 2020 that will take images closer than ever of the Sun. It has ten instruments on board, including The Spectrometer/Telescope for Imaging X-rays (STIX) and The Extreme Ultraviolet Imager (EUI). STIX is a hard X-ray imaging spectrometer which observes bremsstrahlung from the non-thermal accelerated electrons in the footpoints of solar flares and from thermal hot plasma in flare loops. EUI consists of three telescopes, including a Full Sun Imager which is a one-mirror telescope that observes the solar corona and chromosphere in extreme ultraviolet (EUV) wavelengths 174Å and 304Å, respectively.   The purpose of the project was to determine the alignment between STIX and EUI to better understand and improve the pointing of STIX. It is important to know the accuracy of the pointing before using the instruments for science. The alignment was studied by looking at the flare location of the two instruments for about 30 flares. The flare location was approximated to be the brightest pixel in the image. The aspect solution of STIX was applied and this was also compared to the flare seen by EUI. For some of the flares, also imaging data from the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) on board the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) was used to get a more detailed comparison. One flare was studied in more detail, using thermal and non-thermal emission seen by STIX, EUV emission seen by EUI 174Å and AIA 171Å as well as UV emission seen by AIA 1600Å. For four flares, the flare location was determined from the visible ribbons and loops instead of the brightest pixel. The methods of finding the flare location by brightest pixel and by looking at flare features were compared.   The average difference between the EUI and STIX flare location was within 12 arcseconds with a standard deviation between 18 and 42 arcseconds for the brightest pixel method. This difference has two main contributions: the accuracy of the STIX aspect solutions and the accuracy of identifying the common source features in EUV and X-rays. To increase the accuracy of finding common sources, four flares with well defined ribbons and loops were analyzed in detail. For these events, the accuracy of the STIX aspect system was determined to be better than 10.5 arcseconds. This is still significantly higher than the design requirements of being better than 4 arcsecs. Detailed analysis clearly showed that the method of determining the flare location by brightest pixel was not accurate enough to evaluate the STIX pointing. Further studies need to be done to improve the aspect solution.

The work presented in this thesis involves experimental and theoretical studies related to plasma properties in high power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS), and more specifically plasma transport. HiPIMS is an ionized PVD method based on conventional direct current magnetron sputtering (dcMS). In dcMS very little of the sputtered material is ionized since the plasma power density is not high enough. This is not the case for HiPIMS, where a substantial part is ionized, and thus presents many new opportunities for thin film growth. Understanding the dynamics of the charged species in the HiPIMS discharge is therefore of essential value when producing high-quality thin film coatings. In the first part of the work a new type of anomalous electron transport was found. Investigations of the transport resulted in the discovery that this phenomenon could quantitatively be described as being related and mediated by highly nonlinear waves, likely due to the modified two-stream instability (MTSI), resulting in electric field oscillations in the MHz-range (the so-called lower hybrid frequency). Measurements in the plasma confirmed these oscillations as well as trends predicted by the theory of these types of waves. The degree of anomalous transport in the plasma could also be determined by measuring the current density ratio between the azimuthal current density (of which the Hall current density is one contribution) and the discharge current density, Jφ / JD. The results provided important insights into understanding the mechanism behind the anomalous transport. It was furthermore found that the current ratio Jφ / JD is inversely proportional to the transverse resistivity, eta_perpendicular , which governs how well momentum is transferred from the electrons to the ions in the plasma. By looking at the forces involved in the charged particle transport it was expected that the azimuthally rotating electrons would exert a volume force on the ions tangentially outwards from the circular race track region. The effect of having an anomalous transport would therefore be a large fraction of highly energetic ions being transported sideways and lost to the walls. In a series of experiments, deposition rates as well as incoming ion energy distributions were measured directly at the side of the magnetron. It was found that a substantial fraction of sputtered material is transported radially away from the cathode and lost to the walls in HiPIMS as well as dcMS, but more so for HiPIMS giving one possible explanation to why the deposition rate for substrates placed in front of the target is lower for HiPIMS compared to dcMS. Furthermore, the recorded, incoming ion energy distributions confirmed theoretical estimations on this type of transport regarding energy and direction.