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The Magnetic Sail is a space propulsion system that utilizes the interaction between solar wind particles and an artificial dipole magnetic field generated by a spacecraft's coil to produce thrust without the need for additional plasma or…
The dynamics of radiation pressure acceleration in the relativistic light sail regime are analysed by means of large scale, three-dimensional (3D) particle-in-cell simulations. Differently to other mechanisms, the 3D dynamics leads to…
Diffraction gratings synthetically moving at trans-luminal velocities contain points where wave and grating velocities are equal. We show these points can be understood as a series of optical event horizons where wave energy can be trapped…
Solar sails can play a critical role in enabling solar and heliophysics missions. Solar sail technology within NASA is currently at 80% of TRL-6, suitable for an in-flight technology demonstration. It is conceivable that an initial…
The authors describe the general motion of radiation-pushed sails accelerated near the speed of light with directed energy propulsion. Practical applications of the model are also given, including the interstellar flyby mission to the Alpha…
A highly reflective sail provides a way to propel a spacecraft out of the solar system using solar radiation pressure. The closer the spacecraft is to the Sun when it starts its outward journey, the larger the radiation pressure and so the…
In the framework of the approximation of slowly varying amplitudes a multiwave dynamical theory of neutron diffraction on a moving phase grating was developed. The influence of the velocity of the grating, its period and height of the slits…
Lightsails are promising spacecraft that can traverse interstellar distances within decades via radiation-pressure propulsion from high-power lasers. The envisioned missions crucially rely on the sail being confined within the propelling…
We propose to use metasurfaces as a mean of controlling radiation pressure for increasing the range of motions of spacecraft solar sails. Specifically, we present a theoretical study of different electromagnetic field configurations, and…
Electric sails are propulsion systems that generate momentum via the deflection of stellar wind particles through electric forces. Here, we investigate the relative merits of electric sails and light sails driven by stellar radiation…
NASA has been considering a solar sail that would accelerate a craft to a high velocity (~ 14 AU/yr) by the time it reached 5 AU. Then the sail would be dropped and the craft would coast alone to deep space. We propose that the sail be…
In the framework of a strict mathematical approach based on classical theory of elasticity we present an idea of the deployment and stretching of the circular solar sail attached to the inflatable toroidal shell. It is predicted that by…
Electromagnetic waves carry energy, linear momentum, and angular momentum. When light (or other electromagnetic radiation) interacts with material media, both energy and momentum are usually exchanged. The force and torque experienced by…
In optics, a reflective grating is a conducting surface with a ripple. The typical use of such a grating involves an incident electromagnetic wave with wave vector k in the x-z plane, and interference effects lead to a discrete set of…
We have studied the science rationale, goals and requirements for a mission aimed at using the gravitational lensing from the Sun as a way of achieving high angular resolution and high signal amplification. We find that such a mission…
The radiation pressure force and torque on a one-dimensional bi-grating composed of a Si-SiO_2 high contrast binary metagrating is analyzed for the purpose of stable beam riding whereupon a high power laser having an expanding Gaussian…
Fibrils in the solar chromosphere carry transverse oscillations as determined from non-spectroscopic imaging data. They are estimated to carry an energy flux of several $\mathrm{kW~m}^{-2}$, which is a significant fraction of the average…
Decarbonizing aviation remains challenging because energy-dense jet fuels dominate beyond short-range operations, while batteries impose severe range and payload penalties. Here we evaluate a new infrastructure pathway in which…
Near-sun space-environment effects on metallic thin films solar sails as well as hollow-body sails with inflation fill gas are considered. Analysis of interaction of the solar radiation with the solar sail materials is presented. This…
The brightness of the Sun varies on all time scales on which it has been observed, and there is increasing evidence that it has an influence on climate. The amplitudes of such variations depend on the wavelength and possibly on the time…