Particle-In-Cell Simulations of Starfish Prime

Abstract

The Starfish Prime high altitude nuclear test created a transient diamagnetic cavity in the Earth's magnetic field above Johnston Island and launched an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) that was detected around the globe. We use the ion-kinetic particle-in-cell code Topanga to simulate diamagnetic cavity evolution and the E3 EMP signal for Starfish Prime out to over a minute of physical time. The simulation domain has a longitudinal and latitudinal extent of $60°\times 60°$ and a vertical extent of 2,000 km from the surface of the Earth. We compare our simulated results to magnetometer measurements taken in space and on the ground, finding good agreement in both cases. The diamagnetic cavity in the simulation forms in about a second, while the associated debris flux tube takes approximately 30 s to decay. The debris flux tube undergoes significant motion during this timeframe, rising upward. The measured E3 EMP signal on the ground consists of several components, all of which are present in our simulations. We discuss the physical origin of these components in relation to E3a (blast) and E3b (heave).