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Observed limits on diffuse X-ray emission from M101 require that the temperature of any coronal or matrix hot gas which is radiating an appreciable part (10 percent) of the average supernova power be less than 10(5.7)K. Furthermore, the fraction of the galactic plane occupied by hot bubbles similar to the one which apparently surrounds the sun is at most 25 percent in the region between 10 kpc and 20 kpc from the galactic center.
The original research objective was to demonstrate the ability of optical fiber spectrometry to determine contamination levels on solid rocket motor cases in order to identify surface conditions which may result in poor bonds during production. The capability of using the spectral features to identify contaminants with other sensors which might only indicate a potential contamination level provides a real enhancement to current inspection systems such as Optical Stimulated Electron Emission (OSEE). The optical fiber probe can easily fit into the same scanning fixtures as the OSEE. The initial data obtained using the Guided Wave Model 260 spectrophotometer was primarily focused on determining spectra of potential contaminants such as HD2 grease, silicones, etc. However, once we began taking data and applying multivariate analysis techniques, using a program that can handle very large data sets, i.e., Unscrambler 2, it became apparent that the techniques also might provide a nice scientific tool for determining oxidation and chemisorption rates under controlled conditions. As the ultimate power of the technique became recognized, considering that the chemical system which was most frequently studied in this work is water + D6AC steel, we became very interested in trying the spectroscopic techniques to solve a broad range of problems. The complexity of the observed spectra for the D6AC + water system is due to overlaps between the water peaks, the resulting chemisorbed species, and products of reaction which also contain OH stretching bands. Unscrambling these spectral features, without knowledge of the specific species involved, has proven to be a formidable task.
Simulation techniques are used to obtain the X-ray variability power spectrum of unevenly sampled GINGA data from NGC6814. A simple power law is not an adequate description of the power spectrum, with the residuals showing excess power on timescales consistent with the periodicity seen in EXOSAT observations of this object. However the shape of the folded lightcurve is very different, with 3 main peaks, two of which are separated by an extremely sharp dip instead of the single peak and small harmonic structure observed by EXOSAT. Using the dip as a fiducial mark, a second GINGA observation of this source taken one year later is found to be consistent with being completely periodic and phase coherent with this first GINGA observation. Thus the period is consistent with being constant over a period of 6 years, but phase coherence is only maintained on timescales of approximately 1 year. Over 75 percent of the total source variability is due to the periodic component (r.m.s. amplitude of 36 percent). The residual variability can be described as the more usual 'flicker noise' f(exp -1.1) powerlaw. This shows no apparent high frequency break on timescales greater than 300 seconds. Subtle differences in the shape of the folded light curve with energy, and the very large amount of power in the periodic component suggest occultation as its origin, though amplification of variability from an X-ray emitting 'hot spot' at the disk inner radius through gravitational lensing is also possible. The former suffers from the very arbitrary nature of the periodic timescale, while the latter is unattractive as it cannot simply explain the lack of high frequency break in the residual power. That these models probably fail to provide an adequate explanation may be due to the added complexity of anisotropy of the X-ray emission, suggested by the discrepancy between the lack of soft photons implied by the flat spectrum and the copious source of soft photons available from reprocessing in the iron line producing material.
We present an investigation of long-term modulation in the X-ray light curves of five little-studied candidate high-mass X-ray binaries using the Swift Burst Alert Telescope (SWIFT-BAT). IGR J14488-5942 and AX J1700.2-4220 show strong modulation at periods of 49.6 and 44 days, respectively, which are interpreted as orbital periods of Be star systems. For IGR J14488-5942, observations with the Swift X-ray Telescope show a hint of pulsations at 33.4 seconds. For AX J1700.2-4220, 54 second-pulsations were previously found with XMM-Newton. Swift J1816.7-1613 exhibits complicated behavior. The strongest peak in the power spectrum is at a period near 150 days, but this conflicts with a determination of a period of 118.5 days by La Parola et al. AX J1820.5-1434 has been proposed to exhibit modulation near 54 days, but the extended BAT observations suggest modulation at slightly longer than double this at approximately 111 days. There appears to be a long-term change in the shape of the modulation near 111 days, which may explain the apparent discrepancy. The X-ray pulsar XTE J1906+090,which was previously proposed to be a Be star system with an orbital period of approximately 30 days from pulse timing, shows peaks in the power spectrum at 81 and 173 days. The origins of these periods are unclear, although theymight be the orbital period and a superorbital period respectively. For all five sources, the long-term variability, together with the combination of orbital and proposed pulse periods, suggests that the sources contain Be starmass donors.
The propagation of ultrasonic pulses in pyrophyllite specimens was studied to determine the effect of specimen precompression on the measured elastic moduli. Measurements were made at room pressure and, for the precompressed specimens, to pressures of 3 kbar. Pyrophyllite was found to be elastically anisotropic, apparently the result of the fabric present in our material. The room pressure adiabatic bulk modulus as measured on specimens made of isostatically compacted powered pyrophyllite was determined to be 96.1 kbar. The wave speeds of ultrasonic pulses in pyrophyllite were found to decrease with increasing specimen precompression. A limiting value of precompression was found, above which no further decrease in wave speed was observed. For the shear wave speeds this occurs at 10 kbar while for the longitudinal wave at 25 kbar. In the limit, the shear waves propagate 20% slower than in the unprecompressed samples; for the longitudinal wave the difference is 30%.
Results are reported for spectral-line very long baseline interferometric observations of the following II OH/IR objects, which emit strong 1612-MHz OH maser radiation concentrated at two velocities: NML Cyg, R Aql, IRC+10011, IRC-10529, and OH 1837-05. The apparent angular sizes were obtained for NML Cyg and R Aql, and lower limits upon the apparent sizes were obtained for the other objects. The data for NML Cyg agree with previous size determinations and indicate that the low- and high-velocity components are separated by about 20 times their apparent size. The maser component of R Aql is calculated within a factor of two to be about 5 by 10 to the 14th power cm, although the emitting region can be significantly larger. A qualitative description is given for II OH/IR objects with late M-type Mira variable center stars and circumstellar dust shells of similar dimensions.
Planned vacuum tank testing of a solar dynamic space power system requires a solar simulator. Several solar simulators were previously built and used for vacuum tank testing of various space systems. However, the apparent solar subtense angle, i.e., the angular size of the apparent sun as viewed from the experiment, of these solar simulators is too large to enable testing of solar dynamic systems. A new design was developed to satisfy the requirements of the solar dynamic testing. This design provides 1.8 kW/m(sup 2) onto a 4.5M diameter test area from a source that subtends only 1 deg, full cone angle. Key features that enable this improved performance are (1) elimination of the collimating mirror commonly used in solar simulators to transform the diverging beam into a parallel beam; (2) a redesigned lamp module that has increased efficiency; and (3) the use of a segmented reflective surface to combine beams from several individual lamp modules at the pseudosun. Each segment of this reflective surface has complex curvature to control the distribution of light. By developing a new solar simulator design for testing of the solar dynamic system instead of modifying current designs, the initial cost was cut in half, the efficiency was increased by 50 percent reducing the operating costs by one-third, and the volume occupied by the solar simulator was reduced by a factor of 10.
Benefits of Electric Power: Reduced energy consumption, Lower emissions, Less noise. Traction motors: Permanent magnet, Synchronous, High torque at low rotational speeds, High power density, (High concentration of heat). Annular inlet: Very compatible with PM motors, (Provides cooling where needed, No need for complicated ducting, Leads to a larger motor diameter which is beneficial for motor torque) Effect of prop wash on heat transfer coefficients: Assumed propeller induced turbulence would increase heat transfer coefficients, Holmes, Obara Yip reported 'propeller slipstream showed little if any apparent effect of the slip stream', Derlaga @ LaRC also found little change in heat transfer in the wake of the propeller.
A UHF radiometer, operating at a frequency of 800 MHz, was modified to provide an integral, three frequency voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR) circuit in the radio frequency (RF) head. The VSWR circuit provides readings of power transmission at the antenna-material interface with an accuracy of plus or minus 5 percent. The power transmission readings are numerically equal to the emissivity of the material under observation. Knowledge of material emissivity is useful in the interpretation of subsurface apparent temperatures obtained on phantom models of biological tissue. The emissivities of phantom models consisting of lean beefsteak were found to lie in the range 0.623 to 0.779, depending on moisture content. Radiometric measurements performed on instrumented phantoms showed that the radiometer was capable of sensing small temperature changes occurring at depths of at least 19 to 30 mm. This is consistent with previously generated data which showed that the radiometer could sense temperatures at a depth of 38 mm.
A coherent, sinusoidal peculiar velocity field of 0.003 amplitude and wavelength of 128/h Mpc could explain the apparent redshift periodicity seen in the recent pencil-beam survey of Broadhurst et al. (1990). Such a peculiar velocity field could arise if the power spectrum of density perturbations has a strong feature at about this wavelength. This explanation has additional predictions: the phase, period, and strength of the periodicity should vary in different directions; the strength of the periodicity should decrease at higher redshifts; and there should be more 'thin' structures perpendicular to the line of sight than parallel to it.
A detailed spectral analysis of five X-ray observations of Mrk 841 with the EXOSAT, Ginga, and ROSAT satellites is reported. Variability is apparent in both the soft (0.1-1.0 keV) and medium (1-20 keV) energy bands. Above, 1 keV, the spectra are adequately modeled by a power law with a strong emission line of equivalent width 450 eV. The large equivalent width of the emission line indicates a strongly enhanced reflection component of the source compared with other Seyferts observed with Ginga. The implications of the results of the analysis for physical models of the emission regions in this and other X-ray bright Seyferts are briefly examined.
This brief review concerns acute and chronic metabolic responses to resistive-type exercise (RTE) (i.e., Olympic/power weight lifting and bodybuilding). Performance of RTE presents power output substantially greater (10-15-fold) than that evident with endurance-type exercise. Accordingly, RTE relies heavily on the anaerobic enzyme machinery of skeletal muscle for energy supply, with alterations in the rate of aerobic metabolism being modest. Hydrolysis of high energy phosphate compounds (PC, ATP), glycogenolysis, and glycolysis are evident during an acute bout of RTE as indicated by metabolic markers in mixed fiber type skeletal muscle samples. The type of RTE probably influences the magnitude of these responses since the increase in blood lactate is much greater during a typical "bodybuilding" than "power lifting" session. The influence of RTE training on acute metabolic responses to RTE has received little attention. An individual's inherent metabolic characteristics are apparently sufficient to meet the energy demands of RTE as training of this type does not increase VO2max or substantially alter the content of marker enzymes in mixed fiber type skeletal muscle. Analyses of pools of fast- vs slow-twitch fibers, however, indicate that RTE-induced changes may be fiber type specific. Future studies should better delineate the metabolic responses to RTE and determine whether these are related to the enhanced performance associated with such training.
During the New England Air Quality Study (NEAQS) in the summer of 2004, airborne measurements were made of the major inorganic ions and the water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC) of the submicron (PM(sub 1.0)) aerosol. These and ancillary data are used to describe the overall aerosol chemical characteristics encountered during the study. Fine particle mass was estimated from particle volume and a calculated density based on measured particle composition. Fine particle organic matter (OM) was estimated from WSOC and a mass balance analysis. The aerosol over the northeastern United States (U.S.) and Canada was predominantly sulfate and associated ammonium, and organic components, although in unique plumes additional ionic components were also periodically above detection limits. In power generation regions, and especially in the Ohio River Valley region, the aerosol tended to be predominantly sulfate (approximately 60% micro gram /micro gram) and apparently acidic, based on an excess of measured anions compared to cations. In all other regions where sulfate concentrations were lower and a smaller fraction of overall mass, the cations and anions were balanced suggesting a more neutral aerosol. In contrast, the WSOC and estimated OM were more spatially uniform and the fraction of OM relative to PM mass was largely influenced by sources of sulfate. The study median OM mass fraction was 40%. Throughout the study region, sulfate and organic aerosol mass were highest near the surface and decreased rapidly with increasing altitude. The relative fraction of organic mass to sulfate was similar throughout all altitudes within the boundary layer (altitude less than 2.5 km), but was significantly higher at altitude layers in the free troposphere (above 2.5 km). A number of distinct biomass burning plumes from fires in Alaska and the Yukon were periodically intercepted, mostly at altitudes between 3 and 4 km. These plumes were associated with highest aerosol concentrations of the study and were largely comprised of organic aerosol components (approximtely 60%).
Because the surface of the Moon drops to cryogenic temperatures, no solar-powered lunar spacecraft have reliably operated beyond a single lunar day. Passive thermal control cannot keep a spacecraft sufficiently warm for the 354-hour lunar night, and active thermal control requires a dramatic increase in battery mass at the expense of payload mass. Extreme conditions seen on the lunar surface suggest a radioisotope solution is ideal, but mass, cost, and schedule are inconsistent with low-cost frequent flight intent of the commercial lunar payload services (CLPS) program. To solve the issue of lunar night survivability without radioisotope sources of power and heat, a lunar power hibernation approach is being developed at the Glenn Research Center, which exploits the ability of common 18650 Lithium-ion cells to passively survive cryogenic freeze-thaw cycles and recover without apparent performance degradation. A key aspect of this hibernation approach is the use of cryogenically operable electronics that safely manage the restoration of the battery thermal environment at lunar dawn. A spacecraft utilizing this strategy will operate into the lunar night on batteries until the state of charge or spacecraft temperature reaches a predetermined threshold. At this point, systems are shut down and the battery is isolated from the main bus to prevent charge or discharge during the freezing and thawing transitions. The system remains passive until lunar dawn, where temperatures can reach as low as 50 K. All electronics must be tolerant to these conditions. When the solar arrays are finally illuminated at lunar dawn, the main bus power electronics will initiate a “cold start” and begin regulating array power. The main bus electronics must be designed to operate at cryogenic temperatures. Array power is used to warm the battery and passive electronics back to operational temperatures. Once batteries are returned to normal temperatures, diagnostics and precharging is performed, as needed, and the battery is reconnected. The overall spacecraft system reboots and returns to nominal operations until lunar night returns. To assure that we can develop batteries suited for many hibernation freeze/thaw cycles, STMD Space Technology Research Grant Program (STRG) has selected two principal investigators that will thoroughly characterize of the Li-ion cell through the freeze-thaw process, investigate degradation mechanisms, and identify potential diagnostic techniques. STMD STRG is also funding an investigation of Gallium-Nitride semiconductors for cryogenic power applications. This work includes physics-informed modeling that considers cryogenic conductivity, carrier mobility, and quantum effects that govern semiconductor performance at cryogenic temperatures. These models can enable engineers to develop accurate cryogenic simulation models that assist in the design of power controls stable over the entire lunar surface temperature range. Meanwhile, Glenn is performing cryogenic testing of batteries and electronics, establishing design guidelines for power applications in extreme cold lunar environment, and potentially developing a hibernation technology demonstrator. The hibernation approach will enable low-cost lunar robotic missions to extend their operating lifetime to many months while minimizing development costs and impact on payload capacity. The need for cryogenically operable electronics is restricted to only main bus power and battery controls, as the majority of systems simply need to passively tolerate cryogenic temperatures. This allows developers to continue to exploit the cost savings of legacy and COTS hardware with minimum modification. For these reasons, lunar power hibernation is a viable near-term solution for lunar night survivability for solar powered commercial landers.
An important goal of quantum chemical calculations is to provide an understanding of chemical bonding and molecular electronic structure. A second goal, the prediction of energy differences to chemical accuracy, has been much harder to attain. First, the computational resources required to achieve such accuracy are very large, and second, it is not straightforward to demonstrate that an apparently accurate result, in terms of agreement with experiment, does not result from a cancellation of errors. Recent advances in electronic structure methodology, coupled with the power of vector supercomputers, have made it possible to solve a number of electronic structure problems exactly using the full configuration interaction (FCI) method within a subspace of the complete Hilbert space. These exact results can be used to benchmark approximate techniques that are applicable to a wider range of chemical and physical problems. The methodology of many-electron quantum chemistry is reviewed. Methods are considered in detail for performing FCI calculations. The application of FCI methods to several three-electron problems in molecular physics are discussed. A number of benchmark applications of FCI wave functions are described. Atomic basis sets and the development of improved methods for handling very large basis sets are discussed: these are then applied to a number of chemical and spectroscopic problems; to transition metals; and to problems involving potential energy surfaces. Although the experiences described give considerable grounds for optimism about the general ability to perform accurate calculations, there are several problems that have proved less tractable, at least with current computer resources, and these and possible solutions are discussed.
Using a sample of 119 QSOs, containing objects we have selected having previously available high quality ground-based and IUE spectral observations, together with Hubble Space Telescope (HST) observations of 26 QSOs from Bahcall et al. (1993, 1995) and Impey et al. (1995) and new optical observations of 41 objects by Steidel & Sargent (1995), we study the redshift evolution of Lyman limit absorption systems (LLSs; tau greater than 1.0) over the reshift range 0.32 less than or equal to z(sub LLS) less than or equal to 4.11. The HST observations significantly improve the determination of the low redshift (0.4 less than or equal to z(sub LLS) less than or equal to 1.4) distribution. We find the effect which may have been responsible for the apparent strong evolution at a(sub LLS) greater than or equal to 2.5 found by Lanzetta (1991), which led him to consider a broken, not single power law as a better description of the redshift distribution of LLSs. After removing objects which may bias our sample, leaving a total of 169 QSOs, we find the distribution is well described by a single power law, and obtain for the number density as a function of redshift the form N(z) = N(sub 0)(1 + z)(exp gamma) with gamma = 1.50 =/- 0.39 and N(sub 0) = 0.25(sup -0.10)(sub +0.17), consistent with a constant comoving density of absorbers in a Firedmann universe with q(sub 0) = 0 but indicating evolution if q(sub 0) = 1/2.
Since the first earth orbiting satellite sent pictures of the earth back to them, atmospheric scientists have been focused on the possibilities of using that information as both a forecasting tool and as a meteorological research tool. With the latest generation of Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES) now entering service, that view of the earth yields views at a frequency and resolution never before available. These satellites have imagers with a five band multi-spectral capability with high spatial resolution. In addition, the sounder has eighteen thermal infrared (IR) channels plus one low-resolution visible band. With a resolution as small as one kilometer, GOES provides scientists with a powerful eye on the atmosphere. Menzel and Purdom (1994) detail both the imager and sounder capability as well as other systems on the GOES satellites. Immediately apparent in the visible channel are the patterns of clouds swirling over both oceans and continents. These clouds range in size from huge planetary systems covering thousands of kilometers to puffy fair weather cumulus clouds on the order of half a kilometer in size. With the IR sensors temperature patterns are observed. High clouds appear very cold, while low stratus field show temperatures near that of the surface. The surface, in turn, generally appears warmer than the clouds. It would seem then a simple manner to determine cloud and surface temperature from the imagery, but such is not the case. While most of the atmospheric constituents are well mixed and homogeneous, water vapor is not. The water molecule, because of its unique structure and vibration modes, affects the transmittance of the atmosphere most notably in the infrared regions. There are regions of the IR spectrum where water vapor acts as a strong absorber, and at others it is nearly transparent. The transparent wavelengths are called windows, and one such window occurs at 11.2 microns. Adjacent to this window at 12.7 microns which is strongly absorbed by water vapor. These two wavelengths form what is known as a split window, the utility of which was used. Using the linearized form of the radiative transfer equation, they were able to use the split window to determine the amount of water vapor present in the atmosphere. Jedlovec developed the physical split-window (PSW) technique which determines the integrated water content (IWC). The PSW method using Visible Infrared Spin Scan Radiometer (VISSR) Atmospheric Sounder (VAS) found on the older versions of the GOES satellites was used. Recently, Jedlovec and colleagues have been attempting to apply the PSW method using full disk IR imagery obtained by the new generation of GOES satellites. IWC is essential for improved analysis and prediction of convective storms which have been observed to develop in regions of both strong and rapidly evolving moisture gradients. It has also been used in the prediction of clouds and precipitation.
The Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) has been involved in the development of solar cells for space applications since the 1960s. It quickly became apparent in this work that radiation damage caused to solar cells by electrons and protons trapped by the earth's magnetic field would seriously degrade the power output of photovoltaic arrays in extended missions. Techniques were therefore developed to harden the cells by shielding them with coverglass, etc. Ultimately, however, there is a limit to such approaches, which is determined by the radiation response of the semiconductor material employed. A desire for high efficiency and radiation resistance led to the development of alternative cell technologies such as GaAs, which has since become the technology of choice for many applications. InP cells are currently the most radiation resistant, high efficiency, planar cells known. NRL first sponsored InP solar cell technology in 1986, when Arizona State University was contracted to grow p/n cells by liquid phase epitaxy. NRL's interest in InP cells was generated by the results presented by Yamaguchi and his co-workers in the early 1980s on the remarkable radiation resistance of cells grown by diffusion of S into Zn doped p-type InP substrates. These cells also had beginning of life (BOL) efficiencies approximately 16%(AM0). Related to the radiation resistance of the cells was the fact that radiation-induced damage could be optically annealed by sunlight. Relatively large quantities of 1 x 2 cm(exp 2) diffused junction cells were made and were used on the MUSES-A and the EXOS-D satellites. These cells were also available in the U.S. through NIMCO, and were studied at NRL and elsewhere. Workers at NASA Lewis became involved in research in InP cells about the same time as NRL.