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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1979

Ion beam probing of electrostatic fields

The determination of a cylindrically symmetric, time-independent electrostatic potential V in a magnetic field B with the same symmetry by measurements of the deflection of a primary beam of ions is analyzed and substantiated by examples. Special attention is given to the requirements on canonical angular momentum and total energy set by an arbitrary, nonmonotone V, to scaling laws obtained by normalization, and to the analogy with ionospheric sounding. The inversion procedure with the Abel analysis of an equivalent problem with a one-dimensional fictitious potential is used in a numerical experiment with application to the NASA Lewis Modified Penning Discharge. The determination of V from a study of secondary beams of ions with increased charge produced by hot plasma electrons is also analyzed, both from a general point of view and with application to the NASA Lewis SUMMA experiment. Simple formulas and geometrical constructions are given for the minimum energy necessary to reach the axis, the whole plasma, and any point in the magnetic field. The common, simplifying assumption that V is a small perturbation is critically and constructively analyzed; an iteration scheme for successively correcting the orbits and points of ionization for the electrostatic potential is suggested.

Persson, H.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Planetary radio astronomy from Voyager

The technique of radio astronomy makes it possible for a remote observer to detect the presence of magnetic fields and plasmas in planetary environments. Prior to the flights of the Voyager spacecraft, radio astronomical studies of Jupiter from earth and from earth orbit had correctly predicted the strength and orientation of Jupiter's magnetic field and trapped radiation belts. The Voyager Planetary Radio Astronomy investigations have now provided measurements of the complete spectrum of low frequency radio emissions from both planets. Each Voyager instrument consists of a pair of orthogonal, 10-m, electric monopole antennas which are connected to a step-tuned, superheterodyne receiver operating over the frequency range from 1.2 kHz to 40.5 MHz. The Voyager trajectory provided observations from above both the sunlit and nightside hemispheres of Jupiter. Saturn's nonthermal radio emission has been observed at frequencies as low as 3 kHz and as high as 1.2 MHz.

Alexander, J. K.↗
NASA NTRS2021

Altimetry for the Future: Building on 25 Years of Progress

In 2018 we celebrated 25 years of development of radar altimetry, and the progress achieved by this methodology in the fields of global and coastal oceanography, hydrology, geodesy and cryospheric sciences. Many symbolic major events have celebrated these developments, e.g., in Venice, Italy, the 15th (2006) and 20th (2012) years of progress and more recently, in 2018, in Ponta Delgada, Portugal, 25 Years of Progress in Radar Altimetry. On this latter occasion it was decided to collect contributions of scientists, engineers and managers involved in the worldwide altimetry community to depict the state of altimetry and propose recommendations for the altimetry of the future. This paper summarizes contributions and recommendations that were collected and provides guidance for future mission design, research activities, and sustainable operational radar altimetry data exploitation. Recommendations provided are fundamental for optimizing further scientific and operational advances of oceanographic observations by altimetry, including requirements for spatial and temporal resolution of altimetric measurements, their accuracy and continuity. There are also new challenges and new openings mentioned in the paper that are particularly crucial for observations at higher latitudes, for coastal oceanography, for cryospheric studies and for hydrology. The paper starts with a general introduction followed by a section on Earth System Science including Ocean Dynamics, Sea Level, the Coastal Ocean, Hydrology, the Cryosphere and Polar Oceans and the ‘‘Green” Ocean, extending the frontier from biogeochemistry to marine ecology. Applications are described in a subsequent section, which covers Operational Oceanography, Weather, Hurricane Wave and Wind Forecasting, Climate projection. Instruments’ development and satellite missions’ evolutions are described in a fourth section. A fifth section covers the key observations that altimeters provide and their potential complements, from other Earth observation measurements to in situ data. Section 6 identifies the data and methods and provides some accuracy and resolution requirements for the wet tropospheric correction, the orbit and other geodetic requirements, the Mean Sea Surface, Geoid and Mean Dynamic Topography, Calibration and Validation, data accuracy, data access and handling (including the DUACS system). Section 7 brings a transversal view on scales, integration, artificial intelligence, and capacity building (education and training). Section 8 reviews the programmatic issues followed by a conclusion.

Saleh Abdalla↗
NASA NTRS2011

Component-Level Electronic-Assembly Repair (CLEAR) Analysis of the Problem Reporting and Corrective Action (PRACA) Database of the International Space Station On-Orbit Electrical Systems

The NASA Constellation Program is investigating and developing technologies to support human exploration of the Moon and Mars. The Component-Level Electronic-Assembly Repair (CLEAR) task is part of the Supportability Project managed by the Exploration Technology Development Program. CLEAR is aimed at enabling a flight crew to diagnose and repair electronic circuits in space yet minimize logistics spares, equipment, and crew time and training. For insight into actual space repair needs, in early 2008 the project examined the operational experience of the International Space Station (ISS) program. CLEAR examined the ISS on-orbit Problem Reporting and Corrective Action database for electrical and electronic system problems. The ISS has higher than predicted reliability yet, as expected, it has persistent problems. A goal was to identify which on-orbit electrical problems could be resolved by a component-level replacement. A further goal was to identify problems that could benefit from the additional diagnostic and test capability that a component-level repair capability could provide. The study indicated that many problems stem from a small set of root causes that also represent distinct component problems. The study also determined that there are certain recurring problems where the current telemetry instrumentation and built-in tests are unable to completely resolve the problem. As a result, the root cause is listed as unknown. Overall, roughly 42 percent of on-orbit electrical problems on ISS could be addressed with a component-level repair. Furthermore, 63 percent of on-orbit electrical problems on ISS could benefit from additional external diagnostic and test capability. These results indicate that in situ component-level repair in combination with diagnostic and test capability can be expected to increase system availability and reduce logistics. The CLEAR approach can increase the flight crew s ability to act decisively to resolve problems while reducing dependency on Earth-supplied logistics for future Constellation Program missions.

Oeftering, Richard C.↗
DOE OSTI2021

Implementation of Perdew–Zunger self-interaction correction in real space using Fermi–Löwdin orbitals

Most widely used density functional approximations suffer from self-interaction error, which can be corrected using the Perdew–Zunger (PZ) self-interaction correction (SIC). We implement the recently proposed size-extensive formulation of PZ-SIC using Fermi–Löwdin Orbitals (FLOs) in real space, which is amenable to systematic convergence and large-scale parallelization. Here, we verify the new formulation within the generalized Slater scheme by computing atomization energies and ionization potentials of selected molecules and comparing to those obtained by existing FLOSIC implementations in Gaussian based codes. The results show good agreement between the two formulations, with new real-space results somewhat closer to experiment on average for the systems considered. We also obtain the ionization potentials and atomization energies by scaling down the Slater statistical average of SIC potentials. The results show that scaling down the average SIC potential improves both atomization energies and ionization potentials, bringing them closer to experiment. Finally, we verify the present formulation by calculating the barrier heights of chemical reactions in the BH6 dataset, where significant improvements are obtained relative to Gaussian based FLOSIC results.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2016

Computational Study of the Resonance Enhancement of Raman Signals of Ligands Adsorbed to CdSe Clusters through Photoexcitation of the Cluster

This paper describes density-functional-theory-based computations of resonance Raman (RR) spectra of ligand molecules adsorbed to the surface of a Cd 16 Se 13 cluster. Signals from asymmetric vibrational modes of ligand binding groups, such as the asymmetric O–C–O stretching modes of carboxylates, are enhanced relative to the symmetric vibrational modes when the excitation energy is on-resonance with the excitonic energy of the cluster. Certain ligand molecules have frontier orbitals with the correct energies and symmetries to mix with the orbitals of the CdSe cluster, and as a result, the wave functions of the electron and the hole delocalize from the cluster onto the ligand molecules; experimentally, this delocalization results in a bathochromic shift of the band edge excitonic absorption. Increased excitonic delocalization results in greater vibronic coupling between the exciton and the ligand vibrations and, on average, preferential enhancements in the RR signals of those vibrations. This work suggests that the use of exciton-delocalizing ligands to optimize electronic coupling between neighboring CdSe nanoparticles may, at the same time, enhance the rates of nonradiative exciton decay by coupling the exciton and ligand vibrational modes.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
NASA NTRS2007

Spaceborne Autonomous and Ground Based Relative Orbit Control for the TerraSAR-X/TanDEM-X Formation

TerraSAR-X (TSX) and TanDEM-X (TDX) are two advanced synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites flying in formation. SAR interferometry allows a high resolution imaging of the Earth by processing SAR images obtained from two slightly different orbits. TSX operates as a repeat-pass interferometer in the first phase of its lifetime and will be supplemented after two years by TDX in order to produce digital elevation models (DEM) with unprecedented accuracy. Such a flying formation makes indeed possible a simultaneous interferometric data acquisition characterized by highly flexible baselines with range of variations between a few hundreds meters and several kilometers [1]. TSX has been successfully launched on the 15th of June, 2007. TDX is expected to be launched on the 31st of May, 2009. A safe and robust maintenance of the formation is based on the concept of relative eccentricity/inclination (e/i) vector separation whose efficiency has already been demonstrated during the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) [2]. Here, the satellite relative motion is parameterized by mean of relative orbit elements and the key idea is to align the relative eccentricity and inclination vectors to minimize the hazard of a collision. Previous studies have already shown the pertinence of this concept and have described the way of controlling the formation using an impulsive deterministic control law [3]. Despite the completely different relative orbit control requirements, the same approach can be applied to the TSX/TDX formation. The task of TDX is to maintain the close formation configuration by actively controlling its relative motion with respect to TSX, the leader of the formation. TDX must replicate the absolute orbit keeping maneuvers executed by TSX and also compensate the natural deviation of the relative e/i vectors. In fact the relative orbital elements of the formation tend to drift because of the secular non-keplerian perturbations acting on both satellites. The goal of the ground segment is thus to regularly correct this configuration by performing small orbit correction maneuvers on TDX. The ground station contacts are limited due to the geographic position of the station and the costs for contact time. Only with a polar ground station a contact visibility is possible every orbit for LEO satellites. TSX and TDX use only the Weilheim ground station (in the southern part of Germany) during routine operations. This station allows two scheduled contact per day for the nominal orbit configuration, meaning that the satellite conditions can be checked with an interval of 12 hours. While this limitation is usually not critical for single satellite operations, the visibility constraints drive the achievable orbit control accuracy for a LEO formation if a ground based approach is chosen. Along-track position uncertainties and maneuver execution errors affect the relative motion and can be compensated only after a ground station contact.

Ardaens, J. S.↗
DOE OSTI2015

Fermi orbital derivatives in self-interaction corrected density functional theory: Applications to closed shell atoms

A recent modification of the Perdew-Zunger self-interaction-correction to the density-functional formalism has provided a framework for explicitly restoring unitary invariance to the expression for the total energy. The formalism depends upon construction of Löwdin orthonormalized Fermi-orbitals which parametrically depend on variational quasi-classical electronic positions. Derivatives of these quasi-classical electronic positions, required for efficient minimization of the self-interaction corrected energy, are derived and tested, here, on atoms. Total energies and ionization energies in closed-shell singlet atoms, where correlation is less important, using the Perdew-Wang 1992 Local Density Approximation (PW92) functional, are in good agreement with experiment and non-relativistic quantum-Monte-Carlo results albeit slightly too low.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2017

Self-consistent self-interaction corrected density functional theory calculations for atoms using Fermi-Löwdin orbitals: Optimized Fermi-orbital descriptors for Li–Kr

In the Fermi-Löwdin orbital method for implementing self-interaction corrections (FLO-SIC) in density functional theory (DFT), the local orbitals used to make the corrections are generated in a unitary-invariant scheme via the choice of the Fermi orbital descriptors (FODs). These are M positions in 3-d space (for an M-electron system) that can be loosely thought of as classical electron positions. The orbitals that minimize the DFT energy including the SIC are obtained by finding optimal positions for the FODs. In this paper, we present optimized FODs for the atoms from Li–Kr obtained using an unbiased search method and self-consistent FLO-SIC calculations. The FOD arrangements display a clear shell structure that reflects the principal quantum numbers of the orbitals. We describe trends in the FOD arrangements as a function of atomic number. FLO-SIC total energies for the atoms are presented and are shown to be in close agreement with the results of previous SIC calculations that imposed explicit constraints to determine the optimal local orbitals, suggesting that FLO-SIC yields the same solutions for atoms as these computationally demanding earlier methods, without invoking the constraints

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2019

Stretched or noded orbital densities and self-interaction correction in density functional theory

Semilocal approximations to the density functional for the exchange-correlation energy of a many-electron system necessarily fail for lobed one-electron densities, including not only the familiar stretched densities but also the less familiar but closely related noded ones. The Perdew-Zunger (PZ) self-interaction correction (SIC) to a semilocal approximation makes that approximation exact for all one-electron ground- or excited-state densities and accurate for stretched bonds. When the minimization of the PZ total energy is made over real localized orbitals, the orbital densities can be noded, leading to energy errors in many-electron systems. Minimization over complex localized orbitals yields nodeless orbital densities, which reduce but typically do not eliminate the SIC errors of atomization energies. Other errors of PZ SIC remain, attributable to the loss of the exact constraints and appropriate norms that the semilocal approximations satisfy, suggesting the need for a generalized SIC. These conclusions are supported by calculations for one-electron densities and for many-electron molecules. While PZ SIC raises and improves the energy barriers of standard generalized gradient approximations (GGAs) and meta-GGAs, it reduces and often worsens the atomization energies of molecules. Thus, PZ SIC raises the energy more as the nodality of the valence localized orbitals increases from atoms to molecules to transition states. PZ SIC is applied here, in particular, to the strongly constrained and appropriately normed (SCAN) meta-GGA, for which the correlation part is already self-interaction-free. This property makes SCAN a natural first candidate for a generalized SIC.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2015

Optics correction for the multi-pass FFAG ERL machine eRHIC

Gradient errors in the multi-pass Fixed Field Alternating Gradient (FFAG) Energy Recovery Linac (ERL) machine, eRHIC, distort the beam orbit and therefore cause emittance increase. The localization and correction of gradient errors are essential for an effective orbit correction and emittance preservation. In this report, the methodology and simulation of optics correction for the multi-pass FFAG ERL machine eRHIC will be presented.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
NASA NTRS1960

Determination of Satellite Orbits from Radar Data

An optimum method for determining satellite orbits from radar data is presented in this report. Offering a good combination of speed and accuracy, the method makes use of orbit inclination and orbit elements in the plane, and proceeds with a differential correction of the orbit elements. Rapid, accurate methods of computing orbit elements are required to predict satellite positions for acquisition by other radars at points later along the orbit. In some cases the data are limited to a single pass over the observing station. The dynamical method is described in detail, and its accuracy is compared with those of two other methods: the purely geometrical, and the least-squares geometrical. By this optimum method the computing time, including the differential correction time, is 1 minute. Without differential correction, the rough determination takes from 10 to 20 seconds with approximately 5 miles positional uncertainty.

Cahill, W. F.↗
NASA NTRS2014

Release 2 data products from the Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite (OMPS) Limb Profiler

The OMPS Limb Profiler (LP) was launched on board the NASA Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (SNPP) satellite in October 2011. OMPS-LP is a limb-scattering hyperspectral sensor that provides ozone profiling capability at 1.5 km vertical resolution from cloud top to 60 km altitude. The use of three parallel slits allows global coverage in approximately four days. We have recently completed a full reprocessing of all LP data products, designated as Release 2, that improves the accuracy and quality of these products. Level 1 gridded radiance (L1G) changes include intra-orbit and seasonal correction of variations in wavelength registration, revised static and intra-orbit tangent height adjustments, and simplified pixel selection from multiple images. Ozone profile retrieval changes include removal of the explicit aerosol correction, exclusion of channels contaminated by stratospheric OH emission, a revised instrument noise characterization, improved synthetic solar spectrum, improved pressure and temperature ancillary data, and a revised ozone climatology. Release 2 data products also include aerosol extinction coefficient profiles derived with the prelaunch retrieval algorithm. Our evaluation of OMPS LP Release 2 data quality is good. Zonal average ozone profile comparisons with Aura MLS data typically show good agreement, within 5-10% over the altitude range 20-50 km between 60 deg S and 60 deg N. The aerosol profiles agree well with concurrent satellite measurements such as CALIPSO and OSIRIS, and clearly detect exceptional events such as volcanic eruptions and the Chelyabinsk bolide in February 2013.

Limb scatter↗
DOE OSTI2014

LOCO Application to NSLSII SR Dispersion and Beta Beating Correction

During the short run in early July, 2014, we made changes to the Matlab LOCO setup for NSLS-II and applied LOCO successfully to the machine. The MML setup was verified with I/O tests for all quadrupole families. The LOCO setup was further tested with an intentional quadrupole error. After the successful LOCO correction, the rms beta beat was reduced from the initial values of 5.5% x and 5.6% y, to 1.9% x and 1.0% y, respectively. The rms horizontal dispersion error was reduced from 21 mm to 6 mm. It is critical to keep the same closed orbit for LOCO correction to take effect. Because presently some correctors are nearly saturated, closed orbit cannot be controlled for additional iterations. We expect LOCO to achieve better optics correction after the orbit control is improved.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
NASA NTRS2017

Utilizing the Precessing Orbit of TRMM to Produce Hourly Corrections of Geostationary Infrared Imager Data with the VIRS Sensor

Accurate characterization of the Earth's radiant energy is critical for many climate monitoring and weather forecasting applications. For example, groups at the NASA Langley Research Center rely on stable visible- and infrared-channel calibrations in order to understand the temporal/spatial distribution of hazardous storms, as determined from an automated overshooting convective top detection algorithm. Therefore, in order to facilitate reliable, climate-quality retrievals, it is important that consistent calibration coefficients across satellite platforms are made available to the remote sensing community, and that calibration anomalies are recognized and mitigated. One such anomaly is the infrared imager brightness temperature (BT) drift that occurs for some Geostationary Earth Orbit satellite (GEOsat) instruments near local midnight. Currently the Global Space-Based Inter-Calibration System (GSICS) community uses the hyperspectral Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI) sensor as a common reference to uniformly calibrate GEOsat IR imagers. However, the combination of IASI, which has a 21:30 local equator crossing time (LECT), and hyperspectral Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS; 01:30 LECT) observations are unable to completely resolve the GEOsat midnight BT bias. The precessing orbit of the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Visible and Infrared Scanner (VIRS), however, allows sampling of all local hours every 46 days. Thus, VIRS has the capability to quantify the BT midnight effect observed in concurrent GEOsat imagers. First, the VIRS IR measurements are evaluated for long-term temporal stability between 2002 and 2012 by inter-calibrating with Aqua-MODIS. Second, the VIRS IR measurements are assessed for diurnal stability by inter-calibrating with Meteosat-9 (Met-9), a spin-stabilized GEOsat imager that does not manifest any diurnal dependency. In this case, the Met-9 IR imager is first adjusted with the official GSICS calibration coefficients. Then VIRS is used as a diurnal calibration reference transfer to produce hourly corrections of GEOsat IR imager BT. For the 9 three-axis stabilized GEO imagers concurrent with VIRS, the midnight effect increased the BT on average by 0.5 K (11 microns) and 0.4 K (12 microns), with a peak at approx.01:00 local time. As expected, the spin-stabilized GEOsats revealed a smaller diurnal temperature cycle (mostly < 0.2 K) with inconsistent peak hours.

Scarino, Benjamin↗
DOE OSTI2014

Fine-structure calculations of energy levels, oscillator strengths, and transition probabilities for sulfur-like iron, Fe XI

Energy levels, oscillator strengths, and transition probabilities for transitions among the 14 LS states belonging to configurations of sulfur-like iron, Fe XI, have been calculated. These states are represented by configuration interaction wavefunctions and have configurations 3s{sup 2}3p{sup 4}, 3s3p{sup 5}, 3s{sup 2}3p{sup 3}3d, 3s{sup 2}3p{sup 3}4s, 3s{sup 2}3p{sup 3}4p, and 3s{sup 2}3p{sup 3}4d, which give rise to 123 fine-structure energy levels. Extensive configuration interaction calculations using the CIV3 code have been performed. To assess the importance of relativistic effects, the intermediate coupling scheme by means of the Breit–Pauli Hamiltonian terms, such as the one-body mass correction and Darwin term, and spin–orbit, spin–other-orbit, and spin–spin corrections, are incorporated within the code. These incorporations adjusted the energy levels, therefore the calculated values are close to the available experimental data. Comparisons between the present calculated energy levels as well as oscillator strengths and both experimental and theoretical data have been performed. Our results show good agreement with earlier works, and they might be useful in thermonuclear fusion research and astrophysical applications. -- Highlights: •Accurate atomic data of iron ions are needed for identification of solar corona. •Extensive configuration interaction wavefunctions including 123 fine-structure levels have been calculated. •The relativistic effects by means of the Breit–Pauli Hamiltonian terms are incorporated. •This incorporation adjusts the energy levels, therefore the calculated values are close to experimental values.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗
NASA NTRS2021

OSIRIS-REx Orbit Trim Strategy

One of the more challenging aspects of the trajectory design for the OSIRIS-REx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security-Regolith Explorer) mission at asteroid Bennu was maneuvering while in orbit. The orbital dynamics were highly perturbed by various sources, most notably solar radiation pressure, which degraded accuracy of long term predictions of the spacecraft’s location in orbit. Generally, the Navigation team had to solve three separate issues: correcting a perturbed orbit, changing to a different orbit, or phasing the or bitto place the spacecraft at a specific location at a specific time. The team composed a common framework using up to two maneuvers that could solve all of these problems using an identical schedule that allowed for consistent planning long before the final trajectory could be designed. This orbit trim strategy was successfully used for the first time in the Orbital B phase of the mission to maximize the duration of usable observing geometry in a time-variable orbit with strict operational limits. It was used an additional 3 times throughout the mission to adjust and/or change the orbit, most notably altering the orbit in the weeks prior to the successful Touch-And-Go (TAG)sample collection attempt. This same strategy was used to phase the orbit a total 10 times in preparation for each of the science sorties over potential sample sites, the TAG Rehearsals, and TAG. The trim strategy was demonstrated to be robust and performed exceptionally well in all aspects, which proved critical to a successful sample collection.

Daniel R. Wibben↗