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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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At least 307 records · Page 17
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1993

Simulations of Deep Galaxy Fields I: Monte-Carlo Simulations of Optical and Near Infrared Counts

Monte-Carlo simulations of three dimensional galaxy distributions are performed, following the prescription of Chokishi & Wright (1988), to study the photometric properties of evolving galaxy populations in the optical and near infrared bands to high redshifts. Galaxies are spatially distributed according to the spatial two point correlation function in a range of cluster to field environments andin volume elements appropriate to the cosmological model under consideration. Details of individual galaxy properties, including luminosities, morphologies, disk-to-bulge ratios, and size distributions are simulated to match local observed galaxy properties. Galaxies have evolving gas fraction, metallicity and spectral energy distributions that include both stellar emission and internal dust absorption and re-emission. The simulations result in noiseless two dimensional galaxy distributions on the sky that canbe compared to the observed deep images in the blue and near-infrared bands...

faint↗
NASA NTRS2004

The Herbig Ae Star HD 163296 in X-Rays

Chandra X-ray imaging spectroscopy of the nearby Herbig Ae star HD 163296 at 100 AU angular resolution is reported. A point-like, soft (kT approximately 0.5 approximately kev), emission-line source is detected at the location of the star with an X-ray luminosity of 4.0e29 erg/s. In addition, faint emission along the direction of a previously-detected Ly-alpha-emitting jet and Herbig-Haro outflow may be present. The relatively low luminosity, lack of a hard spectral component, and absence of strong X-ray variability in HD 163296 can be explained as originating from optically-thin shock-heated gas accreting onto the stellar surface along magnetic field lines. This would require a (dipole) magnetic field strength at the surface of HD 163296 of at least approximately 100 approximately G and perhaps as high as several kG.

Swartz, Douglas A.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Time-Resolved OH-PLIF Assessment of Deflagrations Levels in a CH4-O2 Rotating Detonation Rocket Combustor

The parasitic loss incurred by deflagrative pre-burning is considered to be one of the key challenges to the effective implementation of rotating detonation engine (RDE) systems. Thus far, there have been relatively limited high fidelity, spatio-temporally resolved measurements of the pre-burning process as a function of the reactant conditions and composition within an RDE. In this work, simultaneous high-repetition-rate broadband OH* chemiluminescence and OH planar laser-induced fluorescence (PLIF) imaging are employed to investigate deflagrative burning dynamics in a fully optically accessible CH4-O2 RDE as compared to a H2-air systems under the same conditions. A custom-built optical parametric oscillator (OPO) is coupled with a high-repetition-rate burst-mode laser to generate the 284 nm source for the excitation of the Q1(9) transition of the OH radical. Significant deflagrative burning is observed throughout the chamber as a consequence of the oxygen-rich environment. Trailing wave systems that consume unburned reactants in the region immediately following the primary detonation wave are observed. The formation of a product gas recirculation zone that entrains and combusts incoming reactants is observed, and quantitative analysis is performed to gain valuable insight into deflagration characteristics. At an oxidizer mass flux of Gox ≈ 350kg/m2/s, it is found that the levels of pre-wave burning in CH4-O2 are a factor of ∼2-3 times higher than in H2-air in the region directly ahead of the detonation wave at a global equivalence ratio Φ ≈ 1.0. This study highlights the key roles of ignition delay and turbulent mixing of the combustion product and reactant fields on the levels of pre-burning and establishes a methodology for further investigation, such as for the effects of various RDE inlet configurations.

Propulsion↗
NASA NTRS2011

Fabrication and Test of an Optical Magnetic Mirror

Traditional mirrors at optical wavelengths use thin metalized or dielectric layers of uniform thickness to approximate a perfect electric field boundary condition. The electron gas in such a mirror configuration oscillates in response to the incident photons and subsequently re-emits fields where the propagation and electric field vectors have been inverted and the phase of the incident magnetic field is preserved. We proposed fabrication of sub-wavelength-scale conductive structures that could be used to interact with light at a nano-scale and enable synthesis of the desired perfect magnetic-field boundary condition. In a magnetic mirror, the interaction of light with the nanowires, dielectric layer and ground plate, inverts the magnetic field vector resulting in a zero degree phase shift upon reflection. Geometries such as split ring resonators and sinusoidal conductive strips were shown to demonstrate magnetic mirror behavior in the microwave and then in the visible. Work to design, fabricate and test a magnetic mirror began in 2007 at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) under an Internal Research and Development (IRAD) award Our initial nanowire geometry was sinusoidal but orthogonally asymmetric in spatial frequency, which allowed clear indications of its behavior by polarization. We report on the fabrication steps and testing of magnetic mirrors using a phase shifting interferometer and the first far-field imaging of an optical magnetic mirror.

Hagopian, John G.↗
NASA NTRS2021

Evidence for Systematic Changes in the Stratospheric Aerosol Size Following Volcanic Eruptions of Diverse Magnitudes Using Space-Based Instruments

An analysis of multiwavelength stratospheric aerosol extinction coefficient data from the Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment II and III/ISS instruments is used to demonstrate a coherent relationship between the perturbation in extinction coefficient in an eruption’s main aerosol layer and an apparent change in aerosol size distribution that spans multiple orders of magnitude in the stratospheric impact of an volcanic event. The relationship is measurement-based and does not rely on assumptions about the aerosol size distribution. In this respect, it may be a unique tool to verify the performance of interactive aerosol models used in GCMs and ESMs and may suggest an avenue for improving aerosol extinction coefficient measurements from single channel observations such the Optical Spectrograph and Infrared Imager System. We note limitations on this analysis including that the presence of significant amounts of ash in the main aerosol layer may significantly modulate these results.

Larry Thomason↗
NASA NTRS2023

JWST Observations of the Enigmatic Y Dwarf WISE 1828+2650: I. Limits to a Binary Companion

The Y-dwarf WISE 1828+2650 is one of the coldest known brown dwarfs with an effective temperature of∼300K. Located at a distance of just 10 pc, previous model-based estimates suggest WISE1828+2650 has a mass of∼5–10MJ, making it a valuable laboratory for understanding the formation, evolution, and physical characteristics of gas giant planets. However, previous photometry and spectroscopy have presented a puzzle, with the near impossibility of simultaneously fitting both the short-(0.9–2.0μm)and long-wavelength(3–5μm)data. A potential solution to this problem has been the suggestion that WISE 1828+2650 is a binary system whose composite spectrum might provide a better match to the data. Alternatively, new models being developed to fit JWST/NIRSpec, and MIRI spectroscopy might provide new insights. This article describes JWST/NIRCam observations of WISE 1828+2650 in six filters to address the binarity question and to provide new photometry tobe used in model fitting. We also report adaptive optics imaging with the Keck I0 m telescope. We find no evidence for multiplicity for a companion beyond 0.5 au with either JWST or Keck. Companion articles will present low-and high-resolution spectra of WISE 1828 obtained with both NIRSpec and MIRI.

NIRCam↗
NASA NTRS1991

The starburst ring around the Seyfert nucleus in NGC 7469

High-resolution radio continuum, optical emission line, and optical continuum images of the luminous Seyfert plus circumnuclear starburst hybrid galaxy NGC 7469 are presented. The radio emission from the starburst is largely confined to a ring of diameter 3 arcsec, or 1.0 kpc. There is clear evidence for optical continuum emission and probably optical line emission from the ring. The disks of NGC 1068 and NGC 7469 exhibit a strong similarity in almost all observed properties. Current star formation models can account for the luminous far-infrared emission and the strength of the nonthermal radio emission in NGC 7469, with an expected supernova rate of about one per year. The starburst ring is probably a result of concentration of gas into a ring via resonances between orbital motion and a rotating barlike or ovally distorted potential.

Wilson, A. S.↗
NASA NTRS2023

JWST Observations of the Enigmatic Y Dwarf WISE 1828+2650: I. Limits to a Binary Companion

The Y-dwarf WISE 1828+2650 is one of the coldest known Brown Dwarfs with an effective temperature of ~300 K. Located at a distance of just 10 pc, previous model-based estimates suggest WISE 1828+2650 has a mass of ~5-10 M J , making it a valuable laboratory for understanding the formation, evolution and physical characteristics of gas giant planets. However, previous photometry and spectroscopy have presented a puzzle with the near-impossibility of simultaneously fitting both the short (0.9-2.0 μm) and long wavelength (3-5 μm) data. A potential solution to this problem has been the suggestion that WISE 1828+2650 is a binary system whose composite spectrum might provide a better match to the data. Alternatively, new models being developed to fit JWST/NIRSpec and MIRI spectroscopy might provide new insights. This article describes JWST/NIRCam observations of WISE 1828+2650 in 6 filters to address the binarity question and to provide new photometry to be used in model fitting. We also report Adaptive Optics imaging with the Keck 10 m telescope. We find no evidence for multiplicity for a companion beyond 0.5 AU with either JWST or Keck. Companion articles will present low and high resolution spectra of WISE 1828 obtained with both NIRSpec and MIRI.

Infrared spectroscopy↗
NASA NTRS1983

Design and performance of the Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment II (SAGE II) instrument

Design and performance data are analyzed for the Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment II (SAGE II) instrument, which has been developed for the NASA Earth Radiation Budget Satellite (ERBS). SAGE II is designed to monitor globally, from 70 degrees S to 70 degrees N latitude, the vertical distribution of stratospheric aerosols, ozone, water vapor, and nitrogen dioxide by measuring the extinction of solar radiation through the earth's atmosphere during the ERBS observatory solar occultations. A flat scanning mirror reflects solar radiation into a Cassegrain type telescope, which forms a solar image on the entrance slit of a grating spectrometer. The instantaneous-field-of-view of the SAGE II is scanned along the vertical solar diameter by the elevation scan mirror. The optical system is contained within an azimuth gimbal which tracks the solar radiometric centroid during the data event, while the spectrometer isolates seven spectral wavelengths from 0.385-1.02 micrometers. The seven channels of the spectrometer use silicon photodiode dedectors operated in the photovoltaic mode. The detector outputs are multiplexed into a serial data stream for readout by the ERBS telemetry system, with each output being sampled 64 times per second and digitized to 12 bit resolution.

Zaun, N. H.↗
NASA NTRS2002

Seeing Red and Shooting Blanks: A Study of Red Quasars and Blank Field X-Ray Sources

We have identified a population of 'blank field sources' (or 'blanks') among the ROSAT (Roentgen Satellite) bright unidentified X-ray sources with faint optical counterparts. The extreme X-ray over optical flux ratio of blank field sources is not compatible with the main classes of X-ray emitters except for extreme BL Lacertae objects at fx/fv is equal to or less than 35. From the analysis of ROSAT archival data we found evidence for only three sources, out of 16, needing absorption in excess of the Galactic value and no indication of variability. We also found evidence for an extended nature for only one of the five blanks with a serendipitous HRI (High Resolution Imager) detection; this source (1WGA J1226.9+3332) was confirmed as a z=0.89 cluster of galaxies. Palomar images reveal the presence of a red (O - E is equal to or greater than 2) counterpart in the X-ray error circle for six blanks. The identification process brought to the discovery of another high z cluster of galaxies, one (possibly extreme) BL Lac and two apparently normal type 1 AGNs (Active Galactic Nuclei). These AGNs, together with four more AGN-like objects seem to form a well defined group: they present type 1 X-ray spectra but red Palomar counterparts. We discuss the possible explanations for the discrepancy between the X-ray and optical data, among which: a suppressed big blue bump emission, an extreme dust to gas (approximately 40 - 60 the Galactic ratio) ratio value and a high redshift (z is greater than or equal to 3.5) QSO (Quasi-Stellar Object) nature. These AGN-like blanks seem to be the bright (and easier to study) analogs of the sources which are being found in deep Chandra observations. Five more blanks have a still an unknown nature.

Elvis, Martin↗
NASA NTRS2013

XIPE the X-Ray Imaging Polarimetry Explorer

X-ray polarimetry, sometimes alone, and sometimes coupled to spectral and temporal variability measurements and to imaging, allows a wealth of physical phenomena in astrophysics to be studied. X-ray polarimetry investigates the acceleration process, for example, including those typical of magnetic reconnection in solar flares, but also emission in the strong magnetic fields of neutron stars and white dwarfs. It detects scattering in asymmetric structures such as accretion disks and columns, and in the so-called molecular torus and ionization cones. In addition, it allows fundamental physics in regimes of gravity and of magnetic field intensity not accessible to experiments on the Earth to be probed. Finally, models that describe fundamental interactions (e.g. quantum gravity and the extension of the Standard Model) can be tested. We describe in this paper the X-ray Imaging Polarimetry Explorer (XIPE), proposed in June 2012 to the first ESA call for a small mission with a launch in 2017. The proposal was, unfortunately, not selected. To be compliant with this schedule, we designed the payload mostly with existing items. The XIPE proposal takes advantage of the completed phase A of POLARIX for an ASI small mission program that was cancelled, but is different in many aspects: the detectors, the presence of a solar flare polarimeter and photometer and the use of a light platform derived by a mass production for a cluster of satellites. XIPE is composed of two out of the three existing JET-X telescopes with two Gas Pixel Detectors (GPD) filled with a He-DME mixture at their focus. Two additional GPDs filled with a 3-bar Ar-DME mixture always face the Sun to detect polarization from solar flares. The Minimum Detectable Polarization of a 1 mCrab source reaches 14 in the 210 keV band in 105 s for pointed observations, and 0.6 for an X10 class solar flare in the 1535 keV energy band. The imaging capability is 24 arcsec Half Energy Width (HEW) in a Field of View of 14.7 arcmin 14.7 arcmin. The spectral resolution is 20 at 6 keV and the time resolution is 8 s. The imaging capabilities of the JET-X optics and of the GPD have been demonstrated by a recent calibration campaign at PANTER X-ray test facility of the Max-Planck-Institut fr extraterrestrische Physik (MPE, Germany). XIPE takes advantage of a low-earth equatorial orbit with Malindi as down-link station and of a Mission Operation Center (MOC) at INPE (Brazil). The data policy is organized with a Core Program that comprises three months of Science Verification Phase and 25 of net observing time in the following 2 years. A competitive Guest Observer program covers the remaining 75 of the net observing time.

Astronomy X-ray Polarimetry↗
NASA NTRS2004

Atmospheric Trace Gas Abundances and Stable Isotope Ratios via IR-LIF

We propose to develop new technologies with support provided by PIDDP that will enable the in situ measurements of abundances and stable isotope ratios in important radiatively and biogenically active gases such as carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, water, methane, nitrous oxide, and hydrogen sulfide to very high precision (0.1 per mil or better for the isotopic ratios, for example). Such measurements, impossible at present, could provide pivotal new constraints on the global (bio)geochemical budgets of these critical species, and could also be used to examine the dynamics of atmospheric transport on Mars, Titan, and other solar system bodies. We believe the combination of solid state light sources with imaging of the IR laser induced fluorescence (IR-LIF) via newly available detector arrays will make such in situ measurements possible for the first time. Even under ambient terrestrial conditions, the LIF yield from vibrational excitation of species such as water and carbon dioxide should produce emission measures well in excess of ten billion photons/sec from samples volumes of order 1 c.c. These count rates can, in principle, yield detection limits into the sub-ppt range that are required for the in situ isotopic study of atmospheric trace gases. While promising, such technologies are relatively immature, but developing rapidly, and there are a great many uncertainties regarding their applicability to in situ IR-LIF planetary studies. We therefore feel PIDDP support will be critical to developing these new tools, and propose a three-year program to combine microchip near-IR lasers with low background detection axes and state-of-the-art HgCdTe detectors developed for astronomical spectroscopy to investigate the sensitivity of IR-LIF under realistic planetary conditions, to optimize the optical pumping and filtering schemes for important species, and to apply the spectrometer to the non-destructive measurement of stable isotopes in a variety of test samples. These studies form the necessary precursors to the development of compact, lightweight stable isotope/trace gas sensors for future planetary missions.

Blake, Geoffrey A.↗
NASA NTRS1989

High-resolution observations of the multicomponent nucleus of NGC 5929

The central region of the type 2 Seyfert galaxy NGC 5929 is known to contain double radio-continuum and optical emission-line clouds separated by about 1 arcsec. High-resolution VLA mapping at 2 cm shows these two steep-spectrum radio clouds to be compact (about 13 pc FWHM) and well collimated on either side of a central source having a flatter spectrum. When the radio continuum and forbidden O III 5007-A image of Whittle et al. (1986) are compared at the same spatial resolution, there is no evidence that the separations or position angles of the radio and emission-line clouds differ. The double H-alpha clouds appear to differ in position angle by about 20 deg from the radio lobes. Large variations in excitation of the gas occur on the scale of the seeing. If the line-emitting clouds are confined in or near the radio lobes and the gas is ionized by a compact nuclear source, this source is likely to be beamed along the radio axis.

Wilson, Andrew S.↗
NASA NTRS2016

Discovery of an Inner Disk Component Around HD 141569 A

We report the discovery of a scattering component around the HD 141569 A circumstellar debris system, interior to the previously known inner ring. The discovered inner disk component, obtained in broadband optical light with Hubble Space Telescope/Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph coronagraphy, was imaged with an inner working angle of 0 25 arcseconds, and can be traced from 0 4 seconds (approximately 46 atomic units) to 1.0 arcseconds (approximately 116 atomic units) after deprojection using inclination = 55 degrees. The inner disk component is seen to forward scatter in a manner similar to the previously known rings, has a pericenter offset of approximately 6 atomic units, and break points where the slope of the surface brightness changes. It also has a spiral arm trailing in the same sense as other spiral arms and arcs seen at larger stellocentric distances. The inner disk spatially overlaps with the previously reported warm gas disk seen in thermal emission. We detect no point sources within 2 arcseconds (approximately 232 atomic units), in particular in the gap between the inner disk component and the inner ring. Our upper limit of 9 plus or minus 3 mass Jupiter (M (sub J)) is augmented by a new dynamical limit on single planetary mass bodies in the gap between the inner disk component and the inner ring of 1 mass Jupiter, which is broadly consistent with previous estimates.

pericenter offset↗
NASA NTRS1999

Raman Spectroscopy for Instantaneous Multipoint, Multispecies Gas Concentration and Temperature Measurements in Rocket Engine Propellant Injector Flows

Propellent injector development at MSFC includes experimental analysis using optical techniques, such as Raman, fluorescence, or Mie scattering. For the application of spontaneous Raman scattering to hydrocarbon-fueled flows a technique needs to be developed to remove the interfering polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon fluorescence from the relatively weak Raman signals. A current application of such a technique is to the analysis of the mixing and combustion performance of multijet, impinging-jet candidate fuel injectors for the baseline Mars ascent engine, which will bum methane and liquid oxygen produced in-situ on Mars to reduce the propellent mass transported to Mars for future manned Mars missions. The present technique takes advantage of the strongly polarized nature of Raman scattering. It is shown to be discernable from unpolarized fluorescence interference by subtracting one polarized image from another. Both of these polarized images are obtained from a single laser pulse by using a polarization-separating calcite rhomb mounted in the imaging spectrograph. A demonstration in a propane-air flame is presented.

Wehrmeyer, Joseph A.↗
NASA NTRS2001

Raman Spectroscopy for Instantaneous Multipoint, Multispecies Gas Concentration and Temperature Measurements in Rocket Engine Propellant Injector Flows

Propellant injector development at MSFC includes experimental analysis using optical techniques, such as Raman, fluorescence, or Mie scattering. For the application of spontaneous Raman scattering to hydrocarbon-fueled flows a technique needs to be developed to remove the interfering polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon fluorescence from the relatively weak Raman signals. A current application of such a technique is to the analysis of the mixing and combustion performance of multijet, impinging-jet candidate fuel injectors for the baseline Mars ascent engine, which will burn methane and liquid oxygen produced in-situ on Mars to reduce the propellant mass transported to Mars for future manned Mars missions. The present technique takes advantage of the strongly polarized nature of Raman scattering. It is shown to be discernable from unpolarized fluorescence interference by subtracting one polarized image from another. Both of these polarized images are obtained from a single laser pulse by using a polarization-separating calcite rhomb mounted in the imaging spectrograph. A demonstration in a propane-air flame is presented.

Wehrmeyer, Joseph A.↗
NASA NTRS2007

HST/ACS Narrowband Imaging of the Kepler Supernova Remnant

We present narrowband images of the Kepler supernova remnant obtained with the Advanced Camera for Surveys aboard the Hubble Space Telescope. The images, with an angular resolution of 0.05" reveal the structure of the emitting gas in unprecedented detail. Radiative and nonradiative shocks are found in close proximity, unresolvable in gro~md-based spectra, indicating that the pre-shock medium is highly clumped. The ionization structure, traced by differences in the [0 111] to [N 11] flux ratio, varies on subarcsecond scales. The variation is due to 110th differences in shock velocity as well as gradients in the evolutionary stage of the shocks. A pro~llinent complex of knots protruding beyond the boundary of the ren~nallt in the northwest is found to consist of bright radiative knots, collected by arcuate nonradiative filaments. Based on the coincidence of the optical emission with a bright isolated knot of X-ray emission, we infer that this feature is due to a Rayleigh-Taylor finger that formed at the contact discontinuity and overtook the primary blast wave.

Sankrit, Ravi↗
NASA NTRS1993

Measurement of intact-core length of atomizing liquid jets by image deconvolution

The investigation of liquid jet breakup and spray development is critical to the understanding of combustion phenomena in liquid propellant rocket engines. Much work has been done to characterize low-speed liquid jet breakup and dilute sprays, but atomizing jets and dense sprays have yielded few quantitative measurements due to their high liquid load fractions and hence their optical opacity. Focus was on a characteristic of the primary breakup process of round liquid jets, namely the length of the intact-liquid core. The specific application considered is that of shear-coaxial-type rocket engine injectors in which liquid oxygen is injected through the center post while high velocity gaseous hydrogen is injected through a concentric annulus, providing a shear force to the liquid jet surface. Real-time x ray radiography, capable of imaging through the dense two-phase region surrounding the liquid core, is used to make the measurements. The intact-liquid-core length data were obtained and interpreted using two conceptually different methods to illustrate the effects of chamber pressure, gas-to-liquid momentum ratio, and cavitation.

Woodward, Roger↗