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At least 37 records · Page 2

Momentum transfer interaction of a laser-produced plasma with a low-pressure background.

The expansion of a laser-produced metallic plasma into a photoionized hydrogen background has been experimentally studied. Langmuir probe and microwave diagnostics have detected an interaction front which decelerates with a dependence on background density and time consistent with a momentum coupling between the laser plasma and the ionized fraction of the background. An ion percursor has also been observed. Calculations of scattering cross sections indicate that multiple-encounter Coulomb scattering will dominate collisional momentum transfer. The leading edge of the laser plasma contains multiply charged ions of charge state z greater than or equal to 5, and collisional effects appear adequate to explain the principal features of the momentum coupling. The ion precursor may have a collisionless origin.

Koopman, D. W.

Application of cylindrical Langmuir probes to streaming plasma diagnostics.

The current-voltage characteristics of cylindrical probes in a high velocity collisionless plasma flow have been investigated experimentally and theoretically. The plasma was generated by a focused laser pulse incident on a metallic target in vacuum. An analysis, developed from a stationary plasma analog to the flowing case, demonstrated a failure of plasma shielding of probe potential in the electron attracting region. Modifications of relatively simple previous treatments were found to be valid for computing electron current to a probe. The electron characteristics derived from the present analysis agree well with experimental results. The ion and electron portions of the characteristics are consistent with each other and with independent diagnostic measurements.

Segall, S. B.

The application of NASTRAN at Sperry Univac Holland

Very divergent problems arising with different calculations indicate that NASTRAN is not always accessible for common use. Problems with engineering, modelling, and use of the program system are analysed and a way of solution is outlined. Related to this, some supplementary modifications are made at Sperry Univac Holland to facilitate the program for the less skilled user. The implementation of a new element also gives an insight into the use of NASTRAN at Sperry Univac Holland. As the users of Univac computers are from very different kinds of industries like shipbuilders, petrochemical industries, and building industries, the variety of problems coming from these users is very large. This variety results in experience not with one special kind of calculation nor one special kind of construction, but with a wide area of problems arising in the use of NASTRAN. These problems can roughly be divided into three different groups: (1) recognition of what is to be calculated and how, (2) construction of a model, and (3) handling the NASTRAN program. These are the basic problems for every less skilled user of NASTRAN and the Application/Research Department of Sperry Univac has to give reasonable answers to these questions.

Koopmans, G.

Collisional coupling in counterstreaming laser-produced plasmas

The collisional processes which transfer momentum between counterstreaming plasmas are reviewed and applied to the example of a laser-produced plasma expanding into a partially ionized background. Experimental measurements of the dependence of the ion flow field on collisional momentum transfer demonstrate the validity of the simplified treatment of collision processes which have been adopted. A numerical model which simulates the laser-plasma interaction with the background confirms the importance of collisions in previous experimental studies of momentum coupling, and provides some insight into the distinction between collisional and collisionless flow regimes.

Koopman, D. W.

High-beta effects and anomalous diffusion in plasmas expanding into magnetic fields

A metallic laser-produced plasma is allowed to expand transversely into an applied magnetic field, under conditions where the typical ion cyclotron radius is much larger, and the electron cyclotron radius much smaller, than the experimental dimensions. A stationary background plasma may also be present. Initially, the flow energy density exceeds (B squared/8 times pi), where B is the ambient magnetic field. Magnetic coil probes, Langmuir probes, and microwave diagnostics are used to study the plasma-field interaction. Field compression at the leading edge and field exclusion within the expanding plasma are seen. The diagnostic measurements and comparison with a theoretical model demonstrate plasma turbulence and anomalously high diffusion of field into the expanding plasma.

Koopman, D. W.

Monitoring of the tidal dynamics of the Dutch Waddensea by SIR-B

The potential of LANDSAT data, covering the entire tidal flats at a certain, known, tidal situation, was assessed. It was discovered that the data cannot be used for systematic survey because of the long interval between subsequent passes, weather conditions often interfere with recording, and of the lack of correlation between passes and the tidal situation. The objective is to overcome the problems by using: (1) the synoptic view obtained by SIR-B, which has the potential of surveying large areas of the flats simultaneously; (2) the all-weather capability of the microwave system; (3) the recording during consecutive days, which results in a straightforeward correlation with the tidal cycle and the picturing of different tidal stages; and (4) the multiangle incidence of SIR-B to analyze the bottom configuration of submerged parts of the flats. The use of a weather independent monitoring device, such as radar, an improvement in the monitoring technique of tidal coastal areas.

Koopmans, B. N.

Effects of soil tillage on the microwave emission of soils

In order to understand the interactions of soil properties and microwave emission better, a series of field experiments were conducted in 1984. Small plots were measured with a truck-mounted passive microwave radiometer operating at 1.4 GHz. These data were collected concurrent with ground observations of soil moisture and bulk density. Treatment effects studied included different soil moisture contents and bulk densities. Evaluations of the data have shown that commonly used models of the dielectric properties of wet soils do not explain the observations obtained in these experiments. This conclusion was based on the fact that the roughness parameters determined through optimization were significantly larger than those observed in similar investigations. These discrepancies are most likely due to the soil structure. Commonly used models assume a homogeneous three phase mixture of soil solids, air and water. Under tilled conditions the soil is actually a two phase mixture of aggregates and voids. Appropriate dielectric models for this tilled condition were evaluated and found to explain the observations. These results indicate that previous conclusions concerning the effects of surface roughness in tilled fields may be incorrect, and they may explain some of the inconsistencies encountered in roughness modeling.

Jackson, T. J.

TIGRE: Combinator graph reduction on the RTX 2000

An efficient evaluation technique is examined for lazy functional programs based on combinator graph reduction. Graph reduction is widely believed to be slow and inefficient, but an abstract machine called the Threaded Interpretive Graph Reduction Engine (TIGRE) achieves a substantial speedup over previous reduction techniques. The runtime system of TIGRE is a threaded system that permits self-modifying program execution with compiler-guaranteed safety. This paper describes an implementation of TIGRE in Forth for the Harris RTX 2000 stack processor.

Koopman, Philip, Jr.

Design and construction of a remote piloted flying wing

Currently, there is a need for a high-speed, high-lift civilian transport. Although unconventional, a flying wing could fly at speeds in excess of Mach 2 and still retain the capacity of a 747. The design of the flying wing is inherently unstable since it lacks a fuselage and a horizontal tail. The project goal was to design, construct, fly, and test a remote-piloted scale model flying wing. The project was completed as part of the NASA/USRA Advanced Aeronautics Design Program. These unique restrictions required us to implement several fundamental design changes from last year's Elang configuration including wing sweepback and wingtip endplates. Unique features such as a single ducted fan engine, composite structural materials, and an electrostatic stability system were incorporated. The result is the Banshee '94. Our efforts will aid future projects in design and construction techniques so that a viable flying wing can become an integral part of the aviation industry.

Costa, Alfred J.

Antiferromagnetic Interlayer Exchange Coupling in All-Semiconducting EuS/PbS/EuS Trilayers

A comprehensive experimental study on the antiferromagnetic interlayer exchange coupling in high quality epitaxial all-semiconducting EuSPbSEuS trilayers is reported. The influence of substrates, the thickness of the non-magnetic PbS spacer layer, and of temperature, was investigated by means of SQUID magnetometry. In trilayers with a PbS thickness between 4 and 12 deg A the low temperature hysteresis loops showed the signature of antiferromagnetic coupling. The value of the interlayer exchange coupling energy was determined by simulating the data with a modified Stoner model, including Zeeman, anisotropy, and exchange coupling energies. An important observation was of a strong dependence of the interlayer exchange coupling energy on temperature, consistent with a power law dependence of the exchange coupling constant on the saturation magnetization of the EuS layers. While no theoretical description is readily available, we conjecture that the observed behavior is due to a dependence of the interlayer exchange coupling energy on the exchange splitting of the EuS conduction band.

Smits, C. J. P.

RQL Integrated Module Rig Test

This report documents the activities conducted under Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) 1.0.2.7 of the NASA Critical Components (CPC) Program to evaluate the low emissions potential of a Rich-Quench-Lean combustor capable of achieving the program goal of emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOxEI) less than 5 gm/Kg fuel at the supersonic light condition while maintaining combustion efficiencies in excess of 99.9 percent. The chosen combustor module would then be tested in the subscale annular rig test prior to testing in the subscale core engine demonstrator, if the RQL concept were to be chosen at the Combustor Downselect.

Koopman, Frederick S.

RQL Fuel Shifting Sector Rig Test

The low emissions potential of a Rich-Quench-Lean (RQL) combustor for use in the HIgh Speed Civil transport (HSCT) application was evaluated as part of the NASA Critical Propulsion Components (CPC) Program. Fuel shifting as an approach to combustor control was evaluated in a multiple bank RQL combustor, utilizing reduced scale quench technology implemented in a convoluted linear with quench plate concept.

Holdeman, James D.

Evidence for gammacerane as an indicator of water column stratification

A new route for the formation of gammacerane from tetrahymanol is proposed; in addition to dehydration and hydrogenation, sulphurisation and early C-S cleavage are shown to be important in the pathway of formation, especially in marine sediments. Evidence is twofold. First, relatively large amounts of the gammacerane skeleton are sequestered in S-rich macromolecular aggregates formed by natural sulphurisation of functionalised lipids. Selective cleavage of polysulphide linkages with MeLi/MeI led to formation of 3-methylthiogammacerane, indicating that the gammacerane skeleton is primarily bound via sulphur at position 3, consistent with the idea that tetrahymanol (or the corresponding ketone) is the precursor for gammacerane. Second, upon mild artificial maturation of two sediments using hydrous pyrolysis, gammacerane is released from S-rich macromolecular aggregates by cleavage of the relatively weak C-S bonds. The stable carbon isotopic compositions of gammacerane and lipids derived from primary producers and green sulphur bacteria in both the Miocene Gessoso-solfifera and Upper Jurassic Allgau Formations indicate that gammacerane is derived from bacterivorous ciliates which were partially feeding on green sulphur bacteria. This demonstrates that anaerobic ciliates living at or below the chemocline are important sources for gammacerane, consistent with the fact that ciliates only biosynthesize tetrahymanol if their diet is deprived of sterols. This leads to the conclusion that gammacerane is an indicator for water column stratification, which solves two current enigmas in gammacerane geochemistry. Firstly, it explains why gammacerane is often found in sediments deposited under hypersaline conditions but is not necessarily restricted to this type of deposits. Secondly, it explains why lacustrine deposits may contain abundant gammacerane since most lakes in the temperate climatic zones are stratified during summer.

NASA Discipline Exobiology

The Sloan Lens ACS Survey. I. A Large Spectroscopically Selected Sample of Massive Early-Type Lens Galaxies

The Sloan Lens ACS (SLACS) Survey is an efficient Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Snapshot imaging survey for new galaxy-scale strong gravitational lenses. The targeted lens candidates are selected spectroscopically from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) database of galaxy spectra for having multiple nebular emission lines at a redshift significantly higher than that of the SDSS target galaxy. The SLACS survey is optimized to detect bright early-type lens galaxies with faint lensed sources in order to increase the sample of known gravitational lenses suitable for detailed lensing, photometric, and dynamical modeling. In this paper, the first in a series on the current results of our HST Cycle 13 imaging survey, we present a catalog of 19 newly discovered gravitational lenses, along with nine other observed candidate systems that are either possible lenses, nonlenses, or nondetections. The survey efficiency is thus >=68%. We also present Gemini 8 m and Magellan 6.5 m integral-field spectroscopic data for nine of the SLACS targets, which further support the lensing interpretation. A new method for the effective subtraction of foreground galaxy images to reveal faint background features is presented. We show that the SLACS lens galaxies have colors and ellipticities typical of the spectroscopic parent sample from which they are drawn (SDSS luminous red galaxies and quiescent MAIN sample galaxies), but are somewhat brighter and more centrally concentrated. Several explanations for the latter bias are suggested. The SLACS survey provides the first statistically significant and homogeneously selected sample of bright early-type lens galaxies, furnishing a powerful probe of the structure of early-type galaxies within the half-light radius. The high confirmation rate of lenses in the SLACS survey suggests consideration of spectroscopic lens discovery as an explicit science goal of future spectroscopic galaxy surveys.

galaxies

ACTPol: On-Sky Performance and Characterization

ACTPol is the polarization-sensitive receiver on the Atacama Cosmology Telescope. ACTPol enables sensitive millimeter wavelength measurements of the temperature and polarization anisotropies of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) at arcminute angular scales. These measurements are designed to explore the process of cosmic structure formation, constrain or determine the sum of the neutrino masses, probe dark energy, and provide a foundation for a host of other cosmological tests. We present an overview of the first season of ACTPol observations focusing on the optimization and calibration of the first detector array as well as detailing the on-sky performance.

Cosmic Microwave Background

Feedhorn-Coupled Transition-Edge Superconducting Bolometer Arrays for Cosmic Microwave Background Polarimetry

NIST produces large-format, dual-polarization-sensitive detector arrays for a broad range of frequencies (30-1400 GHz). Such arrays enable a host of astrophysical measurements. Detectors optimized for cosmic microwave background observations are monolithic, polarization-sensitive arrays based on feedhorn and planar Nb antenna-coupled transition-edge superconducting (TES) bolometers. Recent designs achieve multiband, polarimetric sensing within each spatial pixel. In this proceeding, we describe our multichroic, feedhorn-coupled design; demonstrate performance at 70-380 GHz; and comment on current developments for implementation of these detector arrays in the advanced Atacama Cosmology Telescope receiver

multichroic

AlMn Transition Edge Sensors for Advanced ACTPol

Advanced ACTPol (Adv ACT) will use an array of multichroic polarization sensitive AIMn transition edge sensor (TES) bolometers read out through time-division multiplexing. Aluminum doped with a low concentration of manganese can be deposited to a bulk film thickness for a more reliable superconducting critical temperature uniformity compared to thin bilayers. To build the TES, the AlMn alloy is deposited, over Nb wiring, to a specific thickness to set the TES normal resistance. The doping concentration of manganese coarsely defines the TES critical temperature, while a fine tuning is achieved by heating the deposited film to a specific temperature. The TES island is connected to the thermal bath via four silicon-nitride membranes, where their geometry defines the thermal conductance to the temperature of the bath. Lastly, the TES heat capacity is increased by addition of PdAu electrically connected to the AlMn film. Designs and performance characteristics of these AlMn TESs are presented for use in AdvACT.

Advanced ACTPol (AdvACT)

Far Sidelobe Effects from Panel Gaps of the Atacama Cosmology Telescope

The Atacama Cosmology Telescope is a 6 meter diameter CMB telescope located at 5200 meters in the Chilean desert. ACT has made arc-minute scale maps of the sky at 90 and 150 GHz which have led to precise measurements of the fine angular power spectrum of the CMB fluctuations in temperature and polarization. One of the goals of ACT is to search for the B-mode polarization signal from primordial gravity waves, and thus extending ACT's data analysis to larger angular scales. This goal introduces new challenges in the control of systematic effects, including better understanding of far sidelobe effects that might enter the power spectrum at degree angular scales. Here we study the effects of the gaps between panels of the ACT primary and secondary reflectors in the worst case scenario in which the gaps remain open. We produced numerical simulations of the optics using GRASP up to 8 degrees away from the main beam and simulated timestreams for observations with this beam using real pointing information from ACT data. Maps from these simulated timestreams showed leakage from the sidelobes, indicating that this effect must be taken into consideration at large angular scales.

The Atacama Cosmology Telescope