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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 595 records · Page 33
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2025

Quasilinear Analysis in the Source Region of Jovian Hectometric Emission Associated With Upward Electron Beams

Abstract Intense upward electron beams were measured by the Juno JADE instrument in the northern hemisphere, low‐latitude auroral zone source region. In this study we report on how these electron beams interact with plasma near and within the Jovian hectometric (HOM) emission (1 MHz 5 MHz) source region. Within the source region large upward loss cones are observed in the northern polar region at radial distances of 2Rj, magnetic latitude of . Intense, narrow electron beams ( 3 keV) are then observed, but within one second wave‐particle scattering is observed, filling the loss cone to energies 50 keV. These energies persist for several seconds before fading, leaving an empty loss cone again. The loss cone provides a free‐energy source for HOM emission resulting from the cyclotron maser instability. We use quasilinear analysis to examine the generation of HOM and the dynamics of wave‐particle interaction of the electron beams with HOM, and the generation via Landau interaction of whistler mode emission. The dynamic spectrum of the HOM emission generated by the loss‐cone electrons as well as that of the low‐frequency whistler‐mode waves generated by the up‐going electron beam can be constructed by quasilinear theory, which compare well with observation. The saturated state of the energetic electron velocity distribution function constructed via quasilinear theory also compare reasonably with observation.

Yoon, P. H. [Institute for Physical Science and Te↗
DOE OSTI2020

Exploring the Mass-loss Histories of the Red Supergiants

We report mid- to far-infrared imaging and photometry from 7 to 37 μm with SOFIA/FORCAST and 2 μm adaptive optics imaging with LBTI/LMIRCam of a large sample of red supergiants (RSGs) in four Galactic clusters: RSGC1, RSGC2 = Stephenson 2, RSGC3, and NGC 7419. The RSGs in these clusters cover their expected range in luminosity and initial mass from ≈9 to more than 25 M {sub ⊙}. The population includes examples of very late-type RSGs such as MY Cep, which may be near the end of the RSG stage, high-mass-losing maser sources, yellow hypergiants, and post-RSG candidates. Many of the stars and almost all of the most luminous have spectral energy distributions (SEDs) with extended infrared excess radiation at the longest wavelengths. To best model their SEDs, we use the DUSTY code with a variable radial density distribution function to estimate their mass-loss rates. Our M-dot –luminosity relation for 42 RSGs basically follows the classical de Jager curve, but at luminosities below 10{sup 5} L{sub ⊙}, we find a significant population of RSGs with M-dot below the de Jager relation. At luminosities above 10{sup 5} L {sub ⊙}, there is a rapid transition to higher mass-loss rates that approximates and overlaps the de Jager curve. We recommend that instead of using a linear relation or single curve, the empirical M-dot –luminosity relation is better represented by a broad band. Interestingly, the transition to much higher M-dot at about 10{sup 5} L {sub ⊙} corresponds approximately to an initial mass of 18–20 M {sub ⊙}, which is close to the upper limit for RSGs becoming Type II supernovae.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Standardized Luminosity of the Tip of the Red Giant Branch Utilizing Multiple Fields in NGC 4258 and the CATs Algorithm

Abstract The tip of the red giant branch provides a luminous standard candle for calibrating distance ladders that reach Type Ia supernova (SN Ia) hosts. However, recent work reveals that tip measurements vary at the ∼0.1 mag level for different stellar populations and locations within a host, which may lead to inconsistencies along the distance ladder. We pursue a calibration of the tip using 11 Hubble Space Telescope fields around the maser host, NGC 4258, that is consistent with SN Ia hosts by standardizing tip measurements via their contrast ratios. We find F814W-band tips that exhibit a full 0.3 mag range and 0.1 mag dispersion. We do not find any correlation between Hicolumn density and the apparent tip to 0.04 ± 0.03 mag/cm −2 . We search for a tip–contrast relation (TCR) and measure the TCR within the fields of NGC 4258 of −0.015 ± 0.008 mag/R, whereRis the contrast ratio. This value is consistent with the TCR originally discovered in the GHOSTS sample of −0.023 ± 0.005 mag/R. Combining these measurements, we find a global TCR of −0.021 ± 0.004 mag/Rand a calibration of M I TRGB = − 4.025 ± 0.035 − ( R − 4 ) × 0.021 mag. We also use stellar models to simulate single age and metallicity stellar populations with [Fe/H] from −2.0 to −0.7 and ages from 3 to 12 Gyr and reconstruct the global TCR found here to a factor of ∼2. This work is combined in a companion analysis with tip measurements of nearby SN Ia hosts to measureH 0 .

Astronomy & Astrophysics↗
DOE OSTI2024

Reconnaissance with JWST of the J-region Asymptotic Giant Branch in Distance Ladder Galaxies: From Irregular Luminosity Functions to Approximation of the Hubble Constant

Abstract We study stars in the J-regions of the asymptotic giant branch (JAGB) of near-infrared color–magnitude diagrams in the maser host NGC 4258 and four hosts of six Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia): NGC 1448, NGC 1559, NGC 5584, and NGC 5643. These clumps of stars are readily apparent near 1.0 < F150W − F277W < 1.5 andm F150W = 22–25 mag with James Webb Space Telescope NIRCam photometry. Various methods have been proposed to assign an apparent reference magnitude to this recently proposed standard candle, including the mode, median, sigma-clipped mean, or a modeled luminosity function parameter. We test the consistency of these by measuring intrahost variations, finding differences of up to ∼0.2 mag that significantly exceed statistical uncertainties. Brightness differences appear intrinsic, and are further amplified by the nonuniform shape of the JAGB luminosity function, also apparent in the LMC and SMC. We follow a “many methods” approach to measure consistently JAGB magnitudes and distance moduli to the SN Ia host sample calibrated by NGC 4258. We find broad agreement with distance moduli measured from Cepheids, tip of the red giant branch, and Miras. However, the SN host mean distance modulus estimated via the JAGB method necessary to estimateH 0 differs by ∼0.19 mag among the above definitions, the result of different levels of luminosity function asymmetry. The methods yield a full range of 71−78 km s −1 Mpc −1 , i.e., a fiducial result ofH 0 = 74.7 ± 2.1(stat) ± 2.3(sys, ±3.1 if combined in quadrature) km s −1 Mpc −1 , with systematic errors limited by the differences in methods. Future work may seek to standardize and refine this promising tool further, making it more competitive with established distance indicators.

Astronomy & Astrophysics↗
DOE OSTI2026

The Chicago Carnegie Hubble Program: Improving the Calibration of Type Ia Supernovae with JWST Measurements of the Tip of the Red Giant Branch

We present distances to 10 supernova (SN) host galaxies determined via the tip of the red giant branch using JWST/NIRCam and the F115W, F356W, and F444W bandpasses. The majority of the analysis was conducted on photometric catalogs that had their absolute zero-points randomized to mask information on distance. The new F115W TRGB distances, anchored by the geometric maser distance to NGC 4258, agree well with our previously derived Hubble Space Telescope (HST) TRGB distances, differing by only 1% on average and 4% on a per-galaxy basis. The color-corrected F115W TRGB is therefore equally precise a method of distance measurement as, and offers unique advantages over, its color-insensitive, I-band counterpart. We use these distances to update four published H 0 calibrations and evaluate how different SN analyses, both within and across independent groups, yield different H 0 values. For our JWST sample of 11 SNe, we find consistent values of H 0 ≃ 69 km s −1 Mpc −1 , with a dispersion of just 0.6 km s −1 Mpc −1 across the updated calibrations. When we expand the sample to 24 by combining with HST TRGB measurements, the results from different SN analyses begin to diverge, with the H 0 based on Pantheon+ and the Carnegie Supernova Project II (CSP-II), respectively, increasing by +2.0 km s −1 Mpc −1 (3.1σ significance) and +0.8 km s −1 Mpc −1 (1.4σ significance). More independent analyses of low-redshift SNe and JWST observations of the TRGB are needed to improve our understanding of systematics in distance ladder determinations of H 0 .

Hoyt, Taylor J. [Lawrence Berkeley National Labora↗
DOE OSTI2022

First Sagittarius A* Event Horizon Telescope Results. I. The Shadow of the Supermassive Black Hole in the Center of the Milky Way

We present the first Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) observations of Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*), the Galactic center source associated with a supermassive black hole. These observations were conducted in 2017 using a global interferometric array of eight telescopes operating at a wavelength of λ = 1.3 mm. The EHT data resolve a compact emission region with intrahour variability. A variety of imaging and modeling analyses all support an image that is dominated by a bright, thick ring with a diameter of 51.8 ± 2.3 μas (68% credible interval). The ring has modest azimuthal brightness asymmetry and a comparatively dim interior. Using a large suite of numerical simulations, we demonstrate that the EHT images of Sgr A* are consistent with the expected appearance of a Kerr black hole with mass ∼4 × 10$^{6}$ M $_{⊙}$, which is inferred to exist at this location based on previous infrared observations of individual stellar orbits, as well as maser proper-motion studies. Our model comparisons disfavor scenarios where the black hole is viewed at high inclination (i > 50°), as well as nonspinning black holes and those with retrograde accretion disks. Our results provide direct evidence for the presence of a supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way, and for the first time we connect the predictions from dynamical measurements of stellar orbits on scales of 10$^{3}$–10$^{5}$ gravitational radii to event-horizon-scale images and variability. Furthermore, a comparison with the EHT results for the supermassive black hole M87* shows consistency with the predictions of general relativity spanning over three orders of magnitude in central mass.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2022

First Sagittarius A* Event Horizon Telescope Results. IV. Variability, Morphology, and Black Hole Mass

In this paper we quantify the temporal variability and image morphology of the horizon-scale emission from Sgr A*, as observed by the EHT in 2017 April at a wavelength of 1.3 mm. We find that the Sgr A* data exhibit variability that exceeds what can be explained by the uncertainties in the data or by the effects of interstellar scattering. The magnitude of this variability can be a substantial fraction of the correlated flux density, reaching ~100% on some baselines. Through an exploration of simple geometric source models, we demonstrate that ring-like morphologies provide better fits to the Sgr A* data than do other morphologies with comparable complexity. We develop two strategies for fitting static geometric ring models to the time-variable Sgr A* data; one strategy fits models to short segments of data over which the source is static and averages these independent fits, while the other fits models to the full data set using a parametric model for the structural variability power spectrum around the average source structure. Both geometric modeling and image-domain feature extraction techniques determine the ring diameter to be 51.8 ± 2.3 μas (68% credible intervals), with the ring thickness constrained to have an FWHM between ~30% and 50% of the ring diameter. To bring the diameter measurements to a common physical scale, we calibrate them using synthetic data generated from GRMHD simulations. This calibration constrains the angular size of the gravitational radius to be ${4.8}_{-0.7}^{+1.4}$ μas, which we combine with an independent distance measurement from maser parallaxes to determine the mass of Sgr A* to be ${4.0}_{-0.6}^{+1.1}\times {10}^{6}$ M⊙.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
NASA NTRS1963

THE 1961 JPL VENUS RADAR EXPERIMENT

Description of two antennas, one with a cw transmitter and the other with a maser receiver, used in the jpl venus radar experiment in 1961

ASTRONOMICAL UNIT↗