Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “RADIAL VELOCITY”

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.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 73 records · Page 4

Radial velocities of late-type stars in the galactic center

The 2.0-2.4 micron spectra, with 120 km/s resolution, obtained for six late-type stars within 2 pc of the center of the Galaxy were used to derive spectral types and reddenings for these stars. The supergiant density in the Galactic center is lower than in previous determinations. The radial velocities of the Galactic center stars are measured to an uncertainty of 10 km/s using a cross-correlation technique. No correspondence is found between the stellar velocities and the Ne II velocities or other gas velocities observed along the same line of sight. No systematic rotation or ordered motion is seen in the stellar velocity distribution. The total mass distribution derived from the stellar velocity dispersion is compared to the stellar mass distribution derived from the 2 micron light and the total mass distribution derived from gas velocities.

Sellgren, K.↗

The radial velocity search for extrasolar planets

Stars are observed with a ground-based instrument designed to measure small changes in the line-of-sight velocities. The purpose of the observations is to detect large planets by the oscillatory reflex motion they induce on the stars they are orbiting. The instrument is an optical spectrometer for which wavelengths are first calibrated by transmission through a tunable Fabry-Perot etalon interferometer. Changes in the line-of-sight velocities are revealed by changes in the Doppler shift of the absorption-line spectra of stars. The scrambling of incident light by an optical fiber and the stability of wavelength calibration by a tilt-tunable Fabry-Perot etalon provide immunity to systematic errors that historically have effected more conventional radial velocity spectrographs. A cross-dispersed echelle spectrograph spatially separates the orders of constructive interference transmitted through the etalon. Selecting several echelle diffraction orders in the vicinity of 4250 to 4750 A, which are imaged on a CCD, about 350 points on the profile of the stellar spectrum are sampled by successive orders of interferometric transmission through the etalon.

Mcmillen, R. S.↗

Faster Exo-Earth Yield for HabEx and LUVOIR via Extreme Precision Radial Velocity Prior Knowledge

The HabEx and LUVOIR mission concepts reported science yields for mission scenarios in which the instruments must search for potentially habitable planets, determine their orbits, and, if worthwhile, invest the integration time for a spectral characterization. We evaluate the impact of prior knowledge of planet existence and orbital parameters on yield for four mission concept architectures: HabEx 4m telescope with hybrid starshade and coronagraph, HabEx4m telescope with starshade only, HabEx 4m telescope with coronagraph only, and LUVOIR B8m telescope with coronagraph only. We use perfect prior knowledge to establish an upperbound on yield and use partial prior knowledge from a potential future extreme precision radial velocity (EPRV) instrument with3cm∕ssensitivity. We detail a modeling framework that per-forms dynamically responsive observation scheduling with realistic mission constraints. We evaluate exo-Earth yields against three metrics of spectral characterization for the four mission architectures and three levels of prior knowledge (none, partial, and perfect). The EPRV pro-vided prior knowledge increases yields by∼30%and accelerates by a factor of 3 to 6 the time to achieve half of the yield of the mission. Prior knowledge makes all the mission architectures more nimble and powerful, and most especially starshade-based architectures. With prior knowledge, a small telescope with a starshade can achieve comparable yield to a larger telescope with a coronagraph.

Rhonda Morgan↗

Extinction, ejecta masses, and radial velocities of novae

Interstellar reddening is determined for a number of recent novae based upon emission-line ratios which are generally observable using CCDs. Large values of extinction are found for most systems, possibly indicative of an intrinsic component of reddening in postoutburst novae. The unusual characteristics of the (O I) lines in novae, which are strong and optically thick, require a large population of very dense globules which are the likely sites of dust formation. These pyroclasts must be ejected from the white dwarf. The total mass of the neutral gas in the globules in some of the objects is substantially larger than the masses normally derived for the ionized ejecta of novae. The distribution of radial velocities of Galactic novae in the Tololo sample, although uncertain, shows an asymmetry in having predominantly negative values. Either high internal absorption in the expanding ejecta skews the emission lines to bluer wavelengths, or most of the novae are moving out from the center of the Galaxy.

Williams, Robert E.↗

Searching for Radial Velocity Variations in eta Carinae

A hot companion of eta Carinae has been detected using high resolution spectra (905 - 1180 A) obtained with the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) satellite (see poster by Sonneborn et al.). Analysis of the far-UV spectrum shows that eta Car B is a luminous hot star. The N II 1084-86 emission feature indicates that the star may be nitrogen rich. The FUV continuum and the S IV 1073 P-Cygni wind line suggest that the effective temperature of eta Car B is at least 25,000 K. FUV spectra of eta Carinae were obtained with the FUSE satellite at 9 epochs between 2000 February and 2005 July. The data consists of 12 observations taken with the LWRS aperture (30x30 arcsec), three with the HIRS aperture (1.25x20 arcsec), and one MRDS aperture (4x20 arcsec). In this paper we discuss the analysis of these spectra to search for radial velocity variations associated with the 5.54-year binary orbit of Eta Car AB.

Iping, R. C.↗

Phase average measurements of the coherent structure in a Mach number 0.6 jet

Phase averaged measurements of the axial mass velocity, radial velocity, and the product of the two have been made in an artificially excited cold air jet. The radial velocity fluctuations had a lower amplitude for both the full wave and phase averaged fluctuations compared to the axial mass velocity fluctuations. The Reynolds stress tended to decay faster in amplitude than the axial mass velocity and radial velocity fluctuations for both the full wave and phase averaged components. The radial velocity fluctuations possessed higher levels of coherence than the axial mass velocity fluctuation and the Reynolds stress. When the jet was excited at the frequency of St = 0.474, a high amplitude component at that frequency dominated the entire phase averaged flowfield from X/D = 1 to 10. This fundamental frequency was accompanied by several relatively high amplitude harmonics. These harmonics were more pronounced in the radial velocity fluctuations than for the axial fluctuations or the Reynolds stress.

Emami, S.↗

An ultrasonic transducer with Gaussian radial velocity distribution

A transducer with a velocity profile which is Gaussian as a function of radius and independent of angle is described. In materials evaluation applications requiring the interrogation of modified far field patterns of an ultrasonic transducer, it is desirable to use a transducer which produces a beam with a Gaussian profile. A computer aided electrode design and calibrated three dimensional interferometric optical and ultrasonic measurements of the far field distribution are presented.

Zerwekh, P. S.↗

Radial velocity studies of cataclysmic binaries. II - The ultrashort period dwarf nova T Leonis

Spectroscopic and photometric observations of T Leo which reveal the object to be an ultrashort period dwarf nova are presented. In particular, the analysis indicates that T Leo has an orbital period of 84.69936 (plus or minus 0.00068) minutes, which is the third shortest orbital period of any known cataclysmic variable and the shortest known for any U Gem type dwarf nova. These observations enable the placement of upper limits of 0.19 and 0.4 solar mass on the mass of the red dwarf and white dwarf, respectively. The overall energy distribution is relatively flat (f-sub-lambda approximately constant) which is consistent with a low mass accretion rate. The models of Williams and Ferguson (1982) suggest that the mass accretion rate is about 10 to the -10th solar mass/yr. A narrow peak component of H-alpha is observed, the phasing of which cannot be explained by the canonical hot spot model. Possible explanations for its origin are presented and discussed. It is predicted that future observations of T Leo may reveal the object to be a SU UMa type dwarf nova.

Shafter, A. W.↗

Atmospheric Limitations in Stellar Seismology: Should One Measure Radial Velocity or Brightness Fluctuations?

Low degree p-modes of the Sun have been measured in spatially integrated sunlight (the Sun as a star) both in Doppler shift and in intensity fluctuations. These observations are a good starting point for the discussion of the best way to collect equivalent data on other stars. It is assumed that the Sun is removed far enough in space to become an ordinary star of magnitude zero to one. Evidently another star will oscillate with different frequencies and different amplitudes, but some reference must be made to start with. Using this scheme, a detailed investigation of the limitations of observational accuracy in the search for global p-modes is made. The sources of noise stand in the Sun itself, in the instrumentation, in the observing time duration, in the corpuscular nature of the light and mostly in the Earth atmosphere in the case of ground based observations.

Fossat, E.↗

The radial velocity search for extrasolar planets

Researchers are measuring small changes in the line-of-sight velocities of stars to detect the oscillating reflex acceleration induced by large planets. The intention is to observe enough stars for a long enough time to be able to make a statement of the probability of planets in a certain range of masses even if no planetary perturbations are detected. To make these measurements of Doppler shift with the required sensitivity, a new instrument was specifically designed, built and tested for this campaign of ground-based planet detection. The instrument is an optical spectrometer for which wavelengths are first calibrated by transmission through a tunable Fabry-Perot etalon interferometer. The intrinsic stability of the etalon and an image-scrambling fiber optic light feed provide great sensitivity to line-of-sight accelerations and immunity to systematic errors.

Mcmillen, Robert S.↗

Radial velocity detection of extra-solar planetary systems

The goal of this program was to detect planetary systems in orbit around other stars through the ultra high precision measurement of the orbital motion of the star around the star-planet barycenter. The survey of 33 nearby solar-type stars is the essential first step in understanding the overall problem of planet formation. The program will accumulate the necessary statistics to determine the frequency of planet formation as a function of stellar mass, age, and composition.

Cochran, William D.↗

Radial velocity observations of the sun at night

The ability to detect planets orbiting stars has been evaluated through solar-spectrum Doppler shift measurements for 5 years, using the sunlit surface of the moon to furnish nighttime access to the solar spectrum integrated over the solar disk as though the sun were being observed at stellar distance. These lunar observations have indicated that the Doppler shift of the integrated solar photosphere disk in violet absorption lines has varied less that +/- 4 m/sec over the 1987-1992 interval studied.

Mcmillan, R. S.↗

Spectroscopic binary orbits from ultraviolet radial velocities. X - CW Cephei (HD 218066)

Observations of CW Cephei were carried out repeatedly in the course of three days in December 1991, using the high-resolution, short-wavelength spectrograph of IUE, with an additional spectrum taken on February 6, 1992. The paper presents a log of these observations, which represent the only high-resolution observations of this star in the archive. The observations have an advantage of Popper's (1974) optical observations that they do not stretch out over a significant part of the apsidal cycle and can thus be treated with the value of omega taken as fixed.

Stickland, D. J.↗