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At least 757 records · Page 42

Multiwavelength monitoring of the BL Lacertae object PKS 2155-304. 3: Ground-based observations in 1991 November

We present ground-based observations of the BL Lac object PKS 2155-304 during 1991 November. These data were obtained as part of a large international campaign of observations spanning the electro-magnetic spectrum from the radio waves to the X-rays. The data presented here include radio and UBVRI fluxes, as well as optical polarimetry. The U to I data show the same behavior in all bands and that only upper limits to any lag can be deduced from the cross-correlation of the light curves. The spectral slope in the U-I domain remained constant on all epochs but 2. There is no correlation between changes in the spectral slope and large variations in the total or polarized flux. The radio flux variations did not follow the same pattern of variability as the optical and infrared fluxes. The polarized flux varied by a larger factor than the total flux. The variations of the polarized flux are poorly correlated with those of the total flux in the optical (and hence UV domain; see the accompanying paper by Edelson et al.) nor with those of the soft X-rays. We conclude that the variability of PKS 2155-304 in the optical and near-infrared spectral domains are easier to understand in the context of variable geometry or bulk Lorentz factor than of variable electron acceleration and cooling rates.

Courvoisier, T. J.-L.↗

Precision Continuum Receivers for Astrophysical Applications

Cryogenically cooled HEMT (High Electron Mobility Transistor) amplifiers find widespread use in radioastronomy receivers. In recent years, these devices have also been commonly employed in broadband receivers for precision measurements of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) radiation. In this setting, the combination of ultra-low-noise and low-spectral-resolution observations reinforce the importance achieving suitable control over the device environment to achieve fundamentally limited receiver performance. The influence of the intrinsic amplifier stability at low frequencies on data quality (e.g., achievable noise and residual temporal correlations), observational and calibration strategies, as well as architectural mitigation approaches in this setting will be discussed. The implications of device level 1/f fluctuations reported in the literature on system performance will be reviewed.

Wollack, Edward J.↗

Radioisotope Stirling Engine Powered Airship for Atmospheric and Surface Exploration of Titan

The feasibility of an advanced Stirling radioisotope generator (ASRG) powered airship for the near surface exploration of Titan was evaluated. The analysis did not consider the complete mission only the operation of the airship within the atmosphere of Titan. The baseline airship utilized two ASRG systems with a total of four general-purpose heat source (GPHS) blocks. Hydrogen gas was used to provide lift. The ASRG systems, airship electronics and controls and the science payload were contained in a payload enclosure. This enclosure was separated into two sections, one for the ASRG systems and the other for the electronics and payload. Each section operated at atmospheric pressure but at different temperatures. The propulsion system consisted of an electric motor driving a propeller. An analysis was set up to size the airship that could operate near the surface of Titan based on the available power from the ASRGs. The atmospheric conditions on Titan were modeled and used in the analysis. The analysis was an iterative process between sizing the airship to carry a specified payload and the power required to operate the electronics, payload and cooling system as well as provide power to the propulsion system to overcome the drag on the airship. A baseline configuration was determined that could meet the power requirements and operate near the Titan surface. From this baseline design additional trades were made to see how other factors affected the design such as the flight altitude and payload mass and volume.

Titan↗

The 2011 Outburst of Recurrent Nova T Pyx: X-Ray Observations Expose the White Dwarf Mass and Ejection Dynamics

The recurrent nova T Pyx underwent its sixth historical outburst in 2011, and became the subject of an intensive multi-wavelength observational campaign.We analyze data from the Swift and Suzaku satellites to produce a detailed X-ray light curve augmented by epochs of spectral information. X-ray observations yield mostly non-detections in the first four months of outburst, but both a super-soft and hard X-ray component rise rapidly after Day 115. The super-soft X-ray component, attributable to the photosphere of the nuclear-burning white dwarf, is relatively cool (approximately 45 electron volts) and implies that the white dwarf in T Pyx is significantly below the Chandrasekhar mass (approximately 1 M). The late turn-on time of the super-soft component yields a large nova ejecta mass (approximately greater than 10(exp −5) solar mass), consistent with estimates at other wavelengths. The hard X-ray component is well fit by a approximately 1 kiloelectron volt thermal plasma, and is attributed to shocks internal to the 2011 nova ejecta. The presence of a strong oxygen line in this thermal plasma on Day 194 requires a significantly super-solar abundance of oxygen and implies that the ejecta are polluted by white dwarf material. The X-ray light curve can be explained by a dual-phase ejection, with a significant delay between the first and second ejection phases, and the second ejection finally released two months after outburst. A delayed ejection is consistent with optical and radio observations of T Pyx, but the physical mechanism producing such a delay remains a mystery.

nova T Pyx↗

UTEMPRA - Unitary Thermal Energy Management for Propulsion Range Augmentation

Key hurdles to achieving wide consumer acceptance of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) are weather-dependent drive range, higher cost, and limited battery life. These translate into a strong need to reduce a significant energy drain and resulting drive range loss due to auxiliary electrical loads the predominant of which is the cabin thermal management load. Studies have shown that thermal subsystem loads can reduce the drive range by as much as 45% under ambient temperatures below -10 degrees C. Often, cabin heating relies purely on positive temperature coefficient (PTC) resistive heating, contributing to a significant range loss. Reducing this range loss may improve consumer acceptance of BEVs. The authors present a unified thermal management system (UTEMPRA) that satisfies diverse thermal and design needs of the auxiliary loads in BEVs. Demonstrated on a 2015 Fiat 500e BEV, this system integrates a semi-hermetic refrigeration loop with a coolant network and serves three functions: (1) heating and/or cooling vehicle traction components (battery, power electronics, and motor), (2) heating and cooling of the cabin, and (3) waste energy harvesting and re-use. The modes of operation allow a heat pump and air conditioning system to function without reversing the refrigeration cycle to improve thermal efficiency. The refrigeration loop consists of an electric compressor, a thermal expansion valve, a coolant-cooled condenser, and a chiller, the latter two exchanging heat with hot and cold coolant streams that may be directed to various components of the thermal system. The coolant-based heat distribution is adaptable and saves significant amounts of refrigerant per vehicle. Also, a coolant-based system reduces refrigerant emissions by requiring fewer refrigerant pipe joints. The authors present bench-level test data and simulation analysis and describe a preliminary control scheme for this system.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗

Effect of coherent excitation in coherent electron cooler

We consider the possibility of coherent excitation (CE) of cooled particles in the coherent electron coolers (CeC). We consider the current CeC scheme for the Electron Ion Collider (EIC) and derive the tolerances to a systematic error in longitudinal alignment of the electron and the proton bunches in the EIC cooler set by the CE effect.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

Evaluation of high temperature superconductive thermal bridges for space borne cryogenic detectors

Infrared sensor satellites are used to monitor the conditions in the earth's upper atmosphere. In these systems, the electronic links connecting the cryogenically cooled infrared detectors to the significantly warmer amplification electronics act as thermal bridges and, consequently, the mission lifetimes of the satellites are limited due to cryogenic evaporation. High-temperature superconductor (HTS) materials have been proposed by researchers at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Langley's Research Center (NASA-LaRC) as an alternative to the currently used manganin wires for electrical connection. The potential for using HTS films as thermal bridges has provided the motivation for the design and the analysis of a spaceflight experiment to evaluate the performance of this superconductive technology in the space environment. The initial efforts were focused on the preliminary design of the experimental system which allows for the quantitative comparison of superconductive leads with manganin leads, and on the thermal conduction modeling of the proposed system. Most of the HTS materials were indicated to be potential replacements for the manganin wires. In the continuation of this multi-year research, the objectives of this study were to evaluate the sources of heat transfer on the thermal bridges that have been neglected in the preliminary conductive model and then to develop a methodology for the estimation of the thermal conductivities of the HTS thermal bridges in space. The Joule heating created by the electrical current through the manganin wires was incorporated as a volumetric heat source into the manganin conductive model. The radiative heat source on the HTS thermal bridges was determined by performing a separate radiant interchange analysis within a high-T(sub c) superconductor housing area. Both heat sources indicated no significant contribution on the cryogenic heat load, which validates the results obtained in the preliminary conduction model. A methodology was presented for the estimation of the thermal conductivities of the individual HTS thermal bridge materials and the effective thermal conductivities of the composite HTS thermal bridges as functions of temperature. This methodology included a sensitivity analysis and the demonstration of the estimation procedure using simulated data with added random errors. The thermal conductivities could not be estimated as functions of temperature; thus the effective thermal conductivities of the HTS thermal bridges were analyzed as constants.

Scott, Elaine P.↗

On the origin of X-ray spectra in luminous blazars

Gamma-ray luminosities of some quasar-associated blazars imply jet powers reaching values comparable to the accretion power even if assuming very strong Doppler boosting and very high efficiency of gamma-ray production. With much lower radiative efficiencies of protons than of electrons, and the recent reports of very strong coupling of electrons with shock-heated protons indicated by particle-in-cell simulations, the leptonic models seem to be strongly favored over the hadronic ones. However, the electron-proton coupling combined with the external-radiation-Compton (ERC) models of gamma-ray production in leptonic models predict extremely hard X-ray spectra, with energy indices α {sub x} ∼ 0. This is inconsistent with the observed 2-10 keV slopes of blazars, which cluster around α {sub x} ∼ 0.6. This problem can be resolved by assuming that electrons can be efficiently cooled down radiatively to non-relativistic energies, or that blazar spectra are entirely dominated by the synchrotron self-Compton (SSC) component up to at least 10 keV. Here, we show that the required cooling can be sufficiently efficient only at distances r < 0.03 pc. SSC spectra, on the other hand, can be produced roughly co-spatially with the observed synchrotron and ERC components, which are most likely located roughly at a parsec scale. We show that the dominant SSC component can also be produced much further than the dominant synchrotron and ERC components, at distances of ≳ 10 pc. Hence, depending on the spatial distribution of the energy dissipation along the jet, one may expect to see γ-ray/optical events with either correlated or uncorrelated X-rays. In all cases the number of e{sup +}e{sup –} pairs per proton is predicted to be very low. The direct verification of the proposed SSC scenario, and particularly the question of the co-spatiality of the SSC component with other spectral components, requires sensitive observations in the hard X-ray band. This is now possible with the deployment of the NuSTAR satellite, providing the required sensitivity to monitor the details of the hard X-ray spectra of blazars in the range where the ERC component is predicted to start dominating over the SSC component.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

A Non-destructive Magnetic Momentum Monitor Using a TE011 Cavity

The Jefferson Lab Electron-Ion Collider (JLEIC) design relies on cooling of the ion beam with bunched electron beam. The bunched beam cooler complex consists of a high current magnetized electron source, an energy recovery linac, a circulating ring, and a pair of long solenoids where the cooling takes place. A non-invasive real time monitoring system is highly desired to quantify electron beam magnetization. The authors propose to use a passive copper RF cavity in TE011 mode as such a monitor. In this paper, we will show the mechanism and scaling law of this device, as well as the design and testing results of the prototype cavity.

Guo, Jiquan↗

NASA’s Quiet Electric ENgines (QUEEN): Thermal Analysis and Testing of the Electronic Speed Controller (ESC)

An electric ducted fan system was tested at the NASA Glenn Research Center. Main components of the system include a commercial-off-the-Shelf (COTS) fan and motor, electronic speed controller, and cooling system. Motor speed, voltage, current, and temperatures were measured in this static ground test of the propulsor. The thermal performance of the Electronic Speed Controller (ESC) was also measured using two different methods to cool the ESC: air cooling and cold plate cooling. This propulsor prototype is one of NASA’s Quiet Electric ENgines (QUEENs) and is designated the ‘QUEEN V1.’ The Quiet Electric Engines are being developed for the 25% scale model of the Subsonic Single Aft Engine (SUSAN) Flight Research Vehicle and are intended to explore the potential of distributed electric propulsion for large regional single-aisle aircraft. Lessons learned will be used to guide development of future QUEEN prototypes and thermal management systems.

Firas G Asfoor↗

Laser wakefield accelerated electron beam monitoring and control

We will discuss our participation in the ImPACT project, which has as one of its goals the development of an ultra-compact electron accelerator using lasers (< 1 GeV, < 10 m) and the generation of an x-ray beam from the accelerated electrons. Within this context we will discuss our investigation into electron beam monitoring and control. Since laser accelerated electrons will be used for x-ray beam generation combined with an undulator, we will present investigation into the possibilities of the improvement of electron beam emittance through cooling.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Installation package for integrated programmable electronic controller and hydronic subsystem - solar heating and cooling

A description is given of the Installation, Operation, and Maintenance Manual and information on the power panel and programmable microprocessor, a hydronic solar pump system and a hydronic heating hot water pumping system. These systems are integrated into various configurations for usages in solar energy management, control and monitoring, lighting control, data logging and other solar related applications.

Source record↗

Photoinduced nonequilibrium dynamics in charge ordered materials

We report on the nonequilibrium dynamics of photoinduced phase transitions in charge ordered (CO) systems with a strong electron-lattice interaction and analyze the interplay between electrons, periodic lattice distortions, and a phonon thermal reservoir. Simulations based on a tight-binding Hamiltonian and Boltzmann equations reveal partially decoupled oscillations of the electronic order parameter and the periodic lattice distortion during CO melting, which becomes more energy efficient with lower photon energy. The cooling rate of the electron system correlates with the CO gap dynamics, responsible for an order of magnitude decrease in the cooling rate upon the gap reopening. Additionally, we find that the time-dependent frequency of coherent oscillation reflects the dynamics of the energy landscape, such as transition between single-well and double-well, which sensitively depends on the photon energy and the pump fluence. The findings demonstrate the intricate nonequilibrium dynamics in CO materials.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗

Mass Measurement of 56Sc Reveals a Small A=56 Odd-Even Mass Staggering, Implying a Cooler Accreted Neutron Star Crust

We present the mass excesses of 52-57Sc, obtained from recent time-of-flight nuclear mass measurements at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory at Michigan State University. The masses of 56Sc and 57Sc were determined for the first time with atomic mass excesses of -24.85(59)((+0)(-54)) MeV and -21.0(1.3) MeV, respectively, where the asymmetric uncertainty for 56Sc was included due to possible contamination from a long-lived isomer. The 56Sc mass indicates a small odd-even mass staggering in the A = 56 mass chain towards the neutron drip line, significantly deviating from trends predicted by the global FRDM mass model and favoring trends predicted by the UNEDF0 and UNEDF1 density functional calculations. Together with new shell-model calculations of the electron-capture strength function of 56Sc, our results strongly reduce uncertainties in model calculations of the heating and cooling at the 56Ti electron-capture layer in the outer crust of accreting neutron stars. We find that, in contrast to previous studies, neither strong neutrino cooling nor strong heating occurs in this layer. We conclude that Urca cooling in the outer crusts of accreting neutron stars that exhibit superbursts or high temperature steady-state burning, which are predicted to be rich in A approximate to 56 nuclei, is considerably weaker than predicted. Urca cooling must instead be dominated by electron capture on the small amounts of adjacent odd-A nuclei contained in the superburst and high temperature steady-state burning ashes. This may explain the absence of strong crust Urca cooling inferred from the observed cooling light curve of the transiently accreting x-ray source MAXI J0556-332.

Meisel, Z.↗

Excited-State Dynamics of a CsPbBr 3 Nanocrystal Terminated with Binary Ligands: Sparse Density of States with Giant Spin–Orbit Coupling Suppresses Carrier Cooling

Fully inorganic lead halide perovskite nanocrystals (NCs) are of interest for photovoltaic and light-emitting devices due to optoelectronic properties that can be tuned/optimized via halide composition, surface passivation, doping, and confinement. Compared to bulk materials, certain excited-state properties in NCs can be adjusted by electronic confinement effects such as suppressed hot carrier cooling and enhanced radiative recombination. In this paper, we use spinor Kohn–Sham orbitals (SKSOs) with spin–orbit coupling (SOC) interaction as a basis to compute excited-state dissipative dynamics simulations on a fully passivated CsPbBr 3 NC atomistic model. Redfield theory in the density matrix formalism is used to describe electron–phonon interactions which drive hot carrier cooling and nonradiative recombination ( k nonrad ). Radiative recombination ( k rad ) is calculated through oscillator strengths using SKSO basis. From k rad and k rad + k nonrad , we compute a theoretical photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY) of 53%. Computed rates of hot carrier cooling ( k cooling ≈ 10 –1 1/ps) compare favorably with what has been reported in the literature. Interestingly, we observe that hot electron cooling slows down near the band edge, which we attribute to large SOC in the conduction band combined with strong confinement, which creates subgaps above the band edge. This slow carrier cooling could potentially impact hot carrier extraction before complete thermalization in photovoltaics (PVs). Implications of this work suggest that strong/intermediate confined APbX 3 NCs are better suited to applications in PVs due to slower carrier cooling near the conduction band edge, while intermediate/weak confined NCs are more appropriate for light-emitting applications, such as LEDs.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Ultrafast terahertz snapshots of excitonic Rydberg states and electronic coherence in an organometal halide perovskite

How photoexcitations evolve into Coulomb-bound electron and hole pairs, called excitons, and unbound charge carriers is a key cross-cutting issue in photovoltaics and optoelectronics. Until now, the initial quantum dynamics following photoexcitation remains elusive in the hybrid perovskite system. Furthermore we reveal excitonic Rydberg states with distinct formation pathways by observing the multiple resonant, internal quantum transitions using ultrafast terahertz quasi-particle transport. Nonequilibrium emergent states evolve with a complex co-existence of excitons, carriers and phonons, where a delayed buildup of excitons under on- and off-resonant pumping conditions allows us to distinguish between the loss of electronic coherence and hot state cooling processes. The nearly ~1 ps dephasing time, efficient electron scattering with discrete terahertz phonons and intermediate binding energy of ~13.5 meV in perovskites are distinct from conventional photovoltaic semiconductors. In addition to providing implications for coherent energy conversion, these are potentially relevant to the development of light-harvesting and electron-transport devices.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗