Post-compression of multiterawatt long-wave infrared pulses
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
SEARCH · Engineering Papers
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.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Intermediate, and microwave infrared measurements by weather satellites
Effects of argon, helium, nitrogen, and oxygen on absorption of infrared radiation by carbon dioxide
Predicting relative dye layer intensities of color infrared transparencies and filtering effects of spacecraft windows
The author has identified the following significant results. In the presence of variable plant cover (primarily percent cover) and variable available water content, the remotely sensed apparent temperatures correlate closely with plant cover and poorly with soil water. To the extent that plant cover is not systematically related to available soil water, available water in the root zone values may not be reliably predicted from the thermal infrared data. On the other hand, if plant cover is uniform and the soil surface is shown in a minor way, the thermal data indicate plant stress and consequently available water in the soil profile.
NASA is developing two large space-based infrared astronomy telescopes, IRAS and SIRTF. Both of these systems will be functioning in the environment of a bright thermal emitting earth and sun while concurrently having baffle surfaces radiating thermal photons which combine to produce a stray-radiation background. The APART program was used to analyze the stray radiation propagation paths of both the IRAS and SIRTF designs. The SIRTF design was found to be about 1000 times superior in its stray radiation transmission, because several design options were able to be incorporated through different mechanical and optical constraints that were different, while being generically of a similar optical design.
An area of 7.5 sq deg of the galactic plane at 70 microns have been surveyed with a 1-arcmin beam. The region lies between lII equals 10 deg and lII equals 16 deg and includes the M17 and W33 complexes. The weakest of the 42 sources detected had a flux density of 350 Jy at 70 microns. Detailed far-infrared, (C-12)O, (C-13)O, and radio continuum observations of the sources are presented. The derivation of the important physical parameters of the sources and their surrounding molecular clouds are discussed. The properties of the individual regions are also discussed and maps of selected sources are presented.
A list of frequencies and intensities for transitions of CH2 in the middle and far infrared regions is presented which should aid in the detection of CH2 and provide valuable information on the local physical and chemical environment. Results are presented for frequency, vacuum wavelength, and line strength for rotational transition frequencies and for the transition frequencies of the v(2) band.
Extended sources of far-infrared emission superposed on the zodiacal and galactic backgrounds are found at high galactic latitudes and near the ecliptic plane. Clouds of interstellar dust at color temperatures as high as 35 K account for much of this complex structure, but the relationship to H I column density is not simple. Other features of the extended emission show the existence of warm structures within the solar system. Three bands of dust clouds at temperatures of 150-200 K appear within 10 deg on both sides of the ecliptic plane. Their ecliptic latitudes and derived distances suggest that they are associated with the main asteroid belt. A third component of the 100-micron cirrus, poorly correlated with H I, may represent cold material in the outer solar system or a new component of the interstellar medium.
The characteristics of infrared molecular emissions induced by energetic collisions between ambient atmospheric species and surfaces in Earth orbit are investigated, using a low-nitrogen-cooled filter wheel photometer covering the wavelength range 0.9-.5 microns with a resolving power Lambda/Delta Lambda of approximately 100. This resolving power is sufficient for identification of the molecular or atomic fluorescent spaces causing the glow.
The use of charge-coupled-devices, or CCD's, has been documented by a number of sources as an effective means of providing a measurement of spacecraft attitude with respect to the stars. A method exists of defocussing and interpolation of the resulting shape of a star image over a small subsection of a large CCD array. This yields an increase in the accuracy of the device by better than an order of magnitude over the case when the star image is focussed upon a single CCD pixel. This research examines the effect that image motion has upon the overall precision of this star sensor when applied to an orbiting infrared observatory. While CCD's collect energy within the visible spectrum of light, the targets of scientific interest may well have no appreciable visible emissions. Image motion has the effect of smearing the image of the star in the direction of motion during a particular sampling interval. The presence of image motion is incorporated into a Kalman filter for the system, and it is shown that the addition of a gyro command term is adequate to compensate for the effect of image motion in the measurement. The updated gyro model is included in this analysis, but has natural frequencies faster than the projected star tracker sample rate for dim stars. The system state equations are reduced by modelling gyro drift as a white noise process. There exists a tradeoff in selected star tracker sample time between the CCD, which has improved noise characteristics as sample time increases, and the gyro, which will potentially drift further between long attitude updates. A sample time which minimizes pointing estimation error exists for the random drift gyro model as well as for a random walk gyro model.
The Japanese-made Balloon-borne Infrared Telescope (BIRT) designed for FIR astronomy is described. The BIRT system includes a 50-cm-diam telescope; an attitude-control system consisting of an attitude stabilization and a pointing and tracking subsystems; the ground support system consisting of four personal-computer systems; and electronics consisting of three small computer systems, servo circuits, power amplifiers, and other small circuits. Between 1985 and 1988, the BIRT has flown eight times, demonstrating that it is able to provide a suitable telescope observations on a stable platform with a long integration time. Structural diagrams of the BIRT overall system, the optical system, and the wobbling mechanism are presented along with a block diagram of the on-board electronics.
A focal plane assembly combining hybrid electronic components with passive optical components within a single hermetically sealed package has been designed by Cincinnati Electronics to meet the performance requirements imposed by the Comet Rendezvous/Asteroid Flyby (CRAF) and Cassini Visible and Infrared Mapping Spectrometers (VIMSs). A single line array of 256 InSb photodiodes, accessed by two 1 x 128 multiplexers, provides continuous spectral coverage from 0.85 to 5.1 microns. Intrinsic field-of-view apertures and a unique order sorting filter require critical optical alignment within the hybrid. FPA performance requirements, design approach, and critical issues are discussed.
Comet Austin was observed by the Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE)/Diffuse Infrared Background Experiment (DIRBE) with broadband photometry at 1-240 micrometers during the comet's close passage by Earth in 1990 May. A 6 deg long (6 x 10(exp 6) km) dust tail was found at 12 and 25 micrometers, with detailed structure due to variations in particle properties and mass-loss rate. The spectrum of the central 42 x 42 sq arcmin pixel was found to agree with that of a graybody of temperature 309 +/- 5 K and optical depth 7.3 +/- 10(exp -8). Comparison with IUE and ground-based obervations indicates that particles of radius greater than 20 micrometers predominate by surface area. A mass-loss rate of 510 (+510/-205) kg/s and a total tail mass of 7 +/- 2 x 10(exp 10) kg was found for a model dust tail composed of Mie spheres with a differential particle mass distribution dn/d log m approx. m(exp -0.63) and 2:1 silicate:amorphous carbon composition by mass.
We present results from a KAO survey of fine-structure lines observed in 23 infrared-luminous galaxies. One or more of the following lines was observed and/or detected in each galaxy: (S III) 19, 33 microns, (Ne V) 24 microns, (O IV) 26 microns, (Fe II) 26 microns, (Si II) 35 microns, (O III) 52, 88 microns, (0 I) 63, 146 microns, (N III) 57 micro ns, (N II) 122, 205 microns, (C II) 158 microns. The galaxies span a wide range of morphologies (irregular to grand design), have varying metallicities, and include mergers, AGN's, and starburst systems. The observations were made beginning in 1988 using the facility Cryogenic Grating Spectrometer onboard the KAO at a typical resolution of approximately 60-140 km/s and with a 30-44 deg beam. We interpret the (C II) and (O I) fluxes, along with previous measurements of the IR continuum fluxes, in the context of photo dissociation region (PDR) models (Tielens & Hollenbach 1985; Wolfire et al. 1990). With these models, we obtain estimates of the typical interstellar UV fields incident on the line emitting regions (102-104 times the local interstellar radiation field) and the total masses (10(exp 7)-10(exp 8) Solar Mass), densities (10(exp 3)-10(exp 4)/cu cm), and temperatures (100-250 K) of the warm atomic gas. The (O III) (52/88) and (S III) (33/19) line flux ratios constrain the range of electron densities and pressures found within the ionized regions. The (O III) and (S III) lines also provide estimates of the effective temperature of the ionizing stars and elemental abundances within the ionized regions of these galactic nuclei. Our measurements imply typical gas pressures of nT approximately 5 x 10(exp 6)/cu cm K and typical upper mass cutoffs of 25-35 Solar Mass. The low-metallicity systems show high (C II)/CO and (O I)/CO flux ratios, 3-5 times the Milky Way value, indicating that they contain a larger fraction of photodissociated gas relative to the molecular material.
The objective of this grant was to construct a series of far infrared photometers, cameras, and supporting systems for use in astronomical observations in the Kuiper Airborne Observatory. The observations have included studies of galaxies, star formation regions, and objects within the Solar System.
We present five new absolutely calibrated continuous stellar spectra constructed as far as possible from spectral fragments observed from the ground, the Kuiper Airborne Observatory (KAO), and the IRAS Low Resolution Spectrometer. These stars-alpha Boo, gamma Dra, alpha Cet, gamma Cru, and mu UMa-augment our six, published, absolutely calibrated spectra of K and early-M giants. All spectra have a common calibration pedigree. A revised composite for alpha Boo has been constructed from higher quality spectral fragments than our previously published one. The spectrum of gamma Dra was created in direct response to the needs of instruments aboard the Infrared Space Observatory (ISO); this star's location near the north ecliptic pole renders it highly visible throughout the mission. We compare all our low-resolution composite spectra with Kurucz model atmospheres and find good agreement in shape, with the obvious exception of the SiO fundamental, still lacking in current grids of model atmospheres. The CO fundamental seems slightly too deep in these models, but this could reflect our use of generic models with solar metal abundances rather than models specific to the metallicities of the individual stars. Angular diameters derived from these spectra and models are in excellent agreement with the best observed diameters. The ratio of our adopted Sirius and Vega models is vindicated by spectral observations. We compare IRAS fluxes predicted from our cool stellar spectra with those observed and conclude that, at 12 and 25 microns, flux densities measured by IRAS should be revised downwards by about 4.1% and 5.7%, respectively, for consistency with our absolute calibration. We have provided extrapolated continuum versions of these spectra to 300 microns, in direct support of ISO (PHT and LWS instruments). These spectra are consistent with IRAS flux densities at 60 and 100 microns.
We completed all major fabrication and testing for the third telescope and phase-closure operation at the Infrared-Optical Telescope Array (IOTA) during this period. In particular we successfully tested the phase-closure operation, using a laboratory light source illuminating the full delay-line optical paths, and using an integrated-optic beam combiner coupled to our Picnic-detector camera. This demonstration is an important and near-final milestone achievement. As of this writing, however, several tasks yet remain, owing to development snags and weather, so the final proof of success, phase-closure observation of a star, is now expected to occur in early 2002, soon after this report has been submitted.