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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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DOE OSTI2017

Kinetic Properties of the Neutral Solar Wind

Charge-exchange collisions between the solar wind protons and interstellar hydrogen produce a distinctive population of neutral hydrogen streaming radially at nearly the solar-wind speed. This tenuous population, known as the neutral solar wind (NSW) is thought to play a key role in the appearance of the Interplanetary Boundary EXplorer ribbon, a bright circular band in the sky that is the source of neutral hydrogen with energies near 1 keV. According to the leading model of the ribbon, the velocity distribution of NSW hydrogen is imparted on the pickup ions (PUIs) generated via charge exchange with the interstellar protons beyond the heliopause, and in this way controls the stability of the resulting ring distribution of PUIs against hydromagnetic wave generation. In this paper, we examine the velocity distributions of the NSW atoms in the heliosphere and the outer heliosheath regions by following the phase-space trajectories of the Boltzmann equation. It is demonstrated that these distributions are highly anisotropic, with the parallel (radial) temperature greatly exceeding the perpendicular temperature. Ions picked up near 90° from the anisotropic NSW would form a stable ring distribution capable of generating the ribbon flux. We also discuss a second population of neutrals born in charge transfer collisions with interstellar PUIs, the so-called neutralized pickup ion (NPI) component. Their high thermal velocities translate into large parallel velocity spread of the daughter ribbon PUIs, which would adversely affect plasma stability in local interstellar space.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2016

Development of the Model of Galactic Interstellar Emission for Standard Point-Source Analysis of Fermi Large Area Telescope Data

Most of the celestial γ rays detected by the Large Area Telescope (LAT) aboard the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope originate from the interstellar medium when energetic cosmic rays interact with interstellar nucleons and photons. Conventional point and extended source studies rely on the modeling of this diffuse emission for accurate characterization. We describe here the development of the Galactic Interstellar Emission Model (GIEM) that is the standard adopted by the LAT Collaboration and is publicly available. The model is based on a linear combination of maps for interstellar gas column density in Galactocentric annuli and for the inverse Compton emission produced in the Galaxy. We also include in the GIEM large-scale structures like Loop I and the Fermi bubbles. The measured gas emissivity spectra con rm that the cosmic-ray proton density decreases with Galactocentric distance beyond 5 kpc from the Galactic Center. The measurements also suggest a softening of the proton spectrum with Galactocentric distance. We observe that the Fermi bubbles have boundaries with a shape similar to a catenary at latitudes below 20° and we observe an enhanced emission toward their base extending in the North and South Galactic direction and located within ~4° of the Galactic Center.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
NASA NTRS1995

Hubble Space Telescope observations of C2 molecules in diffuse interstellar clouds

Interstellar C2 F-X (1342 A) and D-X (2313 A) bands in the spectrum of zeta Oph were detected using the Goddard High-Resolution Spectrograph (GHRS) on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). The total C2 column density is (1.79 +/- 0.06) 10(exp 13)/sq cm for an adopted f-value of 0.0545 for the 2313 A band of the Mulliken (D-X) system. Relative f-values for the 0-0 F-X, 0-0 D-X, and 2-0 A-X (Phillips) bands are derived by combining ultraviolet and near-infrared spectra: f(sub 00 sup FX)/f(sub 00 sup DX) = 1.83 +/- 0.18 and f(sub 20 sup AX)/f(sub 00 sup DX) = 0.0226 +/- 0.0029. For the Mulliken system, lines are detected up to a rotational level J double prime = 24. The relative populations along the rotational ladder are shown to be consistent with the physical and environmental conditions suggested by other diagnostics. Interstellar C2 molecules were detected towards zeta Per (N(C2) = (0.80 +/- 0.23) 10(exp 13)) but not towards Beta(sup 1), pi, and omega(sup 1) Sco(N(C2) less than or equal to 0.17 x 10(exp 13)/sq cm.

Lambert, David L.↗
NASA NTRS1976

A probability of encounter with interstellar comets and the likelihood of their existence

A theory of the probability of encounter of the sun with an interstellar comet at a distance comparable to the earth-sun distance is formulated, and a general expression is derived establishing the relationship among the influx rate of interstellar comets, the perihelion distance, the space density of the comets, the Maxwellian distribution of comet velocities in the interstellar cloud, and the cloud's systematic velocity relative to the sun. An upper limit of .0006 solar mass per cubic parsec is established for the space density of interstellar comets. The theoretical distribution of semimajor axes of interstellar comets shows that a strong hyperbolic excess must be present in the orbits of a majority of interstellar comets regardless of the dynamical characteristics of the comet cloud, except when the cloud is moving along with the sun and the distribution of individual velocities has a very low dispersion. This case, however, implies a possibility of capture by the sun and thus becomes a problem of an Oort-type cloud.

Sekanina, Z.↗
DOE OSTI2016

Determining pitch-angle diffusion coefficients from test particle simulations

The transport and acceleration of charged particles in turbulent media are topics of great interest in space physics and interstellar astrophysics. These processes are dominated by the scattering of particles off magnetic irregularities. The scattering process itself is usually described by small-angle scattering, with the pitch-angle coefficient D{sub μμ} playing a major role. Since the diffusion coefficient D{sub μμ} can be determined analytically only for the approximation of quasilinear theory, the determination of this coefficient from numerical simulations has become more important. So far these simulations have yielded particle tracks for small-scale scattering, which can then be interpreted using the running diffusion coefficients. This method has a limited range of validity. This paper presents two new methods that allow for the calculation of the pitch-angle diffusion coefficient from numerical simulations. These methods no longer analyze particle trajectories and instead examine the change of particle distribution functions. It is shown that these methods provide better resolved results and allow for the analysis of strong turbulence. The application of these methods to Monte Carlo simulations of particle scattering and hybrid MHD-particle simulations is presented. Both analysis methods are able to recover the diffusion coefficients used as input for the Monte Carlo simulations and provide better results in MHD simulations, especially for stronger turbulence.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Gauging Metallicity of Diffuse Gas under an Uncertain Ionizing Radiation Field

Gas metallicity is a key quantity used to determine the physical conditions of gaseous clouds in a wide range of astronomical environments, including interstellar and intergalactic space. In particular, considerable effort in circumgalactic medium (CGM) studies focuses on metallicity measurements because gas metallicity serves as a critical discriminator for whether the observed heavy ions in the CGM originate in chemically enriched outflows or in more chemically pristine gas accreted from the intergalactic medium. However, because the gas is ionized, a necessary first step in determining CGM metallicity is to constrain the ionization state of the gas which, in addition to gas density, depends on the ultraviolet background radiation field (UVB). While it is generally acknowledged that both the intensity and spectral slope of the UVB are uncertain, the impact of an uncertain spectral slope has not been properly addressed in the literature. This Letter shows that adopting a different spectral slope can result in an order of magnitude difference in the inferred CGM metallicity. Specifically, a harder UVB spectrum leads to a higher estimated gas metallicity for a given set of observed ionic column densities. Therefore, such systematic uncertainties must be folded into the error budget for metallicity estimates of ionized gas. An initial study shows that empirical diagnostics are available for discriminating between hard and soft ionizing spectra. Applying these diagnostics helps reduce the systematic uncertainties in CGM metallicity estimates.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
NASA NTRS1976

Consequences of using nonlinear particle trajectories to compute spatial diffusion coefficients

The propagation of charged particles through interstellar and interplanetary space has often been described as a random process in which the particles are scattered by ambient electromagnetic turbulence. In general, this changes both the magnitude and direction of the particles' momentum. Some situations for which scattering in direction (pitch angle) is of primary interest were studied. A perturbed orbit, resonant scattering theory for pitch-angle diffusion in magnetostatic turbulence was slightly generalized and then utilized to compute the diffusion coefficient for spatial propagation parallel to the mean magnetic field, Kappa. All divergences inherent in the quasilinear formalism when the power spectrum of the fluctuation field falls off as K to the minus Q power (Q less than 2) were removed. Various methods of computing Kappa were compared and limits on the validity of the theory discussed. For Q less than 1 or 2, the various methods give roughly comparable values of Kappa, but use of perturbed orbits systematically results in a somewhat smaller Kappa than can be obtained from quasilinear theory.

Goldstein, M. L.↗
NASA NTRS1977

Consequences of using nonlinear particle trajectories to compute spatial diffusion coefficients

In a study of cosmic ray propagation in interstellar and interplanetary space, a perturbed orbit resonant scattering theory for pitch angle diffusion in a slab model of magnetostatic turbulence is slightly generalized and used to compute the diffusion coefficient for spatial propagation parallel to the mean magnetic field. This diffusion coefficient has been useful for describing the solar modulation of the galactic cosmic rays, and for explaining the diffusive phase in solar flares in which the initial anisotropy of the particle distribution decays to isotropy.

Goldstein, M. L.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Search for 511 keV electron-positron annihilation radiation from mildly active galaxies using the HEAO 3 gamma-ray spectrometer

The HEAO 3 spacecraft's gamma-ray spectrometer has been used to obtain upper limits to the 511-keV electron-positron annihilation line flux from seven galaxies: M 81/M 82, NGC 4278, M 104, NGC 6500, NGC 2911, and NGC 262. These appear to contain scaled-up versions of the radio source in the galactic center, and their nonthermal activity appears to be confined to the central regions, implying that energetic particles produced in these nuclei do not escape into the low density regions of interstellar or intergalactic space. On the basis of the scaling law adopted, six of these seven galaxies should have been detected above the upper limits obtained for narrow 511 keV emission. Explanations are adduced which account for the scaling law's failure to predict the correct level of radiation annihilation.

Marscher, A. P.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Reaction rate and energy-loss rate for photopair production by relativistic nuclei

The process of e(+/-) pair production by relativistic nuclei on ambient photons is considered. The process is important for cosmic-ray nuclei in interstellar and intergalactic space as well as in galactic and extragalactic compact objects. The rate of this process is given by an integral of the cross section over the photon angular and energy distribution. In the case of isotropic photons, the angular integration is performed to provide an expression for the rate at given photon energy in the nucleus rest frame. The total rate then becomes a single integral of that rate over the photon energy distribution. Formulas are also given for the fractional energy loss of a relativistic nucleus colliding with a photon of a given energy in the rest frame. The nucleus energy-loss rate is integrated over the photon angular distribution in the case of isotropic photons, and simple fits are provided.

Chodorowski, Michal J.↗
NASA NTRS1994

A model of galactic cosmic rays for use in calculating linear energy transfer spectra

The Galactic Cosmic Rays (GCR) contain fully stripped nuclei, from Hydrogen to beyond the Iron group, accelerated to high energies and are a major component of the background radiation encountered by satellites and interplanetary spacecraft. This paper presents a GCR model which is based upon our current understanding of the astrophysics of GCR transport through interstellar and interplanetary space. The model can be used to predict the energy spectra for all stable and long-lived radioactive species from H to Ni over an energy range from 50 to 50,000 MeV/nucleon as a function of a single parameter, the solar modulation level phi. The details of this model are summarized, phi is derived for the period 1974 to present, and results from this model during the 1990/1991 Combined Release and Radiation Effects Satellite (CRRES) mission are presented.

Chen, J.↗
NASA NTRS2001

1999 Bioastronomy Meeting

The 6th Bioastronomy Conference, Bioastronomy '99: A New Era in Bioastronomy, was held at the Hapuna Prince Beach hotel on the Big Island of Hawaii from August 2-6, 1999. The series of previous Bioastronomy meetings have played an important role in integrating the broader interests and techniques of both astronomy and biology to understand the origin and evolution of living systems in the universe, and to generating a context for exploration in our solar system and in extrasolar planetary systems. The scope of these interdisciplinary fields is captured in the topics discussed at the meeting: organic molecules in interstellar and interplanetary space; origin and evolution of planetary systems; comets, asteroids, and other small bodies and their role in the origin and evolution of life; Earth as a living planet; extreme environments on Earth; origin of life; transport of life between planets; evolution of life and intelligence; detection and characterization of extrasolar planets; search for extraterrestrial technology and life; future missions; and public acceptance and support of scientific studies of life in the universe.

Meech, Karen J.↗
NASA NTRS2000

"1999 Bioastronomy Meeting"

The 6th Bioastronomy Conference, Bioastronomy '99: A New Era in Bioastronomy, was held at the Hapuna Prince Beach hotel on the Big Island of Hawaii from August 2-6, 1999. The series of previous Bioastronomy meetings have played an important role in integrating the broader interests and techniques of both astronomy and biology to understand the origin and evolution of living systems in the universe, and to generating a context for exploration in our solar system and in extrasolar planetary systems. The scope of these interdisciplinary fields is captured in the topics discussed at the meeting: organic molecules in interstellar and interplanetary space; origin and evolution of planetary systems; comets, asteroids, and other small bodies and their role in the origin and evolution of life; Earth as a living planet; extreme environments on Earth; origin of life; transport of life between planets; evolution of life and intelligence; detection and characterization of extrasolar planets; search for extraterrestrial technology and life; future missions; and public acceptance and support of scientific studies of life in the universe. This paper gives an overview summary of the conference and briefly highlights some of the themes discussed at the meeting.

Meech, Karen J.↗
DOE OSTI2012

HERSCHEL OBSERVATIONS OF INTERSTELLAR CHLORONIUM

Using the Herschel Space Observatory's Heterodyne Instrument for the Far-Infrared, we have observed para-chloronium (H{sub 2}Cl{sup +}) toward six sources in the Galaxy. We detected interstellar chloronium absorption in foreground molecular clouds along the sight lines to the bright submillimeter continuum sources Sgr A (+50 km s{sup -1} cloud) and W31C. Both the para-H{sup 35}{sub 2}Cl{sup +} and para-H{sup 37}{sub 2}Cl{sup +} isotopologues were detected, through observations of their 1{sub 11}-0{sub 00} transitions at rest frequencies of 485.42 and 484.23 GHz, respectively. For an assumed ortho-to-para ratio (OPR) of 3, the observed optical depths imply that chloronium accounts for {approx}4%-12% of chlorine nuclei in the gas phase. We detected interstellar chloronium emission from two sources in the Orion Molecular Cloud 1: the Orion Bar photodissociation region and the Orion South condensation. For an assumed OPR of 3 for chloronium, the observed emission line fluxes imply total beam-averaged column densities of {approx}2 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 13} cm{sup -2} and {approx}1.2 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 13} cm{sup -2}, respectively, for chloronium in these two sources. We obtained upper limits on the para-H{sup 35}{sub 2}Cl{sup +} line strengths toward H{sub 2} Peak 1 in the Orion Molecular cloud and toward the massive young star AFGL 2591. The chloronium abundances inferred in this study are typically at least a factor {approx}10 larger than the predictions of steady-state theoretical models for the chemistry of interstellar molecules containing chlorine. Several explanations for this discrepancy were investigated, but none has proven satisfactory, and thus the large observed abundances of chloronium remain puzzling.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
NASA NTRS1975

The depletion of interstellar elements and the interaction between gas and dust in space

Observational data obtained by the Copernicus satellite and ground-based facilities are discussed which show that the depletion of interstellar elements apparently varies with cloud density in the way to be expected if the depletions were due to accretion of gas atoms or ions onto grains. It is shown that the depletion-by-accretion mechanism is supported by a good correlation between depletions and first ionization potentials of the elements (except for lithium, sodium, and potassium) and that this mechanism offers an alternative to the grain-condensation hypothesis in which most of the interstellar medium is required to have been processed through stellar nebulae. It is noted that if the grains do not normally carry positive charges, ion-grain encounters are the most important interactions between gas and dust and may be significant in determining ionization equilibrium, especially if there is a large population of very small grains.

Snow, T. P., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS2015

Laboratory Studies of Cosmic Dust with NASA Ames' COSmIC Facility – Applications to Interstellar and Planetary Issues

I will present and discuss the unique characteristics and capabilities of the laboratory facility, COSmIC, that was developed at NASA Ames to generate, process and analyze interstellar, circumstellar and planetary analogs in the laboratory. COSmIC stands for Cosmic Simulation Chamber and is dedicated to the study of molecules and ions under the low temperature and high vacuum conditions that are required to simulate interstellar, circumstellar and planetary physical environments in space. COSmIC integrates a variety of state-of-the-art instruments that allow forming, processing and monitoring simulated space conditions for planetary, circumstellar and interstellar materials in the laboratory. COSmIC is composed of a Pulsed Discharge Nozzle (PDN) expansion that generates a free jet supersonic expansion coupled to two ultrahigh-sensitivity, complementary in situ diagnostics: a Cavity Ring Down Spectroscopy (CRDS) system for photonic detection and a Reflectron Time-Of-Flight Mass Spectrometer (ReTOF-MS) for mass detection. Recent, unique, laboratory astrophysics results that were obtained using the capabilities of COSmIC will be discussed, in particular the progress that have been achieved in deciphering the diffuse interstellar bands (DIBs) and in monitoring in the laboratory the formation of solid dust grains from their gas-phase molecular precursors in environments as varied as stellarcircumstellar outflow and planetary atmospheres. Plans for future, next generation, laboratory experiments on cosmic molecules and grains in the growing field of laboratory astrophysics will also be addressed as well as the implications of these studies for current and upcoming space missions.

COSmIC↗