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NASA NTRS1984

Geoid anomalies in a dynamic earth

Potential and surface deformation Love numbers for internal loading have been calculated in order to obtain a dynamically consistent relationship between the geoid and the earth's response to internal buoyancy forces. These quantities depend on the depth and harmonic degree of loading, and can be integrated as Green functions to obtain the dynamic response due to an arbitrary distribution of internal density contrasts. Constructing a series of spherically symmetric, self-gravitating flow models for a variety of radial Newtonian viscosity variations and flow configurations, and calculating relaxation times for spherically symmetric viscous earth models, it is demonstrated that boundary deformation due to internal loading reaches its equilibrium value on the same time scale as postglacial rebound; this is much less time than the time scale for significant change in the convective flow pattern.

Richards, M. A.↗

NASA NTRS1985

Meteoritic constraints on processes in the solar nebula

The origin of chondritic meteorites is discussed. The characteristics of the chondrite subtypes are shown, and the fine structure of chondrites is described in terms of the three principal categories of aggregated objects present in chondrites: chondrules, Ca,Al-rich inclusions (CAIs), and matrix. Four possibilities for the origin of these components are considered, leading to four important constraints on the chondrite-forming processes, based on mineralogy and astrophysics. It is concluded that the chondrules and CAIs were formed in the solar nebula at a radial distance of about 3 AU. Some type of transient high-energy event or process, operating in zones of dust enrichment, furnished the high temperatures needed to process the chondrules and CAIs. These objects cooled on a time scale of minutes, then on a similarly short time scale began to aggregate, together with dust, into chondritic masses having approximately the solar proportions of major condensable elements.

Wood, J. A.↗

NASA NTRS1986

Quadratic resonance in the three-dimensional oscillations of inviscid drops with surface tension

The moderate-amplitude, three-dimensional oscillations of an inviscid drop are described in terms of spherical harmonics. Specific oscillation modes are resonantly coupled by quadratic nonlinearities caused by inertia, capillarity, and drop deformation. The equations describing the interactions of these modes are derived from the variational principle for the appropriate Lagrangian by expressing the modal amplitudes to be functions of a slow time scale and by preaveraging the Lagrangian over the time scale of the primary oscillations. Stochastic motions are predicted for nonaxisymmetric deformations starting from most initial conditions, even those arbitrarily close to the axisymmetric shapes. The stochasticity is characterized by a redistribution of the energy contained in the initial deformation over all the degrees of freedom of the interacting modes.

Natarajan, R.↗

NASA NTRS1987

Identification of US 943 as a halo cataclysmic variable

US 943 has been shown to exhibit large (greater than about 5 mag) amplitude variations on time scales of one to two years. New time-resolved CCD photometry presented herein shows it also to be variable on time scales of 20 to 40 minutes with amplitude variation of up to 1 mag. Its membership as a cataclysmic variable is suggested. This assignment would place US 943 at a galactic distance of about 700 pc.

Howell, Steve B.↗

NASA NTRS1987

Solar variability and oscillations

Within this decade, observations of total solar irradiance have become good enough to make it possible to study directly the solar luminosity variations on a wide range of time scales, up to several years. At the same time, there has been considerable improvement in understanding the classical indicators of solar activity, such as UV and visible chromospheric lines, soft X-rays, and radio fluxes. The observed variations include the effects of sunspots and plage solar-cycle effects, and signatures of global oscillations and convection. In addition, new characteristic time-scales (154 days and possibly 320 days) have been discovered. This review covers these developments and comments briefly on the subject of helioseismology.

Hudson, Hugh S.↗

NASA NTRS1994

Light echo detection of circumstellar disks around flaring stars

Light echoes can be used to detect and characterize disks around flaring stars. Such disks are thought to be a hallmark of planet formation but are very difficult to detect by ordinary means. Dwarf emission-line M stars experience flares with luminosities comparable to their quiescent photospheres on time scales of minutes, less than the light travel time across a disk many astronomical units in extent; they are thus ideal candidates for such a search. Bromley (1992) calculated that the detection of Jupiter-sized companions using light echoes requires photometric accuracies better than 1 part in 10(exp 6). However, a disk consisting of grains or small bodies will scatter a much larger fraction of the light than a planet of similar mass. I estimate the light echo amplitutdes from plausible geometries of circumstellar material and present simulation light curves. The light echo amplitudes are typically 1% of the flare and I conclude that such events will be detected best in cases where the flare is eclipsed by the star. An examination of the time scales associated with internal processes in a protoplanetary disks around dM stars indicates that any primordial disks may become undetectable in 10(exp 4) years and will have completely disappeared by 10(exp 8) years, the estimated age of dMe stars in the solar neighborhood. However, searches for light echoes might constrain the amount of material continuing to fall into these young stellar systems in the form of comet-like objects.

Gaidos, Eric J.↗

NASA NTRS2001

Observations of Circumstellar Material Around Evolved Stars With the ISI

The U.C. Berkeley Infrared Spatial Interferometer (ISI) is a stellar interferometer operating in the 9-12 micron region and has been in operation from 1988 until the present. It utilizes heterodyne detection using CO2 laser local oscillators and currently includes two 1.65 m movable telescopes mounted in semi-trailers and baselines up to about 65 m in length. A third telescope is being integrated with the other two and within the next year will operate as an imaging interferometer providing data with three simultaneous baselines and a closure phase, and baselines up to about 75 m. During the past twelve years the ISI has been used extensively for studies of circumstellar material around evolved stars. Multi-epoch observations of a sample of prototypical sources have elucidated the location and time scales for dust formation around these stars. These time scales can be as short as approx.10 years for Mira stars and as long as approx. 100 years for supergiants. For stars like Mira itself there is evidence for departure from spherical symmetry and episodes of dust formation and destruction. For some stars motion of dust has been observed -- IK Tau is one example, and NML Cyg is another. The molecules Silane and Ammonia were observed for the extreme carbon star IRC +10216 and the supergiant VY CMa pinpointing their location relative to the inner radius of the dust shell. Somewhat surprisingly, these molecules were found to form many stellar radii away from the inner radius of the dust shell, implying that they form by interactions with the surfaces of dust grains. Last year observations with the longest baselines lead to new precision diameters of $o$ Ceti and $\alpha$ Orionis, and are continuing on a somewhat larger set of Mira variable and supergiant stars.

Danchi, W. C.↗

NASA NTRS2002

Late Stages of Accretion of Uranus and Neptune

A series of N-body simulations were done to try and form Uranus and Neptune from a swarm of a hundred sub-Earth-sized planetary embryos initially on low-inclination, nearly circular orbits beyond Saturn. These calculations were designed to test published Monte Carlo simulations and N-body simulations. Whereas these studies reported successful formation of Uranus and Neptune sized planets, we found very little accretion at all. This occurs because the embryos are dynamically excited by each other and the gravitational effects of Jupiter and Saturn on a time scale that is short compared to the collision time scale. This process produces large orbital eccentricities and inclinations which significantly reduce the collisional cross-section of the embryos because it reduces the effect of gravitational focusing.

Stewart, Glen R.↗

NASA NTRS2011

The Kepler Light Curves of V1504 Cygni and V344 Lyrae: A Study of the Outburst Properties

We examine the Kepler light curves of V1504 Cyg and V344 Lyr, encompassing approximately 460 d at 1 min cadence. During this span each system exhibited approximately 40 outbursts, including four superoutbursts. We find that, in both systems, the normal outbursts lying between two superoutbursts increase in duration by a factor approximately 1.2 - 1.7, and then reset to a small value after the following superoutburst. In V344 Lyr the trend of quiescent intervals between normal outbursts is to increase to a local maximum about half way through the supercycle the interval from one superoutburst to the next - and then to decrease back to a small value by the time of the next superoutburst, whereas for V1504 Cyg the quiescent intervals are relatively constant during the supercycle. Both of these trends are inconsistent with the Osaki's thermal-tidal model, which robustly predicts a secular increase in the quiescent intervals between normal outbursts during a supercycle. Also, most of the normal outbursts have an asymmetric, fast-rise/slower-decline shape, which would be consistent with outbursts triggered at large radii. The exponential rate of decay of the plateau phase of the superoutbursts is 8 d mag(sup -1) for approximately 1504 Cyg and 12 d mag(sup -1) for V344 Lyr. This time scale gives a direct measure of the VISCOUS time scale III the outer accretion disk given the expectation that the entire disk is in the hot, viscous state during superoutburst. The resulting constraint on the Shakura-Sunyaev parameter, alpha(sub hot) approximately equal to 0.1, is consistent with the value inferred from the fast dwarf nova decays. By looking at the slow decay rate for superoutbursts, which occur in systems below the period gap, in combination with the slow decay rate in one long outburst above the period gap (in U Gem), we infer a steep dependence of the decay rate on orbital period for long outbursts. We argue that this relation implies a steep dependence of alpha(sub cold) on orbital period, which may be consistent with recent findings of Patterson, and is consistent with tidal torquing as being the dominant angular momentum transport mechanism in quiescent disks in interacting binary systems.

Cannizzo, John K.↗

DOE OSTI2010

The nature of airbursts and their contribution to the impact threat.

Ongoing simulations of low-altitude airbursts from hypervelocity asteroid impacts have led to a re-evaluation of the impact hazard that accounts for the enhanced damage potential relative to the standard point-source approximations. Computational models demonstrate that the altitude of maximum energy deposition is not a good estimate of the equivalent height of a point explosion, because the center of mass of an exploding projectile maintains a significant fraction of its initial momentum and is transported downward in the form of a high-temperature jet of expanding gas. This 'fireball' descends to a depth well beneath the burst altitude before its velocity becomes subsonic. The time scale of this descent is similar to the time scale of the explosion itself, so the jet simultaneously couples both its translational and its radial kinetic energy to the atmosphere. Because of this downward flow, larger blast waves and stronger thermal radiation pulses are experienced at the surface than would be predicted for a nuclear explosion of the same yield at the same burst height. For impacts with a kinetic energy below some threshold value, the hot jet of vaporized projectile loses its momentum before it can make contact with the Earth's surface. The 1908 Tunguska explosion is the largest observed example of this first type of airburst. For impacts above the threshold, the fireball descends all the way to the ground, where it expands radially, driving supersonic winds and radiating thermal energy at temperatures that can melt silicate surface materials. The Libyan Desert Glass event, 29 million years ago, may be an example of this second, larger, and more destructive type of airburst. The kinetic energy threshold that demarcates these two airburst types depends on asteroid velocity, density, strength, and impact angle. Airburst models, combined with a reexamination of the surface conditions at Tunguska in 1908, have revealed that several assumptions from the earlier analyses led to erroneous conclusions, resulting in an overestimate of the size of the Tunguska event. Because there is no evidence that the Tunguska fireball descended to the surface, the yield must have been about 5 megatons or lower. Better understanding of airbursts, combined with the diminishing number of undiscovered large asteroids, leads to the conclusion that airbursts represent a large and growing fraction of the total impact threat.

45 MILITARY TECHNOLOGY, WEAPONRY, AND NATIONAL DEF↗

NASA NTRS1990

Dynamic Power Spectral Analysis of Solar Measurements from Photospheric, Chromospheric, and Coronal Sources

An important aspect in the power spectral analysis of solar variability is the quasistationary and quasiperiodic nature of solar periodicities. In other words, the frequency, phase, and amplitude of solar periodicities vary on time scales ranging from active region lifetimes to solar cycle time scales. Here, researchers employ a dynamic, or running, power spectral density analysis to determine many periodicities and their time-varying nature in the projected area of active sunspot groups (S sub act). The Solar Maximum Mission/Active Cavity Radiometer Irradiance Monitor (SMM/ACRIM) total solar irradiance (S), the Nimbus-7 MgII center-to-wing ratio (R (MgII sub c/w)), the Ottawa 10.7 cm flux (F sub 10.7), and the GOES background x ray flux (X sub b) for the maximum, descending, and minimum portions of solar cycle 21 (i.e., 1980 to 1986) are used. The technique dramatically illustrates several previously unrecognized periodicities. For example, a relatively stable period at about 51 days has been found in those indices which are related to emerging magnetic fields. The majority of solar periodicities, particularly around 27, 150 and 300 days, are quasiperiodic because they vary in amplitude and frequency throughout the solar cycle. Finally, it is shown that there are clear differences between the power spectral densities of solar measurements from photospheric, chromospheric, and coronal sources.

Bouwer, S. D.↗

DOE OSTI2018

Surface-Based Microwave Humidity Retrievals over the Equatorial Indian Ocean: Applications and Challenges

The interactions between equatorial convection and humidity as a function of height, at a range of time scales, remain an important research frontier. The ability of surface-based microwave radiometry to contribute to such research is assessed using retrievals of the vertical structure of atmospheric humidity above the equatorial Indian Ocean, developed as part of the Dynamics of Madden–Julian Oscillation field campaign. The optimally estimated humidity retrievals are based on radiances at five frequencies spanning 20–30 GHz and are constrained by radiometer-derived water vapor paths that compare well to radiosonde values except in highly convective conditions. The moisture retrievals possess a robust 2 degrees of freedom, allowing the atmosphere to be treated as two independent layers. A mean bias of 1 g kg –1 contains a vertical structure that is removed in the assessments. The retrieved moisture profiles are able to capture humidity variability within two layer averages at intraseasonal, synoptic, and daily time scales. The retrieved humidity profiles at hourly scales are qualitatively correct under synoptically suppressed conditions but with an exaggerated vertical bimodality. Further, the retrievals do not match radiosonde profiles within most of the day prior to/after convection. This analysis serves to better delineate applications for radiometers. Radiometers can usefully augment more expensive radiosonde networks for longer-term monitoring given careful cross-instrument calibration. At shorter time scales, a synergism with additional instruments can likely increase the realism of the retrievals.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2021

Learning Forecasts of Rare Stratospheric Transitions from Short Simulations

Abstract Rare events arising in nonlinear atmospheric dynamics remain hard to predict and attribute. We address the problem of forecasting rare events in a prototypical example, sudden stratospheric warmings (SSWs). Approximately once every other winter, the boreal stratospheric polar vortex rapidly breaks down, shifting midlatitude surface weather patterns for months. We focus on two key quantities of interest: the probability of an SSW occurring, and the expected lead time if it does occur, as functions of initial condition. These optimal forecasts concretely measure the event’s progress. Direct numerical simulation can estimate them in principle but is prohibitively expensive in practice: each rare event requires a long integration to observe, and the cost of each integration grows with model complexity. We describe an alternative approach using integrations that are short compared to the time scale of the warming event. We compute the probability and lead time efficiently by solving equations involving the transition operator, which encodes all information about the dynamics. We relate these optimal forecasts to a small number of interpretable physical variables, suggesting optimal measurements for forecasting. We illustrate the methodology on a prototype SSW model developed by Holton and Mass and modified by stochastic forcing. While highly idealized, this model captures the essential nonlinear dynamics of SSWs and exhibits the key forecasting challenge: the dramatic separation in time scales between a single event and the return time between successive events. Our methodology is designed to fully exploit high-dimensional data from models and observations, and has the potential to identify detailed predictors of many complex rare events in meteorology.

Finkel, Justin↗

DOE OSTI2025

Attosecond Transient Grating Spectroscopy with Near-Infrared Grating Pulses and an Extreme Ultraviolet Diffracted Probe

Transient grating spectroscopy has become a mainstay among metal and semiconductor characterization techniques. Here, we extend the technique toward the shortest achievable time scales by using tabletop high-harmonic generation of attosecond extreme ultraviolet (XUV) pulses that diffract from transient gratings generated with sub-5 fs near-infrared (NIR) pulses. We demonstrate the power of attosecond transient grating spectroscopy (ATGS) by investigating the ultrafast photoexcited dynamics in an Sb semimetal thin film. ATGS provides an element-specific, background-free signal unfettered by spectral congestion, in contrast to transient absorption spectroscopy. With ATGS measurements in Sb polycrystalline thin films, we observe the generation of coherent phonons and investigate the lattice and carrier dynamics. Among the latter processes, we extract carrier thermalization, hot carrier cooling, and electron-hole recombination, which are on the order of 20 fs, 50 fs, and 2 ps time scales, respectively. Furthermore, the simultaneous collection of transient absorption and transient grating data allows us to extract the total complex dielectric constant in the sample dynamics with a single measurement, including the real-valued refractive index, from which we are also able to investigate carrier-phonon interactions and longer-lived phonon dynamics. The outlined experimental technique expands the capabilities of transient grating spectroscopy and attosecond spectroscopies by providing a wealth of information concerning carrier and lattice dynamics with an element-selective technique at the shortest achievable time scales.

Quintero-Bermudez, Rafael↗

DOE OSTI2015

Unstable spin-ice order in the stuffed metallic pyrochlore Pr 2+x Ir 2-x O 7-δ

Specific heat, elastic neutron scattering, and muon spin rotation experiments have been carried out on a well-characterized sample of “stuffed” (Pr-rich) Pr 2+x Ir 2-x O 7-δ . Elastic neutron scattering shows the onset of long-range spin-ice “2-in/2-out” magnetic order at 0.93 kelvin, with an ordered moment of 1.7(1) Bohr magnetons per Pr ion at low temperatures. Approximate lower bounds on the correlation length and correlation time in the ordered state are 170 angstroms and 0.7 nanosecond, respectively. Muon spin rotation experiments yield an upper bound 2.6(7) milliteslas on the local field B 4f loc at the muon site, which is nearly two orders of magnitude smaller than the expected dipolar field for long-range spin-ice ordering of 1.7-Bohr magneton moments (120–270 milliteslas, depending on the muon site). This shortfall is due in part to splitting of the non-Kramers crystal-field ground-state doublets of near-neighbor Pr 3+ ions by the positive-muon-induced lattice distortion. For this to be the only effect, however, ~160 Pr moments out to a distance of ~14 angstroms must be suppressed. An alternative scenario—one consistent with the observed reduced nuclear hyperfine Schottky anomaly in the specific heat—invokes slow correlated Pr-moment fluctuations in the ordered state that average B 4f loc on the μSR time scale (~10 -7 second), but are static on the time scale of the elastic neutron scattering experiments (~10 -9 second). In this picture, the dynamic muon relaxation suggests a Pr 3+ 4f correlation time of a few nanoseconds, which should be observable in a neutron spin echo experiment.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

NASA NTRS1993

Two newly discovered millisecond pulsars

Two millisecond pulsars have been discovered in the course of systematic surveys being made with the Arecibo radio telescope. PSR J2019 + 2425 has a 3.935 ms period and moves in a nearly circular, 76.5 day orbit around a about 0.3 solar mass companion. PSR J2322 + 2057, with a period of 4.808 ms, is an isolated object. The two pulsars have unusually small period derivatives, corresponding to spin-down time scales of 7.5 +/- 0.5 and 11 +/- 5 Gyr, respectively. Both objects show pulse time-of-arrival residuals no larger than a few microseconds over many months, lending further support to the observation that 'recycled' pulsars have extremely stable rotational behavior. The timing results also confirm that physics related to the rotational dynamics of these strongly self-gravitating stars - in particular, the value of the gravitational coupling constant G - remains essentially constant over time scales comparable to the Hubble time. Dispersion measures of the two pulsars indicate distances of 0.8-0.9 kpc.

Nice, D. J.↗

DOE OSTI2019

A Closer Look at Fe(II) Passivation of Goethite

Our understanding of how Fe(II) reacts with Fe(III) oxides has evolved significantly based on evidence for electron transfer at the oxide-water interface and Fe(II)-catalyzed recrystallization. Recent experiments, as well as computational calculations, further suggest that defects at oxide surfaces can facilitate electron transfer. There is, however, some evidence that these processes cease after continued contact with Fe(II). Here, we explore the sustainability of these processes over longer time frames by measuring whether exposure to Fe(II) inhibits Fe(II)-goethite electron transfer, and whether this inhibition is reversible. To quantify the extent of electron transfer, we used selective isotope labeling with 57Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy. The results revealed that pre-reacting goethite with Fe(II) decreases the extent of electron transfer during subsequent exposures, and that less electron transfer occurs with increasing reaction time. Similarly, X-ray absorption spectroscopy and magnetic circular dichroism suggest that reaction with Fe(II) consumes surface defects and forms a passivation layer, making goethite less susceptible to electron transfer. When Fe(II) is removed by either wet chemical extraction or oxidation, electron transfer is mostly restored, suggesting that inhibition of electron transfer is reversible. Our results show that in environmental systems, which are commonly subjected to transient geochemical fluctuations, electron transfer between Fe(II) and Fe oxides, and processes linked to it, are likely to be relevant beyond just short time scales.

Andrade de Notini, Luiza↗

DOE OSTI2010

X-ray diffraction in the pulsed laser heated diamond anvil cell

We have developed in situ x-ray synchrotron diffraction measurements of samples heated by a pulsed laser in the diamond anvil cell at pressure up to 60 GPa. We used an electronically modulated 2-10 kHz repetition rate, 1064-1075 nm fiber laser with 1-100 {micro}s pulse width synchronized with a gated x-ray detector (Pilatus) and time-resolved radiometric temperature measurements. This enables the time domain measurements as a function of temperature in a microsecond time scale (averaged over many events, typically more than 10,000). X-ray diffraction data, temperature measurements, and finite element calculations with realistic geometric and thermochemical parameters show that in the present experimental configuration, samples 4 {micro}m thick can be continuously temperature monitored (up to 3000 K in our experiments) with the same level of axial and radial temperature uniformities as with continuous heating. We find that this novel technique offers a new and convenient way of fine tuning the maximum sample temperature by changing the pulse width of the laser. This delicate control, which may also prevent chemical reactivity and diffusion, enables accurate measurement of melting curves, phase changes, and thermal equations of state.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗