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At least 919 records · Page 51

Relativistic shock spectra: A prediction

I argue that particles heated by relativistic shocks should assume an equilibrium energy distribution. This leads to a synchrotron spectrum F(sub nu) varies as nu(sup 1/3) up to approximately the critical frequency nu(sub 0) of an electron with the mean electron energy. Application to gamma ray bursts (GRB's) implies that a burst with 10(exp -5) erg/(sq cm s) of soft gamma-rays and h(nu(sub 0)) = 300 KeV should be about 18th magnitude in visible light and a few micro-Jy at 1 GHz (less if self-absorbed).

Katz, J. I.↗

Supersymmetry breaking in SYK and the black hole spectrum

The spectrum and dynamics of near-extremal black holes is strongly modified by quantum effects at low temperatures. When the extremal limit does not preserve any supersymmetry, the density of states goes to zero at extremality and no extremal black holes remain. However, when the extremal limit is supersymmetric, a large microscopic degeneracy survives and there is a gap to the first excited black hole visible from gravity. In this article we study large N quantum mechanical models where supersymmetry is explicitly broken, allowing us to interpolate between these two qualitatively different pictures. We propose and analyze deformations of N = 2 SYK models with such a pattern of (super) symmetry breaking which violate the U(1) R-symmetry. These models feature a lifting of the BPS degeneracy and a closing of the spectral gap, and we further show that the large N soft effective action is given by a modification of the N = 2 Schwarzian theory in which the U(1) R mode becomes massive.

1/N Expansion↗

Ultraviolet spectroscopy of the zodiacal light

The results of observations of the zodiacal light at 25 A resolution from two different viewing angles are reported. Airglow emission from both NO and O II were identified spectroscopically and according to altitude variation. The UV spectrometer was rocket-borne, and functioned in the wavelengths from 1700-3150 A. The solar spectrum was matched at wavelengths higher than 2600 A. Using the smaller elongation angle, an upper limit for the zodiacal light was determined to be 190 millionth erg/sq cm per sec per A/sr at 1800 A, i.e., four times the solar brightness at the same wavelength. It was found that the zodiacal light dependence on elongation was the same in the UV as in the visible. The color ratios for 2100-2400 A is discussed.

Cebula, R. P.↗

Radio astronomy

Radio astronomy studies in 18-cm line emission sources, fringe visibility of bright radio sources, and spectral features of Venus and Jupiter

INTERFEROMETRY↗

Infrared spectrometer for Voyager

The Voyager IR investigation is described, which uses a Michelson interferometer in the 180-2500/cm range, and a single-channel radiometer for the visible and near-IR, sharing a 50-cm diameter telescope. Emphasis is placed on the differences between the Voyager and the previous designs, including reductions in the field of view and in the noise equivalent spectral radiance of the instrument. Attention is given to the optical layout, the electronics module, power supply placement, thermal control heaters and flash heaters, data reduction, and calibration. A sample spectrum of Jupiter is also discussed.

Hanel, R.↗

Broad-band gain in optically pumped S2

The broad fluorescence spectrum and Franck-Condon shift of the B-X system of S2 are exploited in broad-band-gain experiments using the absorption of 308-nm XeCl excimer radiation to pump the level (upsilon-prime = 4) in an S2 vapor with and without Ar. The fluorescence spectra are examined to determine the effects of gas collisions, and the intense near-UV and visible bands are attributed to the redistribution of the population among the upsilon-prime levels resulting from S2-Ar collisions. Broad-band gain is observed on the rare-gas relaxation bands (2,17) (about 475 nm) and (3,18) (480 nm), while absorption is found in the (0,6), (0,7), and (0,8) near-UV (about 360-380-nm) bands where a transient population cascading down the X-state manifold fills the lower levels. It is inferred from the achievement of gain over much of the S2 fluorescence bandwidth that nonselective pumping mechanisms like discharges, solar energy, or flashlamps can be used with S2 as the tunable, chemically stable 'dye'.

Epler, J. E.↗

Optical contamination on the Atmosphere Explorer-E satellite

Atmospheric optical emission measurements by the Visible Airglow Experiment (VAE) on board the Atmosphere Explorer (AE-C, D and E) satellites have been analyzed and found to be contaminated at low altitudes. The contamination maximizes in the forward direction along the spacecraft velocity and is sensitive to the composition and density of the ambient atmosphere. Analysis at two different wavelengths suggests that the contamination is likely to have a diffuse band spectrum which is brighter toward the red. Some unknown processes which involve satellite surface materials and the incoming ambient particles are believed to be responsible for the contamination. A simulation model is presented here to account for the observed angular dependence.

Yee, J. H.↗

Onboard Science and Applications Algorithm for Hyperspectral Data Reduction

An onboard processing mission concept is under development for a possible Direct Broadcast capability for the HyspIRI mission, a Hyperspectral remote sensing mission under consideration for launch in the next decade. The concept would intelligently spectrally and spatially subsample the data as well as generate science products onboard to enable return of key rapid response science and applications information despite limited downlink bandwidth. This rapid data delivery concept focuses on wildfires and volcanoes as primary applications, but also has applications to vegetation, coastal flooding, dust, and snow/ice applications. Operationally, the HyspIRI team would define a set of spatial regions of interest where specific algorithms would be executed. For example, known coastal areas would have certain products or bands downlinked, ocean areas might have other bands downlinked, and during fire seasons other areas would be processed for active fire detections. Ground operations would automatically generate the mission plans specifying the highest priority tasks executable within onboard computation, setup, and data downlink constraints. The spectral bands of the TIR (thermal infrared) instrument can accurately detect the thermal signature of fires and send down alerts, as well as the thermal and VSWIR (visible to short-wave infrared) data corresponding to the active fires. Active volcanism also produces a distinctive thermal signature that can be detected onboard to enable spatial subsampling. Onboard algorithms and ground-based algorithms suitable for onboard deployment are mature. On HyspIRI, the algorithm would perform a table-driven temperature inversion from several spectral TIR bands, and then trigger downlink of the entire spectrum for each of the hot pixels identified. Ocean and coastal applications include sea surface temperature (using a small spectral subset of TIR data, but requiring considerable ancillary data), and ocean color applications to track biological activity such as harmful algal blooms. Measuring surface water extent to track flooding is another rapid response product leveraging VSWIR spectral information.

Chien, Steve A.↗

HgCdTe infrared focal plane arrays for imaging spectrometer applications

It is pointed out that the development of two-dimensional infrared focal plane arrays (FPAs) offers new alternatives in imaging and remote sensing. Attention is given to an imaging spectrometer which represents a new concept exploiting two-dimensional arrays. This instrument is to be used for the remote sensing of the earth on the basis of a utilization of reflected sunlight in both the visible (VIS) and short wavelength infrared (SWIR). The imaging spectrometer concept is to make it possible to obtain contiguous spectral coverage at high resolution without having to use increasingly complex scanners. The concept utilizes a prism spectrometer to disperse the image of the slit across the area arrays in the focal plane. The focal plane consists of silicon CCDs for the VIS and near infrared portions of the spectrum and HgCdTe hybrid arrays for the SWIR.

Rode, J. P.↗

Observing the surface of Titan through near-infrared windows in its atmosphere

Possibilities of observing the surface of Titan through near infrared windows in the atmosphere are explored. Studies of Titan's near infrared spectrum are discussed with particular attention being given to the opacity of Titan's atmosphere, infrared spectra of candidate materials of Titan's surface, and ground based studies of Titan's surface. Instruments on board Cassini which will have the capability to observe Titan in the near infrared are presented together with what they may observe. These instruments include the descent imager/spectral radiometer, the Huygens probe and the visible infrared mapping spectrometer, and the imaging science subsystem.

Griffith, Caitlin A.↗

Daily quality assurance software for a satellite radiometer system

Six Differential Microwave Radiometers (DMR) on COBE (Cosmic Background Explorer) measure the large-angular-scale isotropy of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) at 31.5, 53, and 90 GHz. Quality assurance software analyzes the daily telemetry from the spacecraft to ensure that the instrument is operating correctly and that the data are not corrupted. Quality assurance for DMR poses challenging requirements. The data are differential, so a single bad point can affect a large region of the sky, yet the CMB isotropy requires lengthy integration times (greater than 1 year) to limit potential CMB anisotropies. Celestial sources (with the exception of the moon) are not, in general, visible in the raw differential data. A 'quicklook' software system was developed that, in addition to basic plotting and limit-checking, implements a collection of data tests as well as long-term trending. Some of the key capabilities include the following: (1) stability analysis showing how well the data RMS averages down with increased data; (2) a Fourier analysis and autocorrelation routine to plot the power spectrum and confirm the presence of the 3 mK 'cosmic' dipole signal; (3) binning of the data against basic spacecraft quantities such as orbit angle; (4) long-term trending; and (5) dipole fits to confirm the spacecraft attitude azimuth angle.

Keegstra, P. B.↗

Features of the solar background velocity field

The scaling properties of a time series of Doppler images obtained in good visibility conditions are studied. A 28 cm vacuum telescope and a vacuum spectroheliograph in video spectra-spectroheliograph mode, are used. Sixty line-of-sight Doppler images of an area of the quiet sun are investigated. They were taken at 60 sec intervals over a one hour span and have a 2 arcsec resolution. After the removal of the five-minute oscillations, the time-spatial spectrum is calculated. To study the turbulence of photospheric flows, two scaling parameters in the spectra, are estimated: the exponent of the spatial part of the power spectrum, and the exponent governing the scaling of time correlations. The implied diffusive behavior is discussed. This includes the estimation of a diffusion coefficient and the type of diffusion involved.

Ruzmaikin, Alexander↗

Coherent ring-current migration of Mg-phthalocyanine probed by time-resolved X-ray circular dichroism

The coherent ring current of Mg-phthalocyanine created by a broad band UV-visible pump pulse shows variation with time, where the ring currents at the corner benzene rings, around the Mg cation and on the outer ring oscillate with different time periods and the current density migrates among these regions. The 7 pairs of E u degenerate excited states populated upon photoexcitation, generate 21 distinct coherent ring currents. We further calculate the time-resolved X-ray circular dichroism (TRXCD) spectrum of the coherences contributing to the ring current obtained by an attosecond X-ray probe pulse resonant with the nitrogen K-edge. A frequency domain TRXCD signal obtained by a Fourier transform of the signal with respect to the pump-probe delay time clearly separates the currents induced by different state pairs.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Bond-length dependence of attosecond ionization delays in O 2 arising from electron correlation to a shape resonance

We experimentally and theoretically demonstrate that electron correlation can cause the bond-length sensitivity of a shape resonance to induce an unexpected vibrational state–dependent ionization delay in a nonresonant channel. This discovery was enabled by a high-resolution attosecond-interferometry experiment based on a 400-nm driving and dressing wavelength. The short-wavelength driver results in a 6.2–electron volt separation between harmonics, markedly reducing the spectral overlap in the measured interferogram. We demonstrate the promise of this method on O 2 , a system characterized by broad vibrational progressions and a dense photoelectron spectrum. We measure a 40-attosecond variation of the photoionization delays over the X 2 Π g vibrational progression. Multichannel calculations show that this variation originates from a strong bond-length dependence of the energetic position of a shape resonance in the b 4 Σ$^{-}_{g}$ channel, which translates to the observed effects through electron correlation. The unprecedented energy resolution and delay accuracies demonstrate the promise of visible-light–driven molecular attosecond interferometry.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

The diffuse galactic gamma radiation - The Compton contribution and component separation by energy interval and galactic coordinates

The diffuse high-energy galactic gamma radiation to be expected from cosmic ray interactions with matter and photons is considered with particular emphasis on the contribution of Compton radiation from cosmic ray electrons. The intensity, spectrum and spatial distribution of the expected galactic gamma radiation are estimated based on models of the matter, cosmic ray and photon distributions to take into account the contributions of bremsstrahlung, high-energy cosmic-ray nucleon and interstellar matter interactions as well as Compton interactions between cosmic ray electrons and background photons. Results suggest that the Compton gamma ray contribution from cosmic ray electron interactions with galactic visible and infrared photons is substantially larger than previously believed. Analysis of the energy spectra and latitude dependence of the various sources reveals that the Compton radiation, bremsstrahlung and nuclear cosmic ray-matter interaction radiation should be separable, with Compton radiation dominating at energies from 10 to 100 MeV at galactic latitudes greater than several degrees. Results demonstrate the potential of gamma ray observations in studies of galactic structure, cosmic ray electrons and galactic photon density.

Kniffen, D. A.↗

Infrared and visible satellite rain estimation. I - A grid cell approach. II - A cloud definition approach

This study explores the relationships between satellite-viewed cloudy grid cells and the variability of the precipitation contained therein, together with the relationships between the satellite-IR clouds and rainfall and the IR-thresholded visible clouds and rainfall. In the grid cell approach, IR, visible, and radar data for five days of the Florida Area Cumulus Experiment were examined using a 32-km grid and 30-min interval; the results of this experiment indicated that useful, accurate rainfall estimates beyond rain/no rain discrimination are unlikely. In the cloud definition approach, it was found that the cloud IR area was highly correlated with the rain area and with the volume rain rate across the entire spectrum of cloud sizes. It was poorly correlated with mean cloud rain rate.

Negri, Andrew J.↗

Troughs in Ice Sheets and Other Icy Deposits on Mars: Analysis of Their Radiative Balance

It has long been known that groove-like structures in glaciers and ice sheets can trap more incoming solar radiation than is the case for a 'normal' flat, smooth surface. In this presentation, we shall describe the radiative regimes of typical scarps and troughs on icy surfaces of Mars, and suggest how these features originate and evolve through time. The basis of our analysis is the radiation balance model presented by Pfeffer and Bretherton. Their model considers the visible band radiation regime of a V-shaped groove on a terrestrial ice surface, and shows that absorbed energy can be enhanced by up to 50 percent for grooves with small opening angles and with typical polar values of the solar zenith angle. Our work extends this model by considering: (a) departures from V-shaped geometry, (b) both englacial and surficial dust and debris, and (c) the infrared spectrum. We apply the extended model to various features on the Martian surface, including the spiral-like scarps on the Northern and Southern ice sheets, the large-scale chasms (e.g., Chasm Borealis), and groove-like lineations on valley floors thought to be filled with mixtures of dust and icy substances. In conjunction with study of valley-closure experiments, we suggest that spiral-like scarps and chasms are stable features of the Martian climate regime. We also suggest that further study of scarps and chasms may shed light on the composition (i.e., relative proportions of water ice, carbon-dioxide ice and dust) of the Martian ice sheets and valley fills.

Fountain, A.↗