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NASA NTRS1989

Self-consistent model of the low-latitude boundary layer

A simple, two-dimensional, steady state, viscous model of the dawnside and duskside low-latitude boundary layer is presented. The model described boundary layer currents, magnetic fields, and plasma flow in a self-consistent way. Coupling to the ionosphere via field-aligned currents and associated field-aligned potential drops governed by a simple conductance law are included in the model. The model equations are given and the results from the model are compared with observations.

Phan, T. D.↗

NASA NTRS1989

Consistent vertical and horizontal resolution

Simple physical relations (namely, the Rossby ratio between vertical and horizontal scales in quasi-geostrophic flow and the dispersion relation for internal gravity waves) are used to estimate the vertical resolution consistent with a given horizontal resolution. Using these relations it is found that virtually all large scale models and observing systems have inadequate vertical resolution. In models, the excess horizontal resolution can lead to increased model 'noise' rather than improved accuracy. In observing systems, the finer horizontal scales can be severely misrepresented.

Lindzen, Richard S.↗

NASA NTRS1991

A self-consistent model for the particles and fields upstream of an outgassing comet. I - Gyrotropic and isotropic ion distributions

The magnetic field and solar wind flow parameters in the vicinity of a weakly outgassing comet are determined using a self-consistent model which treats the cometary ions kinetically. Two different assumptions are made concerning the cometary ion distribution function; the pickup cometary ions from either a velocity space gyrotropic ring distribution or a velocity space isotropic shell distribution in the solar wind frame of reference. The individual currents due to the solar wind and cometary ions, which determine the magnetic field, are calculated in each case. Using theoretically determined parameters which reflect the conditions expected to comet Kopff (a typical short-period comet and one possible target for the future CRAF/Cassini mission) for various heliocentric distances, the way in which global field and flow characteristics are influenced by the nature of the cometary ion distribution function is determined.

Flammer, K. R.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Maintaining consistency in distributed systems

In systems designed as assemblies of independently developed components, concurrent access to data or data structures normally arises within individual programs, and is controlled using mutual exclusion constructs, such as semaphores and monitors. Where data is persistent and/or sets of operation are related to one another, transactions or linearizability may be more appropriate. Systems that incorporate cooperative styles of distributed execution often replicate or distribute data within groups of components. In these cases, group oriented consistency properties must be maintained, and tools based on the virtual synchrony execution model greatly simplify the task confronting an application developer. All three styles of distributed computing are likely to be seen in future systems - often, within the same application. This leads us to propose an integrated approach that permits applications that use virtual synchrony with concurrent objects that respect a linearizability constraint, and vice versa. Transactional subsystems are treated as a special case of linearizability.

Birman, Kenneth P.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Using consistent subcuts for detecting stable properties

We present a general protocol for detecting whether a property holds in a distributed system, where the property is a member of a subclass of stable properties we call the locally stable properties. Our protocol is based on a decentralized method for constructing a maximal subset of the local states that are mutually consistent, which in turn is based on a weakened version of vectored time stamps. The structure of our protocol lends itself to refinement, and we demonstrate its utility by deriving some specialized property-detection protocols, including two previously known protocols that are known to be effective.

Marzullo, Keith↗

NASA NTRS1991

Compatibility and consistency in aircrew decision aiding

A group of 32 subjects performed a flight-control task while responding to between one and four analog indicators that were formatted as either command or status-decision aid displays. The results obtained indicate the advantage of the status format when subjects are required to verbally support the state of the indicator(s), in part, because the command format 'bypasses' the representation of the indicator's state from which the command was derived. No advantage is noted for either format in the case where the subjects are required to manually correct the state indicated. The importance of consistency in system-design efforts may exceed that of compatibility.

Andre, Anthony D.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Formal verification of an oral messages algorithm for interactive consistency

The formal specification and verification of an algorithm for Interactive Consistency based on the Oral Messages algorithm for Byzantine Agreement is described. We compare our treatment with that of Bevier and Young, who presented a formal specification and verification for a very similar algorithm. Unlike Bevier and Young, who observed that 'the invariant maintained in the recursive subcases of the algorithm is significantly more complicated than is suggested by the published proof' and who found its formal verification 'a fairly difficult exercise in mechanical theorem proving,' our treatment is very close to the previously published analysis of the algorithm, and our formal specification and verification are straightforward. This example illustrates how delicate choices in the formulation of the problem can have significant impact on the readability of its formal specification and on the tractability of its formal verification.

Rushby, John↗

NASA NTRS1991

'Self-consistent' production of ion conics on return current region auroral field lines - A time-dependent, semi-kinetic model

We describe initial results from a time-dependent, semi-kinetic model of plasma outflow incorporating wave-particle interactions along current-carrying auroral field lines. Electrostatic waves are generated by the current driven ion cyclotron instability (CDICI), causing perpendicular velocity diffusion of ions plus electron heating via anomalous resistivity when and where the relative drift between electrons and ions exceeds certain critical velocities. Using the local bulk parameters we calculate these critical velocities, and so are able to self-consistently switch on and off the heating of the various particle species. Due to the dependence of these critical velocities on the bulk parameters of the species the heating effects exhibit quite complex spatial and temporal variations. A wide range of ion distribution functions are observed in these simulations, including conics with energies of a few electron volts and 'ring' distributions. The rings are seen to be a natural result of transverse heating and velocity filter effects and do not require coherent acceleration processes. We also observe the formation of a density depletion in hydrogen and enhanced oxygen densities at high altitudes.

Brown, David G.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Critical experiments of the self-consistent model for polycrystalline Hastelloy-X

A viscoplastic constitutive model is presented for the estimation of the overall mechanical response of Hastelloy-X polycrystalline metals from a knowledge of single crystal behavior. The behavior of polycrystal is derived from that of single crystals using a self-consistent formulation. The single crystal behavior which has been used was developed by summing postulated slip on crystallographic slip systems. The plasticity and creep are treated coupledly using unified viscoplastic model which includes the interaction effects between rapid and slow deformation at elevated temperature. The validity of the model is directly tested by experiments on Hastelloy-X in both single crystal and polycrystalline versions.

Shi, Shixiang↗

NASA NTRS1993

Consistency of spherical, gravity-dominated dynamics with quasar high-ionization emission-line profiles

Line profile data are used to test a simple kinematic model - spherically symmetric gravitational free fall - in which the number of free parameters is limited by requiring physical self-consistency. The predictions of this model are fitted to high-resolution spectra of the stronger rest-frame UV emission lines in 12 quasars with z of about 2. It is found that if all the lines are radiated predominantly from the illuminated faces of the emission-line clouds, the profiles of Ly-alpha, N V 1240 A, and C IV 1549 A can be simultaneously well fitted with very similar parameters for all 12 quasars. It is concluded that spherically symmetric gravitational free fall does not correctly describe the dynamics of quasar broad emission-line regions.

Kallman, T. R.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Compatibility and consistency in display-control systems - Implications for aircraft decision aid design

In this study we contrast display-control movement relations defined in terms of stimulus-response (physical) compatibility with those defined by stimulus-cognitive compatibility, and we relate these findings to the issue of command versus status levels of decision aid support. A second issue addressed is the cost of inconsistency across multiple display-control mappings. Subjects performed a flight control task while responding to one to four analog indicators, formatted as either command or status displays. The results suggest that there is an advantage for the status format when subjects are required to verbally report the state of the indicator(s), but no advantage was found for either format when subjects were required to manually correct the indicated state. The data point to the importance of display-control consistency and suggest that it may even outweigh that of compatibility.

Andre, Anthony D.↗

NASA NTRS1993

Self-consistent formation of parallel electric fields in the auroral zone

This paper presents results from a fully self-consistent kinetic particle simulation of the time-dependent formation of large scale parallel electric fields in the auroral zone. The results show that magnetic mirroring of the hot plasma that streams earthward from the magnetotail leads to a charge separation potential drop of many kilovolts, over an altitude range of a few thousand kilometers. Once the potential drop is formed, it remains relatively static and is maintained in time by the constant input of hot plasma from the tail; the parallel electric field accelerates ions away from Earth and ionospheric electrons towards the Earth. At altitudes above where the ions are mirror reflected and accelerated by the parallel electric field, low frequency waves are generated, possibly due to an ion/ion two-stream interaction.

Schriver, David↗

NASA NTRS1993

Nonlinear smoothing identification algorithm with application to data consistency checks

A parameter identification algorithm for nonlinear systems is presented. It is based on smoothing test data with successively improved sets of model parameters. The smoothing, which is iterative, provides all of the information needed to compute the gradients of the smoothing performance measure with respect to the parameters. The parameters are updated using a quasi-Newton procedure, until convergence is achieved. The advantage of this algorithm over standard maximum likelihood identification algorithms is the computational savings in calculating the gradient. This algorithm was used for flight-test data consistency checks based on a nonlinear model of aircraft kinematics. Measurement biases and scale factors were identified. The advantages of the presented algorithm and model are discussed.

Idan, M.↗

NASA NTRS1993

Internal vibrations of a molecule consisting of rigid segments. I - Non-interacting internal vibrations

For molecular crystals, a procedure is proposed for interpreting experimentally determined atomic mean square anisotropic displacement parameters (ADPs) in terms of the overall molecular vibration together with internal vibrations with the assumption that the molecule consists of a set of linked rigid segments. The internal librations (molecular torsional or bending modes) are described using the variable internal coordinates of the segmented body. With this procedure, the experimental ADPs obtained from crystal structure determinations involving six small molecules (sym-trinitrobenzene, adenosine, tetra-cyanoquinodimethane, benzamide, alpha-cyanoacetic acid hydrazide and N-acetyl-L-tryptophan methylamide) have been analyzed. As a consequence, vibrational corrections to the bond lengths and angles of the molecule are calculated as well as the frequencies and force constants for each internal torsional or bending vibration.

He, X. M.↗

NASA NTRS1993

A self-consistent model for the long-term gamma-ray spectral variability of Cygnus X-1

The long-term transitions of the black hole candidate Cygnus X-1 (between the states gamma-1, gamma-2, and gamma-3) include the occasional appearance of a strong nearly-MeV bump (gamma-1), whose strength appears to be anticorrelated with the continuum flux (below 400 keV) due to the Compton upscattering of cold disk photons by the inner, hot corona. We develop a self-consistent disk picture in which the bump is seen as due to the self-Comptonization of bremsstrahlung photons emitted predominantly near the plane of the corona itself. A decrease by a factor of about two in the viscosity parameter alpha is responsible for quenching this bump and driving the system to the gamma-2 state, whereas a transition from gamma-2 to gamma-3 appears to be induced by an increase of about 25 percent in the accretion rate M. In view of the fact that most of the transitions observed in this source seem to be of the gamma-2-gamma-3 variety, we conclude that much of the long-term gamma-ray spectral variability in Cygnus X-1 is due to these small fluctuations in M. The unusual appearance of the gamma-1 state apparently reflects a change in the dissipative processes within the disk.

Melia, Fulvio↗

NASA NTRS1993

Electromagnetically driven relativistic jets - A class of self-consistent numerical solutions

We explore the generalized Grad-Shafranov (GS) equation (Lovelace et al. 1986), which describes the cross-field balance of the magnetic flux surfaces in a stationary, axisymmetric, cold relativistic MHD wind. We construct a family of self-consistent, jet-type, non-self-similar solutions in which flux surfaces thread the equatorial plane vertically and are eventually collimated into nested cylinders. These solutions conserve the total energy and angular momentum along each flux surface and satisfy the relativistic GS equation in the cross-field direction. We find that the total specific energy in the flow depends primarily on a dimensionless combination of the poloidal magnetic flux, the rotation, and the mass loading rate, which reduces to Michel's (1969) magnetization parameter for radial winds. The final width of the flow and its ratio of kinetic energy flux to Poynting flux depend sensitively on the pressure distribution of the ambient medium, which is required to contain the jet at its outer edge when no jet-confirming external toroidal magnetic field is present. Furthermore, we show that the magnetic pressure in the flow can be much higher near the axis than close to the edge, reflecting the 'pinching' effect of the toroidal magnetic field.

Li, Zhi-Yun↗

NASA NTRS1993

Regolith breccia consisting of H and LL chondrite mixture

Antarctic meteorite Yamato-8424 (Y-8424) is a regolith breccia that is homogenized mixture of H and LL chondrite components. The breccia consists mainly of a fine-grained material with mineral fragments of olivine, pyroxene, and Fe-Ni metal with traces of plagioclase.

Yanai, Keizo↗

NASA NTRS1993

Self-consistent current sheet structures in the quiet-time magnetotail

The structure of the quiet-time magnetotail is studied using a test particle simulation. Vlasov equilibria are obtained in the regime where v(D) = E(y) c/B(z) is much less than the ion thermal velocity and are self-consistent in that the current and magnetic field satisfy Ampere's law. Force balance between the plasma and magnetic field is satisfied everywhere. The global structure of the current sheet is found to be critically dependent on the source distribution function. The pressure tensor is nondiagonal in the current sheet with anisotropic temperature. A kinetic mechanism is proposed whereby changes in the source distribution results in a thinning of the current sheet.

Holland, Daniel L.↗