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At least 127 records · Page 7

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NASA NTRS1987

Cosmic-ray elemental abundances from 1 to 10 GeV per amu for boron through nickel

The relative abundances of cosmic-ray nuclei in the charge range boron through nickel over the energy range 1-10 GeV per amu were measured with a balloon-borne detector. The instrument consists of a scintillation and Cerenkov counter telescope with a multiwire proportional chamber hodoscope and has been flown in four high-altitude balloon flights. Good charge resolution (sigma = 0.2 charge units at iron) and high statistical accuracy have been achieved. These data are used to derive the energy dependence of the leakage path length using the leaky box model of propagation and confinement in the galaxy. This energy dependence is found to be best fit by lambda = E(tot) exp -n, where n = 0.49 + or - 0.06 over 1-10 GeV per amu. Relative abundances at the source are consistent with an energy-independent composition.

Dwyer, Robert↗

NASA NTRS1988

Isotopic composition of cosmic-ray boron and nitrogen

New measurements of the cosmic-ray boron and nitrogen isotopes at earth and of the elemental abundances of boron, carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen are presented. A region of mutually allowed values for the cosmic-ray nitrogen source ratios is determined, and the cosmic-ray escape mean free path is determined as a function of energy using a leaky box model for cosmic-ray propagation in the Galaxy. Relative to O-16, a N-15 source abundance consistent with solar system composition and a N-14 source abundance which is a factor of about three underabundant relative to the solar value are found.

Krombel, K. E.↗

NASA NTRS1989

Coolant-Control Valves For Fluid-Sampling Probes

Small built-in leaks prevent overheating. Downstream flow-control globe valve replaced with modified gate valve. Modification consists of drilling small hole through valve gate, so valve never turned completely off. This "leaky" valve provides enough flow of coolant to prevent overheating causing probe to fail. Principle also applied to automatic control system by installing small bypass line around control valve.

Schultz, Donald F.↗

NASA NTRS1989

Theoretical investigation of EM wave generation and radiation in the ULF, ELF, and VLF bands by the electrodynamic orbiting tether

The problem of electromagnetic wave generation by an electrodynamic tethered satellite system is important both for the ordinary operation of such systems and for their possible application as orbiting transmitters. The tether's ionospheric circuit closure problem is closely linked with the propagation of charge-carrying electromagnetic wave packets away from the tethered system. Work is reported which represents a step towards a solution to the problem that takes into account the effects of boundaries and of vertical variations in plasma density, collision frequencies, and ion species. The theory of Alfen wave packet generation by an electrodynamic tethered system in an infinite plasma medium is reviewed, and brief summary of previous work on the problem is given. The consequences of the presence of the boundaries and the vertical nonuniformity are then examined. One of the most significant new features to emerge when ion-neutral collisions are taken into account is the coupling of the Alfven waves to the fast magnetosonic wave. This latter wave is important, as it may be confined by vertical variations in the Alfven speed to a sort of leaky ionospheric wave guide, the resonances of which could be of great importance to the signal received on the Earth's surface. The infinite medium solution for this case where the (uniform) geomagnetic field makes an arbitrary angle with the vertical is taken as the incident wave-packet. Even without a full solution, a number of conclusions can be drawn, the most important of which may be that the electromagnetic field associated with the operation of a steady-current tethered system will probably be too weak to detect on the Earth's surface, even for large tethered currents. This is due to the total reflection of the incident wave at the atmospheric boundary and the inability of a steady-current tethered system to excite the ionospheric wave-guide. An outline of the approach to the numerical problem is given. The use of numerical integrations and boundary conditions consistent with a conducting Earth is proposed to obtain the solution for the horizontal electromagnetic field components at the boundary of the ionosphere with the atmospheric cavity.

Estes, Robert D.↗

NASA NTRS1988

The emergence of X-rays and gamma-rays from supernova 1987A

Attempts to arrive at a unified scenario for the optical, X-ray, and gamma-ray emission of SN 1987A are discussed. Theoretical spectra are in reasonable agreement with recent observations of hard X-rays by the Ginga and Mir satellites, but the early turn-on of X-rays suggests that the mantle and envelope may be 'leaky', perhaps as a result of Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities and clumping. The soft X-ray spectrum should be dominated by a 6.4 keV Fe K-alpha fluorescence line. The reported Ginga detection of 4-10 keV X-ray emission is also discussed.

Shull, J. Michael↗

NASA NTRS1989

Abundances of ultraheavy elements in the cosmic radiation - Results from HEAO 3

An analysis is presented that, for the first time, systematically normalizes the data from the HEAO 3 heavy nuclei experiment on the cosmic-ray abundances of all the elements heavier than germanium to that of iron. In the range of atomic number Z from 33 to 60, the analysis yields abundances of odd-even element pairs. The abundances are consistent with a cosmic-ray source having a composition similar to that of the solar system, but subject to source fractionation correlated with the first ionization potential (FIP) of each element. For Z greater than 60, the analysis yields abundances of element groups. For these heaviest nuclei, we find an enhancement of the abundance of the platinum group, elements with Z of 74-80, relative to that in propagated solar system source, and a corresponding increase in the abundance of the largely secondary elements in the 62-73 range. These abundances suggest that there is an enhancement of the r-process contribution to the source nuclei in the Z greater than 60 charge region. Over the entire region of charge, standard leaky box models of propagation satisfactorily model secondary production.

Binns, W. R.↗

NASA NTRS1989

Measurement of the cosmic ray iron spectrum above 60 GeV/n

A measurement of the spectral index of Galactic cosmic ray (GCR) iron has been performed using the High Energy Gas Cerenkov Spectrometer. The spectral index of GCR iron, in the energy range 60 to 200 GeV/n, has been determined to be 2.56 + or - 0.11. This result indicates that the source spectrum of GCR iron is similar to that of other primary GCR nuclei, as expected in the standard leaky box model.

Esposito, J. A.↗

NASA NTRS1990

Chaotic rhythms of a dripping faucet

An experiment was conducted which showed that a leaky faucet can offer valuable insights on predicting fluid flow. In this experiment, a flow control and drop detector were connected to the printer port of an IBM PC, which computed and saved the time intervals using a program for droptime compiled with Turbo C. It is noted that the time intervals change from periodic to doubly periodic as the flow rate is increased and then to various forms of chaos, interrupted by windows of periodicity. A number of two- and three-dimensional plots are displayed and discussed. Attention is focused on one of the simpler plots which is approximately parabolic, where each successive time interval is a quadratic function of the preceding interval, with a steepness which depends upon the flow rate. It is shown that a single past analog can predict a dripping faucet with reasonable accuracy 7-10 drops ahead. While such methods are more difficult to apply in higher-dimensional systems, this experiment aids in understanding how fluid flow may be predicted even under conditions of unstable flows caused by increase in velocity.

Cahalan, Robert F.↗

NASA NTRS1990

Evidence against a simple two-component model for the far-infrared emission from galaxies

Two of the first Infrared Astronomy Satellite (IRAS) results were that galaxies have a wide range of values for the ratio of 60 micron to 100 micron flux density (0.2 less than or equal to S sub 60/S sub 100 less than or equal to 1.0) and that this ratio is correlated with L sub fir, L sub b, L sub fir being the total far-infrared luminosity and L sub b being the luminosity at visible wavelengths (de Jong et al. 1984; Soifer et al. 1984). From these results arose the following simple model for the far-infrared emission from galaxies (de Jong et al. 1984), which has remained the standard model ever since. In this model, the far-infrared emission comes from two dust components: warm dust (T approx. equals 50 K) intermingled with, and heated by, young massive OB stars in molecular clouds and HII regions, and colder dust (T approx. equals 20 K) associated with the diffuse atomic hydrogen in the interstellar medium and heated by the general interstellar radiation field. As the number of young stars in a galaxy increases, S sub 60/S sub 100 increases, because there is a greater proportion of warm dust, and so does L sub fir/L sub b, because most of the radiation from the young stars is absorbed by the dust, leading to a swifter increase in far-infrared emission than in visible light. Although this model explains the basic IRAS results, it is inelegant. It uses two free parameters to fit two data (the 60 and 100 micron flux densities)-and there are now several observations that contradict it. Despite these major problems with the two-component model, it is not clear what should be put in its place. When considering possible models for the far-infrared emission from galaxies, the observational evidence for our own galaxy must be considered. Researchers suspect that the study by Boulanger and Perault (1988) of the far-infrared properties of the local interstellar medium may be particularly relevant. They showed that molecular clouds are leaky - that most of the light from OB stars in molecular clouds does not heat the dust in the clouds, but instead leaks out. The consequence of this is that that while most of the far-infrared emission from the solar neighborhood is from dust associated with diffuse HI, this dust is mostly heated by young stars.

Eales, Stephen A.↗

NASA NTRS1989

Minimum length Pb/SCIN detector for efficient cosmic ray identification

A study was made of the performance of a minimal length cosmic ray shower detector that would be light enough for space flight and would provide efficient identification of positions and protons. Cosmic ray positions are mainly produced in the decay chain of: Pion yields Muon yields Positron and they provide a measure of the matter density traversed by primary protons. Present positron flux measurements are consistent with the Leaky Box and Halo models for sources of cosmic rays. Abundant protons in the space environment are a significant source of background that would wash out the positron signal. Protons and positrons produced very distictive showers of particles when they enter matter; many studies have been published on their behavior on large calorimeter detectors. The challenge is to determine the minimal material necessary (minimal calorimeter depth) for positive particles identification. The primary instrument for the investigation is the Monte Carlo code GEANT, a library of programs from CERN that can be used to model experimental geometry, detector responses and particle interaction processes. The use of the Monte Carlo approach is crucial since statistical fluctuations in shower shape are significant. Studies conducted during the 1988 summer program showed that straightforward approaches to the problem achieved 85 to 90 percent correct identification, but left a residue of 10 to 15 percent misidentified particles. This percentage improved to a few percent when multiple shower-cut criteria were applied to the data. This summer, the same study was extended to employ several physical and statistical methods of identifying response of the calorimeter and the efficiency of the optimal shower cuts to off-normal incidence particle was determined.

Snyder, H. David↗

NASA NTRS1990

Subsurface energy storage and transport for solar-powered geysers on Triton

The location of active geyser-like eruptions and related features close to the current subsolar latitude on Triton suggests a solar energy source for these phenomena. Solid-state greenhouse calculations have shown that sunlight can generate substantially elevated subsurface temperatures. A variety of models for the storage of solar energy in a subgreenhouse layer and for the supply of gas and energy to a geyser are examined. 'Leaky greenhouse' models with only vertical gas transport are inconsistent with the observed upper limit on geyser radius of about 1.5 km. However, lateral transport of energy by gas flow in a porous N2 layer with a block size on the order of a meter can supply the required amount of gas to a source region about 1 km in radius. The decline of gas output to steady state may occur over a period comparable with the inferred active geyser lifetime of 5 earth years. The required subsurface permeability may be maintained by thermal fracturing of the residual N2 polar cap. A lower limit on geyser source radius of about 50 to 100 m predicted by a theory of negatively buoyant jets is not readily attained.

Kirk, Randolph L.↗

NASA NTRS1990

Observations of the earth's continuum radiation in the distant magnetotail with ISEE 3

Observations of the earth's nonthermal continuum radiation made with the radio receiver on ISEE 3 are analyzed, emphasizing rapid crossings of the magnetopause in the distant magnetotail. The intensity and anisotropy of the radiation field are always found to be larger in the lobes than in the magnetosheath. The radiation is interpreted as arising from a source located at or near the plasmapause. It is suggested that the observed variations across the magnetopause of the intensity and anisotropy can be understood by taking into account the facts that the magnetotail is a plasma waveguide whose walls are sometimes rough and leaky and that there are density fluctuations in the magnetosheath. The efficiency with which the continuum power at 30 kHz is collected in the near-earth regions and ducted toward the distant tail is a strong, increasing function of the magnetosheath plasma frequency (MPF). The percentage of that power which travels in the magnetosheath decreases with increasing MPF.

Steinberg, J.-L.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Studies of low-energy Galactic cosmic-ray composition at 22 AU. I - Secondary/primary ratios

Data from the High Energy Telescope of the CRS experiment on Voyager 2 have been used to measure the intensity, spectra, and elemental abundances of Galactic cosmic rays from Be to Ni at about 100 MeV/n. The charge resolution of this telescope varies from sigma = 0.034 for oxygen to sigma = 0.11 for iron. The solar modulation deceleration parameter Phi relevant for these data is estimated to be around 300 MV (Phi = 150 MeV/n for particles with A/Z = 2), an unprecedently low level for such measurements. This low modulation parameter is a result of the measurements being made in the outer heliosphere at a heliocentric distance of 22 AU, and centered on the solar minimum period of cycle 21. The results on secondary/primary ratios are used to test the Leaky-Box model of cosmic ray propagation, using the most recent cross sections data in hydrogen and helium, and taking into account the effects of the ionized fraction of the interstellar medium. It is found that all the secondary/primary ratios up to P/S are completely consistent with an exponential pathlength distribution (PLD). This PLD shape also accounts for the Sc-V/Fe ratio.

Ferrando, P.↗

NASA NTRS1990

New aspects of heavy cosmic rays from calcium to nickel (Z = 20 to 28)

Over the two year course of this grant a study was conducted to explore the implications of composition measurements of heavy cosmic rays made by the Third High Energy Astronomy Observatory (HEAO-3). To interpret these and other measurements this study combined for the first time new laboratory measurements of the fragmentation cross sections of heavy nuclei, a new semi-empirical cross section formula, and the latest in cosmic ray propagation and solar modulation models. These models were used to interpret abundance measurements from six recent satellite experiments, including, in particular, two from HEAO-3. The principal results of the study were: (1) an improved interpretation of the Mn-54 clock in cosmic rays, including predictions of the isotopic abundances of Mn for comparison with future isotope measurements; (2) the first realization of the effect of Mn-54 decay on studies of the source abundances of Fe isotopes; (3) improved source abundances of the elements Ar, Ca, Cr, Mn, Fe, and Ni in the cosmic ray source material; (4) an improved fit to the abundances of Fe secondaries in cosmic rays; and (5) additional evidence that supports the validity of the leaky-box model of cosmic ray propagation in the galaxy. This final report summarizes these new results, the new tools that were developed to obtain them, and presents a bibliography of talks and publications that resulted from this work.

Mewaldt, Richard A.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Ion pickup, scattering, and stochastic acceleration in the cometary environment of P/Giacobini-Zinner

Observations and theory related to the scattering and acceleration of cometary pickup ions are reviewed with emphasis on Comet P/Giacobini-Zinner. A comparison of the regions upstream and downstream of the bow shock is made to assess the relative merits of each as a site for stochastic acceleration of ions above the pickup energy through interaction with low-frequency MHD waves. In the far upstream region the data are most consistent with a model where pickup ions generate a low level of MHD waves but remain relatively scatter-free. In the downstream region intense magnetic fluctuations gives rise to rapid isotropization of the ions and a second-order stochastic acceleration. The properties of the MHD power spectrum are related to the energetic ion spectrum in the framework of a leaky box model where the bulk of the acceleration occurs downstream of the shock throughout the cometosheath. Good agreement of the observations with theory is evident for both P/Giacobini-Zinner and P/Halley.

Barbosa, D. D.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Theoretical model for a thin cylindrical film optical fiber fluorosensor

The analytical treatment of power efficiency (P(eff) is undertaken for the case of a positively guiding optical fiber with a thin-film source distributed in the core-cladding interface. The approach adopts the exact solution of the cylindrical optical fiber with an infinite cladding to account for differences between the indices of refraction of the core and the cladding. The excitation of low-loss leaky modes by the cladding is ignored, and only the injection by the evanescent field is considered. The formulas permit the analysis of the power-injection efficiency of fibers with arbitrary differences in indices of refraction. P(eff) does not always increase with V number, but rather varies slightly with wavelength and fiber-core radius and varies significantly with the difference in the indices of refraction. The theoretical results of the work are of interest for designing an atomic-O chemical sensor based on evanescent-wave coupling.

Egalon, Claudio O.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Antarctic marine gravity field from high-density satellite altimetry

High-density (about 2-km profile spacing) Geosat/GM altimetry profiles were obtained for Antarctic waters (6-deg S to 72 deg S) and converted to vertical gravity gradient, using Laplace's equation to directly calculate gravity gradient from vertical deflection grids and Fourier analysis to construct gravity anomalies from two vertical deflection grids. The resultant gravity grids have resolution and accuracy comparable to shipboard gravity profiles. The obtained gravity maps display many interesting and previously uncharted features, such as a propagating rift wake and a large 'leaky transform' along the Pacific-Antarctic Rise.

Sandwell, David T.↗

NASA NTRS1987

On the possibility of observing cosmic ray sources in high energy gamma rays

If cosmic rays are accelerated by strong shocks, then cosmic ray sources should be characterized by spectra, dN/dE alpha E exp -(2.0-2.2), reflecting the strength of those shocks. This is expected from the 'standard leaky box' model of cosmic ray propagation in which the source spectra are harder than the observed spectra because higher energy particles have shorter residence times in the galactic magnetic fields. Furthermore, data on cosmic ray nucleons suggest that these sources might be surrounded by material. If the latter is true, such sources should be observable in gamma rays at energies beyond 1 GeV where the angular resolution of gamma-ray telescopes is optimized and the background is significantly reduced. For identified sources, the source location accuracy can be shown to improve with increasing energy in spite of the decreasing statistics, as long as the gamma-ray spectrum is harder than dN/dE alpha E exp -gamma. A Monte Carlo model is used to predict the photon spectra which would be expected from cosmic ray sources under varying assumptions about the strength of the shocks in the acceleration region.

Ormes, J. F.↗