Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “probe counts”

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.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 127 records · Page 7

NASA Tech Briefs, November 2010

Topics covered include: Portable Handheld Optical Window Inspection Device; Salience Assignment for Multiple-Instance Data and Its Application to Crop Yield Prediction; Speech Acquisition and Automatic Speech Recognition for Integrated Spacesuit Audio Systems ; Predicting Long-Range Traversability from Short-Range Stereo-Derived Geometry; Browser-Based Application for Telemetry Monitoring of Robotic Assets; Miniature Low-Noise G-Band I-Q Receiver; Methods of Using a Magnetic Field Response Sensor Within Closed, Electrically Conductive Containers; Differential Resonant Ring YIG Tuned Oscillator; Microfabricated Segmented-Involute-Foil Regenerator for Stirling Engines; Reducing Seal Adhesion in Low Impact Docking Systems; Optimal Flow Control Design; Corrosion-Resistant Container for Molten-Material Processing; Reusable Hot-Wire Cable Cutter; Deployment of a Curved Truss; High-Volume Airborne Fluids Handling Technologies to Fight Wildfires; Modeling of Alkane Oxidation Using Constituents and Species; Fabrication of Lanthanum Telluride 14-1-11 Zintl High-Temperature Thermoelectric Couple; A Computer Model for Analyzing Volatile Removal Assembly; Analysis of Nozzle Jet Plume Effects on Sonic Boom Signature; Optical Sidebands Multiplier; Single Spatial-Mode Room-Temperature-Operated 3.0 to 3.4 micrometer Diode Lasers; Self-Nulling Beam Combiner Using No External Phase Inverter; Portable Dew Point Mass Spectrometry System for Real-Time Gas and Moisture Analysis; Maximum Likelihood Time-of-Arrival Estimation of Optical Pulses via Photon-Counting Photodetectors; Handheld White Light Interferometer for Measuring Defect Depth in Windows; Decomposition Algorithm for Global Reachability on a Time-Varying Graph; Autonomous GN and C for Spacecraft Exploration of Comets and Asteroids; Efficient Web Services Policy Combination; Using CTX Image Features to Predict HiRISE-Equivalent Rock Density; Isolation of the Paenibacillus phoenicis, a Spore-Forming Bacterium; Monolithically Integrated, Mechanically Resilient Carbon-Based Probes for Scanning Probe Microscopy; Cell Radiation Experiment System; Process to Produce Iron Nanoparticle Lunar Dust Simulant Composite; Inversion Method for Early Detection of ARES-1 Case Breach Failure; Use of ILTV Control Laws for LaNCETS Flight Research;and Evaluating Descent and Ascent Trajectories Near Non-Spherical Bodies.

Source record↗

Large Binocular Telescope and Sptizer Spectroscopy of Star-forming Galaxies at 1 < z < 3: Extinction and Star Formation Rate Indicators

We present spectroscopic observations in the rest-frame optical and near- to mid-infrared wavelengths of four gravitationally lensed infrared (IR) luminous star-forming galaxies at redshift 1 < z < 3 from the LUCIFER instrument on the Large Binocular Telescope and the Infrared Spectrograph on Spitzer. The sample was selected to represent pure, actively star-forming systems, absent of active galactic nuclei. The large lensing magnifications result in high signal-to-noise spectra that can probe faint IR recombination lines, including Paα and Brα at high redshifts. The sample was augmented by three lensed galaxies with similar suites of unpublished data and observations from the literature, resulting in the final sample of seven galaxies. We use the IR recombination lines in conjunction with Hα observations to probe the extinction, Av, of these systems, as well as testing star formation rate (SFR) indicators against the SFR measured by fitting spectral energy distributions to far-IR photometry. Our galaxies occupy a range of Av from ∼0 to 5.9 mag, larger than previously known for a similar range of IR luminosities at these redshifts. Thus, estimates of SFR even at z ∼ 2 must take careful count of extinction in the most IR luminous galaxies.We also measure extinction by comparing SFR estimates from optical emission lines with those from far- IR measurements. The comparison of results from these two independent methods indicates a large variety of dust distribution scenarios at 1 < z < 3. Without correcting for dust extinction, the Hα SFR indicator underestimates the SFR; the size of the necessary correction depends on the IR luminosity and dust distribution scenario. Individual SFR estimates based on the 6.2μm polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon emission line luminosity do not show a systematic discrepancy with extinction, although a considerable, ∼0.2 dex, scatter is observed.

Rujopakarn, W.↗

Searches for New Physics With Muon Conversion at Fermilab and Triboson Production at the LHC

We report on several efforts to search for physics beyond the standard model of particle physics at broad energy scales. The Mu2e experiment at Fermilab will search for charged lepton flavor violation via the muon to electron conversion process, which is suppressed in the Standard Model. Mu2e will be operated at a low energy, yet can probe New Physics at very high mass scales (O(1e3 - 1e4 ) TeV). At high energies, the CMS experiment at the CERN LHC continues to deliver an impressive suite of Standard Model measurements and limits on a variety of New Physics signatures. Mu2e is under construction and slated to collect its first physics data in the coming years. This thesis describes work done during the construction phase of Mu2e and focuses on two critical areas: magnetic field modeling and statistical analysis. We describe a novel method for field modeling which we validate using a simulated dataset representing the expected magnetic field in the Detector Solenoid. This method blends a standard least-squares fitting technique that utilizes physically motivated analytical model functions with a novel physics informed network that is constructed to obey Maxwell’s equations. We show the technique can model the field with an accuracy of 10−7 despite the presence of injected noise in the pseudo-measurements at the 10−5 level. We then present preliminary results of the calibration of 3D Hall probes at the sub-10−4 level. These probes will be used to directly measure the Mu2e Detector Solenoid magnetic field on a sparse grid; these measurements serve as the input to the field model fitting. Finally, we describe the first implementation of both an unbinned shape analysis and a Bayesian interpretation applied to Mu2e pseudo-data. Up to 20% tighter limits can be set by the shape analysis compared to a standard cut & count analysis. The AlCap experiment collected data at PSI in 2015 to measure several important quantities related to nuclear muon capture on an aluminum target, which is a significant background process for Mu2e. The neutron emission from muon capture can introduce background hits in the Mu2e detectors and can increase radiation damage in various elements of the apparatus. We present measurements of the neutron group fluence and mean neutron multiplicity for muon capture on aluminum nuclei. Finally, we discuss an analysis of triboson production at CMS using an Effective Field Theory framework. Standard Model triboson production, which was first observed at CMS in 2020, has a relatively small cross section and provides direct access to both anomalous triple gauge couplings and quartic gauge couplings. These couplings, interpreted in the Standard Model Effective Field Theory, are studied in the present work. We target the boosted regime where the background rate is low and yields are enhanced when dimension-6 and dimension-8 Wilson coefficients are non-zero. We do not observe an excess in the data and therefore set bounds on the Wilson coefficients. For dimension-6 coefficients the tightest observed (expected) bounds are set on cW /Λ2 where Λ is the mass scale of new physics; the bounds are [−0.13, 0.12] TeV−2 ([−0.12, 0.12] TeV−2 ) at 95% CL. The tightest bounds in dimension-8 are set on fT,0 / Λ4 ; the observed (expected) bounds at 95% CL are [−0.63, 0.69] TeV−4 ([−0.54, 0.62] TeV−4 ). Additional results are presented which include scenarios where multiple Wilson coefficients are non-zero, the application of signal model clipping to address unitarity violation in Effective Field Theories, and a novel template fit developed for easier reinterpretation of our results.

Kampa, Cole Erik [Northwestern U. (main)] (ORCID:0↗

X-ray multi-probe data acquisition: A novel technique for laser pump x-ray transient absorption spectroscopy

We report the development and implementation of a novel data acquisition (DAQ) technique for synchrotron-based laser pump X-ray Transient Absorption (XTA) spectroscopy, called X-ray Multi-Probe DAQ (XMP DAQ). This technique utilizes high performance analog to digital converters and home-built software to efficiently measure and process the XTA signal from all x-ray pulses between laser excitations. XMP DAQ generates a set of time resolved x-ray absorption spectra at thousands of different pump–probe time delays simultaneously. Two distinct XMP DAQ schemes are deployed to accommodate different synchrotron storage ring filling patterns. Current Integration (CI) DAQ is a quasi-analog technique that implements a fitting procedure to extract the time resolved absorption intensity from the averaged fluorescence detector response. The fitting procedure eliminates issues associated with small drifts in the voltage baseline and greatly enhances the accuracy of the technique. Photon Counting (PC) DAQ is a binary technique that uses a time resolved histogram to calculate the XTA spectrum. While PC DAQ is suited to measure XTA data with closely spaced x-ray pulses (~10 ns) and a low count rate (<1 detected photon/pulse), CI DAQ works best for widely spaced pulses (tens of ns or greater) with a high count rate (>1 detected photon/pulse). XMP DAQ produces a two-dimensional XTA dataset, enabling efficient quantitative analysis of photophysical and photochemical processes from the sub-nanosecond timescale to 100 μs and longer.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

The dynamics of superclusters - Initial determination of the mass density of the universe at large scales

The radial velocities of cluster members of two rich, large superclusters have been measured in order to probe the supercluster mass densities, and simple evolutionary models have been computed to place limits upon the mass density within each supercluster. These superclusters represent true physical associations of size of about 100 Mpc seen presently at an early stage of evolution. One supercluster is weakly bound, the other probably barely bound, but possibly marginally unbound. Gravity has noticeably slowed the Hubble expansion of both superclusters. Galaxy surface-density counts and the density enhancement of Abell clusters within each supercluster were used to derive the ratio of mass densities of the superclusters to the mean field mass density. The results strongly exclude a closed universe.

Ford, H. C.↗

Two-color scattering for the measurement of neutrals at the edge of fusion devices

Laser two-color scattering (TCS) is proposed to detect the neutral species in the edge of fusion devices, namely, tokamaks. Here, TCS uses two wavelengths to probe both the laser Rayleigh scattering and Thomson scattering of the neutral-electron bath, with emphasis on neutral density measurements such as that of hydrogen and deuterium. Modeling of the Rayleigh scattering of tokamak neutral species under various plasma conditions (electron density and temperature) shows that, with an appropriate filtering of the Thomson signal and by going to ultraviolet-region wavelengths, identification of the Rayleigh signal can be achieved. Photon count and signal fractions are calculated in two test cases, one in the midplane region of the National Spherical Torus Experiment and one in the divertor region of DIII-D. An uncertainty analysis and discussion of the feasibility of the TCS diagnostic is also presented.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Qualification of A Transition Edge Sensor Based Anti-Coincidence Detector for A Probe Class Mission

The Line Emission Mapper (or LEM) is an X-ray probe class mission aimed to study the physics of galaxy formation, with a large field-of-view, high-resolution transition-edge sensor (TES) microcalorimeter. Because of the diffuse and faint nature of LEM’s targets, a high-fidelity anticoincidence detector (anti-co) is essential to reduce instrument background below the level of sky background. Lying directly behind the LEM sensor, the anti-co will detect ~3 counts per second per square centimeter from background galactic cosmic rays and the secondary particles they induce to detect and flag any events that could be confused with a science photon in the 0.3-2 keV signal band of LEM. Our design spans an active region 4-cm in diameter. It consists of 12 quasiparticle-trap-assisted electrothermal-feedback (QET) channels, each with 100 parallel TESes with common bias lines. The TES is a narrow strip of Mo/Au bilayer. We present fabrication processes that maintain the transition temperature (T c ) in Mo/Au bilayer structures across the active region. We further present a new design based on a a-Si/W TES layer that has previously achieved reasonable uniformity in lab testing.

x-ray↗

Probing the X-Ray Binary Populations of the Ring Galaxy NGC 1291

We present Chandra studies of the X-ray binary (XRB) populations in the bulge and ring regions of the ring galaxy NGC 1291. We detect 169 X-ray point sources in the galaxy, 75 in the bulge and 71 in the ring, utilizing the four available Chandra observations totaling an effective exposure of 179 ks. We report photometric properties of these sources in a point-source catalog. There are approx. 40% of the bulge sources and approx. 25% of the ring sources showing > 3(sigma) long-term variability in their X-ray count rate. The X-ray colors suggest that a significant fraction of the bulge (approx. 75%) and ring (approx. 65%) sources are likely low-mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs). The spectra of the nuclear source indicate that it is a low-luminosity AGN with moderate obscuration; spectral variability is observed between individual observations. We construct 0.3-8.0 keV X-ray luminosity functions (XLFs) for the bulge and ring XRB populations, taking into account the detection incompleteness and background AGN contamination. We reach 90% completeness limits of approx.1.5 x 10(exp 37) and approx. 2.2 x 10(exp 37) erg/s for the bulge and ring populations, respectively. Both XLFs can be fit with a broken power-law model, and the shapes are consistent with those expected for populations dominated by LMXBs. We perform detailed population synthesis modeling of the XRB populations in NGC 1291 , which suggests that the observed combined XLF is dominated by aD old LMXB population. We compare the bulge and ring XRB populations, and argue that the ring XRBs are associated with a younger stellar population than the bulge sources, based on the relative over-density of X-ray sources in the ring, the generally harder X-ray color of the ring sources, the overabundance of luminous sources in the combined XLF, and the flatter shape of the ring XLF.

Luo, B.↗

Further Progress in Noise Source Identification in High Speed Jets via Causality Principle

To locate noise sources in high-speed jets, the sound pressure fluctuations p/, measured at far field locations, were correlated with each of density p, axial velocity u, radial velocity v, puu and pvv fluctuations measured from various points in fully expanded, unheated plumes of Mach number 0.95, 1.4 and 1.8. The velocity and density fluctuations were measured simultaneously using a recently developed, non-intrusive, point measurement technique based on molecular Rayleigh scattering (Seasholtz, Panda, and Elam, AIAA Paper 2002-0827). The technique uses a continuous wave, narrow line-width laser, Fabry-Perot interferometer and photon counting electronics. The far field sound pressure fluctuations at 30 to the jet axis provided the highest correlation coefficients with all flow variables. The correlation coefficients decreased sharply with increased microphone polar angle, and beyond about 60 all correlation mostly fell below the experimental noise floor. Among all correlations < puu; p/> showed the highest values. Interestingly, , in all respects, were very similar to . The and correlations with 90deg microphone fell below the noise floor. By moving the laser probe at various locations in the jet it was found that the strongest noise source lies downstream of the end of the potential core and extends many diameters beyond. Correlation measurement from the lip shear layer showed a Mach number dependency. While significant correlations were measured in Mach 1.8 jet, values were mostly below the noise floor for subsonic Mach 0.95 jet. Various additional analyses showed that fluctuations from large organized structures mostly contributed to the measured correlation, while that from small scale structures fell below the noise floor.

Panda, J.↗

Rayleigh Scattering Diagnostic for Measurement of Temperature, Velocity, and Density Fluctuation Spectra

A molecular Rayleigh scattering technique is developed to measure dynamic gas temperature, velocity, and density in unseeded turbulent flows at sampling rates up to 10 kHz. A high power CW laser beam is focused at a point in a heated air jet plume and Rayleigh scattered light is collected and spectrally resolved. The spectrum of the light, which contains information about the temperature, velocity, and density of the flow, is analyzed using a Fabry-Perot interferometer. The circular interference fringe pattern is divided into four concentric regions and sampled at 1 and 10 kHz using photon counting electronics. Monitoring the relative change in intensity within each region allows for measurement of gas temperature and velocity. Independently monitoring the total scattered light intensity provides a measure of gas density. Power spectral density calculations of temperature, velocity, and density fluctuations, as well as mean and fluctuating quantities are demonstrated for various radial locations in the jet flow at a fixed axial distance from the jet exit plane. Results are compared with constant current anemometry and pitot probe measurements at the same locations.

Mielke, Amy F.↗

First N 2 Profile for Venus’ Deep Lower Atmosphere

We present the first N 2 profile for Venus’ deep lower atmosphere (<15 km) and a constrained isotopic composition for cloud N 2 [1]. This work directly addresses unresolved questions for Venus using legacy observations. Prior to this work, there were no reported measurements for N 2 abundances at <15 km and the isotopic composition remained unconstrained [2]. The N 2 parameters are critical to understanding the evolution and thermal properties of the atmosphere [3-7]. Our N 2 results were obtained by re-analysis of data acquired in 1978 by the Pioneer Venus Large Probe Neutral Mass Spectrometer (LNMS) [8]. The archived mass spectra from 64.2 to 0.2 km were treated using the analytical procedures specifically developed for the LNMS [9-11]. Judicious peak fitting permitted disambiguation of (A) N 2 + and CO + at 28 u and (B) 14 N 15 N+, 13 CO + , and C 2 H 5 + at 29 u. Quality controls included comparing the (A) LNMS CO + /CO 2 + ratios to the NIST database and literature and (B) fitted counts for CO + to the expected counts of CO + calculated from C 18 O + and 13 CO + using the LNMS 16 O/ 18 O and 12 C/ 13 C ratios (obtained from CO 2 ). Our results show that N 2 is uniformly mixed across the deep lower atmosphere between ~0.2 and 15 km (2.49 ± 0.10 v%). In contrast, N 2 is non-uniformly mixed across the sub-cloud atmosphere and clouds (~15–59 km), where N 2 abundances increase by ~ 2-fold between ~15 km (2.45 ± 0.32 v%) and ~59-51 km (5.21 ± 0.18 v%). Using the cloud data, we also obtained a constrained 15 N/ 14 N ratio (2.93×10 -3 ± 0.13×10 -3 ) and δ 15 N value (-204 ± 35‰). Thus, the LNMS results [1] suggest that (A) the atmosphere is unstable at <15 km, (B) N 2 is not well-mixed >15 km, and (C) the cloud δ 15 N falls between Earth and the solar wind [12, 13]. Comparisons of the N 2 abundances and isotopic compositions for nitrogen, carbon, and oxygen to other Venus measurements will be discussed.

deep lower atmosphere↗

Ammonia 15N/14N Isotope Ratio in the Jovian Atmosphere

Data from the Galileo Probe Mass Spectrometer has been used to derive the N-15/N-14 isotope ratio in ammonia at Jupiter. Although the mass spectral interference from the water contribution to 18 amu makes an accurate derivation of the (N-15)H3/(N-14)H3 ratio difficult from measurements of the singly ionized signals at 18 and 17 amu, this interference is not present in the doubly charged 8.5 and 9.0 amu signals from (N-14)H3++ and (N-15)H3++ respectively. Although the count rate from the 9 amu signal is low during the direct sampling of the atmosphere, the ammonia signal was considerably enhanced during the first enrichment cell (EC1) experiment that measured gas sampled between 0.8 and 2.8 bar. Count rates at 9 amu in the EC1 experiment reach 60/second and measure ammonia sampled from 0.88 to 2.8 bar. In the EC1 measurements the 8.5 amu signal is not measured directly, but can be calculated from the ammonia contribution to 17 amu and the ratio of NH3 ions of a double to single charged observed during a high resolution mass scan taken near the end of the descent. The high resolution scan gives this ratio from ammonia sampled much deeper in the atmosphere. These results are described and compared with Infrared Space Observatory-Short Wavelength Spectrometer (ISO-SWS) observations that give this ratio at 400 mbar.

Mahaffy, P.R.↗

Microbial Bioburden on NASA Cleanroom Surfaces: Cell Counting and Fluorescence in situ Hybridization

Spacecraft assembly cleanrooms can harbor a low number of microbial cells that could contaminate hardware designed for life detection missions (known as “bioburden”). We are evaluating epifluorescence microscopy and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) as rapid, accurate, and cost-effective methods to complement other contamination detection techniques. This study is part of a larger effort to characterize background organic contamination and the efficacy of cleaning procedures in Johnson Space Center (JSC) Astromaterials Curation Laboratories and Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) spacecraft assembly rooms. The low level of biomass required careful use of blanks during each stage of sample collection and preparation. FISH was performed using general archaeal and bacterial probes, as well as some group-specific probes. While some active bacteria were identified, a large majority of them were dead or inactive, and thus were difficult to identify by standard FISH. Our results are consistent with other studies that show that the bioburden present in clean rooms includes active, dormant, and dead cells.

C J Huff↗

Cardiopulmonary Changes with Moderate Decompression in Rats

Sprague-Dawley rats were compressed to 616 kPa for 120 min then decompressed at 38 kPa/min to assess the cardiovascular and pulmonary responses to moderate decompression stress. In one series of experiments the rats were chronically instrumented with Doppler ultrasonic probes for simultaneous measurement of blood pressure, cardiac output, heart rate, left and right ventricular wall thickening fraction, and venous bubble detection. Data were collected at base-line, throughout the compression/decompression protocol, and for 120 min post decompression. In a second series of experiments the pulmonary responses to the decompression protocol were evaluated in non-instrumented rats. Analyses included blood gases, pleural and bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) protein and hemoglobin concentration, pulmonary edema, BAL and lung tissue phospholipids, lung compliance, and cell counts. Venous bubbles were directly observed in 90% of the rats where immediate post-decompression autopsy was performed and in 37% using implanted Doppler monitors. Cardiac output, stroke volume, and right ventricular wall thickening fractions were significantly decreased post decompression, whereas systemic vascular resistance was increased suggesting a decrease in venous return. BAL Hb and total protein levels were increased 0 and 60 min post decompression, pleural and plasma levels were unchanged. BAL white blood cells and neutrophil percentages were increased 0 and 60 min post decompression and pulmonary edema was detected. Venous bubbles produced with moderate decompression profiles give detectable cardiovascular and pulmonary responses in the rat.

Robinson, R.↗

Electrochemical and Optical Spectroscopic Probing of Transition–Sized Au 130 (SR) 50 Nanoclusters

Ultrasmall metal nanoclusters (NCs) exhibit a quantized conduction band, hence, a distinct HOMO-LUMO gap (E g ). Such a quantized electronic structure gives rise to multiple discrete peaks in the optical absorption spectrum of the NCs. As the size grows to 130 gold atoms (Au 130 protected by ligands), electrical charging and optical behaviors seem to show certain metal-like features (hence, transition-sizes). To probe such behaviors, especially the potential ligand effect, we have devised the synthesis of Au 130 NCs protected by phenylethanethiolate and naphthalenethiolate, respectively, with the former having a nonconjugated separation between the aromatic molecular group and the metal core while the latter being in direct bonding. A careful comparison of these two Au 130 nanoclusters with the earlier reported analogues is carried out, including the structurally characterized Au 130 (pMBT) 50 and the aqueous counterpart. While all of these nanoclusters possess the same 80 free electron counts in the core, some notable differences in electrochemical and optical properties are found, which are attributed to the ligand effects. The obtained insights may stimulate further interest in the transition-sized nanoclusters and also promote their applications in optics, energy conversion, and biomedicine.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Optical calibration of the SuperCam instrument body unit spectrometers

The SuperCam remote sensing instrument on NASA’s Perseverance rover is capable of four spectroscopic techniques, remote micro-imaging, and audio recording. These analytical techniques provide details of the chemistry and mineralogy of the rocks and soils probed in the Jezero Crater on Mars. Here we present the methods used for optical calibration of the three spectrometers covering the 243–853 nm range used by three of the four spectroscopic techniques. We derive the instrument optical response, which characterizes the instrument sensitivity to incident radiation as a function of a wavelength. The instrument optical response function derived here is an essential step in the interpretation of the spectra returned by SuperCam as it converts the observed spectra, reported by the instrument as “digital counts” from an analog to digital converter, into physical values of spectral radiance.

Legett, Carey (ORCID:0000000247412841)↗

Kinematic signature of a rotating bar near a resonance

Recent work based on H I, star count and emission data suggests that the Milky Way has rotating bar-like features. In this paper, I show that such features cause distinctive stellar kinematic signatures near Outer Lindblad Resonance (OLR) and Inner Lindblad Resonance (ILR). The effect of these resonances may be observable far from the peak density of the pattern and relatively nearby the solar position. The details of the kinematic signatures depend on the evolutionary history of the 'bar' and therefore velocity data, both systematic and velocity dispersion, may be used to probe the evolutionary history as well as the present state of Galaxy. Kinematic models for a variety of sample scenarios are presented. Models with evolving pattern speeds show significantly stronger dispersion signatures than those with static pattern speeds, suggesting that useful observational constraints are possible. The models are applied to the proposed rotating spheroid and bar models; we find (1) none of these models chosen to represent the proposed large-scale rotating spheroid are consistent with the stellar kinematics and (2) a Galactic bar with semimajor axis of 3 kpc will cause a large increase in velocity dispersion in the vicinity of OLR (approximately 5 kpc) with little change in the net radial motion and such a signature is suggested by K-giant velocity data. Potential future observations and analyses are discussed.

Weinberg, Martin D.↗

Dwarf Galaxies at Cosmic Noon: New JWST Constraints on Satellite Models and Subhalo Tidal Evolution

The advent of JWST has revolutionized the study of faint satellite galaxies at z ≳ 1, enabling statistical constraints on galaxy evolution and the galaxy–halo connection in a previously unexplored mass and redshift regime. We compare satellite abundances at 1 < z < 3.5 from recent JWST observations with predictions from cosmological dark-matter-only zoom-in simulations. We identify and quantify several sources of biases that can impact theoretical satellite counts, finding that assumptions about subhalo tidal evolution introduce the largest uncertainty in predictions for the satellite mass function. Using a flexible galaxy disruption model, we explore a range of disruption scenarios, spanning hydrodynamically motivated and idealized prescriptions, to bracket plausible physical outcomes. We show that varying galaxy durability can change the predicted satellite mass functions by a factor of ∼3.5. The JWST data and our fiducial model are consistent within 1σ–2σ across the full redshift (1 < z < 3.5) and stellar mass (M⋆ > 10 7 M ⊙ ) range probed. We find evidence that subhalos are at least as long-lived as predicted by hydrodynamic simulations. Our framework will enable robust constraints on the tidal evolution of subhalos with future observations. This work presents the first direct comparison between cosmological models and observations of the high-redshift satellite population in this low-mass regime. These results showcase JWST’s emerging power to test structure formation in the first half of the Universe in a new domain and to constrain the physical processes driving the evolution of low-mass galaxies across cosmic time.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗