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At least 127 records · Page 7

TESS Hunt for Young and Maturing Exoplanets (THYME). V. A Sub-Neptune Transiting a Young Star in a Newly Discovered 250 Myr Association

The detection and characterization of young planetary systems offer a direct path to study the processes that shape planet evolution. We report on the discovery of a sub-Neptune-sized planet orbiting the young star HD 110082 (TOI-1098). Transit events we initially detected during TESS Cycle 1 are validated with time-series photometry from Spitzer. High-contrast imaging and high-resolution, optical spectra are also obtained to characterize the stellar host and confirm the planetary nature of the transits. The host star is a late-F dwarf (M {sub ⋆} = 1.2M {sub ⊙}) with a low-mass, M dwarf binary companion (M {sub ⋆} = 0.26M {sub ⊙}) separated by nearly one arcminute (∼6200 au). Based on its rapid rotation and Lithium absorption, HD 110082 is young, but is not a member of any known group of young stars (despite proximity to the Octans association). To measure the age of the system, we search for coeval, phase-space neighbors and compile a sample of candidate siblings to compare with the empirical sequences of young clusters and to apply quantitative age-dating techniques. In doing so, we find that HD 110082 resides in a new young stellar association we designate MELANGE-1, with an age of 250{sub −70}{sup +50} Myr. Jointly modeling the TESS and Spitzer light curves, we measure a planetary orbital period of 10.1827 days and radius of R {sub p} = 3.2 ± 0.1R {sub ⊕}. HD 110082 b’s radius falls in the largest 12% of field-age systems with similar host-star mass and orbital period. This finding supports previous studies indicating that young planets have larger radii than their field-age counterparts.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

Saturn's Weather‐Driven Aurorae Modulate Oscillations in the Magnetic Field and Radio Emissions

Abstract The Cassini spacecraft revealed that Saturn's magnetic field displayed oscillations at a period originally thought to match the planetary rotation rate but later found not to. One of many proposed theories predicts that a polar twin‐cell neutral weather system drives this variation, producing observable differences in flows within Saturn's ionosphere. Here, using spectral observations of auroral emission lines taken by the Keck Observatory's Near Infrared Echelle Spectrograph (Keck‐NIRSPEC) in 2017, we derive ion line‐of‐sight velocity maps after grouping spectra into rotational quadrants matching phases of the planetary magnetic field. We measure 0.5 km s −1 wind systems in the ionosphere consistent with predicted neutral twin‐vortex flow patterns. These findings demonstrate that neutral winds in Saturn's polar regions cause the rotational period, as determined via the magnetic field, to exhibit differences and time variabilities relative to the planet's true period of rotation in a process never before seen within planetary atmospheres.

Chowdhury, M. N.↗

Spectroscopy and electronic structure of the low-energy states of ThN

The electronic spectrum of ThN over the range 19,600–21,200 cm -1 is remarkably congested, showing at least twenty vibronic bands originating from the ground state zero-point level. Rotationally resolved spectra for eleven of these bands have been examined to probe the underlying reasons for the dense manifold of states. Dispersed fluorescence spectra and fluorescence decay lifetimes were measured to provide addition insights. Our experimental measurements were complemented by electronic structure calculations for the low-energy doublet and quartet states. The ab initio calculations yielded a density of excited states that was consistent with the congested spectrum. These states were derived from the formal configurations Th 3+ (6d)N 3- , Th 2+ (7s 2 )N 2- (2p 5 ) and Th 2+ (7s6d)N 2 -(2p 5 ). The calculations indicated that the rotational and vibrational constants would be characteristic of the electronic configurations. This prediction was not borne out by the experimental data, suggesting that the full range of inter-configurational state interactions were not captured by the computational model.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Detection and Bulk Properties of the HR 8799 Planets with High-resolution Spectroscopy

Using the Keck Planet Imager and Characterizer, we obtained high-resolution (R ~ 35,000) K-band spectra of the four planets orbiting HR 8799. We clearly detected H{sub 2}O and CO in the atmospheres of HR 8799 c, d, and e, and tentatively detected a combination of CO and H{sub 2}O in b. These are the most challenging directly imaged exoplanets that have been observed at high spectral resolution to date when considering both their angular separations and flux ratios. We developed a forward-modeling framework that allows us to jointly fit the spectra of the planets and the diffracted starlight simultaneously in a likelihood-based approach and obtained posterior probabilities on their effective temperatures, surface gravities, radial velocities, and spins. We measured vsin (i) values of 10.1{sub -2.7}{sup +2.8} km s{sup -1} for HR 8799 d and 15.0{sub -2.6}{sup +2.3} km s{sup -1} for HR 8799 e, and placed an upper limit of <14 km s{sup -1} of HR 8799 c. Under two different assumptions of their obliquities, we found tentative evidence that rotation velocity is anticorrelated with companion mass, which could indicate that magnetic braking with a circumplanetary disk at early times is less efficient at spinning down lower-mass planets.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗

A new model of monodeuterated ethane (C2H5D) spectrum: Enabling sensitive constraints on the D/H in ethane emission in comets

Similar to ethane (C2H6), monodeuterated ethane (C2H5D) has a bright series of Q-branches in the CH stretch region, between about 2960 - 3020 cm (3.38 - 3.31 µm). As the progressions in the different isotopes are slightly offset from one another, the new C2H5D model enables sensitive constrains of the D/H ratio in spectra from comets, in organics across the Solar System and beyond. Specifically, the D/H ratio of organic molecules in comets is a critical cosmogenic indicator, which not only provides insights into the formation processes of our Solar System, but also allows for a test of our understanding of solid-state astrochemistry. High D/H ratios are predicted in a number of astrochemical models, which can be benchmarked using the new spectroscopic information of C2H5D and C2H6. We present a quantum band model for C2H5D in the mid-infrared. Our model is based on rotationally resolved spectra of C2H5D and C2H6 obtained at 85K between 2050 - 3050 per cm (4.88 - 3.28 µm) using a Bruker IFS-125HR equipped with a cryogenic Herriott cell at JPL. High-level quantum chemical calculations were carried out at the CCSD(T)/ANO1 level of theory to aid vibrational assignments, with the anharmonic frequencies and vibrational corrections determined from second-order vibrational perturbation theory (VPT2). As a first demonstration of the applicability of the model, we obtained a stringent upper limit to the organic D/H ratio (18.2 VSMOW) in comet C/2007 W1 (Boattini) from high resolution fluorescence spectra obtained with Keck/NIRSPEC.

Kirstin D. Doney↗

Single photon infrared emission spectroscopy: a study of IR emission from UV laser excited PAHs between 3 and 15 micrometers

Single-photon infrared emission spectroscopy (SPIRES) has been used to measure emission spectra from polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). A supersonic free-jet expansion has been used to provide emission spectra of rotationally cold and vibrationally excited naphthalene and benzene. Under these conditions, the observed width of the 3.3-micrometers (C-H stretch) band resembles the bandwidths observed in experiments in which emission is observed from naphthalene with higher rotational energy. To obtain complete coverage of IR wavelengths relevant to the unidentified infrared bands (UIRs), UV laser-induced desorption was used to generate gas-phase highly excited PAHs. Lorentzian band shapes were convoluted with the monochromator-slit function in order to determine the widths of PAH emission bands under astrophysically relevant conditions. Bandwidths were also extracted from bands consisting of multiple normal modes blended together. These parameters are grouped according to the functional groups mostly involved in the vibration, and mean bandwidths are obtained. These bandwidths are larger than the widths of the corresponding UIR bands. However, when the comparison is limited to the largest PAHs studied, the bandwidths are slightly smaller than the corresponding UIR bands. These parameters can be used to model emission spectra from PAH cations and cations of larger PAHs, which are better candidate carriers of the UIRs.

Non-NASA Center↗

The unusual symmetry of hexafluoro-o-xylene—A microwave spectroscopy and computational study

The rotational constants and quartic centrifugal distortion coefficients of hexafluoro-o-xylene were precisely derived from the 8 GHz to 18 GHz gas phase microwave spectrum. In addition, the rotational constants of all singly substituted 13 C isotopologues were determined. Instead of the intuitively expected symmetry of C 2v , as in o-xylene, calculations with a variety of methods (B3LYP, CAM-B3LYP, ωB97XD, MP2, and coupled-cluster singles, doubles, and perturbative triples) predict a C 2 symmetry structure in which the two CF 3 groups rotate in opposite directions by about 16°. While the experimental results in this study are not capable of proving this unusual symmetry, they can support future microwave, gas phase electron diffraction or nuclear magnetic resonance studies. From the presented data, a preliminary r 0 structure was determined, reproducing the experimental rotational constants with deviations of no more than 15 kHz. Analysis of the interactions between the two CF 3 groups using an effective fragment potential approach identifies two major contributions to their interaction, due to exchange-repulsion and electrostatic repulsion, with electrostatic repulsion responsible for the barrier at the C 2v geometry.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Local and global approaches to treat the torsional barriers of 4-methylacetophenone using microwave spectroscopy

The Fourier transform microwave spectrum of 4-methylacetophenone recorded from 8 GHz to 18 GHz under jet-cooled conditions has revealed large tunneling splittings arising from a low barrier to internal rotation of the ring methyl group and small splittings from a high torsional barrier of the acetyl methyl group. The large splittings are especially challenging to model, while the small splittings are difficult to analyze due to the resolution limit of 120 kHz. The combination of two methyl groups undergoing internal rotations caused each rotational transition to split into five torsional species, which were resolved and fitted using a modified version of the XIAM code and the newly devel- oped ntop code to a root-mean-square deviation close to measurement accuracy, providing an estimate of the V 3 potential barriers of about 22 cm -1 and 584–588 cm -1 for the ring and the acetyl methyl groups, respectively. The assignment was aided by separately fitting the five torsional species using odd-power order operators. Only one conformer in which all heavy atoms are located on a symmetry plane could be identified in the spectrum, in agreement with results from conformation analysis using quantum chemical calculations.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Geometry optimizations with spinor-based relativistic coupled-cluster theory

Development of analytic gradients for relativistic coupled-cluster singles and doubles augmented with a non-iterative triples [CCSD(T)] method using an all-electron exact two-component Hamiltonian with atomic mean-field spin–orbit integrals (X2CAMF) is reported. This enables efficient CC geometry optimizations with spin–orbit coupling included in orbitals. Here, the applicability of the implementation is demonstrated using benchmark X2CAMF-CCSD(T) calculations of equilibrium structures and harmonic vibrational frequencies for methyl halides, CH 3 X (X = Br, I, and At), as well as calculations of rotational constants and infrared spectrum for RaSH+, a radioactive molecular ion of interest to spectroscopic study.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Temperature Measurements in Hypersonic Wind Tunnels via Femtosecond Coherent Anti-Stokes Raman Scattering

A femtosecond coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (fs CARS) instrument is developed to perform gas-phase thermometry in cold-flow hypersonic wind tunnels. Measurements are reported for Mach 8 and 14 pure-nitrogen flows. The fs CARS instrument includes a 100 fs pump/Stokes pulse and a spectrally narrow probe pulse from a second harmonic bandwidth compressor. Important experimental considerations such as limits on the pump/Stokes pulse energy are discussed. The fs CARS focusing and collimating optics are mounted on a two-axis translation stage system to scan the measurement location during a 30 second wind tunnel run. Single-laser-shot rotational CARS spectra are recorded at the laser repetition rate of 1 kHz in the wind tunnel freestream and near simple cone models. Spectral fitting is used to determine quantitative gas temperatures. Freestream temperatures at Mach 8 and 14 spanned ranges of 40–75 and 35–50 K, respectively, depending on tunnel operating conditions. Temperature variations across the central 100 mm span of the wind tunnel were quantified. Measured temperature jumps across conical bow shocks from various models varied by less than 1% from predicted values. Hypersonic boundary layer measurements were demonstrated. In conclusion, these measurements illustrate the utility and robustness of this instrument for the study of complex fluid flow phenomena in challenging ground test facilities.

Aerodynamics↗

Orbital accelerations of the Pageos spacecraft

Pageos spacecraft orbital acceleration prediction by radiation pressure perturbation theory accounting for nonisotropic scattering of solar spectra from rotating ellipsoidal body

Kissell, K. E.↗

The use of the transmission windows of the Fabry-Perot interferometer in the detection of Raman scattered radiation from atmospheric gases.

Demonstration that the use of the Fabry-Perot interferometer as a filter with transmission windows occurring at regular intervals in wave numbers provides a highly sensitive method for detection of atmospheric gases using their rotational Raman spectra excited by a suitable laser. Some of the operating advantages include signal gains of several orders of magnitude, a simple direct interpretation of the results in terms of the density and types of the gaseous constituents, size and weight reductions from conventional apparatus, ease of operation, and relative freedom from interference from other molecules in the scattering volume. This method is compared with the techniques that have been discussed in the literature by other workers in the field.

Smith, W. H.↗

H2 quadrupole rotation-vibration lines in infrared spectra of cool stars

A discrepancy between results concerning the 2-0 band and the 1-0 band obtained by Spinrad (1966) and by other observers is considered, and preliminary results of a search for lines from the stronger 1-0 band are reported. The results are reviewed in the light of recent model-atmosphere calculations. It is suggested that alternative identifications for the 2-0 lines near 1 micron can be found and that the hydrogen molecule is a very minor contributor to these stellar features.

Lambert, D. L.↗

Measurement of density and temperature in a hypersonic turbulent boundary layer using the electron beam fluorescence technique

Mean density and temperature fluctuations were measured across the turbulent, cooled-wall boundary layer in a continuous hypersonic (Mach 9.4) wind tunnel in air, using the nitrogen fluorescence excited by a 50 kV electron beam. Data were taken at three values of the tunnel stagnation pressure, the corresponding free stream densities being equivalent to 1.2, 4.0, and 7.4 torr at room temperature, and the boundary layer thicknesses about 4.0, 4.5, and 6.0 inches. The mean temperature and density profiles were similar to those previously determined in the same facility by conventional probes (static and pitot pressure, total temperature). A static pressure variation of about 50% across the boundary layer was found, the shape of the variation changing somewhat for the three stagnation pressure levels. The quadrupole model for rotational temperature spectra gave closer agreement with the free stream isentropic level (approximately 44 K) than the dipole model.

Mcronald, A. D.↗

Theoretical intensity parameters for the vibration-rotation bands of ClO

Intensity parameters for the vibration-rotation bands of ClO were calculated by evaluating matrix elements of the vibrational eigenfunctions using the theoretical dipole moment curve. These vibrational eigenfunctions are based on realistic Klein-Dunham potentials deduced from experimental values (Coxon et al, 1976) for certain vibrational energy levels. The data can be applied to the interpretation of remote or in situ experiments to deduce stratospheric ClO concentrations from vibration-rotation absorption spectra.

Langhoff, S. R.↗

The 1980 summer research fellowship program

The problem of incorporating visual input into robot systems is described. The photochemistry of the stratosphere, particularly possible permutations of the ozone layer, is discussed. Photoelectrochemical properties of metal thio-hypodiphosphates are investigated. Extreme eigenvalues are computed by the Lancqos approach. The rotational Raman spectra of the molecular atmosphere is studied. A computer operated mathematical symbolic manipulation system is described. Preparation of polycrystalline semiconductor electrodes of tungsten and molybdenum dichalcogenides is received.

Darden, G. C.↗