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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.

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At least 1,531 records · Page 85
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NASA NTRS1984

Symbiotic stars

The physical characteristics of symbiotic star systems are discussed, based on a review of recent observational data. A model of a symbiotic star system is presented which illustrates how a cool red-giant star is embedded in a nebula whose atoms are ionized by the energetic radiation from its hot compact companion. UV outbursts from symbiotic systems are explained by two principal models: an accretion-disk-outburst model which describes how material expelled from the tenuous envelope of the red giant forms an inwardly-spiralling disk around the hot companion, and a thermonuclear-outburst model in which the companion is specifically a white dwarf which superheats the material expelled from the red giant to the point where thermonuclear reactions occur and radiation is emitted. It is suspected that the evolutionary course of binary systems is predetermined by the initial mass and angular momentum of the gas cloud within which binary stars are born. Since red giants and Mira variables are thought to be stars with a mass of one or two solar mass, it is believed that the original cloud from which a symbiotic system is formed can consist of no more than a few solar masses of gas.

Kafatos, M.↗
DOE OSTI2015

Wider pulsation instability regions for β Cephei and SPB stars calculated using new Los Alamos opacities

Here, our goal is to test the newly developed OPLIB opacity tables from Los Alamos National Laboratory and check their influence on the pulsation properties of B-type stars. We calculated models using MESA and Dziembowski codes for stellar evolution and linear, nonadiabatic pulsations, respectively. We derived the instability domains of β Cephei and SPB-types for different opacity tables OPLIB, OP, and OPAL. As a result, the new OPLIB opacities have the highest Rosseland mean opacity coefficient near the so-called Z-bump. Therefore, the OPLIB instability domains are wider than in the case of OP and OPAL data.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2018

Smooth H i Low Column Density Outskirts in Nearby Galaxies

The low column density gas at the outskirts of galaxies as traced by the 21 cm hydrogen line emission (H i) represents the interface between galaxies and the intergalactic medium, i.e., where galaxies are believed to get their supply of gas to fuel future episodes of star formation. Photoionization models predict a break in the radial profiles of H i at a column density of ∼5 × 10{sup 19} cm{sup −2} due to the lack of self-shielding against extragalactic ionizing photons. To investigate the prevalence of such breaks in galactic disks and to characterize what determines the potential edge of the H i disks, we study the azimuthally averaged H i column density profiles of 17 nearby galaxies from the H i Nearby Galaxy Survey and supplemented in two cases with published Hydrogen Accretion in LOcal GAlaxieS data. To detect potential faint H i emission that would otherwise be undetected using conventional moment map analysis, we line up individual profiles to the same reference velocity and average them azimuthally to derive stacked radial profiles. To do so, we use model velocity fields created from a simple extrapolation of the rotation curves to align the profiles in velocity at radii beyond the extent probed with the sensitivity of traditional integrated H i maps. With this method, we improve our sensitivity to outer-disk H i emission by up to an order of magnitude. Except for a few disturbed galaxies, none show evidence of a sudden change in the slope of the H i radial profiles: the alleged signature of ionization by the extragalactic background.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

EXTRACTING PERIODIC TRANSIT SIGNALS FROM NOISY LIGHT CURVES USING FOURIER SERIES

We present a simple and powerful method for extracting transit signals associated with a known transiting planet from noisy light curves. Assuming the orbital period of the planet is known and the signal is periodic, we illustrate that systematic noise can be removed in Fourier space at all frequencies by only using data within a fixed time frame with a width equal to an integer number of orbital periods. This results in a reconstruction of the full transit signal, which on average is unbiased despite no prior knowledge of either the noise or the transit signal itself being used in the analysis. The method therefore has clear advantages over standard phase folding, which normally requires external input such as nearby stars or noise models for removing systematic components. In addition, we can extract the full orbital transit signal (360°) simultaneously, and Kepler-like data can be analyzed in just a few seconds. We illustrate the performance of our method by applying it to a dataset composed of light curves from Kepler with a fake injected signal emulating a planet with rings. For extracting periodic transit signals, our presented method is in general the optimal and least biased estimator and could therefore lead the way toward the first detections of, e.g., planet rings and exo-trojan asteroids.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Modeling Competing Line-broadening Mechanisms in Neutron Star Atmospheres: Interference between Motional Stark and Ion Broadening

Neutron star surfaces have extremely high magnetic fields. In the atmosphere, the broadening of spectral lines will be substantial from the dense plasma as well as from the magnetic field. One broadening mechanism of note is due to the motional Stark effect (MSE)—an additional electric field that arises from the motion of the atom in the magnetic field. However, approximate formulae are often used to construct atmosphere models, and the MSE is assumed to be the dominant line-broadening mechanism even in ions. Detailed pressure-broadening models in these extreme magnetic fields are now currently being developed. In these more detailed models, it was suggested that the MSE may not be as large as previously predicted. If correct, this hypothesis implies that neutron star line widths might be dominated by pressure broadening rather than by motional Stark broadening. We find that, in the absence of plasma perturbations, for typical magnetic fields (B = 10 12 G), mid-Z elements, such as oxygen, have motional Stark widths of order 1 eV for transitions between dipole-allowed transitions from the ground state, though higher temperatures and transitions to higher-energy states are expected to have more broadening. The MSE also breaks down selection rules, giving rise to forbidden transitions, which have much larger widths. When plasma perturbations are included, we find that the plasma perturbation and motional Stark processes are not independent and, as a result, the spectral lines become narrow in a nontrivial way and display harmonics of the ion cyclotron frequency.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2012

LITHIUM ABUNDANCE AS A PREDICTOR OF MASS AND AGE IN SOLAR-ANALOG STARS

In order to estimate the mass and age of stars, we construct a grid of stellar models for eight solar-analog stars including diffusion and rotation-induced mixing for the given ranges of stellar mass, metallicity, and rotational rate. By combining stellar models with observational data including lithium abundance, we obtain more accurate estimations of mass and age for solar-analog stars. The results indicate that stars HIP 56948, HIP 73815, and HIP 78399 are three possible solar twins. Furthermore, we find that lithium depletion due to extra-mixing in solar analogs strongly depends on mass, metallicity, and rotational history. Therefore, lithium abundance can be used as a good constraint in stellar modeling.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

HYPERFINE-DEPENDENT gf-VALUES OF Mn I LINES IN THE 1.49-1.80 μm H BAND

The three Mn I lines at 17325, 17339, and 17349 Å are among the 25 strongest lines (log (gf) > 0.5) in the H band. They are all heavily broadened due to hyperfine structure, and the profiles of these lines have so far not been understood. Earlier studies of these lines even suggested that they were blended. In this work, the profiles of these three infrared (IR) lines have been studied theoretically and compared to experimental spectra to assist in the complete understanding of the solar spectrum in the IR. It is shown that the structure of these lines cannot be described in the conventional way using the diagonal A and B hyperfine interaction constants. The off-diagonal hyperfine interaction not only has a large impact on the energies of the hyperfine levels, but also introduces a large intensity redistribution among the hyperfine lines, changing the line profiles dramatically. By performing large-scale calculations of the diagonal and off-diagonal hyperfine interaction and the gf-values between the upper and lower hyperfine levels and using a semi-empirical fitting procedure, we achieved agreement between our synthetic and experimental spectra. Furthermore, we compare our results with observations of stellar spectra. The spectra of the Sun and the K1.5 III red giant star Arcturus were modeled in the relevant region, 1.73-1.74 μm, using our theoretically predicted gf-values and energies for each individual hyperfine line. Satisfactory fits were obtained and clear improvements were found using our new data compared with the old available Mn I data. A complete list of energies and gf-values for all the 3d {sup 5}4s({sup 7} S)4d e{sup 6}D - 3d {sup 5}4s({sup 7} S)4f w{sup 6}F hyperfine lines are available as supporting material, whereas only the stronger lines are presented and discussed in detail in this paper.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2016

Merging black hole binaries in galactic nuclei: implications for advanced-ligo detections

Motivated by the recent detection of gravitational waves from the black hole binary merger GW150914, we study the dynamical evolution of (stellar-mass) black holes in galactic nuclei, where massive star clusters reside. With masses of ∼10{sup 7} M{sub ⊙} and sizes of only a few parsecs, nuclear star clusters (NSCs) are the densest stellar systems observed in the local universe and represent a robust environment where black hole binaries can dynamically form, harden, and merge. We show that due to their large escape speeds, NSCs can retain a large fraction of their merger remnants. Successive mergers can then lead to significant growth and produce black hole mergers of several tens of solar masses similar to GW150914 and up to a few hundreds of solar masses, without the need to invoke extremely low metallicity environments. We use a semi-analytical approach to describe the dynamics of black holes in massive star clusters. Our models give a black hole binary merger rate of ≈1.5 Gpc{sup −3} yr{sup −1} from NSCs, implying up to a few tens of possible detections per year with Advanced LIGO. Moreover, we find a local merger rate of ∼1 Gpc{sup −3} yr{sup −1} for high mass black hole binaries similar to GW150914; a merger rate comparable to or higher than that of similar binaries assembled dynamically in globular clusters (GCs). Finally, we show that if all black holes receive high natal kicks, ≳50 km s{sup −1}, then NSCs will dominate the local merger rate of binary black holes compared to either GCs or isolated binary evolution.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
NASA NTRS1986

Formation of the sun and its planets

Aspects of star formation are considered, taking into account those observations and models which have a relation to the formation of the solar system. Attention is given to the galactic structure, the stellar properties, planetary indications, interstellar clouds, observations of forming stars, the conditions for cloud collapse, models of star formation, the modeling of secondary features, and aspects of dynamical evolution. Aspects of cosmochemistry are also explored. Questions of chronology are discussed along with nuclide variations, chemical variations among chondritic meteorites, and chemical variations among differentiated objects. A description of planet formation is provided, taking into consideration, gas-dust interaction, sun and accretion disk dynamics, planetesimal swarms, planet-disk interactions, planetary systems, terrestrial planet formation, and gaseous protoplanet contraction.

Kaula, W. M.↗
DOE OSTI2010

IS ETA CARINAE A FAST ROTATOR, AND HOW MUCH DOES THE COMPANION INFLUENCE THE INNER WIND STRUCTURE?

We analyze interferometric measurements of the luminous blue variable Eta Carinae with the goal of constraining the rotational velocity of the primary star and probing the influence of the companion. Using two-dimensional radiative transfer models of latitude-dependent stellar winds, we find that prolate-wind models with a ratio of the rotational velocity (v{sub rot}) to the critical velocity (v{sub crit}) of W = 0.77-0.92, inclination angle of i = 60{sup 0}-90{sup 0}, and position angle (P.A.) =108{sup 0}-142{sup 0} reproduce simultaneously K-band continuum visibilities from VLTI/VINCI and closure phase measurements from VLTI/AMBER. Interestingly, oblate models with W = 0.73-0.90 and i = 80{sup 0}-90{sup 0} produce similar fits to the interferometric data, but require P.A. =210{sup 0}-230{sup 0}. Therefore, both prolate and oblate models suggest that the rotation axis of the primary star is not aligned with the Homunculus polar axis. We also compute radiative transfer models of the primary star allowing for the presence of a cavity and dense wind-wind interaction region created by the companion star. We find that the wind-wind interaction has a significant effect on the K-band image mainly via free-free emission from the compressed walls and, for reasonable model parameters, can reproduce the VLTI/VINCI visibilities taken at {phi}{sub vb03} = 0.92-0.93. We conclude that the density structure of the primary wind can be sufficiently disturbed by the companion, thus mimicking the effects of fast rotation in the interferometric observables. Therefore, fast rotation may not be the only explanation for the interferometric observations. Intense temporal monitoring and three-dimensional modeling are needed to resolve these issues.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2020

A measurement of the equation of state of carbon envelopes of white dwarfs

White dwarfs represent the final state of evolution for most stars. Certain classes of white dwarfs pulsate, leading to observable brightness variations, and analysis of these variations with theoretical stellar models probes their internal structure. Modelling of these pulsating stars provides stringent tests of white dwarf models and a detailed picture of the outcome of the late stages of stellar evolution. However, the high-energy-density states that exist in white dwarfs are extremely difficult to reach and to measure in the laboratory, so theoretical predictions are largely untested at these conditions. In this paper we report measurements of the relationship between pressure and density along the principal shock Hugoniot (equations describing the state of the sample material before and after the passage of the shock derived from conservation laws) of hydrocarbon to within five per cent. The observed maximum compressibility is consistent with theoretical models that include detailed electronic structure. This is relevant for the equation of state of matter at pressures ranging from 100 million to 450 million atmospheres, where the understanding of white dwarf physics is sensitive to the equation of state and where models differ considerably. The measurements test these equation-of-state relations that are used in the modelling of white dwarfs and inertial confinement fusion experiments, and we predict an increase in compressibility due to ionization of the inner-core orbitals of carbon. We also find that a detailed treatment of the electronic structure and the electron degeneracy pressure is required to capture the measured shape of the pressure–density evolution for hydrocarbon before peak compression. Our results illuminate the equation of state of the white dwarf envelope (the region surrounding the stellar core that contains partially ionized and partially degenerate non-ideal plasmas), which is a weak link in the constitutive physics informing the structure and evolution of white dwarf stars.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2013

PROGENITOR MODELS OF THE ELECTROMAGNETIC TRANSIENT ASSOCIATED WITH THE SHORT GAMMA RAY BURST 130603B

An electromagnetic transient powered by the radioactive decay of r-process elements, a so-called kilonova/macronova, is one of the possible observable consequences of compact binary mergers including at least one neutron star. Recent observations strongly suggest the discovery of the first electromagnetic transient, which is associated with the short gamma ray burst 130603B. We explore a possible progenitor of this event by combining numerical-relativity simulations and radiative transfer simulations of the dynamical ejecta of binary neutron star and black hole-neutron star mergers. We show that the ejecta models within a realistic parameter range consistently reproduce the observed near-infrared excess. We also show that the soft equation-of-state models for binary neutron star mergers and the stiff equation-of-state models for black hole-neutron star mergers are suitable for reproducing the observed luminosity.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
NASA NTRS1975

UV stars and the interstellar medium - A statistical time-dependent model

A statistical time-dependent model for the effects on the interstellar gas of the ionizing radiation from UV stars is presented. The radiation from the stars is assumed to be emitted as monochromatic bursts at random times and locations. The thermal and ionization history of the gas is followed in a Monte Carlo simulation. Probability densities as well as mean values for the ionization fraction, temperature, and other observable quantities are derived. The fluctuations in observed quantities due to the stochastic nature of the model are estimated. Models of the interstellar medium perpendicular to the galactic plane are developed and compared with observations. The action of the UV stars can explain the bulk properties of the interstellar gas toward the galactic poles and is consistent with the Copernicus satellite observations toward lambda Scorpii.

Lyon, J.↗
DOE OSTI2016

Dynamical formation of the GW150914 binary black hole

We explore the possibility that GW150914, the binary black hole (BBH) merger recently detected by Advanced LIGO, was formed by gravitational interactions in the core of a dense star cluster. Using models of globular clusters (GCs) with detailed N-body dynamics and stellar evolution, we show that a typical cluster with a mass of 3×10{sup 5}M{sub ⊙} to 6×10{sup 5}M{sub ⊙} is optimal for forming GW150914-like BBHs that will merge in the local universe. We identify the most likely dynamical processes for forming GW150914 in such a cluster, and we show that the detection of GW150914 is consistent with the masses and merger rates expected for BBHs from GCs. Our results show that dynamical processes provide a significant and well-understood pathway for forming BBH mergers in the local universe. Understanding the contribution of dynamics to the BBH merger problem is a critical step in unlocking the full potential of gravitational-wave astronomy.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2011

Neutrino Fluxes from NUHM LSP Annihilations in the Sun

We extend our previous studies of the neutrino fluxes expected from neutralino LSP annihilations inside the Sun to include variants of the minimal supersymmetric extension of the Standard Model (MSSM) with squark, slepton and gaugino masses constrained to be universal at the GUT scale, but allowing one or two non-universal supersymmetry-breaking parameters contributing to the Higgs masses (NUHM1,2). As in the constrained MSSM (CMSSM) with universal Higgs masses, there are large regions of the NUHM parameter space where the LSP density inside the Sun is not in equilibrium, so that the annihilation rate may be far below the capture rate, and there are also large regions where the capture rate is not dominated by spin-dependent LSP-proton scattering. The spectra possible in the NUHM are qualitatively similar to those in the CMSSM. We calculate neutrino-induced muon fluxes above a threshold energy of 10 GeV, appropriate for the IceCube/DeepCore detector, for points where the NUHM yields the correct cosmological relic density for representative choices of the NUHM parameters. We find that the IceCube/DeepCore detector can probe regions of the NUHM parameter space in addition to analogues of the focus-point strip and the tip of the coannihilation strip familiar from the CMSSM. These include regions with enhanced Higgsino-gaugino mixing in the LSP composition, that occurs where neutralino mass eigenstates cross over. On the other hand, rapid-annihilation funnel regions in general yield neutrino fluxes that are unobservably small.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2012

H{alpha} EQUIVALENT WIDTHS FROM THE 3D-HST SURVEY: EVOLUTION WITH REDSHIFT AND DEPENDENCE ON STELLAR MASS

We investigate the evolution of the H{alpha} equivalent width, EW(H{alpha}), with redshift and its dependence on stellar mass, using the first data from the 3D-HST survey, a large spectroscopic Treasury program with the Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Camera 3. Combining our H{alpha} measurements of 854 galaxies at 0.8 < z < 1.5 with those of ground-based surveys at lower and higher redshift, we can consistently determine the evolution of the EW(H{alpha}) distribution from z = 0 to z = 2.2. We find that at all masses the characteristic EW(H{alpha}) is decreasing toward the present epoch, and that at each redshift the EW(H{alpha}) is lower for high-mass galaxies. We find EW(H{alpha}) {approx}(1 + z){sup 1.8} with little mass dependence. Qualitatively, this measurement is a model-independent confirmation of the evolution of star-forming galaxies with redshift. A quantitative conversion of EW(H{alpha}) to specific star formation rate (sSFR) is model dependent because of differential reddening corrections between the continuum and the Balmer lines. The observed EW(H{alpha}) can be reproduced with the characteristic evolutionary history for galaxies, whose star formation rises with cosmic time to z {approx} 2.5 and then decreases to z = 0. This implies that EW(H{alpha}) rises to 400 A at z = 8. The sSFR evolves faster than EW(H{alpha}), as the mass-to-light ratio also evolves with redshift. We find that the sSFR evolves as (1 + z){sup 3.2}, nearly independent of mass, consistent with previous reddening insensitive estimates. We confirm previous results that the observed slope of the sSFR-z relation is steeper than the one predicted by models, but models and observations agree in finding little mass dependence.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2010

SEISMIC AND DYNAMICAL SOLAR MODELS. I. THE IMPACT OF THE SOLAR ROTATION HISTORY ON NEUTRINOS AND SEISMIC INDICATORS

Solar activity and helioseismology show the limitation of the standard solar model and call for the inclusion of dynamical processes in both convective and radiative zones. In this paper, we concentrate on the radiative zone. We first recall the sensitivity of boron neutrinos to the microscopic physics included in solar standard and seismic models. We confront the neutrino predictions of the seismic model with all the detected neutrino fluxes. Then, we compute new models of the Sun including a detailed transport of angular momentum and chemicals due to internal rotation that includes meridional circulation and shear-induced turbulence. We use two stellar evolution codes: CESAM and STAREVOL to estimate the different terms. We follow three temporal evolutions of the internal rotation which differ by their initial conditions: very slow, moderate, and fast rotation, with magnetic braking at the arrival on the main sequence for the last two. We find that the meridional velocities in the present solar radiative zone are extremely small in comparison with those of the convective zone (smaller than 10{sup -6} cm s{sup -1} instead of m s{sup -1}). All models lead to a radial differential rotation profile in the radiative zone but with a significantly different contrast. We compare these profiles to the presumed solar internal rotation and show that if meridional circulation and shear turbulence were the only mechanisms transporting angular momentum within the Sun, a rather slow rotation in the young Sun is favored. We confirm the small influence of the transport by rotation on the sound speed profile but its potential impact on the chemicals in the transition region between radiation and convective zones. These models are physically more representative of the real Sun than the standard or seismic solar models but a high initial rotation, as has been considered previously, increases the disagreement with neutrinos and the sound speed in the radiative zone. This present work pushes us to pursue the inclusion of the other dynamical processes to better reproduce the observed solar profile in the whole radiative zone and to better describe the young active Sun. We also need to get a better knowledge of solar gravity mode splittings to use their constraints.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2010

Viscous dark fluid universe

We investigate the cosmological perturbation dynamics for a universe consisting of pressureless baryonic matter and a viscous fluid, the latter representing a unified model of the dark sector. In the homogeneous and isotropic background the total energy density of this mixture behaves as a generalized Chaplygin gas. The perturbations of this energy density are intrinsically nonadiabatic and source relative entropy perturbations. The resulting baryonic matter power spectrum is shown to be compatible with the 2dFGRS and SDSS (DR7) data. A joint statistical analysis, using also Hubble-function and supernovae Ia data, shows that, different from other studies, there exists a maximum in the probability distribution for a negative present value q{sub 0{approx_equal}}-0.53 of the deceleration parameter. Moreover, while previous descriptions on the basis of generalized Chaplygin-gas models were incompatible with the matter power-spectrum data since they required a much too large amount of pressureless matter, the unified model presented here favors a matter content that is of the order of the baryonic matter abundance suggested by big-bang nucleosynthesis.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗