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NASA NTRS1985

The solar spectral irradiance between 150 and 200 nm

The absorption of solar photons controls the composition of the middle atmosphere. Concern about the effects of man's industrial activities on his environment has led to a number of long-term programs related to stratospheric photochemistry. An important part of these programs represents studies of the variability of the sun's solar spectral irradiance. A program to measure the solar ultraviolet flux, both within and outside the earth's atmosphere, has been in progress for a number of years. This program has the objective to develop techniques which would provide an absolute accuracy of at least 5 percent. The amount of satellite instrument degradation is determined on the basis of a comparison of data provided by these instruments with data obtained in connection with rocket flights. It was found that a significant decrease in the solar irradiance below 190 nm occurred between 1980 and 1981.

Mentall, J. E.↗

NASA NTRS1983

Kinetic modeling of an IBr solar pumped laser

The possibility of using an IBr laser as a solar-energy converter is examined theoretically, and reasons for its choice are given. Broadband absorption results in dissociation with the formation of excited metastable Br atoms, some of which then lase to the ground state Br. The ground state is depopulated by three-body recombination and, more importantly, by exchange reactions which more than compensate for the high quenching in heteronuclear halogen systems. Kinetic modeling indicates lasing is possible in the pulsed mode and possibly in the steady state with a cooled gas flow system. Temperature effects are discussed. The efficiency of the laser approaches 1.2 percent at optical thicknesses large enough for complete absorption of the photons.

Harries, W. L.↗

NASA NTRS1986

Saturation and beaming in astrophysical masers. III - Asymmetrically pumped masers

There is reason to believe that the physical conditions in many astrophysical masers are far from homogeneous. In particular, if the maser pump involves the absorption of infrared photons, the pump rate may vary rapidly (perhaps exponentially) across the cloud. The consequences of such variation of the pump rate for the maser radiation are calculated, and it is shown that there are substantial asymmetries in the output of the maser. A general result is that the maser radiation is preferentially emitted back toward the source of pump radiation. The implication of this result for the interpretation of the circumstellar 1612 MHz OH masers is briefly discussed.

Alcock, C.↗

NASA NTRS1987

Infrared emission and excitation in LMC HII regions

The infrared excess (IRE) of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) HII nebulae is found to correlate positively with the temperature of the ambient radiation field or with the He(+)/H(+) abundance ratio. This result is discussed in terms of a selective absorption of the photons in the range 504 to 912 A relative to the He ionizing photons. This interpretation may explain the paradox of finding highly excited nebulae with only relatively moderate equivalent width of their Balmer lines.

Ungerer, V.↗

NASA NTRS1988

Infrared limb brightening in the Barnard 5 cloud

IRAS and (C-13)O data are presented for the dark cloud Barnard 5. The 100-micron and (C-13)O emission are well correlated and suggest that the 100-micron emission traces the dust and gas column density through the cloud. The 12-micron emission, on the other hand, is anticorrelated with the overall opacity in the cloud, which is interpreted as limb brightening in the context of a model in which small dust grains, probably PAHs, are transiently excited by the absorption of UV photons in a thin shell around the denser parts of the cloud.

Beichman, C. A.↗

NASA NTRS1989

Excited state absorption of pump radiation as a loss mechanism in solid-state lasers

The characteristics of optical pumping dynamics in laser-pumped, rare-earth-doped, solid-state laser materials are investigated by using a tunable alexandrite laser to pump Y3Al5O12:Nd(3+) in an optical cavity. It is found that the slope efficiency of the Nd laser operation depends strongly on the wavelength of the pump laser. For pump wavelengths resulting in low slope efficiencies, intense fluorescence emission is observed from the sample in the blue-green spectral region. This is attributed to the excited-state absorption of pump photons which occurs during radiationless relaxation from the pump band to the metastable state. This type of process is an important loss mechanism for monochromatic pumping of laser systems at specific pump wavelengths.

Kliewer, Michael L.↗

NASA NTRS1989

Carbon use efficiency in optimal environments

The short- and long-term effects of environmental changes on plant productivity are studied using a model in which yield is determined by four factors: absorption of photosynthetic photon flux, photosynthetic efficiency, respiratory carbon use efficiency, and harvest index. The characteristics of the model are reviewed. Emphasis is given to the relationship between carbon use efficiency and yield. The biochemical pathways resulting in CO2 efflux are examined, including photorespiration, cyanide-resistant respiration, and dark respiration. The possibility of measuring photosynthesis and respiration in a CELSS is discussed.

Bugbee, Bruce↗

NASA NTRS1991

Fe II emission lines. I - Chromospheric spectra of red giants

A 'difference filtering' algorithm developed by Ayers (1979) is used to construct high-quality high-dispersion long-wavelength IUE spectra of three giant stars. Measurements of all the emission lines seen between 2230 and 3100 A are tabulated. The emission spectrum of Fe II is discussed in comparison with other lines whose formation mechanisms are well understood. Systematic changes in the Fe II spectrum are related to the different physical conditions in the three stars, and examples are given of line profiles and ratios which can be used to determine conditions in the outer atomspheres of giants. It is concluded that most of the Fe II emission results from collisional excitation and/or absorption of photospheric photons at optical wavelengths, but some lines are formed by fluorescence, being photoexcited by other strong chromospheric lines. Between 10 and 20 percent of the radiative losses of Fe II arise from 10 eV levels radiatively excited by the strong chromospheric H Ly-alpha line.

Judge, P. G.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Modelling of IR emission of interstellar clouds. I - Emission of isolated clouds and dust abundance variations

A model for the IR emission and extinction properties of small dust particles is used here to compute the IR emissions in the IRAS photometric bands for a set of isolated, spherical, and nonhomogeneous clouds heated by the local interstellar radiation field. It is predicted that the IR limb brightening (LB) in the IRAS photometric bands caused by selective absorption of UV photons of different energies in the cloud generally happens for central extinctions over 4 mag at 12 microns and greater than 10 mag at 100 microns and intermediate extinctions for the other IRAS bands. The surface brightness in the four IRAS bands is limited to about 0.4, 0.6, 3, and 10 MJy/sr at 12, 25, 60, and 100 microns respectively when no strong density discontinuity is present at the cloud edge.

Bernard, J. P.↗

NASA NTRS1994

X-ray bumps, iron K-alpha lines, and X-ray suppression by obscuring tori in Seyfert galaxies

We investigate the X-ray spectral properties of unobscured type 1 and obscured type 2 Seyferts as predicted by the unified Seyfert scheme. We consider the reprocessing of X-ray photons by photoelectric absorption, iron fluorescence, and Compton downscattering in the obscuring tori surrounding these active nuclei, and compute by Monte Carlo methods the reprocessed spectra as a function of the viewing angle. Depending on the optical depth and shape of the torus, and on the viewing angle, the X-ray flux can be suppressed by substantial factors when our line of sight is obscured. We show that an immediate consequence of the existence of an obscuring thick torus is the production in the spectra of type 1 Seyfert galaxies of a bump in the continuum above 10-20 keV and an Fe K-alpha line with significant equivalent width. In those type 2 Seyferts for which the hard X-ray spectrum has been substantially suppressed, the equivalent width of the Fe K-alpha line in the transmitted spectrum can be very large.

Krolik, Julian H.↗

NASA NTRS1994

A ROSAT observation of the transient X-ray pulsar GRO J1008-57

We report results of a brief Target of Oppurtunity observation of the newly discovered transient X-ray pulsar Gamma Ray Observatory (GRO) J1008-57 using the ROSAT Position Sensitive Proportional Counter (PSPC). The observation was performed well into the decline of the source outburst as monitored by the BATSE hard X-ray light curve. The PSPC cleanly detected the source, at a 0.1-2.4 keV flux of 2.3 x 10(exp -11) erg/sq cm/s. A position centroid accurate to 10 arc seconds has been determined. The 0.1-2.4 keV spectrum is best characterized by a flat power law with substantial interstellar absorption. The PSPC photon index and column density are consistent with that measured at higher energy by ASCA; there is no evidence for an additional soft component. Light-curve folding reveals a period of 93.4 s, consistent with that measured at higher energies; the 0.1-2.4 keV folded light curve shows a high pulsed fraction and a strongly double-peaked pulse profile. The spectral and temporal properties of GRO J1008-57 as observed using the PSPC are entirely consistent with a pulsar orbiting a massive (OB) companion.

Petre, R.↗

NASA NTRS1998

Investigating the Near-Infrared Properties of Planetary Nebulae II. Medium Resolution Spectra: Medium Resolution Spectra - 2

We present medium-resolution (R approximately 700) near-infrared (lambda = 1 - 2.5 micrometers) spectra of a sample of planetary nebulae (PNe). A narrow slit was used which sampled discrete locations within the nebulae; observations were obtained at one or more positions in the 41 objects included in the survey. The PN spectra fall into one of four general categories: H1 emission line-dominated PNe, H1 and H2 emission line PNe, H2 emission line-dominated PNe, and continuum-dominated PNe. These categories correlate with morphological type, with the elliptical PNe falling into the first group, and the bipolar PNe primarily in the H2 and continuum emission groups. The categories also correlate with C/O ratio, with the O-rich objects falling into the first group and the C-rich objects in the groups. Other spectral features were observed in all catagories, such as continuum emission from the central star, and warm dust continuum emission towards the long wavelength end of the spectra. H2 was detected in four PNe in this survey for the first time. An analysis was performed using the H2 line ratios in all of the PN spectra in the survey where a sufficient number of lines were observed to determine the ortho-to-para ratio and the rotational and vibrational excitation temperatures of the H-2 in those objects. One unexpected result from this analysis is that the H-2 is excited by absorption of ultraviolet photons in most of the PNe, although there are several PNe in which collisional excitation plays an important role. The correlation between bipolar morphology and H2 emission has been strengthened with the new detections of H2 in this survey.

Hora, Joseph L.↗

NASA NTRS2008

High-Altitude Emission from Pulsar Slot Gaps: The Crab Pulsar

We present results of a 3D model of optical to gamma-ray emission from the slot gap accelerator of a rotation-powered pulsar. Primary electrons accelerating to high-altitudes in the unscreened electric field of the slot gap reach radiation-reaction limited Lorentz factors of approx. 2 x 10(exp 7), while electron-positron pairs from lower-altitude cascades flow along field lines interior to the slot gap. The curvature, synchrotron and inverse Compton radiation of both primary electrons and pairs produce a broad spectrum of emission from infra-red to GeV energies. Both primaries and pairs undergo cyclotron resonant absorption of radio photons, allowing them to maintain significant pitch angles. Synchrotron radiation from pairs with a power-law energy spectrum from gamma = 10(exp 2) - 10(exp 5), dominate the spectrum up to approx. 10 MeV. Synchrotron and curvature radiation of primaries dominates from 10 MeV up to a few GeV. We examine the energy-dependent pulse profiles and phase-resolved spectra for parameters of the Crab pulsar as a function of magnetic inclination alpha and viewing angle zeta, comparing to broad-band data. In most cases, the pulse profiles are dominated by caustics on trailing field lines. We also explore the relation of the high-energy and the radio profiles, as well as the possibility of caustic formation in the radio cone emission. We find that the Crab pulsar profiles and spectrum can be reasonably well reproduced by a model with alpha = 45deg and zeta approx. 100deg or 80deg. This model predicts that the slot gap emission below 200 MeV will exhibit correlations in time and phase with the radio emission.

Harding, Alice K.↗

NASA NTRS2005

Atomic Clock Based on Opto-Electronic Oscillator

A proposed highly accurate clock or oscillator would be based on the concept of an opto-electronic oscillator (OEO) stabilized to an atomic transition. Opto-electronic oscillators, which have been described in a number of prior NASA Tech Briefs articles, generate signals at frequencies in the gigahertz range characterized by high spectral purity but not by longterm stability or accuracy. On the other hand, the signals generated by previously developed atomic clocks are characterized by long-term stability and accuracy but not by spectral purity. The proposed atomic clock would provide high spectral purity plus long-term stability and accuracy a combination of characteristics needed to realize advanced developments in communications and navigation. In addition, it should be possible to miniaturize the proposed atomic clock. When a laser beam is modulated by a microwave signal and applied to a photodetector, the electrical output of the photodetector includes a component at the microwave frequency. In atomic clocks of a type known as Raman clocks or coherent-population-trapping (CPT) clocks, microwave outputs are obtained from laser beams modulated, in each case, to create two sidebands that differ in frequency by the amount of a hyperfine transition in the ground state of atoms of an element in vapor form in a cell. The combination of these sidebands produces a transparency in the population of a higher electronic level that can be reached from either of the two ground-state hyperfine levels by absorption of a photon. The beam is transmitted through the vapor to a photodetector. The components of light scattered or transmitted by the atoms in the two hyperfine levels mix in the photodetector and thereby give rise to a signal at the hyperfine- transition frequency. The proposed atomic clock would include an OEO and a rubidium- or cesium- vapor cell operating in the CPT/Raman regime (see figure). In the OEO portion of this atomic clock, as in a typical prior OEO, a laser beam would pass through an electro-optical modulator, the modulated beam would be fed into a fiber-optic delay line, and the delayed beam would be fed to a photodetector. The electrical output of the photodetector would be detected, amplified, filtered, and fed back to the microwave input port of the modulator. The laser would be chosen to have the same wavelength as that of the pertinent ground-state/higher-state transition of the atoms in the vapor. The modulator/ filter combination would be designed to operate at the microwave frequency of the hyperfine transition. Part of the laser beam would be tapped from the fiberoptic loop of the OEO and introduced into the vapor cell. After passing through the cell, this portion of the beam would be detected differentially with a tapped portion of the fiber-optically-delayed beam. The electrical output of the photodetector would be amplified and filtered in a loop that would control a DC bias applied to the modulator. In this manner, the long-term stability and accuracy of the atomic transition would be transferred to the OEO.

Maleki, Lute↗

NASA NTRS2015

Synchrotron Self-Compton Emission from the Crab and Other Pulsars

Results of a simulation of synchrotron-self Compton (SSC) emission from a rotation-powered pulsar are presented. The radiating particles are assumed to be both accelerated primary electrons and a spectrum of electron-positron pairs produced in cascades near the polar cap. They follow trajectories in a slot gap using 3D force-free magnetic field geometry, gaining pitch angles through resonant cyclotron absorption of radio photons, radiating and scattering synchrotron emission at high altitudes out to and beyond the light cylinder. Full angular dependence of the synchrotron photon density is simulated in the scattering and all processes are treated in the inertial observer frame. Spectra for the Crab and Vela pulsars as well as two energetic millisecond pulsars, B1821-24 and B1937+21 are simulated using this model. The simulation of the Crab pulsar radiation can reproduce both the flux level and the shape of the observed optical to hard X-ray emission assuming a pair multiplicity of M+ = 3x10(exp 5), as well as the very-high- energy emission above 50 GeV detected by MAGIC and VERITAS, with both the synchrotron and SSC components reflecting the shape of the pair spectrum. Simulations of Vela, B1821-24 and B1937+21, for M+ up to 10(exp 5), do not produce pair SSC emission that is detectable by current telescopes, indicating that only Crab-like pulsars produce significant SSC components. The pair synchrotron emission matches the observed X-ray spectrum of the millisecond pulsars and the predicted peak of this emission at 1-10 MeV would be detectable with planned Compton telescopes.

Self-Compton↗

NASA NTRS2011

Understanding Effective Diameter and Its Application to Terrestrial Radiation in Ice Clouds

The cloud property known as "effective diameter" or "effective radius", which in essence is the cloud particle size distribution (PSD) volume at bulk density divided by its projected area, is used extensively in atmospheric radiation transfer, climate modeling and remote sensing. This derives from the assumption that PSD optical properties can be uniquely described in terms of their effective diameter, D(sub e), and their cloud water content (CWC), henceforth referred to as the D(sub e)-CWC assumption. This study challenges this assumption, showing that while the D(sub e)-CWC assumption appears generally valid for liquid water clouds, it appears less valid for ice clouds in regions where (1) absorption is not primarily a function of either the PSD ice water content (IWC) or the PSD projected area, and (2) where wave resonance (i.e. photon tunneling) contributes significantly to absorption. These two regions often strongly coincide at terrestrial wavelengths when De less than ~60 m, which is where this D(sub e)-CWC assumption appears poorest. Treating optical properties solely in terms of D(sub e) and IWC may lead to errors up to 24%, 26% and 20% for terrestrial radiation in the window region regarding the absorption and extinction coefficients and the single scattering albedo, respectively. Outside the window region, errors may reach 33% and 42% regarding absorption and extinction. The magnitude and sign of these errors can change rapidly with wavelength, which may produce significant errors in climate modeling, remote sensing and other applications concerned with the wavelength dependence of radiation. Where the D(sub e)-CWC assumption breaks down, ice cloud optical properties appear to depend on D(sub e), IWC and the PSD shape. Optical property parameterizations in climate models and remote sensing algorithms based on historical PSD measurements may exhibit errors due to previously unknown PSD errors (i.e. the presence of ice artifacts due to the shattering of larger ice particles on the probe inlet tube during sampling). More recently developed cloud probes are designed to mitigate this shattering problem. Using realistic PSD shapes for a given temperature (and/or IWC) and cloud type may minimize errors associated with PSD shape in ice optics parameterizations and remote sensing algorithms. While this topic was investigated using two ice optics schemes (the Yang et al., 2005 database and the modified anomalous diffraction approximation, or MADA), a physical understanding of the limitations of the D(sub e)-IWC assumption was made possible by using MADA. MADA allows one to approximate the contribution of photon tunneling to absorption relative to other optical processes, which reveals that part of the error regarding the D(sub e)-IWC assumption can be associated with tunneling. By relating the remaining error to the radiation penetration depth in bulk ice (DELTA L) due to absorption, the domain where the D(sub e)-IWC assumption is weakest was described in terms of D(sub e) and DELTA L.

Mitchell, D. L.↗

NASA NTRS2015

Secured Optical Communications Using Quantum Entangled Two-Photon Transparency Modulation

A system and method is disclosed wherein optical signals are coded in a transmitter by tuning or modulating the interbeam delay time (which modulates the fourth-order coherence) between pairs of entangled photons. The photon pairs are either absorbed or not absorbed (transparent) by an atomic or molecular fluorescer in a receiver, depending on the inter-beam delay that is introduced in the entangled photon pairs. Upon the absorption, corresponding fluorescent optical emissions follow at a certain wavelength, which are then detected by a photon detector. The advantage of the disclosed system is that it eliminates a need of a coincidence counter to realize the entanglement-based secure optical communications because the absorber acts as a coincidence counter for entangled photon pairs.

Kojima, Jun↗

NASA NTRS1984

Experimental tests of a single-photon calorimeter for X-ray spectroscopy

Tests have been made of a nondispersive spectroscopic X-ray detector which operates by measuring the temperature rise following absorption of a single photon. Thermal pulses from 6-keV X-rays have been observed, and the different amplitudes resulting from Mn K-alpha and K-beta events have been resolved. This device was assembled to make quantitative tests of theoretical calculations of the properties of such detectors, and its high heat capacity does not allow it to attain the very high resolution predicted for detectors made by more sophisticated, but still straightforward, techniques. Both the measured resolution of 270-eV full width at half maximum and the absolute amplitude of the response are consistent with predictions. Nonthermal effects in the thermistor limit the precision of this comparison to about 30 percent.

Mccammon, D.↗