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At least 163 records · Page 9
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NASA NTRS2019

Application of GRACE to the Estimation of Groundwater Storage Change in a Data-poor Region: A Case Study of Ngadda Catchment in the Lake Chad Basin

The present study is to explore the feasibility of GRACE-based estimation of a groundwater storage change in a data-poor region using a case study of the Ngadda catchment in the Lake Chad Basin. Although the Ngadda catchment has only one set of in situ time series data of groundwater from 2006 to 2009 and a limited number of groundwater measurements in 2005 and 2009, GRACE-based groundwater storage change can be evaluated against thein situ groundwater measurements combined with specific yield data. The cross-correlation analysis in the Ngadda catchment shows that maximum rainfall reached in July and August, whereas both the maximum total water storage anomaly and the maximum groundwater storage anomaly occurred 2months later. Whereas the mean annual amplitude of total water storage anomaly is about 17cm from both the average total water storage anomaly from three mascon products and the one from three spherical harmonic products, the mean annual amplitude of soil moisture storage anomaly is substantially varied from5.58cm for CLM to about 14cm for NOAH and Mosaic. The goodness-of-fit tests show that CLM soil moisture produces the closest estimation of groundwater storage anomaly to thein situ groundwater measurements. The present study shows that GRACE-based estimation for groundwater storage anomaly can be a cost-effective and alternative tool to observe how groundwater changes in a basin scale under the limitation of modelling and in situ data availability.

GRACE↗
NASA NTRS1981

Hard X-ray spectrum of Cygnus X-1

Long-term measurements of the hard X-ray spectrum from 3 keV to 8 MeV of the black-hole candidate Cygnus X-1 in its low state are reported. Observations were made from October 26 to November 18, 1977 with the A2 (Cosmic X-ray) and A4 (Hard X-ray and Low-Energy Gamma-Ray) experiments on board HEAO 1 in the spacecraft's scanning mode. The measured spectrum below 200 keV is found to agree well with previous spectra which have been fit by a model of the Compton scattering of optical or UV photons in a very hot plasma of electron temperature 32.4 keV and optical depth 3.9 or 1.6 for spherical or disk geometry, respectively. At energies above 300 keV, however, flux excess is observed which may be accounted for by a distribution of electron temperatures from 15 to about 100 keV.

Nolan, P. L.↗
NASA NTRS1992

UV line diagnostics of accretion disk winds in cataclysmic variables

The IUE data base is used to analyze the UV line shapes of cataclysmic variables RW Sex, RW Tri, and V Sge. Observed lines are compared to synthetic line profiles computed using a model of rotating bi-conical winds from accretion disks. The wind model calculates the wind ionization structure self-consistently including photoionization from the disk and boundary layer and treats 3-D line radiation transfer in the Sobolev approximation. It is found that winds from accretion disks provide a good fit for reasonable parameters to the observed UV lines which include the P Cygni profiles for low inclination systems and pure emission at large inclination. Disk winds are preferable to spherical winds which originate on the white dwarf because they (1) require a much lower ratio of mass loss rate to accretion rate and are therefore more plausible energetically, (2) provide a natural source for a bi-conical distribution of mass outflow which produces strong scattering far above the disk leading to P Cygni profiles for low inclination systems, and pure line emission profiles at high inclination with the absence of eclipses in UV lines, and (3) produce rotation broadened pure emission lines at high inclination.

Vitello, Peter↗
NASA NTRS1998

RXTE Observation of Cygnus X-1 Spectral Analysis

We present the results of the analysis of the broad-band spectrum of Cygnus X-1 from 3.0 to 200 keV, using data from a 10 ksec observation by the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer. Although the spectrum can be well described phenomenologically by an exponentially cut-off power law (photon index Gamma = 1.45+0.01 -0.02 , e-folding energy e(sub f) = 162+9 -8 keV, plus a deviation from a power law that formally can be modeled as a thermal blackbody, with temperature kT(sub BB) = 1.2 +0.0 -0.1 keV), the inclusion of a reflection component does not improve the fit. As a physical description of this system, we apply the accretion disc corona (ADC) models. A slab-geometry ADC model is unable to describe the data. However, a spherical corona, with a total optical depth tau- = 1.6 + or - 0.1 and an average temperature kTc = 87 + or - 5 keV, surrounded by an exterior cold disc, does provide a good description of the data (X red (exp 2) = 1.55). These models deviate from the data bv up to 7% in the 5-10 keV range. However, considering how successfully the spherical corona reproduces the 10-200 keV data, such "photon-starved" coronal geometries seem very promising for explaining the accretion processes of Cygnus X-1.

Dove, J. B.↗
NASA NTRS1975

Radiative transfer in spherical circumstellar dust envelopes. II - Is the infrared continuum of eta Carinae produced by thermal dust emission

The radiative transfer techniques of Huang have been further extended in an attempt to construct a specific thermal dust-emission model of eta Carinae which fits the observations of both the spectral and the spatial distribution of the infrared radiation. The model which best fits the observations requires infrared emissivities considerably higher than those of normal-size nonsilicate grains. Evidence is presented that the high infrared emissivities are caused by large particles rather than a heavy concentration of infrared-active silicates. The possibility that synchrotron radiation is responsible for some of the infrared continuum is discussed.

Apruzese, J. P.↗
NASA NTRS1994

The Local Supercluster as a test of cosmological models

The Local Supercluster kinematic properties (the Local Group infall toward the Virgo Cluster and galaxy density distribution about the Virgo Cluster) in various cosmological models are examined utilizing large-scale N-body (PM) simulations 500(exp 3) cells, 250(exp 3) particles, and box size of 400 h(exp -1) Mpc) and are compared to observations. Five models are investigated: (1) the standard, Cosmic Background Explorer Satellite (COBE)-normalized cold dark matter (CDM) model with omega = 1, h = 0.5, and sigma(sub 8) = 1.05; (2) the standard Hot Dark Matter (HDM) model with omega = 1, h = 0.75, and sigma(sub 8) = 1; (3) the tilted CDM model with omega = 1, h = 0.5, n = 0.7, and sigma(sub 8) = 0.5; (4) a CDM + lambda model with omega = 0.3, lambda = 0.7, h = 2/3, and sigma(sub 8) = 2/3; (5) the PBI model with omega = 0.2, h = 0.8, x = 0.1, m = -0.5, and sigma(sub 8) = 0.9. Comparison of the five models with the presently available observational measurements v(sub LG) = 85 - 305 km/s (with mean of 250 km/s), delta(n(sub g))/(n(sub g)-bar) = 1.40 + or - 0.35) suggests that an open universe with omega approximately 0.5 (with or without lambda) and sigma(sub 8) approximately 0.8 is preferred, with omega = 0.3-1.0 (with or without lambda) and sigma(sub 8) = 0.7-1.0 being the acceptable range. At variance with some previous claims based on either direct N-body or spherical nonlinear approaches, we find that a flat model with sigma(sub 8) approximately 0.7-1.0 seems to be reasonably consistent with observations. However, if one favors the low limit of v(sub LG) = 85 km/s, then an omega approximately 0.2-0.3 universe seems to provide a better fit, and flat (omega = 1) models are ruled out at approximately 95% confidence level. On the other hand, if the high limit of v(sub LG) = 350 km/s is closer to the truth, then it appears that omega approximately 0.7-0.8 is more consistent. This test is insensitive to the shape of the power spectrum, but rather sensitive to the normalization of the perturbation amplitude on the relevant scale (e.g., sigma(sub 8)) and omega. We find that neither linear nor nonlinear relations (with spherical symmetry) are good approximations for the relation between radial peculiar velocity and density perturbation, i.e., nonspherical effects and gravitational tidal field are important. The derived omega using either of the two relations is underestimated. In some cases, this error is as large as a factor of 2-4.

Cen, Renyue↗
NASA NTRS1998

Mesogranulation as A Distinct Scale of Convection in the Sun

We present evidence for the existence of mesogranulation as a scale of convection distinct from granulation and supergranulation through analysis of full-disk Doppler velocity images of the Sun collected by the Michelson Doppler Imager (MDI) aboard the NASA/ESA Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO). Our analysis procedures isolate nearly steady flows in the solar photosphere and yield power spectra of convection for spherical harmonic degrees up to I = 1000. Each spectrum exhibits an obvious supergranulation peak at I approximately 130 and a broad secondary peak at I approximately 600 with a distinct break in the spectrum between these peaks at I approximately 300. We believe that this secondary peak is a signature of mesogranulation with typical cell diameters of about 7 Mm. Our standard analysis procedure is to first remove the p-mode oscillation signal by averaging individual Dopplergrams over 17-minute intervals. Next, by fitting to standard functional forms we remove Doppler signals due to the motion of the spacecraft, the convective blueshift, solar rotation including differential rotation, and the meridional circulation in order to produce Dopplergrams dominated by convective motions. By mapping these processed images onto heliographic coordinates and projecting onto spherical harmonics, we produce a power spectrum of solar convection for each 17-minute period. We construct synthetic images and pass them through the same analysis procedure in order to determine the actual solar convection spectrum that reproduces the analyzed results. We find that a small but increasing percentage of high-degree convective power is lost in the analysis as we approach the limit of resolution of the detector but'that the broad, mesogranulation peak at I approximately 600 must be included in the convection spectrum of the synthetic images.

Bachmann, Kurt T.↗
NASA NTRS1984

The effects of the diffuse radiation fields due to multiple scattering and thermal reradiation by dust on the dynamics and thermodynamics of a dusty cometary atmosphere

A self-consistent model of a dirty, clathrate cometary nucleus is extended to account for diffuse radiation fields caused by multiple scattering and thermal reradiation of the solar continuum by dust. The model is configured to fit conditions expected for the various spacecraft which will encounter Halley's comet at 0.89 AU. The atmosphere is assumed a chemically reactive dust-gas mixture in quasi-steady spherically symmetric expansion. The effect of electron-neutral ion collisions is accounted for, along with rate constants of the various species of clathrate ice particles and radiative transfer of the solar input in the UV, visible and near-IR intervals. The opacity of the circumnuclear dust is projected to be an order of magnitude greater than previous estimates, which severely impacts the potential visibility of the nucleus to the cameras of the flyby satellites.

Marconi, M. L.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Ultraviolet line diagnostics of accretion disk winds in cataclysmic variables

The IUE data base is used to analyze the UV line shapes of the cataclysmic variables RW Sex, RW Tri, and V Sge. Observed lines are compared to synthetic line profiles computed using a model of rotating biconical winds from accretion disks. The wind model calculates the wind ionization structure self-consistently including photoionization from the disk and boundary layer and treats 3D line radiation transfer in the Sobolev approximation. It is found that winds from accretion disks provide a good fit for reasonable parameters to the observed UV lines which include the P Cygni profiles for low-inclination systems and pure emission at large inclination. Disk winds are preferable to spherical winds which originate on the white dwarf because they: (1) require a much lower ratio of mass-loss rate to accretion rate and are therefore more plausible energetically; (2) provide a natural source for a biconical distribution of mass outflow which produces strong scattering far above the disk leading to P Cygni profiles for low-inclination systems and pure line emission profiles at high inclination with the absence of eclipses in UV lines; and (3) produce rotation-broadened pure emission lines at high inclination.

Vitello, Peter↗
NASA NTRS2001

The Rapidly Fading Afterglow of GRB 980519

GRB 980519 had the most rapidly fading of the well-documented GRB afterglows, consistent with t(sup -2.05 +/- 0.04) in BVRI as well as in X-rays during the two days in which observations were made. We report VRI observations from the MDM 1.3m and WIYN 3.5m telescopes, and we synthesize an optical spectrum from all of the available photometry. The optical spectrum alone is well fitted by a power law of the form nu(sup - 1.20 +/- 0.25), with some of the uncertainty due to the significant Galactic reddening in this direction. The optical and X-ray spectra together are adequately fitted by a single power law nu(sup 1.05 +/- 0.10). This combination of steep temporal decay and flat broad-band spectrum places a severe strain on the simplest afterglow models involving spherical blast waves in a homogeneous medium. Instead, the rapid observed temporal decay is more consistent with 2 models of expansion into a medium of density n(r) proportional to r(sup -2), or with predictions of the evolution of a jet after it slows down and spreads laterally. The jet model would relax the energy requirements on some of the more extreme GRBs, of which GRB 980519 is likely to be an example because of its large gamma-ray fluence and faint host galaxy.

Halpern, Jules P.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Generation of three-dimensional body-fitted coordinates using hyperbolic partial differential equations

An efficient numerical mesh generation scheme capable of creating orthogonal or nearly orthogonal grids about moderately complex three dimensional configurations is described. The mesh is obtained by marching outward from a user specified grid on the body surface. Using spherical grid topology, grids have been generated about full span rectangular wings and a simplified space shuttle orbiter.

Steger, J. L.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Anisotropic velocity distributions in M87 - Is a supermassive black hole necessary

A collisionless distribution of stars with an anisotropic velocity distribution is considered as a model for the cores of spherical galaxies. The first moment of the corresponding Boltzmann equation is integrated to give the resulting density and velocity dispersion profiles. These distributions plus a central point source of light give a good fit to the data from recent observations of M87 without requiring a supermassive central object. This model requires one less fitting parameter than published models incorporating a central black hole. The same model with no point source of light also provides a good fit to the normal E1 galaxy NGC 3379. The success of this model in describing the cores of both M87 and NGC 3379 suggests that a supermassive black hole is not necessary in either.

Duncan, M. J.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Self-consistent models for the X-ray emission from supernova remnants - An application to Kepler's remnant

A tool for exploring the evolution of X-ray emission from young SNRs is presented which employs a novel approach to the problem of time-dependent ionization in a shock-heated plasma. The solution of this problem is coupled to a spherically symmetric hydrodynamic calculation for the evolution of a point explosion in a uniform medium. The method is applied to Kepler's SNR, and two narrowly constrained classes of models which can simultaneously fit the spectral and morphological features of the object are found. One of these is a Sedov model in which the emission arises from shocked ambient gas, and the other is a reverse-shock model in which the SN ejecta is the dominant source of radiation. The emission from one specific model in each class is compared with the radial surface brightness profile, the 0.2-4.5 keV broadband spectrum, and the 1-3 keV moderate-resolution spectrum of the remnant. Reasonable fits are obtained in both cases.

Hughes, J. P.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Precise solution for a finite set of spherical coefficients from equiangular gridded data

An important goal of geodesy is to determine the anomalous potential and its derivatives outside of the earth. Representing the surface anomalies by a series of spherical harmonics is useful since it is then possible to do a term by term solution of Laplace's equation and upward continuation. The problem of finding such a spherical harmonic series for anomaly values given on an equiangular surface grid is addressed. (This is a first step toward the more complicated problem of finding a function such that locally averaged values fit a grid of mean anomalies.) Three approaches to this fitting problem are discussed and compared: the discrete Fourier technique, the discrete integral technique, and a new approach. The peculiar nature of the equiangular grid, with its increasing density of (noisy) data toward the poles, causes each method to exhibit a different type of difficulty. The new method is shown to be practical as well as precise since the numerical conditioning problems which appear can be successfully handled by such well-known techniques as a (simple) Kalman filter.

Zucker, Paul A.↗
NASA NTRS2007

Diamond Smoothing Tools

Diamond smoothing tools have been proposed for use in conjunction with diamond cutting tools that are used in many finish-machining operations. Diamond machining (including finishing) is often used, for example, in fabrication of precise metal mirrors. A diamond smoothing tool according to the proposal would have a smooth spherical surface. For a given finish machining operation, the smoothing tool would be mounted next to the cutting tool. The smoothing tool would slide on the machined surface left behind by the cutting tool, plastically deforming the surface material and thereby reducing the roughness of the surface, closing microcracks and otherwise generally reducing or eliminating microscopic surface and subsurface defects, and increasing the microhardness of the surface layer. It has been estimated that if smoothing tools of this type were used in conjunction with cutting tools on sufficiently precise lathes, it would be possible to reduce the roughness of machined surfaces to as little as 3 nm. A tool according to the proposal would consist of a smoothing insert in a metal holder. The smoothing insert would be made from a diamond/metal functionally graded composite rod preform, which, in turn, would be made by sintering together a bulk single-crystal or polycrystalline diamond, a diamond powder, and a metallic alloy at high pressure. To form the spherical smoothing tip, the diamond end of the preform would be subjected to flat grinding, conical grinding, spherical grinding using diamond wheels, and finally spherical polishing and/or buffing using diamond powders. If the diamond were a single crystal, then it would be crystallographically oriented, relative to the machining motion, to minimize its wear and maximize its hardness. Spherically polished diamonds could also be useful for purposes other than smoothing in finish machining: They would likely also be suitable for use as heat-resistant, wear-resistant, unlubricated sliding-fit bearing inserts.

Voronov, Oleg↗
NASA NTRS1984

The occultation of AG+29 deg 398 by 98 Minerva

On 22 Nov. 1982, the asteroid 93 Minerva occulted AG-29 deg 398 (= SAO 76O17A), a seventh magnitude star of AO spectral type. The data were best fitted by a circular limb profile having a diameter of 170.8 + or - 1.4 km, a value that agrees well with the published radiometric diameter for this asteroid. However, evidence of significant departure from a spherical shape is found in the occultation observations and in photometric measurements of Minerva. Additional observations are required to specify difinitively the three dimensional figure of Minerva.

Millis, R. L.↗
NASA NTRS1985

The occultation of AG + 29 deg 398 by 93 Minerva

The occultation of AG + 29 deg 398 by 93 Minerva on 22 November 1982 was successfully observed at 10 sites. The data are best fitted by a circular limb profile having a diameter of 170.8 + or - 1.4 km, a value that agrees well with the published radiometric diameter for this asteroid. However, evidence of significant departure from a spherical shape is found in the occultation observations and in photometric measurements of Minerva made at Lowell Observatory over several months. Additional observations are needed to specify definitively the three-dimensional figure of Minerva.

Millis, R. L.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Modeling of G333.6-0.2 as a spherical H II region

The radio and IR observations of the H II region G333.6-0.2 are matched with a detailed spherical model with a density distribution which has a uniform-density core of radius 0.05 pc, a power-law intermediate zone, and a uniform-density halo. A stellar radiation field is required that is somewhat different from those predicted by available model atmospheres. Of the stellar models of Kurucz, the Teff = 34,000 K and log g = 3.5 model best fits the observed ratio of helium to hydrogen recombination lines. A good fit to all the observations in obtained with an S(2+) ionizing flux which is a factor of 20 times less than predicted by the Kurucz atmosphere. Current model atmospheres may not be appropriate because a single stable star with Teff = 34,000 K fails by at least an order of magnitude to produce the ionizing luminosity. The small radius of the constant-density core implies a short dynamical lifetime of approximately 5000 years for this spherical model; this may indicate that a nonspherical blister geometry is more appropriate for this H II region.

Rubin, R. H.↗