Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “2011”

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 1,621 records · Page 90

Low-adiabat rugby hohlraum experiments on the National Ignition Facility: Comparison with high-flux modeling and the potential for gas-wall interpenetration

Rugby-shaped gold hohlraums driven by a nominal low-adiabat laser pulse shape have been tested on the National Ignition Facility. The rugby affords a higher coupling efficiency than a comparably sized cylinder hohlraum or, alternatively, improved drive symmetry and laser beam clearances for a larger hohlraum with similar cylinder wall area and laser energy. A first (large rugby hohlraum) shot at low energy (0.75 MJ) to test laser backscatter resulted in a moderately oblate CH capsule implosion, followed by a high energy shot (1.3 MJ) that gave a highly oblate compressed core according to both time-integrated and –resolved x-ray images. These implosions used low wavelength separation (1.0 Å) between the outer and inner cones to provide an alternative platform free of significant cross-beam energy transfer for simplified hohlraum dynamics. Post-shot 2- and 3-D radiation-hydrodynamic simulations using the high-flux model [M. D. Rosen et al., High Energy Density Phys. 7, 180 (2011)], however, give nearly round implosions for both shots, in striking contrast with observations. An analytic assessment of Rayleigh-Taylor hydrodynamic instability growth on the gold–helium gas-fill interface shows the potential for significant linear growth, saturation and transition to a highly nonlinear state. Candidate seeds for instability growth include laser speckle during the early-time laser picket episode in the presence of only partial temporal beam smoothing (1-D smoothing by spectral dispersion and polarization smoothing) and intensity modulations from quad-to-quad and beam overlap. Radiation-hydrodynamic 2-D simulations adapted to include a dynamic fall-line mix model across the unstable Au-He interface show good agreement with the observed implosion symmetry for both shots using an interface-to-fall-line penetration fraction of 100%. Physically, the potential development of an instability layer in a rugby hohlraum is tantamount to an enhanced wall motion leading to hindered inner-beam propagation, due largely to the confluence of rugby shape and low ray angles relative to the hohlraum symmetry axis. A significant inward pointing shift of 500 μm in the outer cones for the third (full energy) shot of the series was used to improve the inner-beam propagation, resulting in a nearly symmetric x-ray self-emission image of the compressed core and reduced sensitivity to mix. Comparatively low time-dependent symmetry swings were also measured, and a significantly lower hot electron fraction was measured for potentially favorable fuel adiabat control. The outer cone stimulated Brillouin scatter levels jumped significantly, but remedial measures such as the use of a boron dopant in the Au wall are planned. A continuing trend of delayed implosion times is found in rugby hohlraums, suggesting levels of unaccounted hohlraum energy (∼150–200 kJ) similar to what is inferred in cylinder hohlraums. A mix-based physical scenario is described, based on suppressed channel heat flux to the dense gold wall from a temperature-gradient reversal induced by a multispecies plasma lapse rate [P. Amendt, C. Bellei, and S. C. Wilks, Phys. Rev. Lett. 109, 075002 (2012)].

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

The effect of laser spot shapes on polar-direct-drive implosions on the National Ignition Facility

Ongoing polar-direct-drive (PDD) implosions on the National Ignition Facility (NIF) [J. D. Lindl and E. I. Moses, Phys. Plasmas 18, 050901 (2011)] use existing NIF hardware, including indirect-drive phase plates. This limits the performance achievable in these implosions. Spot shapes are identified that significantly improve the uniformity of PDD NIF implosions; outer surface deviation is reduced by a factor of 7 at the end of the laser pulse and hot-spot distortion is reduced by a factor of 2 when the shell has converged by a factor of ∼10. As a result, the neutron yield increases by approximately a factor of 2. This set of laser spot shapes is a combination of circular and elliptical spots, along with elliptical spot shapes modulated by an additional higher-intensity ellipse offset from the center of the beam. This combination is motivated in this paper. It is also found that this improved implosion uniformity is obtained independent of the heat conduction model. This work indicates that significant improvement in performance can be obtained robustly with the proposed spot shapes.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Shear-flow trapped-ion-mode interaction revisited. II. Intermittent transport associated with low-frequency zonal flow dynamics

We address the mechanisms underlying low-frequency zonal flow generation in turbulent system and the associated intermittent regime of ion-temperature-gradient (ITG) turbulence. This model is in connection with the recent observation of quasi periodic zonal flow oscillation at a frequency close to 2 kHz, at the low-high transition, observed in the ASDEX Upgrade [Conway et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 106, 065001 (2011)] and EAST tokamak [Xu et al., Phys. Rev. Lett 107, 125001 (2011)]. Turbulent bursts caused by the coupling of Kelvin-Helmholtz (KH) driven shear flows with trapped ion modes (TIMs) were investigated by means of reduced gyrokinetic simulations. It was found that ITG turbulence can be regulated by low-frequency meso-scale zonal flows driven by resonant collisionless trapped ion modes (CTIMs), through parametric-type scattering, a process in competition with the usual KH instability.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Occupational exposure assessment: Practices in Malaysian nuclear agency

Malaysian Nuclear Agency (Nuclear Malaysia) is the leading agency in introducing and promoting the application of nuclear science technology in Malaysia. The agency provides major nuclear facilities purposely for research and commercialisation such as reactor, irradiation plants and radioisotope production laboratory. When dealing with ionizing radiation, there is an obligatory requirement to monitor and assess the radiation exposure to the workers. The personal dose of radiation workers were monitored monthly by assessing their Thermoluminescence Dosimeter (TLD) dose reading. This paper will discuss the current practice in managing, assessing, record keeping and reporting of the occupational exposure in Nuclear Malaysia including the Health Physic Group roles and challenges. The statistics on occupational radiation exposure of monitored workers working in different fields in Nuclear Malaysia from 2011 - 2013 will also be presented. The results show that the null hypothesis (H{sub 0}) was accepted which the means of every populations are all equal or not differ significantly. This hypothesis states that the dose exposure received by the radiation workers in Nuclear Malaysia is similar and there were no significant changes from 2011 to 2013. The radiation monitoring programme correlate with the requirement of our national law, the Atomic Energy Licensing Act 1984 (Act 304)

61 RADIATION PROTECTION AND DOSIMETRY↗

Early-time radiation flux symmetry optimization and its effect on gas-filled hohlraum ignition targets on the National Ignition Facility

Achieving ignition on the National Ignition Facility (NIF) is tied to our ability to control and minimize deviations from sphericity of the capsule implosion. Low-mode asymmetries of the hot spot result from the combined effect of radiation drive asymmetries throughout the laser pulse and initial roughness on the capsule surface. In this paper, we report on simulations and experiments designed to assess, measure, and correct the drive asymmetries produced by the early-time (≈first 2 ns or “picket”) period of the laser pulse. The drive asymmetry during the picket is commonly thought to introduce distortions in the hot-spot shape at ignition time. However, a more subtle effect not previously considered is that it also leads to an asymmetry in shock velocity and timing, thereby increasing the fuel adiabat and reducing the margin for ignition. It is shown via hydrodynamic simulations that minimizing this effect requires that the early-time asymmetry be kept below 7.5% in the second Legendre mode (P{sub 2}), thus keeping the loss of performance margin below ≈10% for a layered implosion. Asymmetries during the picket of the laser pulse are measured using the instantaneous self-emission of a high-Z re-emission sphere in place of an ignition capsule in a hohlraum with large azimuthal diagnostic windows. Three dimensional simulations using the code HYDRA (to capture the effect of non-azimuthal hohlraum features) coupled to a cross-beam energy transfer model [Michel et al., Phys. Plasmas 17, 056305 (2010)] are used to establish the surrogacy of the re-emit target and to assess the early-time drive symmetry. Calculations using this model exhibit the same sensitivity to variations in the relative input powers between the different cones of NIF beams as measured for the “Rev5” CH target [Haan et al., Phys Plasmas 18, 051001 (2011)] and reported by Dewald et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 111, 235001 (2013)]. The same methodology applied to recently improved implosions using different hohlraum geometries and picket powers show good agreement with experimental data.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Effect of layer thickness on device response of silicon heavily supersaturated with sulfur

We report on a simple experiment in which the thickness of a hyperdoped silicon layer, supersaturated with sulfur by ion implantation followed by pulsed laser melting and rapid solidification, is systematically varied at constant average sulfur concentration, by varying the implantation energy, dose, and laser fluence. Contacts are deposited and the external quantum efficiency (EQE) is measured for visible wavelengths. We posit that the sulfur layer primarily absorbs light but contributes negligible photocurrent, and we seek to support this by analyzing the EQE data for the different layer thicknesses in two interlocking ways. In the first, we use the measured concentration depth profiles to obtain the approximate layer thicknesses, and, for each wavelength, fit the EQE vs. layer thickness curve to obtain the absorption coefficient of hyperdoped silicon for that wavelength. Comparison to literature values for the hyperdoped silicon absorption coefficients [S.H. Pan et al. Applied Physics Letters 98, 121913 (2011)] shows good agreement. Next, we essentially run this process in reverse; we fit with Beer’s law the curves of EQE vs. hyperdoped silicon absorption coefficient for those wavelengths that are primarily absorbed in the hyperdoped silicon layer, and find that the layer thicknesses obtained from the fit are in good agreement with the original values obtained from the depth profiles. We conclude that the data support our interpretation of the hyperdoped silicon layer as providing negligible photocurrent at high S concentrations. This work validates the absorption data of Pan et al. [Applied Physics Letters 98, 121913 (2011)], and is consistent with reports of short mobility-lifetime products in hyperdoped layers. It suggests that for optoelectronic devices containing hyperdoped layers, the most important contribution to the above band gap photoresponse may be due to photons absorbed below the hyperdoped layer.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Multi-scale structures of turbulent magnetic reconnection

We have analyzed data from a series of 3D fully kinetic simulations of turbulent magnetic reconnection with a guide field. A new concept of the guide filed reconnection process has recently been proposed, in which the secondary tearing instability and the resulting formation of oblique, small scale flux ropes largely disturb the structure of the primary reconnection layer and lead to 3D turbulent features [W. Daughton et al., Nat. Phys. 7, 539 (2011)]. In this paper, we further investigate the multi-scale physics in this turbulent, guide field reconnection process by introducing a wave number band-pass filter (k-BPF) technique in which modes for the small scale (less than ion scale) fluctuations and the background large scale (more than ion scale) variations are separately reconstructed from the wave number domain to the spatial domain in the inverse Fourier transform process. Combining with the Fourier based analyses in the wave number domain, we successfully identify spatial and temporal development of the multi-scale structures in the turbulent reconnection process. When considering a strong guide field, the small scale tearing mode and the resulting flux ropes develop over a specific range of oblique angles mainly along the edge of the primary ion scale flux ropes and reconnection separatrix. The rapid merging of these small scale modes leads to a smooth energy spectrum connecting ion and electron scales. When the guide field is sufficiently weak, the background current sheet is strongly kinked and oblique angles for the small scale modes are widely scattered at the kinked regions. Similar approaches handling both the wave number and spatial domains will be applicable to the data from multipoint, high-resolution spacecraft observations such as the NASA magnetospheric multiscale (MMS) mission.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Comparison of polystyrene scintillator fiber array and monolithic polystyrene for neutron imaging and radiography

The neutron imaging diagnostic at the National Ignition Facility has been operating since 2011 generating neutron images of deuterium-tritium (DT) implosions at peak compression. The current design features a scintillating fiber array, which allows for high imaging resolution to discern small-scale structure within the implosion. In recent years, it has become clear that additional neutron imaging systems need to be constructed in order to provide 3D reconstructions of the DT source and these additional views need to be on a shorter line of sight. As a result, there has been increased effort to identify new image collection techniques that improve upon imaging resolution for these next generation neutron imaging systems, such as monolithic deuterated scintillators. This work details measurements performed at the Weapons Neutron Research Facility at Los Alamos National Laboratory that compares the radiographic abilities of the fiber scintillator with a monolithic scintillator, which may be featured in a future short line of sight neutron imaging systems.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Runaway electron transport in stochastic toroidal magnetic fields

Here, we study the transport and confinement properties of runaway electrons (RE) in the presence of magnetic fields with perturbations producing different levels of stochasticity. We use Kinetic Orbit Runaway Electron Code (KORC) [Carbajal et al. , Phys. Plasmas 24, 042512 (2017) and del-Castillo-Negrete et al. , Phys. Plasmas 25, 056104 (2018)] for simulating the full-orbit (FO) and guiding-center (GC) dynamics of RE in perturbed magnetic fields that exhibit magnetic islands. We extend previous works on this problem [Wingen et al. , Nucl. Fusion 46, 941 (2006); Izzo et al. , Nucl. Fusion 51, 063032 (2011); Papp et al. , Nucl. Fusion 51, 043004 (2011); V. Izzo and P. Parks, Phys. Plasmas 24, 060705 (2017); and Sommariva et al. , Nucl. Fusion 58, 016043 (2018)] by studying in detail full-orbit effects on the RE dynamics. We quantify FO effects on RE transport by performing one-to-one comparisons between FO and GC simulations. It is found that, for the magnetic field configurations considered, GC simulations predict twice the RE losses of FO simulations for 1 MeV and four times the RE losses of FO simulations for 25 MeV. Similarly, we show how different GC and FO dynamics of RE moving around magnetic islands can be, especially in the scenario where the RE Larmor radius is on the order of the size of the magnetic island. We also study the role of rotation of the magnetic islands on RE confinement, and we find that low-frequency toroidal rotation has no observable effect on RE transport in the cases considered. These results shed some light into the potential of avoidance or mitigation mechanisms based on magnetic perturbations.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Electronic reconstruction at the polar (111)-oriented oxide interface

Atomically flat (111) interfaces between insulating perovskite oxides provide a landscape for new electronic phenomena. For example, the graphene-like coordination between interfacial metallic ion layer pairs can lead to topologically protected states [Xiao et al., Nat. Commun. 2, 596 (2011) and A. Rüegg and G. A. Fiete, Phys. Rev. B 84, 201103 (2011)]. The metallic ion/metal oxide bilayers that comprise the unit cell of the perovskite (111) heterostructures require the interface to be polar, generating an intrinsic polar discontinuity [Chakhalian et al., Nat. Mater. 11, 92 (2012)]. Here, we investigate epitaxial heterostructures of (111)-oriented LaAlO 3 /SrTiO 3 (LAO/STO). We find that during heterostructure growth, the LAO overlayer eliminates the structural reconstruction of the STO (111) surface with an electronic reconstruction, which determines the properties of the resulting two-dimensional conducting gas. This is confirmed by transport measurements, direct determination of the structure and atomic charge from coherent Bragg rod analysis, and theoretical calculations of electronic and structural characteristics. Interfacial behaviors of the kind discussed here may lead to new growth control parameters useful for electronic devices.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

A New Era of Nuclear Criticality Experiments: The First 10 Years of Radiation Test Object Operations at NCERC

The work presented in this paper focuses on the first 10 years (2011–2020) of radiation test object (RTO) operations at the National Criticality Experiments Research Center. RTOs are subcritical configurations of special nuclear material that are built by hand. These configurations are utilized for benchmark experiments, detector testing/characterization, and training. An overview of the types of measurements used in RTO operations is given as well as a history of RTO operations at Los Alamos National Laboratory from 1944–2011.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

A New Era of Nuclear Criticality Experiments: The First 10 Years of Flattop Operations at NCERC

The Flattop critical assembly was built and operated from 1958 through 2004 at the Pajarito Site (Technical Area-18), home to the Los Alamos Critical Experiments Facility. Flattop was disassembled in 2005 and refurbished over the course of 3 years. In 2008, Flattop was installed in the National Criticality Experiments Research Center (NCERC) located in the Device Assembly Facility at the Nevada National Security Site. Startup of Flattop with a uranium core occurred in 2011. This paper details the first 10 years of Flattop operations at NCERC (2011–present).

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

An Evaluation of Redd Counts as a Measure of Bull Trout Population Size and Trend

Abstract The use of redd counts to monitor abundance and trend of bull trout Salvelinus confluentus has been clouded by uncertainties concerning measurement error, life history variation, and correspondence of redd counts to adult population size. We compared census redd counts with population estimates of mature females for a migratory fluvial population of bull trout (primarily ≥ 300 mm fork length) and for a population of small (<200 mm), likely resident, bull trout. We also compared the measurement error of the experienced surveyors who conducted the redd counts to that of a group of inexperienced surveyors. Although the regression of redd counts on adult females for the migratory population was statistically significant, a large proportion of the variation in the relationship was unexplained (r 2 = 0.47). Despite that variation, redd counts accurately reflected a greater than 50% decline in the population over 10 years; however, 5-year trends in redd counts could be misleading. Power analysis parameterized by using the variation in the number of females per redd and measurement error of experienced surveyors indicated that minimum declines of 44–56% or increases of 78–118% over 10–15 years would be necessary for detection using traditional statistical criteria. Geometric mean abundance of migratory adults derived from redd counts and adults-per-redd values from the present study and published averages were similar to measured adult numbers in most cases. For both migratory and resident populations, redd counts by experienced surveyors were substantially more accurate and precise than those by inexperienced surveyors. Counts of migratory bull trout redds were more accurate and precise than counts of resident bull trout redds, which were significantly smaller and consistently underestimated. Thus, bull trout redd counts can be used to estimate abundance levels and to detect substantial longer-term changes in abundance, particularly for migratory populations. However, the reliability of the counts depends on the skill of the surveyors. Received April 4, 2011; accepted August 8, 2011

Howell, Philip J.↗

Influences of Hatchery Supplementation, Spawner Distribution, and Habitat on Genetic Structure of Chinook Salmon in the South Fork Salmon River, Idaho

Abstract We evaluated the genetic influence of hatchery supplementation on distinct naturally spawning populations of Chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha in the South Fork Salmon River (SFSR), Idaho. Genetic tissue samples were collected from unmarked natural-origin and McCall Fish Hatchery (MFH)-reared Chinook salmon carcasses, and fish were identified by an adipose fin clip at five main-stem sites located both upstream and downstream of a seasonal exclusionary weir in the upper SFSR. We evaluated allele frequency data across 95 single-nucleotide polymorphism loci to determine the extent of genetic differentiation among collections. Genetic distance analyses and homogeneity tests indicated little subpopulation distinction in the upper SFSR. The weak overall genetic structure (global F ST = 0.010) is likely reflective of a population diversity similar to the historical structure with introgression by MFH stock in the naturally spawning population of the upper SFSR. Further analyses were conducted to evaluate the genetic structure among the upper SFSR and spawning aggregates in two adjacent SFSR tributaries: the Secesh River, which is devoid of any hatchery stocking, and Johnson Creek, where a discrete supplementation program has been implemented using only Johnson Creek fish. Our results indicated variable abundances of SFSR hatchery spawners distributed spatially among the three main watersheds. Gene flow appears to be restricted and genetic differentiation to be relatively large despite substantial hatchery releases in the upper SFSR. Three historical aggregates of Chinook salmon appear to persist in the SFSR metapopulation, where variable hatchery influences are coincident with the distribution of suitable spawning habitat and watershed-specific management objectives. Received January 5, 2011; accepted December 12, 2011

Matala, Andrew P.↗

OBSERVATIONAL AND DYNAMICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF MAIN-BELT COMET P/2010 R2 (La Sagra)

We present observations of the recently discovered comet-like main-belt object P/2010 R2 (La Sagra) obtained by Pan-STARRS1 and the Faulkes Telescope-North on Haleakala in Hawaii, the University of Hawaii 2.2 m, Gemini-North, and Keck I telescopes on Mauna Kea, the Danish 1.54 m telescope (operated by the MiNDSTEp consortium) at La Silla, and the Isaac Newton Telescope on La Palma. An antisolar dust tail is observed to be present from 2010 August through 2011 February, while a dust trail aligned with the object's orbit plane is also observed from 2010 December through 2011 August. Assuming typical phase darkening behavior, P/La Sagra is seen to increase in brightness by >1 mag between 2010 August and December, suggesting that dust production is ongoing over this period. These results strongly suggest that the observed activity is cometary in nature (i.e., driven by the sublimation of volatile material), and that P/La Sagra is therefore the most recent main-belt comet to be discovered. We find an approximate absolute magnitude for the nucleus of H{sub R} = 17.9 {+-} 0.2 mag, corresponding to a nucleus radius of {approx}0.7 km, assuming an albedo of p = 0.05. Comparing the observed scattering surface areas of the dust coma to that of the nucleus when P/La Sagra was active, we find dust-to-nucleus area ratios of A{sub d} /A{sub N} = 30-60, comparable to those computed for fellow main-belt comets 238P/Read and P/2008 R1 (Garradd), and one to two orders of magnitude larger than for two other main-belt comets (133P/Elst-Pizarro and 176P/LINEAR). Using optical spectroscopy to search for CN emission, we do not detect any conclusive evidence of sublimation products (i.e., gas emission), finding an upper limit CN production rate of Q{sub CN} < 6 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 23} mol s{sup -1}, from which we infer an H{sub 2}O production rate of Q{sub H{sub 2O}} < 10{sup 26} mol s{sup -1}. Numerical simulations indicate that P/La Sagra is dynamically stable for >100 Myr, suggesting that it is likely native to its current location and that its composition is likely representative of other objects in the same region of the main belt, though the relatively close proximity of the 13:6 mean-motion resonance with Jupiter and the (3,-2,-1) three-body mean-motion resonance with Jupiter and Saturn mean that dynamical instability on larger timescales cannot be ruled out.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

SPECKLE INTERFEROMETRY AT THE U.S. NAVAL OBSERVATORY. XVIII

The results of 2490 intensified CCD observations of double stars, made with the 26 inch refractor of the U.S. Naval Observatory, are presented. Each observation of a system represents a combination of over 2000 short-exposure images. These observations are averaged into 1462 mean relative positions and range in separation from 0.''56 to 71.''80, with a mean separation of 14.''81. This is the 18th in this series of papers and covers the period 2011 January 3 through 2011 December 18. Also presented are four pairs which are resolved for the first time, thirteen other pairs which appear to be lost, and linear elements for four additional pairs.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

A QUARTER-CENTURY OF OBSERVATIONS OF COMET 10P/TEMPEL 2 AT LOWELL OBSERVATORY: CONTINUED SPIN-DOWN, COMA MORPHOLOGY, PRODUCTION RATES, AND NUMERICAL MODELING

We report on photometry and imaging of Comet 10P/Tempel 2 obtained at Lowell Observatory from 1983 through 2011. We measured a nucleus rotation period of 8.950 {+-} 0.002 hr from 16 nights of imaging acquired between 2010 September and 2011 January. This rotation period is longer than the period we previously measured in 1999, which was itself longer than the period measured in 1988, and demonstrates that Tempel 2 is continuing to spin down, presumably due to torques caused by asymmetric outgassing. A nearly linear jet was observed which varied little during a rotation cycle in both R and CN images acquired during the 1999 and 2010 apparitions. We measured the projected direction of this jet throughout the two apparitions and, under the assumption that the source region of the jet was near the comet's pole, determined a rotational pole direction of R.A./decl. = 151 Degree-Sign /+59 Degree-Sign from CN measurements and R.A./decl. = 173 Degree-Sign /+57 Degree-Sign from dust measurements (we estimate a circular uncertainty of 3 Degree-Sign for CN and 4 Degree-Sign for dust). Different combinations of effects likely bias both gas and dust solutions and we elected to average these solutions for a final pole direction of R.A./decl. = 162 Degree-Sign {+-} 11 Degree-Sign /+58 Degree-Sign {+-} 1 Degree-Sign . Photoelectric photometry was acquired on 3 nights in 1983, 2 nights in 1988, 19 nights in 1999/2000, and 10 nights in 2010/2011. The activity exhibited a steep 'turn-on' {approx}3 months prior to perihelion (the exact timing of which varies) and a relatively smooth decline after perihelion. The activity during the 1999 and 2010 apparitions was similar; limited data in 1983 and 1988 (along with IUE data from the literature) were systematically higher and the difference cannot be explained entirely by the smaller perihelion distance. We measured a 'typical' composition, in agreement with previous investigators. Monte Carlo numerical modeling with our pole solution best replicated the observed coma morphology for a source region located near a comet latitude of +80 Degree-Sign and having a radius of {approx}10 Degree-Sign . Our model reproduced the seasonal changes in activity, suggesting that the majority of Tempel 2's activity originates from a small active region located near the pole. We also find that a cosine-squared solar angle function gives the best fit as compared to a standard cosine function.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

The LAMOST survey of background quasars in the vicinity of the Andromeda and Triangulum galaxies. II. Results from the commissioning observations and the pilot surveys

We present new quasars discovered in the vicinity of the Andromeda and Triangulum galaxies with the Large Sky Area Multi-Object Fiber Spectroscopic Telescope, also named the Guoshoujing Telescope, during the 2010 and 2011 observational seasons. Quasar candidates are selected based on the available Sloan Digital Sky Survey, Kitt Peak National Observatory 4 m telescope, Xuyi Schmidt Telescope Photometric Survey optical, and Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer near-infrared photometric data. We present 509 new quasars discovered in a stripe of ∼135 deg{sup 2} from M31 to M33 along the Giant Stellar Stream in the 2011 pilot survey data sets, and also 17 new quasars discovered in an area of ∼100 deg{sup 2} that covers the central region and the southeastern halo of M31 in the 2010 commissioning data sets. These 526 new quasars have i magnitudes ranging from 15.5 to 20.0, redshifts from 0.1 to 3.2. They represent a significant increase of the number of identified quasars in the vicinity of M31 and M33. There are now 26, 62, and 139 known quasars in this region of the sky with i magnitudes brighter than 17.0, 17.5, and 18.0, respectively, of which 5, 20, and 75 are newly discovered. These bright quasars provide an invaluable collection with which to probe the kinematics and chemistry of the interstellar/intergalactic medium in the Local Group of galaxies. A total of 93 quasars are now known with locations within 2.°5 of M31, of which 73 are newly discovered. Tens of quasars are now known to be located behind the Giant Stellar Stream, and hundreds are behind the extended halo and its associated substructures of M31. The much enlarged sample of known quasars in the vicinity of M31 and M33 can potentially be utilized to construct a perfect astrometric reference frame to measure the minute proper motions (PMs) of M31 and M33, along with the PMs of substructures associated with the Local Group of galaxies. Those PMs are some of the most fundamental properties of the Local Group.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗