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At least 1,729 records · Page 96

Fundamental Mvssbauer Parameters of Hydrous Iron Sulfates

Hydrous iron sulfates, which form as alteration products of sulfides, are rare on Earth. On Mars, the low temperature and pH found in the martian permafrost create ideal conditions for the formation of this group of minerals [1], which includes such phases as coquimbite (Fe2(SO4) 9H2O) and amarantite (FeSO4(OH) 3H2O). Viking, Mars Pathfinder, MER and OMEGA data [e.g., [2]] have all indicated the presence of high sulfur contents on the surface of Mars, but the mineralogy of the sulfur-rich phases has not been well constrained. Recent work by [3] suggests that hydrous iron sulfates might satisfy the Martian thermal emission, vis-near IR, and M ssbauer spectra. These data suggest that sulfide and sulfate minerals might be significant contributors to all types of spectra acquired on the Martian surface.

Rothstein, Y.↗

Plasma Sail Concept Fundamentals

The mini-magnetospheric plasma propulsion (M2P2) device, originally proposed by Winglee et al., predicts that a 15-km standoff distance (or 20-km cross-sectional dimension) of the magnetic bubble will provide for sufficient momentum transfer from the solar wind to accelerate a spacecraft to unprecedented speeds of 50 C80 km/s after an acceleration period of 3 mo. Such velocities will enable travel out of the solar system in period of 7 yr almost an order of magnitude improvement over present chemical-based propulsion systems. However, for the parameters of the simulation of Winglee et al., a fluid model for the interaction of M2P2 with the solar wind is not valid. It is assumed in the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) fluid model, normally applied to planetary magnetospheres, that the characteristic scale size is much greater than the Larmor radius and ion skin depth of the solar wind. In the case of M2P2, the size of the magnetic bubble is actually less than or comparable to the scale of these characteristic parameters. Therefore, a kinetic approach, which addresses the small-scale physical mechanisms, must be used. A two-component approach to determining a preliminary estimate of the momentum transfer to the plasma sail has been adopted. The first component is a self-consistent MHD simulation of the small-scale expansion phase of the magnetic bubble. The fluid treatment is valid to roughly 5 km from the source and the steady-state MHD solution at the 5 km boundary was then used as initial conditions for the hybrid simulation. The hybrid simulations showed that the forces delivered to the innermost regions of the plasma sail are considerably ( 10 times) smaller than the MHD counterpart, are dominated by the magnetic field pressure gradient, and are directed primarily in the transverse direction.

Khazanov, G. V.↗

The Effect of Approximating Some Molecular Integrals in Coupled-Cluster Calculations: Fundamental Frequencies and Rovibrational Spectroscopic Constants of Cyclopropenylidene

The singles and doubles coupled-cluster method that includes a perturbational estimate of connected triple excitations, denoted CCSD(T), has been used, in conjunction with approximate integral techniques, to compute highly accurate rovibrational spectroscopic constants of cyclopropenylidene, C3H2. The approximate integral technique was proposed in 1994 by Rendell and Lee in order to avoid disk storage and input/output bottlenecks, and today it will also significantly aid in the development of algorithms for distributed memory, massively parallel computer architectures. It is shown in this study that use of approximate integrals does not impact the accuracy of CCSD(T) calculations. In addition, the most accurate spectroscopic data yet for C3H2 is presented based on a CCSD(T)/cc-pVQZ quartic force field that is modified to include the effects of core-valence electron correlation. Cyclopropenylidene is of great astronomical and astrobiological interest because it is the smallest aromatic ringed compound to be positively identified in the interstellar medium, and is thus involved in the prebiotic processing of carbon and hydrogen. The singles and doubles coupled-cluster method that includes a perturbational estimate of

Lee, Timothy J.↗

Fundamental Physics Program and the NASA Mission

The accomplishments of Physics, the increasing power of its instruments, and its expanding reach into other sciences have generated an unprecedented set of scientific opportunities. The committee has identified six such Grand Challenges listed below in no particular order: Developing quantum technologies. Creating new materials. Understanding complex systems. Unifying the forces of Nature. Exploring the universe Applying Physics to Biology.

Trinh, Eugene↗

Fundamental Physics Changes in Response to Evolving NASA Needs

To continue growing as a discipline, we need to establish a new vision of where we are going that is consistent with today s physics, NASA s strategic plan, and the new OBPR direction. 1998 Roadmap focused exclusively on Physics, and did not worry about boundaries between OBPR and OSS. Updated Roadmap: Must incorporate some strategic research activities to be fully responsive to the current OBPR direction. Must capture the imagination of OBPR leadership, OMB, and Congress. Must delineate OBPR from the "beyond Einstein" program in OSS. Must address relevancy to Society explicitly. Status of the Roadmap development will be discussed after lunch today. Seeking community inputs and endorsement. Draft update targeted for June, final in August.

Israelsson, Ulf↗

A Fundamental Mathematical Model of a Microbial Predenitrification System

Space flight beyond Low Earth Orbit requires sophisticated systems to support all aspects of the mission (life support, real-time communications, etc.). A common concern that cuts across all these systems is the selection of information technology (IT) methodology, software and hardware architectures to provide robust monitoring, diagnosis, and control support. Another dimension of the problem space is that different systems must be integrated seamlessly so that communication speed and data handling appear as a continuum (un-interrupted). One such team investigating this problem is the Advanced Integration Matrix (AIM) team whose role is to define the critical requirements expected of software and hardware to support an integrated approach to the command and control of Advanced Life Support (ALS) for future long-duration human space missions, including permanent human presence on the Moon and Mars. A goal of the AIM team is to set the foundation for testing criteria that will assist in specifying tasks, control schemes and test scenarios to validate and verify systems capabilities. This project is to contribute to the goals of the AIM team by assisting with controls planning for ALS. Control for ALS is an enormous problem it involves air revitalization, water recovery, food production, solids processing and crew. In more general terms, these systems can be characterized as involving both continuous and discrete processes, dynamic interactions among the sub-systems, nonlinear behavior due to the complex operations, and a large number of multivariable interactions due to the dimension of the state space. It is imperative that a baseline approach from which to measure performance is established especially when the expectation for the control system is complete autonomous control.

Hoo, Karlene A.↗

Accreting Millisecond Pulsars and Fundamental Physics

X-ray emission from the surfaces of rapidly rotating neutron stars encodes information about their global properties as well as physical conditions locally. Detailed modelling of, for example, the energy dependent pulse profiles observed from accreting millisecond pulsars and thermonuclear burst oscillations can be used to derive constraints on the masses and radii of neutron stars. These measurements provide direct information on the properties of the dense matter equation of state of the supranuclear density matter in their interiors. Study of absorption lines created in the surface layers can also provide measurements of masses and radii, and may be able to probe aspects of relativistic gravity, such as frame dragging. I will discuss the results of recent efforts to carry out such measurements and their implications for the properties of dense matter.

Strohmayer, Tod↗

Fundamentals of Modeling, Data Assimilation, and High-performance Computing

This lecture will introduce the concepts of modeling, data assimilation and high- performance computing as it relates to the study of atmospheric composition. The lecture will work from basic definitions and will strive to provide a framework for thinking about development and application of models and data assimilation systems. It will not provide technical or algorithmic information, leaving that to textbooks, technical reports, and ultimately scientific journals. References to a number of textbooks and papers will be provided as a gateway to the literature.

Rood, Richard B.↗

Commercialization of NASA PS304 Solid Lubricant Coating Enhanced by Fundamental Powder Flow Research

The NASA Glenn Research Center has developed a patented high-temperature solid lubricant coating, designated PS304, for reducing friction and wear in bearing systems. The material used to produce the coating is initially a blend of metallic and ceramic powders that are deposited on the bearing surface by the plasma spray process. PS304 was developed to lubricate foil air bearings in Oil-Free turbomachinery, where the moving surfaces are coated with a hydrodynamic air film except at the beginning and end of an operation cycle when the air film is not present. The coating has been successful in several applications including turbochargers, land-based turbines, and industrial drying furnace conveyor components, with current development activities directed at implementation in Oil-Free aeropropulsion engines.

Stanford, Malcolm K.↗

Fundamental Research Applied To Enable Hardware Performance in Microgravity

NASA sponsors microgravity research to generate knowledge in physical sciences. In some cases, that knowledge must be applied to enable future research. This article describes one such example. The Dust and Aerosol measurement Feasibility Test (DAFT) is a risk-mitigation experiment developed at the NASA Glenn Research Center by NASA and ZIN Technologies, Inc., in support of the Smoke Aerosol Measurement Experiment (SAME). SAME is an investigation that is being designed for operation in the Microgravity Science Glovebox aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The purpose of DAFT is to evaluate the performance of P-Trak (TSI Incorporated, Shoreview, MN)--a commercially available condensation nuclei counter and a key SAME diagnostic- -in long-duration microgravity because of concerns about its ability to operate properly in that environment. If its microgravity performance is proven, this device will advance the state of the art in particle measurement capabilities for space vehicles and facilities, such as aboard the ISS. The P-Trak, a hand-held instrument, can count individual particles as small as 20 nm in diameter in an aerosol stream. Particles are drawn into the device by a built-in suction pump. Upon entering the instrument, these particles pass through a saturator tube where they mix with an alcohol vapor (see the following figure). This mixture then flows through a cooled condenser tube where some of the alcohol condenses onto the sample particles, and the droplets grow in a controlled fashion until they are large enough to be counted. These larger droplets pass through an internal nozzle and past a focused laser beam, producing flashes of light that are sensed by a photodetector and then counted to determine particle number concentration. The operation of the instrument depends on the proper internal flow and recycling of isopropyl alcohol in both the vapor and liquid phases.

Sheredy, William A.↗

On the Flow of a Compressible Fluid by the Hodograph Method. II - Fundamental Set of Particular Flow Solutions of the Chaplygin Differential Equation

The differential equation of Chaplygin's jet problem is utilized to give a systematic development of particular solutions of the hodograph flow equations, which extends the treatment of Chaplygin into the supersonic range and completes the set of particular solutions. The particular solutions serve to place on a reasonable basis the use of velocity correction formulas for the comparison of incompressible and compressible flows. It is shown that the geometric-mean type of velocity correction formula introduced in part I has significance as an over-all type of approximation in the subsonic range. A brief review of general conditions limiting the potential flow of an adiabatic compressible fluid is given and application is made to the particular solutions, yielding conditions for the existence of singular loci in the supersonic range. The combining of particular solutions in accordance with prescribed boundary flow conditions is not treated in the present paper.

Garrick, I. E.↗

Fundamental Properties of O-Type Stars

We present a comprehensive analysis of high-resolution, far-ultraviolet HST STIS, FUSE, and optical spectra of 18 O stars in the Small Magellanic Cloud. Our analysis is based on the OSTAR2002 grid of NLTE metal-line-blanketed model atmospheres calculated with our code TLUSTY. We systematically explore and present the sensitivity of various UV and optical lines to different stellar parameters. We have obtained consistent fits of the UV and the optical spectrum to derive the effective temperature, surface gravity, surface composition, and microturbulent velocity of each star. Stellar radii, masses, and luminosities follow directly. For stars of the same spectral subtype, we find a general good agreement between effective temperature determinations obtained with TLUSTY, CMFGEN, and FASTWIND models, which are all lower than the standard T(sub eff) calibration of O stars. We propose a new calibration between the spectral type and effective temperature based on our results from UV metal lines, as well as optical hydrogen and helium lines. The lower effective temperatures translate into ionizing luminosities that are smaller by a factor of 3 compared to luminosities inferred from previous standard calibrations. The chemical composition analysis reveals that the surface of about 80% of the program stars is moderately to strongly enriched in nitrogen, while showing the original helium, carbon, and oxygen abundances. Our results support the new stellar evolution models that predict that the surface of fast rotating stars becomes nitrogen-rich during the main-sequence phase because of rotationally induced mixing. Enrichment factors are, however, larger than predicted by stellar evolution models. Most stars exhibit the "mass discrepancy" problem, which we interpret as a result of fast rotation that lowers the measured effective gravity. Nitrogen enrichment and low spectroscopic masses are therefore two manifestations of fast rotation. Our study thus emphasizes the importance of rotation in our understanding of the properties of massive stars and provides a framework for investigating populations of low-metallicity massive stars at low and high redshifts.

Heap, Sara R.↗

Fundamental Physics Changes in Response to Evolving NASA Needs

Change continues in the NASA environment. The need for access to space for physicists is growing if we are to fruitfully address today s challenging questions. A new Roadmap is required to demonstrate the importance of our program to stakeholders. Our investigators must continue to advocate the benefits of our program: a) To NASA and Congress; b) To the scientific community; c) To students; d) To the general public. Our investigators must seek ways to use their advanced technology to support a human presence in space and to develop improved Earth applications.

Israelsson, Ulf↗

Fundamental Mixing and Combustion Experiments for Propelled Hypersonic Flight

The first experiment is a study of a coaxial jet discharging into stagnant laboratory air, with center jet of a mixture of 5% oxygen and 95% helium by volume and coflow jet of air. The exit flow pressure of both center-jet and coflow nozzles is 1 atmosphere. The presence of oxygen in the center jet is to allow the use of an oxygen flow-tagging technique (RELIEF4) to obtain non-intrusive velocity measurements. Both jets are nominally Mach 1.8, but, because of the greater speed of sound, the center jet velocity is more than twice that of the coflow. The mixing layer which forms between the center jet and the coflow near the nozzle exit is compressible, with a calculated convective Mach number of approximately 0.7. This geometry has several advantages: The streamwise development of the flow is generally dominated by turbulent stresses (rather than pressure forces), and thus calculations are sensitive to turbulence modeling. It includes features present in supersonic combustors, including a compressible mixing layer near the nozzle exit and a light-gas/air plume downstream. Since it is a free jet, it provides easy access for both optical instrumentation and probes. Since it is axisymmetric, it requires fewer experimental measurements to fully characterize, and calculations can be performed with more modest computer resources. However, weak shock waves formed at the nozzle exit strengthen and turn normal as they approach the axis, complicating the flow. Care is thus taken in the design of the facility to provide as near as possible to 1-D flow at the exit of both center and coflow nozzles, and to minimize the strength of waves generated at the nozzle exit. Results from this experiment are compared to CFD solutions obtained by VULCAN, a previously developed code used in engine analysis. The second experiment is a study of a supersonic combustor consisting of a diverging duct with single downstream-angled wall injector. Thus, the geometry is relatively simple and large regions of subsonic recirculating flow are avoided. The nominal entrance Mach number is 2 and the enthalpy of the test gas (hot air "simulant") is nominally that of Mach 7 flight. It was believed, on the basis of calculations performed that this would produce mixing-limited flow, that is to say, one for which chemical reaction to equilibrium proceeds at a much greater rate than mixing. It later proved that this was not the case. The primary experimental technique employed is coherent anti-Stokes Raman spectroscopy, known by its acronym CARS. The species probed is molecular nitrogen and the quantity measured is temperature. Intrusive probes, such as Pitot, total temperature, hot-wire, etc., are not used due to access difficulty and high heat flux in the combustor, and because they may alter the flow. CARS has several advantages over other optical methods. It is a relatively mature and well-understood technique. Signal levels are relatively high and the signal is in the form of a coherent (laser) beam that can be collected through small windows. Incoherent (non-CARS) interferences are rejected by spatial filtering.

Diskin, G. S.↗