5,504 research outputs found

    Thermodynamic and transport properties of frozen and reacting pH2-oH2 mixtures

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    Application of experimental state data and spectroscopic term values shows that the thermodynamic and transport properties of reacting pH2-oH2 mixtures are considerably different than those of chemically frozen pH2 at temperatures below 300 R. Calculated H-S data also show that radiation-induced pH2-oH2 equilibration at constant enthalpy produces a temperature drop of at least 28 R, corresponding to an ideal shaft work loss of 15% or more for a turbine operating downstream from the point of conversion. Aside from differences in thermodynamic and transport properties, frozen pH2-oH2 mixtures may differ from pure pH2 on a purely hydrodynamical basis

    Radiometric responsivity determination for Feature Identification and Location Experiment (FILE) flown on space shuttle mission

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    A procedure was developed to obtain the radiometric (radiance) responsivity of the Feature Identification and Local Experiment (FILE) instrument in preparation for its flight on Space Shuttle Mission 41-G (November 1984). This instrument was designed to obtain Earth feature radiance data in spectral bands centered at 0.65 and 0.85 microns, along with corroborative color and color-infrared photographs, and to collect data to evaluate a technique for in-orbit autonomous classification of the Earth's primary features. The calibration process incorporated both solar radiance measurements and radiative transfer model predictions in estimating expected radiance inputs to the FILE on the Shuttle. The measured data are compared with the model predictions, and the differences observed are discussed. Application of the calibration procedure to the FILE over an 18-month period indicated a constant responsivity characteristic. This report documents the calibration procedure and the associated radiometric measurements and predictions that were part of the instrument preparation for flight

    Hierarchical galaxy formation and substructure in the Galaxy's stellar halo

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    We develop an explicit model for the formation of the stellar halo from tidally disrupted, accreted dwarf satellites in the cold dark matter (CDM) framework, focusing on predictions testable with the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) and other wide-field surveys. Subhalo accretion and orbital evolution are calculated using a semi-analytic approach within the Press-Schechter formalism. Motivated by our previous work, we assume that low-mass subhalos (v < 30 km/s) can form significant populations of stars only if they accreted a substantial fraction of their mass before the epoch of reionization. With this assumption, the model reproduces the observed velocity function of galactic satellites in the Local Group, solving the ``dwarf satellite problem'' without modifying the popular LCDM cosmology. The disrupted satellites yield a stellar distribution with a total mass and radial density profile consistent with those observed for the Milky Way stellar halo. Most significantly, the model predicts the presence of many large-scale, coherent substructures in the outer halo. These substructures are remnants of individual, tidally disrupted dwarf satellite galaxies. Substructure is more pronounced at large galactocentric radii because of the smaller number density of tidal streams and the longer orbital times. This model provides a natural explanation for the coherent structures in the outer stellar halo found in the SDSS commissioning data, and it predicts that many more such structures should be found as the survey covers more of the sky. The detection (or non-detection) and characterization of such structures could eventually test variants of the CDM scenario, especially those that aim to solve the dwarf satellite problem by enhancing satellite disruption.Comment: 12 pages, 8 figures, Submitted to Ap

    Redefining the Missing Satellites Problem

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    Numerical simulations of Milky-Way size Cold Dark Matter (CDM) halos predict a steeply rising mass function of small dark matter subhalos and a substructure count that greatly outnumbers the observed satellites of the Milky Way. Several proposed explanations exist, but detailed comparison between theory and observation in terms of the maximum circular velocity (Vmax) of the subhalos is hampered by the fact that Vmax for satellite halos is poorly constrained. We present comprehensive mass models for the well-known Milky Way dwarf satellites, and derive likelihood functions to show that their masses within 0.6 kpc (M_0.6) are strongly constrained by the present data. We show that the M_0.6 mass function of luminous satellite halos is flat between ~ 10^7 and 10^8 M_\odot. We use the ``Via Lactea'' N-body simulation to show that the M_0.6 mass function of CDM subhalos is steeply rising over this range. We rule out the hypothesis that the 11 well-known satellites of the Milky Way are hosted by the 11 most massive subhalos. We show that models where the brightest satellites correspond to the earliest forming subhalos or the most massive accreted objects both reproduce the observed mass function. A similar analysis with the newly-discovered dwarf satellites will further test these scenarios and provide powerful constraints on the CDM small-scale power spectrum and warm dark matter models.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figure

    Tracing Galaxy Formation with Stellar Halos I: Methods

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    If the favored hierarchical cosmological model is correct, then the Milky Way system should have accreted ~100-200 luminous satellite galaxies in the past \~12 Gyr. We model this process using a hybrid semi-analytic plus N-body approach which distinguishes explicitly between the evolution of light and dark matter in accreted satellites. This distinction is essential to our ability to produce a realistic stellar halo, with mass and density profile much like that of our own Galaxy, and a surviving satellite population that matches the observed number counts and structural parameter distributions of the satellite galaxies of the Milky Way. Our model stellar halos have density profiles which typically drop off with radius faster than those of the dark matter. They are assembled from the inside out, with the majority of mass (~80%) coming from the \~15 most massive accretion events. The satellites that contribute to the stellar halo have median accretion times of ~9 Gyr in the past, while surviving satellite systems have median accretion times of ~5 Gyr in the past. This implies that stars associated with the inner halo should be quite different chemically from stars in surviving satellites and also from stars in the outer halo or those liberated in recent disruption events. We briefly discuss the expected spatial structure and phase space structure for halos formed in this manner. Searches for this type of structure offer a direct test of whether cosmology is indeed hierarchical on small scales.Comment: 22 pages, 16 figures, submitted to Ap
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