43,577 research outputs found
The design and fabrication of microstrip omnidirectional array antennas for aerospace applications
A microstrip antenna design concept was developed that will provide quasi-omnidirectional radiation pattern characteristics about cylindrical and conical aerospace structures. L-band and S-band antenna arrays were designed, fabricated, and, in some cases, flight tested for rocket, satellite, and aircraft drone applications. Each type of array design is discussed along with a thermal cover design that was required for the sounding rocket applications
Polar sea ice observations by means of microwave radiometry
Principles pertinent to the utilization of 1.55 cm wavelength radiation emanating from the surface of the earth for studying the changing characteristics of polar sea ice are briefly reviewed. Recent data obtained at that wavelength with an imaging radiometer on-board the Nimbus 5 satellite are used to illustrate how the seasonal changes in extent of sea ice in both polar regions may be monitored free of atmospheric interference. Within a season, changes in the compactness of the sea ice are also observed from the satellite. Some substantial areas of the Arctic sea ice canopy identified as first-year ice in the past winter were observed not to melt this summer, a graphic illustration of the eventual formation of multiyear ice in the Arctic. Finally, the microwave emissivity of some of the multiyear ice areas near the North Pole was found to increase significantly in the summer, probably due to liquid water content in the firm layer
Investigation of a 2-Colour Undulator FEL Using Puffin
Initial studies of a 2-colour FEL amplifier using one monoenergetic electron
beam are presented. The interaction is modelled using the unaveraged, broadband
FEL code Puffin. A series of undulator modules are tuned to generate two
resonant frequencies along the FEL interaction and a self-consistent 2-colour
FEL interaction at widely spaced non-harmonic wavelengths at 1nm and 2.4nm is
demonstrated.Comment: Submitted to The 35th International Free-Electron Laser Conference,
Manhattan, New York (2013
Impact of high frequency waves on the ocean altimeter range bias
New aircraft observations are presented on the range determination error in satellite altimetry associated with ocean waves. Laser-based measurements of the cross correlation between the gravity wave slope and elevation are reported for the first time. These observations provide direct access to a long, O(10 m), gravity wave statistic central to nonlinear wave theory prediction of the altimeter sea state bias. Coincident Ka-band radar scattering data are used to estimate an electromagnetic (EM) range bias analogous to that in satellite altimetry. These data, along with ancillary wind and wave slope variance estimates, are used alongside existing theory to evaluate the extent of long- versus short-wave, O(cm), control of the bias. The longer wave bias contribution to the total EM bias is shown to range from 25 to as much as 100%. Moreover, on average the term is linearly related to wind speed and to the gravity wave slope variance, consistent with WNL theory. The EM bias associated with interactions between long and short waves is obtained assuming the effect is additive to the independently observed long-wave factor. This second component is also a substantial contributor, is observed to be quadratic in wind speed or wave slope, and dominates at moderate wind speeds. The behavior is shown to be consistent with EM bias prediction based in hydrodynamic modulation theory. Study implications for improved correction of the on-orbit satellite sea state bias are discussed
The design, development, and flight test results of the Boeing 737 aircraft antennas for the ICAO demonstration of the TRSB microwave landing system
The Research Support Flight System, a modified Boeing 737, was used to evaluate the performance of several aircraft antennas and locations for the Time Reference Scanning Beam (TRSB) Microwave Landing System (MLS). These tests were conducted at the National Aviation Facilities Experimental Center (NAFEC), Atlantic City, New Jersey on December 18, 1975. The flight tests measured the signal strength and all pertinent MLS data during a straight-in approach, a racetrack approach, and ICAO approach profiles using the independent antenna-receiver combinations simultaneously on the aircraft. Signal drop-outs were experienced during the various approaches but only a small percentage could be attributed to antenna pattern effects
Three-dimensional Binary Superlattices of Oppositely-charged Colloids
We report the equilibrium self-assembly of binary crystals of
oppositely-charged colloidal microspheres at high density. By varying the
magnitude of the charge on near equal-sized spheres we show that the structure
of the binary crystal may be switched between face-centered cubic, cesium
chloride and sodium chloride. We interpret these transformations in terms of a
competition between entropic and Coulombic forces
An extended model of the quantum free-electron laser
Previous models of the quantum regime of operation of the Free Electron Laser
(QFEL) have performed an averaging and the application of periodic boundary
conditions to the coupled Maxwell - Schrodinger equations over short, resonant
wavelength intervals of the interaction. Here, an extended, one-dimensional
model of the QFEL interaction is presented in the absence of any such averaging
or application of periodic boundary conditions, the absence of the latter
allowing electron diffusion processes to be modeled throughout the pulse. The
model is used to investigate how both the steady-state (CW) and pulsed regimes
of QFEL operation are affected. In the steady-state regime it is found that the
electrons are confined to evolve as a 2-level system, similar to the previous
QFEL models. In the pulsed regime Coherent Spontaneous Emission (CSE) due to
the shape of the electron pulse current distribution is shown to be present in
the QFEL regime for the first time. However, unlike the classical case, CSE in
the QFEL is damped by the effects of quantum diffusion of the electron
wavefunction. Electron recoil from the QFEL interaction can also cause a
diffusive drift between the recoiled and non-recoiled parts of the electron
pulse wavefunction, effectively removing the recoiled part from the primary
electron-radiation interaction.Comment: Submitted to Optics Expres
Orbit-resolved photometry and echelle spectroscopy of the cataclysmic variable ST LMi during a 2007 high state
We present high-resolution echelle spectra and contemporaneous photometry of the polar ST LMi during a high state in 2007 March. Emission lines at Hα, He I λ5876, and He I λ7065 show similar line profiles over orbital phase and have narrow and broad components. These profile changes with phase are very similar to those reported in earlier high-state studies of ST LMi. The radial velocity curves from double Gaussian fits to the line profiles are interpreted as two crossing curves, neither of which is coincident with the orbital motion of the secondary star. We attribute one component to infall motions near the white dwarf and the other to a gas streaming along magnetic field lines connecting the two stars
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