The noise performance of electron-multiplying charge-coupled devices at soft X-ray energy values

The use of electron-multiplying charge-coupled devices (CCDs) for high-resolution soft X-ray spectroscopy has been proposed in previous studies, and the analysis that followed experimentally identified and verified a modified Fano factor for X-ray detection using an 55Fe X-ray source. However, further experiments with soft X-rays at 1000 eV were less successful, attributed to excessive split events. More recently, through the use of deep-depletion e2v CCD220 and on-chip binning, it has been possible to greatly reduce the number of split events, allowing the result for the modified Fano factor at soft X-ray energy values to be verified. This paper looks at the earlier attempt to verify the modified Fano factor at 1000 eV with e2v CCD97 and shows the issues created by splitting of the charge cloud between pixels. It then compares these earlier results with new data collected using e2v CCD220, investigating how split-event reduction allows the modified Fano factor to be verified for low-energy X-rays

Assessing the Distribution of Water Ice and Other Volatiles at the Lunar South Pole with LUVMI-X: A Mission Concept

The search for exploitable deposits of water and other volatiles at the Moon’s poles has intensified considerably in recent years, due to the renewed strong interest in lunar exploration. With the return of humans to the lunar surface on the horizon, the use of locally available resources to support long-term and sustainable exploration programs, encompassing both robotic and crewed elements, has moved into focus of public and private actors alike. Our current knowledge about the distribution and concentration of water and other volatiles in the lunar rocks and regolith is, however, too limited to assess the feasibility and economic viability of resource-extraction efforts. On a more fundamental level, we currently lack sufficiently detailed data to fully understand the origins of lunar water and its migration to the polar regions. In this paper, we present LUVMI-X, a mission concept intended to address the shortage of in situ data on volatiles on the Moon that results from a recently concluded design study. Its central element is a compact rover equipped with complementary instrumentation capable of investigating both the surface and shallow subsurface of illuminated and shadowed areas at the lunar south pole. We describe the rover and instrument design, the mission’s operational concept, and a preliminary landing-site analysis. We also discuss how LUVMI-X fits into the diverse landscape of lunar missions under development

Development of light-field motion tracking technology for use in laboratory studies of planet formation

Modelling of planet formation requires empirical data on the collisions involved in the earliest stages of the process. Laboratory-based studies are required to gain this data by colliding dusty, icy particles in conditions analogous to those found in protoplanetary disks. Having technology to capture experimental footage and extract the three-dimensional motions of ensembles of particles is crucial to generating accurate collisional data within a practical timeframe. The cost of microgravity-based experiments drives a need to minimize the form-factor of such an imaging system leading this work to use light-field techniques to provide the depth element of tracking from a single camera. This work focused on the development of software to be used to perform light-field based, three-dimensional tracking and its application to real-time analysis of mm-scale particle collisions

How Fragmentation Can Improve Co-ordination: Setting Standards in International Telecommunications

There is a stark contrast between the way industrial economics asks us to think about standard setting in telecommunications and the way standard-setting is actually organized. On the one hand, leading scholars maintain that standard setting is a natural monopoly. On the other hand, the number of standards organizations for telecommunications is quite large and there is no indication that this number will decrease. The paper analyzes how to resolve this discrep ancy. It argues that there are reasons to believe that the natural monopoly hypothesis is wrong. Under a certain set of conditions which are prevalent in international telecommunications, the distribution of standard setting to a multitude of competing standards organizations is both stable and efficient