Test Facility Simulation Results for Aerospace Loss-of-Lubrication of Spur Gears

Prior to receiving airworthiness certification, extensive testing is required during the development of rotary wing aircraft drive systems. Many of these tests are conducted to demonstrate the drive system's ability to operate at extreme conditions, beyond that called for in the normal to maximum power operating range. One of the most extreme tests is referred to as the loss-of-lubrication or run dry test. During this test, the drive system is expected to last at least 30 min without failure while the primary lubrication system is disabled for predetermined, scripted flight conditions. Failure of this test can lead to a partial redesign of the drive system or the addition of an emergency lubrication system. Either of these solutions can greatly increase the aircraft drive system cost and weight and extend the schedule for obtaining airworthiness certification. Recent work at NASA Glenn Research Center focused on performing tests, in a relevant aerospace environment, to simulate the behavior of spur gears under loss-of-lubrication conditions. Tests were conducted using a test facility that was used in the past for spur gear contact fatigue testing. A loss-oflubrication test is initiated by shutting off the single into mesh lubricating jet. The test proceeds until the gears fail and can no longer deliver the applied torque. The observed failures are typically plastically deformed gear teeth, due to the high tooth temperatures, that are no longer in mesh. The effect of several different variables to gear tooth condition during loss-of-lubrication have been tested such as gear pitch, materials, shrouding, lubrication condition, and emergency supplied mist lubrication in earlier testing at NASA. Recent testing has focused on newer aerospace gear steels and imbedding thermocouples in the shrouding to measure the air-oil temperatures flung off the gear teeth. Along with the instrumented shrouding, an instrumented spur gear was also tested. The instrumented spur gear had five thermocouples installed at different locations on the gear tooth and web. The data from these two types of measurements provided important information as to the thermal environment during the loss-of-lubrication event. This data is necessary to validate on-going modeling efforts

Signatures of three-nucleon interactions in few-nucleon systems

Recent experimental results in three-body systems have unambiguously shown that calculations based only on nucleon-nucleon forces fail to accurately describe many experimental observables and one needs to include effects which are beyond the realm of the two-body potentials. This conclusion owes its significance to the fact that experiments and calculations can both be performed with a high accuracy. In this review, both theoretical and experimental achievements of the past decade will be underlined. Selected results will be presented. The discussion on the effects of the three-nucleon forces is, however, limited to the hadronic sector. It will be shown that despite the major successes in describing these seemingly simple systems, there are still clear discrepancies between data and the state-of-the-art calculations.Comment: accepted for publication in Rep. Prog. Phy

A population of gamma-ray emitting globular clusters seen with the Fermi Large Area Telescope

Globular clusters with their large populations of millisecond pulsars (MSPs) are believed to be potential emitters of high-energy gamma-ray emission. Our goal is to constrain the millisecond pulsar populations in globular clusters from analysis of gamma-ray observations. We use 546 days of continuous sky-survey observations obtained with the Large Area Telescope aboard the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope to study the gamma-ray emission towards 13 globular clusters. Steady point-like high-energy gamma-ray emission has been significantly detected towards 8 globular clusters. Five of them (47 Tucanae, Omega Cen, NGC 6388, Terzan 5, and M 28) show hard spectral power indices $(0.7 < \Gamma <1.4)$ and clear evidence for an exponential cut-off in the range 1.0-2.6 GeV, which is the characteristic signature of magnetospheric emission from MSPs. Three of them (M 62, NGC 6440 and NGC 6652) also show hard spectral indices $(1.0 < \Gamma < 1.7)$, however the presence of an exponential cut-off can not be unambiguously established. Three of them (Omega Cen, NGC 6388, NGC 6652) have no known radio or X-ray MSPs yet still exhibit MSP spectral properties. From the observed gamma-ray luminosities, we estimate the total number of MSPs that is expected to be present in these globular clusters. We show that our estimates of the MSP population correlate with the stellar encounter rate and we estimate 2600-4700 MSPs in Galactic globular clusters, commensurate with previous estimates. The observation of high-energy gamma-ray emission from a globular cluster thus provides a reliable independent method to assess their millisecond pulsar populations that can be used to make constraints on the original neutron star X-ray binary population, essential for understanding the importance of binary systems in slowing the inevitable core collapse of globular clusters.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A. Corresponding authors: J. Kn\"odlseder, N. Webb, B. Pancraz

The first Fermi multifrequency campaign on BL Lacertae: characterizing the low-activity state of the eponymous blazar

We report on observations of BL Lacertae during the first 18 months of Fermi-LAT science operations and present results from a 48-day multifrequency coordinated campaign from 2008 August 19 to 2008 October 7. The radio to gamma-ray behavior of BL Lac is unveiled during a low activity state thanks to the coordinated observations of radio-band (Metsahovi and VLBA), near-IR/optical (Tuorla, Steward, OAGH and MDM) and X-ray (RXTE and Swift) observatories. No variability was resolved in gamma-rays during the campaign, and the brightness level was 15 times lower than the level of the 1997 EGRET outburst. Moderate and uncorrelated variability has been detected in UV and X-rays. The X-ray spectrum is found to be concave indicating the transition region between the low and high energy component of the spectral energy distribution (SED). VLBA observation detected a synchrotron spectrum self-absorption turnover in the innermost part of the radio jet appearing to be elongated and inhomogeneous, and constrained the average magnetic field there to be less than 3 G. Over the following months BL Lac appeared variable in gamma-rays, showing flares (in 2009 April and 2010 January). There is no evidence for correlation of the gamma-rays with the optical flux monitored from the ground in 18 months. The SED may be described by a single zone or two zone synchrotron self-Compton (SSC) model, but a hybrid SSC plus external radiation Compton (ERC) model seems preferred based on the observed variability and the fact that it provides a fit closest to equipartition.Comment: 14 pages, apj-style emulated, 10 figures. In press by The Astrophysical Journa

Gamma-ray and radio properties of six pulsars detected by the fermi large area telescope

We report the detection of pulsed γ-rays for PSRs J0631+1036, J0659+1414, J0742-2822, J1420-6048, J1509-5850, and J1718-3825 using the Large Area Telescope on board the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope (formerly known as GLAST). Although these six pulsars are diverse in terms of their spin parameters, they share an important feature: their γ-ray light curves are (at least given the current count statistics) single peaked. For two pulsars, there are hints for a double-peaked structure in the light curves. The shapes of the observed light curves of this group of pulsars are discussed in the light of models for which the emission originates from high up in the magnetosphere. The observed phases of the γ-ray light curves are, in general, consistent with those predicted by high-altitude models, although we speculate that the γ-ray emission of PSR J0659+1414, possibly featuring the softest spectrum of all Fermi pulsars coupled with a very low efficiency, arises from relatively low down in the magnetosphere. High-quality radio polarization data are available showing that all but one have a high degree of linear polarization. This allows us to place some constraints on the viewing geometry and aids the comparison of the γ-ray light curves with high-energy beam models

The Third Fermi Large Area Telescope Catalog of Gamma-ray Pulsars

We present 294 pulsars found in GeV data from the Large Area Telescope (LAT) on the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. Another 33 millisecond pulsars (MSPs) discovered in deep radio searches of LAT sources will likely reveal pulsations once phase-connected rotation ephemerides are achieved. A further dozen optical and/or X-ray binary systems co-located with LAT sources also likely harbor gamma-ray MSPs. This catalog thus reports roughly 340 gamma-ray pulsars and candidates, 10% of all known pulsars, compared to $\leq 11$ known before Fermi. Half of the gamma-ray pulsars are young. Of these, the half that are undetected in radio have a broader Galactic latitude distribution than the young radio-loud pulsars. The others are MSPs, with 6 undetected in radio. Overall, >235 are bright enough above 50 MeV to fit the pulse profile, the energy spectrum, or both. For the common two-peaked profiles, the gamma-ray peak closest to the magnetic pole crossing generally has a softer spectrum. The spectral energy distributions tend to narrow as the spindown power $\dot E$ decreases to its observed minimum near $10^{33}$ erg s$^{-1}$, approaching the shape for synchrotron radiation from monoenergetic electrons. We calculate gamma-ray luminosities when distances are available. Our all-sky gamma-ray sensitivity map is useful for population syntheses. The electronic catalog version provides gamma-ray pulsar ephemerides, properties and fit results to guide and be compared with modeling results.Comment: 142 pages. Accepted by the Astrophysical Journal Supplemen

Multi-messenger observations of a binary neutron star merger

On 2017 August 17 a binary neutron star coalescence candidate (later designated GW170817) with merger time 12:41:04 UTC was observed through gravitational waves by the Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo detectors. The Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor independently detected a gamma-ray burst (GRB 170817A) with a time delay of ~1.7 s with respect to the merger time. From the gravitational-wave signal, the source was initially localized to a sky region of 31 deg2 at a luminosity distance of 40+8-8 Mpc and with component masses consistent with neutron stars. The component masses were later measured to be in the range 0.86 to 2.26 Mo. An extensive observing campaign was launched across the electromagnetic spectrum leading to the discovery of a bright optical transient (SSS17a, now with the IAU identification of AT 2017gfo) in NGC 4993 (at ~40 Mpc) less than 11 hours after the merger by the One- Meter, Two Hemisphere (1M2H) team using the 1 m Swope Telescope. The optical transient was independently detected by multiple teams within an hour. Subsequent observations targeted the object and its environment. Early ultraviolet observations revealed a blue transient that faded within 48 hours. Optical and infrared observations showed a redward evolution over ~10 days. Following early non-detections, X-ray and radio emission were discovered at the transient’s position ~9 and ~16 days, respectively, after the merger. Both the X-ray and radio emission likely arise from a physical process that is distinct from the one that generates the UV/optical/near-infrared emission. No ultra-high-energy gamma-rays and no neutrino candidates consistent with the source were found in follow-up searches. These observations support the hypothesis that GW170817 was produced by the merger of two neutron stars in NGC4993 followed by a short gamma-ray burst (GRB 170817A) and a kilonova/macronova powered by the radioactive decay of r-process nuclei synthesized in the ejecta

PSR J1906+0722: An Elusive Gamma-ray Pulsar

We report the discovery of PSR J1906+0722, a gamma-ray pulsar detected as part of a blind survey of unidentified Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) sources being carried out on the volunteer distributed computing system, Einstein@Home. This newly discovered pulsar previously appeared as the most significant remaining unidentified gamma-ray source without a known association in the second Fermi-LAT source catalog (2FGL) and was among the top ten most significant unassociated sources in the recent third catalog (3FGL). PSR J1906+0722 is a young, energetic, isolated pulsar, with a spin frequency of $8.9$ Hz, a characteristic age of $49$ kyr, and spin-down power $1.0 \times 10^{36}$ erg s$^{-1}$. In 2009 August it suffered one of the largest glitches detected from a gamma-ray pulsar ($\Delta f / f \approx 4.5\times10^{-6}$). Remaining undetected in dedicated radio follow-up observations, the pulsar is likely radio-quiet. An off-pulse analysis of the gamma-ray flux from the location of PSR J1906+0722 revealed the presence of an additional nearby source, which may be emission from the interaction between a neighboring supernova remnant and a molecular cloud. We discuss possible effects which may have hindered the detection of PSR J1906+0722 in previous searches and describe the methods by which these effects were mitigated in this survey. We also demonstrate the use of advanced timing methods for estimating the positional, spin and glitch parameters of difficult-to-time pulsars such as this

Minute-Timescale >100 MeV gamma-ray variability during the giant outburst of quasar 3C 279 observed by Fermi-LAT in 2015 June: Ammando 24,25 , F. de Palma 12

8 pages, 4 figures. Accepted for publication in ApJ Letter. --Corresponding authors: Masaaki Hayashida (mahaya_at_icrr.u-tokyo.ac.jp), Greg Madejski (madejski_at_slac.stanford.edu), and Krzysztof Nalewajko (knalew_at_camk.edu.pl)International audienceOn 2015 June 16, Fermi-LAT observed a giant outburst from the flat spectrum radio quasar 3C 279 with a peak $>100$ MeV flux of $\sim3.6\times10^{-5}\;{\rm photons}\;{\rm cm}^{-2}\;{\rm s}^{-1}$ averaged over orbital period intervals. It is the historically highest $\gamma$-ray flux observed from the source including past EGRET observations, with the $\gamma$-ray isotropic luminosity reaching $\sim10^{49}\;{\rm erg}\;{\rm s}^{-1}$. During the outburst, the Fermi spacecraft, which has an orbital period of 95.4 min, was operated in a special pointing mode to optimize the exposure for 3C 279. For the first time, significant flux variability at sub-orbital timescales was found in blazar observations by Fermi-LAT. The source flux variability was resolved down to 2-min binned timescales, with flux doubling times less than 5 min. The observed minute-scale variability suggests a very compact emission region at hundreds of Schwarzschild radii from the central engine in conical jet models. A minimum bulk jet Lorentz factor ($\Gamma$) of 35 is necessary to avoid both internal $\gamma$-ray absorption and super-Eddington jet power. In the standard external-radiation-Comptonization scenario, $\Gamma$ should be at least 50 to avoid overproducing the synchrotron-self-Compton component. However, this predicts extremely low magnetization ($\sim5\times10^{-4}$). Equipartition requires $\Gamma$ as high as 120, unless the emitting region is a small fraction of the dissipation region. Alternatively, we consider $\gamma$ rays originating as synchrotron radiation of $\gamma_{\rm e}\sim1.6\times10^6$ electrons, in magnetic field $B\sim1.3$ kG, accelerated by strong electric fields $E\sim B$ in the process of magnetoluminescence. At such short distance scales, one cannot immediately exclude production of $\gamma$ rays in hadronic processes