The Herschel Virgo Cluster Survey - V. Star-forming dwarf galaxies – dust in metal-poor environments

We present the dust properties of a small sample of Virgo cluster dwarf galaxies drawn from the science demonstration phase data set of the Herschel Virgo Cluster Survey. These galaxies have low metallicities (7.8 < 12 + log(O/H) < 8.3) and star-formation rates ≲10^(-1) M_☉ yr^(-1). We measure the spectral energy distribution (SED) from 100 to 500 μm and derive dust temperatures and dust masses. The SEDs are fitted by a cool component of temperature T ≲ 20 K, implying dust masses around 10^5 M_☉ and dust-to-gas ratios within the range 10^(-3)–10^(-2). The completion of the full survey will yield a larger set of galaxies, which will provide more stringent constraints on the dust content of star-forming dwarf galaxies

Research relative to the development of a cryogenic microwave cavity gradiometer for orbital use

The noncryogenic, single axis, gravity gradiometer which is characterized by a sensitivity of the order of 10 to the minus 2 power Eovos Units in a few sec integration time was investigated. The prototype of testing gradiometer on the earth surface by the free fall in vacuo method was expanded. An existing free fall tower facility and the possibility of adding inside the falling elevator cabin an air tight, sealed, cylindrical container with inside pressure or = -0.001 Torr were examined to test the gradiometer in free fall conditions inside this evacuated container. Earth's gravity anomalies are simulated with masses of suitable shape, weight, and location. The attitude of the falling gradiometer is monitored by a three axis gyro package mounted on the instrument package. It is concluded that the free fall testing of the gradiometer is both feasible and practical

Theoretical investigation of EM wave generation and radiation in the ULF, ELF, and VLF bands by the electrodynamic orbiting tether

The problem of electromagnetic wave generation by an electrodynamic tethered satellite system is important both for the ordinary operation of such systems and for their possible application as orbiting transmitters. The tether's ionospheric circuit closure problem is closely linked with the propagation of charge-carrying electromagnetic wave packets away from the tethered system. Work is reported which represents a step towards a solution to the problem that takes into account the effects of boundaries and of vertical variations in plasma density, collision frequencies, and ion species. The theory of Alfen wave packet generation by an electrodynamic tethered system in an infinite plasma medium is reviewed, and brief summary of previous work on the problem is given. The consequences of the presence of the boundaries and the vertical nonuniformity are then examined. One of the most significant new features to emerge when ion-neutral collisions are taken into account is the coupling of the Alfven waves to the fast magnetosonic wave. This latter wave is important, as it may be confined by vertical variations in the Alfven speed to a sort of leaky ionospheric wave guide, the resonances of which could be of great importance to the signal received on the Earth's surface. The infinite medium solution for this case where the (uniform) geomagnetic field makes an arbitrary angle with the vertical is taken as the incident wave-packet. Even without a full solution, a number of conclusions can be drawn, the most important of which may be that the electromagnetic field associated with the operation of a steady-current tethered system will probably be too weak to detect on the Earth's surface, even for large tethered currents. This is due to the total reflection of the incident wave at the atmospheric boundary and the inability of a steady-current tethered system to excite the ionospheric wave-guide. An outline of the approach to the numerical problem is given. The use of numerical integrations and boundary conditions consistent with a conducting Earth is proposed to obtain the solution for the horizontal electromagnetic field components at the boundary of the ionosphere with the atmospheric cavity

Investigation of traveling ionospheric disturbances

Maximum entropy power spectra of the ionospheric electron density were constructed to enable PINY to compare them with the power independently obtained by PINY with in situ measurements of ionospheric electron density and neutral species performed with instrumentation carried by the Atmospheric Explorer (AE) satellite. This comparison corroborated evidence on the geophysical reality of the alleged electron density irregularities detected by the ASTP dual frequency Doppler link. Roughly half of the localized wave structures which are confined to dimensions of 1800 km or less (as seen by an orbiting Doppler baseline) were found to be associated with the larger crest of the geomagnetic anomaly in the Southern (winter) Hemisphere in the morning. The observed nighttime structures are also associated with local peaks in the electron density

Study of certain tether safety issues. Continuation of investigation of electrodynamic stabilization and control of long orbiting tethers, volume 1

The behavior of long tethers (10-100 km) in space are addressed under two failure situations with potential safety impact: instantaneous jamming of the reel controlling the tether during deployment and cutting of the tether due to a meteor strike or other similar phenomena. Dual and multiple mass point models were used in the SAO SKYHOOK program to determine this behavior. The results of the program runs were verified analytically or by comparison with previously verified results. The study included the effects of tether damping and air drag where appropriate. Most runs were done with the tether system undamped since we believe this best represents the true behavior of the tether. Means for controlling undesirable behavior of the tether, such as viscous dampers in the subsatellite, were also studied

Orbital transfer and release of tethered payloads. Continuation of investigation of electrodynamic stabilization and control of long orbiting tethers Martinez-Sanchez, Manuel

The effect of reeling operations on the orbital altitude of the tether system and the development of control laws to minimize tether rebound upon payload release were studied. The use of the tether for LEO/GEO payload orbital transfer was also investigated. It was concluded that (1) reeling operations can contribute a significant amount of energy to the orbit of the system and should be considered in orbit calculations and predictions, (2) deployment of payloads, even very large payloads, using tethers is a practical and fully stable operation, (3) tether augmented LEO/GEO transfer operations yield useful payload gains under the practical constraint of fixed size OTV's, and (4) orbit to orbit satellite retrieval is limited by useful revisit times to orbital inclinations of less than forty-five degrees

Investigation of plasma contactors for use with orbiting wires

The proposed Shuttle-based short tether experiments with hollow cathodes have the potential for providing important data that will not be obtained in long tether experiments. A critical property for hollow cathode effectiveness as a plasma contactor is the cross magnetic field conductivity of the emitted plasma. The different effects of hollow cathode cloud overlap in the cases of motion-driven and battery-driven operation are emphasized. The calculations presented on the size and shape of the hollow cathode cloud improve the qualitative picture of hollow cathodes in low Earth orbit and provide estimates of time constants for establishing the fully-expanded cloud. The magnetic boundary value problem calculations indicate the way in which the magnetic field will effect the shape of the cloud by resisting expansion in the direction perpendicular to the field. The large-scale interactions of the system were also considered. It was concluded that recent plasma chamber experiments by Stenzel and Urrutia do not model an electrodynamic tether well enough to apply the results to tethered system behavior. Orbiting short tether experiments on hollow cathodes will provide critical information on hollow cathode performance and the underlying physics that cannot be obtained any other way. Experiments should be conducted as soon as funding and a suitable space vehicle are available

Doppler measurements of the ionosphere on the occasion of the Apollo-Soyuz test project. Part 2: Inversion of differential and rotating Doppler shifts

The preparation of the analytical approach and of the related software used in the inversion of the differential and rotating Doppler data obtained from the ionospheric experiment of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (ASTP) is discussed. These data were collected in space-to-space paths (between the ASTP Docking Module (DM) and the Apollo Command Service Module and in space-to-ground paths (between the DM and ground). The Doppler links operated at 162 and 324 MHz and have an accuracy better than 3 MHz over 10-sec integration time. The inversion approach was tested with dummy data obtained with a computer simulation. It was found that a measurement accuracy of 1 to 10% in the value of the horizontal electron density gradient at 221-km altitude can be achieved, in space-to-space paths. For space-to-ground paths near the orbital plane, possible effects of the horizontal gradients on the received differential Doppler shifts were identified. It was possible to reduce the gradient-associated errors in the inversion that leads to the columnar electron content by approximately one-half. Accuracies of 5 to 10% in columnar electron content are achievable, with this gradient-compensation technique

Social Choice Around the Block:On the Computational Social Choice of Blockchain

One of the most innovative aspects of blockchain technology consists in the introduction of an incentive layer to regulate the behavior of distributed protocols. The designer of a blockchain system faces therefore issues that are akin to those relevant for the design of economic mechanisms, and faces them in a computational setting. From this perspective the present paper argues for the importance of computational social choice in blockchain research. It identifies a few challenges at the interface of the two fields that illustrate the strong potential for cross-fertilization between them.</p