Phenomenology of the Lense-Thirring effect in the Solar System

Recent years have seen increasing efforts to directly measure some aspects of the general relativistic gravitomagnetic interaction in several astronomical scenarios in the solar system. After briefly overviewing the concept of gravitomagnetism from a theoretical point of view, we review the performed or proposed attempts to detect the Lense-Thirring effect affecting the orbital motions of natural and artificial bodies in the gravitational fields of the Sun, Earth, Mars and Jupiter. In particular, we will focus on the evaluation of the impact of several sources of systematic uncertainties of dynamical origin to realistically elucidate the present and future perspectives in directly measuring such an elusive relativistic effect.Comment: LaTex, 51 pages, 14 figures, 22 tables. Invited review, to appear in Astrophysics and Space Science (ApSS). Some uncited references in the text now correctly quoted. One reference added. A footnote adde

Spent nuclear fuel vacuum drying thermal-hydraulic analysis and dynamic model development status report

This report summarizes preliminary thermal hydraulic scoping analysis and model development associated with the K Basin spent fuel MCO draining and vacuum drying system. The purpose of the draining and drying system is to remove all free water from the interior of the MCO, baskets, and fuel prior to back filling with inert gas and transfer to the hot conditioning process. Dominant physical processes and parameters are delineated and related quantitatively. Minimum dynamic modeling capability required to simulate the process of transporting heat to the residual water on the fuel and transport of the steam produced from the system by vacuum pumping are defined

Linkage design effect on the reliability of surface-micromachined microengines driving a load

The reliability of microengines is a function of the design of the mechanical linkage used to connect the electrostatic actuator to the drive. The authors have completed a series of reliability stress tests on surface micromachined microengines driving an inertial load. In these experiments, the authors used microengines that had pin mechanisms with guides connecting the drive arms to the electrostatic actuators. Comparing this data to previous results using flexure linkages revealed that the pin linkage design was less reliable. The devices were stressed to failure at eight frequencies, both above and below the measured resonance frequency of the microengine. Significant amounts of wear debris were observed both around the hub and pin joint of the drive gear. Additionally, wear tracks were observed in the area where the moving shuttle rubbed against the guides of the pin linkage. At each frequency, they analyzed the statistical data yielding a lifetime (t{sub 50}) for median cycles to failure and {sigma}, the shape parameter of the distribution. A model was developed to describe the failure data based on fundamental wear mechanisms and forces exhibited in mechanical resonant systems. The comparison to the model will be discussed

Piroplasms of New Zealand seabirds

Blood and ectoparasitic ticks were collected from migratory seabirds in New Zealand, including Australasian gannets (n=13) from two sites and red-billed gulls (n=9) and white-fronted terns (n=2) from a third location. Blood smears were screened for parasite presence by microscopy, while DNA from blood samples was subjected to PCR for the presence of tick-transmitted protozoan haemoparasites belonging to the order Piroplasmida. Parasites were identified by comparing small subunit ribosomal RNA (18S rDNA) gene sequences to related sequences on GenBank. Analyses indicated that nine birds were infected with unknown variants of a Babesia poelea-like parasite (recorded as genotypes I and II), while four harboured a piroplasm that was genetically similar to Babesia kiwiensis. There was no parasite stratification by bird species; both the gannets and gulls were positive for all three parasites, while the terns were positive for the B. kiwiensis-like and the B. poelea-like (genotype I) parasites. The B. kiwiensis-like parasite found in the birds was also found in two species of ticks: Carios capensis and Ixodes eudyptidis. This represents the first report of Babesia-positive ticks parasitising seabirds in New Zealand. The lack of host specificity and evidence of wide ranging distributions of the three piroplasm genotypes suggests there is a high degree of haemoparasite transmission occurring naturally between New Zealand seabird populations and species

US Cosmic Visions: New Ideas in Dark Matter 2017: Community Report

This white paper summarizes the workshop "U.S. Cosmic Visions: New Ideas in Dark Matter" held at University of Maryland on March 23-25, 2017

Low energy ring lattice of the PEP-II asymmetric B-Factory

Developing a lattice that contains a very low beta value at the interaction point (IP) and has adequate dynamic aperture is one of the major challenges in designing the PEP-II asymmetric B-factory. For the Low Energy Ring (LER) the authors have studied several different chromatic correction schemes since the conceptual design report (CDR). Based on these studies, a hybrid solution with local and semi-local chromatic sextupoles has been selected as the new baseline lattice to replace the local scheme in the CDR. The new design simplifies the interaction region (IR) and reduces the number of sextupoles in the arcs. Arc sextupoles are paired at {pi} phase difference and are not interleaved. In this paper the authors describe the baseline lattice with the emphasis on the lattice changes made since the CDR

The effect of frequency on the lifetime of a surface micromachined microengine driving a load

Experiments have been performed on surface micromachined microengines driving load gears to determine the effect of the rotation frequency on median cycles to failure. The authors did observe a frequency dependence and have developed a model based on fundamental wear mechanisms and forces exhibited in resonant mechanical systems. Stressing loaded microengines caused observable wear in the rotating joints and in a few instances led to fracture of the pin joint in the drive gear

Equivalence Principle's Test with Improved Accuracy using a Cryogenic Differential Accelerometer Installed on a Pendulum.

We present here a concept for a new experimental test of the Weak Equivalence Principle (WEP) carried out in the gravity field of the Sun. Two test masses of different materials are the central elements of a differential accelerometer with zero baseline. The differential accelerometer is placed on a pendulum, in such a way as to make the common center of mass coincident with the center of mass of the pendulum. Ensuring a very precise centering, such a system should provide a high degree of attenuation of the local seismic noise, which together with an integration time of the order of tens of days would allow verification of the WEP with an accuracy improved by at least an order of magnitude with respect to the state of the art. One of the strengths of this experiment is the know-how acquired from a previous study and technology development (GREAT: General Relativity Accuracy Test) that involved a test of the WEP in the gravity field of the Earth, in free fall inside a co-moving capsule released from a stratospheric balloon. The description of the experiment will be followed by a critical analysis of the challenges associated with its implementation.Astronom

The L 98-59 System: Three Transiting, Terrestrial-Size Planets Orbiting A Nearby M Dwarf

We report the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) discovery of three terrestrial-size planets transiting L 98-59 (TOI-175, TIC 307210830)—a bright M dwarf at a distance of 10.6 pc. Using the Gaia-measured distance and broadband photometry, we find that the host star is an M3 dwarf. Combined with the TESS transits from three sectors, the corresponding stellar parameters yield planet radii ranging from 0.8 R⊕ to 1.6 R⊕. All three planets have short orbital periods, ranging from 2.25 to 7.45 days with the outer pair just wide of a 2:1 period resonance. Diagnostic tests produced by the TESS Data Validation Report and the vetting package DAVE rule out common false-positive sources. These analyses, along with dedicated follow-up and the multiplicity of the system, lend confidence that the observed signals are caused by planets transiting L 98-59 and are not associated with other sources in the field. The L 98-59 system is interesting for a number of reasons: the host star is bright (V = 11.7 mag, K = 7.1 mag) and the planets are prime targets for further follow-up observations including precision radial-velocity mass measurements and future transit spectroscopy with the James Webb Space Telescope; the near-resonant configuration makes the system a laboratory to study planetary system dynamical evolution; and three planets of relatively similar size in the same system present an opportunity to study terrestrial planets where other variables (age, metallicity, etc.) can be held constant. L 98-59 will be observed in four more TESS sectors, which will provide a wealth of information on the three currently known planets and have the potential to reveal additional planets in the system