Applications and identification of surface correlations

We compare theoretical, experimental, and computational approaches to random rough surfaces. The aim is to produce rough surfaces with desirable correlations and to analyze the correlation functions extracted from the surface profiles. Physical applications include ultracold neutrons in a rough waveguide, lateral electronic transport, and scattering of longwave particles and waves. Results provide guidance on how to deal with experimental and computational data on rough surfaces. A supplemental goal is to optimize the neutron waveguide for GRANIT experiments. The measured correlators are identified by fitting functions or by direct spectral analysis. The results are used to compare the calculated observables with theoretical values. Because of fluctuations, the fitting procedures lead to inaccurate physical results even if the quality of the fit is very good unless one guesses the right shape of the fitting function. Reliable extraction of the correlation function from the measured surface profile seems virtually impossible without independent information on the structure of the correlation function. Direct spectral analysis of raw data rarely works better than the use of a "wrong" fitting function. Analysis of surfaces with a large correlation radius is hindered by the presence of domains and interdomain correlations

Potential Advantages of Conducting Short Duration Visits to the Martian Surface

Recent NASA concepts for human missions to Mars, including the Evolvable Mars Campaign and Design Reference Architecture 5.0, have focused on the conduct of missions with long duration stays on the Martian surface. The decision to focus on long duration missions (typically to a single site) is driven by a desire to increase the perceived sustainability of the human Mars campaign, predicated on the assumption that sustainability is best achieved by maximizing the level of activity on the surface, providing for continuous growth in operations, and promoting pioneering of Mars. However, executing a series of long duration missions to a single site is not the only option for human exploration of Mars that has been proposed. Other architectures have been evaluated that focus on missions with short duration surface stays, with each mission visiting a separate site on the surface. This type of architecture is less efficient in that elements are not typically reused from one mission to the next but requires a far less complex surface architecture. There are potentially valid arguments to be made that a short duration, multiple site approach could result in different types of advantages when compared to the long duration, single site approach to Mars exploration, particularly for initial human missions to Mars. These arguments revolve around four areas: Achieved Value, Risk Mitigation, Developmental Affordability, and Operational Affordability & Flexibility. The question of Achieved Value relates to the prioritization of goals for Martian exploration. As discussed, goals related to pioneering and expanding human presence are often referenced as justifications for the long duration approach. However, there are other competing goals, including science and exploration. While there is not a clear consensus among planetary scientists, many have argued that the value of being able to visit multiple sites could outweigh the value of continually visiting a single site. Risk Mitigation is a major concern for initial human missions to Mars. There are a number of hazards related to operating on the Martian surface that are not well characterized. It may be desirable to conduct a series of short duration missions to better understand the nature of these risks prior to committing to a long duration mission. Developmental Affordability relates to the ability of NASA and its partners to develop and deploy the proposed architecture. Any human missions to Mars will be among the most complex endeavors ever undertaken. The capabilities that must be developed to enable any human Mars missions are extremely challenging. The total design, development, test, and evaluation (DDT&E) budget required to develop just the essential capabilities alone will be substantial. If additional surface capabilities are required to support long duration surface stays, the development effort could be unaffordable. Operational Affordability & Flexibility relates to the continued costs to execute the Mars campaign. Long duration missions, even with some amount of in-situ resource utilization, require a significant level of resupply for every mission. This requires additional launches and in-space transportation assets, increasing the operational complexity and total operational cost. This paper will explore each of the four potential advantages of short duration missions in detail. The authors will present comparisons between proposed long duration and short duration architectures through an evaluation of relevant performance, cost, and risk metrics

Assessment of Soil Moisture Data Requirements by the Potential SMAP Data User Community: Review of SMAP Mission User Community

NASA's Soil Moisture Active and Passive (SMAP) mission is planned for launch in October 2014 and will provide global measurements of soil moisture and freeze thaw state. The project is driven by both basic research and applied science goals. Understanding how application driven end-users will apply SMAP data, prior to the satellite's launch, is an important goal of NASA's applied science program and SMAP mission success. Because SMAP data are unique, there are no direct proxy data sets that can be used in research and operational studies to determine how the data will interact with existing processes. The objective of this study is to solicit data requirements, accuracy needs, and current understanding of the SMAP mission from the potential user community. This study showed that the data to be provided by the SMAP mission did substantially meet the user community needs. Although there was a broad distribution of requirements stated, the SMAP mission fit within these requirements

Communicating the Needs of Climate Change Policy Makers to Scientists

This chapter will describe the challenges that earth scientists face in developing science data products relevant to decision maker and policy needs, and will describe strategies that can improve the two-way communication between the scientist and the policy maker. Climate change policy and decision making happens at a variety of scales - from local government implementing solar homes policies to international negotiations through the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Scientists can work to provide data at these different scales, but if they are not aware of the needs of decision makers or understand what challenges the policy maker is facing, they are likely to be less successful in influencing policy makers as they wished. This is because the science questions they are addressing may be compelling, but not relevant to the challenges that are at the forefront of policy concerns. In this chapter we examine case studies of science-policy partnerships, and the strategies each partnership uses to engage the scientist at a variety of scales. We examine three case studies: the global Carbon Monitoring System pilot project developed by NASA, a forest biomass mapping effort for Silvacarbon project, and a forest canopy cover project being conducted for forest management in Maryland. In each of these case studies, relationships between scientists and policy makers were critical for ensuring the focus of the science as well as the success of the decision-making

Computational Models for Creating Homogeneous Magnetic Field Generation Systems

Cada vez es más común el uso de campos magnéticos a nivel celular para evaluar su interacción con los tejidos biológicos. La estimulación se hace generalmente con bobinas Helmholtz que generan un campo magnético uniforme en el centro del sistema. Sin embargo, evaluar el comportamiento celular con diferentes características del campo magnético puede ser un proceso largo y costoso. Para esto, se pueden utilizar modelos computacionales para estimar previamente el comportamiento celular debido a la variedad de características de campo antes de la estimulación in vitro en un laboratorio. En este artículo se presenta una metodología para el desarrollo de tres modelos computacionales de sistemas de generación de campos magnéticos homogéneos para su posible aplicación en la estimulación de células. Los modelos fueron desarrollados en el entorno de ANSYS Workbench y se evaluó el comportamiento de la densidad de campo magnético en diferentes configuraciones. Los resultados fueron validados con los cálculos teóricos a partir de la ley de Biot-Savart. Los modelos validados serán acoplados al ambiente Ansys APDL con el fin de evaluar la respuesta del sistema en estado armónico.It is increasingly common to use magnetic fields at the cellular level to assess their interaction with biological tissues. The stimulation is usually done with Helmholtz coils which generate a uniform magnetic field in the center of the system. However, assessing cellular behavior with different magnetic field characteristics can be a long and expensive process. For this, it can be used computational models to previously estimate the cellular behavior due to variety of field characteristics prior to in-vitro stimulation in a laboratory. In this paper, we present a methodology for the development of three computational models of homogeneous magnetic field generation systems for possible application in cell stimulation. The models were developed in the Ansys Workbench environment and it was evaluated the magnetic flux density behavior at different configurations. The results were validated with theoretical calculations from the Biot-Savart law. Validated models will be coupled to Ansys APDL environment in order to assess the harmonic response of the system

Runaway evaporation for optically dressed atoms

Forced evaporative cooling in a far-off-resonance optical dipole trap is proved to be an efficient method to produce fermionic- or bosonic-degenerated gases. However in most of the experiences, the reduction of the potential height occurs with a diminution of the collision elastic rate. Taking advantage of a long-living excited state, like in two-electron atoms, I propose a new scheme, based on an optical knife, where the forced evaporation can be driven independently of the trap confinement. In this context, the runaway regime might be achieved leading to a substantial improvement of the cooling efficiency. The comparison with the different methods for forced evaporation is discussed in the presence or not of three-body recombination losses