373 research outputs found
Tethered subsatellite study
The results are presented of studies performed relating to the feasibility of deploying a subsatellite from the shuttle by means of a tether. The dynamics, the control laws, the aerodynamics, the heating, and some communication considerations of the tethered subsatellite system are considered. Nothing was found that prohibits the use of a subsatellite joined to the shuttle by a long (100 km) tether. More detailed studies directed at specific applications are recommended
A Keplerian Disk around the Herbig Ae star HD169142
We present Submillimeter Array observations of the Herbig Ae star HD169142 in
1.3 millimeter continuum emission and 12CO J=2-1 line emission at 1.5 arcsecond
resolution that reveal a circumstellar disk. The continuum emission is centered
on the star position and resolved, and provides a mass estimate of about 0.02
solar masses for the disk. The CO images show patterns in position and velocity
that are well matched by a disk in Keplerian rotation with low inclination to
the line-of-sight. We use radiative transfer calculations based on a flared,
passive disk model to constrain the disk parameters by comparison to the
spectral line emission. The derived disk radius is 235 AU, and the inclination
is 13 degrees. The model also necessitates modest depletion of the CO
molecules, similar to that found in Keplerian disks around T Tauri stars.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figures, accepted by A
Particle detection through the quantum counter concept in YAG:Er
We report about a novel scheme for particle detection based on the infrared
quantum counter concept. Its operation consists of a two-step excitation
process of a four level system, that can be realized in rare earth-doped
crystals when a cw pump laser is tuned to the transition from the second to the
fourth level. The incident particle raises the atoms of the active material
into a low lying, metastable energy state, triggering the absorption of the
pump laser to a higher level. Following a rapid non-radiative decay to a
fluorescent level, an optical signal is observed with a conventional detectors.
In order to demonstrate the feasibility of such a scheme, we have investigated
the emission from the fluorescent level S (540 nm band) in an
Er-doped YAG crystal pumped by a tunable titanium sapphire laser when it
is irradiated with 60 keV electrons delivered by an electron gun. We have
obtained a clear signature this excitation increases the
metastable level population that can efficiently be exploited to generate a
detectable optical signal
Comparative and Cumulative Energetic Costs of Odontocete Responses to Anthropogenic Disturbance
Odontocetes respond to vessels and anthropogenic noise by modifying vocal behavior, surface active behaviors, dive patterns, swim speed, direction of travel, and activity budgets. Exposure scenarios and behavioral responses vary across odontocetes. A literature review was conducted to determine relevant sources of disturbance and associated behavioral responses for several odontocete species (bottlenose dolphin, killer whale, harbor porpoise, and beaked whales). The energetic costs of species-specific responses to anthropogenic disturbance were then estimated. The energetic impact varies across species and scenarios as well as by behavioral responses. Overall, the cumulative energetic cost of ephemeral behavioral responses (e.g., performing surface active behaviors, modifying acoustic signals) and modifying swim speeds and activity budgets likely increases daily energy expenditure by â€4%. In contrast, the reduction in foraging activity in the presence of vessels and/or exposure to sonar has the potential to significantly reduce individualsâ daily energy acquisition. Indeed, across all odontocete species, decreased energy acquisition as a result of reduced foraging undoubtedly has a larger impact on individuals than the increased energy expenditure associated with behavioral modification. This work provides a powerful tool to investigate the biological significance of multiple behavioral responses that are likely to occur in response to anthropogenic disturbance
Discovery of Reflection Nebulosity Around Five Vega-like Stars
Coronagraphic optical observations of six Vega-like stars reveal reflection
nebulosities, five of which were previously unknown. The nebulosities
illuminated by HD 4881, HD 23362, HD 23680, HD 26676, and HD 49662 resemble
that of the Pleiades, indicating an interstellar origin for dust grains. The
reflection nebulosity around HD 123160 has a double-arm morphology, but no
disk-like feature is seen as close as 2.5 arcsec from the star in K-band
adaptive optics data. We demonstrate that uniform density dust clouds
surrounding HD 23362, HD 23680 and HD 123160 can account for the observed
12-100 micron spectral energy distributions. For HD 4881, HD 26676, and HD
49662 an additional emission source, such as from a circumstellar disk or
non-equilibrium grain heating, is required to fit the 12-25 micron data. These
results indicate that in some cases, particularly for Vega-like stars located
beyond the Local Bubble (>100 pc), the dust responsible for excess thermal
emission may originate from the interstellar medium rather than from a
planetary debris system.Comment: The Astrophysical Journal, in press for March, 2002 (32 pages, 13
figures
LkH 330: Evidence for dust clearing through resolved submillimeter imaging
Mid-infrared spectrophotometric observations have revealed a small sub-class
of circumstellar disks with spectral energy distributions (SEDs) suggestive of
large inner gaps with low dust content. However, such data provide only an
indirect and model dependent method of finding central holes. We present here
the direct characterization of a 40 AU radius inner gap in the disk around LkHa
330 through 340 GHz (880 micron) dust continuum imaging with the Submillimeter
Array (SMA). This large gap is fully resolved by the SMA observations and
mostly empty of dust with less than 1.3 x 10^-6 M_solar of solid particles
inside of 40 AU. Gas (as traced by accretion markers and CO M-band emission) is
still present in the inner disk and the outer edge of the gap rises steeply --
features in better agreement with the underlying cause being gravitational
perturbation than a more gradual process such as grain growth. Importantly, the
good agreement of the spatially resolved data and spectrophometry-based model
lends confidence to current interpretations of SEDs with significant dust
emission deficits as arising from disks with inner gaps or holes. Further
SED-based searches can therefore be expected to yield numerous additional
candidates that can be examined at high spatial resolution.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figures, accepted to ApJ
Atomic and molecular interstellar absorption lines toward the high galactic latitude stars HD~141569 and HD~157841 at ultra-high resolution
We present ultra-high resolution (0.32 km/s) spectra obtained with the 3.9m
Anglo-Australian Telescope (AAT) and Ultra-High-Resolution Facility (UHRF), of
interstellar NaI D1, D2, Ca II K, K I and CH absorption toward two high
galactic latitude stars HD141569 and HD157841. We have compared our data with
21-cm observations obtained from the Leiden/Dwingeloo HI survey. We derive the
velocity structure, column densities of the clouds represented by the various
components and identify the clouds with ISM structures seen in the region at
other wavelengths. We further derive abundances, linear depletions and H2
fractional abundances for these clouds, wherever possible. Toward HD141569, we
detect two components in our UHRF spectra : a weak, broad component at - 15
km/s, seen only in CaII K absorption and another component at 0 km/s, seen in
NaI D1, D2, Ca II K, KI and CH absorption. In the case of the HD157841
sightline, a total of 6 components are seen on our UHRF spectra in NaI D1, D2
Ca II K, K I and CH absorption. 2 of these 6 components are seen only in a
single species.Comment: 16 pages, Latex, 4 figures, ps files Astrophysical Journal (in press
PAH emission from Herbig AeBe stars
We present spectra of a sample of Herbig Ae and Be (HAeBe) stars obtained
with the Infrared Spectrograph on the Spitzer Space Telescope. All but one of
the Herbig stars show emission from polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and
seven of the spectra show PAH emission, but no silicate emission at 10 microns.
The central wavelengths of the 6.2, 7.7--8.2, and 11.3 micron emission features
decrease with stellar temperature, indicating that the PAHs are less
photo-processed in cooler radiation fields. The apparent low level of photo
processing in HAeBe stars, relative to other PAH emission sources, implies that
the PAHs are newly exposed to the UV-optical radiation fields from their host
stars. HAeBe stars show a variety of PAH emission intensities and ionization
fractions, but a narrow range of PAH spectral classifications based on
positions of major PAH feature centers. This may indicate that, regardless of
their locations relative to the stars, the PAH molecules are altered by the
same physical processes in the proto-planetary disks of intermediate-mass
stars. Analysis of the mid-IR spectral energy distributions indicates that our
sample likely includes both radially flared and more flattened/settled disk
systems, but we do not see the expected correlation of overall PAH emission
with disk geometry. We suggest that the strength of PAH emission from HAeBe
stars may depend not only on the degree of radial flaring, but also on the
abundance of PAHs in illuminated regions of the disks and possibly on the
vertical structure of the inner disk as well.Comment: 52 pages, 12 figure
Scaling theory for diffusion limited cluster aggregation in a porous medium
A scaling theory is developed for diffusion-limited cluster aggregation in a
porous medium, where the primary particles and clusters stick irreversibly to
the walls of the pore space as well as to each other. Three scaling regimes are
predicted, connected by smooth crossovers. The first regime is at low primary
particle concentrations where the primary particles stick individually to the
walls. The second regime is at intermediate concentrations where clusters grow
to a certain size, smaller than the pore size, then stick individually to the
walls. The third regime is at high concentrations where the final state is a
pore-space-filling network.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, RevTeX 4.
Mid-infrared spectra of PAH emission in Herbig AeBe stars
We present spectra of four Herbig AeBe stars obtained with the Infrared
Spectrograph (IRS). on the Spitzer Space Telescope. All four of the sources
show strong emission from polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), with the 6.2
um emission feature shifted to 6.3 um and the strongest C-C skeletal-mode
feature occuring at 7.9 um instead of at 7.7 um as is often seen. Remarkably,
none of the four stars have silicate emission. The strength of the 7.9 um
feature varies with respect to the 11.3 um feature among the sources,
indicating that we have observed PAHs with a range of ionization fractions. The
ionization fraction is higher for systems with hotter and brighter central
stars. Two sources, HD 34282 and HD 169142, show emission features from
aliphatic hydrocarbons at 6.85 and 7.25 um. The spectrum of HD 141569 shows a
previously undetected emission feature at 12.4 um which may be related to the
12.7 um PAH feature. The spectrum of HD 135344, the coolest star in our sample,
shows an unusual profile in the 7-9 um region, with the peak emission to the
red of 8.0 um and no 8.6 um PAH feature.Comment: Accepted by ApJ 23 June, 2005, 8 pages (emulateapj), 5 figures (3 in
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