JPL preferred parts list: Reliable electronic components

The JPL Preferred Parts List was prepared to provide a basis for selection of electronic parts for JPL spacecraft programs. Supporting tests for the listed parts were designed to comply with specific spacecraft environmental requirements. The list tabulates the electronic, magnetic, and electromechanical parts applicable to all JPL electronic equipment wherein reliability is a major concern. The parts listed are revelant to equipment supplied by subcontractors as well as fabricated at the laboratory

The Mass-Radius Relation Of Young Stars. I. Usco 5, An M4.5 Eclipsing Binary In Upper Scorpius Observed By K2

We present the discovery that UScoCTIO 5, a known spectroscopic binary in the Upper Scorpius star-forming region (P = 34 days, M-tot sin(i) = 0.64M(circle dot)), is an eclipsing system with both primary and secondary eclipses apparent in K2 light curves obtained during Campaign 2. We have simultaneously fit the eclipse profiles from the K2 light curves and the existing RV data to demonstrate that UScoCTIO 5 consists of a pair of nearly identical M4.5 stars with M-A = 0.329 +/- 0.002 M-circle dot, R-A = 0.834 +/- 0.006 R-circle dot, M-B = 0.317 +/- 0.002 M-circle dot, and R-B = 0.810 +/- 0.006 R-circle dot. The radii are broadly consistent with pre-main-sequence ages predicted by stellar evolutionary models, but none agree to within the uncertainties. All models predict systematically incorrect masses at the 25%-50% level for the HR diagram position of these mid-M dwarfs, suggesting significant modifications to mass-dependent outcomes of star and planet formation. The form of the discrepancy for most model sets is not that they predict luminosities that are too low, but rather that they predict temperatures that are too high, suggesting that the models do not fully encompass the physics of energy transport (via convection and/or missing opacities) and/or a miscalibration of the SpT-T-eff scale. The simplest modification to the models (changing T-eff to match observations) would yield an older age for this system, in line with the recently proposed older age of Upper Scorpius (tau similar to 11 Myr).NASA Science Mission directorateW. M. Keck FoundationAstronom

Using Magnetic Activity and Galactic Dynamics to Constrain the Ages of M Dwarfs

We present a study of the dynamics and magnetic activity of M dwarfs using the largest spectroscopic sample of low-mass stars ever assembled. The age at which strong surface magnetic activity (as traced by H-alpha) ceases in M dwarfs has been inferred to have a strong dependence on mass (spectral type, surface temperature) and explains previous results showing a large increase in the fraction of active stars at later spectral types. Using spectral observations of more than 40000 M dwarfs from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, we show that the fraction of active stars decreases as a function of vertical distance from the Galactic plane (a statistical proxy for age), and that the magnitude of this decrease changes significantly for different M spectral types. Adopting a simple dynamical model for thin disk vertical heating, we assign an age for the activity decline at each spectral type, and thus determine the activity lifetimes for M dwarfs. In addition, we derive a statistical age-activity relation for each spectral type using the dynamical model, the vertical distance from the Plane and the H-alpha emission line luminosity of each star (the latter of which also decreases with vertical height above the Galactic plane).Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures, to appear in the proceedings of IAU 258: The Ages of Star

Exploring the Local Milky Way: M Dwarfs as Tracers of Galactic Populations

We have assembled a spectroscopic sample of low-mass dwarfs observed as part of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey along one Galactic sightline, designed to investigate the observable properties of the thin and thick disks. This sample of ~7400 K and M stars also has measured ugriz photometry, proper motions, and radial velocities. We have computed UVW space motion distributions, and investigate their structure with respect to vertical distance from the Galactic Plane. We place constraints on the velocity dispersions of the thin and thick disks, using two-component Gaussian fits. We also compare these kinematic distributions to a leading Galactic model. Finally, we investigate other possible observable differences between the thin and thick disks, such as color, active fraction and metallicity.Comment: 11 pages, 12 figures, Accepted by A

High-Fidelity Control, Detection, and Entanglement of Alkaline-Earth Rydberg Atoms

Trapped neutral atoms have become a prominent platform for quantum science, where entanglement fidelity records have been set using highly excited Rydberg states. However, controlled two-qubit entanglement generation has so far been limited to alkali species, leaving the exploitation of more complex electronic structures as an open frontier that could lead to improved fidelities and fundamentally different applications such as quantum-enhanced optical clocks. Here, we demonstrate a novel approach utilizing the two-valence electron structure of individual alkaline-earth Rydberg atoms. We find fidelities for Rydberg state detection, single-atom Rabi operations and two-atom entanglement that surpass previously published values. Our results pave the way for novel applications, including programmable quantum metrology and hybrid atom–ion systems, and set the stage for alkaline-earth based quantum computing architectures

The Luminosity and Mass Functions of Low-Mass Stars in the Galactic Disk. II. The Field

We report on new measurements of the luminosity function (LF) and mass function (MF) of field low-mass dwarfs derived from Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 6 photometry. The analysis incorporates ~15 million low-mass stars (0.1 ), spread over 8400 deg2. Stellar distances are estimated using new photometric parallax relations, constructed from ugriz photometry of nearby low-mass stars with trigonometric parallaxes. We use a technique that simultaneously measures Galactic structure and the stellar LF from 7 \u3c Mr \u3c 16. We compare the LF to previous studies and convert to an MF using the mass-luminosity relations of Delfosse et al. The system MF, measured over –1.0\u3c log \u3c–0.1, is well described by a lognormal distribution with = 0.25 . We stress that our results should not be extrapolated to other mass regimes. Our work generally agrees with prior low-mass stellar MFs and places strong constraints on future theoretical star formation studies