11,035 research outputs found
Xenon ion propulsion for orbit transfer
For more than 30 years, NASA has conducted an ion propulsion program which has resulted in several experimental space flight demonstrations and the development of many supporting technologies. Technologies appropriate for geosynchronous stationkeeping, earth-orbit transfer missions, and interplanetary missions are defined and evaluated. The status of critical ion propulsion system elements is reviewed. Electron bombardment ion thrusters for primary propulsion have evolved to operate on xenon in the 5 to 10 kW power range. Thruster efficiencies of 0.7 and specific impulse values of 4000 s were documented. The baseline thruster currently under development by NASA LeRC includes ring-cusp magnetic field plasma containment and dished two-grid ion optics. Based on past experience and demonstrated simplifications, power processors for these thrusters should have approximately 500 parts, a mass of 40 kg, and an efficiency near 0.94. Thrust vector control, via individual thruster gimbals, is a mature technology. High pressure, gaseous xenon propellant storage and control schemes, using flight qualified hardware, result in propellant tankage fractions between 0.1 and 0.2. In-space and ground integration testing has demonstrated that ion propulsion systems can be successfully integrated with their host spacecraft. Ion propulsion system technologies are mature and can significantly enhance and/or enable a variety of missions in the nation's space propulsion program
2-10 keV luminosity of high-mass binaries as a gauge of ongoing star-formation rate
Based on recent work on spectral decomposition of the emission of
star-forming galaxies, we assess whether the integrated 2-10 keV emission from
high-mass X-ray binaries (HMXBs), L_{2-10}^{HMXB}, can be used as a reliable
estimator of ongoing star formation rate (SFR). Using a sample of 46 local (z <
0.1) star forming galaxies, and spectral modeling of ASCA, BeppoSAX, and
XMM-Newton data, we demonstrate the existence of a linear SFR-L_{2-10}^{HMXB}
relation which holds over ~5 decades in X-ray luminosity and SFR. The total
2-10 keV luminosity is not a precise SFR indicator because at low SFR (i.e., in
normal and moderately-starbursting galaxies) it is substantially affected by
the emission of low-mass X-ray binaries, which do not trace the current SFR due
to their long evolution lifetimes, while at very high SFR (i.e., for very
luminous FIR-selected galaxies) it is frequently affected by the presence of
strongly obscured AGNs. The availability of purely SB-powered galaxies - whose
2-10 keV emission is mainly due to HMXBs - allows us to properly calibrate the
SFR-L_{2-10}^{HMXB} relation. The SFR-L_{2-10}^{HMXB} relation holds also for
distant (z ~ 1) galaxies in the Hubble Deep Field North sample, for which we
lack spectral information, but whose SFR can be estimated from deep radio data.
If confirmed by more detailed observations, it may be possible to use the
deduced relation to identify distant galaxies that are X-ray overluminous for
their (independently estimated) SFR, and are therefore likely to hide strongly
absorbed AGNs.Comment: Astronomy & Astrophysics, in press (15 pages, 7 figures, 4 tables
Discovery of a New 89 Second X-ray Pulsar XTE J1906+09
We report on the discovery of a new pulsating X-ray source during Rossi X-ray
Timing Explorer observations of a low galactic latitude field centered at RA
(J2000) = 19 hr 05 m 43 s and Dec (J2000) = +08 deg 58 arcmin 48 arcsec.
Significant pulsations were detected by both the PCA and HEXTE instruments
aboard RXTE at a fundamental period of 89.17 +/- 0.02 seconds, with higher
harmonics also visible in the 2-10 keV power spectrum. The folded lightcurve
from the source is multiply peaked at lower energies, and changes to single
peaked morphology above ~20 keV. The phase averaged spectrum from the source is
well fit by strongly absorbed power law or thermal bremsstrahlung spectral
models of photon index 1.9 +/- 0.1 or temperature 19.5 +/- 4.6 keV,
respectively. The mean neutral hydrogen column density is approximately 10^23
cm^-2, suggesting a distance of >10 kpc to the source and a minimum 2-10 keV
X-ray luminosity of 2*10^{35} ergs s^{-1}. By comparison with other pulsars
with similar periods and luminosities, we suggest that XTE J1906+09 has a
supergiant companion with an underfilled Roche lobe. We speculate further that
one of the M stars in a peculiar M star binary system may be the companion.Comment: 14 pages, 2 figures. Accepted by ApJ Letter
Multiple Cyclotron Lines in the Spectrum of 4U 0115+63
We report phase resolved spectroscopy of the transient accreting pulsar,
4U0115+63. For the first time, more than two cylotron resonance scattering
features are detected in the spectrum of an X-ray pulsar. The shape of the
fundamental line appears to be complex, and this is in agreement with
predictions of Monte-Carlo models. As in other pulsars, the line energies and
optical depths are strong functions of pulse phase. One possible model for this
is an offset of the dipole of the neutron star magnetic field.Comment: 5 pages. To appear in "Proceedings of the 5th Compton Symposium
A complete devil's staircase in the Falicov-Kimball model
We consider the neutral, one-dimensional Falicov-Kimball model at zero
temperature in the limit of a large electron--ion attractive potential, U. By
calculating the general n-ion interaction terms to leading order in 1/U we
argue that the ground-state of the model exhibits the behavior of a complete
devil's staircase.Comment: 6 pages, RevTeX, 3 Postscript figure
Electrically detected magnetic resonance of carbon dangling bonds at the Si-face 4H-SiC/SiO interface
SiC based metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) have
gained a significant importance in power electronics applications. However,
electrically active defects at the SiC/SiO interface degrade the ideal
behavior of the devices. The relevant microscopic defects can be identified by
electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) or electrically detected magnetic
resonance (EDMR). This helps to decide which changes to the fabrication process
will likely lead to further increases of device performance and reliability.
EDMR measurements have shown very similar dominant hyperfine (HF) spectra in
differently processed MOSFETs although some discrepancies were observed in the
measured -factors. Here, the HF spectra measured of different SiC MOSFETs
are compared and it is argued that the same dominant defect is present in all
devices. A comparison of the data with simulated spectra of the C dangling bond
(P) center and the silicon vacancy (V) demonstrates
that the P center is a more suitable candidate to explain the
observed HF spectra.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Journal of Applied Physic
Proximal business intelligence on the semantic web
This is the post-print version of this article. The official version can be accessed from the link below - Copyright @ 2010 Springer.Ubiquitous information systems (UBIS) extend current Information System thinking to explicitly differentiate technology between devices and software components with relation to people and process. Adapting business data and management information to support specific user actions in context is an ongoing topic of research. Approaches typically focus on providing mechanisms to
improve specific information access and transcoding but not on how the information
can be accessed in a mobile, dynamic and ad-hoc manner. Although web ontology has been used to facilitate the loading of data warehouses, less research has been carried out on ontology based mobile reporting. This paper explores how business data can be modeled and accessed using the web ontology
language and then re-used to provide the invisibility of pervasive access; uncovering
more effective architectural models for adaptive information system strategies of this type. This exploratory work is guided in part by a vision of business intelligence that is highly distributed, mobile and fluid, adapting to sensory understanding of the underlying environment in which it operates. A proof-of concept mobile and ambient data access architecture is developed in order to further test the viability of such an approach. The paper concludes with an ontology engineering framework for systems of this type – named UBIS-ONTO
Phase Rotation, Cooling And Acceleration Of Muon Beams: A Comparison Of Different Approaches
Experimental and theoretical activities are underway at CERN with the aim of
examining the feasibility of a very-high-flux neutrino source. In the present
scheme, a high-power proton beam (some 4 MW) bombards a target where pions are
produced. The pions are collected and decay to muons under controlled optical
condition. The muons are cooled and accelerated to a final energy of 50 GeV
before being injected into a decay ring where they decay under well-defined
conditions of energy and emittance.
We present the most challenging parts of the whole scenario, the muon
capture, the ionisation-cooling and the first stage of the muon acceleration.
Different schemes, their performance and the technical challenges are compared.Comment: LINAC 2000 CONFERENCE, paper ID No. THC1
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