19,503 research outputs found
The Laser Astrometric Test of Relativity: Science, Technology, and Mission Design
The Laser Astrometric Test of Relativity (LATOR) experiment is designed to
explore general theory of relativity in the close proximity to the Sun -- the
most intense gravitational environment in the solar system. Using independent
time-series of highly accurate measurements of the Shapiro time-delay
(interplanetary laser ranging accurate to 3 mm at 2 AU) and interferometric
astrometry (accurate to 0.01 picoradian), LATOR will measure gravitational
deflection of light by the solar gravity with accuracy of 1 part in a billion
-- a factor ~30,000 better than currently available. LATOR will perform series
of highly-accurate tests in its search for cosmological remnants of scalar
field in the solar system. We present science, technology and mission design
for the LATOR mission.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figures. To appear in the proceedings of the
International Workshop "From Quantum to Cosmos: Fundamental Physics Research
in Space", 21-24 May 2006, Warrenton, Virginia, USA
http://physics.jpl.nasa.gov/quantum-to-cosmos
Sampling functions for multimode homodyne tomography with a single local oscillator
We derive various sampling functions for multimode homodyne tomography with a
single local oscillator. These functions allow us to sample multimode
s-parametrized quasidistributions, density matrix elements in Fock basis, and
s-ordered moments of arbitrary order directly from the measured quadrature
statistics. The inevitable experimental losses can be compensated by proper
modification of the sampling functions. Results of Monte Carlo simulations for
squeezed three-mode state are reported and the feasibility of reconstruction of
the three-mode Q-function and s-ordered moments from 10^7 sampled data is
demonstrated.Comment: 12 pages, 8 figures, REVTeX, submitted Phys. Rev.
Design and fabrication of a low-specific-weight parabolic dish solar concentrator
A segmented design and fabrication and assembly techniques were developed for a 1.8 m (6 ft) diameter parabolic concentrator for space application. This design and these techniques were adaptable to a low cost, mass-produced concentrator. Minimal machining was required. Concentrator segments of formed magnesium were used. The concentrator weighed only 1.6 kg sq m (0.32 lbm/sq ft)
Polynucleotide Phosphorylase from a Cyanobacterium (Synechococcus sp.): Subunit Composition and Properties
Polynucleotide phosphorylase from cells of the cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. has been purified 1400-fold by an improved procedure. The enzyme purified to homogeneity and lacking nuclease, phosphatase and protease contaminations reveals a single band of ADP polymerizing activity upon polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis under nondenaturing conditions which corresponds to a molecular mass of about 275 000. The enzyme migrates as a single polypeptide of Mrâ70 000 when subjected to gel electrophoresis in the presence of dodecyl sulfate indicating a composition of α4 for the native enzyme molecule. The isoelectric point of the purified enzyme as determined by isoelectric focusing was found to be at 4.2±0.1. Polynucleotide phosphorylase of Synechococcus is preferentially activated by Mg2+; Kcl has a significant stimulatory effect. © 1982, Walter de Gruyter. All rights reserved
Simulations of thermally broadened HI Lya absorption arising in the warm-hot intergalactic medium
Recent far-ultraviolet (FUV) absorption line measurements of low-redshift
quasars have unveiled a population of intervening broad HI Lya absorbers (BLAs)
with large Doppler parameters (b> 40 km/s). If the large width of these lines
is dominated by thermal line broadening, the BLAs may trace highly-ionized gas
in the warm-hot intergalactic medium (WHIM) in the temperature range T ~
10^5-10^6 K, a gas phase that is expected to contain a large fraction of the
baryons at low redshift. In this paper we use a hydrodynamical simulation to
study frequency, distribution, physical conditions, and baryon content of the
BLAs at z=0. From our simulated spectra we derive a number of BLAs per unit
redshift of (dN/dz)_BLA ~ 38 for HI absorbers with log (N(cm^-2)/b(km/s))>10.7,
b>40 km/s, and log N(HII)<20.5. The baryon content of these systems is
Omega_b(BLA)=0.0121/h_65, which represents ~25 percent of the total baryon
budget in our simulation. Our results thus support the idea that BLAs represent
a significant baryon reservoir at low redshift. BLAs predominantly trace
shock-heated collisionally ionized WHIM gas at temperatures log T~4.4-6.2.
About 27 percent of the BLAs in our simulation originate in the photoionized
Lya forest (log T<4.3) and their large line widths are determined by
non-thermal broadening effects such as unresolved velocity structure and
macroscopic turbulence. Our simulation implies that for a large-enough sample
of BLAs in FUV spectra it is possible to obtain a reasonable approximation of
the baryon content of these systems solely from the measured HI column
densities and b values.Comment: 11 pages, 8 figures; minor modifications; accepted for publication in
A&
Background, current status, and prognosis of the ongoing slush hydrogen technology development program for the NASP
Among the Hydrogen Projects at the NASA Lewis Research Center (NASA LeRC), is the task of implementing and managing the Slush Hydrogen (SLH2) Technology Program for the United States' National AeroSpace Plane Joint Program Office (NASP JPO). The objectives of this NASA LeRC program are to provide verified numerical models of fluid production, storage, transfer, and feed systems and to provide verified design criteria for other engineered aspects of SLH2 systems germane to a NASP. The pursuit of these objectives is multidimensional, covers a range of problem areas, works these to different levels of depth, and takes advantage of the resources available in private industry, academia, and the U.S. Government. A summary of the NASA LeRC overall SLH2 program plan, is presented along with its implementation, the present level of effort in each of the program areas, some of the results already in hand, and the prognosis for the effort in the immediate future
Supernova Inelastic Neutrino-Nucleus Cross Sections from High-Resolution Electron Scattering Experiments and Shell-Model Calculations
Highly precise data on the magnetic dipole strength distributions from the
Darmstadt electron linear accelerator for the nuclei 50Ti, 52Cr and 54Fe are
dominated by isovector Gamow-Teller-like contributions and can therefore be
translated into inelastic total and differential neutral-current
neutrino-nucleus cross sections at supernova neutrino energies. The results
agree well with large-scale shell-model calculations, validating this model.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, RevTeX 4, version accepted in Phys. Rev. Letter
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