Results of the first 150 days of the NTS-1 solar cell experiments

Twelve solar cell experiments were on the Naval Research Laboratory NTS-1 satellite launched on 14 July 1974, into a 13,260 km circular orbit at an inclination of 125 deg. The experiment comprises: 2 ohm-cm n/p, lithium-diffused p/n, violet n/p, p(+) back surface field, and ultra-thin wrap around contact cells. The short-circuit current of the experiments ranged from 2 to 12 percent higher in space than under solar simulators. During the 5 year life of the satellite, the experiments will be exposed to radiation equivalent to 2 x 10 to the 15th power 1-MeV electron cm/2 and to nearly 5500 thermal cycles

An interim report on the NTS-2 solar cell experiment

Data obtained from the fourteen solar cell modules on the NTS-2 satellite are presented together with a record of panel temperature and sun inclination. The following flight data are discussed: (1) state of the art solar cell configurations which embody improvements in solar cell efficiency through new silicon surface and bulk technology, (2) improved coverslip materials and coverslip bonding techniques, (3) short and long term effects of ultraviolet rejection filters vs. no filters on the cells, (4) degradation on a developmental type of liquid epitaxy gallium-aluminum-arsenide solar cell, and (5) space radiation effects

The Shape and Orientation of NGC 3379: Implications for Nuclear Decoupling

The intrinsic shape and orientation of the elliptical galaxy NGC 3379 are estimated by dynamical modeling. The maximal ignorance shape estimate, an average over the parameter space, is axisymmetric and oblate in the inner parts, with an outward triaxiality gradient. The 1 sigma limits on total-mass triaxiality T are T < 0.13 at 0.33 kpc and T = 0.08 +/- 0.07 at 3.5 kpc from the center. The luminous short-to-long axis ratio c_L = 0.79 +0.05-0.1 inside 0.82 kpc, flattening to c_L = 0.66 +0.07-0.08 at 1.9 kpc. The results are similar if the galaxy is assumed to rotate about its short axis. Estimates for c_L are robust, but those for T are dependent on whether the internal rotation field is disklike or spheroid-like. Short-axis inclinations between 30 and 50 degrees are preferred for nearly axisymmetric models; but triaxial models in high inclination are also allowed, which can affect central black hole mass estimates. The available constraints on orientation rule out the possibility that the nuclear dust ring at R = 1.5" is in a stable equilibrium in one of the galaxy's principal planes. The ring is thus a decoupled nuclear component not linked to the main body of the galaxy. It may be connected with ionized gas that extends to larger radii, since the projected gas rotation axis is near the minor axis of the ring. The gas and dust may both be part of a strongly warped disk; however, if caused by differential precession, the warp will wind up on itself in a few 10^7 years. The decoupling with the stellar component suggests that the gas has an external origin, but no obvious source is present.Comment: Astronomical Journal, accepted. 15 pages, incl. 5 figs, 1 table. AASTeX 4.0. Paper with better quality figures in PDF format at http://www.phy.ohiou.edu/~tss/Shape3379.pd

Solar cell research, phase 2 Semiannual report

Radiation effects on properties of lithium solar cell

Effects of impurities on radiation damage of silicon solar cells

Impurities effects on radiation damage of silicon solar cell

Radiation and temperature effects in gallium arsenide, indium phosphide and silicon solar cells

The effects of radiation on performance are determined for both n(+)p and p(+)n GaAs and InP cells and for silicon n(+)p cells. It is found that the radiation resistance of InP is greater than that of both GaAs and Si under 1 MeV electron irradiation. For silicon, the observed decreased radiation resistance with decreased resistivity is attributed to the presence of a radiation induced boron-oxygen defect. Comparison of radiation damage in both p(+)n and n(+)p GaAs cells yields a decreased radiation resistance for the n(+)p cell attributable to increased series resistance, decreased shunt resistance, and relatively greater losses in the cell's p-region. For InP, the n(+)p configuration is found to have greater radiation resistance than the p(+)n cell. The increased loss in this latter cell is attributed to losses in the cell's emitter region. Temperature dependency results are interpreted using a theoretical relation for dVoc/cT which predicts that increased Voc should results in decreased numerical values for dPm/dT. The predicted correlation is observed for GaAs but not for InP a result which is attributed to variations in cell processing

The Stellar Kinematic Fields of NGC 3379

We have measured the stellar kinematic profiles of NGC 3379 along four position angles using the MMT. The data extend 90" from the center, at essentially seeing-limited resolution out to 17". The mean velocities and dispersions have total errors better than 10 km/s (frequently better than 5 km/s) out to 55". We find very weak (3 km/s) rotation on the minor axis interior to 12", and no detectable rotation above 6 km/s from 12" to 50" or above 16 km/s out to 90" (95% confidence). However, a Fourier reconstruction of the mean velocity field from all 4 sampled PAs does indicate a 5 degree twist of the kinematic major axis, opposite to the known isophotal twist. The h_3 and h_4 parameters are small over the entire observed region. The azimuthally-averaged dispersion profile joins smoothly at large radii with the dispersions of planetary nebulae. Unexpectedly, we find sharp bends in the major-axis rotation curve, also visible (though less pronounced) on the diagonal position angles. The outermost bend coincides in position with other sharp kinematic features: an abrupt flattening of the dispersion profile, and local peaks in h_3 and h_4. All of these features are in a region where the surface brightness profile departs significantly from a de Vaucouleurs law. Features such as these are not generally known in ellipticals owing to a lack of data at comparable resolution; however, very similar behavior is seen the kinematics of the edge-on S0 NGC 3115. We discuss the suggestion that NGC 3379 could be a misclassified S0; preliminary results from dynamical modeling indicate that it may be a flattened, weakly triaxial system seen in an orientation that makes it appear round.Comment: 31 pages incl. 4 tables, Latex, AASTeX v4.0, with 17 eps figures. To appear in The Astronomical Journal, February 199

Survey Simulations of a New Near-Earth Asteroid Detection System

We have carried out simulations to predict the performance of a new space-based telescopic survey operating at thermal infrared wavelengths that seeks to discover and characterize a large fraction of the potentially hazardous near-Earth asteroid (NEA) population. Two potential architectures for the survey were considered: one located at the Earth-Sun L1 Lagrange point, and one in a Venus-trailing orbit. A sample cadence was formulated and tested, allowing for the self-follow-up necessary for objects discovered in the daytime sky on Earth. Synthetic populations of NEAs with sizes >=140 m in effective spherical diameter were simulated using recent determinations of their physical and orbital properties. Estimates of the instrumental sensitivity, integration times, and slew speeds were included for both architectures assuming the properties of new large-format 10 um detector arrays capable of operating at ~35 K. Our simulation included the creation of a preliminary version of a moving object processing pipeline suitable for operating on the trial cadence. We tested this pipeline on a simulated sky populated with astrophysical sources such as stars and galaxies extrapolated from Spitzer and WISE data, the catalog of known minor planets (including Main Belt asteroids, comets, Jovian Trojans, etc.), and the synthetic NEA model. Trial orbits were computed for simulated position-time pairs extracted from the synthetic surveys to verify that the tested cadence would result in orbits suitable for recovering objects at a later time. Our results indicate that the Earth-Sun L1 and Venus-trailing surveys achieve similar levels of integral completeness for potentially hazardous asteroids larger than 140 m; placing the telescope in an interior orbit does not yield an improvement in discovery rates. This work serves as a necessary first step for the detailed planning of a next-generation NEA survey.Comment: AJ accepted; corrected typ

Orbital Structure of Collisionless Merger Remnants: On the Origin of Photometric and Kinematic Properties of Elliptical and S0 Galaxies

We present a detailed investigation of the relation between the orbital content of merger remnants and observable properties of elliptical and S0 galaxies. Our analysis is based on the statistical sample of collisionless mergers of disk galaxies with different mass ratios and orbital parameters, published by Naab & Burkert. We use the spectral method by Carpintero & Aguilar to determine the orbital content of every remnant and correlate it with its intrinsic shape, and its projected kinematic and photometric properties. We discuss the influence of the bulge component and varying pericenter distances. The two most abundant orbit classes are the minor axis tubes and the box orbits. Their ratio seems to determine the basic properties of a remnant. On average, the fraction of minor axis tubes increases by a factor of two from a merger mass ratio of 1:1 to 4:1, whereas the fraction of box orbits decreases by 10%. At a given mass the central velocity dispersion of a remnant scales with the ratio of minor axis tubes to box orbits. Interestingly, the division line between rotational supported systems and pressure supported objects, $(v_{maj}/\sigma_0)^*=0.7$, turns out to coincide with a box to minor axis tube ratio of unity. The observed $h_3$-$v/\sigma$ anti-correlation for ellipticals can not be reproduced by collisionless merger remnants. We propose that this can only be reconciled by an additional physical process that significantly reduces the box orbit content. Remnants which are dominated by minor axis tube orbits have predominantly disky projections. Boxy remnants have always a box to minor axis tube ratio larger than one. This study will enable to identify observed ellipticals that could have formed, in the collisionless limit, by gas-poor disk mergers.Comment: revised version, accepted for publication in MNRAS; 18 pages, 18 figures partly in colou

The intrinsic shape of galaxy bulges

The knowledge of the intrinsic three-dimensional (3D) structure of galaxy components provides crucial information about the physical processes driving their formation and evolution. In this paper I discuss the main developments and results in the quest to better understand the 3D shape of galaxy bulges. I start by establishing the basic geometrical description of the problem. Our understanding of the intrinsic shape of elliptical galaxies and galaxy discs is then presented in a historical context, in order to place the role that the 3D structure of bulges play in the broader picture of galaxy evolution. Our current view on the 3D shape of the Milky Way bulge and future prospects in the field are also depicted.Comment: Invited Review to appear in "Galactic Bulges" Editors: Laurikainen E., Peletier R., Gadotti D. Springer Publishing. 24 pages, 7 figure