288 research outputs found
LBHNC: A lunarâbased heavy nucleus detector
A passive, largeâarea experiment for the detection of cosmic ray actinides on the lunar surface is discussed. Due to the absence of a geomagnetic cutoff, a 100 m2 array of nuclearâtrackâdetecting glass plates in 5 years will detect âŒ300â1000 U and Th cosmic ray nuclei of energies âł0.85 GeV/u (compared to the present worldâs total of 4 actinides). With a charge resolution at uranium of âŒ0.25e, the U/Th ratio can be accurately determined, thereby dating the râprocess component of the cosmic rays; the presence of a fresh râprocess component would be corroborated by the likely detection of transuranics as well. In addition, abundances in the Pt/Pb and subâPt/Pb regions and abundances of secondary actinides would provide detailed data on the 0â1 g/cm2 region of the cosmic ray path length distribution, hence on the astrophysical site of origin of these cosmic rays. Finally, should a fresh râprocess component exist, the dection of postulated suerheavy nuclei is conceivable. With an analysis station at the Lunar Base, glass plates could periodically be harvested, analyzed, annealed/remelted, and replaced onto the lunar surface.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/87598/2/289_1.pd
Sub-Pixel Response Measurement of Near-Infrared Sensors
Wide-field survey instruments are used to efficiently observe large regions
of the sky. To achieve the necessary field of view, and to provide a higher
signal-to-noise ratio for faint sources, many modern instruments are
undersampled. However, precision photometry with undersampled imagers requires
a detailed understanding of the sensitivity variations on a scale much smaller
than a pixel. To address this, a near-infrared spot projection system has been
developed to precisely characterize near-infrared focal plane arrays and to
study the effect of sub-pixel non uniformity on precision photometry.
Measurements of large format near-infrared detectors demonstrate the power of
this system for understanding sub-pixel response.Comment: 9 pages, 13 figures, submitted to PAS
New Measurement of the Cosmic-Ray Positron Fraction from 5 to 15 GeV
We present a new measurement of the cosmic-ray positron fraction at energies
between 5 and 15 GeV with the balloon-borne HEAT-pbar instrument in the spring
of 2000. The data presented here are compatible with our previous measurements,
obtained with a different instrument. The combined data from the three HEAT
flights indicate a small positron flux of non-standard origin above 5 GeV. We
compare the new measurement with earlier data obtained with the HEAT-e+-
instrument, during the opposite epoch of the solar cycle, and conclude that our
measurements do not support predictions of charge sign dependent solar
modulation of the positron abundance at 5 GeV.Comment: accepted for publication in PR
Energy Spectra, Altitude Profiles and Charge Ratios of Atmospheric Muons
We present a new measurement of air shower muons made during atmospheric
ascent of the High Energy Antimatter Telescope balloon experiment. The muon
charge ratio mu+ / mu- is presented as a function of atmospheric depth in the
momentum interval 0.3-0.9 GeV/c. The differential mu- momentum spectra are
presented between 0.3 and about 50 GeV/c at atmospheric depths between 13 and
960 g/cm^2. We compare our measurements with other recent data and with Monte
Carlo calculations of the same type as those used in predicting atmospheric
neutrino fluxes. We find that our measured mu- fluxes are smaller than the
predictions by as much as 70% at shallow atmospheric depths, by about 20% at
the depth of shower maximum, and are in good agreement with the predictions at
greater depths. We explore the consequences of this on the question of
atmospheric neutrino production.Comment: 11 pages, 8 figures, to appear in Phys. Rev. D (2000
Focal plate structure alignment of the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument
The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) is under construction to measure the expansion history of the universe using the Baryon Acoustic Oscillation technique. The spectra of 35 million galaxies and quasars spanning over 14,000ââdeg2 are measured during the life of the experiment. A prime focus corrector for the Kitt Peak National Observatory Mayall telescope delivers light to 5000 robotically positioned optic fibers. The fibers in turn feed 10 broadband spectrographs. Proper alignment of the focal plate structure, mainly consisting of a focal plate ring and 10 focal plate petals, is crucial in ensuring minimal loss of light in the focal plane. A coordinate measurement machine (CMM) metrology-based approach to alignment requires comprehensive characterization of critical dimensions of the petals and the ring, all of which are 100% inspected. The metrology data not only serve for quality assurance but also, with careful modeling of geometric transformations, inform the initial choice of integration accessories, such as gauge blocks, pads, and shims. The integrated focal plate structure is inspected again on a CMM, and each petal is adjusted individually according to the updated focal plate metrology data until all datums are extremely close to nominal positions and optical throughput nearly reached the theoretically best possible value. We present our metrology and alignment methodology and complete results for 12 official DESI petals. The as-aligned, total RMS optical throughput for 6168 positioner holes of 12 production petals is indirectly measured to be 99.88ââ%ââââ±ââ0.12ââ%ââ, well above the 99.5% project requirement. The successful alignment fully demonstrated the wealth of data, reproducibility, and micron-level precision made available by our CMM metrology-based approach
Angular clustering properties of the DESI QSO target selection using DR9 Legacy Imaging Surveys
The quasar target selection for the upcoming survey of the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) will be fixed for the next 5 yr. The aim of this work is to validate the quasar selection by studying the impact of imaging systematics as well as stellar and galactic contaminants, and to develop a procedure to mitigate them. Density fluctuations of quasar targets are found to be related to photometric properties such as seeing and depth of the Data Release 9 of the DESI Legacy Imaging Surveys. To model this complex relation, we explore machine learning algorithms (random forest and multilayer perceptron) as an alternative to the standard linear regression. Splitting the footprint of the Legacy Imaging Surveys into three regions according to photometric properties, we perform an independent analysis in each region, validating our method using extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (eBOSS) EZ-mocks. The mitigation procedure is tested by comparing the angular correlation of the corrected target selection on each photometric region to the angular correlation function obtained using quasars from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Data Release 16. With our procedure, we recover a similar level of correlation between DESI quasar targets and SDSS quasars in two-thirds of the total footprint and we show that the excess of correlation in the remaining area is due to a stellar contamination that should be removed with DESI spectroscopic data. We derive the Limber parameters in our three imaging regions and compare them to previous measurements from SDSS and the 2dF QSO Redshift Survey
ProtoDESI: First On-Sky Technology Demonstration for the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument
The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) is under construction to
measure the expansion history of the universe using the baryon acoustic
oscillations technique. The spectra of 35 million galaxies and quasars over
14,000 square degrees will be measured during a 5-year survey. A new prime
focus corrector for the Mayall telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory will
deliver light to 5,000 individually targeted fiber-fed robotic positioners. The
fibers in turn feed ten broadband multi-object spectrographs. We describe the
ProtoDESI experiment, that was installed and commissioned on the 4-m Mayall
telescope from August 14 to September 30, 2016. ProtoDESI was an on-sky
technology demonstration with the goal to reduce technical risks associated
with aligning optical fibers with targets using robotic fiber positioners and
maintaining the stability required to operate DESI. The ProtoDESI prime focus
instrument, consisting of three fiber positioners, illuminated fiducials, and a
guide camera, was installed behind the existing Mosaic corrector on the Mayall
telescope. A Fiber View Camera was mounted in the Cassegrain cage of the
telescope and provided feedback metrology for positioning the fibers. ProtoDESI
also provided a platform for early integration of hardware with the DESI
Instrument Control System that controls the subsystems, provides communication
with the Telescope Control System, and collects instrument telemetry data.
Lacking a spectrograph, ProtoDESI monitored the output of the fibers using a
Fiber Photometry Camera mounted on the prime focus instrument. ProtoDESI was
successful in acquiring targets with the robotically positioned fibers and
demonstrated that the DESI guiding requirements can be met.Comment: Accepted versio
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