17,454 research outputs found
Indium phosphide solar cells: status and prospects for use in space
The current status of indium phosphide cell research is reviewed and state of the art efficiencies compared to those of GaAs and Si. It is shown that the radiation resistance of InP cells is superior to that of either GaAs or Si under 1 MeV electron and 10 MeV proton irradiation. Using lightweight blanket technology, a SEP array structure and projected cell efficiencies, array specific powers are obtained for all three cell types. Array performance is calculated as a function of time in orbit. The results indicate that arrays using InP cells can outperform those using GaAs or Si in orbits where radiation is a significant cell degradation factor. It is concluded that InP solar cells are excellent prospects for future use in the space radiation environment
The Conformal Window of deformed CFT's in the planar limit
We discuss in the planar approximation the effect of double-trace
deformations on CFT's. We show that this large class of models posses a
conformal window describing a non-trivial flow between two fixed points of the
renormalization group, and reveal the presence of a resonance which we
associate to the remnant of a dilaton pole. As the conformal window shrinks to
zero measure the theory undergoes a conformal phase transition separating a
symmetric from a nonsymmetric phase. The recently conjectured strongly coupled
branch of non-supersymmetric, non-abelian gauge theories with a large number of
flavors is analyzed in light of these results, and a model for the strong
branch is proposed. Some phenomenological implications in the context of
unparticle physics are also emphasized.Comment: 15 pages PRD class, 2 figures, to be published in PR
Novel applications of the NASA/GSFC Viterbi decoder hardware simulator
The NASA/GSFC developed an all digital, real time, programmable Viterbi decoder simulator operating at rates up to 6 Msps. With this simulator, the bit error rate (BER) performance of convolutionally encoded/Viterbi decoded Shuttle-TDRSS return link channels under pulsed radio frequency interference (RFI) conditions has been predicted. The principles of the simulator are described with special emphasis on the channel simulator and the essential interaction between CLASS software and the simulator. The sensitivity of coded BER as function of several illustrative RFI parameters is discussed for two typical Shuttle-TDRSS return link configurations
Preliminary study of contaminant particulates around Skylab
Techniques originally developed for the Skylab T025 contamination experiment were applied to S052 white-light coronagraph data in a preliminary study to investigate particulates around Skylab. Periods were selected which contained some contamination, even though there were no apparent dumps or vents during these periods. Velocity and size distributions were determined from optical data for particles within 200 meters of the spacecraft. Both photographic (61 particle tracks) and video (34 particles) observations yield an upper limit on particle radius of 100 micrometers. Selected photometric data from the S073 zodiacal light experiment during mission SL-2 were also examined for evidence of contamination
Photoelectric polarimetry of the tail of comet Ikey-Seki (1975 VIII)
Post-perihelion measurements of Comet 1965 VIII made on four nights in October-November 1965 using a Fabry photometer atop 3,052 m Mt. Haleakala, Hawaii are described. Detailed results of observations at 5300A on October 29, 1965 are presented
Evidence for the Multiverse in the Standard Model and Beyond
In any theory it is unnatural if the observed parameters lie very close to
special values that determine the existence of complex structures necessary for
observers. A naturalness probability, P, is introduced to numerically evaluate
the unnaturalness. If P is small in all known theories, there is an observer
naturalness problem. In addition to the well-known case of the cosmological
constant, we argue that nuclear stability and electroweak symmetry breaking
(EWSB) represent significant observer naturalness problems. The naturalness
probability associated with nuclear stability is conservatively estimated as
P_nuc < 10^{-(3-2)}, and for simple EWSB theories P_EWSB < 10^{-(2-1)}. This
pattern of unnaturalness in three different arenas, cosmology, nuclear physics,
and EWSB, provides evidence for the multiverse. In the nuclear case the problem
is largely solved even with a flat multiverse distribution, and with nontrivial
distributions it is possible to understand both the proximity to neutron
stability and the values of m_e and m_d - m_u in terms of the electromagnetic
contribution to the proton mass. It is reasonable that multiverse distributions
are strong functions of Lagrangian parameters due to their dependence on
various factors. In any EWSB theory, strongly varying distributions typically
lead to a little or large hierarchy, and in certain multiverses the size of the
little hierarchy is enhanced by a loop factor. Since the correct theory of EWSB
is unknown, our estimate for P_EWSB is theoretical. The LHC will determine
P_EWSB more robustly, which may remove or strengthen the observer naturalness
problem of EWSB. For each of the three arenas, the discovery of a natural
theory would eliminate the evidence for the multiverse; but in the absence of
such a theory, the multiverse provides a provisional understanding of the data.Comment: 79 pages, 23 figure
Adiabatic Modes in Cosmology
We show that the field equations for cosmological perturbations in Newtonian
gauge always have an adiabatic solution, for which a quantity is
non-zero and constant in all eras in the limit of large wavelength, so that it
can be used to connect observed cosmological fluctuations in this mode with
those at very early times. There is also a second adiabatic mode, for which
vanishes for large wavelength, and in general there may be
non-adiabatic modes as well. These conclusions apply in all eras and whatever
the constituents of the universe, under only a mild technical assumption about
the wavelength dependence of the field equations for large wave length. In the
absence of anisotropic inertia, the perturbations in the adiabatic modes are
given for large wavelength by universal formulas in terms of the
Robertson--Walker scale factor. We discuss an apparent discrepancy between
these results and what appears to be a conservation law in all modes found for
large wavelength in synchronous gauge: it turns out that, although equivalent,
synchronous and Newtonian gauges suggest inequivalent assumptions about the
behavior of the perturbations for large wavelength.Comment: 24 pages, Latex, no special macro
Hawking-Moss bounces and vacuum decay rates
The conventional interpretation of the Hawking-Moss (HM) solution implies a
transition rate between vacua that depends only on the values of the potential
in the initial vacuum and at the top of a potential barrier, leading to the
implausible conclusion that transitions to distant vacua can be as likely as
those to a nearby one. I analyze this issue using a nongravitational example
with analogous properties. I show that such HM bounce do not give reliable rate
calculations, but are instead related to the probability of finding a
quasistable configuration at a local potential maximum.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures; title changed, clarifications in text, typos
corrected, references added; version to appear in journa
A Magellanic Origin for the Warp of the Galaxy
We show that a Magellanic Cloud origin for the warp of the Milky Way can
explain most quantitative features of the outer HI layer recently identified by
Levine, Blitz & Heiles (2005). We construct a model similar to that of Weinberg
(1998) that produces distortions in the dark matter halo, and we calculate the
combined effect of these dark-halo distortions and the direct tidal forcing by
the Magellanic Clouds on the disk warp in the linear regime. The interaction of
the dark matter halo with the disk and resonances between the orbit of the
Clouds and the disk account for the large amplitudes observed for the vertical
m=0,1,2 harmonics. The observations lead to six constraints on warp forcing
mechanisms and our model reasonably approximates all six. The disk is shown to
be very dynamic, constantly changing its shape as the Clouds proceed along
their orbit. We discuss the challenges to MOND placed by the observations.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, submitted to ApJ Letters. Additional graphics, 3d
visualizations and movies available at
http://www.astro.umass.edu/~weinberg/lm
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