System aspects of spacecraft charging

Satellites come in a variety of sizes and configurations including spinning satellites and three-axis stabilized satellites. All of these characteristics have a significant effect on spacecraft charging considerations. There are, however, certain fundamentals which can be considered which indicate the nature and extent of the problem. The global positioning system satellite serves to illustrate certain characteristics

Numerical solution of a non-linear conservation law applicable to the interior dynamics of partially molten planets

The energy balance of a partially molten rocky planet can be expressed as a non-linear diffusion equation using mixing length theory to quantify heat transport by both convection and mixing of the melt and solid phases. In this formulation the effective or eddy diffusivity depends on the entropy gradient, $\partial S/\partial r$, as well as entropy. First we present a simplified model with semi-analytical solutions, highlighting the large dynamic range of $\partial S/\partial r$, around 12 orders of magnitude, for physically-relevant parameters. It also elucidates the thermal structure of a magma ocean during the earliest stage of crystal formation. This motivates the development of a simple, stable numerical scheme able to capture the large dynamic range of $\partial S/\partial r$ and provide a flexible and robust method for time-integrating the energy equation. We then consider a full model including energy fluxes associated with convection, mixing, gravitational separation, and conduction that all depend on the thermophysical properties of the melt and solid phases. This model is discretised and evolved by applying the finite volume method (FVM), allowing for extended precision calculations and using $\partial S/\partial r$ as the solution variable. The FVM is well-suited to this problem since it is naturally energy conserving, flexible, and intuitive to incorporate arbitrary non-linear fluxes that rely on lookup data. Special attention is given to the numerically challenging scenario in which crystals first form in the centre of a magma ocean. Our computational framework is immediately applicable to modelling high melt fraction phenomena in Earth and planetary science research. Furthermore, it provides a template for solving similar non-linear diffusion equations arising in other disciplines, particularly for non-linear functional forms of the diffusion coefficient

Optimization and performance of Space Station Freedom solar cells

High efficiency, large area and low cost solar cells are the drivers for Space Station solar array designs. The manufacturing throughput, process complexity, yield of the cells, and array manufacturing technique determine the economics of the solar array design. The cell efficiency optimization of large area (8 x 8 m), dielectric wrapthrough contact solar cells are described. The results of the optimization are reported and the solar cell performance of limited production runs is reported

The millimetre variability of M81* -- Multi-epoch dual frequency mm-observations of the nucleus of M81

There are still many open questions as to the physical mechanisms at work in Low Luminosity AGN that accrete in the extreme sub-Eddington regime. Simultaneous multi-wavelength studies have been very successful in constraining the properties of SgrA*, the extremely sub-Eddington black hole at the centre of our Milky Way. M81*, the nucleus of the nearby spiral galaxy M81, is an ideal source to extend the insights obtained on SgrA* toward higher luminosity AGN. Here we present observations at 3 and 1 mm that were obtained within the framework of a coordinated,multi-wavelength campaign on M81*. The continuum emission from M81* was observed during three epochs with the IRAM Plateau de Bure Interferometer simultaneously at wavelengths of 3 and 1 mm. We present the first flux measurements of M81* at wavelengths around 1 mm. We find that M81* is a continuously variable source with the higher variability observed at the shorter wavelength. Also, the variability at 3 and 1 mm appears to be correlated. Like SgrA*, M81* appears to display the strongest flux density and variability in the mm-to-submm regime. There remains still some ambiguity concerning the exact location of the turnover frequency from optically thick to optically thin emission. The observed variability time scales point to an upper size limit of the emitting region of the order 25 Schwarzschild radii. The data show that M81* is indeed a system with very similar physical properties to SgrA* and an ideal bridge toward high luminosity AGN. The data obtained clearly demonstrate the usefulness and, above all, the necessity of simultaneous multi-wavelength observations of LLAGN.Comment: accepted for publication in A&

The First Detailed X-ray Observations of High-Redshift, Optically-Selected Clusters: XMM-Newton Results for Cl 1324+3011 at z = 0.76 and Cl 1604+4304 at z = 0.90

We present the first detailed X-ray observations of optically-selected clusters at high redshift. Two clusters, Cl 1324+3011 at z = 0.76 and Cl 1604+4304 at z = 0.90, were observed with XMM-Newton. The optical center of each cluster is coincident with an extended X-ray source whose emission is detected out to a radius of 0.5 Mpc. The emission from each cluster appears reasonably circular, with some indication of asymmetries and more complex morphologies. Similarly to other optically-selected clusters at redshifts of z > 0.4, both clusters are modest X-ray emitters with bolometric luminosities of only Lx = 1.4 - 2.0 x 10^(44) erg/s. We measure gas temperatures of T = 2.88 (+0.71/-0.49) keV for Cl 1324+3011 and 2.51 (+1.05/-0.69) keV for Cl 1604+4304. The X-ray properties of both clusters are consistent with the high-redshift Lx-T relation measured from X-ray-selected samples at z > 0.5. However, based on the local relations, their X-ray luminosities and temperatures are low for their measured velocity dispersions (sigma). The clusters are cooler by a factor of 2 - 9 compared to the local sigma-T relation. We briefly discuss the possible explanations for these results.Comment: 14 pages, 4 figures; accepted for publication in Astrophysical Journal Letters; version with full resolution figures available at http://bubba.ucdavis.edu/~lubin/xmm.pd

R/V Oceanus Voyage 449-6 Red Sea Atlantis II Deep Complex Area 19 October–1 November 2008

The purpose of this report is to summarize the research activities conducted during R/V Oceanus Voyage 449-6 (also referred to as KAUST Leg 2) in the Red Sea. The cruise began on 19 October 2008 at 1700 Local Time (LT), when the R/V Oceanus departed Jeddah Commercial Port. On the cruise were 15 scientists from five countries, including Saudi Arabia, United States, Egypt, Hong Kong and Sudan. The cruise ended on 1 November 2008 when the Oceanus returned to the Jeddah Commercial Port.Funding for this report was provided by the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) under a cooperative research agreement with Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

How young are early-type cluster galaxies ? Quantifying the young stellar component in a rich cluster at z=0.41

We present a new method of quantifying the mass fraction of young stars in galaxies by analyzing near-ultraviolet (NUV)-optical colors. We focus our attention on early-type cluster galaxies, whose star formation history is at present undetermined. Rest-frame NUV (F300W) and optical (F702W) images of cluster Abell 851 (z=0.41) using HST/WFPC2 allow us to determine a NUV-optical color-magnitude relation, whose slope is incompatible with a monolithic scenario for star formation at high redshift. A degeneracy between a young stellar component and its fractional mass contribution to the galaxy is found, and a photometric analysis comparing the data with the predictions for a simple two-stage star formation history is presented. The analysis shows that some of the early-type galaxies may have fractions higher than 10% of the total mass content in stars formed at z~0.5. An increased scatter is found in the color-magnitude relation at the faint end, resulting in a significant fraction of faint blue early-type systems. This would imply that less massive galaxies undergo more recent episodes of star formation, and this can be explained in terms of a positive correlation between star formation efficiency and luminosity.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ Letters. Uses emulateapj.sty. 5 pages with 3 embedded EPS figure