A precision DC-potentiometer microwave insertion-loss test set

Precision dc potentiometer microwave insertion loss test set for calibrating low noise microwave receiving systems used in space communication

New broadband square-law detector

Compact device has wide dynamic range, accurate square-law response, good thermal stability, high-level dc output with immunity to ground-loop problems, ability to insert known time constants for radiometric applications, and fast response times compatible with computer systems

Precision power measurements of spacecraft CW signal with microwave noise standards

Precision power measurements of spacecraft CW signal with microwave noise standard

A new broadband square law detector

A broadband constant law detector was developed for precision power measurements, radio metric measurements, and other applications. It has a wide dynamic range and an accurate square law response. Other desirable characteristics, which are all included in a single compact unit, are: (1) high-level dc output with immunity to ground loop problems; (2) fast response times; (3) ability to insert known time constants; and (4) good thermal stability. The detector and its performance are described in detail. The detector can be operated in a programmable system with a ten-fold increase in accuracy. The use and performance of the detector in a noise-adding radiometer system is also discussed

Accurate measurement of telemetry performance

Performance of high rate telemetry stations used in the Deep Space Network is verified. Measurement techniques are discussed

A relation between moduli space of D-branes on orbifolds and Ising model

We study D-branes transverse to an abelian orbifold C^3/Z_n Z_n. The moduli space of the gauge theory on the D-branes is analyzed by combinatorial calculation based on toric geometry. It is shown that the calculation is related to a problemto count the number of ground states of an antiferromagnetic Ising model. The lattice on which the Ising model is defined is a triangular one defined on the McKay quiver of the orbifold.Comment: 20 pages, 13 figure

Brown dwarfs in the Hyades and beyond?

We have used both the Low-Resolution Imaging Spectrograph and the HIRES echelle spectrograph on the Keck telescopes to obtain spectra of twelve candidate members of the Hyades cluster identified by Leggett and Hawkins (1988, 1989). All of the objects are chromospherically-active, late-type M-dwarfs, with H$\alpha$ equivalent widths varying from 1 to 30\AA. Based on our measured radial velocities, the level of stellar activity and other spectroscopic features, only one of the twelve stars has properties consistent with cluster membership. We consider how this result affects estimates of the luminosity and mass function of the Hyades cluster. Five of the eleven field stars have weak K I 7665/7699\AA and CaH absorption as compared with M-dwarf standards of the same spectral type, suggesting a lower surface gravity. Two of these sources, LH0416+14 and LH0419+15, exhibit significant lithium 6708 \AA absorption. Based partly on parallax measurements by the US Naval Observatory (Harris et al, 1998), we identify all five as likely to be young, pre-main sequence objects in or near the Taurus-Auriga association at distances of between 150 and 250 parsecs. A comparison with theoretical models of pre-main sequence stars indicates masses of less than 0.05 M$_\odot$.Comment: to appear in AJ, January 1999; 34 pages, (Latex format), including 10 embedded postscript figures and two table

Fluctuating surface-current formulation of radiative heat transfer for arbitrary geometries

We describe a fluctuating surface-current formulation of radiative heat transfer, applicable to arbitrary geometries, that directly exploits standard, efficient, and sophisticated techniques from the boundary-element method. We validate as well as extend previous results for spheres and cylinders, and also compute the heat transfer in a more complicated geometry consisting of two interlocked rings. Finally, we demonstrate that the method can be readily adapted to compute the spatial distribution of heat flux on the surface of the interacting bodies

On a notion of maps between orbifolds, I. function spaces

This is the first of a series of papers which are devoted to a comprehensive theory of maps between orbifolds. In this paper, we define the maps in the more general context of orbispaces, and establish several basic results concerning the topological structure of the space of such maps. In particular, we show that the space of such maps of C^r-class between smooth orbifolds has a natural Banach orbifold structure if the domain of the map is compact, generalizing the corresponding result in the manifold case. Motivations and applications of the theory come from string theory and the theory of pseudoholomorphic curves in symplectic orbifolds.Comment: Final version, 46 pages. Accepted for publication in Communications in Contemporary Mathematics. A preliminary version of this work is under a different title "A homotopy theory of orbispaces", arXiv: math. AT/010202

On the Computation of Power in Volume Integral Equation Formulations

We present simple and stable formulas for computing power (including absorbed/radiated, scattered and extinction power) in current-based volume integral equation formulations. The proposed formulas are given in terms of vector-matrix-vector products of quantities found solely in the associated linear system. In addition to their efficiency, the derived expressions can guarantee the positivity of the computed power. We also discuss the application of Poynting's theorem for the case of sources immersed in dissipative materials. The formulas are validated against results obtained both with analytical and numerical methods for scattering and radiation benchmark cases