Engineering topics

Percival, J. W.

Publications and source records attributed to Percival, J. W..

10 records

NASA NTRS1995

Hubble Space Telescope observations of the dwarf Nova Z Chamaeleontis through two eruption cycles

We have obtained the first high-speed photometry of the eclipsing dwarf nova Z Cha at ultraviolet wavelengths with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). We observed the eclipse roughly every 4 days over two cycles of the normal eruptions of Z Cha, giving a uniquely complete coverage of its outburst cycle. The accretion disk dominated the ultraviolet light curve of Z Cha at the peak of an eruption; the white dwarf, the bright spot on the edge of the disk, and the boundary layer were all invisible. We were able to obtain an axisymmetric map of the accretion disk at this time only by adopting a flared disk with an opening angle of approximately 8 deg. The run of brightness temperature with radius in the disk at the peak of the eruption was too flat to be consistent with a steady state, optically thick accretion disk. The local rate of mass flow through the disk was approximately 5 x 10(exp -10) solar masses/yr near the center of the disk and approximately 5 x 10(exp -9) solar masses/yr near the outer edge. The white dwarf, the accretion disk, and the boundary layer were all significant contributors to the ultraviolet flux on the descending branches of the eruptions. The temperature of the white dwarf during decline was 18,300 K less than T(sub wd) less than 21,800 K, which is significantly greater than at minimum light. Six days after the maximum of an eruption Z Cha has faded to near minimum light at ultraviolet wavelenghts, but was still approximately 70% brighter at minimum light in the B band. About one-quarter of the excess flux in the B band came from the accretion disk. Thus, the accretion disk faded and became invisible at ultraviolet wavelengths before it faded at optical wavelenghts. The disk did, however, remain optically thick and obscured the lower half of the white dwarf at ultraviolet and possibly at optical wavelenghts for 2 weeks after the eruption ended. By the third week after eruptiuons the eclipse looked like a simple occultation of an unobscured, spherical white dwarf by a dark secondary star. The center of the accretion disk was, therfore, optically thin at ultraviolet wavelenghts and the boundary layer was too faint to be visible.

Robinson, E. L.↗

NASA NTRS1995

The gravitational lens system Q0957+561 in the ultraviolet

Photometric and polarimetric observations of both images of the gravitationally lensed quasar Q0957+561 (z(sub em) = 1.41) were obtained in the UV in 1993 with the High Speed Photometer on board the Hubble Space Photometer on board the Hubble Space Telescope. The images exhibited no significant polarization in a bandpass centered on 2770 A (observer's frame); p less than or = 3.2 % (2 sigma upper limit) in each image. The ratio of the flux density in image A to that in image B in late 1993 had a constant valuee, 1.021 +/- 0.008, in four different UV bandpass between 1400 A and 3040 A observer's frame). These results are consistent with the prediction of the gravitation lens interpretation that the photometric ratio of the images measured simultaneously should be independent of frequency. Reprocessed archival spectra of the two images obtained between 1981 and 1983 by the International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE) show that the photometric ratio of A to B varies between 0.96 and 2.0 in the Ly alpha emission line, and between 0.77 and 1.8 in the O VI lambda 1037 emission line (quasar rest frame). The photometric ratio of A to B at any single epoch is often significantly different in the two emission lines. Accepting the system as a gravitational lens implies that in the quasar the flux in the Ly alpha emsisson line can vary independently of the flux in the 0 IV emission line.

Dolan, J. F.↗

NASA NTRS1995

The pulsation index, effective temperature, and thickness of the hydrogen layer in the pulsating DA white dwarf G117-B15A

We have measured the amplitude of the 215 s pulsation of the pulsating DA white dwarf, or ZZ Ceti star, G117-B15A in six passbands with effective wavelengths from 1570 to 6730 A. We find that the index of the pulsation is l = 1 with a high degree of confidence, the first unambiguous determination of l for a pulsation of a ZZ Ceti star. We also find that log g and T(sub eff) are tightly correlated for model atmospheres that fit the data, such that at log g = 7.5 the temperature is 11,750 K and at log g = 8.0 the temperature is 12,375 K. Adopting log g = 7.97 +/- 0.06 from published observations of the optical spectrum of G117-B15A, the correlation yields T(sub eff) = 12,375 +/- 125 K. This temperature is free of flux calibration errors and should be substantially more reliable than temperatures derived for IUE spectra. Since G117-B15A is thought to lie close to the blue edge of the ZZ Ceti instability strip, this low temperature also implies a low temperature for the blue edge. Using pulsation models calculated by Fontaine et al. (1992) and Bradley (1994), we find that the mass of the hydrogen layer in G117-B15A lies between 1.0 x 10(exp -6) solar mass (for k = 1) and 8 x 10(exp -5) solar mass (for k = 2). This range of masses is (barely) consistent with the masses predicted by recent models for the ejection of planetary nebulae, (8-13) x 10(exp -5) solar mass. The mass is too large to be consistent with models invoking thin hydrogen layers to explain the spectral evolution of white dwarfs.

Robinson, E. L.↗

NASA NTRS1994

The linear polarization of 3C 345 in the ultraviolet

The linear polarization of 3C 345, a superluminal radio source and OVV quasar, was observed in two bandpasses in the ultraviolet (centered at 2160 A and 2770 A) in 1993 April using the High Speed Photometer on the Hubble Space Telescope. The quasar is significantly polarized in the UV (p greater than 5%). Ground-based polarimetry was obtained 11 days later, but a difference in the position angle between the observations in the visible and those in the UV indicate that the magnitude of the polarization of 3C 345 may have changed over that time. If the two observation sets represent the same state of spectral polarization, then the large UV flux implies that either the polarization of the synchrotron continuum must stop decreasing in the UV, or that there is an additional source of polarized flux in the ultraviolet. Only if the UV observations represent a spectral polarization state with the same position angle in the visible seen previously in 3C 345 can the polarized flux be represented by a single power law consistent with the three-component model of Smith et al. This model consists of a polarized synchrotron component, an unpolarized component from the broad-line region, and an unpolarized component attributed to thermal radiation from an optically thick accretion disk. Additional simultaneous polarimetry in the UV and visible will be required to further constrain models of the continuum emission processes in 3C 345 and determine if the UV polarized flux is synchrotron in origin.

Dolan, Joseph F.↗

NASA NTRS1994

Ultraviolet photometry of Nova Cygni 1992 obtained with the high speed photometer

In this Letter we present the first high-speed ultraviolet photometry of an active, classical nova, Nova Cygni 1992. The 45 minute observation shows significant evidence for power at frequencies that correspond to periods of about 565 and 900 s. Each of these periods has an amplitude of about 3 mmag. Since this data set is short, we cannot establish the nature of the detected variability and so, we discuss possible physical mechanisms ranging from short-lived phenomena to stable periodic modulations that could result in the observed variations.

Taylor, M.↗

NASA NTRS1993

An Occultation by Saturn's Rings on 1991 October 2-3 October 2-3 Observed with the Hubble Space Telescope

An occultation of the star GSC 6323-01396 (V = 11.9) by Saturn's rings was observed with the High-Speed Photometer on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) on 1991 October 2-3. This occultation occurred when Saturn was near a stationary point, so the apparent motion of Saturn relative to the star was dominated by the HST orbital motion (8 km/s). Data were recorded simultaneously at effective wavelengths of 3200 and 7500 A, with an integration time of 0.15 s. Fifteen segments of occultation data, totaling 6.8 h, were recorded in 13 successive orbits during the 20.0 h interval from UTC 1991 October 2, 19:35 until UTC 1991 October 3, 15:35. Occultations by 43 different features throughout the classical rings were unambiguously identified in the light curve, with a second occultation by 24 of them occurring due to spacecraft orbital parallax during this extremely slow event. Occultation times for features currently presumed circular were measured and employed in a geometrical model for the rings. This model, relating the observed occultation times to feature radii and longitudes, is presented here and is used in a least-squares fit for the pole direction and radius scale of Saturn's ring system.

Elliot, J. L.↗

NASA NTRS1993

High-speed ultraviolet photometry of HD 60435

We present the first high-speed ultraviolet photometry of an oscillating Ap star, HD 60435. After removing known orbital effects related to the Hubble Space Telescope, we confirm the presence of a strong pulsation period at a frequency of 123.70 cycles per day. In addition, we find significant amplitude modulation of this frequency that we suggest could be the result of beating of multiple periodicities. In this context, we suggest evidence for the presence of four additional frequencies at nu = 120.56, 126.55, 149.49, and 221.03 cycles per day. Three of these frequencies correspond well to frequencies detected in optical observations of HD 60435. The fourth, at 149.49 cycles per day, if real, is a potentially new pulsation mode that has not been detected in ground-based observations of this star. The amplitude of the 123 cycles per day pulsation is significantly larger in the ultraviolet than it is in the blue.

Taylor, M.↗

NASA NTRS1993

The Crab pulsar in the visible and ultraviolet with 20 microsecond effective time resolution

Observations of PSR 0531+21 with the High Speed Photometer on the HST in the visible in October 1991 and in the UV in January 1992 are presented. The time resolution of the instrument was 10.74 microsec; the effective time resolution of the light curves folded modulo the pulsar period was 21.5 microsec. The main pulse arrival time is the same in the UV as in the visible and radio to within the accuracy of the establishment of the spacecraft clock, +/- 1.05 ms. The peak of the main pulse is resolved in time. Corrected for reddening, the intensity spectral index of the Crab pulsar from 1680 to 7400 A is 0.11 +/- 0.13. The pulsed flux has an intensity less than 0.9 percent of the peak flux just before the onset of the main pulse. The variations in intensity of individual main and secondary pulses are uncorrelated, even within the same rotational period.

Percival, J. W.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Photometry from space

A brief description of the High Speed Photometer (HSP) of the Hubble Space Telescope is given, in particular the HSP light path, detectors, entrance apertures, and filters. The status of HSP testing to date is reported, and problems encountered with the bright earth and the telescope pointing system are described. The calibration effort for the HSP is well under way. Results of internal (instrument coordinate) aperture locations good to 0.05 arcsec and external (telescope coordinate) locations good to 0.02 arcsec are shown. The effects of spacecraft pointing and jitter on HSP photometry are detailed, and a preliminary measurement of spacecraft jitter with HSP is shown. The aperture calibration effort is verified by accurate pointing of a star to different HSP 1.0 arcsec entrance apertures, and photometric performance of the instrument is shown to be accurate to the 2 percent photon noise of the observations. Future science verification and guaranteed observing time programs are listed. Suggestions are made for future space-based photometers.

Nelson, M. J.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Efficient transfer of images over networks

Effective remote observing requires sending large images over long distances. The usual approach to the transfer problem is to require high bandwidth transmission links, which are expensive to install and operate. An alternative approach is to use existing low-bandwidth connections, such as phone lines or the Internet, in a highly efficient manner by compressing the images. The combined use of existing low-cost infrastructure and standard networking software means that remote observing can be made practical even for small observatories with limited network resources. The authors have implemented such a scheme based on the H-transform compression method developed for astronomical images, which are often resistant to compression because they are noisy. The H-transform can be used for either lossy or lossless compression, and compression factors of at least 10 can be achieved with no noticeable losses in the astrometric or photometric properties of the compressed images. The H-transform allows us to organize the information in an image so that the 'useful' information can be sent first, followed by the noise, which makes up the bulk of the transmission. The receiver can invert a partially received set of H-coefficients, creating an image that improves with time. The H-transform is particularly well-suited to this style of incremental reconstruction, because the spatially localized nature of the basis functions of the H-transorm prevents the appearance of artifacts such as ringing around point sources and edges. The authors' implementation uses the WIYN Telescope Control System's TCP-based communications protocol. An 800x800 16-bit astronomical image was sent over a 2400 baud connection, which would normally take about 71 minutes; after only 60 seconds, the partially received H-transform produced an image that did not differ appreciably from the original. This poster presents a quantification of the efficiencies, as well as examples of images reconstructed from partial data.

Percival, J. W.↗