Engineering topics

Schramm, David N.

Publications and source records attributed to Schramm, David N..

At least 19 records

NASA NTRS1995

What is the problem with He-3

We consider the galactic evolutionary history of He-3 in models which deplete deuterium by as much as a factor of 2 to approximately 15 from its primordial value to its present-day observed value in the interstellar medium (ISM). We show that when He-3 production in low-mass stars (1-3 solar mass) is included over the history of the galaxy, He-3 is greatly overproduced and exceeds the inferred solar values and the abundances determined in galactic H II regions. Furthermore, the ISM abundances show a disturbing dispersion which is difficult to understand from the point of view of standard chemical evolution models. In principle, resolution of the problem may lie in either (1) the calculated He-3 production in low-mass stars; (2) the observations of the He-3 abundance; or (3) an observational bias twoard regions of depleted He-3. Since He-3 observations in planetary nebula support the calculated He-3 production in low-mass stars, option (1) is unlikely. We will argue for option (3) since the He-3 interstellar observations are indeed made in regions dominated by massive stars in which He-3 is destroyed. In conclusion, we note that the problem with He-3 seems to be galactic and not cosmological.

Olive, Keith A.↗

NASA NTRS1995

Implications of a high population 2 B/Be ratio

The observed boron/beryllium ratio in extreme Population II stars has been interpreted as evidence of Be and B synthesis by early Galactic cosmic rays. However, a recent reanalysis of the boron abundance in the Population II halo star HD 140823 suggests that B/H may be larger than previously reported, by as much as a factor of 4. This would yield a B/Be ratio lying in the range 14 less than or approximately equal to B/Be less than or approximately equal to 50. The possibilty of a high Population II B/Be ratio stresses the importance of the upper limit to the B/Be ratio arising from cosmic-ray production. It is found that the limit to cosmic-ray-produced B/Be depends upon the assumed cosmic-ray spectrum. For any Population II cosmic-ray spectrum that is a single power law in either total energy per nucleon or in momentum, the B/Be ratio constrained to lie in the range 7.6 less than or approximately equal to B/Be less than or approximately equal to 14. Thus, if the new B/Be ratio is correct, it requires either a bimodal cosmic-ray flux with a large low-energy component, or, for another B source, possibly the proposed nu-process in supernovae, either of which may be helpful in explaining the observed B-11/B-10 ratio. Finally, it is noted that the boron reanalysis highlights the uncertainty in our knowledge of the B/Be ratio, and the need for additional data on Be and B abundances.

Fields, Brian D.↗

NASA NTRS1994

Cosmic-ray models for early Galactic Lithium, Beryllium, and Boron production

To understand better the early Galactic production of Li, Be, and B by comsmic-ray spallation and fusion reactions, the dependence of these production rates on cosmic-ray models and model parameters is examined. The sensitivity of elemental and isotopic production to the cosmic-ray path length magnitude and energy dependence, source spectrum, spallation kinematics, and cross section uncertainties is studied. Changes in these model features, particularly those features related to confinement, are shown to alter the Be- and B- versus-Fe slopes from a naive quadratic relation. The implications of our results for the diffuse gamma-ray background are examined, and the role of chemical evolution and its relation to our results is noted. It is also noted that the unmeasured high-energy behavior of alpha + alpha fusion can lead to effects as large as a factor of 2 in the resultant yields. Future data should enable Population II Li, Be, and B abundances to constrain cosmic-ray models for the early Galaxy.

Fields, Brian D.↗

NASA NTRS1994

Production of Lithium, Beryllium, and Boron from Baryon inhomogeneous primordial nucleosynthesis

We investigate the possibility that inhomogeneous nucleosynthesis may eventually be used to explain the abundances of Li-6, Be-9, and B in Population II stars. The present work differs from previous studies in that we have used a more extensive reaction network. It is demonstrated that in the simplest scenario the abundances of the light elements with A less than or = 7 constrain the separation of inhomogeneities to sufficently small scales that the model is indistinguishable from homogeneous nucleosynthesis and that the abundnace of Li-6, Be-9, and B are then below observations by several orders of magnitude. This conclusion does not depend on the Li-7 constraint. We also examine alternative scenarios which involve a post-nucleosynthesis reprocessing of the light elements to reproduce the observed abundances of Li and B, while allowing for a somewhat higher baryon density (still well below the cosmological critical density). Future B/H measurements may be able to exclude even this exotic scenario and further restrict primirdial nucleosynthesis to approach the homogeneous model conclusions.

Thomas, David↗

NASA NTRS1994

The phenomenological status of late time phase transition models after cosmic background radiation anisotropy measurements

Some relatively model-independent results for structure formation via late time phase transitions (LTPT) are discussed. In particular, generic LTPT power spectra are presented. The implication of the recent Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) detection of the cosmic background radiation (CBR) anisotropy at large angular scales (greater than or approximately equal to 7 deg) and the tight upper limits from small angular scales (approximately 1 deg) to LTPT models are discussed. Special attention is focused on the observational constraints and possible non-Gaussian signatures of CBR temperature anisotropies from LTPT and other non-Gaussian models. It is shown that while LTPT have been seriously constrained by the recent data, viable models do remain which provide more power on the 100-200 Mpc scales than do more traditional primordial Gaussian density fluctuation models. Tests for such models are presented, including possible anisotropies on angular scales less than 8 min.

Luo, Xiaochun↗

NASA NTRS1994

Cosmic ray models for early galactic lithium, beryllium, and boron production

To better understand the early galactic production of Li, Be, and B by cosmic ray spallation and fusion reactions, the dependence of these production rates on cosmic ray models and model parameters is examined. The sensitivity of elemental and isotropic production to the cosmic ray pathlength magnitude and energy dependence, source spectrum spallation kinematics, and cross section uncertainties is studied. Changes in these model features, particularly those features related to confinement, are shown to alter the Be- and B-versus-Fe slopes from a naive quadratic relation. The implications of our results for the diffuse gamma-ray background are examined, and the role of chemical evolution and its relation to our results is noted. It is also noted that the unmeasured high energy behavior of alpha + alpha fusion can lead to effects as large as a factor of 2 in the resultant yields. Future data should enable Population II Li, Be, and B abundances to constrain cosmic ray models for the early Galaxy.

Fields, Brian D.↗

NASA NTRS1993

Population II Li-6 as a probe of nucleosynthesis and stellar structure and evolution

We discuss the importance of Population II Li-6 as a diagnostic for models of primordial nucleosynthesis, cosmic-ray nucleosyntheses in the early Galaxy, and the structure and evolution of metal-poor solar-type stars. The observation of Li-6 in the subdwarf HD 84937 is shown to be consistent with the existing Population II LiBeB data within the context of a simple three-component model: (1) standard big bang nucleosynthesis, (2) Population II cosmic-ray nucleosynthesis, (3) standard (nonrotating) stellar LiBeB depletion. If this interpretation is correct, we predict a potentially detectable boron abundance for this star: about 2 x 10 exp -12. Subsequent Population II LiBeB observations, and in particular further observations of Population II Li-6, are shown to be crucial to our understanding of the primordial and early galactic creation and destruction mechanisms for light elements.

Steigman, Gary↗

NASA NTRS1993

Testing for the Gaussian nature of cosmological density perturbations through the three-point temperature correlation function

One of the crucial aspects of density perturbations that are produced by the standard inflation scenario is that they are Gaussian where seeds produced by topological defects tend to be non-Gaussian. The three-point correlation function of the temperature anisotropy of the cosmic microwave background radiation (CBR) provides a sensitive test of this aspect of the primordial density field. In this paper, this function is calculated in the general context of various allowed non-Gaussian models. It is shown that the Cosmic Background Explorer and the forthcoming South Pole and balloon CBR anisotropy data may be able to provide a crucial test of the Gaussian nature of the perturbations.

Luo, Xiaochun↗

NASA NTRS1993

Kurtosis, skewness, and non-Gaussian cosmological density perturbations

Cosmological topological defects as well as some nonstandard inflation models can give rise to non-Gaussian density perturbations. Skewness and kurtosis are the third and fourth moments that measure the deviation of a distribution from a Gaussian. Measurement of these moments for the cosmological density field and for the microwave background temperature anisotropy can provide a test of the Gaussian nature of the primordial fluctuation spectrum. In the case of the density field, the importance of measuring the kurtosis is stressed since it will be preserved through the weakly nonlinear gravitational evolution epoch. Current constraints on skewness and kurtosis of primeval perturbations are obtained from the observed density contrast on small scales and from recent COBE observations of temperature anisotropies on large scales. It is also shown how, in principle, future microwave anisotropy experiments might be able to reveal the initial skewness and kurtosis. It is shown that present data argue that if the initial spectrum is adiabatic, then it is probably Gaussian, but non-Gaussian isocurvature fluctuations are still allowed, and these are what topological defects provide.

Luo, Xiaochun↗

NASA NTRS1993

Primordial nucleosynthesis and the abundances of beryllium and boron

The recently attained ability to make measurements of Be and B as well as to put constraints on Li-6 abundances in metal-poor stars has led to a detailed reexamination of big bang nucleosynthesis in the A is greater than about 6 regime. The nuclear reaction network has been significantly expanded, with many new rates added. It is demonstrated that although a number of A is greater than 7 reaction rates are poorly determined, even with extreme values chosen, the standard homogeneous model is unable to produce significant yields above A = 7, and the (Li-7)/(Li-6) ratio always exceeds 500. We also preliminarily explore inhomogeneous models, such as those inspired by a first-order quark-hadron phase transition, where regions with high neutron/proton ratios can allow some leakage up to A is greater than 7. However, models that fit the A is not greater than 7 abundances still seem to have difficulty in obtaining significant A is greater than 7 yields.

Thomas, David↗

NASA NTRS1993

Beryllium and boron constraints on an early Galactic bright phase

The recent observations of Be and B in metal-deficient halo dwarfs are used to constrain a 'bright phase' of enhanced cosmic-ray flux in the early Galaxy. Assuming that this Be and B arises from cosmic-ray spallation in the early Galaxy, limits are placed on the intensity of the early (Population II) cosmic-ray flux relative to the present (Population I) flux. A simple estimate of bounds on the flux ratio is 1 - 40. This upper bound would restrict galaxies like our own from producing neutrino fluxes that would be detectable in any currently proposed detectors. It is found that the relative enhancement of the early flux varies inversely with the relative time of enhancement. It is noted that associated gamma-ray production via pp - pi sup 0 pp may be a significant contribution to the gamma-ray background above 100 MeV.

Fields, Brian D.↗

NASA NTRS1993

Angular diameters as a probe of a cosmological constant and Omega

The lensing effect of curved space, which can cause the angular diameter of a fixed reference length seen on the sky to reach a minimum and then increase with redshift, has recently been claimed to provide evidence, using compact radio sources, for a q sub 0 = 1/2 expansion. We show here that this relation, in particular the position of the observed minimum, depends sensitively on the value of the cosmological constant, Lambda, in a flat universe. The sensitivity to a nonzero Lambda in a flat universe is compared to the sensitivity to q sub 0 in an open universe without a cosmological constant. The reported results could provide the strongest available limit on the cosmological constant in a flat universe (and on Omega in an open universe) and so we explore how uncertainties in distance measures and evolution of the sources can affect the results. Evolution of less than 30 percent in source size for z of less than 2 can completely alter the results, and so must be convincingly ruled out if this technique is to provide a new tool for cosmology.

Krauss, Lawrence M.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Astrophysical Li-7 as a product of big bang nucleosynthesis and galactic cosmic-ray spallation

The astrophysical Li-7 abundance is considered to be largely primordial, while the Be and B abundances are thought to be due to galactic cosmic ray (GCR) spallation reactions on top of a much smaller big bang component. But GCR spallation should also produce Li-7. As a consistency check on the combination of big bang nucleosynthesis and GCR spallation, the Be and B data from a sample of hot population II stars is used to subtract from the measured Li-7 abundance an estimate of the amount generated by GCR spallation for each star in the sample, and then to add to this baseline an estimate of the metallicity-dependent augmentation of Li-7 due to spallation. The singly reduced primordial Li-7 abundance is still consistent with big bang nucleosynthesis, and a single GCR spallation model can fit the Be, B, and corrected Li-7 abundances for all the stars in the sample.

Olive, Keith A.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Mass loss and a possible Population II lithium dip

It is shown that the recent observation of a subplateau lithium abundance for a high-surface-temperature Population II star relative to the Population II lithium plateau can be explained by main-sequence mass loss. This explanation is identical to a previously proposed explanation for the Population I lithium dip and predicts a similar dip for Population II. It is assumed that the main-sequence mass loss in both cases is associated with the instability strip intersecting the main sequence. This mass-loss process can also decrease globular cluster ages by about 1 Gyr.

Dearborn, David S. P.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Grand unified theories, topological defects, and ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays

The ultrahigh-energy (UHE) proton and neutrino spectra resulting from collapse or annihilations of topological defects surviving from the GUT era are calculated. Irrespective of the specific process under consideration (which determines the overall normalization of the spectrum), the UHE proton spectrum always 'recovers' at approximately 1.8 x 10 exp 11 GeV after a partial Greisen-Zatsepin-Kuz'min 'cutoff' at approximately 5 x 10 exp 10 GeV and continues to a GUT-scale energy with a universal shape determined by the physics of hadronic jet fragmentation. Implications of the results are discussed.

Bhattacharjee, Pijushpani↗

NASA NTRS1992

Thick strings, the liquid crystal blue phase, and cosmological large-scale structure

A phenomenological model based on the liquid crystal blue phase is proposed as a model for a late-time cosmological phase transition. Topological defects, in particular thick strings and/or domain walls, are presented as seeds for structure formation. It is shown that the observed large-scale structure, including quasi-periodic wall structure, can be well fitted in the model without violating the microwave background isotropy bound or the limits from induced gravitational waves and the millisecond pulsar timing. Furthermore, such late-time transitions can produce objects such as quasars at high redshifts. The model appears to work with either cold or hot dark matter.

Luo, Xiaochun↗

NASA NTRS1992

The diffuse gamma-ray background, light element abundances, and signatures of early massive star formation

Attention is drawn to a potentially observable flux of diffuse extragalactic gamma rays produced by inelastic cosmic-ray interactions that is inevitably a by-product of spallation-synthesized Be. The epoch of cosmic ray-induced Population II light element nucleosynthesis is constrained to be at redshift greater than 0.5. A spectral feature in the diffuse extragalactic gamma-ray background with amplitude 0.1 above 10 MeV is predicted if the Be is synthesized at z less than 10. The possibility is discussed that the cosmic-ray flux responsible for Population II Be and B synthesis may be associated with a precursor hypothesized Population III.

Silk, Joseph↗

NASA NTRS1992

Fractals and cosmological large-scale structure

Observations of galaxy-galaxy and cluster-cluster correlations as well as other large-scale structure can be fit with a 'limited' fractal with dimension D of about 1.2. This is not a 'pure' fractal out to the horizon: the distribution shifts from power law to random behavior at some large scale. If the observed patterns and structures are formed through an aggregation growth process, the fractal dimension D can serve as an interesting constraint on the properties of the stochastic motion responsible for limiting the fractal structure. In particular, it is found that the observed fractal should have grown from two-dimensional sheetlike objects such as pancakes, domain walls, or string wakes. This result is generic and does not depend on the details of the growth process.

Luo, Xiaochun↗