Search NASA⌕ Search

Engineering topics

Stone, Jordan

Publications and source records attributed to Stone, Jordan.

High-temperature thermal imaging to inform the arc-melt synthesis of nuclear materials

The advancement of nuclear energy technology necessitates the development of novel materials and synthesis methods to produce materials which enable new fuel cycles. Alongside the maturation of R&D scale technologies to produce these materials, there is an ongoing effort to develop in situ monitoring capabilities to reduce the time to the discovery and development of these fuels. Monitoring data can be leveraged in artificial intelligence platforms to detect phenomena which lead to varied macro- and microstructural features which impact the application and performance of samples synthesized. The present study presents early-stage findings of the implementation of high-temperature, high-frame-rate infrared thermal imaging to monitor the arc-melt synthesis of novel fuels and compounds relevant to advanced nuclear reactors. The study illustrates both the challenges and opportunities of this methodology, highlighting the importance of internal standards while determining emissivity and transmission values as well as visualizing volatilization during melt synthesis.

Stone, Jordan↗

On the Chemical Abundance of HR 8799 and the Planet c

Comparing chemical abundances of a planet and the host star reveals the origin and formation pathway of the planet. Stellar abundance is measured with high-resolution spectroscopy. Planet abundance, on the other hand, is usually inferred from low-resolution data. For directly imaged exoplanets, the data are available from a slew of high-contrast imaging/spectroscopy instruments. Here, we study the chemical abundance of HR 8799 and its planet c. We measure stellar abundance using LBT/PEPSI (R = 120,000) and archival HARPS data: stellar [C/H], [O/H], and C/O are 0.11 ± 0.12, 0.12 ± 0.14, and 0.54{sub −0.09}{sup +0.12}, all consistent with solar values. We conduct atmospheric retrieval using newly obtained Subaru/CHARIS data together with archival Gemini/GPI and Keck/OSIRIS data. We model the planet spectrum with petitRADTRANS and conduct retrieval using PyMultiNest. Retrieved planetary abundance can vary by ∼0.5 dex, from sub-stellar to stellar C and O abundances. The variation depends on whether strong priors are chosen to ensure a reasonable planet mass. Moreover, comparison with previous works also reveals inconsistency in abundance measurements. We discuss potential issues that can cause the inconsistency, e.g., systematics in individual data sets and different assumptions in the physics and chemistry in retrieval. We conclude that no robust retrieval can be obtained unless the issues are fully resolved.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

First Images of the Protoplanetary Disk around PDS 201

Scattered light imaging has revealed nearly a dozen circumstellar disks around young Herbig Ae/Be stars—enabling studies of structures in the upper disk layers as potential signs of ongoing planet formation. We present the first images of the disk around the variable Herbig Ae star PDS 201 (V* V351 Ori) and an analysis of the images and spectral energy distribution through 3D Monte Carlo radiative transfer simulations and forward modeling. The disk is detected in three data sets with the Large Binocular Telescope Interferometer/Large Binocular Telescope mid-infrared camera at the Large Binocular Telescope, including direct observations in the Ks and L′ filters, and an L′ observation with the 360° vector apodizing phase plate coronagraph. The scattered light disk extends to a very large radius of ∼250 au, which places it among the largest of such disks. Exterior to the disk, we establish detection limits on substellar companions down to ∼5 M {sub Jup} at ≳1.″5 (≳500 au), assuming the Baraffe et al. models. The images show a radial gap extending to ∼0.″4 (∼140 au at a distance of 340 pc) that is also evident in the spectral energy distribution. The large gap is a possible signpost of multiple high-mass giant planets at orbital distances (∼60–100 au) that are unusually massive and widely separated compared to those of planet populations previously inferred from protoplanetary disk substructures.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗