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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 217 records · Page 12
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NASA NTRS2004

The COR1 Inner Coronagraph for STEREO-SECCHI

The Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO) is a pair of identical satellites that will orbit the Sun so as to drift ahead of and behind Earth respectively, to give a stereo view of the Sun. STEREO is currently scheduled for launch in November 2005. One of the instrument packages that will be own on each of the STEREO spacecrafts is the Sun Earth Connection Coronal and Heliospheric Investigation (SECCHI), which consists of an extreme ultraviolet imager, two coronagraphs, and two side-viewing heliospheric imagers to observe solar coronal mass ejections all the way from the Sun to Earth. We report here on the inner coronagraph, labeled COR1. COR1 is a classic Lyot internally occulting refractive coronagraph, adapted for the first time to be used in space. The field of view is from 1.3 to 4 solar radii. A linear polarizer is used to suppress scattered light, and to extract the polarized brightness signal from the solar corona. The optical scattering performance of the coronagraph was first modeled using both the ASAP and APART numerical modeling codes, and then tested at the Vacuum Tunnel Facility at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado. In this report, we will focus on the COR1 optical design, the predicted optical performance, and the observed performance in the lab. We will also discuss the mechanical and thermal design, and the cleanliness requirements needed to achieve the optical performance.

Thompson, William T.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Properties of grains derived from IRAS observations of dust

The authors used the results of Infrared Astronomy Satellite (IRAS) observations of diffuse medium dust to develop a theoretical model of the infrared properties of grains. Recent models based entirely on traditional observations of extinction and polarization include only particles whose equilibrium temperatures do not exceed 20 K in the diffuse interstellar medium. These classical grains, for which the authors have adopted the multipopulation model developed by Hong and Greenberg (1980), can explain only the emission in the IRAS 100 micron band. The measurements at shorter wavelengths (12, 25 and 60 microns) require two new particle populations. Vibrational fluorescence from aromatic molecules provides the most likely explanation for the emission observed at 12 microns, with polycyclic aeromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) containing about 10 percent of cosmic carbon. A simplified model of the emission process shows that PAH molecules can also explain most of the emission measured by IRAS at 25 microns. The authors identified the warm particles responsible for the excess 60 microns emission with small (a approx. equals 0.01 microns) iron grains. A compilation of the available data on the optical properties of iron indicates that the diffuse medium temperature of small iron particles should be close to 50 K and implies that a large, possibly dominant, fraction of cosmic iron must be locked up in metallic particles in order to match the observed 60 microns intensities. The model matches the infrared fluxes typically observed by IRAS in the diffuse medium and can also reproduce the infrared surface brightness distribution in individual clouds. In particular, the combination of iron and classical cool grains can explain the surprising observations of the 60/100 microns flux ratio in clouds, which is either constant or increases slightly towards higher opacities. The presence of metallic grains has significant implications for the physics of the interstellar medium, including catalytic H2 formation, for which iron grains could be the main site; differences in depletion patterns between iron and other refractory elements (Mg, Si); and superparamagnetic behavior of large grains with embedded iron clusters giving rise to the observed high degree of alignment by the galactic magnetic field.

Wesselius, P. R.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Two dimensional convolute integers for machine vision and image recognition

Machine vision and image recognition require sophisticated image processing prior to the application of Artificial Intelligence. Two Dimensional Convolute Integer Technology is an innovative mathematical approach for addressing machine vision and image recognition. This new technology generates a family of digital operators for addressing optical images and related two dimensional data sets. The operators are regression generated, integer valued, zero phase shifting, convoluting, frequency sensitive, two dimensional low pass, high pass and band pass filters that are mathematically equivalent to surface fitted partial derivatives. These operators are applied non-recursively either as classical convolutions (replacement point values), interstitial point generators (bandwidth broadening or resolution enhancement), or as missing value calculators (compensation for dead array element values). These operators show frequency sensitive feature selection scale invariant properties. Such tasks as boundary/edge enhancement and noise or small size pixel disturbance removal can readily be accomplished. For feature selection tight band pass operators are essential. Results from test cases are given.

Edwards, Thomas R.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Dust and molecular properties of the low-opacity cloud Lynds 1563

Optical, molecular, and far-infrared data are analyzed for L1563, estimated peak Ab 2.5 mag. The cloud is detected by IRAS at 12, 25, 60, and 100 microns, and with CO, (C-13)O, and H2CO molecules. A column density comparison yields an estimate of the temperature of the classical dust grains of 15.6 + or - 1 K, while the color temperature derived from the ratio I(60)/I(100) is 26 K. Both dust and color temperatures decrease toward the cloud center.

Clark, Frank O.↗
NASA NTRS1996

Generation of Antibunched Light by Excited Molecules in a Microcavity Trap

The active microcavity is adopted as an efficient source of non-classical light. By this device, excited by a mode-locked laser at a rate of 100 MHz, single-photons are generated over a single field mode with a nonclassical sub-poissonian distribution. The process of adiabatic recycling within a multi-step Franck-Condon molecular optical-pumping mechanism, characterized in our case by a quantum efficiency very close to one, implies a pump self-regularization process leading to a striking n-squeezing effect. By a replication of the basic single-atom excitation process a beam of quantum photon (Fock states) can be created. The new process represents a significant advance in the modern fields of basic quantum-mechanical investigation, quantum communication and quantum cryptography.

DeMartini, F.↗
NASA NTRS1995

Electro-Optically Active Monomers: Synthesis and Characterization of Thin Films of Liquid Crystalline Substituted Polyacetylenes

The overall objective of this study was the description of the behavior of mesogen substituted acetylene monomers and polymers in monolayer films at the air/water interface and as multilayer films including the formation of such films. Fundamental knowledge to be gained would include the effect of balancing hydrophilic and hydrophobic tendencies in a molecule more complex than the classical fatty acids or lipids. The effect of molecular shape on the packing and thus the ultimate stability of monolayers formed from these new molecules was explored. The work takes on the challenge of preorienting monomers in well-ordered arrays prior to attempting polymerization with the hope that order would be preserved in any resulting polymer. New knowledge gained with regard to the acetylenic monomers includes processing of the acetylene monomer into multi-layer films, followed by the design and synthesis of a second generation of improved monomer structure for superior LBK film transfer properties. A third generation of acetylenic monomer was synthesized which approaches more closely the goal of solid state polymerization of these materials. A parallel study took a different approach. The materials are pre-formed poly(phenylene-acetylene) polymers so questions about reactivity are mute. The materials are a variation on the well-known hairy-rod polymers with regard to their Langmuir film-forming properties. Overall, the goal was to demonstrate that these polymers could be processed into NLO materials with novel polar order.

Duran, R. S.↗
NASA NTRS2012

A Peculiar Class of Debris Disks from Herschel/DUNES: A Steep Fall Off in the Far Infrared

Context. The existence of debris disks around old main sequence stars is usually explained by continuous replenishment of small dust grains through collisions from a reservoir of larger objects. Aims. We present photometric data of debris disks around HIP 103389 (HD199260), HIP 100350 (HN Peg, HD206860), and HIP 114948 (HD 219482), obtained in the context of our Herschel Open TIme Key Program DUNES (DUst around NEarby Stars). Methods. We used Herschel/PACS to detect the thermal emission of the three debris disks with a 30 sigma sensitivity of a few mJy at l00 micron and 160 micron. In addition, we obtained Herschel/PACS photometric data at 70 micron for HIP 103389. These observations are complemented by a large variety of optical to far-infrared photometric data. Two different approaches are applied to reduce the Herschel data to investigate the impact of data reduction on the photometry. We fit analytical models to the available spectral energy distribution (SED) data using the fitting method of simulated therma1 annealing as well as a classical grid search method. Results. The SEDs of the three disks potentially exhibit an unusually steep decrease at wavelengths >= 70 micron. We investigate the significance of the peculiar shape of these SEDs and the impact on models of the disks provided it is real. Using grain compositions that have been applied successfully for modeling of many other debris disks, our modeling reveals that such a steep decrease of the SEDs in the long wavelength regime is inconsistent with a power-law exponent of the grain size distribution -3.5 expected from a standard equilibrium collisional cascade. In contrast, a steep grain size distribution or, alternatively an upper grain size in the range of few tens of micrometers are implied. This suggests that a very distinct range of grain sizes would dominate the thermal. emission of such disks. However, we demonstrate that the understanding of the data of faint sources obtained with Herschel is still incomplete and that the significance of our results depends on the version of the data reduction pipeline used. Conclusions. A new mechanism to produce the dust in the presented debris disks, deviations from the conditions required for a standard equilibrium collisional cascade (grain size exponent of -3.5), and/or significantly different dust properties would be necessary to explain the potentially steep SED shape of the three debris disks presented.

Ertel, S.↗
NASA NTRS2005

Optical vector receiver operating near the quantum limit

An optical receiver concept or binary signals with performance approaching the quantum limit at low average signal background photons has been devised by Dolinar, however this receiver requires ideal optical combining and complicated real-time shaping of the local field, hence tends to be difficult to implement at high data rates. A simpler nulling receiver that approaches the quantum limit without complex optical processing, suitable for high-rate operation has been suggested earlier by Kennedy. Here we formulate a vector receiver concept that incorporates the Kennedy receiver together with a physical beamsplitter, but also utilizes the reflected signal component to improve signal detection. It is found that augmenting the Kennedy receiver with classical coherent detection at the auxiliary beamsplitter output, and optimally processing the vector observations, always improves on the performance of the Kennedy receiver alone, significantly so at low average photon rates. This is precisely the region of operation where modern codes approach channel capacity. It is also shown that the addition of background radiation has little effect on the performance of the coherent receiver component, suggesting a viable approach for near quantum-limited performance in high background environments

Lau, Chi-Wung↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

The Parabolic Deformable Mirror Testbed at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

One of the primary goals of future coronagraph space missions is to spectrally characterize Earth-like exoplanets. Observing efficiency is critical and directly related to how large of a field of view we can correct and the bandwidth of that correction. In addition to the coronagraph itself, the bandwidth and depth of contrast is related to the wavefront control system, which classically uses two deformable mirrors (DMs) in series. The minimum distance between these DMs is determined by the Talbot distance of the beam, meaning it scales as the square of the beam size. NASA Goddard is exploring an alternative design architecture to the two-DM approach in which the reimaging optics for the coronagraph are also deformable and we only retain a high-order pupil DM. With these off-axis parabolic elements being made deformable, the long propagation distance between the two DMs is eliminated. Goddard has procured an off-axis parabolic DM (PDM or OAP DM) from vendor ALPAO, France. A testbed is currently being built to test the PDM and demonstrate its utility for achieving high contrast in a coronagraph. The testbed is also being built with an integrated low-order wavefront sensing capability, allowing for integrated testing of a dynamic environment with multiple estimation and control loops.

Hari Subedi↗
NASA NTRS1992

The 3 micron spectrum of the classical Be star Beta Monocerotis A

A 3.1-3.7-micron spectrum of the classical Be star Beta Mon A is presented at a resolution of lambda/Delta-lambda of 700-800. The spectrum shows strong hydrogen recombination lines, including Pf-delta and a series of Humphreys lines from Hu 19 to Hu 28. The relative recombination line strengths suggest that Pf-delta has a large optical depth. The Humphreys lines have relative strengths consistent with case B and may be optically thin. The line widths observed are broader than the Balmer lines and similar in width to Fe II lines, consistent with a disk model in which optically thinner lines arise primarily from a faster rotating inner disk, while optically thicker lines come mainly from a slower rotating outer disk. The apparent lack of Stark broadening of the Humphreys lines is used to place an upper limit on the circumstellar electron density of about 10 exp 12/cu cm.

Sellgren, K.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Matching of dissimilar radar images using Marr-Hildreth zero crossings

Two alternatives to the classical method for finding corresponding points in opposite-side synthetic aperture radar imagery are presented. These new methods focus on matching the shapes of large-scale features in the images rather than on correlating high-frequency pixel gray values. One of the methods may be of use in matching radar images to optical images. The large-scale features are extracted using the Marr-Hildreth operator.

Mcconnell, Ross M.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Phase properties of multicomponent superposition states in various amplifiers

There have been theoretical studies for generation of optical coherent superposition states. Once the superposition state is generated it is natural to ask if it is possible to amplify it without losing the nonclassical properties of the field state. We consider amplification of the superposition state in various amplifiers such as a sub-Poissonian amplifier, a phase-sensitive amplifier and a classical amplifier. We show the evolution of phase probability distribution functions in the amplifier.

Lee, Kang-Soo↗
NASA NTRS1995

Coronagraphic imaging of pre-main-sequence stars: Remnant evvelopes of star formation seen in reflection

We have obtained R- and I-band coronagraphic images of the vicinities of 11 pre-main sequence (PMS) stars to search for faint, small-scale reflection nebulae. The inner radius of the search and the field of view are 1.9 arcsec and 1x1 arcmin, respectively. Reflection nebulae were imaged around RY Tau, T Tau,DG Tau, SU Aur, AB Aur, FU Ori, and Z CMa. No nebulae were detected around HBC 347, GG Tau, V773 Tau, and V830 Tau. Categorically speaking, most of the classical T Tauri program stars and all the FU Orionis-type program stars are associated with the reflection nebulae, while none of the weak-line T Tauri program stars are associated with nebulae. The detected nebulae range in size from 250 to 37 000 AU. From the brightness ratios of the stars and nebulae, we obtain a lower limit to the visual extinction of PMS star light through the nebulae of (A(sub V))(sub neb) = 0.1. The lower limits of masses and volume densities of the nebulae associated with the classical T Tauri stars are 10(exp-6) Solar mass and N(sub H) = 10(exp 5)/cu cm, respectively. Lower limits for the nebulae around FU Orionis stars are 10(exp -5) Solar mass and n(sub H) = 10 (exp 5)/cu cm, respectively. Some reflection nebulae may trace the illuminated surfaces of the optically thick dust nebulae, so these mass estimates are not stringent. All the PMS stars with associated nebulae are strong far-infrared emitters. Both the far-infrared emission and the reflection nebulae appear to originate from the remnant envelopes of star formation. The 100 micrometers emitting regions of SU Aur and FU Ori are likely to be cospatial with the reflection nebulae. A spatial discontinuity between FU Ori and its reflection nebula may explain the dip in the far-infrared spectral energy distribution at 60 micrometers. The warped, disk-like nebulae around T Tau and Z CMa are aligned with and embrace the inner star/circumstellar disk systems. The arc-shaped nebula around DG Tau may be in contact with the coaligned inner star/disk system. These three-reflection nebulae may trace the surfaces of pseudodisks from which matter accretes onto the stars or the inner circumstellar disks. 19 stellar objects brighter than I = 19 were detected around 9 program stars. Using a color-magnitude diagram, we have identified three new PMS candidates aroun Z CMa and one previously known PMS candidate, GG Tau/c.

Nakajima, Tadashi↗
NASA NTRS1978

Investigation of light scattering as a technique for detecting discrete soot particles in a luminous flame

The practicability of using a classical light-scattering technique, involving comparison of angular scattering intensity patterns with theoretically determined Mie and Rayleight patterns, to detect discrete soot particles (diameter less than 50 nm) in premixed propane/air and propane/oxygen-helium flames is considered. The experimental apparatus employed in this investigation included a laser light source, a flat-flame burner, specially coated optics, a cooled photomultiplier detector, and a lock-in voltmeter readout. Although large, agglomerated soot particles were detected and sized, it was not possible to detect small, discrete particles. The limiting factor appears to be background scattering by the system's optics.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1989

The influence of grain growth in circumstellar dust envelopes on observed colors and polarization of some eruptive stars

R CrB stars are classical examples of stars where dust envelope formation takes place. Dust envelope formation was detected around the Kuwano-Honda object (PU Vul) in 1980 to 1981 when the star's brightness fell to 8(sup m). Such envelopes are also formed at nova outbursts. The process of dust envelope formation leads to appreciable variations in optical characteristics, which are seen in specific color and polarization variations in the course of light fading and the appearance of IR radiation. It is shown that the model of a circumstellar dust envelope with aligned particles of changing size can be successfully applied to explain most phenomena observed at the time of light minima for a number of eruptive stars. The polarization may arise in a nonspherical dust envelope or be produced by alignment of nonspherical particles.

Efimov, Yu. S.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Phase conjugate Twyman-Green interferometer for testing spherical surfaces and lenses and for measuring refractive indices of liquids or solid transparent materials

The present paper describes an application of a phase conjugate Twyman-Green interferometer using barium titanate as a self-pumping mirror for testing optical components like concave and convex spherical mirrors and lenses. The aberrations introduced by the beam splitter while testing concave or convex spherical mirrors of large aperture are automatically eliminated due to self-focussing property of the phase conjugate mirror. There is no necessity for a good spherical surface as a reference surface unlike in classical Twyman-Green interferometer or Williams interferometer. The phase conjugate Twyman Green interferometer with a divergent illumination can be used as a test plate for checking spherical surfaces. A nondestructive technique for measuring the refractive indices of a Fabry Perot etalon by using a phase conjugate interferometer is also suggested. The interferometer is found to be useful for measuring the refractive indices of liquids and solid transparent materials with an accuracy of the order of + or - 0.0004.

Shukla, R. P.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Sea surface mean square slope from Ku-band backscatter data

A surface mean-square-slope parameter analysis is conducted for 14-GHz airborne radar altimeter near-nadir, quasi-specular backscatter data, which in raw form obtained by least-squares fitting of an optical scattering model to the return waveform show an approximately linear dependence over the 7-15 m/sec wind speed range. Slope data are used to draw inferences on the structure of the high-wavenumber portion of the spectrum. A directionally-integrated model height spectrum that encompasses wind speed-dependent k exp -5/2 and classical Phillips k exp -3 power laws subranges in the range of gravity waves is supported by the data.

Jackson, F. C.↗
NASA NTRS2002

The Solar System Beyond Neptune

This proposal supported deep and wide-field optical imaging of the trans-Neptunian Solar System capitalizing on our broad access to state-of-the-art facilities on Mauna Kea. Key quantities determined include the size distribution of Kuiper Belt objects (a differential power law with an index -4), and the inclination and radial distance distributions. We identified an outer edge to the classical Kuiper Belt that has since been confirmed by independent workers. We also obtained an assessment of the population densities in the mean-motion resonances with Neptune and discovered the Scattered Kuiper Belt Object dynamical class. Scientific issues on which these measurements have direct bearing include the collisional environment of the Kuiper Belt, the origin of the short-period comets, and the origin by capture into resonance of Pluto and other Kuiper Belt objects.

Jewitt, David↗