SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “PULSATIONS”

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.

SourceResearch connectionFrom yearThrough year

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 289 records · Page 16

All sources NASA NTRS DOE OSTI

NASA NTRS1988

Short-term wind variability in the nonradially pulsating Be star 28 Cygni

Simultaneous high resolution IUE and ground-based Reticon observations were combined to look for a modulation of the wind in the Be star 28 Cyg as a function of the phases of its nonradial modes. Throughout the observing run, the star is found to be pulsating in 2 well-behaved modes (l = 2, 10) with periods of 16.5 and 3.23 hr, respectively. The strength and profile of the C IV wind line varies on a time scale of 0.5 to 1 hr, but shows no evidence of repeating with the phase of the l = 10 mode. However, the equivalent width of the C IV feature does appear to correlate with the phase of the l = 2 mode. The C IV tends to be stronger and shows more prominent structure on its violet wings (-400 less than V(sub r) less than -300 km/s) as a hot wave crest comes into view (phi 2 = 0.0 to 0.2) on the limb of the star's approaching hemisphere.

Peters, G. J.↗

NASA NTRS1988

The hydrogen shell game - Pulsational instabilities in hydrogen shell-burning planetary nebula nuclei

Fully nonadiabatic g-mode pulsation calculations have been obtained for evolutionary models of planetary nebula nuclei (PNN) with active hydrogen-burning shells. Expressions have been developed for the phase delays which can develop between the temperature variations and the abundance variations of agents in the CN cycle. G-mode instabilities are noted that are driven by the epsilon mechanism at the position of the nuclear burning shells in standard PNN models. The results indicate that the central stars do not retain sufficient hydrogen to support nuclear burning following ejection of the planetary nebula.

Kawaler, Steven D.↗

NASA NTRS1989

The detection of ionized helium and carbon in the pulsating DB degenerate GD358

Echelle observations of GD358, prototype of the class of six known pulsating DB stars and one of the hottest DB stars, are presented. Evidence for the existence of He II and C II is demonstrated. The Ly-alpha + He II region reveals no clear evidence of absorption wings flanking the geocoronal emission. The significance of the He II detection is discussed.

Sion, Edward M.↗

NASA NTRS1990

Electrodynamic response of the middle atmosphere to auroral pulsations

The MAC/EPSILON observational campaign encompassed the use of two Nike Orion rocket payloads which studied the effects of auroral energetics on the middle atmosphere. While one payload was launched during the recovery phase of a moderate magnetic substorm, during fairly stable auroral conditions, the other was launched during highly active postbreakup conditions during which Pc5 pulsations were in progress. The energetic radiation of the first event was composed almost entirely of relativistic electrons below 200 keV, while that of the second was dominated by much softer electrons whose high X-ray fluxes exceeded the cosmic ray background as an ionizing source down to below 30 km.

Goldberg, R. A.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Adiabatic properties of pulsating DA white dwarfs. I - The treatment of the Brunt-Vaisala frequency and the region of period formation

The fundamental issue of the region of period formaton in a degenerate star is examined, with special attention given to the treatment of the Brunt-Vaisala frequency. It is shown that, in order to obtain reliable numerical results in degenerate stellar models, the Brunt-Vaisala frequency must be appropriately transformed, because it is defined in terms of a difference between two numbers which become nearly equal in highly degenerate matter, causing serious numerical problems and systematic errors. An alternative expression is derived, which is valid for multicomponent nonideal partially degenerate and partially ionized plasmas such as those encountered in white dwarf envelopes. This expression is used to compute the period structure of the same white dwarf considered by Pesnell (1987). It is shown that the implicit numerical differencing used in the Lagrangian pulsation code of Pesnell leads to very serious difficulties when used with models of degenerate stars.

Brassard, P.↗

NASA NTRS1990

Alpha Ori - Evidence for pulsation

The study deals with a periodic modulation of the UV continuum and Mg II emission-line fluxes shown by the bright cool supergiant Alpha Orionis; this pulsation is identified with the supergiant's atmosphere. UV brightness is shown to occur near the time of maximum outflow velocity of the photosphere, while local minima in the UV continuum occur near the time of maximum infall velocity. Visible and UV observations of Alpha Ori since the beginning of the monitoring program with IUE are discussed.

Dupree, A. K.↗

NASA NTRS1991

PC 3,4 magnetic pulsations observed simultaneously in the magnetosphere and at multiple ground stations

Periods of magnetic conjugacy between ISEE and the magnetometer array of the Institute for Geological Sciences have been examined to search for the simultaneous occurrence of Pc 3,4 magnetic pulsations. When compressional waves are seen in space, waves are also observed on the ground at the same frequency and with similar waveforms. The wave amplitude on the ground at midlatitudes is similar to that in space at ISEE but at high latitudes the amplitudes are larger than in space. The one occurrence of a purely transverse signal at ISEE was not observed on the ground. These results confirm that Pc 3,4 wave energy is most readily transported through the magnetosphere by compressional fluctuations.

Odera, T. J.↗

NASA NTRS1992

The Pekeris problem, and the interior of the pulsating sphere, first success of exact ray theory, and what rays?

This paper presents what is probably the first application of exact ray theory to provide nontrivial exact solutions of the Helmholtz equation. First, the Pekeris problem is considered. This is followed by consideration of the problem of the field maintained within a uniformly pulsating sphere. In the Pekeris problem, an iterative solution provides the exact solution on the second iteration. In the second problem, it is shown that the exact ray theory eliminates the focus of the geometric theory.

Mcaninch, Gerry L.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Detection of high-degree nonradial pulsations in Gamma Bootis

The line-profile variations of the rapidly rotating Delta-Scuti star Gamma Bootis can be explained by high-degree nonradial pulsations (NRPs) with an apparent period approximately equal to 0.047 days. This same period was derived from two data sets taken three months apart wherein the amplitude increased by 30 percent. Such high-degree NRP cannot explain the apparent reversals previously observed by Auvergne at al. (1979) for this star in the cores of the hydrogen Balmer lines and Ca-II K line. The present radial-velocity variations can be reconciled with their 0.25-day spectroscopic period if an amplitude of about 1 km/s is adopted, an order of magnitude less than previous measurements. The presence of line-profile variations from high-degree modes probably limits the accuracy of radial-velocity measurents and can appear as bumps in the radial-velocity curve.

Kennelly, E. J.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Discovery of soft X-ray pulsations from the gamma-ray source Geminga

Soft X-ray observations of the Geminga field using Rosat have been used to detect coherent pulsations from 1E0630 + 178 at a period of 0.237 s. This result confirms suggestions that Geminga is, like Vela, a gamma-ray pulsar. It is speculated that Geminga is somewhat the older of the two.

Halpern, J. P.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Upper limit to the mass of pulsationally stable stars with uniform chemical composition

Nuclear-energized pulsational instability is a well-known feature of models of chemically homogeneous stars above a critical mass. With the Rogers-Iglesias opacities, the instability occurs above 120-150 solar mass for normal Galactic Population I chemical compositions, and above approximately 90 solar mass for stars in metal-poor environments like the outer Galaxy and the Small Magellanic Cloud. Models of homogeneous helium-burning stars are unstable above masses of 19 and 14 solar mass, respectively. These significant increases of the critical masses, in the normal metallicity cases, over the values derived previously with the Los Alamos opacities can explain the stability of the brightest observed O-type stars, but they do not exclude the possibility that the most luminous hydrogen-deficient Wolf-Rayet stars are experiencing this type of instability.

Stothers, Richard B.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Spatial and temporal behavior of ULF pulsations observed by the Goose Bay HF radar

Techniques which allow the instantaneous amplitude and phase to be determined as functions of geomagnetic lattitude, longitude, and time are employed to carry out a detailed analysis of HF radar data of a ULF pulsation event in the postmidnight sector on January 11, 1989. Field line resonances with several different frequencies occur simultaneously at different latitudes. These can be associated with cavity mode frequencies of 1.3 mHz, 1.9 mHz, 2.7 mGz, and 3.3 mHz. These frequencies are constant to better than 10 percent over a local time period of nearly 4 hr. The field-aligned currents driven by the resonances can be as large as 5 micro-A/sq m at ionospheric heights. The data support a picture of modes driven by solar wind impulses.

Walker, A. D. M.↗

NASA NTRS1947

Airfoil in sinusoidal motion in a pulsating stream

The forces and moments on a two-dimensional airfoil executing harmonic motions in a pulsating stream are derived on the basis of non-stationary incompressible potential flow theory, with the inclusion of the effect of the continuous sheet of vortices shed from the trailing edge. An assumption as to the form of the wake is made with a certain degree of approximation. A comparison with previous work applicable only to the special case of a stationary airfoil is made by means of a numerical example, and the excellent agreement obtained shows that the wake approximation is quite sufficient. The results obtained are expected to be useful in considerations of forced vibrations and flutter of rotary wing aircraft.

Greenberg, J Mayo↗

NASA NTRS1950

Effect of Ram-jet Pressure Pulsations on Supersonic-diffuser Performance

Experimental study of effects of combustion roughness and controlled mechanical oscillations on diffuser operation was conducted on an 8-inch ram jet at Mach number 1.87. Within experimental accuracy, the optimum mean combustion-chamber static pressure occurred when the maximum instantaneous static pressure equalled the optimum steady-flow value and the corresponding decrement in optimum mean static pressure was equal to one-half the total amplitude of the pressure pulsations. A marked attenuation of amplitude of cold-buzz pressure fluctuations was effected over limited range of subcritical diffuser operation by means of properly tuned rotating disk located in combustion chamber.

Connors, James F↗

NASA NTRS1956

A Theory for Stability and Buzz Pulsation Amplitude in Ram Jets and an Experimental Investigation Including Scale Effects

From a theory developed on a quasi-one-dimensional-flow basis, it is found that the stability of the ram jet is dependent upon the instantaneous values of mass flow and total pressure recovery of the supersonic diffuser and immediate neighboring subsonic diffuser. Conditions for stable and unstable flow are presented. The theory developed in the report is in agreement with the experimental data of NACA-TN-3506 and NACA-RM-L50K30. A simple theory for predicting the approximate amplitude of small pressure pulsation in terms of mass-flow decrement from minimum-stable mass flow is developed and found to agree with experiments. Cold-flow tests at a Mach number of 1.94 of ram-jet models having scale factors of 3.15:1 and Reynolds number ratios of 4.75:1 with several supersonic diffuser configurations showed only small variations in performance between geometrically similar models. The predominant variation in steady-flow performance resulted from the larger boundary layer in the combustion chamber of the low Reynolds number models. The conditions at which buzz originated were nearly the same for the same supersonic diffuser (cowling-position angle) configurations in both large and small diameter models. There was no appreciable variation in stability limits of any of the models when the combustion-chamber length was increased by a factor of three. The unsteady-flow performance and wave patterns were also similar when considered on a reduced-frequency basis determined from the relative lengths of the model. The negligible effect of Reynolds number on stability of the off-design configurations was not anticipated in view of the importance of boundary layer to stability, and this result should not be construed to be generally applicable. (author)

Trimpi, Robert L↗

NASA NTRS1999

Spin Down of Pulsations in the Cooling Tail of an X-ray Burst from 4U 1636-53

We report the discovery with the proportional counter array (PCA) onboard the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) of a decrease in the frequency of X-ray brightness oscillations in the cooling tail of an X-ray burst from 4U 1636-53. This is the first direct evidence for a spin down of the pulsations seen during thermonuclear bursts. We find that the spin down episode is correlated with the appearance in this burst of an extended tail of emission with a decay timescale much longer than is seen in other bursts from 4U 1636-53 in the same set of observations. We present both time resolved energy and variability spectra during this burst and compare them with results from a second burst which shows neither a spin down episode nor an extended tail. A spectral evolution study of the "spin down" burst reveals a secondary signature of weak radius expansion, not seen in other bursts, and correlated with the spin down episode, which may indicate a secondary thermonuclear energy release. We interpret the spin down episode in the context of an angular momentum conserving shell, which is reexpanded and therefore spun down by an additional thermonuclear energy release which could also explain the extended X-ray tail.

Strohmayer, Tod E.↗

NASA NTRS2001

Self-Sustained Ultrafast Pulsation in Coupled VCSELs

High frequency, narrow-band self-pulsating operation is demonstrated in two coupled vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs). The coupled VCSELs provide an ideal source for high-repetition rate (over 40 GHz), sinusoidal-like modulated laser source with Gaussian-like near- and far-field profiles. We also show that the frequency of the modulation can be tuned by the inter-VCSEL separation or by DC-bias level.

Ning, Cun-Zheng↗

NASA NTRS2001

A Pulsating X-Ray Hot Spot on Jupiter

Previous observations of jovian auroral x-ray emissions provided limited spectral information and extensive but low spatial resolution images. These emissions have been thought to result from charge exchange and excitation of energetic sulfur and oxygen ions precipitating from the outer edge of the Io Plasma Torus; bremsstrahlung emission from precipitating energetic electrons is too inefficient to produce the x-ray emissions. However, new high spatial resolution observations demonstrate that most of Jupiter's northern auroral x-rays come from a hot spot located much further north than the footprint of the Io Plasma Torus and which is even poleward of the main ultraviolet auroral oval. The hot spot appears fixed in magnetic latitude and longitude and occurs in a region where anomalous infrared and ultraviolet emissions have also been observed. Interestingly, the hot spot x-rays pulsate with an approximately 40-minute period, a period similar to that reported for high-latitude radio and energetic electron bursts observed by near-Jupiter spacecraft. These results invalidate the idea that jovian x-ray emissions are mainly excited by steady precipitation of energetic heavy ions from the region of the Io Plasma Torus. Instead, the x-rays appear to result from currently unexplained processes in the outer magnetosphere that produce highly localized and highly variable emissions over an extremely wide range of wavelengths.

Gladstone, G. R.↗