SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “Spikes”

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 NTRS1985

Implications of the 1400 MHz flare emission from AD Leo for the emission mechanism and flare environment

High brightness temperature spikes have been observed during a radio flare on the M-dwarf flare star AD Leo (Lang et al., 1983). Their high brightness temperature (greater than 10 to the 13th K) and circular polarization indicate that a coherent radiation mechanism must be responsible for the spike emission. The underlying flare emission, which is identified with a low polarization, gradual component, was found not to be spiky to within the 200 ms time resolution of the observations. This note is concerned primarily with this nonspiky emission.

Holman, G. D.↗

NASA NTRS1986

Electron-cyclotron maser emission from the planets and the stars

Auroral kilometric radiation (AKR), Jupiter's decametric radio emission, microwave spike bursts from the Sun, and related bursts from flare stars and close binaries are discussed. Although all of these are produced by the same instability, the plasma conditions in the source regions differ; for the planets the ratio of the plasma frequency to the electron-cyclotron frequency is less than 1, whereas for the Sun and stars it is greater than or = 1. It is shown that as the ratio increases the frequency of the emissions moves to higher harmonics of the electron-cyclotron frequency and the mode changes from electromagnetic to electrostatic. Implications for AKR, microwave spike bursts, and related bursts from the stars are discussed.

Winglee, R. M.↗

NASA NTRS1986

Hard X-ray imaging observation of fluctuating bursts

Measurements were done to obtain the one-dimensional sizes of rapidly fluctuating bursts with fast spikes whose rise times are typically about one second, and in some extreme cases less than 0.1 second. The results of two bursts with fast spikes are presented. One has a soft spectrum, and the other has a very hard spectrum. The measured one-dimensional size of both events indicates relatively a small size and simple structure. It can be said, however, that the source size is not so small as expected from its rapid time variations. Therefore, a thermal explanation of these bursts seems to be excluded.

Ohki, K.↗

NASA NTRS1986

The generation of rapid solar flare hard X-ray and microwave fluctuations in current sheets

The generation of rapid fluctuations, or spikes, in hard X-ray and microwave bursts via the disruption of electron heating and acceleration in current sheets is studied. It is found that 20 msec hard X-ray fluctuations can be thermally generated in a current sheet if the resistivity in the sheet is highly anomalous, the plasma density in the emitting region is relatively high, and the volume of the emitting region is greater than that of the current sheet. A specific mechanism for producing the fluctuations, involving heating in the presence of ion acoustic turbulence and a constant driving electric field, and interruption of the heating by a strong two-stream instability, is discussed. Variations upon this mechanism are also discussed. This mechanism also modulates electron acceleration, as required for the microwave spike emission. If the hard X-ray emission at energies less than approx. 1000 keV is nonthermal bremsstrahlung, the coherent modulation of electron acceleration in a large number of current sheets is required.

Holman, Gordon D.↗

NASA NTRS1986

Electron-cyclotron maser emission from the planets and the stars

Auroral kilometric radiation (AKR), Jupiter's decametric radio emission, microwave spike bursts from the sun, and related bursts from flare stars and close binaries, have all been attributed to the electron-cyclotron maser instability. Although all of these are produced by the same instability, the plasma conditions in the source regions differ; for the planets the ratio of the plasma frequency to the electron-cyclotron frequency, Omega(e), is less than about unity whereas for the sun and stars it is greater than about 1. It is shown that as this ratio increases, the frequency of the emissions moves to higher harmonics of Omega(e) and the mode changes from electromagnetic to electrostatic. Implications for AKR, microwave spike bursts and related bursts from the stars are discussed.

Winglee, R. M.↗

NASA NTRS1986

Unsteady heat transfer and direct comparison to steady-state measurements in a rotor-wake experiment

Circumferentially local and time-resolved heat transfer measurements were obtained for a circular cylinder in crossflow located downstream of a rotating spoked wheel wake generator in a steady flow tunnel. The unsteady heat transfer effects were obtained by developing an extension of a thin film gauge technique employed to date exclusively in short-duration facilities. The time-average thin film results and conventional steady-state heat transfer measurements were compared. Time-averaged wake-induced stagnation heat transfer enhancement levels above the nowake case were about 10 percent for the four cylinder Reynolds numbers. This enhancement level was nearly independent of bar passing frequency and was related directly to the time integral of the heat transfer spikes observed at the bar passing frequency. It is observed that the wake-induced heat transfer spikes have peak magnitudes averaging 30 to 40 percent above the interwake heat transfer level.

Obrien, J. E.↗

NASA NTRS1986

Radio wavelength observations of magnetic fields on active dwarf M, RS CVn and magnetic stars

The dwarf M stars, YZ Canis Minoris and AD Leonis, exhibit narrow-band, slowly varying (hours) microwave emission that cannot be explained by conventional thermal radiation mechanisms. The dwarf M stars, AD Leonis and Wolf 424, emit rapid spikes whose high brightness temperatures similarly require a nonthermal radiation process. They are attributed to coherent mechanisms such as an electron-cyclotron maser or coherent plasma radiation. If the electron-cyclotron maser emits at the second or third harmonic gyrofrequency, the coronal magnetic field strength equals 250 G or 167 G, and constraints on the plasma frequency imply an electron density of 6 x 10 to the 9th/cu cm. Radio spikes from AD Leonis and Wolf 424 have rise times less than or equal to 5 ms, indicating a linear size of less than or equal to 1.5 x 10 to the 8th cm, or less than 0.005 of the stellar radius. Although Ap magnetic stars have strong dipole magnetic fields, they exhibit no detectable gyroresonant radiation, suggesting that these stars do not have hot, dense coronae. The binary RS CVn star UX Arietis exhibits variable emission at 6 cm wavelength on time scales ranging from 30 s to more than one hour.

Lang, Kenneth R.↗

NASA NTRS1987

Intrusions in the active layer of channeled-substrate-planar laser diodes

Channeled-substrate-planar laser diodes from various wafers were observed to develop a node or dark spot in their near-field patterns after failure during lifetesting. 'Node' devices from each wafer were angle-lapped and stained in an attempt to uncover a physical mechanism for this common failure symptom. Optical microscopic examination of the beveled cross sections revealed that an intrusion, in the form of a spike at the tip of the zinc diffusion front, had penetrated into the active layer of these diodes. The node observed in the near-field pattern appears to be in a position correspondig to the location of the spike in the active region. In addition, cathodoluminescence measurements on other 'node' diodes revealed a dark line region approximately 2-micron-wide running parallel to and in the middle of the 5-micron contact stripe. It is believed that this dark line region is representative of an area of nonradiative recombination which occurs in the portion of the active layer containing the intrusion.

Slavin, S. E.↗

NASA NTRS1987

Energetics and dynamics of simple impulsive solar flares

Flare energetics and dynamics were studied using observations of simple impulsive spike bursts. A large, homogeneous set of events was selected to enable the most definite tests possible of competing flare models, in the absence of spatially resolved observations. The emission mechanisms and specific flare models that were considered in this investigation are described, and the derivations of the parameters that were tested are presented. Results of the correlation analysis between soft and hard X-ray energetics are also presented. The ion conduction front model and tests of that model with the well-observed spike bursts are described. Finally, conclusions drawn from this investigation and suggestions for future studies are discussed.

Starr, R.↗

NASA NTRS1988

Detection of the 2(20) to 2(21) transition of HDO in Orion A - Evidence for dense clumped gas in the hot core

Results of the first detection of the 10.3 GHz 2(20) to 2(21) transition of HDO in Orion A are presented. Two components of OMC-1 have been identified, a hot core and a spike component associated with the compact molecular ridge cloud. The hot core is modeled as having an effective radiation temperature of 350 K and an HDO column density of 8 x 10 to the 16th/sq cm. The spike component is best fitted by a column density in HDO of about 6 x 10 to the 15th/sq cm. The present data are consistent with clumping and with cloud collision models of maser excitation.

Petuchowski, S. J.↗

NASA NTRS1988

Energetics and dynamics of simple impulsive solar flares

Starr, R.↗

NASA NTRS1988

Telemetry interference incorrectly interpreted as evidence for lightning and present-day volcanism at Venus

Spike-like responses to interruptions in the data recorded by the Pioneer Venus Orbiter electric field detector, identified as broadband whistler noise by Singh and Russell (1986), are analyzed. It is shown that these spikes are nonphysical artifacts of the processing of interruptions in telemetry data, and that they are readily distinguishable from other nonartificial noise apppearing in the measurements. It is suggested that key portions of the results of Singh and Russell are compromised by the inclusion of the artificial data. It is concluded that the present electric field data set provides no evidence for inferring the presence of either lighning or present-day volcanism at Venus.

Taylor, Harry A., Jr.↗

NASA NTRS1988

Selective extinction of marine plankton at the end of the Mesozoic era: The fossil and stable isotope record

Floral, faunal and stable isotope evidence in a continuous sequence of latest Cretaceous and earliest Tertiary shallow water marine deposits in the Mangyshlak Peninsula, USSR suggest severe environmental changes at the Cretaceous/Tertiary (K/T) boundary. Time frame is provided by nanno, micro and macrofossils as well as by magnetic stratigraphy and an iridium spike. Oxygen isotopic analyses of the bulk sediments, composed of nanno and microplankton skeletal remains, show a sharp positive spike at the K/T boundary. This shift is primarily attributed to severe cooling possibly accompanied by increased salinities of the surface mixed layer. Floral and faunal extinctions were selective, affecting approximately 90 percent of the warm water calcareous phyto and zooplankton genera in the Tethyan-Paratethyan regions. These highly diverse taxa with many endemic representatives were at the peak of their evolutionary development. Geologic evidence indicates that the terminal Cretaceous temperature decline was coeval with widespread and intense volcanic activity which reached a peak at the close of the Mesozoic Era. Increased acidity temporarily prohibited calcite nucleation of the surface dwelling warm-water plankton. Superimposed upon decreased alkalinity, severe and rapid climatic changes caused the extinction of calcareous phyto and zooplankton.

Herman, Y.↗

NASA NTRS1988

Seawater strontium isotopes at the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary

Anomalously high values of Seawater Sr-87/Sr-86 near the Cretaceous-Tertiary (K-T) boundary have been reported. However, few of the data from the literature are from a single continuous section, and perhaps the most complete study of the boundary region, from a shallow marine limestone sequence in Alabama, showed elevated Sr-87/Sr-86 but no pronounced spike. Thus, in order to investigate the cause of the change in strontium isotopic composition, it is important to determine the exact nature and magnitude of the increase by studying in detail continuous sections through the boundary. If there is indeed a Sr isotope spike at the K-T boundary, it requires the addition of a large amount of radiogenic Sr to the oceans over a short time period, a phenomenon that may be linked to other large-scale environmental disturbances which occurred at that time. In order to address this question, a high-resolution strontium isotope study of foraminifera from three Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP) cores which recovered the K-T boundary section: Site 356 in the South Atlantic, Site 384 in the North Atlantic and Site 577 from the Shatsky Rise in the Pacific was initiated. The isotope measurements are being made on either single or small numbers of forams carefully picked and identified and in most cases examined by SEM before analysis. Because this work is not yet complete, conclusions drawn here must be viewed as tentative. They are briefly discussed.

Macdougall, J. D.↗

NASA NTRS1988

Impact production of NO and reduced species

It has recently been suggested that a reported spike in seawater (87)Sr/(86)Sr at the K-T boundary is the signature of an impact-generated acid deluge. However, the amount of acid required is implausibly large. Some about 3 x 10 to the 15th power moles of Sr must be weathered from silicates to produce the inferred Sr spike. The amount of acid required is at least 100 and probably 1000 times greater. Production of 3 x 10 to the 18th power moles of NO is clearly untenable. The atmosphere presently contains only 1.4 x 10 to the 20th power moles of N-sub 2 and 3.8 x 10 to the 19th power moles of O sub 2 If the entire atmosphere were shocked to 2000 K and cooled within a second, the total NO produced would be about 3 x 10 to the 18th power moles. This is obviously unrealistic. A (still to short) cooling time of 10th to the 3rd power sec reduces NO production by an order of magnitude. In passing, we note that if the entire atmosphere had in fact been shocked to 2000 K, acid rain would have been the least of a dinosaur's problems. Acid rain as a mechanism poses poses other difficulties. Recently deposited carbonates would have been most susceptable to acid attack. The researchers' preferred explanation is simply increased continental erosion following ecological trauma, coupled with enchanced levels of CO-sub 2.

Zahnle, K.↗

NASA NTRS1989

Flight Motor Set 360L003 (STS-29R)

The redesigned solid rocket motor (RSRM) flight set 360L003 was launched on March 13, 1989 as part of NASA space shuttle mission STS-29R. As was the case with flight sets 360L001 and 360L002 (STS-26R and STS-27R), both motors (360L003A and 360L003B) performed in an excellent manner. Evaluation of the ground environment instrumentation measurements verified thermal model analysis data and showed agreement with predicted environmental effects. The right-hand aft field joint primary heater failed during the countdown; the secondary heater was activated and performed as designed. All other field joint heaters and aft skirt thermal conditioning systems had no anomalies. Shuttle thermal imager infrared readings compared favorably with measured ground environment instrumentation data. No thermal launch commit criteria violations occurred at any time. Evaluation of the development flight instrumentation showed exceptional propulsion performance. All ballistic parameters closely matched the predicted values and were well within the required specification levels. Girth and biaxial strain gage measurements compared closely with corresponding gages on previous flight motors, static tests, and with preflight predictions. Adequate safety factors were verified. (Some ignition transient spiking was noted in a few girth gages; the spiking was determined not to be representative of actual case behavior, but an instrumentation phenomena.) The accelerometers again measured high vibration amplitude levels during the ignition transient and the reentry Max Q phases. Postflight inspection showed that all combustion gas was contained by the insulation in the field and case-to-nozzle joints. No anomalous insulation erosion patterns were found, and the seals that did directly contain motor pressure showed no heat effects, erosion, or blowby. All anomalies identified were a result of splashdown damage, with the exception of fretting in the case field joint interference (nonsealing) surfaces and a prelaunch field joint heater failure. The disposition of all anomalies and the complete results are reported.

Riehr, Glen A.↗

NASA NTRS1990

Characteristic microwave background distortions from collapsing domain wall bubbles

The magnitude and angular pattern of distortions of the microwave background are analyzed by collapsing spherical domain walls. A characteristic pattern of redshift distortions of red or blue spikes surrounded by blue discs was found. The width and height of a spike is related to the diameter and magnitude of the disc. A measurement of the relations between these quantities thus can serve as an unambiguous indicator for a collapsing spherical domain wall. From the redshift distortion in the blue discs an upper bound was found on the surface energy density of the walls sigma is less than or approximately 8 MeV cubed.

Goetz, Guenter↗

NASA NTRS1989

Observations of a shock and a recombination layer at the contact surface of Comet Halley

Results are presented on observations in the vicinity of the contact surface of the Comet Halley, obtained by the Giotto ion mass spectrometer, with emphasis placed on two specific events observed in this region on the inbound pass. One was a burst of energized ions (about 20 eV) of 2-sec duration observed two seconds before the contact surface was encountered, which coincided with a pulse in magnetic field strength interpreted by Neubauer (1988) as a fast-mode shock traveling away from the contact surface. The second was a sharp spike in ion densities observed at the contact surface by the mass analyzer, centered approximately at the inner edge of the contact surface. This ion-density spike is interpreted as a boundary layer into which the radial ionospheric flow enters and piles up; the density increase is limited by recombination.

Goldstein, B. E.↗