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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 289 records · Page 16
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1974

High energy galactic gamma radiation from cosmic rays concentrated in spiral arms

A model for the emission of high energy ( 100 MeV) gamma rays from the galactic disk was developed and compared to recent SAS-2 observations. In the calculation, it is assumed that (1) the high energy galactic gamma rays result primarily from the interaction of cosmic rays with galactic matter; (2) on the basis of theoretical and experimental arguments the cosmic ray density is proportional to the matter density on the scale of galactic arms; and (3) the matter in the galaxy, atomic and molecular, is distributed in a spiral pattern consistent with density wave theory and the experimental data on the matter distribution.

Bignami, G. F.↗
NASA NTRS1998

The Scalar Relativistic Contribution to Ga-Halide Bond Energies

The one-electron Douglas Kroll (DK) and perturbation theory (+R) approaches are used to compute the scalar relativistic contribution to the atomization energies of GaFn. These results are compared with the previous GaCln results. While the +R and DK results agree well for the GaCln atom nation energies, they differ for GaFn. The present work suggests that the DK approach is more accurate than the +R approach. In addition, the DK approach is less sensitive to the choice of basis set. The computed atomization energies of GaF2 and GaF3 are smaller than the somewhat uncertain experiments. It is suggested that additional calibration calculations for the scalar relativistic effects in GaF2 and GaF3 would be valuable.

Bauschlicher, Charles W., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS1972

Quantum-mechanical transport equation for atomic systems.

A quantum-mechanical transport equation (QMTE) is derived which should be applicable to a wide range of problems involving the interaction of radiation with atoms or molecules which are also subject to collisions with perturber atoms. The equation follows the time evolution of the macroscopic atomic density matrix elements of atoms located at classical position R and moving with classical velocity v. It is quantum mechanical in the sense that all collision kernels or rates which appear have been obtained from a quantum-mechanical theory and, as such, properly take into account the energy-level variations and velocity changes of the active (emitting or absorbing) atom produced in collisions with perturber atoms. The present formulation is better suited to problems involving high-intensity external fields, such as those encountered in laser physics.

Berman, P. R.↗
NASA NTRS1966

Vainshtein Method Applied to Electron Impact Excitation and Ionization of Atoms.

In most calculations on inelastic collision of electrons with atoms there has been a general lack of agreement with observation mainly due to the treatment of the interelectronic interaction as a perturbation. In a recent calculation by Vainshtein et al., full account is given to this interaction by treating the problem as a binary collision between the incident and atomic electrons with the motion of their center of mass in the Coulomb field of the nucleus, and marked improvement in comparison of theory and observation has resulted. Three approximations are applied in this calculation which will be described briefly.

COLLISION↗
NASA NTRS2007

Stellar Ablation of Planetary Atmospheres

We review observations and theories of the solar ablation of planetary atmospheres, focusing on the terrestrial case where a large magnetosphere holds off the solar wind, so that there is little direct atmospheric impact, but also couples the solar wind electromagnetically to the auroral zones. We consider the photothermal escape flows known as the polar wind or refilling flows, the enhanced mass flux escape flows that result from localized solar wind energy dissipation in the auroral zones, and the resultant enhanced neutral atom escape flows. We term these latter two escape flows the "auroral wind." We review observations and theories of the heating and acceleration of auroral winds, including energy inputs from precipitating particles, electromagnetic energy flux at magnetohydrodynamic and plasma wave frequencies, and acceleration by parallel electric fields and by convection pickup processes also known as "centrifugal acceleration." We consider also the global circulation of ionospheric plasmas within the magnetosphere, their participation in magnetospheric disturbances as absorbers of momentum and energy, and their ultimate loss from the magnetosphere into the downstream solar wind, loading reconnection processes that occur at high altitudes near the magnetospheric boundaries. We consider the role of planetary magnetization and the accumulating evidence of stellar ablation of extrasolar planetary atmospheres. Finally, we suggest and discuss future needs for both the theory and observation of the planetary ionospheres and their role in solar wind interactions, to achieve the generality required for a predictive science of the coupling of stellar and planetary atmospheres over the full range of possible conditions.

Moore, Thomas E.↗
NASA NTRS1972

Part 1: Classical laser. Part 2: The effect of velocity changing collisions on the output of a gas laser

A classical model for laser action is discussed, in which an active medium consisting of anharmonic oscillators interacts with an electromagnetic field in a resonant cavity. Comparison with the case of a medium consisting of harmonic oscillators shows the significance of nonlinearities for producing self-sustained oscillations in the radiation field. A theoretical model is presented for the pressure dependence of the intensity of a gas laser, in which only velocity-changing collisions with foreign gas atoms are included. A collision model for hard sphere, repulsive interactions was derived. Collision theory was applied to a third-order expansion of the polarization in powers of the cavity electric field (weak signal theory).

Borenstein, M.↗
NASA NTRS1974

The energy distribution cross section in threshold electron-atom impact ionization

The flatness of the energy differential cross section in impact ionization is derived analytically in the Wannier theory. However it is shown that the Wannier zone is confined to a region of the order E/5 is less than or equal to epsilon is less than or equal to 4E/5, where E is the available energy and epsilon is the energy of the electrons. By contrasting the known results of photoionization and photodetachment, one can cogently argue that in the complementary region where electrons share their energy very unequally the cross section rises to a value independent of E, and that this region determines the form of the threshold law.

Temkin, A.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Venus - Lessons for earth

The old idea that Venus might possess surface conditions to those of an overcast earth has been thoroughly refuted by space-age measurements. Instead, the two planets may have started out similar, but diverged because of the greater solar flux at Venus. This cannot be proved, but is consistent with everything known. A runaway greenhouse effect could have evaporated an 'ocean'. The hydrogen would escape, and most of the oxygen would be incorporated into the crust. Without liquid water, CO2 would remain in the atmosphere. Chlorine atoms would catalyze the recombination of any free oxygen back to CO2. The same theories apply to the future of the earth, and to the explanation of the polar ozone holes; the analogies are striking. There is no likelihood that the earth will actually come to resemble Venus, but Venus serves both as a warning that major environmental effects can flow from seemingly small causes, and as a testbed for the predictive models of the earth.

Hunten, D. M.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Atomization characteristics of impinging liquid jets

A systematic study is presented of the atomization of impinging liquid jets investigating the effects of jet conditions (laminar versus turbulent), orifice diameter, impingement angle and jet velocity. Results are compared to current theories in terms of sheet breakup length, sheet shape and drop size. Experiments contrasting laminar and turbulent jet conditions clearly show that the jet conditions have a dramatic effect on the atomization process.

Ryan, H. M.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Theoretical studies of Resonance Enhance Stimulated Raman Scattering (RESRS) of frequency doubled Alexandrite laser wavelengths in cesium vapor

It is well known that the presence of a real atomic level which is nearly resonant with the pump field can greatly enhance the Raman emission cross section. In order to accurately calculate the Raman gain in systems where resonance enhancement plays a dominant role, expressions for the pump and signal susceptibilities must be derived. These expressions should be valid for arbitrary field strengths in order to allow for pump and signal saturation. In addition, the theory should allow for arbitrary longitudinal and transverse relaxation rates. This latter point is extremely vital for three level atomic systems such as the alkali earth metals since they do not have population reservoirs and can have widely varying spontaneous lifetimes on the three pertinent transitions. Moreover, the dephasing rates are strong functions of electron states and are therefore also different for the three coupled pairs of levels. These considerations are not as important when molecular systems are concerned since the large reservoir of rotational states serve to produce essentially equal longitudinal recovery rates for the population of the three levels. The three level system with three arbitrary longitudinal and transverse relaxation rates was solved. There is no need for setting either pair of rates equal and the expressions are valid for arbitrarily strong fields.

Lawandy, N. M.↗
NASA NTRS2015

Dynamics of the Vacuum and Casimir Analogs to the Hydrogen Atom

This paper will discuss the current viewpoint of the vacuum state and explore the idea of a "natural" vacuum as opposed to immutable, non-degradable vacuum. This concept will be explored for all primary quantum numbers to show consistency with observation at the level of Bohr theory. A comparison with the Casimir force per unit area will be made, and an explicit function for the spatial variation of the vacuum density around the atomic nucleus will be derived. This explicit function will be numerically modeled using the industry multi-physics tool, COMSOL(trademark), and the eigenfrequencies for the n = 1 to n = 7 states will be found and compared to expectation.

White, Harold↗