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At least 397 records · Page 22

Recent Langley helicopter acoustics contributions

The helicopter acoustics program at NASA Langley has included technology for elements of noise control ranging from sources of noise to receivers of noise. The scope of Langley contributions for about the last decade is discussed. Specifically, the resolution of two certification noise quantification issues by subjective acoustics research, the development status of the helicopter system noise prediction program ROTONET are reviewed and the highlights from research on blade rotational, broadband, and blade vortex interaction noise sources are presented. Finally, research contributions on helicopter cabin (or interior) noise control are presented. A bibliography of publications from the Langley helicopter acoustics program for the past 10 years is included.

Morgan, Homer G.↗

Sound diffraction around screens and wedges for arbitrary point source locations

A development is presented for the Green's function for a point source in the vicinity of a rigid wedge. The diffraction contributions to the Green's function for arbitrary source and listener location is expressed in a form which can be readily evaluated using the Laguerre technique for numerical integration. The present approach offers the advantages of efficient numerical evaluation and of relatively straightforward reduction to well-known analytical approximations in limiting cases. Comparisons with previously obtained experimental and numerical results obtained by Ambaud and Bergassoli (1972) are presented. The comparison with the experimental results is excellent; the advantages of the present numerical technique, vis a vis that of Ambaud and Bergassoli, are pointed out.

Hadden, W. J., Jr.↗

X-ray emission from starburst galaxies

The results are reported of an investigation of X-ray emission from a sample of 53 IRAS-selected candidate starburst galaxies. Superposed soft and hard X-ray emission from these galaxies in the Einstein-IPC and HEAO-1 A-2 and A-4 energy bands, which span 0.5 to 160 keV, is detected at the 99.6 percent confidence level, after allowing for confusion noise in the HEAO-1 data. Above 15 keV the confidence level is 97 percent. The combined spectrum is flat, with a (photon) power-law index of 1.0 +/- 0.3. The contribution of the population of sources represented by this sample to the 3-50 keV residual cosmic X-ray background is estimated to be at least about 4 percent assuming no evolution. Moderate evolution, for which there is some observational evidence, increases this fractional contribution to about 26 percent.

Rephaeli, Yoel↗

Identification and control of spacecraft radiation sources of interference to X-ray and gamma-ray experiments

Apollo 15 and 16 will carry instruments for the purpose of measuring X-ray and gamma ray fluxes from the lunar surface and in cis-lunar space. The intensity levels expected are low over most of the energy range of interest, requiring that background contributions be minimized. The radiation sources on Apollo determined and their interference with these instruments evaluated. The results were used as a basis for dealing with this problem and for recommendations applicable to future manned and unmanned missions.

Metzger, A. E.↗

Determination of Silicon in Hydrazine

Inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) is a highly sensitive technique sometimes used for the trace determination of silicon at a mass-to-charge (m/z) ratio of 28, the most abundant natural isotope of silicon. Unfortunately, ICP-MS is unable to differentiate between other sources of m/z 28 and false positive results for silicon will result when other sources of m/z 28 are present. Nitrogen was a major source of m/z 28 and contributes to the m/z 28 signal when hydrazine sample or nitric acid preservative is introduced into the plasma. Accordingly, this work was performed to develop a sample preparation step coupled with an ICP-MS analysis that minimized non-silicon sources of m/z 28. In the preparatory step of this method, the hydrazine sample was first decomposed predominately to nitrogen gas and water with copper-catalyzed hydrogen peroxide. In the analysis step, ICP-MS was used without nitric acid preservative in samples or standards. Glass, a potential source of silicon contamination, was also avoided where possible. The method was sensitive, accurate, and reliable for the determination of silicon in monopropellant grade hydrazine (MPH) in AF-E-332 elastomer leaching tests. Results for silicon in MPH were comparable to those reported in the literature for other studies.

McClure, Mark B.↗

Energetic (above 60 eV) atmospheric photoelectrons

Data from low altitude plasma instrument (LAPI) on Dynamics Explorer 2 document a population of high-energy (up to 800 eV) atmospheric photoelectrons that has not been reported in the published literature. The source of these photoelectrons is postulated to be the soft X-ray portion of the whole sun spectrum. This conclusion is supported by sunrise-sunset characteristics that track those of the classical (below 60 eV) EUV-produced photoelectrons, and theoretical results from two models that incorporate the soft X-ray portion of the solar spectrum. The models include K-shell ionization effects and predict peaks in the photoelectron spectrum due to Auger electrons emitted from oxygen and nitrogen. The peak for nitrogen is observed as predicted, but the peak for oxygen is barely observable. Excellent quantitative agreement is achieved between theory and experiment by using reasonable adjustments to the few published soft X-ray spectra based on solar activity. The upflowing energetic photoelectrons provide a heretofore unknown source of electrons to the magnetosphere. They occur whenever and wherever the sun is up, that is, at all invariant latitudes. Their density is low, but they are steady and ubiquitous. If scattering and trapping occur on closed field lines, then photoelectrons could contribute as a significant particle source and thus represent a new facet of magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling.

Winningham, J. D.↗

A directional array approach for the measurement of rotor noise source distributions with controlled spatial resolution

A special array system has been designed to examine noise source distributions over a helicopter rotor model. The particular measurement environment is for a rotor operating in the open jet of an anechoic wind tunnel. An out-of-flow directional microphone element array is used with a directivity pattern whose major directional lobe projects on the rotor disk. If significant contributions from extraneous tunnel noise sources in the direction of the side lobes are excluded, the dominant output from the array would be that noise emitted from the projected area on the rotor disk. The design incorporates an array element signal blending features which serves to control the spatial resolution of the size of the directional lobes. (Without blending, the resolution and side lobe size are very strong functions of frequency, which severely limits the array's usefulness).

Brooks, T. F.↗

The X-ray morphology of the Perseus cluster of galaxies

Results are reported for a sounding-rocket measurement of the spatial distribution of the X-ray flux from the Perseus cluster of galaxies in the range from 0.5 to 4.5 keV. Two scans (N-S and E-W) were made along the line of galaxies extending from NGC 1275 to IC 310. A flux maximum is observed which is coincident with the location of NGC 1275, but the X-ray distribution is shown to exclude just a point source. More broadening is detected in the E-W direction, and a comparison with other X-ray and optical data indicates a complex structure for the cluster. A three-component model is proposed in which the total X-ray luminosity of the cluster may be a combination of contributions from a central point source (NGC 1275), a condensed disk-like region oriented edge-on along the line of galaxies, and a more symmetric region extending out to at least 1 deg.

Wolff, R. S.↗

Radio-quiet QSO and the X-ray background

Upper limits on the extragalactic soft X-ray background flux (epsilon of about 0.1-0.3 keV) are used to constrain the contribution of X-ray sources with steep spectra to the X-ray background above 1 keV. The effective spectral index of the extragalactic X-ray background is less than 0.76 over the energy range 0.2 and 3.5 keV. Objects with power-law spectra of energy index 1.4, as recently found for a sample of radio-quiet QSO, cannot contribute more than 13 percent of the 2-10 keV X-ray background.

Fabian, A. C.↗

Gamma-ray observations of Ophiuchus with EGRET: The diffuse emission and point sources

Observations of the Ophiuchus region made with the Energetic Gamma-Ray Experiment Telescope (EGRET) on the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory (CGRO) during the first 2 1/2 years of operation show the diffuse emission from the interstellar gas in Ophiuchus as well as variable emission from two point sources. The gamma-ray emission is modeled in terms of cosmic-ray interactions with atomic and molecular hydrogen in Ophiuchus and with low-energy photons along the line of sight. The model also includes the flux from the two point sources and an isotropic diffuse contribution. The cosmic-ray density is assumed to be uniform. The derived ratio of molecular hydrogen column density to integrated CO intensity is (1.1 +/- 0.2) x 10(exp 20) H-mols/sq cm (K km/s)(exp -1). At the sensitivity and resolution of the gamma-ray data, no variation of this ratio over the modeled region is discernible, nor are any regions of enhanced cosmic-ray density apparent. The model was fitted to seven narrow energy bands to obtain the energy depedence of the gamma-ray production function and the spectra of the point sources. The derived production function is in good agreement with theoretical calculations and the local cosmic-ray electron and proton spectra. The positions of the point sources were determined from maximum likelihood analysis of the gamma-ray emission observed in excess of the diffuse model. We identify one point source with the quasar PKS 1622-253, which has an average flux, E greater than 100 MeV, of (2.5 +/- 0.5) x 10(exp -7) photons/sq cm/s and photon spectral index -1.9 +/- 0.3. The other source, denoted GRO J1631-27, has not yet been identified at other wavelengths. Its average flux, E greater than 100 MeV, is (1.1 +/- 0.4) x 10(exp -7) photons/sq cm/s; however, its spectral index is poorly determined. The spectral index and intensity of the isotropic contribution to the model agree well with the extragalactic diffuse emission derived from the SAS 2 data.

Hunter, S. D.↗

Probing Large-Scale Coherence Between Spitzer IR and Chandra X-Ray Source-Subtracted Cosmic Backgrounds

We present new measurements of the large-scale clustering component of the cross-power spectra of the source-subtracted Spitzer-IRAC cosmic infrared background and Chandra-ACIS cosmic X-ray background surface brightness fluctuations. Our investigation uses data from the Chandra Deep Field South, Hubble Deep Field North, Extended Groth Strip/AEGIS (All-wavelength Extended Groth Strip International Survey) field, and UDS (Ultra-Deep Survey) / SXDF surveys, comprising 1160 Spitzer hours and approximately 12 megaseconds of Chandra data collected over a total area of 0.3 degrees squared. We report the first (greater than 5 sigma) detection of a cross-power signal on large angular scales greater than 20 arc seconds between [0.5-2] kiloelectronvolts and the 3.6 and 4.5 micron bands, at approximately 5 omega and 6.3 sigma significance, respectively. The correlation with harder X-ray bands is marginally significant. Comparing the new observations with existing models for the contribution of the known unmasked source population at redshift less than 7, we find an excess of about an order of magnitude at 5 sigma confidence. We discuss possible interpretations for the origin of this excess in terms of the contribution from accreting early black holes (BHs), including both direct collapse BHs and primordial BHs, as well as from scattering in the interstellar medium and intra-halo light.

Capelluti, N.↗

Inversion methods in temperature and aerosol remote sounding: Their commonality and differences, and some unexplored approaches

The two remote sensing problems of temperature profiling and aerosol characterization (complex refractive index, size distribution) are considered. These problems differ only in the explicit form of the source function which, for aerosols, includes contributions from both single and multiple scattering processes. When the observables are the spectral extinction or the single scattering of the source radiation, the associated problem is completely analogous to the linearized temperature inversion problem. Methods for obtaining the solution of the linear problem are classified following three main categories: (1) derivation of properties that all solutions satisfy, which must then be properties of the actual solution; (2) regularization of the ill-posed problem; and (3) data changes within their domain of uncertainty in order to avoid the basic instability. A number of unexplored methods are indicated.

Fymat, A. L.↗

Fresnel-region fields and antenna noise-temperature calculations for advanced microwave sounding units

A transition from the antenna noise temperature formulation for extended noise sources in the far-field or Fraunhofer-region of an antenna to one of the intermediate near field or Fresnel-region is discussed. The effort is directed toward microwave antenna simulations and high-speed digital computer analysis of radiometric sounding units used to obtain water vapor and temperature profiles of the atmosphere. Fresnel-region fields are compared at various distances from the aperture. The antenna noise temperature contribution of an annular noise source is computed in the Fresnel-region (D squared/16 lambda) for a 13.2 cm diameter offset-paraboloid aperture at 60 GHz. The time-average Poynting vector is used to effect the computation.

Schmidt, R. F.↗

Simulation of proton radiation belt formation during the March 24, 1991 SSC

The rapid formation of a new proton radiation belt at L approximately = 2.5 following the March 24, 1991 Storm Sudden Commencement (SSC) observed at the Combined Release and Radiation Effects Satellite (CRRES) satellite is modeled using a relativistic guiding center test particle code. The SSC is modeled by a bipolar electric field and associated compression and relaxation in the magnetic field, superimposed on a dipole magnetic field. The source population consists of both solar and trapped inner zone protons. The simulations show that while both populations contribute to drift echoes in the 20-80 MeV range, primary conditions is from the solar protons. Proton acceleration by the SSC differs from relativistic electron acceleration in that different source populations contribute and nonrelativistic conservation of the first adiabatic invariation leads to greater energization of protons for a given decrease in L. Model drift echoes and flux distribution in L at the time of injection compare well with CRRES observations.

Hudson, M. K.↗

Simulating Sources of Superstorm Plasmas

We evaluated the contributions to magnetospheric pressure (ring current) of the solar wind, polar wind, auroral wind, and plasmaspheric wind, with the surprising result that the main phase pressure is dominated by plasmaspheric protons. We used global simulation fields from the LFM single fluid ideal MHD model. We embedded the Comprehensive Ring Current Model within it, driven by the LFM transpolar potential, and supplied with plasmas at its boundary including solar wind protons, polar wind protons, auroral wind O+, and plasmaspheric protons. We included auroral outflows and acceleration driven by the LFM ionospheric boundary condition, including parallel ion acceleration driven by upward currents. Our plasmasphere model runs within the CRCM and is driven by it. Ionospheric sources were treated using our Global Ion Kinetics code based on full equations of motion. This treatment neglects inertial loading and pressure exerted by the ionospheric plasmas, and will be superceded by multifluid simulations that include those effects. However, these simulations provide new insights into the respective role of ionospheric sources in storm-time magnetospheric dynamics.

Fok, Mei-Ching↗

Compton reflection in active galactic nuclei and the cosmic X-ray background

This paper discusses further the model of Fabian et al. (1990) for the cosmic X-ray background (XRB) spectrum, in which the emission is due to AGNs at large redshifts. Each AGN emits a power-law spectrum modified by Compton reflection from cold gas. It is found that the model provides an excellent fit to the XRB from 3 to 500 keV if the sources radiate from a maximum redshift of at least 3.75, if their comoving emissivity varies like (1 + z) exp beta, with beta between 1.8 and 3.3, and if the intrinsic power-law energy index is between 0.9 and 1.2. About 90 percent of the power-law radiation in each AGN must be processed by Compton reflection. The model predicts that the intensity of the XRB below 3 keV is significantly above that extrapolated from observations above 3 keV, without requiring contributions from other types of source.

Rogers, R. D.↗

Measurements of the free stream fluctuations above a turbulent boundary layer

This paper investigates the velocity fluctuations in the free stream above an incompressible turbulent boundary layer developing at constant pressure. It is assumed that the fluctuations receive contributions from three statistically independent sources: (1) one-dimensional unsteadiness, (2) free stream turbulence, and (3) the potential motion induced by the turbulent boundary layer. Measurements were made in a wind tunnel with a root-mean-square level of the axial velocity fluctuations of about 0.2 percent. All three velocity components were measured using an X-wire probe. The unsteadiness was determined from the spanwise covariance of the axial velocity, measured using two single wire probes. The results show that it is possible to separate the contributions to the r.m.s. level of the velocity fluctuations, without resorting to the dubious technique of high-pass filtering. The separation could be extended to the spectral densities of the contributions, if measurements of sufficient accuracy were available. The Appendix provides a general guide for the measurement of small free stream fluctuation levels.

Wood, David H.↗

Measurements of the Free-Stream Fluctuations above a Turbulent Boundary Layer

In this paper an investigation of the velocity fluctuations in the free stream above an incompressible turbulent boundary layer developing at constant pressure is described. It is assumed that the fluctuations receive contributions from three statistically independent sources: (1) one-dimensional unsteadiness, (2) free-stream turbulence, and (3) the irrotational motion induced by the turbulent boundary layer. Measurements were made in a wind tunnel with a root-mean-square level of the axial velocity fluctuations of about 0.2%. All three velocity components were measured using an X-wire probe. The unsteadiness was determined from the spanwise covariance of the axial velocity fluctuations, measured using two single-wire probes. The results show that it is possible to separate the contributions to the rms level of the velocity fluctuations without resorting to the dubious technique of high-pass filtering. This separation could be extended to the spectral densities of the contributions if measurements of sufficient accuracy were available.

Wood, D. H.↗