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NASA NTRS1979

Influence of a weak gravitational wave on a bound system of two point-masses

The problem of a weak gravitational wave impinging upon a nonrelativistic bound system of two point masses is considered. The geodesic equation for each mass is expanded in terms of two small parameters, v/c and dimensionless wave amplitude, in a manner similar to the post-Newtonian expansion; the geodesic equations are resolved into orbital and center-of-mass equations of motion. The effect of the wave on the orbit is determined by using Lagrange's planetary equations to calculate the time evolution of the orbital elements. The gauge properties of the solutions and, in particular, the gauge invariance of the secular effects are discussed.

Turner, M. S.↗

NASA NTRS1980

Oscillating two-stream and parametric decay instabilities in a weakly magnetized plasma

The paper considers the effects of a weak ambient magnetic field on the oscillating two-stream and parametric decay instabilities with emphasis on the dependence of the angular variation of the instability thresholds and growth rates on the magnetic field. A dispersion relation is derived in the limit in which the electron plasma frequency is much greater than the cyclotron frequency, and is solved for dipole and monochromatic pump spectra. The analysis shows that the presence of a magnetic field can substantially enhance thresholds and reduce growth rates for waves propagating at an oblique angle with respect to the ambient magnetic field, so that the magnetic field has a stabilizing influence on the off-parallel propagating modes.

Freund, H. P.↗

NASA NTRS1981

Cosmic ray neutrino tests for heavier weak bosons and cosmic antimatter

A program for using high energy neutrino astronomy with large neutrino detectors to directly test for the existence of heavier weak intermediate vector bosons (ivb) and cosmic antimatter is described. Such observations can provide a direct test of baryon symmetric cosmologies. Changes in the total cross section for nu(N) yields mu(X) due to additional propagators are discussed and higher mass resonances in the annihilation channel bar-nu sub e e(-) yields X are analyzed. The annihilation channel is instrumental in the search for antimatter, partcularly if heavier IVB's exist.

Brown, R. W.↗

NASA NTRS1981

Wave-particle transport by weak electrostatic flow shear fluctuations

A description is presented of the first consistent theoretical treatment of transport due to weak electrostatic fluctuations from microinstabilities driven by a shear in plasma flow parallel to a uniform magnetic field. The model used considers electrostatic fluctuations in a Vlasov plasma with sheared bulk velocity parallel to a uniform magnetic field. The linear stability theory for the model has been studied by Gary and Schwartz (1980). In the current investigation, a calculation is performed of the wave-particle transport associated with the electrostatic flow shear instability.

Gary, S. P.↗

NASA NTRS1981

Weak double layers

The characteristics of weak double layers with potential steps approximately equal to five are investigated in a triple plasma device and compared with a kinetic model. The double layers considered here differ from those previously investigated in two significant ways: (1) the double layers are much weaker; and (2) trapped ions play a much less important role. In this study, two plasmas at different potentials but with similar characteristics are separated from a target chamber by grids so that ions enter only at the high potential side and electron beams enter at the low potential side. What is more, thermal electrons enter at the high potential side and are trapped by the double layer. The model calculations illustrate the role of the trapped ions in determining the position of the double layer, and they demonstrate the dependence of the length of the double layer on the entering ion and electron fluxes.

Hershkowitz, N.↗

NASA NTRS1982

Laser-excitation technique for the measurement of absolute transition probabilities of weak atomic lines

A new technique is presented for the measurement of transition probabilities for weak allowed, intersystem, and forbidden lines. The method exploits the fact that oscillator strength is proportional to the number of stimulated absorptions and emissions produced by a narrow-band laser pulse of known energy which is in resonance with an atomic transition. The method is tested for a particular transition of Mg I with a known oscillator strength value and of appropriate magnitude. The number densities are measured using a Mach-Zehnder interferometer and the hook method for the lower level population and by measuring an absorption-equivalent width for the other. The apparatus consisted of a high-power tunable laser and a magnesium oven to produce excited Mg vapor, and a laser-plasma background continuum. The results are in good agreement with theoretical and other experimental data.

Kwong, H. S.↗

NASA NTRS1983

A search for weak H-alpha emission line pre-main-sequence stars

A spectroscopic survey of 177 stars brighter than about 12.5 in R near four dark clouds in an effort to find pre-main-sequence (PMS) stars with weak H-alpha emission is reported. A number of such stars have been found previously in X-ray images of star formation clouds. Six new candidate PMS stars with EW (H-alpha) between 0.4 and 4.2 A, in addition to four X-ray discovered stars, are found in the L1551 and L1529 clouds in the Taurus-Auriga complex. The total number of pre-main-sequence stars in these clouds appears to be about two times the number of strong emission line T Tauri stars.

Feigelson, E. D.↗

NASA NTRS1983

Transport by weak electrostatic density drift fluctuations

Expressions are derived for transport by weak electrostatic microfluctuations driven unstable by a density gradient perpendicular to a uniform magnetic field in a Vlasov plasma. These expressions, which are evaluated for the universal and lower-hybrid density drift instabilities, provide improved physical interpretations for various wave-particle exchange frequencies previously reported. It is demonstrated that wave-particle effects generally reduce the free energy driving these instabilities, and that some forms of steady-state distribution functions are inappropriate for nonlinear theory.

Sanderson, J. J.↗

NASA NTRS1983

RW Tauri as a weak W Serpentis star

Observations of the short-period eclipsing binary RW Tau made with the LWR and SWP cameras of the IUE satellite and with the ITS scanner at the 3-m Shane telescope of the Lick Observatory in August and October, 1982, are reported and analyzed. At total eclipse, weak excess continuous radiation in the LWR range and emission lines at Si IV (1), C IV (1), Al III (1), Fe III (34), and Mg II (1) in the SWP range were detected. These findings are similar to those for W Ser-type binaries such as U Cep. The parameters of the system are estimated using a bilinearly interpolated atmospheric model of the type developed by Kurucz (1979): primary-star T(eff) = 11,750 K, log g = 4.2, cool-component spectral type = K0 III, E(B-V) color excess = 0.14 mag, system distance = 270 pc. The implications of these findings for proposed models of the W Ser binaries are discussed, and the observation of a possible distant optical companion star 45 arcsec from RW Tau is reported.

Plavec, M. J.↗

NASA NTRS1983

Barotropic instability of weakly non-parallel zonal flows

Integrations of the linear stability problem, in the present numerical investigation of weakly nonparallel zonal flows barotropic instability having localized intense shear regions, reveal the existence of unstable localized wave packets. The spatial structure and eigenfrequencies of these packets depend on two parameters measuring the degree of supercriticality and the zonal length scale of the shear region. It is found that instability structure is defined by conditions ensuring the decay of the wave packet at infinity, and the transition from long to short waves across a turning point region that is controlled by nonparallel effects.

Merkine, L.-O.↗

NASA NTRS1983

Weak cubic Langmuir turbulence

The cubically nonlinear Schroedinger equation model of Langmuir turbulence is solved in the weak turbulence limit. Steady-state power-law solutions for the energy spectra are found in arbitrary dimensionality. In one spatial dimension, the theory incorrectly predicts that no spectrum evolves in time. In three spatial dimensions, numerical solutions are obtained for the undriven, undamped, initial value problem and for the driven, damped, initial value problem.

Hansen, P. J.↗

NASA NTRS1984

Evidence for weak X-ray burst emission from Cygnus X-2 and GX 17 + 2

Events resembling weak X-ray bursts have been detected from the two strong persistent sources, Cygnus X-2 and GX 17 + 2. Both events exhibit rise times less than 2.56 s and 1.2-14.4 keV decay times of approximately 5-10 s. The event from Cyg X-2 is similar to a type-I burst in terms of blackbody temperature and peak luminosity, and it can be plausibly interpreted as a thermonuclear flash from an accreting neutron star. The GX 17 + 2 event exhibits a considerably harder X-ray spectrum which makes it unlikely to be a thermonuclear flash. It is suggested that this event arises from an accretion instability as in type-II bursts.

Kahn, S. M.↗

NASA NTRS1984

Phase stability of weakly crosslinked interpenerating polymer networks

A phenomenological theory is formulated for chemically quenched binary interpenetrating polymer networks (IPNs), considering both simultaneously crosslinked networks and sequentially crosslinked networks, as well as pseudointerpenetrating networks (where only one component is crosslinked and the other is a linear polymer). The construction of free energy functionals for homogeneous weakly crosslinked IPNs and pseudo-IPNs and their spinodal curves and critical points of unmixing is described. These free energy functionals are augmented with gradient energy terms in order to consider effects due to spatially varying small inhomogeneities in the network chain concentration. The dynamic response and the initial spinodal decomposition of IPNs are discussed.

Binder, K.↗

NASA NTRS1984

Augmented weak forms and element-by-element preconditioners: Efficient iterative strategies for structural finite elements. A preliminary study

A weak formulation in structural analysis that provides well conditioned matrices suitable for iterative solutions is presented. A mixed formulation ensures the proper representation of the problem and the constitutive relations are added in a penalized form. The problem is solved by a double conjugate gradient algorithm combined with an element by element approximate factorization procedure. The double conjugate gradient strategy resembles Uzawa's variable-length type algorithms the main difference is the presence of quadratic terms in the mixed variables. In the case of shear deformable beams these terms ensure that the proper finite thickness solution is obtained.

Muller, A.↗

NASA NTRS1984

On the instability of a 3-dimensional attachment line boundary layer: Weakly nonlinear theory and a numerical approach

The instability of a three dimensional attachment line boundary layer is considered in the nonlinear regime. Using weakly nonlinear theory, it is found that, apart from a small interval near the (linear) critical Reynolds number, finite amplitude solutions bifurcate subcritically from the upper branch of the neutral curve. The time dependent Navier-Stokes equations for the attachment line flow have been solved using a Fourier-Chebyshev spectral method and the subcritical instability is found at wavenumbers that correspond to the upper branch. Both the theory and the numerical calculations show the existence of supercritical finite amplitude (equilibrium) states near the lower branch which explains why the observed flow exhibits a preference for the lower branch modes. The effect of blowing and suction on nonlinear stability of the attachment line boundary layer is also investigated.

Hall, P.↗

NASA NTRS1985

Adaptive antenna arrays for weak interfering signals

The interference protection provided by adaptive antenna arrays to an Earth station or satellite receive antenna system is studied. The case where the interference is caused by the transmission from adjacent satellites or Earth stations whose signals inadverently enter the receiving system and interfere with the communication link is considered. Thus, the interfering signals are very weak. To increase the interference suppression, one can either decrease the thermal noise in the feedback loops or increase the gain of the auxiliary antennas in the interfering signal direction. Both methods are examined. It is shown that one may have to reduce the noise correlation to impractically low values and if directive auxiliary antennas are used, the auxiliary antenna size may have to be too large. One can, however, combine the two methods to achieve the specified interference suppression with reasonable requirements of noise decorrelation and auxiliary antenna size. Effects of the errors in the steering vector on the adaptive array performance are studied.

Gupta, I. J.↗

NASA NTRS1985

The effect of a weak shock on interstellar gas toward the Rho Ophiuchi cloud

The effect of a low-velocity shock on depletion in interstellar clouds is studied. High-resolution Copernicus observations of interstellar absorption lines toward four stars in the Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex were used to measure differential depletion in interstellar clouds separated by velocities of 10-15 km/s. Optical observations of CH and CH(+) were used as indicators of shock strength and direction of propagation. Observations indicate the presence of a shock with velocity about 10 km/s expanding away from the sun into the Rho Oph cloud. The existence of this shock is supported by the other observations quoted in the literature. Two distinct regions in the lines of sight have been found. A low-density, less depleted, predominantly atomic region is associated with preshock gas, while postshock gas accounts for a predominantly molecular, more highly depleted region. Apparently a weak shock, has the effect of enhancing grain formation or grain growth as a result of increased density in the postshock gas. It is possible for grain growth by accretion to occur in the shocked gas on time scales short compared with the cloud-crossing time of the shock.

Meyers, K. A.↗

NASA NTRS1984

On the use of parametric differentiation to predict weak shock waves

The method of parametric differentiation is shown to be an effective means to transform both the time-linearized and the fully nonlinear transonic small disturbance potential flow equations to a linear system of equations. The globally linearized equations are then solved in phase space by finite difference methods and integral equation methods. The predicted birth, growth, and motion of weak shock waves in two-dimensional transonic flows are compared with existing theory and experiment.

Harris, W. L.↗