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Results for “Doppler Gravitational Wave”

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 55 records · Page 3
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1978

Parametric modeling of low-frequency water-vapor-induced tropospheric path length fluctuations

Detailed wet tropospheric fluctuation information is presented in support of proposals to search for gravitational waves in ultra-precise Doppler data. The similarities between the solar wind and tropospheric effects on apparent signal path length are used to hypothesize a parametric model for low-frequency wet tropospheric path length fluctuation. Experimental observations of wet tropospheric signal delay fluctuations are interpreted as confirmation of this parametric form. The model is used to suggest the appropriate conditions for collection of experimental tropospheric fluctuation data.

Berman, A. L.↗
NASA NTRS2002

Media Calibration in the Deep Space Network: A Status Report

A new media calibration system (MCS) has been implemented at the Goldstone complex of the DSN (Deep Space Network). It is intended to calibrate the delay of radio signals imposed by the neutral atmosphere. The system provides periodic measurements of both the static dry and fluctuating wet components of this delay. In particular, the system will calibrate the fluctuations in line of sight path delay due to atmospheric water vapor that we believe will dominate the error budget for several radio science and radio astronomy experiments. We have compared two of these media calibration systems with a connected element interferometer on a 21 km baseline. In this report we describe a total of 30 observations in which a radio source was tracked for an hour or more and the delay residuals then calibrated using the MCS. The accuracy of the comparison appears to be limited by systematic errors in the interferometer, which are under investigation. However, our results do indicate that the MCS can meet or exceed the two-way Allan standard deviation specification of 1.5 x 10( exp -15) on time scales of 2,000 - 10,000 sec, as required by the Cassini GWE (Gravitational Wave Experiment) for two way Doppler tracking.

Naudet, Charles J.↗
NASA NTRS1996

Theory of Spacecraft Doppler Tracking

We present a review of the spacecraft Doppler tracking technique used in broad band searches for gravitational waves in the millihertz frequency band.

spacecraft doppler doppler doppler tracking↗
NASA NTRS1978

Prospects for detection of gravitational radiation by simultaneous Doppler tracking of several spacecraft

This paper reports a calculation of the effect of gravitational radiation on the observed Doppler shift of a sinusoidal electromagnetic signal transmitted to, and coherently transponded from, distant spacecraft. It is found that the effect of plane gravitational waves on such observations is not intuitively immediate, and in fact depends sensitively on the spacecraft direction, which suggests the possibility of detecting such plane waves by simultaneous Doppler tracking of several spacecraft. The need for broad band gravitational wave observations, the required stabilities of time keeping standards, and astrophysical sources expected in the Very Low Frequency band are briefly discussed.

Estabrook, F. B.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Doppler experiments with Cassini radio system

The radio system of the Cassini orbiter will include a K-alpha band downlink channel, mainly intended for telemetry. A K-alpha uplink has also been proposed to allow for a highly accurate gravitational wave experiment. The fourfold increase in frequency will reduce the plasma noise by a factor of 12 and will allow a Doppler accuracy better than 10 exp -15 for time scales of 10 exp 3 - 10 exp 4 s. Extensive Doppler measurements of the gravitational field of Saturn and its satellites can be performed, exploiting the induced change in the velocity of the spacecraft. Possible sources of low-frequency gravitational waves and errors in the Doppler link are discussed.

Comoretto, G.↗
NASA NTRS1992

The gravitational wave experiment

Since the optimum size of a gravitational wave detector is the wave length, interplanetary dimensions are needed for the mHz band of interest. Doppler tracking of Ulysses will provide the most sensitive attempt to date at the detection of gravitational waves in the low frequency band. The driving noise source is the fluctuations in the refractive index of interplanetary plasma. This dictates the timing of the experiment to be near solar opposition and sets the target accuracy for the fractional frequency change at 3.0 x 10 exp -14 for integration times of the order of 1000 sec. The instrumentation utilized by the experiment is distributed between the radio systems on the spacecraft and the seven participating ground stations of the Deep Space Network and Medicina. Preliminary analysis is available of the measurements taken during the Ulysses first opposition test.

Bertotti, B.↗
NASA NTRS1982

The role of the deep space network's frequency and timing system in the detection of gravitational waves

A review of the Deep Space Network's (DSN) use of precision Doppler-tracking of deep space vehicles is presented. The review emphasizes operational and configurational aspects and considers: the projected configuration of the DSN's frequency and timing system; the environment within the DSN provided by the precision atomic standards within the frequency and timing system--both current and projected; and the general requirements placed on the DSN and the frequency and timing system for both the baseline and the nominal gravitational wave experiments. A comment is made concerning the current probability that such an experiment will be carried out in the foreseeable future.

Mankins, J. C.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Precise spacecraft tracking using VLBI digital tone extraction for the purpose of gravitational wave detection

The prospect for the detection of a cosmic background of gravitational wave radiation is discussed. Experiments utilizing precise Doppler tracking of interplanetary spacecraft for the purpose of detecting this background are reviewed. Results of a recent experiment are presented which used facilities of NASA's Deep Space Tracking Network and Owens Valley Radio Observatory to track the Voyager spacecraft in an ultra precise manner using two independent hydrogen masers as frequency standards. The present limiting sensitivity of these experiments are believed to be tropospheric and plasma variations affecting the X band microwave signals at periods of between 1,000 - 10,000 seconds duration.

Anderson, A. J.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Advanced Doppler tracking experiments

The Doppler tracking method is currently the only technique available for broadband gravitational wave searches in the approx. 10(exp -4) to 10(exp -1) Hz low frequency band. A brief review is given of the Doppler method, a discussion of the main noise sources, and a review of experience with current spacecraft and the prospects for sensitivity improvements in an advanced Doppler tracking experiment.

Armstrong, J. W.↗
NASA NTRS2000

Calibrating Atmospheric Delay for the Cassini Gravitational Wave Experiment

The Cassini spacecraft together with one of the stations of the Deep Space Network (DSN) have been instrumented to carry out extremely precise Doppler tracking that will be used to search for the direct evidence of Gravitational radiation passing through our solar system. The two-way communications link between the ground antenna and the spacecraft constitute an "antenna" for gravitational waves that would perturb the phase of the RF signal in the link. The experiments will be carried out during the long cruise phase of the spacecraft on its journey to Saturn and will be sensitive to gravitational wave perturbations larger than the noise level fluctuations of 3 x 10(exp -15) as measured in the Allan Standard Deviation domain. The use of simultaneous, coherent X- and Ka-Band up and down signals will reduce the errors associated with charged particle fluctuations in the interplanetary medium and Earth's ionosphere to a negligible level. The primary fluctuations in the phase of the signals both to and from the spacecraft are expected to be caused by fluctuations in water vapor in the Earth's atmosphere We have designed and are testing a new atmospheric calibration system (with duplicate components) to sense line-of-sight water vapor and its physical temperature with a goal of calibrating 95% or more of tropospheric path delay fluctuations during the Cassini Gravitational Wave Experiment (GWE). The critical component of the calibration system consists of a newly designed water vapor radiometer having a I degree sensing beamwidth and 0.01 K brightness temperature stability over hour time scales. Auxiliary instrumentation includes a microwave temperature profiler to retrieve the vertical distribution of the vapor physical temperature, and surface meteorology. A detailed error budget has been developed to account for all of the possible sources of error during calibration of the GWE and will be discussed. Two identical calibration systems have been constructed in order to provide capability as well as backup during the actual GWE experiment. We will report on side-by-side testing of the vapor and temperature sensing components of this calibrations system as well as a comparison with a short baseline radio interferometric measurement at our Goldstone complex.

Resch, G. M.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Deep space network radio science system for Voyager Uranus and Galileo missions

An overview is presented of major new requirements, challenges and conceptual designs for the DSN Radio Science System in the 1985 to 1988 period. The Voyager Uranus encounter is being supported with larger combined aperture, higher sample rate, and a centrally controlled network. The Galileo mission will be provided with a high resolution S-Band Faraday rotation detection capability and a high-stability Doppler system with X-Band uplink for gravitational wave search.

Peng, T. K.↗
NASA NTRS1993

(abstract) System Performance of the Joint Galileo/Mars Observer/Ulysses 1993 Gravitational Wave Experiment

From March 21 to April 11, 1993, the Galileo, Mars Observer, and Ulysses spacecraft were tracked almost continuously in a coincidence experiment to search for low-frequency (~millihertz) gravitational radiation. We report here a first statistical assessment of the noise characteristics of the data, with particular attention to the performance of the radio science instrumentation itself.

gravitational waves radio science noise Doppler ef↗
NASA NTRS1985

Pioneer 10 search for gravitational waves - Limits on a possible isotropic cosmic background of radiation in the microhertz region

The nature of the response of the Doppler tracking system to a stochastic background of gravitational radiation is discussed. Using data acquired in 1981 by the Deep Space Network with the Pioneer 10 spacecraft, interesting upper limits are placed on the energy density of the background in three frequency bands extending from 7 x 10 to the -7th to 10 to the -4th Hz, a region that has been inaccessible previously by any technique.

Anderson, J. D.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Spacecraft-Doppler gravity-wave detection. II - Results

A description is presented of the results of experiments conducted to detect very-low-frequency (VLF)-band gravitational radiation. The experiments are based on Doppler tracking of the Voyager I spacecraft. There were basically two kinds of experiments performed. The first was concerned with the detection of solitary bursts of gravitational radiation such as might emanate from a single violent astrophysical event. There were no positive results of the search for such burst events at a level of 3 x 10 to the -14th, nearly two orders of magnitude away from the required sensitivity. The second kind of experiment performed was related to an attempt to detect the isotropic background of cosmic gravitational radiation. The negative results fail by a little over an order of magnitude to limit radiation below the existing limits due to cosmic evolution. In summary, there was no detection of gravitational radiation at an amplitude of 3 x 10 to the -14th for VLF waves of frequency around 0.001 Hz.

Hellings, R. W.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Coincidence probabilities for spacecraft gravitational wave experiments - Massive coalescing binaries

Massive coalescing binary systems are candidate sources of gravitational radiation in the millihertz frequency band accessible to spacecraft Doppler tracking experiments. This paper discusses signal processing and detection probability for waves from coalescing binaries in the regime where the signal frequency increases linearly with time, i.e., 'chirp' signals. Using known noise statistics, thresholds with given false alarm probabilities are established for one- and two-spacecraft experiments. Given the threshold, the detection probability is calculated as a function of gravitational wave amplitude for both one- and two-spacecraft experiments, assuming random polarization states and under various assumptions about wave directions. This allows quantitative statements about the detection efficiency of these experiments and the utility of coincidence experiments. In particular, coincidence probabilities for two-spacecraft experiments are insensitive to the angle between the directions to the two spacecraft, indicating that near-optical experiments can be done without constraints on spacecraft trajectories.

Tinto, Massimo↗
NASA NTRS1979

Gravitational radiation detection with spacecraft Doppler tracking - Limiting sensitivities and prospective missions

The prospects of using spacecraft Doppler tracking, in NASA missions, for the detection of gravitational waves are examined. The sensitivity limits of such detection are characterized in terms of plasma scintillation, troposphere scintillation, receiver noise, MDA and ODA quantization error, and clock jitter. Current and possible future NASA missions that will involve gravitational wave experiments are briefly reviewed, including the Galileo, solar polar, Halley/Tempel-2, and solar probe missions.

Estabrook, F. B.↗