Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “Persistent Availability”

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.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 613 records · Page 34
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2019

Optically oriented attachment of nanoscale metal-semiconductor heterostructures in organic solvents via photonic nanosoldering

As devices approach the single-nanoparticle scale, the rational assembly of nanomaterial heterojunctions remains a persistent challenge. While optical traps can manipulate objects in three dimensions, to date, nanoscale materials have been trapped primarily in aqueous solvents or vacuum. Here, we demonstrate the use of optical traps to manipulate, align, and assemble metal-seeded nanowire building blocks in a range of organic solvents. Anisotropic radiation pressure generates an optical torque that orients each nanowire, and subsequent trapping of aligned nanowires enables deterministic fabrication of arbitrarily long heterostructures of periodically repeating bismuth-nanocrystal/germanium-nanowire junctions. Heat transport calculations, back-focal-plane interferometry, and optical images reveal that the bismuth nanocrystal melts during trapping, facilitating tip-to-tail “nanosoldering” of the germanium nanowires. These bismuth-semiconductor interfaces may be useful for quantum computing or thermoelectric applications. In addition, the ability to trap nanostructures in oxygen- and water-free organic media broadly expands the library of materials available for optical manipulation and single-particle spectroscopy.

42 ENGINEERING↗
NASA NTRS2018

NASA's Black Marble Nighttime Lights Product Suite

NASA's Black Marble nighttime lights product suite (VNP46) is available at 500 meters resolution since January 2012 with data from the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) Day/Night Band (DNB) onboard the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Platform (SNPP). The retrieval algorithm, developed and implemented for routine global processing at NASA's Land Science Investigator-led Processing System (SIPS), utilizes all high-quality, cloud-free, atmospheric-, terrain-, vegetation-, snow-, lunar-, and stray light-corrected radiances to estimate daily nighttime lights (NTL) and other intrinsic surface optical properties. Key algorithm enhancements include: (1) lunar irradiance modeling to resolve non-linear changes in phase and libration; (2) vector radiative transfer and lunar bidirectional surface anisotropic reflectance modeling to correct for atmospheric and BRDF (Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function) effects; (3) geometric-optical and canopy radiative transfer modeling to account for seasonal variations in NTL; and (4) temporal gap-filling to reduce persistent data gaps. Extensive benchmark tests at representative spatial and temporal scales were conducted on the VNP46 time series record to characterize the uncertainties stemming from upstream data sources. Initial validation results are presented together with example case studies illustrating the scientific utility of the products. This includes an evaluation of temporal patterns of NTL dynamics associated with urbanization, socioeconomic variability, cultural characteristics, and displaced populations affected by conflict. Current and planned activities under the Group on Earth Observations (GEO) Human Planet Initiative are aimed at evaluating the products at different geographic locations and time periods representing the full range of retrieval conditions.

Suomi-NPP↗
DOE OSTI2012

A National Collaboratory to Advance the Science of High Temperature Plasma Physics for Magnetic Fusion

This report summarizes the work of the National Fusion Collaboratory (NFC) Project to develop a persistent infrastructure to enable scientific collaboration for magnetic fusion research. The original objective of the NFC project was to develop and deploy a national FES Grid (FusionGrid) that would be a system for secure sharing of computation, visualization, and data resources over the Internet. The goal of FusionGrid was to allow scientists at remote sites to participate as fully in experiments and computational activities as if they were working on site thereby creating a unified virtual organization of the geographically dispersed U.S. fusion community. The vision for FusionGrid was that experimental and simulation data, computer codes, analysis routines, visualization tools, and remote collaboration tools are to be thought of as network services. In this model, an application service provider (ASP provides and maintains software resources as well as the necessary hardware resources. The project would create a robust, user-friendly collaborative software environment and make it available to the US FES community. This Grid's resources would be protected by a shared security infrastructure including strong authentication to identify users and authorization to allow stakeholders to control their own resources. In this environment, access to services is stressed rather than data or software portability.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

MISTRAL: Concept and Analysis of Persistent Airborne Localization of GHG Emissions

In this study, we propose a concept for localizing and mitigating greenhouse gases and other emissions from areas of various sizes, using a multiscale, airborne localization fleet, supported by information from satellites. Our objective is a rapidly implementable capability for the reduction of atmospheric methane by empowering the communities in proximity to emissions to actively contribute to methane mitigation via fleet operations by local governments, first responders, and individuals . Fully autonomous operations are economically desirable and technically feasible now. However, the development of regulations for autonomous operations is in early stages. Since rapid impact is critical to reducing emissions, the concept starts with remotely controlled vehicles. As regulations for autonomous operations reach maturity, the concept can be easily transitioned from the remotely piloted to autonomous mode. We report on a preliminary system analysis of the concept. Localization of methane emissions from the Permian Basin oil and gas production site serves as the design reference mission; however, the airborne concept is applicable to a broad range of use cases, and we describe several in this analysis. We consider leveraging satellite and ground-based resources within the airborne concept of operations. The study analyses uninhabited aerial system localization operations under the most conservative assumptions on resources and available information. Even under these assumptions, the concept is shown to be viable for local community operations.

airborne methane localization↗
DOE OSTI2016

Greening of the Earth and its drivers

Global environmental change is rapidly altering the dynamics of terrestrial vegetation, with consequences for the functioning of the Earth system and provision of ecosystem services 1, 2 . Yet how global vegetation is responding to the changing environment is not well established. Here we use three long-term satellite leaf area index (LAI) records and ten global ecosystem models to investigate four key drivers of LAI trends during 1982 2009. We show a persistent and widespread increase of growing season integrated LAI (greening) over 25% to 50% of the global vegetated area, whereas less than 4% of the globe shows decreasing LAI (browning). Factorial simulations with multiple global ecosystem models suggest that CO 2 fertilization effects explain 70% of the observed greening trend, followed by nitrogen deposition (9%), climate change (8%) and land cover change (LCC) (4%). CO 2 fertilization effects explain most of the greening trends in the tropics, whereas climate change resulted in greening of the high latitudes and the Tibetan Plateau. LCC contributed most to the regional greening observed in southeast China and the eastern United States. In conclusion, the regional effects of unexplained factors suggest that the next generation of ecosystem models will need to explore the impacts of forest demography, differences in regional management intensities for cropland and pastures, and other emerging productivity constraints such as phosphorus availability.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2012

Mechanical Demolition of Buildings with Concrete Asbestos Board Siding: Methodology, Precautions, and Results at the Hanford Central Plateau - 12417

Since the start of its contract in 2008, the CH2M Hill Plateau Remediation Company (CH2M HILL) has demolished 25 buildings with concrete asbestos board (CAB) siding using mechanical means. While the asbestos contained in CAB siding is not friable in its manufactured form, concerns persist that mechanical methods of demolition have the potential to render the asbestos friable and airborne, therefore posing a health risk to demolition workers and the public. CH2M HILL's experience demonstrates that when carefully managed, mechanical demolition of CAB siding can be undertaken safely, successfully, and in compliance with regulatory requirements for the disposal of Class II Asbestos-Containing Material (ACM). While the number of buildings demolished at Hanford and the number of samples collected does not make a conclusive argument that CAB cannot be made friable with normal demolition techniques, it certainly provides a significant body of evidence for the success of the approach. Of course, there are many factors that affect how to demolish a structure and dispose of the waste. These factors will impact the success depending on each site. The most obvious factors which contribute to this success at Hanford are: 1. The availability of onsite waste disposal where the handling and cost of asbestos-containing waste is not much different than other potentially contaminated waste. Therefore, segregation of demolition debris from the potential asbestos contamination is not necessary from a debris handling or asbestos disposal aspect. 2. The space between structures is typically significant enough to allow for large exclusion zones. There are not many restrictions due to cohabitation issues or potential contamination of adjacent facilities. 3. The willingness of the regulators and client to understand the industrial safety issues associated with manual CAB removal. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
NASA NTRS1993

Multiwavelength observations of unidentified high energy gamma ray sources

As was the case for COS B, the majority of high-energy (greater than 100 MeV) gamma-ray sources detected by the EGRET instrument on GRO are not immediately identifiable with cataloged objects at other wavelengths. These persistent gamma-ray sources are, next to the gamma-ray bursts, the least understood objects in the universe. Even a rudimentary understanding of their nature awaits identifications and follow-up work at other wavelengths to tell us what they are. The as yet unidentified sources are potentially the most interesting, since they may represent unrecognized new classes of astronomical objects, such as radio-quiet pulsars or new types of active galactic nuclei (AGN's). This two-year investigation is intended to support the analysis, correlation, and theoretical interpretation of data that we are obtaining at x ray, optical, and radio wavelengths in order to render the gamma-ray data interpretable. According to plan, in the first year concentration was on the identification and study of Geminga. The second year will be devoted to studies of similar unidentified gamma-ray sources which will become available in the first EGRET catalogs. The results obtained so far are presented in the two papers which are reproduced in the Appendix. In these papers, we discuss the pulse profiles of Geminga, the geometry and efficiency of the magnetospheric accelerator, the distance to Geminga, the implications for theories of polar cap heating, the effect of the magnetic field on the surface emission and environment of the neutron star, and possible interpretations of a radio-quiet Geminga. The implications of the other gamma-ray pulsars which were discovered to have high gamma-ray efficiency are also discussed, and the remaining unidentified COS B sources are attributed to a population of efficient gamma-ray sources, some of which may be radio quiet.

Halpern, Jules P.↗
DOE OSTI2019

Near-Singular equilibrium currents near magnetic islands with broken symmetry

The conventional cylindrical analytical model of a magnetic island is symmetric with respect to combined reflection in the poloidal and toroidal angles, a symmetry property sometimes called "stellarator symmetry". There are cancellations in the pressure driven currents when an island is stellarator symmetric that are not there when the symmetry is broken. When the symmetry is broken, new aspects of the island physics emerge. The diamagnetic current driven by the scalar pressure is no longer ambipolar. The pressure-driven current generally has a logarithmic (integrable) singularity at the island separatrix. These effects manifest themselves when taking into account incomplete flattening of the pressure along magnetic field lines. A small magnetic island has only a small effect on the ambient pressure gradient, so that the pressure is not constant on the flux surfaces near the island. For larger islands, this behavior persists near the X-lines. The equilibrium solutions with a small island are to be compared with 3D MHD equilibrium solutions that are constrained to have simply nested flux surfaces, where the pressure-driven current goes like $1/x$ near rational surfaces, where $x$ is the distance from the rational surface. This paper presents an investigation of the pressure driven current near a small magnetic island in a cylindrical magnetic field with perturbed circular flux surfaces. The conventional analytical cylindrical model of a field with a magnetic island is augmented with a resonant component that breaks the stellarator symmetry without breaking the flux surfaces. Furthermore the effects of stellarator symmetry on magnetic islands in tokamaks are of particular interest in the context of the stabilization of edge localized modes (ELMs) by resonant magnetic perturbations (RMPs). In stellarators, the design studies for the major contemporary devices have discarded half the design parameters available for optimization at the outset by assuming stellarator symmetry.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2013

THE TRENDS HIGH-CONTRAST IMAGING SURVEY. III. A FAINT WHITE DWARF COMPANION ORBITING HD 114174

The nearby Sun-like star HD 114174 exhibits a strong and persistent Doppler acceleration indicating the presence of an unseen distant companion. We have acquired high-contrast imaging observations of this star using NIRC2 at Keck and report the direct detection of the body responsible for causing the ''trend''. HD 114174 B has a projected separation of 692 {+-} 9 mas (18.1 AU) and is 10.75 {+-} 0.12 mag (contrast of 5 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup -5}) fainter than its host in the K-band, requiring aggressive point-spread function subtraction to identify. Our astrometric time baseline of 1.4 yr demonstrates physical association through common proper motion. We find that the companion has absolute magnitude, M{sub J} = 13.97 {+-} 0.11, and colors, J - K = 0.12 {+-} 0.16 mag. These characteristics are consistent with an Almost-Equal-To T3 dwarf, initially leading us to believe that HD 114174 B was a substellar object. However, a dynamical analysis that combines radial velocity measurements with available imaging data indicates a minimum mass of 0.260 {+-} 0.010 M{sub Sun }. We conclude that HD 114174 B must be a white dwarf. Assuming a hydrogen-rich composition, atmospheric and evolutionary model fits yield an effective temperature T{sub eff} = 8200 {+-} 4000 K, surface gravity log g = 8.90 {+-} 0.02, and cooling age of t{sub c} Almost-Equal-To 3.4 Gyr, which is consistent with the 4.7{sup +2.3}{sub -2.6} Gyr host star isochronal age estimate. HD 114174 B is a benchmark object located only 26.14 {+-} 0.37 pc from the Sun. It may be studied at a level of detail comparable to Sirius and Procyon, and used to understand the link between the mass of white dwarf remnants with that of their progenitors.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
NASA NTRS1979

Gravity as a biochemical determinant

The existence of obvious morphological and physiological changes in living systems exposed to altered gravity immediately informs us that prior changes have taken place in the chemistry of exposed cells, tissues and organs. These changes include transients that return more or less promptly to the norm when the system is restored to the terrestrial g-field. For example, altered serum hormone and electrolyte levels in man, which appear to reflect successful adaptation to the conditions of orbital weightlessness, disappear shortly after return to Earth. Other changes--in mineral and protein constituents of the skeletal system in man, and cell wall composition in plants--are more persistent or even permanent. Hypogravitational departures from the norm include not only "weightlessness" as achieved in orbit, but also experimental modes of compensation, on the clinostat or by flotation. These techniques are useful in the study of hypogravity but cannot replace fully the weightless environment. Plant ethylene and peroxidase both increase under orbital, clinostat and/or flotation conditions whereas 3-phosphoglyceraldehyde-dehydrogenase increases under orbital but not clinostat conditions; cytochrome reductase and malic dehydrogenase levels are affected by the clinostat, but not by actual weightless conditions. How do the altered organismal biochemistries induced by the centrifuge and the clinostat relate to one another? Does gravity operate on living systems as a continuous variable from 0 to superterrestrial values, or do deviations from g(earth) generate non-uniform, discontinuous stress responses, irrespective of sign? In plants, measurements of wall lignin content and peroxidase activity yield opposite answers. Given the limited data so far available we will consider the meaning of these contradictions.

Review↗
DOE OSTI2024

Mapping TpPa-1 covalent organic framework (COF) molecular interactions in mixed solvents via atomistic modeling and experimental study

Complex solvent environments continue to limit the widespread adoption of organic solvent nanofiltration (OSN) in many chemical industry applications. In this paper we employ a commercially available covalent organic framework (COF), TpPa-1, and force field models to molecularly map separation performance of TpPa-1 membrane in mixed solvents. To minimize time and length scale mismatch between atomistic modeling and experiments, solvent permeance was normalized with water in modeling and experimental results to enable direct comparison. Model outputs, such as organic solvent permeance and solute rejection rate, matched well with filtration results. Since the atomistic models assume that all mass transfer is via through-pore transport, the discrepancies between modeling and experimental results provide insights on the effect of linear polymer defects, adsorption and interstitial mass transfer on polycrystalline COF membrane performance. In sum, force field models can serve as digital twins of COF membranes to simulate separation processes while capturing the effects of COF structure, chemistry, and crystallinity on membrane performance in complex organic solvent environments. Finally, this approach will provide insight into future COF design and synthesis for persisting separation challenges.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2025

A novel regulator of the fungal phosphate starvation response revealed by transcriptional profiling and DNA affinity purification sequencing

Cells must accurately sense and respond to nutrients to compete for resources and establish growth. Phosphate is a critical nutrient source necessary for signaling, energy metabolism, and synthesis of nucleic acids, phospholipids, and cellular metabolites. During phosphate limitation, fungi import phosphate from the environment and liberate phosphate from phosphate-containing molecules in the cell. In the model filamentous fungus Neurospora crassa, the phosphate starvation response is regulated by the conserved transcription factor NUC-1. The activity of NUC-1 is repressed by a complex of the cyclin-dependent kinase MDK-1 and the cyclin PREG when phosphate is plentiful. When phosphate is limiting, NUC-1 repression by MDK-1/PREG is relieved by the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor NUC-2. We investigated the global response of N. crassa to phosphate starvation. During phosphate starvation, NUC-1 directly activated the expression of genes encoding phosphatases, nucleases, and a phosphate transporter and directly repressed genes associated with the ribosome. Additionally, NUC-1 indirectly activated the expression of an uncharacterized transcription factor, which we named nuc-3. NUC-3 directly repressed the expression of genes involved in phosphate acquisition and liberation after an extended period of phosphate starvation. Additionally, NUC-3 directly repressed the expression of the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor nuc-2. Thus, through the combination of NUC-3 direct repression of genes in the phosphate starvation response and nuc-2, an activator of the phosphate starvation response, NUC-3 serves to act as a brake on the phosphate starvation response after an extended period of phosphate starvation. This braking mechanism could reduce transcription, a phosphate-intensive process, under conditions of extended phosphate limitation.IMPORTANCEFungi have evolved regulatory networks to respond to available nutrients. Phosphate is often a limiting nutrient for fungi that is critical for many cellular functions, including nucleic acid and phospholipid biosynthesis, cell signaling, and energy metabolism. The fungal response to phosphate limitation is important in interactions with plants and animals. We investigated the global transcriptional response to phosphate starvation and the role of a major transcriptional regulator, NUC-1, in the model filamentous fungus Neurospora crassa. Our data show that NUC-1 is a bifunctional transcription factor that directly activates phosphate acquisition genes, while directly repressing genes associated with phosphate-intensive processes. NUC-1 indirectly regulates an uncharacterized transcription factor, which we named nuc-3. NUC-3 directly represses phosphate acquisition genes and nuc-2, an activator of the phosphate starvation response, during extended periods of phosphate starvation. Thus, NUC-3 acts as a brake on the phosphate starvation response to reduce phosphate-intensive activities, like transcriptional activation, when phosphate starvation persists.

DNA affinity purification sequencing↗
NASA NTRS2020

VEG-04: The Effects of Light Quality on Mizuna Mustard Growth, Nutritional Composition, and Organoleptic Acceptability for a Space Diet

Growing fresh, nutritious, palatable produce for crew consumption during spaceflight may provide health-promoting, bioavailable nutrients and enhance the astronaut dietary experience as we move toward longer-duration missions. Tending plants may also serve as a countermeasure for crew psychological stresses associated with spaceflight. However, requirements to support consistent growth of a variety of high quality, nutritious crops under spaceflight environmental conditions remain unclear. This study explores the potential to grow crops for consumption on the International Space Station (ISS) using the Veggie vegetable-production system. VEG-04A and B were two flight tests conducted in 2019 with the leafy green crop mizuna mustard. Mizuna was grown in two Veggie chambers simultaneously, with the chambers set to different red-to-blue light formulations; one Veggie was programmed as "red-rich" and the second as "blue-rich." Light quality is known to impact plant growth, nutrition, microbiology, and organoleptic characteristics on Earth, and the Veggie flight tests examined how these impacts might differ in microgravity. VEG-04A, a 35-day growth test with a single harvest, was initiated in June and harvested in July 2019. At harvest, the astronauts froze half of the edible plant tissue to return to Earth and weighed the remaining half using the Mass Measurement Device (MMD). Weighed samples were then cleaned with produce-sanitizing wipes, and consenting crew members participated in organoleptic evaluation of the fresh produce. The remaining sanitized produce was available for crew consumption as desired. Frozen flight samples were returned at the end of August for microbial and chemical analyses to assess food safety and nutritional quality. No pathogens were detected on VEG-04A flight or ground control samples. On average, bacterial and fungal counts were significantly lower on ground control samples than flight samples. VEG-04B, a 56-day test with multiple harvests from the same plants, assessed sustained productivity. VEG-04B was initiated in October 2019 with three harvests at four, six, and eight weeks after initiation. Challenges with the watering program occurred early during VEG-04A, and several plants failed to survive in both the flight and ground control operations. Thus, prior to VEG-04B, an extra test was conducted to tailor water timing and volumes. This test determined that mizuna grew best if the wicks inside the plant pillow were allowed to dry after plants germinated, reducing persistent water around the stem. The wicks changed from being a conduit for water out of the plant pillow to being a conduit for air into the root zone. This test allowed a fine tuning of methods for VEG-04B. It is our hope that these tests on ISS will help mitigate the risk of an inadequate food supply for long-duration missions by adding fresh vegetables to the crew diet. This research was co-funded by the Human Research Program and Space Biology (MTL#1075) in the ILSRA 2015 NRA call.

Massa, Gioia D.↗
DOE OSTI2015

Infrared laser induced population transfer and parity selection in {sup 14}NH{sub 3}: A proof of principle experiment towards detecting parity violation in chiral molecules

We have set up an experiment for the efficient population transfer by a sequential two photon—absorption and stimulated emission—process in a molecular beam to prepare quantum states of well defined parity and their subsequent sensitive detection. This provides a proof of principle for an experiment which would allow for parity selection and measurement of the time evolution of parity in chiral molecules, resulting in a measurement of the parity violating energy difference Δ{sub pv}E between enantiomers of chiral molecules. Here, we present first results on a simple achiral molecule demonstrating efficient population transfer (about 80% on the average for each step) and unperturbed persistence of a selected excited parity level over flight times of about 1.3 ms in the beam. In agreement with model calculations with and without including nuclear hyperfine structure, efficient population transfer can be achieved by a rather simple implementation of the rapid adiabatic passage method of Reuss and coworkers and considering also the stimulated Raman adiabatic passage technique of Bergmann and coworkers as an alternative. The preparation step uses two powerful single mode continuous wave optical parametric oscillators of high frequency stability and accuracy. The detection uses a sensitive resonantly enhanced multiphoton ionization method after free flight lengths of up to 0.8 m in the molecular beam. Using this technique, we were able to also resolve the nuclear hyperfine structure in the rovibrational levels of the ν{sub 1} and ν{sub 3} fundamentals as well as the 2ν{sub 4} overtone of {sup 14}NH{sub 3}, for which no previous data with hyperfine resolution were available. We present our new results on the quadrupole coupling constants for the ν{sub 1}, ν{sub 3}, and 2ν{sub 4} levels in the context of previously known data for ν{sub 2} and its overtone, as well as ν{sub 4}, and the ground state. Thus, now, {sup 14}N quadrupole coupling constants for all fundamentals and some overtones of {sup 14}NH{sub 3} are known and can be used for further theoretical analysis.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2016

A stochastic model of solid state thin film deposition: Application to chalcopyrite growth

Developing high fidelity quantitative models of solid state reaction systems can be challenging, especially in deposition systems where, in addition to the multiple competing processes occurring simultaneously, the solid interacts with its atmosphere. In this work, we develop a model for the growth of a thin solid film where species from the atmosphere adsorb, diffuse, and react with the film. The model is mesoscale and describes an entire film with thickness on the order of microns. Because it is stochastic, the model allows us to examine inhomogeneities and agglomerations that would be impossible to characterize with deterministic methods. We demonstrate the modeling approach with the example of chalcopyrite Cu(InGa)(SeS){sub 2} thin film growth via precursor reaction, which is a common industrial method for fabricating thin film photovoltaic modules. The model is used to understand how and why through-film variation in the composition of Cu(InGa)(SeS){sub 2} thin films arises and persists. We believe that the model will be valuable as an effective quantitative description of many other materials systems used in semiconductors, energy storage, and other fast-growing industries.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2016

M STARS IN THE TW HYA ASSOCIATION: STELLAR X-RAYS AND DISK DISSIPATION

To investigate the potential connection between the intense X-ray emission from young low-mass stars and the lifetimes of their circumstellar planet-forming disks, we have compiled the X-ray luminosities (L {sub X}) of M stars in the ∼8 Myr old TW Hya Association (TWA) for which X-ray data are presently available. Our investigation includes analysis of archival Chandra data for the TWA binary systems TWA 8, 9, and 13. Although our study suffers from poor statistics for stars later than M3, we find a trend of decreasing L{sub X}/L{sub bol} with decreasing T {sub eff} for TWA M stars, wherein the earliest-type (M0–M2) stars cluster near log(L{sub X}/L{sub bol})≈−3.0 and then log(L{sub X}/L{sub bol}) decreases, and its distribution broadens, for types M4 and later. The fraction of TWA stars that display evidence for residual primordial disk material also sharply increases in this same (mid-M) spectral type regime. This apparent anticorrelation between the relative X-ray luminosities of low-mass TWA stars and the longevities of their circumstellar disks suggests that primordial disks orbiting early-type M stars in the TWA have dispersed rapidly as a consequence of their persistent large X-ray fluxes. Conversely, the disks orbiting the very lowest-mass pre-MS stars and pre-MS brown dwarfs in the Association may have survived because their X-ray luminosities and, hence, disk photoevaporation rates are very low to begin with, and then further decline relatively early in their pre-MS evolution.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

SYNTHESIZED SPECTRA OF OPTICALLY THIN EMISSION LINES PRODUCED BY THE BIFROST STELLAR ATMOSPHERE CODE, INCLUDING NONEQUILIBRIUM IONIZATION EFFECTS: A STUDY OF THE INTENSITY, NONTHERMAL LINE WIDTHS, AND DOPPLER SHIFTS

In recent years realistic 3D numerical models of the solar atmosphere have become available. The models attempt to recreate the solar atmosphere and mimic observations in the best way, in order to make it possible to couple complicated observations with physical properties such as the temperatures, densities, velocities, and magnetic fields. We here present a study of synthetic spectra created using the Bifrost code in order to assess how well they fit with previously taken solar data. A study of the synthetic intensity, nonthermal line widths, Doppler shifts, and correlations between any two of these three components of the spectra first assuming statistical equilibrium is made, followed by a report on some of the effects nonequilibrium ionization will have on the synthesized spectra. We find that the synthetic intensities compare well with the observations. The synthetic observations depend on the assumed resolution and point-spread function (PSF) of the instrument, and we find a large effect on the results, especially for intensity and nonthermal line width. The Doppler shifts produce the reported persistent redshifts for the transition region (TR) lines and blueshifts for the upper TR and corona lines. The nonthermal line widths reproduce the well-known turnoff point around (2–3) × 10{sup 5} K, but with much lower values than those observed. The nonthermal line widths tend to increase with decreasing assumed instrumental resolution, also when nonequilibrium ionization is included. Correlations between the nonthermal line width of any two TR line studies as reported by Chae et al. are reproduced, while the correlations of intensity to line width are reproduced only after applying a PSF to the data. Doppler shift correlations reported by Doschek for the TR lines and correlations of Doppler shift to nonthermal line width of the Fe xii{sub 19.5} line reported by Doschek et al. are reproduced.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗