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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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NASA NTRS1987

The IRAS view of the extragalactic sky

The IR-observable characteristics of the extragalactic sky are reviewed, summarizing the results of recent studies based on the IRAS survey, which covers over 96 percent of the sky to about 500 mJy at 12, 25, and 60 microns and to about 1.5 Jy at 100 microns. The numerical and morphological data are described; possible mechanisms for the IR emission are discussed; and the object classes are considered separately. Consideration is given to spiral and disk galaxies, barred and ring galaxies, irregular and dwarf galaxies, blue compact galaxies, elliptical and S0 galaxies, AGN observations (BL Lacs and OVV quasars, Seyfert galaxies, and quasars), highly luminous IR galaxies, and the cosmological implications of the IRAS findings. Diagrams, graphs, and tables are provided.

Soifer, B. T.↗
NASA NTRS1989

The nature of the annihilation radiation and gamma-ray continuum from the Galactic center region

Analysis of the observations of the time-dependent, electron-positron annihilation line radiation and gamma-ray continuum emission from the region of the Galactic center shows that ther are two components to the emission: (1) a variable, compact source of 511 keV annihilation line and higher energy continuum emission active from about 1977 through 1979 at or near the Galactic center; and (2) a steady, diffuse interstellar source of 511 keV annihilation line and orthopositronium continuum emission, having a galactic longitudinal distribution consistent with that of the more than 70 MeV gamma rays or the molecular (CO) gas. It is found that the continuum spectrum of the compact source shows no evidence for orthopositronium annihilation. It is suggested that all of the three-photon orthopositronium continuum observed so far originates from the diffuse interstellar component. The continuum spectrum of the compact source is very similar to that of the black-hole candidate Cygnus X-1, supporting our earlier arguments that this object, at or near the Galactic center, is a black hole of stellar mass.

Lingenfelter, Richard E.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Magnetic bearings: A key technology for advanced rocket engines?

For several years, active magnetic bearings (AMB) have demonstrated their capabilities in many fields, from industrial compressors to control wheel suspension for spacecraft. Despite this broad area, no significant advance has been observed in rocket propulsion turbomachinery, where size, efficiency, and cost are crucial design criteria. To this respect, Societe Europeenne de Propulsion (SEP) had funded for several years significant efforts to delineate the advantages and drawbacks of AMB applied to rocket propulsion systems. Objectives of this work, relative technological basis, and improvements are described and illustrated by advanced turbopump layouts. Profiting from the advantages of compact design in cryogenic environments, the designs show considerable improvements in engine life, performances, and reliability. However, these conclusions should still be tempered by high recurrent costs, mainly due to the space-rated electronics. Development work focused on this point and evolution of electronics show the possibility to decrease production costs by an order of magnitude.

Girault, J. PH.↗
NASA NTRS1998

The Parsec-Scale Magnetic Field Properties of Low-Optical Polarization Blazars

Past variability studies of flat-spectrum, compact extra-galactic radio sources have suggested that low- and high-optically polarized quasars (LPQ/HPQ) are the same type of object, differing only in the angle their relativistic jets make to the line of sight. This view has been challenged, however, by recent millimeter-wave polarization observations which indicate intrinsic differences in the inner magnetic field properties of the two classes. The inner jets of LPQs tend to have lower fractional polarizations than HPQs, and inferred magnetic field directions that are mostly parallel to the jet. The magnetic fields of HPQs, on the other hand, lie mainly in a transverse direction. The latter configuration is a prediction of the standard shock-in-jet model, in which a portion of a jet undergoes a strong transverse compression, thereby enhancing the perpendicular components of an originally tangled magnetic field. The main goal of this study is to establish a connection between the optical polarization and magnetic field properties of the inner jets of blazars. The magnetic field orientations of several HPQs have been shown to be stable over many years, which may be due to standing shock(s) located close to the base of the jet. Since these shocks are able to produce large amounts of optically polarized synchrotron radiation, their presence may very well determine whether an object is classified as an HPQ or LPQ. We have imaged the parsec-scale jet regions and magnetic fields of 11 LPQs with the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) at 43 and 22 GHz, and have obtained near- simultaneous optical polarization data for the sample. We discuss correlations between the optical and radio polarization data, and compare the LPQ properties to those of a sample of HPQs presently being monitored with the VLBA and JCMT at mm and sub-mm wavelengths, respectively. This research was performed in part at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under contract to NASA.

Lister, Matthew L.↗
NASA NTRS2007

Decision-Tree Formulation With Order-1 Lateral Execution

A compact symbolic formulation enables mapping of an arbitrarily complex decision tree of a certain type into a highly computationally efficient multidimensional software object. The type of decision trees to which this formulation applies is that known in the art as the Boolean class of balanced decision trees. Parallel lateral slices of an object created by means of this formulation can be executed in constant time considerably less time than would otherwise be required. Decision trees of various forms are incorporated into almost all large software systems. A decision tree is a way of hierarchically solving a problem, proceeding through a set of true/false responses to a conclusion. By definition, a decision tree has a tree-like structure, wherein each internal node denotes a test on an attribute, each branch from an internal node represents an outcome of a test, and leaf nodes represent classes or class distributions that, in turn represent possible conclusions. The drawback of decision trees is that execution of them can be computationally expensive (and, hence, time-consuming) because each non-leaf node must be examined to determine whether to progress deeper into a tree structure or to examine an alternative. The present formulation was conceived as an efficient means of representing a decision tree and executing it in as little time as possible. The formulation involves the use of a set of symbolic algorithms to transform a decision tree into a multi-dimensional object, the rank of which equals the number of lateral non-leaf nodes. The tree can then be executed in constant time by means of an order-one table lookup. The sequence of operations performed by the algorithms is summarized as follows: 1. Determination of whether the tree under consideration can be encoded by means of this formulation. 2. Extraction of decision variables. 3. Symbolic optimization of the decision tree to minimize its form. 4. Expansion and transformation of all nested conjunctive-disjunctive paths to a flattened conjunctive form composed only of equality checks when possible. If each reduced conjunctive form contains only equality checks and all of these forms use the same variables, then the decision tree can be reduced to an order-one operation through a table lookup. The speedup to order one is accomplished by distributing each decision variable over a surface of a multidimensional object by mapping the equality constant to an index

James, Mark↗
NASA NTRS1994

Postrefurbishment mission Hubble Space Telescope images of the core of the Orion Nebula: Proplyds, Herbig-Haro objects, and measurements of a circumstellar disk

We report on observations of M42 made with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) immediately after the successful repair and refurbishment mission. Images were made in the strongest optical emission lines of H I, (N II), and (O III) and in a bandpass close to V. In a previous paper, the term proplyd was introduced to describe young stars surrounded by circumstellar material rendered visible by being in an H II region. We confirm the proplyd nature of 17 of 18 objects found earlier with the HST, incorporate 13 previously known sources into the class on the basis of their emission-line appearance, and find 26 additional members not seen previously in other wavelengths. Half of the 110 stars brighter than V = 21 show proplyd structure, which implies that more than half of the stars have circumstellar material since nebular structures are more difficult to detect than stars. The highly variable forms of the proplyds can be explained on the basis of balance of ambient stellar gas pressure and radial pressure arising from the stellar wind and radiation pressure of the dominant stars in the region. Arguments are presented explaining the proplyds as disks or flattened envelopes surrounding young stars, hence they are possible planetary disks. The characteristic mass of ionized material is 2 x 10(exp 28) g, which becomes a lower limit to the total mass of the proplyds. A new, coordinate-based, designation scheme for compact sources and stars in the vicinity of M42 is proposed and applied. Evidence is presented that one of the previously known bright Herbig-Haro objects (HH 203) may be the result of a stream of material coming from a proplyd shocking against the neutral lid that covers M42. One object, 183-405, is a proplyd seen only in silhouette against the bright nebular background. It is elliptical, with dimensions 0.9 sec by 1.2 sec and surrounds a pre-main-sequence star of at least 0.2 solar mass. The outer parts of this stellar disk are optically thin and allow column mass densities to be determined. We set a lower limit to this disk to be 0.1-4.4 x 10(exp 28) g, dependent on the assumed gas to dust mass ratio.

O'Dell, C. R.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Runge-Kutta methods combined with compact difference schemes for the unsteady Euler equations

Recent development using compact difference schemes to solve the Navier-Stokes equations show spectral-like accuracy. A study was made of the numerical characteristics of various combinations of the Runge-Kutta (RK) methods and compact difference schemes to calculate the unsteady Euler equations. The accuracy of finite difference schemes is assessed based on the evaluations of dissipative error. The objectives are reducing the numerical damping and, at the same time, preserving numerical stability. While this approach has tremendous success solving steady flows, numerical characteristics of unsteady calculations remain largely unclear. For unsteady flows, in addition to the dissipative errors, phase velocity and harmonic content of the numerical results are of concern. As a result of the discretization procedure, the simulated unsteady flow motions actually propagate in a dispersive numerical medium. Consequently, the dispersion characteristics of the numerical schemes which relate the phase velocity and wave number may greatly impact the numerical accuracy. The aim is to assess the numerical accuracy of the simulated results. To this end, the Fourier analysis is to provide the dispersive correlations of various numerical schemes. First, a detailed investigation of the existing RK methods is carried out. A generalized form of an N-step RK method is derived. With this generalized form, the criteria are derived for the three and four-step RK methods to be third and fourth-order time accurate for the non-linear equations, e.g., flow equations. These criteria are then applied to commonly used RK methods such as Jameson's 3-step and 4-step schemes and Wray's algorithm to identify the accuracy of the methods. For the spatial discretization, compact difference schemes are presented. The schemes are formulated in the operator-type to render themselves suitable for the Fourier analyses. The performance of the numerical methods is shown by numerical examples. These examples are detailed. described. The third case is a two-dimensional simulation of a Lamb vortex in an uniform flow. This calculation provides a realistic assessment of various finite difference schemes in terms of the conservation of the vortex strength and the harmonic content after travelling a substantial distance. The numerical implementation of Giles' non-refelctive equations coupled with the characteristic equations as the boundary condition is discussed in detail. Finally, the single vortex calculation is extended to simulate vortex pairing. For the distance between two vortices less than a threshold value, numerical results show crisp resolution of the vortex merging.

Yu, Sheng-Tao↗
NASA NTRS1977

Far-Infrared Photometry with an 0.4-Meter Liquid Helium Cooled Balloon-Borne Telescope

A 0.4-meter aperture, liquid helium cooled multichannel far-infrared balloon-borne telescope was constructed to survey the galactic plane. Nine new sources, above a 3-sigma confidence level of 1300 Jy, were identified. Although two-thirds of the scanned area was more than 10 degrees from the galactic plane, no sources were detected in that region; all nine fell within 10 degrees and eight of those within 4 degrees of the galactic equator. Correlations with visible, compact H lines associated with radio continuum and with sources displaying spectra steeply rising between 11 and 20 microns were noted, while stellar objects were not detected.

Jacobson, M. R.↗
NASA NTRS1979

The brightness distribution of IRC +10216 at 11 microns

The brightness distribution of IRC +10216 at a wavelength of 11 microns was measured in detail using a spatial interferometer. This brightness distribution appears to have azimuthal symmetry; an upper limit of 1.1 may be set to the ellipticity at 11 microns if the object has a major axis oriented either along or perpendicular to the major axis of the optical image. The radial distribution shows both compact and extended emission. The extended component, which is due to thermal emission from circumstellar dust, contributes 91% of the total flux and has a 1/e diameter of 0.90 minutes. The tapered shape of this component is consistent with a l/r squared dust density dependence. The compact component is unresolved (less than 0.2 minutes in diameter) and represents emission from the central star seen through the circumstellar envelope.

Sutton, E. C.↗
NASA NTRS1979

The brightness distribution of IRC +10216 at 11 microns

The brightness distribution of IRC +10216 at a wavelength of 11 microns has been measured in detail by using spatial interferometer. This brightness distribution appears to have azimuthal symmetry; an upper limit of 1.1 may be set to the ellipticity at 11 microns if the object has a major axis oriented either along or perpendicular to the major axis of the optical image. The radial distribution shows both compact and extended emission. The extended component, which is due to thermal emission from circumstellar dust, contributes 91% of the total flux and has a 1/e diameter of 0.90 arcsec. The tapered shape of this component is consistent with a dust density dependence on the inverse square of radial distance. The compact component is unresolved (less than 0.2 arcsec in diameter) and represents emission from the central star seen through the circumstellar envelope.

Sutton, E. C.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Optical surface contouring for non-destructive inspection of turbomachinery

Detection of stress cracks and other surface defects during maintenance and in-service inspection of propulsion system components, including turbine blades and combustion compartments, is presently performed visually. There is a need for a non-contact, miniaturized, and fully fieldable instrument that may be used as an automated inspection tool for inspection of aircraft engines. During this SBIR Phase 1 program, the feasibility of a ruggedized optical probe for automatic and nondestructive inspection of complex shaped objects will be established. Through a careful analysis of the measurement requirements, geometrical and optical constraints, and consideration of issues such as manufacturability, compactness, simplicity, and cost, one or more conceptual optical designs will be developed. The proposed concept will be further developed and a prototype will be fabricated during Phase 2.

Modarress, Dariush↗
NASA NTRS1994

HST photometry of the trapezium cluster

We have obtained images of 11 fields in the Trapezium cluster with the Planetary Camera (PC) of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) in order to extend Herbig & Terndrup's (1986) study of this prototype, dense embedded cluster to fainter magnitudes than is possible from the ground. Using these images, we have identified 319 stars within an area of approximately 12 sq arc min corresponding roughly to a volume of approximately 0.065 cu pc assuming the cluster is approximately spherically symmetric. Our completeness limits for star identification in V-band and I-band images are V approximately = 20 and I(sub c) approximately = 19 respectively, corresponding to a mass limit of approximately 0.15 solar mass if the faintest stars have the same average A(sub v) as that estimated for the brighter stars in the cluster. We have compared the V versus V-I color-magnitude diagram derived from the HST photometry to new theoretical isochrones. Star formation in the Trapezium appears to be remarkably coeval, with greater than or = 80% of the stars having inferred ages less than 1 Myr. Over the somewhat limited mass range of the observations, there is no evidence for 'bimodal' star formation-the high- and low-mass stars appear to have the same ages. The sharp cores of the HST images and the small angular size of the PC pixels has allowed us to identify 35 new visual binaries in the cluster with separations from approximately 0.06 arc sec (approximately 26 AU) to approximately 1.0 arc sec (approximately 440 AU). For the range of binary separations that we are sensitive to, the observed binary frequency for the Trapezium is essentially identical to that estimated for field low-mass stars by Duquennoy & Mayor (1991). The most straightfoward inference from this result is that binaries in this separation are unlikely to be formed by a tidal capture process. We have also identified three stars which have associated compact nebulosity visible in the HST images. One of these star + nebulosity cases was previously identified by O'Dell, Wen, & Hu (1993)-these objects appear to form a class of objects whose circumstellar matter is being 'lit up', most likely by Theta(sup 1) Ori C, enabling the gas to be observable at both optical and radio wavelengths (Felli et al. 1993a, b). We provide a brief summary of the optical properties of the other radio sources which appear in our PC images.

Prosser, Charles F.↗
NASA NTRS1995

Double core evolution. 7: The infall of a neutron star through the envelope of its massive star companion

Binary systems with properties similar to those of high-mass X-ray binaries are evolved through the common envelope phase. Three-dimensional simulations show that the timescale of the infall phase of the neutron star depends upon the evolutionary state of its massive companion. We find that tidal torques more effectively accelerate common envelope evolution for companions in their late core helium-burning stage and that the infall phase is rapid (approximately several initial orbital periods). For less evolved companions the decay of the orbit is longer; however, once the neutron star is deeply embedded within the companion's envelope the timescale for orbital decay decreases rapidly. As the neutron star encounters the high-density region surrounding the helium core of its massive companion, the rate of energy loss from the orbit increases dramatically leading to either partial or nearly total envelope ejection. The outcome of the common envelope phase depends upon the structure of the evolved companion. In particular, it is found that the entire common envelope can be ejected by the interaction of the neutron star with a red supergiant companion in binaries with orbital periods similar to those of long-period Be X-ray binaries. For orbital periods greater than or approximately equal to 0.8-2 yr (for companions of mass 12-24 solar mass) it is likely that a binary will survive the common envelope phase. For these systems, the structure of the progenitor star is characterized by a steep density gradient above the helium core, and the common envelope phase ends with a spin up of the envelope to within 50%-60% of corotation and with a slow mass outflow. The efficiency of mass ejection is found to be approximately 30%-40%. For less evolved companions, there is insufficient energy in the orbit to unbind the common envelope and only a fraction of it is ejected. Since the timescale for orbital decay is always shorter than the mass-loss timescale from the common envelope, the two cores will likely merge to form a Thorne-Zytkow object. Implications for the origin of Cyg X-3, an X-ray source consisting of a Wolf-Rayet star and a compact companion, and for the fate of the remnant binary consisting of a helium star and a neutron star are briefly discussed.

Terman, James L.↗
NASA NTRS1995

Advanced Payload Transfer Measurement System (APT-MS) Mechanical Features

During the last two feet or so of transfer, for a large or heavy payload to its restraining fixture, the consequences of unplanned contact (or impact) between payload and support structure can range from merely annoying to something approaching disaster. Current transfer methods employ technicians with meter sticks stationed at the various hold-down locations to estimate the distances to contact. This information is communicated orally to the crane operator. It is understandable that this work proceeds carefully and therefore slowly. The objectives of this study are (1) to explore mechanical sources of measurement error; and (2) to develop an improved prototype design that is compact, inexpensive, and addresses the measurement error issues. APT is a relatively inexpensive electro-mechanical device that reduces both time and manpower required to make shuttle payload transfers. APT measurement system would provide a GUI for the 'move-conductor' (crane operator) so he could see the displacements of all hold-down interfaces as they move together and thus have a more accurate, comprehensive and 'real-time' picture of the engagement activity. An error model attempts to include all estimatable sources of mechanical error and design features were introduced to reduce or eliminate major sources of error.

Brewer, William V.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Planetary Camera observations of NGC 1275 - Discovery of a central population of compact massive blue star clusters

The discovery of a population of bright blue pointlike sources within 5 kpc of the nucleus of NGC 1275 using HST Planetary Camera observations is reported. The typical object has MV of about -12 to -14. They are all blue, with V - R of less than about 0.3. The color distribution and lack of excess H-alpha emission are consistent with nearly all being continuum sources. Many sources are unresolved even with the HST and consequently have sizes of less than about 15 pc. It is suggested that these are young star clusters that will evolve to look like globular clusters. They are bluer than any clusters seen in the Milky Way or M87, and brighter than the blue clusters seen in the LMC. Ages of several hundred million years or less and corresponding masses of 10 exp 5 - 10 exp 8 solar masses are derived.

Holtzman, Jon A.↗
NASA NTRS1977

Far-infrared emission from compact sources in NGC 2264 and the Rosette Nebula

The paper reports the discovery of far-IR emission at 53, 100, and 175 microns from two sources (one in NGC 2264 and another near the Rosette Nebula) associated with molecular clouds but not with any detectable radio continuum emission. The maximum source diameters are estimated to be 20 arcsec, and the spectra of both objects are shown to be broader than that of a 'typical' H II region. It is found that both objects are unresolved at all the IR wavelengths observed, have relatively wide IR spectra, are located at or near the apices of fan-shaped cometary nebulae, have colors between 50 and 200 microns that are among the coolest of any observed far-IR sources, and have luminosities that are an order of magnitude less than the weakest sources observed near compact H II regions. A cylindrically symmetric source model is considered in which a 'hole' in the dust distribution around the central source provides the visible luminosity of the nearby nebula and the dust temperature decreases rapidly with distance. It is suggested that the central sources are probably pre-main-sequence stellar objects with masses of 5 to 10 solar masses and luminosities of a few thousand suns.

Harvey, P. M.↗
NASA NTRS1977

The compact radio sources in 4C 39.25 and 3C 345

Long-baseline interferometry of the quasars 4C 39.25 and 3C 345 at 10.65 and 14.77 GHz shows that the centimeter radio source in each object is double, with component separations of 0.0020 arcsec (4C 39.25) and 0.0013 arcsec (3C 345 at 1974.5). For each source, the separation is the same at both frequencies, as well as similar to the structure observed at 7.85 GHz (and 5.0 GHz for 4C 39.25). The spectra of the individual components are derived and shown to vary with time approximately as expected for expanding self-absorbed synchrotron sources. The magnetic fields in the components are estimated to be as high as 0.1 gauss, but the structure of the sources appears to be unrelated to the magnetic-field orientation derived from low-resolution polarization measurements. The component separation in 4C 39.25 has not changed for several years, whereas 3C 345 shows rapid expansion.

Shaffer, D. B.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Far-infrared photometry of compact extragalactic sources: OJ 187 and BL Lac

The 50 and 100 micron emissions of OJ 287 were detected and upper limits for BL Lac were obtained. These first measurements of two BL Lac objects in the far-infrared show them to be similar to the few quasars previously observed in the far-infrared. In particular, there is no evidence for significant dust emission, and the lambda approximately 100 micron flux density fits on a smooth line joining the near-infrared and millimeter continuum fluxes. The implications of the results for models of the sources are discussed briefly.

Harvey, P. M.↗