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At least 91 records · Page 5

Radio observations of a sample of broad-line type Ic supernovae discovered by PTF/IPTF: a search for relativistic explosions

Long duration γ-ray bursts are a rare subclass of stripped-envelope core-collapse supernovae (SNe) that launch collimated relativistic outflows (jets). All γ-ray-burst-associated SNe are spectroscopically Type Ic, with broad-lines, but the fraction of broad-lined SNe Ic harboring low-luminosity γ-ray bursts remains largely unconstrained. Some SNe should be accompanied by off-axis γ-ray burst jets that initially remain invisible, but then emerge as strong radio sources (as the jets decelerate). However, this critical prediction of the jet model for γ-ray bursts has yet to be verified observationally. Here, we present K. G. Jansky Very Large Array observations of 15 broad-lined SNe of Type Ic discovered by the Palomar Transient Factory in an untargeted manner. Most of the SNe in our sample exclude radio emission observationally similar to that of the radio-loud, relativistic SN 1998bw. We constrain the fraction of 1998bw-like broad-lined SNe Ic to be ≲41% (99.865% confidence). Most of the events in our sample also exclude off-axis jets similar to GRB 031203 and GRB 030329, but we cannot rule out off-axis γ-ray bursts expanding in a low-density wind environment. Three SNe in our sample are detected in the radio. PTF11qcj and PTF14dby show late-time radio emission with average ejecta speeds of ≈0.3–0.4 c, on the dividing line between relativistic and “ordinary” SNe. The speed of PTF11cmh radio ejecta is poorly constrained. We estimate that ≲85% (99.865% confidence) of the broad-lined SNe Ic in our sample may harbor off-axis γ-ray bursts expanding in media with densities in the range probed by this study.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

A SURVEY OF MAGNETIC WAVES EXCITED BY NEWBORN INTERSTELLAR He{sup +} OBSERVED BY THE ACE SPACECRAFT AT 1 au

We report observations of low-frequency waves at 1 au by the magnetic field instrument on the Advanced Composition Explorer ( ACE /MAG) and show evidence that they arise due to newborn interstellar pickup He{sup +}. Twenty-five events are studied. They possess the generally predicted attributes: spacecraft-frame frequencies slightly greater than the He{sup +} cyclotron frequency, left-hand polarization in the spacecraft frame, and transverse fluctuations with minimum variance directions that are quasi-parallel to the mean magnetic field. Their occurrence spans the first 18 years of ACE operations, with no more than 3 such observations in any given year. Thus, the events are relatively rare. As with past observations by the Ulysses and Voyager spacecraft, we argue that the waves are seen only when the background turbulence is sufficiently weak as to allow for the slow accumulation of wave energy over many hours.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

NuSTAR OBSERVATIONS OF MAGNETAR 1E 1048.1–5937

We report on simultaneous Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array ( NuSTAR ) and XMM-Newton observations of the magnetar 1E 1048.1−5937, along with Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer ( RXTE ) data for the same source. The NuSTAR data provide a clear detection of this magnetar’s persistent emission up to 20 keV. We detect a previously unreported small secondary peak in the average pulse profile in the 7–10 keV band, which grows to an amplitude comparable to that of the main peak in the 10–20 keV band. We show using RXTE data that this secondary peak is likely transient. We find that the pulsed fraction increases with energy from a value of ∼0.55 at ∼2 keV to a value of ∼0.75 near 8 keV but shows evidence of decreasing at higher energies. After filtering out multiple bright X-ray bursts during the observation, we find that the phase-averaged spectrum from combined NuSTAR and XMM data is well described by an absorbed double blackbody plus power-law model, with no evidence for the spectral turn-up near ∼10 keV as has been seen in some other magnetars. Our data allow us to rule out a spectral turn-up similar to those seen in magnetars 4U 0142+61 and 1E 2259+586 of ΔΓ ≳ 2, where ΔΓ is the difference between the soft-band and hard-band photon indexes. The lack of spectral turn-up is consistent with what has been observed from an active subset of magnetars given previously reported trends suggesting that the degree of spectral turn-up is correlated with spin-down rate and/or spin-inferred magnetic field.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Observation and characterization of a cosmic muon neutrino flux from the northern hemisphere using six years of IceCube data

The IceCube Collaboration has previously discovered a high-energy astrophysical neutrino flux using neutrino events with interaction vertices contained within the instrumented volume of the IceCube detector. We present a complementary measurement using charged current muon neutrino events where the interaction vertex can be outside this volume. As a consequence of the large muon range the effective area is significantly larger but the field of view is restricted to the Northern Hemisphere. IceCube data from 2009 through 2015 have been analyzed using a likelihood approach based on the reconstructed muon energy and zenith angle. At the highest neutrino energies between 194 TeV and 7.8 PeV a significant astrophysical contribution is observed, excluding a purely atmospheric origin of these events at 5.6σ significance. The data are well described by an isotropic, unbroken power-law flux with a normalization at 100 TeV neutrino energy of (0.90{sub −0.27}{sup +0.30})×10{sup −18} GeV{sup −1} cm{sup −2} s{sup −1} sr{sup −1} and a hard spectral index of γ=2.13±0.13. The observed spectrum is harder in comparison to previous IceCube analyses with lower energy thresholds which may indicate a break in the astrophysical neutrino spectrum of unknown origin. The highest-energy event observed has a reconstructed muon energy of (4.5±1.2) PeV which implies a probability of less than 0.005% for this event to be of atmospheric origin. Analyzing the arrival directions of all events with reconstructed muon energies above 200 TeV no correlation with known γ-ray sources was found. Using the high statistics of atmospheric neutrinos we report the current best constraints on a prompt atmospheric muon neutrino flux originating from charmed meson decays which is below 1.06 in units of the flux normalization of the model in Enberg et al.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Observations of M31 and M33 with the Fermi Large Area Telescope: A Galactic Center Excess in Andromeda?

The Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) has opened the way for comparative studies of cosmic rays (CRs) and high-energy objects in the Milky Way (MW) and in other, external, star-forming galaxies. Using 2 yr of observations with the Fermi LAT, Local Group galaxy M31 was detected as a marginally extended gamma-ray source, while only an upper limit has been derived for the other nearby galaxy M33. We revisited the gamma-ray emission in the direction of M31 and M33 using more than 7 yr of LAT Pass 8 data in the energy range 0.1--100 GeV, presenting detailed morphological and spectral analyses. M33 remains undetected, and we computed an upper limit of 2.0×10{sup −12} erg cm{sup −2} s{sup −1} on the 0.1--100 GeV energy flux (95% confidence level). This revised upper limit remains consistent with the observed correlation between gamma-ray luminosity and star formation rate tracers and implies an average CR density in M33 that is at most half of that of the MW. M31 is detected with a significance of nearly 10σ. Its spectrum is consistent with a power law with photon index Γ=2.4±0.1{sub stat+syst} and a 0.1--100 GeV energy flux of (5.6±0.6{sub stat+syst})×10{sup −12} erg cm{sup −2} s{sup −1}. M31 is detected to be extended with a 4σ significance. The spatial distribution of the emission is consistent with a uniform-brightness disk with a radius of 0.°4 and no offset from the center of the galaxy, but nonuniform intensity distributions cannot be excluded. The flux from M31 appears confined to the inner regions of the galaxy and does not fill the disk of the galaxy or extend far from it. The gamma-ray signal is not correlated with regions rich in gas or star formation activity, which suggests that the emission is not interstellar in origin, unless the energetic particles radiating in gamma rays do not originate in recent star formation. Alternative and nonexclusive interpretations are that the emission results from a population of millisecond pulsars dispersed in the bulge and disk of M31 by disrupted globular clusters or from the decay or annihilation of dark matter particles, similar to what has been proposed to account for the so-called Galactic center excess found in Fermi-LAT observations of the MW.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Observation of Magnetic Waves Excited by Newborn Interstellar Pickup He+ Observed by the Voyager 2 Spacecraft at 30 au

We report two observations of magnetic waves due to He{sup +} pickup ions observed by the Voyager 2 spacecraft in mid-1989 to demonstrate that such waves occur as far out as ∼30 au from the Sun. The observations are sufficiently far from planets, interplanetary shocks, and other possible sources of energetic particles to make newborn interstellar He{sup +} the only likely explanation for the source of the waves. Additionally, the low-frequency waves that might be expected for a variety of cometary pickup species are not seen. The events studied here were picked from a preliminary list of ∼300 events that were discovered based on polarization signatures in daily spectrograms of the magnetic field between 1977 and 1990. Analysis of those observations is ongoing. We present an analysis of these two observations using the same techniques we have employed for recently reported observations closer to the Sun.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Comparative energetics of the observed and simulated global circulation during the special observing periods of FGGE

Energetics of the observed and simulated global circulation are evaluated in the zonal spectral domain for the special observing periods of FGGE. The study utilizes GLA analyses of FGGE observational data and parallel simulation experiments. There are noticeable differences in energy transformations between the observation and simulation during SOP-1. These include the baroclinic conversion C(n) by the zonal mean motion and short-wave disturbances, and the nonlinear wave-wave interaction L(n) at the long and short waves. The energy transformations of the short-wave disturbances are much more intense in the simulated circulation than in the observation. However, good agreement is noted in the conversion and dissipation of kinetic energy in the large- and cyclone-wave range n = 1-10. Spectral distributions of global energy transformations at the long- and cyclone-wave range indicate that the SOP-2 simulation agrees more closely with the observed fields than the SOP-1 simulation. Other pertinent points of energetics diagnosis are also included in the discussion.

Kung, E. C.↗

Aircraft microwave observations and simulations of deep convection from 18 to 183 GHz. I - Observations

Aircraft passive microwave observations of deep atmospheric convection at frequencies between 18 and 183 GHz are presented in conjunction with visible and infrared satellite and aircraft observations and ground-based radar observations. Deep convective cores are indicated in the microwave data by negative brightness temperature, T/(B) deviations from the land background (270 K) to extreme T(B) values below 100 K at 37, 92, and 183 GHz and below 200 K at 18 GHz. These T(B) minima, due to scattering by ice held aloft by the intense updrafts, are well correlated with areas of high radar reflectivity. For this land background case, T(B) is inversely correlated with rain rate at all frequencies due to T(B)-ice-rain correlations. Mean Delta-T between vertically polarized and horizontally polarized radiance in precipitation areas is approximately 6 K at both 18 GHz and 37 GHz, indicating nonspherical precipitation-size ice particles with a preferred horizontal orientation. Convective cores not observed in the visible and infrared data are clearly defined in the microwave observations, and borders of convective rain areas are well defined using the high-frequency (90 GHz and greater) microwave observations.

Adler, Robert F.↗

Lunar Observer Laser Altimeter observations for lunar base site selection

One of the critical datasets for optimal selection of future lunar landing sites is local- to regional-scale topography. Lunar base site selection will require such data for both engineering and scientific operations purposes. The Lunar Geoscience Orbiter or Lunar Observer is the ideal precursory science mission from which to obtain this required information. We suggest that a simple laser altimeter instrument could be employed to measure local-scale slopes, heights, and depths of lunar surface features important to lunar base planning and design. For this reason, we have designed and are currently constructing a breadboard of a Lunar Observer Laser Altimeter (LOLA) instrument capable of acquiring contiguous-footprint topographic profiles with both 30-m and 300-m along-track resolution. This instrument meets all the severe weight, power, size, and data rate limitations imposed by Observer-class spacecraft. In addition, LOLA would be capable of measuring the within-footprint vertical roughness of the lunar surface, and the 1.06-micron relative surface reflectivity at normal incidence. We have used airborne laser altimeter data for a few representative lunar analog landforms to simulate and analyze LOLA performance in a 100-km lunar orbit. We demonstrate that this system in its highest resolution mode (30-m diameter footprints) would quantify the topography of all but the very smallest lunar landforms. At its global mapping resolution (300-m diameter footprints), LOLA would establish the topographic context for lunar landing site selection by providing the basis for constructing a 1-2 km spatial resolution global, geodetic topographic grid that would contain a high density of observations (e.g., approximately 1000 observations per each 1 deg by 1 deg cell at the lunar equator). The high spatial and vertical resolution measurements made with a LOLA-class instrument on a precursory Lunar Observer would be highly synergistic with high-resolution imaging datasets, and will allow for direct quantification of critical slopes, heights, and depths of features visible in images of potential lunar base sites.

Garvin, James B.↗

Studies of Accreting Neutron Stars with RXTE Cycle 4 Observations: III: TOO Observations of Atoll Sources

NASA Grant NAG 5-9244 provided funds for the research projects 'ASM-Triggered TOO Observations of Kilohertz Oscillations in Five Atoll Sources' and 'Further Measurements of the Kilohertz Oscillations in 4U 1705-44' approved under the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) Guest Observer Program Cycle 4 and funded under the 1999 NASA Astrophysics Data Program. The principal investigator of the observing time proposals was Dr. E. C. Ford (U. of Amsterdam). The grant was funded for one year beginning 3/15/2000. The original ADP proposal was submitted by Prof. Jan van Paradijs, who passed away in 1999 before the funds were distributed. Prof. Wilham S. Padesas administered the grant during the period of performance. In spite of a wealth of observational data on the kHz QPO in low-mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs), the interpretation of this phenomenon is currently uncertain because the pairs of kHz QPO peaks and the oscillations seen in some Type I X-ray bursts are almost, but not quite, connected by a simple beat frequency relation. Further systematic studies of systems with known QPOs are required in order to better understand the phenomenon. The proposals were intended to contribute to a solution to this confusion by observing the sources as they vary over a wide range of X-ray flux. RXTE target-of-opportunity observations of six transient atoll sources, 4U 0614+09, KS 1732-260, Ser X-1, 4U 1702-42, 4U 1820-30 and 4U 1705-44 were to be performed at various flux levels based on ASM measurements.

Paciesas, William S.↗

GeoNEX-SUBSETS: Geostationary Satellite Observations Over International Observing Network Sites

Satellite remote sensing is crucial for monitoring the Earth’s surface and for simulating global carbon and water cycles. Subsets of satellite data from sensors such as MODIS over established observing networks have been valuable for researchers for comparing the ground observed phenomena with satellite observations. Here, we introduce new subsets of the GeoNEX geostationary satellite datasets over locations of several ground observation networks. The NASA Earth Exchange group has been generating geostationary satellite products with our international partners and universities to cover the entire globe. In comparison to polar-orbiting satellite sensors such as MODIS, the new generation geostationary satellites observe target areas at a higher frequency (5-10 minutes), which also significantly increased the data volume. To reduce the burden of downloading and extracting geostationary time series data and provide easy access to the community, we provide subsets of GeoNEX products through our data portal [www.data.nas.nasa.gov]. The ready-to-use subset follows the same format as the MODIS fixed sites subset tools for users who are familiar with MODIS subset data and software. The selected networks include Fluxnet, AERONET, and Phenocam over the conterminous US. We demonstrate the usage of the GeoNEX fixed-site subset data and showcase thir advantages with three example studies. The first example is simulating the diurnal cycle of plant ecophysiology at Fluxnet sites. The high frequency of the GeoNEX time series allows us to run ecological models at sub-hour time steps and directly compare the simulated carbon and water fluxes with half-hourly Fluxnet data. The second example uses the geostationary data to track phenological changes. It highlights the high-frequent observations of geostationary satellites in helping mask cloud covers and capture the quick responses of vegetation to environmental changes. As such, these examples demonstrate the value of ready-to-use GeoNEX subsets data in terrestrial ecophysiology research.

GeoNEX↗

Impacts from Assimilating Large Volumes of GNSS Radio Occultation (RO) Observations during ROMEX in NASA’s Global Earth Observing System

The GNSS Radio Occultation (RO) Modeling Experiment (ROMEX) seeks to quantify the benefit of the increasing quantity of RO observations available for use in operational numerical weather prediction (NWP) systems and products. ROMEX includes participation from multiple operational NWP centers and NWP models, among them are NASA’s Global Earth Observing System (GEOS) model produced and run at the Global Modeling and Assimilation Office (GMAO). The design of the numerical experiments core to ROMEX include: 1) a control model run that includes all the RO observations currently used operationally with the sole exception of those from commercial sources and 2) a ROMEX model run that adds to the control over 25 thousand additional RO profiles per day from commercial RO providers, with both experiments run over the three-month period of September through November 2022. The ROMEX model run greatly augments the relatively small subset of the currently available commercial RO profiles which have been purchased for routine use in operational NWP by the various NWP centers. While this smaller subset of commercial RO profiles currently used in operations has been shown to have a positive impact on NWP forecasts, the additional impact from the ROMEX RO dataset has yet to be determined and is the focus of ROMEX. Results from GEOS are presented, including the impact on both analyses and forecasts over the study period and statistics using the forecast sensitivity-based observation impact (FSOI) method. The impact from varying the method of quality control and specifying the observation uncertainty for RO observations within the GEOS data assimilation system is also examined.

Michael J Murphy↗

Statistical analysis of MMS observations of energetic electron escape observed at/beyond the dayside magnetopause

Here, observations from the Energetic Particle Detector (EPD) instrument suite aboard the Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) spacecraft show that energetic (greater than tens of keV) magnetospheric particle escape into the magnetosheath occurs commonly across the dayside. This includes the surprisingly frequent observation of magnetospheric electrons in the duskside magnetosheath, an unexpected result given assumptions regarding magnetic drift shadowing. The 238 events identified in the 40 keV electron energy channel during the first MMS dayside season that exhibit strongly anisotropic pitch angle distributions indicating monohemispheric field-aligned streaming away from the magnetopause. A review of the extremely rich literature of energetic electron observations beyond the magnetopause is provided to place these new observations into historical context. Despite the extensive history of such research, these new observations provide a more comprehensive data set that includes unprecedented magnetic local time (MLT) coverage of the dayside equatorial magnetopause/magnetosheath. These data clearly highlight the common escape of energetic electrons along magnetic field lines concluded to have been reconnected across the magnetopause. While these streaming escape events agree with prior studies which show strong correlation with geomagnetic activity (suggesting a magnetotail source) and occur most frequently during periods of southward IMF, the high number of duskside events is unexpected and previously unobserved. Although the lowest electron energy channel was the focus of this study, the events reported here exhibit pitch angle anisotropies indicative of streaming up to 200 keV, which could represent the magnetopause loss of >1 MeV electrons from the outer radiation belt.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

Observation Of Electron-beam-induced Phase Evolution Mimicking The Effect Of Charge-discharge Cycle In Li-rich Layered Cathode Materials Used For Li-ion Batteries

Capacity loss, and voltage fade upon electrochemical charge-discharge cycling observed in lithium-rich layered cathode oxides (Li[LixMnyTM1-x-y]O2 , TM = Ni, Co or Fe) have recently been identified to be correlated to the gradual phase transformation, featuring the formation of a surface reconstructed layer (SRL) that evolves from a thin (<2 nm), defect spinel layer upon the first charge, to a relatively thick (~5 nm), spinel or rock-salt layer upon continuous charge-discharge cycling. Here we report observations of a SRL and structural evolution of the SRL on the Li[Li0.2Ni0.2Mn0.6]O2 (LMR) particles, which are identical to those reported due to the charge-discharge cycle but are a result of electron-beam irradiation during scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) imaging. Sensitivity of the lithium-rich layered oxides to high-energy electrons leads to the formation of thin, defect spinel layer on surfaces of the particles when exposed to a 200 kV electron beam for as little as 30 seconds under normal high-resolution STEM imaging conditions. Further electron irradiation produces a thicker layer of the spinel phase, ultimately producing a rock-salt layer at a higher electron exposure. Atomic-scale chemical mapping by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy in STEM indicates the electron-beam-induced SRL formation on LMR is accomplished by migration of the transition metal ions to the Li sites without breaking down the lattice. This study provides an insight for understanding the mechanism of forming the SRL and also possibly a mean to study structural evolution in the Li-rich layered oxides without involving the electrochemistry.

Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory↗

Direct observation of ice nucleation events on individual atmospheric particles

Heterogeneous ice nucleation is a physical chemistry process of critical relevance to a range of topics in the fundamental and applied sciences and technologies. Heterogeneous ice nucleation remains insufficiently understood, partially due to the lack of experimental methods capable of obtaining in situ microscopic details of ice formation over nucleating substrates or particles. Here, we present microscopic observations of ice nucleation events on kaolinite particles at the nanoscale and demonstrate the capability of direct tracking and micro-spectroscopic characterization of individual ice nucleating particles (INPs) in an authentic atmospheric sample. Furthermore, this approach utilizes a custom-built ice nucleation cell, interfaced with an Environmental Scanning Electron Microscope (IN-ESEM platform) operated at temperatures and relative humidities relevant for heterogeneous ice nucleation. The IN-ESEM platform allows dynamic observations of individual ice formation events over particles in isobaric and isothermal experiments. Isothermal experiments on individual kaolinite particles demonstrate that ice crystals preferably nucleate at the edges of the stacked kaolinite platelets, rather than on their basal planes. Finally, these experimental observations of the location of ice nucleation provide direct information for further theoretical chemistry predictions of ice formation on kaolinite.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

First observation of low energy electron neutrinos in a liquid argon time projection chamber

Liquid argon time projection chambers (LArTPCs) produce remarkable fidelity in the observation of neutrino interactions. Here, the superior capabilities of such detectors to reconstruct the spatial and calorimetric information of neutrino events have made them the detectors of choice in a number of experiments, specifically those looking to observe electron neutrino ($\nu_e$) appearance. The LArTPC promises excellent background rejection capabilities, especially in this "golden" channel for both short and long baseline neutrino oscillation experiments. We present the first experimental observation of electron neutrinos and anti-neutrinos in the ArgoNeut LArTPC, in the energy range relevant to DUNE and the Fermilab Short Baseline Neutrino Program. Additionally, we present a demonstration of separation of electrons from gammas using neutrino data.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

TU-FG-209-11: Validation of a Channelized Hotelling Observer to Optimize Chest Radiography Image Processing for Nodule Detection: A Human Observer Study

Purpose: To validate the use of a Channelized Hotelling Observer (CHO) model for guiding image processing parameter selection and enable improved nodule detection in digital chest radiography. Methods: In a previous study, an anthropomorphic chest phantom was imaged with and without PMMA simulated nodules using a GE Discovery XR656 digital radiography system. The impact of image processing parameters was then explored using a CHO with 10 Laguerre-Gauss channels. In this work, we validate the CHO’s trend in nodule detectability as a function of two processing parameters by conducting a signal-known-exactly, multi-reader-multi-case (MRMC) ROC observer study. Five naive readers scored confidence of nodule visualization in 384 images with 50% nodule prevalence. The image backgrounds were regions-of-interest extracted from 6 normal patient scans, and the digitally inserted simulated nodules were obtained from phantom data in previous work. Each patient image was processed with both a near-optimal and a worst-case parameter combination, as determined by the CHO for nodule detection. The same 192 ROIs were used for each image processing method, with 32 randomly selected lung ROIs per patient image. Finally, the MRMC data was analyzed using the freely available iMRMC software of Gallas et al. Results: The image processing parameters which were optimized for the CHO led to a statistically significant improvement (p=0.049) in human observer AUC from 0.78 to 0.86, relative to the image processing implementation which produced the lowest CHO performance. Conclusion: Differences in user-selectable image processing methods on a commercially available digital radiography system were shown to have a marked impact on performance of human observers in the task of lung nodule detection. Further, the effect of processing on humans was similar to the effect on CHO performance. Future work will expand this study to include a wider range of detection/classification tasks and more observers, including experienced chest radiologists.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗