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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 NTRS1975

Uncertainties in the far-infrared absorption of interstellar clouds

The observed absorption of far-infrared radiation by an interstellar dust cloud is a complicated function of the material properties of grains, of their column density, and of the extent of stimulated emission. At long wavelengths, neglect of stimulated emission would lead to an underestimate of the amount of absorbing material observed along a line of sight. However, if the complex index of refraction for grains is measured at the low temperatures in question, a classical analysis will be correct since the measured refractive index correctly accounts for stimulated emission. Since the grain temperatures may strongly affect the refractive index of a grain, typical interstellar grain temperature fluctuations are analyzed in a final section.

Harwit, M.↗
NASA NTRS1990

High-resolution sodium absorption-line observations of the local interstellar medium

High-resolution observations of the sodium D1 and D2 interstellar absorption lines have been made toward 19 stars in the local ISM at distances ranging from 20 to 220 pc. A least-squares absorption line-fitting analysis is carried out on 10 of the stars that show detectable sodium. The velocity structure, velocity dispersions, and column densities of the various interstellar cloud components are derived. For the majority of stars, the best-fit dispersion parameter is about 2 km/s, corresponding to an upper limit for the kinetic temperature of the interstellar gas of about 5500 K. No sodium is detected toward stars with distances less than 42 pc, placing an upper limit 2.5 x 10 to the 18th/sq cm to the hydrogen column density in these lines of sight.

Welsh, Barry Y.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Neutral matter in planetary nebulae

A review of current studies of neutral envelopes is presented with particular attention given to the use of the envelopes as test cases for understanding the ionization and thermal structure of photodissociation regions. The study of near-IR H2 emission is discussed with detailed spectra given for a few planetary nebulae, and airborne observations of far-IR atomic lines are discussed. These two methods can discern photodissociation regions with warm gas and UV flux is fairly prominent. The use of resonance-absorption-line spectroscopy is also reviewed with respect to the analysis of the Na D lines, and thereby allows the measurement of integrated columns of material through the shell. The methods provide evidence for the notion that planetary nebulae consist of more than just ionized material; large amounts of neutral and molecular material are being confirmed, which has important implications for the mass-loss episode of the nebulae.

Dinerstein, Harriet L.↗
NASA NTRS2001

Asymptotic Solutions for Optical Properties of Large Particles with Strong Absorption

The transverse wave condition is not applicable to the refracted electromagnetic wave within the context of geometrical optics when absorption is involved. Either the transverse magnetic (TM) or the transverse electric (TE) wave condition can be assumed for the wave to locally satisfy the electromagnetic boundary condition in a ray-tracing calculation. The assumed wave mode affects both the reflection and the refraction coefficients. As a result, nonunique solutions for these coefficients are inevitable. In this study the appropriate solutions for the Fresnel reflection-refraction coefficients are identified in light-scattering calculations based on the ray-tracing technique. In particular, a 3x2 refraction or transmission matrix is derived to account for the inhomogeneity of the refracted wave in an absorbing medium. An asymptotic solution that completely includes the effect of medium absorption on Fresnel coefficients is obtained for the scattering properties of a general polyhedral particle. Numerical results are presented for hexagonal plates and columns with both preferred and random orientations.

Yang, Ping↗
NASA NTRS2012

Estimation and Bias Correction of Aerosol Abundance using Data-driven Machine Learning and Remote Sensing

Air quality information is increasingly becoming a public health concern, since some of the aerosol particles pose harmful effects to peoples health. One widely available metric of aerosol abundance is the aerosol optical depth (AOD). The AOD is the integrated light extinction coefficient over a vertical atmospheric column of unit cross section, which represents the extent to which the aerosols in that vertical profile prevent the transmission of light by absorption or scattering. The comparison between the AOD measured from the ground-based Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) system and the satellite MODIS instruments at 550 nm shows that there is a bias between the two data products. We performed a comprehensive analysis exploring possible factors which may be contributing to the inter-instrumental bias between MODIS and AERONET. The analysis used several measured variables, including the MODIS AOD, as input in order to train a neural network in regression mode to predict the AERONET AOD values. This not only allowed us to obtain an estimate, but also allowed us to infer the optimal sets of variables that played an important role in the prediction. In addition, we applied machine learning to infer the global abundance of ground level PM2.5 from the AOD data and other ancillary satellite and meteorology products. This research is part of our goal to provide air quality information, which can also be useful for global epidemiology studies.

Malakar, Nabin K.↗
NASA NTRS2019

Can OMPS and VIIRS Be Used as a Single Virtual Sensor for Aerosol Retrieval?

Satellite earth observation of aerosols using a single sensor have been done for more than three decades. The retrieved global distribution of column integrated aerosol optical depth (AOD) has been refined with higher accuracy and finer resolutions. However, the other aerosol properties, such as aerosol absorption and aerosol height, haven not been mapped as extensively using passive sensors. The detectors sensitive to these properties (UV-based sensors such as Aura-OMI) lack the adequate visible channels to tease out the absorption, height and loading contributions. In addition, their spatial resolution is prone to frequent cloud contamination impacting aerosol loading retrievals using only these spectral ranges. However, the deployment of the VIIRS and OMPS-NM sensors on the same Suomi NPP platform provides a first opportunity to carry out retrievals of aerosol single scattering albedo (SSA) and AOD with little cloud contamination using an expanded spectral range from the UV to the near-IR wavelengths. After collocated VIIRS pixel within the large OMPS footprint during the high resolution OMPS observing mode, we compared the radiance from OMPS and VIIRS to ensure the calibration from individual sensors are comparable. Then a look up table (LUT) was created for a smoke case over central Africa. The LUT is generated using 10 channels from 0.357 to 2.1 micron with 44 combinations of aerosol models and 4 different aerosol heights. With CALIOP and AERONET observation nearby, the possibility of using OMPS and VIIRS radiance as a single virtual sensor to simultaneously and consistently retrieve AOD, SSA, and aerosol height is explored.

Shi, Yingxi↗
DOE OSTI2013

SOLAR OCCULTATION BY TITAN MEASURED BY CASSINI/UVIS

We present the first published analysis of a solar occultation by Titan's atmosphere measured by the Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrograph on board Cassini. The data were measured during flyby T53 in 2009 April and correspond to latitudes between 21 Degree-Sign and 28 Degree-Sign south. The analysis utilizes the absorption of two solar emission lines (584 A and 630 A) in the ionization continuum of the N{sub 2} absorption cross section and solar emission lines around 1085 A where absorption is due to CH{sub 4}. The measured transmission at these wavelengths provides a direct estimate of the N{sub 2} and CH{sub 4} column densities along the line of sight from the spacecraft to the Sun, which we inverted to obtain the number densities. The high signal-to-noise ratio of the data allowed us to retrieve density profiles in the altitude range 1120-1400 km for nitrogen and 850-1300 km for methane. We find an N{sub 2} scale height of {approx}76 km and a temperature of {approx}153 K. Our results are in general agreement with those from previous work, although there are some differences. Particularly, our profiles agree, considering uncertainties, with the density profiles derived from the Voyager 1 Ultraviolet Spectrograph data, and with in situ measurements by the Ion Neutral Mass Spectrometer with revised calibration.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
NASA NTRS1988

Stratospheric column NO2 measurements from three Antarctic sites

The significance of stratospheric odd-nitrogen compounds in Antarctic ozone depletion studies has prompted an increase in Antarctic activities. Although several species are being studied, work has concentrated on the acquisition of NO2 data. Ground-based measurements of stratospheric column NO2 have been made at Arrival Heights, Antarctica, since spring 1982, with some gaps in the data base. Additional data has been acquired since February 1986 at Pole Station and Halley Bay, thus providing a chain of stations across the continent. The technique used is that of absorption spectroscopy in several wavelength regions, although here only those measurements are reported in the 430 to 450 nm region where strongly structured absorption been determined experimentally. However, theory features due to NO2 are identified in scattered sunlight in the zenith sky. Operation of a moon-tracking system at Arrival Heights has provided some additional data during the polar night. Previous analyses have shown that the NO2 column observed from the ground is strongly influenced by the season, and by the location of the site with respect to that of the polar vortex. The column amount correlates strongly with stratospheric temperature at about 70 mbar. The present data set further illustrates these features, and demonstrates both the strengths and qualifications apparent in the technique.

Keys, J. G.↗
NASA NTRS2006

Fabry-Perot Based Differential Radiometers for Precise Determination of Atmospheric Column

We have developed at Goddard over the last 5 years a new type of remote sensing instrument based upon the Fabry-Perot interferometer that has broad applicability to a variety of problems of great current interest. The instrument detects absorption features of various atmospheric trace species in direct or reflected sunlight. The Fabry-Perot offers high resolution and high optical throughput with small size and simplicity of operation. We have developed instruments for use as ground based, airborne and satellite sensors for species such as carbon dioxide, oxygen and water vapor. Our current concentration is to develop an ultra precise, inexpensive, ground based device suitable for wide deployment as a validation instrument for the OCO satellite scheduled to launch in 2008. We shall show sensitivity measurements for these three species, compare our water vapor measurements to those obtained using other types of sensors and discuss some of the peculiarities that must be addressed in order to provide the very high quality column measurements required to validate the OCO carbon dioxide measurements.

Heaps, William S.↗
NASA NTRS2012

Greenhouse Gas Concentration Data Recovery Algorithm for a Low Cost, Laser Heterodyne Radiometer

The goal of a coordinated effort between groups at GWU and NASA GSFC is the development of a low-cost, global, surface instrument network that continuously monitors three key carbon cycle gases in the atmospheric column: carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), carbon monoxide (CO), as well as oxygen (O2) for atmospheric pressure profiles. The network will implement a low-cost, miniaturized, laser heterodyne radiometer (mini-LHR) that has recently been developed at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. This mini-LHR is designed to operate in tandem with the passive aerosol sensor currently used in AERONET (a well established network of more than 450 ground aerosol monitoring instruments worldwide), and could be rapidly deployed into this established global network. Laser heterodyne radiometry is a well-established technique for detecting weak signals that was adapted from radio receiver technology. Here, a weak light signal, that has undergone absorption by atmospheric components, is mixed with light from a distributed feedback (DFB) telecommunications laser on a single-mode optical fiber. The RF component of the signal is detected on a fast photoreceiver. Scanning the laser through an absorption feature in the infrared, results in a scanned heterodyne signal io the RF. Deconvolution of this signal through the retrieval algorithm allows for the extraction of altitude contributions to the column signal. The retrieval algorithm is based on a spectral simulation program, SpecSyn, developed at GWU for high-resolution infrared spectroscopies. Variations io pressure, temperature, composition, and refractive index through the atmosphere; that are all functions of latitude, longitude, time of day, altitude, etc.; are modeled using algorithms developed in the MODTRAN program developed in part by the US Air Force Research Laboratory. In these calculations the atmosphere is modeled as a series of spherically symmetric shells with boundaries specified at defined altitudes. Temperature, pressure, and species mixing ratios are defined at these boundaries. Between the boundaries, temperature is assumed to vary linearly with altitude while pressure (and thus gas density) vary exponentially. The observed spectrum at the LHR instrument will be the integration of the contributions along this light path. For any absorption measurement the signal at a particular spectral frequency is a linear combination of spectral line contributions from several species. For each species that might absorb in a spectral region, we have pre-calculated its contribution as a function of temperature and pressure. The integrated path absorption spectrum can then by calculated using the initial sun angle (from location, date, and time) and assumptions about pressure and temperature profiles from an atmospheric model. The modeled spectrum is iterated to match the experimental observation using standard multilinear regression techniques. In addition to the layer concentrations, the numerical technique also provides uncertainty estimates for these quantities as well as dependencies on assumptions inherent in the atmospheric models.

Miller, J. Houston↗
NASA NTRS1975

The absorption-line spectrum of the quasi-stellar object PHL 957

Six high-dispersion spectra of the quasar PHL 957 are analyzed which were obtained with an integrating television system at the Coude focus of the 200-inch Hale telescope. One hundred seventy-nine absorption lines are found, and seven absorption-line redshift systems are identified. The system at z equals 2.3099 is shown to be most prominent, with 26 lines including a very strong L-alpha line. A system close to the emission redshift is found to be double, and many lines in all the systems are identified as Lyman alpha-beta pairs. Column densities and velocity dispersions are obtained from curves of growth for the major systems and the Lyman pairs. The system at z equals 2.3099 is found to resemble interstellar material in ionization and abundance ratios and constitutes strong evidence for absorption originating in a galaxy along the line of sight to the quasar. The double system is found to have higher ion states and is probably associated with the quasar.

Wingert, D. W.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Absorption Line Studies and the Distribution of Neutral Gas in the Local Interstellar Medium

Previous published absorption line studies performed at ultraviolet and visual wavelengths are combined with new ultraviolet data in order to map out the distribution of HI within 150 pc of the Sun. Newly presented data for distances less than 50 pc further support the local cloud model as presented by Bruhweiler (1982). The Sun is embedded, near the edge of a diffuse cloud with total column density 2 x 10 to the 19th power/sq cm. Most observed directions within 50 pc away from the cloud body reveal trace amounts of gas (N)HI) approximately 10 to the 18th power/sq cm presumably arising in the outer skin of the local cloud. At greater distances (50 approximately or d approximately or 150 pc) most directions show significant absorption with N(HI) 10(19)/sq cm. Two directions, one toward the northern galactic pole (NGP), the other toward beta CMa exhibit unusually low HI column densities out to distances of 150 to 200 pc. However, substantial amounts of gas N(HI) 10 to the 19th power/sq cm, are seen toward the NGP at greater distances. The implicatons of these results on astronomy at wavelengths shortward of 912A are discussed.

Bruhweiler, F. C.↗
DOE OSTI2016

Two-Column Aerosol Project: Aerosol Light Extinction Measurements Field Campaign Report

We deployed Aerodyne Research Inc.’s first Cavity Attenuated Phase Shift extinction (CAPS PMex) monitor (built by Aerodyne) that measures light extinction by using a visible-light-emitting diode (LED) as a light source, a sample cell incorporating two high-reflectivity mirrors centered at the wavelength of the LED, and a vacuum photodiode detector in Cape Cod in 2012/13 for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Climate Research Facility’s Two-Column Aerosol Project (TCAP). The efficacy of this instrument is based on the fact that aerosols are broadband scatterers and absorbers of light. The input LED is square-wave modulated and passed through the sample cell that distorts it due to exponential decay by aerosol light absorption and scattering; this is measured at the detector. The amount of phase shift of the light at the detector is used to determine the light extinction. This extinction measurement provides an absolute value, requiring no calibration. The goal was to compare the CAPS performance with direct measurements of absorption with ARM’s baseline photoacoustic soot spectrometer (PASS-3) and nephelometer instruments to evaluate its performance.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS2018

3D Mapping of the Neutral X-Ray Absorption in the Local Interstellar Medium: The Gaia and XMM-Newton Synergy

We present a three-dimensional map of the hydrogen density distribution in the Galactic interstellar medium. The hydrogen-equivalent column densities were obtained from the Exploring the X-ray Transient and variable Sky project (EXTRAS) which provides equivalent NH values from X-ray spectral fits of observations within the XMM-Newton Data Release. EXTRAS include multiple fits for each source, allowing an accurate determination of the equivalent column densities, which depends on the continuum modelling of the spectra. A cross-correlation between the EXTRAS catalogue and the first Gaia Data Release was performed in order to obtain accurate parallax and distance measurements. We use a Bayesian method explained in Rezaei Kh. et al. (2017) in order to predict the most probable distribution of the density at any arbitrary point, even for lines of sight along which there are no initial observation. The resulting map shows small-scale density structures which could not have been modelled by using analytic density profiles. In this paper, we present a proof of concept of the kind of science possible with the synergy of these catalogues. However, given the systematic uncertainties connected to the source identification and to the dependence of NH on the spectral model, the present maps should be considered qualitatively at this point.

Gatuzz, Efrain↗
DOE OSTI2016

IGRINS spectroscopy of class I sources: IRAS 03445+3242 and IRAS 04239+2436

We have detected molecular and atomic line emission from the hot and warm disks of two Class I sources, IRAS 03445+3242 and IRAS 04239+2436, using the high-resolution Immersion GRating INfrared Spectrograph (IGRINS). CO overtone band transitions and near-IR lines of Na i and Ca i, all in emission, trace the hot inner disk, while CO rovibrational absorption spectra of the first overtone transition trace the warm gas within the inner few AU of the disk. The emission-line profiles for both sources show evidence for Keplerian disks. A thin Keplerian disk with power-law temperature and column density profiles with a projected rotational velocity of ∼60–75 km s{sup −1} and a gas temperature of ∼3500 K at the innermost annulus can reproduce the CO overtone band emission. Na i and Ca i emission lines also arise from this disk, but they show complicated line features possibly affected by photospheric absorption lines. Multi-epoch observations show asymmetric variations of the line profiles on one-year (CO overtone bandhead and atomic lines for IRAS 03445+3242) or on one-day (atomic lines for IRAS 04239+2436) timescales, implying non-axisymmetric features in disks. The narrow CO rovibrational absorption spectra (v = 0 → 2) indicate that both warm (>150 K) and cold (∼20–30 K) CO gas are present along the line of sight to the inner disk. This study demonstrates the power of IGRINS as a tool for studies of the sub-AU-scale hot and AU-scale warm protoplanetary disks with its simultaneous coverage of the full H and K bands with high spectral resolution (R = 45,000) allowing many aspects of the sources to be investigated at once.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
NASA NTRS1994

Physical processes in eclipsing pulsars: Eclipse mechanisms and diagnostics

We investigate how the radio emission of a pulsar interacts with plasma derived from a stellar companion. Various physical mechanisms that can cause radio pulse eclipse are discussed, and predictions are made for the polarization properties of the emergent radio wave. We consider eclipses by a wind from the stellar companion, by a stellar magnetosphere, or by material entrained in the pulsar wind. Eclipses due to refraction require either a relatively high plasma density or a sharp edge to the plasma distribution. The conditions that must prevail for free-free absorption to be effective in eclipsing a radio beam are also outlined. Pulse smearing may be important at higher frequencies; related eclipse mechanisms include pulse spreading due to a rapidly changing electron column, and scattering by Langmuir turbulence. The high brightness temperature radio beam can generate its own plasma turbulence via a number of nonlinear parametric instabilities, such as the instability associated with stimulated Raman scattering. When the plasma turbulence is heavily damped, the radio bean can still undergo induced Compton scattering. Stimulated scattering effects such as these are very sensitive to the presence of narrow-band substructure in the pulsar radio emission. Finally, we consider the possibility that plasma derived from a stellar companion may mix with the relativistic pulsar wind and cause cyclotron absorption at low radio frequencies. Even if the cyclotron optical depth is small, fluctuations in the emergent polarization of the radio beam on the timescale of a few seconds are a very sensitive probe of the spatial structure of the magnetic field in the pulsar wind. The current observational properties of two known eclipsing pulsar systems, PSR 1957+20 and PSR 1744-24A, are used to construct tentative eclipse models. The favored model for PSR 1957+20 is cyclotron or synchrotron absorption by plasma embedded in the pulsar wind combined with pulse smearing at high frequency, and the favored model for PSR 1744-24A is backscattering off plasma turbulence generated by the stimulated Raman scattering parametric instability. Pulsar eclipses promise to provide a good diagnostic of pulsar winds and possible of the pulse emission mechanism.

Thompson, C.↗
NASA NTRS1979

The problem of nighttime stratospheric NO3

Detailed calculations of the behavior of the NO3 column content as a function of time after sunset show that it takes nearly 2 hours to increase from daytime values of approximately 10 to the 11th/sq cm to nighttime values of 10 to the 14th/sq cm. These results appear to be in conflict with the measured NO3-concentration rise time of 40 min after sunset obtained from the 662-nm absorption data of Noxon et al. (1978). Changes in the rate constants affecting the NO, NO2, NO3, N2O5 system, the atmospheric temperature, and the amount of NO2 are not able to bring the calculated rise time for the NO3 column content into agreement with observations.

Herman, J. R.↗
DOE OSTI2024

Modeling the Far-infrared Polarization Spectrum of a High-mass Star-forming Cloud

The polarization spectrum, or wavelength dependence of the polarization fraction, of interstellar dust emission provides important insights into the grain alignment mechanism of interstellar dust grains. We investigate the far-infrared polarization spectrum of a realistic simulated high-mass star-forming cloud under various models of grain alignment and emission. We find that neither a homogeneous grain alignment model nor a grain alignment model that includes collisional dealignment is able to produce the falling spectrum seen in observations. On the other hand, we find that a grain alignment model with grain alignment efficiency dependent on local temperature is capable of producing a falling spectrum that is in qualitative agreement with observations of OMC-1. For the model most in agreement with OMC-1, we find no correlation between the temperature and the slope of the polarization spectrum. However, we do find a positive correlation between the column density and the slope of the polarization spectrum. We suggest this latter correlation to be the result of wavelength-dependent polarization by absorption.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗