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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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At least 955 records · Page 53
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2014

Imaging the environment of a z = 6.3 submillimeter galaxy with SCUBA-2

We describe a search for submillimeter emission in the vicinity of one of the most distant, luminous galaxies known, HerMES FLS3, at z = 6.34, exploiting it as a signpost to a potentially biased region of the early universe, as might be expected in hierarchical structure formation models. Imaging to the confusion limit with the innovative, wide-field submillimeter bolometer camera, SCUBA-2, we are sensitive to colder and/or less luminous galaxies in the surroundings of HFLS3. We use the Millennium Simulation to illustrate that HFLS3 may be expected to have companions if it is as massive as claimed, but find no significant evidence from the surface density of SCUBA-2 galaxies in its vicinity, or their colors, that HFLS3 marks an overdensity of dusty, star-forming galaxies. We cannot rule out the presence of dusty neighbors with confidence, but deeper 450 μm imaging has the potential to more tightly constrain the redshifts of nearby galaxies, at least one of which likely lies at z ≳ 5. If associations with HFLS3 can be ruled out, this could be taken as evidence that HFLS3 is less biased than a simple extrapolation of the Millennium Simulation may imply. This could suggest either that it represents a rare short-lived, but highly luminous, phase in the evolution of an otherwise typical galaxy, or that this system has suffered amplification due to a foreground gravitational lens and so is not as intrinsically luminous as claimed.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

C IV and C III] reverberation mapping of the luminous quasar PG 1247+267

So far the masses of about 50 active galactic nuclei (AGNs) have been measured through the reverberation mapping technique (RM). Most measurements have been performed for objects of moderate luminosity and redshift, based on Hβ, which is also used to calibrate the scaling relation that allows single-epoch (SE) mass determination based on AGN luminosity and the width of different emission lines. Due to the complex structure and gas dynamics of the relevant emission region, the SE masses obtained from the C IV(1549 Å) line show a large spread around the mean values. Direct RM measures of C IV exist for only six AGNs of low luminosity and redshift, and only one luminous quasar. Since 2003, we have collected photometric and spectroscopic observations of PG1247+267, the most luminous quasar ever analyzed for RM. We provide light curves for the continuum and for C IV(1549 Å) and C III](1909 Å), and measures of the reverberation time lags based on the SPEAR method. The sizes of the line emission regions assume a ratio of R {sub C} {sub III]}/R {sub C} {sub IV} ∼ 2, similar to the case of Seyfert galaxies, indicating for the first time a similar ionization stratification in a luminous quasar and low-luminosity nuclei. Due to the relatively small size of the broad line region and the relatively narrow line widths, we estimate a small mass and an anomalously high Eddington ratio. We discuss the possibility that either the shape of the emission region or an amplification of the luminosity caused by gravitational lensing may be partly responsible for the result.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

CHROMOSPHERIC DIAGNOSIS WITH Ca II LINES: FORWARD MODELING IN FORWARD SCATTERING. I

This paper presents a synthetic tomography of the quiet solar chromosphere formed by spatial maps of scattering polarization. It has been calculated for the Ca II 8498, 8542, and 3934 Å lines by solving the non-LTE radiative transfer problem of the second kind in a three-dimensional atmosphere model obtained from realistic magneto-hydrodynamical simulations. Our investigation focuses on the linear polarization signals induced by kinematics, radiation field anisotropy, and the Hanle effect in forward-scattering geometry. Thus, instead of considering slit profiles at the limb as normally done in the study of the second solar spectrum, we synthesize and analyze spatial maps of polarization at the disk center. This allows us to understand the spatial signatures of dynamics and magnetic field in the linear polarization in order to discriminate them observationally. Our results suggest some ideas for chromospheric diagnosis that will be developed throughout a series of papers. In particular, Hanle polarity inversion lines and dynamic Hanle diagrams are two concepts introduced in the present work. We find that chromospheric dynamics and magnetic field topology create spatial polarization fingerprints that trace the dynamic situation of the plasma and the magnetic field. This allows us to reconstruct the magnetic field intensity in the middle chromosphere using Stokes V along grooves of null linear polarization. We finally address the problems of diagnosing Hanle saturation and kinematic amplification of scattering signals using Hanle diagrams.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

MILLIMETER SOURCE 13 S IN R CrA: OBSERVATIONS OF A PROTO-HERBIG Ae SYSTEM CANDIDATE

Compelled to observe a young, intermediate mass (IM) protostar candidate, we image velocity structure in a variety of molecular lines toward a strong millimeter continuum peak, MMS 13, in the young stellar object cluster R Corona Australis. We report the detection of N{sub 2}H{sup +} (1–0) and C{sup 34}S (2–1) corresponding to a filamentary IM core coincident with a site of turbulent flow convergence and Spitzer infrared emission minimum. Several emission features including a central decay of turbulence, kinematic signatures of bulk infall, and strong winds support mass and age estimates in indicating the presence of a proto-Herbig Ae system in the region. Channeling of center velocity flow with turbulence amplification along the rotation axis drives wind generation in the system candidate.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

Stochastic acceleration of galactic cosmic rays by compressible plasma fluctuations in supernova shells

A theory of 2-stage acceleration of Galactic cosmic rays in supernova remnants is proposed. The first stage is accomplished by the supernova shock front, where a power-law spectrum is established up to a certain cutoff energy. It is followed by stochastic acceleration with compressible waves/turbulence in the downstream medium. With a broad ∝k{sup −2} spectrum for the compressible plasma fluctuations, the rate of stochastic acceleration is constant over a wide range of particle momentum. In this case, the stochastic acceleration process extends the power-law spectrum cutoff energy of Galactic cosmic rays to the knee without changing the spectral slope. This situation happens as long as the rate of stochastic acceleration is faster than 1/5 of the adiabatic cooling rate. A steeper spectrum of compressible plasma fluctuations that concentrate their power in long wavelengths will accelerate cosmic rays to the knee with a small bump before its cutoff in the comic-ray energy spectrum. This theory does not require a strong amplification of the magnetic field in the upstream interstellar medium in order to accelerate cosmic rays to the knee energy.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2018

Flying focus and its application to plasma-based laser amplifiers

Combining a chirped laser pulse with a chromatic lens yields a flying focus—a laser focus that moves dynamically in time. This provides control over the propagation of the peak laser intensity within an extended focal region that can be many times larger than the system’s Rayleigh length. Any velocity is achievable, including backward relative to the laser propagation direction. Previous simulation results have shown that a laser beam with a flying focus can create a counter-propagating ionization wave and subsequently pump a frequency-downshifted laser via the stimulated Raman scattering instability. Compared to a conventional Raman amplification scheme, several advantages were highlighted, including improved temperature control, plasma uniformity, and precursor growth mitigation. Here, we extend those results to demonstrate additional benefits: (1) the flying focus makes it possible for an unseeded Raman amplifier to produce a short, high-intensity beam; and (2) the flying focus minimizes collisional absorption of the pump, facilitating amplifier operation at higher plasma densities. Preliminary experiments have laid the groundwork for a high-performance plasma-based laser amplifier. The focal spot dynamics were initially confirmed at low intensity. It was subsequently demonstrated that ionization waves of arbitrary velocity can be produced at higher intensity. Here, we show a counter-propagating ionization front moving at approximately the speed of light—the optimal result for a Raman amplifier.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2011

Understanding hadronic gamma-ray emission from supernova remnants

We aim to test the plausibility of a theoretical framework in which the gamma-ray emission detected from supernova remnants may be of hadronic origin, i.e., due to the decay of neutral pions produced in nuclear collisions involving relativistic nuclei. In particular, we investigate the effects induced by magnetic field amplification on the expected particle spectra, outlining a phenomenological scenario consistent with both the underlying Physics and the larger and larger amount of observational data provided by the present generation of gamma experiments, which seem to indicate rather steep spectra for the accelerated particles. In addition, in order to study to study how pre-supernova winds might affect the expected emission in this class of sources, the time-dependent gamma-ray luminosity of a remnant with a massive progenitor is worked out. Solid points and limitations of the proposed scenario are finally discussed in a critical way.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2011

On inflating magnetic fields, and the backreactions thereof

We investigate in more depth the issue of backreaction in models that attempt at generating cosmological magnetic fields at inflation. By choosing different, physically motivated, parametrisations, we are able to isolate the heart of the problem, namely the existence, alongside the wanted magnetic field, of its electric counterpart, which turns out quite generally to be stronger and redder. We were also able to identify a few more interwoven weak spots (the typically very high scale of inflation, the width of the spectrum of modes processed by inflation, the blindness of the amplification mechanism to the energy scale processed), in a way independent on the specifications of the coupling between inflation and electromagnetism. Despite having stripped down the problem to the core, the obstacles encountered appear insurmountable, thereby posing a challenge to inflation as the incubator of cosmological magnetism.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2011

Preheating and locked inflation: an analytic approach towards parametric resonance

We take an analytic approach towards the framework of parametric resonance and apply it on preheating and locked inflation. A two-scalar toy model is analytically solved for the λφ{sup 2}χ{sup 2} coupling for the homogenous modes. The effects of dynamic universe background and backreaction are taken into account. We show the average effect of parametric resonance to be that χ's amplitude doubles for each cycle of φ. Our framework partly solves the broad resonance for preheating scenario, showing two distinct stages of preheating and making the parameters of preheating analytically calculable. It is demonstrated for slowroll inflation models, preheating is terminated, if by backreaction, typically in the 5th e-fold. Under our framework, a possible inhomogeneity amplification effect is also found during preheating, which both may pose strong constraints on some inflationary models and may amplify tiny existing inhomogeneities to the desired scale. For demonstration, we show it rules out the backreaction end of preheating of the quadratic slowroll inflation model with mass m ∼ 10{sup −6}. For locked inflation, parametric resonance is found to be inhibited if φ has more than one real component.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

Can a marginally open universe amplify magnetic fields?

In a series of recent papers, including arXiv:1210.1183, it was claimed that large-scale magnetic fields generated during inflation in a spatially open universe could remain astrophysically significant at the present time since they experienced superadiabatic amplification specific to an open universe. We reexamine this assertion and show that, on the contrary, large-scale magnetic fields in a realistic open universe decay in much the same manner as they would in a spatially flat universe. Consequently, their amplitude today is extremely small (B{sub 0}∼<10{sup −59} G) and is unlikely to be of astrophysical significance.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

The anisotropy of a three- and a one-form

We calculate the anisotropic signal associated with the coupling of a three-form with an Abelian vector gauge field. In the simplest examples of three-form inflation the amplification of the vector fluctuations is exponential; this makes it almost certain that a large anisotropy will develop, severely constraining the viability of the coupling.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

Two field matter bounce cosmology

We re-examine the non-singular Matter Bounce scenario first developed in [20], which starts with a matter-dominated period of contraction and transitions into an Ekpyrotic phase of contraction. We consider both matter fields, the first of which plays the role of regular matter, and the second of which is responsible for the non-singular bounce. Since the dominant matter field is massive, the induced curvature fluctuations are initially not scale-invariant, whereas the fluctuations of the second scalar field (which are initially entropy fluctuations) are scale-invariant. We study the transfer of the initial entropy perturbations into curvature fluctuations in the matter-dominated phase of contraction and show that the latter become nearly scale invariant on large scales but are blue tilted on small scales. We study the evolution of both curvature and entropy fluctuations through the bounce, and show that both have a scale-invariant spectrum which is blue-tilted on small scales. However, we find that the entropy fluctuations have an amplitude that is much smaller than that of the curvature perturbations, due to gravitational amplification of curvature perturbations during the bounce phase.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

CMB dipole asymmetry from a fast roll phase

The observed CMB (cosmic microwave background) dipole asymmetry cannot be explained by a single field model of inflation - it inevitably requires more than one field where one of the fields is responsible for amplifying the super-Hubble fluctuations beyond the pivot scale. Furthermore the current constraints on f{sub NL} and τ{sub NL} require that such an amplification cannot produce large non-Gaussianity. In this paper we propose a model to explain this dipole asymmetry from a spectator field, which is responsible for generating all the curvature perturbations, but has a temporary fast roll phase before the Hubble exit of the pivot scale. The current data prefers spectator scenario because it leaves no isocurvature perturbations. The spectator model will also satisfy the well-known constraints arising from quasars, and the quadrupole and octupole of the CMB.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

Thermal power spectrum in the CFT driven cosmology

We present an overview of the recently suggested cosmological model driven by conformal field theory (CFT) with the initial conditions in the form of the microcanonical density matrix. In particular, we discuss the origin of inflationary stage in this model and a novel feature — the thermal nature of the primordial power spectrum of the CMB anisotropy. The relevant effect of ''temperature of the relic temperature anisotropy'' can be responsible for a thermal contribution to the red tilt of this spectrum, additional to its conventional vacuum component. The amplification of this effect due to recently established a-theorem in CFT is briefly discussed.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

Primordial spectra from sudden turning trajectory

Effects of heavy fields on primordial spectra of curvature perturbations are discussed in inflationary models with a sudden turning trajectory. When heavy fields are excited after the sudden turn and oscillate around the bottom of the potential, the following two effects are generically induced: deformation of the inflationary background spacetime and conversion interactions between adiabatic and isocurvature perturbations, both of which can affect the primordial density perturbations. In this paper, we calculate primordial spectra in inflationary models with sudden turning potentials taking into account both of the two effects appropriately. We find that there are some non-trivial correlations between the two effects in the power spectrum and, as a consequence, the primordial scalar power spectrum has a peak around the scale exiting the horizon at the turn. Though both effects can induce parametric resonance amplifications, they are shown to be canceled out for the case with the canonical kinetic terms. The peak feature and the scale dependence of bispectra are also discussed.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Critical constraint on inflationary magnetogenesis

Recently, there are several reports that the cosmic magnetic fields on Mpc scale in void region is larger than ∼ 10{sup −15}G with an uncertainty of a few orders from the current blazar observations. On the other hand, in inflationary magnetogenesis models, additional primordial curvature perturbations are inevitably produced from iso-curvature perturbations due to generated electromagnetic fields. We explore such induced curvature perturbations in a model independent way and obtained a severe upper bound for the energy scale of inflation from the observed cosmic magnetic fields and the observed amplitude of the curvature perturbation , as ρ{sub inf}{sup 1/4} < 300MeV × (B{sub obs}/10{sup −15}G){sup −1} where B{sub obs} is the strength of the magnetic field at present. Therefore, without a dedicated low energy inflation model or an additional amplification of magnetic fields after inflation, inflationary magnetogenesis on Mpc scale is generally incompatible with CMB observations.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

Lensing in the geodesic light-cone coordinates and its (exact) illustration to an off-center observer in Lemaȋtre-Tolman-Bondi models

We present in this paper a new application of the geodesic light-cone (GLC) gauge for weak lensing calculations. Using interesting properties of this gauge, we derive an exact expression of the amplification matrix—involving convergence, magnification and shear—and of the deformation matrix—involving the optical scalars. These expressions are simple and non-perturbative as long as no caustics are created on the past light-cone and are, by construction, free from the thin lens approximation. We apply these general expressions on the example of an Lemaȋtre-Tolman-Bondi (LTB) model with an off-center observer and obtain explicit forms for the lensing quantities as a direct consequence of the non-perturbative transformation between GLC and LTB coordinates. We show their evolution in redshift after a numerical integration, for underdense and overdense LTB models, and interpret their respective variations in the simple non-curvature case.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

Cosmic bubble and domain wall instabilities III: the role of oscillons in three-dimensional bubble collisions

We study collisions between pairs of bubbles nucleated in an ambient false vacuum. For the first time, we include the effects of small initial (quantum) fluctuations around the instanton profiles describing the most likely initial bubble profile. Past studies of this problem neglect these fluctuations and work under the assumption that the collisions posess an exact SO(2,1) symmetry. We use three-dimensional lattice simulations to demonstrate that for double-well potentials, small initial perturbations to this symmetry can be amplified as the system evolves. Initially the amplification is well-described by linear perturbation theory around the SO(2,1) background, but the onset of strong nonlinearities amongst the fluctuations quickly leads to a drastic breaking of the original SO(2,1) symmetry and the production of oscillons in the collision region. We explore several single-field models, and we find it is hard to both realize inflation inside of a bubble and produce oscillons in a collision. Finally, we extend our results to a simple two-field model. The additional freedom allowed by the second field allows us to construct viable inflationary models that allow oscillon production in collisions. The breaking of the SO(2,1) symmetry allows for a new class of observational signatures from bubble collisions that do not posess azimuthal symmetry, including the production of gravitational waves which cannot be supported by an SO(2,1) spacetime.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗