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NASA NTRS1979

HEAO 1 observations of high-energy X-rays from 3C273

The first detection of high energy (13 to 120 keV) X rays from the quasar 3C273, made by the HEAO 1 satellite, is reported. Observations were made with the 13 to 180 keV slat collimated detectors of the high energy X-ray and low energy gamma-ray (A4) experiment during December 1977-January 1978 and June-July 1978. Results are consistent with the previously observed X-ray flux variability on a scale of months. Photon count rates are presented for each of five energy bands and count rate and photon spectra for the June through July 1978 observations are derived. A comparison of the data obtained with that at lower X-ray energies and higher gamma-ray energies indicates that there is an overall spectral steepening from low to high energies and a possible break near 20 keV, which may be due to the gamma rays originating from a different region than that of the X rays.

Primini, F. A.↗

DOE OSTI2020

Heterogeneity effects on nondestructive assay measurements of enrichment in UF 6 cylinders

A set of measurements were performed using multiple mechanically cooled HPGe detectors at six positions around a cylinder uranium hexafluoride to assess if matrix inhomogeneity is detectible and effects the determined apparent uranium enrichment. These measurements were performed on nine 30B cylinders of uranium hexafluoride. Six of the cylinders appeared to be homogeneous and had similar apparent measured uranium enrichment, as calculated by the FRAM software, at all positions. However, three cylinders appeared to have local inhomogeneity based on the observed results. This was manifested as very low apparent enrichments, often <10% of the declared enrichment, on select positions. The side with a low apparent enrichment shows elevated daughter isotope activity (e.g., elevated 1001 keV and 766 keV peak count rate) and slightly reduced 235 U activity (lower 185.7 keV count rate). We hypothesize that these heterogenous cylinders may have experienced asymmetric solar heating, which caused volatile UF 6 to sublime preferentially away from the warmed side. A similar phenomenon was observed at a second facility where dose rate measurements confirm that the “low-enriched side” of cylinders show elevated gamma ray dose rates, likely from the removal of UF 6 attenuation and concentration of daughter-products. Care should be taken during uranium enrichment verification when applying methods that include gamma-rays associated with daughter nuclides to the determination of uranium enrichment on cylinders that are stored in sunlight and have asymmetric dose readings around the cylinder.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

DOE OSTI2022

Comparison of Approach-to-Critical Results in Current and Pulse Mode for Systems with High Starter Neutron Rates

Reactors and critical assemblies use a variety of detection systems to monitor the neutron population. The count rate is proportional to the neutron flux present at the location of the detector. When such systems are placed external to an assembly, it is often assumed that the relative leakage multiplication will be proportional to the detector count rate (assuming that the source term, system geometry, and detector placement have not changed). Such systems are often used in an approach-to-critical during reactor startup to ensure that the critical configuration is well predicted. Various types of detectors have been used during an approach-to-critical. These include 3 He, BF 3 , ion chambers, fission chambers, and fission foils. Any of these types of systems (or others) should work well when adequate counting statistics are available. These detector systems can be operated in either pulse or current mode. The National Criticality Experiments Research Center (NCERC) has two detection systems that are commonly used in critical assembly operations. The start-up (referred to as "SU" in this work) system is made up of 3 He proportional counters in pulse mode and the linear counter system (referred to as "LC" in this work) consists of compensated ion-chambers in current mode. Typically the SU system is used for approach-to-critical operations and the LC system is only used at/above delayed critical ( k eff = 1). This work investigates the use of the LC system for an approach-to-critical. It has been long hypothesized that such an approach would be feasible for systems with high starter neutron rates.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

NASA NTRS1982

Prolonged triboluminescence in clays and other minerals

Samples of various clays and minerals were ground or fractured and monitored with a liquid scintillation spectrometer in order to obtain triboluminescent decay curves. Kaolinite samples displayed several million counts/min after grinding, with a surface area emission estimated at tens of billions of photons/sq cm of surface. The photon production rates varied with the origin of the sample, and kaolinite continually yielded higher production rates than bentonite. The addition of water to the samples slightly increased the count rate of emitted light, while the addition of the fluorescent molecule substance tryptofan significantly enhanced the count rate. Freezing smears of kaolinite and montmorillonite in liquid nitrogen and in a salt ice mixture also induced triboluminescence in the montmorillonite. A possible connection between powdery triboluminescent materials formed in mining industries and respiratory disorders among miners is suggested.

Lahav, N.↗

NASA NTRS2021

High Resolution Soft X-Ray Spectroscopy and the Quest for the Hot (5-10 MK) Plasma in Solar Active Regions

We discuss the diagnostics available to study the 5–10 MK plasma in the solar corona, which is key to understanding the heating in the cores of solar active regions. We present several simulated spectra, and show that excellent diagnostics are available in the soft X-rays, around 100 A, as six ionisation stages of Fe can simultaneously be observed, and electron densities derived, within a narrow spectral region. As this spectral range is almost unexplored, we present an analysis of available and simulated spectra, to compare the hot emission with the cooler component. We adopt recently designed multilayers to present estimates of count rates in the hot lines, with a baseline spectrometer design. Excellent count rates are found, opening up the exciting opportunity to obtain high-resolution spectroscopy of hot plasma.

Giulio Del Zanna↗

NASA NTRS1992

Ultrasoft x ray bursts: A clue to the origin of gamma ray bursts?

A search was conducted for short timescale (less than or approx. 10 s) faint X ray bursts in the complete 201,000,000 photon Einstein Observatory imaging proportional counter (IPC) data base. Some 73,000,000 events were extracted which were distributed among 11,230 observing intervals with an average observing time of approx. 1400 seconds. To exclude all sources, only those spatial pixels were searched with a count rate less than 6 x 10(exp -4) counts/sec sq arcmin. The mean count rate was much less. All files with less than 400 secs of observing time were excluded. The data was then binned into overlapping cells 4'.3 by 4'.3 by 10 secs in volume, and all the space-time cells were searched to locate cells with more than 5 counts in a 10 sec interval; i.e., a minimum flux enhancement of 50 over the mean rate for that point in space. Some 52 such events were found. An annulus was inspected around the event to see if it coincided with a general rise in the counter's event rate. Ten events did coincide with counter phenomena; these were associated with sunrise, sunset, or the approach of the South Atlantic Anomaly and were excluded. The remaining 42 events were then examined in an attempt to associate them with instrumental or environmental artifacts. The event occurrence times are uniformly distributed over the course of the mission and show no correlation with local solar time; their positions are randomly distributed in geographic, Galactic, and celestial coordinates. Their summed radial distribution is consistent with the point response function of the IPC for a soft source, indicating that the events are focused by the Observatory's mirror system. The integrated spectrum is, indeed, quite soft and is very similar to that of the cataclysmic variable star U Gem in outburst. Most of the events have risetimes of less than or approx. 1 sec and decay times ranging from 1 to 20 sec. Their positions are not associated with any class of catalogued objects. Several possible origins are discussed for the events; if they are associated with gamma ray bursters, they provide interesting constraints on the space density and repetition rate of the underlying source population.

Helfand, D. J.↗

NASA NTRS1986

Dead-time effects in pulse-counting Digicon detectors

The Hubble Space Telescope's High Resolution Spectrograph employs two pulse-counting Digicon detectors to record UV spectra. At higher measured count rates, the intervals between photon arrivals become comparable to the response time of the electronics, so that not every pulse will be counted; this 'paired pulse' effect causes departures from linearity and must be corrected for during raw data reduction. Attention is given to two analytic equations that quantify the dead-time losses. The less attenuated spectra are noted to be severely distorted by these losses; a comparison with the undistorted low count rate data allows a detailed analysis to be made of the pulse-counting characteristics over five decades of input event rates. The present equations and calibration methods should be applicable to all kinds of multichannel pulse-counting detectors.

Ebbets, Dennis C.↗

DOE OSTI2025

Strategies for the in-orbit gain tracking using the modulated X-ray sources for the Resolve microcalorimeter spectrometer on the X-ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission

Accurate and precise correction of the gain drift is the key to achieve the required energy resolution of the Resolve microcalorimeter spectrometer on the X-ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission (XRISM). Therefore, Resolve is equipped with highly configurable X-ray sources called the modulated X-ray source (MXS). The pulsed nature allows us to separate calibration and astrophysical X-rays by time interval selections. However, undesirable characteristics of the MXS, such as the afterglow X-rays, restrict the allowed configuration range. Moreover, the nonlinear and discontinuous behaviors of the calibration line count rate make the determination of the optimal setting highly complex. The MXS count rate model has been established using measurements in the spacecraft thermal vacuum test with the flight detector and MXS. A trade-off study using the model enables us to choose a few settings for the continuous use of the MXS optimized for different ranges of target gain tracking intervals. An alternative approach, where the MXS is used only intermittently, has also been developed and implemented. This new mode enables us to reconstruct the drift without having most of the undesirable effects in science data. This also forms the basis of the gain tracking under the current Resolve configuration with the closed gate valve.

Astronomy and AstroPhysics↗

NASA NTRS1975

Application of a dedicated micro-processor for automatic data acquisition of load strain and acoustic-emission data

This paper describes an automatic system for acquisition, logging and analysis of stress, strain and acoustic emission data. The complete system is a combination of several standard items of equipment and a newly developed intelligent data logger which has the capability to send data directly to a large scale computer for reduction and plotting. The data logging and all interfacing with peripheral equipment are accomplished using digital electronics. The heart of the system is a four-bit microprocessor and digital cassette tape unit. The system, which is controlled by instructions from a cathode ray tube terminal, has the capability to transmit data from the cassette unit to a large computer via a time sharing option. Typical results are presented for acoustic emission count rate and total count curves superimposed on stress-strain diagrams for boron/epoxy advanced composites.

Wilson, G. H.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Radioactivities of Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) materials: Baggage and bonanzas

Radioactivities in materials onboard the returned Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) satellite were studied by a variety of techniques. Among the most powerful is low background Ge semiconductor detector gamma ray spectrometry. The observed radioactivities are of two origins: those radionuclides produced by nuclear reactions with the radiation field in orbit and radionuclides present initially as contaminants in materials used for construction of the spacecraft and experimental assemblies. In the first category are experiment related monitor foils and tomato seeds, and such spacecraft materials as Al, stainless steel, and Ti. In the second category are Al, Be, Ti, Va, and some special glasses. Consider that measured peak-area count rates from both categories range from a high value of about 1 count per minute down to less than 0.001 count per minute. Successful measurement of count rates toward the low end of this range can be achieved only through low background techniques, such as used to obtain the results presented here.

Smith, Alan R.↗

NASA NTRS1997

Contemporaneous IUE, EUVE, and High-Energy Observations of 3C 273

We present the results of our 1994 January and 1995 January observations of the quasar 3C 273 obtained with the International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE) and the Extreme-Ultraviolet Explorer (EUVE). These observations were part of a large multiwavelength campaign to observe 3C 273 from radio through gamma-rays. Our 1995 January photometric observations with the EUVE Lexan/B Deep Survey (DS) instrument indicate strong evidence for variability, at a 99% confidence level, during the 12 day observing period. We have utilized ROSAT PSPC soft X-ray power-law models to correlate with EUVE count rates. Besides variations in the normalization level between both observations, our EUV count rates are consistent with a simple power-law model with spectral index alpha approx. 1.77 (F(sub upsilon) proportional to upsilon(sup -alpha) that can be extrapolated from the soft X-rays to the EUV range. The active galactic nucleus 3C 273 is an important blazar to study because in our picture it reveals the presence of both disk and relativistic beam spectral contributions.

Ramos, E.↗

NASA NTRS2005

Using Beta Cen to Probe the Photosphere-wind Connection in B Stars

In this project we began by identifying the large number of emission lines visible in the XMM-Newton RGS spectra of Beta Cen. A comprehensive analysis of the temperature structure of the hot gas was carried out by simultaneously fitting the data from all the instruments on the spacecraft. This resulted in a measured temperature range of 0.1-0.6 keV. In more detailed analysis, three characteristic plasma temperatures were found: 0.1, 0.2, and 0.6 keV. The research carried out at UW-Eau Claire primarily focused on two aspects of the data: the analysis of the forbidden line to intercombination line ratio for He-like ions and the time variability of the overall X-ray flux as detected in the direct X-ray images of the star. The analysis of the lines from He-like ions indicate that the Ne IX lines are formed no farther than about 4 stellar radii from the star's photosphere, while the N VI lines are formed within 11 stellar radii of the photosphere. X-ray flux variability would be particularly interesting for this star because it is a known Beta Cep-type variable as seen in optical light: similar variation in the X-ray region would forge an interesting link between the two wavebands. Initial analysis of the X-ray flux was complicated by spikes in the count rates early in the observation. Detailed analysis of the spectral characteristics these count rate anomalies indicated that these flares were probably not intrinsic to the star, rather they were contaminations of the data due to the passage of the satellite through soft proton clouds in the Earth's magnetosphere. An analysis of the light curve of the uncontaminated portions of the light curve did not reveal any variation on the known optical period of variation for this star, and a general search for periodic variability also did not find any significant periods of variation.

Miller, Nathan A.↗

NASA NTRS1985

Operation of a microchannel plate counting system in a mass spectrometer

A multiplier detector system has been developed as part of a mass spectrometer in an ion counting mode. During its operation ions striking a microchannel plate release pulses of electrons which are accelerated to a phosphor layer. The resulting flash of light is carried by a fiber-optic bundle to a photodiode array. The detector simultaneously counts ions throughout a mass spectrum covering more than 30 amu. It extends the mass spectrometer's operation toward low count rates for trace gas analysis. Each mass peak can be independently measured at count rates between 0.1 and 1000 counts/s. Higher rates on a few peaks do not blind the entire detector. The detector's capabilities have been demonstrated by measuring Kr and Xe isotopes in air at natural abundances. The mass spectrometer, detector, and readout electronics are sufficiently compact to permit use in a balloon-borne experiment.

Murphy, D. M.↗

NASA NTRS2002

A Gamma-Ray Burst Trigger Toolkit

The detection rate of a gamma-ray burst detector can be increased by using a count rate trigger with many accumulation times DELTAt and energy bands DELTAE Because a burst's peak flux varies when averaged over different DELTAt and DELTAE the nominal sensitivity (the numerical value of the peak flux) of a trigger system is less important than how much fainter a burst could be at the detection threshold as DELTAt and DELTAE are changed. The relative sensitivity of different triggers can be quantified by referencing the detection threshold back to the peak flux for a fiducial value of DELTAt and DELTA E. This mapping between peak flux values for different sets of DELTAt and DELTAE varies from burst to burst. Quantitative estimates of the burst detection rate for a given detector and trigger system can be based on the observed rate at a measured peak flux value in this fiducial trigger. Predictions of a proposed trigger's burst detection rate depend on the assumed burst population, and these predictions can be wildly in error for triggers that differ significantly from previous missions. I base the fiducial rate on the BATSE observations: 550 bursts per sky above a peak flux of 0.3 ph per square centimeter per second averaged over DELTAt=1.024 sec and DELTAE=50-300 keV. Using a sample of 100 burst lightcurves I find that triggering on any value of DELTAt that is a multiple of 0.064 sec decreases the average threshold peak flux on the 1.024 sec timescale by a factor of 0.6. Extending DELTAE to lower energies includes the large flux of the X-ray background, increasing the background count rate. Consequently a low energy DELTAE is advantageous only for very soft bursts. Whether a large fraction of the population of bright bursts is soft is disputed; the new population of X-ray Flashes is soft but relatively faint.

Band, David L.↗

NASA NTRS1976

High-resolution imaging X-ray detector

The paper describes an X-ray detector using microchannel plates as a photocathode surface and imaging photoelectron multiplier, and a crossed wire grid as a two-dimensional position-sensitive detector. The position resolution is 10 microns. The crossed wire grid consists of 100-micron-diam wires on 200-micron centers. Position sensing is accomplished by electronic interpolation to 1/20 of the wire spacing. The quantum efficiency of the microchannel plates varies from 29% at 0.28 keV to 5% at 3 keV. This detector will provide second-of-arc X-ray imaging in the focal plane of the 342.9-cm focal length grazing-incidence telescope being prepared for the HEAO-B observatory. By addition of suitable photocathodes, it can be used for single-photon imaging light detection in the UV, visible, and near-IR-ranges. In all cases, it gives a very low dark counting rate, allows timing of individual events to 1 microsec or less, and can handle counting rates up to 10,000 per sec.

Kellogg, E.↗

NASA NTRS1979

The MIT/OSO 7 catalog of X-ray sources - Intensities, spectra, and long-term variability

This paper is a summary of the observations of the cosmic X-ray sky performed by the MIT 1-40-keV X-ray detectors on OSO 7 between October 1971 and May 1973. Specifically, mean intensities or upper limits of all third Uhuru or OSO 7 cataloged sources (185 sources) in the 3-10-keV range are computed. For those sources for which a statistically significant (greater than 20) intensity was found in the 3-10-keV band (138 sources), further intensity determinations were made in the 1-15-keV, 1-6-keV, and 15-40-keV energy bands. Graphs and other simple techniques are provided to aid the user in converting the observed counting rates to convenient units and in determining spectral parameters. Long-term light curves (counting rates in one or more energy bands as a function of time) are plotted for 86 of the brighter sources.

Markert, T. H.↗

NASA NTRS1985

Spectra of solar proton ground level events using neutron monitor and neutron moderated detector recordings

Recordings on relativistic solar flare protons observed at Sanae, Antarctic, show that the percentage increase in counting rates of the neutron moderated detector (4NMD) is larger than the percentage increase in counting rates of the 3NM64 neutron monitor. These relative increases are described by solar proton differential spectra j sub s(P) = AP(beta). The power beta is determined for each event and the hardnesses of the temporal variations of beta, found for the ground level events (GLE) of 7 May, 1978 and 22 November, 1977.

Stoker, P. H.↗

NASA NTRS1995

Interstellar Pickup Hydrogen Observations from the Pioneer 10 and 11 Plasma Analyzers

The Pioneer 10 and 11 Ames plasma analyzers included off-angle integrating counters used for the first exploration of magnetospheric plasmas at Jupiter and Saturn. When summed over multi-day intervals during interplanetary cruise, at times of relatively constant solar wind speed during 1972 to 1977, the resulting count rates show a dependence on acceptance energies of the plasma analyzer deflection plates. The count rates could be produced by energetic charged particles, solar wind protons moving at a large angle to the bulk flow, and interstellar pickup ions. We interpret the more energetic of two peaks that are sometimes observed as the signature of interstellar pickup hydrogen. This peak is located at just below twice the solar wind speed (V(sub SW)), when near 3 AU heliocentric distance, decreasing to just above V(sub SW) as the heliocentric distance increases. Also, in the 8 to 12 AU range of heliocentric distances, we identify the pickup hydrogen signature as a shelf that ends at an edge located below 2V(sub SW). During these observations, the spacecraft longitude relative to the upstream interstellar flow changes roughly from 25 deg, to 155 deg at the larger heliocentric distance. The peak at the smaller heliocentric distances is most consistent with a velocity distribution that is a shell in phase space, with limited thickening as the pickup ions are assimilated into the solar wind flow.

Mihalov, J. D.↗