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NASA NTRS1994

'Spherical' disks: Moving toward a unified source model for L1551

To predict the effects of a disk on the spectral energy distribution of a deeply embedded protostar, we construct disk models with power-law temperature distributions T is proportional to r(exp -q). We then use the spherically averaged disk emission as the central source for a spherical envelope, hence the term, 'spherical' disk. We then calculate the predicted spectral energy distribution of the disk and envelope, using a spherically symmetric radiative transport code. Applying this procedure to L1551 IRS 5, we find that the predicted far-infrared flux is not very sensitive to the nature of the central source. The best source model is consistent with the far-infrared emission arising from the infalling region in an 'inside-out' collapse model, independent of the nature of the central source. Disk models are superior to the star-only model when we try to match millimeter interferometer data. While disks with various q can reproduce the observed 2.7 mm interferometer flux, only an active disk (q = 0.5) can produce enough emission in a region small enough to match the observed 2.7 mm visibilities. However, if the disk is backwarmed by the envelope, even purely reprocessing disks can meet this constraint. All types of backwarmed disks are virtually in distinguishable in their millimeter properties. We find that all reasonable envelope models are sufficiently opaque in the mid-infrared to attenuate any disk model to a level well below the observations, unless the ratio of the mid-infrared to far-infrared dust opacities is similar to that of the dust opacities advocated by Mathis, Mezger, & Panagia (1983).

Butner, Harold M.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Using FU Orionis outbursts to constrain self-regulated protostellar disk models

One-dimensional, convective, vertical structure models and one dimensional time-dependent, radial diffusion models are combined to create a self-consistent picture in which FU Orionis outbursts occur in young stellar objects (YSOs) as the result of a large-scale, self-regulated, thermal ionization instability in the surrounding protostellar accretion disk. Although active accretion disks have long been postulated to be ubiqitous among low-mass YSOs, few constraints have until now been imposed on physical conditions in these disks. By fitting the results of time-dependent disk models to observed timescales of FU Orionis events, we estimate the magnitude of the effective viscous stress in the inner disk (r approximately less than 1 AU) to be, in accordance with an ad hoc 'alpha' prescription, the product of the local sound speed, pressure scale height, and an efficiency factor alpha of 10(exp -4) where hydrogen is neutral and 10(exp 3) where hydrogen is ionized. We hypothesize that all YSOs receive infall onto their outer disks which is steady (or slowly declining with time) and that FU Orionis outbursts are self-regulated, disk outbursts which occur only in systems which transport matter inward at a rate sufficiently high to cause hydrogen to be ionized in the inner disk. We estimate a critical mass flux of dm(sub crit)/dt = 5 x 10(exp 7) solar mass/yr independent of the magnitude of alpha for systems with one solar mass, three solar radius central objects. Infall accretion rates in the range of dm(sub in)/dt = 1-10) x 10(exp -6) solar mass/yr produce observed FU Orionis timescales consistent with estimates of spherical molecular cloud core collapse rates. Modeled ionization fronts are typically initiated near the inner edge of the disk and propogate out to a distance of several tens of stellar radii. Beyond this region, the disk transports mass steadily inward at the supplied constant infall rate. Mass flowing through the innermost disk annulus is equal to dm(sub in)/dt only in a time-averaged sense and is regulated by the ionization of hydrogen in the inner disk such that long intervals (approximately 1000 yr) of low-mass flux: (1-30) x 10(exp -8) solar mass/yr are punctuated by short intervals (approximately 100 yr) of high-mass flux: (1-30) x 10(exp -5) solar mass/yr. Timescales and mass fluxes derived for quiescent and outburst stages are consistent with estimates from observations of T Tauri and FU Orionis systems, respectively.

Bell, K. R.↗
NASA NTRS1995

The interstellar disk-halo connection in the spiral galaxy NGC 3079

We discuss the morphology and excitation of ionized gas in the nearby Sc galaxy NGC 3079. The almost edge-on orientation is ideal for studying the vertical structure of the gaseous disk, and especially the diffuse ionized medium (DIM) found between the bright H II regions. We used the Hawaii Imaging Fabry-Perot Interferometer (HIFI) to map 150,000 H-alpha + (N II) lambda lambda 6548, 6583 emission-line profiles across the entire disk, with resolution 70 km/s at subarcsecond steps, down to a flux level of approximately 10(exp -17) ergs/s/sq cm (EM approximately equal to 4 cm(exp -6) pc). The DIM contributes approximately 30% of the total disk H-alpha emission within a radius of 10 kpc. The DIM has broader emission lines and larger (N II) H-alpha flux ratios than the adjacent H II regions. Within a radius of 5 kpc, we find that the X-shaped filaments reported in previous studies emerge from the inner (R approximately equal to 1.5 kpc) disk, and rise more than 4 kpc above the disk plane. The morphology, kinematics, and excitation of the filaments suggest that they form a biconic interface between the undisturbed disk gas, and gas entrained in the wide-angle outflow. The DIM beyond 5 kpc radius is more vertically extended than the thick ionized disk detected in our Galaxy and in a few nearby edge-on systems. After correcting for dust, the vertical profile of this DIM has an exponential scale height of about 1.1 kpc, similar to that of the H I disk. The (N II) lambda 6538/H-alpha flux ratio of the DIM increases monotonically with vertical height, reaching unity for absolute value of z greater than or approximately equal to 2.5 kpc. The flux required to keep the DIM ionized at R = 8 kpc is similar to that near the solar circle of our Galaxy. Highly dilute radiation from O stars in the galactic plane probably maintains the DIM. The total mass of the DIM is of order 10(exp 8) - 10(exp 9) solar mass, representing less than 1% of the total dynamical mass of NGC 3079. Mechanical energy from intense star formation in the disk probably lifts the DIM above the disk. The several bubbles and filaments within 1 kpc of the disk plane is direct evidence for gas flow between the disk and halo.

Veilleux, Sylvain↗
NASA NTRS1995

Collisional Time Scales in the Kuiper Disk and Their Implications

We explore the rate of collisions among bodies in the present-day Kuiper Disk as a function of the total mass and population size structure of the disk. We find that collisional evolution is an important evolutionary process in the disk as a whole, and indeed, that it is likely the dominant evolutionary process beyond approx. 42 AU, where dynamical instability time scales exceed the age of the solar system. Two key findings we report from this modeling work are: that unless the disk's population structure is sharply truncated for radii smaller than approx. 1-2 km, collisions between comets and smaller debris are occurring so frequently in the disk, and with high enough velocities, that the small body (i.e., KM-class object) population in the disk has probably developed into a collisional cascade, thereby implying that the Kuiper Disk comets may not all be primordial, and that the rate of collisions of smaller bodies with larger 100 less R less 400 km objects (like 1992QB(sub 1) and its cohorts) is so low that there appears to be a dilemma in explaining how QB(sub 1)s could have grown by binary accretion in the disk as we know it. Given these findings, it appears that either the present-day paradigm for the formation of Kuiper Disk is failed in some fundamental respect, or that the present-day disk is no longer representative of the ancient structure from which it evolved. This in turn suggests the intriguing possibility that the present-day Kuiper Disk evolved through a more erosional stage reminiscent of the disks around the stars Beta Pictorus, alpha PsA, and alpha Lyr.

Stern, S. Alan↗
NASA NTRS1996

Axisymmetric Two-Dimensional Computation of Magnetic Field Dragging in Accretion Disks

In this paper we model a geometrically thin accretion disk interacting with an externally imposed, uniform, vertical magnetic field. The accretion flow in the disk drags and distorts field lines, amplifying the magnetic field in the process. Inside the disk the radial component of the field is sheared into a toroidal component. The aim of this work is to establish the character of the resultant magnetic field and its dependence on the disk's parameters. We concentrate on alpha-disks driven by turbulent viscosity. Axisymmetric, two-dimensional solutions are obtained without taking into account the back-reaction of the magnetic field on the structure of the disk. The character of the magnetic field depends strongly on the magnitude of the magnetic Prandtl number, P . We present two illustrative examples of viscous disks: a so-called 'standard' steady state model of a disk around a compact star (e.g., cataclysmic variable), and a steady state model of a proto-planetary disk. In both cases, P = 1, P = 10(sup -1), and P = 10(sup -2) scenarios are calculated. Significant bending and magnification of the magnetic field is possible only for disks characterized by P of the order of 10(sup -2). In such a case, the field lines are bent sufficiently to allow the development of a centrifugally driven wind. Inside the disk the field is dominated by its toroidal component. We also investigate the dragging of the magnetic field by a nonviscous protoplanetary disk described by a phenomenological model. This scenario leads to large distortion and magnification of the magnetic field.

Reyes-Ruiz, Mauricio↗
NASA NTRS1999

Hydrodynamic Stability and Magnetic Reconnection in Disks and Stars

The purpose of this grant is to study parametric instability. The simplest example of parametric instability is a harmonic oscillator with a periodic modulation of the spring constant. If the modulation frequency is close to twice the natural frequency of the oscillator, the amplitude of oscillation tends to grow exponentially. The growth rate is proportional to the strength of the modulation, but it also depends upon the closeness to resonance of the two frequencies, and upon natural damping rate or "Q" of the oscillator. Parametric instabilities are very common in physics. A familiar example is a jogger's ponytail--normally a very strongly damped pendulum, it can be destabilized by the variation in effective gravity during the jogger's stride. Observation confirms that the period of the pendulum is half that of the jogger's vertical motion. In astrophysics, parametric instability may occur by external tidal forcing, or by interaction among eigenmodes. In the latter case, an energetic eigenmode may destabilize modes of half its frequency, provided some weak nonlinearity exists to couple them. Under a previous Astrophysical Theory grant (NAGW-2419), the PI discovered a parametric instability of tidally forced disks such as the accretion disks in cataclysmic variables and X ray binaries [2]. The destabilized modes are tightly-wound, incompressible, three-dimensional waves analogous to g-modes and r-modes in stars. Later work has confirmed our analysis [4]. It was hoped that these modes might provide a source of turbulence and angular momentum transport in accretion disks. However, a follow-up investigation of this instability by local numerical simulations, although confirming the analytically estimated growth rates, found negligible angular momentum flux [3]. Other work, partly supported by the ATP, now strongly indicates that the transport mechanism in such disks is magnetohydrodynamic turbulence [6]. Nevertheless, the parametric mechanism may truncate the outer edges of disks in close binaries [2], and it may be important in disks of very low ionization such as protostellar disks, or even cataclysmic-variable disks in quiescence where the MHD mechanism may be ineffective [5]. All analyses up to 1996 were done in a local approximation where the orbital frequency, shear rate, and tidal field were treated as constants. The locally computed growth rate turns out to depend strongly on radius, and it was unclear how to average these local rates to obtain the correct global rate. This is a critical issue for accretion disks in close binaries, because the local growth rate is comparable to the orbital frequency towards the outer edge of the disk but decreases rapidly inwards. Paper #1 examined this issue in a simplified global model where the destabilizing terms vary with position. We found that the global growth rate is essentially equal to the maximum local rate, provided that the latter is smoothed over a radial range equal to the distance that the destabilized wave propagates at its group speed in one growth time. Thus, in an accretion disk, waves would grow rapidly in the outer parts but would propagate both inwards and outwards at a maximum group speed of order the disk thickness divided by the orbital period.

Goodman, Jeremy↗
NASA NTRS2004

Detailed Microstructural Characterization of the Disk Alloy ME3

The advanced powder metallurgy disk alloy ME3 was designed using statistical screening and optimization of composition and processing variables in the NASA/General Electric/Pratt & Whitney HSR/EPM disk program to have extended durability for large disks at maximum temperatures of 600 to 700 C. Scaled-up disks of this alloy were then produced at the conclusion of that program to demonstrate these properties in realistic disk shapes. The objective of the present study was to assess the microstructural characteristics of these ME3 disks at two consistent locations, in order to enable estimation of the variations in microstructure across each disk and across several disks of this advanced alloy. Scaled-up disks processed in the HSR/EPM Compressor/Turbine Disk program had been sectioned, machined into specimens, and tested in tensile, creep, fatigue, and fatigue crack growth tests by NASA Glenn Research Center, in cooperation with General Electric Engine Company and Pratt & Whitney Aircraft Engines. For this study, microstructures of grip sections from tensile specimens in the bore and rim were evaluated from these disks. The major and minor phases were identified and quantified using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Particular attention was directed to the .' precipitates, which along with grain size can predominantly control the mechanical properties of superalloy disks.

Gabb, Timothy P.↗
NASA NTRS2008

The HD 163296 Circumstellar Disk in Scattered Light: Evidence of Time-Variable Self-Shadowing

We present the first multi-color view of the scattered light disk of the Herbig Ae star HD 163296, based on coronagraphic observations from the Hubble Space Telescope Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS). Radial profile fits of the surface brightness along the disk's semi-major axis indicates that the disk is not continuously flared, and extends to approx.540 AU. The disk's color (V-I)=1.1 at a radial distance of 3.5" is redder than the observed stellar color (V-I)=0.15. This red disk color might be indicative of either an evolution in the grain size distribution (i.e. grain growth) and/or composition, both of which would be consistent with the observed non-flared geometry of the outer disk. We also identify a single ansa morphological structure in our F435W ACS data, which is absent from earlier epoch F606W and F814W ACS data, but corresponds to one of the two ansa observed in archival HST STIS coronagraphic data. Following transformation to similar band-passes, we find that the scattered light disk of HD 163296 is 1 mag arcsec(sup -2) fainter at 3.5" in the STIS data than in the ACS data. Moreover, variations are seen in (i) the visibility of the ansa(e) structures, in (ii) the relative surface brightness of the ansa(e) structures, and in (iii) the (known) intrinsic polarization of the system. These results indicate that the scattered light from the HD 163296 disk is variable. We speculate that the inner disk wall, which Sitko et al. suggests has a variable scale height as diagnosed by near-IR SED variability, induces variable self-shadowing of the outer disk. We further speculate that the observed surface brightness variability of the ansa(e) structures may indicate that the inner disk wall is azimuthally asymmetric. Subject headings: circumstellar matter - stars: individual (HD 163296) - planetary systems: formation - planetary systems: protoplanetary disks

Wisniewski, John P.↗
NASA NTRS2011

Zodiac II: Debris Disk Science from a Balloon

Zodiac II is a proposed balloon-borne science investigation of debris disks around nearby stars. Debris disks are analogs of the Asteroid Belt (mainly rocky) and Kuiper Belt (mainly icy) in our Solar System. Zodiac II will measure the size, shape, brightness, and color of a statistically significant sample of disks. These measurements will enable us to probe these fundamental questions: what do debris disks tell us about the evolution of planetary systems; how are debris disks produced; how are debris disks shaped by planets; what materials are debris disks made of; how much dust do debris disks make sa they grind down; and how long do debris disks live? In addition, Zodiac II will observe hot, young exoplanets as targets of opportunity. The Zodiac II instrument is a 1.1-m diameter SiC telescope and an imaging coronagraph on a gondola carried by a stratospheric balloon. Its data product is a set of images of each targeted debris disk in four broad visible wavelength bands. Zodiac II will address its science questions by taking high-resolution, multi-wavelength images of the debris disks around tens of nearby stars. Mid-latitude flights are considered: overnight test flights within the United States followed by half-global flights in the Southern Hemisphere. These longer flights are required to fully explore the set of known debris disks accessible only to Zodiac II. On these targets, it will be 100 times more sensitive than the Hubble Space Telescope's Advanced Camera for Surveys (HST/ACS); no existing telescope can match the Zodiac II contrast and resolution performance. A second objective of Zodiac II is to use the near-space environment to raise the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of SiC mirrors, internal coronagraphs, deformable mirrors, and wavefront sensing and control, all potentially needed for a future space-based telescope for high-contrast exoplanet imaging.

Bryden, Geoffrey↗
NASA NTRS2011

Molecular Gas in Young Debris Disks

Gas-rich primordial disks and tenuous gas-poor debris disks are usually considered as two distinct evolutionary phases of the circumstellar matter. Interestingly, the debris disk around the young main-sequence star 49 Ceti possesses a substantial amount of molecular gas and possibly represents the missing link between the two phases. Motivated to understand the evolution of the gas component in circumstellar disks via finding more 49 Ceti-like systems, we carried out a CO J = 3-2 survey with the Atacama Pathfinder EXperiment, targeting 20 infrared-luminous debris disks. These systems fill the gap between primordial and old tenuous debris disks in terms of fractional luminosity. Here we report on the discovery of a second 49 Ceti-like disk around the 30 Myr old A3-type star HD21997, a member of the Columba Association. This system was also detected in the CO(2-1) transition, and the reliable age determination makes it an even clearer example of an old gas-bearing disk than 49 Ceti. While the fractional luminosities of HD21997 and 49 Ceti are not particularly high, these objects seem to harbor the most extended disks within our sample. The double-peaked profiles of HD21997 were reproduced by a Keplerian disk model combined with the LIME radiative transfer code. Based on their similarities, 49 Ceti and HD21997 may be the first representatives of a so far undefined new class of relatively old > or approx.8 Myr), gaseous dust disks. From our results, neither primordia1 origin nor steady secondary production from icy planetesima1s can unequivocally explain the presence of CO gas in the disk ofHD21997.

Moor, A.↗
NASA NTRS2013

Optical Strain and Crack-Detection Measurements on a Rotating Disk

The development of techniques for the in-situ measurement and structural health monitoring of the rotating components in gas turbine engines is of major interest to NASA. As part of this on-going effort, several experiments have been undertaken to develop methods for detecting cracks and measuring strain on rotating turbine engine like disks. Previous methods investigated have included the use of blade tip clearance sensors to detect the presence of cracks by monitoring the change in measured blade tip clearance and analyzing the combined disk-rotor system's vibration response. More recently, an experiment utilizing a novel optical Moiré based concept has been conducted on a subscale turbine engine disk to demonstrate a potential strain measurement and crack detection technique. Moiré patterns result from the overlap of two repetitive patterns with slightly different spacing. When this technique is applied to a rotating disk, it has the potential to allow for the detection of very small changes in spacing and radial growth in a rotating disk due to a flaw such as a crack. This investigation was a continuation of previous efforts undertaken in 2011 to 2012 to validate this optical concept. The initial demonstration attempted on a subscale turbine engine disk was inconclusive due to the minimal radial growth experienced by the disk during operation. For the present experiment a new subscale Aluminum disk was fabricated and improvements were made to the experimental setup to better demonstrate the technique. A circular reference pattern was laser etched onto a subscale engine disk and the disk was operated at speeds up to 12 000 rpm as a means of optically monitoring the Moiré created by the shift in patterns created by the radial growth due the presence of the simulated crack. Testing was first accomplished on a clean defect free disk as a means of acquiring baseline reference data. A notch was then machined in to the disk to simulate a crack and testing was repeated for the purposes of demonstrating the concept. Displacement data was acquired using external blade tip clearance and shaft displacement sensors as a means of confirming the optical data and for validating other sensor based crack detection techniques.

Woike, Mark↗
NASA NTRS2013

Optical Strain and Crack-Detection Measurements on a Rotating Disk

The development of techniques for the in-situ measurement and structural health monitoring of the rotating components in gas turbine engines is of major interest to NASA. As part of this on-going effort, several experiments have been undertaken to develop methods for detecting cracks and measuring strain on rotating turbine engine like disks. Previous methods investigated have included the use of blade tip clearance sensors to detect the presence of cracks by monitoring the change in measured blade tip clearance and analyzing the combined disk-rotor system's vibration response. More recently, an experiment utilizing a novel optical Moiré based concept has been conducted on a subscale turbine engine disk to demonstrate a potential strain measurement and crack detection technique. Moiré patterns result from the overlap of two repetitive patterns with slightly different spacing. When this technique is applied to a rotating disk, it has the potential to allow for the detection of very small changes in spacing and radial growth in a rotating disk due to a flaw such as a crack. This investigation was a continuation of previous efforts undertaken in 2011-2012 to validate this optical concept. The initial demonstration attempted on a subscale turbine engine disk was inconclusive due to the minimal radial growth experienced by the disk during operation. For the present experiment a new subscale Aluminum disk was fabricated and improvements were made to the experimental setup to better demonstrate the technique. A circular reference pattern was laser etched onto a subscale engine disk and the disk was operated at speeds up to 12 000 rpm as a means of optically monitoring the Moiré created by the shift in patterns created by the radial growth due the presence of the simulated crack. Testing was first accomplished on a clean defect free disk as a means of acquiring baseline reference data. A notch was then machined in to the disk to simulate a crack and testing was repeated for the purposes of demonstrating the concept. Displacement data was acquired using external blade tip clearance and shaft displacement sensors as a means of confirming the optical data and for validating other sensor based crack detection techniques.

Woike, Mark↗
NASA NTRS2013

Herschel's "Cold Debris Disks": Background Galaxies or Quiescent Rims of Planetary Systems?

Infrared excesses associated with debris disk host stars detected so far peak at wavelengths around approx, 100 micron or shorter. However, 6 out of 31 excess sources studied in the Herschel Open Time Key Programme, DUNES, have been seen to show significant-and in some cases extended-excess emission at 160 micron, which is larger than the 100 micron excess. This excess emission has been attributed to circumstellar dust and has been suggested to stem from debris disks colder than those known previously. Since the excess emission of the cold disk candidates is extremely weak, challenging even the unrivaled sensitivity of Herschel, it is prudent to carefully consider whether some or even all of them may represent unrelated galactic or extragalactic emission, or even instrumental noise. We re-address these issues using several distinct methods and conclude that it is highly unlikely that none of the candidates represents a true circumstellar disk. For true disks, both the dust temperatures inferred from the spectral energy distributions and the disk radii estimated from the images suggest that the dust is nearly as cold as a blackbody. This requires the grains to be larger than approx. 100 micron, even if they are rich in ices or are composed of any other material with a low absorption in the visible. The dearth of small grains is puzzling, since collisional models of debris disks predict that grains of all sizes down to several times the radiation pressure blowout limit should be present. We explore several conceivable scenarios: transport-dominated disks, disks of low dynamical excitation, and disks of unstirred primordial macroscopic grains. Our qualitative analysis and collisional simulations rule out the first two of these scenarios, but show the feasibility of the third one. We show that such disks can indeed survive for gigayears, largely preserving the primordial size distribution. They should be composed of macroscopic solids larger than millimeters, but smaller than a few kilometers in size. If larger planetesimals were present, then they would stir the disk, triggering a collisional cascade and thus causing production of small debris, which is not seen. Thus, planetesimal formation, at least in the outer regions of the systems, has stopped before "cometary" or "asteroidal" sizes were reached.

Herschel↗
NASA NTRS2021

The Asymmetric Inner Disk of the Herbig Ae Star HD 163296 in the Eyes of VLTI/MATISSE: Evidence for a Vortex?

Context.A complex environment exists in the inner few astronomical units of planet-forming disks. High-angular-resolution observa-tions play a key role in our understanding of the disk structure and the dynamical processes at work.Aims.In this study we aim to characterize the mid-infrared brightness distribution of the inner disk of the young intermediate-massstar HD 163296 from early VLTI/MATISSE observations taken in theL- andN-bands. We put special emphasis on the detection ofpotential disk asymmetries.Methods.We use simple geometric models to fit the interferometric visibilities and closure phases. Our models include a smoothedring, a flat disk with an inner cavity, and a 2D Gaussian. The models can account for disk inclination and for azimuthal asymmetriesas well. We also perform numerical hydrodynamical simulations of the inner edge of the disk.Results.Our modeling reveals a significant brightness asymmetry in theL-band disk emission. The brightness maximum of the asym-metry is located at the NW part of the disk image, nearly at the position angle of the semimajor axis. The surface brightness ratio inthe azimuthal variation is3.5±0.2. Comparing our result on the location of the asymmetry with other interferometric measurements,we confirm that the morphology of ther<0.3au disk region is time-variable. We propose that this asymmetric structure, located in ornear the inner rim of the dusty disk, orbits the star. To find the physical origin of the asymmetry, we tested a hypothesis where a vortexis created by Rossby wave instability, and we find that a unique large-scale vortex may be compatible with our data. The half-lightradius of theL-band-emitting region is0.33±0.01au, the inclination is52◦+5◦−7◦, and the position angle is143◦±3◦. Our models predictthat a non-negligible fraction of theL-band disk emission originates inside the dust sublimation radius forμm-sized grains. Refractorygrains or large (&10μm-sized) grains could be the origin of this emission.N-band observations may also support a lack of smallsilicate grains in the innermost disk (r.0.6au), in agreement with our findings fromL-band data.

J Varga↗
NASA NTRS2005

Apparent Stellar Wobble by a Planet in a Circumstellar Disk: Limitations on Planet Detection by Astrometry

Astrometric detection of a stellar wobble on the plane of the sky will provide us the next breakthrough in searching for extrasolar planets. The Space Interferometry Mission (SIM) is expected to achieve high-precision astrometry as accurate as 1 (mu)as, which is precise enough to discover a newborn Jupiter mass planet around a pre-main-sequence (PMS) star in the Taurus-Auriga star-forming region. PMS stars, however, have circumstellar disks that may be obstacles to the precise measurement of the stellar position.We present results on disk influences on the stellar wobble. The density waves excited by a planet move both the disk's mass center and the photocenter. The motion of the disk mass center induces an additional wobble of the stellar position, and the motion of the disk photocenter causes a contamination in the measurement of the stellar position. We show that the additional stellar motion dynamically caused by the disk's gravity is always negligible but that the contamination by the disk light can interfere with the precise measurement of the stellar position if the planet's mass is smaller than approximately 10MJ. The motion of the disk photocenter is sensitive to a slight change in the wave pattern and the disk properties. Measurements by interferometers are generally insensitive to extended sources such as disks. Because of this property, SIM will not suffer significant contamination by the disk light, even if the planet's mass is as small as 1M(sub J).

accretion disks↗
NASA NTRS2013

GASPS--A Herschel Survey of Gas and Dust in Protoplanetary Disks: Summary and Initial Statistics

We describe a large-scale far-infrared line and continuum survey of protoplanetary disk through to young debris disk systems carried out using the ACS instrument on the Herschel Space Observatory. This Open Time Key program, known as GASPS (Gas Survey of Protoplanetary Systems), targeted approx. 250 young stars in narrow wavelength regions covering the [OI] fine structure line at 63 micron the brightest far-infrared line in such objects. A subset of the brightest targets were also surveyed in [OI]145 micron, [CII] at 157 μm, as well as several transitions of H2O and high-excitation CO lines at selected wavelengths between 78 and 180 micron. Additionally, GASPS included continuum photometry at 70, 100 and 160 micron, around the peak of the dust emission. The targets were SED Class II– III T Tauri stars and debris disks from seven nearby young associations, along with a comparable sample of isolated Herbig AeBe stars. The aim was to study the global gas and dust content in a wide sample of circumstellar disks, combining the results with models in a systematic way. In this overview paper we review the scientific aims, target selection and observing strategy of the program. We summarize some of the initial results, showing line identifications, listing the detections, and giving a first statistical study of line detectability. The [OI] line at 63 micron was the brightest line seen in almost all objects, by a factor of ∼10. Overall [OI] 63 micron detection rates were 49%, with 100% of HAeBe stars and 43% of T Tauri stars detected. A comparison with published disk dust masses (derived mainly from sub-mm continuum, assuming standard values of the mm mass opacity) shows a dust mass threshold for [OI] 63 μm detection of approx.10(exp -5) Solar M.. Normalizing to a distance of 140 pc, 84% of objects with dust masses ≥10 (exp -5) Solar M can be detected in this line in the present survey; 32% of those of mass 10(exp -6) – 10 (exp -5) Solar M, and only a very small number of unusual objects with lower masses can be detected. This is consistent with models with a moderate UV excess and disk flaring. For a given disk mass, [OI] detectability is lower for M stars compared with earlier spectral types. Both the continuum and line emission was, in most systems, spatially and spectrally unresolved and centered on the star, suggesting that emission in most cases was from the disk. Approximately 10 objects showed resolved emission, most likely from outflows. In the GASPS sample, [OI] detection rates in T Tauri associations in the 0.3–4 Myr age range were approx. 50%. For each association in the 5–20 Myr age range, approx. 2 stars remain detectable in [OI] 63 micron, and no systems were detected in associations with age >20 Myr. Comparing with the total number of young stars in each association, and assuming a ISM-like gas/dust ratio, this indicates that approx. 18% of stars retain a gas-rich disk of total mass approx. Jupiter- M for 1–4 Myr, 1–7% keep such disks for 5–10 Myr, but none are detected beyond 10–20 Myr. The brightest [OI] objects from GASPS were also observed in [OI]145 micron, [CII]157 micron and CO J = 18- 17, with detection rates of 20–40%. Detection of the [CII] line was not correlated with disk mass, suggesting it arises more commonly from a compact remnant envelope.

Herschel Space Observatory↗
NASA NTRS1976

An improved turbine disk design to increase reliability of aircraft jet engines

An analytical study was performed on a novel disk design to replace the existing high-pressure turbine, stage 1 disk on the CF6-50 turbofan engine. Preliminary studies were conducted on seven candidate disk design concepts. An integral multidisk design with bore entry of the turbine blade cooling air was selected as the improved disk design. This disk has the unique feature of being redundant such that if one portion of the disk would fail, the remaining portion would prevent the release of large disk fragments from the turbine system. Low cycle fatigue lives, initial defect propagation lives, burst speed, and the kinetic energies of probable disk fragment configurations were calculated, and comparisons were made with the existing disk, both in its current material, IN 718, and with the substitution of an advanced alloy, Rene 95. The design for redundancy approach which necessitated the addition of approximately 44.5 kg (98 lb) to the design disk substantially improved the life of the disk. The life to crack initiation was increased from 30,000 cycles to more than 100,000 cycles. The cycles to failure from initial defect propagation were increased from 380 cycles to 1564 cycles. Burst speed was increased from 126 percent overspeed to 149 percent overspeed. Additionally, the maximum fragment energies associated with a failure were decreased by an order of magnitude.

Barack, W. N.↗
NASA NTRS1982

High Frequency Scattering from Arbitrarily Oriented Dielectric Disks

Calculations have been made of electromagnetic wave scattering from dielectric disks of arbitrary shape and orientation in the high frequency (physical optics) regime. The solution is obtained by approximating the fields inside the disk with the fields induced inside an identically oriented slab (i.e. infinite parallel planes) with the same thickness and dielectric properties. The fields inside the disk excite conduction and polarization currents which are used to calculate the scattered fields by integrating the radiation from these sources over the volume of the disk. This computation has been executed for observers in the far field of the disk in the case of disks with arbitrary orientation and for arbitrary polarization of the incident radiation. The results have been expressed in the form of a dyadic scattering amplitude for the disk. The results apply to disks whose diameter is large compared to wavelength and whose thickness is small compared to diameter, but the thickness need not be small compared to wavelength. Examples of the dependence of the scattering amplitude on frequency, dielectric properties of the disk and disk orientation are presented for disks of circular cross section.

Levine, D. M.↗