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NASA NTRS2019

Some Implications of the Leptonic Annihilation of Dark Matter: Possible Galactic Radio Emission Signatures and the Excess Radio Flux of Extragalactic Origin

We give theoretical predictions for the radio emission of a dark matter candidate annihilating into 2-lepton and 4-lepton final states. We then compare our results with the known radio measurements of the sky temperature as a function of the frequency. In particular, we calculate the radio emission for some dark matter candidates annihilating into intermediate bosons that subsequently decay into a 4-lepton channel with a thermal annihilation cross-section. We show that within the range of frequencies from 20 MHz to 5 GHz, this channel can produce a stronger signature than direct annihilation into leptons.

Elaine C F S Fortes↗

NASA NTRS1974

Shuttle station, and satellite communications program

A parametric approach is developed to analyze and evaluate the performance of any link or links of a satellite relay system. The approach factors into the calculations the constraints of coherent radio frequency interference, multipath, and equipment design. The report is divided into three sections dealing with Spread Spectrum Techniques (Section 1), Power Budget Calculations (Section 2), and Required Capabilities and Design Factors for Tracking and Data Relay Systems TDRS (Section 3).

Lawsine, L.↗

NASA NTRS1981

Power spectrum of small-scale density irregularities in the interstellar medium

Observations of the interstellar scintillation of radiation from 17 pulsars are reported which are used to place limits on the power spectrum of small-scale electron density irregularities in the interstellar medium. Measurements made at 340, 408, and 450 MHz in the dispersion measure range 3-57/cu cm pc of the time-dependent radio frequency spectrum of interstellar scintillations were analyzed to determine the scintillation index and a scintillation frequency-correlation scale based on the autocorrelation function in radio frequency of the fluctuations in scintillation. The dispersion-measure dependence of the scintillation frequency correlation scale is found to be consistent with both Gaussian model interstellar medium spectra and power-law spectra with indices between 3.0 and 4, while the radio-frequency scaling of the frequency correlation scale is consistent with power law indices between 2.8 and 3.9. However comparison of the shape of the radio-frequency autocorrelation function with model calculations indicates power law models with indices greater than 3.6 are possible. Data are also consistent with a local three-dimensional density spectrum at a wave number of 10 to the -9th/m of 3 x 10 to the 28th to 3 x 10 to the 29th/cu m.

Armstrong, J. W.↗

NASA NTRS2016

Beam Wave Considerations for Optical Link Budget Calculations

The bounded beam wave nature of electromagnetic radiation emanating from a finite size aperture is considered for diffraction-based link power budget calculations for an optical communications system. Unlike at radio frequency wavelengths, diffraction effects are very important at optical wavelengths. In the general case, the situation cannot be modeled by supposing isotropic radiating antennas and employing the concept of effective isotropic radiated power. It is shown here, however, that these considerations are no more difficult to treat than spherical-wave isotopic based calculations. From first principles, a general expression governing the power transfer for a collimated beam wave is derived and from this are defined the three regions of near-field, first Fresnel zone, and far-field behavior. Corresponding equations for the power transfer are given for each region. It is shown that although the well-known linear expressions for power transfer in the far-field hold for all distances between source and receiver in the radio frequency case, nonlinear behavior within the first Fresnel zone must be accounted for in the optical case at 1550 nm with typical aperture sizes at source/receiver separations less that 100 km.

Wave Propagation↗

NASA NTRS2011

Development of CCSDS DCT to Support Spacecraft Dynamic Events

This report discusses the development of Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems (CCSDS) Design Control Table (DCT) to support spacecraft dynamic events. The Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems (CCSDS) Design Control Table (DCT) is a versatile link calculation tool to analyze different kinds of radio frequency links. It started out as an Excel-based program, and is now being evolved into a Mathematica-based link analysis tool. The Mathematica platform offers a rich set of advanced analysis capabilities, and can be easily extended to a web-based architecture. Last year the CCSDS DCT's for the uplink, downlink, two-way, and ranging models were developed as well as the corresponding input and output interfaces. Another significant accomplishment is the integration of the NAIF SPICE library into the Mathematica computation platform.

Smart GUI↗

NASA NTRS2003

A Study of Near to Far Fields of JPL Deep Space Network (DSN) Antennas for RFI Analysis

This paper addresses the issue of calculating the gain and power distribution of DSN antennas in the Fresnel (middle zone) and Fraunhofer (far zone) as a function of the distance from the DSN antenna and the off-boresight angle. Calculating the near and mid fields of DSN antennas are of interest in the receive mode where the transmitting signals from nearby flying objects such as helicopters and airplanes transmitting in the DSN frequency range, interfere with the operation of sensitive RF receiving system of the DSN antennas, and in the transmit mode where fields from high-powered DSN antennas interfere with receivers on nearby flying objects such as helicopters or other systems. Computing the exact fields of a large DSN antenna is, in general, a very complicated and arduous task. Even far-field calculations, which are less complicated compared to near and mid zone fields, take considerable computer time. These calculations become even more involved and time-consuming in very near field and back field regions. We provide two approaches for addressing the radio frequency interference (RFI) issue. In this paper, actual fields in mid and far zones are calculated using a relatively simple formulation that is accurate enough for the purposes of RFI analysis. In a future paper, we study and develop simple reference models that provide upper limit bounds or envelopes of the far field patterns as a function of the antenna diameter and frequency, which can be used for obtaining the field at any given point in space.

aperture antennas↗

NASA NTRS1969

Protonospheric electron concentration profiles

Electron density profiles along OGO 1 orbit portions calculated by measuring harmonic radio beacon transmissions differential Doppler frequencies and Faraday polarization rotation angle

Da Rosa, A. V.↗

NASA NTRS1984

The influence of ground conductivity on the structure of RF radiation from return strokes

The combination of the finite conductivity of the Earth plus the propagation of the return stroke current up the channel which results in an apparent time delay between the fast field changes and RF radiation for distant observers is shown. The time delay predicted from model return strokes is on the order of 20 micro and the received signal has the characteristics of the data observed in Virginia and Florida. A piecewise linear model for the return stroke channel and a transmission line model for current propagation on each segment was used. Radiation from each segment is calculated over a flat Earth with finite conductivity using asymptotics approximations for the Sommerfeld integrals. The radiation at the observer is processed by a model AM radio receiver. The output voltage was calculated for several frequencies between HF-UHF assuming a system bandwidth (300 kHz) characteristic of the system used to collect data in Florida and Virginia. Comparison with the theoretical fast field changes indicates a time delay of 20 microns.

Levine, D. M.↗

NASA NTRS2011

Planck Early Results. XV. Spectral Energy Distributions and Radio Continuum Spectra of Northern Extragalactic Radio Sources

Spectral energy distributions (SEDs) and radio continuum spectra are presented for a northern sample of 104 extragalactic radio sources. based on the Planck Early Release Compact Source Catalogue (ERCSC) and simultaneous multi frequency data. The nine Planck frequencies, from 30 to 857 GHz, are complemented by a set of simultaneous observations ranging from radio to gamma-rays. This is the first extensive frequency coverage in the radio and millimetre domains for an essentially complete sample of extragalactic radio sources, and it shows how the individual shocks, each in their own phase of development, shape the radio spectra as they move in the relativistic jet. The SEDs presented in this paper were fitted with second and third degree polynomials to estimate the frequencies of the synchrotron and inverse Compton (IC) peaks, and the spectral indices of low and high frequency radio data, including the Planck ERCSC data, were calculated. SED modelling methods are discussed, with an emphasis on proper. physical modelling of the synchrotron bump using multiple components. Planck ERCSC data also suggest that the original accelerated electron energy spectrum could be much harder than commonly thought, with power-law index around 1.5 instead of the canonical 2.5. The implications of this are discussed for the acceleration mechanisms effective in blazar shock. Furthermore in many cases the Planck data indicate that gamma-ray emission must originate in the same shocks that produce the radio emission.

Aatrokoski, J.↗

NASA NTRS1980

Propagation in a shearing plasma. II - Turbulence and the frequency range of pulsar microstructure

Numerical calculations are presented which explore the propagation of radio waves and pulses through a turbulent shearing plasma. A stochastic model is used to describe the turbulent velocity field, in which random fluctuations are superposed on a mean profile. Both Gaussian wave packets and shot-noise pulses polarized in the plane of shearing acquire quasi-periodic intensity modulations above the rest-frame plasma frequency. The frequency range over which these modulations appear is shown to depend on the spatial correlation length of the turbulent fluctuations and on their standard deviation from the mean velocity. The period of the modulations is variable from one realization of the random process to the next, and the average period is frequency dependent. The results of these calculations lend further support to a model for pulsar microstructure in which periodic micropulses are pure temporal modulations of the emitted radiation due to propagation effects in magnetospheric shearing regions. It is shown that turbulence on a scale of approximately 10 cm can produce these quasi-periodic modulations over a frequency range comparable to that of observed microstructure.

Harding, A. K.↗

NASA NTRS1984

Effect of RF Filtering on the Performance of Uncoded PCM/PM Telemetry Channels

A method for calculating the increase in received telemetry signal power required to compensate for the use of a radio frequency interference (RFI) filter in front of the DSN receiving system low-noise amplifier is described. The telemetry system for which the degradation is calculated is an uncoded PCM/PM system in which the NRZ data directly modulates the carrier at a modulation level which leaves a discrete carrier. A phase-locked loop in the RF receiver tracks the discrete carrier and coherently demodulates the PCM data. The RFI filter may be a series of Butterworth, Tchebychev, or Bessel low-pass, high-pass, band-pass, or band-reject filters, each with arbitrary bandwidth, number of poles, and, for band-pass or band-reject filters, resonant frequency. The only restriction is that the RFI filter must have only simple poles. Numerical results are presented for the RFI filters the DSN plans to place in front of the S-band FET, S-band maser, and X-band maser low noise amplifiers. The main conclusion is that the filters will produce negligible degradation at data rates below 4 Mbps.

Koerner, M. A.↗

NASA NTRS2017

Deep-Space Navigation Using Optical Communications Systems

Optical communication links using lasers can potentially deliver data rates much higher than those possible using radio frequencies. If optical communications equipment is going to be carried by future deep-space missions, this equipment, with some adaptations, could also be used to perform tracking for trajectory determination. A number of experiments have been performed in Earth orbit and in lunar orbit using optical data links, while other missions have demonstrated optical links over interplanetary distances. Laser ranging using corner cube retroreflectors is a well-established technique that has been used for orbit determination of Earth orbiting spacecraft, for geodesy, and for lunar research, achieving centimeter-level precisions, but it is not a practical method for deep-space distances. There are two main optical tracking types that are being considered for deep-space navigation. The first is optical astrometry of spacecraft: a telescope on the ground images the laser beam coming from a spacecraft against the star background, determining its plane-of-sky position as seen from the observatory. This type will greatly benefit from the release of the high-accuracy star catalog produced by ESA’s Gaia mission, allowing for the generation of plane-of-sky measurements with an accuracy similar to that obtained today using VLBI tracking techniques. The second is optical ranging using active optical systems at both ends of the link, requiring a more careful design of the spacecraft optical communications system. One of the advantages of using optical frequencies is that they are not affected by charged particles in the signal path the way that radio frequencies are, eliminating solar plasma and ionospheric effects from the light-time calculation and the corresponding noise. On the other hand, clouds would preclude any type of optical communication, and daytime light scattering precludes astrometric measurements. This paper presents our analysis so far of the performance that could be achieved using optical data types in a number of deep-space scenarios. One of the questions that we are trying to answer is whether spacecraft equipped with optical communications terminals would also need to carry radio-frequency equipment for navigational purposes. We also want to understand how accurately we will be able to navigate spacecraft in different mission types and phases, and what would be the constraints, advantages, and disadvantages of using optical communications systems for deep-space navigation.

Karimi, Reza↗

NASA NTRS1975

Effect of small ionospheric irregularities on radio wave absorption

The ionospheric absorption of a radio wave caused by small-scale irregularities with a gaussian autocorrelation function is calculated for various values of the linear scale height, the radio frequency, the scale size of the irregularities, and the mean-square fractional electron density fluctuations. The absorption is due to scattering of the radio wave into plasma oscillations by the irregularities. It is concluded that the absorption due to such irregularities with a mean-square fractional electron density deviation greater than about 0.000001 exceeds the normal collisional height-integrated absorption. Absorption of this type could play a significant part in heating experiments or in an ionosphere containing naturally occurring irregularities.

Chen, H. C.↗

NASA NTRS1998

X-33 Integrated Test facility, Extended Range Simulation

In support of the X-33 Single Stage To Orbit program, NASA Dryden Flight Research Center was selected to provide continuous communications coverage of the X-33 vehicle from launch, through landing at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Montana and Michaels Army Air Field, Utah. An extensive real-time range simulation capability is being developed to ensure successful communications with the autonomous X-33 vehicle. This paper will provide an overview of the various levels of simulation being developed to support the X-33 extended range subsystems. These subsystems include the Flight Termination System, L-Band command uplink subsystem and the S-Band telemetry downlink subsystem. In addition, the radar model developed provides continuous azimuth, elevation and range information based on the flight trajectory. The Dynamic Ground Station Analysis model developed by NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, calculate the received signal strength at each ground station. This model takes into consideration Radio Frequency (RF) link parameters such as frequency, antenna gain, space loss, plasma effects and the vehicle's position and attitude at any point in time during the flight path. All three RF links are then attenuated based on this calculated level and the RF signals are sent into telemetry receivers to emulate remote sites, or the power incident on the vehicle from uplinked signals. The best source received telemetry data is then passed back to the Launch and Mission Control Monitoring System (LMCMS) resident in the Operations Control Center. The LMCMS also provides the range simulation system the uplink command combined with differential GPS corrections. Later stages will require the progressive integration of actual range hardware with this simulation effort, leading to communication between telemetry, uplink and FTS antennas at NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, with vehicle antennas mounted on the Walter C. Williams Research Aircraft Integration Facility (RAIF). Decommutated Pulse Code Modulated (PCM) data is displayed on one of the four monitors that comprise the Range Safety Officer's (RSO) station. Also displayed are instantaneous impact prediction models, and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) data for notification of other traffic in the area. Aside from initiating the flight termination command and validating communication links, the RSO station with the range simulation will be used to provide both range control and range safety officers training. The training is necessary to perform their respective functions with greater levels of confidence prior to first flight.

Sharma, Ashley↗

NASA NTRS1974

Physics of compact nonthermal sources. III - Energetic considerations

The energy content of the compact incoherent electron-synchrotron sources 3C 84, 3C 120, 3C 273, 3C 279, 3C 454.3, CTA 102, 3C 446, PKS 2134+004, VRO 42.22.01 and OJ 287 is calculated on the assumption that the low-frequency turnovers in the radio spectrum are due to self-absorption and that the electron distribution is isotropic. The dependence of the source parameters on various modifications of the standard assumptions is determined. These involve relativistic motions, alternate explanations for the low-frequency turnover, proton-synchrotron radiation, and distance to the source. The canonical interpretation is found to be accurate in many respects; some of the difficulties and ways of dealing with them are discussed in detail.

Burbidge, G. R.↗

NASA NTRS1986

Getaway Tether Experiment (GATE): A free flying tether experiment

Orbital reboost and power generation using electrodynamic tethers has been suggested as a means of increasing the operational flexibility and orbital lifetime of satellites. Excess energy generated by solar arrays can be stored as orbital energy and later extracted form the orbit during peak power demands. The Getaway Tether Experiment (GATE) will demonstrate this practical tether application and will measure the dynamic circuit impedance. The micrometeoroid hazard to tension members will be studied as will radio frequency propagation. The radar cross section of long wires will be calculated considering the effects of resistance.

Greene, M.↗

NASA NTRS1992

A Method of Optimal Radio Frequency Assignment for Deep Space Missions

A method for determining optimal radio frequency channels for the Deep Space Network is described. Computer automated routines calculate interference-to-signal ratios over a given mission period and provide a quantitative assessment of the channels which could then be assigned to a new mission. This automated procedure reduces the analysis time considerably and effectively improves upon the accuracy of existing channel assignment techniques.

Ruggier, C. J.↗

NASA NTRS1977

A refracting radio telescope

Observations of extraterrestrial radio sources at the lower end of the radio frequency spectrum are limited by reflection of waves from the topside ionosphere and by the large size of antenna apertures necessary for the realization of narrow beamwidths. The use of the ionosphere as a lens is considered. The lens is formed by the release of chemicals such as H2 and H2O at the F2-layer peak. These chemicals promote dissociative recombination of O(+) in the ionosphere resulting in a local reduction in plasma density. Gradients in electron density in the vicinity of the gas release tend to focus rays propagating through the depleted region. Preliminary calculations indicate that a lens capable of focusing cosmic radio waves in the 1 to 10 MHz frequency range may be produced by the release of 100 kg of H2 at the peak of the nighttime F layer. The beamwidth of a refracting radio telescope using this lens may be less than 1/5 degree.

Bernhardt, P.↗