Astrophysics and Astronomy Commons^™

A Prototype Asic For Apd Array Readout Of Scintillating Plastic Fibers, John R. Macri, A L. Wintenerg, Mark Widholm, U Jagadish, J Ledoux, Mark L. Mcconnell, S Shane Frank, Hansford H. Cutlip

Space Science Center

We report on the development of custom front-end electronics for use with avalanche photodiode (APD) arrays as part of a NASA technology study for the readout of scintillating plastic fibers. APD arrays featuring 64 1 mm square pixels are used. We demonstrate that a pixel of these APD arrays coupled to relatively thin (0.25 mm) and short (15 cm) scintillating plastic fibers can be used to detect and measure the tracks of even minimum ionizing particles (MIPs). An applicationspecific integrated circuit (ASIC) implementation of the electronics is required to produce a detector sufficiently compact for practical use in a flight …

Readout And Performance Of Thick Czt Strip Detectors With Orthogonal Coplanar Anodes, John R. Macri, B Donmez, L A. Hamel, Manuel Julien, M Mcclish, Mark L. Mcconnell, R S. Miller, James M. Ryan, Mark Widholm

Space Science Center

We report progress in the study of CZT strip detectors featuring orthogonal coplanar anode contacts. The work includes laboratory and simulation studies aimed at optimizing and developing compact, efficient, high performance detector modules for 0.05 to 1 MeV gamma radiation measurements. The novel coplanar anode strip configuration retains many of the performance advantages of pixel detectors yet requires far fewer electronic channels to perform both 3-d imaging and spectroscopy. We report on studies aimed at determining an optimum configuration of the analog signal processing electronics to employ with these detectors. We report measurements of energy and spatial resolution in three …

The Lisa Optimal Sensitivity, Thomas A. Prince, Massimo Tinto, Shane L. Larson, J. W. Armstrong

All Physics Faculty Publications

The multiple Doppler readouts available on the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) permit simultaneous formation of several interferometric observables. All these observables are independent of laser frequency fluctuations and have different couplings to gravitational waves and to the various LISA instrumental noises. Within the functional space of interferometric combinations LISA will be able to synthesize, we have identified a triplet of interferometric combinations that show optimally combined sensitivity. As an application of the method, we computed the sensitivity improvement for sinusoidal sources in the nominal, equal-arm LISA configuration. In the part of the Fourier band where the period of the …

Unequal Arm Space-Borne Gravitational Wave Detectors, Shane L. Larson, Ronald W. Hellings, William A. Hiscock

All Physics Faculty Publications

Unlike ground-based interferometric gravitational wave detectors, large space-based systems will not be rigid structures. When the end stations of the laser interferometer are freely flying spacecraft, the armlengths will change due to variations in the spacecraft positions along their orbital trajectories, so the precise equality of the arms that is required in a laboratory interferometer to cancel laser phase noise is not possible. However, using a method discovered by Tinto and Armstrong, a signal can be constructed in which laser phase noise exactly cancels out, even in an unequal arm interferometer. We examine the case where the ratio of the …

The Temporal Spectrum Of The Sdb Pulsating Star Hs 2201+2610 At 2 Ms Resolution, R Silvotti, T D. Oswalt, Nicole M. Silvestri, Glenn Carlson

Aerospace, Physics, and Space Science Faculty Publications

In this article we present the results of more than 180 hours of time-series photometry on the low gravity (log g = 5.4, Teff = 29 300 K, log He/H = -3.0 by number) sdB pulsating star HS 2201+2610, obtained between September 2000 and August 2001. The temporal spectrum is resolved and shows 5 close frequencies: three main signals at 2860.94, 2824.10 and 2880.69 μHz, with amplitudes of about 1%, 0.5% and 0.1% respectively, are detected from single run observations; two further peaks with very low amplitude (<0.07%) at 2738.01 and 2921.82 μHz are confirmed by phase analysis on several independent runs. Due to the small number of detected frequencies, it is not possible to obtain a univocal identification of the excited modes and perform a detailed seismological analysis of the star. No clear signatures of rotational splitting are seen. Nevertheless, the observed period spectrum is well inside the excited period window obtained from pulsation calculations with nonadiabatic models having effective temperature and surface gravity close to the spectroscopic estimates. Due to its relatively simple temporal spectrum, HS 2201+2610 is a very good candidate for trying to measure the secular variation of the pulsation periods in time. With this purpose a long-term monitoring of the star was started. The results of the first 11 months show amplitude variations up to ∼20% on time-scales of months, which are probably real, and allow us to measure the pulsation frequencies with an unprecedented 0.02 μHz resolution.

Asteroseismology Of Rxj 2117+3412, The Hottest Pulsating Pg 1159 Star, G Vauclair, Matt A. Wood

Aerospace, Physics, and Space Science Faculty Publications

The pulsating PG 1159 planetary nebula central star RXJ 2117+3412 has been observed over three successive seasons of a multisite photometric campaign. The asteroseismological analysis of the data, based on the 37 identified ℓ = 1 modes among the 48 independent pulsation frequencies detected in the power spectrum, leads to the derivation of the rotational splitting, the period spacing and the mode trapping cycle and amplitude, from which a number of fundamental parameters can be deduced. The average rotation period is 1.16 ± 0.05 days. The trend for the rotational splitting to decrease with increasing periods is incompatible with a …

Negative-Parity Baryon Masses Using An O(A)-Improved Fermion Action, M. Göckeler, R. Horsley, D. Pleiter, P. E. L. Rakow, G. Schierholz, C. M. Maynard, D. G. Richards

Physics Faculty Publications

We present a calculation of the mass of the lowest-lying negative-parity J=1/2− state in quenched QCD. Results are obtained using a non-perturbatively O(a)-improved clover fermion action, and a splitting is found between the mass of the nucleon, and its parity partner. The calculation is performed on two lattice volumes and at three lattice spacings, enabling a study of both finite-volume and finite lattice-spacing uncertainties. A comparison is made with results obtained using the unimproved Wilson fermion action.

Proceedings Of The First International Conference On Neutrosophy, Neutrosophic Logic, Neutrosophic Set, Neutrosophic Probability And Statistics, Florentin Smarandache

Branch Mathematics and Statistics Faculty and Staff Publications

In 1960s Abraham Robinson has developed the non-standard analysis, a formalization of analysis and a branch of mathematical logic, that rigorously defines the infinitesimals. Informally, an infinitesimal is an infinitely small number. Formally, x is said to be infinitesimal if and only if for all positive integers n one has xxx < 1/n. Let &>0 be a such infinitesimal number. The hyper-real number set is an extension of the real number set, which includes classes of infinite numbers and classes of infinitesimal numbers. Let’s consider the non-standard finite numbers 1+ = 1+&, where “1” is its standard part and “&” its non-standard part, …

Bouncing Branes, Emil Prodanov

Articles

Two classical scalar fields are minimally coupled to gravity in the Kachru-Shulz-Silverstein scenario with a rolling fifth radius. A Tolman wormhole solution is found for a R x S^3 brane with Lorentz metric and for a R x AdS_3 brane with positive definite metric.

Wiyn Open Cluster Study Xi: Wiyn1 3.5m Deep Photometry Of M35 (Ngc 2168), Ted Von Hippel, Aaron Steinhauer, Ata Sarajedini, Constantine P. Deliyannis

Publications

We present deep BV I observations of the core of M35 and a nearby comparison field obtained at the WIYN 3.5m telescope under excellent seeing conditions. These observations probe to V > 26, and display the lower main sequence in BV and V I CMDs down to V = 23.3 and 24.6, respectively. At these faint magnitudes the background Galactic field stars are far more numerous than the cluster stars, yet by using a smoothing technique and CMD density distribution subtraction we are able to recover the cluster fiducial main sequence and luminosity function to V = 24.6. We find the …

Navigating The Starless Night: Strategies For Understanding Autobiogeography, Matthew Wolf-Meyer, Davin Heckman

Reconstruction: Studies in Contemporary Culture

[First paragraph]

Ancient mapmakers relied upon the presence of celestial bodies for their conceptualization of the world, for their external knowledge-making tools, as if a far-off body could help to make sense of our terrestrial life/as if it couldn't. Cosmology, as a practice, relied on the construction of an external body of knowledge that the local meaning-maker could situate him- or herself into, and more broadly, their entire society and culture -- the interior is determined by its relationship to the exterior (or the exteriorized). For the ancient Greeks then, the font of Western culture, this cosmology works at once …

The Afterglow And Complex Environment Of The Optically Dim Burst Grb 980613, Jens Hjorth, Bjarne Thomsen, Svend R. Nielsen, Michael I. Andersen, Stephen T. Holland, Johan U. Fynbo, Holger Pederson, Andreas O. Jaunsen, Jules P. Halpern, Robert Fesen, Javier Gorosabel, Alberto Castro-Tirado, Richard G. Mcmahon, Michael D. Hoenig, Gunnlaugur Bjornsson, Lorenzo Amati, Nial R. Tanvir, Priyamvada Natarajan

Dartmouth Scholarship

We report the identification of the optical afterglow of GRB 980613 in R- and I-band images obtained between 16 and 48 hr after the gamma-ray burst. Early near-infrared (NIR) H and K' observations are also reported. The afterglow was optically faint (R ≈ 23) at discovery but did not exhibit an unusually rapid decay (power-law decay slope α < 1.8 at 2 σ). The optical/NIR spectral index (β_RH < 1.1) was consistent with the optical-to-X-ray spectral index (β_RX ≈ 0.6), indicating a maximal reddening of the afterglow of ≈0.45 mag in R. Hence, the dimness of the optical afterglow was mainly due to the fairly flat spectral shape rather than internal reddening …

Book Review: The Observing Guide To The Messier Marathon: A Handbook And Atlas, T. D. Oswalt

Publications

This document is Dr. Oswalt’s review of The Observing Guide to the Messier Marathon : a Handbook and Atlas by Don Machholz. Cambridge, 2002 157p, 0-521-80386-1 $25.00.

Book Review: Flash!: The Hunt For The Biggest Explosions In The Universe, T. D. Oswalt

Publications

This document is Dr. Oswalt’s review of Flash! : the hunt for the biggest explosions in the universe by Govert Schilling. tr. by Naomi Greenberg-Slovin Cambridge, 2002 291p, 0-521-80053-6 $28.00

Tightness Of Slip-Linked Polymer Chains, Ralf Metzler, Andreas Hanke, Paul G. Dommersnes, Yacov Kantor, Mehran Kardar

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Publications

We study the interplay between entropy and topological constraints for a polymer chain in which sliding rings (slip links) enforce pair contacts between monomers. These slip links divide a closed ring polymer into a number of subloops which can exchange length among each other. In the ideal chain limit, we find the joint probability density function for the sizes of segments within such a slip-linked polymer chain (paraknot). A particular segment is tight (small in size) or loose (of the order of the overall size of the paraknot) depending on both the number of slip links it incorporates and its …

Group-Fitted Ab Initio Single- And Multiple-Scattering Exafs Debye-Waller Factors, Nicholas Dimakis, Grant Bunker

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Publications

X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) spectroscopy is one of the few direct probes of the structure of metalloprotein binding that is equally applicable to proteins in crystals, solutions, and membranes. Despite considerable progress in the calculation of the photoelectron scattering aspects of XAFS, calculation of the vibrational aspects has lagged because of the difficulty of the calculations. We report here initial results that express single- and multiple-scattering Debye-Waller factors as polynomial functions of first shell radial distance for metal-peptide complexes, enabling quantitatively accurate full multiple-scattering XAFS data analysis of active sites of unknown structure at arbitrary temperatures without the use …

Correlation Functions Near Modulated And Rough Surfaces, Andreas Hanke, Mehran Kardar

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Publications

In a system with long-ranged correlations, the behavior of correlation functions is sensitive to the presence of a boundary. We show that surface deformations strongly modify this behavior as compared to a flat surface. The modified near surface correlations can be measured by scattering probes. To determine these correlations, we develop a perturbative calculation in the deformations in height from a flat surface. Detailed results are given for a regularly patterned surface, as well as for a self-affinely rough surface with roughness exponent ζ. By combining this perturbative calculation in height deformations with the field-theoretic renormalization-group approach, we also estimate …

Origins Of Nonstoichiometry And Vacancy Ordering In Sc1-X□Xs, Gus L. W. Hart, Alex Zunger

Faculty Publications

Whereas nearly all compounds AnBm obey Dalton's rule of integer stoichiometry (n:m, both integer), there is a class of systems, exemplified by the rocksalt structure Sc1-x□xS, that exhibits large deviations from stoichiometry via vacancies, even at low temperatures. By combining first-principles total energy calculations with lattice statistical mechanics, we scan an astronomical number of possible structures, identifying the stable ground states. Surprisingly, all have the same motifs: (111) planes with (112) vacancy rows arranged in (110) columns. Electronic structure calculations of the ground states (identified out of ~3 × 10^6 structures) reveal the remarkable origins of nonstoichiometry.

Isotopic Composition Of Solar Energetic Particle Events Measured By Advanced Composition Explorer/Uleis, Joseph R. Dwyer, Glenn M. Mason, Joseph E. Mazur, Robert E. Gold, Stamatios M. Krimigis, Eberhard S. Möbius, Mark A. Popecki

Aerospace, Physics, and Space Science Faculty Publications

Since its 1997 August launch, the Ultra Low Energy Isotope Spectrometer (ULEIS) on board the Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) has observed a large number of solar energetic particle (SEP) events in the 0.4-3 MeV nucleonˉ¹ range. These events show remarkable variability of both the elemental and isotopic compositions, with ²²Ne/²⁰Ne varying, from event to event, by up to a factor of 10, Fe/O by up to a factor of 100, and ³He/⁴He by up to a factor of 104. In this paper we present new measurements of the ²²Ne/²⁰Ne, ²⁶Mg/²⁴Mg, and ³He/⁴He ratios at ∼ 1 MeV nucleonˉ¹ and compare …

Chromospherically Active Stars. Xx. The Giant Single-Lined Binary Hd 161570, Francis C. Fekel, Gregory W. Henry, Stephen M. Henry

Information Systems and Engineering Management Research Publications

Spectroscopy of HD 161570 shows it to be a single-lined spectroscopic binary with a period of 45.623 days and a nearly circular orbit. The primary star has spectral type G7 III, and the secondary is most likely a G or K dwarf. A high-resolution spectrum of the 3950 Å region confirms that the primary has Ca II H and K emission lines. The logarithm of the giant's lithium abundance is less than 0.9, indicating that it is not lithium-rich. From photometric observations covering six seasons, we detected periodic short-term light variability with an amplitude ranging from 0.02 to 0.04 mag. …

A New System Of Parallel Isolated Nonthermal Filaments Near The Galactic Center: Evidence For A Local Magnetic Field Gradient, Ted N. La Rosa, Joseph W. Lazio, Nasir E. Kassim

Faculty Articles

We report the discovery of a system of isolated nonthermal filaments approximately 0fdg5 northwest (75 pc in projection) of Sgr A. Unlike other isolated nonthermal filaments which show subfilamentation, braiding of subfilaments, and flaring at their ends, these filaments are simple linear structures and more closely resemble the parallel bundled filaments in the Galactic center radio arc. However, the most unusual feature of these filaments is that the 20/90 cm spectral index uniformly decreases as a function of length, in contrast to all other nonthermal filaments in the Galactic center. This spectral gradient may not be due to simple particle …

Ccd Photometry Of The Classic Second-Parameter Globular Clusters M3 And M13, Soo-Chang Rey, Suk-Jin Yoon, Young-Wook Lee, Brian Chaboyer, Ata Sarajedini

Dartmouth Scholarship

We present high-precision V, B-V color-magnitude diagrams (CMDs) for the classic second-parameter globular clusters M3 and M13 from wide-field, deep CCD photometry. The data for the two clusters were obtained during the same photometric nights with the same instrument, allowing us to determine accurate relative ages. Based on a differential comparison of the CMDs using the Δ(B-V) method, an age difference of 1.7 ± 0.7 Gyr is obtained between these two clusters. We compare this result with our updated horizontal-branch (HB) population models, which confirm that the observed age difference can produce the …

Fine-Tuning Solution For Hybrid Inflation In Dissipative Chaotic Dynamics, Rudnei O. Ramos

Dartmouth Scholarship

We study the presence of chaotic behavior in phase space in the preinflationary stage of hybrid inflation models. This is closely related to the problem of initial conditions associated with these inflationary types of model. We then show how an expected dissipative dynamics of fields just before the onset of inflation can solve or ease considerably the problem of initial conditions, driving the system naturally toward inflation. The chaotic behavior of the corresponding dynamical system is studied by computation of the fractal dimension of the boundary in phase space separating inflationary from noninflationary trajectories. The fractal dimension for this boundary …

Three-Dimensional Spectral Classification Of Low-Metallicity Stars Using Artificial Neural Networks, Shawn Snider, Ted Von Hippel, Et Al.

Publications

We explore the application of artificial neural networks (ANNs) for the estimation of atmospheric parameters (T_eff, log g, and [Fe/H]) for Galactic F- and G-type stars. The ANNs are fed with medium-resolution (Δλ ~ 1-2 Å) non-flux-calibrated spectroscopic observations. From a sample of 279 stars with previous high-resolution determinations of metallicity and a set of (external) estimates of temperature and surface gravity, our ANNs are able to predict T_eff with an accuracy of σ(T_eff) = 135-150 K over the range 4250 ≤ T_eff ≤ 6500 K, log g with an accuracy …

No Planet For Hd 166435, Didier Queloz, Gregory W. Henry, Jean-Pierre Sivan, Sallie L. Baliunas, Jean-Luc Beuzit, Robert A. Donahue, Michel Mayor, Dominique Naef, Christian Perrier, Stephane Udry

Information Systems and Engineering Management Research Publications

The G0 V star HD 166435 has been observed by the fiber-fed spectrograph ELODIE as one of the targets in the large extra-solar planet survey that we are conducting at the Observatory of Haute-Provence. We detected coherent, low-amplitude, radial-velocity variations with a period of 3.7987 days, suggesting a possible close-in planetary companion. Subsequently, we initiated a series of high-precision photometric observations to search for possible planetary transits and an additional series of Ca II H and K observations to measure the level of surface magnetic activity and to look for possible rotational modulation. Surprisingly, we found the star to be …

Entropy Splitting For High Order Numerical Simulation Of Vortex Sound At Low Mach Numbers, Bernhard Müller, H. C. Yee

United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration: Publications

Several recent developments in efficient, stable, highly parallelizable high order non-dissipative spatial schemes with characteristic based filters that exhibit low dissipation for long time linear and nonlinear wave propagations are utilized for computational aeroacoustics (CAA). For stability consideration, the Euler equations are split into a conservative and a symmetric non-conservative portion. Due to the large disparity of acoustic and stagnation quantities in low Mach number aeroacoustics, the split Euler equations are formulated in perturbation form to minimize numerical cancellation errors. Spurious oscillations are suppressed by a characteristic-based filter. The method has been applied to accurately simulate the sound emitted by …

A Robotic Wide-Angle Hα Survey Of The Southern Sky, John E. Gaustad, P. R. Mccullough, W. Rosing, D. Van Buren

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Works

We have completed a robotic wide-angle imaging survey of the southern sky (delta = +15 degrees to -90 degrees) at 656.3 nm wavelength, the H alpha emission line of hydrogen. Each image of the resulting Southern H alpha Sky Survey Atlas (SHASSA) covers an area of the sky 13 degrees square at an angular resolution of approximately 0.'8 and reaches a sensitivity level of 2 R (1.2 x 10(-17) ergs cm(-2) s(-1) arcsec(-2)) pixel(-1), corresponding to an emission measure of 4 cm(-6) pc and to a brightness temperature for microwave free-free emission of 12 muK at 30 GHz. Smoothing over …

Hubble Space Telescope Wfpc2 Imaging Of Cassiopeia A, R. A. Fesen, J. A. Morse, R. A. Chevalier, K. J. Borkowski, C. L. Gerardy

Dartmouth Scholarship

The young galactic supernova remnant Cassiopeia A was imaged with Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2) aboard the Hubble Space Telescope through filters selected to capture the complete velocity range of the remnant's main shell in several emission lines. The primary lines detected, along with the specific WFPC2 filters used, were [O III] λλ4959, 5007 (F450W), [N II] λ6583 (F658N), [S II] λλ6716, 6731 + [O II] λλ7319, 7330 + [O I] λλ6300, 6364 (F675W), and [S III] λλ9069, 9532 (F850LP). About three-quarters of the remnant's 4' diameter main shell was imaged with all four filters in three WFPC2 pointings, …

Comparison Of Stellar Angular Diameters From The Npoi, The Mark Iii Optical Interferometer, And The Infrared Flux Method, Tyler E. Nordgren, Jeffrey J. Sudol, D. Mozurkewich

Physics & Engineering Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Planetary Nebula A39: An Observational Benchmark For Numerical Modeling Of Photoionized Plasmas, George H. Jacoby, Gary J. Ferland, Kirk T. Korista

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

Galactic nebulae are the main probes for the chemical evolution of the interstellar medium. Yet, recent observations have shown that chemical abundances determined from recombination and collisionally excited emission lines can differ by as much as an order of magnitude in some planetary nebulae (PNs). Many PNs have complex geometries and morphological evidence for interactions from stellar winds, and it is not clear to what extent winds, inhomogeneities, or shocked gas affect the observed spectrum. There currently is no full explanation for this discrepancy, which brings into question whether we understand the physical state of these low-density plasmas at all. …