Other Astrophysics and Astronomy Commons^™

Spectrally-Selective Energy-Harvesting Solar Windows For Public Infrastructure Applications, Mikhail Vasiliev, Kamal Alameh, Mohammad Alam

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

A study of photovoltaic solar window technologies is reported and it focuses on their structural features, functional materials, system development, and suitability for use in practical field applications including public infrastructures and agricultural installations. Energy generation performance characteristics are summarized and compared to theory-limit predictions. Working examples of pilot-trial solar window-based installations are described. We also report on achieving electric power outputs of about 25 Wp/m2 from clear and transparent large-area glass-based solar windows.

The Space Race Piktograph, Katelyn Flanagan

West Virginia Connection

For this portion of the materials, I included two “Piktographs” for students to use as a resource for their research for the final assignment. The first is one on the contributions specifically from West Virginia to the space race. It includes specific people from West Virginia and their contributions to this portion of our nation’s history. This way students are able to make home connections to West Virginia. The second Piktograph is one specifically on The Green Bank Observatory located in Green Bank, WV. It is home to the first radio telescope, as well as being the first national astronomy …

The Green Bank Observatory Piktograph, Katelyn Flanagan

West Virginia Connection

For this portion of the materials, I included two “Piktographs” for students to use as a resource for their research for the final assignment. The first is one on the contributions specifically from West Virginia to the space race. It includes specific people from West Virginia and their contributions to this portion of our nation’s history. This way students are able to make home connections to West Virginia. The second Piktograph is one specifically on The Green Bank Observatory located in Green Bank, WV. It is home to the first radio telescope, as well as being the first national astronomy …

The Green Bank Observatory And The Space Race - Introduction, Katelyn Flanagan

West Virginia Connection

For this portion of the materials, I included two “Piktographs” for students to use as a resource for their research for the final assignment. The first is one on the contributions specifically from West Virginia to the space race. It includes specific people from West Virginia and their contributions to this portion of our nation’s history. This way students are able to make home connections to West Virginia. The second Piktograph is one specifically on The Green Bank Observatory located in Green Bank, WV. It is home to the first radio telescope, as well as being the first national astronomy …

Data Mining By Grid Computing In The Search For Extrasolar Planets, Oisin Creaner [Thesis]

Doctoral

A system is presented here to provide improved precision in ensemble differential photometry. This is achieved by using the power of grid computing to analyse astronomical catalogues. This produces new catalogues of optimised pointings for each star, which maximise the number and quality of reference stars available. Astronomical phenomena such as exoplanet transits and small-scale structure within quasars may be observed by means of millimagnitude photometric variability on the timescale of minutes to hours. Because of atmospheric distortion, ground-based observations of these phenomena require the use of differential photometry whereby the target is compared with one or more reference stars. …

High Power Optically Pumped Semiconductor Lasers For Sodium Guidestar Applications, Shawn W. Hackett

Optical Science and Engineering ETDs

Optically pumped semiconductor lasers (OPSLs) are shown to provide a much more compact and less expensive source for illumination of the sodium layer of the mesosphere for use as a sodium laser guidestar via single and two photon excitation schemes. This represents a revolution in laser guidestar technology as the cost, size, and power requirements for a laser guidestar system are shown to have been decreased by an order of magnitude with guidestar performance shown to be similar to previous sources. Sodium laser guidestar sources for broadband simultaneous illumination of multiple lines are developed and simulated. Simulations are then compared …

Examination Of Resonant Modes In Microwave Cavities, Sophia Schwalbe, Gianpaolo Carosi

Student Works

The Axion Dark Matter eXperiment (ADMX) looks to detect dark matter axion particles by using microwave cavities in a high magnetic eld to convert the axion's mass energy to a detectable photon. The photon frequency corresponds to the axion mass. Tuning elements in the cavities allow the resonant frequency to be changed but only certain modes couple to the axion. Interactions with additional resonant modes that do not couple to the axion cause unobservable regions in the frequency range. This research investigated new methods to move the additional resonant modes in order to observe these regions.

High Altitude Cosmic Ray Detection, Jordan D. Van Nest

2017 Academic High Altitude Conference

Cosmic rays are high energy atomic nuclei travelling near the speed of light that collide with atoms and molecules in Earth’s upper atmosphere (primarily with nitrogen and oxygen), breaking down into a shower of particles of various energies in the stratosphere. As they travel earthward, these particles continue to break down and lose energy which results in relatively little ionizing radiation reaching the surface. Due to the scattering of cosmic rays, the angle at which the rays enter the atmosphere can affect the number and energies of ionizing particles detected at various altitudes. When using a standard Geiger counter on …

Studying Solar Limb Darkening In H-Alpha With A Coronado Pst, Jessica N. Farrell, Jennifer Birriel

Celebration of Student Scholarship Poster Sessions Archive

No abstract provided.

Probing The Fitting Accuracy Of Active Galaxy Spectra, Aaron T. Line

Physics

Prior to this study, Dr. Vardha N. Bennert and collaborators selected a sample of ~100 local active galaxies to study the relationships between black hole mass and host galaxy properties. The broad Hβ width is necessary to determine black hole mass. This value is determined using a spectral decomposition code was scripted in IDL by Dr. Daeseong Park. The script fit spectral features and collected data for properties such as width of emission lines and continuum contribution percentages. The results were logged for further analysis.

To probe the accuracy of the fitting process, artificial spectra were created and fitted to …

A Search For Brief Optical Flashes Associated With The Seti Target Kic 8462852, P. T. Reynolds, Et Al

Physical Sciences Publications

The F-type star KIC 8462852 has recently been identified as an exceptional target for search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) observations. We describe an analysis methodology for optical SETI, which we have used to analyze nine hours of serendipitous archival observations of KIC 8462852 made with the VERITAS gamma-ray observatory between 2009 and 2015. No evidence of pulsed optical beacons, above a pulse intensity at the Earth of approximately , is found. We also discuss the potential use of imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescope arrays in searching for extremely short duration optical transients in general.

Gps Phase Scintillation At High Latitudes During Geomagnetic Storms Of 7–17 March 2012 – Part 1: The North American Sector, P. Prikryl, R. Ghoddousi-Fard, E. G. Thomas, J. M. Ruohoniemi, S. G. Shepherd

Dartmouth Scholarship

During the ascending phase of solar cycle 24, a series of interplanetary coronal mass ejections (ICMEs) in the period 7–17 March 2012 caused geomagnetic storms that strongly affected high-latitude ionosphere in the Northern and Southern Hemisphere. GPS phase scintillation was observed at northern and southern high latitudes by arrays of GPS ionospheric scintillation and TEC monitors (GISTMs) and geodetic-quality GPS receivers sampling at 1 Hz. Mapped as a function of magnetic latitude and magnetic local time, regions of enhanced scintillation are identified in the context of coupling processes between the solar wind and the magnetosphere–ionosphere system. Large southward IMF and …

Defining The Circumstellar Habitable Zone, Blake Cervetti, Joanna Mccall

DePaul Discoveries

The study of habitable exoplanets is a rapidly expanding field in astronomy. Exoplanets are planets that orbit stars other than our own sun. One of the keys to knowing whether or not an exoplanet is habitable is by studying the circumstellar habitable zone, or CHZ. Over the past several years, the defined limits of the CHZ have become susceptible to change as new parameters and factors are found to affect a planets habitability. There are many factors that affect its habitability, including the composition of the star, the mass of the planet, the planets atmosphere, etc. Our focus is divided …

Characterization Of Samples For Optimization Of Infrared Stray Light Coatings, Carey L. Baxter, Rebecca Salvemini, Zaheer A. Ali, Patrick Waddell, Greg Perryman, Bob Thompson

STAR Program Research Presentations

NASA’s Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) is a converted 747SP that houses a 2.5 m telescope that observes the sky through an opening in the side of the aircraft. Because it flies at altitudes up to 45,000 feet, SOFIA gets 99.99% transmission in the infrared. Multiple science instruments mount one at a time on the telescope to interpret infrared and visible light from target sources. Ball Infrared Black (BIRB) currently coats everything that the optics sees inside the telescope assembly (TA) cavity in order to eliminate noise from the glow of background sky, aircraft exhaust, and other sources. A …

Analyzing The Performance Of The Sofia Infrared Telescope, Sarah M. Bass, Jeffrey Van Cleve, Zaheer Ali

STAR Program Research Presentations

The Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) is an airborne near-space observatory onboard a modified Boeing 747-SP aircraft, which flies at altitudes of 45,000 ft., above 99% of the Earth’s water vapor. SOFIA contains an effective 2.5 m infrared (IR) telescope that has a dichroic tertiary mirror, reflecting IR and visible wavelengths to the science instrument (SI) and focal plane imager (FPI), respectively. To date, seven different SIs have been designed to cover a wide range of wavelengths and spectral resolutions. Since the telescope operates in the infrared, different techniques, including chopping, nodding, and dithering, are used to reduce the …

Telescope Assembly Alignment Simulator Performance Optimization, Joshua G. Thompson, Brian Eney, Zaheer Ali, Bob Thompson

STAR Program Research Presentations

The Telescope Assembly Alignment Simulator (TAAS) calibrates scientific instruments (SI’s) that are installed on the Stratospheric Observatory For Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA). An SI’s accuracy is directly dependent on the consistent performance of the TAAS, which has never been fully characterized. After designing various thermal and optical experiments to identify the current unknowns of TAAS, we now have a far better grasp on how the equipment behaves.

Why Is An Einstein Ring Blue?, Jonathan Blackledge

Articles

Albert Einstein predicted the existence of `Einstein rings' as a consequence of his general theory of relativity. The phenomenon is a direct result of the idea that if a mass warps space-time then light (and other electromagnetic waves) will be `lensed' by the strong gravitational field produced by a large cosmological body such as a galaxy. Since 1998, when the first complete Einstein ring was observed, many more complete or partially complete Einstein rings have been observed in the radio and infrared spectra, for example, and by the Hubble Space Telescope in the optical spectrum. However, in the latter case, …

The Recent High State Of The Bl Lacertae Object Ao 0235 And Cross-Correlations Between Optical And Radio Bands, M. Roy, I. E. Papadikis, E. Ramos-Colon, R. Sambruna, K. Tsinganos, J. Papamastorkis, Menas Kafatos

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

We present new optical (B, V , R, I) and radio (at 14.5, 8.5, and 4.8 GHz) observations of the γ-ray- loud blazar AO 0235+164 obtained during the high state of 1997 December-1998 January. The data were combined with historical light curves from the literature to study correlated optical and radio variations over a time span of more than 20 years. Flux variability with large and energy-dependent amplitude is observed at both wave bands, with the source varying over all timescales sampled (years-months- days), in agreement with previous reports. We have performed a cross-correlation analysis of optical and radio light …

Temperature Dependence Of Stark Width Of The 463.054 Nm Nii Spectral Line, Vladimir Milosavljevic, Ruzica Konjevic, Stevan Djenize

Articles

Stark width of the 463.054 nm singly ionized nitrogen spectral line, that belong to transition, have been measured in a linear pulsed, low pressure, arc discharge. The working gas was helium-nitrogen-oxygen mixture. Electron densities of 0.7510²³ to 1.4510²³ were determined in the electron temperature range between 30000 K - 38000 K. The measured values have been compared with our calculated data, using the modified semiempirical approximation. On the basis of the agreement among experimental and theoretical Stark width data, the isolated 463.054 nm NII spectral line can be recommended as convenient spectral line for plasma diagnostics.