Thermal/structural analysis of a transpiration cooled nozzle

The 8-foot High Temperature Tunnel (HTT) at LaRC is a combustion driven, high enthalpy blow down wind tunnel. In Mar. 1991, during check out of the transpiration cooled nozzle, pieces of platelets were found in the tunnel test section. It was determined that incorrect tolerancing between the platelets and the housing was the primary cause of the platelet failure. An analysis was performed to determine the tolerance layout between the platelets and the housing to meet the structural and performance criteria under a range of thermal, pressure, and bolt preload conditions. Three recommendations resulted as a product of this analysis

A combined spectroscopic and photometric stellar activity study of Epsilon Eridani

We present simultaneous ground-based radial velocity (RV) measurements and space-based photometric measurements of the young and active K dwarf Epsilon Eridani. These measurements provide a data set for exploring methods of identifying and ultimately distinguishing stellar photospheric velocities from Keplerian motion. We compare three methods we have used in exploring this data set: Dalmatian, an MCMC spot modeling code that fits photometric and RV measurements simultaneously; the FF$'$ method, which uses photometric measurements to predict the stellar activity signal in simultaneous RV measurements; and H$\alpha$ analysis. We show that our H$\alpha$ measurements are strongly correlated with photometry from the Microvariability and Oscillations of STars (MOST) instrument, which led to a promising new method based solely on the spectroscopic observations. This new method, which we refer to as the HH$'$ method, uses H$\alpha$ measurements as input into the FF$'$ model. While the Dalmatian spot modeling analysis and the FF$'$ method with MOST space-based photometry are currently more robust, the HH$'$ method only makes use of one of the thousands of stellar lines in the visible spectrum. By leveraging additional spectral activity indicators, we believe the HH$'$ method may prove quite useful in disentangling stellar signals

Influence of Optically Quenched Superconductivity on Quasiparticle Relaxation Rates in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+delta

We use time- and angle-resolved photoemission to measure quasiparticle relaxation dynamics across a laser-induced superconducting phase transition in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+delta. Whereas low-fluence measurements reveal picosecond dynamics, sharp femtosecond dynamics emerge at higher fluence. Analyses of data as a function of energy, momentum, and doping indicate that the closure of the near-nodal gap and disruption of macroscopic coherence are primary mechanisms driving this onset. The results demonstrate the important influence of transient electronic structure on relaxation dynamics, which is relevant for developing an understanding of nonequilibrium phase transitions.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure

The InfraRed Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) for TMT: photometric precision and ghost analysis

The InfraRed Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) is a first-light instrument for the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) that will be used to sample the corrected adaptive optics field by NFIRAOS with a near-infrared (0.8 - 2.4 $\mu$m) imaging camera and Integral Field Spectrograph (IFS). In order to understand the science case specifications of the IRIS instrument, we use the IRIS data simulator to characterize photometric precision and accuracy of the IRIS imager. We present the results of investigation into the effects of potential ghosting in the IRIS optical design. Each source in the IRIS imager field of view results in ghost images on the detector from IRIS's wedge filters, entrance window, and Atmospheric Dispersion Corrector (ADC) prism. We incorporated each of these ghosts into the IRIS simulator by simulating an appropriate magnitude point source at a specified pixel distance, and for the case of the extended ghosts redistributing flux evenly over the area specified by IRIS's optical design. We simulate the ghosting impact on the photometric capabilities, and found that ghosts generally contribute negligible effects on the flux counts for point sources except for extreme cases where ghosts coalign with a star of $\Delta$m$>$2 fainter than the ghost source. Lastly, we explore the photometric precision and accuracy for single sources and crowded field photometry on the IRIS imager.Comment: SPIE 2018, 14 pages, 14 figures, 4 tables, Proceedings of SPIE 10702-373, Ground-based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy VII, 10702A7 (16 July 2018

Non-Detection of Methane in the Mars Atmosphere by the Curiosity Rover

By analogy with Earth, methane in the atmosphere of Mars is a potential signature of ongoing or past biological activity on the planet. During the last decade, Earth-based telescopic and Mars orbit remote sensing instruments have reported significant abundances of methane in the Martian atmosphere ranging from several to tens of parts-per-billion by volume (ppbv). Observations from Earth showed plumes of methane with variations on timescales much faster than expected and inconsistent with localized patches seen from orbit, prompting speculation of sources from sub-surface methanogen bacteria, geological water-rock reactions or infall from comets, micro-meteorites or interplanetary dust. From measurements on NASAs Curiosity Rover that landed near Gale Crater on 5th August 2012, we here report no definitive detection of methane in the near-surface Martian atmosphere. Our in situ measurements were made using the Tunable Laser Spectrometer (TLS) in the Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument suite6 that made three separate searches on Martian sols 79, 81 and 106 after landing. The measured mean value of 0.39 plus or minus 1.4 ppbv corresponds to an upper limit for methane abundance of 2.7 ppbv at the 95 confidence level. This result is in disagreement with both the remote sensing spacecraft observations taken at lower sensitivity and the telescopic observations that relied on subtraction of a very large contribution from terrestrial methane in the intervening observation path. Since the expected lifetime of methane in the Martian atmosphere is hundreds of years, our results question earlier observations and set a low upper limit on the present day abundance, reducing the probability of significant current methanogenic microbial activity on Mars

The Infrared Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) for TMT: Data Reduction System

IRIS (InfraRed Imaging Spectrograph) is the diffraction-limited first light instrument for the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) that consists of a near-infrared (0.84 to 2.4 $\mu$m) imager and integral field spectrograph (IFS). The IFS makes use of a lenslet array and slicer for spatial sampling, which will be able to operate in 100's of different modes, including a combination of four plate scales from 4 milliarcseconds (mas) to 50 mas with a large range of filters and gratings. The imager will have a field of view of 34$\times$34 arcsec$^{2}$ with a plate scale of 4 mas with many selectable filters. We present the preliminary design of the data reduction system (DRS) for IRIS that need to address all of these observing modes. Reduction of IRIS data will have unique challenges since it will provide real-time reduction and analysis of the imaging and spectroscopic data during observational sequences, as well as advanced post-processing algorithms. The DRS will support three basic modes of operation of IRIS; reducing data from the imager, the lenslet IFS, and slicer IFS. The DRS will be written in Python, making use of open-source astronomical packages available. In addition to real-time data reduction, the DRS will utilize real-time visualization tools, providing astronomers with up-to-date evaluation of the target acquisition and data quality. The quicklook suite will include visualization tools for 1D, 2D, and 3D raw and reduced images. We discuss the overall requirements of the DRS and visualization tools, as well as necessary calibration data to achieve optimal data quality in order to exploit science cases across all cosmic distance scales.Comment: 13 pages, 2 figures, 6 tables, Proceeding 9913-165 of the SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation 201