Shock tube study of boundary layer instability

An experimental study of the spatio-temporal evolution of the transition in a shock-tube wall boundary-layer has been carried out with thin film heat transfer gauges placed all along the tube. The results show that the transition appears, for small initial pressures, under the form of turbulent spots which are periodically created: these spots grow and are transported roughly at a velocity slightly smaller than the inviscid flow, regressing towards the contact surface. For higher initial pressures, a continuous transitional front is created which moves at about the same velocity as the shock-wave. These results seem to explain previous and often contradictory interpretations based on quasi-punctual measurements but the fact remains that the characterization criteria of the transition in unsteady boundary layers are still to be studied.     

The Sixth Catalogue of galactic Wolf-Rayet stars,their past and present

This paper presents the Sixth Catalogue of galactic Wolf-Rayet stars (Pop. I), a short history on the five earlier WR catalogues, improved spectral classification, finding charts, a discussion on related objects, and a review of the current status of Wolf-Rayet star research.The appendix presents a bibliography on most of the Wolf-Rayet literature published since 1867.Visiting astronomer, Kitt Peak National Observatory and Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory.Visiting astronomer, European Southern Observatory.     

Sequential track extraction

Sensors like radar or sonar usually produce data on the basis of a single frame of observation: target detections. The detection performance is described by quantities like detection probability Pd and false alarm density f. A different task of detection is formation of tracks of targets unknown in number from data of multiple consecutive frames of observation. This leads to quantities which are of a higher level of abstraction: extracted tracks. This again is a detection process. Under benign conditions (high Pd, low f and well separated targets) conventional methods of track initiation are recommended to solve a simple task. However, under hard conditions the process of track extraction is known to be difficult. We here concentrate on the case of well separated targets and derive an optimal combinatorial method which can be used under hard operating conditions. The method relates to MHT (multiple hypothesis tracking), uses a sequential likelihood ratio test and derives benefit from processing signal strength information. The performance of the track extraction method is described by parameters such as detection probability and false detection rate on track level, while Pd and f are input parameters which relate to the signal-to-noise interference ratio (SNIR), the clutter density, and the threshold set for target detection. In particular the average test lengths are analyzed parametrically as they are relevant for a user to estimate the time delay for track formation under hard conditions     

Ralph: A Visible/Infrared Imager for the New Horizons Pluto/Kuiper Belt Mission

The New Horizons instrument named Ralph is a visible/near infrared multi-spectral imager and a short wavelength infrared spectral imager. It is one of the core instruments on New Horizons, NASA’s first mission to the Pluto/Charon system and the Kuiper Belt. Ralph combines panchromatic and color imaging capabilities with SWIR imaging spectroscopy. Its primary purpose is to map the surface geology and composition of these objects, but it will also be used for atmospheric studies and to map the surface temperature. It is a compact, low-mass (10.5 kg) power efficient (7.1 W peak), and robust instrument with good sensitivity and excellent imaging characteristics. Other than a door opened once in flight, it has no moving parts. These characteristics and its high degree of redundancy make Ralph ideally suited to this long-duration flyby reconnaissance mission.     

An Investigation of the Mechanical Properties of Some Martian Regolith Simulants with Respect to the Surface Properties at the InSight Mission Landing Site

In support of the InSight mission in which two instruments (the SEIS seismometer and the \(\mbox{HP}^{3}\) heat flow probe) will interact directly with the regolith on the surface of Mars, a series of mechanical tests were conducted on three different regolith simulants to better understand the observations of the physical and mechanical parameters that will be derived from InSight. The mechanical data obtained were also compared to data on terrestrial sands. The density of the regolith strongly influences its mechanical properties, as determined from the data on terrestrial sands. The elastoplastic compression volume changes were investigated through oedometer tests that also provided estimates of possible changes in density with depth. The results of direct shear tests provided values of friction angles that were compared with that of a terrestrial sand, and an extrapolation to lower density provided a friction angle compatible with that estimated from previous observations on the surface of Mars. The importance of the contracting/dilating shear volume changes of sands on the dynamic penetration of the mole was determined, with penetration facilitated by the \(\sim1.3~\mbox{Mg/m}^{3}\) density estimated at the landing site. Seismic velocities, measured by means of piezoelectric bender elements in triaxial specimens submitted to various isotropic confining stresses, show the importance of the confining stress, with lesser influence of density changes under compression. A power law relation of velocity as a function of confining stress with an exponent of 0.3 was identified from the tests, allowing an estimate of the surface seismic velocity of 150 m/s. The effect on the seismic velocity of a 10% proportion of rock in the regolith was also studied. These data will be compared with in situ data measured by InSight after landing.     

Generating precise and homogeneous orbits for Jason-1 and Jason-2

Driven by the GMES (Global Monitoring for Environment and Security) and GGOS (Global Geodetic Observing System) initiatives the user community has a strong demand for high-quality altimetry products. In order to derive such high-quality altimetry products, precise orbits for the altimetry satellites are a necessity. With the launch of the TOPEX/Poseidon mission in 1992 a still on-going time series of high-accuracy altimetry measurements of ocean topography started, continued by the altimetry missions Jason-1 in 2001 and Jason-2/OSTM in 2008. This paper contributes to the on-going orbit reprocessing carried out by several groups and presents the efforts of the Navigation Support Office at ESA/ESOC using its NAPEOS software for the generation of precise and homogeneous orbits referring to the same reference frame for the altimetry satellites Jason-1 and Jason-2. Data of all three tracking instruments on-board the satellites (beside the altimeter), i.e. GPS, DORIS, and SLR measurements, were used in a combined data analysis. About 7 years of Jason-1 data and more than 1 year of Jason-2 data were processed. Our processing strategy is close to the GDR-C standards. However, we estimated slightly different scaling factors for the solar radiation pressure model of 0.96 and 0.98 for Jason-1 and Jason-2, respectively. We used 30 s sampled GPS data and introduced 30 s satellite clocks stemming from ESOC’s reprocessing of the combined GPS/GLONASS IGS solution. We present the orbit determination results, focusing on the benefits of adding GPS data to the solution. The fully combined solution was found to give the best orbit results. We reach a post-fit RMS of the GPS phase observation residuals of 6 mm for Jason-1 and 7 mm for Jason-2. The DORIS post-fit residuals clearly benefit from using GPS data in addition, as the DORIS data editing improves. The DORIS observation RMS for the fully combined solution is with 3.5 mm and 3.4 mm, respectively, 0.3 mm better than for the DORIS-SLR solution. Our orbit solution agrees well with external solutions from other analysis centers, as CNES, LCA, and JPL. The orbit differences between our fully combined orbits and the CNES GDR-C orbits are of about 0.8 cm for Jason-1 and at 0.9 cm for Jason-2 in the radial direction. In the cross-track component we observe a clear improvement when adding GPS data to the POD process. The 3D-RMS of the orbit differences reveals a good orbit consistency at 2.7 cm and 2.9 cm for Jason-1 and Jason-2. Our resulting orbit series for both Jason satellites refer to the ITRF2005 reference frame and are provided in sp3 file format on our ftp server.     

Evaluating the Wind-Induced Mechanical Noise on the InSight Seismometers

The SEIS (Seismic Experiment for Interior Structures) instrument onboard the InSight mission to Mars is the critical instrument for determining the interior structure of Mars, the current level of tectonic activity and the meteorite flux. Meeting the performance requirements of the SEIS instrument is vital to successfully achieve these mission objectives. Here we analyse in-situ wind measurements from previous Mars space missions to understand the wind environment that we are likely to encounter on Mars, and then we use an elastic ground deformation model to evaluate the mechanical noise contributions on the SEIS instrument due to the interaction between the Martian winds and the InSight lander. Lander mechanical noise maps that will be used to select the best deployment site for SEIS once the InSight lander arrives on Mars are also presented. We find the lander mechanical noise may be a detectable signal on the InSight seismometers. However, for the baseline SEIS deployment position, the noise is expected to be below the total noise requirement \(>97~\%\) of the time and is, therefore, not expected to endanger the InSight mission objectives.     

The Theory of Gamma-Ray Bursts

This chapter gives a brief review on the theory of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), including the models of multi-messengers (e.g., prompt multiwavelength electromagnetic emissions, high-energy neutrinos, ultra-high-energy cosmic rays, and gravitational waves) and central engines (in particular, mergers of binary neutron stars for short GRBs). For detailed reviews, please see (Piran in Phys. Rep. 314:575, 1999; Rev. Mod. Phys. 76:1143, 2004; Mészáros in Annu. Rev. Astron. Astrophys. 40:137, 2002; Rep. Prog. Phys. 69:2259, 2006; Zhang and Mészáros in Int. J. Mod. Phys. A 19:2385, 2004; Zhang in Chin. J. Astron. Astrophys. 7:1, 2007; Nakar in Phys. Rep. 442:166, 2007; Kumar and Zhang in Phys. Rep. 561:1, 2015).     

Detection of a Distributed Target

The influence of increasing range resolution on the detectability of targets with dimensions greater than the resolution cell is studied. An N-cell target model is assumed, which contains k reflecting cells, each reflecting independently according to the same Rayleigh amplitude distribution. It will be referred to as the (N,k) target. Detection based on one transmitted pulse is performed against a background of white normal noise. Detection in stationary clutter is also considered. The optimum detector is obtained but, in view of its complexity, the performance of a simpler detector, the square-law envelope detector with linear integrator (SLEDLI), is analyzed, and a formula for the probability of detection is obtained. Graphs are presented which show the probability of detection as a function of signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) for various values of N k, and false alarm probability. For N/k not too large it is shown that the SLEDLI is near optimum.