Quasars and their emission lines as cosmological probes

Quasars are the most luminous sources in the Universe. They are currently observed out to redshift z≈7$z\approx 7$ when the Universe was less than one tenth of its present age. Since their discovery 50 years ago astronomers have dreamed of using them as standard candles. Unfortunately quasars cover a very large range (8 dex) of luminosity making them far from standard. We briefly review several methods that can potentially exploit quasars properties and allow us to obtain useful constraints on principal cosmological parameters. Using our 4D Eigenvector 1 formalism we have found a way to effectively isolate quasars radiating near the Eddington limit. If the Eddington ratio is known, under several assumptions it is possible to derive distance independent luminosities. We discuss the main statistical and systematic errors involved, and whether these “standard Eddington candles” can be actually used to constrain cosmological models.     

LIFE: Life Investigation For Enceladus A Sample Return Mission Concept in Search for Evidence of Life

Abstract Life Investigation For Enceladus (LIFE) presents a low-cost sample return mission to Enceladus, a body with high astrobiological potential. There is ample evidence that liquid water exists under ice coverage in the form of active geysers in the "tiger stripes" area of the southern Enceladus hemisphere. This active plume consists of gas and ice particles and enables the sampling of fresh materials from the interior that may originate from a liquid water source. The particles consist mostly of water ice and are 1-10?μ in diameter. The plume composition shows H(2)O, CO(2), CH(4), NH(3), Ar, and evidence that more complex organic species might be present. Since life on Earth exists whenever liquid water, organics, and energy coexist, understanding the chemical components of the emanating ice particles could indicate whether life is potentially present on Enceladus. The icy worlds of the outer planets are testing grounds for some of the theories for the origin of life on Earth. The LIFE mission concept is envisioned in two parts: first, to orbit Saturn (in order to achieve lower sampling speeds, approaching 2 km/s, and thus enable a softer sample collection impact than Stardust, and to make possible multiple flybys of Enceladus); second, to sample Enceladus' plume, the E ring of Saturn, and the Titan upper atmosphere. With new findings from these samples, NASA could provide detailed chemical and isotopic and, potentially, biological compositional context of the plume. Since the duration of the Enceladus plume is unpredictable, it is imperative that these samples are captured at the earliest flight opportunity. If LIFE is launched before 2019, it could take advantage of a Jupiter gravity assist, which would thus reduce mission lifetimes and launch vehicle costs. The LIFE concept offers science returns comparable to those of a Flagship mission but at the measurably lower sample return costs of a Discovery-class mission. Key Words: Astrobiology-Habitability-Enceladus-Biosignatures. Astrobiology 12, 730-742.     

Height of shock formation in the solar corona inferred from observations of type II radio bursts and coronal mass ejections

Employing coronagraphic and EUV observations close to the solar surface made by the Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO) mission, we determined the heliocentric distance of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) at the starting time of associated metric type II bursts. We used the wave diameter and leading edge methods and measured the CME heights for a set of 32 metric type II bursts from solar cycle 24. We minimized the projection effects by making the measurements from a view that is roughly orthogonal to the direction of the ejection. We also chose image frames close to the onset times of the type II bursts, so no extrapolation was necessary. We found that the CMEs were located in the heliocentric distance range from 1.20 to 1.93 solar radii (Rs), with mean and median values of 1.43 and 1.38 Rs, respectively. We conclusively find that the shock formation can occur at heights substantially below 1.5 Rs. In a few cases, the CME height at type II onset was close to 2 Rs. In these cases, the starting frequency of the type II bursts was very low, in the range 25–40 MHz, which confirms that the shock can also form at larger heights. The starting frequencies of metric type II bursts have a weak correlation with the measured CME/shock heights and are consistent with the rapid decline of density with height in the inner corona.     

Quality variation of GPS satellite clocks on-orbit using IGS clock products

Over 60% clocks on board of the GPS satellites are working longer than their designed life. Therefore realizing their stabilities in a long time scales is essential to GPS navigation and positioning plus IGS time scale maintaining. IGS clock products from 2001 to 2010 are used to analyze the GPS satellite clock qualities such as frequency stabilities and clock noise level. We find out that for the clocks of Block IIA satellites the frequency stabilities and clock noise are 10 times worse than that of the Block IIR and IIR-M satellites. Moreover, the linear relationships between frequency stabilities and clock residuals have been deduced with an accuracy of better than 0.02 ns. Specially, it is noticed that the clock of the PRN27 is instable and the relationship between the frequency stability and residuals is at least a quadratic curve. Therefore, we suggested that GPS satellite clocks should be weighted by their quality levels in application, and the observations of the Block IIA should not be used for real-time positioning which required precision better than one meter.     

Low latitude nighttime ionospheric vertical E × B drifts at African region

The nighttime vertical E × B drifts velocities of the F2-region were inferred from the hourly hmF2 values obtained from ionosonde data over an African equatorial station, Ilorin (8.50^oN, 4.68^oE; dip lat. 2.95^o) during period of low solar activity. For each season, the plasma drift Vz is characterized by an evening upward enhancement, then by a downward reversal at 1900 LT till around 0000 LT, except for June solstice. This was explained using the Rayleigh–Taylor (R-T) instability mechanism. The occasional drift differences in Vz obtained by inferred and direct measurement over Ilorin and Jicamarca, respectively are reflective of the importance of chemistry and divergent transport system due to both the E region electric and magnetic fields instead of simple motions. The pre-reversal enhancement (PRE) magnitude is higher during the equinoctial months than the solsticial months over Jicamarca, highest during December solstice and the equinoctial months over Ilorin, suggesting the dominance of higher E × B fountain during equinoxes at both stations. The lowest PRE magnitude was in June solstice. The appearance of post-noon peak in NmF2 around 1700 LT is highest during the equinoctial months and lowest during the solsticial period. A general sharp drop in NmF2 around 1800 LT is distinct immediately after sunset, lowest during June solstice and highest in March equinox. Our result suggests that between 0930 and 2100 LT, the general theory that vertical drifts obtained by digisonde measurements only match the E × B drift if the F layer is higher than 300 km is reliable, but does not hold for the nighttime period of 2200–0600 LT under condition of solar minima. Hence, the condition may not be sufficient for the representation of vertical plasma drift at nighttime during solar minima. This assertion may still be tentative, as more equatorial stations needed to be studied for better confirmation.     

Analytical solutions for the relative motion of spacecraft subject to Lorentz-force perturbations

A spacecraft capable of producing higher-than-natural electrostatic charges may achieve propellantless orbital maneuvering via the Lorentz-force interaction with a planetary magnetic field. Development of maneuver strategies for these propellantless vehicles is complicated by the fact that the perturbative Lorentz force acts along only a single line of action at any instant. Relative-motion dynamical models are developed that lead to approximate analytical solutions for the motion of charged spacecraft subject to the Lorentz force. These solutions indicate that the principal effects of the Lorentz force on a spacecraft in a circular orbit are to change the intrack position and to change the orbit plane. A rendezvous example is presented in which a spacecraft with a specific charge of ?3.81 $\times$ 10^?4 C/kg reaches a target vehicle initially 10 km away (on the same equatorial low-Earth orbit) in 1 day. Fly-around maneuvers may be achieved in low-Earth orbit with specific charges on the order of 0.001 C/kg.     

Attractive manifold-based adaptive solar attitude control of satellites in elliptic orbits

The paper presents a novel noncertainty-equivalent adaptive (NCEA) control system for the pitch attitude control of satellites in elliptic orbits using solar radiation pressure (SRP). The satellite is equipped with two identical solar flaps to produce control moments. The adaptive law is based on the attractive manifold design using filtered signals for synthesis, which is a modification of the immersion and invariance (I&I) method. The control system has a modular controller–estimator structure and has separate tunable gains. A special feature of this NCEA law is that the trajectories of the satellite converge to a manifold in an extended state space, and the adaptive law recovers the performance of a deterministic controller. This recovery of performance cannot be obtained with certainty-equivalent adaptive (CEA) laws. Simulation results are presented which show that the NCEA law accomplishes precise attitude control of the satellite in an elliptic orbit, despite large parameter uncertainties.     

Preservation of microbial lipids in geothermal sinters

Lipid biomarkers are widely used to study the earliest life on Earth and have been invoked as potential astrobiological markers, but few studies have assessed their survival and persistence in geothermal settings. Here, we investigate lipid preservation in active and inactive geothermal silica sinters, with ages of up to 900 years, from Champagne Pool, Waiotapu, New Zealand. Analyses revealed a wide range of bacterial biomarkers, including free and bound fatty acids, 1,2-di-O-alkylglycerols (diethers), and various hopanoids. Dominant archaeal lipids include archaeol and glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (GDGTs). The predominance of generally similar biomarker groups in all sinters suggests a stable microbial community throughout Champagne Pool's history and indicates that incorporated lipids can be well preserved. Moreover, subtle differences in lipid distributions suggest that past changes in environmental conditions can be elucidated. In this case, higher archaeol abundances relative to the bacterial diethers, a greater proportion of cyclic GDGTs, the high average chain length of the bacterial diethers, and greater concentrations of hopanoic acids in the older sinters all suggest hotter conditions at Champagne Pool in the past.