Far-UVC light as a new tool to reduce microbial burden during spacecraft assembly

This work aims to investigate far-UVC light at 222 nm as a new microbial reduction tool for planetary protection purposes which could potentially be integrated into the spacecraft assembly process. The major advantage of far-UVC (222 nm) compared to traditional germicidal UVC (254 nm) is the potential for application throughout the spacecraft assembly process in the presence of humans without adverse health effects due to the limited penetration of far-UVC light into biological materials. Testing the efficacy of 222-nm light at inactivating hardy bacterial cells and spores isolated from spacecraft and associated surfaces is a necessary step to evaluate this technology. We assessed survival of Bacillus pumilus SAFR-032 and Acinetobacter radioresistens 50v1 exposed to 222-nm light on proxy spacecraft surfaces simulated by drying the bacteria on aluminum coupons. The survival fraction of both bacteria followed a single stage decay function up to 60 mJ/cm², revealing similar susceptibility of both species to 222-nm light, which was independent of the exposure rate. Irradiation with far-UVC light at 222 nm is an effective method to decontaminate the proxy spacecraft materials tested in this study.     

Water Cherenkov detectors:MILAGRO

This paper discusses the properties of using the water Cherenkov technique to detect air showers in the few hundred GeV to 100 TeV energy range. The responses of a 6 m² 2 m deep water Cherenkov counter and that of a 6 m² 10cm thick scintillator-lead sandwich counter to air shower electrons and photons is described. The advantages of water Cherenkov detector is outlined. Its application to do VHE gamma ray astronomy is discussed with particular reference to the MILAGRO telescope currently under construction. Milagro, a water-Cherenkov detector to do gamma ray astronomy above 100 Gev, uses an existing pool 60m × 80m by 8m, located in the Jemez mountains near Los Alamos, NM. The threshold of the MILAGRO detector is comparable to atmospheric Cherenkov detectors, however it has several advantages over these optical detectors. MILAGRO can operate 24 hours a day in all weather conditions and it has an open aperture which allows it to view the entire northern sky every day. These capabilities allow for a systematic all-sky survey to be done for the first time at these energies. MILAGRO will measure the Crab spectrum with high significance over a wide energy range, it will detect and measure the spectra from AGN's such as MRK 421 and it will search for short duration bursts from GRBs and possibly evaporating PBHs.     

1989年3月大宇宙线暴事件的特征

本文分析了1989年3月一系列大耀斑等离子体抛射引起的宇宙线强度变化的特征.除对中子成分分析外,还对μ介子成分及其各向异性特征作了分析,讨论了宇宙线强度变化与太阳耀斑特性和地磁扰动之间的关系。分析发现,宇宙线的Forbush下降不仅与太阳耀斑的级别、持续时间,以及在日面上的位置有关,而且还与光学耀斑是否伴有强的X射线暴、是否有强的射电爆发,以及是否引起强的地磁暴紧密有关.各向异性分析表明,3月大事件的各向异性明显小于宁静时的各向异性,这可能是因为受到太阳活动强烈调制之后,宇宙线各向异性趋于减小的原因.     

Real time localization of gamma ray bursts with INTEGRAL

The INTEGRAL satellite has been successfully launched in October 2002 and has recently started its operational phase. The INTEGRAL burst alert system (IBAS) will distribute in real time the coordinates of the gamma ray bursts (GRBs) detected with INTEGRAL. After a brief introduction on the INTEGRAL instruments, we describe the main IBAS characteristics and report on the initial results. During the initial performance and verification phase of the INTEGRAL mission, which lasted about two months, two GRBs have been localized with accuracy of 2–4 arcmin. These observations have allowed us to validate the IBAS software, which is now expected to provide quick (few seconds delay) and precise (few arcmin) localization for 10–15 GRBs per year.     

Principal components in the PG-X-ray QSO sample

We have performed a spectral principal component analysis for a complete sample of 22 low redshift QSOs with spectra from Ly to H, and found three significant principal components, which account for 78% of the spectrum-to-spectrum variance. We present strong arguments that the first principal component represents the Baldwin effect, relating equivalent widths to the luminosity (i.e. accretion rate). The second component represents continuum variations, probably dominated by intrinsic reddening. The third principal component is directly related to broad emission-line width and X-ray spectral index, and therefore probably driven by Eddington accretion ratio, L/L_Edd. The third set of relationships tie directly to the optical Principal Component 1 found by Boroson and Green [Boroson, T., Green, R.F., Astrophys. J. Suppl. 80, 109, 1992 (BG92)], and are the primary cause of scatter in the Baldwin relationships.     

WSO-UV project

During last three decades, astronomers have enjoyed continuous access to the 100–300 nm ultraviolet (UV) spectral range where the resonance transitions of the most abundant atoms and ions (at temperatures between 3000 and 300 000 K) reside. This UV range is not accessible from ground-based facilities. The successful International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE) observatory, the Russian ASTRON mission and successor instruments such as the Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX) mission or the COS and STIS spectrographs on-board the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) prove the major impact of observations in the UV wavelength range in modern astronomy. Future access to space-based observatories is expected to be very limited. For the next decade, the post-HST era, the World Space Observatory – Ultraviolet (WSO–UV) will be the only 2-m class UV telescope with capabilities similar to the HST. WSO–UV will be equipped with instruments for imaging and spectroscopy and it will be a facility dedicated, full-time, to UV astronomy. In this article, we briefly outline the current status of the WSO–UV mission and the science management plan.     

管中激光加速器的推力形成过程

管中激光加速器是一种新型的激光推力器,弹射体在管道中被加速。利用光线追踪法,根据光线在网格中的传播路径信息,运用辐射输运方程,得到流场的能量源项;数值求解含能量源项的流体控制方程,对管道中等离子体流场激波的形成和演化过程进行了研究。模型能够模拟空气光学击穿、空气对激光能量的吸收、等离子体对激光的屏蔽作用和推力形成过程,通过计算得到冲量耦合系数为3.61×10-4N/MW,等离子体内能转化为流场动能的比例约为9%。     

太阳活动与全球气候变化

太阳不断向地球辐射电磁波和粒子, 太阳辐射是地球气候系统最主要的能量来源. 地球气候系统对太阳活动的响应是一个复杂的过程, 包括辐射过程、动力学过程以及微观物理过程等. 根据太阳辐射的卫星观测结果和重建结果, 例举了古气候、温度、大气环流和云量等方面太阳影响气候的观测证据, 论述了太阳影响气候的三种可能机制, 即太阳总辐射变化可以影响地表温度, 并通过海-气耦合改变大气环流; 太阳紫外辐射通过调制平流层的温度和风场影响下面的对流层; 太阳通过行星际磁场调制银河宇宙线, 而银河宇宙线通过电离大气影响云量, 进而改变地球的能量收支.      

飞机进近着陆电磁环境建模与辐射分布分析

机场终端区电磁、地形和地物在拓扑、物理和语义上的异构性导致进近着陆电磁环境构成机理复杂,很难用单尺度解析模型表征电磁环境的本质属性.在分析终端区多要素层次构成机理和关联耦合特征的基础上,提出一种多层融合的进近着陆电磁环境模型架构.综合采用矩量法和射线追踪法模拟台站辐射特性和地空电波传播模式,建立进近着陆区域电磁辐射强度量化表征与空间分布计算模型,有效降低了场边界特性不规则时空变化带来的电波预测误差.结合某机场地形和航向台数据,对终端区主航道和余隙航道的电磁辐射强度和覆盖范围进行计算和对比分析.仿真结果验证了本建模与分析方法的有效性.     

受限空间中天线产生的电波覆盖研究

受限空间中的有效电波覆盖直接影响通信质量和可靠性,对天线系统的布局优化尤为重要.然而现有的研究很少考虑本来就处于隧道中的天线参数对电波覆盖的影响.针对铁路隧道这种特殊的受限空间情况首先介绍了电波覆盖的研究方法和现状,然后利用射线追踪方法、波导模式方法和矢量抛物方程方法对电波覆盖进行了预估,针对笔形方向图的特征采用高斯方向图重点研究了不同的天线主瓣宽度、波束指向以及在隧道截面的位置对电波覆盖的影响,分析了沿隧道轴向不同区域内电波覆盖的不同特征,最后研究了受限空间中电波覆盖的三段式模型.本文的方法和模型可以为隧道内的天线选型及优化布局提供理论依据和参考.