ALBERT

Description: Reexploring convection and its various transitions to chaotic behavior were the central themes of GFD 1981. Our principal lecturer, Dr. Edward A. Spiegel, provided both a rich historical picture and stimulating hours at the current frontiers of this topic. Before the summer was out his research lecture on "A Tale of Two Methods" elegantly merged Pierre Coullet's canonical formalism for studying dynamical systems in a central manifold and the more traditional two-timing amplitude expansions near critical points. Other lecture sequences on convection and its relation to simpler dynamical systems ranged from the fine presentations of John Guckenheimer on bifurcation theory to Fritz Busse's survey of his immense contributions to our understanding of nonlinear convection. The list of other lectures found on the following pages attests to our summer-long exposure to convection in the ocean, the atmosphere, the earth's core and mantle, and in the sun. August brought lectures on new observations of convection in the laboratories of physicists. Albert Libchaber's precise experiments on the many routes convection can take to turbulence, with parallel laboratory and numerical experiments described by J. Gollub and E. Siggia, added much to our language of inquiry.

Description: Office of Naval Research under Contract N00014-81-G-0089.

Description: NASA Laboratory Astrophysics Workshop 2006, is the fourth in a series of workshops held at four year intervals, to assess the laboratory needs of NASA's astrophysics missions - past, current and future. Investigators who need laboratory data to interpret their observations from space missions, theorists and modelers, experimentalists who produce the data, and scientists who compile databases have an opportunity to exchange ideas and understand each other's needs and limitations. The multi-wavelength character of these workshops allows cross-fertilization of ideas, raises awareness in the scientific community of the rapid advances in other fields, and the challenges it faces in prioritizing its laboratory needs in a tight budget environment. Currently, we are in the golden age of Space Astronomy, with three of NASA s Great Observatories, Hubble Space Telescope (HST), Chandra X-Ray Observatory (CXO), and Spitzer Space Telescope (SST), in operation and providing astronomers and opportunity to perform synergistic observations. In addition, the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE), XMM-Newton, HETE-2, Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX), INTEGRAL and Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP), are operating in an extended phase, while Swift and Suzaku are in their prime phase of operations. The wealth of data from these missions is stretching the Laboratory Astrophysics program to its limits. Missions in the future, which also need such data include the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), Space Interferometry Mission (SIM), Constellation-X (Con-X), Herschel, and Planck. The interpretation of spectroscopic data from these missions requires knowledge of atomic and molecular parameters such as transition probabilities, f-values, oscillator strengths, excitation cross sections, collision strengths, which have either to be measured in the laboratory by simulating space plasma and interactions therein, or by theoretical calculations and modeling. Once the laboratory data are obtained, a key step to making them available to the observer is the creation and maintenance of critically compiled databases. Other areas of study, that are important for understanding planet formation, and for detection of molecules that are indicators of life, are also supported by the Laboratory Astrophysics program. Some examples are: studies of ices and dust grains in a space environment; nature and evolution of interstellar carbon-rich dust; and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. In addition, the program provides an opportunity for the investigation of novel ideas, such as simulating radiative shock instabilities in plasmas, in order to understand jets observed in space. A snapshot of the currently funded program, mission needs, and relevance of laboratory data to interpreting observations, will be obtained at this workshop through invited and contributed talks and poster papers. These will form the basis for discussions in splinter groups. The Science Organization Committee will integrate the results of the discussions into a coherent White Paper, which will provide guidance to NASA in structuring the Laboratory Astrophysics program in subsequent years, and also to the scientific community in submitting research proposals to NASA for funding.

Description: Our universe is most luminous at far-infrared and submillimeter wavelengths (100 GHz - 10 THz) after the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) radiation. This region of the electromagnetic spectrum provides critical tracers for the study of a wide range of astrophysical and planetary phenomena. This spectral range contains information on the origin of the planets, stars, galaxies, and clusters; the geometry and matter/energy content of the Universe, atmospheric constituents and dynamics of the planets and comets and tracers for global monitoring and the ultimate health of the Earth. Sensors at far-infrared and submillimeter wavelengths provide unprecedented sensitivity for astrophysical, planetary, and earth observing instruments. Very often, for a spaced based platform where the instruments are not limited by atmospheric losses and absorption, the overall instrument sensitivity is dictated by the sensitivity of the sensors themselves. Moreover, some of the cryogenic sensors at submillimeter wavelengths provide almost quantum-limited sensitivity. This paper provides an overview of the submillimeter-wave sensors and their performance and capabilities for space applications.

Description: Continuum observations at 350 micrometers of seven nearby elliptical galaxies for which CO gas disks have recently been resolved with interferometry mapping are presented. These SHARC II mapping results provide the first clearly resolved far-infrared (FIR)-to-submillimeter continuum emission from cold dust (with temperatures 31 K is approximately greater than T approximately greater than 23 K) of any elliptical galaxy at a distance greater than 40 Mpc. The measured FIR excess shows that the most likely and dominant heating source of this dust is not dilute stellar radiation or cooling flows, but rather star formation that could have been triggered by an accretion or merger event and fueled by dust-rich material that has settled in a dense region cospatial with the central CO gas disks. The dust is detected even in two cluster ellipticals that are deficient in H (sub I), showing that, unlike H (sub I), cold dust and CO in ellipticals can survive in the presence of hot X-ray gas, even in galaxy clusters. No dust cooler than 20 K, either distributed outside the CO disks or cospatial with and heated by the entire dilute stellar optical galaxy (or very extended H (sub I)), is currently evident.

Description: In Kelly, Tichy, Campanelli & Whiting Phys. Rev. D vol. 76, 024008 (2007). we presented nonspinning black-hole binary data for numerical relativity, based on solving the constraint equations to 2.5pN order in an ADM-Transverse-Traceless gauge. Here we report on the first steps in evolving this data in full NR. We review the orbital and waveform characteristics, and how these may be improved in future evolutions.

Description: The large numbers of nucleus fragments observed are a spectacular illustration of the process of cascading fragmentation in progress, a concept introduced to interpret the properties of the Kreutz system of sungrazers and comet D/1993 F2. The objective is to describe the fragmentation sequence and hierarchy of comet 73P, the nature of the fragmentation process and observed events, and the expected future evolution of this comet. The orbital arc populated by the fragments refers to an interval of 3.74 days in the perihelion time. This result suggests that they all could be products (but not necessarily first-generation fragments) of two 1995 events, in early September (involving an enormous outburst) and at the beginning of November. The interval of perihelion times is equivalent to a range of about 2.5 m/s in separation velocity or 0.00012 the Sun's attraction in nongravitational deceleration. Their combined effect suggests minor orbital momentum changes acquired during fragmentation and decelerations compatible with survival over two revolutions about the Sun. Fragment B is a likely first-generation product of one of the 1995 events. From the behavior of the primary fragment C, 73P is not a dying comet, even though fragment B and others were episodically breaking up into many pieces. Each episode began with the sudden appearance of a starlike nucleus condensation and a rapidly expanding outburst, followed by a development of jets, and a gradual tailward extension of the fading condensation, until the discrete masses embedded in it could be resolved. In April-May, this debris traveled first to the southwest, but models show their eventual motion toward the projected orbit. Fainter fragments were imaged over limited time, apparently because of their erratic activity (interspersed with periods of dormancy) rather than improptu disintegration. A dust trail joining the fragments and reminiscent of comet 141P/Machholz suggests that cascading fragmentation exerts itself profoundly over an extremely broad mass range of particulate debris.

Description: The year 2009 was one of transition for the nation, for NASA, and for the Space Studies Board (SSB). The nation pulled back from 2008's economic precipice, but did not return to the path of economic growth that it had been on. The United States inaugurated a new president who set out to build his administration. By mid-year President Obama had announced the appointment of Charlie Bolden as NASA administrator, and Lori Garver as deputy administrator. The president and Charlie Bolden jointly appointed an independent commission, the now well-known Augustine Commission, to provide guidance on the future of NASA's human spaceflight program. Many had known for quite a while that NASA's human spaceflight program faced a profound change at the time of the retirement of the space shuttle. This year was also a year of transition for the SSB. In 2009, Marcia Smith stepped down as staff director for both SSB and ASEB, and Dick Rowberg had a very good turn at the plate as a pinch-hitter. We are deeply indebted to both of them. We are pleased that, after a successful run as study director for Astro2010, Michael Moloney is now director of SSB and ASEB. The profound work begun in 2009 on the decadal surveys will only see the light of day later as they are released and the scientific work begins. The SSB will have much to report for 2010.

Description: The year 2008 was an historic one for both our country and the Space Studies Board (SSB). The United States elected a new president. His first task has been to cope with an economic crisis of historic proportions. In the same year, the United States celebrated the 50th anniversary of its first spaceflight, and the SSB celebrated its 50th anniversary. As we in the space community looked back, we also looked forward. The year 2008 was truly a year of transition, for the country and for the space enterprise. Under Lennard Fisk's continued leadership, the SSB completed its year-long seminar series, Forging the Future of Space Science, which highlighted the accomplishments of space science over the past 50 years and looked ahead to the next 50 years of discoveries that await us. During the first half of the year, events were held in Tallahasse, Florida; Austin, Texas; Paris, France (in conjunction with the Committee on Space Research, which is headquartered here); Boulder, Colorado; and Fairmont, West Virginia. The series culminated in a celebration at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C., on June 26, .50 years to the day after the SSB was created. At that event, the Board presented its first James A. Van Allen Lectureship to Frank McDonald. The recent economic crisis has made it obvious that the U.S. economy does not stand alone. The global economy is becoming more and more integrated. The space enterprise cannot avoid this trend. In November, the SSB conducted a workshop in conjunction with the Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board entitled 'Future International Space Cooperation and Competition in a Globalizing World'. Its goals were to assess the current state of international cooperation and competition in space and to discuss ways in which new and emerging space powers might be better integrated into the global space community.

Description: A major question in the study of black hole binaries involves our understanding of the accretion geometry when the sources are in the "hard" state, with an X-ray energy spectrum dominated by a hard power-law component and radio emission coming from a steady "compact" jet. Although the common hard state picture is that the accretion disk is truncated, perhaps at hundreds of gravitational radii (Rg) from the black hole, recent results for the recurrent transient GX 339-4 by Miller and coworkers show evidence for disk material very close to the black hole's innermost stable circular orbit. That work studied GX 339-4 at a luminosity of approximately 5% of the Eddington limit (L(sub Edd) and used parameters from a relativistic reflection model and the presence of a thermal component as diagnostics. Here we use similar diagnostics but extend the study to lower luminosities (2.3% and 0.8% L(sub Edd)) using Swift and RXTE observations of GX 339-4. We detect a thermal component with an inner disk temperature of approximately 0.2 keV at 2.3% L (sub Edd). At both luminosities, we detect broad features due to iron K-alpha that are likely related to reflection of hard X-rays off disk material. If these features are broadened by relativistic effects, they indicate that the material resides within 10 Rg, and the measurements are consistent with the disk's inner radius remaining at approximately 4 Rg down to 0.8% L(sub Edd). However, we also discuss an alternative model for the broadening, and we note that the evolution of the thermal component is not entirely consistent with the constant inner radius interpretation. Finally, we discuss the results in terms of recent theoretical work by Liu and co-workers on the possibility that material may condense out of an Advection-Dominated Accretion Flow to maintain an inner optically thick disk.

Description: We showed that the exoplanet HAT-P-7b has an extremely tilted orbit, with a true angle of at least 86 degrees with respect to its parent star's equatorial plane, and a strong possibility of retrograde motion. We also report evidence for an additional planet or companion star. The Rossiter-McLaughlin effect was found to be a blueshift during the first half of the transit and a redshift during the second half, an inversion of the usual pattern, implying that the angle between the sky-projected orbital and stellar angular momentum vectors is 182.5 plus or minus 9.4 degrees. The third body is implicated by excess RV variation of the host star over 2 yr. Some possible explanations for the tilted orbit of HAT-P-7b are a close encounter with another planet, the Kozai effect, and resonant capture by an inward-migrating outer planet.

Description: One possible diagnostic of planet formation, orbital migration, and tidal evolution is the angle between a planet's orbital axis and the spin axis of its parent star. In general, Psi cannot be measured, but for transiting planets one can measure the angle lambda between the sky projections of the two axes via the Rossiter-McLaughlin effect. In this paper we showed how to combine measurements of lambda in different systems to derive statistical constraints on Psi, using a Bayesian analysis. The results provided evidence for two distinct modes of planet migration.

Description: We presented evidence that the WASP-14 exoplanetary system has misaligned orbital and stellar-rotational axes, with an angle of 33.1 plus or minus 7.4 degrees between their sky projections. At the time of this publication, WASP-14 was the third system known to have a significant spin-orbit misalignment, and all three systems had super- Jupiter planets and eccentric orbits. Therefore we hypothesized that the migration and subsequent orbital evolution of massive, eccentric exoplanets is somehow different from that of less massive close-in Jupiters, the majority of which have well-aligned orbits.

Description: The interactions between plasma structures and neutral atom populations in interplanetary space can be effectively studied with energetic neutral atom imagers. For neutral atoms with energies less than 1 keV, the most efficient detection method that preserves direction and energy information is conversion to negative ions on surfaces. We have examined a variety of surface materials and conversion geometries in order to identify the factors that determine conversion efficiency. For chemically and physically stable surfaces smoothness is of primary importance while properties such as work function have no obvious correlation to conversion efficiency. For the noble metals, tungsten, silicon, and graphite with comparable smoothness, conversion efficiency varies by a factor of two to three. We have also examined the way in which surface conversion efficiency varies with the angle of incidence of the neutral atom and have found that the highest efficiencies are obtained at angles of incidence greater then 80deg. The conversion efficiency of silicon, tungsten and graphite were examined most closely and the energy dependent variation of conversion efficiency measured over a range of incident angles. We have also developed methods for micromachining silicon in order to reduce the volume to surface area over that of a single flat surface and have been able to reduce volume to surface area ratios by up to a factor of 60. With smooth micro-machined surfaces of the optimum geometry, conversion efficiencies can be increased by an order of magnitude over instruments like LENA on the IMAGE spacecraft without increase the instruments mass or volume.

Description: Most black hole binaries show large changes in X-ray luminosity caused primarily by variations in mass accretion rate. An important question for understanding black hole accretion and jet production is whether the inner edge of the accretion disk recedes at low accretion rate. Measurements of the location of the inner edge (R(sub in)) can be made using iron emission lines that arise due to fluorescence of iron in the disk, and these indicate that R(sub in) is very close to the black hole at high and moderate luminosities (greater than approximately equal to 1% of the Eddington luminosity, L(sub Edd). Here, we report on X-ray observation of the black hole GX 339-4 in the hard state by Suzaku and the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) that extend iron line studies to 0.14% L(sub Edd) and show that R(sub in) increases by a factor of greater than 27 over the value found when GX 339-4 was bright. The exact value of R(sub in) depends on the inclination of the inner disk (i), and we derive 90% confidence limits of R(sub in) greater than 35R(sub g) at i = 0 degrees and R(sub in) greater than 175R(sub g) at i = 30 degrees. This provides direct evidence that the inner portion of the disk is not present at low luminosity, allowing for the possibility that the inner disk is replaced by advection- or magnetically-dominated accretion flows.

Description: We reported the first detection of the transit ingress, revealing the transit duration to be 11.64 plus or minus 0.25 hr and allowing more robust determinations of the system parameters. Keck spectra obtained at midtransit exhibited an anomalous blueshift, giving definitive evidence that the stellar spin axis and planetary orbital axis are misaligned. Thus, the orbit of this planet is not only highly eccentric but is also tilted away from the equatorial plane of its parent star. A large tilt had been predicted, based on the idea that the planet's eccentric orbit was caused by the Kozai mechanism.

Description: The 2006 Annual Report of the Space Studies Board provides an opportunity to comment not only on the SSB's activities for the past year but also on the environment that has shaped those activities. As has been true for the past several years, and may well be for years to come, we live in an environment that is continually changing. NASA has continued to pursue the Vision for Space Exploration laid down by President George W. Bush in 2004, but it has obtained only limited resources to do so, requiring continuing adjustments in other NASA programs and reconsideration of our plans for the future. In this environment, the activities of the Space Studies Board are of particular importance. We can, through the National Research Council reports that we charter, provide advice on the issues most important to the execution and planning of the space program. Through our Congressional testimony and public statements, we call attention to the concerns and dilemmas that confront NASA and the science community that it supports. The Space Studies Board itself is also in transition. The year 2006 marked the arrival of a new Director, Marcia Smith, who is the permanent replacement for the long-serving and much admired Joe Alexander. As is evident in this Annual Report, Marcia has had to experience a year that has been among the busiest for the Space Studies Board. And that level of activity appears only to be increasing, as we attempt to help navigate the space program through the technical challenges and political turbulence that are expected in the years ahead.

Description: The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) was chartered by Congress, under the leadership of President Abraham Lincoln, to provide scientific and technical advice to the government of the United States. Over the years, the advisory program of the institution has expanded, leading to the establishment of the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Institute of Medicine, and of the National Research Council (NRC), the operational arm of the National Academies. The original charter of the Space Science Board was established in June 1958, three months before NASA opened its doors. The Space Science Board and its successor, the Space Studies Board (SSB), have provided expert external and independent scientific and programmatic advice to NASA on a continuous basis from NASA's inception until the present. The Board has also provided such advice to other agencies, including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Geological Survey, and the Department of Defense, and responds to requests from Congress. Early in 2005, the leadership of NASA changed, and with it new emphases emerged. Some of the early interpretations of the 2004 Vision for Space Exploration, in which only certain aspects of space science were encouraged, disappeared and a broader mandate for science emerged. But what also emerged was fiscal reality, which precluded many of the exciting activities that were planned for NASA's science programs. In this environment of change, there has been a continuing need to evaluate NASA's plans against the strategies for science that have been laid down in the various NRC decadal surveys, and to assist NASA in determining how best to proceed given the reduced level of resources it will have. Coupled with this has been a continuing need to provide Congress with the assessments of NASA's plans that it requests.

Description: Coronal mass ejections (CMEs) and their attendant eruptive flares (EFs) are the most explosive events in the solar system. Magnetic reconnection, arguably the most universal of heliophysical processes, is widely accepted as playing crucial roles in these phenomena. In this paper we summarize some recent advances in understanding CMEs and EFs developed from first-principles numerical simulations of slowly evolving configurations that transition suddenly to violent eruptions. The study emphasizes the role of magnetic complexity in the solar sources of the most energetic events, which can be exploited by magnetic reconnection to unleash the mass, magnetic flux, and energies of the CME and the EF on the Heliosphere

Description: We have developed techniques to measure branching fractions in the vacuum ultraviolet using diffraction grating spectroscopy and phosphor image plates as detectors. These techniques have been used to measure branching fractions in Fe II that give prominent emission lines in astrophysical objects.

Description: We have measured the electron impact excitation cross sections for the strong iron L-shell 3 --〉 2 lines of Fe XVIII to Fe XXIV at the EBIT-I electron beam ion trap using a crystal spectrometer and NASA-Goddard Space Flight Centers 6 x 6 pixel array microcalorimeter. The cross sections were determined by direct normalization to the well established cross section of radiative electron capture through a sophisticated model analysis which results in the excitation cross section for the strong Fe L-shell lines at multiple electron energies. This measurement is part of a laboratory X-ray astrophysics program utilizing the Livermore electron beam ion traps EBIT-I and EBIT-II.

Description: Carbon dioxide has been produced from the impact of a monoenergetic O(P-3) beam upon a surface cooled to 4.8 K and covered with a CO ice. Using temperature-programmed desorption and mass spectrometer detection, we have detected increasing amounts of CO2 formation with O(P-3) energies of 2, 5, 10, and 14 eV. This is the first measurement of polyatomic molecule formation on a surface with superthermal atoms. The goal of this work is to detect other polyatomic species, such as CH3OH, which can be formed under conditions that simulate the grain temperature, surface coverage, and superthermal atoms present in shock-heated circumstellar and interstellar regions.

Description: We are continuing EBIT measurements of line lists in the EUV region for use as astrophysical diagnostics and have recently measured the same transitions in much denser plasma of the NSTX tokamak. This allows us to calibrate density-sensitive line ratios at their upper limits. We compare our observations at low and high density with calculations from the Flexible Atomic Code.

Description: Images taken of interstellar space often display a colorful canvas of portions of the electromagnetic spectrum. Dispersed throughout the images are interstellar clouds of dust and gas--remnants ejected from stars and supernovae over billions and billions of years. For more than 40 years, astronomers have observed that interstellar dust exhibits a consistent effect at a spectral wavelength of 2,175 angstroms, the equivalent of 5.7 electronvolts in energy on the electromagnetic spectrum. At this wavelength, light from stars is absorbed by dust in the interstellar medium, blocking the stars light from reaching Earth. The 2,175-angstrom feature, which looks like a bump on spectra, is the strongest ultraviolet-visible light spectral signature of interstellar dust and is visible along nearly every observational line of sight. Scientists have sought to solve the mystery of what causes the 2,175-angstrom feature by reproducing the effect in the laboratory. They speculated a number of possibilities, including fullerenes (buckyballs), nanodiamonds, and even interstellar organisms. However, none of these materials fits the data for the unique spectral feature. Limitations in the energy and spatial resolution achievable with electron microscopes and ion microprobes--the two main instruments used to study samples of dust--have also prevented scientists from finding the answer. A collaborative effort led by Livermore physicist John Bradley and funded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has used a new-generation transmission electron microscope (TEM) and nanoscale ion microprobe to unlock the mystery. The Livermore group includes physicists Zu Rong Dai, Ian Hutcheon, Peter Weber, and Sasa Bajt and postdoctoral researchers Hope Ishii, Giles Graham, and Julie Smith. They collaborated with the University of California at Davis (UCD), Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Washington University's Laboratory for Space Sciences in St. Louis, and NASA's Ames Research Center for their discovery. The team analyzed micrometer-size interplanetary dust particles (IDPs), each about one-tenth the diameter of a human hair. Within the particles, they found carriers of the 2,175-angstrom feature: organic carbon mixed with amorphous silicates (glass with embedded metals and sulfides, GEMS), two of the most common materials in interstellar space. Ishii says, 'Organic carbon and amorphous silicates are abundant in interstellar dust clouds, and abundant carriers are needed to account for the frequent astronomical observation of the 2,175-angstrom feature. It makes sense that this ubiquitous feature would come from common materials in interstellar space'. The group's results increase scientific understanding of the starting materials for the formation of the Sun, solar system, and life on Earth.

Description: The last two years have seen incredible development in numerical relativity: from fractions of an orbit, evolutions of an equal-mass binary have reached multiple orbits, and convergent gravitational waveforms have been produced from several research groups and numerical codes. We are now able to move our attention from pure numerics to astrophysics, and address scenarios relevant to current and future gravitational-wave detectors.Over the last 12 months at NASA Goddard, we have extended the accuracy of our Hahn-Dol code, and used it to move toward these goals. We have achieved high-accuracy simulations of black-hole binaries of low initial eccentricity, with enough orbits of inspiral before merger to allow us to produce hybrid waveforms that reflect accurately the entire lifetime of the BH binary. We are extending this work, looking at the effects of unequal masses and spins.

Description: Reliably interpreting spectra from electron-ionized cosmic plasmas requires accurate ionization balance calculations for the plasma in question. However, much of the atomic data needed for these calculations have not been generated using modern theoretical methods and their reliability are often highly suspect. We have utilized state-of-the-art calculations of dielectronic recombination (DR) rate coefficients for the hydrogenic through Na-like ions of all elements from He to Zn. We have also utilized state-of-the-art radiative recombination (RR) rate coefficient calculations for the bare through Na-like ions of all elements from H to Zn. Using our data and the recommended electron impact ionization data of Mazzotta et al. (1998), we have calculated improved collisional ionization equilibrium calculations. We compare our calculated fractional ionic abundances using these data with those presented by Mazzotta et al. (1998) for all elements from H to Ni, and with the fractional abundances derived from the modern DR and RR calculations of Gu (2003a,b, 2004) for Mg, Si, S, Ar, Ca, Fe, and Ni.

Description: We have carried out investigation of the EUV and X-ray emission spectra induced in interaction between the Solar Wind (SW) and interstellar neutral gas. The spectra of most important SW ions have been computed for the charge-exchange mechanism of X-ray emission using new accurate spectroscopic data from recent laboratory measurements and theoretical calculations. Total spectra have been constructed as a sum of spectra induced in the charge-exchange collisions by individual O(exp q+), C(exp q+), N(exp q+), Ne(exp q+), Mg (exp q+) and Fe(exp q+) ions. Calculations have been performed for X-ray emission from the heliospheric hydrogen and helium gas. X-ray maps of the heliosphere have been computed. The power density of X-ray sources in the heliospheric ecliptic plane is shown for the H gas and for the He gas. Distances from the Sun (0,0) are given in AU. The helium cone is clear seen in the X-ray map of the charge-exchange emission induced by the solar wind. X-ray emission spectra detected by the Chandra X-ray telescope from the "dark" side of Moon has been identified as a X-ray background emission induced by the solar wind from the geocorona. Spectra and intensities of this charge-exchange X-rays have been compared with the heliospheric component of the X-ray background. Observations and modeling of the SW spectra induced from the geocorona indicate a strong presence of emission lines of highly charged oxygen ions. Anisotropy in distribution of heliospheric X-rays has been predicted and calculated for the regions of the fast and slow solar winds.

Description: We present a detailed spectral analysis of the prompt and afterglow emission of four nearby long-soft gamma-ray bursts (GRBs 980425,030329,031203, and 060218) that were spectroscopically found to be associated with Type Ic supernovae and compare them to the general GRB population. For each event, we investigate the spectral and luminosity evolution and estimate the total energy budget based on broadband observations. The observational inventory for these events has become rich enough to allow estimates of their energy content in relativistic and subrelativistic form. The result is a global portrait of the effects of the physical processes responsible for producing long-soft GRBs. In particular, we find that the values of the energy released in mildly relativistic outflows appears to have a significantly smaller scatter than those found in highly relativistic ejecta. This is consistent with a picture in which the energy released inside the progenitor star is roughly standard, while the fraction of that energy that ends up in highly relativistic ejecta outside the star can vary dramatically between different events.

Description: How did the Universe begin? Does time have a beginning and an end? Does space have edges? The questions are clear and simple. They are as old as human curiosity. But the answers have always seemed beyond the reach of science. Until now. In their attempts to understand how space, time, and matter are connected, Einstein and his successors made three predictions. First, space is expanding from a Big Bang; second, space and time can tie themselves into contorted knots called black holes where time actually comes to a halt; third, space itself contains some kind of energy that is pull- ing the Universe apart. Each of these three predictions seemed so fantastic when it was made that everyone, including Einstein himself, regarded them as unlikely. Incredibly, all three have turned out to be true. Yet Einstein's legacy is one of deep mystery, because his theories are silent on three questions raised by his fantastic predictions: (1) What powered the Big Bang? (2) What happens to space, time, and matter at the edge of a black hole? (3) What is the mysterious dark energy pulling the Universe apart? The answers to these questions-which lie at the crux of where our current theories fail us-will lead to a profound, new understanding of the nature of time and space. To find answers, however, we must venture beyond Einstein. The answers require new theories, such as the inflationary Universe and new insights in high-energy particle theory. Like Einstein s theories, these make fantastic predictions that seem hard to believe: unseen dimensions and entire universes beyond our own. We must find facts to confront and guide these new theories. Powerful new technologies now make this possible. And NASA and its partners are developing an armada of space-based observatories to chart the path to discovery. Here is where the Beyond Einstein story begins. By exploring the three questions that are Einstein s legacy, we begin the next revolution in understanding our Universe. We plot our way forward using clues from observations and from new ideas connecting the worlds of the very small and the very large, from the atom out through the deepest reaches of the cosmos.

Description: The kilohertz frequencies of QPOs from accreting neutron star systems imply that they are generated in regions of strong gravity, close to the star. This suggests that observations of the QPOs can be used to constrain the properties of neutron stars themselves, and in particular to inform us about the properties of cold matter beyond nuclear densities. Here we discuss some relatively model-insensitive constraints that emerge from the kilohertz QPOs, as well as recent developments that may hint at phenomena related to unstable circular orbits outside neutron stars.

Description: We discovered a class of lines that are sensitive to the strength of the ambient magnetic field, and present a measurement of such a line in Ar IX near 49 A. Calculations show that the magnitude of field strengths that can be measured ranges from a few hundred gauss to several tens of kilogauss depending on the particular ion emitting the line.

Description: We have undertaken new critical assessments and tabulations of the transition probabilities of important lines of these spectra. For Fe I and Fe II, we have carried out a complete re-assessment and update, and we have relied almost exclusively on the literature of the last 15 years. Our updates for C I, C II and N I, N II primarily address the persistent lower transitions as well as a greatly expanded number of forbidden lines (M1, M2, and E2). For these transitions, sophisticated multiconfiguration Hartree-Fock (MCHF) calculations have been recently carried out, which have yielded data considerably improved and often appreciably different from our 1996 NIST compilation.

Description: For the past 35 years, radio astronomy has revealed a rich organic chemistry in the interstellar gas, which is exceptionally complex towards active star-forming regions. New solar systems condense out of this gas and may influence the evolution of life on newly formed planets. Much of the biologically important functionality is present among the some 130 gas-phase molecules found to date, including alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, acids, amines, amides and even the simplest sugar - glycolaldehyde. Still, many unidentified interstellar radio signals remain, and their identification relies on further laboratory study. The molecules hydroxyacetone and lactic acid are relatively small organic molecules, but possess rather complex rotational spectra owing to their high asymmetry. Hydroxyacetone is particularly problematic because it possess a very low barrier to internal rotation, and exhibits strong coupling of the free-rotor states with the overall rotation of the molecule. As in the case of acetamide, a full decomposition method was employed to order the resultant eigenstates onto normal asymmetric top eigenvectors.

Description: We report new measurements of doubly ionized iron group element spectra, important in the analysis of B-type (hot) stars whose spectra they dominate. These measurements include Co III and Cr III taken with the Imperial College VUV Fourier transform (FT) spectrometer and measurements of Co III taken with the normal incidence vacuum spectrograph at NIST, below 135 nm. We report new Fe III grating spectra measurements to complement our FT spectra. Work towards transition wavelengths, energy levels and branching ratios (which, combined with lifetimes, produce oscillator strengths) for these ions is underway.

Description: Based on over two decades of experimental, observational and theoretical studies by scientists around the world. It is now widely accepted that the composite emission of mixtures of vibrationally-excited PAHs and PAH ions can accommodate the general pattern of band positions, intensities, and profiles observed in the discreet IR emission features of carbon-rich interstellar dust, as well as the variations in those characteristics. These variations provide insight into the detailed nature of the emitting PAH population and reflect conditions within the emitting regions giving the population enormous potential as probes of astrophysical environments. Moreover, the ubiquity and abundance of this material has impacts that extend well beyond the IR. In this presentation we will examine recent, combined experimental, theoretical, and observational studies that indicate that nitrogen-substituted PAHs represent an important component of the interstellar dust population, and we will go on to explore some of the ramifications of this result. We will also explore the results of recent experimental studies of the strong, low-lying electronic transitions of ionized PAH ions in the Near-IR (0.7 - 2.5 microns) and explore the role that these transitions might play in pumping the PAH IR emission in regions of low-excitation.

Description: This is the final report for this NASA grant. Work under the first three years of the Grant (from May 1 2001 through April 30 2004) has been described in previous annual reports. Here we briefly summarize that work, and then focus on activities between May 1 2004 (the start of a 1-year no-cost extension period) and April 30 2005, the end of the Grant period.

Description: This document discusses the potential of the Terrestrial Planet Finder (TPF) for general astrophysics beyond its base mission, focusing on science obtainable with no or minimal modifications to the mission design, but also exploring possible modifications of TPF with high scientific merit and no impact on the basic search for extrasolar Earth analogs.

Description: The energetic particles in the galactic cosmic rays (GCR) induce many interactions in a variety of solar-system matter. Cosmogenic nuclides are used to study the histories of meteorites and lunar samples. Gamma rays and neutrons are used to map the compositions of planetary surfaces, such as Mars, the Moon, and asteroids. In almost all of these cases, the spectra of incident GCR particles are fairly similar, with only some modulation by the Sun over an 11-year cycle. Strong magnetic fields can seriously affect the energy spectrum of GCR particles hitting the surface of objects inside the magnetic fields. The Earth s geomagnetic field is strong enough that only GCR particles with magnetic rigidities above approx. 17 GV (a proton energy of approx. 17 GeV) reach the atmosphere over certain regions near the equator. This effect of removing lower-energy GCR particles is called a cutoff. The jovian magnetic fields are so strong that the fluxes of GCR particles hitting the 4 large Galilean satellites are similarly affected. The cutoff at Europa is estimated to be similar to or a little higher than at the Earth s equator.

Description: We report on progress made in a joint program of theoretical and experimental research to study the line-broadening of alkali atom resonance lines due to collisions with species such as helium and molecular hydrogen. Accurate knowledge of the line profiles of Na and K as a function of temperature and pressure will allow such lines to serve as valuable diagnostics of the atmospheres of brown dwarfs and extra-solar giant planets. A new experimental apparatus has been designed, built and tested over the past year, and we are poised to begin collecting data on the first system of interest, the potassium resonance lines perturbed by collisions with helium. On the theoretical front, calculations of line-broadening due to sodium collisions with helium are nearly complete, using accurate molecular potential energy curves and transition moments just recently computed for this system. In addition we have completed calculations of the three relevant potential energy curves and associated transition moments for K - He, using the MOLPRO quantum chemistry codes. Currently, calculations of the potential surfaces describing K-H2 are in progress.

Description: This program aims in understanding the connection between the discrete X-ray source populations observed in nearby galaxies and the history of star-formation in these galaxies. The ultimate goal is to use this knowledge in order to constrain X-ray binary evolution channels. For this reason although the program is primarily observational it has a significant modeling component. During the second year of this study we focused on detailed studies of the Antennae galaxies and the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC). We also performed the initial analysis of the 5 galaxies forming a starburst-age sequence.

Description: The abundance of Li, Be, and B isotopes in galactic cosmic rays (GCR) between E=50-200 MeV/nucleon has been observed by the Cosmic Ray Isotope Spectrometer (CRIS) on NASA's ACE mission since 1997 with high statistical accuracy. Precise observations of Li, Be, B can be used to constrain GCR propagation models. We find that a diffusive reacceleration model with parameters that best match CRIS results (e.g. B/C, Li/C, etc) are also consistent with other GCR observations. A approx. 15-20% overproduction of Li and Be in the model predictions is attributed to uncertainties in the production cross-section data. The latter becomes a significant limitation to the study of rare GCR species that are generated predominantly via spallation.

Description: The past year for the SEU Forum has been a highly productive one and has moved us forward on three major objectives: 1) Using the Einstein Centennial to involve the public in the Universe Exploration theme, with emphasis on exciting discoveries about dark energy, cosmology, and black holes; 2) Further implementing the recommendations of the Knappenberger Report, in order to strengthen the educational coherence of our collective activities and our collaborations within NASA; and 3) Developing strategic partnerships with underserved communities and other key customers. Among our activities for the past year are the following: 1) Serving the Informal Science Education Communities; 2) Serving the Formal Education (Pre-college) Community; and 3) Serving Minority and Underserved Communities. A summary of goals, plans and activities for the year 9/15/05 through 9/14/06 are also presented.

Description: This grant is associated to a 5-year LTSA grant, on "Studying the Largest Reservoir of Baryons in the Universe: The Warm-Hot Intergalactic Medium". The first year of work within this program has been very rich, and has already produced several important results, as detailed in this paper. Table 2 of our original proposal justification, listed the planned year-by-year program, divided into two sub-fields: (A) the study of the z=0 (or Local Group WHIM) system, and (B) the study of the z greater than 0 (i.e- intervening WHIM) systems. For each of the two sub-fields we had planned to analyze, in the first year, a number of archival (Chandra, XMM and FUSE) and new (if observed) sightlines. Moreover, the plan for the z=0 system included the search for new interesting sightlines. We have accomplished all these tasks.

Description: The launch of the Italian (with Dutch participation) satellite BeppoSAX in 1996 enabled the detection of the first X-ray GRB afterglow, which in turn led to GRB counterpart detection in multiple wavelengths. This breakthrough firmly established the cosmological nature of GRBs. However, afterglow observations of GRBs took off in large numbers after the launch of NASA's Swift satellite in 2004. Swift enabled multiple major discoveries, such as the early lightcurves of X-ray afterglows, the first detection of a short GRB afterglow and opened more questions such as where are the elusive breaks in afterglow light curves. I will describe here these results and will discuss future opportunities and improvements in the field.

Description: Over the last two decades, observations of protoplanetary and debris disks have played an important role in the new field of extrasolar planetary studies. Many are familiar with the extensive work on the cold circumstellar dust present in these disks done using infrared and sub-millimeter photometry and spectroscopy. However. UV spectroscopy has made some unique contributions by probing the elusive but vital gas component in protoplanetary and debris disks. In this talk, I will outline our picture of the evolution of protoplanetary disks and discuss the importance of the gas component. New insights obtained from UV spectroscopy will be highlighted, as well as some new puzzles. Finally, I will touch on upcoming studies of gas in protoplanetary and debris disks, some at UV wavelengths, some at far-IR and sub-mm wavelengths.

Description: The laser interferometer space antenna (LISA), a joint NASA/ESA mission, will be the first dedicated gravitational wave detector in space. This presentation will provide a tutorial of the LISA measurement concept.

Description: Carbon Raman spectroscopy is a useful tool to determine the degree of order of organic material (OM) in extra-terrestrial matter. As shown for meteoritic OM [e.g., 2], peak parameters of D and G bands are a measure of thermal alteration, causing graphitization (order), and amorphization, e.g. during protoplanetary irradiation, causing disorder. Th e most pristine interplanetary dust particles (IDPs) may come from comets. However, their exact provenance is unknown. IDP collection during Earth?s passage through comet Grigg-Skjellerup?s dust stream ("GSC" collectors) may increase the probability of collecting fresh IDPs from a known, cometary source. We used Raman spectroscopy to compare 21 GSC-IDPs with 15 IDPs collected at different periods, and found that the variation among GSC-IDPs is larger than among non-GSC IDPs, with the most primitive IDPs being mostly GSC-IDPs.

Description: Observational studies of gamma-ray pulsars languished in recent years, while theoretical studies made significant strides. Now, with new and improved gamma-ray telescopes coming online, opportunities present themselves for dramatic improvements in our understanding of these objects. The new facilities and better modeling of processes at work in high-energy pulsars should address a number of important open questions, some of which are summarized.

Description: Astronomers are beginning to know the easy part: How did the Big Bang make stars and galaxies and the chemical elements? How did solar systems form and evolve? How did the Earth and the Moon form, and how did water and carbon come to the Earth? Geologists are piecing together the history of the Earth, and biologists are coming to know the history and process of life from the earliest times. But is our planet the only life-supporting place in the universe, or are there many? Astronomers are working on that too. I will tell the story of the discovery of the Big Bang by Edwin Hubble, and how the primordial heat radiation tells the details of that universal explosion. I will tell how the James Webb Space Telescope will extend the discoveries of the Hubble Space Telescope to ever greater distances, will look inside dust clouds to see stars being born today, will measure planets around other stars, and examine the dwarf planets in the outer Solar System. I will show concepts for great new space telescopes to follow the JWST and how they could use future moon rockets to hunt for signs of life on planets around other stars.

Description: The space-based OWL mission is designed to perform high-statistics measurements of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays (UHECR) using the Earth's atmosphere as a vast particle calorimeter, furthering the field of charged-particle astronomy. OWL has been developed in formal NASA instrument and mission studies and is comprised of two large telescopes separated by approx.600 km in 1000 km, near-equatorial orbits to stereoscopically image the near-UV air fluorescence emitted by UHECR-induced particle cascades. The High Resolution Fly's Eye (HiRes) Collaboration, and subsequently the Pierre Auger Observatory, recently reported confirmation of the expected Greisen-Zatsepin-Kuzmin (GZK) suppression of the UHECR flux above a few times 10(exp 19) eV. This observation is consistent with the majority of UHECR originating in astrophysical objects and reduces the need to invoke exotic physical processes. Particles observed above the GZK threshold energy must have come from sources within about 100 Mpc from the Earth. The small particle deflection angles expected at UHECR energies, with standard assumptions of extragalactic magnetic fields, are on the order of 1 degree. Thus by observing particles above the GZK threshold with sufficient exposure, there is the potential of identifying and characterizing individual UHECR sources. Auger has reported significant anisotropy in the arrival directions of UHECR at energies above about 6 10(exp 19) eV observed in the South, and a correlation to AGN in the 12th VCV catalog, suggesting that the sources of UHECR are traced by the distribution of luminous matter in the Universe. However, with similar statistics and the same event selection criteria, HiRes observations in the North are consistent with isotropy. Extended observations by Auger-South, by Telescope Array in the North, and possibly by the proposed Auger-North, will further these investigations. However, much greater exposures will be required to fully identify individual sources and measure their cosmic ray spectra. A five-year OWL mission would deliver approximately 10(exp 6)sq km/sr/yr of exposure with full aperture reached at approx. 10(exp 19) eV. The baseline 3 m optical aperture OWL telescopes with 45 degree full field-of-view are easily accomodated on a single conventional launch vehicle. On orbit, the simultaneous viewing of the same volume of atmosphere allows for precise stereo event reconstruction, which is nearly independent of the inclination of the particle track and tolerant of atmospheric conditions. The availability of monocular operation provides increased reliability or can be employed to increase the instantaneous aperture. In stereo mode, OWL is also capable of fully reconstructing horizontal or upward-moving showers and so has unmatched sensitivity to neutrino-induced events. The details of the OWL mission will he presented and its science capabilities will be discussed.

Description: The prime scientific objectives of the Gravity and Extreme Magnetism SMEX, GEMS, are to determine the effects of the spin of black holes, the configurations of the magnetic fields of magnetars, and the structure of the supernova shocks which accelerate cosmic rays. In the cases of both stellar black holes and supermassive black holes, sensitivity to 1% polarization is needed to make diagnostic measurements of the net polarizations predicted for probable disk and corona models. GEMS can reach this goal for several Seyferts and quasars and measure the polarizations of representatives of a variety of other classes of X-ray sources, such as rotation-powered and accretion-powered pulsars. GEMS uses foil mirrors to maximize the collecting area achievable within the SMEX constraints. The polarimeters at the mirror foci are Time Projection Chambers which use the photoelectic effect to measure the polarization of the incident photon. We have built laboratory models with good efficiency and modulation in the 2-10 keV range. An attached small student experiment would add 0.5 keV sensitivity for bright soft sources. The instrument has a point spread function which allows measurement of structures in the brighter nearby supernova remnants. GEMS' Orbital Sciences spacecraft will rotate at a rate of 0.1 revolutions per minute during observations, so that systematic errors due to the detector can be detected and corrected. A program of 35 sources can be observed in 9 months. GEMS is designed for a two year lifetime which will allow a General Observer program that would more than double the number of sources measured. For subsets of black holes, neutron stars and supernova remnants, GEMS will measure the polarization of several sources, solving important questions while establishing the sensitivity required for future missions.