DOCSLIB.ORG

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Astronomy and Astrophysics THE DECADE OF DISCOVERY IN ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS Astronomy and Astrophysics Survey Committee Board on Physics and Astronomy Commission on Physical Sciences, Mathematics, and Applications National Research Council NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS Washington, D.C. 1991 NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS • 2101 Constitution Avenue, NW • Washington, DC 20418 NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special compe_nces and with regard for appropriate balance. This report has been reviewed by a group other than the authors according to procedures approved by a Report Review Committee consisting of members of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. This project was supported by the Department of Energy under Grant No. DE-FGO5- 89ER40421, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the National Science Foundation under Grant No. AST-8901685, the Naval Research Laboratory under Contract No. N00173-90-M-9744, and the Smithsonian Institution under Purchase Order No. SF0022430000. Additional support was provided by the Maurice Ewing Earth and Planetary Sciences Fund of the National Academy of Sciences created through a gift from the Palisades Geophysical Institute, Inc., and an anonymous donor. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data National Research Council (U.S.). Astronomy and Astrophysics Survey Committee. The decade of discovery in astronomy and astrophysics / Astronomy and Astrophysics Survey Committee, Board on Physics and Astronomy, Commission on Physical Sciences, Mathematics, and Applications, National Research Council. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-309-04381-6 1. Astronomy--Research. 2. Astrophysics---Research. I. Title. QB61.N38 1991 5201.72---dc20 90-21659 C_ Cover: A view of the Milky Way Galaxy obtained by NASA's Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE). The central parts of the Milky Way, the galaxy in which our sun and solar system are located, are normally obscured by intervening gas and dust. Observations in the near-infrared reveal a thin disk and a central bulge of stars at the center of the galaxy, located some 28,000 light-years away. Courtesy of the COBE Science Working Group and NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. Copyright C) 1991 by the National Academy of Sciences No part of this book may be reproduced by any mechanical, photographic, or electronic process, or in the form of a phonographic recording, nor may it be stored in a retrieval system, transmitted, or otherwise copied for public or private use, without written permission from the publisher, except for the purposes of the official use of the U.S. government. Printed in the United States of America NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL This report on astronomy and astrophysics, The Decade of Discovery, is both timely and unique. During a period when the federal government recognizes the need for, and the difficulty of, fiscal restraint, the report sets clear priorities for funding. The report is unusual in the widespread sponsorship by governmental agencies seeking advice on the research they sponsor in this field and in the breadth of participation by the relevant professional community• The report describes a prioritized set of research initiatives that excite the intellect and stir a sense of adventure, ranging from understanding the large-scale distribution of matter in the universe to searching for planetary systems around nearby stars. In recent years, remarkable discoveries about the universe have attracted professional scientists trained in other fields to astrophysics and have stimulated many young people to study scientific or technical subjects. This study documents the amazing improvements in our ability to investigate the heavens made possible by recent advances in telescopes, detectors, and computers. At the same time, it makes clear the urgent need to maintain and improve the naLion's infrastructure for research in astronomy. In the organizational stages of the committee's work, the survey's chair visited, together with the chair of the National Research Council or with an NRC staff representative, leaders of the sponsoring agencies, members of Congress and their staffs, and relevant individuals in tile Office of Management and Budget. These visits helped astronomers direct their efforts to questions pertinent to govermnental needs, while preserving the ability of the committee to make independent judgments based on scientific expertise• Parts of this report address questions raised in those early consultations, including chapters on the potential of astronomy from tile moon; on education, science management, and international collaborations; and on the importance of astronomy to broad societal goals• The committee considered many more equipment initiatives than it could recommend with fiscal responsibility. Thus the committee prioritized initiatives on the basis of their scientific importance, timeliness, and cost-effectiveness. The widely inclusive nature of the committee's deliberations ensures that this prioritization will have the support of the great majority of the nation's astronomers. The underlying strength of this report is the excitement of the recent discoveries that are surveyed and the clear path to even more extraordinary revelations that is set forth in the new initiatives• Page 2 The arguments presented in favor of these initiatives include the universal appeal of astronomy to the curious of all ages, the stimulating educational effects of astronomical programs, the strong linkage with other physical sciences, and the remarkable but unforeseen applications of astronomical techniques to more practical endeavors. I would llke to thank the Astronomy and Astrophysics Survey Committee and the panel members for the large investment of time and energy represented in this report. The fortunes of astronomy in any nation are symbolic of the treatment of all of basic science. John Bahcall understood this, and he has earned the gratitude of the scientific community as a whole and astronomers in particular for his inspired leadership and vision in developing an extraordinary consultative process and bringing this survey to a responsible conclusion. Chair National Research Council iv ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS SURVEY COMMITTEE JOHN N. BAHCALL, Institute for Advanced Study, Chair CHARLES A. BEICHMAN, Institute for Advanced Study, Executive Secretary CLAUDE CANIZARES, Massachusetts Institute of Technology JAMES CRONIN, University of Chicago DAVID HEESCHEN, National Radio Astronomy Observatory JAMES HOUCK, Cornell University DONALD HUNTEN, University of Arizona CHRISTOPHER E McKEE, University of California, Berkeley ROBERT NOYES, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics JEREMIAH P. OSTRIKER, Princeton University Observatory WILLIAM PRESS, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics WALLACE L.W. SARGENT, California Institute of Technology BLAIR SAVAGE, University of Wisconsin ROBERT W. WILSON, AT&T Bell Laboratories SIDNEY WOLFF, National Optical Astronomy Observatories National Research Council Staff Robert L. Riemer, Senior Program Officer Susan M. Wyatt, Administrative Associate Board on Physics and Astronomy William Spindel, Principal Staff Officer (1989) Sandra Nolte, Administrative Assistant (1989-1990) Phoebe Wechsler, Administrative Assistant (1989-1990) Institute for Advanced Study BOARD ON PHYSICS AND ASTRONOMY FRANK D. DRAKE, University of California, Santa Cruz, Chair LLOYD ARMSTRONG, Johns Hopkins University W. DAVID ARNETT, University of Arizona HOWARD C. BERG, Harvard University RICHARD S. BERRY, University of Chicago WILLIAM E BRINKMAN, AT&T Bell Laboratories GEORGE W. CLARK, Massachusetts Institute of Technology HAROLD P. FURTH, Princeton University MARTHA P. HAYNES, Cornell University CHARLES F. KENNEL, University of California, Los Angeles WALTER KOHN, University of California, San Diego STEVEN E. KOONIN, California Institute of Technology LEON LEDERMAN, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory VERA RUBIN, Carnegie Institution of Washington DAVID N. SCHRAMM, University of Chicago DANIEL TSUI, Princeton University STEVEN WEINBERG, University of Texas Donald C. Shapero, Staff Director Robert L. Riemer, Associate Staff Director Ronald D. Taylor, Program Officer Susan M. Wyatt, Administrative Associate Mary Riendeau, Senior Secretary Anne K. Simmons, Secretary vi COMMISSION ON PHYSICAL SCIENCES, MATHEMATICS, AND APPLICATIONS* NORMAN HACKERMAN, Robert A. Welch Foundation, Chairman PETER J. BICKEL, University of California, Berkeley GEORGE E CARRIER, Harvard University HERBERT D. DOAN, The Dow Chemical Company (retired) DEAN E. EASTMAN, IBM T.J. Watson Research Center MARYE ANNE FOX, University of Texas PHILLIP A. GRIFF1THS, Duke University NEAL E LANE, Rice University ROBERT W. LUCKY, AT&T Bell Laboratories CHRISTOPHER F. McKEE, University of California, Berkeley RICHARD S. NICHOLSON, American Association for the Advancement of Science JEREMIAH P. OSTRIKER, Princeton University Observatory ALAN SCHRIESHEIM, Argonne National Laboratory ROY F. SCHWITTERS, Superconducting Super Collider Laboratory KENNETH G. WILSON, Ohio State University NORMAN METZGER, Executive Director *The project that is the subject of this report was initiated by the
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Parallel Sessions
    Identification of Dark Matter July 23-27, 2012 9th International Conference Chicago, IL http://kicp-workshops.uchicago.edu/IDM2012/ PARALLEL SESSIONS http://kicp.uchicago.edu/ http://www.nsf.gov/ http://www.uchicago.edu/ http://www.fnal.gov/ International Advisory Committee Daniel Akerib Elena Aprile Rita Bernabei Case Western Reserve University, Columbia University, USA Universita degli Studi di Roma, Italy Cleveland, USA Gianfranco Bertone Joakim Edsjo Katherine Freese University of Amsterdam Oskar Klein Centre / Stockholm University of Michigan, USA University Richard Gaitskell Gilles Gerbier Anne Green Brown University, USA IRFU/ CEA Saclay, France University of Nottingham, UK Karsten Jedamzik Xiangdong Ji Lawrence Krauss Universite de Montpellier, France University of Maryland, USA Arizona State University, USA Vitaly Kudryavtsev Reina Maruyama Leszek Roszkowski University of Sheffield University of Wisconsin-Madison University of Sheffield, UK Bernard Sadoulet Pierre Salati Daniel Santos University of California, Berkeley, USA University of California, Berkeley, USA LPSC/UJF/CNRS Pierre Sikivie Daniel Snowden-Ifft Neil Spooner University of Florida, USA Occidental College University of Sheffield, UK Max Tegmark Karl van Bibber Kavli Institute for Astrophysics & Space Naval Postgraduate School Monterey, Research at MIT, USA USA Local Organizing Committee Daniel Bauer Matthew Buckley Juan Collar Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics Scott Dodelson Aimee
    [Show full text]
  • SPHERE: the Exoplanet Imager for the Very Large Telescope J.-L
    Astronomy & Astrophysics manuscript no. paper c ESO 2019 October 4, 2019 SPHERE: the exoplanet imager for the Very Large Telescope J.-L. Beuzit1; 2, A. Vigan2, D. Mouillet1, K. Dohlen2, R. Gratton3, A. Boccaletti4, J.-F. Sauvage2; 7, H. M. Schmid5, M. Langlois2; 8, C. Petit7, A. Baruffolo3, M. Feldt6, J. Milli13, Z. Wahhaj13, L. Abe11, U. Anselmi3, J. Antichi3, R. Barette2, J. Baudrand4, P. Baudoz4, A. Bazzon5, P. Bernardi4, P. Blanchard2, R. Brast12, P. Bruno18, T. Buey4, M. Carbillet11, M. Carle2, E. Cascone17, F. Chapron4, J. Charton1, G. Chauvin1; 23, R. Claudi3, A. Costille2, V. De Caprio17, J. de Boer9, A. Delboulbé1, S. Desidera3, C. Dominik15, M. Downing12, O. Dupuis4, C. Fabron2, D. Fantinel3, G. Farisato3, P. Feautrier1, E. Fedrigo12, T. Fusco7; 2, P. Gigan4, C. Ginski15; 9, J. Girard1; 14, E. Giro19, D. Gisler5, L. Gluck1, C. Gry2, T. Henning6, N. Hubin12, E. Hugot2, S. Incorvaia19, M. Jaquet2, M. Kasper12, E. Lagadec11, A.-M. Lagrange1, H. Le Coroller2, D. Le Mignant2, B. Le Ruyet4, G. Lessio3, J.-L. Lizon12, M. Llored2, L. Lundin12, F. Madec2, Y. Magnard1, M. Marteaud4, P. Martinez11, D. Maurel1, F. Ménard1, D. Mesa3, O. Möller-Nilsson6, T. Moulin1, C. Moutou2, A. Origné2, J. Parisot4, A. Pavlov6, D. Perret4, J. Pragt16, P. Puget1, P. Rabou1, J. Ramos6, J.-M. Reess4, F. Rigal16, S. Rochat1, R. Roelfsema16, G. Rousset4, A. Roux1, M. Saisse2, B. Salasnich3, E. Santambrogio19, S. Scuderi18, D. Segransan10, A. Sevin4, R. Siebenmorgen12 C. Soenke12, E. Stadler1, M. Suarez12, D. Tiphène4, M. Turatto3, S. Udry10, F. Vakili11, L. B. F. M. Waters20; 15, L.
    [Show full text]
  • Primitive Bodies Panel Planetary Science Decadal Survey Space Studies Board National Research Council
    Space Studies Board Mailing Address: 500 Fifth Street, NW Washington, DC 20001 www.nationalacademies.org Primitive Bodies Panel Planetary Science Decadal Survey Space Studies Board National Research Council National Academy of Sciences Building 2101 Constitution Ave. NW, Washington, D.C. (Entrance at 2100 C Street NW) Conference Room 150 FINAL AGENDA1 September 9-11, 2009 Wednesday, September 9, 2009 CLOSED SESSION 7:30 a.m. Room Opens (Breakfast available in the meeting room) 8:30 a.m. Welcome and Agenda Review Joseph Veverka 8:45 a.m. Overview of NRC Study Process Dwayne Day 9:15 a.m. Balance and Composition Discussion Dwayne Day 10:00 a.m. Break OPEN SESSION2 10:15 a.m. Decadal Survey Overview Steven Squyres Cornell University 11:00 a.m. Lessons Learned from the 2003 Decadal Survey Dale Cruikshank NASA Ames Research Center 11:45 a.m. Committee Discussion (Lunch will be served in the meeting room, committee discussion will continue) 12:45 p.m. Charge to the Decadal Survey James Green/Lindley Johnson NASA Headquarters 1 Updated September 8, 2009 2 Webcast at http://nasa-nai.acrobat.com/primitive1/, Audio at 866-606-4717, Access Code 6686308. This meeting is being held to gather information to help the committee conduct its activities. The committee will examine the information and material obtained during open sessions in an effort to inform its work. Although opinions may be stated and lively discussion may ensue, no conclusions are being drawn at this time. Therefore, observers who draw conclusions about the committee's work based on today's discussions will be doing so prematurely.
    [Show full text]
  • Exploring the Galactic Center
    Exploring the V Galactic Center Goinyk/Shutterstock.com olodymyr A case study of how USRA answered a question posed by James Webb in 1966. On 14 January 1966, NASA (5) C r e Administrator James Webb (1906-1992) wrote a letter d i Should we change the t : N to the prominent Harvard physicist, Professor Norman A orientation of some of S F. Ramsey Jr. (1915-2011), asking him to establish an A our NASA Centers? advisory group that would: (6) What steps should Review the resources at our NASA field centers, and James Webb be taken in scientific such other institutions as would be appropriate, staffing, both inside and against the requirements of the next generation of outside NASA, over the next few years to assure that space projects and advise NASA on a number of key we have the proper people at the proper places to do problems, such as: the job? (1) How can we organize these major projects so that (7) How can we obtain the competent scientists to the most competent scientists and engineers can take the key roles in these major projects? 1 participate? Ramsey assembled his advisory group, and they (2) How can academic personnel participate and at worked through the spring and summer on their report, the same time continue in strong academic roles? which they delivered to the Administrator on 15 August 1966. Their first recommendation was that the NASA (3) What mechanism should be used to determine Administrator appoint a General Advisory Committee the scientific investigations which should be to bring to bear “maximum competence” on “the conducted? formulation and execution of long-term programs of NASA.”2 (4) How does a scientist continue his career development during the six to eight years it requires This recommendation, and many of the others in the to develop an ABL [Automated Biological Laboratory] report, were not what NASA was looking for, and so or a large astronomical facility? the Administrator turned to the National Academy of Sciences to find answers for at least some of the Infrared radiation gets Cr ed i t: A questions posed to Ramsey.
    [Show full text]
  • Glossary Glossary
    Glossary Glossary Albedo A measure of an object’s reflectivity. A pure white reflecting surface has an albedo of 1.0 (100%). A pitch-black, nonreflecting surface has an albedo of 0.0. The Moon is a fairly dark object with a combined albedo of 0.07 (reflecting 7% of the sunlight that falls upon it). The albedo range of the lunar maria is between 0.05 and 0.08. The brighter highlands have an albedo range from 0.09 to 0.15. Anorthosite Rocks rich in the mineral feldspar, making up much of the Moon’s bright highland regions. Aperture The diameter of a telescope’s objective lens or primary mirror. Apogee The point in the Moon’s orbit where it is furthest from the Earth. At apogee, the Moon can reach a maximum distance of 406,700 km from the Earth. Apollo The manned lunar program of the United States. Between July 1969 and December 1972, six Apollo missions landed on the Moon, allowing a total of 12 astronauts to explore its surface. Asteroid A minor planet. A large solid body of rock in orbit around the Sun. Banded crater A crater that displays dusky linear tracts on its inner walls and/or floor. 250 Basalt A dark, fine-grained volcanic rock, low in silicon, with a low viscosity. Basaltic material fills many of the Moon’s major basins, especially on the near side. Glossary Basin A very large circular impact structure (usually comprising multiple concentric rings) that usually displays some degree of flooding with lava. The largest and most conspicuous lava- flooded basins on the Moon are found on the near side, and most are filled to their outer edges with mare basalts.
    [Show full text]
  • Development of a Liquid Xenon Time Projection Chamber for the XENON Dark Matter Search
    Development of a Liquid Xenon Time Projection Chamber for the XENON Dark Matter Search Kaixuan Ni Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY 2006 c 2006 Kaixuan Ni All rights reserved Development of a Liquid Xenon Time Projection Chamber for the XENON Dark Matter Search Kaixuan Ni Advisor: Professor Elena Aprile Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY 2006 c 2006 Kaixuan Ni All rights reserved ABSTRACT Development of a Liquid Xenon Time Projection Chamber for the XENON Dark Matter Search Kaixuan Ni This thesis describes the research conducted for the XENON dark matter direct detection experiment. The tiny energy and small cross-section, from the interaction of dark matter particle on the target, requires a low threshold and sufficient background rejection capability of the detector. The XENON experiment uses dual phase technology to detect scintillation and ionization simultaneously from an event in liquid xenon (LXe). The distinct ratio, be- tween scintillation and ionization, for nuclear recoil and electron recoil events provides excellent background rejection potential. The XENON detector is designed to have 3D position sensitivity down to mm scale, which provides additional event information for background rejection. Started in 2002, the XENON project made steady progress in the R&D phase during the past few years. Those include developing sensitive photon detectors in LXe, improving the energy resolution and LXe purity for detect- ing very low energy events.
    [Show full text]
  • Editorial What the Nose Knows, What The
    Neuroscience 190 (2011) 1–11 EDITORIAL WHAT THE NOSE KNOWS, WHAT THE EYES SEE, HOW WE FEEL, HOW WE LEARN, HOW WE UNDERSTAND MOTOR ACTS, WHY “YY” IS ESSENTIAL FOR ION TRANSPORT, HOW EPIGENETICS MEET NEUROBIOLOGY IN RETT SYNDROME: SEVEN TOPICS AT THE 2010 KAVLI PRIZE SYMPOSIUM ON NEUROSCIENCE L. H. BERGERSEN,a M. SANDERb AND Symposium included lectures by: Richard Axel of Colum- J. STORM-MATHISENa* bia University, New York, USA; Tobias Bonhoeffer of Max aDepartment of Anatomy, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences and Planck Institute of Neurobiology, Martinsried, Germany; Centre for Molecular Biology and Neuroscience, University of Oslo, Michael E. Goldberg of Columbia University, New York, PO Box 1105 Blindern, 0317 Oslo, Norway USA; Poul Nissen of Aarhus University, Denmark; Gia- b Page One Editorial Services, 685 Poplar Avenue, Boulder, CO como Rizzolatti of the University of Parma, Italy; and Huda 80304, USA Y Zoghbi of Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA. The seven symposium lectures described the most The Kavli Prizes were awarded for the second time in recent advances in understanding emotion, olfaction, vi- Oslo, Norway on 7 September, 2010 to eight of the sual information processing, synaptic plasticity, ion flux in world’s most prominent scientists in astrophysics, nano- neurons, perception of self and other, and the conse- science, and neuroscience. Jerry Nelson, of the Univer- quences of epigenetic dysregulation in the human brain. sity of California, Santa Cruz, USA, Ray Wilson, formerly The Kavli Prize Symposium on Neuroscience was or- of Imperial College London and the European Southern ganized by Linda H. Bergersen, Edvard Moser, May-Britt Observatory, and Roger Angel, of the University of Ari- Moser, and Jon Storm-Mathisen, and was made possible zona, Tucson, USA, shared the astrophysics prize for by the combined support of The Kavli Foundation, the their innovative contributions in the field of telescope Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, and the Nor- design.
    [Show full text]
  • The Planetary Report
    A Publication of THEPLANETA SOCIETY o o o • o -e o o Board of Directors CARL SAGAN NORMAN R. AUGUSTI NE President Chairman and CEO, Director, Martin Marietta Corporation Laboratory for Planetary Studies, Cornelf University JOHN E. BRYSON Chairman and CEO, BRUCE MURRAY Southern California Edison Vice President Professor of Planetary Science, JOSEPH RYAN California Institute of Technology O'Melveny & Myers LOU IS FRIEDMAN STEVEN SPI ELBERG A WARNING FROM YOUR EDITOR Bringing People Together Through Executive Director director and producer You may soon be getting a phone call Planetary Science-Page 13-Education Board of Advisors from me. No, I won't be asking you for has always been close to the hearts of DIANE ACKERMAN JOHN M. LOGSDON donations or nagging you about a missed Planetary Society members, and we have poet and author Director, Space Policy Institute, George Washington University deadline (a common fear among planetary sponsored many programs to promote sci­ BUZZ ALDRIN Apollo 11 astronaut HANS MARK scientists). Instead, I will be asking for ence education around the world. We've The University of Texas at Austin RICHARD BERENDZEN your opinion about The Planetary Report. gathered together reports on three projects educator and astrophysicist JAMES MICHENER author JACQUES BLAMONT Each month our computer will randomly now completed and one just beginning. Chief Scientist, Centre MARVIN MINSKY Nationa! d'Etudes Spatia/es, Toshiba Professor of Media Arts select several members whom I will call to A Planetary Readers' Service-Page 16- France and Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology discuss the contents of our latest issue-or For most of its history, the science we call RAY BRADBURY poet and author PHILIP MORRISON any other topic related to our publications.
    [Show full text]
  • Deep Impact Mission: Looking Beneath the Surface of a Cometary Nucleus
    DEEP IMPACT MISSION: LOOKING BENEATH THE SURFACE OF A COMETARY NUCLEUS Front cover: Comet Tempel 1 and the Flyby Spacecraft, artist: Pat Rawlings Back cover: The Deep Impact Flyby Spacecraft and released Impact Spacecraft heading toward comet Tempel 1, graphic rendering: Ball Aerospace & Technology Corporation. DEEP IMPACT MISSION: LOOKING BENEATH THE SURFACE OF A COMETARY NUCLEUS Edited by CHRISTOPHER T. RUSSELL University of California, California, USA Reprinted from Space Science Reviews, Volume 117, Nos. 1–2, 2005 A.C.I.P. Catalogue record for this book is available from the Library of Congress ISBN: 1-4020-3599-3 Published by Springer P.O. Box 990, 3300 AZ Dordrecht, The Netherlands Sold and distributed in North, Central and South America by Springer, 101 Philip Drive, Norwell, MA 02061, U.S.A. In all other countries, sold and distributed by Springer, P.O. Box 322, 3300 AH Dordrecht, The Netherlands Printed on acid-free paper All Rights Reserved c 2005 Springer No part of the material protected by this copyright notice may be reproduced or utilised in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the copyright owner Printed in the Netherlands TABLE OF CONTENTS Foreword vii MICHAEL F. A’HEARN, MICHAEL J. S. BELTON, ALAN DELAMERE and WILLIAM H. BLUME / Deep Impact: A Large- Scale Active Experiment on a Cometary Nucleus 1–21 WILLIAM H. BLUME / Deep Impact Mission Design 23–42 DONALD L. HAMPTON, JAMES W. BAER, MARTIN A. HUISJEN, CHRIS C. VARNER, ALAN DELAMERE, DENNIS D.
    [Show full text]
  • Dark Matter Working Group Executive Summary (Ness '02)
    Dark Matter Working Group Executive Summary (NeSS ’02) Working Group Leaders: Rick Gaitskell, Brown; and Dick Arnowitt, Texas A&M. (Document Version 020925v21) Working Group Members: Craig Aalseth, PNL; Dan Akerib, CWRU; Elena Aprile, Columbia; Priscilla Cushman, U. Minnesota; John Ellis, CERN; Jonathan Feng, UC Irvine; Gilles Gerbier, Saclay; Alexander Kusenko, UCLA; Kirk McDonald, Princeton; Jeff Martoff, Temple; Richard Schnee, CWRU; and Nigel Smith, RAL. Introduction No currently observed particle is a suitable candidate for cold dark matter. The solution to the non baryonic dark matter problem, both in the universe as a whole, and in our own galaxy, may be resolved by physics found at the intersection of astronomy, high energy particle physics, and cosmology. The main candidates for this dark matter are relic particles generated, in great abundance, shortly after the Big Bang. Currently, there are 20 operating experiments designed to perform the direct detection of these particles being conducted at all the underground physics laboratories worldwide (bar one). One of them is sited at a US underground laboratory, although US sourced funding is made to six experiments. Existing results have put significant constraints on the allowed particle theories of dark matter, with one experiment claiming a positive observation, yet to be confirmed by other experiments. The planned dark matter experiments that were discussed at this workshop would be able to cover most of the parameter space of major theoretical proposals. The new physics required for particle dark matter is also expected to be discovered in the next round of high energy accelerator experiments (LHC, NLC). Theoretically and experimentally there is great complementarity between direct detection and accelerator programs.
    [Show full text]
  • Testing the Purity Monitor for the XENON Dark Matter Search
    Testing the Purity Monitor for the XENON Dark Matter Search Alison Andrews Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso Columbia University REU August 4, 2006 1 Introduction Evidence for dark matter is found in many observed features of the universe. New- q GM(r) tonian gravitation predicts the rotational velocities of galaxies by v(r) = r , where mass is described by M(r) = 4π R ρ(r)r2dr. Actual measurements of the rota- tional velocities of galaxies, however, describe a distribution of mass where M(r) ∝ r. Fritz Zwicky studied this inconsistency in the Coma galaxy cluster in 1933, and he proposed the existence of a non-luminous dark matter. Over thirty years later, Vera Rubin supported Zwickys work with additional observations of galaxy rotational 1 curves. Their studies imply the existence of a halo of dark matter with ρ(r) ∝ r2 . Further evidence of dark matter is gravitational lensing. The General Theory of Relativity predicts the bending of light through areas of gravitational potential. Observations of this phenomenon show that the amount of bending around galaxy clusters corresponds to a greater amount of mass than is visible. Dark matter also helps to explain the formation and temperature distribution of the universe. A favored candidate for cold non-baryonic dark matter is the Weakly Interac- tive Massive Particle (or WIMP). Direct detection of WIMPs in experiments like XENON aim to detect the energy released from the elastic scattering of a WIMP off a terrestrial nucleus. 1 2 The XENON Dark Matter Search The XENON experiment aims to detect dark matter particles by measuring the scintillation and ionization of the nuclear recoils which result from the elastic collision of WIMPs with Xe nuclei using a dual phase (liquid/gas) xenon time projection chamber.
    [Show full text]
  • Cfa in the News ~ Week Ending 3 January 2010
    Wolbach Library: CfA in the News ~ Week ending 3 January 2010 1. New social science research from G. Sonnert and co-researchers described, Science Letter, p40, Tuesday, January 5, 2010 2. 2009 in science and medicine, ROGER SCHLUETER, Belleville News Democrat (IL), Sunday, January 3, 2010 3. 'Science, celestial bodies have always inspired humankind', Staff Correspondent, Hindu (India), Tuesday, December 29, 2009 4. Why is Carpenter defending scientists?, The Morning Call, Morning Call (Allentown, PA), FIRST ed, pA25, Sunday, December 27, 2009 5. CORRECTIONS, OPINION BY RYAN FINLEY, ARIZONA DAILY STAR, Arizona Daily Star (AZ), FINAL ed, pA2, Saturday, December 19, 2009 6. We see a 'Super-Earth', TOM BEAL; TOM BEAL, ARIZONA DAILY STAR, Arizona Daily Star, (AZ), FINAL ed, pA1, Thursday, December 17, 2009 Record - 1 DIALOG(R) New social science research from G. Sonnert and co-researchers described, Science Letter, p40, Tuesday, January 5, 2010 TEXT: "In this paper we report on testing the 'rolen model' and 'opportunity-structure' hypotheses about the parents whom scientists mentioned as career influencers. According to the role-model hypothesis, the gender match between scientist and influencer is paramount (for example, women scientists would disproportionately often mention their mothers as career influencers)," scientists writing in the journal Social Studies of Science report (see also ). "According to the opportunity-structure hypothesis, the parent's educational level predicts his/her probability of being mentioned as a career influencer (that ism parents with higher educational levels would be more likely to be named). The examination of a sample of American scientists who had received prestigious postdoctoral fellowships resulted in rejecting the role-model hypothesis and corroborating the opportunity-structure hypothesis.
    [Show full text]