181 research outputs found

    Survey of capabilities and applications of accurate clocks: directions for planetary science

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    For planetary science, accurate clocks are mainly used as part of an onboard radioscience transponder. In the case of two-way radio data, the dominating data type for planetary radioscience, an accurate spacecraft clock is not necessary since the measurements can be calibrated using high-precision clocks on Earth. In the case of one-way radio data, however, an accurate clock can make the precision of one-way radio data be comparable to the two-way data, and possibly better since only one leg of radio path would be affected by the media. This article addresses several ways to improve observations for planetary science, either by improving the onboard clock or by using further variants of the classical radioscience methods, e.g., Same Beam Interferometry (SBI). For a clock to be useful for planetary science, we conclude that it must have at least a short-time stability (< 1,000 s) better than 10^−13 and its size be substantially miniaturized. A special case of using laser ranging to the Moon and the implication of having an accurate clock is shown as an example

    Drag-Free Satellite Control

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    Scientific satellite missions trying to investigate questions regarding geodesy and fundamental physics have become increasingly dependent on ultra low disturbance environments. The precision demanded by the experiments has risen continuously as experimenters strive to deepen their understanding. Standard attitude and orbital control systems are not capable of providing such an ultra low disturbance environment which lead to the introduction of so called drag-free control systems. Drag-free control is an enabling technology with the capability to provide these ultra low disturbance environments. The application of drag-free control systems is of course not limited to geodesy and fundamental physics. It is a useful technology for every mission that requires a low disturbance free-fall environment. Drag-free control has come a long way since the introduction of the original drag-free concept by Benjamin Lange in 1964. The aim of this paper is to give an introduction and overview about the drag-free technology and its implications for scientific satellite missions. In addition to the original drag-free concept and its advancements the paper introduces key technologies in sensors and actuators whose development was fueled by the application of the drag-free concept in scientific satellite missions. Moreover problems and challenges connected to drag-free satellite control and the technologies involved are discussed and current drag-free missions like LISA and its technology demonstrator LISA Pathfinder, MICROSCOPE, STEP or GOCE are presented

    An edition of Ottorino Respighi's Fantasia Slava, p. 50 with an analysis of his early style

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    Fantasia Slava, a 1903 work by Ottorino Respighi (1879-1936) for piano and orchestra, can be considered the embodiment of his early style. The characteristics of this style will be examined through brief analyses of four works written prior to Fantasia Slava: Violin Sonata in D Minor (1897), P. 15; Piano Sonata in F Minor, P. 16 (1897); Six Pieces for Violin and Piano, P. 31 (1901-2); and Piano Quintet in F Minor (1902). The characteristics developed over the course of these pieces directly affected the construction of Fantasia Slava and shows the young composer developing his compositional language. This document also includes an edition of Fantasia Slava for two pianos-one piano designated for the solo and another a piano reduction of the orchestral part. The sole publication of Fantasia Slava is the orchestral score from Ricordi, copyrighted in 1986. It is from this edition that the author has drawn his two-piano edition. The manuscript for Fantasia Slava, P. 50 was not available for review at the time of this document. Permission to utilize the first edition of the work in such a manner was graciously granted by Lucia Castellina, editor at Casa Ricordi, in a November 14, 2013, email to the author. The orchestral reduction is intended to reflect accurately the sonority and scope of the orchestra score, while remaining playable and true to the inherent properties of the modern piano. Critical notes following the edition reflect discrepancies between the orchestral score and the present edition. They also outline salient points regarding the edition's creation. (Published By University of Alabama Libraries

    An edition of Ottorino Respighi's Fantasia Slava, p. 50 with an analysis of his early style

    No full text
    Electronic Thesis or DissertationFantasia Slava, a 1903 work by Ottorino Respighi (1879-1936) for piano and orchestra, can be considered the embodiment of his early style. The characteristics of this style will be examined through brief analyses of four works written prior to Fantasia Slava: Violin Sonata in D Minor (1897), P. 15; Piano Sonata in F Minor, P. 16 (1897); Six Pieces for Violin and Piano, P. 31 (1901-2); and Piano Quintet in F Minor (1902). The characteristics developed over the course of these pieces directly affected the construction of Fantasia Slava and shows the young composer developing his compositional language. This document also includes an edition of Fantasia Slava for two pianos-one piano designated for the solo and another a piano reduction of the orchestral part. The sole publication of Fantasia Slava is the orchestral score from Ricordi, copyrighted in 1986. It is from this edition that the author has drawn his two-piano edition. The manuscript for Fantasia Slava, P. 50 was not available for review at the time of this document. Permission to utilize the first edition of the work in such a manner was graciously granted by Lucia Castellina, editor at Casa Ricordi, in a November 14, 2013, email to the author. The orchestral reduction is intended to reflect accurately the sonority and scope of the orchestra score, while remaining playable and true to the inherent properties of the modern piano. Critical notes following the edition reflect discrepancies between the orchestral score and the present edition. They also outline salient points regarding the edition's creation

    Gravitational lensing for interstellar power transmission

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    We investigate light propagation in the gravitational field of multiple gravitational lenses. Assuming these lenses are sufficiently spaced to prevent interaction, we consider a linear alignment for the transmitter, lenses, and receiver. Remarkably, in this axially-symmetric configuration, we can solve the relevant diffraction integrals -- result that offers valuable analytical insights. We show that the point-spread function (PSF) is affected by the number of lenses in the system. Even a single lens is useful for transmission either it is used as a part of the transmitter or it acts on the receiver's side. We show that power transmission via a pair of lenses benefits from light amplification on both ends of the link. The second lens plays an important role by focusing the signal to a much tighter spot; but in practical lensing scenarios, that lens changes the structure of the PSF on scales much smaller than the telescope, so that additional gain due to the presence of the second lens is independent of its properties and is govern solely by the transmission geometry. While evaluating the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in various transmitting scenarios, we see that a single-lens transmission performs on par with a pair of lenses. The fact that the second lens amplifies the brightness of the first one, creates a challenging background for signal reception. Nevertheless, in all the cases considered here, we have found practically-relevant SNR values. As a result, we were able to demonstrate the feasibility of establishing interstellar power transmission links relying on gravitational lensing - a finding with profound implications for applications targeting interstellar power transmission.Comment: 20 pages, 4 figure

    FRONT MATTER

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    Experimental Tests of General Relativity

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