[en] Our team at the United States Army Research Laboratory (ARL) has designed and developed a low-power, compact, wireless-networked gamma sensor (WGS) array. The WGS system provides high sensitivity gamma photon detection and remote warning for a broad range of radioactive materials. This sensor identifies the presence of a 1 μCi Cs137 source at a distance of 1.5 m. The networked array of sensors presently operates as a facility and laboratory sensor for the movement of radioactive check sources. Our goal has been to apply this architecture for field security applications by incorporating low-power design with compact packaging. The performance of this radiation measurement network is demonstrated for both detection and location of radioactive material.

[en] The discovery of variable and transient sources is an essential product of synoptic surveys. The alert stream will require filtering for personalized criteria—a process managed by a functionality commonly described as a Broker. In order to understand quantitatively the magnitude of the alert generation and Broker tasks, we have undertaken an analysis of the most numerous types of variable targets in the sky—Galactic stars, quasi-stellar objects (QSOs), active galactic nuclei (AGNs), and asteroids. It is found that the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) will be capable of discovering ∼10⁵ high latitude (|b| > 20°) variable stars per night at the beginning of the survey. (The corresponding number for |b| < 20° is orders of magnitude larger, but subject to caveats concerning extinction and crowding.) However, the number of new discoveries may well drop below 100 per night within less than one year. The same analysis applied to GAIA clarifies the complementarity of the GAIA and LSST surveys. Discovery of AGNs and QSOs are each predicted to begin at ∼3000 per night and decrease by 50 times over four years. Supernovae are expected at ∼1100 per night, and after several survey years will dominate the new variable discovery rate. LSST asteroid discoveries will start at >10⁵ per night, and if orbital determination has a 50% success rate per epoch, they will drop below 1000 per night within two years.

[en] Stellar properties are measured for a large set of Kepler mission exoplanet candidate host stars. Most of these stars are fainter than 14th magnitude, in contrast to other spectroscopic follow-up studies. This sample includes many high-priority Earth-sized candidate planets. A set of model spectra are fitted to R ∼ 3000 optical spectra of 268 stars to improve estimates of T_eff, log (g), and [Fe/H] for the dwarfs in the range 4750 ≤ T_eff ≤ 7200 K. These stellar properties are used to find new stellar radii and, in turn, new radius estimates for the candidate planets. The result of improved stellar characteristics is a more accurate representation of this Kepler exoplanet sample and identification of promising candidates for more detailed study. This stellar sample, particularly among stars with T_eff ∼> 5200 K, includes a greater number of relatively evolved stars with larger radii than assumed by the mission on the basis of multi-color broadband photometry. About 26% of the modeled stars require radii to be revised upward by a factor of 1.35 or greater, and modeling of 87% of the stars suggest some increase in radius. The sample presented here also exhibits a change in the incidence of planets larger than 3-4 R_⊕ as a function of metallicity. Once [Fe/H] increases to ≥ – 0.05, large planets suddenly appear in the sample while smaller planets are found orbiting stars with a wider range of metallicity. The modeled stellar spectra, as well as an additional 84 stars of mostly lower effective temperatures, are made available to the community.

[en] The faint (g = 16.9) hot white dwarf BOKS 53856 was observed by the Kepler Mission in short cadence mode during mid-2009. Analysis of these observations reveals a highly stable modulation with a period of 6.1375 hr and a 2.46% half-amplitude. The folded light curve has an unusual shape that is difficult to explain in terms of a binary system containing an unseen companion more luminous than an L0 brown dwarf. Optical spectra of BOKS 53856 show a T_eff = 34,000 K, log g = 8.0 DA white dwarf. There are few, if any, known white dwarfs in this temperature range exhibiting photometric variations similar to those we describe. A magnetic spin-modulated white dwarf model can in principle explain the light curve, an interpretation supported by spectral observations of the Hα line showing evidence of Zeeman splitting.

[en] Do white dwarfs host asteroid systems? Although several lines of argument suggest that white dwarfs may be orbited by large populations of asteroids, transits would provide the most direct evidence. We demonstrate that the Kepler mission has the capability to detect transits of white dwarfs by asteroids. Because white-dwarf asteroid systems, if they exist, are likely to contain many asteroids orbiting in a spatially extended distribution, discoveries of asteroid transits can be made by monitoring only a small number of white dwarfs, compatible with Kepler's primary mission, which is to monitor stars with potentially habitable planets. Possible future missions that survey 10 times as many stars with similar sensitivity and minute-cadence monitoring can establish the characteristics of asteroid systems around white dwarfs, such as the distribution of asteroid sizes and semimajor axes. Transits by planets would be more dramatic, but the probability that they will occur is lower. Ensembles of planetary moons and/or the presence of rings around planets can also produce transits detectable by Kepler. The presence of moons and rings can significantly increase the probability that Kepler will discover planets orbiting white dwarfs, even while monitoring only a small number of them.

[en] We investigated properties of NbN and Ta_xN thin films grown at ambient temperatures on SiO_2/Si substrates by reactive-pulsed laser deposition and reactive magnetron sputtering (MS) as a function of N_2 gas flow. Both techniques produced films with smooth surfaces, where the surface roughness did not depend on the N_2 gas flow during growth. High crystalline quality, (111) oriented NbN films with T_c up to 11 K were produced by both techniques for N contents near 50%. The low temperature transport properties of the Ta_xN films depended upon both the N_2 partial pressure used during growth and the film thickness. Furthermore, the root mean square surface roughness of Ta_xN films grown by MS increased as the film thickness decreased down to 10 nm.

[en] We present 29 likely members of the young ρ Oph or Upper Sco regions of recent star formation that exhibit “accretion burst” type light curves in K2 time series photometry. The bursters were identified by visual examination of their ∼80-day light curves, though all satisfy the $M<<!--\; <\; -->-<!--\; ???\; -->0.25$ flux asymmetry criterion for burst behavior defined by Cody et al. The burst sources represent ≈9% of cluster members with strong infrared excess indicative of circumstellar material. Higher amplitude burster behavior is correlated with larger inner disk infrared excesses, as inferred from WISE $W1-<!--\; ???\; -->W2$ color. The burst sources are also outliers in their large Hα emission equivalent widths. No distinction between bursters and non-bursters is seen in stellar properties such as multiplicity or spectral type. The frequency of bursters is similar between the younger, more compact ρ Oph region, and the older, more dispersed Upper Sco region. The bursts exhibit a range of shapes, amplitudes (∼10%–700%), durations (∼1–10 days), repeat timescales (∼3–80 days), and duty cycles (∼10%–100%). Our results provide important input to models of magnetospheric accretion, in particular, by elucidating the properties of accretion-related variability in the low state between major longer duration events such as EX Lup and FU Ori type accretion outbursts. We demonstrate the broad continuum of accretion burst behavior in young stars—extending the phenomenon to lower amplitudes and shorter timescales than traditionally considered in the theory of pre-main sequence accretion history.

[en] We present Kepler light curves and optical spectroscopy of twenty X-ray bright stars located in the Kepler field of view. The stars, spectral type F-K, show evidence for rapid rotation including chromospheric activity 100 times or more above the Sun at maximum and flaring behavior in their light curves. Eighteen of our objects appear to be (sub)giants and may belong to the class of FK Com variables, which are evolved rapidly spinning single stars with no excretion disk and high levels of chromospheric activity. Such stars are rare and are likely the result of W UMa binary mergers, a process believed to produce the FK Com class of variable and their descendants. The FK Com stage, including the presence of an excretion disk, is short lived but leads to longer-lived stages consisting of single, rapidly rotating evolved (sub)giants with high levels of stellar activity.

[en] We report the discovery of the first eclipsing detached double white dwarf (WD) binary. In a pulsation search, the low-mass helium core WD NLTT 11748 was targeted for fast (∼1 minute) differential photometry with the Las Cumbres Observatory's Faulkes Telescope North. Rather than pulsations, we discovered ∼180 s 3%-6% dips in the photometry. Subsequent radial velocity measurements of the primary white dwarf from the Keck telescope found variations with a semi-amplitude K₁ = 271 ± 3 km s^-1 and confirmed the dips as eclipses caused by an orbiting WD with a mass M₂ = 0.648-0.771 M_sun for M₁ = 0.1-0.2 M_sun. We detect both the primary and secondary eclipses during the P_orb = 5.64 hr orbit and measure the secondary's brightness to be 3.5% ± 0.3% of the primary at SDSS-g'. Assuming that the secondary follows the mass-radius relation of a cold C/O WD and including the effects of microlensing in the binary, the primary eclipse yields a primary radius of R₁ = 0.043-0.039 R_sun for M₁ = 0.1-0.2 M_sun, consistent with the theoretically expected values for a helium core WD with a thick, stably burning hydrogen envelope. Though nearby (at ∼150 pc), the gravitational wave strain from NLTT 11748 is likely not adequate for direct detection by the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna. Future observational efforts will determine M₁, yielding accurate WD mass-radius measurement of both components, as well as a clearer indication of the binary's fate once contact is reached.

[en] We present the first results from a speckle imaging survey of stars classified as candidate exoplanet host stars discovered by the Kepler mission. We use speckle imaging to search for faint companions or closely aligned background stars that could contribute flux to the Kepler light curves of their brighter neighbors. Background stars are expected to contribute significantly to the pool of false positive candidate transiting exoplanets discovered by the Kepler mission, especially in the case that the faint neighbors are eclipsing binary stars. Here, we describe our Kepler follow-up observing program, the speckle imaging camera used, our data reduction, and astrometric and photometric performance. Kepler stars range from R = 8 to 16 and our observations attempt to provide background non-detection limits 5-6 mag fainter and binary separations of ∼0.05-2.0 arcsec. We present data describing the relative brightness, separation, and position angles for secondary sources, as well as relative plate limits for non-detection of faint nearby stars around each of 156 target stars. Faint neighbors were found near 10 of the stars.