A Strain Gauge Monitor (SGM) for Continuous Valve Gape Measurements in Bivalve Molluscs in Response to Laboratory Induced Diel-cycling Hypoxia and pH.

An inexpensive, laboratory-based, strain gauge valve gape monitor (SGM) was developed to monitor the valve gape behavior of bivalve molluscs in response to diel-cycling hypoxia. A Wheatstone bridge was connected to strain gauges that were attached to the shells of oysters (Crassostrea virginica). The recorded signals allowed for the opening and closing of the bivalves to be recorded continuously over two-day periods of experimentally-induced diel-cycling hypoxia and diel-cycling changes in pH.

Hitomi X-ray studies of Giant Radio Pulses from the Crab pulsar.

To search for giant X-ray pulses correlated with the giant radio pulses (GRPs) from the Crab pulsar, we performed a simultaneous observation of the Crab pulsar with the X-ray satellite Hitomi in the 2 - 300 keV band and the Kashima NICT radio observatory in the 1.4 - 1.7 GHz band with a net exposure of about 2 ks on 25 March 2016, just before the loss of the Hitomi mission.

Design and on-orbit operation of the Soft X-ray Spectrometer ADR on the Hitomi Observatory.

The Soft X-ray Spectrometer (SXS) instrument that flew on the Astro-H observatory was designed to perform imaging and spectroscopy of x-rays in the energy range of 0.2 to 13 keV with a resolution requirement of 7 eV or better. This was accomplished using a 6x6 array of x-ray microcalorimeters cooled to an operating temperature of 50 mK by an adiabatic demagnetization refrigerator (ADR).

Operating Modes and Cooling Capabilities of the 3-Stage ADR Developed for the Soft-X-ray Spectrometer Instrument on Astro-H.

A 3-stage adiabatic demagnetization refrigerator (ADR)[1] is used on the Soft X-ray Spectrometer instrument[2] on Astro-H[3] to cool a 6×6 array of x-ray microcalorimeters to 50 mK. The ADR is supported by a cryogenic system[4] consisting of a superfluid helium tank, a 4.5 K Joule-Thomson (JT) cryocooler, and additional 2-stage Stirling cryocoolers that pre-cool the JT cooler and cool radiation shields within the cryostat.

Performance of the EBIT calorimeter spectrometer.

The EBIT calorimeter spectrometer (ECS) is a new high-resolution, broadband x-ray spectrometer that has recently been installed at the Electron Beam Ion Trap Facility (EBIT) at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. The ECS is an entirely new production class spectrometer that replaces the XRS/EBIT spectrometer that has been operating at EBIT since 2000. The ECS utilizes a 32-pixel x-ray calorimeter array from the XRS instrument on the Suzaku x-ray observatory.