Dr. Frederick S Porter

Astrophysics Science Division
NASA/GSFC
Code 662, X-ray Astrophysics
Greenbelt, MD 20771

tel: 301-286-5016
fax: 301-286-1684
e-mail: Frederick.S.Porter @ nasa.gov

Present Position

Astrophysicist
Co-I, Detector Assembly lead scientist, Suzaku Observatory
PI, XRS Laboratory Astrophysics

Brief Bio

Dr. Porter received his PhD in Physics from Brown University in 1993 on a prototype superfluid helium, solar neutrino telescope. He has since worked on a number of x-ray spectroscopy instruments first as a post-doctoral fellow at the Naval Research Laboratory, then joining the X-ray Astrophysics Laboratory at NASA/GSFC in 1995. He has flown three sounding rockets and two orbiting observatories based on cryogenic x-ray spectrometers and is a member of the Constellation-X, X-ray microcalorimeter spectrometer (XMS) study team. His astrophysical interests center around superbubbles, the local interstellar medium, and simulating x-ray emitting plasmas in the laboratory.

Educational Background

Doctor of Philosophy
Brown University, Providence, RI, 1993
Major: Physics
Thesis: Particle Detection in Superfluid Helium
Advisor: Professor Humphrey Maris

Master of Science
Brown University, Providence, RI, 1989
Major: Physics

Bachelor of Science with Distinction and Honors
Harvey Mudd College, Claremont, CA, 1987
Major: Physics
Thesis: Construction of a High Resolution AC Calorimeter and the Synthesis of K0.3MnO3 alias "Blue Bronze"
Advisor: Professor Jim Eckert

Research Interests

High resolution x-ray spectroscopy
Laboratory simulation of x-ray plasmas
Thermal emission from highly ionized iron
Soft diffuse emission from the local interstellar medium
Diffuse emission from nearby superbubbles

Current Projects

Mission support/Data analysis for the Suzaku Observatory
Laboratory simulation of x-ray plasmas
Constellation-X/XMS x-ray spectrometer
Development of Magnetic x-ray microcalorimters
Development of TES x-ray microcalorimters
Development of hard x-ray microcalorimters
XQC sounding Rocket experiment

Selected Publications

"X-ray Astronomy and Astrophysics", Porter, F. S. G. V. Brown, and J. Cottam in Cryogenic Particle Detection, ed. C. Enss, Springer, 2005, 359-415.

“The Astro-E2 XRS/EBIT Microcalorimeter X-ray Spectrometer”, Porter, F. S., Brown, G.V., Boyce, K.R., Kelley, R.L, Kilbourne, C.A., Beiersdorfer, P., Chen, H., Terracol, S., Kahn, S.M., Szymkowiak, A.E., Rev. Sci. Inst., 75 (2004) 3772-3774.

“Laboratory Measurmements of 3 to 2 X-ray emission lines of Ne-like Ni XIX”, Gu, M. F., Beiersdorfer, P., Brown, G. V., Chen, H., Boyce, K. R., Kelley, R. L., Kilbourne, C. A., Porter, F. S., Kahn, S. M., ApJ. Lett., 607 (2004) L143-L146.

“Low Temperature Detectors in X-ray astronomy”, F. S. Porter, Nucl. Inst. And Meth., 520 (2004) 354-358.

"Laboratory Simulation of Charge Exchange-Produced X-ray Emission from Comets", Beiersdorfer, P., Boyce, K. R., Brown, G. V., Chen, H., Kahn, S. M., Kelley, R. L., May, M., Olson, R. E., Porter, F. S., Stahle, C. K., Tillotson, W. A., Science, 300 (2003) 1558-1560

"Proposed SMEX to spectrally analyze the diffuse x-ray background: The Baryonic Extragalactic Structure Tracer (BEST)", Sanders, W. T., Henry, R. C., Bregman, J. N., Cen, R., Cox, D. P., Croft, R. A. C., Hammond, E. C., Hurwitz, M. V., Kimble, R. A., McCammon, D., McKee, C., Murthy, J., Phillips, L. A., Porter, F. S., Raymond, J. C., Serlemitsos, P. J., Shelton, R. L., Smith, R. K., Stahle, C. K., Szymkowiak, a. E., Proc. SPIE, 4851 (2003) 388-395

"Position-sensitive microcalorimeters for large-field high-energy resolution astrophysics", Figueroa-Feliciano, E., Boyce, K., Chervenak, J., Finkbeiner, F., Kelley, R., Li, M., Lindeman, M., Porter, S., Stahle, C. K., Proc. SPIE, 2003 (4851) 913-921.

"A High Spectral Resolution Observation of the Soft X-Ray Diffuse Background with Thermal Detectors", McCammon, D., Almy, R., Apodaca, E., Bergmann Tiest, W., Cui, W., Deiker, S., Galeazzi, M., Juda, M., Lesser, A., Mihara, T., Morgenthaler, J. P., Sanders, W. T., Zhang, J., Figueroa-Feliciano, E., Kelley, R. L., Moseley, S. H., Mushotzky, R. F., Porter, F. S., Stahle, C. K., Szymkowiak, A. E., ApJ 576 (2002) 188-203.

"Laboratory Measurements of the Relative Intensity of the 3s-->2p and 3d-->2p Transitions in Fe XVII", Beiersdorfer, P., Behar, E., Boyce, K. R., Brown, G. V., Chen, H., Gendreau, K. C., Gu, M.-F., Gygax, J., Kahn, S. M., Kelley, R. L., Porter, F. S., Stahle, C. K., Szymkowiak, A. E., ApJ Lett., 576 (2002) L169-L172

F. S. Porter, McCammon, D., Galeazzi, M, Stahle, C.K., ed. Proceedings of the 9th International Workshop on Low Temperature Detectors, AIP Press, 2002.

“Measurement of Emission Cross Sections for n=3-->2 Lines in Li-like Fe23+”, Chen, H., Beiersdorfer, P., Scofield, J. H., Gendreau, K. C., Boyce, K. R., Brown, G. V., Kelley, R. L., Porter, F. S., Stahle, C. K., Szymkowiak, A. E., Kahn, S. M., ApJ Lett., 567 (2002) L169-L172.

“1/f Noise and Hot Electron Effects in Variable Range Hopping Conduction”, McCammon, D., Galeazzi, M., Liu, D., Sanders, W. T., Smith, B., Tan, P., Boyce, K. R., Brekosky, R., Gygax, J. D., Kelley, R., Mott, D. B., Porter, F. S., Stahle, C. K., Stahle, C. M., Szymkowiak, A. E., Phys. Status Solidi (B), 230 (2002) 197-204.

“Measurements of Atomic Parameters of Highly Charged Ions for Interpreting Astrophysical Spectra”, Brown, G. V., Beiersdorfer, P., Boyce, K. R., Gendreau, K. C., Gu, M. F., Gygax, J., Kahn, S. M., Kelley, R., Porter, F. S., Savin, D. W., Utter, S. B., Phys. Scripta, T92 (2001) 130-134.

"Laboratory Astrophysics using a Spare XRS Microcalorimeter". Porter, F. S., Audley, M. D., Beiersdorfer, P., Boyce, K. R., Brekosky, R. P., Brown, G. V., Gendreau, K. C., Gygax, J. D., Kahn, S. M., Kelley, R. L., Stahle, C. K., Szymkowiak, A. E., Proc SPIE 4140 (2000).

“Progress in the Development of Mo/Au Transition-Edge Sensors for X-ray Spectroscopy”, Stahle, C. K., Brekosky, R. P., Figueroa-Feliciano, E., Finkbeiner, F. M., Gygax, J. D., Li, M. J., Lindeman, M. A., Porter, F. S., Tralshawala, N., et al., Proc. SPIE, 4140, 367.(2000)

"Observations of the soft x-ray background with the XQC microcalorimeter sounding rocket", Porter, F. S., Almy, R., Apodaca, E., Figueroa-Feliciano, E., Galeazzi, M., Kelley, R., McCammon, D., Stahle, C. K., Szymkowiak, A. E., Sanders, W. T., Nucl. Instr. and Meth, 444 (2000) 175.

"The XQC microcalorimeter sounding rocket: A stable LTD platform 30 seconds after rocket motor burnout", Porter, F. S., Almy, R., Apodaca, E., Figueroa-Feliciano, E., Galeazzi, M., Kelley, R., McCammon, D., Stahle, C. K., Szymkowiak, A. E., Sanders, W. T., Nucl. Instr. and Meth, 444 (2000) 220.

"The microcalorimeter spectrometer on the ASTRO-E X-ray observatory", Kelley, R. L., Audley, M. D., Boyce, K. R., Fujimoto, R., Gendreau, K. C., Ishisaki, Y., McCammon, D., Mihara, T., Mitsuda, K., Moseley, S. H., Mott, D. B., Porter, F. S., Stahle, C. K., Szymkowiak, A. E., Nucl. Instr. and Meth 444 (2000) 170.

"First results from Mo/Au transition-edge sensor X-ray calorimeters", Stahle, C. K., Finkbeiner, F. M., Boyce, K. R., Chen, T., Figueroa Feliciano, E., Gygax, J. D., Kelley, R. L., Li, M., Mattson, B. J., Mott, D. B., Porter, F. S., Stahle, C. M., Szymkowiak, A. E., Tralshawala, N., Nucl. Instr. and Meth 444 (2000) 224.

"The interstellar medium X-ray spectrometer (IMXS)”, Galeazzi, M., Gatti, F., Vitale, S., McCammon, D., Sanders, W. T., Porter, F. S., Szymkowiak, A., Nucl. Instr. and Meth, 444 (2000) 268-272.

“The microcalorimeter spectrometer on the ASTRO-E X-ray observatory”, Kelley, R. L., Audley, M. D., Boyce, K. R., Fujimoto, R., Gendreau, K. C., Ishisaki, Y., McCammon, D., Mihara, T., Mitsuda, K., Moseley, S. H., Mott, D. B., Porter, F. S., Stahle, C. K., Szymkowiak, A. E., Nucl. Instr. and Meth, 444 (2000) 170-174.

"The detector assembly and the ultra low temperature refrigerator for XRS". Porter, F. S., Audley, M. D., Brekosky, R. P., Derro, R. J., DiPirro, M. J., Gendreau, K. C., Gygax, J. D., Kelley, R. L., McCammon, D., Morrel, A., Murphy, S. D., Paulos, R. J., Pham, T., Stahle, C. K., Szymkowiak, A. E., Tuttle, J. G., Proc. SPIE 3765 (1999) 729.

"ASTRO-E high-resolution x-ray spectrometer", Kelley, R. L., Audley, M. D., Boyce, K. R., Breon, S. R., Fujimoto, R., Gendreau, K. C., Holt, S. S., Ishisaki, Y., McCammon, D., Mihara, T., Mitsuda, K., Moseley, S. H., Mott, D. B., Porter, F. S., Stahle, C. K., Szymkowiak, A. E., Proc. SPIE 3765 (1999) 114.

"Design and performance of the ASTRO-E/XRS microcalorimeter array and anticoincidence detector", Stahle, C. K., Audley, M. D., Boyce, K. R., Brekosky, R. P., Fujimoto, R., Gendreau, K. C., Gygax, J. D., Ishisaki, Y., Kelley, R. L., McClanahan, R. A., Mihara, T., Mitsuda, K., Moseley, S. H., Mott, D. B., Porter, F. S., Stahle, C. M., Szymkowiak, A. E., Proc. SPIE 3765 (1999) 128.

"ASTRO-E/XRS calibration program and results", Gendreau, K. C., Audley, M. D., Arnaud, K. A., Boyce, K. R., Fujimoto, R., Ishisaki, Y., Kelley, R. L., Mihara, T., Mitsuda, K., Porter, F. S., Stahle, C. K., Szymkowiak, A. E., Proc. SPIE 3765 (1999) 137.

"ASTRO-E/XRS blocking-filter calibration", Audley, M. D., Arnaud, K. A., Gendreau, K. C., Boyce, K. R., Fleetwood, C. M., Kelley, R. L., Keski-Kuha, R. A., Porter, F. S., Stahle, C. K., Szymkowiak, A. E., Tveekrem, J. L., Fujimoto, R., Mitsuda, K., Ishisaki, Y., Mihara, T., Proc. SPIE 3765 (1999) 751.

"High-resolution calorimetry: limitations of doped semiconductor thermometers", McCammon, D., Almy, R., Apodaca, E., Deiker, S., Galeazzi, M., Han, S.-I., Lesser, A., Sanders, W., Kelley, R. L., Moseley, S. H., Porter, F. S., Stahle, C. K., Szymkowiak, A. E., Nucl. Instr. and Meth A 436 (1999) 205.

"The physics and the optimization of the XRS calorimeters on Astro-E", Stahle, C. K., Brekosky, R. P., Dutta, S. B., Gendreau, K. C., Kelley, R. L., McCammon, D., McClanahan, R. A., Moseley, S. H., Mott, D. B., Porter, F. S., Szymkowiak, A. E., A. E., Nucl. Instr. and Meth A 436 (1999) 218.

"Intrinsic 1/f noise in doped silicon thermistors for cryogenic calorimeters", Han, S. I., Almy, R., Apodaca, E., Bergmann, W., Deiker, S., Lesser, A., McCammon, Dan, Rawlins, K., Kelley, Richard L., Moseley, S. H., Porter, F. S., Stahle, Caroline K., Szymkowiak, A. E., Proc. SPIE 3445 (1998) 640.

"First Results from a Suborbital Flight of a 36 Pixel Microcalorimeter Array". S. Deiker, R. Kelley, A. Lesser, D. McCammon, F. S. Porter, W. T. Sanders, C. K. Stahle, and A. E. Szymkowiak.. Proc. 7th International Workshop on Low Temperature Detectors. Edited by S. Cooper. (MPI, Munich, 1997).

"Energy loss due to photoelectron escape from HgTe absorbers in x-ray microcalorimeters". F. S. Porter, S. Deiker, R. Kelley, A. Lesser, D. McCammon, C. K. Stahle, and A. E. Szymkowiak. Proc. 7th International Workshop on Low Temperature Detectors. Edited by S. Cooper. (MPI, Munich, 1997).

"Optimization of the XRS calorimeters on Astro-E". C. K. Stahle, R. Kelley, A. E. Szymkowiak, D. B. Mott, R. P. Brekosky, S. B. Dutta, R. McClanahan, and F. S. Porter. Proc. 7th International Workshop on Low Temperature Detectors. Edited by S. Cooper. (MPI, Munich, 1997).

"Epitaxial Base Layer Nb Superconducting Tunnel Junctions with Ta Absorbers". Porter, F. S., van Vechten, D., Blamire, M. G., Burnell, G., Nucl. Instr. and Meth. A. 370 (1996) 50-52.

“Scintillation and anisotropic roton generation by charged particles in superfluid helium”, Bandler, S. R., Adams, J. S., Brouër, S. M., Enss, C., Lanou, R. E., Maris, H. J., More, T., Porter, F. S., Seidel, G. M., Nucl. Instr. and Meth. A. 370 (1996) 138-140.

"Alternative Non-Equilibrium Superconducting X-Ray Detectors". D. Van Vechten, F. S. Porter, K. S. Wood, and A. M. Gulian. Nucl. Instr. and Meth. A. 370 (1996) 34-37.

"Angular Distribution of Rotons Generated by Alpha Particles in Superfluid Helium: A Possible Tool for Low Energy Particle Detection". S. R. Bandler, S. M. Brouer, C. Enss, R. E. Lanou, H. J. Maris, T. More, F. S. Porter, and G. M. Seidel. Phys. Rev. Lett. 74 (1995) 3169-3172.

"Suppression of Extrinsic Resolution Limiting Factors in Epitaxial Superconducting Tunnel Junction Detectors". F. S. Porter, D. Van Vechten, M. G. Blamire, and E. C. G. Kirk. IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercon. 5 (1995) 3026-3029.

"Ta-Based Tunnel Junctions for Energy Resolving X-Ray Detection". M. G. Blamire, F. S. Porter, E. C. G. Kirk, and D. Van Vechten. IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercon. 5 (1995) 3014-3017.

"Modeling the Spectra of Superconducting Tunnel Junction X-Ray Detectors". D. Van Vechten, F. S. Porter, K. S. Wood. IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercon. 5 (1995) 3030-3033.

“Quantum evaporation of 4He: Angular dependence and efficiency”, Enss, C., Bandler, S. R., Lanou, R. E., Maris, H. J., More, T., Porter, F. S., Seidel, G. M., Physica B, 194 (1994) 515-516.

“A stepper motor for use at temperatures down to 20 mK”, Porter, F. S., Bandler, S. R., Enss, C., Lanou, R. E., Maris, H. J., More, T., Seidel, G. M., Physica B, 194 (1994) 151-152.

“Particle Detection in Superfluid Helium”, Porter, F.S., Ph.D. Thesis, Brown University, 1994.

"The Evaporation Signal from a Particles Stopped in Superfluid Helium". S. R. Bandler, C. Enss, R. E. Lanou, H. J. Maris, T. More, F. S. Porter, and G. M. Seidel. J. Low Temp. Phys. 93 (1993) 715.

"Metallic Magnetic Bolometers for Particle Detection". S. Bandler, C. Enss, R. E. Lanou, H. J. Maris, T. More, F. S. Porter, and G. M. Seidel. J. Low Temp. Phys. 93 (1993) 709.

"Projected Performance of a Large Superfluid Helium Solar Neutrino Detector". S. Bandler, C. Enss, G. Goldhaber, R. E. Lanou, H. J. Maris, T. More, F. S. Porter, and G. M. Seidel. J. Low Temp. Phys. 93 (1993) 785.

"Removal of superfluid helium from surfaces below 0.1K". R. Torii, S. R. Bandler, T. More, F. S. Porter, R. E. Lanou, H. J. Maris, and G. M. Seidel. Rev. Sci. Instr. 63 (1992) 230.

“Particle detection by evaporation from superfluid helium”, Bandler, S. R., Lanou, R. E., Maris, H. J., More, T., Porter, F. S., Seidel, G. M., Torii, R. H., Phys. Rev. Lett., 68 (1992) 2429-2432.

Publications at the ADS website.