The science team of EXOS poses in front of the Athena launcher prior to the 2009 flight. EXOS, its predecessor CyXESS, and 2 future payloads are carried to space on Black Brant IX rockets to observe hot, diffuse galactic sources.
An artist's conception of the International X-ray Observatory. Credit: Chris Meaney, NASA.
Cygnus Loop XA region (Veil Nebula) in X-rays and optical. The white contours are the X-ray emission as seen from the Chandra X-ray Observatory. The green image was taken with the [OIII] filter and the red image was taken with the H alpha filter. Note the differing regions of optical emission and their correspondence to the X-rays
Assistant Professor
Ph.D., Astronomy, University of Colorado 2007
Contact Information
Department of Physics and Astronomy
University of Iowa, 704 Van Allen Hall
Laboratory B08 Van Allen Hall
Phone: 319-335-3007, FAX: 319-335-1753
Email: randall-mcentaffer [at] uiowa.edu
Course home page: www.physics.uiowa.edu/~rmcentaf/class.html
Biographical Information
I am a native Iowan, born in Sioux City, which brought me to the University of Iowa where I obtained a B.S. in Physics and a B.S. in Astronomy. This provides me with a unique insight when teaching courses and mentoring students in the same department that I attended. Following my undergrad work I went to the University of Colorado in Boulder to pursue my doctorate in astrophysics. My thesis project was the design, fabrication, calibration, and launch of a suborbital rocket. The payload was a high resolution X-ray spectrometer for soft X-ray spectral observation of the Cygnus Loop supernova remnant. In my free time I enjoy relaxing with my family and working around the house. In my free-free time I enjoy fishing, hunting, gaming, and playing ultimate frisbee.
Research Interests
My current research interests are driven by high resolution spectroscopy in the soft X-ray bandpass (E <2keV). I design, fabricate, test and fly high resolution X-ray spectrographs for use on sub-orbital rocket payloads and as concept hardware for future NASA missions. Associated science topics include shock and plasma physics in the blast wave/interstellar medium interaction sites of supernova remnants,properties of pulsar wind nebulae and their interaction with the supernova reverse shock, and characterization of the spectral and temporal properties of the ubiquitous soft X-ray background.
Current Research Projects
• Co-PI on a series of 4 suborbital rocket flights from 2009-2012. These flights will concentrate on a range of science topics including supernova remnants, diffuse high latitude X-ray emission, and the temporal dependence of the soft X-ray background.
• Reduction and analysis of Chandra X-ray Observatory data of various supernova remnants in the galaxy and Magellanic Clouds. This effort is supported by three graduate students – Tom Brantseg, Quentin Roper, and Casey DeRoo.
• PI on a Strategic Astrophysics Technology program to increase the flight readiness of soft X-ray spectrometers for future NASA X-ray missions. Contributing institutes include Goddard Space Flight Center, Marshall Space Flight Center, Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems, the University of Colorado, and the Open University in the UK.
Selected Publications
McEntaffer, R. L., Presley, M., & Brantseg, T. 2011, “SNR 0453-68.5: An Asymmetric Remnant and its Plerion in the Large Magellanic Cloud,” ApJ, In press.
McEntaffer, R. and Brantseg, T. 2011, Chandra Imaging and Spectroscopy of the Eastern XA Region of the Cygnus Loop Supernova Remnant, Astrophys. J., 730, 2, article id 99.
McEntaffer, R. L., Cash, W. C., Oakley, P. H., Lillie, C., Casement, S., Dailey, D. R., Johnson, T., Schultz, T., “Off-plane grating spectrometer for the International X-ray Observatory,” Proc. SPIE, 7360, In press, 2009.
Oakley, P., McEntaffer, R. L., Cash, W., “A Suborbital Payload for Soft X-ray Spectroscopy of Extended Sources,” Experimental Astronomy, 31, 23, 2011.
McEntaffer, R. L, Cash, W., Lillie, C., Casement, S., Zhang, W., Holland, A., Murray, N., O’Dell, S., Schattenburg, M., Heilmann, R., Tsunemi, H., “Development of off-plane gratings for WHIMex and IXO,” Proc. SPIE, In press, 2011.
McEntaffer, R. L., Murray, N. J., Holland, A. D., Tutt, J. H., Barber, S. J., Harriss, R. D., Schultz, T., Casement, S., Lillie, C., Dailey, D., Johnson, T., Danner, R., Cash, W., Zeiger, B., Shipley, A., Page, M., Walton, D., Pool, P., Endicott, J., Willingale, D., “Developments of the off-plane x-ray grating spectrometer for IXO,” Proc. SPIE, 7732, 77321K, 2010.
McEntaffer, R. L., & Cash, W., “Soft X-ray Spectroscopy of the Cygnus Loop Supernova Remnant”, ApJ, 680, 328-335, 2008.
Prototype flight grating substrates and module mount. Assemblies such as these are tested at the X-ray Testing Laboratory in Van Allen Hall. Results from these studies are used to increase the technology readiness of off-plane reflection gratings for future NASA space missions.
Left: Raw infrared data of SNR 0453-68.5 taken with the Spitzer IR observatory. Right: X-ray data from the Chandra X-ray Observatory is shown in green and plotted over this IR emission which is now shown in red. This demonstrates either a swept up shell of material being heated by a blast wave or an interaction of the blast wave with a pre-blown cavity caused by the massive precursor star.