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Gilra, D. P.

Publications and source records attributed to Gilra, D. P..

7 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1987

Extinction and abundance properties of Alpha Scorpii circumstellar grains

The UV extinction and element depletions in the circumstellar envelope Alpha Sco are investigated using IUE, Copernicus, and AS data of Alpha Sco B which can be seen in absorption through the cool-star envelope. The circumstellar reddening, depletions, and spectral extinction toward Alpha Sco B are estimated. Evidence is presented which suggests that the circumstellar grains are large and siliceous.

Snow, Theodore P., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Fluorescent excitation of Fe 2, Mn 2, Ti 2, N 1 lines by V 4, N 5, O 6: Emission lines in the spectra of symbiotic stars and Seyfert galaxies

Analysis of the published IUE and ground based high resolution spectra of symbiotic stars, particularly RR Tel, shows that the dominant excitation mechanism of Fe II, Mn II, Ti II, and N I lines is the selective fluorescent excitation of some levels by the strong C IV, N V, and O VI emission lines. The same mechanism should work for the excitation of Fe II lines in the spectra of Seyfert galaxies and Q60's whose emission spectra are quite similar to those of symbiotic stars. The similarities and differences between the fluroescent excitation mechanism reported herein and the Bowen's mechanism is analyzed.

Gilra, D. P.↗
NASA NTRS1984

IUE Observations of the Gaseous Component of the Local Interstellar Medium

Discovery of interstellar Ge, Ga, and Kr is reported. Several intercombination lines of Fe 2 are detected. The depletion is most pronounced in Ca, Ti, and V. The highly ionized gas C 4 and Si 4 is not co-extensive with the Si 2 and C 2 gas nor with the O 6 gas. The molecular gas (CO) shows very small velocity dispersion (b approximately 1 km/sec). HD 149404 has the richest interstellar spectrum (except molecules) of all the stars in this study. HD 147889, the heavily obscured star in the Rho Oph cloud, has the strongest interstellar CO spectrum. Noisy nature of the spectra precludes detection of other molecules.

Gilra, D. P.↗
NASA NTRS1980

An ultraviolet extinction study of the rho Ophiuchi dark cloud

Five-band ultraviolet spectrophotometry has been carried out for 54 stars in the upper Scorpius complex. Of these, 14 stars in the rho Ophiuchi dark cloud and 13 in the surrounding area are found to be free of spectral peculiarities and contamination by scattered light from nearby bright stars. The dark cloud stars give extinction curves which are significantly lower than the average extinction curves derived by other investigators and also those observed for localized regions such as the area around Cygnus X-1 and the Cepheus OB III cluster. This implies that the dust in the upper Scorpius region, especially that in the rho Ophiuchi dark cloud has larger average size than the normal interstellar medium. R, the ratio of total-to-selective extinction, is found to be 4.2. The effects of a lower extinction curve on the chemistry of a dark cloud is also briefly discussed.

Wu, C.-C.↗
NASA NTRS1973

Dust particles and molecules in the extended atmospheres of carbon stars

It is shown that the absorption due to a circumstellar shell containing solid silicon carbide particles can very nicely explain the observed strong violet opacity in stars in which the carbon to oxygen ratio is greater than 1. It has been shown by Friedemann and Gilman that solid SiC particles can form in the cooler outer layers of such stars. Thermal re-emission from SiC particles is predicted to be in the 10-13 micron region, and recent infrared observations by Hackwell show an emission band in this region, thereby strongly supporting the SiC suggestion. It is also shown that the opacity due to C3 pseudocontinuum is not adequate to explain the observed violet opacity. It is suggested that the vibrational bands of C3 and SiC2 molecules should be among the major opacity sources in the infrared spectra of the late N-type carbon stars and some of the observed bands may be, at least in part, due to these molecules.

Gilra, D. P.↗
NASA NTRS1972

Collective excitations and dust particles in space

It is shown that observed bands at 2200 A and in the 10 micron region are most probably due to collective excitations of dust particles. The following specific conclusions are drawn: (1) the 2200 A interstellar band is very likely due to graphite particles; (2) these graphite particles should be very small, approximately spherical, and should have no coating whatsoever; (3) the identification of circumstellar and interstellar silicates from the observations in the 10 micron region does not seem to be correct; (4) very valuable information about the shape of the circumstellar and interstellar dust particles can be obtained directly from observations; and (5) narrow band polarization measurements in the spectral regions of these bands will be very helpful in determining the shape of the particles.

Gilra, D. P.↗