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At least 343 records · Page 19

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NASA NTRS1980

Emission line shapes produced by dissociative excitation of atmospheric gases

The spectral line shapes of the radiation emitted from O atoms produced by the dissociative excitation of O2, CO, CO2 and NO are investigated. Doppler line shapes are derived from time-of-flight spectra of O (5S0) atoms decaying by the emission of 1356-A radiation after being produced in electron impact experiments at incident electron energies from 25 to 300 eV. It is shown that the effective line width of the radiation is large compared with the Doppler absorption widths of ambient O atoms in both photoelectron and auroral excitation, and thus the dissociatively excited component of the O I 1304-A airglow will behave as though it were optically thin, exhibiting pronounced limb brightening effects and a scale height characteristic of the initial, local source function. It is found that the average kinetic energy of the dissociation fragments inferred from O I (5S) time-of-flight spectra is in good agreement with that of O I (3S) atoms in the electron impact dissociation of CO2, although not for O2. Finally, it is suggested that although electron impact dissociation of CO and CO2 contributes to the 1304-A emission in the upper atmosphere of Venus, it cannot be the dominant source of this radiation since the absolute cross sections for the reaction are too small.

Zipf, E. C.↗

NASA NTRS1980

High-resolution X-ray spectra of solar flares. III - General spectral properties of X1-X5 type flares

High-resolution X-ray spectra of six class X1-X5 solar flares are discussed. The spectra were recorded by spaceborne Bragg crystal spectrometers in the ranges 1.82-1.97, 2.98-3.07 and 3.14-3.24 A. Electron temperatures derived from dielectronic satellite line to resonance line ratios for Fe XXV and Ca XIX are found to remain fairly constant around 22,000,000 and 16,000,000 K respectively during the rise phase of the flares, then decrease by approximately 6,000,000 K during the decay phase. Nonthermal motions derived from line widths for the April 27, 1979 event are found to be greatest during the rise phase (approximately 130 km/sec) and decrease to about 60 km/sec during decay. Volume emission measures for Fe XXV, Ca XIX and Ca XX are derived from photon fluxes as a function of temperature, and examination of the intensity behavior of the Fe K alpha emission as a function of time indicates that it is a result of fluorescence. Differences between the present and previous observations of temperature variation are discussed, and it is concluded that the flare plasmas are close to ionization equilibrium for the flares investigated.

Doschek, G. A.↗

NASA NTRS1980

Wide angle Michelson Doppler imaging interferometer

The optical system, stepping control, phase and modulation depth, array detector, and directions sensor are described for a specialized type of Michelson interferometer which works at sufficiently high resolution to measure the line widths and Doppler shifts of naturally occurring atmospheric emissions. With its imaging capability, the instrument can potentially supply this data independently for each element of the 100 x 100 detector array. The experiment seeks: (1) to obtain vertical profiles of atmospheric winds and temperatures as functions of latitude by observing near the limb; (2) to acquire exploratory wind and temperature data on smaller scale structures in airglow irregularities and in auroral forms; and (3) to collaborate with other Spacelab experiments, such as barium cloud releases, in providing wind and temperature data.

Shepherd, G. G.↗

NASA NTRS1981

IUE ultraviolet observations of W UM a Stars

International Ultraviolet Explorer observations of four W UMa eclipsing binary systems (44 Boo, VW Cep, W UMa, and epsilon) are discussed. The stars generally show large surface fluxes of high temperature lines (C II, C IV, N V, Si IV) which may result from the high rotational velocities forced by synchronous rotation. High dispersion spectra of the 44 Boo system in the Mg II line enable the individual stellar components to be identified. The line widths and phase variations are consistent with the optically determined spectroscopic orbit. Circumstellar absorption of Mg II may be presented at selected phases.

Dupree, A. K.↗

NASA NTRS1980

On the abundance of carbon monoxide in galaxies - A comparison of spiral and Magellanic irregular galaxies

CO emission has been sought in 52 directions toward six irregular, Magellanic-type galaxies, with null results at a typical detection limit of 0.04 K for a line width of 10 km/s. The positions searched correspond to those of bright OB star clusters, H II regions, H I peaks, and dark clouds. In two cases, one-third of the optical galaxy was covered by the observations. CO has been detected at 2.6 mm toward the nucleus of the low-mass SA(s)dm galaxy NGC 7793. The results imply that the mean surface brightness of CO emission in Magellanic irregulars is less than that of the Galaxy and other spirals which have been studied. Two categories of explanations for this are discussed, including (1) those based on a lower heating rate for interstellar clouds in irregulars, and thus a lower CO temperature, and (2) those based on a lower CO abundance.

Elmegreen, B. G.↗

NASA NTRS1981

Investigation of the 1-0 pressure-induced vibrational absorption spectrum of hydrogen at temperatures below ambient

A theoretical fit has been made to laboratory measurements of the 1-0 collisionally induced H2 absorption band over a temperature range of 100-273 K and for densities up to 22 amagats. Both the Birnbaum-Cohen and the MacTaggert-Hunt line shape profiles were used. In addition, an intermolecular potential of either a Lennard-Jones 6-12 or a Morse-spline-van der Waals has been used for each line shape. The best fit resulted in a chi-square of 5%. Line widths have also been derived as a function of temperature. The lifetimes of the states were calculated.

Goorvitch, D.↗

NASA NTRS1981

Detection of the J = 6 - 5 transition of carbon monoxide

The J = 6 - 5 rotational transition of carbon monoxide has been detected in emission from the KL 'plateau source' in the Orion molecular cloud. The corrected peak antenna temperature is 100 K, and the FWHM line width is 26 km/sec. These observations were carried out using the 3 m telescope of the NASA IRTF (Infrared Telescope Facility) on Mauna Kea, Hawaii, and constitute the first astronomical data obtained at submillimeter wavelengths with a heterodyne system using a laser local oscillator. The data support the idea that the high-velocity dispersion CO in Orion is optically thin and set a lower limit to its temperature of approximately 180 K.

Goldsmith, P. F.↗

NASA NTRS1980

The interaction of T-Tauri stars with molecular clouds

Winds from T-Tauri stars may provide an important dynamical input into cold molecular clouds. If the frequency of T-Tauri stars exceeds 20/cu pc, wind-driven shells collide and form ram-pressure-confined clumps. The supersonic clump motions can account for cloud line widths. Clumps collide inelastically, coalescing and eventually becoming Jeans unstable. For characteristic dark cloud temperatures low-mass stars form, and it is speculated that in this manner clouds can be self-sustaining for 10 million to 100 million yr. Only when either the gas supply is exhausted or an external trigger stimulates massive star formation (for example, by heating the cloud or enhancing the clump collision rate), will the cloud eventually be disrupted. A natural consequence of this model is that dark cloud lifetimes are identified with the duration of low-mass star formation, inferred to exceed 10 million yr from studies of nearby star clusters. Other implications include the prediction of the existence of embedded low-mass stars in turbulent cloud cores, the presence of an internal source of radiation in dark clouds, and a clumpy structure for cold molecular clouds.

Silk, J.↗

NASA NTRS1981

X-ray spectra of solar flares obtained with a high-resolution bent crystal spectrometer

Preliminary results obtained for three solar flares with the bent crystal spectrometer on the SMM are presented. Resonance and satellite lines of Ca XIX and XVIII and Fe XXV and XXIV are observed together with the Fe XXVI Lyman-alpha line. Plasma properties are deduced from line ratios and evidence is presented for changes of line widths coincident with the occurrence of a hard X-ray impulsive burst. Fe K-alpha spectra from a disk center and a limb flare agree with the predictions of a fluorescence excitation model. However, a transient Fe K-alpha burst observed in a third flare may be explained by the collisional ionization of cool iron by energetic electrons.

Culhane, J. L.↗

NASA NTRS1981

Pressure broadening of phosphine by hydrogen and helium

The line widths, pressure-induced shifts, and center frequency of the J = 1-0, K = 0 phosphine transition at 266.9 GHz have been determined. The widths and shifts are reported for collisions with phosphine, H2, and He.

Pickett, H. M.↗

NASA NTRS1981

Investigation of the 2-0 pressure-induced vibrational absorption spectrum of hydrogen at temperatures below ambient

A theoretical fit has been made to our laboratory measurements of the 2-0 collisionally induced H2 absorption band for temperatures of 122 and 273.3 K and at a density of 20 amagats. A Lennard-Jones 6-12 intermolecular potential and a Birnbaum-Cohen line profile have been used. The fit resulted in a chi-square of 0.2%. Line widths have also been derived as a function of temperature. The lifetimes of the states have been calculated.

Silvaggio, P. M.↗

NASA NTRS1981

Thermal instabilities in radiatively driven winds - Application to emission line clouds of quasars and active galactic nuclei

It is shown that radiatively driven, optically thin winds from active galactic nuclei are thermally unstable, provided that the mass loss rates are not smaller than about 50 solar masses/year. Clouds form at distances of less than about 1 pc, with electron densities greater than 100 million/cu cm, temperatures of more than 10,000 K, and radii between 3 x 10 to the 14th and 10 to the 15th cm. These values agree with the values deduced from observations. Since the clouds are formed in a high velocity wind, this model, as does the model by Eilek and Caroff (1979), avoids problems of disruption inherent in using radiation pressure to accelerate clouds from rest to velocities up to 0.1 c needed to explain the emission line widths. The thermal balance of the gas is discussed, the criteria for thermal instability are given, and a perturbation analysis is made. This analysis is restricted to objects with bolometric luminosities lower than approximately 2 x 10 to the 46th ergs/sec. For more luminous objects, only winds slightly optically thick to electron scattering can be unstable, provided one can extend this analysis to the optically thick case.

Beltrametti, M.↗

NASA NTRS1982

The H-alpha/H-beta ratio in solar flares

The present investigation involves the study of an extensive body of data accumulated of simultaneous H-alpha and H-beta cinematography of flares. The data were obtained with two telescopes simultaneously photographing flares in H-alpha and H-beta. The results of measurements in a number of flares are presented in a table. The flares were selected purely by optical quality of the data. That the measured ratios are not too different from those in stellar flares is suggested by the last two columns of the table. These columns show that a variety of possible line width ratios could give an integrated intensity ratio of less than unity.

Zirin, H.↗

NASA NTRS1982

Measurement of the profile of solar He I resonance lines

The analysis of data obtained by a rocket-borne helium-filled spectrometer employing a curve-of-growth technique in 1977 and 1980 is used in an investigation of the 584-A helium resonance line from the full solar disk. Between 6.5 and 13% of the Gaussian core area was found to be missing through self-reversal. Line widths from 1980 and 1977 were 101 + or - 10 mA and 128 + or - 20 mA full width at half maximum, respectively. No consistent relationship is found between the measured widths and solar activity.

Phillips, E.↗

NASA NTRS1982

Analysis of coronal H I Lyman alpha measurements from a rocket flight on 1979 April 13

It is noted that measurements of the profiles of resonantly scattered hydrogen Lyman-alpha coronal radiation have been used in determining hydrogen kinetic temperatures from 1.5 to 4 solar radii from sun center in a quiet region of the corona. Proton temperatures derived using the line widths decrease with height from 2.6 x 10 to the 6th K at 1.5 solar radii to 1.2 x 10 to the 6th K at 4 solar radii. These measurements, together with temperatures for lower heights determined from earlier Skylab and eclipse data, suggest that there is a maximum in the quiet coronal proton temperature at about 1.5 solar radii. Comparison of measured Lyman-alpha intensities with those calculated using a representative model for the radial variation of the coronal electron density yields information on the magnitude of the electron temperature gradient and suggests that the solar wind flow was subsonic for distances less than 4 solar radii.

Withbroe, G. L.↗

NASA NTRS1983

Low-temperature Positron Annihilation

For a satisfactory understanding of astrophysical annihilation radiation, especially that observed from the galactic center direction, the interaction of positrons with the ambient medium must be carefully investigated. Although hot, ionized regions may be important sources of annihilation radiation, the simpler processes occurring in low-temperature neutral hydrogen gas are mainly addressed. The goal is to set limits on conditions in the annihilation region by using the predictions of atomic theory compared with the observed gamma-ray line width, continuum strength and time dependence.

Drachman, R. J.↗

NASA NTRS1983

Two hot, low-field magnetic DA white dwarfs

Two hot stars discovered in the Palomar Green survey which were found to exhibit peculiarly broad and strong Balmer lines possibly indicative of low magnetic fields are discussed. The stars, PG 1658+441 and PG 0136+251, were found to have extended trough-shaped Balmer and Lyman-alpha line profiles when compared to nonmagnetic dwarfs of similar temperatures. Further observations of PG 1658+441 show it to correspond to a 30,000 K pure hydrogen atmosphere and confirm its nature as a magnetic object with a longitudinal field strength of about 0.7 megagauss and a mean surface field of about 2.3 megagauss. PG 0136+251 is found to be a hotter star (40,000-50,000 K) with weaker lines. Although no strong evidence for magnetic line splitting was obtained, it is argued that neither a high surface gravity nor very rapid rotation can account for the Balmer line shapes. Results thus extend the range of magnetic degenerates to include very hot white dwarfs, and demonstrate the usefulness of line-widths as indicators of possible low-field magnetic sources.

Liebert, J.↗

NASA NTRS1982

Cool luminous stars

The consequences of magnetic fields for the atmospheres of cool stars are addressed based on IUE and Einstein Observatory observations. Gross atmospheric structure data for cool luminous stars are discussed, and the relevance of the observations for the energy balance and nonradiative heating rates is considered. Data from X-ray fluxes, low dispersion UV spectra, and high dispersion spectra in the region of the Mg II resonance lines are presented. New results on cool star atmospheres provided by high dispersion UV spectra are considered, including those pertaining to spectral line identification, identification of emission components in close binary systems, densities and atmospheric extension, emission line widths, properties of stellar winds as derived from IUE data, and systematic flows of transition region plasma. An explanation for the observed spectra of cool giants and supergiants is proposed in terms of active, quiet, and hybrid stars.

Linsky, J. L.↗