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At least 469 records · Page 26

Redshifts of high-temperature emission lines in the far-ultraviolet spectra of late-type stars

High-dispersion IUE spectra of six late-type stars exhibit small but statistically significant differential redshifts of high-temperature emission lines, like Si IV and C IV, with respect to low-temperature lines like S I and O I. A well-exposed, small-aperture spectrum of the active chromosphere binary Capella (Alpha Aurigae A: G6 II+F9 III) establishes that the high-temperature lines are redshifted in an absolute sense with respect to the accurately determined photospheric velocity of the system at single-line phase 0.50. Several possible explanations for the stellar redshifts are discused, including a warm wind (100,000 K) in which aparent redshifts are produced in optically thick lines by an accelerating outfow, and the downflowing component of a vertical circulation system for which the up-leg portion of the flow is too cool, too hot, or too tenuous to be visible in Si IV and C IV. If the second scenario is true, the stellar redshifts may provide an important phenomenological link to the downflows observed in 100,000 K species over magnetic active regions in the sun.

Ayres, T. R.↗

SERTS-95 Measurements of Wavelength Shifts in Coronal Emission Lines Across a Solar Active Region

We used slit spectra from the 1995 flight of Goddard Space Flight Center's Solar EUV Rocket Telescope and Spectrograph (SERTS-95) to measure wavelength shifts of coronal emission lines in the core of NOAA active region 7870 relative to its immediate surroundings (its "edge"). This method circumvents the unavailability of reliable laboratory rest wavelengths for the observed lines by using wavelengths from the edge spectrum as references. We derived the, SERTS-95 wavelength calibration from measurements of a post-flight laboratory spectrum containing 28 He II and Ne II EUV standard wavelengths known to high accuracy. Wavelength measurements for lines of He I, Ne III, and additional lines of Ne II in the laboratory calibration spectrum provide more accurate values than were previously available, enabling these lines also to serve as future calibration standards. Six solar lines were chosen for this study, namely, He II at 303.78 A, Fe XII at 193.51 A, Fe XIII at 202.05 A, Fe XIV at 211.33 A, Fe XV at 284.15 A, and Fe XVI at 335.41 A. Because these lines are free from known blends in the SERTS-95 spectra and are either intrinsically strong or near the SERTS-95 peak sensitivity, they are our most reliable lines for measuring relative wavelength shifts in the spatially resolved active region core spectra. The iron ions are the hottest ions ever used for this type of analysis. All six lines reveal statistically significant spatial variations in their measured relative wavelength shifts in the active region core, including mixtures of blueshifts and redshifts (each with maximum values corresponding to relative Doppler velocities approximately 15 km/s), indicating a dynamic, turbulent corona. For each of these lines we calculated weighted-average relative Doppler velocities from the wavelength shifts in the spatially resolved core spectra by weighting the shifts in the individual spatial pixels with their respective measurement uncertainties.

Brosius, Jeffery W.↗

The UV emission line spectrum of NGC 6572

Ultraviolet spectra of the medium excitation planetary nebula NGC 6572 were obtained with IUE both in the low and in the high resolution mode. These spectra reveal a superposition of emission lines arising in the expanding atmosphere of the central star, evidenced e.g., by their P Cygni profiles, and features arising in the planetary nebula proper. The latter were analyzed in order to determine C, N, O abundances.

Grewing, M.↗

Improved calculations for the C III 1907,1909 and Si III 1883,1892 electron density sensitive emission-line ratios, and a comparison with IUE observations

Atomic data are used in conjunction with the statistical equilibrium code of Dufton (1977) to calculate relative C III and Si III level populations, and hence emission-line strengths for a range of electron temperatures and densities. It is assumed that photoexcitation and deexcitaton rates are negligible in comparison with the corresponding collisional rates, that ionization to and recombination from other ionic levels are slow compared with bound-bound rates, and that all transitions are optically thin. The observed values of R1 and R2 for several planetary nebulae and a symbiotic star, measured from high-resolution spectra obtained with the IUE satellite, lead to electron densities that are compatible, and are also in good agreement with those deduced from line ratios in other species.

Keenan, F. P.↗

VLA observations of solar active regions at closely spaced frequencies - Evidence for thermal cyclotron line emission

VLA observations of a solar active region at 10 closely spaced frequencies between 1440 and 1720 MHz are presented. The synthesis maps show, on two successive days, significant changes in the brightness temperature within this narrow frequency range. It is shown that these changes cannot be due to either thermal bremsstrahlung or gyroresonance emission from a coronal loop in wich the temperature, density, or magnetic field varies monotonically with height. Instead, the brightness spectrum is attributed to cyclotron line emission from a narrow layer, where the temperature is elevated above the surrounding part of the loop.

Willson, R. F.↗

Emission Lines of O III in The Optical and Ultraviolet Spectra of Planetary Nebulae

Recent R-matrix calculations of electron impact excitation rates in 0 III are used to calculate electron temperature and density-dependent emission line ratios R (sub 1) = I(4363 Angstroms)/ I(4960 Angstroms + 5007 Angstroms), R (sub 2) = I(1661 Angstroms + 1667 Angstroms)/ I(4960 Angstroms + 5007 Angstroms) and R (sub 3)= I(2322 Angstroms)/ I(1661 Angstroms + 1667 Angstroms), for a range of electron temperatures (7500 less than or equal to Te less than or equal to 30 000 K) and densities (10 (exp 4) less than or equal to N (sub e) less than or equal to 10 (exp 7) per cubic centimeters) applicable to gaseous nebulae. The ratio-ratio diagrams (R (sub 1), R (sub 2)) and (R (sub 1), R (sub 3)) should, in principle, allow the simultaneous determination of T (sub e) and N (sub e) from measurements of the 0 III features in a spectrum. Plasma parameters derived for a sample of high-excitation planetary nebulae from (R (sub 1), R (sub 2)) and (R (sub 1), R (sub 3)) measurements, produced using a combination of ultraviolet spectra obtained with the International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE) and optical data from a number of observing runs, are found to show excellent internal consistency. They also show, in general, good agreement with the values of Te and Ne estimated from other line ratios in the nebulae, therefore providing observational support for the accuracy of the theoretical ratios and hence the atomic data adopted in their derivation.

Crawford, F. L.↗

A Near-Infrared Imaging Study of Seyfert Galaxies with Extended Emission line Regions

We present a near-infrared J,H,K and L' band (1.25 - 3.80 mue) imaging study of a sample of Seyfert galaxies, including some of the best studied examples of these with extended emission line regions (EELR). The observed near-IR nuclear colors are consistent with mixture of emmisions from an old stellar population and unredening hot dust.

Near-Infrared Seyfert Galaxies↗

Molecular line emission models of Herbig-Haro objects. I - H2 emission

A comprehensive model for molecular hydrogen emssion in Herbig-Haro objects that are associated with the heads of radiative stellar jets is presented by using a simple representation of the jet head as a comprising a leading bow shock and a trailing jet shock, separated by a dense layer of cool shocked gas. Attention is given to collisional excitation in a nondissociative shock and formation pumping in the molecular reformation zone behind a dissociative shock, employing detailed shock and photodissociation-region emission models that incorporate most of the relevant atomic physics and chemistry. The conditions under which each of these excitation mechanisms may be expected to contribute to the observed emission are discussed, and a general diagnostic scheme for discriminating among them is constructed. Applying this scheme to the HH 1-2 system, strong evidence for excitation by the radiation field of a fast shock is found. It is inferred that FUV pumping contributes a significant fraction of the H2 line emission, and it is shown that this can occur only if the UV pump lines are not strongly self-shielded.

Wolfire, Mark G.↗

A search for weak H-alpha emission line pre-main-sequence stars

A spectroscopic survey of 177 stars brighter than about 12.5 in R near four dark clouds in an effort to find pre-main-sequence (PMS) stars with weak H-alpha emission is reported. A number of such stars have been found previously in X-ray images of star formation clouds. Six new candidate PMS stars with EW (H-alpha) between 0.4 and 4.2 A, in addition to four X-ray discovered stars, are found in the L1551 and L1529 clouds in the Taurus-Auriga complex. The total number of pre-main-sequence stars in these clouds appears to be about two times the number of strong emission line T Tauri stars.

Feigelson, E. D.↗

A high resolution UV spectrograph for sounding rocket measurement of planetary emission line profiles

We have constructed a high resolution imaging spectrograph for use as a payload in a sounding rocket experiment. The spectrograph employs a modified Ebert-Fastie design using a LiF predispersing prism and a replica of the E1 echelle grating developed for the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph. The spectrograph is used as a focal plane instrument of the Jupiter Telescope, a Cassegrain telescope constructed exclusively for use as a sounding rocket payload. The telescope and spectrograph were launched from the White Sands Missile Range on May 4, 1991 to observe the H Ly-alpha line profile spatially resolved across the disk of Jupiter in the north-south and east-west directions, and to measure the H Ly-alpha emission line profile from interplanetary hydrogen associated with the local interstellar medium.

Harris, Walter↗

Solar coronal temperature diagnostics using emission line from multiple stages of ionization of iron

We obtained spatially resolved extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) spectra of AR 6615 on 1991 May 7 with NASA/ Goddard Space Flight Center's Solar EUV Rocket Telescope and Spectrograph (SERTS). Included are emission lines from four different stages of ionization of iron: Fe(+15) lambda 335 A, Fe(+14) lambda 327 A, Fe(+13) lambda 334 A, and Fe(+12) lambda 348 A. Using intensity ratios from among these lines, we have calculated the active region coronal temperature along the Solar Extreme Ultraviolet Telescope and Spectrograph (SERTS) slit. Temperatures derived from line ratios which incorporate adjacent stages of ionization are most sensitive to measurement uncertainties and yield the largest scatter. Temperatures derived from line ratios which incorporate nonadjacent stages of ionization are less sensitive to measurement uncertainties and yield little scatter. The active region temperature derived from these latter ratios has an average value of 2.54 x 10(exp 6) K, with a standard deviation approximately 0.12 x 10(exp 6) K, and shows no significant variation with position along the slit.

Brosius, Jeffrey W.↗

Emission-line properties of optically and radio-selected complete quasar samples

Spectrophotometry of two complete samples of quasars, one obtained from the flat radio spectra of the objects and the other from their optical colors, is presented. It is confirmed that the equivalent widths of the major UV emission lines decrease with increasing continuum luminosity (the Baldwin effect) and that the (Ly-alpha + N V)/C IV and 1909 A/C IV intensity ratios are also luminosity-dependent by virtue of the C IV luminosity dependence. It is shown that the Mg II/C IV intensity ratio and possibly the strengths of the blue Fe II emission features and the FWHM of the 1909 A blend are luminosity-dependent. These results generally support the Mushotzky and Ferland (1984) interpretation of the Baldwin effect in terms of a weak inverse correlation between the continuum luminosity and ionization parameter.

Baldwin, J. A.↗

X-ray emission-line spectra of photoionized plasmas - Density sensitivity of the Fe L-shell series

The circumsource environments of accretion-powered X-ray sources are likely to support relatively dense (greater than 10 exp 11/cu cm) photoionized X-ray emission-line regions. The Fe L-shell ions provide a versatile class of plasma diagnostics in this regime, their multielectron structures resulting in diverse spectral phenomena. Attention is given to the spectral response of Fe L-shell ions to variations in electron density over the range 10 exp 11 to 10 exp 16/cu cm. It is found that density-sensitive line ratios exist in the wavelength interval 12-17 A for the ions Fe XVII-XXI. The prominent role of radiative recombination in the population kinetics distinguishes the density-sensitive Fe lines in photoionized plasmas from those which operate in coronal equilibrium plasmas. The results of detailed atomic modeling of these ions are presented and applications to spectroscopic observations of accretion-driven X-ray sources are discussed.

Liedahl, Duane A.↗

Broad, variable absorption lines in the Seyfert Galaxy NGC 3516 - Probing the structure of the emission-line regions

Nineteen short-wavelength IUE archive images were analyzed in order to probe the structure of the active nucleus in NGC 3516, an SB0 Seyfert I galaxy. The measurements of these features are presented, and the strength, variability, and morphology of the emission and absorption lines and their relation to the continuum are analyzed. It is shown that the absorption must arise within 10 pc of the nonthermal continuum source and that its variability must stem from changes in the velocity space coverage of clouds optically thin to the Lyman continuum. Two possible sites of absorption are discussed: dense clouds in the narrow-line region and optically thin clouds in the broad-line region. A theoretical model that explains the anticorrelation of C IV absorption with continuum flux is described.

Voit, G. Mark↗

Far-infrared CO line emission from Orion-KL

Far-IR and submillimeter observations of the hot, dense, shocked region surrounding the Kleinmann-Low nebula indicate that, in addition to a 2000 K component known from 2-micron observations, the hot shocked gas includes a large component at 750 K that dominates the 12-micron H2 line and far-IR CO line emission. The CO/H2 abundance ratio inferred for the shocked gas corresponds to 20 percent of the cosmic abundance of C existing in the form of CO. All the postshock gas, possibly even the plateau source, exists in the form of thin sheets perpendicular to the line of sight or in the form of clumps.

Watson, D. M.↗

X-ray iron-line emission from the SN 185 remnant

Radio and optical research was carried out in order to show that the supernova remnant RCW86 is a remnant of the earliest supernova event ever recorded in history (185 AD). The results are as follows: (1) an iron-line emission was found at 6.7 keV; (2) the temperature measured from HEAO-1 was approximately 6 keV; and (3) the equivalent width was consistent within the uncertainties with a cosmic iron abundance. These results support the identification of the supernova remnant RCW86 (it's X-ray source) with the historic supernova event.

Winkler, P. F.↗

High-resolution emission-line imaging of Seyfert galaxies. I - Observations. II - Evidence for anisotropic ionizing radiation

A CCD direct imaging survey of 11 Seyfert galaxies with a mean seeing of 1.3 arcsec FWHM is presented. It is found that the major axes and spatial scales of the circumnuclear emission-line gas are very similar to those of the radio continuum sources. In the second part, this close connection between thermal and relativistic gases is examined. A scenario is proposed in which the radio jets and plasmoids shock, accelerate, and compress ambient and entrained gas, with the dominant source of ionization being the nonstellar nuclear UV continuum.

Haniff, Christopher A.↗