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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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NASA NTRS1985

Detectability of extrasolar planetary transits

Precise stellar photometry can be used to detect other planetary systems. However, the intrinsic variability of stellar luminosity imposes a fundamental limit on the sensitivity of this method. Based on recent precise solar observations made from the Solar Maximum Mission satellite, it appears that the detection of earth-sized planets will be marginal during periods of high stellar activity. However, with a suitable photometer larger planets should be readily detectable even in the presence of stellar activity equal to that of the sun at the peak of its sunspot cycle. The high precision, multiple-star photometric system required to detect planets in other stellar systems could be used to monitor flares, starspots, and global oscillations.

Borucki, W. J.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Fe II emission line profiles in spectra of high luminosity non-coronal stars

The results of a program to study the winds of noncoronal late-type giant and supergiant stars with IUE are presented. The primary data for this study are profiles, fluxes, and velocities of the Fe II emission lines which occur throughout the 2200 to 3230 A region of the IUE long wavelength spectrographs. The apparent dependence of the Fe II profiles on stellar luminosity (surface gravity) and intrinsic line strength is discussed. The discovery of significant changes in the Fe II profiles in spectra of Gamma Crucis (M3 III), during the period 1978 to 1985, that suggest a substantial change in its outer atmosphere is noted.

Carpenter, Kenneth G.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Chromospheres and coronae in the T Tauri stars

The Tauri stars exhibit strong far ultraviolet emission lines of C II, III, IV; OI; Si II, III; IV; and sometimes N V and He II. Surface fluxes of the lines for several T Tauri stars were computed, drawing upon both International Ultraviolet Explorer observations and published spectra. The surface fluxes are quite high. The FUV lines together account for 0.1% of the stellar luminosity. These results indicate the presence of active relatively dense chromospheres. The Tauri stars showing very strong visual emission spectra exhibit weakened high temperature FUV lines of C IV and N V, as well as He II which may be produced by X-rays. In the same stars, no X-ray emission was detected with Einstein. Among all the T Tauri stars the X-ray luminosities are deficient by factors of 100 to 1000 compared to the FUV lines. It is argued that the X-ray flux has not been heavily absorbed by circumstellar gas, as has been previously suggested, but that the X-rays are truly underluminous, perhaps due to the stellar wind. It is suggested that the birth and development of the chromosphere and corona may be occurring during the T Tauri stage of protostellar evolution.

Imhoff, C. L.↗
NASA NTRS1998

The Space Interferometry Mission

The Space Interferometry Mission (SIM) is the next major space mission in NASA's Origins program after SIRTF. The SIM architecture uses three Michelson interferometers in low-earth orbit to provide 4 microarcsecond precision absolute astrometric measurements on approx. 40,000 stars. SIM will also provide synthesis imaging in the visible waveband to a resolution of 10 milliarcsecond, and interferometric nulling to a depth of 10(exp -4). A near-IR (1-2 micron) capability is being considered. Many key technologies will be demonstrated by SIM that will be carried over directly or can be readily scaled to future Origins missions such as TPF. The SIM spacecraft will carry a triple Michelson interferometer with baselines in the 10 meter range. Two interferometers act as high precision trackers, providing attitude information at all time, while the third one conducts the science observations. Ultra-accurate laser metrology and active systems monitor the systematic errors and to control the instrument vibrations in order to reach the 4 microarcsecond level on wide-angle measurements. SIM will produce a wealth of new astronomical data. With an absolute positional precision of 4 microarcsecond, SIM will improve on the best currently available measures (the Hipparcos catalog) by 2 or 3 orders of magnitude, providing parallaxes accurate to 10% and transverse velocities to 0.2 km/s anywhere in the Galaxy, to stars as faint as 20th magnitude. With the addition of radial velocities, knowledge of the 6-dimension phase space for objects of interest will allow us to attack a wide array of previously inaccessible problems such as: search for planets down to few earth masses; calibration of stellar luminosities and by means of standard candles, calibration of the cosmic distance scale; detecting perturbations due to spiral arms, disk warps and central bar in our galaxy; probe of the gravitational potential of the Galaxy, several kiloparsecs out of the galactic plane; synthesis imaging of circumstellar disks around young stellar objects; imaging the narrow-line regions of AGNs in the optical; direct distance determination of a half dozen nearby spiral galaxies using rotational kinematics, thereby sidestepping reddening and metallicity issues in the calibration of distance estimators like Tully-Fisher; imaging exozodiacal dust disks (when operating in its nulling mode, SIM will be sensitive, at a distance of (beta) Pic (20 pc), to scales ranging from 0.2 to 5 AU).

Unwin, Stephen C.↗
NASA NTRS1984

A survey of Mg II h and k emission in near-solar type stars

International Ultraviolet Explorer measurements of Mg II h and k emission fluxes are presented for 30 F and G stars that are on or near the main sequence and compared with Wilson's measurements of the Ca II H and K fluxes in these stars. The survey includes a large proportion of stars with very low chromospheric activity as well as 111 Tau, X(1) Ori and other examples of strong chromospheric emission. Emission cores are presented in all of the stars observed. A sharp lower limit to the flux in the cores of the k lines implies the existence of a minimum level of chromospheric activity in which the k line flux is a constant fraction of stellar luminosity. Reduction of Wilson's values to absolute fluxes produces a close correlation between Mg and Ca strength with possibly some dependence on color. For the most active stars, the Mg k and Ca fluxes are consistent with the presence of solar plage covering up to one half of the stellar surface. However, the ratio of k to h in these stars is much less than this simple interpretation predicts.

Doherty, L. R.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Review of methodology and technology available for the detection of extrasolar planetary systems

Four approaches exist for the detection of extrasolar planets. According to the only direct method, the planet is imaged at some wavelength in a manner which makes it possible to differentiate its own feeble luminosity (internal energy source plus reflected starlight) from that of the nearby host star. The three indirect methods involve the detection of a planetary mass companion on the basis of the observable effects it has on the host star. A search is conducted regarding the occurrence of regular, periodic changes in the stellar spatial motion (astrometric method) or the velocity of stellar emission line spectra (spectroscopic method) or in the apparent total stellar luminosity (photometric method). Details regarding the approaches employed for implementing the considered methods are discussed.

Tarter, J. C.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Optical veiling, disk accretion, and the evolution of T Tauri stars

High-resolution spectra of 31 K7-M1 T Tauri stars (TTs) in the Taurus-Auriga molecular cloud demonstrate that most of these objects exhibit substantial excess emission at 5200 A. Extrapolations of these data consistent with low-resolution spectrophotometry indicate that the extra emission is comparable to the stellar luminosity in many cases. If this continuum emission arises in the boundary layers of accreting disks, more than about 30 percent of all TTs may be accreting material at a rate which is sufficiently rapid to alter their evolution from standard Hayashi tracks. It is estimated that roughly 10 percent of the final stellar mass is accreted in the TT phase. This amount of material is comparable to the minimum gravitationally unstable disk mass estimated by Larson and it is speculated that the TT phase represents the final stages of disk accretion driven by gravitational instabilities.

Hartmann, Lee W.↗
NASA NTRS1994

X-ray sources in regions of star formation. 5: The low mass stars of the Upper Scorpius association

We report followup investigations of Einstein x-ray observations of the Upper Scorpius OB association. We identify 28 low mass pre-main sequence stars as counterparts of x-ray sources in the approximately = 7 square degrees of the OB association observed. Based on kinematics and lithium abundances, these stars are low mass members of the OB association. We use optical spectra and optical and near-IR photometry to determine the stellar luminosities, effective temperatures, masses, and ages. We show that the bolometric corrections and effective temperatures of the G and K stars are consistent with those of subgiants. The low mass stars have isochronal ages of 1-2 Myr, depending on the choice of evolutionary models, with very small dispersion (sigma approximately = 1 Myr). This age is significantly younger than the 5-6 Myr found for the more massive B stars. The small dispersion in stellar ages, less than 10% the sound-crossing time of the association, suggests that star formation was triggered. We present two scenarios for star formation in this association. In the two-episode scenario, formation of the low mass stars was triggered by a supernova explosion, and the low mass stars form quickly, with high efficiency. Alternatively, high and low mass star formation was all initiated at the same time, some 5-6 Myr ago, and the apparent systematic age difference is an artifact of how the isochrones are dated. The effect of the supernova is to terminate mass accretion and yield an apparently coeval population. We show that the incompleteness in the x-ray sampling is about 65%, and is strongly dependent on stellar mass. After correction for incompleteness, we estimate there are about 2000 low mass members (stellar mass less than 2 solar mass) of this association. The mass function in this association is indistinguishable from that of the field. The ratio of naked to classical T Tauri stars is much larger than in Tau-Aur, and may be attributable to the local environment. We also present observations of eight ROX sources associated with the rho Oph cloud, and observations of non-pre-main sequence (PMS) stars in our fields.

Walter, Frederick M.↗
DOE OSTI2025

Intrinsic alignment demographics for next-generation lensing: Revealing galaxy property trends with DESI Y1 direct measurements

We present direct measurements of the intrinsic alignments (IA) of over 2 million spectroscopic galaxies using DESI Data Release 1 and imaging from four lensing surveys: DES, HSC, KiDS, and SDSS. In this uniquely data-rich regime, we take initial steps towards a more tailored IA modelling approach by building a library of IA measurements across colour, luminosity, stellar mass, and redshift. We map the dependence between galaxy type -- in terms of rest-frame colour, strength of the 4000 Angstrom break, and specific star formation rate -- and IA amplitude; the bluest galaxies have an alignment consistent with zero, across low ($0.05

Siegel, J. [Princeton U.]↗
NASA NTRS1973

Stellar chromospheric models

Described are two basic types of theoretical models - radiative equilibrium and empirical - that are used to represent stellar chromospheres. The construction of radiative-equilibrium model atmospheres that show an outward temperature increase in the surface layers is reported. Also discussed is chromospheric cooling due to spectral lines. Solar empirical models describe the empirical determination of solar-type chromospheric models that, in order to match observations, imply a temperature rise substantially greater than that predicted by radiative equilibrium. Such a temperature rise must be largely due to mechanical heating. An attempt is made to apply a scaled solar chromospheric model to a star with a different surface gravity. The results suggest that the chromospheric optical thickness is sensitive to gravity and that the width of chromospheric line emission increases with stellar luminosity.

Avrett, E. H.↗
NASA NTRS1976

On the white dwarf HZ 43 as an extreme-ultraviolet source

It is confirmed by atmospheric modeling that both the visual continuum and the XUV spectrum (60 to 600 A) of HZ 43 can be fitted self-consistently with the emergent flux from a stellar atmosphere having an effective temperature of about 125,000 K and log g of at least 7. An examination of theoretical white-dwarf cooling sequences and estimates of the stellar luminosity indicate that the parameters of HZ 43 are consistent with a hot white dwarf of 0.6 to 1.2 solar masses. The age is estimated to be as short as 100,000 years, raising the possibility that the star may have ejected a planetary nebula or may be surrounded by an expanding H II region. It is concluded that the detection of a planetary nebula shell or an H II region around HZ 43 may provide an astrophysical test of the direct neutrino-electron interaction.

Durisen, R. H.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Star formation in the NGC 7129 region - A CO molecular-line and far-infrared continuum study

Results are presented for a joint radio/IR study of the region around NGC 7129, a reflection nebula seen against a large dark cloud. The results reported include high-angular-resolution (C-12)O and (C-13)O line measurements, high-angular-resolution observations in the range from 35 to 200 microns, and observations at 10 to 20 microns of selected objects in the nebula. Important constraints are placed on the total stellar luminosities, dust densities and temperatures, and heating and cooling processes occurring in the nebula. Specifically, it is found that: (1) the (C-13)O and dust column densities increase significantly from west to east across the nebula; (2) the (C-13)O column density in the vicinity of the two brightest visible stars decreases relative to the column density north and south of those stars; (3) kinetic temperature increases along the whole boundary of the nebulosity; and (4) the strongest far-IR source in NGC 7129 is coincident with the pre-main-sequence star LkH-alpha 234.

Bechis, K. P.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Thermal X-rays and deuterium production in stellar flares

The X-ray spectrum of flares is shown to be necessarily thermal up to at least 200 keV because the self-magnetic field of any electron stream required for a thick- or thin-target source is inconsistently large. The resulting flare model can then be related to stellar luminosity convection, and magnetic fields to result in a maximum possible gamma-burst and continuous X-ray flux. One of the most striking isotopic anomalies observed is the extreme enrichment of He-3 in some solar flares and the mysterious depletion of deuterium. The way in which deuterium may be produced and emitted in the largest flares associated with gamma-bursts but in amounts insufficient to support the tentative conclusion of Coleman and Worden (1976) is discussed.

Colgate, S. A.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Wave-driven winds from cool stars. II - Models for T Tauri stars

The Alfven wave-driven wind theory of Hartmann and MacGregor is applied to T Tauri variables, including modifications which permit the calculation of wind temperatures. It is shown that large wave fluxes generate low-temperature winds, which can radiate strongly in Balmer and other optical emission lines. If wave fluxes are restricted to be less than the stellar luminosity, mass loss rates are restricted to values less than or equal to 10 to the -8th solar mass per year. Although these mass loss rates are low in comparison to many previous estimates, it is shown that the wind models produce optical and ultraviolet emission roughly consistent with observations. The theory predicts large wave amplitudes, so that 'turbulent' velocities are generally comparable to, or larger than, local expansion velocities in the optical line-emitting regions, thus making the Sobolev approximation invalid. It is suggested that the discrepancy between the mass loss rates predicted here and previously estimated values is due to the inapplicability of the Sobolev approximation in T Tauri winds.

Hartmann, L.↗
NASA NTRS1983

The galactic spheroid

Analytic approximations and numerical simulations are used to derive the characteristic behavior of star counts in a galactic spheroidal population, whose visible stars' stellar luminosity function is obtainable for galactocentric distances between about 4 and 12 kpc from star count observations above 30 deg galactic latitude. The total densities of stars and of mass in the spheroid at the solar position are evaluated using different assumed luminosity functions, in order to extrapolate the measured values to a wider range of absolute magnitudes. The upper limits to the frequency of intermediate population stars are derived for the absolute visual magnitude range of 5-8. If such stars occur in either a flat disk with a scale height of 3 kpc or a spheroid with an ellipticity of 0.5, their local surface density is less than 1.8 times that of the spheroid.

Bahcall, J. N.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Age-rotation relationship for late-type main-sequence stars

With advancing spectral type and increasing age, late main-sequence stars exhibit monotonic decrease in rotational velocity. It is of great interest to extend the rotation-age relationship to stars of later spectral type. In recent times it has become possible to measure directly the rotational periods from the photometric modulation by Ca II H and K line emission. There have also been successful attempts to relate the chromospheric activity as manifested through Ca II H and K lines to the rotation period, and it was shown that the fraction of total stellar luminosity in Ca II H and K lines, corrected for photospheric contribution, is a function of a single parameter related to P and B-V. In the present investigation, this rotation-activity relation is utilized to infer the rotation periods as a function of spectral type. The period versus B-V plot is employed as a basis to infer that the rotational period of main-sequence stars is a single-valued function of mass (B-V color) and age.

Rengarajan, T. N.↗