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At least 559 records · Page 31
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NASA NTRS1974

The solar abundance of beryllium

The solar abundance of beryllium is deduced from high-resolution Kitt Peak observations of the 3130.43- and 3131.08-A lines of Be II interpreted by the method of spectrum synthesis. The results are in good agreement with those previously obtained by Grevesse (1968) and by Hauge and Engvold (1968) and indicate that in the photospheric layers, beryllium is depleted below the chondritic value by a factor of about two. It is found that the beryllium abundance is equal to logN(Be)/N(H) + 12 = 1.08 plus or minus 0.05.

Ross, J. E.↗
NASA NTRS1974

The abundances of nuclei in the cosmic radiation

The relative abundances are treated as a consequence of processes in cosmic ray transport occurring during passage of the radiation through interstellar material at high velocity. Some of the subjects mentioned are nuclear fragmentation and the production of secondary nuclei, nuclear reactions, energy loss and nuclear decay, ionization, the range-energy relation and propagation variables, capture and loss of electrons, the propagation of nuclei, the transport equation, equilibrium solutions, energy-dependent path length distribution, exponential path length distributions, discrete spectra, sources, supernovae, and the origin of the abundances. The connection between the space-time features of the sources, the material traversed, and the effects of magnetic fields is established by describing the particle-field interaction as a diffusive or random-walk process.

Reames, D. V.↗
NASA NTRS1974

Solar particle events with anomalously large relative abundance of He-3

Experimental results are reported on three energetic particle events with extremely high abundance of He-3. The measurements were taken onboard the OGO-5 satellite. It was shown that the abundance of protons relative to He nuclei were significantly low in these events. Not more than four H-2 and three H-3 were detected during the entire period under study compared to 1110 H-3 nuclei. The limitations these observations place on theoretical models are discussed to explain He-3 flares.

Serlemitsos, A. T.↗
NASA NTRS1974

Elemental abundances in interplanetary dust

The paper reports on measurements taken of elemental abundances in two interplanetary dust grains. Meteoroidal residue found inside micrometeoritic craters was discovered by optically scanning the 800 sq cm aluminum surface of the S-228 transuranic cosmic-ray experiment exposed to space for 67d during the Skylab-IV mission. Crater analyses for two randomly sampled meteoroids showed a composition consistent with troilite in the 9 micron-minute particle. Chondritic abundances were found in the 30 micron-minute particle. Particles of similar size and chemistry were common in carbonaceous chondrite meteorites. The inferred grain sizes within the 30 micron-minute particle provided evidence for the similarity to carbonaceous chondrites rather than to other meteorite types.

Brownlee, D. E.↗
NASA NTRS1975

Oxygen-to-neon abundance ratio in the solar corona

The oxygen-to-neon abundance ratio in the solar corona is determined to be 4.7 + or - 1.5 on the basis of a relatively model-independent analysis utilizing 25 separate measurements of the O VIII to Ne IX resonance line ratio. The stated uncertainty includes random and possible systematic experimental error in the data but does not include possible error in the calculated flux ratios which have been fitted to the observations. This abundance ratio is smaller than most published results based upon EUV or X-ray observations but is in good agreement with direct measurements of flare cosmic rays.

Acton, L. W.↗
NASA NTRS1975

Isotopic abundance ratios for carbon and nitrogen in Nova Herculis 1934

Spectra of Nova Herculis 1934 taken during an episode of intense CN absorption are analyzed to determine the isotopic abundance ratios of C12/C13 and N14/N15. Synthetic spectrum analysis, based on the wavelengths, excitation potentials, and oscillator strengths for the CN lines, and radial velocity measurements indicate that C(12)N(14) was the dominant species in the Nova, and that the minimum abundance limit for C12/C13 is about 1.5, while the minimum for N14/N15 is about 2. The results are compared with predictions based on models of thermonuclear runaways in hydrogen-rich envelopes of white dwarfs. It is noted that the nova material may have been contaminated with C13-rich material prior to or during the eruption. Possible causes of this isotope enrichment are presented.

Sneden, C.↗
NASA NTRS1975

Effects of primordial fluctuations on the abundances of light elements

Some of the effects of primordial inhomogeneities on the production of H-2, He-3, and Li-7 are investigated. For the most part, temperature fluctuations have only small effects on the abundances. The density fluctuations are modeled by a unimodal distribution so that the Universe is characterized by the mean density and the relative amplitude of the density variations. It has been found that the constraint which H-2 production imposes on the mean mass density is eased somewhat by allowing for density inhomogeneities. However, unless the composition of the interstellar matter is atypical of most of the matter in the Universe, the mass density will be at least a factor of 3 below the critical density. For reasonable estimates of the pregalactic abundances, sufficient He-3 and Li-7 cannot be produced in the same model universe. Production of both Li-7 and H-2 requires large-amplitude primordial fluctuations, while sufficient He-3 and H-2 can be formed in very low-density, fairly homogeneous universes.

Epstein, R. I.↗
NASA NTRS1975

Solar particle events with anomalously large relative abundance of He-3

Energetic particle data are presented from a series of solar flares with a relative abundance of He-3 much higher than that of any previous events. The abundance of protons relative to He nuclei was significantly low in these events; not more than four H-2 and three H-3 were detected during the entire period under study, compared with 1110 He-3 nuclei. Results from these experiments are compared with data available from other investigations, and the limitations the former observations place on theoretical models to explain He-3-rich flares are discussed.

Serlemitsos, A. T.↗
NASA NTRS1974

Modeling the evolution of Sm and Eu abundances during lunar igneous differentiation

The current work presents models for the evolution of europium and samarium abundances during lunar igneous processes. The effect of probable variations in lunar temperature and oxygen fugacity, mineral-liquid distribution coefficients, and the crystallization or melting progression are considered in the model calculations. Changes in the proportions of crystallizing phases strongly influence the evolution of trace element abundances during fractional crystallization, and models must include realistic estimates of the major phase equilibria during crystallization. The results are applied to evaluating the possibility of generating KREEP-rich materials by lunar igneous processes.

Weill, D. F.↗
NASA NTRS1974

Sulfur abundances and distributions in the valley of Taurus-Littrow

Total sulfur abundances have been determined for 36 Apollo 17 soil, breccia and crystalline rock samples. Sulfur concentrations range from 550 to 1300 micrograms S/g for soil samples, with the orange soil containing the lowest amount of sulfur. Noritic breccias contain between 720 and 950 micrograms S/g, while the anorthositic rocks have sulfur contents of 270 and 368 micrograms S/g. The dunite 72415 contained the lowest sulfur content (44 micrograms S/g) of any Apollo 17 sample studied. Apollo 17 basalts have unusually high sulfur contents (1580-2770 micrograms S/g) as compared to Apollo 12 and 15 basalts and terrestrial basalts. Sulfur abundances for the Apollo 17 basalts are almost identical to those from Apollo 11 basalts. A negative correlation between percent metallic iron and total sulfur for the Apollo 17 and 15 basalts was found and suggests that a portion of the metallic iron in lunar basalts may result from desulfuration of the melt prior to crystallization from the lunar magma.

Gibson, E. K., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS1975

Semiperiodic variations in CO2 abundance on Venus

Tests of the uniqueness of periodicity in the strength of the P branch (P2-P38) of the 8689 A CO2 band on Venus are described. It was found that the observed 4-day periodicity was not unique. The periodicity indicated an increasing asymmetry between the northern and southern hemispheres with approach to inferior conjunction or with increasing phase angle. When the slit positions of the various scans were referred to the planet or atmospheric equator rather than to the intensity equator, at inferior conjunction, the slit positions having a factor of two greater CO2 abundance or line strength were over the polar latitudes of the atmosphere. Similarly, the lower-abundance slit positions were over the equatorial latitudes of the atmosphere. It is thus concluded that the level of line formation must be lower over polar latitudes than over equatorial regions.

Barker, E. S.↗
NASA NTRS1975

Metal abundances of RR Lyrae stars in galactic globular clusters

Results are reported for image-tube scanner measurements of Preston's (1959) metal-abundance indicator and metallic-line absorption in the G-band region (4285 to 4317 A) of 47 RR Lyrae stars in 12 galactic globular clusters and 67 RR Lyrae field stars. The relationship (Fe/H) is defined and determined from curve-of-growth analyses of 13 RR Lyrae field stars, while a comparison of metal-abundance vs metallic-line absorption relationships derived for the field and cluster stars indicates that both groups can be calibrated in the same way. Based on this calibration, (Fe/H) values are deduced for the globular-cluster stars and the clusters themselves. It is found that the alpha-rich phenomenon is present in these stars and is confined to calcium and titanium.

Butler, D.↗
NASA NTRS1976

Calcium abundance variations in diffuse interstellar clouds

Observations are discussed which show that the Na I/H2 column-density ratio is relatively constant among different clouds where H2 is optically thin, but the Na I/Ca II column-density ratio varies. This implies that the gas-phase abundance of calcium is variable. It is proposed that the wide variation in the gas-phase calcium abundance can be explained by small variations in the calcium content of grains. The observed enhancement of the Ca II/Na I column-density ratio with cloud velocity is attributed to grain destruction in grain-grain collisions within the same cloud. The structure of shock waves propagating through the interstellar gas is computed, and the grain-destruction model is compared with observational data.

Jura, M.↗
NASA NTRS1976

Rare earth element abundances in rocks and minerals from the Fiskenaesset Complex, West Greenland

The paper reports activation-analysis determinations of rare-earth-element (REE) and other trace-element concentrations in selected rocks, plagioclase, and mafic separates from the Fiskenaesset Complex. The REE abundances are found to be very low and atypical in comparison with other terrestrial anorthosites. The plagioclases are shown to be characterized by a deficiency in heavy RE elements relative to light ones and a positive Eu anomaly, while the mafic separates are enriched in heavy rare earths and have no Eu anomaly, except in one sample. It is found that the bulk and trace-element abundances of the plagioclases are similar to those observed in some lunar anorthosites, but the degree of Eu anomaly is less in the plagioclases. The data are taken as confirmation of the idea that fractionation processes were involved in the origin of the Complex, and it is concluded that the Complex may have been produced from a magma generated by partial melting of a garnet-bearing source.

Henderson, P.↗
NASA NTRS1976

Interstellar cloud evolution and the abundance of formaldehyde

The time scale for essentially complete conversion of C(+) to CO in interstellar clouds can be comparable to, or greater than, dynamical time scales for evolution, therefore suggesting steady state time independent abundances to be inappropriate. The solutions for the time-dependent carbon chemistry in dense clouds, with density not less than 500/cu cm, indicate that significant amounts of neutral carbon will be present throughout a cloud's lifetime. These nonequilibrium values of C I can explain the relatively large abundances observed for formaldehyde, isotopes of carbon monoxide, and other trace molecules

Langer, W. D.↗
NASA NTRS1977

Isotopic abundance of CO in interstellar clouds

The fractional abundances of the isotopic species of carbon monoxide in interstellar clouds are calculated on a basis of gas-phase ion-molecule reactions. The (C-13)O/(C-12)O ratio varies significantly with extinction of the ultraviolet radiation field, and in the outer regions of dark dense clouds (C-13)O may be enhanced by a factor of 10. The observational interpretation of the CO to H2 or interstellar-reddening relation and the isotopic abundances of carbon are complicated by these effects.

Langer, W. D.↗
NASA NTRS1977

Nebular condensation of moderately volatile elements and their abundances in ordinary chondrites

Two models accounting for the concentrations of moderately volatile elements in ordinary chondrites are discussed. The first relies on an apparent correlation between ordinary chondrite/type-I carbonaceous chondrite abundance ratios and ideal solution-condensation temperatures of such elements as Sn, Cu, Li, Na, and Mn to construct a model in which volatiles are lost as gases before nebular condensation or as finely-divided solids that are incompletely agglomerated, and the condensation/agglomeration efficiency declines as a function of time. The second theory largely discounts this gas-dust diffraction effect and instead proposed condensation on matrix and volatization from chondules and coarse metal grains as mechanisms explaining the apparent existence of three distinct classes of volatile-element abundance in ordinary chondrites.

Wai, C. M.↗
NASA NTRS1977

Carbon and nitrogen abundances in F- and G-type stars

Carbon and nitrogen abundances have been obtained for a sample of 11-F- and G-type dwarfs covering a range in Fe/H abundance ratio from -0.8 to +0.3. Model atmospheres, which included the effects of convection and line blanketing, were used to calculate synthetic spectra of the CH, CN, and NH molecular bands. Effective oscillator strengths for the bands studied were found by matching synthetic spectra calculated from a model solar atmosphere with the observed solar bands. Many of the metal-poor stars, and particularly the high-velocity stars, were found to have substantial nitrogen over-deficiencies, suggesting that N is manufactured mostly in a secondary manner. The carbon-to-iron ratios were similar to the solar ratio, although there may be slight C over-deficiencies in metal-poor stars. However, the variation in C/Fe is not as marked as that found recently by Hearnshaw (1974). A comprehensive discussion of the theoretical errors is given, and some applications to Galactic evolution are noted.

Clegg, R. E. S.↗