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At least 631 records · Page 35
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NASA NTRS1985

Infrared measurements of atmospheric ethane (C2H6) from aircraft and ground-based solar absorption spectra in the 3000/cm region

A number of prominent Q-branches of the nu-7 band of C2H6 have been identified near 3000/cm in aircraft and ground-based infrared solar absorption spectra. The aircraft spectra provide the column amount above 12 km at various altitudes. The column amount is strongly correlated with tropopause height and can be described by a constant mixing ratio of 0.46 ppbv in the upper troposphere and a mixing ratio scale height of 3.9 km above the tropopause. The ground-based spectra yield a column of 9.0 x 10 to the 15th molecules/sq cm above 2.1 km; combining these results implies a tropospheric mixing ratio of approximately 0.63 ppbv.

Coffey, M. T.↗
NASA NTRS1985

The ultraviolet spectra of active galaxies with weak optical Fe II lines

Very weak optical Fe II lines are noted in the present simultaneous optical and IUE spectra of the two Seyfert galaxies Mrk 290 and Mrk 915. Strong and distinct UV features are also observed in the spectrum of Mrk 290. A synthetic spectrum fitting is conducted for all spectral features between 1900 and 5500 A, using the calculations of Netzer and Wills (1983). IUE archival spectra of the broad line radio galaxy 3C 390.3 is compared with optical data obtained during the same year, and evidence is found for strong UV Fe II lines. The present results demonstrate several new aspects of the spectra of active galactic nuclei, including the great amount of energy emitted by Fe II lines and the possible importance of dust and/or very high density clouds in such objects.

Netzer, H.↗
NASA NTRS1985

The cosmic-ray spectra of H-1, H-2, and He-4 as a test of the origin of the hydrogen superfluxes at solar minimum modulation

Low-energy 1-AU cosmic-ray spectra obtained using the IMP-8 satellite cosmic-ray telescope (Garcia-Munoz et al., 1975) at quiet times during the solar minimum of 1972-1977 are reported and combined with published data on that minimum and the previous one (1965), with a focus on the anomalous He-4 and heavy-nucleus spectra and proton and helium superfluxes observed in 1972-1977. The 56-MeV/nucleon H-2/H-1 and H-2/He-4 abundance ratios and the differential energy spectra are plotted versus time and solar modulation level over an entire cycle, and the proton and He superfluxes, which do not contribute to the anomalies, are attributed to the reduced levels of residual modulation present during 1972-1977.

Beatty, J. J.↗
NASA NTRS1986

A Search for Metal Lines in the Spectra of DA White Dwarfs

A theoretical analysis was carried out in order to interpret the ultraviolet spectra of DB white dwarfs obtained earlier with the International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE) satellite. Here the results of the IUE ultraviolet spectroscopy combined with visual data and model atmospheres of DB white dwarfs are reported. In particular, a search for spectra lines due to the element carbon using the ultraviolet was made. In no case is there a positive detection of carbon and from these data, and upper limits for carbon by number relative to helium are derived in the range of C: He 10 to the minus 5 power to 10 to the minus 7 power for the 16 DB stars with ultraviolet spectra in the temperature range 11400 K T sub EFF less than 2300 K. The low carbon abundances found in the atmospheres of the DB stars agree well with the hypothesis that the atmospheric carbon observed in the cooler DQ members of the helium-rich white dwarf sequence is produced by a convective dredging mechanism.

Wegner, G. A.↗
NASA NTRS1986

The statistical equilibrium of hydrogen and helium in a radiation field, with an application to interpreting Wolf-Rayet spectra

The interpretation of the intensities of the hydrogen and helium emission lines in O and Wolf-Rayet spectra in terms of the abundance of hydrogen relative to helium requires information regarding the distribution of hydrogen and helium atoms and ions over their several energy states. In addition, some estimate is needed regarding the transmission of the radiation through the stellar mantle. The present paper provides new information concerning the population of the energy levels of hydrogen and helium when statistical equilibrium occurs in the presence of a radiation field. The results are applied to an interpretation of the spectra of four Wolf-Rayet stars, taking into account the implications for interpreting the spectra of O stars, OB supergiants, and Be stars.

Bhatia, A. K.↗
NASA NTRS1986

A study of gravity-wave spectra in the troposphere and stratosphere at 5-min to 5-day periods with the Poker Flat MST radar

An analysis of frequency spectra at periods of about 5 days to 5 min from two 20-day sets of velocity measurements in the stratosphere and troposphere region obtained with the Poker Flat mesosphere-stratosphere-troposphere (MST) radar during January and June, 1984 is presented. A technique based on median filtering and averaged order statistics for automatic editing, smoothing and spectral analysis of velocity time series contaminated with spurious data points or outliers is outlined. The validity of this technique and its effects on the inferred spectral index was tested through simulation. Spectra obtained with this technique are discussed. The measured spectral indices show variability with season and height, especially across the tropopause. The discussion briefly outlines the need for obtaining better climatologies of velocity spectra and for the refinements of the existing theories to explain their behavior.

Bemra, R. S.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Deconvolution of spectra for intimate mixtures

Visible to near infrared reflectance spectra of macroscopic mixtures have been shown to be linear combinations of the reflections of the pure mineral components in the mixture. However, for microscopic mixtures the mixing systematics are in general nonlinear. The systematics may be linearized by conversion of reflectance to single scattering albedo (w), where the equations which relate reflectance to w depend on the method of data collection. Several proposed mixing models may be used to estimate mineral abundances from the reflectance spectra of intimate mixtures. These models are summarized and a revised model is presented. A noniterative (linear) least squares approach was used for curve fitting and the data, measured as bi-directional reflectance with incidence and emergence angles of 30 and 0 deg were converted to w by a simplified version of Hapke's equation for bi-directional reflectance. This model was tested with two mixture series composed of 45 to 75 micron particles: an anorthite-enstatite series and an olivine-magnetite series. The data indicate that the simplified Hapke's equation may be used to convolve reflectance spectra into mineral abundances if appropriate endmembers are known or derived from other techniques. For surfaces that contain a significant component of very low albedo material, a somewhat modified version of this technique will need to be developed. Since the abundances are calculated using a noniterative approach, the application of this method is especially efficient for large spectral data sets, such as those produced by mapping spectrometers.

Mustard, John F.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Photon-deficient Compton scattering by nonthermal electrons - Comparison with gamma-ray burst spectra

The model of gamma-ray-burst spectra proposed by Zdziarski and Lamb (1986, 1987) is reviewed and compared with observed spectra. In the model, the spectrum arises from multiple Compton scatterings in a nonthermal source with a deficit of soft photons. The steady-state electron distribution in such a source is a nonthermal power law that joins at low energies onto a thermal distribution that may be either optically thick or thin. Both cases lead naturally to a two-component spectrum with a photon-energy index in the X-ray spectrum which is much less than one and a photon-energy index in the gamma-ray spectrum which is larger than the X-ray photon-energy index. Fits to the observed gamma-ray-burst spectra (where data exist for both X-ray and gamma-ray energies) show good agreement with the model.

Zdziarski, Andrzej A.↗
NASA NTRS1988

High resolution infrared absorption spectra of various trace gases present in the upper atmosphere of the Earth

The objective of NASA Grant NsG 7473 was to obtain and analyze high resolution infrared absorption spectra of various trace gases present in the Earth's upper atmosphere. The goal of the spectral analysis was to obtain values of absorption line strengths, widths and frequencies of sufficient accuracy for use in upper atmosphere trace gas monitoring. During the early phase of the grant, high resolution spectra were obtained from two instruments. One was the 0.02/cm resolution vacuum grating spectrometer at the Florida State University and the other was the 0.01/cm resolution Fourier transform spectrometer at the McMath solar telescope at the Kitt Peak Observatory. Using these instruments, a considerable amount of spectra of methane and hydrogen peroxide were obtained and analyzed. During the latter years of the project, data taking was halted while efforts were devoted to building a new 0.0025/cm resolution vacuum Fourier transform spectrometer. Progress during this phase of the grant then became greatly slowed due to a lack of suitable graduate students in the program. However, the instrument was completed and brought to the point of producing interferograms.

Hunt, Robert H.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Transient ionization and solar flare X-ray spectra

In this paper the effects of a transiently ionizing solar flare plasma on the X-ray spectrum of iron between 1.85 and 1.92 A are considered. The atomic physics of the nonequilibrium spectrum is discussed, and reasons for differences in appearance from ionization equilibrium spectra are explained. The effect of spectral resolution on the ability to detect transient ionization in the iron X-ray spectrum is illustrated by synthetic spectra. A synthetic transiently ionizing spectrum is applied to the interpretation of spectra obtained from the SOX 1 spectrometer on the Japanese Hinotori spacecraft. Some indications of transient ionization are found, although counting statistics negate a strong conclusion. A hypothetical spectrometer with about one order of magnitude more sensitivity than the SOX 1 Hinotori or the bent crystal spectrometer flown on the Solar Maximum Mission (SMM) is also considered. The ranges of plasma parameters such as plasma emission measure and density that are necessary for transient ionization to be detected by such an instrument are discussed.

Doschek, G. A.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Scalar and vector collisional interference in the vibration-rotation absorption spectra of H2 and HD

The only atomic or molecular spectra known to exhibit 'collisional interference' effects are those of H2 and its isotopes. Attention is presently given to the sharp absorption spectra of HD, which demonstrate collisional interference effects is a fashion that while surprising has been experimentally verified and theoretically characterized in detail. Collisional interference can dramatically alter the line shapes usually encountered in dipole absorption spectra, while nevertheless remaining narrow.

Herman, R. M.↗
NASA NTRS1987

The electronic spectra of mu-peroxodicobalt(III) complexes

Problems found in the determination of the electronic spectra of mu-peroxodicobalt(III) complexes are considered, and the common formation of different mu-peroxocomplexes upon oxygenation of Co(II)-ligand solutions is discussed. Three classes of spectra have been identified: (1) planar single bridged complexes; (2) nonplanar single-bridged complexes with a dihedral angle near 145 deg; and (3) dibridged mu-OH(-),O2(2-) complexes with a dihedral angle near 60 deg. All of the peroxide ligand-to-metal charge-transfer spectra are found to be consistent with a simple model that assumes a sinusoidal dependence of pi-asterisk O2(2-) energies and sigma-overlaps upon the dihedral angle.

Miskowski, Vincent M.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Velocity spectra in the irrotational flow outside a turbulent shear layer

The relationship between the spectra of the three normal stresses near a turbulent shear layer is derived from the constraint of irrotationality. The relationship implies that the common practice of determining time scales of the turbulence from spectra in the near field is not valid. This implication is reinforced by a discussion of the scaling of irrotational spectra that follows from the formulation of Phillips (1975).

Wood, D. H.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Analytic limits on the forms of spectra possible from optically thin collisional bremsstrahlung source models

The constraints on hard X-ray bremsstrahlung spectral forms required in order for them to correspond to physically acceptable (nonnegative) electron distributions in thin-target, thick-target, and thermal source models are discussed. The extent to which various spectra can be attributed to the different models is examined, showing that many possible spectra cannot be described by all, or in some cases, any of the models. It is shown that for any bremsstrahlung cross section, the thick-target and thermal models require that successively higher derivatives of the thin-target constraint have the appropriate sign. It is found that thermal models are the most restrictive, and that thin-target models are the least restrictive. Explicit analytic constraint expressions are derived for all three cases for the Kramers cross section and examples of acceptable and unacceptable spectra are given. Application of these criteria to the testing and exclusion of models is discussed.

Brown, John C.↗
NASA NTRS1988

The analysis of spectra of novae taken near maximum

A project to analyze ultraviolet spectra of novae obtained at or near maximum optical light is presented. These spectra are characterized by a relatively cool continuum with superimposed permitted emission lines from ions such as Fe II, Mg II, and Si II. Spectra obtained late in the outburst show only emission lines from highly ionized species and in many cases these are forbidden lines. The ultraviolet data will be used with calculations of spherical, expanding, stellar atmospheres for novae to determine elemental abundances by spectral line synthesis. This method is extremely sensitive to the abundances and completely independent of the nebular analyses usually used to obtain novae abundances.

Stryker, L. L.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Analysis of positron lifetime spectra in polymers

A new procedure for analyzing multicomponent positron lifetime spectra in polymers was developed. It requires initial estimates of the lifetimes and the intensities of various components, which are readily obtainable by a standard spectrum stripping process. These initial estimates, after convolution with the timing system resolution function, are then used as the inputs for a nonlinear least squares analysis to compute the estimates that conform to a global error minimization criterion. The convolution integral uses the full experimental resolution function, in contrast to the previous studies where analytical approximations of it were utilized. These concepts were incorporated into a generalized Computer Program for Analyzing Positron Lifetime Spectra (PAPLS) in polymers. Its validity was tested using several artificially generated data sets. These data sets were also analyzed using the widely used POSITRONFIT program. In almost all cases, the PAPLS program gives closer fit to the input values. The new procedure was applied to the analysis of several lifetime spectra measured in metal ion containing Epon-828 samples. The results are described.

Singh, Jag J.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Multifrequency spectra of BL Lac objects

A program to obtain simultaneous multifrequency spectra of BL Lacertae objects that are known X-ray sources is discussed. The IUE spectra are generally featureless and well-fitted by power law models. For the faintest exposures, Gaussian extraction of the spectrum can greatly impove the signal-to-noise. Most program objects vary in the ultraviolet, although the time scales are not known because of limited observing time. The broadband spectra of BL Lacs exhibit a range of characteristics but the curvature is always downward and the shape is generally smooth. This can be interpreted as synchrotron emission from a relativistic jet; different jet models are possible, and each allows a range of values for the bulk velocity, magnetic field strength, and electron density. Synchrotron models are not required, however an accretion disk model also gives a good fit to the ultraviolet-through-X-ray continuum.

Urry, C. M.↗
NASA NTRS1988

A method for improving the signal-to-noise ratio in IUE high-dispersion spectra

The flat-fielding technique was used to reduce fixed pattern noise in high dispersion IUE spectra, producing improvements in S/N of typically 40 percent compared with un-flat-fielded summed spectra. Weak spectral features may be more reliably identified. Such improvements are noted for specially obtained multiply-exposed images and for singly-exposed images taken from the IUE archives. However it is unclear if the technique is usable or as effective for all spectra.

Welty, Daniel E.↗