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At least 73 records · Page 4

Gamma heating in thin heavy-element absorbers.

Gamma heating rate measured by aqueous dosimeter converted to rate in thin tungsten detector in water shield through transport theory calculations, obtaining correction factors

Crum, R. J.↗

TLD measurements of gamma heating in heavy elements.

Measurements and calculations of gamma heating in polyethylene and lead containers were done and compared. The objective was to provide a workable method of getting good values for gamma heating in in-pile experiments containing materials of high atomic numbers. It was inferred that a combination of thermoluminescent dosimeter measurements, using Bragg-Gray theory, with photon transport calculations using the ANISN computer program, would meet this objective.

Reilly, H. J.↗

Development of an alpha scattering instrument for heavy element detection in surface materials

The development and characteristics of a portable instrument for detecting and measuring the amounts of lead in painted surfaces are discussed. The instrument is based on the ones used with the alpha scattering experiment on the Surveyor lunar missions. The principles underlying the instrument are described. It is stated that the performance tests of the instrument were satisfactory.

Turkevich, A. L.↗

A semiempirical model for heavy element depletion in the interstellar medium

An empirical relationship is derived which reproduces the observed depletion factors in interstellar gas by relating them to some preshock distribution factor and the binding energy of the elements in appropriate compounds. By fitting this equation to the data, estimates are obtained for both the distribution factor and the critical binding energy, which is related to the shock strength at which grains are completely destroyed. The critical binding energy value therefore provides an estimate of the energy involved in the most recent shock event, while the preshock distribution factor is related to the preshock elemental distribution between gas and dust. It is noted that the minerals most likely to survive are the refractory ones with the largest binding energies.

Trivedi, B. M. P.↗

The effect of heavy element opacity on the structure of H II regions

In the modeling of H II regions, there generally has been universal dismissal of opacity due to elements other than H and He. It is found that in certain cases, the trace elements do contribute substantially to the opacity, modifying the ionization equilibrium directly and having feedback on the thermal structure. When important, this effect will reduce the volume where some lines from high ionization states are produced and will decouple transition zones that have traditionally been assumed to be coextensive. The possible reconciliation of some recent problems where observations and theory appeared to be inconsistent with one another are discussed.

Rubin, R. H.↗

The pursuit of heavy elements in the HgMn-type star Chi Lupi: Observations with the GHRS in the COSTAR era

Observations of the ultra-sharp-lined HgMn star Chi Lupi made with the Goddard High Resolution Spectrograph (GHRS) after the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) First Servicing Mission display the effect of the Corrective Optics Space Telescope Axial Replacement instrument (COSTAR) upon the spectral resolution of several observing modes. The resolution is restored to levels expected in the absence of the telescope spherical aberration for all observations made through the GHRS Large Science Aperture (LSA). The Small Science Aperture (SSA) spectra are nearly identical in resolution to the pre-COSTAR values while benefiting from higher throughput. The line spread function for the LSA relative to the SSA shows little wavelength dependence and reflects a Gaussian profile approximately 20%-30% broader than for SSA spectra. Absorption features containing components of As II and Bi II represent upper limit enhancements of 2.9 and 2.1 dex for As II and Bi II, respectively, relative to meteoritic abundance determinations.

Wahlgren, Glenn M.↗

Hubble Space Telescope observations of cool white dwarf stars: Detection of new species of heavy elements

Observations of cool white dwarf stars with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) has uncovered a number of spectral features from previouslly unobserved species. In this paper we present the data on four cool white dwarfs. We present identifications, equivalent width measurements, and brief summaries of the significance of our findings. The four stars observed are GD 40 (DBZ3, G 74-7 (DAZ), L 745-46A (DZ), and LDS 749B (DBA). Many additional species of heavey elements were detected in GD 40 and G 74-7. In L 745-46A, while the detections are limited to Fe 1, Fe II, and Mg II, the quality of the Mg II h and K line profiles should permit a test of the line broadening theories, which are so crucial to abundance determinations. The clear detection of Mg II h and k in LDS 749 B should, once an abundance determination is made, provide a clear test of the hypothesis that the DBA stars are the result of accretion from the interstellar medium. This star contains no other clear features other than a tantalizing hint of C II 1335 with a P Cygni profile, and some expected He 1 lines.

Shipman, Harry↗

The Heavy Element Abundance in Groups of Galaxies

Over the past few years we have analyzed a sample of clusters observed by the Advanced Spacecraft for Cosmology Astrophysics (ASCA) X-ray satellite. We performed spatially resolved X-ray spectroscopy of a sample of 18 relaxed clusters of galaxies with gas temperatures below 4 keV. The spectral analysis was done using ASCA/SIS (Solid state Imaging Spectrometer) data combined with imaging data from ROSAT/PSPC (German acronym for X-ray satellite/Position Sensitive Proportional Counter) and Einstein/IPC (Imaging Proportional Counter) observations. We derived temperature profiles using single-temperature fits for all of the clusters in the sample, and also corrected for the presence of cold gas in the center of so-called 'cooling flow' clusters. For all of the clusters in the sample we derived Si and Fe abundance profiles. For a few of the clusters we also were able to derive Ne and S abundance profiles. We compared the elemental abundances derived at similar overdensities in all of the clusters in the sample. We also compared element mass-to-light ratios for the entire sample. We concluded that the preferential accretion of low entropy, low abundance gas into the potentials of groups and cold clusters can explain most of the observed trends in metallicity. In addition, we discussed the importance of preheating of the intracluster medium by Type II supernovae on the cluster scaling relations.

David, Laurence↗

The Origin and Distribution of Heavy Elements in the CD Groups MKW 4 and AWM 4

At this point, data for MKW4 have been received and those for AWM4 are still awaited. The MKW4 data have been fully analyzed and a complete manuscript is available and in final review by co-authors before submission for refereed publication. The following is a summary of our principal findings: We examined the distribution and properties of the hot gas which makes up the group halo. The inner halo shows some signs of structure, with circular or elliptical beta-models providing a poor fit to the surface brightness profile. This may be evidence of large-scale motion in the inner halo, but we do not find evidence of sharp fronts or edges in the emission. The temperature of the halo declines in the core, with deprojected spectral fits showing a central temperature of approximately 1.3keV compared to approximately 3keV at 250 arcsec. However, cooling flow models provide poor fits to the inner regions of the group and the estimated cooling time of the gas is long except within the central dominant galaxy, NGC4073. Abundance profiles show a sharp increase in the core of the group. We conclude that MKW4 is a fairly relaxed group, which has developed a strong central temperature gradient but not a large-scale cooling flow.

Vrtilek, Jan↗

Heavy Elements and Cool Stars

We report on progress in the analysis of high-resolution near-IR spectra of alpha Orionis (M2 Iab) and other cool, luminous stars. Using synthetic spectrum techniques, we search for atomic absorption lines in the stellar spectra and evaluate the available line parameter data for use in our abundance analyses. Our study concentrates on the post iron-group elements copper through zirconium as a means of investigating the slow neutron-capture process of nucleosynthesis in massive stars and the mechanisms that transport recently processed material up into the photospheric region. We discuss problems with the atomic data and model atmospheres that need to be addressed before theoretically derived elemental abundances from pre-supernova nucleosynthesis calculations can be tested by comparison with abundances determined from observations of cool, massive stars.

Wahlgren, Glenn M.↗