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At least 955 records · Page 53
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NASA NTRS1992

Quenched carbonaceous composite - Fluorescence spectrum compared to the extended red emission observed in reflection nebulae

The photoluminescence (fluorescence) of a film of the laboratory-synthesized quenched carbonaceous composite (filmy QCC) is shown to have a single broad emission feature with a peak wavelength that varies from 670 to 725 nm, and coincides with that of the extended red emission observed in reflection nebulae. The rapid decay of the filmy QCC red fluorescence in air and of the stable blue fluorescence of the filmy QCC dissolved in liquid Freon suggests that the red fluorescence originates from the interaction of active chemical species and aromatic components in the filmy QCC. A material similar in nature to that of the filmy QCC may be a major component of interstellar dust.

Sakata, Akira↗
NASA NTRS1992

X-ray observations of planetary nebulae with binary nuclei

Einstein and EXOSAT satellite observations of X-ray emission from the planetary nebulae A63 and LoTr 5 are reviewed. Both of these systems contain binary central stars. No flux was detected from A63 (central star UU Sge). LoTr 5 (central star IN Com) is a previously unreported X-ray emitter; it showed no statistically significant X-ray variability. Three models for the source of the X-ray emission in such systems are considered in the light of these and previous results.

Apparao, K. M. V.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Extinction and scattering in the Orion Nebula - Comparison of optical and VLA 21 centimeter studies

We have compared VLA 21 cm continuum maps of M42 with extinction-corrected H-beta images and found that much of M42 has an excess of H-beta surface brightness. This is interpreted as reflection by particles lying close to the principal ionization front. Comparison of column densities of H I near M42 and extinction (C(H-beta)) indicates an excellent area-by-area correlation, establishing that most of the extinction in M42 arises in the neutral lid that lies on the near side of the nebula. A more quantitative comparison of (C(H-beta)) and N(H I), the column density, is consistent with this conclusion and indicates a dust scattering cross section per hydrogen atom that is similar to the value for the general interstellar medium. The usual model for extinction in the Trapezium region is that it occurs very near the stars and produces an anomalous reddening curve through modification of the nature or size distribution of the particles. These new results question the basic assumptions and conclusions of that model.

O'Dell, C. R.↗
NASA NTRS1992

The synchrotron bays of the Crab Nebula - A magnetic structure associated with a presupernova circumstellar disk

We investigate the nature of two large conical indentations in the Crab Nebula's synchrotron emission, commonly known as the east and west 'bays'. Optical images spanning nearly nine decades (1899-1988) reveal the bays to be long-lasting remnant features. Proper motions of the bays away from the remnant's center of expansion are consistent with their locations near the SN progenitor site in A.D. 1054. Based on their morphologies and polarization properties, the bays appear to be portions of a torus encircling the remnant's center of expansion. The nebular magnetic field wrapped around this torus blocks the pulsar's relativistic particles, resulting in the observed lack of synchrotron emission. We propose that this torus is the result of a presupernova disklike ejection not less than 0.1 solar mass by the Crab progenitor, similar to the ring around SN 1987 A. A 0.5 solar mass disk of He-rich filaments along the equatorial plane is probably also related to presupernova mass loss, which might explain the wide range of abundances seen among filaments.

Fesen, Robert A.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Formation of the dark bays in the Crab optical synchrotron nebula - Is the Crab pulsar wind bubble interacting with its progenitor's wind?

Models are presented for the formation of the two dark bays in the Crab optical synchrotron nebula, from which the optical synchrotron-emitting particles seem to be excluded. It is proposed that the bays are formed by the advance of the Crab pulsar's wind bubble into an ambient medium possessing a stratified density distribution with higher density in the plane of the bays than in other directions. The ambient density and degree of stratification required to produce the bays depends on whether the medium consists of a general interstellar medium, a progenitor stellar wind, or fast-moving supernova ejecta. In the case of an interstellar medium, the bays would be expected to move apart much more slowly than observed, and the required density would have to be implausibly high. It is concluded that the pulsar wind bubble is probably interacting with the slow wind from its progenitor, and it is shown that bays formed in this way agree with the observations reasonably well.

Li, Zhi-Yun↗
NASA NTRS1992

Submillimeter line observations of the proto-planetary nebula CRL 2688

The protoplanetary nebula CRL 2688 with 14-arcsec resolution was observed, and the envelope in CO, (C-13)O, CS, and H(C-13)N was mapped. The submillimeter lines show strong emission from two components of the envelope: a cold, dense, optically thick slow wind and a warm, optically thin fast wind. In the maps, the slow wind appears compact and circularly symmetric. A mass-loss rate in the fast wind of 0.00002 solar mass/yr is estimated, if the wind was continuous. The C-12/C-13 ratio in the fast wind is 5, compared to about 20 in the slow wind. The value in the HCN/CO abundance ratio may be lower in the fast wind than in the slow wind. It is argued that the velocity gradients are not caused by rotation, but rather by asymmetries in the envelope associated with the fast wind.

Jaminet, P. A.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Spectroscopy of the companion and bow-shock nebula of PSR 1957 + 20

We have obtained moderate-resolution spectra of the bow-shock nebula and companion of the eclipsing binary pulsar PSR 1957 + 20. These data give us a measurement of the nebular Balmer decrement and emission-line strengths and establish that the emission is due to a nonradiative shock. We have developed a computational model of the nebular emission that we fitted to the observed spectra to obtain a kinematic estimate of the system distance and the local ISM conditions. We have isolated the spectrum of the pulsar companion and follow its variation with the orbit. A lack of strong emission lines poses further problems for companion ablation with rapid thermally driven wind; the approximately 1.2 kpc distance indicated by our analysis suggests instead that the companion is bloated to near Roche-lobe contact.

Aldcroft, Thomas L.↗
NASA NTRS1992

The density profile of the elliptical planetary nebula NGC 3242

We present the three-dimensional density structure of the elliptical planetary nebula NGC 3242, deconvolved from its H-alpha image. Using the simplistic assumptions that each mass element preserves its original velocity, which is radial and depends only on latitude, we deduce from this density profile the variation of mass-loss rate from the progenitor of NGC 3242 with latitude and time. The resulting somewhat qualitative mass-loss geometry and history are used to constrain models for the formation of the elliptical structure of NGC 3242. We argue that a triple system, with a very close brown dwarf companion and a more massive distant tertiary star, is compatible with the morphology of NGC 3242. In this model the brown dwarf, of about 0.01 solar mass, shared a common envelope with the progenitor star, and spun up the envelope through deposition of angular momentum. The oblate rotating envelope blew an axisymmetrical wind. We suggest that the presence of a third star, with a mass of about 1 solar mass and an orbital period of about 4000 years, could have caused the large scale deviation from axial symmetry seen in the density structure.

Soker, Noam↗
NASA NTRS1992

Observational constraints on solar nebula nitrogen chemistry - N2/NH3

Observations of N2(+) and NH2 in Comet Halley and N2H(+) and NH3 in nine Galactic star-forming regions are used to determine the average N2/NH3 abundance ratio in these objects. For Comet Halley, N2/NH3 of about 0.1 is found, and for the quiescent gas in a sample of star-forming regions, N2/NH3 of about 170 +/- 100. The cometary N2/NH3 ratio corrected for gas-phase elemental nitrogen depletion in Comet Halley indicates that the gas component in the comet-forming region of the solar nebula was N2/NH3 of about 4. It is concluded that more realistic models which include condensation fractionation effects are required before the N2 and NH3 abundances in comet volatiles can be related to star-forming regions.

Womack, Maria↗
NASA NTRS1992

Evidence for a bipolar nebula around the peculiar B(e) star HD 45677 from ultraviolet spectropolarimetry

We report the first ultraviolet spectropolarimetry of the peculiar B-type emission-line star with infrared excess HD 45677. The observations were obtained during the 1990 December Astro-l space shuttle mission with the Wisconsin Ultraviolet Photo-Polarimeter Experiment, and cover the spectral range 1400-3220 A. We also present the first optical spectropolarimetry, extending from the atmospheric cutoff to about 7600 A. The observed UV/optical linear polarization displays a strong increase toward shorter wavelengths indicative of scattering by circumstellar dust. The position angle of the intrinsic polarization flips by 90 deg in the near-UV as expected from a bipolar reflection nebula.

Schulte-Ladbeck, R. E.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Stripping of a planetary nebula from the globular cluster M22

High-spatial resolution imaging in the O III lambda 5007 line of a planetary nebula (PN) in the globular cluster M22 reveals a strongly asymmetric (half-moon shaped) nebular morphology. We confirm that this peculiar morphology is caused by the distortion of stellar ejecta by the ram pressure of the ambient interstellar medium (ISM) through which the cluster is moving with a high velocity of 200 km/s. Emission knots visible in the leading (upstream) nebular section confirm theoretical expectations that the shell should have been fragmented by the Rayleigh-Taylor instability. Stripping of the PN from M22 by the ambient ISM is the first direct evidence for removal of gas from globular clusters. M22 is at a favorable location for the ram-pressure stripping to be effective, only 400 pc below the Galactic plane, well within a 2 kpc thick layer of ionized gas enveloping the plane. Ionized (or possibly neutral) gas in this layer, with a hydrogen density of about 0.1 cu/cm, is responsible for the observed interaction.

Borkowski, Kazimier J.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Identification of velocity systems in the inner Orion nebula

We have measured the properties of He I and Ca II optical absorption lines in the four Trapezium stars of M42 and Theta-exp-2 A Ori using CCD spectra of 3.3 km/s full width at half-maximum intensity (FWHM). A similar analysis was also done of previously published Na I spectra. Some lines are seen in all of the stars and others in as few as one. The 24 different line systems noted in specific ions are matched into 12 absorption velocity systems, three of which coincide with 21 cm H I absorption. Data from 20 different emission-line systems seen in a variety of ionization states are combined into eight emission-line velocity systems, one of which agrees with an absorption system. These data are combined to produce a line-of-sight model to M42, which has the special feature of identifying ionization fronts not only at the near side of the parent molecular cloud, but also on both sides of the neutral lid that overlies the optical nebula.

O'Dell, C. R.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Observations of the Crab pulsar and nebula by the EGRET telescope on the Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory

The Crab pulsar and nebula were observed three times in 1991 April to June by the Energetic Gamma-Ray Experiment Telescope (EGRET) on the Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory (CGRO): April 23 to May 7, May 16 to 30, and June 8 to 15. The results of analysis of the gamma-ray emission in the energy range from 50 MeV to more than 10 GeV are reported. The observed gamma-ray light curve exhibits two peaks separated in phase by 0.40 +/- 0.02, consistent with previous observations. The total pulsed emission from the Crab pulsar is found to be well represented by a power-law spectrum, softer than the spectrum measured by COS B (Clear et al., 1987). The interpulse emission has a harder spectrum than either of the pulses. The evidence for pulsed emission above 5 GeV in the EGRET data is not conclusive. Unpulsed emission in the energy range 50 MeV to 5 GeV was detected, with an indication of a hardening of the unpulsed spectrum above about 1 GeV. There was a significant change in the light curve over the 2 months of these observations, although the shape of the spectrum remained constant.

Nolan, P. L.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Observations of (S III) emission from Galactic radio sources - The detection of distant planetary nebulae and a search for supernova remnant emission

Narrow-band near-infrared imaging observations at wavelengths corresponding to forbidden S III 9069,9532 A have been carried out at the MDM 1.3 m telescope for 23 radio sources near the Galactic plane in an attempt to detect emission associated with nebulae marking the endpoints of stellar evolution. While none of the known remnants or remnant candidates were detected, 10 of the 11 PN candidates from a new radio imaging survey of the Galactic plane were clearly seen in the forbidden S III 9532 A line. We present a calculation of the relative efficacy of searching for PNe in the forbidden O III and forbidden S III lines; for the majority of all PNe, the observed forbidden S III 9532 A line is predicted to be stronger than forbiden O III 5007 A whenever the visual extinction exceeds 3 magnitudes. This makes forbidden S III the superior tracer of PNe at distances exceeding a few kpc. We briefly comment on the significance of this approach to defining the spatial distribution of the PN population of the Galaxy.

Kistiakowsky, V.↗
NASA NTRS1993

The spectrum of the central star of the planetary nebula in M22

New optical observations of the central star of the planetary nebula IRAS 18333-2357 in the globular cluster M22 show lines of H I, He II, C IV, N IV, and N V. The spectrum closely resembles the sdO star KS 292, which has surface abundances enhanced by products of hydrogen shell burning and helium burning, and an effective temperature of 75,000 K. The lines of C in IRAS 18333-2357 seem somewhat stronger than in KS 292, and the lines of N are considerably stronger. The presence of substantial hydrogen is surprising in view of the hydrogen-poor nature of the nebular ejecta. If IRAS 18333-2357 is as hot as its analog, its luminosity is about 14,000 lunar luminosity. This value is higher than that theoretically expected for single-star evolution of M22 cluster stars.

Harrington, J. P.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Silicon and carbon abundances in the Orion nebula

We assess the gas-phase abundances of Si and C from our recent measurements of Si(2+), C(2+), and C(+) in the Orion Nebula by expanding on our earlier 'blister' models. The C and Si abundances are derived from new IUE high-dispersion spectra of the C(2+) 1907, 1909 A and Si(2+) 1883, 1892 A lines and archival IUE data. Gas-phase Si/C = 0.016 in the Orion ionized volume and is particularly insensitive to uncertainties in extinction and temperature structure. The solar value is 0.098. Gas-phase C/H = 2.8 x 10 exp -4 and Si/H = 4.5 x 10 exp -6. Compared to solar, Si is depleted by a factor of about 8 in the ionized region, while C is much less depleted (factor of 1.3), if depleted at all. This suggests that most Si resides in dust grains even in the ionized volume. Thus, most of the observed forbidden Si II 34.8-micron emission in Orion does not arise in the H II region.

Rubin, Robert H.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Cometary globules in the southeast quadrant of the Rosette nebula

We present a study of newly identified cometary globules in the southeast quadrant of the Rosette nebula using the J = 1-0 transition of carbon monoxide. The globules are found to be blueshifted by about 6 km/s with respect to the adjacent Rosette molecular cloud. The masses of the globules vary from 50 to 300 solar masses, and their sizes are between 1 and 3 pc. Two of the globules have cometary morphology and show velocity gradients of about 1.5 km/s/pc along their symmetry axes. These globules are associated with the IRAS sources 06314+0421, X0632+043, 06322+0427, and 06327+0423 which coincide with local maxima in the (C-13)O emission. The derived physical parameters of the globules are found to be consistent with those predicted by recent theoretical models of photoevaporating cometary clouds. We suggest that star formation induced by radiation driven implosion has occurred.

Patel, Nimesh A.↗