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At least 991 records · Page 55
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2005

Spectroscopy of neutral and ionized PAHs. From laboratory studies to astronomical observations

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) are an important and ubiquitous component of carbon-bearing materials in space. PAHs are the best-known candidates to account for the IR emission bands (UIR bands) and PAH spectral features are now being used as new probes of the ISM. PAHs are also thought to be among the carriers of the diffuse interstellar absorption bands (DIBs). In the model dealing with the interstellar spectral features, PAHs are present as a mixture of radicals, ions and neutral species. PAH ionization states reflect the ionization balance of the medium while PAH size, composition, and structure reflect the energetic and chemical history of the medium. A major challenge for laboratory astrochemistry is to reproduce (in a realistic way) the physical conditions that are associated with the emission and absorption interstellar zones. An extensive laboratory program has been developed at NASA Ames to assess the physical and chemical properties of PAHs in such environments and to describe how they influence the radiation and energy balance in space and the interstellar chemistry. PAHs, neutrals and ions, are expanded through a pulsed discharge nozzle (PDN) and probed with high-sensitivity cavity ringdown spectroscopy (CRDS). These laboratory experiments provide unique information on the spectra of free, cold large carbon molecules and ions in the gas phase from the ultraviolet and visible range to the near-infrared range. Intrinsic band profiles and band positions of cold gas-phase PAHs can now be measured with high-sensitivity spectroscopy and directly compared to the astronomical data. Preliminary conclusions from the comparison of the laboratory data with astronomical observations of interstellar and circumstellar environments will also be discussed.

Salama, Farid↗
NASA NTRS2010

Observing the First Stars in Luminous, Red Galaxies

Modern cosmological simulations predict that the first stars are to be found today in luminous, red galaxies. Although observing such stars individually against a background of younger, metal-rich stars is impossible, the first stars should make their presence known by their strong, line-free ultraviolet flux. We have found evidence for a UV-bright stellar population in Sloan spectra of LRG's at z=0.4-0.5. We present arguments for interpreting this UV-bright stellar population as the oldest stars, rather than other types of stellar populations (e.g. young stars or blue straggler stars in the dominant, metal-rich stellar population

Heap, Sally↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Initial On-Orbit Spectral Calibration of the PACE Ocean Color Instrument

The NASA Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, and ocean Ecosystem (PACE) mission Project Science Team has used Ocean Color Instrument (OCI) measurements of Fraunhofer lines in spectra of sunlight reflected by the solar diffuser and measurements of atmospheric absorption bands in cloudtop and ocean spectra to characterize the spectral calibration of OCI on orbit. Multiple lines have been analyzed for both the ultraviolet to visible (UVVIS, 340−607 nm) and visible to near-infrared (VISNIR, 597−897 nm) grating spectrographs. The spectrographs yield hyperspectral observations with 5 nm bandwidths and 0.625 nm sampling intervals. The on-orbit observations have been compared with the prelaunch spectral calibration of OCI performed by the Goddard Laser for Absolute Measurement of Radiance (GLAMR) during thermal vacuum testing to track any changes in the calibration since launch. The calibration analyzed the line positions and strengths for the Fraunhofer lines for each spectrograph by comparing the solar spectra measured by OCI with predicted solar spectra derived from the solar reference spectrum and the BRDF of the solar diffuser, convolved with the OCI relative spectral responses. The calibration also compared the line positions of the atmospheric absorption bands with the model transmissions used by the PACE Project. The line position comparisons show that the root mean square (RMS) spectral difference between the measured and predicted spectra is 0.15 nm, the average spectral shift is 0.062 nm, and the residual spectral dispersion over the wavelength range of the Fraunhofer lines is 0.17 nm. All three estimates of the spectral accuracy of OCI meet the instrument functional requirement of a spectral accuracy of 0.5 nm and are well within the 0.625 nm sampling interval of the data. The line strength comparisons between measured and predicted spectra are essentially the same. These results show that the spectral calibration of OCI on orbit has not drifted since the prelaunch calibration of OCI by GLAMR and that the on-orbit spectral calibration of OCI is stable over time. These results also provide a baseline for monitoring the future spectral performance of OCI on orbit.

Radiometric Calibration↗
NASA NTRS1969

Extinction in the far ultraviolet.

Interstellar grain model consisting of elongated dielectric particles represented by infinite circular cylinders reproducing observed interstellar extinction in IF far UV spectra

Greenberg, J. M.↗
NASA NTRS1972

Energy Distributions and spectra of Orion B stars

New MK spectral types and energy distributions are presented for B stars in Orion for which far ultraviolet flux excesses have recently been discovered. Significant differences between HD spectral energy distributions show the Orion late B stars to have smaller Balmer discontinuities than do field stars of the same spectral types. For the late B stars, these effects cause the 1500 A fluxes to be under-estimated by approximately 0.5 mag. No comparable systematic effects were found for the early B stars.

Schild, R. E.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Anomalous ionization seen in the spectra of B supergiants

An IUE survey of B supergiants has been conducted to study the persistence with spectral type of the ultraviolet resonance lines of N V, C IV and Si IV. N V is seen as late as B2.5Ia, C IV until B6Ia and Si IV throughout the range from B1.5 to B9. This is in fairly good agreement with the Auger ionization model of Cassinelli and Olson (1979). The terminal velocities are derived for the 20 stars in the sample and it is found that the ratio v(T)/v(esc) decreases monotonically with spectral type from the value of 3.0 that it has in the O spectral range to the value 1.0 at B9Ia.

Cassinelli, J. P.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Ultraviolet spectroscopy of the nova-like variable V3885 Sagittarii /= CD -42 deg 14462/

Low-dispersion long and short wavelength IUE spectra of the nova-like system V3885 Sgr were obtained on 1979 August 24 UT. The UV spectrum exhibits strong, high-temperature absorption lines of C III, C IV, He II, N IV, N V, and Si IV which all have relatively large negative velocities of 600-1000 km/s at their line centers. The C IV (1550 A) features shows a P Cygni-type profile with a blueshifted absorption line; the presence of the P Cygni-type feature strongly suggests a significant mass outflow from the system in the form of a hot stellar wind. The observed continuum fluxes are fitted with theoretical accretion disk model fluxes, and a tentative physical interpretation of the observed spectral properties is presented.

Guinan, E. F.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Ultraviolet spectrophotometry of three LINERs

Three galaxies known to be LINERs were observed spectroscopically in the ultraviolet in an attempt to detect the presumed nonthermal continuum source thought to be the source of photoionization in the nuclei. NGC 4501 was found to be too faint for study with the IUE spectrographs, while NGC 5005 had an extended ultraviolet light profile. Comparison with the optical light profile of NGC 5005 indicates that the ultraviolet source is distributed spatially in the same manner as the optical starlight, probably indicating that the ultraviolet excess is due to a component of hot stars in the nucleus. These stars contribute detectable absorption features longward of 2500 A; together with optical data, the IUE spectra suggest a burst of star formation about 1 billion yr ago, with a lower rate continuing to produce a few OB stars. In NGC 4579, a point source contributing most of the ultraviolet excess is found that is much different than the optical light distribution. Furthermore, the ultraviolet to X-ray spectral index in NGC 4579 is 1.4, compatible with the UV to X-ray indices found for samples of Seyfert galaxies. This provides compelling evidence for the detection of the photoionizing continuum in NGC 4579 and draws the research fields of normal galaxies and active galactic nuclei closer together. The emission-line spectrum of NGC 4579 is compared with calculations from a photoionization code, CLOUDY, and several shock models. The photoionization code is found to give superior results, adding to the increasing weight of evidence that the LINER phenomenon is essentially a scaled-down version of the Seyfert phenomenon.

Goodrich, R. W.↗
NASA NTRS1980

X-ray and ultraviolet spectroscopy of Cygnus X-1 = HDE 226868

Observations of Cygnus X-1 with the solid-state spectrometer on the Einstein Observatory are presented. The X-ray spectra of two intensity dips viewed near superior conjunction did not exhibit increased photoelectric absorption. Rather, the data support a model in which an increase in the electron-scattering optical depth modifies both the observed spectrum and the intensity. The characteristic temperature of the intervening material is greater than about 50 million K. These measurements were in part simultaneous with observations by IUE. The ultraviolet spectrum and intensity remained relatively constant during an X-ray intensity dip.

Pravdo, S. H.↗
NASA NTRS1999

A Reconnaissance of the 900-1200 A Spectra of Early O Stars in the Magellanic Clouds

Far-UV spectrograms of ten very hot stars in the Magellanic Clouds were obtained with the Hopkins Ultraviolet Telescope during the Astro-2 mission in March 1995. Very few normal OB stars were observed during Astro-1, and the only significant prior sample of such objects in this wavelength range was that obtained by Copernicus of stars near the Sun. The Magellanic Cloud sample offers the advantages of low reddening, a range in metallicity, and more extreme temperatures and luminosities than represented in the near solar neighborhood. Several interesting phenomena were found in the HUT MC sample, including very strong O VI wind profiles in O3 spectra; anomalous CNO wind features corresponding to abundances altered by stellar nucleosynthesis; weak wind features due to the metal deficiency of the Small Magellanic Cloud; and interstellar molecular hydrogen features originating in the MCs. The results were presented and discussed as a small atlas, and they were shown at the Pittsburgh AAS meeting in June 1995. A correlative atlas of Copernicus data was also prepared and published under the auspices of this grant. These publications will serve as resources for the characterization of the FUSE observations of related objects to hopefully be obtained soon. I believe that the large differences among the strong wind features in the HUT data, corresponding to CNO and systemic metallicity effects, are amenable to some relative quantitative analysis, and I shall endeavor to promote such in conjunction with HST data at longer wavelengths for the same stars (which has also not yet been completely analyzed) at a future opportunity.

Walborn, Nolan↗
NASA NTRS1981

Ultraviolet spectroscopy of comets

Results of observations of comets in the ultraviolet are reviewed in relation to their significance for the chemistry and physics of the cometary coma and the composition of the cometary ice. Ultraviolet cometary observations began in 1970, when a hydrogen envelope was discovered extending millions of kilometers from the nucleus of comet Bennett, and continued with the discovery of oxygen and carbon in comet Kohoutek and the acquisition of comprehensive UV spectra from comets West (1976 VI), Seargent (1978 XV) and Bradfield (1979 X). The available cometary spectra are remarkably similar, indicative of a common composition and origin for comets and the insignificance of chemical reactions in the inner coma to species abundances. Ultraviolet spectroscopy has also allowed the determination of gas production rates from either the surface brightness or the total luminosity in a given spectral line. IUE observations of comet Bradfield reveal the water production rate to vary as the -3.7 power of heliocentric distance from 0.71 to 1.55 AU, incompatible with solar energy input as the controlling influence on water vaporization.

Feldman, P. D.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Voyager observations of the interstellar medium in the 500- to 1700-A spectral region

Observations of the interstellar medium have been obtained in the 500-1700-A spectral region by the ultraviolet spectrometers installed on the Voyager spacecraft. A preliminary analysis of the least complex of the spectra obtained to date indicates measurable emission in spectral lines at 584, 1026, and 1216 A. These emissions are identified with resonance scattering of solar radiation in transitions of helium and atomic hydrogen. The observations in the direction alpha 324 deg, delta-23 deg contain no measurable direct emission or scattering of stellar radiation by the interstellar medium to an upper limit of 0.0005 R/A at 975 A. Spectra obtained in other directions indicate measurable sources of apparent continua having relatively broad spatial extent.

Shemansky, D. E.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Balloon-borne ultraviolet stellar spectrograph. I - Instrumentation and observation. II - Highlights of first observational results

A dual star-tracking system and a system including a telescope, an echelle spectrograph, and a SEC vidicon are the chief components of the Balloon-borne Ultraviolet Stellar Spectrograph (BUSS), which has flown four successful missions. The BUSS missions have yielded 81 spectra for 56 stars, recorded with a resolution of 0.1 A in the wavelength range from 2200 to 3400 A. BUSS observations include: profiles of Mg II lines indicating considerable mass flow in early-type supergiants; Mg II features suggesting a cool expanding outer shell above a hotter chromosphere; emission features in Zeta Tau (a shell star) indicating infalling material; and emission features of the Be star Phi Per suggesting mass outflow.

Kondo, Y.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Ultraviolet /UV/ emission line mapping of selected regions in the Orion Nebula

Digital processing of data from the International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE) satellite are used to obtain monochromatic mosaic images of the most prominent UV spectra lines at 35 locations in the central region of the Orion Nebula. The image processing techniques include calculations of the spectrograph orientation and the thermal effects, normalization for exposure time, background subtraction, correction for sensitivity variation within the IUE spectrograph aperture, correction to an absolute flux scale, sample interpolation, and display on graphic devices. The resulting UV emission line intensity maps may be used in conjunction with observations of other wavelength regions to determine the spatial distribution of ionization and abundance levels of carbon and oxygen in Orion.

Turnrose, B. E.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Current ideas on the nature of comets

The chemical composition, emission and line spectra, and structure of comet nuclei, cometary atmospheres, and comet tails are discussed. The role of ultraviolet and infrared astronomy in defining comets is examined.

Rahe, J.↗
NASA NTRS1984

A solar spectral line list between 10 and 200 A modified for application to high spectral resolution X-ray astronomy

A spectral line list for the 10-200 A range is developed from existing solar spectra for application to high spectral resolution measurements of astrophysical plasmas. The solar spectral line lists are merged into a single comprehensive list. The effect of the solar emission measure distribution is removed from the line intensities, which results in a set of emission rates for the lines that can be applied to many optically thin, low density high temperature plasmas in ionization equilibrium. In addition to the measured solar lines, 250 theoretical lines are added to this list. These lines fall in wavelength regions where the existing solar lists have few lines because of limitations in instrumental sensitivity. Also, some lines have been added because the sun has very little plasma at temperatures of about one million K, and consequently these lines are weak or absent in solar spectra. The entire list contains about 600 lines. Finally, predicted spectra of the two RS CVn stars, alpha Aur (Capella) and UX Ari, are presented at 1 and 0.25 A spectral resolution. Also, the solar spectrum is shown at 1 A resolution, and the emission rate spectrum (spectrum not modified by an emission measure distribution) is shown at very high spectral resolution. The predicted spectra for Capella and UX Ari are based on results obtained from the Einstein and International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE) spacecraft.

Doschek, G. A.↗