SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “strong”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

SourceResearch connectionFrom yearThrough year

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 991 records · Page 55

All sources NASA NTRS DOE OSTI

NASA NTRS1994

Investigation of a laboratory candidate for the carrier of the 4430 A diffuse interstellar band

The 4430 A diffuse interstellar band (DIB) is unique among DIB's in that as one of the strong bands, it is the bluest strong band with no others observed at shorter wavelengths. This position at the edge of the DIF 'forrest' suggests it may be the easiest to replicate in the laboratory. In earlier experiments (Wdowiak 1980) an interesting candidate using a gas discharge followed by cryogenic matrix isolation was produced, and this report details its further investigation. This absorption feature, produced when 1 part CH4 in 200 parts Ar is discharged and frozen out approximately 10 K, is at a wavelength of 4500 A in the argon matrix. Our recent experiments strongly indicate it is due to a carbon-based reactive species that is stable against mercury vapor UV radiation, and not likely to be from a contaminant. The effect of matrix shift can be estimated by considering the blueward shift between Ar and Ne matrices in the cases of the pyrene and C60 cations. This suggests that a shift from 4500 A for an Af matrix to the vicinity of 4300 A for a Ne matrix and the gas phase is not unreasonable. A liquid He cooled Ne matrix isolation experiment was prepared to determine the wavelength of the feature in that matrix. Replacing CH4 with C2H2 results in an equivalent absorption due to C3, greatly diminished absorptions from C2 and Ch, and no observable feature at 4500 A. To date our experiments indicate CH4 is a favored precursor for production of the reactive carrier of the 4500 A feature. Perhaps C2H2 is not suitable because of its tendency to polymerize easily in the discharge.

Wdowiak, Thomas J.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Driven and unloading aspects of magnetospheric substorms

Issues concerning the 'driven' versus 'unloading' nature of substorms are presented. The original concepts attendant to this debate are presented and substorms are concluded to inextricably combine aspects that are driven with aspects that represent a loading-unloading system. For isolated substorms, the magnetosphere-ionosphere system is shown to exhibit a bimodal response to solar wind changes. A 20 min response characteristic is associated with the driven aspect of substorms, while a 1 hr response time is associated with unloading. It is found that for strong solar wind input conditions, the magnetospheric response becomes more nearly unimodal. This is interpreted in terms of a nonlinear dynamical evolution of the system. Simple analog models are described which capture the essence of the nonlinear magnetospheric behavior. These models exhibit chaotic transitions for strong driving conditions: this may explain the observed behavior of the magnetosphere during strong geomagnetic activity.

Baker, D. N.↗

NASA NTRS1995

A phenomenological treatment of rotating turbulence

The strong similarity between the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence and initially isotropic turbulence subject to rotation is noted. We then apply the MHD phenomenologies of Kraichnan and Matthaeus & Zhou to rotating turbulence. When the turbulence is subject to a strong rotation, the energy spectrum is found to scale as E(k) = C(sub Omega)(Omega(sub epsilon))(sup 1/2)k(sup -2), where Omega is the rotation rate, k is the wavenumber, and epsilon is the dissipation rate. This spectral form is consistent with a recent letter by Zeman. However, here the constant C(sub Omega) is found to be related to the Kolmogorov constant and is estimated in the range 1.22 - 1.87 for the typical values of the latter constant. A 'rule' that relates spectral transfer times to the eddy turnover time and the time scale for decay of the triple correlations is deduced. A hypothesis for the triple correlation decay rate leads to the spectral law which varies between the '-5/3' (without rotation) and '-2' laws (with strong rotation). For intermediate rotation rates, the spectrum varies according to the value of a dimensionless parameter that measures the strength of the rotation wavenumber k(sub Omega) = (Omega(sup 3)/epsiolon)(sup 1/2) relative to the wavenumber k. An eddy viscosity is derived with an explicit dependence on the rotation rate.

Zhou, YE↗

NASA NTRS1993

Neutral and ionized polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, diffuse interstellar bands and the ultraviolet extinction curve

Neutral naphthalene C10H8, phenanthrene C14H10 and pyrene C16H10 absorb strongly in the ultraviolet region and may contribute to the extinction curve. High abundances are required to produce detectable structures. The cations of these polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) absorb in the visible C10H8(+) has 13 discrete absorption bands which fall between 6800 and 4500 A. The strongest band at 6741 A falls close to the weak 6742 A diffuse interstellar band (DIB). Five other weaker bands also match DIBs. The possibility that C10H8(+) is responsible for some of the DIBs can be tested by searching for new DIBs at 6520 and 6151 A, other strong naphthalene cation band positions. If C10H8(+) is indeed responsible for the 6742 A feature, it accounts for 0.3% of the cosmic carbon. The spectrum of C16H10(+) is dominated by a strong band at 4435 A in an Ar matrix and 4395 A in Ne, wavelengths which fall very close to the strongest DIB at 4430 A. If C16H10(+) or a closely related pyrene-like ion, is indeed responsible for the 4430 A feature, it accounts for 0.2% of the cosmic carbon. An intense, very broad UV-to-visible continuum is reported which is associated with both ions and could explain how PAHs convert interstellar UV and visible radiation into IR radiation.

Salama, Farid↗

NASA NTRS1994

The DQ Herculis stars

We review the properties of the DQ Herculis stars: cataclysmic variables containing an accreting, magnetic, rapidly rotating white dwarf. These stars are characterized by strong X-ray emission, high-excitation spectra, and very stable optical and X-ray pulsations in their light curves. There is considerable resemblance to their more famous cousins, the AM Herculis stars, but the latter class is additionally characterized by spin-orbit synchronism and the presence of strong circular polarization. We list eighteen stars passing muster as certain or very likely DQ Her stars. The rotational periods range from 33 s to 2.0 hr. Additional periods can result when the rotating searchlight illuminates other structures in the binary. A single hypothesis explains most of the observed properties: magnetically channeled accretion within a truncated disk. Some accretion flow still seems to proceed directly to the magnetosphere, however. The white dwarfs' magnetic moments are in the range 10(sup 32) - 10(sup 34) G cc, slightly weaker than in AM Her stars but with some probable overlap. The more important reason why DQ Hers have broken synchronism is probably their greater accretion rate and orbital separation. The observed L(sub x)/L(sub V) values are surprisingly low for a radially accreting white dwarf, suggesting that most of the accretion energy is not radiated in a strong shock above the magnetic pole. The fluxes can be more satisfactorily explained if most of the radial infall energy manages to bypass the shock and deposit itse lf directly in the white dwarf photosphere, where it should emerge as extreme ultraviolet (EUV) radiation. This also provides an adequate source of ionizing photons to power the high-excitation optical and UV emission lines. This is probably the DQ Her analog to the famous 'soft X-ray excess' in AM Her stars. However, unlike the AM Her case, this radiation has not been directly observed, so the analogy must not (yet) be embraced too firmly. There is some conventional wisdom today which segregates the short-period from the long-period DQ Her stars. But the observational grounds for this distinction are slim, except in one respect: X-ray emission from short-period systems appears to be weaker and softer. This must be due to the shallower depth of the potential well, and/or the greater difficulty the fast rotators have in enforcing radial accretion flow.

Patterson, Joseph↗

NASA NTRS1994

Photoevaporation of disks around massive stars and application to ultracompact H II regions

Young massive stars produce sufficient Lyman continuum photon luminosity Phi(sub i) to significantly affect the structure and evolution of the accretion disks surrounding them. A nearly static, ionized, isothermal 10(exp 4) K atmosphere forms above the neutral disk for disk radii r less than r(sub g) = 10(exp 15) M(sub 1) cm, where M(sub *) = 10 solar mass M(sub 1) is the stellar mass. For r approximately greater than r(sub g) the diffuse field created by hydrogen recombinations to the ground state in the photoionized gas above the disk produces a steady evaporation at the surface of the disk, and this H II gas flows freely out to the ISM (the 'disk wind'). The detailed structure depends on the mass-loss rate dot-M(sub w) of the fast, approximately greater than 1000 km/sec, stellar wind from the massive star. A critical mass-loss rate dot-M(sub cr) is defined such that the ram pressure of the stellar wind equals the thermal pressure of the H II atmosphere at r(sub g). In the weak stellar wind solution, dot-M(sub w) less than dot-M(sub cr), the diffuse photons from the atmosphere above r(sub g) produce a photoevaporative mass-loss rate from the disk at r approximately greater than r(sub g) of order 1 x 10(exp -5)(Phi(sub 49))(exp 1/2)(M(sub 1))(exp 1/2) solar mass/year, where Phi(sub i) = 10(exp 49) Phi(sub 49)/sec. The resulting slow (10 to 50 km/sec) ionized outflow, which persists for approximately greater than 10(exp 5) year for disk masses M(sub d) approximately 0.3 M(sub *), may explain the observational characteri stics of unresolved, ultracompact H II regions. In the strong stellar wind solution, dot-M(sub w) greater than dot-M(sub cr), the ram pressure of the stellar wind blows down the atmosphere for r less than r(sub g) and allows the stellar photons to penetrate to greater radii and smaller heights. A slow, ionized outflow produced mainly by diffuse photons is again created for r less than r(sub g); however, it is now dominated by the flow at r(sub w)(greater than r(sub g)), the radius at which the stellar wind ram pressure equals the thermal pressure in the evaporating flow. The mass-loss rate from the disk is of order 6 x 10(exp -5)dot-M(sub w-6) v(sub w8)(Phi (sub 49))(exp -1/2) solar mass/year, where dot-M(sub w-6) = M(sub w)/10(exp -6) solar mass/year and v(sub w8) = v(sub w)/1000 km/sec is the stellar wind velocity. The resulting outflow, which also persists for approximately greater than 10(exp 5) year may explain many of the more extended (r approximately greater than 10(exp 16) cm) ultracompact H II regions. Both the weak-wind and the strong-wind models depend entirely on stellar parameters Phi(sub i), M(sub *), dot-M(sub w)) and are independent of disk parameters as long as an extended r much greater than (r(sub g)), neutral disk exists. We compare both weak-wind and strong-wind model results to the observed radio free-free spectra and luminosities of ultracompact H II regions and to the interesting source MWC 349.

Hollenbach, David↗

NASA NTRS1994

Mimicking within Euclidean space a cosmological time dilation of gamma-ray burst durations

If gamma-ray burst sources are cosmological in origin, then the time dilation at large z can correlate a burst's duration with its peak flux. Detection of this effect is thought by many to be strong evidence for a cosmological burst origin. In this Letter I show that an apparent time distortion--either a dilation or contraction--is generally expected for an ensemble of bursts that is spatially limited within Euclidean space. The appearance of this effect is correlated with the falling away of the log N-log P curve from a -3/2 slope line. An example of this effect is provided by the relativistic bulk motion model, which produces a strong time dilation when spatially limited in Euclidean space. As a consequence, envidence that weak bursts have longer durations than strong bursts is not evidence of a cosmological burst origin.

Brainerd, J. J.↗

NASA NTRS1994

Galactic 0.511 MeV line emission

Observations over two decades with various balloon-borne instruments and instruments on HEAO 3, SMM, and Compton Gamma Ray Observatory (CGRO) have revealed the existence of strong 0.511 MeV line emission from the direction of the Galactic center. We have attempted to fit the spatial distribution of this emisssion with distributions of various Galactic constituents, but found that none of these distributions alone could fit the data. Of the assumed distributions, those of Galactic novae and hot (10(exp 8) K) plasma are the most strongly peaked at the Galactic center. But we found that the 0.511 MeV line emission is even more strongly peaked. This new result is the direct consequence of the analysis of recent data obtained with the OSSE instrument on CGRO. We have thus considered two-component models consisting of an enhanced central Galactic component superposed on a Galactic plane component given by any one of our previously assumend distributions. For the central Galactic component we take either a single point source at the location of the source of annihilation radiation 1E 1740.7-2942 or an extended spheroidal distribution of several hundred parsecs in size. We find acceptable fits in both cases. We suggest that this additional component of the emission from the Galactic center region is due to positrons produced near one or more black holes. Such a component was also suggested by the variability of the 0.511 MeV line flux observed with balloon-borne high-resolution detectors. To produce the very narrow line observed by these high-resolution detectors at almost precisely 0.511 MeV the positrons must escape from the vicinity of the holes and annihilate in the surrounding interstellar medium. We have reexamined the issure of the time variability of the 0.511 MeV line emission. Although the significance of the variability implied by all of the earlier observations is diminished by a large number of recent OSSE observations which show no variability, the latter measurements merely indicate that the flux remained relatively constant only over a period of about 1 year (1991-1992). Positron producation in the Galactic center region by a small number of variable sources would lead to variable 0.511 MeV line emission. The timescale of the variation depends on the density of the gas in which the positrons annihilate. It could be as short as several months if the annihilation is in dense moleduar clouds, but would be much longer and essentially undetectable if the positrons annihilate in lower density interstellar gas.

Ramaty, R.↗

NASA NTRS1994

The environmental influence on tropical cyclone precipitation

The intensity, spatial, and temporal changes in precipitation were examined in three North Atlantic hurricanes during 1989 (Dean, Gabrielle, and Hugo) using precipitation estimates made from Special Sensor Microwave/Imager (SSM/I) measurements. In addition, analyses from a barotropic hurricane forecast model and the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecast model were used to examine the relationship between the evolution of the precipitation in these tropical cyclones and external forcing. The external forcing parameters examined were (1) mean climatological sea surface temperatures, (2) vertical wind shear, (3) environmental tropospheric water vapor flux, and (4) upper-tropospheric eddy relative angular momentum flux convergence. The analyses revealed that (1) the SSM/I precipitation estimates were able to delineate and monitor convective ring cycles similar to those observed with land-based and aircraft radar and in situ measurements; (2) tropical cyclone intensification was observed to occur when these convective rings propagated into the inner core of these systems (within 111 km of the center) and when the precipitation rates increased; (3) tropical cyclone weakening was observed to occur when these inner-core convective rings dissipated; (4) the inward propagation of the outer convective rings coincided with the dissipation of the inner convective rings when they came within 55 km of each other; (5) in regions with the combined warm sea surface temperatures (above 26 C) and low vertical wind shear (less than 5 m/s), convective rings outside the region of strong lower-tropospheric inertial stability could be initiated by strong surges of tropospheric moisture, while convective rings inside the region of strong lower-tropospheric inertial stability could be enhanced by upper-tropospheric eddy relative angular momentum flux convergence.

Rodgers, Edward B.↗

NASA NTRS1994

Coupling of volatile transport and internal heat flow on Triton

Recently Brown et al. (1991) showed that Triton's internal heat source could amount to 5-20% of the absorbed insolation on Triton, thus significantly affecting volatile transport and atmospheric pressure. Subsequently, Kirk and Brown (1991a) used simple analytical models of the effect of internal heat on the distribution of volatiles on Triton's surface, confirming the speculation of Brown et al. that Triton's internal heat flow could strongly couple to the surface volatile distribution. To further explore this idea, we present numerical models of the permanent distribution of nitrogen ice on Triton that include the effects of sunlight, the two-dimensional distribution of internal heat flow, the coupling of internal heat flow to the surface distribution of nitrogen ice, and the finite viscosity of nitrogen ice. From these models we conclude that: (1) The strong vertical thermal gradient induced in Triton's polar caps by internal heat-flow facilitates viscous spreading to lower latitudes, thus opposing the poleward transport of volatiles by sunlight, and, for plausible viscosities and nitrogen inventories, producing permanent caps of considerable latitudinal extent; (2) It is probable that there is a strong coupling between the surface distribution of nitrogen ice on Triton and internal heat flow; (3) Asymmetries in the spatial distribution of Triton's heat flow, possibly driven by large-scale, volcanic activity or convection in Triton's interior, can result in permanent polar caps of unequal latitudinal extent, including the case of only one permanent polar cap; (4) Melting at the base of a permanent polar cap on Triton caused by internal heat flow can significantly enhance viscous spreading, and, as an alternative to the solid-state greenhouse mechanism proposed by Brown et al. (1990), could provide the necessary energy, fluids, and/or gases to drive Triton's geyser-like plumes; (5) The atmospheric collapse predicted to occur on Triton in the next 20 years (Spencer, 1990) may be plausibly avoided because of the large latitudinal extent expected for permanent polar caps on Triton.

Brown, Robert H.↗

NASA NTRS1994

The ASCA PV phase observation of FO Aquarii

We report on a approximately 1-day Advanced Satellite for Cosmology and Astrophysics (ASCA) observation of the intermediate polar FO Aquarii. We find two distinctive spectral components, one unabsorbed and the other strongly absorbed; the observed 2-10 keV flux severely underestimates the total system luminosity, due to this strong absorption intrinsic to the binary. The absorbed component is dominant in terms of luminosity, and its light curve is simple. The unabsorbed component accounts for approximately 2% of the luminosity, and shows a much more complicated light curve. As the dominant component predominantly shows a sinusoidal modulation at the white dwarf spin period, it provides a strong evidence for a partial accretion disk in the system.

Mukai, Koji↗

NASA NTRS1994

Venus O2 visible and IR nightglow: Implications for lower thermosphere dynamics and chemistry

The National Center for Atmospheric Research thermospheric general circulation model for the Venus thermosphere is modified to examine two observed night airglow features, both of which serve as sensitive tracers of the thermospheric circulation. New O2 nightglow data from the Pioneer Venus Orbiter (PVO) star tracker (O2 Herzberg II at 400-800 nm) and ground-based telescopes (O2 IR at 1.27 microns) yield additional model constraints for estimating Venus winds over 100-130 km. Atomic oxygen, produced by dayside CO2 photolysis peaking near 110 km, and transported to the nightside by the global wind system, is partially destroyed through three-body recombination, yielding the O2 Herzberg II visible nightglow. This emission is very sensitive to horizontal winds at altitudes between 100 and 130 km. Other trace species catalytic reactions also contribute to the production of the very strong nightside infrared (1.27 microns) emission. This paper examines the dynamical and chemical implications of these new data using the Venus thermospheric general circulation model (VTGCM) as an analysis tool. Three-dimensional calculations are presented for both solar maximum and solar medium conditions, corresponding to early PVO (1979-1981) and PVO entry (mid-1992) time periods. Very distinct periods are identified in which zonal winds are alternately weak and strong in the Venus lower thermosphere. VTGCM sensitivity studies are conducted to assess the impacts of potential changes in thermospheric zonal and day-to-night winds, and eddy diffusion on the corresponding nightglow intensities. It appears that cyclostrophic balance extends above 80 km periodically, owing to a reversal of the upper mesosphere latitudinal temperature gradient, and thereby producing strong zonal winds and correspondingly modified O2 nightglow distributions that are observed.

Bougher, S. W.↗

NASA NTRS1995

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon ions and the diffuse interstellar bands

Neutral naphthalene (C10H8), phenanthrene (C14H10), and pyrene (C16H10) absorb strongly in the ultraviolet and may contribute to the extinction curve. High abundances are required to produce detectable structures. The cations of these Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) absorb in the visible. C10H8(+) has 12 discrete absorption bands which fall between 6800 and 5000 A. The strongest band at 6741 A falls close to the weak 6742 A diffuse interstellar band (DIB). Five other weaker bands also match DIBs. The possibility that C10H8(+) is responsible for some of the DIBs can be tested by searching for new DIBS at 6520, 6151, and 5965 A, other moderately strong naphthalene cation band positions. If C10H8(+) is indeed responsible for the 6742 A feature, it accounts for 0.3% of the cosmic carbon. The spectrum of C16H10(+) is dominated by a strong band at 4435 A in an Ar matrix and 4395 A in a Ne matrix, a position which falls very close to the strongest DIB, that at 4430 A. If C16H10(+), or a closely related pyrene-like ion is indeed responsible for the 4430 A feature, it accounts for 0.2% of the cosmic carbon. We also report an intense, very broad UV-to-visible continuum which is associated with both ions and could explain how PAHs convert interstellar UV and visible radiation into IR.

Salama, F.↗

NASA NTRS1994

Isentropic mass exchange between the Tropics and extratropics in the stratosphere

The isentropic mass exchange between the Tropics and extratropics in the stratosphere is investigated with a semi-Lagrangian transport model for the periods from 1 June to 31 October 1992 and from 1 December 1992 to 30 April 1993 using winds from the U.K. Meteorological Office data assimilation system. Calculations with an idealized, initially zonally symmetric tracer show that in the middle and upper stratosphere the bulk of tropical air is transported into the midlatitudes of the winter hemisphere although there exist quasi-permeable barriers in the subtropics. The transport takes place in the form of planetary-scale 'tongues' of material that are drawn poleward in association with the episodic amplification of planetary-scale waves in high latitudes of the winter hemisphere. Once air of tropical origin is transported to the midlatitudes it is irreversibly mixed with the midlatitude air in the 'surf zone.' Air of tropical origin can, however, hardly penetrate into the interior of the winter polar vortex until the breakdown of the vortex. Transport of tropical air into the midlatitudes of the summer hemisphere is strongly inhibited. In the lower stratosphere, tropical air is transported into the northern and southern midlatitudes. During the period from 1 June to 31 October 1992, the amount of tropical air transported into the Northern Hemisphere is, however, much smaller than that transported into the Southern Hemisphere, and there exist strong gradients in the tracer field in the equatorial region, indicating that there is a quasi-permeable barrier to cross-equator mass exchange. During the period from 1 December 1992 to 30 April 1993, on the other hand, roughly the same amounts of tropical air are transported into the Southern Hemisphere, and there exist strong gradients in the tracer field in the equatorial region, indicating that there is a quasi-permeable barrier to cross-equator mass exchange. During the period from 1 December 1992 to 30 April 1993, on the other hand, roughly the same amounts of tropical air are transported into the northern midlatitudes and into the southern midlatitudes, and there exist no significant transport barriers in the equatorial area.

Chen, Ping↗

NASA NTRS1994

Ultraviolet spectra of HZ Herculis/Hercules X-1 from HST: Hot gas during total eclipse of the neutron star

The Faint Object Spectrograph (FOS) aboard Hubble Space Telescope (HST) has been used in the UV to observe the prototypical X-ray pulsar Her X-1 and its companion HZ Her. Optical spectra were also obtained contemporaneously at the Kitt Peak National Observatory (KPNO) 2.1 m. The FOS spectra encompass the 1150-3300 A range near binary orbital phases 0.5 (X-ray maximum) and at 0.0 (mid-X-ray eclipse). The maximum light spectra show strong, narrow C III, N V, O V, Si IV + O IV), N IV), C IV, He II, and N IV emission lines, extending previous IUE results; the O III lambda 3133 Bowen resonance line is also prominent, confirming that the Bowen mechanism is the source of the strong lambda lambda 4640, 4650 emission complex, also seen at maximum light. Most remarkable, however, are the minimum light spectra, where the object is too faint for reasonable observations from IUE. Despite the total eclipse of the X-ray-emitting neutron star, our spectra show strong emission at N V lambda 1240, S IV + O IV) whose emission dominates the UV light at phase 0.0 might be associated with the 'accretion disk corona,' it is more likely the source is somewhat less hot (but extended) gas above and around the disk, or perhaps circumstellar material such as a stellar wind.

Anderson, Scott F.↗

NASA NTRS1995

Rheological transition in mantle convection with a composite temperature-dependent, non-Newtonian and Newtonian rheology

Numerical simulations of mantle convection with a composite temperature-dependent, Newtonian and non-Newtonian creep law have revealed a transition in the dominant creep mechanism with the increasing vigour of convection. Newtonian creep is found to dominate in the low Rayleigh number regime. With sufficiently high effective Rayleigh number, the overall creep mechanism in the convective flow becomes non-Newtonian. The transitional Rayleigh number increases strongly with the activation energy. These results would suggest a scenario that in the early epochs of Earth the flow in the mantle would have been governed by non-Newtonian rheology and would have exhibited both strong spatial and temporal fluctuations. With time the flow mechanism would behave like a Newtonian fluid and would have a different time-dependent character. In time-dependent Newtonian-dominated flows there are still localized features with distinctly non-Newtonian character. Our analysis of the relative contributions to the lateral viscosity field supports the idea that the inference of the nature of lateral viscosity heterogeneities by seismic tomography may be strongly contaminated by the dominant non-Newtonian contributions to the total lateral viscosity field.

Van Den Berg, Arie P.↗

NASA NTRS1994

The massive halos of spiral galaxies

We use a sample of satellite galaxies to demonstrate the existence of extended massive dark halos around spiral galaxies. Isolated spirals with rotation velocities near 250 km/s have a typical halo mass within 200 kpc of 1.5-2.6 x 10(exp 12) solar mass (90% confidence range for H(sub 0) = 75 km/s/Mpc). This result is most easily derived using standard mass estimator techniques, but such techniques do not account for the strong observational selection effects in the sample, nor for the extended mass distributions that the data imply. These complications can be addressed using scale-free models similar to those previously employed to study binary galaxies. When satellite velocities are assumed isotropic, both methods imply massive and extended halos. However, the derived masses depend sensitively on the assumed shape of satellite orbits. Furthermore, both methods ignore the fact that many of the satellites in the sample have orbital periods comparable to the Hubble time. The orbital phases of such satellites cannot be random, and their distribution in radius cannot be freely adjusted; rather these properties reflect ongoing infall onto the outer halos of their primaries. We use detailed dynamical models for halo formation to evaluate these problems, and we devise a maximum likelihood technique for estimating the parameters of such models from the data. The most strongly constrained parameter is the mass within 200-300 kpc, giving the confidence limits quoted above. The eccentricity, e, of satellite orbits is also strongly constrained, 0.50 less than e less than 0.88 at 90% confidence, implying a near-isotropic distribution of satellite velocities. The cosmic density parameter in the vicinity of our isolated halos exceeds 0.13 at 90% confidence, with preferred values exceeding 0.3.

Zaritsky, Dennis↗

NASA NTRS1994

Velocity correlations of galaxy clusters

We determine the velocity correlation function, pairwise peculiar velocity difference, and rms pairwise peculiar velocity dispersion of rich clusters of galaxies, as a function of pair separation, for three cosmological models: Omega = 1 and Omega = 0.3 cold dark matter (CDM), and Omega = 0.3 primeval baryonic isocurvature (PBI) models (all flat and Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE)-normalized). We find that close cluster pairs, with separation r is less than or equal to 10/h Mpc, exhibit strong attractive peculiar velocities in all models; the cluster pairwise velocities depend sensitively on the model. The mean pairwise attractive velocity of clusters on 5/h Mpc scale ranges from approximately 1700 km/s for Omega = 1 CDM to approximately 1000 km/s for PBI to approximately 700 km/s for Omega = 0.3 CDM. The small-scale pairwise velocities depend also on cluster mass: richer, more massive clusters exhibit stronger attractive velocities than less massive clusters. On large scales, from approximately 20 to 200/h Mpc, the cluster peculiar velocities are increasingly dominated by bulk and random motions; they are independent of cluster mass. The cluster velocity correlation function is negative on small scales for Omega = 1 and Omega = 0.3 CDM, indicating strong pairwise motion relative to bulk motion on small scales; PBI exhibits relatively larger bulk motions. The cluster velocity correlation function is positive on very large scales, from r approximately 10/h Mpc to r approximately 200/h Mpc, for all models. These positive correlations, which decrease monotonically with scale, indicate significant bulk motions of clusters up to approximately 200/h Mpc. The strong dependence of the cluster velocity functions on models, especially at small separations, makes them useful tools in constraining cosmological models when compared with observations.

Cen, Renyue↗