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At least 1,027 records · Page 57

A search for high proper motion objects in two gamma-ray burst error regions

Deep optical images of small gamma-ray burst error regions have generally resulted in the detection of several faint sources in each error region. It may be possible to identify the neutron star source of a GRB on the basis of a high transverse peculiar velocity if the source is at moderate distance. The results of searches for high proper motion objects in the error regions of GBS1412+78 and GBS2251-02 are reported.

Ricker, George R.↗

Warm dense gas in luminous protostellar regions - A submillimeter and far-infrared CO line study

Spectroscopic measurements of the CO J = 7-6 and J = 16-15 sub-mm/far-IR rotational lines are combined for a study of the molecular gas in four massive star formation regions: W51 IRS 2, W51 Main, G34.3+0.1, and W49. CO emission over a wide velocity range is found in three of the four regions. Mass outflows from newly formed stars in the two W51 sources carry an order-of-magnitude-greater mass and momentum than in the Orion/KL flow; it is concluded that mass outflow rates scale with source luminosity up to the most luminous galactic star formation regions.

Jaffe, D. T.↗

Evidence for coronal turbulence in a quiescent active region

The first evidence for nonthermal broadening of X-ray lines in a quiescent active region was based on a single observation of a limb active region by the Flat Crystal Spectrometer (FCS) on the SMM satellite, reported by Acton et al. (1981). With the renewal of SMM operations, the FCS has been used to further investigate this phenomenon. On April 28, 1984 a map of Mg XI resonance line profiles was made for a bright area in NOAA Active Region 4474 during a nonflaring period. The narrowest line profiles are consistent with the nominal instrumental width plus a thermal width equivalent to about 3 million K, the temperature derived from line ratios of O VIII, Ne IX, and Mg XI. The broadest line profiles are consistent with the instrumental width plus a thermal width equivalent to about 7 million K, but a substantial amount of plasma at this temperature would result in much greater flux in the FCS higher-temperature channels than was seen. If the excess width is attributed solely to plasma turbulence, the corresponding velocity would be about 40 + or - 10 km/s.

Saba, Julia L. R.↗

A near-infrared study of the NGC 6334-IV region

High-angular-resolution, high-sensitivity maps at 1.2, 1.65, and 2.2 microns have been made of the NGC 6334-IV region. These maps show that the diffuse, bipolar 2-micron emission associated with a bipolar source in the region is probably excited by two sources between the lobes. The first is a highly obscured protostar with a luminosity of about 100,000 solar luminosities. The second possible source of excitation is the scattered free-free and bound-free emission from an H II region surrounding a second young star. The extinction to both these objects must be much higher along the line of sight from earth to them than from them to the bipolar lobes. This is consistent with an earlier interpretation of FIR observations (Harvey and Gatley, 1983) which suggested the presence of an edge-on dust disk around the two central luminosity sources. A rich cluster of lower luminosity IR sources has also been found associated with the two most luminous objects.

Harvey, P. M.↗

Solar transition region and coronal response to heating rate perturbations

Observations of Doppler shifts in UV emission lines formed in the solar transition region show continual plasma downflows and impulsive plasma upflows. Using numerical simulations, the authors examine the conjecture that areas of downflowing plasma are the base regions of coronal loops in which the heating is gradually decreasing and that areas of upflowing plasma are the base regions of coronal loops in which the heating rate is gradually increasing. Beginning with a coronal loop in equilibrium, the heating rate is reduced on time scales of 100, 1000, and 2000 s to 10 percent and 1 percent of the initial value, and the loop is allowed to evolve to a new equilibrium. The heating rate for the cooled models is then increased back to the initial value on the same time scales. While significant mass motions do develop in the simulations, both the emission measure and the velocity at 100,000 K do not show the characteristics present in UV observations.

Mariska, John T.↗

Solar transition region and coronal response to heating rate perturbations

The solar transition region is in a dynamic state characterized by impulsively upflowing plasma and continually downflowing plasma. Using numerical simulations, the conjecture that the areas of downflowing plasma are simply the base regions of coronal loops in which the heating rate is gradually decreasing and the areas of upflowing plasma are the base regions of coronal loops in which the heating rate is gradually increasing is examined. The calculations suggest that gradually reducing or increasing the heating in a magnetic flux tube will not result in plasma motions that are similar to those that are observed at high spatial resolution in the UV.

Mariska, John T.↗

Navier-Stokes calculations and turbulence modeling in the trailing edge region of a circulation control airfoil

The accurate prediction of turbulent flows over curved surfaces in general and over the trailing edge region of circulation control airfoils in particular requires the coupled efforts of turbulence modelers, numerical analysts and experimentalists. The purpose of the research program in this area is described. Then, the influence on turbulence modeling of the flow characteristics over a typical circulation control wing is discussed. Next, the scope of this effort to study turbulence in the trailing edge region of a circulation control airfoil is presented. This is followed by a brief overview of the computation scheme, including the grid, governing equations, numerical method, boundary conditions and turbulence models applied to date. Then, examples of applications of two algebraic eddy viscosity models to the trailing edge region of a circulation control airfoil is presented. The results from the calculations is summarized, and conclusions drawn based on examples. Finally, the future directions of the program is outlined.

Viegas, John R.↗

The foreshock region upstream from the Comet Halley bow shock

A few hours prior to the crossing of the Comet Halley bow shock, the Giotto spacecraft intermittently encountered an electron foreshock region. The electron foreshock is characterized by magnetic connection to the cometary bow shock and increased field aligned electron heat flux directed away from the bow shock. A similar region was intermittently encountered by the ICE spacecraft prior to its crossing of the Giacobini-Zinner bow wave. During periods of magnetic connection with the Halley bow shock, enhanced magnetic field fluctuations were observed. These enhancements are interpreted as indirect evidence of an ion foreshock in the electron foreshock. No clearly identifiable backstreaming protons are observed during these periods of magnetic connection, however, because it may be difficult to separate a backstreaming population from the cometary pick-up proton population already present in the upstream region.

Fuselier, S. A.↗

Different regions of line formation in the envelope of the early emission line star HD 190073

A description is presented of the spectral features that characterize the spectrum of HD 190073 both in the photographic region (360-660 nm), and in the IUE UV (115-320 nm). A number of different types of profiles can be distinguished, and this seems to imply that many different 'broad' regions of line formation coexist in the extended envelope of the star, including regions with densities differing in several orders of magnitude.

Ringuelet, A. E.↗

10.7-cm solar radio flux and the magnetic complexity of active regions

During sunspot cycles 20 and 21, the maximum in smoothed 10.7-cm solar radio flux occurred about 1.5 yr after the maximum smoothed sunspot number, whereas during cycles 18 and 19 no lag was observed. Thus, although 10.7-cm radio flux and Zurich sunspot number are highly correlated, they are not interchangeable, especially near solar maximum. The 10.7-cm flux more closely follows the number of sunspots visible on the solar disk, while the Zurich sunspot number more closely follows the number of sunspot groups. The number of sunspots in an active region is one measure of the complexity of the magnetic structure of the region, and the coincidence in the maxima of radio flux and number of sunspots apparently reflects higher radio emission from active regions of greater magnetic complexity. The presence of a lag between sunspot-number maximum and radio-flux maximum in some cycles but not in others argues that some aspect of the average magnetic complexity near solar maximum must vary from cycle to cycle. A speculative possibility is that the radio-flux lag discriminates between long-period and short-period cycles, being another indicator that the solar cycle switches between long-period and short-period modes.

Wilson, Robert M.↗

Spatial extent of the plasma injection region in the cusp-magnetosheath interface

Using data from the high-altitude plasma instrument onboard the DE 1 spacecraft, the perpendicular (to the magnetic field) extent of the region of ion injection into the cusp has been estimated by measuring the energy dispersion of the ion V-shaped signatures seen on energy-time spectrograms. Three different passes were chosen based on the clarity of the V-shaped ion signatures. These studies indicate that the injection region has a dimension perpendicular to the magnetic field in the range D = 1000-6000 km at a radial distance of about 10 earth radii, in good agreement with reported diameters of flux transfer events (FTEs). Similar measurement of the energy dispersion of an electron V-shaped signature observed on one pass has yielded a parallel extent of the plasma injection region in the range D(parallel) = 100-350 km. The results lead to the suggestion that the plasma within an FTE travels down the field line as the field line convects antisunward, and may subsequently be observed in the polar cusp as a V-shaped signature.

Menietti, J. D.↗

Line variability and the broad emission line region of quasi-stellar objects. II - Changes in Balmer decrements

Evidence is presented for significant variations of broad emission lines in five QSOs supporting an earlier report by Zheng et al. (1987). The Balmer decrements before and after variations are compared in an effort to extract information on the broad-line regions. The broad hydrogen lines are found to vary in step with the underlying continuum, indicating that the continuum is the probable energy source for emission lines. The ratios of H-beta/H-alpha for both the varying and steady parts of the the broad lines are about 0.2, suggesting that the regions in which these line fluxes originate are exposed to similar ionizing flux and are therefore at about the same distance to the central source. The average ratio of H-gamma/H-beta is 0.8 for the variable components, considerably higher than that of the constant components. Thus, the region producing the varying line fluxes may have higher density and lower optical depth.

Zheng, Wei↗

Closed magnetic structures in the chromosphere and in the transition region

Using simultaneous observations of the same solar regions in the lines H-alpha and C IV 1548 A, schematic models of closed magnetic lines have been derived from dynamical constraints. It is concluded that the magnetic loops are closed at higher levels above facular than above nonfacular regions. This result remains valid whatever are the assumed density models and even if the 3-min oscillations are taken into account. The center-to-limb behavior is well predicted by taking into account the relative opacity in the chromosphere and transition region.

Malherbe, J. M.↗

Innervation of periesophageal region of cat's diaphragm - Implication for studies of control of vomiting

The extent of the region of the diaphragm around the esophagus that displays greatly reduced activity during the expulsive phase of vomiting was determined from electromyographic studies in cats to be about 0.75-1.0 cm from the esophagus. Horseradish peroxidase injected into this region retrogradely labeled motoneurons throughout most of the rostral-caudal extent of the phrenic nucleus, with the exception of caudal C6 and rostral C7. This widespread intermingling of motoneurons that innervate the region of reduced activity with other phrenic motoneurons creates a difficulty for needed follow-up studies of diaphragmatic control during vomiting.

Tan, L. K.↗

Upper hybrid and Langmuir turbulence in the auroral E region

Oscillations at a frequency between the local upper hybrid and plasma frequencies have been detected in the upper E region of the morning auroral oval. The emission occurs in a narrow band of frequencies when the dipole antenna is nearly perpendicular to B but broadens when the antenna has a component parallel to B. The waves have a low-altitude cutoff at about 125-130 km, and their intensity increases in regions of low plasma density. No theoretical explanation yet exists for these waves, which may be the manifestation of a plasma instability process due to the suprathermal electron flux which accompanies collisional ionization in the auroral E region.

Kelley, Michael C.↗

Simulation of electron distributions within auroral acceleration regions

Plasma data from the Dynamics Explorer 1 satellite are used to investigate the electron distributions found within regions of parallel potential drops. A computer simulation was developed to predict major features of the observed electron distributions found within these regions. The simulation results are discussed and compared with observations. Good agreement is observed only when the potential distribution along the field line is split into separate potential drops, one above and one below the satellite. The simulated electron distribution exhibits a trapped particle region, the formation of the electron hole, and the evacuation of the loss cone.

Gurgiolo, C.↗

Field-aligned current signatures in the near-tail region. I - ISEE observations in the plasma sheet boundary layer

Field-aligned currents in the near-tail region are examined using ISEE magnetometer data. Two substorms (the 1054 UT and the 1436 UT substorms on March 22, 1979) were examined, demonstrating the consistency of the current polarity and intensity with observations at lower altitudes, which suggests that field-aligned currents in the plasma sheet boundary layer are parts of the large-scale current system, the region-1 system. An examination of the steplike changes of the magnetic field direction, which correspond to the spacecraft crossing of a net field-aligned current, showed that the field-aligned currents in the plasma sheet boundary layer have the same polarity as the region-1 system.

Ohtani, S.↗

A model for multiple throat structures in the polar cap flow entry region

A two-dimensional ionospheric convection model has been developed to produce convection patterns for southward interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) and a positive or negative IMF y component. The model consists of a movable, shear convection reversal boundary with a gap in it where flux enters the polar cap. The sign of IMF B(y) determines the dayside gap geometry. This simple model is used to simulate measured ionospheric flows from the DE 2 satellite. Roughly 35 percent of DE 2 passes that cross the dayside between 0800 and 1400 hours MLT cannot be modeled with a single narrow flow entry region. By comparing model calculations and the measured ion flows, it is shown that the dayside flow entry region to the polar cap typically spans several hours in local time. The electric field can concentrate along portions of the polar cap entrance and weaken between the concentrated regions, thus forming multiple 'throats'.

Moses, J. J.↗