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NASA NTRS1994

Molecular clouds in the extreme outer galaxy

We present observation of 11 molecular clouds with kinematic Galactocentric distances of 18-28 kpc. The most distant is approximately 10 kpc farther from the Galactic center than any previously known and apparently lies beyond the edge of the optical disk. All are associated with much larger H I concentrations, with typical offsets of approximately 40 pc from the H I peaks. CO observations with the CfA 1.2 m and National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) 12 m telescopes indicate typical sizes of 20-40 pc, velocity widths of 1-3 km/s, and kinetic temperatures of 10-25 K. They apparently have lower CO luminosities than clouds near the solar circle with similar properties. Some may have associated infrared sources, but owing to the great distances of the clouds, the only general conclusion that can be made about star formation is that stars earlier than B1 are absent. The apparent scarcity of clouds like these indicates that their contribution to the mass of the ISM beyond R = 18 kpc is not significant.

Digel, S.↗

NASA NTRS1998

Black Hole X Ray Nova Outburst with XTE and HST

We obtained multiwavelength coverage of the soft X-ray transient. GRO J1655-40 during its 1996 outburst, using HST (Hubble Space Telescope), RXTE (Rossi X Ray Timing Explorer), CGRO (Compton Gamma Ray Observatory), and ground-based facilities. This outburst was qualitatively different from other SXT (Soft X Ray Telescope) outbursts and from previous outbursts of this source. The onset of hard X-ray activity occurred very slowly, over several months, and was delayed relative to the soft X-ray rise. During this period, the optical fluxes declined steadily. This apparent anticorrelation is not consistent with with the standard disk instability model of SXT outbursts, nor is it expected if the optical output is dominated by reprocessed X-rays, as in persistent low-mass X-ray binaries. Based on the strength of the 2175-A interstellar absorption feature, we constrain the reddening to be E(B - V) = 1.2 plus or minus 0.1, a result which is consistent with the known properties of the source and with the strength of other interstellar absorption lines. After this dereddening we find that the spectra are dominated by a component peaking in the optical, with the expected v (sup l/3) disk spectrum seen only in the ultraviolet. Bowen fluorescence lines of NIII and OIII are also seen, as well as possible P Cyg profiles in the ultraviolet resonance lines. These features suggest an accretion-disk wind. The X-ray spectra broadly resemble the high/soft state commonly seen in black hole candidates, but evolve through two substates.

Patterson, Joseph↗

NASA NTRS2022

The Coronal Veil

Coronal loops, seen in solar coronal images, are believed to represent emission from magneticflux tubes withcompact cross sections. We examine the 3D structure of plasma above an active region in a radiativemagnetohydrodynamic simulation to locate volume counterparts for coronal loops. In many cases, a loop cannot belinked to an individual thin strand in the volume. While many thin loops are present in the synthetic images, thebright structures in the volume are fewer and of complex shape. We demonstrate that this complexity can formimpressions of thin bright loops, even in the absence of thin bright plasma strands. We demonstrate the difficulty ofdiscerning from observations whether a particular loop corresponds to a strand in the volume, or a projectionartifact. We demonstrate how apparently isolated loops could deceive observers, even when observations frommultiple viewing angles are available. While we base our analysis on a simulation, the mainfindings areindependent from a particular simulation setup and illustrate the intrinsic complexity involved in interpretingobservations resulting from line-of-sight integration in an optically thin plasma. We propose alternativeinterpretation for strands seen in Extreme Ultraviolet images of the corona. The“coronal veil”hypothesis ismathematically more generic, and naturally explains properties of loops that are difficult to address otherwise—such as their constant cross section and anomalously high density scale height. We challenge the paradigm ofcoronal loops as thin magneticflux tubes, offering new understanding of solar corona, and by extension, of othermagnetically confined bright hot plasmas

A Malanushenko↗

NASA NTRS2024

Modeling Atmospheric Brown Carbon in the GISS ModelE Earth System Model

Brown carbon (BrC) is an absorbing organic aerosol (OA), primarily emitted through biomass burning (BB), which exhibits light absorption unique to both black carbon (BC) and other organic aerosols. Despite many field and laboratory studies seeking to constrain BrC properties, the radiative forcing (RF) of BrC is still highly uncertain. To better understand its climate impact, we introduced BrC to the One-Moment Aerosol (OMA) module of the GISS ModelE Earth system model (ESM). We assessed ModelE sensitivity to primary BrC processed through a novel chemical aging scheme and to secondary BrC formed from biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs). Initial results show that BrC typically contributes a top-of-the-atmosphere (TOA) radiative effect of 0.04 W m −2 . Sensitivity tests indicate that explicitly simulating BrC (separating it from other OAs), including secondary BrC, and simulating chemical bleaching of BrC contribute distinguishable radiative effects and should be accounted for in BrC schemes. This addition of prognostic BrC to ModelE allows greater physical and chemical complexity in OA representation with no apparent trade-off in model performance, as the evaluation of ModelE aerosol optical depth against Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) retrieval data, with and without the BrC scheme, reveals similar skill in both cases. Thus, BrC should be explicitly simulated to allow more physically based chemical composition, which is crucial for more detailed OA studies like comparisons to in situ measurement campaigns. We include a summary of best practices for BrC representation within ModelE at the end of this paper.

brown carbon aerosols↗

NASA NTRS2005

Photolysis Rate Coefficient Calculations in Support of SOLVE II

A quantitative understanding of photolysis rate coefficients (or "j-values") is essential to determining the photochemical reaction rates that define ozone loss and other crucial processes in the atmosphere. j-Values can be calculated with radiative transfer models, derived from actinic flux observations, or inferred from trace gas measurements. The primary objective of the present effort was the accurate calculation of j-values in the Arctic twilight along NASA DC-8 flight tracks during the second SAGE III Ozone Loss and Validation Experiment (SOLVE II), based in Kiruna, Sweden (68 degrees N, 20 degrees E) during January-February 2003. The JHU/APL radiative transfer model was utilized to produce a large suite of j-values for photolysis processes (over 70 reactions) relevant to the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere. The calculations take into account the actual changes in ozone abundance and apparent albedo of clouds and the Earth surface along the aircraft flight tracks as observed by in situ and remote sensing platforms (e.g., EP-TOMS). A secondary objective was to analyze solar irradiance data from NCAR s Direct beam Irradiance Atmospheric Spectrometer (DIAS) on-board the NASA DC-8 and to start the development of a flexible, multi-species spectral fitting technique for the independent retrieval of O3,O2.02, and aerosol optical properties.

Swartz, William H.↗

NASA NTRS1998

Analysis of Phase Separation in Czochralski Grown Single Crystal Ilmenite

Ilmenite (FeTiOs) is a wide bandgap semiconductor with an energy gap of 2.58 eV. Ilmenite has properties suited for radiation tolerant applications, as well as a variety of other electronic applications. Single crystal ilmenite has been grown from the melt using the Czochralski method. Growth conditions have a profound effect on the microstructure of the samples. Here we present data from a variety of analytical techniques which indicate that some grown crystals exhibit distinct phase separation during growth. This phase separation is apparent for both post-growth annealed and unannealed samples. Under optical microscopy, there appear two distinct areas forming a matrix with an array of dots on order of 5 pm diameter. While appearing bright in the optical micrograph, atomic force microscope (AFM) shows the dots to be shallow pits on the surface. Magnetic force microscope (MFM) shows the dots to be magnetic. Phase identification via electron microprobe analysis (EMPA) indicates two major phases in the unannealed samples and four in the annealed samples, where the dots appear to be almost pure iron. This is consistent with micrographs taken with a scanning probe microscope used in the magnetic force mode. Samples that do not exhibit the phase separation have little or no discernible magnetic structure detectable by the MFM.

Wilkins, R.↗

NASA NTRS2000

High Resolution VLBA Observations of NGC 4261

The VLBA's high angular resolution at 22 and 43 GHz allows the nuclei of nearby radio galaxies to be imaged with very high linear resolution (a few hundred Schwarzschild radii or less for central black hole masses of about 10(exp 8) - 10(exp 9) solar mass). This is the scale on which absorption by the dense ionized inner regions of nuclear accretion disk should be detected. We present 8, 22, and 43 GHz VLBA images of the two-sided radio jets in NGC 4261 (2C370) with sub-parsec resolution, and derive constraints on the physical properties of the inner accretion disk. In addition, preliminary results from multi-epoch VLBA observations to detect proper motions in the jet and counterjet, and thus determine the orientation of the radio axis to our line of sight, may be available. Our multi-frequency images show apparent absorption by a nearly edge-on disk at 8 GHz, but not evidence for absorption at 22 or 43 GHz. Assuming that this is due to a lower optical depth for free-free absorption at 22 and 43 GHz, we find an upper limit for the electron density of approximately 10(exp 8)* Square root of(0.1/L)/cubic cm, where L is the path length through the disk in pc. The disk inclination, and therefore the likely path length, will be better determined by the ongoing VLBA proper motions measurements. This research was carried out at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Jones, D. L.↗

NASA NTRS2003

Small-Scale Interstellar Structure Toward the Open Cluster CHI Persei-Fuse II

The purpose of this study was to measure the physical conditions of gas along sight lines toward 6 stars in the core Chi Persei open cluster. These sight lines traverse gas in both the Orion and Perseus spiral arms of the Galaxy, at distances of 500 and 2000 pc, respectively. The stars have angular separations ranging from 45 to 280 arcsec; 60 arcsec corresponds to linear distances of 0.15 and 0.6 pc in the two arms. Thus, abundance variations in these observations would constitute evidence for small-scale variations in the properties of the interstellar medium. Ground-based Na I observations at high resolution (approx. 15 km/sec) toward 172 stars (including the 6 in this study) in the double open cluster h and Chi Persei have revealed complex spatial variation. These variations are especially evident in the gas at velocities of -40 and -55 km/sec, corresponding to the Perseus spiral arm. 21 cm observations of HI emission using the Low Resolution DRAO Survey, with a 12-arcmin beam, also show variations. Averaging the Na I apparent optical depth profiles of neighboring sight lines in order to mimic such a beam size reduces the variation, as compared to the individual Na I measurements, but still show variations larger than seen in the 21 cm profiles. Na I is not the dominant ionization state of Na in the interstellar medium. Thus, it is possible that the variations seen really trace physical structures in the interstellar medium, or they may simply result from variations in the radiation field seen by the gas, or be due to some other environmental circumstance. To distinguish among these possibilities in the present study we obtained FUSE spectra toward the 6 targets in order to measure the molecular hydrogen absorption profiles along these sight lines. The higher J states of H2 are populated by the ambient W radiation field, and thus can provide insight into the environment affecting the gas. If both the high and low J states reveal absorption line profiles with variations similar to that observed in Na I, this would indicate that the variations are due to real structures in the interstellar medium. On the other hand, if the only the high J profiles mimicked the Na I profiles, then the variations may be attributable to environmental effects. We found that the H2 profiles showed considerable variation over the 6 sight lines, and that the profiles, despite having somewhat lower velocity resolution, resemble the Na I profiles. Thus, it appears that the gas really does exhibit variations in physical structures along these sight lines. Useful follow-up work would be to obtain higher signal-to-noise FUSE observations of H2, since the present data are of only moderate quality, and to obtain data on additional targets in this double cluster, in order to map out in more detail the extent and magnitude of the small-scale variations.

Sonneborn, George↗

NASA NTRS1990

Particle Cloud Flames in Acoustic Fields

Results are presented on a study of flames supported by clouds of particles suspended in air, at pressures about 100 times lower than normal. In the experiment, an acoustic driver (4-in speaker) placed at one end of a closed tube, 0.75-m long and 0.05 m in diameter, disperses a cloud of lycopodium particles during a 0.5-sec powerful acoustic burst. Properties of the particle cloud and the flame were recorded by high-speed motion pictures and optical transmission detectors. Novel flame structures were observed, which owe their features to partial confinement, which encourages flame-acoustic interactions, segregation of particle clouds into laminae, and penetration of the flame's radiative flux density into the unburned particle-cloud regimes. Results of these experiments imply that, for particles in confined spaces, uncontrolled fire and explosion may be a threat even if the Phi(0) values are below some apparent lean limit.

Berlad, A. L.↗

NASA NTRS1981

The RS Canum Venaticorum binaries

This review presents a brief up-to-date summary of observational properties of RS CVn binaries, with emphasis on the photometric. A table of the 69 systems known at this time give the orbital period, mean apparent V magnitude, spectral classification, range of amplitude determinations for the photometric wave, and an indication of known period variations and eclipses. Points considered are (1) the underlying cause of the extreme surface activity, (2) the evolutionary status, (3) the geometric configuration, (4) the temperature, size, shape, location, and lifetimes of the dark spot regions, (5) synchronization of rotational and orbital motion, (6) spectroscopic features in the optical and far ultraviolet, (7) the wave migration, (8) the search for spot cycles, and (9) the orbital period variations produced by the enhanced stellar wind.

Hall, D. S.↗

NASA NTRS1991

UV, visible, and near-IR reflectivity data for magnetic soils/rocks from Brazil

The objective is to obtain UV, visible, and near-IR reflectivity spectra for several magnetic Brazilian soils/rocks and compare them to corresponding data for Mars to see if these materials satisfy both magnetic and spectral constraints for Mars. Selected physical properties of the magnetic Brazilian soils/rocks are presented. In general, the spectral features resulting from ferric crystal-field transitions are much better defined in the spectra of the magnetic Brazilian soils/rocks than in Martian spectral data. Presumably, this results from a relatively higher proportion of crystalline ferric oxides for the former. The apparent masking of the spectral signature of maghemite by hematite or goethite for the Brazilian samples implies the magnetic and spectral constraints for Mars can be decoupled. That is, maghemite may be present in magnetically-significant but optically-insignificant amounts compared to crystalline hematite.

Vempati, R. K.↗

NASA NTRS2001

Porosity and Variations in Microgravity Aerogel Nano-Structures: New Laser Speckle Characterization Methods - 2

The transition from sol to gel is a process that is critical to the properties of engineered nanomaterials, but one with few available techniques for observing the dynamic processes occurring during the evolution of the gel network. Specifically, the observation of various cluster aggregation models, such as diffusion-limited and reaction-limited cluster growth can be quite difficult. This can be rather important as the actual aggregation model can dramatically influence the mechanical properties of gels, and is significantly affected by the presence of convective flows, or their absence in microgravity. We have developed two new non-intrusive optical methods for observing the aggregation processes within gels in real time. These make use of the dynamic behavior of laser speckle patterns produced when an intense laser source is passed through a gelling sol. The first method is a simplified time-correlation measurement, where the speckle pattern is observed using a CCD camera and information on the movement of the scattering objects is readily apparent. This approach is extremely sensitive to minute variations in the flow field as the observed speckle pattern is a diffraction-based image, and is therefore sensitive to motions within the sol on the order of the wavelength of the probing light. Additionally, this method has proven useful in determining a precise time for the gel-point, an event often difficult to measure. Monitoring the evolution of contrast within the speckle field is another method that has proven useful for studying aeration. In this case, speckle contrast is dependent upon the size (correlation length) and number of scattering centers, increasing with increasing size, and decreasing with increasing numbers. The dynamic behavior of cluster growth in gels causes both of these to change simultaneously with time, the exact rate of which is determined by the specific aggregation model involved. Actual growth processes can now be observed, and the effects of varying gravity fields on the growth processes qualitatively described. Results on preliminary ground-based measurements have been obtained.

Hunt, A. J.↗

NASA NTRS1987

The Arp Ring: Galactic or extragalactic?

The Arp Ring is a faint, loop-like structure around the northern end of M81 which becomes apparent only on deep optical photographs of the galaxy. The nature of the Ring and its proximity to M81 are uncertain. Is it simply foreground structure, part of this galaxy, or is it within the M81 system? Infrared Astronomy Satellite (IRAS) maps of the region show a far-infrared counterpart of the Ring. The infrared data are compared with previous optical and radio observations to try to ascertain its physical nature. The poor correlation found between the common infrared/optical structure and the distribution of extragalactic neutral hydrogen, and the fact that its infrared properties are indistinguishable from those of nearby galactic cirrus, imply that the Arp Ring is simply a ring structure in the galactic cirrus.

Abolins, J. A.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Stratocumulus cloud properties derived from simultaneous satellite and island-based instrumentation during FIRE

Cloud parameters derived from visible and infrared window data from the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) are compared to corresponding properties determined from instrumentation on San Nicolas Island off the coast of California during the First ISCCP Regional Experiment marine stratocumulus intensive field observations period in July 1987. Examination of the satellite imagery revealed that the apparent bias can be explained by the persistence of the clouds over the northwest part of the island during periods of clearing around the island. Diurnal variations in the cloud cover were very significant; minimum cloudiness occurred during the late afternoon and maximum cloudiness early in the morning. Relationships were established between the satellite-derived cloud optical depth and two surface-observed quantities: cloud liquid water path and cloud thickness. Simultaneous observations of liquid water path and satellite-derived cloud optical depth were used to infer effective cloud-droplet radius, resulting in good agreement with correlative data. The diurnal variations in cloud amount are accompanied by changes in cloud thickness, cloud-top height, cloud liquid water path, and effective droplet size. These observations provide the most complete picture, to date, of the diurnal cycle of marine stratocumulus clouds, confirming previous satellite-based inferences of the diurnal behavior of marine stratocumulus at larger scales.

Minnis, Patrick↗

NASA NTRS1997

An Overview of the Tropospheric Aerosol Radiative Forcing Observational Experiment

Aerosol effects on atmospheric radiation are a leading source of uncertainty in predicting future climate. As a result, the International Global Atmospheric Chemistry Program has established a Focus on Atmospheric Aerosols (IGAC/FAA) and endorsed a series of aerosol field campaigns. TARFOX, the second in the IGAC/FAA series, was designed to reduce this uncertainty by measuring aerosol properties and effects in the US eastern seaboard, where one of the world's major plumes of industrial haze moves from the continent over the Atlantic Ocean. TARFOX's objectives are to: 1. Make simultaneous measurements of: (a) aerosol effects on radiation fields, and (b) the chemical, physical, and optical properties of the aerosols causing those effects. 2. Perform a variety of closure studies by using overdetermined data sets to test the mutual consistency of measurements and calculations of a wide range of aerosol properties and effects. 3. Use the results of the closure studies to assess and reduce uncertainties in estimates of aerosol radiative forcing, as well as to guide future field programs. An important subset of the closure studies is tests and improvements of algorithms used to derive aerosol properties and radiative effects from satellite measurements. The TARFOX Intensive Field Period (IFP) was conducted July 10-31, 1996. It included coordinated measurements from four satellites (GOES-8, NOAA-14, ERS-2, LANDSAT), four aircraft (ER-2, C-130, C-131, and a modified Cessna), land sites, and ships. A variety of aerosol conditions was sampled, ranging from relatively clean behind frontal passages to moderately polluted with aerosol optical depths exceeding 0.5 at mid-visible wavelengths. The latter conditions included separate incidents of enhancements caused primarily by anthropogenic sources and another incident of enhancement apparently influenced by recent fog processing. Spatial gradients of aerosol optical thickness were sampled to aid in isolating aerosol effects from other radiative effects and to more tightly constrain closure tests, including those of satellite retrievals. This talk gives an overview of TARFOX goals, rationale, methods, and initial key findings.

Russell, P. B.↗

NASA NTRS1986

The statistics of gravitational lenses. III - Astrophysical consequences of quasar lensing

The method of Schmidt and Green (1983) for calculating the luminosity function of quasars is combined with gravitational-lensing theory to compute expected properties of lensed systems. Multiple quasar images produced by galaxies are of order 0.001 of the observed quasars, with the numbers over the whole sky calculated to be (0.86, 120, 1600) to limiting B magnitudes of (16, 19, 22). The amount of 'false evolution' is small except for an interesting subset of apparently bright, large-redshift objects for which minilensing by starlike objects may be important. Some of the BL Lac objects may be in this category, with the galaxy identified as the parent object really a foreground object within which stars have lensed a background optically violent variable quasar.

Ostriker, J. P.↗

NASA NTRS1995

Rotating cooloing flows

We describe the evolution of the hot interstellar medium in a large, slowly rotating elliptical galaxy. Although the rotation assumed is a small fraction of the circular velocity, in accordance with recent observations, it is sufficient to have a profound influence on the X-ray emission and cooling geometry of the interstellar gas. The hot gas cools into a disk that extends out to approximately 10 kpc. The cool, dusty disks observed in the majority of elliptical galaxies may arise naturally from internal cooling rather than from mergers with gas-rich companions. As a result of angular momentum conservation in the cooling flow, the soft X-ray isophotes are quite noticeably flatter than those of the stellar image. The gas temperature is higer along the rotation axis. The rotational velocity of the gas several kiloparcsecs above the central disk far exceeds the local stellar rotation and approaches the local circular velocity as it flows toward the galactic core. The detailed appearance of the X-ray image and velocity field of the X-ray gas provide information about the global rotational properties of giant ellipticals at radii too distant for optical observations. The overall pattern of rotation in these galaxies retains information about the origin of ellipticals, particularly of their merging history. In ellipticals having radio jets, if the jets are aligned with the rotation axis of the inner cooling flow, rotation within the jet could be sustained by the rotating environment. Since most large ellipticals have modest rotation, the X-ray observations at low spatial resolution, when interpreted with spherical theoretical models, give the impression that hot gas undergoes localized cooling to very low temperatures many kiloparcsecs from the galactic core. We suggest that such apparent cooling can result in a natural way as gas cools onto a rotating disk.

Kley, Wilhelm↗

NASA NTRS1989

PC 1158 + 4635 - An optically selected quasar with a redshift of 4.73

Photometric and spectroscopic observations of PC 1158 + 4635, a quasar with a redshift of 4.73, are presented. This object was discovered by the detection of its Ly-alpha emission line in a low-resolution CCD grism survey. The apparent magnitude of the quasar is r = 20.2; its absolute magnitude is similar to that of 3C 273 (for q0 = 0.5). The spectrum of PC 1158 + 4635 reveals prominent emission lines of Ly-alpha and C IV and a sharp, approximately one magnitude drop in the continuum level across the Ly-alpha emission line (features seen in most greater than 4 quasars). The redshift-continuum depression relation for quasars requires a dramatic change in the 'Lymann alpha clouds' (either in number or intrinsic properties) at a redshift of about 3.5 or else the presence of a new source that is responsible for the majority of the absorption at redshifts obove four.

Schneider, Donald P.↗