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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.

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At least 109 records · Page 6
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1985

A spectral analysis of the low temperature material in spicules

The resonance lines of Na, Sr(+), and the Mg triplet system, together with the middle H Balmer lines, are used to determine the plasma parameters in the low temperature parts of spicules. Results are presented for heights of 2100 and 2500 km according to the chromospheric line emission data reported by Dunn, et al. (1968) for the 1962 eclipse. In addition to obtaining values for the electron density, this method is unique in yielding direct results for the degree of hydrogen ionization, the hydrogen density, and the line-of-sight thickness of emitting material. Temperature, microturbulence, and vertical flow velocity are more loosely determined in ranges corresponding to allowed combinations of these quantities.

Landman, D. A.↗
NASA NTRS1994

The early ultraviolet, optical, and radio evolution of the soft X-ray transient GRO J0422+32

We have monitored the evolution of the transient X-ray source GRO J0422+32 from approximately 2 weeks postdiscovery into its early decline phase at ultraviolet, optical, and radio wavelengths. Optical and ultraviolet spectra exhibit numerous, but relatively weak, high-excitation emission lines such as those arising from He II, N III, N V, and C IV superposed on an intrinsically blue continuum. High-resolution optical spectroscopy reveals line profiles which are double peaked, and in the case of the higher order Balmer lines, superposed on a broad absorption profile. The early outburst optical-ultraviolet continuum energy distribution is well represented by a two power-law fit with a break at approximately equal 4000 A. Radio observations with the Very Large Array (VLA) reveal a flat-spectrum source, slowly increasing in intensity at the earliest epochs observed, followed by an approximate power-law decay light curve with an index of -1. Light curves for each wavelength domain are presented and discussed. Notable are the multiple secondary outbursts seen in the optical more than 1 year postdiscovery, and spectral changes associated with secondary rises seen in the radio and UV. We find that the ultraviolet and optical characteristics of GRO J0422+32 as well as its radio evolution, are similar to other recent well-observed soft X-ray transients (also called X-ray novae) such as Cen X-4, A0620-00 (V616 Mon), and Nova Muscae 1991 (GS 1124-683), suggesting that GRO J0422+32 is also a member of that subclass of low-mass X-ray binaries. We present definitive astrometric determination of the source position, and place an upper limit of R approximately equals 20 from our analysis of the Palomar Observatory Sky Survey (POSS). Additionally, we derive distinct values for color excess from analysis of the optical (E(B-V) = 0.23) and ultraviolet (E(B-V) = 0.4) data, suggesting an intrinsic magnitude of 19-19.5 for the progenitor if it is mid-K dwarf. This leads to a likely range of 2.4-3.0 kpc for the source distance, which is consistent with our separate estimate of 2.4 +/- 0.4 kpc based on measurement of the NaD interstellar line profile. Adopting 2.4 kpc and E(B-V) = 0.23, the outburst absolute magnitude was M approximately equals 0.0, which is a typical value for this class of objects.

Shrader, C. R.↗
NASA NTRS2000

Resolving the Wind Structure of Eta Carinae

Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) spectral observations of Eta Carinae have resolved the wind structure of the star(s) from the central point source. These observations were done with a 52 x 0.1" aperture, resolving power of about 5000 and complete spectral coverage from 1640A to 10400A. Various broad stellar Lines are seen to change within the central 0.511 of the nebular region. The Balmer lines, relative to the continuum, drop in strength while some Fe II lines scale with the continuum. Other Fe II lines increase in intensity while still others decrease. The structure to the southeast of the central source shows considerable variation in the stellar line strengths. To the Northwest, the emission is dominated by the very bright nebular knots, Weigelt blobs B and D. Three sets of observations have been done: March 1998, February 1999 and March 2000 to monitor the spectral variations. The stellar, wind and nebular emission changes considerably during this two year period. This work was done under the STIS GTO and HST GO funding.

Gull, T.↗
NASA NTRS2004

NGC 4051 and the Nature of Narrow-Line Seyfert I Galaxies

We report on the results of a three-year program of coordinated X-ray and optical monitoring of the narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxy NGC 4051. The principal results of this program are: (1) The H-beta emission line time lag and Doppler width yield a virial mass estimate of about 1.1 mission solar masses, at the extreme low end of AGN masses. A plausible adjustment for inclination effects increases this mass slightly to about 1.4 mission solar masses. (2) During the third year of this campaign, both the X-ray continuum and the He II 4686 line went into extremely low states, although the optical continuum and the H-beta broad line were both still present and variable. We suggest that the inner part of the accretion disk may have gone into an advection-dominated state, yielding little radiation from the hotter inner disk. (3) The He II 4686 line is almost five times as broad as H-beta, and it is strongly blueward asymmetric, as are the high-ionization UV lines recorded in archive spectra of NGC 4051. The data are consistent with the Balmer lines arising in a low-inclination disk-like configuration, and the high-ionization lines arising in an outflowing wind, of which we observe preferentially the near side.

Peterson, B. M.↗
NASA NTRS2017

iPTF Discovery of the Rapid "Turn-On" of a Luminous Quasar

We present a radio-quiet quasar at z = 0.237 discovered ''turning on'' by the intermediate Palomar Transient Factory (iPTF). The transient, iPTF 16bco, was detected by iPTF in the nucleus of a galaxy with an archival Sloan Digital Sky Survey spectrum with weak narrow-line emission characteristic of a low-ionization nuclear emission-line region (LINER). Our follow-up spectra show the dramatic appearance of broad Balmer lines and a power-law continuum characteristic of a luminous (L(sub bol) approx. equal 10(exp 45) erg/s) type 1 quasar 12 yr. later. Our photometric monitoring with PTF from 2009-2012 and serendipitous X-ray observations from the XMM-Newton Slew Survey in 2011 and 2015 constrain the change of state to have occurred less than 500 days before the iPTF detection. An enhanced broad H(alpha)/[O III] (lambda)5007 line ratio in the type 1 state relative to other changing-look quasars also is suggestive of the most rapid change of state yet observed in a quasar. We argue that the greater than 10 increase in Eddington ratio inferred from the brightening in UV and X-ray continuum flux is more likely due to an intrinsic change in the accretion rate of a preexisting accretion disk than an external mechanism such as variable obscuration, microlensing, or the tidal disruption of a star. However, further monitoring will be helpful in better constraining the mechanism driving this change of state. The rapid ''turn-on'' of the quasar is much shorter than the viscous infall timescale of an accretion disk and requires a disk instability that can develop around a approx. equal 10(exp 8)solar mass black hole on timescales less than 1 yr.

Gezari, S.↗
NASA NTRS1976

The effect of suprathermal protons on the physical conditions in Seyfert galaxy nuclei. II

Radiative transfer of Ly-alpha, Ly-beta, and H-alpha in a hydrogen gas containing dust is considered with application to the emitting gas in Seyfert galaxies. The line radiation originates from the kinetic energy of suprathermal particles lost initially to a free-electron gas, which then delivers it to the radiation through excitation of neutral hydrogen atoms. By neglecting the direct escape of line radiation and by averaging over the gas, transfer in space is suppressed, and only transfer in frequency is considered. The dust degrades the line radiation via frequency-independent absorption, converting the energy to infrared luminosity. Solutions are obtained for the source functions in the lines, using appropriate approximations, in order to determine under what conditions the narrow component of the Balmer-line radiation from the gas can be self-absorbed and degraded without similar degradation of the broad component, which originates from the suprathermals themselves. The results of the transfer calculation are employed to find self-consistent values for the temperature and ionization of the gas for various amounts of dust and various concentrations of suprathermal particles. The luminosity in the Balmer continuum is examined which would result under these conditions.

Stoner, R.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Line formation in the hot spot region of cataclysmic variable accretion disks

The paper presents a theoretical analysis of the emission lines observed in the cataclysmic variable A0 Psc (=H2252-035), including detailed modeling of the hydrogen Balmer line emission. The analysis makes it possible to deduce the physical conditions in the so called 'hot spot', or 'bulge' region where the accretion column hits the rim of the accretion disk. It is concluded that the bulge is optically thick to the ionizing disk radiation. Consequently, its disk illuminated face is fully ionized whereas the side facing away from the disk is neutral, resulting in modulation of the observed emission lines with the orbital period. The density in the hot spot is about 5 x 10 to the 12th to 10 to the 13th/cu cm.

Elitzur, Moshe↗
NASA NTRS1989

Broad-line variability in NGC 3783

New intermediate-resolution optical spectrophotometry of the nucleus of the southern Seyfert 1 galaxy NGC 3783 is presented. These data demonstrate that the nucleus was in a very luminous state in May, 1983 manifested through considerably enhanced broad-line and optical continuum emission compared to the quiescent state evident in the data of Evans (1988) obtained in March, 1984. The two data sets are compared to derive the relative strengths of the continuum and broad-line intensities, and profile ratios are constructed for the H-alpha and H-beta Balmer lines to detect differences in the line profiles between the two epochs.

Evans, I. N.↗
DOE OSTI2022

Experimental distinction of the molecularly induced Balmer emission contribution and its application for inferring molecular divertor density with 2D filtered camera measurements during detachment in JET L-mode plasmas

A previously presented model for generating 2D estimates of the divertor plasma conditions at JET from deuterium Balmer line intensity ratios, obtained from tomographic reconstructions of divertor camera images, was amended to consider also the Balmer emission arising from molecular processes. Utilizing the AMJUEL and H2VIBR atomic and molecular databases of EIRENE enabled also inference of the molecular divertor density from the distinguished molecularly induced emission. Analysis of a JET L-mode density scan suggests the molecularly induced emission accounting for up to 60%–70% and 10%–20% of the Balmer Dα and Dγ intensities, respectively, at the onset of detachment, while electron-ion recombination becomes increasingly dominant with deepening detachment. Similar observations were made by post-processing EDGE2D-EIRENE simulations, which indicated significant roles of molecular D$^{+}_{2}$ ions and vibrational excitation of the D 2 molecules as precursors for the molecularly induced emission. The experimentally inferred molecular density at the outer strike point was found to increase monotonously with decreasing strike point temperature, reaching approximately 30%–50% of the local electron density at n mol, osp = 1–2 X 10 20 m -3 at T e,osp ≈ 0.7 eV. A further steep increase by a factor of 3–5 was observed with decrease of T e,osp to 0.5 eV. The observations are in qualitative and reasonable quantitative agreement with EDGE2D-EIRENE predictions of n mol, osp within the uncertainties of the experimental data.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
NASA NTRS1980

Spectrophotometry of the Seyfert galaxy NGC 4593

Spectrophotometry of the bright class 1 Seyfert galaxy NGC 4593 is presented. The emission-line characteristics are briefly discussed and compared with those of other Seyfert galaxies. The measured hydrogen Balmer-line ratios are reasonably consistent with expected recombination values, and the emission intensities of Fe II, He I 5876, and forbidden O III 4363 relative to other lines are stronger than average in NGC 4593.

Macalpine, G. M.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Spectropolarimetry of V854 Centauri at minimum light - Clues to the geometry of the dust and emission-line region

The RCB star V854 Cen is observed during a very deep decline (Delta m = 8.2) at the AAT. The continuum polarization is very high, ranging from 14 percent at 4200 A to about 4 percent at 6500 A. The polarization decreases across the emission lines, but the polarized flux remains constant. This indicates that the emission lines are unpolarized, so the emission probably arises in a region unobscured by dust. In such a deep minimum, the visible continuum flux is probably almost entirely scattered light, which explains its high polarization. The scattered flux may arise in the same clouds contributing to the observed IR flux if the albedo is low and the grains forward throwing. The emission-line spectrum itself is very unusual for an RCB star in decline, with strong C2 bands and Balmer lines.

Whitney, Barbara A.↗
NASA NTRS1975

The effect of suprathermal protons on the physical conditions in Seyfert galaxy nuclei II

The radiative transfer of Ly-alpha, Ly-beta, and H-alpha in a hydrogen gas containing dust was considered with application to the nuclear gas in Seyfert galaxies. By neglecting the direct escape of line radiation and by averaging over the gas, the radiation transfer in space is suppressed and the frequency transfer only is considered. The dust degrades the line radiation via frequency-independent absorption, converting the energy to infrared luminosity. The source functions in the lines were solved, using appropriate approximations, in order to determine under what conditions the narrow component of the Balmer line radiation from the gas can be self-absorbed and degraded without similar degradation of the broad component, which originates from the suprathermals themselves. The results are used to find self-consistent values for the temperature and ionization of the gas for various amounts of dust and various concentrations of suprathermal particles.

Stoner, R.↗
NASA NTRS1991

FOS spectroscopy of resolved structure in the nucleus of NGC 1068

The results of FOS spectroscopy of the continuum peak of NGC 1068 in the wavelength range 2200-7000 A are reported. Detailed analysis reveals the emission lines to be complex in shape and to consist of a number of different velocity components. Both the Balmer lines and the strong forbidden lines have a contribution from a component with full width at half-maximum on the order of 2200 km/s. However, the broad H-beta emission observed in polarized light is not detected. This implies that the continuum peak is not the mirror which reflects light from the hidden Seyfert I nucleus. It could possibly contribute some of the reflected light, but the equivalent width of the H-beta BLR line, if present at all, is much weaker than expected from the ground-based nuclear polarized-flux spectrum.

Caganoff, S.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Observations of quasars with the International Ultraviolet Explorer satellite

The paper deals with the spectra of six quasars, ranging in redshift from 0.23 to 2.04, obtained with the 45-cm telescope mounted on the IUE satellite. The average emission-line intensity ratio for L-alpha to H beta and the detection of higher-order Lyman emission lines in two objects are found to be inconsistent with a simple optically thick recombination model. The Lyman and Balmer line velocity profiles are identical. The emission lines in 3C 351 can be decomposed into sharp and broad components, with the sharp lines consistent with the recombination model.

Green, R. F.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Orbital motion and mass flow in the interacting binary Be star HR 2142

The discovery of an unusual, periodic, two-component shell phase of short duration in the 'classical' Be star HR2142 (HD41335, MWC133) offered convincing evidence that this object is a mass-transfer binary system. A model based solely on the phase-dependent behavior of the hydrogen shell lines in this 80(d).860 binary was developed by Peters and Polidan (1973) and by Peters (1976). The present investigation is concerned with a refinement to the earlier model, taking into account the utilization of an orbital solution obtained from measurements of the wings of the broad photospheric features observed in the rapidly rotating primary. Velocities and equivalent widths from the sharp 'shell' lines, presumably formed in or near the gas stream, provide additional information on the mass flow in the Balmer-line-formation region.

Peters, G. J.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Radiative backwarming in white-light flares

Consideration is given to empirical atmospheric structures that are consistent with enhanced white-light continuum emission in solar flares. Results are presented from calculations of radiative transfer in lines and continua in empirical white-light flare model atmospheres, showing that flares with strong emission in the Balmer lines and continuum must show increases at longer wavelengths due to H(-) emission from overheated photospheric levels, which the Paschen continuum contribution in the same wavelength range is neglible. Also, plausible heating mechanisms that can lead to white-light flare emission are examined.

Machado, Marcos E.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Theoretical quasar emission-line ratios. V - Balmer continuum emission

Isothermal, isobaric models of quasar emission line regions are presented which include an improved treatment of radiative transfer in the bound-free continua, based on a generalization of frequency-integrated line transfer techniques and on the use of a probabilistic radiative transfer equation which explicitly distinguishes between the flux divergence coefficient and the photon escape probability. It is found that Balmer continuum emission can be obtained without compromising observed line ratios. It is also established that optically thin or thick Balmer continuum emission models with blended Fe II line are consistent with 4000-2000 A 'blue bump' observations, and that the improved radiative transfer treatment makes order-of-magnitude corrections to level populations and local cooling rates calculated with past techniques.

Puetter, R. C.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Hawaii 167: A compact absorption-line object at z = 2.35

During the course of the Hawaii K-band (2.1 micrometer) survey we have detected a compact object, Hawaii 167, lying at a redshift of 2.33, in which are seen both low- and high-ionization absorption lines. In the near-infrared we see broad H alpha emission at a redshift of 2.35 but do not detect the other Balmer lines, (O II) lambda 3727, or (O III) lambda 5007. The absence of strong Mg II or C IV emission in the rest ultraviolet suggests that, at these wavelengths, we may be seeing a poststarburst galaxy rather than a quasar. Indeed, this class of object may be common enough to represent a major episode of galaxy formation, possibly the formation of the spheroids. However, Q0059-2735, the most extreme member of the class of Mg II absorbing broad absorption line quasars, is very similar to the present object, and there may be an evolutionary sequence or some other close connection between Hawaii 167 and the broad absorption line quasars.

Cowie, L. L.↗