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At least 1,315 records · Page 73
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2010

THIRTY NEW LOW-MASS SPECTROSCOPIC BINARIES

As part of our search for young M dwarfs within 25 pc, we acquired high-resolution spectra of 185 low-mass stars compiled by the NStars project that have strong X-ray emission. By cross-correlating these spectra with radial velocity standard stars, we are sensitive to finding multi-lined spectroscopic binaries. We find a low-mass spectroscopic binary fraction of 16% consisting of 27 SB2s, 2 SB3s, and 1 SB4, increasing the number of known low-mass spectroscopic binaries (SBs) by 50% and proving that strong X-ray emission is an extremely efficient way to find M-dwarf SBs. WASP photometry of 23 of these systems revealed two low-mass eclipsing binaries (EBs), bringing the count of known M-dwarf EBs to 15. BD-22 5866, the ESB4, was fully described in 2008 by Shkolnik et al. and CCDM J04404+3127 B consists of two mid-M stars orbiting each other every 2.048 days. WASP also provided rotation periods for 12 systems, and in the cases where the synchronization time scales are short, we used P{sub rot} to determine the true orbital parameters. For those with no P{sub rot}, we used differential radial velocities to set upper limits on orbital periods and semimajor axes. More than half of our sample has near-equal-mass components (q > 0.8). This is expected since our sample is biased toward tight orbits where saturated X-ray emission is due to tidal spin-up rather than stellar youth. Increasing the samples of M-dwarf SBs and EBs is extremely valuable in setting constraints on current theories of stellar multiplicity and evolution scenarios for low-mass multiple systems.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Communication: He-tagged vibrational spectra of the SarGlyH{sup +} and H{sup +}(H{sub 2}O){sub 2,3} ions: Quantifying tag effects in cryogenic ion vibrational predissociation (CIVP) spectroscopy

To assess the degree to which more perturbative, but widely used “tag” species (Ar, H{sub 2}, Ne) affect the intrinsic band patterns of the isolated ions, we describe the extension of mass-selective, cryogenic ion vibrational spectroscopy to the very weakly interacting helium complexes of three archetypal ions: the dipeptide SarGlyH{sup +} and the small protonated water clusters: H{sup +}(H{sub 2}O){sub 2,3}, including the H{sub 5}O{sub 2}{sup +} “Zundel” ion. He adducts were generated in a 4.5 K octopole ion trap interfaced to a double-focusing, tandem time-of-flight photofragmentation mass spectrometer to record mass-selected vibrational predissociation spectra. The H{sub 2} tag-induced shift (relative to that by He) on the tag-bound NH stretch of the SarGlyH{sup +} spectrum is quite small (12 cm{sup −1}), while the effect on the floppy H{sub 5}O{sub 2}{sup +} ion is more dramatic (125 cm{sup −1}) in going from Ar (or H{sub 2}) to Ne. The shifts from Ne to He, on the other hand, while quantitatively significant (maximum of 10 cm{sup −1}), display the same basic H{sub 5}O{sub 2}{sup +} band structure, indicating that the He-tagged H{sub 5}O{sub 2}{sup +} spectrum accurately represents the delocalized nature of the vibrational zero-point level. Interestingly, the He-tagged spectrum of H{sup +}(H{sub 2}O){sub 3} reveals the location of the non-bonded OH group on the central H{sub 3}O{sup +} ion to fall between the collective non-bonded OH stretches on the flanking water molecules in a position typically associated with a neutral OH group.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
NASA NTRS1982

IUE spectroscopic investigation of interacting binary systems

The IUE observations of binaries consisting of at least one early type star, to the Algol systems, and to W Serpentis systems are discussed. The OB close binaries almost invaribly show a stellar wind. The difference between an unevolved early type system and a slightly evolved system is difficult to discern observationally and probably not meaningful in terms of Roche lobes. the zeta Aur stars show complex gas motions and shocks. Many of the Algol systems show peculiarities in their ultraviolet continua and the resonance lines, particularly Si IV, are of abnormal and variable strength. Emission lines were detected in several systems during the total eclipse. The W Ser stars are characterized by numerous strong emission lines in their ultraviolet spectra. It appears that these systems may be related to beta Lyrae as they seem to be in a phase of rapid mass transfer and their spectra show similarities to that of beta Lyrae.

Mccluskey, G. E., Jr.↗
DOE OSTI2011

CONFIRMATION OF ENHANCED DWARF-SENSITIVE ABSORPTION FEATURES IN THE SPECTRA OF MASSIVE ELLIPTICAL GALAXIES: FURTHER EVIDENCE FOR A NON-UNIVERSAL INITIAL MASS FUNCTION

We recently found that massive cluster elliptical galaxies have strong Na I {lambda}8183, 8195 and FeH {lambda}9916 Wing-Ford band absorption, indicating the presence of a very large population of stars with masses {approx}< 0.3 M{sub sun}. Here we test this result by comparing the elliptical galaxy spectra to those of luminous globular clusters associated with M31. These globular clusters have similar metallicities, abundance ratios, and ages as massive elliptical galaxies but their low dynamical mass-to-light ratios rule out steep stellar initial mass functions (IMFs). From high-quality Keck spectra we find that the dwarf-sensitive absorption lines in globular clusters are significantly weaker than in elliptical galaxies and consistent with normal IMFs. The differences in the Na I and Wing-Ford indices are 0.027 {+-} 0.007 mag and 0.017 {+-} 0.006 mag, respectively. We directly compare the two classes of objects by subtracting the averaged globular cluster spectrum from the averaged elliptical galaxy spectrum. The difference spectrum is well fit by the difference between a stellar population synthesis model with a bottom-heavy IMF and one with a bottom-light IMF. We speculate that the slope of the IMF may vary with velocity dispersion, although it is not yet clear what physical mechanism would be responsible for such a relation.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
NASA NTRS1987

Mass loss

Observational evidence for mass loss from cool stars is reviewed. Spectra line profiles are used for the derivation of mass-loss rates with the aid of the equation of continuity. This equation implies steady mass loss with spherical symmetry. Data from binary stars, Mira variables, and red giants in globular clusters are examined. Silicate emission is discussed as a useful indicator of mass loss in the middle infrared spectra. The use of thermal millimeter-wave radiation, Very Large Array (VLA) measurement of radio emission, and OH/IR masers are discussed as a tool for mass loss measurement. Evidence for nonsteady mass loss is also reviewed.

Goldberg, Leo↗
DOE OSTI2010

Collective flavor oscillations of supernova neutrinos and r-process nucleosynthesis

Neutrino-neutrino interactions inside core-collapse supernovae may give rise to collective flavor oscillations resulting in swap between flavors. These oscillations depend on the initial energy spectra, and relative fluxes or relative luminosities of the neutrinos. It has been observed that departure from energy equipartition among different flavors can give rise to one or more sharp spectral swap over energy, termed as splits. We study the occurrence of splits in the neutrino and antineutrino spectra, varying the initial relative fluxes for different models of initial energy spectrum, in both normal and inverted hierarchy. These initial relative flux variations give rise to several possible split patterns whereas variation over different models of energy spectra give similar results. We explore the effect of these spectral splits on the electron fraction, Y{sub e}, that governs r-process nucleosynthesis inside supernovae. Since spectral splits modify the electron neutrino and antineutrino spectra in the region where r-process is postulated to happen, and since the pattern of spectral splits depends on the initial conditions of the spectra and the neutrino mass hierarchy, we show that the condition Y{sub e} < 0.5 required for successful r-process nucleosynthesis will lead to constraints on the initial spectral conditions, for a given neutrino mass hierarchy.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2010

Thickness evaluation of InGaAs/InAlAs quantum wells

This work proposes a new optoelectronic measurement of quantum well (QW) thickness and applies it to doped and undoped In{sub 0.53}Ga{sub 0.47}As/In{sub 0.52}Al{sub 0.48}As multiple-QW structures. Near-infrared spectroscopic identification of the interband optical transition at 100-300 K gave the eigenenergies of the conduction band in the QW. Evaluation of the QW thickness involved analysis of the effective mass at the corresponding eigenenergy. QW thicknesses in the range of 5.45-20.8 nm were determined in six different wafers. These thicknesses agreed well with the QW thicknesses estimated by double-crystal x-ray diffraction within almost two monolayers. This measurement was used to determine the distance of potential boundaries confining the electron wave functions.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2016

Abundance derivations for the secondary stars in cataclysmic variables from near-infrared spectroscopy

We derive metallicities for 41 cataclysmic variables (CVs) from near-infrared spectroscopy. We use synthetic spectra that cover the 0.8 μm ≤ λ ≤ 2.5 μm bandpass to ascertain the value of [Fe/H] for CVs with K-type donors, while also deriving abundances for other elements. Using calibrations for determining [Fe/H] from the K-band spectra of M-dwarfs, we derive more precise values for T{sub eff} for the secondaries in the shortest period CVs, and examine whether they have carbon deficits. In general, the donor stars in CVs have subsolar metallicities. We confirm carbon deficits for a large number of systems. CVs with orbital periods >5 hr are most likely to have unusual abundances. We identify four CVs with CO emission. We use phase-resolved spectra to ascertain the mass and radius of the donor in U Gem. The secondary star in U Gem appears to have a lower apparent gravity than a main sequence star of its spectral type. Applying this result to other CVs, we find that the later-than-expected spectral types observed for many CV donors are mostly an effect of inclination. All of the magnetic CVs, except the low accretion rate polar MQ Dra, have donors with subsolar metallicities. We find that two systems with unusual spectra, EI Psc and QZ Ser, have large excesses of sodium and extreme deficits of carbon. Synthetic spectra that have a reduced abundance of hydrogen are best able to explain the spectra of these two objects.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Nebular Models of Sub-Chandrasekhar Mass Type Ia Supernovae: Clues to the Origin of Ca-rich Transients

In this work we use non-local thermal equilibrium radiative transport modeling to examine observational signatures of sub-Chandrasekhar mass double detonation explosions in the nebular phase. Results range from spectra that look like typical and subluminous Type Ia supernovae (SNe) for higher mass progenitors to spectra that look like Ca-rich transients for lower mass progenitors. This ignition mechanism produces an inherent relationship between emission features and the progenitor mass as the ratio of the nebular [Ca II ]/[Fe III ] emission lines increases with decreasing white dwarf mass. Examining the [Ca II ]/[Fe III ] nebular line ratio in a sample of observed SNe we find further evidence for the two distinct classes of SNe Ia identified in Polin et al. by their relationship between Si ii velocity and B-band magnitude, both at time of peak brightness. This suggests that SNe Ia arise from more than one progenitor channel, and provides an empirical method for classifying events based on their physical origin. Furthermore, we provide insight to the mysterious origin of Ca-rich transients. Low-mass double detonation models with only a small mass fraction of Ca (1%) produce nebular spectra that cool primarily through forbidden [Ca II ] emission.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
NASA NTRS2020

An Obscured, Seyfert 2-like State of the Stellar-mass Black Hole GRS 1915+105 Caused by Failed Disk Winds

We report on Chandra grating spectra of the stellar-mass black hole GRS 1915+105 obtained during a novel, highly obscured state. As the source entered this state, a dense, massive accretion disk wind was detected through strong absorption lines. Photoionization modeling indicates that it must originate close to the central engine, orders of magnitude from the outer accretion disk. Strong, nearly sinusoidal flux variability in this phase yielded a key insight: the wind is blueshifted when its column density is relatively low, but redshifted as it approaches the Compton-thick threshold. At no point does the wind appear to achieve the local escape velocity; in this sense, it is a “failed wind.” Later observations suggest that the disk ultimately fails to keep even the central engine clear of gas, leading to heavily obscured and Compton-thick states characterized by very strong Fe K emission lines. Indeed, these later spectra are successfully described using models developed for obscured active galactic nuclei (AGNs). We discuss our results in terms of the remarkable similarity of GRS 1915+105 deep in its “obscured state” to Seyfert 2 and Compton-thick AGNs, and we explore how our understanding of accretion and obscuration in massive black holes is impacted by our observations.

Black holes↗
NASA NTRS1986

Evidence for HCS(+) and CH2SH(+) in the inner coma of Comet Halley

Number densities for ion species with masses 44, 45, and 47 amu/q were derived from ram energy spectra of the neutral gas mass spectrometer experiment on Giotto in the inner coma of comet Halley. The relative abundances of the masses suggest the presence of the ions CS(+), HCS(+), and CH2SH(+).

Krankowsky, D.↗
DOE OSTI2016

Energy spectra of massive two-body decay products and mass measurement

Here, we have recently established a new method for measuring the mass of unstable particles produced at hadron colliders based on the analysis of the energy distribution of a massless product from their two-body decays. The central ingredient of our proposal is the remarkable result that, for an unpolarized decaying particle, the location of the peak in the energy distribution of the observed decay product is identical to the (fixed) value of the energy that this particle would have in the rest-frame of the decaying particle, which, in turn, is a simple function of the involved masses. In addition, we utilized the property that this energy distribution is symmetric around the location of peak when energy is plotted on a logarithmic scale. The general strategy was demonstrated in several specific cases, including both beyond the standard model particles, as well as for the top quark. In the present work, we generalize this method to the case of a massive decay product from a two-body decay; this procedure is far from trivial because (in general) both the above-mentioned properties are no longer valid. Nonetheless, we propose a suitably modified parametrization of the energy distribution that was used successfully for the massless case, which can deal with the massive case as well. We test this parametrization on concrete examples of energy spectra of Z bosons from the decay of a heavier supersymmetric partner of top quark (stop) into a Z boson and a lighter stop. After establishing the accuracy of this parametrization, we study a realistic application for the same process, but now including dominant backgrounds and using foreseeable statistics at LHC14, in order to determine the performance of this method for an actual mass measurement. The upshot of our present and previous work is that, in spite of energy being a Lorentz-variant quantity, its distribution emerges as a powerful tool for mass measurement at hadron colliders.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2010

Relationship of deep defects to oxygen and hydrogen content in nanocrystalline silicon photovoltaic materials

We report measurements of the structural and compositional properties of a range of hydrogenated nanocrystalline films. We employed Raman spectroscopy for crystallinity and time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectroscopy (TOF-SIMS) for impurity characterizations. The crystalline volume fractions and impurity levels are correlated with the deep state densities determined by drive level capacitance profiling. Those defects were found to have a thermal emission energy of 0.65{+-}.05 eV. We found that the overall crystallinity correlated reasonably well with the density of such defect states and also found a strong correlation between the defect density and the levels of oxygen impurities. Possible origins of these defects are discussed.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2012

THE COSMIC ORIGINS SPECTROGRAPH

The Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (COS) is a moderate-resolution spectrograph with unprecedented sensitivity that was installed into the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) in 2009 May, during HST Servicing Mission 4 (STS-125). We present the design philosophy and summarize the key characteristics of the instrument that will be of interest to potential observers. For faint targets, with flux F{sub {lambda}} Almost-Equal-To 1.0 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup -14} erg cm{sup -2} s{sup -1} A{sup -1}, COS can achieve comparable signal to noise (when compared to Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph echelle modes) in 1%-2% of the observing time. This has led to a significant increase in the total data volume and data quality available to the community. For example, in the first 20 months of science operation (2009 September-2011 June) the cumulative redshift pathlength of extragalactic sight lines sampled by COS is nine times than sampled at moderate resolution in 19 previous years of Hubble observations. COS programs have observed 214 distinct lines of sight suitable for study of the intergalactic medium as of 2011 June. COS has measured, for the first time with high reliability, broad Ly{alpha} absorbers and Ne VIII in the intergalactic medium, and observed the He II reionization epoch along multiple sightlines. COS has detected the first CO emission and absorption in the UV spectra of low-mass circumstellar disks at the epoch of giant planet formation, and detected multiple ionization states of metals in extra-solar planetary atmospheres. In the coming years, COS will continue its census of intergalactic gas, probe galactic and cosmic structure, and explore physics in our solar system and Galaxy.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Structure of odd-mass Ne, Na, and Mg nuclei

The island of inversion is a region of neutron-rich nuclei around 31 Na that are deformed in their ground states. In this region, less is known about the energy levels of odd-mass nuclei, how they evolve with increasing neutron numbers, and how they can be organized into rotational bands. We perform ab initio coupled-cluster calculations of spectra in odd-mass Ne, Na, and Mg nuclei based on an interaction of chiral effective field theory. In conclusion, our results confirm some tentative spin and parity assignments, predict the structure of nuclei near the neutron dripline, and inform us about rotational bands in this region of the nuclear table.

20 ≤ A ≤ 38↗
DOE OSTI2020

The ALFALFA-SDSS Galaxy Catalog

We present a H i optical catalog of ~30,000 galaxies based on the 100% complete Arecibo Legacy Fast Arecibo L-band Feed Array (ALFALFA) survey combined with data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). Our goal is to facilitate the public use of the completed ALFALFA catalog by providing carefully determined matches to SDSS counterparts, including matches for ~10,000 galaxies that do not have SDSS spectra. These identifications can provide a basis for further crossmatching with other surveys using SDSS photometric IDs as a reference point. We derive absolute magnitudes and stellar masses for each galaxy using optical colors combined with an internal reddening correction designed for small- and intermediate-mass galaxies with active star formation. We also provide measures of stellar masses and star formation rates based on infrared and/or ultraviolet photometry for galaxies that are detected by the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer and/or the Galaxy Evolution Explorer. Finally, we compare the galaxy population in the ALFALFA-SDSS sample with the populations in several other publicly available galaxy catalogs and confirm that ALFALFA galaxies typically have lower masses and bluer colors.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2012

A DESCRIPTION OF QUASAR VARIABILITY MEASURED USING REPEATED SDSS AND POSS IMAGING

We provide a quantitative description and statistical interpretation of the optical continuum variability of quasars. The Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) has obtained repeated imaging in five UV-to-IR photometric bands for 33,881 spectroscopically confirmed quasars. About 10,000 quasars have an average of 60 observations in each band obtained over a decade along Stripe 82 (S82), whereas the remaining {approx}25,000 have 2-3 observations due to scan overlaps. The observed time lags span the range from a day to almost 10 years, and constrain quasar variability at rest-frame time lags of up to 4 years, and at rest-frame wavelengths from 1000 A to 6000 A. We publicly release a user-friendly catalog of quasars from the SDSS Data Release 7 that have been observed at least twice in SDSS or once in both SDSS and the Palomar Observatory Sky Survey, and we use it to analyze the ensemble properties of quasar variability. Based on a damped random walk (DRW) model defined by a characteristic timescale and an asymptotic variability amplitude that scale with the luminosity, black hole mass, and rest wavelength for individual quasars calibrated in S82, we can fully explain the ensemble variability statistics of the non-S82 quasars such as the exponential distribution of large magnitude changes. All available data are consistent with the DRW model as a viable description of the optical continuum variability of quasars on timescales of {approx}5-2000 days in the rest frame. We use these models to predict the incidence of quasar contamination in transient surveys such as those from the Palomar Transient Factory and Large Synoptic Survey Telescope.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
NASA NTRS2002

NASA Fuse Cycle 1 Program A100. FUV Spectra of Evolved Late-K and M Stars: Mass Loss revisited and Stellar Activity

Program A100 was awarded 50 ksec of FUSE observing time. Targets alpha TrA (K3 II) and gamma Cru (N13 III) were originally assigned 25 ksec each, to be observed in the medium aperture. Once the in-flight performance and telescope alignment problems were known, the observations were reprogrammed to optimized the scientific return of the program. alpha TrA was scheduled for 25 ksec observations in both the medium and large apertures. The principle aim of this program was to measure the stellar FUV line and continuum emission, in order to estimate the photoionization radiation field and to determine the level of stellar activity through the fluxes in the collisionally excited high temperature diagnostics: C III 977A and O VI 1032,1038A doublet. The medium aperture observations were obtained successfully while the large aperture observations were thought by Johns Hopkins University (JHU)to be lost to satellite problems. There was insufficient signal-to noise in the medium aperture short wavelength SiC channels to do quantitative science. The long wavelength LiF spectra are of high signal-to-noise (SN) and show pronounced emission lines near lambdalambda1100 - 1140A. Emission had been observed at these wavelength in low resolution and low SN ORFEUS-SPAS 11 spectra obtained by Dupree & Brickhouse (1998 ApJ 500, L33), however, they were unable to identify these features. One of the first problems faced in the early FUSE mission was establishing a reliable wavelength scale, especially between the different channels. With the medium aperture data in hand we decided to identify the features and thereby establish an absolute wavelength scale for the channels where the emission occurred. We first established that the emission was fluorescent. and then we constructed a fluorescent line formation model for all neutrals. and singly ionized species with atomic numbers up to 28, and the H2 molecule. We used datasets of radiative rates and energy levels which were as complete as possible and available in an electronic format (millions of transitions). We found that most, but not all, emission was from Fe II pumped by H Lyalpha. This is not typical fluorescence, since the emission is shortward of the pumping transitions near 1215.6A.

Harper, Graham M.↗