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Resonance lines originating from autoionization energy levels far above ionization potential observed for highly ionized atoms of Na I isoelectronic sequence
Observations by the spacecraft Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer (EUVE), Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE), Chandra, and XMM-Newton of Capella (α Aurigae) have encountered problems with the relative intensities of the Fe XVIII and Fe XIX line emission in the soft-X-ray (XUV) and extreme-ultraviolet spectral ranges versus various model predictions based on theoretical atomic data. The reason may either lie in astrophysical phenomena, e.g., at emission or because of absorption by the interstellar medium, in the theoretical atomic data, in one or more spectrometer calibrations, or in the spectral modeling. Here, by measurements using an electron beam ion trap we provide laboratory data obtained under conditions that are reasonably close to stellar emission regions. The laboratory data on Fe XVIII and Fe XIX show line ratios that are rather similar to the observations of Capella. The measurements, therefore, rule out astrophysical phenomena and calibration errors and point to issues with the modeling of the observed Capella emission.
SAND2022-12602 O Balrog uses mathematical methods to calculate spectral line shapes in high-energy-density plasmas. Line shapes are a result of atomic perturbations by their surrounding plasmas, and this model captures much of the physics and generates model spectrum that can be used in data analysis and as an input for other models. Sandia National Laboratories is a multimission laboratory managed and operated by National Technology & Engineering Solutions of Sandia, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Honeywell International Inc., for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-NA0003525.
This paper presents spectral observations of the continuum as well as the profiles of 29 selected atomic lines for the two continuum-emitting kernels of the June 15 1982 white-light flare, and for the neighboring quiet sun. It is found that one of the kernels does not show enhanced emission in chromospheric lines, particularly in H-alpha, although it presents the same level of white-light emission as the other kernel. This suggests that both kernels have the same thermal structure in the continuum-emitting region, but a different structure in the chromosphere, thus supporting the hypothesis that the continuum emission is of photospheric origin, and due to H(-).
We describe a new software package that may be used to determine stellar and atomic parameters by matching observed spectra with synthetic spectra generated from parameterized atmospheres. A nonlinear least squares algorithm is used to solve for any subset of allowed parameters, which include atomic data (log gf and van der Waals damping constants), model atmosphere specifications (T(sub eff, log g), elemental abundances, and radial, turbulent, and rotational velocities. LTE synthesis software handles discontiguous spectral intervals and complex atomic blends. As a demonstration, we fit 26 Fe I lines in the NSO Solar Atlas (Kurucz et al.), determining various solar and atomic parameters.
Over the past five years, new methods to reconstruct spectrally pure maps of the Sun from spectroheliogram data have emerged, essentially unlocking this long-abandoned method of obtaining both spatial and spectral information over a large field of view simultaneously. The original inversion method determined the plasma’s emission measure distribution as a function of temperature at every spatial location in the field of view. To complete this inversion, a response matrix had to be created mapping the emission measure in different (temperature, space) bins to detector, requiring assumptions on the thermal and ionization equilibrium and abundance state of the plasma. We have since derived a new method of the inversion that does not require these atomic assumptions to be made. Instead, we use only the different locations of spectral lines from the same ion species and the possible ratios of those single-species spectral lines, removing the need for a priori knowledge on the state of the emitting plasma. In this presentation, we demonstrate this method using observed data from the Marshall Grazing Incidence X-ray Spectrometer (MaGIXS) and simulated data from the EUV CME and Coronal Connectivity Observatory (ECCCO) investigation.
We report new observations of the nova RS Ophiuchi (RS Oph) using the Keck Interferometer Nulling Instrument, approximately 3.8 days following the most recent outburst that occurred on 2006 February 12. The Keck Interferometer Nuller (KIN) operates in K-band from 8 to 12.5 pm in a nulling mode, which means that the central broad-band interference fringe is a dark fringe - with an angular width of 25 mas at mid band - rather than the bright fringe used ill a conventional optical interferometer. In this mode the stellar light itself is suppressed by the destructive fringe, effectively enhancing the contrast of the circumstellar material located near the star. By subsequently shifting the neighboring bright fringe onto the center of the source brightness distribution and integrating, a second spatial regime dominated by light from the central portion of the source is almost simultaneously sampled. The nulling technique is the sparse aperture equivalent of the conventional corongraphic technique used in filled aperture telescopes. By fitting the unique KIK inner and outer spatial regime data, we have obtained an angular size of the mid-infrared continuum of 6.2, 4.0. or 5.4 mas for a disk profile, gaussian profile (fwhm), and shell profile respectively. The data show evidence of enhanced neutral atomic hydrogen emission located in the inner spatial regime relative to the outer regime. There is also evidence of a 9.7 micron silicate feature seen outside of this region. Importantly, we see spectral lines excited by the nova flash in the outer region before the blast wave reaches these regions. These lines are from neutral, weakly excited atoms which support the following interpretation. We discuss the present results in terms of a unifying model of the system that includes an increase in density in the plane of the orbit of the two stars created by a spiral shock wave caused by the motion of the stars through the cool wind of the red giant star. These data show the power and potential of the nulling technique which has been developed for the detection of Earth-like planets around nearby stars for the Terrestrial Planet Finder Mission and Darwin missions.
Interaction of atomic systems with high intensity monochromatic microwave radiation leads to characteristic splittings of optical spectral lines
Transitions in Na-like Ti and Fe ions, which appear as satellites to 2p-3s and 2p-3d transitions in Ne-like ions, were studied. The soft X-ray spectra produced by a focused-laser source and a vacuum-spark device were obtained with the same grazing-incidence spectrograph. Atomic structure calculations agreed with the observed 2p-3s spectral patterns and made possible line identifications in Ti XII and Fe XVI.
The UV photospheric spectra of cool giants are modeled analytically to facilitate the identification of UV spectral features and aid in the measurement of actual chromospheric flux at different wavelengths. Atomic line data derived experimentally and semiempirically are used with LTE model atmospheres by means of the SYNTHE FORTRAN code to generate the synthetic spectra. Surface flux spectra are determined and fitted to the absorption features of observed IUE high resolution spectra, and the modeled results are compared to the observed spectra of the cool giants Arcturus and the cooler Gamma Crucis. It is shown that the synthetic spectra can be produced for the stars, and chromospheric emission lines are thought to account for significant discrepancies between observed and calculated values. Two new fluorescence mechanisms are identified by modeling the ultraviolet photospheric spectrum of Gamma Crucis.
Measurements were made of the radiating gas cap of a blunt body in an NASA Ames 20 MW arcjet wind tunnel. The test gas was air. Spectra of the flux incident on a small aperture centered at the stagnation region were obtained. A helium-cooled MgF window transmitted flux into an evacuated collimating system that focused the aperture onto the entrance slit of a spectrometer. Data were obtained with films and by photomultipliers. The range covered was 120 nm to 1000 nm and the resolution was 0.05 nm to 0.5 nm. This paper presents preliminary results from the experiment. Representative spectral records from 200 nm to 1000 nm are shown. The spectra show the atomic lines from oxygen and nitrogen in the IR, as well as the molecular systems of NO, N2, N2(+), and CN. Copper, as a contaminant, and carbon are tentatively identified.
A viewgraph presentation describing experimental results and analytical developments about plume diagnostics for hydrocarbon-fueled rocket engines is shown. The topics include: 1) SSC Plume Diagnostics Background; 2) Engine Health Monitoring Approach; 3) Rocket Plume Spectroscopy Simulation Code; 4) Spectral Simulation for 10 Atomic Species and for 11 Diatomic Molecular Electronic Bands; 5) "Best" Lines for Plume Diagnostics for Hydrocarbon-Fueled Rocket Engines; 6) Experimental Set Up for the Methane Thruster Test Program and Experimental Results; and 7) Summary and Recommendations.
Using atomic data published during the last few years for Li to Mg sequence ions, we have carried out multilevel calculations over a range of electron pressures to obtain absolute intensities for spectral lines in the UV and EUV regions of the electromagnetic spectrum. Both the pressure dependence of the ionization balance and the dependence of line emissivities on the populations of metastable levels are taken into account. These line emissivities may be used to obtain plane-parallel model atmospheres for different solar transition region structures, and in general for other late-type stars which have observable lines over a wide range of excitation potentials.
Observations are reported of the detection of IR radiation from several planetary nebulae not previously known to be radiating at these wavelengths. Broad spectral bandwidth observations indicate that ir radiation in excess of that expected from atomic processes is a common phenomenon among these objects. Investigations with narrow spectral bandwidth show that in a few cases the energy in the 10.52-micron line is a significant fraction of the total energy observed in the broad-band measurements and in other cases a relatively small fraction of the total radiation. Other observations on two sources with narrow spectral bandwidth adjacent to the 10.52-micron line indicate that at these wavelengths a true continuum of radiation exists as well as lines. The results are discussed in relation to visual and radio-wavelength data.
The effects of plasma electric microfields on line-like optical features arising from atomic levels above the ionization threshold are investigated within the framework of the quasi-static and single-frequency dynamic-field theories of spectral-line broadening. The 2p(23)P to 1s2p(3)P and 2s2p(3)P to 1s2s(3)S transitions in helium and helium-like ions are treated as examples. The mixing of the doubly excited levels in the perturbing microfields produces Stark broadening of the emission lines and induces autoionization of the 2p(23)P level, which, unlike the 2s2p(3)P level, is metastable against autoionization in the field-free environment. Determination of the complete Stark-broadening profiles in thermal plasmas is complicated by the need to include the effects of both the (quasi-static) ion and the (dynamic) electron fields. Under nonequilibrium conditions, where electric fields from either electron or ion plasma waves can far exceed nearby particle fields, the calculation and interpretation of the line shapes may be simplified and could provide a diagnostic probe of the wave-field properties.
An analytical formula is developed to accurately represent the photoabsorption cross section of atomic Oxygen for all energies of interest in X-ray spectral modeling. In the vicinity of the K edge, a Rydberg series expression is used to fit R-matrix results, including important orbital relaxation effects, that accurately predict the absorption oscillator strengths below threshold and merge consistently and continuously to the above-threshold cross section. Further, minor adjustments are made to the threshold energies in order to reliably align the atomic Rydberg resonances after consideration of both experimental and observed line positions. At energies far below or above the K-edge region, the formulation is based on both outer- and inner-shell direct photoionization, including significant shake-up and shake-off processes that result in photoionization-excitation and double-photoionization contributions to the total cross section. The ultimate purpose for developing a definitive model for oxygen absorption is to resolve standing discrepancies between the astronomically observed and laboratory-measured line positions, and between the inferred atomic and molecular oxygen abundances in the interstellar medium from XSTAR and SPEX spectral models.
We report observations to detect the 327 MHz line of atomic deuterium in the primarily molecular clouds towards Cas A and Sgr A, making appropriate choices of spectral and spatial resolution. Our best results for Cas A, based on 1253 hr of observing with the 85 foot (26 m) Hat Creek telescope and 45 hr with the very large array (VLA), yield an upper limit for the fraction of deuterium in atomic form, D I, of 0.14. We present an approximate analytical analysis of deuterium fractionation in translucent clouds, which shows that gas-phase ion-molecule reactions, assisted by dust and HD line self-shielding, are efficient in converting deuterium to HD. We conclude that little atomic deuterium is present in the molecular clumps in the Cas A clouds and that much higher sensitivity observations would be required to detect 327 MHz line in molecular clouds. We have also attempted to detect the 72 GHz line of DCO(+) toward Cas A. The observed upper limit to the DCO(+)/HCO(+) ratio of approximately 0.03 is not much larger than our theoretical estimate, and the DCO(+) line should be detectable with existing instrumentation, unless the temperature of these clouds is much larger than usually assumed.
A 16 channel spectroscopy system has been installed on DIII-D to provide information about the energy distribution of the atomic neutrals using the Doppler shift and broadening of passive Balmer-α emission. Here, the lines of sight are dominantly in the toroidal direction, with tangencies near the lowest point on closed magnetic flux surfaces moving from the lower divertor upward into the confined plasma. This allows the system to provide details of the neutrals as they undergo various atomic physics processes while traveling upward from the lower divertor. The spectrally resolved measurements provide several advantages that complement typical optical filter based measurements of hydrogenic spectral lines. These include more direct measurements of the neutrals that fuel deeper in the plasma and capturing neutral velocity distribution information via the Doppler broadened and shifted line. In addition, the spectral separation of higher energy “thermal” neutrals and bright cold emission from the scrape-off layer allows for a more straightforward calculation of the underlying neutral densities based on the emission because of the dependence of the thermal emission on confined plasma properties that are approximately flux functions and well measured.