Spectroscopy of comet P/Schaumasse

Column density profiles for CN, C₃, C₂ and NH have been determined from a long-slit CCD spectrum of periodic comet P/Schaumasse (1992x). Comparisons of these profiles with Haser models indicate that the ratios of the CN, C₃ and C₂ production rates are typical for a short-period comet. Although the scale lengths for NH and its parent species are uncertain, the results indicate that the production rate for NH is much greater than for either C₂ or CN.     

An atlas of the optical spectrum of supernova 1987A in the large magellanic cloud

Photographic spectra of SN1987A in the LMC have been obtained from 1987 February 25 to 1988 June 30. Microdensitometer tracings of these have been reduced to intensity and corrections for instrumental response have been applied to the spectra. This paper presents these data in an atlas format, discusses the reduction procedures in detail, and presents radial velocity measurements of selected lines in the spectra     

Comet Hale-Bopp (C/1995 O1): UVSTAR-FUV Spectroscopy from the Space Shuttle

We report here on unique post-perihelion (2.3 AU) measurements of Comet Hale-Bopp in the FUV-range (950–1250 Å) by means of the UVSTAR spectrometer from the space shuttle with the main purpose of searching for argon and other FUV emitters. New methods for separating the strong airglow emission at shuttle altitudes are here discussed in detail. Due to our low resolution (15 Å) and S/N ratio the possible rocket-borne detection of argon near perihelion (0.9 AU) could not be confirmed. New species as N₂ are suspected but difficult to separate from the strong airglow emission at shuttle altitudes. From the Lyα brightness (1.30± 0.08 kRy) a water production rate Q = 5.9 ± 0.4 × 10²⁹ molecules s^?1 could be derived and compared with other post-perihelion observations.     

γ射线暴的研究进展（Ⅳ：特强γ射线暴和软γ重复暴

最近CGRO上的仪器观测到了两个迄今为止发现的最强的λ暴GB930131和GB940217,其光子最高能量均达GeV量级;GB930131的峰值计数率达2×10~6个光子s~(-1);而GB940217的持续时间竟长达90min。另外沉寂了多年的软重复暴源SGR1900 14和SGR1806-20的再次爆发也由BATSE发现。一系列的观测还发现这些软重复暴均与X射线源对应且与超新星遗迹成协。文中对特强暴和软重暴(SGR)的性质及研究进展作了较为详细的评述。     

Optical Flash of GRB 990123: Constraints on the Physical Parameters of the Reverse Shock

The optical flash accompanying GRB 990123 is believed to be powered by the reverse shock of a thin shell. With the best-fit physical parameters for GRB 990123 and the assumption that the parameters in the optical flash are the same as in the afterglow, we show that: 1) the shell is thick rather than thin, and we have provided the light curve for the thick shell case which coincides with the observation; 2) the theoretical peak flux of the optical flash accounts for only 3×10~-4 of the observed. In order to remove this discrepancy, the physical parameters, the electron energy and magnetic ratios, εe and εB, should be 0.61 and 0.39, which are very different from their values for the late afterglow.     

Modeling X-Ray Photoionized Plasmas Produced at the Sandia Z-Facility

In experiments at the high-power Z-facility at Sandia National Laboratory in Albuquerque, New Mexico, we have been able to produce a low density photoionized laboratory plasma of Fe mixed with NaF. The conditions in the experiment allow a meaningful comparison with X-ray emission from astrophysical sources. The charge state distributions of Fe, Na and F are determined in this plasma using high resolution X-ray spectroscopy. Independent measurements of the density and radiation flux indicate unprecedented values for the ionization parameter ξ = 20–25 erg cm s⁻¹ under nearly steady-state conditions. First comparisons of the measured charge state distributions with X-ray photoionization models show reasonable agreement, although many questions remain.     

Optical and X-Ray Observations of the Symbiotic System Ag Draconis During Quiescence and Outburst

We review the main characteristics of the symbiotic system AG Draconis, with special emphasis on its optical and X-ray variations. We also discuss the X-ray to visual energy distribution during quiescence and outburst and describe our spectroscopic and X-ray observations during the 2003 outburst. Based on X-ray observations collected with the XMM–Newton Observatory, on INES data from the IUE satellite, and on optical spectra collected with the Asiago–Cima Ekar, Bologna–Loiano and La Palma–Galileo Italian telescopes.     

Sequences in the Hardness Ratio-Peak Energy Plane of Gamma-Ray Bursts

The narrowness of the distribution of the peak energy of the vFv spectrum of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) and the unification of GRB populations are great puzzles yet to be solved. We investigate the two puzzles based on the global spectral behaviors of different GRB populations, the long GRBs, the short GRBs, and the X-ray flashes (XRFs), in the HR - Ep plane (HR the spectral hardness ratio) with BATSE and HETE-2 observations. It is found that the long GRBs and the XRFs observed by HETE-2 seem to follow the same sequence in the HR-Ep plane, with the XRFs at the low end of this sequence. We fit the sequence by a universal Band function, and find that this sequence is mainly defined by the low energy index α, and is insensitive to the high energy index,β. With fixed β=-5, a best fit is given by α=-1.00 with X^2min/dof=2.2. The long and short GRBs observed by BATSE follow significantly different sequences in the HR-Ep plane, with most of the short GRBs having a larger hardness ratio than the long GRBs at a given Ep. For the long GRBs a best-fit yields α=-0.30 and β=-2.05. For the short GRBs, a best fit gives α=-0.60 with x^2min=1.1 (withβfixed at-2.0 because it is numerically unstable). The α value for the short GRBs is significantly greater than that for the long GRBs. These results indicate that the global spectral behaviors of the long GRB sample and the XRF sample are similar, while that of the short GRBs is different. The short GRBs seem to be a unique subclass of GRBs, and they are not the higher energy extension of the long GRBs.     

The klein–nishina Effects in Blazar Jets

Blazars are the only (with one or two exceptions) extragalactic objects which were detected and identified at gamma-ray energies so far. It is suspected that most of the unidentified gamma-ray sources may be the blazars as well. Because the entire electromagnetic spectrum of these objects is dominated by non-thermal radiation from relativistically moving jets, the effects such as the Klein–Nishina regime in the Compton scattering may play a major role in shaping some parts of the blazar spectrum. Within the framework of external radiation Compton model, we present how these effect influence the spectra of blazars for which the production of gamma rays is dominated by Comptonization of external radiation.     

Integral field spectroscopy with the GEMINI multiobject spectrographs

We describe the integral field unit (IFU) which converts the Gemini Multiobject Spectrograph (GMOS) installed on the Gemini-North telescope to an integral field spectrograph,which produces spectra over a contiguous field of view of 7 × 5 arcsec with spatial sampling of 0.2 arcsecover the wavelength range 0.4-1.0 μm.GMOS is converted to this mode by the remote insertion of the IFU into thebeam in place of the masks used for the multiobject mode. A separate fieldof half the area of the main field, but otherwise identical, is alsoprovided to improve background subtraction. The IFU contains 1500lenslet-coupled fibres and was the first facility of any type for integralfield spectroscopy employed on an 8/10 m telescope.We describe the design, construction and testing of the GMOS IFU and present measurements of the throughput both in the laboratory and at the telescope. We compare these with a theoretical prediction made before construction started. All are in good agreement with each other, with the on-telescope throughput exceeding 60% (averaged over wavelength). Finallywe show an example of data obtained during commissioning to illustrate the power of the device.