Recalibration of the <Emphasis Type="Italic">Soft X-Ray Telescope</Emphasis> Onboard <Emphasis Type="Italic">Yohkoh</Emphasis>

We present a new derivation of the X-ray spectral sensitivity of the Soft X-ray Telescope (SXT) experiment onboard Yohkoh. The recalibration is based upon the hypothesis that, during the first 15 months of the mission, an absorbing material gradually built up on the entrance filters of the telescope. We have also re-evaluated the times and sizes of ruptures of the SXT entrance filters. The impact of this recalibration on derived filter-ratio temperature, emission measure, and calculated spectral irradiance is substantial, especially for SXT data prior to November 1992.     

New Results from the <Emphasis Type="Italic">Solar Maximum Mission/Bent Crystal Spectrometer</Emphasis>

The Bent Crystal Spectrometer (BCS) onboard the NASA Solar Maximum Mission was part of the X-ray Polychromator, which observed numerous flares and bright active regions from February to November 1980, when operation was suspended as a result of the failure of the spacecraft fine-pointing system. Observations resumed following the Space Shuttle SMM Repair Mission in April 1984 and continued until November 1989. BCS spectra have been widely used in the past to obtain temperatures, emission measures, and turbulent and bulk flows during flares, as well as element abundances. Instrumental details including calibration factors not previously published are given here, and the in-orbit performance of the BCS is evaluated. Some significant changes during the mission are described, and recommendations for future instrumentation are made. Using improved estimates for the instrument parameters and operational limits, it is now possible to obtain de-convolved calibrated spectra that show finer detail than before, providing the means for improved interpretation of the physics of the emitting plasmas. The results indicate how historical archived data can be re-used to obtain enhanced and new, scientifically valuable results.     

On-Orbit Performance of the <Emphasis Type="Italic">Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager</Emphasis> Instrument onboard the <Emphasis Type="Italic">Solar Dynamics Observatory</Emphasis>

The Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) instrument is a major component of NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) spacecraft. Since commencement of full regular science operations on 1 May 2010, HMI has operated with remarkable continuity, e.g. during the more than five years of the SDO prime mission that ended 30 September 2015, HMI collected 98.4% of all possible 45-second velocity maps; minimizing gaps in these full-disk Dopplergrams is crucial for helioseismology. HMI velocity, intensity, and magnetic-field measurements are used in numerous investigations, so understanding the quality of the data is important. This article describes the calibration measurements used to track the performance of the HMI instrument, and it details trends in important instrument parameters during the prime mission. Regular calibration sequences provide information used to improve and update the calibration of HMI data. The set-point temperature of the instrument front window and optical bench is adjusted regularly to maintain instrument focus, and changes in the temperature-control scheme have been made to improve stability in the observable quantities. The exposure time has been changed to compensate for a 20% decrease in instrument throughput. Measurements of the performance of the shutter and tuning mechanisms show that they are aging as expected and continue to perform according to specification. Parameters of the tunable optical-filter elements are regularly adjusted to account for drifts in the central wavelength. Frequent measurements of changing CCD-camera characteristics, such as gain and flat field, are used to calibrate the observations. Infrequent expected events such as eclipses, transits, and spacecraft off-points interrupt regular instrument operations and provide the opportunity to perform additional calibration. Onboard instrument anomalies are rare and seem to occur quite uniformly in time. The instrument continues to perform very well.     

New agegraphic dark energy in <Emphasis Type="Italic">f</Emphasis>(<Emphasis Type="Italic">R</Emphasis>) gravity

In this paper, we study a cosmological application of the new agegraphic dark energy density in the f(R) gravity framework. We employ the new agegraphic model of dark energy to obtain the equation of state for the new agegraphic energy density in a spatially flat universe. Our calculations show, taking n<0, that it is possible to have w _Λ crossing −1. This implies that one can generate a phantom-like equation of state from a new agegraphic dark energy model in a flat universe in the modified gravity cosmology framework. Also, we develop a reconstruction scheme for the modified gravity with f(R) action.     

A web of secondary resonances for large <Emphasis Type="Italic">A</Emphasis>/<Emphasis Type="Italic">m</Emphasis> geostationary debris

The dynamics of space debris with very high A/m near the geostationary orbit is dominated by the gravitational coefficient C ₂₂ and the solar radiation pressure. An analysis of the stability of the orbits by the chaos indicator MEGNO and frequency analysis map FAM shows chaotic layers around the separatrix and reveals a web of sub-structures associated to resonances with the annual period of the Sun. This succession of stable thin islands and chaotic layers can be reproduced and explained by a quite simple toy model, based on a pendulum approach, perturbed, through the eccentricity, by the external (Sun) frequency. The use of suitable action-angle variables in the circulation and libration regions of the pendulum allows to point out new resonances between the geostationary libration angle and the Sun’s longitude. They correspond very well (positions, shape, width) to the structures visible on the FAM representations.     

Plane Symmetric Dark Energy Models in the Form of Wet Dark Fluid in <Emphasis Type="Italic">f</Emphasis> (<Emphasis Type="Italic">R</Emphasis>,<Emphasis Type="Italic">T</Emphasis>) Gravity

In this paper, we have investigated the plane symmetric space-time with wet dark fluid (WDF), which is a candidate for dark energy, in the framework of f (R,T) gravity Harko et al. 2011, Phys. Rev. D, 84, 024020), where R and T denote the Ricci scalar and the trace of the energy–momentum tensor respectively. We have used the equation of state in the form of WDF for the dark energy component of the Universe. It is modeled on the equation of state p = ω(ρ ? ρ ^?). The exact solutions to the corresponding field equations are obtained for power-law and exponential volumetric expansion. The geometrical and physical parameters for both the models are studied. Also, we have discussed the well-known astrophysical phenomena, namely the look-back time, proper distance, the luminosity distance and angular diameter distance with red shift.     

Plane Symmetric Cosmological Model with Quark and Strange Quark Matter in <Emphasis Type="Italic">f</Emphasis> (<Emphasis Type="Italic">R</Emphasis>, <Emphasis Type="Italic">T</Emphasis>) Theory of Gravity

We studied plane symmetric cosmological model in the presence of quark and strange quark matter with the help of f(R, T) theory. To decipher solutions of plane symmetric space-time, we used power law relation between scale factor and deceleration parameter. We considered the special law of variation of Hubble’s parameter proposed by Berman (Nuovo Cimento B74, 182, 1983) which yields constant deceleration parameter. We also discussed the physical behavior of the solutions by using some physical parameters.     

The <Emphasis Type="Italic">Ulysses</Emphasis> Catalog of Solar Hard X-Ray Flares

Ulysses was launched in October 1990, and its Solar X-ray/Cosmic Gamma-Ray Burst Experiment (GRB) has provided more than 13 years of uninterrupted observations of solar X-ray flare activity. Due to the large variation of the relative solar latitude and longitude of the spacecraft orbit with respect to the Earth, the perspective of the GRB instrument often differed significantly from that of X-ray instruments on Earth-orbiting satellites. During extended periods the GRB experiment made direct observations of flares on the hidden face of the Sun, providing a unique record of events not visible to other instruments. The small detector area of GRB and its optimization for very high counting rates minimized the effects of pulse pile-up. We interpret the spectra, time histories, and occurrence distribution patterns of GRB data in terms of “thermal feed-through”, the confusion of thermal soft X-rays and non-thermal hard X-rays. This effect is a systematic problem for scintillation-counter spectrometers observing the solar hard X-ray spectrum. This paper provides a definitive catalog of the Ulysses X-ray flare observations and discusses various features of this unique database. For the equivalent GOES range X2 – X25, we find a power-law fit for the (differential) occurrence frequency at >25 keV with slope −1.61±0.04, with no evidence for a downturn at the highest event magnitudes (for the relatively small sample of such events available in this study). If the nine most intense events are excluded because of concerns about the effects of pulse pile-up, the slope steepens to −1.75±0.08.     

Observations of Solar X-ray Spectra by the DIOGENESS and RESIK Spectrometers Onboard the <Emphasis Type="Italic">CORONAS-F</Emphasis> Satellite

The first scientific results of the analysis of the X-ray spectra of flares and active regions in the solar corona obtained by Polish-led spectrometers RESIK and DIOGENESS onboard the CORONAS-F satellite are presented. The instruments were designed and made in the Solar Physics Division of the Space Research Center of the Polish Academy of Sciences (SRC PAS, Wroclaw, Poland). The Institute of Terrestrial Magnetism, Ionosphere, and Radio Wave Propagation (IZMIRAN, Russia) and the Astronomical Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences also participated in designing the DIOGENESS spectrometer, while IZMIRAN (Russia), Mullard Space Science Laboratory (MSSL, Great Britain), Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL, Great Britain), and Naval Research Laboratory (NRL, United States) contributed to the development of the RESIK spectrometer. In the paper, we give spectra obtained in a number of previously unstudied spectral ranges and a preliminary identification of new spectral lines. The results for the shifts of the X-ray spectral lines observed with the use of a so-called dopplerometer configuration are also presented. Methods for determining the abundances of the rare elements in the solar corona, including chlorine, potassium, and argon, are described.     

<Emphasis Type="SmallCaps">profit</Emphasis>: a new alternative for emission-line <Emphasis Type="SmallCaps">pro</Emphasis>file <Emphasis Type="SmallCaps">fit</Emphasis>ting

I briefly describe a simple routine for emission-line profile fitting by Gaussian curves or Gauss–Hermite series. The profit (line-profile fitting) routine represent a new alternative for use in fits data cubes, as the ones from Integral Field Spectroscopy or Fabry–Pérot Interferometry, and may be useful to better study the emission-line flux distributions and gas kinematics in distinct astrophysical objects, such as the central regions of galaxies and star forming regions. The profit routine is written in IDL language and is available at .     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">GALEX</Emphasis> and star formation

Wide-field far-UV (FUV, 1344–1786 Å) and near-UV (NUV, 1771–2831 Å) imaging from GALEX provides a deep, comprehensive view of the young stellar populations in hundreds of nearby galaxies, shedding new light on the process of star formation (SF) in different environments, and on the interplay between dust and SF. GALEX’s FUV-NUV color is extremely sensitive to stellar populations of ages up to a few hundred Myrs, unambiguously probing their presence and enabling age-dating and stellar mass estimate, together with the characterization of interstellar dust extinction. The deep sensitivity, combined with the wide field-of-view, made possible in particular the discovery and characterization of star formation in extremely low-density, diffuse gas environments such as outer galaxy disks, tidal tails, low-surface-brightness galaxies (LSB) and dwarf Irregular galaxies, and of rejuvenation episodes in early-type galaxies. Such results provide several missing links for interpreting galaxy classes in an evolutionary context, extend our knowledge of the star-formation process to previously unexplored conditions, constrain models of galaxy disk formation, and clarify the mutual role of dust and star formation. We review a variety of star-forming environments studied by GALEX, and provide some model analysis tools useful for interpretation of GALEX measurements, and potentially as basic science planning tools for next-generation UV instruments.     

Gamma-Spectrometer for the <Emphasis Type="Italic">Phobos-Grunt</Emphasis> mission

The experiment on gamma-ray spectrometry planned to be fulfilled onboard the Phobos-Grunt spacecraft is described. The principles of the experiment and the application of gamma-spectrometry to the space investigations are considered. The design and operation of the instrument are described.     

Single lunation <Emphasis Type="Italic">N</Emphasis>-observation orbits

Initial orbit determination by least squares of N observations is essentially a linear problem if the coordinates x ₀ and x ₁ at two standard epochs are used as elements. The orbit of a main belt object is approximated within the observational errors by a third degree polynomial during a month. A 4-observation orbit is useful for the initial linking between two nights. Parallax is treated rigorously and future simultaneous space and Earth based observations determine the critical distance directly. The N-observation method is a great simplification of the classical 3-observation orbit followed by a differential correction by N observations.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">JHKLM</Emphasis> photometry for carbon stars

We discuss our JHKLM photometry for nine carbon Mira stars, eighteen carbon semiregular variables, and two oxygen Mira stars. For fourteen carbon stars, we present and analyze their infrared light and color curves. For all of the observed objects, we have estimated the optical depths of the circumstellar dust envelopes, the angular diameters of the stars, and their temperatures.     

Precise Reduction of Solar Spectra Observed by the One-Meter <Emphasis Type="Italic">New Vacuum Solar Telescope</Emphasis>

We present a precise and complete procedure for processing spectral data observed by the one-meter New Vacuum Solar Telescope (NVST). The procedure is suitable for both sit-and-stare and raster-scan spectra. In this work, the geometric distortions of the spectra are first corrected for subsequent processes. Then, considering the temporal changes and the remnants of spectral lines in the flat-field, the original flat-field matrix is split into four independent components to ensure a high-precision flat-fielding correction, consisting of the continuum gradient matrix, slit non-uniform matrix, CCD dust matrix, and interference fringe matrix. Subsequently, the spectral line drifts and intensity fluctuations of the science data are further corrected. After precise reduction with this procedure, the measuring accuracies of the Doppler velocities for different spectral lines and of the oscillation curves of the chromosphere and photosphere are measured. The results show that the highest measuring accuracy of the Doppler velocity is within \(100~\mbox{m}\,\mbox{s}^{-1}\), which indicates that the characteristics of the photosphere and chromosphere can be studied cospatially and cotemporally with the reduced spectra of the NVST.     

Microscope spectrometer for the <Emphasis Type="Italic">Phobos-Grunt</Emphasis> mission

Microscopy and spectroscopy are important methods of studies. The use of a microscope onboard a spacecraft is connected with the fact that the closer approach to the objects and the switch to the in situ measurement methods have become possible. The combination of taking an image and performing a spectral analysis forms a new type of instrument, so-called videospectrometers. The scientific payload of the Phobos-Grunt spacecraft includes the microscope spectrometer designed to analyze the composition of the surface regolith of Phobos in detail.