The ultraviolet spectrum of the binary system KS Persei (HD 30353)

Nine high- and low-resolution IEU spectra at different orbital phases during different cycles, of the hydrogen-poor single-lined spectroscopic binary KS per (HD 30353) have been studied. The near-UV spectrum is characterized by the presence of several lines of once ionized metals which show the same orbital RV shifts observed in the visual range. The MgII resonance lines present a sharp interstellar + circumstellar core and an emission peak at about 83 and 92 km s^–1. The far UV spectrum is characterized by the presence of strong absorptions of the resonance lines ofNV,CIV, SiIV, SiIII.Direct determination of the IS extinction from the 2200 Å feature givesE(B-V)=0.33. A comparison of corrected logarithmic continuous energy distribution with the theoretical models by Kurucz, indicates that the companion is a hot star,T _e=15000 K; logg=4. A comparison with the recent UV work ofv Sgr, shows that, KS Per is very similar tov Sgr.Based on observations by the International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE) collected at the Villafrance Satellite Tracking Station and obtained from the IUE data bank.     

Molecular cloud edges:Cii andSii layers in neutral interfaces near ionisedHii regions

The observational properties of a sample ofCII andSII layers within neutral interfaces separating hot ionised regions and cold molecular clouds, for which the data have been published elsewhere, are summarised and discussed. Observational trends are found (for the first time) between the depth and the electron density within theCII andSII layers, and also between the depth and the thermal pressure within theCII andSII layers. A pressure equilibrium is confirmed here, between the pressure of the associatedHII regions and the pressure of theCII andSII layers. The electron densities in theCII andSII layers are found here to be directly proportional to the electron density in the associatedHII regions.     

A galactic model with a pulsating active nucleus

The accumulation and distribution of rare-light elements in the Galaxy is investigated according to a model of the galaxy at which center there exists a pulsating active nucleus with decreasing activity with time. The abundances of rare-light elements rapidly decrease with approaching to the galactic center whereas the most abundant region of these elements is the annular region of the radial distance ofr=8～14 kpc from the galactic center. In the inner region ofr?8 kpc the abundances of these elements have varied by two to three orders of magnitude from the early days of the galactic history till now, but inr?8 kpc they have been almost constant within a factor of 2. It has become clear that if the nuclides D,³He,⁷Li,¹⁰B and¹¹B have been produced mainly by the shock process taking place in the outer envelope of type-II supernova, they must have been created by the mass fractions of the supernova of some 2.7×10^?3, 1.7×10^?4, 6.9×10^?8, 1.7×10^?7 and 7.9×10^?7, respectively, to account for the solar system abundances.     

A comparison of theoreticalCIV emission line strengths with active region observations obtained with the Solar EUV Rocket Telescope and Spectrograph (SERTS)

Theoretical line ratios involving 2s ² S - 3p ² P, 2p ² P - 3s ² S, and 2p ² S - 3d ² D transitions inCiv between 312 and 420 Å are presented. A comparison of these with solar active region observational data obtained during a rocket flight by the Solar EUV Rocket Telescope and Spectrograph (SERTS) reveals good agreement between theory and experiment, with discrepancies that average only 22%. This provides experimental support for the accuracy of the atomic data adopted in the line ratio calculations, and also resolves discrepancies found previously when the theoretical results were compared with solar data from the S082A instrument on boardSkylab. The potential usefulness of theCIV line ratios as electron temperature diagnostics for the solar transition region is briefly discussed.     

Emission lines from nitrogen-like ions and their diagnostic use

Line emissions from nitrogen-like ions NeIV, MgVI, and AlVII have been studied as a diagnostic probe for the emitting regions of astrophysical plasma. Line intensities from these ions have been calculated and compared, in this study, with available observational data for solar plasma.     

Star formation regions as galactic dissipative structures

The theory of dissipative structures, applied to star formation systems, provides a conceptual framework for the study of the behaviour and evolution of these systems. As shown by an analysis of a model star formation process system, prolonged stationary star formation in localized areas and repetitive bursting star formation events can be understood as different behavioural modes of galactic dissipative structures. Young stellar associations with theirHII regions and molecular clouds are manifestations of the ordered distribution of matter participating in the star formation processes. A self-organization with the appearance of ordered structures is, in general, to be expected in nonequilibrium systems in which nonlinear processes occur. However, lacking a thermodynamic theory that can be applied to self-gravitating systems, the behaviour of star-forming regions can only be studied by model calculations simulating the process system within the region.     

Dynamics of the Orion Nebula

The collision of supersonic gas streams within anHII region is studied. A system of stationary shock waves is set up. Theoretical line profiles through these shocked regions are compared with those obtained in the bright central regions of the Orion Nebula. There is good agreement between the predicted and observed magnitude of line splitting in the forbidden lines of O⁺ and O⁺⁺.     

Dynamics and abundance of ions in coronal holes

This paper discusses the outflow of ions in an open magnetic field region in the solar corona. The model is polytropic and assumes that the ions do not affect the motion of the protons; treatment of large openings of the flux tubes is included.It is found that a large variety of topologies in the velocity-heliocentric distance plane occurs, by varying the funnelling factor and the proton density. While for low proton densities the topology is characterized by a single critical point, above some value of the density and of the funnelling factor multiple critical points appear, causing the ion velocity to become large in the low corona. All the ions studied (He iii, Fe xv, Si xii, Mg x) show the same general trend, although their sensitivity to the proton density is different.The abundance increase in the low corona, with respect to interplanetary space, is depressed if the opening of the flux tubes increases; however, for some extreme values of the acceleration due to large openings of the flux tubes, the theory predicts, on the contrary, very large increases of the coronal abundances.     

Theoretical line intensities from MgVI,SiVIII, and SX coronal ions

Emission line intensities from MgVI, SiVIII, andSX ions of nitrogen sequence have been computed by use of the model atmosphere of Kopp and Orrall (1976) for the quiet Sun and coronal holes and compared with observational data available from rocket and satellite.     

Diagnostics of solar ions: Ne VI,Mg VI,Si VIII and Mg VIII observed by SERTS

Diagnostics of solar ions Nevi, Mgvi, Siviii, and Mgviii in an active region observed by SERTS have been presented. Density, temperature, and electron pressure in the emitting source have been derived from theoretical line-ratio curves and its EUV spectrum obtained by SERTS. The variation of neon-to-magnesium and silicon-to-magnesium abundances has been discussed in the interpretation of the active region spectrum obtained by SERTS.     

Computational studies of cloudy gaseous galactic disks

Computational studies are carried out to address questions centered on the clumpy cloudy interstellar medium, giant molecular clouds, and star formation in galactic disks. In application to galactic spirals,gaseous self-gravity is found to act on the large scale to enhance the overall collective gravitational field driving the gaseous response and thus help maintain the global spiral structure. On local scales, gaseous self-gravity is found to aid the formation and assembling of massive aggregations of clouds into giant cloud complexes, spurs, and feather-like features. Striking is the local raggedness and patchiness of the computed distribution of gas and young stellar associations. Local spurs, feathers, and secondary features continually break apart and reform as the loosely-associated aggregations and giant complexes of clouds continually disassemble and reassemble over time. Such transient features give rise to local disorder within the global spiral structure and blur the global coherence. Of paramount importance are thenonlinear effects and thedissipative character of thecold cloudy galactic gas component, which largely distinguish it from the stellar component. Without the presence of a cold and dissipative gaseous component, galactic disks would be hard pressed to produce and exhibit sharp, clear-cut spiral structures on global scales.     

Ultraviolet studies of the interstellar gas in the direction of the stars AE Aur (09.5V) andθ 2 Ori A (09.0V)

We have studied high-resolution SWP spectra of AE Aur and ² Ori A, obtained from the International Ultraviolet Explorer Satellite; and derived curve of growth and column densities ofCii,Cii ^*, Alii, Siii, Siii ^*,Sii, Crii, Feii, Niii, and Znii. It has been possible to fit these ions on one empirical curve of growth with a velocity parameterb=13 km s^–1 for both stars.Based on the observations made by the International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE), and collected at the Villafranca Satellite Tracking Station of the European Space Agency.     

MHD Simulations of the ISM: The Importance of the Galactic Magnetic Field on the ISM “Phases”

We have carried out 1.25 pc resolution MHD simulations of the ISM, on a Cartesian grid of 0 ≤ (x, y) ≤ 1 kpc size in the galactic plane and ?10 ≤ z ≤ 10 kpc into the halo, thus being able to fully trace the time-dependent evolution of the galactic fountain. The simulations show that large scale gas streams emerge, driven by SN explosions, which are responsible for the formation and destruction of shocked compressed layers. The shocked gas can have densities as high as 800 cm^?3 and lifetimes up to 15 Myr. The cold gas is distributed into filaments which tend to show a preferred orientation due to the anisotropy of the flow induced by the galactic magnetic field. Ram pressure dominates the flow in the unstable branch 10² < T ≤ 10^3.9 K, whereas for T ≤ 100 K (stable branch) magnetic pressure takes over. Near supernovae thermal and ram pressures determine the dynamics of the flow. Up to 80% of the mass in the disk is concentrated in the thermally unstable regime 10² < T ≤ 10^3.9 K with ～30% of the disk mass enclosed in the T ≤ 10³ K gas. The hot gas in contrast is controlled by the thermal pressure, since magnetic field lines are swept towards the dense compressed walls.     

The galactic diffuse component of soft X-rays and its source function

A new model for the source distribution of galactic soft X-ray (B and C band) emission is presented. From the mean dependence of count rates on galactic latitudeb (i.e., the brightness distribution), we derive the soft X-ray source functionQ as function of the optical depth by solving the equation of radiative transfer with the aid of a Laplace transform. Contrary to older Heaviside step models,Q is found to increase strongly, but not abruptly, in the range 1.5<<2.5, indicating a noticeable emission of X-rays from beyond theHi scale height. Using standard X-ray absorption cross-sections for the interstellar medium, we find that the B band X-ray emission coefficient is non-zero within theHi disk and has a maximum at az-value slightly above the Hi scale height. In the C band, the emission coefficient slightly decreases with increasingz, at least up to theHi scale height. A non-zero source function near the galactic plane implies that the interstellar medium (ISM) within theHi scale height is not only an absorbing layer but is mixed with X-ray emitting regions. The so-called local hot bubble is adopted as one of these regions. The maximum of the B band emission coefficient, together with the sharp increase ofQ, is strong evidence for the existence of a galactic soft X-ray halo, and, moreover, give rise to the assumption of a general intergalactic X-ray background. The effective absorption cross-sections given in the literature, based on an (pure) exponential dependence in the negative correlation between count rates andHi column densities, were biased to be too small, in particular in the B band. In replacing the Heaviside step (in the ISM) by a smoothed transition region, these inconsistencies become spurious.     

Do high-velocity clouds form by thermal instability?

We examine the proposal that the H  i 'high-velocity' clouds (HVCs) surrounding the Milky Way and other disc galaxies form by condensation of the hot galactic corona via thermal instability. Under the assumption that the galactic corona is well represented by a non-rotating, stratified atmosphere, we find that for this formation mechanism to work the corona must have an almost perfectly flat entropy profile. In all other cases, the growth of thermal perturbations is suppressed by a combination of buoyancy and thermal conduction. Even if the entropy profile were nearly flat, cold clouds with sizes smaller than  10 kpc  could form in the corona of the Milky Way only at radii larger than  100 kpc  , in contradiction with the determined distances of the largest HVC complexes. Clouds with sizes of a few kpc can form in the inner halo only in low-mass systems. We conclude that unless even slow rotation qualitatively changes the dynamics of a corona, thermal instability is unlikely to be a viable mechanism for formation of cold clouds around disc galaxies.     

Solar XUV limb brightening observations

Limb brightening of XUV lines of the ions Ciii Niii, Niv, Oiii, Oiv, Ov and Siiv is compared with that predicted by a modified version of a coronal model developed by Dupree and Goldberg. Systematic differences between the predicted and observed limb brightening are found. These differences can be eliminated by introducing into the model the effects of spicules that extend up into the chromospheric-coronal transition region. The spicules are assumed to be opaque to radiation between 500 and 900 Å because of absorption in the hydrogen Lyman continuum.     

New stellar associations in M33 galaxy

Extending the numeration of Humphreys and Sandage (1980) 54 new associations are identified in the galaxy M33 by comparing the plates in theU andB system. The larger part of the associations are located in the spiral arms. The young associations are prevailing in proximity to the nucleus. A large part of the newly identified associations are connected withHii regions. Judging by the farthest associations M33 diameter is estimated 20 kpc. The associations outline two strong and two faint spiral arms up to 4 kpc away from the nucleus. Their possible behaviour is observed in the further parts.     

Excitation equilibrium for low lying levels in Cii,Niii, Oiv,Nevi, Mgviii,Six, and Siii

The populations of the excited state ² P _3/2 relative to the ground state ² P _1/2 have been investigated in C ii, N iii, O iv, Ne vi, Mg viii, Si x, and Si ii by considering all the radiative and collisional processes including the collisional transitions to the higher states which cascade to the upper level. The relative populations are used for the calculation of the line emissivities. The intensities of 76 320, 30 258 and 14 302 lines of Nevi, Mgviii, and Six ions respectively in the chromosphere-corona transition region are also calculated.     

How bright is the [Si X] 1431 nm coronal emission line?

Airborne eclipse observations of the [Six] 1430.5 nm coronal emission line are reviewed, and new ground-based out-of-eclipse coronagraph observations obtained at NSO/Sacramento Peak are reported. We find that the [Six] 1430.5 nm coronal emission line brightness is less than 8 × 10⁻⁶ B⊙ in small active region corona which showed [Fexiii] 1074.7 nm emission (corrected for sky background) of about 20 × 10⁻⁶ B⊙. Operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc. (AURA) under cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation.     

The spiral structure in the inner parts of the Galaxy

The spiral structure of the inner parts of the Galaxy is studied using 21 cm line data and stellar data. To study the neutral hydrogen distribution in the galactic layer a parameter =(dV/dr) proportional to the mean densities is calculated using a first approximation for the velocity gradients due to differential rotation.The obtained distribution (R, Z) shows spiral features completely consistent with the early star distribution and with the Hii regions. The corrugation effect of the galactic layer is observed in all the studied zones in neutral hydrogen and in the distribution of the OB stars in the Carina zone.The pattern obtained indicates four spiral arms for the inner parts of the Galaxy, three of which are identified also in the stellar data (arms -I, -II, and -III) and the more distant -IV in Hii regions.The local arm according to the stellar data of Kilkennyet al. forms a feature completely similar to the arms -I and -II and there are no indications that this arm is a special material branch between two main spiral arms as has been supposed in order to conciliate the neutral hydrogen pattern with the stellar distribution.The pitch angles for the spiral arms are approximately 13°–17°.The observed wave form distribution of the hydrogen cloud layer is completely consistent with the theoretical predictions of Nelson (1976) but there are no indications of such an effect in the intercloud hydrogen. The corrugated cloud layer has a width of 100 pc, a wave amplitude of 70 pc, and a wavelength which grows with the galactic center distance (approx. 2 kpc in the zones next to the galactic nucleus and 2.6–3.0 kpc in the zones next to the Sun). To each wavelength correspond two spiral arms. The spiral features in our Galaxy show characteristics quite similar to the features in the Andromeda nebula, not only in the component materials (neutral hydrogen, Hii regions and possibly also dust and stars) but also in their kinematics.