Spectrophotometry of some Be stars

The continuum energy distribution of six Be stars, namely 25 Cyg, 31 Peg, HR 8758, 14 Lac, 12 Vul, and Psc, in the wavelength region 3200–7800 Å, are presented. Comparing the observed energy distributions with those of theoretical models given by Kurucz (1979), their effective temperatures are determined.A near-infrared excess emission at wavelengths above 6000 Å is seen in most of the stars.     

An Improved Method of Photometric Mode Identification: Applications to Slowly Pulsating B, β Cephei, δ Scuti and γ Doradus Stars

We present an improved version of the method of photometric mode identification based upon the inclusion of non-adiabatic eigenfunctions determined in the stellar atmosphere, according to the formalism recently proposed by Dupret et al. (2002).We apply our method to Cephei, Slowly Pulsating B, Scuti and Doradus stars. Besides identifying the degree of the pulsatingstars, our method is also a tool for improving the knowledge of stellar interiors and atmospheres, by imposing constraints on the metallicity for Cephei and SPBs, the characteristics of the superficial convection zone for Scuti and Doradus starsand the limb-darkening law.     

Present Observational Status of the Intermediate Mass Stars: δ Sct Stars, γ Dor Stars and roAp Stars

The present observational status of the Sct stars, Dor stars and roAp stars is discussed. The Sct stars are the most intensively observed of the three groups, but it has become clear that there are severe problems in extracting asteroseismic information from them. Dozens of frequencies are observed, but hundreds of frequencies are predicted from the models; unique matches of observation and theory still elude us. The Sct stars are observationally complex – some recent `best case' campaigns are discussed. It is possible that substantial observational advances for Sct stars may need to await upcoming satellite missions. New Dor stars are beingdiscovered frequently, and new behaviour is being found for them. They constitutean observationally young field. Their pulsational frequency range is being expanded, their position in the HR diagram is becoming better known (but is yet to be fully constrained), and the possibility exists of hybrid Dor – Sct stars that have greatasteroseismic promise, although it is clear such stars are rare, if they do exist. It has been observationally challenging to extract more than a fewfrequencies for any Dor star so far. Exciting spectroscopic discoveries of new behaviour in roAp stars promise unprecedented information about the structure of the peculiar atmospheres ofthose stars – pulsation amplitude and phase in 3D, magnetic field structurein 3D, abundance stratification in 3D, realistic T- for the most peculiarstars – as well as entirely new information about the interaction of pulsation,rotation and magnetic fields. Recent theoretical work has led to new understandingof the previously inexplicable frequency spacing of HR 1217 with new Whole Earth Telescope observations supporting this theory. An `improved oblique pulsator model' has been developed in which the pulsationaxis is not the magnetic axis; this model has passed several observationaltests and new ones are being devised to examine it further.     

A comparison of the near-ultraviolet continuum and chromospheric emission line fluxes of the late-type giant stars

We investigate the near-ultraviolet high-resolution LWR spectra of the stars Cas, And, Tau, Gem, Cru, Boo, and Peg, obtained with the aid of the International Ultraviolet Explorer Satellite. We have given here a list of the strongest and most prevalent emission lines in the near-ultraviolet spectra of Boo, KlIIIp, and Peg, M2.5II-III which have the same luminosity class and different spectral type. The near-ultraviolet continuum flux measurements and integrated emission line fluxes of these stars for the 2500–3200 Å region are presented in order to compare the variations in the appearance of the near-ultraviolet flux distribution with the temperature structure of their chromospheres for K and M giant stars. We also discuss differences between observed and calculated fluxes found from the Planck function.     

On the Power in the Legendre Modes of the Solar Radial Magnetic Field

The power in the different modes of an expansion of the solar radial magnetic field at the surface in terms of Legendre polynomials,P , is calculated with the help of a solar dynamo model studied earlier. The model is of the Babcock–Leighton type, i.e., the surface eruptions of the toroidal magnetic field – through the tilt angle, , formed by the magnetic axis of a bipolar magnetic region with the east-west line – are the sources for the poloidal field. In this paper it is assumed that the tilt angle is subject to fluctuations of the form, = ()+ <> where <> is the average value and () is a random normal fluctuation with standard deviation which is taken from Howard's observations of the distribution of tilt angles. For numerical considerations, negative values of were not allowed. If this occurred, was recalculated. The numerical integrations were started with a toroidal magnetic field antisymmetric across the equator, large enough to generate eruptions, and a negligible poloidal field. The fluctuations in the tilt angle destroy the antisymmetry as time increases. The power of the antisymmetric modes across the equator (i.e., odd values of ) is concentrated in frequencies, _p, corresponding to the cycle period. The maximum power lies in the =3 mode with considerable power in the =5 mode, in broad agreement with Stenflo's results who finds a maximum power at =5. For the symmetric modes, there is considerable power in frequencies larger than _p, again in broad agreement with Stenflo's power spectrum.     

Lunar properties from transient and steady magnetic field measurements

The electrical conductivity of the lunar interior has been determined from magnetic field step transients measured on the lunar dark side. The simplest model which best fits the data is a spherically symmetric three layer model having a nonconducting outer crust of radial thickness 0.03R _moon; an intermediate layer of thicknessR0.37R _moon, with electrical conductivity ₁ 3.5 × 10^–4 mhos/m; and an inner core of radiusR ₂ 0.6R _m with conductivity ₂ 10^–2 mhos/m. Temperatures calculated from these conductivities in the three regions for an example of an olivine Moon are as follows: crust, < 440 K; intermediate layer, 890 K; and core, 1240 K. The whole-moon relative permeability has been calculated from the measurements to be/ ₀ = 1.03 ± 0.13. Remanent magnetic fields at the landing sites are 38 ± 3 at Apollo 12, 43 ± 6 and 103 ± 5 at two Apollo 14 sites separated by 1.1 km, and 6 ± 4 at the Apollo 15 site. Measurements show that the 38 remanent field at the Apollo 12 site is compressed to 54 by a solar wind pressure increase of 7 × 10^–8 dynes/cm².National Research Council Postdoctoral Associate.     

A theory for gamma ray and X-ray burst sources

A common mechanism for both X-ray and-ray bursters is proposed on the basis that a window can be created transiently in the polar cap of a degenerate star, a white dwarf for X-ray bursts and a neutron star for-ray bursts. The window exposes transiently a hot degenerate sub-layer of the star at shallow depth, from which escapes blackbody flux for a source at temperature 3 kev with window radius 10 km in the case of X-ray bursts and for a source at temperature 300 kev with window radius 0.5 km in the case of-ray bursts.     

Stellar atmospheric velocity fields: The Beta Cephei variables γ Peg and β Cep

The shape parameters of a number of selected ultraviolet lines in BUSS-spectra of the Beta Cephei stars Peg and Cep have been analyzed to determine the principal parameters of the atmospheric velocity field. We find for both stars a fairly high value (5 km s^–1) for the microturbulent line-of-sight velocity component, which confirms an earlier result based on lower resolution UV spectra. Macroturbulent and rotational velocities are virtually zero in the atmosphere of Peg; for Cep we findv _rotsini=40 km s^–1.On leave from Akita University, Akita, Japan.     

Sub-arcsecond 10 micron imaging of newly-formed stars

We describe initial results of a program to image massive newly-formed stars with sub-arc second spatial resolution. We discuss high-precision diffraction-limited size measurements at =10 m made using the 3 m Lick telescope. The point-spread function has FWHM 0.7; deconvolution yields a spatial resolution of 0.35. We find that the core component of one such object, LkH 101, is unresolved at these scales, and we are able to set a 95%-confidence upper limit of 270 AU for the diameter of the circumstellar dust shell. This places the dust at the same radial scale as a strong ionized stellar wind region seen at radio wavelengths. Our observations, when combined with published spectral observations, rule out an optically thick circumstellar disk but allow a radially thin, anisotropic distribution of dust, or alternatively an isotropic distribution of dust with a narrow range of large grain sizes.     

Light-element abundances of peculiar a stars

Light-element abundances are compiled for six peculiar A stars (3 CenA, ² CVn, HR 1732,v For, Cnc, and 112 Her) with Heilines very weak for their colours. The abundances are interpreted on the theory that peculiar A stars were once secondaries in binary systems in which the primaries exploded as type II supernovae. During the explosions of the primaries, protons were accelerated to high energies (>20 MeV) in shock waves at the secondaries, and spallation of He, C, N, and O occurred. This was followed by the arrival of heavier elements from the primaries. Abundances on ² CVn, HR 1732, andv For were subsequently modified by surface nuclear reactions involving protons and -particles accelerated to lower energies (10 MeV), probably by magnetic fields. Successive (, ) reactions formed Si²⁸ from Ne²⁰, and (p, ) reactions acting on A⁴⁰ and Ca⁴⁰ may have contributed to the excesses of Cl observed on ² CVn and HR 1732. These proposals have interesting implications with regard to the relative abundances of the iron-peak elements found on peculiar A stars and in the Solar System.     

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SOLAR FLARE GAMMA-RAY EMISSION AND NEUTRON PRODUCTION

We have examined six solar neutron events measured by satellite instruments and/or neutron monitors (NM) to understand the relationship between the intensity–time profiles of the -ray lines, the pion-related -rays, and the neutron production. In all six events the solar neutron production was clearly time-extended. We find that neutron emission as detected by NMs most closely follows the emission of pion-related -rays, whereas lower energy neutron production may follow that of nuclear -ray line emissions. Although this distinction is not unexpected, it is safe to say that the 2.223 MeV -ray line from neutron capture on hydrogen is a poor measure of the neutron production at energies >200 MeV. During the three events on 1982, June 3, 1990, May 24 and 1991, June 4 solar neutrons with energies greater than 200 MeV were recorded by NMs. The NM increases on 1982, June 3 and 1990, May 24 can be modeled using the time profile of the pion-related -rays. For the 1991, June 4 event the NM signal was small but lasted for 60 min and the high-energy -ray data available to us are insufficient to conclude unambiguously that the high-energy neutron production followed the pion-related -rays. In the other three events on 1991, June 9, 11, and 15 solar neutrons with energies 10–100 MeV were observed by the COMPTEL -ray instrument on the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory. The duration of the low-energy neutron production on 1991, June 9 corresponded clearly to the high-energy and not to the low-energy -ray emission.     

A momentum distribution of high energy particles around Crab pulsar

We determine the momentum distribution of the relativistic particles near the Crab pulsar from the observed X- and -ray spectra (10³10⁹ eV), provided that the curvature radiation is responsible for it. The power law spectrum for the relativistic electrons,f() ^–5, reproduces a close fit to the observed high-energy photon spectrum. The theoretically determined upper limit to the momentum (due to radiation damping), _M 8×10⁶, corresponds to the upper cut-off energy of the -ray spectrum, 10⁹ eV. The lower limit to the momentum, _m 1.8×10⁵, is chosen such that flattening of the X-ray spectrum below 10 keV is simulated. The number density of these electrons is found to be much higher than the Goldreich-Julian density. We also discuss pulse shape and polarization of high-energy photons. The extremely high density of particles and the steep momentum spectrum are difficult to understand. This may imply that another, more efficient, mechanism is in operation.     

Variability of Circumstellar Emission from Dust Envelopes Around Carbon Stars

The main constituents of the dust, produced around late-type carbon stars, are thought to be carbon and silicon carbide (SiC), although their exact nature is not yet well established. This subject has been addressed by several authors and good fits of a large number of IRAS sources (chosen among the carbon stars exhibiting the SiC feature at about 11.3 m) were obtained. In this work we use the same procedure on a limited number of objects, of the same type, taking into account the variability of such sources and the changes induced in their IR spectra. For this purpose, the chosen stars have been observed with a spectral resolution higher than that available for the IRAS data (/ 50), using the CGS3 instrument of the UKIRT telescope, both in the low ( / 160) and in the high ( / 500) resolution configuration. The results are discussed and some preliminary conclusions are drawn.     

On the formation of energy spectra in synchrotron sources

The observed energy spectra in synchrotron sources are power laws,N (E)=KE ^–, with the distribution in peaked around 2.5. These are consistent with initially injected spectra with between 1 and 2, subsequently steepened by synchrotron losses. Contrary to the results of Kardashev (1962), it is shown that statistical acceleration when coupled with synchrotron losses lead naturally to the formation of flat stationary spectra with 1. These stationary spectra have bends near the energy at which synchrotron losses balance the energy gains by acceleration. Above this bend the spectrum tends to =2. The time evolution of an initial spectrum towards the stationary spectrum is investigated. It is suggested that the initially flat spectra with 1 to 1.5 observed in some variable sources result from an incomplete approach to the stationary spectrum, and that in sources with constant acceleration spectra with 2 are to be expected.     

High velocity neutron stars and γ-ray bursts

The observations of the BATSE instrument on the Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory show that the spatial distribution of -ray burst sources is isotropic but radially non-uniform. As is well known, the spectral features, the time histories and the X-ray tails present in some -ray bursts suggest that they may arise from galactic neutron stars. But, low velocity neutron stars born in the Galactic disk would concentrate toward the galactic plane and center, and could not fit the BATSE results. However, the high velocity neutron stars with velocity 1000 km s^–1 may escape from the Galactic gravitational field and form a nearly isotropic distribution. Here we calculate the three statistical values of V/V _max, sin² b and cos as functions of the intensitiesC _max/C _min and find that they could be fitted by the distribution of high velocity neutron stars under the assumption that the high velocity neutron stars should turn on as -ray burst sources only after some time (perhaps after they have ceased to be radio pulsars). Our calculation shows that the statistical value of cos is more sensitive than sin² b to the angular distribution of high velocity neutron stars, i.e. the deviation of cos from 0 is more readily detected than the deviation of sin² b from 1/3, so we expect that with the increasing sensitivity of instrument and the more exact value of cos , it is possible to determine whether this high velocity neutron star model is correct. Some results are discussed in the text.     

A correlation study between ozone and volcanic activity

A cross-correlation study for time-lags of ±5 yrs between eleven ground based ozone stations (1957–1985) for = 40°N–75° N and = 30° E-114° W and five volcanic emissivity indices has shown their close connection: significant correlations well above 90% were obtained. Intepretation of these positive/negative correlations () was based on the global wind circulation (aided also by a 2-D, 3-D representation between, , ), and the types of volcanic aerosols leading to heterogeneous chemical reactions with ozone.     

Multicolor Photometry for Mode Identification

The goal of asteroseismology is to discern the physical conditions of stars by comparing observed pulsations with models.To obtain this goal, the observed pulsation periods and the spherical harmonics (n, , and m) need to match the theoretical model.Typically the most difficult part in this process is the identification of the pulsation modes in the observations.Multicolour photometry is one method that has proven useful for identifying pulsation modes.By observing stars through various wavebands, and comparing the amplitudes and phases, it is possible to determine the spherical harmonics.This contribution will emphasize the work of Watson (1988), which has since been applied to many different types of variable stars including Scuti (Garrido et al., 1990), Doradus (Breger et al., 1997), Cepheid (Cugier et al., 1994), and EC 14026 (Koen, 1998) stars. I will also discuss the technique of summing spectra (especially UV) into various wavebands which are then used to identify modes as pioneered by Robinson, Kepler, and Nather (1982) and applied to white dwarf stars (Kepler et al., 2000).     

Sensitivity of γ-ray detectors to polarization

Previous studies have shown that the largest -ray detector to date, EGRET, does not have useful polarization sensitivity. We have explored here some improved approaches to analyzing -ray pair production events, leading to important gains in sensitivity to polarization. The performance of the next generation -ray instrument GLAST is investigated using a detailed Monte Carlo simulation of the complete detector.     

Correlations between statistical population indices and spectral characteristics of carbon stars

The coefficients of correlation between spectroscopic data published by Yamashita (1967) and others for carbon stars and the statistical population indices calculated for these stars at the Toru Observatory are calculated (Table II). The intensity estimates of Cai 4227 Å, Nai D lines, the C¹³/C¹² ratio, then=n(Li/Ca) index, as well as CN and probably C₂ bands are higher in population I carbon stars. The CH(G) band and probably hydrogen (H, H, H) lines as well as Baii 4554 and 4934 Å lines are stronger in population II carbon stars. The photoelectric colour indices, corrected for interstellar reddening do not show significant population effects. They can be used as spectral type equivalents. For a population criterion the CH/CN intensity ratio is proposed.     

Gamma Ray and Hadron generated Čerenkov Photon Spectra at Various Observation Altitudes

We study the propagation of erenkov photons generated by Very HighEnergy -rays and hadrons in the atmosphere. The photon productionheight distributions are estimated from semi-empirical methods andcompared with those derived by standard simulation techniques. Incidentspectra at various observation altitudes are then derived after applyingwavelength dependent corrections due to photon attenuation in theatmosphere during the propagation of photons from the height of productionto the height of observation. These are generated both for -ray and hadron primaries of various energies. The derivedproduction height distributions agree very well with those generated bythe simulation package `CORSIKA' at all energies and for both -ray and proton primaries. The incident photon spectra are found to beboth altitude and primary energy dependent. The peak ofthe incident spectrum shifts towards the shorter wavelength withincreasing altitude of observation for a given primary. Also the peak ofthe photon spectrum shifts towards the shorter wavelength withincreasing energy of the primary at a given altitude. The fraction of the UVcomponent in the incident erenkov spectrum is estimated both for-ray and hadronic primaries at various observation altitudes andenergies. Hadron generated erenkov spectra are marginally richer in UVlight and the difference increases slightly at higher altitudes. The fraction of the UV to the visible light in the erenkov spectrum could be a usefulparameter to separate -rays from cosmic ray background only if onecan measure this fraction very accurately.