The excitation of the iron Kα feature in solar flares

We evaluate the relationship between the hard X-ray photon spectrum and the flux of iron K emission in a thick-target electron bombardment model. Results are presented for various power-law hard X-ray spectra. We then apply these results to two events observed with the Hard X-Ray Burst Spectrometer and the K channel of the X-Ray Polychromator Bent Crystal Spectrometer on the Solar Maximum Mission satellite. For one of the events, on 29 March, 1980, at 09:18 UT, the K flux predicted for a thick-target non-thermal process is significant compared to the background fluorescent component, and the data are indeed consistent with an enhancement of the predicted amount. For the other event, on 14 October, 1980 at 06:09 UT, the hard X-ray spectrum is so steep that no significant Ka flux is predicted for this process, and no enhancement is seen. We conclude that the agreement between the predicted K flux and the observed magnitude of the K enhancement above the fluorescent background at the time of the large hard X-ray bursts lends support to a thick-target non-thermal interpretation of impulsive hard X-ray emission in solar flares.     

Plasma wave properties of the Schwarzschild magnetosphere in a Veselago medium

We re-formulate the 3+1 GRMHD equations for the Schwarzschild black hole in a Veselago medium. Linear perturbation in rotating (non-magnetized and magnetized) plasma is introduced and their Fourier analysis is considered. We discuss wave properties with the help of wave vector, refractive index and change in refractive index in the form of graphs. It is concluded that some waves move away from the event horizon in this unusual medium. We conclude that for the rotating non-magnetized plasma, our results confirm the presence of Veselago medium while the rotating magnetized plasma does not provide any evidence for this medium.     

Can mass loss and overshooting prevent the excitation of g-modes in blue supergiants?

Thanks to their past history on the main-sequence phase, supergiant massive stars develop a convective shell around the helium core. This intermediate convective zone (ICZ) plays an essential role in governing which g-modes are excited. Indeed, a strong radiative damping occurs in the high-density radiative core but the ICZ acts as a barrier preventing the propagation of some g-modes into the core. These g-modes can thus be excited in supergiant stars by the κ-mechanism in the superficial layers due to the opacity bump of iron, at  log  T = 5.2  . However, massive stars are submitted to various complex phenomena such as rotation, magnetic fields, semiconvection, mass loss, overshooting. Each of these phenomena exerts a significant effect on the evolution and some of them could prevent the onset of the convective zone. We develop a numerical method which allows us to select the reflected, thus the potentially excited, modes only. We study different cases in order to show that mass loss and overshooting, in a large enough amount, reduce the extent of the ICZ and are unfavourable to the excitation of g-modes.     

Heating and acceleration of α-particles in the solar wind

The non-linear saturation of whistler mode instability in the solar wind is considered here. The resulting heating and acceleration are calculated. It is shown that this instability heats predominantly the -particles and the ratio of heating rates of -particles to ions have been calculated. This instability is shown to be effective in accelerating -particles than ions. However, this process cannot account for V /V _i 1.     

NLTE formation of the resonance Ba II line λ 455.4 nm in the solar atmosphere

We consider the NLTE formation of the resonance Ba II line λ 455.4 nm in the solar spectrum for three one-dimensional and one three-dimensional hydrodynamic models of the quiet solar atmosphere. The sensitivity of the line to atomic parameters, microturbulent and macroturbulent velocities, as well as to oscillator strength and barium abundance uncertainties was examined. The wings of the barium line are shown to be most sensitive to the van der Waals broadening constant. Another important parameter is the barium abundance. Our NLTE estimate of the solar barium abundance (A _Ba = 2.16) derived with allowance made for the nonuniform solar atmosphere structure is in good agreement with earlier results. The influence of granular convective motions on the line profile shape was studied, and the profiles formed in granules and in intergranular lanes are shown to be asymmetric and differently shaped. We demonstrate that the theoretical profiles match well the observed ones when the NLTE effects and the granular structure are taken into account.     

Studying the errors in the estimation of the variation of energy by the “patched-conics” model in the three-dimensional swing-by

The swing-by maneuver is a technique used to change the energy of a spacecraft by using a close approach in a celestial body. This procedure was used many times in real missions. Usually, the first approach to design this type of mission is based on the “patched-conics” model, which splits the maneuver into three “two-body dynamics.” This approach causes an error in the estimation of the energy variations, which depends on the geometry of the maneuver and the system of primaries considered. Therefore, the goal of the present paper is to study the errors caused by this approximation. The comparison of the results are made with the trajectories obtained using the more realistic restricted three-body problem, assumed here to be the “real values” for the maneuver. The results shown here describe the effects of each parameter involved in the swing-by. Some examples using bodies in the solar system are used in this part of the paper. The study is then generalized to cover different mass parameters, and its influence is analyzed to give an idea of the amount of the error expected for a given system of primaries. The results presented here may help in estimating errors in the preliminary mission analysis using the “patched-conics” approach.     

On the gravitational instability of a medium in non-uniform rotation and magnetic field

The effect of a non-uniform magnetic field on the gravitational instability for a non-uniformly rotating, infinitely extending axisymmetric cylinder in a homogeneous medium has been studied. The Bel and Schatzman criterion of gravitational instability for a non-uniformly rotating medium is modified under the effect of a non-uniform/uniform magnetic field acting along the tangential and axial directions. As a consequence the stabilizing and destabilizing effect of the non-uniform magnetic field is obtained, a new criterion for the magneto-gravitational instability is deduced in terms of Alfven’s wave velocity; and it is also found that the Jeans criterion determines the gravitational instability in the absence of rotation and when the non-uniform/uniform magnetic field acts along the axis of the cylinder.     

The mean transmission of the neutral intergalactic medium in the LYα -line from a sample of high-resolution quasar spectra

We present our measurements of the mean transmission \(\overline F \left( z \right)\) of the neutral intergalactic medium in the Lyα line. For this purpose we used the sample of 33 high-resolution (R = 5300…45 000) spectra selected from the public available archive of the European Southern Observatory with the help of the Virtual Observatory tools. For continuum determination in each spectra the points with maximum flux in Lyα-forest region were selected and fitted by spline. The obtained values of the mean transmission \(\overline F \left( z \right)\) was fitted by power-law τ_eff = α(1 + z)^β, where α = (4.4 _?0.2 ^+4.4 )× 10^–3, β = 3.278 _?0.054 ^+0.083 for averaging of the F(z) over the redshift bins Δz = 0.1 and α = (10.6 _?1.0 ^+1.1 )× 10^–3, β = 2.685 _?0.071 ^+0.081 for averaging over each quasar. The results were compared with those ones from previous studies of high- and low-resolution quasar spectra.     

Moment method for multiple scattering of solar Lα radiation in the nearby interstellar medium

The problem of solar L (1216 Å) photons scattered coherently by interplanetary medium is solved for a realistic density distribution using a simple three-stream division of the radiation field.     

Analysis of the light curves of V78 in ω Centauri in the frequency domain by automatized fourier techniques

The aim of the present paper has been to analyse the light changes of the close eclipsing system V78 in Centauri in the frequency domain. In two of his recent papers, Kopal (1977b, c) has developed new methods for the analysis of light curves using Hankel transforms of zero order. He succeeded in expressing the momentsA _2m of light curves in a closed form. The expansions, in terms of which the momentsA _2m can be expressed, converge in all circumstances. Their analytical structure presents no difficulty for automatic computation. The light variations of the eclipsing system V78 in Centauri have been studied by use of the above method. New geometrical elements are also given.     

The excitation mechanism and the line-to-continuum intensity ratio of the [Fexiv] 5303 Å line in various coronal regions

The excitation mechanism of the coronal green line in various coronal regions is studied. The line-to-continuum intensity ratio is calculated using the model electron density values given by Newkirk (1961) and is compared with the observed values. Reasonably good agreement is found between the model calculations and observed values. The model calculations show that collisional excitation is more important in the innermost regions while radiative contribution progressively increases towards outer regions. The individual contributions depend strongly on the activity of the particular coronal region. An increased contribution from collisional excitation is seen in coronal active regions owing to the large electron density. A contour map of the line-to-continuum intensity ratio as derived from the observations, is plotted. At 1.10R the value is about 80 in active regions, 30–40 in coronal streamers, while it is less than 10 in polar regions.     

Dynamics of two satellites in the 2/1 Mean–Motion resonance: application to the case of Enceladus and Dione

The dynamics of a pair of satellites similar to Enceladus–Dione is investigated with a two-degrees-of-freedom model written in the domain of the planar general three-body problem. Using surfaces of section and spectral analysis methods, we study the phase space of the system in terms of several parameters, including the most recent data. A detailed study of the main possible regimes of motion is presented, and in particular we show that, besides the two separated resonances, the phase space is replete of secondary resonances.     

Evolution of hard gluons in a medium with q^(t)∼tn and the thermalization problem

We study the energy distribution of hard gluons traversing a dense quark-gluon plasma by comparing various transverse momentum broadening rates , using a probabilistic perturbative approach. These results were applied to address the thermalization problem in heavy ion collisions. Within the weak coupling model, thermalization follows a “bottom-up” process: early-formed high-energy partons emit low-energy gluons, leading to their equilibrium formation, creating a thermal bath that facilitates equilibrium in the high-energy sector. Under this scenario, we model the time dependencies of $$ as a power-law $$, and assess the impact of $$ on the distribution of hard gluons passing through the medium.     

Silicon and iron isotopes in components of enstatite chondrites: Implications for metal–silicate–sulfide fractionation in the solar nebula

Silicon and iron isotope compositions of different physically separated components of enstatite chondrites (EC) were determined in this study to understand the role of nebular and planetary scale events in fractionating Si and Fe isotopes of the terrestrial planet-forming region. We found that the metal–sulfide nodules of EC are strongly enriched in light Si isotopes (δ³⁰Si ≥ −5.61 ± 0.12‰, 2SD), whereas the δ³⁰Si values of angular metal grains, magnetic, slightly magnetic, and non-magnetic fractions become progressively heavier, correlating with their Mg# (Mg/(Mg+Fe)). White mineral phases, composed primarily of SiO₂ polymorphs, display the heaviest δ³⁰Si of up to +0.23 ± 0.10‰. The data indicate a key role of metal–silicate partitioning on the Si isotope composition of EC. The overall lighter δ³⁰Si of bulk EC compared to other planetary materials can be explained by the enrichment of light Si isotopes in EC metals along with the loss of isotopically heavier forsterite-rich silicates from the EC-forming region. In contrast to the large Si isotope heterogeneity, the average Fe isotope composition (δ⁵⁶Fe) of EC components was found to vary from −0.30 ± 0.08‰ to +0.20 ± 0.04‰. A positive correlation between δ⁵⁶Fe and Ni/S in the components suggests that the metals are enriched in heavy Fe isotopes whereas sulfides are the principal hosts of light Fe isotopes in the non-magnetic fractions of EC. Our combined Si and Fe isotope data in different EC components reflect an inverse correlation between δ³⁰Si and δ⁵⁶Fe, which illustrates that partitioning of Si and Fe among metal, silicate, and sulfidic phases has significantly fractionated Si and Fe isotopes under reduced conditions. Such isotope partitioning must have occurred before the diverse components were mixed to form the EC parent body. Evaluation of diffusion coefficients of Si and Fe in the metal and non-metallic phases suggests that the Si isotope compositions of the silicate fractions of EC largely preserve information of their nebular processing. On the other hand, the Fe isotopes might have undergone partial or complete re-equilibration during parent body metamorphism. The relatively uniform δ⁵⁶Fe among different types of bulk chondrites and the Earth, despite Fe isotope differences among their components, demonstrates that the chondrite parent bodies were not formed by random mixing of chondritic components from different locations in the disk. Instead, the chondrite components mostly originated in the same nebular reservoir and Si and Fe isotopes were fractionated either due to gas–solid interactions and associated changes in physicochemical environment of the nebular reservoir and/or during parent body processing. The heavier Si isotope composition of the bulk silicate Earth may require accretion of chondritic and/or isotopically heavier EC silicates along with cumulation of refractory forsterite-rich heavier silicates lost from the EC-forming region to form the silicate reservoir of the Earth.     

The 12C/13C and 16O/18O ratios in the atmosphere of Venus from high-resolution 10-μm spectroscopy

Spectra of Venus in the 925- to 980-cm⁻¹ spectral range were recorded in January 1985 at a resolution of 0.06 cm⁻¹. Several lines from the ν₃−ν₁ bands of ¹³CO₂ and ¹²C¹⁶O¹⁸O were observed for the first time. Synthetic spectra, which include absorption from CO₂ bands and from sulfuric acid clouds, are compared to the observations. Taking into account measurement noise as well as systematic errors, the analysis yields ¹²C/¹³C=86±12 and ¹⁶O/¹⁸O=500±80, in agreement with the terrestrial ratios. The results are consistent with previous ground-based near-infrared studies and with in situ mass spectrometer measurements.     

Estimation of physical conditions in the cold phase of the interstellar medium in the sub-DLA system at <Emphasis Type="Italic">z</Emphasis> = 2.06 in the spectrum of the quasar J 2123–0050

An independent analysis of the molecular hydrogen absorption system at redshift z _abs = 2.059 in the spectrum of the quasar J 2123?0050 is presented. The H₂ system consists of two components (A and B) with column densities \(\log N_{{H_2}}^A = 17.94 \pm 0.01\) and \(N_{{H_2}}^B = 15.16 \pm 0.02\). The spectrum exhibits the lines of HDmolecules (logN _HD ^A = 13.87±0.06) and the neutral speciesCI and Cl I associated with the H₂ absorption system. For the molecular hydrogen lines near the quasar’s Lyβ and OVI emission lines, we detect a nonzero residual flux, ~3% of the total flux, caused by the effect of partial coverage of the quasar’s broad-line region by an H₂ cloud. Due to the smallness of the residual flux, the effect does not affect the H₂ column density being determined but increases the statistics of observations of the partial coverage effect to four cases. The uniqueness of the system being investigated is manifested in a high abundance of the neutral species H₂ and CI at the lowest HI column density, logN _HI = 19.18 ± 0.15, among the highredshift systems. The H₂ and CI column densities in the system being investigated turn out to be higher than those in similar systems in our Galaxy and theMagellanic Clouds by two or three orders ofmagnitude. The \(N_{HD} /2N_{H_2 }\) ratio for component A has turned out to be also unusually high, (4.26 ± 0.60) × 10^?5, which exceeds the deuterium abundance (D/H) for high-redshift systems by a factor of 1.5. Using the HI, H₂, HD, and CI column densities as well as the populations of excited H₂ and CI levels, we have investigated the physical conditions in components A and B. Component A represents the optically thick case; the gas has a low number density (~30 cm^?3) and a temperature T ~ 140 K. In component B, the mediumis optically thin with n _H ≤ 100 cm^?3 and T ≥ 100 K. The ultraviolet (UV) background intensity in the clouds exceeds the mean intensity in our Galaxy by almost an order ofmagnitude. A high gas ionization fraction, \(n_{H^ + } /n_H \sim 10^{ - 2}\), which can be the result of partial shielding of the systemfrom hard UV radiation, is needed to describe the high HD and CI column densities. Using our simulations with the PDRMeudon code, we can reconstruct the observed column densities of the species within the model with a constant density (n _H ~ 40 cm^?3). A high H₂ formation rate (higher than the mean Galactic value by a factor of 10?40) and high gas ionization fraction and UV background intensity are needed in this case.     

A Possible Explanation of the O‘Connell Effect in Close Binary Stars

A theoretical model for explaining the O‘Connell effect of close binary stars is given based on the hypothesis that the circumstellar material of a binary system is captured by its components.The results inferred form the model suggest that late-type and /or short-period binaries can easily produce obvious O‘Connell effect and that the occurrence of O‘Connell effect has no relation with the type of binaries,These conclusions are in agreement with the observed results.The observed O‘Connell effects of six binary systems are examined by the model.For three W-subtype W UMa binaries(YY Eri,BX Per and SW Lac).the densities of the materials captured by the two components are assumed to be equal,and the calculated O‘Connell effect is found to be almost equal to the observed effect.For three A-subtype W UMa systems(CN And,FG Hya and AU Ser),the two densities are assumed to be different,and are calculated separately.The calculated O‘Connell effect turns out to agree better with the observed effect than that was formerly obtained.