Determinations of atomic lifetimes for the rare earth ions: Prii,Tmii, Luii,Ceiii

Radiative lifetimes have been determined by the beam-foil method for some excited states in the singly ionized rare earths Pr ii, Tm ii, and Lu ii, in order to test the reliability of the transition probabilities and oscillator strengths found by Corliss and Bozman and usually applied for solar abundance determinations. Correction factors of 4.5, 2.5, and 0.3 should be applied to Corliss and Bozman's values for Pr ii, Tm ii, and Lu ii, respectively. These corrections eliminate the discrepancies between the abundance in the solar photosphere and in meteorites for Pr and Tm. Radiative lifetimes for Ce iii are also reported.     

Evidence for supernova-induced star formation in the monoceros OB2 association

The Monoceros ring, a circular optical nebulosity 3°.5 in diameter and centred at R.A.=6^h37^m, Dec.=6°30 (l ⁱⁱ =205°.5,b ⁱⁱ =0°.2) is in good structural agreement with radio observations. A neutral hydrogen shell is also accurately projected on the ring. These observations are consistent with the Monoceros ring being a supernova remnant 90–100 pc in diameter expanding at about 45 km s^–1 and having an age of the order of a million years. Bright Hii regions containing early-type stars (e.g., galactic cluster NGC 2244 in the Rosette nebula) and extremely young stars of the OB association Mon OB2 lie at the edges of the ring. The positional and temporal coincidence of the Mon OB2 association with a supernova remnant suggests that probably the star formation in this region is induced or speeded up by the passage of a supernova shock wave through the clumpy interstellar medium.     

Emission curve of growth for Feii in chromospheric limb spectra

The 270 chromospheric emission lines of Feii ranging between 2000 and 3200 Å observed by Skylab at a height of 4 (2900 km) above the limb of the quiet Sun are analyzed by the emission curve of growth method, using newly calculated gf-values. It is derived that the excitation temperature is 7.2 × 10³ K and that the turbulent velocity is consistent with the previous results that the microturbulent velocity is lower than 10 km s^–1 in the cool (<10⁴ K) region of the chromosphere.Contributions from the Kwasan and Hida Observatories, University of Kyoto, No. 270.     

Vertical structure of plages

A new spectroscopic method of deriving the three-dimensional information (escalation) worked out at the Pulkovo Observatory was applied to observations of solar faculae. The size of the investigated area was 70 × 18. Two series of spectra were obtained simultaneously in four spectral regions (H, D_1,2, (Nai), H, and H, K (Caii)) with a quadruple-camera spectrograph attached to the second horizontal solar telescope at Pulkovo on 13 August, 1968.It was found from the analysis of the maps of brightness distribution in the cores of the lines and continuum that the facular emission lies in ropes which incline to the solar surface.     

Simultaneous H and K Ca ii,h and k Mg ii,Lα and Lβ H i profiles of the April 15, 1978 solar flare observed with the OSO-8/L.P.S.P. experiment

Solar flare observations have been performed with the multichannel L.P.S.P. experiment on board OSO-8 NASA Satellite. Simultaneous H and K Caii, h and k Mgii, L and L Hi profiles have been recorded on the plage just before the flare, during the flare onset and relaxation phases. The different behaviour of line profiles and intensities during the flare is evidenced and indicates a downward propagation with relaxation times increasing from the upper part to the lower part of the chromosphere related to line formation processes. Using the H observed profile, an upper limit of 8 × 10¹³ cm^-3 is derived for the electron density.     

Erratum: the 2.27 day period of WR-134 (HD 191765)

The original temporal analysis of a 12 night spectral timeseries of WR-134 has been found to be flawed and a re-analysis shows that the line profile variations are indeed periodic. When combined with a 4 night timeseries taken 45 days earlier, a period near 2.27 d is found in periodograms of the Heii 5412 line centroid,rms line width, and line skew variations. When the emission line residuals are ordered as a function of phase, a sinuous feature appears to snake about the line center with an amplitude of ± 500 km s^–1. This is 20 larger than the line centroid amplitude; the calculation of which is heavily weighted by static portions of the line profile. In addition to the snake, emission residuals appear that move away from line center on unbound trajectories and are thought to result from the interaction of a periodic driver with the unstable flow of the radiation driven wind. The nature of the periodic driver is a topic for discussion.     

The local interstellar medium: A test-bed for the galactic ISM

We outline a method to explore the column density of the Local Interstellar Medium (LISM) using absorptions in the resonance H and K lines of Mgii. The intrinsic strengths of these lines in the temperature and density conditions prevailing in warm clouds (T _eff<10⁴ K) in the LISM allows them to be used to explore many lines of sight where lines such a NaD and Caii H and K are too weak, but where L is saturated. The number of measurable lines-of-sight is greatly enhanced by using cool stars as the background emitters, but this implies reliable separation of the LISM components from stellar chromospheric selfabsorptions. We explain how to do this, and how to use a combination of column density and radial velocity data to measure the spatial extent and the physical parameters of the single cloud in which the Sun is embedded. This proves to be an oblate spheroid, of characteristic diameter 8 pc, withT _eff 10⁴ K,n(Hi) of 0.1 cm^–3 and a mass <5M , streaming in the LSR from a point 1=4°,B=+16° with velocity equal to 16 km s^–1, and is surrounded by the much hotter lower density ionized gas of the local supernova bubble.     

Optical Identifications of IRAS Point Sources. Galaxies. VI

A sixth list of objects from the BIG (Byurakan—IRAS galaxies) sample is given: 87 galaxies identified with 60 point sources from the IRAS Point Source Catalog. The identifications were based on the Digital Sky Survey (DSS), the First Byurakan Survey, blue and red maps from the Palomar Observatory Sky Survey, and infrared fluxes at 12, 25, 60, and 100 µm in the region of +65° +69° and 9^h15^m 14^h00^m with an area of 111 deg². We determined the optical coordinates of the identified galaxies, their departures from the IR coordinates, and their V magnitudes, morphological types, angular sizes, and position angles. The objects have optical magnitudes in the range of 12 ^m .5-21 ^m .5 and angular sizes in the range of 2-29. Finder charts from the DSS are given for these objects.     

The nature of η carinae

We give an overview of the Car phenomenon on the basis of ground and space observations. We discuss in particular the IRAS images. We conclude that Car, initially with a mass > 100M , is presently an intermediate-type hypergiant withL=5×10⁶ L , in a rapid evolutionary stage. This phase started with a large increase of mass loss in mid-1800 followed by dust condensation and a large visual fading, at constant bolometric luminosity.Paper presented at the 11th European Regional Astronomical Meetings of the IAU on New Windows to the Universe, held 3–8 July, 1989, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain.     

Temporal variations of the magnetic field in sunspots

We obtained simultaneous spectra with a spatial resolution of 1/2 and a temporal resolution of 15 s in H, Ca ii-K, Caii 8542 Å, and three Fei lines of the sunspot group responsible for the large flares of August, 1972 (McMath No. 11976). A time series taken 1972, August 3 in the Fei 6173 Å Zeeman sensitive line was analyzed for oscillations of field strength and the angle between the field and the line of sight, and for changes of the field associated with the Ca ii-K umbral flashes discovered by Beckers and Tallant (1969). The power spectra show no significant peaks, conflicting with the results of Mogilevskii et al. (1972) who reported oscillations in the longitudinal component of the field strength with periods of 56, 90, and 150 s. Changes in the field were not observed to be correlated with the occurrence of umbral flashes. These results place restrictions on magnetic modes of energy transport between the photospheric layers and the chromospheric layers where the umbral flashes are observed.The National Center for Atmospheric Research is sponsored by the National Science Foundation.     

The geometry of the Roche coordinates

The exact geometry of the Roche curvilinear coordinates (, , ) in which corresponds to the zero-velocity surfaces is investigated numerically in the plane, as well as in the spatial, case for various values of the mass-ratio between the two point-masses (m ₁,m ₂) constituting a binary system.The geometry of zero-velocity surfaces specified by -values at the Lagrangian points are first discussed by taking their intersections with various planes parallel to thexy-, xz- andyz-planes. The intersection of the zero-velocity surface specified by the -value at the Lagrangian equilateral-triangle pointsL _4,5 with the planex=1/2 discloses two invariable curves passing through the pointsL _4,5 and situated symmetrically with respect to thexy-plane whose form is independent of the mass-ratio.The geometry of the remaining two coordinates (, ) orthogonal to the zero-velocity surfaces is investigated in thexy- andxz-planes from extensive numerical integrations of differential equations generated from the orthogonality relations among the coordinates. The curves (x, y)=constant in thexy-plane are found to be separated into three families by definite envelopes acting as boundaries whose forms depend upon the mass-ratio only: the inner -constant curves associated with the masspointm ₁, the inner -constant curves associated with the mass-pointm ₂ and the outer -constant curves. All the -constant curves in thexy-plane coalesce at either of the Lagrangian equilateraltriangle pointsL _4,5, except for a limiting case coincident with thex-axis. The curves (x, z)=constant in thexz-plane are also separated by definite envelopes depending upon the mass-ratio into different families: the inner -constant curves associated with the mass-pointm ₁, the inner -constant curves associated with the mass-pointm ₂ and the outer -constant curves on both sides out of the envelopes. For larger values ofz, the curves =constant tend asymptotically to the line perpendicular to thex-axis and passing through the centre of mass of the system, except for a limiting case coincident with thex-axis. The geometrical aspects of the envelopes for the curves (x, y)=constant in thexy-plane and the curves (x, z)=constant in thexz-plane are also discussed independently.In the three-dimensional space, the Roche coordinates can be conveniently defined in such a way as to correspond to the polar coordinates in the immediate neighbourhood of the origin, and to the cylindrical coordinates at great distances. From numerical integrations of simultaneous differential equations generating spatial curves orthogonal to the zero-velocity surfaces, the surfaces (x, y, z)=constant and the surfaces (x, y, z)=constant are constructed as groups of such spatial curves with common values of some parameters specifying the respective surfaces.On leave of absence from the University of Tokyo as an Honorary Fellow of the Victoria University of Manchester.     

Ionized helium in prominences and in the chromosphere

Quiescent prominences It is found that Heii 4686 is emitted in the same cold region of 10000 K as hydrogen, metal and neutral helium emission lines. This conclusion is based on the finding that the observed width of 4686 is the same as the calculated width of 4686. The calculated width is derived from the observed widths of hydrogen and metallic lines. The large intensity of Heii 4686 in 10000 K can be explained by the ionization of Heii due to the UV radiation below 228 Å that comes from the corona and the transition region.Loop prominences The very broad width (30 to 50 km s^–1) of 4686 for two post-flare loop prominences shows that the Heii line is emitted in hot regions different from regions of hydrogen and metal emission. From the widths of the Balmer lines and many metallic lines the kinetic temperature for one loop is found to be 16000 K in one part and 7600 K in another part. The electron densities are 10^12.0 cm^–3 and less than 10^11.0 cm^–3 respectively.Chromosphere The intensity of 4686 in the chromosphere can be interpreted in terms of a temperature of 10000 K with the ionization due to UV radiation. But, since observations of the width of 4686 are not available, a definitive conclusion for the chromosphere cannot be reached.     

Helium resonance lines in the flare of 15 June, 1973

Time sequences of He i and He ii resonance line intensities at several sites within the flare of 15 June, 1973 are derived from observations obtained with the Naval Research Laboratory's Slitless Spectroheliograph on Skylab. The data are compared with predictions in six model flare atmospheres based on two values for the heating rate and three for the flux of photoionizing coronal X-rays and EUV. A peak ionizing flux more than 10³ times that in the quiet Sun is indicated. For most conditions in flare kernels the He ii L and L lines are found to be formed by collisional excitation, thereby contributing to the local cooling of the plasma at temperatures above 6 × 10⁴ K. Emission in the higher Lyman lines is generally the result of a mixture of collisional excitation at these temperatures and photoionization and recombination at temperatures near 2.5 × 10⁴ K. We discuss implications for the common practice of deriving stellar coronal fluxes from He ii 1640 Å fluxes assuming dominance of the recombination mechanism.Chief, Quantum Physics Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology.Operated jointly by the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the University of Colorado.Operated by the National Optical Astronomy Observatories of the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc. under contract with the National Science Foundation.     

The metallic-line close binary system IW persei

TheUBV photoelectric light curve of IW Per as an ellipsoidal variable was obtained and a number of spectrograms were taken with dispersion of 10 Å mm^–1. New spectroscopic orbital elements are determined for this single-line spectroscopic binary to beK ₁=99.3 km s^–1, =0.2 km s^–1,a sini=1.80R andf(m)=0.093m . From analysis of the light curve, the geometric ellipticity coefficient of the distorted components is determined to beZ=0.037.Applying the second-order theory of light variation due to distorted components (Kopal and Kitamura, 1968), the orbital inclination and fractional radius of the primary component can be deduced simultaneously to bei=63° andr ₁=0.294. By takingm ₁=2.0m for the mass of the primary component with spectral type A5Vm, the mass of the secondary can be also deduced to bem ₂=1.08m , which would correspond to a G0-type if it is a Main-Sequence star. These elements indicate that the system is a non-eclipsing detached close binary.From intensity measurements of the lines Caii-K, Srii 4215 and Scii 4320 on twenty-eight good spectrograms taken at various phases, those intensities and the intensity ratio Sc/Sr are found to vary systematically with phase. From these variations the distribution of the local metallicity on the surface of the Am primary component is discussed in connection with the distribution of the local surface temperature.     

Profiles of Hi (La), Mgii (h and k), Caii (H and K) Lines of an active filament at the limb,with the LPSP instrument aboard the OSO-8 Satellite

We scanned the H i L, Mg ii h and k, Ca ii K and H lines simultaneously with the LPSP instrument on OSO-8, to investigate the low and moderate temperature regions of an active region filament. The L line is not reversed except for the innermost position in the prominence. Intensity (k/h), (K/H) ratios are respectively 2 and 1.1, indicating that the Mg ii lines are optically thin, and that Ca ii K is saturated, although not clearly reversed. The results obtained during the second sequence of observations (K saturated before L for example) indicate that within the size of the slit (1 × 10) we are not observing the same emitting features in the different lines.We also observe an important line-of-sight velocity at the outer edge of the feature, increasing outwards from a few km s^–1 to 20 km s^–1 within 2. Less than half an hour later, this velocity is reduced to 15 km s^–1 while the intensities increase. Full width at half maximum intensities for this component indicate turbulence variations from 22 to 30 km s^–1. The observed high velocities at the top of the prominence can be compared with radial velocities that Mein (1977) observed in H at the edges of an active filament and interpreted as velocity loops slightly inclined on the axis of the filament.     

Physical properties of solar chromospheric plages

We compute a new grid of plage models to determine the difference in temperature versus mass column density structure T(m) between plage regions and the quiet solar chromosphere, and to test whether the solar chromosphere is geometrically thinner in plages. We compare partial redistribution calculations of Mg ii h and k and Ca ii K to NRL Skylab observations of Mg ii h and k in six active regions and Ca ii K intensities obtained from spectroheliograms taken at approximately the same time as the Mg ii observations. We find that the plage observations are better matched by models with linear (in log m) temperature distributions and larger values of m ₀ (the mass column density at the 8000 K layer in the chromosphere), than by models with larger low chromosphere temperature gradients but values of m ₀ similar to the quiet Sun. Our derived temperature structures are in agreement with the grid originally proposed by Shine and Linsky, but our analysis is in contrast to the study by Kelch which implies that stellar chromospheric geometrical thickness is not affected by chromospheric activity. We conclude that either the stellar Mg ii observations upon which the Kelch study was based are of poorer quality than had been assumed, or that the spatial averaging of inhomogeneous structures, which is inherent in the stellar data, does not lead to a best fit one-component model similar in detail to that of a stellar or a solar plage.Visiting Astronomer at Kitt Peak National Observatory, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under contract with the National Science Foundation.Staff member, Quantum Physics Division, National Bureau of Standards.     

A reexamination of the Gum nebula

A detailed analysis of interstellar measurements in the direction of the Gum nebula is carried out. The ionized region is shown to have an angular radius of 18° and appears to be bounded by a shell of neutral gas. The mean electron temperature deduced from radio-frequency absorption measurements is found to be 8500K. These parameters suggest that the nebula is the normal and possibly evolved Hii region of Pup and ² Vel, rather than the fossil Strömgren sphere of the Vela supernova as suggested by Brandtet al. (1971).     

Temporal evolution of the chromospheric electron density in the flare of January 5, 1992

The analysis of the dynamic evolution of the chromospheric electron density during solar flares is fundamental for the testing of solar flare models. For this purpose we developed a digital imaging spectrograph for the observation of higher Balmer lines below 400 nm with a time resolution of 1 s and an algorithm for the determination of the electron density from the observed line profiles. On January 5, 1992 a M1/1N flare was observed in H, H and Caii H and the temporal evolution of the electron density was determined. The chromospheric electron density rises several times from less than 3 × 10¹⁹ to 1 × 10²⁰ m^–3 during the hard X-ray peaks.     

The peculiarities of diffusion of the galactic cosmic rays at low energies

I give an interpretation of a result of Simpsonet al. (1988) on the variation with kinetic energyT _i of the mean pathlengthX _m (T _i ) of the galactic cosmic rays (CGRs) in the range 0.1T _i 10.0 GeV nucl^–1. I argue that the data onX _m (T _i ) may be interpreted in terms of a model of GCR diffusion on the one-dimensional Alfvén-wave turbulence, having a cutoff in the spectrum at frequencies _h , where _h is the proton gyrofrequency. The cutoff results in changing of the character of variation of the GCR diffusion coefficientD(T _i )T ^a in the rangeT _i 1 GeV nucl^–1 towards some more complicated variation at 0.1T _i 1.0 GeV nucl^–1 due to the peculiarities of the pitch-angle scattering at 90⁰.     

Noise-Storm Continua: Power Estimates for Electron Acceleration

We use a generic stochastic acceleration formalism to examine the power L_in (erg s^-1) input to non-thermal electrons that cause noise-storm continuum emission. The analytical approach includes the derivation of the Greens function for a general second-order Fermi process, and its application to obtain the particular solution for the non-thermal electron distribution resulting from the acceleration of a Maxwellian source in the corona. We compare L_in with the power L_out observed in noise-storm radiation. Using typical values for the various parameters, we find that L_in 10²³–10²⁶ erg s^-1, yielding an efficiency estimate L_out/L_in in the range 10^-10 10^-6 for this non-thermal acceleration/radiation process. These results reflect the efficiency of the overall process, starting from electron acceleration and culminating in the observed noise-storm emission.