Spectroscopy of solar prominences from space and ground

Two quiescent solar prominences were observed in July 2000 from SUMER aboard SOHO and from the two German solar telescopes at Tenerife. Two‐dimensional images taken at the VTT simultaneously in the spectral lines Hβ at 4862 Å and Ca II at 8542 Å show no significant spatial variation of their pressure‐sensitive emission ratio. Slit spectra of the Ca II 8542 Å and He I 10830 Å lines obtained at the Gregory‐Coudé telescope yield 8000 K < T_kin < 9000 K and 3 km/s < V_n–th < 8 km/s. Among the various spectral ranges observed with SUMER, we first investigate the Lyman emission lines, which were fitted by Gaussians yielding reliable spectral radiances and line widths for the series members 5 < k < 18. A determination of the level population gives for the lower series members a Boltzmann temperature of 60 000 K, the higher members being over‐populated. This temperature indicates an origin of the Lyman lines from hot surroundings of the cool prominence body seen in the ground‐based data; this also holds for the ‘hotter’ SUMER lines.     

The interpretation of observations of ice and silicate ir features and polarization across it in the spectra of protostellar objects BN and AFGL 2591

The absorption features of ice at 3µm and of silicate at 10 and 20µm as well as the linear polarization across it have been calculated. The interpretations of data for protostellar objects BN and AFGL 2591 are made.The model of partially aligned spinning spheroidal grains with the Purcell's suprathermal alignment mechanism and the power law size distribution are considered. Core-mantle, porous and composite particles are investigated in the Rayleigh approximation. In the case of composite and porous grains the effective refractive indices are computed with the approximate Bruggeman rule.The influence of grain chemical composition, elongation and structure has been investigated. The distinctions in polarization between composite and core-mantle models are found. The mixing of grain materials smooths the individual spectral features of chemical components. The adding of graphite causes the shift of the 10µm peak position to shorter wavelengths. When the fraction of graphite increases, the peak at 20µm decreases and shifts to shorter wavelengths. The increase of elongation reduces the negative polarization at the 3µm feature, shifts the 10µm and 20µm peak positions to longer wavelengths, and raises the strength of the 20µm band. The porosity leads to similar effects.It was found that the studied grain models are in good agreement with observational data for BN and AFGL 2591 objects. The absence of polarization excess near 3µm for AFGL 2591 is attributable to a decrease in elongation of large grains as a result of coagulation. The attention is attracted to the problem of real distribution of the interstellar dust grains over the elongation parameter. The determination this distribution function and the study of its evolution in the processes of accretion and coagulation are necessary.     

Colliding winds model of X-ray radiation in SS 433: analysis of X-ray eclipses

Interpretation of X-ray eclipses in SS 433 binary system in the framework of wind-wind collision model yields high value of mass ratioq =m _x /m _v > 1 which implies high mass of relativistic objectm _x > 8M .     

A measurement of the O2 ultra-violet nightglow emission

New measurements of the Herzberg I emission height profile in the night airglow are reported and indicate a peak emission height near 96 km in agreement with previous measurements. Using an atomic oxygen concentration profile determined from the oxygen green line profile measured on the same rocket it is concluded that the O₂(A³Σ_u⁺) state is not excited in the direct three body recombination of atomic oxygen. It is suggested that the excitation mechanism is a two step process, similar to the Barth mechanism for the atomic oxygen green lineand that the excited intermediate state is C³Δ_u.     

Mass flow and the validity of ionization equilibrium on the Sun

Ionization equilibrium is a useful assumption which allows temperatures and other plasma properties to be deduced from spectral observations. Inherent to this assumption is the premise that the ion stage densities are determined solely by atomic processes which are local functions of the plasma temperature and electron density. However, if the time scale of plasma flow through a temperature gradient is less than the characteristic time scale for an important atomic process, deviations from the ionization stage densities expected for equilibrium will occur which could introduce serious errors into subsequent analyses. In the past few years, significant flow velocities in the upper solar atmosphere have been inferred from observations of emission lines originaing in the transition region (about 10⁴–10⁶ K) and corona. In this paper, three models of the solar atmosphere (quiet Sun, coronal hole, and a network model) are examined to determine if the emission expected from these model atmospheres could be produced from equilibrium ion populations when steady flows of several kilometers per second are assumed. If the flows are quasi-periodic instead of steady, spatial and temporal averaging inherent in the observations may allow for the construction of satisfactory models based on the assumption of ionization equilibrium. Representative emission lines are analysed for the following ions: C iii, iv, O iv, v, vi, Ne vii, viii, Mg ix, x, Si xii, and Fe ix–xiv. Two principle conclusions are drawn. First, only the iron ions are generally in equilibrium for steady flows of 20 km s^–1. For carbon and oxygen, ionization equilibrium is not a valid assumption for steady flows as small as 1 km s^–1. Second, the three models representing different solar conditions behave in a qualitatively similar manner, implying that these results are not particularly model dependent over the range of temperature gradients and electron densities thus far inferred for the Sun. In view of the flow velocities which have been reported for the Sun, our results strongly suggest caution in using the assumption of ionization equilibrium for interpreting spectral lines produced in the transition region.The National Center for Atmospheric Research is sponsored by the National Science Foundation.     

The instability of a horizontal magnetic field in an atmosphere stable against convection

The theoretical problem posed by the buoyant escape of a magnetic field from the interior of a stably stratified body bears directly on the question of the present existence of primordial magnetic fields in stars. This paper treats the onset of the Rayleigh-Taylor instability of the upper boundary of a uniform horizontal magnetic field in a stably stratified atmosphere. The calculations are carried out in the Boussinesq approximation and show the rapid growth of the initial infinitesimal perturbation of the boundary. This result is in contrast to the extremely slow buoyant rise of a separate flux tube in the same atmosphere. Thus for instance, at a depth of 1/3R beneath the surface of the Sun, a field of 10² G develops ripples over a scale of 10³ km in a characteristic time of 50 years, whereas the characteristic rise time of the same field in separate flux tubes with the same dimensions is 10¹⁰ years. Thus, the development of irregularities proceeds quickly, soon slowing, however, to a very slow pace when the amplitude of the irregularities becomes significant. Altogether the calculations show the complexity of the question of the existence of remnant primordial magnetic fields in stellar interiors.This work was supported in part by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration under Grant NGL 14-001-001     

On depth-dependence of photospheric oscillations

We report on results from photographic observations of photospheric oscillations as a function of depth. Using rms-values and power-spectra from shifts of entire line-profiles, we find qualitatively an increase of the velocity-amplitude with increasing height. We get more quantitative informations by comparing measured asymmetries of line-profiles with calculated ones derived from Voigt-functions containing a depth dependent velocity-field.We find the scale-height H ₀ of photospheric velocity oscillations to be 930±100 km. This result is to be compared with H ₀ = 1100±200 km obtained by Canfield (1976), who used velocity weighting functions of the line centres.Further, we show that a general observed line asymmetry of medium strong lines (c-shape) does not depend on the phase of oscillations.Mitt. aus dem Kiepenheuer-Institut Nr. 178.     

On the influence of mass loss and convective overshooting on the evolution of massive stars

Evolution of massive stars losing mass with the rateM H L/V C is computed (for =1,2,7). It is shown that observed mass loss rates correspond to 0.3 and, therefore, mass loss by stellar wind cannot play any significant role in the evolution of normal massive stars. However, for several types of massive stars (WR, OH/IR, X-ray sources) enhanced mass loss explains their peculiar features. Computations of evolutionary sequences of massive stars with convective overshooting taken into account (as a formal increase of the convective core) show that a significant broadening of the hydrogen-burning band in the H-R diagram may be obtained.     

Separation of gamma and hadron initiated air showers with energies between 20 and 500 TeV

The discrimination between air showers initiated by γ rays and by hadrons is one of the fundamental problems in experimental cosmic-ray physics. The physics of this ‘γ/hadron separation’ is discussed in this paper. We restrict ourselves to the energy range from about 20 to 500 TeV, and take only the information contained in the lateral Čerenkov light distribution and the number of electrons at the detector level into consideration. An understanding of the differences between air showers generated by γ rays and those due to hadrons leads us to formulate suitable observables for the separation process. Angle integrating Čerenkov arrays (AICA) offer a promising new approach to ground-based γ-ray astronomy in the energy region from about 20 to 500 TeV. In order to establish this technique, an efficient suppression of the overwhelming hadronic background radiation is required. As an example for our general discussion, we present one method for γ/hadron separation in AICAs called ‘LES’. It is based on the simultaneous determination of the shower size and some characteristic parameters of the lateral distribution of the Čerenkov light. The potential inherent within this technique is demonstrated in quantitative detail for the existing ‘AIROBICC’ AICA. We also propose an objective measure of the intrinsic sensitivity of a detection scheme in ground-based γ-ray astronomy, the ‘reduced quality factor’. It is shown that AICAs may reach a sensitivity to γ-ray point sources in the high VHE range similar to that of the Čerenkov-telescope imaging technique in the low VHE region.