Atomic data relevant to line formation in strongly magnetized white dwarf stars

The discovery of magnetic field strengths in the range of 500 million Gauss in the objects Grw+70°8247 and PG1031+224 has given enormous impetus to investigations of magnetic white dwarf stars. We have determined intensities of Balmer transitions for B>10⁸ Gauss as a function of field and find strong oscillations of the transitions strengths, which are of importance to the quantitative analysis of the observed spectra and the interpretation of polarimetric measurements in these objects.Paper presented at the IAU Colloquium No. 93 on Cataclysmic Variables. Recent Multi-Frequency Observations and Theoretical Developments, held at Dr. Remeis-Sternwarte Bamberg, F.R.G., 16–19 June, 1986.     

The energy distributions of magnetic variables: The effects of inhomogeneous accretion columns

Previous shock models for the AM Herculis-type magnetic variables have assumed homogeneous accretion columns, with constant infall densities out to a characteristic column radius. The resulting energy distributions are strongly peaked in the visible to ultraviolet and are in disagreement with observations. We report the preliminary results of calculations with more general radial functions of the infall density. Exponential and gaussian profiles yield continua profiles produce continua which are flatter and in better agreement with observations. Comparisons are made to data for AM Her and E2003+225.Paper presented at the IAU Colloquium No. 93 on Cataclysmic Variables. Recent Multi-Frequency Observations and Theoretical Developments, held at Dr. Remeis-Sternwarte Bamberg, F.R.G., 16–19 June, 1986.     

High pressure experimental calibration of the olivine-orthopyroxene-spinel oxygen geobarometer: implications for the oxidation state of the upper mantle

Synthetic spinel harzburgite and lherzolite assemblages were equilibrated between 1040 and 1300° C and 0.3 to 2.7 GPa, under controlled oxygen fugacity (f _{O 2}). f _{O 2} was buffered with conventional and open double-capsule techniques, using the Fe−FeO, WC-WO₂-C, Ni−NiO, and Fe₃O₄−Fe₂O₃ buffers, and graphite, olivine, and PdAg alloys as sample containers. Experiments were carried out in a piston-cylinder apparatus under fluid-excess conditions. Within the P-T-X range of the experiments, the redox ratio Fe³⁺/ΣFe in spinel is a linear function of f _{O 2} (0.02 at IW, 0.1 at WCO, 0.25 at NNO, and 0.75 at MH). It is independent of temperature at given Δlog(f _{O 2}), but decreases slightly with increasing Cr content in spinel. The Fe³⁺/ΣFe ratio falls with increasing pressure at given Δlog(f _{O 2}), consistent with a pressure correction based on partial molar volume data. At a specific temperature, degree of melting and bulk composition, the Cr/(Cr+Al) ratio of a spinel rises with increasing f _{O 2}. A linear least-squares fit to the experimental data gives the semi-empirical oxygen barometer in terms of divergence from the fayalite-magnetite-quartz (FMQ) buffer:

Realisation of a celestial system based on VLBI geodynamics programs

The relative orientations of various VLBI celestial reference frames are evaluated on the basis of coordinate differences of common sources. It is shown that an accuracy better than 0.001 can be achieved. Possible regional deformations in the different catalogues are investigated; they are found to reach a few 0.001 in some restricted zones. The application of these studies to the realisation of a combined celestial reference frame consistent with the BIH Terrestrial System is outlined.     

Photometric observations of CH Cygni in the period 1978–1987. Dust matter condensation in its circumstellar envelope during 1985–1987

We present the results of the photometric observations, in theUBVRJHKLMNQ system, of CH Cyg, made in the period 1978–1987. They have shown that from 1985 to 1987 dust condensed in its circumstellar envelope have taken place the condensation of the dust matter. In 1987 its mass and temperature were about 3×10^–8 M and 800 K, respectively.     

Unstable chromospheric dark features and type-III bursts association

The temporal association between the kinematic parameters of chromospheric dark features (DF) and the production of radio type-III bursts is investigated during a period of five months. The Doppler shifts inside six different DF are measured by means of the Meudon Multichannel Subtracting Double Pass Spectrograph (MSDP) during periods of some minutes around 24 type-III bursts. The position of the radio bursts has been checked to be associated with the same active region observed by MSDP, by using the Nançay Radioheliograph. It appears that 23 out of 24 bursts take place when the DF is totally or predominantly blue-shifted. In 18 out of 21 cases, a maximum of the outward velocity is observed in the optical image closest in time to the radio burst. The following peculiarities are also shown by the analyzed DF:

1. All of them present a lengthened shape, in most cases pointing toward a sunspot: a bright region coinciding with a parasitic polarity is observed in between.
2. Horizontal velocities along the DF major axis are often observed, always in a direction opposite to the sunspots.

This association is interpreted by assuming that a shock wave, generated by the moving chromospheric material, is able to accelerate coronal electrons (according to a mechanism proposed by Leroy and Mangeney, 1984) thus producing type-III bursts.     

A possible observational constraint on the production of lithium by galactic novae

Recent computations (D'Antona and Mazzitelli, 1982), together with the general scheme of evolution of cataclysmic binaries (CBs), lead to conclude that the secondaries in those CBs having periods shorter than 4.5 hr have a large³He content in the envelope, ranging from 10^–4 (P=4.5 hr) to >2×10^–3 (P=3 hr) in mass fraction, if the nova systems have an age of some billion years. The consequence on the frequency of novae outbursts is shortly examined. If lithium is produced by galactic novae, the⁷Li content of old disk stars should be very close to the Population II content.Presented at the 5th European Workshop on White Dwarfs, Kiel, 1984.     

X-Ray and microwave observations of active regions

Radio and X-ray observations are presented for three flares which show significant activity for several minutes prior to the main impulsive increase in the hard X-ray flux. The activity in this ‘pre-flash’ phase is investigated using 3.5 to 461 keV X-ray data from the Solar Maximum Mission, 100 to 1000 MHz radio data from Zürich, and 169 MHz radio-heliograph data from Nançay. The major results of this study are as follows:

1. Decimetric pulsations, interpreted as plasma emission at densities of 10⁹–10¹⁰ cm^?3, and soft X-rays are observed before any Hα or hard X-ray increase.
2. Some of the metric type III radio bursts appear close in time to hard X-ray peaks but delayed between 0.5 and 1.5 s, with the shorter delays for the bursts with the higher starting frequencies.
3. The starting frequencies of these type III bursts appear to correlate with the electron temperatures derived from isothermal fits to the hard X-ray spectra. Such a correlation is expected if the particles are released at a constant altitude with an evolving electron distribution. In addition to this effect we find evidence for a downward motion of the acceleration site at the onset of the flash phase.
4. In some cases the earlier type III bursts occurred at a different location, far from the main position during the flash phase.
5. The flash phase is characterized by higher hard X-ray temperatures, more rapid increase in X-ray flux, and higher starting frequency of the coincident type III bursts.

     

Basaltic explosive volcanism: Constraints from deposits and models

Basaltic pyroclastic volcanism takes place over a range of scales and styles, from weak discrete Strombolian explosions (～10²–10³ kg s^?1) to Plinian eruptions of moderate intensity (10⁷–10⁸ kg s^?1). Recent well-documented historical eruptions from Etna, Kīlauea and Stromboli typify this diversity. Etna is Europe's largest and most voluminously productive volcano with an extraordinary level and diversity of Strombolian to subplinian activity since 1990. Kīlauea, the reference volcano for Hawaiian fountaining, has four recent eruptions with high fountaining (>400 m) activity in 1959, 1960, 1969 (–1974) and 1983–1986 (–2008); other summit (1971, 1974, 1982) and flank eruptions have been characterized by low fountaining activity. Stromboli is the type location for mildly explosive Strombolian eruptions, and from 1999 to 2008 these persisted at a rate of ca. 9 per hour, briefly interrupted in 2003 and 2007 by vigorous paroxysmal eruptions. Several properties of basaltic pyroclastic deposits described here, such as bed geometry, grain size, clast morphology and vesicularity, and crystal content are keys to understand the dynamics of the parent eruptions.The lack of clear correlations between eruption rate and style, as well as observed rapid fluctuations in eruptive behavior, point to the likelihood of eruption style being moderated by differences in the fluid dynamics of magma and gas ascent and the mechanism by which the erupting magma fragments. In all cases, the erupting magma consists of a mixture of melt and gaseous bubbles. The depth and rate of degassing, melt rheology, bubble rise and coalescence rates, and extent of syn-eruptive microlite growth define complex feedbacks that permit reversible shifts between fragmentation mechanisms and in eruption style and intensity. However, many basaltic explosive eruptions end after an irreversible shift to open-system outgassing and microlite crystallization in melt within the conduit.Clearer understanding of the factors promoting this diversity of basaltic pyroclastic eruptions is of fundamental importance in order to improve understanding of the range of behaviors of these volcanoes and assess hazards of future explosive events at basaltic volcanoes. The three volcanoes used for this review are the sites of large and growing volcano-tourism operations and there is a public need both for better knowledge of the volcanoes’ behavior and improved forecasting of the likely course of future eruptions.