TAUVEX - Tel Aviv University UV Explorer

TAUVEX - Tel Aviv University UV Explorer is a space telescope that is currently being built in Israel, to be flown on board the Russian international sattelite SRG - Spectrum Roentgen Gamma, in late 1995 or early 1996. TAUVEX is an imager in the near UV spectral window. Its major goal is to make a survey of about 10% of the UV sky, in the range = 1350 - 3500Å. A successful operation of TAUVEX will partially fill an important gap in our recognition of the sky, namely the distribution and the nature of the celestial UV sources, which are still mostly unknown. TAUVEX will also operate as a fast multicolor photometer in its UV range of operation. TAUVEX is aligned in parallel to the common optical axix of all the other instruments on board SRG, most of which are telescopes and monitors for high energy radiation. SRG will be thus able to perform for the first time in history simultaneous astronomical observations in one and the same celestial body, that cover together 7 order of magnitude of the recorded radiation. The observations of TAUVEX can be greatly enhanced by ground base observations.     

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 .     

Phase transitions in the ISM a source of dissipative behaviour

By considering a simple fluid model, we investigate the role of phase transitions in the ISM on the galaxy- scale gas dynamics. Cooling and heating timescales in the ISM are typically shorter than typical galactic rotation timescales, so the individual phases in the ISM can be assumed to be in temperature equilibrium with the radiation field. Using this approximation we can construct an equation of state which depends upon the average density and mass fractions in the individual phases. Previous studies suggest that there is an equilibrium phase fraction as a function of pressure. We incorporate evolution towards this equilibrium state as a relaxation term with a time to obtain equilibrium . We derive a condition in terms of a critical Mach number when one dimensional shocks should be continuous. For small values of the relaxation time we show that the relaxation term acts like a viscosity. We show with one dimensional simulations that increasing causes shocks to become smoother. This work suggests that phase changes can strongly effect the gas dynamics of the ISM across spiral arms and bars.     

Effects of hall current on the hydromagnetic free convection with mass transfer in a rotating fluid

An exact analysis of Hall current on hydromagnetic free convection with mass transfer in a conducting liquid past an infinite vertical porous plate in a rotating fluid has been presented. Exact solution for the velocity field has been obtained and the effects ofm (Hall parameter),E (Ekman number), andS _c (Schmidt number) on the velocity field have been discussed.Nomenclature C species concentration - C _w concentration at the porous plate - C species concentration at infinity - C _p specific heat at constant pressure - D chemical molecular diffusivity - g acceleration due to gravity - E Ekman number - G Grashof number - H ₀ applied magnetic field - j _x, j_y, j_z components of the current densityJ - k thermal conductivity - M Hartman number - m Hall parameter - P Prandtl number - Q heat flux per unit area - S _c Sehmidt number - T temperature of the fluid near the plate - T _w temperature of the plate - T temperature of the fluid in the free-stream - u, v, w components of the velocity fieldq, - U uniform free stream velocity - w ₀ suction velocity - x, y, z Cartesian coordinates - Z dimensionless coordinate normal to the plate. Greek symbols coefficient of volume expansion - ^* coefficient of expansion with concentration - _e cyclotron frequency - dimensionless temperature - ^* dimensionless concentration - v kinematic viscosity - density of the fluid in the boundary layer - coefficient of viscosity - _e magnetic permeability - angular velocity - electrical conductivity of the fluid - _e electron collision time - _u skin-friction in the direction ofu - _v skin-friction in the direction ofv     

Ejection from pulsars in binary systems

Interaction of an ejecting pulsar in a binary with a matter surrounding it is considered. Around the pulsar a cavern is formed, and its shape calculated. Non-stationary regime of floating caverns filled with binary radioemission is discussed. This regime can lead to a special radio-burster. It is noticed that in binaries with rather large separation between components a pulsed radioemission from a pulsar can be observable. In this case, the pulsar will be a fine probe for exploration of physical characteristics of a stellar wind from a normal expansion.     

A possible P-L relation for RR-Lyrae variables in globular clusters

A study of the mean photographic magnitudes of RR Lyrae variables in galactic globular clusters has shown that the luminosity of RR-ab variables decreases with period. It is found that RR-ab variables, in the cluster Centauri, whose distances are greater than 8 arc min from the centre of the cluster, are less luminous than such variables seen in the inner region. The possibility of two transition periods for RR-ab variables, one near 0 _. ^d 4 and the other near 0 _. ^d 9, is suggested to explain the sharp boundaries of the instability gap and of the periods of RR Lyrae variables. It is also shown that the inner RR Lyrae variables in Centauri are more massive than the outer ones.     

Apsidal motion in the eclipsing binary system V 451 Ophiuchi

MulticolourWBVR photoelectric observations of the eclipsing binary V 451 Oph were carried out, and a highly accurate light curve was obtained. The angular velocity of the orbital rotation, =2.1 deg yr^–1, and the apsidal motion constantk ₂=0.0045 are given.     

Distribution of absolute energy of bright Be stars in pleiades

We present newly measured energy distributions from 3200–7500 Å of five late-type Be stars in Pleiades cluster for search of peculiarities of Be stars continuum energy distributions. Empirical effective temperatures of Be stars have been derived by comparing observed and computed fluxes in the visible region. The variation of the flux in the Balmer continuum region of Pleione (28 Tau) has been discussed.     

Accretion spin-up of low-magnetic neutron stars

The present paper is concerned with the spin-up of low-magnetic neutron stars by the accretion of matter onto the star. Calculations have been made for the evolution of the rotation of a neutron star and applied to different stellar models. It is shown that the existence of a millisecond pulsar imposes no restriction on any of the equations of state considered. However, constraints would arise with the possible discovery of third-octave pulsars (with frequencies in excess of 1000 Hz). Predictions are made as to the distribution of bursters over the orbital periods of neutron stars (about half of these having similar orbital periods). It is demonstrated that in the case of continued accretion onto a star, after it has acquired the critical angular frequency allowing no diviation from axial symmetry, specific accretion disks can be formed with a smooth transition into a star. The specific angular momentum is computed for a neutron star for the instant of the attainment of the Oppenheimer-Volkoff limit.     

Effects of rotation on Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities of an accelerating,compressible, perfectly conducting plane layer

The stability of a plane-stratified slab of perfectly conducting, rotating, compressible, inviscid plasma accelerated by a magnetic field is considered. Exact solutions for the growth rates of the unstable modes are determined for a -law gas when the undisturbed equilibrium is an isothermal atmosphere of semi-infinite extent with no frozen-in field. It is shown that the rotation has no effect on the region of unstable modes which has wavelengths long compared with the atmospheric scale height. On the other side, the growth rates in the presence of rotation are less than those in the absence of rotation for unstable modes.