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Jordan, C.

Publications and source records attributed to Jordan, C..

29 records · Page 2

The structure of chromospheres around late-type giants and supergiants

Observations alpha Tau (K5III) and beta Gru (M2II) made at high resolution are used to confirm line identifications of features blended at low resolution. The high resolution spectra allow selected pairs of lines to be used to find the electron density and the opacity. Methods for determining these factors and the usual emission measure are presented. The electron density and opacity can be used together with the emission measure to place constraints on the structure of the atmosphere. The line formation processes are briefly discussed. Photo-excitation by strong lines appears to be important in these late type atmospheres.

Brown, A.↗

Solar Maximum Mission experiment - Early results from the soft X-ray polychromator experiment

It is pointed out that the X-ray polychromator experiment has been in operation on the Solar Maximum Mission satellite for more than three months. Using a number of different modes, the polychromator is observing flares and active regions in the wavelength range 1-23 A. These modes include polychromatic imaging, high resolution line profiles, high dispersion spectra, and light curves with high time-resolution. Data are described and some of the early analysis and interpretation is presented. All the interpretations are based on simple approximate methods; it is noted, however, that in most cases more elaborate and reliable methods are close to being applied.

Gabriel, A. H.↗

Stark effect at the Si I series limit

Small redshifts and weakenings of high n lines in members of the Si series observed over a sunspot are interpreted as due to the Stark effect. Other origins, including Doppler motions, appear to be excluded. The spectra were obtained with high spatial resolution using the NRL high-resolution telescope and spectrograph. The origin of the Stark effect is not yet certain. An interpretation in terms of a quasi-static quadratic effect would require rather high perturber densities. An alternative interpretation would be a motional Stark effect, arising perhaps through the presence of magnetohydrodynamic waves.

Jordan, C.↗

The energy balance of the solar transition region

It is shown how the observed distribution of the emission measure with temperature can be used to limit the range of energy deposition functions suitable for heating the solar transition region and inner corona. The minimum energy loss solution is considered in view of the work by Hearn (1975) in order to establish further scaling laws between the transition region pressure, the maximum coronal temperature and the parameter giving the absolute value of the emission measure. Also discussed is the absence of a static energy balance at the base of the transition region in terms of measurable atmospheric parameters, and the condition for a static energy balance is given. In addition, the possible role of the emission from He II in stabilizing the atmosphere by providing enhanced radiation loss is considered.

Jordan, C.↗

H2 emission in the solar atmosphere

New identifications of emission lines of molecular hydrogen in the EUV spectrum of sunspots are reported. The spectra were obtained during the first and second flights of the Naval Research Laboratory's High Resolution Telescope and Spectrograph (HRTS). While most of the lines originate in the Lyman bands, fluorescence from the Werner bands has been found for the first time in the solar atmosphere. H2 fluorescent emission has also been identified in the spectra of a solar flare observed with NRL's normal incidence spectrograph on Skylab. Column densities for H2 are derived from intensities of lines in the sunspot spectra.

Bartoe, J.-D. F.↗

CO emission lines in the solar atmosphere

New identifications of CO emission lines in the EUV spectrum of a sunspot are reported. The spectra were obtained with the Naval Research Laboratory's High Resolution Telescope and Spectrograph. The emission is from the CO fourth positive system and is excited by the strong lines of C IV, Si IV and O IV. Transitions in the 0-3 band which lie above 1700 A and other lines at shorter wavelengths have been identified from the spectrum of the June 15, 1973 flare, obtained with the Naval Research Laboratory's normal incidence spectrograph on Skylab. The observed intensities in the sunspot are used to derive the CO column density.

Jordan, C.↗

Emission lines of H2 in the extreme-ultraviolet solar spectrum

A sunspot EUV spectrum covering the wavelength range from 1175 to 1714 A with high spatial and spectral resolution is examined which contains about 200 lines not previously reported in solar spectra. Many of the lines are identified as transitions in the Lyman bands of H2. It is shown that the H2 lines are photoexcited not only by H L-alpha, as reported previously, but also by the strong transition-region lines of C II, Si IV, and O IV. The line intensities are analyzed as far as is possible at present, and differences between the quiet chromosphere and the sunspot chromosphere are deduced. The polarization of the observed lines is briefly discussed, the importance of the H L-alpha fluorescence mechanism for the excitation of the H2 Lyman bands is demonstrated, and it is concluded that the H2 lines could also be observable in stars of spectral type later than the sun.

Jordan, C.↗

CO fluorescence in the extreme-ultraviolet solar spectrum

Emission lines in the fourth positive system of CO have been identified in the extreme-ultraviolet solar spectrum 1540-1660 A. These lines are excited by the C IV transition-zone lines at 1548 and 1551 A. They are strong in the spectrum of a sunspot and in parts of the adjacent active region. Some of them appear as weak, broad emission features in the quiet sun.

Bartoe, J.-D. F.↗

Plasma diagnostic techniques in the ultraviolet - The C III density-sensitive lines in the sun

Spectra and spectroheliograms of the C III transitions at 977 and 1176 A are obtained with the Harvard extreme-ultraviolet spectrometer on Skylab. Analysis of the intensities of these lines, and of their density-sensitive ratio, indicates a wide range of temperature gradients and electron densities in the transition region of various solar features. From values of the observed ratio, we suggest necessary revisions to the excitation rates, and propose a relationship between the ratio and density. The significantly higher ratio found in active regions indicates a density increase of about a factor 2 relative to the network. In the quiet sun, there is no significant difference in density between network and cell interiors, but the uncertainty is as large as a factor 3. The very central 10% of the areas of cell interiors shows a significantly higher density than the mean value for cell interiors.

Dupree, A. K.↗