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Recycling and loss rates for a typical interstellar cloud are considered, giving attention to disagreements concerning some of the production rates. It is pointed out that the formation rate of CH(+) via vibrationally excited hydrogen molecules exceeds in many situations rates of other processes. In low density clouds comparable amounts of CH and CH(+) are produced when the fast dissociative recombination rate is used.
Radiative transfer through sharp, quasi-static atmospheres containing mostly hydrogen is considered at densities low enough that scattering dominates absorption and collisional excitations are negligible. It is found that the balance between photoionization and radiative recombination which governs the atomic level populations greatly reduces the effective absorptive opacity. Approximate results for the emergent continuum spectral flux are obtained, significantly different than if local thermodynamic equilibrium level populations were assumed. The flux jumps at the photoionization thresholds are relatively small for the photospheric temperatures T sub p(v) greater than or about 6000 K considered, and T sub p increases toward the far-ultraviolet. It appears that the lack of a Balmer jump in spectra of Type II supernovae implies that the flux is diluted below that of a blackbody at the same color temperature, which increases the value of the Hubble constant obtained by the Baade (1926) method.
The physical processes that control the thermal structure of lightly ionized winds from cool protostars are discussed. Attention is concentrated on the hydrogen gas, and the heating, cooling, and chemical processes that affect the neutral and ionic species of atomic and molecular hydrogen are examined. Warm silicate dust may condense out of the cooling wind and may heat the gas through collisions. Singly ionized sodium atoms, which do not recombine for the mass-loss rates considered, set a lower limit to the ionization fraction in the wind. Magnetic fields, which are presumed to accelerate the wind, couple directly to the ionic component of the gas and transfer momentum and energy to the neutral component through collisions. This process of ambipolar diffusion is found to be the dominant source of heat input to the gas.
The intergalactic cloud of neutral hydrogen in the M96 group are examined for signs of emission over a wide range of frequencies, from radio waves to X rays. Past or present stellar activity in the gas might have been expected to produce detectable visual infrared, CO, OH, or radio recombination-line emission. None was detected. The limits are used to study physical conditions in the intergalactic gas. In particular, B and V band limits on starlight and IRAS limits on the presence of dust strongly constrain the presence of stars or stellar by-products. However, given the uncertainties about physical conditions in the intergalactic environment, it is difficult to rule out entirely the presence of stellar-processed materials. Results of neutral hydrogen mapping from a large-scale survey of the intergalactic cloud and surrounding region are also presented. These observations confirm that the gas is confined to a large ringlike structure. The simplest interpretation remains that the intergalactic gas in Leo is primordial.
The old idea that Venus might possess surface conditions to those of an overcast earth has been thoroughly refuted by space-age measurements. Instead, the two planets may have started out similar, but diverged because of the greater solar flux at Venus. This cannot be proved, but is consistent with everything known. A runaway greenhouse effect could have evaporated an 'ocean'. The hydrogen would escape, and most of the oxygen would be incorporated into the crust. Without liquid water, CO2 would remain in the atmosphere. Chlorine atoms would catalyze the recombination of any free oxygen back to CO2. The same theories apply to the future of the earth, and to the explanation of the polar ozone holes; the analogies are striking. There is no likelihood that the earth will actually come to resemble Venus, but Venus serves both as a warning that major environmental effects can flow from seemingly small causes, and as a testbed for the predictive models of the earth.
Nearby, isolated, old neutron stars (IONSs) accreting interstellar material might be detectable as sources of UV and soft X-ray radiation. We investigate the interaction between this radiation field and the surrounding medium, assumed to consist of purely hydrogen and helium. This interaction results in a cometary H II region around the star which we model in detail by including all the relevant time-dependent ionization, recombination, heating, and cooling processes. We find that preheating of the ambient gas to temperatures higher than 10(exp 4) K may significantly quench the accretion rate onto these neutron stars, thereby reducing the IONS number counts in the EUV and soft X-ray bands predicted by previous investigations. However, the reprocessing of hard radiation by the surrounding H II regions may enhance the detectability of IONSs at optical wavelengths. Searches for nearby accreting IONSs are currently being undertaken.
In the hypersonic flight regime, the air-breathing supersonic combustion ramjet (scramjet) has been shown to be a viable propulsion system. The current designs of scramjet engines provide performance benefits only up to a Mach number of 14. Performance losses increase rapidly as the Mach number increases. To extend the applicability of scram'jets beyond Mach 14, research is being conducted in the area of inlet and wave drag reduction, skin-friction and heat-transfer reduction, nozzle loss minimization, low-loss mixing, and combustion enhancement. For high Mach number applications, hydrogen is the obvious fuel choice because of its high energy content per unit mass in comparison with conventional fuels. These flight conditions require engines to operate at supersonic internal velocities, high combustor temperatures, and low static pressures. The high static temperature condition enhances the production of radicals such as H and OH, and the low-pressure condition slows the reaction rates, particularly the recombination reactions. High-temperature and low-pressure constraints, in combination with a small residence time, result in a radical-rich exhaust gas mixture exiting the combustor. At high Mach number conditions (due to low residence time), H and OH do not have enough time to recombine ; thus, a significant amount of energy is lost as these high-energy free radical are exhausted. The objective of the present study is to conduct a flowfield analysis for a typical nozzle geometry for NASP-type vehicle to assess for thrust enhancement in hypervelocity nozzles by substituting small amount of phosphine for hydrogen.
Ammonia reactions with CH radicals, investigating quantitative aspects of hydrogen cyanide formation by mass spectrometry
The H II regions near K3-50 (G70.3 + 1.6) have been imaged at high angular resolution (approximately 1 sec .3) in the continuum and the recombination lines H76(sub alpha and He76(sub alpha) using the Very Large Array (VLA). The helium line is detected in only the brightest component K3-50A while the hydrogen line is detected in three components (K3-50A, B and C1). K3-50A shows a pronounced velocity gradient of approximately 150 km/sec/pc along its major axis (P.A. = 160 deg); in addition a wide range of line widths are observed, from 20 to 65 km/sec. Kinematics from the line data and the morphology of the continuum emission suggest that the ionized material associated with K3-50A is undergoing a high-velocity bipolar outflow.
Titanium nitride and titanium carbide deposited on tungsten wires were exposed to hydrogen atoms (10(exp -4) atm pressure) produced by the action of microwave radiation on molecular hydrogen. The results of these experiments in the temperature range 298 to 1950 K indicate that no appreciable reaction takes place between atomic hydrogen and TiN or TiC. The formation of reaction products (NH3, CH4, C2H2) should be favored at lower temperatures. However, because of the high catalytic activity of Ti for H atom recombination, the rate of such reactions with H atoms is controlled by the rate of evaporation of Ti from the surface, this rate being low at temperatures below 1200 K. In order to interpret the stability of TiN and TiC in H atoms more fully, the stability of TiN and TiC in vacuum and H2 gas was also studied. The thermodynamic computations conform in order of magnitude to the experimentally found rates of decomposition of TiN and TiC in vacuum and are also consistent with the fact that no appreciable reaction is found with these compounds in molecular H2 at a pressure of 10(exp -3) atmosphere in the temperature range 2980 to 2060 K. When TiN or TiC was heated in atomic H or molecular H2, no reaction products other than those obtained from the simple decomposition of the nitride and carbide were observed. The gaseous products were analyzed in a mass spectrometer.
We model the evolution of the He I lines, especially He I 1.083 micrometers and He I 2.058 micrometers, from the envelope of SN 1987A during the first 3 yr after the explosion. The He I metastable 2(sup 3)S and 2(sup 1)S states are populated by fast electrons resulting from energy deposition by gamma rays and depopulated by electron collisions and two-photon decay. The 2.058 micrometer line is excited mainly by nonthermal electrons at all times. The 1.083 micrometer line is excited mainly by thermal electron impact for t less than or approximately = 450 days and by recombination afterward. We can fit the observed evolution of He I 2.058 micrometers with a model in which approximately 3 solar mass of nearly pure helium and approximately 11 solar mass of hydrogen mixed with primordial helium occupy the volume emitting most of the light (v less than or approximately = 2500 km/s). For t less than or approximately = 450 days, trace carbon in the inner part of the helium suppresses the He I 2.058 micrometer line by photoabsorbing He I lambda 584 and depopulating the 2(sup 1) P(sup 0) state. The observed 1.08 micrometer line is a blend of He I 1.083 micrometers and (S I) 1.082 micrometers. We estimate that He I 1.083 micrometers contributes 40% of the observed flux for t less than or approximately = 550 days and approximately 60% thereafter.
An analysis of the Voyager EUV spectra of the Jupiter sunlit equatorial emissions shows no evidence for a substantial dependence of atomic hydrogen abundance on magnetic longitude, required by earlier theories of the H Ly-alpha longitudinal asymmetry. An explanation for the H Ly-alpha bulge phenomenon is advanced in this work that conforms to the observations and does not require a strong asymmetry in atomic hydrogen abundance. It is proposed that the H Ly-alpha bulge is caused by a combination of proton collisional transfer of H(2s) atoms in the H(2p) state, and production through recombination of H2(+) and H3(+), in an asymmetric ionosphere. According to the present model a large fraction of the observed H Ly-alpha emission from the equatorial region is electron excited, at least at times of solar maximum.
The influences of transport, photodissociation, and frequency of injection on the global redistribution of water deposited in the earth's upper atmosphere by repeated launches of large rockets are investigated. Measurable environmental effects of the injected water are found to occur when the mesospheric water vapor mixing ratio exceeds 100 ppmv, which occurs over areas of order 20,000 sq km in connection with possible future Satellite Power System activities. These effects include (1) a 50% reduction in D-region ionization due to screening of L alpha radiation by water; (2) a 50% reduction of D-region ionization as a result of converting NO(+) to water cluster ions which possess more rapid recombination rates; (3) a doubling of OH concentrations below 100 km; and (4) a global doubling of nighttime E-region ionization due to L alpha and L beta radiations geocoronally scattered by atomic hydrogen released by photolysis of H2O. Mixing ratios of 1,000 ppmv necessary for the maintenance of clouds at the mesopause are reached only over areas of order 200 sq km.
Emission lines from hydrogen and helium isosequence are among tile strongest in X-ray spectra; they will soon be used to measure the temperature, density, and equilibrium state of collisionally excited, astrophysical plasmas. We have created a new plasma code, APEC, which calculates the emission from such a plasma. APEC calculates the line emission from the direct electron and proton excitation rate and the radiative and dielectronic recombination rate. We show how different collisional plasma codes give varying emissivities for some strong lines of O VII and Fe XXVI, where direct excitation is the. primary effect. This variation is partly due to simple differences in the plasma code. However, the primary reason is that much work remains to be done on experimental and theoretical calculations of the, atomic rates. Large (approximately 50%) differences exist even for excitation rates for hydrogenic ions.
Attachments to this final report include 2 papers connected with the Voyager work: 'Voyager Observations of Dust Scattering Near the Coalsack Nebula' and 'Search for the Intergalactic Medium'. An appendix of 12 one-page write-ups prepared in connection with another program, UVISI, is also included. The one-page write-ups are: (1) Sky survey of UV point sources to 600 times fainter than previous (TD-1) survey; (2) Diffuse galactic light: starlight scattered from dust at high galactic latitude; (3) Optical properties of interstellar grains; (4) Fluorescence of molecular hydrogen in the interstellar medium; (5) Line emission from hot interstellar medium and/or hot halo of galaxy; (6) Integrated light of distant galaxies in the ultraviolet; (7) Intergalactic far-ultraviolet radiation field; (8) Radiation from recombining intergalactic medium; (9) Radiation from re-heating of intergalactic medium following recombination; (10) Radiation from radiative decay of dark matter candidates (neutrino, etc.); (11) Reflectivity of the asteroids in the Ultraviolet; and (12) Zodiacal light.
Element abundance ratios of magnesium to neon (Mg/Ne) and neon to oxygen (Ne/O) in the transition region of the quiet Sun have been derived by re-assessing previously published data from the Coronal Diagnostic Spectrometer on board the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory in the light of new atomic data. The quiet Sun Mg/Ne ratio is important for assessing the effect of magnetic activity on the mechanism of the first ionization potential (FIP) effect, while the Ne/O ratio can be used to infer the solar photospheric abundance of neon, which cannot be measured directly. The average Mg/Ne ratio is found to be 0.52+/-0.11, which applies over the temperature region 0.2-0.7MK, and is consistent with the earlier study. The Ne/O ratio is, however, about 40%larger, taking the value 0.24+/-0.05 that applies to the temperature range 0.08-0.40MK. The increase is mostly due to changes in ionization and recombination rates that affect the equilibrium ionization balance. If the Ne/O ratio is interpreted as reflecting the photospheric ratio, then the photospheric neon abundance is 8.08+/-0.09 or 8.15+/-0.10 (on a logarithmic scale for which hydrogen is 12), according to whether the oxygen abundances of M.Asplund et al. or E.Caffau et al. are used. The updated photospheric neon abundance implies a Mg/Ne FIP bias for the quiet Sun of 1.6+/-0.6.
Recent observational results based on a joint infrared/optical survey of the hydrogen line spectra of a significant number of low and high redshift quasars are summarized. The spectra show that the Paschen-alpha and Balmer line ratios do not agree with the result of nominal case B recombination theory and vary widely within the quasars sampled. The range of P-alpha to H-beta ratios is a factor of roughly 6, while the range in Ly-alpha to H-alpha ratios is a factor of roughly 5. For the P-alpha:Balmer series, the deviations from case B recombination are not consistent with reddening, but appear, within large dispersions, to be consistent with optical depth effects in the Balmer lines affecting the lines ratios.
Nearly simultaneous observations are reported of P-alpha, H-alpha, and H-beta emission from 18 Seyfert galaxies and of Ly-alpha from eight of these galaxies. In many cases, P-alpha is stronger relative to the Balmer lines than is predicted by recombination calculations; reddening appears to be required. Dispersion in the P-alpha/H-alpha/H-beta ratios orthogonal to the reddening track indicates that high densities or optical depths also affect the line flux ratios. Several galaxies, notably NGC 1275, have very low P-alpha/H-alpha ratios. High densities, large optical depths, and reddening probably all contribute to the low observed Ly-alpha/H-beta ratios.