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NASA NTRS2007

[Ti II] and [Ni II] Emission from the Strontium Filament of eta Carinae

We study the nature of the [Ti II] and [Ni II] emission from the so-called strontium filament found in the ejecta of eta Carinae. To this purpose we employ multilevel models of the Ti II and Ni II systems which are used to investigate the physical condition of the filament and the excitation mechanisms of the observed lines. For the Ti II ion, for which no atomic data was previously available, we carry out ab initio calculations of radiative transition rates and electron impact excitation rate coefficients. It is found that the observed spectrum is consistent with the lines being excited in a mostly neutral region with an electron density of the order of 10(exp 7) per cubic centimeter and a temperature around 6000 K. In analyzing three observations with different slit orientations recorded between March 2000 and November 2001 we find line ratios that change among various observations, in a way consistent with changes of up to an order of magnitude in the strength of the continuum radiation field. These changes result from different samplings of the extended filament, due to the different slit orientations used for each observation, and yield clues on the spatial extent and optical depth of the filament. The observed emission indicates a large Ti/Ni abundance ratio relative to solar abundances. It is suggested that the observed high Ti/Ni ratio in gas is caused by dust-gas fractionation processes and does not reflect the absolute Ti/Ni ratio in the ejecta of eta Carinae. We study the condensation chemistry of Ti, Ni and Fe within the filament and suggest that the observed gas phase overabundance of Ti is likely the result of selective photo-evaporation of Ti-bearing grains. Some mechanisms for such a scenario are proposed.

Bautista, M. A.↗

NASA NTRS1999

Global Studies of Molecular Clouds in the Galaxy, The Magellanic Clouds, and M31

Over the course of this grant we used various spacecraft surveys of the Galaxy and M31 in conjunction with our extensive CO spectral line surveys to address central problems in galactic structure and the astrophysics of molecular clouds. These problems included the nature of the molecular ring and its relation to the spiral arms and central bar, the cosmic ray distribution, the origin of the diffuse X-ray background, the distribution and properties of x-ray sources and supernova remnants, and the Galactic stellar mass distribution. For many of these problems, the nearby spiral M31 provided an important complementary perspective. Our CO surveys of GMCs (Galactic Molecular Clouds) were crucial for interpreting Galactic continuum surveys from satellites such as GRO (Gamma Ray Observatory), ROSAT (Roentgen Satellite), IRAS (Infrared Astronomy Satellite), and COBE (Cosmic Background Explorer Satellite) because they provided the missing dimension of velocity or kinematic distance. GMCs are a well-defined and widespread population of objects whose velocities we could readily measure throughout the Galaxy. Through various emission and absorption mechanisms involving their gas, dust, or associated Population I objects, GMCs modulate the galactic emission in virtually every major wavelength band. Furthermore, the visibility. of GMCs at so many wavelengths provided various methods of resolving the kinematic distance ambiguity for these objects in the inner Galaxy. Summaries of our accomplishments in each of the major wavelength bands discussed in our original proposal are given

Thaddeus, Patrick↗

NASA NTRS2000

The Relativistic Iron Line Profile in the Seyfert 1 Galaxy IC4329a

We present simultaneous ASCA and RXTE data on the bright Seyfert 1 galaxy IC4329a. The iron line is significantly broadened, but not to the extent expected from an accretion disk which extends down to the last stable orbit around a black hole. We marginally detect a narrow line component, presumably from the molecular torus, but, even including this gives a line profile from the accretion disk which is significantly narrower that that seen in MCG-6-30-15, and is much more like that seen from the low/hard state galactic black hole candidates. This is consistent with the inner disk being truncated before the last stable orbit, forming a hot flow at small radii as in the ADAF models. However. we cannot rule out the presence of an inner disk which does not contribute to the reflected spectrum. either because of extreme ionisation suppressing the characteristic atomic features of the reflected spectrum or because the X-ray source is intrinsically anisotropic, so it does not illuminate the inner disk. The source was monitored by RXTE every 2 days for 2 months, and these snapshot spectra show that there is intrinsic spectral variability. The data are good enough to disentangle the power law from the reflected continuum and we see that the power law softens as the source brightens. The lack of a corresponding increase in the observed reflected spectrum implies that either the changes in disk inner radial extent/ionization structure are small, or that the variability is actually driven by changes in the seed photons which are decoupled from the hard X-ray mechanism.

Done, C.↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Design of a Subscale, Inert Gas Test for Plume-Surface Interactions in a Reduced Pressure Environment

Rocket plume-surface interaction is a multi-phase, complex discipline characterized by plume flow physics, erosion physics, and ejecta dynamics. To provide critical data for the validation of predictive modeling capabilities, an inert-gas, subscale ground test has been designed, with one test phase focused on cratering and ejecta and another test phase focused on plume structure and behavior. Using a supersonic, heated N2 jet impinging onto six different mechanical regolith simulants, visual data on the temporal evolution of cratering and ejecta are collected in a vacuum chamber at ambient pressures ranging from 600 Pa down to approximately 7 Pa. Using the same N2 jet impinging onto an instrumented plate, NO planar laser-induced fluorescence data are obtained at lower ambient pressures for the validation of both continuum and rarefied gas-phase physics. This paper discusses the design of this test and data products, with emphasis on the cratering and ejecta experiments, along with the physical scaling, challenges, and relevance of these data to the maturation of the plume-surface interaction discipline.

Ashley M Korzun↗

NASA NTRS1985

VLA observations of A and B stars with kilogauss magnetic fields

The serendipitous discovery that the star Sigma Ori E is a 3.5 mJy radio continuum source at 6 cm has stimulated a radio survey of other early-type stars with strong magnetic fields. No Ap stars have been detected of the eight observed, with typical 3-sigma upper limits of 0.5 mJy at 2 cm. Of the six Bp stars examined, only HR 1890, a helium-strong star, was detected. Possible emission mechanisms for the observed radio emission are discussed, and it is concluded that nonthermal emission seems the most plausible, on the basis of the present data.

Drake, S. A.↗

NASA NTRS1996

Ion Acceleration in Solar Flares

Solar flares are among the most energetic and interesting phenomena in the Solar system, releasing up to 1032 ergs of energy on timescales of several tens of seconds to several tens of minutes. Much of this energy is in the form of suprathermal electrons and ions, which remain trapped at the Sun and produce a wide variety of radiations, as well as escape into interplanetary space, where they can be directly observed. The radiation from trapped particles consists in general of (1) continuum emission; (2) narrow gamma-ray nuclear deexcitation lines; and (3) high-energy neutrons observed in space or by ground-based neutron monitors. The particles that escape into space consist of both electrons and ions, which often have compositions quite different than that of the ambient solar atmosphere. Flares thus present many diagnostics of the particle acceleration mechanism(s), the identification of which is the ultimate goal of flare research. Moreover, flares in fact offer the only opportunity in astrophysics to study the simultaneous energization of both electrons and ions. Hopefully, an understanding of flares with their wealth of diagnostic data will lead to a better understanding of particle acceleration at other sites in the Universe. It is now generally accepted that flares are roughly divided into two classes: impulsive and gradual. Gradual events are large, occur high in the corona, have long-duration soft and hard X-rays and gamma rays, are electron poor, are associated with Type II radio emission and coronal mass ejections (CMEs), and produce energetic ions with coronal abundance ratios. Impulsive events are more compact, occur lower in the corona, produce short-duration radiation, and exhibit dramatic abundance enhancements in the energetic ions. Their He-3/He-4 ratio is - 1, which is a huge increase over the coronal value of about 5 x 10(exp -4), and they also posses smaller but still significant enhancements of Ne, Mg, Si, and Fe relative to He-4, C, N, and O. Specifically, above about 1 MeV nucleon(exp -1), the ratio of Fe to O is about 8 times larger than in the corona or in gradual flares, while the ratio of Ne, Mg, and Si to O is about 3 times higher; He-4, C, N, and 0 are not enchanced with respect to each other. In addition to these elemental enhancements, Ne and Mg have isotopic enhancements as well. The general scenario that has emerged from these (and other) observations is that energetic particles in gradual events are accelerated by a CME-driven shock, while those particles in impulsive events are accelerated by another mechanism(s).

Miller, James A.↗

NASA NTRS2004

A Hierarchical Approach to Fracture Mechanics

Recent research conducted under NASA LaRC's Creativity and Innovation Program has led to the development of an initial approach for a hierarchical fracture mechanics. This methodology unites failure mechanisms occurring at different length scales and provides a framework for a physics-based theory of fracture. At the nanoscale, parametric molecular dynamic simulations are used to compute the energy associated with atomic level failure mechanisms. This information is used in a mesoscale percolation model of defect coalescence to obtain statistics of fracture paths and energies through Monte Carlo simulations. The mathematical structure of predicted crack paths is described using concepts of fractal geometry. The non-integer fractal dimension relates geometric and energy measures between meso- and macroscales. For illustration, a fractal-based continuum strain energy release rate is derived for inter- and transgranular fracture in polycrystalline metals.

Saether, Erik↗

NASA NTRS1992

Decoupled predictions of radiative heating in air using a particle simulation method

A particle simulation technique with decoupled radiation is used to estimate the radiative emission along the stagnation streamline and the radiative heating at the stagnation point of a blunt-nosed vehicle entering the earth's atmosphere at hypersonic speed. The direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method is used to compute the fluid mechanics of the weakly ionized flow. The radiative emission is computed using the NEQAIR computer code with the radiation decoupled from the flowfield solution. It is concluded that the new models make it possible to decrease the predicted total radiative heating at the stagnation point of the vehicle by a factor of 15. A comparison of the DSMC approach with a continuum flow model shows that the total predicted radiative heating estimates agree within a factor of 2.

Boyd, Iain D.↗

NASA NTRS1985

Dynamic Creep Buckling: Analysis of Shell Structures Subjected to Time-dependent Mechanical and Thermal Loading

The objective of the present research is to develop a general mathematical model and solution methodologies for analyzing the structural response of thin, metallic shell structures under large transient, cyclic, or static thermomechanical loads. Among the system responses associated with these loads and conditions are thermal buckling, creep buckling, and ratcheting. Thus geometric and material nonlinearities (of high order) can be anticipated and must be considered in developing the mathematical model. A complete, true ab-initio rate theory of kinematics and kinetics for continuum and curved thin structures, without any restriction on the magnitude of the strains or the deformations, was formulated. The time dependence and large strain behavior are incorporated through the introduction of the time rates of metric and curvature in two coordinate systems: fixed (spatial) and convected (material). The relations between the time derivative and the covariant derivative (gradient) were developed for curved space and motion, so the velocity components supply the connection between the equations of motion and the time rates of change of the metric and curvature tensors.

Simitses, G. J.↗

NASA NTRS1981

Effective constitutive relations for large repetitive frame-like structures

Effective mechanical properties for large repetitive framelike structures are derived using combinations of strength of material and orthogonal transformation techniques. Symmetry considerations are used in order to identify independent property constants. The actual values of these constants are constructed according to a building block format which is carried out in the three consecutive steps: (1) all basic planar lattices are identified; (2) effective continuum properties are derived for each of these planar basic grids using matrix structural analysis methods; and (3) orthogonal transformations are used to determine the contribution of each basic set to the overall effective continuum properties of the structure.

Nayfeh, A. H.↗

NASA NTRS1981

The C IV 1550 profile in type 1 Seyfert galaxies

The paper presents C IV 1550 A line profiles for the type 1 Seyfert galaxies NGC 5548, Mrk 509, NGC 7469, and MCG-2-58-22. Several line broadening mechanisms and theoretical line profiles are considered, and random motion of discrete clouds is ruled out. A spherical ensemble of discrete clouds with steady outflow or inflow produces a logarithmic profile, but does not account for the highly extended wings. A spherical ensemble with ballistic outflow produces a profile of the first exponential integral function, and fits the observed profile to the continuum level. Although C IV profiles favor the ballistic model, both Mrk 509 and NGC 7469 have significant asymmetry, and Balmer lines with a higher optical depth show higher asymmetry and redshift than all four galaxies.

Wu, C.-C.↗

NASA NTRS2000

Roles Played by Electrostatic Waves in Producing Radio Emissions

Processes in which electromagnetic radiation is produced directly or indirectly via intermediate waves are reviewed. It is shown that strict theoretical constraints exist for electrons to produce nonthermal levels of radiation directly by the Cerenkov or cyclotron resonances. In contrast, indirect emission processes in which intermediary plasma waves are converted into radiation are often favored on general and specific grounds. Four classes of mechanisms involving the conversion of electrostatic waves into radiation are linear mode conversion, hybrid linear/nonlinear mechanisms, nonlinear wave-wave and wave-particle processes, and radiation from localized wave packets. These processes are reviewed theoretically and observational evidence summarized for their occurrence. Strong evidence exists that specific nonlinear wave processes and mode conversion can explain quantitatively phenomena involving type III solar radio bursts and ionospheric emissions. On the other hand, no convincing evidence exists that magnetospheric continuum radiation is produced by mode conversion instead of nonlinear wave processes. Further research on these processes is needed.

Cairns, Iver H.↗

NASA NTRS1990

The inter-outburst behavior of cataclysmic variables

Existing International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE) and American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO) archive data was used to accomplish a large scale study of what happens to the ultraviolet flux of accretion disk systems during the quiescent intervals between outbursts and how it relates to the preceding outburst characteristics of amplitude and width. The data sample involved multiple IUE observations for 16 dwarf novae and 8 novae along with existing optical coverage. Results indicate that most systems show correlated ultraviolet (UV) flux behavior with interoutburst phase, with 60 percent of the dwarf novae and 50 percent of the novae having decreasing flux trends while 33 percent of the dwarf novae and 38 percent of the novae show rising UV flux during the quiescent interval. All of the dwarf novae with decreasing UV fluxes at 1475A have orbital periods longer than 4.4 hours, while all (except BV Cen) with flat or rising fluxes at 1475A have orbital periods less than two hours. There are not widespread correlations of the UV fluxes with the amplitude of the preceding outburst and no correlations with the width of the outburst. From a small sample (7) that have relatively large quiescent V magnitude changes between the IUE observations, most show a strong correlation between the UV and optical continuum. Interpretation of the results is complicated by not being able to determine how much the white dwarf contributes to the ultraviolet flux. However, it is now evident that noticeable changes are occurring in the hot zones in accreting systems long after the outburst, and not only for systems that are dominated by the white dwarf. Whether these differences are due to different outburst mechanisms or to changes on white dwarfs which provide varying contributions to the UV flux remains to be determined.

Szkody, Paula↗

NASA NTRS1990

Energy balance in the solar transition region. I - Hydrostatic thermal models with ambipolar diffusion

The energy balance in the lower transition region is analyzed by constructing theoretical models which satisfy the energy balance constraint. The energy balance is achieved by balancing the radiative losses and the energy flowing downward from the corona. This energy flow is mainly in two forms: conductive heat flow and hydrogen ionization energy flow due to ambipolar diffusion. Hydrostatic equilibrium is assumed, and, in a first calculation, local mechanical heating and Joule heating are ignored. In a second model, some mechanical heating compatible with chromospheric energy-balance calculations is introduced. The models are computed for a partial non-LTE approach in which radiation departs strongly from LTE but particles depart from Maxwellian distributions only to first order. The results, which apply to cases where the magnetic field is either absent, or uniform and vertical, are compared with the observed Lyman lines and continuum from the average quiet sun. The approximate agreement suggests that this type of model can roughly explain the observed intensities in a physically meaningful way, assuming only a few free parameters specified as chromospheric boundary conditions.

Fontenla, J. M.↗

NASA NTRS1994

X-ray continuum and iron K emission line from the radio galaxy 3C 390.3

X-ray properties of the radio galaxy 3C 390.3 were investigated using the European X-ray Observatory Satellite (EXOSAT) and Ginga satellites. Long-term, large-amplitude X-ray intensity changes were detected over a period extending from 1984 through 1991, and high-quality X-ray spectra were obtained especially with Ginga. The X-ray continuum spectra were described with power-law model with photon slope in the range 1.5-1.8, and the slope flattened as the 2-20 keV luminosity decreased by 40%. There was a first detection of the iron emission line from this source at the 90% confidence level. An upper limit was derived on the thermal X-ray component. X-ray emission mechanisms and possible origins of the long-term variation are discussed.

Inda, M.↗

NASA NTRS1982

IUE observations of symbiotic stars

The main photometric and spectroscopic characteristics in the ultraviolet and visual range of the most extensively studied symbiotic stars are reviewed. The main data obtained with IUE concern: (1) the determination of the shape of the UV continuum, which, in some cases, proves without doubt the presence of a hot companion; and the determination of the interstellar extinction by means of the lambda 2200 feature; (2) the measurement of emission lines, which enables us to derive the electron temperature and density of the circumstellar envelope, and, taken together with those lines observed in the visual, give more complete information on which spectroscopic mechanisms operate in the envelope; (3) the observation of absorption lines in the UV, which are present in just a few cases.

Hack, M.↗

NASA NTRS2004

Constitutive Modeling of Crosslinked Nanotube Materials

A non-linear, continuum-based constitutive model is developed for carbon nanotube materials in which bundles of aligned carbon nanotubes have varying amounts of crosslinks between the nanotubes. The model accounts for the non-linear elastic constitutive behavior of the material in terms of strain, and is developed using a thermodynamic energy approach. The model is used to examine the effect of the crosslinking on the overall mechanical properties of variations of the crosslinked carbon nanotube material with varying degrees of crosslinking. It is shown that the presence of the crosslinks has significant effects on the mechanical properties of the carbon nanotube materials. An increase in the transverse shear properties is observed when the nanotubes are crosslinked. However, this increase is accompanied by a decrease in axial mechanical properties of the nanotube material upon crosslinking.

Odegard, G. M.↗

NASA NTRS2023

Radiation Interaction with Particulates in Planetary Entry Flows

A hypersonic particle phase solver based on a continuum model is implemented in the NASA HyperSolve CFD code and used to predict particle phase conditions in a dusty Mars entry scenario. Black-body radiative emission from high temperature dust particles is predicted for a Mars relevant entry problem, and the emission integrated to an entry vehicle using a ray tracing approach to estimate surface heat flux. The surface heating due to this mechanism is found to be small relative to convective and radiation from the gas phase emission. Additionally, the effect of atmospheric haze particulates vaporizing in the Titan atmosphere is studied. The increase in carbon availability due to the composition of the haze particles is found to increase the gas radiative heating to the vehicle by up to 3% on the forebody of a representative Titan entry vehicle with approximately 0.15% haze in the freestream by mass.

Andrew Hinkle↗