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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 163 records · Page 9
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NASA NTRS1994

Properties and evolution of the central stellar cluster

The implications of recent near-infrared imaging and spectroscopy of the Galactic center stellar cluster are discussed. The central parsec appears to be powered by a cluster of hot, massive stars of which the IRS 16 complex is the central core. In the 1 to 2 micrometer band, the brightest members of this cluster are 10 to 15 HeI/HI emission line stars that can be characterized as approximately 20000 K, helium rich, very luminous supergiants. The He-I/H-I stars can account for a major fraction of the total and Lyman continuum luminosity of the central parsec, but hotter, earlier type stars are probably required in addition to account for the He-continuum. The brightest cool stars in the central parsec are red supergiants, and asymptotic giant branch stars. Two scenarios for the evolution of the central stellar core are presented: one involves a small star formation burst years ago that was the result of substantial prior gas influx into the core. In this scenario the Galactic center is presently in a short-lived, post-main sequence 'wind phase'. The second scenario involves the buildup of massive stars by sequential merging of lower mass stars. The intense mass loss from the hot stars probably affects strongly the gas dynamics in the central 0.1 pc and may prevent gas to accelerate onto the possible central hole.

Genzel, R.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Active galactic nuclei. IV - Supplying black hole clusters by tidal disruption and by tidal capture of stars

The extent to which individual holes in a cluster of black holes with a mass spectrum can liberate and accrete the resulting material by tidally disrupting stars they encounter, or by capturing stars as binary companions is studied. It is found that the smaller black holes in 'the halo' of such clusters can adequately supply themselves to the level M-dot sub h or greater than 0.0001(M-dot sub h) sub crit, and up to 0.05(M-dot sub h)sub crit for the smallest holes, by tidal disruption, as long as the cluster is embedded in a distribution of stars of relatively high density (not less than 0.1M sub cl/cu pc), and as long as the entire cluster of stars is not too compact (not less than 0.5 pc). Consideration is given to modifications this 'internal' mode of supply introduces in the spectrum emitted by such black hole clusters, and to the current status of their viability as models for AGN and QSOs in light of dynamical studies by Quinlan and Shapiro (1987, 1989).

Stoeger, W. R.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Are galactic bulge X-ray burst sources leftovers of distupted globular clusters

Since approximately 1979, it is known that galactic bulge X-ray sources are low-mass binary systems, and that the X-ray bursters are a subset of the bulge sources. Grindlay and Hertz (1983) reported on the close proximity (in four of twelve cases) of an X-ray burst source and a normal star. The two authors believe that these alignments are not coincidental. They suggest that the normal star is surviving giant in a disrupted globular cluster core, of which the X-ray source would also be a member. The present investigation has the objective to show that Grindlay and Hertz made an error in their statistical analysis of a factor of approximately 10. It is, thus, believed that there is insufficient evidence for the conclusion reported by Grindlay and Hertz. On the basis of the present investigation, it is concluded that there exists at present no statistically significant observational evidence that X-ray bursters, presently located outside globular clusters, were formed in globular clusters.

Van Paradijs, J.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Active galactic nuclei. II - The acceleration of relativistic particles in a cluster of accreting black holes

An accreting cluster of black holes in an active galactic nucleus is a natural site for a system of shock structures with a hierarchy of sizes, corresponding to the distribution of masses in the cluster. Accreted gas containing some magnetic fields and supersonically falling onto the core forms shocks on the outside of each hole and these shocks are capable of accelerating relativistic particles. The energies reached in a single shock are size rather than acceleration time limited and are proportional to the mass of the hole with a proportionality constant being a function of the position of the hole within a cluster and the model of the cluster and the shock formation. These energies are adequate to explain the observed properties of synchrotron and inverse-Compton radiation from these objects. The resulting energy spectrum of particles in the cluster in 'zeroth' approximation has the form of a doubly broken power law with indices of two and three on both extremes of the energy domain respectively, bridged by an index of about 2.5.

Pacholczyk, A. G.↗
NASA NTRS1982

A complete X-ray sample of the high-latitude /absolute value of b greater than 20 deg/ sky from HEAO 1 A-2 - Log N-log S and luminosity functions

An all-sky survey of X-ray sources was performed, complete to a limiting sensitivity of 3.1 x 10 to the -11 ergs/sq cm/s in the 2-10 keV band. The complete sample has allowed construction of luminosity functions based on a flux-limited sample for clusters of galaxies and active galactic nuclei. Integration of the best-fit luminosity functions indicates that clusters of galaxies contribute about 4% of the 2-10 keV DXRB, and active galactic nuclei about 20%. It is predicted that many of the objects seen in the deep survey should be local, relatively low luminosity active galactic nuclei and clusters of galaxies.

Piccinotti, G.↗
NASA NTRS1986

X-ray studies of galactic and intergalactic gas in the Pegasus I cluster

Einstein Observatory IPC observations of Pegasus I show hot gas in a low density intergalactic medium as well as in a galactic medium within each of the dominant elliptical galaxies, NGC 7619 and NGC 7626. The short central cooling times inferred, of 100 million years or less, suggest that the galaxies contain cooling flows of about 1 solar mass/yr. The intergalactic gas, which is about 5 times less dense than in the least dense of the known Abell clusters, is incapable of stripping the hot gas from the elliptical galaxies or the neutral gas from the spirals. The gas around NGC 7619 appears to be influencing one of the radio lobes of NGC 7626.

Canizares, C. R.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Effect of tidal fields on star clusters

We follow the dynamical evolution of a star cluster in a galactic tidal field using a restricted N-body code. We find large asymmetric distortions in the outer profile of the cluster in the first 10 or so crossing times as material is lost. Prograde stars escape preferentially and establish a potentially observable retrograde rotation in the halo. We present the rate of particle loss and compare with the prescription proposed by Lee and Ostriker (1987).

Chernoff, David↗
NASA NTRS1997

The Link Between UV Extinction and Infrared Cirrus

Low resolution spectra from the International Ultraviolet Explorer satellite were used to derive ultraviolet extinction curves for stars in four clusters away from the galactic plane. The extinction in three of the clusters is very similar to the general interstellar curve defined by Seaton. Stars in the fourth region, near the Rho Ophiuci dark cloud, have extinction curves that are characterized by a small "linear" term component. The star BD +36 deg 781 is unique amongst the 20 stars observed in that it shows evidence for extinction by diamond grains near 1700 angstroms. We used data from the final release of the IRAS Sky Survey Atlas (ISSA) to determine the 60 micron to 100 micron intensity ratio for the infrared cirrus. The ISSA data, which have been corrected for zodiacal light, gave intensity ratios that are more robust and self-consistent than for other data sets that we used. When the infrared and ultraviolet data are combined, we see a general trend for low values of the ultraviolet "linear term" (al) to correlate with high values of 60 micron/100 micron ratio. This implies that, in regions where the average dust temperature is hotter (high 60 micron/100 micron ratio), there is a relative absence of the small silicate grains that are responsible for the ultraviolet linear term. However, the new data do not bear out our earlier contention that the 60 micron and 100 micron emissions are poorly correlated spatially in regions where the 60 micron/100 micron ratio is low. Only NGC 1647 shows this result. It may be that the different dust types are particularly poorly mixed in this area.

Hackwell, John A.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Star cluster evolution with primordial binaries. 3: Effect of the Galactic tidal field

We present the results of N-body simulations of tidally limited star clusters with an initial population of 0%-20% binaries. We find that (1) if enough binaries are initially present, the binary fraction may fall to a minimum value, then increase at late times; (2) the cluster evaporation timescale is quite insensitive to the details of the initial binary distribution; (3) the cluster core radius stabilizes at a few percent of the half-mass radius when binaries are present, just as in the case of isolated clusters; and (4) there may be a marked difference between the spatial distribution of low-energy and high-energy binaries as the cluster evolves. Specifically, the spatial distribution of the lower energy systems is often substantially more extended than that of the more tightly bound pairs. At no time are our simulated clusters well described by simple dynamical models that neglect the close coupling between the binding energies and the center-of-mass energies of the binaries they contain.

Mcmillan, Steve↗
NASA NTRS1981

Spectroscopy of the B-gamma line in the Galactic center

Spectra of the B-gamma recombination line of hydrogen in the Galactic center show that the line has central velocities and shapes similar to those reported previously for the Ne II line. Observations are made at 10 positions within the infrared cluster of the Galactic center with a circular diaphragm of diameter 5 arcsec and with a spectral resolution of approximately 85 km/sec. The spectra confirm that the ionized gas in the Galactic center is distributed in discrete clouds.

Nadeau, D.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Galaxy and cluster redshift observations in the Sextans-Leo region

Redshift observations of 30 clusters in the direction of the Sextans-Leo supercluster candidate are reported. The observations are part of a program which involves mapping the universe's large-scale structure, and include North Galactic Cap Abell clusters, Abell clusters that have only been partially observed, and unmeasured poor Zwicky clusters. Three large superclusters are identified in the region which surround an apparent void that is open on one side towards the galaxy void in Bootes. The minimum dimensions of the void are given, and one of the superclusters is identified based on it resemblance to Coma/A1367. The emptiness of the Bootes void and the void of Bahcall and Soneira (1982) are redefined by the positions determined for five clusters observed in other portions of the northern cap. Additionally, some galaxies appear to be within the bounds of the Sextans-Leo void.

Batuski, David J.↗
NASA NTRS1978

On the nature of the sources of hard pulse X-ray radiation

Besides the identified sources of cosmic pulse X-ray radiation with globular clusters NGC 6624, NGC 1851 and MXB 1730-335 several new identifications were made. The source in Norma was probably identified with globular cluster NGC 5927, the source in Aquila with globular cluster NGC 6838 (M71), and the source in Puppis with globular cluster NGC 2298. Gamma pulses discovered by the Vela satellites and X-ray pulses thoroughly measured by the SAS-3, Ariel-5, and ANS satellites are thought to be the same phenomenon. The sources of such a radiation must be some kind of peculiarity at the central part of globular clusters; it is most probably a massive black hole. The sources of hard pulse radiation which cannot be identified with globular clusters are considered to be a new kind of galactic object, invisible globular clusters, which are naked nuclei of globular clusters.

Shklovskiy, I. S.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Near-infrared photometry and stellar populations of first-ranked galaxies in a complete sample of nearby Abell clusters

Eighty-four brightest cluster members (BCMs) in the complete sample of high Galactic latitude nearby Abell clusters of Hoessel, Gunn, and Thuan (HGT) are investigated. The stellar populations in BCMs using near-infrared and optical-near-infrared colors are studied. Brighter BCMs have redder (J-K) and (V-K) colors, suggesting a metallicity increase in brighter galaxies. The larger dispersion of their colors implies that BCMs possess more heterogeneous stellar populations than their lower luminosity counterparts, the normal elliptical galaxies. Special attention is paid to BCMs associated with cooling flows. BCMs with larger accretion rates have bluer (V-K) colors due to ultraviolet excesses and are brighter in the visual wavelength region, but not in the infrared. It is suggested that part of the X-ray emitting cooling gas is converted into high- and intermediate-mass stars emitting in the blue and visible, but not in the infrared. The properties of BCMs as standard candles in the near-infrared are examined and compared with those in the optical.

Thuan, Trinx X.↗
NASA NTRS1995

Competition of supermassive black holes and galactic spheroids in the destruction of globular clusters

The globular clusters that we observe in galaxies may be only a fraction of the initial population. Among the evolutionary influences on the population is the destruction of globular clusters by tidal forces as the cluster moves through the field of influence of a disk, a bulge, and/or a putative nuclear component (black hole). We have conducted a series of N-body simulations of globular clusters on bound and marginally bound orbits through poetentials that include black hole and speroidal components. The degree of concentration of the spheroidal component can have a considerable impact on the extent to which a globular cluster is disrupted. If half the mass of a 10(exp 10) solar mass spheroid is concentrated within 800 pc, then only black holes with masses greater than 10(exp 9) solar mass can have a significant tidal influence over that already exerted by the bulge. However, if the matter in the spheroidal component is not so strongly concentrated toward the center of the galaxy, a more modest central black hole (down to 10(exp 8) solar mass) could have a dominant influence on the globular cluster distribution, particularly if many of the clusters were initially on highly radial orbits. Our simulations show that the stars that are stripped from a globular cluster follow orbits with roughly the same eccentricity as the initial cluster orbit, spreading out along the orbit like a 'string of pearls.' Since only clusters on close to radial orbits will suffer substantial disruption, the population of stripped stars will be on orbits of high eccentricity.

Charlton, Jane C.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Hydrodynamic stellar interactions in dense star clusters

Highly detailed HST observations of globular-cluster cores and galactic nuclei motivate new theoretical studies of the violent dynamical processes which govern the evolution of these very dense stellar systems. These processes include close stellar encounters and direct physical collisions between stars. Such hydrodynamic stellar interactions are thought to explain the large populations of blue stragglers, millisecond pulsars, X-ray binaries, and other peculiar sources observed in globular clusters. Three-dimensional hydrodynamics techniques now make it possible to perform realistic numerical simulations of these interactions. The results, when combined with those of N-body simulations of stellar dynamics, should provide for the first time a realistic description of dense star clusters. Here I review briefly current theoretical work on hydrodynamic stellar interactions, emphasizing its relevance to recent observations.

Rasio, Frederic A.↗
NASA NTRS2004

The Interaction of Hot and Cold Gas in the Disk and Halo of Galaxies

Most of the thermal energy in the Galaxy and perhaps most of the baryons in the Universe are found in hot (log T approximately 5.5 - 7) gas. Hot gas is detected in the local interstellar medium, in supernova remnants (SNR), the Galactic halo, galaxy clusters and the intergalactic medium (IGM). In our own Galaxy, hot gas exists in large superbubbles up to several hundred pc in diameter that locally dominate the interstellar medium (ISM) and determine its thermal and dynamic evolution. While X-ray observations using ROSAT, Chandra and XMM have allowed us to make dramatic progress in mapping out the morphology of the hot gas and in understanding some of its spectral characteristics, there remain fundamental questions that are unanswered. Chief among these questions is the way that hot gas interacts with cooler phase gas and the effects these interactions have on hot gas energetics. The theoretical investigations we proposed in this grant aim to explore these interactions and to develop observational diagnostics that will allow us to gain much improved information on the evolution of hot gas in the disk and halo of galaxies. The first of the series of investigations that we proposed was a thorough exploration of turbulent mixing layers and cloud evaporation. We proposed to employ a multi-dimensional hydrodynamical code that includes non-equilibrium ionization (NEI), radiative cooling and thermal conduction. These models are to be applied to high velocity clouds in our galactic halo that are seen to have O VI by FUSE (Sembach et ai. 2000) and other clouds for which sufficient constraining observations exist.

Slavin, Jonathan↗