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Physics Faculty Publications

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Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Hydrocarbon Ions In The Ionosphere Of Titan, Jane L. Fox, Roger V. Yelle Sep 1997

Hydrocarbon Ions In The Ionosphere Of Titan, Jane L. Fox, Roger V. Yelle

Physics Faculty Publications

We have constructed a new model of the ionosphere of Titan that includes 67 species and 626 reactions. Although N2+ is the major ion produced over most of the ionosphere, the ionization flows to ions whose parent neutrals have lower ionization potentials and to ions formed from species with large proton affinities. In contrast to other models, which have predicted that HCNH+ should be the major ion, our calculations suggest that the major ions at and below the ion peak are hydrocarbon ions, and H, C, and N-containing ions. Our predicted peak electron density for a solar …

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A Theoretical Study Concerning The Solar Cycle Dependence Of The Nightside Ionosphere Of Venus, Zoltan Dobe, Andrew F. Nagy, Jane L. Fox Jan 1995

A Theoretical Study Concerning The Solar Cycle Dependence Of The Nightside Ionosphere Of Venus, Zoltan Dobe, Andrew F. Nagy, Jane L. Fox

Physics Faculty Publications

We modeled the chemical and physical processes taking place in the nightside ionosphere of Venus by solving the one dimensional coupled continuity and momentum equations for 12 ion species [CO2+, O2+, O+, H+, NO+, CO+, N2+, N+, He+, C+, O+ (²D) and O+ (²P)]. We investigated the relative importance of the two major processes responsible for maintaining the nightside plasma densities: atomic ion transport from the dayside and impact ionization due to energetic electron precipitation. …

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Evidence For Virtual Compton Scattering From Proton, J.F.J. Van Den Brand, R. Ent, P. L. Anthony, R. G. Arnold, J. Arrington, E. J. Beise, J. E. Belz, P. E. Bosted, H. J. Bulten, M. S. Chapman, K. P. Coulter, F. S. Dietrich, M. Epstein, B. W. Filippone, H. Gao, R. A. Gearhart, D. F. Geesaman, J.-O. Hansen, R. J. Holt, H. E. Jackson, C. E. Jones, C. E. Keppel, E. R. Kinney, S. Kuhn, K. Lee, W. Lorenzon, A. Lung, N.C.R. Makins, D.J. Margaziotis, R.D. Mckeown, R.G. Milner, B. Mueller, J. Napolitano, J. Nelson, T. G. O'Neill, V. Pavavassiliou, G. G. Petratos, D. H. Potterveld, S. E. Rock, M. Spengos, Z. M. Szalata, L. H. Tao, K Van Bibber, D. A. Wasson, J.L. White, B. Zeidman Jan 1995

Evidence For Virtual Compton Scattering From Proton, J.F.J. Van Den Brand, R. Ent, P. L. Anthony, R. G. Arnold, J. Arrington, E. J. Beise, J. E. Belz, P. E. Bosted, H. J. Bulten, M. S. Chapman, K. P. Coulter, F. S. Dietrich, M. Epstein, B. W. Filippone, H. Gao, R. A. Gearhart, D. F. Geesaman, J.-O. Hansen, R. J. Holt, H. E. Jackson, C. E. Jones, C. E. Keppel, E. R. Kinney, S. Kuhn, K. Lee, W. Lorenzon, A. Lung, N.C.R. Makins, D.J. Margaziotis, R.D. Mckeown, R.G. Milner, B. Mueller, J. Napolitano, J. Nelson, T. G. O'Neill, V. Pavavassiliou, G. G. Petratos, D. H. Potterveld, S. E. Rock, M. Spengos, Z. M. Szalata, L. H. Tao, K Van Bibber, D. A. Wasson, J.L. White, B. Zeidman

Physics Faculty Publications

In virtual Compton scattering an electron is scattered off a nucleon such that the nucleon emits a photon. We show that these events can be selected experimentally, and present the first evidence for virtual Compton scattering from the proton in data obtained at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center. The angular and energy dependence of the data is well described by a calculation that includes the coherent sum of electron and proton radiation.

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Exclusive Electron Scattering From Deuterium At High Momentum Transfer, H. J. Bulten, P. L. Anthony, R. G. Arnold, J. Arrington, E. J. Beise, E. Belz, K. Van Bibber, P. E. Bosted, J.F.J. Van Den Brand, M. S. Chapman, K. P. Coulter, F. S. Dietrich, R. Ent, M. Epstein, B. W. Filippone, H. Gao, R.A. Gearhart, D. F. Geesaman, J.-O. Hansen, R. J. Holt, H. E. Jackson, C. E. Jones, C. E. Keppel, E. Kinney, S. E. Kuhn, K. Lee, W. Lorenzon, A. Lung, N.C.R. Makins, D. J. Margaziotis, R.D. Mckeown, R. G. Milner, B. Mueller, J. Napolitano, J. Nelson, T.G. O'Neill, V. Papavassiliou, G. G. Petratos, D. H. Potterveld, S. E. Rock, M. Spengos, Z. M. Szalata, L. H. Tao, J. L. White, B. Zeidman Jan 1995

Exclusive Electron Scattering From Deuterium At High Momentum Transfer, H. J. Bulten, P. L. Anthony, R. G. Arnold, J. Arrington, E. J. Beise, E. Belz, K. Van Bibber, P. E. Bosted, J.F.J. Van Den Brand, M. S. Chapman, K. P. Coulter, F. S. Dietrich, R. Ent, M. Epstein, B. W. Filippone, H. Gao, R.A. Gearhart, D. F. Geesaman, J.-O. Hansen, R. J. Holt, H. E. Jackson, C. E. Jones, C. E. Keppel, E. Kinney, S. E. Kuhn, K. Lee, W. Lorenzon, A. Lung, N.C.R. Makins, D. J. Margaziotis, R.D. Mckeown, R. G. Milner, B. Mueller, J. Napolitano, J. Nelson, T.G. O'Neill, V. Papavassiliou, G. G. Petratos, D. H. Potterveld, S. E. Rock, M. Spengos, Z. M. Szalata, L. H. Tao, J. L. White, B. Zeidman

Physics Faculty Publications

Cross sections are presented for the reaction 2H(e,e′p)n for momentum transfers in the range 1.2 ≤Q2≤ 6.8 (GeV/c)2 and for missing momenta from 0 to 250 MeV/c. The longitudinal-transverse interference structure function has been separated at Q2=1.2(GeV/c)2. The observables are compared to calculations performed in nonrelativistic and relativistic frameworks. The data are best described by a fully relativistic calculation.

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Interstellar Gas And Dust In The Young Cluster Ic 348, Theodore P. Snow, Margaret Murray Hanson, C Gregory Seab, Jon M. Saken Jan 1994

Interstellar Gas And Dust In The Young Cluster Ic 348, Theodore P. Snow, Margaret Murray Hanson, C Gregory Seab, Jon M. Saken

Physics Faculty Publications

We have completed a multiband absorption- and emission-line study of a star embedded in the young cluster IC 348, to determine the environmental effect of star formation on the interstellar medium (ISM) local to the region. The hottest and youngest star in IC 348 is BD+31°643, a B5 V star which samples the inner bright nebular region. The nearby star o Per, which lies only 8 to the north and is thought to lie beyond IC 348, samples the gas and dust which has not been processed by very recent star formation. We speculate that the ISM throughout the region …

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Rate Coefficient For The Reaction N + No, Jane L. Fox Jan 1994

Rate Coefficient For The Reaction N + No, Jane L. Fox

Physics Faculty Publications

Evidence has been advanced that the rate coefficient for the reaction N + NO → N2; + O has a small positive temperature dependence at the high temperatures (900-1500 K) that prevail in the terrestrial middle and upper thermosphere by Siskind and Rusch (1992), and at the low temperatures (100-200 K) of the Martian lower thermosphere by Fox (1993). Assuming that the rate coefficient recommended by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory evaluation (DeMore et al., 1992) is accurate at 300 K, we derive here the low temperature value of the activation energy for this reaction and thus the rate …

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Evidence For Day-To-Night Ion Transport At Low Solar Activity In The Venus Pre-Dawn Ionosphere, J. F. Brannon, Jane L. Fox, H. S. Porter Dec 1993

Evidence For Day-To-Night Ion Transport At Low Solar Activity In The Venus Pre-Dawn Ionosphere, J. F. Brannon, Jane L. Fox, H. S. Porter

Physics Faculty Publications

Periapsis of the Pioneer Venus spacecraft dropped below 180 km on August 28, 1992 near midnight, and 42 orbits of low altitude data at moderately low solar activity in the pre-dawn sector were obtained before contact was lost to the spacecraft in October, 1992. Through a combination of analysis of data from the PV orbiter ion mass spectrometer (OIMS) and modeling, we consider here what can be learned about the relative importance of plasma transport from the dayside and electron precipitation in maintaining the nightside ionosphere during the re-entry period. In particular, we examine here the atomic ion density profiles. …

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On The Escape Of Oxygen And Hydrogen From Mars, Jane L. Fox Sep 1993

On The Escape Of Oxygen And Hydrogen From Mars, Jane L. Fox

Physics Faculty Publications

Escape rates of oxygen atoms from dissociative recombination of O2+ above the Martian exobase are computed in light of new information from ab initio calculations of the dissociative recombination process, and our recently revised understanding of the Martian dayside ionosphere. Only about 60% of the dissociative recombinations occur in channels in which the O atoms are released with energies in excess of the escape velocity. Futhermore, we find that the computed escape fluxes for O depend greatly on the nature of the ion loss process that has been found necessary to reproduce the topside ion density profiles measured …

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Upper Limits To The Nightside Ionosphere Of Mars, Jane L. Fox Jul 1993

Upper Limits To The Nightside Ionosphere Of Mars, Jane L. Fox

Physics Faculty Publications

The nightside ionosphere of Mars could be produced by electron precipitation or by plasma transport from the dayside, by analogy to the Venus, but few measurements are available. We report here model calculations of upper limits to the nightside ion densities on Mars that would be produced by both mechanisms. For the auroral model, we have adopted the downward traveling portions of the electron spectra measured by the HARP instrument on the Soviet Phobos spacecraft in the Martian plasma sheet and in the magnetotail lobes. For the plasma transport case, we have imposed on a model of the nightside thermosphere, …

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On The System Of Diffuse Interstellar Bands At 5844 And 5850 Å, J Krelowski, Theodore P. Snow, J Papaj, C G. Seab, B Wszolek Jan 1993

On The System Of Diffuse Interstellar Bands At 5844 And 5850 Å, J Krelowski, Theodore P. Snow, J Papaj, C G. Seab, B Wszolek

Physics Faculty Publications

Two neighboring diffuse interstellar bands (DIBs) at 5844 and 5850 Å are shown to be of different origin. The presence or absence of the 5844 DIB is related to the ratio of the two prominent DIBs at 5780 and 5797 Å as well as to the nature of the ultraviolet extinction curve. The 5844 Å DIB is very sensitive to the extinction, being completely absent in cases where the far-UV extinction is low. This suggests that the carrier is destroyed by photons having energies above 11 or 12 eV. The 5850 Å DIB correlates very well with the well-studied DIB …

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The Production And Escape Of Nitrogen Atoms On Mars, Jane L. Fox Jan 1993

The Production And Escape Of Nitrogen Atoms On Mars, Jane L. Fox

Physics Faculty Publications

We have computed the production rates and densities of odd nitrogen species in the Martian atmosphere using updated rate coefficients and a revised ionosphere-thermosphere model. We find that the computed densities of NO are somewhat smaller than those measured by Viking 1, but reasonable agreement can be obtained by assuming that the rate coefficient for loss of odd nitrogen in the reaction of N with NO is smaller at temperatures that prevail in the lower Martian thermosphere (about 130–160 K) than the standard value, which applies to temperatures of 200–400 K. We have also modeled the escape fluxes of N …

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Spatial Correlation Between Ch, Cn And The Diffuse Interstellar Band Carriers, J Krelowski, T P. Snow, C G. Seab, J Papaj Jan 1992

Spatial Correlation Between Ch, Cn And The Diffuse Interstellar Band Carriers, J Krelowski, T P. Snow, C G. Seab, J Papaj

Physics Faculty Publications

Observations are presented of the diffuse interstellar bands at 5780 and 5797 A and of the ultraviolet lines of CH and CN in the light of six bright stars which lie behind isolated interstellar clouds. It is found that CN and CH are only present when the 5797 band is deeper than the 5780 one. Comparisons with satellite measurements of the UV extinction show that the shape of the extinction curve is linked to the same band ratio in these stars. The results support a previous suggestion that the various components of the absorption spectrum of an isolated cloud (the …

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Diffuse Band Profiles In The Spectrum Of Hd 29647: Evidence For A Molecular Origin?, Theodore P. Snow, C G. Seab Jan 1991

Diffuse Band Profiles In The Spectrum Of Hd 29647: Evidence For A Molecular Origin?, Theodore P. Snow, C G. Seab

Physics Faculty Publications

High signal-to-noise ratio spectra have been obtained of the diffuse interstellar bands at 5780 and 5797 Å in the spectrum of HD 29647, a heavily reddened star within or behind a portion of the Taurus dark cloud complex. The observations were made using the coudé spectrograph on the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope. The Reticon detector combined with the coudé spectrograph and excellent observing conditions allowed S/N ratios as high as 200 for this star, which was V=8.37 and E(B–V)=1.03. In two separate exposures both bands were found to be narrower and weaker than normal values for …

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On The Size Distribution Of Newly Formed Grains In Red Supergiant Atmospheres, C Gregory Seab, Theodore P. Snow Jan 1989

On The Size Distribution Of Newly Formed Grains In Red Supergiant Atmospheres, C Gregory Seab, Theodore P. Snow

Physics Faculty Publications

Theoretical ultraviolet extinction curves have been calculated for comparison with observed curves for circumstellar dust in M supergiants. The theoretical curves assumed a silicate grain composition, because silicate grains are expected in the oxygen-rich environments that are observed. Calculations were performed with and without the inclusion of scattering into the beam, with largely similar results. A comparison of the computed curves with the observed ultraviolet extinction curve for circumstellar dust in Scorpii indicates that the size distribution of the circumstellar grains must cut off near 800 Å that is, there are few or no grains smaller than this. Our conclusion …

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Predicting Peculiar Interstellar Extinction From Gaseous Abundances, Charles L. Joseph, Theodore P. Snow, C Gregory Seab Jan 1989

Predicting Peculiar Interstellar Extinction From Gaseous Abundances, Charles L. Joseph, Theodore P. Snow, C Gregory Seab

Physics Faculty Publications

Molecular and atomic abundances are examined for 19 lines of sight through dense clouds, each with a peculiar selective extinction curve. The interstellar clouds in the present study appear to fall into two distinct categories: CN-rich, with relatively small amounts of neutral iron, or CN-poor, with large amounts of neutral iron. Lines of sight, having a CN/(Fe i) abundance ratio about two (~ 0.3 dex) or greater, are found to have a shallow (2.57 ± 0.55 mag) 2175 Å feature relative to the underlying extinction, while the strength of the bump is 3.60 ± 0.36 for the other dense clouds …

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A Search For Interstellar And Circumstellar C60, T P. Sno, C G. Seab Jan 1989

A Search For Interstellar And Circumstellar C60, T P. Sno, C G. Seab

Physics Faculty Publications

It has recently been suggested that the diffuse interstellar bands may be formed by ionized polyhedral carbon molecules such as C60(+). While specific laboratory measurements of absorption bands of this molecular ion have not been made, a feature due to the neutral molecule C60 has been discovered at 3860A. Examination of spectra of several reddened stars, as well as one star known to have circumstellar carbonaceous dust, shows no sign of the feature, leading to upper limits of the order of 10 to the 14th/sq cm for the column density of C60. These limits are not yet sensitive enough to …

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A New Search For Interstellar C3, Charles L. Joseph, Theodore P. Snow, C Gregory Seab Jan 1988

A New Search For Interstellar C3, Charles L. Joseph, Theodore P. Snow, C Gregory Seab

Physics Faculty Publications

A new, very sensitive search for interstellar triatomic carbon has resulted in upper limits for a few diffuse clouds of order 1010 cm – 2, or about 10 – 11 with respect to hydrogen. These limits are consistent with recent cold diffuse cloud chemistry models, but may be in conflict with shocked cloud models such as those invoked to explain CH + abundances. Our results may also be argue against linear carbon-chain molecules as carriers of the diffuse interstellar bands.

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The Energy-Dependence Of Polarization Observables In The ²H(D,Γ)⁴He Reaction, H. R. Weller, R. M. Whitton, J. Langenbrunner, Evans Hayward, W. R. Dodge, S. Kuhn, D. R. Tilley Jan 1988

The Energy-Dependence Of Polarization Observables In The ²H(D,Γ)⁴He Reaction, H. R. Weller, R. M. Whitton, J. Langenbrunner, Evans Hayward, W. R. Dodge, S. Kuhn, D. R. Tilley

Physics Faculty Publications

Measurements of the tensor and vector analyzing powers, Ayy(130°) and Ay(130°), have been obtained for the 2H(d,γ )4He reaction for energies ranging from Ed(lab) = 0.3 MeV to Ed(lab) = 50 MeV. The Ayy(130°) data are sensitive to the D-state present in the ground state of 4He and are observed to have their maximum value near Ed = 30 MeV. The vector analyzing power data show a maximum near Ed = 3 MeV. The data are compared to the results of a microscopic …

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O++ In The Venusian Ionosphere, Jane L. Fox, G. A. Victor Jan 1981

O++ In The Venusian Ionosphere, Jane L. Fox, G. A. Victor

Physics Faculty Publications

It is shown that the revised photochemical theory for O++ in the earth's ionopshere, where double photoionization of O is the dominant source, is consistent with recent O++ measurements on Venus. A rate coefficient of 1.5 × 10−10 cm³ s−1 for O++ + O is obtained, and the possible importance of O++ chemistry on minor atomic ions and airglow emissions is explored.

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Ionization, Luminosity, And Heating Of The Upper Atmosphere Of Mars, Jane L. Fox, Alexander Dalgarno Jan 1979

Ionization, Luminosity, And Heating Of The Upper Atmosphere Of Mars, Jane L. Fox, Alexander Dalgarno

Physics Faculty Publications

A model based upon Viking data is constructed of the Martian atmosphere, and a comprehensive quantitative discussion is given of the measurements of the ultraviolet dayglow. A detailed assessment is made of the heating of the neutral and ionized components of the atmosphere arising from the absorption of ultraviolet solar radiation.

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Astronomy And The Bible: Joshua's Long Day, Joel W. Block Nov 1977

Astronomy And The Bible: Joshua's Long Day, Joel W. Block

Physics Faculty Publications

The Bible has served as a multipurpose text for thousands of years. However, the Bible has been ignored in the area of astronomy. Several teaching points can be demonstrated using the Bible stories and modern astronomical principles.

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The Nitrogen Dayglow On Mars, Jane L. Fox, Alexander Dalgarno, E. R. Constantinides, G. A. Victor Jan 1977

The Nitrogen Dayglow On Mars, Jane L. Fox, Alexander Dalgarno, E. R. Constantinides, G. A. Victor

Physics Faculty Publications

The ultraviolet dayglow spectrum arising from emission of N2 in the Mars atmosphere is predicted. The intensities are such that a high-resolution spectrum should readily reveal the presence of N2 at the abundances suggested by the Viking experiments.

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