Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Tracking And Impact Prediction Of Earth-Crossing-Objects (Ecos) On A Collision Course With Earth, Gregory A. Bishop

Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated the effectiveness of Earth-based angles only observations in determining the orbit of various hypothetical Earth-Crossing-Objects (ECOs). 'True' trajectories were simulated specifically for Earth-Crossing- Comets (ECCs) by numerically integrating in a Restricted Three Body system. Starting at Earth impact points, the state vectors were reverse-propagated" to a proposed detection time. Observations (obs), with state-of-the-art accuracy, were then simulated with error induced by a Gaussian random number generator; these were used in a least- squares differential corrector to estimate the positions of the ECOs. State vectors and covariance matrices were then propagated to the impact times and axis lengths …

Effects Of Photon Noise On Unconstrained Minimization Techniques For Iterative Blind Deconvolution, Derek K. Davis

Theses and Dissertations

In recent years, imaging through atmospheric turbulence has interested military scientists seeking to improve optical surveillance of satellites. Adaptive optics was a step toward achieving diffraction-limited resolution from ground-based telescopes. Unfortunately, adaptive optics only partially compensate for atmospheric blurring, therefore post processing of images is required. Processing methods in use today require knowledge of the impulse response of the optical system to reconstruct imagery, but this information is seldom known. This thesis looks at a new metal of processing compensated imagery, called blind deconvolution, which assumes very little or no a priori information about the impulse response. In particular, this …

Orbital Studies Of The Cataclysmic Variables Cz Orionis, V1193 Orionis And Bz Ursae Majoris, F. A. Ringwald, J. R. Thorstensen, R. M. Hamwey

Dartmouth Scholarship

Time-resolved spectroscopy reveals the orbital periods of three cataclysmic variables. CZ Ori has an orbital period of 0.2189 d. This is within 3 per cent of a prediction relating orbital period and dwarf nova outburst decline time. We find the M2.5 ± 1.0 secondary, and infer an absolute magnitude for CZ Ori in RKc of 8.5 ± 1.0 and a distance of 260 ± 110 pc. V1193 Ori, also called Hamuy's Blue Variable, has an orbital period of 0.165 d. In 1988, Ha emission line profile variations suggested red star illumination. In 1989, this line's red wing flared at orbital …

Electron Energy Loss In Oxygen Plasmas, G. A. Victor, John C. Raymond, Jane L. Fox

Jane L. Fox

The results of calculations of the energy deposition of energetic electrons in oxygen plasmas are given. In a pure oxygen plasma even with large fractional ionization, much of the electron energy results in the production of additional ionization and excited electronic states. Results are given for separate calculations using theoretical and experimental cross sections for the important O I excitations of ¹S and ¹D because the theoretical and experimental data are not in agreement. These results are useful for understanding the spectra of oxygen-rich supernova remnants.

Chromospherically Active Stars. Xiii. Hd 30957: A Double Lined K Dwarf Binary, Francis C. Fekel, Virgiljus Dadonas, Julius Sperauskas, Todd R. Vaccaro, L. Ronald Patterson

Information Systems and Engineering Management Research Publications

HD 30957 is a double-lined spectroscopic binary with a period of 44.395 days and a modest eccentricity of 0.09. The spectral types of the components are K2-3 V and K5 V. The measured v sin i for both components is less than or equal to 3 km/s and the orbital inclination is estimated to be 69 deg. The system is relatively nearby with a parallax of 0.025 sec or a distance of 40 pc. Space motions of the system indicate that it does not belong to any of the known moving groups. Absolute surface fluxes of the Ca II H …

Evidence For A Disk In The Wind Of Hd 93521: Uv Line Profiles From An Axisymmetric Model., Richard Ignace

Richard Ignace

Recently it has been suggested (Massa 1992; Howarth & Reid 1993), from the C IV ultraviolet resonance line profile of HD 93521, that there is a high-speed component in the polar outflow from the star as well as a low-speed component in the equatorial regions. In this paper we present theoretical calculations of the line profiles that would be produced by such a model. We find from Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Goddard High Resolution Spectrograph (GHRS) observations of HD 93521 that the observed C IV profile can be produced if the star has an inclination angle very close to 90 …

Extraordinary Line-Emitting Knots In The Crab Nebula, Gordon M. Macalpine, Stephen S. Lawrence, Beth A. Brown, Alan Uomoto, Bruce E. Woodgate, Larry W. Brown, Ronald J. Oliversen, James D. Lowenthal, Charles Liu

Astronomy: Faculty Publications

Extraordinary, semistellar, line-emitting knots are apparent in images of the Crab Nebula which were obtained with the Goddard Fabry-Perot imager at the Michigan-Dartmouth-MIT Observatory. The knots are most prominent for [O III] λ5007 emission through a 5.3 Å (FWHM) bandpass centered at 5015.3 Å, with representative fluxes of roughly 10-14 ergs cm-2 s-1. They are aligned in arcs, seven to the north and four to the south, from the pulsar. The northern group appears to be in a bounded corridor through the filamentary structure. Measurements over a 2 year baseline yield proper motions of order 0″.1 yr-1, corresponding to transverse …

Effects Of Aberrations On Spatially Modulated Fourier Transform Spectrometers, R Glenn Sellar, James Bruce Rafert

Aerospace, Physics, and Space Science Faculty Publications

Spatially modulated Fourier transform spectrometers (FTS) have a throughput advantage over dispersive spectrometers, since an FTS does not require a slit in order to achieve spectral resolution. The traditional implementation of FTSs employs a scanning Michelson interferometer, but since this interferometer is temporally modulated, it is difficult or impossible to use with a target whose spatial and/or spectral signature is changing rapidly. The less common spatially modulated approach to FTS allows all spectral channels to be acquired simultaneously, but cylindrical optics are required to create an imaging version a FTS (IFTS). This combination of cylindrical and spherical optics, used to …

Vv 114: Making Of An Ultraluminous Galaxy?, Min S. Yun, N Z. Scoville, R A. Knop

Min S. Yun

High-resolution (Theta = 4 arcseconds .4 x 3 arcseconds .1) CO observations of the IR luminous system VV 114 (IC 1623) using the Owens Valley Millimeter array reveal 5.1 x 1010 Solar masses of H2 in a 5.9 x 3.1 kpc (15 arcseconds x 8 arcseconds) bar with two 4-6 kpc long tails (D = 80 Mpc for H 0= 75). The wide separation (6 kpc) of the merging optical galaxies, the extended gas distribution, and the noncircular gas kinematics suggest that VV 114 is in an early stage of a gas-rich merger. The concentration of gas and its dominance …

Chromospherically Active Stars. Xii. Ads 11060 C: A Double Linked K Dwarf Binary In A Quintuple System, Francis C. Fekel, Gregory W. Henry, Melissa L. Hampton, Robert E. Fried, Mary D. Morton

Information Systems and Engineering Management Research Publications

ADS 11060 C is a double lined spectroscopic binary with a period of 25.7631 days and an eccentricity of 0.565. Spectral types of the two stars are estimated as K7 V and MO V with a magnitude difference of about 0.55 mag in V. The stars appear to be somewhat metal rich with respect to the Sun. Despite the relatively large masses of 0.53 and 0.51 solar mass, our photometric observations find no evidence for eclipses and we estimate an inclination of 77 deg plus or minus 11 deg. ADS 11060 C is, however, photometrically variable with a period of …

The Optical-Ultraviolet-Γ-Ray Spectrum Of 3c 279, Hagai Netzer, D. Kazanas, Beverley J. Wills, D. Wills, Han Mingsheng, M. S. Brotherton, J A. Baldwin, Gary J. Ferland, I. W. A. Browne

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

We have obtained spectrosocpy of the violently variable quasar 3C 279, simultaneous with γ-ray observations, in 1992 April. Our combined optical (McDonald Observatory and Cerro Tololo InterAmerican Observatory (CTIO) and ultraviolet (HST) observations, made when the source was faint, show a very steep power-law continuum (F_ν∝ν^-1.95) and strong broad emission lines. This is the first time that the broad ultraviolet lines of this object have been measured, and we note several unusual properties of the spectrum. In particular, the profiles of C IV λ1549 and Mg II λ …

Automated Classification Of Stellar Spectra - I. Initial Results With Artificial Neural Networks, Ted Von Hippel, L.J. Storrie-Lombardi, M.C. Storrie-Lombardi, M.J. Irwin

Publications

We have initiated a project to classify stellar spectra automatically from high-dispersion objective prism plates. The automated technique presented here is a simple back propagation neural network and is based on the visual classification work of Houk. The plate material (Houk’s) is currently being digitized, and contains « 105 stars down to K æ 11 at æ 2-Â resolution from « 3850 to 5150 Â. For this first paper in the series, we report on the results of 575 stars digitized from 6 plates. We find that even with the limited data set now in hand we can determine the …

Raman Spectroscopic Study Of The Formation Of T-Mosi2 From Mo/Si Multilayers, Ming Cai, David D. Allred, A. Reyes-Mena

Faculty Publications

We have used Raman spectroscopy, large- and small-angle x-ray diffraction spectroscopy of sputter-deposited, vacuum-annealed, soft x-ray Mo/Si thin-film multilayers to study the physics of silicide formation. Two sets of multilayer samples with d-spacing 8.4 and 2.0 nm have been studied. Annealing at temperatures above 800 °C causes a gradual formation of amorphous MoSi2 interfaces between the Si and Mo layers. The transition from amorphous to crystalline MoSi2 is abrupt. The experimental results indicate that nucleation is the dominant process for the early stage and crystallization is the dominant process after nucleation is well advanced. In the thicker multilayer, a portion …

Emitted Current Instability From Silicon Field Emission Emitters Due To Sputtering By Residual Gas Ions, W.I. Karain, Larry V. Knight, David D. Allred, A. Reyes-Mena

Faculty Publications

We have fabricated arrays of silicon field emitters using semiconductor lithography techniques. The density of the tips was 10^5/cm^2. The maximum current that can be extracted from each emitter is limited by resistive heating. We have investigated how the electron current emitted changes under constant applied voltage. We found that the current is very sensitive to the vacuum conditions. We attribute this to sputtering of the emitters due to ionized residual gas molecules. The poorer the vacuum, the higher the instability in the current. We studied this phenomenon at 10^6 and 10-x Torr. The model of two concentric spherical shells …

Mesostructure Of Photoluminescent Porous Silicon, David D. Allred, F. Ruiz, C. Vázquez-López, Jesus González-Hernández, G. Romero-Paredes, R. Peña-Sierra, G. Torres-Delgado

Faculty Publications

Scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and Raman spectroscopy were used to characterize the microstructure of photoluminescent porous silicon (PS) layers formed by the anodic etching (HF:H2O:ethanol), at various current densities, of p-type (100) silicon wafers possessing resitivity in the range 1-2 Ω cm. Existing models for the origin of luminescence in PS are not supported by our observations. Cross-sectional as well as surface atomic force micrographs show the material to be clumpy rather than columnar; rodlike structures are not observed down to a scale of 40 nm. A three-dimensional model of the mesostructure of porous silicon is discussed. Room-temperature …

Strong Magnetic Field Effects And Molecular Processes With Applications To White Dwarfs, Phillip C. Stancil

Physics Theses & Dissertations

Radiative transitions of hydrogenlike atoms in external magnetic fields of strength applicable to magnetic white dwarfs, i.e. B < 10³ megagauss, have been investigated for field-free principal quantum numbers n < 6. Finite proton mass corrections are included. Relativistic corrections are also investigated. Transition probabilities are determined using the length, velocity, and acceleration forms of the electric dipole operator. Discrepancies between previous calculations and magnetic white dwarf observations of low-lying boundbound transitions have been studied. New results for high-lying transitions are also obtained.

The transition probability for the hydrogenlike 2s two-photon decay has been investigated and shown to increase substantially with field strength. The computed two-photon spectra show resonances and interference minima. Anomalous Zeeman depolarization features are found in computed two-photon polarization spectra of alkali atoms in laboratory strength magnetic fields. A previously observed fine structure depolarization feature is shown to decay with decreasing field strength.

Experimental Stark Shift Of Several Nii And Oii Spectral Lines, Mara Scepanovic, Vladimir Milosavljevic, Stevan Djenize, Mihajlo Platisa, Jaroslav Labat

Articles

Stark shift of four NII and seven OII spectral lines have been measured for the first time in the linear low pressure pulsed arc plasma and compared with existing theoretical values.

A Protostellar Jet Model For The Water Masers In W49n, Mordecai-Mark Mac Low, Moshe Elitzur, James M. Stone, Arieh Königl

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

Observations by Gwinn, Moran, & Reid of the proper motions of water masers in W49N show that they have elongated distribution expanding from a common center. Features with high space velocity only occur far from the center, while low-velocity features occur at all distances. We propose that these observations can be interpreted in terms of a shell of shocked molecular gas that is driven by the expanding cocoon of a high-velocity protostellar jet. We present three-dimensional numerical simulations in support of this interpretation and argue that this source provides a unique oppurtunity for a detailed study of jet-driven cocoons.

Comptel Imaging Of The Galactic Disk And The Separation Of Diffuse Emission And Point Sources, H Bloemen, W Hermsen, B Swanenburg, C De Vries, R Diehl, V. Schonfelder, H Steinle, A W. Strong, A Connors, Mark L. Mcconnell, D Morris, G Stacy, K Bennett, C Winkler

Physics & Astronomy

The first MeV image of the inner Galaxy obtained with the COMPTEL telescope aboard the Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory shows a structured ridge of emisssion along the Galactic equator which probably consists of diffuse radiation and unresolved discrete sources. The intensity distribution of this ridge distinctly differs from the expected distribution for a simple model of the diffuse radiation. Most remarkable are the observed excursions out of the disk, which may hint at the presence of gamma-ray point sources located several degrees away from the mid-plane, but a diffuse origin cannot be excluded. If these are indeed discrete sources, a substantial …

Observations Of Gamma-Ray Bursts By Comptel, L O. Hanlon, K Bennett, W Collmar, A Connors, R Diehl, R Van Dijk, J Greiner, J W. Den Herder, W Hermsen, R M. Kippen, L Kuiper, Mark L. Mcconnell, James M. Ryan, V. Schonfelder, H Steinle, A W. Strong, M Varendorff, C Winkler

Physics & Astronomy

During the first year of operation, 22 cosmic gamma-ray bursts were detected within the field of view of the COMPTEL instrument on board the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory. Spectra and time histories for the strongest of these bursts have been obtained from both the main instrument (0.75-30 MeV) and the burst modules (0.3-10 MeV). The deconvolved photon spectra for the majority of bursts are fit by a single power law model with spectral index between -1.6 and -2.8. One strong burst, GRB 910814, exhibited significant curvature and could not be fit by a single power law model. A broken power …

Nebular Properties And The Ionizing Radiation Field In The Galactic Center, Joseph C. Shields, Gary J. Ferland

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

Nebulosity in the central parsec of the Milky Way exhibits a low-ionization spectrum that has led previous analyses of this region to conclude that this material is photoionized by a relatively soft continuum. We have reanalyzed the infrared emission-line spectrum of te Galactic center in order to consider whether the data could actually be explained with photoionization by a relatively hard, yet dilute continuum, and additionally to constrain the properties of the reaiating plasma. We conclude that the composite infrared spectrum does not place strong restrictions on the nature of the ionizing continuum and that much of the ionized gas …

Hot Gas And The Origin Of The Nebular Continuum In Novae, Pedro Saizar, Gary J. Ferland

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

A featureless blue continuum (with constant f_ν) is a defining feature of declining classical novae. The fact that f_ν is constant into the infrared, and the absence of a Balmer jump, suggests that this continuum originates in hot tenous gas. The electron temperature and density of the hot gas phase of classical nova QU Vul 1984 are estimated from ground-based optical and IUE ultraviolet observations. This region has a temperature of 10⁵ - 10⁶, and a density in the range of 2 x 10⁴ to 3 x 10⁵cm^-3. …

Optical Variability In The Unusual K5 V Infrared-Excess Star Hd 98800, Gregory W. Henry, Douglas S. Hall

Information Systems and Engineering Management Research Publications

The dusty infrared-excess star HD 98800 (K5 V) was observed for several weeks in the spring of 1993 by the Vanderbilt/Tennessee State 0.4 m automatic photoelectric telescope. It was found to be a variable star with an amplitude of 0.07 mag in V and a period of 14.7 days. We show, by comparison with other chromospherically active variable stars and constant stars with good observational histories, that the Rossby number for HD 98800, determined to be 0.30, places it well within the regime of stars whose convective envelopes and rotation rates combine to drive a magnetic dynamo strong enough to …

The Two Variables In The Triple System Hr 6469=V819 Her: One Eclipsing, One Spotted, Walter V. Van Hamme, Douglas S. Hall, Adam W. Hargrove, Gregory W. Henry, Rick Wasson, William S. Barksdale, Sandy Chang, Robert E. Fried, Charles L. Green, Helen C. Lines, Richard D. Lines, Paul Nielsen, Harry D. Powell, Robert C. Reisenweber, Charles W. Rogers, Steve Shervais, Randy Tatum

Information Systems and Engineering Management Research Publications

A complete BV light curve, from 14 nights of good data obtained with the Vanderbilt University-Tennessee State University (VU-TSU) automatic telescope, are presented and solved with the Wilson-Devinney program. Third light is evaluated, with the companion star brighter by 0.58m in V and 0.11m in B. The eclipses are partial. Inferred color indices yield F2 V and F8 V for the eclipsing pair and G8 IV-III for the distant companion star. After removing the variability due to eclipses, we study the residual variability of the G8 IV-III star over the ten years 1982 to 1992. Each yearly light curve is …

The Spectroscopic-Speckle Triple System Hr 6469, Colin D. Scarfe, David J. Barlow, Francis C. Fekel, Richard F. Rees, R. W. Lyons, Charles Thomas Bolton, Harold A. Mcalister, William I. Hartkopf

Information Systems and Engineering Management Research Publications

HR 6469 consists of an evolved G star and a close pair of stars, believed to be on the main sequence, the brighter of which is an early F star. Shallow eclipses have been detected in the close pair and the components of the wide system have been resolved over most of the orbit by speckle interferometry (McAlister & Hartkopf, Second Catalog of Interferometric Observations of Binary Stars, Center for High Angular Resolution Astronomy, Contribution No. 2 (CHARA), 1988). This paper presents radial velocities, obtained at the David Dunlap, McDonald, Kitt Peak and Dominion Astrophysical Observatories, for the G star …

Observations Of Cygnus X-1 Comptel During 1991, Mark L. Mcconnell, D J. Forrest, James M. Ryan, W Collmar, V. Schonfelder, H Steinle, A W. Strong, R Van Dijk, W Hermsen, K Bennett

Physics & Astronomy

The Compton Telescope (COMPTEL) experiment on the Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory (CGRO) has observed the Cygnus region on two occasions during the first (sky survey) phase of its mission. These data represent the most sensitive observations to date of Cygnus X-1 in the 0.75-30 MeV range. The observations in 1991 June and August both showed evidence for emission in the 0.75-2 MeV energy range. The flux level was larger by about a factor of 2 during the August observation. The spectral data were analyzed in the context of a Wien spectral model (the high-energy limit of the Sunyaev-Titarchuk Comptonization spectrum). Fits …

On The Theory Of Astronomical Masers In Three Dimensions, Moshe Elitzur

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

In the standard theory of three-dimensional astronomical masers, the radiation field is described as if the source were comprised of a collection of linear masers. To leading order, the standard theory is shown to provide the correct description of three-dimensional masers and its results remain intact, but only within a frequency core whose half-width is χ_sΔν_D, where Δν_D is the Doppler width and χ_s is a dimensionless parameter. For any given geometry, χ_s is ~1θ_sat, where θ_sat is the beaming angle of a maser with that geometry that has …

Space Venture, Edward E. Chipman

Humanistic Mathematics Network Journal

No abstract provided.

Time-Series Photometric Spot Modeling. Ii. Fifteen Years Of Photometry Of The Bright Rs Cvn Binary Hr 7275., Klaus G. Strassmeier, Douglas S. Hall, Gregory W. Henry

Information Systems and Engineering Management Research Publications

We present a time-dependent spot modeling analysis of 15 consecutive years of V-band photometry of the long-period (Porb = 28.6 days) RS CVn binary HR 7275. This baseline in time is one of the longest, uninterrupted intervals a spotted star has been observed. The spot modeling analysis yields a total of 20 different spots throughout the time span of our observations. The distribution of the observed spot migration rates is consistent with solar-type differential rotation and suggests a lower limit of the differential-rotation coefficient of 0.022 +/-0.004. The observed, maximum lifetime of a single spot (or spot group) is 4.5 …

Comptel Measurements Of The Gamma-Ray Burst Grb 930131, James M. Ryan, K Bennett, W Collmar, A Connors, Gerald J. Fishman, J Greiner, L O. Hanlon, W Hermsen, R M. Kippen, C Kouveliotou, L Kuiper, G G. Lichti, John R. Macri, J. Mattox, Mark L. Mcconnell, B Mcnamara, C Meegan, V. Schonfelder, R Vandijk, M Varendorff, W Webber, C Winkler

Physics & Astronomy

On 1993 January 31 at 1857:12 Universal Time (UT), the Imaging Compton Telescope COMPTEL onboard the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory (CGRO) detected the cosmic gamma-ray burst GRB 930131. COMPTEL's MeV imaging capability was employed to locate the source to better than 2 deg (1 sigma error radius) within 7 hr of the event, initiating a world-wide search for an optical and radio counterpart. The maximum likelihood position of the burst from the COMPTEL data is alpha₂₀₀₀ = 12h 18m, delta₂₀₀₀ = -9 deg 42 min, consistent with independent CGRO-Burst and Transient Source Experiment (CGRO-BATSE) and Energetic Gamma Ray …