17,155 research outputs found
New Insights on Interstellar Gas-Phase Iron
In this paper, we report on the gas-phase abundance of singly-ionized iron
(Fe II) for 51 lines of sight, using data from the Far Ultraviolet
Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE). Fe II column densities are derived by measuring
the equivalent widths of several ultraviolet absorption lines and subsequently
fitting those to a curve of growth. Our derivation of Fe II column densities
and abundances creates the largest sample of iron abundances in moderately- to
highly-reddened lines of sight explored with FUSE, lines of sight that are on
average more reddened than lines of sight in previous Copernicus studies. We
present three major results. First, we observe the well-established correlation
between iron depletion and and also find trends between iron depletion
and other line of sight parameters (e.g. f(H_2), E_(B-V), and A_V), and examine
the significance of these trends. Of note, a few of our lines of sight probe
larger densities than previously explored and we do not see significantly
enhanced depletion effects. Second, we present two detections of an extremely
weak Fe II line at 1901.773 A in the archival STIS spectra of two lines of
sight (HD 24534 and HD 93222). We compare these detections to the column
densities derived through FUSE spectra and comment on the line's f-value and
utility for future studies of Fe II. Lastly, we present strong anecdotal
evidence that the Fe II f-values derived empirically through FUSE data are more
accurate than previous values that have been theoretically calculated, with the
probable exception of f_1112.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ, 669, 378; see ApJ version for small
updates. 53 total pages (preprint format), 7 tables, 11 figure
Guadalupe pluton–Mariposa Formation age relationships in the southern Sierran Foothills: Onset of Mesozoic subduction in northern California?
We report a new 153 ± 2 Ma SIMS U-Pb date for zircons from the hypabyssal Guadalupe pluton which crosscuts and contact metamorphoses upper crustal Mariposa slates in the southern Sierra. A ~950 m thick section of dark metashales lies below sandstones from which clastic zircons were analyzed at 152 ± 2 Ma. Assuming a compacted depositional rate of ~120 m/Myr, accumulation of Mariposa volcanogenic sediments, which overlie previously stranded Middle Jurassic and older ophiolite + chert-argillite belts in the Sierran Foothills, began no later than ~160 Ma. Correlative Oxfordian-Kimmeridgian strata of the Galice Formation occupy a similar position in the Klamath Mountains. We speculate that the Late Jurassic was a time of transition from (1) a mid-Paleozoic–Middle Jurassic interval of mainly but not exclusively strike-slip and episodic docking of oceanic terranes; (2) to transpressive plate underflow, producing calcalkaline igneous arc rocks ± outboard blueschists at ~170–150 Ma, whose erosion promoted accumulation of the Mariposa-Galice overlap strata; (3) continued transpressive underflow attending ~200 km left-lateral displacement of the Klamath salient relative to the Sierran arc at ~150–140 Ma and development of the apparent polar wander path cusps for North and South America; and (4) then nearly orthogonal mid and Late Cretaceous convergence commencing at ~125–120 Ma, during reversal in tangential motion of the Pacific plate. After ~120 Ma, nearly head-on subduction involving minor dextral transpression gave rise to voluminous continent-building juvenile and recycled magmas of the Sierran arc, providing the erosional debris to the Great Valley fore arc and Franciscan trench
A search for diffuse band profile variations in the rho Ophiuchi cloud
High signal-to-noise profiles of the broad diffuse interstellar band at 4430 A were obtained on the 2.2-m telescope at the Mauna Kea Observatory, using the newly-developed pulse-counting multi-anode microchannel array detector system in an effort to determine whether the band profile varies with mean grain size as expected if the band is produced by absorbers embedded in grain lattices. The lack of profile variability over several lines of sight where independent evidence indicates that the mean grain size varies shows that lambda 4430 is probably not formed by the same grains that are responsible for interstellar extinction at visible wavelengths. The possibility that this band is created by a population of very small ( approximately 100 A) grains is still viable, as is the hypothesis that it has a molecular origin
Study of blade aspect ratio on a compressor front stage aerodynamic and mechanical design report
A single stage compressor was designed with the intent of demonstrating that, for a tip speed and hub-tip ratio typical of an advanced core compressor front stage, the use of low aspect ratio can permit high levels of blade loading to be achieved at an acceptable level of efficiency. The design pressure ratio is 1.8 at an adiabatic efficiency of 88.5 percent. Both rotor and stator have multiple-circular-arc airfoil sections. Variable IGV and stator vanes permit low speed matching adjustments. The design incorporates an inlet duct representative of an engine transition duct between fan and high pressure compressor
Asteroseismic Signatures of Stellar Magnetic Activity Cycles
Observations of stellar activity cycles provide an opportunity to study
magnetic dynamos under many different physical conditions. Space-based
asteroseismology missions will soon yield useful constraints on the interior
conditions that nurture such magnetic cycles, and will be sensitive enough to
detect shifts in the oscillation frequencies due to the magnetic variations. We
derive a method for predicting these shifts from changes in the Mg II activity
index by scaling from solar data. We demonstrate this technique on the
solar-type subgiant beta Hyi, using archival International Ultraviolet Explorer
spectra and two epochs of ground-based asteroseismic observations. We find
qualitative evidence of the expected frequency shifts and predict the optimal
timing for future asteroseismic observations of this star.Comment: 5 pages including 3 figures and 1 table, MNRAS Letters accepte
The Abundance of Interstellar Fluorine and Its Implications
We report results from a survey of neutral fluorine (F I) in the interstellar
medium. Data from the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) were used
to analyze 26 lines of sight lying both in the galactic disk and halo,
including lines to Wolf-Rayet stars and through known supernova remnants. The
equivalent widths of fluorine resonance lines at 951.871 A and 954.827 A were
measured or assigned upper limits and combined with a nitrogen curve of growth
to obtain F I column densities. These column densities were then used to
calculate fluorine depletions. Comparisons are made to the previous study of F
I by Federman et al. (2005) and implications for F I formation and depletion
are discussed.Comment: 32 pages, 10 figures, Accepted to Ap
County Sanitation District No.2 v. Los Angeles County Employees Association, Local 660: A Study in Judicial Legislation
Large-scale Cosmic-Ray Anisotropies above 4 EeV Measured by the Pierre Auger Observatory
We present a detailed study of the large-scale anisotropies of cosmic rays with energies above 4 EeV measured using the Pierre Auger Observatory. For the energy bins [4, 8] EeV and E ≥ 8 EeV, the most significant signal is a dipolar modulation in R.A. at energies above 8 EeV, as previously reported. In this paper we further scrutinize the highest-energy bin by splitting it into three energy ranges. We find that the amplitude of the dipole increases with energy above 4 EeV. The growth can be fitted with a power law with index β = 0.79 ± 0.19. The directions of the dipoles are consistent with an extragalactic origin of these anisotropies at all the energies considered. Additionally, we have estimated the quadrupolar components of the anisotropy: they are not statistically significant. We discuss the results in the context of the predictions from different models for the distribution of ultrahigh-energy sources and cosmic magnetic fields
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