22,046 research outputs found
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Springtime photochemical ozone production observed in the upper troposphere over east Asia
A study of the effect of ionization and illumination on morphologies of planetary nebulae
We carry out a modelling study of the effect of ionization and illumination on the morphologies of planetary nebulae (PNs), aiming to investigate the hypothesis of Kwok (2010) that the bipolar and multipolar lobes of PNs can be produced by leakage of UV photons into those directions. Using photoinization code, we construct a series of nebular models consisting of a dense envelope and cones of low density. The results show that the visible morphologies of PNs may be fundamentally different from their intrinsic structures. © 2012 International Astronomical Union.published_or_final_versio
Three Dimensional Structure and Energy Balance of a Coronal Mass Ejection
The Ultraviolet Coronagraph Spectrometer (UVCS) observed Doppler shifted
material of a partial Halo Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) on December 13 2001. The
observed ratio of [O V]/O V] is a reliable density diagnostic important for
assessing the state of the plasma. Earlier UVCS observations of CMEs found
evidence that the ejected plasma is heated long after the eruption. We have
investigated the heating rates, which represent a significant fraction of the
CME energy budget. The parameterized heating and radiative and adiabatic
cooling have been used to evaluate the temperature evolution of the CME
material with a time dependent ionization state model. The functional form of a
flux rope model for interplanetary magnetic clouds was also used to
parameterize the heating. We find that continuous heating is required to match
the UVCS observations. To match the O VI-bright knots, a higher heating rate is
required such that the heating energy is greater than the kinetic energy. The
temperatures for the knots bright in Ly and C III emission indicate
that smaller heating rates are required for those regions. In the context of
the flux rope model, about 75% of the magnetic energy must go into heat in
order to match the O VI observations. We derive tighter constraints on the
heating than earlier analyses, and we show that thermal conduction with the
Spitzer conductivity is not sufficient to account for the heating at large
heights.Comment: 40 pages, 16 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ For associated
mpeg file, please see https://www.cora.nwra.com/~jylee/mpg/f5.mp
Far Ultraviolet Observations of the Dwarf Nova VW Hyi in Quiescence
We present a 904-1183 A spectrum of the dwarf nova VW Hydri taken with the
Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer during quiescence, eleven days after a
normal outburst, when the underlying white dwarf accreter is clearly exposed in
the far ultraviolet. However, model fitting show that a uniform temperature
white dwarf does not reproduce the overall spectrum, especially at the shortest
wavelengths. A better approximation to the spectrum is obtained with a model
consisting of a white dwarf and a rapidly rotating ``accretion belt''. The
white dwarf component accounts for 83% of the total flux, has a temperature of
23,000K, a v sin i = 400 km/s, and a low carbon abundance. The best-fit
accretion belt component accounts for 17% of the total flux, has a temperature
of about 48,000-50,000K, and a rotation rate Vrot sin i around 3,000-4,000
km/s. The requirement of two components in the modeling of the spectrum of VW
Hyi in quiescence helps to resolve some of the differences in interpretation of
ultraviolet spectra of VW Hyi in quiescence. However, the physical existence of
a second component (and its exact nature) in VW Hyi itself is still relatively
uncertain, given the lack of better models for spectra of the inner disk in a
quiescent dwarf nova.Comment: 6 figures, 10 printed page in the journal, to appear in APJ, 1 Sept.
2004 issue, vol. 61
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Photochemical production of ozone in the upper troposphere in association with cumulus convection over Indonesia
The Biomass Burning and Lightning Experiment phase A (BIBLE-A) aircraft observation campaign was conducted from 24 September to 10 October 1998, during a La Niña period. During this campaign, distributions of ozone and its precursors (NO, CO, and nonmethane hydrocarbons (NMHCs)) were observed over the tropical Pacific Ocean, Indonesia, and northern Australia. Mixing ratios of ozone and its precursors were very low at altitudes between 0 and 13.5 km over the tropical Pacific Ocean. The mixing ratios of ozone precursors above 8 km over Indonesia were often significantly higher than those over the tropical Pacific Ocean, even though the prevailing easterlies carried the air from the tropical Pacific Ocean to over Indonesia within several days. For example, median NO and CO mixing ratios in the upper troposphere were 12 parts per trillion (pptv) and 72 parts per billion (ppbv) over the tropical Pacific Ocean and were 83 pptv and 85 ppbv over western Indonesia, respectively. Meteorological analyses and high ethene (C2H4) mixing ratios indicate that the increase of the ozone precursors was caused by active convection over Indonesia through upward transport of polluted air, mixing, and lightning all within the few days prior to observation. Sources of ozone precursors are discussed by comparing correlations of some NMHCs and CH3Cl concentrations with CO between the lower and upper troposphere. Biomass burning in Indonesia was nearly inactive during BIBLE-A and was not a dominant source of the ozone precursors, but urban pollution and lightning contributed importantly to their increases. The increase in ozone precursors raised net ozone production rates over western Indonesia in the upper troposphere, as shown by a photochemical model calculation. However, the ozone mixing ratio (∼20 ppbv) did not increase significantly over Indonesia because photochemical production of ozone did not have sufficient time since the augmentation of ozone precursors. Backward trajectories show that many air masses sampled over the ocean south of Indonesia and over northern Australia passed over western Indonesia 4-9 days prior to being measured. In these air masses the mixing ratios of ozone precursors, except for short-lived species, were similar to those over western Indonesia. In contrast, the ozone mixing ratio was higher by about 10 ppbv than that over Indonesia, indicating that photochemical production of ozone occurred during transport from Indonesia. The average rate of ozone increase (1.8 ppbv/d during this transport is similar to the net ozone formation rate calculated by the photochemical model. This study shows that active convection over Indonesia carried polluted air upward from the surface and had a discernable influence on the distribution of ozone in the upper troposphere over the Indian Ocean, northern Australia, and the south subtropical Pacific Ocean, combined with NO production by lightning
Particle acceleration and the origin of gamma-ray emission from Fermi Bubbles
Fermi LAT has discovered two extended gamma-ray bubbles above and below the
galactic plane. We propose that their origin is due to the energy release in
the Galactic center (GC) as a result of quasi-periodic star accretion onto the
central black hole. Shocks generated by these processes propagate into the
Galactic halo and accelerate particles there. We show that electrons
accelerated up to ~10 TeV may be responsible for the observed gamma-ray
emission of the bubbles as a result of inverse Compton (IC) scattering on the
relic photons. We also suggest that the Bubble could generate the flux of CR
protons at energies > 10^15 eV because the shocks in the Bubble have much
larger length scales and longer lifetimes in comparison with those in SNRs.
This may explain the the CR spectrum above the knee.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures. Expanded version of the contribution to the 32nd
ICRC, Beijing, #0589. To appear in the proceeding
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