The Rule Implementing Sections 201 and 210 of the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978: A Regulatory History

The act provides that utilities must purchase power for qualifying producers of electricity at nondiscriminatory rates. It exempts private generators from virtually all state and federal utility regulation. Pertinent reference material is provided.https://digitalcommons.csumb.edu/rnd_energy/1001/thumbnail.jp

Optical spectrum of SN 1978K: emission from shocked clouds in the circumstellar wind

An optical spectrum of SN 1978K (NGC 1313) in the range of 4000-7200 A was obtained on 1992 October 22, i.e. 14.4 yr after the outburst. The spectrum is still dominated by the narrow (FWHMM2M_solar) supernova ejecta with the present radius ~(2-3)x10^17 cm. The mass of circumstellar material involved in the dynamical interaction is ~=1M_solar and the corresponding mass-loss rate of pre-SN wind is ~2x10^-4 M_solar yr^-1. The observed X-ray emission is attributed to the shock waves in the boundary layer of the same population of clouds. Alternatively, however, the X-ray emission might emanate from the shock waves in a different cloud population with a lower density

Dynamics and Excitation of Radio Galaxy Emission-Line Regions - I. PKS 2356-61

Results are presented from a programme of detailed longslit spectroscopic observations of the extended emission-line region (EELR) associated with the powerful radio galaxy PKS 2356-61. The observations have been used to construct spectroscopic datacubes, which yield detailed information on the spatial variations of emission-line ratios across the EELR, together with its kinematic structure. We present an extensive comparison between the data and results obtained from the MAPPINGS II shock ionization code, and show that the physical properties of the line-emitting gas, including its ionization, excitation, dynamics and overall energy budget, are entirely consistent with a scenario involving auto-ionizing shocks as the dominant ionization mechanism. This has the advantage of accounting for the observed EELR properties by means of a single physical process, thereby requiring less free parameters than the alternative scheme involving photoionization by radiation from the active nucleus. Finally, possible mechanisms of shock formation are considered in the context of the dynamics and origin of the gas, specifically scenarios involving infall or accretion of gas during an interaction between the host radio galaxy and a companion galaxy.Comment: 35 pages, LaTeX, uses aas2pp4.sty file, includes 9 PostScript figures. Two additional colour plates are available from the authors upon request. Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journa

The Local Group Census: planetary nebulae in Sextans B

Five planetary nebulae (PNe) have been discovered in the nearby dwarf irregular galaxy. Emission line images were obtained using the Wide Field Camera of the 2.5m Isaac Newton Telescope (INT) at La Palma (Spain). The candidate PNe were identified by their point-like appearance and relatively strong [OIII] emission-line fluxes. They are located within a galactocentric distance of 2.8 arcmin, corresponding to 1.1 kpc at the distance of Sextans B. Luminosities are in the range 1800--5600Lsolar. Sextans B is one of the smallest dwarf irregular galaxies with a PN population. The number of PNe detected suggest an enhanced star formation rate between 1 and 5 Gyr ago.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figure

An X-Ray Study of Supernova Remnant N49 and Soft Gamma-Ray Repeater 0526-66 in the Large Magellanic Cloud

We report on the results from our deep Chandra observation (120 ks) of the supernova remnant (SNR) N49 and soft Gamma-ray repeater (SGR) 0526-66 in the Large Magellanic Cloud. We firmly establish the detection of an ejecta "bullet" beyond the southwestern boundary of N49. The X-ray spectrum of the bullet is distinguished from that of the main SNR shell, showing significantly enhanced Si and S abundances. We also detect an ejecta feature in the eastern shell, which shows metal overabundances similar to those of the bullet. If N49 was produced by a core-collapse explosion of a massive star, the detected Si-rich ejecta may represent explosive O-burning or incomplete Si-burning products from deep interior of the supernova. On the other hand, the observed Si/S abundance ratio in the ejecta may favor Type Ia origin for N49. We refine the Sedov age of N49, tau_Sed ~ 4800 yr, with the explosion energy E_0 ~ 1.8 x 10^51 erg. Our blackbody (BB) + power law (PL) model for the quiescent X-ray emission from SGR 0526-66 indicates that the PL photon index (Gamma ~ 2.5) is identical to that of PSR 1E1048.1-5937, the well-known candidate transition object between anomalous X-ray pulsars and SGRs. Alternatively, the two-component BB model implies X-ray emission from a small (R ~ 1 km) hot spot(s) (kT ~ 1 keV) in addition to emission from the neutron star's cooler surface (R ~ 10 km, kT ~ 0.4 keV). There is a considerable discrepancy in the estimated column toward 0526-66 between BB+PL and BB+BB model fits. Discriminating these spectral models would be crucial to test the long-debated physical association between N49 and 0526-66.Comment: Accepted by ApJ, 27 pages in total (aastex preprint format) including 5 figures (4 in color) and 5 table