ALBERT

Description: This paper reports on a Workshop on Supernova Remnants and the Physics of Strong Shock Waves hosted by North Carolina State University at Raleigh, North Carolina, September 16-18, 1993. The workshop brought together observers, shock theorists, cosmic-ray specialists, and simulators to address the role supernova remnants can play in furthering our understanding of the complex plasma physics associated with collisionless shocks and particle acceleration. Over fifty scientists presented papers on various aspects of supernova remnants. In lieu of a proceedings volume, we present here a synopsis of the workshop, in the form of brief summaries of each workshop session.

Description: A series of high-resolution spectra of the pc-sized nebula around SN1987A are presented. The hollow, 1.7 arcsec-wide nebula has the velocity field of a ring expanding at 10.3 km/s, not that of a limb-brightened spheroid. Fainter nebulosity within 3 arcsec is expanding slightly faster, as indicated by redshifted emission from behind the SN. The geometry of the emission can be used to infer structure, provided that light travel time and recombination delays are accounted for. The analysis sets an upper limit to the velocity of the wind from the progenitor during its red supergiant (RGS) phase, and implies an RSG lifetime of less than 400,000 yr and an interval of about 20,000 yr between the end of the RSG phase and the SN explosion.

Description: High-level ab initio calculations are reported for the low-lying states of the FeH(+) molecule. The ground state is determined to be X 5Delta with the low-lying 5Pi state lying about 600/cm higher. The excited states of FeH(+) are repulsive in the Franck-Condon region of the ground state. Thus it is likely that FeH(+) is photodissociated in stellar atmospheres. The strongest transition should be the (3) 5Delta - X 5Delta transition near 30,000/cm, which should give rise to a structureless feature in the absorption spectrum due to the repulsive nature of the upper state. All of the perpendicular transitions are computed to be very weak. The D0 value of FeH(+) is computed to be 50.2 kcal/mole, which should be the most accurate theoretical value to date.

Description: The absorption bands of ZrO have been observed in stars, particularly S stars. Here, theoretical transition probabilities are presented for the dipole-allowed transitions between the six lowest singlet and triplet states of ZrO. The results should be sufficiently reliable to provide opacity data for use in modeling stellar atmospheres. The theoretical radiative lifetime for the e 3Pi state is less than the experimental value as measured by the decay of resonant fluorescence. However, the theoretical electronic transition moments for the gamma system and the B 1Pi - X 1Sigma(+) system are much smaller than those deduced from emission studies. The calculated lifetime for the C 1Sigma(+) state is in excellent agreement with the laser-induced fluorescence studies. The as yet unobserved E 1Phi - A 1Delta band system is found to be relatively strong.

Description: Recently, mechanisms for core formation in planetary bodies have received considerable attention. Most current theories emphasize the need for large degrees of silicate partial melting to facilitate the coalescence and sinking of sulfide-metal liquid blebs through a low strength semi-crystalline silicate mush. This scenario is based upon observations that sulfide-metal liquid tends to form circular blebs in partially molten meteorites during laboratory experiments. However, recent experimental work by Herpfer and Larimer indicates that some sulfide-Fe liquids have wetting angles at and slightly below 60 deg in an olivine aggregate, implying an interconnected melt structure at any melt fraction. Such melt interconnectivity provides a means for gravitational compaction and extraction of the majority of a sulfide liquid phase in small planetary bodies without invoking large degrees of silicate partial melting. Because of the important ramifications of these results, we conducted a series of experiments using H-chondrite starting material in order to evaluate sulfide-liquid/silicate wetting behavior in a more complex natural system.

Description: Speculation about the possible mechanisms for core formation in small asteroids raises more questions than answers. Petrologic evidence from iron meteorites, pallasites, and astronomical observations of M asteroids suggests that many small bodies were capable of core formation. Recent work by Taylor reviews the geochemical evidence and examines the possible physical/mechanical constraints on segregation processes. Taylor's evaluation suggests that extensive silicate partial melting (preferably 50 vol. percent or greater) is required before metal can segregate from the surrounding silicate and form a metal core. The arguments for large degrees of silicate partial melting are two-fold: (1) elemental trends in iron meteorites require that the metal was at is liquidus; and (2) experimental observations of metal/sulfide inclusions in partially molten silicate meteorites show that the metal/sulfide tends to form spherules in the liquid silicate due to surface tension effects. Taylor points out that for these metal spherules to sink through a silicate mush, high degrees of silicate partial melting are required to lower the silicate yield strength. Although some qualitative experimental data exists, little is actually known about the behavior of metals and liquid sulfides dispersed in silicate systems. In addition, we have been impressed with the ability of cumulative olivine to expel trapped liquid when placed in a thermal gradient. Consequently, we undertook to accomplish the following: (1) experimentally evaluate the potential for metal/sulfide/silicate segregation in a thermal gradient; and (2) obtain quantitative data of the wetting parameters of metal-sulfide melts among silicate grains.

Description: The X2Sigma(+) state dipole moment function of CN is determined from accurate ab initio calculations. The calculated Einstein coefficient of 13.0 /s for the fundamental 1-0 vibrational band is in excellent agreement with the value measured by Treffers (1975) using a King furnace. The theoretical vibrational band strengths should be valuable in interpreting the fluorescence spectrum of CN in comets.

Description: Laboratory studies of infrared emission from gas-phase naphthalene in the 3.3 micrometer region following ultraviolet laser excitation are used to interpret the unidentified infrared bands observed in many astronomical objects. A time-resolved Fourier transform infrared emission technique acquires the time and spectrally resolved data. Two excitation wavelengths are employed: 193 nm and 248 nm. The infrared emission features are strongly dependent on the initial excitation energy. Wavelength-resolved spectra recorded 6.8 microseconds after the laser pulse show a 45/cm redshift from the gas-phase absorption spectra for 193 nm excitation and 25/cm for 248 nm excitation. We hypothesize that a series of sequence bands originating from the highly vibrationally excited ensemble of molecules is responsible for the observed shift. As collisional and radiative deactivation removes energy from the highly vibrationally excited molecules, the maximum in the emission profile gradually approaches the customary absorption maximum. This indicates that the amount of redshift is strongly dependent on the amount of internal vibrational energy in the molecule at the time of the vibrational transition.

Description: The dissociation energy D0 is determined here for the CN ground-state and radiative lifetimes for the A 2Pi and B 2Sigma(+) states. D0 is found to be 7.65 + or - 0.06 eV, corresponding to Delta Hf (CN) = 105.3 + or - 1.5 kcal/mole. These results are compared with current experimental estimates and with previous theoretical calculations.