ALBERT

Description: The possibility of high-energy gamma-ray emission from the X-ray binary Vela X-1 was investigated by analyzing the COS-B satellite observations, using the COS-B X-ray detector for a phase coherent analysis in the search of rotational periodicity. The rotational upper limit is compared to the X-ray, TeV, and PeV fluxes reported by Chodil et al. (1967), North et al. (1984), and Protheroe et al. (1984), respectively. It was found that, under certain conditions, the upper limit determined here is not inconsistent with the reports of TeV and PeV emission.

Description: An attempt is made to survey the CO(2-1) emission toward the centers of 17 IR-luminous galaxies which have previously been detected in CO(1-0). These galaxies span a wide range of size and L(FIR)/L(B) ratio, many have multiple-wavelength studies establishing them as starbursts, and some bear a morphological resemblance to M 82. Nine galaxies are detected and useful upper limits are placed on the remaining eight. Using the CO(2-1)/CO(1-0) ratio of antenna temperature as a diagnostic of optical depth, it is found that all of the galaxies contain predominantly optically thick molecular gas. This implies that the phase of starburst during which the molecular gas is optically thin, currently witnessed in M 82, is either uncommon or short-lived.

Description: A review of the formation of large scale structure through gravitational growth of primordial perturbations is given. This is followed by a discussion of how symmetry breaking phase transitions in the early universe might have produced the required perturbations, in particular through the formation and evolution of a network of cosmic strings.

Description: The prospects for obtaining evidence of the particle acceleration by SN 1987A pulsar wind are discussed. It is noted that, of the seven experiments that searched for high-energy signals since the discovery of SN 1987A, operating in both the TeV region (air Cerenkov arrays) and the 100-TeV region (air shower arrays), not one has reported a continuous signal from the supernova. The only signal reported so far that could be interpreted as a signal from the supernova remnant is from an air shower experiment YANZOS (Bond, 1988), in which a transient flux of photons above 3 TeV was observed. It is pointed out however, that, if a TeV signal is seen, the accompanying gamma-ray flux around 100 MeV should be well above threshold for detection by the EGRET detector on Gamma-Ray Observatory.

Description: The v1 and v5 infrared bands of formaldehyde in Halley's comet have been synthesized, using a line-by-line model for solar infrared fluorescence from low-temperature H2CO. Fully resolved spectra were convolved to spectral resolutions comparable with those used on the IKS spectrometer on the Vega 1 spacecraft. Excellent agreement is obtained between the observed and modeled spectra, permitting a definite identification of H2CO in Halley's comet. The retrieved production rate is 4.5 + or - 0.5 x 10 to the 28th molecules/s, and the rotational temperature is probably less than 150 K, with a best-fit value of about 50 K. Production rates (or upper limits) are also retrieved from ground-based spectra of Comets Halley and Wilson (1986), and it is shown that the production rate of H2CO exhibits significant temporal variability, relative to H2O, in Comet Halley.

Description: The X-ray binary Cyg XR-1/HDE 226868 was observed polarimetrically over one orbit at three different optical wavelengths. The standard theory of Brown, et al. (1978) is used to derive an orbital inclination i = 62 deg (+5 deg, -37 deg), where the error is the 90-percent-confidence interval derived by the method of Simmons, et al. (1980). The value of the orbital inclination is significantly lower than values based on polarimetric observations. The difference is a result of the observational protocols used. A bias toward larger values of the inclination caused by the tidal distortion of the primary is still found in the present result. The inclination derived corresponds to a mass of the compact component of 6.3 solar masses, above the maximum mass of any degenerate configuration consistent with general relativity except a black hole.

Description: The 3-13 micron emission of the Orion Bar is spectroscopically and spatially studied. There are three emission components, one from 'classical' dust that accounts for the bulk of the emission longward of 20 microns, a second one from large amorphous carbon grains or polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) clusters accounting for the broad features, and a third from PAH molecules that accounts for the sharp bands. The 3.3 and 11.3 micron features, which are due to C-H modes, are well correlated spatially, while the 7.7 micron band, due to C=C modes, has a different distribution than the 3.3 and 11.1 micron bands. It is concluded that the sharp emission bands arise in the photodissociation transition region between the H II region and the molecular cloud and are not present in the H II region. The broad continuum feature from 11-13 microns is strong in both regions.

Description: The Uhuru X-ray source 4U1722 + 11 was observed using the microchannel-plate detector (High Resolution Imager) on the Einstein Observatory, and its coordinates measured to a precision of about 5 arcsec. A 16th-magnitude stellar object within the error circle was observed spectroscopically at CTIO, and at the AAT, and found to have a featureless continuum. Subsequent radio observations at the VLA have established that the object is a radio source at the level of 60 mJy, and optical polarization measurements have determined that the source exhibits variable polarization at the level of 10 percent. On the basis of these observations, it is concluded that 4U1722 + 11 is a member of the class of objects known as X-ray selected blazars of BL Lac objects.

Description: Observations and theoretical studies of the evolution of massive asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars in the Magellanic Clouds are reviewed. Recent results support the hypothesis that AGB is truncated, probably through mass loss, before these stars can attain the theoretically predicted maximum luminosity. In particular, IRAS observations of the LMC provide little evidence for the presence of highly obscured 'cocoon' stars.

Description: This paper considers the possibility of identifying a black hole on the basis of the detection of some unique effect occurring during the transit of a black hole across the stellar disk of a companion star in a binary system. The results of Monte-Carlo calculations show that the amplitude of the photometric and polarimetric light curves in a typical X-ray binary is too small to be observed with present instrumentation, but that a black hole transit might be detectable in a binary having a large separation of the components. No binary system suggested as containing a stellar-mass-sized black hole is a like candidate to exhibit an observable transit signature, with the possible exception of X Persei/4U0352+30 described by White et al. (1976).

Description: Observations of SN1987A in the spectral range 18-35 microns taken on November 16 and 23, 1988, 632 and 639 days after core collapse, are reported. A strong and rather flat continuum underlies weak fine-structure lines from heavy elements and declines slowly between 24 and 30 microns. The spectral shape indicates thermal emission from an almost featureless dust component, probably graphite, with silicates contributing less than 20 percent of the emitting dust mass. Some of the emission may be an 'echo' of supernova light reflected from a preexisting dust cloud, but a better explanation which can account for the entirety of emission from infrared to gamma wavelengths, is that dust is being formed in the supernova ejecta. This also accounts more naturally for the inferred dust composition.

Description: The X-ray transient 4U 1543 - 47 was observed in August 1983 by the Exosat observatory near the maximum of an outburst. The X-ray spectrum was measured using a gas scintillation proportional counter (GSPC) and a transmission grating spectrometer (TGS). A broad (FWHM about 2.7 keV) line at 5.9 keV is detected in the GSPC, which is interpreted as a redshifted and broadened iron K-alpha line. The line broadening and redshift may arise from either Compton scattering in a cool plasma with small optical depth and/or from Droppler and relativistic effects in the vicinity of compact object. The spectrum below 2 keV, obtained with the TGS, shows evidence for a broad emission feature at 0.74 keV, which may be an iron L-transition complex. However, such an emission feature could be an artifact caused by an anomalously low interstellar absorption by neutral oxygen. The contimuum emission is extremely soft and is well described by an unsaturated Comptonized spectrum from very cool plasma (kT = 0.84 keV) with large scattering depth.

Description: HEAO 1 A-2 data are used to determine hard X-ray fluxes, or upper limits, for complete optically selected samples of active and normal galaxies, in order to estimate or to constrain their local X-ray luminosity functions. It is found that the luminosity function of Seyfert nuclei must flatten down drastically shortly below the observational limit of Piccinotti et al (1982); little can be added by dwarf active nuclei hidden in otherwise normal galaxies. Also analyzed is the possible contribution to the X-ray background from galaxies with strong star-formation activity, in the light of the possibility of a substantial cosmological evolution suggested by recent radio and IRAS data.

Description: A relation between two- and three-point correlation functions similar to that of galaxies is presently established by estimating the irreducible angular three-point correlation function of Abell clusters in distance classes 5 and 6, for Galactic latitudes below 40 deg. The shape of the three-point correlation function is fully consistent with the quadratic scaling law found by Groth and Peebles (1977) for galaxies. The three-point correlation function is inconsistent with the expectations from biasing.

Description: The standard nongravitation force model has been modified by allowing the water-vaproization curve to peak a certain number of days (DT) either before or after perihelion, and the modification is shown to often improve the data fit. The best fit to the astrometric data is generally achieved for a value of DT corresponding to the offset in the comet's visual light curve. The asymmetric model, which more accurately mimics the comet's outgassing history, suggests only weakly that the rotation direction of Comet Halley is direct, and it does not provide evidence that the rotation axis of Comet Kopff passed through its orbit plane in the early twentieth century. Approximate lag angles of 4 deg for Comet Halley and 10 deg for Comet d'Arrest are found using the asymmetric model, and it is noted that these values are lower than those obtained with the standard model.

Description: Total flux densities, peak flux densities, and spatial extents at 12, 25, 60, and 100 microns are presented for the 330 sources in the IRAS Bright Galaxy Sample. The flux density ratios S sub nu (60 microns)/S sub nu (100 microns) and S sub nu (12 microns)/S sub n (25 microns) are found to correlate with both the infrared luminosity and the ratio of IR to visible flux. The relation between these two flux density ratios is shown to follow that found previously, with different slopes appearing for the warmer and colder galaxies in the sample. The results suggest that single photon heating of small grains (often the dominant source of 12 and 25 micron radiation from galaxies) significantly affects the emission of some galaxies at 60 microns, and that optical depth effects may alter the emergent radiation at 12 and 25 microns.

Description: Infrared flux densities of 182 galaxies, including 50 galaxies in the Virgo cluster, were analyzed using IRAS data for 12, 25, 60, and 100 microns, and the results were compared with data listed in the Point Source Catalog (PSC, 1985). In addition, IR luminosities, L(IRs), colors, and warm dust masses were derived for these galaxies and were compared with the interstellar gas masses and optical luminosities of the galaxies. It was found that, for galaxies whose optical diameter measures between 5 and 8 arcmin, the PSC flux densities are underestimated by a factor of 2 at 60 microns, and by a factor of 1.5 at 100 microns. It was also found that, for 49 galaxies, the mass of warm dust correlated well with the H2 mass, and that L(IR) correlated with L(H-alpha), demonstrating that the L(IR) measures the rate of star formation in these galaxies.

Description: Results are presented from a systematic search for CO emission from regions around 34 young open clusters in the outer Galaxy. The clusters have well-determined distances ranging from about 1 to 5 kpc and ages not greater than about 100 Myr. It was found that some moderately young clusters have no associated CO emission. All the surveyed clusters younger than about 5 Myr have associated with them at least one molecular cloud more massive than 10,000 solar mass, while the molecular clouds associated with clusters older than about 10 Myr are not more massive than a few thousands solar masses. It was also found that molecular clouds are receding from young clusters at a rate of about 10 km/sec, and that they seem to be destroyed by their interaction with the stars. Sites of ongoing star formation were identified in a number of clouds associated with young clusters.

Description: Following the accretion of solids and gases in the solar nebula, the giant planets contracted to their present sizes over the age of the solar system. It is presently hypothesized that this contraction was rapid, but not hydrodynamic; at a later stage, a nebular disk out of which the regular satellites formed may have been spun out of the outer envelope of the contracting giant planets due to a combination of total angular momentum conservation and the outward transfer of specific angular momentum in the envelope. If these hypotheses are true, the composition of the irregular satellites directly reflects the composition of planetesimals from which the giant planets formed, while the composition of the regular satellites is indicative of the composition of the less volatile components of the outer envelopes of the giant planets.

Description: The evolution of a planetary atmosphere can be powerfully influenced by the planetary interior's function as both a source and a sink of atmospheric constituents; the interior can in turn be strongly influenced by the atmosphere because the mechanism of interior heat loss depends on a volatile content for which the atmosphere can serve both as sink and source. The dependence of mantle rheology on volatile content could furnish a feedback mechanism tending to keep regassing/degassing in balance, thereby maintaining a relatively constant atmospheric mass. Consideration of the abundances of radiogenic and nonradiogenic noble gases in the earth's atmosphere, and of the fluxes of these gases from the mantle, support a large degassing event early on, followed by a decrease in degassing efficiency with time and relatively inefficient outgassing over most of geologic time.

Description: High-resolution photographs of H II regions show that a large number of stars embedded in the nebulosities appear to be surrounded by 'emply' spaces. This phenomenon seems to be quite common but has escaped attention up to now. The effect is not a photographic one, nor does it arise in the half-tone reproduction processes employed in publications, but no satisfactory explanation is apparent.

Description: Interstellar silicon carbide grains in meteorites provide a novel means for studying the carbon-star population of about 5 x 10 to the 9th years ago. Their C-12/C-13 ratios differ greatly from the solar value but resemble those of present-day csrbon stars, implying little change in the galactic C-13 inventory. Isotope data on nitrogen and silicon suggest that the silicon carbide grains come mainly from red giants, with small contributions from novae.

Description: The development of activity in Comet P/Tempel 2 is studied from aphelion (R = 4 AU) to perihelion (R = 1.4 AU) using extensive time-series CCD photometry and CCD spectra. The comet undergoes a profound morphological change at R of about 2-2.5 AU, from a bare nucleus at larger distances to an active comet supporting a coma of gas and dust. Cyclic photometric variations with the period T = 8.95 + or - 0.01 hr. are present at all R, and are attributed to the rotation of the nucleus at this period. The nucleus is prolate (axes a:b:c = 1.9:1:1), a property shared with other nuclei studied using CCD photometry. Novel results include a limit on the bulk density of the nucleus, rho above 300 kg/cu m, and a 20-A-resolution CCD spectrum of the nucleus. Spatially and temporally resolved photometry is used to study the effects of nucleus rotation on the coma. The coma does not share the dramatic photometric variations shown by the nucleus. It possesses a steep surface-brightness distribution, which is attributable to progressive destruction of the coma grains with increasing space exposure.

Description: The FIR properties of more than 2400 optically selected galaxies in the Uppsala General Catalog are examined. The galaxies were detected by IRAS at 60 and 100 microns and have measured redshifts. A simple radiative transfer model is presented to study the nature of dust-heating sources. It is shown that for many normal disk galaxies, dust heated by old disk stars competes with dust heated by UV photons from newly formed stars. It is found that the 60-micron/100-micron flux density ratio may be used as an indicator of the dominant dust-heating source. Scaling relations with galaxy size and mass are presented which make it possible to estimate the contributions of any cirrus-like component to the total FIR luminosity.

Description: Analytic models for the evolution of disk galaxies are presented, placing special emphasis on the radial properties. These models are straightforward extensions of the original Schmidt (1959, 1963) models, with a dependence of star formation rate on gas density. The models provide successful descriptions of several measures of galactic disk evolution, including solar neighborhood chemical evolution, the presence and amplitude of metallicity and color gradients in disk galaxies, and the global rates of star formation in disk galaxies, and aid in the understanding of the apparent connection between young and old stellar populations in spiral galaxies.

Description: Application of the Baade-Wesselink method to three field RR Lyrae variables reveals evidence of shock waves in the atmospheres of RV Phe and V440 Sgr (but not YZ Cap) during maximum light. The results yield distance moduli of 24.21 + or - 0.20 for M31, 18.26 + or - 0.20 for the LMC, and 18.85 + or - 0.20 for the SMC. Using the Sandage (1982) age/turn-off luminosity relationship of VandenBerg and Bell (1985), estimated ages of 18.8 Gyr for M92 and of 15.7 Gyr for 47 Tuc are derived.

Description: The 6 cm radio continuum structure of the R Aquarii outer nebula is compared with CCD imagery of H-alpha and H-beta line emission. It is shown that the 6 cm VLA imagery is morphologically similar and quantitatively related spatially to Balmer line imagery. There is negligible interstellar or circumstellar absorption along the line of sight to the outer nebula. The 6 cm structure of the outer nebula is consistent with thermal bremsstrahlung emission by a hot, optically thin gas. Spectra of the outer R Aquarii nebula are suggestive of shock-wave heating. The approximate equality of mass loss and radiative cooling suggests that the system's wind is probably enough to power the outer nebula and may account for its long-term persistence.

Description: New H-alpha narrow-based CCD imaging of the recurrent nova T Pyxidis and the detection of a very faint, extended H-alpha halo surrounding the already known shell are reported. A forbidden O III image containing an emitting shell with a morphology different from that of the H-alpha shell is presented, and measurements of the H-alpha shell expansion are reported which rule out the 1966 eruption date for the shell origin, assuming uniform expansion. It is proposed that the observed shell consists of slowly moving, solar abundance ejecta which are photoionized.

Description: Five nights of Arecibo radar observations of Comet Halley are reported which reveal a feature in the overall average spectrum which, though weak, seems consistent with being an echo from the comet. The large radar cross section and large bandwidth of the feature suggest that the echo is predominantly from large grains which have been ejected from the nucleus. Extrapolation of the dust particle size distribution to large grain sizes gives a sufficient number of grains to account for the echo. The lack of a detectable echo from the nucleus, combined with estimates of its size and rotation rate from spacecraft encounters and other data, indicate that the nucleus has a surface of relatively high porosity.

Description: It is suggested that the pre-main-sequence object Z CMa is a luminous accretion disk, similar in many respects to the FU Orionis variables. Z CMa shows the broad, doubled optical absorption lines expected from a rapidly rotating accretion disk. The first overtone CO absorption detected in Z CMa is blue-shifted, suggesting line formation in a disk wind. Accretion at rates about 0.001 solar mass/yr over 100 yr is required to explain the luminosity of Z CMa. The large amount of material accreted (0.1 solar mass/yr) indicates that Z CMa is in a very early stage of stellar evolution, possibly in an initial phase of massive disk accretion.

Description: Observations of the potential optical counterparts of the unusual source IRAS 18333-2357 are reported. There are three distinct optical objects located within roughly 2 arcsec of the IR source: a red star, a very blue star, and an extended emission line nebulosity. IRAS 18333-2357 indeed appears to be physically associated with the Galactic globular cluster M22, and while it probably should be considered a PN, its very small nebular mass and extreme abundance anomalies are very unusual among known PNe. IRAS 18333-2357 does not appear to be at an early stage of PN evolution, but instead may be in a late stage. The lack of an associated radio or H-alpha source is the result of abundance anomalies in the source.

Description: Subarcsecond observations of the RX Puppis symbiotic system with the VLA have resolved 2 cm continuum emission which deviates from a previously reported circularly symmetric radio distribution. The radio structure is comprised of at least three nearly colinear components. Under the assumption that the strongest feature is coincident with the hot star, the other two features lie 230 and 590 AU distant. These radio features are reminiscent of small-scale radio structure detected toward R Aquarii, another symbiotic star system, and probably represents material ejected from the RX Puppis system at an earlier epoch.

Description: The source functions and the energy fluxes for wave generation in magnetic flux tubes embedded in an otherwise magnetic field-free, turbulent, and compressible fluid are derived. The calculations presented here assume that the tube interior is not itself turbulent, e.g., that motions within the flux tube are due simply to external excitation. Specific results for the generation of longitudinal tube waves are presented.

Description: Nonlinear interactions of water group ions with large-amplitude whistler wave packets detected at the leading edge of steepened magnetosonic waves observed near Comet Giacobini-Zinner (GZ) are studied using test particle simulations of water-ion interactions with a model wave based on GZ data. Some of the water ions are found to be decelerated in the steepened portion of the magnetosonic wave to the resonance velocity with the whistler wave packets. Through resonance and related nonlinear interaction with the large-amplitude whistler waves, the water ions become trapped by the packet. An energy balance calculation demonstrates that the trapped ions lose their kinetic energy during the trapped motion in the packet. Thus, the nonlinear trapping motion in the wave structure leads to effective energy transfer from the water group ions to the whistler wave packets in the leading edge of the steepened MHD waves.

Description: Narrow-band images of an unusual swirl structure located near the center of the Puppis A supernova remnant are presented which reveal three overlapping filamentary systems of highly diverse composition. One is dominated by emission lines of nitrogen, one by oxygen, and one by sulfur. Spectra indicate that these small rings have high velocities and a corresponding kinematic age of less than 800 yr. Heavy-element abundances are extremely high and different in each system, some reminiscent of knots in Cas A, and others of circumstellar matter observed surrounding supernova 1987A. The youth and unusual chemistry lead to the suggestion that a second supernova has exploded within the shell of Puppis A, giving rise to the swirl structure.

Description: Numerical simulations of large-scale structure formation from cosmic strings and massive neutrinos are described. The linear power spectrum in this model resembles the cold-dark-matter power spectrum. Galaxy formation begins early, and the final distribution consists of isolated density peaks embedded in a smooth background, leading to a natural bias in the distribution of luminous matter. The distribution of clustered matter has a filamentary appearance with large voids.

Description: A time-dependent chemical model is used to analyze the processes generating and destroying molecules in very high velocity winds from low-mass protostars. CO and SiO are found to be generated in significant quantities despite the persistence of H in atomic form, consistently with recent protostellar wind detections of CO and H I at velocities in excess of 100 km/sec. A moderate mass-loss rate, in conjunction with a temperature distribution that decreases rather rapidly with distance from the protostar, are the conditions for substantial molecule formation.

Description: The mass of the degenerate primary in A0620 - 00 is inferred from its spectroscopic mass function to be not less than 3.2 solar masses, making it an excellent candidate for a black hole. The exact value of the mass depends on the orbital inclination. The inclination of a binary system can be determined from the shape of its Stokes parameter light curves if the linear polarization of the system varies as a function of orbital phase. A0620 - 00 over one 8-hour binary period was observed with the 4.5-m equivalent MMT. Its polarization in the visible is variable with orbital phase. The standard theory of Brown et al. (1978) was used to derive an orbital inclination of i = 57 deg (+20 deg, -50 deg), where the error is the 90-percent confidence interval. An inclination of i = 57 deg corresponds to a mass of the compact primary of 6.6 solar masses, but the large uncertainty in the measured value of the inclination allows the derived mass of A0620 - 00 to be as low as 3.8 solar masses. If this is taken to be the maximum mass of any degenerate configuration consistent with general relativity except a black hole, then the mass of A0620 - 00 is still not well enough determined to conclude that it must be a black hole.

Description: Adopting the hypothesis of accretion-induced magnetic field decay in neutron stars, the consequent evolution of a neutron star's spin and magnetic field are calculated. The results are consistent with observations of binary and millisecond radio pulsars. Thermomagnetic effects could provide a possible physical mechanism for such accretion-induced field decay.

Description: A comprehensive study of the PAH hypothesis is presented, including the interstellar, IR spectral features which have been attributed to emission from highly vibrationally excited PAHs. Spectroscopic and IR emission features are discussed in detail. A method for calculating the IR fluorescence spectrum from a vibrationally excited molecule is described. Analysis of interstellar spectrum suggests that the PAHs which dominate the IR spectra contain between 20 and 40 C atoms. The results are compared with results from a thermal approximation. It is found that, for high levels of vibrational excitation and emission from low-frequency modes, the two methods produce similar results. Also, consideration is given to the relationship between PAH molecules and amorphous C particles, the most likely interstellar PAH molecular structures, the spectroscopic structure produced by PAHs and PAH-related materials in the UV portion of the interstellar extinction curve, and the influence of PAH charge on the UV, visible, and IR regions.

Description: Characteristics which might be observed in silicate grains from a cometary nucleus are examined on the basis of theoretical studies of the life cycle of refractory grains and laboratory experiments using simple analogs to the complex natural system. The life-cycle of a typical silicate grain is reviewed from condensation in a circumstellar outflow to incorporation into a cometary parent body. The possibility for grain metamorphism in the cometary environment is discussed and results are presented from experiments on the properties of interstellar grains. Also, consideration is given to the information about presolar refractory grains that might be gained from studying samples returned from a cometary nucleus.

Description: Results are presented from Exosat observations of 48 hard X-ray selected Seyfert-type active galactic nuclei (AGN). These include all 30 of the emission line AGN in the Piccinotti (1981) sample. Combining Exosat LE and ME data has yielded X-ray spectra over the broad energy range 0.1-10 keV. Spectra in the about 2-10 keV range are found to be well described by a simple power law, with a narrow distribution of spectral indices across the sample about a mean energy index alpha = 0.70. Exosat has also revealed a substantial number of sources with complex soft X-ray spectra. Evidence that soft emission components occur in many Seyferts, together with detection of rapid variability in the soft component, provides a quantitative support for an accretion disk model for AGN. Approximately half of the present sample of AGN show low-energy absorption attributable to substantial cold matter within the host galaxy. A few cases show evidence for column variability and reduced low-energy opacity (by photo-ionization). These results and the observed rarity of intrinsic absorption in the higher luminosity sources suggest the absorbing matter lies close to the central continuum source.

Description: The large-angular-scale cosmic microwave background anisotropy is calculated in a low-density baryon-dominated universe with isocurvature primordial inhomogeneities. In models in which the initial power spectra of perturbations are steeper than white noise, predictions for the quadrupole moment of the anisotropy are found to be in conflict with existing observational limits, if the universe remained fully ionized and Compton drag inhibited growth of inhomogeneities until z = about 100. In order to lower the amplitude of the anisotropy, it is necessary to substantially prolong the duration of the growth phase of density perturbations, while smearing out fine-scale anisotropies, thereby requiring reionization to occur at a redshift smaller than 100, but larger than the redshift of the last scattering surface (in a reionized model).

Description: The problems of nonradiative heating of outer atmospheric layers and p-mode oscillations in white dwarfs caused by acoustic waves generated in convective zones are discussed. These effects have been studied by calculating the cutoff periods for adiabatic and isothermal waves propagating in atmospheres of DA and DB stars with Teff greater than or equal 20,000 K and log g = 6-9. The obtained cutoff periods are approximately bounded by 0.01 and 40 sec for high- and low-gravity white dwarfs, respectively. Expected amplitudes of p-mode oscillations corresponding to trapped acoustic waves with small angular wave numbers are estimated, indicating that the amplitudes could be observed as Doppler shifts of spectral lines which might be detectable if adequate spectral resolution were available. The luminosity variations corresponding to these amplitudes are unlikely to be observable when all damping processes are accounted for. Results also indicate that the present theory of convection predicts some irregularities in the behavior of physical parameters.

Description: A deep search for the J = 4-3 and 5-4 fine-structure components of the N(KK) = 4(04)-3(13) rotational transition of methylene toward the hot core of the Orion KL nebula is conducted. An approximate 4-sigma emission feature which is frequency-coincident with a hyperfine blend of the J = 4-3 component is detected, and weak features (about 2-3 sigma) frequency-coincident with the resolved F = 6-5 and 5-4 hyperfine components of the J = 5-4 component are observed. The relative intensities of these spectral features and their observational repeatability suggest that assignment to interstellar CH2 is likely correct, although the result must be confirmed.

Description: Results of optical observations of 26 bright elliptical galaxies selected on the basis of IRAS data are discussed. Optical broadband imaging (using B and R filters) and narrow-band imaging (using H-alpha interference filters) have been performed to study dust patches and ionized gas. Long-split spectroscopy has also been made to determine gas kinematics and relative line ratios. The spectroscopic data confirm the presence and distribution of interstellar matter (dust lanes and ionized gas) seen in the direct imaging. Decoupled kinematics of interstellar gas and stars favors an external origin of the interstellar matter. However, for one isolated galaxy, an internal origin is not excluded. The rotation curves determined by optical emission lines are symmetric around the center in most galaxies observed. Galaxy masses and mass-to-light ratios are estimated using the rotation curves of the ionized gas.

Description: A search is reported for X-ray emission associated with the object, dubbed the 'great attractor', which has been postulated as the cause of the coherent deviations from the Hubble flow which are observed in nearby parts of the universe. The hypothesis that a substantial fraction of the dynamical mass of the great attractor exists in the form of rich clusters of galaxies is ruled out. The possibility is considered that a substantial fraction of the mass of the great attractor could exist in a form which would increase the apparently diffuse X-ray surface brightness. The observational upper limit to the diffuse X-ray sky surface brightness enhancement in the general direction of the great attractor allows interesting limits to be set on the fraction of the dynamical mass of the great attractor which can exist in the form of X-ray-luminous material.

Description: Ground-based observations have been obtained for eight F and G supergiant-like stars showing large IR excesses. The combination of ground-based and IRAS data shows that these objects have dual-peak energy distributions, with comparable amounts of energy emitted in the visible and the IR. The IR-emitting cool dust shells are likely to represent the remnants of ejecta from an earlier phase of evolution. It is suggested that these eight objects are similar to IRAS 18095 + 2704 and are intermediate-mass stars in a post-AGB phase of evolution. Model fittings to the 0.4-100 micron energy distribution of these objects suggest that they left the AGB within the last 1000 yr.

Description: The availability of a reclassification of the IRAS LRS Atlas of spectra using a new Bayesian classification procedure (AutoClass) is announced. The classes of objects which result from the application of the AutoClass algorithm include many of the previously known LRS classes. New classes which have interesting astronomical and astrophysical interpretations were also found. Techniques, such as the AutoClass algorithm, have a bright future in the arena of astronomical classification problems.

Description: A new IR emission feature at 1905/cm (5.25 microns) has been discovered in the spectrum of BD + 30 deg 3639. This feature joins the family of well-known IR emission features at 3040, 2940, 1750, 1610, '1310', 1160, and 890/cm. The origin of this new feature is discussed and it is assigned to an overtone or combination band involving C-H bending modes of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Laboratory work suggests that spectral studies of the 2000-1650/cm region may be very useful in elucidating the molecular structure of interstellar PAHs. The new feature, in conjunction with other recently discovered spectral structures, suggests that the narrow IR emission features originate in PAH molecules rather than large carbon grains.

Description: The discovery of an unidentified emission feature at 21 microns in the LRS spectra of four IRAS sources is reported. These objects all show large FIR excesses due to a circumstellar dust envelope surrounding a carbon-rich central star and are likely to be in the evolutionary phase between the asymptotic giant branch and planetary nebula stages. The strength of the feature and the carbon richness of the objects suggest that this feature is due to the bending mode of a transient carbon-bearing molecule.

Description: The effect of multiple (singly ionized) coexisting newborn ion species on the stability of low-frequency electromagnetic waves was investigated using a plasma model in which solar wind magnetoplasma is made up of isotropic Maxwellian electron and proton populations with a common number density of 4.95/cu cm and temperatures equal to 17.2 eV and 6.9 eV, respectively. It is shown that the effect of multiple ions on wave growth, for given background magnetoplasma conditions and relative densities, depends not only on their mass but also on the physical nature of the wave modes. If the ion masses are disparate, each one of the coexisting ion beams tends to stimulate instabilities without undue influence from the other species. If the masses of newborn ions are similar, they can strongly catalyze wave growth of fluidlike nonresonant modes, but bring about weak growth enhancements in cyclotron resonant instabilities.

Description: Methods developed for radio occultation studies of planetary atmospheres are used to predict the electromagnetic focusing properties of a refracting lens representation of a Schwarzschild black hole. The infinity of foci are of three distinct types: a principal forward axial focus which is by far the strongest; higher-order forward axial foci; and backward conical foci with axial nulls.

Description: An escape-probability calculation of the optically thick O III spectrum is carried out to obtain the optical depth dependence of the intercombination doublet at 1663 A and of resonance lines between the 2p2, 2s2p3, and 2p4 configurations. The effect of optical depth on diagnostic ratios involving the intercombination lines is quantitatively established. The general question raised is whether such effects may occur in actual sources.

Description: WHT spectroscopy and photometry are used to investigate the structure of the cataclysmic vaiable V101, in the globular cluster M5. An encouraging consistency is found between the properties derived from the color, magnitude, radial-velocity variations and outburst light curve. All these indicate that V101's orbital period lies above the period gap, is at the distance of M5, and is probably a dwarf nova.

Description: Radiometric data generated during spacecraft flybys of Jupiter have the capability to provide an interesting constraint on the coupling of cosmions in the nonsymmetric gravitational theory (NGT) of Moffat. It is shown that the close flyby of Jupiter by Pioneer 11 could imply a possible limit on the NGT l parameter of the sun of solar l less than 2800 km, a limit which could affect the ability of the NGT to account for the precession of the perihelion of Mercury with a large solar quadrupole moment.

Description: Findings that have been made by the IUE in a variety of astrophysical areas are reviewed. Results on stellar chromospheres and transition regions, evolutionary processes in interacting binaries, winds from early-type stars, the ISM, SN 1987A, active galactic nuclei, and solar system objects are addressed.

Description: The discovery of cosmic impacts and their effects on the earth's surface are discussed. The manner in which the object impacts with the earth is described. The formation of crytovolcanic structures by craters is examined. Examples of cosmic debris collisions with earth, in particular the Tunguska explosion of 1908 and the Meteor Crater in Arizona, are provided.

Description: The paper presents 16-66-micron spectra of SN 1987A taken on days 266 and 268 after core collapse. The spectrum consists of a nearly flat continuum, strong emission lines of hydrogen, and fine-structure lines of Fe II, Fe III, Co II, S I, and possibly Fe I, Ni II, and S III. From the relative strength of three lines which arise from transitions within the ground and excited states of Fe II, the temperature and a lower limit on the density of the line-emitting region are derived. From the line strengths, the abundances of Fe and S I, the end products of explosive nucleosynthesis in the supernova are estimated. An upper limit is also set to the amount of Co II remaining in the mantle. The low measured mass of Fe suggests that the ejecta are clumpy. The flat continuum is most likely free-free emission from the expanding supernova ejecta. About 35 percent of this emission arises from the ionized metals in the mantle; the rest arises from ionized hydrogen. At the time of these observations, there is no evidence for any emission from dust that may have formed in the supernova ejecta or from preexisting dust in the surrounding medium.

Description: The high-galactic latitude planetary nebula 75 + 35.1 deg was observed in the high-dispersion mode of the International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE) satellite in the wavelength range 1150-1950 A. The N V resonance doublet at 1240 A and O V subordinate line at 1371 A exhibit strong stellar P Cygni profiles with absorption extending to -2150 km/s and -1000 km/s, respectively. Application of the first moment method implies a mass-loss rate of M = (1-3) x 10 to the -8th solar mass/yr. The high ionization of the wind lines and the presence of strong Fe VI and Fe V lines in the stellar photosphere support that this object is quite hot. A Teff of 75,000 + or - 10,000 K was adopted, although Tc = 94,000 K was found previously from low-resolution IUE data.

Description: A model is presented for the dust emission from the Sagittarius B2 molecular cloud core which reproduces the observed spectrum between 30 and 1300 micron, as well as the distribution of the emission at 1300 micron. The model is based on the assumption that Sgr B2(N) continuum source is located behind the dust cloud associated with Sgr B2(M) continuum source. The fact that Sgr B2(N) is stronger at 1300 micron can be attributed to a local column density maximum at the position of this source. Absence of a 53 micron emission peak at the position of Sgr B2(N) suggests that the luminosity of the north source is lower than that of the middle source.

Description: The high latitude dark cloud L1642 in the 21 cm H I region was mapped using a 100 m radio telescope. A remarkable H I line broadening from 2.5 to 2.9 km/s is observed over a small area on the bright side of L1642, i.e., the side facing the galactic plane. Results are presented concerning the effects of the asymmetrical UV radiation field of OB stars on the H I gas and the very small dust grains associated with L1642.

Description: W31 is a H II region/molecular cloud complex in the galactic plane at a distance of 6 Kpc. This complex consists of two prominent radio continuum sources (G10.2-0.3 and G10.3-0.1) representing H II regions. An extended region covering both these H II regions was mapped in the Far IR (FIR) using the TIFR 1 m balloon-borne telescope with an angular resolution of approx. 1 min and a dynamic range of 100. The resulting flux density distribution at an effective wavelength of 160 microns is presented. The coadded IRAS survey scan data at 60 and 100 microns were deconvolved using a maximum entropy method to generate the flux density maps of the same region. These 60 and 100 micron maps are given and are briefly discussed.

Description: The property of dust in four southern H II region/molecular cloud complexes (RCW 108, RCW 57, RCW 122, and G351.6-1.3) was discussed. These regions were observed at an effective wavelength of 150 micron using TIFR balloon borne 1 m telescope and deconvolved maps with a resolution of 1 min were obtained. The data were combined with other available data to derive the properties of the infrared emitting dust in these regions.

Description: According to published examples of the far IR observations in the Orion and its surroundings, several well defined dust clouds of different sizes and structure are present. For comparison of these clouds with the neutral hydrogen distribution on the area of approx. 1000 sq degs, the data from Pulkovo Sky Survey in the interstellar neutral Hydrogen Radio Line as well as special observations with the RATAN-600 telescope in 21 cm line were used. From the materials of Pulkovo HI Survey, the data were taken near the line emission at ten velocities between -21.8 and +25.6 km/s LSR for the structural component of the interstellar hydrogen emission. The results given concern mainly the Orion's Great Dust Cloud and the Lambda Orionis region where the information about the situation with the dust and interstellar hydrogen is very essential for interpretation.

Description: IRAS images of a variety of fragments in nearby molecular clouds show that the energy distribution of their IR emission varies widely from cloud to cloud and from place to place within a given cloud. These variations at small scale are all the more unexpected since the colors of the IR emission of cold material differ very little at large scale: the colors of the cirrus emission above the 3kpc molecular ring are the same as those of the cirrus emission in the solar neighborhood. To quantitatively study these variations, 12, 60, and 100 microns brightnesses were obtained of small areas centered at different positions within the set of clouds and complexes. The range of observed 12/100 micron colors is given for each cloud. Variations by an order of magnitude are found in most clouds. Variations by a factor of 2 to 3 are observed within a cloud on scales as small as 0.5pc, the resolution of this study. It is concluded that large variations of the abundances of small particles with respect to those of the large grains responsible for the 100 micron emission are required to explain the observed color variations and that these abundances have to vary by large factors; an order of magnitude from cloud to cloud.

Description: Results are presented from a research program in which an attempt was made to establish the physical nature of the interstellar grains, and the carriers of the diffuse interstellar bands, by comparing relations between different observed properties; the properties used include the extinction in the optical and ultraviolet (including wavelength 2200 and the far-UV rise), cloud density, atomic depletions, and strengths of the diffuse bands. Observations and also data from literature were used, selecting particularly sight-lines where some observed property was found to have anomalous behavior.

Description: Two complementary approaches are used in an attempt to propose an appropriate formulation of the solution to the problem of magnetic alignment of grains in the diffuse and/or the more denser clouds, whatever the mechanism of rotational excitation can be. The interest of such a unified formulation is mainly that the same theoretical expression for polarization can be used everywhere, allowing for easier comparisons between regions where the physical conditions are highly different. The first consists in applying a Monte-Carlo method to a limited number of representative cases, for which all the torques acting on the grain are taken into account: impulsive random torques due to direct collisions with gas atoms, to evaporation of atoms from the surface, and to exo-energetic recombinations forming hydrogen molecules, followed by violent ejections from peculiar sites; magnetic torques. Three characteristic times are associated with these torques: the collisional damping time, the time necessary to change completely the actual sites configuration narrowly bound to the correlation time of the suprathermal torque; and the magnetic damping time. The second approach starts from a heuristic point of view. It consists in a generalization of results (Cugnon, 1983; see also Purcell and Spitzer, 1971; Greenberg, 1978) obtained for thermal alignment to the suprathermal case. It appears indeed that in two extreme cases, the thermal formulation may be used after redefinition of involved times and temperatures.

Description: The implications of the observed relationship between the wavelength dependence of interstellar circular and linear polarization were reexamined. Mie theory calculations for grains with various optical constants demonstrate that any population of grains which matches the observed wavelength dependence of linear polarization also yields the correct cross-over wavelength of circular polarization. The coincidence of the peak wavelength of linear polarization and the cross-over of circular polarization is therefore independent of the optical constants of the grains and cannot be used as a critical constraint on grain properties. The observed relationship instead reflects a more fundamental connection between linear and circular polarization which was derived from the Kramers-Kronig relations by Shapiro (1975). Numerical results fully support Shapiro's conclusions and demonstrate that the apparent upper limit on the visual absorptivity of polarizing grains deduced from earlier Mie theory calculations (Martin, 1972) was spurious and resulted from a violation of the Kramers-Kronig relations in the assumed optical constants of the particles. The Kramers-Kronig interpretation of circular polarization can be used to place constraints on linear polarization outside the wavelength range in which it was observed. This approach was used to show that the peak observed in the visual is likely to be the only significant feature in the linear polarization curve, which therefore appears to be well approximated at all wavelengths by the Serkowski formula. A synthesis of available laboratory data was used to analyze the properties of dielectric core-mantel grains as the source of visual extinction and polarization.

Description: Carbonaceous chondrites are usually believed to be the primary constituents of near-Earth asteroids and Phobos and Diemos, and are potential resources of fuels which may be exploited for future planetary missions. The nature and abundances are calculated of the major volatile bearing and other phases, including the vapor phase that should form in C1 and C2 type carbonaceous chondrites as functions of pressure and temperature. The results suggest that talc, antigorite plus or minus magnesite are the major volatile bearing phases and are stable below 400 C at 1 bar in these chondritic compositions. Simulated heating of a kilogram of C2 chondrite at fixed bulk composition between 400 and 800 C at 1 bar yields about 135 gm of volatile, which is made primarily of H2O, H2, CH4, CO2 and CO. The relative abundances of these volatile species change as functions of temperature, and on a molar basis, H2 becomes the most dominant species above 500 C. In contrast, Cl chondrites yield about 306 gm of volatile under the same condition, which consist almost completely of 60 wt percent H2O and 40 wt percent CO2. Preliminary kinetic considerations suggest that equilibrium dehydration of hydrous phyllosilicates should be attainable within a few hours at 600 C. These results provide the framework for further analyses of the volatile and economic resource potentials of carbonaceous chondrites.

Description: Tropospheric refractivity fluctuations are an important error source for gravity wave detection by Doppler tracking in that they alter the phase and phase rate of electromagnetic signals. Estimates are presented of the effect of tropospheric fluctuations on the Doppler signal and some examples are suggested of methods which minimize the effect. A model of the fluctuations is utilized to achieve those goals. Four possible methods for reducing the fluctuation effect are suggested: (1) observation and analysis strategies, which separate the atmospheric and gravity wave signatures; (2) water vapor radiometry for the wet component; (3) calibration using Global Positioning System (GPS) satellites; and (4) Doppler observations from multiple antennas to average fluctuation effects. The last two techniques could be used to calibrate both wet and dry fluctuations, or could be used in conjunction with water vapor radiometry to calibrate only the dry component.

Description: Gravitomagnetism was apparently first introduced into physics about 120 years ago when major developments in electrodynamics and the strong similarity between Coulomb's law of electricity and Newton's law of gravity led to the hypothesis that mass current generates a fundamental force of gravitational origin analogous to the magnetic force caused by charge current. According to general relativity, the rotation of a body leads to the dragging of the local inertial frames. In the weak-field approximation, the dragging frequency can be interpreted, up to a constant proportionality factor, as a gravitational magnetic field. There is, as yet, no direct evidence regarding the existence of such a field. The possibility is examined of detecting the gravitomagnetic field of the Earth by gravity gradiometry.

Description: Among the experiments to be carried into orbit next year, by the COBE satellite, are differential microwave radiometers. They will make sensitive all-sky maps of the temperature of the cosmic microwave background radiation at three frequencies, giving dipole, quadrupole, and higher order multipole measurements of the background radiation. The experiment will either detect, or place significant constraints on, the existence of cosmic strings and long wavelength gravity waves.

Description: It is now 11 years since a potentially easily observable and quantitative test for black holes using general relativistic polarization rotations was proposed (Stark and Connors 1977, and Connors and Stark 1977). General relativistic rotations of the x ray polarization plane of 10 to 100 degrees with x ray energy (between 1 and 100 keV) are predicted for black hole x ray binaries. (Classically, by symmetry, there is no rotation.) Unfortunately, x ray polarimetry has not been taken sufficiently seriously during this period, and this test has not yet been performed. A similar (though probably less clean) effect is expected in the UV for supermassive black holes in some quasars active galactic nuclei. Summarizing: (1) a quantitative test (proposed in 1977) for black holes exists; (2) x ray polarimetry of galactic x ray binaries sensitive to at least 1/2 percent between 1 keV and 100 keV is needed (polarimetry in the UV of quasars and AGN will also be of interest); and (3) proportional counters using timerise discrimination were shown in laboratory experiments able to perform x ray polarimetry and this and other methods need to be developed.

Description: The Doppler tracking method is currently the only technique available for broadband gravitational wave searches in the approx. 10(exp -4) to 10(exp -1) Hz low frequency band. A brief review is given of the Doppler method, a discussion of the main noise sources, and a review of experience with current spacecraft and the prospects for sensitivity improvements in an advanced Doppler tracking experiment.

Description: Analyses and interpretations of experiments which test post-Newtonian gravity are usually done under the assumption that gravity is a metric field phenomenon - a manifestation of space-time geometry. This, however, is unnecessary and one can start at a more primitive level - that there simply exists a phenomenological, gravitational, many-body equation of motion which must be determined by a package of observations. In fact, over the last couple decades, a diverse collection of solar system interbody tracking observations, supplemented by data from the binary pulsar system PSR 1913 + 16, has completely mapped out the first post-Newtonian order. After the fact, using empirically determined equations of motion, along with some observed properties of nongravitational clocks and rulers and conservation laws for energy, momentum and angular momentum, a post-Newtonian Lagrangian can be constructed, a geometrical space-time metric field conceptual interpretation can be developed, Lorentz invariance of the equations of motion can be shown, and the equations of motion are found to agree with the predictions of Einstein's gravitational theory, General Relativity, within experimental accuracy.

Description: The efficiency of gravitational wave emission from axisymmetric rotating collapse to a black hole was found to be very low: Delta E/Mc sq. less than 7 x 10(exp -4). The main waveform shape is well defined and nearly independent of the details of the collapse. Such a signature will allow pattern recognition techniques to be used when searching experimental data. These results (which can be scaled in mass) were obtained using a fully general relativistic computer code that evolves rotating axisymmetric configurations and directly computes their gravitational radiation emission.

Description: A program is described which measures the gravitational acceleration of antiprotons. This idea was approached from a particle physics point of view. That point of view is examined starting with some history of physics over the last 200 years.

Description: An outline is given that estimates the expected gravitational wave background, based on plausible pregalactic sources. Some cosmologically significant limits can be put on incoherent gravitational wave background arising from pregalactic cosmic evolution. The spectral region of cosmically generated and cosmically limited radiation is, at long periods, P greater than 1 year, in contrast to more recent cosmological sources, which have P approx. 10 to 10(exp -3).

Description: One of the most attractive possible sources of strong gravitational waves would be a binary system comprising massive black holes (BH). The gravitational radiation from a binary is an elliptically polarized, periodic wave which could be observed continuously - or at intervals whenever a detector was available. This continuity of the signal is certainly appealing compared to waiting for individual pulses from infrequent random events. It also has the advantage over pulses that continued observation can increase the signal-to-noise ratio almost indefinitely. Furthermore, this system is dynamically simple; the theory of the generation of the radiation is unambiguous; all characteristics of the signal can be precisely related to the dynamical parameters of the source. The current situation is that while there is no observational evidence as yet for the existence of massive binary BH, their formation is theoretically plausible, and within certain coupled constraints of mass and location, their existence cannot be observationally excluded. Detecting gravitational waves from these objects might be the first observational proof of their existence.

Description: Gravitational radiation can be used to test theories of gravitation. When the waves are ultimately detected directly, their speed and polarization properties can be measured and compared with predictions of alternative theories. The multipole nature of gravitational radiation was already tested in the binary pulsar, where observations of the decay of the orbit verify the quadrupole formula for gravitational radiation damping of general relativity and put strong constraints on dipole gravitational radiation predicted by many alternative theories.

Description: In the last few years, several researchers have used timing data from pulsars to search for ultra-low frequency (ULF) gravitational waves (waves at periods from a few days to a few years), especially for the waves making up the stochastic cosmic background such waves. How these limits are obtained are discussed and several precautions are pointed out that must be taken in the analysis of these data.

Description: Earth-based gravitational wave detectors suffer from the need to support the large antenna masses against the earth's gravity without transmitting a significant amount of seismic noise. Passive vibration isolation is difficult to achieve below 1 Hz on the earth. Vibration-free space environment thus gives an opportunity to extend the frequency window of gravitational wave detection to ultralow frequencies. The weightless condition of a space laboratory also enables construction of a highly symmetric multimode antenna which is capable of resolving the direction of the source and the polarization of the incoming wave without resorting to multiantenna coincidence. Two types of earth-orbiting resonant-mass gravitational wave detectors are considered. One is a skyhook gravitational wave detector, proposed by Braginsky and Thorne (1985). The other is a spherical detector, proposed by Forward (1971) and analyzed by Wagoner and Paik (1976).

Description: Important relativistic effects and issues are discussed which must be considered in the interpretation of current measurements such as ranging measurements to LAGEOS and to the moon, in the implementation of the Global Positioning System, in the synchronization of clocks near the earth's surface, and in the adoption of appropriate scales of time and length for the communication of scientific results.

Description: Some gravitational consequences of certain extensions of Einstein's general theory of relativity are discussed. These theories are not alternative theories of gravity in the usual sense. It is assumed that general relativity is the appropriate description of all gravitational phenomena which were observed to date.

Description: The materials with vulnerability to micrometeoroids and space debris are discussed. It is concluded that all materials are vulnerable to hypervelocity impacts and that the importance of these impacts depends on the function of material. It is also concluded that low earth orbits are the most significant region relative to orbital debris. The consequences of aerospace environment effects are discussed.

Description: In order to study dust emission from grains in the interstellar medium, the infrared properties were analyzed in a number of isolated high latitude dust clouds which contain no dominant internal heating sources. The clouds are spatially resolved, have a simple geometry, and are mapped in the IRAS bands at 12, 25, 60, and 100 microns. For a number of these clouds, extinction data (A sub B) were obtained from starcounts. A large part (30 to 50 percent) of the infrared radiation of the clouds in the IRAS wavelength range of 8 to 130 micron is emitted in the short wavelength bands at 12 and 25 micron. The 60/100 micron ratios for the integrated fluxes of the clouds have a typical value of 0.19 + or - 0.05.

Description: A dark cloud is exposed to the ambient radiation field of integrated starlight in the Galaxy. Scattering of starlight by the dust particles gives rise to a diffuse surface brightness of the dark nebula. The intensity and the spectrum of this diffuse radiation can be used to investigate, e.g., the scattering parameters of the dust, the optical thickness of the cloud, and as a probe of the ambient radiation field at the location of the cloud. An understanding of the scattering process is also a prerequisite for the isolation of broad spectral features due to fluorescence or to any other non-scattering origin of the diffuse light. Model calculations are presented for multiple scattering in a spherical cloud. These calculations show that the different spectral shapes of the observed diffuse light can be reproduced with standard dust parameters. The possibility to use the observed spectrum as a diagnostic tool for analyzing the thickness of the cloud and the dust particle is discussed.

Description: Taking into account the tight coupling of grain axis with angular momentum due to effective dissipation of rotation energy, the alignment of spheroidal grains was investigated by paramagnetic relaxation. Alignment degree will be significantly improved in diffuse clouds. The inclusions of superparamagnetic (SPM) substances may play a key role in grain alignment in dark clouds as well as in diffuse clouds.

Description: Carbon molecules were suggested as possible carriers of the diffuse interstellar bands. In particular, it was proposed that the 443 nm diffuse interstellar band is due to the same molecule which gives rise to the 447 nm absorption feature in argon matrix-isolated carbon vapor. If so, then an associated C-C stretching mode should be seen in the IR. By doing spectroscopy in both the IR and UV-visible regions on the same sample, the present work provides evidence for correlating UV-visible absorption features with those found in the IR. Early data indicates no correlation between the strongest IR feature (1997/cm) and the 447 nm band. Correlation with weaker IR features is being investigated.

Description: Correlations between ultraviolet extinction and visual polarization are studied. No correlations are found for 272 sampled stars. UV extinction and visual polarization are quite independent phenomena.

Description: Broad absorption features centered at 3.45 microns and at 3.0-3.0 microns towards a number of late-type supergiants in the vicinity of the galactic center were repeatedly reported. Here, 2.0 to 2.5 and 3.0 to 4.0 micron spectra are presented for field late-type highly reddened (A sub V is approximately 17-27) stars located in different regions of the galactic plane more than 20 deg away from the galactic center direction. The observations, made with the 3.6, 2.2, and 1.0 m ESO telescopes at La Silla, Chile, consists of CVF spectra with resolution lambda/delta lambda is approximately or equal to 100 and IRSPEC spectra with resolution lambda/delta lambda is approximately or equal to 700. In the direction of the most highly reddened stars, definitive detections of the 3.45 and the 3.0 to 3.1 micron absorption features are reported. The 3.45 micron feature was attributed to absorption arising in a vibrational transition resulting from the C-H stretching in organic compounds, while the 3.0 to 3.1 micron broader feature are tentatively attributed to O-H bonds. The observations strongly support that the agent producing the 3.45 micron feature, presumably organic molecules, is an important component of the diffuse interstellar medium and is not characteristic only of the galactic center environment.

Description: Regional variations in the interstellar extinction law was examined. The region of Cyg was noted among the areas with abnormal interstellar extinction law (IEL). An attempt was made to study interstellar extinction in the region of the Cep OB4 association. The Vilnius seven color photometric system was used for this purpose. The effective wavelengths and their reciprocals for the Vilnius photometric system are presented. This system was applied for the study of variations in the IEL in four regions of the sky: Cyg, Cep, Per, and Mon (Sudzius, 1974). The results of multicolor photometry were combined with the data of Whiteoak (1966) and detailed interstellar extinction curves were derived for Cyg and for Cep-Per-Mon (average) regions in the wavelengths interval of 3000 to 8000 A (Sudzius, 1974). The obtained IEL for the Cep OB4 association does not match any of the laws determined for other regions of the sky. However, it is very close to Cyg OB2 law in the ultraviolet. Results suggest that Cep OB4 IEL have no very broadband structure (VBS) in the interval of wavenumbers 1.84 to 2.15/micron.

Description: A space-based astrometric interferometer with a large optical bandwidth is considered. POINTS (Precision Optical INTerferometry in Space) would measure the angular separation of two stars separated by about 90 deg on the sky with a nominal measurement error of 5 microarcseconds (mas). For a pair of mag 10 stars, the observation would require about 10 minutes. It is estimated that the instrument would measure daily the separation of two stars for each of about 60 pairs of stars; a random sequence of such measurements, if suitably redundant, contains the closure information necessary to detect and correct time dependent measurement biases to well below the nominal measurement accuracy. The 90 deg target separation permits absolute parallax measurements in all directions. A redundant observing schedule for 300 stars and 5 quasars would provide extra redundancy to compensate for the quasars' higher magnitude. If a nominal 30-day observation sequence were repeated 4 times per year for 10 years, stellar parameter uncertainties would be obtained of: 0.6 mas, position; 0.4 mas/y, proper motion; and 0.4 mas, parallax. This set of well-observed stars and quasars would form a rigid frame and the stars would serve as reference objects for measurements of all additional targets, as well as being targets of direct scientific interest. The instrument global data analysis since objectives are considered including a relativity test and technology.

Description: The Stanford Equivalence Principle Program (Worden, Jr. 1983) is intended to test the uniqueness of free fall to the ultimate possible accuracy. The program is being conducted in two phases: first, a ground-based version of the experiment, which should have a sensitivity to differences in rate of fall of one part in 10(exp 12); followed by an orbital experiment with a sensitivity of one part in 10(exp 17) or better. The ground-based experiment, although a sensitive equivalence principle test in its own right, is being used for technology development for the orbital experiment. A secondary goal of the experiment is a search for exotic forces. The instrument is very well suited for this search, which would be conducted mostly with the ground-based apparatus. The short range predicted for these forces means that forces originating in the Earth would not be detectable in orbit. But detection of Yukawa-type exotic forces from a nearby large satellite (such as Space Station) is feasible, and gives a very sensitive and controllable test for little more effort than the orbiting equivalence principle test itself.

Description: The importance of the gravitomagnetic field is discussed. A never-measured field of nature, the foundations of inertia in Einstein General Relativity, and a key role in theories of quasars and active galactic nuclei are important aspects of this field and are discussed. In high energy astrophysics, some theories of energy storage, power generation, jet formation and jet alignment of quasars and active galactic nuclei are based on the existence of the gravitomagnetic field of a supermassive black hole (Thorne et al. 1986). LAGEOS 3 is discussed in terms of laser ranged satellites to detect the gravitomagnetic field and supplementary inclination satellites to avoid gravity field uncertainties. Many experiments have been proposed to measure the gravitomagnetic field. The GPB experiment intends to measure the Lense-Thirring-Schiff precession of gyroscopes orbiting the earth. Polar satellites have been proposed to measure the Lense-Thirring precession of the orbital plane (an enormous gyroscope and two guided, drag-free, counter-rotating, polar satellites have been suggested to avoid orbital inclination errors.) The new idea to measure the gravitomagnetic drag of the nodes of two nonpolar, supplementary inclination, satellites is summarized.

Description: Photon-rich x ray observations on bright compact galactic sources will make it possible to detect many fast processes that may occur in these systems on millisecond and submillisecond timescales. Many of these processes are of direct relevance to gravitational physics because they arise in regions of strong gravity near neutron stars and black holes where the dynamical timescales for compact objects of stellar mass are milliseconds. To date, such observations have been limited by the detector area and telemetry rates available. However, instruments such as the proposed X ray Large Array (XLA) would achieve collecting areas of about 100 sq m. This instrument has been described elsewhere (Wood and Michelson 1988) and was the subject of a recent prephase A feasibility study at Marshall Space Flight Center. Observations with an XLA class instrument will directly impact five primary areas of astrophysics research: the attempt to detect gravitational radiation, the study of black holes, the physics of mass accretion onto compact objects, the structure of neutron stars and nuclear matter, and the characterization of dark matter in the universe. Those observations are discussed that are most directly relevant to gravitational physics: the search for millisecond x ray pulsars that are potential sources of continuous gravitational radiation; and the use of x ray timing observations to probe the physical conditions in extreme relativistic regions of space near black holes, both stellar-sized and supermassive.

Description: Present and planned investigations which use interplanetary spacecraft for gravitational wave searches are severely limited in their detection capability. This limitation has to do both with the Earth-based tracking procedures used and with the configuration of the experiments themselves. It is suggested that a much improved experiment can now be made using a multiarm interferometer designed with current operating elements. An important source of gravitational wave radiation, the cosmic background, may well be within reach of detection with these procedures. It is proposed to make a number of experimental steps that can now be carried out using TDRSS spacecraft and would conclude in the establishment of an operating multiarm microwave interferometer. This interferometer is projected to have a sensitivity to cosmic background gravitational wave radiation with an energy of less than 10(exp -4) cosmic closure density and to periodic waves generating spatial strain approaching 10(exp -19) in the range 0.1 to 0.001 Hz.

Description: The infrared (IR) spectra of collisionally heated dust at several regions across the supernova remnant (SNR) Puppis A were modelled. Through the comparison of the actual and model spectra, the possible range of gas density and temperature within these areas was narrowed down. From the models, information on the minimum and maximum dust grain sizes and the amount of sputtering which has occurred was found. Finally the mass of gas and dust, the IR luminosity, the effective thickness, and the length of time since the dust was swept up by the SNR were derived for these regions.

Description: During a search for the optical counterparts of IRAS sources whose flux peaks at 25 microns, a small faint bipolar nebula was discovered in Monoceros at the position of IRAS 07131-0147. The CCD images display the object's considerable structure. The central star seems relatively free of closeby nebulosity: the two lobes have a bow-tie structure with those parts nearest to the star consisting of series of small knots. The outer parts of the lobes seem to be made up of filaments streaming away from knots. On the basis of its optical spectrum, the central star was classified as a M5-6 giant. In the IRAS color classification scheme of Van der Veen and Habing (1988), the central star is VIb which indicates that there are distinct hot and cold components of circumstellar dust and that the mass loss process may have temporarily abated. Therefore, it is proposed that the object is in the post main sequence stage of evolution and is a protoplanetary nebulae. Young protoplanetary nebulae have totally obscured central stars illuminating reflective lobes whereas older ones such as M2-9 have lobes seen in emission from gas ionized by the central hot star which is clearly visible. Since the central object of IRAS07131-0147 is a relatively unobscured late type star and the lobes are seen only by reflection, it is suggested that this nebula is a protoplanetary nebula in an evolutionary stage intermediate between that of CRL2688 and M2-9.