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The lanthanide elements (Z=57?71) are characterized by the filling of the 4f electronic subshell, which lies close in energy to the 5d and 6s subshells. As a result, the lanthanide spectra can be quite complicated in terms of the number of optical spectral lines, and in some cases their hyperfine structure and isotopic shifts are extremely large. These characteristics have great implications for a
We consider the conditions necessary for the development of an inverted population among the energy levels of free atoms in a medium exposed to radiation in spectral non- equilibrium. In particular, we focus on monochromatic radiation occurring as a result of an accidental wavelength coincidence between a pumping emission line and a pumped absorption line in two different elements. We examine espe
We present a review of some of the current major challenges in stellar cluster research, including young clusters, globular clusters, and galactic nuclei. Topics considered include: primordial mass segregation and runaway mergers, expulsion of gas from clusters, the production of stellar exotica seen in some clusters (e.g., blue stragglers and extreme horizontal-branch stars), binary populations w
We present a simple, semi--analytical description for the final stagesof mergers of black hole (BH) -- neutron star (NS) systems. Such systemsare of much interest as gravitational wave sources and gamma--ray burstprogenitors. Numerical studies show that in general the neutron star isnot disrupted at the first phase of mass transfer. Instead, what remainsof the neutron star is left on a wider, ecce
The most precise method of investigating possible space-time variations of the fine-structure constant, alpha equivalent to (1/hc)(e(2)/4 pi epsilon(0)), using high-redshift quasar absorption lines is the many-multiplet (MM) method. For reliable results this method requires very accurate relative laboratory wavelengths for a number of UV resonance transitions from several different ionic species.
The dust detector system onboard Galileo has recoding dust impacts incircumjovian space since the spacecraft was injected into a bound orbitabout Jupiter in December 1995. This is the sixth in a series of papersdedicated to presenting Galileo and Ulysses dust data. We present datafrom the Galileo dust instrument for the period January to December 1996when the spacecraft completed four orbits about
We study the nature of the peculiar [Sr II] and Sr II emission filament found in the ejecta of Eta Carinae. To this purpose we carry out abinitio calculations of radiative transition probabilities and electron impact excitation rate coefficients for Sr II. Then we build a multilevel model for the system which is used to investigate the physical condition of the filament and the nature of the obser
Recent progress on the nature of short-duration gamma-ray bursts has shown that a fraction of them originate in the local Universe. These systems may well be the result of giant flares from soft gamma-repeaters (highly magnetized neutron stars commonly known as magnetars). However, if these neutron stars are formed via the core collapse of massive stars then it would be expected that the bursts sh
A brief description of the operational principles of an Electron Beam Ion Trap is given with specific reference to the currently under development/construction Shanghai EBIT. This is followed by an introduction to some of the frontier physics problems of highly charged ions that can be studied with such devices. Also a discussion of the use of EBITs as a powerful tool in hot-plasma diagnostics is
Two short (< 2 s) gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) have recently been localized(1-4) and fading afterglow counterparts detected(2-4). The combination of these two results left unclear the nature of the host galaxies of the bursts, because one was a star-forming dwarf, while the other was probably an elliptical galaxy. Here we report the X-ray localization of a short burst (GRB 050724) with unusual gamma-ra
We report on a new survey of metallicities, ages, and Galactic orbitsfor a complete, magnitude-limited, and kinematically unbiased all-skysample of 16682 nearby F- and G-dwarfs. Our~63000 new, accurate radialvelocities for nearly 13500 of the stars, combined with Hipparcosparallaxes and Tycho-2 proper motions, complete the kinematic data for14139 stars and allow us to identify most of the binary s
Measurements of dust coupled to the Jovian magnetosphere have been obtained with the dust detector on board the Galileo spacecraft. We report on data obtained during the first four orbits about Jupiter that had flybys of the Galilean satellites: Ganymede (orbits 1 and 2), Callisto (orbit 3), and Europa (orbit 4). The most prominent features observed are highly time variable dust streams recorded t
We propose that a radiative cycle operates in atoms and ions located ina rarefied gas in the vicinity of a hot star. Besides spontaneoustransitions the cycle includes a stimulated transition in one very weakintermediate channel. This radiative bottleneck creates apopulation inversion, which for an appropriate column density results inamplification and stimulated radiation in the weak transition. T
We report on a search for gravitational waves from coalescing compact binaries using LIGO and Virgo observations between July 7, 2009, and October 20, 2010. We searched for signals from binaries with total mass between 2 and 25M(circle dot); this includes binary neutron stars, binary black holes, and binaries consisting of a black hole and neutron star. The detectors were sensitive to systems up t
