U.S.-U.K. Cooperative Research: Stellar Opacities and Atomic Data

该奖项将支持俄亥俄州立大学的A.K.Pradhan博士和D.Mihalas博士与两组英国天文学家在贝尔法斯特皇后大学的P.G.Burke博士和伦敦大学学院的M.Seaton博士的指导下进行的合作研究。拟议研究的目标是对原子数据和恒星不透明度进行准确的大规模计算。在过去的七年里，一个重大的国际项目一直在进行，以进行大规模的原子计算，最终目的是计算出前所未有的精确度的恒星不透明度。恒星物质的不透明度在恒星的结构和演化中起着基础性的作用，因为它控制着几乎所有恒星的某些区域的放射性能量的传输。恒星的不透明度本质上也与引起恒星脉动的不稳定性有关，在当前的天文学研究中，这在许多方面都很重要。这项拟议的研究项目是英国、美国、德意志联邦共和国、法国和委内瑞拉的原子物理学家和天文学家共同合作的项目，目的是使用最先进的原子物理方法，能够得出基本的原子参数，例如振子强度和光电离截面，在5-10%的范围内有很高的准确度。该项目由M.西顿博士和P.G.伯克博士领导。该奖项将允许美国队成员参加。这项合作将受益于米哈拉斯博士在恒星大气理论和普拉丹博士在原子物理方面的广泛专业知识。

This award will support collaborative research between Drs. A.K. Pradhan and D. Mihalas, Ohio State University, and two groups of British astronomers under the direction of Dr. P.G. Burke, Queens University, Belfast and Dr. M. Seaton, University College, London. The objective of the proposed research is to carry out accurate large scale calculations of atomic data and stellar opacities. For the last seven years a major international project has been underway to carry out large scale atomic calculations with the final aim of calculating stellar opacities of unprecedented precision. The opacity of stellar material plays a fundamental role in the structure and evolution of stars, as it controls the transport of radioactive energy in some regions of virtually all stars. The stellar opacity is also intrinsically involved in the instabilities that give rise to stellar pulsation, which are important in a number of respects in current astronomical research. The aim of the proposed research project, which is a joint collaboration between atomic physicists and astronomers in the United- Kingdom, the U.S., the Federal Republic of Germany, France and Venezuela, is to employ state-of-the-art atomic physics methods that are capable of yielding the basic atomic parameters, such as oscillator strengths and photoionization cross sections, to a high degree of accuracy in the range of 5-10%. The project is being led by Drs. M. Seaton and P.G. Burke. This award will permit the participation of members of the U.S. team. The collaboration will benefit from the extensive expertise of Dr. Mihalas in stellar atmosphere theory and Dr. Pradhan in atomic physics.