Michael Francis Smutko

Post-flare coronal loop interaction

High-resolution images of post-flare loop systems in Fexiv (5303 Å) and Fex (6374 Å) display occasional transient enhancements at the projected intersection of some loops. The brightness of a green-line enhancement gradually increases to a marked maximum and then fades with a lifetime of the order of thirty minutes. The red-line image at the same location, although fainter, shows the same overall characteristics, its maximum following that of the green-line on average by 8.6 min. Hα then becomes more evident and reaches a maximum in extent on average 9.3 min after the red-line maximum. The phenomenon is interpreted as a process of localized loop coalescence involving partial magnetic reconnection. Estimates of the electron density are derived from the cooling time following the initial heating of the plasma in the immediate vicinity of the X-point of interaction. Similar estimates for the energy dissipated, equivalent to a very small flare, are derived by two independent methods.

Performance of ChAOS on the Apache Point Observatory's 3.5-m telescope

The Chicago Adaptive Optics System has been installed on the 3.5 meter ARC telescope at Apache Point for two years. Strehl improvements of 12 are obtained at 0.85 microns in 1- 2 arcsecond seeing. The major limitation in performance is set by the telescope vibrations.

DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION OF DEFORMABLE MIRRORS FOR THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO ADAPTIVE OPTICS SYSTEM

This paper details the design, construction, and performance of the deformable mirrors and their driving electronics built for the Chicago Adaptive Optics System (ChAOS). Both the mirrors and the drivers are constructed at the University of Chicago using a combination of commercially available and custom-built components. Mirrors ranging in size from 7 to 201 actuators have been constructed and several of these mirrors have been in use on the Apache Point 3.5 m telescope since April of 1995. I discuss some theoretical design issues involved in building deformable mirrors and I demonstrate the functionality of these mirrors by presenting some images obtained with ChAOS.

Deformable mirrors for astronomy

We describe the motivations for building low-cost deformable mirrors constructed with the needs of astronomers in mind. We detail the design and manufacture of a 59 actuator continuous faceplate deformable mirror and its associated driving electronics and give a summary of the initial test results of this mirror.

A Morphological Study of Infrared Line Emission in Compact Star-Forming Regions

Near-infrared broadband and narrowband images are presented for 11 Galactic star-forming regions. Data were taken using the infrared camera on the Mount Palomar 60 inch (1.5 m) telescope with the broadband filters J, H, and K and with narrowband filters centered on H2 and Brγ. The morphologies of these regions are compared with ultraviolet fluorescence and shock front models of line emission. We find that the majority of these star-forming regions can be described by ultraviolet fluorescence.

Description of the Chicago Adaptive Optics System (ChAOS)

This paper describes some of the history and the current design of the Chicago Adaptive Optics System (ChAOS). ChAOS is a facility AO system using a sodium layer laser beacon which is due to be permanently mounted on a 3.5 meter ARC telescope located at Apache Point New Mexico. First light is expected in 1995.

MHOs toward HMOs: A Search for Molecular Hydrogen Emission-Line Objects toward High-mass Outflows

We present the results of a narrow-band near-infrared imaging survey for Molecular Hydrogen emission-line Objects (MHOs) toward 26 regions containing high-mass protostellar candidates and massive molecular outflows. We have detected a total of 236 MHOs, 156 of which are new detections, in 22 out of the 26 regions. We use H

Increasing the useful field-of-view of an adaptive optics system

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PROTOSTELLAR OUTFLOWS in L1340

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NEAR-INFRARED AND MILLIMETER-WAVELENGTH OBSERVATIONS OF Mol 160: A MASSIVE YOUNG PROTOSTELLAR CORE

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