Diogeness was an uncollimated scanning flat crystal spectrometer observing solar flare X-ray spectra in four narrow wavelength bands in the vicinity of Ca xix, S xv and Si xiii He-like line ‘triplets’ around 3.18 Å, 5.04 Å and 6.65 Å. In two of the spectral channels, emission lines around the Ca xix 3.178 Å resonance line were scanned in opposite directions, being diffracted from precisely adjusted identical Quartz crystals mounted on a common shaft in a so-called Dopplerometer (tachometer) configuration. Observations of solar X-ray spectra made by Diogeness provide a direct diagnostic information on plasma characteristics during the impulsive flare energy release. We present a sample of events which occurred during the Diogeness operation time from August 16, 2001 to September 17, 2001.

ChemiX is a Bragg crystal spectrometer that will fly on the two Interhelioprobe spacecraft due for launch in 2025 and 2026. The spacecraft perihelion will be only 0.3 a.u. and the orbit inclination up to 30°, and so instruments on board will have a close view of solar active regions and flares and regions near each solar pole. The ChemiX X-ray spectrometer, built by a consortium of groups led by the Space Research Centre, Polish Academy of Sciences, will fly on each of the spacecraft, and observe X-ray spectra in the 1.5 - 9 Å range. Spectral lines in this range include resonance lines of helium-like and hydrogen-like ions of elements such as Fe, Ca, Ar, S, and Si, with less abundant elements such as K and Cl represented by weaker lines which the high sensitivity of ChemiX should be able to detect. The free–free and free–bound continua should also be detected since instrumental background will be eliminated. Three of the seven channels of ChemiX will be in a “dopplerometer” arrangement by which spatial and spectral shifts present in flare impulsive stages can be disentangled.

We present spectral analysis methods suitable for diagnostics of flaring plasma from RESIK spectra. RESIK is the uncollimated bent crystal spectrometer aboard the Russian CORONAS-F solar mission. It collected many flare and active region spectra in the wavelength range 3.3 Å–6.1 Å, where strong emission lines of Si, S, Ar, and K are present. Based on a careful instrument calibration the absolute fluxes in the individual spectral lines have been obtained. These fluxes have been used for determination of a set of thermodynamic parameters characterizing the emitting plasma and for studies their time behavior during selected flares.

RESIK Bragg spectrometer aboard CORONAS-F solar observatory collected spectra of hundreds of solar flares in the unique spectral range between 3.3 Å and 6.1 Å. The instrument's absolute and relative calibrations are now finished which allows for the first time to interpret the observations in terms of the differential emission measure (DEM) distribution. With known DEM shape it is possible to derive and study in detail flaring plasma composition and energy balance. Here we report results of using an improved Maximum Likelihood iterative algorithm (Withbroe-Sylwester) for determination of the DEM distributions for 7 January 2003 flare at 23:30 UT. The study is based on the absolute flux values observed in a number of strong H- and He-like transitions of K xviii, Ar xviii, Ar xvii, S xvi, S xv, Si xiv and Si xiii ions. In this respect, we use line and continuum X-ray emissivities as provided by CHIANTI package from SolarSoft.To search for other articles by the author(s) go to: http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html

The solar results from CORONAS-F satellite have been reviewed. The observations with the DIFOS multi-channel photometer in a broad spectral range from 350 to 1500 nm have allowed to determine the dependence of the relative amplitudes of p-modes of the global solar oscillations on the wavelength. The EUV observations in SPIRIT experiment have enabled the study of various manifestations of solar activity and high-temperature events on the Sun. The data from the flare instruments-gamma spectrometer HELICON, flare spectrometer IRIS, amplitude-time spectrometer AVS-F, and X-ray spectrometer RPS-1 have been used to analyze the hard emission from solar flares and to carry out the diagnostics of the solar flare plasma. The Solar Cosmic Ray Complex has investigated the solar flare effects in the Earth's environment. The UV emission variations during solar flares in the vicinity of the 120-nm wavelengh have been recorded and the relative variation amplitude has been determined.To search for other articles by the author(s) go to: http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html

There are dozen instruments successfully operating aboard the solar satellite CORONAS-F, which was launched in the summer of 2001. Among them are two (Polish-led) Bragg crystal spectrometers – RESIK and Diogeness – recording solar flare and active region spectra. A short description of the CORONAS-F satellite operation is presented together with that of the two Polish spectrometers, stressing their unique characteristics. The average spectra have been derived and shown here, covering the wavelength range between 3 Å and 7 Å. Future steps in the analysis of the large database collected are outlined.To search for other articles by the author(s) go to: http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html

We performed the study of a solar flare of GOES class X1.0 which occurred on 2002 August 21, peak time 05:34 UT. A new method was applied for temperature determination of the plasma seen in TRACE images. This method makes use of the detailed knowledge of the TRACE point spread function (PSF) function. Substantial dependence of TRACE PSF on wavelength allows for determination of temperature from a single TRACE image even in these portions of the image which are saturated. We also determined the average temperature of this flare from the soft X-ray spectra measured by RESIK Bragg spectrometer aboard CORONAS-F satellite. The results obtained from TARCE and RESIK data are compared.To search for other articles by the author(s) go to: http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html

RESIK is the bent crystal spectrometer aboard the CORONAS-F satellite. It is equipped with four PIN diode detectors. These detectors were used in order to detect background counts due to energetic particle contamination present within polar regions and SAA belts. At altitudes above 300 km (Coronas-F altitude is about 500 km) the population of charged particles trapped by the Earth's magnetic field consists of protons (energies between 100 keV and several hundred MeV) and electrons (energies between few tens of keV and 10 MeV). The construction of RESIK PIN diode detectors allows to sense particles with the energy above 1 MeV. We present diagrams illustrating the coupling of the Coronas-F particle environment and selected proxies of solar activity. The data shown have been collected during initial phase of mission.To search for other articles by the author(s) go to: http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html

Preliminary analysis of spectra collected with the RESIK Bragg bent crystal X-ray spectrometer aboard CORONAS-F indicates the presence of many spectral features which until recently were unidentified. We present RESIK spectra in which the H-like Cl XVII Ly$\alpha$ line at 4.182 Å and He-like Cl XVI triplet components in the range 4.43 Å-4.45 Å are identified.To search for other articles by the author(s) go to: http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html

Observations of the 3.3—6.1 Â X-ray line and continuous spectrum during four long-duration flares with the RESIK crystal spectrometer on the Coronas-F spacecraft have been analyzed to get the absolute abundances of potassium, argon, and sulphur. A differential emission measure of the form DEM ∝ exp(—Te/T0) was found to give the most consistent results of three models including an isothermal model. We obtained K/H = (3.7 ± 1.0) x 10—7, a factor 3 times photospheric; Ar/H = (2.8 ± 0.2) x 10—6, slightly lower than photospheric; and S/H = (2.2±0.4) x 10—5, approximately equal to photospheric. These measurements are consistent with a pattern in which elements with low (< 10 eV) first ionization potential are enriched in the corona by a factor of about 3 and elements of high first ionization potential have abundances approximately equal to photospheric.

Micro-infrared reflectivity and micro-Raman scattering have been used to determine free electron density and residual strain distribution in bulk GaN crystals. As-grown samples exhibit significant variation of electron concentration and strain along their surfaces. Increase of electron concentration correlates with the growth direction. The observed inhomogeneities in the properties of bulk GaN crystals can be eliminated by mechanical polishing of the crystal and removing the surface layer or growth figures formed during the sample cooling, which follows its high-pressure, high-temperature growth. Properties of that surface layer can differ from the bulk due to different growth mechanisms and impurity distribution. We suggest that oxygen is a likely candidate for the donor impurity supplying high amount of electrons to the conduction band of GaN.

Metal Clusters may be synthesized in the interior of surfactant aggregates called inverse micelles. These nanosize chemical reactors permit the controlled growth of several types of metal clusters. We describe this process for the formation of Au, Ag, Pd, Pt and Ir clusters and cluster alloys. Two size-control strategies are described: 1)variation of micelle size by alteration of the surfacant and/or solvent combination used, and 2) judicious use of micelle interactions or phase behavior. Using these two methods size control in the range of 1-100 nm is possible. The optical properties of metal clusters of gold, silver, and gold/silver alloys are described and the surface plasmon resonances are shown to have dramatic blue shifts and extensive line broadening with decreasing size in the range of 10-1 nm. In the case of gold clusters, the distinct resonancein the visible disappears for sizes less than 2.0 nm and new features appear in the UV. The optical spectra of alloys of gold and silver are shown to differ dramatically from their homoatomic counterparts of the same average size. We use electron and X-ray diffraction to determine the phase structure of the metal clusters and small angle X-ray scattering, neutron scattering, light scattering and TEM to characterize the average size and size distributions of these clusters. Finally, we describe measurements of the catalytic activity of Pd clusters and demonstrate a dramatic increase in hydrogenation activity on the size range of 2-10 nm.

Microcellular polymer foams are of interest as biomaterials for uses such as artificial skin, synthetic vascular replacements, artificial organs, and for use in permeable drug delivery systems. We wish to report the use of thermally - induced phase separation as a technology by which a variety of polymer foams can be prepared. This process permits control of foam morphology, cell size, and density. Importantly, the phase separation process results in fully open-celled foam structures. Additives such as small molecules and functionalized polymers have been incorporated into these microcellular foams resulting in polymer surfaces with controlled porosity and chemical modification. Microcellular polyurethane foams, with chemically modified surfaces, have potential application as small-diameter vascular replacements.

We present the first observational evidence for the variation of the coronal calcium abundance in the high-temperature solar flare plasmas. The analyzed data consists of the X-ray flare spectra observed by the Solar Maximum Mission satellite with the Bent Crystal Spectrometer. From BCS spectra we derived the ratio of the line to continuum flux IL/IC for the resonance line of Ca XIX λ = 3.1781Å and the continuum at the same wavelength as a function of the temperature. The studies of 13 flares showed similar temperature dependence during the decay phases, but the agreement of the IL/IC ratio from flare to flare could only be achieved by adjusting an overall normalization factor. As the continuum flux depends weakly on the heavy elemental abundance, this variation of the IL/IC ratio can be attributed to the variation in the calcium abundance. For the flares considered, the variation between the extreme cases represented the factor of 2.5. We stress the consequences of the observed abundance variation for the analysis and interpretation of XUV and X-ray spectra.

We discuss the Mg XII Lyα line profile measurements obtained, by means of Bragg crystal spectrometer aboard INTERCOSMOS 7 satellite. The design of this spectrometer allows to clearly resolve both components α½ and α3/2) of the Lyα spin doublet. The intensities of each of these components we derived by means of fitting two Voigt profiles to the measured Mg XII Lyα shape. More than 100 spectra were analyzed in this way providing the statistical information on the value of intensity ratio . Derived average value of a is close to the theoretically expected 0.5, but in many cases the value of a is significantly different from 0.5 (both lower and higher values occur). We present examples of the fit and the histograms showing correlations of a value with the values of other flare parameters. Present analysis consist the observational part of the larger paper under the preparation with Prof. R.W.P. McWhirter theoretical group.