An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics
English-French-Persian

The study of the grammatical relationships among signs, independently of their meaning (→ semantics. See also → syntax.

→ syntax; → -ics.

An operation of tensor algebra that is obtained by setting unlike indices equal and summing according to a summation convention.

→ contraction; → tensor.

A nuclear reaction in which two or more atomic nuclei fuse into a single heavier nucleus by a collision of the interacting particles at extremely high temperatures. Chains of thermonuclear reactions, such as the → proton-proton chain and the → CNO cycle, account for the energy radiated from the Sun and more massive stars.

→ thermo- + → nuclear; → reaction.

The end of the total phase of a solar eclipse marked by the trailing edge of the Moon first revealing the Sun.

→ third; → contact.

The minimum energy, for an incident particle or photon, below which a particular reaction does not occur.

→ threshold; → reaction.

Extremely compact with respect to a comparison value. → ultracompact H II region, → ultracompact dwarf galaxy.

→ ultra-; → compact.

A type of very bright compact → stellar system (-14 ≤ M_V≥ -12) that is intermediate between → globular clusters (GCs) and → compact elliptical galaxies (cEs). With masses of M > 2 × 10⁶ Msun and radii > 10 → parsecs (pc), UCDs are among the densest stellar systems in the Universe. Nevertheless, the nature and origin of these objects is still widely debated. Early interpretations suggested that UCDs could be the most massive GCs or possibly the → tidally stripped remnants of → dwarf galaxies. However, there is evidence that both formation mechanisms could contribute to the UCD population. → Supermassive black holes (SMBHs) have been confirmed in most UCDs with masses M > 10⁷ Msun. The most massive UCD discovered to date, M59-UCD3 (M_* ~ 2 × 10⁸ Msun, radius ~ 25 pc), hosts a SMBH (Ahn et al., 2018, arxiv/1804.02399, and references therein).

→ ultracompact; → dwarf; → galaxy.

A very young → H II region fully embedded in its natal molecular cloud. Ultracompact H II regions are distinguished from classical H II regions by their small sizes (diameter ≥ 0.1 pc), high densities (Ne ≥ 10⁵ cm^-3), and high emission measures (EM ≥ 10⁷ pc cm^-6). Their typical ionized gas content is about 10^-2  → solar masses, in contrast to classical H II regions with a mass of about 10⁵ solar masses. Due to very important extinction, ultracompact H II regions are not accessible to visible wavelengths.

→ ultra-; → compact; → H II region.

The location in a → fluid stream where the → cross section of the → stream is at a minimum, and fluid velocity is the highest, such as in the case of a → jet issuing out of a → nozzle.

L. vena "channel;" contracta, "contracted," → contract.

Šâre-gozar "fluid passage," → fluid; → passage, terengidé, → contracted.

Same as → common fraction.

M.E., from L. vulgaris, from vulgus "the common people," + -aris, → -ar.

→ common; → fraction.

The space containing a cluster of galaxies filled with a tenuous gas of temperature 10⁵ to 10⁷ K and density 10^-6 to 10^-4 cm^-3. WHIM has been continuously shock-heated during the process of structure formation. It is so highly ionized that it can only absorb or emit far-ultraviolet and soft X-ray photons, primarily at spectral lines of highly ionized C, O, Ne, and Fe. WHIM is thought to be the main reservoir of missing baryons.

→ warm; → hot; → intergalactic medium.

One of the fundamental forces of nature that accounts for some particle interaction, such as → beta decay (→ radioactivity), the decay of free → neutrons, → neutrino interactions, and so forth. It is short-ranged, dominating at distances of 10^-16 cm and occurs at a rate slower than that of the → strong interaction by a factor of about 10^-13, hence its name. Although the weak interaction also includes interactions in which no neutrinos are emitted, neutrino emission accompanies all weak interactions of interest to astrophysics. Weak interaction plays an important role in the evolution of the stars from birth to death. For example, the → proton-proton reaction is a weak interaction. Also called → weak force or → weak nuclear force.

→ weak; → interaction.

Same as → weight concentration.

→ weight; → fraction.

Same as → weight concentration.

→ weight; → fraction; → concentration.

The diffraction of X-rays by the atoms or ions of a crystal. The wavelength of X-rays are comparable to the size of interatomic spacings in solids. Since the atoms in a crystal are arranged in a set of regular planes, crystals serve as three-dimensional diffraction gratings for X-rays. Planes of repetition within the atomic structure of the mineral diffract the X-rays. The pattern of diffraction thus obtained is therefore used to identify minerals by bombarding them with X-rays.

→ X-ray; → diffraction.

The largest → refracting telescope and the last of the great refractors with a lens diameter of 102 cm (f/d = 19), completed in 1897. The lens was ground by American telescope builders Alvan Clark & Sons. Used mainly for both visual and photographic studies of double stars, it is typical of the long-tube refractors traditionally employed in such work.

After Yerkes Observatory; → refractor.