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In the analysis of broad absorption line (BAL) quasar spectra, Keck HIRES spectra are a useful complement to lower resolution HST and ground based spectra. The HIRES spectra provide accurate parameters for narrow, intervening type absorption systems including Lyman limit systems and a direct measurement of the smoothness of BAL features. The smoothness of the troughs is related to the number of "clouds" in the BAL region if the BAL region consists of clouds. The HIRES spectra, especially for z approx. 2 quasars, are also a source of high quality absorption templates. All of the BAL features are apparently resolved in the high resolution spectra (R approx. 45 000), while low resolution (R approx. 1000) spectra do not always resolve features belonging to the outflow., Comment: LATEX, 6 pages with 3 embedded figures. To appear in ASP Conf. Proceedings: Mass Outflows in Active Galactic Nuclei: New Perspectives, eds D. M. Crenshaw, S. B. Kraemer, and I. M. George

LBQS 0103$-$2753 is a binary quasar with a separation of only 0.3 arcsec. The projected spacing of 2.3 kpc at the distance of the source (z = 0.848) is much smaller than that of any other known binary QSO. The binary nature is demonstrated by the very different spectra of the two components and the low probability of a chance pairing. LBQS 0103$-$2753 presumably is a galaxy merger with a small physical separation between the two supermassive black holes. Such objects may provide important constraints on the evolution of binary black holes and the fueling of AGN., Comment: 6 pages LATEX with 2 EPS figures; uses epsfig, aipproc. Proceedings of the 20th Texas Symposium on Relativistic Astrophysics, ed. J. C. Wheeler and H. Martel, American Institute of Physics, in press (2001)

Imaging and spectroscopy with HST show that LBQS 0103-2753 (V = 17.8, z = 0.848) is a binary quasar with a separation of 0.3 arcsec or 2.3 kpc. This is by far the smallest separation binary quasar reported to date. The two components have very different spectra, including the presence of strong broad absorption lines (BALs) in component A only. The emission-line redshifts, based on the broad high ionization C IV lines, are z_A = 0.834 and z_B = 0.858; their difference is 3900 km/s in velocity units. The broad C IV lines, however, are probably not a good indicator of systemic redshift; and LBQS 0103-2753 A and B could have a much smaller systemic redshift difference, like the other known binary quasars. If the systemic redshift difference is small, then LBQS 0103-2753 would most likely be a galaxy merger that has led to a binary supermassive black hole. There is now one known 0.3 arcsec binary among roughly 500 QSOs that have been observed in a way that would reveal such a close binary. This suggests that QSO activity is substantially more likely for black hole binaries at spacings ~2 kpc than at ~15 to 60 kpc. Between 1987 and 1998, the observed Mg II BAL disappeared., Comment: 12 pages LATEX with 3 EPS figures; uses aaspp4.sty. Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, volume 550 (2001 March 20)

We discuss the identification and kinematics of intrinsic narrow-line absorbers in three QSOs. The line-of-sight ejection velocities in the confirmed intrinsic systems range from 1500 to 51,000 km/s. The ratio of ejection velocity to line width, V/Delta-V, in these systems ranges from ~3 to 60, in marked contrast to the BALs where typically V/Delta-V ~ 1. We speculate on the possible relationship between the BAL and narrow-line absorbers. Like the BALs, intrinsic narrow-line systems appear to be rare, but the outflows that cause them might be common if they cover a small fraction of the sky as seen from the QSO., Comment: 6 pages, LaTeX, to appear in ``Mass Ejection From AGN,'' eds. R. Weymann, I. Shlosman, N. Arav

We discuss two aspects of the ionization and abundances in QSO intrinsic absorbers. First, we use the high-ionization doublet Ne VIII 770,780 to test the relationship between the UV line absorbers and the ``warm'' absorbers detected in soft X-rays. In one well-measured QSO with intrinsic z_a ~ z_e lines, UM 675, we estimate that the UV absorber has at least 10 times too little O VII and O VIII to produce the requisite bound-free edges at ~0.8 keV. Second, we show that firm lower limits on the metal-to-hydrogen abundances can be established even with no constraints on the ionization. Those lower limits are typically Z ~> Z_o and sometimes Z ~> 10 Z_o (e.g. for the BALs). We argue that QSO metallicities up to at least ~9 Z_o are consistent with the rapid early-epoch star formation expected in the cores of massive galaxies., Comment: 6 pages, LaTeX, to appear in ``Mass Ejection From AGN,'' eds. R. Weymann, I. Shlosman, N. Arav

We present Lick Observatory slit spectra of 38 objects which were claimed to have pronounced ultraviolet excess and emission lines by Zhan \& Chen. Most of our spectra have FWHM spectral resolutions of about 4~\AA , and relatively high S/N of about 10 -- 50, although some have FWHM $\simeq 15$~\AA ~or lower S/N. We find eleven QSOs, four galaxies at $z \simeq 0.1$, twenty-two stars and one unidentified object with a low S/N spectrum. Six of the QSOs show absorption systems, including Q0000+027A with a relatively strong associated C~IV absorption system, and Q0008+008 (V$\simeq 18.9$) with a damped Ly$\alpha $ system with an H~I column density of $10^{21}$ cm$^{-2}$. The stars include a wide variety of spectral types. There is one new DA4 white dwarf at 170~pc, one sdB at 14~kpc, and three M stars. The rest are of types F, G and K. We have measured the equivalent widths of the Ca~II~K line, the G-band and the Balmer lines in ten stars with the best spectra, and we derive metallicities. Seven of them are in the range $-2.5 \leq$~[Fe/H]~$\leq -1.7$, while the others are less metal poor. If the stars are dwarfs, then they are at distances of 1 to 7~kpc, but if they are giants, typical distances will be about 10~kpc., Comment: (Plain Tex, 21 pages, including tables. Send email to 'travell_oir%cass.span@sdsc.edu' for 12 pages of figures) To appear in the %%Astronomical Journal, August, 1993

We present the data and initial results from a combined Hubble Space Telescope (HST)/IUE/ground-based spectroscopic monitoring campaign on the Seyfert 1 galaxy NGC 5548 that was undertaken in order to address questions that require both higher temporal resolution and higher signal-to-noise ratios than were obtained in our previous multiwavelength monitoring of this galaxy in 1988-1989. IUE spectra were obtained once every 2 days for a period of 74 days beginning on 1993 March 14. During the last 39 days of this campaign, spectroscopic observations were also made with the HST Faint Object Spectrograph (FOS) on a daily basis. Ground-based observations, consisting of 165 optical spectra and 77 photometric observations (both CCD imaging and aperture photometry), are reported for the period 1992 October-1993 September, although many of the data are concentrated around the time of the satellite-based program. These data constitute a fifth year of intensive optical monitoring of this galaxy. In this contribution we describe the acquisition and reduction of all of the satellite and ground-based data obtained in this program. We describe in detail various photometric problems with the FOS and explain how we identified and corrected for various anomalies.

We report on the results of a continuation of a large monitoring program of optical spectroscopy of the Seyfert 1 galaxy NGC 5548. The new observations presented here were obtained between 1990 December and 1992 October, and extend the existing database to nearly 1400 days, dating back to 1988 December. The continuum variations are generally smooth and well-resolved, except during the third year of this 4 year project, when the variations were apparently more rapid and of lower amplitude than observed at other times. The broad H(beta) emission line is found to vary in response to the continuum variations with a lag of about 18 days, but with some changes from year to year. The H(beta) transfer functions for each of the 4 yr and for the entire 4 yr database are derived by using a maximum entropy method.

We present the data and initial results from a combined HST/IUE/ground-based spectroscopic monitoring campaign on the Seyfert 1 galaxy NGC 5548 that was undertaken in order to address questions that require both higher temporal resolution and higher signal-to-noise ratios than were obtained in our previous multiwavelength monitoring of this galaxy in 1988-89. IUE spectra were obtained once every two days for a period of 74 days beginning on 14 March 1993. During the last 39 days of this campaign, spectroscopic observations were also made with the HST Faint Object Spectrograph (FOS) on a daily basis. Ground-based observations, consisting of 165 optical spectra and 77 photometric observations (both CCD imaging and aperture photometry), are reported for the period 1992 October to 1993 September, although much of the data are concentrated around the time of the satellite-based program. These data constitute a fifth year of intensive optical monitoring of this galaxy. In this contribution, we describe the acquisition and reduction of all of the satellite and ground-based data obtained in this program. We describe in detail various photometric problems with the FOS and explain how we identified and corrected for various anomalies. During the HST portion of the monitoring campaign, the 1350 A continuum flux is found to have varied by nearly a factor of two. In other wavebands, the continuum shows nearly identical behavior, except that the amplitude of variability is larger at shorter wavelengths, and the continuum light curves appear to show more short time-scale variability at shorter wavelengths. The broad emission lines also vary in flux, with amplitudes that are slightly smaller than the UV continuum variations and with a small time delay relative to the UV continuum. On the basis of simple time-series analysis of the UV and optical continuum and emission line light curves, we find (1) that the ultraviolet and optical continuum variations are virtually simultaneous, with any lag between the 1350 A continuum and the 5100 A continuum amounting to less than about one day; (2) that the variations in the highest ionization lines observed, He II lambda 1640 and N V lambda 1240, lag behind the continuum variations by somewhat less than 2 days, and (3) that the velocity field of the C IV-emitting region is not dominated by radial motion. The results on the C IV velocity field are preliminary and quite uncertain, but there are some weak indications that the emission-line (wings absolute value of Delta upsilon is greater than or equal to 3000 km/s) respond to continuum variations slightly more rapidly than does the core. The optical observations show that the variations in the broad H beta line flux follow the continuum variations with a time lag of around two weeks, about twice the lag for Ly alpha and C IV, as in our previous monitoring campaign on this same galaxy. However, the lags measured for Ly alpha, C IV, and H Beta are each slightly smaller than previously determined. We confirm two trends reported earlier, namely (1) that the UV/optical continuum becomes 'harder' as it gets brighter, and (2) that the highest ionization emission lines have the shortest lags, thus indicating radial ionization stratificatin of a broad-line region that spans over an order of magnitude range in radius.

We present the results of an investigation of the in-orbit performance of the Digicon detectors in the Faint Object Spectrograph (FOS), conducted as part of the commissioning phase of the Hubble Space Telescope. This paper includes orbital results on detector background noise, sensor image stability, and photometric stability along with several typical FOS observations. New techniques for suppressing cosmic ray induced background and geomagnetic induced image motion in electron tube detectors are also discussed.

Observations of the sky background obtained with the Faint Object Spectrograph during 1991-1992 are discussed. Sky light can be an important contributor to the observed count rate in several of the instrument configurations especially when large apertures are used. In general, the sky background is consistent with the pre-launch expectations and showed the expected effects of zodiacal light and diffuse galactic light. In addition to these sources, there is, particularly during the daytime, a highly variable airglow component which includes a number of emission lines. The sky background will have an impact on the reduction and possibly the interpretation of some spectra.

An axisymmetric formulation is employed to examine convective heat transfer from a sphere in a traveling sound wave. Time-dependent thermal displacement and induced transient flows are found to increase the minimum value for transient heat transfer significantly above the pure conduction limit. Transient effects are found to cause significant differences when compared to a quasi-steady analysis in the determination of transient convection. General trends are found for a range of low Strouhal and Reynolds numbers.