Gayley, Kenneth G. 9417090 Gayley will continue his NSF-supported research on resonance line formation and profile diagnostics. The goal is to extend the analytical diagnostics derived so far to a wider class of resonance profiles. Instead of assuming an isolated two-level atom as he has done so far, he will focus on the more general effects of background continuum opacity, resonance line blending, and the diagnostics of cross-redistribution. This research is applicable to interpreting spectra of cool star atmospheres, in particular observations of cool chromospheres whose temperatures are depressed by line cooling. ***
