4mu spectra of AGB stars I: Observations

We present times series of high resolution spectra of AGB variables at 4mu. Line profiles from the major contributors to the spectra of oxygen rich stars at 4mu, OH, H$_2$O, HCl and SiO, are examined. The velocity as well as shape variations of these profiles with time are discussed. The line profiles investigated frequently have emission and multiple absorption components. The changes with time of the 4mu region lines do not always follow the cyclic variability seen in NIR spectra and in the photometric light curve. We interpret and discuss the results qualitatively considering comparing the spectral variability with that of the well behaved 1.6mu region and of dynamical model atmospheres. Miras and semiregular variables are compared. The origins of non-periodic behavior are discussed, including the role of spatial inhomogeneities in the stellar atmosphere.Comment: 14 pages, 12 figures, accepted for publication in A&

The imagination of class: masculinity and the Victorian urban poor

(print) xvi, 208 p. 24 cmSensational journalism, male detachment, and the feminized victim -- Culturalism, the feminized poor, and the land of deadened affect -- Morrison, Gissing, and the stark reality -- Hell hath its flâneurs : the discourse of the abyss -- Conclusion : representing the poor and forestalling abjectionItem embargoed for five year

Acid rain monitoring in East-Central Florida from 1977 to present

Rainfall has been collected on the University of Central Florida campus and at the Kennedy Space Center over a 12 year period. The chemical composition has been determined and summarized by monthly, annual periods, and for the entire 12 year period at both locations. The weighted average pH at each site is 4.58; however, annual weighted average pH has been equal to or above the 12 year average during six of the past eight years. Nitrate concentrations have increased slightly during recent years while excess sulfate concentrations have remained below the 12 year weighted average during six of the past seven years. Stepwise regression suggests that sulfate, nitrate, ammonium ion and calcium play major roles in the description of rainwater acidity. Annual acid deposition and annual rainfall have varied from 20 to 50 meg/(m(exp 2) year) and 100 to 180 cm/year, respectively. Sea salt comprises at least 25 percent of the total ionic composition

Abundances in bulge stars from high-resolution, near-IR spectra I. The CNO elements observed during the science verification of CRIRES at VLT

The formation and evolution of the Milky Way bulge is not yet well understood and its classification is ambiguous. Constraints can, however, be obtained by studying the abundances of key elements in bulge stars. The aim of this study is to determine the chemical evolution of CNO, and a few other elements in stars in the Galactic bulge, and to discuss the sensitivities of the derived abundances from molecular lines. High-resolution, near-IR spectra in the H band were recorded using VLT/CRIRES. Due to the high and variable visual extinction in the line-of-sight towards the bulge, an analysis in the near-IR is preferred. The CNO abundances can all be determined simultaneously from the numerous molecular lines in the wavelength range observed. The three giant stars in Baade's window presented here are the first bulge stars observed with CRIRES. We have especially determined the CNO abundances, with uncertainties of less than 0.20 dex, from CO, CN, and OH lines. Since the systematic uncertainties in the derived CNO abundances due to uncertainties in the stellar fundamental parameters, notably Teff, are significant, a detailed discussion of the sensitivities of the derived abundances is included. We find good agreement between near-IR and optically determined O, Ti, Fe, and Si abundances. Two of our stars show a solar [C+N/Fe], suggesting that these giants have experienced the first dredge-up and that the oxygen abundance should reflect the original abundance of the giants. The two giants fit into the picture, in which there is no significant difference between the O abundance in bulge and thick-disk stars. Our determination of the S abundances is the first for bulge stars. The high [S/Fe] values for all the stars indicate a high star-formation rate in an early phase of the bulge evolution.Comment: Accepted by A&

Abundance analysis for long period variables. Velocity effects studied with O-rich dynamic model atmospheres

(abbreviated) Measuring the surface abundances of AGB stars is an important tool for studying the effects of nucleosynthesis and mixing in the interior of low- to intermediate mass stars during their final evolutionary phases. The atmospheres of AGB stars can be strongly affected by stellar pulsation and the development of a stellar wind, though, and the abundance determination of these objects should therefore be based on dynamic model atmospheres. We investigate the effects of stellar pulsation and mass loss on the appearance of selected spectral features (line profiles, line intensities) and on the derived elemental abundances by performing a systematic comparison of hydrostatic and dynamic model atmospheres. High-resolution synthetic spectra in the near infrared range were calculated based on two dynamic model atmospheres (at various phases during the pulsation cycle) as well as a grid of hydrostatic COMARCS models. Equivalent widths of a selection of atomic and molecular lines were derived in both cases and compared with each other. In the case of the dynamic models, the equivalent widths of all investigated features vary over the pulsation cycle. A consistent reproduction of the derived variations with a set of hydrostatic models is not possible, but several individual phases and spectral features can be reproduced well with the help of specific hydrostatic atmospheric models. In addition, we show that the variations in equivalent width that we found on the basis of the adopted dynamic model atmospheres agree qualitatively with observational results for the Mira R Cas over its light cycle. The findings of our modelling form a starting point to deal with the problem of abundance determination in strongly dynamic AGB stars (i.e., long-period variables).Comment: 13 pages, 22 figures, accepted for publication in A&

The Observed Trend of Boron and Oxygen in Field Stars of the Disk

Oxygen abundances are derived in a sample of 13 field F and G dwarfs and subgiants with metallicities in the range of -0.75 < [Fe/H] < +0.15. This is the same sample of stars for which boron abundances have been derived earlier from archived spectra obtained with the Hubble Space Telescope. In a log-log comparison of the B versus the O abundances, a slope of m(BO)=1.39 is found, indicating that in the disk, the abundance of B relative to O is intermediate between primary and secondary production (hybrid behavior). This relation of B versus O for disk stars is compared to the same relation for halo stars.Comment: 14 pages, 3 figures, 1 table. In press to The Astronomical Journal (July 2001

Atmospheric dynamics in carbon-rich Miras. I. Model atmospheres and synthetic line profiles

Atmospheres of evolved AGB stars are heavily affected by pulsation, dust formation and mass loss, and they can become very extended. Time series of observed high-resolution spectra proved to be a useful tool to study atmospheric dynamics throughout the outer layers of these pulsating red giants. Originating at various depths, different molecular spectral lines observed in the near-infrared can be used to probe gas velocities there for different phases during the lightcycle. Dynamic model atmospheres are needed to represent the complicated structures of Mira variables properly. An important aspect which should be reproduced by the models is the variation of line profiles due to the influence of gas velocities. Based on a dynamic model, synthetic spectra (containing CO and CN lines) were calculated, using an LTE radiative transfer code that includes velocity effects. It is shown that profiles of lines that sample different depths qualitatively reproduce the behaviour expected from observations.Comment: accepted by A&A, 12 pages, 9 figure

Envelope tomography of long-period variable stars III. Line-doubling frequency among Mira stars

This paper presents statistics of the line-doubling phenomenon in a sample of 81 long-period variable (LPV) stars of various periods, spectral types and brightness ranges. When correlated with a mask mimicking a K0III spectrum, 54% of the sample stars clearly showed a double-peaked cross-correlation profile around maximum light, reflecting double absorption lines. Several pieces of evidence are presented that point towards the double absorption lines as being caused by the propagation of a shock wave through the photosphere. The observation of the Balmer lines appearing in emission around maximum light in these stars corroborates the presence of a shock wave. The observed velocity discontinuities, ranging between 10 and 25 km/s, are not correlated with the brightness ranges. A comparison with the center-of-mass (COM) velocity obtained from submm CO lines originating in the circumstellar envelope reveals that the median velocity between the red and blue peaks is blueshifted with respect to the COM velocity, as expected if the shock moves upwards.Comment: Accepted by Astronomy & Astrophysics (21 pages, 15 figures