69 research outputs found
A model of an expanding giant that swallowed planets for the eruption of V838 Monocerotis
In early 2002 V838 Monocerotis had an extraordinary outburst whose nature is
still unclear. The optical light curve showed at least three peaks and imaging
revealed a light echo around the object - evidence for a dust shell which was
emitted several thousand years ago and now reflecting light from the eruption.
Spectral analysis suggests that the object was relatively cold throughout the
event, which was characterized by an expansion to extremely large radii. We
show that the three peaks in the light curve have a similar shape and thus it
seems likely that a certain phenomenon was three times repeated. Our suggestion
that the outburst was caused by the expansion of a red giant, followed by the
successive swallowing of three relatively massive planets in close orbits,
supplies a simple explanation to all observed peculiarities of this intriguing
object.Comment: 5 pages, 1 LaTex file, 2 .eps figures, accepted for publication in
MNRA
V4332 Sagittarii revisited
The eruption of V4332 Sgr discovered in February 1994 shows striking
similarities to that of V838 Mon started in January 2002. The nature of these
eruptions is, however, enigmatic and unclear. We present new photometric and
spectroscopic data on V4332 Sgr obtained in April-May 2003 at the SAAO. The
obtained spectrum shows an unusual emission-line component superimposed on an
early M-type stellar spectrum. The emission-line spectrum is of very low
excitation and is dominated by lines from neutral elemets (NaI, FeI, CaI) and
molecular bands (TiO, ScO, AlO). We also analyse all the observational data,
mainly photometric measurements, available for V4332 Sgr. This allows us to
follow the evolution of the effective temperature, radius and luminosity of the
object since February 1994 till 2003. We show that the observed decline of
V4332 Sgr can be accounted for by a gravitational contraction of an inflated
stellar envelope. The combined optical and infrared photometry in 2003 shows
that apart from the M-type stellar component there is a strong infrared excess
in the KLM bands. This excess was absent in the 2MASS measurements done in 1998
but was probably starting to appear in K in 1999 when the object was observed
in the DENIS survey. We interpret the results in terms of a stellar merger
scenario proposed by Soker & Tylenda. The infrared excess is likely to be due
to a disc-like structure which is either of protostellar nature or has been
produced during the 1994 eruption and stores angular momentum from the merger
event.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figures, accepted in Astronomy & Astrophysic
Two new pulsating hot subdwarf stars from the Edinburgh-Cape survey
We report the discovery of very rapid pulsations in two hot subdwarf stars from the Edinburgh-
Cape blue object survey. The short periods, small amplitudes and multiperiodicity establish
these stars as members of the class of rapidly-pulsating sdB stars. The spectrograms of
both stars, however, show relatively strong He II 4686 and they are therefore more properly
classified as sdOB. The light curve of EC 01541?1409 is dominated by two strong
(?1 per cent) variations with frequencies near 7114 and 7870 ?Hz (periods near 140.6 and
127.1 s), though at least five frequencies are present with amplitudes above about 0.002 mag.
The light curve of EC 22221?3152 appears to be generated by at least 10 frequencies in the
range 5670-11850 ?Hz (about 175-85 s) with amplitudes between about 0.01 and 0.001 mag,
including the first overtone of the strongest variation. Somewhat surprisingly, this number of
frequencies is detectable in observing runs as short as 3 h, probably due to the fact that the
detected frequencies are well-separated.IS
Long-Term Follow-Up of Helicobacter pylori Treatment in Non-Ulcer Dyspepsia Patients
Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/73344/1/j.1572-0241.1995.tb09422.x.pd
Direct imaging of a massive dust cloud around R Coronae Borealis
We present recent polarimetric images of the highly variable star R CrB using
ExPo and archival WFPC2 images from the HST. We observed R CrB during its
current dramatic minimum where it decreased more than 9 mag due to the
formation of an obscuring dust cloud. Since the dust cloud is only in the
line-of-sight, it mimics a coronograph allowing the imaging of the star's
circumstellar environment. Our polarimetric observations surprisingly show
another scattering dust cloud at approximately 1.3" or 2000 AU from the star.
We find that to obtain a decrease in the stellar light of 9 mag and with 30% of
the light being reemitted at infrared wavelengths (from R CrB's SED) the grains
in R CrB's circumstellar environment must have a very low albedo of
approximately 0.07%. We show that the properties of the dust clouds formed
around R CrB are best fitted using a combination of two distinct populations of
grains size. The first are the extremely small 5 nm grains, formed in the low
density continuous wind, and the second population of large grains (~0.14
{\mu}m) which are found in the ejected dust clouds. The observed scattering
cloud, not only contains such large grains, but is exceptionally massive
compared to the average cloud.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figures published in A&
TW Hya: Spectral Variability, X-Rays, and Accretion Diagnostics
The nearest accreting T Tauri star, TW Hya was observed with spectroscopic
and photometric measurements simultaneous with a long se gmented exposure using
the CHANDRA satellite. Contemporaneous optical photometry from WASP-S indicates
a 4.74 day period was present during this time. Absence of a similar
periodicity in the H-alpha flux and the total X-ray flux points to a different
source of photometric variations. The H-alpha emission line appears
intrinsically broad and symmetric, and both the profile and its variability
suggest an origin in the post-shock cooling region. An accretion event,
signaled by soft X-rays, is traced spectroscopically for the first time through
the optical emission line profiles. After the accretion event, downflowing
turbulent material observed in the H-alpha and H-beta lines is followed by He I
(5876A) broadening. Optical veiling increases with a delay of about 2 hours
after the X-ray accretion event. The response of the stellar coronal emission
to an increase in the veiling follows about 2.4 hours later, giving direct
evidence that the stellar corona is heated in part by accretion. Subsequently,
the stellar wind becomes re-established. We suggest a model that incorporates
this sequential series of events: an accretion shock, a cooling downflow in a
supersonically turbulent region, followed by photospheric and later, coronal
heating. This model naturally explains the presence of broad optical and
ultraviolet lines, and affects the mass accretion rates determined from
emission line profiles.Comment: 61 pages; 22 figures; to appear in The Astrophysical Journa
Observation of light echoes around very young stars
The goal of the paper is to present new results on light echoes from young
stellar objects. Broad band CCD images were obtained over three months at
one-to-two week intervals for the field of NGC 6726, using the large
field-of-view remotely-operated telescope on top of Cerro Burek. We detected
scattered light echoes around two young, low-amplitude, irregular variable
stars. Observations revealed not just one, but multiple light echoes from
brightness pulses of the T Tauri star S CrA and the Herbig Ae/Be star R CrA.
Analysis of S CrA's recurring echoes suggests that the star is located 138 +/-
16 pc from Earth, making these the closest echoes ever detected. The
environment that scatters the stellar light from S CrA is compatible with an
incomplete dust shell or an inclined torus some 10,000 AU in radius and
containing M_{\sun} of dust. The cause of such
concentration at 10,000AU from the star is unknown. It could be the
remnant of the envelope from which the star formed, but the distance of the
cloud is remarkably similar to the nominal distance of the Oort cloud to the
Sun, leading us to also speculate that the dust (or ice) seen around S CrA
might have the same origin as the Solar System Oort cloud.Comment: A&A, in press Received: 16 March 2010 / Accepted: 01 June 201
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