615 research outputs found
Estimating Be Star Disk Radii using H-alpha Emission Equivalent Widths
We present numerical models of the circumstellar disks of Be stars, and we
describe the resulting synthetic H-alpha emission lines and maps of the
wavelength-integrated emission flux projected onto the sky. We demonstrate that
there are monotonic relationships between the emission line equivalent width
and the ratio of the angular half-width at half maximum of the projected disk
major axis to the radius of the star. These relationships depend mainly upon
the temperatures of the disk and star, the inclination of the disk normal to
the line of sight, and the adopted outer boundary for the disk radius. We show
that the predicted H-alpha disk radii are consistent with those observed
directly through long baseline interferometry of nearby Be stars (especially
once allowance is made for disk truncation in binaries and for dilution of the
observed H-alpha equivalent width by continuum disk flux in the V-band).Comment: 12 pages, 2 figures, ApJL in pres
Cambio Global. Impacto de la Actividad Humana sobre el Sistema Tierra
Esta obra, dirigida al público en general y elaborada por un equipo interdisciplinar, aborda con un lenguaje claro y asequible pero sin renunciar al rigor científico, el complejo problema del cambio global, un desafío de dimensiones colosales para la humanidad. El cambio global se define en esta obra como el conjunto de cambios en los procesos fundamentales que definen el
funcionamiento de la biosfera derivados de la actividad humana. Los autores describen las múltiples dimensiones del cambio global, sus causas y sus consecuencias. Se describe la transformación de la superficie del planeta Tierra por la actividad humana y sus impactos sobre los ciclos del agua, los
elementos y el sistema climático, incluyendo la introducción de miles de compuestos químicos sintéticos en la biosfera. Esta exposición pretende despejar la confusión que el aluvión de noticias e informaciones, a veces contradictorias, genera en la sociedad. Los autores prestan particular atención a la definición de las estrategias de adaptación y mitigación que los distintos actores de la sociedad, desde ciudadanos a
políticos, pueden desplegar para minimizar el impacto del cambio global, animándoles al mismo tiempo a aprovechar las oportunidades que estos cambios pueden conllevar
Deep X-ray survey of the young open cluster NGC 2516 with XMM-Newton
We report on a deep X-ray survey of the young (~ 140 Myr), rich open cluster
NGC 2516 obtained with the EPIC camera on board the XMM-Newton satellite. By
combining data from six observations, a high sensitivity, greater than a factor
5 with respect to recent Chandra observations, has been achieved. We detected
431 X-ray sources and 234 of them have as optical counterparts cluster stars
spanning the entire NGC 2516 Main Sequence. The X-ray luminosities of cluster
stars span the range log Lx (erg/s) = 28.4 - 30.8. The representative
temperatures span the 0.3 - 0.6 keV (3.5 - 8 MK) range for the cool component
and 1.0 - 2.0 keV (12 -- 23 MK) for the hot one; similar values are found in
other young open clusters like the Pleiades, IC 2391, and Blanco 1. While no
significant differences are found in X-ray spectra, NGC 2516 solar type stars
are definitely less luminous in X-rays than the nearly coeval Pleiades. The
comparison with a previous ROSAT survey evidence the lack of variability
amplitudes larger than a factor 2 in solar type stars in a ~11 yr time scale of
the cluster and thus activity cycles like in the Sun are probably absent or
different by period and amplitude in young stars.Comment: 37 pages, 13 figures, to be published on A&
Identification of particles with Lorentz factor up to with Transition Radiation Detectors based on micro-strip silicon detectors
This work is dedicated to the study of a technique for hadron identification
in the TeV momentum range, based on the simultaneous measurement of the
energies and of the emission angles of the Transition Radiation (TR) X-rays
with respect to the radiating particles. A detector setup has been built and
tested with particles in a wide range of Lorentz factors (from about to
about crossing different types of radiators. The measured
double-differential (in energy and angle) spectra of the TR photons are in a
reasonably good agreement with TR simulation predictions.Comment: 31 pages, 12 figures, paper published on Nuclear Instruments &
Methods
Stellar Rotation in Young Clusters. I. Evolution of Projected Rotational Velocity Distributions
Open clusters offer us the means to study stellar properties in samples with
well-defined ages and initial chemical composition. Here we present a survey of
projected rotational velocities for a large sample of mainly B-type stars in
young clusters to study the time evolution of the rotational properties of
massive stars. The survey is based upon moderate resolution spectra made with
the WIYN 3.5 m and CTIO 4 m telescopes and Hydra multi-object spectrographs,
and the target stars are members of 19 young open clusters with an age range of
approximately 6 to 73 Myr. We made fits of the observed lines He I 4026, 4387,
4471 and Mg II 4481 using model theoretical profiles to find projected
rotational velocities for a total of 496 OB stars. We find that there are fewer
slow rotators among the cluster B-type stars relative to nearby B stars in the
field. We present evidence consistent with the idea that the more massive B
stars (M > 9 solar masses) spin down during their main sequence phase. However,
we also find that the rotational velocity distribution appears to show an
increase in the numbers of rapid rotators among clusters with ages of 10 Myr
and higher. These rapid rotators appear to be distributed between the zero age
and terminal age main sequence locations in the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram,
and thus only a minority of them can be explained as the result of a spin up at
the terminal age main sequence due to core contraction. We suggest instead that
some of these rapid rotators may have been spun up through mass transfer in
close binary systems.Comment: 33 pages, 11 figures, accepted by Ap
Stellar Rotation in Young Clusters. II. Evolution of Stellar Rotation and Surface Helium Abundance
We derive the effective temperatures and gravities of 461 OB stars in 19
young clusters by fitting the H-gamma profile in their spectra. We use
synthetic model profiles for rotating stars to develop a method to estimate the
polar gravity for these stars, which we argue is a useful indicator of their
evolutionary status. We combine these results with projected rotational
velocity measurements obtained in a previous paper on these same open clusters.
We find that the more massive B-stars experience a spin down as predicted by
the theories for the evolution of rotating stars. Furthermore, we find that the
members of binary stars also experience a marked spin down with advanced
evolutionary state due to tidal interactions. We also derive non-LTE-corrected
helium abundances for most of the sample by fitting the He I 4026, 4387, 4471
lines. A large number of helium peculiar stars are found among cooler stars
with Teff < 23000 K. The analysis of the high mass stars (8.5 solar masses < M
< 16 solar masses) shows that the helium enrichment process progresses through
the main sequence (MS) phase and is greater among the faster rotators. This
discovery supports the theoretical claim that rotationally induced internal
mixing is the main cause of surface chemical anomalies that appear during the
MS phase. The lower mass stars appear to have slower rotation rates among the
low gravity objects, and they have a large proportion of helium peculiar stars.
We suggest that both properties are due to their youth. The low gravity stars
are probably pre-main sequence objects that will spin up as they contract.
These young objects very likely host a remnant magnetic field from their natal
cloud, and these strong fields sculpt out surface regions with unusual chemical
abundances.Comment: 50 pages 18 figures, accepted by Ap
An atlas of 2.4 to 4.1 microns ISO/SWS spectra of early-type stars
We present an atlas of spectra of O- and B-type stars, obtained with the
Short Wavelength Spectrometer (SWS) during the Post-Helium program of the
Infrared Space Observatory (ISO). This program is aimed at extending the Morgan
& Keenan classification scheme into the near-infrared. Later type stars will be
discussed in a seperate publication. The observations consist of 57 SWS
Post-Helium spectra from 2.4 to 4.1 microns, supplemented with 10 spectra
acquired during the nominal mission with a similar observational setting. For
B-type stars, this sample provides ample spectral converage in terms of subtype
and luminosity class. For O-type stars,the ISO sample is coarse and therefore
is complemented with 8 UKIRT L'-band observations. In terms of the presence of
diagnostic lines, the L'-band is likely the most promising of the near-infrared
atmospheric windows for the study of the physical properties of B stars.
Specifically, this wavelength interval contains the Brackett alpha, Pfund
gamma, and other Pfund lines which are probes of spectral type, luminosity
class and mass loss. Here, we present simple empirical methods based on the
lines present in the 2.4 to 4.1 microns interval that allow the determination
of: the spectral type of B dwarfs and giants to within two subtypes; the
luminosity class of B stars to within two classes; the mass-loss rate of O
stars and B supergiants to within 0.25 dex.Comment: 19 pages, 11 Postscript figures, accepted by A&
ES&T Guest Comment: Celebrating Bidleman’s 1988 “Atmospheric Processes”
Since its 1988 appearance in ES&T, Terry F. Bidleman’s article, “Atmospheric processes: wet and dry deposition of organic compounds are controlled by their vapor-particle partitioning”, has had a notable impact on the field of contaminant science. The paper has been cited in over 600 journal articles published by authors from every continent. Far from fading into obscurity, the paper’s influence has been remarkably consistent. Citations over the last year match the annual average attained since publication
Parallaxes and proper motions for 20 open clusters as based on the new Hipparcos catalogue
A new reduction of the astrometric data as produced by the Hipparcos mission
has been published, claiming that the accuracies for nearly all stars brighter
than magnitude are improved, by up to a factor 4, compared to
the original catalogue. As correlations between the underlying abscissa
residuals have also been reduced by more than an order of magnitude to an
insignificant level, our ability to determine reliable parallaxes and proper
motions for open clusters should be improved. The new Hipparcos astrometric
catalogue is used to derive mean parallax and proper motion estimates for 20
open clusters. The HR-diagrams of the nearest clusters are compared and
combined to provide future input to sets of observational isochrones. The
positions of the cluster HR diagrams are consistent within different groups of
clusters shown for example by the near-perfect alignment of the sequences for
the Hyades and Praesepe, for Coma Ber and UMa, and for the Pleiades, NGC 2516,
and Blanco 1. The groups are mutually consistent when systematic differences in
are taken into account, where the effect of these differences on
the absolute magnitudes has been calibrated using field-star observations.Comment: 34 pages, 36 figures, 7 tables. Accepted for publication by A&
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