834 research outputs found
Multidimensional hydrodynamic simulations of the hydrogen injection flash
The injection of hydrogen into the convection shell powered by helium burning
during the core helium flash is commonly encountered during the evolution of
metal-free and extremely metal-poor low-mass stars. With specifically designed
multidimensional hydrodynamic simulations, we aim to prove that an entropy
barrier is no obstacle for the growth of the helium-burning shell convection
zone in the helium core of a metal-rich Pop I star, i.e. convection can
penetrate into the hydrogen-rich layers for these stars, too. We further study
whether this is also possible in one-dimensional stellar evolutionary
calculations. Our hydrodynamical simulations show that the helium-burning shell
convection zone in the helium core moves across the entropy barrier and reaches
the hydrogen-rich layers. This leads to mixing of protons into the hotter
layers of the core and to a rapid increase of the nuclear energy production at
the upper edge of the helium-burning convection shell - the hydrogen injection
flash. As a result a second convection zone appears in the hydrogen-rich
layers. Contrary to 1D models, the entropy barrier separating the two
convective shells from each other is largely permeable to chemical transport
when allowing for multidimensional flow, and consequently, hydrogen is
continuously mixed deep into the helium core. We find it difficult to achieve
such a behavior in one-dimensional stellar evolutionary calculations.Comment: 8 pages, 8 figures - accepted for publication in Astronomy and
Astrophysics. Animations related to the manuscript can be downloaded from
http://www-astro.ulb.ac.be/~mocak/index.php/Main/AnimationsHeFlas
Urinary cholesterol: its association with a macromolecular protein- lipid complex
The cholesterol-containing complexes in the urine of normal subjects and patients with diseases accompanied by hyperexcretion of urinary cholesterol were characterized. In normal subjects, the major portion of the recovered urinary cholesterol was eluted in the void volume fractions after gel chromatography on Bio-Gel A-5m; this suggested an association with a macromolecular complex above 5 X 10(6) daltons. A comparable elution pattern was seen in most of the urines of the patients with benign or malignant diseases of the kidneys or the urogenital tract. However, in single patients with hyperexcretion of urinary cholesterol, considerable amounts of cholesterol were detected in the included volume of the column. This was caused by additional excretion of high density lipoproteins or both high and low density lipoproteins in the urine which could be identified in these fractions by agarose electrophoresis and immunodiffusion. These results indicate that the macromolecular complex represents the majority of the recovered urinary cholesterol in normal subjects and in disease states with known hyperexcretion. Macroscopically, the isolated cholesterol- containing complex in the void volume fractions was turbid, and electron microscopy showed lipoprotein-like particles with diameters ranging from 300 to 700 A. The chemical analysis revealed median values of protein (46.0%), triglycerides (16.3%), cholesterol (8.2%), and phospholipids (29.5%) in normal subjects and comparable results in the patients with benign or malignant diseases of the kidney and the urogenital tract. Ethanolamine glycerophospholipids, phosphatidylcholine, sphingomyelin, and phosphatidylserine were the main phospholipid components. After ultracentrifugation in a CsCl gradient, the cholesterol-containing complex was found between densities 1.1 and 1.3 g/ml. By SDS polyacrylamide electrophoresis, up to 17 protein subunits in the molecular weight range of 14,000 to 87,500 were separated. Immunodiffusion studies showed in about 40% precipitin lines against anti-human albumin, but no reactions against anti-human apoHDL and anti-human apoLDL. However, immunodiffusion of the macromolecular complex against anti-liver-specific and anti-kidney- specific lipoproteins revealed single precipitin lines. In conclusion, the isolated cholesterol-containing urinary complex showed many characteristics of membrane-associated protein-lipid particles of the human kidney and even the liver. These proteolipids are the major source of urinary cholesterol in normal and disease states
A new stellar mixing process operating below shell convection zones following off-center ignition
During most stages of stellar evolution the nuclear burning of lighter to
heavier elements results in a radial composition profile which is stabilizing
against buoyant acceleration, with light material residing above heavier
material. However, under some circumstances, such as off-center ignition, the
composition profile resulting from nuclear burning can be destabilizing, and
characterized by an outwardly increasing mean molecular weight. The potential
for instabilities under these circumstances, and the consequences that they may
have on stellar structural evolution, remain largely unexplored. In this paper
we study the development and evolution of instabilities associated with
unstable composition gradients in regions which are initially stable according
to linear Schwarzschild and Ledoux criteria. In particular, we explore the
mixing taking place under various conditions with multi-dimensional
hydrodynamic convection models based on stellar evolutionary calculations of
the core helium flash in a 1.25 \Msun star, the core carbon flash in a
9.3\,\Msun star, and of oxygen shell burning in a star with a mass of
23\,\Msun. The results of our simulations reveal a mixing process associated
with regions having outwardly increasing mean molecular weight that reside
below convection zones. The mixing is not due to overshooting from the
convection zone, nor is it due directly to thermohaline mixing which operates
on a timescale several orders of magnitude larger than the simulated flows.
Instead, the mixing appears to be due to the presence of a wave field induced
in the stable layers residing beneath the convection zone which enhances the
mixing rate by many orders of magnitude and allows a thermohaline type mixing
process to operate on a dynamical, rather than thermal, timescale. We discuss
our results in terms of related laboratory phenomena and associated theoretical
developments.Comment: accepted for publication in Astrophysical Journal, 9 pages, 8 figure
A Survey for Low-Mass Stars and Brown Dwarfs in the Eta Cha and Eps Cha Young Associations
I present the results of a search for new low-mass stars and brown dwarfs in
the Eta Cha and Eps Cha young associations. Within radii of 1.5 and 0.5 deg
surrounding Eta Cha and Eps Cha, respectively, I have constructed
color-magnitude diagrams from DENIS and 2MASS photometry and have obtained
spectra of the candidate low-mass members therein. The five candidates in Eta
Cha are classified as four field M dwarfs and one carbon star. No new members
are found in this survey, which is complete for M_sun=0.015-0.15 according to
the evolutionary models of Chabrier and Baraffe. Thus, an extended population
of low-mass members is not present in Eta Cha out to four times the radius of
the known membership. Meanwhile, the three candidate members of Eps Cha are
classified as young stars, and thus likely members of the association, based on
Li absorption and gravity-sensitive absorption lines. These new sources have
spectral types of M2.25, M3.75, and M5.75, corresponding to masses of 0.45,
0.25, and 0.09 M_sun by the models of Chabrier and Baraffe. For one of these
stars, intense H(alpha) emission, forbidden line emission, and strong K-band
excess emission suggest the presence of accretion, an outflow, and a disk,
respectively. This young star is also much fainter than expected for an
association member at its spectral type, which could indicate that it is seen
in scattered light. No brown dwarfs are detected in Eps Cha down to the
completeness limit of 0.015 M_sun. The absence of brown dwarfs in these
associations is statistically consistent with the mass functions measured in
star-forming regions, which exhibit only ~2 and ~1 brown dwarfs for stellar
samples at the sizes of the Eta Cha and Eps Cha associations.Comment: 19 pages, The Astrophysical Journal, 2004, v616 (December 1
Multiwavelength analysis of the young open cluster NGC 2362
We present a multiwavelength analysis of the young open cluster NGC 2362.
UBVRcIc CCD photometric observations, together with available data in the
Chandra data base, near infrared data from the Two Micron All Sky Survey
(2MASS), and recently published Halpha spectroscopy were used to get
information about the evolutionary stage of the cluster and the main physical
properties of its stellar content. Cluster membership is estimated for every
individual star by means of ZAMS and isochrone fitting. The cluster is
confirmed to host a richly populated pre-main sequence (PMS), and to contain a
large amount of X-ray emitting stars, which reach from the PMS members of GK
spectral type, up to the most luminous OB type main sequence (MS) members. The
PMS cluster members show no significant age spread, and the comparison to both
PMS and post-MS isochrones suggests a younger age for the more massive MS than
for lower mass PMS members. The analysis allows to asses the validity of
currently used pre-main sequence evolutionary models, and supports the
suggestion of a well defined positive correlation of the X-ray emission from
PMS stars with their bolometric luminosity. Clear differences are found on the
other hand, between the X-ray activity properties of MS and PMS cluster
members, both in the relation between X-ray luminosity and bolometric
luminosity, and in spectral properties as well.Comment: 1 gzipped file: 1 tex file with 9 pages text. 5 ps files with
figures. Submitted to Astrophysical Journa
Discovery of the Pre-Main Sequence Population of the Stellar Association LH 95 in the Large Magellanic Cloud with Hubble Space Telescope ACS Observations
We report the discovery of an extraordinary number of pre-main sequence (PMS)
stars in the vicinity of the stellar association LH 95 in the Large Magellanic
Cloud (LMC). Using the {\em Advanced Camera for Surveys} on-board the {\em
Hubble} Space Telescope in wide-field mode we obtained deep high-resolution
imaging of the main body of the association and of a nearby representative LMC
background field. These observations allowed us to construct the
color-magnitude diagram (CMD) of the association in unprecedented detail, and
to decontaminate the CMD for the average LMC stellar population. The most
significant result is the direct detection of a substantial population of PMS
stars and their clustering properties with respect to the distribution of the
higher mass members of the association. Although LH 95 represents a rather
modest star forming region, our photometry, with a detection limit \lsim 28
mag, reveals in its vicinity more than 2,500 PMS stars with masses down to
M{\solar}. Our observations offer, thus, a new perspective of a
typical LMC association: The stellar content of LH 95 is found to extend from
bright OB stars to faint red PMS stars, suggesting a fully populated Initial
Mass Function (IMF) from the massive blue giants down to the sub-solar mass
regime.Comment: Accepted for Publication in ApJ Letters - 4 Pages ApJ paper format -
3 figures in low-resolution/grayscal
Lithium production on a low-mass secondary in a black hole soft X-ray transient
We examine production of Li on the surface of a low-mass secondary in a black
hole soft X-ray transient (BHSXT) through the spallation of CNO nuclei by
neutrons which are ejected from a hot (> 10 MeV) advection-dominated accretion
flow (ADAF) around the black hole. Using updated binary parameters, cross
sections of neutron-induced spallation reactions, and mass accretion rates in
ADAF derived from the spectrum fitting of multi-wavelength observations of
quiescent BHSXTs, we obtain the equilibrium abundances of Li by equating the
production rate of Li and the mass transfer rate through accretion to the black
hole. The resulting abundances are found to be in good agreement with the
observed values in seven BHSXTs. We note that the abundances vary in a
timescale longer than a few months in our model. Moreover, the isotopic ratio
Li6/Li7 is calculated to be about 0.7--0.8 on the secondaries, which is much
higher than the ratio measured in meteorites. Detection of such a high value is
favorable to the production of Li via spallation and the existence of a hot
accretion flow, rather than an accretion disk corona system in quiescent BHSXT.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, and 2 tables, submitted to Astrophyscal Jounal
Letter
A double-lined spectroscopic orbit for the young star HD 34700
We report high-resolution spectroscopic observations of the young star HD
34700, which confirm it to be a double-lined spectroscopic binary. We derive an
accurate orbital solution with a period of 23.4877 +/- 0.0013 days and an
eccentricity of e = 0.2501 +/- 0.0068. The stars are found to be of similar
mass (M2/M1 = 0.987 +/- 0.014) and luminosity. We derive also the effective
temperatures (5900 K and 5800 K) and projected rotational velocities (28 km/s
and 22 km/s) of the components. These values of v sin i are much higher than
expected for main-sequence stars of similar spectral type (G0), and are not due
to tidal synchronization. We discuss also the indicators of youth available for
the object. Although there is considerable evidence that the system is young
--strong infrared excess, X-ray emission, Li I 6708 absorption (0.17 Angstroms
equivalent width), H alpha emission (0.6 Angstroms), rapid rotation-- the
precise age cannot yet be established because the distance is unknown.Comment: 17 pages, including 2 figures and 2 tables. Accepted for publication
in AJ, to appear in February 200
The Formation of Cataclysmic Variables: The Influence of Nova Eruptions
The theoretical and observed populations of pre-cataclysmic variables are dominated by systems with low-mass white dwarfs (WDs), while the WD masses in cataclysmic variables (CVs) are typically high. In addition, the space density of CVs is found to be significantly lower than in the theoretical models. We investigate the influence of nova outbursts on the formation and initial evolution of CVs. In particular, we calculate the stability of the mass transfer in the case where all of the material accreted on the WD is lost in classical novae and part of the energy to eject the material comes from a common-envelope-like interaction with the companion. In addition, we study the effect of an asymmetry in the mass ejection that may lead to small eccentricities in the orbit. We find that a common-envelope-like ejection significantly decreases the stability of the mass transfer, particularly for low-mass WDs. Similarly, the influence of asymmetric mass loss can be important for short-period systems and even more so for low-mass WDs; however, this influence likely disappears long before the next nova outburst due to orbital circularization. In both cases the mass-transfer rates increase, which may lead to observable (and perhaps already observed) consequences for systems that do survive to become CVs. However, a more detailed investigation of the interaction between nova ejecta and the companion and the evolution of slightly eccentric CVs is needed before definite conclusions can be drawn
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