1,731 research outputs found
Spectroscopic binaries among AGB stars from HERMES/Mercator: the case of V Hya
We report on our search for spectroscopic binaries among a sample of AGB
stars. Observations were carried out in the framework of the monitoring of
radial velocities of (candidate) binary stars performed at the Mercator 1.2m
telescope, using the HERMES spectrograph. We found evidence for duplicity in UV
Cam, TU Tau, BL Ori, VZ Per, T Dra, and V Hya. This short communication focus
on V Hya, found to behave like RV Tau of the b subtype, which are binaries
surrounded by a disc.Comment: Poster presented at IAU Symp. 343 "Why Galaxies Care About AGB
Stars", Vienna, august 201
A new and versatile method for the successful conversion of AFLP-TM markers into simple single locus markers
Genetic markers can efficiently be obtained by using amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) fingerprinting because no prior information on DNA sequence is required. However, the conversion of AFLP markers from complex fingerprints into simple single locus assays is perceived as problematic because DNA sequence information is required for the design of new locus-specific PCR primers. In addition, single locus polymorphism (SNP) information is required to design an allele-specific assay. This paper describes a new and versatile method for the conversion of AFLP markers into simple assays. The protocol presented in this paper offers solutions for frequently occurring pitfalls and describes a procedure for the identification of the SNP responsible for the AFLP. By following this approach, a high success rate for the conversion of AFLP markers into locus-specific markers was obtained
IP Eri: A surprising long-period binary system hosting a He white dwarf
We determine the orbital elements for the K0 IV + white dwarf (WD) system IP
Eri, which appears to have a surprisingly long period of 1071 d and a
significant eccentricity of 0.25. Previous spectroscopic analyses of the WD,
based on a distance of 101 pc inferred from its Hipparcos parallax, yielded a
mass of only 0.43 M, implying it to be a helium-core WD. The orbital
properties of IP Eri are similar to those of the newly discovered long-period
subdwarf B star (sdB) binaries, which involve stars with He-burning cores
surrounded by extremely thin H envelopes, and are therefore close relatives to
He WDs. We performed a spectroscopic analysis of high-resolution spectra from
the HERMES/Mercator spectrograph and concluded that the atmospheric parameters
of the K0 component are K, , [Fe/H] = 0.09
and km/s. The detailed abundance analysis focuses on C, N, O
abundances, carbon isotopic ratio, light (Na, Mg, Al, Si, Ca, Ti) and s-process
(Sr, Y, Zr, Ba, La, Ce, Nd) elements. We conclude that IP Eri abundances agree
with those of normal field stars of the same metallicity. The long period and
non-null eccentricity indicate that this system cannot be the end product of a
common-envelope phase; it calls instead for another less catastrophic
binary-evolution channel presented in detail in a companion paper (Siess et al.
2014).Comment: 14 pages, 10 figures, 4 tables, accepted for publication in A&A
(Update of Table 3, Fig. 8 and text in Sect. 5.1, 5.3 and 6 due to minor
corrections on N and Y II
Barium & related stars and their white-dwarf companions I. Giant stars
This paper provides long-period and revised orbits for barium and S stars
adding to previously published ones. The sample of barium stars with strong
anomalies comprise all such stars present in the Lu et al. catalogue. We find
orbital motion for all barium and extrinsic S stars monitored. We obtain the
longest period known so far for a spectroscopic binary involving an S star,
namely 57 Peg with a period of the order of 100 - 500 yr. We present the mass
distribution for the barium stars, which ranges from 1 to 3 Msun, with a tail
extending up to 5 Msun in the case of mild barium stars. This high-mass tail
comprises mostly high-metallicity objects ([Fe/H] >= -0.1). Mass functions are
compatible with WD companions and we derive their mass distribution which
ranges from 0.5 to 1 Msun. Using the initial - final mass relationship
established for field WDs, we derived the distribution of the mass ratio q' =
MAGB,ini / MBa (where MAGB, ini is the WD progenitor initial mass, i.e., the
mass of the system former primary component) which is a proxy for the initial
mass ratio. It appears that the distribution of q' is highly non uniform, and
significantly different for mild and strong barium stars, the latter being
characterized by values mostly in excess of 1.4, whereas mild barium stars
occupy the range 1 - 1.4. We investigate as well the correlation between
abundances, orbital periods, metallicities, and masses (barium star and WD
companion). The 105 orbits of post-mass-transfer systems presented in this
paper pave the way for a comparison with binary-evolution models.Comment: This version 2 is the one accepted by A&A, after language edition.
Paper II about dwarf-Ba and subgiant-CH orbits by Escorza et al. is
arXiv:1904.0409
Hertzsprung-Russell diagram and mass distribution of barium stars
With the availability of parallaxes provided by the Tycho-Gaia Astrometric
Solution, it is possible to construct the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram (HRD) of
barium and related stars with unprecedented accuracy. A direct result from the
derived HRD is that subgiant CH stars occupy the same region as barium dwarfs,
contrary to what their designations imply. By comparing the position of barium
stars in the HRD with STAREVOL evolutionary tracks, it is possible to evaluate
their masses, provided the metallicity is known. We used an average metallicity
[Fe/H] = -0.25 and derived the mass distribution of barium giants. The
distribution peaks around 2.5 Msun with a tail at higher masses up to 4.5 Msun.
This peak is also seen in the mass distribution of a sample of normal K and M
giants used for comparison and is associated with stars located in the red
clump. When we compare these mass distributions, we see a deficit of low-mass
(1 - 2 Msun) barium giants. This is probably because low-mass stars reach large
radii at the tip of the red giant branch, which may have resulted in an early
binary interaction. Among barium giants, the high-mass tail is however
dominated by stars with barium indices of less than unity, based on a visual
inspection of the barium spectral line; that is, these stars have a very
moderate barium line strength. We believe that these stars are not genuine
barium giants, but rather bright giants, or supergiants, where the barium lines
are strengthened because of a positive luminosity effect. Moreover, contrary to
previous claims, we do not see differences between the mass distributions of
mild and strong barium giants.Comment: 14 pages, 17 figure
Monitoring evolved stars for binarity with the HERMES spectrograph
Binarity is often invoked to explain peculiarities that can not be explained
by the standard theory of stellar evolution. Detecting orbital motion via the
Doppler effect is the best method to test binarity when direct imaging is not
possible. However, when the orbital period exceeds the duration of a typical
observing run, monitoring often becomes problematic. Placing a high-throughput
spectrograph on a small semi- robotic telescope allowed us to carry out a
radial-velocity survey of various types of peculiar evolved stars. In this
review we highlight some findings after the first four years of observations.
Thus, we detect eccentric binaries among hot subdwarfs, barium, S stars, and
post- AGB stars with disks, which are not predicted by the standard binary
interaction theory. In disk objects, in addition, we find signs of the on-
going mass transfer to the companion, and an intriguing line splitting, which
we attribute to the scattered light of the primary.Comment: To appear in the proceedings of the conference "Setting a new
standard in the analysis of binary stars", A. Tkachenko (ed.), European
Astron. Soc. Publ. Se
Binary properties of CH and Carbon-Enhanced Metal-Poor stars
The HERMES spectrograph installed on the 1.2-m Mercator telescope has been
used to monitor the radial velocity of 13 low-metallicity carbon stars, among
which 7 Carbon-Enhanced Metal-Poor (CEMP) stars and 6 CH stars. All stars but
one show clear evidence for binarity. New orbits are obtained for 8 systems.
The sample covers an extended range in orbital periods, extending from 3.4 d
(for the dwarf carbon star HE 0024-2523) to about 54 yr (for the CH star HD 26,
the longest known among barium, CH and extrinsic S stars). Three systems
exhibit low-amplitude velocity variations with periods close to 1 yr
superimposed on a long-term trend. In the absence of an accurate photometric
monitoring of these systems, it is not clear yet whether these variations are
the signature of a very low-mass companion, or of regular envelope pulsations.
The period - eccentricity (P - e) diagram for the 40 low-metallicity carbon
stars with orbits now available shows no difference between CH and CEMP-s stars
(the latter corresponding to those CEMP stars enriched in s-process elements,
as are CH stars). We suggest that they must be considered as one and the same
family and that their different names only stem from historical reasons.
Indeed, these two families have as well very similar mass-function
distributions, corresponding to companions with masses in the range 0.5 - 0.7
Msun, indicative of white-dwarf companions, adopting 0.8 - 0.9 Msun for the
primary component. This result confirms that CH and CEMP-s stars obey the same
mass-transfer scenario as their higher-metallicity analogs, the barium stars.
The P - e diagrams of barium, CH and CEMP-s stars are indeed very similar. They
reveal two different groups of systems: one with short orbital periods (P <
1000 d) and mostly circular or almost circular orbits, and another with
longer-period and eccentric (e > 0.1) orbits.Comment: Accepted in Astronomy & Astrophysic
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