Atmospheric dynamics of red supergiant stars and applications to Interferometry

We have written a 3D radiative transfer code that computes emerging spectra and intensity maps. We derive from radiative hydrodynamic (RHD) simulations of RSG stars carried out with CO5BOLD (Freytag et al. 2002) observables expected for red supergiant stars (RSG) especially for interferometric observations, with emphasis on small scale structures. We show that the convection-related surface structures are detectable in the H band with today's interferometers and that the diameter measurement should not be too dependent on the adopted model. The simulations are a great improvement over parametric models for the interpretation of interferometric observations.Comment: 6 pages, SF2A 2007 conferenc

3D Simulation of Convection and Spectral Line Formation in A-type Stars

We present first realistic numerical simulations of 3D radiative convection in the surface layers of main sequence A-type stars with Teff = 8000 K and 8500 K, log g = 4.4 and 4.0, recently performed with the CO5BOLD radiation hydrodynamics code. The resulting models are used to investigate the structure of the H+HeI and the HeII convection zones in comparison with the predictions of local and non-local convection theories, and to determine the amount of "overshoot" into the stable layers below the HeII convection zone. The simulations also predict how the topology of the photospheric granulation pattern changes from solar to A-type star convection. The influence of the photospheric temperature fluctuations and velocity fields on the shape of spectral lines is demonstrated by computing synthetic line profiles and line bisectors for some representative examples, allowing us to confront the 3D model results with observations.Comment: 5 pages, 6 figures (17 figure files), 1 Tabl

Atmospheres and wind properties of non-spherical AGB stars

The wind-driving mechanism of asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars is commonly attributed to a two-step process: first, gas in the stellar atmosphere is levitated by shockwaves caused by stellar pulsation, then accelerated outwards by radiative pressure on newly formed dust, inducing a wind. Dynamical modelling of such winds usually assumes a spherically symmetric star. We explore the potential consequences of complex stellar surface structures, as predicted by three-dimensional (3D) star-in-a-box modelling of M-type AGB stars, on the resulting wind properties with the aim to improve the current wind models. Two different modelling approaches are used; the CO$^5$BOLD 3D star-in-a-box code to simulate the convective, pulsating interior and lower atmosphere of the star, and the DARWIN one-dimensional (1D) code to describe the dynamical atmosphere where the wind is accelerated. The gas dynamics of the inner atmosphere region at distances of $R\sim1-2R_\star$, which both modelling approaches simulate, are compared. Dynamical properties and luminosity variations derived from CO$^5$BOLD interior models are used as input for the inner boundary in DARWIN wind models in order to emulate the effects of giant convection cells and pulsation, and explore their influence on the dynamical properties. The CO$^5$BOLD models are inherently anisotropic, with non-uniform shock fronts and varying luminosity amplitudes, in contrast to the spherically symmetrical DARWIN wind models. DARWIN wind models with CO$^5$BOLD-derived inner boundary conditions produced wind velocities and mass-loss rates comparable to the standard DARWIN models, however the winds show large density variations on time-scales of 10-20 years.Comment: 13 pages, 12 figures, Accepted for publication in A&

Spectroscopic properties of a two-dimensional time-dependent Cepheid model I. Description and validation of the model

Standard spectroscopic analyses of Cepheid variables are based on hydrostatic one-dimensional model atmospheres, with convection treated using various formulations of mixing-length theory. This paper aims to carry out an investigation of the validity of the quasi-static approximation in the context of pulsating stars. We check the adequacy of a two-dimensional time-dependent model of a Cepheid-like variable with focus on its spectroscopic properties. With the radiation-hydrodynamics code CO5BOLD, we construct a two-dimensional time-dependent envelope model of a Cepheid with $T_\mathrm{eff}= 5600$ K, $\log g=2.0$, solar metallicity, and a 2.8-day pulsation period. Subsequently, we perform extensive spectral syntheses of a set of artificial iron lines in local thermodynamic equilibrium. The set of lines allows us to systematically study effects of line strength, ionization stage, and excitation potential. We evaluate the microturbulent velocity, line asymmetry, projection factor, and Doppler shifts. The mean Doppler shift is non-zero and negative, -1 km/s, after averaging over several full periods and lines. This residual line-of-sight velocity (related to the "K-term") is primarily caused by horizontal inhomogeneities, and consequently we interpret it as the familiar convective blueshift ubiquitously present in non-pulsating late-type stars. Limited statistics prevent firm conclusions on the line asymmetries. Our two-dimensional model provides a reasonably accurate representation of the spectroscopic properties of a short-period Cepheid-like variable star. Some properties are primarily controlled by convective inhomogeneities rather than by the Cepheid-defining pulsations

Spectroscopic properties of a two-dimensional time-dependent Cepheid model II. Determination of stellar parameters and abundances

Standard spectroscopic analyses of variable stars are based on hydrostatic one-dimensional model atmospheres. This quasi-static approach has theoretically not been validated. We aim at investigating the validity of the quasi-static approximation for Cepheid variables. We focus on the spectroscopic determination of the effective temperature $T_\mathrm{eff}$, surface gravity $\log \,g$, microturbulent velocity $\xi_\mathrm{t}$, and a generic metal abundance $\log\,A$ -- here taken as iron. We calculate a grid of 1D hydrostatic plane-parallel models covering the ranges in effective temperature and gravity encountered during the evolution of a two-dimensional time-dependent envelope model of a Cepheid computed with the radiation-hydrodynamics code CO5BOLD. We perform 1D spectral syntheses for artificial iron lines in local thermodynamic equilibrium varying the microturbulent velocity and abundance. We fit the resulting equivalent widths to corresponding values obtained from our dynamical model. For the four-parametric case, the stellar parameters are typically underestimated exhibiting a bias in the iron abundance of \approx-0.2\,\mbox{dex}. To avoid biases of this kind it is favourable to restrict the spectroscopic analysis to photometric phases $\phi_\mathrm{ph}\approx0.3\ldots 0.65$ using additional information to fix effective temperature and surface gravity. Hydrostatic 1D model atmospheres can provide unbiased estimates of stellar parameters and abundances of Cepheid variables for particular phases of their pulsations. We identified convective inhomogeneities as the main driver behind potential biases. For obtaining a complete view on the effects when determining stellar parameters with 1D models, multi-dimensional Cepheid atmosphere models are necessary for variables of longer period than investigated here.Comment: accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysic

Effects of Mountaintop Removal Mining on Population Dynamics of Stream Salamanders

Mountaintop removal mining (MTR) is a notorious stressor of stream ecosystems in the Central Appalachians. Valley fills (VF) lead to reduced occupancy, abundance, and species richness of stream salamanders. Multiple factors may be responsible for these reductions, but specifically habitat fragmentation and degradation may reduce colonization rates and increase local extinction rates. From 2013-2015, repeated counts of salamanders were conducted in stream reaches impacted by MTR/VF and compared to counts in reference reaches to answer the question: do stream salamander population dynamics differ between stream reaches impacted by MTR/VF and reference stream reaches? I also investigated dynamics of stream habitat using measures relevant to stream salamander persistence. Accordingly, I examined number of cover objects, percent detritus, hydroperiod, and specific conductance. From the salamander capture data, colonization and survival probabilities were lower in MTR/VF reaches than reference reaches. MTR/VF reaches also had fewer cover objects, higher percent detritus, constant stream flow, and elevated specific conductance. Although specific conductance was increased in MTR/VF reaches, it was not strongly correlated with colonization and survival. I suggest reduced rates of colonization and survival in MTR/VF stream reaches are driven by inhibited dispersal and reduced individual survival due to degraded terrestrial and aquatic environments

Pure-hydrogen 3D model atmospheres of cool white dwarfs

A sequence of pure-hydrogen CO5BOLD 3D model atmospheres of DA white dwarfs is presented for a surface gravity of log g = 8 and effective temperatures from 6000 to 13,000 K. We show that convective properties, such as flow velocities, characteristic granulation size and intensity contrast of the granulation patterns, change significantly over this range. We demonstrate that these 3D simulations are not sensitive to numerical parameters unlike the 1D structures that considerably depend on the mixing-length parameters. We conclude that 3D spectra can be used directly in the spectroscopic analyses of DA white dwarfs. We confirm the result of an earlier preliminary study that 3D model spectra provide a much better characterization of the mass distribution of white dwarfs and that shortcomings of the 1D mixing-length theory are responsible for the spurious high-log g determinations of cool white dwarfs. In particular, the 1D theory is unable to account for the cooling effect of the convective overshoot in the upper atmospheres.Comment: 14 pages, 17 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysic

Spectroscopic analysis of DA white dwarfs with 3D model atmospheres

We present the first grid of mean three-dimensional (3D) spectra for pure-hydrogen (DA) white dwarfs based on 3D model atmospheres. We use CO5BOLD radiation-hydrodynamics 3D simulations instead of the mixing-length theory for the treatment of convection. The simulations cover the effective temperature range of 6000 < Teff (K) < 15,000 and the surface gravity range of 7 < log g < 9 where the large majority of DAs with a convective atmosphere are located. We rely on horizontally averaged 3D structures (over constant Rosseland optical depth) to compute spectra. It is demonstrated that our spectra can be smoothly connected to their 1D counterparts at higher and lower Teff where the 3D effects are small. Analytical functions are provided in order to convert spectroscopically determined 1D effective temperatures and surface gravities to 3D atmospheric parameters. We apply our improved models to well studied spectroscopic data sets from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and the White Dwarf Catalog. We confirm that the so-called high-log g problem is not present when employing spectra and that the issue was caused by inaccuracies in the 1D mixing-length approach. The white dwarfs with a radiative and a convective atmosphere have derived mean masses that are the same within ~0.01 Msun, in much better agreement with our understanding of stellar evolution. Furthermore, the 3D atmospheric parameters are in better agreement with independent Teff and log g values from photometric and parallax measurements.Comment: 15 pages, 18 figures, 10 pages online appendix, accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysic