192 research outputs found
Alpha clustering and weak coupling in the A=90 region
From the viewpoint of a unified description of cluster structure and
scattering in the
A=90 region, scattering from Y is investigated.
clustering and weak coupling in Nb is discussed.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figure
Abundances and Kinematics of Field Halo and Disk Stars I: Observational Data and Abundance Analysis
We describe observations and abundance analysis of a high-resolution,
high-S/N survey of 168 stars, most of which are metal-poor dwarfs. We follow a
self-consistent LTE analysis technique to determine the stellar parameters and
abundances, and estimate the effects of random and systematic uncertainties on
the resulting abundances. Element-to-iron ratios are derived for key alpha,
odd, Fe-peak, r- and s-process elements. Effects of Non-LTE on the analysis of
Fe I lines are shown to be very small on the average. Spectroscopically
determined surface gravities are derived that are generally close to those
obtained from Hipparcos parallaxes.Comment: 41 pages, 7 Postscript figures. Accepted for publication in the A
Non-LTE line formation for heavy elements in four very metal-poor stars
Stellar parameters and abundances of Na, Mg, Al, K, Ca, Sr, Ba, and Eu are
determined for four very metal-poor stars (-2.66 < [Fe/H] < -2.15) based on
non-LTE line formation and analysis of high-resolution (R ~60000 and 90000)
high signal-to-noise (S/N > 200) observed spectra. A model atom for H I is
presented. An effective temperature was obtained from the Balmer Halpha and
Hbeta line wing fits, the surface gravity from the Hipparcos parallax if
available and the non-LTE ionization balance between Ca I and Ca II. Based on
the hyperfine structure affecting the Ba II resonance line, the fractional
abundance of the odd isotopes of Ba was derived for HD 84937 and HD 122563 from
a requirement that Ba abundances from the resonance line and subordinate lines
of Ba II must be equal. For each star, non-LTE leads to a consistency of Teff
from two Balmer lines and to a higher temperature compared to the LTE case, by
up to 60 K. Non-LTE effects are important in spectroscopic determination of
surface gravity from Ca I/Ca II. For each star with a known trigonometric
gravity, non-LTE abundances from the lines of two ionization stages agree
within the error bars, while a difference in the LTE abundances consists of
0.23 dex to 0.40 dex for different stars. Departures from LTE are found to be
significant for the investigated atoms, and they strongly depend on stellar
parameters. For HD 84937, the Eu/Ba ratio is consistent with the relative solar
system r-process abundances, and the fraction of the odd isotopes of Ba, f_odd,
equals 0.43+-0.14. The latter can serve as a constraint on r-process models.
The lower Eu/Ba ratio and f_odd = 0.22+-0.15 found for HD 122563 suggest that
the s-process or the unknown process has contributed significantly to the Ba
abundance in this star.Comment: accepted for publication in A&A, November 16, 200
A search for p-modes and other variability in the binary system 85 Pegasi using MOST photometry
Context: Asteroseismology has great potential for the study of metal-poor
stars due to its sensitivity to determine stellar ages. Aims: Our goal was to
detect p-mode oscillations in the metal-poor sub-dwarf 85 Peg A and to search
for other variability on longer timescales. Methods: We have obtained
continuous high-precision photometry of the binary system 85 Pegasi with the
MOST space telescope in two seasons (2005 & 2007). Furthermore, we redetermined
vsini for 85 Peg A using high resolution spectra obtained through the ESO
archive, and used photometric spot modeling to interpret long periodic
variations. Results: Our frequency analysis yields no convincing evidence for
p-modes significantly above a noise level of 4 ppm. Using simulated p-mode
patterns we provide upper RMS amplitude limits for 85 Peg A. The light curve
shows evidence for variability with a period of about 11 d and this periodicity
is also seen in the follow up run in 2007; however, as different methods to
remove instrumental trends in the 2005 run yield vastly different results, the
exact shape and periodicity of the 2005 variability remain uncertain. Our
re-determined vsini value for 85 Peg A is comparable to previous studies and we
provide realistic uncertainties for this parameter. Using these values in
combination with simple photometric spot models we are able to reconstruct the
observed variations. Conclusions: The null-detection of p-modes in 85 Peg A is
consistent with theoretical values for pulsation amplitudes in this star. The
detected long-periodic variation must await confirmation by further
observations with similar or better precision and long-term stability. If the
11 d periodicity is real, rotational modulation of surface features on one of
the components is the most likely explanation.Comment: 11 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in A&
Detections of Diffuse Interstellar Bands in the SDSS Low-resolution Spectra
Diffuse interstellar bands (DIBs) have been discovered for almost a century,
but their nature remains one of the most challenging problems in astronomical
spectroscopy. Most recent work to identify and investigate the properties and
carriers of DIBs concentrates on high-resolution spectroscopy of selected
sight-lines. In this paper, we report detections of DIBs in the Sloan Digital
Sky Survey (SDSS) low-resolution spectra of a large sample of Galactic stars.
Using a template subtraction method, we have successfully identified the DIBs
5780, 6283 in the SDSS spectra of a sample of about 2,000
stars and measured their strengths and radial velocities. The sample is by far
the largest ever assembled. The targets span a large range of reddening, E(B-V)
~ 0.2 -- 1.0, and are distributed over a large sky area and involve a wide
range of stellar parameters (effective temperature, surface gravity and
metallicity), confirming that the carriers of DIBs are ubiquitous in the
diffuse interstellar medium (ISM). The sample is used to investigate relations
between strengths of DIBs and magnitudes of line-of-sight extinction, yielding
results (i.e., EW(5780)= 0.61 x E(B-V) and EW(6283) = 1.26 x E(B-V)) consistent
with previous studies. DIB features have also been detected in the
commissioning spectra of the Guoshoujing Telescope (LAMOST) of resolving power
similar to that of SDSS. Detections of DIBs towards hundreds of thousands of
stars are expected from the on-going and up-coming large scale spectroscopic
surveys such as RAVE, SDSS III and LAMOST, particularly from the LAMOST Digital
Sky Survey of the Galactic Anti-center (DSS-GAC). Such a huge database will
provide an unprecedented opportunity to study the demographical distribution
and nature of DIBs as well as using DIBs to probe the distribution and
properties of the ISM and the dust extinction.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA
The Chemical Composition Contrast between M3 and M13 Revisited: New Abundances for 28 Giant Stars in M3
We report new chemical abundances of 23 bright red giants of the globular
cluster M3, based on high-resolution spectra obtained with the Keck I
telescope. Combining these data with a previously-reported small sample of M3
giants obtained with the Lick 3m telescope, we compare [X/Fe] ratios for 28 M3
giants with 35 M13 giants, and with halo field stars. All three groups exhibit
C depletion with advancing evolutionary state beginning at the RGB bump region.
but the overall depletion in the clusters is larger than that of the field
stars. The behaviors of O, Na, Mg and Al are distinctively different among the
three stellar samples. Both M3 and M13 show evidence of high-temperature proton
capture synthesis from the ON, NeNa, and MgAl cycles, while there is no
evidence for such synthesis among halo field stars. But the degree of such
extreme proton-capture synthesis in M3 is smaller than it is in M13, and no
indication that O depletions are a function of advancing evolutionary state as
has been claimed for M13. We have also considered NGC 6752, for which Mg
isotopic abundances have been reported by Yong et al. (2003). Giants in NGC
6752 and M13 satisfy the same anticorrelation of O abundances with the ratio
(25Mg+26Mg)/24Mg. This suggests that these abundance ratios arose in the
ejected material of 3-6 solar mass cluster stars. It also suggests that the low
oxygen abundance seen among the most evolved M13 giants arose in hot-bottom O
to N processing in these same intermediate-mass cluster stars. Thus mixing is
required by the dependence of some abundance ratios on luminosity, but an
earlier nucleosynthesis process in a hotter environment than giants or
main-sequence stars is required by the variations previously seen in stars near
the main sequence.Comment: 55 pages, 18 figures, to be published in A
Exploring the Universe with Metal-Poor Stars
The early chemical evolution of the Galaxy and the Universe is vital to our
understanding of a host of astrophysical phenomena. Since the most metal-poor
Galactic stars (with metallicities down to [Fe/H]\sim-5.5) are relics from the
high-redshift Universe, they probe the chemical and dynamical conditions of the
Milky Way and the origin and evolution of the elements through nucleosynthesis.
They also provide constraints on the nature of the first stars, their
associated supernovae and initial mass function, and early star and galaxy
formation. The Milky Way's dwarf satellites contain a large fraction (~30%) of
the known most metal-poor stars that have chemical abundances that closely
resemble those of equivalent halo stars. This suggests that chemical evolution
may be universal, at least at early times, and that it is driven by massive,
energetic SNe. Some of these surviving, ultra-faint systems may show the
signature of just one such PopIII star; they may even be surviving first
galaxies. Early analogs of the surviving dwarfs may thus have played an
important role in the assembly of the old Galactic halo whose formation can now
be studied with stellar chemistry. Following the cosmic evolution of small
halos in simulations of structure formation enables tracing the cosmological
origin of the most metal-poor stars in the halo and dwarf galaxies. Together
with future observations and additional modeling, many of these issues,
including the reionization history of the Milky Way, may be constrained this
way. The chapter concludes with an outlook about upcoming observational
challenges and ways forward is to use metal-poor stars to constrain theoretical
studies.Comment: 34 pages, 11 figures. Book chapter to appear in "The First Galaxies -
Theoretical Predictions and Observational Clues", 2012 by Springer, eds. V.
Bromm, B. Mobasher, T. Wiklin
The Milky Way Bulge: Observed properties and a comparison to external galaxies
The Milky Way bulge offers a unique opportunity to investigate in detail the
role that different processes such as dynamical instabilities, hierarchical
merging, and dissipational collapse may have played in the history of the
Galaxy formation and evolution based on its resolved stellar population
properties. Large observation programmes and surveys of the bulge are providing
for the first time a look into the global view of the Milky Way bulge that can
be compared with the bulges of other galaxies, and be used as a template for
detailed comparison with models. The Milky Way has been shown to have a
box/peanut (B/P) bulge and recent evidence seems to suggest the presence of an
additional spheroidal component. In this review we summarise the global
chemical abundances, kinematics and structural properties that allow us to
disentangle these multiple components and provide constraints to understand
their origin. The investigation of both detailed and global properties of the
bulge now provide us with the opportunity to characterise the bulge as observed
in models, and to place the mixed component bulge scenario in the general
context of external galaxies. When writing this review, we considered the
perspectives of researchers working with the Milky Way and researchers working
with external galaxies. It is an attempt to approach both communities for a
fruitful exchange of ideas.Comment: Review article to appear in "Galactic Bulges", Editors: Laurikainen
E., Peletier R., Gadotti D., Springer Publishing. 36 pages, 10 figure
Stellar populations of bulges at low redshift
This chapter summarizes our current understanding of the stellar population
properties of bulges and outlines important future research directions.Comment: Review article to appear in "Galactic Bulges", Editors: Laurikainen
E., Peletier R., Gadotti D., Springer Publishing. 34 pages, 12 figure
Magnetic fields in supernova remnants and pulsar-wind nebulae
We review the observations of supernova remnants (SNRs) and pulsar-wind
nebulae (PWNe) that give information on the strength and orientation of
magnetic fields. Radio polarimetry gives the degree of order of magnetic
fields, and the orientation of the ordered component. Many young shell
supernova remnants show evidence for synchrotron X-ray emission. The spatial
analysis of this emission suggests that magnetic fields are amplified by one to
two orders of magnitude in strong shocks. Detection of several remnants in TeV
gamma rays implies a lower limit on the magnetic-field strength (or a
measurement, if the emission process is inverse-Compton upscattering of cosmic
microwave background photons). Upper limits to GeV emission similarly provide
lower limits on magnetic-field strengths. In the historical shell remnants,
lower limits on B range from 25 to 1000 microGauss. Two remnants show
variability of synchrotron X-ray emission with a timescale of years. If this
timescale is the electron-acceleration or radiative loss timescale, magnetic
fields of order 1 mG are also implied. In pulsar-wind nebulae, equipartition
arguments and dynamical modeling can be used to infer magnetic-field strengths
anywhere from about 5 microGauss to 1 mG. Polarized fractions are considerably
higher than in SNRs, ranging to 50 or 60% in some cases; magnetic-field
geometries often suggest a toroidal structure around the pulsar, but this is
not universal. Viewing-angle effects undoubtedly play a role. MHD models of
radio emission in shell SNRs show that different orientations of upstream
magnetic field, and different assumptions about electron acceleration, predict
different radio morphology. In the remnant of SN 1006, such comparisons imply a
magnetic-field orientation connecting the bright limbs, with a non-negligible
gradient of its strength across the remnant.Comment: 20 pages, 24 figures; to be published in SpSciRev. Minor wording
change in Abstrac
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