747 research outputs found
Line formation in solar granulation VI. [C I], C I, CH and C2 lines and the photospheric C abundance
The solar photospheric carbon abundance has been determined from [C I], C I,
CH vibration-rotation, CH A-X electronic and C2 Swan electronic lines by means
of a time-dependent, 3D, hydrodynamical model of the solar atmosphere.
Departures from LTE have been considered for the C I lines. These turned out to
be of increasing importance for stronger lines and are crucial to remove a
trend in LTE abundances with the strengths of the lines. Very gratifying
agreement is found among all the atomic and molecular abundance diagnostics in
spite of their widely different line formation sensitivities. The mean of the
solar carbon abundance based on the four primary abundance indicators ([C I], C
I, CH vibration-rotation, C_2 Swan) is log C = 8.39 +/- 0.05, including our
best estimate of possible systematic errors. Consistent results also come from
the CH electronic lines, which we have relegated to a supporting role due to
their sensitivity to the line broadening. The new 3D based solar C abundance is
significantly lower than previously estimated in studies using 1D model
atmospheres.Comment: Accepted for A&A, 13 page
The Mid-infrared Fine-structure Lines of Neon as an Indicator of Star For mation Rate in Galaxies
The fine-structure lines of singly ([Ne II] 12.8 micron) and doubly ([Ne III]
15.6 micron) ionized neon are among the most prominent features in the
mid-infrared spectra of star-forming regions, and have the potential to be a
powerful new indicator of the star formation rate in galaxies. Using a sample
of star-forming galaxies with measurements of the fine-structure lines
available from the literature, we show that the sum of the [Ne II] and [Ne III]
luminosities obeys a tight, linear correlation with the total infrared
luminosity, over 5 orders of magnitude in luminosity. We discuss the formation
of the lines and their relation with the Lyman continuum luminosity. A simple
calibration between star formation rate and the [Ne II]+[Ne III] luminosity is
presented.Comment: To appear in ApJ. 8 page
The Impact of Hydrodynamic Mixing on Supernova Progenitors
Recent multidimensional hydrodynamic simulations have demonstrated the
importance of hydrodynamic motions in the convective boundary and radiative
regions of stars to transport of energy, momentum, and composition. The impact
of these processes increases with stellar mass. Stellar models which
approximate this physics have been tested on several classes of observational
problems. In this paper we examine the implications of the improved treatment
on supernova progenitors. The improved models predict substantially different
interior structures. We present pre-supernova conditions and simple explosion
calculations from stellar models with and without the improved mixing treatment
at 23 solar masses. The results differ substantially.Comment: 12 pages, 2 figures, accepted for publication in the Astrophysical
Journal Letter
Metallicity Evolution in the Early Universe
Observations of the damped Lya systems provide direct measurements on the
chemical enrichment history of neutral gas in the early universe. In this
Letter, we present new measurements for four damped Lya systems at high
redshift. Combining these data with [Fe/H] values culled from the literature,
we investigate the metallicity evolution of the universe from z~1.5-4.5.
Contrary to our expectations and the predictions of essentially every chemical
evolution model, the N(HI)-weighted mean [Fe/H] metallicity exhibits minimal
evolution over this epoch. For the individual systems, we report tentative
evidence for an evolution in the unweighted [Fe/H] mean and the scatter in
[Fe/H] with the higher redshift systems showing lower scatter and lower typical
[Fe/H] values. We also note that no damped Lya system has [Fe/H] < -2.7 dex.
Finally, we discuss the potential impact of small number statistics and dust on
our conclusions and consider the implications of these results on chemical
evolution in the early universe.Comment: 6 pages, 2 encapsulated figures, Latex2e, uses emulateapj.sty and
onecolfloat.sty. Accepted for publication in ApJ Letters: Feb 28, 200
The Chemical and Ionization Conditions in Weak Mg II Absorbers
We present an analysis of the chemical and ionization conditions in a sample
of 100 weak Mg II absorbers identified in the VLT/UVES archive of quasar
spectra. Using a host of low ionization lines associated with each absorber in
this sample, and on the basis of ionization models, we infer that the
metallicity in a significant fraction of weak Mg II clouds is constrained to
values of solar or higher, if they are sub-Lyman limit systems. Based on the
observed constraints, we present a physical picture in which weak Mg II
absorbers are predominantly tracing two different astrophysical
processes/structures. A significant population of weak Mg II clouds, those in
which N(Fe II) is much less than N(Mg II), identified at both low (z ~ 1) and
high (z ~ 2) redshift, are potentially tracing gas in the extended halos of
galaxies, analogous to the Galactic high velocity clouds. These absorbers might
correspond to alpha-enhanced interstellar gas expelled from star-forming
galaxies, in correlated supernova events. On the other hand, N(FeII)
approximately equal to N(Mg II) clouds, which are prevalent only at lower
redshifts (z < 1.5), must be tracing Type Ia enriched gas in small, high
metallicity pockets in dwarf galaxies, tidal debris, or other intergalactic
structures.Comment: 35 pages (including tables & figures). Accepted for publication in
ApJ. A high resolution version of the paper is available at
"http://www.astro.wisc.edu/~anand/weakMgII.pdf
X-ray Diagnostics of Grain Depletion in Matter Accreting onto T Tauri Stars
Recent analysis of high resolution Chandra X-ray spectra has shown that the
Ne/O abundance ratio is remarkably constant in stellar coronae. Based on this
result, we point out the utility of the Ne/O ratio as a discriminant for
accretion-related X-rays from T Tauri stars, and for probing the measure of
grain-depletion of the accreting material in the inner disk. We apply the Ne/O
diagnostic to the classical T Tauri stars BP Tau and TW Hya--the two stars
found to date whose X-ray emission appears to originate, at least in part, from
accretion activity. We show that TW Hya appears to be accreting material which
is significantly depleted in O relative to Ne. In constrast, BP Tau has an Ne/O
abundance ratio consistent with that observed for post-T Tauri stars. We
interpret this result in terms of the different ages and evolutionary states of
the circumstellar disks of these stars. In the young BP Tau disk (age 0.6 Myr)
dust is still present near the disk corotation radius and can be ionized and
accreted, re-releasing elements depleted onto grains. In the more evolved TW
Hya disk (age 10 Myr), evidence points to ongoing coagulation of grains into
much larger bodies, and possibly planets, that can resist the drag of
inward-migrating gas, and accreting gas is consequently depleted of
grain-forming elements.Comment: 13 pages, 1 Figure, ApJ Letters, in pres
Heavy element abundances in giant stars of the globular clusters M4 and M5
We present a comprehensive abundance analysis of 27 heavy elements in bright
giant stars of the globular clusters M4 and M5 based on high resolution, high
signal-to-noise ratio spectra obtained with the Magellan Clay Telescope. We
confirm and expand upon previous results for these clusters by showing that (1)
all elements heavier than, and including, Si have constant abundances within
each cluster, (2) the elements from Ca to Ni have indistinguishable
compositions in M4 and M5, (3) Si, Cu, Zn, and all s-process elements are
approximately 0.3 dex overabundant in M4 relative to M5, and (4) the r-process
elements Sm, Eu, Gd, and Th are slightly overabundant in M5 relative to M4. The
cluster-to-cluster abundance differences for Cu and Zn are intriguing,
especially in light of their uncertain nucleosynthetic origins. We confirm that
stars other than Type Ia supernovae must produce significant amounts of Cu and
Zn at or below the clusters' metallicities. If intermediate-mass AGB stars or
massive stars are responsible for the Cu and Zn enhancements in M4, the similar
[Rb/Zr] ratios and (preliminary) Mg isotope ratios in both clusters may be
problematic for either scenario. For the elements from Ba to Hf, we assume that
the s- and r-process contributions are scaled versions of the solar s- and
r-process abundances. We quantify the relative fractions of s- and r-process
material for each cluster and show that they provide an excellent fit to the
observed abundances.Comment: Accepted for publication in Ap
X-ray Light Curves and Accretion Disk Structure of EX Hydrae
We present X-ray light curves for the cataclysmic variable EX Hydrae obtained
with the Chandra High Energy Transmission Grating Spectrometer and the Extreme
Ultraviolet Explorer Deep Survey photometer. We confirm earlier results on the
shape and amplitude of the binary light curve and discuss a new feature: the
phase of the minimum in the binary light curve, associated with absorption by
the bulge on the accretion disk, increases with wavelength. We discuss several
scenarios that could account for this trend and conclude that, most likely, the
ionization state of the bulge gas is not constant, but rather decreases with
binary phase. We also conclude that photoionization of the bulge by radiation
originating from the white dwarf is not the main source of ionization, but that
it is heated by shocks originating from the interaction between the inflowing
material from the companion and the accretion disk. The findings in this paper
provide a strong test for accretion disk models in close binary systems.Comment: 19 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in the Ap
The Solar Neighborhood. XIX. Discovery and Characterization of 33 New Nearby White Dwarf Systems
We present spectra for 33 previously unclassified white dwarf systems
brighter than V = 17 primarily in the southern hemisphere. Of these new
systems, 26 are DA, 4 are DC, 2 are DZ, and 1 is DQ. We suspect three of these
systems are unresolved double degenerates. We obtained VRI photometry for these
33 objects as well as for 23 known white dwarf systems without trigonometric
parallaxes, also primarily in the southern hemisphere. For the 56 objects, we
converted the photometry values to fluxes and fit them to a spectral energy
distribution using the spectroscopy to determine which model to use (i.e. pure
hydrogen, pure helium, or metal-rich helium), resulting in estimates of
effective temperature and distance. Eight of the new and 12 known systems are
estimated to be within the NStars and Catalogue of Nearby Stars (CNS) horizons
of 25 pc, constituting a potential 18% increase in the nearby white dwarf
sample. Trigonometric parallax determinations are underway via CTIOPI for these
20 systems.
One of the DCs is cool so that it displays absorption in the near infrared.
Using the distance determined via trigonometric parallax, we are able to
constrain the model-dependent physical parameters and find that this object is
most likely a mixed H/He atmosphere white dwarf similar to other cool white
dwarfs identified in recent years with significant absorption in the infrared
due to collision-induced absorptions by molecular hydrogen.Comment: 33 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in the Astronomical
Journa
The Discovery of Argon in Comet C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp)
On 30.14 March 1997 we observed the EUV spectrum of the bright comet C/1995
O1 (Hale-Bopp) at the time of its perihelion, using our EUVS sounding rocket
telescope/spectrometer. The spectra reveal the presence H Ly beta, O+, and,
most notably, Argon. Modelling of the retrieved Ar production rates indicates
that comet Hale-Bopp is enriched in Ar relative to cosmogonic expectations.
This in turn indicates that Hale-Bopp's deep interior has never been exposed to
the 35-40 K temperatures necessary to deplete the comet's primordial argon
supply.Comment: 9 pages, 2 figures. ApJ, 545, in press (2000
- âŠ